#kaisas stomach

[trashpocket]

kai'sa with chompers (and voidweaver on the side, cause whp am i without them)

#kaisa league of legends #LoR #legends of runeterra #voidweaver #taliyah #taliyah league of legends #added a bit of dorsal fins #onto kaisa #idk if its apparent #and idk how to describe #her second skin #but imagine crustaceans #and the way their limbs move #imahine the mouth of a crab #and like #kaisas stomach #being able to open like that

[lamaenthel]

Tivaevae | Chapter Twelve: Binding

Still struggling to emotionally recover from Master Obi-Wan's deception, Ahsoka discovers in the aftermath that twelve-year-old Boba Fett has been locked up among adults in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. After convincing Chancellor Palpatine to grant him a pardon, she manages to secure his release on the condition that she serve as his legal guardian. Now, with the help of Master Plo and the Wolfpack, she vows to help him track down what family he has left.

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Fandom: Star Wars Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CC-1119 | Appo, Dexter Jettster, FLO | WA-7 (Star Wars), Shaak Ti, ARC Commander Blitz (Star Wars), CT-6922 | Dogma, Original Clone Trooper Character(s) (Star Wars), CC-3636 | Wolffe, Clone Trooper Sinker (Star Wars), Clone Trooper Comet (Star Wars), CC-2224 | Cody, CT-5597 | Jesse, CT-4860 | Boost, Aurra Sing, Tobias Beckett, Null-11 | Ordo Skirata, Kal Skirata, Original Mandalorian Characters (Star Wars), Original Droid Characters (Star Wars), Original Jedi Character(s) (Star Wars) Total Word Count: 123,000 Chapter Word Count: 8,013 Chapter Summary: Ahsoka, Boba, Obi-Wan and Cody arrive on Corellia and travel to the small village of Bockrin to finally meet Boba's mother.

It was easy to forget that Corellia wasn't the ecumenopolis that Coruscant was when all that was ever spoken of were its urban shipyards and corrupt cities. Ninety percent of the global population resided in one of the five massive urban sprawls, but there were still a great many rural settlements on the planet. After they arrived at the spaceport, the group took two subtrams and a turbo-train and finally arrived in Bockrin; a rural village nestled in the warm, temperate rainforest an hour east of Coronet City. Demographic reports stated it was primarily populated by Mandalorians, and not the kind that ascribed to Satine's philosophy; Ahsoka heard the gentle vibration of the locals' beskar'gam ringing in the Force even before stepping off the turbo-train.

The village looked simple enough, with several blocks of wooden buildings and gravel roads that crunched pleasantly under their feet. Ahsoka could smell spicy, curried meat coming from the nearby cantina and ignored the way her stomachs rumbled. The locals looked at them suspiciously, their typical Mandalorian prejudice on clear display towards the two obvious Jedi in robes with lightsabers and clearly concerned for the young boy with two black eyes they escorted. Boba had changed into his flight suit but he had kept the black canvas jacket, which was short enough for the WESTAR-34 in his new holster to show.

Ahsoka made sure to hold his hand and stake a claim on her vod'ika lest he be forcibly adopted by one of the many well-meaning strangers in beskar who eyed them suspicously.

According to Kal Skirata's intel, Kaisa's homestead was about a fifteen-minute walk from the turbo-train station. The sun shone in their faces as they set off towards the treeline and walked the use-trail through the dense forest. Ahsoka had never seen anything quite like what was in the Bockrin valley; their trunks were skinny and covered in a thick layer of green moss with tiny red blossoms, and the leaves were large and five-pointed, plump like succulents, and hung in cascading strings from the trunk's crown like ribbons on a maypole that danced in the strong wind. The moss was incredibly prolific, as it grew down off the trees and onto the ground surrounding it, leaving only blue-striped ferns as the only other visible vegetation. Ahsoka heard the rumble of thunder in the distance, unfortunately in the direction they were heading, followed by a high pitched whine in her montrals with the change in air pressure. Insects buzzed in the moss, a high-pitched vibration that was almost mechanical.

"Did you hear the thunder?" Ahsoka asked the group. "Due west, probably a hundred kilometers."

"Great. We're walking right into it. And with this wind, it'll be here sooner rather than later." Cody had his bucket on but she knew the exact face he was making. His aura vibrated with chartreuse annoyance.

"Well, let's hope Kaisa will invite us to stay for latemeal," Obi-Wan quipped.

Ahsoka gritted her teeth. The wind was blowing the scent of Taarak's greasy little scent mark on Obi-Wan right in her face, as if she wasn't annoyed enough. Little biter had certainly gotten around, hadn't he?

Boba glanced over his shoulder at Ahsoka, his aura teal with concern-protection. He slowed down to pace her, a little over three strides back from Obi-Wan and Cody.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Ahsoka raised a brow marking. "Nothing? Just trying to think of how to approach your mom without getting gutshot before we can introduce ourselves."

Boba snorted. "Yeah, right. You've been a bitch all day. Spill, ori'vod."

Ahsoka laughed quietly and shook her head. Boba's base aura was as vibrant green as she'd ever seen it, but it was staticky white around the edges with anxiety. She checked the wind again and verified that it would keep their conversation away from Obi-Wan and Cody. "I have to admit, I expected you to be more nervous about meeting her," she replied.

"Don't change the subject." Boba bonked her in the hip with his satchel. Robert nearly fell out of the flap he was peeking out of.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm… I'm trying to get over it with Obi-Wan. Move on, be the bigger person. It's hard." It was a massive understatement, but not a lie.

"Kick him in the dick." Boba mimed the motion with a grin, his aura flaring gold with humor.

"No, Boba."

"I'll kick him for you?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. My Master actually told me to yell at him and get it out of my system, but I can't." Ahsoka shook her head.

"What do you mean, you can't?" he snorted. "Pussy."

"Ke'pirimpir gaht tay'briik," she retorted.

"Naysh gar." Boba stuck his tongue out at her.

"I… there's just no point." Ahsoka sighed. "I'm not like Anakin, that's not how I make myself feel better. Sometimes, yes, because even I can only take so much before I explode, but screaming at him almost a month later about how much he hurt my feelings isn't going to change anything. He already knows what he did. We just… have to keep walking forward, let the wound close. No looking back."

"Well, what'll help that happen, then?" Boba asked.

She opened her mouth to answer, then felt a tingle of warning slap her on the back of the head a half-second before the sound of a distant crack! rang out, far closer and sharper than the rumbling thunder. Obi-Wan's lightsaber ignited immediately and he swatted at the projectile.

It didn't deflect, it exploded. The sniper was using a slugthrower, and the shrapnel from the bullet flew everywhere.

Ahsoka and Cody leapt into action. She shoved Boba to the ground out of the line of fire and tossed her own saber forward, cutting through half a dozen skinny trees that didn't fall until after she recalled the saber to her hand. Cody unleashed a barrage of cover fire, crouching over his stunned General's prone form to protect him with his own body. Ahsoka lifted the trunks with the Force, pulled them towards the foursome, then dropped them in a pile on the path to give them cover. Cody moved off of Obi-Wan and fired over the logs towards the direction of the sniper, ducking often to keep his head out of range. Boba dove towards the log and backed him up, extending an arm up over the log and firing blindly.

Bright red blood bloomed above Obi-Wan's heart through his robes. Ahsoka ripped her outer robe off and pressed it down on the wound with shaking hands. "No, no, Bobi you're alright, it's okay, it's okay, you're okay–" She was whimpering like a wounded animal and didn't know how to stop, barely able to see him through the panicked sheen of tears welling up in her eyes. The coppery smell of his blood was so sharp that it overpowered everything else.

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan coughed, his aura pale orange with pain-surprise. "Ahsoka, I'm–"

"It's okay, you're okay!" she said frantically. "Cody, Cody he needs a– he needs a plug and a patch, d-d-do you have, have a patch, he's–"

"Ahsoka!" Obi-Wan stared at her, his beautiful, gray-blue eyes round with shock. "It's just shrapnel, I'm fine!"

"Cody, help!" she sobbed. She pushed down harder. He couldn't die, not again, not again not right in front of her again, he couldn't he couldn't he couldn't–

"Ahsoka!" Obi-Wan gripped her face and rubbed hard at her temples with his thumbs, just like he had when she was a baby screaming at akul lilies. "I'm alright, mo nighean, I'm alright. Just breathe. Breathe deep, there we go. Shhh. I'm alright. It's just a flesh wound. I'm fine."

She shakily matched Obi-Wan's calm, deep breaths and saw that for the first time since his return, his aura was flush with a miserable shade of purple guilt-grief-shame. Another sharp crack! rang out; the bark directly above Cody's head exploded.

Ahsoka spun her head at the return of the mechanical whirring noise she'd mistaken for insects and realized that it was emanating from a small, hovering drone that had been painted the same green as the verdant moss. A small, rotating barrel unfolded from the drone and began to spin up. She lifted one hand and crushed it with the Force before it could start firing, then ignoring Cody's cry for her to wait, vaulted over the logs.

She moved her head to the side and avoided the next shot that came their way, thanking the wind for its help in throwing the sniper's shots off, then dropped to all fours and sprinted. Her vertebrae popped and loosened as she gained speed, and she dug her hands and feet into the soft moss to push faster and further than she could've on two legs. Another shot popped the moss just beside her hand. The wind blew an acrid trail of sodium nitrate from Kaisa – for who else would be taking potshots with a slugthrower but the Jedi-hating dalgaan – straight to Ahsoka's nose for her to follow.

The mechanical buzzing of more drones surrounded her on both sides as she ran, and seconds later they began to spin up and fire blue blaster bolts. She jumped to her feet and did a front flip, igniting her sabers as she leapt. She deflected the bolts, destroyed the little pests, and followed her nose to the sniper's tree blind. She threw her sabers on her belt while still running, then took a mighty leap at the tree and clawed her way up the rest of the trunk like a gundark, reaching the perch before Kaisa could shoot her off. She peeked over the edge and nearly went deaf from the booming shot Kaisa fired at her at the same time another drone swooped her face. Anakin would have called it luck that she barely avoided both. She rolled up and kicked Kaisa off the edge of the blind, drawing on the Force for an extra boost of strength.

