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crystallizedkingdoms · 2 months

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The Protector

Despite his crew’s convictions, Johann is perfectly capable of being the protector, and not the protected all the time. Such a shame it took a near-death experience and hearing loss to realize that, but we’ve all been there.

wc: 1,764

The Birds in this fic: Carey and Scales (Twins), Killian (Lover), Antonia (Lonely Journal-Keeper), Rowan (Peacemaker), Hurley (Wordless One)

day 4 of @johann-appreciation-week! yayyy!! you can also read this on ao3. and thank you to @avijohann for the art! (I think I forgot to say that the past couple posts… oops)

Silver blood splatters on Johann’s face. The strange, dog-like creature writhes by his feet as the cloud of dagger slits its shadowy body into ribbons of blue and black. He makes sure every dagger cuts deep.

There’s a distant howl behind him. A haunting chorus grows, and he knows now it’s time to fucking leave. He pulls the Light of Creation closer to his body and squints through the darkness. Through the thick darkness of the forest hell the Light has taken them through, he can see the tree line now. The ship is just beyond the forest. He just needs to keep running, and he will be safe.

—

“Can all of you stop assigning me ship duty when the world is even slightly dangerous? You guys know I am just as capable as you, right?”

Johann’s six friends all shifted in their spots and eyed each other. He watched as they avoided his gaze and toyed with their respective weapons. It was Rowan who decided to speak up, with his ever-friendly voice that said, “We know that, Johann. Of course we do. But I think you can make an exception when this world is teeming with shadow demons?”

Johann crossed his arms and glared at the six of them. “Yeah, and then when the next plane has evil robots, you’ll want me to sit out too, yeah? And when the next plane has too-rough terrain? And when the next plane has rainy weather,” he said. He saw Scales and Killian rolling their eyes, but he didn’t find it in him to care. “Then I’ll just be stuck on ship duty forever. And I’m not even the pilot! Hurley is!”

—

Johann kicks the creature’s limp body to the side and weighs his options. He could just run. He’s good at that. In every world over the past two decades, all those that have perished, he’s gotten good at running from them. He even has the Light with him. Every protocol they have says he must run without looking back. And really, why shouldn’t he? This world is a fucking mess. Getting to some safety would be best.

But then he hears it. A piercing scream behind him that sends shivers down his spine. Johann turns around and sees nobody behind him and his blood boils. Didn’t fucking listen to me, he seethes. For once he tries to get them to safety, abandoning his ship duty to do so, and for what? To be the one to get the Light of Creation and still not have them listen to him? All they did was lecture him when he got there about how dangerous it was that he came with no one at the Starblaster.

If they just listened to me, if they just followed me, if they just let me take the reins to protect them—

Another scream. Sounds of a fight breaking out, of metal and flesh and teeth clashing together, fill the air. If they keep making noise, they’ll be dead for sure. These creatures have impossibly good hearing, so good it made up for their lack of eyes. Every noise they make will agitate the fight even more. If Johann runs away now, all of his friends would die in this world. They weren’t even halfway through the year.

Johann grips the Light tighter and rushes back towards his friends.

—

Antonia adjusted the quiver on back and sighed. “Johann, I don’t understand. Wouldn’t you want to be safer here? You said at the very beginning of this mission how unnecessary it was that we were bringing all our weapons here. Now you want to throw yourself to the wolves,” she said. She leaned on the rails of the Starblaster and her long purple hair blew in the wind.

Johann bit his lip hard. He looked out onto the grassy plains that Hurley landed the Starblaster on, how its silver grass shone so bright in both the day and the night. Just beyond was the tree line, a perfectly straight line of a forest that got so dark it was practically perpetually nighttime inside. “I didn’t exactly know how often these worlds would suck, you know,” he said. Bitterness laid heavy on his tongue when he spoke, and he knew Antonia could pick up on it.

“Then answer my question.”

“Because it feels like you aren’t taking me seriously,” Johann growled. “Yeah, sure, I complained about a bunch of fighters on a research expedition over two decades ago. That means I never want to fight ever and should always stick to the ship, right? That I need all of you to protect me like I’m delicate? I can protect you guys, too!”

“I…” Antonia tries to argue, but the words die on her lips. “I understand. It’s not fair to you. But… we all have our supplies packed. We’ve got a game plan. Just, um, let us get the Light this time? And I promise, for real I promise, that we can all talk about this for the rest of the year. I’ll vouch for you pretty hard! I used to go on hunts with a bard back home. She was pretty fun.”

Yeah. Fun. Johann didn’t respond. He stared into the dark wall the tree line created with an intense glare. He hoped his eyes didn’t land on his crew, who were gathered below in another spar session that he was not invited to.

—

Hey.

