#we find logs talking about how the aurora 'disappeared'

[torendheavenandearth]

1.7

“At the end of thy road, one must remember the golden rule: all things in moderation, and find the balance in all things. There, in minute perfection, you will find God, and you will find him wanting.” -- From the Discourse of the Tambay Swordsman and the Alcoholic Witch.

▼

Makabintang nears the crossroads. “Hey kid,” says Makabintang, peering behind him. He sees Angela is out, sleeping sideways against the kalesa seat. That’s bound to cause some neck pain.

Makabintang moves the kalesa to the right edge of the road and stops the horses, which have been running for almost two hours. There’s a small clearing here, a little embrace from the trees. Here the soft patter of the stream punctures the silence. The sound of the wind slipping through the bamboo causes a song of sadness to ring out from the forest.

Makabintang climbs up and flicks Angela’s face. Angela snorts as she’s pulled back into the waking world. “Ah punyeta. What--?”

“We’re taking a short stop here. You can rest up here. Get down and stretch.” Makabintang then grabs a glass canteen from behind her and walks off to the stream.

Angela watches Makabintang disappear into the greenery. She tries to move, but is greeted by an orchestra of pain. Her neck is sore, her feet sear with red hot spiky agony, her hands feel raw, and her knees have been scraped. Wincing, she gingerly makes her way down from the kalesa and winces as she hits the ground. Her feet are raw: she’s not wearing clogs or any kind of shoes. She makes her way over to the center of the small clearing where there’s a small campfire used by those before. The charcoal has been doused, but it hasn’t been cleared or replaced. They’re going to have to clean off the charcoal and get some new firewood.

A couple of men riding along on horses happen by the clearing. Angela notices that they’re taking the right path at the crossroads. One of the men, wearing a large salakot and barong tagalog, stares longingly at Angela, and Angela looks away, trying her best to act as if she can’t see them. She briefly wonders if she should just go back to her own kalesa and hide. 

The two men stop their horses. One of them--the one wearing a navy blue uniform, has an arquebus hanging from behind his back, and a sabre hanging from his waist--gestures with his head, and the salakot-wearing man nods and slides down from his saddle.

The approaching man is wearing a large cloak that wraps around him, but underneath that he’s wearing large balooning pants, leather shoes, and a fancy striped barong tagalog. His hair looks groomed, and so is his moustache.

Angela squints at them. She sits at one of the logs-turned-benches. 

“Hello, binibini,” says the man, as he nears her. He takes off his salakot. “What is a precious young girl like you doing out here, in the middle of the path?”

Angela breathes out, slightly irritated. She didn’t think she’d get these kinds of people in another world still. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to talk with strangers?” 

“Then let’s change the situation then,” says the man, smiling. “My name is Don Jose Iago de Lacandola. And you are?”

Angela cringes. “I’m 17. Go away.”

“Age is but a number,” says Don Jose Iago de Lacandola. Angela cringes. He examines Angela thoroughly. “It is better if you are not to stay here, in the middle of nowhere. You seem like you have gone through a rough patch. I can take you to my hacienda, which is just over Mount San Roque. I can care for you like a king would care for his princess.”

Angela blinks. She thinks that this can be a good chance to get some good life out of this miserable predicament she’s found herself in. “Are you some kind of… noble?”

Don Jose nods. “I am a principales, part of the principalia of the Kingdom of Perlesensya. Perhaps that will make my offer more enticing. I will care for you all your life.”

Angela squints at Don Jose again. “Why?”

Don Jose manages a small smile. A shy smile. He looks up at the sky and says, “Well, it is not everyday that a Don such as myself would be graced by God the fortune of seeing an exceedingly beautiful maiden sitting out here in the forests. I must protect all beautiful ladies that I come across but…” he looks down on Angela again. “...never have I seen a woman so beautiful as you.”

“But…” Angela reaches up to her horns. 

“Oh, do not worry about that. We can surely hire a surgeon and a healer to surgically remove it from you. We’ve done it before.”

“You’ve… surgically removed horns from people? Why?”

“No horns are allowed in the Hacienda proper, you see,” says Don Jose. “And it’s commonly seen as unnoble within Biringan, the City of Cities. It's just for politeness and so that you can fit in better. Admittedly, that is the only blemish I see in your perfection.”

Angela cringes again. The prospect of having the horns surgically removed is something she’s keenly interested in, but a mote of doubt lingers within her heart.

“There’s a catch to this, isn’t there?”

Don Jose shrugs. “Of course, it would be in my best interest to wed you. Perhaps we can live together in my hacienda, and you can be the loving wife that welcomes me back from military expeditions and other such things! You will have a grand life.”

Angela pouts and thinks. Her forehead creases. She doesn’t quite know what to answer. Not yet, anyway. 

“Come on, girl. Do you not want to be treated like a principales?”

“I do,” Angela says, looking up. “But… I don’t think I can.”

“Oh, lovely maiden, moon of my life, why?”

Angela shrugs. “There’s… something I have to do first. There are people that are counting on me, I think. I’m not sure. But I don’t think I can do whatever I have to do if I went with you. Sorry.” And also going off gallivanting with a creepy older man is out of the question, fuckin’ creep.

Don Jose stops and stares at Angela for a bit. Eventually he sighs and shrugs. He produces a piece of rectangular paper from his pocket and gives it to her. “This is a paper signed by me. If you ever come to the hacienda--Hacienda Lacandola it is called--then show this to the gatekeeper. They shall let you in, and perhaps we can talk at length and help you come to a conclusion.”

Angela snorts. “Sure.” She takes the card. 

“God bless you,” says Don Jose, before walking back to the horse and then shrugging. His shoulders have fallen. The principales gets on his horse and the two of them begin making their way up the mountain. The man that looks like a soldier looks over his shoulder and stares at her as they disappear into a curve.

“Weirdos,” says Angela. She thinks of throwing the paper away, but then decides against it. Perhaps it can help in the future. She looks around her and finds that the baro’t saya she’s wearing has no pockets in them. Exasperated, Angela sighs. Of course they don’t. 

She gets up and walks over to the kalesa and slips the piece of paper into the sheath of the bolo that Makabintang gave her. She stares at her own reflection through the slightly dulled blade of the bolo. There’s still some dirt on her face, from when she fell. Her eyes are red. Is she losing sleep? Her glasses are miraculously still intact. When will they get broken? What will she do if they do? She’s practically blind without them. How will she be able to survive?

The bolo could be a good start, she thinks. Maybe get some training in them and be like a samurai or one of those old Filipino action movies or old Filipino komiks by Francisco Coching. She can manage it, she thinks. She’s always had before.

“I’ll get Makabintang to train me,” she mutters. What is seemingly apparent to Angela is that in this universe, fighting is to be expected at one point or another. At least, for a person like her. So it only makes sense for her to get up and grab some kind of combat training. If not, she’s going to get turned to bloody mush on the ground, and she doesn’t have any plans of dying just yet.

I still need to go home.

She brings the bolo over to the log she sat on and pondered. She wonders how life is, back at home, back in horrible Metro Manila, with the shitty transportation system and the even shittier government. That distant wish for home hit her like a truck. Sure, it was hell, but at least that place didn’t have, like, huge demons and angels and explosions and supernatural kung fu or whatever. If this is heaven, then she’d rather be cozy back home in hell.

She sighs. She wonders how Kristina is doing. One of her best friends. She was supposed to go and have a study date with her the next day, eating and drinking at their favorite cafe along Aurora Avenue. A hidden gem. But no. She was abducted by human-trafficking angels instead. Angela wonders if she will ever get back home. She decides that if she ever does go back home, she will.

In fact, she decides that she’ll do all of this, survive and get strong and hop around with Ang Nilapastangan and Makabintang, just to find a way to get back home. Her mother is waiting. Her little brother is waiting. They are all waiting for her to get back home.

“Oyoy, what was that commotion a while back?” Makabintang’s voice floats out of the trees. Angela looks up and sees him walking out, with three canteens full of water, which he carries with a makeshift flat plane of wood that he found out within the forest. He goes over to the horses and gives them something to drink.

“Some principales,” Angela replies. “Can I ask you a favor, Makabintang?”

“A principales? Did he say his name?”

“Don Jose something something Lacandola.”

Makabintang pauses. He turns to stare at Angela and his eyes go wide. “Lacandola? Are you absolutely sure?”

“Oh what, is he like, super important or something? Is that it?”

“Yes! Yes he is! Lacandola is one of the royal houses of the Kaharian!”

“What?”

“There’s not a lot of them, really. Only nine left: Sulayman, Lacandola, Ache, Colambu, Tupas, Paiburong, Sikatuna, Cabungsuan, and Namwaran.” Strangely enough, Angela recognizes some of those names. Names that she’s seen her friends have, or mentioned in old historical texts. Another weird note that imprints itself onto her mind.

