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cham-p-on · 3 years

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Shadows & Scarlet (2/2)

Part : [1] 2

Pairing/s: AcrixBridget {Fairytale Enchantress/Timeless Fairytales}

Genre/AU: AU!Angel-Chosen-Amnesia (by Rakel/Emarynn), Romance, Drama/Hurt, Fluff/Comfort

Bridget was about to cross the borders of Farset when a gleam in the dark caught her eye, followed by the cold gust of wind that caused her teeth to chatter. She pulled on her mount’s reins, throwing her hood back as she slid off the saddle.

“Show yourself!”

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she carefully observed her dark surroundings, her red cloak billowing against the wind. Her hands reached down where she strapped a dagger to her side. From the bushes, she noticed a pair of red eyes looking at her.

“Do wolves even have red eyes?” Bridget muttered when a menacing growl could be heard from the shadows.

When Bridget slowly moved towards the figure, her gelding threw its head back and snorted loudly, exhaling white puffs from its nostrils. She stood her ground, her hands tightening around the dagger’s hilt as she pulled it halfway from its scabbard.

“Go away!” the figure released a low growl, pain and distress evident in his voice.

Acri tried his best to remain hidden in the shadows, desperately covering a bleeding wound with the palm of his hand. He tried to summon his magic but agonizing pain took over his body. The rider drew closer to his hiding place when he finally surrendered from his injuries and fatigue. Everything went black and he fell to the ground.

Bridget sighed in relief, uttering a short prayer to the skies when she saw the man’s chest rise and fall in a steady pattern.

If I don’t start riding soon, my mission will be delayed. The Red Rider watched her charger as it impatiently trudged its hoof against the ground. She looked back at the unconscious man, her eyebrows furrowing with concern. But I can’t just leave him like this!

“Is there anything wrong with my face?” Acri asked as he placed the empty bowl back into the tray. The entire time he was eating, he noticed the young woman staring at him intently.

“You mean, besides the obvious?” Bridget asked, crossing her arms “Well, for starters, you’ve got huge red eyes” She tilted her head to the side, her blonde hair spilling down her shoulders “You also have large ears” She pouted at him, slowly shrugging her shoulders “And you’ve got big teeth”

“Do you normally point out people’s flaws when you first meet them?” Acri grimaced, the thought of verbalizing his observations about her height not far from his mind.

If only she has other shortcomings that I could point out (other than her childishly small height), then maybe I would have had a better response. But even then, Acri’s not entirely sure if bringing up her vertically-challenged measurement would be the best course of action for his safety.

“Not really! I usually wait for people to introduce themselves!” A few minutes of silence passed between them before the young woman crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly “So are you going to tell me your name or should I just call you Wolf?” Bridget replied, unaffected by Acri’s irritated reaction to his moniker “It’s a fitting name, considering you growled and resembled one when I first saw you!”

“Didn’t your mother tell you to run to run when you see the first signs of danger -”

“Bridget”

“Fine, then!” Acri sighed as he leaned closer to her, one of his eyebrows rising when he asked her a question “If I looked like a wolf when you first met me, why didn’t you run for safety?” He let out a wolfish grin, his voice turning into a low growl “If I happened to be a wolf, I would have easily eaten you in once piece”

“I’m confident that my horse would sooner trample you than see me harmed”

“You traitorous ingrate,” Suzu snarled at Angelique when a spell hit her in the chest, causing her to be knocked a few feet from where she previously stood.

Before she could find the strength to stand up, Acri fired another spell in her direction, red light shooting forth from his fingertips. When the spell hit the sorceress in the back, she collapsed on her chest and lost consciousness.

“Go!” Acri yelled at the war enchantress, prompting her to pick up her skirts and head towards the room the portal enchanter was being kept imprisoned.

When the alarms started blaring, Acri shook his head and let out a small groan, his arms rising in exasperation. If I live, I will pommel that stupid portal magician in the face!

A dozen of dark mages appeared from the hallway, shock written all over their faces when they saw the war mage standing in front of the sorceress’s unconscious figure. In the meantime… Acri turned to face them, his magic raising a wall of shadows from behind him.

A week after his arrival in Farset, Acri has become accustomed to Bridget – from her visits to her seemingly nonstop chatter. With the Red Rider nursing him back to health (rather aggressively, if he might add), he is quickly recovering from his injuries. Much to his chagrin, the price he has to pay is Bridget constantly using her sass and sarcasm to push his buttons. She’s even worse than Angelique!

Even after all the time they spent together, Acri still refuses to give her his name and let her see him use his magic. After days of enduring the nickname she gave him, he started teasing her back by making witty comments about her short height. How come she could get away with murder, while my quips against her are limited only up to three times a day! Acri winced when he remembered how she almost tied him up a tree by his feet when he once put a toe out of the line. Short people are so terrifying!

“How long was I passed out?” Acri asked as he dropped down a large stack of firewood – he hacked it to pieces with a magic ax when she wasn’t looking.

“Three days, give or take” Bridget grunted as she tried to carry a heavy pot into the campsite. Acri jogged to take the heavy object off her hands “In my defense, I would have been knocked into a coma due to exhaustion, so my count must be off!” Acri raised an eyebrow at her statement. Bridget merely flashed him with a bright smile, her hands placed on her chest as he rolled his eyes at her antics “You weren’t exactly an easy person to carry, you know?”

“Given your small stature, I wouldn’t have guessed!” Acri muttered, a half-smile forming on his lips. Bridget turned to kick him at the shins but he easily evaded her attack by quickly stepping to the side. “I meant, it must have been difficult carrying me around for days” Bridget held the ladle in front of her threateningly as she glared at Acri.

For such a short person, she has such a wild temper!

Once Bridget diverted her attention from the war mage to the boiling water in the pot, Acri chortled in between coughs “Especially for someone as vertically-challenged as you!” A stick from the untouched pile of firewood hit the war mage on the back of his head.

And that’s the last short-related joke for today!

Acri rubbed the sore spot and glared at her. Bridget stuck out her tongue at him then went back to cooking.

I feel sorry for her future husband already!

“For your information, I did not carry you around for days! Although I cannot just leave you in your weakened state, I still have my duties to attend to!”

“How do you manage to perform your duties if you’re looking after me?”

“Recently, the king has been frequently sending me out on errands,” Bridget said, tossing a sprig of parsley into the pot “I set up a small camp and dragged your scraggy bottom here” A small chuckle escaped from her lips as she dusted off her red cloak “In between my missions, I make detours so I could attend to your injuries!”

The bright glow of the fire made her hair look golden; the red color of her cloak added a pink hue to her face. When she turned to face Acri, he cannot help but stare in awe.

“It does not impede upon your work?” Acri asked, sitting on the grass as he watched her work “You’re not bothered by the trouble?”

“If there’s one thing that greatly bothered me, it’s your habit of talking in your sleep!” Bridget replied, her face scrunching up as she stirred the contents of the pot “You should really hear it for yourself. You sound so ridiculous!”

A few days later, Acri almost celebrated for joy when his bandages have come off. He rolled his shoulders back, delighted when he didn’t feel any pain. Although the wound left a scar in his abdomen, Bridget did a great job at patching him up.

Which reminds me…

“I got something for you, by the way!”