The shambling wisps of darkness and smoke jerk away from Antonia’s body and tilt its head around the area. Johann watches from a silvery shrub, cupping his mouth to amplify his whispers. The beast drags its pseudoclaws against the dirt and searches frantically for the source of the speaking, its eyeless face shifting and scrunching up in frustration when it can’t find the noise. Not that it will ever find it. Johann is making sure of that.

I don’t know if you understand common or not, but I’ll have you know that your lot has been kind of fucking awful to my friends lately.

A growl almost breaks Johann’s connection. The shadowy monster snaps its teeth in the air, its noises getting progressively louder as it paces around the silver battlefield. Though it is alone, any loud noises could trigger a whole new pack to join in on the fight. He can hear Scales and Carey groaning together, and it momentarily catches the creature’s attention instead of his whispers. Shit. He can’t let that thing hear his friends, not when they’re still alive and on the ground.

Don’t you fucking dare make this harder for me—

Darkness swirls faster. The monster whirls around closer to Johann, and just when he thinks he’s been caught, he hears a scream a few steps away from him. “I can’t— no! Carey!” Killian’s voice cries out. Her voice sounds strange, strained and garbled in a way that Johann almost doesn’t recognize her. He pulls the Light of Creation close to his chest and damn near starts hugging it.

Yeah, okay, no use in this shit. Fuck off!

Johann stands up with the Light in his arms and let the full brunt of the spell snap. Blinding pain pierces through the creature’s head. Johann holds his breath and keeps his box stead. As soon as it rears his head back, its dark mouth open in excruciating pain, Johann immediately casts the Silence spell he had readied, his violin bow an impromptu wand. The monster moves to scream, a feat so taxing its body fizzles and shreds at the limbs, but not a single howl is heard. Even when it writhes and scratches at the forest floor, no pack comes rushing in to save it, and the fear kicks in. It turns and runs away Johann, blending into the darkness from whence it came. Johann can’t hear its screams when it steps out of the spell’s radius and thank fuck for that.

Johann scrambles out of the shrubbery he’s hidden in and runs towards his friends. They are scattered around, hard to see in the dark environment, but they are not too far away that he can’t see them all. He runs to the one closest to him and stares down at Killian’s body. Claw marks slash across her body and spill blood, but that’s not the concerning place where blood is spilling. Blood dribbled from her ears in a spotty stream, but it’s enough to make Johann wince.

Killian is doubled over in pain, but when she recognizes Johann in front of her, she lets out what Johann assumes is a sigh of relief. When she can’t hear her own sigh, her fingers fly up to her ears, and her eyes widen in panic. Johann’s hand frantically waves in front of her to stop her from panicking. He places a finger to his lips, then makes a sweeping gesture to illustrate the spell’s radius. Killian still looks incredibly pained, but hey, she doesn’t look so terrified anymore.

Johann motions up. Can you stand? is the question he asks.

Killian tries, trying to get herself up. Johann offers his free hand, but she initially ignores it. Her hands hover, but refuse to grab on. She loses a little balance, and without warning, Johann takes her hand and yanks her up. Just take it, holy shit. When Killian is stable on her feet (if we can even consider her state stable), she looks down at Johann with an exhausted and even slightly embarrassed look on her face. Understandable.

Johann moves to go help the others, but Killian slaps her hand on his shoulder before he can. She struggles to look him in the eye, but when she does, she pulls a weak smile. Thank you, Killian mouths. For coming. To keep us safe.

Johann takes her hand and nods. Listen next time, assholes, is all he mouths. She laughs, and he just knows if the spell wasn't up, her laugh would be loud and comforting.

Then, he leads Killian over to the Fangbattle siblings. He watches as she fusses over them in silence, how they slowly help each other up. Johann only breaks his gaze when he goes over towards Hurley, Rowan, and Antonia, who seem worse off, but still alive. That’s all Johann can ask for.

The rush back home is disjointed and painful, but Johann saved them. He saved them. The Starblaster would have another full crew for the rest of the year. And when the crew thanks him and celebrates their near death experience, Johann smiles, knowing they are safe.

#taz #taz balance #johann appreciation week #taz johann

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dellinah · 3 years

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I will ask about thylacine! Tell me about them. What types are there, which is your favorite?

