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7official7moose7 · 4 years

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Probably one of the most rushed fics I’ve ever wrote!

Yes, here it is! Ladies and gentlemen, individuals alike, I present to you..

(insert drumroll here)

A platonic shopping date between two absolute babies :)

@xgoldentigerlilyx @teyamarra @reid-and-writing I’m very sorry for the quality of this fic, it’s okay at first but then it gets really out of character somewhere in the middle and I was way too lazy to fix it so I hope it’s not too bad-

“Spencer, wait up!”

Reid looked up to see Garcia rushing to the elevator, and he held the door for her. He flashed her a smile as she thanked him.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?” Garcia asked, and Reid shook his head.

“No, but I do have a book I need to finish before Sunday. Why do you ask?” the elevator stopped, and they both stepped out, making their way outside.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you’d like to come with me to the new mall down on East Street. It just opened a couple of days ago, and I wanted someone to go with, if that’s okay with you?”

Spencer thought. I don’t really do shopping. But, she did go with me to that philosophy convention. I owe her.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” he said, “Tomorrow at twelve?”

Penelope threw her fist in the air with a “Yes!” and smiled up at him. “Absolutely, I’ll be there to pick you up on the dot! Thank you, boy wonder!” she said as they neared her car and Reid waved her goodbye as he continued down the sidewalk. Breathing in the warm August air, he smiled.

…

Spencer entered his apartment and sat his bag down beside the door. It was late, around ten or so. He flicked on the lights and plopped down on the couch, grabbing a book called Crime Or Clarity by Fiona Dewitt. It was a more simple read, but Spencer was enjoying it so far. He flipped to page 305 and continued where he left off.

“It would not be everyday that Steve Goodway would find himself wondering about his place on this earth. Everything he has accomplished, everything he’s fell short of. Is this really it? Or is there more, just beyond his reach? So, on this very day, he would promise himself that he would keep an open mind and an open heart to anything that calls his name through the brambles and nettle, and he would follow it even when the path doesn’t seem so inviting.”

Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

…

Penelope Garcia awoke at 9:48 a.m. with a smile on her face and a happiness in her heart. She started her day with a warm shower and sweet coffee. After that, she messaged Spencer, asking if he was still up for the mall date. He replied three minutes and twenty-seven seconds later with a “Getting ready now. :)”, and she smiled even brighter.

Garcia couldn’t wait to explore all the new stores and see what kind of crazy cute outfit they had in stock. She couldn’t wait to show Reid all the wonderful wonders of shopping and hopefully find a nice outfit for him. She couldn’t wait to convince him to wear said outfit to the Bureau on Monday.

It was now 11:37 a.m. and Garcia couldn’t wait to pick Spencer up.

…

Spencer Reid waited patiently on the couch, dressed in his usual sweater vest and button-down shirt. It was one minute and fifty-seven seconds after twelve when Penelope knocked on his apartment door, and when he opened it, they greeted each other with smiles and started down the stairs to the first floor. Penelope wore a green floral dress and a jean jacket with a dozen pins and stickers on top. Her black mesh leggings went well with her sparkly black bow and heels.

They chatted all the way to the car and kept chatting as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“So, how’d you sleep?” Garcia asked.

“Good, I read 393 pages of Crime Or Clarity before I fell asleep on the couch. You?”

“Like a baby. As soon as I got home, I poured myself a glass of wine and I was out after an hour.”

Spencer hummed. “You know, places like a mall are much more hectic during the weekends, especially near holidays. Why do you choose to go during this time rather than waiting for it to clear up?”

Garcia laughed. “I like people watching, it gives me inspiration and a sense of peace, knowing that those people are out living their lives despite all the nasties out there doing bad things.”

“Actually, statistics prove-”

“Hey, let me have this. That’s all I ask of you,” Penelope said. Spencer giggled at her, and she gave him a smug smile.

Before they arrived at the mall, Garcia suggested they stop for lunch after she noticed both of their stomachs were growling. They ordered sandwiches from the nearest deli and sat in the shade of the umbrella on the patio outside the shop.

Afterwhile, it started to get crowded, so they took it as their cue to get going. It was 1:13 p.m. when they finally found a parking space close to the entrance of the mall.

…

“Which store first?”

Spencer shrugged, knowing very little about any and every shop in the building. He looked around and pointed to one that looked interesting.

“What about that one?” he asked, and Garcia followed his eyes to the Way Out Thrift across the hall. She gasped and looked up at him. “You have great taste,” she said as she led him in.

This thrift store had everything.

Spencer looked around, unsure where to start or even what to look for. Garcia immediately wandered to the clothes section, rummaging through racks of shirts and dresses. She noticed him standing there, so she waved him over and showed him a big beige sweater. “What do you think?” she asked, holding it up against his chest to measure. He took it and examined the fabric. “It’s nice, but this wool is coarse, which can irritate the skin. A finer wool would be better because fine wool sheep produce wool fibers with a very small fiber diameter, usually 20 microns or less.” he rambled on, giving Garcia time to find a light purple turtleneck. “This one’s cotton, what about this one?” she asked, again measuring it on him before he felt it.

“Cotton fabric is considered better, though some people disagree because of the pesticides. Some cotton is grown with genetically modified seeds and sprayed heavily with Roundup, in which the primary ingredient is glyphosate, which could lead to cancer. But I don’t think it’s that bad,” he said, “In fact, I really like the feel of it.”

Garcia smiled. “Good, because this thing is going in your closet!” she said, and Spencer blinked. “I’m paying for it, don’t even think about it,” he said and Penelope gave him a look. “My treat?” she tried to convince him, but he refused. She stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout, which made them both laugh.

After a little more looking around, Penelope and Spencer went to check out. Garcia ended up with a pretty yellow shift dress that Reid suggested, and a small woodpecker figurine for her office. Reid stuck with the purple turtleneck and picked up an additional sweater vest for his collection. Garcia suggested that he try something out of his zone, and he said he’d think about it.

“Where to next?” Spencer asked as they wandered down the hall, passing tons of shoe shops.

“Unless you want a new pair of kicks, maybe we could go up the escalator and see what they have up there,” Penelope joked.

“Escalator it is,” he said.

…

“Did you know there were thirty-seven deaths in 2014 in China caused by escalator accidents, and a report found that more than twenty-six thousand escalators had safety issues that hadn’t been repaired?”

“No. No, I didn’t know that,” Garcia said, shifting closer to Reid, “And I don’t think I needed to know.”

A couple of people looked at them suspiciously when he said that, and Spencer almost felt bad for saying it out loud. Almost.

Once they made it to the top, all the smells were like a smack in the face. There were multiple food courts, including a donut shop and an icee stand. There was the new car smell, along with some kind of strong fragrance, most likely from a perfume shop. Enough to give them both headaches.

“Jeez, it’s like aroma central up here,” Penelope remarked. Spencer nodded in agreement.

There were way less clothing stores on the second floor, but there was one store that stuck out to Reid.

“What’s RetroWear?” he asked, pointing to the sign above the entrance. Garcia hummed. “I’ve never heard of it, it must be a new store,” she said.

“Wow, a clothes store that you’ve never heard of? So rare.”

“Don’t start with me, genius,” Garcia warned with a smirk, “Let’s go check it out, I’m sure they have some absurd piece of luxury clothing in there somewhere!”

Before Spencer could react, Penelope grabbed his wrist and dragged him in.

And oh boy, did that store have the good stuff.

Sweater vests here. Ties over there. Pretty floral dresses in between. And a whole section dedicated to Absurd Pieces Of Luxury Clothing.

“Oh. Em. Goodness,” Garcia whispered, “It’s like the shop gods just read my mind.”

Reid was also pretty impressed, and for the first time that day, he was the first to immediately begin looking at all the outfits. Garcia followed after him, showing him expensive Gucci purses and handbags she found while he presented to her a fuzzy orange sweater that he said would match her orange slice earrings. She gladly accepted it and gave him a nice pair of sunglasses in return.

After a bit of rummaging around in their sections, Penelope and Spencer decided that it was time that they go through the luxury clothes section. Spencer showed her a green and purple romper with plastic rhinestones lining the neck and sleeves, which made her laugh and kindly decline his offer to buy it for her. Next, she showed him a tiny crop top with a band logo on the back and a weed leaf on the front, claiming that it was definitely his style and that she was going to give it to him for his birthday.

But the best thing they found that day was Spencer’s secret bad boy look.

…

“Hurry up, smart boy! I wanna see that smokin’ hot emo side of yours!”

Spencer sighed from inside the fitting room. “I don’t know, Penelope, it’s not really my style,” he said as he examined himself in the mirror, and Garcia scoffed. “That’s the whole point! Now get out here and let me see it.”

Finally, after a bit of contemplating, Spencer unlocked the door and stepped out.

Garcia gasped.

He wore a red-and-black striped t-shirt and black skinny jeans with rips at the knees and a big leather jacket on top.

“Well?”

“I love it. I love you. I don’t care what you say, I’m buying that entire outfit for you and you cannot stop me.”

“Penelope, you don’t have to-”

“I want to. And I am. And you’re wearing that into work on Monday.”

“What- No, I can’t! Everyone’s gonna look at me like I’m crazy!”

“Then I’ll wear that ridiculous romper you showed me earlier to make us even.”

Reid rolled his eyes. “You always wear that kind of stuff, they won’t notice,” he said, throwing in a “No offense” after she glared at him. “Oh, everybody in that building knows I don’t do rompers. Trust me, they’ll notice,” she joked.

After some of convincing, Spencer let her buy the outfit for him, but he wouldn’t let her get the romper. He did, however, manage to pay her back with a fancy new pen to add to her collection.

…

It was now 4:46 p.m. and they were both exhausted. Garcia began to argue with herself about wearing heels around the mall of all places, and Reid’s legs, too, were getting tired. They decided to eat dinner in the food court since neither of them were ready to end the fun just yet.

“These tacos taste funny,” Spencer said, and Penelope shrugged. “Mine tastes fine. Did I order the wrong one? I’m so sorry if I did.”

Spencer smiled. “No, it’s fine. I just haven’t had tacos in a while.”

“That’s a sin. I have vegetarian tacos almost every saturday.”

They both laughed, the sound ringing all throughout the mall. The smiles on their faces were like those of little kids on a playground, and they were living for it.

“Fun fact, most experts state that the first taco was actually invented somewhere between 1,000 and 500 B.C. At the time, the taco was more of an edible spoon, however the first recorded reference to the word taco came about in the 19th century. The first mention of the word taco in the United States didn’t come around until 1905.”

“How do you know these things?”

“Lots of history books. Or this brochure,” Spencer giggled, handing to Penelope the small foldable. She rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. “You’re very funny.”

“Thanks, I try my best.”

“Why don’t you ever joke like this in the bureau?”

Reid shrugged. “I guess it’s because I know that there’s someone in danger out there, and I just can’t bring myself to laugh it off like everyone else.”

Garcia averted her gaze. “Huh. I never thought about it that way.”

“N-not that it’s bad to joke around on the job, I know it helps some people and I’m not putting you down for it, It’s just—different with me I think.”

“Oh, I get that. I do it for the same reason I decorate my desk, it helps me cope with all the horrible things we see on the daily.”

There was a moment of silence, until Spencer spoke again, “How did we end up talking about this?”

Penelope laughed, and suddenly everything was back to sunshine and rainbows. “You mentioned the history of a taco.”

...

Soon, it started to get late. Reid and Garcia had stopped by her place for a couple hours to watch a movie and finish off the wine that she bought out of impulse last friday. It was 7:56 p.m. when Garcia dropped Reid off at his apartment, and she gave him a friendly hug before saying goodbye.

“Oh, and, Spencer?”

“Hm?”

Garcia smiled. “You don’t have to pretend that you don’t like the outfit. I know that look when I see it, and I can tell that you’re secretly excited to wear it on Monday.”

Reid felt a light blush settle across his face. “Thanks, Penelope.”

“No problemo, genius boy.”

And with that, Spencer entered his apartment and sat his bag down beside the door. He flicked on the lights and plopped down on the couch, grabbing Crime Or Clarity by Fiona Dewitt off the coffee table. He flipped to page 698 and continued where he left off.

“Goodway would smile wide, wider than he has in a very long time. He would realize then that he doesn’t need this world, and this world doesn’t need him, as long as he has his good friend Mick. Mick, who cares for him, who enjoys his company, and who will go to the ends of the wretched world to be there for him.”

And that night, Spencer Reid also realized that. And he did indeed smile wider than he has in a long while.

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raspberryfanfics · 4 years

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Six—NTmonth Day 15

Day 15—Witches and Warlocks

I’m late but you don’t care and neither do I. I burned out during the first week. So here’s another Harry Potter crossover. This can be a standalone but feel free to read part one!

Part 1 on FFn

Six on FFN

—

It's quiet outside. Quiet apart from a few familiar hits of a couple of owls, breaking the cold silence with weary conversation. Yet a figure draws out of the shadow and the hooting halts for a moment, curious of the strangers walking along their path.

The person wears a long tan wool trench, though bulky, does nothing to hide an elegant figure as when she walks, her lean legs, looking taller with the pleats on her grey pants. Her leather loafers look new. Maybe she often cleans them, though it wouldn't come as a surprise if she is good enough not to get them dirty. Her hands are gloved in black. There's a scarf of red and gold wrapped tightly around her neck, the only article of clothing with colour. Her footsteps are nearly soundless but even so, the soft clicks that are made command attention among the owls, her presence powerful.

One owl hands on the black lamppost, talons scraping onto the metal as he silently folds his wings. The woman glances up and examines its shape, brings up the crook of her elbow as if placing it onto a tall counter. The bird lands on her forearm, dipping his head in greeting.

"Ah, it's you, Kaiten. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" her voice is calm and deep, though the deepness comes from her slow calmness rather than her actual voice. Yet it is effective. Her voice makes her seem more mature than she looks, a soft face with large eyes, colour indistinguishable under the glare of the darkness, and hair tied into two buns at the sides of her head.

Kaiten hoots in greeting. There is nothing tired around his ankle, she notices.

"Are you here alone?" she smiles, "I expected him to be with you, though it could be that you are meeting him here. I am, as well."

Her words almost seem to bring the anticipated footsteps of him, his heavier, but are just as intimidating and as confident as hers. She slowly turns around and focuses on the person she has been expecting, or expecting her.

He's dressed similarly to her. However, his trench is navy rather than tan and it's unbuttoned, revealing a black vest under a white button-up that seems to shine in the dark. While her shoes are pebbled, his are smooth and glossy and reflect every bit of the light. His scarf was of the same material, a thick knit, but the colours were of blue and silver rather than red and gold. Perhaps the most distinguishable difference is his long black hair flowing down to his waist, tied into a very low ponytail with a silver band. His bangs reach his collarbones and they drift in the wind, resembling a ribbon rather than the messiness that hair usually reacts under the breeze. Though her dark eyes were hard to say much about, it is easy to see that his eyes are silver, and they stare into hers.

She stays still, holding his gaze, face without any expression. The woman doesn't allow herself to feel much at the contact. Her chin tilts down in greeting, as he does the same. As he was the one who has requested their meeting, she waits for him to speak first. She is looking for a direct answer to why she is meeting him, now, in the night, in the break they have had from speaking.

Instead, he looks at the owl, who's snowy feathers start to resemble his eyes when one looks closely and quirks the tip of his eyebrow, almost amused.

"It has been long since Kaiten has not tried to terrorize a sorcerer in his path,"

"Perhaps he likes me," she says, untying the sash of her coat and taking out a series of seeds, allowing him to eat from the palm of her hand. "Or perhaps he recalls that I carry food in my pocket. I fed him well."

He nods. "Is Bō—"

"Bō passed a couple of years back. Murdered while carrying classified information." the woman explains, nearly emotionless. However, there is a glance of sympathy in his eyes that she does not miss and confuses her, however, she does not let it show.

"It has been a while, Miss Long,"

She gives a bitter chuckle. "Are we already past the point that we cannot address each other by our first names?"

She purposely leaves out his name, not knowing what to say. She'll allow him to decide whether he wants to continue calling her by her last name or her first. So she waits for him to walk up to her before pacing with him along the cobblestone path, weaving through turns and intersections at a moderate pace. His skin looks warmer under the orange glare of the lamps but she knows of the usual paleness, resembling porcelain rather than sand. Yet her attention focuses more on the lack of accessories on his hand apart from the Hyuga crest on his middle finger and a silver swirl on his pointer.

She hasn't seen that ring before, not on him at least. Perhaps it is another crest. But she has seen it on other people and he isn't the type to engage in trends. What's more important is that there is no ring on his ring finger, which doesn't come as much as a surprise considering that he was on the newest Witch Weekly's Britain's Most Eligible Bachelors. She knows he is still officially single. Just like her.

Of the past six years, she has made four Britain's Most Eligible Bachelorettes on Warlocked Magazine and he has made all. In a strange way, it bothers her that he has remained single all these years while she has had a good handful scattered everywhere and was in a serious one in the years she didn't make the magazine. It nearly feels like he has been faithful to her, but there are far more reasons to disprove his faith.

"I'm sure you have heard of the Akastuki's rising," he starts. She nods. Since the organization started to murder people in every corner of the world, that's all the witches and wizards have been speaking of. Few people do not know of it.

"There is an order looking to defy the ministry and to rebel against them. Tsunade herself is leading it. So far, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru, a few professors, and Hinata are in. There are more, but we're still recruiting. He pauses "We need you, Tenten."

She freezes. Tenten does not respond. The idea sounds like a hopeless school club but appealing nonetheless. Yet there are too many things, things she would not have thought of when they were still young that keep her from really considering.

"I'm not sure you do," she says, but she wishes so in another way that has nothing to do with the order.

"Tenten, you're the youngest witch to ever be appointed Head Auror. They say you've put 200 in Azkaban. You're more powerful than you know."

"You need my title, not my power," she says instead. "Isn't that right, Neji."

He shakes his head. "You're extremely talented—"

"I am. I am Neji, but most of the people you just told me about are better at magic than I am. They were qualified to be Aurors. Many Aurors are better than I am. I only hold the position because the minister or magic needed a drastic change. How well do you think my name and power will work when I am in Azkaban? You don't need me. You've put far more people in Azkaban than I have."

Neji Hyuga is a member of the Wizengamot. He's a part of the jury who decides on the new laws of the wizarding world and also of the results during a trial. Tenten is the head Auror, a position that is usually handed out to people in their forties, the youngest before her in their mid-thirties. Neji, on the other hand, was offered the position at twenty-one, while most Wizengamont members were at least sixty, nearly retired. It was inevitable that he would be the Cheif Warlock very soon.

He speaks of her power highly, as if his position is not much higher than hers. But their power difference was not always so drastic.

In the over four years that they had been dating, they had been going along similar paths. Both went under the three years of Auror training and made it out with high grades, his better than hers of course. He was good at everything, better at everything except for transfigurations. But a scout found him, found his calmness, his level-headedness, his intense demeanour as the perfect candidate for a Wizengamot member, despite being so young. Not to mention that his name happens to be filled with history, probably the purest of the country. Almost disgustingly so.

"We don't need your name. The organization is secret. We need your power, your position. It will be easy for you to know the details of criminals and feed false information to the ministry. You are in charge of recruiting both the trainees and the Aurors. Your intuition is astoundingly good. You can spy without the need of being subtle or cautious. Do you not understand?"

"I understand my power," she says. "But you know just as well that power will not win a war."

Neji nods. Clouds clear, revealing a moon similar in colour to his eyes. Yet the weather remains cold, the streets remain desolate. The area provides an almost nostalgic setting. It could be nostalgic.

She, Neji, and Lee, a former classmate who is now a professional Quidditch player, used to sneak out of their homes, or orphanage in Lee's case, and play. They were teenagers by the time they met, so it was mostly to play wizard's chess and Gobstones in the parks or wander into muggle stores where they'd explain the use of items to Neji.

And the winter where all of them were finally seventeen, they'd duel in the forests, able to use magic. They'd rescue frozen cats and heal injured birds, would feed stray dogs scraps of food they'd steal from the butchers. When they began dating, they came here on dates, showing him hot chocolate, then ice cream. Yet after the massacre happened near the town, a reputation developed for dark things happening and the area deserted.

This place was good for one reason: secrecy. Their history allowed them to use memories as place names and times. Here, it was convenient. It was not for nostalgia. Tenten barely spared second glances to the cafes and ice cream shops they had gone to.

Won't you join anyway?

She said nothing, unsure.

"Tenten, your righteousness surely cannot fail you now."

He was answered by a sharp how of wind and the slicking of their shoes.

"Forgive me that I do not want to participate in an order that will start a war."

"That's awfully hypocritical coming from a witch who makes money off of conflict."

"Do you not also make money off of conflict, Neji Hyuga?"

"I am trying to end the war, Tenten Long."

"How do you not think that it is what I am trying to do as well? I am neither the best nor the most experienced Auror. I am more progressive than half of them combined. Do you know how hard it was to get this promotion? While you diddle daddle in meetings and recruitments, I'm cautiously watching every action of the blood-supremacist Aurors and firing them. I'm slowly imposing more guidelines to control the brutality and the hate crime our own are committing. Less extreme measures. The new recruits have been screened so tightly that any unnecessary accounts of violence or hateful comments do not make it. But everyone is watching me. Those old members of the Wizengamot will use any excuse to get me out of power. They'll throw in a violent head who allows the uses of the unforgivables. I'm trying to end this current war, not stop the upcoming one."

Neji's face hardens. "I cannot see how someone as noble as you are so afraid of joining the order."

Tenten scoffs. "I'm not noble—"

"You know why you made Head Girl in our seventh year but didn't make Prefect?"

She recalls how he was both Prefect and head boy. And she made has wondered. She wasn't the smartest or the kindest or the most anything. Tenten had asked him countless times why he thought she had made head girl but he would never tell her.

"You were good. You brought out the best in everyone. You did what you believed was right and would make sure others would do so. I had heard Professor Yuhi say to Professor Hatake that you were the role model that all Gryffindor should aspire to be.

"She didn't," Tenten can hardly believe he potions professor would say such a thing about her. It seems all too much.

"You know I wouldn't lie about that, Ten."

She can only let her heart ache at the sound of the name he used to call her, but should not have much more meaning. She can only wince and stand her ground. "

It's been six years, Neji." she whispers as her voice drowns among the trembling leaves and rain dripping off roofs.

Tenten has held off on thinking about them since she got his owl. It has been all too much now. Six years ago, they were freshly graduated from the Auror academy. New recruits sent on easier cases. Maybe half a year later, they had gained the trust of many seniors and they were partners, developing strategies, blending together like dance partners.

She still remembers how loving him felt. It was too good, impossible, almost.

They were twenty-one. They had been dating for four years and she thought it was possible that he'd even propose. Even now, she doesn't blame herself for thinking so. He had consistently disappeared more and more. He stuttered to her more. And the chemistry wasn't gone. He couldn't have been cheating. He wouldn't ever.

But one day, he just left.

She woke up and half his stuff was gone, mostly pictures, even of them, his scarf, his favourite robes, and obviously his wand. He didn't show up to work. She was told that he resigned and she was offered to either have a new partner or to work alone. And she chose the latter.

Tenten had sent her owl to deliver countless letters to him, pouring her heart out, begging him to come back home, to work with her again, to tell her why he was gone. But he never wrote back until she found his name in the daily prophet, announcing his new position as the new Wizengamot member. She wrote to his work address and her reply only explained how he got the position rather than why he left her. And it was completely professional, not an ounce of emotion.

She had never followed Witch Weekly magazines until then, hoping for glimpses of the guy who ghosted her and broke her heart. Even now, she still isn't over him, her first love, likely her only. Tenten wonders if he still cars about her the way he did when they were seventeen.

He cast his first Patronus, the spell he could not master because it used one's most powerful memories, after their first kiss over the top of the Ravenclaw Tower, a place she should not have been. He had snuck her there. His Patronus took form as a falcon, resembling his serious and strict demeanour, intimidating and sharp.

She wonders if his Patronus has changed form, as Patronuses sometimes do to resemble one's personality. Hers has. Every time she mumbles those incantations, no matter which memory she uses, a swan spills out from her wand instead of a leopardess. It's a bird, like his. Maybe it's because she will never get over him, will always belong to him in her heart.

"Tenten, you can't possibly be naive enough to believe that this can be solved without war. It's either that or you just don't want to do anything I ask of you. The order is asking, not me."

"So you don't care about whether or not I join. Following someone's orders without a second thought of doing what you'd like to yourself," she spits out bitterly. A flinch reaches across his body. Her words may have reached deeper than she would have thought.

"Of course I agree with their course of action."

"Well, of course, you do. You always just obey rules, never bend or break them. And of course, you're a part of the order and have enough respect that even if your name leaks out, your job is secure. You still have enough money to sustain yourself for another century."