“And this is important to me… how?” asks Angela.

“You shoulda taken the offer and took me with you!” Says Makabintang. “We’ll be rich and living large!”

“I doubt they’d allow a duwende to live in with them, though,” says Angela. “Don Jose already said that he’d have my horns surgically removed.”

“Yeesh,” says Makabintang, and then waves his hand dismissively “But whatever, you’re probably right. Come on, let’s get back on the road.”

Angela opens her mouth to ask something more, but a low guttural bellow resonates from somewhere else, freezing her words in her throat. She and Makabintang stare at each other, eyes completely wide, bodies frozen.

And then the kimera leaps out from within the shadows between the trees.

There’s a moment of absolute fear blossoming from the well at the bottom of Angela’s soul. She leaps to her feet, brings out her bolo, and faces down the kimera even as it leaps through the air and pins her to the ground.

“Makabintang! Help!” She screams, and the fear in her voice is like the shattering of glass. Makabintang rises and brandishes his own bolo. He sinks into the earth and then erupts from a mound to the left of the kimera, sending him cannonballing straight into the kimera’s side, bolo first. The bolo sinks, the kimera screams. 

It flails about, sending Makabintang flying from it. This time, it doesn’t underestimate Makabintang. It leaps toward him as he slams against a tree, grabs him mid-bounce, and then slams him against the tree once again. 

And then with a single, savage movement, rips Makabintang’s head from his body with its kimera dog mouth.

“Makabintang!”

▼

Ang Nilapastangan is faster than horses.

Upon her bellowing strides of smoke and flame--a neat little trick she’d picked up when traveling with a tigbalan--she crosses the length traveled by the kalesa in half the time. Despite the dewy morning, the road is not damp enough to let wheel tracks be embedded upon it, but that’s okay. Ang Nilapastangan told Makabintang where to go. She knows where they’re headed. 

She just hopes she’s not too late. She just hopes she catches up before they go past the crossroads. But Makabintang knows that. Makabintang is a wise duwende, and he’d know to stop by at the crossroads to wait for her.

That is, assuming nothing worse follows after them. The kimera… she can’t brush the thought of the kimera from her mind. It wasn’t there when she looked around. Last time she remembered, halimaw don’t just disappear when they die. It’s popular to use the materials harvested from hunting them for equipment and items.

So where did it go?

Ang Nilapastangan bellows-pumping stride eventually reaches its peak, and she reaches the crossroads at almost a quarter of the time a horse-drawn carriage like the kalesa would. When she gets there, however, the kimera’s maw rips Makabintang’s head from his body.

Ang Nilapastangan’s fury is silent, and the world has told her that she must be silent. She blurs forward. Now right beside the kimera, and thrusts her hand--which is in a knife-hand position--straight through the kimera’s chest. She then inserts her other hand through that same hole, and then rips the kimera in two, vertically.

Chunks of meat and blood scatter across the clearing. Angela scrambles away from the blood and meat, bolo still in hand. Her eyes are wide, her breathing rapid. She feels like she’s going to puke, but she can’t look away from the fantastic gore caused by Ang Nilapastangan.

Ang Nilapastangan hurls both parts of the kimera into two different parts of the forest. Throwing it so strongly that it sends waves of air rushing out. She throws it seemingly so that the two parts of the kimera are as far from each other as possible.

She looks down upon the headless corpse of Makabintang, ripped and savaged. The blood of beings like Makabintang don’t seem to be red like human blood. Their blood is one that is yellow-ish, like the sap of trees, nearing gold. 

Ang Nilapastangan scowls. Angela stares at Ang Nilapastangan.

▼

Ang Nilapastangan digs up a grave for what’s left of Makabintang’s body with her bare hands. She is silent, and when Angela looks over at her, her face is blank. Not in that blank kind of way when someone’s loved one dies and you don’t know how to react. Her face is exactly like her face the first time she saw her. As if the death of Makabintang, the only person that she seems to speak with, doesn’t faze her.

Ang Nilapastangan makes an effort to make the grave like a mound, like that of his house. And then, at the top of the mound, she places a single sampaguita flower that she finds nearby.

With that done, she gets on both knees and then bows. Her hands are clasped together, as if in prayer. Angela wonders if she should follow in what she’s doing. Even just to pay some kind of respect to the weird duwende that helped her. But, she feels too awkward, and decides not to.

Eventually, Ang Nilapastangan finishes the procession. She doesn’t do any kind of sign of the cross or anything. She simply lifts her head and then rises to her feet. She turns around and says: “I’m filthy.”

Angela blinks. “Um. Yeah. You’re covered in guts and blood.”

“We can’t afford to bathe yet,” she says, with an almost… complaining tone? Angela can’t help but tilt her head in slight confusion. 

Angela also notices that as she’s talking, her burning crimson feet and hands are slowly subsiding. Her black and red eyes are dissipating. She closes her eyes and she breathes out. When she opens her eyes again, her eyes are normal. They’re no longer black and red, but a beautiful white and ash gray.. She, more or less, has the visage of a human. 

Save, of course, for the horns.

“Come on. Barangay San Justo is a bit more travel.” She walks over to the kalesa and unlatches the horses from the wagon. She then reaches into the wagon and brings out a pair of saddles. Fraying at the edges, but working more or less. “Ah, the horse carer remembered my request. Good.”

Angela walks up to Ang Nilapastangan. “We’re not going to ride the kalesa?”

Ang Nilapastangan shakes her head. “We’re going to ride the horse instead. Do you know how to ride one?”

▼

Angela and Ang Nilapastangan ride down the path. They’ve gone down the westward road. “The east road leads up to a mountain trail that leads to Barangay Sampotsi. There you will find Hacienda Lacandola,” Ang Nilapastangan said. Angela told Ang Nilapastangan about the encounter she’s had with Don Jose, but Ang Nilapastangan doesn’t reply or respond to it.

Now, upon the trail, there is a slight awkwardness. The only time Ang Nilapastangan has talked to her is to teach her the ropes of riding a horse. She’s ridden one before when she went to Tagaytay and Baguio, but riding one on her own without the guide of some kind of caretaker is a new experience. Surprisingly, she got the hang of it rather quickly, and soon the two of them are on a canter. Ang Nilapastangan took the horse with the black coat, while Angela chose to ride upon one with a chestnut brown coat.

The path is mostly quiet, save for the soft sound of the wind wafting across the trees. The rustlign of branches, the whistle of small zephyrs. The temperature is not too bad. Humid, of course, but the sun is not shining directly at them so the heat is bareable. Angela realizes how much she prefers the temperate, humid climate of the more tropical countries than the more extreme degrees of other countries. She’s glad that they have that climate here, and much cooler than in Metro Manila too, since this place is presumably not choked by pollution and microwaved by climate change.

Their canter is brisk, but not to slow. Its a perfect pace for Angela to ponder upon the things she sees as she travels across the path. The broken twigs on the ground, the kabalyero trees that seem to be more popular here, sending the red petals of their flowers cascading down to the soil. The random snake coiling about a trunk, or flying lizard leaping from one treetop to another. A squirrel scurrying down a tree. Numerous birds flying above.

A soft wind sends fallen dead leaves flurrying into a small tornado, instilling into them once again, a semblance of life.

However it's not the kind of abounding, almost choking, multitude of animals Angela thought she would encounter. It’s strangely serene. The animals here seem to be alone: Angela can’t help but wonder why she only sees one squirrel, and one flying lizard, and one flock of birds. At this point, she’s expecting to be assaulted by an onslaught of mosquitoes and flies, but none come. Maybe one, and it isn’t even a mosquito.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Angela blinks. She looks up at Ang Nilapastangan. The path ahead is long. There’s a patch of the road further down that is shadowed by a canopy of tree branches. “Yeah.”

“It used to be even better,” says Ang Nilapastangan. 

Angela waits for Ang Nilapastangan to explain further, but she never does. 

After a bit of cantering, Angela speaks, “I’m sorry about Makabintang.”

“Don’t be,” she replies. “You had nothing to do with it. And Makabintang would’ve been honored to go out that way.”

“Wasn’t he your friend?”

“He was. He was the only friend I had and the only one that didn’t freak out when I said that I was the winner of the Hagdanan and that I came to that village to hide away from Biringan. He was a good friend. But he was going to die, I think, one way or another. It always happens.” The wistful tone is almost cliche to Angela.

“You were hiding?”

Ang Nilapastangan nods. “It’s the only way for them not to kill me, or use me.”

“Use you?”

Angela doesn’t get a response to that either. 

With a sigh, Angela continues with, “If only I knew how to fight.”