Omg thank you T-T

They actually don't have types! They are a single species of marsupial that went extinct in 1936 due to hunting, as far as we know. Unlike say, tigers and wolves, they didn't have different breeds between them - they were themselves a type of marsupial. And one of my favorite animals of all time! ^3^

They were one of the only two marsupials to have a pouch in both sexes (The other one is the water opossum which still lives today). The female used her pouch to nurture and carry the babies like kangaroos. The babies were born vaginally similar to mammals, but they would be born in a 'fetus' like state, and finish developing in the pounch. Meanwhile the male's pouch extended over his genitals to protect them (which seems useful tbh, they just be hanging there in mammals)

That's a momma with an extended pouch! She's got babies in there :3

Despite being a digitigrade animal (walked on its digits, like dogs) they would stand up on a plantigrade position when on its back legs (digits + sole of the foot, like humans), kind of like a kangaroo! That's why its ankle was so low compared to dogs/wolves, who are always digitigrades

You can def see a bit of kangaroo in there! :P

They were Tasmania's apex predator, aka no other animal would hunt it other than humans. I read once this might have contributed to them being fearless and not hiding as much, which made them easier to hunt and eventually lead to their extinction, similar to Dodos

They're also one of the best known examples of convergent evolution! Which is when different species develop the same body shape/features even though they aren't related bc they have the same needs. They are not related to foxes or wolves but are REALLY similar. There was once a vet school that would use a Thylacine skull in their tests to trick their students, and one student said 'if they ask you to identify what a wolf-like skull is, it's safer to guess Thylacine bc a wolf would be too obvious for a test'. That's how similar they are, but their last shared ancest was millions of years go. Their needs and habitats just shaped them in a similar way!

I also actually made a mistake in my a post about them, so correcting it here. This picture was used in the past as proof that Thylacines were hunting farm animals, to get hunters to shoot them. That part is true, but I said it was likely faked with a mounted one to spread propaganda (which is the common story behind this pic)

Turns out it's not a mounted one! That one was alive in the pic, which we know bc there's more pics of it in the same moment!

HOWEVER, it was STILL propaganda! The first picture was cropped to hide a fence (which you can see in the other pics), which most likely means it was in a zoo and was given those chickens as a meal by the keepers. It didn't hunt them!

Although they may have hunted farm animals, their danger to livestock was hugely exaggerated. They were calm and harmless to humans, just showing their fangs when they felt threatened. Meaning the species died out for nothing, over a lie

And they could open their mouths in a 90-120 degree angle! Whenever they yawn you they really just go >0<

Currently, they are the extinct species with the most alleged sightings over the years. A lot of people think that means they're still out there; I personally think it's unlikely they survived unfortunately - the hunting was too intense.

To me, they are a fascinating animal, and a painful sour reminder of how humans can use our power for bad. Fascinating, but gone. And it's so painful to me how limited the pictures and videos we have of them are, with no way of making new content now :(

They are a cautionary tale. A ghost of the 20th century that faded into obscurity and has now gained a almost mystic status - is it real? Does it still exist? Are they hiding somewhere out there? Who knows. Maybe someday we'll find a new one lurking in the shadows of Tasmania and proving the species never died out. Maybe they'll be gone forever

But regardless, they're amazing <3

#fairyhaven13 #Thank you!! i love going off about these bois <3 #Thylacine #Tasmanian tiger #Tasmanian wolf #convergent evolution

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marrella-splendens · 3 years

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hinchinbrook

it was getting into mid-july, so for a little walk outside valentine only needed to grab a relatively light jacket and gloves. after weeks of seemingly unending clouds, the sky had finally opened up, and seeing as she was off-duty at the moment, nothing was stopping her from spending a few precious moments at her favorite sitting spot. beverly and myrtle were both up at the top of the light, cleaning off the fresnel or something. it was about 7pm, but at this latitude at this time of the year, that still gave them a good two or three hours of leeway before sunset. she'd check in on them later. daisy, however, had been sick with a particularly tenacious cold for the past several days, and she sniffled pathetically from her bed across the room. she turned over on her side, watched through the dark sweaty bangs covering her eyes as valentine prepared to go out.

"you're going out, val," she mumbled blearily. it was phrased like a statement, but something in her intonation was questioning.

"yup," she replied. "s'clear out. I'll draw you a picture of it, if you want. hell, see it yourself if you can get out of bed before the clouds roll back in." daisy just groaned, and rolled back over. barely a minute went by before valentine could hear her snoring again. that was probably for the best.

pulling on her cleanest wool hat, she stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. the sun hung low in the southwest. it'd be skirting above the pacific for a little while yet. she fished a pair of bent aviators out of her pocket, and thought about how stylish she looked, at least for a lighthouse keeper. she slowly trudged along the path, making her way to just behind the outbuildings next to the cliff.

while the island was known for having a few rather nice beaches, valentine actually appreciated being able to watch the ocean from up here. it felt safer, and knowing the mercurial nature of these waters, she needed all the comfort she could get. it was bad enough thinking about the earthquakes that had hit, back in the late twenties, that had forced a slight relocation onto sturdier ground. for now, though, everything was calm and quiet and stable. she found her favorite spot, a nice clean tree stump, and pulled out her notepad as she sat down.

