#I guess it’s just hard for an obscure crack ship to keep my attention as long as the actual v

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Death (Noctis x Reader) Chapter Eight

Several days after the incident at the Disc, the boys and (Y/n) find themselves at Whiz Chocobo Post. While the boys sat around a table, Death found herself sitting on the pen of the chocobo that had taken a liking to her during her first visit to the outpost. The bird chirped happily as it rested its head on her shoulder. She stroked the chocobo's feather, her head leaning against the bird's.

In the end, she hadn't told the others of the thoughts that plagued her mind during their visit to the Disc. It also seems the boys had forgotten her promise because none of them brought the subject up after they were safe. She knew their minds were occupied in finding the Regalia that had disappeared during their excursion of the Disc of Cauthess.

Unbeknownst to her, she hadn't realized the boys had chased after a black dog and vanished out of sight until she finally looked up. The table was empty, but she wasn't worried about them.

Suddenly, a chill shot down her spine and caused her body to go stiff. The familiar presence nearly had her tipping backwards and into the chocobo pen, but she grabbed the wooden slat she sat upon to steady herself. The chocobo turned its head in confusion as her gaze was directed to the area located behind the outpost.

Hoping off the pen, (Y/n) walked behind the building and peered down the cliffside. A severed arm was at the bottom of the cliff and a blood trail led to a thick and dense forest that was hard to see through in the distance. "Hiding, eh?"

Death leapt over the partly broken fence that was supposed to keep people from falling off the cliff and prepared to jump. One foot dangled over the edge when she heard Noctis' voice. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing?!"

(Y/n) didn't retract her foot as she answered. "There's a Wendigo nearby and I'm not letting it escape."

"We'll go with you!" Prompto shouted. The boy had seen the creatures for only a brief second and was frightened of them, but he knew Death shouldn't go alone.

The Horseman shook her head. "No. I'll be fine on my own."

Gladio placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "Remember what Gentiana said. We've got more important things to do and (Y/n) can handle that thing on her own."

The prince grimaced before sighing in defeat. "Fine. We'll find the runestones and then regroup-how's that sound?"

"Like a plan," the Horseman responds. Her back was still facing them as she couldn't tear her eyes from the blood trail. "Just use the summoning orb when you're done with your search."

"Will do," Noctis responded.

(Y/n) jumped off the cliff, startling the boys. Noctis dashed to the edge and expected to see her injured, but it was the complete opposite. There wasn't even a scratch on her as she smiled up at him. "You four be careful out there!"

"Says the girl who just jumped off a cliff! Why didn't you just take the path down like a normal person?!" The sapphire-eyed boy shouted from above as he was joined by Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis.

"Oh, please. "Normal"? I'm the farthest thing from it," she smirked. "Also, jumping down cut my time in half!"

Noctis sighed at her response. "You be careful, too, (Y/n)."

"Yeah!" Prompto shouted beside his best friend.

"I will. See you guys later," Death waved before turning and following the trail of blood, leaving the severed arm behind.

As the Horseman wandered down the trail, she searched for any signs that the Wendigo attacked someone or something. Amongst the putrid smell of the monster nearby, (Y/n) smelt something else. Her stomach churned at the odor as she covered her mouth and nose. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a small portion of the blood trail that veered from the path. When she followed the trail, the odor worsened as she approached a bush.

Peering behind the bush, she found the body of a man torn in two with an arm missing. The man's legs were twisted in an inhuman way and bone was visible as it pierced the skin. "Oh, no..." Blood splatters surrounded his body, signaling the Wendigo had feasted on his body in this very spot. She recognized the apron that was torn and she knew the man was a worker at Wiz's.

(Y/n) stared back down the path that started at the base of the cliff and only could think of one possible way the blood trail reached this far. The Wendigo had wandered into the outpost and attacked the worker. The monster sliced the man's arm off and his body toppled over the cliff. Even after such a fall, the man had only broken both legs and crawled to desperately get away from the monster. The blood trail was created from the man's severed arm as he tried to escape. The poor worker only reached the bush before being slaughtered by the Wendigo and torn in two. After finishing its meal, the monster wandered into the forests, blood dripping from its mouth and claws.

Death's hands clenched into fists at her sides as she blamed herself for the man's death. She gritted her teeth, rage enveloping her. She stormed into the forest and summoned her scythe, searching for the Wendigo. The Horseman pushed through the flora and fauna with her blade resting on her shoulder.

<------<<<<<<

Before long, the sky grew dark and rain poured down. Thunder rang out and lightning cracked across the sky. Even though she was soaked to the bone, (Y/n) trekked through the forest and wouldn't turn back until the monster was dead.

Hours passed and Death could not find the monster. Though she could smell the Wendigo, she couldn't locate where it was hiding. The stench was overbearing and she felt sick to her stomach, but she refused to give up.

