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paperstarwriters · 3 months

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When Things Go Wrong (Feat. Inanna)

I know the larger trend is to lean comedy, but I couldn't help myself lmao. Also oof, the fic ended up with a lot less focus on things going wrong and a lot more focus on repair. Whoops lmao Pairing: Inanna & Reader (Platonic; familial), Muriel & Reader (Platonic, though could also be viewed as romantic)

Warnings: slight angst, hurt/comfort, Reader deals with feelings of inadequacy, Inanna acts a lot like Muriel.

Summary: Inanna had lost her pack once before, but here, she found a new pack with you and Muriel. It's small, but it's hers, and she will do what she can to protect every member of this little pack. So, when things go wrong, she has to fix it.

Vesuvia Weekly Prompt | Masterlists | The Arcana Masterlist Word Count: 4,085

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"And? When it all goes wrong, what will you do?"

When Inanna was a pup, she would have flashed her teeth in a terrifying snarl, gnash her jaws and howled her answer: "Fight! I would fight, I will fight!" But that is the bark of a child, of a pup, though she knows many grown wolves who would yowl the same sentiment.

Perhaps she shouldn't treat this as if she was somehow wiser. After all, it is wise for a wolf to solve problems with their fellows in a wolfish manner. The predicament occurs when you're dealing with a not-wolf-pack. Two strange magicians with one that too often loves to leave the pack and explore like an overeager puppy, while the other stumbles around occasionally like a newborn. Of course, then there was the snake, mischievous in the same way their wandering puppy magician was, and yet somehow much worse from their small intimidating size, and ability to slip behind and between and into things, without other people knowing. It's terrifying sometimes to see a snake and fear for your life only to realize it's your friend, covered in mud, intent on scaring you to death.

There were others as well, the tall slim bird-man. who sometimes had the face of a bird with cold unblinking eyes which he could somehow remove and leave on a wall, with his own raven friend who freaked out at the slightest inconvenience. There was the soft one, with her tiny little cat, who blinked and "meep!"ed at random intervals and fascinated Inanna to no end, unless she got angry which made her far more terrifying.

There was the wispy one, dressed in spiderwebs with an owl by her side. Inanna liked the owl, for their conversations, but she could never get around the sight of it turning it's head all the way around to stare her down. She's tried it before, it's very very hard to do, and yet the owl can do it without even blinking. Not to mention how irritatingly silent she can be sometimes as she flies around them.

Ah, but in short, they were an eclectic bunch, and though they didn't stay as closely together as a typical pack would, they were close enough, visiting often and being kind to each other. Especially her familiar, and the stumbling magician-ling. Muriel rolled his eyes at the title she gave you. Magician-ling, as if you were a newborn magician. She knew that wasn't true, but she thought it was a fonder title than, the undead. Muriel certainly seemed to prefer it.

Muriel certainly seemed to prefer you.

She remembers the delight in watching the two of you grow close, how you seemed to open the floodgates of connection and re-established his ability to find solace in a pack, to have friends, to have fellows he could rely on. Perhaps not fellow wolves, but someone at least. After he grew close to you, suddenly he was eating with others, suddenly he wasn't so alone anymore. And neither was she. She loves you for that, for giving her a pack to be with again, even if it was more spread out, and even if there were sometimes where they'd end up alone again, it was a little pack she found herself a part of all over again. Her pack. Her home.

And as you spent more and more time sleeping in their den, sharing Muriel's warmth, and cuddling up with her, she found her delight as a member of a pack of three. Muriel was happier with you to, so, so happy as his face grew soft, and his smiles grew wide, and when he did his chores, or wandered through the forest, you would sometimes jump up and delight her in a game, in a chance to chase, and jump and throw and catch, and sometimes, Muriel would join in too, and like a pair of wolves chasing after an agile deer, she would hunt you alongside Muriel peppering your face with kisses instead of bites when they inevitably found and caught you.

It was fun. It was happy. Small as you may be the three of you were a pack, which was why she had to fix this.

She knows why it happened, why you left so suddenly, and she's ashamed to know she had a paw in your sorrow large and clumsy as she was, she had knocked over your inkwell onto your book. You had been working on that so intently, staying up so late... too late in her and Muriel's opinion. It was the source of so many of your disagreements, and when you found it soaked in ink, all you did was cry.

She didn't mean to. She really didn't mean to. Her tail hit the bottle when she saw you finally taking a break and it just spilled all over the pages. And in that moment, you didn't dare to even look at her.

"Don't follow me," you had told Muriel with a frightening look in your eyes. You didn't say the same to her, though Muriel tried to argue for her to follow regardless.

"They don't want to be bothered," he insisted. "I... I think they just need to take a breather."

She could tell, in the way that familiars could, that more than anything, he wanted to defy that request. Instead, with his dexterous hands, he tries to salvage your work, to clean up the mess that she made, that she's helpless to fix, that she would only ever worsen if she even dared lay a paw upon it.

Still, she had to do something.

Muriel doesn't call after her when she slips out the door. The sound of wood creaking open, the sound of it slamming shut after was unmistakable, but he says nothing, despite that deep connection that would have allowed her to hear him despite the distance. He's silent, and though her chest pangs at the thought of leaving him in that state, she knows finding you, and fixing her mistake would surely bring you back, would surely fix his mood. So she tracks you down, the agile deer she's caught many times before, following your familiar scent, the familiar prints you leave in the forest around you, and finds you far far far away, crying, and gasping, panicking in that way she's seen Muriel do so many times before.

And in that way she's done to Muriel so many times before, she curls around you, lets you rest your head against her pelt, and quietly speaks, though she knows you can't hear.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I didn't mean to."

You lean into her touch, sob into her fur, and don't accept her apology, unable to understand a word she speaks. Her distress, is visible, is audible and you try to sniffle and pat her but you're too caught up in your own distress to try and console her. He licks at your tears, wiping them away like she's seen Muriel do with his hands, and you giggle at the feeling. She doesn't intend to make you giggle, but she keeps licking over and over again, if only to hear you laugh instead of cry.

"Inanna!" You bat her away, as gently as you can manage, and it pains her to be unable to tell you the same things Muriel does. You sound so sweet when you laugh, so why must you cry? Why cling to the sorrow she's given you when all she wants is to make you smile?

She wishes you could understand when she says how sorry she is.

Still, she curls around you, tucks her head atop your lap, and tries to keep you warm, to keep you company as you struggle to terms with the mistake she's made in you. At the very least, you sweep the tears from her eyes, and you fix her with a sad and tired look, like a puppy denied her mother. A pup denied her home.

Inanna knows she is giving you the same stare.

"I'm sorry Nana," you mumble perhaps in reply to her own sorrow, and she presses her face further against you, agonized at the idea that she has made you sorry. That you feel the need to apologize at all. Was it not her mistake that made you cry? Was it not her mistake that sent you running?

You lean in, and bask in the feel of her fluffy pelt, rubbing your hands against her fur, in that soothing manner that all you humans so loved to do. She basks in the feeling, the soft and tender feeling, and presses herself further into you, as if it would grant her more. It's greedy perhaps, but it seems to soothe you as much as it does her, as tears slowly dribble, then drip to a halt.

