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inthedayswhenlandswerefew · 3 years

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Eccentricity [Chapter 10: Stay, I Need To Be Myself]

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the fluffy times while they lasted. 😉

Series Summary: Joe Mazzello is a nice guy with a weird family. A VERY weird family. They have a secret, and you have a choice to make. Potentially a better love story than Twilight.

Chapter Title Is A Lyric From: “Where Were You When The Sky Opened Up” by The Dangerous Summer.

Chapter Warnings: Language, sexual references (not graphic), angstttttttttt.

Word Count: 6k.

Other Chapters (And All My Writing) Available: HERE

Taglist: @queen-turtle-boiii @bramblesforbreakfast @maggieroseevans @culturefiendtrashqueen @imnotvibingveryguccimrstark @escabell @im-an-adult-ish @queenlover05 @someforeigntragedy @imtheinvisiblequeen @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhyee @deacyblues @tensecondvacation @brianssixpence @some-major-ishues @haileymorelikestupid @youngpastafanmug @simonedk

Uninvited

“Hey, it’s our song!” Joe turned up the radio as he steered his Subaru down the Lees’ cobblestone driveway and into a parking spot facing the woods. We’d been back from Chicago for a full week now, and—with the notable exceptions of classes and the early morning hours when Joe soundlessly crept out of my bedroom window—were very rarely apart.

“And I would do anything for love

I’d run right into hell and back

I would do anything for love

I’d never lie to you and that's a fact.”

“Uh, this is not our song,” I objected, the soles of my shoes propped against the dashboard. “I was not consulted. A couple’s official song cannot be a unilateral decision.”

“But I'll never forget the way you feel right now

Oh no, no way

And I would do anything for love

Oh I would do anything for love

I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that

No, I won’t do that.”

“Oh okay, what are you, the relationship police? Alright, Chief Baby Swan, let’s hear your brilliant suggestion. Wait, let me guess. Something by The Killers. Vampire Weekend. My Bloody Valentine. Is there a band called Chipotle Veggie Bowl?”

“Never Gonna Give You Up?” I suggested.

He laughed, dragging me over the center console and into his lap. “Oh, you are the worst!”

I straddled him in the driver’s seat, cupped his face in my palms, giggled as I touched my lips to his, soft and cool and lithe and inviting. When I broke the kiss, Joe pulled me back in, knotting his fingers through my hair. The way my thighs fit perfectly around him; that sharp, instinctual, now so familiar ache of longing. “I want you,” I breathed.

He pretended to be scandalized. “Right now? At this exact moment? In my parents’ driveway?”

“Yeah,” I confessed.

He grinned, unbuckling his belt. “Okay.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. I’ve lost all sense of decency. I’m an animal. You’ve absolutely ruined me.” His hands travelled beneath my U Chicago sweatshirt and tore it over my head. Yes, he had converted me to Chicago apparel. It was very embarrassing. Let’s move on.

“I’m sorry,” I moaned softly. I lied. I wasn’t sorry at all.

“I think we might need to get our own place.”

“Why?”

“Because I love the way you ruin me. And I want you to do it...” He went on, kissing me after each word: “All. The. Fucking. Time.”

I yanked off his Cubs t-shirt in one vicious tug. “We’re okay out here?” I didn’t really care; I should have, I was aware of that. But I didn’t. The Lees, most likely, would not call my dad to report us for public indecency. I could imagine Scarlett’s voice in my head, warm with approval: Get it, girl.

“Totally. And we’re far enough away from the house, Rami shouldn’t be able to hear us.” Joe nipped lightly down the side of my neck: carefully, always so carefully.

“He’d only get your side of things anyway.”

“Well yeah, that’s what I’m worried about! Your thoughts wouldn’t be so intrusive. I don’t care if he knows I’m a fantastic lay.”

“Oh, are you?” I teased, grinding my hips against him. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Joe smiled as he unbuttoned my jeans, deliciously slowly. “Well let me...just...refresh your...memory...”

I kissed him, roughly and deeply, arching into him, biting his lower lip. Yes, yes, yes...

Joe pulled away, still smiling but blinking and dazed. “Wow, all the sudden I feel...like...really calm.”

“Thanks...?” A week of almost constant sex might do that to a person. Sure, maybe, what did I know? My lips found his again. My hand skated down his bare stomach and into the waistband of his boxers. Joe began to help me peel off my jeans; then he stopped.

“Wait wait wait, I know this feeling.” Joe lifted me off of him and pushed me back into the passenger’s seat, gently but stubbornly. I tried not to be offended.

“What—?”

“Shhh.” He grabbed the headrest of my seat and twisted around to peer out of the rear windshield. I followed his gaze. There was a new car in the driveway, parked up by the front porch: an anonymous black Honda Civic. The plate said California. It was probably a rental. “Oh fuck,” Joe whispered. His eyes were enormous, glassy, horrified.

“What is it?”

“Stay here.” He threw on his Cubs t-shirt, zipped his pants, fastened his belt. “Stay down, stay quiet. And no matter what happens do not get out of this car, do you understand me?”

“Joe, why—?”

“Do you understand me?” His voice was low but severe, so incredibly unlike him; his dark eyes were flinty. Just like that night with the apples in Mercy’s kitchen, that night when Ben almost...

“I understand,” I heard myself reply.

“Good.” Joe climbed out of the Subaru—smoothing his shirt and then his tousled hair—and rushed over to intercept the unsolicited guest. I peeked around my headrest to watch, my right palm braced against the center console, that feverish lust that had been rushing through my bloodstream gradually weakening, perishing, vanishing like seawater baked from the sand under a rising sun.

The stranger stepped out of the Honda Civic, and although I knew his face, it took me a moment to place him. It was like—I could only imagine, having never been myself—a child stumbling into their movie heroines and beloved stuffed animals come to life during their first trip to Disneyland, amazed and yet somehow gut-twistingly uneasy as they gawked up at that grotesquely inflated cartoon face, that mask of lipstick and rouge that didn’t quite match their recollections, that dreamlike mirage plucked from pages or screens and impelled into a physical form that suddenly swallowed up space and gravity and oxygen. I had seen this stranger before in the massive painting that adorned Gwilym Lee’s upstairs office.

Cato.

He was very tall and very beautiful, classically beautiful, Ben-level beautiful. Joe often jokingly referred to him as Idris Elba within the Lee household, and a mid-thirties version of Idris Elba was just about right. He wore an immaculately tailored grey suit and aviator sunglasses, which he removed to greet Joe, folding and then sliding them smoothly into the front pocket of his suit jacket. His face was solemn and observant; he had a closely-trimmed beard without a fleck of silver. He extended a hand, which Joe shook.

“Hey, Cato!” I heard Joe say, muffled through the walls of the Subaru. I couldn’t make out Cato’s replies; his voice sounded deep, rumbling, extremely level. “So nice of you to stop by! I didn’t know you were in town. Yeah, everyone’s doing great. Even Ben. Hahaha, yeah, you know how he is. You know exactly how he is. But it’s all good. Well look, I’m just gonna go run a friend home and then I’ll be back in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes and we can all chat. Okay? Awesome. Feel free to head inside, I’m sure Mercy would be thrilled to play hostess. There’s sweet tea in the fridge and a hummingbird cake on the counter and...oh, something else too...some weird type of cookies she baked this morning. Help yourself. I’ll be back before you can say ‘tyrannical vampire murder cult.’”

“Tyrannical vampire murder cult,” it looked like Cato replied without a hint of a smile. But he wasn’t paying attention to Joe anymore. His eyes had found the Subaru, and then me; he was staring with that intense, seeking bewilderment that reminded me of Rami and Lucy and Ben when I’d first met them, when they were still trying to puzzle out why my mind (and my mind alone) was a night-draped, silent ocean of the unknown.

He's trying to read me, I realized. He’s trying to read me and he can’t.

Joe was jogging back to the Subaru now. At last, Cato turned away from me and headed into the house. The carved pumpkins from Weber’s Farm still lined the front porch: Scarlett’s Thunderbird, Archer’s Vantage, Rami’s swooping bat, Lucy’s moon and stars, Joe’s moustached jack-o-lantern, my (but actually Gwil’s) snapshot under the sea, Ben’s miniature Lee residence complete with the winding cobblestone driveway. Joe swept into the driver’s seat, adjusted his rearview mirror, and spun out of the parking spot.

“Goddammit,” he hissed as we barreled down the driveway.

“Why is Cato here?”

“I have no idea.” Joe looked straight ahead as he drove, preoccupied, consumed with possibilities. His fingers drummed the steering wheel. “We have to pay dues to them, all the covens do. Gwil cuts a check. But that’s not until around the New Year. That’s almost always when Cato stops by. Collects the payment, interrogates us in a way that masquerades as conversation, hangs around town for a few days, reports back whatever we’re up to...which usually isn’t much. Holidays with the extended family, gotta love it. I don’t know why he would be here now.” Joe shook his head. “Maybe something to do with Ben. It would have to be Ben. There’s no other reason.”

“And you don’t want him to know about me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“But...Cato isn’t all that dangerous,” I said, not understanding. “Is he?”

“Not alone, no. But the people he works for are.” Joe sighed, glancing over at me as he drove, serious and sorry and sad. “There’s a lot of violence in my world. A lot of darkness. I’ve tried to protect you from that as much as possible. And maybe I’ve done too good a job, maybe it’s too easy for you to forget what we really are. Most vampires aren’t like Gwil’s coven. They’re not like me. They kill easily and unrepentantly. And I don’t want any of them knowing that you exist, that you’re a weakness of ours. I want them to know as little about you as physically possible.”

“A weakness,” I repeated. I didn’t like that.

He smiled faintly. “It’s a compliment to be somebody’s weakness, Baby Swan.”

“I guess so.” The towering pine trees whipped by in a verdant blur. The sky above was thick and grey and churning. “You’ll be okay, right? Ben will be okay?”

Joe seemed to find that amusing, ridiculous even. “You don’t need to worry about us.”

“But I still do.”

“We’ll work it out, whatever it is. Cato is a reasonable guy. And Ben is definitely capable of...well. Advocating for himself.”

Capable of unparalleled carnage, he means. The memory of the first day I’d met Ben hit me like a hurled stone, illuminated my mind like a pulsing neon sign: the coiled tension in his muscles, that mindless, animalistic hatred in his eyes. Yes, he must be quite the monster when he wants to be. But he didn’t want to be anymore. I knew that completely, unquestioningly.

Joe pulled into Charlie’s driveway. The police car was gone; my 1999 Honda Accord and Charlie’s Toyota Corolla rested idly side by side. My dad would be working late tonight, until eight or nine at least. A pang of loneliness struck in my gut, just beneath the ribs; I had grown so accustomed to the absence of solitude, of quiet. The silence suddenly felt so loud.

“Don’t let it ruin your night,” Joe said as I got out of the Subaru. His words were affectionate; but his voice was still distracted, distant. “Don’t let it bother you. Everything will be fine, I promise. And as soon as Cato’s gone, everything will go back to the way it should be.”

“Okay,” I replied, not feeling very comforted at all. I don’t like the way he pushed me off him when he saw the car. The way he’s barely looked at me since. The way he called me a weakness.

Joe was already checking his mirrors, preparing to leave.

“Hey. Mob guy.” I leaned into the rolled-down window. “I love you.”

And the grin lit up Joe’s face like the sun. He crawled across the passenger’s seat, drew me into him by the collar of my brand new U Chicago hoodie, kissed me until that wild, interrupted desire was flaring up again in my arteries and nerve endings and everywhere else. The thunderous clouds in my skull split open. Everything’s still okay. It really is. “I love you to death. And then back again.” He retreated and shifted the Subaru into reverse. “I’ll see you soon. But maybe not too soon, I might be tied up with this family thing for a while. Don’t wait up tonight.”

“No problem. I’ll just call one of my other monster boyfriends to keep me company. The werewolf should be free. It’s not a full moon, is it?”

“No bestiality,” Joe retorted sternly. “That’s illegal, ma’am.”

I smiled and waved as the Subaru swerved out of the driveway and disappeared. Everything’s okay, I told myself, standing in the front yard under darkening skies. Everything will be okay.

And I kept telling myself that, again and again like Hail Marys, until I was dozing off in my bed alone six hours later.

Hit It And Quit It

I dreamed of the beach at La Push—my toes wriggling beneath the cold sand, the ricocheting cries of seagulls, the primordial growl of the frothing waves—and woke up with the ghost of saltwater in my sinuses. I grabbed my iPhone off the nightstand. Two new texts: one from Archer—Hey would it be distasteful or hilarious to dress up as Dracula for the Lee Halloween party? Asking for a friend.—and one from Jessica asking if she could copy my Marine Botany homework. Absolutely nothing from Joe.

When was the last time I didn’t have a text from Joe waiting for me in the morning? I struggled to remember, my mind still foggy with snippets of dreams. A week? Two weeks? A month? It felt like forever.

I tapped out a text to Joe with my clumsy, just-waking-up thumbs: I am resolved. No more nights with my werewolf boyfriend. Dude scratched the hell out of me and then barked at the mailman. Had to drop him off at the SPCA for neutering. See you soon! xxxx

I tried not to obsessively check my phone as I showered, got dressed, gathered my textbooks and notepads and pens. And yet still, I noticed: Joe didn’t text me back.

The rain poured from a grey sky all through my drive to Calawah University, Marine Botany class with Jessica, our frantic dash across campus beneath her hot pink umbrella to Forks And Spoons. My human friends had custody of me during lunchtime today. Angela was studying for a Computer Science quiz, Eric working on an article for the Calawah Chatterbox, Mike histrionically lamenting a sprained ankle coming just on the cusp of basketball season. Jessica bought me a chocolate chip muffin as thanks for texting her a picture of our Marine Botany homework this morning. Ah, the sweet taste of academic dishonesty.

I was relieved—more than I would have liked to admit—that all five Lees were at their usual lunch table, looking worn and tired but normal enough. Ben was hiding behind a pair of sunglasses and his black U Chicago hoodie that Joe and I had bought for him last weekend, sipping steaming tea out of a mug that he gripped with both hands. Scarlett flipped moodily through an astrophysics textbook. Rami repeatedly tapped the tabletop with a pen while Lucy knitted a lavender sweater, never raising her eyes from the jumble of yarn in her lap. They all murmured to each other in low, furtive voices, their mouths barely moving. Joe gave me a wave and a drawn smile; but only after I waved first.

Angela was now scolding Jessica for her lack of moral integrity.

Jess rolled her eyes, gnawing on a chicken finger that was burned black around the edges. “I’m here ostensibly to become an anthropologist and in actuality to find a hot rich husband, not to learn how to identify like sixty different types of algae.”

“Then why even take Marine Botany?” Angela asked, confounded.

“Calawah University forces every student to take at least two science classes, even if you’re a humanities major. Because they’re fucking fascists.”

“Oh, fascists, a big word for you!” I congratulated Jessica, patting her shoulder before returning my attention to my homemade veggie quesadilla and leftover slice of Mercy’s hummingbird cake. I was getting so good at this eating respectable meals thing. Joe would be proud.

Angela chuckled. “How’s that finding a husband thing going, by the way?”

“Awfully,” Jessica sighed. “I had this really promising flirtationship going with a frat boy in my Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic class. Ellsworth Jonathan Griffin, gorgeous blue eyes, blond man bun, his dad is a partner at a corporate law firm in Los Angeles. That’s the stuff dreams are made of. But I’m pretty sure he dropped out because I haven’t seen him in a few days. Also he would bring Absolut vodka to class in an Aquafina bottle.”

“You can probably do better,” I said.

“Well we can’t all end up with Lee boys, now can we?” Jess snapped irritably.

When it was time to depart for our afternoon classes, I met Joe in the doorway of Forks And Spoons, linked my fingers around the back of his neck, tugged at his dark, auburn-tinted hair.

“You okay, mob guy? You seem a little...” Exhausted? Edgy? Sad? “...Distracted.”

“I’m good. I’m great.” He kissed me briefly, fleetingly. No big deal; after all, we were in public. Right? “Are you cool to hang out later?”

“Absolutely. Can we go to La Push if it stops raining? I know it’ll be cold, but I woke up with the beach on my mind and haven’t been able get it out all day.”

“You got it. Can I meet you there? I have to take care of a few things first. Have to, uh, hunt.”

I stared up at him, feeling my stomach drop, feeling rapidly and jarringly off-kilter. Joe rarely mentioned hunting around me...not in a serious way, at least. It was one of those things that knocked me out of the fantasy of how compatible we were, how possible. It was a reminder of all those interminable differences that lived in the hushed space between us. “Okay.”

“I’ll...I’ll explain everything then. At La Push.”

“Okay,” I said again, very uncleverly. What’s going on here? What exactly did Cato say?

Joe smirked; finally a flash of playfulness, that contagious light he was built of. He smoothed my hair with one feather-light stroke of his hand, touched his lips to my forehead. “Don’t be late to Chemistry. I can’t have you failing out.”

“Of course not. How would I be able to get my Marine Biology PhD from U Chicago?”

But Joe didn’t laugh, didn’t even smile; he just left.

Ben was hunched over our table in Professor Belvin’s classroom, his arms encircling his notebook, the pen in his hand scribbling frenziedly. The window was wide open; the rain outside had weakened to a docile drizzle. He was still wearing his sunglasses. He didn’t acknowledge me at all.

“Rough night?” I asked, sliding into the seat beside him.

“Yeah.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“I definitely do not.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him. Ben glanced up, his thick eyebrows raised; they peaked just above the rims of his opaque sunglasses. “Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”

For a long time, Ben just looked at me; maybe wanting to say something, maybe just feeling that decorum necessitated it. “You shouldn’t be,” he replied at last. And he spent the rest of class paying no attention whatsoever to Professor Belvin’s lecture on the Pauli exclusion principle and instead scrawling untidy Welsh phrases into the formerly pristine pages of his notebook.

It was just after 5 p.m. when I arrived at La Push, the tires of my 1999 Honda Accord crunching over the gravel of the small parking area, the wind whipping ferociously. Joe had gotten there first; he was sitting on a rock down by the water with his back to me, peering out over the Pacific Ocean, tossing pebbles and shells into the waves. We had an hour of daylight left. The sky was obscure, grey, dim. Fine droplets of rain like mist sailed through the biting autumn air and clung to my skin.

When Joe spotted me, he leapt off the rock and watched me approach with his hands in the pockets of his North Face jacket. He wasn’t wearing anything Chicago-related today, which was highly unusual. I waited for him to touch me, to hold me, to tell me that everything was okay and always would be...at least for the next ten to fifteen years. He didn’t. “Hey,” he said instead.

“Hi.”

Joe nodded down the beach. “Let’s walk.”

I have never been especially good at mundane, monotonous rambling. That’s a Scorpio thing. And yet monotonous rambling is exactly what I did: I prattled on about my classes, Charlie’s bowling league, Renee’s new life in Florida with Paul, the ocean, the weather, anything to fill that space between us that all at once felt so enormously significant. I was vaguely aware that I was afraid to stop talking; I didn’t want Joe to have the chance to say whatever was on his mind.

Finally, Joe stopped walking. He took my hand, ran his thumb over the faint scar from when I accidentally cut myself in Mercy’s kitchen. His shoes sank into the wet sand, left imprints there like fingerprints. He turned to face me, pained, grave, and oh god, far worse: guilty.

“What?” I asked, terror swelling in my lungs, my bones, some inborn warning of impending ruin.

Joe gazed out over the crashing sea, then came back to me, like a dislocated joint popping back into place. “I am so sorry.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I...” He spoke slowly, haltingly. “I thought that this was something that was doable. But I was wrong.”

“What...?” And then a possibility occurred to me, a glorious possibility. Of course. A grin erupted across my face. “This is a joke, right? You’re joking, you’re always joking, this is just—”

He shook his head. He wasn’t joking. I wrenched my hand out of his and stared up at him in furious disbelief.

“It’s not fair to you,” Joe said. “This thing, being with someone like me. I can’t give you a future. I can’t give you an uncomplicated existence. I mean, come on, you have to worry about getting murdered around my own family—”

“Do you have fucking amnesia?” I demanded, incredulous. “Joe, we just talked about this. We just made plans to move to Chicago after graduation, we agreed that it was what we both wanted. I don’t want a normal human boyfriend. I don’t want normal human in-laws. I want you, Joe, and Ben, and Mercy and Gwil, and Rami and Lucy and Scarlett, I want the whole ridiculous Lee family package and there’s nothing you could say to make me decide that this isn’t worth it.”

“Look—”

“No, something happened, right? Something happened with Cato, or Ben, or someone, something happened and now you think that you have to do this but I’m telling you that whatever it is we can figure it out, we can figure it out together, isn’t that what you promised me?” He said he wouldn’t leave. He promised me he wouldn’t leave. All those things...all those things he said...

“Listen.” And now his eyes were stony. He didn’t call me Baby Swan. Oh, this is bad. This is so bad. “It’s not fair to me either.”

“And that’s what this is really about,” I realized. My voice was abruptly fierce, caustic. All those other women; those beautiful, graceful, immortal women. How did I ever think I could compare?

“It’s not personal.”

“It’s the most personal thing there is, Joe, it’s pasts and futures and love—”

“It’s not though.” He smiled, just barely. “Maybe we thought it was, but it’s not.”

It hit me like a brick, like a bullet; I couldn’t catch my breath. I was drowning in thin air, like a sawfish, like a shark. “Well I’m glad you figured that out on your own fucking schedule.”

“This was my fault,” he said. “All of it. And I am so profoundly sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, and I take full responsibility for it. I hope you’re able to move on knowing that there’s nothing you could have done differently. These are just the realities of my world. You’re better off in your own. And you’re going to make someone very happy someday.”

It's all so empty, so excruciatingly generic. “You’re a monster,” I seethed at him, tears stinging in my eyes.

“Yes,” Joe agreed softly.

“I hate you.” I wasn’t sure if I meant that, but I still said it. Maybe I could will it into being true, like how people find God after a particularly grim diagnosis; there’s no harm in trying to make it real. There’s nothing left to lose.

“That would be more than fair, given the circumstances,” he said. “I won’t bother you again. I’ll ask you to do the same for me.”

“Sure.” Tears were streaming down my cheeks now; my breaths were ragged, hitching. I need to get out of here. I need to get away from him.

A shadow of concern crossed his face, the first one I had noticed since yesterday afternoon. “If you need someone to drive you home, I’d be happy to—”

“I’d literally rather die.” And I left Joseph Francis Mazzello standing on the beach with the twilight wind in his hair and the sun setting behind him like time slipping through an hourglass.

I fled to my Honda, turned the keys in the ignition, covered my face with my hands and wept in raw, heaving shudders as Hungry Like The Wolf played from the mixtape that Joe had left in my cassette player. I ejected the mixtape, rolled down my window, tossed it out onto the rain-slick gravel. I couldn’t stand the thought of going home. Charlie would be at work until late tonight; Joe would never set foot in the house again.

I have to go somewhere. I can’t just sit in that goddamn bedroom. I can’t be alone.

I wheeled my car onto the main road and drove until I came to an unceremonious mechanic’s garage with a fractured concrete floor and cracks like spider legs across the windows. When I stepped out of my Honda, Archer raced over to meet me, beaming and wiping his hands clean with an oil rag.

“Hey, you know you’re not allowed to come here unless you bring Taco Bell with you...” Then he saw me, he really saw me. “Whoa, what—?”

And Archer caught me as I collapsed into his arms, sobs ripping through my throat like fangs.

Benjamin, 24 Hours Earlier

It was bad. Whatever this was, it was bad.

I knew because Rami could read Cato, and I could read Rami; the hazy wisps of color that unfurled from him were a hectic, wrestling electric blue: distress, grief, anxiety, denial. Cato’s own aura had always been rather unforthcoming—he tended towards deep, mellow greens and purples of congruence and contemplation—and forever tinted with an opalescent quality that spread like wildfire to the people around him, the people who were under his influence, that intangible calming and harmonizing effect, that irrational sense of wellbeing. Everyone in the room had that faint opalescence shimmering around them now, even Rami, whose unspoken turmoil remained a roiling rather than a storm. And I thought—not for the first time—that if Larkin was a spade that hollowed you out, scraped along the jagged snags of your split bones to empty you of any ambitions and loyalties that had come before, then Cato was the anesthetic that made the mangling go down smoother, the promise that you would someday still catch glimpses of innocence. Larkin was a purger, a purifier; Cato made you believe again.

There were pitchers of sweet tea and a heaping tray of butter pecan cookies on the living room coffee table. Cato sat on the neat white sofa, one leg crossed over the other, stoic, waiting. Rami stared vacantly from the loveseat; Lucy was beside him, her delicate bare feet tucked beneath her and her fingers laced through Rami’s, her brow knit into grooves of worry. Scarlett was next to me on the largest couch, her boots propped up on the edge of the coffee table, her hair in a long French braid, periodically cracking her knuckles. It was nearly the only sound. Mercy bustled around the room gifting everyone tall chilled glasses of sweet tea; Gwil stood by the virtual fireplace on the big-screen tv, his hands in his pockets, his lips pressed into a rigid line.

The front door opened, and Joe stepped inside, his car keys rattling in his fist. For as long as I’d known him, his color had so often been a bright and buttery yellow, his aura more visible and constant than anyone else’s. Lately, he was increasingly cloaked in the rosy pinks of love or the vivid, shifting, crimson reds of lust; and Rami and I bonded over our shared efforts to politely ignore that particular variety of thoughts.

Joe pointed to Cato. “What’s going on?”

“How long?” Cato asked him.

Joe feigned cluelessness. “Huh? What do you mean? Oh, car chick?! That’s nothing. She��s just a friend.”

Cato blinked. “Do you really think I just arrived in Forks today?”

It rolled through Joe like a wave: surrender, apprehension, dread. The realization that Cato had been watching us for days, weeks even, meticulously keeping just enough distance to stay out of Rami’s range of hearing. Joe’s now-opalescent aura dipped from cerise to an agitated mahogany. “Two months.”

“And she’s talented.” Cato’s voice was impatient, incredulous; How could you be this stupid? that voice said.

“No,” Joe flared, like shards of wood cracking in a fire. “No, she’s got nothing to do with you, with us. With our world. She’s got nothing to do with it.”

Cato circled the fingerprint of his index finger around the rim of his misted glass of sweet tea, meditative. “In one hundred and seventy years, I have never met someone who I couldn’t find if I wanted to. And yet the second I turned my back on that girl, she was gone. Vanished. The world was a blank map. How is that possible?”

No one said anything. Finally, Cato looked to Rami.

“You can’t hear her thoughts, can you?”