(Y/n)'s vision was obscured by the heavy rainfall and the frequent strikes of lightning. She failed to notice the glowing red eyes until it was too late. The Wendigo cried out as it swiped its claws at her. Pain ripped through Death's back as she screamed out in pain from the sudden attack. The force of the hit sent her to the ground, smothering her clothes in mud and forcing her to drop her scythe. Pushing through the pain, (Y/n) got to her feet and grabbed her blade. She felt blood dripping from the fresh wound on her back, but she had enough strength left to fight the monster. Raising her scythe, she dodged the Wendigo's next attack and sliced the monster's head off.

Once the Wendigo's body was motionless, (Y/n) dispelled her scythe and watched as the monster's body disintegrate. The four claw marks on her back pulsates in pain as blood continued to seep through her clothes and down her back, combining with the rain cascading down her skin. Due to the origin of the Wendigo, Death was unable to heal her injuries. She breathed heavily as she wandered through the forest.

The rain slowed and the clouds began to clear. As the rain vanished, (Y/n) nearly tripped over her own feet due to her vision blurring from the blood loss. She had no curatives with her and she had no way of reaching the others until Noctis summoned her. Leaning against a tree, she desperately fought against the blood loss and pressed a hand against her head. She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open.

<------<<<<<<<<

Noctis and his friends return to the surface from the depths of Fociaugh Hollow, noticing the clear sky above. "Hey, it stopped raining!" Prompto chanted.

"Guess Ramuh finally got sick of showers," Gladio said. An enormous winged ship flies overhead, grabbing their attention. "Up there-it's huge!"

Prompto was in awe at the sight. "Way bigger than the last one we saw!"

Noctis' cellphone rang and he promptly picked up. "Yeah."

"Hey, Highness. About your car..." Cindy sighed on the other end.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I found her, but she's at a base."

Noctis groaned at the revelation. "Ugh..."

"Now, I can handle garage folk no problem, but sweet-talkin' the empire? That'll take some doing," Cindy said.

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out."

"You sure about that?" Cindy inquired.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up. Later." The prince hung up and placed his phone back into his pocket.

Gladio was curious as to who contacted the raven-haired boy. "Who was that?"

"Cindy," the prince simply responded.

"What!?" Prompto gasped. "You can't talk to her like that."

Noctis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I can. I just did."

"And did she have any choice words for you?" Ignis questioned the boy.

"Yeah-the Regalia's at an imperial base."

"Oh, boy," the sharpshooter mutters.

"Guess that just leaves one question," the bodyguard stated.

"When do we retrieve her?" Ignis questioned, finishing Gladio's statement.

"I'd say "now"," the raven-haired boy responded.

"This is nothing more than conjecture, but I suspect that ship was due to arrive far earlier. The thunder and lightning must've slowed it down. There's a chance they intend to transport the Regalia back to Niflheim," the strategist exclaimed.

"We oughta thank the thunder god for buying us some time," the brute said.

"But that time is running out," the gunslinger added.

"Yeah, let's run in and ride off," Noctis stated.

Prompto placed his hands on the back of his head. "Better summon (Y/n). We'll need her help."

"Yeah." Noctis pulls out the sable orb and it glows faintly as he summons Death. Within seconds, the Horseman appeared before them, but the prince knew something was wrong when he saw she was covered in blood and mud. "(Y/n), what happened to you?"

The girl wasn't able to answer as her eyes became vacant and her legs gave out from under her. Noctis was the closest to her and he lunged forward to catch her before she hit the ground. His arms hooked under hers and placed his hands on her back. When he felt his hands were covered in something warm, he lifted one of his hands and saw it was covered in blood. "Shit... Ignis!"

Ignis raced over to (Y/n) to provide first-aid. Lifting her bloodied sable tresses, he saw the large gashes on her back. "Do we posses a potion?" The advisor questioned. Prompto stormed over and handed a spare potion, worry brimming from his azure eyes. Ignis took the curative and held it over (Y/n)'s back, the bottle shattering and a green glow surrounded her wounds. He watched as the skin mended and was relieved at the sight. "The wounds have mended."

Noctis and Prompto sighed in relief while Gladio's tensed shoulders relaxed. The prince adjusted (Y/n)'s body as he kneeled on the ground with the girl in his arms. He wiped blood and mud from her face and a few places on her arms. When he stared into her (e/c) eyes, he watched as the life returned to them. Her eyes dilated before she blinked a few times and her pupils shrunk. Then, she inhaled deeply and gasped for air. The Horseman coughed and flew out of Noctis' hold to catch her breath. "Dear Astrals above..."

"What the hell happened?" Noctis demanded, helping (Y/n) to her feet.

"Ambushed by a Wendigo. The heavy rain obscured my vision and it snuck up behind me. Didn't know it was so close until it struck me."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Prompto asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, Prom. Just gotta get all this mud and blood off me. Any luck in finding the car while I was gone?" (Y/n) wondered.