“Don’t worry about  the ‘ifs’,” says Ang Nilapastangan. “It’s done now. Move on. That’s what’s important. That’s how you break chains.”

Another silence. Angela decides not to engage anymore with Ang Nilapastangan. Maybe she’s still grieving, and just doesn’t want to show it to Angela so that she doesn’t break her tough-girl demeanor? Either way, Angela loses the will to converse. She looks around her again, and nothign much happens. Not a lot of animals come out. For a world that is the center of the multiverse, she thinks that it should have a lot more colorful animals. Not just a single squirrel and a snake. And some birds.

They ride for a few more hours, passing through numerous canopied sections of the road: the parts where the branches of the trees embrace overhead, as if to provide shelter and shade. The sun doesn’t shine down directly at you within the canopy, and the wind is chilly. As they canter along, her mind begins trailing, looking for more distractions. She wishes she can have her phone right now, numb her mind against her Twitter feed or chat with some friends. But then she remembers that those friends are universes away.

Eventually, to pick up the pace, Ang Nilapastangan tells Angela to gallop and follow her. Angela nods, prodding the horse forward and then balancing herself on her knees. Ang Nilapastangan taught her this just a few moments ago. She remembers what she’s taught: use her knees to steady herself, don’t pull on the reins, lean forward. And she does. 

The horse goes forward, and it runs quick and true. It seems as though it’s doing its best to accommodate for Angela’s inexperience. Even though her gallop isn’t as fast as Ang Nilapastangan’s, it's enough that Ang Nilapastangan is always in view.

▼

After a few more hours of riding--which was painful for Angela, having to look around all the time--Angela finds that the road they’re sat upon crests up to the top of a hill. When they reach it, Ang Nilapastangan stops the horse, and so does Angela.

There, from the hilltop, they see Barangay San Justo. A quaint little town with the same wooden houses mixed with stone houses, and with a church in the middle. It is surrounded, of course, by dense trees, some of them breaching the gaps of the town and growing between houses and roads. There is a small wall on both the north and south sides of the barangay, made of earth and wood.

The hilltop road bends down into the southern exit. 

The barangay, strangely enough for the middle of the day, is quiet.

“We will look for the albularyo here,” says Ang Nilapastangan. “And then afterwards, I will help you.”

Angela blinks, looking up at Ang Nilapastangan. “Help me?”

“Get stronger and win the Hagdanan. It’s the only way, if you wish to be free.”

Next Arc.

Return to the Table of Contents.

#karanduun #writing #novel #webnovel #filipino #myth #mythology #folklore #arc 1

[bluesfortheredj]

48 hours together. Well 38 once you’d taken the flight times off, plus a few extra hours for check in and travel to each airport. If it had been left in your hands you’d have booked a staycation and taken him to a tiny cottage in the Surrey countryside, but Taron had insisted that the planning of your third anniversary was entirely down to him. He’d not even told you where you were going, just to pack everything warm along with a bikini, so as you followed him up to the airport check in desk and spotted the sign for Reykjavik it all clicked into place. You sipped champagne on the flight whilst watching a movie together, sharing the headphones and spending every single second you could snuggled in against his side. Taron looked shattered and had been working non-stop for the past few weeks so when you felt the weight of his head rest against your shoulder you let him have his moment of peace. Knowing him he’d have scheduled in this nap, making up for the time he’d lose later to celebrating your anniversary in the best way possible.

The afternoon was spent lounging around in the Blue Lagoon, drinking cocktails, painting mud masks onto each other’s faces and sharing kisses as the sun set and fired up the sky into an orange, pink and purple display of wonder.

“This is just stunning,” you sighed as you relaxed back into Taron’s chest and felt his arms tighten around you beneath the water. “I wish we had longer here.”

“Me too. I was hoping we’d get to see the Northern Lights but when we’re only here for one night it lowers the chances a lot.”

“When’s the best time of day to spot it? Am I going to need to set an alarm for 4am so we can sit up by the window and wait just in case? That would be cute actually, just talking nonsense to each other, snuggled beneath a blanket whilst the world outside is quiet and still.”

“You talk enough nonsense as it is.” Taron placed a loving kiss to your neck. “Sometime between 11pm and 1am is apparently best.”

“We might get lucky then, but if not I’m more than happy with this view.” You turned around and looked straight into Taron’s eyes, feeling more loved-up than ever before. He placed his hand to your cheek as he pulled you in for a long and slow kiss.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” You grinned.

Later that evening, after a candle lit romantic dinner in a quiet restaurant and some drinks in a cocktail bar over the road, you decided to call it a day and head back to the accommodation Taron had booked for the night. It was a small log cabin nestled on the outer edge of a forest which overlooked the lake and glaciers beyond. It may have been simple, but it was peaceful, private and cosy. Taron lit a fire in the stove at the foot of the bed and you pulled two chairs over to the window and settled down beneath a blanket.

“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet tonight.” Taron asked softly as he sat down in the other chair.

“Yeah, I’m fine. All that alcohol and food has made me sleepy and it’s been a long day.”

“You’ve had a good time though?” He checked with a worried frown which soon disappeared when you smiled back to him and reached out for his hand.

“It’s honestly been one of my favourite days of my life, so thank you.”

“Mine too, even if the Northern Lights don’t appear.” A gentle kiss was left to the back of your hand as you turned your head to look back out of the window and up to the starry night sky.

“No sign of them yet, but we’ve got all night.”

“Maybe if I ask nicely and get a yes they’ll make this a night we’ll never forget for a very, very long time.” You felt his blanket land on your feet and got the best surprise when you turned back to see Taron down on one knee and waiting for you. He bit his lip nervously as he lifted the lid on the black box which was held gently between his thumb and fingertips.

“Taron!” You gasped in shock as you covered your open mouth with your hand.

“I can’t even comprehend the idea of spending the rest of my life with anyone other than you. There aren’t enough words to describe the love I feel for you, Y/N. You really are everything to me and I would love to have the honour of being able to call you my wife… if you’ll let me!” He flashed you the cheeky smile that had stolen your heart from the very first day you’d met, and you knew without a single doubt what your answer would be.

“Yes! Oh my god, yes!” You beamed back as you lowered your shaking left hand down and into Taron’s so he could slide your engagement ring onto your finger. It fit perfectly and for the first time you drew your eyes away from Taron’s face and down to admire the ring he’d chosen. “I love it, it’s perfect! You’re perfect! Come here.” You encouraged Taron up from his knee and let the blanket fall from your lap as you stood up to kiss him. It was a kiss you never wanted to end, but one which was broken by wide smiles and giggles of happiness.

“I think we should sack off the window watching for a bit and er… give the sparks in that fire a bit of competition.” Taron raised his eyebrows suggestively, knowing full well he wouldn’t get away with any more lines like that.  

“If you hadn’t just declared your love for me whilst down on one knee I’d have sent you back out in the snow to cool off…but,”

“But?” Taron moved in closer and caressed his hands from your waist down to your bum.

“But, seeing as I can call you my fiancé…” His eyes lit up at the word. “I can forgive you the cheese for one night.” You kissed him quickly and felt his lips back on yours immediately. The thick winter layers of clothing were discarded to the floor before Taron pulled back the covers on the bed and let you climb in first. “Hurry up, it’s freezing in here!”

“Wait, I’ve got a better idea.” You pulled your knees up to your chest as you struggled to keep your warmth, watching on as Taron yanked the covers off the end of the bed and folded them over on the floor right next to the stove, then collected the blankets to place over you both. “Bring the pillows and come down here, it’ll be a squeeze but I’m not going to want to let go of you all night anyway so it hardly matters.”

You threw a pillow over to Taron and then shuffled off the end of the bed, lying down straight into his arms and feeling the gentle warmth of the fire as it started to die down. The small flames were just visible over Taron’s shoulder, flicking tiny sparks up and crackling gently to set the idyllic mood for a newly engaged couple. You felt Taron’s finger lift your chin, angling your gaze away from the fire and back up to his face, the soft smile and warmth in his eyes mirroring your mood completely.

“This is so perfect it feels like a dream.” You spoke softly as you wrapped your leg up and over Taron’s.

“I know. I can see the flames reflecting back in your eyes and I can’t stop staring. You’re so beautiful.”  

“And I’m entirely yours.” Your lips connected softly, holding out and savouring the moment before you opened up and kissed Taron with more lust. His tongue danced back, kissing you lovingly and starting to slowly tease you as his hands caressed over your bare skin.

