#the shot cuts it off but her horns got bigger and more eviler

[kingfakey]

howdy there :3 i’m requesting lottie and lily in their dnd character arc 🧝

omg omg this was so fun... i took my sweet fucken time chewing the scenery

a pair of rookies setting off on an adventure!! feat lily as a tiefling warlock (hexblade, if you wanna know, it's a secret who she took her oath up with though 😉) and lottie as a human ranger.

cut to the end of the campaign when they're mortal enemies.

#cas games #HEHE!!! #this was so fun... #the shot cuts it off but her horns got bigger and more eviler #lottie is who i put in red dead online #if she cannot have a gun a bow will suffice #she's the finest tracker you'll ever meet :3

[buttterknifeee]

Final Exam- Teen Titans x Aquagirl! Reader

Masterlist

Request: Helloooooo! I have an Episode request “Final exam” (Season 1 ep 3) with Aquagirl!reader please and thank you very much!

Summary: It's a good thing you have junior life guard training as you face a new force of evil. Will you and your teammates defeat these foes or will you drown in the pressure?

Pairings: Robin x Reader (nothing serious, just some blushing lol)

Word count: 3192

A/N: hey!!! sorry this took a while I was just doing other things lul. Reminder that I'm now on AO3 (username is butterknifee) and that requests are always open! Hope you enjoy!!!

It was an uneventful day in the tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were rummaging around the living room looking for the TV remote, Raven was reading silently and you were practicing your water skills, balancing an orb of water in mid air.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere!" Cyborg says, rummaging through the whole room. He lifts up the whole couch as Beast Boy sniffs around in dog form.

“How could you lose the remote?” Cyborg glares at Beast Boy.

“What makes you so sure I lost it?” Beast Boy asks, turning back into a human.

“Uh...'cause you're you.”

“Hey! Just because I lost that video game--”

“--And the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron--”

“Things disappear. How am I supposed to know where they go?”

You continued to focus on your bubble, but couldn’t help but notice Raven lowering her book. You peeked over to see her annoyed expression, obviously caused by the two boys.

Cyborg huffs. “Well how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote?” Suddenly, Raven slammed her book, breaking you out of your focus and causing the water you were balancing to drop into a puddle. You stared wide-eyed at Raven as she stood up.

“Simple. You can just get up and change the channel.” she says with a stone cold expression.

“Don’t even joke like that.” Cyborg says. You hover your hands over the puddle, trying to pick it up with your hydrokinesis.

“Do you think you guys could argue in like, the bathroom or something? Cause-” you start, but Raven interrupts you.

“I wasn’t joking”

“Good, 'cause it wasn't funny!” Cyborg says. “Now either help us look for the remote or go back to your nasty old book and--”

“This is a pointless argument over a useless device.” she snaps, her face red from frustration.

“You know what, I'm just gonna get a mop or something,” you mumble. You consider actually getting up to get a mop as they continue to argue.

Robin and Starfire walks in to the three teens arguing and you sitting to the side. You make a pained expression at the two, your way of saying go back, before it's too late.

But Robin steps towards the bickering Titans. “Whoa! Take it easy, Titans! Combat practice is this afternoon!”

“We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods. I shall fetch them.” Starfire adds, happily flying towards the kitchen.

Cyborg continues to argue. “I don't need food, what I need is a time machine, I didn't--”

Beast Boy cuts him off. “Back me up here, Robin!! Have I ever lost any--?”

“Ok, ok!” Robin puts up his hands to stop them.

“To stop him from taking the REMOTE!!!” Cyborg yells.

“Hey! Come on!! Settle down! ENOUGH!!!” Robin starts yelling too. You start to cover your ears when a loud noise causes all of you to look up. You see Starfire staring wide-eyed at the fridge, her hands glowing green. Blue mold had exploded from her starbolt, causing it to land all over the kitchen. You made a mental note to start cleaning the kitchen more often.

“Maybe we should go out for pizza,” Robin decides.

.

.

The arguing does not stop at the pizza place.

“Can we please just order something?” Raven groans.

“As long as its vegetarian.” Beast Boy says.

“Come on, man, how can you deny me the all-meat experience?” Cyborg whines.

“Dude, I've been most of those animals!”

“Just no anchovies for me,” You say.

“I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting.” Starfire says with a smile. You shudder at the thought of eating something like that. Robin leans over.

“Uh, Starfire? Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping.” She blushes at her mistake, Beast Boy and Cyborg going at each other again.

“Double pepperoni!!”

“I'm not eating meat!!”

“There's no meat in pepperoni!!”

The sound of a vehicle horn finally ended their argument. You all look up to see a bus barreling straight towards a baby carriage, a baby screaming from inside.

“Titans go!” Robin yells. You, Cyborg and Raven ran to stop the bus while Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy ran to save the baby carriage. You summon a jet of water from a fire hydrant and shoot it at the bus, slowing it down. Cyborg planted himself in front of the bus, his bulky arms holding it back. Raven uses her magic, pulling the gearshift inside the bus to “park”. When the bus finally skidded to a stop, you three looked inside. No one was there.

“Um… don’t buses normally have drivers?” Cyborg asks.

“And don’t carriages normally have babies?” Robin says nearby. He, Starfire, and Beast Boy were staring at a teddy bear that was inside the carriage. A voice suddenly projected from the stuffed animal.

“Are you pit-sniffers normally this stupid?”

Suddenly, the teddy bear shot lasers out of its eyes, sending the three teens flying into an alleyway. You turned to see the bus next to you be lifted up by a large, hairy man in black and yellow. He smiled and threw the bus on top from the three of you, trapping you under it. You grunt as the weight of the bus begins to press down on your chest. You hear a voice from outside the bus.

“That was too easy. What a buncha cludge-heads. You guys want to get pizza?” The voice matched the one from the teddy bear. You gritted your teeth as you heard Cyborg’s sonic cannon warm up.

“This isn't over!” you hear Robin yells. Cyborg blasts his cannon, sending the bus in the air. You got up with the other two titans.

“We’re just getting started!” Cyborg yells.

“Who are these guys?” Beast Boy asks, stuck in a trash can. “And what’s a cludge-head?”

“We are the HIVE!” the villain who called you ‘cludge-heads’ said. He was a short kid, wearing a green jumpsuit and goggles. He basically looked like an evil Caillou.

“Your worst nightmare!” said the guy who crushed you with a bus. You noticed that he had a large amount of hair on his whole body.

“And this is attack pattern Alpha!” said the last villain, a goth looking girl with pink, hornlike hair. They jumped out of their poses, and towards you. The small guy in green flew forward in a jetpack, shooting lasers at Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy. The lasers hit the alleyway around them, causing a pile of rubble to fall on them.

Cyborg immediately started brawling with the large guy, Raven and the pink-haired girl attacking each other with their magic, and the smaller kid flying around your head. You tried to shoot him down with your blasts of water, but he wove through your shots. He then flew towards Cyborg, holding something metal.

“Cyborg watch out!” you scream, but it was too late. The green kid attached the metal object to Cyborg's back, and at that moment you realized it was a rocket. Starfire recovered from being crushed by rubble just to see him flying through the air.

"Cyborg!" She yelled, flying after him and out of sight. The two leaving so abruptly caught you off guard, so off guard that you didn't notice the burly guy sneaking up behind you. You turned just as he went to kick you, kicking your stomach and causing you to go flying. You hold your stomach in pain and try to run back towards him, but Raven being thrown towards you sends you crashing back towards the ground. You groan in pain as you hear Robin and Beast Boy meet a similar fate. You see them laying next to you.

"Is it just me or are we getting our butts kicked?" Beast Boy asked, the rest of you standing up.

"It's just you," the three of you say at the same time.

"Listen up team, I have a plan," Robin begins, but is cut off by 3 blasts from the short boy's jetpack. Those 3 blasts ended up hitting you, Beast Boy and Raven. You landed behind the Boy Wonder, leaving him to face the HIVE alone.

“Gee, scrum-buffer.” the jetpack boy jeered, lowering himself to the ground. “Sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried!”

“You’ll just have to find out the hard way.” you hear him say. You watch him stand in a fighting position, beckoning them to fight. However instead of fighting, the three villains stood with a smile on their face. Then, one by one, they hit the ground between them and Robin. You were confused at first, but then realized in horror that they had created a crack in the asphalt, it getting bigger with each hit. The crack traveled up towards Robin and the area around him crumbled. A look of fear set in his face as he fell with the asphalt into the ground.

“Robin!” you yelled, running up towards the hole with Beast Boy and Raven. Through the crumbling hole you saw a stream of dark, murky sewer water. Water, you realized. You turned to the other two Titans.

“There’s water down there. I’ll go get Robin, you two go back to the Tower.” Before they could reply, you dove into the hole, landing into the water.

“Aquagirl!” Beast Boy yelled, but you were gone.

.

The cold water shocked your body, but you forced yourself to shake it off. You floated on the surface of the water, looking for any signs of Robin. When you didn’t see anyone, you dove back underwater and took a deep breath (yes, you can breathe underwater). You shoot through the water, swimming as fast as you can. Up ahead, you saw blurs of red, yellow, and green. It was Robin. You swam up to him and grabbed onto his unconscious body. Then with all your strength, you pulled him out of the water and onto the concrete surface of the sewer.

You laid Robin on his back and started to inspect him. You check for his heart rate by pressing two fingers against the area under his jaw. It was beating, but very slowly. You placed your hands on his chest and started pumping. After 30 seconds, nothing was happening. Tilting his head back, you pinched his nose and took a deep breath. You gave mouth to mouth once, then twice, then-

Robin’s eyes opened while you were giving the third. He jerked his head up and crashed his forehead into yours.

“Owwww” you whine, rubbing your hand on your forehead. Robin backed up from you, holding his lips.

“Hey! why did you-” He was about to finish his sentence but started coughing up water. You roll your eyes.

“Woah, calm down Robin, I’m not trying to make a move on you. The only move I made was saving you from drowning.”

“Oh- I’m sorry,” he says, his masked eyes staring at you apologetically.

You waved your hand. “Don’t worry about it, you had a pretty bad fall.”

“What happened to the others? Where are they? Where are we?” He asked, frantically reaching for his T-communicator, only to realize that his whole belt was missing.

“Oh man, your belt must’ve fallen off when you fell. Last time I checked, Raven and Beast Boy were injured, but fine. We’re currently in a sewer, I’m not sure if Starfire and Cyborg are ok, but maybe we can check.” you pulled out your own T-communicator and flipped it open. Water gushed out and formed a puddle under your hand. You both stared at it as you flipped the communicator closed and slid it back into your belt.

“We need to get back to the others, before the HIVE strikes again,” Robin says, standing up. He doubles over, falling to his knees, clutching his abdomen.

“You’re hurt. You need to rest before we find the other Titans,” you say, sitting next to him. “Here, I can help.” You beckon him to let go of his chest and you sit down with you, which he reluctantly does. You summon a bubble of the murky water and allow it to soak into his shirt. You concentrated, and the water began to glow blue.

“Hmmm… I only feel a rib fracture… this may take a while…” you mutter, hovering your hands over his chest. You were focusing so much on healing Robin’s wound, you didn’t notice the frown on his face, more stern than usual.

“Something on your mind, Robin?” you asked, looking up from your work. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the ground.

“It’s just that…” he began. “I really thought that I could take on the HIVE, you know? But they took me out so easily; they took all of us out so easily. How am I supposed to be a leader if I get hurt so easily, if I let all my teammates get hurt-” his rant is cut off by your finger being shoved in front of his mouth. You both stare at each other in awkward silence.

“When I was a kid, I knew all about you and your adventures,” you began, staring at the stream of water flowing next to you. “You were the boy wonder. The Hero of Gotham. The Sidekick. But now look at you; you’re the leader of a whole team of superheroes, who trust you and are here for you, Robin. We know the dangers, and hey, if I would be a superhero on any team, I’m glad I’m on yours.”

He gave you a small smile. “Thank you Aquagirl,” he said.

You nodded and smiled back. “Anytime, Robin.” You looked at his chest again. “How do you feel?”

“I feel great, both inside and out.” he said, standing up with ease. “I think it's time to find the other titans.”

“Great idea, and I know just how to get out of here.” You stretch out your arm and the ground starts to rumble. A giant geyser shoots up from the stream and punches a hole in the roof of the sewer, allowing the setting sun to peek through. You grabbed Robin’s waist and jumped into the water, another smaller geyser pushing you up and out of the sewer.

“Ugh, gross! I’m definitely taking a shower after this,” you say, looking back at the sewer you jumped out of.

“Ok, let’s go find the others,” Robin says, heading in the direction of the Tower, which was peaking out in the distance. “And, I think it’s time to come up with a plan.”

.

You finally get closer to the Tower when you notice something.

“Ummm Robin?” you say. “Doesn’t the tower usually look like a T?” You both stare at the tower, its original shape now being built upon to look like a ‘H’. The HIVE… you thought. You and Robin eventually find the rest of your friends, who were all arguing on the beach. You were about to announce your presence but Robin stopped you, putting his arm in front of you.

“We need to control our emotions,” you hear Raven say.

“Or What?!” Cyborg yells. “Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating??”

“I wish Robin were here..” Starfire mumbles. You see the slightest tinge of pink dust across Robin’s cheeks.

“Well he’s NOT! And neither is Aquagirl!” Cyborg continues to yell. “Don't you guys get it?! They won, we lost! IT'S OVER!!”

Beast Boy looked at him. “Then are the Teen Titan’s finished?” Robin looks at you and nods, you nod back. The two of you step forwards.

“We’re not,” Robin says. The other four Titans turn in shock to see you and Robin, both seemingly fine, standing before them.

“Not if I can help it,” he said, arms crossed.

“Told’ya I’d get him back.” you said. “Now who wants to hear our plan?”

You waited on the roof as Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire infiltrated the Tower. You sat on a ledge of the (hideous) HIVE add-ons, swinging your legs as Robin stood next to you, staring out into the distance.

“You ready, bird boy?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked. “With you here, I’m more than ready.” He jumped down from the ledge, leaving you flustered above him.

Suddenly, The three villains come tumbling onto the roof and crash into each other, much more uncoordinated than they had seemed earlier today. The belt the pink haired girl had most likely stolen from Robin’s wardrobe goes flying, and Robin catches it midair.

“Sorry to interrupt your victory celebration,” Robin says, clicking his belt back on around his waist. “But like I said, this isn’t over.” The five of you join him, looming above the HIVE.

“It’s just getting started,” Cyborg said.

The trio of villains quickly recovered.

“Attack pattern alpha!” The pink haired girl yelled, sending waves of magic in your direction. You all jumped out of the way, splitting up.

You saw the large guy swing at Beast Boy, so you rushed in to help him. You summoned a long tendril of water from the ocean and used it like a third arm, with whipping the villain in the face. He turns towards you and grabs your wrist, but with a swift kick in the stomach he goes flying across the roof. You see Raven approach him, so you go to assist in taking down the other two.

