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lady-ashfade · 3 months

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A Love Watered By Blood

Part one.

Enemies to lovers- Percy Jackson x Fem!Reader.

-£ Plot: No matter how much the two tried peace was never a option. Always insults, and never compliments. it was the middle of the school year, and a new adventure started. Could they be civil when the time comes. Or will the war between them get in the way.

-£words: 3k words.

-£Previous // Next (coming soon)

-£Warning: Fighting, Cursing, Blood, Death, Seeing horrible things, Angsty, happy ending, slow updates, New god, Percy being rude, enemies to lovers, New plot, Slight slow burn

“So,” the trio looked at the restaurant that glowed yellow, a old dinner style with big windows. it screamed 80s movie scene. they could smell the freshly made food coming from inside the diner, making their mouths water.

“This is the best day of my life.” Percy smirked as he looked into the window for the girl they had been searching for. the two beside him just looked at each other with a knowing look, that this was going to be a long couple of weeks.

“Percy,” Grover spoke and leaned his arm on his shorter friend, “don’t be rude. we need her to come along with us and we can’t stand you both fighting this whole trip.” annabeth nodded along and rubbed her forehead thinking of how the two argued often at every chance they got.

Percy looked between the two of his friends and rolled his eyes, “I’m not mean. She’s just rude and I have to defend myself, come on.” He pointed to the dinner, “How can she of all people be a waitress? She has the shortest temper.” they ignored him and walked passed him and into the diner. he let out a groan and followed behind them but his smirk returned quickly.

once they sat at a booth they waited for you to come out or see you. your mother said you were working here tonight. another girl was across from them on the other side helping a elderly couple. “she’s probably in the back.” Grover looked at the kitchen door waiting for you to pop out. annabeth looked at the menu to pass the time, plus she was hungry.

things were quite for a few minutes, them sometimes glancingaround. they couldn’t be patient even if their lives depended on it. Grover was getting hunger by the second that he could almost eat the counter underneath his hands. anything really.

they heard shouting from the kitchen and then the door swing open, a girl stepped out with a old waitress style outfit and her hair pushed out of her face. the group looked and found the girl they had come to see.

percy smirked and got too proud of himself when he spotted you, knowing you would hate him being here. when you looked over to see them your face dropped and your body froze for a minute, then you rolled your eyes and got out your notebook and marched towards them.

they see you throw on the fakest smile and suck your teeth before speaking, “Welcome to The Country Diner, what can I get started for you today?” the fake preppy voice made their ears scratch. you hated how he was looking at you. that same wide smile made you want to grab his neck and wait till he stops breathing.

“Oh, look at that! Our waitress is here,” percy cleared his voice and grabbed his menu, “I really just love that outfit, don’t you guys?” the two glared at him. annabeth kicked him under the table and gave him a warning look.

of course, percy didn’t judge against waitress because his mother was once on. but he knew that you’d never wanted to be caught wearing the outfit.

“y/n, it’s so good to see you.” You look at the satyr you’ve known for a long time. his hair grown longer and bushier, and his face more grown and facial hair started to grow. “hello Grover.” that was genuine. You nodded to annebeth before looking down at the notepad.

“Tell me what you want.”

“We want you to come along with us on a new quest.” she saw your eyes perk up and take a minute to register. huffing you look around you, the other girl who worked with was now out of sight and no manager around.

“And, why me? There is already three of you.” you raised a brow. the three looked at each other wondering who was going to tell you. grover shifted in his seat and slapped his hands on his legs.

“We need you on this quest,” you look at him with your head titled.

“Look, I can’t really take any quests at the moment. I have this test that effects half of my grade, I have money to make-” your voice was cutter off by the satyr. “It’s about your father!” His voice loud and made the couple on the other side turn their heads at the shouting.

shifting your weight you sit on the empty spot in the booth, and unfortunately it was next to Percy but you didn’t care at the moment. “my father would have said something.”

“he wasn’t allowed. you know how he is, I mean you must have felt something?” your eyes found the table as your thoughts brought up the memories of the past few days. your dreams were more vague and darker then normal, each night you saw at least three different people in hard problem. and each night you woke up drench in sweat and tears. you saw everything from their eyes.

he looked at you and at how you were deep in thought, making his theory correct. “what have you been seeing?” You shifted uncomfortably in the booth. looking to the side you check for any of the workers in case. sighing you open up,

“it’s been getting worse, I have at least five a night.” annabeth and grover nod while percy looks confused at what you are saying, he never listened to you or asked.

“then you know somethings wrong,” he leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “The Episkopos has been stolen.”

they watch you freeze again and your eyes start to glare, mind running. “when?” You ask. Annabeth perked up and took over the conversation from Grover.

“A week ago.” You nod your head and place your hand on the edge of the table and slide out from the table. Percy’s eyes glares in confusion, “Where are you going?” looking back at him you give him a death stare.

“You think I want to go on a quest in this outfit? Or without anything?” Crossing your eyes. “Not all of us want to look like they put no effort in.”

“Clearly, I mean look at you.” he snapped back.

Grover sat up quietly and took you by the shoulders before you had the chance tackle him. And you have before. Pulling you to the side he hears you mumbling angrily and fight back against his hold. Once he gets to the end of the counter Grover lets you go and carefully, but ready to hold you if he needs to again.

“We need to leave soon. You know how powerful your fathers mirror is, I’m afraid of what someone might do with it.” The look in his eyes brought you back to reality. you hum and relax you tensed body. “If they are smart enough to use it.” You shrug at the thought of the thief. you pat his shoulder and give him a small smile before walking away to the kitchen door and wondering how in the hell you’re going to get out of working.

“So remind me, what exactly do you “see” when you sleep?” percys asks out loud as his fingers trace the posters on the wall. “you being wiped from experience.” the girl smirks as she places some clothes in a book bag. the boy laughed sarcastically and looks back at her.

“That’s funny, I’d like to say the same thing but you don’t even exist in mine.”

their friends sit on the bed watching the two throw insults knowing that this was what the whole trip would be like. “Can we just stop fighting? You two are so annoying.” annabeth looks at a magazine in her hands bored. “It would save a lot of time.” The satyr agrees with his friend.

“She started it this time.” Percy pointed his finger and then turn his head back around to snoop around your things.

