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dragonwitch77 · 5 years

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Black Scales Chapter 1: The Night

The night was cold.

Not cold enough to be biting the skin, but a nice cool temperature that was pleasant. Pine trees covered large areas of land, making a blanket of green that was home for many forest animals whom had descended from their ancestors for many generations. In the center of the thick forest was a large mountain that was so tall, its tips touched the sky.

Nobody knew what was on top of such mountain. The rocks and landscape of such a high mountain was too treacherous to climb, too steep to even get close to the midway point if anyone was lucky enough to get that high. For years, no one could even say what the view point of such mountain held.

And nobody really did seem to care to know. Getting on top of the mountain was hard, yes. But actually getting to the mountain was the hardest part. The trees that surrounded the mountain were thick and many. One could easily get lost in there for days without any proper tools and skills to get out of there. Not to mention all the wild animals that lived in the forest. One could die in there if they weren’t too careful.

Thankfully, the forest was a protected area. No one would dare enter restricted ground where they weren’t supposed to go. No one dared oppose the old ranger that watched over the land like a knight guarding their kingdom. And no one ever ventured deep within the woods without special permission.

It was a peaceful night.

But it would not remain that way for long.

“Stupid peck necks! Every last one of ‘em! Ah told ‘em didn’t Ah? Ah told ‘em! But they didn’t listen! No not one bit!” A large feathery creature grumbled as he weaved through the forest. “Ah tell ‘em that danger is comin’, n’ they don’t believe me! Nerve of ‘em! Every single one!”

He kept grumbling as he made his way deep into the forest, going deep where trees were almost pressing against each other so tightly not even a chipmunk could squeeze through. He knew the ins and outs of the forest very well to know where to turn and what to jump over to get to where he was going. At last, the trees parted ways to an open valley.

It was a small open valley filled with different colorful flowers. From roses to peonies, to summer lilacs and honeysuckles, to sweet alyssums and dianthus. The strong scent that the flowers gave off were almost over powering to the creature’s nostrils, but his focus wasn’t on the flowers, it was the large tree that sat right in the center of the valley.

The tree was by far the biggest and thickest tree in the whole forest, possibly in the whole world, towering over even the largest of pines and thicker than seven trees pressed against each other. Its thick lower half was two times the size of a normal house with roots and branches weaved all over in a mess that there was only one large entrance to get in.

One with a long black tail sticking out of it.

“Oh good he’s home!” The bird creature sighed in relief, starting to run towards the tree but suddenly tripped on something and let out a startled squawking noise. “GAACK!” And landed on his face in a feathery heap.

“Oh my stars! I’m so sor-… oh. Hello Conductor.”

The Conductor lifted his head, glaring at the penguin under his long thin leg. “GROOVES! Ya No Good Flightless Peck Neck! Ya Tripped Me!”

“You ran into me, darling.” The small bird brushed off the Conductor’s leg, get up off the ground. Grooves was Fiordland penguin, quiet stout for his size with very long and large yellow eyebrows that reached past his head, down his neck, and almost at the midway point of his flippers.

He was quiet blue instead of a normal bluish-grey like a normal Fiordland penguin. From head to the tip of his tail, he had nothing but bright blue sleek feathers in place of black feathers. Most would over look this as more focus would be turned to his head where a large, bushy, black afro sat, along with a pair dark star shaped framed sunglasses that sat on the penguin’s beak, obscuring his eyes from everyone.

“Whatever! Ah don’t have time tae squabble with ya right now!” The Conductor huffed, getting off the ground as well, shaking himself so hard that the petals that had clung to his feathers fell off. “Ah need tae get tae Snatcher! Now!”

“What’s the rush darling?” Grooves asked, following after the larger bird. “Someone bothering your train again?”

“No. Worse. N’ Ah don’t have time tae tell ya ya peck neck!” The Conductor raced off, heading towards the tree at fast pace. When he reached the tree, the first thing he did was jump on the long black tail and started pecking at it, shouting at the top of his voice. “Snatcher! Snatcher! Wake up ya big buffoon! Wake up!”

There was a deep rumbling sound inside the tree, and the large tail shifted slightly. But nothing came out but the gentle sounds of deep easy breathing.

The Conductor huffed, hopping up the spines one by one till he was nearly inside the tree and shouted into the mouth of the entrance at the top of his lungs. “SNATCHER YA PECK NECK WAKE UP! THERE’S TROUBLE ‘BOUT N’ YER SLEEPIN’ THROUGH IT!”

Grooves waddled up, stopping just at the roots of the large tree and shook his head. “He’s not going to be very responsive tonight Conductor darling. The moon is full tonight.” He pointed up to the starry filled night sky where the large white moon sat shining brightly. “You know that dragon will sleep through anything when the moon is nearly or completely full.”

“Ah don’t care ‘bout yer stupide space rock! Ah need tae get Snatcher up!” The Conductor pecked at the black scales, plucking out two of them so roughly that the tail flinched in a jerking motion that almost flung the bird creature off. But still nothing moved from within the tree. “Oh yer useless ya flockin’ peck neck!”

“Language!” Grooves shouted.

“Oh go stuff yerself peck neck.” The Conductor huffed, still pecking at the scales.

“Uh, excuse me?” A soft voice called high up. Grooves and the Conductor looked up. Sitting in one of the low branches was a small humanoid figure. Their body was small like a child, clocked in dark clothing with a poncho that cover their head and mouth. They had no face but a golden-white luminescence that stared down at the pair.

“Oh great. A Minion.” The Conductor groaned. “Jus’ what Ah needed. A pesterin’ peck neck.”

Grooves shot the Conductor a hard glare, which went unnoticed by the bird creature.

“You’re not much of a welcomed sight either Conductor.” The Minion said with dismay in their voice. “Nor is all the noise your making. It’s late, the moon is full, and your yelling is keeping us from having any peaceful sleep!”

“There won’t be any peaceful sleep tonight! There’s trouble in the forest! Ah’ve seen it! N’ it’s not goin’ tae be friendly!”

“Darling, what are you squabbling about? If it’s about your train, again, then why not wait till morning to—”

“IT’S NOT ‘BOUT ME TRAIN YA PECK NECKS!” The Conductor shouted at the top of his lungs. “THERE’S HUMANS IN THE FOREST! N’ THEY’VE GOT MACHINES WITH ‘EM N’ HEADIN’ TOWARDS THE MOUNTAIN!”

The bird creature panted heavily, earning the wide eyed stares of Grooves and the Minion.

“… Humans?” Grooves asked in disbelief. “Here? Darling you… you must be pulling my flipper.”

“Ah’m not.” The Conductor snorted. “Ah’ve seen ‘em. Lots of ‘em. Deep inside the forest headin’ towards the mountain with large machines.” He twisted his head in the direction of the large stone mountain the peaked over the trees. “N’ they’re gettin’ close tae the base of the mountain too!”

“Impossible! Humans can’t make it that close to the mountain! The forest is too dense and would never allow them passage to get them that close!” The Minion scoffed, crossing their arms. “You must have smell a Groopfog’s smog and hallucinated seeing humans.”

“The Groopfogs are in hibernation! It’s still too cold fer ‘em! Ah know what Ah saw n’ it was no trick of me eye!” The Conductor snapped his beak, his feathers flaring up in anger.

“I don’t know Conductor. A Groopfogs smog is pretty powerful.” Grooves shook his head. “And Groopfogs do tend to sleep with their mouths open sometimes. Some it’s possible that you co—”

“AH KNOW WHAT AH SAW!” The Conductor screamed, hopping off of the dragon’s tail and stalked up to the Fiordland penguin. “N’ IT WASN’T GROOPFOG FOG! HUMANS ARE HERE!”

“Oh yeah?” The Minion rolled their eye, shaking their head in disbelief. “Do you have any proof of that?”

The Conductor twisted his head, opening his beak to shout at the Minion, when a loud, thundering explosion cut him off.

When a dragon sleeps, they sleep for hours in a heavy slumber. It’s hard to wake a dragon so deep in their sleep that it’s nearly impossible to rouse them from such a slumber.

This does not mean that there isn’t a way to wake them however.

There are a few methods to waking a dragon up. Peacefully or very rudely.

Most would take the polite way to wake a dragon. Waking them up gently and not causing the dragon any distress saves others from any potential harm that could come accidentally from waking a dragon up the rude way. Some methods had you putting a steaming bowl of an herbal concoction put under their snouts, others would gently pinch a dragon behind their ears right where it was connected to the head that had a special nerve that woke the dragon up gently. But for Snatcher…

Snatcher didn’t have the pleasure of waking up gently.

Nor was he asleep as he would have liked.

Tired, yes. But for some reason he could not sleep.

Snatcher grumbled, shifting his large head to one side. Normally, the dragon would be sleeping away during nights when the moon was in its full phases, dreaming the stars and the gentle song of the breeze in the wind. But tonight he was awake. Tired and groggy, but awake. And this was making his rather grumpy.

He didn’t like it when he was forced to stay awake when he would rather be sleeping the night away in the comfort deep inside his tree. The tree had a very big cave that fit the large beast comfortably. With room to move around and enough space to stretch out or move over to let others in. Namely his Minions.

Snatcher wasn’t particularly a very sociable dragon. He liked to keep to himself most of the time or read the books that humans threw away or gifted to him by the forest ranger. He had a very fond liking to the law books and would often try to find any lying around when he went flying out on moonless nights. But as far as he went out, even far past the forests border, he always came back to his home just before the sun first rays.

The forest’s inhabitants knew to never bother him unless it was an emergency or something he could only do. Like a large bolder that needed to be lifted, or beast that needed to be put in their proper place, or if the Conductor was making another scene again and needed to shut up. He honestly wonders why he hasn’t eaten the old bird creature thing yet. It would save everyone the trouble.

And his Minions would stop complaining about him when they were cleaning his scales.