Soon, the HIVE laid defeated at your feet. The smaller boy was holding a transmitter device.

"Cram it. I'm calling Slade." He groaned. Slade? You thought. Robin lifted the boy by his green jumpsuit.

"Who is Slade?" Robin asked quite aggressively. The boy scoffed.

"Wouldn't you like to know barf-brain?"

.

After you dealt with the villains, you finally came in the Tower after a long day. You flopped on the couch as the other Titans inspected the damage the HIVE had caused in the tower, which apparently, wasn't much. Beast Boy crouched at his music collection, head in his hands.

"My tunes! They've been… alphabetized!" He whined. "How am I ever going to find anything?"

Raven came out of her room holding one of her cloaks. "They went into my room. No one should ever go into my room," she said coldly.

"Someone has disposed of all of our blue furry food!" Starfire gasped. Cyborg lifted the whole couch like he did earlier today.

"You gotta be kidding me! The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-" his rant is stopped by Robin, who points at the coffee table. There, the remote lay in plain sight.

"Ha!" He cheered, flopping down on the couch next to you and flipping through channels.

"Maybe we should let the HIVE take over the tower every once in a while, I think this place needed a good clean," you joke, still strewn across the couch.

"I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?" Cyborg said, looking at Robin.

"We will. But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team." He looks at you while saying that and you smile.

"Me too"

#butterknife's x reader series #dick grayson x reader #dc imagine #dick grayson #dc #teen titans x reader #teen titans 2003 #teen titans cyborg #raven teen titans #teen titans go #cyborg #victor stone #vic stone #robin #robin x reader #starfire #koriand'r #x y/n #x reader #beast boy x reader #gar logan #beast boy

[crapitskizaru]

(Most of) The Worst Generation as famous Youtubers

Warning: long post ahead!

MPV - most popular video

Monkey D. Luff (Mukbang/Daily Vlogger)

1,5 mln subscribers

vlogs about everything, most of the time captures only his face with the shaky front camera phone 

always has some of his friends in the videos - whether they consent to it or not 

as soon as Luffy started hitting bigger numbers, Nami got involved

- “Oi, Luffy, do you know how much money you could make on this?!” 

she’s both fascinated and deeply terrified as to how Luffy even got that many subscribers in the first place - most of the videos consisted of a shaking view of Luffy’s nostrils and his loud voice reporting every little thing he does at the moment, as well as teasing all of his friends 

after countless arguments, Nami settles for adding ads only at the start and the end of the video (as opposed to slapping them every 2 minutes) 

merely enjoying a random video he found is enough for Luffy to try and make a collab with the youtuber behind said video - thanks to that, his channel is filled with various topics and lots of unrelated communities

his most popular collab so far is with Kid - where they go to a haunted house together 

MPV: WE GOT KICKED OUT OF A PRIVATE ISLAND DAILY VLOG S.30 EP. 996

Roronoa Zoro (Health and Fitness)

320k subscribers

most of his videos are shot from an identical angle - he sets up his camera in the same spot every time and starts working out 

once a month he throws in a recipe for protein powders he uses (it’s actually Chopper’s recipe) 

Zoro despises one particular video on his channel that surprisingly went viral and earned him a lot of new subscribers - when Luffy made a compilation of Zoro sleeping in various spots around Sunny, not waking up even during extreme weather conditions (title: SWORDSMAN SLEEPS THROUGH A HURRICANE - FUNNY VIDEO MUST WATCH)

MPV: weekly vlog 18,000 rep squats bench workout bicep curls

Trafalgar the Bastard (Study Vlog/Conspiracy Theories)

500k subcribers

a rather diverse channel - at first his videos only consisted of him studying at his favorite study spot, but as soon as he began to be more popular, he decided to add some of his own conspiracy theories reviews, as well as vlogs from where he simply wanders around the city

more often that not, his videos involve Bepo, Shachi and Penguin - not that it’s Law’s choice to involve them. Usually they just steal his camera and zoom in on him when they’re on a camping trip in a forest; they title the video as “lonely man wanders around in the woods - he attacks us at the end!” 

at the beginning, Law asked Shachi to be his editor, but since he always cut out the parts where Law started speaking, he went to Nami instead - she agreed to be his temporary editor (not for free, of course) until Law learns editing himself 

MPV: my armageddon 2020 theory proved to be true

Eustsass Kid - (Music/Pranks and Challenges)

470k subscribers

messy videos with all kinds of challenges - no matter how ridiculous they are, Kid has to complete them 

for the Ice Bucket Challenge, the video is just a compilation of him absolutely drenching his friends with a bucket of ice water and his own evil laughter in the background 

when it came to the Cinnamon Challenge, Kid dared Killer that he won’t even budge when doing it; of course, it only resulted in a disaster

as soon as he takes a spoonful of cinnamon, his face turns redder than his hair - he starts to give Killer signals to end the video right now

“Cut. Cut!” he chokes out while spewing cinnamon powder on the table. “CUT!” 

Kid’s pranks are mostly either waking Killer up in the middle of the night with an Air Horn, or putting himself in dangerous situations just to see Killer’s reaction 

MPV: DROWNING MYSELF ON PURPOSE PRANK ON BOYFRIEND (HE FREAKS OUT)

Killer - (ASMR/Music/Cooking)

200k subscribers

he puts a lot of effort into his channel, mainly because it’s a hobby that takes his mind off of things and lets him relax 

the videos consist of him standing in the kitchen and calmly following a recipe with relaxing background music - he includes the proportions and ingredients in the bio 

his main goal is to be able to make an ASMR cooking video, but so far he hasn’t succeeded - mainly because of Kid interrupting him every second with either his yells or clanking of pots on the other side of the kitchen 

wanted to make a cooking collab with Kid and, surprisingly, that earned him a lot of subscribers - not because of his cooking skills, but thanks to Kid being awfully entertaining (as depicted in the gif above)

aside from food-related videos, Killer also makes music videos where he collabs with Kid 

since Killer is an innocent victim of Kid’s merciless pranks, sometimes he snaps and pranks Kid instead - he figures it’s only fair if there is some kind of retribution from his side

MPV: ignoring my boyfriend for 24 hours (he leaves me)

Basil Hawkins (Design/Beauty Guru/Lifestyle)

320k subscribers

just like Killer, he does his best in order to produce entertaining content, puts a lot of thought and effort into his videos 

he’s an amazing editor and an even better graphic designer; all of his shots fit into his own aesthetics - symmetrical, with a lot of pastel colors 

he mostly focuses on make-up tutorials and reviews, since that’s what produces the most views for his channel 

one time he collabed with Law, where he got to do a stunning Halloween make-up on him - the video was also made in ASMR (Hawkins secretly rewatches that particular video at least once a week, he’s so proud of it)

MPV: My daily night routine || winter 2020

The Allosaurus (Lifestyle/Science)

222k subscribers

with simple editing, his videos are filled with science terms and shots of the night sky as he gushes to the camera about the beauty of astrophysics 

most of the time, he records himself on a balcony with a telescope, pointing at the stars and planets and providing all of the known information about them 

however, the video that really blew up was the one where he made a vlog about his exotic pets - either zooming in on them through the terrarium glass, or taking them out of their reptile houses and placing them on his hands or arms as he shows them off to the camera and talks about each animal 

MPV: Real time Perseid Meteor Shower in observatory 2020

Bonney (Mukbang/Daily Vlogger)

140k subscribers

the only reason she still uploads to her channel is because it gives her money to buy more food 

most of her audience is still in awe - just how is she able to fit that much pizza into herself?

she agrees to collab with Luffy whenever he proposes such idea - and they always end up challenging each other as to who will eat more in less time (hint: she always wins) 

MPV: ULTIMATE MUKBANG | FIRE NOODLES FRIED CHICKEN PIZZA TRIPLE CHEESEBURGER

Urouge (Travel Vlogger)

108k subscribers

he made the channel mostly for himself, to document his experiences; but soon it turned out he gained quite a following due to his outgoing, peaceful nature that is just pleasing to watch 

mostly talks about his day and which places he visited - and gets a lot of questions from his subscribers about his daily life and how he handles living by himself in a rusty van 

MPV: MY VAN BROKE DOWN! (a day in my solo travel VAN life)

Capone Bege (Family/ASMR)

350k subscribers

he records his chess games with Chiffon and tries to make them ASMR, but more often than not, it fails miserably - his crying son simply doesn’t know what ASMR is all about 

Bege also takes part in a lot of tournaments where he’s considered one of the best chess players in his region 

MPV: ASMR CHESS GAME (SON CRYING IN THE BACKGROUND) RELAXING VIDEO TO HELP YOU SLEEP

Teach (Gaming/Conspiracy Theories)

2mln subscribers

gaming, gaming, and gaming, either during livestreams on twitch or on youtube

he genuinely enjoys posting his game reviews and let’s-plays where he simply tells about his first impressions with the latest video games 

because of his spot-on critique and charisma, he’s one of the most popular youtubers in the gaming community 

does lots of collabs, but never with other gaming channels - he treats them as nothing more than a competition

he’s hired a top-notch editor for his videos; thanks to that he produces high quality content 

sometimes he also throws in a video about his end-of-the-world predictions, as well as what he thinks about the popular conspiracy theories 

MPV: TOP 10 CRAZIEST 2021 PREDICTIONS || WILL ALIENS DESTROY HUMANITY?

#no apoo cuz i dont really get this guy #one piece #the worst generation #op headcanons #one piece headcanons #imagines #trafalgar law #eustass kid #monkey d. luffy #trafalgar d. water law #capone bege #urouge #basil hawkins #x drake #diez drake #jewelry bonney #roronoa zoro #killer #the eleven supernovas #xoxobb #dino content #Marshall d. Teach

[forgotn1]

The Dark Phoenix Saga is a story that is incredibly hard to pull off on the big screen. It's a tough format to get the same kind of massive impact that the original comic arc had, but it's also a story that is integral to the X-Men for most fans. So they keep trying and falling short. Mainly because films really don't have enough time to let the story play out the way it needs. But, I think that if Disney were willing to get experimental with conventional storytelling (and WandaVision suggests they are) they can pull it off with the right impact.

In order to allow us to connect with Jean and to really empathize with her, we need time. We need to follow her for a while. Let us see her gain her powers and struggle with them. Show her fears surrounding the instability of her powers alongside the deepening relationship with Scott. Just really let the story breath and let us get to know her and the rest of the X-Men well. The best way to do this is with a combination TV shows and movies.

Let it start out in a big summer blockbuster that finds the X-Men going off into space to help repair the M'Kraan Crystal. The introduction of the M'Kraan Crystal plays well with Phase 4's multiverse exploration, as it is the "nexus of all realties." Have Jean start as Marvel Girl, naturally, and begin to explore her powers as well as her relationship with Scott. Give the character a chance to grow and the audience a chance to get attached.

End the film with the X-Men returning to Earth only to encounter the Phoenix Force just before they begin re-entry. Give an establishing shot from inside the cockpit that shows them all staring out at it as the Blackbird shudders. At that point, cut to black for the typical MCU style credits, but keep audio on the X-Men as everything descends into chaos. Stay with the audio, but cut back and forth between the credits and quick snippets of action while the X-Men scramble to evade the entity. Keep it all very jarring and chaotic before suddenly cutting all audio as Jean calmly says "It's okay, I've got this." Cut back to action for the mid-credit stinger as we see Jean outside of the ship as the Phoenix Force consumes her. Then, a tight close-up as her eyes open before the standard scrolling credits.

Rather than follow this up with the next X-Men film, let them have a show. Give the X-Men a chance to establish the world in a longer format that lets them introduce new characters. It's a great way to give us character development without needing to focus on constant action. Let Jean learn her new powers, introduce Logan, establish the relationship with Scott and hint at the tension Logan adds to the scenario. Have the bad guys be the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and do some standard world-building to let us see how different mutants view the rest of the world. It could be the equivalent of filler comics between major events with no massive enemy.

But then you end it with the introduction of Emma Frost and the rest of the Hellfire Club. With the Hellfire Club as a follow-up mini series that serves as the vehicle for Mastermind's corruption of Jean. The Hellfire Club could serve as a good vehicle for action and battles that don't have to be massive in scale. The movies always have to go very big because they're built as blockbusters, but the Hellfire Club and the manipulation of Jean Grey is not a story that needs to be massive, it needs to be moving. Which is something a show can do that a blockbuster action flick can't. End the show with Jean becoming Dark Phoenix and destroying Mastermind, battling the X-Men, and then leaving them all behind wondering what happened.

Finally, end it with the Dark Phoenix film. The Dark Phoenix's galactic destruction and the introduction of the Shi'ar are the perfect story for a summer blockbuster. By allowing the film to start after Dark Phoenix has already arrived means they've got more space to go really big for the finale. The film wouldn't need to shove all of the establishing exposition into the first act, it could start with the X-Men figuring out how to handle Jean and bring her back. And when we finally get to the end? Jean's execution will have the serious impact of the comics that the previous film attempts lacked. At that point, it's no longer a shoe-horned story with no emotional impact. It's the permanent death of a character that we love, who is vital to the story, and one who the audience would expect to survive.

If done right, it could be bigger than the death of Tony Stark. Because Tony had been around for everything already and had been one of the major moving forces of the MCU, but Jean was just getting started. Where he was older and tired of the whole superhero thing, Jean was young and just learning to control her powers. She had shown the ability to move the MCU the way Tony did, but then was struck down before she could really do so. Her death and the fallout of the destruction she left behind could be the compelling force of the next phase.

#x-men #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #jean grey #phoenix #dark phoenix #scott summers #cyclops #dark phoenix saga #mcu meta #mcu ideas #mcu x men #mcu x-men #x men #wolverine #james howlett #logan #charles xavier #hellfire club #white queen #emma frost #sebastian shaw #mastermind #jason wyngarde #long post

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

Me? Combine two soulmate AUs and add in an animal hybrid AU????

Of courze, buckle up buddies this is gonna be a bit if a bumpy ride

Dream soulmate/soulpairs AU/Soulmate Ribbons AU/Animal Hybrid AU

Dream: Basically like last time you cant control when you visit, you cant see them, you cant say your name or where you're from. But this time its a legit group dream. In the dream your soulmate(s) will have a ribbon around them apposed to the simply blurred soulpair(s)

Ribbon/animal hybrid: with the ribbon au it ties in with the animal for the most part. You're born with a ribbon tied around your animal feature, whether it be at the base of a fluffy wolf tail, the end of a cat/lemur tail, at the base of cat ears/bunny ears, on any type of horns. Regardless of where it happens to be tied, it cannot be removed, it can be burnt or singed but it cant be cut or removed. The color of your soulmates nation appears after you meet your them, and you can then see the color of yours around them during dreams

So basically Zuko's 12th birthday he goes to sleep and in his dream there are three people with one surrounded by a pale white ribbon.