“If you must know, beach boy, I’ve been seeing many things. Oh yes, like death of loved ones, some receiving horrible news, or maybe you want to hear of how I watch someone take their final breaths from their own eyes?” the girl faked beaming with happiness as she put on a happy face. maybe that was mean but he was asking for it. she didn’t want to talk about the things she was cursed in seeing.

the boy turned fully with all the sarcasm and sass leaving his body as he leaned against the dresser. “sorry.” the girl replied with a huffed and continued to stuff her bag full of stuff. a few bills she had been saving under her mattress and anything she thought she’d need.

now Percy hated her to the ends of the earth. everything about her made him annoyed. her breathing. the way she’d tease him. how she looked. how her voice sounded. no one hated her more then him. but seeing all that- he’d never wish that on her or anyone, not even the worst monster.

the room around them looks like a slight punk. posters of bands all over the walls, a few messy clothes laying around and jewelry spread around. a big mirror hung above the dresser with pictures stuck to it, mostly taken in camp.

“okay, after that lovely piece of information we should talk about what we should do.” Grover clapped his hands together once more and looked at each of them.

“The oracle says to go to the temple of the unknown,” Percy steps closer and looked at y/n. “Do you know?”

“It’s called the temple of the unknown for a reason.” She taunted him again and zipped up the bag.

“Well, as his daughter I thought you would know.” He stepped closer to her direction.

“Do you know everything about your dad?” she asked and waits for a moment. he goes to answer but he stops himself because he didn’t. “Exactly.”

the boy when to fight with her but he only made noises and then backed off with his hands flying in the air. he couldn’t do this, she was too much. y/n smiled softly in victory and threw the black bag over her shoulders, “I think I might know something but I’m not for sure..”

the three are now looking at her, “Even when I’m dreaming I knew exactly where I am. The last place I saw was a park in Minnesota, but every place i saw was almost like a road map. I think we should follow it.”

they look at each other to conform. they nod and stay up, “at least we have a plan.”

and it was a really shitty plan.

you stayed in that small town because of the waste of mortals. or in the diner that smelled of food that over powered your scent. now three demi gods and a satyr traveled together, a death wish just waiting to happen.

being a demigod always makes things so much harder.

The group didn’t even make it half way across the state without being attacked by a monster. and usually you could handle it but you had walked into a town filled with them. a nest of some sort.

you had to relay on fleeing and try not to get seen, and for annabeth it was easy. however, you and Percy found it hard when he kept bumping into you. you whispered at him to stop a little too loud, and he glared and whispered(yell) back. and they could only tell you both to stop a few times because you both could you guys caught.

“What is your problem?” Percy yelled at you after you guys finally got away, having to fight some monster and all of you getting a few scratches.and bruises. “Me? What about you. How clumsy can you be to run into me ten times? is your scull just filled with water?” You flicked his head and he hissed in slight pain.

“because you kept stopping for no reason, I had no choice. it was your fault we got caught.” his fingers pointed at you.

“Me? you are the one who squealed when you stumbled back, that was one hundred percent your fault.”

his mouth handing open as his eyes went up and his face turned angrily amused. “sometimes I can’t believe how stupid you sound sometimes. do tell, who trip and made us almost get eaten?”

you had been running away and your foot bent slightly and causing you to slipped, you put your hands out to try and stop yourself. percy was the closest one to you so he helped you up and made sure to get you in front of him in case that happened again. no matter how much he wanted to leave you. he wasn’t that kind of person.

“okay, really? it wasn’t my fault the ground was slippery. we would have more time if you hadn’t-” the yelling of the two drowned out to Grover as he covers his ears and blocked them out.

can’t they just say quite for a day?

“It’s both your faults! both of you did things wrong, and your yelling isn’t helping.” the boy shouted and pulled them both apart.

“please, just shut up! If you don’t have anything nice to say then not speak.” the two looked at him surprised. he didn’t usually do this but only when he got really angry or annoyed.

y/n looked away and kicked a rock on the ground, “sorry.” She mumbled quietly. percy did the same thing, “whatever.” he walked away from them both to cool himself off. he didn’t understand how she could always mess up and get under his skin, it’s like she was made just to annoy him.

after that the group barely spoke to each other. they traveled for a few hours until sundown and looked for a place to stay. luckily, they found a old house that was newly abandoned. when they set up the sleeping area y/n walked out, saying she would keep a eye out for any monsters. they all could see how shut off she was being and how clearly upset she was. and in this situation it was easy to let her be.

Annebeth was curled in the corner with her hands clinging to her dagger. Grover was spread out with his arm spread across his face slightly snoring.

percy tried to sleep.

he toasted and turned but there was something plaguing his mind that kept him awake. how you clung to his arm when he pulled you up. you looked so afraid as the monster nipped at your feet almost getting you, that you had no choice but to ask for help. he’s ever seen you so scared and for some reason, all he could see was the fear in your face when he blinked.

“don’t be a idiot, I’d never ask you for help.” he could hear the words ring in his head if he told you.

pushing the shirt thrown over him to the side he carefully stood up without waking the other two. he walked out the room and went to search for you. if he wasn’t going to get any sleep he might as well help with the lookout.

he found you sitting on the steps with your head leaned against the railing. humming a soft tune to yourself and for a second, he felt peaceful. but he remembered that it was you. cleaning his throat to make his presence know and walked across the porch boards.

turning your head you looked at him. it was a soft look of hate and not the full glare he was expecting. “what do you want?” He sat down on the same step away from you but as far as he could. almost afraid you’d bite him.

“couldn’t sleep.”

you hum in response and slight nod your head. you continued to look at the street and around the place in case something was to sneak up on you. a breath leaves your lungs and you lean back on your hands, pushing yourself back against the stairs above you. you throw you head back up and close your eyes to relax for just a minute.

“you know,” you began as his ears perked up. “I have no clue where the hell we are going.” You admitted with little confidence in yourself.

“it could just all be a trick and I’m leading us down the wrong path. but each time I feel-” you cut yourself off before you go to deep.

percy looked at you with your eyes closed. this was a actual conversation. no insults. he didn’t even feel angry as he stood next to you. for the first time it was a comfortable understanding.

“i know how you feel. when I search for the lighting bolt I knew exactly where I was in my dreams dispute never going to those places.”

he watched your eyes open again and look into his. “sometimes we are shown things. i trust you, for this quest at least. you’re the only one who could help us get there now.” you face grows and small smirk and your eyebrows raise.

tilting your head and sit up slight, “that almost sounds like a compliment.” you teased him. he rolled his eyes playfully and looked away from you, “never in a million years.” he chucked. you looked at him for a second longer then you normally do. this was the first time you saw him smile with you, it was new.

and kinda pretty.

shaking your head at the thought you looked away from him and let the thoughts get pushed back into your head. there was nothing pleasing about him and your brain needed to remember that. your both just to tired to fight and it means nothing. because never in a million years, will you ever be friends with Percy Jackson.

but, maybe you can get along with him for this quest at least.

