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tamsong · 3 years

Text

pull you from the tide - keefitz

summary: in which fitz tries to hammer it into keefe’s head that he deserves to be loved.

notes: this is half vent, half fix-it. this my first time writing fic for kotlc since i was like 13, so let me know what you guys think?

warnings: swearing, very vague references to homophobia and bad parents

***

keefe doesn’t come home.

a week passes, then two. a month. three. everything is weirdly silent on the neverseen front, despite sophie’s daring act of burning down the waterfall hideout. it feels like time is standing still- keefe’s absence hangs heavy in the air like ozone in the hour before it rains.

fitz has barely spoken in those three months. in another world, he might’ve been angry like he usually is. in this world, though, no one’s around to be angry at, and fitz feels like his roots have been ripped out of the ground.

at the next black swan meeting, fitz quietly asks to speak to mr. forkle alone. the black swan leader nods resignedly, like he already knows what fitz is going to ask. sophie raises her eyebrows at him from across the room. i’ll tell you later, he transmits to her, but he doesn’t plan on it. sophie’s been hurt enough, and if she knows about this and it doesn’t work, she’ll be devastated.

mr. forkle walks him down the hall. he doesn’t say anythin

“i want to go look for him,” fitz says, trying to sound confident. but he’s anything but. he doesn’t feel like anything more than the desperate, frightened child that he is.

mr. forkle opens his mouth, but fitz cuts him off. “please,” he adds. “i... i don’t know what else to do. i know he said he doesn’t want to be found, but i- we can’t go on like this. i know the forbidden cities better than almost anyone, so i might as well try. please.”

“i can’t promise you’ll find anything, mr. vacker,” mr. forkle replies. “but if it’s really what you want, i can give you a leaping crystal.”

fitz sighs. “i know. trust me, i know. but if there’s any way i can get him back, i still want to go.”

the black swan leader nods in response. “very well. i’ll meet you at everglen tomorrow morning, and i’ll monitor you to ensure your safety. now, go on and meet your friends, and put this out of your mind for the rest of the day.”

he thanks mr. forkle profusely, then does as he’s told. only a few minutes after he leaves does fitz realize that his request was granted far too easily- mr. forkle, while certainly not a cruel man, expects him to fail. there would be a lot more lecturing and protocol if he didn’t.

fitz doesn’t blame him.

***

the next morning, fitz takes the blue crystal from mr. forkle, his hands trembling. he’s dressed in the same jacket, jeans, and boots from when he first found sophie. he thought the memories would be calming, but the sense of deja vu only unsettles him, really. on that pleasant thought, fitz holds the crystal up to the sunlight and steps into its path, holding his breath.

he arrives in an empty park, hidden between two trees. freezing rain is pouring down from the sky, a sharp contrast from the eternally pleasant weather at everglen. fitz shudders, puts his hands in his pockets, and steps out of his hiding place.

he roams the streets of san diego all afternoon and evening, ducking in and out of stores, cafes, and libraries, all of it to no sign of keefe. finally, when the sky is nearly dark and the rain has slowed to a drizzle, fitz stops in front of a building with sign reading san diego youth services. he shrugs and opens the door. it’s as good as anything, i guess.

“have you seen my friend?” he asks one of the staff in heavily accented english. “he’s tall and skinny, has blond hair and light blue eyes. about my age, doesn’t speak much english.”

the woman squints and brushes her wet hair out of her eyes. “we had someone like that come in a couple months ago, and he comes here to sleep most nights. fidgety guy, looks sad all the time?”

fitz pulls his jacket hood further up. “that's probably him, yes,” he answers, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. may i see him?”

she nods. deep frown lines run down her face, like she’s seen too much tragedy in her short life. “sure. last i saw, he was out back.”

the staff woman walks fitz through the building out to a secluded area adjacent to an alleyway, protected from the public eye. fitz doesn’t see anyone at first, but on second glance spots a flash of blond from further down the alley. he hurriedly thanks the woman and dashes over, heartbeat picking up.

he skids to a stop when he sees keefe there, sitting on a step and dripping with rainwater. he looks up, startled, at the sound of fitz’s footsteps, and his mouth opens and closes in shock once he realizes who’s in front of him.

fitz expects a snarky comment, something like well look who we have here! or wow, guess i’m famous, but keefe says nothing. on one level, it’s terrifying, because fitz has rarely ever known his friend to be silent. on the other hand, though, he gets it. even without keefe’s strange new ability that makes speaking a risk, what else is there to be done in a situation like this? two years ago, they both would have laughed if told this would be their future.

they hover there for what feels like hours, neither boy knowing what to do.

finally, fitz breaks the quiet. “hi,” he says lamely, and then slaps himself mentally. really? is that the best you can give him?

he tries again. “keefe. i...” no. that wouldn’t do either.

“you couldn’t even bother with a goodbye?” he finally bursts out, trying to muster up the anger he doesn’t feel. this isn’t the right way to approach it either, but fitz doesn’t know how else to communicate. “did you think i wouldn’t care? sophie’s not the only one who was fucking sad, you know. biana can barely do anything but cry. dex isn’t talking to anyone, and neither is linh. even tam- i know you guys never got along, but he wants you home just as much as the rest of us.”

he shakes his head. “i know this can’t be easy for you, but we want to help you. even if we can’t, then we can find someone who can.”

“i’m not even mad, really,” fitz continues, looking up at the sky. he can’t bring himself to make eye contact. “if you didn’t care to say goodbye to me, i get it. i haven’t exactly been best friend material lately, and i wouldn’t blame you for never wanting to speak to me. but i read what you wrote to sophie, and it’s the biggest bullshit i’ve ever heard. be happy? forget about you?” he scoffs. “do you even hear yourself? i- she- we could never do that. you’re giving yourself too much credit.”

he turns around, fists clenching so hard his nails cut through his skin. “so this is my goodbye, i guess. i meant to bring you home, but you deserve a choice after everything. stay away, if you must, just know that we- i care for you, keefe. you deserve to be cared about. and if you don’t come home... i’ll miss you. i want you to know that.”

fitz finally exhales. he’s said his piece, laid all his cards out on the table. it’s keefe’s move now, and fitz will respect it, even if it fucking kills him to do it.

“fitz.” keefe speaks for the first time since fitz arrived, his voice hoarse and miserable. fitz whips back around, searching for any sign in his best friend’s face that might signal a change of heart.

“fitz,” keefe repeats. the expression he wears is downcast and resigned. “i want to come home, more than anything i’ve ever wanted. but i can’t. it’s not safe, not for you or anyone else.”

“then tell us how to make it safe,” fitz begs. his hands twitch, desperately wanting to reach out. “anything you ask. hell, we could even hide you in my closet at everglen like the time when we were little and your dad was coming to take you home.”

keefe’s mouth twitches, and even if it’s not a whole smile, fitz counts it as a victory. “that’s... nice of you to say.”

fitz softens. “of course,” he replies, not hiding how choked up he is. “anytime.”

keefe taps his fingers against his thigh, looking down. after a long moment of silence that seems years long, he lifts his face and speaks again. “you’re not making this easy.” his eyes gleam with unshed tears. “maybe if you make it a little harder...”

fitz’s hands move of their own accord, resting on either side of keefe’s face. the other boy’s cheeks are warm despite the bitter, freezing rain.

fitz... actually has one more card he could play. it’s one he’s kept in his pocket since the middle of level three, never shared with anyone, not even with sophie.

there’s never been a world in which revealing it would be acceptable, but maybe things are different now. more complicated and painful, yes, but if there’s even the slightest chance that this secret could bring keefe home, then he’s willing to accept that pain.

fitz lays his final card on the table.

he kneels in front of where keefe is sitting on the step, never breaking contact for a second. keefe’s wide eyes follow him as fitz lowers himself down, his expression open and vulnerable. fitz leans in close, but pauses just inches before his friend’s lips, giving keefe time to move, time to reject him and run away.

when keefe makes no effort to resist, fitz closes the distance and kisses him.

it’s a short, soft thing, the connection as fragile and fleeting as a candle flame in a windstorm. but to fitz, this kiss is everything. it’s a representation of his enduring care for keefe, the affection that sprouted when they were children and has only blossomed since. despite everything standing in their way, fitz has loved keefe and always will.

he just hopes it’ll be enough for keefe.

fitz pulls away, not letting himself linger too long. he resists the urge to look away, instead gazing into keefe’s eyes and smiling gently. he’ll wait as long as it takes for keefe to make his move, and he’ll respect it. he just wants his friend to know the truth.

suddenly, keefe bursts into tears.

he throws himself forward, nearly knocking fitz over. he buries his face between fitz’s neck and shoulders, his body wracked with sobs. fitz hugs him back, running his fingers through his friend’s tangled hair. keefe cries and cries, holding tightly to fitz until his sobs fade to tremors and there’s a wet patch on fitz’s sweatshirt from his tears.

“okay,” keefe finally whispers, sending shivers down fitz’s spine. “i’ll take us home.”

keefe shifts and moves his hand up between them to fitz’s shirt pocket where fitz always keeps his home crystal. he plucks the crystal out, scans the area, and raises it up to the last dim sunlight trickling through the rainclouds.

fitz holds keefe close as the two boys dissolve into the light, leaving san diego behind.

#keefitz #fitz vacker #keefe sencen #fitz x keefe #kotlc #kotlc fanfic #keeper of the lost cities

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turquoise-skyyyy · 3 years

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I love biana(yes this is the title don’t question it)

Note: i am too uncreative to come up with a title, how are you today-

lil rewrite of that one scene in flashback where biana actually existed. if you don’t know/remember that scene, first of all, same, second of all, enjoy biana actually having center stage for once and block out the original from your memory :D

Word count: i have no idea why i have this when i can never be bothered to check the word count

There was a ringing sound. It was dull, and it seemed to echo in her head as she swam through the murky darkness. The black was growing lighter, but the ringing louder. She was sure Vespera was coming for her again, back to finish the job, and she would be all alone, drowning in a pool of her own red misery again.

She had heard the same ringing in her ears when Vespera had struck the first blow, and suddenly her skin was prickling with the shards embedded in her skin and warm blood was dripping down her sides and the ringing was so, so loud- Biana shot up in bed, looking around wildly with her arms held up to shield the blows, but the ringing had softened to a tinny alarm and the only sticky wet dripping down was cold sweat. Biana groaned and reached out for the imparter on her jewel-encrusted bedside table, clicking the button without checking who had disturbed her from sleep. “Biana?” Dex’s voice filled the room, and he sounded a little out of breath. “What?” she snapped. She was so not in the mood to be his weird technopathy experiment buddy. “What is it?” “Sophie’s awake.” Biana’s eyes widened and she brought the imparter close to her face, uncaring of her wild bedhead for once. She could see the top part of Dex’s face and the side of Tam’s face and bangs. The view was shaky, most likely due to Dex’s other arm being out of commission. “Really? Fitz too?” “...no, but Elwin says he’s fine!” Dex said hurriedly. “Just sedated.” “Oh.” Biana slumped back in bed, tossing the imparter onto the other side of the sprawling comforter. “Well, thanks for the update.” “Are you gonna come over here and visit?” Biana rolled over so that her voice was muffled by the pillow. The tiny crystals embedded into the pale purple pillowcase dug into her skin, but she pressed her face in harder. “Yeah, probably.” “Okay... see you then?” “Maybe.”

Dex clicked off, and the room fell silent.

Biana sighed and rolled over, running a finger over the light imprints the tiny jewels had left on her face. She avoided the scars.

A selfish thought crossed her mind. What if she just didn’t visit them?

After all, they didn’t come to see her when she was stuck in the healing center. They didn’t even bother to check up on her when she was finally released to go home. They left her alone, every single time...

And yet she was still slipping on glittering shoes and brushing her hair and covering her scars with brightly colored fabric for them.

“Hey, Dad, can I come with you to Foxfire?”

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

Biana almost left the room without saying anything. Besides the fact that it would be weird to pop up after having witnessed at least part of Sophie and Keefe’s... moment, it really hurt to see Sophie talking to Keefe so gently. Sophie cared about him, which was more than she had ever done for Biana.

Biana tried not to resent her for it too much. She’s the moonlark! She has important things to do! She’s supposed to save us all! She doesn’t have time for friends!

Well, that was, unless they were Fitz or Keefe.

Sophie would move mountains just to give them her time.

Nobody even bothered to check on Biana when she was in healing center, but Sophie ends up here and the entire gang plus the adults decide to drop everything to be with her. Biana nearly died, and sometimes she wondered how much would really change if she had.

But then Fitz woke up, and his eyes were clear and his words were determined and Biana couldn’t just stand there in silence. She couldn’t stay invisible when her brother was surely going to do something stupid the second she turned a blind eye. Even if he didn’t care about her anymore, she would never stop caring about him.

Sophie’s eyes widened at his outburst, stunned to see him awake. “You don’t think I’m losing my mind?

His jaw set at Sophie’s question, and Biana could see the stupid resolve sparkling in the eyes they shared.

“No, I think you’re angry, and I’m right there with you.”

Biana rolled her eyes and appeared in the dark corner she’d been hiding in. “So am I.”

“Vanishers,” Keefe grumbled. Biana flashed a sweet smile in return. “How long have you been there?”

“Not that long.” Long enough to see my friends have enough time for each other but never enough for me. “I snuck off with my dad when he went with Sandor and Grady to talk to Magnate Leto. But I stayed for this, because I wanted to make sure you guys didn’t decide something without me, since you’ve been super overprotective lately.”

“We have?” Sophie asked.

“Not you.” You don’t even care about me when I’m dying. “But Fitz refused to let me go to Grizel’s training sessions. And Woltzer won’t teach me either.”

“That’s because Woltzer doesn’t like you,” Fitz informed in that annoying, I know more than you because I’m older and perfect and everyone loves me voice. “You’re always sneaking off and getting him in trouble for losing his charge. Like right now.”

Biana plastered a grin on her face painfully. “It’s not my fault he can’t keep up with me. And all I’m saying is, I’m sick of being treated like I’m some broken doll because of what Vespera did- and you know that’s what you’ve been doing.”

“We found you passed out in a puddle of your own blood!” Fitz argued.

Yeah, and yet the second Sophie comes in I no longer matter. I can tell you guys care so much about me, Biana wanted to scream.

“You don’t have to remind me!” she snapped back. She rolled up one of the sleeves she had wrapped herself in earlier, showing off the scars she tried so hard to keep hidden.

Biana couldn’t believe Fitz wanted to talk to her about her own experiences when he always put them below his stupid pointless feelings about his stupid perfect Sophie.

Everyone was so perfect and Biana was so tired of trying to keep up when every part of her just wasn’t.

“The next time I take on Vespera, I want to win,” Biana said, tracing an arm down the huge scar on her bicep. It was the ugliest, but strangely, the one that bothered her the least. She was almost proud of it. Even if nobody else cared, she cared that she had survived and she had the mark to prove it.

“And I’m sure Tam, Dex, and Linh will want to get in on this,” she added. “Probably Marella too. Maybe even Wylie. We should ask them.” Because I haven’t forgotten them like you have. I haven’t thrown them aside for boys like you have, Moonlark.

Biana drowned out the rest of the conversation. It was just them dragging on and being upset and being friends and Biana wasn’t exactly keen on watching. But still, still, Biana couldn’t help but care when Sophie tried to insist that she was fine.

“I think you need to rest first, though,” Biana said, forcing herself to jump in. The room was growing more suffocating by the second. “Let the medicine do its job. You guys need to get better, okay?”

For the world’s sake, if not for Biana’s.

They gave her promises to rest and get better, Biana promised to get everyone else on board, and she almost made it out the door with Keefe. But Sophie never made things easy.

“Wait,” Sophie called. “Keefe still hasn’t said if he’s with us.”

Keefe’s returning smile was so sweet, his lingering hand as he took Sophie’s so plainly affectionate, that Biana had to turn away. Seeing them speak in those soft tones just poured an aggressive amount of salt into the open wound that they never stopped ripping open. They never even gave it enough time to scab.

She was out of the room before she could hear the words that spilled from Keefe’s lips, certain that if she stayed a second longer, they would have pushed her over the edge.

She darted into an empty classroom, pulling her sleeve down to cover her scars with clumsy, trembling fingers and pulling out her imparter. She hailed Dex, hoping the shaking wouldn’t be obvious on screen. He picked up, but she was speaking before he could say a word.

“Hey, Dex, got any science experiments you need help with?” Biana asked, unable to keep her mouth from quirking up into a soft smile when he let out a little shriek of pure joy. “I need a distraction.”

#i did a thing again #in other words #justice for biana #kotlc rewrite #biana vacker #skyyyy'swriting

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ravenaboutfandom · 4 years

Note

PART2PART2MOREKEEFITZOPHIEPLEASE

p.s.a. the three dummies are not together yet in askblog canon (they’re still in the idiot stage)

also this is kind of long so i’ll put a read more

- keefe confessed his crush on fitz to biana in, like, middle school, then fitz confessed his crush on keefe to biana, then then sophie moved in and confessed her crush on fitz, then keefe, then keefe and fitz confessed their crushes on sophie to biana, separately, of course, and it was very stressful for her not to tell anybody. she did manage to help get them together, in the end. they’re oblivious idiots and we love/hate them for it

- fitz had his bi realization in theatre one day when keefe was in an improv scene with someone (idk maybe like jensi) and he was being ridiculous and fitz was like well. s***.

- fitz had to try really, really hard not to give himself away and little does he realize that keefe has been trying really, really hard not to give himself away for like. at least three years now. oh my gosh are they idiots. are we sure we still love them?

- sophie arrives and oh my gosh fitz is so cute and oh my gosh why is everyone at this school hot except me and oh my gosh i hate this school keefe’s puppy dog eyes are killing me and basically she’s helpless (*insert hamilton people cheering*)

- don’t get me wrong the three are like platonically inseparable but the pining is very intense

- fintan is the theatre teacher and he’s also aware of the boys’ pining and he likes to pair them together to make keefe squirm

- hooray keefe for having more guts than the other two! he pulls sophie and fitz away during study hall and says “i’ve got tickets to (theme park) are you busy this saturday?” and he’s so fidgety and fitz is like why are you asking her out with me here? and then sophie, whose brain is working a little faster, is like “wait... like... a date? with... both of us?” and keefe gulps and nods and fitz finishes computing and is also a total dork so he gives them both a bear hug and there’s much blushing and they’re so glad they weren’t the only ones.

- who’s the first person they tell? biana, of course! she explodes at them with “i told you so”s and “oh my gosh”s and “do you have any idea what you’ve put me through”s and she squeals and jumps up and down and <3

- when saturday comes, after sophie facetimes with biana for outfit help and biana forces outfit help on fitz and dex facetimes sophie for some hardcore teasing, keefe picks them up on his motorcycle (”i don’t think we can all fit on here, keefe”) (”shut up foster i don’t have my car”) (“did you guys pack sunscreen it’s going to be hot”) (“fitzy you know i’m too hot to get sunburned”) (h*** yeah you are) (etc.)

- keefe wears a cropped grey batman shirt and ripped skinny jeans and black converse high tops

- fitz wears his varsity jacket and a plain white t and khaki shorts. he wears red vans.

- sophie wears light wash overall shorts, doc martens, and a collared red crop top

- sophie is very nervous in line for those rollercoasters, and she tries not to let them see but keefe ruffles her hair and fitz squeezes her hand and she’s okay.

- she definitely screams and is wobbly after, and they think it’s so cute.

- they ride all day, and have burgers and milkshakes for lunch. keefe buys them churros and cotton candy.

- keefe is the one getting scared in the haunted house ride, and sophie leans her head on his shoulder and fitz wraps his arm around him.

- as it gets later, sophie gets cold and fitz offers her his jacket. oh, it’s so warm, and it smells so good-

- sophie buys a caramel apple for them to share, plus coffee, and suddenly it’s almost eleven and they have to get her home before midnight or else grady will murder them, so they’re back on the motorcycle and fitz wraps his arms more tightly around sophie and kisses her cheek, whispering “pass it on,” and she blushes bright red and pecks keefe’s jaw, which was very distracting and almost made him crash, foster, and she had no right to surprise him like that-

- (he gets her back on the porch. on the lips. serves her right.)

- fitz is unhooking his leg from the motorcycle when he realizes that sophie still has his jacket, but oh well. he lifts the helmet off of him (it had passed when sophie left) and gives keefe a smooch before running inside.

- keefe sits there for a minute, then drives off with the hugest grin on his face.

#raven's headcanons #sokeefitz #raven's aus #kotlc foxfire high au #keefe sencen #sophie foster #fitz vacker

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theunmappedstar · 4 years

Note

I dare you to give some random badboy au headcanons

so, i’m sorry, but “random headcanons” turned into “here’s the beginning of highschool badboy au plot that i have stuck in my head”... so... enjoy.

Sophie meets them because she joins Foxfire’s photography class as an elective. She has a group assignment that she has to complete, which requires her to take some photography scavenger hunt. She’s given a piece of paper with a list of different prompts she has to use to take pictures. (She’s mostly intrigued by the “street photography” bullet point).

Sophie gets paired up with Biana. They make quick friends and decide to divvy up the work - but this is also how Sophie learns about the boys.

She’d heard a little about them prior, but Sophie tended to only dip her toe into the gossip sparingly, so she doesn’t know exactly what’s up with these dudes

Sophie finds out that Biana is related to Fitz. Biana’s actually a real chatterbox when it comes to her family, so over the next week Sophie’s filled in on the majority of the timeline. (Also, the fact that everyone seemed to know of it, but her made Sophie feel really out of the loop and unpopular, but.)

The Vackers are a very wealthy and influential family. Biana’s parents naturally expected the most of their kids. Unfortunately, that only ended up dividing them. The three siblings weren’t very close when they were younger, but at least they talked - they barely interact normally anymore, according to Biana, focusing solely on their own lives and work. Alvar’s long since graduated, but Fitz and Biana are still held to their parent’s high expectations; they feel pressured to somehow reach above Alvar’s already-tremendous feats. Biana says even though it was rough, she never really saw it as a competition like her two brothers did. But that doesn’t mean she liked it, either.

Anyway, Fitz got so fed up with it and after a blowout, he managed to fall into what the Vacker parents love to call the “wrong crowd.”

The “wrong crowd” happens to be two kids - one from Foxfire Academy and one from a neighboring not-so-pristine school called Exillium.

Sophie’s interested as to who the two kids are, naturally, so she asks.

She almost immediately regrets that decision because as it would turn out, she knows those two kids.

Or, at least, she used to.

The first, Keefe Sencen, was surrounded by a lot of talk in her grade because of how he’d managed to skip a year when he was younger - and now Sophie finds that he’s apparently close to having to retake a year, since his grades have started to slip. She’d only seen him a couple times in elementary and had been paired with him for projects a staggering record of two times, but that didn’t mean he was one she would forget. (Those two group projects had been hell for her. He’d messed around with her so much and made her so frustrated and flustered and urg she hadn’t known how to act around a boy so obnoxious-but-cute).

Sophie doesn’t know if she’s surprised or not to find out that he managed to flip into the resident bad boy

The second one, Tam Song, happened to be a childhood friend (or she assumed that was the same Tam Song. There couldn’t be that many Tam Songs in the world, right?). She’d had a couple playdates with him before his parents had moved him and his twin sister away. She found out years later from her parents that the Songs had been having financial troubles and could no longer afford to be in the neighborhood/attend the academy

Sophie is baffled that the three managed to get together and start a reputation for themselves, no less

Sophie’s also baffled that they’re so well-known and yet she hadn’t really heard a thing about them; seriously, how unpopular was she?