"H-hello?" He called out.

"Hi!" A cheery voice called out

"Im assuming you're all.. not my soulmate, because I'm 8" a slightly annoyed young girl called

"Your a soulfriend for me!" A chipper Boys voice broke through, the voice of the bright figure

"Uhm, I know I can't know your names, but I'd like to be able to distinguish between all of you... uhm,"

"Call me Bandit" the younger girl called out

"You can call me Oshi"

"And uhm..."

"I'll call you turtleduck" zuko interrupted him

"What? Why that?"

"Uh, well, I have a turtleduck pond by my home and I like it there, and uh, your my soulmate so..."

"Oh! Uhmm... what should I call you?" The boy paused a moment

"Sunshine? Maybe?"

"Yeah! Sunshine!"

"Alright, so, Bandit, Oshi, Turtleduck, and Sunshine?" Oshi piped in

"Yeah," bandit hummed "by the way, whats a turtle duck?"

"Ill show you one whe-"

"Im blind"

"What? Oh, im sorry, I didnt know. Well, if we ever meet I'll let you hold one. I'm sure it'll get the idea across."

"Youre blind?! That sounds so cool! I bet your other senses are heightened" Oshi chirped at the thought

"Yeah, and so is my bending! I can see with me bending, but im not too good at it yet"

"You're a bender? I dont know if we can find out what kind" Turtleduck mused

"Let me try... im an earthbender!"

"Woah! Cool! So you use earthbending to see?" Zuko questioned

The rest of the dream was fairly blurry to him. He ran to his mom to talk about his dream, going on about Oshi, Bandit and Turt; he shortened turtleduck because well, he wanted to.

They dont meet up until later that year, after his mother had left him he was found crying

"Sunny?" He heard Bandit call out

"Huh!? Oh hey guys, sorry, im fine" he sighed "I- I lost my mom just last week"

They all comforted him and then pulled the conversation to different topics, Turt talking about going hunting with his dad and getting hit wolf tail caught on a fishing line. Bandit talked about her earthbending and how she learned how to use her badger tail to bend as well. Oshi all the while hovered as close as the dream would let her, it felt similar to a motherly protection and he appreciated it greatly.

The next time they saw eachother was about two nights after his banishment he was found pouting but quickly came out it the pout when he heard Turt calling out

"SUNNY! Sunny! Hi! Oh Tui! Hi Bandit! Hi Oshi!"

"Hey Turt!" The girls called out "Sunny, whats got you down?"

He sighed "i left the firenation today"

"Woah woah, hold on, why did you leave- oh were you from there? Why would you leave?" Oshi pried.

"Uhm, I was banished for losing an agni kai against my dad"

"An Agn- thats a firebending duel! Your still just 13!" Turt cried out

"Yeah, well, my dad doesnt care about that, he made sure I'd remember that by burning me, now i have to find the avatar before I can return home"

Their conversation lasted for what felt like several blurry hours. When he woke it was to Iroh walking in with some tea. Zuko shot up and managed to get his blanket caught in his horns "AAAGH!" He growled out "help... please" iroh simply chuckled and untangled the blankets from Zuko's horns

"How was your sleep nephew?" Iroh asked as he started to pour them some tea, handing Zuko his cup.

"I talked to Oshi, Bandit and Turt again" he mumbled while bringing the cup to his lips and blowing some of the steam away.

"Thats good, were you able to discuss your banishment? I'm not sure if the dreams will let you, my soulmate and I have never met nor have we ever left our nations"

"Yeah, I was able to tell them everything, well the banishment and" he motioned to his now healing eye wound.

They had met a few more times over the next three years, Oshi revealing that she has a lion tail that is most certainly not as clumsy as Turt's consistently caught wolf tail.

About a week after Zuko arrived at the southpole and managed to lose the avatar there was another dream

"Sunny!" Turt sounded angry

"Uh, y-yeah?"

"You visited my tribe today" the ribbon around Turt was red

"Oh, uh yeah, I'm sorry. Did I hurt someone, I wasn't trying to, I just needed to grab the avatar"

"YOU DONT NEED THE AVATAR SUNNY!" Turt was fuming "youre chasing the avatar for what? The love of an abusive father?"

"Hes no-

"He is Sunny! I dont know the full extent of it. But if he broke your horn, burnt you, and then BANISHED YOU all for speaking out of turn, then that spells abusive!! That level of abuse and your level of wanting to be back says clearly that you were neglected and abused, what the FUCK Sunny!"

Zuko was frozen but it wasnt silent

"We've been trying to tell you this Sunny, your dad is terrible and you deserve actual love, your uncle is a much better dad than him, and you know it" Oshi piped up

"Yeah, I know but-"

"And! If I ever get my hands on him, it'll be his last day alive. Mark. My. Words" Bandit cracked her knuckles

The dream went on for a while longer with the trio eventually convincing Zuko he shouldn't search for his fathers love by capturing the avater. Turt managed to convince him to join forces with the avatar the next time he saw them. The next time he met up with the avatar was on Kyoshi Island, where he entered the town without his armor or helmet, and instead wearing casual garmets.

"What are you doing here Zuko?" Katara growled at him with the hairs on her tail standing on end. Aang was behind her with his lemur tail flicking angrily.

"Well, im not here to capture you if that's what you think. I came to join you"

"Why would we ever believe that?" Aang's voice was nearly as angry as Katara's

Sokka was beside Katara in a similar stance but had yet to respond

"Well, I honestly don't expect you to believe me, unless any of you happen to be Turt, Oshi or Bandit." He paused "look I was burnt and banished at 13 by my own father just for speaking up in a war meeting about how cruel it was to sacrifice new recruites for a bigger win, and my father sent me out to find the avatar." He sighed "i would have continued but Turt and Oshi managed to help me understand where I was wrong in thinking and made me see just how abusive my dad is"

"Sunny?" Sokka finally spoke but was matched with one of the Kyoshi warriors

"Huh? I mean, yeah they call me that, wait are you Turt?" He then turned to the warrior and saw the lion tail "Oshi!?" He stepped back in a moment of surprise.

"Oh my gods Sunny what the hell!" The wolf and lion laughed

"Wait, Zuko is the Sunny you've been talking about!?" Katara and Aang said in unison.

From there out Zuko was a part of the team. Suki having to stay behind for the time being. The group traveled via Appa or by boat. Katara, Sokka and Iroh having lengthy in depth conversations about waterbending and pai sho. He may or may not have been making an attempt to recruit them both slowly but surely.

When they met Toph she put two and two together so fast. "You're Sunny and Turt!" She exclaimed before they duo could introduce eachother

"Wait! Bandit!" Thay said in unison

"The one and only Blind Bandit!" She said proudly.

After meeting with her Zuko became acquainted with a chaotic good type younger sister as apposed to his own chaotic evil. Toph would often launch herself into his shoulders, grab his horns and say "onward noble dragon steed!!" Which he didnt mind so he never complained much.

Let's fast forward to the desert. While Sokka Aang and Katara went into the library to explore, Zuko and Iroh stayed behind with toph to protect Appa, when the Sand benders arrived while the Library was sinking the two firebenders fought off the sandbenders until the trio emerged and they ran off. Zuko, however had fought practically tooth and nail to keep appa there, dodging sand and blasting fire to distract the benders when they tried to use the sand beneath his feet against him. He collapsed from the exhaustion of not only fighting with a dozen benders in their element, but also the heat of the sun. Iroh on the other hand asked Katara for a bit of water to make sure he didnt collapse as well.

"Zuko!" Aang cried out when he watched Zuko collapse in the sand. They all got back on Appa and made their way out of the dessert.

Not long after they stopped at a small body of water to rest and wash up Appa so he wouldn't be shedding and attracting anyone Zuko taking a hot minute to get his strength back. They were approached by a couple who happened to have a baby on the way and Zuko nudged Aang "we should take them with us, yknow, spread some joy"

So they flew the couple with them to Ba Sing Se with them. They managed to get in to tell the earth king their invasion plan, as well as taking down the dai li with the proof of the drill right outside the wall. Without having the advantage of the Kyoshi disguises Azula didnt manage to gain the upperhand against Ba Sing Se, and in turn she had no idea about the invasion plan. Aang had his crisis at Ember island before the invasion and met the lion turtle just before they had to leave.

When the invasion began Zuko and Aang both went off to the city, Zuko in his blue spirit get up with his swords on his back literally being dangled in the air by Aangs weirdly strong ass tail. When the landed on the roof, it was still a bit until the fire kicked off. So they were dodging fire balls while running towards the palace, however right before they went into the throne room Azula appeared. She went to shoot fire but was shocked to see no fire come out. Aang smirked and bended the earth around her to keep her in place.

They went in to Ozai, Zuko drawing his swords and Aang readying himself to fight a powerful bender who possibly had skills other than bending. But they were met with a practically powerless man who didn't take long to defeat, taking his life wasn't the option, however, Aang knew that, and so he took his bending away, to the absolute awe of Zuko who watched the blinding light for a moment before shielding his eyes.

After the success of the invasion Iroh took the throne when Zuko told him he was simply not ready. However Iroh made a deal with him, he would be firelord for all of 5 years, set the ground work for Zuko and let his nephew take up some studying in the other nations as well as his own to figure out how he would rule after the 5 years were up.

And he did, he gathered as much information from the other nations, all with Sokka joining with him. He spend a year at the south pole, helping rebuild the place, he spend a year at the northpole studying the scrolls available, he spent a year going to each large earth kingdom city, and then he spent his fourth year in the firenation reading every scroll he could. One night while in his room reading through a pile of scrolls he leaned onto Sokka's shoulder for support, but Sokka took the scroll out of his hands "alright enough reading for you tonight, come on little dragon its bedtime"

Sokka's tail was absentmindedly wagging side to side as he helped his soulmate undress and get into more comfortable clothes, of course getting the cloth stuck on those pesky horns a couple times. But soon they were both laying in bed with Zuko resting his cheek against Sokka's chest while Sokka ran his fingers through his hair.

They could stay like this forever. And wouldn't you know it, after Zuko took the throne he proposed to Sokka and the two were soon married, the Wolf and the Dragon.

At the wedding Toph and Suki were the first to show up, bringing gifts, Suki gave them a pair of gold fans, one with a turtleduck on it and the other with a sun on it. Toph on the otherhand had brought a dagger with a dragon carved on the blade and a wolfs head on the handle.

>another marraige wrap up? Of course, its me what else would I do?

#RayMakesSoulmates #i will die on my endless soulmate au hill #soulmate alternate universe #soulmates #ambassador sokka #atla sokka #sokka x zuko #sokka #atla zuko #prince zuko #zuko #zukka #fire lord zuko #suki #atla toph #toph beifong #canon who? #lets throw the whole canon away shall we? #canon divergence

[ask-de-writer]

This story and several more to follow are Works In Progress.  After I have showed you all the various WIPs, I want you to vote on which one to pursue first.

This is the canon tale of Wind’s first encounter with the Rom.  It takes place a number of years before the current tales and RP about the Rom.  Dark has not yet come to the band and Marchhare’s previous wife, Hoof Dancer, is still alive and well.

Wind Meets the Rom

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

12386 words

© 2018 by Glen Ten-Eyck

Writing begun 06/01/18

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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Mama Dragon sat next Wind.  Next to the Dragon stood a bowl of warm water, mixed with various healing herbs.

Mama Dragon dipped a soft rag into the water, and then gently wiped the four bloody, oozing gashes on Wind’s stomach.

The six inch long, jagged, gashes that were caused by…

“A manticore,” Penny said, as she stood opposite Mama Dragon.  “This darned Cat, in her… journey to capture the 400 evil souls…”  The tall mare sniffled, “Decided to fight a large manticore”

Mama kept cleaning Wind’s wounds. Before cleaning her wounds, Mama had used a ‘sleeping powder’ to render the catter unconscious. She didn’t want her daughter moving around while trying to treat her.

“Oh, Wind…” she shook her head slowly.  “And where did you find her?”

Penny crossed her arms.  “She popped into my dimension, just outside my house. I don’t know why she came to me. So, using her map, I brought her here.”  She stared at Wind’s wounds. “I know how to stitch small stab wounds, and bullet holes… but these… are beyond my skill.”

Mama set the cloth down in the bowl and then picked up her medical kit.  She took out stitching thread and a needle.

“You know why she came to you, Penelope,” Mama said, as she used her flame breath to sterilize the needle.  “Why you both don’t admit it, is beyond me.”

Penny scowled at Mama Dragon. “Because I don’t.”

Mama Dragon began to stitch the gashes shut.  “If you don’t, then why did you go to her when she was possessed?”  She glanced at Penny.  “Even I couldn’t locate her.  But you did.  You found her, and you helped free her.”

“I found her because Evil let me find her,” Penny huffed.  “She called to me, challenging me to fight, offering Wind as a prize.  That doesn’t mean that I-”

Wind grumbled, but remained asleep.

Penny shook her head.  “Look.  I brought Wind home.  She’s safe.  I’m leaving.”

Mama said nothing as she moved to the second gash, making sure that she didn’t pull the first set of stitches.

Penny stomped to the door of Mama Dragon’s room.  She stopped, and turned her head to look over her shoulder.  “What?”

“I didn’t say anything, Penelope,” Mama Dragon said.

Penny’s shoulders slumped.  She hadn’t realized that she was so tense.  “I’m… I need some time to think.  I’ll come back.”  With that, she tapped her pendant and returned to her version of Equestria.

Mama shook her head, as she kept stitching Wind’s abdominal skin closed.

—

Wind woke up in her bed.  She sat up with a scream but then fell back to her bed as the pain from her scars shot through her.

“MAMA!”

Mama Dragon came into Wind’s room and sat on Wind’s bed.  She breathed her fire onto her hands and then placed her hands on Wind’s stomach.

“You’re safe, Little Kitten,” Mama smiled warmly, “Mama’s here.  You’re safe.”

Wind looked at Mama Dragon.  “Are you mad at me?”

“Mad?  Never.”  Mama Dragon mused, “I am confused as to why you thought that you could take on a manticore by yourself, without armor.”

Wind blushed as she looked away. “I…”  She paused as she looked at her left arm.  Or, rather her lack of left arm.

“Where’s my arm?”

“I removed it.  You never came to see me after you were freed from Evil,” Mama Dragon said. “Soulblade, and your arm, might still have Evil corrupting them.  I have to purge them.”

Wind frowned.  “I… I was ashamed that I was possessed.”  She sighed, “How long will that take?”

Mama adjusted her glasses.  “A month.”

“I have to stay in bed for a month?” Wind asked/whined.

“No.  You’re healed enough.  Now that you’re awake, I’m sending you to recover in Equestria.”

Wind’s eyes went wide.  “To go live with Penny?”

“No.  Another Equestria.  A peaceful version,” Mama answered.  “I know of a horse that can help you.”

