#so me and Selene sat on the floor with him trying to figure out what was wrong | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

phynewrites · 1 year

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I posted 192 times in 2022

That's 182 more posts than 2021!

4 posts created (2%)

188 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@heywriters

@magic-is-something-we-create

@winterandwords

@the-modern-typewriter

@selene-stories

I tagged 174 of my posts in 2022

Only 9% of my posts had no tags

#reblogged art - 47 posts

#character inspo for myself - 34 posts

#others writing - 33 posts

#random - 32 posts

#reblogged writing - 26 posts

#writeblr - 26 posts

#writing tips for myself - 20 posts

#writing - 19 posts

#creative writing - 17 posts

#writers on tumblr - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 88 characters

#i agree it really is fascinating how we can come up with this kind of lore and mythology

My Top Posts in 2022:

Open Drabble 2

She steadily walked herself to the hut where he spent most of the day. The nearer she got, the more her knees trembled. Her insides started to turn, but she fought the sickness. This could be the last time she could do this, so she had no choice. She continued walking towards the door despite her legs giving in.

The doorknob felt cold on her fingers. Lifting her hand to touch it was already draining her energy, let alone turn it. She took a deep breath and reminded herself why she needed to do this. She held the knob with a firm grip and entered the small house.

He was sitting at his desk undisturbed. The noise of the door didn’t seem to bother him, but he knew that she was there. Mechanical sounds filled the room as he tinkered on an intricate machine. The sight of it reminded her of her fears again and it made her sigh. He dropped the screwdriver he was holding upon hearing it and looked at her. She was facing the door, closing it. When she turned around, they were both staring at each other hesitantly. This caught both of them off guard. She looked on the floor and he resumed with what he was doing. Just as how she felt when she lifted her hand to the knob, it was draining to lift the screwdriver, as if using all the energy in his body to lift it. He found that his mind was clouded with thoughts and couldn’t focus on what he was supposed to do.

She slumped on the floor and he glanced at her again. “Do you need anything?” he asked coldly.

She took another breath to clear her fears. “You are no fool. You know why I am here.”

His eyebrows met his face a mix of confusion and madness. “Don’t try to stop me!” he said too loudly and turned away so she couldn’t see how he was near breaking down.

She was taken aback. With an unintentional loud tone, she said: “I never wanted to stop you. I didn’t even come here to stop you.” She mustered up the courage to sit near his desk, on the side of his chair where she could see his expression, yet he turned away. “I know you were made for great things. I would never want to stop you. But a part of me doesn’t want you to go, knowing I might never see you again.” Her eyes felt hot and shifted her gaze to the floor and watched as little drops fell on her dress. Just then, she saw his figure hover out of the desk and sat across her.

She felt his palm on her cheek, guiding her face to meet his. Their eyes, full of sadness, stared into each other. “I know,” he said in a near whisper. “I know, but they need me there. I need to go there. You understand that right?” She nodded. “ I know this is hard for you,” he continued. “This isn’t easy for me too. I would have to leave everyone here, most especially you. But I need to do this to make sure that you survive, that every one of us will survive.”

“I know,” she sobbed. “But it hurts, so much.” Then, through the tears, she felt his warmth embrace her, her body wrapped in his arms as he cradled her head on his shoulders. It took a moment to let what happened to sink in. In all their years of being together, he rarely initiated hugs or showed affection. She was the hugger between them, and it didn’t dawn on her how much she needed this comfort. She rested her head onto her shoulder and embraced him tightly as he did as they sat in silence. She felt him pulling away from the embrace. Despite yearning for more, she let go.

He placed his palms on her cheeks again. This time, their faces are closer than ever that the air didn’t seem to circulate outside their breaths. “I want you to live,” he said, voice cracking from fighting the tears that were forming in his eyes. “Even if I’m not gonna be in it. You believe I was destined for great things, and so are you. Fulfill them, because you were born for it. And I have to leave to make sure you do because until I do not I can’t guarantee your safety. Yet, allow me to give you something before we depart.”

A sudden shock of bewilderment ran through her veins. “What is it?” she asked. He only let out a little smile, inching his face closer to her. She knew what it was and closed her eyes. They closed the gap of air between them with a kiss. It was their first kiss, and it was unfortunate because it was also the last one. Neither of them thought about that. The past or the future seemed distant in their present, their hearts beating in sync and the kiss they shared. The few seconds their lips touched was enough to make a mark on their hearts. When it was over, she threw her arms to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He did the same.

“Damn you,” she said in a chuckle. “Now you make me not want to make you leave anymore.” Undeniably, she felt more relieved.

“You know I can’t back out from this,” he said in a chuckle.

She hugged him even more, the hardest embrace she had given to anyone in her life. “I love you,” she said. “I always will.”

His hands brushed on her hair. “I love you too,” he said. “You know I usually don’t say things like this, but I may never get the chance to say this to you again. I love you, and I hope you felt it despite our short time together even though I don’t manifest it through words. I appreciate everything you do for me. I will continue to love you no matter how many millennia I’ll stand, until the final second of my life.”

Tears continued to stream in her face as she said “Please stay a little longer”

He continued to brush his fingers in her hair to calm her. “I can’t,” he said in a sad tone. “The more we prolong it, the more that it could risk your danger. We need to end this once and for all. Think of this as my last act of love for you, your safety. I can rest well knowing that you are living in this world safely. I want you to live.”

A smile formed on her lips. “I want to go to America,” she said. He let out a little chuckle. “Alright.” For the longest time they held onto each other’s embrace

The wind felt cold in her cheek,and her long hair brushed on her skin. Her eyes continuously shifted from the shore and the sea, looking out for any changes in the green land while watching the water dance at the ship’s feet. Just then, she felt the presence of another human being beside her. It was the young man, the captain’s friend.

He noticed that throughout the whole trip, she was silent. It was the kind of silence that was unnerving because he knew exactly why. Still, he sought to find a way to break the silence within her, to let her pour out the mixed emotions she was keeping to herself. It was not because he cared for her, but because he cared about what was happening around him. His natural curiosity. It wouldn’t hurt to try, he said. The ferry just left the port, and throughout she never left the deck and stood there still as a statue.

“Are you sure about this,” he asked, breaking the silence between them. He was not expecting an answer from her, but hoped she would.

She let out a sigh. “Yes, it’s better this way,” she said in a soft tone, almost a whisper that he had to lean close to make sure he heard her. “We… already said our goodbyes. I think it will hurt more when I stay. When I see him… leave” Her voice cracked, pushing back tears. He stayed beside, not knowing how to comfort a grieving person.

“You know this is your last time to see him?” he pursued the question. It’s quite a stupid decision to press into her, but his tactless mouth didn’t care, he just wanted to know what she would say.

“I know,” she lifted her head and took one last peek into the vanishing shore. At this point, it was only a clump of black earth floating in the sea. Gone were the people waving at them at their departure, nor the aircraft she dreaded to see. “I know,” she whispered to herself. She knew at this point in time, it was probably too late to turn. He would’ve left. They made their agreement at the last meeting. She said she would leave the country to start anew, and that was the last time they had been together. It was a mutual agreement that it would be the best course of action for them, to help them move on.

She turned to him with a smile, which caught him off guard. “You don’t have to worry about me, I will be alright and I know he will too,” she said, beaming the most vibrant smile she had shown today. It was then that he realized she was not quiet because she was sad, she was trying to be at peace. She knew what she had to do, and probably struggled to accept it at first. However, as the moment came she slowly grasped the peace that she needed. Perhaps the talk he offered her had brought her closer to peace, to come to terms with it, but then again he didn’t care but was glad if it did.

“You know,” she said enthusiastically, shifting her gaze back to the earth. “There are no chances for us to meet again. He won’t be back for a long time. A century? Millenia? I would’ve been stardust by then.” She let out a chuckle

“It doesn’t bother me,” she continued. “Or, it still does, after all isn’t this what remains when love leaves? The grief will always follow. But I have to live with it, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. What’s important to me is that it happened, and everything that happens eventually has to end.”

She turned her gaze towards him, wearing not the vibrant smile anymore, but a serene cheerful face. He looked at her and flashed a smile himself. He doesn’t show his happiness towards other people’s victors, but this time was an exception.

“I will see you inside,” she said softly and started to walk slowly passing him. “How about the life you two planned together?” he asked. He realized that he shouldn’t have, she had come to terms already with the fact that they ended, but he brought it up again because of the desire to pursue the topic. His heart almost skipped a beat when she stopped walking, not knowing whether she felt hurt, surprised, or indifferent. She turned her head in his direction.

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0 notes - Posted April 4, 2022

Prompt 1

You wake up, to see that a huge chunk of your city is mysteriously hovering like a floating island. What is the first thing you do?

0 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

Open Drabble #1

Bound in their wrists in a tight rope that was conjoined together, they were forced to march spontaneously, making sure that they all kept the same pace. The people escorting them remained silent as well. Only the sound of their sandals slipping on the stone and the clinking of spears were heard in the daylight. If you listen closely, you could also hear their heartbeats going at the speed of light. The droplet of their sweat dripped onto the rough stone they were trekking onto.

This was not the first time they have encountered hostility in all of their travels. They were not fools as well. They anticipated this to happen, so they sent their fiercest warriors in a small group to investigate the island. That was their biggest mistake yet. As soon as the small band left their ship, a crowd of men ambushed them silently. These men stole their materials and captured the weak ones who they knew couldn’t fight back. Of course, some of their fighter friends were left on the ship in case this happens, but the numbers were heavily overwhelming. These barbarous men were not fools too. They knew this group of strangers would not abandon their friends who were captured. The strangers knew that they couldn’t fight back with the number of these men. And so, both parties settled in diplomacy. The barbarians agreed not to hurt any of them as long as they would come with them peacefully. In the end, the strangers thought it was better not to provoke these people. They are carrying long spears and sharper blades than them. They will not hesitate to kill. So, the strangers agreed. Now, they are bound in ropes like a centipede and lead into either their demise or safety.

After the endless hours of walking in the steep and rocky valley, they came across a well lit architecture. The arc they passed into was decorated in jewels and characters that none of them were familiar. It was also made of a yellowish stone From a distance, they could hear the clamoring of shields and the uproar of the crowd. This made them more nervous. What was going to happen to them? The anxiety made their stomachs turn, however they kept having faith. Somehow, they will be able to get out of this place alive. Somehow, they will find a way on how to acquire what they went here for. Somehow, things will turn out for the better for them. Despite the fear, they are holding onto hope and determination. This is what made them strong.

They were led into another tunnel, which was made from the same stone that the first arc was made of. The light of the sun disappeared from their eyes and was replaced by the glowing torches lining up in the tunnel. Once again, there were characters they didn’t understand. There were images of people that were not familiar to them. Luckily, the unfamiliar was not something that they feared. It was something that excited them. When the sunlight poured again into their eyes, it was their excitement that left this time.

What they were seeing beyond their eyes were thousands and thousands of people, all clamoring and shouting their hearts out. They were seated in a circular manner, similar to a coliseum. No, it was indeed a coliseum, and the strangers were standing in it’s tangent. Were these barbarians going to have them fight? No doubt. At that moment, the stranger that was put in front glanced at his companions. At the instant that he turned his head to them, he was pushed by the escort. They were saying something to each other he did not understand, so he looked at their faces. They were smiling, the mischievous kind, then they gave each other a nod and looked at the strangers. He met eye contact with one of them, and put on a stern face. That was the second big mistake they have made yet. The escorts quickly untied him and hurled him in the arena, screaming something at him that he couldn’t understand.

His companions were baffled, because they knew he was not gifted with any fighting prowess. That man is a great leader and an intellect, but we couldn’t have all the gifts in the world can’t we? They knew that he would not stand a chance in a fight, seeing how big these barbarian people are. The fighter companion was quick on his feet, rushing against one of the escorts and pulling his companions along with him through his tied fists, hoping to land just one punch. The barbarians were faster, and with a swift blow in the chin the fighter was knocked out. He also realized the ruckus he had made for his companions when they were pulled with him. He looked at his leader with apologetic eyes. The leader only smiled back, a smile of reassurance. This was not enough for the fighter, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Acting without thinking might only get them into trouble, and his leader would not want that.

The opponent appeared on the other side of the arena. As expected, he was big and muscular. His size was almost twice the size of the leader and the mere sight of him sent shivers down his companion’s spines. The ground rattles when he walks and the wind the entire arena is engulfed in sound waves when he speaks. Despite being frightened, he put up a fighting stance. He must learn how to fight back and not wait for his demise. Physical strength was not his gift, his intelligence is. Look into another angle. Surely, there must be a way to outsmart this man. His eyes scanned the arena for clues.

At that instant, a loud horn blew behind him. Before he could turn his face towards the enemy, he felt a sharp pang in his abdomen. It sent him all the way near the edge of the arena. God, the champion was fast. His comrades looked at him and screamed his name. Some of them were tearing up at the sight of their leader laying still on the floor, while the others were filled with anger and vengeance. These men do not fight fair, they send a guy who obviously stands little to no chance against their challenger. It was a sure victory that was fought without honor and dignity. On the other side of the arena, The crowd went wild as their champion raised his hands and screamed. Their screams were louder than bombs going off and they had their fists in the air. Some of them can be seen screaming at the leader, booing him for his weakness. He did not care. He could feel the eyes dropping and ears ringing from the pain, but he had to get back up. And so he did. The crowd went wilder when he slowly got back on his feet. The champion jerked his head towards his direction with a look of disdain at first, and then excitement.

The champion dashed to his direction. There was a good deal of distance between them and this made it easy for him to dodge. However, that was short lived as he suffered a kick in his right leg. This sent him down on the ground again. Just as he was about to get back at his feet, the champion landed an uppercut. It wasn’t over. He was beaten, but he was able to regain some of his senses. It was the uncertainty of what is about to come next that kept him going. If it was just his death, he would’ve been fine with that. No, he realized he wasn’t fine with that. No way was he going to give up on his life like that. Not after everything he has accomplished. Not after everything he still wants to accomplish. And what would his death mean for his comrades, the people who rely on him. A real leader wouldn’t abandon his people. Dying is not in his personality.

The champion immediately hurled his fists at his head, but he was able to crouch, letting the stone wall take the hit of the champion’s fist. He immediately scrambled to his feet, not taking his eyes off the champion. It was not wise for him to go after him because of the staggering difference in their physical strength. He would have to prolong his survival through dodging the attacks and running away from the champion while looking for something that might help him at least. Something that could help immobilize the champion would be ideal. Although his opponent was keen on killing him, it was not in his nature to take someone else’s life. Well, it depends on the situation but as much as possible he wanted to avoid it. Immobilizing the enemy is the best way to go. At this point, the only way to immobilize an enemy like this would be to halt his movements through an external material like a stone wall or a rope. A rope. Where had he seen this one? That's right, minutes ago he was bound in one and connected with his comrades. However, this was out of utility because it would mean freeing each one of them and their bodies were scanned for tools before being bound. He had nothing on him except his clothes, no tools that he could use to make good use of that rope if ever. The Arena was also clean, only seeing patches of grass and stone on the pavement. Nothing much of use either.

Lost in his train of thought, the leader tried his best to keep his senses intact while in battle, adrenaline pumping in his veins. The crowd was watching silently, waiting for his next move but they found him consistently dodging. There were some who were bored, but eager to see who would win. His comrades clinged on their hope. They knew that he got something in his sleeve. His eyes were concentrated on so many things. That’s what he looks when he thinks. If only there was a way for them to help him.

Things were going well, until the leader’s legs started to feel more sore and tired. He was losing energy. He has to find a way to end the enemy right here right now. The rope was the only way he could think of right now. Being able to free his comrades and letting those with actual fighting prowess make a small opening for them to escape even for just a few minutes. Fleeing was the best option, even his strongest comrades might not be able to beat these people. While skipping near one of the watching escorts, he saw that their spears dropped. He immediately dashed for it, but the champion was able to read his moves and halt him immediately by grabbing his ankle. This caused him to fall flat on the floor. He wasn’t given any chance to move again when he rose to his feet. The champion guarded him and landed a kick for his head. He missed and the leader swerved to the right. He felt another punch land in his abdomen, another in his side, and a knee under his chin. At this point, he was done for and couldn’t get up. He shut his eyes, waiting for his demise as the screams of his comrades and the roar of the crowd filled his ears.

Suddenly, everything was silent. He thought that he died already, but the faint sound of footsteps approaching shook him back to life. He opened his eyes to see the champion, standing all tense and looking at the area where he entered. The leader shifted his head in that direction, and saw another warrior fiercer than the champion. His face was stern and his eyes bore holes into the champion’s body. With him was a small and timid woman. She looked as if she had woken up in the morning and seemed uninterested with what was happening. The pair walked in unison, and the crowd’s eyes followed them, mouth agape. The strangers also wore an expression of shock and dilemma. What could the coming of these two people mean for them?

The man approached the champion carefully. The Champion spoke in a stuttered manner and tried to stand firmly in order to hide his tense. The man didn't bat an eye and kicked the champion in the stomach. This caused him to squirm in pain and bow gently. The woman watched from behind the man and started to walk past the two. She stopped and knelt beside the battered leader. She placed her palm on his cheek and lowered her face, blocking the sunlight from his view. The leader was stunned when she did this. Her lips were near his ears and she spoke of a language he didn’t understand, until she said “Hello. Can you understand me?”

The leader’s eyes lit up and with a faint voice, he said “Yes.”

“That’s great then,” she chuckled. “ I’m glad we have a similar language we can understand. I apologize for the way you were treated here. This is not the usual way our guests are welcome.”

“Well, I wish we could have been welcomed the way you usually do before I got beaten here,” he whispered in a scornful tone. The woman looked at him with a frown on her face and gave a sigh.

“Very well then,” she said with a mellow tone. “Allow me to welcome you the way we truly would. But first may I get your name?”

“Samuel,” he replied.

“And I am Belle Marie,” she answered back. At that moment, she felt Samuel’s head become heavier and droop slowly on her cheek. His eyes slowly shut. Belle Marie let out a sigh and turned to the man behind her, the one who had beaten the champion. She motioned for him to come forward and whispered something in his ear. The man ushered to the entrance and eight men entered carrying a litter. The man carried Samuel’s body and placed him inside the litter. Samuel’s companions looked at the scene with open mouths, unsure of how to act.

Belle Marie stepped forward in the center of the arena, now wearing a stern face and spoke with a tiny reverberating voice that was full of authority. The crowd quickly jolted, and one man who was almost the same size as the champion stepped forward. She turned to him and asked him a question in their native tongue. Afterwards, she shook her companion a quick gaze and stepped away. Her companion went for the man, and quickly landed a punch in his right jaw. He landed punch after punch to the man who didn’t try to fight back. After receiving an uppercut, the man dropped on the floor. Belle Marie spoke again in the voice that she used. The crowd was visibly shocked and turned their backs against the arena. Now, only the strangers were facing the scene.

Belle Marie took a step towards them and beckoned for them to come forward. None of them moved. She gave a sigh. “Please do not be afraid, I do not bite.” She flashed them a sweet smile. The woman turned to her companion again, and instantly the man took a knife from his waist and lunged for the strangers. The warrior strangers did so too, putting themselves in front for the expected assault. Then, they felt the restraining grip from them free. It turns out that the man was instructed to cut the rope that was binding them.

“I figured you could walk better without those.” Belle Marie said, approaching the strangers. “I apologize for what happened here. Allow me to make amends for the ruckus my people has caused.” “Make amends?” One of the warriors asked with gritted teeth and a clenched fist. “Our leader was beaten to death and-” “I have already spoken to him.” She interrupted. “Please follow me.” and went ahead of the team of strangers.

She was a few steps ahead when she looked back and assured them, “It would be a wiser decision for you all, trust me.” She turned her back again and walked slowly to the entrance of the arena. The man started to follow her, but she spoke to him momentarily. He bowed to her and stopped following her. The men who were carrying the litter also followed her. The strangers knew that she was right, perhaps she is also the only person who they can talk to because the others didn’t seem to know their language. They gave each other a nod and started off in the path of the mysterious woman.

1 note - Posted January 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Open Drabble 3

Potatoes were so much cheaper in the earlier times. Vegetables nowadays cost more than a gold bangle. Such are the changes in the world nowadays.

Hero walked across the busy streets of the markets, unused to the harrowing population of the modern world. One moment, she was at her death bed driven by old age, back at a time people would call ‘ancient’ and concepts of Heroes and Villains were not yet clear. The next thing she knew, she was back in her younger body in the ‘present-day.’

No one understood how it happened. She came along with [Superhero A], [Superhero B], and [Hero B]. The three of them came from close timelines, Hero from a later period from them. A generation of superheroes, back when those words did not yet exist.

They were not the only ones who arrived. In the middle of the city lay a mysterious cube that no one seems to recognize. People were alarmed, but the ‘global agency of superheroes’ (or whatever it is called) doesn’t seem to take notice. Being the heroes they are, coupled with their impatient personalities, [Superhero A and B] wanted to take matters into their own hands. They approached the mysterious cube, only to be greeted by a gatekeeper. A dark slim figure with no distinguishable facial features aside from its purple glowy eyes. It mentioned something about players, elimination, merits, and lifelines. From then on, they called it ‘The forbidden game.’ They don’t know if heroes from other eras and generations spawned with them. Right now, that is Hero’s job. First, to ensure that [Hero B] is safe while she is unconscious, and to coordinate with other spawned heroes on what needs to be done.

There is not a single hour that her tasks don’t go through her head. Adapting to the present day occupied some of her worries too. Passing through a cafe, her thoughts were cut abruptly by a voice.

“Hero?”

Another hero spawned? Could it be someone she knew and someone who could help them? She quickly jerked her head in the direction of the caller. There stood a lone man on the cafe table with a chess board. He smiled at her for a moment while she looked at him confused.

He propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his interlaced fingers. “Ah, you turned around. That must mean I wasn’t mistaken.”

This person caught her attention now. Moving towards the table, she asked “Excuse me? Do I know you?”

The man seemed shocked at first but quickly recovered. “Oh, right. I think you do. You’ve heard of me. You know my best friend and my cousin, who also happens to be my nemesis.”

He gestured his hand on the empty chair across his table. Something inside Hero’s mind is battling. The logical side says not to trust this man, but the curious side wanted to play along. This person knows her, and perhaps he knows more about this situation. She could extract some information from him. That was her role right now.

She sat on the empty chair and rested the groceries she held on the floor. She flashed a playful smile. “Thanks a lot. Can you be vaguer? I’m really enjoying this guessing game.”

The man chuckled and held out his forefinger. “My cousins are [Superhero B and C]. I am the eldest.” he seemed so proud.

And Hero’s playful smile was gone. “Wait, You’re Villain!” She remembers it now. That picture in the tapestry of the museum. She heard it from the tales and the history lessons other ‘heroes’ would give her. The historic war that waged between Villain and the brothers, [Superhero B and C]. A war between relatives.

Hero’s guard was up. She sat straight, looking directly at Villain who was surprisingly arranging the chess pieces. He was also smiling. It was not a grin nor a grimace, but that of genuine happiness. Still, Hero wouldn’t let her guard down. She knew better.

“Black or White?” Villain asked.

“What?”

“Black or White?”

“For what purpose?” That was a dumb question, she thought.

Snapping his fingers in delight, Villain said “Come on! With what’s happening today we might as well find a little joy in what we have right now. Indulge me in-”

“No.” She interrupted sternly. “We know what happened the last time you challenged someone to a game.” That was how the war started. Villain tricked the brothers into a game. They thought it was just a playful family sport, but Villain took this opportunity to get back at them. Villain asked his sidekick to rig the game so that it would appear that the brothers were undeserving of their power. The brothers were framed for killing one of Villain’s brothers at the onset of the sport. Villain manipulated people to banish the brothers because of their ‘violence’ and ‘lack of control.’ Either the people were stupid, or he had mad charisma. Majority agreed. All of their belongings, kingdom, and riches, were given to Villain. Of course, there were those who believed the superhero brothers were innocent and supported them. After several years, a war broke out because the brothers wanted to seek justice. Villain was killed, and on his last breath, he confessed.

It was hard to picture that this person sitting across from Hero is that same person. So Bubly, so cheerful, as if he hadn’t done something so dreadful to his own family.

He blinked. “Okay. Understood.”

Huh? What is happening? For a second thought, Hero thought she was terribly mistaken. This person is entirely different from her idea of Villain. Maybe this one is an imposter? He does bear a resemblance to that tapestry, but the picture was so old! Yet she clings to the knowledge that this person knows her. Come to think of it, he existed before her. How could he know her? Is it possible that information was supplemented about future events?

In fact, yes! She remembers getting glimpses of the events that unfolded in the years after her, the relevant events she needed to know. Of course, it was overwhelming and the reason why she is still adapting, but it was possible. It’s possible for someone in the past to know someone in the future if they spawned in this time frame as well. One thing was clear: She needs to keep her guard up always.

Villain cut her thoughts abruptly by saying “Would you rather help me with this instead?” Hero glanced down at the table. The chessboard was gone and was replaced by a giant platter of lobsters, crabs, shellfish, and shrimp. Villain happily gestured to a waitress and said, “A plate for her please!”

“Huh?” Hero was so lost in her thoughts that it took her enough time to process Villain, the seafood platter in front of him, and the waitress arranging a plate and multiple utensils in front of her. She didn’t even see anyone drop that platter before. She thanked the lady and looked at Villain intently, asking him what is happening through her gaze alone.

Villain caught her message and sighed. “Look. I ordered it and just realized that it's good for three people.”

“But we’re only two.” That’s the second stupid thing she said this day.

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12 notes - Posted August 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #I dunno if I am late for this #But here we go hahaha #Hoping to be more active in this blog in the future and meeting new mutuals!

0 notes

jaegercentral · 3 years

Text

⠀⠀⠀ “PROLOGUE”

selene set her phone down on the bathroom sink, rubbing her face (hands washed ofc). this is really happening, huh? she thought. walking out of the bathroom, she cleared her throat which was previously worn out from crying. selene, with her test in hand, sat on the couch, waiting and waiting and waiting for haru to come home from work. the time was 8:28PM and she had nearly fallen asleep until she heard the quiet unlocking of the front door. selene sat up and saw her boyfriend walk in, paper grocery bags in hand. “little help here?” he chuckled, seeing her focused gaze.

he snapped in front of her face to get her attention and she shuddered, nodding harshly. “yeah, of course.”

he rolled his eyes at her in a teasing way. she was always a little dazed. he found it cute.

he then looked down at the coffee table, seeing a little rectangle box wrapped in pink wrapping paper. “what’s this?” he reached to pick it up but she got to it faster. haru looked up at his beloved girlfriend and frowned. “hey? what is it?”

“it’s nothing!” selene pressed her lips together. “okay fine it’s a pregnancy test.” haru’s eyes widened to the size of an american quarter and he smiled softly.

“are you pregnant?” she nodded and he set down the groceries, pulling her into a hug, stroking her long black hair.

“what are we going to do, haru? aren’t we too young to start a family?” she sobbed into his shoulder and he patted her back.

“well, we can talk about that after i make dinner. is that good with you?” selene sniffled and mumbled a quiet ‘yes’. haru grinned and ruffled her hair. selene sat down at their small dinner table. soon they would have to add another chair. “okay. how about..i make your favorite dish?” he made jazz hands, waiting for her reaction—at least a smile.

selene looked up at him and tears filled her eyes again. the smaller man rushed over to her, pulling her into his embrace. “no no no, don’t cry. you’re okay, baby.”

haru helped her stand up, leading her over to the couch. “i’m scared, haru.” she curled up into a ball, feeling comfort in the way his arms were wrapped around her. he was her home.

“i know, i know.” he caressed her hair, kissing the crown of her head. the young couple sat still for a while, holding each other. selene stopped crying but only because haru started.

“no, you can’t start crying too! that’s my thing!” she huffed, wiping his tears.

the boy suddenly started laughing, which shocked selene. “and laughing is my thing.” she giggled and kissed the tip of his nose.

selene pressed down on her thighs and finally stood up. reaching for his hand, she sighed. “okay, let’s do this.”

haru took the girl’s hand and stood up with her. “what? make dinner?” she punched his shoulder and he feigned hurt.