And you look to the forest your soul somewhere far away. And you look the spitting image of Muriel before you came into his life.

And she wonders what happened to you, when you made their life better...had... had they been making your life worse?

She nudges her face into your stomach, hoping and praying that you would get the message. She is curious, she wants to hear your thoughts. She does not want you to be alone in whatever suffering she and Muriel had left you to endure alone.

You look down at her, and as if by some miracle you smile and hear her silent plea.

"Do you ever feel like you're not what you're supposed to be?"

And Inanna curses the fates, the heavens and the moon who guides her. Curses that she was given such a wonderful pack to be a part of an eclectic mix of creatures big and small who all share that connection of affection with each other, who, though not often can sit at the same table and eat their shared catch together, and share whatever meal they've caught in their hunts. She curses that she's been given such a tiny intimate loving pack amidst the larger one, and that she is powerless to protect either when she cannot bear her teeth at the problem.

She wishes, again, begs and pleas to the very moon she just cursed that you could understand her once more.

"I do not understand," she would whisper in sad sorry sound "I am what I am and you are what you are, what is incorrect of our existence?"

And you look down at her, and twist that smile into a pitying thing. With a hand on her jaw you rub at your cheek and chuckle as she allows you this minor cruelty, forcing one eye shut, as she stares with the other.

"You're so tame Inanna, so kind. People say wolves should be fiercer, scarier than this. You seem almost more like a dog sometimes."

It's another cruelty that she must allow. If you could hear her, she would bear her teeth, scold you for thinking such cruel terms, as if others' thoughts could make her any less the wolf she is. But you would not hear her words, and you would not know her anger was not at you. Her jaws remain shut, though she could open them to remind you of her nature. And she leans further into your touch, to inform you of the rest of her.

She can be scarier, she can be fiercer, to her prey and any threat, but only a foolish wolf would bear her fangs at a pack-member in need.

"Inanna, did you know me when I was alive?"

She stares once more, eyes turning up to observe you from where she rests in your lap. She knows you now, and you are alive now. Is that not enough?

Again that sorrow pools in your eyes, sags over your shoulders and brings pains to your fingertips as you clutch at her fur. She wants to whimper to whine in pain but her silence is her gift to you, and an urge to listen to more.

She is here to fix, perhaps this is more than her mistake, but she has caused you pain and she wishes to know how to fix it—if she could fix it. The job seems grander and grander with every word that falls from your lips, every twist of your expression in pain and sorrow, and she is left helpless at her inability to talk to you as she so wishes.

"I knew more magic then, right?"

She tries to nod. It's true, before your death you knew far more than you knew now, but then you had seemed so unhappy as well. Wouldn't you be pleased to let go of such sorrows?

"I wish I still knew all that magic."

It clicks then, and she wants to speak. She begs for the ability to speak.

"Asra mentions it sometimes, how I used to be smarter, stronger, more capable."

"I wish I knew more magic too," she wants to say. "I wish I knew how to tell you that you're enough."

"Does Muriel ever mention it? How it would be nice if he didn't have to cover for my clumsiness all the time?"

"I wish I could tell you how much we love you."

Inanna does what she can. She shakes her head furiously, as she's seen you and Muriel do many times before, and she bears the brunt of dizziness that the movement brings. She wants to tell you that you're wrong, she wants to tell you that you are loved, she wants to tell you that to her, newborn as you are, you are just as powerful as the you of that past, that you had magic that your old self never could have reached. You had the ability to bring people together, to make a pack from a crowd of such different animals.

You had the magic to give her a pack again.

A pack of her, you, and—

"Are you okay?"

Muriel! Inanna leaps up, and she wonders at how she hadn't thought of it before. In a manner reminiscent of the day she first truly got to know you, she rushes behind Muriel, forgoing telling him what he needs to do in favour of telling him all that you were suffering alone. Muriel, she knew was clever. He'd know what to tell you, and he could speak for her too.

And yet when they turn to look at you, when she drags Muriel by his clothes yanked from between her teeth, she catches sight of your eyes growing wide, of your brows drawing down and your own body retreating from the both of them.

"Ah, sorry," Muriel tries to say. "I know you said not to follow you, but Inanna sounded distressed and—"

And you looked at her as if she had betrayed you. Hot tears building up on your face as you look away and try to hide, to hide from the both of them, of course, but to hide from yourself, she thinks as well.

"I'm fine. We're—Inanna and I were fine," you speak, around a mouthful of your own flesh and clothes. She can hear the shudder of your throat the warble in your tone, and she knows it is not merely from her keen ears that the sound carries through.

Muriel fixes her with a look, concern worry and curiosity, but when he whispers to her, in a voice only the two of them can hear, he asks her not to tell him. Not right away at least. She knows. She accepts, she never would have even if he didn't ask.

"Nana... Inanna wasn't fine."

You go still for a moment, back straightening, as if you're about to turn, before you burry your face deeper into your lap an attempt to hide more shame. Still the source of your sorrow, Inanna curls up beside Muriel, intent on doing the same.

"I'm sorry," and you sound so, so small.

Was this what he meant? When Muriel once fussed over his towering size. You sound so small, smaller than a bunny, smaller than a squirrel, you sound as if you could be held between her jaws and locked behind her teeth, and if she held you like she held a pup, she would have to take extra care not to bring you any harm.

It sounded like even before starting, she had already failed.

"It's not you," Muriel clarifies, shuffling close to lean against you. He starts with a hand on your shoulder, gives you ample time to shrug it off before he comes in with the rest of himself, pulling you into his embrace, into his affection and care.

And Inanna watches as you relax, suddenly wishing she was more like you.

She is a member of an eclectic pack of many different animals, but one mostly made of humans. Maybe she could take better care of you all if she traded her fangs for a form like yours. If she traded her fur for your skin.

She curls up beside you, trying to amend her inadequacy, and your hand finds her fur, stroking once more, calming even more.

If she can soothe you like this, then perhaps it isn't so bad.

"Inanna wanted to talk to you, but you can't understand what she says."

You say nothing, but you look away from the both of them, and Inanna understands. You still long for that magic so far out of your reach, you still long for the spells that you once had before your demise. She's sorry that she had stood between you and your goal, sorry that she had ruined your hard work to achieving it.

"She says she's sorry," Muriel says, and you sigh, shoulders sagging, as your hand returns to her fur.

"Its okay Nana, it was an accident I know."

"no, no, not only for that," she whispers.

"Not only for that," Muriel says.

"I'm sorry you think that you are lesser now than you were before"

"She says she's sorry that you think you're lesser now than you were before."

"I'm sorry that you think you are inadequate"

"She's sorry that you think you're inadequate."

"I'm sorry that you think we don't love you so much as you are now."

"She's sorry—" and Muriel falters, words dying on his tongue. "Do... do you not think we love you as you are now? Do you think we'd love the you from before... more?"