Kaisa went flying off the side. Her jetpack fired and softened her fall, giving her just enough of an extra push to avoid Ahsoka's pursuing lunge. She ignited her sabers midair and sliced the Mandalorian's rifle in half before she could fire again. Kaisa threw the rifle at her face in response and loosed a jet of flame to force her back.

Ahsoka sprung back on her hands to avoid it, cutting black scorch lines into the moss with her lit sabers. She fell into the opening Shien stance and hissed, walking in a slow circle opposite of the other woman. Her lekku stung and swayed on her chest, undulating like snakes at the predator in front of her. Her rear lek thumped her back with a loud, angry slap.

Kaisa was tiny, shorter than Boba even. The armor she wore over a wine-colored flight suit had been painted a deep, matte gray just a hair too light to be called black, and it had been tinted with olive green to be the perfect camouflage for a mossy forest. The wind blew her scent right at Ahsoka's nose; sodium nitrate and spicecake, with a sharp undertone that she didn't recognize. She drew a DE-10 blaster pistol with her right hand and a kal dagger with her left and matched Ahsoka step for step.

Ahsoka swallowed hard and tried to bring her heartbeat to heel. The last time she'd seen one of those was when Dol Sylen had buried it to the hilt in her thigh. "Kaisa Skirata?" she said in a voice tinged with a growl, her montrals still ringing from the rifle going off so close to her resonance chambers.

"Jetii." Kaisa practically spat the words at her, managing to sound venomous even through the vocabulator of her helmet. "No welcome for you." Her voice was heavily accented, rounded and almost musical with a pitch that went up and down like a rolling hill. Her coral base aura was covered in a brittle line of teal, protection-wariness-determination shining like a sheet of stained glass.

"Ahsoka!" Boba cried out for her in the distance. Blaster fire from the buzzing drones sounded to Ahsoka's left and Cody roared to take cover. She stupidly turned to look, fear for her vod'ika overpowering common sense; Kaisa fired and it was only the reflexes honed by hundreds of hours of Anakin's training that stopped the blaster bolt from taking Ahsoka's head off. She deflected it and dodged Kaisa's follow-up dagger to her ribs. Her shoto swung over the top of Kaisa's helmet and cut her rangefinder off.

Kaisa suddenly dropped and swept at her legs with the dagger, catching Ahsoka's right calf almost like the Mandalorian knew where she would plant it. She opened a thin, burning line across the back of Ahsoka's knee. She collapsed and brought up her sabers to block the dagger swinging for her head, cutting it off at the hilt and nearly taking Kaisa's head with it from her own momentum. The Mandalorian rolled over the crossed sabers and spun in a crouch with her blaster raised.

Adrenaline screamed through Ahsoka's veins. She shoved the other woman back with the Force so hard against a tree that her blaster popped out of her hand and her jetpack emitted a shower of ominous steam and sparks. Ahsoka lunged, her mind blank except for the hindbrain urge to protect her clan. She'd tried to kill Obi-Wan. She'd almost shot Cody. Boba was pinned down by her drones.

Ni ven'kyramu ad kebbur.

Kaisa crossed her beskar gauntlets and braced herself for the blow just in time. Ahsoka dropped her shoto and beat down on her with a two-handed grip on her main saber like it was a scramball bat, trying to break through the Mandalorian's guard with brute force. She came down over and over again, she had to destroy her destroy her destroy her–

A wide hand snatched her wrist with a vice grip before she could bring the saber down again and held it still. Obi-Wan pulled Ahsoka backwards and wrapped his strong arms around her in a firm wampa hug, the smell of his blood and the juniper incense he favored for meditation sharp and intense in her nose. "Enough," he ordered, deactivating her saber. "You've beaten her, Padawan. Enough."

Ahsoka trembled in his arms and tried to remember how to breathe. A high-pitched, animalistic whine escaped from her. Obi-Wan planted his chin firmly between her montrals and pressed down hard; his stubble pricked her uncomfortably but the pressure point worked, and she slowly matched the rise and fall of his chest.

Boba and Cody flanked the dazed Kaisa and pointed their blasters at her on the ground. Cody leaned forward and ripped her helmet off.

"Don't fucking move, sleemo," Boba seethed, his aura screaming red with anger-fear. He shoved the barrel of his hot blaster against her silver-streaked temple.

Ahsoka smelled burning flesh and hair. Kaisa's stormy gray eyes, shining like polished beskar around pinprick pupils, glared up at her with undeniable hatred. Her aura mirrored Boba's with the same vivid red shade of rage-fear. "You won't find him," she snarled, her teeth bared. "He does hiding. I will kill anyone who tries."

Ahsoka kicked Kaisa hard in the chin before she could stop herself. Her head snapped up, smacked hard against the mossy tree trunk with a sharp crack, then fell to her chest. She was knocked out cold.

"Ahsoka!" Obi-Wan snapped, dragging her backwards. "Stop it, now."

Ahsoka clenched her jaw and took a deep, shuddering breath. Her lekku throbbed and she closed her eyes tight, the scent of Obi-Wan's blood still overwhelming her other senses. She spun in his arms and buried her face in his neck, unblocking her side of their bond so she could feel his life force roaring through it for the first time in weeks. Her hands roamed for hair to run her fingers through but found only velvety stubble. She could hear his pulse, taste his sweat, smell his skin, feel him shining and vibrant in the Force. He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead.

Obi-Wan crushed her against him and petted her rear lek soothingly as she bawled like a baby, his aura quietly clouded with deep violet guilt-remorse-love.

Obi-Wan tried not to wince too obviously as Ahsoka picked shrapnel out of his chest with a tiny pair of forceps and a miniscule magnet she had commandeered from Cody's currently-disassembled sidearm. He'd been lucky, truly; it was a careless mistake to have tried to deflect a bullet. He had spent far too much time on the battlefield these past three years, he was becoming… not lazy, but thoughtless, relying too much on muscle memory instead of the memories of his Master's teachings.

He hissed softly as Ahsoka removed a rather jagged shard of shrapnel; she winced at the size of the piece. "No wonder you bled so much. Did any of them manage to miss you?" She removed one more piece, then began gently wiping the blood away with a sanicloth.

"I believe Cody caught a few pieces for me," he joked weakly. Cody shot him a look that he felt rather than saw.

"Very funny." Ahsoka rolled her eyes and started cutting the bacta patch to size.

"Yes, well, please heed my example and don't ever try to do that. It was a novice mistake."

"Then why'd you do it, General?" Cody asked grumpily, snapping a second pair of binders around the Lady Skirata's petite wrists. Cody had laced her feet through them so she'd not only be hobbled, she wouldn't even be able to stand. Force, the woman was small, so short that Obi-Wan wondered if she had some sort of dwarfism or if she was just stunted. Her speech cadence as well… she spoke Mando'a as a first language. That was rare in this day and age.

Boba didn't seem to trust that the binders would hold. He stood over her with his father's blaster pointed at her head, stone-faced and iron-eyed, his hands shaking almost too subtly to see. Obi-Wan thought it a bit ironic that the woman had escaped death by Jango's hands once, only to find herself with his gun to her head a decade later in the hands of his clone.

"Because I'm an idiot, obviously." Obi-Wan glanced at Ahsoka to see if she'd smiled. The poor thing's eyes were still bloodshot and swollen from crying. Her guttural reaction had hit him like a runaway turbo-train. Pure panic, begging him not to die, screaming for Cody to help while she nearly broke his ribcage pressing on a bullet hole that didn't exist…

And she'd called him Bobi. He had never felt like more of a bastard in his life than he did in that instant, staring up at her terrified face as she thought he was dying in her arms again.

"We all make mistakes." Ahsoka carefully smoothed the patch on and readjusted his robes. "All done." She tossed the magnet back to Cody and brushed her hands against her leggings.

"Thank you." Obi-Wan grabbed her gently by the wrist before she could escape and pulled her down next to him on the fallen log. He had to duck to catch her eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked her softly, stroking her hand with his thumb.

She stiffened, visibly embarrassed with her dark stripes and burning cheeks. "I'm fine, Master Kenobi. I'm sorry that I lost my head. It won't happen again."

She was hiding again, retreating behind her icy facade. His heart ached anew. "I'm sorry that I scared you so, my dear." He wiped a bit of blood off of her cheek with the sleeve of his robes.

She gave him a tight smile and tugged her hands away. "I'm fine. It's… fine."

Obi-Wan knew it wasn't, but now wasn't the time to say everything that needed to be said to bridge the rift between them. He instead turned to look at the tiny Mandalorian cuffed on the ground. "Shall we give her Ladyship a stim to wake her up and ask what we did to earn such a welcome?"

Cody shook his head. "Not with a concussion, Sir. We've got to wait it out, unfortunately."

Ahsoka tilted her head, then looked behind her and stood. "Someone's coming," she warned, drawing her sabers. She retreated to Boba's side and put herself in between him and whatever was coming.

Obi-Wan retrieved his own hilt and nodded at Cody, who aimed in the direction Ahsoka was looking. Boba kept his blaster trained on the unconscious Kaisa.

" …hello, please don't shoot! Hello! Hello, do not shoot, please, I am not armed!" A protocol droid with feminine programming waddled over the crest of the hilly path, waving a large white handkerchief tied to a stick. "I have come to parley! Please do not shoot!"

Obi-Wan nodded at Cody, who lowered his blaster. "Hello there," Obi-Wan called to the droid, tucking his arms in his sleeves with his saber still in hand. "Parley, you say? On behalf of whom?"

The minty, matte-green protocol droid came to a stop a few paces away. "Greetings. I am TC-35, but you may call me Gotika. I am here on behalf of Master Cassus Skirata, who would like to discuss your terms for the safe return of his mother."

"Our terms?" Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. She is your hostage, after all." Gotika peered around him at Kaisa, unconscious on the ground. "Goodness, Mistress, are you alright?"

"She's alive," Boba snapped. "And she's not a fucking hostage. She's lucky to be alive after she tried to kill us."

"Oh dear," Gotika said, dismayed.

"Why'd he send you and not come himself?" Cody asked.

"Bucket of bolts wants to lead us into a trap." Boba turned his blaster on Gotika.