“Help me?” Wind asked.   “With what?  And I can’t.  I have to collect-”

“You will go to Equestria,” Mama said sternly, cutting her stubborn daughter off.  “No arm.  No sword.  No weapons.  No mission.  You will go and relax.”  She quirked her eyebrow at Wind’s folded ears.  “Am I clear?”

Wind lifted her ears. “Yes, Mama…”

Mama stood up and helped Wind to stand up.  “Good.”  She handed Wind her bag of holding.  “I’ll come get you in a month, or so.”

She then placed a gold Dragon head necklace around Wind’s neck.

“This is to remind you that you carry my love everywhere.”  She tapped Wind’s map, opening a portal.  “Goodbye, Little Kitten.”

Wind stepped through the portal and came out into a forest clearing.  She looked around and took a deep breath.  “Well… this version of Equestria certainly is nicer than the Discorded version.”

“Why thank you.” A voice said. “I certainly think so.”

Wind turned around slowly, and came face to face with a small blue horse with a horn, white mane and beard.

“By the Spirits.” Wind said, instinctively reaching for Soulblade on her back. She blushed, and dropped her hand. “Who are you?”

“I am known by many names. However, you can call me De Writer.”  The blue horse answered in a kind tone.

To cover her embarrassment at reaching for her sword, even if it was not there, Wind asked, “Um, when Mama Dragon sent me here, she said that there was a horse here that could help me.  Are you him?”

De Writer gave her a sideways smile as he replied, “To state the answer really precisely while being no help at all, yes and no.

“This particular Equestria is mostly populated by ponies.  What do you know about Equestrian ponies?”

Wind sat facing the blue one and said, “I only know about a pretty badly discorded Equestria. There, they have four kinds of ponies.  There are unicorns, like you, pegassi, that have wings and can fly, earth ponies, that don't have wings or horns and there are also a few alicorns that are bigger and have both wings and horns.  I am afraid that is about it.”

De Writer sat too and nodded his head.  “We have those same sorts here but, as you noticed, this Equestria is neither Discorded nor Corrupted.  

“We also have real horses.  Those are a lot bigger than ponies.  Most of them around here are called Rom and wander the roads, going from fair to fair.  I am pretty sure that those are the ones that you were sent here to meet.  Very relaxed and accepting group.”

Suddenly Wind looked around her at the empty land, a perplexed expression on her face.  “How did you know that I would be portaling through to this exact place?”

De Writer pointed out dryly, “And which way you would be facing, so that I could be behind you, just in case you turned out to be hostile?  Two things, really.  The first is simple.  I check out EVERY trans-dimensional crossing to this world. Second, is equally simple.  If the portaler is hostile, I deal with them as necessary.  If they are not hostile and pose no danger, I greet them or not, as appropriate.

“Shall we be on our way?  It will be a bit of a hike to get you to Marchhare's band.”

As Wind was getting up she commented, “You are really good at not answering questions, aren't you, De Writer?”

Nodding agreeably, the old unicorn smiled, “Yep.  Got lots of practice.  About three thousand years of it, actually.”

As they strode across the grass, towards a woodland, Wind automatically searched with her eyes and other senses for possible dangers.

De Writer noticed it, too.  “That is good, Wind.  Always be on the lookout for dangers.  Speaking of which, I have a Pro Tip for you.  When facing down a good sized manticore, don't forget that the critter's tail is not there just for show.  Not sure if you would have won, if you had not forgotten that, but your chances would have been a lot better.”

Wind paused to give the blue unicorn a long studying look.  Shaking her head, she offered, “I don't know how you knew about that.  Not even Penny or Mama Dragon knew about the manticore's tail getting me first.”  She relaxed a little as she said doubtfully, “I am not sure why, but I sort of feel safe around you.  Almost as if we had met before, but I am sure that I would remember  a talking unicorn pony.”

The old one nodded agreeably, “You would certainly think so, wouldn't you?”

Topping a rise, he pointed.  “See that road?  Just where it goes into that copse of trees is a nice shady rest area complete with water and free firewood.  There is a band of mostly horses camped there.  The majority of the horses are actually unicorns with long horns, some straight and some with a little curve to them.  They also have some Equestrian pegassi in the group.  They are led by an old donkey.

They all speak Equestrian, which I know that you are fluent in.  They also speak a second language called Gyptian which I am aware that you do not know.  I would advise you to seek your rest cure there with Marchhare's band.  They will probably seem a bit odd at times, but they are actually fine horses.

“Oh, second Pro Tip.  As far as they are concerned, they are ALL HORSES.  Even the ponies among them say the same.  They regard being called ponies to be a bit of an insult.”

As she was striding down the hill, Wind nodded.  “I will bear that in mind.  Thank you, De Writer.” A few strides further, Wind turned, her eyes going wide with surprise.  There was no obvious sign of the old blue unicorn. Trained examination of the grass showed his tracks and hers.  Then, abruptly there were only hers.

Shaking her head, she muttered, “And, he knew where I was coming through and which way I would be facing. I wonder just how dangerous he would be if he was angry?”

While she was pondering that question, Wind came to the road itself.  It took only a cursory look to realize that though it appeared to be a simple gravel road, it was actually far better made than any such road of her experience.

While she was strolling along the roadway, Wind was contemplating the sort of civilization that would put so much effort into a road.  It was strong enough not to fear invaders taking over the land by usurping the roads.  It was well connected internally and relied strongly on commerce.

She heard the music and laughter before she found the turn off for the wayside rest area.  The sign, in the Equestrian that she knew, said Royal Road Red Branch Section Wayside #7.

The music had two unique sounds to it.  The solid ringing underbeat was clearly a smith hammering iron. The other was from flutes, some kind of stringed instruments and drums.  Besides matching the rhythm of the smith, they had music going in scales and beats that Wind had never heard of before.

She entered the wayside area and paused to watch first.  Basic adventuring skill, there.  Try to understand a situation before getting involved in it.  Four pegassi with the familiar pastel colors and patterns that she knew from Penny's world were getting some sort of dancing instruction from two big horse sized unicorns, one pure black with a snow white mane and tail and the other, slightly bigger was a chestnut brown sorrel.  She noticed the donkey that she had been told of.  He was in the group providing the music.  He was working a pair of drums to produce a complex beat.

Apparently whatever the mares were telling the pegassi was done.  They positioned themselves carefully and listened for a cue in the music.  They lifted their wings and with perfect timing, gave a powerhouse of a down stroke that lifted them all into the air.  It was easy to see that each move of the pegassi was not only made in time to the music, each of the dancers, no other term would do, was making a cohesive whole pattern with the other dancers.

The dancers touched the earth in a four part pose, the two at the rear had each raised a wing toward the other and fanned the opposite wing toward the audience.  The other two dancers had alighted with inside forehooves pointing to the old donkey, and kneeling the other foreleg.  Their wings were folded close.

All of the assembled, um, horses, leaned their heads back and trilled loudly when the performance ended.  Realizing that this was applause, Wind felt like doing the same.  The airborne dance was an amazing performance.

She noticed that the pegassi were luxuriating in the hugs given by the magic from the horn of a red roan mare who had gathered them close.  The more that Wind observed, the greater the differences from any pony that she was familiar with became apparent.  These, even the ones that were dancing in the sky, ALL wore brilliant colored sashes of amazing fabrics.  There were satins, brocades and even plain looking cloth, all sorts of colors, cuts, sewed designs and embroidery.  Even the foals, off to one side from the rest wore them.

Another thing that caught her eye were the harnesses worn by every one of the horses, even the foals. Besides being solid workaday harness, they were beautifully tooled and dyed.  Even the donkey wore one.

She had been advised that they all could speak the Equestrian that she was familiar with but none were. The language that she was hearing was a fluid, almost musical tongue. Sourly, she remembered that the old blue unicorn had mentioned that, too.

The nearby foals were playing some sort of game involving chasing a ball about.  It appeared that they were not using any magic, though most had horns.  A miskick sent the ball hurtling toward Wind!  Compared to some of the battles that she had been in, this was slow enough for her to think and override the impulse to use her now missing arm.  Realizing from her observation that they did not hold the ball, Wind batted it from the air and sent it back to the pursuing foals with a well aimed kick of her own!

Foals charged after it, continuing their game.

She did notice that one of the foals left the game and trotted over to the old donkey.

After a brief conversation, the foal returned to the game, sashes catching the sun.

Wind decided that the time for concealment was over and walked in along the entrance road toward the camp.

The black and white unicorn mare left the dance group and trotted up to Wind.  In delightfully accented Equestrian, she greeted, “Are you the Wind Whisper that old De Writer told us to watch for?  If so, please feel welcome in our camp.”

Wind made a moue.  “You were expecting me?  Does that old blue unicorn tell everyone what I am doing?”

The black and white unicorn giggled behind her hoof before replying, “Not at all.  I know that he spent a bit of time with my father Marchhare.  He often does.  They have been friends for something like 800 years.  Dad told me to welcome you when you were done watching us from the shadows of the trees.”

Formally, the mare held forth a forehoof and said, “In the name of Marchhare, Rom of the band of Marchhare, I, Black Lotus, offer you, Wind Whisper, the hospitality of our band.”

Wind held out a hand and took Black Lotus' extended hoof and sniped back, “I, Wind Whisper, on behalf of myself, accept your generous invitation.”

Black Lotus's eyes twinkled as she offered, “You are just in time for lunch.  Since we knew that you were coming and a carnivore, we caught a couple of bunnies and pulled some trout out of that stream over there.  We baked them up into pasties along with eggs and some cheese.  They should keep well.

“We did not know how you liked sweets or spices so they are pretty plain, right now.”

Pretending shock, Wind asked archly, “What, De Writer didn't let you know something that important?”

The old donkey had joined them, his elaborately tooled headstall complimenting his harness design excellently.  He brayed, “Nope.  He doesn't tell us everything. Very irritating of the old pony, too.”

Wind was sort of taken aback.  “Um, how long have you known him?”

The old donkey replied seriously, “Me personally, about 800 years, give or take.  For the rest of this crowd, all their lives.  For the Rom as a whole, around 800 years. They ran into him shortly after I rescued their ancestors from the desert of Celestia's Anvil.”

The mare Black Lotus tapped the donkey between the ears and suggested, “Father, be a dear and go cast your shadow on the serving line for lunch.  It is all ready.  Do caution the others about the meat and fish pasties that I put up for our guest.”

“Go cast . . .” The old donkey looked down.  He seemed sort of embarrassed as his shadow slowly appeared where sunlight had been shining.  Directly through him, apparently.  “Right,  I will go help serve.”

Wind stared after the old donkey.  He was casting a shadow now.  The only giveaway that something about him was off kilter was the simple fact that he left no tracks.

Black Lotus calmly suggested, “I will tell you about father in a little.  For now, let us go and get some food while there is any left!”

Wind glanced at her hostess with a snicker and suggested, “Race you?”

Black Lotus shook her head.  “Not yet.  Not with those injuries.  Right now, you need to take it easy, unless you want me, dad, and mom repacking your guts.  You were lucky that those claws didn't quite open you up.”

Instantly soured, Wind griped, “De Writer tell you that, too?”

Suddenly she felt herself wrapped in the softest of pale blue magic.  It was like no hug or hold that she had ever experienced before.  Black Lotus was carrying her in it without any apparent effort.  As she did, she explained, “No, De Writer is innocent of that particular thing.  I am a good surgeon. Mom is better and dad, with a little help from either of us, is even better.  I shouldn't have, but I peeked inside you to see how well you are healing.  That is why I am carrying you now.”

Wind very suddenly became still.  In a small voice, though still defiant, she asked, “What did you find, Snoopy?”

The mild reply was, “My name is Black Lotus.  What I found is some inflammation at both the surgical work and some in your nerves.  The surgery was really well done, if that helps.  The inflammation came later.  I am pretty sure that we can treat it, though.  If we can, you will just have to take it easy for a while to let things heal up properly.”

They came to the lunch serving line. Black Lotus said something in the lovely fluid language that Wind decided that she was going to learn if she stayed long with these . . . horses.

Both the chestnut sorrel and the odd donkey left the serving line and joined Black Lotus, who was still holding Wind.  There was a brief conference in the fluid language. The chestnut sorrel slightly tipped her horn, which glowed with an amber magic aura that matched her eyes perfectly.  The magic flowed into Wind and bridged down to the donkey named Marchhare.

He nodded and spoke Equestrian to the brown mare, “Thank you, Hoof Dancer, my dear.  Black Lotus was pretty spot on.  We can treat this easily but Wind will need carefully supervised rest and light exercise.”  

Wind pointed out sarcastically, “I am right here, you know.  Would it be too much trouble to tell ME exactly what the problem is?”

The old donkey nodded agreement and sat.  Gesturing  expressively with his long ears, he stated, “Right you are, my dear Wind.  As Black Lotus informed us, your original surgery was quite well done.  Unfortunately a bit of infectious inflammation has begun to progress up some nerves that were severed.

“Right now, if we can keep you properly rested and LIMIT your exercise, we can stop the problem.  If we do not try to stop it or you choose not to follow our directions you will either die or be permanently paralyzed in about two days time.

“The critical issue is to prevent the inflammation from reaching your spinal column.  If it does, there is little to nothing that we can do to save you.

“So, now that you know what the problem is, will you let us save you or not?”

Wind retorted, “I have to.  Mama Dragon would never forgive me if I died after all of her work to save me.”

Black Lotus snickered, “Good.  That means that those pastries that I cooked up for you won't be wasted! Lucky for you, your mouth, stomach and guts are not restricted.

“For now, let me carry you.  We don't want to put any stress on those nerves and the inflamed muscles.  Yet.”

In spite of her reservations, Wind was impressed by the versatility of the unicorn magic that she could see in use.  Not only was she being held without apparent effort, Black Lotus was loading up a pair of plates and drawing two mugs of what looked like tea.

As soon as she was done loading up, she trotted over to a shady spot under a broadly branched tree and set everything out, including Wind.  She had even put a picnic cloth under it all.

Black Lotus busied herself, putting Wind's plate into easy reach and giving her a big mug of the tea.

Wind watched it all and felt the soft cocoon of magic slowly dissolve.  She pointed out, “Mama Dragon didn't say anything about my wounds being too deep.  They were mostly in the abdomen wall, though they did cut up those muscles pretty badly.  Did she miss something?”

Black Lotus pointed with her horn to Wind's plate.  “Eat up.  You are right about the claw and fang wounds.  A manticore's tail has a poison stinger that is pretty long. Lucky for you, it had a good hunt pretty recently, so it was out of venom.  It hit you with the tail once.  That puncture did go through into your gut but didn't do much damage at all.  Mama Dragon fixed the small hole near perfectly.  However, that is where the inflammation started.  The nerves involved are pretty close to the surface and go around your abdomen to your spine.  That is why they got cut by the claws.”

Wind chewed and swallowed her bite of meat pie before answering, “Um, Mama Dragon did send some medicines with me.  Maybe you should look them over.”