The old bird creature was honestly all they talked about these days as they clean his scales, sharpened his talons, buffed his horns, brush his wings, picked out tiny stones itching his skin, and clipped his long sharp spikes that rain down from the back of his head all the way down to the tip of his tail. It was getting really annoying and old fast. He had to snap his teeth at them just to make them stop and focus on cleaning again.

With another grumble, Snatcher uncoiled his long neck, bending it way from his body till his snout bumped the wall of his cave and sighed. There was something… wrong about tonight.

Something that felt off and unfamiliar. Something that was making the forest uncomfortable and in turn making him unable to sleep. His golden eyes gazed up at the ceiling of his home, counting the roots that poked out and weaved with each other in an unplanned design. For some reason, they looked tensed in Snatcher’s eyes.

He shifted his body a bit, trying to find a comfortable spot that would ease his body to sleep. But no matter where he shifted or what area he laid in, the ground was too uncomfortable for him to close his eyes and let sleep take over. Even the wide cave that fit his size just fine felt small and cramped instead of open and safe.

When he could no longer try to sleep, Snatcher decided it was time to figure out what was going on. He had just lifted his head as high as it would go in his home, he felt something jumping on to his tail, poking it.

“Snatcher! Snatcher! Wake up ya big buffoon! Wake up!”

The large dragon groaned, rolling his eyes and flopped his head down on the ground. Of course. Of course. It just HAD to be the Conductor. The dragon shifted himself slightly, making it seem like he was waking up, but soon stilled and let out slow heavy breathing to sound like he was still sleeping.

“SNATCHER YA PECK NECK WAKE UP! THERE’S TROUBLE ‘BOUT N’ YER SLEEPIN’ THROUGH IT!”

I’m not sleeping through it. I’m just waiting for you to get the hint and leave so I can find out what’s going on.

The dragon thought, wincing as he felt his scales being plucked out roughly, but still managing to keep still enough to keep up the façade of being asleep. There was no way he was going out there and listening to that old bird rant. It was probably something to do with his train or gripping about Grooves again.

Snatcher couldn’t fathom way those two didn’t get along. They were practically from the same species! Though one of them was flightless and the other was… questionable. But still very similar none the less.

Whatever. Snatcher closed his eyes. Let the old… thing, keep pecking and shouting at him. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Conductor right now. Whatever he had to squabble about now wasn’t his concern.

“IT’S NOT ‘BOUT ME TRAIN YA PECK NECKS! THERE’S HUMANS IN THE FOREST! N’ THEY’VE GOT MACHINES WITH ‘EM N’ HEADIN’ TOWARDS THE MOUNTAIN!”

Snatcher’s eyes snapped open.

Humans?

Did the Conductor really shout… that there were humans in the forest?

“No. No impossible.” The dragon rose his head slightly. “Humans can’t make it this deep into the forest. Or even get close to the mountain.”

But what if it was true? It would explain way the forest was uneasy and way he couldn’t sleep.

But, how?

How had the humans get so close to the mountain in one night? It was impossible for a human to navigate their way through the thick trees. And the forest would certainly make it difficult for humans to sneak in their machines.

He shook his head. The old bird thing must be seeing things.

“AH KNOW WHAT AH SAW! N’ IT WASN’T GROOPFOG FOG! HUMANS ARE HERE!”

Snatcher frowned, looking behind him to the only entrance to his home. The Conductor sounded serious. Dead serious.

And that serious only grew more true when a deafening sound echoed in the night.

#ahit #a hat in time #ahit au #ahit fanfic #a hat in time au #black scales #conductor #dj grooves #minion #snatcher #bird monster conductor #fiordland penguin dj grooves #dragon snatcher #chapter 1

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blueburds · 3 years

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Meeting Mom (AU)

Imposing just as he’d imagined her, Lord Sen’tulo sat only across the way. Her office--what could have been drab and monochrome--was decorated with flora from across the Galaxy. Quite the collection, Theron would admit, yet some species were more sentient than they led on. The Huttese Toad Snatchers, for example, were known to eat beasts as large as womp rats. Needless to say, they’d consume someone’s hand if one wasn’t careful.

But the flora complimented each other, strewn across the room. The colors, the way the vines draped and dangled from higher up, could have brought a sense of peace in the room--if not for the glaring Sith on the opposite side.

“You realize how many hoops I had to jump through to allow you an audience?”

The tone of her voice made Theron’s skin crawl.

“Quite a few, I’d imagine, my lord,” he said, faking his best Imperial accent. Stars knew if there were any listening devices in here--until his suspicions were either confirmed or otherwise, he’d continue his act.

Sen’tulo extended a hand in gesture, “We are alone. You may lose the act.”

Theron gave a hesitant nod. Skeptical, of course, as he would normally be. But this was Altrethir’s master--the one who trained him. The one who taught him honor, humility, honesty. The woman who raised him when his own mother was gone. He trusted her with his life; certainly the least Theron could do was believe her.

“Okay,” he muttered. “You--”

“Sit.”

Theron swallowed dryly, claiming a seat across the desk. Ah, the familiar uncomfortableness of Imperial chairs. He’d missed it.

“I would be remiss if I did not inquire about Altrethir. He is well?”

“As well as can be.”

Sen’tulo nodded silently, golden eyes dropping to look elsewhere for a moment. “I do not speak with him as often as I would like anymore. He has his hands full with the Alliance, understandably so; the leadership role is more than demanding.”

"Keeping in touch with you is still high on his priority list.”

“Your reassurance is appreciated. It has been... quite an adjustment to learn that he was still alive. That he wasn’t lost to the cold depths of space.”

“It was a shock for me, but I never lost hope.”

“You are optimistic, are you?”

“I’d like to think I am.” Theron leaned forward a bit, “I’m enjoying the small-talk, but there’s got to be a reason you went through all that trouble to bring me here.”

“Indeed there was.” Sen’tulo stood, and her decorated fingers ghosted the petals of a nearby flower. “You are romantically involved with Altrethir; you are aware that I know, for he has long since mentioned your relationship in our letters.” Her eyes snapped back to Theron, “Will you deny these facts?”

“I--no. No reason to hide that from you.” If Altrethir trusts her, so can he.

“Excellent. Your relations began some five, perhaps six years ago. Though he was absent for most of those years, you grew close nevertheless. You understand how others’ influence affects him. You understand that he may bend the knee to appeal to others.”

Theron’s brow furrowed. “Not without reason. I don’t always understand how his mind works, but the changes in his plans, attitude or opinion always fit the bigger picture.”

Sen’tulo’s painted lips curled into a pleased smile. “Precisely.” Then she turned, stepping toward a shelf upon the wall. And only now did Theron see the small, clear cages in which critters were stored inside. Sen’tulo opened the top, reaching in with just two fingers. Theron watched a small, red reptilian creature climb up her hand until she scooped it up comfortably into her palm. “People often change for the ones they love or admire. They wish to be accepted, or to blend in with their loved one’s peers.”

She tipped her hand downward, toward the blue flowers speckled in white. The critter slowly crawled from her hand and onto the stem, balancing itself before moving upward.

“They will change, becoming hardly the person they once were.”

Theron looked to her only as she spoke, but his gaze was fixed upon the tiny creature for the remainder of the time. Its claw-shaped foot clutched at the stem, and slowly the colors of its scales changed. The stark red was flushed out by the speckled pattern of white and blue, until it was completely camouflaged within the flowers.

Theron connected the dots--he understood her meaning. It was obvious; Altrethir was Imperial, he was Republic. Neither had any intentions of abandoning their home factions, if the Alliance ever dispersed. Would it even fall apart? Stars, he hoped not. The Republic was his home, but he wasn’t content with its current state. If he could choose, he’d manage the Alliance with Altrethir forever.

They wouldn’t have to fight each other, that way. Their relationship wouldn’t have to be kept secret, either.

“I don’t intend to try to... lure him over to the Republic, or whatever you’ve got in mind.”

“Whether you intend it or not, your influence will affect him.”

“Right now, we’re focused on the Alliance. We don’t exactly have time to try and convince each other to join our own factions.”

“Your Alliance has already forged a bond with the Empire; the Republic has noticed and plans to make enemies of you. You will defect.”

“No,” Theron said, perhaps more harshly than he anticipated. “Saresh is gone and the Republic’s healing, but my work in the Alliance isn’t done. We’re still at war with the Eternal Empire, and I’m not going to drop everything--everything Altrethir and I worked toward--for the Republic. I’m not leaving them. I’m not leaving him.”

Sen’tulo observed his sudden burst of passion with keen interest. And stars, had Theron seen that exact look before: the same way her eyes had fell half-lidded, her brows just slightly perked, and jaw softly clenched. How her head canted just a bit to the side in interest, lekku subtly twitching just at the tips.

“Your reassurance is appreciated,” she finally spoke, repeating a phrase from earlier in their conversation. “Still, it is important that his loyalties lie in place.”

Theron bit his tongue. He felt himself growing hot in the face, anger and frustration eating at him raw. Sen’tulo could certainly feel it; her lips perked into a small grin as she looked him over.

“You disagree?”

“What will you do?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If he defects. If he decides the Empire isn’t what he wants to keep fighting for. What will you do?”

Sen’tulo answered as though she’d spent her life thinking of the question: “My disappointment will be immense; I will grieve, knowing he will not be with me and instead within enemy lines. I will want nothing more than for him to return, as I know the Republic will not so willingly accept him. He will be an outcast among your people, where he will always have a place in the Empire.”

“That’s not the answer I want.”

“That is the answer you have received.”

“Will you kill him?” Theron said, nearly cutting off her words.

“I will not.”

A short breath of relief escaped his mouth. He wasn’t a Force-user, but there was genuineness in her tone.

“Good,” Theron muttered, pushing himself up from the desk. He slicked back his hair, maintaining that staunch Imperial look he wore when he entered. “Nice chatting with you, my lord,” the last two words carried an accent. And he left, leaving the air thick with tension.

#swtor #theron shan #lord sen'tulo #au where she LIVES #something i wrote at like 3am #thought about doing some art for it. i THOUGHT about it. didnt actually do it.#anyway. its a lil angsty💖✨ because of Course it is.

