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atelier-dayz · 4 years

Note

"I wish you would write a fic where": same age jangobi au, where bby jango is at the Coruscant temple for Some™️ reason (is he force sensitive? is jaster being hired to help out with smth? did bby jango slip away from jaster on a job and sneak into the temple just because his buir told him it'd be a bad idea?)

I already yelled at you about how much I love this prompt but AAAAAAH!!! Thank you for the prompt, CJ <3 I hope you like it!

Jango waits until everyone is preoccupied talking before taking the chance to slip out of the room.

The meeting is important, he knows, but he's ten so it's not like he has an actual part in the talks. He has decided he could better spend his time exploring the temple. After all, he and Jas'buir are the first Mandalorians to set foot in the Jedi's temple in centuries.

Mandalorians and Jedi have been enemies for...ages, but recently there have been darjetiise poking around Mandalorian business, and if it's a choice between Jedi and darjetiise, history and good reason tell them to throw their lot in with Jedi. Less likely to get stabbed in the back, less likely for the galaxy to burn to the ground, Jas'buir says.

So far, the Jedi Jango have met have been...nice. At first, surprised that he and Jas'buir are there, but then friendly. One of them, a Kel Dor, even slips him cinnamon candy.

The Jedi, he thinks, will be good allies against whatever the darjetiise are planning. But they have been cooped up in meeting rooms all day, and he wants to see more of the Temple.

So he takes careful note of what room Jas’buir and the others are in and then sets off down the hall, back the way they’d come earlier.

It takes him a bit, and a couple wrong turns, but he makes it back down to the great hallway off the temple entrance, and he takes a moment to just stare up at the tall columns and statues and vaulted ceilings. There's art all over the walls -- painted scrolls and tapestries and even intricate designs of curved lines and circles carved into the very stone. It's so pretty.

From the ways some of the others had grumbled about the Jedi, he hadn't expected their temple to be so pretty.

None of the Jedi he passes give him any trouble either, just a warm smile -- if their species is capable of it.

A soft bell tolls, marking the hour after he's wandered for a while. A few moments later, he has to shuffle up against the walls of the hallways as kids -- Jedi foundlings -- spill out into the halls. They chatter away about this or that in all kinds of languages. He keeps out of the way, and they pass him with little more than a curious look or a bright smile.

Eventually, all the kids disappear into different rooms or hallways, and he's able to walk freely again. He doesn’t linger anywhere for too long, still afraid someone might stop him and get him in trouble. He sticks mostly to the hallways, though he does peek into some of the open empty rooms he comes across -- classrooms, meditation rooms, and training rooms. Jas’buir had once mentioned the Jedi has a massive library, and Jango wonders if he’ll stumble upon it eventually.

He’s made it onto another level, when someone says from behind him, “Hey, you shouldn’t be here.”

He spins around, hackles raised and ready to argue --

Then he blinks and stares, realizing that they hadn’t been talking to him.

There’s a Jedi kid about his size on their hands and knees with their head stuck in the nook behind a statue.

“Come on now, come on,” the kid is saying with a soft, lilting voice -- a voice someone might use on a small animal, actually. “How did you even get all the way here? Let me take you back home. Come on now.” The kid manages to squeeze into the nook, grabbing something, and then crawls out backwards until they can stand.

Jango finds himself staring at a human kid around his age, with blue-green eyes like the ocean, pale skin dotted with freckles, and red hair -- red hair that shines gold in the sunlight.

“Nau’yc [1],” Jango says without meaning to, and then tries hard not to blush as the kid realizes he’s there. He belatedly realizes they’re holding a tiny baby tooka, tucking it securely against their chest as if it will run off -- though it looks to him like the tooka is perfectly content in their arms now.

“What?” asks the kid.

“Nothing!” Jango says. “I mean--hello.”

“Hello,” the kid replies with a questioning tilt of their head. “You’re a visitor, aren’t you?”

Jango nods. “I’m Jango,” he introduces himself. “I go by he and him.”