"Please don't!" Gotika squealed, raising her hands in surrender. "I am here to escort you to Master Cassus and to provide medical attention to any who need it, no more!"

"A protocol droid with medical programming?" Ahsoka asked, her rear lek swishing suspiciously.

"A Teecee unit such as myself would normally not support such a module, but Master Cassus has made upgrades to my base programming that allow me to perform a plethora of roles that would seem unconventional for a protocol droid. Please follow me. There is a storm rapidly approaching." Gotika spun on her heel and began to toddle down the path, still waving her white flag in one stiff hand.

Obi-Wan exchanged a look with Ahsoka and shrugged. "Let us go meet with Master Cassus, then."

Cody slung the hobbled, unconscious Kaisa over his shoulder like a purse; an undignified position, but given that she'd just shot him and stabbed his Grand-Padawan, Obi-Wan was having trouble mustering up too much pity for her. Ahsoka tucked her fallen blaster into the back of her belt and laced her fingers with Boba's, then gave Obi-Wan a nod. They took off down the path together, heading straight in the direction of the rumbling storm. Obi-Wan felt a raindrop smack against his cheek and looked up at the dark sky warily. "How much further?" he asked Gotika.

"Just ahead, Master Jedi, just ahead." Gotika waved cheerily over her shoulder. "Come, come. Watch your step, please, this hill is steep."

They awkwardly clambered down a hillside to a dried-up creek bed. Gotika's metal feet clanged loudly on the colorful pebbles.

"This is a fucking killbox if I've ever seen one," Boba growled from behind him.

"I agree, General," Cody muttered quietly. "What's the plan for when things go south?"

"We keep our eyes open and weapons ready," Obi-Wan replied. "We have what young Master Skirata wants, and we shall not give up our leverage until we know it's safe to do so."

"So she is a hostage," Ahsoka said wryly.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "From a certain point of view, perhaps, but I prefer to think of her as our honored guest."

Ahsoka glanced back at Kaisa, still hanging from Cody's shoulder like a freshly-slain boar roba, and clicked her tongue. "Honored. Right."

Obi-Wan frowned and suddenly realized that she was limping. "Ahsoka, what happened to your leg?" he asked, peering around her back at it.

"She cut me a little. It just stings, I'm fine."

Obi-Wan's frown intensified. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"We only had one bacta patch. I'm fine." Her lek thumped again.

Obi-Wan tried not to sigh. "Then you should have–"

"Here we are!" Gotika called back cheerily at them. Before them, at the end of the dry creek bed, loomed a massive, mossy hill with a metal door embedded into its side that had been painted with mossy camouflage. Strings of star-shaped succulents from the trees on the hillcrest trailed over the front, rendering the door virtually invisible from more than ten meters away.

Thunder boomed overhead. The sky felt moments away from opening up in a downpour.

"Master Cassus! We've arrived, Master, can you hear me?" Gotika dropped her flag and waved her arms at the bunker door.

Obi-Wan stopped and crossed his arms, with Ahsoka mirroring him moments later. "I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered.

Obi-Wan glanced at her. "I don't sense anything."

Ahsoka tilted her head, opened her mouth, and clicked quietly. "Can you hear the buzzing, or is it too high a frequency for human hearing?" she asked a few seconds later.

"It must be." Obi-Wan tried not to look around too obviously. Cody and Boba both put anticipatory hands on their holstered blasters and turned so that they stood back-to-back to him and Ahsoka, keeping all angles covered.

"Oh dear, the uplink must have gotten wet again. We have had nothing but storms for the past week. One moment." Gotika waddled quickly up the side of the hill and opened a panel built into a false log, then extended a scomp from a compartment in her wrist. "Just one more moment, please."

"Something isn't right," Ahsoka whispered urgently. "I hear metal moving, servos… some sort of mechanism."

"It may be the door." Obi-Wan readied his saber anyway, as did Ahsoka. Rain finally began to fall in earnest and he tightened his grip.

"There we go!" Gotika announced cheerfully. "Now, esteemed guests, may I have the privilege of introducing you to Clan Skirata!" She began to laugh a bit maniacally.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka exchanged a confused look, then everything happened all at once; the wind picked up and the sky opened up in a deluge, dirt and moss exploded from the ridge of the steep hills alongside them as a line of laser-guided turrets emerged and fixed their sights on them, thunder crashed directly above, and Gotika made a mighty leap straight up into the air and landed behind the group with two miniature ion cannons glowing in her palms.

Well then. She had said that Master Cassus had upgraded her with some unconventional upgrades, but that wasn't what he had expected.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka both ignited their sabers and shoved Boba between them, while Cody drew his carbine and aimed at the droid's head. He made sure that the unconscious Kaisa was fully blocking his chest, inadvertently upgrading her from hostage to human shield.

"You have five seconds to put my mother down and run before Gotika disintegrates you," A child's voice boomed from a loudspeaker, thick with the same mountainous Mandalorian accent that Kaisa bore. "Five…"

Gotika cackled. Her eyes matched the glowing light from the cannons in her hands as they both intensified. "Four, three.." she began to count gleefully.

"Cassus!" Boba shouted, wide-eyed and ashen. "Tion'gar olaro gar vod ti tracy'uure? Gar sa Jango ori'shya ni'cuy!"

"Two…" the droid continued.

"Gev, Gotika, gev!"

Both Gotika's hands and eyes dimmed and she lowered them, visibly disappointed.

A small hatch opened above the bunker door and a little drone flew out. It hovered above their heads for a moment, scanning them, then cautiously buzzed down to Boba's eye level. "Boba?" the speaker from the drone asked.

"Yeah," Boba replied; Obi-Wan could feel him shaking like a leaf both against his back and in the Force, but his voice was as tough as bronto hide.

"Why now?" The voice sounded painfully young.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Boba asked harshly. "And you've got something of mine. Let us in and we'll talk."

Gotika shifted miserably from side to side. "Master Cassus," she whined, "May I remind you that nobody is allowed inside the bunker without your mother's express–"

"I know!" Cassus' drone said irritably.

"Then allow me to–" Obi-Wan tightened his grip as Gotika's hands began to glow again.

"I said stop!"

"Either let us in, or let us go!" Boba barked. "It's raining like Tipoca City out here and I'm not in the fucking mood for wet drawers."

Lightning flashed across the sky again and the resounding boom of thunder made them all flinch. "Just you. The jetiise and the eyayad stay outside."

"I'm a shabla eyayad too, remember?" Boba snapped; at the same time a guttural, terrifying growl escaped from Ahsoka and sent a shiver up Obi-Wan's spine.

Her rear lek slapped against her back so hard that it sent a spray of water into the air from her sodden robes. "He goes nowhere without me." She bared her fangs in a very unJedi-like display of aggression.

"Let us in, ner vod, before we fucking drown down here," Boba ordered the drone.

It hovered for a few moments more, then the bunker door slid open behind them silently. The drone flew up and into the hand of a small, seated silhouette in the doorway, from which warm yellow light poured out and illuminated the heavy rain like drops of gold. Gotika sighed loudly. "Follow me, please," she said disdainfully, then waddled towards the steps with a recalcitrance Obi-Wan couldn't remember ever seeing in a protocol droid before.

Boba pushed past them and bravely led the way.

Over the last ten years, Boba had fantasized about Mama and Cas still being alive. Maybe they were dug in deep on Mandalore, up high in the Kyrimorut mountains; somewhere near the old homestead she'd grown up on, maybe, back before Tor Viszla had massacred most of her clan and burned the place to the ground. As time went on, he'd envisioned wilder and wilder scenarios. They were on Canto Bight, living large off the sabacc earnings she made as a high roller. They had their own pirate fleet and ran circles around Hondo Ohnaka's crew. They were exploring Wild Space, charting hyperspace routes that would make them a fortune.

He'd never considered his fantasies anything more than just that, though. They had to be dead. Jango Fett had killed them, he'd shot them right out of the sky into the Kaminoan ocean, and Jango Fett never left a job half-done.

Except he had, somehow, and Boba didn't really know how to actually believe that it was all actually happening. Mama was alive and more ornery than ever; Kenobi's new paint job was proof of that. And Cassus, well…

He sat awkwardly in his hoverchair as they passed him by in the bunker's vestibule, a crocheted blanket the color of maize folded over his lap. Ten years on and they still had almost the same face; even being an honest, good old-fashioned, fifty-fifty organic blend of Kaisa and Jango, Cassus' bone structure made him instantly clockable as a Fett. His nose was thinner, his eyes were bright gray like their mother's, and he had about ten kilos on Boba, but otherwise they could still pass as twins. He wore his hair long enough to cover his ears, hanging heavy in ringlet curls that matched Kaisa's. He was chunky on top, soft and round with a double chin and shy eyes like he wasn't used to making contact with anyone, but his legs were skinny and folded off to the side of his footrest.

He was clearly paralyzed, but why? When? Was it when Dad had shot them down? Boba felt like throwing up. Dad… he'd made mistakes and he'd regretted them, but if he had known that he had paralyzed his own son he would have…

He would have done nothing, actually. Boba's anxiety quieted into an aching, hollow emptiness in his belly as the realization settled. He'd tried to kill Mama and Cas. He wouldn't have done anything but get drunk and weep about what a horrible person he was if he'd found out Cas had survived.

The burn of alcohol stings Boba's nose as he tosses the empty tihaar bottle into the trash compactor. Dad sits swaying on the couch, splotchy-cheeked and red-eyed. He stares at his hands. Boba brings his father a blanket. "Dad?" he asks softly.

"I should've just let them go. I… I'm so selfish, Boba. I should've just let her go and kept all of you safe." Jango flexes his big hands. "S-safe here, with us. All of us. You, me, Tiarek… I… I could've…" His bloodshot eyes flood with tears.

"It's okay." He doesn't know what else to say. He doesn't like it when Dad cries, but at least tonight he's just sad, not angry too. Dad sniffs, wipes his eyes, then smiles at Boba and cups his face. His hands are warm and rough, calloused but gentle, able to dole out love and pain in equal measure.

"I'm sorry Boba. I'm sorry for a lot of things." He pulls Boba close and presses their foreheads together. "Be better than me, Boba. Gar ne'ente eyayti ner dunare."