"It's not.... I know you didn't even really know me then" you try to argue back, but your voice warbles and cracks and though you try to deny it, it's clear the feeling was there. "But I... I was such a skilled magician before. Asra tries not to mention it but.... but I hear it sometimes. In the way that they speak.... they look so sad, so disappointed, as if they're upset that I'm not like that anymore—and I know that they're probably more upset that I've forgotten them," you're hiccuping now, gasping for air, that your lungs deprive yourself of a self harm that mirrors your words, cruel bitter things, where you pretend as if it's foolish for you not to be so hurt. "It's just that... I... I ... It'd be nicer wouldn't it? If I wasn't so clumsy, and if I knew all those spells. I'm sure I knew a spell to understand familiars once, I could've talked to her—I could have talked to you Inanna. And I just... I thought that maybe if I studied a little more I could do it again. That you know, maybe I could do other things too, and you wouldn't need to help me so often.

"I just feel like there's just so many things I can't do anymore. So many things I don't remember how to do, that would be so, so helpful."

And Muriel speaks exactly what Inanna thinks, without a word of encouragement from her side. "Do you think you aren't really helpful right now? Even if you aren't helpful, it doesn't make you any less...wonderful."

With his dexterous hands, Muriel slips your cheek into his palm, cradling your face, as he shuffles around you to make it easier for you to turn to him, to make it easier for him to wipe away your tears, to make it easier for him to tug you into his chest, let you sob into his shirt as he holds you tight. Inanna nuzzles up beside you, rubs her cheek against your shuddering ribs, and though it's hardly the same as the affection Muriel gives you, she hopes you can feel it too.

"You've done so much for me. For Inanna too. You remember how you told me that my past doesn't define me? The same applies to you, you know. You're amazing now, what does it matter how skilled you were before?"

"I don't know," you sob. "But... gods, it still makes me feel like I've somehow failed. Like I've grown worse over time instead of getting better. I should be getting better, shouldn't I?"

Muriel opens his mouth to say something, but grimaces at the thought. Inanna knows. Inanna knows full well what he's thinking, and she speaks for him, before he chooses silence.

"I... um... oh... Inanna says that.... no pup learns how to walk without stumbling, and.... and that no hunt future hunt will be better if the current one is successful. And.... and she says that even if she fails to catch her food, she is no less a wolf. And... and that applies to the both of us."

Muriel's face turns a little pink at the mention, and you turn to look up at him, your own hand coming up to mirror his own, cradled on his cheek. As you ask with your heart of concern, "You think you're not good enough?"

His brows dip though that pink colour doesn't go away. "I should be saying that to you, you know. You already know so much magic..."

"And you know so much about the forest, about life."

Muriel scoffs, eyes growing dark. "I know a lot about ending it."

"And a lot about healing it. Even without magic, you know how to mend wounds so well."

"And even without as much knowledge as before, you know how to do so much." You scoff at his retort, and Inanna buts her head against you, something Muriel is eager to translate. "Inanna agrees."

You roll your eyes, at their shared agreement, and smile. Muriel smiles in turn seemingly satisfied with this outcome, but Inanna is not convinced.

She speaks through Muriel, wagging her tail as she squirms into the space between the both of you, hoping to curl up around both of you and emphasize her points.

"Nanna!" you yelp

"Pfft." Muriel swats at her tail, likely stuck in his face. She doesn't regret a thing, only that it makes him slower to speak. "Inanna, oof, Nanna says that she loves you by the way."

"Both of you. I love both of you."

Muriel stubbornly refuses to voice the latter part. She swats her tail against his face again. "Hey! Okay, okay, both of us she says."

"You are my pack."

"She says we're her pack," and Muriel further translates. "She says we're her family."

"Inanna..." You open your arms, and let her into her lap, showering her with affection and cuddles, hands scratching and petting and fluffing and rubbing. "I love you too Nanna!"

From the side Muriel watches with a small smile on his lips as Inanna peppers you with slobbery kisses, and before he dares lapse into any feelings of isolation, Inanna twists, intent on pulling him into this pile of affection and play, as for the first time in a long time, she shows her love for her family the way a wolf does best.

So perhaps she cannot fix her pack's problems by bearing her teeth. She can fix them with play and affection with kisses, and with help. She's not alone anymore. And neither are either of you.

#familiars screwed up #but she also fixed it in the end lmao #x reader #reader insert #Muriel x reader #Muriel the arcana #Muriel #the arcana muriel #the arcana muriel x reader #the arcana #Muriel the mountain man #Muriel the hermit #muriel of the kokkhuri #muriel arcana #muriel the hermit #Inanna #Inanna the arcana #the arcana Inanna #Inanna the wolf

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iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia · 3 months

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Vesuvia Weekly: The Marketplace Incident

~ my little written sketch for @vesuviaweekly's prompt "How Things Went Wrong (feat the Arcana familiars)". Enjoy an afternoon from the perspective of my fandom self-insert :3 ~

Word count: 1.5k

The marketplace really is the best spot to write in. The bustle of afternoon shoppers in the sunny square is a soothing view from my shaded nook, tucked between Selasi's booth and an alleyway of stairs. The steady sea breeze makes the parchment in front of me flutter, carrying the smell of spiced bread as it tousles my hair from my forehead.

"Need a refill?" The baker leans on the stone wall above the low table I'm pretending to draft my next story on. "Maybe it will help the ink flow better."

"Thanks, Selasi, but I'm afraid I've barely had a sip." I gesture to my mostly-full clay cup. "It's a good blend, though - what did you use for it this time?"

"A craftsman never shares his secrets." He hunches closer, not-so-subtly trying to sneak a peek at my handwriting. "What is today's writing about? More of our six friends' adventures, by a friendly young man whose signature is a rotting brain?"

I roll my eyes at his teasing smile. "Okay, using the moniker 'brainrot' doesn't automatically mean gruesome physical decay -"

We both jump at the sudden cat's yowl from the direction of the baker's counter. A fuzzy orange blur streaks to my corner, tiny claws digging into my shirt as it uses me as a ladder to get to Selasi's shoulder.

"Pounce? What is it, little one?"

"Bad dogs!" Faust's face pops into view, her body slowly unwinding from the cloth umbrella over me.

I barely have time to stabilize her plop onto my arm before I catch sight of two more barking fuzzy blurs tearing around the corner, a screeching raven flapping frantically after them. All three start heading in my direction as soon as they see me stand up to intervene. "Mercedes, Melchior! Come here!"

As ill-trained as I know Lucio's dogs are, the half-finished roll I hold out in their direction is more than enough to convince them. They slide to a halt in front of me, paws and tail still skittering from side to side, eyes trained on the treat. The flustered raven descends on my shoulder and Faust scoots onto Selasi's arm to give him more space.

"It's rare to see these fellows here without their owners ..." The baker runs his hand over Pounce's bushed-out tail in a soothing arc. "Did something happen?"

"What didn't happen?" I mumble in response. I don't think I recognize the strange goop Faust has left on my shirt, or the hooped earring in Malak's beak, or the concerningly pleasant smell wafting off of the dog's silky coats. I hold out my palm in front of the bird on my shoulder. "Give me the shiny, please. Which friend did you take this from?"