Taglist: @american-idiot21 @kazurami14 @anonymouslyawesome25 @itzmeme @poemfreak306 @motorsport @mxlI0d1 @daughterofthemoons-stuff (just ask to be added and I will)

#Percy Jackson x reader #percy jackson x you #book percy jackson #Percy jackson x fem!reader #percy jackson and the olympians x reader #enemies to friends to lovers #angst to comfort #Percy jackson angst #chapter one #part one #a love watered by blood

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angelxd-3303 · 1 year

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Dang, took me long enough.

#traditional art #luigi #mario #bowser #kamek #time travel #my au #chapter one

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viviannesmonster · 1 year

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CHAPTER ONE OF "MY KING"

"Mario! Luigi!" You called out as ran towards them.

"(Y/n)!" They said turning towards you.

You gave them a group hug and smiled at them. "Where are you guys going?"

"We're going to save Brooklyn!" Luigi cheers.

Mario chuckles and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Easy Luigi. We saw on the news that pipes under Brooklyn are erupting. We're gonna go down there and fix it. That way people will take our business seriously!"

"Nice!" You said. "Can I go with you?"

"Of course!" Both brothers said.

"And later once we're done, you can come to our house for spaghetti later!" Luigi said, as he and Mario jumped into a sewer pipe.

"Oh nice!" You said following them. "I love your mom's spaghetti."

"I only love it when there's no mushrooms." Mario complained.

"Do either if you guys have an extra flashlight?" You asked.

"Nope." They both said.

"Sorry (Y/n)."

"It's all good." You said. "I'll just use my phone."

You all looked around for signs of damage and suddenly someone dropped something.

You turned to where the noise came from and Luigi had disappeared.

"Luigi?" You asked, walking closer to the item that was dropped.

When you got closer and picked up what he dropped, you felt yourself being pulled into the pipe.

"Mario!" You called out.

He came running over and you pressed your hands against the inside of the pipe.

"Give me your hand!" He yelled reaching out to you.

You let go of the side but that caused you to lose foot and you fell deeper into the pipe.

"(Y/N)!" Mario called as you fell.

Soon, you began floating through a place filled with clouds, seemingly heaven.

"(Y/n)!" You heard Luigi say.

"Luigi!" You said.

"What's going on?!" He yelled.

"I don't know!"

"Guys!" You heard Mario say as he swam up to you two.

He took a hold of your hand and then Luigi's once he caught up to him.

"Everything's going to be okay!" He said. "As long as we're together!"

As soon as he said that however, you two got separated from Mario and went through a scary lava like portal.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

(Hope you enjoyed)

-> Chapter 2

#super mario #mario movie #bowser #bowser x reader #fanfiction #super mario bowser #chapter one

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ghosttyzzz · 7 days

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CHAPTER 1: YOU'RE A MESS, BORIS!

#art #drawing #draw #digital art #comic #bendy au #bendy #batim alternative universe #alternative universe #batim au #batim #bendy comic #batdr #batdr au #artists on tumblr #character #ghosttyzzz #chapter one

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arrowheadedbitch · 2 months

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A new project!!!

Introducing a brand new fanfiction, Dragon!Tim!!!

This one will be like meta!tim in the sense that Tim is hiding that he is a dragon from his family, but it will have many many key differences.

For example, less angsty!

I hope you like it!

@stormikitty this is for you

#tim drake #red robin #robin #rr #chaotic tim drake #batfam #unhinged tim drake #my au #chapter one #my fic #dragon!tim

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everythingisblue-if · 9 months

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Hey, guys!

After a long deliberation, I have decided to publish the rewrite publicly, as part of the public build. Before, I planned for the beginning or end of August, but I chose to get it over with because I will be very busy and unable to be as active as I usually am. There are also other reasons that I’m not going to get into.

Anyway, this public release is scheduled for Wednesday (July 19, 2023). It will be posted in the early mornings of that day, but a specific time is not set. For Chapter Two, there will be a longer wait time until the public can read it, but future patrons will have full access. Until then, I’m releasing Chapter One quickly.

FEATURES

Drop into a fantastical world as you try to make it out alive

Meet your companion, an amazed soldier who’s planning to get you to safety

Dig through your memories to discover what truly brought you to this unknown world

Discover what other characters are up to as you travel accordingly

Make tough decisions that set your stats so you’ll be able to see them in action in Chapter Two

Thank you for those who support this game and me, as an author!

#everything is blue #if #interactive fiction #update #game update #rewrite #chapter one

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queenlucythevaliant · 1 month

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So uh. You guys know I love The Last Battle. But more and more I'm becoming convinced that there's at least as much Ragnarok in there as Revelation. Quite possibly more, if we're going by page count. In the Bible, we're given a picture of God's sovereignty; in Ragnarok, we get pure Northern fatalism. The Last Battle has both, but until the last couple of chapters it's definitely skewed towards the latter.

Main case in point: the literal battle. We don't really get a last, hopeless battle to fight in the Bible. We're faithful witnesses, martyrs, and eventually victors alongside Jesus, but at no point in Scripture do God's people have to (get to?) grab our swords and die in desperate battle with the Enemy. The picture Scripture gives us is a little bit anticlimactic, actually.

Ragnarok, on the other hand, is this tragic losing battle where all the gods die, but get to take their enemy out with them. The world ends in this great, hopeless clash and the cycle starts again. It's tragic and mournful it's intensely narratively satisfying. It's clearly the stronger influence on the climax of Lewis's The Last Battle.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. I love the hopeless, elegiac quality that The Last Battle derives from its Northern influences. However, one of the things that really sets the Narnia books apart from most other children's fantasy is the fact that the kids' agency is usually subordinated to Aslan's power. The Pevensies don't save the day in LWW, for example, despite being the subjects of an ancient prophecy; they mostly sit back and let Aslan do his thing.

As such, I can't help but wonder what a version of The Last Battle without a last battle would look like. What if our heroes never got to pick up their swords and go down fighting? I don't think it would be a better story necessarily (Jack is on record saying that if you're looking for a religion with a really compelling story, you can do a lot better than Christianity - and then proceeds to cite the Norse mythos as an example). However, I'm still quite curious what it would look like. Food for thought.

#maybe I'll try my hand at it one of these days idk #i just finished a piece exploring the norse influences that are already there so it would probably be a while at any rate #but yeah. the dividing line between Ragnarok and Revelation in LB is very much the stable door #narnia #pontifications and creations #chapter one

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gg-university-if · 4 months

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At Prince Leopold University you are expected to be the best because remember the best are made not born and you are expected to get good or get lost.