Before long he had lifted your leg higher up his body and slid into you gently. You moved as one, never letting go of each other as you made love beneath the blankets. Breathy moans danced past your ear and you kissed Taron back sweetly as he moved in you. The energy of the fire died down further but it was as though it was passing through Taron and into you with each circling thrust of his hips. The warmth built, the lust stronger than ever as you kissed Taron more passionately. His moans turned into groans and with each minute that flew by the power in his hips sharpened. You turned onto you back and pulled Taron with you, letting him take you from above. He didn’t have to up the pace much to bring you right up to the edge. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you came, moaning his name softly and trying to commit as much of the moment to memory as you possibly could. Taron followed shortly after, pulling out and letting himself release down onto your stomach before collapsing back beside you.

“We are not leaving here tomorrow until we’ve done that at least another 3 times.” He breathed heavily.

“Think I’ll bring the whole box of tissues back with me then!” You joked as you braved the cold night air to grab them from the table by the window. As you started to clean yourself up your spotted the green-blue glow in the sky that you’d been waiting for. “Taron, look! The Northern Lights!”

“No way!” He replied as you stepped to the side and pointed up out the window. Before you could find the words to describe how beautiful it was you felt Taron step in behind you and wrap himself and a blanket around your shoulders. “This is amazing.”

“I can’t get my head around how perfect this day has been.”

“It was meant to be. Written in the stars or something…”

“We should make it the theme for our wedding.” You thought aloud.

“Only if we can come back here for the honeymoon.”

“I’d love nothing more… who says wedding planning is stressful? That’s two things off the list already!”

“The rest can wait,” He placed a gentle kiss to your shoulder. “Let’s just enjoy right now. I’m so happy just taking in the view of the gorgeous sky and being in this moment with the love of my life.”

Hi! Can I request a Taron x Reader about him taking Y/N to a getaway to see the aurora borealis. A very romantic night which ends with them in a rustic cabin making love near the fireplace? Thank youuuuuuuu

@crazedcatcuddler @aynsleywalker @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @lovemarvelousfics @lovemelikeyou1997

#taron egerton #taron egerton imagine #taron imagine #taron egerton x reader #taron egerton fanfiction #taron smut

[ronyxfic]

Educating the Victim - Act VI, Chapter XXIV

Pairing: Yellow Pearl/Yellow Diamond, Rose Quartz/Pearl, Rose/Greg

Rating: Mature

Warnings/Tags: none for this chapter

CHAPTER 23: Stir Crazy

  In the middle of the night, Aurora’s phone rang.

It did so silently, without even the vibrations, the light barely enough to wake up anyone.

In due time, it stopped. Then, a few minutes later, it rung again. Again, to no avail.

Finally, a text.

Aurora, this is Azure. Marigold is in hospital. Please call me when you get this.

 Aurora awoke around half six that morning, and turned to face her phone. She noticed the text and glanced at the message overlayed on her lock screen.

Her throat seized, a deep, uncomfortable pit evolving in her belly. It took her a few reads to process before she picked up the phone and rang the number it had come from, her hand trembling.

 The line clicked.

"Aurora?" Azure's voice on the other side sounded like she had been crying.

 "Hey. It's been a while." Aurora heard her own voice crack, unable to control it. She felt as if her body were five feet away from her consciousness. Her phone barely registered in her hand.

Throat dry, she wasn't entirely sure what to even say. "I. I got your text."

 "Oh. Yeah." Azure swallowed. "Yeah. Marigold and Rose are both in hospital. I'm waiting to hear what actually happened... as far as I'm aware, they're both okay. I mean, going to be okay. But still..." She fell silent.

 Aurora consciously knew she should've breathed a sigh of relief, but the anxiety didn't leave. "I see. I'm glad to hear that they're... safe, at least. I didn't expect something to happen this soon..."

 "Me neither." Azure sighed. "I just... I wanted you to know. I know you and Marigold are close, and I felt you'd want to know of any developments. I'm sorry you had to wake up to this."

 "No, I'm glad. I'm glad told me. Thank you." Aurora still felt disassociated, her head spinning. "Are you alright?"

 "I'll be alright once they are home safe." Azure's voice hardened a little. "Are you? If you need any emotional support, I can let Blue know to look after you."

 "No, I know she's very busy these days." Aurora sighed, "I just want to hear Marigold's voice right now more than anything."

 “...I understand.” Azure sighed. “You can feel free to call her, though I don’t know if she’ll be awake or able to answer your call. She hasn’t answered mine, though that could be for a number of reasons.”

 Aurora slumped at this. "Oh. I see. I suppose I'll just have to wait. You'll keep me updated, won't you?"

 “Of course, Aurora. Are you doing okay... apart from all this?”

 "Yeah, yeah. Missing Marigold, but... yeah, I'm alright."

 “That’s good to hear. I’m sorry, again, for making you wake up to this.” Azure sighed again. “I’ll call you if there’s any developments.”

 "Alright, thank you. I hope you have a good day."

 “You too.”

And with that, Azure hung up.

 Aurora felt her cheeks become wet, and took a hitched breath as she placed her phone away. It was going to be a long day.

 It wasn’t until much later, less than an hour had passed, that Aurora’s phone rang again.

Marigold.

 Aurora had been watching a makeup tutorial video on how to cover up a blotchy red face when she felt the phone in her hand vibrate. The second she saw the name, she swiped.

She swiped the wrong way and hung up as her fingers twitched. "Fuck!"

 Marigold, thousands of miles away, stared at the phone. Had Aurora just hung up on her?

She couldn't bring herself to call again immediately.

 And so, Aurora did. "Come on, come on..." She nervously found her call log and returned the phone call.

 "Oh!" Marigold uttered a sound of surprise, and answered the phone. "Hello? Aurora?"

 "Marigold! Oh, God, your voice! Are you okay?"

 "Oh, Rori. You already heard?"

 "Azure messaged me. You should call her, too, if you haven't already. She sounded rough."

 Marigold fell silent for a long moment.

"I... don't know if I want to do that yet."

 "Oh. Well. What... what happened?"

 Again, silence. Then, Marigold cleared her throat.

"Rose and I did something incredibly stupid and we both got hurt. But it's okay, we will be out in a few days. I needed some stitches, but I'll be just fine soon enough."

 Aurora sat for a bit, mouth agape. "Did... did you find that woman? Did she do something to you?"

 "Yes. And sort of. Not really."

 "Can you... tell me what happened?"

 Marigold sighed. "I... can try," she said. "Basically, she's been seen at this casino. Rose got a little drunk over dinner and suggested we go check it out. Without any preparation or kit. And Roxy was there. Of course she was."

 "Oh. Oh gosh." Aurora found herself touching her face. "You're both safe?"

 "We're in hospital. She, uh, kind of shot at us."

 Aurora's blood ran cold. "She what?"

 Marigold belatedly realised how that sounded. "No! That didn't come out right. She didn't shoot at us, but a glass panel behind us. Like, she didn't mean to kill us, I'm sure."

 Aurora's expression shifted several times. "She did... what?" she repeated, processing.

 "She, uh. Shot at a window, instead of us. Well, a glass panel. Part of a fountain display, not going to lie, it was really corny and I hated it from the moment I walked in here. So, all in all, not a huge loss." Marigold laughed nervously.

 Aurora sat in silence for a bit. "She... you sounded like you knew you were going to be safe when you left."

 Marigold heard the tremble in Aurora’s voice. Her heart clenched. “Aurora... look, I didn’t quite know what was or wasn’t going to happen. I said what I thought would reassure you.”

 Aurora frowned. "So you... lied to me?"

 “No!” Marigold bristled at the accusation. “No. I just... maybe said some things that weren’t necessarily entirely true...” Oh. “Um.”

 Aurora closed her eyes, trying to control her tone. "It doesn't matter. You're safe, both of you? Can you come home?"

 “We’re safe, yeah. And... I don’t know.” Marigold grimaced. “I haven’t talked to Azure yet.”

 "You should. She deserves to hear that you're okay."

 There was only silence from the other end of the line.

 "Marigold... Your guilt is showing." Aurora teased, but her voice still sounded rough. "Please. It isn't safe. Come back."

 Marigold let a few seconds pass, then cleared her throat. “I... don’t know if I can do that,” she said. “I’ll have to... we’ll have to figure out how to go from here. Aurora... Rori, I’m so sorry.”

 Aurora sighed. "Figures. Oh well. Maybe a bad time to ask, but have you considered the statement the staff requested? About the homophobia?"

 “Oh.” Marigold had, in fact, entirely forgotten about that. “No, I haven’t. I’ll put it on my to do list.”

 "Please. If it's not too much. People are noticing your disappearance."

  There are so many good reasons to just throw the towel and go home.

“I’ll definitely give it some thought. I... will let you know what’s happening.” Marigold sighed. “I should get going now.”

 "Alright. I'll see you... later?"

 “Maybe.” Marigold felt like there were words stuck in her throat. “I... uh. See you around.”

 "Yeah. See you. I miss you a lot."

 Marigold hung up with a sigh.