“Are you finally going to tell me your name?” Bridget perked up from her seat, her shoulders drooping when Acri shook his head “Well if it’s something that that you cooked, then I’m not hungry!” Bridget pouted at him, nibbling on a piece of bread. Acri furrowed his eyebrows at her statement “Don’t give me that look! You’re the one who thinks chives would go well with tea!”

“Just close your eyes!” Despite the deep frown on her face, Bridget did what she was told and shut her eyes tightly.

Acri raised his hand at eye-level, feeling the dark shadows balance itself at the palm of his hand. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he locked tendrils of his magic into the weapon. The blade hardened when he wrapped his fingers wrapped around the hilt of the dagger.

Unlike the other weapons that I made, this dagger will not disappear…

“Now, open your eyes!”

“Wolf?” Bridget whispered, her eyes shining brightly as she eyed the pretty dagger “Where did you get this?”

“Does it matter?”

“Not really,” Bridget removed the dagger from its scabbard, her eyes widening as she admired the intricate details on the blade. “It’s just that I’ve never seen anything like it!” She tossed the dagger in the air and flipped it in between her hands “Thank you so much!”

No, it is I who should thank you!

“Silence, you fools!”

Acri was gathering firewood when he spotted the familiar black-red uniform of Chosen mages. His heart was beating wildly against his chest when he hid behind a tree, not far from where the mages are having a heated discussion.

“We only have one shot at this assignment and if we fail, we might as well return with our heads on a stick!” the leader of the group barked at his underlings, his voice could be heard loud and clear from the distance “The Red Rider is carrying vital information against the Chosen! Our mission is to make sure that she never delivers the message to the royals!”

They’re talking about Bridget!

Acri crouched low to the ground and narrowed his eyes, trying to get a closer look through the tall grass.

“How will we find the Red Rider?”

“Have you always been this obtuse or are you doing this just to annoy me?” the leader of the group hissed as he hit one of the smaller mages on the back of the head “The Red Rider – you absolute genius – is the one with the red cape and red horses!”

“But, sir, I’m colorblind!”

The leader of the group took a deep breath before slamming his face on the palm of his hands. The other mages continued with whatever they’re doing as if this occurrence wasn’t out of the normal for them.

“Among all the hundreds of mages that I could have been assigned with, why do I have to be stuck with you three?” After a few minutes of muttering curses and incomprehensible gibberish, the leader straightened up to glare at his subordinates.

“Why don’t we attack her elsewhere?” one of the mage underlings suggested, leaning against the base of a tree “Perhaps somewhere far from the elves of Farset?”

“The Red Rider rides one of the swiftest and most vicious herds of elven horses! If we don’t attack her now, we might not be able to stop her in time!” the leader explained as he pointed to the dust-covered path “The quickest way to the royals’ assemblage is through this route. In a few hours, the rider will be passing through this path. I expect you all to be prepared to take the rider down!”

“We’ll capture the Red Rider and drag her to the headquarters?” the colorblind mage asked, nodding slowly at the leader’s speech.

“No, you idiot!” the leader snapped, his neck turning a deep shade of red “We’re here to kill the Red Rider!”

I have to warn Bridget!

Acri was heavily panting when he finally reached the campsite, his heart beating harder than ever when he didn’t see the red-cloaked rider or her equally hostile steed around the area.

I’m such an idiot! I should have attacked those mages when I had the chance! Acri cursed when an explosion on the other side of the forest – followed by a torrent of indecent language that could only belong to the fairly short rider – caught his attention. He whipped his head so fast, he almost gave himself a whiplash.

“It’s an ambush!” Bridget cursed as she struggled to keep her horse calm, the impatient gelding far too eager to charge at the mages attacking them. Her steed snorted, stomping its hooves against the earth when a group of dark mages emerged into the clearing.

The Red Rider reached for her sword, strapped to the side of her mount’s saddle. She ducked just in time when a green beam of light nearly struck her and whirred past her shoulder. The tree behind her burst into flames when the spell made contact with it.

Bridget jostled when her horse reared abruptly, using its front legs to strike one of their assailants in the chest. He staggered on his feet and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

“You insolent wench!” one of the dark mages snarled as he pointed his fingers at her. A jet of yellow light struck the young rider in the chest.

Bridget was flung off her mount’s saddle, a deafening scream escaping from her lips as she fell to the ground.

Get away from her!

Acri’s legs started moving on their own when he heard Bridget scream. His eyes flashed with unfathomable fury as he jumped over a large boulder, a towering wall of weapons erupting from behind him.

With a roar, he directed the weapons towards the dark mage that struck Bridget. His opponent fell on his back and landed on the ground, his body writhing in pain.

Don’t touch her!

Acri leaped backwards, rapidly raising fragments of his magic to shield himself from his adversary’s blows. The barricade of shadows disintegrated into dust as he dropped his hands, twisting his magic at his fingertips and firing a bolt of lightning against the remaining mages.

Don’t you dare hurt her!

Acri stood in the center of the smolder, the smoke from the skirmish started to clear around him. Remnants of dust and ashes filled the air and covered the path like a fog. He turned around, his eyes narrowed as he fervently searched for the red-cloaked rider.

His heart plummeted down to his stomach when their eyes met.

“It’s okay, Acri!” Bridget whispered, looking at the war mage in the eye as she slowly limped towards him. Acri flinched when he realized that she called him by his real name “You don’t need to explain!”

“You know who I am?” Acri said, struggling to swallow the lump in his throat.

“Enchantress Angelique told me about you” Bridget nodded at him, placing her hand on his shoulder “When I first saw you, you were wearing your Chosen uniform. There aren’t many magic-users in this continent gifted with the same color as your eyes and temper” She paused as if she’s contemplating her next words “And when you failed to return home, Lord Enchanter Clovicus told each and every one of the Farset riders to keep an eye out for you”

“If you knew, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I don’t want to press the topic further if you’re not ready!” Bridget replied, removing her hand from his shoulder. Acri fought back the urge to hold her hands in his. “I also wanted you to put your trust in me – enough that you’d give me your name yourself”

Acri stared into her bright blue eyes, afraid that at any moment, he will wake up to find that all of this is just a dream. The gleam in her eyes and the genuine smile on her face assured him that she is telling the truth – that she accepts him.

“And you still liked me?”

Bridget cupped his face in her hands “I loved you”

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acrimoniouscatalyst · 4 years

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@ad1ostoreador replied to your post: IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO PUT REBELLION RIGHT ON THE AD...

i DON’T THINK SO EITHER, sO,, hI,

HI. IM ACRI

#ad1ostoreador

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amicicidalgambler · 4 years

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acrimoniouscatalyst replied to your post: Acri can have little a makeup.

I WONT EAT IT PROBABLY (JUST A LITTLE TASTE)

Actually now that I think a8out it there’s lipstick made with food-grade stuff.

You can eat that just fine.

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sirens-gemberry · 5 years

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Oh heck it's posting time!!! This is something I had for a little bit now, in honor of the Flower Festival event! Ft; @acry-farm ! Sorry if I post this super late, It's been a hectic day-

Anyway, below the RM I'm h o p i n g to have- Is a lil short story regarding the two. I hope y'all enjoy and I hope I portrayed Gabriel alright!!! ovo; Anyway, happy Flower Festival, and I'll catch ya next time! 💞

Ren’s eyes nervously darted downward, not quite meeting the green-eye’d gaze of their dance partner for the afternoon. Damn, whose idea was this anyway?! Meeting new people wasn’t exactly strange to them- they’ve done it countless times by now- but Gabriel’s a different story. It wasn’t just the fact that everything felt...different, per say, but rather that they couldn’t even look the tall tomboy in the eyes without turning a bashful shade of pink.