"That's where we're headed right now. Found out it's being held in an imperial base," Gladio answered.

"Not surprised. You four go on without me. I'm gonna find someplace to clean myself off. You know what to do when you need me."

Noctis nodded in understanding. "Alright. Guess we're goin' separate ways again."

(Y/n) heard the tinge of sorrow in his voice and offered a smile. "I won't be long. Give me a max of two hours and then summon me. I'll be there and not covered in mud and blood."

Noctis smiled in return. "See ya soon, (Y/n)."

#final fantasy xv #ffxv #final fantasy xv x reader #noctis x reader #noctis lucis caelum

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

have you ever had an otp so obscure,,,, (my most outlandish one was probably DirkxCalmasis tho)

anyway, time to get another entry in that tag which updates about twice a year. also have an ao3 link bc my blog is no good place for reading.

Fandom: One Piece

Characters (and also pairing I guess): Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins

tl;dr: one nerd is pining and the other eventually notices. setting is current situation where they presumably both work under kaidou. that’s about it. 1041 words, apparently.

It strikes him as odd.

Not as if Apoo wasn't a phenomenon in the first place- but he seemed to go out of his way to spend time around Hawkins, which was nothing bar suspicious to him.

They've been stuck working together for some time now, so he's already well aware of the kind of person the captain is, and can read him with ease without consulting the cards. Loud. Vibrant. A daredevil. And beneath that layer: calculating, shrewd, and sly. With the exception of those that gather under his flag, he is not one to build lasting relations- he was eager enough to realign himself after Kid's defeat, rushing towards the most favorable outcome in the situation. Allegiances of his come and go whenever the right circumstances present themselves, and as such...

It really seems quite out of the ordinary that ever since the very beginning, Apoo would regularly appear in some waking hour of the day to keep him company.

Even if the target of attention weren't on his toes under Kaidou, he'd be wary of this behavior. First conclusion he had was that his current partner in crime was planning something against -or at least  involving- him. Logical enough. Then again, its obviousness strikes him as unwise from a person he already expects much more from.

The cards also did not support this theory... it might just have been that the posed questions did not meet the actual specifics of his intent. Anyhow, after a dozen unsuccessful readings Hawkins decided to keep a closer look on what the captain might be up to instead. Which was not that hard of a task- his approach was always easy to expect with all the noise it's accompanied by. Thus, he's began watching. Observing. While humoring the other's antics- such as right now.

“So, all in all... we pulled a real ass-card with that alliance of ours, didn't we.” Apoo sighs in an exasperated manner after a seemingly never-ending wave of complaints. Meanwhile, his current one-man audience calculates on about various issues concerning their task for the next day.

This is the part where the musician stops talking and asks something in relation to a previous topic... then, after squeezing out a few curt replies and the awkwardness becoming unbearable, stands up and goes to do his thing.

Hawkins knows the routine. Forty minutes have passed since the longarm entered, and while another visit is a possibility on Apoo's early days, he never stays for more than an hour.

“Indeed,” comes the meager answer, which is more of an independent conclusion than part of the conversation hardly taking place. The results he sees in the readings are not reassuring, after all. Truly, they never are- but lately the outlooks have been looking bleaker than ever; a faint, displeased grimace appears on his face as he gets the final result of 18% and he picks up the cards to shuffle them once more.

Staring at him intently for a bit, Apoo speaks up again: “You know... while I manage and Kid's a total fuckup and an ass for dragging Killer down the hole with himself... I do feel bad for you.”

The mage stops in his tracks, and for the first time that day, locks eyes with his colleague. Before he could say anything, the other continues.

“I mean... right off the bat you wanted to leave, because we were just that much of a nuisance, so while Killer was keeping our shit together -and did a damn good job of it if I say so-...” He was trailing off, staring to the side. “I should've encouraged your decision while there was plenty of time to jump ships. Both pissbaby and me are cramping your style and gettin' on your nerves anyway.”

“...” The blonde captain was still debating on how to react for a couple of seconds. “... is that the reason why you keep following me around?” he posed the question bluntly, being at a loss for better words.

The reaction and level of interest being uncharacteristic also had Apoo facing a conundrum as to what to say. At least that was what was happening for a moment- then...

“Y---eah, I guess that's one way to put it,” came the splutter with face turned away. “Like, you never seemed especially hyped about the current situation and I feel kinda responsible a little, so... I check in to... see how you are doing?” he trailed off finally with an awkward hand gesture, forcing himself to at least face the other again.

Hawkins was staring at him incredulously with a squint- this the longarm couldn't have noticed as he was looking to the side despite his best efforts. He... was a terrible liar when his life did not depend on it. The next stretch of silence was grating away at him quick, too.