“you know what i meant.” the girl rolled her eyes and yanked him towards the kitchen where they spent the next 45 minutes fixing a meal.

*six months later*

“i don’t know, tora. he’s just been pretty distant lately.” selene rested her hand on her stomach, where her bump had grown even larger.

“do you think he could be planning something? that’s why he’s been extra busy?”

“i guess? there isn’t much that kindergartners do so i don’t think he’s too busy with work.” her best friend snorted, finding her retort kinda hilarious.

“oh, well i have to go, selene. kou just texted me, asking where his phone was. ttyl!”

“yeah, thanks! bye.” she hung up, sighing heavily. selene looked down at her bump. “you’re a real pain, y’know.” she poked at it like it was some kind of jelly.

the front door of their apartment opened harshly, and selene flinched. their apartment doors were always so loud. we should probably get that fixed, she reminded herself. there stood her boyfriend, arms full of bags of candy. halloween was always his favorite holiday. selene smiled at the dorky boy who was still struggling to reach the marble island.

“i’ll get it.” she spoke, arms stretched out to reach for a bag. haru turned away from her, trying to keep her from doing any heavy lifting. “hey! let me help you!” haru thought she looked like an angry penguin when she stomped towards him.

“no! the doctor said you can’t do any heavy lifting until after you give birth!” he had set the bags on the island and selene looked at him like he was prey. her hands gripped onto the counter; she was ready to lunge at him. haru’s face as she chased him was priceless. it was a weird mixture of worry, fear, and joy. “oh shit!” he exclaimed, losing his balance as he tripped over one of the shoes she threw at him.

“i don’t care what the doctor said. i’m helping. besides, from the looks of it, the candy can’t be THAT heavy.” she tried reasoning, but when she lifted the variety bag, it tore open and spilled all over the kitchen floor. “well i guess it can, huh?”

haru, with a hand on his hip, gave selene an ‘i told you so’ look.

“you look a lot like your mother right now.” selene pointed out, painfully bending over to pick up a hershey bar that fell seconds ago.

“now that’s just sad. and wrong. she’s all old and wrinkly now.”

selene’s face went 😟 as she saw the small figure behind her boyfriend. with a mouth full of chocolate, she spoke, “babe you should shut up right about now.”

“no! i still have more to say.” selene glared him down, nearly making the poor man pee his pants. like his mother once said, if you value your life, never make a pregnant woman mad.

“who’s old and wrinkly, haruto?” his face suddenly lost all color as he heard the familiar, sickly, sweet voice from behind him. “and do tell me what else you had to say. we’ll be around for dinner so you have time.”

“oh it’s nothing.” the boy rubbed the back of his nape, a scare smile painting his face.

“right, mhm.” haru’s parents practically adopted selene after they started dating since hers were absent for most of her life. for people who are supposed to be parents, they sure stopped caring about selene after the wife finally got pregnant. “selene, darling, how are you? is the baby healthy? how many months along are you?” the aforementioned girl blinked harshly, trying to process what she asked.

“um, i’m good, so is the baby. and as of three weeks ago, i’m six months.” haru’s mom walked up to her, tucking her hair being her ears.

“poor girl. you must be in so much pain. plus, my little dweeb of a son must be making it worse.”

“oh, so much.” selene exaggerated, watching as haru frowned. he knew she was joking, but it still hurt him. he could be doing so much more for his girlfriend, but no. he’s been spending so much time trying to plan the perfect day to propose to her that he didn’t take the time to understand how she must’ve been feeling. horrible and lonely, he would’ve guessed.

“anyway, are you guys ready to go? i think it’s almost an hour until the reservation is actually valid.”

“i am, but i don’t know about haru.”

haru feigned an offended look, his hand pressed against his chest. “are you kidding me? i went to the grocery store in this suit.”

“well, haruto, don’t you know that that can cause creases and wrinkles?” his father asked, checking his watch.

her boyfriend shrugged, running his hands through his hair. “i do, but i just wanted to be extra prepared.”

“now that that’s settled, why don’t we head out?” selene offered, haru handing her her shoulder purse.

they all agreed, following after selene while haru locked up.

*45 minutes later*

as the clock hit 6:47, the group pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, exiting the car. they were seated at a small round table, with a waitress named harlowe.

minutes passed by, they ordered, they ate, and then they left. it was now 8PM and fatigue was starting to take over selene. they waited by the entrance for their car to be driven back to them. while waiting, haru’s anxiety was kicking in. right now. do it. right. now. haru kneeled down and selene raised a brow. “are you tricking me again?”

haru shushed the girl and looked down, rethinking his words. “selene, i’ve known you for six years now and i think this has been long overdue. i’ve known you were the one for me since the moment you walked into the gym, bumping into the door, announcing your role as a new manager. and i’ve loved you ever since.” people were starting to crowd around the couple and normally, selene would’ve been scared out of her mind, but now she didn’t care because she was finally having her main character moment. “now here’s the scary part,” her boyfriend whispered. “miyasaki selene, will you be the roxanne to my max? my forever and always? will you marry me?” selene giggled at his “a goofy movie” reference and eagerly nodded, grinning like a child at disney world.

haru smiled with her, pulling her into a bear hug. he wiped her tears that were unbeknownst to her and declared his love to her as he slipped the peridot ring on her finger. “you remembered?”

“i remembered.” back when they were in high school, selene begged him that when, not if, they got engaged, he would give her a peridot ring instead of a diamond ring. she always believed that worth was subjective and haru knew how much she loved her birthstone, so he got the ring custom made.

“you’re perfect.” she exclaimed, basking in the attention they were receiving from the bystanders.

*three months later*

“haru, you asshole! if you don’t show up within the next 10 minutes, i’m divorcing you.”

“don’t worry, babe. i’m right around the corner!”

“don’t ‘babe’ me, just show up!” she violently screamed into her phone. the bloodlust was practically oozing out of her and if her fiancé didn’t walk faster than 2mph, she would make sure that he would never see the child that she was on the verge of giving birth to.

the door slammed open, and there stood her fiancé. it felt like déjà vù but selene was NOT in the mood. she just wanted the pain of being in labor to end.

after around 27 minutes of pushing, screaming, and selene cursing her fiancé in her head, the baby popped out of her. “it’s a boy!” the overly cheerful doctor exclaimed.

“well no shit, we saw in the ultrasound.” selene retorted, finally able to breathe again.

“i apologize for her.” haru smiled at the doctor who looked like she was about to start crying. as soon as they cut the umbilical cord and did whatever they do to newborns, they gave selene her baby, afraid she was going to snap at them again.

selene and her boys slept on that very hospital bed for the night, relieved. her baby was healthy and the love of her life was there to see. he was definitely happy that selene wouldn’t divorce him. they weren’t even married yet!

*two months later*

“bye, haru!”

selene kissed him on the cheek and haru kissed her and hikaru back. “bye, selene! bye, hikaru!” he waved and closed the door, going off to the school.

“why don’t we go on a walk to the park? well, i’ll be walking and hauling your cute little ass around, but it’ll be fun!” she claimed, clapping her hands together.

selene gathered all of hikaru’s baby food, diapers, clothing etc. and put it in the baby bag in his fancy, new stroller that his grandparents bought him. changing into some leggings and a graphic tee, selene and hikaru left the apartment, and went off to the park.

it was half way into their walk that selene received a call from an unknown number. “hello?”

“hi, we are here to inform you that your fiancé has been involved in a car accident, caused by a drunk driver.” selene covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. seeing his mother cry, hikaru started wailing loudly. “ma’am? are you there?”

the, now, widowed mother regained her composure. “may i ask which hospital he’s at?”

“highland hospital, miss.”

“thank you, have a nice day.” selene placed her phone back in her pocket and sprinted in the direction of her car.

[at the hospital]

selene, holding hikaru on her hip, paced back and forth around the room, waiting for news.

suddenly the door opened, revealing the man’s parents. their eyes watered at the sight and his mother ran over to embrace the poor girl. his father took a seat at the bench and sobbed quietly into his hands.

haru’s right arm and leg were severely broken and he would’ve definitely been required to have surgery. across his face and shoulder were extremely long wounds that were still bleeding. he didn’t look like your fiancé anymore.

hikaru was still confused about what was going on, for he was looking around the room, watery eyed, for his father. he couldn’t recognize the man on the bed, which added to the sadness.

within a fraction of a second, the machine that was taking and recording his vitals started beeping and doctors started rushing in, pushing everyone else out. now, there she was. sitting outside of the icu room, she hugged hikaru tightly and prayed to whichever god was present to save her fiancé. she couldn’t lose him. not yet.

but death is natural. and although it takes some too early or too late, for the right or wrong reasons, it’s still natural and destined to happen some day.

and that’s when she received the news. “miss, we’re sorry to inform you that the patient has unfortunately passed away. we give our condolences.” suddenly, every single noise in the hospital drowned out and everything went black.

“hey! we need a doctor over here. my daughter-in-law has collapsed!” was the last thing she heard before losing consciousness.

*a day later*

the light was blinding and coming back way too fast for selene’s liking. she searched the room for her family. not even hikaru was present. only the doctor. “w-what happened?”

“oh, good. you’re awake. apparently, you went into shock and collapsed in the middle of the hallway after hearing the news of your fiancé dying.” she was suddenly reminded of the news as her eyes glossed over. she let out a small ‘oh’ at the thought and cleared her throat. another doctor burst in and yanked the man aside.

“gee, aaron, who kicked your dog today?”

“aaron?” selene looked at the man again and looked for any familiar features.

“that’s dr. aaron to you.” she fiddled with the blanket which was uncomfortably thin. the female doctor ordered him to leave the room and sat by her side.

“sorry about him. he’s not good at interacting with anything but his body pillow of ariana grande.” selene grimaced at the thought and she laughed.

“it's fine. everyone has their flaws, i guess. do you happen to know where my son is?”

“oh, hikaru? what an adorable little boy. he’s in the waiting room with his grandparents.” she caressed selene’s arm. “my name is zoey, in case you were wondering.”

“thank you, zoey—i-sorry, dr. zoey.” zoey shook her head and laughed.

“don’t worry, i’m not like that uptight little shit named aaron. you can just call me zoey.” she beamed at selene, showing her gummy smile. she was about to leave, but quickly turned around and snapped and pointed at her. “right! i came in here to tell you that you’re okay to be discharged right about now.”

“thank you, again, zoey. you’ve been a great help!” she nodded as a ‘thanks’ and left the room. selene went back to fiddling with her blanket. he can’t really be gone, can he? i mean, it all happened so fast.

it took her a while to finally come to terms with the harsh truth that her fiancé was dead and she would never see him again. the next couple months would be the hardest, despite what she thought.

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A/N: ngl, i kinda sobbed when i wrote this. and OMG :0 this chapter is 2,578 words long- that’s like the longest thing i’ve ever written without any guidance or prompt. so congrats to me! and i promise that this is the longest the actual word by word text will be in this fic. i’m too tired to write any more stuff so 👍

#haikyuu smau masterlist #hq sakusa #sakusa smau #hq x reader #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa x reader #pure angst #pls cry with me #i hate myself #haikyuu smau

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liviusofpella · 3 years

Text

the aftermath

pairing: Tyril x human!f!MC (Selene)

word count: 3224

warnings: mentions of corruption; written under the premise that MC gets injured by Zathra’s whip and then decides to stay in Undermount with Tyril.

a/n: this was supposed to be 1k words long fic describing Adrina’s birthday ball but i guess i have serious inclinations for bitter-sweet angst so here we go.

tags: i don’t really have a tag list so if you’re interested then let me know :) and in the meantime i decided to tag a few people who i thought might be interested (but if you’re not then also let me know :D) @lxdy-starfury @tyrils-star @keviriass @masquerade-reimagined @brycesgirl @jaxsmutsuo

“We don’t have to go,” Selene proposed, her hand caressing his bare back.

“Yes, we do,” Tyril smiled as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. Selene slowly sat up next to him and kissed his shoulder. Altogether they slept three hours that night and were exhausted after all night of passionate lovemaking but Tyril’s sense of duty was too strong to skip any ball, let alone his little sister’s 25th birthday.

“I know but I wanted to cheer you up.”

The elf chuckled and intertwined his fingers with hers. A yawn escaped his mouth, making Selene laugh.

“I don’t think I have ever seen you so tired. But I have no regrets,” she pecked his lips and got up. “What a mess.”

Tyril looked over their clothes lying all over the chamber’s floor and snickered. “If my memory serves me right you were the impatient one last night so it is your fault.”

“Well, you can’t blame me! You were gone for two weeks!”

“I asked whether you wanted to go with me.”

“I had things to do, Tyril.” The elf shook his head, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Tyril watched her put on her underwear then comb and braid her long hair. She then returned to her place next to him on the bed, and Tyril reached over to the night stand in order to grab a jar of salve. Having taken a little on his finger, he delicately applied it on the wound on her thigh. It’s been almost two months since their fight with the Shadow Court and since Countess Zathra had cut her flesh with the whip, and the wound still wouldn’t heal.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, seeing her wincing in pain but not daring to make any sound.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” Selene rested her hand on the side of his bare stomach and brushed the skin with her thumb. “It’s a small price for being rid of them. It will heal eventually.”

Waiting for her skin to absorb the salve, Tyril examined the wound thoroughly, his jaw clenched, anger clearly visible on his face, but his fingers were featherlight around the cut.

“How do you feel?” He asked a few minutes later, breaking the grave silence of the room. Selene expected his voice to be dominated by anger and disappointment, but instead heard a delicate timbre heavy with concern and fear.

“My whole body hurts, I’m tired, and so, so angry,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t want to worry you but I’m terrified, Tyril.”

Once the salve was absorbed, Tyril carefully put a piece of muslin on the wound and wrapped her thigh with a bandage. The elf looked up at her face, covered with wet streaks but this time didn’t raise his hand to wipe them off. He also was terrified because he knew exactly what was happening.

“I will inform Nia at once, and ask her to visit as soon as possible. I will try to find some information in the library. In the evening we can try to cleanse the wound one more time.”

“Thank you,” Selene whispered and gently squeezed his hand. “Now get up. Duty calls, Lord Starfury.”

She winked at him, smiling playfully, and threw his clothes at him. Tyril smiled and quickly got dressed, the tension in his shoulder muscles gone for a second. “You’re limping,” he noticed but Selene just waved her hand dismissively. “You were not when I left two weeks ago. What did you do?” She was about to protest, but he cut her off with the deadpan expression on his face. This time he was mad as it was clear she hasn’t been resting like she promised him and their friends. She didn’t take this seriously.

“I might have persuaded Mal to train with me.”

“Are you serious?” Tyril rebuked, his eyes shooting daggers. He was expecting something stupid but this answer was beyond his wildest expectations. “Were you going to tell me about this?” The elf added although he already knew the answer.

“Kade already chewed my ass about that, you don’t have to do it.”

Tyril spluttered and turned around to take a few calming breaths. Selene watched his back intently, biting her lower lip and praying in her mind that he would just let it go.

She was about to address Tyril when a loud knock reverberated in the room and Mal’s voice asking for permission to enter followed. Selene panicked because she knew Tyril was going to chew him out for her condition. Her mind went rigid trying to come up with an excuse, but she was too slow.

“Tyril, no-”

“Exactly whom I wanted to see,” Tyril opened the door, letting Mal in. The adventurer quickly looked around the room and its two inhabitants, and instantly could feel something heavy in the pit of his stomach. Trouble.

“It’s not his fault, Tyril! He didn’t even do anything,” Selene stood up protectively in front of Mal. “My hand failed me before we even got to the place and my dagger fell to the ground. I wanted to pick it up but I put too much weight on my leg and the wound ripped!”

But he wouldn’t listen to her any more. His blue eyes were shooting daggers at Mal whose face expressed nothing but remorse and guilt. Mal blamed himself ever since the accident although deep down he knew the truth was that it was Selene’s stubbornness that caused this situation.

“I asked you only one thing, Volari, and you still failed. Do you even realize how much you imperilled her life or do you think it was nothing, just like her? Do you remember that it is something more than just a regular wound? That we still face the dangers of the Shadow or do you just not care?”

The elf’s harsh voice reverberated in the chamber, drawing the attention of Imtura who just happened to be passing by and felt invited by the terrified look on Selene’s face. Tyril’s jaw was clenched, hands curled into fists, and a vivid glow of his magic was swirling around them.

Mal knew that he was not blameless in this situation, and seeing how in his anger Tyril treated Selene, he felt like he had to take him down a notch.

“You can be mad at me all you want, elf boy, but it won’t change the fact that you weren’t here and you don’t know what we all went through,” Mal retorted with a raised eyebrow. “You’re so prim and proper, always do what’s right, and truly you are nothing less than ideal,” he continued, smiling mockingly at the confusion colouring Tyril’s face. “Yet you still can’t make her confess to you what’s really bothering her.”

“I’m going to kill both of you,” Selene mumbled and limped away from them in order to take her cloak from the chair and wrap herself in it. “And I am going to enjoy it.”

Imtura snorted and slumped against the door frame with her arms crossed on her chest. “This one’s gon’ be real interesting.”

“What are you talking about?” Tyril asked cautiously, his eyes fixed on Mal who smirked sarcastically.

“Despite all your effort, she doesn’t want to be here, elf boy.” Tyril’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach at Mal’s words but his face would not give it away. “And before you ask how I know that, I will tell you. It’s simple, really. Selene trusts me enough to tell me such things. And that's a lot more than I can say about you.”

Mal knew that what he'd just said was a bit of a stretch and that Selene probably hated him right now but he would have said that over and over again just to see the confusion and consternation on Tyril’s face.

The two men continued to bicker and ignore Selene who was just a bundle of nerves for a few more minutes until Mal’s hand was stopped mid-air by Selene with magic when he tried to punch the elf and Imtura yelled at them. “If you’re quite done I believe we have a problem.”

With Imtura’s help, Selene sat down on the near chaise longue and unfastened her cloak to see the bandage soaked in blood as well as her whole leg covered in the red streaks. Not being able to control the shaking of her hands any more she unfastened the bandage quickly and threw it next to the small pool of blood that was left where she had been standing.

“I’ll fetch water,” said Mal and seconds later was out of the room. Tyril ordered Imtura to find his sister and ask her to call the medic, and he began to clear the wound, not daring to say a word to her. However, he would take a peek at her face to see her reaction, and he definitely didn’t like the present one. She was pale as a ghost, her lips quivering and this. Black veins on her neck, sprawling so quickly he could see it with a bare eye. Once the wound was cleansed of the blood, he noticed the same thing there.

“How bad is it?” Adrina rushed into the room and stood next to her brother. “Oh no.”

“We can’t cleanse it with magic, she’s too weak,” he said, still trying to stop the bleeding but the second he noticed Selene slowly losing consciousness he left the gauzes and sat closer to her, taking her face into his warm but slightly trembling hands. He tried to keep her awake, but she was too weak. Tyril figured she must have been sensible of the corruption and tried to fight this on her own.

Mal and Imtura arrived seconds later, visibly distressed, with a medic by their side. Tyril and Adrina greeted the old friend with a nod and stepped away from the chaise longue, giving the old man space, but he only shook his head.

“Leave us for a while,” he ordered and the group obeyed. Except Tyril who was about to ask him for the permission to stay. “You too, Lord Tyril.”

For half an hour nobody dared to say a word. Mal was anxiously spinning a dagger in his hand, Imtura was looking out the window trying to focus on anything else, Adrina was sitting on a chair, toying with the lace on her dress and Tyril leaned against the wall facing the door to her chamber with arms crossed on his chest and a pensive look on his face. The silence was interrupted by Threep casually walking into the corridor, looking for his friends.

“Why the long faces? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for tonight’s ball?”

As a response Mal only shook his head and the nesper fluttered onto Adrina’s lap. She began to pet him and quietly explained what happened.

The next twenty minutes passed in the same grave silence until the door opened and the medic asked Tyril to come in.

“There was a tiny piece of the whip buried deep in the wound,” said Iston, the medic, while packing his belongings to a case. “I managed to retrieve it and properly cleanse the cut. It looks better already but there is still a long recovery awaiting her.”

Tyril nodded, listening intently to the medic and peeked at Selene for the first time. Her body was covered with two blankets, and her face looked already much healthier. He even noticed the tiniest trace of a blush on her cheeks.

“I will check on her tomorrow morning but should anything happen do not hesitate to inform me,” Iston warned the elf. “Now she’s resting. When she wakes up, check on the cut, cleanse it and rub down with the medications,” the old man ordered pointing on bottles of medication on a table. “No physical activities, no emotional distress. It is now your duty, Lord Tyril, to help her recover.”

The elf thanked Iston and walked him to the door where he was immediately attacked by the rest of the group. Tyril delicately and carefully took Selene’s frail body into his hands and moved her to the bed, where he covered her with a duvet and placed a featherlight kiss on her forehead. Then he took the bloodied towel that Iston used and threw it on the puddle of blood on the floor and after making sure everything was cleaned he quietly left the room.

A few hours later, Tyril decided to check on her. The elf quickly covered the distance between the ballroom, where he helped Adrina with some last-minute changes, and Selene’s room. The door was already open ajar, so he just pushed it forwards and entered the chamber. She was awake and already in the middle of examining the wound.

“Hi,” she muttered without even looking at him. “Imtura just left.”

Tyril scoped the bed with his eyes and nodded, seeing an empty tray with tableware for three and a sleeping Threep next to it. Selene rubbed a medication left by Iston onto the cut and then wiped her hands with the used bandage.

“Please, tell Adrina that I am sorry for distressing her today and for not being able to attend her ball.” She rested her leg on top of the duvet, letting the wound breathe. “Once I am able to walk freely, I will leave Undermount.”

“What?”

He didn’t expect that. Tyril braced himself for her anger, possibly some tears, but not for her leaving

“Mal’s right, we don’t talk. Or rather, I don’t talk to you,” she sighed and looked up at him for the first time. Her heart sank when she saw the sadness in his eyes. “Please, don’t think that I made this decision because of something you did. This time it’s all my fault.”

Tyril sat down on the edge of the bed and shyly took her hand. “You don’t have to leave, Selene. We will work on that, together.”

But she just shook her head.

“I knew that coming here would be hard, but I think I overestimated myself. I was too much in love to think straight, and it’s only now that I realize how foolish I was. Except for Mal, who’s just visiting, I’m the only human in Undermount. When you spend your whole days at meetings, I’m stuck here alone. Your father is my only companion,” she smiled weakly at him. “But he also has responsibilities. I tried to go out and make friends, help people, just try to be useful in any way but no one wants to talk to me, Tyril. They barely tolerate me when we are somewhere together but when I go out alone?” she laughed humourlessly and Tyril’s heart sank. “I’m invisible. I really tried to wait it out for you, hoping they would eventually change their mind, but it’s been a few months now, and it’s even worse. And I understand it, I’m an outsider in a very hermetic society. I’m not angry. Just tired and lonely.”

Tyril was a mess. He wanted to get down on his knees and beg her to stay, to apologize for everything that she went through in Undermount and for not realizing it sooner. He tried to come up with something, anything that would make her stay but “I don’t want you to leave,” was all that passed through his throat. Selene seemed unimpressed, but she practised this so many times that she managed to distance herself from her feelings. “Selene, love, I am begging you,” he continued, brushing her cheek with his thumb. “Please, don’t leave.”

“I will go back to Riverbend and spend some time with Kade and then... We will see. I am not saying we should end things between us, but I think we need a break,” she added and felt hot tears welling up in her eyes. “I need a break.”

“You two are making me very uncomfortable right now,” Threep murmured, stretching, and slowly left the room. They both chuckled sadly.

“I don’t like this idea but if that’s what you truly want then I’ll respect that,” Tyril stated a few minutes later.

“I love you,” Selene whispered, looking into his eyes. “And I am sorry for putting you in such a position.”

“I am sorry for what happened before. I am ashamed for letting my emotions slip from under my control.”

“Tyril, we’ve talked about this before, remember?” Selene brushed a strand of his long hair from his face and tucked it behind his ear. “You don’t have to apologize for your emotions. You were scared and worried and your reaction was very normal,” she smiled at him. “At least in human terms. Although you could apologize to Mal.”

Tyril chuckled and kissing her forehead delicately whispered a tender thank-you. The pair spent another half an hour together during which Selene was convincing Tyril to attend his sister’s ball alone and Tyril made sure ten times that Selene was truly alright with this idea. As the warm sun began to descend from the sky, the elf was lying next to Selene who rested her head on his chest and played with his fingers, feeling more relaxed than she’s felt in the past few weeks.

“You could visit us in Riverbend, you know,” she mumbled, feeling the sleep slowly pulling her into its embrace. “It’s nothing in comparison with Undermount, but I would like to show you off to the people who raised me,” Tyril chuckled and a smile crept on her face. “And it would make Kade really happy.”

“What about you?”

“You can be expecting a welcoming party and a week of celebration.”

Tyril snorted and shook his head, drawing some figures on her back.

“I do love festivals celebrating me,” he joked, making Selene’s grin widen. “In all seriousness, there is nothing I would enjoy more.”

Selene looked up at him only to see him smiling down at her. She felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach just by looking at him, a feeling she hasn’t felt in a long time, and pulling herself up, she kissed him. Slowly and sweetly, brushing his jaw with her thumb.

“You should go,” she whispered, gently biting his lower lip. “Go and have some fun,” Selene added, physically feeling his reluctance to leave her. “When you come back, I will still be here waiting for you. I want you to remember that.”

“What do you mean? Of course I will remember that,” Tyril furrowed his brows in confusion.

“I don’t think you realize how many women here really want to offer you their hand in marriage,” Selene propped her head on her hand and shrugged her shoulders. “Almost every single noblewoman is envious of you and I can’t really blame them because you are a great catch,” Selene grinned and Tyril snorted, blushing heavily.

“I will be back by midnight,” he stated eventually, smiling slightly.

The elf was about to close the door behind him when he heard Selene’s voice call out to him.

“You have to say it back, you know,” she smiled and winked at him, reaching for a book lying on the nightstand.

“I love you too, Selene. Now rest before I come back.”

#it's my first fic here i'm so exited omg #tyril starfury #tyril x mc #blades of light and shadow #bolas fic #choices bolas #pixelberry #mal #tyril fic #imtura tal kaelen #mal volari #i swear i can't do tags lmao

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badchoicesposts · 4 years

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In a Land of Myth...

Chapter 10

Summary: When Selene, a young sorceress, arrived in Stormholt she had every intention of remaining anonymous. King Constantine Rys had strict rules on sorcery. The act itself was punishable by death, and she had no desire to be burnt at the stake for her “crimes”. However, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to remain unseen when she becomes Prince Liam’s personal maidservant, and it seems that it’s her job to protect him from everyone that wants to kill him.

Disclaimer: This AU is a cross between TRR, The Crown and The Flame, and BBC’s Merlin. Merlin follows the tale of King Arthur and the sorcerer Merlin. Merlin comes to Camelot where magic is outlawed and is made Prince Arthur’s servant. You do not have to watch the show to understand this fic, but it is based on the BBC show Merlin so the story line will be similar. I don’t own the plot to Merlin or any of the TRR characters.

Word Count: 4,672

Author’s Note: This series is finally back and with a new mood board! Thanks so much for being so patient with the fact that it took so long!

Taglist: @flowerpowell, @bobasheebaby, @alexintheskyy, @slytherincursebreaker, @kingliam2019, @furiousherringoperatortoad, @goldenbirdcrystalcage, @burnsoslow, @zilch3, @desiree-0816, @sanchita012

Let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist!

Catch Up: Masterlist

Everyone had gathered in the council chambers for the sentencing that was about to happen. Madeleine and Regina were standing on either side of Constantine. The queen’s face was hard, and Selene quickly noticed that she was looking anywhere but at her husband. Madeleine was staring down at Drake with sympathy. Selene hadn’t spent much time with the woman apart from when they had spoken during the tournament, but she could still tell that the thought of Drake being harmed was troubling her. Bastien and Leo were standing together nearby with Savannah in good health, sobbing into Bastien’s shoulder. Selene fought back her own tears as she took in the scene, realizing the horrible outcome from what had been her positive intentions.