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greentrickster · 4 years

Photo

Figured I should do a post with Lime’s proper colours and a little background info and everything in the ahit ‘coffee shop au’ by @doodledrawsthings.

One of the older members of the Snatcher Cult (or Snult), they’re 17 and technically about 5′3″, I just need to work on my scaling. In their own words, they’re a natural-born sidekick - they played at being Lance’s squire as a kid, and now they’re having fun helping out in the Snult, including doing coffee/hot chocolate runs if asked to and keeping an eye on the younger kids. They’re also one of the ones making Snatcher cult clothes and costumes for other members (as well as themself). Mostly they’re here to have fun. Their drink of choice from The Horizon coffee shop is the sugariest thing whoever’s working the counter is willing to serve them.

They always have a backpack with them and, amongst random stuff, it contains their cell phone, wallet, a small sewing kit and scissors, spare pens, and a night safety vest in silver and yellow (their moms don’t mind about them wandering around after dark as long as they wear it and have their cell phone charged and on). They really like green, but are also quite fond of purple, fortunately enough.

They/them pronouns at the moment while they’re figuring themselves out, currently willing to accept whatever pronouns people use for them but introduce themselves as a they if asked. Will eventually settle on they/them/she/her when older.

Lance is @mindboogling‘s SubconKnight, and Maya belongs to @kayuripax

#ahit #ahit 'coffee shop au'#subconite lime #subconite #subconknight #subconite maya #lime subconite #a hat in time

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bittybattybunny · 3 years

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A curse that makes Snatcher lose his voice. I know that's not visually funny but I could easily see Hattie and Eclipse teasing him for being unable to talk.

Okay so this one took a bit to get to cuz I had to kinda sit and mull over how to make him lose his voice that’s not a standard ‘got a cold or something’ which could be funny all on its own since he’s such a hammy guy who likes to talk and talks to himself (I blame the ocean isolation)

And then I was thinking about Disney (cuz I saw an Enchanted post and it made me wanna write an au for that but I was flipping and flopping over who’s the divorce lawyer and it’s not who you think)

and then thought the little mermaid (cuz I wanted to draw Eclipse as Disney Princesses but didn’t know which ones to start with and my sister wants her in the pink dress)

and thus

here’s snatcher losing his voice and Eclipse teasing him slightly and him accidentally partially setting their relationship back after he actually realized he liked her:

Snatcher swam along the bottom of the ocean with a resigned huff. His claws flittering through the silt absentmindedly as he did. He blinked feeling something. He stopped and swam back, using his tail to brush some of the sand away. He looked at the softly glowing shell and shifted to look closer.

“A necklace?” he raised a brow. He liked the shape. A nice spiral shell, “an ammonite shell maybe?” he wondered aloud before he scooped it with the tip of his tail. Holding to the black chain it hung from. He huffed and dropped it into his hand with a grin. It’d be fun to give the kid. She liked shells.

He placed his other hand over it so it’d not get lost or fall from his grip as he swam back to the house. He went to say something but nothing came out. He blinked and tried to talk but bubbles came out. He huffed in annoyance.

Swinging up to the dock he breached the water’s surface and shook his head, sending droplets flying. He stuck the necklace up on a post before climbing up and curling up. He laid down, closing his eyes in the sun as he waited to dry off.

“Welcome back!” Hattie grinned as she ran over.

“---!” he went to speak again but found his voice wouldn’t come out. He scowled and put a claw to his mouth as he tried again, mouth forming the words but nothing emitting.

“Da-- I mean Snatch? You okay??” Hattie asked, looking up at the increasingly distressed leviathan. He made a silent growl and splashed his tail in the water in his agitation.

She frowned, “should i get mom?”

He gave a small nod.

She ran to the house and he moved to lay down. He blew a strand of hair from his face as he did.

“What’s this?” Eclipse asked as her daughter pushed her out of the house, “Snatcher’s sick?”

He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. She tilted her head.

“-----!!!!” he gripped his head annoyed.

Hattie pointed, “See??? He can’t get the noise out!”

Eclipse pursed her lips and put a hand to her chin as she thought about it. While she stared he shifted the necklace and she gasped.

“YOU THROW THAT BACK IN THE OCEAN RIGHT NOW!” she barked, startling him with the ferocity in which she spoke. He looked at it, the kid and her in a panicked state before huffing and throwing it as far as he could. They watched the tiny splash far into the horizon. He turned back to Eclipse with wide eyes as she laughed.

He huffed as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“You randomly find that?” she asked as he gave a curt nod.

“THAT was why you can’t talk currently.” She snickered as his eyes went wide and he looked to sea in shock. He looked back as she continued snickering and scowled.

“How come?” Hattie asked, “was it magic?!”

“Yes!” Eclipse snickered, “they aren’t common, but that I think had to have been a Sea Heart.” she explained. She walked over and motioned the Leviathan closer, “put your head down.”

He nodded as she gave his cheek a quick kiss. He shot upright in a flustered motion.

He gasped and felt his cheeks burn, moving to cover his face ashamed.

“E-Eclipse! Ah.. my voice…” he blinked as he looked at his hand confused. He looked back as she winked at him.

“Sea hearts have a water-based magic pull. I have earth-based. Earth absorbs water.” she explained, “I used my natural magic to break the curse.” she giggled as his heart raced. He gulped and leaned back down. She tilted her head confused.

“T-thank you.” he mumbled. He tensed as she pet his cheek gently. He made a small dolphin-like click in his throat as she stroked the scales.

“So what’s a sea heart mom?” Hattie asked moving to also pet Snatcher as he clicked happily. “How come it ate his voice?”

“A sea heart is a tool sea witches use.” Eclipse explained, “While sea witches aren’t common anymore, and were always less common than land witches, a lot of their magic is left scattered in the ocean. Sea hearts are enchanted shells which trap sound to keep people from talking about their curses. Like in the little mermaid.”

“AH! The singing shell!” Hattie gasped, “so it’s like that? They're real???”

“Mmhm.” Eclipse laughed when Snatcher pushed against her with his face. She smiled and moved to kiss between his eyes, he jolted upright and flustered once more.

“D-Don… just…” he mumbled as he hid his face. It wasn’t fair she kissed him when he was a leviathan but he couldn’t kiss her as a human. He looked down at her as she tilted her head confused. He sighed and brushed his hair back, “S-So avoid shells like that. Got it.”

“Good! Also avoid anything with a glowing green mossy look, that could be a dragon sea egg. We don’t want to mess with those; ocean spirits get very touchy.” she giggled.

He smiled and bent over to her confusion. She tensed up as his large glowing tongue licked her. Her hair stood up on end as she stood there processing. He grinned.

“For the kisses.” he purred.

She tried to fix her hair, “F-Fine. I won’t do it again.” she sighed, “S-sorry.” she grabbed her arms and ran back inside.

He blinked with a whine in his throat, “N-No wait i was.. Thanking.. You…” he covered his mouth ashamed.

Hattie snickered, “Smooth.” she gasped when he pushed her into the water with a big splash.

#ask #anon #the little contractor #fan fiction #ahit au #ahit snatcher #ahit hat kid #ahit fan character #Eclipse Guardian #Prince Arulius #ahit #sketch #digital #fanart #i then had to figure which part to draw #i almost drew the kiss but went against it lol #now to wait for this speedpaint to bloody upload so i can go lay down cuz migraine is still here

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twipsai · 3 years

Note

snatcher annnnnnnd twilight goat!

@obsidianapple

damnn you guyz know me too well sdfkjhFKDS

Twilight Goat

favorite thing about them

WIZARD!!!!! MYSTERIOUS WIZARD!!!!!!!! MAGIC!!!!!!!!

least favorite thing about them

how little content in main game (and in fandom) there is of them :( like we got that rift in the dlc but the canon is a little fucked bc its fan-made

favorite line

i would say n/a but. dammit that quote at the end of twilight travels made me cry tee bee ache

brOTP

i have an old, OLD ask about them and Mu, and idk that just sounds like a fun duo!! ^^

OTP

uHH??? idk?? ive had the idea of them and Badger, and Sock's haunted hats au has them and Florist paired (which i actually. had thought about b4 sdf3kDFHJ) and its rlly cute so ^^

nOTP

uH idk. nothing gross ig lol

random headcanon

the place showed in the story book where theyre traveling is sand n sails!

unpopular opinion

cooler than prince. dont @ me

song i associate with them

Blue Lips (dont ask)

favorite picture of them

Snatcher

favorite thing about them

funny ghost. silly.

least favorite thing about them

everything else <3 and deathwish

favorite line

all of his lines r gold tee bee ache KJHFHKLJDS

brOTP

him and Hat Kid. siblings siblings siblings siblings this is my sister this is my brother we are siblings and we care for each other--

OTP

uh. idk lmao i hc him as aro ace soooo :v:

nOTP

ven (obz) and florist lol!! uh bc i dont. like how ppl characterize him and Florist's relationship and i only rlly think it works in very specific contexts

random headcanon

feels like vapor

unpopular opinion

(looks at blog) uh. which onedfjkjdfhsKHJLFDS no but fr uh aside from the obvious uhHH. scales and feathers not fur

song i associate with them

n/a (all the ones i can think of is actually just him in association w/ ven)

favorite picture of them

cartoon man ^^

#bany! 🌟#cas! 🍏#ahit #the twilight goat #snatcher

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lindendragonart · 4 years

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AHIT Headcannons?

Hmmm, kinda vague question but I'll see what I can do. Oh actually, looking at my drafts I do have some space kids personality headcanons so I'm just gonna copy paste it here and add to it.

Some Hat and Bow personality headcanons, particularly for my au (which I'm probably gonna stockpile until I'm done)

While both Hat and Bow are both playful, as kids usually are, Hat is more outgoing, while Bow is more on the shy side, though she loves adventuring and making friends just as much as Hat does.

While both are generally kind people, Hat can be smug and mischevous sometimes, Bow can too, but milder and way less often, and she knows when to stop.