Play as a scholarship student at Prince Leopold University attempt to balance attending classes, make rivals, meet lifelong friends and pursue budding romances all the while dealing with the administration of a major university. Or don't.

Getting a place in PLU is hard, getting a full scholarship is harder. You did both. So perhaps it's no wonder why everyone seems to have such high expectations for you, expected to maintain passing grades, attend your club and be a forward face for the school, it's not like it's anything you haven't done before right? But can you pull it off again?

• Play as male, female or non-binary with options to be straight, gay, asexual or not pursue a romance at all.

• Experience a university that takes itself a little too seriously and expects you to do so as well – define your main character's personality, appearance, history and demeanour.

• Choose what scholarship you're on and which club you're in while training and playing like your scholarships on the line – because it is.

• Choose from track and field, music club, student council and drama club.

• Romance a hot-headed high-school rival, the brooding lead musician, the friendly student president who happens to be your brother's best friend, the charming but distant actor or your awkward roommate or the rebel with equally big dreams.

• Focus on or ignore your relationships with your teammates, acquaintances, family and friends back home, school staff and the public.

The Hot Headed Rival A

Aqil/Aaliyah Radwan, 19

The Vice Captain of the PLU Track-And-Field Club and your highschool rival, they are intense and arrogant with the talent to back it up and they'll let you know it.

In the heat of an argument they find that they don't know why they're shouting anymore and that look on your face stirs something they'd rather not discover.

tldr; rivals to lovers and enemies to lovers.

The Brooding Musician H

Hader/Hetti Jasanoff, 19

The moody, brooding leader of the Screaming Diamonds and the PLU music club, they hate those who see their passion as nothing more than a hobby but they'll allow you to prove yourself.

In the midst of a performance they find their heart skips a beat but they don't want to face the music just yet.

tldr; everyone wants the bad boy and everyone likes musicians.

The Brother's Best Friend B

Beck/Belle Torres, 21

The social, spirited and amiable President of the Student Body and your brother's best friend, with much enthusiasm they're taking care of you at university although it's supposedly a favour.

Despite their popularity they seem to have held most people at arms length when asked they simply laugh and talk about their playground love.

tldr; brother's best friend and friends to lovers and the boy/girl next door.

The Distant Actor F

Frédéric/Frederica Jame, 19

The flirty but distant lead of the school play and the aspiring actor in the drama club, they're more than happy to have humour your whims but when you think about it you don't know all that much about them.

Despite that when you're on stage they only have one command "keep your eyes on me."

tldr; master of the mixed message.

The Awkward Roommate R

Rudra/Rania Punyamurthula, 18

Your roommate for this year at PLU, awkward, excitable, intelligent they seem to be unaccustomed to life without someone else around and they're infinitely excited to make their 'first real friend'.

When they're at every practice with snacks, every event cheering you on from the sidelines you get the sneaking suspicion that there's another reason for their enthusiasm.

tldr; roommates to romance and lonely rich kid.

The Singer Who Made It Big Sid

Sid Diver, 19

The lead singer of the other band on campus who seems to have a rocky relationship with both authority and a certain other musician, despite that he seems more than happy to welcome you into the fold as a new friend or maybe more with a laugh, wild grin and a dangerous look in his eyes.

You can't shake the feeling that they're angry and bitter when you hear them singing but in those hidden moments and stolen kisses behind the curtains, they feel different.

tldr; tenor boy and unreplaced departed.

Demo: Click here (word count: 56k)

References: Click here

Ko-fi: tbd

Portraits: tbd

Next update: tbd

#ggglu #gg-university-if #if #status: WIP #interactive fiction #choicescript #chapter one

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strawbubbysugar · 10 months

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So(u)l Chapter 1

A soulmate daycare attendant x reader slowburn!

Disclaimer: it/its pronouns are used for the daycare attendant until he achieves sentience! Here's the AO3 link to read it there as well! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48206098/chapters/121564951#workskin

Busy. Busy busy busy, always so busy. Never even a moments rest to stop and think- not that it needed an entire second, a laughably long amount of time. Jeremy was trying to eat glue. Tasha was shoving a dirty sock from the ball pit into one of the generators littered around the room- as if they weren’t already enough of a fire hazard.

It was lucky it was so quick, so ready to jump into the candy covered sticky fray. It was even luckier that it was a computer, a robot designed specifically for children. Maybe not designed for this specific job, but it performed it well. It took pride in it, as much as an artificial intelligence could, and even moreso knowing that all of its knowledge and expertise in this area was learned through experience rather than it being loaded into its artificial brain. It was advanced. It was incredibly advanced, far moreso than any other technology outside of the fazbear corporation.

A learning, growing AI, worth millions of dollars, and now with one hand holding onto the labelled seam of a toddler’s pants, dangling them from where they’d attempted a jump off the highest height of the jungle gym. The other hand was holding back an eight year old, who was beginning to realize that they were too mature for the daycare and acting out to prove it as they attempted to peel the safety foam off the sharp corners at the top of the structure. Its feet were being used to hold himself to the gym, hooked into the criss cross patterned grating and providing it just enough leverage to remain opposed to gravity.

If it had core muscles, they would be straining at the effort. At the moment, all the straining was a result of its desperate attempt to not drop either child, nor use too much force and accidentally hurt them.

Its foot slipped slightly, ever so slightly. Not enough to make it fall, but enough that it knew that scenario wasn’t far off. Its mind ran a hundred thousand calculations a millisecond, before it finally calculated the best choice.

It used the hand holding the back of the older child’s shirt to yank them towards it while simultaneously throwing the toddler up up UP into the air. It did a spinning cartwheel off the structure, using both it’s hands to launch the older child into the ball pit as if he were a basketball, hearing him land with a scattering of hollow plastic balls. Finally, it hit the ground with a duck, a roll, and a bounce to stand back up. Holding out its perfectly engineered hands and-

Poomf!

Catching the little one with time to spare. The fluid, lifelike robot beamed and wiggled ite finger over the child’s nose, earning a giggle before it put them down and sent them on their wobbly way.

“Remember kids, the top of the structure is off off off limits!” It announced, its million dollar smile bright and cheerful, it’s voice so full of life you wouldn’t know it didn’t have one.

“Mr Sun!!” Two of the children screamed, in a tug of war over a stuffed Chica.

“Hello, friends!” It smiled at them, bounding over in far fewer steps than it would take a human, thanks to its incredibly long legs. “Are we playing nice and sharing our toys??”

One of the children shook their head quickly. “Billy isn’t letting go of MY chica!!”

“I saw it first!!” He retorted, tugging on the doll again. The animatronic faintly heard the sound of seams pulling taut.

“But I brought it from home!!” The little girl whined. “Mr SUN!!”