Black Lotus had settled herself in the soft grass a and was nibbling around the edges of a largish iced pastry.  She had a big mug of tea held in her magic.  She took a leisurely sip and swallowed before answering, “That would be a good idea.  We know good medicines for equines of all sorts and goats really well.  We are pretty good at wolves and some other carnivores too.  Not too experienced with cats and otters.  I would bet that your Mama Dragon has a lot of experience in what works on you.”

Wind replied defensively, laying her ears back, “What would you know about that?”

Black Lotus tilted her head and batted her long eyelashes at Wind as she retorted, “Only that you have got to be as old as you are and will still attack a manticore without armor or a good heavy crossbow.  Both would have been useful in that encounter.  That speaks of really good medical care being available to take care of little boo-boos.”

Somewhat taken aback, Wind changed the topic while shifting her position to hide some of her other scars, “I think that I like the bunny pastie best, though the trout one would be great with some seasoning.  How do you make gravy like these have?”

Black Lotus gave a mischievous glance and nickered, “Sheer skill, that and thickening with Ka'chek flour.”

More seriously she went on, “That last part, while true, is also a secret that we don't share.  It is one of the things that make Rom cooking and baking in high demand at markets and fairs.”

Wind nodded thoughtfully.  “I was indirectly told that you Rom were sort of isolated from pony society. Why not find a place to settle down and fit in?”

She could tell from the slightly shocked look on Black Lotus' face that she had accidentally hit a nerve.  

“We couldn't do that!  If we did, who would lay the stones on the lakes of our loved dead?”  Far more softly, Black Lotus added, “Besides, if we settled somewhere, Dad might decide to leave us and go back to the Lake of Paradise.  What would we do then?  Who would watch over us?  We would have to stop being Rom.  We would just be, … ponies.”

Seeking a safer topic, Wind asked, “How come your horn is straight?  I noticed that a lot of the others in the band have curved horns, like your mother.”

Black Lotus nodded, “You have sharp eyes.  If any Rom has a horn, they are descended from Dad, our Ghost Who Guides.  A straight horn like mine means that I am his direct filly.  My foals will have a slight curve and theirs will have more. Our horns stop curving around four generations away from dad.”

Wind's forehead wrinkled in thought while she chewed another bite of excellent rabbit pastie.  “You weren't kidding just now, were you?  I mean about Marchhare being a ghost.  I just realized that when we first met, he wasn't casting any shadow.  Later, after you reminded him, he did have a shadow but he wasn't leaving any hoof prints.  How can a ghost have . . . um, foals like you?”

Black Lotus grinned and asked in return, “What?  Didn't your Mama Dragon teach you about that?  Yes. Dad is a ghost, for real.  Don't try to tell him that, though.  He is as much here as he wants or needs to be.  

“He still insists that he did not die on the desert of Celestia's Anvil while saving our ancestors, eight hundred years ago.  He just took a nap.  Caught up to the rest of the group after he was rested up.  

“Some nap.  Three days later, he caught up to our ancestors, the cast off slaves that he gave his life to save.  He looked then, like he looks now.  Instead of starved and dying of thirst like when he laid down in the shade of that rock ledge where his bones still are, he was plump and well fed.  He guided us through the tricky mountain pass to Equestria and has guided us all ever since.”

Wind cocked her head skeptically. “Really?  How do you know that he actually died on that desert?”

Black Lotus quietly wept a few tears while answering, “Because Hoof Dancer and I just came back across the mountains a few days back, up at Wayside 15.  We pretended that we were gathering the rare yellow yew root bark that grows up in the pass.  Actually, we went on across.  We took him a fresh pot of water from the spring of Sha Ja Shehan and fresh browse from its banks.  We left them by his bones and laid the stones for him.

“He did not just die and come back for us.  He turned his back on the Lake of Paradise and all that goes with it to keep his promise to guide some cast off slaves.  He is still keeping that promise.”

Wind nodded slowly while chewing another bite of the rabbit meat pie.  “I can see how doing something like that might lead you to believe that he died there, all right.  Especially since you have a dad that you have to remind about little things like casting a shadow or leaving hoof prints.”

It was obvious that Black Lotus caught Wind's sarcasm as well as actual observations of her dad's . . . umm, unique ways.

Several of the band's foals came over and spoke to Black Lotus in that almost musical language of theirs. She nodded to them and returned a short sentence.  They curtsied to her and trotted off.

Wind saw them talking to old Marchhare.  Soon the foals and the pegassi were deep into lessons of some sort.

Wind's eyebrows rose as the foals opened their books, flipping them up.  They appeared to be bound across the top, rather than the side.  The lesson was being given by the red roan mare that Wind had seen earlier.  Watching the younger foals read, keeping their place by shifting little hooves let Wind realize that the writing went from the right margin to the left.

She turned to see Black Lotus regarding her intently.  When she had eye contact she smiled and observed, “We write differently than ponies, too.  I see that you noticed it.  Rose is a really good teacher for reading and writing.  

She has a wonderful heart.  The Skydancers are so lucky that she was there to take them in after their parents were murdered.  She adopted them and is raising them as her own.  She has them almost ready to do their first public performance since it happened.  Mom, that's Hoof Dancer, and I have been helping them too.”

Wind nodded thoughtfully as she replied, “I saw that when they did their dance today.  I couldn't see any problem in the dance.  I wondered where their parents were. So the red roan mare is Rose?  Doesn't she find it difficult to raise foals that can fly?”

Black Lotus smiled softly, shaking her head in negation, “Not in the least.  They are the finest family that Rose could ask for.”

Terminating a potentially unpleasant conversation, she asked, “May I examine the medication that your Mama Dragon sent with you?”

Wind shrugged off the fairly small and ordinary looking bag with its shoulder strap.  Setting it on the ground, she opened the tie and reached her arm down into it, apparently far below ground level, as she fished out the packages with her medications.  

Looking up, she saw that Black Lotus did not even appear to be surprised.  Slightly crestfallen that her little showing off had not impressed her host, Wind explained, “It is a bag of holding.  It can hold almost anything.”

A small smile quirking her lips, Black Lotus said, “I am familiar with the concept.  Dad's caravan is sort of like that.  You will be sleeping in there the first few nights, so that we can keep this inflammation under observation. Don't go back into the corridors or use the stairs without a guide. You can get lost.”

Black Lotus failed to notice Wind's indignant glare at the idea of getting lost in little seeming four wheeled caravan.  She was examining the medications.  She gathered three of the four and shook her head happily.  

“I know these.  They are good!  I will ask Dad about the pot of ointment.  I don't know what it is. Likely it is something that only grows on your world.  Dad will know, or failing him, De Writer will for sure!”

Getting up, she offered Wind assistance in standing.  “It is important to get some limited exercise.  Walk slowly.  I know that you are chafing at the bit to be more active but really, don't do it yet.”

Together, they walked slowly down to the four wheeled caravan.  Marchhare greeted them, “What are those packets and the pot?  Are they Mama Dragon's medicines?”

Black Lotus agreed, “They are.  I know the ones in the packets and they are good.  I have never run across this ointment, though.  I thought that you might know it.”

Marchhare opened the pot carefully, explaining with a grin, “With Mama Dragon's sense of humor, you never know.  Might be a spring snake in here.”

With the pot opened, he carefully examined the contents.  He stirred up a small sample on a small clean spoon of  silver.  He sniffed it carefully and nodded sagely.  “I have seen this before, once.  De Writer and I were a few worlds away, doing a demon stomp.  Some of the local healers used this.  It works really well where you have to open an abscess and drain it.  Then you wash it out and apply this to the inside of the abscess.  It heals it right up.”

Wind's ears pricked up and she inquired archly, “What were you doing stomping demons on some other world?”

He looked up and said seriously, “Defending this one.  It is sort of important to me, since I and my family live here.”

Wind shook her head.  “How is fighting demons on some other world defending this one?”

The old donkey lifted his ears in amusement as he pointed out, “The best place to defend your real estate is on someone else's real estate.  Keeps yours from getting all trampled in the fight!  If you do it right, the ones whose real estate you do trample will even thank you for the favor.”

Wind was quietly dumbfounded by the sheer elegance of the notion.  Still, she couldn't really help sniping, “Just how do they thank you?  I am sure that mere words would not be enough.”

The old donkey grinned hugely at some private joke as he nodded.  “So right!  Spoken like a true adventurer!  Amazing how gold can prove the sincerity of thanks!”

He turned toward his caravan and flipped his tail as he suggested, “Follow me.  I am going to show you where to put your things and where you will sleep while we have you under observation.”

As Wind was following him into the caravan, she was hit by a memory.  “What did you mean about Mama Dragon's sense of humor?  Have you ever met her?”

“Yep.  Several times.  Lovely dragon.  One of the best Watchers that your world has ever had.  She even gets along with those Spirits that sort of run things there.”

Gesturing with an ear and a tilt of his head, Marchhare pointed out a sleeping stall inside the caravan. “Here is where you will rest of nights until we are sure that you are healing properly.  There is a locker at the head of the stall for your things.”

Wind's sense of the uncanny was screaming alarms in her mind.  She checked again.  There was no mistake.  There was a dining table fixed to one wall so that it could be raised and lowered out of the way.  There were seats for four that also folded neatly away when not in use  There was a compact kitchen space.  There were four sleeping stalls, a window on each side and a door at the front, opposite from the one that they had entered by. She had seen the caravan several times where she could see the front and there was no door on the front of it.

Black Lotus was behind her and in spite of the sheer size of the lovely black and white  horse, there was plenty of room!  Wind could hear her snickering at her reaction to the seemingly huge interior.  Wind noticed one other thing that made no sense.  The inside was far higher than the caravan appeared on the outside.  Black Lotus' long horn had plenty of room under the caravan roof.

Carefully hanging onto her composure, Wind observed, “No wonder you were familiar with bags of holding. You live in a Caravan of Holding!”

Marchhare and Black Lotus both giggled.  Marchhare offered, “Pretty close.  Whole different principle but the effect is much the same.”

Wind unfolded one of the sturdy folding seats and sat down.  “Would it be asking too much to inquire exactly what I am in, if not a Holding Spell?”

Gone immediately serious, Marchhare took a seat too.  He gestured to the door at the front of the caravan.  “This is the tip of an iceberg, sort of.  Technically, this caravan is a nexus of the entire Multiverse.  If you know how to use it, you can go ANYWHERE at all.  That includes some very dangerous places and some that are purely idyllic.  Most are in between, somewhere.  De Writer set it up for us both to use a long time ago, around six hundred years ago, roughly.”

He gestured at the door at the front of the caravan.  “Going past that door will lead to what appears to be a huge maze of corridors, stairs and doors.  Black Lotus did tell you that it is easy to get lost in there.  If you stick to using just the nearby clearly marked doors there are lots of useful places and things that can be accessed.

“For now, use a guide if you want to go past that door.”

Wind digested that thoughtfully. “How can it possibly work?  It can go anywhere?  What about taking me home to Mama Dragon's cottage?”

Old Marchhare regarded her for an unsettling few moments before answering, “It can.  That is how I have been to your world and met Mama Dragon.  It may not be a good idea to go that way, though.  She likely had her excellent reason for sending you the way that she did and for getting you back the way that she wants to do it.  She is very wise.”

Wind sighed, “I do know that.  So what now?”

“So we monitor you carefully and use Mama Dragon's remedies on you.  You need to go easy on those wounds due to the inflammation but it is imperative that you do exercise some.”

Wind pretended injured innocence, placing her hand over her heart, as she proclaimed, “Oh, vile slave driver!  You mean that I don't get to loll back in padded ease and nibble delicacies?”

There was gentle laughter from behind her.  The chestnut sorrel mare, Hoof Dancer, had entered the caravan behind them.  The interior of the smallish caravan was still not crowded.  Hoof Dancer nuzzled her shoulder and told Wind, “That was exactly the right thing to say.  I think that you will fit in just fine, while you are here.”

She used her magic to rummage in a richly carved chest and pull out a mottled brown and green cloak. After examining it carefully, she draped it over Wind's shoulders, so that it covered her missing arm.

“Here, my dear Wind, is a cloak proper to an adventurer such as yourself.  In it you will be hard to see yet you will see easily.”

Wind felt the softness of the lining where lighter and darker rich browns chased each other with each shift of the fabric in the light.

Black Lotus nodded appreciatively, “That cloak will be perfect for you, Wind.  Shansa Na Kili will be delighted that her fine weaving has found such a good use.”

Turning to her father, she suggested, “I have been thinking about Wind's inflammation, father.  Perhaps we could make some small cuts along the inflamed nerve and introduce Mama Dragon's salve into them.  That might greatly reduce or even cure the problem.”

He paused, thinking carefully.  “You know, that is not a bad idea at all.  If Wind consents, we could take her into surgery room one and do it all in under an hour.  Then, as quick as the small cuts heal over some, she could begin to exercise properly.”

He grinned as he added, “Her idea of proper exercise and ours might differ a good bit, though.”

Wind snickered.  “I do expect so. In spite of that, I will follow your recommendations.  So, I get to see some of what is beyond the Great Door of Mystery?”

Black Lotus snorted, “Yes, but not much.  Later, I will show you some of the more amusing places that we use, like my sewing room, for instance.”

Wind blinked.  “What is so amusing about a sewing room?  I mean other than it being in a one room caravan?”

Black Lotus smiled and replied, “You will see for yourself, but later.  Now, I need to put you to sleep for the surgery.”

Wind felt herself held in that gentle seeming blue magic. There was a light touch, up high on the side of her neck.

Wind blinked a few times and looked about, trying to get her bearings.  She was laying in one of those Rom sleeping stalls and covered by blankets.  It took only a second to sort out that she was in the sleeping stall that Marchhare had showed her earlier as her sleeping space.

Her right side ached a little and itched.  Questing fingers found a line of bandages that ran from her middle part way around her side.  Remembering Mama Dragon's many bandagings of small kittenhood bangs and bumps, she carefully pulled her hand away from the bandages.  Itch or not, you do not scratch bandages.

She heard a gentle voice observe, “Wind is awake, now.  She is conscious and alert.  She checked the bandages but did not scratch.”

Marchhare's head popped into view around the end of the stall.  “You are doing really well, Wind. You need to stay reasonably still there for about another hour.  That salve of Mama Dragon's is doing a great job.

“While you wait, Black Lotus will show you our spice chest, so that you can choose the ones that you think will do well in your food.  OK?”

Wind nodded enthusiastically.

Black Lotus settled in comfortably at the foot of the stall and her magic brought over a small, ornately carved chest with many drawers.  The two were soon engrossed in the task of sorting out what spices and seasonings would go well with which meats, poultry or fish.

The hour simply flew by.  Black Lotus' magic gently picked up Wind and put her on her feet.

“It is time for you to begin gentle exercise, Wind.  I promised to show you my sewing room and some of the other rooms beyond that mysterious door.”