However, the look on Liam’s face was absolutely heartbroken as he took in the sight of his best friend on his knees, awaiting a death sentence from his father.

“What is going on?” Liam demanded walking up to his father.

“Your sister was infected by the disease,” Constantine said, directing his words to Drake.

“Yes.”

“And she has recovered? She is the only one who has been afflicted to make a recovery. Were you the only one with her during this time?” Constantine continued, as Selene made her way to stand with Bastien, Savannah, and Leo.

Drake’s eyes flitted to her momentarily, before returning his gaze to Constantine.

“Yes,” he responded in a monotone voice.

“And this is what you used to cure her?” he asked, holding up the poultice.

A look of shock crossed his face as he properly looked over the item for the first time.

“I’ve- I’ve never seen that before in my life,” he said, genuinely worried this time.

“It was found under her pillow,” he said, gesturing towards Savannah.

Drake continued to stare at the poultice, a look of realization coming towards his face as he glanced back over to Selene for a second.

“Undo your enchantment. Put an end to this plague,” he barked, causing Drake to flinch.

“Father! Drake isn’t a sorcerer. I have known him all my life. So has Leo and Madeleine. I would be prepared to swear on his innocence,” Liam pleaded with his father.

“His sister is the only one who has survived this curse. He was the only one with her as she lay dying. The court physician has not been able to find a cure, but he knew how to stop it,” Constantine argued.

“Father, please!” Liam continued.

“Drake is a good man. Just as his father was,” Leo said, moving towards them with a fire in his eyes.

Constantine seemed agitated at Leo’s attempt to remind him of Jackson Walker’s sacrifice and raised his hand to silence both of his sons.

“Undo the enchantment, and I will show you mercy,” he said, looking down at his prisoner once again.

“I am not a sorcerer. I can’t undo it!” Drake said, his voice laced with fear this time.

“Then you have forced my hand. Under these circumstances I have no choice but to sentence you to death,” Constantine said, his voice filled with controlled anger and hatred.

The room erupted with noise and protests at his words, and Selene felt a few tears escape her eyes as she watched two guards move forward and force Drake onto his feet before beginning to drag him out of the room. Selene made a split second decision, not seeing any other way of stopping Drake from being put to death because of her crimes, and moved towards Constantine.

“I did it! I used magic to cure Savannah. Drake’s not the sorcerer, I am!” she said, stopping in front of him.

“Selene!” Bastien exclaimed, looking at her as if she were crazy.

Everyone stood staring at her in shock, Constantine almost seemed amused.

“I place myself at your mercy, my king,” she said, bowing her head slightly as Constantine regarded her with curiosity.

“Guards, take her away as well,” Constantine said, causing one of the guards to release Drake’s arm and grab onto her.

“Father, I can’t allow this. I know for a fact Selene is innocent. There’s no way she is a sorcerer,” Liam said, pulling her away from the man holding onto her and keeping her protectively at his side.

“She admitted it,” Constantine simply replied.

“She saved my life. I trust her completely,” Liam insisted.

“Yes, she has saved your life and trouble has seemed to follow her since. Was she not the one who alerted you that Sir Neville was using an enchanted shield?” Constantine asked.

“Yes, b-but that was because she witnessed it first hand, not because she is an enchantress,” Liam sputtered out.

“Why would she make up a story about curing Savannah Walker?” Constantine continued.

Liam hesitated for a moment.

“I’ve seen the two of them together. It is obvious that she has feelings for Drake Walker, and she was simply trying to save his life,” he said.

“I don’t have feelings for him! I’m telling the truth,” she insisted irritably.

Liam glared down at her for a moment, but the two were pulled out of their stare down by Constantine’s low laugh.

“These must be very strong feelings if she is willing to give her life for his,” he said. “I will excuse you once and only once. Don’t waste my time again. Guards, take him away.”

The guards nodded to their king and began to drag Drake away. Liam gripped Selene’s arm and pulled her out of the room as well before anyone could say anything else. After they had made it far away enough from the council chambers, she roughly pulled her arm out of his grip and rounded on him angrily.

“Why did you do that? You can’t actually believe Drake is responsible for this?” she practically screamed.

“I know Drake isn’t responsible for this, but it won’t do us any good to have the both of you arrested,” he explained calmly. “My father has it in his head that Drake is the one who caused this. He would have executed you and then when the plague didn’t end, he would go after Drake again. I would have lost the both of you.”

Selene noted the sadness in his voice as he spoke, but didn’t mention it.

“How do you know I was lying? How do you know that I’m truly not the one who saved Savannah?” she asked.

Liam looked conflicted at her words.

“I guess I don’t. But, whoever saved Savannah Walker did it out of the kindness of their heart, and whoever caused this plague did it out of spite and evil. So I don’t know if you’re lying or not, but I don’t believe that you’re evil, Selene. You shouldn’t have to die for something you didn’t do,” he finally said.

“What about Drake? How do we save him?” she asked.

“We have until sunrise tomorrow morning to find the person actually responsible,” he said.

Selene nodded her head and hesitated for a moment before asking the question that had been on her mind for the past few minutes.

“Can I see him?” she asked quietly. “I- I need to see him before we do anything else.”

Liam studied her features, noticed the look of hurt and despair on her face and nodded slowly.

“Follow me.”

Liam led her down to the dungeons of the castle and stopped to speak with the men guarding the cells before motioning her along.

“Go ahead. You only have a few minutes,” he said, showing her which cell to go to and walking away with the guards to give them some privacy.

Selene cautiously approached Drake’s cell and saw him sitting on the floor through the bars of the cell doors, his hands still chained together. He looked up when he noticed her and she smiled at him sadly.

“Drake, I’m so sorry,” she said, fighting back her tears once again as she sat down on the floor next to the cell.

The man scooted closer to the cell door and smiled at her softly.

“Don’t be. You saved my sister’s life,” he responded, letting out a laugh at her shocked expression.

“How did-” she began to ask before he cut her off.

“Besides from the fact that you announced it to everyone earlier?” he said, causing her to scoff defensively.

“Liam convinced everyone else that I was lying,” she said.

“I’m not everyone else,” he said, with a smirk. “It was fairly easy to figure out once I looked at all of the facts.”

“What facts? Have I really been that sloppy?”

“No. But first you save Liam’s life when no one else would have been able to. Then, you ask me to steal a dog statue, and the next day you have a new pet. After that my sister got sick, but miraculously healed immediately after you visited her. And, finally, the most damning piece of evidence was that you made the poultice with the handkerchief I gave you,” he concluded, letting out a genuine laugh at the cringe on her face.

“Drake, I’m so sorry,” she said with anguish as she wrapped her hand around one of the bars on the cell door.

Drake smiled at her sadly and, because of the shackles, raised both of his hands to wrap one of them around hers.

“Don’t be. Like I said, you saved my sister’s life,” he responded, as she let her tears fall freely.

“And I’ve practically ended yours in the process,” she cried.

“Shhh, Selene, don’t cry,” he tried to soothe her, which only made her cry harder. “Hey, look at me.”

She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. She was supposed to be the one comforting him, but instead it was happening the other way around.

“Promise me you won’t blame yourself for this,” he said softly.

“But, it’s my fault,” she sniffled.

“Promise me,” he insisted.

“No, I won’t have to,” she said determined, drying her eyes again. “Liam and I are going to figure this out. I’ll get you out of here.”

She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile and rose to her feet. Selene navigated the castle halls with determination. She found Bastien outside with a group of new recruits, instructing them halfheartedly.

“I made a mistake,” she said, pulling him aside. “You can yell at me for it later, but right now I need to figure out what’s contaminating the water so I can help Liam prove that Drake’s innocent. But, I can’t do it without your help.”

Bastien looked at her for a moment, his steely eyes fixed directly on her face. She couldn’t tell what was going through his mind. She wasn’t sure if he was angry or not, but she could tell that Drake’s sentencing wasn’t sitting well with him.

“Follow me,” he finally said.

He whispered a few words to Leo and then began leading her around to the back of the castle. They walked through a small back door that led to a large stone staircase, grabbing a wood torch and igniting the top to light their way. They travelled through an underground cave for a while before they came to an underground reservoir.

“This is the source of all of the water in Stormholt,” he said, leading her over to the water.

Selene looked over the pool of water. Nothing seemed awry, and the water itself looked perfectly normal.

“Maybe we should take a sample, and Xinghai can-” she began to say before being interrupted by a loud splash behind him.

A loud roar broke through the silent air, and Bastien pulled Selene behind him as they turned to look at the creature that had just jumped out of the water. The beast was larger than any man and was made up of sickly green skin that resembled a thick hide more so than human skin. It had huge fangs and long, threatening claws. Selene knew that there were some creatures she had never encountered before that existed, but the sight of the beast still shocked her nonetheless. With another loud splash the creature disappeared back into the water, leaving Selene and Bastien frozen with fear.

“What was that?” she basically shrieked, as Bastien pulled her away from the water and back through the caves to their chambers.

He walked to his wardrobe and felt around the inside of it for the small latch located on the floor of the piece of furniture. It opened to reveal a small compartment that a person wouldn’t have noticed unless they had been looking for it. He pulled out a thick book and began flipping through it as he approached her.

“An afanc. A creature born of clay,” he said, resting the book on the table in front of her.

She looked at the picture of the creature in the book and shuddered as she read how powerful a sorcerer must be in order to create one. She realized that whoever they were dealing with was much more trouble than either one of them had originally thought. However, their focus at the moment needed to be on figuring out how to defeat the beast before Drake was burned at the stake.

“How do we stop it?” she asked, noting that the book had not given any information on that topic.

Bastien walked back to his wardrobe and pulled out several more thick volumes. Selene had to stop herself from questioning why he hid all of these books from her as he dropped them onto the table as well.

“I’m not sure. But, the answer may be in one of these books.”

“We don’t have time to look through all of them,” she said, grabbing the book on top of the pile and flipping through the pages. “This could take forever.”

She racked her brains for a solution, for some way to fix the mess she had created. Only one answer came to mind, and she already dreaded having to go through with it.

“Excuse me,” she said, grabbing her cloak and wrapping it around her shoulders.

“Where are you going?”

“To get help,” she said, leaving the room without another word and descending past the dungeons and into the depths of the castle.

Once she had reached the small ledge that led to the cave, she called for help. After a few moments, the large blue dragon made his appearance in front of her, the chain around his ankle glinting in the light from her torch.

“I wondered when you would seek me out again,” he said, in a low voice.

“I need to know how to defeat an afanc,” she responded, deciding to get straight to the point.

“Yes, it seems that you do,” he replied in the same tone of slight arrogance that had bothered her when she first met him.

“Can you tell me?”

“You must trust the elements at your command.”

“The elements? What elements? I don’t understand. What exactly do I need to do?”

“You can not do this alone,” the dragon responded. “You are one side of the coin. Liam is the other.”

“So, Liam has to help me,” she stated. “But, what exactly do we have to do?”

“Trust the elements,” he responded again, flapping his wings and rising into the air.

“Wait!” she called after him. “What does that mean?”

The dragon simply chuckled in response and flew out of sight, and Selene was left standing dumbfounded on the ledge. She had to try her best to control her anger as she left the dragon’s underground prison, the skirt of her dress flowing out behind her in the wind. Would it really have been that difficult for him to just tell her what she needed to do? Why did he insist on giving her vague answers all of the time?

“Do you know anything about the elements?” she asked Bastien when she had once again met up with him.

“The elements? No, why?”

“It’s supposed to help me defeat the afanc.”

“Where did you run off to?” he questioned, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Please just trust me. Drake only has a few hours left,” she said, her voice filled with anguish and desperation.

Bastien’s gaze softened.

“Liam was right. You truly do have feelings for him don’t you?”

“I-I don’t know what my feelings for him are, but I need him to live for me to figure them out. He doesn’t deserve to die for this, Bas.”

Selene hadn’t realized that while they were talking Bastien had been leading them to the Xinghai and Hana’s quarters.

“If anyone knows about elements it’s Xinghai,” he said, knocking on the door before pushing it open.

Xinghai had been examining a vial full of water when they had entered. There was a shriveled up flower suspended in the liquid.

“The flower has only been in the water for a few minutes,” he explained while lowering the vial down to rest on his work surface. “Whatever is contaminating the water is killing quickly.”

Selene looked to Bastien nervously for a moment before speaking.

“Xinghai, do you know anything about elements,” she asked.

“Elements?” he gave her a questioning look before continuing. “Yes. The study of the base elements is at the heart of the scientific process. The four base elements are earth, water, wind, and fire.”

Bastien and Selene shared a look of realization as the physician continued to ramble on about the scientific process and elements.

“Wind and fire. The afanc is made of earth and water, so wind and fire should be able to defeat it,” Bastien said, causing Xinghai to stop his lecture.

“Afanc?” he questioned.

“A magical beast. It’s what’s infecting the water,” Bastien said, causing Selene to look at him with surprise.

“Xinghai knew my mother before her death. He knows of my knowledge of magic,” he explained, emphasizing the words my knowledge to indicate that the man didn’t know that either of them currently possessed magic abilities.

“I should go talk to Liam,” she said, nodding to indicate that she understood what he meant.

She began to run out of the quarters when Bastien called her back.

“Selene, be careful,” he said.

“I’m always careful,” she retorted with a smile, once again taking off in search of the prince.

“Selene, where have you been?” Liam asked, when they finally ran into each other in the palace courtyard.

“We need to go. The water is being infected by an afanc. A magical creature made of clay. If we stop it the water will be safe again,” she said, leading him back down to the caves that housed the underground reservoir.

“How did you find out about this?” he asked, chasing after her, his sword clenched tightly in his hand.

“Um, Bastien's mother?” she said nervously.

“What?” Liam asked, pulling her to a stop and looking to her with confusion.

“His mother was a sorceress.”

“Right, she was killed during the Great Purge,” he filled in.

“Yes! After I talked to Drake this morning we went down to the water reserves to see if anything seemed out of the ordinary when a beast jumped out of the water,” she said, beginning to walk again.“He recognized the beast as an afanc because he had seen it in one of his mother’s books.” She hoped it was a convincing enough lie and was grateful when Liam didn’t question her further.

“I’m coming with you!” a voice called behind them, causing them to both turn in shock.

Madeleine stood before them, her arms crossed over her chest and her jaw set in determination.

“You can’t,” Liam said, walking over to her.

“Why? Because I’m a woman. That excuse doesn’t work so long as Selene is going with you,” she said, causing Liam to roll his eyes.

“You know that’s not why. If anything were to happen to you my father would kill me,” he said.

“He’ll get over it. I’m coming with you,” she said.

Liam looked over to Selene for help, but she simply shrugged in response. Liam finally relented and the three of them continued walking. They stopped when they reached the back door that led under to the water reserve and each grabbed a wooden torch.

They reached the water reserve and began approaching the area with great caution, Selene and Liam both keeping an eye out for the creature. They stood around the pool of water, expecting the beast to jump out at any moment, but were unpleasantly surprised when they heard a loud roar come from somewhere behind them.

Selene and Madeleine shrieked as they all spun around, catching a quick glimpse of the monster they were trying to but an end to. The creature was revolted by the sight of the fire and disappeared a moment later.

“What was that?” Madeleine asked, having missed the conversation earlier.

“I’ll explain later,” Selene said, already on edge.

“Did you see which way it went?” Liam questioned her as he tried to follow after the beast, but was hindered from doing so because the large cave was made up of several tunnels that all went in opposite directions.

They heard another loud roar coming from their left and took off after the sound. The snarling got louder as they got closer and closer to the beast, all fearing for their lives, but none willing to turn back. The air was thick with tension as they caught sight of the afanc once again. The creature recoiled as the fire got closer to it, but did not back down. Selene could not claim to know what was going through its mind, but surely it must have thought it could kill them before they killed it. The animal was ferocious and larger than a bear. They were measly opponents.

Liam held out his sword in front of him and positioned himself into a fighting stance. He and the afanc danced around each other as they prepared for battle, and the creature continued to growl and hiss.

“Use the torch,” Selene instructed.

Liam obeyed and held the torch farther out in front of him, his sword still at the ready just in case. He waved the torch out in front of him, the fire coming closer and closer to the beast, but not harming it. Madeleine followed his actions with her own torch, doubling the amount of fire that was surrounding the creature. Selene knew that the rest was up to her. She hadn’t fully explained to Liam how to defeat the beast so he did not know what was required to defeat it. She mumbled an incantation under her breath, and the area was suddenly filled with a strong breeze. The breeze collided with the fire, causing the flames to fan out in front of them and incase the afanc, burning it’s flesh as it groaned in agony.

The trio stood silently for a moment after they were sure the creature was dead. Liam finally broke the silence a while later, saying the words she had been waiting to hear since that morning.

“Let’s go release, Drake.”

As they passed by the water reservoir once again on their way out of the caves, a flash of white caught her eye. She allowed Liam and Madeleine to walk ahead of her and bent down to pick it up. The item resembled an egg shell, but was much bigger and whiter than a chicken egg. There were several ancient markings on the shell as well.

“Liam, wait!” she called, running to catch up with him and showing him the shell. “Before we go speak with your father about releasing Drake we should talk to Bas first.”

He looked at her skeptically for a moment causing her to continue.

“I don’t want him to accuse Drake of summoning the afanc.”

“And what good will that shell do?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But, I have a feeling,” she said, not being able to fully put her finger on what it was about the shell that was so compelling to her.

It was almost as if she could feel the magic radiating off of it.

“Okay,” he finally responded skeptically.

She smiled at him in gratitude and they left the caves, both feeling significantly lighter knowing that the cause of the plague had been identified and taken care of. However, there was still a sense of dread in the pit of Selene’s stomach. The feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to her. She had gotten this feeling several times before, but each time it had been followed by something bad happening. It hadn’t always been something extreme, for example she had once gotten the feeling only to have gotten stuck out in the rain while on a patrol with Liam. Other times it had been more serious. On one occasion she had experienced it, and that year her village’s harvest had not been as fruitful as hoped and most of the inhabitants had a rough winter trying to scrape together enough food to survive. However, this time Selene was sure that something truly terrible was about to happen. It would be more than just a minor inconvenience.

“Bas!” she called as she entered their chambers with Liam close behind her. Madeleine had returned to her chambers in hopes that Constantine wouldn’t find out that she had ever come with them.

“Are the two of you alright?” he asked, coming over to them with a look of concern.

“We’re fine. The afanc is dead,” she said with a small smile.

Much to her surprise Bastien pulled her into a hug. He squeezed her in his arms lovingly and let out a sigh of relief.

“We were going to speak with Constantine about releasing Drake, but I saw this on the ground when we were leaving the caves, and I wanted to speak with you first,” she said, handing him the egg shell.

Although Bastien’s facial expression didn’t change, Selene could see the distress behind his eyes.

“What? What is it? I can feel it, Bas. I can tell that it’s not good,” she whispered so that only he could hear.

Bastien cleared his throat and brushed her off, a look of discomfort still evident in his usual stoic gaze.