“No,” Rami admitted.

“And how many times has that happened in...how old are you now, the same as Ben? How many times in the past century have you met someone who made you feel normal, weak even? Who made you feel human again?”

“Never,” Rami conceded.

“You too, right?” Cato asked me. “You can’t see what she’s feeling. She’s nothing but white noise.”

I nodded reluctantly.

“She’s talented,” Cato said again, decisive.

“Oh god,” I choked out, burying my face in my hands. Now I knew what Rami had heard. I knew everything.

Joe shook his head almost violently. “No, that’s not fair. There’s no way of knowing if that would translate to life as a vampire or how it would manifest. There’s no way of knowing if she would survive the transition at all. And none of us are ever going to find out because she has nothing to do with our world.”

“She does,” Cato insisted. “Because you brought her into it.”

Scarlett shivered beside me, crossed her arms over her chest, clutched her leather jacket tighter. “You can’t be serious, Cato. You’re not a monster, you know she might not survive—”

“And that would stop Gwil. It would stop me, sure. When has it ever stopped Larkin?” Cato gestured to me. “With him? With me? With Akari or Araminta or Liesl or Rigel or all the ones who didn’t make it, who died screaming as they scorched from the inside out? It has never stopped him because he doesn’t care. He finds talented people. He covets them, covets them jealously, like jewels or money or lovers. And they either become one of his possessions or they become nothing at all.”

“No,” Joe whispered. “No, no, no...”

Rami was shrinking into the loveseat, overwhelmed by the emotions in the room that were dragging his aura into whirling greys, those desperate and dark thoughts; not even Cato could mute them entirely. Lucy tried to soothe him, laid the back of her fine-boned hand against his cheek. Mercy covered her gaping mouth. Gwil studied the floor, thunderstruck, absorbing it all.

“This is a courtesy that I’m doing you right now,” Cato told Joe, his large palms clasped together, his voice sorrowful and yet unyielding, almost pleading. “This is a warning. If he finds out about her, about what she can do...he’s going to want her. And he gets everything he wants.”

“He can’t find out,” Gwil said hoarsely.

“No,” I agreed. Death or a hundred-year sentence. Either way, a part of you dies. Either way, a part of you ends up in a box six feet underground and clawing for the sun.

“What can we do?” Scarlett asked Cato. “I mean...is there anything we can do?”

“You have to get rid of her. That’s her only chance. Get her out of your orbit, away from our world, away from where Larkin or anyone who serves him would ever cross her path. I won’t tell him about the girl. I’ll try to deflect his attention. If she’s already been spotted, I’ll tell him that she’s useless, just another one of Joe’s litany of casual liaisons. And that’s a risk I’ll take, I’ll do it out of respect for your coven, Dr. Lee, and for Ben. But there is absolutely nothing I can do for you if Larkin finds out for himself. I don’t think I’m the only one he has watching you.”

“Of course not,” I said bitterly. “I’m sure he has all sorts of eyes on me. The white whale. The one that got away.” This is my fault. It’s all my fucking fault.

“It’s not,” Rami murmured; and nobody else heard my side of it, but I think they understood.

Joe’s aura was now murky, sunless, almost black. It was a color I hadn’t thought he was capable of. His eyes were slick and bleary.

“Son?” Gwil prompted. Mercy was sobbing into a handkerchief patterned with roses. Mom, I ached instinctively, before pushing the thought away.

“I won’t do it,” Joe said. “You’re asking me to break her heart and I won’t do it.”

I begged: “Joe, you don’t understand—”

“No, you don’t understand! You don’t understand what this will do to her, what it’s going to do to her for the weeks and months and years that come after, she might never forget—”

“Do you want her to end up dead or in a hundred-year contract?” Cato shot back. “Do you want to see how much of that girl you care about so much is left after a century with Larkin?”

Everyone’s eyes fell on me. I could feel them, full of pity and horror. I’m what’s left. Someone gutted of everything but rage and bloodlust.

“No, of course not,” Joe said. Thanks a lot, brother.

Cato smirked without any humor at all. He had known. “Then the choice is easy.”

“Son,” Gwil said again.

Joe gazed back at him with huge, agonized eyes. His words were brittle, raspy, hollow. “Dad, I love her.”

“I know,” Gwil replied. His aura was a blue like cobalt: profound sympathy, compassion, mourning. “And that’s why you’ll do the right thing.”

Twenty minutes later, I was puffing on my vape pen as I paced back and forth across the wrap-around porch like a caged bear, watching the sun disappear behind the western hemlock trees that raked the clouds. Gwil, Rami, Lucy, and Scarlett were with Joe; Mercy was trying to convince Cato to stay the night in one of the guest bedrooms. I could hear her ludicrously gracious protestations through the walls. “We know it’s not your fault, dear, this...this...situation. We know you’re just the messenger. And you’ve been so important to Ben all these years, so kind. It’s really no trouble at all...here, let me at least wrap up some cake for you to take...”

The front door opened and closed. Scarlett appeared beside me, resting her forearms on the porch railing. She sighed, closed her eyes, said nothing.

“This is going to destroy him,” I told her.

Scarlett nodded, her face bathed in silvery moonlight, marvelous and yet forlorn. The aura that surrounded her was a deep, despondent indigo. It matched the sky. “Yeah.”

“And to think...” I exhaled heavily, nicotine-tinged vapor vanishing into the damp night air. Rain was coming; I could feel it in my bones. “I was just beginning to like it here.”

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linerwriter · 4 years

Text

Proliferation

Part 1 and Part 2

The (hopefully) thrilling conclusion to the idea that took almost a year to finish! If this was on AO3 and I could see a date to when it was last edited, I would be ashamed.

An edited version will also be going up on AO3, if you are interested in seeing that. I do not know when it will be coming out, but hopefully before next year. I will be posting a link when it is up if anyone is interested.

TW: suicidal thoughts and trauma are expressed. If you wish to skip, it is from “Because I’m tired, Twilight” to “So how can I help you believe it?”

A week had passed since Wild’s attack, a week of tense silence and many excuses. Wild had woken up the house a few more times since then, but had still refused to elaborate on the reasons why. The only person he accepted to know was Zelda, and she was even tougher to crack.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Time, but if you want to know, you need to ask Link yourself. It’s not my place to share someone else’s trauma.” Zelda said after Time tried to grill her for information. She slumped down, “I’ve tried my best to get him to open up, but he’s adamant on not doing that.”

Time sighed, “I understand, Princess. Just try your best to help him, okay?” She nodded and proceeded to leave the room, stopping at the entryway to look back at him.

“If you can find any way to help him, please do. And please, call me Zelda.”

Time smiled, “Of course, Zelda.” She smiled back and finally left the room, her short golden hair bouncing with her. He turned toward the other person in the room, the furry gray pelt seeming somehow deflated. Time could see the way Twilight’s eyes took on a more defeated tone than before they spoke to Zelda.

“Why?” Twilight whispered, “Why does he not want us to help him?”

Time closed his eye with a sigh, “I don’t know, cub. Perhaps he’s spoken to Malon about it?”

“But she would’ve told us by now if he did,” Twilight guessed. Time nodded silently, sitting down heavily in a chair. The two mingled in silence, an oppressive feeling in the air. It was broken when Twilight asked,

“How much longer until he breaks, Time?”

Time stared out the window, a helpless feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time creeping into his heart. “I don’t know.”

Their answer came later that night. It was decided that they were going to leave the next morning to meet with Time’s Zelda, and possibly leave Wild’s Zelda there to learn about the history of Hyrule that had been lost to the ages.

The group had decided to head outside after dinner to enjoy the stars. They had set up a campfire and had taken turns sharing stories, regaling the others with quests of honor and mistakes. After Wind had shared about the first time he climbed out of a boat after sailing for a long time, which had led to many laughs, everyone turned to the duo glued together.

“You’ve must have done something dumb at one point, Wild.” Legend goaded the scarred hero, “Come on, tell us!”

Zelda giggled quietly, “I remember at one point, he tried to fly across Hyrule with some minecarts. He got to the Thundra Plateau and was zapped out of the sky!”

Wild smiled faintly, “And I seem to remember the time you thought you picked up a sword and it was really the bones of a dead bokoblin. You screamed so loud you woke up half of the forest.”

“Ugh.” Four wrinkled his nose, “I’m with you there, Princess.”

Zelda shuddered, “Never again. And like I’ve said, please, call me Zelda.”

“It’s kind of confusing to call you that, though, isn’t it? We all have our own Zeldas, so how do we know which one we’re talking about?”

Zelda hummed, “I see your point. A nickname, perhaps? You can give one to every Zelda you end up meeting.”

“That sounds like a good plan. What would you like to be called, Zelda?” Malon said warmly from beside Time.

Zelda thought for a moment, “Scientist, perhaps?”

Warriors shook his head, “Too stiff.”

“How about Bones? From how much you screamed at some?” Legend snickered.

Twilight saw the subtle flinch Wild made at the suggestion. He exchanged a look with Time, the other looking resigned. Zelda took his hand and said softly, “Maybe not that one.”

The naming went on for a few more minutes, the nicknames getting closer and closer but still not perfect. Zelda was clutching Wild’s hand tightly, looking at his blank expression every so often. Finally, they got to the point where everyone was quiet, listening to the crackle of the fire and thinking. It ended when a voice spoke up.

“Flora,” Wild said shortly, “Her name is Flora.” Then he left the group.

Twilight followed.

“Wild.”

“I’m fine, Twilight.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Wild’s back, “You don’t seem fine to me.”

“I’m fine, Twilight, now will you please leave me alone?”

“No, cub, because you’re very obviously not ‘fine’.”

Wild finally stopped walking to throw his hands up into the air, “Goddesses, Twilight, I’m fine! I just wanted to leave!”

“Yes, you’re fine and you didn’t just leave the group for no reason.” Twilight sighed, “Wild, I know. Whenever you say you’re fine, you’re never fine.”

“Oh? And how are you so sure?”

“Would you like a list?”

Wild breathed in slowly in annoyance. His voice was measured and clipped as he said, “I am okay, Twilight. You can go back to the group now.”

“Uh, no, I’m not.” Twilight crossed his arms as his voice became more serious, “Cub, I’ve seen you this entire week. You’re tense, constantly searching the surroundings for an exit. You’ve had nightmares multiple times this week, and yet, the only person allowed to help you is Flora.” With each word, Twilight saw Wild’s shoulders lower further and further, until he looked like a hedgehog. He continued lowly, “You don’t laugh anymore. You don’t smile. You react to a joke, sure, but it’s never genuine. Once the attention is off of you, you shut down.”

“Th-that’s…”

“I’m not the only one that’s noticed, Wild. Everyone has.” Wild whipped his head up in surprise, “They just know there’s no point in trying.”

Silence. Wild’s hands started to wring together, his head lowered to the ground. Twilight looked at him, his eyes boring into the smaller man’s head.

“When will you tell me what happened, Wild?”

“I can’t,” came a wretched whisper.

“Why?” Twilight’s question was calm.

“Because it’s easier for me to keep my head down and ignore it.”

“Bullshit!” Twilight’s anger was starting to manifest outside of his mind. “You ignore it because it’s easier? When have we ever done that?!”

“Because I’m tired, Twilight!” Wild finally swung his eyes toward Twilight’s, who could see the pain and misery etched into them. “I’m sick and tired of being those deities plaything! For over a hundred years, I have been forced to do what they told me to, and at this point, I don’t care anymore. If this kills me, then so be it. I welcome it, even!”

“Don’t you dare say that!”

“And why can’t I? Because you care about me?” Wild’s voice started to steadily rise. “Do you know what it feels like to have your entire beliefs questioned? To know that because you just weren’t good enough, everything fell apart? I had to retrain myself to be worthy of the Master Sword, Twi, you know this! I was the one responsible for what happened when the Calamity came. I was the reason why it turned out the way it did. I WAS THE REASON WHY THEY’RE DEAD!”

So, Twilight thought, that’s what this is about. He watched numbly as Wild fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. With a faint sigh, he stood and crouched down next to his friend, rubbing his back gently.

“...Do you wanna know why me and Zelda are always so close together?” Wild’s question came out quiet and defeated.

Twilight’s response was just as quiet. “Sure.”

The smaller man took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “D-down there, there were some monsters that liked to play with our minds. They could manipulate the way we perceived the world, make us see things that weren’t real.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “At one point, I thought Zelda had been killed.”

“And since they can’t replicate the Goddess’s light, you took to being close to one another to make sure it was real,” Twilight guessed with a sinking heart.

Wild nodded his head dumbly, staring at the fire. Twilight sighed again, “It’s okay to ask for help, you know. I’m always here, so is Time. You don’t have to keep it bottled up inside.”

“I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re not a burden.”

“There’s a difference between knowing and believing, Twilight!” Wild snapped.

“So how can I help you believe it?” Twilight asked gently, “‘Cause you aren’t, Wild, and you never were. I guarantee you, if I go around to everyone in this group and ask if you are a burden, they would say no. You cook for us, you hunt for us, you make everyone worry whenever you do some death-defying stunt and come out alive at the end!” He shook his head, “Asking for help doesn’t make you a burden, Wild. It means you’re willing to start respecting yourself and allowing yourself to heal.”

Wild sniffed, “You really think so?”

“I know so.” Twilight took a moment to compose himself, “You know my journey. You know what happened during it. You know the trauma and fear it gave me; for years, I carried that around with me, unwilling to bare myself to the world and accept the love and kindness the people around me were desperately trying to give. It took Zelda finally knocking some sense into me to realize that keeping it to myself wasn’t good, it was harmful.”

“Did she really?” Wild turned his big blue eyes toward Twilight for a moment, a sparkle so curious it reminded Twilight of Colin.

He smiled ruefully, “Took a good smack at me.” He wagged a finger at Wild, causing the younger man to giggle, “Never offend a Zelda, they have a mean right hook. You should know that better than anyone.”

Wild nodded, the last of his tears drying up, “I wouldn’t dare.”

“Good, you’re smarter than me. Anyway,” Twilight became serious again, “you can’t keep bottling yourself up, pup. Do you have to share everything that happened right away? No, that would be cruel. But if something is wrong, like what happened last week, then you gotta say something. Even if it’s as simple as ‘I’m feeling sad today, can I have a hug?’ No one will blame you. Got it?”

Wild nodded again, “Got it. Can I have a hug right now?”

Twilight’s face softened, “Of course you can, pup. Come on, bring it in.” He opened his arms wide, giving the younger man a big bear (wolf) hug. Wild relaxed into the hold, breathing in the comforting scent of his pseudo-older brother.

The two broke apart a few moments later, after Wild finally felt better for the first time in months. He took a deep breath, “Can I tell you a bit about what happened down there?”

Twilight very carefully didn’t react, “Whatever you want, Wild. And while we’re on that, mind telling me about the arm?” He gestured towards Wild’s limb, “It’s a bit more… glowy than before.”

Wild laughed lightly, “Sure. It all started when…”

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #wild angst #hero of the wild #hero of twilight #hero of time #and everyone else of course #botw flora #tw for suicidal thoughts and trauma #it's done!#can you believe i wrote some of this last august #cause i can't #edit: i forgOT TO ADD A FRICKIN TITLE-#hurt and comfort

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perseusjackson-jasongrace · 4 years

Text

I Am Lost

Masterlist

do i still taste like war?

can you still feel the battles on my skin

stitched across my back

am i still rebuilding

bone by fragile bone?

-what does forgiveness taste like? (r.n.)

It has been three weeks since the end of the Giant war. Three weeks of trying to build some semblance of normal. Of burning flags and wiping tears. Of visiting the medical rooms and silently cursing the gods for their arrogance. Campers wandered around, lost dulled looks in their once bright eyes. The little ones, sheltered by wood nymphs and aging satyrs in that violent week, ran around tugging at each other, and causing small forms of chaos. It was a grace that they had been spared the horrors of war.

Percy Jackson was swinging from the hammock in his cabin, staring at the rolling waves that crashed to the beat of his heart. His mind was faraway, wandering through the clouds, looking for meaning amongst fallen leaves, trying to breathe life into fallen embers.

He thought about seeking out his girlfriend, but a knot formed tight and heavy in his chest. It was a new, unwelcome feeling. The first time he thought it was nerves— not surprising when it came to her. She had always made him a little gooey on the inside, like the thrill of a plunging drop, like something exciting, and unfamiliar. But then he had met her in front of the great hall and those nerves had grown into this unbearable weight, pressing down on his lungs.

She had looked at him and some fleeting shadow brushed past her eyes. It was less than a second, but he had caught it, felt it like ice in his veins. Fear.

He shrugged it off that first time but their interactions since had become choppy, robotic.

He spent more time between his cabin and the training room. Hours upon hours, twirling and stabbing Riptide into dummies. He had only been interrupted twice. Once when a gaggle of children came in to stare. He only noticed because they clapped after he sent a dummy flying across the room.

He had laughed at them and brought them closer so they could learn. Camp activities were not yet restored to the scheduled times so some of the children hadn't any training with the weapons. They gasped and giggled as he helped a little boy shoot a pretend arrow. As he helped little Alec with their wooden dagger.

The second time when a friend had leaned against the doorway, a corded arm held above their face to block the sun streaming in.

"Percy," The voice was low, raspy in it's softness.

He let it wash over him but didn't acknowledge it, instead rolling his shoulders and pounding at the punching bag once more. Sweat dripped down his forehead, catching on his cheekbones.

"Percy!"

He dropped his head back, letting the timbered roof see his smile.

"Need something Grace?"

"You need to take a break."

"I'm not tired. But thank you for the concern."

"Bullshit, you've been at it for two hours."

That startled him, eyes squinting as he checked the clock on the far side of the room. His gaze travelled across the beams and landed on concerned blue eyes.

"I didn't realize it had been that long."

The blonde moved into the room, "You are killing yourself."

He shrugged, pulling off the tape around his hands, "So what?"

Jason's eyes whipped to his, something like devastation on his princely face, "What do you mean?"

His smile was cruel, "Did you come here for any particular reason?"

The blonde made to step forward, but then thought better of it. "I've just come to tell you that we've been summoned to the dining hall and—" He paused, taking a deep breath as if to gather courage, "And to ask if I could join you tomorrow?"

"Here?" He frowned.

"Yes, I could do with some training. Ever since Hera wiped my memories, I've been struggling to refamiliarise myself with the strategies I learnt at SPQR. I was hoping you could teach me?"

He tilted his head, studying his friend, "Sure." He said after a moment, "But only if we can learn a little more about combining our power."

"Why would you want to do that?"

He shrugged, "Call it curiosity."

The Son of Jupiter seemed to think about it for a bit, weighing his options as if life were a sensitive scale. "Deal."

Now he swung from his hammock, striking match sticks against the wood posts, watching as they flared, burned, suffocated. The smoke, he thought, was pretty in its evanesce.

A knock at the door scraped his mind to the present. He debated not answering but where else would he be if not here. So he jumped down and strolled through the cabin.

"Annabeth, hey."

"Percy," She gave a tight-lipped smile, "Can we go for a walk?"

"Uh sure," He disappeared for a moment, grabbing a cap and Riptide from the table.

"So what's up?"

"Percy," She said his name like it exhausted her.

"Are you okay?" He frowned, lifting his hand to feel her forehead.

She sidestepped him, kicking at the ground in false distraction.

"I— we—" She took a deep breath, "Piper and I are going to New Rome for the rest of the summer. Reyna invited us and since we're the only two who haven't gotten the chance to explore, we figured now was a good time to start."

"Oh cool, when do we leave?"

She winced, looked up at him with those swirling grey eyes he had loved like adventure, like hope, like something new.

"No Percy not we. Me and, and Piper. Just us. I think we need some rest. Some time to just be safe and do what we want. We need a break."

"You want a break?" His lungs felt too small, heart stammering like a stick record, mind buried in quicksand.

"Yes," She said it with certainty. As if she had thought about it enough to remove even her own doubt.

"From Camp Half-Blood or from me?"

Her face looked stricken, like she hadn't considered it, like they were one and the same. Maybe they were.

"Both?" She was less certain now, fumbling on loose stones.

"Do you want to break up?" Words were cotton threads sown into his tongue.

"Yes, no, maybe, I don't know!" She cried.

"Annabeth," Anguish was a mercy.

"I think it's best if we go our separate ways, for now anyway."

"What do you mean separate ways?" His throat was adorned with a necklace of rope, "We have been on the same path since we were twelve. We have followed each other into and out of battle. Have taken daggers, swords, curses for each other. We have experienced firsts, seconds, life together."

Her tears were endless, but her expression was without doubt, "I love you. I think a part of me will always love you, but times are changing, and I have to learn who I am without worrying about how to keep myself safe. I have to live Percy. I have been surviving for too long."

He sunk to the grassy hill; his knees too weak to hold him.

"Maybe someday," She started softly, "Maybe someday we will find our way back."

He looked up at her, pain making her blurry, a silhouette, unrecognisable. "I am not lost."

She crouched down, until they were staring into each other. He knew she could see the words written in his eyes, as she always had. For all they struggled with their dyslexia she had always been able to read him like a cherished book.

"I will miss you Percy."

He didn't reply, didn't have the words even if he wanted to. She kissed his cheek, wiped a stray tear and left him on half-blood hill, her blonde curls ruffling in the lowly breeze.

***

A week later Percy was waking before the sun, nightmares and heartache refusing to evict from his body. He scrubbed a hand over his face and slid out of bed. If the day was to start now, without his choice he could at least decide what to do with it.

It was no surprise then that Jason Grace found him in his newfound second home, amongst the ratty dummies, slashing Riptide through their stuffed insides.

"Do you ever sleep?"

He snorted, not faltering as he pretended to dodge and then swiped his sword low.

"Who are you fighting for?"

The questions caught him off guard, stumbling to his knees. Jason was at his side in an instance, supple fingers wrapping under his arms to haul him up. They settled on the bench, backs against the wall, hands flexing and clenching. The quiet was so loud in his head, like a ringing that never stopped.

"I am fighting for myself." He finally exhaled.

"I am fighting because I have been doing it for so long, I do not know any other way."

The Son of Jupiter didn't say anything, didn't even look his way. Percy settled further into his position, content to lapse into silence. His turmoil had been his friend for these long years, and he has learnt its language.

"When I was with Lupa," Jason started, "She used to say a wolf who is separated from the pack is only alone if they do not howl. Mostly it was a lesson for the cubs, so they knew to call if they ever got lost. But I liked it because it reminded me that telling someone you are lost may not make you less lost but will make you less alone. Someone will find their way to you."

They did not speak again, happy to be silent companions.

The day passed by in a blur of preparation. It was already halfway through the summer and as they did each year the Half-Blood Feast would mark the occasion. Percy helped where he could, picking strawberries at the request of Juniper, and pulling his weight in the dining hall by scrubbing at the concrete slabs on which they ate.

By the time night fell his bones were creaking like hollowed stairs. But he was excited. If for nothing else but the sense of routine and joy this festival brought after such horrible events. He tugged on a plain blue t-shirt and a fresh pair of jeans. It did not count as dressing up, but it felt nice to put effort into something. Albeit his hair couldn't be tamed, wild curls sticking every which way.

"Percy," A knock sounded at his door.

With a final glance at his appearance he stepped out, taking a deep breath of ocean air.

His heart skipped a beat, skipped two. It wasn't beating at all. Beating too fast to feel. Jason Grace was leaning against a marbled column, a halo of sunshine around his head and a blue shirt making his eyes as bright as the cerulean skies.

"We're matching!"

"The camp store does not have much variety." He grinned, "Although I think I'm pulling it off much better than you Grace."

It was a lie of course, Jason looked ethereal.

"I have to agree," The blonde winked.

Percy laughed, rolling his eyes as they made their way to the dining hall.

"A pity we can't sit together," Jason frowned.

"Maybe Chiron will make an exception today, since it is a special occasion."

"We can ask, the worst he can do is say no."

Minutes later they were seated at the same table while everyone gathered together.

The feast was as glorious as it had always been. Food to feed nations, fill homes, warm bellies. The sounds of laughter were a balm to his soul. He turned to his dinner partner, to see him with a soft smile on his face, eyes bouncing from table to table.

"It's nice isn't it?" He muttered, "To see them happy."

"I don't have the words." Blonde hair fell into his eyes as he shook his head. "It has felt like an eternity since we were all together, under the same roof."

They looked at each other then, twin flames dancing in their eyes.

"What do you plan to do after the summer?"

"I want to finish school. Want to finish something that doesn't involve in my death, or that of my friends."

Jason nodded, "It would be nice wouldn't it, to feel not constantly in danger. Although around you that may be a little hard."

"What do you mean?" Percy narrowed his eyes.

"If you were a Disney prince, you'd be Prince Danger."

"You think I could be a Disney prince?" He scrunched his nose teasingly.

"I think you can be a lot of things." That smile was cheeky, wicked.

"Is this the part where you say, 'I can even be your boyfriend'?"

Jason's answering laugh was bright and beautiful.

When dinner was finished and campfire songs had been sung till their throats were raw, the crowd finally dispersed, heading back to cabins for the night. He lost his dinner mate at some point in the singing and his other friends had long since disappeared. He didn't quite feel like tucking himself into a cold bed only for sleep to abandon him. The Son of Poseidon shucked off his shoes, stepping onto the sun-warmed sand and let his feet sink into the world. He walked towards the ocean, along the shoreline; let the water wash over his bared skin.

"Jackson!" A call sounded from faraway.

He stopped, turning to see Jason running towards him and couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips.

"Hey, I wondered where you ran off to?"

"Got pulled away by Nico. He wanted to talk."

"It's nice. That he has you." Percy had been relieved to learn Nico confided in someone. And a part of him had been shamefully grateful it wasn't him. He did not know, was almost one hundred percent certain he wasn't fit to be someone's confidant, or mentor, or whatever it was that he would have become to the younger demigod. He had proved that the big brother role was not for him and he would not disappoint Nico again, or Bianca.

"So," Jason knocked his shoulder lightly, "What's got you lost in thought?"

"Bold of you to assume I think."

The blonde shook his head in amusement, "Do you ever wonder what our lives would have been like if we weren't demigods?"

He snorted, "More often than is healthy. It's like an obnoxious alarm that goes off at the most inconvenient times. When I'm in battle, just before I fall asleep, when I see my mom after an age, when I saw New Rome, when i—" He glanced at his friend, wishing the moon was brighter so he could see those comforting blue eyes.

"When you what?"

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter."

The Son of Jupiter tugged at his arm, pulled them closer.

"Sometimes I wish I had met certain people in a coffee shop on a winter morning, or at school on the way to class, or just anywhere but in the middle of war and prophecies."