"Took it when I squeezed!"

"Who did you squeeze, Faust? Was it Julian?"

"Stinky count. Stole my fishies!"

The hissed voice clearly belongs to a cat, but it's not coming from the trembling ginger tabby in Selasi's arms. Pepi lopes into view on the wall above me with a smug look on her little face. Oh, right. I keep forgetting that she learned how to talk ...

"Lucio ... stole your fish?"

"Pepi earned the fishies - Pepi was a good cat and caught all the rats! Went to the docks to get the fishies, but he took them first!"

I try to piece the narrative together, noticing what looks like a pearly white owl listening in from the roof of the booth. "So ... Portia went to buy Pepi some fish, but Lucio bought them first? Where did the earring come from?"

"Master tried to help!"

"Oh, did Asra try to trade their earring for the fish? I thought his piercings closed up years ago."

Malak caws loudly in protest. Faust wiggles and bobs from her perch on Selasi's shoulder as the distant owl takes off for a different corner of the marketplace.

"Not Master's earring."

I study the golden hoop, finally catching the protective gleam in Malak's eye. "Ohh, this is Julian's, isn't it? Okay, from the top." I watch five pairs of animal eyes point back in my direction. "Portia went to get fish for Pepi, but Lucio bought them first. Asra tried to intervene, and then Julian offered an earring that he apparently owns to bargain for the fish with. Is that right?"

I almost miss the variety of nods when a thick coat of fur unexpectedly brushes across the backs of my knees. When I look down, it's right into Inanna's bright green eyes - and the torn bag of rice in her mouth. She drops it at my feet, spilling the grains across the ground and sending Malak into a flurry of indignant squawks. The wolf curls up for a nap at my heels, completely unfazed. Selasi gently sets Faust on my abandoned parchment and returns to his oven with an amused "good luck!"

"O-Okay." I drag my hand down my face and do my best to analyze the mess. "So why do the dogs smell nice, why is Faust slimy enough to smudge my ink, and why am I the one currently holding Julian's mystery hoop?"

"Squeeze the thief! Rescue the shiny! Run away fast!"

Faust bleps her tongue proudly, while Pepi takes a smug seat on the stones and the dogs begin to growl. One warning huff from the large wolf pretending to sleep behind me quietens the impending ruckus.

"And ... do I want to know about the slime and the fruity smells?"

Pepi yawns above me, slowly succumbing to the sun-warmed wall. "Beauty stall."

Faust curls herself elegantly over my story draft in an attempt to flaunt her shiny scales. "Moisturize."

"You're practically glowing, Faust. Such a beautiful girl!" Asra's trotting in my direction, a very sweaty pair of Devorak siblings close behind and a red-faced ex-count bringing up the rear. The magician scoops her up off of the table, my freshly hydrated parchment going with it, as Pepi uses the top of my head as a springboard into Portia's arms. Julian gives his judgemental raven a sheepish look before brightening at the earring in my palm.

"Did you leave us the rice trail, Faust?" Asra scritches the serpent's chin.

"Wait - rice trail? What rice trail? Is that how you knew where you were going? Where did they get - my rice!"

Inanna gives the shocked doctor a guiltily amused look, nudging the torn bag with her nose and watching the last of the grains spill onto my feet. Lucio straightens from where's been fussing over his perfumed dogs, finally catching his breath.

"Hah! Serves you right for trying to take my fish!"

Portia bristles and turns on him as Inanna slinks off to the large figure skulking in the shadows several booths away. "Your fish? That vendor and I have been friends for three years, you heard him say that I'd get first pick!"

I can't tell if Lucio is grinning or gritting his teeth. "Does it matter? I already paid for those things, they were the least smelly ones!"

"Enough!" The Countess's firm voice rings across the corner of the square, effectively halting the brewing squabble that's hijacking my writing corner. Chandra reassumes her perch on the baker's booth roof as Nadia rubs her temples in resigned frustration. "I have already paid for a year's worth of cosmetics. I have no interest in paying for your argument with a headache as well."

She heaves a tired sigh as the familiars settle in with their owners, sparing me a comforting glace. "Considering the paperless state of your table, I trust there were no writing casualties involved?"

Portia scurries over with a worried look. "Oh, I'm so glad you hadn't started yet!"

"Well ..."

"I think we did interrupt him, unfortunately." Asra's already taking a seat at my table, holding a fresh bowl of rolls in one hand and my smudged paper in the other while Faust hides guiltily in their shirt. "What's a 'ringtone'?"

Julian helps himself to the paper. "Allow me - perhaps I can shed some light on - ah!"

I've already given up hope on restoring my draft, so I don't wince nearly as badly as my friends do as a sharp, golden hand snatches my handwriting and rips it in the process. Lucio's pout deepens the further he reads. "I'm not in this."

"He's probably not finished it." Nadia holds her hand out, impervious to Lucio's begrudging surrender, and carefully offers the paper back to me. "We should leave you in peace, or you'll never meet your deadline."

Portia takes the cue and begins herding Lucio back to the docks for a fresh round of fish. Nadia gives Asra a pointed look, resulting in them stuffing the last of their roll into their mouth and rising from the cushions. They leave the last two pieces of bread for me.

"Julian," I call as he turns away, "one more question."

"Ah - yes?"

"What's the story with the earring?"

"Oh!" He flushes unexpectedly, fumbling the hoop away into his pocket. "... it, ah, it doesn't go in my ear. Adieu!"

#vesuvia weekly #familiars screwed up #ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fanfic #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson #selasi the baker #faust the arcana #malak the arcana #chandra the arcana #inanna the arcana #pepi the arcana #mercedes and melchior

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vesuviaweekly · 3 months

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Vesuvia Weekly: Prompt for Jan 17th - 31st

You voted, so here it is!

How Things Went Wrong (feat. the Arcana familiars)

The masterlist for this prompt will go under next week's prompt poll. Tags are the usual #vesuvia weekly, and for this specific prompt, #familiars screwed up ^.^

MASTERLIST

The Marketplace Incident by @iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia

That Time When Bip and Faust Got In Trouble by @hewwo-its-floof

Animal Shenanigans by @mermaidchan05

Charles and Oliver comic by @samtheplatypus

How it all went wrong with the familiars by @themushroomgoesyeet

When Things Go Wrong (feat. Inanna) by @paperstarwriters

After the Storm by @slightlyirritable

Julian, Malak, and the Letter by @blu-raes

The Fire Fountain by @jacithenonbinary

How It All Went Wrong by @arcanarubinaito

#vesuvia weekly #familiars screwed up #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fanart #the arcana fanfic #the arcana hc

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arcanarubinaito · 3 months

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How It All Went Wrong

Inspired by the “Who Broke It” meme from Parks and Recreation.

This week I’ve decided to do a reader insert fic! I was originally planning to do a special Incorrect Quotes post, but I ran out of time to even start editing it together. I’ll probably do what I planned eventually, but to meet the deadline I switched over to a mini-fic.

(I’m still figuring out how to format my mini-fic/creative writing posts so please forgive the inconsistencies.)