“It’s nothing. The afanc hatched from this shell,” he said, not meeting her eyes. “Completely harmless. The two of you should head down to the cells to release Drake. I’ll speak with Constantine.”

~~~

“Damnit, Selene!” Lucretia growled in frustration.

She angrily swiped her hand through the water in the stone basin she was standing over. The waves, which she had been using to watch the events that were unfolding in Stormholt just a few moments earlier, became still and clear once again. With the enchantment that was allowing her to watch as everything played out as if it were a movie gone, the water was now just water.

She paced back and forth in front of the basin frantically. Her afanc was dead. It was supposed to bring about the fall of Constantine Rys and his son, and with that, the fall of Stormholt as well. The afanc was her ticket to revenge. But, now because of Selene the creature was dead.

“Selene. Selene,” she whispered the young witch’s name repeatedly.

She had heard of Selene. She was the one the fire-users spoke of, although by a different name. She was the one that was supposed to help Prince Liam unite the lands.

Lucretia had once rejoiced over that prophecy. But now, she couldn’t even picture it coming to pass. Constantine Rys hated magic, despised it. There was no way any son of his would ever be any different. No, she needed to be rid of them all. Constantine had brought this upon himself after all. He should reap the consequences of all the problems his bigotry had caused, and that is exactly what he would do. She would end the Rys line for good.

#the royal romance #the royal heir #trr #trh #liam x mc #liam #king liam #drake x mc #drake walker #drake walker x mc #bastien #trr bastien #bastien lykel #my fics #playchoices #choices #choices fics #playchoices fics

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itsthe-neo-zone · 4 years

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Wands and Potions - NCTdream & WayV

Please read the Masterlist before continuing ahead with the chapter.

Warnings: read the warnings in the masterlist linked above, song recommendations can be found there too.

A/N: Thank you to those who appreciate and support this piece of work! You know who you are, and thank you to my wonderful followers and taglist! you make this possible.

Chapter 16:

“I wanted to ask you about something.” Selene whispered; she didn’t have to be loud; she was sitting on the edge of a log in the clearing near the edge of a small island on the black lake.

“Fire away,” Yangyang was behind her, plaiting her soft locks, the feeling of the gold-like shimmer beneath his hands calmed him slightly. He was about to reveal his thoughts and deepest desires to her.

“Is it true, the whole dark arts thing.” She breathed out Yangyang could feel how she visibly tensed beneath his gaze. He looked down at her shoulders, the way they curved in slightly. She felt vulnerable around him. “You’re taught the dark arts?”

The exasperated sigh she heard from him was worrying her and his silence increased the level of anxiety in her tenfold. She felt his slender fingers let go of the strands of hair she let cascade down.

She had ever gone this far away from castle alone. “Yes,” he murmured; he took his steps to come stand before her. “I’ve done things… that are regrettable, but I’d never try to harm anyone.” Crouching to be at eye level he looked into her eyes with full sincerity.

“It’s alright.” she crooked her head to the side breathing out, the stray strands of her hair fell down past her eyes “You’re not scared?” he asked puzzled, his eyes wavered slightly looking anywhere but her.

“No,” pulling up all her courage she smiled at him, assuring the slender figure before her. “I’m not.”

“Even if I tell you I know of the unforgiveable curses.” He was a little sceptical in mentioning them.

“Even if you tell me about those.” Selene didn’t hesitate she answered immediately letting him know she trusted him, it scared her a little, but she believed he was good inside. He never judged her for being a half-blood and although it was difficult for him, he maintained their friendship.

“So, why did you bring me here?” Selene looks around. She knew of her whereabouts, but she was confused, why specifically here?

The two continued walking along the path into the woodland sitting on the island, the neighbouring patch of land had the grave of the preceding headmaster of Hogwarts. They began talking, Yangyang explaining what he believed and where his affiliations lied.

“Gellert Grindelwald was right. He had a plan to keep us away from hiding. All wizard kind. Durmstrang students look up to him, we recognised him as our leader.” Yangyang glanced around, they wandered off into the main coppice, letting themselves get caught in the magnificence of the nature.

“Do you think like him, do you believe that wizard kind deserve to rule, that it’s your birthright?” Selene was wondering, she wanted to understand what he believed to be his right. She wanted to get her thoughts around his ideals and beliefs.

“I do.” He walked up to a certain tree gathering from its leaking sap. “Tree sap must be quite rare where you come from.” she comically pondered, Yangyang grinned turning to face her “Just a hobby.”

“So, you think there are powerful wizarding families that would be willing to continue Grindelwald’s noble work?”

“Definitely, I’m surprised your family isn’t in on it too.” Selene chuckle; she thought of her obsessive blood supremacist mother and her family.

“Don’t be, I’m sure they’re a part of it, my family is intense when it comes to this kind of ordeals.”

[01:36PM]

Selene had been spending the rest of the free afternoon she had in the empty potions room. Professor Giverlein left the empty room letting her know there were no more potions classes that day leaving her with everything she could ever need.

“There’s no way I’m going to get this?” Selene whined thrusting her digits past the sides of her head rubbing her sore scalp. She was beyond stressed.

Sleepless nights, Chenle and his problems on one side. Rose and Albus with their family stress on the other; her own family ordeals tugging at her, the prophecy the portrait spoke about, the lestrange manor invitation, Yangyang and his affiliations to the return of the Ancient Sacred 28 and then Scorpius and his solemn depression. Selene was trying to solve too many problems at once.

She felt as if it was all coming back, as if the matters were taking her physical body and heath as tribute she was going to regurgitate. Holding it in, she lifted the elixir the potion she had been working on secretly aside her schoolwork.

The bitter after taste was awful but she withstood it for the benefits the potion would give her. This was old magic; you’d give something up for the taking of another. In this case it was her blood.

Selene hid the bubbling liquid in the cauldron, she lifted the rusty metal towards her shelf setting a lid on top and pushing it inwards quickly to sheath the brewing of the elixir. She took her seat back at the edge of the table.

Selene was reminded of the tournament happening from the exaggerated shouts and yells from the harbouring window. The voices came from students a year or two older, closer to Yangyang’s age. Selene sat there dazed for a moment. It was getting closer to the winter break, meaning the deadline for the potion project was creeping nearer.

Playing with the leaves of the daisy root; Selene remembered what she had gone through to get the foliage. She recalled what Chenle did for her. He saved her from the hell she was going through, twice. That should prove that he cares.

But why do I still hate him for his harsh words and cold demeanour?

[06:17PM]

[Selene Pov]

“I got your message. What is it?” I rushed to the library. Moving past tables I saw a crouched lyra she was shaking, and I mean shaking. Almost vibrating.

“What on earth happened. And why did you send that idiot Irene to tell-” I stopped my whining because I realised this was real, she was in tears and it looked like anymore and she’d lose it all. I lifted her up swinging the robes she had on the floor over her shoulder blades.

Olivia comes rushing into the library, I could hear the frantic panic in her voice as she desperately wanders about the immense hall of the library.

“Oh thank heavens you’re here!” I speak agitatedly my voice breaking, “Olivia what’s happening to her.”

“He found out!” Olivia crouched she grabbed the girls palm, “Hopefully this works.” She pulled an elixir out of the robes pocket taking a couple drops and setting them on the girls wrist.

“Who found out?” I was panicking, I should be keeping my calm but the view before my own two eyes was scaring me.

“Se-Selene, he saw, it- I didn’t. he saw E-everything.” I hushed her, “It’s alright, I understand. We’ll solve this.”

It looked like Olivia understood what lyra was blabbering about, the rush in her hands and movements forced me to lift the dropped unknown potion and take care of the small container and its excess drops.

“I’ll explain later but you have to get Scorpius right now. Do whatever you need to do he must come here right now.” I nod already running off I pushed past the main library doors not caring or even asking questions on my Scorpius had to be there.

I was running even faster than I had when I heard Scorpius’ voice in my head, using every force I had in the rest of my body I managed to clear the thoughts for a couple more seconds sending a energy fuelled message to the blond slytherin boy.

“Where are you going?” Jade yelled after my speeding self, she watched me turn towards the dungeons of the castle, following she tried to catch up but as a speeding bolt, the only thing she caught was my maroon hair trailing off behind me.

I reached the entrance of the Slytherin common room. It was guarded by two gargoyle statures and a password. Never being down here before; I panicked. Lyra didn’t look like she had much time before she was out.

Catching sight of the one person I didn’t want to be around, I groaned. Why him, why Chenle of all freaking people? It just had to work that way, turning around to face him I forcibly pushed down any form of resentment and dignity I had.

“Where is Scorpius?”

“Look what the snake swallowed? It’s Selene Adams, have you come to apologise?” Jisung who was next to the blond spat smirking, the smug grin on his face annoying me more than it should.

“I’m not here to apologise to anyone.” I glared back at him; his words made me feel like shit. “Where’s Scorpius, Chenle?” I repeated my question my body language visibly showing I was under a time limit.

“Tell me?”

“Selene they’re not going to help.” The familiar echo from behind me voiced down the damp and dreary corridor. “Jade please help me, lyra has fallen and Olivia sent me to get Scorpius, its urgent.”

She nodded pushing past the two; specifically Jisung. “Ill get him now, wait out here.”

“Be fast. Please!”

I paced up and down the width of the small corridor, Jisung’s face immediately changed realisation dawned over his sharp features and he quickly followed the dark raven female; leaving the blond boy standing a meter away from me.

It felt awkward. I didn’t want to talk to him or even be around him. Though I could feel his penetrating gaze it pervaded my head trying to understand my thoughts, defiling me.

“Stop that.”

“What? Stop what?” he sneered his voice was back to the usual the voice he always had; the softness that was once there when we were at the mansion was nowhere to be found. I guess snakes venom spreads fast, especially of that snake is Rosier.

“Your staring.” I snapped back.

“So now I can’t use my eyes, and who said I take orders from you? Filthy half breed.” His words took me back to the times I’d let myself be lectured and broken down by him.

I wasn’t going to answer but the look of pure aggravation on my face said enough. Watching the now appeared Scorpius drag me off was enough to let it slide, lyra was more important anyways.

“You can tell me what happened later and why I’m desperately needed when Lyra’s the one in trouble but now we need to get to her as fast as possible.”

After pulling Scorpius on a wild goose chase to the library then noticing Olivia took Lyra to the lunch table on the outside of the castle gates and into the gardens past the wooden bridge. I had finally made it completely emphysematous.

“What is it, what is going on?” the blond boy was extremely confused and shocked. His movements were extremely erratic.

“You’re going to have to sit through this one, Scorpius.” Olivia spoke she was hesitant. Weary to all his reactions.

“Do I go? Or what do I…” after catching enough breath I ask the unanswered question. It seemed like this was a private ordeal, I was unsure of whether it seemed ok for me to be here.

“You’re related to him; he may need some ‘moral support’ through this.” Olivia hissed she was put in an uncomfortable position; I could see it myself. She lifted the lifeless right arm that belonged to lyra.

The cold wind brushing past our stiff bodies allowed me to lean into Scorpius for warmth and comfort. Though I think he was the one who needed comfort now, he looked extremely anxious.

“Do you know what’s happening?” I look into his eyes leaning over his shoulder. Scorpius gleams smiling lightly at my pouted facial expression.

“You look cute.” He mumbles, pulling me down to sit next to him. He sighed, it seemed like he had a rough day today. “To be completely honest, I don’t know what this is about, but I have a bad feeling about this if my predictions are correct.”

The unease was evident in the way he stations himself waiting for Lyra to wake from her deep slumber.

“Why did you ask me to bring him here?” My question was directed to Olivia, but I couldn’t take my eyes of Lyra her tired and overworked emotional toll showing through her face. I was stupid not to notice, the glimmer once in her soft eyes no longer there.

“I should have been there for her like she did for me.” I muttered voice breaking, it sounded weaker than it should have. Watching the ravenclaw witch wake her up from the antidote of the elixir she looked shaken and dissipated.

“Selene, Scorpius?” her voice was barely above a whisper, lyra woke up but she was still in a haze. “I’ll let Lyra explain, just give her time to awaken.” Olivia added letting lyra sit up, I moved to help the brunette witch. My friend, a sister to me.

After giving her a few moments to calm I spoke up nudging her to speak gently. She had energized just enough to talk. But as soon as she looked up and into Scorpius’ eyes the tears started. He was shocked, his lips trembling wanting to say something but unable to speak.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” I was truly disordered, completely flummoxed. The two were reacting lie they had shared some sort information. Everyone was reacting strangely. Even Jade was understanding her eyes flashed when she heard of Lyra being hurt.

“I think I know, but I’m unsure…” Scorpius was as still as a stone sculpture at this moment. “And it’s scaring me.” He breathed looking at her weak shivering fingers before him, they laid on the table as she sobbed, “Is it a possibility that I’m- I mean, that you’re…

Her voice was incredibly shaky, she yearned to hug him but it was difficult... Everything was telling her not to push his limits.

“I wanted to, -really- I wanted to tell you for so long. But fath-father didn’t let me. He kept me away too. I’m so sorry.”

@ajuniceuajuniceu @kkuljungwoo @sensiblebutch @kangkinoa @nctzen2020 @mystic-jungkook @merryandhappylele @bcbymingi @mochischeeks @rilakunma @jaehyunspaghetti @commentgirl @99jjh @johnnys-wifeu @misaraem @apricottulips @h2ogamergirl @angelsnowflake

#nctdream series #wayv senarios #kpop fanfic #nct hogwarts au #nct chenle #wayv yangyang #NCT 127 #nct fanfic #nct wayv #wayv x reader

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whispersafterdusk · 4 years

Text

Lost in Time - ch 4

The next morning Dr. Xu and Eli were already waiting for Arlo and Sam outside the Corps building; the initial plan had been to put Eli on Spacer and then walk out together but Eli had assured them she knew how to ride so they'd changed to Eli on Spacer, Arlo and Xu on Arrow, and Sam on Teddy, with the group heading out together with everyone mounted.

And she did seem comfortable enough on Spacer's back so they'd sped up to a light trot; with everyone mounted and out of the mud they were actually making good time in getting out to the sinkhole.

"Was horseback riding a popular hobby, in the Old World?"

There was a pause before Eli answered Xu. "For some. For me it was just part of training."

Sam, at the head of their little procession, turned to look back at her curiously. "Training? For what?" ((Continued below cut))

"Armed forces."

Arlo blinked. "Armed forces? You're a soldier?"

"Was, am, still will be. I am one of thirty seven 3-star gold rank Ranger Captains - the only person higher in the chain of command in the Ranger division is the Ranger General. The Rangers of Dubei were one specialized arm of the Dubei Armed Forces, our partner division was Spec Ops. Then you had your various rank and file for air, land, and sea, and we all answered to the High General of Dubei."

Arlo heard a very quiet 'that explains a few things...' from Xu sitting behind him. "I see. Did the Dubei army ride horses a lot then?"

"Not the army in general - the Rangers did though, Spec Ops too. We were the ones expected to be ready for anything so we were taught a lot of skills that most people assumed couldn't possibly be useful. Such as riding a horse when there were thousands of different types of personal and multiperson flying or motorized craft available."

"Were you in the war that-" Sam stopped abruptly, gaze flicking to Arlo and Xu. Xu was making a 'cut it out' gesture as he leaned around Arlo to be seen. "-nevermind."

Eli snorted. "Was I IN a war? Probably. We'd been having unrest and diplomatic breakdowns for about three years, last I remember. It was one of those unofficial deals -- everyone was doing warlike things, but no one dared declare it a war. Not yet."

"DID they call it a war, ever?"

Eli was silent for a long period of time; they were almost up to the familiar red tent at the platform's edge when she finally answered. "I remember my post being shelled. If that didn't get called out for open warfare I don't know what would've been."

When they were at the tent they all dismounted, with Sam helping lift Eli down; with the horses tied to a nearby tree they made their way onto the platform and there Eli paused, shielding her eyes against the sun as she slowly (and carefully) spun in place and scanned their surroundings.

"Not even the cliffs..." she muttered, huffing out a sigh that sounded more annoyed than anything else.

"What about the cliffs?"

Eli slowly began making her way to the elevator car. "I said, not even the cliffs look familiar. I was hoping I'd recognize SOMETHING out here...anything, really. I can't for the life of me see anything of Dubei in what's left. Even the ruins that're mostly intact -- I can recognize WHAT they were but not WHERE they were in Dubei." She paused, then gave them a strained smile. "Not surprising, I guess -- Dubei was huge. Portia's nothing at all like it."

"How big was Dubei?" Sam asked, stepping into the car.

Eli followed her in and as the elevator began to lower Arlo heard her answer "um...big. Millions big" and then they were out of sight on their way to the bottom of the shaft.

Arlo looked to Xu, and then to Selene as she came out of the tent weighed down with two toolboxes and two duffel bags across her chest and back. "We ready?"

Xu nodded; Arlo took one toolbox and one of the (extremely heavy) duffel bags, and waited for the elevator to come back up.

------------------------------------------

Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it.

It was a mantra running through her head -- one that was familiar, that had been taught to her a long time ago-

Don't think about it.

-that had popped up over and over across all the training it had taken to rise to the rank she carried.

Don't think about it. In those lessons, "it" was whatever was not immediately crucial to the mission.

That this world wasn't her own wasn't crucial. The fact Dubei was...gone, wiped off the map without a trace, wasn't crucial. Nothing was familiar, everything was new and wrong and wholly alien to her, but these facts were not crucial to the mission.

They didn't matter right now.

Her mission as it stood was:

- get to the heart of this facility and see what power system was installed - determine the extent of damage done and calculate probability of a total system meltdown - corollary to above: determine level of danger to facility and surrounding area should total system failure occur - create plan of repair if repair is possible - if repair is not possible, figure out how to fully and properly shut down the equipment and de-couple it from the system as a whole and disable it enough that it can't be turned on again - adapt as needed

There were many details that were up in the air -- did this time period even have the tools needed to do any of the steps she'd mentally laid out? Rangers were taught to adapt at any cost but adapation had its limits; if there wasn't any tool remotely similar to what she'd need to detach conduits or activate the safety measures or repair a damn reactor then she couldn't just 'adapt' a suitable tool out of thin air, and this time period may not have the infrastructure in place to try to recreate one.

Were there any AIs left down here? Based on the time-ravaged halls they were walking down it didn't look likely...where had the AIs gone? Why had her people taken the AIs but left their dead behind?

Yes, she knew about the skeletal remains in the halls these Civil Corps folks were keeping her away from (not that it mattered - Eli knew nothing immediately important would be found in the office or dorm areas). If anyone would have the details on this facility and how to stave off a reactor meltdown, it would be an AI - either one of the assistants or even the installed All Source, if it was still here.

Don't think about it.

What had happened here was a mystery she'd need to work on, secondary to securing the reactor. Additionally, what this place WAS was a mystery needing solving - if she knew what this facility was for and why she was down here that would answer a few personal questions she had.

Don't think about it.

She had to stop and rest several times, bracing her cane against the wall and leaning her backside into it like a tall, terrible stool. To be this weak and unreliable in a situation like this irked her -- she'd never been one who needed to be carried or coddled, not even as a child. Her mother liked to say she came out of the womb at a sprint and never sat down since; she'd love to be sprinting right now, or at least capable of walking ten feet without getting winded or weak in the knees.

Don't think about it.

---------------------------------------------

"I'm not sure which building this was because I'm not sure where we are, locationally, within Dubei, but I do know Dubei itself had at least 1763 hospitals and that's not accounting for specialized facilities, long-term care, rehabs, or anything else that wasn't considered general or acute care."

"Really?" Xu asked, looking amazed. "The entire Alliance doesn't even have that many between them."

Eli shrugged and waited patiently as Arlo, Xu, Selene, and Sam stepped out of the elevator ahead of her; all of them carried either a flashlight or wore a small headlamp (Eli had a headlamp herself) and the two Civil Corps members led the way to a shattered glass door across the room from the elevator's opening. "Dubei had a population of 2.7 million if you counted all the outlying suburbs and territories. With that many people you have to have enough places for folks to go. No amount of peaceful times can keep you from getting sick or old, and the human body has quite a number of failure points even if you're at the pinnacle of healthy."

Arlo stepped through the door and aside to let the other three through, then offered Eli a steadying hand as she picked her way over the broken glass in the floor. "Were hospitals normally underground like this?"

"No," was Eli's simple reply. "But I never said this WAS a hospital."

"You sure sounded like you were implying it."

"It's a possibility but not a definitive fact at this time," Eli sighed. "The only facilities that tended to be underground were research facilities. Being underground shielded delicate equipment from outside interference. We might be in the underbelly of an especially large hospital, or we might be in a research center. Neither is more likely than the other at the moment."

Ahead of her Sam and Arlo kicked away broken glass and twisted metal left over from the light fixtures that had fallen from the ceiling; it wasn't entirely needed but the gesture was appreciated all the same as she followed in their wake and walked up to the lone console she could see in the light of their flashlights.

"Did you bring a power source?"

Selene nodded. "Yep. I brought four, in fact."

"Good. I can already tell we'll need in that center panel there but let me get a look at what else we're working with."

As Selene began digging for the right sized wrench to start removing bolts from the panel Eli eyed the computer console from where she stood; it was rectangular in shape but slightly curved, came up to a little taller than her waist, and was covered in buttons, dials, a few wide slots and some sockets, a single lever whose head could fit into her palm, the grill of a speaker, and a pair of keyboards on either end. The console was long enough to fit four people, five if they stood shoulder to shoulder.

Pretty standard really, aside from the fact she didn't see any displays or monitors nor did she see where they might have been if they HAD been here and had since been removed. The slots she could see suggested that, for this room at least, they might have relied entirely on the portable displays (both portable screens as well as self-contained computer units). It was a lot more efficient to carry copies of your work around on a personal computer where you could later connect to the main system to update the files either in the database or update things on your screen rather than be tied to a stationary console -- the problem was Eli doubted they'd have any chance at all at finding a still-functional screen after all this time, which would leave them reliant on verbal communication with the AI system (assuming THAT was even functional, and she wasn't holding her breath).

With a grunt Selene popped the panel loose and Eli moved her attention to the woman and the revealed inner workings of the console. With an offered arm from Xu she carefully lowered herself down to the ground to sit cross-legged in front of the opening and hunched so her headlamp shined inside.

Familiar wiring and conduits met her gaze - the dust coating everything in here was thick enough she couldn't see coloring or labels but she could mostly guess what was what based on connector rings, sizes, and where everything was running to or out of.

"All right... See that wide cap there, in the very back?"

Selene got on her hands and knees, peering into the open panel as Eli leaned back. "-the one that kind of looks like that's where the tube wires come in?"

"Tube wi- oh. This is the room you found me in, I recall now. No, those should be routed to the left there -- that one there with the 3-way split."

"Oh, ok - I see that one. So the wide cap one is... Aha, I see it. Is that the incoming power?"

"Yes. What you'll want to do is follow it in about eight inches and then take the top off the box it looks like it's feeding in to. See it?"

"Yep," Selene answered. Eli scooted out of the way and the woman moved in closer; she took off her headlamp and tapped the builder on the shoulder with it, swapping it out for the flashlight she held. It wasn't an ideal angle but Eli shined it over her shoulder into the opening anyway to supplement the headlamp and then had nothing else to do but wait and hope the woman was able to get the relay box's lid off.

There were a few clanks, the sound of something breaking loose followed by the sound of metal clattering against plastic, and then Selene pulled out of the opening with the lid in hand. "There we go. Now what?"

"Now you're going to want to carefully unplug those wires from that box, and hope we can hotwire it to whatever power source you brought with you."

"Hotwire?"

"Uh... That's a term basically meaning to bypass an ignition or relay point."

"Gotcha."

Eli shuffled back over and watched as the builder dropped the wrench back into her toolbox and dragged over one of the duffel bags they'd carried down; inside was the familiar gleam of power stones (thank the Three that THOSE had persisted through the centuries) held within a metal bracket with wires and switches attached. Selene handed the cobbled together device to Eli before ducking back inside the open panel to examine and remove the plugs.

She didn't recognize the plug ends on the device but that wouldn't matter much so long as they had a means to strip the wires and solder them together. Definitely wouldn't be the first time she'd had to wire something on the fly like this - it'd be sloppy and slightly dangerous but if it worked it worked.

The builder pulled back out a moment later with a handful of wires and Eli waited as she carefully threaded them through and under the other components of the computer until she had about three feet of wire length freed from all the little clasps and hooks that had held everything neatly in place; as Selene handled the wires she smudged away the dust and Eli began picking out individual wires by color -- that one was for the cooling system, that one for a display (still needed to figure out that part), the thickest one was for the console entirely, there were two that powered the input devices on this end...that last thin black-looking one had to be for an on-board audio input/output system.

Bare minimum she'd need power to the console, the cooling system, and the audio (they wouldn't need the keyboard or buttons since there wasn't a screen to work off of - that would be less drain and strain on the power stones at least. The device Selene had put together held four of the yellow condensed power stones together in a completed circuit; she was glad to see the yellow ones since if it had been blue or lower they'd need way more to have any hope of powering a console this large. Four...MIGHT be enough. They'd have to see.

"Right, now - do you have a wire stripper?"

"A -- I use a sharpened part of my wire snips for that. Is that ok?"

Eli nodded. "Should work - cut the wires right at the base of the plug then clear off about a half inch of the coating. Does solder still exist?"

"Yep. I'm guessing I'll be doing the same to the plugs on my portable power device, right?"

"Correct."

Eli held the ends of the wires steady as Selene snipped and stripped, then sorted them out and lined up ends of wires so the builder woman could slowly solder them all together without having to juggle tools and align ends (strangely, she was using a mini welding torch to melt the solder...well, whatever, it was working). When they were all connected Eli searched over the device until she found the on/off switch and flicked it on.

There was a loud crackling noise out of the console's speaker, causing everyone to jump; after a few more bursts of static there came a series of pleasant tones and then a low chime before-

"-Laboratory Assistant AI, online." The voice was feminine and robotic - most AIs tended to have that metallic-like quality to their voices so that wasn't out of the ordinary at least.

Eli briefly glanced around - the others were staring down at the console as buttons and the slots lit up across its surface. "-state your designation and assigned task category, please."

There was a tiny stutter and staticky noise again. "I am known as Pauline. My assigned tasks were to monitor laboratory experiments, issue instructions to medical assistant AI systems, provide back up storage for all experiment-related documentation, and record all meeting minutes and conversations that take place within my designated region within this facility. May I ask who I'm speaking to? I seem to be having trouble with my optics and my sensors beyond this immediate station are offline."

Eli carefully moved the power device out of her lap and onto the floor near her feet. "I am Ranger Captain Elizabeth Summers. Do you have me registered in your system?"

"Let me check... I have you registered on the patient roster, ma'am."

"But nowhere else?"

"No."

Eli nodded - she had expected that. "All right. I need you to register me as primary administrative contact for this entire facility."

"I can't do that without prior administrative permissions from the All Source AI of the facility, ma'am. Please wait a moment -- oh dear. My chronometer says I have been offline for 25 years, 8 months, 12 days, 2 hours, and 36 minutes. Auxiliary power is offline."

"I know. And unfortunately I am the only surviving member of this facility so I will need that administrative access."

"Please give me a moment to verify such a claim, ma'am - I do apologize for the delays in my responses. I don't have the needed power level to run at full speed."

"Move as fast as you can safely process, Pauline. We're in a dire situation. While checking your logs run a cursory maintenance check on yourself for any data corruption."

"Yes ma'am."

The AI went quiet and Eli could hear a low whine from somewhere inside the console - age, dust, and the relative power level of the power stones were definitely putting a strain on Pauline's processor cores but there wasn't anything they could do about that at the moment.

"-I'm detecting no internal corruption. I am showing that 115 years, 3 months, 6 days, 14 hours, and 16 minutes ago the auxiliary power systems came online .0034 seconds after the primary reactor went offline. My logs indicate a connection failure between relay box 5372A-2 and 6981-B17, which placed undue stress on connected sectors and radiated out to effect the entire northeastern quadrant of floors 19 through 47. As a precaution the reactor was closed off from the rest of the facility but it doesn't appear anyone answered the maintenance request."

At that Eli let out a huge sigh and leaned back against the wall behind her, feeling lightheaded with relief. If it was a connection failure then the safety measures purposely took the reactor offline. That meant they were in no danger of anything exploding. At everyone's looks she gave them a smile and two thumbs up. "That means we're in the clear - no explosion worries."

All at once an unseen tension melted from the room and the rest of them looked as relieved as she felt.

"Thank goodness," Xu sighed.

"Oh. I didn't realize there were more than one user present," Pauline interrupted. Xu seemed surprised that the AI had heard him as he'd been barely above a whisper. "Please identify yourselves."

"They're not anyone registered with this facility, Pauline," Eli replied before anyone else could. "Please search back through your logs and tell me what happened prior to the relay failure."

"One moment."

As they waited Xu dropped down to his knees beside Eli, gingerly resting a hand on her shoulder. "How are you doing?" he asked - this time he WAS whispering, and Pauline either didn't detect it or was too preoccupied with her task to respond.

She smiled faintly at him. "Like I want to fall over, but in a good way. Knowing we're not going to explode any time soon is a big relief, and now we're in no rush to do anything down here."

Xu frowned. "You're still recovering, exhaustion is to be expected."

Eli briefly clapped her hand to his on her shoulder. "I'll be fine for a bit longer, doctor. Don't worry about me."

His fingers carefully squeezed but his look of concern didn't budge; there WAS a creeping ache born out of tiredness coming over her but she didn't actually feel on the verge of collapse. She glanced around and saw Arlo looking at her with the same concerned look on his face - Selene and Sam were both focused on the computer console at least.

"Ma'am, I am ready to provide my log report."

She returned her attention to the console as well even though there wasn't anything to actually look at. "Go ahead, Pauline."

"Approximately 329 years, 7 months, 27 days, 10 hours, 12 minutes ago, I am showing that the facility went into emergency lock-down with the lock-down tagged with 'status: invader, armed, dangerous.' Approximately 26 minutes later I am showing a mass evacuation of registered users leaving the building though the roster indicates there were 115 people unaccounted for based on automatic logging at all exit points. 3 minutes after the evacuation the 'hazardous material release protocol' broadcast issued."