Hat means well, but sometimes she cannot properly read the situation or people's emotions which, along with her slight lack of social skills, can sometimes make her say things that are not completely appropriate for the situation at hand. Sometimes, what she says may even come off as a little brash. Bow is more emotionally intelligent out of the two of them, so she is better at properly handling certain social or emotional situations.

Their backstory I've basically taken from Lemonadesoda's fic "Hide and seek" except Bow is there too. In short, their parents died when they were little so they were left in the care of the parents' colleagues but they see the kids as an incovinience and don't pay much attention to them, one day an evacuation takes place on the colony and the kids accidentally get left behind. They put a ship together out of scrap and go to fly back home but get stuck on earth when they lose their Time pieces.

Bow is slightly taller than Hat

Oh! Just remembered, alien species headcanons! Got them saved on my phone

Alien society

Time pieces are generally used as spaceship fuel, to produce energy, and as a regular citizen you may have the right to reverse a recent, minor incident. Anything more mayor done by an unexperienced or hasty mind could have grave consequences (like Mustache Girl's unstable time rift which would have eventually collapsed and killed the whole planet)

All citizens are under a moral code where they are sworn to protect the proper flow of time. Only authorities authorized by the CEO of time may use the Time pieces for bigger scale endeavors such as reversing major catastrophies, but it's a slow process and by the time they fix one, a hundred more happen in just one sector alone, so don't get your hopes up about having your tragedy reversed.

The aliens actually did visit Earth centuries before, but they have a policy not to interfere with outside communities too much if their society hasn't technologically advanced enough yet, so as to not sully their natural progress or ruin their culture due to colonization or similar. They are allowed to essentially "hang out" should the native community be willing to continue benevolent contact, so they do end up sharing information about each others culture and technology, which is why Earth has an affinity for hats with special abilities like the alien society does.

The aliens also found out about cats while on Earth and they liked them so much they took some home, so now they are a semi-popular pet there. (look I just really needed to explain why Bow's default outfit is cat-themed)

The alien society has developed a vaccine that can permanently grant your immune system the ability to succesfully fend off most foreign diseases. These are also given to any outsiders joining their society to prevent them from immediatelly dying from their diseases. On the topic of that. All space travellers must go through a decontamination process before setting off, so as not to infect foreign worlds.

Alien biology

Aliens don't really keep track of their age unless it's for legal reasons due to all the time shenanigans that happen while traveling screwing with their passage of time, but generally speaking, aliens grow up at a similar speed to humans until they mostly stop growing at around 10-11 in Earth years, then they stay mostly the same until hitting a growth spurt at 15-16 that will continue until they hit 18-19.

Their blood is a kind of reddish+magenta, would definitelly look off to a human.

They come in all the skin tones humans can come in, with the addition of more pinkish skin tones

Most of them have saturated, brightly colored eyes like blue, red, yellow and purple. Brownish/ dull colored eyes are kinda rare, which is how you may be able to tell apart a human from an alien at first glance.

Their species has through the centuries of space-traveling adapted to being able to eat many things which may be poisonous to the average non-space faring creature, to ensure survival on a new world.

As we see in canon, they are incredibly strong compared to humans too.

Random headcanon about the horizon

The Horizon is a plane where all "magic" comes from. The aliens learned to harvest it and weave it into hat yarn long ago, while on Earth, the horizon leaks through in more impure forms, once the magic finds itself in a creature or object, it can form different characteristics depending on the person, forming the types of magic people like Vanessa and Snatcher wield. Having magic on Earth is kinda like having a symbiotic spirit that has no consciousness of its own. Earthlings do not understand most of it, and simply call it magic.

Also here are some Subcon headcanons but they will be short cause they are either widely known about or I talked about it before

Vanessa's mother was abusive and would lock her in the cellar (without chains) when she misbehaved. Vanessa had no control over her life which later made her possesive and controling towards the prince.

The Prince knows about Vanessa's mother being horrible to Vanessa but not the full extent of it.

Vanessa frequently guilt tripped the Prince with her own insecurities and how her mother treated her, and the Prince always either gave in because he didn't want to upset her further or got backed into a corner with it when he actually tried to defend himself, dismissing his own concerns as trivial.

Snatcher steals souls because Vanessa's powers are still running rampant and might even freeze the whole world if Snatcher doesn't use soul power to melt the ice. Kind of a "forced to become a monster to protect himself from one" situation.

Okay I hope that answered everything! Thank you for the ask

#lindendragon #my stuff #ahit #ask #anon #ahit headcanons #hc #headcanons #aliens #hat aliens #asks #answer #save #ahit bow kid #ahit hat kid #ahit the prince #ahit snatcher #ahit queen vanessa #alien

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mothpile · 4 years

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ok *breaks my knuckles* ow ok Hot take time

- the same repetive snatcher content is the reason he feels so oversaturated imo. the endless “oh here he is, becoming Nice again” thing is just tiiiring. stop making him back into the prince, he’s not that person anymore ! that’s how Changing as a person works. thats just not smthing u go back to.

- HOWEVER the OTHER side of the scale where u make snatcher start saying slurs (i wish i was kidding. i so so SO wish i was kidding) IS NOT GOOD STILL. he’s an asshole yeah but not an ACTUAL Asshole. dont do them like that.

- if you’re going to say “hey ahit fandom can we have attention for Other characters” can it Not be for the one who’s Only thing is he bullied multiple children (and wasnt even Fun about it. at least Other people who bullied children had Other shit going on) and that he also fucked up an entire island . conquered it. he fucking Sucks ok im mad. mafiaboss go Away challenge.

- IF YOURE MAKING MU CONTENT . shuuuuuuuT UP WITH THE ? “Oh what if in that snatcher is human again au, when they fight v*nessa n defeat her she bcomes human again !! and then she finds mu n mu helps her :) “ SHIT SHUTUP SHUT UP STOP ACTUALLY:

- STOP?? STOP WITH THE “Oh v*nessa but she doesnt kill the prince!” “v*nessa but she’s nice!!” “v*nessa but she was actually Mind Controlled and Not evil!!”

- where was i going with this give me a minute i think ill leave this as just things that r Negative

#therell b a part two give me a second im being distracted by my brain #moth talk

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sunny-inajar · 9 days

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self indulgent doodles

......very self indulgent doodles..... along with mer sun being an angsty boy :D

daybreaker sun (in the 4th image) belongs to @saltyfryz aaaaaaaaaaa

#sunny scribbles #doodles #dca fandom #tsams #laes #evil earth #little red reader hood au #scales and snatchers au #dca mer au #eclipse x reader #bloodmoon x reader #sots au #sona

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nightlight-doodle-corner · 5 years

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rambling cause its been awhile.

It’s been a while but here’s some small rambles on the au.

dwellers and subconites exist, the dwellers are the spirits of people or animals that live in Subcon, the spirits of people took the form of animals because they wished to not look back on their previous life, its easy to tell what's what because human dwellers still have their masks, so you would see a fox spirit with a fox mask scamper by. They have a basic understanding and if say someone like Hat kid asks them a simple request they are willing to help. Subconites are what the spirits of people take the appearance they have now and can tell who is who by spiritual energy. Hat kid and Mu are confused by this but if they live in Subcon long enough they would be able to see faint energy of different colors.

Dwellers aren’t capable of speech, they make small sounds like a soft chime or a bell ringing. If hat kid or mu hear multiple dwellers at once Snatcher says the dwellers are singing a song of passing for those who passed. Dwellers can in a way sense when someone has died by Vanessa’s hand and sing this song so the lost soul could find peace or come to them for company.

Bow is a very nimble earth dragon, Mu has a hard time catching her if they all play a game like tag or hide and seek. Mu is good at them but because bow is quick on her feet she could scale a tree to get out of reach.

#hat in time #A Hat In Time #hat in time dragon au #subconites #subcon dwellers #bow kid

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bloglullabyofthemoonposts · 5 years

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Fantastical Beasts AU

Here's a small thing I felt like writing.

[Found]

The forest was silent, all of the creatures afraid to come out. The reason being was a large scaly beast, patrolling his territory. Snatcher hissed, tasting the air.

He tasted the dampness in the air, as well as felt it on his scales. Seemed normal, except for a faint chirping sound.

Snatcher flicked his ear and turned in the direction the sound was coming from. "What is that?"

Upon arriving at the location of the sound, he discovered something worrying.

A Griffin pup, barely a few weeks old, in the middle of the forest, too close to..her..territory. Snatcher circled around her, inhaling and tasting the scents around her.

He was so preoccupied with trying to figure out how she got there that he didn't notice that she had stopped chirping.

Or that she had gotten up, and wobbled, on unsteady legs, over to him, until she reached out and placed her tiny talons on his large one.

Snatcher looked down at her, and frowned. She was well-fed, which meant that she wasn't alone for long, but he knew that she had yet to open her eyes.

He didn't know why, but he picked her up, gently, prompting a suprised chirp out of her.

Heading home, with the Griffin in hand, was apparently enough to knock her out, and she was asleep by the time he returned to his den.

He set her down softly, and lay down next to her, placing his wing over her to keep her warm, and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

#ahit hat kid #ahit au #ahit #Darn you TeenyTinyHatKid!#just kidding #Ahit Snatcher #Snatcher #Fantastical Beasts #yay a story!

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evilsnowswan · 7 years

Photo

Summary: [Rumbelle Mermaid!AU] based on this prompt by repeatinglitanies: “In a world where people are aware of the existence of mermaids, Belle is a mermaid who lives in the world’s largest aquarium along with other sea creatures. She enjoys looking at the little humans who come to visit, especially a floofy haired boy who comes every week with his father….” An injured Belle is captured and brought to Gold and Milah’s aquarium. Gold is a marine biologist dedicated to protecting the creatures there, Milah wants to turn a profit, and their son has his own ideas about how to befriend a mermaid.

Rating: G/Teen Link to full story: [Read on AO3] Previous Chapters: [Coverart][Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5][Chapter 6][Chapter 7][Chapter 8][Chapter 9][Chapter 10]

Current Chapter: 11/? Chapter Summary: Gold’s idea and Indigo’s reaction.