When she relays the info to Dex and Marella at lunch, they tease Sophie that they’ve been waiting for it to hit her for years.

“...Why do you think we sit alone?” Dex asks.

Honestly, Sophie never really bothered to think about it. “I don’t know.”

Marella just snort-giggles. “Listen, you’re really smart, Sophie: you could build an entire AI system if you put your mind to it. But sometimes you lack a little thing called common sense.”

She doesn’t know whether to be offended or flattered.

She chooses to be flattered.

In the following days, Biana and Sophie get to checking off the to-do list for the assignment. Sophie’s first one requires her to take pictures of the interior of the school. She knows full well she could use her press pass to take pictures of the empty hallways during school, but that would require setting a time up with teachers, which would mean talking to teachers, which required basic social interaction... which.... was not very appealing and definitely not on Sophie’s list of Things I Want To Do.

She instead decides to stay after school for half an hour and take pictures.

She’s meandering around, snapping pictures here and there, trying to find out which angles would make the pictures less boring when she’s startled by a voice.

Sophie nearly drops the camera and whirls to find a boy sprawled across the bench outside the principle’s office. It takes her a moment to recognize him, but it eventually floods her brain.

Surprise, surprise - it’s Keefe Sencen.

He’s changed a lot since she last saw him. Granted, she last saw him when they were, like, six, but she lets herself be shocked.

Keefe’s got the whole getup. Ripped jeans, black tee, jet-black leather jacket... And he wears curiously, Sophie notices, an abundance of chains. Specifically, those rapper chains that dangle around your neck.

Sophie doesn’t realize that he’s called for her until he does it again. He’s asking what she’s up to, walking around with a camera like that after school.

She doesn’t know why, but “Yearbook” stumbles out.

She is not in Yearbook. She’s in Photography - close, but not quite it.

Keefe seems to feed off of her being flustered. It looks like he seriously enjoys it. he goes on to ask her what she’s got to take pictures of

She can’t really speak when he stands, hands shoved in his pockets, looking like that, so she just... hands the list over to him.

He quirks a brow and muses about the student/faculty box that has yet to be checked and he asks why she’s saved that one, since she’s been at school all day.

“Well, I... don’t really know how to casually approach someone and ask for a picture.”

It’s true. Everyone’s moving so fast and about their day during school hours and it’s especially hard to catch anybody after school.

Keefe just shrugs. “Then, you don’t have to.”

It takes her a second to realize what he means. He’s offering to let her take a picture of two of him.

It seems like a good idea. He’s right there and she can get it done and over with, but something about lifting the camera and snapping some shots of Keefe Sencen... Having to go home and know that she has access to pictures of him that she herself got to take...

He seems untouchable, is the thing. It seems like this is something that shouldn’t be happening - like he should have shooed her off like she was some human scum. It seems like they’re on two different levels. She’s the weird kid nobody really strives to talk to and he’s the boy that everyone’s terrified and annoyed (but secretly impressed) of.

“Oh, you don’t have to-”

Keefe interrupts her to assure her he doesn’t mind. He does ask if it sounds a little too self-centered, though, the way he just offered himself up for grabs.

Sophie’s not really listening because she’s too mesmerized by him combing his hands through his hair.

She kinda just blinks and mumbles some incoherent reply while trying to set the camera up. Her hands are super shaky and Keefe notices. Sophie stiffens when he outstretches a hand and asks if he can see the camera

“Um,” she starts, forcing herself to look at him, “I don’t think I should. I don’t own this and if it gets damaged-”

“Relax,” he murmurs. He retracts his hand instantly. “I was just asking. I took photography - I’m interested what camera they’ve given you. It looks different from the one I used; which seriously sucked, by the way.”

He pauses for a second to look her up and down. It makes her squirm, feeling on fire.

“And the pictures don’t have to be of me, right? They can be of students, if I’m remembering the guidelines correctly.” He waves the paper in his hands before reaching out to give it back to her. “And you, Miss...”

When Sophie recognizes he’s asking for her name, she blushes. “Sophie.” She plucks the paper from his hand.

He gives a swirling hand gesture, like he’s prodding for more.

“Foster,” she contends.

He nods, satisfied once he has her last name. “Foster,” he repeats, then continues, “Well, you’re a student, if I do say so myself. So, that means...” He lifts up his hands, pretending like he’s holding an imaginary camera. He pretends to adjust the lens and focus on her, finger hovering over the imaginary button that would take the imaginary picture.

He smirks. “Need a smile there, Foster,” he beckons.

She’s pretty sure she can’t get any redder. “I’m not really photogenic,” she argues, reaching forward to beckon his fake camera down.

He relents and let’s his hands drop, but his smirk remains. “Sure.”

She doesn’t really know what to say after that, so she hands him the camera with a mumble. Keefe eagerly takes it in his hands (which makes her notice the rings he has littered on his fingers) and he starts flipping and fiddling.

He says some random model name to her which she doesn’t really pay attention to. She only snaps up when his meddling ends and he asks, “Hey, by the way, how’ve the group projects been going?”

His smile seems more tender. More reminiscent. There’s a teasing lilt to his voice, which makes Sophie realize he remembers her. And, in turn, he remembers those god-awful projects they were forced to endure together.

She’s pretty sure she turns redder than her rosy skirt. “You remember that?” she mumbles.

Keefe chuckles. “Remember? Can’t really forget.” He taps his temple. “Also, anything that involves a cute girl is immediately filed to the front of my brain.”

Sophie’s so struck by the compliment that she nearly grazes over his first fact. How had she managed to forget he had a photographic memory just like her?

She doesn’t quite know how to respond, but she manages to pull a smile and mumble something about needing to get to work if she wants to finish the project. Surprisingly, Keefe just smiles back and offers her the camera. She makes sure not to graze too much of his skin as she takes the camera from his hands, shaking. She thanks him and turns to bolt away as fast as her legs can carry her (because she knows she’s on fire and she knows he can see it and oh god-) when his voice slows her down.

“I’m serious about that picture thing, Foster. If you need any help, I’ve got time.”

She stops in the hallway to look at him. Sophie raises a slow eyebrow and gestures to the office. Her hand is unsteady, but she’s proud when her voice doesn’t shake. “You seem pretty busy to me.”

Keefe laughs. “Nah, this is normal. But I can find a way to make some time for you.”

Sophie’s sure he says something more along the line of, “All you need to do is ask,” but she’s pretty sure the entire world has become a blur. in a flash she’s said her goodbye and she’s speed walking out to Dex’s car (he offered to drive her home after school, that day. He does it whenever he has time, actually. They live in the same neighborhood, which is pretty convenient, given they’re best friends and adoptive cousins).

Dex can see she’s off her game, but he doesn’t delve into it. The car ride home is pretty quiet.

Also when Biana and Sophie see each other in class the following day, it’s pretty hard for Sophie to come up with an excuse as to why she doesn’t have that many photos. She promises that she’ll stay after school again to try and make them up.

She does.

And that’s when she meets Fitz.

Sophie doesn’t really know how it happened. She avoided the area she’d seen Keefe in at all costs, snapping pictures literally anywhere else she could find, but somehow she wound up outside on the curb. And somehow she ended up wandering through the mostly-empty parking lot, snapping pictures of the parking spaces that the seniors had decorated (every year the graduating class got to customize their parking spot with spray paint). And wandering through the parking lot taking pictures led to her spotting a few sleek bikes.

In hindsight, Sophie thinks she finally understands what Marella meant by “you’re smart but you have no common sense,” because she walks up to the bikes. They’re against the curbside parking spaces, so Sophie steps up on the sidewalk and begins observing the shiny vehicles.

She’s never really been keen on motorcycles (the idea of getting one kind of terrifies her) but she has to admit that they look good.

And Sophie, lacking that beautiful common sense, snaps a picture.

She barely holds back the squeak when someone behind her asks what she’s up to. Sophie turns around to meet two boys in leather jackets. They’ve both got dark heads of hair, but one is noticeably lighter. And the darkest sported silver-dyed bangs.

She’s pretty sure her insides shrivel. It’s them, there’s no denying. Her photographic memory compares Tam’s aged features with the ones from his youth, seeing how his soft face had turned to hard-and-handsome lines. And she can see the resemblance to Biana in Fitz’s equally-charming face.

(Also, the more that she thought about it, she’d actually been put against Fitz during one of the stupid elementary spelling bees. She severely prayed he didn’t remember her as spelling bee girl.)

“Sorry,” she apologizes sheepishly. She lifts the camera. “Photography. I can delete it.”

She should have asked before doing that. She seriously should have asked. She feels like she’s been caught and she’s considering turning tail and running when they shrug and tell her it’s fine. She’s pretty sure she’s dreaming when she gets asked if she at least liked the bikes or if it was just for the assignment.

She says it was for the assignment, but she does like them.

Fitz smiles at her for the first time and Sophie’s legs become jello.

Shit, how can someone look that nice while smiling?

But it doesn’t last too long because Tam asks who she is and where he’s seen her before. His head is tilted at her, dangly earrings twirling with the motion. Sophie can tell he does recognize her, at least a bit. All eyes are on her, so she feels a bit squirmy mentioning how she knows Tam, but once she does, his eyes light up and his eyebrows launch.

“Oh, Sophie. Shit.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Shit.”

Years later, it looks impossible to imagine that they’d ever been friends. They were so... different from each other, now.

They all start making semi-awkward conversation, discussing the school year and Sophie’s photography anything random they can come up with when Keefe rolls out of the school.

“Foster?”

She waves. “Oh, um. Hey.”

Keefe reaches his friends and his eyebrows crunch. He asks if they know her. Tam shrugs and says they knew each other when they were little, but they haven’t seen one another in years. Fitz admits Biana’s mentioned a Foster girl, but he doesn’t know her (Sophie’s pretty sure she’s dead. She didn’t know Biana talked about her at the house, even if it was something like measly dinner small talk.)

Keefe turns and grins at her, seeing the camera in her hand. “Yearbook again?”

She flushes. “Photography, actually.” Seeing his confusion, she continues, “I don’t know why I said Yearbook, yesterday. I’m in Photography, not Yearbook.”

Shockingly, Keefe just snorts. He muses that she’s something else before waltzing over and outstretching his hand. Sophie hands him the paper chock-full of guidelines again. Keefe starts muttering that she has a lot more crossed off than yesterday.

“You’ve still got a bit to go,” he points out.

Sophie just kinda nods. She’s mostly focusing on not letting her knees buckle in front of all of them. Her hands on the camera are sweating. It’s weird, how she’s managed to get caught in this situation. Everyone steers clear of these three, she knows, but now she’s somehow stuck in normal conversation with them. About photography, no less.

Keefe spots the street photography point and hums. He points to it, showing her the paper. “That seems interesting.” He meets her eyes. “Gonna take me up on my offer, yet, Foster?”

She swallows. “Oh, uh, street photography isn’t here, it’s-”

“On the street,” Keefe agrees, handing her back the paper. He shares one glance with his friends before meandering to his bike, slinging his leg over the seat.

Tam huffs a short laugh, grinning like he understands before he goes to hop on his own ride. Fitz is the last one behind, hands shoved in his pockets, just standing and smiling in amusement.

“You’re free, aren’t you?” Keefe implores. “We can make it quick. Drop you off back here - or wherever.”

Sophie chews on her lip. It is a tempting offer. She doesn’t really have a ride into the city planned, so it seems like the perfect opportunity. One quick ride, a few pictures, and she can leave. But that also means getting on a motorcycle. Which. . . kind of terrifies her.

“One ride, Foster,” Keefe promises, seeing the way she’s staring at the bike. “Does fifteen minutes sound good?”

Fifteen minutes is definitely enough time for her to get in a crash. Fifteen minutes is also definitely enough time for them to murder someone, but Sophie tries hard not to think about that.

Especially not when Keefe shrugs off his jacket and tosses it to her. Sophie catches it with a gasp, thankful that she doesn’t drop the camera. “Um,” she starts.

She cuts herself off when Fitz goes to his bike and pops open a back storage compartment. He snatches out a spare helmet, then waltzes back up onto the sidewalk next to her, reaching out his to trade the camera for the helmet.

Sophie swallows.

Seeing how nervous she is, he smiles, making a short nudge with his chin in the direction of the bike. “It’s up to you,” he promises.

“You won’t get hurt,” Keefe also assures. “You’ve got jeans on. And you wear that jacket and the helmet, you’ll be fine.”

She doesn’t like the fact that she has to take those precautionary measures in the first place. But, she guesses it’s just what one has to do. It’s like wearing a seatbelt in a car. This is the motorcycle’s seatbelt.

Sophie hands Fitz the camera and takes the helmet. She slips on the jacket, ignoring the heat that runs through her body at how nice it feels - and how Keefe looks at her.

Sophie clears her throat and puts the helmet on. Her fingers fumble horribly with the straps around her chin and no matter how much she tugs, she can’t get it right. Fitz has to come back over and help her, laughing gently. He narrates to her how to do it as he cinches it up for her with diligent fingers, smiling.

Sophie, however, is anything but smiling when he pulls away. There’s only one step left - to get on that bike with him, hold on tight to his waist, and pray that they don’t take her to some secondary location.

Sophie makes sure to look him in the eyes to know she’s serious. “You kill me, I kill you.”

Fitz chuckles. “Noted.”

#this is REALLLLY rough and just a concept #but #here you go #sokeefitz #sophie foster #keefe sencen #fitz vacker #tam song #marella redek #dex dizznee #anonymous #headcanon #kotlc headcanon #kotlc headcanons #sokeefitz headcanon #keeper of the lost cities #badboy au #kotlc badboy au

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everysongineverykey · 5 years

Text

WARNING! LEGACY SPOILERS!!

The table came crashing onto the floor with a smashing of wood and a scream, the owner of whom was difficult to identify. Tam, the person who had thrown it, threw up his hands in angry defense.

“For the last time, a hot dog is not a fucking sandwich!” he yelled, his eyes ablaze with fury.

Sophie furiously scrambled to her feet. No. He wasn’t going to have the last word. Not on her watch.

“IF A HOT DOG ISN’T A SANDWICH, THEN BIANA’S NOT A VANISHER, YOU… YOU…” she fumbled for a good insult.

“Crusty, silver-eating, bad rip-off of a hot topic clerk?” Keefe suggested helpfully.

“YEAH!” Sophie screamed. “AND IF YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND BASIC LOGIC, THEN LET’S LOOK IN THE ELF!” She strode to the bookshelf and pulled out The Elf’s Comprehensive Dictionary And Thesaurus, Approved And Created By Councillor Bronte, Language Enthusiast, or TECDATAACBCBLE officially. Or again, as an easier name the ten of them had made up themselves, The Elf.

“By the power vested in me by The Elf’s Comprehensive Dictionary And Thesaurus, Approved And Created By Councillor-” (“Just say The Elf!” whined Marella) “-Bronte, Language Enthusiast,” Sophie continued angrily, flipping through The Elf’s many pages, “I hereby pronounce that a hot dog shall henceforth be known by all the Lost Cities as a form of sandwich, as proven by… THIS DEFINITION!”

She slammed the book down onto the couch and triumphantly stabbed a finger at the definition of “sandwich.” Linh bent her head and read it out loud-

“An item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with meat, cheese, or other filling between them, usually as a light meal.”

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. For a second Tam looked like he was moments away from grabbing Sophie, who was now sitting smugly on the couch staring at him, and throttling the life out of her and everyone else in the room.

And then he sighed and closed his eyes, smiling slowly when he opened them again.

“All right, Sophie. You’ve given me some very solid proof. Well done you.”

Sophie looked so smug that even Keefe wanted to wipe that stupid smile off her face.

Tam walked calmly, almost happily, over to the far corner of the room, and turned around, admiring a painting on the wall. Then he suddenly turned to the others again and smiled with the air- at least, Sophie thought so- of a TV movie villain who was about to reveal his secret identity to the heroes.

“It was very clever, you know, pulling out The Elf like that. I don’t know if I would’ve thought of that. A real kid genius, that’s you.” He said all this while straightening a few ornaments on the mantelpiece absentmindedly, not looking at any of them. Still smiling. “I suppose now I should admit defeat.”

“That’d be appropriate, yes,” said Sophie, still smug, but more cautious. She didn’t like the way Tam was acting.

“But,” he continued, finally turning to face them, “I’m afraid there’s one crucial fact you’ve overlooked.”

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

Tam picked up The Elf and flipped to a different page.

“You see, my dear Sophie, if we are using The Elf as our source, then we must heed all its definitions, and if we do that, we must remember…”

He suddenly exploded, shoving The Elf in Sophie’s face and pointing to another definition, his face convulsed with anger, his previous attitude vanished without a trace.

“THAT IT DEFINES A HOT DOG AS A FUCKING FRANKFURTER!”

He threw The Elf across the room, shattering an expensive vase sitting on a shelf. Sophie leapt to her feet, angry and flustered.

“But- But that doesn’t mean anything!” she blustered desperately. “A frankfurter could be considered filling!”

“OH FUCKING REALLY?” Tam demanded. He knew he had the upper hand. “THEN LET’S ASK THE ELF, SHALL WE?” He raced towards the shelf where the book had been thrown, but Sophie was determined to win the argument and threw her entire body weight on him, knocking them both to the floor. A mad fistfight followed. Dex managed to avoid their flailing limbs and picked up the book calmly, flipping to the f section.

“GUYS!” he yelled. Sophie and Tam did not look up. Tam had two black eyes by now, and Sophie was struggling to avoid another punch to her split lip. Dex was pretty sure he also saw a gap in her teeth that wasn’t there the day before.

He gave up trying to get their attention, and read out the definition of frankfurter.

“A seasoned smoked sausage made of beef and pork.”

Silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of Tam and Sophie’s bloody brawl.

“Well, that didn’t solve anything,” grumbled Dex, closing The Elf. Suddenly, Biana’s eyes lit up.

“Wait a minute- hey, Sophie?”

Sophie did not answer.

“Tam? Sophie? Guys?”

Neither of them paid any attention to her calls- they were both battered and bruised all over, but still fighting.

Biana sighed, then walked over to Dex.

“Dex,” she said, calmly and professionally, “on the count of three, would you be a dear and hold Sophie down? I’ll grab Tam.”

Dex acquiesced.

At the number, they both dropped to the ground and grabbed their assigned person’s arms- Dex hooked his around Sophie’s, stopping her from punching, and Biana did the same with Tam.

“What the hell’re you doing?” growled Sophie. Her hair was disheveled, and some of it had clearly been ripped out in chunks.

“There’s no need for this anymore,” Biana said, remaining as calm and collected as ever. “I’ve figured it out.”

They both stopped resisting.

“Fihured wha ou?” said Tam. Clearly his bruised tongue was giving him trouble.

“I know what a hot dog is.”

The room fell silent again.

“Now, if you’ll both get up and stop fighting, I’ll explain.”

They both reluctantly got to their feet and stumbled over to the couch. The others stared at them, a little scared. Biana stood up and cleared her throat.

“The Elf defines a sandwich as two pieces of bread with filling between them. A hot dog bun, however, is only one piece of bread.”

Sophie’s first instinct was to jump to her feet, but she controlled herself.

“Therefore, we must conclude that a hot dog… is not a sandwich.”

Sophie did not control herself this time. Biana put a hand up to stop her. Surprisingly enough, it worked.

Tam looked like a seven-year-old who had just proven that his dad was the coolest.

“In fact,” continued Biana, “it is something entirely different.”

Everyone raised their eyebrows.

“But- but what else could it possibly be?” asked a confused Wylie.

“It’s a taco,” said Biana, with all the foolish confidence of Don Quixote.

All of the others turned furious eyes on her, and in a matter of seconds Biana was down on the floor being beaten and battered by the rest of the kids, who were all chanting “NOT A TACO! NOT A TACO! NOT A TACO!”

Marella set a poker on fire and was about to beat Biana with it when the door opened.

“Hey, everyone, sorry I’m-”

Fitz couldn’t even finish his sentence when he beheld the scene before him. Keefe raced towards him and pinned him to the wall.

“Quick!” growled Keefe, “What’s a hotdog?”

All eyes were on Fitz.

“…Isn’t it that thing with the sausage in the bun that you usually eat for breakfast?”

Grady and Edaline came home that day to find the entire house destroyed, Marella hurling fireballs at everyone, Fitz and Biana lying unconscious in the rubble, Linh trying to drown everyone, Tam unleashing shadowflux, Wylie burning people with the light of a million suns, Sophie inflicting all manner of pain onto her friends, Keefe throwing goblin throwing stars left and right, and Dex shooting all kinds of guns and using all kinds of weapons that he himself had built. Keefe had been heard to yell “MY MOM’S IN THE FUCKING NEVERSEEN, BITCHES, DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” while Linh seemed to be speaking some ancient sea language that was definitely summoning krakens as she chanted. Sophie might have been speaking in biblical tongues, but it wasn’t clear. Her voice was strangled and confusing. She was definitely being possessed, though, by… something. Marella was chanting in the ancient tongue of Pyrana, the great elven goddess of fire and fury, and was summoning what looked to be demons. The krakens and the demons began to fight at this point. Wylie, meanwhile, appeared to be pulling actual stars out of the sky and throwing them at people, screaming, “MY DAD DIDN’T ALMOST DIE FOR THIS SHIT!”

Dex was just singing Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger very loudly.

They were all exiled to an Atlantian prison colony in the Mariana Trench a couple days later, and they never did come to an agreement over the identity of a hot dog.

#kotlc memes #KOTLC fanfiction #keeper of the lost cities

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bookwyrminspiration · 3 years

Text

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au

summary: When the world begins to crawl with unnaturally made monsters, the Keeper crew continue to fight like they always have. But a wrench is thrown in those plans when they themselves become less than human.

Chapter 1: The Descent

Word count: 7k

warnings: mild fantasy violence (nothing more than in canon), swearing

taglist: listed at the end beneath the cut, but let me know if you want to be added or removed

!!! Y’all!! It’s finally here!!! And you might be thinking, Quil they don’t have wings. To which I say: be patient!! this is a multi-chapter fic! this is just the groundwork <3

ao3 link here

or read beneath the cut

It was comical, really, just how quickly their security had crumbled into unbridled, ravaged chaos. They had relied on the extravagance of the Neverseen, always too brash, too bold, too eager for attention. They were self-sabotaging. They revealed their plans a moment too soon, wanting the world around them to see the cunning, the thought, to know which moments were their last.

And they’d played the part so clever, it hadn’t crossed a single mind that they were gracing more than one stage. That even when they weren’t putting on a show, they remained ingenuine.

The Black Swan had thought them comical storybook villains, all talk and poise. And then they’d slip, underestimating you and letting you swoop in last second, tossing wrenches in their gears and bringing them up short. A hero. Classic and overused, but a hero nonetheless.

It had been ludicrous to entertain the notion they could be capable of anything greater, anything deadlier. That they wanted to be stopped again and again. That they wanted to build the Black Swan’s confidence in themselves, wanted to be broken and bruised and battered and defeated again and again and again.

Because then who could consider them a threat?

Who would look for them, frail and scattered as they were?