"This place was attacked?" Arlo asked into the silence that followed Pauline's report.

"It would seem so, Unknown User Male A. I do not have any further information beyond what is contained in the logs however. For more detail you would need to speak to the All Source AI of this facility and I do not detect him online."

Arlo blinked at the AI's words; Eli inwardly laughed -- assistant or administrative AIs always gave odd designations to users they weren't familiar with. "When did he go offline?"

"Checking. -- when auxiliary power went offline."

Selene straightened where she sat, looking up to Arlo. "The auxiliary power went out right as we rescued Eli -- that All Source hasn't been offline for long."

"Correct, Unknown User Female A," Pauline responded. "The All Source AI has priority when there is any power issue. As auxiliary power reached critical levels all non-essential services were disabled, followed by non-essential sectors, then I was put into standby and then deactivated completely to preserve what remaining power was present when auxiliary power dropped below 20% - unfortunately this means I am reliant on passively obtained system logs at this time and my access to those is hindered due to alarmingly low system power."

Arlo blew out a sigh. "I can't believe there's another All Source here... We had enough trouble protecting the first one we found."

Pauline's tone shifted from the pleasantly proper one she'd been using to one that had a tinge of amusement to it. "Of course there's an All Source AI here - it would be silly to have a facility of this size and importance without one."

"An All Source AI is just a central AI that controls and coordinates a system of lesser AIs," Eli said, glancing up to Arlo again. "Even every house had one."

"Indeed!" Pauline chirped, sounding pleased. "And Stewart is quite a pleasant AI - I look forward to interfacing with him again. It's been a very long time. -- ma'am, considering the situation I have decided to give you full adminstrative access to all protocols, sectors, and documentation that are registered as being within my job designation. Further access will need to be provided by Stewart."

"Got it," Eli replied. There was a burning starting behind her eyes and she rubbed a finger in one idly, trying to encourage it to water a little bit. "Pauline, we're going to leave you hooked up to this current emergency power. Can you tell how long before it'll run out?"

"Checking... I estimate the current power source attached to my system will last approximately 6 days, 4 hours, and 19 minutes."

"Is that at your current activity level or without activity factored in at all?"

"With activity. If I put myself back into standby my estimation goes up to 14 days, 19 hours, and 47 minutes."

"Good enough. I want you to put yourself into standby and only awaken on the command of myself, or one of the the four people currently here with me. I'm going to have them state their names - get a voice imprint for your access logs."

"Yes ma'am!"

Slowly draining energy was something Eli had in common with the AI; she pressed her back fully against the wall and pointed a finger at Xu, then to Selene, followed by Sam and then to Arlo. "In that order, go. All you need is your name."

"Uh...Dr. Xu?" Xu said, sounding as uncertain as he looked; Eli gave him an approving nod and dropped her gaze to Selene.

"Selene!"

"Sam."

"Arlo."

After everyone had had their turn there was a brief period of silence before Pauline responded. "Users: Dr. Xu, Selene, Sam, and Arlo voice imprints registered. A pleasure to place names with voices. If that's all then I'll place myself on standby and await future orders."

"That'll be all, Pauline. We'll be back later."

The glow of the buttons all dimmed to barely noticeable and the whine of processors faded; Eli closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. The anxiety from not knowing the reactor's status had been mostly keeping her alert and on her feet - anxiety and adrenaline both, really - and now that she knew they were in the clear she was approaching a point where all she wanted was a warm blanket and a relatively clean horizontal surface to stretch out on.

Again there was a hand on the shoulder; she opened her eyes to find Xu had dropped down beside her on his knees. His other hand moved to her wrist where his fingers found her pulse. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Just tired, doctor. Don't need to be so tightly strung now that I know we're not going boom."

Xu nodded and looked from her to Arlo. "Let's get back to the surface and to the clinic. It seems we're done here."

"Right," Arlo said; he stepped down from the dais to give Sam room to get out of his way, then he came back up and offered both hands to Eli.

She hated how her hands were shaking as she reached up to take them, and with Xu at one side and Arlo pulling up both men got her on her feet; before she could reach for her cane Arlo swept her up into his arms, carefully adjusting his grip so his fingers weren't pinched against the backs of her knees. Xu had her cane in hand and was following close at Arlo's elbow as he turned to carry her toward the elevator.

"Sam, if Selene wants to poke around stay with her, all right?" Arlo called over his shoulder (he was considerate enough to shout it over the shoulder opposite from the one Eli's head was currently drooping toward - she appreciated that, even if it rubbed her the wrong way to have to rely on someone carrying her to get out of here).

As they walked away Eli could hear Selene giving Sam instructions on securing the exposed wires; she closed her eyes again and focused on keeping her head upright as the three of them got into the elevator and began the long walk back to the surface.

So far as she could recall Dubei had 47 research centers within the capital -- most of those were tech-based but 13 she was certain had been strictly medical research. The problem with that was she could recall all the numbers she wanted but she still had no means of matching where they all were on Dubei's map to try and mentally overlay that to what the land looked like now.

Don't think about it.

'What kind of damn war could alter the landscape to such a degree...' she found herself thinking. It would've need to be one hell of a war to have removed Dubei from the map like this.

Don't think about it.

Her eyes started watering. It didn't help the aching, burning feeling behind them.

After a bit she felt the first hints of a cold wind blowing down the entry-point elevator shaft, and then sunlight hit her eyelids; Arlo's boots thumped across the wooden platform underneath her as he carried her out to the horses.

"You get up first, doctor - I'll hand her up and you can ride together back to town."

Eli could do little aside from wait to be passed from one man to the other; Xu wasn't willing to go faster than a walk with the horse so the trip back to town took longer than the trip out this morning had, but that was all right -- the cold woke her up a bit so she was able to slide down from the saddle with Phyllis's help once they were back in the clinic, and then with Xu on one side and Phyllis on the other she was helped back inside and to the bed she was becoming incredibly familiar with.

"Are you in any pain?"

"Minor headache, doctor - just tired."

"Do you feel you'll be hungry after you rest?" Phyllis asked then, helping her get her boots and coat off.

Eli shook her head and fumbled her legs up into the bed, and Phyllis pulled the blanket up as she sank into the pillow and shortly after she was out like a snuffed candle. When she woke there was still daylight coming in through the clinic's windows so she couldn't have been out for long.

'Not nearly so long as...as the last big sleep I took...'

Her eyes started burning again, and watering; with an irritated huff she scrubbed the back of her hand across them to smear the moisture away.

From nearby she heard the rustling of paper. "-are you all right, Eli?"

"Yeah, doc - bad dream, is all. Just a really bad dream."

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 4 #Arlo #Sam #Dr. Xu #Builder #Eli #Phyllis #My Time at Portia

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nemesis-mess · 4 years

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Challenge 2: Inferno

A / N: So I have to say that I loved this, I know it might sound ilogical when you read the fic date and the disaster it became but I think is quite interesting and captivating. Thanks to @arin-schreave for the rp

enjoy it!

word count: 2800

Beads of sweat ran down my face and unruly strands of hair positioned themselves on my face while I hit the boxing bag that was in front of me in the middle of that huge gym, each punch that I gave it generated an overwhelming echo that It wrapped around the entire gym.

One punch.

What was I doing in that palace? Was it really worth going through all this to fulfill my goal?

I stopped and took a deep breath.

Yes, it was worth it.

Another punch.

I had already gone through unpleasant experiences throughout my life, I had learned to grow from pain, I had learned to endure horrible things but this was so ... different.

Another punch.

Yes, different. Completely different. It was nothing like any of the things I had experienced but I was sure that among all those girls I was not the only one who should feel that way.

A growl came from my lips when I gave the last punch to that solid and hard punching bag.

I wasn't upset or sad, I wasn't happy or comfortable, but if there was one thing I could be sure of, it was that that indecipherable feeling was slowly taking over me the more time I spent in the palace.

With my teeth I pulled the velcro that was tightening the boxing glove to my right hand, I finished withdrawing the glove so that with my now free hand I removed the glove from the hand that was still inside the heavy and hard boxing glove, which eventually it would end up on the floor with his pair.

From one moment to the next my legs became weak and began to weaken, I destabilized and I had to look for the closest wall to lean on but still my legs felt so weak that I reached the point where I had to see myself sitting on the ground, I started to breathe desperately g because my body was clearly exhausted, I ran my hands through my hair trying to stay calm and realizing that it was not only that my body was exhausted, it was also my mind, my mind was definitely more exhausted than my body and I could undoubtedly attribute my hyperventilation to that, I could also attribute it that increasing pressure on my chest and the knot in my stomach that seemed like it would never go away.

I looked at my hands resigned and tried to control my breathing again, this time achieving a better result, being focused on something as trivial as my hands helped that everything that overwhelmed me came second and my mind even for a few seconds was in peace.

I took some strength and get up to go to my room in which my three maids were waiting for me with a huge smile on their face, the kind of smile that gave them away more than they thought.

"What's going on?" I asked as I entered the room and made my way to the bathroom to take a shower.

"Lady Nemesis, there's a note for you" Selene said while with her thin hands she held out a small piece of white paper on which was written the time and place where I should meet Arin clearly for our date.

Samantha as excited as Selene gave me a huge smile, it almost seemed like one of them was going to have the date with the prince, but Selene and Samantha's smile faded when they realized that I was the one in that room less excited about going on a date with Arin.

"Lady Nemesis you are not happy?" Samantha asked as she tilted her head and looked at me trying to hide her amazement.

"I am not a fan of dating" I said as I entered the bathroom and the door closed with some force, when I left my three maids they did not take long to fix me for the date, by far it was noted that Selene and Samntha were giving their best while I was groomed and that Giselle was simply doing her job.

When they finished I looked at the clock and realized that it wasn't long before my date started so I left the room, I made my little tour to find myself in front of the library doors where I would meet Arin.

I was totally honest when I said that I am not a fan of dating, in my opinion things had to arise spontaneously and flow over time, the fact of having a date forced all the environment to turn into something romantic or in search of it, a date was not the same as meeting someone by chance or hanging out with friends, a date was almost synonymous with a small nightmare.

Even with this in mind, I had to do my best to make that date as bearable as possible, so without hesitation, I opened the doors of the library, my eyes immediately fell on the male figure that was sitting on a sofa in front of a desk full of papers. Arin was so engrossed in reading and taking notes that he didn't even notice when II entered the library.

"Nice date, I'm supposed to read all those papers too?" I said trying to lighten the mood in an attempt of joke, having said that I approache to Arin and inevitably looked askance at the papers that were scattered all over the table, I was once again a direct victim of my great curiosity and instinct to search.

He raised his head to see me and began to try to gather his work and organize it in a somewhat desperate way, it had become more than clear that I interrupted his work "No, they're just for me, Lady Nemesis" said those words he denied with his head.

I was slightly uncomfortable cause he took what I said very seriously but I gnored the feeling and sat next to him without waiting for any kind of signal to do it, even if it became inappropriate I felt completely confident "Just nemesis" I said directly, it was clear that the formalities were over "you're in the middle of a selection and you still working instead of ... I don't know go knowing the next queen of illea" I rolled my eyes, but a smile peeked into my face, although my words were sincere I tried to put a little mockery and fun on the subject.

When Arin finally arranged his papers and put them in a folder he put aside, he responded to my statement with a simple and dry "Yes" nodded and continued "It's my job."

And?...

I have to admit that the abruptness of his words bothered me slightly, but even before entering the library I made a promise to do my best and I wasn't going to break it.

"I know is your job" I said followed by a sigh that could show a little how his words had bothered me "but c'mon there's more out there than those papers" these words came out with more joviality and I looked at the folder in the one where the papers were "at least you like it?" I raised one of my eyebrows and prepared myself to wait for his response, something within me wished that the reason why he was so attached to his work was because he was passionate about it.

He frowned and again dry words came out of his mouth "Well, the papers won't do themselves and it's my job."

And?...

I have to admit that the abruptness of his words bothered me slightly, but even before entering the library I made a promise to do my best and I wasn't going to break it.

"I know is your job" I said followed by a sigh that could show a little how his words had bothered me "but c'mon there's more out there than those papers" these words came out with more joviality and I looked at the folder in the one where the papers were "at least you like it?" I raised one of my eyebrows and waited for his response, something within me wished that the reason why he was so attached to his work was because he was passionate about it.

He frowned and again dry words came out of his mouth "Well, the papers won't do themselves and it's my job."

"You keep saying the obvious" I looked him up and down analyzing his expressions, but basically nothing changed, his face had the same expression "and that doesn't answer my question" I looked him in the eyes, I needed to look him in the eyes because if his face didn't express anything I wanted to think at least his eyes would do it. "at least you like it?" This time I made sure to emphasize the question more, although I had always been curious, definitely in those few minutes this question was taking over my head.

Arin let out a breath, which was a red flag for me since he was basically telling me with his body language that he had been bothered by my question "This isn't something you like or dislike. It's just something you do."

I was silent for a few seconds, sometimes simply not giving an answer was in itself giving an answer and that was what Arin had done, with those words he made things clear to me.

Something of that statement made me feel disappointed, throughout my life I had learned that although people defined my work as something atrocious, cruel, inhuman, wild and a lot of other things, I did it because I was passionate about it because I knew that I had value and because I would never dedicate my life to do something that doesn't give me pleasure.

"So you don't like it that much" I let out a sarcastic laugh because although deep inside I felt a little sorry, I was aware of the situation in which he was "let me tell you it is something you should like, you're supposed to do this a long time "I shrugged" same thoughts about the selection? Is the selection something you just do? " This was a question that had been around my head for a long time, due to the simple fact that rumors fly and I was able to assure that not only in the palace but in all Illea it was believed that Arin was unhappy with the selection.

He narrowed his eyes at me. second sign that I had bothered him "I didn't say I don't like what I do so it's not fair to assume. The same goes for the Selection, which is not my priority when compared to running a country."

I think it was obvious to anyone that there are quite strong priorities in the life of royals and ruling a country had to always be at number one, but the selection was also an important part of his life at that time and it was not fair to belittle it that way.

"I asked, you didn't answer, I assume. It's exactly what everyone would do" I shrugged as if it didn't matter and it was true, I was just following the cognitive process of anyone with common sense "well it's nice running your country is your priority but at least be sure you're doing it well " the last statement came out abruptly, but I felt it was something I had to say, if Arin really did her job I would not be there at the palace in the middle of the selection, even if he was not aware of it things would be different if he did his job a little differently.

"I told you, there's not an answer to that question." he just huffed "I be doing a whole lot better if I wasn't having strangers criticize my every move"

Okay. From a distance you could see that both Arin and I were in the middle of an uncomfortable situation, we were both upset and although he did not let him see as much as I did, there was no doubt that this had become an argument.

And if there was one thing I had learned, it was never to be hold myself in an argument.

"Of course there's and answer but whatever" I gave him look full of pity "you're the prince, you're in the public eye so there's going to be strangers criticizing every move you do the whole time, take my last statement as a free test also ... you should take criticize in a good way you can learn something about it "I relaxed in the seat and closed my eyes to think carefully about my next words "and if you're referring to the selection let me tell you that nobody make you broke up your engagement "I said in asassy but confident way, I was sure that that had to be a sensitive point.

Silence.

Arin stared at me for a few minutes until fhe inally spoke "You are here as a guest and I would appreciate if you didn't speak about things you know nothing about- especially my engagement."

"Yeah you're right I'm here as a guest and you clearly don't have any idea of how to treat your guests" I smiled in a friendly way but by the context in which we found ourselves it was obvious that that was not the intention of my smile "did I touch a sensitive spot?" i narrowed my eyes "sorry" I said in the most hypocritical way "but if you don't want me to talk about things" I know nothing about "" I did quotation marks with my fingers "tell me what do you want to talk about ? " again my last question was loaded with sarcasm.

At this point I had already been strongly carried away by my feelings and there was no going back.

Arin listened to me and his face began to express annoyance and a hint of anger, at least the boy could express much more than seriousness. He took a moment clearly trying to regain his composure "We're supposed to play a game and I'd like to get to it. We don't need to talk."

Supposed to ...

"We're supposed to ...?" I muttered to myself and I came out of my thoughts to see him "Wait a minute before doing everything" I was silent wondering if it was really worth asking "are you doing this because you have to? as a duty?" my nose wrinkled slightly

He stiffened at my suggestion. I didn't have to say anything I already knew the answer "Each of the remaining Selected are having dates"

Yes, I knew that, but the fact that he saw this date as an obligation was ... unpleasant?

"I know you're not a big fan of assumptions but that sounds like you're doing this because you have to" giggle and look him in the eye "is it right?"

"Does it matter ?. Are we going to play a game or not? Because is not I have work I can get back to"

That was definitely the drop that spilled the glass.

I don't know if it was the fact that he played down the fact that feeling like I was there out of obligation was bullshit or that he was conditioning myself or that he was minimizing and belittling the date.

"It does matter but I guess that's too hard for your understanding" I wasn't willing to force him to be with me, I didn't want to be a part of just doing his duty "Actually that was exactly what I was going to say" I got up and passed hands on my dress "no, we're not playing any shitty and useless game, you can go back to your boring work right now" I started walking towards the doors that had welcomed me a few minutes ago "I 'm so sorry this date stopped you from doing your labor of leading this country "talk to sarcamso and anger, I needed to let it all out. "I'm not here to make you do things you don't want, like going to dates and talking to people you don't want to" I turned around and gave him a cold look "so I'm here if you genuinely feel like talking but unlike you I don't do things I don't like "from one moment to another something was talking about me and I gave him a sincere smile, I shook my head disappointed, I had no expectations of this date and even so it managed to leave me disappointed "have fun with the papers"

I left the library without looking back, I was not willing to continue on that date, it was not my intention to make him spend time with me out of obligation or duty and if his time could be better used, then so be it.

After that date he was surely kicking me out

it was clear that I would return home.

#nemesis lincer #challenge 2 #theselectionoc #selectionoc6 #selectionoc #covid-19

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willow-salix · 4 years

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Here's my offering for the second FabFiveFeb with the awesome @gumnut-logic focusing on the gorgeous Gordon. I used two of the prompts. Enjoy!

Selene's eyes cut to the side away from the book that she promised John she'd read but was continuing to boggle her brain.

He was there again, hanging around near the bedroom door, haunting the hallway, stalking the sleeping quarters of the house. And it was getting annoying, she'd have to do something about it. It was hard enough to concentrate on "Unlocking the Universe" without the constant distractions of the sighing, whining, moaning apparition outside.

The figure moved past the door again, looking in at her. She tossed the book aside and sat up.

"Gordon! What the hell is wrong with you?"

The sun lightened, tousled blonde head popped around the door frame.

"Oh, Selly, are you done reading?"

"Well I am now."

He bounded in like an enthusiastic puppy, dropping down on the end of the bed, forcing her to move her feet quickly out of the way.

"Did you want something?"

"No, it's all good." He glanced around, his eyes taking in the new editions to his brother's room. Since Selene had been in his life John had definitely lightened up, growing more comfortable in his own skin and spending more time with them all but, even though Selene had gone shopping with Grandma and Virgil to pick out a few things to make herself feel more at home, John's uniqueness still shined through.

They had all wondered if Selene would take advantage of John's suggestion that she redecorate his room, but they should have known better. Selene never acted as you would expect her too, very much like all the women in their lives. They were used to strong women that never followed the crowd, Kayo, Grandma, Penelope, it stood to reason that anyone the brothers met would be just as special.

John's posters and star charts were still on the walls, but a few new types of chart had joined them, ones that showed the phases of the moon and its meanings, the sun and the solstices and the constellations related to star signs.

Her books were intermingled with his own, her clothes were in his wardrobe mixed in with his, items of makeup and toiletries were scattered around his bathroom and little interesting trinkets and her divination tools had joined his collection of space rocks, awards and celestial models on his shelves. The room had been softened with the addition of softly glowing lamps, fluffy blankets, a squishy armchair that Selene liked to curl up in and a couple of house plants.

But the most interesting item to appear was what she called her altar, a small, scarf draped table nestled in a corner near the window. It held her tools, candles, crystals and other interesting things he didn't know the use of. The room now smelled of sweet incense and warm candle wax instead of its scent of furniture polish and occasionally John's shower gel.

He had expected the room to feel different, but he could still sense his brother's presence in there even though he was currently up in Five. Somehow they had managed to blend effortlessly, a natural evolution of the two.

Gordon would never admit it but he had moments of intense jealousy when he saw the two of them together. Not that he begrudged his brother the happiness he had obviously found, nor that he saw Selene as anything but a much loved sister who often seemed like a female Scott, put there to worry, boss him around and force him to eat.

No, he just wished he had the same thing. It seemed rather unfair that his brother could manage to meet someone in such a random way and find his perfect partner when, try as he might, he could never seem to get any closer to the one who held his heart in her perfectly manicured hand.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping. It seemed that every time they got close to their moment something or someone got in the way.

"Spit it out."

He jerked out of his musings. "What?"

"Whatever it is that you're thinking so hard about," she reached out and smoothed her thumb down the scrunched up skin between his eyebrows.

She was right, he had been hovering, mostly because he was trying to get up the guts to not only ask for help but put his plan into action. He guessed it was now or never.

"Sel, I need your help with something, call it my birthday present."

Selene sat up a little straighter. "OK, obviously I'll help with anything, unless it's a prank on your brother, in which case I'll still help but I'll deny all knowledge and throw you under the bus in a heartbeat."

"Good to know," he grinned, her teasing as always, putting him at ease. "Promise you won't tell anyone about this either."

She touched her hand to her heart and drew a little cross. "Cross my heart, I won't tell a soul."

"OK, first I need to show you something, but we're gonna need transport."

***

Selene's nose was pressed against the window of the little sub, her eyes drinking in the sight of the world outside.

"Wow…this is just…wow." She had never expected there to be so many colours illuminated by the powerful lights of Four. A moving rainbow of waving, pulsing, rippling beauty that covered the sea floor, building up into what could only be described as an underwater garden. Mounds of coral in all colours created a hilly backdrop for the shoals of colourful fish that swam lazily around them.

"Better than space?" Gordon nudged her playfully with his elbow.

"I will never admit it to your brother, but it might just top it. This is incredible, I mean, I've never even been scuba diving."

"You've never…" he shook his head in equal parts amazement and disappointment. "That's it, I'm teaching you to dive. It's amazing, you know John used to join me a lot, he likes to skindive," he saw the blank look on her face. "Where you dive without a suit, just with an aqualung and flippers. He helped teach me to swim you know, Scott wanted to throw me in and let me work it out for myself as Dad did to him and Virg, but John was insistent that he help."

"That's so cute."

"No it's not, it's manly and the complete opposite of cute."

"Sorry, not cute at all, you're right," but her grin said he would never change her mind, she was just humouring him.

"We're nearly there," he said, changing the subject. "It should be around this area, I worked with Dr Forsythe at the Living Oceans foundation, who specialises in Coral Reef conservation, the results ended up being pretty positive."

"Is that where we're going now?"

He nodded. "You should start seeing some any minute now."

It was nice and quite interesting to see the way Gordon handled his craft. It was nowhere near as big, fancy or fast as the other Thunderbirds, but he acted like it was an extension of himself. She was used to seeing Gordon as the playfully mischievous one that she often caught plotting something, or out on a mission when he was all seriousness with the odd burst of light. This was different, this was his element and he was beyond comfortable. It was nice to see him so relaxed and happy.

The first flicker caught his eye and he paused, his finger pointing the way. Her eyes followed his directions, growing wider as she saw the result of his months of effort.

"That… is truly amazing, boo. She'll love this."

"So you'll help me get her out here?"

"Oh, you can count on it."

***

"I do so enjoy our little shopping trips," Penelope tucked her arm though Selene's, "you always find such interesting little shops that I would never have thought to look in."

They had wandered all over Union Square and were now making their way down to the bay, Selene having had a nice little restaurant recommended where they could have dinner.

"I love that dress you got, you suit vintage, it will look beautiful on you. I just wish my style suited it a bit more, but we can't all be blonde and beautiful."

"Oh hush, I happen to know a certain space monitor who thinks you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

Selene smiled, catching sight of their destination.

"And I happen to know an aquanaut who thinks the same about you," Selene pointed down to the beach where Four sat, surrounded by people.

The shock on Penelope's face was a sight to behold, it took a lot to surprise her, but they had definitely managed it.

"Don't keep him waiting."

"But what about dinner? What will you do, Parker isn't returning for at least four hours?"

"John's picking me up in an hour in my car, we've got a date night. Now go," she gave Penelope a gentle push towards the railings.

Feeling uncharacteristically unsure as to what she was doing and rather ambushed, Penelope slowly descended the steps down to the beach. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, why was he even here, on his birthday of all days, when he should be celebrating with his family.

The back hatch of Four opened to reveal a grinning Gordon. He cambered out, stretching to his full height but instead of the standard blue uniform he was dressed in smart, grey trousers and a plain white shirt with not a palm tree in sight. His usually messy hair was brushed and an attempt had clearly been made to tame the unruly mop.

"Lady Penelope."

"Gordon, happy birthday."

"It is now, and also," he reached back into his craft and drew out a bouquet of pink roses, "happy Valentines day."

Penelope could feel an uncharacteristic blush warming her cheeks as she took the flowers.

"Will you do me the honour of being my Valentine tonight?"

She nodded. "I'd like that very much."

"I've got something to show you, care to take a little trip with me?"

"How could I turn down such an offer?"

She took his offered hand and climbed aboard.

***

Penny had been under water more times than she could count, being an experienced diver and having a car that was more than waterproof, but nothing compared to sitting beside Gordon Tracy as he piloted them deeper into the ocean.

He'd programmed in the coordinates and left the small craft on autopilot as he produced a picnic basket from her favourite London deli, filled with all her favourites.

She would never have believed that he had it in him to put together such a romantic gesture, he'd likely had a little help since Selene was obviously involved, but she found she didn't really mind.

It was nice to be alone together, especially with no chance of interruption bar an emergency. No nosy Parker to wedge himself between them, no darling Bertie to demand their attention, no rescuees to reassure, no brothers to interrupt. Just them and the quiet peace of the ocean. It was rather blissful.

Now that they had time to talk they made the most of it, chatting between bites of crusty bread, tangy cheese, succulent grapes and a very palatable white wine, catching up on their lives the past few months.

She looked more beautiful than he had expected, dressed down in casual jeans and a cosy sweater, clothes that one wore to go shopping with a friend rather than to a society event. It was strange but most definitely not unpleasant to see her out of her comfort zone and designer clothes, to see the real woman underneath. This was the one he'd wanted to get to know, the one he was drawn to.

Penelope found her gaze drawn over and over to the gentle curve of his lips as she watched him eat, recalling just how soft they had felt during their one, brief kiss. She hadn't planned it, she'd just been overwhelmed by everything, seeing him back on active duty after his brush with death had been emotional for her and she'd thrown aside all decorum, giving in to the urge. Now she wanted to be able to do that again, wanted to lean in, close the distance between them and lose herself in the unique presence that was Gordon Tracy.

He blinked his big caramel eyes at her and she was done for, she inched forward as he did the same...BEEP…

Gordon leapt back into the pilots seat as they neared a reef, growing instantly more serious as he took back control of the little craft from the autopilot now they had reached their destination, steering it expertly past clusters of coral and waving fronds of exotic underwater plants and little darting fish.

Gordon watched her eyes drinking in the sight of the reef he'd so lovingly helped to cultivate, to save for future generations.

"I've been working with a guy specialising in marine conservation breeding, basically breeding hardier fish with those that are endangered, trying to create new breeds that will survive the changing climate."

"Oh really? That's fascinating. Were you successful?"

Gordon didn't speak for a second, guiding the nose of the sub around a particularly large group of pink puffy anemones. There they were, still in their shoal, lazily swimming, almost exactly where he and Selene had found them two days previously.

"You tell me," he nodded towards the small, genetically perfect saddleback butterflyfish.

"Oh my," Penelope stared at the fish, their bodies sparkling in the light of Four's high beams. There was only one way to describe the shine of their scales, the way they seemed to be a silvery pearl colour one moment and with a flick of their body you saw a rainbow of colours…

"Iridescent," she whispered in awe. "I have never seen anything so beautiful. And you helped create them?"