Summary:

It’s the start of a new day and the familiars have all gathered in the Palace to play and run around the mostly empty halls while you and the M6 share drinks and relax on the Veranda. Unfortunately, while they were romping about and having fun, you discovered one of the familiars broke a very expensive vase Nadia was planning to auction off for charity…

Tags:

SFW (<18), 1k Words, GN Reader, Reader Insert, No Established Relationship, Asra Alnazar, Nadia Satrinava (Mentioned), Faust, Chandra, Malak, Inanna, Pepi, Mercedes & Melchior, Camio, Reader's Familiar, Whodunnit, Parks and Recreation, Who Broke It?

“So. Who broke it?”

The pack of animals in front of you all exchanged guilty glances. You’d caught them running through the halls in a panic, a mess of feathers and fur as they frantically tried to get your attention; and they had led you back to the scattered shards of what once was a very expensive, very delicate vase. Nadia had planned to auction it off, raising money to instate a proper orphanage; she wasn’t going to be happy about this. You sighed and crouched down, so you weren’t towering over the frenzied herd. “I’m not mad.” You said soothingly, reaching your hand out. Pepi was the first to rush forward, pressing into your hand with an apologetic purr. “I just want to know.”

They were all quiet for a long, long moment before your own familiar tentatively broke the silence. “I did it,” They said, but you knew it wasn’t them. They didn’t know who it was, either; the creature was attempting to take the fall for their friends. You huffed out a slight, gentle laugh.

“No, no you didn’t.” Your other hand found the top of your familiar’s head, and you gently scratched at it soothingly. Glancing up at the rest, you swept your gaze over the sea of guilty faces and focused on Malak. The raven looked a little more disheveled than usual, his beady black eyes darting around and his head cocking back and forth anxiously. “Malak?” You prompted. You regretted it almost instantly when you saw the look in his eyes.

“Don’t look at me!” Malak shot back, and his wings flared out. His talons clicked against the marble floor as he began to pace, eyeing the other familiars with a paranoid and scrutinizing glare. “Look at Chandra.” He swept one wing towards her, and the other animals turned to focus on the owl. Her eyes widened further, both surprised and indignant at the accusation.

“I beg your pardon?” Chandra brought herself up to her full height, glaring down at Malak with cold, dark eyes. “I certainly didn’t break it. Unlike yourself I watch where I’m flying.”

“That’s weird, how’d you even know it was broken?” Malak said, almost smugly. As though he thought he’d caught Chandra in the act somehow. You glance at the scattered pieces of sharp ceramic in front of you all, and then back up at the two bickering birds.

The owl extended her wing, feathers flaring as she gestured towards the broken vase. “You imbecile, it is right there in front of us and it is clearly broken.”

“Suspicious.”

“No, it is not–”

“If it matters.” Another voice interjected quickly, and you all turned to look at the two Borzoi standing just off to the side. Melchior had spoken up, Mercedes pressed up against his side and eyeing Pepi. “Probably not… but Pepi was closest to it when we ran past.” Mercedes nodded in agreement.

You saw Pepi’s tail slowly puff up, her pale blue eyes widening in disbelief. “Liar!” She yowled at them, and her ears flattened against her skull. The fur on her back spiked up. “I don’t—push things off of tables, that is a stereotype!”

Mercedes looked amused now, baring her teeth in a grin. “Oh really? Then what were you doing up on the table earlier then?”

“Cats like to be high up to watch things, everybody knows that Mercedes—”

You sighed and held up your hands. “Alright, let’s not fight…”

“Well…” Camio bobbed his head thoughtfully. “Inanna’s been awfully quiet–”

“Really?” Inanna snarled, whipping her head in the cockatiel’s direction. The bird only cackled as the rest of the familiars broke into frenzied arguments, pointing claws and feathers. You could hardly hear yourself think over the uproar, the squabbling animals making so much racket it was a wonder the others couldn’t hear them from the veranda. With a long, suffering sigh you rubbed your hands over your face.

“Okay, that’s enough!” You called out, loudly and clearly enough that your voice rang through the entire hall and shut the bickering animals up. The guilty expressions returned tenfold this time as everyone quieted down, paws and talons shuffling. Your thumb and finger ran up the bridge of your nose, pinching together while you took advantage of the quiet to think. There were a lot of fingers being pointed—so to speak—but none of them were admitting it; and you were inclined to believe they were all speaking the truth as well. You opened one eye to survey the small crowd again, doing a brief headcount. Your own familiar, Malak, Chandra, Camio, Melchior, Mercedes, Inanna, Pepi… no sign of Faust.

“Found help!” Ah, there she was. You turned your head to see Faust slung over Asra’s shoulders as he walked down the hall, the periwinkle serpent waving her tail cheerfully at everyone.

“Faust told me what happened.” Asra crouched beside you and skimmed their fingers over the shattered pottery. “Why don’t we get this fixed up before Nadia sees, hm?” They threw a wink at the other familiars, all of them relaxing just a little bit now. Asra held their hands over the shards, and you watched alongside the familiars as the pieces began to glow softly and draw back together. Glowing golden lines formed where the cracks were as the pieces fit together, melting away to reveal a perfectly uncracked and unbroken surface. They picked up the object carefully and set it back where it belonged. “There we go, good as new. Nobody has to know.” They flashed a toothy smile towards you.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter who broke it then.” The familiars relaxed completely. The only reason you wanted to know was so that whoever broke the vase could properly apologize to Nadia; now there wasn’t any reason for that. You took a moment to give everyone some pets and ear scritches before standing up. “But let’s try to not break any more valuable objects, okay?” You chided them all gently and they murmured their agreements. As you turned back to Asra, you gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“If they’re all together like this, it’s hardly surprising that something broke.” Asra chuckled, guiding Faust off their shoulders so she could rejoin the other familiars. “I was waiting for it to happen. Murphy’s law,” They held their finger up as you both began to walk. “Anything that can go wrong, will. It’s just a matter of how, isn’t it?”

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samtheplatypus · 3 months

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Charles and Oliver are just a little bit too curious (much like Demien tbh)

Malak was just minding his business fr

They are grounded

#familiars screwed up #vesuvia weekly #julian devorak #the arcana julian #the arcana malak #the arcane game #Demien the rats were at it again #don't ask the rats what they were going to do with Malak #the arcana familiars

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mermaidchan05 · 3 months

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Vesuvia Weekly: Animal Shenanigans

(for @vesuviaweekly 's "How things went wrong, featuring the familiars" prompt. Also featuring very sketchy doodles I did while playing DnD)

Chandra and Skye

(Nadia and Chimalus' familiars)

There aren't too many shenanigans as far as those two are concerned.

Chandra took sort of a motherly role to Skye.

And Skye is a very sweet little bluebird... most of the time.

Chandra tries. She really does. But she can't completely keep Skye out of trouble.

When not doing her self-proclaimed duties keeping Chimalus company and sometimes acting as a seeing-eye bird (the scar over Chimalus' eye left them half-blind) Skye loves going Places where Small Birds Should Not Be.

She particularly likes to hide inside teapots.