It was getting light outside, and in the other bed in the dim hospital room, Rose finally stirred, slowly regaining consciousness.

 Marigold glanced to her side, distress enveloping her every time she gazed upon the cuts littering Rose. They both now sported a few stitches and tape, covering welts from the glass. "Hey, you waking up alright there?"

   Rose blinked, registering the unfamiliar room, the pain from her wounds, and Marigold’s voice.

She groaned. “Fuck. I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

 "It seems to be that way. Unless this is hell." Marigold chuckled bitterly. "We're both safe, just cosmetic damage. The doctors got most of the glass out while we were asleep."

 “Oh. Oh.” Rose got up slowly, rubbed her forehead. “Fuck. Roxy got away, didn’t she? Fuck. Marigold, what were we thinking?”

 "I'll be honest, I have no idea. That entire day is nearly blocked out of my mind," Marigold replied, quiet. Her fingers twirled. "Oh, I feel so embarrassed by all this. I've caused so much mess already, and now she knows we're tracking her, too."

 Rose sat up in her bed, thinking.

“You’ve already called Azure, right?”

 Marigold didn't reply. She only turned her head, slowly, grimacing and met Rose's eyes.

 Rose raised her eyebrows in utter disbelief.

“You haven’t? Marigold!”

 "Listen. I. I feel so much shame over all of this."

 Rose could only just stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Yeah, well, get over it. We fucked up, and now we have to confess to Azure. I would be surprised if she hadn’t already tried to get through to us.”

 Marigold laughed weakly, and held her phone up, showing it to Rose. "Read it and weep."

 Rose narrowed her eyes.

(5) Missed calls from Azure.

“Give me that.” She snatched Marigold’s phone out of her hands. “I’ll call her, then.”

 "Wait, no, hold on!" Marigold grabbed for it. "I'll do it. She'll think it's weird if it's you."

 “So do it, then.” Rose gave her her phone, along with a steely glare. “No more procrastinating.”

 Marigold dialled. "Alright. I can't believe I just faced a near death experience and you're making my strain myself. Rude and uncalled for."

 “Yeah, well, you’re not the only one. Get on it. And put it on speaker, will you?”

The phone rang, and for a long moment, it seemed like maybe Azure wasn’t going to answer after all.

But then the line clicked. “Marigold! Thank god, finally! Are you okay?”

 "Yes, I'm sorry it took so long to get a hold of us. Rose is here too, she's awake now, you're on speakerphone."

 “Rose! Thank god. Are you okay? Are you both okay? Are you traumatised? Are you hurt?”

 Marigold took a deep breath. "We had some damage. Roxy shot up this water feature, totally unnecessary, that was made out of glass and that's what hit us. We're both due to leave as soon as the police get done with investigating us. We might, um, need a lawyer, I don't think the, uh, casino is too pleased."

 Azure let out a groan. “Okay, well, I’ll get that sorted. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what happened? From the beginning.”

 "Alright, so. After the call with you, we got stressed out, so we went out for dinner. And then, um, one of us was a bit intoxicated and we thought it was a good idea to go to the casino."

 Azure was speechless for a moment.

“For clarification,” Rose piped up, “the intoxicated one was me. I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” Azure’s voice sounded a bit shaky. “Okay. You... did take your kit with you, right?”

 "Um. Well, you see. We intended only to go out for dinner." Marigold swallowed.

 “I... see.” Azure sighed. “So then what happened?”

 "And then... Um. The casino. Just happened."

 “Can you clarify?”

“We only wanted to scout it out,” Rose said. “We just wanted to have a look around. We didn’t expect her to be there. Except... she was.”

 "I mostly just wanted to leave,” Marigold said. “I can't remember much of it."

 “You were stuck at the slots for half an hour,” Rose threw in, glancing at Marigold.

 "I have a problem, okay?"

 “You told me you used to have a problem,” Rose said sharply.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough of that,” Azure interjected. “So then what happened?”

 "I can barely remember. The fire alarm went off at some point, though." Marigold rubbed at her forehead.

 Rose swallowed. “We spotted her, and tried to catch her out. But she created a disturbance... and she shot at us, and got away.”

 "I. It's not like that." Marigold waved her hands, "I don't think she wanted to shoot us directly. She looked scared."

 “She shot at you? Allah!” Azure sounded like she was about to faint. “Marigold, Rose, are you okay? You must be traumatised!”

 Marigold was quiet for a second. "She didn't shoot at us. Just in our direction. She didn't intend to kill us. She just wanted to run."

 Rose snorted. “Marigold still wants to believe the best in her. I’m not buying it. She aimed badly.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Azure said, “the point is that you could’ve gotten seriously injured – or worse! And it’s only through luck that you didn’t! What was I thinking, sending you both... you should come home.”

 "No!" Marigold exclaimed, shame bleeding into her voice. "That's not necessary. We came all this way and found her, I'm sure she was just terrified. I'm sure we can also figure this out. I owe it to Claire."

 Azure sighed. “Okay, if you’re that desperate to stay. What do you think, Rose?”

“Well,” Rose said, “we got so close this once. I still want to take her down. I’m sure we can do it. If... if we’re not stupid about it this time.”

 Marigold sighed in relief. It seemed the mission was still on. "I refuse to fail, Azure. You know that. Has there been any news or other sightings while we were out?"

 “No sightings. But the police aren’t best pleased, as I’m sure you can imagine. They want you out of their hair.” Azure sighed. “Whatever happens next, you need to lay low for a while.”

“Oh, and what’s the plan for that?”

 Marigold looked away. "Indeed. I refuse to stay here for much longer."

 "Well, you still have the rooms in the hotel. Stay there for now, and I'll figure something out," Azure said. "I have a few things planned - you'll actually meet my lawyer properly soon. You know, the one who brought you your kit?"

"She really doesn't want to be involved," Rose said, apprehensive.

"Yeah, but she has to be now. You're in some legal trouble from the casino, and she also needs to help you out with the language, and generally look after you a bit."

 "We don't need to be babysat just because we got shot towards." Marigold huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't want to feel like a liability like that."

 "I assure you, it isn't like that. Although, after the stunt you just pulled, I can see why you'd get that impression." Azure gave a dark chuckle. "She's my representative and will be acting as a third member of your party. She doesn't want to be involved, but she has personal stakes in this as well. You see, her and Marina are good friends."

 "Oh. It would explain why she didn't want to touch this." Marigold nodded, and then sighed again. "Alright. What's going to happen to us, then? I take it that plans have changed a little now that we've bumped into Roxy."

 "Just a little. I am not clear yet on the actual proceedings. You're not involved with Interpol anymore, at least for the moment. And I have half a mind to send you on a spa day, since you've gone through what sounds like quite a traumatic experience."

"You can't be serious," Rose said.

 Marigold gave a cheeky smirk. "Oh, I've not been to one in years. I couldn't imagine what the ones around here are like."

 "I am quite serious, Rose," Azure said. "There's one that has excellent reviews just down the road from your hotel - in the exact opposite direction of the casino. I might see if I can organise some counselling sessions as well for the two of you - you must be absolutely rattled."

 Marigold gritted her teeth. "That won't be necessary. There wasn't anything traumatic about bumping into an old friend."

 "I don't really think I want to even start processing any of this just yet," Rose said, her voice cold. "I function better when I'm firmly in denial. I'll do the breaking down and therapy bit when I'm back home, thank you very much."

"As you wish." Azure sighed again. "I'll leave you be for now. Zephyrine will be there in a few hours. Catch up with your folks at home if you want, get some rest, don't leave the room until you've heard from me or Zephyrine."

 "A few hours?" Marigold groaned. "Can either of you hurry it up and get us out of here fast? I don't like being all cooped up."

 "Well, deal with it. It's out of my hands. Don't do anything stupid."

"I mean, we did only just get here," Rose said. "I don't know what sort of injuries you've sustained, but I think I wouldn't mind being looked at by a doctor before I just up and leave."

"Yes, that too, of course," Azure said. "Well! I have to go now. Keep me in the loop - although I have other sources as well, and I'll know if you do anything."

 Marigold looked at the ground miserably. "Alright. We'll see you later, then. Or talk later, I guess. Miss you."

 “Miss you too. Well, bye for now.” The line clicked.

Rose sighed.

“Well, I guess we now know for sure that our little excursion to the casino was a terrible idea,” she said.

And then, she added, “I should call home. Don’t know whether Azure has let Greg or Pearl know about anything, but from the radio silence I’ve had, I’m guessing no.”

 Marigold stayed quiet for a second before nodding. "Alright. I might head to the bathroom and see if I can find anyone to let us out soon, it should give you some privacy."

 Rose gave her a wry smile. “Thank you,” she said.