This one comes with beautiful art by the wonderful @kamdensl. Thank you so much again! She’s perfect, and adorable, and I love her to bits! ❤ I’ve been dying to share sweet Indigo in her field-trip!gear with you all. (Please, love her). She goes with both this chapter and the next.

Soundtrack:

Mask Makers mood: [X] Trust/ Outside the Medical Wing/ Meeting TEACHER: [X][X][X][X]

Chapter 11

Most days, she didn’t mind the food, the games, or his company. The sweet milk he gave her tasted a little funny and the beak-feeder she was to drink it from took some getting used to, but she had gotten used to a lot of things lately. It reminded her of birds feeding their young ones - hence the name she had chosen for it.

Names had to be either descriptive or meaningful - or both. Sometimes that made them dull.

Her own name - beauty - she had grown into it. She didn’t feel particularly beautiful. The ocean held so much beauty, it felt wrong to call herself special. She had pretty scales. Not everyone had a tail like hers, and it got her noticed. That much was true. But her so-called beauty paled in comparison.

The beak-feeder, for example, was much more interesting and thus infinitely more beautiful in Belle’s eyes. A beautiful, curious little object that filled her with awe and wonder. And it filled her with questions too. So many questions. She didn’t know where to start or how to start asking them.

Why the merling girl? Who was she? Was this her beak-feeder? And where was she now?

All her attempts at asking the airling about her had failed. Either he couldn’t understand, or he didn’t want to. She would try again, but not today. Now was not the time. She didn’t feel like labored, broken, fruitless conversation. She wasn’t in the mood for games or learning new symbols. She just wanted to be left alone, stare at the water, and dream of home.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the airling step away. She could have propped herself up to keep him in view, get a better look at what he was doing, but she couldn’t find it in herself to move.

It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she had a say in anything anyway.

She had taken the milk, sat in the one-armed kraken, and let him touch, and manipulate her body in any way he wished, while the little red sun warmed her skin. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend it was the real sun that tickled her nose and drew the sprinkling of sun spots from her soul and right onto her cheeks. If she concentrated hard enough, she could make herself believe that it was a warm rock her body rested on, and that the salt she tasted in the air came from the waves breaking on it - rather than from the hiss-spitter clutched in his hand.

Only, the airling’s footfalls sounded nothing like the big waves that pounded on the shore, nor were they like the smaller ones that lapped at it. His legs didn’t roll and crash into the open space in front of him. His feet wouldn’t wash over sand and rocks with grace. His walking was very stiff and rather jerky, as much unlike water as anything could be. There was a tendency to shuffle. He could stride out if he wanted to, leaving him exhausted.

Belle sighed and turned her head, studying him.

He had given her a squishy round thing - almost like a sponge and alarmingly red - that fit into her palm perfectly and tasted like floater when put into your mouth, and which she was to throw if whatever they did hurt her.

She had understood that pretty quickly, but had thrown it precisely at his head once or twice before -just because- regardless. Because she had been bored, or displeased, or wanting to annoy him back. It would have been easier to just hand her more throw-things to express those sentiments as well, she thought. Maybe different colors or shapes. But he was a quick study too, and by now could tell which was supposed to be which - most of the time.

Right now, he wasn’t paying attention. His focus was turned inward, eyes exploring a world she couldn’t see, lips forming sounds that weren’t meant for her ears - and which she wouldn’t have understood even if they had been- and eyebrows drawing together, forcing deep folds into the smooth forehead.

Something was wrong.

Instinctively, Belle froze, listening for whatever had caused his mood to shift so drastically. Had something happened? Her eyes and ears didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. Nothing suspicious, no imminent danger. But perhaps the airling had spotted something she had not. After all, it hadn’t been he who had found himself entangled, trapped in silent death’s clutches, had it?

Unease growing in her belly, Belle bit her lip.

The airling, he looked so… sad. But there was more to it than just your regular low spirits.

She had learned to read him pretty well. Airlings were much harder than merlings, but it wasn’t like there was much else for her to do around here anyway, he was with her almost all the time now, and practice made perfect. Yet, Belle struggled to make sense of his facial expression and general agitation.

Her fingers closed around the squishy sponge.

What was going on?

Squinting slightly, she took aim, but didn’t let it fly just yet. Instead, she propped herself up on one arm, raising an eyebrow at him and flopping over onto her back with a playful grin. Perhaps a game would cheer him up? He seemed to enjoy playing those almost as much as she did. She’d agree to a round of Ding Snatcher or Four Eggs in a Row, if that was what it took.

Belle held her breath as his hands touched her arms and torso, the rough fingertips on her sensitive skin making her squirm and laugh. Under his touch, she felt herself relax again, and he smiled at her, his eyes crinkling.

He had old eyes, Belle noticed. Cut from weathered sandstone that braved the waves and storms. They reminded her of something she hadn’t felt in a very long time: trust.

Belle sucked in air, a tiny gasp of surprise.

His hands had stopped moving, but the happy little tickle was inside her chest still- and starting to spread. She traced it to her twitching fin, and felt it jump the gaps between her fingers. The sense of calm, peace, and stability she had felt a mere second ago had rolled back on the horizon and turned into a sizzling wave of warm, effervescent energy that made it hard to keep still.

Her heart beating faster and cheeks flushing with anger and confusion, Belle clenched her fists and squeezed the little sponge hard, then threw it in his direction.

When he shifted his gaze, her indignation evaporated into thin air like foam on hot sand. She couldn’t help but smile at the puzzled look on his face and the attentive concern she found in his eyes as they swept over her face and body.

His hands formed a question. He shook his head.

Still smiling, Belle pressed her lips and her fingers together. No, she wasn’t hurt.

Little bursts of energy fizzed in her tail and belly, and she blew out her cheeks, batting her eyes to try and quickly dispel some of it before the urge to move, to swim and dive, grew too strong and overpowered her. The little water box she lived in now wasn’t built to withstand such whims. And her tail and fin weren’t strong enough to support silly endeavors like the one she yearned for, even if it were.

The airling burst out laughing, but then his face clouded over, and he turned away from her and began to pace. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one with excess energy in her limbs.

When he didn’t stop, worry and despair drawing lines on his face again, Belle wished nothing more than for a magnificent wave to rise from the tense silence, break in his path, and wash them away.

The strangely euphoric feelings that had had her feeling more positive and energized- she could feel them dying, her lungs slowly clogging up with dead tissue, choking her.

Belle never took her eyes off him. Thunder boomed and clapped in her chest so loudly, she feared she might lose the gift of sound permanently. She was so focused on the airling and what he was doing that she didn’t notice someone else enter their space until they moved in on the newly recalibrated center of her universe, and made her jump in fright.

Jumper Girl.

Belle hadn’t seen her since-

all the white hot energy coalesced in her belly, causing it to flip-flop and then drop out. Nausea and panic crept up into her chest and closed up her throat. Belle tried blinking away the sudden sting in her eyes, but it didn’t seem to be working.

Was he sending her back? Back to the glass coffin and the soapy, dead water and mindless fish?

Eyes flicking to him briefly, Belle’s heart thumped, her belly churning as she worried over what would happen next.

Would she be asked to jump again?

Sitting up, hands by her sides and fists clenched, Belle felt tears trail down her cheeks and shifted her tail awkwardly. It felt much heavier than she remembered. Swimming without aid, let alone performing multiple jumps in quick succession seemed like a sheer physical impossibility. She’d never swim like that again.

“IN-DI-GO?”

His voice broke through her stupor, and she turned her head with a grimace.

She refused to answer - didn’t know how, yet opened and closed her mouth helplessly, looking for reassurance despite herself, and he took her hands.

Voice and eyebrows rising, his face troubled, he asked her something, and Belle glanced down at their linked hands as she held the tears back as best she could.

Her best, however, wasn’t good enough, and she sagged, covering her face with her hands in shame.

The airling pulled her into a hug. She let it happen, listened to the rhythm of his heart beating. How curious was it that their hearts were on opposite sides of their chests? Airlings and merlings were so different, and yet so alike. Watching them was like watching your own reflection on still water. The same, almost, but not quite.

She had gotten used to so many strange things that no longer felt strange to her at all.

Their way of communicating would forever stay alien to her, but even if she failed to distinguish the meaningful parts - save for ‘gemstone’ and the little boy’s name - the airling gibberish had grown on her, become familiar. She noticed nuances now, subtle changes in pitch and volume, patterns of stress and intonation that allowed her to infer- or at least, make an educated guess on- the meaning of what was being said to her with some certainty. Knowing the context, the speaker or their intent, helped a lot and made it even easier.

Belle had no way of knowing what he said as he held her in his arms, but the string of sounds was a warm current against her ear, harshness turned soft and soothing, and she instantly felt a lot calmer.

Pulling back and smiling up at the airling, she quickly ran a hand over her eyes. She chuckled tearfully.

It was going to be alright.

A sudden movement to her right caught her attention. Jumper Girl was off to the side, arms folded around herself protectively, watching them. Belle wanted to smile at her too, maybe wave, but just then she caught a glimpse of something that sent cold chills down her spine and mobilized her with such fear that she reflexively leapt up and almost dove off the sunbathing platform in panic. Covering her head with both arms she pressed herself flat onto the warm surface, her scream another silent one.

Gemstone, he said again. A question. Confusion.

After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly turned around to face him, her eyes wide. The white pelt draped over the girl’s arm had her heart beat a rapid staccato against her ribcage.

Were they going to skin her?! Skin her alive?!

She had heard the stories, heard them sung a million times. Merlings making contact with airlings where water meets land. Merling maidens seeking those in need of help, those who are dissatisfied with their lives or lonely, and being coerced into relationships or servitude before brutally slaughtered for their skins. The tears they shed into the sea as they sat and wept turned the water salty, and from their blood the fish and corals were born into this world, to fill the ocean with a far greater beauty than any airling eye would ever get to behold.