Especially when said teapot is on the tea tray of anyone unlucky enough to annoy Chimalus.

Chandra will sit by whatever table or shelf said tea set is on and hoot incessantly until someone finds Skye and coaxes her out.

Skye is mildly annoyed by this. But she forgives Chandra every time.

(Now if only Chandra could get it through her head that small birds do not need to eat anything like mice...)

Malak and Oswald

(Julian and Damian's familiars)

Oswald is a little fruit bat, a rescue from the Red Market.

He's very smart and dedicated, a Firm Supporter of everything Damian does.

Malak is... well, Malak. He's the worrywart. But he's doing his best.

Oswald helps Damian with his potions and alchemy projects whenever he can, and it’s adorable and Oswald is very good at it.

Malak has occasionally tried to fetch things for Julian in the same way, but this is a bird who refuses to wash his claws, so Julian won’t have it. It’s unsanitary. (And thank you Brainrot for that amazing headcanon!)

Which inevitably leads to Malak trying to help Damian, which in turn leads to disaster.

Malak does not know what he is doing or what he is grabbing.

And Malak, by nature, is both very suspicious of strange mysterious liquids and distracted by both shiny things and things that smell nice.

Both of which are abundant in Damian’s alchemy work.

So not only does he always fail to grab the wrong thing, but he also drops stuff so he can go inspect The Latest Shiny.

Damian is endlessly patient with him. Oswald is not.

(Malak don't do it don't drop the berries into the potion--)

Julian has needed to clean up after Malak's "help" on more than one occasion.

The most infamous one turned what was supposed to be a burn salve into a pile of stinky orange goo.

It took a while to clean that up. And even longer to cheer up the very remorseful Malak.

Faust and Forge

(Asra and Meleia's familiars)

Forge is an adorable little fennec fox that Meleia rescued during one of her travels with Asra.

He's a shy little guy, and an absolute sweetheart. He doesn't usually get into trouble.

But he does have a "burrow" under Asra and Meleia's bed.

And he loves to hoard blankets to make his burrow more cozy

Faust wholeheartedly encourages this. ("Crimes!")

There was one day when Asra and Meleia found a very fancy blanket in Forge’s nest

Far fancier than anything they owned.

Asra and Meleia had to use magic to find where it actually belonged.

Thankfully the blanket was just from the palace, so they could easily return it

Nadia and Portia ended up gifting the blanket to Forge anyway.

Faust was rather smug about that. The whole mess was her fault and she is very pleased with the outcome.

(No one knows how she managed to steal an entire blanket from the palace in the first place)

Faust: "Teehee!"

#vesuvia weekly #familiars screwed up #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana familiars #forge the fox #oswald the bat #skye the bluebird #arcana fan apprentice #oc info dump #my art #sketches

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hewwo-its-floof · 3 months

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That Time When Bip and Faust Got In Trouble

Wilmina was just minding her business in the shop- it was slow, so she was dusting the shelves and sweeping the floors. Asra was just as bored, laying upside-down on the couch in the backroom. Faust was lounging around a very large bottle of moon water and Bip- well, he was somewhere. That "somewhere" was discovered when the bell above the door jingled and Bip came flying in, holding a bag of something, followed by Julian, who was chasing Bip and yelling.

When Julian passed Faust, she got spooked and struck at him, her bite landing on his forearm. He cried out and toppled to the floor, Faust unwillingly following his trajectory. The moon water jug fell because of the momentum, hitting Julian in the stomach. Bip, however, was just fine with his little bag up in his nest. Asra quickly went to help Julian, releasing Faust from her bite and getting the jug back on the counter, while Wilmina grabbed a step stool and took the bag from Bip. She opens it up, and lo and behold, it's Bip's favorite snack. "Sunflower seeds... Bip, you cannot be stealing from people like this. You know we can buy you some if you need them."

"*Hungry,*" said Bip. Wilmina rolled her eyes. "I will deal with you later." She hands the bag back to Julian, who is busy getting his bite wound healed.

#familiars screwed up #vesuvia weekly #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana oc #asra arcana #arcana #fanfiction

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jacithenonbinary · 3 months

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The Fire Fountain

This is for the Vesuvia weekly How it went wrong (ft the arcana familiars) prompt. It's a lil writing with a self-insert. Hope you like it!

(M6 X MC [Platonic])

It's just a usual day, I'm reading a book on "How to Cook a Skink 101". Suddenly something lands on my head. It's my familiar, Sheila, her bunny ears obscuring my vision. "Chaos." Sheila tells me. "What happened?" Sheila jumps off, encouraging me to follow.

Sheila leads me to Townsquare. Amongst the crowds, I spot Asra and the others standing before the source of the panic. It was the fountain. But instead of water flowing, it was fire. Sheila stops and lets me pick her up. I look to the others. "What happened here?!" Portia shrugs. "I dunno. I was looking for Pepi when I saw her here, in front of the fire." Pepi meows in response.

Faust looks proud. "Magic fountain! Warm." Lucio is pouting, petting the fur of Mercedes and Melchior. "Well, it almost burned my precious dogs!" He gestures to his expensive hunting dogs. Nadia is rubbing her temples, bothered by a headache. "Well let's fix this before it does any more damage. Asra, Faust said this is magic, so will water work?" Asra looks to Faust, and she drops a small pouch in Asra's hands. "Hmm. No. It won't work. The spell creates everlasting fire. Water won't work. Only another spell can extinguish it. I will go get the spellbook. Be right back!" Asra then speeds off with Faust.

Now it's just us, and our familiars. Nadia mumbles something to her familiar, Chandra, and she flies off. Portia is at the side, scolding Pepi, and Lucio's petting his dogs, trying to calm them down. They look completely fine, even looking proud. I think they had something to do with this fire fountain. Julian is nowhere to be found, and Muriel is sitting on the floor, with Innana sleeping on his lap.

"Hey Muriel. Is she okay?" I gesture to the sleeping Innana. Muriel pets her on the head. "She's fine. Just tired." I smile, relieved. "That's good then. You should go back to your cabin then if she's tired." Muriel looks away. "I will, once this disaster is done." I pat Innana on the head. "Okay then. I'll go find Ilya." I then turn around to look for Julian, when I suddenly bump into Nadia.

"Oh, hey Nadi. Everything okay?" She smiles. "Yes, everything is fine, I just sent Chandra to tell the people to stay away. Is Muriel and his familiar alright?" I nod in response. Then suddenly Asra and Julian rush in, with the books and ingredients needed. "We're back with the books!" Julian says as Malak lands on his head.

Asra nods in my direction. I nod back and we hold hands to start the spell. Then suddenly a voice from behind me speaks. "I'll help." I turn around and find out it's Muriel. Then Nadia joins in. "I will offer my help as well." She then holds my hands and we say the words of the spell.

The fire slowly dies out. The fountain itself is fine, just suffered minor discoloration. Once we were done, night was about to fall, so we all said our goodbyes and went home.

Well, that's it! Hope y'all liked the story!