Boba jumped as a skinny orange hand squeezed his. Ahsoka smiled down at him. "I'm right here with you," she whispered.

Boba rolled his eyes. "Fucking obviously," he sniffed, his nose suddenly runny for some reason.

"Gotika, take Mama to her room and treat her injuries," Cassus ordered the droid.

"Right away, Cas'ika." Gotika waddled at top speed towards Cody and flashed the lights in her eyes at him menacingly. She held her arms out like she was going to hug him whether he wanted her to or not and tilted her head. "My Mistress, please," she said in a singsong voice that promised unimaginable violence if denied.

Cody handed off the cuffed, unconscious Kaisa like she was a belt of live grenades to the droid.

"I will be right back." Gotika scampered away, her stiff legs moving far faster than they should have been able to.

Cody shuddered. "That's one creepy clanker," he muttered to Kenobi as she disappeared into a small hallway.

Kenobi hid a smile. "I don't think we actually introduced ourselves," he said, then held a hand out for Cassus to shake. "I am Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and that's Marshall Commander Cody of the Grand Army of the Republic."

Ahsoka gave him a smile and a little wave. Cody took his helmet off. "Nice to meet you."

Cassus blanched and looked away, visibly unnerved. Boba felt a little sympathetic. It had to be weird to see your dead father's face on a stranger if you weren't used to it.

Boba wondered how weird it was going to be to look into the mirror in a few years.

"Y-You too," Cassus mumbled at his lap. "Are, um, are any of you hurt?" He blinked at the group, his eyes lingering on Kenobi's bloodstained chest.

"Only a little shrapnel. I'm fine. But Ahsoka's leg needs attention." Kenobi smiled a flat, brittle smile.

Ahsoka shifted her weight guiltily. "It isn't–"

"If you're pretending nothing is wrong, then it's far worse than you're letting on," Kenobi said sharply. "Young man, I'd appreciate Gotika taking a look once she's done with your mother."

"Gotika is far more likely to cut my leg off than treat it." Ahsoka glowered at Kenobi.

Boba sighed loudly. "If it were me, would you be arguing about it or sitting on me until I let the droid look at it?" he asked her flatly.

Ahsoka blinked at him a few times, obviously trying to come up with a counterargument and failing.

Boba smirked at her. "That's what I thought. Now." He stepped forward with his arms crossed and examined the bunker; it had been built like a traditional Mandalorian vheh'yaim, with one big, central living chamber and a few hallway offshoots to an armory, bedrooms, and hopefully a fresher. A large, plascrete firepit smoldered in the center of the sunken seating area, colorful rugs had been thrown all over the hard floors to take the chill of the stone away, and all of the furniture was low to the ground, overstuffed, and had plenty of gaps in between pieces so Cas could move around easily. He spotted three different weapons caches right away, but knew there had to be more. There was a mural painted on the octogonal wall; all nature scenes, dragonflies flying low over a pond where shatuale fauns froclicked, giant tiarek flower bushes, sunshine over a field of maize with strill pups playing in the foreground. "Nice place," he finally conceded.

"Thank you," Cassus said meekly. "Do you, um, would you like something to drink? Pinky can make cocoa."

"Pinky?" Cody asked. His voice sounded a little choked through the helmet, like he was trying not to laugh. "Who is–"

A pink-plated astromech zoomed out of a hallway on the left, beeping. "Pinky, make some cocoa, please," Cassus asked politely, navigating around the furniture and disabling his repulsors once he had reached what had to be his usual spot in between a very comfortable-looking orange beanbag and a small, wooden table with a little doily and a coaster on it. A bag of yarn sat on the floor next to the table, knitting needles poking out of the top. "You all can sit, if you like," he said over the beeping of the droid zooming away to the furthest hallway on the left.

"Don't get visitors much, do you?" Boba asked, plopping down on the beanbag. Ahsoka took a seat on a padded bench beside him and Kenobi slid next to her before she could protest. She bit the inside of her cheek and made a face like she'd just smelled something rotten.

"No. We go into town once a week to get food and supplies, but nobody comes out here except for Illippi." Cassus whistled, and a BD unit scampered out from underneath a low sofa opposite of the firepit. "Hey, Buddy," he said fondly, patting the droid's head.

Boba raised an eyebrow. "What's with all the droids?" he asked.

Cassus' smile fell off his face and he looked embarrassed. The BD climbed up to his shoulder and settled into a loaf like a tooka. "I, um, I like to work with them. Rebuild them." His cheeks were getting darker by the second. "I have a lot of free time when Mama goes on jobs. She salvaged them for me and I repaired all of them." He looked up shyly. "I made my chair, too."

"Wizard." Boba drummed on the tops of his legs. Fuck, this was awkward. How had they gone from a standoff to talking about droids while waiting for cocoa?

"So, um, you said Kal told you where we were?" Cas finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. You said Illippi comes out. Were you talking about his dar'riduur?"

Cassus nodded. "Yeah. She lives in Coronet City, but she visits. Or she used to, anyway. She hasn't been by in a while."

Boba sank deeper into the beanbag and stared at his brother, sick already of small talk. "Okay, fuck it, I'll ask. What happened?"

Cassus looked like he wasn't sure if he should be offended or scared. "What?" he asked.

"Last time I saw you, you could definitely walk, so what happened?" Boba crossed his arms and waited as Cassus wrung his hands nervously. Fucking hell, he really didn't get visitors often, did he? He was more nervous than a Gedonian ground weevil in a room full of hungry tookas. Had Mama kept him locked up in the bunker all this time in case Dad had come looking for them?

"It was when we… left." Cassus looked relieved at the sound of Pinky's beeping getting louder as he reapproached the karyai, a tray with a copper kettle and six little ceramic cups on top of his dome. Cassus spoke while the droid started distributing the cocoa. "Mama wanted you and Tiarek to come too, but Dad wouldn't let you leave. He kept telling her that he couldn't go and she wasn't allowed to either because of the clause in her contract. Ten years, that was the deal."

"I'm sorry, I can't have chocolate." Ahsoka gently waved the offered cup away with an odd, unfocused look on her face.

Cas looked embarrassed again. "I should have asked, I'm sorry. Do you want some tea?"

Ahsoka shook her head and blinked a few times. "No, no. I'm, um, I'm fine. But why did she want to leave?"

Cassus' face shuttered. "We just had to," he muttered, and nodded at Pinky once the cocoa was all distributed. The droid zoomed back to what Boba presumed was the kitchen. Cassus blew on his drink and took a little sip.

"So it happened when Dad shot you down?" Boba asked.

Cassus shrugged, his chubby cheeks getting dark again. "No. It was before. That's… that's why we couldn't take you, too."

Boba felt his heart jump into his throat and try to escape from his mouth. "What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

"You didn't…" Cassus looked surprised. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Boba nearly spat, hearing his pulse pound in his ears. "That you left us? Do you even know what happened to Tiarek? Do you even give a fuck about him, or was he just–"

"Of course I do!" Cassus protested, his eyes going shiny with tears almost immediately. "What happened to Tiarek? Is he… is he dead?" His voice was so small and pitiful that Boba wanted to hit him. Why was he so weak? Because his legs didn't work? Big fucking deal, plenty of people's legs didn't work. Ahsoka's teacher was missing his fucking arm, bum legs didn't mean Cas had to be such a snivelling little bitch, wringing his hands in his hoverchair with a scared look on his face like he had a reason to be afraid of him.

"Why'd you leave us behind?" Boba demanded. "Tell me, and I'll tell you what happened to Tiarek."

Cassus looked like he was about to piss himself. "Ni ne'vegyc johaar'i par jetiise olar," he said, glancing at Ahsoka and Kenobi nervously.

"Jetiise johaar'i shabla Mando'a, di'kut, now fucking tell me!" Boba threw his cup of cocoa against the wall and started pacing, forcing down the bile surging up in his throat.

"Mama tried to take all of us." Cassus looked as sick and miserable as Boba felt. "Dad wouldn't let her. He said you were his… his property. You and Tiarek both. You were his payment for being the template, and he'd bought Tiarek fair and square. She wasn't walking away with his property."

Boba bit through the inside of his cheek and tasted blood. That's all he ever was to him, wasn't he? Jango's property. His payment for being the template. He was never Jango's son, not really.

"Boba!" Ahsoka caught his shoulders and spun him. "Okay, Bo'ika. Alright? Yes. Okay. Don't, don't–" she swallowed hard. Sweat had beaded up on her forehead and she smiled a weird, forced smile. Her lips and eyelids twitched. "Don't. It's inde. Chan e coire do bhràthar… bhràthar…" Boba had no idea what fucking language that was but something was very, very wrong with her. She wasn't breathing normally and her pupils had practically swallowed up her irises. She fell to one knee, shaking, her jaw trembling and gaping open and shut like a koi fish.

"Ahsoka!" Kenobi shoved Boba to the side and caught her before she hit the ground. "No, no, look at me, mo nighean, what's the matter? What's wrong, what's happening to you?" He twisted her and yanked her legging up above her knee; on the back of her calf, right above the edge of her boot, there was an angry-looking blue gash weeping thick, foul-smelling fluid.

Boba heard a soft laugh from behind them; the bitch herself was leaning against the entryway, a sharp, ruthless gleam in her eyes and a tiny smirk on her lips. Her curly black hair, streaked with silver and wet from bacta spray, hung just above her shoulders. She'd grown older, had lines around her eyes and had gained a little weight, but she still looked almost exactly like what Boba saw in his memories when he let himself think about her. "Manax root," she said softly. "It does growing in forest. It work more fast with humans. Togrutiise has big liver. I forget, take more long to start."

Kenobi hoisted the twitching Ahsoka into his arms, rage burning in his blue eyes like cold fire. "Where is the antidote?" he asked icily.

"Outside. I before bury." She smiled a wide, unnerving smile. "Leave my boy, jetii, go out my home. She will live if you find it in time." She met Boba's eyes, her expression softening. "Bo'ika. Mhi–"

"Don't you dare fucking call me that," Boba snapped. "You don't get to call me that, not anymore. Not after what you've fucking done. What you just did."