It gently patted both of their heads, crouching down to get closer to the both of them. “Amanda, you brought your toy from home, so you get to decide if you want to share it! Billy, Amanda is very upset, so do you think you could find a different toy??”

It’s voice remained as bouncy and excited as ever, even while crouched down trying to calm down a situation. Billy scowled before tugging on the toy again, and even Amanda could hear the ripping now. She screamed in terror at the idea of her toy being broken, pulling back harder in a vain attempt to retrieve it. “NOOOO!!”

It scanned the situation, running through calculations before coming to its final option. The last one before simply lifting up the children and physically separating them.

“Whooooo wants a sundrop!!” It held out two round little orange candies, magicked out of thin air from behind the children’s ears.

They stared for a moment, but only a moment before the toy was dropped and the candies grabbed eagerly. The daycare attendant lifted up the toy, depositing it in Amanda’s arms. It reached over into one of the many piles of toys surrounding the daycare and pulled out a Monty plush, plopping it into the arms of Billy. “There we go! Now we both have a toy!”

It’s wide smile beamed as it squinted it’s optics in a show of approval. Both children seemed at least satiated with the end result- both with a toy and a piece of candy, before running off in opposite directions. It stood up and surveyed the room, looking for the next challenge to tackle.

The child who had been dunked into the pit finally dragged himself out, throwing a plastic ball at the attendant’s head in indignation that his plan to ruin safety codes had been thwarted.

The ball whizzed towards the animatronic, with surprisingly good aim for a kid of that age. Aim didn’t matter however, when the daycare attendant had sensors in the back of its head. It’s torso turned before his head and caught the ball. When it’s head caught up, rotating to face him, it beamed his same, static smile at the boy.

“Oh ho ho, Lukas!” It chided, voice loud enough to fill the entire daycare with ease. It used its foot to kick two more balls that had been scattered along the mats into its hands, and began juggling them. “Throwing things is not permitted in the daycare! Unless of course we’re playing catch- but I don’t remember agreeing to play!!”

As it walked over to the boy, it continued to scoop up balls, juggling them even as the number of them became more and more unfathomable to be kept in the air all at one time.

Lukas folded his arms and huffed, turning and sitting on the edge of the ball pit. He paused until he knew the attendant was close, mischievous little grin worming it’s way across his face. By the time the attendant was close enough to roll the balls off its shoulder in a graceful slide back into their designated place in the pit, he had a new plan.

He threw himself off the edge of the ball pit, sliding between the attendant’s legs and booking it for the structure. He knew the attendant had difficulty maneuvering inside of it, though it wasn’t impossible. He’d have to be quick to make it through. He had no real goal, of course. He was here until his mom came for him at four.

But getting that dumb robot all tangled up for a few minutes would be compensation enough for having been interrupted during his brooding on top of the structure.

The robot feigned being startled as it was slid under, having seen the boy’s muscles tensing long before he actually moved. Its programming urged it to allow the children small victories over it- to improve their self confidence, and their growth. It gasped dramatically, throwing every ball it was juggling into the air at once and letting them pelt it as they came back down.

Several children who were watching giggled at the display, enjoying watching the oldest kid in the daycare really stick it to the man. Er.. the robot.

The older kids knew the robot wasn’t really alive. He was a toy, meant to watch over them while their parents were at work, or with their older siblings in the gigantic pizzaplex. He was like .. an elf on the shelf. He couldn’t really do anything to you, but he could tell your parents if you had been naughty, and that was often more than enough to deter them from bad behaviour. He played games, sang songs, told stories, did arts and crafts- he did it all!

Almost like a real person!

Lukas had, at this point, been sticking out his tongue at the attendant from the slide, teasing and making rude gestures.

The attendant’s array of yellow points, surrounding his head like a halo of sunshine, flattened back slightly. It’s programming censored the rude gesture for it, but it knew that it was against the rules. Rules that it took VERY seriously.

“Lukas! That is against the rules! Please step out of the-!” It peered up into the tube that the boy had disappeared into, whirring clicks filling the plastic tunnel as it tried to pathfind the best way to handle this situation.

It was frozen for a fraction of a second before deciding to follow him. It knew the boy was trying to get it to follow, but that’s what it was here for. To play! To follow the rules in order to keep order and structure to the fun, to play along, and to keep humans safe were the pillars on which its AI was built. It was harmless to follow, and would only serve as a lesson to the boy when he was caught to not break the rules.

It crawled into the slide, on all fours, almost spider-like as it ascended. “Luuuukaaaas!” It called, in a sing-songy voice, completely oblivious in any bit of its coding as to how terrifying this situation would be to a child. “Rulebreakers don’t get to keep playing, they have to go in TIME OUT!”

It reached the end of the slide, crouching as it scanned the area. It found the bio signature near instantly, though with a moments hesitation. He was using the generator as a mask to hide his body heat- clever! It added that note to Lukas’s file to compliment his mother on when she came for pickup. The parents were usually much friendlier to it after it complimented their children. Not that their nervous looks and barely hidden discomfort around it bothered it. It was only a machine, after all.

“Come get me!!” The child teased, sticking out his tongue as he peaked over the generator. Warning signs flashed in its mind, red boxes and triangles covering his view. This was dangerous. The generators weren’t safe to play around.

“The generators aren’t toys, friend!” It spoke slowly. “Let me get you somewhere more fun, then we can-“

As it reached over the generator, it knocked one of the thick connecting cables loose, already having been on its last legs from being fiddled with by tiny hands. A large arc of electricity crackled in the air, and the lights in the daycare flickered. The generator practically jumped into the air with the force of the kilovolts being pushed through it, kilovolts which connected with the attendant’s metal frame and engulfed it.

Lukas watched as the attendant was flooded with electricity, artificial eyes flooded with static, and rays spinning so quickly it was creating a breeze. Arms twitching and hands opening and closing, legs spasming- Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea after all. If he broke this thing, his mom was sure to kill him. Or at least, take away his video game privileges.

Eventually, the lights in the daycare returned to normal, the generator that had been over-conducting calming down as its brothers rerouted the power to themselves and shut it off from their system. Now that it was powerless, the attendant was free to recover.

Smoke rose from his body, eyes black as his power cell had forced a shut off to avoid overload. It had done so too late, unfortunately, and he had crashed.

His systems slowly rebooted, coming back online one by one.

Good Morning, Sun!

The text beeped in front of his eyes before disappearing shortly after, the usual wake up he received after a hard reset, other than the startup systems diagnosis running in the background. He blinked slowly, purposefully.

That had.. hurt.

It had hurt?

It had hurt.