“Oh welcome! I’m Obi-wan. And same!” the kid says with a smile. And then he blinks, looking down at Jango’s feet and then his wrists for a moment, as if just noticing Jango’s armored boots and gauntlets. “Wait--” He glances around before asking in a whisper, “Are you one of the Mandalorians visiting?”

Jango frowns, not sure what he’s implying with that. “Yes, why?” Then he adds, “And how do you know about that? It’s supposed to be a secret.”

Obi-wan huffs a laugh. “Well yeah, but of course if it’s supposed to be a secret, everyone knows about it,” he says. “It’s okay though, it won’t leave the Order.”

Jedi are, apparently, ridiculous gossips.

“And I don’t mean to...mean anything bad by asking,” Obi-wan continues. “I just thought you would all be meeting with the Council.”

Jango wrinkles his nose at that. “It was boring,” he says. “I was just sitting in a corner all day.”

“So you snuck out,” Obi-wan says with a nod as if that’s what he would have done too. “Have you been exploring the temple?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you been to the Room of a Thousand Fountains yet?”

“The Room of what?” Jango asks, his mind boggling at the idea of a thousand fountains. The temple is huge, but still.

Obi-wan’s eyes brighten as his grin widens. “The Room of a Thousand Fountains! It’s our greenhouse and biggest meditation garden -- well, gardens, actually. It’s also…” He lifts up the baby tooka, and the tooka meows cutely at Jango before Obi-wan cuddles it close again. “...where the tookas live. I’m going to take this little one back there, so want to come with me?”

Jango nods, because of course he does.

Which is how he ends up spending the rest of the day exploring the Room of a Thousand Fountains -- which is huge and pretty and really does have a thousand fountains -- with Obi-wan.

They both get in trouble when the adults finally catch up with them, but that isn’t important. What is important is their plan to meet up the next day to visit the Jedi Archives and the training dojos.

Jango just doesn’t get why Jas’buir keeps smiling at him like there’s a joke he isn’t telling, but whatever. Adults are just weird sometimes.

Notes: [1] Nau’yc - directly translates as ‘illuminous’ or ‘shiny’. However, I’ve decided (for this AU at least) that since there isn’t an existing word for ‘pretty’, the Mando’ade call things (and occasionally people) that are pretty ‘shiny.’ :D

I’m sorry if the ending’s awkward, I couldn’t figure out the best way to end this alkdfja

#i wish you would write meme #crispyjenkins #miya replies #my fic #fanfic #star wars #jango fett #obi-wan kenobi

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fvaleraye · 4 years

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Good Ol’ Ruins

i gave up on the name, i couldn’t think of anything better asdflknj aaaaand here we go asdlfkjn-

finally! a sort of first chapter to Scintillam! of course, this one will be focusing on Leona and Artemis going about a little adventure, as they are our heroines :V nothing tooooo crazy in this one? just smth to get y’all acquainted with them and their little world :V

it’s not too terribly long, but... i mean, nothing i write ever is feel free to let me know if there’s any grammatical errors and such, i don’t rlly read over my stuff much, bc if i do, i might never post it h- anyway, here u go-

It was a dreary, silent day in the Old Lands. Gray clouds hung lazily over the sky, rays of sunlight slipping through them few and far between. The ground was ashen gray with the stains of old calamities, no plant-life, from the smallest blade of grass to the tallest tree, was in sight, for few things could thrive in such an environment. Old ruins dotted the landscape, providing shelter and sanctuary for any creature that called these lands their home. Few dared to pass through, fewer still even considered exploration.

Deep in one particularly maze-like ruin, there were two of the latter category.

The gentle clinks and clangs of chainmail and plate armor in motion rang throughout the silent corpse of the once great structure. The woman in the armor was helmetless for the moment, as it was difficult enough to see in the dusk of the corridors without restricting her vision. Behind her was a large, white wolf, almost unable to squeeze through some of the smaller hallways due to its size.

As the intrepid duo stepped cautiously through the old stone and... metal? Corridors, they came upon another room, one of many. Several doorways leading to several more hallways, just like every other room. Finding their way out would be a daunting task indeed. Unlike most other rooms, however, this one was not empty. Scattered here and there were... strange... things. Seemingly metal constructs of various shapes and size. The knight started to root around in the chest cavity of one as her lupine companion sniffed around, investigating the rest of the room.