‘Focus!’ They reminded themselves, ‘Say something other than a hello, dumbass!’

Looking over, their eyes met Gabriel’s once more, and they had to cough into the sleeve of the dark blue jacket they donned.

“S-sorry.” They mumbled, out of habit, “I’m...awkward. I-I mean, R-Ren! I’m Ren.” They stumbled over themselves, getting more embarrassed by the moment, and having to resist facepalming just for the sake of their own dignity. But their eyes spoke enough of their cringe- the amount of worry of messing up barely concealed behind a shy grin.

They watched her eyes dance over them, raising an eyebrow with...was it amusement? Curiosity? They honestly couldn’t quite tell.

“You seem pretty nervous for someone who signed up for this.” She joked, quietly, a half-smile half-smirk making its way onto her face- even for a few brief moments.

“I...I- ah…” They coughed into their sleeve again, hoping it would dispel the heat in their face. It did not, but they managed a small smile all the same, “Y-Yeah. I d-don’t normally do these kind’ve events.” They admitted, sheepishly, hands fidgeting just in front of them as they tried to focus on not shifting back and forth, their darker brown hair falling just short of hiding their equally dark eyes.

“Yeah, I don’t either, buuut I figured I’d give it a shot. Y’know, before the mother-hen I call a friend makes me go regardless.” Gabriel replied, looking outwards towards the bright blue sky- and the gentle overhanging clouds. They made the clearing not too cloudy and dim, but also covering up the brightness of the sun enough to not completely blind every introverted and asocial person in the general clearing.

Ren remained quiet for a few moments, eyes scanning over Gabriel more thoroughly, moreover- what she had adorned. From the charcoal vest, to the pastel green bow and the slightly darker green flower in her hair. They also looked at the long, dark strands of black hair fall down her back- and the red bangs that made Gabriel….well, Gabriel.

‘I feel extremely lucky…’ They couldn’t help but think to themselves, ‘I’d love to get to know her more as a person, if just first impressions have told me so much already.’

Still, like all things, their thoughts briefly pestered them.

‘But would she want to know you?’

They took a breath, sighing, and shaking their head. They weren’t in the mood to deal with that, not today. They tuned their hearing into the music playing from elsewhere in the clearing, until the noise calmed down their thoughts to a quiet. With it, some of their anxiety dissipated.

‘That’s better.’

Looking to Gabriel, a smile graces their lips once more, tilting their head sideways in just a way that appeared a bit coy.

“Mother-hen of a friend? Ah, you might be dealing with one for the afternoon, sorry in advance.” They joke, the shy smile giving way to a mischievous and toothy grin- even if they were being whoely honest.

Gabriel’s eyebrows raised- to where they may disappear into her hairline should she get any more confused- before noting the smile and letting out a chuckle herself.

“Shit, fair enough I suppose.” She replied through her own laughter, which settled moments later as Ren’s expression brightened.

‘I got her to laugh!’ They knew better than to take such pride in little things like that, but to them it still made their eyes light up all the same. Gabriel chuckled to herself, since their excitement seemed to come off them in waves.

“You sure look proud of yourself.” Gabriel had noticed, commenting lightly with a smirk, adjusting the bowtie just slightly and smoothing out the vest of her outfit.

Ren pauses, turning a bit pink all over again, and laughing themselves as they took off the blue jacket and tossed it aside. It was frankly a bit too warm for their liking, plus they didn’t want to make their jacket a mess.

“Yeah, I guess I do, huh?” They managed after a moment, “It’s just...I like making people smile!”

They’re unsure why they admitted to that, but it seemed to be the right thing to say- as Gabriel’s look even softened just for a brief moment before her guard was put back up.

Ren’s look softened as well as they calmed back down, hesitating for a moment before taking Gabriel’s hand in their own with a shy- if not even cautious grin. Gabriel clearly went to go say something about the sudden touch, her eyes darting to Ren’s in an almost warning- but their words quickly snuffed her objections out.

“Let’s not focus on how awkward this all is- since we just met ‘n’ all... Let’s just focus on having fun today! Okay?”

Gabriel hesitated for a moment, before sighing and relenting with a smile- no matter how much she simply wanted to dissuade them from dancing- she had a feeling they wouldn’t feel too great about it.

“...Alright, I’ll bite.” She murmured, earning an even brighter expression from the brunette, “Show me what you’ve got, kid.”

Ren smirked, raising an eyebrow.

“Rule number one…” As they spoke, the hand that was holding hers tugged- yanking her closer towards the coy enby, whose words were not harsh- not even domineering, but cool and coy, unlike what Gabriel had witnessed from them only a few minutes prior, “Don’t call me kid. Let’s dance.”

#;;pidge's things #;;ren sharp #;;other farmers #flower festival event #stardropdms #?#I dunno but I aint riskin it #Ngl Im hella nervous to post this ;w;'#But ykw Im fine!#stardew valley #stardew #stardew valley farmer #stardew farmer #flower festival

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bisexualstokes-archive · 5 years

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Ten Across

Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 3468 Characters: Nick Stokes, Gil Grissom Summary: Nick has a last minute emergency at work, and asks Grissom to babysit his kids, Madison and Parker, who ask Grissom why their dad doesn't like ants. Notes: Something to make up for the angst-fest that was Hellbound. GSR implied, Nick's partner is left up to the reader!

@hands-christian-handersen @deltajackdalton, this your fault specifically, @impossiblepluto, @altschmerzes, @dannilea, I just feel obligated to tag you three in any nick and grissom friendship fics I write.

Read it on A03

“Uncle Grissom’s here! Uncle Grissom’s here!” Madison screams, running down the stairs towards the front door. The six year old was clutching two books, one on grasshoppers and one on hummingbirds.

“Uncle Gil’s here? Awesome!” Parker shouts from the couch. The nine year old was too busy playing his video game to turn his head towards the door.

“Daddy, Uncle Grissom’s heeeeeeeere!”

“Yes, Maddie, I heard you the first time,” Nick laughs as he continues to multitask, writing down names and phone numbers, packing up his backpack, trying to adjust his tie. He rushes out of the kitchen, nearly knocking into his daughter and dog (who surely would have told him “Uncle Grissom is here,” if he could speak english) to open the door for his former boss.

Grissom must have heard Madison’s shouts, because he is smiling as Nick welcomes him in.

“Hey, Gris, thanks again, man, I know it’s...last minute,” Nick seems to linger on those two words, his brow furrowed as he keeps trying to adjust his tie.

“My pleasure, Nick,” Grissom replies as he pets Sam, the dog with one hand, while the other is pulled by Madison.

“Uncle Grissom, look at the books Daddy gave me! This one’s about hummingbirds, and this one is about grasshoppers--I mean, Acri--Acridim…”

“Acridomorpha. That’s very interesting, Maddie! I brought some books of my own, for you to look at, until bedtime, of course,” he added, winking at Nick. He pulls a book out on atlas beetles, showing it to Madison, who beams brightly.