She waited until Marigold had left the room, then took her phone and dialled Greg.

 Greg picked up after a tone. His voice sounded somewhat relieved. "Rose! Oh god, it's good to hear from ya! I thought you'd gone missing when you didn't check in. Having a good trip?"

 Rose swallowed.

“Well, I suppose so,” she said. “I guess the good news is that we found Roxy. ...the bad news is that we’re in hospital now, but only with some minor injuries. Expecting to be discharged later today.”

 Greg paused for a brief second. "Holy balls! How did you land yourself there? Are you okay?"

 “Yeah, we’re fine. It’s all just gotten...” Rose sighed, wishing she’d filled in Greg a little more before leaving. “A bit more complicated than expected,” she finally said. “I had hoped this would be over quickly, but I might be here for a while. Try not to worry too much, though – I’m sure it will all be okay.”

 "A-Alright, my love, I'll just uh, sit tight, I guess. Lemme know when you're out, alright?" He seemed to be trying to calm himself down more than her. "It's a shame I can't join you in all this dangerous magical destiny stuff. It sounds... exciting? Terrifying? Just... make it back okay, okay?"

 “Of course.” Rose smiled, her heart aching a little. Greg had such a sweet, unassuming way of dealing with things. “I’ll keep you in the loop. How’s everything going at home? Have you had the chance to bond with Pearl yet?”

 A weary sigh. "No. I think she's, uh, left me alone. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was actively avoiding me!" A little laugh, he wasn't taking it too badly, at least. "I'm sure she's bound to come round, I mean, she can't escape me forever, right? You know how teenage girls can get, I'll give her the space to come to me first. I still don't really know why she always seems to be... mad at me, but she's got to have more going on beneath the surface, so I can't judge."

 Rose’s shoulders slumped a little at that. It would be so, so lovely if Pearl and Greg could get on. But Pearl... even after all her growth, her therapy, her recovery, she still had so many complicated feelings. And Greg, well, poor Greg was certainly not going to be in Pearl’s good books, exactly.

“Give her time,” Rose said. “I’ll give her a call separately in a moment. She’s probably feeling awkward because of, well. Our history.”

 "I figured. Hey, it's okay, I think she just needs to find out that I'm not a threat. I just want to be friends, and I know my intentions are good. And she'll get that in her own time."

 Rose smiled. “You’re a good person, Greg,” she said. “I’m sure everything will work out.”

 "Me, too. I mean, at least with whatever's going on there you've got the security of knowing we're all safe over here and that it's not going to change."

 “Yeah,” Rose said softly. “Look after yourself, okay? I should go. It’s nice to hear your voice, though.”

 "Yeah. Same here. Do keep Pearl updated too, unless ya want me to...?" He seemed awkward about the idea as his voice trailed off.

 "No, that's okay, I'll call her myself. I know it's a bit awkward at the moment, so I'll handle it." Rose's voice was warm. "I need to go now. I love you."

 "Love ya. All the best to the rest of your mission," Greg replied before hanging up, leaving Rose in her silence.

 Rose stared at her phone for a little while, then gave a small sigh.

Marigold hadn't returned yet. Rose found Pearl's number in her contacts and dialled.

 Pearl picked up after a couple of rings. "Hi! Are you okay? Rori sent me a couple of weird texts about you."

 "Oh. Did she now? Well, yeah. I'm okay. We... got injured, and we're in hospital, but nothing is serious and we're leaving this afternoon."

 Pearl gave a little gasp. "Oh! I mean... I'm glad you're getting out soon. Can you tell me what happened, or?"

 Rose hesitated. "I'd rather not go into too much detail," she said, "but I'm sure you can gather that we found Roxy, and it wasn't exactly a happy reunion."

 "Oh. God. Honestly, I'm glad I've never met this woman and probably never will. She sounds like the epitome of bad news."

 "Yeah, she kind of is." Rose sighed. "How's everything going at home?"

 "Ugh. Awkward, to be honest. Your Greg seems to enjoy trying to breathe down my neck."

 "Is he doing that?" Rose frowned. "I talked to him earlier, and he just seemed to be keen to get to know you. He likes making friends, and he's curious about you."

 "I'm good," Pearl replied through gritted teeth. "I think I'm more comfortable with it all when you're around to mediate."

 "There isn't much to mediate, is there?" Rose said gently. "He's not done anything to warrant that and neither have you, or is there something I don't know about?"

 "No, no, nothing like that." Pearl seemed a little flustered. "I don't think you'll quite get my frustration since you're infatuated with him. But I'm fine just sort of doing my own thing and cohabiting this place without really being close if that's okay."

 "Well, you're living with him now, and it's nice and civil to talk to the people you're living with," Rose said. "You could at least give him a chance."

 "Fine." Pearl paused for a second before giving a slight yelp down the phone line.

 Rose started. "You okay there?"

 "I don't need this Stranger Things bullshit!" Pearl yelled away from the phone microphone. She gave an annoyed sigh. "The lights have been a bit dodgy, that's the worst flickering we've had yet, though."

 Rose frowned. "That doesn't sound good," she said. "Don't get eaten by a demogorgon. ...and call me if it gets worse. It's my house, after all."

 "Yeah, I will. Whereabouts would I need to go to check it? Ah, whatever, Greg will have it covered, right?"

 "The fuse box is downstairs, near the boiler. I showed Greg the other day, it should be okay." Hopefully.

 "Alright. I'll try to chill about it. Oh yeah, my last exam is next week. Then it's all over! I'm free!"

 "Yeah! Do you feel prepared?"

 "As I'll ever be." Pearl revealed more with a nervous laugh. "Oh, that reminds me, I'll need to call Amy about it. God knows if she's even aware that it's on."

 "How's she been doing?" Rose asked. "Have you been able to help her a bit?"

 "English isn't really my strong suit, so I'm kind of trying to look out for myself first on this one. She's better at it than me but you know how Amy gets about exams."

 "Hmm, that's fair enough." Rose sighed. "I feel bad for leaving in the middle of exam season. There's students who might need my help."

 "The biology papers passed before you left, Rose. I can ask around and see if I can tutor students in the year below, though."

 "I would appreciate that. There's some younger years that have their exams later on."

 "Oh god, yeah. I think I can pull out my old notes for it." Pearl replied. "They're at home, though. Yikes."

 "Oh. Not ideal, I understand." Rose frowned. "Actually, I use the spare bedroom as a study too sometimes, so there should be some books and worksheets there that might help you out."

 "Oh! Now that's true, I'll see if anyone's around at school and if they're interested." Pearl replied. "Any other news on your end? Still can't believe you're out there with Diamond of all people."

"I know, right?" Rose cast a glance at the door, waiting for Marigold to come back. "But yeah, that is petty much it. Had a bit of a rough time the night we got here, but it worked out okay."

 "Do you think you'll be able to give me all the scoop later? When you come back?" Pearl asked cheekily.

 Rose gave a small chuckle. “Of course,” she said. “I think Marigold has a similar sort of arrangement with Aurora. We just shouldn’t talk too much about what’s going on at the moment, cus it’s a matter of international security. Or something.”

 "Oh, oof. That sounds like an adventure already. Does Diamond snore? Are you sharing a bed? How much milk does she put in her coffee?"

 "Pearl!" Rose said, laughing. "We have separate rooms, and I'm sure your sister could answer those questions better than me."

 "Oh." Pearl stuttered, surprised. "Very true. Do you have any idea when you'll be back yet?"

 Rose hesitated.

"I'm not sure," she said. "Soon, I hope."

 "Me too. It's weird without you. Going into school feels so... oddly empty now."

 "I didn't realise you were still going into school a lot. Are you going to a lot of revision sessions?"

 "Only for exams. Sometimes I pass by when I'm out. I can't believe I'll be gone soon. I wonder if we're gonna hang out after I go to uni."

 "Well, if you want to, then my door will always be open to you. And you have my number." Rose paused for a long moment. "And... I won't be your teacher anymore."

 Pearl didn't reply for a bit.  "That'll be strange. Will I turn into... a friend, instead of your pupil? Is that how it works? Is it even appropriate?"

 Rose couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, Pearl. As if we haven’t passed that point a long time ago.”

 "No, but it's weird! I-"

The door swung open and Marigold triumphantly made her entrance. "I managed to complain to the manager of this place and get us out!"

   “Oh, god. Hang on a second, Pearl.” Rose dropped her hand holding the phone and stared at Marigold. “I thought we were leaving that up to Azure.”

 "Azure isn't being quick enough. I'm going stir crazy." Marigold huffed before stepping back. "Oh! You're on the phone."

 “Yeah. Sorry. Gimme two seconds.” Rose put the phone to her ear again. “Pearl? Sorry about that. I should probably go now.”