His face hardens and his adam's apple, shadows crossed deeply over his neck, bobs slowly. "I do not follow every rule—"

"One instance, Neji," she says, controlling her voice despite the way she wants to scream at him. Gravel shakes behind her.

"Ravenclaw tower. I shouldn't have snuck you—"

"That's shit, Hyuga. You snuck me into your common room and that's the only rule you've ever broken? You've never done anything. Not to sneak socks and scarves for the house-elves. To let the first-years drenched because they were lost, use the prefect baths. Stealing ingredients from the potions cabinet because some muggle-borns couldn't afford it. But no, the worst you've ever done is put a Gryffindor Head Girl in the secret Ravenclaw tower so you could kiss her into submission for the rest of her life. Tell me, did you leave me without saying goodbye because your uncle told you to or because you didn't love me. I bet it's both."

"Tenten!" he yells. His voice quivers like the leaves, he shakes with the wind.

"Dammit, Neji!" Tenten has her wand out now. She doesn't know why but she feels vulnerable and whenever she feels vulnerable, she has her wand out. "Deny it! I dare you to deny it!"

"I—I cared, but—" he doesn't muster out much after that.

"Yea, I thought so," she swallows, wraps her scarf tighter. There's a spell on it to protect her from the cold but it still feels freezing. Neji won't look at her. He won't deny or admit anything. She can only ask one thing of him. "Cast your Patronus."

The man freezes, his fists form into tight balls. She catches his every movement, analyzes his movements as she does to a suspect. But she can read suspects. She can't read him.

His lips, pale but still red from dryness, press together. Wind pushes by him, almost trying to rip through this trench coat, to unravel his scarf. His eyebrows knit but his face appears to be the only thing that moves. He doesn't reach for his wand.

"Cast it!"

He slowly shakes his head. Neji's voice runs deep. "I cannot."

Tenten bites her lips and trembles, just slightly. "Six years. It's the first time you've reached out to me in six years and still, it's not an apology. I—I just need to see if—if it has changed."

"I haven't been able to cast a Patronus in—six years, Ten," he says. "Not even a wisp."

She can't move. It's like she's petrified. Had he been broken too?

Tenten swirls her wand in a circle and yells. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver ribbon of light flows from the tip of her wand, it starts to dip into the ground, forming into a puddle until shapes weave together into a swan. It starts to fly, around her, around him, and slowly goes into the forest behind them, exploring. Everything around them is dark, greys, blacks, but her swan is a glow of warm blue light. It makes him look lovelier, the colour of her Patronus now the colour of his eyes, glued onto it.

"Tell me why—" her voice cracks abruptly. "Why for the past six years, I've been casting a bird that represents everlasting faith instead of a leopardess that's supposed to represent fierceness.

His gaze is focused on the figure cast of her happy memories, ones surrounding memories of him and Lee, bittersweet, but also marvellous. "Every memory I had used to cast a Patronus doesn't bring me joy anymore. I cannot feel anything but guilt and regret now."

Even though she wants to say he deserves it, he deserves constant sadness, depression, six years is a long time. It's more than the time they had been dating. And he's been on all six issues of Britain's Most Eligible Bachelors—

"You bastard," she nearly sobs. "Why the bloody hell did you leave me?"

He starts closer to her. "I was wrong. You were right. You were always right. It was my uncle. I was afraid of being disowned and I thought I'd be nothing, that I would have nothing but not having you—god, Tenten, it's so much worse than I would have ever thought."

She grabs his coat collar. She knows he expects her to kiss him but she takes his wand from the pocket of his sleeve, a move they practiced when they were working together. It's usually unexpected. The feel of his wand, elm, unicorn tail, a smooth finish that's much neater than hers, still sits strangely familiar, though the stun she shoots misses barely.

Her next movement consists of taking a black wand from her own sleeve, ebony phoenix feather, and she throws his back into his hands before turning back to their unwelcome visitor. She had sensed him there, behind Neji, finally finding an opportunity to attack.

Curses, dark ones, shoot at her. Tenten reflects them with the flick of her wrist but even then, she can feel how powerful the dark arts are within him. The gravel littered across the ground lifts and she transfigures them into sharp blades fo steel. With a large wand movement, they shoot to him at a rapid speed. This attack continues, the rocks becoming knives, twigs becoming daggers.

A particularly nasty curse comes towards her and she doesn't know how well she can deflect it. She has always been better at attacking than defending.

The glow of capable blue light form around her and it isn't her spell. The shield stops even her movements. It's Neji's charm, one of the biggest and strongest ones she has ever seen. It's his clan's specialty: defence and his cousin perform them so well and she doubts that he will have a single scar after the war from magic.

The force of his shield is so strong that it knocks back the dark wizard. Tenten snaps back into focus. Through the shield, she sends a series of stuns, transfigured objects, and they move close to him, Neji shooting defensive spells as offensive ones. It's a pattern of attacks that Tenten has forgotten. Only her muscles move practised precision, using their enemy's unfamiliar to the environment to her advantage. Neji disarms him and Tenten binds him with Auror ropes.

Her pants of breath are muffled by the howling wind. Yet she can tell that Neji is also out of breath from the wispy puffs of perspiration. She strides up to the man and lifts his hood. She quickly flips back the pages of the blacklist and she recognizes him. He's Kabuto Yakushi. He's a powerful dark wizard, skilled healer, and a killer of countless of her coworkers.

Had neji not been with her, she doubts she would have been able to deflect him alone. As the same for him. Even had it been any other Auror alongside her, she knows that she simply wouldn't be strong enough.

"Well, I have to say, the show you put on was convincing," KAbuto says calmly, his glasses resting at the tip of his nose. "Caught me off guard for a moment. That's pretty rare, but nothing to think otherwise from the Head Auror and a Wizengamot member."

"Yakushi," she says, her voice cool like a snake. A smile quirks at her lips. "We've been looking everywhere for you,"

Neji glances at her. "You know him?"

Tenten nods. "He's one of the most wanted wizards in the blacklist."

"You better bring him in quickly, then," he replies.

Tenten flicks her wand and he goes unconscious, head falling back. She puts him in a sheet of paper, a spell she has invented inspired by extension charms for backpacks. Then she hands the paper to him. He knows how to use them. Neji looks very confused.

"You can interrogate him within the order."

His eyes go wide. "But—"

"I'm in. I'll join. We won't get as much out of him as you will. But you better owl me, Neji. I won't let you chase enemies by yourself. I have six times your experience."

He smiles, then it falters. "Is that how you knew he was there?"

"He followed you. It's just something you tune into being an Auror for so long."

Because even though he'd be better at many things, defence against the dark arts still being one of them, there were some things he just couldn't pick up without practice.

"Was it all just for show?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "The easiest way to lie is to tell the truth. I can't fake a Patronus."

He pulls out something from his pocket. It is the silver ring with the same engraving she had seen others wearing, he included. "The shinobi order ring. It's yours to have."

Tenten stares at it for a couple of seconds. She slides it onto her middle finger, then smiles ina bittersweet thought. He notices her smile, he always notices the little things.

"What is it?"

"Before we broke up, I—" she pauses in consideration of telling him. Tenten stares into his silver eyes, curious. The wind makes his hair drift like a silk curtain, he looks like a painting. She decides to let the confession go. It's been a while. He should know. "I thought you had avoided me those years back because you were going to propose.

Neji is silent. She can see a hint of his blush even with such minimal lighting and to know that his face is red makes her smile, despite the anxiety in revealing her hopes to marry him.

"I would have, had we had more time, had Hiashi—I'm—"

She interrupts his stammering, however adorable it may be. "It's ok. I just hoped."

Tenten kisses him on the cheek slowly. His face is warm, her lips are cold, but she only allows herself a brief moment of lingering before turning away.

The end of the alley is still cloaked in dark shadows but she feels that it looks just a bit lighter. It is, maybe it is getting brighter. She sees a wisp of white, more ribbony in texture and flowy, yet stronger in opacity compared to her Patronus. Tenten holds her breath as the animal slowly comes up behind her—it's also a swan.

Tenten feels its proximity. The swan provides her with warmth, curiosity, intrigue. These feelings are not the feelings she is used to his Patronus feeling like. Usually, they are simply of content and tranquillity, sometimes even an exhilaration that makes her stomach tumble and makes electricity flow through her body. It's cast with a different memory, though cannot imagine which one.

"The first time we met. On the train. You bought me a chocolate frog even though you only had enough money for one. The person on the card was Tsunade, you told me she was your hero." he explains. "It's the only memory of you I don't feel guilty about. I'd like to try again. I—I would marry you any day. I would wait forever."

He pulls off the Hyuga Crest from his finger, presses it into her hand. It's heavier than anything she's ever held.

"I will," her voice comes out as a whisper. It feels too soon, but she has been ready to marry him since she was 17. "But me wearing this crest will really piss off your uncle.

"That's the intention,"

Perhaps even in the six years they had been apart, the two had been completely committed to each other already.

#nejitenmonth2020 #nejiten fanfiction #nejiten au #nejiten #neji #tenten #raspberryfanfics #raspntmonth20

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

Link

As the number of abandoned storefronts and closed retail outlets continues to mount, the once unremarkable activity of shopping at brick-and-mortar stores can feel like reality askew — like a stroll through the Twilight Zone. As this glum new normal becomes, well, the norm, signs of life can be almost as jarring.

Take, for instance, a pair of storefront windows on Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood. Just recently they were lifeless reminders of an upscale furniture store, now defunct. Then, in August, they began to fill with seemingly unconnected objects: bluejeans piled in a chest-high mound, a lounge chair upholstered in denim, a mannequin in a jumpsuit with an eyeball for a head standing amid a sea of paint-splattered drop cloths.

Hand-painted signage in the other window offered only that this “Appointment Only” storefront with the cryptic displays, and the 6,000 square feet of retail space behind them, are the domain of Gallery Dept.

Despite the name, Gallery Dept. isn’t a gallery or a department store but a hybrid clothing label that sits somewhere in the Venn diagram overlap between street wear label, denim atelier, neighborhood tailor and vintage store. Just as accurately, you could call Gallery Dept. the personal art project of its founder Josué Thomas, a designer whose own creative urges are just as disparate and layered.

With so many small brands in a state of retreat this summer, Mr. Thomas’s label has not only weathered these spirit-crushing conditions but thrived. In less than two years, Gallery Dept. has moved from a crowded workshop a few blocks down Beverly Boulevard to its new space in part because its hoodies, logo tees, anoraks and flare-cut jeans — each designed and hand-painted by Mr. Thomas on upcycled or dead-stock garments — have become unlikely objets d’art in a crowded street wear market.

This corner of the fashion industry is a crowded one, and in recent years there have been a glut of collaborations and merch drops that have taken on a corporate cadence. In contrast, Gallery Dept. is something of a bespoke operation, offering street wear basics that are blessed with an artist’s (in this case Mr. Thomas’s) singular touch.

Mr. Thomas began to cut jeans and screen-print shirts as the mood struck in 2017, and since that time Gallery Dept. has grown from an underground cult label for collectors to one with atmospheric clout after being worn by Kendall Jenner, LeBron James, Kendrick Lamar and two of the three Migos (Offset and Quavo).

Those lucky enough to enter the appointment-only space, now booked with up to 20 appointments a day, are greeted inside by a 20-foot-tall span of wall that reads, “Art That Kills” in a large crawl text, and the occasional reference to Rod Serling’s seminal sci-fi program.

Throughout the sunlit store, Mr. Thomas’s abstract paintings and writings fill the spaces between clothing racks and bright brass shelves heavy with the brand's thick hoodies and sweatpants. Over the chug of sewing machines, one can hear snippets of bossa nova Muzak, a vinyl-only mix also made by Mr. Thomas. (There are also plans to release music by other artists, including the New York rapper Roc Marciano, under an Art That Kills imprint.)

Gallery Dept.’s new space was financed on the strength of e-commerce sales from this past spring, and not with the help of venture capital or outside investors, Mr. Thomas said on a recent walk-through. This freedom gives him and the label, which now employs 12 people, the freedom to operate on its own esoteric terms. And there are a few. In the store’s dressing rooms, there are no mirrors to survey a fit. (“We’re going to tell you if a piece works or not,” he said.) Nor are there price tags on its garments.

“If the first thing you look at is the price, it’s going to alter your thinking about a piece,” he said. “I’d rather people engage with the clothing first.”

The Gallery Dept. does not indulge pull requests from stylists or send its pieces to influencers, a practice Mr. Thomas explains with a trace of punk indignation.

“Kendall doesn’t get a discount,” he said. “We don’t seed. I don’t care who it is — we don’t cater to different markets.”

Wearing cutoff carpenter pants and a white T-shirt, each dusted in a fine rainbow splatter, Mr. Thomas looked every bit like an artist roused from his creative flow, complete with paint-stained hands and individually colored fingernails. Standing in a mauve-carpeted room, Mr. Thomas pointed out his latest ideas: pewter jewelry in eccentric shapes, like an earring in the shape of a zipper pull, made in collaboration with the Chrome Hearts offshoot, Lone Ones, and shorts cut from dead-stock military laundry bags — while explaining the origins of his own style.

“I liked my parent’s clothing growing up,” Mr. Thomas said. “As a teenager, I was able to fit into my dad’s leather jacket. The beat-up patina on it was perfect, and I realized that that was personal style. It was something you couldn’t go to a store and buy.”

Mr. Thomas, who turned 36 in September, never studied fashion or garment making, and he can’t work a sewing machine. But growing up as the son of immigrants from Venezuela and Trinidad, he watched as his parents subsisted on their raw artistic skills to create a life in Los Angeles. And he now uses those same talents as an artist and designer: sign-painting, tie-dying, screen printing. For a short time, his father, Stefan Gilbert, even ran a private women’s wear label.

Similarly, in his early 20s, Mr. Thomas worked at Ralph Lauren. As one of the few Black people in creative roles in a predominantly white company, he soon realized that the only way to survive in the fashion industry would have to be with a project of his own making.

“I was the ‘cool’ Black guy, but there was nowhere for me to go,” he said. “Best case would have been sourcing buttons for women’s outerwear or something.”

Gallery Dept.’s spontaneous inception came about in 2016 when Mr. Thomas sold a hand-sewn denim poncho off his own back to Johnny Depp’s stylist. At the time Mr. Thomas was focused on making beats and D.J.-ing, but after selling all of the pieces he’d designed for a small trunk show at the Chateau Marmont, he realized he’d discovered a new creative lane.

It had less to do with ponchos, which were dropped from subsequent collections, and more to do with old garments being remixed in the heat of artistic paroxysm, with as little second-guessing as possible. With the help of Jesse Jones, a veteran tailor, Mr. Thomas began churning out made-to-order pieces for customers who often were unaware of what, exactly, they had stumbled into.

“We were creating pieces while we were selling them,” he said.

Working with heavy vintage shirts, hoodies, trucker hats, bomber jackets, whatever was at hand, Mr. Thomas would frequently screen-print the brand’s logo, adding paint or other flourishes as the feeling struck.

Today that extends to long-sleeve tees, sweatpants and socks. At the time, he also began blowing out the silhouette of vintage Levi’s 501s and Carhartt work pants into a subtle flare, accented with patches and reinforced stitching, resulting in a streetwise update of the classic boot-cut jean.

Mr. Thomas christened this style of jeans the “LA Flare.” And where denim has so historically hewed to “his” and “her” categories, the LA Flare is the zeitgeist-y “they” of street wear denim. (The label labels its items as “unisex.”)

The jeans come with a luxury item’s price tag, with a basic version starting at $395. Custom tailoring and additional touches by Mr. Thomas, can push the price upward of $1,200. One early collaboration with Chrome Hearts, a pair of orange-dyed flares patched with that brand’s iconic gothic crosses, has gone for $5,000 on Grailed.

“There is nothing like Josue’s repurposed jeans,” said George Archer, a senior buyer at Mr Porter. “They are both a wearable piece and a work of art. No one else is doing what he’s doing.”

For Mr. Archer, who first noticed the Gallery Dept. logo popping on men in Tokyo in March, Mr. Thomas “interprets and creates” clothing as if it was an end in itself — and not a commodity to be monetized. (Nonetheless, Mr Porter hopes to monetize a collection of Gallery Dept. pieces via its e-commerce site later this year.)

“You can feel the warmth of Josue’s hands on each of the pieces,” said Motofumi Kogi, the creative director of the Japanese label United Arrows & Sons. An elder statesmen of Tokyo’s street wear scene, Mr. Kogi found the label on a trip to Los Angeles last year. It’s not only Mr. Thomas’s artistic touch that stands out to him but his vision for remaking a staid garment into something that Mr. Kogi believes has not been seen before.

“He took this staple of hip-hop culture and refreshed it,” he said, referring to Carhartt pants.

Getting the people who make that culture to buy in was another matter. “The first year we did the flare, in 2017, skinny jeans were in,” Mr. Thomas said. “Rappers would come into the shop and say they’d never wear a flare. Now, everyone is wearing it.”

On Instagram, fit pics by rappers like Rich the Kid, along with the aforementioned Migos, Quavo and Offset, Gallery Dept.’s flare has become a familiar silhouette, skinny jeans breaking loose below the knee, usually coiled up at the ankle around a pair of vintage Air Jordans.

One fan of the jeans, Virgil Abloh, sees Mr. Thomas’s “edit” of the classic garment as the next chapter of its history.

“Their flare cut is the most important new cut of denim in the last decade — since the skinny jean,” Mr. Abloh said. A self-described Levi’s “obsessive” who owns more than 20 pairs of Gallery Dept. jeans, he walked into Mr. Thomas’s workshop one day after a routine stop at the Erewhon Market across the street.

“I thought: ‘This is amazing. Here’s some guys editing their own clothes in a shop,’” he said. “It reminded me of what I was doing when I started out, painting over logos, making hand-personalized clothes.”

Mr. Abloh considers Mr. Thomas’s work to be the fashion equivalent of “ready-made” art, and he offers Shayne Oliver of Hood by Air as a distant contemporary. He suggested that he and Mr. Thomas come from a lineage of Black designers that is still in the process of defining itself.

“He’s a perfect example of someone creating their own path from a community that hasn’t traditionally participated in fashion,” Mr. Abloh said. “I see Josue as making a new canon of his own, showcasing what Black design can do.”

Mr. Thomas didn’t argue with that. But he was also a little preoccupied with whatever was taking place at the tips of fingers to get lost in the thought. The future of his brand, after all, depends on his ability to stay in that moment.

“People want things that aren’t contrived,” he said, pulling at his own shirt to drive the point home. “This paint came from me working. I wanted to recreate this feeling. Once something is contrived, when you can see through it, it’s ruined. There’s only so much you want to explain.”

#design #gallery dept #streetwear blog #upcycle designers

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cyborgsquirrel · 4 years

Text

Sanctuary: Chapter 17

Pairing: Wolfstar

Summary: The epic tale of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, from their first meeting until their happily ever after.

Link to Prologue

Link to All Chapters

Saturday, 25th September 1971, 7:55 am

Remus yawned as he followed Sirius, James and Peter up the stairs to the third floor. Sirius had woken him at the ungodly hour of six forty-five to get an early breakfast before the niffler hunt, and his body was protesting, although his morning chocolate-flavour nutrition potion had helped a little.

They approached classroom 12c and James took the lead, pushing the door open and walking inside. The room was vast with a stage at one end, empty of any furniture, and small groups of students of all ages were dotted around, chatting amongst themselves and waiting for the show to start. They weren't left waiting for long.

At exactly eight o'clock, the stage erupted with sound and light as multiple fireworks exploded in a shower of coloured sparks and words blazed to life on the wall in the same fiery letters Remus had used for his own message.

Welcome to Hogwarts' Annual Super Secret Niffler Hunt

Everyone in the room turned their attention to the stage in rapt silence. The message faded away after a few seconds, and a shiny suit of armour clanked onto the stage and gave the audience a cheery wave.

'Good Morning, Nifflers!' it said. The booming voice seemed to come from inside the empty helmet. 'Many of you have taken part in the hunt in previous years, but for the benefit of our newcomers, I will go over the rules. You will work in teams of no more than four people. Each team will receive a list of items they must collect. All the lists are identical. The items are split into three categories. There are twenty items worth 1 point, which require no rule-breaking to retrieve. Six items are worth 5 points and will require some minor rule-breaking. Four items can only be gathered via severe rule-breaking and are, therefore, worth 10 points each. The deadline is four o'clock this afternoon. Bring whatever you have collected to this room, and your points will be calculated. Be warned, all items will be checked for transfiguration, and any team caught cheating will be instantly disqualified. There is, of course, a prize for the winning team.'

The suit of armour clapped its metal hands together with a metallic clunk and a wooden box appeared in the middle of the room.

'Take one sheet per team. Good luck to you all. Remember, don't get caught, but if you do, don't tell! Let the hunt begin!'

'Wait here,' James said before dodging through the throng of students to reach the box and grab a roll of parchment from the stack inside.

'He'd be a good chaser, don't you think?' Sirius said as they watched him.

Remus and Peter both nodded in agreement.

A four-man team of Hufflepuffs had grabbed their list and were heading out the door, and one of them called over his shoulder as they left. 'You might as well give up now. We always win this game. Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders.'

'You might be in for a surprise this year, Diggory!' James shouted back.

'How do you know his name?' Remus asked.

James shrugged. 'He's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. I know all the players.'

Remus shook his head. 'And you call me a nerd.'

James laughed. 'Come on, we need to meet today's birthday person in twenty minutes, and then we can get started.'

They climbed the stairs back up to the seventh floor and hung around talking to Silas while they waited for third-year Gryffindor Frank Longbottom to show up.

After Frank had blown out his candle, they returned to their dorm to look over the list and make some plans.

James unrolled the parchment and placed it on the floor so they could all see.

Hogwarts Annual Super Secret Niffler Hunt

One-point items - easy

A quill with a red feather - A muggle pen - A purple sock

A stuffed cat - A white flower - An orange hair-tie

A smooth white stone - A green shoe - A leaf from an oak tree

A photograph of Dumbledore - A paintbrush - A muggle coin

An essay with a 'T' grade - A pinecone - A pair of sunglasses

A battery - Lipstick - A camera - A pink hat - A blue button

Five-point items - detention potential

A trophy from the trophy room

A book from the restricted section

A saucepan from the kitchen

A telescope from the astronomy classroom

A teapot from the divination classroom

A broomstick from the broom shed

Ten-point items - highly dangerous

A tartan scarf from Professor McGonagall's collection of Scottish clothing

A medal from Professor Flitwick's collection of duelling prizes

A tool from Professor Sprout's collection of decorative gardening tools

A potion from Professor Slughorn's collection of rare potions.

All items will be returned to their rightful owners when the hunt has ended

'I have a purple sock and a pair of sunglasses,' James said, jumping up and dashing to his trunk to fetch them.

Sirius also went to his trunk. 'I have a paintbrush. And possibly a blue button. Yes, here.' He yanked a button off of a pair of trousers.

'Sirius!' Remus said, shocked at the wanton destruction of a perfectly good item of clothing.

'What?' Sirius raised his hands in surrender, one of them still clutching the button. 'I'll ask a prefect to spell it back on after the hunt.'

'Right. Sorry.' Remus was embarrassed by his overreaction and tried to change the subject. 'I have a muggle pen, by the way. My mum put it in my trunk because they're easier to write with.'

'Ooh, get it out. I've never seen a muggle pen.' Sirius darted towards him with the air of an excited puppy, and Remus jerked away instinctively. Sirius shot him an apologetic look but otherwise didn't acknowledge his reaction. Remus was grateful.

He rummaged around in his trunk until his hand wrapped around the thin plastic tube of his black biro. He pulled it out and handed it to Sirius, who examined it with fascination.

'Someone get me some ink. I want to try it out,' Sirius said.

Remus chuckled. 'You don't need ink. The ink is already inside it.'

'Inside it?' Sirius asked. He grabbed the list and made a tick next to "muggle pen." 'That's ingenious! It must save so much time not having to dip it every few sentences. Why the hell are we still using quills and ink when the muggles have these?'

Remus shrugged. 'I have no idea.'

Sirius took great pleasure in using the muggle pen to tick off the other items on the list that they owned before James called them all to attention.

'I think we should concentrate on the ten-point items this morning. We have a huge advantage over the other teams,' he said, brandishing the invisibility cloak. 'If our plans fail and we don't get them, we can make up for it by getting all the five-point items after lunch.'

'I think that's a good plan, James.' Remus hesitated, reluctant to argue with his new friends, but he ploughed on. 'But I can't come under the cloak with you. Maybe we should split up. I can collect some single point things while you work on the ten-pointers?'

'Nonsense. We're the magical mischief makers! We work together. You're going to be an important part of the plans. The distraction! We need you to keep the teachers occupied while we sneak in and steal their prized possessions. There's no point in us being invisible if they see doors opening and their things vanishing.'