They had all been lured into a false sense of security, taking the first deep, fulfilling breaths they’d had in years. And each day it came easier. Every passing second without disturbance relaxed their bodies and eased their minds. It had been months and months, long enough they felt safe. Actually safe. The idea was laughable now, but it had been true. The Neverseen were gone, dead and buried.

But villains work best from the grave.

The Ruewens noticed the shift first, although if you asked either of them they wouldn’t be able to tell you quite what it was. The subtle gleam gracing the teeth of each new animal they took in, each creature becoming more violent and vocal, tails thumping just a touch harder against the ground.

It was only a coincidence that seven times in a row the creatures were “uncharacteristically rough and wild for their species.” It only became worrisome when the docile creatures began to growl at anyone’s approach, even the ones that had already been tamed.

Then it all went to shit.

Absolute

fucking

shit.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell from the outside; it was surrounded by one-way glass. Look through and all you’d see were splotches of amorphous green, running streams, sunlight soft and secure. But the view from inside was a completely different story. From inside you could see the creeping mold and blood caked along the sides of streams, the marks in the trees and the torn roots, ash where the sun had burned too bright, rusted mist raining down.

What a nightmare they’d made of paradise.

Except, somehow, the Lost Cities themselves had ended up on the outside of the glass, content to pretend the creatures roaming the hills were only a problem if they were near you, which they weren’t. So what a pack of rabid unidentifiable beasts attacked? They hadn’t been here, so it wasn’t a problem.

Then it became a problem.

The creatures moved closer, working their way through the land, ravaging their way towards the Lost Cities. The elves blinked and they were surrounded. Crystal castles tumbled into sand, stone pavement was ripped from the ground, trees torn and shredded, dripping with infection.

They’d had no choice but to leave it all behind. There’d been backlash of course, despite it being in everyone’s best interest. Those who were so attached to what they had, what had remained a constant in the past millennia of their lives that they were fully willing to risk themselves for it. There was no doubt though, that had they been allowed to remain they would’ve regretted it the moment those creatures came to their door, the ones they’d refused to believe were their problem.

So they’d all moved below ground, deep enough they couldn’t be reached. Every inch of surface available to them was dangerous, so they’d gone beneath it. The dwarves had graciously worked to hollow out living space for them all, creating entire kingdoms beneath the sand. And now they were much more powerful, carried more weight with each step, the responsibility they’d risen to clinging to them and eating them respect no one could deny.

They’d all be dead without them.

Not everyone was in one place, a few spots underground scattered throughout the world and it nearly impossible to travel between them. Light leaping didn’t work underground, and it was an incredible risk to brave the surface for a single leap. Once everyone had been settled, they’d stayed there. And they were still there.

I mean, what else could they do?

It had taken them a bit to work out just where these volatile creatures had come from, the ones now spanning the entirety of the world--although the humans were still unaware. Something about the pollution and overall vibe of the forbidden cities kept the monsters away from them.

A few had suggested moving to the forbidden cities as an alternative to living underground, but the disgust for the places quickly killed that idea.

The Black Swan was adamant that somehow the Neverseen had to be behind this. The organization had been the only enemy they’d ever had--and they were right, in a way. Despite months of silence, of nothing, of security, they must’ve done something.

But how, was the question.

Perhaps it would’ve been better had the question never been answered, if they’d all remained ignorant of what had been hidden right beneath them. Certainly, there would’ve been more resistance had every single elf shoved underground been kept in the dark.

But alas, illumination came tied with a silver ribbon.

One of the smaller creatures, really not much larger than a candle, had slipped into the residences, stirring up a ruckus in its frantic attempts to escape as it realized it was trapped below ground. It had been caught in a corner, hunched over away from the lights. The entirety of its body had been shaded by the large mushroom cap covering its head. It was only on closer inspection they realized the red, dripping mushroom was attached to its head. The rest of its body was disproportionately small and warped, grooves scorn into the skin.

They had been taking it back towards a small air vent--so they could release it onto the surface--when they’d seen the small clasp. It was imperceptibly small, silver in color, piercing the underside of the mushroom cap. It was a tag. An identification tag complete with a pin number.

If that hadn’t been enough proof that the creatures had been intentional, the symbolic eye entwined with a sturdy chain would’ve been enough. Their hearts stopped dead. That eye was unmistakably the Neverseen’s symbol, but that chain…

It was clearly another symbol, the two mixed. But--

Fuck. The creature in their hands had grown panicked and impatient, the space they’d thought was its body leering open to reveal rows upon rows of stubby teeth, all sharp edges and imperfections. They’d nearly dropped the creature in their panic to shove it into the air vent, closing it quickly behind as the sharp, tiny stomps faded as it climbed further and further away.

That creature had been created intentionally and the Neverseen had been a part of it, that much was certain. But there was someone else. Another force out there with enough influence and power to corrupt the entirety of nature’s balance, able to rewrite the story of evolution, and they were represented by a chain.

But who was it?

No matter how shallow her breaths, the overwhelming stench of musk and mold continued to coat her tongue and turn her stomach sour. Sophie exhaled slowly; it would do no good to dwell on what she couldn’t change. The rest of them weren’t faring much better, but the thin cloths over their faces provided a sliver of relief.

Sophie, Fitz, Keefe, Biana, Dex, Tam, Linh, Marella, Maruca, and Wylie. More people than they’d usually risk bringing on a mission, but it was a necessary risk for one of this magnitude.

She assumed the thick scent was coming from the swaths of unidentified plant life gorging it way up the sides of the tunnel, clinging to wet, crumbling rock and glowing faintly blue in the light. At the very least it provided slight illumination of the tunnel ahead, along with the branching pathways they occasionally crossed that likely led to collapsed rooms and dead ends. Mere months ago she would’ve been anxious over the thought that the ground above her would give way and crush them all in moments. Now, however, months living underground had made the ground above her a comfort more than anything. If there was enough soil between her and the surface, the creatures that roamed freely couldn’t get to her.

Although that didn’t exactly apply when they were heading straight into the breeding facility; the heart of the creatures, their origin, where they still poured out in lucrative amounts, a constant supply keeping the surface a hazard.

We’re only about a half-mile away, Dex informed them. He spoke into their shared mental space, kept in place by Sophie and Fitz’s combined efforts, eliminating the need for out-loud conversation. Some of the creatures--especially the ones that liked the dark--had particularly keen hearing, and the closer they got, the riskier any noise would be.

Her head snapped to the side as Biana skidded for a moment on a patch of gravel, sucking in a sharp, silent breath as she caught herself. They all winced, pausing to listen if the sound had caught the attention of anything nearby.

Biana didn’t bother to apologize, they all knew it was inevitable and unavoidable--and it couldn’t be undone.

Remember the plan? It was Fitz’s voice echoing through their heads this time, although it felt like he was trying to whisper despite it being mental. They all nodded in response, and Keefe patted his pocket, bulging with the same explosives they all carried.

Sophie cleared her mind, running through the plan--which she’d done so many times by now the exact words were likely permanently etched into her brain. At the end of this system of tunnels--which Dex was navigating them through--was the breeding facility. This breeding facility was where the creatures on the surface were created, and where they were still coming from. Old and new types alike. Sophie had a basic outline of the facility--it had been difficult enough to find the location, buried deep beneath the earth, getting specifics was impossible--and the areas they were to hit. Everyone had a stash of explosives, black cubes small enough you could wrap your fingers around them. They’d get in, set up the devices, get out, and detonate them once they were a safe distance away.

It was supposedly simple, but everyone had their own speculations about what could possibly go wrong; the most likely was that they would be caught in the act.

The tunnel began to widen, opening into a large cavern; but, as they looked up, they realized it hadn’t always been. Pillars rose around them towards an arching ceiling, carved designs gracing the stone. It appeared this place had once been a grand room, almost reminding her of Victorian castles, but the floor had collapsed into rubble, green vegetation covering nearly every inch.

Linh rotated her hand as she fluttered her fingers, seemingly almost absentmindedly. The leaves rustled faintly, in response to her call. She said nothing for a moment, and Sophie’d almost forgotten about it when Linh spoke up.

I wonder how these plants are able to flourish so far underground, seemingly on their own. A memory from only a few seconds ago flashed through the mindbubble--Keefe’s nickname that had stuck-- and as Sophie watched it she could feel the body memories of Linh tracing the water through the roots of the plants and into the ground, trying to find a source large enough to sustain this vegetation.

Linh shook her head, nodding to herself and to assure the others she remembered their goal, their mission. The reason they were here.

Adrenaline hummed through Sophie’s veins as she began to survey the walls, the bases of which were a good ten feet above her head. She could sense the rest of the group doing the same, but it was Tam’s searching shadows that found the entrance.

It was nearly buried in a corner, obscured by mounds of rock and swaths of green, but it was there.

Sophie briefly sent out a wave of consciousness into the mindbubble, assessing her team and assuring they were all prepared. They seemed to be, although Linh still seemed to be ruminating on the water in the room, fingers rubbing together rhythmically.

Releasing a slow breath, she crawled into the hole, small enough she couldn’t have even sat up comfortably. If Dex’s directions were to be trusted, this hole would lead into an old ductwork system in the back of the facility, and from there they could drop down and continue as planned. The ground was jagged against her palms, but at the very least her hands were slightly protected by her gloves--the same black everyone was wearing now. They must’ve donned them before crawling in behind her-including Linh.

It’s dead ahead, she said, having spotted the reflection of the ductwork up ahead. She couldn’t imagine it led to anywhere particularly important in the facility, as the air it would’ve brought in was absolutely foul. Whatever glistening substance coated her hands and soaked her knees was going to linger.

She came to a stop at the edge where the rock gave way to rusted metal, but a moment was all she allowed herself. Bracing, she slowly lowered her hand and weight onto the ductwork, hoping it would remain silent.

A small thud resounded as the metal bent, but that was it. She gave the clear to the group and continued forward, already wishing this part were over. The duct was significantly smaller than the already cramped tunnel, but at least the tunnel had glowing fungus to light the path. This was pitch black and tiny, requiring them to shimmy on their elbows with only the light of their pendants to guide them. She wasn’t good enough at night vision for it to help, and she wasn’t going to waste energy trying. She needed to save everything she had.

The group continued forward with bated breath as they searched for an opening in the pathway, everyone eager to escape this claustrophobic nightmare. It’ll be over soon, she reminded herself, but when Biana echoed back, Soon, she realized she’d spoken into the mindbubble. Her cheeks flushed for a moment, but it was quickly put out of her mind when she saw a change in the lighting up ahead.

There’s something coming up, she transmitted, hushed. Don’t know what though. There was palpable hope in the air; they were all wishing it was the opening they’d been waiting for, but no one wanted to be let down if it turned out it wasn’t.

Sophie attempted to maintain the quickest pace she could without making sound, but in her urge to get to that possible opening, she nearly kicked the side of the duct. The person behind her--likely Marella, she hadn’t looked--sucked in a breath as everyone froze.

After only a moment's pause, she began forward again, now at a much more reasonable pace as the shift ahead was confirmed to be a vent.

She came to a stop before the slits of the vent, peering down into the room below, sending out a sweep of her consciousness to see if she could hear any thoughts indicating people nearby. Determining it was clear, she slipped the small multipurpose tool from where it’d been stored in her sleeve and began to undo the screws. It made an awful groan when she tugged off the grate, and she gripped it tight in one hand as she gently slid out face first, catching herself and levitating the rest of the way down.

The ground was surprisingly further than she’d been expecting, a good thirty feet from the vent in the ceiling to the dusty ground. Her landing left footprints in the dust, but if everything went according to plan the place would be crumbling long before that would become a problem.

The rest of the group slowly drifted to the ground, emerging from the vent one-by-one in a way that almost made Sophie want to laugh. The fear curdling her blood was enough to keep it in her throat, though.

There didn’t seem to be anything in this room besides storage, discarded crates stacked surprisingly aligned, towers reaching up towards the ceiling. Brushing her fingers over the top of a nearby crate, she saw it had a label.

Curious, she tried to read it. Unfortunately, it was either written in ancient elven or some sort of cipher she didn’t understand. Still, she not only wanted to know what was inside, she needed to. If this was something that could be used to create more monsters, it needed to be destroyed.

As she set about opening the case, the others assumed their positions. Dex was already working on something in the corner, hacking the security system so they could monitor the cameras and place them on loop. Biana was near the door with Fitz, who appeared to be mentally scanning the nearby area for thoughts.

She grunted as she pushed the lid open, bracing it on her shoulder as she peered inside. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably, and she very quickly closed the crate before anyone else could peek inside. She didn’t want them to see that.

This room has got to go, she whispered into the mindbubble, and while she could feel their curiosity, they didn’t push the issue. Wylie only nodded, removing one of his explosives from his pocket and wedging it between a few crates near the center of the room.

We’re clear to move ahead, Fitz said, and Dex seconded him, holding up his modified imparter. It appeared to connect directly into the camera feeds, where he could switch between different cameras and assess their surroundings.

As we move I’ll be placing the cameras each group is near on a loop, but try not to linger; it’s not a guarantee. Sophie nodded, and Dex passed his imparter near the door, which clicked unlocked.

The door pushed open, presumably by the now-invisible Biana, and they all filed out into the hall. It seemed to hit them all then, that this was truly happening; this was high stakes. At any moment they could be caught, but if they succeeded the entire place would hopefully fall on top of itself, burying these horrors permanently.

The halls were all the same murky, metal grey, as though trying to imitate the stone it had been carved from. Faint gouges could be seen in the walls, and the lights were flickering balefire, every few feet another ball of flame was placed, providing inconsistent illumination.

Sophie went left with Biana, Linh, Dex, and Maruca; Fitz went right with Keefe, Tam, Marella, and Wylie. They’d done their best to disperse abilities across the groups, but it still left each one lacking key assets. But that was unavoidable.

Biana--with Sophie’s help--ensured that their group remained visibly undetected, and she was grateful they had practiced moving in sync back home, otherwise, everyone would’ve tripped over each other. Systematically they made their way through the facility, not actively trying to hide evidence they’d been there but not going out of their way to make it obvious. The intention was that the plan would be executed and the place would be falling long before anyone would notice anything, so speed was their true ally.

Each explosive placed had the lump of anticipation in her throat rising steadily higher. This was truly happening. She kept reminding herself that in just an hour this would be over. However it ended, it would be over.

Footsteps sounded off to the side, and the group froze, pressing themselves into the corner of the room. Similar to all the others, it was stacked high with crates and racks of vials nearly up to hip height, organized this time by color. Sophie had placed her explosive underneath one of the vials, clearly visible to anyone who walked into the room.

Now they could hear voices as well, murmuring sharply as they came closer and closer to the room. Sophie could hear Biana’s pained gasps in the mindbubble, exerting extra energy to keep all five of them expertly hidden. Her fingers were clamped around Sophie’s own, nails digging into Sophie’s skin as she shook with the exertion.

There was a window in this particular room, so even a moment's slip could reveal them to the figures they watched stop in front of the glass. She memorized their faces, and could feel the others doing the same. A man with curling black hair and light brown skin, talking to someone much shorter than him, who looked to be no more than a child in a frilly gown, hair tangled and red. They were clearly having an argument of some sort, the girl stomping her foot dramatically.

Please don’t come in here. She wasn’t sure which of them had said it, but they’d all been thinking it. Biana would’ve if all her energy wasn’t going into keeping them invisible.

Is something wrong? Their anxiety must’ve been enough to send the message throughout the entirety of the mindbubble, not just their group, and Keefe’s concern echoed throughout their heads. When he got no response the others started chiming in, which at least meant they weren’t in any immediate danger if they had the luxury of checking in on them.

The nails dug further into her skin as the man outside the door sighed, swiping a keycard and unlocking the door, shoving it open with his shoulder as he continued to scold the girl.

“Absolutely you may not--” he began to say, one foot through the door frame, yet he still hadn’t looked, eyes on the girl. The voices in her head went silent, the adrenaline flooding her system drowning her alive until it was only that man and the explosive on the table, ever so visible.

He began to turn, eyes moving inside the room, door fully open as he stepped in.

The girl screamed. She screamed in frustration and stomped her feet and darted down the hallway, barely avoiding tripping on her elaborate gown.

The man’s attention whipped after her and he snarled something incoherent, stalking briskly after her, the door thudding shut behind him.

He left behind a thick silence, and it took a full thirty seconds before Biana’s grip on her loosened, a faint panting coming from the empty space near her as Biana swayed slightly, leaning heavily on whoever was next to her.

They lingered only a few more seconds, just barely enough for Biana to regain her composure. It was imperative they move on as quickly as possible; they had no clue when that man would be back, but it was certain he would return before they'd blown the building.

As they left she took a brief moment to hide the explosive, somewhere that wouldn’t be so easily visible for when that man returned. It would buy them time, hopefully.

Work quickly, Sophie transmitted, sending the message echoing towards the others. That had been much too close, and her urgency must’ve been obvious because she could feel the others perking up.

She could see her group’s minds lingering on that little girl, the one who’d thrown a tantrum and saved their lives. They’d known, theoretically, that there were people in this building, not just supplies and serums and whatever else created monsters, but they’d reasoned their way through the guilt. Anyone in the building was actively harming the planet and helping produce those creatures in some way; they were all complicit, so the world would be better if it were rid of them. That was something they could deal with if it saved their families, their friends stuck underground as the world above was ravaged.

That little girl was just that: a little girl. She couldn’t have been older than five; she played no part in these deadly games, yet she’d pay the same price.

Sophie hauled them through the hallways, ducking into a particularly shadowed corner away from the balefire light, the rest of her team slightly dazed. Someone's memory of that feisty girl lingered in the mindbubble, a silent question, hesitance. She could feel the other group somewhere else in the facility stop dead at the sight of her, dread tightening their stomachs as their minds cycled through the possibilities. How many just like her were hidden somewhere within these walls, unaware of the horror and grief surrounding them, coating the floors and washing through the halls; how many?

There’s nothing we can do about that right now, she transmitted to everyone, desperately trying to return them to their senses. They couldn’t do anything with everyone in such a state, clouded minds and stumbling limbs, and her panic alongside her upbringing fraught with human horror gave her enough lucidity to be the leading voice of reason. Perhaps they’d abandon the mission--although that was a last resort. They’d already gone to so much trouble--but they couldn’t do anything just standing about, practically begging to be caught.

Their minds sharpened, and someone gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, telling her they were there and they were okay. She exhaled quietly, glancing around anxiously to double-check they’d remained undetected.

Sophie was almost certain she could feel the heavy, fluttering pulses of her friends reverberating through the air as they continued on, jumping at each faint sound. Their near disaster had sombered the group, and they all appeared infinitely more aware of their surroundings, expecting someone to appear any moment.

They weren’t communicating exactly, but when they’d gotten down to their last two explosives she mindlessly reached out into the mindbubble, searching for Fitz and the others. She could feel rather than hear his response, although he seemed to be just as distracted. The others in her own group placed the last two as she scanned the surrounding space for thoughts; they made their way through the halls, peering through windows into the rooms--which were surprisingly abandoned. Apparently, the storage units were not a priority when it came to security.

Or they were guarded by something much more sinister than mere guards. The gouge marks in the walls seemed to leer at her, more ominous than they’d been a moment before.

It turned her stomach, thinking about just how expansive the facility was. It appeared infinite, spanning several stories above and a few below them, each floor impossibly tall and wide. They’d made their way down about two flights, targeting the structural supports of the building so everything would be crushed in the downfall. She intentionally kept herself from thinking about that little girl.

There’s the rendezvous room, Dex said, and Sophie shook herself internally, pulling the group forward. When they’d first come up with the plan, they’d intended to retrace their steps and exit the way they’d come, but it was deemed too high of a risk to sneak back up through the floors of the facility, and they had instead designated the room ahead as a meeting spot. It, too, had large enough vents to crawl through, which eventually made their way to an opening that should allow enough sunlight down for them to leap away with; although, if that didn’t work, they could always work their way through the vents until they’d completely retraced their steps.

Like electricity jolting through water, Fitz reached out to her, giving her a direct line to him to allow her to track his location more easily. The tether between them led to just around the corner up ahead. They were coming from opposite sides, and if you knew exactly what you were looking for you could see a large shadow creeping unnaturally against the wall, so crisp it was practically imperceptible despite her knowing where to look.

Sophie’s group made it to the door first, and Dex’s hands shook slightly as he crouched down to fiddle with the lock. He swiped his imparter across it, but nothing happened. She watched him work through his own eyes, peering through the mindbubble as he let them in. The tension grew as the others caught up to them, Tam’s shadows spreading over them slightly, enough so that Dex could disconnect from the chain, lighting the strain on Biana.

She could see him gnawing slightly at his lip as he tapped on his imparter in quick succession. Someone began breathing deeply and slowly, and she started to scan their surroundings again. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t let them be caught off guard.

Marella shook out her hands, sparks flickering between her fingers, growing with each passing moment that door refused to open. The veins in Wylie’s hands shone for a brief moment as he clenched his fist, the shimmer fading as he relaxed his fingers, glancing around.

There’s a different lock on this door, Dex mumbled, mental voice sounding faintly panicked, as though he were putting effort into sounding in control.

Yeah, no shit, Keefe grumbled, but there was a tension lacing the words that shouldn’t have been there.

Just give me...a...little longer. I think...I’ve got it.

Each pause was accentuated by a small tap as he lost his train of thought, fiddling with the locks. Cold dreaded settled itself in the center of her stomach, reaching dripping tentacles about and curling them around her insides, squeezing tight as the oxygen levels in the room seemed to dip-- and the problem didn’t appear to be the kind she could fix with a few deep breaths.

There was virtually nothing they could do but wait for him to finish, and it was agony to sit there, eyes frantically pacing the gouged walls hoping no one was approaching. Fitz’s mind reached across the mindbubble towards her, and she let him in, pooling their energy together to send pulsing waves of consciousness out around them, searching the nearby areas.

With each pulse that passed over them, the thoughts of their friends flared for a moment before dimming as it passed, but there was no one else nearby. No other flashes of thought near them that they could identify.

Wait.

There.

Fitz made a muffled sound of distress, and she could see the others’ heads snap up towards the both of them.

Shit, they transmitted. Opening their minds, they showed the others what they’d found--or rather, what was about to find them. A few halls away were thoughts, approaching quickly in their direction.

Holy shit they’re close, Biana breathed. And she was right. Normally, they’d be able to detect someone this close clear and simple, but there was a haze over their thoughts that she’d never seen before. It was as though they’d made their thoughts invisible, and she’d only barely been able to see through the deception.

There was nothing to be done about it, however, except fervently hope Dex could open that goddamn door before that person walked around the corner and saw the conglomeration of shadows and a door opening on its own. Which would happen in approximately...thirty seconds.

C’mon, I’m so close, Dex strained, mental voice shaking.

Footsteps echoed just a few moments away, and she began to bounce in place, squeezing her fingers so tight she was surprised the bones didn’t snap.

GOT IT, he cried, wrenching the door open as the lock unlatched. It was a race as everyone scrambled into the room, the footsteps and their hidden thoughts growing closer and closer each second. She couldn’t even think through the adrenaline, her arms shaking so badly there was nothing but the colors in front of her and her goal.

The door clicked shut behind them, just as the person rounded the corner.