"... I still don't know how these are gonna help..." Leona mused, her voice echoing against the stony architecture. "I know Caecus said it'd help his research, but I thought his research was on dragons, not... ancient golems." She let out a sigh as she continued to search inside the hollow shell. "... I mean, I guess they could have been built by the dragons... we don't really know what they did when they were still around, huh Artemis?" She turned to her companion, who was still sniffing the floor. "... I don't know why I'm talking to you like you'll respond. You're smart, but you can't talk..."

Artemis let out a big sneeze, seemingly have snorted up too much dirt, prompting a giggle from the other.

"You're a big dork, and I love you."

The wolf just huffed.

After a moment, she pulled out a cracked, cyan orb from the rusting bronze mechanism. She whistled for her traveling buddy, and she came over, allowing her to set the orb in the bag on her side, alongside other orbs of various colors and conditions. The two continued to search the other old golems, though the first was seemingly the only one with a central orb intact enough to bring back. With that, they left through the rightmost corridor, and continued on their way.

A few more empty rooms later, and the greatwolf stopped in her tracks halfway down a corridor, ears flicking. Leona looked over her shoulder at her, raising a brow. "... what do you hear, Arte?" She let out a big huff, and started to crouch down, prompting the other to as well. They both stayed silent, listening, and eventually she caught on to the sound too. It was... singing. Not creepy singing, though any singing was creeping singing in a place like this, but more like... joyful singing. It was unintelligible, but the tone was there. A very... weirdly happy one. The two started to creep forward towards the source, the knight on point while the wolf followed behind. As they went through the corridors, one had a rare source of light, an eerie green tint on the blueish stonework, pulsing gently from a doorway. She snuffed her own torch, and crept forward. The room was similar to the ones prior, a perfectly square room, with very little decoration. Though, this one was filled to the walls with random bits of metal and glass and junk. In the center sat a tall... creature, cloaked in a dingy robe, singing to itself as it sort through everything in the room. Green-flamed torches were stuck haphazardly to the walls. She stepped forward, and almost immediately stepped on a bit of glass on the ground, mostly bits from broken orbs. The creature stopped singing, and slowly turned around.

It was sat down on the floor, legs crossed, wearing some dingy pants and its concealing robe, only the cover of the cloak keeping its disturbingly gaunt frame at least partially hidden. Its face was concealed, covered by a larger than average deer skull, most likely from a greatdeer, though long graying hair flowed from underneath its makeshift mask. On the antlers were many, many trinkets and charms, which clattered with every movement, and many more were on its body, hidden under its cloak. It tilted its head at Leona, and gave a few guttural... sounds. It didn't... seem hostile. Slowly, she stood up, glancing around at the room. It seemed to be alone. After a moment of silence, it scooped up some of its junk, and held it out, one long, bony finger pointing at her bag. She raised a brow at it. "... you... want to trade...?"

It didn't really seem to react to her statement, other than tilting its head. It didn't seem to entirely understand her.

After a moment, she noticed a small pile of orbs in the corner, a couple of them seeming to be intact and even glowing. Oh, Caecus will definitely want those. She raised a hand, and pointed at the items in question. "Can I... have those...?"

It glanced at her finger, before looking to where she was pointing. It glanced between the two points of interest a few times, before setting down its handful of bits of metal glass, and grabbed a handful of orbs in its near skeletal hands, holding them out gently. "... you... w-want... shiny...?" It asked, its tone halting and slow, but inhumanly deep and guttural.

She slowly nodded, glancing at the spheres in its hands. They were all... blue. That gave her an idea. She held up a hand, and briefly stepped out of the room. She opened up Artemis' bag, the wolf herself still very much on edge, and grabbed a green orb from the bag. It was one of several, and it was the most intact, but not completely like the ones the creature was offering. She stepped back into the room, and held out the green orb, the monster trader flinching in surprise.

After a solid few seconds of nothing, it set two of the intact blue orbs on the ground, and gently pushed them towards her, before hesitantly taking her orb in return. It stared at the object in its hands, before holding it close to its chest. "... I-I hath... shiny-shiny..." It said, before it started to sing in what was assumed to be its native language again.