Something shattered in her eyes, then they hardened like winter ice over a river. She huffed a loud sigh. "My boys stay. You will find antidote, and after find you will leave."

"B-Bobi," Ahsoka managed to get out through her chattering teeth.

A shiver went down Boba's spine and the temperature of the room dropped like someone had opened a door into a blizzard. "Cody, I need to concentrate on slowing this poison down," Kenobi said silkily, laying Ahsoka down on the padded bench like she was made of glass. He took a knee beside her. "I shall leave the acquisition of the antidote to you. I unfortunately will not be able to supervise."

"Understood sir," Cody growled, then aimed his carbine at his mother.

"Please don't hurt her," Cassus begged, his terrified eyes darting between the two of them.

She flinched; a motion almost too small to see, but Boba noticed. "Been a while since you saw a clone, hasn't it?" he asked her softly, and the way she wouldn't look at Cody's face told him that he was right. "Tell me where it is or it'll be the last time you ever see one." He drew his blaster – Jango's blaster – and aimed it right between her silver eyes.

They went wide. "Oro'nas, Bo–"

He fired; the bolt stopped a foot away from her face and hovered there for a few seconds, then flew straight up and burned a black scorchmark in the ceiling.

Cassus, red-faced and shaking, lowered his hand and dissolved into tears.

Notes:

MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS ori/vod/ika: big/sibling/little Ke'pirimpir gaht tay'briik: go piss up a rope Naysh gar: No you Tion'gar olaro gar vod ti tracy'uure? Gar sa Jango ori'shya ni'cuy!: You greet your brother with blasters? You are like Jango more than I am Gev: stop Gar ne'ente eyayti ner dunare: You must not echo my mistakes. Ni ne'vegyc johaar'i par jetiise olar: I shouldn't say with the Jedi here Jetiise johaar'i shabla Mando'a, di'kut: The Jedi speak fucking Mando'a, idiot Togrutiise: Togrutas Oro'nas: Stand down TOYDARIAN TRANSLATIONS inde: yes MÁOR-GRASTA TRANSLATIONS Chan e coire do bhràthar a th' ann: It is not your brother's fault OTHER NOTES Oh look who finally showed up! Kaisa speaks the way she does because she's a native Mando'a speaker who translates everything in her head to Basic first. Hopefully that was explained well enough in text but if not then uhhhh yeah this is me telling you 😃🤙 Also Cassus is baby

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @soliloquy-of-nemo Dividers: @saradika-graphics

#star wars #star wars fanfic #tivaevae #lamaenthel #ahsoka tano #boba fett #captain rex #plo koon #commander wolffe #arc trooper fives #arc trooper jesse #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #tcw #clone troopers #starwarsficnetwork #star wars tcw #mandalorian #jedi #my writing #dngg

[mera-mann-kehne-laga]

Exam hall me He's bench is bilkul beside mine. Beechme theres only enough space for a person to walk.

So I enter the exam hall, he's standing there, I'm tryna get to my seat. He's blocking my way. There's little space. He sees me, steps aside mtlb takes a 90° turn. I go past him, Something in my stomach gives a pull (I think butterflies), he smells very good as always.

I'm just about to take my seat when he calls my name. HE FCKN CALLS MY NAME. I'm so dead inside, confused, what does he want from me?

*my name*?

Haa........bol

Ek help karogi?

Hmm bol

Tumhe set Konsa milta hai?

1.

Ok....good. Mujhe mcqs kradena please.

*not looking at him* ohh........

bus pass kradena mcq krake. Baaki mai dekhlunga.

*I again avert my eyes from him* hmm......baith Tu pehle.

Kara dogi na?

Kara to dungi........

Theek hai. Badhiya.

Deal kya hai?

Kya?

Abey deal. Free me thode krungi

Kya chahiye bolo. Chocolate?

*wide smile* Ha chlega.

Theek hai milna centre ke bahar. De dunga

Badi Vali chahiye mujhe dairy milk

Ha ha tum pehle mcq to karao.

Ha chal chal ave

*the guy gives a little thumbs up* *butterflies attack me again* *I turn my face away from him and try to control my blush*

-Half an hour later-

Isharo isharo me I help him with 6-7 mcqs. Just as I raise my eyebrows to confirm if I should continue, he gestures me with his hand to stop and mouths rehnedo bus bus.

-kuch hours later-

*answer sheets r taken away*

Kaisa gaya oye paper?

Accha tha.

Tune mujhe rukne ko kyu bola?

Areyyy yaar set alag tha tumhara🤦

Kyaaaa?!?? Hamesha toh same milta hai 😂

Ha lekin aaj 2 mil gaya. Accha hua realise ho gaya. tumhara btaya hua Sara kaatke khudse krliya.

Badhiyaaaaa😂😂 he bhagwan bht bada blunder hone vala tha

Haa Baal baal.bach gya haha

Hmm.......Accha toh Gaya na? Pass ho jayega?

ha ho jaunga. Bc jo jo gine chune topics pdhke gaya tha unhi me se question aa Gaye

Sahi hai Sahi hai. Luck Accha tha😂😂

Haa

*we both walk out*

#Mujhe judge mat krna please #Mujhe chocolate se bhi bht pyaar hai aur usse to hai hi #I couldn't say no #Dil aur dimag bht lade #lekin Dil hi jeeta T-T

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

Carpe Diem - Chapter 4

Pairing: Sketchbook (Kaisa/Johanna)

Summary: Carpe diem: one of the five latim mottos of the arcadist, or neoclassical movement. Literally translates to "seize the day"

Picking up where Locus Amoenus left off, this fic follows the lives of Kaisa and Johanna for a couple weeks as their feelings grow and develop. At some point there will be a couple of weeks of hiatus, but for now this fic will be updated weekly.

Notes: Happy Valentine’s day! This is your reminder to go reblog aromantic stuff because they deserve to be trending. It’s the smallest compensation we can give them for putting up with our bs (and also objectively funny)

Most of Kaisa’s plushies are ones that I have in real life, you should find them easily enough by looking them up on the internet, but the catowl one comes from the fan made familiar that hilda tumblr gave her! Link to the original post: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/waddles-ex-machina/180462531236

This is another one of those chapters that became too big and had to be cut in half, so there will be a second chapter this week as well but then 2 or 3 weeks of hiatus for reasons beyond my control :’)

Read it on ao3 or read the first installment on this verse or read the second installment on this verse

When Kaisa was dropped off at her house that night, Tildy was in the kitchen giving their dinner its last touches, and Frida was by her side at the sink, washing the dishes that their mother had used to cook.

“Welcome back, sugar pie!” The greeting reached Kaisa’s ears as soon as she turned to lock the front door. Sometimes she swore Tildy had supernatural hearing to go with all the other clearly out of the ordinary things about her. “How was it?”

“Pretty nice.” She said as she dropped her bag with two small candles carefully on the sofa. Later, she’d pick it up and put the candles in her room, where she could feel soothed by their scent while she studied, but for the moment being she let them lie there while she headed for the kitchen.

“Is that so?” Tildy prompted, sounding amused as Kaisa walked closer to give her a kiss on the cheek. Kaisa hummed an affirmative sound as she moved to do the same with Frida.

“Did she comment on your makeup?” Frida asked to Kaisa’s back while she rose on her tiptoes to put the honey jar she’d acquired in the overhead cabinets. Considering this was a house of pygmies, it felt like a really bad design flaw that those had been built so far above the ground.

“Not really. She only told me I looked nice when I got in the car.”

Honey safely tucked away, Kaisa put herself by Frida’s side and picked up the kitchen towel to dry the dishes she was washing.

“And was that the actual word she used?”

“I don’t know.” Kaisa shrugged as if she couldn’t see why that was relevant, failing to notice how Tildy hovered over the kitchen door with a tray, not wanting to go place it on the table and miss the gossip. “I think what she said was ‘so beautiful’, but she’s very polite. It is a very nice set of clothes you picked for me, anyhow.”

Though Kaisa couldn’t see it, Tildy looked like she would slap her own forehead if she wasn’t holding a hot tray, and Frida craned her neck to give her an “I told you so” look.

“Sure, Kai.”

They were sitting around the table in no time, and even though Kaisa didn’t think the single pastry she’d eaten earlier at the market was enough to sate her hunger for the entire evening, there was a nervous, coiling feeling in her stomach that made Tildy’s delicious cooking not look so inviting. She still grabbed some of the rice with lentils and the mix of steamed legumes, though, even if only in order to not worry her family.

“This Johanna sounds lovely, sugar.” Tildy said at one point, after they’d asked her to narrate her afternoon. Kaisa didn’t understand why they were so interested. They’d all been at the market a couple of times before, even if usually it was to accompany Tildy on her search for cooking ingredients. “You should invite her over sometime.”

Chewing on a mouthful of legumes, Frida nodded at Tildy’s suggestion, making Kaisa lift an eyebrow.

“Really? Would that be okay?”

Truth be told, she’d been daydreaming about inviting Johanna for a visit for a couple of weeks now. Not only did it feel appropriate, since by now she’d already seen her house and spent lovely times in it, but also she realised she wanted Johanna to meet those spaces that were essentially hers. She wanted her to meet her family and see where she’d come from and where she wanted to go. At this point, she already knew she could trust her with those bits of herself and know that they would be treated gently.

Tildy looked at Frida before answering, but quickly saw that the two of them were in the same boat. She wasn’t inviting anyone into her home without both of her daughters being fine with it, of course.

“Oh, yes! Any friend of yours is welcome here, you know this.”

With her fork, Kaisa pressed down on the small mount of rice with lentils, making it crumple. “Could I invite her over for lunch next Saturday, then?”

Both of them assured that yes, of course, that would be just fine. As Kaisa continued to daydream about having Johanna meet her lovely family, said lovely family stared at each other like a war had just begun.

“Get ready to lose.” The stubborn set of Tildy’s jaw and the furrow between her white eyebrows said.

“You wish.” Frida’s relaxed face and confident smirk answered.

Next Saturday couldn’t come fast enough.

                                                     ………

The invitation had been popped shyly by Kaisa the following Tuesday, when they were walking from their seminar to Johanna’s house. Edmund said he’d be out working on the project he begrudgingly took part on, so they decided to take the opportunity to be there without bothering anyone. Johanna had, of course, enthusiastically agreed, and spent the rest of the day feeling lighthearted about having been asked to go to Kaisa’s house and take part in one of their family programs.