The airling. He was looking at her with concern in his eyes; smiling at her now- a smile bright with affection and warmth. He had been good to her, Belle reminded herself with a deep breath. Even after the incident. Even after she had endangered his family. He had shown her nothing but kindness. He never lost his temper. He didn’t mind when she got grouchy from pain and nostalgia or moaned about the food and games.

No, his hands caressing her shoulders and back assured her. He was not going to hurt her. Not now, not ever. His touch whispered and hummed on her skin, singing a lovely little tune of its own, and she sighed, feeling the tension ebb away.

He nudged her.

Belle reached out a trembling hand. The pelt was soft, despite its wetness. Baby seals just grown out of their whitecoat stage was what it looked like, but it felt different under her fingertips. This was no relict from the Great Killings in the North, no airling hunter’s trophy.

Immensely relieved, but slightly bewildered, Belle let the airlings carefully drape it around her shoulders, then help her arms through strategically placed holes that allowed free use of her hands.

The coat was large and long, reaching down over her torso and covering part of her tail. Her skin, heated and dry from the little red sun’s beams, welcomed the luxurious, heavy cool. It closed in the front, where the airling father tied a loose strip into a knot to keep everything in place. Then he drew up a smaller part attached to the back, bringing it over her head.

The rich smell of ice and salt engulfed her like a hug, her skin breathing into soft fur, and Belle felt a lump in her throat. They had turned her into a gigantic Ice-Lover from the Green Island, the Isle of Mask Makers, between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans and east of the Ice Uplands.

Staring down at her own body covered in snow-white furs, Belle’s imagination pushed to life, woken from its slumber and propelling her mind forward fast, and she began to wonder. Green Island, was that where they were? Or perhaps the airlings would be taking her there? She had only heard of its airling population in her people’s darkest and creepiest songs. The sewers of skins, the makers of masks; They who called upon the ghosts of the dead and carved their bones with their teeth. If they saw you, they would put you to sleep forever.

Belle shuddered, her heart gripped with terror and curiosity alike.

Perhaps she would find out if the stories were true- or just something merling fathers told their young daughters so they’d stay close to home and far away from the airling world. As long as this airling was by her side, she might even live to tell the tale.

Wherever it was they were going, at least they were going somewhere, she thought, readily rolling over onto her belly and on top of a hard piece of something like wood, shaped like a seal’s belly. On the count of three, the airlings then moved it onto another platform, not unlike the one she took her sunbaths on- only this one could float.

She gripped the handles tight and they pushed her towards the opening. Towards where the airling disappeared to sleep and reappeared in the mornings; then through, and into another place that she had never been before.

Belle looked around wildly, cast her eyes around the open space expectantly, but it was just another box. Another long, narrow box made from stone, dark and lifeless. Her face fell a little.

But they kept moving. In and out of boxes, up and down, through endless caves and tunnels and openings that closed behind them with a loud click, until finally, something wonderful hit her nose and filled her ears.

Birdsong, saltwater.

She didn’t hear the waves, but they couldn’t be far.

Belle’s fin twitched. She pushed up on her hands and shifted her weight to get a better view. In front of her a wall eased out of the way to reveal yet another opening, and behind it- a glowing horizon, and a vast body of glittering blue.

She gasped, sucked in heady air. The squeal that escaped her, she couldn’t have held it back if she tried.

Beside her, the airling chuckled, covering her hand with his. The evening breeze picked up and caught in her hair, playing with a loose curl. Her heart was thumping with excitement, her breath coming hard through her nose, and she squinted in the orange light of the setting sun, sinking towards the water.

The beautiful, beautiful water.

His voice was gentle and full of reverence as he bent down to whisper something in her ear, and her smile widened.

As they slowly lowered her down to the ground, she squirmed and wriggled, eyes set on the waterline. Had he not held her back by the shoulders, she would have dashed for it, dove right under that smooth surface, the itch tickling every cell in her body, the urge to swim far greater than any conscious thought.

The airling helped her disentangle herself from the fur coat. Laughing, he shook his head, let go and took a silent step back from her, putting the strap of fur to his lips and bending to pick up her coat. He shook it out, draped it over the floating sunbed, straightened his back, and waved her off towards the sound of water lapping against a stone-made shore.

Belle lunged forward, let herself hit the water face first, and pushed off with a long stroke.

Wonderfully cool and calm turquoise blue threw its arms wide in welcome, washing around her body, caressing her tenderly from head to fin. Salt danced and swirled around her, and she twirled underwater, feeling as light as a jellyfish on a wave. The silence took a breath and winked at her. Belle closed her eyes and listened for a while, floating on strong invisible hands.

Before she could decide to head back up to the surface to breathe air, a shrill sound from above split the relaxing refuge in half, forcing her to open her eyes and recollect herself, gathering all her little pieces back from inside the water’s melody.

When she breached the surface, so had another, and they were coming towards her.

Both of them went back under.

Belle felt the string of pulses, clicks and whistles vibrate against her skin, the sound reverberating in her body.

She clapped a hand over her mouth, so as not to interrupt. She had to wait her turn, listen to the pulse pack fully before making a response, or it would be considered rude. She was entering into their home, a visitor in their world, and needed to conform to etiquette.

Belle held her breath, listening intently.

“Greetings, merfolk!”

The pulses grew louder as the dolphin came closer, zoomed past, and gave her a quick once-over. And then it went off into the opposite direction.

Dolphins know no secrets, they know the truth, was what her father used to say to her when she was a child and tried to spin him some seaweed to get herself out of trouble.

“Gree-ee-ee-tings,” the dolphin trilled.

Dolphins were able to see inside you, inside your body and soul, so they could see your true self and all your emotions, could see how excited or calm you were; and they were particularly attuned to attitude, so the inner attitude that you had about them- if you appreciated them, if you respected them, if you took a polite and sensitive approach to them, maybe showed some curiosity and open-mindedness, they would know that immediately.

The dolphin came back, stopped, and looked at her, its body forming a soft S-shape.

“TEACHER,” it said, opening its mouth. “TEACHER.”

Self-identifying whistle.

Belle waited, put a hand on her heart. Waited another beat.

“Belle,” she answered. “My name is Belle.”

Belle kept very still, waiting for the dolphin to take its turn in their conversation. When conversing with each other, each dolphin listened to the other’s pulses before producing its own.

TEACHER came up and nudged her nose a few times, and Belle scratched them under the chin.

“Female,” TEACHER said, using her self-identifying whistle again. “TEACHER.”

Dolphins would understand what it was you intended to do, or what you would like them to do, well before you had even fully formed the thought in your own mind.

She nodded.

TEACHER gave a displeased little click, and Belle felt the blood rise to her cheeks and temples.

My apologies, TEACHER, she thought. Please, continue.

Emitting a low squeak and whistle, TEACHER moved yet closer, almost touching her forehead to Belle’s.

“Come.”

Belle closed her eyes, and immediately saw the pictures flash before them.

A migrating pod, a cluster of floaters, silent death’s web, a black wave, a deserted beach, rain - PAUSE - hands and eyes, airlings. A familiar face and familiar places - full stop.

She exhaled. Breathed in.

A pool - this pool. More airlings. Young airlings, old airlings, sick airlings. Sick or hurt airlings swimming in the pool with TEACHER - full stop.

“Come,” TEACHER repeated, nudging her arm. “Come. Come. Come.” She eased back a little, did a slow roll, turned back, and looked at Belle, scanning, prompting, asking her to move.

Come where?

“Hurt,” TEACHER whistled low. “Hurt outside, hurt inside.”

She circled Belle, touched her side with her fin, made it so Belle’s hand would slide over her back, open palm, and come to rest just next to her dorsal fin.

“TEACHER. Come, Belle. Come.”

Belle understood, gripped onto it lightly with both hands, and the two of them were off, circling the pool, diving and swimming, going fast and going slow, parting the water and feeling it rush over shared skin.

#rumbelle fic #rumbelle #rumbelle art #mermaid!belle #ouat fanfiction #rumbelle au #my fic #fic: indigo

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fanniwrites · 7 years

Text

sometimes dreams wear masks

Rating: Teen+ Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Word Count: 4,244

Summary: Yuuri Katsuki is 14 years old when Grand Prix first saves his life, and it's the start of an obsession that would last years after.

(a superhero au)

Ao3

... and there he is! The Grand Prix comes sliding into the scene...

::x::

Yuuri Katsuki is 14 years old when Grand Prix first saves his life.

A quick walk with Vicchan went horribly awry when the dog’s collar got unclipped from his leash. If this had been Hasetsu, there wouldn’t have been too much of a problem. The area was rather peaceful, mostly unbusy. A majority of the time Vicchan wasn’t on his leash at all, and he could run back and forth across some streets with only minor fuss from Yuuri.

But this was the city--the big, bustling city during rush hour.

And when Vicchan ran into the car packed street, Yuuri had not been far behind.

He’s sure he has the article of it somewhere, hidden in the sea of newspaper clippings he’s collected over the years.

GRAND PRIX SAVES BOY AND HIS DOG, the headline reads. Yuuri’s read the section so many times, he could repeat the whole thing line for line, word for word. The fantastical recap of how Grand Prix expertly slid in on his ice to save the day.

And the start of an obsession that would last years after.

::x::

Yuuri Katsuki is 23 years old the second time Grand Prix saves his life.

Except this time the situation is much, much different.

::x::

“He’s here again.”

Yuuri stops tying his ice skate to stare at Phichit, confused. His friend is glancing between his phone and the ice rink, not even half as inconspicuous as he may think he is.

“Who’s here?” Yuuri asks, already dreading the answer.

“Your secret admirer,” Phichit replies, amused.

Yuuri groans. “ Phichit-- ”

“ Yuuri ,” Phichit interrupts. He plops down besides Yuuri on the bench, getting ready to rehash this well-worn conversation once more. “Yuuri, he’s literally here every time you hold classes.”

“He’s here’s even when I’m not holding classes,” Yuuri points out, moving to finish tying up his skates. “Yuuko said so.”