She hesitantly began to step out of the room, the creature paying her no further mind, and stuck the new orbs in her partner’s bag with the others. "... I think that was a good trade." She mumbled.

With that, the two turned around, and set about trying to find their way out of the ruins, seemingly satisfied with their haul. They hoped Caecus would be satisfied with their haul, though they really didn't know what any of the things they were carrying were for. Nobody did, really. But the mystery was half the charm of these little adventures.

#Valerie Writes #Scintillam #Leona #Artemis #there we goooo...#first chapter! first drabble! first whatever! yay!#i dunno how long it's gonna be until the next one; but asdlkfjn-#also! these will not be in like. chronological order.#i'll put them in chronological order on the masterpost #but i won't write them as such asdfkljn #so... keep that in mind #anyway!#i hope y'all enjoy reading this ^^#and reborks are appreciated; if ur feelin' so inclined-

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reliquiaenfr · 5 years

Text

introduction/prologue to the pinkerlocke: the last two kids arrive at the lair lmao! this comic i did is like, the next day or smth.

Through the thin fog of near midnight, the docks that pull into view as the Peripeteia rounds the last of the headland is not what Pyxis had been expecting. It’s a wide swath of beach and wooden walkways nestled between the walls of a canyon; lights glitter along the shoreline, most of the little spots concentrated up one end at the base of a giant rock tower.

Pyxis’ eyes almost fall out of his head as he leans over the railing; beside him, Wicked has clambered up as high as he can in the rigging as if leaning over the water still between them will get him to land faster.

“You better watch yourself,” says a voice behind them. Pyxis turns to see Blacklight striding towards them. She sparkles even now in the dead of night lit only by the glow of a single orange lamp. “If you fall in the water you’ll be just another snack for the local sea monster.”

Her voice is grave, but she’s smiling and there’s the tiniest little glimmer in her blue eyes that says she might be joking. Maybe. If they’re willing to risk finding out.

Wicked drops from the rigging and clutches his pearl to his chest.

“There’s no sea monster,” Wicked says, doing his best to put on a brave face, tilting his chin back obnoxiously.

Blacklight lowers her head to his level and blinks at them both. “Would you like to meet Ellander?”

“You named the sea monster?” Wicked asks, tone completely disbelieving.

“No. That’s his name.” She stands back up then and smiles at them. “Kairos!” she calls across the deck and the large guardian who is the ship’s captain lifts her nose from where she’s talking to the grumpy wildclaw with the cool sword. “The kids don’t believe Ellander is real.”

Kairos smiles, but in a way that shows every last one of her big pointy teeth and is in no way reassuring at all. “Real as the ship keepin’ you afloat, kiddies,” she sing songs, her voice lilting with laughter. “You reckon you wanna meet him now or later?”

“Later,” Pyxis chirps before Wicked can say something stupid and get them both eaten.

The captain nods her head once sharply, the feather on her hat bobbing with the motion. “Smart lad.” She turns away then to bellow some instruction that’s too fast and too full of boat-words for Pyxis to really understand. Something about a mizzen or a boom or something?

Whatever. The grumpy wildclaw had gotten mad at Wicked for calling the stairs stairs for gods’ sake. They are stairs, they look nothing like a ladder! And why do they need words for left and right? Are the words they already have for left and right not good enough for boats?

Pyxis will be very glad to not have to talk about boats again.

(And this isn’t a boat, apparently, call it a ship or get thrown overboard. What’s the difference?)

He stares at the water as it ripples with the boat’s passing. It’s so still everywhere else and the starlight reflects off it with such clarity they could be sailing across the night sky instead of ocean. And that’s just fine until he spots something beneath the surface, a soft glimmering gold that catches the moonlight and bounces it back as it slithers through the water. The gold is broken up, patchy, so at first Pyxis just thinks it’s maybe a school of fish?

Well he thinks that until a great blue eye blinks at him.

He stumbles back, trips over his tail and lands on Wicked.

“Ah! What the hell!” Wicked squeals.