They spent an hour in the dorm making elaborate plans for each of the four items worth ten points, plus additional back-up plans and emergency exit plans before they headed out to try their luck on Professor Sprout. She seemed like the easiest of the four.

As they traversed the school, they saw small groups of students dashing around, running up to people and asking questions before rushing off again. It seemed like most of the teams were focusing on the single point items. Good.

They reached Professor Sprout's personal quarters, and James wished him luck before disappearing under the cloak. They had all agreed it would be easier to sneak around if only one person was under the cloak, and it belonged to James. Peter and Sirius had been delegated look-outs and had taken positions at either end of the corridor.

Remus knocked on the door and waited.

Less than a minute passed before the door opened, revealing Professor Sprout. She was wearing muggle dungarees and a straw hat with her hair loose around her shoulders.

'Hello, Mister Lupin, I was just on my way out. Can I help you with something?'

'Oh. I'm sorry to disturb you, Professor. I didn't realise it was your day off. I was hoping you could talk me through some things about planting flitterbloom? I'm afraid I don't quite understand why it's necessary to line the seed tray with crystallised sugar before planting, or why we should water it with fizzy water? I want to do the best I can on the essay.'

'Oh, of course, dear. I can spare a few minutes. Do you have your essay with you?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'Good. Why don't you come in, and I'll have a look over it and see where you're going wrong?'

This might have been a worrying development. Remus didn't actually have any issues understanding the needs of flitterbloom seeds, and his essay was perfect. But James' planning had prepared them for this. The essay Remus held in his hand had been written right before they left the dorm, copied from his actual essay with a few key points changed.

Remus followed Professor Sprout into her personal quarters.

'Leave the door open, dear. It's the rules.' Remus smiled to himself. That made things easier.

Professor Sprout led him over to a seating area and told him to sit down. Remus glanced around and spotted a set of shelves along the entirety of one wall, displaying a vast collection of decorative tools. Professor Sprout had sat with her back to them, perfect.

Remus sat down and waited while she read through his essay, resolutely not looking at the tools and hoping James was nearly done.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something red disappear, but he kept his eyes on Professor Sprout, not wanting to draw attention to the tools. A moment later, he felt the air move against his arm as if someone was passing close to him. He was leaving, brilliant.

Professor Sprout lectured him for ten minutes before he managed to escape out to the corridor, and he hurried to meet his friends at the designated spot, two corridors away.

'Did you get it?' he asked as he entered the classroom.

'Did you doubt me?' James said, brandishing a garden trowel which had a handle encrusted with red stones.

'I would never doubt you,' Remus said with a grin. 'What's next?'

Sirius rubbed his chin. 'Flitwick is closest.'

James tucked the garden trowel back into his bag, and they made their way to Flitwick's quarters. Repeating the same method as before, Remus knocked on the door, but this time no one answered, and when he tried the handle, the door was locked.

James pulled the cloak off and signalled for Sirius and Peter to return from their look-out positions. 'Does anyone know an unlocking spell?' he asked.

'I only know the one we'll learn later this year, but I doubt a first-year spell is going to be enough to unlock a teacher's room.' Remus said. He took his wand out, anyway, and performed the unlocking charm on the door. Nothing happened. Either he didn't do it right or the lock was too complex for the charm.

'So… Plan 14.b then?' Sirius said.

'Is that the one where we steal a broom and use it to fly up to his window?' Remus asked.

Sirius grinned. 'That's the one.'

'Okay, well, let's find the nearest unlocked room and see if we can count the windows from it,' Remus said.

They were in luck. The room right next to Flitwick's was open and when Remus leant out, he was easily able to count the windows from the nearest corner.

'Flitwick's is thirteen windows right from the west tower,' he said, pulling his head back inside. 'Let's go.'

It took a good ten minutes to reach the Entrance Hall from the seventh floor. They were all hot and sweaty by the time they exited the castle and were glad of the cool breeze as they crossed the grass towards the broom shed. The place was surprisingly deserted. Remus had expected to find at least one other team attempting to gain an easy five points, but as they got closer, he noticed the door to the shed was ajar. Someone had already been there.

'That makes things nice and easy,' James said, skipping up to the door and peeking inside. 'No-one here. Check around.'

Remus, Sirius and Peter scanned their surroundings, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

'All clear,' Sirius reported.

James dashed inside and was back in seconds clutching a broom. 'Step one complete,' he said with a grin. 'Come on!'

They followed him at a fast jog towards the west tower, and once hidden in the shadow of the castle, they stopped to catch their breath.

'Right, I'll cover myself with the cloak. It'll probably flap a bit in the wind, but I'll be less likely to be seen.'

James mounted the broom, and Sirius draped the cloak around him, tucking the end into his socks to try to keep it in place. When he was done they could still see his shoes, but once he was in the air, they would be less visible. Hopefully.

James took off, and they watched his shoes soar into the sky, getting smaller and smaller before stopping briefly and then floating back down again.

James pulled the cloak from his head. 'It's locked.'

Remus frowned. 'I doubt he's put too much security into his window. Alohomora should be enough. I think I can cast it, but I can't fly a broom.'

Sirius suddenly jerked and started rummaging in his bag. 'Hold on, I've got a lock on my journal. We can all try.'

He pulled the book out and handed it to Remus. 'Show us what to do.'

Remus pointed his wand at the lock on the side of the journal and then twirled it anti-clockwise before bringing the tip back to point at the lock while saying, 'Alohomora.'

The lock sprang open and Remus glanced up through his fringe, nervous to see their reaction. Would they think him a show-off?

Sirius grinned at him. 'Well done, mate.'

Remus flushed at the praise and looked at his feet.

James, Sirius and Peter all attempted the spell on the journal several times, but none of them could get it to work.

'Urgh, I give up,' James groaned, flinging the book at Sirius after his tenth failed attempt. 'Are you sure you can't fly up there? It's just straight up and down, nothing fancy.'

Remus shivered as he remembered how it felt when he fell from the broom before, and that had been a much smaller distance.

'He can't, James. You saw what happened during flying lessons. If he fell from up there, he wouldn't survive,' Sirius said.

He would survive. But that wasn't the point. He didn't want to fall. Even if he did heal ridiculously fast, it still hurt.

'Well, we're just going to have to give up on this one then. Hopefully, we can still get enough points to win,' James grumbled.

Oh, Gods. Remus really didn't want to let his friends down. If they didn't win the hunt, it would be all his fault, just because he was too scared to fly. What if he could just sit and hang on, with someone else controlling the broom, though? Maybe he could do it then.

'Alright, let's do Slughorn next,' Sirius said.

But if he rode the broom with someone else, he might touch them. Infect them. He wouldn't infect them if he didn't touch their skin, though. If he was careful. His dad did it every month, and he wouldn't if there were any risk.

His friends were turning to leave.

'I'll do it if Sirius does the flying,' Remus blurted before he could talk himself out of it.

'What?' Sirius asked, staring at him as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. 'You mean fly on the broom with me?'

'Yes.'

Sirius scanned his face. 'But, you'd have to touch me.'

'I know. If we both wear gloves, I think it'll be okay. Just don't... don't touch my skin.'

Frowning, Sirius stepped closer and leaned in to speak quietly. 'Are you sure? You really don't have to do this, Remus.'

He took a deep breath and nodded. 'I'm sure.'

'Okay.' Sirius stared at him a moment longer, his eyes darting from side to side as if searching for something. He appeared to find what he needed because he turned to James and said, 'I left my gloves in the dorm. Do you have yours?'

James shook his head. 'No, but I can run and get them.'

'I have mine,' Peter said, pulling them out of his bag. 'Thought we might need them for something.'

Sirius took the gloves. 'Nice one, Pete.'

Remus pulled his own Herbology gloves from his bag and slipped them onto his hands, noticing that they were shaking ever so slightly. He took another deep breath, trying to calm himself. It was going to be fine.

Sirius mounted the broom. 'Get on behind me.'

Remus did so, leaving a gap of two or three inches between them.

Sirius glanced over his shoulder. 'You'll have to put your hands on my waist to hold on and move a little closer or the broom won't be balanced. Are you sure you're okay with this?'

Remus nodded and scooted closer, closing the gap between them. He was breaking the biggest rule his mum had set, for something as trivial as a game. But he was taking precautions. So, it wasn't really breaking the rule, was it? He had promised he would be careful, and he was being careful.

Remus placed his shaking hands on Sirius' waist. He could feel the heat from his body even through the thick material of the dragon-hide gloves. His breath was coming in harsh pants, and he tried hard to regulate it. His heart was racing.

'It's okay, Remus. You're safe with me,' Sirius whispered.

Remus gripped him tighter to show he'd heard him.

'I'm going to drape the cloak over you, okay?' James said.

Remus nodded and James moved closer, draping the cloak over both their heads. It only reached as far as their ankles and didn't hide Sirius at all. Remus let go of him and took the edges of the cloak in his hands, before wrapping his arms around Sirius' waist, forcing the cloak to cover him. It was awkward holding on to Sirius like that while keeping his face away from his back, but it was doable.

'Ready?' Sirius asked.

'Yes,' Remus tried to say, but his voice came out sounding more like a squeak. He coughed and tried again. 'Yes.'

He felt a jolt as Sirius pushed off and his feet left the ground. There was no turning back now. They rose smoothly to the seventh floor. Remus kept his eyes on Sirius' back, not looking at his surroundings at all, and with Sirius' gentle control of the broom, it didn't feel like he was even in the air.

'We're here,' Sirius said.

Remus turned his head and moved back a little, letting go of the cloak and moving his hands to Sirius' waist. He would need to let go with one hand to get his wand. Why hadn't he considered that?

'I'm scared.'

Sirius turned his head to look over his shoulder and met Remus' eyes. 'It's okay, I won't let you fall.'

'Promise?'

'On my life.'

'Okay.'

Remus let go with his left hand, carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. He pointed it at the window, cast the spell, and the window clicked open.

'You did it!' Sirius said. 'Hold on tight. This is going to be tricky.'

Remus grabbed onto Sirius' waist again and felt the broom tilt forward as Sirius pushed down on the end to descend. He leant backwards to keep his uncovered face away from Sirius' back and kept his eyes on the back of Sirius' head as the broom headed towards the ground. As soon as his feet made contact, he slid off. His legs gave way beneath him and he collapsed in a heap.

'You okay, mate?' Sirius asked, dropping the broom on the floor and crouching down to check on him.

'Yeah, I just need a minute.'

'Alright, James and I are going to go back up. You did great.'

Remus nodded from where he sat with his back against the castle and his knees tucked into his chest. He wrapped his arms around his knees and bent his head down, hiding his face, and concentrated on breathing.

'I can't believe you did that,' Peter said, sitting down next to him. 'That was really brave.'

'Thanks, mate,' Remus mumbled.

Sirius and James returned victorious five minutes later, and they hurried up to their dorm room to store their prizes, keeping the broom hidden under the cloak.

They went for Slughorn next, and he turned out to be easy. Remus kept him talking at the door while Sirius snuck in under the cloak and grabbed a potion from the display.

McGonagall was going to be trickier. Not only would they need to get access to her personal quarters, but they would need to make it all the way into her bedroom. And they had only an hour left before lunch.

'The "I need help with my work" excuse isn't going to work on her. Remus is amazing at transfiguration, and she knows it,' Sirius had pointed out during their planning session

And thus Plan 18.a was born. The conversation had gone like this:

'Even if we manage to get in the door, we need her out of the room so we can get into the bedroom,' James said. 'What we need is a double decoy. We need someone in the office, and then we need a disturbance outside to draw her out.'

'Pete can be inside. She'll believe he needs help,' Sirius said. 'Sorry, Pete.'

Peter waved his apology away. 'No, it's true. I'm pants at Transfiguration.'

'But you rule at Potions. Can't be good at everything, can we?' Sirius said, patting him on the shoulder.

'Okay, but how do we get her out?' James asked.

Sirius shrugged. 'What if we stage an argument in the corridor and start flinging spells at each other?'

'We don't know any offensive spells yet.'

'Good point. Fine, we can just have a muggle fight then.'

'We'll have to make it realistic. We'll both get hurt,' James pointed out.

Sirius grinned. 'I'm game if you are.'

James grinned right back at him. 'Oh, it's on.'

'Awesome. That leaves Remus with the cloak to sneak in and grab the scarf,' Sirius said, turning to Remus.

He nodded. 'I can do that.'

And so, ten minutes after leaving Slughorn's office with a tiny vial of golden potion—which Sirius had eyed so longingly Remus was forced to take it from him, lest he drink it—they were in position. Peter was outside the door to Professor McGonagall's office, his actual essay on the theory of changing an object's shape in his hand. Remus was right next to him, shrouded by the folds of the invisibility cloak. James and Sirius were waiting around the nearest corner to begin their fake argument.

Peter knocked. A minute later, the door swung open, and Professor McGonagall stood there, looking down at him.

'Yes, Mister Pettigrew. Can I help you?'

Peter explained why he was there and McGonagall invited him inside, Remus slipped through the door after them and positioned himself next to the only other door in the room. A couple of minutes passed and McGonagall was deep into her lecture on transfiguration theory, with Peter looking bored out of his mind, when the sound of raised voices came from outside.

'Fuck you, Black!'

'Oh, that's an intelligent response. Great job, Potter. Big round of applause.'

'I'm gonna fucking kill you!'

'Not if I kill you first!'

That declaration was followed by a series of thumps.

'What on earth is going on out there?' Professor McGonagall asked, getting to her feet in a hurry. 'Sorry, Mister Pettigrew, please excuse me for a moment.'

As she got to her feet, Remus reached out and put his hand on the door handle, readying himself. The moment McGonagall disappeared from view, he turned it and slipped inside. A quick glance around revealed a good size sitting room with a single door leading off of it. He hurried over and entered the bedroom. Trying very hard not to think about what his professor did in this room, he dashed to the wardrobe. No scarves. Okay, drawers then, he thought, yanking open the top drawer of the five-tier chest. Nope, definitely not that one, he thought, feeling his face heat as he slammed it closed again. The second drawer down yielded results, though, and he pulled out a red and green tartan scarf with hints of yellow. Tucking it into his pocket, he shut the drawer and left the room. He listened at the door to the office and could hear McGonagall's loud voice still scolding James and Sirius for fighting like muggles in the hallway, so he slipped back into the room and Peter's worried face relaxed into a grin when he saw the door open and close.

Remus walked out into the corridor and found James and Sirius cowering before a red-faced McGonagall. He dashed to the end of the hallway, behind McGonagall, and pulled the cloak off, giving James and Sirius a wave, before darting around the corner.

They joined him a couple of minutes later. James was sporting a bloodied lip and Sirius looked to have a nice black eye developing.

'Gods, you two look terrible.'

Sirius waved off his concern. 'Did you get it?'

Remus pulled the scarf from his pocket and held it up with a grin.

'Then it was totally worth it. Nice job, mate.'

Peter arrived a few minutes later and was equally pleased to find their plan had worked.

'We've got fifty points, and it's only lunchtime. We are so going to win this,' he said.

'That's because we're awesome!' James crowed. 'Right, time for food. Remus, do you think the house-elves would mind if we joined you in the kitchen today?'

Remus thought about it. 'No, probably not.'

'Excellent, maybe we can get that saucepan at the same time.'

-o-o-o-o-

Sirius' eye throbbed in time with his heartbeat as he followed Remus down to the kitchen. It was nothing compared to what Remus had gone through so they could get into Flitwick's office, though, so he was damned if he was going to complain about it. James seemed to feel the same way about his split lip. Sirius was in awe of Remus' bravery, facing his phobia like that. He was incredible.

They reached a painting of a bowl of fruit, and Remus stopped, reached out and tickled the pear. The pear laughed, and the painting swung open. The kitchens were hidden behind a picture of food. Nice.

The smells that wafted out on the breeze made Sirius' stomach rumble. 'Merlin. I'm starving.'

'Good afternoon, Breen. My friends wanted to have lunch with me. Is that okay?' Remus asked a friendly-looking elf that had hurried over to them when they entered the room. These elves looked nothing like Kreacher. They all looked clean and happy.

'Oh. Of course. Master Remus. Your friends is most welcomes. Please sit down and we will brings you some food.'

'Master Remus?' Sirius said, raising an eyebrow at Remus and making him blush. Three times in one morning, he was on a roll.

They sat down at the small table, and Breen soon arrived with a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. He hurried off again and, a moment later, returned with a small chocolate cake and four plates.

'Wow, this looks amazing. Thanks, Breen,' Peter said, and Sirius nodded his agreement.

'If it's not too much trouble, Breen, could we have a little fruit too?' James asked, and Sirius groaned.

'You and your blasted fruit, James.'

'It's good for you. Excuse me for wanting my friends to live a long time,' he huffed and crossed his arms.

The elf watched the exchange with wide eyes. 'It's no trouble. We have lots of fruit, masters,' he said before scurrying off and returning with a plate of cut fruits that smelled delicious. Okay, so maybe he didn't mind James' obsession with the stuff as much as he pretended to.

Once Breen had left them alone to eat, James leant forward and whispered, 'So, how are we going to get a saucepan?'

Sirius, who had just taken a massive bite out of a cheese and ham sandwich, just shrugged.

'Well, you're as much use as a chocolate cauldron. Remus, any ideas?'

'I think they'll notice if one of us disappears under the cloak.'

Sirius swallowed his food and said, 'What's through the other doors? Maybe we could go in one of those rooms, put the cloak on and come back.'

'One's the laundry, the other is the storage rooms,' Remus said. 'But they're both full of elves too.'

The laundry? Interesting. Sirius filed that away to think about later. 'Storage rooms?' he said instead. 'Anything good in there?'

'Not really. A lot of furniture and things.'

'You know. I reckon they might just give us a saucepan if we ask,' Peter said.

'That seems too easy,' James said.

Sirius shrugged. 'It's worth a shot. If they say no, it's only five points. We already have fifty.'

'Hey, excuse me?' James said to the nearest elf. 'I don't suppose we could borrow a saucepan for a few hours? We'll return it after dinner.'

'Oh. Of course. That's no problems at alls,' she said and fetched them one immediately.

'Thank you very much. We'll take very good care of it,' James said, taking the saucepan. The elf beamed at him and returned to her work.

'Well, that was easy. Great idea, Pete!' Sirius said, laughing.

'Fifty-five points. What do we have left?' James asked before answering his own question without waiting for a response. 'The trophy and the book will be a piece of cake. The telescope is going to be awkward, though. No idea how we're going to carry that through the school without being seen. And do any of you even know where the Divination classroom is?'

They all shook their heads.

'Let's get the book and the trophy and worry about the other two after that.' Sirius checked his watch. 'We have three hours left.'

It took them less than an hour to steal a trophy from the trophy room and a book from the restricted section of the library. Sirius had been tempted to take the volume he spotted on werewolves just to see how Remus would react, but decided that was too cruel and reluctantly put it back, opting instead for a much smaller and easier to carry book called Magicks Moste Ancient.

They had two hours left and were standing at the top of the astronomy tower, eyeing a telescope and wondering how the hell they were going to transport it back to their dorm. Well, that's what Sirius was thinking, anyway. He assumed the others were thinking the same thing, but for all he knew, they could have been considering the best way to capture a Cornish pixie.

'How many secret passages do we know about between here and Gryffindor tower?' Remus asked. Okay, so they were thinking about the telescope problem too, good.

'Only a couple that'll be useful,' James said. 'We'll have to do most of the journey in the open.'

'What about, instead of taking it all the way up to the dorm, we just take it to the third floor and hide it somewhere near classroom 12c?' Peter suggested.

'That would cut the journey in half. Great idea. But we still need to work out a way to carry it,' Sirius said.

They eventually decided to wrap the telescope in the cloak and carry it between the four of them as they walked closely together as a group. As an extra precaution, whenever they saw someone coming they would dart into the nearest room and wait for them to pass. It was a long-winded process, and by the time they reached the third-floor corridor, they had just forty-five minutes to find the Divination classroom, steal a teapot, grab the rest of their gains and get back to the classroom for the count.

'I think it's time to split up,' Sirius said as they hid the telescope in an unused cupboard. 'It won't take four of us to steal a teapot.'

'I agree. One of us should go after the teapot, the rest can help bring everything down to the classroom. The teapot thief will have to go cloakless, though. We need it to hide the broom.'

'I'll go after the teapot,' Sirius said.

James nodded. 'Good man. Remember, get back here by four, teapot or no teapot.'

James, Remus and Peter headed off towards the Grand Staircase, and Sirius went the other way, looking for someone he could ask for directions. He soon found an older student in Gryffindor robes and stopped her to ask if she knew where the Divination classroom was.

'Taking part in the Niffler Hunt, are you? How are you getting on?'

'Quite well, but there isn't long left. Do you know where it is?'

She nodded. 'Top of the north tower, through a trapdoor in the ceiling. Good luck.'

'Thanks,' he called over his shoulder as he ran off.

He reached the north tower in record time and stopped at the bottom of the steps to catch his breath. Eyeing the stairs, he started to regret volunteering for this mission. They spiralled upwards in endless circles and he made a mental note not to take Divination.

He reached the top, a hot, sweaty mess, and checked his watch. Half-past three. He climbed up the ladder and pushed the trapdoor open just enough to peek inside. The room was dim but appeared to be empty, so he pushed the door open all the way and climbed through. He glanced around and spotted the teapots, lined up on shelves on the back wall. He hurried over, grabbed one and put it in his bag. Success.

'Hello, young man. Are you lost?'

Sirius swung around and saw a very old lady with silvery-white hair emerging through the trapdoor.

'Err. Yeah, I was just exploring and wondered what was up here. What is this room? It's so strange.'

'It's the Divination classroom. I hope I'll see you here in a couple of years?'

'Um, yeah, maybe. I better go. Sorry to disturb you.'

'No problem at all, dear. Have a nice day, won't you?'

Sirius turned, made his way to the trapdoor and began to descend the ladder, pulling the trapdoor closed behind him. Just before it closed fully, the Divination professor called out, 'Do take care of that teapot, it's one of my favourites.'

Sirius snorted and shook his head. That was a nice touch, waiting until the last second to reveal she knew what he was up to. At least it seemed like she didn't mind. He hurried back down the stairs, getting dizzier by the second, and made it to the third-floor classroom with minutes to spare. James, Remus and Peter were waiting for him.

'Did you get it?' James asked eagerly.

'Merlin, James. Let him catch his breath first,' Remus said.

Sirius nodded but didn't speak. He was too busy trying to get air into his lungs.

'Come on, let's get inside. We don't want to be disqualified for being ten seconds late,' Peter said.

They entered the room to find they were one of the last teams to arrive. A team of Ravenclaws followed them in seconds later, and then a loud bong sounded and the words "Times Up!" appeared on the back wall of the stage in the same fiery letters as before. The suit of armour clanked back onto the stage and waved.

'Congratulations, Nifflers! I know you've all worked very hard to find all the items on your lists. Let's begin the count! Who wants to go first?'

'Let's go last,' James whispered to the others. 'It'll be more impressive.'

They all nodded in agreement. The count seemed to drag on forever. Some of the teams had collected a few of the five-point items. One team had even managed to get a decorative tool from Sprout. Diggory's team was looking very smug, having achieved forty-five points by collecting all the single point items and all the five-point items, except the telescope. No one had a telescope.

When everyone else had presented their collections, James stepped forward.

'Team name?' the suit of armour asked.

'The Magical Mischief Makers,' James answered, puffing out his chest.

Some of the older students watching laughed. They wouldn't be laughing for long, Sirius thought.

'And what do you have?'

Peter walked forward first, dumping out the contents of his bag onto the floor in front of the suit of armour.

'A muggle pen, a purple sock, a blue button, a pair of sunglasses and a paintbrush,' the suit of armour listed. 'Five points.'

Remus stepped forward and presented the trophy, saucepan and book, followed by Sirius, who produced the teapot from his bag.

The suit of armour announced the names of the items for the benefit of the crowd, finishing with, 'That's a total of twenty-five points for the Magical Mischief Makers.'

'Oh, we're not done yet,' Sirius said with a grin. 'We'll be right back.'

The four of them dashed out of the room. Remus grabbed the broomstick, and Sirius helped James pick up the heavy telescope and carry it carefully into the room to the most enjoyable sound of gasps of awe.

'How did they get that here without being caught?' someone said.

'Thirty-five points. It's an impressive haul but not quite enough I'm afraid,' the suit of armour said.

James rubbed his chin and nodded sadly before dramatically perking up and asking, 'What about if we add these?'

They each reached into their bags one more time, pulled out the last of their items and held them up. Sirius was holding the tartan scarf, James the jewel-encrusted trowel, Remus had the small vial of golden potion and Peter the gold medal from Flitwick.