Wind paused long enough to get her new cloak and set around her shoulders.  “There.  Ready for almost anything.  Lead on, Black Lotus.”

Snickering, the big black and white unicorn opened the door.  Wind was mildly taken aback and intrigued by the seemingly endless corridor that did not in any way appear on the outside of the caravan.  Only a short way down the passage there was a red line painted across its floor.  There were about a dozen doors packed into the walls leading up to that red line.  They were all labeled in a beautiful script of tall and shorter vertical lines with loops and strokes connected to them along a center line.

With an impish grin, Black Lotus lead Wind past the red line and then down a flight of steps to a different apparent level and selected a door.  Watching Wind for her reaction, she opened it.

Wind blinked several times but what she saw was still there.  The door opened onto a dock.  Tied up to the dock was a thirty meter long ironclad monster of a ship!  It had bow and stern turrets sporting three guns each.   They appeared to be around a hundred millimeter bores.  Along the sides of the vessel were a number of smaller weapons, barrels protruding through metal shields.

The whole ship and dock was enclosed in a long room.  Wind's sharp eyes noticed huge doors at the far end of the room.  She pointed to them and asked, “Are those how you got this thing in here?  Where did it come from?”

Black Lotus nodded, “Those are the doors that dad used to get it in here, all right.  Dad helped to repel a demon invasion in the Chineighs Empire.  The Pirate Queen, Qushie Han Lee, who owns the Chineighese navy, gave him this river monitor as a gift.”

Wind started to ask, “How .  .  .” and stopped herself.  She leaned back out the door and looked at the maze of corridors, cross corridors a stairs going both up and down. Nodding to herself, she pointed, “THAT'S how!  Where all do these corridors and doors go?”

Black Lotus shrugged.  “Literally anywhere.  Not only on this world, either.  Dad says that it is completely infinite.  All of these doors and corridors are a sort of window dressing to make it easier for ones like us to use.

“Now, I promised to show you my sewing room.  It is back there on the caravan side of the red line.”

She led the way sedately back and casually opened a door.  Wind made careful note of the exact pattern of the words marking it.  

Now she was SURE that she wanted to learn this language.  From the adventuring that she had done, she was pretty sure that these Rom were a unique culture.  And what she had seen of it so far, a happy one.  And far tougher and more ready to defend themselves if necessary than showed on the surface.  Maybe there was an advantage to being led by an 800 year old ghost whose assistance in demon stomping was able to earn “little” rewards like 30 meter long ironclad river monitors.

Wind stepped through the door and got another shock.  Having adventured on several worlds, she was used to the idea that other world's gravity felt slightly different.  She noticed the change as she crossed the threshold.  That was not all. The floor underfoot was STONE.  So were the walls.  Three tall windows let in the light of the SUNS!  There were TWO of them.  The land was pretty barren outside of the windows but she could see some sort of trees a short distance away.

Tearing her eyes from the outside scene, she noticed that the decoration of the stone and woodwork of the room was unlike anything in her experience.  Curiously she inquired, “Won't the people who built this place want it back?”

Black Lotus replied quietly, “I don't think so.  Dad says that we missed meeting them by a few years. They had some form of magic that I do not understand and don't want to.  They had a war that nobody won.  There were no survivors.  Their towns and cities are still there, just empty.  Not even bodies or bones were left.”

Brightening, she pointed out, “I keep my fabrics and leathers over here in these racks.  Leather working is on that bench with the marble top.  Leather tools and dyes are next to it.  Over there are the sewing and cutting tables. Scissors, pins, needles and threads are in drawers under the sewing tables.   Trims are on that rack of rolls and winders.  The small forge is for making any buckles, rings or other fittings that you might want.  I have bronze, steel, silver and gold to make up fittings and such.”

Wind spotted some of the racked fabrics that looked a lot like her cloak.  She ventured, “Is that more of Shansa Na Kili's weaving?”

Black Lotus brightened up as she exclaimed, “You have a really good eye, Wind!  She did all three of those bolts!  She made those wonderful laces on the rolls over there too.”

Smiling, Wind offered, “I would like to thank her for this cloak.  It feels so luxurious.”

As she led Wind out of her sewing room, Black Lotus replied happily, “That is a wonderful idea, Wind! We should keep an eye out for a pretty rock or stone along the road. We will pass her lake tomorrow and you can Lay the Stone for her and thank her in person.  I will too.  I have a question to ask her about how she made lace trims like those.”

Wind paused and sat at the table in the caravan and thought carefully.  Brow furrowed in puzzlement, she asked, “Lay stones for her?  I don't quite understand what you are saying.  Part of what you said sounds like she is dead and part of it sounds like she is alive.”

Hoof Dancer looked up from some delightful smelling cooking that she was doing to say softly, “The loved dead are always with us.  Shansa's body died about three years ago.  We should pass her Lake tomorrow.  When we do, we will Lay the Stones for her.  You can thank her for her weaving and my many talented daughter can ask her about lace making.”

Wind blinked a few times.  “You mean that she will be a ghost like Marchhare?”

Smiling serenely, she replied, “Not exactly, no.  My husband turned his back on the Lake of Paradise and returned to be completely here with us.  He makes light of it but I am sure that it was not so easy as he makes it to be.  Still, our loved dead are always with us and we often sense that they are close and give us encouragement, advice or just return our love.”

Wind digested that thoughtfully for a while.  Nodding acceptance, she agreed, “That sounds really sensible, especially when you have Marchhare there to sort of prove it.  Whether I hear her reply or not, I would like to lay a stone for her and thank her.”

A voice that Wind had not heard before entered the conversation, followed by hoof steps on the caravan stairs, “I am so happy to hear that.  Shansa is one of my best friends.  I found a lovely fortification pattern sard for her. I am Rose, by the way.  Rose Na Shara.”

Wind introduced herself, “I am Wind, Rose.  Wind Whisper.  It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine, Wind.  I have never met a being from another world before.  I know that Marchhare and De Writer go to other worlds sometimes, but they have never brought any being back with them that I know of.”

Wind nodded.  “I understand that pretty well.  I have adventured on several worlds and some of them have things and, well, people that you really would not want romping about here.”

That was met by laughter from all present.

Wind added, “I saw your children's sky dance this morning.  It was lovely.  You must be very proud of them.”

Rose visibly swelled with pride. “They are very accomplished.  I admit that I am nervous about them performing at the Haymarket fair.  There will be unicorn ponies there and some of them drink more fermented locoweed than is wise.  

“That is what happened to their birth parents.  A drunken unicorn clamped their wings with his magic while they were a hundred feet up.  They were both killed by the fall.  Of course our loved dead are always with us but we do miss being able to hold them close.”

Wind nodded.  “I understand.  If you wish, I can help to watch the crowd to keep them safe.”

Rose agreed at once, “Extra eyes would be appreciated.  Will you be healed enough to do that?”

Black Lotus chimed in, “Wind is mostly healed now, really.  She will be able to move about freely in only two more days.  It is three pulls to the Haymarket fair.  All that she will need is to learn what to look for.”

Rose quietly accepted that, instead questioning, “Does Wind have some sort of magic that does not show? I mean, we all know that she has a missing forelimb.”

Silently, Hoof Dancer offered Wind a used sheet of parchment.  “Show Rose what does not show, Wind.”

Grinning, she took the parchment and flipped it up into the air.  She struck at it as it fluttered down. Two pieces of parchment fell to the floor.  Picking up one, Wind flipped it up and slashed again.  Four pieces, one partly severed fluttered to the floor.

Rose, eyebrows raised, used her magic to pick up the pieces and examine them.  “That is amazing, Wind.  I did not see how you did that at all.  It could be the foundation of a wonderful act.  May I see how you did this?”

Wind, all smiles under that praise, rolled her right hand palm up, fingers extended.  With the slightest of flexes, her five half inch long razor sharp claws extended.

Rose blinked about twice and said in awe, “You are an amazingly dangerous being, Wind.”

Old Marchhare, still working with his silver wire and pretty gem stones, looked up long enough to point out, “So are the Rom.  We keep that pretty much under our headstalls, though.  We don't want ponies to be afraid of us.  They might not come to the fairs that we go to, if they were.”

Changing the topic, Wind asked, “Rose, I saw you teaching foals to read and write your beautiful language.  I learn languages really fast.  It is part of being an adventurer.  Would you be willing to teach me your language?”

Rose looked over to Marchhare, who nodded.

She replied, “I would be happy to, Wind.  We really do not share our Gyptian language with many others. Marchhare says that I should make an exception for you and really, I do like you.  If you wish, we have an hour before dinner.  We could start right away.”

Wind not only studied until dinner, she continued, fascinated by the way that the Gyptian words almost seemed to dance, whether in her mouth or on the page.

Failing daylight finally made her close the book that she was studying from.

As she was tucking herself into the sleeping stall, Wind felt the familiar gentle touch of blue magic snugging her blankets around her.

She said in her newly learned words, “Thank you, Black Lotus.”

Black Lotus replied quietly in her native language, “Sleep well, Wind Whisper Soulblade.  Tomorrow will be a day spent on the Road.”

Wind snuggled down and muttered back, “Sounds like fun.”

Feeling completely safe, she drifted off to sleep.

Wind dreamed.  

There were trees all about, evergreens mostly.  Just ahead of her was a small cabin.  Though moss grown, it was in surprisingly good repair.  Inside, there was little enough. There was some furniture that looked as if it was damaged by a fight before time finished its work of destruction.

Something caught her eye.  She looked about carefully before picking up a large feather of an almost opaline whiteness.  Thoughtfully, Wind put the feather into her bag of holding.

Not far from it there was another feather similar in form but of a blue so dark that it resembled a night sky.  It went into her bag of holding as well.

Deeply puzzled, Wind stepped out of the house that she knew, with dream knowledge, had been the home of her small childhood, before flight from a monster had cost her an arm and brought her to Mama Dragon.

Not far from the door she spied two markers, side by side.  One read “Donovan, Loving husband and father.”  The other, like the first, read, “Shiva, Loving wife and mother.”  Wind fell to her knees, examining the graves in wonder.  Each one was covered with brightly sparkling stones of little value, but pretty.

Wind awoke from her dream reliving of her first adventure to the happy sound of clattering cookware!  Judging by the scents, among which Wind could spot the lovely aroma of cooking Ka'chek flour, work was well underway.  Dressing quickly and draping her new cloak about her shoulders, Wind stepped out to greet the day.

Black Lotus saw her and called out in Gyptian, “A good day, Wind!  Would you rather eat first and wash up dishes after or serve now and eat later?”

Wind unsnarled the words almost effortlessly.  Being gifted with languages was a basic adventurer's skill.  She returned, “Serve first, then eat.  You have all made me so welcome that I would do something for you, too.”

Black Lotus responded, “Grab that ladle and start serving tea.  You can have some too, between serving!”

As Wind began filling mugs, she noticed the approving expressions on the faces of the horses that she served.  Soon the line ended.  Black Lotus pointed with a hoof.  “We made you pasties cooked with eggs and fish for this morning.  Do you want help with your plate?  WE get to sit back in padded ease and nibble while the others wash up and stow the cook ware!”

Wind responded by putting her mug of tea in the middle of the plate and arranging her pasties around it, so that she could manage the whole thing with her one hand.  Just then, a filly that Wind remembered from the game yesterday trotted up.

She gave Wind a curtsy and asked, “Would you like to eat with us?  We foals noticed that not only did you play the ball fairly, you are learning to talk, read and write. That means that you are one of us!”

Wind looked over at Black Lotus, who looked on to Hoof Dancer, who nodded an emphatic yes.

Wind looked at her new acquaintance and picked up her plate.  “Lead the way!  I am Wind, um, Wind Whisper.”  

The foals were sitting quietly in the shade, near to a neatly boxed in spring with open water tank for the use of ponies and horses that stopped at the wayside.  Wind appreciated the how well the wayside was laid out for the convenience of its users.

The foals were happily chattering away in Gyptian, pausing anytime that Wind showed any sign of confusion or misunderstanding to explain or show her the meaning of what they were saying.

Wind was sorting out Gyptian's interesting view of “caravan” being any device that hauled things OR any group of such devices.  You could say one particular caravan in a caravan.  You could even say how many there were in a caravan. She was both amused and bemused by the amazing idea that there was no plural for caravan.

The foals were amused by Wind's amusement.  Quiet trills that the Rom used for applause greeted her sorting the matter out.  One filly explained, “Ponies always have trouble figuring that out.  You got it in only a few minutes!”

They all fell silent at once.  Wind, following their stares, saw a plain brown earth pony whose mane and tail were only a little darker brown pulling a heavily loaded wagon down the access road into the wayside.

The first sight of the stranger caused her heart to skip a beat.  He was the exact same color as her friend Penny.  It was quickly apparent that he was nothing like Penny.

First, he barged into the Rom camp, dragging his wagon and dropping the hitch as if he was part of their camp.  Second, he tried to just help himself to their breakfast.

Wind and the foals could hear Marchhare's voice as he demanded, “Right of Privacy in our camp! You must find your own camp spot and fix your own rations.”

“I ain't movin' til you fixes my sour wheel and gives me a good breakfast!  Got it?”

Wind's eyes went wide with surprise as Black Lotus just asked, “Mom, will you get this worthless pony out of our camp?  I have his caravan.”

Soft looking blue magic from her horn enveloped the intruder's wagon and lifted the several tonne load up off the ground.  The squalling pony was also lifted by Hoof Dancer's magic.  Both of them carried their burdens to a well shaded camp space with a fire ring and supply of firewood.  They left him and his wagon there.

Utterly sour, the brown pony stomped over to the wayside's boxed spring.  He was starting to demand, “You brats get away from here!”

Wind quietly stood up and laid her hand on the side of his neck.  She said in a gentle tone, “If you try to bully these foals, you could wind up all scratched up by the bramble.”

Just as he was blustering, “There ain't no brambles here!  What are you talking about?” Wind flexed her hand slightly.  Tiny trickles of blood ran down his coat from her finger tips.

Smiling, to show her fangs, Wind replied, “I am the Bramble.  Get your water in peace and you will have no problem with me.”

Grumbling, he went around the foals, eating in the cool shade.  “That Waller lied to me about everything!  Said Rom on the road was generous and would fix wagons with problems and share meals and all.  Lies, every bit of it.”

One of the fillies raised her eyebrows and asked, “Waller Left Leg?”

“That's him!  Not a word of it true!”

The filly smiled.  “For him, it is all true.  I bet that he told you to always be polite and never intrude on our camps too, but you just left that out, didn't you?”

He actually looked down and scraped the grass with his hoof before answering, “Well, yes.  That part don't make no sense.  I means, you is all Rom, not even proper ponies.  Why would anypony be polite to you?”

She batted her eyelashes at him and chuckled.  “Last that I looked, courtesy costs nothing.  It would have been repaid with an invitation to eat and the repair of your cara ...” she paused, “wagon.  Well worth the price, I would say.”