“Beetles! Did you know that the lava is capable of biting?”

Nick laughs at Grissom’s look of bewilderment.

“That’s larvae, Mads!” Parker beckons from the couch. “Dad told you a million times, jeez! Hi, Uncle Gil!”

“Hello, Parker.”

“So my son gets to call you ‘Gil,’ but I don’t?” Nick pouts, waving Grissom into the kitchen. He pours himself a cup of coffee from a pot that’s still half-full. “Coffee?”

“Thank you. And yes, he does, he helps me with my crosswords.”

“Pfft, so did I...once or twice...I think. Anyway, here’s a list of emergency contacts, they both just had dinner--I gave them desert already so don’t let them tell you otherwise. Madison goes to bed at 8, Parker at 9. I shouldn’t be long, I’ll try to be back as soon as I can, I swear--”

“Nick, it’s okay, you know I love spending time with the kids.”

Nick smiles, patting Grissom on the shoulder before running out the back door.

“They love you to, you know. Maybe even more than me.”

“I highly doubt that, Nicky, my boy.”

Nick leaves, still grinning, and Grissom has a moment’s silence, before the energy of the house rises to a frenzy. Sam circles around with a toy in his mouth, begging Grissom to play with him. Madison is jumping up and down, reciting facts about all the books in Grissom’s briefcase. Nick’s birds are chirping, disturbed by all of the sudden noise. Parker turns the television up a bit louder, scoots himself closer to the screen.

The energy reminds him of the lab, the buzz of voices talking, people rushing through the small building. It also reminds him of a much younger, clean-shaven Nick Stokes, playing video games with Warrick Brown, excitedly talking about birds, cranking up the music playing in the DNA lab as he hangs around with Greg Sanders.

So, in a situation where he would suffer a migraine, he was smiling, because he expects nothing less from the Stokes residence.

The initial chaos dies down after a few minutes, and everyone is at peace until Madison’s lower lip begins to tremble, mid-rant about the parrot that was currently squawking in the corner of the room, and she falls silent.

“Maddie, what’s wrong?” Grissom asks softly, noticing the young girl’s sudden silence.

“I...I m-miss Daddy!” she begins to cry.

“Pfft, I don’t,” Parker mumbles.

“It’s okay, Madison, he’ll be home soon enough,” Grissom comforts her, shooting Parker a warning look. Parker gulps and falls silent, he’s got Nick’s anxiety Grissom briefly thinks. He places a hand on her shoulder, lifting her chin gently to look into his face. “When you wake up in the morning, he’ll be here.”

“P-promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay…” she sniffles, but Grissom can sense that their promise offers little comfort. He glances towards his briefcase, noticing that only three of the five books were taken out and placed on the floor, before Madison got distracted by the bird.

“I think there’s some more books in my briefcase, if you wanted to take a look at them.”

Madison’s tears faded away, and she grinned. Grissom can’t help but see how much her smile reminds him of Nick’s. She gets up and runs back towards the case, and Grissom sits down on the couch, beckoning Nick’s dog to jump up on his lap.

Parker throws down the controller in frustration, running his hands through his hair.

“Ugh, I’m terrible at this game! I just died, again, and now I have to start all over!” he whines, beginning to pace around the room.

“Maybe a fresh start will help you see things in a different perspective,” Grissom told him. “Like a puzzle.”

Parker sighed, throwing himself next to Grissom on the couch.

“Yeah...or maybe I just need a break.”

Grissom dug out a piece of folded paper in his pocket, and handed it to Parker.

“Here, I brought this for you. I think it’s time you try it on your own.”

Parker unfolds it, it’s a crossword puzzle.

“You think I’m ready?” Parker asks him, his eyes shining bright. Determined eyes, just like Nick’s.

“I know you’re ready, Parker.”

Parker grins, and runs off to find a pencil. Grissom turns off the television, still stroking Sam with his right hand. There is peace for the next hour, bedtime is growing closer and closer. Parker seems to have moved to the kitchen table, Grissom can hear him reciting the clues, thinking out loud.

Madison, however, is suspiciously quiet, which Grissom knew wasn’t a good sign.

“Uncle Grissom!” she suddenly wheezes behind him, startling both him and the dog.

“Yes, Maddie?” Grissom asks in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Daddy’s never told me about this bug!”

Grissom’s heart sinks as he stares at the book Madison is holding up. It’s a book on fire ants.

“He doesn’t like ants at all, I don’t know why, I think they’re cute,” Madison keeps talking. Parker looks up from the table in the other room, and Grissom can’t help but see a younger Nick, a haunted look etched all over his face. Did Nick tell Parker what happened, why he doesn’t like fire ants?

“Sometimes one will crawl on me and I’ll talk to it, but then Daddy brushes it off me,” Madison keeps saying. Parker makes eye contact with Grissom for a moment, a worried look on his face, before he shakes it off and looks back at the puzzle.

“He told me they bite, but they never seem to bite me.”

“Hey, Maddie, I think it’s getting close to bedtime,” Grissom tells her, gently lifting the book of ants out of her hands. Madison pouts, but starts to walk up the stairs. Grissom follows behind her, standing awkwardly in the hallway as she brushes her teeth and changes into her pajamas in the bathroom. When she’s ready, Grissom guides her into her bedroom, and reads her a story about a woodpecker. She sits, listening very intently, but a yawn escapes her body as Grissom finishes the story.

“...the end.”

“Aw, can I have another story? Five more minutes, pleeeeeeease?”

“Remember our promise? The sooner you go to bed, the sooner you’ll get to see your Dad.”

“Fine. But..can I keep the fire ant book?”

Grissom thinks for a minute, torn between wanting to let this curious young girl learn more about a topic she is very interested in, but worries as to how Nick would react if he found out about it.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Maddie, because your dad really doesn’t like ants, but I’ll tell you what, the next time you’re at my house, you can read it all you want.”

Madison hugs Grissom’s waist, before hopping into bed, pulling the blanket over her.

“Can you put on the nightlight?” she asks in a worried whisper, as Grissom begins to walk out of the room. He smiles and obliges.

“Goodnight, Madison,” Grissom says to her, turning off the main light to the bedroom.

“Goodnight...Uncle...Cisco…” Madison breathes as she drifts off into dreamland.

Grissom walks back downstairs, where Parker is still sitting at the kitchen table, but the crossword is blank. He seems to be lost in thought, his eyes dark, his thick eyebrows furrowed. It’s a look Grissom knows all too well, one that is usually accompanied by the word “why,” spoken by another Stokes mouth.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Grissom asks the young boy. Parker looks up at him, licking his lips.

“Why doesn’t Dad like ants?” Parker asks.

“I...don’t think that’s for me to answer.”

“Why not? I’m nine years old, I’m not--I’m not a baby like Maddie!”

“Have you tried asking him?”

“I did, and he just gets...sad.”

“Your father will tell you when he’s ready.”

Parker huffed, crossing his arms, and clenched his jaw. Another look, that Grissom knew well.

“That’s not the only thing on your mind, though, is it?”

“He gets mad with me...a lot. Almost took my video games away yesterday.”

“Oh? What did you do?”