from somewhere up and behind her, she heard a dull thump followed by the muffled sound of uproarious laughter. she clicked her tongue disapprovingly, but if bev and myrtle had fucking broken something again, they probably wouldn't be laughing. not this hard, anyway. as long as they were working, and not getting... distracted, again. she shook her head.

the first part of a drawing, at least for valentine, was the ever-important date at the top left corner. she was known for meticulously dating all her notes, regardless of their pertinence to her work, here. it calmed her down, to know when things happened, to have it all sorted out in her head. she mumbled to herself as she scribbled, "july fourteenth, nineteen seventy two." and with that, she was free to get to business.

the vista itself was not always, well, terribly majestic. she was certainly used to it, staring out at the horizon, watching where the ocean met the sky. what was interesting was... yes! there. over the course of a minute or so, she started to see a shape appearing, a vague blob that barely passed for any kind of seafaring vessel at this point. she dutifully sketched it, however, making note of the time, drawing it again and again as it crept more into view. based on its size and apparent heading, it was an oil tanker, slowly lumbering its way up to valdez. like just about all sea traffic, around here.

on more interesting days, the atmosphere might present her with a fata morgana, allowing her to see incoming ships from farther away, as images and inverted images of ships, stacked on top of one another, bent their way around the horizon to her. she liked to watch those, as the shapes tended to waver and adjust rapidly. gave her more things to sketch.

as the tanker moved along and back out of sight, valentine started to sketch all the little clouds that still persisted after the veritable blankets, that had entombed them until today, finally decided to part. she liked the shapes they made, little wisps of icy cirrus, here and there. playful, almost; forming lines and waves and gentle curves as the wind rolled them around, distorting and reforming them. the sun, moving more laterally than anything, continued westward, starting to hide a bit behind the trees, and casting long shadows everywhere.

the chill was starting to set in. nothing at all like winter, but cold always seemed to find its way to you regardless. she rubbed her hands together, stood up and ran in place, and did her best to warm back up. she knew that if she wanted she could go back in, have some coffee. maybe check up on what the girls were doing, or perhaps not doing. but she felt compelled to stay. as if to drive the point home, a large flock of seabirds soared past overhead, and val was already back to her notebook, doing her best to do justice to the beautiful forms that nature was kindly presenting to her. she barely noticed when the light came on, behind her, starting to blink lazily, casting occasional shadows here and there. the sun had finally fled the scene, leaving the sky a deep, almost uniform blue.

somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew her work shift was going to start, soon. with daisy out of commission, the few short nighttime hours would be left to her, and her alone. it was about when she had this thought, thinking about sitting around, checking on things, staying awake all night, that she started to hear something. something hissing, from behind her. immediately her mind raced; what kind of wildlife lived here that could make a noise like that? she knew there were bears around, and wolves. stuff like that. but hissing? it almost sounded like some kind of gas leak, but they didn't even have that out here. she forced herself to turn around.

at first, besides the sound, nothing at all seemed particularly amiss. the lights were on in the main building; she even saw a silhouette in the window for just a moment that looked like bev; nobody else she knew had hair quite like that. she looked around, into the woods. nothing but spruce and hemlock stared back at her. and then she thought to look up.

almost directly above her, an entire constellation appeared to be falling out of the sky. at least, that was her first impression. she sat down on the dirt, incredulous, forcing her hand to continue what it had been dutifully doing for the past couple hours. shaking from cold and a creeping sense of fear, she did her best to render in graphite what her eyes hardly believed they were seeing. suspended above them, hanging in the indigo sky, about a half dozen fireballs burned through the air, in formation. she would have thought they were moving, as they left fiery trails in their wake, wisping off in streams of burning red and orange and green, but none of them even appeared to be moving.

it was difficult to take her eyes off them, even to draw. the hissing noise grew louder, and ever so slightly, the fireballs began to move, circling almost, seeming to burn away in some nonexistent wind. she found she could barely move, or open her mouth to speak. her eyes wide, she wanted to scream, to call for help, to at least call somebody to witness this with her, but she only felt her eyes well up with tears. they left trails of biting cold down her cheeks, in the slight breeze, but she could not move her hand to wipe them away. the image of the fireballs burned into her, leaving ghostly trails on her retinas. the noise was unbearable, so loud she thought the ground would crumble away underneath her, that the cliffside would finally fail and she'd be dragged down with everything into the maw of the pacific.

the fireballs were close now. if they had been made of fire, she surely would have felt some heat off of them; they were about level with the top of the lighthouse now. surely the ladies inside could see this, or at least hear it! but if they did, they did not come running outside, to check on her. the sound was absolutely unbearable.

suddenly, without any apparent prompting, one fireball broke from the group, approaching her. surely now her diaphragm would produce a scream, but all she heard was her own voice, croaking in her throat. she was holding on her her pencil so hard she thought it would crack. she looked, stared up into the fireball, as it filled her vision, and for a moment, she thought she saw something staring back.