“Anyway,” the captain sprung up from his seat finally, “I gotta go check on how my fellas are faring. See ya!” he saluted and made his wackiest exit up to date.

Being left alone with his thoughts, Hawkins leans back on his chair, evaluating the convo. That was... certainly something. He hit close to home with that question, didn't he.

Pondering away the options, his attention gets drawn to a particular line of thought. Could that be the case...? Seems rather unlikely... then again, it also should explain quite a few things. Thinking about it, he also stopped picking up people somewhere down the line...

Setting up his cards again, he inquires about the possibility of something that never would have crossed his mind otherwise.

A concise, silent “Oh.” is all he can muster the minute after lifting the last one. With the 2% margin of error, that can be very well one hundred.

The weight of his worries slowly disappearing from his shoulders, he rolls his eyes; and, after a brief moment, cracks a faint smile.

Well, well, well. So that's what it's about. Quite flattering- and even charming, if he wants to be honest. The dunce has a crush.

Maybe he should consider the situation sometime later. But, really... he thought him to be the more forward type of guy.

#One Piece #apookins #Scratchmen Apoo #Basil Hawkins #opfic #is opfic even a tag I forget.... ANYWAY #Kate writes

[wolfandironheart]

Working title Wolves Ch.1

Ship: Sun and Moon (HatixSkoll) Ongoing roleplay story with @blueravenking honestly I’m not sure where the plot’s gonna carry but here we go. First time finally breathing some real life into these characters

Massachusetts was particularly cold on that harsh winter day, giving its best snowstorm that it could whilst allowing buses to move and schools, albeit struggling, to stay open. The weather was sadistic in Skoll's opinion. All that fluffy white bullshit falling from the sky and he still had to come in for 8 hours of boredom? Lame. Especially as it required layering up his clothing and obscuring his signature (and rather beaten up) leather jacket.

Equally as sadistic was the sight of the school as it came into view. He drove in with his bike, scrutinizing the way the school could look so constantly dreary no matter what weather came its way. Snow or sunshine, the sad grey exterior always seemed the same. As he slipped the helmet from his head, and shook his helmet hair free from its retains, he scoped out the area.

Inside, he hummed to himself, throwing glances at those who he passed. Everyone was rushing off the buses or out of their parents cars to hurry indoors. He couldn’t blame them, it felt like shit standing out in the cold, slushy mess of ice and rain. Not to mention he… well, he wasn't the friendliest of people at school. No one would have waited for him anyway, except maybe the rest of the pack. Everyone else just stayed out of his way, just as he wanted. Some took to calling him the Boston Diablo, though he found the name to be cheesy, corny and a unpleasantly grating mashup of languages. Still, he didn't argue with the name, as long as people understood that he wasn’t hanging around to play nice and make friends.

Message Received 07:28

Freki

We’re inside. hurry. new boy in class

Alright, weird, but whatever. The twins were always weird, but if they were pointing something out, it usually proved interesting. Inside then. That confirmed his thought. Time to go inside and see whatever new kid Freki thought would be cool enough to point out. Skoll guessed it would've just been another quiet child from bumble-fuck nowhere that kept to himself. After all, it seemed like the only new students they ever got in this district were the pampered little brats of would-be politicians, or the quiet country folk finally moving to the cities after spending so long in the woods. Either way, there was no point getting his hopes up for a new partner in crime.

"Late again, Mr. Delgado." The teacher uttered, writing on the board and not bothering to check if he was right. He was always right about Skoll's tardiness.

"Sorry sir." Skoll replied with a roll of his hazel eyes. He wasn't sorry, but it came automatically from his mouth. He took his regular seat by the back left.

Skoll's friends, the other three members of the pack, snickered at the small interaction and gave him high fives as he passed. One of the twins spun in their seat to see the brunet's reaction once he sat. Beside Skoll, in what was usually an empty desk, sat the new kid.

Every inch of the boy was foreign and beautiful.

While most students rolled their eyes and continued to chat till the real lesson began, the boy sat quietly, seemingly absorbed by the clicking of chalk against the blackboard. His legs, long and thin, were tucked under his seat, and his hands, slender and nimble, balanced and bounces an expensive silver fountain pen between his fingers. While most students dropped off their heavy outerwear in their lockers, he still wore his custom tailored, dark grey woolen peacoat. Around his neck, he wore a slate blue scarf, still dotted with ice from the mess outside. Every strand of hair was white as snow, And along with a sharp set of black framed glasses sitting on his straight nose, it made his glacial blue eyes seem all that more vibrant.

Those eyes flicked to the boy sitting beside him. There was an air of caution to the boy, and yet something warm. Something that couldn’t be shielded no matter how many layers he still wore. With a soft smile and a strange, thick accent, the boy gave a nod and a polite little hello.