They’d made it. Her breath came out in harsh pants, and none of the sounds around her made much sense, but she just couldn’t take her eyes off that door.

FUCK, Tam yelled, and as a force field flickered into place around them, Sophie finally turned around.

To find a room full of various guards, all of whom were staring back, malice and shock glimmering on their faces. But what was even worse were the caged creatures behind them.

Viscous pale syrup dripped from vats spread throughout the room, pulsing with thick spiderwebs of veins and mucous. Her stomach dropped as she tilted her head back to see them more fully, vaguely humanoid but distorted. Limbs stretched out like sticky candy, skin close to wreaking, appendages ending in blunt bone creeping its way out of the body. Hair floated around them in the thick substances, matted and black and shining.

They seemed dormant, but their appendages twitched in time to their thunderous heartbeat, sending waves throughout their liquid enclosures.

That was all she had the chance to see before the guards closest to them pulled out their melders.

Everything seemed to be moving at twice the speed it was supposed to be, throwing her completely off her rhythm.

Maruca stood in front of them, arms spread wide as she held a force-field around them all, Biana had let go of her, choosing to spend her energy in a fight rather than vanishing them, and it was as they broke contact that she realized just how much of her energy Biana had taken.

She swayed on her feet for a brief moment, casting out her mind and trying to get a sense of how many there were in this room that appeared infinite.

Rows of vats spread farther than she could see, although not all seemed to be occupied. None of them should’ve been. They’d gone out of their way to ensure they’d stay far away from any creatures, no matter the potential benefits. There was nothing that could be done against them.

Maruca grunted as pangs clattered against the force field, trying to find a way through. Sophie’s breathing quickened as she realized she couldn’t feel the presence of anyone in the room. It was although she was entirely alone. She couldn’t feel Fitz next to her, or anyone under the force field, and she couldn’t detect anyone outside of it.

There was an ominous silence, despite the shouts of the people around her. Security personnel were murmuring into communication devices, alerting others of a “disturbance in sector 34, room B12.” But no one in her group said a word. They’d learned not to. They spoke in the mindspace however, hysterical and screaming.

This was not the room they were supposed to be in.

There was nothing they could do as warning lights began to flash around them, strobing effects searing her eyes as alarm bells tolled, shrill and vibrating.

It couldn’t have been more than five seconds since they’d walked through that door.

She steeled herself, drawing on that knot of power she kept stored beneath her ribs, feeling the energy channel from her chest towards her head, building and building until almost painful. But she couldn’t release it. She couldn’t attack through the force field, and Maruca couldn’t drop it because then those melders would hit them head-on and they couldn’t withstand that.

Everyone else was in a similar predicament.

Then it got worse.

She didn’t think it could get worse.

How could it get worse?

The creature in the tank seemed to be reacting to either the lights or the sounds--it didn’t really matter which. What mattered was that it was moving; it was opening its gaping maw and screaming within that tank, air bubbles shooting their way towards the ceiling and lingering, a never-ending stream as its body began to buck and thrash sporadically, sharp limbs colliding with glass.

The cylindrical vat cracked, a spiderweb of broken veins spreading from the point of impact, growing with each collision as it began pounding against the glass.

The muffled sounds it made were absolutely horrible, and she slapped her palms over her ears, grimacing. But what truly stopped her heart was the sound of falling glass, wet and raining down, clattering about and bouncing off the force field.

Because now the creature was loose.

The figures who had been attacking them now swore, looking back and forth between each other before darting out of the room; their weapons still raised despite them being little threat beneath their bubble.

The door latched behind them, and Sophie seemed to come to the horrifying reality at the same time as the others.

They had no way out of this room.

SCATTER! Maruca screamed as she dropped the force field, and everyone complied, darting around the room, trying to get out of the way, hoping hoping hoping that creature wasn’t the exceptionally violent kind, and that it would leave them alone.

All of the creatures they’d encountered so far had been aggressive in some way or another--some simply left you alone unless you got close, others would attack on sight. They’d started a notebook to keep track of all the kinds they knew about, but this one was entirely new.

The only solace that could be found was that it seemed to be the only one that escaped its tank, the others appearing undisturbed.

Watching it from behind a stack of crates, Sophie could see it growing more and more agitated, banging its appendages against what seemed to be its head in distress, a warbled screech piercing the air as it began to flail about.

She ducked at the distinct sound of tables and boxes being crushed as the creature stumbled, tearing at the ground. She began to frantically search the room, looking for something--anything--that could help them at all. There had to be another exit, there had to be something they could do.

Her eyes met Keefe’s across the room, and for the strangest moment, she wasn’t concerned about the creature killing them all, or the guards capturing them and holding them hostage, or their explosives going off when they were still in the building. She was just worried he could feel her panic and it would be too overwhelming for him to concentrate.

Wait.

That was it.

Her mind clicked the pieces together and she sank to the floor, pressing her back against the shelves embedded in the wall behind her, putting her fingers to her temples. The creature was overwhelmed and overstimulated, and it was reacting poorly. She’d never tried to communicate with or inflict on any of the creatures before...but she’d never had a reason to.

She just hoped it would work.

Using that gathered energy, she reached out towards the creature, a mental hand fumbling in the dark. But it appeared she couldn’t...find it. There was just...nothingness...wherever she reached.

Opening her eyes slightly, she squinted up at the creature, which was still stumbling around in response to the overstimulation. The visual helped her narrow in on its mind, and as she reached for it she began to realize... its mind was the silence. She hadn’t been able to detect the mind of the people in the room or her friends because this creature’s mind was so incredibly silent; it broadcasted a blanket over everyone nearby.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, someone hissed into the mindbubble. But she was so far gone that it barely registered as more than a gentle, far-off whisper.

Desperately trying to control herself, Sophie began bringing forward peaceful, calmer memories; she had to reach further back than she’d expected; life hadn’t been particularly relaxing as of late. Finally, when her head seemed to overflow with calming vibes, she sent them out like a shockwave around her, a ripple in the empty.

Anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention could identify the exact moment the wave hit the creature. Its spine went rigid, snapping straight as its head jerked up, their gazes meeting. Each noise fizzled out in the same instant. No one dared breath in that poignant silence, the space almost empty now, and for the briefest moment, she wished that it weren’t so empty, so quiet.

Her wish was answered.

There was no warning as the creature’s head cocked to the side, staring her down with those empty, glistening black eyes, no warning as it lunged towards her.

Well FUCK, was the only thought in her head as it careened towards her, stumbling as though it’d only learned to walk that day, which it might have.

Its movements were uncoordinated, but that didn’t make them any less violent as the tables around them crashed into each other as it crashed onto all limbs, moving with such speed it could cross the room in less than a blink.

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. Her friends were screaming, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her eyelids were fluttering shut as that suffocating silence pressed in closer and closer.

The creature was charging straight towards her and she couldn’t think. It lost its balance, coming down hard on top of her, but its limbs were too long to crush her, and instead, it was crashing into the shelves behind her and crushing glass and breaking rock and its own bones and she. Couldn’t. Think.

Crystal shattered behind her as the shelves were wrenched from the walls, the creature desperately trying to right itself, shrieking that inhuman sound. Vials began to rain down behind her, crashing on the hard floor.

The noxious scents of the spilling bottles began to flood the room, visible gases blooming from where the colors mixed, sizzling and bubbling on the floor. The creature bucked its head, scrambling away, limbs bashing the floor as it dashed far, far away into the hollows of the room.

The silence was back, but this time it was accompanied by fumes and watering eyes as everyone pushed to their feet, stumbling and coughing.

We havetoget...Dex began, eyeing the frothing liquids….out ofhere. He was standing so far away. How had he gotten there? She might’ve been nodding her head, agreeing with him, but without the adrenaline, everything was...so slow...and the floor seemed liquid and plush.

She couldn’t see who began coughing, their whole body wracked in a fit as the vapors became so thick she couldn’t see. It occurred to her too late to try holding her breath, her eyelids fluttering as she stumbled a few steps, but she didn’t actually know where she was going.

A thud sounded behind her, and she turned, the room seeming to lag as she did so. Biana. It had been...Biana. She’d made the sound. Her body was crumpled on the ground, unconscious. That should’ve sent a spike of alarm through her, telling her to move. To go. Get out.

But she couldn’t think. And the others quickly followed, a series of thuds echoing throughout the space as one by one, they succumbed to the fumes.

Sophie was still standing, and she briefly made eye contact with Dex--why was he so far--watching him fumble with his imparter. An explosive rumbling sounded in the distance, growing stronger and closer with each moment her eyes remained open. She was upright only long enough to see Dex fall before she felt her muscles give, and she crashed down hard.

Wings AU Taglist:

@loudnerdfest @rainbowtay-11 @cadence-talle @pyrokinetic-loser @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog @itstiger720 @loverofallthingssmart @cowboypossume @jolieharkness @wings-of-hell-and-beyond @shellyseashell @blossomjenniie @imaramennoodle @booknerdddddd @akotlcblog

#that might've been confusing to read #but you can always ask me questions about the au!!#and now i can answer them more because you actually have some content lol #also can I say i hate formatting #cause I do #anyways please give me your thoughts because I've had this au for so long it feels like it doesn't exist outside my mind #so i'd love to know what you think of it #kinda apocalytic if i do say so myself #anyways ill stop now but thanks for readingggg #no clue how many chapters there'll be but definitely at least a few more #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc wings au #kotlc fic #my writing <3 #shattered upside down #oh also yea it has an actual name lol #tw swearing

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meelsonwheelsies · 5 years

Text

KOTLC: A Robin Hood AU ~Chapter 2

A/N: I started this like a year ago, and my writing has progressed greatly since then. The first couple of chapters are rather poor, but since I am too busy to rewrite them at the moment I will just have to post them as is!

So, without further ado, here is chapter two!

Previously:

"A contest. Apparently, Prince Fintan is coming to Nottingham. Rumor has it that the Prince," Will said his name with disgust, "is concerned about the Sheriff. He's worried that the Sheriff isn't doing his job, so he's going to hold a contest to elect a new Sheriff."

"Who can participate in the contest?" Keefe asked.

"Any man of noble birth or rank," Will replied.

"Fitz, you could become Sheriff!" Linh exclaimed.

"No, I can't," Fitz said. "The Sheriff will recognize me. My status is broken. I can't exactly sign up as Robin Hood, either."

"I could do it," Keefe quietly said. "My parents were-"

"I'm not sure," I said in my deep fake voice. I've become quite good at mimicking.

"Why not?" asked Tam.

"The contest is extremely difficult. There will be a series of challenges, including brutal fight, swordplay, and finally, an archery competition," I listed. "If you won, you would be thrust under the spotlight of the Prince, who is working to eliminate Fitz."

"What if Fitz was disguised as a noble?" Linh thought aloud.

I shook my head. "It won't-"

"What if Fitz was disguised as a noble, but the noble would be someone we trust? If Fitz won the competition, then the noble could do the rest," Tam said.

We stared at him. "That's brilliant," said Keefe.

"I try," said Tam, smirking.

"But who would the noble be?" I asked, still skeptical. Though the plan had merit, I wasn't sure if we could actually pull it off.

Linh thought for a moment. "What about Lord Tiergan?"

"Yes," said Fitz. "I also knew him when I was younger. He wasn't fond of my father, but I could make it work."

"I can pass along the message," I offered.

"All right," said Fitz. "Just make sure that he's on our side. But we should have a backup, just in case. Who else?"

"There's always the esteemed Lord Erroll Forkle," Linh said. Tam snorted.

"That might actually work," I said. "He's known to be good friends with...a colleague of mine."

I mentally smacked myself. How did I almost blow my cover? Fitz was just so easy to talk to...snap out of it! He doesn't even know I'm a girl! I wish that-

"Lord Forkle it is, then," Fitz decided. Man, his eyes...

"Anything else we should know?" asked Keefe.

I hesitated and racked my brain. There was one thing they should probably know. I wasn't happy with the fact, either.

"Did I forget to mention that the winner also obtains Lady Sophie Foster's hand in marriage?" I said, unable to believe that I had just admitted the embarrassing fact.

Linh frowned. "Won't that mean that Lord Tiergan would have to marry her, then?"

I nearly gagged. What? How did I seal my fate with Lord Tiergan? Or worse, Lord Erroll? It was times like these when I was thankful that they couldn't see my burning face.

"No!" exclaimed Fitz, making me jump. "I mean, are you sure? Maybe they meant Lady Stina, or-"

"I'm positive," I sighed in despair.

"Why Fitz?" pressed Keefe. "I mean, I wouldn't want to force the marriage with Lord Tiergan on anyone, but what's it to you? Secret feelings for our lovely Lady? You know-"

"No, Keefe, I'm just worried that this would drive him away from agreeing," Fitz said softly while my heart sank. "We need this plan to work so badly."

Keefe took his hand and smirked. "Say what you want, lover boy, but emotions speak the truth every time."

"As much as I'd like to listen to your squabbles, I really do need to go," I said, cheeks aflame. "Do we have a verdict?"

"Yes," said Tam. "We can always steal the lovely Lady Sophie before she has to marry. Or, a marriage annulment could be instated. And besides, this is our best chance to restore peace to Nottingham."

"If I find anything else, I can't come here again," I said. People would get suspicious. Three times in one week was too risky.

"Can you transmit?" asked Linh.

"Well...yes," I said. "Who should I transmit to? It doesn't have to be a telepath."

"You could transmit to Fitz," said Linh with a sly grin on her face.

"That's fine with me," he said.

I nodded, trying not to look ecstatic. "If one of you ever needs something, transmit. Then meet me at the top of Lady Sophie's tower."

"Lady Sophie's tower?" Keefe asked, confused.

"Yes," I said. "We are close friends. She is trustworthy and knows everything. Lady Sophie can also be of service if you need access or lodging."

"Thank you, Will Scarlet," Fitz said. Was that jealousy in his eyes? It flashed for a second but went away quickly. I started to walk away. "One of these days we will find out your true identity!"

I turned around, smirking. "You can try, Fitz, you can try!" I took off running to my horse, Silveny.

I wonder if they ever will find out. Half of me hopes they will while the other doesn't. As Silveny and I ride, the wind rips through my hair. Ever since I was little, I've loved the sensation of riding. Tonight, however, there were other matters on my mind.

As they teased Fitz, I kept thinking about my silly crush on him. It was pretty stupid of me, considering my situation. Being married to Lord Tiergan...I shuddered. How did this happen to me? Everything was perfectly fine before King Grady left. Then his awful nephew took over as regent and...yeah.

A swirling storm of emotions overcame me as I neared my tower. I quietly secured Silveny in the stables, then climbed up my tower. There were guards posted at the bottom of the stairs, so I had no choice but to climb. The castle's entrance was no good either.

I entered my bedroom and walked over to my door. Because I greased the hinges, the door swung open soundlessly. A strawberry blond guard was sleeping outside. I tapped his shoulder.

"Dex, I'm back!" I whisper shouted.

His head snapped up. "Did you have fun?"

Thank you for reading!!

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bookwyrminspiration · 3 years

Text

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au: masterpost here

chapter summary: The consequences of Sophie’s decision are starting to catch up to her, but she doesn’t know how to handle them.

Chapter 4: The Broken

Word Count: 4.7k

warnings: crying, numbness, avoiding problems, emotional breakdown (that’s the crying part), swearing, let me know if I need to add anything else

taglist: listed at the end, let me know if you want to be added or removed!

everyone ready? here we go!

ao3 link here or read beneath the cut!

Sophie held onto the imparter until the buzzing stopped, having gone to whatever the elven version of voicemail was.

It started ringing again.

And another, behind her.

She turned painfully slow, dread curdling her skin, watching as Fitz pulled out his own imparter, staring down with that eerie gaze as it buzzed in his hand.

Then Biana.

Then Dex.

Then Wylie.

None of them answered.

The imparter in her hand chimed once, then again. They’d stopped trying to hail her--now they were sending messages. She couldn’t concentrate on the words flooding the screen, her fingers trembling too severely to hold it steady.

Before she could think it through, she opened the imparter, purposefully not reading the dozens of messages pouring in--from more than just her parents. She typed out a quick message, sent it off, and turned off the notifications, shoving it back into her bag.

The words burned the back of her throat, the ones she’d never get to say aloud, had left sealed behind with that cover when she made the choice--she made this choice--to leave.

She didn’t see what the others did as she continued moving forward, the grasses shifting from decrepit and decaying to unkempt but thriving, the vines becoming more lush, thicker and snaking and warm and untended to.

But she didn’t hear anyone pick up a call. She kept moving.

The area was...peaceful, if a bit wild. The marks left behind were clear--this area had been cared for, once upon a time. Now moss overgrew the trees, the rocks shaped as though meant to be sat upon, woven baskets left discarded on the grown, now-rotten fruits spilling from each.

“Over here,” Biana called, blinking into sight in the distance. Sophie hadn’t realized she’d disappeared.

Biana stood at the base of one of the thickest trees, towering, curling roots tearing into the soil below, sturdy enough that she stepped atop one like a stair. Biana pointed upwards, to what she’d called them to.

Their panting wasn’t the only sound amongst the trees, the faint chimes of soft bells pealing from above, so quiet she’d almost thought the trees themselves were singing. The sound sucked the air from her lungs, draining her dry as she ran her fingers through the knots of her hair, peeling it from her sweat-soaked neck, twisting it through her hands. Resisting the urge to tear it out.

Once upon a time someone had sung such similar songs to her as they braided her worries away.

Once upon a time she’d sat with them, and cooked with them.

Once upon a time they’d died.

She dropped her hand to her side. Now was not the time.

“Okay...how do we get up there?” Wylie stood at the base of the tree near Biana, hand resting at his chin as he frowned upwards.

Just barely visible through the thick canopy of leaves and vines a rustic, curved base was visible, wrapping and coiling itself around the thick trunk, as if it’d always been there. Greenery covered it, untamed and overgrown, spreading from somewhere unseen up above.

The gnomes abandoned tree-houses.

“We climb.”

Sophie panted softly in the light of the rising sun, palms scraped and aching. It had been higher than she’d thought, no easy way up aside from the branches gracing the trunks--the gnomes had planned it that way. Hadn’t anticipated anything would be able to find a path.

Not that it mattered now.

They stood on a wooden porch, able to clearly see the rest of the homes from here--it was an entire community. She’d known, logically, the scope of the gnomes who’d gone missing. Who’d left. But standing here--there were dozens of elaborate, woven residences clinging sturdy to the forms of these trees, wrapping around them with the trunk jutting through the center.

The chiming of those faint bells reverberated throughout the area, the budding rays of sun peeking through the foliage, reflecting off small gems and pieces of glass scattered throughout the builds.

“Holy shit,” she breathed, spinning slowly, taking it all in.

Linh curled her fingers, and the sound of bubbling water rose from various places throughout the trees, delicate dripping irrigation systems diverting the dew and catching the light. Cascades of warm flowered vines fell from the roofs, curling around the braided edges of the railings on each porch. There was a gap, a gate in each, where a thin path--wood suspended on loose vine--stretched out to the next tree, the next habitat over, some meeting and crossing, each dripping with moss and foliage and morning dew--and gouge marks.

Her stomach turned ice as she tentatively stepped out onto one of the bridges, gingerly fingering the marks. This place was beautiful, yes.

But it was abandoned. Empty.

The people who had woven these bridges, molded themselves into the trees--none of them remained.

The wings at her back shivered, twitching with her despair, and the urge to rend them from her skin nearly consumed her. Monsters had ransacked this place, torn the people from their homes and broken their paradise.

Nothing from below, no.

They’d been attacked by monsters with wings.

“What now, Sophie?” Keefe was looking at her so softly, head cocked to the side, it made her want to rip it from his face. She shook herself internally, dousing the thought with alarm. No. She didn’t want to hurt him. She’d done all this...come all the way out here, just to keep herself from hurting people.

She wouldn’t start now.

She would fight this, whatever was happening to her, whatever was changing within her, as long as she fucking could and she would not let it control her. She’d needed to get out of the underground, couldn’t trust herself to be near them anymore--but neither could they.

“Now…” she paused for a moment, unsure what to do. So many things had gone so wrong so quickly, the ground ripped from beneath her feet. What would they do? “Now, we hurt them back.”

Her resolve was steel against the chill morning air, cutting through the loathing with absolute certainty. At least for now.

Maybe she couldn’t trust herself to be a safe person anymore, but neither could any of them. The wings had come first--and Tam’s eyes had come next. Who knew when--if--it would stop. Where. Maybe it wouldn’t.

They could all be on a collision course, already doomed and just waiting to reach the end of the road. But until then. She was going to do everything she could to hurt back the people who’d taken the safety, the individuality from her friends. From her.

The others felt her thoughts, her determination through their linked minds, and she watched as each of their faces hardened alongside her own.

They couldn’t trust themselves either.

Didn’t matter whether or not they had a dangerous ability, they’d still become an unknown to the people they loved. Still hated not knowing when and if and what would happen and where and if it would stop and whether or not they could trust their own minds.

None of them could, but they were all in it together.

It was a risk. Any of them could lose themselves, turn on each other they way they were afraid they would underground.

But it was a shared fear, a shared future, a shared determination.

But it was all of them, all of them versus themselves.

And that was a risk, a chance, they’d take any fucking day.

The window in Sophie’s space was broken.

It would’ve been beautiful, once upon a time. Gnomish things often were. Curling, intertwining branches curved around each other, climbing up the wall in a haphazard arc, overgrown with flora. The view beyond was somehow better, the tops of the trees bursting with color, dripping dew set ablaze by the early morning sun.

Now glass littered the floor, dusting the panels, scattering themselves across the floor, pieces of different colors of someone else’s life. Faint tendrils of vine clung to the few cracked panes remaining in the frame, as if desperately holding itself together.

She tucked her knees in closer to her chest.

The light flowed through that shattered window, catching on the pieces on the ground, reflecting back up on her face as she sat there atop someone else’s bed, mussed and pressed against the wall, those wings spread behind her as she sat staring through that shattered hole.

She should be sleeping.

The others were.

She wasn’t.

She couldn’t. Not when the last time she’d done so she’d woken to be someone--something--else. Not when her imparter lay beneath her legs, ablaze with messages she may never read.

Those wings shifted behind her and she grimaced, gaze fixed straight ahead.

She hugged her knees closer.

Sophie Foster was

tired.

The wings twitched again, and her breath caught. The trees outside that shattered window grew slightly blurry, and she blinked hard. It wouldn’t go away.

Tear after tear tracked its way through the scrapes and dirt on her face, drifting down her cheeks and dripping their way across the sensitive skin of her neck.

Her nails dug into her skin, trying trying trying to hold those pieces of herself together, hold herself together like that broken window. Those pieces that had been shattered and scattered within moments, flipped around and tossed with abandon.

She couldn’t find that Sophie who’d been so angry, so determined, bursting with fight. Her friends had made a commitment to her and themselves, to get back at the people who’d done...this...to them.

They’d each claimed a home, an old gnomish space.

And when Sophie had walked into hers, chosen it for the wreath of moonflower vines framing the door, the moment her friends’ eyes left her, every bone in her body had turned to stone and her muscles to feathers.

She’d sat before that broken window and she hadn’t moved since.

She couldn’t.

Every time she moved, so did…they.

Just thinking about it sent a jolt through her spine that had them twitching. She hadn’t seen them, hadn’t looked.