There was a moment of stunned silence before the room went wild with hoots, cheers and clapping. All except for Diggory and his team, who looked about ready to murder them. Sirius took a bow and saw James doing the same out of the corner of his eye. They were so alike.

'Seventy-five points! Folks, we have a winner! Please return here after dinner to collect your reward. Your items will be checked for trickery in the meantime. Thank you all for taking part in the Hogwarts Annual Super Secret Niffler Hunt. I hope to see you all again next year.'

Their prize turned out to be a selection of treats from Honeydukes, much to Peter and Remus' delight. Sirius spent the evening with his friends, celebrating their tremendous victory and relishing in the thought of the infamy it had undoubtedly bought them. Life was good.

-o-o-o-o-

A/N The line 'Hufflepuff's are particularly good finders,' is taken from A Very Potter Musical by StarKid Productions. If you haven't seen it, it's on YouTube and I recommend watching it. It's hilarious. XD

Chapter 18

#wolfstar #wolfstar fanfiction #remus x sirius

5 notes · View notes

sirjustice897 · 4 years

Text

How some necessities made

Disturb me again not, what u want i have told ya with everything even charcoal, liquor or soda made as bellow u can change grass with any veggies or fruit then hurl something down on something or chop something or brush paint brush on something and the environment as well u can change if results not out or to stop wasting ya time take all veggies and fruits around ya and drop at once on each if not interested which one that makes it and if so try the same on one many people with different veggies and fruits until u get who gets it dude

News paper made in the boom process when few or a samples placed grass then drop pumpkin on floor full of water or dust or chop pumpkin or break sticks or carrot or brush bare ground with little grass with paint brush dude

text books few sample or a sample in grass then drop cabbage on grass on the floor or use an axe to divide wood and with other books not out try dropping any veggie or fruit as well as berries on floor with any liquid or chemical, grass, hay or any leaf until u get it dude, not necessarily on bare floor dude

Biro pen a few in grass then fall carrot on paraffin or chop kale 4 transparent common 1 but with others try the many methods of dropping and cutting while pencil is a sample in grass then banana on the floor or chop waru and with exercise books, a sample in grass then chop avocado or fall hay on water and much more dude

Black and white liquor is paw paw in hay u drop tangerine and boom ya liquor on the floor dude and most i have placed three things the last to be added can not be added but dropped in any fluid on the floor or leaves or veggies or berries as much as fruits and still the results out or chopped dude.

sometime if u Rab shoulders 2 people is the end process of making jets and rubbing ya dick on a woman pussy not inserting makes air craft carrier vessels and lean on 1 back both standing makes big air planes and houses as well as rubbing ya hands rolling something round inside the palm or grinned and dried anything as u give it just a trial make other machines.

Mathematical sets made when a sample placed in grass then drop avocado on grass or charcoal or black beans on sewer water or chop paw paw or tamarind or chop tangerine dude

Banana made when few samples placed in grass then cut to chop corpse with machete or drop passion fruit on tea leaves dude while sweet made when sample placed in grass then u chop carrots or drop guava in hay dude

Leave kids all alone to co exist not with them always as u leave ya toothbrush after brushing though u need it the most or even soap, u don't always walk with it, in such situation where people love kids so much means they are frightened dude of the future of such kids so wants best and easy 4 them and even give birth to much to conquer next lands which now cant happen dude and u know that bro. Kikuyu blooded stop that with kids even disturbing others with, it means not u hate kids and also u, u think along bro and once u know the end where we go after death, then just obey the state laws not to land u in jail as ya tradition will not secure u a place in heaven or hell dude cause were made bro as other have not such and they do more than ya bro, like having an affair in ya fathers house, provided aint known wont land ya in hell and that's it according to some whites friends writing on my Instagram in Norway. Stop being 1st of ya traditions yet how gadgets made more absurd than that dude

When u lack tetanus then u hate machines even owning personal cars and u come to love commuting and that's it dude and many such nations making such wants people to have tetanus to long 4 their finished machine parts and dude get it period bro

passion fruit made when samples placed in grass then drop like medicine white bottles on the floor with much water or chop sweet potato while avocado fruit made when sample placed in grass then u drop shirt buttons on floor or drop lemon or brush paint brush on clothes dude or play drum sets dude. Pixie fruit few sample in grass then hammer paw paw seed with hammer or divide polythene bag as tortilla with knife or touch one on the back shoulder while charcoal made when few samples place in grass in the watery valley then u chop peas or banana or u fall paw paw in floor or watery ground dude

Pixie fruit in grass then pour out fanta or citrus acid on water and boom much such fruits formed while with sun flower seed u chop paw paw after placing in grass or drop eraser or rubber on the floor or tomato dude

Few samples placed in kale then chop mango seed or drop hay or placed in guava and then chop grass or drop pumpkin and that’s how much grapes made dude

Bible revised standard sample placed in hay then u hammer orange seed with hammer and boom ya book or hurl cold water down the floor when placed in grass or folded photo in kale and chop break carrots or hurl cold water with basin unto the heap

Golden bells a piece in grass heap then run with horse or chop fruits as avocado or eat banana or folded photo in hay drop kale or chop mango dude as 1 in the link below

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldbooksandrecords.com%2Fimages%2Fproducts%2Flarge_52_GoldenBells4.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldbooksandrecords.com%2Findex.php%3Fl%3Dproduct_detail%26p%3D52&tbnid=9AyDZLcX2PsZhM&vet=12ahUKEwjJ68Gw96nsAhUJlBoKHV0sApEQMygAegUIARCUAQ..i&docid=gBe7TVZGgHfsaM&w=516&h=387&q=golden%20bells%20songs%20book%20images&client=firefox-b-e&ved=2ahUKEwjJ68Gw96nsAhUJlBoKHV0sApEQMygAegUIARCUAQ

Christmas lights made when a piece placed in kale then chop onion or drop or place in kale drop or break sticks or carrot as in the link below dude on hillside or folded photo in guava chop kale or a piece in sweet potato drop many waru

https://www.jumia.co.ke/festive-christmas-5meters-led-snake-lights-for-decoration-generic-mpg146455.html

https://www.jumia.co.ke/generic-10m-3528-smd-rgb-flexible-led-light-strip-600leds-44-key-ir-remote-controller-multicolor-27019185.html

X-mas tree is folded photo in grass cut chop avocado or lemon or drop cabbage or a piece in grass play soccer like with kids or fight kinda or folded photo in grass then then cut hay like with machete or hurl with cold or hot water mixed with thinner chemical as in the link below

https://www.jumia.co.ke/6ft-christmas-tree-luxurious-encryption-christmas-tree-generic-mpg126359.html

https://www.jumia.co.ke/generic-needle-christmas-tree-26459859.html

Another way to make gadgets and machines even other necessities as clothes is place that photo on the computer and let the light of computer screen illuminate the heap which can be grass, leaves, veggies, fruit or berries or old clothes and even scrap metal then change the environment as can be a hillside, slopes, depression, hole, basement or alter then employ all the boom process described in following tumblrs of sirjustice390 and boom ya machine given out and with anything dude and even with fruits and veggies dude. This produces the most best machines in life and even with TV that can pause or laptops dude and even makes fab house and sky-scrapers, road and bridges.

Mineral water place piece of such bottles like in cabbage then chop chilies or drop guava or brush paint brush on the wall and boom ya bottled water and even with any liquor, toys, fruit juice and even soda. U can maintain the placed in as above is cabbage but change the end done thing or change it as the end thing with mineral water in cabbage can make soda in hay or some fruit heaps as mango for example dude

eggs few samples placed in guava the brush polish brush on grass and boom ya eggs or placed in avocado brush it on wood surface or on kale brush it on bare ground surface when the heap under water on the hillside or alter dude and with match box place in cabbage and brush it on melons bro or drop kale dude

Cassava in hay place guava chop paw paw makes hunters choice liquor or drop or guava in grass place cabbage and chop kale gives ya the same while with soaps place in grass and brush it on wall boards or ceiling dude or on bare ground or drop bottle tops or sewer water in juala or dark beans, Euphorbia or passion fruit.

Negro made some machines in the song link below and still more songs dude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-sJp1FfG7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpkRH4sAilg

we will drop nuclear bomb made in SA google using e-supersonic jet if u relent not dude, in Moscow or Paris, or London or Beijing, or Tokyo or Rio or Rome, stop your shit dude in the middle of the night even in Nairobi and Lagos. stop ya shit dude and even in Delhi and u will do nothing cause we remain anonymous dude. my tumblr a/c is sirjustice700 or 900 how machine parts are made read dude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEBEst2hRrs

If what they championed in buying in other lands could be made another way like sugar and cooking oil, game was played on them dude, u see, kinda, their corpse, those who have refused they ways are hurled into the ROADS and even Russians as Atomic bomb placed under hyper-sonic jets and hurled reasons some dignitaries get to Russia in pretense dude and unscrupulous Kenyans in the USA have learnt to make the same to hurl in the dark night in G20 nation cities. If 1 is mad then one is mad without realizing placing the enemy close than those ready to help them and relent not even after explanation dude. That’s why in a haste i hasten and say how such are made with folded photos in the boom process dude by either chopping a fruit, veggies or dropping the same even monies made that way bro. Kikuyu a bad man and their blooded, should be all eliminated using kinda, capsizing ground theorem dude and Italians knowing they are jew yet saying its another tribe to bring about all the above without further proof as they claim they will use alliances as stipulated in the bible dude

Any veggie in grass or any leave or berries or fruit or animals, rodents in grass and u drop any 1 of the above or chop or do 1 of the boom process changing the environment makes these machines u longed to make previously in the boom process dude

Gold sample placed in paw paw then chop cabbage or break carrot or sticks on top of a hill or folded photo in kale peel cabbage or drop orange dude

Cashless payment option to eliminate hard cash link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vrTGKTU46I

https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1314188/uganda-launch-space-observer

https://nilepost.co.ug/2018/05/16/kenya-steps-into-space-with-first-satellite-launch/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/energy-security/spacex-in-bid-to-launch-first-turkish-built-satellite/25403

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/04/19/623396/Iran-radar-systems

folded photo in guava heap drop pumpkin or chop tomato or coconut on hillside plateau makes the house in the link below in daylight looking the other-side dude

https://redshift.autodesk.com/affordable-modular-homes/

Rwanda made fabricated houses in the link below at Safintra dude

https://safintrarwanda.com/prefab-structure/

https://www.google.com/search?q=safintra+made+in+rwanda+houses+images&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjYkuLk_6bsAhVO0IUKHQ2wDXsQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=safintra+made+in+rwanda+houses+images&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DhhAZY-MAGYOLIBmgAcAB4AIABzgKIAfIikgEHMC45LjUuNZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=phKAX9inLM6glwSN4LbYBw&bih=882&biw=1280&client=ms-google-coop

https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quikmovers?src=hash

https://constructionreviewonline.com/2017/05/rwanda-urged-to-engage-private-developers-to-fix-housing-challenge/

https://guardian.ng/property/2020-offers-new-opportunities-for-lagos-home-ownership/

https://www.mininfra.gov.rw/fileadmin/user_upload/1.Affordable_housing_initiatives_by_Leopord.pdf

E-stoves from Ethiopia link below

file:///C:/Users/Acxian/AppData/Local/Temp/PD_Locally%20Manufactured%20Electric%20Stoves_23Jan2017-2.pdf

Boom made sky-scrappers in the link below dude and fabricated housing in the link below

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmeqasa.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F04%2FAccra-Buildings-2018.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.meqasa.com%2Faccra-skyline-buildings%2F&tbnid=2Us-2he2vU1MaM&vet=12ahUKEwiyxK3H_ansAhXNwYUKHaFQCpUQMygDegUIARCoAQ..i&docid=gTx7SlnfKl-I9M&w=1200&h=630&q=sky%20scrappers%20made%20in%20ghana%20images&client=firefox-b-e&ved=2ahUKEwiyxK3H_ansAhXNwYUKHaFQCpUQMygDegUIARCoAQ

http://www.cbmprefabricatedhouse.com/prefab-house-in-kenya/#comment-2336

Kebi Minaj chali outside their house in Kisumu where creative minds are nurtured by just staying close when he is around or just being within that radius bro

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmiro.medium.com%2Fmax%2F2400%2F1*pm_Sm8OXC0QAQVPc0i4-bQ.jpeg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fcofundie%2Fwant-to-build-a-house-in-west-africa-here-are-5-alternative-materials-you-can-use-c05c50f7f06f&tbnid=VUpAyNMPJ_vgdM&vet=10CNUBEDMoygFqFwoTCKDdx8v-qewCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAC..i&docid=-zn_Clasg3rQ5M&w=1200&h=664&q=fabricated%20houses%20in%20Ghana%20images&client=firefox-b-e&ved=0CNUBEDMoygFqFwoTCKDdx8v-qewCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAC

https://www.prefabricated-houses.com/prefab-schools.html

Copper wires place few in green grass then chop paw paw or drop kunde or folded photo in green grass drop avocado or perform any boom process 4 more while aluminum is few pieces in hay chop guava or drop pumpkin in hole or alter with shower on and grass around or folded photo in hay chop mango or drop coconut to break its shell dude

Titanium is made when folded photo in guava chop avocado or drop water from a bucket in the floor or few sample in cabbage chop corpse hand or drop to chop apple dude

Car tire few in garbage chop lemon or drop cassava or folded photo in garbage cut grass or play with kids and even with every car spare part employing another method of dropping or chopping another something altogether dude

With rims is folded photo in hay drop kale or chop euphorbia or a sample in hay chop to break coconut or eggs shell or fall melons dude.

Cassava when still raw grinned in blender then mixed with water or starchy foods as well as bougainvillea garden flower leaves when hurled into snakes kill such snakes as break their bones in one way or another and its utility dude.

When Kikuyu knows business let them still know as we got over 100 nations without such tribes and still doing good and most formed earlier than kikuyu tribe states, just like walking though u walk fast or slow the bottom line we have all arrived in time and all got the day. That’s their gimmicks they are good in business to stay afloat while most got money online to delude the public their business collapse not yet they aint bothered if their is a loss or profit cause they got online free sauces dude and that’s the gimmicks homey

cocoa berries made when few samples placed in kale drop cabbage or chop carrot or banana and with coffee is few sample in millet drop avocado seed or brush tree back with polish brash or chop onion and with tea leaves is few sample in cabbage chop kale or avocado seed or drop hay or brush shoe soul with polish brush

POP CORN maize few in cabbage chop green grams or grass or drop spinach or 4 white maize is few sample in cabbage drop guava or chop kale dude

Burundi Rwanda made light rail in the link below dude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiVAmzXyuO8

Daku nyalo waaaaaa, bas nyaluhuru un yawyoyi, donge, sophy Gi sam. Whitemen sermons are MLK things or writings and not any1 and still on the net and no debate 4 such and u know that, lest it will be war if u heap such on one 4 people to disturb, think u will bring us your minute minds, dude u r on the wrong side of history. Mago gik mlk betuhuru kung’eyo hamano, nonno to thao or goyo um rasingwa

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swtorizz · 5 years

Text

Lost Apprentice (Ashara/Sith!OC) Ch. 5

Chapter 1 | Chapter 4 | AO3

It must’ve been only an hour or two of tossing and turning before Ashara accepted her fate and chose to get prepared for the day to come. She expertly tiptoed around the ship (something she’d learned to do so as not to disturb her crew mates back in the day) until she made her way to the ‘fresher. The water fell quietly and the warmth and steady pressure felt heavenly on her skin. After a few minutes she sighed and stepped out, retrieving her clothes from the wash as she did so.

Once fully dressed, Ashara wandered into the storage room in search of something to sustain her appetite. He, of course, was already there.

The Sith tossed her a protein pack. The togruta caught it effortlessly and tore it open without a second thought.

“The way you move around the ship I’d think you’ve been living here.”

She scoffed between bites, “it feels like I never left.”

The Sith sent her a curious look, “Do you ever miss your master?”

She shrugged, “sometimes. He was kinder than most Sith. He always had something wise to say. I just wish he could give me advice now.”

The Sith clearly wanted to ask what happened, but by the look on his face he decided better of it.

Despite it being so early, the Sith was already well-groomed with his dark hair combed neatly and his boots shined. He stared at Ashara as she ate.

“What?” She mumbled, mouth full.

He shook his head, “I apologize. I was lost in thought.” He pulled over the datapad he’d had sitting next to him that Ashara hadn’t noticed until then, “I may have found us a lead.”

Ashara waited for him to continue, “I contacted my sister, the one in Intelligence. She told me that Darth Iratius has gone completely into hiding, but his son is not so lucky. He is currently docked at Dantooine.”

Ashara nearly choked on her food, “what are we doing here? We need to move now! Before—“

“Relax. I have someone scouting onworld. If he leaves that spaceport, we’ll be the first to know.”

She did relax a bit, but Ashara remained tense. She feared greatly for Nala’s safety.

“I’m setting a course for Dantooine.” She proclaimed, leaving the room before he could interject.

She was nearly on the bridge when he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

“Stop. Andarus will have someone watching the skies. The moment we arrive he’ll be on the ground and Nala will be in danger.”

She ripped his hand from her, “I don’t care. She’s counting on me. I need to do whatever I can.”

Immediately she turned and headed for the console.

She heard him sigh from behind her, “you may be the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you.” She grumbled.

In seconds the ship was launching into hyperspace. Ashara did her best to avoid thinking about her nightmare which meant chanting her meditation in her head.

There is emotion. There is peace. There is emotion. There is peace.

As the ship arrived in Dantooine’s atmosphere, she felt herself relax a bit. At least now she was on the same planet as Nala.

The togruta knew now that the disguise would be no use. She made sure her lightsaber was clipped to her belt as she flew the ship towards the spaceport.

As soon as they landed, the ringing of an incoming holocall sounded from Darius’ pocket.

He answered, “yes?”

A male voice, deeper even than Darius’, sounded from the other side. Ashara was too busy gathering herself to glance at the hologram.

“He just exited the ship. But he’s heading North.”

“North?” Ashara cut in, “Nala’s house is to the South.”

“It must be a distraction.” The Sith said to himself, then spoke a bit louder, “follow him. Ashara and I will go to Nala’s house. Don’t call unless it’s urgent.”

The holo flickered away. The two quickly made their way off the ship and through the spaceport, electing to rent a speeder rather than take a taxi.

They half expected to meet resistance along the way, but they arrived in half the time with no issue.

It was upon arrival that Ashara truly became fully alert. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Other than the fact that it was mid-morning and no one was tending to the crops.

This concerned Ashara.

She jumped off of the speeder at her first chance and ignited her saber.

Besides the mild gusts of wind, it was quiet. Too quiet.

Ashara found herself hesitating at the edge of the field. She was ready to face what was ahead, but still afraid of what she might find. The speeder’s engine cut and Darius appeared at her side.

He waited with her a moment before saying anything, “are you ready?”

She nodded, then led the way to the front door.

The house was dark. Cold. Ashara used her lightsaber to illuminate their immediate surroundings in soft blue. Slowly, she tiptoed into the main living space—empty. Then the first bedroom—again, empty. This happened again and again, her heart rate increasing each time, until they got to the last room.

Her old room.

From outside the door she sensed nothing, but Ashara knew well that one could hide themselves with the Force. Bracing herself, she kicked the wall panel with her boot and the door rushed open.

Empty.

Nala and her family were nowhere to be found. This concerned Ashara more than anything else possibly could have.

“Where—“

But she was cut off as Darius’ holo went off again. As he lifted it and clicked the button to answer, all Ashara could hear was the pounding in her ears.

“She’s here.” Said the man on the holo. He was crouching and his voice was low, “she matches the description you gave me. Andarus is saying something to her, but I can’t get close enough to hear it.”

“We’re on our way. Don’t interfere unless you have to.” Darius told him.

The hologram nodded and disappeared. Ashara was on the Sith’s heel as they dashed back to the speeder. Darius input the coordinates he’d been sent through the holo into the speeder, pushing it forward just as Ashara clambered on.

The long drive to the Northern desert was grueling. Ashara felt herself go through several emotions, and had to chant to herself as they sped along, “There is emotion. There is peace.”

When they began to approach the coordinates’ location, Darius slowed until the engine was at its quietest. Despite his unwavering exterior, Ashara could feel worry seeded deep within the Sith. For a moment she was thankful to know that he wasn’t completely heartless, as most Sith were, and she felt bad for assuming. She also realized she knew very little about him beyond his wanting to help her.

Her thoughts were cut short when she spotted something in the distance: a caravan.

Three bantha were being led by what looked like military officials. Their pace was clearly too quick, as the bantha were protesting loudly enough for her to hear from hundreds of meters away. She squinted, but could see little other than the large animals, grass, and endless desert beyond.

“We need to get closer.” Ashara whispered near the Sith’s ear.

“We can follow, but once the grass has dwindled we’ll be out in the open. We need a plan for our approach beyond that.”

Ashara wanted to protest, but knew he was absolutely correct.

And then she remembered the holocall, “where’s your contact?”

“Here.”

Ashara jumped from her seat, lightsaber extended in an instant. She sliced the tall grass in front of her to see a zabrak man standing further among it.

His skin was a dark red, covered in elaborate black tattoos, and his eyes a bright orange.

His voice was, of course, the same as that she’d heard on the holocalls, “I’m sorry, I was shrouding myself with the Force. I assumed you would hear me coming.”

A Force user? Ashara returned her saber to her side, “are you a Sith?”

He blinked, looking almost amused, “I am. I’m surprised my brother didn’t tell you.”

Ashara turned to Darius, incredulous, “how many siblings do you have?”

He gave a small chuckle, “only four.”

“Anyhow.” The zabrak chimed in, his deep voice like an anchor in the conversation, “the woman you’re seeking is on top of one of the banthas. Lord Andarus is walking alongside the first.”

Darius nodded thoughtfully. The zabrak spoke again, “brother...he’s kidnapped children too.”

“We know,” he murmured, staring at the ground as he thought, “they’re Nala’s.”

Before Ashara could ask what the plan was, the zabrak pulled something from his pocket.

Ashara gasped, “a stealth generator!”

“I brought one for each of us.” He handed Ashara hers and quickly she went to activate it.

Darius grasped her wrist, preventing her from doing so, “wait. We need to establish a strategy.”

Ashara plucked his gloved fingers from her arm, “I go now and take care of the Sith, how about that?”

“So were killing him?” Darius asked, eyes boring into hers.

She flinched, “if it comes to that, yes,”

“He’s kidnapped Nala and her children, Ashara. We can’t leave him alive long enough to give the order to kill.”

Ashara thought for a moment. She glanced at the zabrak, who watched them with his hands clasped behind his back, an amused look on his face.

“Fine.” She muttered, “we’ll kill him before he can hurt them.”

As she prepared to turn on the stealth generator, she turned to the zabrak, “I’m Ashara, by the way.”

“So I’ve heard.” He smirked, “Darth Volentus.”

Ashara wanted to quip are all your siblings Darths, too? but kept her mouth shut. She activated the stealth, watching as her companions shifted into nearly invisible figures among the grass.

The three snuck into the desert with Ashara at the lead, their pace fast. She made sure not to go so fast as to stir up sand, however. The caravan was already far enough out that without a speeder it would take hours to catch up, but Ashara was perfectly willing to do so. It was missions like these where she was incredibly grateful for her Jedi training. She may not have learned the delicate art of patience, but she had learned willpower and persistence.

Dantooine’s sun was high above when they finally were close enough to begin preparing for an assault. The two Sith stopped as Ashara did.

She peered ahead to the banthas, now able to clearly see the two children tied to the last creature’s back. She could see the sun glinting off of the dried tear trails on their faces. She pushed down her anger and forced herself to remain calm.

With a deep breath, Ashara mentally prepared herself. She knew that if she acted quickly and used the Force, she could propel herself from one bantha to the next in a matter of seconds.

She reached for her lightsaber.

And suddenly, her stealth field disappeared.

One of the Sith at her side used the Force to reveal a stealth-detecting droid in the sand in front of them.

Several men on the caravan shouted. The element of surprise gone, Ashara was just barely able to propel herself onto the back of the bantha. She unleashed her lightsaber and tore the brilliant blue through the ropes connecting the captive children to the animal.

By now, the Imperials had begun shooting. Ashara deflected several bolts from both sides before vaulting to the next bantha. With a deep breath, she pushed out with the Force and sent the surrounding men flying into the sand on their backs.

And then she saw Nala.

Nala stood in front of the caravan, now completely at a stop, with a lightsaber at her neck.

Through the corner of her vision, Ashara caught the Sith striking down Imperials on the ground, easily taking down groups of three and four at a time.

“Stop!” She yelled, loud enough for them to freeze just as they finished off the last of the lackeys.

Ashara jumped down to the ground, using the Force to soften her fall. She made eye contact with Andarus—whose face was now twisted and scarred by corruption—and tossed her lightsaber to the side.