“There’s a monster!” he whispers, voice cracking with the urge to yell.

Wicked just stares at him, mouth open, fingers tightening on his pearl. Then he stands and waddles to the railing. Pyxis stands behind him, not brave enough to look again into an eye they size of his whole body, but Wicked doesn’t move, doesn’t scream or anything.

“You’re having a laugh,” he grumbles.

So Pyxis sticks his head out too. “No! I saw it!”

The only thing glittering from the waves now is the stars. No gold shimmering, no giant blue eye. Just stars.

“It was right there,” he mumbles.

Wicked gives him a Look™. “You’re letting Blacklight get to you. This lair isn’t as scary as she likes to say, I bet.” As he says that, he shuffles his pearl until it’s wedged between his hind feet and props himself up on the railing with his front paws. “It’s gonna be awesome.”

Through the gentle fog, as the boat slowly inches the last little way to the dock, something hulking and huge and shiny shifts along the beach. The lights from the lanterns catch gold against it, sometimes green, sometimes blue, but always softly glinting. A shiver runs down Pyxis’ spine at the possibility that the sea monster (that he definitely did see) could be on land too, waiting to eat them.

The grumpy wildclaw stomps past them to do something that looks important with the ropes and the Peripeteia bumps softly against the dock as she sets snugly in place. Blacklight materialises again at their side, her wing shuffles almost protectively open just a bit as if to shield them from the bustle of the dragons and beastfolk about the deck finishing up last minute tasks before disembarking.

Kairos pauses with them as the last longneck trots off the boat and launches himself at a cluster of other longnecks gathered at the pier waiting for him. They head off chattering loudly, their words bouncing off the thin fog to echo eerily across the bay.

When Pyxis looks back at Kairos he’s surprised to see a fae perched atop her hat. The fae looks to be curled up and napping, so draped in feathers and tassels and beads that he completely misses whatever it is Kairos says to Blacklight.

It’s not until Kairos shoots them a last smile and wanders down the dock off into the fog that he realises Blacklight is speaking to them this time.

“Having second thoughts?” she teases and her smile is just as bright as her wings.

He shakes his head and follows a bounding Wicked off the boat and down the planks of the dock to the shore. Blacklight trails behind them, unhurried, her eyes searching through the darkness for something that neither of them can spot. Pyxis really hopes it’s not a sea monster.

So when the giant blue shape he’d seen earlier finally looms from the fog he just about shrieks. But the blue giant smiles at him, a soft mane of fur flopping into its face as it slowly lowers its head to fix him with an eye easily the size of him and Wicked together.

“Orphans?” the giant asks in a gentle, lilting voice.

Blacklight hums. “This one reminded me of Venin. They were a package deal.”

The giant’s eyes flick up to stare at Blacklight over his head. It speaks again but he’s too busy noticing a teeny little flowery shape nestled into the giant’s mane. It blinks warm brown eyes and its nose wiggles in the chill air. After a moment, the shape emerges from the fur a little further and Pyxis realises it’s a nocturne, probably not much older than either of them.

The giant’s nose tilts towards them and Pyxis takes a step backwards. “I’m called Seven,” the giant says (and Pyxis thinks it’s a strange name). “This is my son, Ji Qeng. Why don’t you give them the basics? Blacklight needs my help with her cargo.”

The nocturne – Ji Qeng – makes a chirping sound and bounces from her mane, wings flaring as he settles on the ground. “Who are you?” he asks in a sing-song voice, clearly mimicking his mother.

“I’m Wicked,” his friend blurts, eyes wide and round. “This is my bestest friend, Pyxis. Blacklight told us she lived in a lair that’s magical. Is that true?”

Ji Qeng nods almost solemn. “Oh yes. Mother is the one to give the warnings normally but I know them too! You mustn’t leave the docks. Not ever.”

“Why?” Pyxis wonders.

“It’s dangerous. The lair might decide it… doesn’t like you.”

Wicked scoffs at that, tosses his head so his ears flop and his mane ruffles. “A lair is just a place. It can’t decide anything.” He says it in a tone meant for imbeciles, Pyxis had heard him use it often enough with those newly joined their gutter society and ignorant of how the city slums work. To use it here – now – on this dragon seems… unwise.