#vesuvia weekly #familiars screwed up #fanfic #the arcana #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #julian devorak #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

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benisasoftboi · 8 months

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ChrisTrev not because of their personalities, or dynamic, or implied backstories, or the actors that play them, or really anything to do with them specifically as people at all, but because I work at an amateur theatre and I can think of few recipes for ridiculous chaotic hilarious disaster that are more potent than a director dating his head technician

#the goes wrong show #cornley polytechnic drama society #chris bean #trevor watson #christrev #the DRAMA at the post-production meetings! the staff would be gossiping for weeks!#only heightened by the fact that trevor seemingly does *all* the sections #yes he probably does screw up more than anyone but honestly can you really blame him under those circumstances #just take turns having someone sit out to run props for the week guys!#jk that would be highly unrealistic they’re actors.#god even though it’s exaggerated you really can tell mischief are actually familiar with the world they’re writing about #trevor watson realest techie representation ever put to screen. love this show

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themushroomgoesyeet · 3 months

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How it all went wrong with the familiars

Today had been one of the worst days I've ever experienced. Before today, I thought that the worst challenge I could have ever faced was defeating Lucio, and boy, was I wrong.

I hear the bell ring as several sets of feet enter the shop, and a collective gasp as my new guests observe the disastrous scene before them. All at once, the sounds of seven different familiars fervidly greet their owners.

Lifting the arm I have over my eyes, I see my friends looking worriedly from their anxious familiars, to me, do the destroyed shop that I don't have the energy to clean up. Muriel looks especially worried and is about to say something before I wordlessly walk over and softly plonk my head against his chest with a dejected sigh.

"Never again," I mumble into my husband's shirt as his arms come up to rub my back comfortingly.

"Merf, what happened?!?" Asra exclaims incredulously.

"Are you alright?" Muriel asks at the same time.

"I'll be fine in a bit, I think," I reply, backing away a little so that I can confront the group as a whole. "Do you want the long or the short answer?" I add in reply to Asra's question.

"I believe a longer explanation would be in order, Merf, but I think it would be best if we all sat down first, for your sake," Nadia interjects. "It seems that you all have had a rather trying day."

"Hah! You've got that right," I reply, taking Muriel's hand as we all gingerly make our way to the apartment upstairs - which has thankfully been mostly untouched.

"Why are all our familiars wet?" Asra asks when we all sit down.

"And slimy?" Portia adds with disgust as she cradles Pepi, who has now been wrapped in a towel.

"And, er....sticky," Julian adds as he helps Nadia pick filth and expensive looking beads out of Malak and Chandra's feathers.

"I'll just start at the beginning, shall I?" I ask, helping Asra pass out towels to everyone as we all begin to clean our familiars. The group nods, and I have another exhausted sigh as I begin to tell my tale.

~~ Earlier that morning ~~

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Muriel asks as our cart nears the shop.

"It wouldn't be an experiment if I knew, would it?" I reply, and Inanna lets out a cheery bark of support from the back of the cart, tail wagging. My response doesn't seem to reassure Muriel however, so I place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Look, the worst case scenario is that the spell is fake and nothing happens. Nobody's going to get hurt today, and everything is going to be fine!"

"Wise choice of words," Asra jokes as he gently towels off Faust.

"If I had known what was going to happen today, I wouldn't have said it," I retort.

As we pull up to the shop, Asra opens the door to greet us.

"Hello you two!" He exclaims as Inanna jumps out of the cart, and I follow suit. "Everything is ready for you Merf, Portia just dropped off Pepi and all the others from the palace."

I can already hear various animal noises coming from inside the shop, and Asra gives me a bit of a drawn look.

"Did you have to include Lucio's dogs in this? They've only been in there for about five minutes and they're already proving to be tough to handle."

"I wouldn't have been able to get Chandra and Pepi if I didn't take Mercedes and Melchior too, and it's not their fault that their previous owner was Lucio," I reply. "I'll make it work, don't worry."

"If you say so," Asra shrugs, hopping up onto the cart next to Muriel. "Good luck with your spell!"

"Good luck with your foraging!" I reply, waving as the cart moves away down the street. "Alright, shall we go inside?" I ask, turning to Inanna. She huffs an affirmative, and we both make our way up the steps together.

A cacophony of sounds assaults my ears as we enter; Mercedes and Melchior are barking their heads off at Chandra, Malak, and Faust who are all perched in the rafters, while Pepi yowls back at the dogs from her place on top of the cabinets behind the service counter. I form a glowing orange whistle in my hand as I shut the door, and Inanna lies down on the floor covering her ears with a whine.

I blow the whistle as loud as I can, drowning out the rest of the noise and bringing the animal chatter quickly to a stop.

"that's enough of that everyone, we've got work to do today," I declare as Inanna stands up again. "All of you come down from there and make a circle on the floor," I command, and after a minute each animal slowly moves over to the middle of the shop in a rough circle.

Mercedes and Melchior whine as most of the familiars all try to sit as far away from them as they can, and I let out a sigh from my place at the counter where Asra left the ingredients for my spell.

"Inanna, do you mind?" I ask politely, and Inanna gives me a whuff in response before sitting next to the borzoi siblings so they stop complaining.

"Thank you. Now all of you, enough with this bickering. We're all going to be spending the day together, and things will go a lot better if we don't argue about it. That starts, by the way, with not alienating Mercedes and Melchior," I declare, giving the rest of the familiars a stern look. After a minute, Chandra ruffles her feathers a little bit before scooting closer to Mercedes and Melchior, the rest of the familiars following suit until they're all sitting in a much less wobbly circle.

"Much better," I tell them before double checking the last of the instructions from the magic book I brought with me. "Alright. If all goes well, this should allow all of you to communicate with me mentally for a day."

I take the bowel of lavender colored powder in my hands, and move into the middle of the circle before tossing several pinches of the power over the familiars and my head. Focusing my magic, I cast the spell just how the book said to, then wait as the powder dissipates.

"Did it work?" I ask.

"smells funny," a voice says in my head, and I can see Faust tasting the air with her tongue. My ears shoot up with surprise.

"Was that you Faust?" I exclaim.

"It certainly wasn't me," a demure voice replies as Chandra lands on my shoulder, giving me a purposeful gaze.

"This is amazing, it worked!" I exclaim happily.

"Can we go home now?" Mercedes asks as her brother comes up to sniff my pockets. "Do you have treats for us?"

"Yes, let's go home," Malak exclaims in agreement with Mercedes.

"Woah hold on, settle down everyone," I reply, backing out of the circle of familiars so I can look at them directly. "The agreement was that I'd be allowed to do this spell if I would pet-sit you all, and I intend to hold up my end of the deal. Let's just be calm and hang out in the shop today, alright?"

"Can we have food?" Pepi asks, pawing my boot, and the rest of the familiars begin clamoring in agreement. It takes another whistle and Inanna's piercing howls to get everyone to shut up long enough for me to speak.

"Thank you Inanna."

"You're welcome," she replies.

"I have food for everyone," I continue, talking fast so I don't get interrupted again. "If you'll all just give me a moment to set things up, we can all have lunch. Happy?"