Skoll stared at the boy, intense and raw. He hadn't realized how heavy and thick of a stare it was, but he just couldn't look away. What seemed like a scowl was actually the slowing down of his mind as he took in the sight of the other. Time seemed to freeze in those quick moments. The earth itself ceased spinning and the universe came to a halt while he stared into ice blue eyes.

He's Gorgeous! How would any god alive be able to mold such a stunning creature and not want to keep it? Skoll bit back a frustrated groan that struggled in the back of his throat. The poor boy bent forward, banging his head lightly against his desk once and then sitting up perfectly straight. With a deep breath, held out his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you." He broke his typical stern demeanor and gave a somewhat pitiful, defeated smile to match the way his voice nearly cracked.

Hati laughed. And when he laughed, it was like the first songs of birds returning to the north after a long winter; sweet and melodic and airy. His smile brightened and he tried to hide his amusement with the way Skoll immediately seemed flustered. Was it flustered? He wasn’t sure, but it was certainly a greeting like no other he received since coming to this new place. "My name is Hati," he said slowly, carefully, in that same thick accent.  He seemed like he was using a lot of concentration to speak the unfamiliar language correctly, though his eyes shined with every word. "I just move here few days ago."

"Mr. Delgado." The teacher barked at the front of the room. Everyone else had gone silent for class, except the two boys in the back and the still quietly snickering pair of identical brunets. "Is there already a new person I have to separate you from?"

"No sir, just being friendly as usual." He pulled a fake smile from his pocket and slapped it on, already frustrated that he was scolded a second time within the span of a minute. He had a definite knack for pissing most people off, and it seemed to be one of those days where it was at its best. The man huffed. His lips tightened into a thin, disapproving line. “Well you can be friendly with your new classmate once the period is over. Till then, I expect you to pay attention, and allow him to do the same.

“Got it.” Skoll replied with a small, dismissive shake of his head. Once the teacher turned back around to begin writing on the board, Skoll’s attention moved to the new kid once more.

"I'm Skoll." He leaned over, whispering low enough not to be caught by the teacher a third time. "Where are you from?"

Hati just lifted a finger to his lips with a soft little smile and turned his attention to the teacher. Every so often, he'd glance back at the brunet just to see if he was looking over too. And every time they made contact, Hati would quickly look away like a bashful fawn and pretend it didn't happen.

When the bell rang to switch classes, Hati was gone. In the time it took Skoll to collect his notebook and shove it back in his bag, Hati had disappeared like a ghost. Skoll frowned at the now empty seat and hurried into the hall in hopes of catching him once more.

"Dude, what happened back there?!" Fenrir rushed to his friend's side with a laugh and a grin. The raven haired teen gave his friend a rough, playful bump with his shoulders while the twins dashed to meet them "You scared Snow White away already? Hey you look sort of tense. Relax, you don’t have to sniff him back out right now do you?”

“Yes! I do, Fen! I actually really have to! Ugh, come oooon, where the hell did he go?” Skoll scanned the hallway with a look of disappointment. How hard was a kid with bright white hair supposed to be to find!? Another whine worked its way into his throat, and this time, he let it out freely, voicing his grievance to the world. “Skoll, dude, pull it together,” Fen rolled his eyes. “Man, I've never seen you get so worked up before over someone you shared three sentences with. What happened to my smooth, charming best friend, huh? You look like he just ripped your heart out and ate it. Probably with a frilly napkin and a smile.”

"He did, and I let him...Did you actually see him? Because he was truly something... Such white hair and oh god he has an accent, Fen. An accent!" He was ready to leap from his hair and exclaim to the world his desires. Barely anything swayed his emotions, but he was being killed by the love of his life. The love of his life who he only got to say three full sentences to. The love of his life who reduced him to a pitiful mush of heartache with nothing but his laughter and a hello.

"... What did you do to Skoll?" Freki asked, looking up from his phone when the brunette finished taking. “Because obviously the real one isn’t here today. Who are you?” "The new kid liquefied his insides and ate him like a spider. And apparently, he left Skoll’s body as a sad reminder for us," Geri answered while answering a few texts of his own. "It’s now housed by some kind of Ent spirit because this Skoll is filled with nothing but sap.”

"…Eww, okay Geri! We get the analogy, just spare the detail next time." He shuddered with mild disgust and scrunched his nose while crinkling his brow. "Anyway, I don't know where he went," he continued on with the previous topic, "but all I know is his name, that me moved here recently, and that he's got the most beautiful accent ever. I just need to find him."

"Hey," Fenrir cut back in and laid a hand on Skoll's shoulder, "worst case scenario, you still see him in class again tomorrow. He's not gonna disappear forever. So relax, okay? We got bigger things to think about, like which hills we can build the best sledding ramps on once we're out of here today."

"Oh man, that completely left my mind." A hand clasped the back of Fen's neck as he stood, laughing as the idea came to mind, though that thought wouldn't last. Not when he still had most of the soul crushing seven-hour school day to face. Not when he was still so sure Hati’s face would be filling his mind for all of it.