“Well, the first time, last week, I had gotten out of bed in the middle of the night, I was so close to beating this level that I just wanted to try, one more time, and he caught me sneaking through the house--I think I scared him, and...he had something behind his back though, and he wouldn’t show me. He always shows me what he’s doing, but instead, he just...told me to get my ‘ass’--oh, sorry, Uncle Gil--’butt’ back in bed.”

Grissom fills in the blanks of the story. Didn’t take a forensic investigator to realize, how worried Nick must have been, to hear someone walking through his house at night. He pictures a troubled Nick, gun drawn, walking cautiously through the halls, eyes fixated on the ceiling above him, before being startled by the young boy.

“The second time we were at the park, when Maddy was playing with the ants a-and he told us to stay away from them b-but I just wanted to look at them and I found the ant’s home and was playing around with it until he told us we were going home cause I wouldn’t listen, he didn’t yell but he just got...sad again, like he was...disappointed.”

“And the third time?”

Parker falls silent for a moment, and his lips begin to quiver, just as Madison’s did earlier. His eyes grow damp, and Grissom’s heart rate rises to a dangerously high amount, worrying about what he’s about to hear.

“Me and Mads were--were playin’ a-and I, I didn’t mean to hurt her, I suh-swear…” Parker begins to mumble, his voice shaky, his accent thickening. “We...we were playin cops n robbers and I was the cop and she was the robber, and I c-caught her, so I had to put her in jail and…”

He falls silent again, Grissom can sense the tremendous amount of guilt and shame from the young boy. He feels bad, allowing this innocent boy to relive an experience that has apparently caused him a lot of grief, but he knows that if he truly is Nick’s son, talking it out with Grissom would help him in the long run.

“I pushed her into th-that closet, over there!” he cries, pointing to the small closet in the living room area. The door is open, Grissom can see that it’s just barely enough standing space, not to mention all the coats and shoes littered inside.

“It was just part of the game, but it--she--it was so dark and she’s scared of the dark and she started yellin’ at me to let her out, an-and then she started screaming a-and Daddy came runnin’, threw the door open and yelled at me…”

Grissom’s mouth tightens to a frown, and reaches for Parker’s hand in an effort to comfort him. It seems to work, the boy’s tears stop and he sits up straight, wiping away his face with his free hand.

“He...He ‘pologized to me later, even let me stay up late that night to play my game...but...I thought I heard him cryin’ when I walked by his room on my way upstairs...Why won’t he tell me what’s wrong? Is-is it because he doesn’t like me?”

“Your dad...your dad’s been through a lot, Parker, I won’t lie to you,” Grissom sighs. He struggles to think of something to say, flipping back through flashcards of phrases to use when talking to the families of victims, but none of them seem to tell him how to address the son of one of his closest friends, who just wants answers to questions Grissom’s not authorized to answer.

“But he loves you, more than anything in this world, okay? You’ll never disappoint him, even if he gets angry with you sometimes. You know, he used to get angry with me sometimes, too.”

“He did?” Parker asks, his eyes wide in shock. He lets out a small giggle as Grissom nods.

“You just have to be...patient with him. He’ll tell you about the ants, when he’s ready.”

“You think so?”

“He told me,” Grissom replies, matter-of-factly. “You know what else he told me? That your Aunt Sara once got sprayed by...a skunk and she still smells really bad.”

Parker bursts out into a fit of giggles, and Grissom knows the hard part of his job is done. The easy part is giving Parker a special treat, chocolate covered grasshoppers. Helping him with the crossword, even though he claims he’s “got it” without Grissom’s help. Grissom educating him on some of the more complicated words, with Parker listening to him as if it was the most important lesson in his life.

The hour came and went, almost too quickly for either of their liking, but they only had a few more to go…

So Grissom lets him stay up, just “a few more minutes”...which was an hour ago.

“Okay, Parker, it’s time for bed, I let you stay up long enough.”

“Aw, but Uncle Gil, I got one more!”

Parker’s back is to the door, he doesn’t seem to notice as Sam runs to the door eagerly, scratching. Grissom can just barely see Nick’s smiling face on the other side of the door, gesturing for silence from Grissom with a finger on his lips as he gently opens the door. Grissom winks at him, as Parker continues to be undisturbed at the sudden commotion from the excited dog. Nick silently steps towards his son, crouching down and hovering next to him.

“Hmm...10 across, ‘what cows drink.’”

“That, my boy, would be ‘milk.’” Nick says, startling his son and making Grissom burst into laughter.

“Wha--Dad!” Parker blurts, nearly falling out of his chair. Nick joins Grissom in laughter, and Parker pushes him back playfully.

“That’s not the answer! It’s ‘water,’ cows produce milk!”

“Oh! Of course they do!” Nick exclaims, playing dumb to appease his son. He ruffles the kid’s hair. “Whoa, looks like you finished your first crossword! I’m so proud of you!”

Parker beams up at him brightly, as Nick lifts him up into a tight embrace. Grissom winks at Parker as Nick spins him around, making Parker giggle.

“But now, it’s time to go to bed, buddy,” Nick sighs as he sets his son back on the ground.

“Okay…” Parker mumbles, but runs around the table and gives Grissom a tight hug.

“Thank you, Uncle Gil.”

“Your welcome, Parker.”

Parker runs up the stairs, clutching the finished crossword puzzle, and Sam follows behind him. Nick sits down at the table, where Parker previously sat. He saw the small bag of chocolate covered grasshoppers, and smirks knowingly at Grissom before grabbing a handful.

“They weren’t too much trouble, I hope. Maddy’s been fighting bedtime, lately.”

“They were great, Nick, no trouble at all.”

“Parker’s been, uh...a handful lately.”

“So he told me.”

“Guilty conscience, just like his old man, huh?”

Grissom chuckles, and the two sit in silence for a few moments, before Nick takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes with his hands.

“Did he tell you about the closet thing?”

“Yeah,” Grissom sighs heavily. He suddenly feels a phantom pain in his shoulder, one he hasn’t felt in over a decade.

“Man, I was so...sometimes I wonder, you know, if I’m…if I’m not...messin’ them up somehow...”

“Nick,” Grissom begins sharply, trying to steer Nick away from any self-depreciation, before softening his tone. “Look, I know that I’m not the most...educated person on this subject matter, but for what it’s worth, I think you are an excellent father of two bright, wonderful children, who are proud to call you their father.”

Nick’s lips curl into a smile, and he sniffles.

“I’d say you know a lot, man, you basically were like our second dad, back in the day, you know? You gave us advice, you set us on the right path, you were so patient and...you listened.”

Both men sit in stunned silence, at the sudden realization of the true nature of their relationship, which had, until now, been solely unspoken. Nick clears his throat and gets up from the chair, awkwardly asking Grissom if he wanted anything to eat or drink, before Grissom mentions he needed to get going, because Sara should be coming back home any minute now.

Nick reaches his arm around Grissom’s shoulder, as Grissom sticks out his hand for a handshake, and they clash in a clumsy embrace.

“Thanks again, Gil!” Nick calls out to him as he walks off of the Stokes’ porch. Grissom looks back at him, shaking his head.

“No."

“Still?” Nick winces.

“Respect your elders, Nick.”

Nick laughs and watches as Grissom drives off. He does a sweep of the house, checking all the doors and windows before shutting off all the lights and heading upstairs. He checks in on Madison, surrounded by stuffed animals, he can see a smile in the faint glow of her night-light.