when she woke up, it was dark. the stars were out, glowing beautifully; jupiter hung right over the horizon, bright enough to leave a faint trail of reflection on the water, which seemed relatively calm. there was no noise, no more hissing, not even the slightest breeze. and she was sitting on her stump again. hadn't she gotten up? she wasn't sure. it took a few more moments to notice a presence next to her. "hey val, you alright?" asked the vague blob in her peripheral. myrtle, based on her voice. kinda raspy.

valentine turned her head, as if submerged in tacky glue. "uhhh..." she began to answer. she realized, though, that she didn't know what to say. wasn't sure if she had just been dreaming. "you didn't happen to, um." she felt stupid. they'd laugh at her for this, no doubt. "there were, uh. some shooting stars. did you see those?"

myrtle just chuckled, and patted her on the shoulder. "I was inside, remember? cmon val, you're cold as ice, and we need some relief. let's get some coffee in you, alright?" valentine didn't resist as she was led back along the path, back indoors. she couldn't really complain; she had almost started to forget what warmth felt like. once her fingers stopped burning, she carefully pulled her notebook out of her pocket, flipped it to the latest entry.

a half dozen very shaky fireballs.

she closed it and tucked it back into her pocket. she had work to do. daisy, from her bed in the corner, laughed to herself, and managed to pull her body up into a sort of halfway sitting position. it looked uncomfortable, but daisy didn't seem to mind at all. in fact, if you had asked her, valentine would have said she seemed completely healthy again, if it weren't for the ugly crust of dried snot around her nose and at the corners of her mouth. she looked right at her. right into her eyes. and seemed, almost, as if she was about to speak, but instead only winked, and climbed back underneath the blankets.

two days later, she died, without having said another word. they buried her near the edge of the woods. bev even liberated a decently sized gravestone from near the cliffs, careful not to fall down herself. they did what they could for her. when valentine was due to return home again, later that summer, she knew she wouldn't be coming back. she'd find another line of work. something less remote. only a couple years later, the lighthouse was automated, making their jobs obsolete anyway.

valentine didn't even hear about the lighthouse again until 1981. she had been chatting up some members of a tanker crew, in a little dive bar in anchorage. the windows were drafty as all fuck, and they huddled together near a space heater, telling stories about life on the sea. the guy next to her, matthew, brightened up when she mentioned cape hinchinbrook. "ya worked there, huh? ya don't say. useful light, yaknow." she chuckled to himself, and his companion, and older guy named chuck, just grunted.

"don't even start about that nonsense, matt. we can hear it coming a mile away," he said, looking like he might spit at the thought.

matthew brushed it off. "cmon, it's a good one. now, val, it's really funny, not long after you left, we were passin' there, as we used to do, and it was gettin' kinda late in the evening,"

"christ," groaned chuck, as he got up to get another beer. "fuckin' sick of this shit. call me back over when you've got somethin' original to spout off about."

"anyway!" matthew laughed, "it was... I think it was seventy three. we go past and, at first I think it's just a star, right? a bright star. but it's moving! circling around the lighthouse, like it fuckin owned the place! almost looked like, I dunno." he started to look discouraged. "like somethin' on fire, I guess. anyway, they say it's 'uninspired' or some shit. but I swear to you."

valentine took a drink. "just the one, you say?"

honestly, matthew just looked relieved to not be laughed at. "yeah," he said. "just the one."

#fiction #ufo #lighthouse #alaska

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smolpocketsmonsters · 6 years

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A Healer In A Tree

Part One

Elfroot green eyes flicked over those who had been injured in the last werewolf attack on the clan. Those who were surviving their injuries but… they were in so much pain, and there was nothing more he could do beyond wait.

They needed something but the cure was something that Aether didn’t know.

And Zathrian…

Zathrian had been acting particularly odd since the clan arrived in the forest and became trapped there, unable to leave least they face another assaults from the werewolves. He cared about his clan, yes, but Aether couldn’t help but feel that the Keeper was hiding something.

It increasingly nagged at Aether, chewed at him from the inside, but he couldn’t confront the Keeper about it.

He couldn’t because he was an outsider to the clan already, a foreigner even despite still being Dalish, a guest who came to study and help as much as he could. Zathrian’s healing magic was second to none and Aether could only hope to be able to achieve that level of skill in his lifetime, and Zathrian, despite his reluctance, had taught him much.

But the lessons, Zathrian told him yesterday, had come to an end.

The Keeper intended to go into the forest, alone, leaving his First to lead the clan in his absence should he not come back, and Aether was welcome to stay under her approval, to learn from her if she wished.

Zathrian had been gone for hours and Aether lingered by the wounded.