Math was, as expected, unengaging and unappealing (although that wasn't the case for Fenrir, as the love of his life was teaching it). He spent the duration of that lesson kicking the back of Fenrir's chair when the offending boy began to daydream of unnameable situations with the teacher that had nothing to do with analytic geometry.

Science was no better -luckily no worse, other wise he wouldn't have hesitated to walk out- and it was equally as boring. None of the pack were with him, which made his fingers twitch in irritation, and knee fidget in annoyance. The lesson definitely drew itself out longer than math.

Study hall was...Well, as invigorating as study hall got. Skoll using his imagination and passing the time while his friends prattled away in their music lesson was the common strategy. Sledding couldn't come soon enough.

History secretly made Skoll excited. He was with his friends, the rest of the class were decent people, and his teacher was enthusiastic. History was his favorite, and it felt like no time at all until his own music lesson came around, which consisted of banging on the drums in a separate room until his hands throbbed with all the hitting that traveled up the sticks and through his bones. It released some tension that built itself up, but it did little to diminish his hatred for his next lesson. English.

English was his first language (even if he acted like it wasn’t), but there was no beauty in it. Nothing inspired him to write a poem on how red roses were comparable to a woman's blush, or some dumb nonsense like that. Nothing moved him the way it could with other people. English was a tool, not an art form. It was just something to communicate with. The fluffy, overly complicated strings of sentences were lost on him, and he wondered what those poets could have been feeling that couldn’t be described with common language.

That was, until, he saw who was sat in the spare seat next like to his regular spot.

Hati.

He couldn't catch a break. Or maybe he was catching one right now. Skoll couldn’t really tell anymore. His heart began to drum as heavily as he had in music class just before. Sitting in his seat and small as he could, he contained his pained scream at how beautiful the other boy was.

Hati seemed to pay his classmate no mind. He offered another small nod and a smile of acknowledgement, but said nothing as class began, choosing instead to listen intently to the lessons. Coming in halfway through the year, Hati wasn't sure what they were reading, but he still did his best to focus and understand. It was poetry of some sort, but the beauty of it lost was on his foreign ears. To him, it was a strange, flowery way of saying things that could have easily been said in a few sentences. Just like Skoll, it lost his attention.

Hati's pen moved in quick, liquid movements over a scrap of paper, which was then flicked across the aisle. It landed neatly on Skoll's desk, weak fold coming open to reveal the writing. In perfect Spencerian cursive, written in storm grey ink was a single word. Stockholm. The answer to Skoll's question that morning.

Skoll’s eyes flicked down to the note, then to the boy, and to the note again. Rough, calloused fingers opened the note and read the word. He looked back over to the newly-declared Swede and smirk lopsidedly, fighting the tight  tugging at his lips that desperately wanted to break out into a giddy grin.

He wrote back, and even though his handwriting was printed, scratchy scribbles, it was legible enough to read:

'Must feel at home with this weather'

Hati read the letter and tried to keep the amusement out of his eyes. The teacher, a short young man with sandy hair and a roman nose, was busy marking up homework assignments from his last class. Still, Hati didn't want to risk drawing his attention with too large a smile or too loud a laugh. Again, he quickly scrawled out a new note and passed it. His writing seemed much better than his English speech.

'Always. I love the cold, but do you?'

‘Fucking hate it.’

Skoll replied, adding a little snicker of a laugh onto the end of it as he handed it over rather than sliding it into his desk. He wanted the small contact that came with the non verbal speech, just to feel some connection with the new boy. Without his friends there to laugh behind his back, he allowed himself to smile as much as he wanted; a full grin pulling itself from ear to ear.

Hati stifled a laugh with his hand. He bit his lip to try and control his gleeful smirk as a thought entered his mind. Skoll was an interesting boy, one he was having loads of fun teasing. It seemed every action Hati fed to him was met with something wonderfully over the top and painfully embarrassing in return.  How much could he get from the brunet? His hands worked on another note. This time, he passed it just like Skoll did, and briefly let their fingers brush each others.

'No better weather to cuddle beside a fire'

Skoll was stunned. Reading the note once wasn't enough for him, nor was reading it twice. Over and over again, he scanned the note for it being remotely fake before he almost gawked at him.  Cuddling, he repeated in his mind until it became a numb term to him.

"You're more than right about that ;)" Was the lamest thing anybody could write in response to that, but there was no stopping Skoll's hand. He sent back the note before he thought about it.

Hati's pale face went pink at the sight of the tiny winking face at the end of the note. It was cute, but he needed to tone it back before he got too ahead of himself. Teasing was fun, but leading him on was not. Still, Skoll was oddly charming despite his flustered appearance and sappy puppy eyes. Class was coming to an end and he only had time to pass one more note.

‘My cat is at home waiting for me for that exact reason.’