He opens his mouth to say as much but Ji Qeng just shrugs. “Suit yourself. Once the warning is given we can’t stop you from exploring. But know this,” his voice lowers just a tad, still imitating someone probably but Pyxis can’t fathom who would have a voice so grave, “there are worse fates than death in this canyon.”

“That’s true no matter where you go,” Wicked tells him flatly. “What makes this so special?”

Ji Qeng rolls his eyes and flutters his wings as he shifts to lead them away, down the beach towards the rock with all the glowing lights. “Just don’t leave the docks. It’s better that way.”

“And if we do?” Pyxis asks. “What will happen to us?”

“That’s up to the lair. But you won’t be leaving.”

As they pass across the sands, Ji Qeng points things out to them. There the stalls where visitors can trade with residents; a little farther along is the Assembly, a tall stone pillar carved hollow for meetings and as a general gathering place. Just over there is the guard post, and right nearby it the dockmaster’s hut built on the boardwalk and leaning a little dangerously over the water. He indicates the markers denoting the border that, in crossing, takes them from the docks to the lair proper and away from the docks and the structures at the base of the canyon wall he tells them there are small passages that lead to other beaches, little private ones, should they wish to get away from the crowds.

“And that,” he says, resting back on his haunches as they stop outside the great glowing rock, “is the Lodge. I’m not sure what you can do there, maybe Blacklight will give you something? But it’s where visitors stay.”

“They won’t be staying here, thanks, Ji Qeng.”

All three of them jump and spin to find Blacklight behind them with the giant, Seven.

“We won’t be?” Pyxis isn’t sure what her tone carries, but the look she exchanges with Seven sets worry to gnawing in his stomach.

“Nope,” she tells him, smiling. “Come on. I’ll get you settled tonight and then in the morning you can meet Venin and Kieri. Maybe the rest of the council if we’re feeling bold.”

“And Saph!” Ji Qeng chimes in, beaming.

Blacklight nods at him. “And Saph,” she agrees. “Ji Qeng and Saph are the only kids in the clan.” Her eyes glitter as she lowers her head to look at them pointedly. “For now.”

She shuffles her wing out to guide them away from Ji Qeng and the Lodge but before they get very far Seven leans towards them. In a voice that’s probably a whisper for imperials but a loud bass rumble for anyone else she says, “Are you sure this is wise? Even over night it could be dangerous.”

“No reward without risk, Seven,” Blacklight tells her. “Plus… I have a good feeling. Even kids need a second chance sometimes.”

Wicked gives Pyxis another significant look and rolls his pearl tighter to his chest, snugging his net bag around it a little more firmly. Seven and Blacklight speak a little more but then the big imperial is motioning to Ji Qeng and their guide is urging them onward.

Pyxis eyes the markers that Ji Qeng had pointed out to them with trepidation but Wicked seems almost to be glaring at them, daring something to happen.

And when they cross that border, the only thing that Pyxis notices is the slight sense of unease that creeps between his ribs and sets his fur on end.

#flight rising #pinkerlocke #nuzlocke

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searchforthescars · 6 years

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Um if you want to write in little beast verse about Murphy telling Raven he's gonna propose and then have shipper!raven freak out, and like go ring shopping with him or smth (and either be very helpful or extremely unhelpful)...I would read it

Good thing you’d read it bc I wrote it :)))))

Enjoy the heck out of this!

When Raven gets a text from Murphy instructing her to meet him at the diner, her heart nearly jumps out of her chest, mostly because she already knows what this is about.

“You can’t be sure!” Monty shouts from the lab’s tiny kitchen, the only spot in the entire building that food can safely be consumed. “Maybe it’s about something else.”

“It’s not,” Raven says, positively giddy. “I know it! It’s finally time!”

Monty rolls his eyes affectionately, throwing a roll of paper towels at her as she hustles out the door.

When she makes it to the diner, she’s delighted to see both Murphy’s car and Zeke’s shitty bike parked near the front door. Good. She can kill two birds with one stone: disconcert the new mechanic in town and screw with her best friend.