He checks in on Parker, who is doing a poor job of pretending he’s asleep, as Sam lays curled up at the foot of the bed. Nick enters the room, sits on the bed. He adjusts the blanket to cover his son’s body completely, and gently removes the comic book and flashlight from underneath his pillow.

“He still doesn’t like me calling him ‘Gil,’” he sighs to his son, whose eyes are shut tight, but Nick can see his ears twitch upward at the mention of his favorite uncle.

“I...I know I said it before, but I really am sorry for what happened yesterday. You didn’t know, what you were doing and, uh…”

He takes a deep breath, and strokes his son’s hair out of his face.

“It’s my job, you know, to catch bad guys, put them in jail but...sometimes...the bad guys win. We catch them, but it doesn’t take away the bad things they’ve done. Sometimes they get away with it, but the...things they do to hurt people, it doesn’t go away. And one day, when you’re older, I’ll tell you all about those times, where I….why I...But, it’s…”

Another deep breath, Sam whines slightly, placing his head on Nick’s lap.

“You know, I was nine years old, just like you are, waiting for my...mom to get home and I-I want you to know, Parker, no matter how angry or sad I get, I will never stop loving you, okay? You can always talk to me about anything you want.”

He places a soft kiss on his son’s forehead.

“I promise.”

He gets up and walks out of the room, wiping his eyes as he takes one last look at Parker, who, for all Nick knew, did genuinely fall asleep. He smiles in disbelief, what did he do to deserve these two little angels? He shuts the door gently behind him, leaving the flashlight and comic book on the ground, knowing that Parker will need them for his nightly adventures later. He’s completely unaware, of the four words spoken in a whisper from his son’s lips as he drifts off into a blissful dreamland.

“I love you, Dad.”

#csi cbs #nick stokes #gil grissom #csi fan fiction #nick and grissom #csi #my fic #fic: ten across #ficverse: parker and madison

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rgr-pop · 5 years

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circuitbird replied to your photo :

I set out to figure out what happened to Alan...

I’m not sure why NY in particular has all these easily searchable databases (I’ve learned some states have equivalents, but not many) where you can just yoink mortgage data (e.g., ACRIS) or have lien filings available as a matter of public record

lots and lots of places do (I use them very liberally, as a local history enthusiast) (my city has great access but not a lot of digitization going very far back). usually it’s county based but you can find whatever by searching “[place] property records” or going right to their property assessor websites--the best stuff is usually when it’s centralized and not just property assessors, though. all of the stuff you’d find anyway is public record and stuff you are legally entitled to demand your county clerk etc. to provide access to--state and local laws vary as to what is included under that. (for example i know a lot of stuff about how different states have different laws about what birth certificates can be publicly requested, which i learned via astrology.) of course, given fees. the issue is actually more that databases of public records, while increasingly digitized, are being interfaced by private third parties that often impose fines not just for certified copies etc. but for any access at all.

i’m assuming that new york has good access in part because new york has a huge bureaucratic apparatus in the first place and, imo, because new york has more thorough tenant protection laws, code etc. (might sound unthinkable to new yorkers but... hello from america lol.) for example! my city does not have any database comparable to the department of buildings website, which rules potentially for residents (idk if it really makes a difference in practice) but also, for historians of buildings. for example: i can tell you that the judd foundation building at 101 spring street, formerly donald judd’s loft and residence, has two elevators, that its owners applied for an oil burning permit either right before or right after judd purchased it, that adam yarinsky of the architectural research office appears to have directed the large renovations of the building that began in 2009 which were estimated to cost over seven million dollars, etc. i can’t really see the details of the handfuls of DOB violations handed to the building during the years it served as judd’s loft, but i can see that he was handed a handful of DOB violations. and all of this makes sense, right? if you live in a multi-occupancy building owned by some guy or some corporation, you should be able to see whether that guy or corporation has open code violations or has installed sprinklers this century.

(i mean, we have some of that, but it isn’t neatly centralized, but you can for example easily publicly find how much we presently owe in utilities [since water and light is public here], if you know our address)

anyway yeah i would say the major difference i’m finding looking up ny property records vs property record databases local to me that i use regularly, other than differences in organizational structure given that uh we don’t have boroughs in lansing, michigan, is that there way more documents digitized and a much wider available timeframe (both recent, more active documents and long ago historical documents) (unsure how far they go back i just mean the sixties sorry)

HOWEVER, where are the good digitized ny city directories post sixties? nypl’s appear to be only older (this is a difficulty in general and for good reasons, but i am surprised anyway)

#architecture

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justastraightupmess · 5 years

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snw-cnvs replied to your post: snw-cnvs replied to your post: ...

he woke up, inhaled one, spat it out, and just stared into the void for awhile

i n h a l e d im gonn acry

#snw-cnvs #yuuuuuuck #one time i accidentally ate ants tho #so relate

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resetkid · 6 years

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THIS IS RESETKID’S FIRST FOLLOW FOREVER. JUST A BIG POST TO BABBLE ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE MY FOLLOWERS AND HOW GRATEFUL I AM.

ART CRED .

I can’t believe I’ve been writing this dumb kid for two goddamn years now.

... Truth to be told I never thought my muse for Flurry would stick when I first came into this fandom. Nothing I do tends to stick--- I’m usually bored within a week or two and moving onto something else. But writing this brat and bringing her to life , portraying her the best I could just drew me in and at this point I’m in way too deep to leave.

She’s gone through so many changes--- from the sweet little pacifist I initially wrote , to the arrogant monster murdering brat in this blog’s first revamp , to... just a tired fierce little girl who’s done her best and is continuing to do her best now that she’s home again. I’m really proud of her! And I’m happy that I can write her to this day because she’s always been so fun and passionate and quick witted.

My partners here have all played a massive , massive role in making my time here fun. Everybody is so sweet and talented and understanding--- and they’ve helped me to improve along the way and made me feel like I really belong here. It wouldn’t be any fun without you guys! You’ve all helped me develop her character so much and put up with my caps lock mashing , emoticon heavy excitable chat out of character. You all write these great muses and we have these amazing interactions and relationships and cherish so much.

I’m super grateful and so... this post it to thank you all. Smooch---!

SPECIAL MENTIONS //

@im-sans-ational --- Aaaahhh. To be honest I tell you this softie stuff all the time and I bet you’re totally sick of hearing it! But here we are again ‘cause I could never leave you out of this. Um. Socks--- I care about you so much and being friends with you makes me so happy. Every time we talk I’m smiling and laughing and if things aren’t going great that day you always cheer me up a lot.

Part of the reason I’ve even stuck around in this fandom so long is owed to you because you’ve been such a sweet friend to me since I came and you’ve interacted with my brat girl from day one.

Your portrayal of Sans is absolutely great even though I know you doubt yourself a lot and often think otherwise. You’re think wrong when you think like that. All the thought that you put into his characterization and your ability to pull off both his serious and more jokey mannerisms seamlessly --- flawlessly --- awed me when I joined and you awe me to this day. He’s wonderfully in character and mysterious and just--- ugh. He is brilliant. And so are you! Thank you thank you thank you for being my friend and writing partner. ❤

@tibiahoncst / @casrouge / @herpsydaisy / @bottlemotions --- Latin! My love... my life... pffft. We’ve wrote and off since blindedbylv and our interactions never fail to bring the biggest smile to my face. Flurry and Squish have the most dynamic father-daughter relationship and I love them so much. My God.