“I’m at your mercy.” She called, raising her arms in surrender, “please, just let her go.”

The only sounds to be heard in the open desert were Nala’s sobs and the hum of pure energy emanating from the now three active lightsabers.

Nala’s dark hair was unkempt. She wore her nightgown, clearly having been taken before sunrise. Her soft laugh was now a terrified cry and her bright eyes pouring.

The Sith Lord aimed his lightsaber closer to her throat, expertly so in that it didn’t touch her neck. Nala was gasping now, unable to move any further back with the Sith’s fist in her hair.

“You and I can both feel it.” Ashara pleaded, “she’s not Force Sensitive.”

The Sith’s head tilted, and he smiled. Ashara felt her gut clench, “her? You thought I meant her?” He laughed, an evil, wretched sound, “I said the girl, you idiotic alien scum.”

The girl. Ashara whipped around, only to see the children caught in the arms of two soldiers who had apparently been stealthed themselves. She turned back when Nala yelped.

But she was too late. Nala’s body crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. The children screamed. Ashara blinked.

And the Sith leapt at her.

Before she could even think, Ashara reached a hand up and caught the Sith midair with the Force. His red eyes widened as she choked him, invisible hands wound around his neck with inhuman grip. The man dropped his saber and clawed at his throat, legs kicking wildly.

All she felt was anger. Hatred. It was unfair.

“Nala didn’t deserve to die.” She whispered.

She relished the feeling as the last of the air left his lungs and he took his final, short breath. He hung limp in the air, but it wasn’t enough. Ashara clutched harder with the Force, until she heard his bones snap, one by one��

“He’s dead, Ashara.”

Darius placed a hand on her shoulder, and Ashara snapped out of it instantly. The Sith crumpled in the sand.

Ashara felt...lost. Not vengeful. Not glad. Just...incomplete.

But she turned quickly when the children’s crying rushed back into her ears, like a wave crashing into the shore.

The zabrak stood above them, the two Imperials laid dead on the ground, the kids sobbing into each other’s arms.

Ashara felt their anguish and despair through the Force. She swallowed, and approached them slowly.

And when she did, she felt a tiny spark of something she hadn’t before. She’d never paid enough attention to notice it, but from the girl came the smallest bit of familiarity. Of the Force.

She struggled to remember their names, “...Mei? Lutis?”

The children peered at her through their tears, clearly terrified. Ashara took a deep breath, “I am so sorry. You have no idea. But I need you to come with me and my friends now, okay?”

“Are we...going home?” Mei asked between sobs.

“I…” Ashara actually had no idea what to do with them, “we’ll see, okay?”

The kids nodded. Heartbroken, Ashara helped them onto one of the banthas and had the Sith gather Nala’s body while she distracted them. Once they were ready, Ashara picked her lightsaber up from the sand and glanced over at the Sith’s body.

Without a word, she took his lightsaber and boarded a bantha.

It was past nightfall when they arrived at Nala’s house. Ashara helped the children into their beds and tucked them in. They were asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows, to which she was grateful.

She closed the front door to the house as quietly as she could. Darius stood waiting for her on the porch.

His dark, tall figure would look menacing in the night had she not already known him, “my brother found someone in the village who’s willing to take them in. They’ll be picked up by a neighbor before sunrise tomorrow.

Ashara nodded, “and what about the girl’s Force Sensitivity?”

“The neighbor is aware.” Darius explained, “he has my personal holofrequency and will contact me if there are any issues.”

“Good.” Ashara murmured.

“I think it’s time we get some rest.” The Sith said quietly and then, as if an afterthought, he added, “can I ask you something?”

Ashara raised a brow at him, “sure.”

“Why take his lightsaber?”

She glanced down at her left hip, now adorned with Lord Andarus’ lightsaber. She looked back up at the Sith and shrugged, “I used to always have two. I was trained to use two. Why not?”

The Sith nodded, seemingly in approval. The two sped towards the spaceport on the rented speeder, returning it as they left for the ship.

Darth Volentus was waiting there at the ship for them.

“He lives on Dromund Kaas.” Darius explained, “we’re taking him home.”

“Ah.” Ashara said, too worn out to say much beyond that.

The three boarded the Fury vessel and set a course for Dromund Kaas. As the ship flew itself in auto-pilot, the three Force users sat on the couch next to the holoterminal.

“Thank you. For everything.” Ashara said to the zabrak. Though she meant what she said, her voice was hoarse and deadpan.

“Anything for a friend of my brother’s.” He smiled.

“I hadn’t realized I’d earned friend status.” Ashara mumbled, just loud enough for them to hear.

Darius, grinned, tongue in cheek, “generally when I meet someone who’s not wearing pants, we become friends rather quickly.”

Volentus was unable to quench his snickering, “my, you must be closer than I thought.”

Ashara felt her face grow warm, “that’s not—it wasn’t like that. He surprised me.”

“I’ll say.” The zabrak chuckled.

Ashara changed the subject, “so is your mother the zabrak? Or your father?”

They glanced at each other in a way that completely sobered the room, then answered at the same time, “mother.”

She wondered about the shift in mood, but didn’t mention it, “Why don’t you have the tattoos, Darius?”

When Volentus cocked his head curiously, she explained, “he won’t tell me his real name, so that’s what I call him.”

He nodded thoughtfully, seemingly unfazed by the answer. Apparently it was normal for Darius to not give out his name to just anyone.

“I chose not to get them when I came of age.” He answered, referring to the tattoos, “hence why I appear more Pureblood than my siblings.”

Ashara pondered this, but didn’t press further. Volentus was, once again, unfazed.

Just then the ship pulled out of hyperspace, marking its arrival at Dromund Kaas. Ashara left to her quarters to allow the brothers to say their goodbyes.

As she felt the ship pull into the orbital station, she set down her lightsabers side by side on the unused top bunk.

She sat down to meditate, but sleep came to her before she could even begin.

#swtor #ashara zavros #swtor fanfiction #lost apprentice

2 notes · View notes

wordbistro-blog · 5 years

Text

Timothy Peppers and The Great October King

Part One: Humiliating Day

“Hurry up and die!”

Eccentric. I know he is, but I wouldn’t want to spend a Friday stumped under the roofline either, looking at a slowly decaying garden. Fair skin, hot suns…father, that sort of thing. Weathermen are liars anyhow. Almost a perfect day, but he can’t get a win out of it which is why he’s telling plant life to choke itself.

Oh, I suppose I should explain that.

It's almost September equinox. Summer is supposed to be over, yet it lingers like a hangnail that won't fall off. You can almost see the scratch marks of fall trying to force itself in, but life is holding on in this garden. The tall kempt trees shimmered with its leaves in the sun, not one falling, and the maze garden hadn't turned a different shade yet either. All that lay on the cobblestone porch were bits of grass. And little Timothy Peppers loved fall the most, hence why he wants it to hurry up and die.

His squeaky little voice rustling across the garden can make him seem a little odd, and sometimes annoying, but you have to work with me. Give me a chance to defend him, because the kid really isn’t all that bad, he’s just a little bumpy in the brain, you know? I’ll spare you the details, but his father is in the foyer speaking with his teacher on the phone.

“He’s…” He sighs so exasperatedly that you can almost see smoke come out of him. “We discussed this, he’s dyslexic. OF COURSE HE CAN’T READ IN CLASS YOU IGNORANT FOOL!” Elias Peppers had anger issues that made volcanic eruptions look like an ant’s temper tantrum. With losing an election and switching Timothy to homeschool, this guy was severely overstressed.

Timothy poured his attention back to the garden. He missed the days when he and his parents would run through the crunchy leaves, carve pumpkins, and harvest all the unique flowers that his mother would order from all over the world. Her favorite was the Chollyleman, which she had to travel to Greenland to acquire. Not all their flowers produce seeds if they can’t bloom, so they’re on the brink of extinction, but his mother was able to score one flower before they became truly exclusive. I’ve never seen one bloom myself, so I apologize for the lack of detail.

I would strongly advise you to avoid this garden at all costs. I would love to say more, but Timothy is getting bored, which is where our story truly begins.

He stood up from the porch and turned around to his father, who had just finished vocally wrestling with his phone. “Father, when can I play in the garden again?”

His father turned at him, as red as a dodgeball, and said under frustrated breaths, “I’m sorry but not right now. I’m waiting for our…” He paused, took a deep breath and continued, “I’m waiting for our gardener to come clean it up. There are vines growing, one of the trees is uprooting, the grass is too thick. I have to see if any of the vegetables are even salvageable. It’s just not safe, okay?” He pointed at him with a hand straight as a blade.

Timothy brought his gaze down to the floor, disappointed and muttered, “Yes sir.”

Elias turned back towards the front of the house and his old leather jacket crunched as he ran his hands through his thick black hair. The slender giant was slowly beginning to cool down. This altercation with the teacher may cost him a dip in the pockets, but he can’t let his son go without an education.

And with a small plea, Timothy stated, “But I can be extra careful…?”

“Timothy, not right now.” He retorted, his heart rate increasing.

“But I don’t want to be in the house all the time! If I could just have one day where we can play like we used to-”

Elias turned quicker than a badger prancing on an earthworm, “I SAID NOT RIGHT NOW!” he boomed across the foyer, so loud that his mustache almost flew off.

The shock made poor Timothy’s eyes flood with tears and he ran up the spiral staircase to his bedroom. His father has never been this angry before, and lately, Timothy was believing he may be the cause. He felt embarrassed, ashamed, and sadly I wish I never had to say, unwanted. He threw his shoes into his closet and he thrust himself onto the bed and he cried his tiny little heart out.

I suppose I can fill you in now while he’s wailing. Don’t worry, I can tune it out. Timothy was always a bright kid. He primarily watched wildlife documentaries and studied herbology with his mom and had dreams of becoming a “Life Preservist.”. He was taken out of school for almost a month, though, when his mother passed. She was always sick, and I guess the beast finally brought her under. Timothy couldn’t read as well anymore and became despondent. He sometimes mixed up his letters, and when he was looking at a book, they all jumbled together and had some sort of word-like fog over it.

Today was his first day back…as you can see, it didn’t go very well. Elias had warned the teacher but she paid no mind to it, thus resulting in Timothy’s embarrassment. Today was also supposed to be his family’s festival tour of the garden maze since it was the first day of fall…thus resulting in Timothy’s sadness. His room was already decorated for it. He had a string of pumpkin and bat lights all along the top of the walls, plastic and ceramic skulls on his bookshelf and desk, and a thick comforter on his bed with an autumn leaf pattern.

On the corner of his bed sat a small handsome pumpkin doll. He had buttons for eyes and his head was a stripe pattern of creamy white and swamp green, with a long curvy stem. He wore blue denim overalls and a maroon sweater underneath, with one green hand and one white. And finally, two brown boots tucked into the overalls.

It stared at him as Timothy cried. After a time, he felt it’s lifeless eyes boring into his skull, and he looked back at the doll with contempt. “This is the worst season ever.” He said, tears still welling in his eyes. “I’m broken, my family’s broken, and I can’t stop…” He stopped himself. Looking out the window, he saw the moon hovering above the garden “And now it’s too late to play ANYTHING!”

He looked back to the doll. “I never wanted you anyway…” He grabbed the pumpkin farmer, opened the window, and aimed at the moon. It flew across the courtyard and into the maze. Then he tore down his lights, his decorations, and shoved them all in a box far back in his closet. Hopefully, he thought, I’ll never see it again.

After a humiliating day, he removed his school day clothes and put on his light blue checkered pajamas and went to sleep.

That night, he dreamed of his mother taking him into the maze. She still had hair then, orange like his, but hers was long and curly and resembled the color of autumn leaves. It was dyed, but she made it look so natural. Her freckled cheeks were almost flying off her face as she gave him a big warm smile. She blipped his bottom lip, which made a cute little popping sound and said something to him but he couldn’t hear the words. Then the scene changed. Her hair was gone, her face was pale, and she was in a wheelchair. “Come push me…” she asked, but her voice sounded reserved, almost like a megaphone with a pillow stuffed in it. Timothy shook his head. He didn’t want to, he didn’t want to push her. Then her eyes rolled back and she began to float out of her chair.

He woke up screaming, sweating, panting. It was like his face was covered in slime, but he saw that he left his window open, which let in the hot and stupid summer air. He closed the window, stripped down to his underwear, and sat in front of his box fan on the floor to cool off.

It was daylight already, but he felt like he didn’t get a single bite of sleep.

Elias ran in with a concerned look, “You okay son?” he asked.

Timothy wiped the fear from his face and said, “Yes, I’m okay. I just had a bad dream.”

“Yeah me too.” His father relaxed and leaned against the doorway. “So I noticed you fell asleep pretty early. I’m sorry I scared you, I didn’t mean…” he faltered.

“It’s okay dad. I understand.” Timothy stood and gave his father a hug.

“Cheese and crackers.” He swore like a man. “Did you sweat all night?”

“I accidentally left my window open,” Timothy admitted.

“Oh, I’m sorry bub.” He rubbed his son’s cheek with his palm and thumb. It smelled of his peppermint soap. It was nice and cool. “By the way, the Principal called me last night. He said you could enter a special needs class to help adapt to your condition.”

“Oh…” The embarrassment still stung from the previous day. “That’s good. I can’t wait!” He said as excited as he could.

His father smiled warmly. “Thanks for being so understanding. We should go get some ice cream later!”

“Yeah!” Timothy cheered.

His father began to leave the room. “I know this is still a sore subject because it’s hard for me too, but I have to ask,” Father’s face was hidden from the doorway, and his voice was low, “Have you seen your mother’s wheelchair?”

The thought of the wheelchair immediately brought him back to the dream. He shook it out of his mind, and replied, “No, I haven’t seen it.”

There was silence for a moment. “No worries, son. I’m sure it’s somewhere.” He came back into the room, planted a kiss on top of Timothy’s head, and left.

I am not going back, Timothy thought. The embarrassment was too much for him, and he didn’t want to be a burden any longer.

He redressed himself in an orange tee with black horizontal stripes, a pair of tan cargo shorts, and grey tennis shoes with a green stripe.

I know, he didn’t even shower before. Gross, right?

He emptied his backpack of books and stuffed in some spare shirts, pants, a few pairs of socks, a handful of granola bars he had tucked away in his closet, and an extra pair of shoes. Before sneaking out of his room, he grabbed a bamboo walking stick and a picture from his wall of him and his parents, smiling playfully in the garden.

The door sounded like a hungry cat as it creaked open. He peeked down the hall to his father’s room, whose door was slightly open. Elias was on the phone with someone. Probably his secretary. Then he tip-toed to the top of the staircase and slowly walked down, trying to be as light as he could without also leaning against the wobbly rail.

When he reached the foyer, he could hear that his father already had his favorite cartoon on the television “The Great Adventures of Snerly James.” He could smell bacon, blueberry bagels, and warmed maple syrup waiting for him in the living room, and it made his stomach grumble like a mouse pining after some chocolate.

He paused for a moment and thought Where am I going? When it came to family, this was it. He turned around to the French double doors to his father’s extravagant garden. Lush and full of life, and far out past the maze was a humongous field of green hills and tall trees. I know I don’t want to be here.

He truly wasn’t thinking logically and sometimes I wish I could have turned him around. He opened the doors and slipped into the garden. His father wanted diversity in his backyard, so part of the garden had vegetables, like corn and pumpkins and carrots, and part of it was flowers, like daisies, roses, and tulips. In between the two was a circular fountain that had four otters across from each other, spouting water between their teeth to the top level of the fountain, which then trickled down to the bottom. Just a few steps away encompassed the rectangular maze that stretched over fifty yards and was twenty-five wide.

Timothy knew the path to the gate, but as a surprise to him, some of the decorations from last year were still up. There were cow skulls embedded into the grassy walls, terrifying portraits of regular people with ghastly faces. No, I don’t just mean ugly people. And spiders, real and fake, were everywhere.

It tugged at his heart because this was what they did every Halloween. He didn’t want to look at it, so he hefted his walking stick, kept his head down, and ran through the maze. This was his home, I could do this with my eyes closed. Confident, right?

TRIP.

He opened his eyes and saw gravity pulling him in for a hug, but first, it politely kissed his forehead. You know those cartoons where when someone gets hit in the head, rubber ducks start to float around their noggin? That’s kind of what Timothy was seeing at this point.

Crunch crunch.. “I think you rather deserved that.” He heard someone say.

Timothy slowly opened his eyes. He expected to his father, or even the gardener, but when he turned skyward, he saw no one.

“You’re thinking too tall.” He turned to the right, and there he saw his pumpkin doll leaning against the wall, pulling a scorpion with a chewed up tail out of a crab apple. “Is this why they call them crab apples?”

#short story #Timothy Peppers #writing #wordbistro #october #fall #autumn #halloween #spooky #funny #pumpkin #poetry #writer #writers #story #fiction #amwriting #read #blog #mustread #wattpad

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ain-t-bovvered · 6 years

Text

Out of Heaven’s reach

edited by @waywardbaby

Pairings: Castiel X Angel Reader

Characters : Castiel , Dean , Sam , some nasty ass curse.

Summary: When the boys hit the 4th dead end, Castiel knew they were on the road to give up, maybe it was time to ask heaven for help, there must be some of his brother or sister who didn’t wanted him dead.

Warnings:Fluffy angst. Wings, Angel Mojo, Angels true form , flying.

Part 1 Part 2

He wasn’t kidding when he told you he couldn’t keep up with you.

You had to keep dragging him by his hand, as he let the air brush through his broken wings. You were flying , he was gliding. You could feel his essence being stirred and , judging by how his wings were trembling, you could just see how much he missed this.

Feeling something constricting your throat you coughed, but nothing changed apart from the vessel’s eyes beginning to tear up.

Dabbing the cheeks with the back of your hand, you sprinted up, eliciting a startled, choked sound from him as the gentle soar turned into a race, you dragging him further up, above the cloud, where human light couldn’t reach anymore.

Once out a thick cloud you resumed the same pace as before, not caring about the confused look he gave you.

“I prefer this view” you simply said.

“I know you grew to love humanity but they have a habit of ruining landscapes and…” you nervously glanced in his direction, “... I thought you missed this”

Turning around another cumulus of clouds the starry sky opened up in front of you, thick with darkness and stars. You could see the orange tinge of the dawn starting to seep through the horizon.

“We often watched the dawn together” he said coming to stand beside you, his hand on your shoulder, both for support and ….familiarity?.

You peeked at him, the wind that was moving the cloud around you, was making his vessel’s longer strands of hair dance, the long coat he was wearing flapping around the body, his other clothes clinging to the flesh.

His face was content, eyes squinting against the light and wind, and a soft smile on his lips.

As the sun began to rise, the sky filled with orange hues, reflecting on his face and the pure white clouds all around you.

Sensing your stare he turned his head to you, the lapel of his coat being flipped around against his cheek.

“I always thought your wings were the same colour of dawn”

“Orange?” you asked glancing back at your feathers as they stirred under his praise.

“ Peach…” he said looking at them. He stretched out his hand and your vessel seemed to stop its breathing function “...like the reflection of the rising sun on the purest white of the clouds”.

He touched them, gently raking his fingers through the sturdiest flight feathers , reaching the fluffy, semiplumes beneath. Your vessel shivered. He seemed transfixed as his attention was on your wings.

“Such a pretty colour, so faint but always so warm against the cold white” he spoke like you were telling secrets to each other, like you weren’t the only ones floating in the sky.

Reaching out you gently stretched his right not fully relaxed wing out but sensing his discomfort you froze.

“Do they hurt?”

“...they used to, at the beginning, but not anymore. I rarely use them now, I guess they are just out of shape” he smiled timidly at you “ and there is not much to see, not anymore”.

“I always envied your wings, Castiel “ you resumed your touch, disentangling the stubborn ones and smoothing others out of place. “So pure and blinding. Only the Archangels had purer ones” . He watched your hand caressing his now black sparse feathers and covered it with his, stopping you.

“I wear this colour like a badge of honor. What you describe was me before, when I was just another puppet, a hammer” he smiled fondly.

“...Freedom is a length of rope, and God wants you to hang yourself with it…” you quoted him and he looked at you, eyes wide.

“Oh, I heard that Castiel… I kept my distance, I always avoided the orders to kill you. They could never find me. I hid. I lived in solitude most of the time. They all knew how close we were. Did you think they wouldn’t come after me?” you asked staring back at him. “ The safest place for me to stay, most of the times, was beside you, without you knowing it. Without anyone knowing it”

You turned to look at the rising sun again.

“When things calmed down I would come back to my brothers and sisters, only to fly away again when you came back….and we all know how that went”

You felt his hand falter, his grip loosening on your shoulder. You gripped his hand, stopping him.

“I forgave you Castiel” you said turning to him again, your other hand cupping his cheek as your grace caressed his. “You should forgive yourself, too. Your heart was always in the right place, and too much of it has always been your problem”.

“I killed so many Y/N, even with the fall I -” he whispered broken and shaky.

“...you did”

He lowered his eyes, his lips tight “...but you were also chosen by Father, and he brought you back, you were brought back so many times. Isn’t that a hint of how important you are in the grand scheme of things?”

“Father left us again, and look what’s become of heaven”

Gripping his shoulders, you moved him in front of you, the flaming rays of the sun outlining his figure like he was the source of them.

“Have you ever consider that our brothers and sisters are just very bad at management ?”

What you now saw, you were certain, was a smile tugging at his lips. The image fitting his true form really well and for a moment you saw your old friend as you always remembered him. Then his wings stretched out, the sun cutting through the sparse feathers , like they were bleeding light.

Another unfamiliar feeling tugged at the vessel’s chest.

“We...should get back. The six hours are almost over” you heard him say.

“Well, well, well, look who the cat finally dragged in” .

Coming down the stairs of the bunker you saw the two hunters casually sitting, one of them in a sloppy way, with his legs on the table where there was food and what seemed the hot brown water humans loved so much.

“My apologies, Dean. We were-”

“-reminiscing?” he smirked bringing the mug to his lips. “..maybe some cloud seeding?” he said before taking a sip.

“I flew him past the clouds but I don’t see how seeding would be involved”

The other hunter looked at Castiel with raised eyebrows, while his brother choked on his drink. Castiel seemed embarrassed by their stares before holding up the plastic bags from the store .

“I have brought Y/N to get something else to wear”

“Aaw, shopping date, that’s ..that’s very cute buddy” he stretched on the chair, leaning toward him “did you bring me pie?”

Castiel’s eyes made a strange movement, a totally unnecessary rotation while he dropped the other bag in Dean’s lap.

While the hunter happily dived into the bag, Castiel handed you the ones with the new clothes you had to choose earlier.

“You should change, we can talk about the case once you’re done”

As he walked back to the table you started to undress, slowly, still not used to having all these appendice that went in holes and fabric .

“Ehm...Cass!...” the tall brother called, covering his eyes.

“Oh come on Sammy, don’t ruin this” the other whined, chuckling with his mouth full, staring at you .

Castiel spooned around and quickly threw his coat over the exposed chest.

“How about I show you to a room Y/N?”

Looking in the mirror you studied your vessel, from the length of the hair, which you recalled annoyed you during the flight, to the groomed toenails clipped clean by nurses. Slipping into the clothes, you grimaced. The vessel per se wasn’t enough, you had to cover the cover with something else too, and all these buttons and strings were confusing. After the last attempt to do all the buttons of the shirt you gave up. Who cared anyway?!

Slipping the long gray coat on you walked to the closed door, behind which Castiel was waiting.

“Are you finish-” he stopped, looking at your open shirt, gulped down and raised his hands, skillfully doing the buttons one by one “Yes...these can be a little tricky in the beginning. There, you alright?”

“Could you help me with this?” you asked lifting a lock of your hair “ I want it gone” you said tugging at it.

“I’m not sure the human will be happy about it, it is her body anyway” he looked pensive for a second, “Give me a minute” he said and he walked away .

“....how can I give you that?” you called after him.

Several seconds later he came back and turned you around. You felt his fingers grazing on the skin leaving behind a cold sensation, and felt the hair being lifted from the shoulders.

After some pulling and tugging, the hair was finally away from the eyes, the vision cleared.

“How did you do that?” you asked turning around quickly, the rest of the hair slapping your vessel’s face. You spat out as some strands ended up in the mouth.

“I can access memory of what has been my vessel if I want, he...used to do this to his daughter, Claire”.

“Why would you want that?”

“Because...these humans gifted us with a means to walk the earth, and it’s fair to know who they were”.

Dean’s booming voice resounded in the bunker corridors.

“Hey Doves, you done cooing at each other? We’ve got a case to solve”

Once in the main room again you noticed that there where now books and papers covering the table.

“Oh wow you feathers sure like your grays and long coats I see” Dean said looking up from a book, the tall brother, Sam, pacing around with a heavy book in his hands. As you walked past him he threw you a glance only to do a quick double take with a confused look.