Wind looked about and smiled, a cheerful mouthful of fangs.  “We are done with breakfast!  Let's take our dishes back to camp for cleaning!  I understand that we are going to be on the road today!”

Happy foals charged across the wayside grass to their camp.  Wind paused only long enough to say, “Hanar was right, you know.  About courtesy, I mean.”  She loped away to the Rom camp after the foals.

By the time that the brown pony had got his water and returned to his camp, the Rom were putting away the last of their now cleaned cookware and utensils.  Lockers were open and rigging parts for hitching up to their caravan were being selected and set up.

The filly Hanar was showing Wind the parts, naming them and laying them out.  Wind was linking the parts together as well as learning the names of the pieces.

*

Hanar looked up from the setup and smiled.  “Wind, you are learning Gyptian far faster than anyhorse that I have ever heard of.  Mostly, from what I am hearing, what you need most is just to build up your vocabulary.”

Wind nodded.  “I have a gift with learning languages.  It really helps my adventuring.  I learn most languages in only a day or two.  Like Gyptian, I will still need to learn new words but that is pretty automatic as time goes by.”

Hanar nodded to herself as she finished her Pulling set up and used her magic to latch her harness into place.  She gestured with her horn to a place beside her.  “Hoof Dancer was very particular that you walk alongside me today.  I will be leading off the Road Songs.  We sing to keep cadence and the Pull even.  The songs also help the kilometers to pass.  We are going to visit mother's Lake today.  It will be so nice to visit her again.  Our Loved Dead are Always With Us but I feel her most strongly at her Lake.”

Wind reached into her pouch of holding and pulled out a nice reddish pebble.  “I was told something of Laying the Stones.  While we were breakfasting, I noticed this one in the outfall stream from the wayside water box.   Would it be proper?  I mean, Shansa Na Kili wa, I mean, is your mother.  You would know best.”

Hanar's magic took the stone delicately from Wind's fingers.  It turned this way and that under her scrutiny.  “That would be perfect, Wind.  It is a small carnelian with most of the cortex worn off by water and other pebbles.  That is just the sort of thing that we look for.

“Look! Everyone is hitched!  It is time for the starting cadence!”  In a loud clear voice, she called out, “Lean Left!  Lean Right!  Pull Left!  Pull Right!  Pull!  Pull!”

The whole caravan of Rom got underway, all of them in perfect step and cadence.  Wind was impressed.  As they hit the main road and turned south, Hanar called out, “Shehan Ja Rom!”  Moments later the melodious voices of the Rom filled the roadway.

Wind listened closely and began humming first, then softly, so that her errors would not disrupt the others, filling in with words and guesses for words.  The singing made it easier for her to add to her vocabulary and, incidentally, learn the origin of the Rom as a race.

It helped that she knew some of the story but the song filled it out and put muscles on the bare skeleton that she knew.  She thoughtfully filed away that she could see the eyes of a good number of her new friends and they were all showing signs of tears.  The song came to an end and the mood changed!

Red Roan's Lullaby had nothing to do with sleeping!  Wind picked up the chorus quickly and the short verses had her giggling.

Another was almost a tone poem about the road and its nature and how much the Rom loved the road as their true home.  Hearing it, Wind recalled her conversation with Black Lotus about finding a place to settle.  Now she understood the black mare's reaction far better.  The Rom were settled, just not in a single place.  Home was the road and the caravan.

They turned into Royal Road Red Branch Section Wayside #6 well before noon.  There was a party there before them.  There were pegassi in armor and carrying weapons.  Their leader ordered the troop, “Stand Down!  This is the caravan that we have been waiting for!”

Lounging in the shade of a tree were two more Rom, or so they appeared.  A pure white, horse sized unicorn lay quietly beside another, slightly smaller horse of deep blue.  Both wore the unique headdresses that the Rom called Freedoms and they were in lovely sashes and harnesses.

They sprang to their feet and virtually charged forward, calling out, “Marchhare!  We got away from our Duties early!  We have been waiting for you!  We are ready to set up camp with you!”

Wind saw the other Rom all eagerly greeting the newcomers with, “Tia! Midnight!  We hoped that you would be able to join us!  Will you be with us for the Haymarket Fair?”

“Try to stop us!  We got out schedules cleared all the way through to Monday!”

There was the happy clatter of hitches being taken apart and stowed.  Even more promising, was the different clatter of cooking equipment being set up.  Having already learned about Rom priorities, Wind got busy helping Hoof Dancer to set up griddles, grilles and a portable oven over the wayside fire pits.

While she was busy, she noticed that the enthusiasm was not shared by at least some of the pegassi.  Two were stopped by the officer in charge as they started to stomp over to the encampment being set up.  There was some sort of disagreement before they returned to ranks.

Wind noticed that the newcomers, Tia and Midnight, were already hock deep in Ka'chek flour and rolling out the dough with delight.  Wind's shyness was broken by Black Lotus calling, “Wind!  Come over and meet Midnight and Tia!  They want to see you in person.  Reports are so often impersonal!”

Wind trotted over, muttering, “Did that old blue unicorn tell everyhorse in the kingdom about me?”

Tia's lips twitched up in a bit of a smile.  Midnight snickered, “Not at all.  He did put a note about you into the Chronicle but it was that lovely old dead donkey over there who sent us the reports.”

Wind sent a small not really glare over to Marchhare.  He snorted and retorted, “An army may march on its stomach but the life blood of a kingdom is PAPER!”

By then, Wind was already stirring up thick apricot filling for some of the pastries to come.  There was a pot of berry filling waiting for the final stirring and, to Wind's surprise, there were pastry fillings with both fish and fowl ready to go too.

Midnight noticed Wind's casual look at the feast preparations and replied to her unspoken question, “We know that you are a carnivore, dear. Both Tia and I are skilled surgeons.  Things like meat and blood do not bother us.  We know and entertain the Gryphons from time to time also.  Fixing you properly savory food is not only no trouble, it will show Shansa Na Kili that you are truly a member of Marchhare's band.”

Tia put in casually, “I have a couple of questions to ask her myself. She is such a good friend and shares her knowledge so willingly.”

Wind nodded.  “So I have heard.  I want to thank her for the fine weaving of my new cloak.  I found her a nice pebble for Laying the Stones.  Hanar told me that it was a good one.”

Midnight's eyes softened as she kneeded more dough and replied, “That is wonderful.  Hanar loves to visit her mother.”

Suddenly soft looking many hued magic sprung from Tia's horn and shot over to edge of the wayside!  One of the armored pegassi was snatched from over near the woods and slapped to earth hard, in front of Tia and Midnight both!  He had a sling with a stone in it.  The stone, a nice, shiny petrified wood, bounced free of the sling pocket.

Both Tia and Midnight froze when they saw the simple pebble.  Midnight called out in an astonishing loud voice, “Guards!  Assemble before your Princesses!  Witness the trial under the Royal Wing of Guard Sargent Hemlock!”

Wind recognized the guard as he was getting to his feet.  He was one of the two that their leader had stopped from entering the camp earlier.

Tia ordered, “Remove all weapons from Hemlock, no longer a Royal Guard. Strap his wings.”

Two of the Guard stepped forward, secured his wings and removed all weapons from him, even searching his pouches and saddlebags.

He unwisely snapped, “You can't do this!  I was minding my own business, just starting a little sling practice and you nab me for trying to improve my preparedness!”

In an utterly calm voice, that betrayed a volcano about to erupt, Midnight called, “Guard Major Hawkwing, do you know Hemlock's testing scores from the Manual of Rom Custom and Belief?”

The leader of the guards rummaged in a saddlebag and produced a ledger. Examining it, he replied, “Hawthorn scored 98 percent on the Rom testing.  I assume that this relates to Rom beliefs in an afterlife and burial customs?”

Voice tightly controlled, Midnight stated, “It does.”

“According to the ledger, he missed none of those questions.”

“This question is for the whole formation.  Were you briefed on why we came to this particular Wayside?”

In a ragged chorus, the Guards replied, “You are returning to the Lake of  Shansa Na Kili, a long time friend, to Lay the Stones for her.”

Tia could see that Midnight was holding back with great difficulty and interposed for her, “What is the penalty for the desecration of any Wayside burial?”

“Twenty years at hard labor on the Royal Roads of Equestria or other labor as assigned by Your Highnesses.”

Hemlock could see where this was going.  He demanded, “All this for ONE lousy pebble?  I can just go over to the road there and get you another rock!  What is so important about this one?”

Holding her composure by less than a hair, ears laid back and lips snarling back from fangs, Midnight, Princess Luna, growled, “When we closed Shansa's Gateway to the Lake of Paradise, I LAID THAT PARTICULAR STONE MYSELF!  Your lack of respect for any custom but your own, we accept.  Your VANDALISM and DESECRATION, we will not tolerate!

“Hemlock is VACANT!  The Barony shall be filled according to the Law of Succession.  The goods, accounts and all other personal things belonging to Wiltin, late Baron of Hemlock, shall be distributed to his heirs according to the Law of Equestia.

“Guard Major Hawkwing, detail two of the Guard to escort the prisoner in chains to the Royal Road Police station at Haymarket to begin serving his twenty years of hard labor.”

As Wiltin was led away to the jingle of chains, Midnight turned to Wind and asked plaintively, “I am so sorry that you had to see that, Wind.  What must you think of us?”

Wind did not even pause, but answered back in Gyptian, “I see that you love Shansa very much.  I also saw that, what was his name?  Wiltin, knew that he was breaking long standing laws when he did that.  He was counting on that bit about it being one lousy pebble, a minor infraction.  I suspect that it would not have mattered which stone he took.  I don't blame you.  You simply defended a friend who could not defend herself.”

Midnight gathered her into a hug with her magic and wrapped a big dark blue wing around her as well.  Wind felt amazingly safe and comfortable in that hug.  Slowly, she became aware of the nature of the wing holding her, lifted free of those Rom sashes and harness.

#Work In Progress #WIP #Wind Meets the Rom #Written by De Writer

[cerillosvillage]

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Ten: The Enemy Guns

So let the enemy guns/ Cut me to ribbons/ For my eternal soul/ Will know the way back home

Warning: Animal death

The dust storm overtook Glyph while she was still a few miles out from the village. It was of course a problem, but she'd weathered worse. She pulled up a bandana up over her face and pulled the brim of her hat down, pressing her horse onwards.

The dust only got worse as they went, turning the world into a solid wall of brown. Visibility fell to nothing - she could only barely see her own hands in front of her face. She pulled on the reigns and stopped her horse, concerned now for its eyes. She dismounted, squinting in the dim light to try to find a rock or set of ruins to take shelter behind.

There seemed to be a shape in the dust, something tall - possibly a tree, possibly the remains of a chimney. Glyph had to weigh her options. Stay where she was and wait for the dust to pass, or head for possible shelter. She wanted to get some sort of protection from the storm, but was afraid of going off course or of her horse stepping into an animal hole and breaking its leg in the reduced visibility.

As she thought, she'd turned towards her horse's body, and when she looked up again she jumped. The shape was closer now, bigger, darker. It moved through the flying sand, coming closer to her. A person? Seemed awfully tall for a person.

"Hey!" Glyph yelled, though the sound was muffled by her bandana. There was no response. The shape got ever closer, slowly becoming more defined.

It looked like a person at a glance. Had roughly the right shape. But the proportions were wrong, the legs far too long and the arms… was she seeing double? Or triple, rather? She could've sworn she saw six arms lift up to the sides of the figure.

Her first thought was of Elyakim and his monsters. Her second was of the revolver on her hip. She unclipped her holster, taking hold of the grip. She wasn't sure what good the gun would do in this weather, though. It might get clogged with dirt and refuse to fire. Still, just having the thing in her hand made her feel better.

To her relief, the dust seemed to be lifting. Almost as if the figure were driving it away. That was a cold comfort, though, as she could now see the figure more clearly. It was tall, humanoid, with massive horns like an ibex and, yes, six arms.

And a sword that glinted in the beams of sunlight that broke through the storm.

Glyph was in the process of unholstering her gun and shouting a warning when a horrible shriek sounded right next to her ear. She reacted just in time to avoid her horse's front hooves kicking out as it reared up, screaming in fear. She grabbed for the reigns, managing to catch them just as a dull thump cut off the animal's cries. The thump was followed by a sickening squelch and something hot and sticky streamed over Glyph's arm. The horse staggered, and would've pulled Glyph down with it if she hadn't thought to let go of the reigns.

It collapsed on the ground, blood gushing from its neck, seeping into the sandy ground. Blood covered Glyph's arm as well.

Glyph swore, then swore again as she felt a blade whizz through the air just next to her face. The six-armed figure was right there in front of her, swinging its gleaming, razor-sharp sword at her. She ducked and rolled, focusing first on just getting away from the thing. The figure spun, pirouetting like a dancer, thrusting its blade at her again.

Glyph managed to get her gun out, aimed as best as she could, and pulled the trigger. She pulled it again. Again. Three bullets sank into the figure's abdomen, and it paused for just a moment, cocking its head to the side like a curious animal.

There were no wounds. No bullet holes. It did not bleed. It just absorbed the metal into itself.

And again it swung its sword.

Glyph ducked, but she wasn't used to fencing. She didn't know what she was doing. The tip of the blade managed to just graze the exposed flesh just between her eye and her bandana, and blood gushed down the side of her face.

She rolled away again, springing up as quickly as she could, aiming her gun at the figure's sword instead of its body. She fired one round.

The bullet caught the sword at the hilt, knocking the weapon out of the figure's hand. Glyph dived forward, snatching up the blade, holding it in her left hand, the gun in her right. She climbed to her feet, holding both in front of her, not sure how exactly to proceed but grateful at least that she had managed to get the upper hand.

Or so she thought.

That feeling of triumph didn't last long.

The figure turned to face her, holding out a hand. Dust from the air around them came towards it like insects in a swarm, forming into a long, narrow shape. More dust packed onto it, becoming more solid. Then it glowed white-hot.

This all took only a few seconds. And there it was - another sword, just as sharp as the one Glyph held.

The figure swung its blade down. Glyph did her best to knock it aside, but with no training in bladed weapons, she reacted too late. The tip of the figure's blade sunk into her shoulder and she cried out.

Acting purely on instinct, she raised her gun and fired her remaining two shots at the thing's head.

Fat lot of good that did. The figure didn't even react this time, just pulled the blade out of Glyph's arm and raised it again.

Glyph dropped her gun and passed the sword to her good arm. She struggled up to her feet and, with a shout, lurched forward, plunging the sword into the figure's abdomen. Again it paused, tilting its head as if confused.

That was all Glyph needed. Just a moment of hesitation on its part. She yanked the sword out, then turned and began to run. The dust got thicker around her, and she blindly stumbled forward, debris slicing the exposed skin around her eyes.