Their foreheads fell together, sharing icy air.

"Wouldn't that have been nice?" He breathed.

"Jason I can't do this right now. I—" He winced, "I loved her."

"But did you?" The blonde muttered, "Really?"

"Yes. I did." His voice was hard with the truth. "You do not get to discredit my love just because the relationship it bloomed in has ended." He pulled away, turning to face the sea.

"You're right." He stepped back, scratched at his neck, "You're right, and I'm sorry."

"Did you ever love Piper?"

"I thought I did. But I don't think I really know what love is."

"Maybe it changes," The Son of Poseidon whispered, "But with her it was adventure."

They sat down on the sand, uncaring of the waves that soaked through their clothes.

"What do you want it to be like next?"

"What do you mean?"

"If it changes, what do you want next?"

"It will feel like home."

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writersrealmbts · 4 years

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Shattered Pieces: Glue

Description: Kittens and Cubs grow quickly, and life goes on faster than you would like, but you still get to enjoy the ride.

Warnings: If this doesn’t destroy you a little, I give up as a writer.

Posted: 03/16/2020

Tags: hybrid bts, yoongi x reader

Mostly fluff with a surprise: 4,288 words

A/N: Last Part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve been really stuck on this for a while, and I just wanted to finish this series so I could move on. So, I hope you guys like it and please let me know what you think of it!!!!!

You checked the clock again, then shrugged at Hoseok. “If they’re not back in half an hour we might have to send a search party.”

He nodded. “I know they thought to do this because Jimin used to catch the turkey every year, but Jimin spent days getting the turkey, and he mostly rounded up turkeys and then picked the one he wanted and released the others before humanely killing the turkey. A couple days before he planned to cook it.”

You rolled your eyes. “They were determined.”

“Predators,” Jungkook sighed, dramatic. He jumped back as you slapped at him for sneaking bites of the stuffing that you were preparing for tomorrow.

Jin hummed softly. “The babes are awake.”

You smiled and followed him to the nursery, checking on your coloring babes (all but Jihun—who had been dragged along despite his reservations) before getting your bitty babes who were still roly-polying in their separate cribs.

Yerin was babbling a little.

Cheolmin was sucking on his hand, but his eyes fell onto you and smiled.

Soyoung was barely awake.

You picked up Cheolmin, cuddling him close with a purr. “Look at my sleepy boy.”

Jin had Yerin, changing her diaper while she made various babble noises. “I still can’t believe they went hunting on Christmas Eve Day. There’s so much to do! I know Namjoon hasn’t finished Christmas shopping yet.”

“He’ll realize his mistake sooner or later.” You shrugged a little, and rubbing Soyoung’s belly as the kitten slowly blinked awake. She had mostly black fur like Yoongi, and you honestly thought she was the spitting image of her appa if it weren’t for the white stripe on the back of her left ear.

Yerin had your coloring.

Cheolmin was mixed between the two of you, but he had his dad’s eyes.

Yerin had your mother’s eyes, and sometimes when she blinked up at you….

You smiled softly as you stepped to the side for Hoseok to pick up Soyoung.

“So soft,” Jin whispered, nuzzling one of Yerin’s ears. “Baby fur is the best. Misuk’s baby fur is growing out.”

“I know, she’s getting big.” You sighed in resignation. “Soon we won’t have baby-soft fur to play with on her.”

“Terrifying,” Hoseok said, shuddering. “They’re growing too quickly.”

“Jihun reminds me of Jimin when we first met him,” Jin said, smiling.

Jungkook grinned and nodded. “I know. I found a picture of us from back then.”

“You’ll have to show me,” You said, pushing away the dissatisfaction of not being able to meet your cubs real parents. It was driving you crazy, because you couldn’t even watch their home videos because no one knew where they were. They’d been searching for the past three weeks because Jihun asked about it at Thanksgiving and all of them were certain there were home videos but none of them were certain where they were. You figured you’d probably find them the moment you started looking, because that’s a mom’s superpower and you’ve had that power for a long time. You just hadn’t had the chance since the kids were especially clingy ever since you’d had the kittens. You didn’t mind, it wasn’t an unhealthy clingyiness, but the addition of the milky scent on you made you a little more motherly and comforting to them. And Jihun needed a lot of help with his homework lately.

“Moooommm! We’re back,” Jihun sounded desperate and distressed.

You handed Cheolmin to Jungkook and darted out, freezing and covering your mouth.

All of them were filthy. Muddy, covered in leaves, dirt smeared on their faces and they definitely didn’t catch a turkey.

Jihun looked like he’d been dropped in a lake before the mud and leaves, his hair dripping.

Yoongi winced. “We, uh, we fought a muddy hill?”

“And thought coming in the back door was a good idea? Go around to the front. I’ll get some towels, Jihun.” You ushered them back out, darting to the linen closet and grabbing the beach towels for them. Your baby was probably chilled to the bone, and you didn’t want to send him back out, but you really didn’t want to deal with mud on the carpet.

Jihun was shivering but you quickly wrapped him in a towel. “Cold.”

“We’ll get you in a bath, baby,” You said comfortingly, helping him out of his shoes.

He nodded.

You managed to scoop him up (getting objecting sounds from all six men) and carried him to the nearest bathroom, setting him down and running a bath. “I’ll go get you some clean clothes and a towel, okay? Hoseok will be here to help you wash behind your ears. And your tail.”

He made a strangled sound, but nodded.

You kissed a clean spot on his forehead, then tested the water. “Alright, test the water before you get in, but I think it’s okay right now.”

He nodded again, shivering out of his clothes as you got out a big fluffy towel and let Hoseok slip past you.

The other boys were carefully traipsing to the other bathrooms, but you quickly passed them to get to Jihun’s room and grab him clean clothes, opting for his favorite pajamas since it was toward the evening anyway.

Hoseok took the clothes, gesturing that Jihun was half-asleep.

You nodded and went to check on the rest of your babies, seeing they were still coloring contentedly and talking to the kittens like they would understand.

Then you hurried upstairs to check on your mate.

Taehyung was pouting at the bathroom door. “Oh, come on, Namjoonie!”

You snorted and headed further, guessing Yoongi went right to the bathroom the others didn’t use—the one in Jimin’s old room.

He was already out of the shower and in boxers when you slipped in, but winced as he saw your face. “Yeah, I know, that was dangerous. I didn’t mean for that to happen, and we got him back here in record time.”

“No more pretending you know how to hunt. Stick to fishing, you’re better at it. Anyway, we figured this would happen and bought a turkey. It’s already brining.” You shook your head at the pile of muddy clothes. “You guys are so doing the laundry.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll gather up the muddy clothes and take care of them. How were the other kids?”

“Angels,” You replied, hearing the relief in it and laughing a bit. “Heirannie is teaching Jowoon to color in between the lines, not very successfully, but he’s actually improved throughout the day. Misuk is using the magic markers so she can’t make a mess.”

“They’re growing up so fast,” He whispered.

“Soyoung looks so much like you,” You whispered back, wrapping your arms around his neck. His skin was still warm from his shower, and it felt nice.

He purred a little, seeming embarrassed at how pleased he was by that. “Yerin looks more like you.”

“Has your hair, my mom’s eyes, and my fur,” You whispered. “But your adorable nose and mouth.”

He melted a little more under your touch, a mess of purring and fur. “I just want this time to last forever.”

You laughed softly. “I do too. We’ll keep them young forever, you and me.”

He laughed with you, hugging you more tightly. “You and me.”

——

You didn’t keep them young.

Jihun had been so excited to go to school. He’d woken up an hour before everyone else, he’d eaten breakfast and gotten ready for school, and then waited on teh couch for everyone else to get up, asking the first person—you, getting up to take care of the triplets who were two years old at the time—if it was time to leave yet.

You’d gotten him to help you with the triplets to distract him.

The only moment he seemed to be reluctant was when his siblings started crying at his leaving them. Heiran was especially inconsolable.

But Hoseok, Yoongi, and Yourself ushered Jihun out the door, and took him to school.

You and Hoseok cried on the way back to the house because Jihun was growing up so quickly and he was so independent.

Yoongi was quiet, but he spent an extra long time with all of the younger cubs that day.

Jihun had come home, quiet, eating his snack and cuddling up next to you without a word. Apparently not having said a word to Namjoon and Taehyung except to say hello and get into the car.

When he finally did say something, he murmured that he’d missed everyone here and that everyone else already had friends.

Seokjin had chuckled softly, then pulled Jihun into his arms. “Your father felt the same way. But he met Taehyung. And Taehyung introduced him to us. Just do your best, be nice to the other kids—”

“But if they bite you, bite back,” Yoongi muttered, earning glares and scoffs from Hoseok and Taehyung.

Seokjin just leveled him with an unamused look before turning back to Jihun. “And eventually you’ll meet some good friends. And if you don’t…well, we love you and we’ll find you sports or something you can play to make friends that way.” He stroked Jihun’s hair.

Jihun looked up at him, then shifted so he could hug the bunny-hybrid, face in the crook of his neck like he did as a cub. “If I don’t like it….”

“Then you can go back to homeschooling,” You agreed softly. “But I want you to give it a chance, Jihunnie.” You stroked his tail.

It flicked and he peeked at you to smile. “Okay, Mom. I’ll try. But…” His nose wrinkled. “Are we sure I’m in the right classes?”

“Oh?”

He slipped out of Jin’s arms, and grabbed his backpack, pulling out his school books and passing them to you.

You looked over it and sighed internally. The cubs ate up their lessons faster than you could come up with them, and Jihun was especially attentive in his schoolwork. Which meant he’d surpassed his classmates. But the schools insisted that he stay with his age group. “Well, we’ll figure something out, okay?”

He nodded, curling up into Hoseok’s lap with a soft chuff before falling asleep.

And he did make friends, quickly growing popular among his classmates, and yet he still spent most of his time at home with his siblings. He would go to their houses now and then, and he would have them for outdoor playdates, easily explaining that his siblings got sick really easily.

And he joined the soccer team, quickly becoming one of the star players.

Heiran was growing quickly too. She was active and playful and fast. So fast. She picked up languages like they were the triplets blocks, and while she still clung to you, and her family, she also was confident and strangely self-assured. She laughed easily and was excited for the day she could finally go to school—but didn’t do nearly as well there, reverting to her muteness and asking to be pulled out after the first three months. She blossomed again once she was home, though she still bounced back and forth between mute and loquacious.

Jowoon didn’t even want to try public school, but he joined an outdoor adventure club and quickly made his own friends. He was a bit of a home-body, having been cuddly all throughout his childhood and he definitely was still your baby. He was thoughtful, often sitting and asking Namjoon questions for hours after you would run out of answers, until Yoongi would step in and get him to help with some chore or other. Jowoon loved helping fix things, and there was a bet between Jungkook, Taehyung, and Hoseok about what his future profession would be.

Misuk was probably the sassiest of all of the cubs, extremely independent as an elementary-aged cub, and oddly protective of the triplets. She had strong opinions, and was so expressive that sometimes you all had to stop yourselves from laughing when she needed to be scolded for talking back because she was so…confident in her decisions. She hated messes, and was picky about her clothes in the cutest way. She would only get messy if she was in her messy clothes. She was the hardest to keep away from her siblings friends, because she wanted to be with them but it was still dangerous given her immune system.

And then there were your triplets.

All of them were doted on by the cubs, and they didn’t mind staying away from outsiders for their siblings sake—not really even noticing because they were too busy listening to Jihun read a story to them. Or the girls would be playing with dolls while the boys were outside playing soccer.

Heiran bounced between both groups on those days (not that they were always separated, they especially all loved swimming together—though your kittens were definitely not fans at first and Soyoung definitely wouldn’t swim unless her oldest brother and Uncle Taehyung were also swimming), and she was usually on one team while the boys were on the other because she was fast and fierce. Everytime you saw her win with an astonishing amount of ferocity, you were reminded of your first Thanksgiving with the cubs, when she batted every kill-spot on Taehyung.

The scariest moment was when she found one of Jihun’s friends inside the house—with a cold. Granted, he’d only run in to use the bathroom, and with your permission.

But she’d literally dragged him out of the house with a growl (he was taller than her and weighed more and she wasn’t struggling), and the way she snarled at Jowoon had your fur rising and your kittens hiding in Yoongi’s arms while you had to calm her down.

She hadn’t even been thirteen.

Time flies too fast.

Jin and Jungkook lived in the carraige-house, never too far, but sometimes retreating to themselves. They were a mess, but a pretty happy mess that were actively involved in the cubs lives.

The other boys had their own lives, still coming around as often as they could—especially Hoseok, who eventually become some part of the strange relationship that Jungkook and Jin had.

You didn’t care to ask as long as your cubs and kits were okay.

Taehyung ended up mating with a sweet dog-hybrid, and they had pups some five years after your kits were born.

Namjoon ended up going overseas to open another division of his and Taehyung’s company, leaving for a few months at a time, before coming back for another few months to catch up with his favorite tigers, kittens, and pups. Eventually, he brought home a mate from his trip, who melded right into the family.

And Yoongi somehow started a revolution that established so much protection for humans that their numbers started rising again while still being the most active father/father-figure anyone could ask for. He was often exhausted, but you liked to think that you rewarded him well for his hard work.

———

“I can’t see,” Yerin whined, going up on her tiptoes again.

Namjoon scooped her up, putting her on his shoulders. “See him now?”

“Yes! Jihun!” She called.

Jihun turned and grinned, waving before signaling her to be quiet.

It wasn’t long before the Cheolmin and Soyoung were perched on Seokjin’s and Taehyung’s shoulders—respectively—to watch, though Soyoung did so with her hands over her ears from the noise of the crowd. She didn’t like noisy places, usually clinging and hiding with Yoongi or whoever was closest.

Jowoon and Misuk could see a little better, having both better positions, and standing on the chairs.

Heiran could see without standing on a chair, though she did have to go up on her tip-toes.

Both girls were carefully surrounded by yourself and the guys, having gotten more than their fair share of their mother’s looks, and getting quite a few lingering looks. They were already increasingly careful around their own brother’s friends and Misuk was only eleven.

Yoongi sighed. “This has to be a dream. He can’t be graduating high-school next week.”

You just smiled, looking at your family, then back at your oldest. “What are you going to do when it’s Heiran? Or Jowoon? Or Misuk—”

“Stop,” he grumbled. “You’re making me sad.”

You purred, taking his hand. “Just enjoy it, you softy. He’s valedictorian. And he wants to be a doctor.”

“He’s been taking college classes for the past two years, does it really count?” Heiran asked casually, but her gaze was proudly fixed on her brother as he stepped up to the podium to make a speech that had been a long time coming. It wasn’t his speech as valedictorian, but it was a speech his teachers had asked to give after he turned it in for a class.

You shushed her, grateful you didn’t have to worry about filming since Jungkook definitely had that covered.

Jihun—looking every bit like his father, with a certain something of his mother in his smile—gazed over the crowd after his initial greeting. “Next Friday marks the day that all of us have been waiting for. It’s a day of transition. It marks the end of one part of our lives, and the beginning of another as we leave the safety of this institution and enter the world of our parents and teachers. This can be terrifying, the unknown can be terrifying. My life…” He stopped, looking down and then quickly looking up, seeking you all out again and nodding. “My life has been filled with days of transition. Some that I don’t remember, such as the day I first became an older brother, and others that I do. I remember the day that I stopped thinking my life was normal, a day I know my family wishes I could forget, when myself and my mother were kidnapped and rescued by my father. I had never given thought to the fact that my mother was human, or what my species even meant for myself—and I didn’t understand until much later. I remember when I transitioned from having two parents that loved me and my siblings so completely, to being an orphan.”

Yoongi’s grip tightened on your hand, and you could see Heiran glance at you in the corner of your eye, but your gaze was fixed on Jihun.

“I remember my Uncles—friends of my parents, the only thing close to family that they had—desperately trying to fill the void my parents had left. The day my mom, my adoptive mom, came into our lives and made us into a family again. I remember wondering if my sister would ever talk again after losing our parents, and the pure joy that came when she did. I remember deciding that my mom could be just that, my mom. Finding out that those responsible for the death of my parents finally paid the price. Becoming an adopted brother. Watching my family change, and grow. Being able to finally go to school with other kids my age and make friends outside of my siblings. There have been so many days where my life has changed so completely, even if it was just from a change in my own perspective. In the way I viewed things. Our lives will always be filled with unknowns, but…because of my life before now, I’m not afraid of what the future holds. I know that my family will always catch me if I fall. I want to be a doctor, and I know that the road ahead of me will be hard. I know there will be times when I get scolded because I haven’t been taking care of myself—because I was raised by the most selfless people I will ever know. I know they’ll catch me when I do fall, because I watched them catch each other.”

He met your gaze across the crowd. “We are entering a world that has been changed by those that came before us. A world where humans are more than just…a means to an end. A world my parents died trying to make, and that my family continued to fight for—all while protecting us from those who opposed it. We are the next generation, and we have the ability to further that change, and make the world even better for those that come after. To learn from those that came before us. We will fall, and we will rise again. And we might fall a lot. But to change the world, and to help others…sometimes we’ll have to step back and take care of ourselves first.” He smiled a little to himself. “We help when we’re healthy, we rest if we’re sick, but if there’s a fire—we jump in and help as much as we can. And that doesn’t mean we get ourselves killed, Jeremy.”

His class started laughing and heckling Jeremy.

Not that your family wasn’t laughing, you all were familiar with Jeremy and the kid sometimes lacked common sense in a comical, life-threatening sort of way.

“I’ve had everything and nothing in my life,” Jihun continued after they calmed down. “I don’t know what’s next, but we’re going into this world with everything this school and our parents could provide us. Not everyone is that lucky. I want us all to leave here, and do at least one good thing. Just one. I know I can never surpass the things my adoptive family have done, I can never hope to be half as good as they are, but they make me want to try. To try and honor my deceased family. To set a good example for my younger siblings. To take care of myself and others. To gather up the shattered pieces and put them together again, just like my Mom did for me and my siblings, and my Uncles. That, which is far easier said than done, is my impossible dream that I hope to work toward everyday with my family to guide and support me. That is the one thing that I learned here, that I will never forget.”

You stood there, breathless as the audience clapped for him. Your little cub, all grown up.

Cheolmin was on the ground again, and he tugged on your sleeve. “Mommy, he’s adopted?”

Heiran started laughing, but she was crying as well. She tugged the 9-year-old into a hug. “We’ll explain later, Cheol.”

You ran a hand over her hair, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Jihun slipped in, taller than you now, taller than Yoongi. A young man, only shadows of that seven-year-old cub you first met evident in the way he looked at you.

You squeezed his hand, knowing he was out of words. Knowing exactly what he was saying.

Yerin practically ran into his leg, hugging it with her ginger tail lashing playfully, looking up at him with a grin. “You talk pretty.”

Jihun started laughing, scooping her up easily since she was tiny (even smaller than Soyoung) and he definitely had the musculature befitting a white tiger. “Thanks, Yerin. You’re always pretty. So is Soyoung, and Misuk, and Heirannie,” He added quickly when her mouth opened, then he rubbed his nose against hers. “And Mom.”

She giggled and kept hugging his neck.

Soyoung was falling asleep on Yoongi’s shoulder.

“Let’s get home,” Yoongi said.

Sitting at home later with your cubs and kittens, and the six men who had unknowingly changed the course of every life in that house, watching home videos that ranged from when Jihun was just a newborn cub, to a couple of years ago, you figured that even though it might not be the same as before, the shattered pieces of all of your lives had come together to create something new and even more beautiful.

And (unless you could bring their parents back, without losing your life with Yoongi, and your cubs and kits) you wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

Jimin woke with a start, checking on his precious mate before rushing down the hall to check on all of his cubs, then Yoongi and Seokjin—who had just moved in that day. The other guys would be moving in later that week.

He shook himself and got a glass of water, taking it back upstairs.

She was awake, and she looked at him sleepily. “You okay?”

“Bad dream. Weird dream. We died.”

She hummed shifting and sitting up. “Just us? Or the cubs—”

“Cubs were fine, the guys took care of them. They had help, but…everything worked out.” He set the glass down and crawled back into the bed with her.

She was humming a song now, stroking his cheek. “Oh?”

He nodded. “That meeting. I think it’s a good thing we didn’t go to it.”

She smiled. “Who helped them?”

“She was a teacher. Cat hybrid. Her and Yoongi ended up becoming mates.”

She nodded. “Well, maybe we should finally do as we’ve been discussing and get Jihun a tutor?”

Jimin nodded. “I’m starting to struggle.”

“Then we’ll look into it in the morning, and increase security otherwise?” She asked, sounding only a little uncertain.

He chuffed lovingly at her. “You’re so perfect.”

She just grinned at him, perfectly irresistable.

“Eomma?” Jihun whispered softly from the doorway.

She sat up again. “Jihun? Everything okay?”

He ran in and climbed onto the bed, snuggling between Jimin and her. He sighed in relief. “I had nightmares again.”

Jimin pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You’re safe, kiddo. I’m not letting any of you go.”

–

Previous Part. Masterpost. Masterlist.

Tagging: @kimmie113080 , @jungshaking, @ephemeral-mindset, @young-yellkie, @alex–awesome–22, @pearylove, @bryvada, @missmoxxiesworld, @knjhe,

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staircasttext · 3 years

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Ep 19: Beaver Tales

Episode 19

[intro music]

PAZ: Hi everyone, welcome back to Stairway to StarClan, a Warriors Cat reread pawdcast. I'm Paz.

JULIAN: I'm Julian.

LIZ: And I'm Liz.

PAZ: And we're back again this week with chapters seven to 10 of Forest of Secrets. I almost said Fire and Ice. No, we're done with that. Kind of a lot of in camp activities these chapters, I would say.

JULIAN: Yeah, some tightly focused drama.

PAZ: Yeah. I don't know anything, any pressing pre-summary thoughts, or should we just go into it?

LIZ: Let's just hop right in.

PAZ: Okay. Chapter seven. After Bluestar dismisses Fireheart, he bumps into Cinderpaw on her way to find herbs for Yellowfang and accompanies her. On the way out, they see Cloudkit and the other kits taunting Brokentail. Fireheart is conflicted and angry, and snatches Cloudkit away from Brokentail, telling the other kits to go back to the nursery. Darkstripe calls Fireheart a kittypet again, and Fireheart explains to Cloudkit what that means. He also tells Cloudkit that they were both kittypets, which shocks Cloudkit. Cloudkit vows to become a good warrior anyway, and Fireheart reminds him about being honorable.

Cinderpaw checks on Brokentail and Darkstripe returns into the den. Fireheart and Cinderpaw let Cloudkit come with them to find herbs, and she teaches Cloudkit a bit of what she's learned about foraging. While they talk about Cloudkit's future, Cloudkit eats some-- doesn't eat. That'd be bad if he. Cloudkit almost eats some poisonous berries before Cinderpaw stops him. Cloudkit, dead. He's dead now.

LIZ: Dead in Miami.

PAZ: Dead in chapter seven of Forest of Secrets. No, that didn't happen. He takes her warning seriously. Afterwards, Cinderpaw wonders what her future will be like, feeling uncertain and pained, and Fireheart encourages her to talk to Bluestar. He thinks briefly about Bluestar's reaction to Graypool's story again, and thinks to himself that it's beyond his understanding.

Chapter eight. Fireheart has a disturbing dream about kits suckling from a faceless grey queen, who then disappears. Spottedleaf appears, sheltering the kits, and the dream ends. When he wakes up, he thinks about Graypool's story again, noticing that Graystripe is also missing, seeing Silverstream, of course. He and Sandstorm decide to go hunting, taking poor Brackenpaw with them since Graystripe has forgotten about him again. Brackenpaw catches a bird, but they suddenly hear the sound of a kit in danger. They find a badger menacing Cloudkit and manage to chase it off. They wonder about how strange it was for a badger to be out in daytime. Cloudkit is returned safely to Brindleface, but Tigerclaw punishes him for wasting everyone's time, though isn't Cloudkit's fault. His punishment is to clean up for the elders.

Meanwhile, Yellowfang has taken Brokentail outside to talk about newleaf, while Darkstripe and Longtail act as guards. She's very gentle and motherly, but Brokentail doesn't respond. Fireheart watches sadly, thinking of mothers and kits, and then Mistyfoot and Stonefur again.

Chapter nine. While Cinderpaw tends to Brackenpaw's wounds from attacking the badger, Fireheart checks in on Cloudkit and helps him with tending to the elders. Fireheart tells him about having to tend to Yellowfang's ticks, her ass ticks, when he was younger, which cheers Cloudkit up.

Later, Fireheart sees Tigerclaw sneaking out of camp, so he decides to follow him. He notices Tigerclaw is getting close to Twolegplace, wondering if he's trying to track down Princess to hurt her. Fireheart also happens to catch a mouse on the way, which gives him an alibi for hunting, when he literally bumps into Tigerclaw soon after.

When Tigerclaw returns to camp, Fireheart checks around Twolegplace, where he smells that a lot of strange, unknown cats have been around in addition to Tigerclaw. He also meets with Princess briefly, and he tells her about how well Cloudkit is growing up, promising to bring him to see her in newleaf. On the way back to camp, he sees that newleaf's thaw has started.

Chapter 10. Fireheart tells Bluestar about the strange cat scents, and she says she'll send patrols out, thinking they might be rogues from Twolegplace. Two days later, newleaf has truly arrived, and there's plenty of food to hunt. Fireheart is pleased to see Cloudkit continuing to tend to the elders, even after his punishment has ended. Tigerclaw tells Fireheart to patrol the RiverClan border and renew the scent markings, and Fireheart realizes Tigerclaw is too clever to be hostile to him in public. He takes some other warriors with him, including Sandstorm and Graystripe, who is the most excited in case he sees Silverstream. However, they don't smell any RiverClan cats at all. The river has overflowed from the thaw, flooding Sunningrocks. And that's the end of the readings this week. What? Does anybody want to say anything?

JULIAN: Sorry, I was on the Wikipedia page for badgers again. Just for when we get to it.

PAZ: The Wikipedia page or like the Warriors wiki page?

JULIAN: No, the regular Wikipedia page.

PAZ: Oh, okay.

JULIAN: I was not on the Warriors wiki page, although I'm sure that's a rich vein.

LIZ: Oh, I'll check.

PAZ: No, don't. There's spoilers. Don't check.

LIZ: I'll just read the first sentence, how about that. There's only the first sentence and then the contents, like table of contents. They do have a picture of a real badger on there.

PAZ: That's beautiful.