“Yuuko also said that he never stays as long when your not here,” Phichit retorts.

“And?”

“He’s totally here for you, Yuuri,” is his friend’s pleased conclusion. “You can see it in his face. He’s infatuated.”

“Phichit.”

Phichit shrugs. “I’m just saying.”

With a sigh, Yuuri finally finishes with his skates and looks out towards the rink.

There, like always, is mystery man, gliding seamlessly across the ice like he was born to be there. It’s beautiful. He moves with the grace of a professional figure skater--or just someone with lots of practice under his sleeve. For a moment, Yuuri thinks their eyes meet right before the man moves into a flawless quad salchow.

It has to be Yuuri’s imagination.

What would someone like him, with his lush silver hair and bright blue eyes, want with someone like Yuuri.

“You’re overthinking this, Phichit,” Yuuri says, standing up from the bench. His students and their parents are already starting to gather around the rink.

“Am I overthinking it, or are you?”

Yuuri doesn’t answer.

::x::

“... and a new hero has been spotted today after apprehending a group of robbers ...”

::x::

If anyone asked, Yuuri couldn't say where his powers came from.

They seemed like such an integral part of his childhood growing up. His mother could lift three crates of supplies without breaking a sweat. His father could pick up his fully grown children like they weighed less than paper. Mari broke plates from holding them just a bit too tightly.

And Yuuri? He could run farther, and longer, than his peers. He could practice jump after jump at the rink--maybe not always with accuracy, but certainly with enough energy to spare. Sometimes, when he got injured, he could barely feel a thing.

It was incredible. It was scary. It made Yuuri think that’s what he had his powers for--to simply go on with his life like the rest of his family did.

It was Grand Prix who showed something him so much more than that.

::x::

The first night Yuuri went out on patrol was daunting.

It was also a massive failure.

His costume was barely a costume. His mask was cut crudely out of black fabric. All he had to fight with was himself, some extra strength and stamina, and a lifetime of dance lessons.

Still, the perpetrators--a couple of simple purse snatchers--get away with their prize tucked under their arms and barely a scratch.

Yuuri sulks and thanks whatever god above that the encounter never makes it to the news

::x::

It’s another month before Yuuri tries again.

In that time, Yuuri signs up for defense classes. He figures having this bit of experience under his belt is much better than being completely unprepared, and he practices day by day and night by night. He fixes a suit from a ice skating costume he ordered but never got the courage to use in a routine. He even finds a weapon--some metal pole that Yuuri thinks he and Phichit used for the shower curtain at some point.

That second night on patrol, Yuuri makes sure he’s prepared.

That second night on patrol, Yuuri stops thugs from harassing some women in an alley, lays them out of the police to find, and flees the scene.

It’s the most exhilarated he’s felt in years.

::x::

Yuuri nearly chokes on his breakfast when he reads the newspaper the next morning.

A NEW HERO APPEARS , the headline reads. JUST WHO IS THIS VIGILANTE ?

He knew recognition for his heroic acts would come eventually, he just didn’t think he would make front page on the first day.

Yuuri reads the article once, twice, three times over thinking, maybe, that some other upstart hero had also decided to make their debut that night. But, nope, that was the crime he stopped, those were the mugshots of the criminals he caught, and that was most certainly a blurry image of himself hopping the fire escape.

The writer, a Hisashi Morooka, states high expectations for this new hero.

Yuuri suddenly doesn’t want breakfast anymore.

The newspaper is being plucked from Yuuri’s hand before he can realize it.

“What’s this?” Phichit asks, eyes already skimming through the words.

“It’s, uh-- Well--” Yuuri stammers. He knows, realistically, that there’s no way anyone can tell that’s him from that picture. It’s too unfocused, too far away, but he can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe--

“Oh, I get it,” Phichit says.

Yuuri freezes.

“Another one for the collection, right?”

Yuuri breathes out in relief, then blinks in confusion. “Um... What do you mean?”

“I mean that he’s your type.”

“Huh? My type?”

Phichit waves his hand in the hair, gesturing to some invisible, bolded headline. “Yuuri Katsuki, Hot for Justice!”

“Oh my god.”

::x::

The public gives him the name Eros.

It probably has something to do with his skin-tight black costume. And his use of pole dancing moves as he works with his staff.

Yuuri’s not sure how he feels about that.

He keeps every article of Eros he comes across and ignores Phichit’s smug little remark of, “I knew it.”

::x::

It’s all because of Grand Prix that Yuuri began taking ice skating seriously.

To his 14 year old mind, that was the way he could feel closest to his hero. He would watch it on the news, on Youtube--clips of Grand Prix creating ice platforms where he’d glide and jump between each one with clean grace. It was a perfected art form, one no doubt much more difficult than the usual ice skating.

Still, Yuuri took what he could.

And it’s not as if he was a stranger to the sport, either. Yuuri took classes casually for years, and Yuuko was incredibly passionate about everything to do with ice skating. They would spend hours at Ice Castle Hasetsu, practicing jumps and copying routines for fun. If Yuuri wasn’t in Minako’s ballet studio, he was in the rink, on the ice.

He’ll admit his interest waned when Yuuko’s family moved.

Hasetsu had fallen on hard times in the years. Tourism was low, and many places were closing from a lack of income.

Ice Castle Hasetsu was one of them, and when that went, so did Yuuko’s family.

Yuuri and Yuuko exchanged emails all the time. She would ask about Hasetsu, Yuuri’s family, Vicchan and Takashi. He would ask about her skating, her family, and Sternbright--the large, multicultural city funded by multiple governments. It was supposedly a very large, very futuristic place. Yuuko described it has pretty, but not quite as ‘futuristic’ as people claimed.

Not long after Yuuko, Takashi’s family followed. Yuuri found, even with the light teasing, he missed the boy all the same.

A couple years later, Yu-Topia Katsuki closes. It is the very last onsen to go.

The Katsuki’s move out to Sternbright to live with extended family, where they work the family owned restaurant. Yuuri is then saved by Grand Prix. He becomes interested in skating again, and he participates in local competitions, but he never goes professional or international.

It’s all history from there.

::x::

Things go a little wrong one night when Eros gets caught up in a large scale bank robbery.

He tried his best to stick to small crimes, still too new to the hero business to take on more serious things. The petty thief he can handle. A group of thugs he can handle. An overconfident, rookie gang he can handle.

A big group with big guns and a lot of hostages may be much more than he’s ready for.

But he can’t exactly just sit back and watch, can he?

Eros manages to sneak around, incapacitating and knocking out a few of the men patrolling. It’s not enough. A gunshot rings out, and Eros just barely manages to duck away from a bullet. He gets into stance, prepared for a fight. He’s sure he must look confident, but inside the situation worries him. Eros has dealt with guns before, but those were mostly small handguns, and they certainly weren’t heavy artillery like these. Not to mention that he had to make sure the hostages were safe--

There’s another gunshot, but by the time Eros realizes it’s much too late to dodge.

Behind him, Eros hears the soft crackle of ice, feels a cold breeze at his back. When he turns, the bullet is unnervingly close and encased in ice.

Grand Prix slides in with a grin.

“A little help?” He asks, playful.

On the inside, Yuuri may be freaking out. Just a little.

On the outside, Eros smirks and says, “Try to keep up.”

Between the two of them, the robbers don’t stand a chance.

::x::

“... after a thrilling team-up, is it possible that we have a superhero duo on our hands? ...”

::x::

Grand Prix drops Eros off on a nearby rooftop.

The ride from the bank to the roof was smooth, and Eros still feels a lingering warmth along his side from where Grand Prix held him close. It’s almost too much. Grand Prix is just as beautiful as he remembered, donned in his pink and gold suit--the city’s shining light, its golden trophy. The man currently plastered all over his bedroom wall is here, once again, in the flesh.

It’s almost like a dream.

Yuuri feels a little giddy.

“You know, I intended to meet you sooner,” Grand Prix starts, hands slipping from Eros’s waist. He misses the touch already. “That’s not quite how I imagined it, however.”

“It can’t be helped,” Eros says. “Especially in this line of work.”

Grand Prix chuckles. “That’s true. It was nice to finally meet you then, Eros.”

“Same to you, Grand Prix.”

Eros watches as Grand Prix waves and turns to leave. He doesn’t know what posesses him to reach out and grab the back of his long-time hero’s costume.

“...Will we see each other again soon?” He asks. Yuuri hopes his blush isn’t too obvious from under the mask.

Grand Prix stares, then smiles.

“Like you said--it can’t be helped.”

And then he’s gone.

::x::

That night Yuuri climbs back through his bedroom window.

He stuffs his face in a pillow and hopes to God that it wasn’t just a cruel dream.

::x::

It isn’t.

::x::

Yuuri is grateful to Yuuko for getting him a teaching job at the ice rink.

The pay isn’t grand, and he wouldn’t say he’s exactly the best teacher, but not many people in the world end up getting jobs doing things they love. He’ll take the opportunity while he still can.

Mystery man is always there in the afternoon, right before Yuuri’s after school sessions start.

Yuuko told him how the man is a popular topic among the rink’s staff. He’s a bit of an enigma--no one knows his name, age. Not even his shoe size, since he always brings his own skates. Apparently, he’s been coming to the rink for years. At least once a month. And he never talks to anyone--just skates for a few hours and leaves.

Yuuri found it hard to believe. After all, the man had been showing up for weeks.

“Hm. I wonder why that is?” Phichit asks, sarcastic.

“Because he likes to skate,” Yuuri replies, not to falling for the bait. “The way he skates takes years of practice. I find it hard to believe he wasn’t already there all the time.”

The both of them are sitting in Yuuri’s bedroom, where Phichit basically barged in covered in his hamsters. Yuuri is holding his favorite one in his palm, softly petting it with his finger. The rest of them are horrible escape artists who often betray Yuuri’s trust.

“Well, if you want my opinion--”

“--I don’t want--”

“--I think you should give it a shot.”

“Phichit, please,” Yuuri groans, starting to get frustrated with this conversation.