She’d seen the stumps in the mirror, had caught glimpses of color and shape in her friends’ minds when she’d crashed into that tree, when she’d jumped from that creature.

Not enough to see them.

There was a part of her, a foolish, hopeless part of her, that thought if she ignored it long enough, it would go away.

If she didn’t look, they weren’t there.

If she didn’t look, they weren’t real.

Seeing them made them real.

She didn’t want them to be real.

She

was

tired.

Sophie’s gaze drifted outside the window, wandering between the different colored leaves and the draping vines and the flowers dangling from the--her--broken window.

Then it caught.

Alongside the bottom of the twisted branches was enough glass left for a splintered reflection to stare back, hollow tear-stained eyes, knotted hair stuck to her skin, curled up like she could disappear if she held herself close enough.

Wings.

They were hard to see in the glass, but they spread behind her, as if reminding her they were there. Her pulse roared in her ear, body overcome with that numbing tingle of pure panic.

Sophie inhaled. And slowly turned to look at them.

They were...real.

Attached at her shoulder blades, they spread from her back, the entirety of them on display. She couldn’t...tell what they were. Her friends, they each had something identifiable. An animal, a creature of some kind. Something distinct.

These...weren’t.

But she could identify the base.

Bumblebee.

That was the shape. The delicate, thin membranes threaded through with veins, and as they beat they made the same buzz. That’s what she’d been hearing earlier, she realized. That hum as she walked through the forest--it had been the wings.

But the color was off. Bees' wings were colorless, maybe a gradient of beige near the body. These were alive with splotches of color, translucent blues fading into purples blending into greys, speckled throughout with blinding white.

Like the endless expanse of the night sky. The hollow echo of the void.

Her eyesight blurred again, and she blinked hard as she followed the veins from the edge of the wing, all the way to where it met with her back. It took her a few moments to understand what she was seeing.

Another way she’d been set apart.

There were...feathers. Small, colored feathers textured through with speckles and swirling white patterns at the very base--only at the base. As if those wings had been unable to decide what they wanted to be, and had decided to be everything.

Sophie reached out, tentatively tracing a finger along the membrane.

She jolted, back arching reflexively, as if someone had tickled the bottoms of her feet.

She pressed out an exhale.

So they were sensitive.

Very

sensitive.

Sophie turned back away, looking out through the window once more, suddenly so so...numb. Her eyelids became lead, trying to succumb to gravity.

No.

Please.

Jerkily, exhaustion-worn, she reached for her imparter, still pressed between her legs. Anything. She’d do anything to keep from falling asleep again.

She thumbed open the messages, the unanswered chats between her and her terrified, desperate, confused parents. She couldn’t read them. The adrenaline trying to sear its path through her veins could’ve been nothing for all she felt.

She knew it was there. But it was doing nothing.

Sophie’s shoulders dropped, imparter slipping from her grasp as the electrical signals in her body stopped working. Her fingertip caught the edge of the screen, sending the conversation scrolling back back back.

Until she could see that one, final message she’d sent her parents.

I’m sorry. I left of my own will. I didn’t want to hurt you. Don’t look for me. I’m sorry. I love you. I always will. I’m so sorry.

And then Sophie Foster collapsed.

She could see herself. She was supposed to, at least. She wasn’t actually there.

There was no her to see.

The mirrors only reflected themselves back on each other again and again, becoming a darkening, sickening shade of green with each faux version of not-her.

The mirrors were empty.

Where was she?

Why couldn’t she see?

She was here, wasn’t she?

Why couldn’t she see herself?

The mirrors weren’t supposed to be empty.

Where had she gone?

Cinnamon and wind pressed against Sophie’s face, and her eyes snapped open, instantly on edge. She jerked up, those wings buzzing with alarm. Her fingers splayed behind in the torn sheets of that bed as all her senses overloaded her mind with too much information all at once.

The sun was still out but it was setting the trees were wet and the fibers of this blanket were individually woven together and the air was rusting the flower petals on the door and--

“Woah, woah, woah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you like that.” Fitz was holding his hands out placatingly, like she were some startled animal. Which...she supposed she was.

Sophie took a moment to respond, breathing slowly until all that sensory information became no more than background noise.

“Are you...alright,” he asked, lowering himself onto the bed, sitting diagonal so those wings didn’t get in the way. Those wings. She’d hadn’t looked at them closely yet. Had been too frenzied on adrenaline.

She changed the topic. “Do you know what...kind...those are,” she asked, gesturing towards the wings with her chin.

He grimaced, gazing over his shoulder. “I tried not to think about it, if I’m being honest.”

“But…” Sophie prodded, encouraging him gently with a nod of her head. Her face softened as she scanned him, the rumpled clothes--he’d changed into a new outfit--the unkempt hair, as if he’d pushed it back and forth, torn his fingers through it; the circles and lines beneath his eyes, framing his face like bruises; the scratches lining his knuckles, the way he pulled and fidgeted with his hands as he looked back at her--behind her.

The wings tucked in, resting against her back as she gently nudged him with her arm.

“Well...obviously, I’m assuming a bird of some kind.” He exhaled lightly with faint amusement, rolling his eyes. “You know. Because of the feathers.”

“Can I...may I see?” Her voice was too quiet, should’ve been too quiet. But they both heard her all too clearly. She winced, starting to pull back, lean away. She’d so clearly hidden the ones attached to her, now she was asking him to show off the pair on his back.

His eyes widened slightly as she retreated, and the wings spread slightly. He shifted on the bed, and the full length extended, wrapping up and descending around her, nearly enveloping her.

She couldn't keep the silent gasp from slipping through her lips, mouth falling opening as she saw the full pattern of those wings. Rich brown feathers melded into warm, golden honey, spattered throughout with occasional pops of cream. The feathers were smaller closer to his back, growing steadily longer and sleeker as they reached the outer edges of the wings, nearly the length of her forearm.

“I don’t know what kind of bird they could be,” he admitted, blush staining his cheeks. “There aren’t many with natural, earthy coloring in the Lost Cities.” His voice broke at the end, and he cleared his throat to cover it. The Lost Cities. They truly were lost now, weren’t they. A faux paradise broken into pieces, nothing more than memory. As ruined and haphazard as she was.

Sophie shook herself. Not now. Fitz needed her. She needed him. She cocked her head, looking at the pattern. “They remind me off…” she trailed off, sending her mind back back back. Something was pulling at her, a memory; something from her human life. There. A day at the San Diego zoo, her human mother holding her hand as they looked through the habitats.

“A golden eagle,” she whispered.

Fitz said nothing as she reached out, almost in a daze, running her finger along the edge of those feathers. He didn’t react, so…

“These aren’t sensitive, are they?” It was more statement than question, but he nodded anyway.

“Why? Are yours?”

Something clanged through her at that, jolting through her muscles and sending her thoughts convulsing into the shadows. Hers. She pushed it aside.

“We’re talking about you right now,” she teased, a little too out of breath to be okay. Her fingers fisted in the ragged bed sheets, resisting the urge to pull at her skin, her scalp, anywhere she could get her hands on.

He frowned at her, scrunching his nose a bit. “This isn’t just a me thing, Sophie.” His voice was too gentle, too caring, too too too aware of everything going on inside her and reading her like a book of melodies he could leaf through at his whimsy. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you after everything. But I know you’re trying to hide it. The leader we--all of us, Sophie--want you to be isn’t a person who will hide themselves from us. I know it wasn’t the same for you, the mission, waking up, but that doesn’t mean we’re that different.”

He glanced over her shoulder at both those pairs of wings, bumblebee and golden eagle. “Please don’t push us away. You don’t have to talk to me,” he continued, looking down at her clenched fingers, gently uncurling them and holding her hand in both his own. “But please talk to one of us.”

Fuck.

They sat there for a few moments, just breathing next to each other in heavy silence as Fitz brushed his thumb rhythmically over the back of her hand, ready to wait. To wait as long as it took her to say whatever was boiling brewing curling steaming screaming inside her.

It broke her.

Her fingers tightened in his as her whole body wracked with sobs, shuddering and collapsing in on itself. Her free hand slapped to her mouth, trying to push the noises back into her lungs, the room splotchy and blurred as those tears she’d tried so hard to ignore and to keep to herself and to pretend were only temporary slipped through.

She didn’t scream.

Fitz pulled her into an embrace as she shuddered, crying silently into his shoulder. Her throat was so so thick, so tense, her tongue so heavy in her mouth she couldn’t speak. Nails digging into his shoulder blade, fingertips brushing against the base of those wings, and she cried harder.

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to--. What did she want?

His arms were so warm around her, so steady as he held her, squeezing her closer and waiting waiting waiting for her.

She couldn’t find the willpower to voice it, to speak it aloud.

She didn’t need to.

She didn’t have the strength to speak, but her mind was stronger than her body.

I don’t want to become a monster.

That was what she was running from, hiding from. This possibility. The chance that the wings weren’t the end, that maybe this was where the first monsters had come from, all those months ago. And she was next. She’d have to sit inside her body and watch it rot, becoming the very thing she hated, despised, so dearly. Something with nothing inside it, something bloodthirsty who frothed at the opportunity to attack, no thought behind her actions, a danger to anyone near.

And that had driven her away from some of the most important people in her life. Looking back, it was still safest for her to be as far from her family as possible, but it still hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt.

She hadn’t been able to read the messages from her parents, whatever they’d said to her in terror, desperation, fear for her.

Maybe one day it would be fear of her.

She hated what she’d done to them, but she couldn’t fix it. Not when she was like...this. An unknown assuming the worst.

I know. Fitz inhaled shakily next to her ear, and she realized he was crying too. I know...exactly what you’re feeling. His mind was whirling beside hers, both their mental shields lowered as they sat beside one another.

His thoughts were slow but oh so tragic. Each one a nightmare, his body ruined and decaying, a monster that had once been him crawling its way into the underground, tearing the stones from the walls, gouging into the unprotected below.

Ripping his mother’s heart from her chest.

His arms clenched around her and she held him closer too.

Hey. Hey. Hey, she consoled, gently rocking the two of them back and forth. You...You’re not a monster, she finally whispered, and he sagged in her grasp, burying his face in her neck. I don’t think you could be. You’re too...good.

He laughed hollowly against her skin as she released her death grip on his shoulder blades, a hand coming up to cradle the back of his head, fingers running through his hair.

She’d tried to distract herself from the wings on her back by asking about the ones on his...but he’d also tried to distract himself from his quiet nightmares by asking about her own. What a pair they were.

What a group.

This was the two of them, but they were not solitary lights. They were fragments of stars amongst the constellations of people they had chosen to love.

Eight of them living through the exact same waking nightmare, only a few doors away.

“We’ll fix this,” she promised, voice hoarse from her tears. “I don’t know...I don’t know what fixed will be. Maybe we’ll be out here for the rest of our lives. Maybe we’ll go back to the underground eventually. Maybe...maybe we’ll even go home.” Her voice broke on the last word, but his breathing had slowed. He was listening. “But whatever it will be, we’ll find it. We’ll make it. All of us. We work best when we work together. If anyone can fix this...it’s us.”

Fitz leaned back, his palms running down her arms and coming to rest in their laps.

“Yeah,” he whispered, staring down at their interlaced fingers, eyes red and vacant. And it was so so natural to reach forward, brush his tears away with her thumbs, hold his face in her hands for a moment before picking up his own once more.

He looked up at her at that, opening his mouth as if to continue, but he paused, head cocking to the side and a slight smile spreading across his lips.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just...are you--” he cut out, looking down at his palms, laughing slightly as he angled them towards her, so she could see.

The skin of his palms was dusted in a faint layer of light powder, almost a translucent silver. He pointed to her own arms, and she followed his gesture.

“What are you--oh.” All thoughts left her mind, leaving her with just a what? Every inch of her exposed limbs was brushed with a fine layer of powder, clinging to the surface of her skin and catching the sunlight streaming in through that broken window.

Sophie scooted back on the bed, shaking out her arms, a shower of light dust raining down. She wasn’t even angry about it, there was only pure dumbfounded bafflement as she brushed the powder off again and again and again, mostly of it falling to the sheets, but enough clinging to her skin that she was sure she’d never be rid of it.

Fitz laughed louder at her perplexed expression, glancing at him as she shook out her hands again, his voice cracking slightly as he stood, bounding to the broken window and eagerly leaning out, looking around.

“What are you doing? This is a very serious situation Fitzroy,” she said, scrunching her nose at him lightheartedly. Sure, she was confused. But she could handle that if it got rid of that horrid numbness shadowing his face. Whatever it was sent a sweet scent wafting from him, and she smiled slightly herself. He was...genuinely amused. But what was he doing?

He turned towards her and grinned, pointing to one of the flowers framing the glass, a soft periwinkle encrusted with speckles of grey, drooping from the vines. “Look.” Flower between his fingers, he tapped it a few times, a shower of that fine powder falling from the center.

“...and?” She wasn’t following.

��You’re a bumblebee,” he laughed slightly. “It’s pollen.”

“Oh for fucks sake,” she sighed, pressing her hands into her cheeks, squishing her face as she turned to look at him. “Our homes being overrun by mindless bloodthirsty creatures: I can handle. Living underground for months: I can handle. Running away from our families: I can handle that. Growing fucking wings? I can handle it. But this pollen. I just don’t think I can take it. I think this, right here, this will bee my breaking point.”

Fitz full on snorted at that, her little pun, and she found herself grinning back at him.

His smile faded after a moment and he titled his head to look at her, the movement inhuman. “You can handle it, huh?”

She dropped her hands down to her lap, thinking it over. She’d been joking around, wanting to make him laugh, ease the weight off both the shoulders the way Keefe did so effortlessly, but...the words hadn’t come out of nowhere.

“Yeah,” she answered finally. “I think we can.”

Maybe not now. This would hurt, this would linger for a while yet, but she’d get there. There was a while yet to go, but it would be manageable someday.

She’d have to remind herself of that.

He nodded to himself, briefly meeting her gaze, and she was put off for a moment at the intensity of his stare. He nodded again, and something shifted in his stance. His muscles eased and a sturdy calm washed over him, like he’d seen something in her that’d given him confidence.

“I guess then we’ll--” he cut off as both their heads snapped towards the door.

The sound.

Light footsteps pounded erratically against wood, losing their balance several times as they skidded right onto that patio outside. Something pinged in the back of the mindbubble.

Something’s wrong.

They each flinched as the door burst open, Biana’s hair frazzled, eyes wide with pure panic, the scent of damp terror permeating the space. She leaned in just long enough to say two awful words.

“It’s Dex.”

Taglist: @loudnerdfest @rainbowtay-11 @cadence-talle @pyrokinetic-loser @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog @itstiger720 @loverofallthingssmart @cowboypossume @jolieharkness @wings-of-hell-and-beyond @shellyseashell @blossomjennie @akotlcblog @imaramennoodle @booknerdddddd

#I do not feel bad at all #I have been planning this since the very very beginning #the cliffhanger I mean #one of the og parts of my outline #anyways please share your thoughts #I have many of them #I will talk about this au forever #also it just keeps getting longer #anyways #there are little details in here I'd love to talk about if you just ask #because I'm worried you won't pick them up #kotlc #kotlc fanfic #kotlc fic #kotlc wings au #shattered upside down #my writing <3 #keeper of the lost cities

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bookwyrminspiration · 3 years

Text

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au: masterpost here

Chapter 9: The Little Reminders

word count: 7.1k

chapter summary: Sophie and her friends are in the Lost Cities. The broken down, monster-infested Lost Cities. And they only have a certain amount of time to do everything they need to before something bad shows up. But monsters aren't all that comes to try and get them.

warnings: monsters, blood, implied death (of a character never met or mentioned again, who died a long time ago, it's not as bad as it sounds), arguing with parents, fighting, buildings collapsing, brief medical mention, swearing

taglist: I’ll reblog with it. let me know if you want to be added or removed!

Y'all ready? We're tying in some little details from earlier, so that's fun! Enjoy the chapter! Apologies if formatting is a little weird. Tumblr did a thing so I don't know what it'll look like when I post it!

ao3 link here or read below

It was so quiet a pin drop could’ve shattered the world.

Not that it would’ve made a difference. Colored glass and cracked gems littered the ground, an entire city brought to its knees. Mold and mushrooms crawled painstaking through the cracks, condensation crying down the sides, water marks left in their wake. Building after building as far as one could see was destroyed, damaged, some even reduced entirely to rubble.

Sophie didn’t even want to breathe as they moved, the stench of monsters and rotting flesh and decay permeating the area.

They hadn’t seen anything, not yet. But she knew they were there. Somewhere. Watching. Gauging. They’d entered the monsters’ territory, and now they could only try to do what they needed before those things decided to respond.

Their scent was thick enough Sophie wished she’d remembered to bring that mask she’d had before she’d run away, the same one they’d worn on that damning mission. It was supposed to be the end. They’d bring down the facility and clean up the aftermath and everything would get better.

A bright pink hair ribbon fluttered in a breeze, stuck beneath a cluster of broken crystal on the side of the path. A hand print beside it, frozen in the mud. A small hand print. It was gouged through with claw marks. She didn’t want to know what had happened. She knew.

Where do you think they are? Fitz asked, just to her. She gave him a mental shrug in response. She didn’t want to know. No amount of preparing would be enough for whatever happened.

Part of her, a surprisingly large part, didn’t want her parents to show up. She didn’t want to confront them and explain herself and lie her way through the conversation. And she knew she’d be at the center of it. The Moonlark. Sophie Foster. Always in the middle of things. Not that they were wrong, it was just tiring.

Yet another part of her remained horrified she’d even presented this ultimatum. She could risk herself; she’d had more experience with monsters in the past week than she’d had since everything started. Sure, it wasn’t much. But it was something. One of them even saw her as a...friend.

This group, she didn’t want to risk. But they wouldn’t let her do it alone and they’d planned this out beforehand. They weren't going in with their hands tied. And they could all easily escape, rely on those wings if it came to an emergency.

Maybe they’d even leave them alone again, like that creature in the tree the night they ran.

But their parents? They’d been stuck underground for the last several months. And they weren’t even fighters in the first place. They were painfully elven and she loved them to death. She couldn’t stand being responsible for anything that happened here today.

It was so horribly cruel of Sophie to have picked this place, to have given them so little choice. The place was infested. The stench made her eyes water, rips and tears marks littered the buildings everywhere you looked.

Something darted through her peripheral and she flinched. The creatures knew they were here. They just hadn’t attacked. Maybe they’d gotten lucky, were in a part of the city with some of the more docile ones, although all of them were threatening.

Let's get a head start. So they don’t catch us off guard. It seemed forbidden, intrusive to speak aloud. Like there was this careful illusion held together by the silence. None of them were willing to break it.

The others nodded, breaking into two groups.

Sophie, Linh, Biana, and Wylie in one; Dex, Tam, Maruca, Marella, Fitz, and Keefe in the other. Those that could hide the wings, and those that couldn’t. And Dex, who was going to grab some supplies.

Sophie pulled her cloak closer, checking it was secured as a breeze passed by. The wings buzzed in response, the open sky beckoning her. She’d have to be extra careful they didn’t make a noise if their parents showed up.

Wylie nudged her, raising his brows in question.

Right. She was supposed to find them. Track them. She was the telepath of their group.

Everyone reeked of anxiety, muscles tensed as she leaned back against a nearby building for stability, raising her fingers to her temples.

Starting with a blanket sweep, she scanned the nearby area, searching for any presence she could find. The wave spread from her like an explosion, rocketing outwith her at the center. She could feel Fitz stumble, perking up as the wave washed over him, faintly hearing someone ask him what happened. She didn’t bother to hear the reply.

There were pockmarks scattered throughout, empty holes moving within the web she wove. Monsters. Since that day in the facility she’d learned what they felt like, the hollow space they left behind. Like looking for a blind spot. They were...everywhere. But none attacked.

Reaching further, she kept scanning, about to give up.

Someone smelling of cherry blossoms placed their hand down on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. Sophie jerked, inhaling deeply, keeling forward and nearly toppling over if it weren’t for that hand.

Not here yet, she whispered, trying to reorient herself. The sudden change from concentration back to reality had been jarring--unintentional on Biana’s part, but a large stressor nonetheless.

Move!! Biana hissed in her mind, pulling Sophie along.

Oh.

Her mind lagged a moment behind as she was dragged, shaking her head to try and comprehend the enormous, gaping shadow that had fallen over their group.

She covered her mouth to try and slow her breathing as they ducked around a corner.

Biana hadn’t shaken her awake out of impatience or question. She’d jarred her into reality to escape.

Now that she was aware of it, the pungent odor of breath and smoke coated her tongue. Just how distracted had she been? How far out had her mind been reaching that she didn’t even notice the thing right beside her?

It’s claws made a horrid screeching sound against the crystal as it moved, talons sinking into the wall several feet above where they’d just been, its enormous barbed tail swinging lazily, thwacking into that very spot she’d been leaning against, leaving cracks and scratches all down the side.

C’mon, Linh called, gesturing from where she was tucked away on the other side of the road. Let’s get away from here.

There was no way they could get past that tail, sporadically swinging around and blocking that path to the rest of their group. Goddamnit. How had they gotten separated so quickly?

“There’s no way we’re getting through there,” Biana groaned oh so quietly, speaking Sophie’s thoughts aloud, shaking out her hands, trying to dispel the nerves.

Sophie absentmindedly nodded in agreement, surveying the area, looking for the least dangerous, quickest path. She didn’t even need a destination, just away. Biana’s fingers closed around her wrist, drawing energy from her skin as they both sporadically faded in and out of view. Huh. When had Biana grown so powerful?

The thing shifted its weight, tail thunking around and sinking into the wall, using it as leverage to crawl further up the building, staining it red wherever its skin grated against the crystal.

Wait.

Now, Sophie urged, pulling them both back. Use this moment. Take advantage of every single second you’re granted and wring every inch of progress you can from it. With the tail momentarily occupied, you’d think she’d go forward. Dart through the danger and emerge victorious.

No. Sophie Foster didn’t like to do things the way people expected her to. It made her eyelashes itch.

She whirled around, Biana attached to her wrist. They’d backed themselves into a corner, but just how far back would this corner go? What would it give them if only they had the keen insight to ask?

Its eyes made contact with hers and its mouth dropped open just as they turned their backs, the sound of the ground trembling behind them as it dropped itself down, starting the hunt.

Rock slammed against the soles of their shoes as they stumbled through the rubble, tripping over colored pebbles and ducking under collapsed pillars, buildings rising on either side of them like they were trapped in a maze with no end. No solution.

Growls and screeching claws echoed around them, and she knew they were surrounded. She couldn’t see them but she knew.

They’d caused a commotion and now everyone was coming to see what all the fuss was about.

Cursing, they rounded a corner only to come to a screeching stop, a mound of crystal pieces blocking their path. Turning, they looked over their shoulders.

Something skidded down the side of the building, the narrow gap between walls, claws scratching as it descended, something unpleasant in its eye. It’s mouth gaped, no teeth in sight but a hissing noise emerged nonetheless. It was large enough it nearly didn't fit in the space, but it contorted and slithered and narrowed its gaze onto her, mouth falling open with a mechanical click.

Well, fuck. It’s too early for that. The morning chill hadn’t even dispersed yet.

Both their heartbeats hammered in their chest, adrenaline surging as she realized this one was very much not friendly, it wouldn’t even try to be. Leave leave leave leave leave she needed to get out. They needed to go somewhere anywhere else.