When the little bell over the door rings, Raven sees Zeke’s eyes widen and his cheeks turn a little pink. Yes. Good.

“Morning, Raven,” Octavia says from the corner booth, waving. “Who are you terrorizing today?”

“Sometimes I come here for food, you know,” Raven replies.

“Today is not one of those days, I assume,” Zeke says. “You wear a distinct expression when you’re hungry, and you don’t have that face on today.”

Raven’s original plan to screw with Zeke flies out the window in the face of his strangely-perceptive observation. She blinks at him for a couple minutes, then turns to the counter.

“You two are disgusting,” she informs Murphy as he leans over to peck Emori on the lips. “People eat here.”

Murphy rolls his eyes. Emori gives Raven the middle finger.

“You’re going to the lab, right?” Raven asks her newest employee. When Emori nods, Raven gives her a thumbs-up. “Just a note, Monty’s up to his no-explosives-at-the-desks bullshit again, so whatever you do, don’t open my bottom drawer.”

“Noted.” Emori gives Murphy a little wave goodbye. Raven starts snickering as Murphy watches her walk away.

“You’re shameless, J,” she tells him, hopping up on a counter stool.

He shrugs. “She’s cute. Sue me.”

“Cute,” Raven mocks. “What is this, high school?”

“Are you going to mock me, or help me?”

“Preferably, both,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows. “Now, are you going to ask me what I think you’re going to ask me?”

“I want to propose to-” Murphy’s whisper is cut off by a loud yelp of joy from Raven. “Damn, would you let me finish?”

“I knew it!” Raven crows. “I knew it!”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, shut up,” Murphy grumbles. “Listen-”

“You’re finally proposing!” Raven squeals, then sobers. “Okay. I’m ready. Talk.”

Murphy sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I need help finding a ring.” When Raven’s grin widens, he points at her. “Chill, Reyes. I want something small, something that fits her.”

Raven’s grin fades only slightly as the gravity of the situation settles over her. “Got it,” she nods. “But, J, she doesn’t exactly have a left ring finger.”

Murphy’s brow furrows. “I know. And I don’t want to make her feel bad about her hand. She’s gotten way better about it and I don’t want to fuck that up.”

Raven wishes that Finn would have taught her some metalworking. That might have come in handy right about now. “You could get one and put it on a chain,” she suggests. “She could wear it around her neck instead of on her hand.”

“Would you do that?” Murphy asks, and Raven has an epiphany that makes her feel way better about the whole situation.

“Yeah, actually. She’d have to take a ring off at the lab, anyway. This way, she doesn’t have to.”

The relief in Murphy’s eyes is palpable. “Okay.” He sighs. “You’re still helping me pick one, you know.”

Raven nearly hops in her seat with excitement. “Obviously. You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

“Where does Emori think you are, anyway?” Raven asks Murphy as they cruise out of town in her newly-rebuilt SUV, the crisp fall air flowing in through the open windows.

“She knows I’m going out with you,” he says, reaching for his phone and thumbing through his camera roll. “She didn’t ask; she figures it’s just best friend stuff.”

“Nah,” Raven grins. “It’s best man stuff.” She turns to look at him. “I am your best man, right?”

“Eyes on the road!” Murphy yelps. Once Raven turns away, he answers, “Yeah, obviously. Who else would it be if she says yes?”

“If?” Mercifully, she doesn’t look away from the highway again, but Murphy can see the incredulous expression written all over her face. “You’re an idiot, J.” She says it with love. “Of course she’ll say yes. You’ve been dating and living together for years.”

“I know,” Murphy says, anxiety boiling in his stomach. He has a suspicion that emotion would come to make a home there over the next couple months. “I just… What if she doesn’t want commitment?”

“Oh, she does.” Raven nods sagely. “I’m her friend, too, you know.” She raises a finger. “And don’t ask me to be a double agent. No fricking way.”

Murphy laughs. “Wasn’t going to.”

“Seriously, though.” Raven’s voice goes soft. “She really loves you, J. She wants to spend the rest of her life with you. The ring, the wedding and everything else is just an affirmation of that.”