The bell rang, signalling the end of the school day, and students wasted no time shoving their books away so they could hurry out the doors. This time instead of heading straight out like everyone else, Hati lingered, waiting for his new acquaintance. "Where is your locker?" he asked. Strangely, his accent was much lighter. Clearer. It never disappeared, but the boy had a much easier time commanding his words. It was as if he had spoken English regularly for half his life, instead of just the year or two of experience he appeared to have that morning. "I'm sorry I rushed out of our class earlier. I had to find where mine would be. I didn’t have time to find it on my way in, and carrying my coat all day would have been a pain. It's in the hallway just before the nurse's office, by the way.”

Skoll had an easier time understanding him, though actually taking in what he said and finding the words to reply proved difficult, especially when Hati  sounded so delightful when speaking English.

"Mine's in that direction, too." He shrugged, trying to slather on his usual cool demeanor, if only for appearances for everyone else. Hati wasn’t making it easy for him, but Skoll didn’t want to ruin his reputation by going soft and squishy for the Scandinavian angel. Though, he thought, he might actually start using his locker soon, if only as an excuse to talk to Hati more, or at least as a way to catch him on the way to a class.

"Then we can walk together," Hati's voice rang like windchimes. He scooped his books into his arms and ventured out into the halls, walking side by side with his friend. Curiously, he watched the way Skoll seemed to change once they were surrounded by others. He looked tense, like he was purposely trying to put on an aura that would scare others away. It reminded Hati of a small, growling newborn puppy. All bark and no bite, at least not for him.

"You are friends with a pair of twins, yes?" Hati asked with a tilt of his head. "What were their names.. Freki and Jerry? Brown hair, freckles, always wearing big, cheesy grins.. They talked to me during ah, what was that time called? Study hall? They said you went looking for me after our first class."

"Geri and Freki, yeah...Uhm, I was actually looking for you. Just wanted to see if you were okay with getting around the building. Being new in such a big, foreign place isn't the best feeling in the world." He shot him a cool look over his shoulder, which was when he finally took into consideration their height difference. Of course they were sat down the entire time of their meetings, but now as they stood and walked, he noticed just how small the other was in comparison to him. Skoll was always tall, but this kid barely came up to his nose! Even Fen was taller than that. "How are you finding it though? Everything going well?”

The boy's white hair flopped as he shrugged, and he shifted his books in his arms so he would have a free hand to push his glasses back up onto his nose. "It's not such a big school, my last school was bigger, but thank you for the concern. I'm learning my way around slowly. The students here are surprisingly helpful compared to the stereotypes I've heard about this place." Hati paused to shake his head and undo the lock in front of him. "Everyone is always asking if I need help finding where to go, or if I'm having trouble reading signs; never mind that I've been learning English since you were learning how to add and subtract. I only pretend I don't speak well so that if a person ends up crazy, I'm not forced to keep talking. But yeah.. Everyone has been very kind."

"Good. Don't get used to it. All the happiness and smiles will last a week before they decide whether to like you or not. Me included." He joked, hoping the form of humor was understood by the other. He leaned against a miscellaneous locker and picked at the lock aimlessly as he spoke. It kept him distracted from looking too hard at the other. He didn't need to memorize the other's eye color so soon, nor the way he smelled...

"I wouldn't have it any other way~" Hati smirked to himself while he pulled his coat and scarf back out of his locker. No doubt the weather was still frigid. Regardless, his smile was far too sickeningly sweet for the words that followed. "After all, I'm doing the same to all of them~ And I'm still making up my mind on what I think of you."

How could anyone make Skoll, the most notorious intimidating kid in school, feel smaller than he was? How could they make him doubt how powerful he felt amongst the other students? With just a few words and a dangerous smile from a little blue eyed dream, the King of Bad was now a jester.

"All good so far I hope, Hati." The sharp vowels felt a little clumsy on his tongue, but the name itself felt velvety slipping from his lips. He said the name just to know how it would sound from his voice. Instantly, he loved it.

Hati looked over and laughed his characteristic birdsong laugh. Skoll seemed to shrink from a mountain to an anthill in the span of one conversation. Interesting, he thought, and something to keep note of. So far he'd seen only hints of the bluster that everyone else seemed to think Skoll possessed. Poor guy. "Relax," said the white haired boy as he finished packing his bag and closing his locker, "I was only joking. Well, half joking. I liked you since the moment you hit your head on the desk this morning. Very charming~"

"Haha, very funny. Had me in stitches." He spoke as he pulled out his new pack of cigarettes and held them upside down, hitting them against the other palm of his hand in order to distribute the tobacco better in the cigarette. If smoking didn't make him look less embarrassed, then he'd lost a game he didn't even know he was playing. "You in any clubs?"