He had done all that he could with what he had, with the plants he had gathered three days ago, and now all he could do was wait and watch.

Quietly, the healer’s gaze slipped over to the bag he had settled among the grass beside the makeshift apothecary table.

Ten potent elfroot potions waited in it, for those who had rescued him in the forest to come back, the bargain he had made in order to get help out of that tree safely, least he try his luck at hopping from tree to tree and hopefully he managed to get closer to the ground without hitting every branch on the way down. An easy way to break every bone in his body and become easy prey to the sylvans and wolves, both were and other.

Instead…

He jumped.

Right into the waiting arms of a man with gorgeous amber eyes.

It was like every cheesy romance novel he had ever skimmed through back in Orlais, at least until his rescuer opened his mouth about the reward all the while looking at him like a meal.

The thought alone made Aether’s face flush with annoyance.

Angrily huffing, the healer started to pace, eyes flicking away from the apothecary table and the makeshift infirmary and out to the rest of the Dalish camp.

The group that had rescued him, Grey Wardens apparently, had other companions that had stayed behind, and much to Aether’s embarrassment, he had a history with one. A short history, just the memory of a night in a tavern, of flirting and drinking and falling into bed with someone tan, and blond, and elven, and Antivan.

Zevran, Aether recalled.

Every time the Antivan met his gaze the last three days since the new group showed up, it was with a playful, knowing smile that made Aether’s ears burn. Thankfully, beyond pleasantries, the topic of their one night was not brought up. They honestly hadn’t expected to see each other again when they parted ways that morning well over a month ago.

Strange to think that it really had been three days since the party of Wardens reentered the forest after escorting him back to the camp, back to safety.

Aether wondered about their safety though…

Then… he felt it.

He and Lanaya and Elora all looked up from what they were doing in unison, eyes rooting to the same spot in the forest, a sudden and sharp pull on the Veil, of something so completely wrapped in magic being unraveled so quickly that only mages would ever sense the event, and perhaps any mage who visited the area would feel it rippling in years to come…

It felt like a violation in and of itself.

And Aether wondered…

About the werewolves.

---------------------------------

Aether would admit he felt remotely slighted by Zathrian when he returned, the man hording his secrets as he worked on creating the cure that the Wardens helped him collect, all the while urging the healer to focus his attention on the immediate wounded: Aether’s own rescuers.

Strange how he was once again in close quarters with them, not that he terribly minded as he watched the Dalish Warden limp over to the rest of their companion and then flop down onto the ground by their personal fire, groaning as he slowly propped one foot up. Aether had an inkling that something was at least strained, possibly broken, but he didn’t have an opportunity to approach the small subsect of the camp before he heard a vaguely familiar voice.

“Aether, was it?”

Black hair and fair skin and amber eyes, just like he recalled.

The only difference now was the fresh and bloody wound on the Circle mage’s face.

“Yes,” Aether answered. “Would you like me to heal that?”

He nodded politely, remaining respectful this time, “I would prefer risking a minor scar than a very visible one,” he stated, “my healing would scar for sure.”

That made one of the healer’s brows raise in curiosity.

A blood mage?

Blood magic was not something Aether personally wanted to touch but some people were different. As long as no harm was done for the sake of malice, he truly couldn’t complain.

“Healing is not always an easy school of magic to grasp,” Aether commented, reaching up and he watched as the other mage winced slightly but stayed as still as he could under the healer’s attention. “When I’m done, you won’t believe you got hurt at all.”

Ather’s confidence seemed to amuse the Warden vaguely. “That’s the attitude.”

“More than attitude is skill.”

After that is silence as they allow the magic to surge into life, gentle and warm and calm and soothing with every stroke of his thumb over the injury, until, finally, Aether retreated and let Vergil wipe the blood from his face while the healer retrieved a shard of mirror from his pack, allowing the mage to see the results.

He was very satisfied with the results, the spot completely bare of any sign that the wound ever existed. Like it never happened. “Perhaps I could repay you for this feat? Would some ancient texts reading interest you?”

An unnecessary offer but one that none the less made Aether’s green eyes light up with interest. “You found some?”

“I did,” he admitted, “they are in surprisingly good condition, unless werewolves started writing their own thesis’.”

A humorous thought, but as much as Aether wanted, he still had a job to do.

“Your companion still needs healing. If the offer still stands when I’m done…”

And he smirked, an expression that was almost second-nature to that face. “It will still stand.”

And it certainly did.

---------------------------------

Despite the fact that the Wardens now had the Dalish elves as allies to their treaties, the party did not leave the following day as they originally seemed to have planned.

This was because of their Dalish Warden, Tierian Mahariel of the Sabrae clan, who, Aether later realized, was incredibly homesick. This adventure he was on as a Warden was by no choice of his own, in fact he was only a Warden because the alternative was dying. He wanted to stay and soak in the atmosphere of something familiar for just a little bit longer before he would be willing to go back, like a man dying of thirst drinking his fill from an oasis before pushing on once again.