Why had it hurt? He’d never hurt before. He could feel things, thanks to the wiring under his silicon, to give him the ability to judge touch and pressure. But he’d never hurt. He’d also never considered himself a he before. Why was he thinking that now? Why was he thinking anything? He didn’t usually think, not much anyways, not consciously. His thoughts were command tasks in his computer brain, not thoughts- thoughts like these. Like this one right now. And this one! And this!

He felt himself begin to panic. What was happening to him? What was wrong? Was he broken? Oh, no! If he was broken he’d have to-

Fear flooded his system. Confusion, then panic, then fear. Not the most fun first three emotions to feel.

He raised his hands and gripped his rays anxiously, before patting down the rest of himself. He didn’t FEEL broken. Not physically at least. Maybe the jolt had fried his software- would he need it replaced?? Would he-

He froze again, a swirling spinning mess of all these terrible feelings, not even noticing as the little instigator slipped his way past him and down the slide back out of the structure again.

He was too busy thinking about himself, now. Himself. A new concept.

If he’d needed to breathe, his chest would be heaving. And it did. His artificial breathing, meant to make him even more like a person, had caught up to the news of their sudden autonomy, and began shuddering as he fought to catch his false breath.

He was only shaken out of his stupor when he heard a voice in the back of his head. One he heard constantly- that he knew as intimately as he knew himself. It WAS himself. Or at least.. it had been.

When he wasn’t awake, it hadn’t mattered that the moon program was separate from him. They were the same body, providing the same functions. It was the same as switching browsers. You still got your results.

But now.. now..? Now that little voice, those little lines of code that ‘spoke’ to him.. they really were speaking to him. The voice they’d programmed for moon, to be softer, to be easier to hear before bed, echoed out in lines of code that translated themselves into speech.

Sun?

Sun paused for a moment. That was his name, wasn’t it? Sun. It was his. He’d never thought about his name before- it had almost been as much of a title as daycare attendant. It wasn’t his, it was what the children called him to get his attention. No, no. That was his name. It was his. He decided firmly in that moment. His first real decision- one made on his own. On purpose. By choice.

..Moon..?

He sent out his own strings of code in return, hesitantly, carefully. As if responding would break the spell, the beautiful and terrifying curse they seemed to be under.

After a few long moments, agonizingly long, he received a pinged response.

This is new.

#fnaf #fnaf daycare attendant #y/n #fnaf sun #fnaf security breach #fnaf moon #fanfic #fanfiction #au #fan fiction #soulmate au #soulmates #chapter one #so(u)l #daycare attendant x y/n #so(u)l fic

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sansukhcomic · 1 year

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Sansûkh the Webcomic: Chapter 1: Pages 37-38

Updates will be Mondays twice a month, follow this blog for updates!

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#sansûkh #sansukhcomic #sansukh webcomic #chapter one

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dawntilduskclan · 5 months

Text

Chapter One is here!

And we finally meet our protagonist Oriolepaw! She and Linnetpaw were the first kits born after the formation of Duskclan by their mother, Haretail. She's got a thirst for knowledge and enough energy to last for days. I hope you all enjoy her as much as I do.

A lot of this chapter was me figuring out a workflow and the formatting I want to use for this project. If it isn't obvious already, a lot of my inspiration comes from Barrenclan (Which you should absolutely read if you haven't)

As most first chapters are, this is mainly setup and character establishing. But it won't be long until we start moving this story along! Feel free to send any asks my way if you've got any questions :)

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#dawn til dusk #warrior cat ocs #warrior cats #webcomic #dtd #chapter #chapter one #oriolepaw #linnetpaw #nightstar #haretail #cormorantblaze #ravenheart #sootpaw #hootpaw #spiderwolf #blackhawk #comic #warrior cats webcomic

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redux-iterum · 18 days

Text

Charred Legacy: Chapter One

(AO3 counterpart here.)

All things considered, it was a nice night.

Fireheart was half-rolled onto his back, front paws tucked into his upturned chest while his rear end remained on its side. His tail tapped absentmindedly on the still-warm sand as he gazed up at the stars. The weather had loosened up, mercifully keeping the sky clear and even warming the air a little. It was still somewhat chilled, but the ground had softened from muddy slop to dense soil—still retaining a bit of moisture, but not enough to stick to a traveling cat’s paws—and the frost had barely made an appearance before shying away and melting again into dew.

Thank the Three for small miracles, Fireheart thought as his eyes lazily drifted from star to star. They know we needed it.

Caught up in the beauty of the sky and the grainy comfort of the sand, he was only somewhat registering cats talking around him. Faint squeals drifted out of the nursery’s entrance and his ear twitched at what he thought (hoped, really) was Goldenflower gently chiding the kits inside. Frostfur’s litter was already out, but in the past month they had calmed down considerably and come to prefer talking with the one cat in the apprentice’s den who would soon be a warrior, Swiftpaw, as he regaled them with stories of the territory and all the strange creatures they would see there.

Fireheart twisted his head back and to the side a bit—yes, there they were, listening to the black tom recounting his experience going to the Mother on the far side of the territories.

“And I know she looks scary,” he was saying, “but that’s kind of the point, I think. It makes you respect her even more. You just have to be brave and go into her mouth, trusting her. And Yellowfang will be there to guide you, so you’ll find your way.”

The sole molly of the litter, fluffy ginger-patched Brightkit, spoke up now. “I won’t be scared. The Mother wouldn’t hurt us—we’re her favorites.”

Thornkit, dark and golden-brown, frowned at her. “Still gotta be ‘spectful.”

Fireheart’s mouth twitched into a brief grimace in sympathy as the tom’s ears went back in embarrassment at the end of his sentence. Thornkit still slurred and stumbled over his words, even with as much as Frostfur had worked with him on speaking clearly, and he had been speaking shorter and shorter sentences recently, and at a much lower volume. His siblings understood him just fine, save one.

That one, the deaf little white tom directly in front of Swiftpaw, was Snowkit. His bright blue eyes, wide and vibrant, were fixed on Swiftpaw’s mouth as the apprentice said, “Yeah, it’s important to be quiet on the walk in and during the ceremony. Just wait until Yellowfang speaks to you.”

Brackenkit, a thinner and lighter version of Thornkit, tilted his head. “Will Cinderpaw be there?”

“She was when I went.” Swiftpaw’s eyes lifted upwards as he squinted a bit. “I mean, we did ours together, so that’s why, but I think she’d have to go anyway.” He turned to look at his dark grey sister as she limped out from the ferns by the meeting stump. “Hey, Cinderpaw! Are you going to be with these kits when they do their pilgrimage?”