 "I heard. I hope you can enjoy even some of this trip. I've always wanted to go to Italy. Anyway! I'll see you later, okay?"

 “Yeah! Good luck with your exams, and let me know how tutoring goes if you decide to do it! It was nice to talk to you.”

 "Yeah, sure!" Pearl's voice turned sombre. "I can't wait to see you again. Bye!"

 Rose hung up the phone and then looked at Marigold.

"Alright," she said, "let's get out of here, then."

#steven universe #su fanfic #su rose quartz #su yellow diamond #su yellow pearl #su pearl #su blue diamond #su human au #educating the victim #etv act 6 #illustrated #sfw

[tomerasange]

Chapter 3: The Town of Rumors

On route to Phandilan, Sildar began to relay the situation at hand. He believed Gundren was the target of the goblin ambush for an item of great importance he had on his person. Gundren held in his possession a parchment that contained the location of Wave Echo Cave, a rich mineral deposit and mana source, sealed off for hundreds of years. The humble town of Phandilan was actually built on the ruins of a town bearing the same name, and this town held major significance in the trade routes. However, orc raiders from the North led on by wizards of malicious intent brought dire consequence to the town, and in effect erased it from history. Only an alliance of dwarves, gnomes, and humans came together to fight off the bandits, and in the ensuing battle Wave Echo Cave was cut off from the outside world. It is unclear if anyone survived, but by some small miracle, Gundren Rockseeker and his two brothers, Nundro and Tharden, had found the entrance recently and were en route to begin the retrieval process. As for the map’s current whereabouts, Sildar believed it to be in the possession of a bugbear who lead the goblin patrol.

We neared the town of Phandilan, whose circumference was so minuscule for an outpost, it could fit within some properties found in Neverwinter’s Upper Districts. Such was the inevitability of my tour, that I would eventually come upon a locale so insignificant. Yet, it was a rest, and I greeted the buildings of the outposts with open and tired arms.

We first held at Barthen’s Provisions, the wagon depot of Phandilan. As Noah parked the vehicle, two young men (no doubt employees) came to greet us and take the wagon safely inside. We took our opportunity to collect our payment from the foreman. A fair wage for wagon delivery. Noah and Snafu decided to stay behind and confirm the safety of the delivery, while Aurora, Urnig, and I took the liberty of preparing for the day that lay in wait. Sildar, for his part, found lodgings at a local tavern called the Stonehill Inn. One of the gentlemen at Barthen’s suggested the Lionshield Company Coster, a local outpost that dealt not only with the Neverwinter<-->Phandilan route, but rather a network of merchants and adventurers for the continent.

We made our way to the coster, emblazoned with a mighty blue lion insignia, and stepped inside the building. The store held a mighty assortment of bits and bobs, various trinkets and tools, as well as several vicious implements of war. From behind the counter, a dwarf woman approached us. “Ah, trravelers! Welcome to the Lionshield Company. What can I do ye far?” Aurora stepped forward and began a chat. “We’re preparing to enter into a rather sticky business - goblin outpost just outside of town - and was wondering what you had in stock.” “Goblins, ye say?” “Quite. We just returned with a supply wagon and rescued Sildar, but believe Gundren to still be in the clutches of the goblins.” “Gundren’s been taken? ‘E’s a good man, so bring him back as best ye can. Come to think of it, I might have a proposition for ye. Shipment of mine never made it to town. If ye find it and bring it back, I can pay ye 50 gold.”

Urnig stepped towards the counter. “Surely the retrieval of this shipment can be aided by your wares. Perhaps a discount for whatever we require.” I slid next to him, no fully aware of his tactic. “Urnig, I like the cut of your jib.” The dwarf woman narrowed her eyes but acquiesced. “A small discount now and a small discount later.” I beamed with a sense of achievement. “Ma’am, we are dearly thankful for this. You shall not regret it. Please, what is your name, dear.” She said with a knowing yet clearly tired voice “It’s Lineen. Anything else I can do ye far?” “I would like to refill my quiver if possible.” “That’ll be 10 gold.”

I paid her in full and was given ten freshly hewn arrows for future application. As the sun began to fade into the horizon, I took this opportunity to head into the town square to hear the latest gossip.

It should be noted my desire to listen in on conversation does not come from a place of malice. Perish the though I start a rumor with ill intent. Rather, it likely came from my time in the Silverymoon gala scene. I so desired to be the center of attention, but my older siblings were always one step ahead. It was always their achievements, tales of travel, and courting that lead our family to such high esteem in the courts of royalty across the continent, while my achievements in the arena seemed paltry. So, in strategic fashion, I kept my stride and listened to every parcel of talk to bring into later conversation. By my siblings, of which I bear no ill will towards, I became a diplomat of the social miasma.

The open air and market atmosphere gave a lift to my spirits, having spent the better half of the day in a dank and vile den, and I kept one ear low to the ground, one ear high in the air to listen in. Invariably, the merchants were discussing the news about town, the daily logs of purchases, the latest health inquisitions. One anecdote did catch my ear, and certainly allowed me to pause.

Earlier in the week, a local woodcarver named Thel Dendrar was in his shop when bandits roamed into his shop. The town had been seeing these individuals for four fortnights, and were being harassed at every level. One of the fellows that day began to antagonize the woodcarver’s wife and children. Thel, sickened by and tired of their actions, stood up to them. For his valor, the cowards cut him down where he stood. His corpse, wife, and children were abducted by the criminals in full view of several townspeople, kowtowed into mandatory pacifism. The town had since not seen respite from their behaviors, and there was very little they could do.

As if by chance, two men entered into the marketplace wearing garments and cloaks of a sinister red. As I watched from afar, hand on my blade’s hilt, they walked towards a fruit stand and greeted a couple selling their merchandise. The eyes of the man and woman betrayed worry, but no bloodshed was evident. Suddenly, one of the bandits proceeded to knock pieces of the produce over, sending the merchants in a spell. It took all in my power to hold my tongue, as I had still yet to recover from the wolf attack and was only one man in the marketplace. If I was to not meet the same fate as Thel, their justice would have to wait another day.

I returned to my compatriots and we set a course to the Stonehill Inn. Our initial presence upon entry was met with stares (naturally, an Air Genasi, Spellscale, and Aasimar wandering into a frontier town tavern will draw some attention), but  their business was held elsewhere. We sat at the bar alongside a now healed and refreshed Sildar. His person looked much better, and despite not in full regalia, you could tell this middle-aged man was a feature in local lore. His frame bespoke of long days on the trail, mirroring the many heroes of novels as a child. To me, he was what I truly desired as a person. A mantle of renown and a culture of earned respect.

After he purchased a small meal, he further explained an issue he became aware of before leaving Neverwinter. One of his points of contact, a wizard by the name of Iarno Albreck, had come to Phandilan to institute a permanent state of order alongside the town guard. Sildar claims before escorting the wagon, he made several attempts at correspondence towards Iarno only to find no reply. Iarno had walked into the town of Phandilan merely two months prior and had disappeared. This town had further compounded itself into a state of small matters but massive implications.

As our minds reeled from this, our party of three ordered a humble dinner of stew and beer (I, for the record, do not drink a spirit such as beer, yet I found at the present time it was hearty, and it prevented a long night of regretful choices with stronger spirits). Over the tables of many still discussing the day’s events, three matters of information came to pass via overhearing their words.

A religious sister named Sister Garaele of the local temple had returned from an expedition with injuries, exhausted and downtrodden.

The Triboar Trail had been taken again by orc raiders, and the towns master was looking for individuals to clear the path.

A young halfling found a secret entrance in the woods that led towards an old homestead called Tresendar Manor, where Iarno was last seen.

I spoke with the barmaid in turn. “Excuse me, madam.” I turned over my shoulder with careful glances, and said “What can you tell me of these red cloak wearing fellows in town?” “The Redbrands? Nasty sort. They came in two months ago and started causing a ruckus. The town’s been too scared to move.

As our meals arrived, I paid with a gold piece and was returned several silver and a coin I actually did not recognize. It was ruddy and simple, and when I sniffed at it, it reeked of metallic sanguine. Perhaps a local currency? I deduced it was closest to copper, only to see my fellow travelers receive similar pieces. So this was simply a coin of lesser value in circulation I had never come into contact with in my days as a nobleman. How the aspects and circumstances of one’s birth obfuscate and blind.