Pain blossomed across her back and she fell to the ground. Her shoulders felt warm, something trickled down between her shoulder blades. She didn't need to check to see - she knew she'd been struck. But if there was one thing she wasn't going to do, it was giving up and waiting to be done in. She reached out with her good arm, grabbing at the hard ground, pulling herself forward. She didn't know where the figure was, it was so quiet. She only knew she had to keep moving. She had to get away.

And then she heard a sound. The scraping of metal on metal. A scuffle of feet on the desert ground. A loud, masculine grunt, and then more clanging metal.

Then there was an arm around her middle, hefting her to her feet.

She didn't know who had taken hold of her, or where they were going, but she let them drag her along, just barely managing to get her feet under her.

They ran. And ran. Slowly, the sky got lighter. The dust got thinner. And suddenly, they were clear of the dust storm.

There was a horse tethered to a spindly dead shrub a little ways ahead. Her savior dragged her to it, helping her up onto the saddle. She left bloody handprints on its pale coat.

Her savior came around the front of the horse to untether it, and she finally got a clear look at him. It was Cinna, the tanned, blond patrolman. Or was he still a patrolman? She hadn't kept up with his role in the village after the Cerillos had reclaimed the place.

Cinna said nothing, just climbed up on the horse behind her. He threaded his arms under hers and took hold of the reigns, spurring the animal forward.

He kept the horse running as fast as it could until they crossed into the fields that covered the plateau above the canyon. A few figures spotted him and ran forward. Glyph was dizzy from the lost of blood, and couldn't focus on what they were saying as they pulled her down from the saddle. The world swam, then went dark.

She awoke indoors, laying on a sheepskin, wrapped in bandages, and facing the wall. She groaned and turned over. She immediately regretted doing so. Her back burned with pain. She tried to lay on her other side, but her injured shoulder protested. Unsure what else to do, she sat up with great effort.

Cinna sat on a bench on the other side of the room. He looked up when he saw her sit. He quickly climbed to his feet and poked his head out of the door, quietly talking to someone outside.

Magdalena, the short, sturdy leader of the Cerillos, stepped inside. Glyph was glad to see her - she liked the woman. She was soft, but tenacious, and showed incredible strength of character after her village on the plains had been destroyed.

Glyph was less pleased to see the second person step into the room.

Ajra. Her grandmother. An evil, abusive woman if there ever was one.

"Get out," Glyph hissed through clenched teeth.

Ajra paused, glancing at Magdalena. That was odd. Glyph had never known Ajra to defer to anyone else.

"Glyph," the village leader said gently, "can you tell us what happened?"

"Only if she gets out," she nodded at her grandmother.

Ajra and Magdalena shared a look. Again Ajra paused, but then she made a huffing noise, turned, and left.

Magdalena came to sit next to Glyph. Cinna followed suit.

"Glyph," she said, "it's important that you tell us what happened. Cinna did not see everything."

"There was something out there in the dust storm," Glyph said. "I didn't get that great a look at it, but I think it may have been one of Elyakim's angels. It was like them - tall, almost human, but with lots of arms and these big long horns. And swords."

Magdalena nodded. "Was there anything else you noticed?"

"Not really, I was too busy trying to get away from it. Although -- it seemed like it was controlling the storm."

Magdalena lifted a hand to her chin, running her thumb over her lower lip. She seemed deep in thought.

"I need to talk to RedRock," she said after a moment, though Glyph had no idea why a storyteller had any bearing on the situation.

"Cinna, would you stay with Glyph?"

"Of course."

At that, the woman got to her feet and was out the door. Glyph had questions, certainly, but Cinna was helping her back down onto her side and was applying a soothing-smelling poultice to her back. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out, but she realized now that she still felt heavy with exhaustion, and let her eyes close. Just to rest them.

#rockbreaker lore #long post

[clownsgobeepbeep]

“I remember there was mist”

I apologize for this-

Maggie jumped up as she finally awoke from what was a deep sleep, looking around as she met face to face with Pepper who had a clearly worried expression. She glanced to the side and noticed she wasn’t in her tent, then remembering that after a nightmare she had previously, she came to the D'Vitt’s where unfortunately, neither Ula nor Jelly were for they were instead with Lennie.

“Maggie, you were having another bad dream…”

“Yeah, I know."she replied as she held her head, realizing that she was laying on Jelly’s bed that lacked plush sea creatures and blankets which had all been kicked off the bed.

"Was it…very bad?"Pepper asked as he sat down on the bed next to her, Maggie then shaking her head as she frowned. Pepper blinked, feeling that she wasn’t scared, but she was instead angry.

"No…it had…Ryder.”

“Ryder!?”

“Yeah…I remember there was mist."she started, shutting her eyes before she was somehow able to recall what she had seen.

"The man thought with himself; I wonder if that crow wants to kill me?”

Maggie at first had been quite frightened, having seen all her friends in the dream with her. The D'Vitts, Vespers, Lennie, Billy, absolutely everybody was there and she would have thought it to be a good dream, finally. That was, until a mist appeared, clouding them all as one by one were killed off except for Jelly who had disappeared. A dark chuckle surrounding them all as they suffered horribly in ways she believed to have seen.

“And the man drew his bow on his knees, then he shot the crow so she fell down.”

After all this, a figure stepped from the mist to reveal it was no person but instead, a hand bigger than all the friend group combined. And then appeared another as their fingers moved in an elegant manner as if to play a piano. Though, she noticed they had black, cut gloves that connected to arms with brown braces that were all too familiar. She remembered that as she fled from them, she tripped and felt a pain on her leg that now bled as an arrow was stuck in it.

 "Then he harnessed up the ten foals, but the crow blew all of them.“

The hands crawled over to her as the mist did not clear up, but instead an even larger figure revealed itself to show Ryder’s large form as he stared down at her with a menacing smirk.

"Then he flayed the crow and butchered her up. She weighted nearly sixteen and twenty pounds.”

He sang out to her in that horrible voice of his, leaning on one of his hands as he bared his teeth. Ryder lowered one of his hands to where Maggie attempted to crawl away, taunting her as he made his hand form a circle around her.He then reached down to her, grabbing ahold of her injured leg as he slowly dragged her towards him. 

“From the skin he made twelve pairs of shoes, the best pair he gave to mother. The meat he salted in barrels and casks, and the tongue he had for Yule food.”

Maggie was unable to make any kind of vocal sound, and she kicked her other leg at his fingers as he merely continued to sing. Ryder had her in front of his chest, and he pinched her torso as he brought her up to his smiling face. With his other hand, he squeezed Maggie’s cheeks together as he brought her closer.

“The mouth he used to grind grains, and of the ears he made musical horns. And from the entrails he made twelve pair of rope and the claws he used for dirt-forks.”

Shit, it all felt so real. Maggie struggled as she attempted to shove his fingers away. She thought herself to be successful for a moment, until Ryder’s fingers went to her neck.

“And the beak he used for a church-boat that people could sail both to and fro. And the eyes he made window glass. And the neck he put as adornment on the church.”

Maggie grasped at the fingers pinching her neck, and she kicked even more while Ryder inched even closer to her.

“Oh no…cat got your tongue pretty bird? That’s alright, where I’ll have you, you won’t need to sing, or fly.” Ryder said, just as he began to cackle and Maggie felt everything around her hurt. He was just about to-

“Well, fuck!” Pepper exclaimed, Maggie clenching her fists as he scratched behind his head. “And…that’s when you woke up?”

“Yeah, I heard you screaming my name Pepper.”

“Oh…right.”

The pair stayed silent for a moment, Maggie then letting out a cough before she brought a hand up to her neck, still feeling the pain as Ryder’s evil laughter replayed in her head.

[fog6v7a4m8p5i8r3i8s1m0]

very intense dream about being in an olser hs, some giant wasp wandering around during assembly, two schools in one, wasp gave me honey at first then when interacting with someone from another school they had their stinger and. cut my arm with it, around the cut it flared up and colored tge cut and surrounding veins deep red, during third time wasp came through i was talking with someone and we found that the would could be rubbed off to show a tattoo... along thr cut was a long?? device? surrounded by a ladyor man that had their mouth open around the stick device thing like a fancy Medusa biker tattoo, at this point i knew giant wasp was dangerous, i watched them go around assembly hall thing, not normal auditorium but hallway type deal with wings of rooms for teachers to sit in, the teacher i talked with couldve been my phl teacher, the girl who gave me stinger was a kind bitch from hs with the good but grating kind of bitch voice. the wasp circled for the third time and i saw the stinger again, and attacking soon after. before this the second time the wasp came around and offered me, or i dared to touch it, some sticky non sticky honey? slime? off its stinger. but this third time they attacked a random person and i ran away and the school was put on lockdown. i ran fast fearing what my tattoo and the wasp meant, through the gym where i got the unattached stinger drug under my skin ti where it at first looked like a big scrape, past that girl that gave it to me, doors were closing fast bc fancy lockdown procedure. two girls from my college course hid ina closet, which i couldnt fit in, so i ran down a hallway where i saw the deep dull brown grey of doors locking and men in almost bug exterminator outfits coming down the halls. i ran into a room, with a guy lounging in a spa tub that took up 70% of the room, him greeting me happily and gayly, and suds amd bubbles covering part of the floor. i came in, and was like holy shiy we need to hide. the room was dimly lit with rainbow lights and the door handle was that same brown grey tinted red. i held the door closed trying to figure out the lock and fucking couldny i blamed the school being old. the guy didnt really care but the men opened the door and had guns. the guy bowed his head, my whole brain n body went quiet and i bowed my head expecting death via gunshot. i was shot, with something in the forehead, but not harshly but i did go to sleep pass out.

next thing i know im in a line leading up to an elementary school or part of the bigger school holdong onto my tattoo listening tk people kinda sad but entirely not worried or in despair. big... figures.. corralled us and surrounded our line, some guy was talking about ranks of caregivers in this like bug race that had us, and through my tattoo i was noted as a...? witch? druid? some significant caretaker of brood, but not as high as some highmaster headmaster guy they started talking about soon after. i was shown a book of one of the big, surely bug guy shrouded with an abviously fucked up back like the skeksis whatever, the book was a hardcover with the loud plastic coating shell, and that was close to a door. i was led into. the bugs were hoarders and stuff was piled so. that we only had one way to walk, until a sign where the plastic protecter made it hard to read said one (single) this way with an arrow indicating the left to eat, and the right side of the sign with the number 8 and (many) with th arrow to the right. i took the single side, got a fork, and meandered to. yhe back with the heavy silvery fork, and played with pieces of celtic knotwork bookends, some little wood and lapis lazuli statues, one being a tiny minotaur. after. spacing out this way for a while and hearing people fill in behind me, two rows seperated by the curve where i was and a neck height wall of stuff behind me, also i was aware i was ina skirt or dress at this point. i hear someone yell hero move whirlwind behind me and my arm. is cut and i see this weapon that looks like a small saw with a full handle like its a little pot land besides me, and notice my upperarm, underarm, but still visible is cut deep. seeing the pibk deep. didnt hurt, but bled alot. got a towel and my clothes to wrap it up, or rather hpld against bleeding, and turned arounf and saw an excited but embarrassed teenage tauren? woman who was coming down from a jump looking triumphant but also sorry for those she cut. she didnt hurt the bug person in the corner, the shrouded one. i got her a towel for hrr wound, and then im sure shr was handled. by the bug person, becauae i managed to walk back out where i came from. she had pretty tall white horns.

i guess i was shot anf. carrird back bc next i know im stealing cats off the sidewalk for... some reason to put into a duffle bag suitcase. im stealing giant fucking cats for some reason. on stealing a cat, thr first one, i saw an old man greet a woman at his door eith a pretty brown grey tinted cat, complaining about them being dirty. at some poiny i got an image of a closeup of cat eye washing worms out, and then i somehow realized i was brainwashed through that and the old. man lamenting about his cats being missing. i let the cats out and traveled past the two at the door and bathing cat, wearing off white stained dress that i came to b aware of earlier. it was sunset /immediately after sunset then, as i traveled through the neighborhood it progressed into nighttime. i looked up and a moon pod thing was there in place of a moon. i noted this as thr real one. i traveled many urban roads, fall time, middle class neighborhoods, good roads for barefoot travel, i meet eyes with some kids that surely see me, and shortly after that i kept going. the roads had old lights that didnt ligbt them well, but i could see. i find myself at the entrance of the school, and when coming up to it from the road i notice that its got some damahr to it, like if hit moderately worsr itd be ruin. it was lit in the harsh manner schools are in nighttime, and i walk in to be greeted by a young man, very gayly and excited, like the man knew me. he showed me to the room I hid in and was like see these cards. they were all on the cheap construction paper and i saw them anf was like aww daddy. like in the parental way not nasty way. on the way to that room i got a glimpse of the gym, where a handful of people were redoing the gym from fallen shit from invasion. i went therr next feeling good from the cards, gym people nodded said hey whatevet, and i walked past into the lockerrroom of the gym where i got my tattoo cut and everything. coming back out, i notice something odd about these people, the pink of the lower lid of their eye was slightly puffed and a more vibrant buggy pink. small cuts start forming, one notably ona persons face, and let out a few worm.. things witg a few centipede. legs on them. and the person visibly grins at me in the evil manner. im scared, very scared, so i run back out of the school, and i know their coming to get me. the witch druid whatever. i walk to a pond that had a few meteorites fallen in it, and thus a lot of reptiles were gathered and bathed a bright green with a few burning red meteorites falling at a time, i picked up creatures, and walking on top of their solid bodies, to fend off the bug person shortly behind me, and then through my walking/running the person appears infront of me, reaching fot me and i grab what must've been a velociraptor some sort of raptor, to hold to the person and have him bite it, but it didnt work so well so i rsn and picked up a meteorite piece and ran it along the raptors mouth hoping itd help, but finally close to the school wall i pick up a piece, rub it against my lips, and somehow either thru breath or kiss i kill the bug person chasing me, and after that im greeted by i hope normal people on the porch of the school offering me candy. halloween candy. i was apprehensive bc i dont know if they were bugpeople of not, but i let my gaurd down to chill and eat candy, then i woke up.

at some point i became aware that theyre were two pod moons, one real and one of bug construction. k think the girl eith the old man made me aware of this. other things wefe fake in doubles in the sky as well. girl had dark brown hair, same color of cat being bathed. girl was yellow/white/tan color, old man was wrinkled and very white with white hair and lots of wrinkles.

the pool with meteorites was piled in writhing mass along the edge with reptiles, but the reptiles had surprising mass and hardness when walked on, like stones. the glow was like glow in the dark green.

gay man in tub was the yellow tan light color, dark short hair, oddly contorted body to fit in tub. gay man at counter was blonde with long hair, also yellow tan lightskin white person. first bug person in gym was a middle aged white lady. girl who cut me with stinger was a black girl from hs who was attractive, but out of my league and bitchy. phl teacher is Greek guy with the deeper yellow tan white person skin tone.

very long post. prolly meant to be nice monster dream but signals went wrong

#long post #dreams #idk