LIZ: Not an illustrated one. "Badgers are thickset medium-sized animals with huge muscles and beady eyes that are mainly active at night, and are enemies to cats in the Warriors series." There you go.

JULIAN: Hot damn.

PAZ: Huge muscles.

JULIAN: The thing that I was reading on the actual Wikipedia page for badgers is that apparently they're usually pretty chill, unless they're cornered.

PAZ: Yeah, I thought so.

JULIAN: Yeah, it's saying that they often live alongside and will share their burrows with red foxes.

LIZ: Ooh.

PAZ: Wow.

JULIAN: "Foxes provide badgers with food scraps, and badgers maintain the shared burrows' cleanliness."

LIZ: Roommates.

PAZ: Wow, love is real.

JULIAN: "Although sometimes this can go wrong, and cases are known of badgers driving vixens from their dens and destroying their litters."

PAZ: [gasp]

LIZ: [gasp] Oh.

JULIAN: "In return, red foxes are known to have killed badger cubs in spring."

LIZ: Roommates to enemies.

PAZ: Roommates to enemies.

JULIAN: Sometimes your roommate situation goes south.

PAZ: Yeah, it can be like that with roommates. Yeah, I'm like, I thought badgers were fairly chill. They're not like wolverines.

LIZ: No.

JULIAN: No, they're pretty chill unless you corner them. And that's not what happened here.

PAZ: Maybe this badger has rabies. That was my first thought when it was like, it's out in the daytime.

JULIAN: Oh, that's possible.

PAZ: I was like, does this badger have rabies? Is Brackenpaw gonna get rabies?

LIZ: No.

JULIAN: He hasn't had his shots.

PAZ: Exactly. He hasn't had his rabies shots.

LIZ: This is why Fireheart is like the chosen one, or whatever.

PAZ: Speaking of Brackenpaw, poor Brackenpaw.

JULIAN: God.

LIZ: Poor little guy.

JULIAN: Fuckin, Graystripe, do your job. Do your job.

LIZ: How often does he have to see his girlfriend?

PAZ: Every hour of every day, apparently.

JULIAN: Like I get it. They don't have Skype. They can't write each other letters or like text or whatever. But like, you gotta deal.

LIZ: Make a schedule.

PAZ: Just go out at night, or something.

JULIAN: Have a weekly date night. And then be normal.

PAZ: I'm glad that the text pointed out that Graystripe sucks and is a bad teacher again because he is.

LIZ: Poor Brackenpaw.

JULIAN: Well, and it's having serious impacts on-- yeah. It's having serious impacts on Brackenpaw's like emotional health. He's really unsure of himself. And like, even when he did a really good job fighting off the badger, he's like, oh no, I'm sure it wasn't that-- like I didn't do that good.

LIZ: Brackenpaw is very cool. He caught a bird out of the air and then was very self-conscious about that.

PAZ: Yeah, he did a double-jump.

LIZ: Yeah. Where'd he learn that? Not Graystripe.

PAZ: Hell no. Graystripe wouldn't fight a badger. Graystripe would just leave.

JULIAN: Graystripe would leave the badger for someone else to deal with.

LIZ: There's that part where like Brackenpaw's like, oh, all the other apprentices are so much younger, but they're gonna be warriors before me.

PAZ: I know.

JULIAN: Also, like, Graystripe, do your job. Also Bluestar do your job.

PAZ: Bluestar... horrible leader.

JULIAN: Or-- not to be like, Tigerclaw should get in here. But like, if he's going to be aggressive and mean, maybe he should be aggressive and mean about the actual problems.

LIZ: He should just ground Graystripe for like a month.

JULIAN: Graystripe can deal with the elders' ticks.

PAZ: Okay, like, not to be like Tigerclaw's right again. But him giving Cloudkit a little like, oh, take care of the elders punishment seemed to work. Cloudkit gained some emotional maturity from that, so.

JULIAN: Yeah, I do have a note that's like his reasoning sucks, but this is good for Cloudkit.

PAZ: Yeah, Cloudkit needed that.

JULIAN: Also like, it integrates him better with the clan. Again, worst person you know made a great point.

LIZ: It's very funny. He just became like a mean teacher for a second. It's like, this is the 90s movie where Cloudkit is like the rowdy new transfer. Tigerclaw's like his mean math teacher or something, and he gives him extra homework. It makes his math better. I don't know. Is that how the movies go? Math, right? Math.

PAZ: Yeah. Uh-huh.

JULIAN: I didn't have a TV, so.

PAZ: Sure.

JULIAN: Yes?

LIZ: Well, I've never seen a movie, so we are equal here.

PAZ: I think we jumped around a little bit though. I guess we can--

JULIAN: We did. We jumped straight to chapter eight.

PAZ: I forgot when that happened. For some reason I thought Brackenpaw being abandoned started in chapter seven, but it is not. It's Cinderpaw.

LIZ: Just start, in my mind, poor guy.

JULIAN: Oh, Cinderpaw.

PAZ: Once again, Cinderpaw seems to be doing just fine. But Fireheart's manpain, like internal narrative is terrible. Be quiet.

JULIAN: There is a line about how he's not in the mood for sharing tongues with his friends, which I know we've covered this before. I will never get used to sharing tongues.

LIZ: Why isn't it just called cleaning?

JULIAN: Grooming.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Well...

LIZ: There's a word for it. You got it.

PAZ: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know who decided that would be the term for it.

LIZ: Also, since we did like start out with, you know, seeing how like, we got to see how Brackenpaw felt about his situation, it's kind of like an capital-I Interesting contrast to see that in like Cinderpaw, cause we don't really get to see much of that, just kind of like Fireheart's man pain.

PAZ: I mean, she does like voice her feelings in this part, where she's like, I don't really know what I'm doing because we only have three jobs in our society. And no one's told me now what I should do.

LIZ: I guess it's like the way it cycles back to Fireheart, which...

PAZ: Yeah, that's true.

JULIAN: Yeah, the framing is very like Fireheart-centric, in a way that I wish it were not.

PAZ: Yeah, I agree.

JULIAN: God, it is like, he's so close, because there's one point where-- let me find the portion. Yeah. "Cinderpaw was brave and intelligent, and before her accident, she had shown endless energy and commitment to the clan. Surely that couldn't all be thrown away." Yeah, Fireheart, surely it couldn't. Like he's soooooo close. And yet so far away.

LIZ: My guy.

JULIAN: Like I'm glad she's found something that she can do, but blehhhhh.

LIZ: She was given one option by one person.

JULIAN: Well, and it's also in the like bit with the deathberries, um, like she does move very quickly when required. When the plot requires her to be able to move quickly, she sure can.

PAZ: Yeah, it's almost like she could hunt and stuff fine if anyone would just let her, or do anything else.

JULIAN: It's like right after he sees that that Fireheart is like, damn. Too bad she's helpless.

PAZ: Yeah, speaking of helplessness-- disability framed as helplessness, all this stuff with Brokentail at the start of chapter seven is also like what the hell.

LIZ: Ooh. Yikes.

JULIAN: It's so fucked.

LIZ: It's fucked.

PAZ: It frames him as completely helpless. I'm like, all he is is blind. He didn't like...

LIZ: He's still like an adult cat.

JULIAN: Right, he still has claws and like teeth. I fully expected him to kill one of the kits.

PAZ: He's just barely reacted. It's so weird.

JULIAN: Yeah, it's also just like, you know, I'm glad that Fireheart like takes Cloudkit aside and is like, Hey, don't do that.

LIZ: Yeah, it's fucking shitty. Don't do it.

JULIAN: But yeah, the fact that like-- and you know, it is framed as like a fucked up thing that the kits have done to like be taunting their prisoner, their disabled prisoner, but oooh! Yeesh.

PAZ: Yeah, it's like, it's one thing to like-- there was sort of a part where like Darkstripe like threatened Brokentail when like he almost clawed them, but like it wasn't really being framed as like, he's not doing it because he'll get, like, beat up by the guard. It was like-- he just barely reacted. And it was like, oh he couldn't track where the kits were. I'm like, he still has ears. He still has whiskers.

JULIAN: He has ears and whiskers and like scent.

LIZ: That's mostly what they hunt with anyway. It's not like they use their incredible bird's eye view to hunt the mouse.

JULIAN: Yeah, all the descriptions of hunting are like, oh, they hear the mouse rustling in the grass. Like they can't see the mouse.

PAZ: It's so weird.

LIZ: I mean, like we know why it's like this, and it's because the author didn't put the work into it to like-- just thinks this is the only way you can write your disabled character.

JULIAN: Yeah, I guess it really is sort of one finger curls on the monkey's paw. We were like, oh, I wish there were another disabled character besides Cinderpaw.

PAZ: Mm.

JULIAN: And we got one, and...

PAZ: Somehow worse.

JULIAN: He literally has Broken in the name.

PAZ: Yeah, but that scene-- oh, go ahead.

JULIAN: And then Fireheart gets-- oh sorry, I was gonna say, and then Fireheart gets to explain racism to Cloudkit.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: He literally says we have to work twice as hard. Oh my God.

JULIAN: Head in my hands.

PAZ: It's a kids book so I'll let it pass, but it is very funny.

LIZ: When's Cloudkit gonna have his lunchbox moment?

JULIAN: Oh God.

PAZ: He has his little catnip mouse. All the warriors are like, ew, what's that?

LIZ: Fuck.

JULIAN: Oh, God.

PAZ: Princess gives him some Temptations to take back to camp.

JULIAN: To bring home to them. To all his friends.

LIZ: And when all his friends are like, you know, in college, they're gonna be going to all the overpriced fusion Temptations bars.

PAZ: Oh god.

JULIAN: All the catnip lounges.

LIZ: Terrible.

JULIAN: Also, not only is Fireheart explaining racism to Cloudkit, but he's also telling Cloudkit that he's adopted, which is a lot.

PAZ: Yeah, I mean to be fair, Fireheart thought that he already knew.

JULIAN: Which is also, how did he not know?

PAZ: I don't know. I guess he just never like brought it up with Brindleface.

JULIAN: But they were all teasing him for being a kittypet.

PAZ: Were they?

LIZ: Maybe.

JULIAN: I think so.

PAZ: I don't know if they ever did it to his face.

JULIAN: I guess it was mostly like-- yeah.

PAZ: Well, he said like, so that's why everyone hates me but I don't know if anyone ever called him a kittypet like to his face.

JULIAN: Yeah, no, I think you're right. Damn.

PAZ: I do love that Cloudkit says, "'so that's why the other cats hate me,' he spat. 'They think I'll never be any good because I wasn't born in this dump of a forest.'"

LIZ: Get 'em.

PAZ: So good. Get 'em.

LIZ: I love his like immediate turnaround like fuck this house. None of you are my dad.

PAZ: He's such a funny child.

JULIAN: There's a bit later where when Fireheart meets with Princess, he's like, yeah, your son's doing great. Um, and then mentally he's like, yeah, and he's spoiled and like nosy. But I do love him.

PAZ: He's very fun.

LIZ: Just a little rowdy boy.

PAZ: Yeah, he's a little brat rowdy boy.

LIZ: He's definitely like a season two protagonist.

JULIAN: Mm, mm-hmm.

LIZ: Know what I mean?

PAZ: Yeah? You think, second series?

LIZ: Mm-hmm. It's like, no, it's not about the power of friendship anymore. It's about the power of me winning the sports game, except it is friendship, but I have to get through a couple of my own walls first, because of--

JULIAN: What sport do you think the cats will be inventing?

LIZ: What's a good one for them to play? Soccer. There you go.

PAZ: Yeah, they would love to bat a little ball around.

JULIAN: Or like a sort of--

LIZ: A moss ball.

JULIAN: I was gonna say, sort of a, like, Maya toss ball situation, where you have to get the ball into the hoop.

LIZ: They can have one more job then. It's hoop maker.

JULIAN: Hoop maker and athlete.

PAZ: Wow.

JULIAN: Two more jobs. Three more jobs if they need referees.

PAZ: Wow. They can do like, like inter clan sports competitions, and that'll get all the bloodlust out when they just, you know, they play sports.

JULIAN: What if the cats have football riots though?

LIZ: They would. They will. It's terrible. Who's England in this situation?

JULIAN: ThunderClan, right?

LIZ: Yeah. Boo.

PAZ: Has to be.

JULIAN: Like, thinks they're good, has done many crimes.

PAZ: Exactly.

JULIAN: Although I guess ShadowClan is like the most obviously expansionist, so.

PAZ: They're all England.

LIZ: Ugh.

JULIAN: Maybe ThunderClan is like Germany

LIZ: They'll also probably need more like medics. So that's not a new job, but it is like expanding it.

PAZ: Yeah, more than two doctors.

LIZ: Oh, what a luxury.

JULIAN: More than one and a half doctors.

PAZ: Speaking of the doctors, it's very like stupid that Cinderpaw's like, oh I don't know what I'll do. And it's like, you're acting as the medicine cat. Throughout all these chapters, you were just a second doctor. And Fireheart's also like, I have no idea. Oh, you'll have to talk to Bluestar.

LIZ: Assigned doctor.

PAZ: I bet Yellowfang's gonna be like, um, I thought you were already my apprentice like three weeks ago.

LIZ: Well, did she ask?

PAZ: I guess, I don't know. It's just like--

LIZ: Listen, these cats are pretty dense.

JULIAN: Yellowfang seems like the kind of character who doesn't ask for things but sort of tries to trick people into doing nice things for them. She's like, oh, uh, oh, whoops, I made all this soup. You have to eat it or it'll go to waste.

LIZ: Tricks you into a paying job.

JULIAN: Yeah, Cinderpaw has a little moment where she's like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna have to move out of Yellowfang's den. And it's like, will you? I don't think you will. Has she asked you to?

LIZ: She probably already made you a room.

PAZ: Yeah, I'm pretty sure she has a bed there. I mean not just like her, like recovering bed.

JULIAN: Yellowfang like carefully decorating the walls while Cinderpaw's out.

LIZ: Yellowfang makes her a Welcome Home Temptations cake with a little ribbon.

PAZ: Cinderpaw also says, "ever since I was a tiny kit I wanted to be like Bluestar," and I'm like, no you don't.

LIZ: No. I mean she probably did.

JULIAN: Yeah, that's the lie of being a girlboss.

PAZ: I think you're better off.

JULIAN: Yeah, it seems like Bluestar isn't doing so hot.

LIZ: The part where Fireheart tells her like, oh, Bluestar will know what to do.

PAZ: I know. I was like, I don't think so.

JULIAN: When has Bluestar ever known what to do?

LIZ: For like five chapters in the first book.

PAZ: Yeah, and in like the beginning of book two with WindClan. And then it was kinda over.

LIZ: I don't know what's happening lately. Maybe she got taken over by the ghost of a cat that's not good at being...

JULIAN: Speaking of Yellowfang, the scenes with her and Brokentail are so sad.

PAZ: Like her being like, she's being motherly to him, and him just like, absolutely not responding. Of course he doesn't know that she's his mom.

JULIAN: Right. Woof.

LIZ: [sighs]

PAZ: Drama.

LIZ: There's a part where it says like, she makes like little mom noises at him.

PAZ: Yeah, I was in tears.

JULIAN: Or like, she was like grooming him, and like he does not even move.

LIZ: Aw.

JULIAN: Yellowfang, it's okay. You have so many other children.

PAZ: I know. This kid sucks.

JULIAN: You have so many children who don't suck.

PAZ: I guess we didn't really talk about that prophecy dream Fireheart had, but it wasn't really that interesting.

JULIAN: Yeah, it didn't really tell us anything that we don't already know.

PAZ: Yeah, it was just Spottedleaf being like Fireheart, you idiot. You know who those kits are.

LIZ: Who's that gray cat?

PAZ: I don't know.

LIZ: Well, there are so many gray cats, just.

PAZ: It's true.

LIZ: Like there's definitely more than-- like I knew about them, but it just seems more pointed out now for some reason. Is that just me? Like, it talks about how Cinderpelt is-- sorry, Cinderpaw. I know what happens later, name-wise. How she's gray. We already know Graystripe's gray. There's Graypool, there's Silverstream, there's that other guy. There's Yellowfang?

JULIAN: Stonefur?

PAZ: No, Yellowfang has black fur, I think.

JULIAN: Or like dark brown.

LIZ: Dark brown?

PAZ: Yeah. Persian cat.

JULIAN: Yeah, it does feel like they're like, hey, look, like all these gray cats. Parallels.

LIZ: It's cause there's no black and white.

PAZ: Was Oakheart gray too? How many fucking gray cats were there?

LIZ: Lots.

JULIAN: [typing] Oakheart Warriors wiki. He was... uh, no. He was reddish-brown.

PAZ: Well.

LIZ: That's a lot more uncommon, I think, like a reddish brown cat that isn't like a tabby or something. Like you ever see a brown cat? Like a brown brown cat?

JULIAN: I have, but it's definitely, like--

PAZ: Just pure brown? Yeah, those are a--

JULIAN: A weird-looking color.

PAZ: Those kinds of cats always look really smooth. It's probably a breed, that kind I'm thinking of.

LIZ: They look like just little like wild cats.

JULIAN: Oh, it's a Havana Brown.

LIZ: Hmm.

PAZ: We already talked about Brackenpaw being abandoned. The badger, of course,

LIZ: I don't know, does he become more prominent later?

PAZ: Brackenpaw?

JULIAN: Who?

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: I cannot-- I literally cannot remember.

JULIAN: Yeah, I also super do not remember.

LIZ: Is there like, I don't know, like, just like a fanfiction that's like a day in the life of Brackenpaw? What's he do? Poor guy.

PAZ: I feel like maybe I remember this scene.

JULIAN: I don't see anything like super big that he does later, but.

LIZ: Aw. Okay, new Patreon goal. Listen, if we get to $420. I don't know what'll happen.

PAZ: Oh. Sorry, I'm just reading something. I forgot who he mentored.

JULIAN: There is a nice little sentence here, first paragraph. "He was apprenticed early with the name Brackenpaw, mentored by Graystripe. However, Graystripe neglected his duties." Hell yeah he did.

LIZ: Bitch.

PAZ: "And Brackenpaw's training was mostly completed by Fireheart." Uh-huh.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yep.

PAZ: That's right.

LIZ: It's definitely more apparent in these chapters like that the other cats are picking up the slack, too, which is nice, but.

JULIAN: Yeah, Whitestorm and the other guy are like, yeah, we're gonna take all the cats out, all the apprentices out for a hunt.

PAZ: School field trip.

LIZ: But is it like-- does it feel like, oh, I'm like a sixth grader, and these are all first graders?

PAZ: Yeah, that seems to be the vibe because Brackenpaw's like really upset about it.

LIZ: He can't talk about Fortnite with them. They're too young.

JULIAN: Oh shit, new pixel art of Graystripe just dropped.

PAZ: Oh shit.

LIZ: What?

JULIAN: I think this is new. I don't remember seeing this. He's all fluffy in this pixel art. From the Warriors wiki.

LIZ: Whoa.

PAZ: Whoa. Why's he so dark?

JULIAN: I know, right?

LIZ: No, it's because he's wet from being in Riverclan all the time.

PAZ: Of course.

LIZ: [snickers]

PAZ: What? Got that trap neuter return ear?

LIZ: I was just gonna say that. What happened to you, Graystripe?

PAZ: Maybe if his balls got cut off that would solve a lot of problems.

JULIAN: God.

LIZ: I think he'd still be a bitch. He didn't have a girlfriend when he was like, mm, I don't know about this Tigerclaw being a murder thing

PAZ: God, I can't get over that. I mean, there's a badger scene. There's Cloudkit getting his punishment.

LIZ: What is the level of sentience that badgers have here?

PAZ: I don't know.

JULIAN: Well. I mean, there's some stuff later. But I don't know about badgers in general.

PAZ: Yeah, I don't know if all badgers are sentient or not.

LIZ: Okay, well, the way you guys said that made me think there's like a special badger.

PAZ: No comment.

LIZ: Hmm.

JULIAN: I really love how much of this description is clearly copied from Wikipedia or like an encyclopedia article about badgers. I don't think that it's been revealed anywhere in the Warrior books that male and female badgers generally have the same head-body length falling between 56 and 90 centimeters.

LIZ: God bless.

JULIAN: I just don't think the cats are thinking in centimeters.

LIZ: Oh, they use inches?

JULIAN: Oh, there's a source for all this. Oh, it's revealed on animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu. Yep.

PAZ: Of course.

JULIAN: I do love that they continue to use the revealed language for...

PAZ: It's so funny. I was reading about the supposed Warriors film and it was of course, all revealed on variety.com.

LIZ: Variety?

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: I see.

JULIAN: Oh, this badger looks so cute. There's a badger art from the badger from Secrets of the Clans, which is one of the Warrior guidebooks, and it has--

PAZ: Oh my gosh.

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: The roundest, softest face.

PAZ: Oh my god, I'm in tears.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: This badger looks like the picture of the cat who's been photoshopped to be crying.

LIZ: What has this badger seen?

JULIAN: Also, that's not a Eurasian badger. That's an American badger.

PAZ: Yeah, that is definitely not.

JULIAN: That's the wrong species.

LIZ: What the fuck's a Eurasian badger look like?

JULIAN: It's got the long--

PAZ: It's the classic like black and white striped one, right?

JULIAN: Yeah, so like if you look at the picture at the top of the wiki article, it's a badger with a much longer face with stripes that go all the way down. And that's a Eurasian badger, and the American badger has a much rounder babier looking face.

LIZ: What a sad looking little guy. What have you seen? Do you think the American badger's looking over at like England or whatever with its incredible Hawkeye vision like, oh, that poor little Brackenpaw. If it was me, I wouldn't have attacked a little baby kitten. Oh, those poor cats.

JULIAN: Oh, I'm sorry. I know we got to move off of the Wikipedia page, but I found an amazing picture of an American badger.

PAZ: Please.

LIZ: We'll post these badger pictures on the Twitter. Don't you guys worry.

PAZ: If we remember. Oh my god.

JULIAN: Look at that lad!

LIZ: Oh my God. Oh my god.

PAZ: Holy shit.

LIZ: This looks fake.

PAZ: This looks like they stretched the jpeg.

JULIAN: It's on illinois.gov.

LIZ: What?

JULIAN: It's on the Department of Natural Resources.

PAZ: [wheezing] What is-- what--

LIZ: Chunky.

PAZ: What's wrong with its head?

JULIAN: I mean, they fucking, they all look like this.

LIZ: Nothing. It's perfect.

JULIAN: Here's from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

PAZ: Oh my god.

LIZ: I didn't know they looked like this.

JULIAN: Look at him. There he goes, trot, trot.

LIZ: His powerful stance.

PAZ: They're so wide. I can't. They look like potatoes.

JULIAN: Absolute legend.

LIZ: That's how they make those tunnels. They just like wiggle.

JULIAN: Here's a European badger, just to like for comparison. We can-- I'm putting all these images in the chat so we can tweet them later. Just a long boy. Just a looong slinky boy.

PAZ: Yeah, that's a much less wide, wide lad.

LIZ: Very classic.

PAZ: Still very round nose.

JULIAN: Oh, here's one running.

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: Thank you Shutterstock. Thank you Shutterstock. Thank you whichever photographer hid out in a wild, in like a lane somewhere in England.

PAZ: Oh my god. Look at it go.

JULIAN: To catch this lad.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: It looks like--

LIZ: He go.

PAZ: You know the like boom mic on TVs that they--

LIZ: Yes.

PAZ: It looks like one of those.

JULIAN: Oh, I love him.

LIZ: What's that thing you keep telling me to get for my mic?

PAZ: Oh, a pop filter?

LIZ: Yeah. He looks like a pop filter.

JULIAN: I'm also seeing an image that says, it's a infographic about the differences between the European badger and American badger, but [laughing] the European badger is clearly a beaver.

LIZ: Wait.

JULIAN: Like, could not more clearly be a beaver.

PAZ: What?

LIZ: Wait a minute. Is this just a little nature joke? Little humor?

JULIAN: No, this is a whole... everything you need to know.

LIZ: Oh dear.

PAZ: Well, the first thing you need to know is that's not the European badger.

JULIAN: That's not a fucking badger. Oh, I know that this is clearly a content farm and someone just did a bad job. But this is a beaver. This is a beaver.

LIZ: This looks like a meme.

JULIAN: They do have it correct that none of these are good pets.

PAZ: No.

LIZ: True. God, look at that guy go. I can't stop looking at it. It's just running. Where's he going?

JULIAN: He has important business.

LIZ: Gotta go attack a baby. Heard that baby's an atheist.

PAZ: That's why the badger went for it.

JULIAN: The badger's here to enforce, uh. Oh, I'm sorry, I can't get over the beaver.

PAZ: Okay, we gotta move on.

LIZ: It's a badger.

JULIAN: We gotta move on. We gotta move on.

LIZ: A European badger.

PAZ: Cloudkit got attacked by a beaver.

LIZ: Just turns around and like, waps you.

JULIAN: Oh. Alright, what else happened in these chapters?

PAZ: I guess the next thing we didn't talk about, um, I mean we talked a little about... I guess Fireheart and Cloudkit have another little bonding scene getting the moss.

JULIAN: Yeah, that was cute. And then Tigerclaw's up to some shit again.

PAZ: Of course. Yeah, Tigerclaw going to Twolegplace to do nefarious things. There was a point where his pawprints were described as massive, which was extremely funny to me.

JULIAN: I love the image of Tigerclaw's just enormous big ol beans.

PAZ: Huge beans.

LIZ: Big ol beans compared to cats, though. How big could they be?

PAZ: Well, have you ever seen a cat with real, real big paw to body ratio? That's what I'm imagining. Like he's a big cat but his paws are even bigger.

LIZ: Yeah, but he could still fit in like...

PAZ: What if Tigerclaw's like a polydactyl? Is that what they're called?

LIZ: Oh, absolutely.

JULIAN: [gasps] Yes.

PAZ: Multiple toes.

LIZ: He's got thumbs so that's why he can commit all his crimes.

PAZ: It all makes sense.

LIZ: All dexterity. How did Tigerclaw kill all those other cats? He's got a gun.

PAZ: Holy shit.

JULIAN: I mean, he has been hanging out with all these back alley cats that smell like trash.

LIZ: These city cats.

JULIAN: This is how guns enter the rural English countryside.

PAZ: I love that Fireheart just keeps collecting evidence that Tigerclaw's evil, and he just can't do anything about it because Bluestar is useless.

LIZ: I just can't believe that in these chapters, there's that part specifically where he says Bluestar will know what to do.