Where are you going? Linh asked, somewhere from beside Wylie. It seemed Biana and Sophie were the only ones in danger. Great. The others didn’t even know they were being hunted, stalked, tracked, assessed.

Um. Good question, she responded. I’ll let you know when we figure that out. Biana glanced at her sidelong, seeming to realize Sophie actually didn’t have a plan and groaning. Then grinned, laughing with her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound as she threw herself into their escape.

They turned on their heels, putting their backs to this new monster once more, and ran. On hands and knees, rocks and pebbles shifting uneasily beneath them as they climbed over the pile.

Their cloaks with the chaotic movement and Sophie caught a single glimpse of the vibrant orange against Biana’s back before she was bumping into a corner and moving again.

It crashed into something behind them, the haphazard destruction providing a dangerous terrain it couldn’t quite navigate. Good. Good. This was good.

Run. Jump. Avoid. Disappear.

It roared behind them, screeching in pain as something heavy crashed down. Maybe it’d gotten caught on a building. Good. That was good, right?

Sunlight shone through the gaps between buildings, spastic as they channeled extra power into their legs, dashing darting dancing through the destruction until she saw an opening, looked up and remembered that flash of orange and realized she was not burdened to the ground and she grabbed Biana’s hand.

“JUMP,” she screamed, her voice echoing through the walls and reverberating back to her against the crystal.

They jumped, pushing all that channeled strength into their legs and leaping higher higher higher until they crested the walls and could see for miles for everywhere for eternity.

And they caught themselves.

Those wings snapped out, flinging themselves from beneath the cloaks and smoothing their descent. She blinked and that film dropped over her eyes.

Biana moved jerkily yet somehow smooth in the sky, letting go of Sophie’s hand as she flitted to and fro, movements that would’ve made Sophie undeniably nauseous.

It took her only a moment to locate the others, to find Wylie’s exasperation and Linh’s concern. To change course and point Biana in the right direction and swan dive down, curving around crumbling spires and rods.

Risking a glance backwards, she couldn’t locate that creature, it seemingly lost within that maze of buildings and halls and paths that would’ve trapped them too had the sky not beckoned so loud.

Clear. They were in the clear. It was behind them. They were fine.

Vaguely, she could see the other group in the distance, the rest of their friends pointing and waving as they watched them soar in slowly descending circles, growing ever closer to the ground. They’d gone off to find Dex’s supplies, just perusing through the city. It’d take several people to get everything he needed, maybe even more than one trip.

Biana began lowering herself, but Sophie couldn’t help but linger in the sky just a few moments longer, taking in the destruction. Reminding herself of everything they were fighting for, why she needed to step out of her own skin and remember all the people she’d left behind.

She shouldn’t have.

Something glimmered off in the distance, only visible with this new eyesight from this vantage point, but she dropped like a stone.

The void let her through, jumping between places and glitching through the air like she had when she’d grabbed Marella, falling atop Biana in the sky and wrapping her arms around her, jerking them through the void and onto the ground, sprawling a few feet away from the rest of their group.

Shit.

Biana sat up, shaking herself off and covering her wings, drawing that cloak close. Everyone’s hearts were hammering, echoing in her ears as her throat went dry.

Sophie got to her feet, bracing her hands on the back of her neck. She couldn’t dare speak it out loud, didn’t know what was still listening. If that creature had truly gotten itself caught or if it was just waiting to continue the chase. She didn't want to bother with it, just thinking it a minor nuisance as the real shit came to fruition.

Huh. Her world had devolved into such chaos that a monster chase was just a brief interruption, nothing to be thought over.

She shook her hands out, Wylie reaching down to help Biana to her feet.

There was no use putting it off any longer, so she spoke into the entire mindbubble. They’re here.

Sophie couldn’t pull her wings close enough; they were so conformed to the shape of her body she worried they’d bend that way permanently. But still, she wanted them closer. She’d buttoned up the front of her cloak, prepared her lies, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

She scratched at her arms to try and distract herself, but that just pulled at her damaged skin, leaving lacerations and blood stains behind. She really should’ve wrapped them. Why hadn’t she wrapped herself up? That’s what she’d gone with Tam to get.

Linh's skin was covered in bandages, her legs and arms tightly bound. It hid some of the incandescence, and in the morning light she almost looked completely normal. Sophie should’ve done the same to herself. She’d gotten so distracted she hadn’t even thought to, and none of the others had remembered to remind her.

Strange. Usually they were so on top of her injuries. It was...unsettling to imagine why they weren’t this time. Not that--not that she wanted them to focus on her. She just--

“Is everyone prepared?” Wylie’s voice was so loud in this silence it made her physically jump, taking all of her energy to keep the wings from shooting out in fear, giving herself away. She did get some impressive height, though.

“Nope. Let’s do this anyway.” If they didn’t do this now, didn't confront their parents and convince them to stop trying to find them, they’d just have to do it again later.

They were fine for now. They were relatively safe and unharmed. Their injuries were from themselves, not the forest. The forest. The forest only she had access to.

If you can, grab the stuff to make a temporary crystal or find a pathfinder of some kind, she sent out to everyone. So you don’t have to rely on me.

Nice try, Foster. I like relying on you. But yeah we’ll look.

She rolled her eyes. Of course he was joking. He knew she was anxious and the little fucker was trying to make her feel better. And it was fucking working. She scowled.

Alright. Now or never. Do or die.

Live with it.

Sophie couldn’t see through the tears falling from her lashes, the wet getting caught up in those films. The world was made of fragments and smears and it was all she could do to hold herself together as she saw her father climbing over a mound of rubble.

Grady. Dad.

There were others beside him, an entire group who had come out to try and get them back, but she couldn’t stop herself from desperately reaching out one last time. She saw him and her legs were moving moving moving and she just had to get to him to let him hold her to feel him alive beneath her fingertips.

He was moving too, eyes widening as he sprinted forward and then he was right there and his arms wrapped around her and held on so so tight and his chin rested on her head and her face was buried in his chest and he smelled like soap and feathers and warmth and home.

She’d missed this so much.

“Hey, kiddo,” he whispered against her hair, the braids she’d woven them into on the walk over, trying to tame the mess. She’d have to do that when flying. They rocked back and forth, just holding holding holding each other.

She’d missed this.

Eventually, he stepped back a bit, holding her out by the shoulders and looking her over, gnawing at his lip as he saw all the blisters, the lacerations, the burns. The scratches.

It’d been a rough couple of days.

“Are you okay?” he asked, bringing her in close again, this time oh so gentle. Like he was afraid one wrong move would tear her apart.

She just shrugged; she couldn’t get her throat to work. She exhaled, the breath shaky and uncontrolled, wiping at her eyes to try and compose herself. She didn’t even know who else was here. Did she care?

Sophie stepped back, but Grady reached up to pat the top of her head, smoothing down her hair. She leaned into the touch. She’d missed this.

He stepped to the side when he saw her leaning to try and see around him, glancing around the area now that she was here and there was something to protect.

There were so many people. Any number was many. She didn’t know why she thought she could do this. She could do this.

Taking a deep breath, she counted who’d come.

Ro and Sandor--Sandor--stood on either side of the group, weapons out and noses lifted to the wind. Protection. Della was wrapped around Biana, fussing over her and feeling the bandages on her arm. A pang of guilt hit her, but she pressed it aside. Mr. Forkle stood beside Wylie, the two of them in some sort of discussion she hadn’t expected. Elwin had rushed to Linh just beside Wylie, and was now carefully lowering her to the ground, Juline giving a helping hand.

Juline. She looked up, making eye-contact with Sophie, holding it.

“Everyone else is in a different part of the city,” she said, clearing her throat. “But they’re fine. They’re okay. Well--” she cut off, eyes glazing over as she reached out to Fitz.

Grady’s hand tightened on her shoulder, but the sensation faded as her mind reached away from her body.

I’ve...they’re here. She said, unsure how else to put it. Are you all doing alright?

It took him a moment to respond. Yup. Just a little--shit. Just a lot of unwieldy things. I just dropped something. Dex seems to be having the time of his life, though. None of it makes sense to me.

Okay. Reach out if you need anything. Or just to interrupt...because this conversation isn't going to be fun.

He laughed slightly, hollow. Yeah. I definitely don't envy you right now.

Wait, have you envied me before?

Good question.

She waited for him to answer it, but it was silent on his end. Well you can’t just--

Take care, Sophie. I love you.

He severed their connection.

“--Sophie?” Someone was shaking her--Grady. That was Grady. His hand was on her shoulder and he was shaking her back into her body.

“Mmm. Yup. That’s me,” she slurred, shaking her head slightly to regain her stability, to ground herself. She rubbed at her eyes, Fitz’s words echoing in her mind. I love you.

She wanted to say it back. Why hadn’t he given her the chance to say it back?

Sophie found Juline once more, directing her words in that general area but addressing the whole group. “Yeah, they’re all fine.”

“Tell them to come here, please.” Ah. Okay. Right into it, then.

She shook her head. “They’re busy.”

Sandor stepped forward, fist tightening on the hilt of his blade. “They can un-busy themselves for this.”

Wylie took it for her, and she nearly leapt forward to hug him right there and then, but it didn’t seem like the right time. She didn’t want to be the only one they addressed.

“Unfortunately, they cannot. But anything you need to tell them you can tell us and we’ll relay the information.” He crossed his arms, glancing towards her as if in question.

She inclined her head slightly. Yes, it was okay that he stepped in.

“We’ll need all of you in one place for this,” Sandor said, and Sophie’s stomach dropped.

“We’re not going back.”

Grady’s hand tightened on her shoulder, flexing as if he wanted to pull her closer and just leap away with her. But they were separated. If they stole the four of them away now, they’d never find the other six.

She hated that they had to strategize like this.

“Look,” Ro began, pointing a dagger at her to emphasize her point. “I don’t know what kind of idiocy has infected your group, but you can’t be up here. You and your little fucked up elf brains have to come back with us, to the underground. And we’ll take you by force if necessary.” Everyone flinched, Juline frowning at her like they’d had an agreement beforehand, a plan, and Ro had gone completely off the rails.

Sophie just shook her head. “No. We’re here to see you. To let you know everyone’s okay, and that you don’t need to worry.” Ro rolled her eyes, and Sophie was tempted to flip her off. “But we are not going back, and that is final.”

“This absolutely is not final, kiddo.” Grady contradicted, turning her around slightly to face him. The movement sent her cape swirling and for a moment she thought the wings would become visible, but they remained hidden. Thank fuck.

This would never end. They’d only go round and round and round in circles and neither would ever concede and their parents would never understand why. They’d just sit here until--

“While we’re...discussing that, how about you sit down and let me look over you, that sound good?” Elwin waved her over from where he sat beside Linh, whose bandages had been peeled back. Biana sat by Linh’s side, looking over fresh, better wrapped bandages over her cuts. He must’ve gotten to work on the two of them while Sophie had been talking with Fitz. Right. His little farewell would haunt her the moment she had time to think...which didn’t seem to be anytime soon.

She nodded, walking over and placing herself beside Linh, bumping her arm with her elbow in greeting. Linh bumped right back into her, smiling as she winced. Something about this light made her look almost normal. She wondered why no one else had commented or asked about the patterns on her skin. Could they even see them?

He inhaled, sucking the air in through clenched teeth. “I bet you two were exposed to the same thing, huh?” He asked, gently pulling Sophie’s arm and inspecting the peeling skin.

“Yep,” she answered, unsure how much Linh had already said.

He doesn’t know it was Marella, she whispered into Sophie’s mind.

What did you tell him?

Run in with a weird creature and a stray explosive? Sorry, I was thinking on the spot.

Sophie nodded. She could work with that story.

“I’d tell you to be more careful around fires and those kinds of things, but I don’t think you know how,” he teased, but his frown didn’t fade as he gently observed the visible skin, pulling serums and creams and bandages from his bag. “I guess that’s why you specifically requested I come.” Sophie nodded, then realized she should probably say something.

She cleared her throat. “You don’t know that. Maybe we just missed you.”

He laughed, gently rubbing a thin layer of something over her arm before covering it with a light gauze. She sighed with relief, leaning against Linh. She hadn’t realized how much pain she’d been in until she felt the cooling effect of the balm.

Both Sophie and Linh were given several elixirs, luckily none too soured or rotten. Biana;s injuries were light enough that she only took a pain reliever.

Unfortunately, the brief peace couldn’t last. The adults seemed content to just keep watch, the scent of sweat and anxiety overwhelming as they surveyed the area, eyed the tree line, the mounds of rubble, just long enough for Elwin to do the basics of what he needed.

Probably because they expected him to be able to continue the treatment once they’d gotten to the underground.

They didn’t seem to understand that they were not coming back.

She wanted to. She didn’t want to leave.

Mr. Forkle approached her on the ground, offering her a hand to help her stand. The gauze across her palm rubbed strangely as he hoisted her to her feet, the sensation off-putting enough that she shook it out slightly as she found her balance.

Linh tugged at her cloak as she stood, readjusting it so it sat against the wings properly, hiding them. Elwin had tried to get her to take it off, but she’d refused. Told him to just do what he could see right now and worry about the rest later.

He’d also told them all he’d want to look at their backs, see what had happened after he’d left them for a short time and returned to find them gone.

He’d told them he’d forgive them if they apologized for scaring the shit out of him, that they didn’t have to do it now. They could deal with all of that later.

There wouldn’t be a later. She just had to convince them to let them all go.

They’d never agree to let them all go. This was an impossible task, doomed to fail from the start.

“You kids just love getting in trouble, don’t you?” He asked, stepping back to let the others come forward. The groups condensed, kids (and Wylie) across from the adults, the line seemingly already drawn.

She shrugged. “That tends to happen when you give children the responsibility of fixing a broken world.”

Linh winced, but this time it wasn’t from her injuries.

“That responsibility was meant to be shared and eased with the help of the Black Swan, help we cannot provide with you as runaways.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “No. You’re still part of the problem. You weren’t helping anyone, certainly not us.” Oh. Okay. She was doing this now.

“We know you think our ways are too traditional, that we’re not making progress--”

“No. Let me talk.” She held up a hand, silencing them. She’d let them silence her into submission when she’d burned down that storehouse; she wouldn’t let them do it again. “The first time the Neverseen were defeated, how did that happen? Us. We--my friends and I--took the fight to them. We didn’t sit at home waiting for approval from the council, waiting to fight ‘legally.’ There was a problem. A problem that got people killed. And you’d been fighting for decades and got nowhere until I tracked Gisela across the globe and found her myself. Until Dex hacked their trackers and trailed them. Until Biana infiltrated their base on her own to plant bugs and get us intel.”

They looked like they wanted to stop her, but she pressed on. “Your complacency has gotten you nowhere, and I am not at all sorry to be fighting to get results. The Neverseen were gone. My friends brought them to their knees, and you said you’d support us, take it from there and pick up the pieces. Well, guess what? Those pieces scattered in the wind because they weren’t properly disposed of and now they're out in the world, causing even more trouble than we ever could have imagined. You didn’t do your part, so I don’t trust you to support us now. You’ll have to earn that back, and if this”--she gestured to their little group, the people they’d sent to try and convince them all to come back, to tug at their hearts and play into their guilt--”is any indication, you are only getting further and further away from that.”

She crossed her arms, trying to keep herself in check. She hadn’t even known she’d had all that bubbling beneath her skin, but now that she’d open that part of herself she could feel it frothing, foaming to escape. There were so many ways she’d been disappointed, so many mistakes people had consciously made, it felt like her veins would burst.

Ro’s mouth had fallen open, torn between anger at her stubbornness to come back and loving Sophie’s disregard for those in charge, the disobedience.

Biana glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, raising a brow in question. Sophie nodded, imperceptible. They needed someone to cool the situation down, someone good in social situations.

Juline opened her mouth to respond but Biana cut her off, stepping forward. She was never afraid to be blunt and Sophie loved that about her.

She smoothed out her clothes, her scars on full display. “You seem to misunderstand why we’re here. We left abruptly, we know. It was necessary. Now that things have calmed down, we agreed to see you again--to give you some peace of mind. To let you know we’re okay in person. Not just the four of us, all ten.

“We didn’t come here to debate returning. We’re not coming back, not right now. So stop trying to convince us, and don’t try to justify your actions against valid criticism.”

There was silence for a moment, then Della spoke.

“You’re not safe out here,” she said. Smart. Begin the conversation with an indisputable fact in their favor. But Sophie could do that too.

“We’re not safe anywhere.”

Sandor sighed, but it sounded more like a growl, not even looking at her, still scanning the perimeter. They were fairly out in the open; for some reason, they hadn’t moved to better ground.

“You’ll be much safer where we, your bodyguards”--he gestured to himself and Ro--”can see you and protect you. That’s what we’re here for. This is a massive nest of monsters; we’re lucky we haven’t been attacked yet. This is a mess.” He gestured around the area, the cracked crystal and claw marks.

He was right. Which was why they needed to end this quickly. Get them out before they were hurt. She needed to go somewhere else, to cool off. She could feel Linh and Wylie’s eyes on her, wondering if she’d explode at their parents like she’d done with Biana.

Sophie nodded in agreement. She was nodding a lot during this conversation. “You’re very good bodyguards, but we’re staying up here. Besides, our location isn’t here.”

“Then tell us where you are,” Juline cut in, a hint of panic in her voice. Glad to see the four of them safe, but none of them the person she’d specifically come for. And she didn’t know it, but that one person’s body wasn’t working the way it should.

Combined with her outburst, the realization that they were completely out of power in this situation was settling in. She could read it in their widening eyes, the shifts in their stances, like they were rearranging themselves.

“We can’t. We literally can’t.”

“Please, Sophie--” Grady began, running his hands through his hair in frustration, looking like he wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her, but he froze.

They all did.

Because they all heard it.

A horrendous screeching noise, like metal grating against metal. Or claws against the ground.

SOPHIE. GET OUT OF THERE. Fitz’s voice pounded into her mind, panic and terror following.

What? Why?

MONSTER!

“Move,” she hissed, shoving Linh to the side, noting Biana dragging Wylie the other way. Away. They had to get away.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing their group scramble, glancing around frantically, trying to find where the noise had come from. Sophie hadn’t bothered to figure it out, just moving away.

Something crashed to the ground, a great plume of smoke and dust arising from the area, whipped around by a sudden wind, like something was beating its wings. It must’ve been a tower, building, the sound so horrendous she stumbled, hands pressed to her ears as it ripped through her.

Wylie was panting on the ground across from her, eyes closed as his hands covered his ears.

The building took eternity to fall, seconds of time dripping past like a deluge, one after another until she couldn’t tell the difference and someone was screaming her name or maybe that was just the ringing in her ears but something was coming coming coming it was after them they’d overstayed their welcome and everything was crashing apart around her.

Think, Foster, she reminded herself.

Next step. Find the others. Find everyone.

The few precious seconds it took her to gather herself enough to reach for her temples were too many. She was out of time.

“I said MOVE!” Fitz was yelling at her, sprinting from a nearby alley, a pathway through the mess. He was moving lopsided, his limp aggravated by whatever the physical labor had done to his knee. Oh.

That’s why he’d warned her.

His group was heading their way, a monster in tow, screaming at them to get out.

The other six were close behind, Keefe darting around corners, Dex leaping into the air with channelling. Marella’s hands were glowing, Tam’s fingernails stained black.

Their cloaks fastened tight but something something something still looked off if you were focusing. No one was focusing on them.

They were occupied with something else.

It screamed.

Sophie stood there, frozen, as it crawled over a mound of rubble, jerking and frantic, several eyes littered over its body, claws digging into the crystal as all its sight narrowed in.

On the other group.

Where her father was.

“NO!” She didn’t know who said it, who screamed. But her throat stung and her body was trying to move without her permission.

“Dex,” Juline yelled, a strange relief washing over her face as she saw him, quickly vanishing as the creature tumbled forward. It moved so inhumanly quick, limbs upon limbs emerging and cycling as it danced uncontrolled toward their vulnerable parents.

Ro had drawn her sword, a maniacal grin slicing her face as she laughed, widening her stance.

No no no nonono. She couldn’t kill it. She didn’t stand a chance and she’d go down trying and it would be all Sophie’s fault because she’d frozen and wasn’t doing anything when if anyone deserved to pay it was her.

Grady’s face had hardened, a weapon in his hand she didn’t recognize pulled from somewhere as he stood back, eyes on that charging creature when his face went slack and he whirled, another one emerging from behind.

She couldn’t get to him, an eternity between them, rocks and debris and a wall of hurt throwing them further and further apart with each step she took forward. Linh was tugging at her arm, Maruca at her other. Trying to get her away.

It was impossible to fix this. They’d doomed themselves from the start.

He was still wildly searching the area, searching for her.

They made eye contact, his face softening as he saw her, saw how far she was. That she could still get away, wasn’t being directly attacked.

“No,” she whispered, watching him turn away, steel settling over his skin. A calm acceptance

No.

She wouldn’t do this, wouldn’t watch him die.

Sophie lunged forward, breaking from her friends’ grasps with that new ease,

and

she

glitched.

She was dancing through time and space, here and there and everywhere in a single instant. There was no distance too far, nothing she couldn’t be in this one moment in time. This one moment that she’d make last an eternity. This world was hers to command.

She appeared, just at his side, shoving him away, letting that prowling creature descend on her instead, sinking its teeth into the skin of her shoulder, ripping through fabric and darting away.

She didn’t care. She didn’t care at all. Because Grady was fine just a few feet away. He was fine. That’s all that mattered.

His eyes widened as he watched her, trying to stand amongst all this chaos and rubble, and she didn’t understand didn't understand the fear, the pain in his eyes. The screams and gasps echoing behind her, the way the world seemed to pause for a moment.

Not until she saw the tattered remains of her cloak fall to the ground.

“Go home,” she whispered, backing away from him. “Go back. It’s not safe up here.”

He wasn’t moving, he wasn’t talking; no one was.

But the creatures were still screaming, eyes condensing and coalescing, observing her and the people around her.

“Get them out of here, Sophie” Maruca screamed, force-fields flickering into place around the creatures, caging them in. But she wasn’t steady on her feet. Why hadn’t she raised the shields earlier? Maruca nearly fell, her hold flickering. She was buying Sophie a few seconds, but that was all she could give. Who knew what she'd given already.

Sohie steeled her nerves, letting the wings buzz behind her, keeping the attention. Let them see her, let them focus on her and not notice the things on her friends backs too.

“I’m sorry,” was all she said, darting forward faster than Grady’s eyes could understand, glitching the two of them just a little bit away, beside Della. She grabbed the two of them, and vanished.

The clearing was just as she remembered it. The crystal grate sat crooked on the ground, the trees around as menacing and uninviting as ever. Last time she’d been here it was raining.

It was supposed to be the last time.

She let go of the two of them, ripping through the void back to the Lost Cities. Another two. Juline and Elwin. She brought them back.

Went back and forth until they were all back, all away, all safe. Safer, at least.

“Sophie, wait--” Grady was reaching for her. He scrambled for his pocket, telling her they'd just come back. She couldn’t leave, she had to stay. Let the adults go back and handle it.

She twirled the pathfinder through her fingers, listened as he fell silent.

It’d been right there in easy reach when she’d grabbed him. So she’d taken it. They’d needed one, and taking it from him kept them from coming back. At least for a little bit.

He was reaching for her.

She didn’t look back.

She vanished.

The shields fell just as Sophie arrived. There were monsters loose in the Lost Cities, chasing her and her friends. She didn’t care.

The world had ended years ago.

Nothing. That’s what she felt.

Everything was numb. The echoing screams of the creatures, the grating of their claws against the ground, the sweat and fear of her friends. None of it registered. It would hit her later, she knew, but not now. Not yet.

Sophie dug her nails into her scalp, watching the creatures explode out of their containment, finally set free. They laughed, animalistic, bodies thrashing rhythmically as they slithered forward.

Apparently physics didn’t matter anymore.

Thoughts and plans filtered through her mind, the mindbubble alight with chaos. She tuned it out, just watching from the center of it all. The eye of the storm.

Someone was in the sky, unused to flying but moving with enough precision she knew they’d done it before.

One of the creatures locked eyes with her, maw falling open with a haphazard grin. A mechanical creak came from it’s neck as it twitched.

It scrambled forward, close to the ground, crossing the clearing in just a few short moments.

She didn’t care.

It was going to tear her to pieces.

She didn’t care.

The ground rumbled, trembling and bucking and weaving into new positions, throwing them all the ground, the scent of thunder and terror rolling over her, knees buckling beneath her.

The stench hit her first, the watered down rot, a dying perfume of withered roses and rotten fruit. Cloyingly sweet, deceptively undead. Her eyes began to water, like she’d been physically hit. She couldn’t see through the tears, but she didn’t need to.

It made itself known.

Dark and decay seemed to slip through the cracks of the stone, falling upwards like unnatural rain.

It crushed that creature beneath its gargantuan paw, cracked and molten.

It was right in front of her.

She looked at it and it looked back, nearly four times the size of the thing it’d just killed like it was nothing.

Monsters vs monster. It’s eyes glowed a deep gold, dripping down the midnight blue of its face, its body vaguely bear shaped.

It looked away, charging towards those other monsters, the movement accompanied by a jingle.

There was a collar around its neck, tags clanging against each other as it moved, killing--destroying--each of those creatures her friends ran from one by one.

An intelligence lingered behind its eyes, its movements. This was...even more unsettling than the creatures, than the destruction littered around her.

It blinked at her like it knew her.

Sophie forced herself to her feet, to take in absolutely everything she could about this thing before it vanished. It could be the difference between life and death.

It lowered it’s head to the ground, and

her

heart

stopped.

Behind it’s head, hidden by the whorls of curls decorating its stocky body, was a little girl sat atop it.

A little girl in a chaotic, elaborate gown, something human’s thought princesses would wear, frizzy red hair tangled around her face.

The little girl she’d seen in the facility.

#thank you to pyro for inspiring part of where this chapter went #he's incredible and I love him lots /p #anyways...how we feeing?#that was a lot #i'm not sorry though :)#come back in two weeks to figure out what the hell happens next #okay but thoughts?#this one was a lot of fun for me so I'm curious if it was for you too #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc fic #kotlc fanfic #kotlc chaptered fic #shattered upside down #shattered upside down chapter #kotlc wings au #quil's quill

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bookwyrminspiration · 3 years

Text

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au: masterpost here

Chapter 8: The Regretted Reflection

word count: 8.9k

chapter summary: Sophie made multiple impulsive decisions in a panic, but now she has to deal with the consequences and face the people she left behind.

warnings: picking at skin, panicking, fighting, a brief section that's slightly surreal/like rolling a nat 20 perception check but there's nothing to see/uses second person, blood, swearing, intentional misuse of grammar, I think that's everything but please let me know if there's more /g

taglist: I’ll reblog with it. let me know if you want to be added or removed!

This chapter is 8,932 words. Why do I do these things? I don't know. But! That means even more content for you so I hope you enjoy! Definitely enjoyed this one and the twists even I wasn't expecting. Damn this au is getting long

ao3 link here or read below

Sophie Foster felt nothing.

The imparter buzzed in her hand, tickled her skin. This should alarm her, the incoming message and whatever it might say. What could the council possibly want with them? What could Oralie want with her? They’d fallen out of contact weeks, maybe even months ago. All those useless meetings, unproductive decisions and orders, watching as they fell down and down, deeper and deeper indebted to every other goddamned species on the planet.

She had no interest conversing with them, engaging in pleasantries, the idea even less appealing with sleep crusting her eyes and clogging her throat, with the uncomfortable rub of her dry, damaged skin against the very air.

Everyone was looking at her, glancing between her and their own ringing imparters, seeming to wait for her judgement on this situation. Right. Because she was the one who’d isolated them in the first place.

The thought jerked her, tugged her into consciousness, and all that nothing shattered into something. Her muscles tensed and she leaned out of Keefe’s grip, shakily running a hand through her hair, steeling herself.

She answered the hail.

Every other imparter in the room fell silent.

“Sophie, there you--” her pristine voice was so so irritating, unwanted.

“What do you want.” The demand fell flat, dropping from her tongue like a stone. She pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose, trying to breath the exhaustion away, still not fully awake. She’d set the imparter down, angled it towards the ceiling so they could all see the perfectly curled ringlets and pink tourmaline, but no one on the other end could see them.

“Sophie, you need to listen carefully. We need you to--”

“That is no way to speak to your rulers, Miss Foster.” She glanced back at the screen. That hadn’t been Oralie. No, she’d been cut off. Councillor Emery's face now filled the screen, warped with disdain, jaw clenched.

Ah.

Who were your hails from, she asked, the words slurred but urgent. Different friends chimed back different names, each one a different councilor. No one said Emery.

“If you so desperately wanted to contact me, Ruler, you could’ve hailed yourself.” She was being unpleasant, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

His mouth tensed, something flashing across his features before he spoke. “As cooperative as ever, I see. I’ll make this brief. We, as your councilors, order you to return to your underground. Whatever has given you this disposition that you are above the protocols set in place to protect our people must cease immediately.”

“Hmm. No.” Keefe turned to her in disbelief, a slightly worried grin cracking his face. She wasn’t normally this vocally indifferent, this casually opposed to authority. Little did they know she could feel each individual blister lining the skin of her stomach rubbing against the threads of her shirt, hear the trickle of water from Linh’s bath, smell the cold of Tam’s skin and the heat of Marella’s.

This conversation was a waste of energy.

“You seem to think this is a request. It is not. You are expected to comply and have 24 hours to return, or we will set out to find you and bring you back by force if necessary. You not only disrespect our authority with your blatant disregard for the protocols, you also insult the dwarves who have so graciously opened their homes to us all. We will not say it again.”

That’s not good, Dex whispered into their minds, voice unnaturally light.

Maruca shifted her stance. I don’t think that’s all there is to this.

Things rarely are that easy, Sophie breathed, pressing her hands together against her chin. She’d love to go back to that nap, please. Deal with whatever this was later. Just push it off.

She glanced at Dex, and something he’d said to her flickered in the back of her mind. Fuck it, go for it, deal with the consequences later. Holding eye contact, she spoke. “We’re not coming back. If you’re having issues with the dwarves, figure it out. Maintaining the peace between our species does not fall to ten teenagers. Well, mostly teenagers.” She inclined her head towards Wylie. She could see the confusion flashing around the circle, watched each of them try to connect the dots he hadn’t meant to hint at. “We will, however--”

What are you agreeing to, Fitz demanded, waving his hands around to get her attention. She didn’t stop watching Dex.

She continued talking like he hadn’t interrupted. “--meet with our parents in a neutral location. We’ll work the details out with them so you can stop playing messenger. We will not compromise further.”

Then Sophie leaned forward and ended the hail.

Sophie didn’t dream. Her limbs were leaden, sinking sinking sinking into the ground, leaving a sullen impression as moss and decay and rot crept over her body. She did not move. She did not toss nor turn. Anyone who saw her might mistake her for a statue, a corpse, a freakish conglomeration of flesh, something to be ripped apart and studied.

Hell knew what they’d find.

There was no one occupying her mind, not even herself. Time became thick and lucid, a block of stone dropped into a stagnant puddle. All there, all at once, all the time.

And yet, she existed. Somewhere.

She wouldn’t remember this when she woke. Memory was curious like that, picking and choosing seemingly at random, so little control over what lingers. So many moments we’ve left behind, that only existed as they occurred.

It’s the little moments, the ones you don’t even realize you’ve forgotten. The few minutes right before you fall asleep, the thirty seconds it takes for your essay to print as you watch with impatience.

The dreams you know you’ll forget.

There are some who are more in tune with their existence, who can recognize something that will fade as it happens. But for the most part, we don’t remember those moments.

And Sophie wouldn’t remember this.

Wouldn’t remember seeing herself in the mirror.

Someone was doing an absolutely terrible job at keeping quiet. Bare skin scuffed against the wood floor, approaching from behind, stopping in place as something creaked, hesitantly moving once more, a weight lowering itself onto her bed.

Sophie didn’t move, unwilling to give up these few seconds she had left with her eyes closed. Fabric pressed against her skin in a way that told her she hadn’t moved in quite a while, had sunk sunk sunk into the sheets. Did she have the energy it would take to face what moving would bring, the world she needed to return to?

The person was breathing, exhaling slightly, as if unsure of themself.

“I know you’re there,” she said, so quiet no one else in the world would hear besides the two of them, whoever the two of them would turn out to be.

“Are you awake for real this time?” Maruca. That was Maruca sitting beside her, fiddling with the thin blanket tossed over her body and clenched beneath her chin.

Sophie took a moment to respond, slowly opening her eyes, taking in the dust motes and pollen floating around, exhaling and watching the air disturb their fall.

There was a steadiness, a clearness to her mind that she hadn’t had in days, maybe weeks. Yes. Sophie Foster was awake.

“Yeah,” she breathed, still unmoving. She slid her line of sight to Maruca, taking in the lines of her face, the tight purse of her lips, the downturn cast of her brows. The exhaustion. The determination.

Slowly, she pressed her hands to her face, rubbing away the fading fog of sleep. The skin of her cheeks was surprisingly chilly against the warmth of her hands, and she held her head between her palms, feeling as they reached equilibrium.

Muscles dead, Sophie pulled herself into a sitting position, Maruca watching with a sort of detached glaze over her face. She tracked every movement, but made no move as if to do anything. Not even readjust herself as the bed shifted under Sophie’s fiddling.

“Why are you here?” she asked, rubbing her hands down her thighs, trying to work some life back into her body. She must’ve slept hard. The time had vanished in her mind, the last thing she remembered was overwhelming exhaustion as she’d been dragged from unconsciousness, so so desperate to disappear into it once more.

And now she was here. Everything else was blank.

“Making sure you’re not dead, mostly” she smiled slightly as that, hands curled tight in her lap. “One of us has been checking in every hour or so, just to make sure you’re still breathing.”

Sophie stretched out her neck, which rewarded her with several pops. “Well, surprise surprise. I’m alive.” Which meant she’d have to deal with whatever shitstorm she’d stirred up that had Maruca so tense. Her knuckles paled as her hands remained clenched in her lap, her lips pressed firmly together.

“Where do you need me?” she asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. There was always something to be done, a place she could be useful even if it wasn’t as a leader. As groggy as she was, she’d follow Maruca’s directions, anything anyone needed.

Sophie stood, fighting the head rush that came with the change in blood pressure, glancing back at Maruca. She hadn’t had time to speak with her lately, and something tugged at the back of her mind, a memory of some sort...oh well. It faded.

“You need to coordinate that meeting you randomly proposed. And include us in the process.” The last part had some bite that should’ve had her flinching with guilt, but her mind hadn’t moved past that first sentence. That meeting. That meeting she’d proposed.

To see their parents again.

“How long was I asleep,” she asked, already heading for the door, panic pushing against her chest and constricting her heart. Depending on how long--

Maruca was somehow just behind her. “I’d guess around ten to twelve hours since your little excursion with Tam, six or seven since the council called.” Sophie turned, looking her up and down. There was something about her manner of speaking, something about the way she conducted herself that felt...off. She couldn’t put a finger on it, hadn’t spent enough time with Maruca before to know what was different now. She had to fix that.

“Thank you,” she said, inclining her head. “For checking on me. I’m sorry I haven’t done the same.” It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

Maruca shrugged, hands still in tight fists. “It’s not your job, but don’t forget to include the rest of us. We’re all in the same situation.”

Sophie nodded. She was right. She’d been so focused on just her her her fixing herself and holding everyone together and trying to solve the world for them that she’d somehow forgotten they wanted to fix the world too. She’d grown up so alone.

It made it even harder to remember she wasn’t anymore, even if it sometimes felt like it. Even if she acted like it. Even if she wandered into the forest and told nobody.

“Thanks,” she whispered, and pushed open the door.

Hours. It had been hours since that hail. She needed to figure out what had happened since. Surely the council had notified their parents of the possible arrangement, maybe they’d even tried to reach out.

As far as she knew they hadn’t tried to contact them since that first day they’d left, had realized they wouldn’t respond and had turned to other measures. Maybe their parents had sent the council after them, desperate for any contact.

The thought churned her stomach. No matter how distraught she was by her situation, how confused and doubtful of her own morals and mind, she didn’t know if she’d be able to forgive herself for leaving her parents so hurt.

She’d just...pushed them aside. It had felt as if she ignored them for long enough, she’d never have to face them, never have to explain...whatever was happening to her. The strange feelings and senses, the inexplicable urges to just walk off into the woods. She’d been careless at times before, yes, but never so thoughtless.

And that was why she’d left. Whatever was making her so scatterbrained and impulsive, even if it was mostly harmless right now, could become a much bigger problem very quickly. She’d wandered into the woods, she’d flown into a lightning storm, what was next?

Wait. The lightning storm. She’d never learned what happened to the dragons, had been too tired to ask. But was that most pressing right now?

She’d ask, Sophie decided. Just briefly think about it, to get ready to return to that issue when its time came. The creatures flitting in and out of her life, appearing for brief moments and vanishing into the sky--literally, two out of three of the times.

Why weren’t they bothering her, tearing her to shreds?

“She’s awake!” Someone called out, and Sophie was reminded of her goal, snapping back into reality.

Fitz was waving from just up ahead, Keefe grinning beside him. He turned to whisper something to Fitz, who promptly rolled his eyes and shoved him away. He nearly toppled over, his wings shifting with the movement and flapping slightly to steady his balance.

“What’s going on?” she asked, reaching the two of them. Fitz was sat upon what looked almost like a beanbag chair, hand propped behind his head as he looked off into the sky with that unnerving stare.

He didn’t look at her as he answered. “Waiting for you. The next step requires you, so we couldn’t exactly do anything while you were...sleeping.” Sleeping was a generous way to put it. The red indentations along her arm from the sheets indicated it had been much more...dead than normal sleep.

“Right,” she exhaled, absentmindedly patting at her clothes, any place she might’ve--

“I have your imparter,” Keefe interrupted, pulling it from one of his own pockets and handing it to her. “Y’know, cause you couldn’t answer it and all those fucking adults wanted to contact you.” She nodded, turning it on.

She scrolled through some of the messages. Both Bronte and Oralie had sent her private messages. She didn’t open them. She’d regret that later. It seemed Keefe had only sent one to everyone in return, ignoring everything they’d said.

Foster is absolutely passed out right now. She’ll see your messages when she wakes up.

Right. And now she was awake. And had to deal with this.

So why couldn’t she get her fingers to press the buttons?

She sank down to the floor, crossing her legs and leaning against the railing, looking off into the sky like Fitz. It was just eating eating eating at her.

Keefe hesitantly lowered himself next to her, one of them now on either side. Fitz turned to look at her.

“What happened to the dragons?”

She had to know. It just kept clawing away at her mind, her sanity, something so big so large so catastrophic and she couldn’t stop the petrifying thought that if she kept pushing it off it would eventually become too big a problem and she’d never be able to fix it.

Fitz glanced away towards some movement in the distance before looking back at her. “We don’t know.”

She waited for him to say more, but he just stared off.

Keefe continued for him. “There really isn’t more to it right now.” He fiddled with a loose thread on the hem of his shirt, pulling at it again and again, betraying the anxiety they were so carefully trying to keep from her.

It was weighing on them too. All of them. They just didn’t want her to know it.

“After Marella...exploded,” Keefe continued, seeming to sense her blooming revelation. “They both fell; she blasted them back. Lit up the entire sky. We don’t know where they went or what happened to them. Or if they’ll come back.”

Sophie just nodded as he talked. Okay. She’d asked her question. Time to move on. There were other people, other things waiting to be dealt with. As long as those dragons weren’t an immediate threat, she could set that aside. She had to.

She didn't want to.

She did it anyway.

Okay. Everyone to the...me. Wherever I am. I’m going to hail my parents.

“To the me,” Keefe snorted, settling back against the railing, the portrait of faux ease. The wings at his back readjusted themselves against the wood, the grey fading imperceptibly--but undeniably--darker and darker as they waited.

It took a few minutes, but one by one her friends found their ways to her--good thing she’d been out in the open; she had no way to direct them otherwise. They took up places around the circle, similar to how they’d been just a night or two ago, before the dragons had flooded the sky.

Actually, looking around, she could see evidence of that night strewn all over the place. She’d been so focused on everything else, she hadn’t even noticed the destruction. Shredded petals and vines littered the wooden planks, streaks of dried dirt washed across the ground. Branches hung crooked from trunks, bridges had snapped, dangling precariously into a sudden drop.

Inexplicably, a lump rose in her throat. All the work put into this place, all the love and hopes and tentative dreams just disintegrating, deteriorating more and more each day. And they were no better. They were leeching off this place until they could figure out what to do next.

“Do you actually have any plan for what you’re about to do,” Wylie asked, helping lower Linh and himself to the ground across from her. Linh leaned against his arm, expression wan. She must’ve woken up while Sophie was still asleep. Marella sat on her other side, looking like she was itching itching itching to help but just couldn’t bring herself to make initial contact. Her lips were pressed thin, fist pressed against her sides beneath crossed arms. Like she was restraining herself.

“I have...an idea,” she answered, realizing everybody had gathered. And were looking at her.

“An idea?”

“An idea,” she repeated.

Biana looked for a place to sit as she spoke. “Do we get to know this idea, or is this some plan you’ll pull out of nowhere without consulting anyone first?” Finding only dirt on the ground, she remained standing.

Sophie grimaced, glancing towards Dex, who stood beside Biana. “Not my idea, actually. I’m just...modifying it. And none of you have to go along with it.” Several of them rolled their eyes at that. They were going to follow her, likely no matter what. She loved them for it, even if it was foolish.

“Take it away, Foster,” Keefe said, gesturing towards her dramatically. This next step fell solely on her shoulders.

She glanced to her lap, where her imparter lay, picking it up. Which person to hail? They were likely all in similar places, or would be as soon as they saw the incoming call from her. So who?

Sophie took a deep breath, curling her knees into her chest. Glancing over her shoulder, she made sure the wings were hidden, hearing a slight buzz in response. Tam smiled at her slightly, as if to say he was glad it wasn’t him making the call.

“Show me Edaline Ruewen.”

It didn’t even take a full second before the hail was answered.

Her mother’s face filled the screen, circles beneath her eyes and stray hair falling from it’s style. The expression hid nothing, not the fear or worry or confusion or...hurt. Plain hurt.

“Sophie,” she exhaled, shoulders drooping.

“Hi, Mom.”

Her fingers tightened around the imparter, voice indescribably thick in her throat.

Another voice sounded from off-screen. “You okay, kiddo?” Edaline moved, setting her imparter down so multiple people could be seen at once.

“Hey Dad,” she said, watching as he scooted on screen, clothing rumpled and stained, a crease between his brow. “I’ve...We’ve been better.”

She shouldn’t have done this. She shouldn’t have called, shouldn’t have let herself see them again. It hurt so fucking much.

Their weary, worn faces clawed through her with guilt, overwhelming guilt. They were like this because of her.

Hey. Focus. You can get through this. Fitz. His voice whispered into her mind, entirely separate from the others, just the two of them in this space in this brief moment of peace before she’d have to do something she hated.

Her fingers skimmed over the rough skin of her thighs, finding the edge of something peeling and picking at it absentmindedly. Gently. She didn’t want to make it worse. But she couldn’t help it.

Another figure appeared behind her parents, all pudgy and wrinkled. She’d known they’d probably all be together, and anyone away from their group was likely rushing to be part of the call, but still. There were so many of them. And just her on this call. The rest of her friends watching her, letting her take this step.

“Miss Foster, are all of you together?” His voice was unnaturally grave, even for him.

She nodded, looking around the group. A few of them waved at her and she almost smiled. “Everyone’s right here.”

“Are you fucking outside? What the hell do you think you’re doing on the surface? You idiots are going to get yourselves killed like this.”

A few people around the group flinched. Ah. Lovely. Ro. Keefe drawled, voice dry as he ran a hand down his face.

Several sounds erupted on the other end of the hail and Sophie tilted her head back, looking towards the sky like Fitz. A pair of birds flitted by overhead, swerving downwards and rustling the leaves, the sound so much louder than it should’ve been.

She looked back to the hail. Might as well put that hearing to good use. Multiple conversations conducted themselves at once, the sound of a door opening and more voices joining the fray--Alden and Della, Tiergan, Juline. Elwin. Rapid conversation amongst themselves, trying to decide the best way to find them, to talk to them, the questions to ask, how to make them cooperate, catching each other up on information, what could have possibly driven them away in the first place, how much danger they might be in.

Sandor stepped in front of the screen finally, Sophie and her friends having just sat there in disbelief at the cacophony, and her unable to stop them. They wouldn’t have listened anyways, so she hadn’t bothered trying. This was her punishment for running away without leaving a proper note. Now she’d have to live with it, endure it.

“You--all of you--must return immediately. You aren’t safe outside.” There was no room for compromise in his voice.

And he was right. They weren’t safe out here, exposed. They’d, well...she’d had multiple encounters with several creatures in the last few days. But...they hadn’t killed her yet. And she had a growing suspicion as to why. But she wasn’t ready to face that yet.

“No, thank you. We’re not coming back.”

Edaline cut in, impatience and panic clear on her face. “Where are you? If you can tell us--”

“I couldn’t tell you,” she grimaced.

Grady held up his hands placatingly, like he knew his justified anger wouldn’t make her cooperate. Like he cared about her. “Kiddo, I don’t know why you all ran away. But you’re not safe. We just want to help you. So please just tell us where you are so we can come get you. We know you took a pathfinder, so just tell us where you went and we can follow. We’ve been checking around the different undergrounds, the old Black Swan hideouts; we’re worried sick. ”

She sighed, rubbing at her face with her free hand. “I literally cannot tell you. Even if I wanted to. I actually do not know where we are.” She hadn’t realized they would try to follow. It would’ve worked too, if their pathfinder hadn’t broken and sent them wherever here was. This dilapidated little grave.

“If we wanted to come back, we would’ve. Sophie could teleport us back,” Fitz cut in, turning slightly to face her, holding eye contact for a moment before he glanced down at the screen, focusing on the faces displayed.

“Fitz?” Della's voice came through the phone and he scrunched his nose up, like it pained him or he didn’t want to hear her.

You wanna talk to them? She asked, to which he shook his head fervently, gesturing to the wings protruding from his back, clearly visible over his shoulders. Right. Her own shivered slightly in response. They couldn’t tell them.