“Cass…is that my …?”

“Y/N needed it”

“...yes....but..”

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked .

“N-nothing. So get this…”

Tell me if you want the tag in this

@waywardbaby @curly-haired-disaster @time-travel-bouqet @dean-winchesters-bacon @babyimp1967 @icysundown @emoryhemsworth @wingedcatninja @imma-winchester-addict @destiel-is-my-oxygen-life-death @southbreak @ilovetvshowsblog @ezilyamuzed @ravenangel33 @maimalfoi @hannahindie @marilynnlew @mariekoukie6661 @wayward-and-worn @multifandombackpack @raelady1184 @mah1c @sculptorofbeginnings @spnskinnyballs @starfirerules @missjenniferb @hunterswearingplaid @younoeatcheeseyounobefat @theangelwinchester @missihart23 @weathergirl83 @ravenhg @soloarcana @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @sexykitten253 @ackleholicwinchester @clarinette07 @biawol @snffbeebee @daskleinevolk @demonic-impala @choosemyname @lydklein1 @imperfxctlydean @dawnreadsfics @angeltardisbow @castiel-saved-me-from-myself @dont-you-dare-say-misha @julesthequirky @youhaveaguineapigwhere @shows-up-naked-covered-in-bees

#out of heaven's reach 3 #castiel x reader #castiel x angel reader #cass x reader #castiel x you #castiel #reader insert #supernatural reader insert fic #supernatural #supernatural castiel #supernatural fanfiction #readerx castiel

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real-life-pine-tree · 7 years

Text

Seed of Darkness: A Brand New Invasion (4/?)

All it takes it one bad seed to spoil the whole bunch. An AU collab with @violetganache42.

Elsewhere, Dipper was in an alleyway with a cloaked person. They had just finished a duel and a dark red aura was forming around him. However, a glimpse of the clocked person's face alarmed him.

"You're-" Dipper started to say.

"Shh..." the cloaked person said, putting a finger to her own lips. "Don't be afraid," she said. "Embrace the gift of the Reverse."

A horrified Dipper couldn’t find the right words to help convey his reaction on what was happening. What is this Reverse that she speaks of? Who was this cloaked person? She looked so much like her, but she wasn’t here, so…why does she strongly resemble Zuzu? Right as he was about to muster up strength to respond, he could feel the power overtake him as his vision began to blur due to his blue eyes becoming soulless. He then fell down to his knees, which satisfied the cloaked Zuzu lookalike.

"See?" the lookalike asked. "That wasn't hard, was it?"

"Of course not," Dipper answered as he stood back up. "Now to spread the will of the Void."

"Yes," the lookalike agreed. "It will be pleased with the progress I have made."

Dipper raised his head up to look directly at the cloaked Zuzu-like girl with a whole new expression on his face along with the red markings given to him from the Void. Another person had fallen victim to the gift of the Reverse, pleasing her because this will help speed up the process of her plan.

"It won't be long now," the lookalike said. "I have already Reversed everyone in Duel Academy. It won't be long until everyone in this dimension also joins us."

Meanwhile, at the optometry clinic, Yoko and Yuto had already arrived and were both sitting in the waiting room. With everyone else ahead of them, they had to wait for their turn, so they decided to watch the live broadcast of the Arc League Championship on Yuto’s Duel Disk. They saw the full duel between Yuya and Iggy, and needless to say, they were just as confused and scared as the audience about what happened.

"I don't understand," Yoko said, voicing concern. "Yuya never acted that vicious before. What got into him?"

"It must have been that virus," Yuto realized. "What if it caused something to possess him?"

"Like a demon?" Yoko asked.

"Probably," Yuto answered. "His dragon didn't look normal."

At that point, a clinic employee entered the waiting room. "Mr. Osaku?" she asked.

Yuto tensed up. "Don't worry," Yoko said. "It will only take a few minutes."

"Alright," Yuto said. He took a deep breath. "I just hope Yuya is okay."

Meanwhile, back at the Center Duel Field, Yuya was off in the sidelines and wasn’t okay at all. A few hours had passed and he couldn’t get his duel against Iggy out of his head, but could you blame him? All he wanted was to make him feel better and not use violence towards his opponents, but he ended up making things worse for him instead. According to Zuzu and Gong, he got those weird markings and his tone sounded more cynical. It also didn’t help that everyone was horrified by what they all witnessed, so he wasn’t in the mood to come out in public where they could see him, especially since Zuzu’s duel was coming up.

As Nico announced the introduction of Micky Starlett of Dueling Dynamos as Zuzu's opponent, Yuya simply looked at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He let out a sob, horrified with what apparently happened to him. "Oh Odd-Eyes..." he said. "What's happening to me?"

Meanwhile, Zuzu stepped onto the dueling field, ready for her duel. Even though Micky was hogging the spotlight, she wouldn't let that bother her. "Before this duel is over, I'll win 'em over to my side!" she vowed.

Elsewhere, inside the back area of the stadium, the cloaked Zuzu lookalike, her associate, and Dipper all walked down the hallways in search for more people to give them the gift of Reverse. The more victims they can hunt down, the more vulnerable this dimension will be for a takeover. Not far away from them was a young man walking in the opposite direction of where they were heading. He was fair-skinned with lavender hair and green eyes and wore a dark violet, button-up shirt with dark yellow linings and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a red tie, a white short-sleeved jacket with an LID pin attached to it, dark pants, a tucked red and black checkered pattern handkerchief, and dark maroon shoes. He was known as Kev Ravenwood, a student of LID’s XYZ Summon course, winner of last year’s Junior Youth division and currently a participant of the Senior division. He had already won his duel and was taking a break before heading off to the finals when he spotted the trio.

"Hey, backstage is only for competitors still in the tournament!" Kev pointed out.

"Are you...a strong Duelist?" the lookalike asked.

Kev was surprised upon seeing the lookalike's face. "Aren't you-"

"Correct you are, Ravenwood."

Upon hearing Declan's voice, the lookalike threw off her cloak to reveal her identity to Kev. She had a ponytail consisting of indigo hair and light blue side tails that were the same length as Zuzu’s and light green eyes. Her clothes were a variant of Duel Academy’s female Slifer Red uniform: a three-quarter-sleeved red jacket with two black buckles and a yellow stripe with a green-and-yellow star on each sleeve, a black shirt with a purple-brown collar, a red skirt with a brown belt, silver buckle ring with two brown straps going over her torso, black biker shorts, and brown boots. Her accessories included an orange handkerchief used to tie her hair up, and a brown glove on her left hand. Her most defining physical traits were her facial appearance looking exactly like Zuzu’s; additionally, she also had the same terrifying features as Dipper and her associate, meaning that she was Reversed too. The combination of the two made Kev more concerned than he initially was.

"Declan?" Kev asked.

"You may leave now, Ravenwood," Declan said.

"But..." Kev started to say.

"The way you won today was quite impressive," Declan said. "I look forward to your next match."

Kev nodded in understanding. "You won't be disappointed," he said.

But as Kev turned to leave, the lookalike looked rather unhappy. "Don't move!" she exclaimed as she ran forward.

However, Declan quickly grabbed her wrist, halting her. "Lay off!" she exclaimed.

"Get going now," Declan told Kev, prompting the Senior division Duelist to run off.

The lookalike pulled away from Declan. "Get out of my way!" she exclaimed. "Just who do you think you are?!"

The lookalike's associate stepped forward. "Let me take care of him," he said.

He also removed his cloak to give Declan an idea on who he will be dueling against. He was a tall, tan-skinned man with a buff body build, grayish-teal, spiky hair swept backwards, and crimson eyes. He wore a long-sleeved, dark green jacket with four pouches and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal his wrapped bandages on his forearms, a black shirt that partially covers his X-shaped scar, gray pants with a black belt, and black shoes. He also adorned with a silver pendant around his neck and an eyepatch on his left eye, which barely conceals his huge scar.

However, the lookalike looked at Declan, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "No," she said. "You can't duel him."

"But the Void wants us to spread its gift," the associate pointed out.

"Not him," the lookalike said. "I can sense the dueling energy of his deck. He has Pendulum cards."

Declan raised his eyebrows out of surprise by what she just stated. She was aware of him containing Pendulum cards and told her associate not to duel him. Could it be that she may have given the former an advantage to this dueling viral outbreak? He closed his eyes and adjusted his red glasses while having his mouth form a smirk. It seems that the usage of Pendulum cards may be their weakness, Declan thought to himself. By glancing at or sensing someone’s deck, they can tell if that Duelist can Pendulum Summon or not, so they must have decided to spread their disease onto the Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ users and avoid the Pendulum users. Seems the creation of the Pendulum cards proved to be more beneficial than I thought.

With Declan currently focused on his thoughts, the Reversed trio read his body emotion differently than him. They could tell he was fine with him not dueling with the associate at the moment and he had other plans in mind. Plans to try and thwart the Void. Not that it matters anyways. Try as he might, whatever he’s got cooking up will be nothing but feeble attempts to delay the inevitable.

Declan's glance shifted to Dipper. "So that's why Dipper failed to show up for his duel with Reed," he commented, changing topics.

"Precisely," the lookalike said. "He was chosen to carry out the will of the Void. His Constellar cards will be of great use to spread its power."

"What exactly is this Void?" Declan asked. "And why would you side with it?"

The lookalike let out a dark laugh. "I know you tend to sell your soul during duels," she said, referring to the Dark Contract cards. "Surely you would understand."

"Except I know this is not you, Celina," Declan said, addressing the lookalike by name. "We met two years ago. What made you fall into darkness since then?"

A few seconds later, Celina finally spoke. "Picture it," she said. "You are a soldier-in-training in Duel Academy. You spent your whole life wanting to prove yourself to the head of the school. But no matter how many times you prove your strength, all he wants to do is keep you locked up, not being able to rank up into the class of elite soldiers.

"So one day, after an encounter with a mysterious young teen, you finally decide to snoop around and figure out what the ultimate goal of Duel Academy is. But after finally hacking into the computer system, you learn the truth. If the dimensions were all merged together successfully, the results would include your own death. Then it hits you: the person you looked up to all these years was merely using you as a tool to further his goals!

"But just as you're about to give up, just as you hear people approach the room to probably erase your memories of what you discovered, you come across a mysterious entity that strongly resembles the Devil himself. This entity promises to free you from that fate of death. It will give you the power you need to fight back in exchange for you helping it spread its power. So, realizing there's no other option, you accept this entity's offer, letting it give you a portion of its power to defy your destined death.

"With this new power, you are finally able to fight back. But for now, upon the entity's orders, you wait, not wanting anyone else to know about the change you went through. Even after two years, you still wait. It wasn't time yet. You knew the cue was the disappearance of your chains.

"Ultimately the plan to fuse all the dimensions starts to take shape. That's when you strike in the shadows, wanting to free the other ones who wear similar chains. You manage to liberate two of them, freeing them from the same fate of death. Then one day, it finally happens."

Celina lifted up her right arm to reveal her bare wrist. "The chains you wore your whole life are finally gone," she continued. "That was your cue. You know the man who held you hostage this whole time is now powerless. So you finally confront him, making sure he would never interfere with your life ever again.

"With the grand manipulator out of the way, you proceed to destroy all of his progress. You even free everyone who was imprisoned. But while you send some people back to their home dimensions, the others stay as part of your own personal army. And with this new army, you are able to take control of all of Duel Academy. Every defeated Duelist becomes part of your army, so you keep repeating this process until you finally convert everyone in the school over to your side."

Declan was rendered speechless all of the information Celina revealed and had to process what he heard. This Void entity came to her because she found out about the Professor planning to fuse all four dimensions by apparently using herself, Zuzu, and their other two counterparts to fuel the merge at the cost of all their lives. Because of that, she freed her imprisoned counterparts and the non-Duelists of Heartland City, but the XYZ Duelists and the students of Duel Academy were now part of its army right after she ended her “idol’s” life before he could end hers. But that meant… Declan’s jaw dropped out of pure shock when he realized what she had done to the Professor. He was no ordinary professor. He was the same man who abandoned his family to head off to the Fusion Dimension. The same man who brought Action Duels to the Standard Dimension alongside Yusho Sakaki. The man known as Leo Akaba. His father…was dead.

"You murdered Leo Akaba?" Declan asked.

"Correct," Celina answered. She took out a card from her deck. "But it wasn't that hard. All I did was summon my ace and ordered her to attack him."

"With your Duel Disk?" Declan asked.

"No need," Celina said, the card now producing a dark red aura. "With the power of the Reverse, I can bring her to life without Solid Vision. Care for a little demonstration, Cat Dancer - Reverse?"

The card flashed a bright white light that sent out a black beam of energy into the real world. Upon impact, it exploded on the ground before materializing into what resembled the silhouette of a female duel monster with notable feline traits. The black energy vanished to uncover Celina’s ace monster coated in dark red aura: Cat Dancer - Reverse. Much like Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon, she also had a similar appearance to her incarnation Lunalight Cat Dancer but with some alterations. Her hair was white with long, luscious strands and locks of hair, her eyes were golden yellow underneath her black and magenta mask, and the colors of her clothes consisted of a black dress with long pieces of gray silk sewn all over the dress, a magenta cloth covering her breasts, a large, light and dark blue, crescent-shaped headpiece, and black barefoot stockings and arm sleeves. Instead of gold crescent moons and gold rings on her hands and feet, she had blood red Link Joker emblems and the rings were replaced with the black halos surrounded by the red light.

Declan took a few steps back in alarm. "What kind of demon is that thing?" he demanded.

"She's not a demon," Celina explained. "Cat Dancer - Reverse is a Fusion-Joker monster, the combination of a Duel Monster and a Unit. All of her stats remain the same, but she now has the traits of a Unit, specifically a Unit's Grade and skill in combination with her new special ability."

"A Unit?" Declan repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, that's right," Celina said. "Didn't anyone tell you that the Void is actually from another planet?"

Declan questioned her on what she meant by the Void being from another planet and she took it as a sign that no one ever bothered to explain to him about what the Void is because it was all new to him. To put it simply, it was his way of telling her “no”.

"And that's why the Void chose to target Duelists," Celina continued. "You clueless people have no idea what it actually is. What better way to invade a planet than infect itself into the unfamiliar?"

"Celina, please listen to me," Declan said. "I understand how upset you probably felt two years ago, but you must stop. Can't you see how this could backfire?"

"You should be thanking me," Celina said. "Without the Void, Leo would still be alive. Now that I killed him, I ended the Interdimensional War before it could spread to other dimensions. I even liberated two of my other selves from their destined deaths, so they're much safer in my care."

"I beg your pardon?" Declan asked.

"Relax," Celina said. "I'll return them to their home dimensions once the Void is satisfied with my work."

Declan began thinking to himself again. Her counterparts are no longer imprisoned by my father yet they’re still at Duel Academy. She ended the war to prevent the dimensions from fusing, but she’s putting them all in great danger by successfully Reversing everyone at the Academy. Does that mean she managed to Reverse her counterparts as well before setting her sights on the students?

"Then from this point forward, I will change my priorities towards stopping the Void," Declan ultimately decided.

Celina frowned. "You dare make yourself an enemy of the Reverse?" she challenged.

"You're spreading the Reverse to everyone in all of the dimensions," Declan pointed out. "You didn't end the Interdimensional War. You only changed my opposition."

"Very well," Celina said. She retreated her ace back into her card before taking out a different card; a Spell card called Lunar Eclipse. "You have made a grave mistake, Declan Akaba. There's no stopping the will of the Void. This planet will be shrouded in darkness, and there's not a thing you can do to stop us."

A thick layer of black, cloudy fog faded in and covered Celina, her associate named Barrett, and Dipper. Declan ran towards them, but he stopped before he could reach them because the fog and the Reversed trio were all gone. With nothing else left to do, he grabbed his Duel Disk and contacted his mother Henrietta to warn her about a far more dangerous threat than the Interdimensional War.

At the same time, a young teen had just finished winning his duel not long after Zuzu’s and was walking inside the stadium. He had fair skin, gingery, spike-shaped, curly hair, green eyes, and a beauty mark underneath his right eye. He wore a long-sleeved, light blue, button-up collared shirt with a fuchsia ribbon tie around his neck, an orange jacket with an orange-yellow-black pocket on the left side no right sleeve, and a shorter right hang, gray pants, reddish-brown shoes, and a black glove on his left hand. The name of this teen was Dennis McField, an LID exchange student in Performing Arts and part of the XYZ Summon course, as well as one of the 16 Junior Youth Duelists advancing to the finals. Unbeknownst to everyone, he was actually an Obelisk Blue student and double agent from Duel Academy tasked with spying on the Standard Dimension to help the Professor retrieve Zuzu and Celina. As he idled in the halls of the stadium, his Duel Disk received a notification and sounded a ringtone; when he went to grab it, he saw that it was Yuri and Sora calling him to deliver the bad news and a warning. Curious, he answered the call.

"Oh, hey guys," Dennis said. "I was just about to call you. I saw Zuzu in the stadium, so-"

"Forget about the mission, Red!" Sora interrupted. "You've gotta protect Zuzu now!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Dennis asked.

"What Sora is trying to say is that there has been a change in plans," Yuri explained. "You see, the Professor was murdered."

Dennis nearly dropped his Duel Disk in alarm. "Please tell me that's one of your silly pranks, Yuri," he said.

"This is not a joke, my second-in-command and closest ally," Yuri said. "I found his corpse covered in bloody slash marks. There's not doubt that it's the work of Celina."

"Celina?" Dennis repeated. "But I thought she escaped to this dimension."

"I'm afraid not," Sora said. "Worse, she has formed an alliance with a demonic entity, spreading its power to everyone she encounters. She's probably taken over all of Duel Academy at this point."

"Oh dear..." Dennis said.

"Now do you understand what we must do?" Yuri asked. "At the moment, it seems we're the last followers of the Professor. We have to gather as many allies as possible to warn them about this."

"Well at least the people we carded aren't going to waste," Dennis hoped.

"Except Celina had freed every single one of them," Yuri added.

"And since she already stopped Yuri from capturing Lulu and Rin, I've got a bad feeling she's after Zuzu next," Sora said.

"So that's why you want me to protect her," Dennis realized. "But how could I get her to trust me?"

"Tell her you know me," Sora said. "I already earned her trust, so using me as a reference should make things easier."

"Alright," Dennis said. "For the good of Duel Academy, the true Duel Academy, I'll keep Zuzu safe."

"Thank you," Yuri said. "We will join you some time today. Hopefully Violet Flash won't transport Sora and myself to another country this time."

Dennis couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by that and Yuri explained that Violet Flash teleported him and Sora to halfway in Paradise City. He was kind of hoping they would actually end up in LID in no time, but it never hurts to try again; worst case scenario is they end up using it over and over again until they make it to their destination right in the nick of time.

Meanwhile, at LID, Henrietta was currently speaking to the Senior Division Lancers. Declan had just told her about the change in enemy, so she had to adjust the company's plan to form the Lancers.

"I'm terribly sorry for the sudden news, but I strongly urge all of you to stay home until further notice," Henrietta explained.

"What?" Kev asked. "But why?"

"There is a terrible outbreak going on," Henrietta explained. "If our strongest allies are infected over to their side, the battle will turn in the enemy's favor. You must let the decided Lancers take care of this from this point forward."

"Don't you mean 'defected over to their side'?" a purple-haired teen dressed in pink asked.

"No, I mean infected," Henrietta clarified. "The virus spreads to whoever loses to the enemy. I cannot let any of you fall victim to them, so you must stay out of this war."

Kev and the rest of the Senior Division Lancers all stared at each other from the news of the viral outbreak taking place. A pathogen capable of turning others into servers of the enemy? This kind of sounds similar to a zombie apocalypse but with it targeting Duelists instead of the entire human population. Just then, the brown-haired teen dressed in blue realized something; his head turned to his right where he saw the room’s clock and saw that it was almost noon. The finals of the Junior Youth Division were starting any minute, meaning they will most likely be vulnerable victims ripe for the taking.

But as the finalists were lined up to begin the Battle Royale, Yuya's mind was occupied. He had used his goggles to cover his eyes, still feeling upset about how he apparently attacked Iggy. Could this be related to him having bradycardia?

While Nico was going over the Battle Royale rules, Zuzu noticed Yuya's upset expression. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Do I look alright to you?" Yuya asked in response, a coldness in his voice.

Zuzu was taken back by the blunt response. "Is this about what happened with Iggy?" she asked.

"You and Gong said I was using a card called Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon," Yuya recalled as he sobbed. "But I checked my deck multiple times and there's no sign of that card." He took out his deck, which had Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon on top. "Are you sure that's what happened?"

"I'm sure," Zuzu replied. She gave Yuya's hand a gentle squeeze. "I don't understand what's going on either, but you can't let that bother you."

Yuya put his deck back in his Duel Disk. "How can I?" he asked. "What if that...thing happens again? What if I end up losing control?"

"Yuya..." Zuzu said.

"I'm sorry Zuzu," Yuya said, his body shaking. "But I don't think I can ever duel again."

Zuzu felt saddened by Yuya’s claim of not wanting to duel anymore. It was his number one dream of being a Dueltainer just like his father, so seeing this demonic event take place crushed any hopes of having his dream become a reality. He doesn’t want to end up becoming a monster again, but the fear of the unknown kept lingering in his mind. Right as Zuzu was about to comfort her friend, a trembling Yuya bolted from the row of the Junior Youth finalists and out of the Center Duel Field. Nico spotted him running away and misinterpreted it as him getting too eager to wait any longer and gave himself a head start; coincidentally, there was less than a minute left until noon, and with the ARC System deployed all over the city and preparing to project the four Action Fields, he carried on with finishing his announcements regarding the Battle Royale.

"Well it seems Yuya Sakaki couldn't wait any longer," Nico said. "So without further ado, let the Arc League Championship finals begin!"

With a snap of his fingers, Action and Pendulum cards were scattered all over Paradise City and the gates opened up, leading to the remaining 15 Duelists to head out onto the fields to begin their Battle Royale. In Zuzu’s case, she diverted herself from the group to find Yuya since he took a different way out of the Center Duel Field. Everyone else split apart to search for the Pendulum cards in order to aide them in their duels, especially Dennis because he, Yuri, and Sora have to do whatever it takes to protect Zuzu from this new threat. He was hoping they do get here on time before it’s too late. All 16 Duelists were now all over the city, but none of them were aware of the presence of three beings because they were hiding themselves away in an alleyway shortly after teleporting and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

#Seed of Darkness #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #cardfight!! vanguard #Link Joker

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tipsycad147 · 5 years

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How To Work Magic With Poppets

Julie Hopkins

In the witchcraft tradition, poppets are dolls made to represent a specific person for a magical purpose. Each poppet is unique because it is made by the witch who is casting the spell. Many people associate this magical tool with curses but it’s like any other magical tool. Sure, poppets can be used to curse but they’re also used for healing, manifesting, and protection spells.

How To Make A Poppet

Poppets are simple to make and it’s a fun, creative process. You don’t have any special materials. If you don’t have something, improvise. It doesn’t matter if the doll looks like the person it’s representing. Its power comes from the intention and energy you pour into it as you’re making and working with your poppet.

Making your poppet is part of your magical practice so you may want to create a sacred space in the area you’re planning on putting together your poppet. This can be done by using your preferred method.

Materials

To assemble your poppet-making materials, head to your local craft store, rummage through your cabinets, or go for a walk to collect interesting looking sticks and leaves. The main thing is to select materials you think will support your purposes. If you’re looking to cast a quick spell, you can opt to shape a doll out of aluminium foil. Thinking of performing a banishing spell? Make a doll out of meat and feed it to your dog. The possibilities are endless.

Also, consider the way you’re planning on disposing of your poppet after your spell. If you’re planning on sending your doll away in running water, make it out of natural materials like sticks or corn husks. If you plan on keeping your poppet and using it for multiple spells, use more durable materials like felt and thread.

Think about what colours, herbs, crystals, and oils would strengthen the intention of your poppet. Other, more unconventional objects can also lend power to your poppet such as responsibly sourced feathers to draw on the element of air, graveyard dirt, fur from your favourite pet, or your favourite bottle of nail polish. Each item should hold some kind of meaning to you. You might want to add an item or two that connects the poppet to the person it is representing—whether it’s you or someone else. It isn’t necessary to use items from yourself or another person. You can connect and activate a poppet using only energy.

Here’s a list of materials used to make poppets.

For the doll:

Felt

Cloth

Old t-shirts or socks worn by the person being represented

Burlap

Needle and thread (or embroidery floss, yarn dental floss, etc.)