“Yuuri,” Phichit says. But there’s no teasing in his tone this time, no jokes, no insistence. He leans forward to gently cup Yuuri’s knee--a comforting move that lowers Yuuri’s defenses. “I’m not saying these things to torture you. It’s just...”

Yuuri finds himself to afraid to look his friend in the eye.

“It’s just what?” He dares to ask.

“It’s just...” Phichit hesitates. “It’s just that I think mystery guy might be more accessible than the other person you have in mind.”

The silence that follows is deafening. Yuuri knows exactly who Phichit is talking about. Their face is plastered all his wall, after all.

“You’re probably right.” Yuuri responds, voice quiet.

Still, it hurts to hear all the same.

::x::

The thing is, Phichit doesn’t know that Grand Prix is a lot more accessible than he used to be.

Grand Prix and Eros--they talked to each other. They fought side by side. They’ll probably be seeing a lot more of each other in the future. Yuuri is suddenly on the same playing field as the man he idolized for years, tossed into the spotlight by a hero-fanatic city.

The media, the public, Grand Prix--they no doubt expected great things from their new hero.

And that was the problem.

Yuuri Katsuki didn’t have amazing powers. He was strong, but he couldn't lift a car over his head. He ran fast, but he can't move at the speed of sound. He had so much energy, but that just meant he was less likely to get more tired than most.

His weapon was a goddamn shower pole, for fuck’s sake.

There was a reason he stuck to fighting smaller criminals, a reason why he only worked at night and stayed close to the shadows. It was the same reason his first big fight almost went completely haywire.

He could’ve died if Grand Prix hadn’t swooped in to save him.

What kind of hero was he if he had to be saved by someone else?

Eros was smoother and more confident than Yuuri, but he was still a dime a dozen hero--nothing spectacular in the end. Disappointment loomed in the horizon like a heavy cloud, coming slowly for the inevitable day people realized Eros was a sham.

And it’s that realization--the one where he remembers his dream is only temporary--that affects his next decision.

::x::

It’s a bad decision.

A very bad, very poorly thought out decision.

How does one ask out a man they don’t know and have never talked to? It’s impossible, isn’t it? Yuuri can’t help but think of everything that could go wrong. What if he embarrasses himself? What if Phichit was mistaken, and the man really wasn’t here for Yuuri at all? That’s a bit presumptuous to assume, isn’t it?

And yet, here Yuuri was, a good hour before his next class, ready to ask out the gorgeous mystery man who may or may not like him.

Yuuko stops him just as he turns around to walk away from the edge of the rink.

“Oh no you don’t,” She says, pushing him back towards the barrier. “You’re going to get out on that ice and get yourself a hot date even if it’s the last thing you do.”

“But Yuuko...”

“Don’t ‘but’ me, Yuuri Katsuki.” Yuuko puts her hands on her hips, staring him down. “The only other time I’ve seen someone look so smitten was when Takashi was still trying to hide his crush on me.”

Yuuri snorts at that.

Yuuko touches his shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance. Her smile is gentle and encouraging. “Just remember. No matter what happens, it’s not the end of the world.”

It sounds so easy when she says it like that.

Yuuri takes a deep breath, calming some of his nerves, and steps out onto the Ice.

He doesn’t go straight towards mystery man. Yuuri figures he can take his time, if he’s going to really try and do this. Instead, he takes a moment to simply skate, gliding close to the barriers. He maneuvers past first-timers and couples, not thinking about anything but his movements. Yuuri lets his mind empty--he doesn’t think about mystery man, about Yuuko or Phichit or even Grand Prix. It’s blissful, losing himself like this.

Then he looks into bright blue eyes, which are suddenly much closer than than he expected them to be.

Yuuri runs straight into the barrier.

He thinks he’s ready for death now, because mystery man most certainly saw that.

“Are you alright?” Someone asks. He’s almost too afraid to look up from where he hangs his head in shame. Yuuri looks up anyway because he likes punishing himself.

Mystery man is standing right there, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

God, he’s even prettier up close.

“Are you alright,” he repeats. “You haven’t hurt yourself, have you?”

“No. I’m fine,” Yuuri mutters, although he really isn’t all that fine. He’s sure his face is tomato red in embarrassment. “I’m... Thank you for asking... I’m just going to... get off the ice now...”

Yuuri moves, ready to hide away in the locker room until his class starts.

A hand grabs him before he can get very far.

“Wait,” mystery man says. If Yuuri didn’t know any better, he’d think he sounded... nervous? “I’m Victor. Victor Nikiforov.”

Yuuri blinks, shocked. “Oh, um, I’m Yuuri. Katsuki Yuuri. I mean, Yuuri Katsuki.”

Victor nods.

They stand in awkward silence.

Yuuri gulps. “W-Well, I’d better--”

“Would you like to get coffee with me after your class?”

If Yuuri was simply shocked before, he’s stunned now.

“It’s alright if today isn’t good for you,” Victor continues on. “But soon, maybe?”

“I...” Yuuri nods. “I... yeah, no. I mean yes. Today is fine. Perfectly fine.”

Victor smiles. “Great! I’ll see you after, then.”

And then he’s gone.

::x::

Yuuri couldn't stop thinking about what happened.

He thought about when he finally dragged himself off the ice to greet his students. He thought about it as he went over today’s lesson. He thought about while performing a simple jump--and completely flubbing it. He thought about it as he said goodbye to his students, untied his skates, and finally dragged his body out the locker room after pinching himself. Multiple times.

He’s going to get coffee with mystery man.

He’s going to get coffee with the gorgeous, mysterious man, Victor Nikiforov.

Maybe he should just pinch himself again, one more time.

::x::

Victor isn’t quite what Yuuri expected him to be.

Yuuko always made the man seem so far away--an oddly untouchable creature that skates like music flows through his body and smiles like he’s hiding 20 secrets.

The both of them go to a cafe close to the rink. Yuuri had only been there a few times before. The lighting was low, pleasant, and the smell in the air was heavenly. They each order--Victor getting a latte and a danish, Yuuri getting hot chocolate and a croissant. They find a small table by the window.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Victor says after taking a sip of his drink.

Yuuri stutters, not quite sure where he should start with a question like that. It doesn’t matter. Seeing Yuuri’s distress, Victor asks more specific questions--easy things, like how long Yuuri’s been skating, other hobbies, his family.

It’s surprisingly easy, talking to Victor. It might the way Victor leans forward, eyes rapt in attention, like he was endlessly fascinated by the things Yuuri had to say. Like he was hanging off every word, every phrase--as if Yuuri was living life as more than simply an ice skating instructor.

(Well, as far as Victor knew, that’s all Yuuri’s life really was.)

Yuuri learns things about Victor too. He finds out that his job is demanding, which is why he used to barely appear at the rink before. He learns that Victor moved to Sternbright when he was 7, although he avoids mentioning why, and Yuuri doesn’t ask. He learns he’s 27 years old.

He learns that Victor has a dog, Makkachin, who the man could gush about almost endlessly. Victor shows Yuuri just a few pictures of the thousand or so that he has.

Yuuri keeps to himself, that Makkachin reminds him of Vicchan.

They talk until the sun begins setting.

“I should get going,” Yuuri says, looking out the window.

“So should I,” Victor says. He slides his hand across the table, lightly brushing his fingertips against Yuuri’s hand. The touch is cold. “Can we do this again soon, Yuuri?”

Yuuri flushes, looking between Victor’s face and their touching hands.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Victor smiles, blinding.

They get up, throw away their cups and wrappers, and say their goodbyes at the door.

::x::

Yuuri knows he had a good time.

So why doesn’t it feel that way?

::x::

That night, Grand Prix finds Eros as he sits on a rooftop, looking over the city lights.

They’ve fought together two more times since that first night, but there was little time to talk--not with the media there to interview Grand Prix and trying to catch sight of the elusive Eros.

Right now, however, there was a moment of peace. No media, no criminals, no cries for help. Eros watches as Grand Prix raises himself on an ice platform, which melts away as soon as he hops off onto the roof.

“Isn’t this a nice surprise,” Eros greets with a smirk. “Has the Grand Prix himself come to grace me with his presence?”

“It’s nice to see you too,” Grand Prix quips back, smiling.

Then they just... chat. None of the information they give is personal. Nothing to give away their identities. They gossip about other the other heroes they occasionally run into on duty. They talk about police, the news, some of the more weirder crimes they’ve stopped. Grand Prix, however, does ask where Eros learned to work a staff like he does.

(“Wouldn’t you like to know.” “I would love to know.”)

Conversation gets quiet, and words lull. They sit in silence, staring at the place they both protect.

“Hey, Eros.”

Grand Prix’s demeanor turns from smiling to solemn. Eros nods, and stares. It’s a change from the charming persona he knows. This man is much different from the who smiles in front of cameras.

“Why did you become a hero?”

Because of you , he almost says. But, no. That info’s too much. Maybe one day, but not now.

Eros keeps his gaze on a skyscraper.

“Someone saved me, a long time ago,” he tells Grand Prix instead.

“A bit cliched, don’t you think,” Grand Prix remarks, snide.

Eros snorts. “Maybe it is, but... that’s okay, isn’t it? Without them, I would’ve been aimless, wondering if these powers of mine were just there to be... there. Useless.” He clenches his fist. “I’ve always hated feeling weak, after all.”

“Huh. I didn’t take you for the type to think yourself weak.”

“And would know much about me?”

Grand Prix sits in thought.

“I guess not,” he says, final. “It’s about time we got back to our patrols, isn’t it.”

They stand, turning to face each other.

“I’ll see you soon?” Eros asks, although he already knows the answer.

Grand Prix smiles, lifting Ero’s hand to his lips.

“Of course.”

::x::

Victor is at the rink the next day, right before Yuuri's classes, just like he usually is.

When they spot each other, Victor waves and smiles a large, heart shaped smile.

::x::

Yuuri wishes Grand Prix would make it easier for him to let go.

#victuuriweek #yoi #yuri on ice #au prompt #day three #fic #kay writes

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