Now, standing on the last one of the circular stone tiles that traced a path from the sidewalk to their front door, Johanna wondered where that excitement had gone, and how it had turned into such dread. The butterflies in her belly sounded more like a swarm of wasps, now.

Wasps serve a crucial role in the ecosystem, her cousin’s voice in her head reminded her. They’re pollinators, and do pest control, as well as decompose biomass. You’re not in bad company, even if it feels uncomfortable.

Doing her best to allow the metaphor to steel her nerves, Johanna took a deep, steadying breath and knocked three times on the door.

There was the sound of some commotion coming from inside the house, though Johanna couldn’t make out any specific words, and soon the door swung open to reveal a satisfied looking girl with a messy, curly bun atop of her head.

“Good afternoon!” She greeted politely. “You must be Johanna.”

“I am!” Frida stepped aside to allow her in, and Johanna bowed her head slightly in thanks. “Frida, am I right? I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s lovely to meet you at last.”

A mischievous spark was lit in Frida’s eyes when she answered. “I could say the same.”

Before Johanna had the chance to think too much about how Kaisa apparently talked about her to her family, she heard the noise of frantic feet on wooden boards just before the girl herself appeared at the back of the corridor Johanna was standing in. Her face was flustered, and her hair was still wet, the strands falling straight on the sides of her face without their usual volume. She still looked cute as hell.

“Anna! Sorry, I was just finishing getting dressed. I see you’ve met my sister.”

Johanna, turned towards Kaisa as she was, didn’t really understand the tone with which Kaisa had said that last sentence, nor did she understand the glare that she was giving the child, but that was mostly because she couldn’t see the knowing smirk on the child’s face.

“Sure took your time with it, Kai.” Frida said sweetly. “Never saw you dress so nicely when we had guests over.”

Kaisa was, indeed, looking very nice. She wore a plain grey shirt under a fluffy looking cardigan with a checked pattern, and her skirt had a whimsy embroidered pattern. Her leggings were also grey, and her shoes were black buckled doll shoes. Though Johanna was biassed to say so, because she always thought that Kaisa looked gorgeous, the clothes suited her very nicely, so she didn’t get why she seemed annoyed that her wardrobe choices had been pointed out.

“I like to switch things up.” She hissed through clenched teeth and pink cheeks. Any signs of irritation had vanished when she turned her eyes to the guest.

“Tildy is still working on lunch, but would you like to come meet her?”

“Of course!” Even though Frida had been nice enough, the wasps returned as if on cue at the prospect of meeting Kaisa’s mother. “I’d love to.”

After smiling at her, Kaisa guided her through the entrance corridor, which ended with a staircase to an upper floor to the right, just beside a passage that led to another room. Though the door to said room was only half open, she could see stacks of books inside, and made a mental note to ask Kaisa about it later. They turned the opposite way, to the left and into a cosy living room. It had a fireplace and a couch, as well as one well loved armchair and a coffee table at the centre. On the wall behind the seats, there were some majestic paintings of viking boats, but the eyes of any observers would immediately be drawn to the large framed picture of a teenager Kaisa reading to a much younger Frida. The sight of it alone was enough to ease Johanna’s nerves.

A doorless passageway separated the living room from the eating area, where a glass door to the backyard let sunlight in, illuminating the long wooden table with eight places on it. She didn’t have any time to look out into their garden, though, because Kaisa kept moving to a door that, when opened, released a delicious cheese scented steam into the air, making the mouths of them both water.

“Johanna’s here.” Kaisa said briefly to the person inside, and not two seconds later the woman came out.

Tildy was not at all how Johanna had imagined. She was much better, in every way. Even if all that Kaisa had told her about her led her to believe she’d given her children a healthy upbringing, she could never help but wonder where Kaisa’s rigidness and obsession with perfection had come from.

Probably not from here, she concluded as the grandmotherly looking woman walked over to her wiping her hands on her (no longer) white apron, all smiles and sweet words.

Once introductions had been made and Tildy had assured her, profusely, just how long she’d been wanting to meet her and the amount of good she did to Kaisa, she suggested she showed Johanna around while the meal wasn’t yet ready. All the while, the girl herself had been looking like all she wanted to do was bolt and hide behind anywhere big enough to conceal her face. While they both offered to stay and help however they could, the woman insisted on it, asking simply that they called for Frida to come help set the table. Which was just as well, because Johanna herself had been beginning to feel like she needed to bury her face in her hands and scream. Maybe it was a family thing to want to drive her crazy.

Kaisa took her wrist, making her feel like little bolts of electricity were shocking her wherever their skin made contact, and led her away with urgency. Before they had left the room, however, she gestured to the glass door.

“I’m looking forward to showing you outside later.”

Frida was in the living room when they arrived there again, and her sister briefly told her to go help with the table. She went without a problem, but not before smiling at Kaisa and Johanna’s linked hands.

“The living room is probably… self explanatory.” Kaisa said, then pointed to the wall with the paintings. “Tildy got those as a gift from the artist who illustrated one of the editions of her books. I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but she used to research Scandinavian history before retiring.”

Johanna would most certainly take her time to appreciate the technique behind those paintings later, but Kaisa had already moved on. She showed her the family pictures on the mantelpiece, telling the history behind the ones that Johanna asked about. It was all very sweet, and she cooed several times while listening. It was hard to think of any families she’d ever met that loved one another as much as this one seemed to.

Even if they had apparently taken the day to get on Kaisa’s nerves, if Johanna was reading the situation even remotely correctly.

When they walked away from the living room again and Johanna asked what was in the room full of books, Kaisa smiled brightly and ushered her in with excitement.

“It’s our little library!” She declared as she held the door open for Johanna. “Originally, it was just Tildy’s office, but when I took to reading she installed more shelves and added a beanbag so I could keep her company while she worked. And then Frida came, hence the second beanbag.”

The room had an hexagonal shape, and every wall was lined with shelves from floor to ceiling, save for a space for a big window. There was a desk with a typewriter, pens, and a comfortable looking chair tucked under it, and in front of it two beanbags: one purple and the other blue. It was majestic. The sort of thing she was not at all surprised to find in Kaisa’s home.

A tiny snoring sound drew Johanna’s attention to the fact that, beside the desk, there was a dog bed with a little creature soundly asleep in it.

“That’s Cornelius.” Kaisa said when she noticed Johanna looking at it. “He’s been Tildy’s since before I arrived. Good thing that he’s sleeping right now, he can be a bit… much, when awake.”

“He’s so cute!” It was true, even if Johanna couldn’t quite understand what position the dog was even laying in. Was that his head or his belly? He didn’t look like any dog she knew, more like a cloud who had gained free will and moved into an elderly lady’s home. “What breed is he?”

Kaisa blinked, as if it had never occurred to her to ask that question before. “I have no fucking idea.”

When she led her guest up the stairs, Johanna realised that that was where all the bedrooms were. Walking forward a couple of steps when they arrived at the upper floor, Kaisa’s was to the left, exactly above the library.

Holding the door open for her, Kaisa gestured for Johanna to follow inside. As soon as she did, she was struck by the distinct scent of lavender and green tea; she’d never been able to pinpoint what Kaisa smelled like from their brief hugs, only that it was pleasant, but stepping into a space that was entirely hers made it much more prominent. She could also see where the scent came from: there was an empty tea mug on her disorganised desk, along with scattered notes and an open book filled with highlights and annotations, and on the table by the side of her corner bed there was a mason jar with some fresh stems of lavender.

Johanna felt like she’d stepped into the room of a ghibli character.

“Sorry for the mess.” Closing the door behind her, Kaisa apologised, referring to the couple of clothes laid out on the bed and the remains of frantic revising on the desk. As she did so, she scratched at the silver band on her left middle finger with her right index one. A gentle breeze was coming in from the open window, making Johanna long to settle with a book on the cushioned windowsill seat. “Lost track of time this morning and forgot to put my stuff away.”

Johanna turned to her with a sympathetic smile. “Hey, we’re friends! You don’t have to hide any part of yourself from me. When people like each other, they enjoy even the messy parts, right?”

Just when Kaisa felt like she’d finally stopped blushing due to Tildy’s extremely unsubtle comments to Johanna, here she was, feeling her face heat up again. She really didn’t understand why, and blamed it on her friend being one of the only people she’d ever met to accept her so easily, and not be afraid to say it.

“Right. Thanks.” She cleared her throat. “Likewise, by the way. I bumped into Edmund the other day on campus, he said you’d been stressed about that cake you baked us not turning out how you wanted. You don’t have to try to impress me, I’m impressed enough already.”

Now Johanna didn’t know if the correct reaction to this was murdering her cousin in his sleep or bursting up into flames, but she somehow managed to keep it together and just smile at her friend. She turned away to pretend to analyse the room further, feeling her heart beating faster.

It couldn’t be a coincidence, right? That Kaisa would say something like this, and that all of her family would act like they were aware of something Johanna wasn’t and use it to drive them both mad? Maybe Johanna’s hope was making her connect all the wrong dots to draw a completely false picture - heavens knew it wouldn’t be the first time - but it had to mean something, right?

Her corner bed was couple-sized, which had Johanna wondering if Kaisa was a ‘starfish’ sleeper and actually needed all that space, or if she was a ‘cocoon’ and simply occupied a ridiculously small part of the bed. Either way, it looked like she wasn’t the only occupant of that space, because a couple of stuffed animals laid atop of it.

Johanna walked closer to them in order to inspect her collection. She recognized a butterfly with floppy blue wings, a squishmallow stylised like the Boogie Man from Nightmare Before Christmas, a pink axolotl, a pokemon whose name she didn’t know (but Edmund would certainly be able to tell her instantly) with a pikachu face on its head and two little eyes where she supposed its belly should be. There was only one she couldn’t understand. It was black, very much so, but it looked like a hybrid between a cat and an owl.

“These are so cute!” Johanna craned her neck to look back at her, noticing a flash of relief cross over her face. Was she expecting judgement for her stuffed collection, Johanna wondered. Because if she was, she was going to personally hunt down whoever gave her the idea that it was something to be ashamed of. “Can I pick one up?”