Their stay had many benefits.

Their bard, Leliana, was able to learn Dalish stories from Sarel. Morrigan was curious about the people as well. Zevran wanted to indulge in some leisure. And Vergil Surana had some ancient texts that he was getting help translating with the help of the wandering Dalish healer.

Only Alistair seemed to be eager to get going.

But he was easily outvoted and easy to pacify with good quality halla cheese.

Besides, Tierian said, it was just for a few days.

And for the first couple days, Vergil and Aether often sat together, pouring over the texts, the healer translating what he recognized and also asking questions about the Circle, which Vergil expressed that the Circle really was only good for the book collection it had. Aether had never seen a true library before, and it made him even more curious.

It was the forest that eventually called to Aether, safer now than it had been before, and he asked Vergil to show him the places he had told him of, the tombstones and the ruins, the Grand Old Oak, and the hermit’s home. There was knowledge to be learned and knowledge to share, and if there was anything that the two of them both seemed to thrive for in equal measure, it was just that: knowledge.

The forest was alive with noise, no longer silent from the threat of the werewolves, and Aether was grateful for the peace that it brought with it, the scent of river-silt rich in the air as they neared the source. He collected plants along the way, tucked neatly into pouches for later care when they returned. It would take days for them to explore all the places that Vergil mentioned, and it didn’t bother Aether.

It was the sound of quick feet that drew Aether’s attention from his most recently picked plant, and Vergil’s eyes met his only briefly before a set of wolves burst out from the bushes, fangs bared and ready to do damage.

But they were not helpless.

It was lightning and ice in the background of Aether’s mind as he concentrated, tugging at strands of Fade beneath the ground like spiderwebs, seeping his control into the roots and earth itself before he pulled and the very nature that surrounded him became his own weapon, wrapping around those they captured like pythons before crushing them and dragging them down to feed the floral.

And when it was quiet, Aether looked up, and found Vergil’s eyes on him, muted surprise on his face.

And a playful smile made itself at home on Aether’s lips.

“Can’t let my brave Warden rescuer have all the fun, now can I?”

#a healer in a tree #vergil surana #warden surana #aether #aether alerion #aetherius alerion #vergil x aether #icylook #icy-warden

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fmlfpl · 4 years

Photo

Lineup Lamentations - GW33+

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week!

—

WALSH

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Armstrong

IN: Foden

Was close to saving but that isn't fun so I decided to have fun instead. Stu the lad did a job for me when I called on him, and shielded the bench well in the ensuing games, but with rough fixtures incoming he seemed expendable.

Foden is just good and fun and as previously mentioned I'm trying to have fun. I have no clue when he'll start but just making the play based on how he's looked and how easy it was to stick him into my team given my team structure. Not owning any City and avoiding off the restart has been one of my worst calls in a while, maybe of the whole season, so getting someone in feels good. Theoretically he could give Phil all the minutes he can handle so I'll be having some of that.

GK:

de Gea (BOU)

DDG with two cleans in three has been really solid. Banker feels good, get in there Daveed.

DEF:

Maguire (BOU)

The Slabhead double up goes again, and it's been working so far. They are dominating teams and the fixtures make for good reading so I'm fully expecting the cleans to continue to flow.

Doherty & Boly

The Dock and Boly are in for me with Saiss on the bench.

I'm stepping back on the usual treble defense to just run two out against Arsenal which seems prudent. I still envision Wolves controlling the game but you never know up against a team with the firepower of Arsenal if they can nick something.

Unlike dodging City, going all in on ManU and Wolves defense have been a masterstroke with 5 cleans in 6 games just been stacking points. Long may it continue.

MID:

Salah & Mane (AVL)

Mo and Mane..like...fuck. Need a spanking here.

Been getting absolutely ravaged by all the other people with City players while I sit here with the Reds who've been tame in comparison.

Villa home, I am expecting a reaction here. Villa have been tight and good so far, but, they are visiting Anfield with a bunch of actual bad shitehouses on their team with the worst manager in the division. I am expecting a battering here so let's go.

Foden (sou)

New boy Fodeninho is in there, obv sweating the teamsheet for him as it would be not so fun to see him benched for his inaugural game in my team but the counter could be on with the way Soton play so we'll see.

Pulisic (WAT)

Pulisic came in with a couple assists for just falling down last game and looked, once again, the man most likely. Good near term fixtures and with them needing to win every game he seems like a really really good pick for the run in. Just hope he doesn't get hurt.

Fernandes (BOU)

Lastly, Bruno. Good lad.

FWD:

Kane and DCL lead the line with their teams up against each other.