They’re sweet and he’s patient and Flurry adores him more than I’ll ever be able to express with words in our threads. Nob is the purest child and the way you write both muses is gripping and thoughtful. I hope we write them for a long time because you are talented and lovely out of character and a wonderful friend. Not gonna lie , I rush to reply to our every thread because I cherish them all so much akjsladks!! Snugs,, :’3

@onehpwonder / @felllan / @scythism / @acrisolum / @skeledunce --- Danny Danny Danny!! I love you and all one hundred of your stinky sons. For real though; your layout and presentation is beautiful , you’re so positive and one of the sweetest mutuals to grace my dash , and easy to talk to out of character. The way you write and portray every muse is so sleek and everything reads so well...

I’m always going back to reread our interactions because they’re so fun and your replies are honestly breathtaking. Acri trying to cut Flurry’s head off and subsequently adopting her still makes me giggle --- her and Impact’s relationship is fascinating. Writing with you is a joy and I want us to continue being partners for a long , long time. Smooochh!!

@kurotsunolivia / @starberrykinder --- Ahhh?! Okay. I don’t even know where to start--- writing with you is the best. Kuro’s relationship with Flurry is one of my favorites I’ve ever developed on this blog. Though I don’t know much about her source material I really do think you put a lot of thought into her character and your headcanons for her.

The way you can portray her being brutally honest and tender towards her daughter in the same breath so well is staggering. Every thread we’ve had has been amazing and you’re so talented that I’m honestly flattered you wanted to write with me and interact with my dumb li’l brat of a muse in the first place! Your art is adorable , gushing about them ( and your super cute cat omg ) out of character is a joy and you’re a super cool mutual.

TALENTED MUTUALS ( TM ) //

@cartoonlonk / @revengefulhcart / @tazmily-farm-boy / @fcllenflowers / @pollenprince / @deadly-devotion / @fadedribbcn / @balefulblossom / @rivenstraws / @revivescere-flore / @universalcarnival / @existence-overwhelming / @stickid / @sparemercy / @matxrna / @remorseguarder / @smellslikejustice / @theirmercy / @talariis / @asktheseventhhuman / @dctcrmination / @pacifrisk-rp / @redemptnot / @sheundying / @dcbascd / @crascd / @masterprotector / @fellrot / @chosemercy / @mulcibere / @unmercyd / @kidfell / @madestars / @rollingsnowsmasher / @itsnojida / @flcwerpcwered

#long post //#i'm so sorry if i forgot anyone!!#i double checked but my memory is the actual Worst #but thank you so much omg.#i love everyone still following me and interacting with flurry #and i'm so happy i'm still here writing her.#;w;#you all made it possible for me to develop her and form all these relationships...#dfksjfddskg..#smooches u all

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scamperway · 4 years

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acrimoniouscatalyst replied to your post: //I go into my own tag. I get Acri’s vent posts. I...

((OH NO IVE BEEN SPOTTED))

//You got GOT,

#acrimoniouscatalyst #ooc

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cham-p-on · 3 years

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Shadows & Scarlet (1/2)

Part: 1 [2]

Pairing/s: AcrixBridget {Fairytale Enchantress/Timeless Fairytales}

Genre/AU: AU!Angel-Chosen-Amnesia (by Rakel/Emarynn), Romance, Drama/Hurt, Fluff/Comfort

When Acri was four years old, the first signs of his magic started to show through. Once his parents realized the type of magic he possesses, they wasted no time in starting his magical education. Needless to say, he wasn’t the brightest pupil in the class – if his teachers’ frustrated sighs during their lessons was an indication of that – but whatever he lacked in brainpower, he made up for by excelling in magical combat and his training.

“Again!”

Acri took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes as he lurked around the practice dummy. He raised a hand to wipe off the sweat dripping down his temples, his damp hair obscuring his vision. Acri clenched his teeth as he felt his sharp magic made its way to the palm of his hands. He looked up at the balcony and saw his father staring at him. Sorcerer Rothbart could be seen standing behind him, his infant daughter, swaddled in rose-gold cloth is deeply asleep in his arms.

The shadows bent to his will and began forming a trident, rising from the ground and residing on the palm of hands. When he felt his magic solidify the shadow weapon, he shot the trident towards his target and plunged it into the center of the dummy. When another weapon found itself embedded over the dummy’s head, the sound of clapping made Acri turn on his heel and look up.

Despite feeling exhausted from all the practice training he had to do, he tries his best to make his parents proud by doing well. Or in his mother’s case, keep her satisfied.

“That’s enough practice for today,” his father said, giving Acri a reassuring smile “Good job, son!”

Acri smiled at his father, trying his best to wipe off the sweat sticking to his nape and shoulders with a damp towel.

“Remember this, son!” he said, placing a firm hand on Acri’s shoulders “You are destined for greatness!”

If he was honest with himself, Acri cannot really remember what his father looked like. Although his father could be seen as strict and distant, the sorcerer shows his affection in unusual ways. Even if every memory Acri has of him blurred over time, Acri could distinctly remember his father having the same dark hair that he has.

Acri woke up, bolting upright and panting heavily as sweat dripped down from his neck. He looked at his surroundings and he shook his head, hoping to clear his mind.

His body felt so heavy when he stood up and the room swayed no matter where he looked. His breath is labored with every step that he takes. When he fell to his knees, someone entered the room.

The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a cloaked figure, clothed in red.

“Your name is Angelique? Oh, what a pretty name you have!” Liliane cooed as she approached the little girl.

When his mother’s back was turned at him, Acri found himself glaring at the new recruit with disdain. How dare she! He clenched his fists so tight, his knuckles turned white as he watched the little girl with teary, silver eyes.

I’ve been working hard for years to gain her approval. Acri thought as he watched Liliane tuck the little girl’s hair behind her ear. There’s no way I will let myself lose to someone like her!

When his mother had taken interest upon the new kid with powerful war magic, Liliane made it clear that her love is something conditional – something that has to be earned. And for years, his mother’s plan to keep them in line worked.

For quite a long time, he and Angelique had been stuck on a vicious cycle as bitter rivals, competing for his mother’s attention and affection.

But even then, not everything always goes according to his mother’s plan.

“We’re surrounded!” Angelique yelled, her silver magic flowing freely from her hands.

“Yeah, I can see that!” Acri replied as he watched a pack of hellhounds emerge from the bushes. Evidently, Angelique wasn’t in the mood for his sarcasm as she turned to elbow his chest.

When one of the hellhounds drew closer, Angelique and Acri had an exchange of glances and nodded at each other. Acri raised his hands above his shoulders, large shadow weapons erupting from the shadows as he did so. The weapons shifted when it made contact with Angelique’s magic, the sharp ends turned to silver and pointed towards the snarling beasts.

Mother knows many things Acri grinned as he watched Angelique control the shadow weapons he made. Looking at the war mage beside him, who would have thought that they would become strong allies. But she doesn’t know all!

All his life, Acri knew all too well what it feels like to be left behind. He was no stranger to the hollow feeling of abandonment. When Acri got older, he always told himself that he is used to the inevitable.