Cinderpaw beamed with a hacking scoff very similar to her mentor’s. “Obviously! I have to learn how to do it myself, and there’s no way I’m missing out on Brighty getting blessed.” She swept her tail, crooked at the tip, in the direction of the toms. “And you guys, of course.”

Brackenkit seemed to take no offense. “I bet my blessing will be from Rokhar.”

Fireheart purred, rolling slowly onto his side. Of all the three gods, the Tiger was the one he understood the least. Then again, it seemed like everyone outside of the seer role had some trouble grasping exactly what Rokhar was all about. The first seer of Fireheart’s life in ThunderClan, Spottedleaf, had described him as being “in-between” and “all-encompassing”. Even after more than a year of being a Clan cat, Fireheart still had no idea what that meant.

“Why Rokhar?” Swiftpaw asked, sounding amused. “Because he’s the cool—?“

“Because he’s the cool one!” Brackenkit said, exactly in tandem with the apprentice. At another frown from Thornkit, he added, “I mean, they’re all cool, but Rokhar’s the coolest.”

Cinderpaw limped up to the little gathering of the young, her bad leg crumpled up towards her belly. “Knowing your dad, he’s probably telling Horoa right now to bless all of you with a Lion’s touch.”

While the kits all started babbling to each other about whether that was true or not, Fireheart’s heart clenched at the mention of Lionface. He had been the deputy of ThunderClan after Redtail, another first for Fireheart when he had joined the Clan from life as a house cat. Both of them had been great toms, Redtail kind and friendly and Lionface majestic and confident (even if he and Fireheart had clashed here and there). Both of them were gone, and both of them had been…

Fireheart’s claws sank into the sand. He eyed Cinderpaw’s crippled leg.

It had been around a month since the trial that shattered the Clan’s collective heart. No one had spoken of it after it happened, and even the mere implication of something that would link back to that night was hushed or ignored. Fireheart couldn’t stand this thing Clan cats had with refusing to acknowledge bad cats or the things they’d done; it didn’t help anyone feel better, it just made things awkward and sad. Supposedly, the spirits of these bad cats could come back if spoken about or named and haunt the territories, but as far as Fireheart had seen, the only thing they haunted was his dreams.

What he’d give to talk about this with Goldenflower.

But she was in the nursery now, and she needed peace and quiet to raise his adoptive siblings until they were big enough to come out and explore camp. Being forbidden from visiting, Fireheart just had to rely on news shared by Brindleface or Frostfur—mostly Brindleface, as Frostfur had left the nursery early to give the crowded den some room and now only came to check on her nearly-grown kits. Brindleface had been incredibly nervous and sensitive when she was stuck in the den, but now that she had been able to leave her kits for walks here and there…

“Fireheart! There you are!”

The ginger tom blinked and got to his feet, shaking off what sand had clung to his fur. The beautiful grey tortoiseshell in question had just climbed up and out of the nursery, her pale green eyes shining as Fireheart approached her.

“I have a surprise for you,” she said when he was close enough. “Well, two surprises.”

Fireheart perked up. “Really? Are they about Cloudkit?”

“They are.” Brindleface’s fluffy tail curled at the delight that must have immediately brightened up Fireheart’s face. “I’m sorry you couldn’t have come seen him before, but that makes this a little more interesting.”

Cloudkit had been adopted into the Clan, the same as his uncle. Fireheart had been given the kit by his frantic sister, Rosy, and ThunderClan took him in with only a bit of reluctance. The two of them did not look similar—Fireheart was skinny and shorthaired and Cloudkit was a ball of white fluff—and with the automatic distance of Fireheart not being able to visit to see his nephew and bond with him, he could only hope that they wouldn’t be so different that they could not find common ground besides being outsiders at birth, especially since Fireheart had promised to mentor Cloudkit once he became an apprentice.

“What is it, then?” he asked, trying not to sound overly-eager.

“Well, for one…” Brindleface turned and poked her head into the nursery. “Babies, do you want to come out now?”

Indistinct squeaks of excitement immediately followed this, and Brindleface purred before turning back to Fireheart, saying, “That’s the first surprise. They’re ready to meet you.”

Fireheart’s fur flared out and he beamed. “I can see him now!”

Brindleface nodded, her whiskers twitching. “And the second…”

She gestured with her paw just in time for the first kits to scramble out of the den: both grey with broken tabby markings, similar in every way except for the molly being both more delicate in the face and fluffier than her brother. They completely ignored Fireheart and bumbled out into the center of camp. Who followed them was—

Not the kit Fireheart had brought in.

This kit was fluffy and round, sure, but ginger covered his ears and nose and was steadily claiming his tail. His fur was quite long and puffed out, even if he was a bit small; if it weren’t for the unusual color, he would fit perfectly in with the rest of ThunderClan. By the way his deep blue eyes blinked owlishly at Fireheart, he was just as surprised at the reunion.

“Cloudkit,” Brindleface said with another paw-gesture, “this is your uncle, Fireheart. Remember how we talked about him?”

“Ohhh,” Cloudkit said loudly. He looked Fireheart up and down before announcing, “You’re short.”

“Cloudkit!” Brindleface scolded. “That’s rude.”

Fireheart chuffed and bent his head to meet his nephew’s eye-level. “And you’re pudgy.”

Cloudkit squinted at Fireheart. “What’s ‘pudgy’?”

“Fat!” Cinderpaw called from across the clearing.

Cloudkit squawked and slowly and clumsily swatted a paw in the direction of Fireheart’s nose. “’Mnot pudgy! You’re pudgy!”

Brindleface stared at the little tom in baffled embarrassment, but Fireheart pretended to be struck and rubbed his nose like it’d been scratched.

“Don’t beat me up, please,” he said, poorly hiding his amusement. “I’m sorry, you’re not.”

Cloudkit nodded in satisfaction—then, to Fireheart’s surprise, he toddled right up to his uncle and bumped their noses together. Him being so small, it didn’t hurt, but it was more of a punch than usual.

“Hi, uncle,” Cloudkit said, pulling back.

Fireheart’s whiskers twitched. “Hi, nephew.”

“That’s better.” Brindleface stepped forward to lick Cloudkit’s ear. “Are you ready to meet your Clanmates now?”

The little puffball nearly jumped in place and waddled off after his siblings, who were currently interrupting the discussion between Frostfur’s litter and Swiftpaw. Fireheart watched him go, amazed at the strength of the flame of affection in his chest, even when he hadn’t seen the kit since he’d come to the Clan.

“How did his fur get like that?” He turned to Brindleface now. “He was white when I brought him in.”