A chorus of agreements answer and I let out a sigh of relief before going upstairs and pulling out bowels and pet food left for me by everyone's owners. Within minutes, everyone including myself is happily eating away.

Once lunch is over, I gather everything up and take it all back upstairs to be cleaned in the sink. I barely have time to set down my armload though, before I hear several large crashes coming from the shop.

Downstairs, Mercedes and Melchior are chasing Pepi, while Inanna and Chandra try their best to stop them. Furniture has been knocked over, Malak is flying around screeching in the rafters, and I dash to save Faust before she's trampled by four sets of paws.

"I left for two minutes!" I shout over the noise, unsure of what to do to stop the chaos. "What happened?!?"

"Salty cat insult snooty dogs, snooty dogs chase cat and destroy shop," Faust tells me in dismay. I try to sneak around towards the front door to try to get a better vantage point, but I trip over the leg of a fallen table in my haste, the fall flinging Faust from my shoulders.

Fortunately, Faust lands on the doorknob out of harm's way. Unfortunately, when she tries to get down and slither off to a new hiding place she accidentally opens the door, and Pepi, Mercedes and Melchior, Chandra, and Inanna all go zooming out of the shop at top speed. Malak tries to make a break for it too, but I've managed to get back on my feet by this point and snatch Malak out of the air before he can escape.

"No you don't!" I exclaim as Faust comes slithering back to me. "You're gonna follow them and tell me where they're going, alright?" I demand, turning Malak to face me as I talk.

"I can't track them if they're getting away! I knew this was a bad idea! THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Malak protests.

"Not on my watch," I reply determinedly, scooping Faust onto my shoulders and locking the shop door. "You let me and Faust chase them down on foot, and be my eyes and ears in the air. Got it?"

"Fine," Malak relents, and I give him a nod before tossing him into the air. I can see some carnage on the streets where the rest of the familiars ran through, and start following it. With Malak's help, Faust and I make our way towards the market place.

In the distance, I hear a loud commotion, several people shouting and screaming, and desperate howls from Inanna, Mercedes, and Melchior. I put on an extra burst of speed and run towards the sound, breaking through the shocked crowd to find a demolished beauty stall, a very angry vendor, and Chandra, Malak, and Pepi slathered in lotions, beads, and glitter.

"Ah, that would explain it," Nadia interrupts as she tackles a particularly thick clump of glitter in Chandra's feathers. "I'll make sure to send that vendor extra compensation for their troubles tomorrow morning."

Once I had fixed the stall and paid a very hefty price for the damages, I gathered the familiars into a side alley.

"What's going on? Where are Inanna, Mercedes and Melchior?"

"Thieves cornered us in the street and stole them with help from the crowd," Chandra informs me as she tries to shake glitter from her feathers, with little success.

"What?!?" I exclaim, my ears flattening as panic rises in my chest.

"The bad men said they're gonna sell them all! Our friends are gone forever!" Malak wails.

"Oh no, this is bad," I reply, trying to think of any spells I could use. "Argh! If only I had something personal from one of them, I could use a tracking spell!"

"Would this help? Chandra asks, holding up a tuft of white fur in one of her talons. "This belongs to Melchior, I believe."

"Oh, Chandra you beautiful bird, yes!!! This is perfect!" I cry, my ears perkig up with joy and quickly taking the fur from her sticky talons, casting a tracking spell. With that, we're all off again, and I follow the spell down to the east docs until we stop close to a foreign-looking ship being loaded with large crates.

"There! Those are the bad guys!" Pepi exclaims, directing my attention to two thugs talking to the ship's captain. Next to them are three large crates, all howling and barking loudly. Suddenly, I realize I know these thugs; they were the ones who tried to Mug me and Muriel before getting their asses kicked by Morga.

A growl escapes my throat as my ears flatten, and I leave our hiding place to give those thieves a piece of my mind, the familiars tentatively following suit.

"Hey!" I shout over the noise as eyes turn at my arrival. Most of these people aren't from around here, but recognition shines in the thieves eyes when they turn to see me.

"Those animals don't belong to you," I declare, pointing at the crates. "I'd like to have them back, now."

"O-of course, Mrs. hero, we didn't know they were yours!" The more burly thief replies as him and his companion back away at my approach. The captain just laughs, slapping his hand on the top crate and shaking his head.

"I can't let you take my cargo," the captain replies in a thick accent. "Run along lady, or my crew will have to hurt you."

"I wasn't asking," I retort, summoning a glowing, bladed staff in my hands. The thieves make a run for it, and the familiars at my heels start getting a little nervous.

"it's your head then," the captain replies, snapping his fingers. As the crew of the ship advances I quickly cast a spell that shatters the boxes, freeing Inanna, Mercedes, and Melchior. Before anyone can act we all make a break for it, a mob of angry sailors chasing after us. I try to loose our pursuers in the alleys, but people get in our way and make it easier for the sailors to keep up.

Suddenly, the familiars and I come to a dead end at one of the canals. I can hear the angry sailors behind us, and as I look around for options I spot a man with an otherwise empty gondola nearby.

"Jump!" I exclaim, leaping into the canal and swimming towards the empty gondola. The other familiars follow suit save for Chandra and Malak who fly to us instead, leaving the angry sailors to return to their captain empty handed.

The gondolier is very surprised when we all climb into his boat, but I give him the last of my coins for his troubles and have him take us back to the shop.

"And that's where you all found us," I finish, resting my arms and head on the table with an exhausted sigh.

"My my, what an adventure," Nadia replies with a wry grin as Muriel begins to rub my shoulders comfortingly.

"Looks like we're all in for bath night," Portia groans, and in my head all of the familiars chorus in agreement.

"Did you at least learn something from your experience Merf?" Asra asks with a smirk.

"I did, actually," I reply. "None of these guys are allowed to be in the same room together ever again."

Muriel let's out a snort and everyone else bursts out with laughter of their own. Eventually, I give a weak giggle myself, and we all stand to go home. I offer to stay just a little longer to help clean up the mess in the shop, but Asra and Julian refuse, insisting that they've got it taken care of and that I can just go home.

"Take the day off tomorrow while you're at it," Asra adds before we leave. "You certainly need it!"

"You don't have to tell me," I reply, slipping out into the night and tiredly climbing onto the cart. Muriel sits down beside me, resting an arm on my still damp shoulders as I sigh for the upteenth time today.

"I assume it'll be a hot spring bath today?" Muriel asks with a knowing grin.

"Yes please," I groan tiredly, and Muriel lets out a low chuckle.

"Sounds good. I'll join you, Asra and I took a long time in the forest."

"Don't forget me," Inanna adds from her spot in the bed of the cart.

"Of course we won't forget you Inanna, you've been a very good girl today," I reply fondly. It's nice to actually hear what she's saying now, although I don't think all the trouble I went through today was worth it.

Maybe I'll try the spell again one day, but just on Inanna. For now though, I'm happy to spend time with my family, and a smile finally appears on my face as the day ends.

#vesuvia weekly #the familiars screwed up #the arcana #the arcana game #arcana #arcana mc

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