Many people he knew left without an explanation. Why shouldn’t he do the same to them?

When a group of Chosen mages attacked his master’s household, Clovicus and Acri were forced into hiding, barely escaping from the onslaught of dark mages. Acri was slowly healing from his injuries when he finally got his memories back.

Acri felt so betrayed and angry that despite his weak and feverish body, he gathered enough strength to stand up to the enchanter who lied to his face and deceived him for months.

“I trusted you!” Acri yelled, his voice shaking ever so slightly. Clovicus looked at him, remorse and worry written all over his face “I fell for all your lies and you basked in glory over fooling me!”

“It’s not what you think, Acri” Clovicus replied, his voice stern but gentle.

“Do you even think of me as your son?” Acri said, tears threatening to fall from his eyes “Or was that a lie, too!”

“Acri, I know you may not believe me now,” Clovicus said, his lips curled into a weak smile “But I do feel fondly for you! You’re like a son to me and that is the truth!”

“Stop lying!” Acri turned around and felt his magic conjure a sword through his fingertips. He stared at the old man as he held the sword against his throat. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find the courage to swing.

Just as the enchanter chose to save his life before, he chose to spare his life. In the blink of an eye, he turned on his heel and left the lord enchanter on his own. As he passed by the tall grove of trees, Acri looked back one last time before making a vow to never return.

It was only after he was thoroughly punished by his mother – her way of welcoming him back after being absent from a failed mission for months – and sent on night guard duty by Suzu that he finally noticed the bracelet that Clovicus has given him for his apprenticeship.

Why am I hurting when I’m the one who left? Acri thought to himself, his finger rolled one of the beads on the string. He could not find it upon himself to break it apart or throw it away, so he kept it hidden under his sleeves, away from the Chosen’s prying eyes.

Acri felt a warm hand touch his forehead. Despite the tremendous pain surging through his body, he felt comforted by the sensation. Every muscle in his body felt so weak and useless.

“Clovicus?” he murmured, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion when he tried to open his eyes.

When he managed to open his eyes, all he saw was the unfamiliar face of a woman. Her brightly colored eyes shone beautifully in contrast to the vibrant red cloak that shrouded her face.

“Get some rest!” his savior replied, her voice commanding but gentle.

Acri felt her expertly wrap a cloth around his arms; the faint scent of herbs coming from the bandages soothed him as he felt his entire body surrender to a deep sleep.

“Why are you helping them?” Acri asked as he shook his head. Angelique’s lips were pressed into a thin line and she looked down at her own feet “I know you finally got your memories back! So why won’t you come back to us?”

“You don’t understand, Acri!”

“Then help me to understand!” Acri exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair as he leaned his back on a tree “What difference does this make to you? In case you forgot, they lied to us, Angelique! They tricked the both of us! Even in our amnesiac state, these people still treated us badly! They held their prejudice and judgments against us!”

“At least I got to be treated like a human being! I may be an outcast, but I wasn’t treated like a weapon or a mere object!”

“I’m giving you one last chance to change your mind” Acri muttered, his garnet eyes fixed on the war enchantress.

“I’m sorry, Acri!” Angelique replied, raising her silver magic against him “But my answer is still no”

“Is there no way that I can convince you to go back to the Chosen with me?” Acri asked, slowly approaching Angelique as a sword materialized in his hands. The blade glinted brightly under the moonlight, alarming the war enchantress of the danger she is in. They stood in front of each other for a long time, their magic ready to attack against the other.

When no one dared to move, Acri averted his gaze from the war enchantress and stabbed the sword into the ground. Angelique’s eyes darted from the war mage to the weapon, her eyebrows rising in confusion.

“For the sake of our friendship, I will let you go just this once!” Acri said as he turned his back at her “But the next time we see each other again, I won’t be as merciful as I am today! I expect you to fight me with like you would with an enemy!”

Acri groaned as he tried sitting up, pain shot up from his back whenever he moved. His hands unknowingly reached for his torso, noticing that his wounds have been cleaned and stitched properly. His arms and shoulders are wrapped with bandages and his shirt was neatly folded on the side of the cot he was in.

“Where am I?” Acri murmured as his eyes darted around the room, unsure of where he is and what events transpired for him to end up there. When his feet touched the floor, an unfamiliar voice caught the war mage off his guard.

“What are you doing?”

Acri squinted when he turned to look at the speaker. The harsh rays of the sun haloed around the figure - making it difficult for him to see her face. Judging by the crimson color of her cloak, Acri guessed that she was the one who attended to his injuries.

“If you lose consciousness and fall to the ground one more time, I am not going to carry your raggedy body back to your cot!” she snapped at him as she walked into the room “I’ll have you know that you are not very easy to carry!” the young lady bluntly stated as she drew nearer, carrying a small tray with a chunk of bread and a hot bowl of soup.

When Acri sat back down, she gave him the tray of food and began inspecting his stitches and bandages.

It was only when she was standing in front of him that he noticed her small stature. At best, she could reach his chest on her tiptoes. Acri astutely decided to keep his mouth shut, biting back any comment about her height as he gnawed on the piece of bread.

But goodbyes are not forever…

Acri staggered with every step of the way, his body ached whenever he moved. His body has never felt so weary and his heart was heavy when he finally found himself standing near a familiar-looking grove of trees.

“Will he ever forgive me?” he muttered, running his fingers over his messy hair.

The last time he had been here, he was injured and being nursed back to health by his former master. Weeks after he returned to his mother’s arms, he could no longer deny the dark void growing in his heart – a chasm so deep that no amount of praise from his mother or his comrades could fill.

From the distance, he could see the faint glow of a lantern. The unmistakable copper-red hair made Acri’s heart thump wildly against his ribcage. Before he could stop himself, he broke into a sprint.

“Acri?” the middle-aged enchanter asked as he noticed the black blur headed in his direction. Instead of answering, Acri threw himself into Clovicus’ arms and quietly sobbed into his shoulders.

One way or another, the people we lost in the way return to us…

“Welcome back, Angelique!” Liliane warmly greeted Angelique as she entered the foyer “I’m so glad you returned to us!”

Acri fought back the urge to roll his eyes all the way to the back of his head, noting the difference between the way his mother welcomed Angelique and the way she welcomed him when he returned.

What is she doing here? I thought she didn’t want to side with the Chosen anymore Acri felt his frown deepening as he watched Angelique return his mother’s embrace If she chooses to leave the Continent, then I will still be forced to fight with her!

“Come, my dear! I got something to show you!” Liliane exclaimed as she placed her arm on Angelique’s shoulders.

Acri followed the two women towards a dark room; various displays of paintings are strewn across the floor. She gestured for Angelique to look behind the curtains, revealing Evariste behind the thick glass. He looked away from the scene, his eyes burning with hidden fury as he watched Liliane parade around the room.

When their eyes met, it took all of his willpower to remain impassive when he recognized the shrewd glint in Angelique’s eyes. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I hope you know what you’re doing. Acri managed to hide his chortle with a cough, shaking his head as his lips curled into a smirk.

“I can’t believe that sly fiend!” Acri mumbled to himself when he was out of earshot, his shoulders shaking as he suppressed his laughter. “She even had me fooled for a moment back there!”

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