Glue

Clay

Leaves

Sticks

Corn husks

Wax

Foil

Meat

Paper or cardboard

Potatoes or other food

For the stuffing:

Herbs

Crystals

Leftover spell candle wax

Magical dirt

Seeds

Coins or paper money

Glitter

Cotton balls anointed with oil

Ribbon

Flower petals

Tacks, safety pins, or other pointy objects for curses

Tissue paper

Dehydrated vegetables that support your intention (For example, use jalapeños for hexes and orange peels for happiness spells.)

A picture of the person being represented

Pieces of paper with sigils, incantations, or affirmations written on it

Magical tools such as runes or pendulums

Photos or images from magazines that support your intention

Assembling Your Poppet

You can find your own way of doing this, depending on what medium you’re using. For cloth, felt, or old clothes, you can follow this method.

1. Lay two pieces of fabric on top of each other.

2. Using chalk (or whatever works on your material), trace an outline of your poppet. Many times, this looks a bit like a gingerbread man, but if that doesn’t suit you, make it whatever shape you want.

Note: You may want to use a piece of cardboard to become a template of sorts. Then you can trace around it to make more poppets in the future and have them all be the same size and shape.

3. Cut out your fabric.

4. Add any decorative stitching to the outside of your poppet, such as red embroidery floss for a mouth or sewing on two buttons for eyes.

5. Stitch along the outside edge of your poppet and leave an opening of an inch or two. It doesn’t matter if you hand sew your poppet or use a sewing machine. Use what you’re most comfortable with. Start anywhere you want along the border of your poppet, but take into account where you plan on stuffing the poppet.

Note: Where you choose to stuff your poppet can add power to your intention. For a creativity or mental clarity spell, you might want to leave the opening by the head. For a healing spell, leave the opening nearest to the area in need of healing. For a fertility spell, leave a space between the poppet’s legs.

6. Turn your poppet inside out, so the seam is on the inside. (If you like the look of your poppet with the seam exposed, leave it as is.)

7. Once you’ve stitched your poppet, stuff it with whatever materials you’ve selected. As you add each ingredient, think about what kind of energy it will bring to your poppet.

8. Sew up the top of your poppet.

Decorating Your Poppet

Decorate your doll with markers, paint, or attaching bits of coloured fabric for clothes and hair. Draw sigils on your poppet or write out your entire intention along its body. If you’re familiar with runes, draw a rune on the doll. You can also use Tarot symbols. Write the name of the card that holds the energy you’d like your poppet to take on. Traditionally, the cards in the Major Arcana are considered the most powerful. The symbols of the tarot suits (cups, pentacles, wands, or swords) may add energy to your poppet as well.

If you haven’t already added something to your poppet that connects it to the person you’re casting the spell for, do so now. This could be as simple as tying a ribbon around the doll’s waist in that person’s favourite colour. In fact, if you activate your poppet properly, you can connect your poppet to the person it’s representing using energy alone.

Activating Your Poppet

There are a variety of ways you can do this, but we’ll cover the most common methods. The first step when activating your poppet is to state your intention, aloud or in your head.

Here are some examples:

If the poppet is representing you, you can say something like, “I am in perfect health and move through my life with abundant energy.”

If you’re casting a spell to manifest your ideal home, you can say something like, “I live in a two-story log cabin in the mountains of western North Carolina, and everything fell into place with perfect timing.”

For a poppet representing someone else, you can state your intention in the third person. “My mom attracts an abundance of money through unexpected channels and she uses it to enjoy a relaxing vacation in Hawaii.”

Sometimes you won’t know who your poppet is representing. This happens if your intention is to send a curse back to its sender. In that case, you can say something like, “This person who cursed me will now feel the full effect of their curse. I am free to release the energy of their curse.”

Pins, Wands, Or Athame

In secular witchcraft, pins can be used to activate your poppet. You can do this with any pin or tack, but I love the pins with the coloured balls on the end so you can incorporate your personal colour associations during your spellcasting.

Think of what part of the body you’d need to focus your energy on to fulfil your intention. To heal a broken heart, you might want to place a pin in the heart area of your poppet. As you do this, visualise energy moving into that one point on your poppet. Allow yourself to feel any emotions that come up as you focus all of your energy.

You can also use the tip of a wand or athame to direct energy to a specific point on your poppet’s body.

Ideal for: healing spells, manifestations associated with different body parts (Head, heart, third eye, etc)

Visualisation

After you’ve stated your intention, you can hold your poppet between your palms and visualise a scene from your life once your desire has manifested. If this poppet is for another person, visualise exactly what you’d like that person to experience because of your spell. In your mind’s eye, see where that person is when your spell manifests, what that person is doing, and how that person reacts to what he or she is experiencing.

Do this for about ten minutes, or until you feel you’ve fully communicated your intention and desired results to your poppet.

Ideal for: manifesting, curses, hexes, and protection spells

Creating A Poppet Altar

Arrange a few magical tools around or on top of your poppet to activate it with your intention. Crystals are an excellent choice for this. You can make your altar as simple or elaborate as you want. Sit at your poppet altar and meditate or leave your poppet on your altar until your spell has manifested.

Ideal for: any kind of poppet magic

How To Dispose Of A Poppet

If your spell is complete or you no longer need to use your poppet, you can dispose of your poppet.

First, you must separate the poppet from your own energy or the energy of the person it represents. Sprinkling salt on the poppet is one of the simplest ways to accomplish this. Remember to state your intention as you’re doing this and thank the poppet for the magical work it helped you perform.

You can say something like, “I am separate from this poppet, now and forever, and I thank it for its help.”

Then you have a few options for disposing of your poppet. You can burn it if all the materials are safe to burn. Another option is to bury the doll.

If the poppet is made of materials you found in nature, you can send the poppet down a moving body of water.

The last option is to throw your poppet out in the trash. You can cut up or disassemble your poppet if you want before doing this, but it’s unnecessary. As long as you thank and disconnect from your poppet, it’s safe to throw it out.

Note: If your poppet represents another person, I recommend you hold on to it in case you need to reverse or end that spell.

That’s all you need to get started making and using poppets in your witchcraft! Enjoy this creative magical project and consider doing this during your next full moon ritual.

https://thetravelingwitch.com/blog/how-to-work-magic-with-poppets

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gayerthanthesun-blog · 7 years

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Seamonkeys Prom

I posted this on ff.net but decided to try and post it on here too. It’s just a cute little re-imagining of the events near the end of volume 2. Enjoy!

♆

Having been hanging out with his best friend, Sun, for the majority of the past week, Neptune was starting to realise things about his blond companion that he never has before in the years he has known him. The way his face lights up when he smiles or laughs. How his hands move, never staying still for too long, and the way his tail seemingly has a mind of it’s own by always finding a way to brush up against Neptune when the two are sitting or standing close to each other.

The other day, Sun and Neptune had gone out to one of the coffee shops in the city of Vale. The evening light of the sun came through the windows and permeated the space. The lighting caught perfectly in Sun’s hair and produced a halo effect around his head. Neptune had become aware of his friend’s tail, that swayed back and forth like a clock that moved at a slower pace than the rest of the world, occasionally brushing against the inside of his leg before deciding to settle there. The constant contact was something Neptune didn’t think that Sun would notice or think any significance of, but the blue-haired boy certainly did.

The Faunus boy would make up a life story for every person that passed by the large window that their table sat in front of, causing an occasional laugh from Neptune. Sun was hyper-immersed into every story he was telling; however, every now and then, he would take a break to take a sip of coffee. The amount of caffeine that the boy was consuming was bound to result in a burst of hyperactivity and an eventual crash later that night. Neptune tried to pay attention to each theatrical story but he was constantly distracted by a combination of things: That dorky grin that would spread across his friends face every time he thought of something that was funny and the monkey tail, that now had ran up and down Neptune’s leg. Sun's mouth had a funny way of curving whenever he smiled and Neptune had always wondered how- -"Hey! Neptune! Man, are you even there?"

Neptune heard Sun over his daydream and he tried to focus back into reality. The two boys were in the dorm room that they shared with Sage and Scarlet. The red haired pirate was out in the city with some old friends for dinner and Sage had gone out for a walk with one of the girls he was talking with. Neptune took a glance around the room and it was exactly what anyone would expect a room occupied by four teenage boys to look like. Countless articles of clothing were strewn across the floor, most of which were his fault considering he did own the most clothes. Comic books, text books, and regular books alike were littered in various places around the room. Neptune couldn't remember the last time it had really been clean. The large and lone window in the room was open, allowing a pleasant coolness to enter the room, as evening light painted the room with orange and pink hues. The coolness and the light tempted Neptune to return to the daydream paradise but he knew constantly thinking about what could be with Sun wasn’t healthy.

“Nep, are you ever gonna answer me or are you gonna sit over here and be broody all night?”

Neptune batted away his friends hands instinctively. "Since when did you know what broody means?"

"Bro, I know some shit sometimes, and I still wanna know which shirt you think is better." Sun walked over to the one small closet that the two boys shared and pulled out two casual collared shirts. Neither of them were really appropriate for the dance but Sun was never dressed appropriately for anything, even remotely formal. "So what were ya thinking about while you weren’t listening to your best bro?"

For a split second, he had no idea what to say. Neptune was a quick thinker and always knew what to say at every turn in a conversation but somehow, Sun Wukong had left him speechless. He couldn't tell his best friend that he had been thinking about how his mouth curved every time he smiled. He couldn't tell his best friend that he had been wondering how girls felt when he kissed them. Logically, he knew that there was no way that Sun would stop being his friend if he told the truth; however, there was always a seed or a voice of doubt that spoke to Neptune every time he thought about saying anything. Neptune finally settled on a reply that wouldn't incriminate him, "I was just thinking about how much I'm totally not gonna dance at this dance, and I think that black one’s the best, " he mentioned casually

Sun laughed and put one of the shirts back in the closet. He put the other one down on the bed. The shirt was nearly a carbon copy of the one he had worn when they went down to that coffee shop. It was a plain black button that Sun would, without a doubt, wear halfway unbuttoned.

Sun put on a mocking voice,”Oh poor, poor Neptune, little baby can't dance.” Sun couldn't finish the sentence with a straight face. The edges of his mouth curved into his signature grin.

“Dude, shut up.” Neptune reached towards the head of his bed and grabbed one of the pillows before throwing it at Sun. He easily caught it and tossed it so that it landed back at the head of his friend’s bed.

“It's alright Nep, not all of us were meant to dance.” Sun patted Neptune on the cheek as if he was a child and bopped the blue-haired boy on the nose with his index finger. Sun made his way past Neptune and to the bathroom. “Bro, I still wanna hear what Weiss talked to you about earlier? Kay?” The boy slipped through the doorway and closed it behind him.

Neptune heard the shower cut on and let out a sigh. He walked over to the mirror that hung above the only dresser in the room. A reflection stared back at him as he replayed his awkward encounter with Weiss over again in his head.

Weiss Schnee had tracked down Neptune earlier that day and, in an incredibly formal tone, asked him to escort her to the dance in the true fashion of a girl who had grown up in Atlas as the heir of a dust empire. Neptune had met countless people who were a part of Remnant’s wealthy class. He had grown up into that society and typically hated doing anything with those people, not because he had a problem with those who had money, but because the people who fell into that class often had little regard for anyone besides themselves. People like Weiss were the same people who had refused to let Sun into shops and made condescending remarks under their breath whenever a Faunus walked into the room.

Neptune didn’t think that the girl with white hair was a bad person because she had friends like Ruby and Yang. Anyone that could pass Yang’s terms of friendship had to be at least a halfway decent person. Not to mention that she was on the same team as Blake, and Sun hadn’t stopped talking about how amazing it was to meet another cool Faunus just minutes after jumping off the boat. Neptune saw past the high society veneer that Weiss had and saw that she was kind of cool; however, there was still a problem with going to the dance with her. He didn’t want to go to the dance with her. Neptune wanted to go to the dance with somebody that he knew, with somebody that had been there for him. Neptune wanted to go to the dance with somebody that was funny, warm, and kind.

. Neptune phased out of his daydream and saw that his reflection was still staring him square in the face. Neptune knew why Weiss asked him to the dance. He was attractive and there wasn’t really a doubt about it. It wasn’t cockiness or over-confidence, even Sage had bet that Nep could get the most numbers from the most girls in one of their nights out in Minstrel. There also wasn’t a doubt that Weiss was pretty, but Neptune couldn’t say that he felt that way about her. Weiss held herself in a way that made you think she owned everything, but Neptune found it more appealing when someone could relax and not take themselves so seriously.

The Ice Queen was confident in who she was through and through, the only things Neptune was confident about was his appearance and intellect. He knew that he wasn't the best fighter and sometimes he freaked out whenever he got close to water. The boy with blue hair covered up everything he was insecure about with his looks, his clothes, and a sense of humor. He didn't tell people his fears, his insecurities, or his vulnerabilities to anyone; however, there was one exception. An exception that had blond hair and a monkey tail.

☀

Sun turned on the shower and stepped away so that the water could warm up. He turned towards the counter that harbored a disarray of hair and skin care products, combs, a pair of hair dryers that belonged to Scarlet and Neptune, and 4 different tubes of deodorant that reflected the style of each member of the team. Sun couldn’t understand how someone could use everything that was laid out on the counter every day. The most the Faunus boy ever did most comb his hair and even that wasn’t always a guarantee.

The large, white tiles that were on the floor and wall made the bathroom feel cold and clinical. In contrast, the lone window let in a small amount of the same warm pink and orange light that had painted the bedroom. Sun let his toes feel their way through the threads in the charcoal rug that lay on the floor. The shower let out a familiar and comforting drone of water hitting porcelain and glass.

Sun went back to the shower and held his hand out to test how warm the water was and he felt the heat before his hand had touched the stream. He stepped into the shower and let the hot water run through his messy hair and over his body. The cascade helped to release the stress and all of the thoughts he had been harboring from his walk back to the dorm with Neptune the other day.

Sun and Neptune had been walking back from one of the coffee shops in the city. They had only been in the city for a week but Sun had learned from first hand experience that the sidewalks were always packed with people. Shopfronts and streetlights began to light up as the sun began to touch the horizon. The sounds of laughter and bits of conversation drifted by as Sun weaved his way between people. He reached a street corner and turned around to watch the tall, lanky nerd he had been friends with for as long as he can remember.

Neptune had trailed slightly behind the boy with a tail with occasional bouts of “excuse me” or “I’m sorry” when he ran into someone. A small smile stretched across Sun’s face because to him, Neptune wasn’t the overwhelmingly cool and unapproachable Adonis that others made him out to be. To Sun, Neptune was the lovable boy next door who would do whatever it took to help one of his friends. Neptune had always been there for Sun and he only hoped that he returned the favor every chance he got.

Sun had been looking towards the monolithic structure of Beacon when he felt Neptune run into him. Despite his smaller size, Sun remained steady as Neptune stumbled backwards. The Faunus boy stretched out his hand and his tail to keep Neptune from falling. Sun’s hand found Neptune’s own outstretched hand and Sun’s tail wrapped around the other boy’s waist.

“Dude, why’d you stop?” Neptune asked after he had freed himself from Sun’s tail and achieved a fair distance between himself and the boy with blond hair. Neptune’s head blocked the view of the sun and left Sun in a shadow. Blue hair stood in contrast to the light hues of the sun that gave the city a romantic haze.

For a split second, Sun’s entire world slowed to a crawl. It slowed down in the same way that it had when he met first met Blake. It slowed down in the same way in the same way it had when he had his first kiss. In front of him was the boy who he admired for being so kind, so thoughtful, and so compassionate. For the first time, Sun saw how beautiful Neptune was. His beauty was more than an exterior quality, he had a golden heart and Sun didn’t know if he looked so good on the outside because of who he was on the outside or vice versa. Sun had always thought that Neptune was attractive. There wasn’t a singular doubt, but it wasn’t until that very moment in time that the boy with blond hair and a monkey tail had realized that he felt something for his best friend that he didn’t feel for most of the girls that he dated.

Sun’s words came slower than they usually did, “I had to wait on your slow ass, I wouldn’t want my best bro to get lost in this big city all by himself.”

“Sun, I’m not the one who would get lost,” the words rolled effortlessly off of Neptune’s tongue because he knew he was right.

“Yea, whatever Nep,” Sun let out with a laugh in an attempt to normalize his emotions and thoughts. The two boys set their sights for Beacon’s campus once again and as they walked Sun had felt his head pound and pulse. In that moment, the shorter of the two boys had wanted nothing more than to sleep.

Sun still couldn’t tell if his headache was from all of the caffeine or if it was from a sudden rush of feelings for and thoughts of his best friend, and he wasn’t entirely sure that he was ready for an answer.

Sun didn’t know how much of Neptune’s fancy shampoo he had used or how long he had been standing there but he knew it had been long enough for two things to happen. The first thing was that his entire body had developed crimson splotches from the hot water. The second was that Neptune was banging on the door that separated the main space of the dorm from the bathroom.

“If Blake thinks you stood her up because of how long you’ve spent in the shower, I will dye your tail blue,” Neptune’s threats reached Sun’s ear as he turned off the water and jumped from the shower. Sun’s thoughts and emotions were still hazy but he was sure that even though he wouldn’t let most people come near his tail, Neptune touching it wasn’t the worst thing that he could imagine right now.

♆

Neptune knew that Sun wouldn’t take long in the shower. The Faunus boy could get ready and get to class in under 7 minutes. He also knew that Sun wouldn’t wear a tie unless somebody picked it out and put it around his neck for him. The hum of water pushing through the pipes accompanied Neptune and his thoughts.

Neptune stepped into the closet that he and Sun shared. He had already picked out his own tie, a thin and plain black one, and had it hung on the doorknob. Picking out what Sun would wear shouldn’t be too hard, the shirt had already been decided and the tie had to be just as simple. Neptune ended up deciding on a tie that looked nearly identical to the one he had picked out for himself; the only difference being that it was white.

The shower’s hum continued as Neptune stepped out of the closet with Sun’s tie in hand. Neptune picked his black tie off the doorknob and began to tie it around his neck before he could see himself in the mirror. He set the white tie on the dresser to free up his other hand. His hands intertwined with the fabric in fluid motions that only come from years of practice. The folding and twisting of expensive silk brings memories of his father with it. His father’s voice was smooth and deep as he walked Neptune through the process, kindly and gently correcting him whenever he would make a mistake. His father’s smile that was filled with pride after Neptune tied it by himself for the first time.

Neptune focused back on his reflection in the mirror and the happiness that he felt turned into grief. It had been three years since he and his father had last been together. It had been three years since he and his father went out on that boat. It had been three years since he and his father got caught in that storm that came out of nowhere.

Neptune watched his father’s relaxation and happiness turn into determination as he tried to guide the boat back to shore through the monstrous waves. The boat wasn’t meant to handle anything close to what was happening. Waves tore through the vessel and making it to shore seemed impossible. Even now, Neptune doesn’t remember much after the hull fell apart. They both jumped from the boat and swam. Neptune’s arms and legs cut through the water, he went as fast as he could. His heart was racing faster than anything he could imagine. He made it to shore after what seemed like ages. His eyes darted around as he searched for his father in the ocean and on the beach. He called for him, trying to make his voice louder than the crashing waves and pounding rain. Tears and rain blended together on his face. It wasn't until several weeks later that a search party found the body several miles from where Neptune had landed on shore. His father’s leg had gotten caught in a length of rope that was attached to a piece of the boat. It had been three years since the funeral. It had been three years since Neptune had stepped on a boat or gone near water.

The blue-haired boy’s eyes had welled up with tears. He hadn’t truly cried since the funeral when he and his mother held each other in an embrace that carried more emotions than can be conveyed with words. He and his mother were never the same. He felt frustrated with himself, he went through this every time he tied a tie. It was exhausting being unable to forget what happened and knowing that he couldn’t change it. Taking another look at himself in the mirror, he tucked all of those memories into the furthermost corner of his mind. He wanted to have a fun time tonight and more importantly, he wanted Sun to have fun and Neptune knew that the boy with blond hair would constantly be worrying about him if he showed any negative emotion.

A sharp ringing from his scroll pulled Neptune from his haze. He pulled the device from his pocket to see Yang’s picture on the screen and felt terrified when he saw what time it was. Saying a silent prayer, Neptune answered and put the scroll up to his ear.

“Neptune, where the hell are you and Sun? You two were supposed to meet us at our dorm twenty minutes ago,” The blonde girl’s anger leaked through her calm tone.

“Shit, yeah, Yang, I’m sorry. We’re leaving now. We, uh-,”

“Honestly, I don’t care why you’re late. It was one thing for you to say no when Weiss asked you. But I swear if Blake gets her heart broken because Sun didn’t show up, I will punch both of you in the throat,” Yang delivered her threat with such finality that Neptune knew that she would follow through.

“I know Yang, just keep Blake busy until Sun and I can get there,” The tanned boy let out a sigh as he ran his hand over the back of his neck out of stress and fear of being punched in the throat.

“Yeah, I can do that,” She said as her harshness dissolved into something slightly melancholy, “Neptune, Blake deserves to have fun tonight. She’s been pushing herself too hard lately and I- I can’t stand to see her like that,” Yang hung up and the scroll beeped to indicate the end of the conversation. Neptune couldn’t help but feel that he and Yang were in similar situations. She was so fiercely protective of her and her voice softened when she said that she couldn’t stand to her pushed to past her own limits. It was all reflective of how he talked about Sun, reflective of how he cared for Sun, and reflective of the hope for their friendship to develop into something more.

Neptune walked to the bathroom door. He knocked on the door loud enough to be heard over the shower, “If Blake thinks you stood her up because of how long you’ve spent in the shower, I will dye your tail blue.”

Flipping through his scroll while waiting for Sun, Neptune leaned against the wall. Not even a minute passed before Sun came bursting out of the bathroom in true Wukong fashion. His blond hair was still damp. A shade of red spread across the blue-haired boy’s face as he pretended to still be looking at his scroll and not looking at his friend who didn’t even bother to put a towel around his waist. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Neptune to feign disinterest as Sun continued to search for a pair of jeans that were relatively clean.

“These’ll do, I guess,” Sun mumbled as he pulled on a pair of light wash jeans. The jeans fixed the problem of no towel but it didn’t fix the streams of water that worked their way down his chest and abs. Neptune had seen those abs plenty of times and he appreciated the view he got when the two were walking together or even during a fight. Neptune pulled his eyes away and back to his scroll.

Sun had finally pulled the shirt off the bed and put it on. Neptune’s face began to return to it’s normal shade as he put his scroll back into his pocket. Sun put on his white sneakers and stepped in front of the mirror and checked himself out. He quickly ran his fingers through messy blond hair. He buttoned his shirt more than he normally would, leaving a relatively small amount of his chest exposed.

“Alright! Man, I’m ready to go!” Sun said as he took one last look at himself in the mirror. Neptune slipped to the closet door and grabbed the tie he had picked out for Sun before moving to stand next to him in front of the mirror.

“Dude, you’re not ready to go,” Neptune let out a small laugh as he rolled his eyes.

“Whadda ya mean, Bro? I’ve got pants and a shirt. I’m so ready!” Sun expressed with genuine confusion. The boy’s eyes widened out of fear as Neptune brought the white tie in front of his face. “Dude no way, there’s no way I can put that thing on, even with my tail.”

“Ya, I know, which is why I’m gonna tie it for you,” Neptune swung the silk around Sun’s neck despite his groans. “It’s a formal dance, Sun! You have to,” he said as his fingers flowed with the fabric and he looked into his best friend’s eyes in order to keep those negative memories of water and his father at bay.

☀

Sun hated the neck trap but he didn’t mind Neptune being so close to him. Neptune stared into his eyes as he explained what he was doing with the piece of cloth, but the words faded away. Sun’s head and emotions were fuzzy because his teammate was looking at him like he was the world. Neptune had always made the Faunus feel like he belonged and that he was worth something.

The two boys stood reflected in the mirror, closer to each other than they had ever been outside of a fight. Perfect blue hair stood in stark contrast to the mop of blond. Sun’s hands and tail were still. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to feel.

Despite Neptune’s hands being slightly shaky, he had finished the tie and had stopped talking. The silence that fell across the room was deafening. Sun usually never stopped talking and didn’t like the quiet, but even with the twisting he felt in his gut, he wanted to stayed in that moment with Neptune forever. As all good things, that piece of heaven that Sun found in eyes as blue as a storm-ridden sea didn’t last long enough.

A sharp ding from Neptune’s scroll broke the moment. Sun watched as he pulled out the scroll and read the message.

“Shit, Yang has stepped up her threats. If we don’t hurry we’re gonna end up in a pit filled with Ursas,” Neptune reported with a sense of fear as he rushed to the closet, pulled out his suit jacket and put it on.

“Oh, shit, yeah we better hurry,” Sun agreed as the two boys bolted from the room and towards the dance hall.