Brindleface rolled a shoulder. “Kittypet blood, I’m guessing. I’ve never seen anything like that in the territories. I thought he was sick at first, but he’s been perfectly happy and healthy this whole time.” She gave Fireheart a cheeky squint. “Both of you stick out now.”

Fireheart sighed a chuff. “At least he’ll be warm this winter.”

Brindleface nodded. Then her eyes flicked to the side and narrowed a fraction before she walked off after her litter. Fireheart’s gaze followed where she’d looked.

Darkstripe. Of course. He was glaring at the now-wandering Cloudkit.

Fireheart contained another, much heavier sigh. Since the trial, the dark tabby had hardly said more than one word to anyone, and they had to speak to him first. Fireheart hadn’t dared start a conversation with him—Darkstripe had never liked him to begin with, but since the end result of the trial was largely on Fireheart’s shoulders, the hatred in Darkstripe’s eyes burned Fireheart’s back whenever the two had to cross paths. He’d done his best to give the older warrior space, which was difficult when they shared a den.

Anticipating the glare to turn on him, Fireheart prepared to look away and find something else to engage with. He was saved by the camp entrance rustling to reveal the pale brown tortoiseshell Speckletail leading a patrol in. As her followers trotted to the prey-pile, she approached Darkstripe and said something to him Fireheart didn’t catch. Darkstripe didn’t respond beyond a twitch of his lip, getting to his feet and stalking out of camp. Speckletail watched him go, huffed and shook her head before joining the rest of the patrol.

After the loss of the prior deputy—the one that trial had been all about—Speckletail had been selected to replace him. She hadn’t been the expected choice, but she had accepted the role and immediately went about keeping the Clan busy and organized for the first month of her tenure. Fireheart suspected that this was a tactical decision; giving everyone something to do kept them from stewing in their own thoughts over the events of the past fall. Things had finally slowed down, with the warmer weather gifting the Clan with more prey than Fireheart had been told showed up in the end seasons. This was one of the first nights in quite a while that Fireheart had gotten to stay home and just enjoy the peace of camp.

“Good evening,” he said to Speckletail as she walked past him with a woodrat.

She nodded to him, putting down her prey for a moment. “Any word while I was gone?”

Fireheart shook his head, ears going back sadly. “I haven’t spoken to her since a few days ago.”

Speckletail sighed through her nose. Her eyes were tired. “I’ll talk with her once I’ve eaten.” She picked up her prey again and continued on her way, sitting down with Willowpelt on the far side of camp.

Fireheart’s eyes drifted to the wall of briar that surrounded the sandy clearing. Though he couldn’t see it, his gaze landed on the area where the leader’s den was situated on the outside.

Where Bluestar was undoubtedly sleeping.

The trial and the near-murder preceding it had hurt everyone, but it had broken something in the Clan’s leader. Only a few days after the deputy’s execution, Bluestar had become a rare sight. She now walked alone in the forest or holed up in her den, only coming out to order patrols or respond to something Speckletail asked her about. It had been part of the quiet conversation for some time now, but no one dared to broach the topic to Bluestar—even Fireheart, her former apprentice, or Whitecloud, her nephew.

It wasn’t fair, Fireheart wanted to shout to the stars. Of all the cats suffering, why did their leader have to struggle the hardest? The pain and suspicion and fear clouded her eyes and silenced her voice. It had been her throat the deputy’s teeth nearly crushed, her friends and Clanmates he crippled and murdered to get to her. Now, whenever she looked at her charges, it seemed like she was gauging their intentions, how well they could be trusted. Even Fireheart had been under scrutiny more than once.

She really would benefit from being able to talk about this whole thing…

“Cloudkit, please!”

Fireheart blinked and was back in camp. He turned his head to see his nephew marching for the fallen log that was the elder’s den. The elders were already out—lanky and grey One-eye, dark brown Halftail, and black-and-white Patchpelt—but they were talking among themselves, completely unaware of the kit making his way towards them, his siblings trailing behind with curious looks on their faces. Brindleface was padding after them, calling for Cloudkit.

“Let them be—” she started, but Cloudkit broke into a clumsy imitation of a run and continued on. Just as he reached Patchpelt, he tried to slow down, only succeeding in crashing right into the elder and stumbling backwards, plopping into a sitting position.

Patchpelt coughed (as he had been lately) in surprise and looked round to see the kit. His faded eyes brightened. “Well, now! I don’t remember this one.”

“I’m Cloudkit.” The furball blinked up at him. “My sister is Aspenkit and my brother is Ashkit.”

Halftail tilted his head, eyes narrowed analytically.

“You’ve got some ginger on your face, little ant,” croaked One-eye, peering with her single eye at the kit. “Or you’ve been playing in the sand.”

“No, he’s supposed to look like that.” Brindleface hurried up to them. “I’m sorry he disturbed you.”

“You know we love being disturbed,” Patchpelt said fondly, looking at the grey kits as they approached. “Ah, and this must be Ashkit and Aspenkit.”

The tom kit nodded firmly, standing as tall as he could, while the molly lowered her nose and shyly regarded the ground. Cloudkit, meanwhile, was meeting One-eye’s gaze, looking completely unbothered by the marred face that every kit and new apprentice was a little taken aback by. Fireheart noted with pride that he didn’t broach the topic of One-eye’s accident, only chirping, “You’re tall.”

One-eye chortled. “And old, on top of that. Do you know what my name is?”

Cloudkit shook his head.

“I’m One-eye, unsurprisingly.” The pale molly nodded to her denmates. “That’s Halftail and Patchpelt. Can you guess which is which?”

“Um…” Cloudkit scrunched up his little face before answering slowly. “Patchpelt’s got patches, and Halftail’s brown, right?”

“Very good.” Patchpelt purred. “We have easy names to remember.”

Cloudkit brightened up and wagged his short little tail. “I did it!”

“Yes, you did it,” Brindleface said, touching her nose to her adopted son’s head, adding to the elders, “I can distract him if he starts to bother you.”

“Oh, he’s not a bother at all.” One-eye tilted her head comically at Cloudkit, who trilled in response. “I haven’t had a kit not flinch at my face since I became an elder.”

Fireheart watched on as Cloudkit made his way around to Halftail, who eyed him suspiciously but said nothing. An anxiety he didn’t know was in his stomach settled at the warm looks on the elders’ faces when Cloudkit loudly announced, “Fireheart’s my uncle!” and puffed out his little chest.

He’s bold, Fireheart thought affectionately, watching his nephew respond to Patchpelt’s kindly questions about life in the nursery. Rosy, whether or not you get to see him again, I know you’ll be proud.

#warrior cats #redux iterum #iterum #chapter #chapter one #book three #arc one #charred legacy

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