Spurs defending was an actual laugh riot against the Blades last game - Dier's perfect game not withstanding - so I still back DCL.

Calvert-Lewin (tot)

I'm seeing a lot of DCL hate, and ok I get it he blanked thru the restart, but he's still putting up good stats. I just believe in him and really like him. Happy to hold and happy to start no matter who they are playing and unless his price is mental next season it seems difficult for me to imagine him not being in my GW1 team.

Kane (EVE)

Kane...I mean....whatever...he's fine or something. Not exciting, but he's back to playing center forward and involved in their good actions. It's just too bad all of his teammates are utter bags of wank. I am not expecting much this game from him, but with Bournemouth up next, he remains.

CAP:

Salah (AVL)

Rolling with Mo this weekend.

Bruno seems safer but Mo seems more explosive. He's been properly on it lately and has looked really really good...just missing that final ball slightly. No one would be surprised with a hat against Villa and fuck me Livp seem due a pen. As I said earlier, I expect a reaction here after getting fucked by City.

Do it Mo.

—

ALON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Aubameyang, Saka, Traore, and Son

IN (for -8 points): Connolly, Pulisic, Mahrez, De Bruyne

I mean what the hell...

I had a rough night, hence no pod, and I turned it into a -8 buffet of fuck.

I’m getting the guys who’re pissing me off and the guys who are bad picks the fuck outta my team and getting a ton of last week’s points... Chasing points, never bad right????

But seriously City are destroying every single team for fun and I see no reason for them to let off. Keep’em sharp for UCL and all that... Puli is great and Connolly will mostly ride the bench but has Norwich this week.

There are only six GWs left so I’m going for it. Not gonna play boring and safe in this moment with my shit ass rank.

GK:

Ederson (sou)

Eddy clean vs. Liverpool was pretty unexpected but we take those points I guess. So far hasn’t been worth going expensive keeper (is it ever worth???) but City could pretty realistically clean the next six straight so here’s to hoping for that. Southampton away, Newc home, Brighton away, Bourne home, Watty away, and Norwich home I mean come on...

DEF:

Alexander-Arnold (AVL)

What a cluster fuck that was vs. City just hoping the lads rebound and Trent is in the XI... Neco might get a couple starts for the rest of the season just hoping it doesn’t start now. Should be an easy clean with upside of attacking returns.

Maguire (BOU)

Pzez.

Doherty (ARS)

Dock and Wolves cleans are flying hopefully some attacking returns coming soon. Arsenal can be got at.

MID:

De Bruyne & Mahrez (sou)

Couple new friends, but old friends renewed.

Not having Kev was diabolical as not having Kev often is. On pens now makes him so much more explosive and just straight up great as an FPL option. Seems pretty impossible to ignore his points at this juncture. Also Pep keeps playing him 90′ I duno... Main man, workhorse, probably future captain? He’s great.

Mahrez is sexy and I came out the gates with him but didn’t respect him and ditched for Son. Horrific move in hindsight but didn’t know Spurs would be this trash and Son would be relegated to the Willian role.

Fernandes & Martial (BOU)

Ole sketching me out in his presser makes neither of these guys cap options imo but they’re still great picks and I’m happy to have’em and they should absolutely fuck Bournemouth sideways.

Pulisic (WAT)

Last time I owned Pulisic (GWs 14-20) he put up some incredible points for me: 2, 2, 2, 3, 0, 1, 0 so yeahhhhh gonna be GREAT GUYS HE’S SO GOOD HIS UNDERLYING STATS OMFGGGGG..........

But seriously he’s really fucking good and his stats are too so whatever. Trust the process. But I’m scared. Who knows maybe Fourth of July Pulisic is super-powered...

FWD:

Jimenez (ARS)

Jim’s a consistent fuck but I wish I doubled defense with Walsh and saved a bunch of millions of pounds. The forwards right now are a dumpster fire man fuck me. Come on Jim....

Connolly (nor)

Setting my alarm for really early like 6am (1.5 hours from now LOL) or whatever to see if there’s a lineup leak and O’Conno is in the XI or not... If he’s not starting I think I’ll go Enda Stevens at Burnley over DCL at Spurs...

But hopefully the young firecracker gets a go at the disaster of the Canaries.

CAP:

Mahrez (sou)

As much as reading into minutes played and predicting Pep’s rotation is folly it’s also all we got... Kev has played 90′ in a couple straight and he’s certainly not needed for St. Mary’s clash so I’m skirting him for cap (although in a world where both are nailed I think Kev is the better cap)...

Mahrez seemed to nail himself to “first choice XI” and Jesus is actually trash so I’m hoping he gets in there and gets to terrorize that Soton backline all day on Sunday.

High risk high ceiling high upside let’s get it.

#lineup lamentations

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