Once out of the building that housed the dorms, the boys ran on walkways lined with lampposts that light their way. The night air was cool and as it came in contact with his skin, Sun even more alive than he usually did. The sound of crickets and running water from fountains mingled with the heavy breathing of the two huntsmen. The Faunus stole glances at his best friend’s face whenever the light illuminated it. Sun’s feet continued to carry him but his mind remained fixated on Neptune.

Sun had always thought that Neptune using whatever he put in his hair so that it would look messy on purpose was the most pretentious thing that a human being was capable of, but in that moment, he loved that light blue undercut with at least 3 different hair products in it. His jawline look liked it had been sculpted from marble. Sun’s eyes drifted from his jawline to the tuxedo he was wearing. The blond-haired boy knew that he would probably never wear anything like that, but it looked good on Neptune and he knew that. It fit in all the right places in all the right ways. Sun felt himself blush as his eyes continued to travel down his friend’s body. His gaze landed on Neptune’s ass.

Sun felt himself begin to blush and he began looking forward again. The night air combatted the heat on his face but did nothing for the headache that was coming on. To add to his mounting list of problems, the Faunus felt a twisting in his gut. He attempted to focus on his feet pounding the ground in a consistent rhythm hoping the either of the sharp pains would dissipate. The discomfort caused Sun to slow down. He fell behind Neptune before stopping entirely. He hoped that taking a moment to breath would ease everything. He leaned against one of the lampposts lining the path.

Sun could see Neptune turning around and running back to where he stood. The boy with blond hair closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on the sound of crickets and his friend’s footsteps frantically approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw Neptune standing in front of him, looking slightly worried.

“Dude, are you okay, ‘cause you don’t look so- you don’t look so good, man,” Neptune said with a slight stutter. Dark blue eyes stared into Sun’s bright ones. The headache had subsided and the twisting gut turned into something closer to butterflies. This new sensation in his stomach was intensified by the presence of Neptune’s hand on Sun’s bicep.

“Yeah, Nep. I’m fine. Just whatever I ate earlier isn’t really agreeing with my stomach,” Sun lied. He pushed himself off of the post and back to the center of the walkway and continued walking.

“I swear if you throw up on Blake-,”

“I’m not going to throw up on Blake,” Sun countered back, “Let’s just not run the rest of the way. Or I might throw up on you,” he laughed.

As the two boys slowly continued their walk in silence, thoughts swam through Sun’s head. He knew that he liked Blake. She was really cool and she was another Faunus. She smelled nice and was so mysterious. Stronger thoughts, feelings, and memories of Neptune sliced through the images of Blake and Sun. Neptune was his best friend. He had been there through everything. He had been there every time some asshole wanted to start shit. He had been there. The two boys knew nearly everything about each other. Neptune had never opened up to someone about his insecurities or his vulnerabilities until Sun. Sun didn’t let anyone know about how awful his childhood was. He had never told anyone about how much it sucked to feel as if you had to steal from unsuspecting tourists in order to feed his mother who was too weak to work. The day his mother died, Neptune was the only one who noticed that Sun wasn’t acting normally and asked what was going on. Sun broke down and cried in the taller boy’s arms for what seemed like hours. That happened before Neptune’s dad died, but he still understood or, at least, he had pretended to. He worked through his grief and Neptune never stopped listening. Past all the history, Neptune’s compassionate nature often amazed Sun. The boy with blue hair seemed to care about everyone. He refused to not help someone, often times for better or for worse. Sun could’ve stayed in his own headspace with thoughts of his best friend for the rest of time if he hadn’t been pulled back to reality by the sound of Neptune’s voice.

“Okay we’re not too late, hopefully Yang will settle with two throat punches as punishment,” Neptune said in defeat. It had taken them forever to get to the dance hall and whatever episode Sun had certainly didn’t help their time.

“Yeah… Hopefully,” Sun muttered with a preoccupied mind. In the past few days, Sun had seen his best friend in an entirely different way that he had a week ago. The simian Faunus was carefree, but the adonis with a pretentious light blue undercut had wrecked his demeanor without saying a word. He knew he was bi, but Sun never thought he would be hit so hard by a crush on Neptune. As he walked into the dance hall, immersing himself in colorful lights and loud music, Sun had one last thought on his mind: Neptune had dominated so many of his thoughts since meeting Blake. The only thing that she was and he wasn’t, was a Faunus. Did Sun’s infatuation with Blake merely exist because she was a Faunus?

♆

Heavy bass and synthesized vocals roared as Neptune entered the dance hall. Multicolored lights and various party decorations transformed a plain space into a spectacular display. Peach and mint green balloons hung from crystal chandeliers, larger bouquets of the same balloons had been attached to the multitude of dark wood columns that stood beside each large window and upheld the second floor balcony. Silk banners formed a network of pink fabric that splayed across the ceiling. A large version of Beacon’s insignia inlaid into the floor at the center of the room sat as a reminder of which school had been gracious enough to host the Vytal Festival.

Couples and friends danced on the allocated dance floor to the upbeat songs that blared over speakers around the room. Other groups and individuals rested at the tables, enjoying a refreshing drink, or sat and stood by the line of chairs edging around the walls. It would’ve been difficult to notice the students without noticing the various chaperones dotted around the room, the most regal and prominent of being Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, and General Ironwood. The three stood close to the entrance and watched over the room with a detached air. The other two chaperones, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck, didn’t have the same regality that the main trio did but they were noticeable nonetheless.

Sun had already found Blake and was charming his way back into her good graces. Yang had seen Neptune before he had seen her and made her way from her position at the welcoming podium towards him. She wore a white princess dress with matching heels.

“Damn, Yang. You look great,” Neptune meant the words, but they came out with the same inauthentic tone that his parents used to use when they talked to the other adults at their ostentatious parties and dinners. He winced as Yang glared at him with lilac eyes that scared him more that the ocean.

“Oh My God, don’t worry Neptune. I’m not gonna punch you or Sun in the throat tonight,” Yang broke the awkwardness with a genuine laugh. She took a breath and glanced over to where Sun and Blake were talking. The blond Faunus was laughing and Blake had a small smile on her face. Neptune assumed that Sun was probably laughing at his own joke. After watching the couple, Yang spoke again, “Blake seems pretty happy right now, so everything’s fine, ya know?”

“Yea, Sun seems to be having a great time too,” Neptune responded. He was happy that Sun was happy, but his words had a hint of dejection to them. Yang picked up on the layered emotions and the way that Neptune’s eyes lingered on the two Faunus.

“Neptune,” the blonde spoke with friendly concern. Neptune’s head flipped back to Yang and met her eyes once more. This time the lilac eyes didn’t scare him, they harbored worry. “What’s up?” She wanted him to talk, to spill whatever was weighing on him and preventing him from enjoying the night.

“What? Nothing,” Neptune lied only the way someone who had been doing it their whole life could. He formed his signature perfect smile to strengthen his defense against anyone who wanted access to his emotions.

“Don’t give me that shit,” Yang tone had turned from concerned friend to worried parent. She took the blue-haired boy’s hand and pulled him from the doorway to an empty table near the welcoming podium. The two sat down and the dragon pressed Neptune once again. “What is going on?” She spoke slower and applied emphasis to ‘what’.

“Yang, I swear nothing’s wrong,” Neptune’s faux resolve remained strong. The concern was kind; however, he wished to remain a closed book.

“Bullshit,” she said emphatically. Yang took a moment before speaking again, in case he wanted to talk without further prodding. He didn’t, so she continued. “I’ve seen how you look at Sun whenever you think nobody's looking at you. You look at him like he’s the world, Neptune. You can’t tell me that don’t feel something for him,” she spoke tenderly. Her eyes never left his.

Yang talked about his feelings for Sun as if she had experienced the same thing with someone else. He had been convinced that he wouldn’t talk about it with anybody for a while but, with lilac eyes that held a multitude of emotions that most people would never have the misfortune to experience and with sheer determination, she cracked him.

“Okay, fine, maybe,” Neptune looked away from the Huntress. He sighed heavily, not entirely sure that spilling his guts to Yang was a great idea. “Maybe… I have feelings for Sun.” He spoke his feelings into existence. Once the initial words spewed from his mouth, he couldn’t stop himself from continuing to bare his feelings toward his best friend to her. “Maybe I really, really like him. I know he’s into Blake, and I shouldn’t…” His voice trailed off as he scanned the crowd to watch Blake and Sun again.

“Tell him that you like him, you idiot. He is your best friend. He’s not going to be freaked out because you like him. You can’t spend forever bottling up your feelings and emotions because you have this idea that everyone else would be better off without them. You don’t know how he will react. You’ve gotta take that chance. Trust me, Okay?” Yang put her hand over Neptune’s as she finished her passionate plea. A moment passed as the music turned softer, romantic piano tones. Couples began slow dancing, each sharing a special moment that made Neptune’s heart ache. He saw Sun and Blake begin their own dance. The two held each other gently as Blake rested her head on Sun’s shoulder.

“I really appreciate what you’re doing, Yang. I really do. But, it’s not that easy,” Neptune delivered his remarks with abject emptiness. He rose from his chair and brushed past Yang, making his way to one of the large, curved staircases that led to the second floor.

“Neptune,” Yang desperately said, in hopes to prevent him from leaving.

“It was nice advice, you might want to take it yourself. You and Blake would be cute together. I think she feels the same way about you,” Neptune eyes drifted to the ground before looking back at the Faunus pair. Before turning and leaving, with an air of finality, he said, “I guess we have in common that we have a crush on our best friend. But I think that you can have a different outcome than me.”

Neptune ignored Yang’s protests to stay downstairs and enjoy the night with her. He made his way up one of the staircases. At the top, he turned around and watched all the couples slow dancing. Each pair moved as one being. He couldn’t help himself from taking one more look at Sun. He hadn’t expected to make eye contact with him. It would have been easier to walk away if he hadn’t seen eyes that held the sky in them. He ripped his eyes from Sun’s by turning around and walking out of a large door that led to one of the outdoor balconies.

☀

As Sun entered the dance hall, he saw Yang at the welcoming podium. She was busy talking to Ruby about how adorable she looked and Ruby was complaining about how much she hated the heels she was wearing. He scanned the room, hoping to find Blake before the two sisters finished talking. He got lucky and saw the other Faunus sitting at a table on the far side of the room and made his way over to her.

She was wearing a black dress and a deep blue bow. She brought her head up, causing her eyes to meet with his. She stood as Sun came closer.

“I’m like really, really sorry that I’m so late. I don’t know what happened. I promise. I’ll make it up to you tonight,” Sun spoke quickly, without breathing until he finished. He couldn’t read what Blake was feeling and his tail twitched out of nervousness. He brought his hand up to brush through his hair on the back of his head. He took his eyes away from his date and looked towards the floor. “You’re not mad at me, are you?” Sun asked apprehensively.

“No, I’m not mad Sun. I’m just glad you showed up. Even if it was close to 30 minutes late,” Blake spoke flatly. The monkey broke out into laughter, partly from relief and partly from Blake’s sass. The noisy laugh caused the cat Faunus to form a small smile.

“So, what have you been doing all night?” Sun questioned. He hoped that Blake hadn’t been wasting her night while he had been daydreaming about Neptune. As he thought about the blue-haired boy, he glanced over at him. He saw Yang sitting with him in what looked to be a very serious conversation. His look was short before he pivoted his head back towards the cat.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” She offered after a brief moment of silence between the two. Blake was naturally pensive, but she seemed to enter a deeper realm of thought than normal.

“About…?” Sun responded anxiously. He was afraid of whatever she was about to say.

“About how I feel about certain people. About what would happen if I was honest with those people about how I feel. I know that nothing bad would happen, but I’m not entirely sure that the outcome would be positive,” she spoke analytically. As if everything she did had to have some positive effect in her life and the lives of others.

“I have a hunch that this is gonna lead us to one of those moments where we talk about how we feel and that junk,” Sun reasoned. He felt a twinge of exasperation. He didn’t really want to talk about his emotions, but he had to be honest with Blake and with himself.

“You wouldn’t be wrong,” she added with a sigh. She took both of Sun’s hands in her own and raised her eyes to look directly into his. Her mouth opened to begin speaking again but the blond-haired boy spoke first.

“Okay, so the last few days have been kinda crazy for me, ya know? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking too, well it’s not really thinking, I guess. It’s been more like daydreaming. Like, my brain won’t let me stop thinking about this certain person. And when I’m with- this person, I sometimes get these headaches and get butterflies in my stomach,” he began.

His tail made the nervous motions that his hands could not. He pulled his eyes away from hers. Sun took a large breath before beginning again. “I don’t know, I mean I’ve never really had these feelings for anybody, let alone for this person. Like, don’t get me wrong, Blake, you’re really great and everything. You’re smart, and you’re really pretty. Just generally, all around, you’re really cool. I just can’t help but feel that the only reason we’re in this weird relationship zone, and the only reason I really asked you to the dance is because we’re both Faunus….” He trailed off. Nervousness transferred from his tail to his words. His laid back facade fell as he stumbled over words and sentences. “I mean, it’s been great hanging out with you but, for some reason I felt like I had ask you out. Now, I’m kinda realizing that I like you more as a friend and I don’t want to mess that up by forcing some romantic thing. Especially when I have feelings for somebody else,” Sun confessed tensely. He brought his eyes back Blake’s, expecting to see despondency or rage. Instead, he saw a level of understanding. “You aren’t upset?” The monkey questioned.

“No, Sun. I’m not. I’m relieved honestly. It makes it easier for me,” she replied, far calmer than Sun. Blake’s tempo was the antithesis to the simian Faunus. “I think that you’re right about the two of us feeling obligated to date because we’re both Faunus, and you’re not the only one who has been having some confusing feelings,” she assured him. Her amber eyes pulled from his and shifted focus to the pair sitting across the room. “I feel as if I haven’t let myself feel something for someone for such a long time but, I’m ready to try now. I’ve found someone who is warm and supportive. They’re wonderful and I’ve never been happier with someone in my life,” she made known. Her eyes filled with joyous tears as she let out a small but genuine laugh. She took one hand away from holding onto Sun and brought it up to her face to wipe away the water that had pooled in her eyes.

“Woah… Blake, who is it? But, like only if you wanna tell me or whatever,” he stammered. He was afraid that eventually Blake’s patience and kind nature would wear thin.

“I’ll make a deal with you, Sun. I’ll tell you if you tell me,” she responded.

“Okay, uh alright. On the count of three, we’ll both say who it is,” he prompted. A heavy sigh escaped his body as the two Faunus agreed to share their secrets.

“One,” Blake began the countdown with confidence. A moment of silence passed before Sun continued it.

“Two,” he finally countered. He knew that this was the right move but, it was difficult for his voice to follow the directions from his heart.

“Three,” they said in unison.

“Yang- Neptune,” their words overlapped in excitement fueled by revealing the truth. The two Faunus broke out into a fit of laughter.

“Oh my god, I don’t know how I never noticed you and Neptune,” she said, amused.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sun asked with genuine confusion.

“Sun, the two of you like each other so much but you’re both too oblivious to realize that the other person feel the exact same way,” she stated forcefully in hopes of getting in through his thick skull.

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about on this one, Blake,” he responded with a laugh, his hand running over the back of his neck once more.

“Of course I know what I’m talking about. You just don’t see it because you’ve been too busy covering up your own feelings to notice how anybody else feels,” she snapped, speaking from personal experience. Shutting down your emotions was a decent defense mechanism but it left one unbelievably blind and, ironically, defenseless. “Neptune’s been staring this way looking like a lost puppy ever since you got here. Not to mention that there’s palpable romantic tension every time you two are in a room together,” Blake finished her argument. Her voice remained firm, but caring.

“Okay, so you might have a point,” Sun admitted his tendency to be oblivious to how other people feel. He was going to continue but Blake broke her usual social form and interrupted.

“Of course I do. Which is why we’re both going to make a promise to each other.” The cat faunus intertwined her fingers with his in a form of platonic intimacy. “You’re going to go tell Neptune how you feel and I’ll go tell Yang how I feel,” she spoke with determination.

“Okay.” Sun could feel a smile form as he heard the music switch to a romantic piano melody. He used his fingers intertwined with Blake’s to pull her closer and put his other arm around her waist. “I’ll do that after we dance once. I mean, I am still technically your date and I feel like I owe you at least one of these.” His words turned into laughter as the pair spun into the middle of dancing couples. Blake’s laughter joined Sun’s as they swirled.

Blake rested her head onto Sun’s shoulder. It felt nice to finally be so close to another person outside of a romantic context. The cat faunus would’ve stayed in that moment for a while longer had she not picked up on Yang’s desperate voice slightly peaking above the music. Her eyes found the blonde across the room. Neptune had brushed past her and was making his way to the second floor.

“Sun,” she spoke strong enough to break the moment. Blake returned her eyes to Sun as Neptune made his way up the stairs. Sun continued to twirl the pair until Blake had her back to both Neptune and Yang.

“Sun, Neptune’s leaving and I think now’s the time to tell him how you feel,” Blake said as she planted her feet to stop the pair from spinning. In response to Blake’s words and solid stance, Sun looked up and his eyes followed the guy with a light blue undercut as he made his way up the stairs.

As Neptune reached the top of the staircase, the two boys made eye contact. Sun was immobilized. He wanted to run to his teammate but Neptune’s eyes conveyed so much pain and heartache. Just as Sun was about to run up that staircase, the other boy broke eye contact. The monkey faunus broke away from Blake.

“Yeah, yeah. I think now’s the time,” his voice was distant. He didn’t make eye contact with Blake as he spoke. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the second floor. He started towards the staircase, weaving between dancing couples. He didn’t know what he was going to say when he caught up to the other boy. Sun just wanted to be with Neptune and to fix the pain that welled in those Mistrali eyes.

♆

Neptune found himself outside. He was on a large, rounded balcony that overlooked Beacon’s campus, mainly a lush green space that was centered around a sizeable fountain. Tall garden lamps illuminated the area below. The balcony itself was decorated only with several large potted plants that followed near to the balustrade. A myriad of stars offered a divine backdrop.

He walked towards the far edge of the balcony and could barely hear the music that continued to play inside the dance hall. Leaning against the railing, Neptune took in the silent scene of the commons below him. The quiet beauty didn’t help him control how he was feeling about Sun. He released a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. It didn’t work. In the moment, he felt something more than the slight embarrassment and dull sadness he had been experiencing for the past few days. He felt angry, angry at himself for developing feelings for his best friend. He was angry at Sun for making him feel that way without even meaning to. He was angry at himself, again, for being mad at Sun.

His overwhelming sense of anger caused tears to well up in his eyes. They would’ve fallen from Neptune’s eyes and onto the stone railing if the enormous door behind him had not opened. He quickly wiped away the ghost of his emotions and composed his signature cool front. Even though his eyes were dry, he didn’t turn around to see who was there. He was sure that whoever was there would leave soon enough. Neptune was wrong.

“Nep, hey man,” His best friend’s delicate tone nearly broke the facade the boy with blue hair was maintaining. Despite Sun still being there, Neptune refused to face him. “Can I talk to you about something?” The blond Faunus had moved closer to him but there was still an arms distance between the two guys.

“Yea, dude sure. What’s up?” Neptune finally turned around and acknowledged his friend’s presence. He took a deep breath again to steady his emotions. It worked this time. A single hand ran through his light blue undercut, returning it to a purposefully messy state.

“Uh, I, I kinda realized something earlier,” Sun began. His tail twitched and his hands wrung themselves. He took a breath and paused. To Neptune, it felt as if, for once, Sun had no idea what to say. “Blake and I were, like, talking about how the only reason we decided to come to the dance together is because we’re both Faunus. And about how we don’t really like each other in a romantic sense. We think it’s better if we just stay friends instead of trying to force some kind of relationship that’ll get both of us hurt,” the blonde boy took another breath to begin the next portion of his declaration; however, Neptune cut him off.

“Sun, did you really come up here to tell me that?” His words were jaded and dripped with pain. Neptune’s jaw clenched as his arms folded across his chest. “You could’ve left me out of your love life, man. I don’t always want to hear what’s going on with you,” his voice broke as the words left his mouth. Hearing his own voice crack broke the tough exterior he had put up. “Fuck,” he cursed under his breath. Tears threatened to fall once more and Neptune turned to face the green space below.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sun asked with uneasiness. Neptune was even more afraid to speak than he was before. If he opened his mouth now, it would be impossible to stop himself from telling Sun how he really felt. It would be impossible to stop the ugly crying that would follow shortly after. “Neptune?” The monkey Faunus continued his concerned questioning.

“Do you have any idea how hard all of this is for me?” He started, already regretting his decision to speak. A shaky breath filled his lungs before he continued, ”it’s just really hard for me, sometimes.”

“What’s hard?” He started. “Neptune, I’m confused. Just tell me what’s wrong. Everything’s okay, man.” Sun took a step forward as he poured out reassurances. A gloved hand reached for Neptune’s shoulder and as it landed, the blue-haired boy stopped breathing. The momentary contact was all it took for the emotional dam to break.

“Seeing you with other people and knowing that I’ll never get to be that person,” Neptune had spun around and his words unleashed onto his teammate like a tidal wave. He continued, “Constantly knowing that you will never love me in a romantic way fucking kills me, Sun.” His breath began to shake again. “Even if you aren’t with Blake, there’s always gonna be another girl that you want to tell me all about.” Neptune’s words became distorted as tears began to stream down his face. “I know that I should be able to deal with my feelings and I told myself that I was just going to keep my mouth shut, but damn; it's honestly so exhausting keeping up this lie.” His words hung in the air as a moment of silence formed and stretched between the two boys. The stillness of the night infuriated Neptune further, “Damn, Sun. Say something!”

Sun finally started to try and speak. He was still processing Neptune’s lament and his thoughts formed slowly, “Shit, Nep… I’m- I’m, uh, real sorry that I ever made you feel that way and I’m sorry that I never noticed how you felt until now,” his voice trailed off. He wrung his hands and took a deep breath before continuing, “But, I know that I’ve been really dumb. I’ve also been really afraid because, ya know, I- I realized a few things over the past week, well, really one thing,” he was quiet. The world seemed to shrink. In that moment, there was nothing that existed outside of their conversation. “I really like you Neptune, like, in a romantic way,” Sun admitted. Another deep breath passed through him and as it exited his body, he began to laugh due to the sheer relief of admitting how he felt.

“What the hell, Sun? If this is your fucking idea of a joke? It's a really bad one at a really bad time,” Neptune spat out. He was hurt because he never thought that Sun would make a joke about his feelings. Even after being called out, he continued to laugh. “Forget it, I’m headed back to the dorm. Have fun with Blake, or whoever, you asshole.” The Mistralian pushed off of the concrete railing and past Sun.

His laughter had stopped and the Faunus moved fast. He grabbed Neptune’s arm as he moved past. Sun didn’t pull or hold on too hard. He simply left his hand on the blue-haired boy’s bicep. Neptune knew that he could move if he wanted to, but something kept him in place. The boys’ faces were inches apart. Two sets of eyes were locked on each other. A moment of tense silence passed before Sun finally spoke softly, but firmly, “It’s not a joke. I swear, Nep.”

Despite the height difference between their mouths, Sun closed the space. Neptune saw his best friend move up towards him, but he was surprised when their lips met. His eyes remained open shortly before melting into the kiss. Sun’s lips were soft and they fit with Neptune’s own perfectly. The speed at which they kissed increased as Sun’s hands hands found the blue-haired boy’s hips and pulled the two people closer together. Neptune’s hands moved over the other’s shoulders and through his hair. A monkey tail had wrapped around Neptune’s left leg.

Sun’s cologne was strong, but Neptune didn’t mind as he savored every second that he was surrounded by it. The vanilla base tones mixed with the scent of fresh cut grass that came from the green space below the balcony. The odor of spilled alcohol drifted from the party but he didn’t let that ruin the passionate moment of heaven that he had with Sun.

Time returned to its normal flow as Neptune finally pulled away to catch his breath. Sun’s hand had moved from his waist and now had a firm grip on the lapels of his suit jacket. Neither of them said anything. The music inside the dance hall had switched to something more upbeat and with bass tones strong enough to be heard outside. Heavy and slow breathing came from both of the boys as they each processed what had just happened.

Neptune broke the silence after what he felt was a respectable period of mourning for their parted lips. ”Fuck,” he let out on an exhale.

“Yeah,” Sun responded between slightly labored breaths. “So, uh, what do we do now?” the blond boy said with a soft laugh.

“I think that this means,” Neptune trailed off as his hand moved down Sun’s shoulder and to his hand where the two boys allowed their fingers to intertwine. The intellectual picked back up again, “we can still probably catch a slow dance later, if we’re lucky. And we’ll worry about everything else another time.” The pair moved together towards the door that led inside.

Neptune knew that not all of his problems were solved, but having his best friend completely by his side would make dealing with everything else easier.

#seamonkeys #neptune vasilias #sun wukong #rwby #writing #long post #long reads #gay

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