“Of course.”

Johanna took the cat/owl hybrid in her hands to inspect it more closely. It had big eyes and feathery wings, as well as soft plumes through the course of its tail. Two white fangs were embroidered poking out of its mouth.

“This one’s cute! What is it?”

“That’s Freya!” Kaisa explained as she stepped to Johanna’s side, happy to have been asked about it. “She’s a catowl. She’s… not real, obviously. When I was little I’d ask Tildy to make up stories for me, and she one day told me one about the adventures of a catowl cub. I became obsessed with it and constantly asked her to tell me more of them. So for my birthday, she commissioned someone to sew it for me. I’ve had many stuffed animals in my life, most of which I donate when I feel like it’s time they move on, but this one I’ve always refused to let go of.”

It was only by a miracle Johanna wasn’t tearing up when she thanked Kaisa for the story. Seriously, there was something about that family that made Johanna feel like vomiting a rainbow. If she wasn’t head over heels for one of her daughters, she might just run downstairs and beg Tildy to adopt her too, nevermind that she was legally an adult already.

Placing Freya back on the mattress with the care that she deserved, Johanna turned her gaze to the opposite wall, the one against which the study desk was, noticing that it was covered in framed documents. A quick scan through a couple told her all she needed to know about them.

They were certificates. Of competitions, of successful exams, of course completions, of academic excellence. Just looking at the amount of them felt dizzying, and awakened in Johanna a feeling she would rather not allow to flourish, not in a pleasant moment like this, and not ever.

“Ah.” Kaisa breathed when she followed Johanna’s line of sight. “Sorry. I know this must look self-centred. Tildy encourages me to do it.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t think it was.” Johanna said, and then cringed at how robotic her voice sounded for a moment. As her mind processed it, she found she needed to ask for clarification. “You mean she encourages you to do all these things, or to put up the frames?”

“The last one.” She answered readily. Of course, Tildy had always been her number one supporter, and any win she got made her mother so happy for her it might as well have been her own success. But there was always something so sad in the woman’s face whenever she noticed how her daughter brushed off any of those accomplishments, and how quickly she ignored her latest ones to go look for another way to prove herself.

Who it was that she was trying so hard to impress was something Kaisa was still trying to answer.

“So you don’t forget how much you have done already.” Was the answer she’d gotten when she was a teen and had asked why Tildy insisted on putting them up. She’d accepted that explanation, and allowed the woman to do as she pleased; it wasn’t like she had been using that wall for anything else, anyway. There had been one time, however, in which she’d gotten a reply that was slightly different, a moment in which Tildy had let her worries slip from her.

She’d been about to put up the framed certificate of a weekend course which Kaisa had skipped her last High School dance to attend. It had caused some trouble between her and the girl she’d agreed to attend with, but it wasn’t like she could force Kaisa to go when she didn’t want to anymore. The girl hadn’t spoken to her again after that day, but Kaisa told herself she preferred being alone, anyway. When Tildy had walked into the room to do it, Kaisa had been studying at her desk, not failing to notice the tight lines on her face. She’d ever gently given her daughter her opinion on not showing up to an important milestone in order to study when Kaisa had told her she was planning on doing it, but it hadn’t been listened to simply because Kaisa felt it was something that would look good on her application. So when she walked into the room, Kaisa had quipped.

“Why put it up if you hate it so much?”

The answer she’d gotten was very much not as light hearted.

“Because I keep hoping that when you eventually run out of space on this wall, you’ll finally realise that you can’t fill your life with anything meaningful like this.”

That night, Tildy had walked out of her room with no further comments, leaving behind a Kaisa that was well and truly alone. And the worst thing had been knowing it was her own doing.

She was snapped out of her memories by Johanna’s soft voice, sounding very much like she was having flashbacks of her own.

“There’s one just like this back at my parents’ house.” She said with a ghostly quality to her words, like she was either talking about a dead thing, or about something she hoped was dead. Memories of days spent lying on her bed, hating herself for not managing to study or prepare for an exam floated around her mind, as well as those of nights spent awake at her study desk without remembering to so much as drink water, but Kaisa could see neither. “But it wasn’t for me. It was in the living room, for everyone else.”

Failing to pick up on why that would be something that would bring her distress, Kaisa looked at her with a smile filled with a sense of kinship and pride.

“An overachiever as well, are you?”

“I was.” Still looking at the wall, Johanna answered. Kaisa didn’t think she’d ever seen her sound so sad, and it both baffled her and made her want to do anything to bring back the Golden Retriever she’d known, even if she had to collect every single frame and throw it out of the window. That girl being upset looked like something that should be illegal. “In many ways, still am. But I’ve been working hard to heal.”

Kaisa opened her mouth, meaning to ask why that was something she felt she needed to ‘heal’ from, but for some reason, nothing came out. Maybe she didn’t know how to ask. Maybe she just already knew the answer. Either way, it didn’t last long, because there was a knock on the door that brought them back to reality, and they heard Frida’s voice from the other side.

“Lunch is ready!” She declared, making them switch glances of relief and excitement. Neither had noticed how hungry they were. The fact that it came with an excuse to postpone this conversation was just a bonus.

Looking at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes now, Johanna was about to propose something when she noticed Kaisa was thinking the same thing. They smirked to each other, wondering who would be the one to make the first move.

And set off in a race to the dining room.

#SOOOOO many thanks to blaithnne for talking about adhd to me :''') #I wanted to adhd-code Johanna but I don't know nearly enough. They helped me a lot <3 #my fic #fic: cd #verse: carpe diem #sketchbook ship #sketchbook ship hilda #sketchbook ship fanfic #kaisa hilda #johanna hilda #tildy hilda #sketchbook college au

[monengshits]

Feelings played

Haay. Iiyak na naman po ba ako, good Lord? Another night of chest pain, churning stomach and overthinking things.

I can't.

I can't take this anymore.

I know. This is my fault. Paulit ulit kong tinatanggap 'yung kaisa isang taong walang ibang ginawa kundi saktan ako. I keep on believing him na he's going to fix us. I'm to blinded by love which makes me believe that he can change.

But he's not.

It's been what, almost 5 months of no improvement sa'min. It's the same shit that keeps going on and on forever. It would've been easy if hindi niya ginawang complicated ang lahat just because he's afraid of facing his own damn mistake. But no, he kept being stupid and just ignored everything. Including me, the one whom he caused so much damage.

Hindi ko pa kayang mag-let go. Eto na naman 'yung dating ugali ko sa ex ko na I keep forgiving them and let them get inside of my life again after what they did to me. Kasi nga mahina akong bumitaw ng basta basta. At dahil na rin tanga ako sa pag-ibig.

Nilalaro na lang 'yung feelings ko. 'Di ko na talaga alam kung anong totoo sa hindi. 'Di ko na alam kung napipilitan na lang ba sila sa'kin o mahal pa ba ako. 'Di ko na alam. Gusto ko ng matapos 'tong misery na 'to. I don't deserve this at all. I really don't.

I know what to do pero 'di ko alam kung makakaya ko ba. I've been through so much. My emotional state has been tortured a thousand times and I don't know how will I ever felt genuine love again.

[codename-freya]

you should have died instead (for the break in five word meme. i swear this is not anon hate)

Break my muse // accepting

~*~ She should have. Kaisa believed that of herself for many things in her life. The small blonde knew that it was just a fluke she survived, that those she cared about had perished and she didn’t. There had been no sense in why she was still alive, only that something out there wanted to remind her that she didn't deserve it.

Those five words, ones that repeated in her head over and over again. She didn't know whether it was her own guilt speaking or if someone else had pulled it from that dark place she'd been trying to claw her way out of.

Kaisa wrapped her arms around her stomach as though she were holding herself together. Her nails dug into her arms, hard enough that if she held them there much longer she'd draw blood. Muscles trembled as those words wove their way further into her mind, repeating over and over again. Even if it were just her own mind it was enough for it to take its toll. Her grip tightened and blood started to trickle from the crescent-shaped cuts she'd created. Four on each arm.

"They should've survived… I shouldn't have. I'm wretched for living on when it was my fault. It's my fault… all my fault," her voice cracked, a sob forcing itself out, "I should have died. Too many times I should have died…"

Kaisa cried out, the sorrow and guilt taking her in their whirlwind.

"I don't deserve to still be here… I don't."

#~*~ down but not out ~*~ ic #ic answers #self harm tw #self harm cw #survivor's guilt #suicidal ideation cw #suicidal ideation tw #suicidal cw #suicidal tw #depression tw #depression cw #ask to tag #thank you for the ask

[hirako5hinji]

[ UNPROMPTED | ALWAYS ACCEPTING ] 

@desuetmort​​ asked:​

Always, time after time - A-Yeong always found herself in the barrack of squad four, being healed but this time, there was serious battle damage. The third chair returned to the gotei 13 after a mission, covered in injuries and looking like she had one hell of a fight. Her dominant, right hand had reminates of nail, claw markings didding into her palm, burn wounds painted parts of her arms, stomach and legs as well as more battle damage.

She requested a meeting with the captains as well, meaning the mission was something serious but she had to get better first. A-Yeong sat on the bed in the room she was resting in, staring out the window and taking in the view to relax when she heard a knock on the door, shinji entering seconds later. Despite being covered in bandages, she gave a grin and peace sign, ' pleasure to see you~ were you worried about me? '

          Between Hiyori, A-Yeong and Kaisa, Shinji thinks that he might as well have a revolving side door installed in the Fourth Division just for his exclusive passage - he is always in and out of there so often thanks to those three. Isane or even her Lieutenant isn’t even there to personally welcome and greet him anymore, he’s so familiar with the place. The blond dutifully troops towards the ward area and it does not take him long to find the room where they have put A-Yeong in. 

          It’s only when he finally sets his gaze on the young woman, that he finally allows the tension between his brows to relax. She’s definitely battered and worse for wear...a lot more so than usual, actually. His brows start knitting together again. 