“Hey,” Murphy says, half-joking, “want to write my vows for me? That’s some good shit.”

Raven snorts. “Hell no. You’re doing all that yourself. I have to focus on my best man toast. After all, it is my duty to roast you to kingdom come. And I’ve got a lot of material.”

Ring shopping with Raven wasn’t nearly as horrible as Murphy anticipated. Her commentary may be sarcastic, but he’s surprised to find that she’s actually pretty good at this. She knows what Emori likes well enough, he supposes, and she has an eye for the pretty and practical that he doesn’t.

“That’s nice,” she says, pointing to a thin silver band with a rope-like pattern weaving around it. “That’d look pretty around a chain.”

“It’s too shiny,” Murphy argues.

“J. Honey.” Raven shakes her head. “It has to have a little bit of shine. So it catches the light and people see it, you know? Even Emori will want to show it off.”

“Did you find what you’re looking for?”

Murphy looks up at the saleswoman. “Not yet. I’m trying to find an engagement ring for my girlfriend, but I want to put it on a chain since she can’t wear rings.”

The saleswoman thinks for a moment, then reaches for a small tray under the glass cases. “This is one of our engravable pieces,” she says, putting forth a small, gold band with three tiny diamonds inlaid in the center. “You could put an inscription on the inside of the band; she would be able to see it from where it hangs. It’s a little shiny, so she’d still have something to show off, like your friend said.”

Murphy turns it over in his hand, elbowing Raven in the side when she shares a conspiratorial grin with the saleswoman. He imagines it on a chain, resting against Emori’s skin, shimmering there. He imagines her playing with it while she talks, works, or thinks.

“Do you know what you’d put on the inside?” Raven asks softly.

All of a sudden, it comes to him: her words, whispered against his skin the night he fell in love with her. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

This was the ring. He was sure of it.

He holds the blue box carefully in his hands on the drive home. Next to him, Raven is practically vibrating with excitement.

“You’re getting engaged!” she shouts for the third time. “I can’t believe it! My little J is all grown up!”

“Shut up, Raven,” he says, but he’s laughing too, but mostly out of nerves. He’s going to do it. He’s going to ask her to marry him.

Holy shit.

“When are you going to do it?” Raven asks.

“Christmas.”

“You’re making me wait that long?!” Raven sighs dramatically. “That’s months away.”

“Only three. Calm down.” Murphy fiddles with the box. “I want all our friends there, but I don’t want to make it a thing. Just...make sure I get her name at the annual friend group gift exchange.”

Raven nods, sagely. “Consider it done.” She grins. “It’s part of being a best man.”

Murphy groans. “What are you going to do if Emori wants you as her maid of honor?”

“You picked me first,” Raven says. “She’ll have to make do with...Bellamy, or someone.”

Murphy can’t help but cringe. Raven cackles.

“What’s got you so excited?” Emori asks him that night as they make dinner. She’s at the sink, washing celery, and he’s spooning their soup into bowls. He made it out of rice, chicken and leftover pumpkin from the diner. They’re the only two out of everyone Murphy knows that like that concoction.

“Nothing,” Murphy says, reaching over to turn up the radio. They both like this song. “Just happy.”

Emori quirks an eyebrow at him. “You? Happy?” She gives him a teasing smile. “Something must be wrong.”

Murphy reaches for her left hand, leading her to duck under his arm in a slow twirl. “Just dance with me,” he says, spinning her again. Her feet shuffle clumsily on the tile before catching on the rhythm of the song.

“You know,” she murmurs, inching forward to rest her head on his chest. “I hope we get to live like this forever. You and me.”

Murphy kisses the top of her head and rests his chin there. “That’s the plan.”

She sighs happily. “Sure is.”

He thinks about the small box hidden inside one of his winter boots on the top shelf of his closet, that little thing that holds a small gold ring with six words printed in small script.

Thank you for saving my life.

He can’t wait to give it to her.

#little beast #memori #bombshellsandbluebells #maskingtapepoetree #thank u for waiting for this katie #i hope it was worth it <3 #sarcasticdebate

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