As I finished my meal, Sildar addressed me. “Tomera Sange, yes?” “Indeed, that is my name.” “I have a proposition, young man. It seems in recruiting you for this task of transportation, I came into the knowledge you’re a nobleman from Silverymoon. Quite a way from home, are you not?” “I do suppose so. I am currently taking my tour of the continent before my inevitable debut in the aristocracy.” “Well, there was an offer I had that you should consider. I’m looking for a gentleman such as yourself for this position, and you handled the goblins quite well, and looked after my wellbeing in the heat of the moment. Should you complete this task I have set before you in clearing out these goblins, I would consider an invitation to the Lord’s Alliance in order.” The Lord’s Alliance! That might gathering of noblemen who sought to protect those in need and aid in the expansion of unity on the continent! This was an opening, a chance to instill a level of autonomous behavior! Ha ha!

With great reverence, I stood and bowed before SIldar, fervently exclaiming,��“Sir, a thousand thanks. I shall accept your offer in stride, and uphold you expectations.” “Good man. Well, must be off to bed. Long day ahead tomorrow,” and he left in measure.

As I retired to my room, I felt an energy in the air. Perhaps indeed my life was ready to begin again. Still, I could not shake the fact that i was going back into the goblin den. A mixture of quiet unknown and swirling anticipation was the emotion I took to bed.

#dnd #air genasi #fighter #dnd log #story #tomera #dungeons and dragons #chapter 3 #lost mine of phandelver

[cromulentbookreview]

Externally Screaming

Every now and again I come across a book I like so much I can't really express how I feel about it with words, just unintelligible fangirl squealing.

Aurora Rising is one of those books.

Seriously, the whole time with this book I was just

Sometimes, I will start reading a book and find I literally cannot stop. Other times I will force myself not to - to pace myself, rather than binge-read because I know that as soon as I’m done reading it, it’ll be well over a year until the next book. I am in general a slow reader, and for the most part it’s unintentional - I’m easily distracted, my attention span is shot, I work full time, have other shit to do, etc. - so when I tell myself “no, only a few chapters today, otherwise it’ll all be gone and then you’ll have nothing. NOTHING!” It’s kind of a big deal.

(Sorry, can’t not use a Ron Burgundy gif there).

I should preface my fangirling by mentioning that I am a massive fan of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s last trilogy, The Illuminae Files, which if you haven’t read it, stop everything, go read it, I will wait right here.

Oh my God those books are so good, right? I mean, nothing makes my librarian brain happier than stories that are told entirely through documents. Aurora Rising is a more traditional narrative told from multiple POVs, but we do get the occasional “fun fact” in-between chapters. 

Behold! The jacket copy:

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm

A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates

A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder

An alien warrior with anger management issues

A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy. They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

If you think “that sounds awesome” you’d be right. It is awesome. Poor Tyler Jones - he is indeed a golden boy of the Aurora Academy, but the night before the draft - the event where leader-types like him get to pick who will be in their squad with the Aurora Legion - Tyler, unable to sleep, decides to log some time in the Fold. Now, the Fold is, of course, the folds in space-time that allow for super-fun-and-quick space travel. So... a wormhole. Anyway, whilst cruising around the Fold, Tyler picks up a distress signal from a ship that famously disappeared two hundred years prior. On the ship he discovers a bunch of people dead in their cryopods. Only one is still alive: a girl with a white stripe in her hair. Tyler barely manages to rescue the girl and get back to his ship before a Foldstorm hits. 

One problem, though: while he was being Heroic McHeroface, Tyler missed the draft. He, the Academy’s #1 Golden boy didn’t get to pick the cream of the crop. Nope, he’s stuck with the population of the Island of Misfit Toys. 

His twin sister Scarlett sticks with him, though. So does his childhood best friend and expert pilot, Cat. The rest of the crew...well... There’s Zila, who is brilliant but not good with people.

She’s now the squad’s Brain - the Science Division type who also serves as the ship’s doctor. Yikes.

There’s Finian, a snarktastic tech genius Betraskan (a humanoid alien spices with super pale skin) who relies on an exosuit in order to move around. He’s the squad’s Gearhead.

And there’s Kal, a Syldrathi - another humanoid alien, only these look like elves from Lord of the Rings. Lots of Legolas references thrown around. Kal comes from a specific warrior cabal and has a reputation for getting into fights for funsies. He’s the Tank - the squad muscle / enforcer / bodyguard-type person. 

And of course, at first sight they all can’t stand each other. But they’re stuck together as Squad 312, so essentially, they have no choice. Hurray?

And if you’re wondering “but what about the girl with the white stripe in her hair?” - don’t worry, I’m getting there. Her name is Aurora Jae-Lin O’Malley, aka Auri. 200 years ago, she was living on a dying Earth, preparing to make the journey into space to the colony-planet of Octavia. She goes into cryosleep and promptly wakes up two hundred years too late, with the Aurora Academy, and no one has ever heard of Octavia. Plus, there’s something wrong with Auri - two hundred years in the Fold will mess with your brain a bit, but it doesn’t explain why she’s got one white eye, why she can move objects with her mind, and why she starts seeing visions of the future. At first, it looks like the Aurora Academy is going to send Auri back to Earth, but instead she ends up stowing away...with Squad 312, our favorite ragtag bunch of misfits.

Only it very quickly becomes evident that the powers at be want Auri, and they’re willing to kill anyone she comes into contact with. So Auri and Squad 312 end up on the run, and they’re all forced to work together in order to solve the mystery behind Auri’s strange powers. It all seems to have something to do with Octavia: why did the colony get wiped off the map? What happened to the people there? What happened to Auri in the Fold? 

Aurora Rising is the first in a planned trilogy, so, of course, we don’t get all the answers right away. There are enough answers to keep us from getting too pissed off, but enough unanswered questions to keep us on our toes waiting for the next book. And holy crap, I cannot wait for the next book. Aurora Rising starts out exciting and just continues to be exciting until the very last page (OK, maybe not the literal last page, those tend to be blank or just have information about the publisher on them, but you get my point). My one big complaint is that the one character I really wanted to get to know - Zila - gets the least amount of time in the limelight. Chapters narrated by her are mostly only a few sentences long - I know this is supposed to illustrate her blunt manner, but I was really looking forward to learning everything about what made her so peculiar. She does get a longer chapter later in the book, but we don’t learn all her secrets. And, I mean, come on, I wanted to know more about Zila, damn it! The rest of the characters are cool, though Tyler is a bit too much the bland leader-type and I had a hard time believing that Scarlett could be 18 and have over fifty ex-boyfriends (maybe they were just hookups and she just refers to them as boyfriends?). Finian’s chapters are fantastic because he is the group’s deadpan snarker - whenever things get intense, Fin’s ready to throw in some much-needed comic relief. Auri’s POV is by far the most compelling, though that may just be my own personal bias talking, because the Fish Out of Temporal Water is one of my favorite tropes ever...but it’s from Auri’s POV that we get all the Legolas references directed at Kal, and it’s just delightful. 

gard...gard...gard...gard...

In essence: I needed books 2 and 3 of the Aurora Cycle sometime yesterday, please. I need full chapters dedicated entirely to Zila and her history - she’s the one member of Squad 312 we know the least about by the end of Aurora Rising, and I want to know more! Maybe because she strikes me as a fellow girl on the spectrum and I desperately want to see more accurate depictions of autism in girls, something that doesn’t just depict us as straight-up psychopaths. We’re not, we’re really not. Our brains just work differently, OK? Stop judging Zila you guys, gah!

Anyway. I fricking loved this book, from beginning to end. Am I biased because I loved The Illuminae Files and think Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are both fantastic writers? Yeah, probably. But, once again, I must direct you to the title of this stupid little tumblr blog. I promise cromulent reviews, not good or unbiased ones. Still - if any of what I described above sounds appealing to you, then you’re going to want to read Aurora Rising. And even if you’re still on the fence, read it anyway because some rando on a dying social media platform told you to. 

RECOMMENDED FOR: fans of YA sci-fi, fans of fiction featuring a ragtag bunch of misfits, anyone looking for an exciting YA cross between Guardians of the Galaxy and The Expanse.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone not a fan of YA, sci-fi, misfits, fun, excitement, joy...

RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019 (Illuminae fans: check out Jay Kristoff’s website for details on how to get a free printed Illuminae novella with a pre-order of Aurora Rising!)

RATING: 5/5

TOTALLY UNBIASED FANGIRL RATING: 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000/5.

ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR SEQUELS: Olympus Mons

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY RATING:

MY FACE WHEN I REALIZED I’LL HAVE TO WAIT A GOOD LONG WHILE FOR THE NEXT BOOK:

#aurora rising #amie kaufman #jay kristoff #ya sci fi #aurora legion #squad 312 #young adult science fiction #book review #aurora cycle #sequel please #i need it #best books 2019 #science fiction #band of misfits #tyler jones #scarlett jones #zila madran #cat brannock #aurora jae-lin o'malley #auri #finian de karran de seel #kaliis idraban gilwraeth #ragtag bunch of misfits #fish out of temporal water #legolas #guardians of the galaxy