               “ Good grief, yer such a sorry sight. What on earth happened to you, this time? ” The blond ventures deeper into the room, lifting one hand and revealing that he has stopped by her quarters to pick up a bag of toiletries and some daily stuff that she may need. He sets it down on the side table where a jug of water sits, before pouring her a glass and handing it over to her. “ What did the Isane say? Yer outta commission again for how long? ”

#||αѕкѕ #desuetmort #shinji vc: guess it's my turn 'ta look after ya now huh-

[wildflowers-of-trolberg]

Top ten Hilda characters that need so much therapy oh lord

1 - Hilda

It's no secret that Hilda has been through a lot; she seems very well adjusted considering everything, but honestly I think that's just because she's very good about bottling things up. She has seen and experienced some seriously traumatic things, especially in Season 2, and she can't even really talk to her mum about it anymore. I honestly would worry about it all coming out at once eventually, if she doesn't get some proper help.

2 - David

I'm absolutely convinced David has clinical anxiety. He's not just reasonably scared of supernatural creatures; he panics at small things, and he very nearly has a breakdown when he meets the Committee of Three. He also has a fear of belts, which worries me by implication.

3 - Frida

Frida is under an insane amount of pressure, to the point where she tied her entire self-worth and sense of who she was to being "perfect", and when she found out she was as human as everyone else she cracked. And honestly, I entirely blame her parents and their expectations for it.

4 - Trevor

He might be a bad kid, but he's also an abuse victim; I have no doubt that his mother does worse than just pulling his ears, seeing how he flinches back from her. Not only that, there's a line that implies he frequently has night terrors, and that his mother punishes him when they wake her up. Not to mention the trauma getting kidnapped by the Yule Lads probably caused. This kid needs therapy, and a better family.

5 - Johanna

As much as I think she's being overprotective, and the fact that Hilda is hiding things from her is her fault, she does have a lot of good reasons to be worried. Her daughter gets into a lot of danger, and I think that can keep her up at night. Not to mention the whole Weather Station incident.

6 - Kaisa

Kaisa clearly struggles with her own self-worth, and between her avoidance of Tildy and how her breathing goes in this scene I'm convinced she has serious anxiety too. I don't even think she has anyone to lean on; she can talk to Tildy now, but she's so used to bottling things up that I wouldn't be suprised if she still struggles with it.

7 - These 3

I'm sorry, but being trapped inside the stomach of a giant dog for any length of time, let alone a couple of days, is going to leave some scars. It might be a funny gag, but when ya stop to think about it it's pretty horrifying.

Sorry I couldn't think of 10

#ask pika #hilda the series #hilda netflix #hilda (hilda) #frida hilda #david hilda #trevor hilda #johanna hilda #kaisa hilda

[whumpzone]

In the midst of all this fluff-ish stuff of Colton and his caretaker, I miss the angst that comes with pet!kasia. What if we saw Tomas perform a good old fashion beating? And if you’re willing to write it, maybe after the punishment and Master Tomas leaves, Rowe offers to treat Kasia’s wounds and as much as Kaisa hates him, he’s too weak to refuse Rowe’s help.

Kasia had been remarkably quiet, so far. Rowe can hardly hear him over the sound of Master’s fists. It’s not until a punch knocks him right in the eye socket, with a hard crack against his cheekbone, that he sobs. Of course, this only spurs Master on. 

Kasia hasn’t done anything wrong, today. Master likes him bruised and broken, and Kasia can’t talk back or disobey if he’s too agonised to even open his mouth. Master always directs a lot of his fury at Kasia’s face. Rowe turns the radio up one single notch, leaning his head into it. He doesn’t want to hear. He doesn’t want to know what sight will present him, even before he enters the room.

He already knows that Kasia will have at least one black eye, a broken nose, a busted lip and maybe even a tooth knocked out. He’ll need something to soothe his pounding head, and wipes to clean the blood. Rowe can’t give him any plasters or bandages, but he can press a rag to his nose to try and hold it still for as long as Master is gone.

The thought of not helping him doesn’t even cross his mind. There are times that he can’t- Master is incredibly unpredictable in whether he wants to stay looming over his hated Pet or not, and sometimes Kasia’s hatred for Rowe outweighs whatever injuries he’s sustained that day. So when he can, Rowe will. He doesn’t expect anything in return, but perhaps knowing that Kasia will sleep better than Master intended is enough.

A few more minutes pass, and Master barks at Kasia to shut the fuck up, and then Rowe feels his presence behind him. He turns and kneels, and sees Master’s hands hanging by his hips. Bloody and dripping.

“All done with the dishes?” Rowe nods. “Well done pal. I’m gonna shower and go to bed. Tired out after correcting the bastard. Would you clean my shoes? If he’s got any spit on them I will cut his tongue out, I swear.”

Rowe looks up, his face smoothed into a sweet smile, and nods once more. “Of course, Master. I hope you sleep well.”

Master goes to ruffle his hair, then catches himself as he notices the stains, and smiles sheepishly. As if it were flour on his hands, rather than blood. “Okay. Goodnight pal.”

Rowe waits twenty minutes while Master showers and gets ready to sleep. He sometimes comes downstairs for a glass of water, or a book, and so his pet remains alert. He hears Master’s bedroom click, and waits another ten. In that time he silently prepares some damp rags and grabs a mug. Then, finally, he creeps into the hallway.

Kasia is smashed against the wall, his back pressed against it and his head hanging down as if he’s truly died this time. But his chest rises and falls, blood dripping from his face and dribbling down his stomach. He flinches when Rowe comes into view, then looks up and scowls. 

His nose is stiff with dried blood, and his left eye is squinting against the beginnings of a black eye. Rowe holds the mug beside Kasia’s chin.

“Here,” he says quietly. “Spit the blood in there. Can you talk?”

Kasia stares at him for a few more slow seconds, but complies and half spits, half coughs the loops of blood into the mug. 

“I can talk,” he says thickly. “Please- just fuck off. What if he comes back.”

“He’s gone to bed. He went ten minutes ago. I’m listening out for him, though. So don’t worry.”

“He could’ve set you up. Could be back to fucking- pretend to catch you and beat me senseless for the second time today.”

Talking really isn’t an issue, then, Rowe thinks. He’s impressed- he could hardly think, let along string a sentence together, after his old master beat him. Rowe always relaxes when Kasia swears. He used to be unbearably polite to him, but his guards are down, right now. It feels like progress to Rowe. But then again, it could just be that the pain is clouding his better judgement.

“If he wanted to beat you again he just would. He’s not the type to set up some fake scheme.”

Kasia coughs, then scrunches his face up in pain. Rowe presses one of the rags against Kasia’s nose, and while he tries to move away at first, he reaches up to hold it in place himself. 

“Thanks,” he says flatly. Rowe gives him a small smile. “I still don’t get why you’re helping me. You know you won’t get anything in return.”

“Oh well,” Rowe replies, shutting down that line of enquiry. He doesn’t like to think too hard about why he’s helping Kasia. Sometimes he feels guilty that he’s patching the pet up just so he can be broken again.

“I don’t like you,” Kasia groans, the last of his defiance loaded into the sentence. He flicks his eyes up to Rowe’s, searching for his reaction. His gaze is hard, almost provocative, but there is still a flash of worry as Rowe looks back. In the end he simply nods and Kasia deflates, leaning back against the wall.

“I know. But you trust me. At least a bit.”

“What makes you so sure.”

“You know I won’t tell Master.”

“You might,” Kasia counters. “Maybe I don’t care anymore. Maybe I hope he’ll finally kill me.”

“We both know he won’t kill you. Especially not if he thinks you’ve been rude to me. He’d take it as the sign to torture you for days.”

Kasia doesn’t reply, and Rowe’s words hang in the air. No more needs to be said. It is a fact neither can avoid.

@inpainandsuffering @cupcakes-and-pain @crystalrainwing @starnight-whump @getyourwhumphere @captainseconds @unicornscotty

#asks #anon #pet kasia au #thanks for waiting for this anon! #pet whump

[jetcat-14]

1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 12, 15?

1. My reading Comfort zone- Mostly TV and Movies I have written Video Games before been a couple of Years. Was working on a The Last of Us but never finished it.

2.A Trope I would like to Write for- I my sound basic when I say this but a Coffee Shop Trope at least once with either Sketchbook or Lumity.

4. How many fic Idea's are you nurturing? And would you like to share- I always have Idea's going on in my head. I am working on 3 Hilda Fanfictions 2 Sketchbook and a Frilda. Also 2 The Owl House a Lumity and a The Owl Characters x Reader.

Also my Story could the 7th Heaven Which is more put into an outline of the story becouse of how long it is.

7. What is Your favorite peice of Prose You have Writen- (But something about its eyes as they got closer had something familiar to them as if she has looked into them a million times. “Kasia’, Johanna Said.

Kaisa reacted by moving her large paws to cover her face, shameful of what she looked like. Johanna stood up but almost lost her balance as she stood she gripped on the tree her hand went against the cravings  in the tree. “You brought me to our tree Kaisa”, Johanna started looking at Kaisa who still had her face covered. 

The tree they sat by was the spot Kaisa confused her feelings to Johanna. After that with a pocket knife she kept on her, Johanna carved their initials into the tree right where they shared their first kiss. 

Johanna who could stand up straight made her way to Kaisa a hand out before her as she slowly walked forward. “Kaisa please move your hands from your face”, Johanna said trying to calm Kaisa who was scared of Johanna hating the way she looked. 

Johanna placed her hands on her hips. “Kai please’.

Kaisa Lowered her paws and looked at Johanna who stood only feet away. Johanna placed one of her hands out Kaisa moved her head to where it was right beside Johanna's hand slowly resting into it.)

Here is a part of it but the Whole Scene in my Sketchbook Fanfiction where Johanna and Kaisa have a moment in the scene where Johanna sees Kaisa for the first time in her cursed form. It was the first Scene I wrote of the chapter.

8. Favorite Dialogue I have Written. (Johanna pulled up Kaisa who grabs onto the window and pulls herself in. “Jo can we find an easier way to get me up here”. 

“Tell my parents you are not trouble and that you are really a good person”.

“You know that won’t happen here. Your family is to suck in their ways”.

“Kai likes us dating. I could not ever change their mind about that if they know”. 

Johanna made eye contact with Kaisa. “Kai I think The Witch Portal is after……”, