#Cliff Shelf Trail

[taizi]

gently in the cold dark earth

scum villain's self saving system word count: 2k canon divergent / no system au; sy transmigrates into an empty npc role; gray lotus binghe loves his shixiong more than life and he's ready to make it everyone's problem

title borrowed from work song by hozier

read on ao3

x

The first thing Luo Binghe does when he escapes the Abyss is return to Cang Qiong Mountain. 

With Xin Mo secured to his back, the way could be instant if he so chose—the journey of a thousand miles reduced to a single step—but he unsheathes the elegant jian at his hip instead.

Yong Liang sings sweetly for him, the snow white blade still shining and untainted even after years of helping Luo Binghe carve his way through hell. It has never once failed him, soulbound to the one person still on this earth who has never failed him. 

“Take it,” his shixiong insisted, low and urgent. The Abyss was behind them, an even deadlier threat was ahead, and Without A Cure clogging his meridians made Luo Binghe the best choice to wield the only unshattered spirit sword they had between them. “Binghe, take it.”

He pressed until Luo Binghe’s grip curled tight around the hilt, not hesitating to put his soul in Luo Binghe’s hands even with the rosy glow of an unsealed demon mark shining on his face. 

Luo Binghe flies at a pace best described as dangerously reckless, hardly smelling the fragrant spring air or feeling the sun on his face. His robes are a disgrace, his hair a tangled, matted mess, and it occurs to him that he could stop somewhere and clean himself up, make himself presentable, but it’s a brief, fleeting thought. 

Shen Yuan would be furious to find out that Luo Binghe wasted even a single second returning to his side. 

——

He passes through the ancient wards effortlessly, feeling them fall away from him like water. It’s a simple thing to tamp down on his demonic qi, to disguise the parts of him that those so-called righteous cultivators would scorn. He ghosts through the familiar grounds as eagerly as a starving animal bolting down a fresh game trail, but one by one, all of their familiar haunts come up empty, without even a lingering trace of Shen Yuan’s spiritual energy left behind.   

The head disciple’s room is dusted and undisturbed, as if its occupant might walk through the door at any moment, but the lack of clutter and the empty book shelf makes it very clear to Luo Binghe what the truth must be.

If Shen Yuan returned to the peak after the Conference, he didn’t stay. 

All at once, images crowd the front of his mind—his shixiong grieving, pulling away, turning his back on those responsible for his heartache. 

Yue Qingyuan, always only a step behind wherever his precious Xiu Ya sword went, promised that no one wanted to hurt them. They only wanted to help.

He looked so solemn and righteous that Shen Yuan reluctantly allowed himself to be convinced. Luo Binghe, who had gone to the man for help after a bloody whipping when he was a child, only to be given a walnut cake and turned away at the door, knew better. 

He wasn’t surprised when Shen Yuan was wrenched away from him, and shizun sent him staggering off the cliff with a spiritual dagger buried to the hilt in his chest, all of it happening within a matter of seconds—but it still hurt. 

Shen Yuan’s scream followed him all the way down. 

I’m alive, Luo Binghe thinks, with no one there to tell it to. I came back to you. Let me come back to you. 

——

Including time spent in the abyss, it’s three years before they meet again. 

Luo Binghe’s revenge is his second priority at best, but he is nothing if not efficient and knows how to kill two birds with the same stone. Huan Hua affords him ample resources and opportunities to scour the world for his missing shixiong while playing the role of earnest and diligent new disciple. He snatches up each mission that comes along as though  eager to prove his worth to the sect that so graciously took him in, but he takes every excuse to wander, to search, to make conversation with vendors and innkeepers and passing strangers. 

Have you seen my heart? It lives outside of me in the form of a beautiful young man and tends to wander. Very contrary, likes to fuss over people, could argue the stripes off a lushu just for fun. You’d know it if you met it. You’d never forget. 

The days blur together, meaningless and gray, but he doesn’t stop looking. Shen Yuan still exists somewhere in this world, because otherwise Luo Binghe wouldn’t. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. 

And then, finally—an afternoon in Jinlan City, when Luo Binghe arrives in a throng of incompetent gold-clad Huan Hua disciples, to investigate a plague of all things—

He’s there. 

In dark, neutral colors and plain clothes, a traveling cloak with its hood resting down around his shoulders, as if his beauty could possibly be lessened by cheap, shapeless fabrics rather than effortlessly enhanced. His hair falls from its half-tail in glorious waves—he never did have the patience for anything elaborate, only wearing braids when one of his sticky shidimei cajoled and convinced him. Traveling alone, who could he possibly have to roll his eyes at and complain about and sit patiently still for?

A pale green ribbon is all that decorates his hair. Luo Binghe recognizes it instantly. 

“You should spend your allowance on yourself, Binghe,” Shen Yuan scolded him, not for the first time and certainly not for the last. 

“But I did,” Luo Binghe protested, widening his eyes and clasping his hands earnestly, the way he knew worked best. “I wanted it! And now that I have it, I want to give it to you.”

Shen Yuan was too clever by half to be truly fooled by the innocent act, but he always folded like paper anyway. He spoiled all of his shidimei but Luo Binghe most of all. Anyone on Qing Jing Peak would be hard-pressed to think of a single example of Shen Yuan telling Luo Binghe ‘no.’ 

Sure enough, after a second spent visibly wrestling with himself, he blurted, “Oh, fine! Hand it over.” 

He wore it every day since. He’s wearing it now. The wind catches the ends of it, sending it streaming behind him like the tails of a paradise flycatcher. Lovely. 

For a brief moment, Luo Binghe is frozen where he stands, finally faced with the very thing that he’s been missing for years, that he’s been living a miserable half-life without. 

And then he remembers himself and lurches forward. His voice is a tangle in his throat but he manages to choke out, “Shixiong!”

A strike of lightning couldn’t have jolted Shen Yuan into more perfect stillness. He stops mid-step, every inch of him as good as carved from precious jade. He doesn’t turn his head, and the sliver of his face visible from where Luo Binghe stands is very pale. 

Luo Binghe wonders suddenly if this has happened to him before—if Shen Yuan has heard a voice on the road or in the market that was almost familiar, that was almost the one he was hoping for, only to be disappointed when he turned to follow it and found a stranger. 

Luo Binghe shortens the distance between them with a few anxious steps and tries again. 

“Shixiong.”

The older boy whirls around abruptly, as if to get it over with. He’s bracing himself, but Luo Binghe barely has a second to absorb Shen Yuan’s painful-looking anticipation before it bleeds out of his face in favor of something else entirely. 

He looks like the earth has fallen out from beneath his feet, like he hardly dares to believe his eyes. Zheng Yang gleams golden at Shen Yuan’s hip, reforged and whole again.

“Binghe?”  

“It’s me,” Luo Binghe says softly. 

There’s a tableau he’s afraid to break, as if they’re in a delicate dreamscape and a move too sudden or loud might dissolve it. He wants to say I’ve missed you the way lungs miss air, immediately and needfully, I haven’t breathed at all since we’ve been apart. He wants to say you’re my light in the dark, I can only stand in front of you now because I love you too much to ever truly leave you. 

Instead, he tells his dearest friend, “This one made you wait. But your Binghe is here.”

Shen Yuan sprints the rest of the way to meet him, almost before he’s even finished talking, and they collide in a solid embrace that knocks the air from them both. 

His arms wind around Luo Binghe’s waist like steel bands, fingers digging into the back of his robes, precious face pressed into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Luo Binghe doesn’t hesitate to gather him up close, holding him as tightly and securely as he knows how, burying his nose in his shixiong’s hair and breathing in the familiar, beloved smell of him.  

Shen Yuan is a few inches shorter than he remembers. All the better to tuck him beneath Luo Binghe’s chin, to cover and surround him so completely that not even the heavens above can get a decent eyeful. 

He wants to grab and bite and pin Shen Yuan beneath him and never let go. His jaw aches with wanting it. 

“I’ve been looking for you,” Luo Binghe says, eyes wet. “I went home first.” Unsaid goes the obvious but you weren’t there. 

“How could I stay?” Shen Yuan bites out, managing to sound all at once strangled and bewildered and—charmingly—offended. He shakes his head without lifting it, an aggressive nuzzle against Binghe’s shoulder. “After what they did to you, I’d rather die than represent their stupid sect another minute.”

“Step away from it, Shen Yuan,” shizun said coldly. “I’ll put that beast back where it belongs.”

“No,” shixiong said in a voice that was smaller than usual, one that shook. He was frightened, clearly overwhelmed, but he didn’t budge from where he was plastered in front of Luo Binghe like a breathing shield. 

“Now.” 

“No, shizun.”

“Shizhi,” Yue Qingyuan said gently, offering his hand. “Come here. It will be alright.”

Shen Yuan said, “No. You can’t hurt Binghe. He’s not bad just because of who his parents are. He’s as good as he was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. He’s hardworking and loyal and a sweetheart to anybody who gives him half a chance. He’s so good.”

Liu Qingge was behind the sect leader, sword drawn. Shen Qingqiu was quickly losing what little patience he had, face twisted into a sneer, dark eyes stabbing hatefully at Luo Binghe from over his head disciple’s shoulder. There were more figures rapidly drawing closer, the other peak lords following the flare of Yue Qingyuan’s qi. The standoff was becoming more and more untenable, and Shen Yuan was too smart not to see that, shrinking back against Luo Binghe as much as he could without crowding him closer to the edge. 

“You can’t hurt him,” he said again, the closest Luo Binghe had ever heard him come to tears, “he’s my shidi.”

Luo Binghe is unsurprised by his shixiong’s loyalty, because it’s already been proven to him over and over. It’s unremarkable at this point, which is an absolutely remarkable thing in itself. It makes him feel warm with gratitude and affection and ownership. 

Shen Yuan is clever and quick on his feet and always three steps ahead, more knowledgeable about flora and fauna than anyone else Binghe has ever known combined, and probably a force to be reckoned with as a rogue cultivator, where the only rules of conduct he has to adhere to are his own. 

But Luo Binghe hates to think of him on the road alone, without the little martial siblings who follow him like ducklings, without his Binghe there to make sure he remembers to eat all his meals and comb out his hair before bed. He’s a creature of comfort, made for airy rooms with too many cushions and an abundance of sweets and books to read. 

Luo Binghe has fantasized more than once about building a home for Shen Yuan to lounge prettily in. It was, in fact, his favorite flavor of daydream since he was about thirteen. 

If Shen Yuan wants to rogue cultivate, then that’s what they’ll do. But Luo Binghe thinks, if he constructs a palace that’s as comfortable as it is grand, and fills it with trashy romance novels and obscure beasts and his own hand-made meals, he can convince his friend to live in it with him.

Shen Yuan needs to be taken care of. Luo Binghe needs to be the one taking care of him. They’re together now and they’ll never be apart again and those needs can both be met. 

That possessive, proprietary feeling coils dark and deep inside him, undulating lazily like a serpent who’s fed enough for days, reminding him over and over what he already knows:

Mine. 

#scum villian self saving system #svsss #bingyuan #bingqiu #luo binghe #shen yuan #my writing #svsss fic #sy transmigrates into a blank role in a world where his favorite character exists #and he's supposed to - what ? NOT fulfill his personal fantasy of being lbh's best friend ?? ok 🙄 #naturally binghe has been obsessed since the moment this pretty boy first smiled at him #bingbing i love you you deserve a good shixiong / future wife and i'm here to deliver #ALSO sy's sword name is (yǒng) meaning perpetual ; eternal ; forever #and 亮 (liàng) meaning bright ; clear ; to show ; to shine #in my mind's eye zheng yang is golden so yong liang's silvery white is the perfect compliment #YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THE SUN & MOON SHIP DYNAMIC 🫵 #heaven and hell were words to me

[lunememes]

🌙 * ― 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒 ( a collection of various settings for drabbles or prompts, or both! )

001. a tattoo parlour, buzzing with machinery and walls lined with artwork . 002. a shopping mall, crowded and loud . 003. a cabin in the mountains, taking shelter from the snow storm. 004. an abandoned tea party, occupied with broken dolls . 005. the shooting range, empty casings clinking on the floor and sulphur in the air . 006. a music room, filled with melodies of an instrument . 007. an empty auto shop, hood of a car left open and quiet music coming through speakers . 008. a bright arcade, coins falling from machines and claws grabbing at soft toys . 009. the kennels, filled with barking dogs and excited companions . 010. a restaurant, where everyone is eerily quiet and staff are overly friendly . 011. a riding arena, with trained riders atop proud horses . 012. a mini golf course, sails of a windmill obscuring the path ahead . 013. a zoo, filled with an array of unique animals . 014. the docks of a bay, boats lining the decks . 015. a pond with ducks, seeking food . 016. a museum, displaying ancient bones and pottery of a history long ago . 017. a closed down prison, ghosts of violent history echoing in empty cells . 018. a quiet train station, lights overhead flickering and announcement board displaying errors . 019. the vast desert, scorching heat baring down at high noon . 020. the dark woods, filled with strange hanging symbols made of sticks . 021. a deep hole in the ground, covered by leaves and sticks . 022. a wishing fountain, base lined with copper coins of past wishes . 023. an abandoned picnic in an empty field, flask still warm with coffee . 024. a barn filled with hay and tools, old wood creaking in the wind . 025. a graveyard in the dead of night, wind howling through the trees . 026. a crumbling bridge above a raging river . 027. the refreshing waters of a lake, away from prying eyes . 028. the crossroads, in the middle of nowhere . 029. a cosy bonfire at summer camp, marshmallows roasting on the fire . 030. the top of a radio tower, with the perfect view of the surrounding area . 031. a lone phone box on a street corner . 032. a large elaborate temple dedicated to a deity, offerings still intact . 033. a drive-in movie theatre, cars empty and projector casting only light onto the screen . 034. a strange trail of breadcrumbs on a woodland path . 035. a haunted mansion, ancient paintings watching every footstep . 036. a decrepit mine located out in the hills, believed by locals to have a powerful curse cast upon it . 037. the edge of a cliff, overlooking the rough waves and distant sounds of approaching danger . 038. a road trip across country, music blaring through speakers . 039. a flower shop, filled with bouquets and a sweet aroma . 040. an airport in the early hours of the morning, deprived of sleep . 041. a train on its way to its destination, a sleeping passenger resting on a shoulder . 042. an abandoned shack filled with strange books of the occult and something mysterious bubbling on the stove . 043. an empty throne room, moonlight glimmering through tall windows . 044. an underwater tunnel in an aquarium, fish swimming overhead and sharks looming in the distance . 045. deep within unmarked cave located in the side of a mountain, lit only by a flare . 046. the dusty streets of a western town, watched by wary residents . 047. the back of a vast library, surrounded by books, when a black book falls from the highest shelf . 048. a room of an asylum, an abandoned camcorder left in the middle of the room . 049. the shores of an unknown beach, washed up from the ocean . 050. the deck of an unsteady ship, waves crashing against the haul and rain lashing down from dark clouds .

#setting prompts #rp meme #drabble prompts #rp memes #rp prompts #setting meme

[ladykailitha]

The Promise

Just a little sweetness to break up the absolute angst fest I’ve been working on. I’ve have cried so many times writing the next few parts, my little romantic heart needed a break.

So I jumped on the “they met as children” bandwagon.

Or you can read it here on AO3

*

Eddie wandered around Steve’s bedroom as Steve went to answer the phone. He wasn’t surprised to see that the room held little personality. Not because Steve was a blank slate by any means. No, it was more that judging from what Eddie knew about Steve’s parents and the way they forced conformity on him.

So the book shelf was a bit of a surprise. Four neat little shelves crammed with books.

Steve opened the door and asked, “Hey, what are you doing?”

Eddie looked up from the bookshelf feeling caught out. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snoop. It’s just everyone says you don’t read, so the bookshelf was a bit of a surprise.”

Steve scoffed. “They only say that because I don’t read fantasy or science fiction. I read other stuff.”

“What’s wrong with either of those two genres?” Eddie asked, moving away from the shelf to sit on Steve’s bed.

Steve shrugged. “I guess I never found the right kind of fantasy, especially since you told me that there are so many sub-genres. I guess I got overwhelmed.”

Eddie nodded. Not every fantasy book was for every person. He would have to go through his books and find a nice variety for Steve and figure out what he liked.

“And what about science fiction?” he asked.

Steve wrinkled his nose. “I hate it. And I’ve read all of the supposed greats, too. Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury. They all spend so much time on the science that they don’t get to the fiction. And it hurts my head.”

Eddie sighed and cocked his head. He couldn’t fault that. “So what do you like?” Steve cocked an eyebrow at him and he laughed. “I didn’t get to read any of the titles before you came back.”

Steve still eyed him skeptically but came over to sit on the bed next to him. “I like biographies. Mainly sports but a couple historical figures too. Winston Churchill was interesting. Diary of Anne Frank. But mostly I like mysteries.”

“Mysteries? Really?” Eddie said lightly. “Will wonders never cease. So who’s your favorites?”

“I like Agatha Christie, of course, Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes...” he trailed off. “The classics, I guess.”

“Nothing wrong with the classics,” Eddie said. “What’s your favorite Holmes story?”

Steve hummed. “I would say ‘The Adventure of the Silver Blaze’.”

Eddie frowned. “I don’t think I’ve heard of the that one.”

“It’s where a horse goes missing right before an important race and the trainer is found dead,” Steve explained, starting to talk excitedly for the first time since he caught Eddie going through his bookshelf.

“Whoa!” Eddie teased but Steve laughed. “Why do you like it so much?”

Steve blushed. “It’s one of the few times that Dr Watson finds an important clue.”

Eddie lit up with interest. “Yeah? What was the clue?”

“That the horse tracks start coming back about half way through.”

“And Holmes was so focused on seeing the clues in front of him that he forgot to look to the side?” Eddie guessed.

Steve nodded. “It’s really cool.”

“Now here’s the really important question...” Eddie said, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees. “Poirot or Marple?”

Steve who had leaned forward before Eddie asked the question, threw his head back and laughed.

“Poirot hands down!”

Eddie put his hands over his heart. “No! Say it isn’t so!”

“Afraid so,” Steve said with a grin. He leaned over the bed to pull out his favorite book. “Elephants Can Remember.”

“It’s about a girl who’s future mother-in-law wants to find out if insanity runs in the girl’s family because when she was a little girl her father was with her mother both found dead on the top of the cliff near their home. Was it a double murder? Murder/suicide? And if so, who was the one that killed them both, the mother or the father?”

“So this old bat comes to Poirot to find out?”

Steve nodded. “It’s really good.”

“Huh,” Eddie said. “That does sound interesting.” He began leafing through the pages when a piece of paper fell out. “What’s this?

Steve shrugged. “Just a piece of paper I use as a bookmark sometimes.”

Eddie eyed suspiciously. Steve was far too causal about this little piece of paper.

He turned it over. There was a circle around a heart and a little note that said, “This is the best ring I can do right now, Love E”

“What’s this?” Eddie asked, his breath catching in his throat.

Steve blushed. “The first person I ever kissed.”

“Eleanor Jackson gave you this?” Eddie asked. He had heard the story of course. Everyone had. How when Steve was ten Eleanor declared him to be her husband and would kiss him every day on the playground. Everyone thought it was cute. Personally, it made Eddie gag. Mainly because no one had asked Steve what he thought.

But Steve was shaking his head. “She was the first girl I kissed.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me, what?”

Steve looked down and began picking at a loose thread on his comforter. “I don’t even remember what his name was and since he only signed it as ‘E’ I guess I probably never will.”

Eddie looked down at the note again. “Tell me about this boy.”

Steve bit his lower lip. “When I was eight, my aunt took me out to one of the lakes to play on the beach. I don’t even remember which one. But there was this dark haired little boy making a sand castle too close to the water and would get frustrated every time a wave came up and destroyed his hard work.”

Eddie grinned. “Sounds cute. Even if he seems a little dim.”

“I asked why he didn’t simply move further up the beach,” Steve said, remembering with a fond smile. “He said that he had. Twice!”

“Oh the poor little bastard,” Eddie said, nearly doubling over with laughter.

“So I convinced him to make little soldiers instead for the waves to deliberately carry away.”

“Awww...” Eddie said. “Did he agree?”

“We made a game out of it,” Steve said. “Who could build the fastest army before the wave came back.”

Eddie was cackling now. “So who won?”

“He did by a landslide,” Steve said. “I could only manage to make three or four but he made ten!”

Eddie shoved his hair in his mouth to try and stifle the laughter. “Oh god, you are so competitive. How on earth did you handle that?”

Steve tipped his head back and sighed. “I pouted.”

“Of course you did,” Eddie said.

“It’s how I got my kiss though,” Steve said. “So I really couldn’t complain.”

Eddie tilted his head to side. “And how did that work?”

“When he saw me pouting, he kissed me,” Steve murmured. “Said that he had seen his mom do that with his dad when his dad pouted.”

“Cute!” Eddie said giggling.

“I kissed him back in retaliation,” Steve said. “He was just so sweet.”

“He really sounds like it,” Eddie said softly, looking down at the note. He crossed his legs and looked up at Steve. “When did he give you the note?”

Steve mirrored his position. “Just before him and his parents left. He told them he had forgotten something. He rushed back to me and gave me the note.”

“That’s real sweet, Stevie,” Eddie said. “So you just told everyone it was from Eleanor Jackson and kept it safe all this time.”

Steve nodded. “Everyone thought it was so sweet that she wanted to marry me, but I hated it.”

“Because you were already engaged to someone else,” Eddie teased. “Oh my what would Nancy think? You were cheating first!”

Steve protested, “Hey! It wasn’t like that!”

Eddie grinned. “I know, big boy. I’m only teasing you. You look so pretty when you blush.”

Steve pouted.

Eddie leaned over and pressed his lips to Steve’s.

Steve gasped. “Eds?” he asked, unsure.

“I learned that from my mom,” Eddie whispered as he worked a ring off his right hand. “Sorry it’s late, darlin’, but I finally got you a better ring.”

He slipped on Steve’s ring finger on his left hand.

Steve stared at the ring on his finger in awe and something softer, more dear.

“Did you know the whole time I was tell the story that it was you?” he asked, suddenly shy.

Eddie shook his head. “Not at first. I didn’t remember the sand castle or the little soldiers. Remember the kiss, though.”

Steve looked up at him through his eyelashes. “Yeah?”

“Of course I remember the first person I ever kissed, Steve,” Eddie cried. “Like you, I didn’t remember the boy’s name. I don’t think you ever said.”

Steve blushed. “Probably not,” he admitted still shy.

Eddie kissed him again and Steve melted into it. “So pretty boy: gay or bisexual?”

Steve frowned for a moment, thinking. “I want to lean more to toward bisexual because of Nancy, but the more I think about our relationship and how we are much better as friends, I start to wonder. And then there’s Robin. What straight or bisexual man suddenly stop having feelings for a girl just because she said she liked her own gender?”  

Eddie nodded. “You’ve dated women pretty exclusively, did you feel anything for any of them? A spark, a floppy feeling in your stomach?”

Steve shook his head. “The closest I ever got to that was with Nancy. I was happy with her. Maybe no sparks or fireworks or anything like that, but she made me happy. So I thought that’s what love was.”

Eddie smiled, “And now?”

“Happiness is just a start,” Steve said, pulling Eddie back for another kiss.

Eddie grinned against Steve’s lips. “Well you make me pretty happy.”

Steve looked down at the ring on his hand. “We haven’t even dated and we’re already engaged,” he said with a laugh.

Eddie moved to sit next to Steve and picked up his hand to admire the ring. “I didn’t think I would find you again. And even when I entertained those thoughts, I would come up with scenario after scenario where we hated each other because we become such different people.”

Steve blushed. “My nightmare scenarios where were I found you again only to find out you were already with someone else. Or you tell me that it was a youthful indiscretion and that didn’t mean anything.”

Eddie kissed the ring gently. “Turns out we were both wrong.”

Steve chuckled. “I’m glad we met when we did, Eds. Again, I mean.”

Eddie cupped Steve’s cheek with his other hand. “Why’s that, sweetheart?”

“I think our nightmares would have come true,” Steve said softly, closing his eyes and leaning into Eddie’s touch. “Only it would have been me telling you it was a youthful indiscretion so Tommy would still like me. And then we would have hated each other. And I can’t stand the thought of that. Not now. Not now that I’ve gotten to know you.”

Eddie smiled softly. “I know what you mean, baby. And I’m grateful, too.”

Steve kissed him again and let Eddie lower them on to the bed.

“You’re so beautiful,” Eddie whispered. “You were beautiful then and you’re even more so now.”

“I love you, Eds,” Steve murmured. “I think I always have.”

Eddie grinned. “Me, too,” he murmured against the skin of Steve’s neck. “Me, too.”

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #met as children #ladykailtiha writes

[sparklypinkflightsuit]

The Witching Hour: Chapter 1

Pairing: Detective!Bob Floyd x Reader

WitchAU - Based on Practical Magic

This series is a Sequel to Blessed Be and I wouldn't recommend reading alone!

Warnings: Smut, Angst, Fluff, Witchcraft, Cheating, Mentions of Death, Alcohol, I think that's it?

___________________

“Hi, I know this is going to sound weird but… do I know you? I saw you through the window, and couldn’t shake the feeling we’ve met before. I’m… I’m Bob, Bob Floyd.” He stuck his hands in his back pockets awkwardly.

You smiled at him, “I don’t think we have, I’m (Y/N) but you can call me Bree, like-“

“Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” He nodded, chuckling. “Yeah, I feel like I knew that already.”

You were taken aback by how the handsome man who stood in front of you already knew the reason behind your nickname.

Had someone on the island already spoken to him and pointed him towards your store?

You chuckled nervously, something about this Bob made you unable to stand still.

“Are… are you after anything in particular?” You asked politely, growing red under his piercing blue gaze.

He cleared his throat and walked over to the shelf you stood in front of.

“Oh uhm… I’m not sure exactly, what would you recommend?” He grinned his crooked grin and he stood next to you

The heat that radiated off of him tingled your skin, and you glanced up at him for a moment. Your mom and Carla had noticed the energy shift and had slunk back into the storage room awkwardly.

“Well our customers seem to really like this, it’s an aphrodisiac. You put some in your drink and whoever you’re… you know…” you trailed off awkwardly. You’d never had an issue selling your products before, but this man was making you sweat. You tugged at your collar in a futile attempt to breathe.

“You okay?” Bob noticed, turning to face you. You were so close to him you could smell his cologne, citrusy and oaky, and you could see the small smattering of freckles across his tanned face.

Before you could answer, the door flew open and the bell jingled violently. In stepped a tall, very dark haired, unfairly beautiful woman, clearly impatient.

“Bobby can you hurry up please? It’s hot in the car and you said you’d only be a second.” She whined, fanning herself down as she glanced around your small store with a look of disdain, her eyes finally landing on you.

“Yeah, sorry.” Bob mumbled, “It was nice to meet you Bree. I’ll come back another time when I have longer to browse.” He said lowly to you, shooting you a sweet smile before he left the store reluctantly with the woman.

You were left breathless in his aftermath, he felt so familiar yet you couldn’t place it. He was clearly not from the island, you’d recognise him if he were, but had he perhaps been here before? You weren’t sure.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur, and at the end of it you and your mom left and said goodbye to Carla as she locked up.

Instead of driving home, your mom drove towards the harbour.

“Where are we going?” You laughed, but you knew full well.

“I'm not in the mood to cook tonight, thought we could eat at Jo’s Fishery for a change.” She murmured as she drove.

But it wasn't a rare occurrence, you ate out more than you ate in.

You shrugged, you’d never turn down an opportunity to eat out, especially if your mom was paying.

You walked into Jo’s Fishery, a quaint harbourside restaurant that overlooked the waters edge, a beautiful view of the big cliffs, a small winding path leading from the far end of the shore up around the cliffside, to a little ledge you loved to frequent.

The waitress sat you down at your favourite table.

“Thanks Marjory.” You mom sighed as she climbed into the booth.

You both browsed the menu for a while.

“Ohh, they have a new seafood pasta.” You hummed, “I think I’ll go for that, what do you think?” You asked absentmindedly as you skimmed through the other options.

Your iced tea arrived and Marjorie lingered over the table for a moment.

“Honey do you know that man?” She asked suddenly.

Your head shot up and you turned to face the direction she was looking, “He hasn’t stopped making googly eyes at you since you walked in.” Her hands now on her hips as she looked over at him disapprovingly.

“Oh!” You said in surprise, a small curious smile forming on your lips, “That’s Bob. We met earlier, he’s nice, I wouldn’t give him a hard time Marj.” you nodded. Bob blushed and grinned at you across the room, he sat alone.

You waved at him and shot him a friendly smile back, just as the woman he was with in the store came out of the bathroom. You quickly turned back to the table awkwardly.

You ordered your meals and as soon as Marjorie left, your mother gave you a disapproving look.

“What?” You asked cautiously, your face growing hot.

“You better not get involved with a taken man, Bree, you know that’ll only end in disaster.” She warned.

“I’m not. We spoke once, mom. It’s no big deal.”

“That’s not what it looked like in the store.”

You sighed, “Just leave it please? Im not gonna do anything. He’s probably gonna be gone in a few days anyway.”

You were suddenly filled with inexplicable dread, you didn’t want him to leave.

You shook the thought away and changed the subject quickly. You spoke about your sisters and their travels while you waited for your food, and you planned on visiting the aunts in France as you ate, the entire time a burning sensation on the back on your neck alongside goosebumps were prevalent.

By the time you paid and got up to leave, Bob had gone.

Your mother drove up the long winding road to your big white house on the cliffs edge, the drive silent as your mind drifted elsewhere.

“Bree?” You were suddenly pulled from your daydream, your mother already having climbed out of the car, waiting for you.

“Sorry, was miles away.” You mumbled, climbing out of the vehicle.

“Are you okay honey? You seem a little off.”

“I’m fine, probably feeling a little sluggish from all the pasta.” You lied. “I’m gonna go and have a shower and then hit the hay, love you.”

You hugged your mom and bolted up the stairs, eager to get away from her suspicious eyes. Your mom always knew when you were lying, only this time you had no idea why you were.

You turned on the shower and stood under the hot stream of water, hoping the heat would wash away your still lingering goosebumps. It didn’t do much good other than giving you a moment to breathe and think. This morning you’d woken up feeling totally normal, just another day, and then your world was spun on its axis the moment Bob Floyd walked through the door.

You thought about his crooked smile and the bluest eyes you’d ever seen, how his eyes crinkled when he laughed and how your heart thudded painfully hard against your chest every time you thought about him.

You were convinced you were coming down with something, this wasn’t normal.

Climbing out of the shower, now red hot with steam billowing off of your skin, goosebumps still somehow there, you walked to the bedroom window with your towel wrapped around you and threw open your big window. The cool air a welcomed feeling as you breathed in the crisp saltiness of the crashing waves at the bottom of the cliff below.

You sighed as you sat on the windowsill and stared out at the moonlight reflecting against the sea below, warping and changing its bright face against the inky water.

Something was pulling you, begging you to get dressed and go down to your favourite ledge, the one your dad would always take you to as a kid, the best picnic spot, but you shook the feeling away as best as you could, closing the window and climbing into your favourite oversized t-shirt and pyjama shorts.

You hadn’t been in bed long before the urge to walk out of the house, down the long winding road into town, and around the cliffside to your to the ledge was gnawing at you so badly that you had no choice but to slip on your sneakers and quietly patter down the stairs.

You opened the front door slowly, stopping every time it uttered a horrible squeak. Your mother would surely think you were a nutcase if she caught you and you weren’t in the mood to explain why you were dashing out in the middle of the night in your pyjamas. You muttered a quick silencing spell which muffled the squeak, and slid out the door as quietly as you could. As soon as you had reached the end of the drive your legs inadvertently sped up until you were jogging towards town.

You loved how beautifully lit up the town looked at night, little windows illuminated by soft lights, people just getting on with their lives, completely unfocused on the gripes of the outside world, it felt peaceful.

You jogged and jogged until you reached the harbour, the narrow winding path coming into view under the street lamp lights along the docks.

You slowed to a walk and panted as you fought to get the oxygen back to your starved lungs. You climbed the winding path and the pull became ever stronger the closer you got to your ledge.

It was dark now that the lamplight disappeared behind you, nothing but the moon guiding your feet along the narrow path, but you weren’t phased, you just needed to get there.

Your goosebumps grew stronger, annoyingly so, and you rubbed at your bare arms in a desperate attempt to subdue them. When you reached the ledge, you suddenly felt disappointed.

It was empty.

You walked over to the small clearing and sat down, your legs thanking you. As you stared out over the water, still trying to steady your breathing, you thought about your dad and what he'd say about all of this.

"Take a chance Pumpkin, I did and it was the best decision I ever made." his voice bounced around in your head. You missed him so much, especially at times like this.

You loved your mom, but given what she'd been through, she could be a little quick to offer her opinion, and you couldn't help but think she'd judge you if she could read your mind. Your dad on the other hand had been the one you could tell anything to, he was your best friend.

"I could really use one of our chats right about now, dad." You whispered out to the sea.

"Bree?" a voice called out from the dark, and for a split second you thought somehow your dad was communicating with you from beyond the grave.

You turned to face the direction the voice had come from, and in the dim moonlight you saw a familiar face, but it wasn't your dads.

"Bob?"

_________________________

-- Chapter 2 Here --

I will be taking slightly longer writing chapters for this series as life has become a smidge busy, but I promise to still be as regular as possible <3

I don't have a Taglist for this series but will be updating my Masterlist as I go!

#bob floyd #lewis pullman fanfic #lewis pullman x reader #lewis pullman #robert bob floyd x reader #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd fic #robert bob floyd #bob floyd fanfiction #bob floyd imagine #bob floyd x you #top gun bob #robert floyd x you #robert floyd x reader #robert floyd #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfiction #practical magic #magic

[pffbts]

↬genre: romance; angst; slice of life; minimal smut.

↬characters: jeon wonwoo x reader | mentions: mingyu, joshua & jeonghan.

↬w.c: 9.8K (pls throw me off a cliff)

↬author`s note: i know i still have some of the boys left but hands down this is literally my favourite one from the series. it`s also the longest one out of the series because i almost fell in love with wonwoo while writing this (not me lying by saying almost). he`s not my bias but i like him a lot personality-wise. we also have a lot of similar traits so that might be it. okay okay time to stop rambling & now wish you a very happy reading!

↬synopsis: there are 13 boys who lives in your town where each of them have each of their own colours. some you know in person & some from afar so one day you sat down deciding to describe each of their colours absorbing all of their goodness and all of their flaws. you wondered what if someone in some other town ever thought of questioning when they looked at these boys, that―what if we lived in the same town?

☍ seungcheol | jeonghan | joshua | junhui | soonyoung | wonwoo | jihoon | seokmin | mingyu | minghao | seungkwan | vernon | chan

[05:04 PM] [she told him, the sun has kissed you enough, now it`s my turn]

―that day as you waited for wonwoo`s arrival, your eyes lingered longer than you expected at the parallelogram-shaped sunlight that had passed through the window and had fallen upon the mahogany floorboard.

inside the library, in that place that you were yet not so familiar with although left you a bit restless from inside, the lack of blinking pricked your eyes. somehow the fallen sunrays had a hypnotizing effect on you just like a person you know. might be just a mystery of its own, you assumed.

“_______?” out of nowhere, you heard a small deep voice utter your name that simultaneously snapped you out of your daze.

lifting your head up at the familiar sound, you found wonwoo peeking, those feline-like eyes softly set on you, from the huge shelf stacked with books published and breathing longer than both of yours existence.

but before your eyes could adjust their focus on the elephant in the room, your mood instantly shifted to a different spectrum as you found yourself in your expected person`s presence. it was as if with his arrival wonwoo brought in with himself a glass of some magical potion whose key ingredients were happiness, comfort and a sense of protection for you to drink and relief yourself from your internal restlessness.

“oh?” your own voice came out in a much higher octave than you yourself expected as you raised your brows on reflex when you finally discovered what you were supposed to discover much before than this, “you really did it!?”

wonwoo, whose tall figure was previously almost hidden behind the much taller shelf came out with a coy smile hanging from the corner of his lips and without meeting your eyes, at your surprised question, he ducked his head down to scratch the behind of his head and then drown in a river of shyness.

“i don`t know what came upon me last night…” you heard him trailing off, “bought the dye from the store while coming back from your place….and just got done with the business by the time it was two in the morning,”

“so you did it on a whim? just because i suggested it?” even if someone was not looking at you, they could still be a hundred percent sure that you were beaming from cheek to cheek. it was visibly evident in your voice.

“i guess that`s one way to put it. you handed the suggestion and i took it.” your friend lifted his eyes and with all his teeth and nose scrunch went, “heh.”

when wonwoo did his ‘heh’ while finally meeting your eyes, something instantly melted inside your chest. although you had a thousand years old shock reflected on your face, you gave him an impressed smile.

“you look,” raising your hands mid-air accompanied by slow blinks of your eyes, you tried to convey your words with all kind of gestures, “absolutely…stunning.”

“ehhh, you think so?”

“of course! what else can i even think of otherwise?” you whisper-yelled at him, attempting to convince him how significantly wondrous he looked in that pale yet brightly white-dyed hair colour.

“thank you, thank you. you`re too kind to me, _______,”

you pfft-ed at him, stopping yourself from getting yourself ahead with anymore compliments thrown at him lest they make wonwoo more flustered than he already was but you were absolutely sure if this interaction had had happened outside this library where silence forever finds its home, you would`ve definitely squealed at the sudden outlook change of your college buddy.

“by the way, what were you looking at on the floor? was it a bug?” wonwoo asked as he turned his head around for a quick glance on the sunlit floorboard.

“wait, so you didn`t greet me right away?” brows furrowed in suspicion, you asked away.

“no, i was watching you through the top gap between the books and the shelf,” he shook his head mischievously, his chin held high.

rolling your eyes, you denied that actually it was not a bug rather you were just captivated by the perfectly shaped sunray. also, what`s with wonwoo and his hobby to watch you when you`re not looking at him and most often when you`re in a trace? he`s been like this since you both have been closely acquainted and you still had no idea why he does it. did he do this just to tease you? or did he know more about things that you were then yet to figure out?

nevertheless as the shyness shredded one layer after another, wonwoo slowly walked up to you and took the textbook you issued last week that you held against your chest. he was supposed to borrow it for the coming week so you were initially there to pass it to him.

“so um, do you want to stay back?” he then offered quite hesitantly.

now at such a close proximity, you were finally able to be more taken by how handsome your friend looked in this new hair colour that completely almost perfectly complemented with his thin-rimmed round silver glasses. therefore, it took your head a bit more time to render the question asked by him.

“huh?” you asked surprised half at his offer and half at his handsome face from your height.

“are you okay? are you still on earth, _____?” wonwoo chuckled while asking as he leaned in to inspect if there`s still any trace of daze inside your eyes.

you instantly shut them not meeting with his own right away. shaking your head, you dismissed anymore thoughts of external admiration for the person in front of you and waved your now empty hands void of the previously held book expressing that you were indeed fine although from inside you knew it was half a lie.

“good, you almost had me a bit concerned there.”

“sorry, you`re a bit distracting right now,” with a nervous laugh, you confessed.

wonwoo, who had already straightened his back didn`t say anything in reply instead he smiled and pointed at the farthest corner of the library behind you, right next to the last window of that direction.

“sit with me there?” he requested with a tilt of his head.

you nod back at him enthusiastically with a hum.

when wonwoo started walking past you and you began to tail behind him with half a meter of distance, you saw the sun following him from behind too and it made you almost close the distance and place the tip of your fingers upon his neck to feel the heat of the sun from his skin.

you witnessed the rays that mingled with the freshly dyed white hair on his head, almost kissing the nape of his neck all the while making you jealous for some unclear reason and illuminating him from the back. the dark blue jeans jacket that hugged his wide back made it almost impossible for you to look past your vision and yet even with that uncertainty lingering around you, you still walked matching his white sneakers clad steps with your black mary jane flats knowing you`re safe and sound with this person.

maybe this was exactly what wonwoo was talking about on orientation day.

almost one year and seven months ago, at the start of your first semester, specifically on the day of your orientation, you found yourself in a dilemma.

not surprised and yet not exactly disappointed at how your lack of sense of direction hadn`t improved since your school days, you stood there in the wrong hallway holding your class schedule in your right hand while the other hand had the tightest grip on the strap of your bag as the reflection of your spiking anxiety.

at the same time, your eyes followed every single student in the hallway as if somehow, according to something inside you, these people had everything figured out in this world and you were, at the end of the day, the only odd ball standing away from the crowd yet again at the sidelines.

“um, hello?”

surprised, with a sharp intake of breath that probably startled the owner of the heavy deep voice too, you turned to your left to find a boy in round silver glass who was almost a head taller than you. he was leaning over with a very evident concern in his feline-like eyes.

wow, he looks just like a cat, even in such distress that you`ve found yourself in, that was literally the first thing that came to your mind when you met with the unnamed boy`s eyes.

“you`re not lost, are you?” he asked you quite slowly as if he was speaking to a child.

he had his eyes so strongly set on you that for some reason you couldn`t steer clear of his face. it was as if he was pulling you in through an abstract formula.

“wow, your voice…”

of course, it was just you thinking out loud and when you saw his brows perk up at your breathless voice, heat gathered across your cheek and you tore your eyes away from his face.

“ah! don`t worry i get that all the time,”

the boy tried to pacify the situation quickly knowing a bit well that you were probably embarrassed to face him after stupidly confessing your honest innermost thoughts.

“sorry,” a little voice came out of your lips, “this is embarrassing but yeah, i think i`m very pathetically lost,” your voice almost sounded like a cry of help from a distance and yet there was not anything that could prepare you for the reaction from the boy you still had no idea why was even yet talking to you?

he probably thought you were an idiot. the best thing he could do was simply ditch you right then.

“wah that`s so cool, no, i would say very comforting,”

now, wait a minute, narrowing your eyes you tilt your head up to stare at him through your lashes, “excuse me-”

“because that makes two of us,”

“huh?!” shocked, you exclaimed as if a bulb just lit up above your head.

the boy`s eyes flickered as he took a sharp head turn at your direction, looking down.

the thought processed so fast inside your head that the sheer joy which burst through you made the boy to stumble back a bit, “are you saying that you`re lost too? because if that`s the truth then my theory is right,” you swept one look at the paper you held in your hand and then up at him before continuing in a voice that had all the confidence in the world, “this directions doesn`t make no damn sense.”

it was as if, him, confessing the truth that he too was lost turned the wheels of time and you somehow travelled back to the time before he had greeted you from behind. it was as if some anonymous creature just kicked the ball of thought of you despising him and it flew across the other side of the hallway.

“i second that,” the boy nods, closing his eyes for half a second, confirming your belief.

you cannot believe that there was any way you were about to declare to yourself that you hated this guy if you knew this kind of plot twist was about to unfold.

“you know, i almost thought you were making fun of me,” you confessed assuming that the boy would probably be in another department so being a tad bit friendly, even for a time being that`s temporary, didn`t seem harmless.

“even if you were lost and i wasn`t, that still wouldn`t be fair of me. everyone has something that they`re not good at, you know?”

“thanks but i always feel like i`m a step behind from everyone at literally everything,” to deflect the fact that you suddenly said something way too dark, you gave him a small smile as you looked back down at the class schedule and the direction that`s drawn by the woman at the office, trying to figure out a solution.

“i don`t think it`s called being a step behind though? it`s called going at your pace. and even if you`re walking behind someone, isn`t it almost like walking behind someone whom you trust with your everything? have you ever had someone behind whom you can walk and not feel scared of where they`re taking you to?”

you didn`t expect him to straight out place a very serious conversation in-between you two but with his countless questions, you were bound to answer at least one of them or else you realized you wouldn`t be able to escape this situation. damn, all for attempting at being a little social.

“of course, i`ve people like that. although i can`t say i trust them with my everything…but i do have people with whom i feel comfortable.”

“then think of your life like that too. think of all these human beings just like us. think of them as someone you know from your town with whom you can trust lending your pencil and them not losing it.”

“is that even possible? i mean most of them these days are just backstabbers in disguise of a good person. we can never know what the person in front of you is thinking.”

“well, first you`ve to stop thinking that everyone is ahead of you. it`s the thought that puts your mind at such negative pedestal. i`m sure if i had not talked with you…you would`ve thought i`ve everything figured out in life, right? not knowing that i`m lost just like you? that i have flaws just like you?”

it was as if this boy was reading your mind from somewhere afar when you thought you were only standing alone, not knowing this boy and looking at everyone in this hallway with anxiety bubbling up inside you.

“now…i can`t argue with that,” you told him, “and, by the way, i`m ______. i feel like at this rate we`ll not get to exchange our names and just debate along.” you let him know, almost smiling.

“hi ______,” he greeted you with a small bow of his head, “i`m wonwoo.”

“you know, you sound like a nice person and….you`ve an unique name plus you speak so well.” and, on top of everything, i can`t believe i`m already jealous of you, you wished you could add that out loud but you didn`t.

“is that a compliment?” it was like he was teasing you. the feel was there at the edge of his voice.

“absolutely yes. i love the sound of your name.”

“wow, i never heard of someone say that.”

“congratulations because now you know.” you declared.

wonwoo, whose name now you finally know and love, nodded his head while you got back to inspecting the directions on the page you were holding.

“so…which department?”

not even five seconds passed when suddenly, he asked you, not wanting to end this conversation. you still have no idea why did he even conversed with you that long. what was so special about finding another person lost just like you? plus you were sure he didn`t think much of your intelligence.

“me? literature.” you said without looking at him.

seconds ticked by and when you didn`t get any answer, you looked up from the class schedule in your hand to wonwoo who stared at you with his lower jaw hung low, disbelief reflected all over his face.

“no way, wonwoo, you`re kidding with me, right?” it didn`t take you a second to understand.

wonwoo was actually from the same department. it was so plainly written on his face that you let out a shaky huff.

next thing you knew, he had taken out his own class schedule from his jeans pocket and both of you had extended each of your arms as you huddled next to one another, holding the schedules side by side and to both of your much greater dismay found all the classes to be a perfect match.

wonwoo had said right away that this must`ve been destiny and you had laughed thinking life must not be real because there was no way right on the first day of college you got to make a friend who was as lost as you in figuring out the orientation room and unexpectedly had the same class schedules for the next one year.

“you know what would be crazier?” chin resting on your palm, you had told him after two weeks of being seatmates at all the classes, “imagine if even for the rest of our semesters we get to be classmates at every single classes. don`t you think that would be wild?”

wonwoo, who was highlighting some lines from his textbook sniffled out a giggle and said without looking up that it`s bound to happen either way because now you both know each other plus sticking together would be much better than getting lost yet again in the hallways while figuring out his and your classes.

you thought you couldn`t agree more than this because it was also then that you had learnt that he was from the same town as you.

but because wonwoo had gone to a different high school, he had never crossed any paths with you in a town that`s so familiar to you two. a place where you both have people whom you`ve known since the beginning of your times and yet it feels so indifferent when you two are next to each other.

because here in this new city filled with strangers was where wonwoo and you found each other through such a situation that hits a little too close to home and can be laughed about in the future. as if both of you were written just like this – fate coming from behind and pulling the string between both of you from the middle to make both ends meet in a place where you will need each other the most.

maybe wonwoo was right that day. maybe this was always how things were supposed to work out between both of you.

presently, against the backdrop of the passing college days and the ordinalities of life, wonwoo has gradually settled against you, like something equivalent to the monsoon air that gingerly touches your bare back during hot summer days, like dew over grasses in the mornings, like cool water that you can feel passing down your throat, through your chest and then to somewhere unknown.

the little mundane things, the things that we overlook most often seemed to become one brick after another that shaped the room in which both of you settled in.

the exchange of written conversations at the top right and left corner of his and your notebooks during classes (depending on who sits on which side that day). the unawareness of overtime spent at each other`s studio apartments. him, arriving at your bedside with new notes from college as you lay in bed under the covers suffering from chronic period cramps and mumbling a small ‘thank you’ while he takes the half-empty water bottle on the bedside rack to refill it from your kitchen, assuring you that it`s nothing.

him, peeling a tangerine for you while you run through your summarized notes the afternoon before exams. you, fervently texting him at midnight, making sure he`s not staying up too late while binge reading any novel that you`ve found him to be secretly consumed in even during classes.

“do you want me to make you some tea?” you ask him on every other evenings because it`s the only thing you`re decent at making, the only good thing that you can make with your own two hands for him while he`s standing in your little kitchen in a white sleeveless tee, the baby blue shirt that he was wearing over it during college hours, now resting on your study chair along with his glasses upon your desk. he tells you, “yes, i would love to,” and while the water boils, he recites you the poem he wrote previous night before falling to sleep while his perfectly combed hair seems to unravel on its own.

“pull me towards the farthest corner of this house and tell me all about the parts of you that`s dead from within. tell me things like as if they`re one god`s whisper and i`ll hold them all upon my palm like dried up lilies,” you heard him recite once from one of his own pieces and wished for that god he talks about in the poem to allow you to travel inside that mind of his.

on the other hand, there`s also you and him, laughing as your and his hands find each other for the entanglement of security, from miss-stepping because after coming out of that air conditioned café that one night, both of your glasses have fogged up and now you both can`t see the curb properly.

with passing days, you had slowly opened up a lot to him, at your pace, just like he asked you to be. it was something that came out like a broken dam spilling in slow motion. a gentle push from behind and everything which was inside you came out spilling one after another, gently and steadily.

wonwoo, who is calm and understanding; wonwoo, who always has words at the tip of his tongue like a poet who has lived through centuries inside his body, made sure to take his time with you, to soften up the edges of this distance between you and him and your jumbled up words when you`re not sure if they truly reflect what you truly feel.

he sees your shortcomings like as if his eyes are the ones that`s imperfect. he doesn`t judge. he doesn`t object. his hums feel like gentle kisses on your shoulders when he`s next to you, standing or sitting, watching your lips open one room`s door after another of your soul allowing him to inch forward and peek into them one at a time, hoping and waiting patiently by the doors for your permission to at least live inside one of them.

at the same time, there are things that wonwoo doesn`t truly understand about you and he calls them your own little mysteries but he accepts the weight that you carry on your shoulders. he holds you against himself and lets you carry the load with half the strength unlike before, like carrying together a heavy bag of grocery – you holding one strap and him, the other one.

you told him about your first love which was painfully unrequited. you told him about your classmates with whom you had made promises to stay in touch but has failed miserably and you know, partially, it`s your fault. wonwoo in return told you to emphasize on the word ‘partially’ because relationships that are truly meant to be, has to always meet half-way. it`s like two curve lines meeting to form a perfect circle. one single line can never make a perfect circle. somehow it will always form not even a perfect oval.

you told him when you had fallen down the stairs and almost broke your nose at 4th grade. he didn`t laugh instead he asked you if it troubles you anymore. you told him no but you`re still cautious when going upstairs at any place. you told him how you don`t like seafood but has to eat it anyway because your mother loves it and doesn`t understand why you don`t. you told him how you wish you knew what daughters with fathers who loves them back feels like and if not, can they ever forgive their fathers for leaving them? because what else is left of you if you forgive them? will the rage go or will the permanent emptiness fade like a crumbled up water bottle getting filled up out of nowhere?

you told him you don`t know if there`s something wrong with you when you feel like you can`t trust anyone or make long lasting friendships. you told him even though you want to love and be loved, you don`t know where to start.

and, wonwoo listens to each of your words, like a dimwit already in love with you. he plays with your rings and traces the lines upon your palms when you have fallen asleep while watching a movie next to him in his dimly lit living room. he allows you to unlink the cuff buttons of his flannels and to roll the sleeves back during winter mornings so as to witness the sun falling upon his skin, while you two are standing inside the train next to the sliding door that takes you both to college.

one same morning like this, wonwoo had an offer to make.

it was one month after the incident in the library when he had revealed his new hair colour. you could see the white fading whenever you stared too long at him. wonwoo said that because it`s almost time for the christmas holidays so he was thinking if both of you could drive back home together considering he had just gotten an international driving license, you know, just out of celebration.

“great. so this means you`ll now get to show off to me that not only are you better in studies than me but also impeccable at driving?” you told him to which wonwoo had let out a big laugh. it`s always a little joke in-between you two – your paranoia of driving on your own which resulted in you not even attempting to take part in any driving lesson, forget even thinking of earning a driving license.

“that…is what you think,” with a shake of his head, he pointed his forefinger at you, “don`t pull me into such thoughts of yours, i don`t want to live inside your head like that.”

“whatever,” your rolled your eyes at his words.

“so?”

“so what?” you rebuked back.

“are you up for it?”

“i don`t know…i need to think,” 

you looked at him for long, into his eyes that was already set on yours. narrowing them, you tried to find something behind that face of his. you still can`t figure how can someone look so much like a cat. but you can`t tell him that now, not in this moment because-

“don’t tell me you`re thinking of me looking like a cat again, ______. i know that eyes way too much at this point,” wonwoo said, almost in a deadpan tone.

goddamn it, jeon wonwoo.

“hey! you can`t just read my mind like that!” with wide eyes, you told him off in embarrassment.

wonwoo chuckled teasingly and at the same time waited ardently for your answer to his offer.

you told him you`ll think about it at the door of your first class and then answer him in the evening, which is exactly what you did. you took his offer up with no hesitance while making ramen for yourself that night and by the time, christmas was three days away, wonwoo was already back to his natural hair colour which was jet black and you`ve never found yourself as enamored by how it complements with his deep set eyes. it`s like you missed seeing him like this.

wonwoo waited for you in front of your studio apartment building with the car that he had borrowed from someone he knows from other department. you asked him if that`s okay to which he said that you didn`t have to worry so much.

“trust me with this, ______,” he said convincingly.

“i just don`t feel good with sitting inside a stranger`s car.”

“not even when i`m the one driving?” wonwoo asked as he fixed the seatbelt on you.

“it`s not about you. of course, i trust you. it`s just…i don`t know. am i being weird again?” you shrugged.

“you`ll be fine, ________, you have me right next to you,”

“don`t you ever get tired of saying all these cheesy stuff?”

wonwoo made a gesture of zipping up his mouth and then contradicted the action in the next second by saying, “also you`re not weird. never to me, at least.” which earned him a very familiar roll of your eyes.

next as wonwoo brought the car to life, you rolled down your window and looked outside, whispering a little temporary goodbye in your mind to the city you both met in.

he dropped you off at your place around seven in the evening and when you told him that you`ll see him again, wonwoo didn`t smile that big instead he told you to play with your old classmates from school rather than boring yourself out with him.

making a displeased face you made sure he understood that you didn`t like what he said. you knew it was never going to happen. you were definitely not going to play with any of your classmates from school. well, maybe, you can catch up with mingyu or something or call joshua if he`s visiting this christmas or not but other than that, there`s really no straight-cut promises there.

“i`ll try,” you told him, “but i can`t promise anything.”

“you`ve to take care of yourself too, _______,”

“i will and you don`t bore me, wonwoo,” you told him as he was turning around to get into the car.

“oh? that makes me feel good,” he replied quite nonchalantly as he nudged his glasses. you knew he was being light-hearted about the sudden heaviness in the air. after all, you two have never been apart this long at least since you`ve met.

there was always a promise of a ‘see you in the morning’ after every ‘goodnight’ in the city that`s not his or yours. but this ‘goodnight’ didn`t have that same ring to it so you didn`t wish him back. you didn`t want this to end.

“wonwoo?” you stepped down the curb in-front of your home, putting your hand on the edges of the window, “do you think we`ll cross each other this time? i mean now we know we live in the same town plus it`s christmas. i`m pretty sure if we both go out respectively, who knows, we might stumble upon each other.”

wonwoo was already inside the car by then when you were speaking but when he heard your question, he leaned onto the passenger seat where you were previously sitting, “the possibility is not zero but i`m not sure,”

you huffed out loud, “why are you being so negative? you know my place at least,”

“not really. and, are you offering a sleepover? at your place?”

“i didn`t say sleepover though. just visiting is enough, you know?”

“what about your mother? won`t she mind?”

at the mention of your mother, you turned around to look at the lit up windows of your place and gulped. closing your eyes, you nodded, “yeah, you`re right,”

“right? so call me,”

“hmmm,” you looked down at your shoes, your lower lip tucked in under your teeth.

“call me, ______,”

“yes. yes, i will,”

“anytime,” the more he spoke, the more his voice softened.

“wonwoo.” this time you lifted your head up and closed your eyes, not looking at him, not looking at anywhere, not even the sky.

“whenever you need me,”

“wonwoo.”  you squeezed your eyes.

“yes?”

“just go,” you said breathlessly.

“if you say so…..then, i`ll pick you up after new year’s, yeah?”

you hummed, nodding your head, your eyes still perfectly squeezed shut.

“are you not even going to say goodnight?”

you shook your head in silence.

“not even look at me?”

“absolutely not.”

you heard him let out a scoff and turn up the engine.

“i`ll see you then,” you heard him say one last time, “goodnight, _____.”

how can he be so okay with this? why does it seem like he will not miss you? it was all that you could think of.

few seconds later, when you heard the sound of his car was a bit far away, you opened your eyes and looked on your right. you saw the backlights of his car that reflected upon the road fading into the distance and when he went out of your sight, a well-known emptiness welcomed you home.

you turned around on your heels and walked up to your entrance door. your mother had cooked a very heavy welcoming dinner for you but you were suddenly not in a mood to eat anything of that sort so you told her, you`ll eat it a bit later. she was a bit put off by your words but when she saw your face and how you looked like someone had knocked out the life out of you, she told you to come out when you would feel hungry enough but warned you not to go to sleep on empty stomach.

you closed the door of your room behind yourself, took your clothes off and went straight for a bath, not knowing what was waiting for you on the day of your return to the city.

yes, you were, of course, terribly mad at wonwoo. you absolutely didn`t expect him to not call or even try to come visit you. he seemed to have ghosted you altogether which was unthinkable to you.

you had called him on the first two nights but neither had he picked them up nor had he replied to you with any reasoning. being fed up, you didn`t even wish him back any ‘happy christmas to you too’ or even a ‘happy new year to you too’ when he texted those two wishes solely. it was your way of giving him a cold shoulder.

so without a single exchange of syllable between you and him for the past more than one week when he was at your doorsteps the morning after new year`s, greeting your mother, introducing himself and telling her how he was there to pick you up, you stood there outside your room`s door, your backpack all ready and packed, chest fuming from inside.

“oh look who`s here.” you said, voice sharp and cold.

wonwoo didn`t react instead with his curled up lips at the corners he stepped inside your house, excusing himself to your mother and went straight for your backpack. you didn`t protest as something told you from inside that the smile that was on his face was simply just a disguise. you`ve after all known him for almost two years at that point.

i`ll tell you everything on the way, he whispered and it sounded like a rumble off his chest as he leaned in against your ear when your mother wasn`t looking.

god, i`ve missed him, you told yourself when he pulled himself away from you and held your eyes for a second before diverting his gaze.

i`ve missed him terribly, you blink slowly as you let out a deep exhale as if you were holding yourself back from breathing when he spoke against your ear.

in the next few hours while wonwoo drove skillfully, he, as promised, told you everything and the anger that you harvested against him for the past one week swished out of the rolled down window next to you and suddenly turned into a puddle of guilt.

apparently, he had fallen terribly ill the morning after he had dropped you off at your place and his health had so much worsened that he was admitted to the hospital for the next two days which meant that he was only discharged on the day of christmas but it was only upon wonwoo`s ardent request. he didn`t want to spend such a special day at the hospital surrounded by the smell of medicines rather he wanted to spend time with his family and if he can, maybe he can surprise you so that you both can go to the local church together to see the decors.

but the doctor had told him very specifically to not go out as the fever might go up if he pushes himself further. so, at the end, he was only sorry for not visiting you and could only wish you over text. although he did think of calling you but he didn`t want to bother you as you might have been busy with your friends and family. he didn`t want to intrude into something he wasn`t a part of. he didn`t want to make you uncomfortable.

you shook your head in denial as you stared straight ahead on the road even though you were not the one driving but wonwoo didn`t notice you so instead, he kept on continuing his story further.

he revealed that it was not until the eve of new year`s that his health had turned around. he confessed that he was feeling quite well but even if he wanted to visit you, he simply yet again didn`t want to invade your space and he figured you might`ve been mad at him for not calling or picking up your phone.

you noticed the tight grip of his hands upon the steering wheel as he spoke. you saw how the knuckles of his already fair hand was much whiter than before and you wanted to reach out to place your hand on them, assuring him that you`ve never thought of him like that ever.

but you didn`t want to disturb him while you two were still on road as it might be dangerous. you wanted him to sit there with his thoughts. you wanted to wait for the arrival of the city that knows all about you two, so that when you and him will only find each other in the room, you can tell him how wrong he was.

as the car drove into the city, wonwoo asked if you wanted him to drop you off at your place to which you shook your head and told him to instead stop by his place. he didn`t question considering it wasn`t anything out of box for you to drop by his place. for the last two years, you guys have spent enough times at each other`s rented place like as if it`s your own four walls. you two even have each other`s spare keys.

when wonwoo unlocked the door and stepped in, he took your and his backpack in both of his arms and took off his shoes at the doorsteps. on the other hand, as you watched him from the doorstep disappearing into his study cum bedroom to place the bags, you kept standing with your back pressed against the closed door collecting your thoughts.

when he came back after finding out that you were nowhere in the kitchen or the living area, he discovered you standing against the door with a solemn expression on your face, the kind of face you make when you`re trying to analysis a poem.

“what happened? not gonna come in?” he asked you.

instead of answering him back, you walked up to wonwoo and placed both of your palm on his shoulders and locked your eyes upon him with a seal.

“whoa,” wonwoo said in a small shaky voice as he cupped your elbows in his own palms. he was a little taken by how serious you looked and teeny tiny bit scared too if he was being completely honest.

“wonwoo, we need to talk.” you narrowed your eyes at him.

“seems like we have to,” he nodded, looking away from you, “is it something to do with college assignments?”

you shook your head slowly.

“it`s about what you said in the car,”

“ohhhhh,” wonwoo`s lips curled up into an ‘o’ and he turned around, taking a small turn into the kitchen with his back facing you. your palms were then gingerly pressing on his shoulder blades as you followed his steps.

“i want you to know that whatever you thought for me when we were back in the town, you were completely wrong about everything,” you started giving shapes to your thoughts as you watched him take two cups, one saucepan out of the dish cabinet and taking the tea bags out of his kitchen closet. although he wasn`t looking at you, he was still nodding thus gesturing you to go on.

you stood at the small kitchen aisle, at the far end of it and laid out your innermost thoughts.

“i`ve never been good with people. i don`t know how to stay afloat with people whom i know but distance has somehow caused a strain in our relationships, but somehow for the first time in a very long time, i want to put some effort in what we have in-between each other,” you said, almost confidently.

wonwoo was standing in front of the oven where the water was starting to heat up. all these while, he hadn`t given you a single glance but when you talked about you and him, he turned around to face you, arms folded on his chest, now listening to you more closely as if something had strung a cord inside him.

“you don`t bore me, wonwoo, you….at least you can never do that,” you could feel it on your face that you were holding a painful expression and you observed his eyes softening, his lips parting at the sight, “since the day i`ve met you, you`ve given me a place where i belong. you`ve given me space, time and made me discover the ability to long for someone. something which i thought i would never have,”

you took small steps ahead, closing the distance between you two by few centimeters, “when you didn`t call me, when you didn`t text me other than wishing, i thought you were ignoring me. i thought you were probably so busy hanging out with your own friends that you completely forgot about me. i was angry. i felt betrayed which…” you laughed, looking down, “sounds quite silly now because at least i should know what kind of a person you are,”

“what kind of a person am i,______?” wonwoo asked as he swiftly turned around to pour the boiled water into the cups with the tea bag already put in. his voice was deep and it almost vibrated from him to you.

“you`re….” you gulped, suddenly scared of your own thoughts and the things that might inflict, “you`re…someone i, i want to be with!” you said the last words so quickly that as soon as the words registered upon wonwoo`s face, you slapped your hand on your mouth with the widening of your eyes.

wonwoo who was stirring the tea previously, had altogether stopped his action and looked at you mirroring your eyes. he placed the saucepan very slowly next to the cups and turned his attention completely on you.

and, you don`t remember what came upon you suddenly. you don`t recall this kind of boldness in you as you moved extremely close to him, minus all the distance and clasped his bicep with the hand that you had covered your own mouth with as if you were holding onto him from falling out, from running away.

“you!” eyes wide, shaking your head, denying every single thought that you thought was passing through wonwoo`s head, that you couldn`t figure through his eyes, “you have all the permission to intrude, wonwoo. instrude as much as you can. if anything, i want to let people know about you, about what you are to me, about what you do to me. i want to explain, wonwoo, i want to explain thousand times to people what you mean to me because i-”

wonwoo eyes flickered as your chest heaved with heavy breaths, he watched your mouth doing all the breathing and he forgot all about the tea as he clasped onto your other arm that was holding tight onto the edge of the kitchen aisle.

although you stumbled into his chest as he held you close against him, your eyes never left his face and the same went for him as wonwoo didn`t steer clear of you once.

“i love you,” and, he finished your sentence.

“what?” you stared up him, bewildered.

“love,” wonwoo closed his eyes as if weighing his choice of word, as if calculating if whatever he`s saying was right or not, before nodding, “yeah, i….i love you,”

“is that why…”

“no, no – i mean, it`s a bit childish but i didn`t say all that because i wanted to,”

“i don`t understand, please tell me,” you shook him with your arms, provoking him, begging him to tell you what he was hiding, “i want to know, i need to know, wonwoo, i have to know what`s going on inside your mind,”

for almost close to ten minutes, both of you stood there, in each other`s arms unaware of how they were protecting you two from falling, unaware how each of them were sharing the strength to face the truth. wonwoo confessed everything to you and you, on the other hand, confessed certain things to yourself.

like how even though you were never and still is not good with physical interaction especially if that exchange is out of love, out of intimacy of the same, you didn`t flinch from being in wonwoo`s arms for that long. you weren`t bothered by how close he was. his breath falling upon your face, his voice sending happy goosebumps on your skin and the warmth of his body encasing you like a warm blanket after a night full of rain felt like home.

and, of course, wonwoo wanted to call you. even though he was sick, he wanted to take that opportunity and be selfish for once and ask you to be next to him, spend the christmas eve at his place or maybe somewhere else but it had to be with him. he wanted you all by himself and nowhere near where he didn`t know you before he actually knew you.

that town knew parts of you that he didn`t and he was jealous that that place had a kind of relationship with you that he probably can never have even if he wanted. he told you if time travelling actually existed, he would do anything to travel back in time and meet you and make sure you remember him.

wonwoo was jealous of the people whom you knew, with whom you shared chapters of your past, with whom you went through all the changes, all your pain as you faced them upfront, even your very first love. he was jealous that he wasn`t there to face them with you and that is why when he told you to be with your friends in the town, he was speaking out of sheer jealousy but he told you not to think for once that he was mad at you and that even if you did spend times with them, he would never be mad because it`s not something you should do just for his sake. he just doesn`t want to change anything about you. he wants to take you in just like the way you were made.

“so, you were jealous of my friends, of the people i knew before you?” you smiled as you asked him when you`ve both calmed down.

wonwoo nodded being all shy and not meeting with your eyes.

to which, you confessed that actually you didn`t meet with anyone, that you had spent most of your time inside your room, watching movies and working on your studies and eating all the food that your mother had cooked out of the christmas and new year`s celebration because you were mad at him.

“is it because i never called?”

“hmmm,” you hummed back in agreement with a visible pout.

“i`m sorry. i should`ve called you. i should`ve called you to visit the church with me,”

“it`s okay. it doesn`t matter now. we`re here now,” you said, as you hugged him, “together, in a place where you don`t have to be jealous of anyone.”

wonwoo groaned in embarrassment as he buried his face at the crook of your neck and you sniffled out a giggle against his own.

you never knew that wonwoo had this side of him so you found yourself to be amused.

“so when did it start?” you asked him from over his shoulders.

wonwoo, whose face was snuggled up against your neck told you that it was around the end of first year in college when he started realizing that he, no matter, how he tried couldn`t see you as just friends. he wanted to put in more efforts so he also tried his hand at poetry and ended up writing a bunch of stuff that he would read to you.

he confessed that in each of those poems that he wrote dedicated to you in silence, he wanted to leave a piece of himself in-between the lines wishing that one day when all of his words are written and done with, he would be completely yours from that day on.

“that`s wonderful, wonwoo….that sounds exactly like something you`d do to impress your lover,” you told him.

wonwoo pulled himself away from your neck and softly pressed his forehead against yours, “what about you?” he whispered.

you smiled against his mouth as you felt his arms wrapping you up against him, closing all the minimum distance that was there before. you looked down, suddenly a bit flustered as you could feel him staring through you, “promise me…you`ll not laugh?” you stared up at him for a second waiting for his reply. wonwoo gave you a microscopic shook of his head and small kiss against the corner of your left eye.

closing your eyes at the sudden kiss, you sniffled a small laugh, “okay okay so…you know i`m bad at cooking right?”

wonwoo nodded, “you mean, we are bad at cooking?”        

“um yeah kind of, but you`re good with poems at least so…when we started hanging out together a lot at each other`s place, i realized that even though i hate cooking and that i don`t find myself motivated enough to even try….the more and more close we became, the more i wanted to make something for you,”

“you wanted to cook me food? to impress me?”

you pulled your head back staring at the ceiling for a while deep in thoughts and on the other hand, wonwoo had a smirk painted upon his face as he looked at you.

“not exactly impress…i would say i wanted to take care of you?”

“that`s why you would make tea for me while i would read you poems?”

“wow,” you widened your eyes, realizing something as your cheeks lifted up in a big smile, “i just realized that we both were trying to indirectly impress each other without even knowing what the other one was doing,”

“god, we`re really dense, aren`t we?” wonwoo declared.

“also, the reason why i opted for tea and not food because after many failed attempts i realized that i don’t want you to die from eating my cooked dish…like, i`m serious, it`s bad. very bad.”

“i know i would`ve eaten it with a smile on my face though,” wonwoo leaned in as he spoke with a tease at the end.

your hand reached his shoulders and then climbed up to wrap your palms against jaw and neck, “oh you don`t know anything…”

wonwoo hummed in denial as he slowly parted your lips with his and breathed against your mouth before pressing them against yours. he took one of his hand and placed it at the back of your head to support you as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss while he heard you reciprocating his previous hum against the smile on his face.

after the mutual confessions from that day, nothing much changed in-between both of you.

wonwoo and you would still have conversations like before but now you`d sit more close to each other. you two still had each other on speed-dials or as emergency contact. he would still deliver you notes when you`d be sick and you`d still warn him not to stay up late and of course, you would still bicker around with him, spend times cramming for exams and convince him to get different kind of haircuts or hair colours which he would sometimes agree on and sometimes give you a questionable look.

“um i don`t think that colour will look good on me…” he would say unsure.

“no no no, don`t you know? handsome people look good in anything and,” you would flick his chin and tell him that he`s the most handsome in the world to which he would proceed to bite onto your finger pretentiously.

“ack! you`re really a cat!” you would retort.

maybe the only additional thing to this package deal of you both is that now you two would end up having multiple make-out sessions at his and your places and mostly, especially in the kitchen.

it`s quite funny and ironical how you both are bad at cooking but somehow would always end up using the kitchen as a space to show each other love in a way that consumes both of you.

the soft kisses at the corridors of college where no one is looking would only stir up something more than enough from inside and you discovered that when you yearn for someone, when you want someone to completely take you, your mind would simply not rest until the deed is done with.

and that`s why, during after college hours when the two of you would settle against either of yours kitchen aisle – him, with his diary of poetry and you, with the warm cups of tea, things would simply not end just there.

the tension would only grow and wonwoo would always end up in-between your legs, tasting the tea against your mouth, smiling and kissing your band-aid clad knee that you bruised while being clumsy on road on a certain day. your toes would gingerly graze against his bare midriff while he does that and you will know you`re alive, he`s kissing your knee, his strong hands holding the back of your knees and you`re alive. the goosebumps are the proof that you exist in this moment with the love that you deserve.

his shirt buttons would be undone and your hands would be caressing his bare skin under the shirt that`s not completely taken off. he would always find himself kissing you across the span of your neck, your chest and the back of your upper arm while he puts them upon his shoulders. he would be undressing you and be completely enamored by how goddamn beautiful you are and then he would use his strength to lift you up against him and place you upon the kitchen aisle while simultaneously caressing your bare legs and wrapping them around his hips to let you have him like he wants to have you.

the kisses would only grow fervent, it would go on for hours leaving you two breathless and extremely hot from within, bare chests pressed against each other. you two would take turns to take off the other one`s glasses while giggling and then proceed to quickly wrap each other in each other`s arms not leaving a single space in-between you for long as wonwoo would personally take the responsibility to shift both of you in the couch or either of yours bed.

“you okay?” he would ask you while laying you down and placing the pillow under your head.

“hmm, okay.” you would nod and reply a bit quickly, encasing his face in your palms and pulling him in.

it was wild to think how you could even control yourselves this much before you two had declared your feelings for each other and gave this relationship a name.

it was like with the confession, some doors inside the two of you has been unlocked and now it`s somehow extremely difficult to get out of them.

the relationship with wonwoo isn`t anything like what you had with any others. personally, the last time you simply had any romantic feelings for anyone, it was jeonghan and that too was more innocent than this.

wonwoo might not have been your first love but he is that final line of this chapter. he has unwrapped a part within you that you didn`t know existed, that you feared wasn`t in you. sometimes you told yourself perhaps he doesn`t love you, perhaps it`s just a liking. but something brave inside you told you that he indeed loves you and that even if you`re too blind to fully take in everything, it is alright, just like wonwoo said, go at your own pace but just stay afloat, just stay with him.

because for you to feel alive, his hands has already reached a part deep within you that you yourself haven`t reached and his lips has kissed the blood in your hands, the blood that has dried up while holding onto yourself from falling apart and the pain inside your ribs.

the ‘you’ who once felt like you were defective at certain aspects of your life found yourself running through the finish lines of each and every one of them. and, at every end of that line was wonwoo, standing and waiting for you.

it was the reassurance that he gives you that moves you from within. maybe this is how you two were written, meeting each other in the middle - his cheek on your chest and you kissing the nape of his neck, right where the sun reaches every single day where no one from any part of that town has kissed him.

fin.

#caratwritersclub #svt fanfic #wonwoo scenarios #seventeen scenarios #svt scenarios #wonwoo #seventeen fics #seventeen imagines #wonwoo imagines #wonwoo x reader #svt x reader #seventeen x reader #jeon wonwoo #seventeen angst #wonwoo angst #seventeen smut #wonwoo smut #seventeen fluff #wonwoo fluff #svt angst #svt smut #svt fluff #seventeen #svt #svt wonwoo #wonwoo fic #pffbts #t:series

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Wayward Waters Epilogue

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Ayy, Epilogue already? that was fast! but i have good news!

i have re-edited arc 1 (removed typos, made it more comprehensible etc. also shorter chapters so its not a wall of text anymore) so i will upload that some time after!

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

have fun reading!

and as always Reblogs are appreciated! (Also ASK’s are open so feel free to bother me!)

AO3 Link for those that prefer the layout there;

AO3 Wayward waters

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After the Victory Rose had anchored,  with the smaller Halcyon close behind we were finally home.

Not wanting to spend too much time in Tunstead lest there was a repeat of Naroa Island and someone didn't like that there were Nonhumans visiting.

Not like Rikaad would allow that but there were always assholes.

So instead we went straight for the castle, none of the crew of the Halcyon having seen a building this big before, or confusingly built.

Which was very evident as half of them got lost in less than half an hour.

At least Imugi had fun doing figures around the spikes at the bottom of the cliff.

We found them about two hours later, Jamie having been chased out of the kitchen like some raccoon and Ronan got brought outside by Norrin, who had scruffed him like a disobedient dog.

For some reason the Grumpy young man Leon came with us to the castle and refused to say much or leave.

We left him for now,  with Nea and Norrin around there wasn't much he could do.

I shooed the Crew to Okaleys tower,  he would have more information about the blue bracelet anyway.

Yamet had opted to tour the kitchen, stating the others could tell him later and that he'd rather see if he could trade recipes.

The tower itself was as askew and unorderly as always,  and we hadn't even knocked.

The door was missing completely anyway for some reason so we simply walked in.

I did come as a surprise though that Nea was in here,  holding a brown creature with white spots on its back.

At first I thought she was holding a fawn, but then I noticed the longer neck and nubby horns as well as the claws and long tail.

“Nea? Where the FUCK did you get a baby Drake?”

The thing in question made horrifyingly pitiful bleaking noises,  pawing uselessly at the air as Nea held it like a particularly squirmy cat.

Though it was more the size of a young goat.

“I found it! So I get to keep it!”

I was not about to Argue with her, she'd kick my ass,  Instead I stared confusedly at Oakley, who was painting the cat blue.

Oh so one of those days where nothing made sense involving him.

“Oakley, why are you painting the cat blue?, and why does Nea have a baby Drake?”

He turned to face us and shrugged.

“No idea what the insane lady here is doing but i'm trying to figure out what magic affinity our dear kitty here has! 

The paint is made of lapis lazuli by the way!

Now say who are those people behind you and why is the Zoa trying to pocket some of my Gems?”

I looked over at Jamie who hastily put some sort of clear crystal back onto a shelf.

“Uh, those are friends i made while on the ocean, long story i'll tell you later, but uhh we found another Bracelet, its blue this time”

I pointed at Ronan who in turn pointed at the Bracelet on his arm.

In less than a Second Oakley had gripped his arm with one foot and was hanging onto the wall with the other, inspecting the new Bracelet up close and with no regard for personal space.

Ronan just stared confused at Oakley, though to be fair he was already used to having to be a Perch for jamie.

“Did the creature look anything like the Ardua?”

No that it did not.

“Uh, no, it was more like a seal with big and flat hands and a long tail with a fin, does it have its own name?”

Oakley Jumped of off Ronan and walked back to where he was, rummaging through his coat a bit before pulling out a Book.

While he flipped pages, and apparently had trouble reading it? The Cat, Gloxinia trailed blue paint everywhere, jumping up the windowsill and bapping at the very confused baby Drake Nea was still holding.

The poor thing probably had a very weird day,  getting manhandled by a quite frankly rather crazy woman and then getting disrespected like that by a cat.

The thing bleaked again, trying to wind itself out of Nea’s Grip,  yeah that would be futile.

“AHA! Found it! I think translating is gonna take a while seeing as the author changes the stupid coded letters every five pages! 

And language as well!, tell ya what, imma deal with Nea now and then go back to translating, you can come back after Dinner or so”

That was reasonable, and Jamie and Akeem had left already anyway, leaving only Ronan and Imik here.

No doubt Akeem went after Jamie to prevent chaos,  and they took the clear crystal from the shelf again.

Nea set the confused Drake on Oakley table where it did a wide stance as if it couldn't decide between fight or flight,  not that either would be a good idea with Nea here.

“So! Arthur got all pissy when I brought ta lil guy with me! Said just cuz i got rid of tha big one din’ mean i could keep tha smaller one!

I say tha only one that can tell me what ta do is Rikaad! 

And i want you ta tell me what exactly this is so i can ask to keep it,  or him or her or whatever!”

The thing in question made another bleaking Noise, sniffing at the table and looking over the edge of it.

Ronan put his face close to it and the thing screeched horribly, scrambling and slipping on the old wood and nearly falling off.

In response to that Nea tossed Ronan out, literally, she tossed him out the window and Imik walked out after him to make sure he was okay.

Since Ronan had landed in a bush he only had some dirt on him, and after that they both wanted to look around the castle more instead of being near Nea.

Yeah, fair, I did however want to see how the entire Drake thing would play out so we parted ways and I went back inside where Oakley was just telling Nea that the little guy was a male.

“I'd say it's a young male,  the spots have the same reason as fawn spots, they fade with time and he should get some more tan and brown colors. 

I can't say what species exactly yet but it's possible he'll get stripes,  or colored horns.

If you're sure you wanna try taming him go ahead, i can't guarantee anything but i sure am gonna watch you try, you'd probably be the first to do that, well to be fair you gotta be a bit insane to try”

A bit was good, but I also wasn't exactly fond of anyone trying to kill something so young, and thus far the little guy hadn't done anything.

As it was he was even afraid of the cat, who was still covered in blue paint and attempting to groom him.

All that did was cover him in blue paint too and he looked rather miserable at that.

While Nea argued with Oakley about what size he could reach, apparently Nea had expected something big like a dragon but Oakley estimated something slightly larger than a horse,  so I held out my hand to the strangely fluffy creature. 

All in all it looked scraggly and scruffy,  the only scaled parts being the legs and sand colored underside as well as the rather beak-like snout that seemed to be made of cartilage.

It tentatively sniffed at my hand, bonking its head against it.

Then Gloxinia wanted all the attention and I had to pet her with the other hand while the goat sized creature was inspecting my hand with its amber colored eyes.

Maybe Ronan would have some tips for Nea since he’d sorta raised Imugi already.

I was handed a blue stained cat by Oakley who told me to go wash the color off before she decided to lick it off.

“You want me to wash a cat? 

A cat of all things who are not known for liking water?”

“Yeah! Good luck!”

And with that he shoved me out, not even saying if he'd figured out if Gloxinia had any magic or magic type.

Well, better get this over with,  I wasn't even sure if the paint was edible so she probably shouldn't lick it even if that was how cats normally cleaned themselves.

Ignoring that my own shirt had gotten blue in places,  I went to the next best water source and tried my best to keep a hold of Gloxinia who definitely did not like water.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

I looked up to see that Leon guy.

“Oakley put paint on the cat, i'm trying to get it off before she licks it,  but i don't think she likes water”

Leon stuck his hand into the water bucket,  taking it back out and flicking water at me.

“Yeah no shit, thats cold water, why the fuck would wold a cat like that, try warm water next time dipshit”

Rude, at least I was trying, and not letting her eat paint.

“You do it then! If you're so much better at that!”

At the moment neither the cat nor me were happy about it.

“Aight, bet”

With that he grabbed both Gloxinia and the bucket, slinging the cat half over his shoulder and dragging the bucket to who knew where.

Well, at least I didn't have to do it now.

And judging by the fact that Gloxinia tried rubbing her head against his ear she was also rather happy about that.

Whatever, if that guy thought warm water would make her hate it less he was free to try.

Now where did everyone else go? 

Hopefully none of them got into trouble.

As it turned out they just had gotten lost in the castle again,  which we only found out because Jamie walked along the outside of it to try and get someone that knew where the fuck everything was.

Yamet however was found in the kitchen, 

talking and working with Myril so we left them to it, whatever they were doing smelled really good so we were not going to interrupt.

As expected when two very good cooks were put in the same kitchen, Dinner tasted amazing, some sort of Goulash that heavily utilized spices.

Yamet was probably the one that had brought the spices.

After that I brought Ronan back to Oakleys tower,  also rather curious about whatever he found out.

We did do a little detour though as apparently Nea had decided to train her new Pet like a Dog, including the command to fetch things.

Well, things, she let it chase a rat carcass she had tied to some other poor Guard that had to run laps to avoid the little beast.

Not something anyone wanted to be involved in.

“Is she trying to train the Drake?”

“I think so, but i don't think she knows how to,  how did you know how to take care of Imugi?”

He shrugged.

“Fuck around find out really, Imugi was easy cuz she loved doing what i was doing, also i was the first thing Imugi saw when she hatched so i guess she imprinted on me? I'm not entirely sure she knew she was a sea creature for the first few months.

Also I gave her treats when she did good things. 

Maybe I can talk to the lady there later and see if I can help! 

I've never really seen a Drake this close! Or young!”

“You do that, 

i'm not entirely sure she won't tell the little guy to bite you though”

I Wouldn't put it past her to do that, Besides we had other stuff to do first.

So, Ignoring whatever torment Nea brought upon everyone else,  I knocked on the doorframe to Oakley tower, the Door itself still missing.

“Ah there you are! Come in! I accidentally melted the door anyway!”

I kept quiet about wondering how the fuck someone could melt a Door on accident.

“Did you find out more about the Blue bracelet? 

Does the water creature also have a name?”

Oakley wordlessly pointed at two chairs and told us to sit down, 

heaving the book he rummaged for earlier onto the table.

Flipping pages around he stopped on a depiction of the creature Ronan turned into, though the drawing on the old paper depicted spots Ronan did not have as well as a different tailfin and a more brownish coloration.

But it was still the same creature, the depiction surrounded by runes and letters that were absolute gibberish to me.

Oakley pointed at it.

“So from what I found out this is a Faraselgi,  and it's basically the same principle as for the Ardua just with a water element instead of an earth one, the rest is pretty much the same.

Well that far we got ourselves already.

“Anything else about it? Or is that all?”

I would have expected it to have at least a few more differences.

“Nope! Aside from the different creatures, which are really just based on environmental factors, it's pretty much the same!

What? Did you think the blue one got superpowers or something?”

Of course not, but after being able to turn into an Ardua I couldn't exactly know what to expect regarding those Bracelets.

“How much is the same? I mean I know about the two hearts thing, 

Is the rest also the same?”

Ronan asked, brow creasing as he tried to read the absolute mishmash of letters and runes, clearly not getting anything from that.

Oakley just nodded.

“Well yes, if you take aside the tailfin shorter hind legs and stupidly big paddle shaped grabbers it is very similar!

Oh also your thoracic vertebrates are longer,  so you sort of got a mock fin on your back, but it's technically bone”

There was the weird thing,  of course there had to have been at least one weird thing about it.

Well, weirder than it already was at least.

“So I got more bones? Awesome! Do they have a function too?”

Leave it to the biologist to find that exciting.

“I don't think so, maybe helps with balance,  don't go around trying to remove them”

A fair warning considering this was Ronan.

“Don't worry! I'm not gonna vivisect myself! 

Jamie and Imik would beat the shit out of me!”

That really shouldn't be his only concern here.

“Well then that's really all since you seem already familiar with it somehow! Just don't go around scaring people or you will find your head mounted to a wall someday!”

With that he picked up the book and shoved it back into his coat,  which shouldn't feasibly hold something that big.

“Hell yeah! Now I know what it's called! I'm gonna go tell the others! 

And Imugi! Imugi first! Before it gets dark! Byee!”

He rushed out the doorway,  well at least there would be a bit of daylight still.

“Does he know where he is going?”

“No i don't think so,  when i go back i'll inform someone to keep an eye out”

Eh, he'd be fine, he had a stupid amount of luck.

Besides, I did want to talk to Oakley a bit more.

My turn to say something that would throw him for a loop.

“I met your ex”

He spit out the tea he'd been sipping.

“What? Wait which one? 

Ah no considering where you were it can only be one”

Which one??? Dumbass, then again he was like what? Sixhundred?

It was likely he had more than one ex, or more than ten even.

“So, how is Grella doing? 

It's nice to hear she's still alive after all this time”

“She's kinda dying, just like magic,  but you knew that already didn't you?”

He stared into his mug.

“Kamerasca doesn't have any Ley lines, the closest one is where my old hut is, which is why I built it there, but yes, magic is dying.

I've noticed a long time ago,  but nobody I know could do anything about it. 

I can't do anything about it, and telling people brought nothing,  either rejoicing at the ‘evil’ becoming less or simply not caring considering it wasn't their problem.

The only ones that did care were the mages and wizards and the like,  I know a few Elemancers tried to figure out WHY it happened but when I got there they were dead already, stabbed in the back by someone that saw his magic as a curse rather than what it really was.

I debated telling you after I moved here,  but I didn't want to take your joy away so soon,  Besides, there is nothing you can do, and I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt trying to figure out what was going on with magic.

At first I even expected you guys to either not care or to actually care, and go off on some stupid mission to fix something that a mere human could never fix and die.

All the powerful and old magic users are either dead or somewhere in Valyria, which is very dangerous as is already, i bet even more died in the last two hundred years as most used magic to prolong their life.

But with magic dying all the old magic users will too, and Grella as well.

She's really the only one I feel sorry for.

How much time did she estimate?”

I stared at him, so he hadn't told me to not worry me,  but from what I gathered he would have told me eventually,  when it became relevant for me.

“She said about thirty years at most, she will die in less than twenty”

Oakley looked at his three fingered wing hand,  sadder than I had ever seen him.

“If i wasn't a coward i’d visit her, but alas i am just that”

“Why? She sounded like she still likes you, i don't think she’d hurt you”

He shook his head.

“No, i know she won't hurt me, we split because i could never really go dive into the depths with her, and the school i wanted to go to was a good bit inland, where she couldn't go, in the end our interests just didn't match anymore and we agreed both to call it off.

But there are things out there, that I made very angry,  people I made angry by obtaining what was considered forbidden knowledge.

If i were to go too far from Barmea and too close to Valyria again they would kill me, and they could make it permanent”

There was a lot I did not know about Oakley, but I knew he was not a bad person, why ever he had done it he would have had a reason to.

“So you're stuck on this continent? 

Wait, did you just live as a hermit for a few hundred years? 

No wonder you were so weird when we met you, you still are”

He puffed up indignantly.

“Well, social norms have changed a lot since I went into the forest! 

It's not my fault you humans can't stick with one thing!”

Well that was true.

“Fair, but I'm sure you could just have read up on it!”

He grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

“Well i find the fuck around find out approach a lot more amusing! 

But if you insist I will head to the castle Library to get catched up now!

Also i need to get a new door, maybe i should do that first”

I looked at the doorway that let a cool breeze in.

“Yeah that has probably priority right now, well have fun repairing your door, i still need to say hi to Arthur, if i find him”

“Oh i think he fell asleep sorting paperwork!”

I nodded at Oakley and went back to the castle,  stopping briefly to grab the red blue and purple shell I had picked out for him, I did say I'd get him one.

Now I just had to find him.

Since every other hallway ended up in the throne room at one point or another that's where I went, and Rikaad and Robin were already there.

Rikaad stared with disdain at the needlessly pompous throne,  to be fair it did not look comfy at all.

“Hey! Have any of you seen Arthur? I did promise to bring him a shell"

I waved said shell in the air.

“I have not seen him, but he has to be around,  perhaps Norrin will know where-” Rikaad got interrupted by Arthur emerging from one of the side hallways.

“I hate the layout of this place! Oh you're all back!”

There was a Squeal and Robin rushed to hug the blonde, who had to hold a bunch of paper over his head to not get them scrunched up.

For some reason they had reddish brown stains in one corner.

Arthur nearly fell over if not for Rikaad grabbing his arm to keep steady.

Arthur awkwardly patted at Robin's messy head and I noticed that two of his fingers were in a splint.

“What happened to your fingers? Did Nea break them?”

Robin let go after that, inspecting said finger gently.

He did say before we left that he wouldn't doubt that Nea would do just that.

“Huh? Oh no i tried to grab at something that fell behind that longass drawer, kinda broke my finger when i slipped on paper”

Well, that still sounded painful.

But at least the next bit would probably cheer him up a little!

I handed Arthur the shell I had picked out for him, 

the blue, red and purple shimmering in the light.

“Here! I did say I'd get you a big one!”

He turned said shell over in his hand,  the thing being almost bigger as said hands.

“I didn't know seashells could have those colors! 

Thank you! OH! Also I have something as well!”

He held out the slightly stained paper, which I was now pretty sure was blood, and carefully took it, looking it over.

My face split in a grin as I read the title, 

It seemed like Rikaad had to rewrite a law pretty soon.

Man, I couldn't wait to write to Fable!

NEXT / PREVIOUS / OVERSIGHT

#sstc #lizards writing #vore story #giant/tiny #extreme cuddling #sea serpent #sea monster #sea of Barmea #castle #Ardua

[marydublinauthor]

Random gt drabbles: Nightshade

Characters: Tyrant!Cliff and Zia

Universe: Tyrant!Cliff AU

——————

“You fucker! Let me out of here!”

Sylvia had been screaming at Cliff for fifteen minutes, but her voice was weakening. Her beating at the gilded bars of the cage embedded in his study shelf was a waste of energy. Every other fairy in the room could only politely avert their gazes to spare her the shame of their pity.

Cliff was marking off several areas on a digital map for some of his crew members. Nesting areas for possible chenoos in Alaska. It made Zia’s stomach roil to look at the eager men hanging on his expertise. Eager for blood.

“Everyone’s dismissed,” Cliff finally said in a louder voice. “Except for one of you,” he gestured vaguely towards the fairies lounging on the desk furniture. “One of you shut her up. I can’t hear myself think.”

Sylvia spat towards Cliff’s back. “When I get these cuffs off — and I will —I’m going to freeze your heart. You’re going to choke on your own fluids.”

“I’ll do it,” Zia offered casually.

She kept her eyes on the laces of her velvet slippers, but she saw how Cliff looked abruptly in her direction, his lips parted in surprise. He was cemented in place as the room emptied.

The stillness felt dangerous. She met his gaze unflinchingly before flying to the cage. Sylvia’s face was worn and red from crying. Cliff’s betrayal seemed to poison her a little more each day — cuffs or no. Her emerald eyes were dull as she begged Zia quietly to help her.

Cliff’s footsteps thudded quietly as he neared. Zia squared her jaw and waved her hand, pulling at the small amount of magic the cuffs allowed her. Sylvia’s eyes fluttered, a plea dying on her lips as she fell into a gentle sleep, forehead resting against the bars.

“I thought you two were close. What changed?” His deep voice was calm, but laced with suspicion.

“She’s yelling herself hoarse. Besides… You did give her a chance to apologize for wounding you.”

He frowned, but intrigue glimmered there, too. They hadn’t interacted much since that night in his bed, when he’d kissed her.

When she’d kissed him, too.

“You’re wearing the necklace,” he noticed. The effort to maintain a casual air would have been adorable from anyone else.

Zia touched it, grinning wryly. “It does pain me to admit you have good taste. It matches everything.” Her delicate touch trailed from the gemstone, over her cleavage. She pushed off from the cage and flew back over to the desk. Cliff followed. After fluttering indecisively, she pointedly lowered herself to a seat on Cliff’s crystal bourbon glass. There was still a little of the harsh drink inside, mingling with melted ice.

“I’m glad you’re not going with them,” Zia said, smiling primly as she watched the hunger build in his expression. The way he fought so desperately to maintain the upper hand.

“Why?”

“You’d get hurt,” she said, smirking. “And that would mean more work for me.”

He chuckled softly, fondness flooding his face. Cliff braced his hands on the desk, leaning over her. She had to arch her back to maintain eye contact.

“Maybe I’ll bring you with me next time,” he said in that low voice that made her stomach flutter. He grabbed hold of the glass. She let her legs dangle in the bourbon, kicking carefree. “There are always vampires in Italy. And Greece. You’d love it there.”

“Do we need monsters to travel together?” She scoffed. “Am I not enough of an excuse?”

Her teasing grin faltered when Cliff lifted up the glass. His handsome face loomed so close she could feel his soft breaths against her skin.

“Is that what you want?” he asked.

She swallowed hard. “You offered to prove yourself. Right?”

She touched the side of his hand, hoping he could not feel how hers trembled. Cliff’s other hand cupped against her side, grazing the gauzy fabric of her short dress. His thumb pushed under her chin, guiding her face as he leaned in to kiss her.

He was tender and skilled — but hungry. He pressed against the softness of her thigh, the curve of her waist, claiming her.

She giggled shrilly as he paused in his affections only to gulp down the last of the liquor, sucking on her arms in the process when she fell forward against his full lips.

He pulled away, catching his breath with a dizzied smile.

“Zia, I…”

He trailed off.

His pause drew out as he stood there, and he frowned deeply.

“What is it, darling?” Zia asked.

His eyes bulged with realization and he bucked forward. He tried to set the glass down gently, but she was nearly crushed by it as he seized and dropped it on its side. Rolling out of the way, Zia watched with wide eyes as Cliff struggled to stay alert. His eyelids suddenly seemed leaden.

He managed a murmur of betrayal before collapsing to the floor in a heap.

Zia wrung out her long hair, counting the seconds of silence. She sighed, looking down at her wet clothes. She would smell of nightshade for ages.

She glided down to the floor and landed on Cliff’s chest. She crawled in his jacket pockets for a few minutes before emerging victorious with her prize — the master key fob.

“We have to hurry,” Zia said, flying to the cage. Sylvia was on her feet, wings tensed. “I didn’t have enough nightshade to kill him.”

#tyrant!cliff au #giant/tiny #gt #g/t #gt writing #random gt drabbles #shot in the dark #giant tiny #random gt drabble #fairies #fairy

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Keeper at the Core

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzEIdDAB4omdO2JcQVMObfrhLJ5kX4ONmSsLypM1ks0/edit?usp=sharing.\

As they walked they left a trail of orange alien icor trailing through the snow after them, pooling in footprints and clinging in little droplets to jagged crystals of ice. The front of Adam’s visor was stained with blood partially obscuring his vision. He tried to wipe it off with a gloved hand, but they too were covered in a thick layer of orange, dripped down on him from the slain guardian lying in the snow not a hundred yards back. It was only when Maverick pulled back to help him, wiping the blood from his visor that he was able to see properly.

When his vision finally cleared, he tilted his head back in awe and let out a short sound of shock and surprise.

It had been impressive at the bottom of the hill, towering and imposing, but up close it was, something else. Adam didn’t know how large the structure was, but it reached hundreds of feet down into the icy water of the inland sea, and probably went for thousands of feet below the water level. Here, at the peak of the cliff, it still continued to go up, jutting towards the top of the icy room where its peak barely brushed the underside of the ice.

The stone was as read as freshly spilled human blood, and as smooth as volcanic glass. Reaching the pinnacle of the ice, sunny reached out one hand and brushed her fingertips along the smooth surface. Adam did the same to find he couldn’t exactly identify the material, as it seemed to be neither glass nor metal. He tilted his head back against to examine the moldings along the outside of the building. If he had not been convinced of its origins as a sentient- made structure already, he was sure of it now. 

The building itself was a marvel of artistry, carved with delicate little patterns all around its edges. Using the camera in his visor he took some close up images for the scientists to study when they returned. Looking at some of the little carvings, it was almost as if he could see something…. familiar .

It was hard to describe, but some of the forms that swirled within the patterns gave him the idea of familiar animal shapes, though when he tried to identify them outright, he was unable to isolate any one being. Eventually, all his attempts at staring only made his eyes hurt, and he had to step back.

This was the upper tier of the tower, and so he doubted it was meant to be entered, but still, as he got closer to the edge of the ice shelf, he found that there was a narrow balcony running around the outer edge of the tower not some ten feet below. Etium had already spotted the balcony and hovered down riding on the back of his gun like he had become so accustomed to doing.

Adam would have jumped down if he wasn’t worried about the integrity of the tower, and instead deployed his jetpack. He could feel the thrum of power running up through his body as he leapt downward, gently hovering inward until he was a few inches above the catwalk, stretching out his legs to touch down, gently, atop the balcony.

He let his weight settle gingerly and waited.

Nothing.

Seemed solid.

He looked up at the others, waiting overhead for him and nodded, “one at a time, I think.”

They didn’t argue, and Ramirez helped to lower maverick into Adam’s reach. He didn’t want to disturb the material that made up the tower, so they tried to be gentle lowering each one of the party members downward. Sunny came last, dangling herschel foff the side of the little cliff far enough that Adam could reach her legs then she let go, trusting him to catch her as she came down.

It was easy enough, and he set her gently on her feet.

The group of them waited, but the stone/ glas or whatever was held just fine.

Adam turned to look at the others.

“I think I found it.”

Etium’s call came just ahead of them, and together the group marched single file around the tower, stopping behind where the Tesraki had paused, before a small doorway set into the stone.

“Can you open it?” Adam asked.

“No, no handles on the outside, and it won’t budge when I push.”

“I can try.” Maverick said, and she stepped forward to brace herself against the stone balcony, pressing her shoulder into the stone. She pushed, hard, but nothing happened except for the sharp whirring of her exosuit. Eventually Adam stopped her worried that her feet would crack right through the stone glass, but an idea was already beginning to form in his head.

“If this is like the polaris location, then its run by maker technology” He reached out a hand towards the door, “Maybe if,” His hand pressed downward on the stone, and all at once Adam felt a surge of power rush through him. It was hot and cold all at the same time causing a wave of sweat to burs tout over the top layer of his skin. The voices in his head amplified, until the very thoughts of those around him became one with him for a moment. Then just like that, the power surged outward, and he gasped sagging sideways only to be caught by Sunny as the door creaked and slid inward with the sound of stone grinding over stone.

“Adam, adam are you…” 

“I’m okay.” Adam muttered slowly pushing back to his feet, “Just a bit of a jolt is all.” He stepped back and took a moment to send a transmission to the Empyrean.

Found the location, sending coordinates now. Send backup and watch out for giant snow crabs. Bring Jetpacks and suits.

He shut off his transmission, and Together they stared inward at the black rift that had been left as the door opened.

Maverick gave a sigh and stepped forward, “If there are any more  void spiders in here I am going to riot.”

Ramirez nodded emphatically, but followed her as she slipped through the crack and into the dark hallway of the tower. 

It was pitch black inside, impossible to see at first, but as Adam stepped over the threshold, coming to a stop on the inner stairway, there was a sudden rumbling. The group of them reached out to grab the walls, holding tight. Someone shouted as the door sealed behind them.

The rumbling continued in the darkness as light beams flicked on on their helmets.

Someone called out a few choice curse words, but then.

Light.

It flowed out from the point where Adam’s feet touched the ground, pooling around him like a puddle of widening blood. The group stepped back in surprise, but then they were all engulfed by it, as the light ran up the walls and into the ceiling high overhead following the lines of intricate patterns. There was another rumbling, and then a sudden clattering which heralded the sharp grinding of gears. There was a lurch, and they all jolted forward clinging to each other as the tower began to move, spinning slowly. 

And then 

The stairs below them began to move too, clicking downward into darkness as if chasing after the spreading light which continued to filter over the walls like spilling water. The light was not bright, but a dim and tinted read,  and Adam couldn’t help but get the feeling like he was traveling through the veins of some monstrous beast.

The others around him remained silent, but they accepted the ride they were being taken on, spinning downward into the tower at increasing speed. Plenty of other floors and landings went by, but the stairs did not seem intent on stopping. Ramirez indicated his distaste for not knowing where they were going and Adam had to agree to some degree.

The ride down took a while, before they finally dipped out of the tower and into a massive central chamber at the center of the crimson cathedral. The room around them was massive, wider than a few football fields or more, and inside, hung a familiar structure. It was alien in shape, not dissimilar to the water people they had met when first entering this new system, but absolutely massive strung from the ceilings and walls by cabels, its head tilted forward to rest atop its chest. Adam had seen a similar structure at the polaris sight, and while it was disconcerting, the one at the polaris sight didn’t seem to serve much of a purpose or even be operational.

He didn’t want to find out if that was the case here,

They continued downward into the massive room before being deposited on the smooth stone

The floor of the room was mostly empty, except for the ball of light hovering above a dais at the center of the room. The ball of light was nothing more than a small orb, that sort of looked like the cooling surface of a giant red star. The group of them approached with some trepidation.

“If I told you not to touch it, do you think you would listen.” Maverick said, her tone rather dry with some level of amusement.

Adam turned and grinned at her rather sheepishly, “Unlikely, but you can try.”

They fanned out slightly around the edges of the dais staring up the the burning ball of light, “What do you think it is?”

“Power source maybe?” Etium offered.

Adam shook his head.

“No,, I think I'm the power source.”

Sunny cut around the other side, her eyes narrowed, “ the last polaris location served primarily as an archive, did it not, with instructions on the creation of the constructs, and the universe itself. Perhaps this is another archive of some kind. Maybe they made multiple copies in case one was destroyed or abandoned.”

Ramirez snorted, “They don’t really have a great track record at keeping these things, not destroyed or abandoned.”

Adam grunted, “Well there really is only one way to find out.” 

Sunny sighed deeply as Adam reachout out a hand and towards the glowing orb.

“Do you always touch things that don’t belong to you.” 

Adam jolted in shock as did the others, raising their weapons and spinning sharply towards the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Sunny’s spear was the closest to its mark, coming to rest pointed just at the base of the creature’s neck, though it certainly didn’t seem perturbed, leering at them from under its red robe.

It looked an awful lot like a member of the zealot council, the same species and wearing the same red robes, but feeling its mind, Adam immediately knew what it was.

“Maker.” he muttered.

There was another murmuring around the room.

“Mmm, yes. I heard the polaris sight had been compromised, though I didn’t think that my abode would be so disrupted.” The creature looked over at sunny, “Apotheosis, its been a while.” He looked around at all of them, and eyebrow raised in surprise, “Impetus I expected, and where impetus goes Apotheosis follows, and Grace of course, Alter, I can certainly see, but I did not expect Renegade to be with you, bringing along her void friend like a parasite clinging to her insides.”

Adam could sense Maverick's boiling anger just below the surface, “If you have any idea how to get rid of him,  I would be happy for the help.”

The maker laughed, “that was not an insult, child, simply a note of surprise. I can see that you have the creature well contained. Surprising and impressive for one of your questionable history, good to know it seems you have finally chosen a side.” The maker tilted his head very suddenly, “Ah, and you brought a friend. The applicant.”

The group of them turned shocked as the Maker raised his hand and dragged something from the darkness coming down from the top of the stares.

It spun in place squealed and kicked until.

“Mitzen!” Adam said in shock 

The furry little creature flared his wings and attempted to fly away, but the power of the maker was too strong, and he was dragged to the ground, to stand with the rest of them.

The maker smiled in amusement.

“There, now we can all talk like civilized beings.”

[kitten-ly]

It’s My Party

~~~

Chapter 10

~~~

Just as discussed the day prior, Fishlegs, Astrid, and Hiccup took a trip to the village library, which was ancient and wind-blown. Inside the old building, were endless, towering shelves of books, and beside them were piles and stacks of more books. There was plenty of light falling in from the ornate skylights and high tower windows, showcasing the overlay of dust in the static air. There was a small, frail librarian seated behind a desk at the entrance, who appeared just about as old as the building itself. She didn’t greet them, only peered over her book, as they walked in, giving them a suspicious look before returning to reading.

The kids browsed up and down the aisles, searching for something of interest, when Astrid spotted a gorgeous silver-lined book, popping out at her amongst the other dull ones. She pulled the bright thing off the shelf and was gratefully pleased to see it was something about dragons. Everyone was fascinated by the book, they plopped down on the floor beside each other, in the middle of the aisle, to look through it.

Astrid, between the two of them, was all too aware of Hiccup’s shoulder and leg against hers. She had been longing for this contact all night and day. The lucky contact of his touch was so loud, it was screaming. Her face pooled with warmth, as they looked over maps and drawings in the book and she tried her best to distract herself by pointing out to the boys the subtle difference between two sets of dragon tracks.

After half an hour of flipping through the contents and maybe another half hour of searching for another book, the three of them decided they were bored and left.

The blinding daylight had their eyes in sudden tears, yet the clean, crisp air was more refreshing than ever after being in such a dusty, old building. The sun still hung high overhead, but Fishlegs said he had to help his dad with a fishing rod project, and Hiccup had to work at the forge, so Astrid was off to find her next activity alone.

The sky was clear and there was no sign of rain. Astrid decided she would go on a solo hunting patrol along the trail that twisted through the dense thicket surrounding Berk.

Astrid gathered some arrows and her favorite bow her father had gifted her a couple years ago. It had been carved from a willow tree and sanded down smooth and sleek. On her own, she used a pocket knife to cut a few intricate little flowers into the finish.

The young warrior set off on the steep downhill path that plunged into the dark woods. The air felt cooler and the sunlight was scattered here, unable to pierce through the full branches above. She moved quietly through the dense undergrowth, managing to avoid getting snagging on the brambles as the path narrowed.

She was used to being out here with an entire hunting party. While most of her peers were quite skilled hunters, it was much more difficult to move silently with so many people. And they would always be mumbling to each other. Now, here, alone, she was completely invisible, moving lightly on her feet like a stealthy cat. Not even a rabbit would hear her approaching.

The trail ended as the narrow tunnel of bracken broke into a massive expanse of windy plains. The tall yellow grass was a wide stretch, however most of the bright horizon was hidden behind patches of trees. The hum of rushing water was louder now and Astrid knew if she continued north, she would meet the edge of the plains, where the steep rocky cliffs overlooked a sparkling river which cut through the valley. Instead of trying to find a way down the cliffs, Astrid followed the plains decline, keeping her pace quick yet silent.

Astrid moved quietly as she entered another wooded area of undergrowth and tall trees. The shade felt nice on her hot shoulders. She could see a suntan beginning to form on her skin.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the bushes ahead, and instinctively, she dropped to a crouch, low to the ground. She held her bow tightly, holding her breath, watching the bushes carefully when a brown hare hopped into sight. Astrid didn’t dare move, the long blades of grass would rustle and give her away. She waited patiently. When the common breeze swept through the plains she seized the opportunity to draw her bow and aim carefully.

The hare stopped sniffing the ground and was still for a moment, its black eyes seemingly landed on her. Astrid held her breath, focusing on the prey, and then shot. Satisfaction swelled through her as the arrow pierced her target. After scooping up her kill she set off to hunt down another.

By sunset, she had caught five rabbits. Astrid proudly made her way back to the village to show off her fresh catches to Hiccup. The air was starting to cool down and her arms broke out into goosebumps. A cold shudder ran through her body in the chilling wind and she couldn’t help fantasizing about the cozy heat from the fire in the dining hall or the familiar warmth of her thick, fur blankets…or the sweet safety of Hiccup’s perfect arms around her.

Just as she turned out of the woods, a glimmer of white blonde hair caught her eye and a wave of uneasiness sank through her body. Oh no.

Cato was leaning up against a massive oak beneath the shade with his arms crossed, gazing out into the distance. Astrid froze in her tracks, hoping he hadn’t seen her yet, but it was too late. When he looked up, her heart lurched in her chest. It was as if he had been waiting for her and called over casually.

“Hey, Astrid!”

Great. She struggled not to roll her eyes. This is not something I wanted to deal with today. She approached him slowly with caution, her heart beginning to pound.

“What do you want?” Astrid sneered, unable to hide her resentment. She dropped the tied bundle of rabbits on the forest floor beside her muddy boots.

“I, er, was hoping you would want to talk,” Cato stammered, taken aback by her hostility. He glanced down at her fresh kills, his dark steel eyes revealing a glimmer of amusement.

“Why?” Astrid crossed her arms.

“Because you’re someone who I’ve considered a friend for many years,” answered Cato. These words had a strange sting to them, for some reason, however, Astrid remained cold.

“Well, you’ve been acting like a fucking jerk recently and you’re mean to my friends.” She snapped back. She had said ‘friends,’ but they both knew who she really meant.

“You’re right,” he admitted unexpectedly. “I’m not happy with myself…or with my actions…”

Astrid didn’t say anything. His aggression had grown stronger than ever over the more recent months and it had been driving her away. She found him rather annoying nowadays, unlike before, in her early teens, when she would actually look up to Cato and his skills and strength and wear herself out for his approval.

“Look, I just want it to be like old times again. Remember how much fun you and I used to have on the those all-nighter hunting patrols,” Cato smiled with nostalgia, showing his sharp white teeth and some distant memories came flooding back to her. “And every day with all the unnecessary combat training?”

When he laughed a little, Astrid actually found herself tense a little, realizing there was an urge there to laugh too. She would not lie to herself, she was fond of these memories. A part of her did miss having such a good time with Cato and the other two boys whom she had been so close with, Tom and Ramsey. They were her best friends for years. She even missed hanging out sometimes with Snotlout and Tuffnut, as obnoxious as they were. She imagined a peaceful world where everyone united in harmony and all the kids hung out together and went on hunting patrols together and shared lunch together. The grouping of social genres was so stupid, nonetheless, the root of the issue was aggressive people like Cato. He was just so jealous. Jealous of other boys talking to her or training with her when she wasn’t even his! If Cato could just accept that he will never be more than her friend, they could all start hanging out again.

“Astrid,” his voice was soft and pleading.

“I don’t know, Cato. That was a long time ago,” was all she could manage.

“You have been one of my best friends since childhood, Astrid,” she could hear the desperation wavering in his words. “Please, just let me make it up to you. I can’t lose you as a friend too. I won’t cause any more problems. And I’ll be respectful towards your little—I-I mean Hiccup Haddock.”

“That’s all that really matters,” Astrid said, for some odd reason her heart began to pound in her chest at the thought of Hiccup. “Don’t be mean to him. Don’t ever hurt him. Or I’ll seriously hurt you.”

“Okay, okay. You have my word, Astrid,” Cato said sincerely, his hand over his heart.

Astrid picked up her bundle of rabbits and gave him a somber look, before she walked away without saying anything else.

Dinnertime was loud and busy. Astrid sat with Hiccup and Fishlegs per usual, but this time Ruffnut joined them as well. Astrid was delighted to get to actually sit next to Hiccup today, her leg against his, his elbow easily brushing her arm every so often when he reached for something on the table. The miniature contact was fuzzy electric, making her skin break into goosebumps, her heart soar with bliss.

Fishlegs, as always took the spotlight and gave a detailed account of the time he fought head-on with a bear. Although he was practically yelling over the table, Astrid half listened, murmuring comments to Ruffnut here and there about Fishleg’s enthusiasm.

They all shared red wine and a plate full of roasted chicken and smoked fish on skewers.

“Do you think Snotlout is a good kisser?” Ruff asked, causing Astrid to almost choke on a piece of fish.

This even caught Hiccup’s attention, who turned his head curiously to tune into the exchange.

“What? Probably not,” Astrid said, taking a sip of wine. She followed Ruffnut's cloudy, distant gaze across the hall where it was fixed on the boy.

“No, you’re wrong,” Ruff murmured, clearly lost in her own thoughts. “I can just tell.”

“Wait, Hiccup, listen,” Fishlegs tried not to whine. “This is the best part.”

“Okay, sorry.”

“So, I’m gushing blood from my arm and stomach, but I gather all my strength and since my spear has now snapped in half, at this point, I realize that I’m going to have to use my small steel dagger to take down the bear!” Fishlegs continued, waving his arms and hands to create visuals to go with his story.

Astrid began to drown him out when Ruffnut started mumbling to her again.

“He acts so funny around me, now. I just know he wants me,” Ruff said under her breath, her gaze migrating to Astrid. “I mean who wouldn’t want me? But, I honestly didn’t suspect Snotlout would feel any type of way….”

“Ruffnut, listen, I know you guys will really like this part,” Fishlegs protested.

The girls tried to listen to his story for a few moments before Ruffnut whispered to Astrid again.

“I bet he’s a great kisser,” she was dreamily gazing off at Snotlout again. “Look at that mouth!”

“Why don’t you go find out,” Astrid challenged, lowering her voice mischievously.

“No way, not right here!”

“No, I mean, later. Like maybe tonight meet up with him or something? Go on a little patrol together?”

Ruffnut stifled her gasp with her hands but her excited squeals broke through.

“Yes, yes, yes. Good idea. Wonderful idea,” Ruffnut squeaked, giggling uncontrollably like a little girl.

Just past Fishlegs head, Astrid could see Cato had appeared at the far entrance of the dining hall. He was looking around the room when their eyes met and unexpectedly, he raised his hand and waved at her. Why was he waving at her? Was he testing to see if she’ll do it? Astrid debated it for a moment and when she slowly raised her hand and waved back, a delightful smile broke across his face. For a second, she worried he would come over here and sit with them, but he settled at his usual table, in the spot next to Ramsey, the black-haired, blue-eyed boy, whom Astrid was best friends with at one point.

“Wow. Are you guys cool, now?” Ruff inquired, who had been paying close attention.

Astrid merely shrugged her shoulders. She wouldn’t call them friends or anything. When she glanced at Hiccup, he was fixed right on her, a very subtle hint of distaste crossing his face. It was apparent that he had noticed this exchange between her and Cato, as well.

Astrid could sense that this made him feel uneasy, however, neither of them spoke of it. Fishlegs continued to list off the different species of snakes that were present in Berk, but Astrid was lost in her own thoughts. Maybe she shouldn’t have waved at Cato. She didn’t want to give off the impression that they were friends. And she certainly didn’t want Hiccup to think there was anything going on between the two of them.

The moment dinner was over, everyone split off on their own separate ways.

“See you guys tomorrow,” said Fishlegs, before heading out of the hall.

“I’ll let you know if I end up meeting up with Snotlout,” said Ruffnut. Behind her, Astrid could see Hiccup beginning to walk away toward the exit, a sense of dread filled her stomach. He hadn’t said a word to her since she greeted Cato. She was terribly worried he was upset with her.

“I’ll tell you everything that happens if anything happens!” Ruffnut exclaimed. Astrid could not get excited with her friend this time, the feeling of worry was sapping all of her attention.

“Okay, see you,” Astrid murmured and pushed past Ruffnut to follow Hiccup, but he was nowhere in sight.

Astrid left the dining hall, pushing through the crowd of villagers that had just shared dinner. She descended the stone steps in the cool twilight and peered around in all directions for Hiccup.

In a short distance, she could see his tiny figure in the direction of his house, disappearing down the village trail into the fog.

“Hiccup!” Astrid called after him. When he didn’t turn around, her heart swelled horribly and she broke out into a light jog after him.

“Hiccup, wait up,” she panted, slowing her pace as she finally caught up with him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” his cool eyes met hers briefly, and Astrid felt a small wash of relief, but he did not smile.

“What’s going on?” She demanded, searching his expression for any answers, but he seemed mellow as always. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t say goodbye, or even wait. We always walk together.”

“Well, er, yes, I’m sorry,” Hiccup replied.

Astrid couldn’t help thinking she would get nowhere with this if she didn’t just say something now.

“Are you annoyed that I waved hello to Cato?” Astrid stopped to try to seriously talk for a second, but Hiccup kept walking.

“Please, talk to me for a moment,” she begged and realized she sounded like Cato, herself.

“Fine. Yes. I didn’t like it,” he admitted shortly. “I didn’t realize you were friends.”

She was taken aback by his jumpy conclusion.

“We are not friends! But we decided not to be enemies either. There’s really no reason for hate. We just reached a common ground, that’s all.”

He scoffed at these protests.

“Did you guys hang out or something and sort out all your differences?” Hiccup sounded annoyed. Astrid felt her heart sinking, he had never shown any kind of negative emotion in front of her before. It was making her feel funny.

“No, we didn’t hang out,” Astrid insisted, her heart pulsing in her throat. “He found me by the forest after I went out hunting. To talk.”

Hiccup scowled with jealousy at the mention of Cato and her talking alone in the woods.

“Yep and that’s when you got together to reconcile and sing Kumbaya,” he muttered sarcastically, casting his gaze to the ground.

It wouldn’t take a genius to know Hiccup didn’t like her being around Cato. It made him jealous and irritable. Why wouldn’t it, after all the hostility the two had been through with Cato up until now? She could easily understand why Hiccup would be confused and even pissed off with Astrid’s sudden peaceful interaction with someone who had they deemed an enemy for quite some time now.

Although he wasn’t her boyfriend yet, she could tell how badly he wanted to ask her to avoid Cato. She didn’t blame him, Cato was aggressive and rude and it was obvious he was in love with her. And although Hiccup saw this other boy as such a threat, Astrid knew he really wasn’t. At the end of the day, all that mattered is who she wanted to be with, right?

“Please, Hiccup, stop,” Astrid suddenly said, out of nowhere, grabbing his hand to prevent him from walking on, stopping them by a gnarled, shaded tree. He didn’t resist, but he sighed and turned to her, a glint of irritation in his usually refreshing green eyes.

“Please, don’t worry,” she reassured weakly.

This was not enough for him. He continued to glare at her silently. His cheeks had gone red as of his frustration had physically heated him or maybe it was the wine they had at dinner. Astrid felt a pang of guilt for thinking he looked so cute right now.

“How can I not worry?” He snapped. “I don’t trust that scumbag’s intentions. Even Fishlegs said it himself—he’s obsessed with you.”

She couldn’t deny this. However, she could handle herself. Cato’s always thrown himself at her and she easily told him off every time.

“That’s true, but, at this point, he knows that he’ll never have me!”

“Does he?” Hiccup retorted sharply. “Do you actually think he’s made peace with that, he just accepts he has no chance?”

“I don’t know,” Astrid admitted. Her brain felt fuzzy from all this uncertainty and tension.

For a moment, she tried to imagine if the roles were reversed, and some relentless girl was in love with Hiccup, following him around, trying to talk to him alone, lashing out at everyone who tried to get close with him. Her stomach lurched dreadfully. Oh, she would hate that!

“I’m sorry, baby,” she suddenly felt these strange words tumbling out of her mouth and watched how his eyes seemed to light up as if coming back to life. The wine must be making her bold. Her heart slammed against her chest as she grabbed both of his hands now, stepping closer, so their faces were inches apart and she held his bewildered gaze. “Listen, I’ll stay away from him, okay?”

“Okay,” he murmured contently, an uncertain little smile finally unraveling over his mouth.

She leaned forward to close the distance between their faces, kissing him affectionately. She let her fingers climb up the back of his neck to play in the softness of his copper flips. Gods, how she had missed this feeling. She pushed him up against the nearby tree and kissed him hard, letting the front of her body press against his tauntingly.

They stopped kissing, their close breaths mingling as Hiccup complained, “Astrid, we’re like right in the open.”

“You’re right,” she whispered and kissed him once more. She tasted him this time, fancying his flavor and the way his tongue moved over hers.

“Oooh, what do we have here? Lucky Hiccup’s getting some action!” A familiar and annoying voice hollering a short distance away from them, right on time.

Astrid turned to see Snotlout sniggering on the hill just behind them with Tuffnut, who looked at them curiously.

“Something that you’ll never have!” Astrid called back sourly, then snatched Hiccup’s hand to yank him away from the scene.

“Let’s go to my house,” she suggested, changing directions, and leading them toward her end of the village. “I can sneak you in through my bedroom window. We just have to be really quiet.”

Hiccup laughed nervously at this. “Okay. Er, what will we do?”

“Oh, you know. Stuff.” She shrugged casually but then turned around to give him a telling smirk.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows in response, but said nothing. After a few moments of following her in silence, he piped up.

“Hey. It would be far less trouble to go to my house. My dad won’t care at all if I have any, uh, company over.”

Astrid considered this for a moment. She slowed down to walk beside him, still holding his hand. “He won’t care at all? Even if we go to your room and shut the door?”

“He won’t bother us,” Hiccup confirmed, his face blushing red at her words. “If anything, he’ll tell me ‘good job.’”

“Well, okay. As long as he doesn’t go tattle to my parents.”

They shifted directions again and set off towards the chief’s house, which was a distinctly large, dark silhouette on the breezy hilltop, overlooking the village.

The quiet earth bathed in moonlight, giving the pale, tall grass a silver illusion and as they picked their way, suddenly a loud, cool wind swept over the plains, teasing the long, parched blades.

When they reached Hiccup’s front doorstep, the torches outside were beginning to extinguish. Before following him inside, Astrid cast a glance over her shoulder at the village below. She had never realized how tall the chief’s hill was until she stood at the top of it and looked down. Even though it was nighttime now, it was still early enough for lots of people to be out, moving around below, working, and interacting. They almost looked like little rats. She noticed one bigger figure standing still, by the vegetable stall, facing her direction. It was almost too dark to make out the details. Who’s that? Is that Cato? He was just staring up the hill at her and there was something ominous about it.

#hiccup #how to train your dragon #httyd #hiccup haddock #httyd fandom #httyd hiccup #httyd series #hiccstrid #httyd fanfiction #hiccup and astrid #its my party and ill cry if i want to #its my party #fanfic #hiccstrid fanfic

[thegoosewiththemost]

Haunting - Part 13

Summary: taking BJ out for his first afternoon at the beach.

Read Part 12 here

Read Part 14 here

Sitting shotgun as you drove down partially sealed roads to the crowded carpark, you saw Betelgeuse look around curiously at the change of scenery trying to guess what it was that you had in mind. A vigorous wind tugged harshly at the wiry treeline that separated you from the beach, making him second guess your bright idea of going outdoors, but the bright sound of children’s laughter pattering on the sea breeze informed him otherwise.

The air was chillier than he had anticipated as he stepped out of the vehicle, but before long, you had taken his hand and led him out of the shadows and beyond the shrubbery to the sandy outlook. It wasn’t the first time he had seen the sea or looked out over an endless stretch of ocean, but somehow, being alive made it more memorable. The tang of sea salt air and the smell of washed up kelp filled his nose. The touch of your hand linking the two of you in a reminder that he was no longer alone kept him grounded, even as he shut his eyes.

But there was something else there too, something wet and ticklish and persistent snuffling up and down his other hand. Freaked out at what this other thing was that seems so interested in him, he yanked his hand away with a dignified yelp of surprise.

Cracking an eye open, he finds himself looking eye to eye with an old dog, hairs gone grey and stiff around its wet snout, tail swinging side to side in anticipation. He had never had the best luck with animals when he was dead. They always tended to keep a wide berth as though they could sense the bad vibes rolling off him as he drew near. Not a moment later, it’s owner, trailing behind her excitable friend, came by with a grin and a cordial hello before moving on to join the throng of beach goers.

There was a wave of warmth that ran down his spine, and he relished in the brief attention of it like a dog leans into the hand that strokes it. Some days, he forgets that he’s not invisible.

It sure is good to be seen though.

The thought made him laugh, bright and so so true that your heart squeezes. He’s the liveliest thing this side of the earth’s topside and it strikes you how much it suits him to see the blood colouring his face. He belongs here among the living, you thought.

Being alive was boring sometimes, but here he was, with a friend by his side and enjoying a nice sunny day out on the beach. Betelgeuse couldn’t complain. It was so normal, like one of those segments from the chick flicks you would put on where it was inevitable (nay, necessary) for there to be a beach scene.

Immediately, he spots a group of kids building sandcastles and insists on making his own. Not having any buckets doesn’t do anything to stop his massive train of ideas for his castle and he ends up making an impressively large but lumpy, half-collapsed igloo embedded with a seaweed banners and shell embellishments on its outer walls.

Next to his, yours is dwarfed, like a tinny hut next to a palace and begrudgingly you crown him the king of sandcastle building after much nagging.

It’s not really fair, you argue, because he had sabotaged your efforts by taking segments of sand off everytime he went to drop by it for a visit. “Never took you for such a sore loser, babe.” He sniggers, and you concede him the win (for today) at least.

You’d get him back someday.

Thoroughly beaten in terms of the castle measuring contest, you decided to drag him over to the massive rock shelf jutting out from the hip of the cliffs. At that time of the day, the receding tides had left the stony landscape exposed enough for you to walk on. The rocks still dripped wet with seawater and you had to constantly remind Betelgeuse to be careful not to slip on the wet algae as you carefully clambered up and over them.

The reward was well worth the effort that you put in. Rock pools large and small littered the cracks in the rocks, some even big enough to swim in. Before you could even get a word in, Lawrence, who knew no fear, stuck his hand straight in, causing (what you were sure was a poisonous) resting octopus to jet out from the crevice it had been inhabiting and fishing out a very angry little crab. Grappling it between both hands as he tried to avoid its pincers, he shoved it swiftly into his mouth.

“Hey, you should watch ou- LAWRENCE, YOU SPIT THAT CRAB OUT RIGHT NOW.”

You were pretty sure humans weren’t made to eat crabs with their shell and all. Like a cat caught with its hand in the larder, he spat out the crab - covered in saliva and probably traumatised by the experience - to live another day. It wasted no time to crawl into a crack where his fingers wouldn’t be able to reach.

“What? It looked tasty! You should try it sometime.”

“Yeah I think I’ll pass on that one. I don’t think breathers are exactly designed to eat crabs straight out of the water like that. We have a handy dandy little thing called indigestion and food poisoning that ISN’T so fun to deal with when you’re alive. We’ve got so many food options apart from extra fresh unshelled crab from the rockpools!”

“Yeah, but you can’t put a price on convenience, babes!” Betelgeuse crossed his arms in frustration. He was clearly still upset about losing his afternoon snack. His stomach growled in agreement at the sentiment.

“BJayy~ are you getting hangry?” You sang out teasingly through your giggles. It was getting late anyways and you planned on buying some ice cream before the store closed.

“Maybe?”

“How do you feel about getting some ice cream?” If there was one thing about Betelgeuse that you knew, it was that he had a massive sweet tooth.

“Hells yeah!”

It was kind of funny to think that you were here with a big scary ex-demon, buying ice cream at the beach. You made it just in time before the vendor packed up, taking your spoils with you to a bench as you watched the sun lower across the horizon.

Betelgeuse, in your peripheral vision, spends an absurd amount of time making out with his chocolate ice cream which has already begun to melt down all over his fingers.

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice musical #beetlejuice x reader #musicaljuice x reader #musicaljuice #brightjuice #blumjuice

[comfort-questing]

night and death and the rain are given (p4)

first, second, third

"You look dreadful," was the next thing that Jean said to Diluc, as he leaned into the window-frame next to her chair. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Some. Enough." Did sleeping fitfully for a few hours between daylight and eleven o'clock count? He'd gotten less before and counted it, at that.

Jean didn't answer, just raised her eyebrows ever so slightly.

Diluc sighed. "You, of course, being the local expert on resting."

"Fair. But we don't need you getting ill again, too, sir." She reached out to brush her fingers against his hand, the worry deepening on her face.

Winds of mercy, when had she started looking at him like that? Like he was something that needed to be cared for? He expected it from Barbara, that being the nature and calling of Barbara more or less; he had thought better of Jean than this. He rubbed his eyes and looked away, towards where Kaeya lay huddled and motionless on the bed, dark blue-black hair spread across the pillows.

Didn't Barbara's healing usually work faster than this, he couldn't help thinking - out of his admitted depth of inexperience with Barbara's healing; he'd not been conscious for the majority of his own brush with it.

As if sensing his gaze, Barbara looked up, the shimmer of Hydro dancing half-visible around her outstretched hands.

"Don't worry, sir," she said. "We ought to stay hopeful - it's for the best at times like this." She returned to humming softly, and this time when she rested her hand on Kaeya's cheek he did not pull away. "I'm helping him sleep now and trying to bring his fever down. He's worn out and very weak."

He hadn't seen Kaeya since the day they'd brought Jean back to Mondstat from Starsnatch Cliff, but looking at his foster-brother now he could see the traces and hollows of exhaustion and strain on his face, and he wondered abruptly whether Kaeya often looked like this - not so far from what he saw in his own mirror, some days.

"I shouldn't have let him go," Jean said softly. "I knew it was a risk. But our little crimson scientist's incendiary devices shouldn't be wandering all over the continent, and this time it really wasn't her fault that they were. If anything, it was my fault in the first place, for letting Iris have a collection to try to break up the ice on the mountain." She rubbed a hand over her face, pushing her hair back from her forehead. "But we can't have any more adventurers lost trying to find their way through, or spare the Knights to go bringing them back all the time. Not with the dangers on the roads..." Her voice trailed off. "I'm sorry. I'm rambling again."

"No. I - I'm sure that you have much on your mind." He knew well enough how it was, to think about one cause of a problem and to pull a whole skein of them down off the shelf. Whatever the Knights were or were not doing as an entity, Jean herself was no slacker.

"But for now, I'm here." Jean folded her hands on her lap. "And my mind should be here, too. For Kaeya, and for you."

"For - me?"

"Of course." Her voice dropped, so that he had to lean closer to hear her. "I - I know how it feels to worry about a sibling. Although for smaller reasons, of course, on my side."

Diluc clenched his teeth. "He wouldn't like it if he heard that," he said. "About us being... siblings."

Jean's eyebrows drew together. "Why wouldn't he? I thought..."

"We were - we were brothers. But that's a long time ago, and when we were - quite different people, he and I, and on a different road." Diluc let himself slide down the wall to sit on the floor, his legs suddenly too tired to hold him up, the sunlight too bright in his eyes. "I don't know what we are now. Is there a word for people who used to be brothers, once? Foster-brother? Erstwhile brother? Stray brother?"

"I asked myself that too," Jean said. She put out a hand to touch his drawn-up knee, shyly, then firmly, but her eyes were far away. "With Barbara. You know that we didn't live together, for a while? All I knew was - one day I woke up and Father was gone, and Mother said all good riddance to bad rubbish. And there was no more shouting, but there was no more singing either, because he'd taken Barbara with him."

For an instant her gaze found Barbara by the bedside, and a smile fleeted at the corners of her mouth.

"I told myself she'd forget me. I told myself she'd already forgotten me, and sometimes that maybe she was better off without me, even. Happier, somehow. Living an easier life no doubt than I was. But then - I saw her in the Cathedral, one day, and she smiled, and called me big sister, and all of those years vanished like leaves on the wind."

He didn't know what kind of wind it would take to make the last years vanish. But he found Jean's hand with his, and pressed hard, in an acknowledgement that he didn't know if he could shape in words.

"We don't walk the same paths, Barbara and I. We don't always see each other, or know each other's routines, or share each other's friends. I'd be as lost in her choir rehearsals as she'd be in my office. But - I don't think that matters, truly."

Diluc swallowed hard, his throat suddenly tight.

"But - you two were born siblings," he said. "Kaeya - Father found him."

(And he'd laughed and cried that rainy day more than on any other day in his life, because he'd had a little brother, just like he'd always wished for and thought it was a stupid wish that would never come true.)

Jean turned her hand over so that their fingers interlocked, slowly, deliberately. "I don't think that matters, either," she said. "Why should it?"

"But I don't know." Jean was trying to be kind, Diluc knew, but she was all coming at it from the wrong direction, and he couldn't let her go on being wrong. Not at a time like this, when so many things were upside-down already. He felt himself trembling helplessly, and squeezed his eyes shut to still the spinning of the room around him. "I don't know if he wants to be my brother."

Jean didn't answer for a long moment. Barbara was singing again, very softly, from across the room; Kaeya's harsh breathing was quieter now, more even.

"Well," said Jean, at last, "perhaps sometime soon you can ask him. And in the meantime, remember - when he needed help the most, he chose to come here, and to you."

He kept his eyes closed after that. It seemed simpler. And somehow, inexplicably, Jean's other hand found its way to his shoulder, and then to his hair, and he was mildly disappointed when Adelinde's appearance with a tray of food and soup startled him back to alertness and the complicated and fearful world around.

#crow writes a thing #genshin impact whump #whump #hurt comfort

[slowtravelingcat]

A new kind of chair and Badlands National Park

Monday, April 5th, 2021

CAL - We’ve arrived! It’s been one full week in Rapid City, South Dakota. Our new accommodations only have windows on one of the four available walls, but the water that flows from the kitchen sink is just as sweet as it was in Minnesota. 

We arrived early in the evening last weekend and I immediately recognized a new kind of chair. There are two of them and they are higher than the couch but lower than the kitchen counter. Naturally, I investigated, taking a strong liking to the one on the left.

Perched on this new kind of chair, I can gaze downwards at the large, bald one as she does her daily work on the laptop, but am also afforded easy access to the kitchen counter where I can smell the sink and supervise meal preparation. This is truly a great invention and it almost makes up for the lack of windows. 

MICHELE - We are finally settled in Rapid City, SD, staying in a budget hotel suite, acquired through Airbnb. The Sojourn is about 1.5 miles outside of the main square in town. It’s clean, efficient and the perfect jumping-off point to explore the Great Plains. 

This weekend, the adventure officially started with a day trip to the Badlands. This National Park is about an hour and a half outside of town, for which I strongly recommend taking Highway 44 on the way in.

I left around 4pm, planning to stay at the park through sunset at 7:30pm. This turned out to be perfect timing and allowed time to hike 3 little trails: Cliff Shelf (.5 miles), Door (.75 miles), and Notch (1.5 miles) as well as explore Window and the Fossil Exhibit stops.

Around 6:30pm I started the slow, meandering drive on Badlands Loop, which featured a ton of viewpoints and at least 2 herds of bighorn sheep. The road worms in and out of the traditional desert rock formations, for which the area is known, as well as vast grasslands that look like pools of bright yellow water from far away. I grabbed a few pictures of the magnificent sunset and then ran into a herd of bison on the way out. 

The Badlands Loop ends in the tiny town of Wall, which is your typical touristy roadside attraction. By 8pm almost everything was closed except for a few restaurants. I opted for dinner at Badlands Saloon and Grille, which is the kind of place where you can feel comfortable being covered in dust and eating with your hands. 

For the drive back, I took I90, which was darker and more desolate than I anticipated, nonetheless, I arrived back in Rapid City much quicker than I expected. All in all, a lot was accomplished in a mere 5.5 hours. Such is life outside of the city.

#cats #digital nomad #slow travel #travel

[honeysound]

[Transcription:

The End of the World

By Dana Gioia

“We're going,” they said, “to the end of the world.”

So they stopped the car where the river curled,

And we scrambled down beneath the bridge

On the gravel track of a narrow ridge.

We tramped for miles on a wooded walk

Where dog-hobble grew on its twisted stalk.

Then we stopped to rest on the pine-needle floor

While two ospreys watched from an oak by the shore.

We came to a bend, where the river grew wide

And green mountains rose on the opposite side.

My guides moved back. I stood alone,

As the current streaked over smooth flat stone.

Shelf by stone shelf the river fell.

The white water goosetailed with eddying swell.

Faster and louder the current dropped

Till it reached a cliff, and the trail stopped.

I stood at the edge where the mist ascended,

My journey done where the world ended.

I looked downstream. There was nothing but sky,

The sound of the water, and the water’s reply.]

#the end of the world #dana gioia #poetry #poem #transcription

[mph10milesin]

#159: CALA MENDIA, CALA ANGUILA AND CALA ESTANY D’EN MAS

Exploring some more nearby beaches while the kids did their post tournament boat excursion. We had to find a trail through the bushes on part of the way out along the cliffs and when we went on the street on the way back we saw our first ‘scene from hell’. The Blau Punta Reina Resort looks like one of the places where they deposit fat people with matching tattoos straight from the airport, put a feed bag on them and give them access to as much bottom shelf liquor as they can drink. It keeps them out of our way everywhere else at least. Drove up a finca-filled valley near Son Macia.

[azzurra-astra]

Mariner CH.1 ⭐

“It’s seven in the morning, where the f….”

Sal Gallagher’s eyes quietly examined the chaos in the wake of the tropical storm, the sea still expressing unrest with it’s white and rolling pointed caps. She was a little disheartened, the beach was closed to the general public. She wanted to make use of herself somehow, but was sure if she approached any authoritative figure she’d be told to go home. Before her bobbed a flimsy, yellow rope, supported by questionable metal stakes, displaying a hazard warning for people too stupid not to venture into the risky pull of turbulent water on the other side. She tread along the fluttering line, seeking out any washed up animals still clinging to life, seeing plants ripped from land still be thrown back at it even now.

Of all the things her eyes could land on as she slipped the rope once she felt no one was watching, was the monstrous pile of debris that’d accumulated near a gravelly alcove. Various bits of organic and nonorganic material littered the mixed grains, shallow ripple lines of plant matter bordered the edge where the sand met the dark clay-like soil and grass. It told the unsurprising story of how the waters had grow merciless and torrential in the storm the night before. A dark, oblong, worn, oval shape resting against a cluster of jagged, large stones is ultimately what drew her attention. The wreckage somewhat obscured by the miniature mudslide from the grassy flat above.  Various sizes of volcanic rock, all carved and packed by the wind and water to form a rather patchy and trailing shelf, broken away from the cliff-face some time in the night.

The mass she fixated on consisted of a near-half husk of a rotted skipper, and layer after knotted layer of a neon blue plastic fishing net. Dead fish, seaweed, shells, and various other items that’d all been wound up formed a sort of shit cotton candy.

Truly the only thing missing was a massive flashing neon sign above it announcing: “Human Negligence.”

Sal wasn’t a conservationist by a long shot, but she did what she could afford to help and contributed to the simple act of stewardship. However, to pass her days and to escape the insanity of sharing a home with two related overgrown man-children, she would stray to the beach to observe the sea. She was unemployed, had been for quite some time.  Nothing presented an opportunity as of late, but her brothers made enough income and then some to support the three of them. What with far older Diederik being in the business of provide In-home tech support, joining Grant with his high-end retail gig as a Timepiece salesman and his online gaming and some 30,000 subscribers. Technically it was her eldest brother’s house, she was a live-in by invitation, whereas her second eldest was by choice, though he rarely contributed to the household manually unlike the two of them, but he paid his share without hesitation given the electricity he used.

That’s how it started, strolling down to the coastline as a form of escaping the stresses of life, but simply for the sake of kindhearted courtesy she would pick up discarded things here and there, dropping it in the local trash cans.  Then it grew into a near-daily habit:  Get up, have breakfast, take care of nonsense in the house, finish one half of her online classes, search job ads, leave for the beach with lunch in tow, pick up trash, go home, eat dinner, take a shower, finish the rest of her classes, get to bed, repeat. Rarely did she receive unwarranted taunting, though the usual suspects were local degenerates, few as they were.

She observed her barren surroundings, and speculated her chances with the sporadic tides before she quickly pressed to the rocky hillside, ensuring she was out of prying sight. Her legs felt instantly devoid of bones in an instant when her sloshing footfalls resonated and during approach, the pile of organic and inorganic material lurched. Whatever lay beneath hit the sand with a considerable thud, the wood of the skipper protesting mutely against the rocks it sat propped against.  The hollow, wet gasp that followed made her skin crawl, though she rationalized it as maybe a stranded grouper, nothing else besides a shark would’ve made such the ground quake in that manner….  It could’ve been a shark.  That made her nervous for a number of reasons.  She was inexperienced with an animal like that. The mass lunged again, this time rising high enough to make contact with half of the skipper and send it sliding down atop it completely. Sal wanted to bolt when it raised all sorts of hell, the overturned boat rattling around loud enough for her to look about and see if it caught any morning eyes. 

The thrashing subsided nearing a full-minute to make way for a low, drawn out, gurgling, exhausted groan.  Her mouth shrugged, looking a bit ill.  No fish vocalized in that way, leading her to conclude that it was a seal.  That still made her nervous, both seals and sharks were strong and had the ability to bite, and this particular animal was understandably pissed, and tired. She approached with caution, the shifting beneath the brittle skipper coming to a stop as her footfalls were likely registered within a certain proximity. Her hand settled on the upturned bow, slowly bending at the waist to peer into the shadows.

“Hey there….” She started softly, licking the sweat from her lip.  “It’s okay… You’re okay….”

Her breath hitched at the resounding rumble that emanated from beneath the garbage.  It was a displeased sound, no doubt. 

“It’s alright… I know you’re scared, everything’s scary… I’m scared too…” She kept her movements sluggish, the shell of the muddy skipper still retained a surprising amount of weight to it, despite looking like a sneeze could send it to pieces.

She strained to roll it aside and keep her bare feet clear of whatever lie beneath the garbage.  As the wooden obstacle clumsily rocked in to the sand, coming to rest on it’s side, she turned to address the now slithering mash of nets.   It was utterly foul, reeking of dead fish and rotting seaweed, enough to force a cough from her.  The ilk was evident from the carcasses visible, the rotted shellfish, having been caught in the thin weave, their bodies partially rotted and degraded.  Not exactly a fan of the texture, she dug her bare hands into the mound and began to tug. It was indeed heavy but slid with some considerable effort, her body shuddering at the squelching beneath her fingernails.  Layer by layer, she worked to unravel it, till she decided to alter her plan, and moved to grab a trailing portion that was decorated with fragments of wood and slimy kelp. 

As she raised it, her hand let it fall just as quickly and it took every ounce of will in her not to outright shriek.  Sand was tossed into the air as her heels sought traction in her attempt to backpedal.  Sal was several yards away before she assessed what it was she was exactly looking at.  There, crusted in the light brown and onyx grains, was a thick, trailing tail.  She let a harsh exhale, at first glance mistaking it for a roll of faded whitish plastic, instead revealing it to be an unearthly silver, speckled with a dorsal pattern than mimicked glyphs. Blood-orange, tattered fins obscured by a thin layer of sand, glinted in the haze, and it slid across the surface with the relief of the weight, revealing that some of the webbing was torn completely to the base.  The spines that held such fins were magnificently large, the greater portion of them rivaling five feet or so, and quite thick, securing the idea that getting slapped by them would’ve been painful as hell.  Each scale along it’s length would’ve matched the width of her palm at the largest, their shape and notable thickness reminding her of an alligator gar.  With wide eyes, she tracked it back to the pile of trash, seeing the start of thin dorsal spines and what appeared to be caudial fins protruding from the underbelly of whatever this thing was.  Beside it was a buried lump that eerily outlined a human hand, which her mind officially locked down with denial.

“Oh, come the fuck on….” She shakily sighed, rubbing her brow with a dirty finger, her stomach now in knots and feeling as if her bowels were pressed to let loose any moment.

The scales at the higher end had lost their silvery-white hue and moved into a more tame shade of tan accompanied by more red, and as she cautiously slinked over to raise the netting further, she discovered the scales disappeared completely into human-esc skin.  She froze as she watched the back rise and fall, brain having lost all capacity to process information, to send action.

It was ridiculous.  This, was ridiculous.  As shit.

She moved away at blinding speed when the large hand darted up beneath the pile and the entire figure started to move backwards.  Gradually, the netting was dragged with it, but a good portion of it rolled forward, and freed more of the olive-skinned torso to Sal’s disbelieving gaze. Caught in the shallow quills that jut from the dip of a wide lower back, what remained was laced with seaweed. The weighted netting slopped to the ground as it was lifted well into the air by a rising form. What obscured the head of this thing was tossed off by a massive, burgundy hand. The flash of a near-neon red palm spread along the underside raises her brows, such a peculiarity catching her gaze.

Sal’s insides churned, but for the moment her feet were grafted to where she stood, stuck examining this…. Whatever, this thing was. She flinched at the dramatic force it used, having compelled her to move, retreating further behind the outlier of rocks. Her heart thudding about her chest cavity, the pounding in her ears ripping from beneath her jawline, and the nausea she felt mounting from her fear as her eyes laid on the torso of a man, or at least it resembled a man. 

Sort of.

The arms were abnormally long, robust, a bright red in coloration starting at the pronounced elbows, deepening in richness and hue all the way down. The sand shifted beneath wide, webbed hands and the talon-laden fingers that came with them.  The thick, ripped barrel of a torso too long and too wide folded as the figure hunched. Muscles rolled beneath the scratched, sand-coated skin, snaking seamlessly down into a waist of pearly scales and giving Sal the idea of how easily, how brutally, she could be torn to shreds by this being. The length of it’s tail was quite long, well over ten feet– she wasn’t sure by how much, but it was definitely longer.  At it’s hips, a pair of tapered caudial fins stuck to the belly scales. Above the shoulders, rolled matted coils of hair, a black cherry in color, against some sort of odd amalgamation of a human face with onyx eyes, deep-set brow line, fish-like attributes and a puma-ish nose. Peppered with marine debris, a notable bull ring eventually drew her attention.

Long, finned, elven ears rest folded against the sides of what she assumed to be “his” head, and the drained-looking face raised, parting the dark locks to expose the finer details to the filtered sun.  The skin along the being’s eyes was decorated in a stream of rich, sizable vermilion patches, the pattern cutting through his skin like glowing arrows in the early morning light.  The more she examined the core features of his face, the more she realized that those black sclera possessed a set of brilliant copper irises, and they were fixated in her direction. In a flash, her hand shot into her back pocket to tug out her phone, but she stopped. 

It was just that… who would she call?  Her brothers?  Maybe…? They’d likely be safe enough to expose this thing to, but at the same time, she failed to trust Grant’s judgement. Her eyes panned the horizon, seeing people walking the streets well above sea level, but due to the hour it was, the stream of traffic was hair thin. 

The police wouldn’t know what to make of it either….

Swallowing, her feet carried her along the edge of the rocks as she tried to close in on this thing, but, he wasn’t having it.  Not by a long shot.  With torso still entwined in one final layer of netting, the creature rolled up onto his palms with rattling hiss, having snakes the extent of his leg less form from the sand further.

Definitely over ten feet, more like nineteen…?

his mouth parted, properly expose the ugly inner workings of that mouth. A deep blue-purple and malicious orange-yellow in flashing patches on the inner walls of his cheeks.  The sound he made was sharp and unmistakably aggressive, a warning she was about to die or at the very least get badly hurt if she didn’t keep her distance.  Her mind continued to repeat how awful and full of shit this entire situation was while she stilled herself in compliance.  Apparently that wasn’t enough, as he rolled forward and made for her with startling power, tail twisting violently in the sand and arms working like machines to pull himself towards her.  She finally shouted, scrambling onto the nearest boulder to keep her distance, a leg raised and ready to kick this thing’s face in.  Luckily for her, the burst of energy he used was severely draining, putting a damper on his threat.

“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you!” She fearfully tried to reason with him, failing to make herself understand that he possibly didn’t grasp language like she did.

He only sat at the foot of the boulder, watching her with an emotion she couldn’t place, but the expression was all too dark.  There was a shared tension as her time to get the creature back in the water was running out, before the fuzz would arrive for their morning activities and he’d be made a spectacle, or even killed.  Her eyes quickly examined the beach, then the rocky half of the beach where the skipper’s remains laid.  Laying nearly obscured by it was a size-able yet splintered black object, it’s tip capped with a rusted hook.  It was likely the skipper’s troll pole, it wasn’t convenient as long as she wished in order to keep a safe distance, but it would have to do. 

The clock’s ticking….

There was now a sense of determination breaking through the fear, getting up from her cradled pose to walk along the rocks, precarious as that may be. She could hear him growling, trying to keep track of her, she could also hear dragging, which was disappointing since she needed space, a chance to grab the hook. Each step warned her that if she fell, it would ultimately spell her demise because he’d be on her like shit on Velcro. There was no way she was going to pass seizing an opportunity to take hold of that tail, that is, if the fins didn’t take her out, it’d smash her like a grape…. The odd assortment of sharp teeth she caught a glimpse of earlier sent forth the mental blessing of his mouth finding it’s way into her throat first.

Summoning a trickle of courage, she gave herself a burst of speed along the narrow lip, nearly tripping along the way, until she leapt from her safe place. Running in an arch around the creature, going for the broken pole, her mouth felt as barren as the Sahara. The sound of dragging behind her was getting loud now, sending her into a panic that made her head feel as if her vision was going to gray.  With a panicked whimper she foolishly bolted into the water, stopping when it swallowed her knees and threatened to yank her feet out from under her. Swallowing, she turned to pin wherever the creature was at and saw he wasn’t following her anymore. Instead, he’d collapsed near the side of the skipper but remained facing her, clearly exhausted.  She felt a pang of pity, taking a moment then removing herself in a meticulous way from the foaming waves to close the gap. 

His mass swelled and deflated as he breathed hard, and he made no urgent move for her, only watching, eyes flicking between her face and the pole in her grasp.

“Let me help you….” She shakily pleaded, still reeling from it all.

Her mouth felt tacky and sour, tears beading the corners of her eyes while her mind combated itself. When there was no verbal or physical response, she made that her signal to go forward with her idea. Taking the troll pole, her first intent was to remove what she could of the harmful netting that constricted around his form, particularly the region of his tail.  It already appeared to be cutting into a section of it, no doubt made tighter by his antics to take her down earlier. She grimaced, considering that’d be harder to remove the longer it was left in. For a period, she was able to remove the constricting material from him in a near-peaceful-mostly-unsettling way, all the while refusing to set her hands on him for she was confident he’d start trying to kill her all over again. 

In fact, she was sure that at the very moment he was only back-building his energy for a second attempt, merely biding his time. In this draw of silence however, questions kept dancing around in the back of her head.  Not just along the lines of what he was, but who he was, and where he came from….  The ocean, clearly, but was he an alien?

… Hell.

He wasn’t human, but he was humanoid, of that there was no mistake.  She wasn’t sure what to classify him as, really…. he had mammal traits, until his lower half, a majority of that tail clearly screamed fish.  Maybe his kind were related to the Platypus in some sense?  A mammal with a beaver body, webbed feet, a duck beak, that was poisonous, and laid eggs? 

Damn, evolution and biology was strange.

Suddenly, the existence of Atlantis came into question, though she chose to look for more historical biological answers rather than tall tales and legendary spectacles.  It wasn’t that she didn’t have an imagination, but it was by nature that she rather dig for a reasonable answer when it came to certain things.

She stepped back, examining what was left to remove, before choosing to leave it attached:  She had to get him back into the water.

She paid close attention to the sound of his heavy breathing, it was deep… slow.  Unable to determine if that meant he was in distress or finally calm, she took up the remaining section of net at a distance, and began to pull. He didn’t budge at first, no matter how much she strained, feeling the woven plastic line pressing fiercely into her fingers.  Her jaw clenched and she leaned back to try and force the trailing scaly flesh to move, sending her stumbling back when it finally shifted in her direction a significant amount, whether by his free-will or more her own strength.  Having managed to catch herself before she completely fell on her back, Sal found that he was now moving on his own, seemingly making right at her once again. 

She subdued a shout, the sound a weird squeal through gritted teeth, her feet struggling to travel in the loose sand when she darted to the right to escape his path.  The action of charging led him straight into the waves, which saved her a majority of the work, but now she would have to fiddle with the netting in rolling waves, along with a thrashing merman who was now in his element, not hers. Once again, he’d exhausted himself trying to take her out, but the water almost seemed to soothe and recharge him as he fast collapsed into it’s white foam face first, letting the roll waves push against and over him.  Swallowing hard, Sal rushed up behind him, having discarded the pole to use both her hands to unwind the netting that remained entangled around his fins. Cautious of the flaring quills and listening to the coarse hissing over the ocean roar, she tossed the net about frantically to try and untangle it, committed to a dangerous waltz that comprised of dodging open fins, a powerful tail, and the abnormally long reach he possessed. Just when she thought to leave him to his own devices with his ever increasing ferocity, the last knot still engulfing a series of spines forcefully tugged free.  They appeared unharmed, yet it still made her cringe.

“There!!!  You’re free!!!” She gasped, retreating with the wad of net in her sore hands.

It was as if it crossed his mind in the midst of chasing her that the source of his discomfort was in her hands, being taken away back to the land it originated.  He watched her, the brilliance slowly returning to his form, though it was without question going to be a sluggish recovery.

Sal tossed the garbage aside, looking up from salty and soaked bangs to see him glaring at her with a unthankful expression.  Just as the the words ‘leave, get out of here’ traveled to her tongue, he reeled back, fighting the waves with extraordinary power until his body vanished beneath them completely.  She stood, watching the coastline in silence, trying to catch her breath and tasted the salt water dribbling into her mouth from her face.  Part of her was still in denial about what it was she just witnessed. 

What it was she just did.

Her eyes tracked to the pile of netting beside her, as if they’d had nothing else to really look at.  She planned to pull it up back to the rocks, try to get it secured either under or in the skipper remains… If she had the strength after everything that happened.  Her hands were tender, palms and fingers swollen with faint criss-cross grooves in the skin.

She needed a shower, and peppermint tea….

#Azzurra writes #Posted per request of someone. Some of the fic I’m still working on surrounding Arakos. #I may follow with the rest so I’m not asked for more if they like it. #I apologize if there are still any errors

[thatawaydad]

Badlands National Park: East Side Hiking

Badlands National Park: East Side Hiking

Badlands National Park has unusual rock formations and canyons with vibrant colors and plenty of hiking trails to explore. Locator sign for the trails There are two areas of trails in the park on the east side. The first area includes the Door, Window, and Noth trails, which our family explored. Then we went down the road to the Cliff Shelf Trail which included far-off views. These hiking…

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#badlands #DadHikes #dadswithkids #hikingtrails #nationalparks #SouthDakota