Gordon smiled proudly, watching his babies swimming happily around the craft as they floated gently through the shoal. They were graceful, unbothered by their presence, seemingly curious as they came right up to the glass to investigate. "Yep, I got to name them too."

"You did? What are they called?" Penelope tickled her finger against the window, laughing with delight as a fish followed her movements, booping its nose on the glass.

"Well, obviously they have their species name of Chaetodon Ephipippium but in English," he paused, slightly embarrassed now that he was here with her. He took a deep breath, remembering what Selene had instructed him, be bold, be brave, be daring."In English it's a Pretty Penny."

She blinked, unprepared for the wave of emotion his information provoked. He'd named them after her. These beautiful, unique creatures he'd created would forever be a reminder of just how special he was.

"That's…well…it's very flattering, and they are certainly very pretty," Penelope turned her head, hoping he wouldn't see her blush. She didn't know what to say, how to react.

Gordon's eyebrows drew down in a frown, did she not like them? Had he been wrong? Be bold, be brave…He reached out a hand and cupped her chin gently, turning her back to face him.

"Do you not like them?"

She covered his hand with hers, managing a shaky smile. "No, I love them."

"Then what's the problem?"

"We can't, we can't do this, not now." She gently pulled his hand away and set it aside.

"Why not? Give me one good reason?" he refused to let go of her hand. "Just one. Tell me you don't want me and I'll back off."

"What about finding your father? The launch of the new Zero-X?"

"That isn't a reason not to, that's a reason to take every chance we can and act on it. We don't know what we're going to find up there, if we will even find anything at all. If this and International Rescue itself has taught us anything, it's that life is too short and too unpredictable to waste opportunities by being cautious and scared. You have to grab your happiness with both hands."

"This could change things between us, and not for the better."

"Or it could make it more amazing. Look at John, he took a leap of faith and I've never seen him happier. I want that, Penny, I want that with you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewellery box, opening it to reveal a natural pearl, carved into the shape of a seashell, strung on a delicate gold chain.

"What do you say Valentine? Will you be mine?"

His handsome face was full of hope but also wariness, fear of rejection. Would it be so bad to risk her heart on one such as he? Gordon was a joker, he rarely ever took anything seriously, but here he was, the most sincere she'd ever seen him.

He was one of the good guys, he saved people, he didn't hurt them. He was worth taking a risk for.

"Tell me you don't want me," he whispered again, a plea for her to tell him the truth. She was powerless to resist.

"I can't," she whispered back as she moved closer.

His lips brushed hers in the softest of kisses, his mouth catching her little sigh of relief as his arms slid around her waist, pulling her closer. There was no one to interrupt them, no one to tell them no, no one but them.

No matter what happened in the future, good or bad, they would always have this moment, they would have each other, and the world would have the pretty little fishes that floated outside their little sub of solitude.

#gordon tracy #pen and ink #FabFiveFeb #Thunderbirds #thunderbirds 2015 #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go

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datarevived · 4 years

Text

-- Ⅶ : ᴅᴇғɪɴᴇ : ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ

The next few days ran by like a haze.

With only one objective in mind, a constant prowess around the Tower and watchful eye towards a single individual. The Hunter cautiously kept her distance between the target, taking notes and listening in on conversations that did not belong to her. An earnest attempt to find an opening that she might be able to step out of the shadows without disapproving glare -- nay, the time never came, but the information that guarded it gave her something more.

She would find the truth about the Ward and it's keeper.

" You did what?! "

" I followed him, " the Awoken replies bluntly, blinking amiss the torn Exo as the Warlock stood dead center of the room. Both of their Ghost idly hovered in place next to one another, just short of the dresser that sat pushed against the wall as their Guardians spoke -- a disappointed glow in Data's own hold as he shook his shell.

" I tried to tell her otherwise that it was a poor idea, " the deep-purple shell sighed, cyan optic slant. " Truly, if he's still without suspicion after so long, I'll be amazed. "

" If he was on to us he would have already snagged us aside, " Selene argued, sitting upon ones' own mattress that met to concrete floor, waving a hand in defense. " He doesn't seem the type to just let things go. -- He's not. He's planning something big, and he's trying to do it alone and it's just going to get him killed. "

" And why is that any of our problem?! " Bex pleaded, throwing both hands in front of him in question. " You're over your head this time, Sel! You're putting yourself in someone elses' problem, this isn't your fight! "

" And neither is the Red War, but we're fighting that, aren't we!? " hands slam against the covers in retaliation, wilting expression now staring upward at her companion. " You said it yourself -- he's alone, Bex. Who even wants that!? And the Twins -- they said the rest of them died out a long time ago! And the few who did survive just ended up dying trying to recon some other big mission that ate up another Fireteam because they were alone. "

" You don't know what happened back then, Sel, " the Warlock sighed heavily, tone having switched at the mention of other Fireteam. " Just don't do this, okay? I'm beggin' you. I'll even get on my knees, right here, right now, and we can just act like this was just some whole big' rouse -- "

" And let Valdourin go out on his own to die?! Are you insane? "

" You don't even know this guy, Sel! "

" I know he's a Guardian and we're suppose to watch each others' backs! "

The twos' bickering damped in the background as the two Ghost continued to watch, Screws's shell whirling an unnoticed cog as yellow optic blinks. As if debating whether or not to speak -- not directly, but in retrospect. It's monotone voice scraping at the sounds of altered unit.

" ʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴇs ɴ0ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ... ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʀᴅ. "

The statement naturally having caught Data's attention, at least. Quirked hue turning in favor of the other Ghost, " What was that? -- A bit hard to hear with all the yelling. "

The response being nothing more than silence 'pon mislead rage, the multi-colored Ghost remaining kept to its' thoughts now. Data's own curiosity, tracing his audio backlog to revisit the statement. It was still too hard to decipher between the noise of Guardians.

" People die every day, Selene -- and if this guy wants to go out on his own, don't you think he wants to be alone?! " Bex's voice picked back up, the Awoken now standing on her mattress to meet at risen height, nearly eye to eye with the other as she glared.

" Just because he wants to doesn't mean he needs to! I heard it, from the Bazaar and from the Twins -- this isn't something he'd do unless he was desperate! And the people who want to help him -- can’t! "

" So why are you so desperate to help him! You didn't even want part of this whole Guardian thing, remember!? So why are you so interested now?! "

. . .

Perhaps, in theory -- words that had been taken too far.

The Exo's snap leaving the other tight-lipped and in shock. He, who had been her friend from the start of this mess, calling out on something that was dreadfully personal. Something she struggled to keep up with, true -- a façade she was trying to mend real, this folktale story. With not a care in the world for what the Traveler wanted or intended with their immortality -- it was by the words of the Hunter Vanguard that made her settle for what was done. To help those who couldn't help themselves. To do what others can't -- what others won't. That's what being a Guardian was about, right?

' We take care of one another. '

So why?

Why was this suddenly so difficult to understand?

A tightening grasp clutched at her chest now -- arms still held to the side in white-knuckled fist as she frantically tried to find the words to argue back. But this stun, this spell the Exo had trapped her in -- an improper time of evaluation and truth. Why was she so desperate to help this man? What was in it for her? Why simply him? Would it have been the same, if it was someone else?

" ...Sel, look, m' sorry -- "

" Don't. "

" --What? "

A sharpen inhale as her chest inflates, the Awoken holds it there for a moment before exhaling in locked decision. Brows pinched against her forehead, with threatening light behind the blues of her eyes -- she could do this. She would do this.

" I'm going, with or without your help. "

" Excuse me? " Data's voice quirked back.

" I still don't think this is a good idea -- " Bex attempted, though as quickly cut off before he could proceed.

" No. It probably isn't. But I'm going anyway. "

What else was there to say?

If she had her decision beneath lock and key, nothing more to discussion in the matter, what else could he have done to change the outcome? For what he knew of Selene so far, she was certainly a type. One in which once her mind was set, there was no going backwards. A foot forward, each and every time -- it didn't have to make sense. It just had to move.

Was that how she always bested him?

Or was it how he always lost, not taking the step before hand?

. . .

If faceplate could replicate a grimace, it would be his very war paint. Sun-set hued optics shifting slight, his attention now placed anywhere but the Hunter's face. Her eyes, as if thrown daggers from pocket -- she was a Hunter, thick and thin. Heart worn 'pon sleeve and ambition leading the forefront.

But more importantly -- she was his friend.

And as such, he couldn't simply just walk away from it.

Not this time.

" ...Do you even know when he's leaving? "

" Tonight. Soon as the City lights turn on. "

" You got a location? "

" Io... something about... " she shifts in place now, expression relaxing against a new coat of melancholy. " -- I don't know, really... he mentioned something about the Hive. That they were crowning a new King or something... I haven't been able to get all the details, but -- "

" And how are you even getting there? " the Exo's head tilts, crossing his arms at his chest as he shifts a leg for balance.

" I... I've been to Io, once. "

" Oh dear, " Data sighs.

" Uh-huh? "

" ...I uh... sneaked into a ship. I figured if I was careful enough, I'd be able to sneak onto his... "

" You want us to stowaway on his ship? "

" It's worked before!? Throw me a bone here, man! "

" Ugh -- you know, Hunters have quite a reputation in their life spans because of this nonsense, " the Warlock shook his head, raising a hand in pinch against the metal of his would-be-if-he-had-one nose. " We're not sneaking onto a Ward's ship. We need a better plan. "

" I don't knoooow, " Selene grumbles, now placing both hands against the sides of her head. " I just assumed at this point you weren't coming and I could sneak into a box or something -- "

" You're hilarious. "

" I'm trying! "

" Yeah, yeah, " Bex pulls the hand from his face in a wave, offering another sigh. At least they'd be going down together, worse case scenario. Dying alone just seemed so... out of date. " Look -- ya'got a few hours before the lights. We figure out a plan, we execute plan, we go to Io and participate in whatever the hell this mission is. Given the Hive, we'll probably die -- a lot. Permanently, maybe. But if we live? We come back, everyones happy? We take a month break from doing bad ideas. Capeesh? "

" I was really hoping you had a better plan, " the Awoken mumbles, crossing her own arms. " --But fine. We fix up a plan... we go... we come back alive, " she points, offering a glance of uncertainty, " ...who knows, maybe he'll turn out to be a nice friend and the we can all three go do bad ideas. "

" After the break. "

" ...Sure, for now, " she shrugs.

" ...Yer' terrible. "

" I know. ♥ "

#✦ ᴏʀɪɢɪɴ / drabble #Destiny 2 short story #Destiny 2 rp #Destiny 2 writing #D2 rp

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0idril0 · 5 years

Note

pls,,,im begging you,,,comfort nico

Pure Comfort

Y’all have been begging, so here’s some pure comfort for you :) Thanks @whumpywhumper & @captivity-whump

This is a future fic, btw and I’ve had a headache like this, it was awful and confusing but Nico is going to be okay.

TW: there is a raunchy joke in here but its a cards against humanity joke.

tagging @whumpitywhumpwhump @comfy-whumpee @imagination1reality0 @vickytokio @genesissane @voidwhump @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @doityourselfbombs @whumptywhumpdump

Nico limped down the hall, leaning against the wall to steady himself. His vision blurred and doubled making his head pound harder before settling back to its new normal.

He’d somehow lost one of his house shoes, making his journey more unstable as his sock slid against the wood floors. The floor blurred in and out of his vision as he looked down at the offending foot, trying to remember what he’d been doing. The floor looked strangely welcoming as he swayed. God he was tired.

A bright peel of laughter made him flinch into the wall, hands raising defensively to his chest as his head ducked, air suddenly hard to come by. The laughter continued, more voices joining until it surrounded him, the walls pressing in on him.

They were laughing because he’d messed up, they were going to hurt him again. His collar was gone, and he hadn’t been given permission to leave his cell. He started to back away, he needed to find his cell. His blindfold and collar.

The soft sock on his foot slipped on the wood floor as he turned, and his shoulder hit the wall, sending a jolt of pain up his neck.

A fuzzy feeling in his gut made him pause, loosening some of the tightness in his chest. His head hurt... where was he? Why he was in the hallway? A baritone chuckle made his feet shuffle forward involuntarily, drawn to the familiar tune.

The living room was a riot of colors compared to the dim hallway and...

Clint...

He could feel the warmth in his chest that meant Clint was happy with something. How—He was going to Clint.

“Oh my god, oh my go- f-fuck you Brian.” Clint was laughing, deep belly laughs that he could feel in his bones. “‘For my next trick, I will pull a big black dick, out of- grandma.’ Oh my god dude, you’ve fucking met my grandma, how could you?”

Nico peeked around the archway to the living room, it was filled with familiar faces smiling and laughing around a bunch of cards and snacks, a quiet movie playing in the background. It was comforting and terrifying.

But Clint was there. Sitting on one of the couches, a fist full of white cards in his hand. His freckled face was flushed, laughter stark on his face as he flipped Brian off where the siren sat across the room. Kristy leaned against the other side of the couch, feet gathered beneath her as she laughed with the rest of the group.

Nico felt a smile of his own tug at a corner of his mouth as he watched them. David was there leaning against the side of the love seat, Selene leaning back against him. Evan and Iris had commandeered dining room chairs. Willow and Oakley had curled up together on a pile of pillows.

He wanted to go in there. It looked warm. He could fit at Clint’s feet, there was some room between him and the coffee table. His hip hurt though, he didn’t know how far he’d walked but the joint throbbed and his knees had started to shake with fatigue.

Before he could move Kristy nudged at Clint’s elbow, concern on her face as she pointed towards the hallway he was hidden in. Nico flinched when Clint looked towards him, a tremor of confusion and concern making his own back and chest clench.

Clint didn’t shout and yell when he saw him skulking, but a slow warmth spread through Nico as a smile re-enveloped the werewolf’s face.

“Hey there Darlin’.” Clint was grinning at him, pushing up from his seat slowly. There was a small furrow between his brow as he got closer, but it didn’t change the warm feeling that had settled in his chest.

Nico leaned behind the archway, hiding behind the thick wood as everyone’s faces turned towards him. It was too much, their combined scrutiny and his throat felt like it was closing again. He gathered his trembling limbs closer, tugging at the ragged sleeves of his hoodie. He could see Clint’s shadow on the floor as the were moved closer, his bulk silent. If his hip wasn’t screaming he would have run.

Half of Clint’s face peeked around the archway, mirth making his eye sparkle. “Why’re you hiding Sugar?”

A strangled gulp was all he could manage, his mouth barely opening before his teeth clacked back together sending tremors through the rest of him. Clint didn’t look angry at all, maybe there was still hope he could sit with him.

Clint leaned further into the hallway, shielding him completely from the rest of the room as they started up a quiet chatter. The furrow had gotten deeper in his brow, his smile dimming a little. Nico felt it deeply. “Darlin’, Sugar, Baby mine, you don’t have to wait to come in. You know that. Are you ok?”

Tears started to prick at his eyes and he couldn’t meet Clint’s gaze, he couldn’t answer the question. He didn’t know. He didn’t know what day it was, he didn’t know what house he was in, he didn’t know what was happening. He couldn’t get enough air. God his head hurt.

He chewed his lip as he hugged himself, tears damp on his face. Clint came closer, making sure to leave enough room so he wasn’t trapped. It took him a moment to realize Clint was talking to him, low baritone murmurs, a litany of reassurances. “You’re home, Nico. You’re safe. It’s Friday night, you went to bed earlier because your head hurt. Is it still hurting Baby?”

Yes. God yes. He could barely nod his head, pain in his neck and temples radiating through his skull.

“Okay Darlin’, it’s okay. It happens sometimes, okay, everything’s gonna be alright. You having a hard time remembering too?” Nod.

“Okay, that’s happened too. You’re safe. You want to sit with us, or do you want to go back to bed?” A picture of a dark room came to mind and he felt a little jolt of terror. No. No he wanted to be with Clint. He reached a sleeve covered hand to Clint’s, taking a shuffling step towards the larger man before he had a chance to think about the decision fully. “Yeah, okay with us it is. You mind if I touch you Sugar? I think you left your cane and one of your house shoes, I don’t want you to fall.”

His broad hand was held towards him, and Nico hesitated slightly before easing forward, letting Clint take his elbow. He’s so warm. Nico let his eyes flutter shut, leaning into Clint’s smoky scent. The larger man paused for a moment, sheer happiness and surprise making Nico’s chest feel warm and full. There was a tremulous inhale before Clint wrapped his other arm around his waist. “Alright Darlin’, we’re going to the couch okay, you can lay down there, let your hip rest.”

Clint hands swallowed his elbow and narrow waist, taking a good portion of his weight as they walked into the room. The conversation flowed around them, unimpeded by their passage except for a few murmured hellos.

Kristy unfolded herself from the couch as he and Clint approached, giving Nico a warm smile as she walked towards the kitchen. Nico froze in front of the couch, trying to figure out how to get to the floor. It’s where he belonged right?

Clint rubbed at his back before helping him turn. “Okay Sugar, lounger’s usually easier for you. Why don’t you sit on that side huh? That way you can still sit up.”

On the couch... Nico’s head throbbed and he uneasily searched Clint’s face for reassurance. It was soft, nothing telling him that he should choose the floor instead. Nico fought with his sleeves, gripping Clint’s shirt through them before letting Clint help him sit. He pushed his head against Clint’s chest as he did, pain in his hip and head combining in a fury.

“I’m sorry Darlin’, I got ya, I got ya.” He could feel the rumble of Clint’s voice and pressed closer, fighting the pull of the couch. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere, you want me to sit with you? I can sit behind you and keep you warm?”

Blunt fingers scratched against his scalp, his buzzed hairs almost overly sensitive to the light touch as he gave a tiny nod. “Ok Darlin’, you gotta let go then.”

Nico loosened his fingers hesitantly, allowing Clint enough leeway to slip behind him, settling one of his thick legs around his hip before he pulled Nico to his chest gently. He hooked his chin on Nico’s shoulder as he wrapped his thick arms around him again. He felt like this didn’t happen a lot, he instantly regretted that.

He twitched when someone else’s hands pulled his legs up and onto the lounge, forcing his eyes open again. Evan was standing in front of him with a sheepish look as he shook a blanket out over him. “Sorry buddy, didn’t mean to scare you.”

The blanket looked soft. He wrapped it around a sleeve covered fist, bringing it up to his face as he sank into Clint’s chest, maneuvering himself until he could hug Clint’s arm tightly. It reminded him of something but his head hurt too bad to think of what. The chatter in the room continued, soothing and quiet, Clint’s occasional rumble joining them.

“He’s being snuggly today.” Kristy’s soprano was quiet and close. He hugged Clint’s arm closer, hiding from it.

“I’ll take it, anything he needs.” Clint hugged him tighter, his scruffy cheek pressed gently against his short hair.

#Nico Series #recovery #headache #cuddles #clint #nico #new characters not yet characterized #touch aversion #touch starved #raunchy joke #as told by brian #future fic

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buckyscrystalqueen · 4 years

Text

The Difference: Part 4

Pairings: Mark Sheppard x Reader

Warnings: None??? Swearing must likely…

Word Count: 3,600

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You did every single thing you could to keep Mark as far away from your extended family for as long as you could, but before you knew it, it was Halloween night and time for the boys’ second birthday. And since you had been dating for ten months, you couldn’t really come up with excuses on why he couldn’t make family functions any more. You simply had to bite the bullet and throw him to the wolves. And it wasn’t like you didn’t want him there in the first place, you just didn’t want your family to scare him off.

“Kitten, if the boys and their screaming haven’t scared me off by now, I highly doubt your family will.”

“You don’t understand.” You sighed as you wrestled Evan into his Iron Man costume. “They are all crazy.”

“So nothing like you.” You looked up at him in his Hawkeye costume with a death glare and he blew you a kiss as he put Captain America Theo in the ‘Quinjet’, which was a four person wagon that you had decorated for your four Avengers.

“Listen here.” You laughed as you got up and grabbed Thor Luca as he toddled by. “You don’t know crazy.”

“Where’s the Hulk?” You paused and looked around your bedroom with your brow furrowed as you finished buckling Luca into his spot.

“Thomas… You wanna go see Lilly?” Your eyes stopped on the closet where there was a loud bang a moment before your youngest did a slightly awkward flip out of the space and practically scrambled to get to the cart to see his favorite cousin. “Yea, that’s what I thought.”

“Alright, Widow. Are we ready to go?”

“You double checked the bags?”

“I double checked the bags.” He said as he stood up and turned off the light in the front half of the room. “Lets go, munchkins. Time to party.” With one final glance around to make sure you had everything you had set out for the birthday party and for trick or treating, and headed out the back door to walk a whole block over and half a block down to your Aunt Selene’s house.

“We’re here!” You called out as you pushed open the side gate to her back yard. Your family all yelled hello and almost instantly started to swarm over to finally meet Mark. “Wait, wait, wait.” You said quickly as you held your hand up. “One at a time.” Your uncles, who understood boundaries, helped keep their respective kids back, while your aunts simply ignored you and continued coming toward you.

“Oh, he is cute.” Your Aunt Serena cooed in Italian as she squeezed your arm. “Good job.”

“He doesn’t look like a lawyer.” Aunt Alessia commented with a small shake of her head.

“He has to nice of face.” Aunt Caterina chimed in.

“He doesn’t speak Italian.” You pointed out as you handed Thomas to your Aunt Mia.

“You have a nice face!” Aunt Sofia practically shouted in English from the back of the group of women.

“Oh! Thank you.”

“OK, move aside.” Your mother barked as she squeezed through the group to come to your aid. “Where are my birthday babies?”

“He’s not deaf.” Aunt Viola joked in Italian as she whacked her younger sister in the arm.

“And he still doesn’t speak Italian.” You repeated as you picked up the small bag of birthday gifts you had bought your sons to put them on the table with the rest. You glanced over at Mark as he held Evan’s hand and followed Luca toward the swing set where your sister and her four year old daughters, Lilly and Chloe were playing with some of your second cousins.

“Look who finally decided to show up.” Your cousin, Natasha, who was Selene’s second oldest of six girls, teased as she sat by one of the many tables, nursing her four month old, Nikolai, who you hadn’t gotten to meet yet.

“You have four kids at once and try to get anywhere on time. Is this my newest nephew?”

“Yea, who keeps me up all night long.” She sighed.

“As someone who… I guess ‘got lucky’.” Mark teased as he came over, and parked the wagon on the side of the porch. “I can say that it does get better…”

“Oh, do NOT listen to him!” You laughed as you pushed your boyfriend’s arm. “He could sleep through a hurricane, and then a tornado without even slipping out of his dream. I have to hit him with a pillow and then pretend to be asleep when I want him to be the one to see what son is crying.”

“You hit me with pillows?” Mark asked as Natasha, and a few of your other family members laughed.

“What, you think you wake up yourself?” You giggled. “Yes, I absolutely hit you with pillows.”

“I will remember that next time I find myself awake at three am.” He said with mock seriousness as he gestured to the table of drinks. “Want something.”

“Yes.” You said as you took a step over at him. “Green punch bowl is always kid safe… looks like orange is alcoholic this year.”

“Got it.” He said with a nod as he kissed your cheek and headed off to grab drinks.

“He seems nice.” Your cousin, Shannon said as she came over and grabbed one of the many seats with her plate of Halloween themed treats.

“He is amazing.” You confirmed with a nod as you habitually looked over your shoulder and quickly located your four boys in the crowded back yard. “And the boys love him.”

“Do you?” Natasha asked with her eyebrow raised.

“I do.”

“OK, since everyone’s here, let’s do presents before Nonno and I start dinner!” Your dad called out from the other side of the yard.

“Oh, yay. Corralling cats.”

“Here, I got it.” Mark said as he handed you your drink. You drank yours in two gulps, set the cup aside, and followed him across the yard toward the towering pile of gifts as chairs were dragged over and kids were corralled. You grabbed a seat beside Mark in the grass, and pulled Evan on to your lap as your mom and Emma moved some presents around on the table.

“OK, there is an order to these.” Zoe called out as she passed the first couple gifts to you. “Cousin gifts first.” You nodded your head and passed the thirty dollars and under gifts in your hand over to Mark so he could help Luca and Theo open them. You helped Evan open a bag of large Lego blocks, and helped Thomas reveal a stack of new books, while your other two sons opened a toy truck and more Legos.

You opened a plastic farm house, some more toy trucks and toy cars, a toy garage, some learning toys and games, and some bath toys. There were fake kitchen toys, and a fake tool box, a fake cleaning toys, and even a pair of fake lawn mowers. And too wrap it up, a couple of your cousins had apparently pooled their money to create a pretty amazing activity table that was large enough for all four boys to play side by side; which was apparently the winner of the night anyways since once the wrapping paper came off, the other toys were forgotten by all of your sons.

“Well, we don’t really need them for the rest anyways.” Emma giggled as she handed you a card with a smile. “From Yaya, Nonna, and Nonno.” You nodded your head and looked up at your three living grandparents, who were sitting up on the porch near one of the many heaters Selene had her husband, David, set up incase anyone got too cold, and waved. You pulled the card out and smiled at the cute cover before flipping it open and hesitating.

“Wait, what is this?” You asked as you pulled out a stack of American Airline plane tickets.

“Open this one next.” Mark said as he handed you another card that he had pulled out of his Hawkeye jacket.

“What did you do?” You laughed as you dropped the tickets in your lap and opened the next card.

“It’s from my dad.” He said as he caught the folded papers and opened them up. “He knows someone that knows someone that works for Disney company and they got him a great deal on a nice, deluxe room for us… he’s the one that kinda set this whole idea in motion and Ben and Emma helped coordinate it.”

“And I may or may not have cheated a bit and jumped on the idea and booked our family a trip as well so our gift to you is a night of free baby sitting so you can have a Disney date night.”

“Of course you did.” You laughed as you looked up at your twin.

“Here, we have more presents.” Your mom said with a giant smile as she handed you a small box. “This is from dad and I.”

“Stop, I can’t.” You said with a shake of your head as you started to tear up. “Really?”

“Open the box, (Y/N).” Your dad chuckled as he pointed at you with the grill spatula. “People are getting hungry here.”

“Tony, be nice!” Your Aunt Camilla snapped as she reached out and whacked her brother’s arm.

“We covered tickets.” Your mom said as you pulled off the wrapping paper to figure out what your mother had gotten. “But they’re on those band things. You gotta keep them with you…”

“I have emails for all of it.” Mark said as he collected the important paperwork for you.

“This one’s from Aunt Bianca and I.” Your Uncle Devin said as he handed you a slightly heavy box.

“You guys are gunna make me cry.” You said as you pulled the wrapping paper off a new to you, hand me down double stroller.

“They don’t allow the wagon ones.” Bianca said as she pointed to her old stroller. “And we don’t need ours anymore. We were gunna give it to you anyways…”

“Same with ours.” Catarina said as she grabbed her unwrapped stroller from behind the table and brought it around for you. “I made Adam put new wheels on the thing because they were a little stuck and I’m waiting for a new handle grip thing to come in the mail so I’ll put that on when they come in.” You nodded your head as Selene and Viola came over to grab their boxes.

“These were rated number one in parenting magazines but if you don’t like them, we can send them back.”

“They’re inflatable toddler beds.”

“Oh, I was actually looking into these for Mark’s place.” You said as you looked at the box for the The Shrunk's travel inflatable toddler bed. “See, it has the rails so that the boys can’t roll off it even if it is close to the floor.”

“No more climbing out of the play pens.” Mark agreed as he took a look at one of the other bed boxes.

“You move in now. Get small boys beds.” Yaya said in broken English as she picked at the snack table.

“Ma!” Zoe barked behind you as your face flushed red.

“She has a point.” Selene said in Greek with a shrug.

“No, no.” You said with a shake of your head as you looked over at Mark. “We’re not there yet… are we?”

“Discussion for another time.” Your boyfriend said as he reached out and rubbed your back. “Still not scared.”

“Here, open this one.” Emma said quickly as she handed you the next gift. You nodded your head and quickly opened the next one, which was four stroller fans, and a pair of stroller rain covers. With the last few gifts, you could tell that your family had done a lot of research on taking toddlers to Disney; gifting you insulated sippy cups, some cooling towels, reusable bags, disposable dirty diaper bags, bedsheets, suitcases, rain jackets, hats, sunscreen, a couple Disney guide books, and a small but pretty bad ass first aid kit, which left you very little to actually have to buy for this surprise trip. Just as you finished thanking everyone, profusely, your dad announced that dinner was ready.

“Did you do all this?” You asked Mark before you got up to get plates together for the boys.

“I asked you two months ago if you could take them anywhere, where would you want to take them? You said Disney so I just helped make it happen for you.”

“Why are you so good to us?” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he got up to start convincing your sons that eating was gunna be more fun than playing with their new toys.

“Because I love you all more than words, kitten. Simple as that.”

——

“What in God’s name are we gunna do with all this candy?” Mark asked as he sat on your bed, sorting through four plastic pumpkins of candy to sort out what the boys could have and what was going to you and him once the two of you got the boys bathed and in bed for the night.

“Eat it all.” You said as you looked over at him from the travel book you were skimming through. “I think we can do it, don’t you?”

“I think we can manage that.” You nodded your head, and went back to looking at your book until he set a stack of papers on your page.

“You know, I would love nothing more than to come home to you and your boys every day. To make you breakfast every morning and be the one tuck those little terrors in with you at night…”

“You mean tuck them in for me.” You said as you looked at the papers in your hand. “Mark, these houses are way to much…”

“Let me worry about that.” He said as he ripped open a snack size Butterfinger and held it out in front of you. “Here.”

“This isn’t a Pavlov dog, situation here.” You giggled before you ate the candy bar. “You are not paying a million dollars for a house.”

“Look at this one, my love.” He said as he pulled one of the papers out and set it on top while opening a small Snickers bar with his other hand. “Six bedrooms, gorgeous atrium.”

“We don’t need six bedrooms…”

“This one has five bedrooms…”

“It’s barely above a thousand feet. Too small.” You mumbled around your Snickers as you tossed the paper aside.

“This one…”

“No.”

“How about…”

“No, that tile is hideous.”

“Kitten, I can put in new tile.”

“No, because we’re just fine… wait, this is by Emma.” Mark nodded as he handed you another candy bar.

“It is. Ben brought me the paper tonight. His sister is the realtor on it and I may have already emailed her to get us an appointment…”

“Mark, this is a million dollar house.” You said as you turned the paper over to look at the details. “It’s gorgeous but I can’t afford to spend this kind of money…”

“I can.” He said as he pulled the other papers out of your hand except the one you liked. “(Y/N), I want you to understand something. I am in this. I want you and those boys in my life forever. And yes, I’m quite aware that proposing now is not what is best for us at this moment, that’s not what I’m doing here. I’m asking you to let me be able to come home to you after work every day. I’m asking you to let me help you raise the four boys that make me a better person every day. And I’m asking you to let me love my family, because that is what you five have become to me. Kitten, let us be a family, please.”

“Buy the house.” Your dad whisper yelled above your head from the stairs. “Get out of my basement.”

“Go to bed!” You hissed back as you flipped the paper back over in your hand to look at the photos of the five bedroom, five bath home. “Mind your business.”

“My basement is my business!” He hissed back as he smiled at your boyfriend. “Don’t worry, son. I got your back.”

“Dad! Go upstairs before I go get Mom!” You barked in Italian as you you tilted your head back to look up at him. “Go to bed, and stop eavesdropping though the baby monitor.”

“Move out of my house so I don’t have to hear your conversations through the baby monitor.” He countered before he hurried out the door so you wouldn’t get up to find your mother.

“Here, love. You love Milky Ways…”

“You are not helping here!” You giggled as you took the candy from him. “I’ll think about it, OK?”

“OK, well you can think about it tomorrow when we go see the house at noon. Chocolate?”

“Quit bribing me with chocolate!” You scowled at him for a moment before you reached out and snatched the candy from his hand. “Shut up.” He chuckled as you leaned over and kissed his cheek before popping the chocolate in your mouth and leaning against his side with a sigh. “Fine, we’ll go look at the house.”

“Thank you, my love.”

——

“This house is way to big.” You sighed as you stood in your new grey and white kitchen, that felt like it had more space than you could ever want or need, with a box of the boys dishes on your hip.

“It’s a family home, kitten.” Mark said as he pulled the box from your hands so you would keep working. “One to grow in which is exactly what our family needs.”

“Yea, but there’s so much room.”

“So we have more kids.” He huffed as he headed outside into the snow to get more boxes from your van so you’d be all moved in before Christmas in a few weeks. “Simple as that.”

“What, you looking to have a whole zoo?”

“Just a basketball team.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you grabbed a box of your clothes next.

“Yea, you are out of your mind if you think I’m signing up for another round of quadruplets.”

“So what, you’re all done having kids?”

“No idea. Maybe one day when the boys are older and a little less monster like. I don’t know, I love being a mother and I would never say no to doing it again, just not now.”

“I could get on board with that.” He said with a nod as he dropped his box on his bed (and your mattress because you both agreed it was way more comfortable than his). “Are you always going to have multiples?”

“It’s a crap shot.” You said as you headed down the stairs. “Could be one, could be four, could be seven. I don’t really have a set schedule or a direct connection with my ovaries to tell them we only want one or two more, you know?”

“OK, valid point.” Mark chuckled as he handed you a lighter clothes box. “But let the record show, I wouldn’t mind doing four again.”

“Let the record show that I would greatly mind doing four again. My ass looked like a Goodyear blimp for months.”

“I bet it looked fantastic.”

“OK you keep your pregnant girlfriend fantasies in your pants for now, you hear me?”

“Oh no.” He cooed as he he wrapped his arms around your waist before you could walk out of Theo and Thomas’ room. “Now I’m gunna have that image in my mind for months.”

“And that’s where it is gunna stay for at least another year.”

“Oh, so I’ve got you down to a year now.”

“Mark!” You screeched as you pushed him away from you to finish unpacking. “Unpack your current kids shit before you start planning on adding more shit to it.” You headed down stairs, grabbed the next box, and headed back upstairs before you realized that you had left your boyfriend in the hallway.

“My kids?” He asked as he looked up from the wood floor to find your eyes. You paused with a furrowed brow and nodded slowly.

“You’re the only father figure they have ever known and you’ve been there for them… for us, nearly every day for the past what, almost a year, without batting an eye, no matter how much I tried to scare you off. Of course they are your kids, too.”

“(Y/N), do not put that idea in my head if you ever plan on taking those boys…”

“Mark, I wouldn’t have agreed to buying a house with you if I ever planned on taking them away from you. And at the same time, I wouldn’t be able to take you from them at the end of the day because you are their world. You may not be a biological father, but you are their father.” He nodded his head and tears welled in his eyes as he reached out to hold the banister and scrubbed at his eyes.

“OK.” He choked with a sniffle and a nod. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” You giggled as you passed him the box in your arms and headed back down to go get more. “You still have no idea what you’re signing up for.”

“Apparently I never will.”

“Don’t worry, neither will I!”

Part 5

#mark sheppard x reader #the difference

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liviusofpella · 3 years

Text

sun maiden

pairing: Tyril x human!MC (Selene)

word count: 1200+

warnings: generally none, but i guess it is the tiniest bit of angsty

a/n: i thought that i could try to fill in the two-day gap the team spent on sun maiden, waiting for the storm to pass soo... this is me trying. just a chill, sunny, short fic.

tags: @lxdy-starfury @tyrils-star

“We’ll make history,” Mal mumbled as he plopped down on the Sun Maiden’s floor, playing with his dagger. “We’ll be the first to die out of boredom.”

“I can’t even look at the cards any more,” Selene sighed, crossing her arms on her chest.

“I, for one, enjoy this little break from the adventures,” Threep said as he stretched on Nia’s lap, enjoying her scratches on his belly. “As well as the free access to fresh fish.”

“My opinion of nespers abates with your every word,” Tyril sighed.

Selene slumped down next to the mage and grinned, seeing him instantly tense up.

“I won’t bite if you touch me, you know,” she nudged him, chuckling. “In the bunk. The position you sleep in must be uncomfortable. Besides, I’m a much better cuddling candidate than your sword.”

Tyril blushed and averted his eyes, fixing them on the captain of the ship talking to his crew. She could see he was fighting a smile.

“You take up a lot of space.”

“That’s my sneaky way of making you hug me,” she winked and Mal whistled.

“Why didn’t you say you have such adventures on this wreck?” he commented, engaging the whole group in their conversation. “If you wanted to snuggle, you could just say so, kit,” he winked.

“I’m sorry, Mal, but I’m trying to figure this one out,” she chuckled, teasingly placing a hand on the elf’s thigh. Tyril gulped.

“Alright, I had this stashed for a sad, rainy day, but I think the time has come,” Mal sighed as he uncorked a bottle of ale and offered it to Selene when Nia declined.

“Saviour,” she groaned and emptied half of the bottle at once and then offered it to Tyril who also declined.

“We’re stuck with two prudes,” Mal teased, taking the bottle from Selene. “Even better for me.”

The conversation died down pretty quickly and the group was again engulfed by the sound of the sea.

Selene busied herself with not-so-subtle gazing at the stoic features of the mage’s face while Mal and Nia talked about some of his adventures. There was no denying that Tyril was handsome—beautiful even. She knew that elves are generally easy on the eyes but Tyril’s appearance kept leaving her speechless. His piercing gaze, full lips, those cheekbones, that sharp jaw line. That, the aura of mystery around him, and the fact that so far she’s been the only one to make him smile made her heart flutter whenever he spoke or laid eyes on her. Selene was thinking about the way his thick black hair glistened in the sun, how soft it must’ve feel and how much she wanted to run her hand through them, when the elf spoke, startling her.

“You’re staring.”

Embarrassed, she averted her gaze and bit her lip. Caught.

It physically pained her that she couldn’t touch him. So far, they’ve touched twice, accidentally. Selene hoped that he would touch her eventually as they shared a bunk, but he slept with his arms crossed on his chest, with the sword next to him.

His touch was electric. Addictive. Forbidden. She felt drawn to him. Whether it was his magical energy or the aura of mystery was yet to be discovered.

“I think I’m gonna hit the sheets early today,” Selene announced when a series of yawns escaped her lips, making Nia chuckle. She scratched Threep before getting up and took a last look at the orange sun mirrored in the water.

Despite the overwhelming tiredness, Selene couldn’t fall asleep. She kept tossing in the bed for a solid hour, growing more and more anxious as her mind began to travel down the locked path, bringing up the memories of her brother. Guilt was the feeling that dominated her mind since Kade was sucked into the Shadow Realm. Guilt and grief. Although she didn’t want to admit it, a part of her knew that she might never find him or that she would, but too late.

She felt like a burden to the group. Nia was about to ascend to the Priestess of Light, Mal knew how to fend for himself and could pull off almost anything, and Tyril would be completely fine without any of them. She was terrified, even more with every day as their journey grew more serious and dangerous. All she could offer was the rage and the determination to rescuing Kade that motivated her every day.

A lone hot tear spilled from her eye and she cursed, wiping it angrily. “Don’t be a baby,” she murmured, clenching her jaw.

Selene took a few deep calming breaths as she heard someone’s footsteps and turned to her side, facing the wall.

“What’s the matter, Selene?”

She cursed in her mind. Of course, it was Tyril.

“I’m good. Just can’t sleep.”

“I have eyes,” he continued and sat down on the edge of the thin mattress, his armour creaking quietly. “You might’ve fooled the rest, but I’ve been watching you and I can tell that something is bothering you since we boarded the ship.”

An angry sigh escaped her as she turned to face the elf, looking at her with a stoic, but a little concerned look on his face. She was angry because he figured her out just like that. And she was angry because she was tired.

There was no fooling him, she knew that. Selene appreciated the fact that he actually cared and was bothered enough to go and check on her. She knew all of that but she was just so sad that she couldn’t think straight.

“Do you really think we can save him?”

“I have hope,” he answered without hesitation. “I will do anything to help you find your brother, Selene. You have my word.”

After looking at him intently for a while, she slowly nodded and mumbled quiet thanks. However, she was still on the verge of tears and all she wanted at that moment was for someone to hug her tight and lie that everything will work out eventually.

“The truth is... I don’t want to set back our mission. I can’t help feeling like a burden to you. I don’t have anything to offer,” she chuckled sadly and sniffed. “Nia’s got magic, Mal is good at pretty much everything, and you’re an amazing warrior and a mage. How can I compete with that?”

Selene shook her head and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry; it must be the booze talking.”

“What strikes me the most is that you don’t see your potential,” Tyril spoke up after a while when she composed herself. “You’re a quick thinker, passionate and stout-hearted. You find a way out of every situation and don’t give up when things don’t work out. And if you’re half as good a fighter, then you shouldn’t worry about being a burden,” he stated, looking straight into her glassy eyes. “It’s not a shame to feel scared, Selene. I would be concerned if you didn’t feel that way.”

Having weighted his words for a while, Selene nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Thanks, Tyril,” she touched his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “So what about the hugging?”

#blades of light and shadow #tyril x mc #bolas fic #yall this was sitting in my notes since december #choices tyril #tyril starfury

17 notes · View notes

berjhawn · 5 years

Text

WINTERNIGHT - Chapter 11 - Something New

Warnings: Fighting, arguing, vampires, Lycans, ETC

Pairings: Bucky Barnes X Vampire Reader ; Selene X Michael

(A/N) wow this has been a long time coming. Things have been pretty hectic and crazy this past year. Not only was i pregnant but i was also hospitalized for pancreatitis. between comstant hospital visits and morning sickness i didn’t have that much inspiration for energy to write. i’d open a word document and just stare at it which only resulted in overwhelming myself and fucking with my depression. Now that I’ve given birth to a beautiful baby boy and i’ve had some epiphanies and eye openers i feel like i can jump back into this crazy world and finally start to finish some of the open ended stories i have. wish me luck guys!!

If you want the rest of the parts they are located in my Master-list since Tumblr hates Links now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I followed Kraven to Lucian’s den and I wasn’t surprised. What did surprise me was that there was a familiar scent on the air. Was Bucky here? I follow the scent but get distracted when I spot Lucian coming my way. I feel myself frozen in place as he neared me. Some of the Lycans I didn’t know started to growl and run toward me but I just stayed still. Before they reach me, Lucian yells out stopping them in their tracks. He slowly walks towards me and I feel my heart clench. The only father figure I had was walking towards me and I couldn’t help myself.

“I wasn’t expecting you, but given your Lycan is here-” Lucian starts.

“I followed Kraven.” I say interrupting him.

“You didn’t follow your wolf?” He asks and I shake my head. “That might disappoint him.”

“He’s a big boy, he’ll get over it.” I say my brow furrowing.

“Your face doesn’t match your words.” He replies cocking an eyebrow at me.

“I-” I start walking toward him a pained expression filing my face before I instantly throw myself in his arms and bury my face in his chest. “I’m sorry,”

“I told you long ago, we wouldn’t hold a grudge against you.” He reminds me as he gently rubs circles on my back.

“Aren’t you mad that I decided to stay with the Vampires?” I ask my eyes not meeting his.

“I am rather peeved, but I am sure you have your reasons.”

“I couldn’t leave her there alone. I owed it to her to stay.”

“Ah yes, her name is Selene, right?” He asks and I nod. “Seems she’s someone special indeed.”

“Viktor’s awake, I have no place there now.” I say making him tense slightly his hands gripping tightly to me. “And I feel I am unwelcome here as well.”

“You are always welcome here child.” He says as he lifts my chin to look up at him. “Now I don’t mean to be rude but like you said, Kraven is here.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“I would have settled for nothing less; as I expect you wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.” He says and I nod. “Then shall we?” He asks before he gently pats my shoulder and walks past me. As his wolves pass me they let out low growls of warning that I gladly return as I bare my teeth. I was on their turf, Lucian’s blessing or not; I was an unwanted guest. I catch another whiff of Bucky’s scent and my heart pulls towards him. I shake my head as I pull myself in the other direction and follow Lucian.

“I thought we had a deal.” Kraven says and I grit my teeth as I stand silently behind one of the wolves and listen in to his and Lucian’s conversation.

“Patience… Kraven.” Lucian replies distaste filling his voice. “These are matters to be discussed in private.” Kraven nods and Lucian adds, “Please, escort our guest’s downstairs.” I hear the cocking of a shotgun only seconds before the vampires walk past me and the rest of the Lycans leave with them leaving only myself, Lucian, and Kraven. When he spots me, his eyes narrow angrily as he says, “What are you doing here?”

“She is not your concern.” Lucian warns.

“I thought this was to be private.” Kraven retorts.

“Would you like to try to make her leave?” Lucian asks his eyes narrowing at Kraven who thinks for a moment before shaking his head. “Very well, the council has been destroyed. Soon, you will have it all.” Lucian says and I narrow my eyes at him in anger. “Both great covens, and an iron-clad peace treaty with the Lycans.” So, this was what Kraven wanted, everything. I grind my teeth as I know deep down what Lucian offered would never be enough to Kraven. He would always want more. “Who I trust will not be forgotten when the spoils are tabulated.”

“I’m sure she’s told you, but how do you expect me to assume control now that Viktor’s been awakened? There’s no defeating him, he grows stronger as we speak.”

“And that is precisely why I need Michael.” Lucian says as he walks past Kraven to a table behind him. “If Viktor were so easy to dispatch, you’d have done it yourself, centuries ago.” Before Kraven has the chance to argue gunshots are heard in the distance and my heart drops.

“It’s Selene,” I say as I look at Lucian my eyes pleading with him in a silent protest.

Suddenly a glass window shatters behind Kraven’s head and a bell is sounded making me reach into my coat to pull out my guns. “It’s Viktor,” Kraven adds and I roll my eyes.

“Yes, and if you had done your job he’d still be in hibernation.” Lucian says before he moves to look through a hole in the wall. I narrow my eyes but follow his gaze to see Michael chained to a surgical table. Then seconds later I see a familiar metal arm and my heart jumps in my chest. “Where the hell is Raze?” Lucian asks before moving over to a table to grab some weapons.

“Is there another way out?” Kraven asks panic filling his voice.

“I guess it never occurred to you that you might actually have to bleed to pull off this little coup.” Lucian loads his gun with new UV bullets and as he moves toward the door adds, “Don’t even think about leaving.” I turn back just in time to see Kraven pull a gun out from behind his back. My body moves on its own as I rush forward right as Kraven pulls the trigger shooting me in the chest and stomach with the new silver nitrate rounds. I let out a wince of pain as I look down to see the silver pouring out of the bullet holes.

I hear Lucian yell something out but my mind doesn’t register until I look up to see his rage filled eyes looking down at me. It surprisingly hurt. It wasn’t the first time I had been shot before, but it was the first time I stepped in front a bullet to save someone. “(Name), look at me.” Lucian says and I growl at him as I say, “That’s not my name anymore.”

“Now’s not the time to argue.” He argues and I chuckle slightly as I wince at the pain. “You need to feed.”

“Aha, do you see a blood bank anywhere?” I ask trying to lighten the mood. I look around to notice that Kraven had made his escape and my blood starts to boil. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Get in line (Name),” Lucian adds as a familiar scent fills the room. I follow it to see a rage filled Bucky walking over to us.

“What happened to her?” Bucky asks his eyes filled with fire as he kneels next to us.

“Kraven shot me, it’s no big deal, silver won’t hurt me.” I say making him grit his teeth.

“No but the bullet’s will.” Bucky adds and I narrow my eyes at him.

“I’m not a child James.”

“I know,” Bucky adds reaching out to gently move a strand of hair from my face. “What does she need?” He asks Lucian his eyes never leaving mine.

“She needs to feed.”

“Can she drink my blood?”

“What? NO!” I cry out fear filling my voice. “If I bite you, you will die.”

“I’m not saying to bite me, I can cut myself just enough to give you what you need.”

“NO!” I say as I force myself into a sitting position.

“Why not?” Bucky asks anger filling his voice.

“I’ve never drank from someone before.” I say my eyes looking away from him. “Given my ability, I don’t think I could stop once I started. I would drink you dry. Plus, your blood isn’t exactly normal anymore.”

“Will Lycan blood hurt her?”

“No,” Lucian says causing my attention to snap to him in confusion.

“What? Of course, it will, it could kill me.” I add through the confusion.

“It will not,” Lucian says a memory crossing his eyes. “You’ve tasted it before, long ago.”

“You… you fed me Lycan blood?”

“No, your mother did.” Lucian adds, and my eyes fall to the floor. Why would she do that? “Times were tough and if she had gone after human blood the coven would have taken her.”

“But they did take her.” I add, and he nods.

“Your mother could only hold the thirst off for so long.” Lucian adds, and I nod.

“So, she can drink my blood?” Bucky asks and Lucian nods.

“Whatever you two are going to do, you need to do it now.” Lucian says as he hands me off to Bucky and walking to the door turns back to Bucky and says, “I leave her in your hands Barnes. Do not make me regret it.”

“I won’t.” Is all that is said as Lucian runs off down the hall.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” I say as I slowly look back at Bucky.

“You won’t.” He says as he leans into me and grips tightly to my back. “You got it?”

“I’m sorry,” I say as I sink my teeth into his collar making him clench tightly to me as he winces in pain. My mouth is suddenly filled with his sweet taste causing some darker part of myself to take over as I dig my teeth in deeper drawing out more blood. As I drink my mind fills with his memories. From the moment, he is born, to just seconds before I bit him. He had been through so much. His life instantly reminds me of my own and tears fill my eyes. I feel him tap my shoulder and I clench my fists tightly as I force myself to pull away from him.

I hear footsteps and I turn right as a gunshot goes off near us making my heart sink. “Lucian!” I yell out pushing myself to my feet and racing out the door only to see Lucian fall to the ground the silver nitrate filling his body. I look for the gunman but see no one. Rage fills my body as I walk back into the room where Bucky sat trying to regain his strength and I grab my guns. Bucky instantly grabs my wrist holding me back.

“Let me go, I have to avenge him.” I say anger filling my body.

“You’re not an avenger (Name),” He says, and I instantly jerk my wrist out of his grasp as I yell, “DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

“It’s your name! You have to own it!”

“I have no right too.” I say tears threatening to fall again. “I don’t know what will happen to you now that I’ve bitten you, but you need to stay near Michael. If possible, you must get him out of here. If I know Viktor like I do he will not stop until yours and Michael’s heads are on a platter.” He gulps down a breath of air as he pushes himself to his feet and walks over to me. “Please stay alive James,” I add as I reach up and pulling the back of his neck down place a kiss on his lips.

Then without a chance for him to argue I race off toward the gunfire. If I got to Selene, I could be able to get her on my side. I just had to get to her. I take a deep breath as I try to find her scent. I hear Raze’s angry howl and I knew he was finding his own sense of revenge for Lucian. I close my eyes and tilt my head as I search her out. It felt like my mind was moving everywhere until I found her.

I smile as I instantly run off towards her location. It takes me no time at all to make it to her. When I reach her, she swings towards me about to fire her weapon but stops at the sight of me. “What are you doing here?” She asks her eyes piercing mine.

“I followed Kraven,” I answer honestly making her nod. “Selene, you know you cannot kill Michael.” I say making her narrow her eyes at me.

“I do not know that; I only know that Viktor wants him dead.”

“All the more reason to keep him alive. I know where he is, if I take you to him, you must promise me you will not hurt him; him or James.”

“Your Lycan is here?!” She asks anger filling her voice as her eyes narrow at me.

“He is,” I reply before taking a deep breath and continuing, “I will not let anyone harm him.”

“If Viktor sees him, he will kill him.” Selene states.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” I reply my eyes turning a solid white in anger. “Promise me Selene; I would hate to have to hurt you.”

“Just take me to him first. Then I will decide what to do.” Selene says, and I sense the concern in her voice. I say nothing but nod in agreement and lead her toward them. Before reaching them, Selene spots a Lycan and goes to shoot it but I stop her. Shaking my head at her the Lycan runs past us towards the fray not even glancing back towards us. She eyes me curiously before stepping into the room that held Michael and Bucky. Bucky instantly frees Michael as Selene rushes over to him and says, “I have to get you out of here. Viktor’s coming, and he won’t stop until every Lycan is dead.”

“They’ll kill you too, just for helping me.” Michael adds voicing the severity of our crimes.

“I know,” Selene adds, and I sense her emotions before they even show on her face.

“I know what started the war,” Michael starts, and I feel myself being pulled away by Bucky whose temperature rose about ten degrees.

“Are you alright?” I ask as his grip tightens on my arm.

“It hurts.” Bucky says, and my eyes widen. He was turning.

“I have to get you out of here.” I add worry filling my body.

“We can’t leave them.” Bucky interjects causing me to roll my eyes.

“We won’t, but you’re my main concern right now. We don’t know if you’re dying or if you’re going to become something entirely different, something new.”

“We have to go.” Selene insists and I grip tightly to Bucky’s hand as I turn toward her and say, “You have to go without us.”

“I’m not leaving you here.” Selene says worry filling her voice.

“I can’t leave him, and he won’t make it anywhere safe in time. Go, I’ll be fine here.” I implore giving her a reluctant smile.

“Find me when you’re out.” She concedes a concerned look on her face.

“I will.” I reply as she reluctantly turns and leaves. When she and Michael are gone, I turn back to Bucky right as he falls to his knees and digs his hands into the dirt as his ribs break and reset themselves. I wince in sympathy as I reach out to hold his head to my chest. He tries to push me away, but I hold tight.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He cries out in a mixture of pain and anger.

“You won’t, I’m here for you James. I’m not leaving you behind.” I say as I grip tighter to him.

Bucky’s body starts to morph in my hands turning him into a new species entirely. He grew in height as well as size. His hair was now longer reaching down to his middle in a cascade of deep chocolate. However, his metal arm remained the same shimmery metal. If you had lost a limb before you were turned that limb never grew back. I marveled at how he looked super human. His eyes look up into mine and I feel my heart start to race at the familiar pale white. “How bad is it?” He asks through ragged breaths and I stare at him in awe.

“You look beautiful.” I say honestly making him chuckle.

“Not something you wanna tell a guy.” Bucky adds as he stands up to his full seven-foot hybrid height. I am about to say something when the sound of a gunshot pulls my attention away from him and toward the direction Selene and Michael had gone. Without thinking I rush after the sound just in time to see Lucian lying inches away from Selene and Michael, who had been shot with a silver nitrate bullet. I rush to Lucian’s side as I yell out, “Uncle!”

“She needs to bite him.” Lucian says his eyes never looking away from Selene and Michael until Bucky walks in behind me in all his hybrid glory. “You bit him.”

“I didn’t want too, but I was given little choice.” I say not looking away from my uncle. He smiles halfheartedly as he reaches up to gently cup my cheek.

“Your mother would have been proud of you.” He says, and I bite my lip as I try not to cry.

“Take my blood Uncle, it can help you.” I say as I pull my wrist up to my lips to bite it only to have him grab it and pull it away from my mouth.

“No (Name), I’ve lived without Sonja for long enough. I wish to be with my love.”

“But what about me? What do I do?” I ask trying my hardest not to cry.

“You have your Lycan,” Lucian says looking past me to where Bucky stood looking down at us. “Protect her with your life.”

“I will,” Bucky replies, and I bury my face into my uncle’s chest.

“Don’t leave me, please.” I beg gripping tightly to him.

“Don’t cry little one,” Is all he says before I feel the life slip from his body causing the tears to pour from my eyes. I stay there until I hear a loud grunt and look up to see Viktor grab Selene and ripping her away from Michael severing her bite. Bucky instantly moves to stand protectively in front of both Selene and I as Viktor picks Michael up and tosses him through the cement wall into the next room. He then turns his attention back to Bucky as a rage filled expression fills his eyes. Sensing his motives, I gently give Lucian’s hand one last grip before I stand up and place myself between Bucky and Viktor.

“What have you done?!” Viktor yells out accusingly at me and I bare my teeth at him. “You dare bare your half breed fangs at me?”

“I will not let you hurt anyone else I care about.” I warn my eyes turning pale white.

“You are not strong enough to kill me.” Viktor warns making me clench my fists.

“I don’t have to be strong enough to kill you,” I say as Michael appears behind him fully morphed into his own version of the hybrid. “I just have to be strong enough to protect those I care about.” Then without a second thought Michael grabs Viktor and tosses him into the other room before he follows him. I instantly rush over to Selene and reaching out quickly help her to her feet.

“He killed them,” Selene says pain filling her eyes. “Viktor killed them all.”

“I am sorry; but there is nothing we can do for the dead. The living however,” I pause as Bucky rushes into the room where Michael and Viktor had gone. “The living, need our help.”

Will continue-

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#Berjhawn #Berjhawn writes #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #vampires and lycans #james buchanan barnes #Steve Rogers #x reader #fanfiction #underworld #marvel x underworld #selene #selene x michael #lucian underworld #underworld movie #marvel au #alternate universe #underworld au #Winternight

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badchoicesposts · 5 years

Text

In A Land Of Myth...

Chapter 7

Author’s Note: This AU is a cross between TRR, The Crown and The Flame, and BBC’s Merlin. Merlin follows the tale of King Arthur and the sorcerer Merlin. Merlin comes to Camelot where magic is outlawed and is made Prince Arthur’s servant.

Disclaimer: You do not have to watch the show to understand this fic, but it is based on the BBC show Merlin so the story line will be similar. I don’t own the plot to Merlin or any of the TRR characters.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Selene), Drake x MC, Platonic!Bastien x MC

Taglist: @flowerpowell, @bobasheebaby, @alexintheskyy, @slytherincursebreaker, @kingliam2019, @furiousherringoperatortoad, @goldenbirdcrystalcage, @burnsoslow, @zilch3

Let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist!

Catch Up: Masterlist

Selene sighed tiredly from her place atop her horse as she, Drake, and Liam rode through the forest and back to Stormholt. The hunting trip they were on had been long and uneventful, and she was getting restless.

“There’s a small tavern up ahead. Why don’t we stop for a pint of Skullcracker Ale?” Liam said, shooting her a sideways glance.

Selene let out a groan.

“Can we just go home?” she asked, looking over to Drake for sympathy.

“I’m okay with stopping,” he responded with a smirk, causing her to glare in his direction.

The two men shared a smile and rode ahead of her, causing her to roll her eyes and follow after them off the path they were travelling and to the tavern. They dismounted their horses, and Selene tried her best to keep from scrunching up her face as the smell of alcohol filled her nose. The barmaid, a squat woman with long brown tresses, approached them as the boys sat down at one side of the table, and Selene settled herself at the other.

“Well, aren’t you handsome,” the woman said, smiling flirtatiously.

Drake’s entire face turned red, and he sputtered out a quick thanks, much to the woman’s surprise.

“Oh, sorry. I was talking about your friend here,” she said, making eyes at Liam and causing Drake to blush even further.

Selene stifled a laugh as she watched him shift uncomfortably, while Liam simply smiled at the woman modestly.

“I just love those eyes,” she said continuing to smile at him. “What can I get for you three.”

Liam ordered for them, and the woman wandered back over the the bartop, allowing Selene to finally burst out in laughter.

“It’s okay, Drake. I think you’re pretty handsome,” she said with a smirk, causing his face to flush again.

He glared over at her and she was about to respond when the door to the tavern was thrown open and an imposing looking man entered. Selene noted that the room seemed to go silent almost immediately. All of the patrons, who were just previously conversing jovially, immediately stopped talking and watched as he made his way over to the barmaid.

“Business seems good. You should have no problem giving me my share,” he said to her in a low, grumbling voice.

The woman looked at him with a mixture of fear and hatred and threw a few coins onto the counter in front of her.

“Some days are better than others,” she said in a quiet voice.

The man was obviously unsatisfied with her answer. He counted through the coins with a look of distaste.

“Where’s the rest?”

“This is all we can spare.”

“Give me the rest. I won’t ask again!” he growled, swiftly pulling a knife out of his pocket and holding it to the woman’s neck.

Selene watched as Liam immediately rose to his feet and approached them. She and Drake shared a nervous look, both knowing that this wasn’t going to end well.

“Take your hands off of her,” Liam instructed, his voice hard.

The man turned slowly in his spot, sizing Liam up with an intimidating look on his face. After a moment, he smiled. The action was full of malice, and Selene wanted to point out that they wouldn’t have to be dealing with this if they had just listened to her and went straight home. He whistled loudly, and the door to the tavern slammed open again. Everyone turned to look at the door, and three men, each more intimidating than the last, entered the bar.

“Oh, for the love of god,” Selene grumbled under her breath as she watched Liam duck under the first man’s oncoming fist.

All hell broke loose and everyone rose to their feet as the three other men began to approach Liam as well. Drake and Selene ran to his aid as most people simply watched on in shock. Drake grabbed one of the men by the back of his shirt, and the two became locked in a heated fight as Selene grabbed a nearby jug of mead and slammed it over the head of another.

Her actions seemed to shock the barmaid out of her previous stupor, and she immediately jumped into the fight herself, wanting to defend her property. All around them people began jumping into the mix as well, a man with short brown hair and bright blue eyes fighting the most enthusiastically.

The man who Selene had attacked looked at her in surprise for a moment before advancing on her. She backed away slowly, wishing she had a sword with her. Bas and Drake had taught her how to swordfight, but she had never done any hand to hand combat. She looked around for something to hit him with but was pulled out of her search by the sound of a loud cry. She whipped her head around to see her opponent lying on the floor, the man with the blue eyes shooting her a smile before moving on to help Drake.

“Beaumont?” Drake cried out in shock, taking in the other man’s face for the first time as he dodged a punch.

“Hey, Drake!” the man called Beaumont said happily.

Selene couldn’t help but notice how chipper he looked even though they were in the middle of a fight and wondered how Drake knew him. The two of them took down the man together, and the original debt collector, who had been battling with Liam the entire time looked around and noticed that he was outnumbered. He pulled out the knife once again and lunged at Liam. In the blink of an eye, Beaumont pushed Liam out of the way, the knife lodging in his side and causing him to fall to the ground.

“Maxwell!” Liam called out in concern, rushing to his side as Drake lunged towards the thug and tackled him to the ground.

Selene moved to Liam’s side and checked for the man’s pulse. It was weak, but still present. Apparently spending time with Xinghai and Hana had taught her a thing or two about medicine.

“He’s still alive, but we need to get him to Xinghai now,” she said, as a few patrons of the bar moved forward to help Drake restrain the debt collector.

Liam nodded in understanding, and Selene helped him support Maxwell’s weight to take him outside. She watched as he hoisted his body over his horse and climbed onto the animal as well. Drake joined them soon after, and the four of them immediately set off, wanting to reach Stormholt as soon as possible. They finally arrived in front of the castle, and Drake and Liam immediately began carrying the still bleeding Maxwell inside. Selene ran after them and was surprised to hear Hana exclaim Maxwell’s name in shock as they carried him into the physicians quarters.

Selene bit back her questions about the man’s identity and set to work trying to help Hana stop the bleeding. Liam and Drake left after a few minutes, Liam instructing her to stay with Maxwell until he woke up, and she sat quietly while Xinghai and Hana bustled around him. After stopping the bleeding and making sure he was in stable condition, the three of them carried him to Hana’s bedroom and placed him on the bed so that he would be able to rest in peace.

Selene paced around the room as he slept, anxiously waiting for him to wake up. Maxwell had saved their lives in the tavern today. Without him the fight probably would have carried on for a lot longer and would have been more deadly. If he hadn’t pushed Liam out of the way then he probably would have been the one to get caught by the knife. After a few hours, Maxwell finally began to stir, and Selene approached the bed with a goblet of water as he opened his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, helping him sit up and take a sip of water.

“Like I got stabbed,” he winced out before flashing her a small smile. “I’m Maxwell.”

“So I’ve heard. I’m Selene,” she said with a smile, sitting down next to him on the edge of the bed.

“It’s nice to meet you, Selene,” he said, attempting to make himself more comfortable.

“Thank you for what you did. You saved Liam’s life.”

“It’s no big deal. It just looked like you could use the help,” he waved her comment off with another smile.

“It is a big deal. Not everyone would have taken a knife to the stomach for a stranger,” she said before rethinking her words. “Well, I guess you’re not a stranger. It seems I’m the only one around here who doesn’t know who you are.”

His face fell slightly at her words, but he recovered quickly, placing the same easygoing smile on his face that he had worn since waking up.

“I left Stormholt a while ago, so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of me,” he said. “Are you new around here?”

Selene nodded in response.

“I’ve been here for just a bit over two months. Bastien was a friend of my mother’s, and he took me in,” she explained.

“A friend?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and causing her to laugh.

“I may or may not have been scheming up a way of getting them back together,” she admitted with a guilty smile. “I haven’t figured it out just yet, though. It’s tough when she lives so far away from here.”

She didn’t know why, but she felt immediately at ease with Maxwell. It was as if she had known the man for years.

“Did you grow up around here?” she asked, turning the conversation back to him in attempts to find out how everyone knew him.

“Yeah, I actually grew up with Liam, Leo, Drake, and Hana,” he said.

Selene noted the way he paused after saying this, obviously a bit uncomfortable by the topic.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to explain,” she quickly said, not wanting to force him to speak.

“It’s alright. My father was actually a knight,” he continued.

“You come from a noble family?”

“More of a disgraced noble family,” he mumbled softly, causing her to raise her brows in question. “He was Queen Eleanor’s older brother.”

“You and Liam are cousins?” she asked in shock. Maxwell only nodded in response.

“My father died in battle a few years ago, and when my brother Bertrand started looking closer into our house’s finances, he realized that we were broke. Apparently my father wasn’t as good at handling money as we originally thought. We went to Constantine for help, but all he did was thank us for his service and wave us off, so we left, and with that the Beaumont name became a joke. Bertrand and I parted ways and we haven’t seen each other since.”

The fact that Constantine turned away family was unsettling. She couldn’t even imagine how that must have felt to Maxwell and his brother. In their time of need, he didn’t even consider being there for them.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” she said. “I want to be surprised that Constantine refused to help, but I can’t say that I am. What have you been doing since then?”

“I move around a lot, never really stay in one place. Sometimes I make money from tournaments, and I do some odd jobs here and there, but nothing consistent,” he responded with a shrug.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Selene rose to her feet.

“I’ll go tell Xinghai that you’re up. He’ll probably want to check you out,” she said, bidding him farewell and exiting the room.

She stopped briefly to speak to Xinghai and then made her way to Liam’s quarters to inform him of Maxwell’s progress, before returning her and Bastien’s shared chambers. She leaned over to rub behind Chance’s ears, and the dog responded by licking her chin happily.

“Selene, I heard about what happened at the tavern. I’m glad you’re alright,” Bastien greeted her with a warm smile and a look of relief.

He motioned for her to sit down and join him for dinner, and she obliged, silently picking at her meal while she mulled over Maxwell’s words.

“You’re quiet tonight,” he said softly after they had finished eating.

Selene looked up and observed his face silently, searching for the right words.

“If it came down to it… in battle… would you use magic if it would save your life?” she finally managed to ask.

Bastien seemed startled at her question.

“What?”

“If it came down to using magic and dying, would you use it?” she asked again, more insistently this time.

“Why do you ask?”

Selene let out a long breath and tried to ignore the stinging in her eyes.

“It’s just that… everyone’s father seems to have died in battle. Madeleine’s, Maxwell’s. Even Drake’s. I never realized how dangerous your job was before,” she said, wiping away a stray tear aggressively.

“For over twenty years my only duty has been to Stormholt and to my king, but that changed the minute you made me drop that goblet of wine. I promise you, I’m going to be around for quite some time,” he reassured with a soft smile.

Selene let out a chuckle and wiped away a few more tears.

“Good,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and settling into his embrace for a few moments. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

The next morning Selene went about her day as usual, Chance following behind her as she made her way to Liam’s chambers and began cleaning through them. He had already been up and ready by the time she got to him, and they planned on visiting Maxwell with Drake later to help him get moved into another room in the palace.

“When did you get a dog?” Drake asked her when the three of them met up after lunch.

Liam bent down and began petting Chance’s back, the dog soon rolling over so that the prince would rub his stomach.

“Oh, you know, a while ago,” she offered pathetically as he eyed the animal suspiciously.

Liam had met Chance several times because Selene was almost always at his side since she had become his servant, but Drake had never met the dog before, and Selene hoped that he couldn’t see the resemblance between him and the statue he once was. When Liam had finally removed his hands from the dog, Chance immediately walked over to Drake, jumping up on his new friend and begging for attention. She smiled to herself as she watched him interact with the animal, leaning over to give him a thorough scratch behind the ear. But she could still see him eyeing Chance critically, so she whistled to call him back to her side.

“Let’s go get Maxwell!” she said, already taking off down the hall in attempts to change the subject as soon as possible.

The two men shrugged at each other, confused at the sudden change, but followed after her nevertheless. Maxwell was already up and dressed when they arrived at the physician’s quarters. His eyes lit up when he saw Chance.

“How are you feeling?” Selene asked him as he wandered out of Hana’s room to greet them.

Selene noted even though he was smiling at them brightly, he was walking with his body hunched over ever so slightly, and it was obvious that he was still in pain. He lowered himself to the ground, which obviously took quite a bit of effort, and allowed Chance to crawl into his lap.

“I feel great. Xinghai says I’m good to go!”

“Go?” Liam immediately questioned, his brows furrowed in concern. “I’ve had a room set up for you in the palace.”

Maxwell seemed to perk up at his words, but the moment was gone almost as quickly as he had said them.

“I’ve been staying at an inn near the tavern. I should probably be heading back.”

“You should stay until you heal up completely,” Selene said, motioning to the side of his body where he was injured.

“Selene’s right. You saved my life. I insist,” Liam piped up.

Maxwell still looked a bit apprehensive, and Selene elbowed Drake roughly in the side.

“Ouch!” he exclaimed, clutching his side and glaring at her. “What was that for?”

Selene raised her eyebrows and inclined her head in Maxwell’s direction. Drake rolled his eyes in response but looked over to Maxwell pointedly.

“What they said,” he said, cringing slightly in pain and causing Selene to glare over at him again.

Drake rolled his eyes at her, and she made to elbow him a second time when he held his hands up in surrender.

“You should stay,” Drake finally said, pulling a satisfied smile from Selene.

Maxwell finally seemed to relax and open up to the idea.

“I should still head back to the inn. I have to get my things,” Maxwell said, saying goodbye to Xinghai and preparing to leave.

“Let me! You shouldn’t be riding a horse right now,” Selene said. “As long as that’s okay with you, Liam.”

“Of course. You should take Drake with you. I would accompany you myself, but I have some business to attend to,” Liam said. “You should head out, and I’ll show Maxwell to his room.”

Drake grumbled quietly to himself, still slightly rubbing his side, but he didn’t object.

“Oh, come on. I didn’t even elbow you that hard,” Selene said with a smile as she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room.

They said goodbye to Bastien, and as they mounted their horses, they took notice of how the sky turned an ominous shade of grey and psyched themselves up for what was sure to be a long day.

#the royal romance #the royal heir #trr #trh #the crown and the flame #liam x mc #drake x mc #drake walker x mc #king liam #liam #fics #my fics #choices fics #choices fanfic #bastien lykel #trr bastien #bastien x mc #maxwell beaumont

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whispersafterdusk · 4 years

Text

Lost in Time - ch 2

When Sam came back she had Dr. Xu with her along with a sack of food and water, a lantern, a couple blankets, and had even thought to include a set of playing cards; Arlo had gone to find Selene and wasn't back yet but Remington felt safe enough to climb back down and deliver the supplies to Dawa. Once Dawa had eaten there wasn't much to do except sit and chat and play cards as they waited for Selene and Arlo to make their appearances.

It was an hour or so before they heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and then the two of them appeared like ghosts in the light of the lantern. Both were carrying toolboxes and Selene had an additional duffel bag strapped to her back (it couldn't have been easy to get that down the vine-choked shaft).

"This place is huge," was Selene's greeting as she stared around the room.

"What're we looking at?" Arlo asked.

Remington folded his hand and tossed it on the discard pile - he'd been losing this game anyway. "There's an old elevator back here somewhere that looks intact but needs power. If we can get Dawa higher up we can climb out of here no problem." ((Continued below cut))

Arlo nodded and looked Dawa over. "-good to see you're all right. Do you want to wait here while we go find and fix the elevator?"

"If I can. The less I walk on this ankle the better."

Arlo nodded again, then returned his attention to Remington. "Selene and I will go looking for the elevator. You should stay here just in case. Since no one even knew these ruins were here there's no telling what might be wandering around in here."

"Will do," Remington said. "We haven't heard or seen anything but I guess that doesn't mean nothing's here." He looked back to Dawa. "Where's that elevator at?"

Dawa dropped his hand into the discard pile too and brushed his palm off on his shirt before pointing toward the back of the room. "You see that door back there to the left of that counter-looking thing? Through there is another hallway - not as long as the one you just came through but it leads right up to the other elevator."

"Got it. Let's get moving," Arlo said, gently nudging Selene with his elbow to get her attention.

She jumped a bit at that but nodded all the same and followed Arlo off toward the rear of the room.

Once they were almost out of range of the lantern's light Remington scooped up the cards and began to shuffle. "And now I can blame any losses on paying less attention to the cards and more attention to what might be out there waiting to jump on us."

Dawa snorted. "Like I'd believe that. Deal."

--------------------------------------

They'd found the elevator easily and had managed to yank a neighboring wall panel free to give themselves access to the wiring within; Arlo stood guard with a flashlight in hand while Selene examined the inner workings of this section of wall.

"Think you can fix it?"

"Looks like it's just a burnt out fuse and some melted wires...shouldn't be too hard to fix," Selene mused. "There should be a roll of wire and a ruler in the box you carried down, and the snips too. Start cutting me ten strips of wire about fourteen inches each, please."

Without giving him another look the builder woman began to dig through her second toolbox until she found a pair of pliers and what looked like an awl; whatever she intended to do with them Arlo wasn't sure but rather than watch her work he turned to the task she'd given him and carefully measured out and cut the wires she'd asked for, only looking up briefly at the sound of a very tiny amount of glass breaking -- it seemed she'd used the pliers and awl to pop the ruined fuse out of place and the force of it breaking loose had sent the tiny component bouncing across the floor to shatter against the opposite wall of the hallway. Selene did little more than shrug at that before pulling out fuses of various sizes from the toolbox and comparing them to the socket the burnt fuse had just been pried out of.

Once he'd gotten the wires cut he left them piled within Selene's reach and then waited there, squatting on his heels and listening; he swore he could hear something thrumming - it was a deep sound, and far away, but unmistakable if he sat and made no noise.

"-do you hear that?" he asked into the silence after several minutes of listening.

"The hum? Yeah. This place has power. I just have no idea where it is and what it's running to - can't tell from here."

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

"A bit of both. That this place is still powered somewhere SHOULD mean I can reroute power from whatever the source is to wherever we might need it - that's the good thing. The bad thing is I would need to find a place to tap in AND we also don't know what's being powered - if it's a security measure we might have trouble on our hands." She paused as she leaned into the wall and went up to her elbows in wires and pipes; when she came back out she had what looked like a battered and worn cloth toy in her hand but then she dropped it to the floor and Arlo could see it was actually an old, dead rat of some kind with blackened fur around what remained of its face. "--well this explains the shorted wires, poor thing. Its final mistake was biting something it had no business biting."

Arlo grunted in response - not really a lot he could say to that - and peered around them; he'd been on guard since they'd left Remington and Dawa behind but aside from the distant hum he'd not heard anything in this area.

'Wonder what this place was for, to be buried so far underground,' he thought to himself. It seemed rather bare bones for a ruin - the walls were a faded out blue, the carpet (what was left of it) had been brown. There were light fixtures shaped like bowls spaced evenly along the walls just below the ceiling, mirroring one another across the hallway, and the ceiling tiles above them he guessed had once been white and looked to be bolted in place much like the wall paneling was. It gave off more of a warehouse vibe than anything he could picture people inhabiting or working inside.

His attention was drawn back to Selene as she prodded him with the toe of her boot; when he looked to her she reached out to take the flashlight and sat it on top of one of the toolboxes, aimed in at the open panel on the wall. "-keep looking anywhere but at me until I say otherwise, all right? I've only got one pair of these."

The 'these' she was referring to was a pair of goggles with thick, black lenses, and in her other hand she had a small flame torch - currently unlit but he knew both were welding tools and that he shouldn't be looking at that directly. He shifted to put his back to her and soon the hallway was flickering as she began replacing the bad wires with the bits he'd cut; the flickering light made the hallway a bit spooky as the shadows stretched and "moved" in strange ways, and Arlo hoped nothing would choose this instant to jump out at them since he didn't think he'd trust his own vision at first.

"There we go..." he heard Selene mutter; he stayed facing away until he got a tap on the shoulder then turned as she began connecting plugs to the device she'd carried along in that duffel bag. Finally, with a faint whine and a whirring noise, the elevator's button panel came on -- it wasn't exactly impressive looking with its single button but the fact that it had lit up at all was heartening.

"All right. Now we get to see if the elevator can move." Selene dropped the goggles back into her bag and pushed the button. There was a quiet ding and the doors slid open, with a grinding noise sounding out at the last few inches before the doors slid into the wall and revealed the dimly lit car interior.

Selene carefully poked her head inside and looked to each side and even up at the ceiling, then pulled back to frown at Arlo. "-this only has buttons for floors below us, nothing above."

Arlo sighed, pushing himself to his feet. "I doubt there'd be only one elevator that goes up for a place this large. Maybe we can go down and find another one that links to the upper floors."

"As good a plan as any. It does sound like the humming is coming from below us so at the very least maybe we'll find that power source and can use that instead of having to wire and pray."

Selene carefully moved the duffel bag against the wall (the device powering the elevator was still tucked inside it) then picked up her toolbox and the flashlight, with Arlo picking up the other toolbox; they both stepped inside and Selene pushed the button for the next floor down.

The elevator groaned a bit then began to go down (slowly, as it was supposed to -- good to know they wouldn't be taking a fall of their own). "If we can't find another way up I can always run back to my shop and figure out a way to attach one of my spare motors to a pulley system -- actually, that'd probably be the easiest part. Harder part would be figuring out how to anchor it up at the top of the sinkhole."

"Let's see what we find first."

The elevator came to a surprisingly smooth stop and with a ding the doors slid open...to reveal that the outer doors on the floor's landing itself hadn't.

Selene huffed. "All right - guess that means this floor isn't powered."

Arlo let out a chuckle and tried to wedge his fingers into the gap between the doors; the door was rusted and didn't seem inclined to budge, and even with Selene shoving the claw end of a hammer into the space to try and help pry it open they couldn't manage it. Finally, with a shrug, they gave up and pressed the button for the next floor.

Again with a ding the doors slid open at the destination floor and to their surprise the outer doors did as well -- there were dim red emergency lights on in this hallway and Selene grinned at the sight of them.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Let's-"

Arlo held out a hand to stop her from leaving the elevator, and wordlessly pointed ahead of them.

This hallway was identical to the one they'd come from but ahead he could see one of the nearest doors was open, and sticking out of it laying on the floor was what looked like a skeletal hand.

Selene wrinkled her nose. "...at least it doesn't look recent?"

"Not promising. Stay close."

Arlo stepped from the elevator and carefully walked down the hall, keeping to the middle of the hallway and scanning ahead of them for any signs of trouble; when he got to the door with the hand he bent down and could barely make out an entire skeleton wrapped in ragged clothing attached to the hand on the other side of the door -- it looked like the person had collapsed and their arm had kept the door from sliding shut. After a moment he carefully shoved the door back into the wall and took the flashlight from Selene, shining it into the room.

This looked to be a dormitory room of some kind; he could see a bunk bed, a desk and chair, a computer terminal, and a small kitchen area attached to a larger sitting area off to his right. On the back wall was a door marked with a symbol he assumed meant bathroom and there were shelves and what looked like a closet door visible as well. Everything was coated in thick dust and along with books and things on the shelves there were small items here and there - coffee mugs, pens, some plates near the sink, the remnants of a jacket tossed over the back of the chair, a pair of shoes near the bunk...all small details confirming that this place had indeed been lived in by actual people.

There weren't any other skeletons inside, at least.

"Let's have a look down the hall but be careful - we don't know what killed this person."

They continued on; the hallway eventually dead-ended, and not at another elevator. None of the other doors were open and despite the red lights indicating some kind of power was running through this area they still couldn't get any of the doors to open (not that they could see how - there weren't any handles or panels on the outside that they could find).

"Maybe the next floor?"

"Guess we'll see."

They headed back to the elevator and went down to the next floor, and both Arlo and Selene gasped as the doors opened to reveal another red-lit hallway almost identical to the others save for the sheer number of skeletal remains scattered up and down its length.

"What in the world..."

Arlo took a few steps out onto the landing and shined his flashlight ahead. A few of the skeletons nearby looked to be wearing the remnants of some kind of body armor, and laying near at hand were long objects that vaguely resembled the rifle Selene had once shown him. There were a few other armored and armed skeletons further down the hall but the plainsclothed skeletons outnumbered them three to one. Their clothing, as it had rotted away, hadn't done much in the way of keeping the skeletons intact so most of them where just heaps of bones piled here and there, but several looked to have fallen in a way to suggest that these people had once been running both away from and toward the armed skeletons.

Selene moved past him and bent down near a pile of bones that must have, at one point, been two separate people; she carefully reached down and picked up a shattered skull -- there was a large and jagged hole through the temple area and the eye socket on that side had crumbled away.

"...what happened down here?"

"Something awful," Arlo replied, voice low. "Some kind of fight. The civilian-looking ones I can understand being dead - they look like they got gunned down. But I don't understand why there's the armed ones still here too...I don't see any weapons aside from the rifles."

Selene stood turned over one of the nearby helmets with her foot; there weren't any bullet holes or similar damage to it, and the matching armor also looked relatively intact aside from the ravages of time. "They don't look like they took any return fire, and it doesn't seem like they were here to protect everyone else from something."

"Let's...keep moving. It doesn't look like we'll find anything here." Arlo spun on a heel and returned to the elevator, waiting until Selene joined him before slapping the button for the next floor.

The next hallway was similar to the one they'd just left, just with fewer bodies in it. They didn't even bother leaving the elevator for that one and moved on to the final floor available from the elevator's panel.

When the doors opened they were shocked to find the area was fully lit -- harsh white lights glared overhead and the faint humming they'd heard up above was much louder down here. This floor's elevator doors opened to reveal a sort of sitting area; there were armchairs and a few small tables all falling apart with age, and several large pots that must have held plants at some point. The far wall looked to be made of frosted glass with a set of double doors (with handles, for once) in its middle; Selene walked to the glass and scrubbed a hand across it -- a faint glow from the room beyond this one peeked through the caked on dust.

"This floor is fully powered, I'd wager." She inhaled and exhaled slowly, then went to tug one of the doors open. It didn't move an inch, and still didn't move when she tried to push it open instead; she wrapped hands around the right door's handle and planted a foot on the left door for leverage in an effort to force it open, huffing and struggling as she tried to pull again.

Arlo watched her for a moment or two then walked over and tugged her back; he flipped the flashlight around and smashed the butt of it into the glass and the door immediately shattered.

"...one way to do it, I guess. But also a good way to set off any security systems."

"We've only seen skeletons so far - with the firefights above us I think we'd have seen traces of AI-based security measures by now if any of them had been active back then or were still active now." He tucked the flashlight back into his belt and carefully stepped through the frame of the door, being mindful to not brush up against its jagged sides.

Immediately noticeable about this next room was the abrupt temperature change -- it was much, much colder in here compared to the rest of the facility. This room was lit brightly and was a very spacious rectangular shape but the far right corner from where they stood had collapsed inward; dirt and stone had flowed in and piled around strange glass tube structures that reached from floor to ceiling. Each had wide metal rings around their tops and neat lines of insulated wires incorporated into the floor that were arranged in almost a sunburst pattern radiating from the bases of the tubes that all met at a large, blocky computer console situated on a dais on the wall to their left.

"What are those things..." It wasn't so much a question as Selene musing out loud, having stepped in through the broken door a few breaths after Arlo. "I've never seen or even heard of anything that looks like that."

Ceiling tiles and some of the lighting fixtures had fallen and left the floor something of a minefield of debris; Arlo picked his way across the room to get a better look at the glass tube things.

They were big enough to hold a man and he could count seven visible (based on how they were evenly arranged and on the wires running out of the cave in in the corner he assumed there were more of these things buried under all that dirt), and as he circled around one he came face to face with yet another skeleton - this one was falling out of the broken back half tube. Inside the tube Arlo could see more wires, a pair of fishhook-shaped padded metal prongs, and tubing that disappeared into the metal cuff that ringed the topmost "roof" of the tube.

All of the tube structures on the outermost row - the ones closest to the cave in - had all shattered, and their inhabitants were spilled out unceremoniously into the floor.

"Arlo..."

Arlo spun at Selene's call - she'd sounded unnerved and he'd half expected to have found the security measures she'd just chided him over but instead he saw her standing near the tube nearest the computer console. That one looked entirely intact and sported wide patches of frost across its glass; unlike the hallways above this room had just one skeleton in it (that wasn't falling from the tubes, anyway) which was splayed out on the floor at the base of this intact tube, with some sort of filtering mask slipping off the grinning skull. Selene was standing with the tube between her and the skeleton, and had her hands braced against the glass and her face pressed to her fingers, peering in at...whatever was inside, which from where Arlo stood looked to be nothing more than a substance the color of pea soup.

"What's wrong?"

"I think there's a body still IN this one."

Frowning he came over to stand next to her; the tube radiated cold and he could see smears where Selene had wiped away frost and grime off the glass surface. Selene shifted out of his way and Arlo bent to peer at the clean area she'd made -- there was a shadowy shape just barely visible through the liquid, and it DID look full and vaguely human-shaped.

"Awful..." he muttered, huffing out a sigh. "We'll have to figure out what to do with all these remains once we get Dawa back to the surface. We can't just leave them here now that we know about them."

"Yeah...they should be buried. It's only proper," Selene replied, backing away from the tube and its inhabitant. "All right, let me see about this computer. Maybe I can pull an old map of this place..."

Arlo stayed near the tube as Selene headed up the few steps that led to the computer; it both bothered and baffled him to have found all these skeletons and then an actual corpse presumably preserved in a tank of...goop.

"Hey - can you go check that door over there?"

"Hmm?" was his response as he tore his attention away from the tube. "Which door?"

"See that one over there?" Selene pointed and he followed the tip of her finger to spy a door on the same wall as the cave in -- the cave in hadn't quite reached it fully so if it was unlocked they could probably get it open, and wouldn't have to move much dirt to get through it.

He headed over to the door and again found it was one of those handleless ones, the same as the ones in the hallways above. "I don't see a way to open it."

"Let me see then... I pulled up a security log that has a bunch of locks listed but I don't know what goes to which door, hang on a second."

Arlo leaned his shoulder against the wall and rubbed his hands together - this room wasn't quite so cold as it was outside but it was still chilly. Leaning as he was he could see the whole room and could watch as Selene did whatever she was doing over on that ancient console, and then finally beside him in the wall he felt a vibration and heard a click. "Hey, I think that did it--"

He was interrupted by a booming robotic voice that echoed through the room:

ACTIVE USER DETECTED. AUXILIARY POWER AT 3%. EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS INITIATED: AWAKENING SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. PLEASE SUMMON MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO SURGICAL LAB 3948A9-Z1.

The door beside him slid open unnoticed as now Arlo, in full alert mode, scanned the room. "What the heck was that? What did you do?"

Selene still stood at the console, frozen in place. "I didn't do anything! I mean I did SOMETHING but it was just unlocking the doors the system would allow me to unlock! I didn't tell it to initiate whatever it was it just said it was doing!"

There was a rumble in the ceiling followed by an incredibly loud hissing noise as all the tubes - both the broken ones and the single intact one - all began blowing air out of the top metal rings as previously unseen vents all slid open together. Barely audible over the hissing was a grinding noise as small sections of the floors slid open at the base of the tubes revealing drains -- the one intact tube began to dump the green fluid inside it, which was a lot less thick than it had seemed while it was still inside the glass, and the fluid flowed neatly down into the revealed drains.

Arlo watched with a sort of nervous fascination as the tube steadily emptied, and the more it emptied the more of the body it held was revealed.

First there was the crown of the head - its brown hair clung to the head as the fluid drained, and the person's face was barely visible through the mess of diodes, sensors, and a breathing mask secured to their face. Soon the shoulders were visible and Arlo could see how the person was hung by the armpits from the hooks; breasts and then the entire torso were revealed, all just as covered with sensors as the head, and then finally he could see legs then bare feet.

With a shrill beeping the hooks inside the tube lowered several inches to place the woman's feet on the floor inside the enclosure, then the glass began to lift up and slot into the ceiling. As the tube lifted the sensors and diodes across the body were yanked loose and left to hang in tangles; Arlo found himself moving toward the tube and its inhabitant without really realizing it, accidentally kicking a foot into the skeleton that lay there and sending bones scattering across the floor. Selene must have started moving at the same time as they both reached the tube together to catch the limp body as the parts looped under the arms suddenly gave way and dumped the woman out.

Whatever the green fluid had been had left an oily, slick residue all over the woman's skin, and even with the two of them reaching out to grab her as she fell they still only managed to keep the head from slamming into the floor.

"What the heck-"

Arlo fumbled to get his hands under the woman's armpits. "Come on, lay her down-"

"Lay her down WHERE? There's broken glass all over the place."

"Computer?"

"Maybe."

They carefully made their way over to the dais the computer console sat on, struggling to keep hold on the body that was slicker than anything they'd ever encountered.

Once they had the woman carefully laid out on the narrow bit of walkspace behind the console Arlo and Selene stared at one another wordlessly. Neither had expected to have a corpse pop out of a tube of goo today, and he absently scrubbed his hands against his thighs and tried not to think about how the fluid on his hands felt a lot like runny snot against his skin.

"-oh man. Arlo - I think she's breathing."

Selene pointed a shaky finger down at the woman; he dropped his glance but looked away just as quickly - the woman was completely nude and he couldn't bring himself to look too closely at her if there was a chance she... He sucked in a breath and dropped down to press fingers to her pulse point at the neck.

...and yes, that was a pulse. Somehow, this woman's heart was still beating.

"She's alive." He yanked his coat off and began to awkwardly wind it around the woman's upper half; a moment later Selene had hers off too and was trying to get the sleeves tied around the woman's waist.

"What do we do?"

"We need to -- first, we need to get out of here since it's cold and she's soaked. We left Dr. Xu at the top of the shaft with Sam. I say we backtrack to Dawa and Remington and get Xu down here ASAP. He can check her out, we can use those blankets to get her dry, and then we uh--" He stopped and looked around - there was that one door Selene had managed to get unlocked and open but now with an unconscious woman... "-then YOU go and get a motor and winch. No more searching for elevators."

With the pair of jackets forming a barrier between his hands and the slippery green gunk Arlo was able to pick the woman up and follow along behind Selene who in turn picked up the flashlight and tool boxes and led the way back to the elevator. It was a bit tricky to maneuver himself and the woman through the broken door, especially when the lights in the room flickered and abruptly died and momentarily left Arlo balancing awkwardly within the door's frame in total darkness while Selene fumbled for the flashlight so they could see their way back to the elevator.

'What a day this turned out to be...'

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 2 #Arlo #Sam #Remington #Dr. Xu #Dawa #Builder #My Time at Portia

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