She turned back to the imparter. “Yes. That was Fitz. He’s here. Everyone is.”

“Hi, Mom,” Biana said, appearing behind Sophie, the wings carefully tucked beneath a cape draped across her shoulders. The same ones they’d worn when they’d run. How long ago that seemed.

Look. Now you’re not on the hail alone, she whispered into the mindbubble, squeezing Sophie’s shoulder slightly.

“Are you alright, Biana,” Grady asked, attention laser focused on the two of them. If he couldn’t get information from Sophie, maybe he could get it from her. It was...endearing. How hard he was trying, how desperate he was to find them. Neither of them would give in, though.

She shrugged. “Like she said, could be better. We’re not coming back to the underground though. Don’t know how many times we need to say it before you’ll get it. Now correct me if I’m wrong, which I'm not, but wasn’t the purpose of this call to figure out a meeting or something? Not for you to try and convince us to come back, something we’re capable of and clearly aren’t doing. You’re wasting your energy. Maybe we won’t meet at all if you keep this up.”

Silence echoed for a moment. Whispers erupted on their end, more debating and bargaining and she didn’t even bother to listen.

Thanks, she said, resting her free hand atop Biana’s, still on her shoulder. She gave a reassuring squeeze. There were just so many people it was hard to deal with on her own. But she wasn’t on her own. She could let other’s step in when she faltered.

Brrr.

Her attention snapped away, eyes darting from side to side. The others sat forward slightly. No no no no no. Why now?

Not now. Please please please.

Brrr.

Shit.

She sat forward. Fuck it. “I’m only going to say this once.” It went quiet on the other end, a few meager conversations lingering between people she couldn’t see. She found Dex, holding his gaze, speaking to him. “Tomorrow morning we will be in the Lost Cities, in Mysterium. Meet us there if you want. This is not up for debate. If any of you are going to come, bring Elwin. We have to go. Bye. I love you.” The last part was almost a whisper, but she could see their lips start to form the response when she ended the call.

“The Lost Cities?!” Marella asked in disbelief, looking at Sophie like she was worried something had happened to her head in that explosion. Maybe something had.

Keefe cut in. “That’s reckless even for me, Foster.” She just shrugged. She couldn’t stop herself. She just kept making rash decision after rash decision, impulse her sole motivation.

It terrified her. But she couldn’t stop it.

“I was going to go with Dex anyways.” He shifted his weight under the attention now directed at him. She hadn’t realized she’d made that choice, had intended to indulge his request until she said it out loud.

What had happened to her? Where were her worries, everything about her that made her cautious and prepared and her?

Brrr.

“You guys hear that too, right?” Biana asked, looking around. They nodded, and Sophie just hoped hoped hoped it wouldn’t show up. She didn’t want to lie to them, didn’t want to pretend not to know and wander confused just like them.

The leaves rustled somewhere, and she watched the shift in her friends’ postures, something...strange...taking over them. Biana’s movements became jerky but coordinated, seeming to move in unnaturally quick bursts. Marella began to lower herself to the ground, veins glowing.

Brrr.

So close. So so close. It was so close. No no no. She wasn’t--she couldn’t--

A weight appeared atop her shoulder, right where Biana’s hand had been just a few moments ago.

Brrr. It whispered in her ear, so close it nearly set the world spinning. She’d never been this close to it before. It kneaded it’s paws against the skin of her shoulder, readjusting itself as it perched there.

“Don’t move,” Marella whispered, inching forward with eyes set on the little echo, a hand outstretched. Everyone’s eyes were on her, the thing on her shoulder, creeping forward.

Sophie held up her hands reflexively, taking a step back. “Wait. Don’t.”

They paused, bewildered. What was she doing? She didn’t know.

All she knew was the thought of anything happening to this tiny creature, this little thing that had found her and brought her to something earth-shattering twice before, was enough to set her stomach rocking, terror slicing through her veins.

Why was she so defensive of it? She didn’t even know what it was.

And then it was gone. Blipping away as if it’d never even been there in the first place.

“That one’s fine,” she whispered, refusing to meet anyone’s eye, to see the confusion littering their faces.

“What do you mean it’s fine? It’s clearly one of those creatures!” Fitz exclaimed, bewildered, waving his hands about. There was too much happening all at once. All the sounds were too clear, the sun was too bright, her clothes were too itchy. She needed a moment, needed a single second, just wait hang on back up--

“They’re not all bad,” she argued back, not even thinking about what she was saying. She just needed them to stop looking at her and give her a moment she needed to get away right now.

The wings at her back buzzed and shivered, rhythmically pounding out a beat. No no no not that too. They couldn’t know she’d been using them. That they responded to her so easily that she could work beside them--what would they think of her?

Were they right?

Her breaths came too quickly so she began to rub at her skin, pressing against the cracks and peeling flakes and hating the feeling but it was something. Keep it under control.

“Foster...are you alright?” Keefe asked, stepping forward hesitantly, rubbing a hand against his chest. Shit. He could feel her spiraling. “You’re…” he trailed off, shaking his head, as if trying to clear his mind.

“Mmhmm,” she responded, starting to bounce one of her legs. Keep it under control.

So much extra energy with nowhere to go. It was accumulating beneath her skin, this panic, this need to run to get away to just be alone. To find someone else.

Wait. What? Who--

“Sophie is there...something you've been keeping from us?” Biana asked, blinking into place beside her, apprehension marring the scars on her face. No no no no no. They couldn’t find out like this. She wasn’t ready. She hadn’t thought it over and she sure as hell wasn’t going to do it out loud in front of them. She loved them loved them loved them so much but this was not something she could do. Keep it under control.

They’d judge her. They wouldn’t understand they’d try to convince her otherwise and it would hurt so much because she knew they were right and she was wrong and it was all a misunderstanding anyways and she didn’t really know what she was doing and

Biana’s hand brushed against her arm, reaching out for her in comfort.

And

Sophie

lost

control.

It wasn’t a conscious decision to bring her arm up, to whirl around to wrap her fingers around Biana’s forearm, the skin so rough and supple, to clench and flinch and shove her away, to tear her fingernails along the length of the skin as she let go, wings flaring as she stumbled back, crouching down, eyes only on that threat. That touch. That--

No.

Someone snarled, crashing into her and she was so caught off guard by her own behavior that she stopped thinking. Someone’s hands were on her wrists, pinning her back and tearing her away from the situation.

Wings buzzing, she shoved them too, breaking one of her hands out of their grip, the other tightening as she thrashed. Out out out out out she needed to get out. They used her disarray against her, pressing forward and collapsing atop her, pinning her to the ground.

“Sophie--STOP!” Maruca. It was Maruca. She was propped above her, eyes wide as she held her down. Restrained her. She searched her face, seeming to see something--someone--there and letting her go, falling back, panting.

Red slipped down Maruca’s hands, and Sophie looked to her own to find tears, slices down her skin. Sharp and neat. She glanced back to Maruca, to the inhumanly sharp nails that were more like talons gracing her fingertips. Solid and cutting.

It hit her then and Sophie gasped, muscles trembling and convulsing, coughing as her body gave out, falling from her strain forward to sitting back on the wood, eyes widening in absolute horror. She whirled around.

Biana held her arm close to her chest, tears tracking their way down her face as she bit at her lip, grimacing, trying to stay quiet. Linh was by her side, reaching out and trying to pry the limb away so she could take a closer look.

Everyone was quiet. Expressions wide and everywhere and shocked and afraid.

Afraid of her.

Sophie’s hands flew to her mouth, clamping over her face as she breathed.

“I’m sorry--I didn’t--I don’t--” she couldn’t get the words out. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, backing away, pushing to her feet and stumbling back back back. She couldn't take it, the looks on their faces. The way they looked at themselves. Like they might be next.

She’d been first to grow wings, first to wake up, first to fly. She’d be first to lose it.

But she just kept stepping back, walking away again and again and again she was alone alone alone.

Keefe made as if to reach out for her, arm darting forward as his eyes widened in panic and she didn’t understand why.

Her foot met the edge of the platform.

And Sophie Foster walked off the edge of the world.

The ground was damp, sticking to her feet. The lingering cool rain soaking the dirt, the roots, the scent mingling with the fragrance of the pollen sticking to her skin. Absentmindedly, she brushed her thumb against her skin, a faint poof of powder showering onto the soil. The speckles of flowers against the ground were too bright, seemingly glowing with color she knew they shouldn’t possess.

She didn’t know where she was.

Her back was pressed gently against a tree, wings spread slightly to keep them from rubbing too harshly against the bark.

Her arms stung. The blood had dried in rivers down her skin, nails raked through her forearms down to her wrists. It was nothing next to the constant dull ache of her burned skin. Which still didn’t hurt as much as it should have. An explosion in the sky, even with a last-minute forcefield--it didn’t add up. It shouldn’t have equaled just sore skin and a few blisters and flaking, surface-level burns.

What was it? She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know, was sure she’d regret learning the answer if she sought it out.

Brrr. It appeared a few feet away, paws dainty in the damp grass.

Not again. It pranced through the foliage, jumping over exposed roots and avoiding a mushroom dripping dew, walking right up to her and brushing its head against her legs, which she’d pulled in close to her chest.

She let out a sigh, hesitantly reaching down to run her fingers through its fur. It was oh so soft, so delicate, her fingertips ghosting through the texture like it wasn’t even there. A faint rumble originated in it’s chest as it propped one of its paws against her leg, so she dropped them down.

It lifted itself into her lap, damp little paws pressing gently against her ruined skin, seeming to move at a glacial pace, carefully lowering its weight as it settled itself. Like it didn’t want to hurt her.

Her hand came to rest on its back as it laid down atop her, rubbing its cheek against her leg the same way it had against that monster in the vines. Her heart dropped.

It saw her as one of them.

Oh. Her jaw slackened and her shoulders dropped. Oh.

It hit her then. The things she’d done. The secrets she’d kept. She didn’t recognize herself, those actions. Who was that?

Who was the girl who’d run away from home, run off into the forest when one of her friends was hurt, freed a creature she didn’t know and then kept it secret, flown into a lightning storm to find dragons with no plan. Who’d stolen from a store and talked back to the council and ignored her parents.

Who’d attacked Biana, torn into her skin and shoved her away.

That wasn’t supposed to be Sophie.

So why did she keep doing it?

She released a shuddering breath, rhythmically running her fingers through the little creature's fur as the first tear fell. Then another. Then she couldn’t see anything but splotchy colors and the vague outline of the world around her, shrouded by the fog in her min.

She leaned back, head hitting the tree with a thunk as she pressed her eyes closed, feeling those tears squeeze out and track their way across her skin, down her neck.

“Dammit,” she hissed, gritting her teeth, hands forming fists at her side. They trembled for a moment before she released them. That was exactly the problem. The violence. She didn’t need it here, too.

The little echo kneaded at her thighs as she suffered, rubbing against like it was none the wiser but she knew it was too smart not to sense what was happening within her mind. The hollow hallways and dark corridors coming to life and stacks upon stacks of memories rearranging themselves as she tried desperately to find herself.

The sun moved across the sky but she couldn’t see it, hidden beneath the thick foliage that maintained the damp atmosphere. But eventually, she could hear branches cracking, something else approaching, coming to find her. She didn’t care. Could only see Biana’s wide eyes and mouth agape, that shredded arm held close to her chest as she backed away. Maruca collapsed on the ground beside her, backing away as she looked down at her own nails with disgust and trepidation.

“Hey, you.” Dex’s voice was so quiet as he lowered himself next to her. At least, she thought that’s what he was doing. Her eyes were still closed against the world. “Biana’s okay. So is Maruca. They’ll heal.”

Her arms loosened, her muscles giving way to relief. At least she hadn’t done any permanent damage. Well, not to their bodies.

Their friendship was an entirely different battlefield.

“How did you find me,” she asked, voice gravelly and thick. So slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking into the sudden light dripping through the foliage from above. Turning, she saw Dex fiddling with a piece of wire in his hands, curling knots and kinks into it then smoothing it as best he could.

He shrugged. “I just did.” She huffed a humorless laugh. Of course.

“How bad was it?” she whispered, fingers curling in the echos fur. She wasn’t even sure what she was asking.

Dex tucked the wire back into his pocket. “Bad. But...not for the reason you’re thinking. We could all guess how you felt about that,” he explained, seeing her scrunched brows. “You’re an open book sometimes. It was bad because we were--and are--worried about you. Just like you’re worried about us. Because that wasn’t like you. Biana knows you didn’t want to hurt her, and that you feel awful about it. She actually wanted to find you herself, but…” he trailed off, rubbing at the back of his neck. “That part doesn’t matter.

“The point is...it’s bad for all of us right now, you know? So, I guess I found you so...you wouldn’t be all alone. That’s what best friends do, right?” He half-smiled at the last part, and she half-smiled back, trying to mean it.

She exhaled, the expression dropping with it. “Thanks.” She scooted over slightly, leaning to the side to press up against him, cheek to his shoulder. He readjusted slightly, leaning against her too.

Brrr. Her fingers had stopped their rhythmic stroking, and the little thing was making it known it wanted more attention. She resumed petting.

“So, it’s really just...fine like that?” He asked, looking down at the creature with hesitation, but leaning forward nonetheless. He chewed at his lip, reaching down to grab that wire from his pocket once more, playing with it.

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s never hurt me before. It kept showing up, making that noise. But it never did anything threatening. It’s just like...a funky cat. But it’s not a cat. Either that or I really don’t know what cats are like.”

Dex hummed his agreement, and she just sat there a moment, feeling the movement of his chest as he breathed. Waiting here until she’d face what she’d done.

Wire coiled over itself again and again in his hands, forming shapes she couldn’t even begin to understand. It was soothing to watch him fiddling, to see the method and reasoning in his brain. Until--

“Is that a feather?” She didn’t even mean to ask, and he paused, setting the wire down.

“Kind of.”

She looked towards his face, then back at the intentional tangle of wire in his palms, lines overlapping to form the outline of something like a feather.

“Elaborate?”

He seemed confused, looking at her for a moment. “Really? You sure? It’s a lot of ‘techy jumble’ or whatever Keefe calls it.”

She nodded. “Yep. Go for it. I like listening to you talk.”

He flushed slightly, then lifted his hand to show her the wire. “I’m just in the planning stages right now. I don’t know what exactly I’ll need or how I’ll go about doing it or even what supplies I’ll be able to find. But…” He looked away for a moment. “I want to fix my wings. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Dex glanced at her like he was waiting for her to interrupt, to tell him what a stupid idea that was, but she just stayed silent. He continued, bolstered. “You haven’t seen them, but there’s still a lot of the natural base there. Just..missing feathers and weakened muscles. And I figured...if they’re there, might as well fix them, you know?”

She nodded against his shoulder. “Makes sense.”

“Right! So I’m using this wire to try and map out a good shape based on the feathers I do have left, mimic what it tried to be and then make it even better.”

He continued his spiel, running through his thought process, the mechanisms he would create. He lost her several times but she didn’t care. It was...peaceful. They sat there for well over an hour, Sophie just listening to Dex talk through his ideas, the little echo in her lap, brushing dried tears from her skin. Until she could breathe easily and her smile was genuine.

She hadn’t realized how much she missed him.

She almost would’ve preferred it if the floorboards would creak. Acknowledgement that she was there, announcing her presence so she didn’t have to do it herself. She carefully avoided the splinters and petals littering the wood, remnants left untouched after that mighty storm--the dragons they hadn’t seen since.

For a faint moment, Sophie wondered if she’d imagined them. She’d seen them, but had they been there? Or had her mind created something so spectacular, so impossible, just to give herself something to focus on that brought her away from her personal troubles?

Dex had told her this was Biana’s residence, the gnomish house she’d chosen to inhabit bulging and bursting with flowers, leaking petals from the windowsills and a door painted with colors swirling together into symbols she didn’t recognize--she didn’t even think they were an alphabet.

She watched her feet as she crossed the final bridge, closing that distance one step at a time. This was necessary. She couldn’t stand to live in her own skin if she didn’t make this right, verbally and in person.

And then the door was right in front of her and she didn’t know how to knock. Didn’t know how to open herself up to this. This vulnerability and willingness to connect.

She heard someone shift inside. Biana knew she was here. But she didn’t open the door, was waiting for Sophie to cross that threshold herself.

Sophie took a deep breath, bracing both hands on the back of her neck. She surveyed the area, anything to ground herself. The flowers in the windowsill were vibrant and alive and loud, unnaturally so in a way she’d never seen before.

Something sparked in her mind, and she dropped her hands, approaching the windowsill--the window.

On purpose. She wouldn’t rush in before she had the chance to think. She would do this intentionally or not at all.

She knocked on the window.

Biana appeared behind it, suddenly there. She pulled open the window, no screen so they were facing each other with nothing but open space between them and a wall that hid nothing.

“Do you have a moment?” she asked, throat suddenly so so dry, so thick. Biana looked her up and down for a moment, seeming to see something and nodding, moving back and gesturing for her to follow.

“Why the window?” she asked as Sophie climbed through. She shrugged in response, gesturing to Biana’s face.

“To see you smile.” Biana paused, realizing she was indeed smiling slightly, the expression growing wider and more bold as she realized what Sophie had done. It faded as they both stood there in that room, the faint scent of cherries and wood permeating the space.

Biana sank into a worn cushion against the wall, nodding her head in the direction of another beside it. Sophie sat, dreading this silence she’d have to break. Biana only watched her, seemingly content to wait for her to say whatever she needed to say.

Sophie surveyed the room, but her eyes couldn’t stay off Biana. The haphazard bun she’d thrown her hair into, the flickering of the butterfly wings on her back, the embroidered sleeves of her tunic that left her arms fully exposed.

The bandages wrapped around her forearms. The blood stains seeping through.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. It would never be enough. She could never say enough to express just how much she wanted to fix this, how much she hadn’t meant those scratches.

“I know.”

There were too many words in her mind, too many things to say and not nearly enough ways to say it. “I didn’t mean to attack you. I don’t know why I did--I can’t, I don’t--” she cut off, interrupting herself. Maybe it was best she just stopped talking.

Biana was uncharacteristically quiet, just watching her, those wings fluttering slightly behind her as she readjusted herself, fiddling with her nails in her lap.

“I forgive you, Sophie.”

“Uh--you--I--you what? Wait.” Sophie shook her head trying to collect herself as she rubbed her temples. “I haven’t even apologized properly.”

Biana looked away, rubbing at the bandages on her arms. Seeing it felt like being stabbed in the stomach, the blade slowly drawn through her flesh. “I know. But I think I know what you’re trying to say. Even if you don’t know how to say it, I understand. And I know. And I forgive you. Just...don’t push me away because of this. Please?” She met Sophie’s eyes, something raw and vulnerable shining through as she searched her face for something, only for a brief moment before it was hidden once more.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She didn’t deserve this. This easy forgiveness for something that could never be made right. “Wait, what do you mean push you away?”

Biana rolled her eyes with a slightly exasperated smile. “I know you, Sophie. You'll take your time to figure out the right thing to say; when you do, you can come and apologize to me properly. But until then, don’t try and protect me from you or any of that bullshit. Keep me involved. Include me in plans--tell me what’s happening. Just spend time with me. Don’t leave because you’re scared. That’s just as unfair to you as it is to me. Got it?”

Sophie nodded automatically, still trying to process everything she’d said, it was so...official. “When did you get so smart? Where. What? Where is this coming from?”

Biana actually laughed at that one. “I had time to think this over, dumbass. When you were coming down from that…” She trailed off. “Frenzy. Panic. I don’t know how to describe it.”

Sophie winced, lacing her fingers together and squeezing them tightly.

“I just hope it doesn’t happen again,” she admitted. “Especially not tomorrow.”

Biana ran her hands through her hair as best she could with the bun. “Yeah. Tomorrow. We’re really doing that, aren’t we? Seeing them.”

Sophie nodded. “If they decide to come. I kind of hung up before all the details could be worked out.”

Biana snorted. “Oh, they’ll come alright.” She leaned back, yawning as her eyelids drooped slightly.

“Oh, sorry. It’s late. I should go.” Sophie began to lift herself from the chair, deciding to take the door this time.

Biana’s fingers closed around her wrist. “No!” She flushed. “I mean...stay. If you’d like. I don’t mind.”

She looked down at where their skin met, the cool touch of her fingertips. She glanced at Biana’s face only once before nodding. Her shoulders relaxed as she stood, pulling Sophie along into an adjacent space, a small bedroom with a plethora of blossoms cascading down tilted shelves lined with tiny carvings and figurines. The cherry scent was even stronger here.

Biana stumbled slightly as she pulled Sophie into the bed, already half-asleep. Rest was more elusive for her, and as Biana settled into the cradle of her chest, arm wrapping around her, Sophie was content to just hold her for as long as she could.

Sophie Foster was fourteen thinking she was thirteen years old and she’d just run away from home and her pajamas were fuzzy and Biana was so anxious she’d sought her out. Had asked to lay beside her. They had slept in a bed in a hut built by gnomes, a bridge connecting them to a meeting center and one reaching from there to another structured filled with all the other people she loved.

It was funny how time worked in circles.

And once more, they slept.

At some point during the night it had rained. Not the chaotic, destructive downpour of dragons, but more a light misting. To keep everything cool.

Too cool if you asked Sophie, shivering slightly despite the temperature regulation. Biana was the same beside her, Wylie and Linh too.

Everyone stood in a huddle, save for Dex and Fitz who had run off to grab one last thing before they departed. Sophie had her new, stolen backpack slung over her shoulder, the others dutifully not commenting on how she’d gotten it. Or the embroidered design.

No one made small talk, content to just wait there until those approaching footsteps reached them.

“Okay. We’re back. I’m good,” Dex called out, rounding a corner. A cloth-bound notebook was clutched in his hands, the thing he’d gone to retrieve. Fitz was just a moment behind him, having forgotten his cloak.

Speaking of which. “We all set, then? Capes on?” Fabric rustled as everyone pulled them on, some wings better hidden than others. Biana, Sophie, Linh, and Wylie didn’t appear to have anything unusual going on at all--aside from Linh’s...iridescent skin.

“Everyone remembers what we’re doing?” They’d talked it over briefly this morning, snacking on fruit bars and juices. Affirmations sounded out alongside nods.

Sophie took Biana’s hand, who took Tam’s, who took Linh’s, until they were all connected into a chain. As one, they raised themselves into the sky. It would be easier this way, she’d decided. Dropping instead of trying to haul them all behind her as she ran. They didn’t have the space for that amongst the trees.

Once they were high enough, they let go.

Falling falling falling from the sky as the ground rushed up to meet them, beckoning them to make contact and break their bones, fracture their spines and tear their nerves apart as their bodies deconstructed themselves.

But Sophie Foster was immune to heights.

And they slipped into the void. To the Lost Cities.

#so 9000 words and we're still not done with the story #nice cliffhanger tho--#i am not sorry #also formatting might be a little weird but I don't know why #i also can't tell if it is weird or not or if im making it up #alright cool now that we've got this thiqq chapter out of the way #i'm going to scream about the au some more #y'all i have many things planned #i don't know what will end up happening but things are planned #kotlc #kotlc wings au #shattered upside down #shattered upside down chapter #kotlc fic #kotlc fanfic #kotlc chaptered fic #quil's quill #is that all the tags i need?#who knows

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