PAZ: [snorts]

JULIAN: Right, it's like last-- well, I mean, I feel like he still thinks it's his fault, that he like didn't frame it right last time. Which is very sad.

PAZ: Yeah, but like, he tried to tell her twice. And each time she's been like, no,

LIZ: But it's definitely like being set up for that, right? Because this is very like his own perspective and it's gonna be a dramatic irony turn later.

JULIAN: Mm.

LIZ: Is that too hopeful?

PAZ: We'll see.

LIZ: [darkly] Mm.

PAZ: He does literally run into Tigerclaw.

JULIAN: He does. It's very funny.

LIZ: Right, he's like--

JULIAN: Bounces right off him anime-style.

LIZ: No, he's tailing him, right, and then he's like, oh fuck, but there's this mouse. Ooh, but I gotta--

PAZ: It's so funny. His little cat attention span.

LIZ: It's very video game, too. It's like, okay, main quest. Wait, fuck. Ooh. Mm. Give me a second.

PAZ: I'll be real quick. I just gotta. Yeah, there's a nasty cat smell. Princess shows back up. She's like, you're so thin.

JULIAN: She's like, hey, you're feeding my son, right?

LIZ: Princess having some second thoughts. It's like, maybe I should have gotten my fucking kid vaccinated before he went.

JULIAN: Maybe I should have let him reach like an adult size. Then his growth wouldn't be stunted.

PAZ: She's like, are you getting enough to eat, and Fireheart's just like, no. Doesn't even try to lie.

JULIAN: Imagine being Princess, though. It's like, your shithead brother comes back, is clearly malnourished, and you're like, oh my god, like, I have food at home. Come get some food. And he's like, I can't. The clan. It's like, buddy.

PAZ: He's just in a cult.

JULIAN: He's in a cult. She's trying her best to help him. Well, not really. She's not.

LIZ: Well, she--

PAZ: No, she gave her son to the cult.

JULIAN: She gave him her son.

LIZ: He could have just rolled in some garlic or whatever.

PAZ: Right? Didn't he roll in fox dung before? That was fine.

LIZ: Eat the Temptations.

JULIAN: Eat the Temptations. And then eat some like, I don't know, chives or something so no one can smell the Temptations, the sweet, sweet smell of Temptations on your breath.

LIZ: Just eat some catnip, damn.

PAZ: A single Temptation would kill a Warrior cat dead. Be overwhelming.

JULIAN: God, they really are just like medieval peasants out there in the woods, eating their bowls of gruel. If they got a single bite of tender ocean fish dinner, they would just keel over.

LIZ: Don't they make like beggin strips or whatever for cats now?

JULIAN: Mm-hmm.

PAZ: Probably.

LIZ: You think like the Warriors have a little, little pot of catgrass? I don't think so.

PAZ: No.

LIZ: Everything out there's poisonous.

JULIAN: Well, at the fancy boutique pet bakery in my neighborhood, because of course there is one of those, they do have whole dried fish treats.

LIZ: Wow.

JULIAN: That you can give your cat, if you I guess don't care about having to sweep up after them.

LIZ: Wow.

JULIAN: We have never given one of those to Chickpea because I think she would-- it would be too much for her.

PAZ: No offense to Chickpea, but she doesn't seem to have very discerning taste.

JULIAN: No, no, she really wants Cheez-its.

LIZ: Aw.

JULIAN: She wants Cheez-its so bad.

PAZ: I can relate. I could go for some Cheez-its.

LIZ: She does look like someone who loves to crunch.

JULIAN: Today she knocked-- she loves to crunch. She loves to crunch, and I love to hear her crunch, so it's a win-win. Today she climbed on top of the fridge, again, to try to get the food that is no longer there because we moved it. And she knocked over like the 12 pack of Coke that was up there.

PAZ: Oh my gosh.

LIZ: Oh my god. Does she even weigh 12 packs of coke?

JULIAN: No. Well, there were probably like five or six in there. Um, but she tried to jump on it and then obviously her momentum-- she didn't have great purchase on top of the fridge, so it fell off. I just heard a clatter and came out, and she was looking very, um, you know cats do when it's like, oh I didn't do that. I'm the most distinguished.

PAZ: Kip goes up on the top of our fridge and knocks things over on purpose. He'll like look at me, and knock it off the top of the fridge.

JULIAN: Real Cloudkit. Real Cloudkit energies on that one.

LIZ: Kip's an atheist.

PAZ: Absolutely. Wow. Chapter 10.

JULIAN: Chapter 10.

LIZ: Wait, wait.

PAZ: Oh, yeah?

LIZ: No, just, what if we got one of those like, you know those YouTubes that are always like me making a gourmet cat-friendly meal for my cats?

PAZ: Yeah?

LIZ: We just gotta do that. And I don't know. I think that that has more pull than Temptations, maybe. It's like I made you cat sushi, or I made you like a cat cake.

PAZ: Are you saying that's what'll get Fireheart inside?

LIZ: I think so.

JULIAN: He's got discerning tastes is what you're saying.

LIZ: Mm-hmm.

JULIAN: He needs that raw meat.

PAZ: He does.

JULIAN: What even happened in chapter 10? I just have a note, Whitestorm is a good guy.

PAZ: That's true. Was he even mentioned?

JULIAN: Which is accurate.

PAZ: Was that him taking out the apprentices or something?

LIZ: I think so, yeah.

JULIAN: I think that's where I've, yeah.

PAZ: I've seen a lot of, I think Whitestorm X Tigerclaw stuff on YouTube. I think that's right.

LIZ: That is very funny.

PAZ: I love Tigerclaw's many exes. First Redtail. Now Whitestorm.

JULIAN: Well, I guess the reason we don't remember anything from chapter 10 is it's literally eight pages long.

PAZ: Yeah, it's real short. Fireheart tells Bluestar that there's nasty cats over at Twolegplace, but can't tell her that Tigerclaw is there, because he's like she just won't believe me.

JULIAN: Then they go on a little patrol and they go to RiverClan, and the river's flooded. Uh-oh.

PAZ: It sure is flooded.

JULIAN: I guess that's the downside to having your camp in the middle of the river.

PAZ: Yeah, I wonder if their camp's doing okay.

JULIAN: Yeah. Uh-oh.

LIZ: Oh boy.

PAZ: Uh-oh. I didn't even think about that.

LIZ: Whuh-oh.

JULIAN: I'm sure it's fine that Graystripe is on this patrol.

PAZ: Listen, one time he decides to do work is when he's like maybe I'll see my gf on the way.

JULIAN: God.

PAZ: Please, what are you gonna fucking do if you do see her?

LIZ: He's so annoying.

JULIAN: Well, he's gonna have a double date with Sandstorm and Fireheart and him and his gf and also--

PAZ: Running whoever. What's that guy's name? Runningwind.

JULIAN: Also Runningwind is there.

PAZ: Wow. Fifth wheel Runningwind.

LIZ: Well, maybe Runningwind will find his own starcrossed like cat romance. Triple date. Yes.

JULIAN: There you go.

PAZ: Perfect.

JULIAN: Runningwind slash, who's in... Stonefur.

PAZ: Oh.

LIZ: What do we call that?

PAZ: Runningstone. I'm Googling Runningwind. Don't Google Runningwind, Liz.

LIZ: I'm never going to get into that fucking spoiler channel. What's going on in there? I don't know.

PAZ: Runningwind stories Wattpad. "This is my spin on Warriors: The Prophecies Begin, just with a reader insert. I do not own Warriors. I only own the plot points I use." Oh, here we go. Redtail x Runningwind. Ooh.

LIZ: What?

PAZ: Tell me more.

JULIAN: Ohh.

PAZ: I'm intrigued.

JULIAN: I think this is literally the first time we've seen Runningwind say anything onscreen.

PAZ: Okay, this is someone posting on the forums, "I am utterly baffled by this ship."

LIZ: Well, them saying that makes me want to be like--

PAZ: Oh, fuck this person. They say, "I understand the trans Redtail thing, but I don't really like it. But I don't really care too much." Still, die.

JULIAN: Well, I don't care about you. I don't care about your opinion.

LIZ: Well, yeah.

PAZ: Your opinion is horrible.

JULIAN: And I think Redtail is trans. This is the first I've heard of this headcanon and I would now die for it.

LIZ: Redtail is trans and gay.

PAZ: We've heard of trans Redtail before. Yeah.

JULIAN: Have we?

PAZ: Apparently Redtail-- yeah, that was that one Youtuber's name.

JULIAN: Oh my god, right. It's the YouTuber. I'm sorry.

PAZ: Apparently Redtail was a male calico so yeah, trans Redtail.

JULIAN: Oh!

LIZ: Hell yeah.

PAZ: Just like Hadesclipse.

JULIAN: Just like Hadesclipse.

PAZ: Redtail likes Hadesclipse. This is my self insert.

LIZ: You're gonna have to fight Runningwind.

JULIAN: I guess Runningwind has been here before on screen. I just forgot about him. He helped train Brackenpaw back in Fire and Ice when Graystripe was once again not doing his job.

LIZ: He's just like a nice fellow.

JULIAN: Yeah, he's just a guy.

PAZ: I do not respect the person who made this forum thread at all.

LIZ: Yeah, get outta here, OP.

JULIAN: Uh-oh.

PAZ: Yeah?

JULIAN: I've read some stories or some spoilers for, uh.

PAZ: Yeah?

JULIAN: For later.

PAZ: Well, how bad--

LIZ: Wait, hold on a second. Wait. How come Julian gets to do it and not me?

PAZ: Because Julian's read the books!

JULIAN: Cause this is all shit that I should already know, I just don't remember.

LIZ: Mm. Hmm.

PAZ: Listen, once we finish the Power of Three, you can go wild, because that's up to where we got to. I don't know what we were doing.

LIZ: Chapter 10?

JULIAN: Chapter 10. The eight-page chapter 10. RiverClan is flooded.

PAZ: RIP RiverClan.

LIZ: Oh, sorry. Go ahead.

PAZ: I was just saying RIP RiverClan.

LIZ: I do want to talk about the one thing where Tigerclaw's telling Fireheart to patrol and then Fireheart is like, oh, he's too smart to be hostile to me in public. But he is, though.

PAZ: Right? He's already been hostile to you many times.

LIZ: He calls you a little bitch like every single day in front of people.

PAZ: For real.

JULIAN: It's like, you don't really need to set Fire-- or set Tigerclaw up as like conniving because he's already been conniving. We've seen him be conniving. Part of his connivingness is that he calls you a little bitch every day, and you can't do anything about it because he's the deputy.

PAZ: It's not like-- his whole posse calls Fireheart a little bitch. Fireheart got called a kittypet like two chapters ago.

LIZ: Right? The problem is that people don't care.

JULIAN: Fucking Longtail and Dustpelt.

PAZ: Yeah, and Darkstripe.

LIZ: One of those is like someone's brother, right?

JULIAN: Dustpelt is Sandstorm's brother.

PAZ: No, no, no, no, no.

LIZ: No, wait.

PAZ: They were just apprentices. He's, um, I think he's technically Ravenpaw's brother.

LIZ: Oh, right right right.

JULIAN: Is he?

PAZ: Or something like that.

LIZ: Someone is Ravenpaw's brother.

JULIAN: Oh, I just assumed they were siblings because they were...

PAZ: But it's like, not really--

JULIAN: Oh, you're right. He is Ravenpaw's brother.

LIZ: Wild.

JULIAN: And he's Longtail's half brother.

PAZ: Bitch.

JULIAN: Oh, he's such a little bitch because Darkstripe was his mentor.

LIZ: Duh.

PAZ: Oh. Sorry, I just saw a spoiler for the.... Oh man.

LIZ: These cats. I think that's it though for the chapters, right?

JULIAN: Yeah.

PAZ: Yeah. Sorry. Sorry, Dustpelt had a son.

LIZ: What?

PAZ: Called Spiderleg.

JULIAN: [snorting]

LIZ: You can't do that. What about a cat is spidery?

JULIAN: Peyton's gonna be so angry.

LIZ: Please.

PAZ: That's incredible. I'm clicking Spiderleg's wiki page.

LIZ: Wait, I think Dustpelt should have eight children, no, nine children, and they should all be like Spiderleg 1, Spiderleg 2, Spiderleg 3, until you get to 8. And then you should have one just be like Spiderhead.

JULIAN: Oh holy shit.

LIZ: And then they can stand on top of each other like a mech.

JULIAN: Dustpelt is also Birchfall's father.

PAZ: Oh.

JULIAN: Birchfall of the bad name.

PAZ: I bet Peyton hates Spiderleg too.

JULIAN: Yeah, I guess, uh. Well, whoever the leader is the person who gave the leg name because Spiderkit is... I mean, it's a weird name. But it's a fine one.

LIZ: Oh God.

JULIAN: Oh, I hate that the pixel art here is this cat is looking directly at me. Usually the pixel art, the cat is kind of like, you know, three quarter view, like looking off into the distance. Spiderleg? Looking into my eyes.

PAZ: Sorry, what? Here's a quote caption. "Spiderleg annoyed with Dovepaw when she talks about brown animals." What?

JULIAN: What?

LIZ: Hey, Spiderleg, you, hey, what?

PAZ: What? Brown animals.

JULIAN: [yells]

LIZ: What is that noise you just made?

JULIAN: [hysterical laughter]

PAZ: Hold on. Just gonna screenshot this.

JULIAN: [creaks]

PAZ: If my phone will let me.

JULIAN: Oh God.

PAZ: It all comes full circle.

JULIAN: It really does.

LIZ: [laughing] Oh my god.

PAZ: I clicked "brown animals," and it took me to the beaver page.

LIZ: What does it mean?

PAZ: "Friendly? No."

LIZ: What does it mean?

JULIAN: Beavers aren't friendly?

PAZ: No.

JULIAN: "Relation to clan cats. If provoked they're able to kill a cat with their sharp front teeth."

PAZ: Holy shit.

LIZ: Is that true?

JULIAN: That has never happened.

PAZ: I do not think so.

LIZ: Wait. [typing] Can beavers kill cats. [gasps]

JULIAN: Beaver versus cat.

LIZ: "Beaver attacks can be fatal to domestic animals."

JULIAN: [gasps]

PAZ: Holy shit.

LIZ: There's a whole Wikipedia page for beaver attack.

PAZ: I never would have guessed.

LIZ: Oh, you gotta see this beaver. You gotta see the beaver they use. Look at him, looking at you.

JULIAN: Oh.

PAZ: Oh no.

LIZ: What the fuck?

PAZ: He's so round. I'm so scared.

LIZ: Got his little paws together like [evil laugh] I will.

JULIAN: A beaver has killed a man.

LIZ: What?

JULIAN: Yeah.

PAZ: "Relation to clan cats." Oh, go ahead.

JULIAN: Um, I mean, okay, so this is a 60 year old guy who grabbed the beaver, to take a photo with it.

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: And the beaver bit open his femoral artery.

PAZ: Oh, okay, he shouldn't have done that.

LIZ: Yikes.

JULIAN: So it was like, you shouldn't have done it. Also, it was like bad luck. It just happened to get the femoral.

PAZ: Here's what the Warriors wiki has to say. "Relation to clan cats. Beavers are known to be both inquisitive with cats, but also aggressive if provoked."

JULIAN: Oh my god?

LIZ: Well, how many beavers are they gonna see in England?

JULIAN: There are beavers in England.

PAZ: Yeah, there are beavers.

LIZ: Have we covered this? This feels...

PAZ: I feel like we have, yes.

JULIAN: I think we have. There's beavers in the Narnia book.

LIZ: Aren't they like-- isn't it that like beavers have been recently reintroduced or something?

JULIAN: Yes, we talked about this because they were hunted for their fur to almost extinction, and then they made a big comeback.

PAZ: To kill cats.

LIZ: Good for them?

JULIAN: Good for them. Aw, this is one sleeping and he's all curled up into his tail.

LIZ: I'm just looking at the list of non fatal attacks on humans by beavers.

PAZ: Get 'em.

LIZ: While you say this. Goddamn.

JULIAN: Oh, this image is too powerful for Discord.

PAZ: Understandable.

LIZ: Can you screenshot it?

JULIAN: Oh, I just posted the link, because it's 6000 by 4000 pixels.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: Aw. Have you guys seen baby beavers? They are an incredible shape.

LIZ: Oh yeah. Mm-hmm.

JULIAN: Oh, I don't think I have. Baby beavers. Listeners, I hope you enjoy our animal googling. Oh!

PAZ: They're just such a good shape. They're so fuzzy. They're so round.

JULIAN: Oh, they're so fluffy. Oh, I highly recommend everyone to Google baby beavers.

PAZ: Yes, please. There's some good videos on YouTube, I think.

JULIAN: Yep. They're so small. This is from I Can Has Cheezburger, a site I did not realize was still on the internet.

LIZ: I don't think it can die at this point. I think it's an establishment, right?

JULIAN: Here it is. Their Facebook page is actively posting things as of 47 minutes ago.

PAZ: On Facebook?

JULIAN: There's a listicle about 18 cats demonstrating their cat logic.

LIZ: [groans]

PAZ: Tigerclaw voice.

LIZ: Tigerclaw voice, debate me.

PAZ: I'll destroy them with facts and logic.

JULIAN: Wow.

LIZ: Also sorry, on my search for can beavers kill cats, like the fourth result is just the beaver Warriors wiki page.

PAZ: What do you call a baby beaver? Kits.

LIZ: Baby.

JULIAN: Aw.

PAZ: They're kits, too.

LIZ: [laughs] Can I-- oh my god. Can I give you some suggested searches from this?

JULIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: Okay. One. "Are beavers venomous?"

PAZ: No, that's a platypus.

JULIAN: I understand the confusion, though.

PAZ: Yeah, they're a little similar.

LIZ: Two. "How to survive a beaver attack."

PAZ: Run.

JULIAN: Don't get bitten in the femoral artery and you'll be good.

LIZ: Three. "Beaver bite force PSI."

JULIAN: Now what is the beaver bite force psi? I'm very curious.

LIZ: Let me check. 180 pounds.

PAZ: Holy shit.

JULIAN: That's a lot.

PAZ: Well, I mean they have to bite hard to take down trees, I guess.

LIZ: Goddamn.

JULIAN: Yeah, damn.

LIZ: Compared to a human's 88 pounds. Good Lord.

PAZ: We don't have shit.

JULIAN: That's pretty strong on humans, too.

PAZ: Yeah, I'm not biting that hard.

JULIAN: No wonder my teeth hurt all the time.

PAZ: I don't have anything else to say about these chapters.

JULIAN: Yeah, I think we've wrapped up.

PAZ: I forgot to decide on something to talk about.

JULIAN: I mean, we did talk about beavers for quite some time.

PAZ: We did.

[meow]

JULIAN: I wonder if-- okay, I'm gonna do a quick Google to see if... beaver roleplay.

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: Oh my god. Beaver kids book.

JULIAN: Oh no, this is Narnia roleplay. That's not what I want. Beaver roleplay Proboards.

PAZ: Oh shit.

JULIAN: Beaver [sighs]. Yep, here we go. I found-- this is on the Disney Roleplay World.

PAZ: Disney?

LIZ: Oh?

JULIAN: Yeah.

LIZ: Beavers in Disney?

JULIAN: This is an Angry Beavers RP.

LIZ: What?

PAZ: Oh my god, that show. You don't know that show, Liz?

LIZ: No?

PAZ: I think it was a Nickelodeon cartoon. It was like the era of like, Catdog and such.

LIZ: Oh.

JULIAN: Yeah, it's a band of outcast beavers trying to take over the world, or take over the woods, sorry, not the world.

PAZ: Why not the world?

JULIAN: Holy shit, this is dark. Um, they are the young Zachs family. The head beaver, Jason, catches Treeflower. Kate, who was with her, isn't seen, but finds her mother dead after Jason kills her to send a message.

PAZ: What?

JULIAN: Is there a way to bring her back or stop Jason? Fuck!

PAZ: I hope so.

JULIAN: Oh, it's so much to read this very intensive, um, there are lions here?!

LIZ: What?

PAZ: I don't remember that.

JULIAN: This roleplay includes lions and bears. It's a lot to see this really intensive moment where this beaver is facing down lions. And she's screaming for her uncle, Daggett.

PAZ: Oh yeah, I remember. Yep, that was the name.

JULIAN: "'Mama, Daddy, Uncle Daggy-Waggy,' she screams."

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: Also a lot to see, um... is this Tyler Posey? Someone's shooting a gun at me in the gif.

PAZ: What?

JULIAN: In this signature about beavers.

PAZ: What year was this happening?

JULIAN: This was posted in 2014.

PAZ: That is much more recent than I would have thought.

JULIAN: Yeah, it didn't get off the ground too far. Only about 10 posts here.

PAZ: I wonder why.

JULIAN: Oh, no, I'm sorry, there's four pages of this. I'm just kidding.

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: Yeah, the final post is, "'Kate, it's time for lunch,' Norb called to his daughter." So I presume they--

PAZ: They survived.

JULIAN: They dealt with the lions.

LIZ: They went to lunch.

PAZ: Man, Warrior Cats needs to step up.

LIZ: This is riveting.

JULIAN: These beavers have sofas? I never watched the cartoon.

PAZ: Oh yeah, they live in like a-- I don't remember exactly.

JULIAN: Little house?

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yeah, no, Kate's mom fuckin died. Rip Treeflower.

PAZ: Wow.

JULIAN: I am kind of surprised but there hasn't been like a big sprawling story about a society of beavers.

PAZ: Yeah, they also are like communal animals. Are beavers not interesting enough? I think they're cool.

JULIAN: Wait, hold up. What was the Redwall book? Oh no, those were otters.

LIZ: An otter is just a beaver that hasn't been flattened at the back.

JULIAN: Because I was thinking of Taggerung, which in hindsight was I think a little racist. But that was about otters and not beavers.

LIZ: You know that--

JULIAN: Are beavers--

LIZ: Oh, go ahead.

JULIAN: Are they evil in Redwall?

PAZ: Are they in Redwall?

LIZ: Beavers?

JULIAN: Oh, there are no beavers.

LIZ: Well, when was Redwall written?

JULIAN: Redwall wiki. "According to Brian Jacques, beavers do not appear in subsequent Redwall novels to reflect the fact that there are no longer any native beavers in Great Britain."

LIZ: Well. Wait.

JULIAN: "The solitary beaver is the only beaver in the Redwall series and was very rarely mentioned."

PAZ: Holy shit. Who's the solitary beaver?

JULIAN: He stopped Cluny from climbing up the wall in the first battle of the Late Rose Summer Wars.

PAZ: I want to know more about this guy.

JULIAN: And he uses a crossbow. Damn.

PAZ: Wow, apparently beavers have like, mate for life.

JULIAN: Aw.

LIZ: Aw.

PAZ: Wikipedia doesn't have a fictional beavers page.

JULIAN: Why? They have a fictional badgers page.

PAZ: Maybe there just aren't many fictional beavers.

JULIAN: Oh my God. I know this is not a Redwall padcast.

LIZ: Padcast?

JULIAN: Padcast. But I have found a tidbit of Redwall lore that is blowing the series wide open. Bees can communicate in Redwall.

LIZ: What?

PAZ: What?

JULIAN: "Indicated by a statement at the end of the books where the guerrilla shrews learn to speak the bee language so they can trade and argue. This is not noted in other books."

PAZ: Holy shit.

JULIAN: That means that if bees can communicate, half of the animals eat insects. Are they eating sentient insects?

PAZ: Ahh.

LIZ: Horrible. I hate that. What if you're like, God, I don't know, like a bird or mouse or whatever, and you just like, eat a cricket, and it's just like, [tinily] nooo.

JULIAN: [very small] I have a family.

LIZ: Gruesome.

PAZ: This is a problem when you make all the animals in sentient societies.

JULIAN: Well, I feel like Redwall tried to handle it by making all the carnivores evil.

PAZ: I've never read Redwall.

JULIAN: Yeah, they make most of the carnivores, like-- which is its own problem because then it's like these species are inherently evil.

PAZ: They just did Zootopia. I mean, I guess Zootopia did Redwall, is what I should say.

LIZ: With cops? Does Redwall have cops?

JULIAN: Um...

PAZ: They have like soldiers.

JULIAN: It's sort of like a medieval situation. So they have like soldiers, and like, there might be like a sheriff or something. There's not like the police.

PAZ: There's only 21 pages in the fictional beavers category.

LIZ: That's so sad.

JULIAN: That's so sad. That feels--

PAZ: This is an undertapped market.

LIZ: They have architecture. They feel rife for like anthropomorph-- word I can't say. You know, when they become little guys with little houses?

JULIAN: Hey, children's book editors, hot new idea, fictional story about beavers, species of beavers. They're-- not species, family of beavers. Society of beavers. That's the word I was looking for.

PAZ: That should be the next Erin Hunter endeavor.

JULIAN: Right? I guess maybe the concern is, while they do have a society and they do have little hands and they do build things, they don't attack each other and kill each other?

PAZ: That's true. No, but they're very territorial. Maybe they do.

LIZ: They can attack and kill us. That's gotta be something.

JULIAN: That's true.

PAZ: They probably have fights.

LIZ: Maybe it's like the next, you know, great civilization is one of beavers and they've got to fight the humans or something.

JULIAN: There you go.

LIZ: Terrible remnants of the last one.

PAZ: Beavers inherit the earth.

JULIAN: There was a beaver dam in the creek at home, and they were-- they did a lot. They really dammed up that creek.

PAZ: Yeah, they work hard. Okay, if Erin Hunter was to make a beaver series, what would it be called? So the bears one is called Seekers. I think the canceled dog one was like...

JULIAN: No, that's the Africa one.

LIZ: Designers. Planners.

JULIAN: Architects. Builders.

LIZ: Constructors. Oh, Creators.

JULIAN: Oooh.

PAZ: Ooh.

LIZ: There's also Devisors, which sounds a little, you know.

PAZ: Oh, that sounds like they'll be like little wizards.

JULIAN: Yeah, I like Devisors.

PAZ: Devisors is real good.

JULIAN: Survivors is the dog series.

PAZ: Oh, Devisors is a little close to Survivors. But I think it's still very good.

LIZ: Artisan.

PAZ: I want little wizard beavers.

JULIAN: Right? They're so ripe to be little magic guys. Little magicians. They got their little hands.

LIZ: I feel like every other creature that's vaguely in the shape of a beaver, which is like kind of a brown egg, has gotten that treatment already. Like, you know, badgers, which they're not really brown, but they're eh. Porcupine. I feel like I've definitely seen more porcupine than beaver.

PAZ: Yeah. Why are beavers so underutilized?

LIZ: Otters. Capybaras.

JULIAN: I don't think we've done capybaras.

PAZ: Friends at the Table has done capybaras now.

LIZ: I think someone's done capybaras.

JULIAN: I mean, maybe there's a children's book.

LIZ: Moles. Voles.

JULIAN: That's just Redwall.

PAZ: Yeah, those little guys are Redwall.

LIZ: A raccoon isn't brown but it does have little hands and is about the same shape, and they've definitely done those.

PAZ: There's like Sly Cooper, yeah.

JULIAN: Yeah. Ranger Rick.

PAZ: Justice for beavers.

LIZ: Let the beaver have its moment. It's basically like a water clan, right?

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: Okay, there should just be like a direct lifting of all the Warriors clans into just like beaver clan, badger clan. That's like--

PAZ: This is just Redwall. We're just reinventing Redwall with beavers.

LIZ: No, there's more than one beaver, because they've returned to England.

PAZ: You're writing Redwall fanfiction.

LIZ: I can make this an Arthurian beaver.

PAZ: Yeah, the beaver is Merlin.

JULIAN: Guinebeaver.

LIZ: Who's gonna play young hot BBC beaver Merlin?

JULIAN: Do you mean Beaverlin?

LIZ: Yes.

PAZ: You know, that might do it for us. I think we're-- [laughs].

LIZ: When we hit that 420 goal.

PAZ: Thanks everyone for listening to our podcast. You can find the show at Stairway to Star-- no, it's just, you can find the show @staircast on twitter.com. You can now support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/staircast. You can email questions or anecdotes or yell at us about talking about beavers too much, [email protected]. Um, next week we'll be reading chapters 11 through 14 of Forest of Secrets. I guess that's about it. So until next time, may StarClan light your path. Bye.

LIZ: Bye.

JULIAN: Bye.

[outro music]

LIZ: My God.

JULIAN: Oh.

LIZ: Hey, did you know beavertails are a kind of donut?

JULIAN: Oh, like a food?

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: I was like, I thought you were talking about like a mathematical donut for some reason.

PAZ: Wow.

LIZ: That's me. I love to talk about math.

JULIAN: Like a torus. Anyway.

#ep 19 #forest of secrets ep #transcript #beaver tales

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geckolady · 3 years

Text

Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Clues and progress

They got to the car they borrowed and had to call a taxi to help get them all back to Gordon’s. They decided to rest for a little while before heading out and Crow went upstairs to remove the body which would be collected by the Sanctuary Cleavers and then cleaned up what he could, Wolf helping him.

Panda sat carefully at the kitchen table, looking at her nervously try to think up something to eat. She could make little bits, her and Gordon had been learning things slowly as a way of spending time together and also so Gordon wouldn’t forget to make food as often, Stephanie would remind him to spend time with her. It made her chest ache for him for a moment. She still loved him, but he had set up everything so she could move on quickly and she intended to make him proud.

She found some rice, tinned tomatoes, passata, cheese and mozzarella after a while and after digging out the recipe from the messed-up folder they had created together. Panda helped her work out how much food they needed for six, then decided after a moment to add on another two portions considering they were all so big and they were all so hungry.

It took a while to make and she had had to replace some passata with tin tomatoes, which were meant to be fresh anyway, and there defiantly wasn’t enough mozzarella, but with cheese on top and the fact it was alright tasting and there was more than enough for everyone, she was the star of the night and everyone doted on her. She’d always thought cooking for people was boring, but they made it fun, and Panda had done all the onion chopping so it wasn’t too horrible.

When they had all finished the meal – Stephanie had forced Crow to sit with them – they all went their various ways to relax. They had made sure to have two on night duty as well as Crow at all times but Stephanie was not involved though she didn’t complain with that, as the others would also be doing washing, drying and putting away since she cooked.

She washed for a long time in the shower, finding a lot of bruise and feeling a lot more aches than she realised she had. There was a particularly big yellowing bruise on her butt cheek she had no idea about but it didn’t hurt and too soon she was out the shower and in her massive, fluffy towel. She took the old nail varnish off her toes and couldn’t be bothered to repaint them after filing so she finished up, including her teeth and putting away the things she’d used in the draws, although they had no real home so it wasn’t exactly organised.

She didn’t care though so she took her clothes back to her room with her towel around her. She was sort of embarrassed to get waved at by Weasel who was going into his room someway down the hall as she was used to sleeping on a whole different floor to Gordon and had even walked, quiet freely, from the bathroom to her room naked without fear of being spotted in the past. She wouldn’t be able to do that anymore, which was disappointing in a weird way. Walking around naked was fun.

She shook the strange thoughts from her mind and went to her room with her massive super king bed and beautiful sheets and all her pillows and throws in various colours and materials, some gifts from her friends, others artfully picked by Gordon. The four-poster had semi-transparent white curtains she always had the tied up. When she was younger they had been the best thing in the room.

She had a desk and fairly new computer though the monitor was the same one from years ago, possibly from before she was born, a desk that went across the span of the room held up with massive screws and brackets rather than legs, giving the allusion of a lot of space. She had a vanity and massive walk in wardrobe with custom shelves, hanging space and shoe space that had never been full but she still loved for the fact it was over the top and made her feel important.

She changed into new pyjamas and got under the covers. She slept soundly.

She had a vague dream of Gordon that night, nothing of importance, no particular event, but she dreamt of Gordon, her and her boys. That’s what she called them in her dream and as soon as she awoke, she remembered that and not much of the dream itself. She decided that was what they were. She was their girl and they were her boys, her bothers. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect name for them, but it was the feel more so than the name itself.

She didn’t bother changing from her shorts and massive t-shirt Gordon had handed down to her some years ago, just grabbed her Panda toy to show Panda and slowly rubbed her eyes and went downstairs.

They were all in the kitchen, Bear, Panda and Weasel mumbling over tea, Crow reading a newspaper and the others far too excited for the morning and making up a big meal for them all. Stephanie sat on Bears lap and he moved back to give her room and was in a good enough mood to even wrap one arm back around her so it rested on her opposite hip, basically hugging her. Such a big, bad man, so feared across the land, and here he was, grumpy, drinking black tea and cuddling her.

“Cub!” Wolf said when he turned around. He was wearing an apron that said ‘I’ve been a naught cook’ on it and started laughing. “What do you want for breakfast?”

She stifled her laughs. “Whatever’s going I guess.”

“A full Irish, coming up.”

“Well, not a full one,” Crow pointed out over his paper.

“No,” Snake agreed. “But it’s pretty close.”

Stephanie listened to them argue over breakfast and noticed she was the last down and only one that hadn’t gotten dressed. Looking at the clock, she noticed it was ten o’clock and they must have been waiting for her.

She was given her food not long after and when they had all eaten and she’d helped putting things in the correct place when it was washed, she ran and got herself ready for the day. Back in her protective clothes, she came back to the kitchen to reconvene and found them inspecting her Panda bear.

“Hey!” She said, making them jump. “Don’t touch my Pandy!”

Wolf put it in the middle of the table. “I just wanted to see Ghastly’s namesake is all.”

“Yeah, just curious,” Snake said.

“Which is totally allowed,” Weasel pointed out. “So don’t get mad.”

“Yeah, but this is special. It was made for me and it’s special and you can’t hurt it,” she told them. “Anyway, I wanted to show Panda.”

“He saw it earlier,” Crow said, coming in from the living room. “He said it brought back memories of the wild animals his father made for him as a child. I think he wishes he made you more now.”

“He made me tones of stuff. I have almost everything you ever got me upstairs. Even the nonsense stuff you gave me.”

“They weren’t nonsense,” Crow muttered and left the room. “We’re leaving in five so get ready.”

Stephanie put her old toy, which was quite beaten up but still cute, at the end of the table and they got into the Bentley and the van and made their way down to the coast.

They stopped near her aunt and uncles place and Stephanie looked out the window at the nice little house. It was deceiving, how quaint it looked considering how bad the people within it had been to her on occasion. She was hardly Harry Potter but she deserved a little better from them, at least.

“Can’t we just steal it? I want to break in,” she told them.

“Stop whining. You get to steal it now, just walk over, go in, steal it and leave. Done,” Crow told her.

“It’s not the same and you know it,” she said, but got out the car, accepting that she was about to embarrass herself greatly in front of everyone.

She knocked on the door and waited until Fergus opened it. “Oh,” he said.

“Yeah. I was wondering how you were?” She asked. It sounded more like she was questioning the question. She certainly was.

“Uh, we’re fine. How are you?”

“Grand, grand. Um, could I use your bathroom?” She blurted out, wanting to get it over with.

He looked at her suspiciously. “Why? What are you up to?”

She frowned meanly at him. “Nothing. I went for a walk at the coast, needed to pee and came here. Is that so bad?”

He made a grunt noise but let her in and she bolted up the stairs to the bathroom. She closed the door and then listened carefully, hearing him call Beryl’s name and her shout back from the kitchen. She crept from the bathroom to her Aunt and Uncles room and searched the jewellery box. She found it quickly, flushed the loo and ran down the stairs.

“Thank you!” She called and closed the door on her way out.

She walked at a normal speed until she was sure Beryl couldn’t spy on her and then ran to the car and got in.

“That was not fun. I hope you understand that.”

“I don’t,” Crow said. “Now let’s go.”

They travelled back to the mansion and found it thankfully clear of intruders. The basement only took a moment to search with all seven of them and they used the key to get in, Stephanie getting to do the honours. It smelt dank and wet and felt frigidly cold.

They couldn’t all go in as there were monsters within would sense their magic, so Stephanie, Crow and Wolf would enter and the others would stay behind to guard and keep them hidden since they didn’t know if Serpine knew of the caves yet and if it gave them a few moments to get the Sceptre’s alliance to them first, it would be the edge they needed.

It felt slow at first, being in the cavernous maze and just slowly wandering around, finding boring plants and fungus everywhere. She had been instructed not to touch any as it was as dangerous as the sentient things down there. Maybe more so.

Stephanie pulled out the little torch she had stashed away in her jacket and they used it to pass a little stream type thing, and to avoid a massive tendril that was moving silently and might have been a snake though she honestly couldn’t tell. They couldn’t use magic, so her torch was invaluable. When they heard noises up ahead she clicked it off and they pressed into the shadows, Wolf’s hand on her shoulder.

The monster passed them with slow, powerful sweeps of its paws – a single claw was bigger than her foot. They waited for it to go around the corner and Wolf let her go and they began running through the dark halls with the torch to help them. Eventually they stumbled across a Snickers wrapper.

“Gordon,” Stephanie said, almost welling with emotion but holding it back resolutely.

“A clue,” Crow said. “We’re on the right track.”

They carefully followed the cave system further down into the dark and they were relying solely on Stephanie’s light for guidance. They reached a large space at the end with three other corridors and an overhang above them. In the centre of the room was the Sceptre.

Crow carefully checked the air with his magic and then nodded to them. They had already decided that Crow should be the one to touch the Sceptre first since he had the most control and would be the hardest for Serpine to kill. He strode forwards and the thing started to sing. He picked it up. It… did nothing.

How anticlimactic.

“Boring,” Wolf said, stretching. “Time to go.”

They left the caves at a jog and Stephanie was incredibly surprised to find everyone above perfectly fine and healthy. They hadn’t even spotted cars around the walls. Bear said it was too quiet, but they were grateful nonetheless and sat around the living room to think of their next move, the Sceptre sitting innocently, and loudly, on the coffee table.

“It needs to be destroyed,” Bear said. “It has no place existing, especially now Serpine is after it.”

“It’s a valuable weapon though. It could be an asset in stopping Serpine,” Weasel suggested though didn’t seem too happy with it.

“I think we should destroy it as soon as Serpine is dead,” Crow said. “It is an asset, and if we could get it assessed first, prove its existence, we can kill Serpine without consequences.”

Wolf shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of destroying it, but it’s too dangerous.”

Panda nodded. “Dexter’s right. I know you want to be certain we can kill him Skul, we all do, but this isn’t the way.”

Stephanie put her hand on Crow’s gently. “It’s way too dangerous. We might not get another chance to destroy it and if someone else gets it, it’d be awful.”

He was quiet as he thought about it. “I suppose you are right. The risk is too great. But that means we need to know how to destroy it.”

Panda stood up. “I think it’s time I paid a visit to the family Vault. Who else wants to go?”

In the end, Panda, Stephanie and Crow decided to go to his family Vault while Bear went to the Sanctuary to try and convince the Elders of the Serpine’s actions. The others would stay where they were to guard the house and Sceptre. It was a fairly long drive to The Vault and on the way Panda and Crow explained a few things.

“The Vault is not a place that is gone in lightly or often,” Panda told her. “My family have collected things over centuries and I have only been in their twice myself. My mother didn’t even go in there as it was from my father’s side and they were always too protective over it.”

“Why are you bringing me and Crow then?”

“You’re family,” he said. “And that one won’t let me not take him.”

She laughed. “What stuff did they collect?”

He shrugged. “Mostly paintings, but they were very interested in the Ancients, which we told you about already, so hopefully they will have something in there that can tell us about destroying it.”

They got to the art gallery in good time and caught the guards before they were leaving, allowing Panda to show his documentation, though it was unnecessary since it was impossible not to recognise him, and they waited for them to open the massive metal door, and it was shut after them, so they could browse.

It wasn’t as big as Stephanie had assumed it would be, but it was still packed with things, all valuable looking. There was art everywhere, some of what she assumed was the most valuable on the walls, and cases of clothes, jewels, piles of books and a massive oval table and chairs in the centre though upon the surface was more things she couldn’t identify.

“Where do we start?” Stephanie asked.

“I’ll start over here,” Panda said, walking to one of the corners.

“You look at the paintings,” Crow told her. “If you find anything relating to the Ancients that might be useful, tell us.”

She nodded and got started on the nearest rack of paintings. They were very expensive and she did her best to handle them with care, the way Gordon had taught her when they had gone through his collection one time. Panda found some maps in his corner they thought could have been places the Sceptre might have been found at one time, though they had no way of checking since they had the Sceptre. They did put them carefully on a chair for photographs though, just in case there was more information about the Sceptre in those places. It must have been almost twenty minutes later that Stephanie found a picture of it.

“I found something,” she said. “But it’s just someone using the Sceptre, not anything about destroying.”

“Tell me about it,” Crow said, his voice muffled as he was bent straight over into a chest.

“It’s a man, and he’s reaching for the Sceptre. It’s sort of hovering just out of reach, and it’s glowing.”

“Is there anything strange about him?” Panda asked, looking through scrolls.

“Yeah… he’s shielding his eyes but they’re both wide open. He looks kind of crazed actually.”

“What does that mean?” Crow asked her, pulling himself from the chest.

“Well, you’d expect him to be squinting, you know? There’s so much detail, there’s no reason the painter wouldn’t make him squint.”

“Anything else strike you as odd?”

She looked it over again. “The shadows.”

“What about them?”

“There’s two. And the Sceptre isn’t making them, the angles are wrong. Maybe the sun?” She suggested as he came over to look too.

“Yes, but what time of day would it be?”

“The shadow at his feet would make it noon, making the sun overhead, but the shadow behind him would make it morning or evening.”

“Which one?”

“How am I meant to know?” She frowned at him, seeing he wasn’t looking at the painting at all, actually playing with a little box. “Maybe morning.”

“So, you are looking at a man who is reaching for the Sceptre in the past and present, seeing everything at once.”

“I suppose so. What does that have to do with the box you’re messing with?”

“Who painted it?” Crow asked. “Ghastly, get over here.”

“There’s a crest. Leopard and crossed swords,” she said.

He lifted the box and showed them the same crest. “Whoever, family or individual, made that painting, also made this Puzzle Box. People like to put things in Puzzle Boxes that might help us in our quest for information. It’s another clue, Stephanie.”

He played with it a little more and then rested it flat on his palm. It clicked and there was a high pitch motorising sound before the top opened and they saw a little blue stone inside.

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stowaway-macaw · 4 years

Text

Biome Curse (Part 6)

Xisuma flipped through pages and pages of logs, eyes strained at the poor lighting in his small filing room. Of all the places in his base to not be lit well, Xisuma was frustrated that it was this room. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it didn't matter. Something was obviously and unbelievably wrong. The rapid sound of paper flipping was cut through by a loud knock at the door. Xisuma jumped at the noise, but quickly regained his composure and called out to the door.

"Come in." The door opened and in the doorway was Iskall and Stress.

"Dude, you look terrible." Was the first thing that was said, straight from the mouth of Iskall.

"Gee, thanks. What'd you guys need?" Xisuma asked while setting the papers on a box that had already been opened, but hastily resealed.

"We wanted to ask you for some stuff… and talk about all of the recent uh… events." Stress phrased the sentence carefully, but she was obviously eager to get some information. The two visitors could see Xisuma's eyes grow serious, and Iskall turned to signal Stress to explain.

"See… I think something's going on with the jungle. In a bad way. Also, everyone's been so paranoid since that message showed up in chat. I think I might know a way to help, but I needed information. I asked Iskall to check out some spotty places in the jungle and he told me about one area by a lake." Xisuma stopped her to ask a question, hoping to find a lead of some sort.

"What were the coordinates?" Iskall handed him a small piece of paper with some numbers hastily scribbled on it.

"I wrote these down when I got to the edge of that lake. I boated across to get a better look, and while the place looked normal, I couldn't hear anything. It was mega weird. There were no mobs either, but I felt like I was being watched. When I walked far enough, I could hear everything again. Even Jel- erm… a cat showed up." Iskall's fumble didn't go unnoticed by Xisuma, but he elected to ignore it.

"But besides that, are you sure you're cool with helping us, dude? You seriously look like you're about to fall over." When Iskall brought the attention back to Xisuma, Stress nodded her head.

"Yeah, you look exhausted. How long have you been at this? Your helmet is hard to see through and even I can see how bloodshot your eyes are." Stress pointed out, knitting her eyebrows.

"I don't think it's been that long. I've only been at this since the message came in." Stress proceeded to move to Xisuma's side and place a hand on his back.

"Oh no, we've seen you do this before. It's almost been a full day since we saw that thing and the sun will be down in just a few hours. We're not going to have another delirious X on our hands. It's off to bed with you." Stress scolded as she shoved her friend towards the door.

"Wha- hey, it's really not that bad! Besides we need to solve this problem." Iskall cut Xisuma off before he could protest more.

"Dude, it's fine. We're all still here and okay. The world isn't gonna end because you got a good night's sleep."

"But what about Stress's-"

"Xisuma, love, it's fine! If it really bothers you that much then give us a thirty second run-down on what you've already found and we'll go from there!" They kept pushing their admin to his bedroom, and Xisuma sighed in defeat.

"Alright, fine. You're right. I haven't actually found much. It's more what I can't find that's bothering me. I've looked over documents and commands, but there are two things that are always missing from all of them. Two players to be exact. Player one has a longer name while player two's is much shorter. Their names are always missing and all of the characters are replaced with question marks. It's strange, I can't find their names anywhere, but they show up so much in the logs, like they were there from the beginning of the world, like the rest of us. All of their messages are in that language and it looks like we had even talked to them before…" by the time Xisuma had finished, his two friends had led him to his bed and he sat down on it while talking.

"That's so weird, but I think that makes sense." Stress looked at Iskall when he said that and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah, haven't you noticed? Something's missing. Something big that we used to see all the time. It would make sense if it was two whole players that went missing." Xisuma processed Iskall's words and eventually nodded.

"I agree. But that still wouldn't explain why we don't remember them."

"Maybe it's magic?" Stress offered, only to get two looks from her friends that just screamed "really? You're going with that?"

"I'm serious! Magic stuff happens all the time among the hermits! Cub has his weird vex thing, I'm pretty sure Ren is possessed by something? He keeps talking about an emperor, but maybe that's not a good example. I've had magic and still do! We enchant our tools, so why wouldn't someone who knows that enchanting language enchant players?" The longer she talked, the more convinced her friends looked.

"That would explain some things, but that also makes this much harder." Xisuma said, looking down.

"Why?" Iskall questioned, somewhat discouraged by Xisuma's interjection.

"Magic doesn't have strict rules; it's not as clean cut as code or admin commands. If it really is magic then this could mean a game of loopholes. Finding the loopholes in spells is the key to exploiting and breaking enchantments." Stress nodded once Xisuma had finished.

"I can confirm that. I've had more experience with ice magic in the past and I can tell you right now that none of it was reliable in the slightest. Every time I thought I had figured out a rule, I would break it. It's still happening now with my flowers and nature magic, but I haven't had it for as long."

"So it's magic then. We need someone good at loopholes then." Iskall put his hand to his chin, thinking of who they could ask. Stress suddenly cringed. Iskall looked at her, noticing the sour look on her face.

"What's up? You think of someone?" Stress sighed and nodded.

"Yes, but only because he scammed the whole server." Xisuma perked up at her sentence.

"Ooh…" he cringed as well, but with significantly less malice.

"The lifetime subscription… "

"...Of free glass." She finished. The two then looked at each other and nodded before saying in unison:

"Etho."

Etho himself was a different kind of chaotic. A kind that was much more… intentional. Despite that, the trio agreed it would be smart to bring him into the mix while using Stress as a reference for magical tendencies. The man usually had good intentions anyway. Emphasis on "usually".

"Well now that we have that sorted out, you need to go to bed early." Iskall said, while motioning for Stress to follow him out of the room.

"Yes yes, alright. If you guys find anything else though, let me know." They both nodded and left the room where Xisuma promptly fell asleep much quicker than he had thought he would.

Stress and Iskall eventually parted ways, but Stress still had something on her mind. The bird man she had met earlier had a strange air about him. She could sense magic on him, and his body language suggested he was hardly used to the showy attire he sported. She also had this overwhelming feeling that she had seen him before, but her brain wouldn't let her remember. To her, that was enough proof that maybe he was one of the missing players, but she wasn't sure if she should tell the others since there were quite a few hermits who could turn a mess into a wildfire.

With a new resolve, Stress went off to work at her base, not before glancing over to the mysterious mansion looming in the distance and the shore of the shallow lake that looked too barren. She resolved to go to the same place the next day, hoping the bird man would be there then.

And a mere two hours later, said man was flying his way back to the shallow lake, the wish Stress had made clutched in his hand. Grian could feel himself cross the barrier and landed gracefully on the grass and fallen leaves of the jungle, careful not to stir up the surrounding foliage too much with his landing.

"You're back!" Scar ran up to Grian, Jellie in his arms.

"Sure am. And look what I've got." He waved the book in the air in small, quick motions.

"It's Stress's, right?" Grian fumbled at Scar's guess and sputtered out,

"Wh- y-yeah. How did…?" Scar laughed a genuine, good-natured laugh at his friend's surprise before explaining.

"Iskall came by here earlier. He walked through here and couldn't see me or the village, but he was able to see Jellie once he crossed the barrier on the other side. He started talking to her and mentioned that Stress told him to look around." While Scar talked, he made his way to the village snail and led Grian up the ladder, not before tucking Jellie in his robe.

"Also, the jungle gave me some pants." When they had reached the top, Grian looked to see that the jungle had, in fact, given the wizard some pants.

"I see that. Did you have a conversation with it?"

"Yeah. Remember that red parrot that we both saw before all this happened?" Grian nodded.

"I think that's the form it's taking. Which is good. It means it won't always be watching our every move. The bird doesn't blink though, so it's kinda cree-" Scar stopped mid-sentence.

"Hello? What are you-"

"Shh, quiet." Grian immediately stopped talking. The two stood in silence for a few minutes, after which Scar closed the door and dimmed the lanterns lighting the place.

"I think it's gone now, but just in case, I'm going to make it look like we've gone to bed." Scar explained.

"I can sense it's presence. I've been trying to teach myself how since it approached me, and I'm able to sense it while it's about six meters from our barrier. Not much, I know, but it's better than nothing." Silence.

"So, yeah. Can I see the wish?" Grian handed Scar the wish, still not saying anything.

"Thanks." Scar read the wish, and nodded.

"Okay, I think we'll be able to do this. I think it's actually pretty simple. It shouldn't require any magic, just a public event maybe." Silence.

"Sound good?" Grian nodded.

"Why are you suddenly so quiet?" Grian pointed to where his mouth was under the mask, made a zipping motion with his fingers, then pointed at Scar.

"What? What are you- oh! Oh I'm so sorry! You can talk now." Grian let out a groan.

"I'm really getting sick of this whole familiar thing." Grian said in a begrudging tone. Scar laughed nervously and looked away.

"It's good that you can sense where that thing is though. And yeah, I think you're right about the event thing. The hermits aren't very hard to cheer up, excluding a few."

"Yeah. You don't mind doing what you did today, tomorrow, right?"

"Nope. I've gotta check up on Stress anyway."

"Awesome. Well we should probably get to bed now." Grian nodded at Scar's suggestion and plopped down on his designated bed.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep though. I've been doing nothing all day except wait." Grian complained, staring down at his pillow.

"You said being in the pendant was like a good night's sleep, right? Why not just do that?" Grian thought for a moment, not sure if he should take the offer.

"I mean, I guess? It's worth a shot. I don't know if I can do it on my own though, so you should just tell me to do it." Scar agreed.

"Alright. I guess I just…" he hesitated.

"Go back to the pendant?" The command sounded more like a question, but it was still a command. Yet, nothing happened.

"Umm, maybe you weren't commanding enough?" Grian suggested. Scar thought back to when the phenomenon had happened previously. What was different? Suddenly, Scar perked up.

"Oh! I know! Take off your mask." Grian's hand slid the mask off of his face seemingly on its own and the room was filled with a burst of color as soon as Scar could see Grian's face. And just like that, he was nowhere to be seen.

"I guess I'll… wait until morning?" He directed the question at Jellie, who was curled up where Grian would have slept. He took her comfortable purr as agreement and settled into his own bed.

"There goes day two." Scar mumbled to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

#hermitcraft #xisumavoid #iskall85 #stressmonster #grian #goodtimeswithscar #biome curse #fanfic

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kumkaniudaku · 5 years

Text

The Love Tonight (1)

A/N: A request by @queenbutterfly2018. Thank you for keeping my creative juices flowing. Even if it does take me 7000 years to finish things.

Summary: The family bonds over Beyonce and a classic movie.

The Love Tonight (2)

"And I just can't waaaiit...to be KING!"

CoCo silently bopped her head from side to side in the kitchen as she split her attention between washing the dishes and her kids enjoying the third showing of The Lion King in as many weeks.

Noah let out a small squeal of excitement followed by a laugh that caught Micah's attention.

"No, Noey! We don't laugh during this part. It's really serious!" When the youngest of the pair responded with a gurgling babble, Micah let out an agitated groan before continuing her explanation. "Simba could get hurt. He didn't listen to his daddy, and now the heenas are looking for him. That's why we have to listen to Mommy and Daddy."

"Good lesson, baby girl," Tasha called from the kitchen, adding a wink to her praise when Micah turned around to acknowledge her mother.

From the moment she could focus on moving images, Micah became enamored with Simba's timeless tale. Her big eyes would sparkle when she would hear the movie's main theme, the song often doubling as the only sound to keep her quiet when she was restless.

When she was three, Micah insisted that she would not participate in Halloween festivities if she could not dress as Nala. Her first eating utensil set, big girl underwear, and bed set featured the beloved characters. Even as she found other interests, The Lion King was her first love.

"Mommy, your favorite song is coming! You gotta sing it!"

Micah wiggled around in her seat while Tasha took a break from cleaning to join her on the couch. Pulling the little one into her lap, CoCo cleared her throat to mimic Scar.

"I know that your powers of retention are as wet as a warthog's backside. But thick as you are–pay attention! My words are a matter of pride."

Noah perked up as Micah joined the song, becoming the third voice in a chorus of off-key voices. Together they fumbled over lyrics and laughed until their stomachs were sore and the song was over.

After a moment of silence to catch their breath, Micah broke the silence. "I wish Daddy was here to sing too. He likes to sing the Simba and Nala song with you."

"I know, baby, I know. But Daddy has to be at work."

"Work is mean! Tell him to come home and play!"

"Dadadada." Noah's chanted, adding his two cents in the conversation to make both ladies giggle.

"How about we call Daddy so you two can say all of this to his face. How does that sound, Pookie Butt?"

Cheering and made up songs bounced off of the living room walls before echoing on the other side of the phone when Chadwick finally answered.

"Sounds like I'm missing out on a party back home," he laughed.

Across the country, the sun had long allowed the moon to have its place in the sky. Chadwick sat in his dimly lit bedroom clad in worn lounge clothes with sleep forcing his eyes half-closed.

"You sure are. We're watching your favorite movie. Wanna take a guess?"

"Whaaat? Where's my girl? She wouldn't watch The Lion King without me, would she?"

"I only watched a little! Not even the pig song!"

"You didn't get to...should I sing it," he questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Yes! Sing it!"

"Nah, it's time for bed. Mama wouldn't be happy if I did."

Chadwick put on an award-winning acting performance to sway Micah's opinion before she turned to make a case for why she deserved a song from her favorite singing partner.

"Please, Mama? Please, please, please, please, puh-LEASE!"

"Sure, sing the song, Dad."

While Micah squealed in pleasure, CoCo made sure to give her husband the finger as discreetly as possible.

"You can do that for as long as you like when I get back, love," he assured with a wink.

"Sing it, Daddy! One, two, three!"

Straighten in his seat, Chadwick took a deep breath and comically poked his chest out. "WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WARTHOOOG!"

Before her daddy could finish the most boisterous line in the entire film, Micah doubled over and laughed until her whole body vibrated with joy. Even Noah joined in on the laughter despite nodding in and out of sleep in his walker.

"Sing it again," Micah requested between gasps for air. "Sing it again!"

"Nuh-uh. It's time for you and another cub to get to bed. Maybe we can sing it in the morning when you're on the way to camp. How's that sound?"

"You promise?"

"Double pinky promise, baby girl. First thing in the morning."

Though visibly upset, Micah accepted the terms of the deal. "Okay. Goodnight, Daddy. I wish you could come home tomorrow."

"I wish I could too, little one. See you in a few weeks. Be good for your Mama and be nice to your brother."

Another round of goodnights sealed the deal, sending Micah off to her room to wait on Tasha to tuck her into bed. Chadwick followed her movements as far he could until she was out of camera view. His sad eyes betrayed the smile on his face and caught his wife's attention.

"I know it's tough, baby, but she understands why you're away. She's just missing you tonight."

"Doesn't stop me from feeling like the worst dad ever. Now I have to make it up to her."

"Please, do not send another doll to this house or I will burn it. Send a Birkin instead!" The line on Chadwick's end went silent as he froze and stared. "Hello? Can you hear me? Is this thing frozen?"

"It ain't frozen. I'm just givin' you a minute to hear what craziness you just said to me."

"So I don't deserve a bag?"

"You deserve a bag so much that you have a shelf in the closet to stock with as many as you can buy."

Tasha opened her mouth to respond but found herself interrupted by the sound of toys hitting the hardwood floors close to her. After quickly assessing the situation, neither of them could withhold their laughter. Noah sat slumped in walker with thumb in his mouth to self soothe, deep into a dream that had him smiling with his eyes closed.

Finally calming down, Chadwick allowed a yawn to slip past his lips. "Alright, baby, I have to be on set early tomorrow."

"Goodnight, handsome. Sleep well, and don't send any more gifts to this house."

"You don't tell me what to do, T. Bye!"

There was no time for Tasha to protest any of her husband's statements as he ended the call abruptly. In the weeks that followed, he would vaguely hint at a surprise when talking to or about Micah. When pressed for further intel, Chadwick would smirk as if he were hiding the most interesting secret in the world, the twinkle in his eye brighter than any star in the sky.

CoCo began to suspect the true nature of the surprise when she received confirmations for two booked nail appointments and a separate dress fitting. Questioning the keeper of secrets proved to be futile until he returned from work at the tail end of a busy weekday night.

Micah met him at the edge of the driveway with unbridled excitement, waiting for him to step out of the car and scoop her body into his arms. Once the house was calm and sharing a meal around the dinner table, Chadwick pulled an envelope out of his pocket and quietly sat it on the table.

Taking a look up while chewing her food, Tasha eyed the package. "Is that a check for me?"

"No."

"Plane tickets?"

"Tickets, but not for a plane."

"Is it a letter from the Tooth Fairy," Micah inquired. "Because I lost my front teeths. Mommy found them and said the Tooth Fairy would give me monies, but that was a long time ago. I think she forgot."

"She spent the money on dance lessons," Tasha mumbled.

Chadwick cut his eyes at CoCo who mouthed 'what' in response. "Anyway...remember when we told you there was gonna be a new Lion King, Mikey?"

"Yeah! You said we could see it if I read a whole book by myself. Are we gonna see it?"

"We're gonna do more than see it, baby girl. We are going to…" Chadwick paused for dramatic effect, waiting for a drumroll that Tasha reluctantly provided.

He listened to her rapidly tap her fingers against the glossy wood grain tabletop. Soon, Micah joined the spectacle, leading the charge for Noah to slam his hands against the tray of his high chair. Chadwick's grin spread across his face as the tension and noise in the room built to deafening levels.

"Aaron! Spit it out, darn it," Tasha hollered, careful to censor her language.

"Okay, okay! We're going to...the premiere!"

For weeks, Chadwick had played this moment in his head countless times, and each encounter ended with the members of his family singing his praises and running around the house in excitement. Instead, they met him with two blank stares and senseless babbling.

"What's a...a...premiere? I want popcorn."

"Chad, she's six. Explain why a premiere is better than just going to the theater on Cheap Tuesday. I would also like an explanation."

As Micah looked between her mother's sarcastic smile and her father's eye roll, she found herself still very confused. She'd only been on a few red carpets in her short lifetime, and none of them involved a brand new movie. It was unreasonable to expect a child to enjoy the bright lights associated with such an event, much less an entire movie without any outbursts or excessive moving. Chadwick hoped that an introduction through the Lion King would be an adequate test run for future instances.

"A premiere," he started as he lifted Micah out of her chair and into his lap. "Is when special people get all dressed up to see a movie before everyone else. All the people that are in the movie are there too."

"So I get to see the movie with Timon and Pumbaa?"

"Well, kind of. You'll meet the actors that play them."

Micah thought for a moment. "Are these big people that play dress up like you?"

"Sure... let's go with that."

"Is Mommy and Noah gonna come with us?"

"Just Mom. Noah's still too little. But we'll get the DVD when it comes out, and then he can see it at home." From the corner of his eye, Chadwick could see Tasha giving him a thumbs up for his attempt at explaining such a complicated matter to a child. Micah, however, still had questions.

"I guess I'll go," she shrugged. "Do I get a new dress?"

"My girl asks the important questions! That's what I'm talking about!"

Laughing, he shooed his wife away to answer the question. "You drive a hard bargain, Princess. Yes, you and Mommy get new dresses."

"Yay! I want sparkles on my dress! Wait, I want it to look like mommy's dress. What is your dress gonna look like Mommy? Big and poofy like a princess?"

"Girl, I think we should-" CoCo halted her rand and dramatically covered her mouth to whisper-speak to Micah. "I think we should go to another room because somebody is a little too nosey. Meet me in your room."

Her dramatic wink was excitedly returned before Micah focused her attention on dashing out of the dining room and up the stairs. When she was out of earshot, Chadwick turned to his wife and smiled.

"Make sure you go easy on my pockets."

Standing, Tasha quickly adjusted Noah on her hip and pretended to flip her hair. "Sparkles are expensive, baby. We'll try our best. You just make sure you can keep up."

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#Chadwick Boseman #chadwick boseman fan fiction #chadwick boseman imagine #chadwick boseman x reader #chadwick boseman x you #chadwick boseman request

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solartranslations · 5 years

Text

Liberta: Heart Voice

Main. S

Name (Dante’s Birthday): My name? That’s a weird thing to ask, Ojou. Well, it’s fine. I’m Liberta. I’m part of Intelligence. If it’s about the sea, leave it to me!

Age (Rooftop Express Flight): I’m 18. Huh? You thought I was younger? That’s mean, Ojou!

Hobby (Mask of Admiration): Hehehe. Tada! Masked Man Liberta is here! Haha! Ojou, are you surprised? Well, does it look good on me? Ah, hey, Ojou! Don’t look at me with that annoyed face!

Arcana (Seen Through): Jolly calls me a fool, and Debito called me Foolerta earlier too. Aren’t they awful!? I’ve changed from before you know!

Arcana Powers (Growing Fool): My Arcana power is to make my words into reality. Like if I yell “burn!”, something will catch on fire and stuff. That’s my power. …Sometimes talking is scary…just sometimes

A secret from others (To the Captain’s Cabin): I saw it. I saw Nova. Earlier…he was right in Mama’s cleavage! Ah, I’m not jealous or anything! Nosebleed!? No, I’m not! Ah…I am

When asking the subordinates about their superiors as animals (Thoughts Towards Papa): A monkey!? What!? Orso and the others said that? I’m more like a lion, aren’t I! A lion cub? Well that’s better than a kitten!

Any parts of a girl you like seeing on accident? (A Date at Sea): Wh, wh, wh, why’re you asking that!? …Honestly!? Uh…boobs

Food. S

Disliked food (Lovely Cose Piccante): Food I don’t like? There isn’t really any but, if I had to say, I guess sweet things. Ah, but! I don’t hate it. Right, Limone pie. I like that! You like it too, right Ojou? Then, we’re the same! Liking the same thing is nice, huh

Favourite food (Favorite Cose Piccante): Of course my favourite food is penne arabbiata. That’s the one thing that hasn’t changed. I like the spiciness. I can eat anything that has a lot of peperoncino or peppers in it

Family (Beloved Cose Piccante): I never thought about my real family at all until recently. I thought I didn’t need to. Knowing that I’m Papa’s grandson and that my family is close makes me kind of happy. Of course, it doesn’t change that I think of Dante as my father

Date. S

Situation Voice 1 (Girasole): Good work, Ojou! Today was busy too. I’m tired too. But, when I see your smile, I feel better! Hehe, I wonder why!

Situation Voice 2 (Squeeze): Want to go eat at a ristorante today? Dressing up and going out once in a while is fun, right? It’s a date! Hehe, saying it out loud is embarrassing though. Come on, let’s go, Ojou!

Situation Voice 3 (Storm Warning at the Water’s Edge): Happy birthday! Celebrating your birthday like this is pretty fun! I want to be with you next year too. Even if you don’t want to I will be! Hehe, prepare yourself

Family. S

A person you respect? (Man of Il Mare): A person I respect? Hehe, you don’t need to ask. Of course, it’s Dante! He looks cool, and he helps people in trouble. I really admire him! I hope I can be like him someday!

Height (They Get Along Enough to Fight?): I’m 173cm. Mm, it’s not quite enough. I want to grow at least as tall as Dante…

Anyone you don’t like? (Triangolo): Someone I don’t like? There isn’t really anyone I hate but…oh, Nova then. I don’t really hate him, but we clash on things. So we end up fighting. If I did hate him I wouldn’t get close to him

Secret. S

Instrument (The Tune that Echoes Across the Sea): I like how energetic the trumpet sounds. Oh yeah, everyone in the Family can play an instrument, right? It’d be fun if we all did a concert! I’ll go talk to everyone about it!

Skills (Self Made Accessory): Skills? Yeah…I guess I’m good with delicate things. I’m good at making accessories. Everything I’m wearing now is handmade! People often say I’m not detail orientated. But I’m actually good with my hands

Stigmata (All Secrets in a Notebook): My stigmata is on my forehead. It’s always covered by my bangs so you don’t see it often, right? Maybe I should shave my head like Dante!

Dream for the future? (Liberta the Hero): My dream for the future? I want to go to different countries and islands and travel the whole world! I want to see a lot of things, and get stronger. When I do…if you were with me, Ojou…ah, no, never mind!

Weapon (Sword of Hope Speranza): I actually got this cutlass from Dante! It says Speranza on the back of my sword, right? Hope is great, isn’t it! It’s my treasure, so I’ve got to take care of it!

Birthday (Birthday Promise): I was born in May! I just found out so I haven’t had time to think about it. But, if you and Dante celebrate with me, just that will make it feel special!

Ending. S

Is that a romance novel in your hand… (ED1): Wah, O, Ojou! You were here!? Ah, you surprised me… huh? This book? Um, this book is…um, a tactics manual, yeah! A tactics manual! So, it wouldn’t be fun for you to read at all, so don’t worry about it! A, anyway, what did you come here to read? Let’s look together!

Meeting in an unusual place… (ED2): Don’t laugh, Ojou. Is it really so weird for me to be in the study? I think so a bit too but…hey, Ojou! I said don’t laugh!

Come visit Regalo (ED3): There’s still a lot of places in Regalo that I don’t know. Ojou, let’s look for them together! It’ll be fine! If I’m with you, it won’t be dangerous at all!

(Back to Directory)

#liberta #arcana famiglia #la storia della arcana famiglia #heart voice #solar translations #psp game #translation #releases #he's such an awkward mess I love it

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ikesenlemonadestandstories · 6 years

Text

Blue and Gold

Uh, HI EVERYONE! Hope you didn’t think this was going to be an early Trick or Treat...I was actually productive this week and managed to finished the next installment to “Going Overboard.” Please enjoy this sweet mid-day treat on me :)

No warnings, unless your liable to melt from absolute fluff overload? We’re getting to the good stuff folks hang tight while we roll into the end of this ride.

You can look for the other chapters of this story by searching the tag “Gong Overboard Series.” The Trick or Treat Event is still going on and the next Treat is going live at 8pm. You can look for all of my other Ikesen works on the Master List, and please don’t forget about the Follower Give Away! You’ve got one more day to get your entries in, you can check out those rules here!

Happy reading guys! You’re all so wonderful :)

All my love,

Blue and Gold - pt 12

[YN]

“Would you stop that?” you swatted Mai’s hand away as she jammed another pin into your hair.

“If I don’t put pins in it it’ll never stay. Besides your hair just sort of eats these things.” we made eye contact in the mirror, and she shot me a grin.

“My hair is so thick. I promise if it’s done right, it only needs about four pins for this sort of thing.” I bragged as I wiggled my eyebrows.

“I don’t believe that.” My mouth opened to respond but she shoved another pin in. “and don’t tell me you’ll show me because if you could have done this by yourself, you would have.”

Mai had you there. You gave up and let her continue to coil your hair into the intricate half up half down bun at the base of your scalp. It was a style she had always been too good at creating.

Once your hair was finished, you tried your hand at fixing Mai’s. Even though your hair was the same length, hers was thinner with a slight wave, it was pretty. Running a brush through you made quick work of the braiding that needed to be done then twisted the entire design up into a bun at the crown of her head pinning it with metal flower pins she had requested you use in her hair for the ball tonight.

Next was the makeup, it was evening and a relatively fancy occasion, but you didn’t necessarily want anything too dark. Sticking with a coral blush and highlighter combo to lightly dust your cheeks, and matching sheer pink eyeshadow to give your lids some color but mostly shimmer before perfecting the look with black winged cat eyeliner and two coats of mascara, but only on your top lid and lashes. The entire look was pulled together with a muted lipstick whose color was listed as ‘sangria’ though it wasn’t bright or rich enough to live up to the name it was still pretty.

“I love this dress. The color looks amazing on you.” Mai sighed as she zipped you into the dress you bought just for this cruise.

It was your favorite color combination, and part of you wondered if it’s because they had always reminded you a little of Masamune. The dress itself was amazing and had been quite the bargain price-wise. How could you let it go? It was a floor-length navy ball gown with a muted metallic gold eyelash lace overlay that went all the way up into a high neck halter style. The dress itself was sleeveless and had an elegant open back framed by the same lace that wrapped around the front. The top was fitted and had a darted bodice that synched at your natural waist and turned into a flowing sea of deep blue fabric.

You walked through a cloud of your favorite perfume then helped zip Mai into her turquoise body-con dress.

“Hideyoshi is going to explode when he see’s you in this.” you chuckled as you secured the clasp above the zipper.

“That’s the idea.” she giggled as she smoothed the material over her hips.

All that was left to do was wait. Sitting on the edge of the bed you slid your flats on as you talked about seemingly random, happy topics.

“So it’s official? You’re actually dating again?” she raised an eyebrow inquisitively at you before breaking into a smile.

“We are.” you exhaled and smiled one of your brightest smiles.

“Well, I’m happy for you. If Masamune breaks your heart again though, I’ll stomp on his.” she nearly growled the back half of her sentence.

“Fortunately I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that this time, but you never know, so I’ll remember that.” You winked at her playfully as there was a gentle knock on the door. “I see they let Hideyoshi knock.”

“Probably because the last time I was getting ready and Masamune knocked I had to completely re-do my make-up.” Mai made a face not even trying to hide her annoyance before she chuckled and stood. “Ready.”

“No.” you took another deep breath as you took your place next to her while she got the door. “But let’s do this anyway.”

[Masamune]

I did my best to keep my heart rate in check. Pulling the black suit jacket I had worn to Hideyoshi’s wedding on over my shoulders. I fastened the top button and made sure my tie was straight, clipping it in place with the golden accessory you had gotten me years ago. I straightened the sleeves and fixed the cuffs of the navy blue dress shirt I had donned.

There was a sharp knock on my door. Why? Wasn’t I supposed to pick you up? Did you have cold feet? What if you had to go take care of a cub?

Nervous I walked to the door looking out the peephole, to my surprise Hideyoshi stood in his suit looking at his watch. I undid the bolt lock and opened the door.

“Oh you’re actually ready,” he smirked. “Usually you're running a little behind.”

“I would say I’m offended, but it’s the truth. What are you doing here?” I felt my eyebrow go up as I asked what was on my mind as I looked around the hallway. “Where’s Mai?”

“The girls are getting ready together. Thought you might like to walk together since we’re going to the same place. You ready? Or do you need a minute?” he asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

“No, I’m ready. Just need to grab my key, and I’m good to go.” I turned and plucked the room key off the dresser and tucked it into the pocket of my jacket. “Ready.”

We walked down the hallway to (YN)’s room in silence. It was comfortable, but I could tell that something was on his mind. I had just told everyone this morning that we had gotten back together, and if I had realized anything, it’s that the general consensus was “finally.” Even Ieyasu got in a jab at how long it took.

“If you’re gonna say something, you might as well get it out before we get to the room.” I nonchalantly put it out there. I’d answer as many of his questions as I could.

“Where do you see this going?” he stopped dead in his tracks and looked me over. “I’m happy if you’re both happy, but I’m not going to let you hurt her again.”

I hadn’t necessarily thought about it. I knew I loved you, and I wanted to spend the rest of whatever I had left of this crazy life with you, but is that what you wanted? I had my answer, and I knew Hideyoshi would never let me pass if I didn’t respond; And I needed to see you.

“Unless I screw this up,” I looked him straight in the eyes knowing that this was as close to getting your families approval as it got. “I’d love to marry her.”

Silence. Then he smiled and clapped a hand down on my shoulder.

“Then you better not screw it up.” turning on his heel he started walking again.

“Is that a yes from mom?” I quickened my pace to catch up.

“Mom?” he scowled. “Well it was, but now you’re pushing it.”

#ikesen #ikemen sengoku #Ikemen Sengoku: Romances Across Time #ikesen masamune #ikesen masamune x reader #going overboard series #short stories #next chapert #my story #fan fic #ikesen fan fic #chapter 12 #it's getting good folks

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justkpopjokes · 6 years

Note

Werewolf! Cheol. ANGSTY FLUFF ASDFGHJKL

A/N: Jesus Kylie we’re going to die together prepare the grave aLSO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I was really uncontent with the ending, and the angst level isn’t too high but hopefully wolf cub Cheol makes up for it(?)

So I’ve never written a werewolf au

But eh who cares about werewolves

I mean you think it’s just a stupid fairy tale that people rumor are true (I mean people are finding evidence they’re real but that can’t be true can it?)

Like hahaha tf??😂😂😂 Humans that turn into wolves during the full moon? Lmao

Also wolves scare you but anyway

And then there’s Seungcheol who just

Wtf are normal humans???

So basically

Seungcheol grew up as a werewolf

He was bitten as a child poor smol

His parents didn’t know what to do, so they abandoned him

He was roaming the streets alone

But luckily FULL MOON TONIGHT

He goes through this painful fit on the ground, but the pain goes away after a few seconds(?)

He’s just like wait wut why can’t I stand on my legs?

Do I have legs???

What is this thing on my face?? It’s called a muzzle sweetie

“So I’m a wolf now?” yea boiiii

GURAE WOLF NAEGA WOLF AWOOOOO k sorry moving on

And so our smol wolfie was found by other werewolves when he howled

And they took him in even after the full moon was over

So he lives with werewolves now!!!

Which makes him kinda…savage? Basically he isn’t really used to human etiquette

He grew up as a wolf ok, his werewolf parents didn’t teach him much human stuff

They thought it would be best if he didn’t come in contact with humans

And for a while, they were right

He was better off away from people, growing up in the woods

Away from (normal) human communication

And with the exception of his weird wolf family,

Forever alone

…well…maybe not forever

He has the keep reading bar as his friend

He’s been away from the cities all his life

And now he’s in his late teens

And you know what happens in your late teens

You don’t want to face adulthood be alone

Seungcheol is curious to know how regular humans live

And this guy…well you know he doesn’t give up

So one night, once his family is asleep, he sneaks out of his family’s cottage in the woods and goes to the city

Once he gets out of the forest, he notices how the city is so lighted up

Like it’s shouting “Come here, Seungcheol!”

Ofc our guy goes to the city

Just so happens that you’re out too

You’re out because you can’t sleep relatable

And even though you need to get up early tomorrow, at least you have time to study right? Ha yeah right

So you’re on your way to a 24-hour-wherever to get coffee or a drink or a place to read

So you’re walking around the streets when you see this guy wiTH RIPPED CLOTHES AND LOTS OF SCARS?? WHO’S KIND OF BLEEDING???

Obviously you’re scARED TO DEATH LIKE WHAT THE HECK IS HE GOING TO KILL ME but also v concerned bc “you poor thing…what happened to you?”

So you walk over to the tall guy and tap his shoulder when he’s looking at graffiti

And he just jumps back and screams. Roars? No growls. He growls.

Eureureong eureureong ay

Cue you screaming at his scarred face

After you two recover you’re just staring at each other while he’s on the ground sitting like a dog

You think it looks really weird but like what the heck is this grown man doing with his life, he’s muscular af but looks like he just survived a war

“Uh—um…are…are you okay…?”

“Uh…Yes?”

“What’s your name?”

“…s…Seung…Cheol…”

K lemme just mention how Cheol has limited speaking skills, bc his parents only taught him basic words in case of emergency

(I’m guessing they just…growl to communicate? They really don’t like humanity okay like no speaking in this household)

But you take the quiet guy him home to clean his wounds

Whenever you try to disinfect the scrapes on his leg he yelps like crazy so eventually, you get tired and stop

Well…there’s a scarred man on your couch, all you can do is try to feed him

“Listen, I don’t have much food…any allergies?”

He just tilts his head and raises an eyebrow

“Aller…gy?”

“What, have you been living in the woods all your life? Yes I said allergy”

“Yes.”

“Wait what”

He just ignores you and walks to the fridge you’re holding open

“Meat?”

“I only have raw meat, it’ll take a while to cook—”

He just takes out the huge chunk of meat and unwraps the plastic around it

Then just bites this huge chunk off

Your jaw just drops

You try to grab it away saying “You’ll get a disease or som—”

But he just snarls and turns away noisily chewing

So you’re sitting across from the man on your couch still eating a huge chunk of steak

Eventually you drift to sleep

Now Seungcheol isn’t entirely stupid (to human standards)

He knows no one likes sleeping in an uncomfortable place

So of course when he sees you quietly snoozing, something clicks in him

Like an imprint? Except for something else👀

The next morning, you wake up in bed like nothing ever happened

You think it’s a dream, especially because your house seems like the man was never there

So you ignore your weird dream and try to get ready for an early class

You didn’t notice the half-eaten meat in the fridge until later

That’s when you questioned whether you dreamed of the strange man

The bloody cotton balls in the trash bin confirmed your suspicions

That night, you went back outside to walk in the same area

You saw the same man again across the street

This time he sees you and smiles really widely and walks basically runs towards you

And you accept his hug tho you’re kinda…still confused on what the heck is happening

But yknow what? He doesn’t seem dangerous, might as well make him some dinner (because that’s definitely the reasonable decision)

So you bring him home again and make steak and mashed potatoes

And he’s just like?? whAT IS THIS HEAVENLY FOOD YOU MADE

But obviously, he doesn’t really speak soooo he just enthusiastically bounces his head around and does a little dance

We gotta change that tho, so you slowly teach Seungcheol words by holding up items and saying them, and then making him repeat them

And slowly he learned more!

Obviously he’s happy to learn, but he has to be careful not to speak with his…secret family

He definitely needs to keep his secret since the full moon’s coming up soon…

But he decides to still visit you, and even memorizes where your house is

So every night, he comes and knocks on your door

Every night, you cook for him and teach him how to speak and write, and in return, he keeps you company and tucks you in bed

Spending time with him is like having a little puppy istg

Always bouncing around and being so interested with new things

Sometimes you’ll tell him to put something in the microwave and he’ll just stare at you and like furrow his eyebrows

Then you’ll remember he has the communication skills (and knowledge of machines) of a 3-year-old

Don’t even get me started on discovering the tv

He tilted his head to the side when you turned it on, and did that thing where little kids check behind the tv to find the people on screen

You also tried to make him shower but the second the water ran he was just like “nononononono”

He needs to stay messy or else his family will know he’s been going out to see a normal human

But he eventually takes a quick shower because you said you wouldn’t hug him otherwise

You buy him a change of clothes when he visits, but he always leaves them behind when you wake up in the morning like what?

He’s a questionable guy but trust me he’s a good person

Remember when I said he kind of imprinted on you?

It’s like a ‘protect this one at all costs’ imprint

He protec he attac but most importantly he snac on your meat

He feels like he needs to protect you now and keep you safe

He’s just a really close friend who even calms you when college gets stressful

And when I mentioned hugs earlier…they are giant wolf bear hugs

Listen ok he doesn’t really have a sense of love, his family doesn’t really show it directly

But you give him all the love he needs

You even fell asleep in his arms one night

You hardly remember it though, because you were back in your bed the next morning

All you have is the memory that it was nice and warm

But there’s a full moon coming up tomorrow

So before Seungcheol leaves, he tells you he won’t see you the next night

You’re really sleepy, so he brings you to your bed and brushes your hair away from your face before growling softly *cough* lovingly and leaving

The next night, you remember what Seungcheol said about not being there, but he never stays until morning wtf

Does he…have another family?

Wait no that’s impossible if he had a family someone would’ve taught him that the word “confused” means his mood 24/7

So when he doesn’t show up, you go out to look for him

When he isn’t on the streets, you wander and stumble across the entry to the forest, and start to hear noises

Growling…?

“Oh Seungcheol, is that you? It’s me Y/N”

Suddenly the growling gets louder

And a woLF JUMPS OUT FROM A BUSH AND LASHES OUT AT YOU

They tackle you, but suddenly another wolf pushes them off of you as the first wolf scratches you

And like I said before YOU ARE TERRIFIED OF WOLVES

So you’re just frozen in fear and confusion

You could try to escape, but the wounds on your shoulder are bleeding and the pain is stinging really bad

All you can do is watch as 2 wolves battle it out before one wolf chases the other away

The remaining wolf starts charging at to you, but you just scramble to get up and try to grab the nearest stick to protect yourself

You hesitate at running when you see a familiar scar on the wolf’s face

It can’t be him…right?

But it makes so much sense

The growling

The scars

The messiness

The limited knowledge of anything basically

He’s just a wolf?

But then wtf has been happening?!?!

Have you been hallucinating and hugging a wolf?!

Or worse: werewolf

So they do exist.

You throw the stick at the wolf and run all the way home crying of pain

There were way more tears as you tried to disinfect the big scratches on your shoulder

And there was no Seungcheol to comfort you or tuck you in that night

The next day, you can’t go to class with a giant scratch bothering you so you tell a classmate you’re sick and ask for any updates on assignments

You feel sick to your stomach anyways

You know how sick it is to fall in love with a monster?

IM CREEPIN IN YOUR HEART BABE that’s the 3rd exo reference already I’ll stop now

When your doorbell rings that night, you check through the peephole and see the same scarred face you always love to see

But given the circumstances, you just walk away from the door

Before you can leave the room, you hear a soft voice

“Y/N? Does the wound hurt?”

“Go away, you monster”

The sound of “monster” tore Seungcheol’s heart in half

All he did was sit against your front door

For hours

Until he was sure you were asleep

Then he left for home

He didn’t go back the next night or any night after that

His family noticed him not going out at night anymore, and thankfully didn’t disown him or anything

They actually felt really bad because Cheol’s adoptive brother was the wolf who attacked you, and it was their fault he had to visit you in secret

Even though his family didn’t teach him human things, they knew how to speak and just chose not to teach him

So when he heard them speak to him, he was v angry but at the same time happy? Bc he can finally communicate with them better

And they finally started teaching him to speak and write better

Which made him more courageous to do…something

One morning as you stepped out the door, you found a bouquet with a small note

~From Seungcheol

Of course, it’s not just a bouquet, it’s a man holding a bouquet

Yknow what? I don’t think you need to be scared of wolves anymore

“I’m sorry my brother attacked you…”

“Wait that was your brother?!”

“Yes did you not know??”

“No?!? That’s why I was angry oh gosh I’m so sorry”

It gets kind of awkward…

…Until he gives you a big hug

And you teach him what a kiss is (if you know what I mean😉)

I think it’s safe to say things are back to normal

If you consider having dinner with a werewolf every night as normal

Ok I know Vampire!Gyu has a dog already bUT WEREWOLF!CHEOL WITH A PUPPY

Ohmygod they could communicate

I’m actually screaming internally like you’d bring him to the shelter and he’d wait until no one is looking and start growling at all the dogs and then whisper to you “this one was abused by his previous owner” and “this one never knew her parents”

And in the end, it would be really sad because you want to adopt all of them but you can’t

So you both decide on this one fluffy puppy and you and Cheol are soft af at this smol pup

Every time you get home from school there are just 2 puppies to shower you with kisses

WHERE’S THAT 1 GIF OF SEUNGCHEOL AND THAT PUP IT’S WHAT I ENVISIONED

You’ll walk into the living room and they’re both growling and barking at each other

“Y/NNNNNNNN come play with us! Both puppies agree you better get over here”

#seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seungcheol imagines #seungcheol scenarios #seventeen fluff #choi seungcheol #seungcheol #seventeen au #jkj fics #.txt

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linerwriter · 4 years

Text

The Language of Flowers

AHHHH I’M BACK

I’m so sorry I haven’t posted a fic in so long, but this is what happens when high school lets you (*cough* strongly encourages you to *cough*) take AP classes sophomore year. Word of advice: don’t take AP Economics unless you’re good at math ;-;

Anyway, I kinda hate how this turned out, but I love the idea too much to let it waste away in my docs, so here it is. I love flowers and their meanings, and after seeing some pictures of the gang with flower crowns, I was gone. Hope you enjoy!

Note: Wild is genderfluid in this fic! I am, however, not genderfluid, and as such, I don’t have an intimate understanding of how someone who is genderfluid feels. If there are people who are genderfluid and feel misrepresented, just leave a nice comment below and I’ll change it :) Additionally, there is a time where Wild is misgendered, so if that triggers you, just skip to the next section.

Wild’s collection of flowers was, quite frankly, astounding.

It was like he had a flower for every type of task. Hunting food, cooking dinner, doing chores. It puzzled everyone to no end, especially as they never saw him pick any of them. They did, however, notice the “patterns” of the flowers, and what they meant.

Sometimes, the flowers described happiness.

“Wild? Are you okay?”

The young male shot a grin toward Twilight. “Never better!” He chirped enthusiastically.

Twilight stared. In all of the time he had known Wild, he had never seen him like this before. “Are you sure? You’re acting… different than usual.”

Wild blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Am I not allowed to act like this?”

Twilight waved his arms rapidly, “No, you are! I’ve just never seen it before.”

Wild’s gaze turned into one of amusement. “I’m happy today, is all. See my flowers?” He pointed toward the daffodils and gladioluses behind his ear, “Usually they’re apple blossoms and violets, but today, they’re daffodils, which means I’m happy!”

“Is that so?” Twilight spied a single daffodil nearby and leaned over to pick it up. “Then how about one more to add to your collection?”

Wild’s face showed one of surprise before it melted into laughs. Twilight’s brows scrunched up in confusion, which Wild noticed. “Everything matters with flowers, from color to the number of them,” he explained as he calmed down, “For example, if I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought you meant misfortune when you gave me this.” He plucked the daffodil out of Twilight’s hand, “Thank you!”

Twilight shook his head as Wild scampered off, “Hylia help us.”

Sometimes, the flowers described preference.

Today was going to be an odd day, Legend decided, and it was all because of a certain pyromaniac.

It had started with the missing flower. Well, not missing, exactly, since there was a calla lily in place of the regular gladiolus in his braid, but still. Strange.

For as long as any of them could remember, the gladiolus was a constant in any of Wild’s combinations, yet the flower always stood apart from them. It seemed to Wild’s eyes that it indicated a particular concept he knew about, but he never bothered to tell anyone else about it, so the meaning was unknown.

The second weird part of the day was the way Wild was acting. Usually, he was quiet and thoughtful as they walked, yet today, he seemed to walk taller and chatted with everyone. His usual violets were still in place, so what was causing this change in behavior? After thinking and frowning to himself to the point Twilight was concerned for his sanity, he decided to ask Wild.

“How are you today, Wild?” He smoothly walked up to his friend.

Wild giggled sweetly, “Never better, Legend!”

Legend stared. Okay, that was the last straw. “Are you good?”

Wild tilted his head curiously, “What do you mean?”

“The way you’re acting! Your flowers! It’s not normal!”

“My flowers…?”

“The gladiolus isn’t there!” He searched Wild’s eyes desperately, “I don’t what that means!”

“Oh, that.” Wild laughed again, “That just means I’m feeling female today.”

Legend’s mind screeched to a halt. “Feeling… female?”

“Yeah, did no one ever tell you? I’m genderfluid. The gladiolus means I’m feeling masculine.”

Legend stared again. He did this for so long Wild started to get worried, “Legend?”

Legend snapped back, “Yeah?”

Wild nervously played with her fingers, “Are you mad?”

Legend’s brows scrunched together, “Not particularly, no. Why?”

“It’s just that not everyone approves of me being genderfluid, so I didn’t know if you had a problem with it or not…”

Did he have a problem with it? Legend thought for a moment and decided, “Nah, I don’t have a problem with it.”

Wild looked at him hopefully, “You don’t?”

“Nope. I was more concerned with how much you were talking, to be honest.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So, what do other flowers mean?”

“Other flowers?” Wild looked startled at the sudden topic change, “Well, peonies mean…”

Today was going to be an odd day, Legend decided as he looked at her, but that doesn’t mean it had to be a bad day.

Sometimes, the flowers described pain.

It was raining when Time found them, dead leaves and purple hyacinths scattered in their loose hair. Their somber mood gave Time everything he needed to guess the meaning behind them.

They spoke softly at the unasked question, their thumb delicately tracing the purple hyacinth. “I had a hard time expressing myself back then—still do, in fact.” They chuckled lightly, “Combined with my poker face, it was hard for anyone to tell what I was thinking, and after an incident with a visiting lord, Zelda suggested I put flowers in my hair to describe what I was feeling that day. Nobody beyond Zelda and the others knew what it meant, they thought it was just decoration, but they were enough for me.”

“I’m guessing you brought that to us, huh, cub?” Time said just as quietly. Wild nodded, bowing their head as tears came down their face and sobs wracked their body.

“I miss them,” they said through the cries, “I miss them so much!”

Time held their body tightly, eyes squeezed shut to prevent tears from escaping him. “I know, lovely,” he whispered, “I know.”

Their tears joined the ones from the heavens.

Sometimes, the flowers described love.

Sky tilted his head in confusion. “That’s a new combination,” he muttered to himself distantly. “Wonder what that means.”

“Wonder what what means?” Wind asked curiously as him and Hyrule came up behind the farmer. Twilight jerked his head toward Wild.

“Wild’s flowers. The grouping, it’s new.”

Wind and Hyrule both looked toward Wild’s new flower crown, made up of lilacs, hyacinths, and gardenias. Hyrule frowned thoughtfully, “Maybe he’s happy?”

“No, he uses daffodils for that,” Wind disagreed. “Maybe he’s content?”

“Nah, that’s violets and apple blossoms.”

“Then what’s it describing?”

“Uh, maybe if you asked him, he’d tell you,” Four piped up from where he was carrying wood for a fire. “You know he’s always welcome to tell us.”

“That’s true, but I want to figure it out, you know?” Sky smiled, “It’s kinda like a game!”

Four huffed and rolled his eyes, “If you say so.” He walked back towards Warriors.

“Think we should ask him?” Hyrule proposed a few minutes later. “I have a feeling we’re not gonna figure it out.”

Wind sighed in defeat, “I think you’re right. Hey, Wild!”

Wild looked up from where he was conversing with Time, “Yes?”

“What do your flowers mean?”

Wild looked at them in surprise and hesitantly touched the flower crown. “My flowers?” At their nods, he smiled widely, “They describe my love!”

“Your… love?” Sky asked in confusion.

“Yeah! My love for you guys!”

Silence.

“My heart.” Wind clutched his chest while Hyrule’s eyes welled up.

Wild blinked. “Are you guys okay?” He asked, concern lacing his voice.

“They’re fine, don’t worry.” Everyone looked up at Warriors’ voice, “They’re just feeling the love.”

Time side-eyed the captain, “And you’re not?”

“No, I am. It just isn’t as prominent.”

Time shook his head ruefully, “If you say so. Anyway, why’d you pick that combo today, cub?”

Wild shrunk a little in embarrassment, “W-well, we’ve been together for a little while now… and you guys have been really accepting of me and my flowers, so I guess I just wanted to say thank you?” He looked down, “This collection means family, which is the closest thing that could describe how I felt with you guys.”

Wild looked up when he felt Wind crash into his back. “Group hug!” He cheered.

That was a good day.

While yes, it is weird for Wild to have as many flowers as he does (and they never die too, which is even weirder), they all got used to it, so much so everyone eventually started doing it themself. All they had to do was ask Wild for a few flowers that described their feelings, and suddenly, they had a flower crown made up of their thoughts and emotions.

Goddesses, the language of flowers was helpful.

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #hero of the wild #and everyone else at some point #flowers!!!#and their meanings!!!#yay #im back #after like five months #and ive forgotten how to tag things #:)#genderfluid wild

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perseusjackson-jasongrace · 4 years

Text

Empires on the Horizon IV

Jason is a CEO: Part IV

Here’s my masterlist for the next part and my other stuff

new beginnings

look fragile

like glass

but when grabbed

sparkle

like diamonds

-badpoetry

“Good morning Mr Grace,” Grover Underwood smiled from his usual spot behind the coffee machine.

“Morning, how are you?”

“Much happier for seeing you less like someone kicked your puppy,” He gave Jason a knowing look.

“How?”

“There are some things the brain cannot hide, matters of the heart are often one of them.”

He didn’t really have any reply to that, so he gave the man an awkward smile and shrugged.

“Your usual then?”

“Yes please, and an iced coffee for Hazel.”

“Ah where is the darling this morning?”

“She’s coming into the office later, something about needing to go home first? She must have stayed at a friend’s place.”

Grover raised a dark brow, “Mhmm and where is your driver this morning? I noticed you drove yourself in today.”

“Uh I think Frank took the day off,” He frowned trying to piece the conversation he’d had with his friend in his sleep-deprived brain.

“Oh interesting,” Grover’s chocolate brown eyes twinkled in amusement, but before Jason could question him a warm cup was being shoved into his hand and he was being ushered away to wait for the iced coffee.

Collapsing into a chair, he pushed his glasses up his nose and wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. Winter was beautiful but gods it was cold. He glanced around the café taking in the familiar forest green walls and dark wood floors. There was no sun streaming through the windows today so the gold accents on the tables were dulled and dark, like hidden bronze. He traced his fingers around the edge of his cup, losing himself in the motion, in the feeling of heat on his cold fingers, in the small gusts of wind against his cheeks as the door opened and closed, in the noise of a bustling store, in the–

“Hello Jason,”

“Luke,” He took a deep breath, “Fuck off.”

“Aw don’t be like that,” He sniggered.

“Please Luke, I don’t have the energy for this right now,” Exhaustion was a thousand-ton weight on his bones.

“That’s your problem Jason you never wanted to take things head on. It was always let’s wait for this, let’s get their opinion first, let’s just give it a couple weeks. You could have had the world begging at your fingertips if you just went for what you wanted.”

“Are you done?”

Luke’s responding laugh was malicious, “You are so-“

“Leave.” His voice was stone.

His ex-boyfriend scoffed, “Pathetic.”

Jason watched as the face he had been so in love with sneered at him, the scar running down a pale cheek twisting into malice. His soul ached for what could have been, it burned for what now was. It always surprised him how drained he felt after every interaction with Luke- like crashing down from a potent high. Being with Luke was a high, was euphoria and hope and sin. What the fuck went wrong?

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Talk to me,”

“Why do you insist on answering the phone like you’re some sort of mafia boss?” His sister grumbled.

“Hello to you too Thalia,”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’ve set you up on a date tonight. Six-thirty at Sun and Songs.”

He groaned, “No. I am not in the mood.”

“Jason Grace,” She started; he could feel a rant coming on, “You cannot stop living your life because you have a wanker of an ex-boyfriend. You have been in a slump since Luke and it is affecting you in ways you’re too scared to admit.”

“It is not affecting me,” He was tired of having this fight, “I literally dated Piper for like three months.”

“Mhm and were you happy? Did you put all you could into the relationship?” She didn’t wait for his response, “No, you may have been a little happier, but you weren’t you. So you will go on this date tonight and in five years when we’re planning your wedding you better be thanking me in your speech.”

“Gods Thals,” He snorted, “We haven’t even gone on the date yet and you’re already planning a wedding?”

“Wait does that mean you agree to it?” She squealed through the phone.

“Yes loser,” He held in a laugh, “I’ll go on the date. But if it doesn’t work out you drop all of this. No more setting me up, no more interfering.”

“Yes sir. Now, how work’s going?”

“Besides the fact that Project Hestia is on hold because of this stupid contract everything is good.”

“Isn’t your fancy lawyer lady sorting it out?” She muttered.

“Reyna is a great lawyer and you know it.”

“Yea but she’s also my ex-girlfriend so I get to be a little resentful.”

He snorted at that, “Of course, and how are you?”

“I’m good. The Conservatory is still standing so I can’t be doing too many things wrong.”

“Didn’t you guys get cheetah cubs this weekend?”

“Oh Jase!” His sister cried, “They are just the absolute cutest things. Did you know cheetahs are so shy that some conservationists and wild-life biologists recommend giving them emotional support puppies?”

“So what you guys got puppies and cubs?”

“We haven’t got the puppies yet; they’re only arriving this week.”

“Well send me pictures when they’re together, maybe I’ll have them framed and hung around the office as a morale booster.”

She laughed, the sound crackly through the speaker, “Will do little bro. Listen I have to go but call me tomorrow to tell me about the date.”

“Wait!” He yelled, ignoring the weird looks from the café patrons as he walked out, “What’s her name?”

“Zoe.”

***

Jason was nervous. That was the only explanation for his shaky hands and the zoo of creatures in his stomach. He had gotten to Suns and Songs fifteen minutes early with a lavender and daisy bouquet in hand. The restaurant his sister had reserved was nothing short of incredible. Dark maroon draped over each table, and opulent candelabras sat in the center, lit only if the table was occupied. Glass and crystal chandeliers swung slowly from the high wooden beams, catching on the light and making a kaleidoscope of the room. Even the way the air smelt was decadent here. Like wood smoke and perfume, some hint of chocolate, maybe. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he wanted to bottle the scent and bathe himself in it. Trying not to be suspicious he took another deep breath in; it calmed his nerves if nothing else.

“Mr Grace?” someone put a soft hand on his shoulder, “Your guest,”

He thanked the waitress, getting up to greet his date and pull out her chair. He tried to muffle his gasp when he finally turned to her. She was stunning. Midnight skin contrasting elegantly with the pastel yellow dress she wore. Braids intertwined with glittering strands; it cast a pale silver halo around her head. Small hoop earrings glinted as she moved, and the bracelets at her wrist clinked gently when they shook hands.

“Hi, Jason Grace,” He smiled.

“Zoe Nightshade.” She flashed beautiful white teeth.

He handed her the flowers, “You look unbelievable.” He truly was in awe of her.

“Thank you,” Her smile was soft, but her voice was crisp and direct, “And these are gorgeous.”

“Would you like to order drinks?”

They scanned the menu quickly; Zoe ordered a cocktail he hadn’t heard of and he ordered the first thing he saw that didn’t have tequila in it.

“So,” He asked, and then cringed at himself internally. Starting any conversation with so was bound to make it awkward.

He cleared his throat, “How do you know Thalia?”

“We work together at the Conservatory. I moved here a couple months ago because I got transferred from the wildlife center in Germany.”

Jason didn’t know what but something about her voice made his insides melt. She said everything so undiplomatically– like if it wasn’t a fact it wasn’t worth uttering.

“Oh that’s cool. What do you do?”

“I’m a veterinarian. You?”

“Well I was a structural engineer but somehow over the years I got roped into being a town and regional planner.”

She frowned, tilting her head assessingly, “You did not finish your engineering degree?”

“Oh no I finished and got my masters in structural but then I started my company and I realised I needed other qualifications to run it the way I wanted to so I had to go back and get a degree in urban and regional planning. By the end I felt like I had been studying since the dawn of time.”

She laughed at that, and a look of surprise crossed her face, as if it was as unexpected to her as it was to him. “I know how you feel. I love animals and I’m passionate about my work but when I was done studying, I vowed never to go back. Studying for seven years after school and then trying to do it all over again feels like a one-way ticket to the end of the road.”

He mirrored her smile, “How did you get into veterinary sciences anyway?”

“My father was always busy, and my sisters were… interested in anything that could make them more beautiful, or richer. So I was pretty alone for most of my childhood. At some stage I convinced my father to get me a dog, Ladon. We were inseparable. But he got hurt when this man,“ She said it with such disgust he almost flinched. “This man hurt him. Kicked Little Ladon out the way when he was just trying to say hello. We had to take him to the vet, and I remember them being so sweet and kind to my dog and I knew I wanted to be exactly like that when I grew up.”

“Any chance you know where this man is so we can kick his ass?”

She laughed, raspy and bursting, “Don’t worry little eleven-year-old me kicked Mr Alcides as hard as I could in the shins.”

“Good,” he nodded with conviction, “He deserved more but you found your passion so there is some balance.”

She hid her grin behind a sip from her drink.

“Sir, ma’am,” Their waitress stepped to their table, “Would you like to order?”

Hours later, cheeks flushed from the liquor, laughing over Thalia’s antics and their shared need for structure, they finally decided to call the dinner to an end.

“The focaccia was to die for,” Zoe groaned, patting her stomach.

“Honestly, I may have to marry the pasta.” He sighed contentedly.

She giggled, and he knew it was a rare thing for her because her face caught that surprised look again.

“Want to grab dessert?”

“Oh gods no,” She shook her head in alarm, and then frowned as the realisation of what that meant washed through her.

“I had a really great time tonight,” He started softly.

“Do you want to walk to the park? We can stop and have gelato?” Her dark eyes were full of nervous hope.

He blinked at her, a little shocked she wanted to continue the date, “I thought you didn’t want dessert?” He teased.

“Maybe the walk will burn off some of these calories and i’ll have space for a little ice-cream.” She scunched her nose.

He knew the gelato was just an excuse, so with a grin that lit up his whole face he grabbed her hand and nodded, “Let’s do it Miss Nightshade.”

Her face glowed with relief and enthusiasm as they tucked their chairs in and exited the restaurant.

“Tell me about your family. How come you weren’t interested in the rich side of life like your sisters?”

“I guess being the youngest kind of made it all seem pointless. I had seen what happened when their vanity became malicious and I didn’t ever want to turn into something I couldn’t recognise. I went to stay with my Aunt Diana through high school. She owned a bird sanctuary. That’s where I interned in my college years.”

“Wow,” He looked down to her, awe evident in his face, “And it didn’t bother you to be so far away from your father and sisters?”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure they noticed when I left.” She shrugged, “It was a long time ago. I really only see them for family functions now.”

“And your aunt?”

“She still has the bird sanctuary, but she mostly works in the background now. My cousins, Bianca and Phoebe, run it full time.”

“Do you miss it? Were you guys close?”

“Much closer than my sisters and I. I do miss them, but I definitely can’t say I miss the sanctuary. Some of those birds were evil.”

Just then a loud squawk came from above them. She scowled at the sky, “I’m talking about you Auretta.”

He tried to hold in a laugh but Zoe stuck out her tongue childishly and they both bent over in laughter.

“Maybe we shouldn’t hurl insults while we’re out in the open.” He managed to gasp.

“Good thing the gelato shop is right there.” She grinned, grabbing his hand and sprinting towards the small, illuminated store at the end of the cobbled street. Her dress shimmered, moved like rays of light. She looked like a star.

“Come on,” She yelled, tugging at his hand harder.

‘Alright, alright,” He snapped out of his admiration and let her lead him into the shop.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

“Want to share?”

“Sure, you choose,” He waved a hand towards the abundance of flavours behind the glass.

“Please can we have one scoop of chocolate, one scoop of vanilla and,” Her brow furrowed as she scanned the tags, “And one scoop of cookie crumble.”

“Why did I think you were a sorbet girl?”

“Sorbet in the summer, anything else for the rest of the year.” She said matter of factly.

He nodded solemnly, “Yes makes sense.”

She swatted his arm, grabbing the cone from the lady with a thank you, “Gods I feel like a teenager again,”

“I know what you mean,” Her excitement was infectious.

“I have to ask,” She swallowed a chunk of cookie crumble, “What on earth were you thinking when you decided to eat a stapler?”

Jason groaned, “Why did Thalia tell you that? She swore she wouldn’t tell anyone and if asked I would say I fell off my bike or something.”

Zoe giggled, “Come on, spill.”

“Okay, first of all I was two,” He sighed, embarrassment heating his cheeks, “And it was shiny, and it made a cool clicking noise, and I wanted to know what it tasted like.”

“I can just picture a little Jason crawling onto the kitchen counter and trying to bite down on a stapler.” She teased.

“Yes well now I have this scar,” He pointed to his upper lip, rolling his eyes.

“Battle scars. Very worthy.”

He shoved at her shoulder lightly and they dissolved into laughter once more.

It was almost midnight by the time he had dropped her off at home and stepped into his apartment. He looked at his phone to see a couple work messages, and something from Hazel– things he could reply to in the morning he decided, tugging off his tie and discarding his clothes as he walked to his room. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, his phone still glaringly bright and open on the chat with his sister.

You were right. We’re going on a second date.

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

Grover is like some other worldy deity that spews life lessons every time they meet and i am so here for it! Anyway what y’all saying??? How are we feeling?

Tags (if you want to be added to/ taken off the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

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@leydiangelo

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