Hati shook his head and walked beside the brunet as they left the school grounds. His choice of companionship earned a few strange looks from passing students who were used to Skoll socializing with no one outside of the pack. "I haven't had any time to join," he said, tilting his gaze to the thick grey skies when they made it through the doors. The snow had surprisingly stopped for now, but they both knew it would be falling again before the last light faded from the already dim sky. "My parents will likely want me to join orchestra or something else, but we'll see. What about you?"

"Theater. All of my teachers were betting a lot of money that I wouldn't get a good role, so I added money to the pot and I auditioned. Now I'm the lead role, but I didn’t think about the fact that I couldn’t get out of it." His words were muffled with a cigarette poised between his lips, ready to light up once they were officially outside the gates and past the boundaries of the school yard. His right hand, stuffed into his pocket, fiddled with the lighter; he needed to remember to get a new one soon; the fluid was running out.

"Well, that's one way to prove a point," Hati said, mostly to himself. They were standing beside Skoll's bike now, and soon enough, someone would be coming to pick Hati up as well. "I guess I should let you go home before the roads get worse then... Will I see you tomorrow or do you think they will finally shut down classes?"

"They've only ever closed down the school once when I've been here. I doubt it'll be shut tomorrow." He didn't trust himself to lean back against the bike, knowing luck wouldn't be on his side and he'd push the bike back and topple with it. "You okay to get home yourself?" He asked after the smoke came from the cigarette. The distant sound of Fen's laughter approached, though he didn't look back in recognition.

Hati gave a stifled, unhappy cough as the wind blew the cigarette smoke his way. "I'll be fine," he said with a small frown. He stepped out of the direction of the foul smoke. Just as he responded, a black SUV with tinted windows rolled up to the side of the road. It sat there, waiting for the boy with white hair to come. Hati forced another smile despite the ugly scent that still hung around and waved as he left Skoll's side to go to it. "And there's my driver now. I'll see you tomorrow then, Skoll. Get home safely."

"You too, newbie." He gave the smallest salute possible, watching as he climbed into the seemingly fancy black car and was driven off.

He assessed the damage that was his dignity, and after deeming it still in tact, he turned around to see the approaching figure.

"Hey, someone's out of science late...Clash with the teacher again?" He teased Fen, smirk dripping with gorgeous mockery.

Fenrir walked with the fire of the sun blazing in his eyes. "I have literally never hated a person more in my life," he snapped with a fist clenched in front of him. "My phone fell out of my pocket and she took it because-" he rolled his eyes and began talking in a whiny, high pitched mockery of the teacher's voice, "-obviously if it fell out of your pocket, you were playing with it~. Fucking bitch. Joke's on her though because you know what I did? Broke into her desk drawer when she went to the bathroom and took her car key out of it. I mean I didn't take them, because I'm not getting stuck in detention with her over this, but I did hide them in the microscope shelf. So since she probably won't find them, I hope she knows how to use Uber."

The black haired teen huffed and stole the cigarette from Skoll's lips, choosing to just take it rather than ask for another. " But fuck... Whatever. How'd your locker date with the new kid go? I saw you talking to him."

"I've never struggled finding the right words to say to someone before holy shit... I'm in love." At first he frowned at the taking of his cigarette, though the frown softening in a smile at the thought of the new boy. "He's Hati, he's from Stockholm, and we share the same English class. I didn't know angels had Swedish accents."

Fenrir cracked a smile with Skoll's cigarette still stuck between his lips. "Ohohoh, So you know where he's from now! Well that's an improvement from this morning. What's so great about him though? I mean I only saw him a few times in the hall, but he seemed kinda.. I dunno, generically European to me. What's so great aside from that sparkling white hair and pretty voice?"

Skoll took that chance to take the cigarette back and draw a deep breath from it, letting the smoke come out as he talked. He flicked the ash from the end and watched it dirty the snow covered ground with a new spot of grey. "Aside from those two very valid points? First of all, fuck you, he's not generic. Anyway, he's not afraid of me. Usually at first glance they see the...Well, me, and it puts them off. IKEA has some balls."

Fenrir snorted and grinned, toothy and wide. "Pfft, IKEA. Good name for him. Buuuut you should invite him to hang with us sometime then. Let us all be the judge of how ballsy your little pixie viking is. Till then, we're all going to the old warehouses to build sled ramps. I'm pretty sure the twins are already headed over there. You coming or are you gonna go home?"

"Gonna go pick up some groceries for grandma first then I'll be over. Don't do anything too stupid whilst I'm gone, or the fun'll be over." Slipping his helmet on, he handed the rest of his cigarette over. "Make sure the twins don't kill themselves, Kay?'

"I make no promises, but I'm pretty sure after the lava lamp incident, those two gained immortality!" Fenrir laughed and stepped away, watching as Skoll brushed the snow from his hair and climbed onto his bike. "See you soon! And don't crash!"

#Sun and Moon #HatixSkoll #roleplay #oc rp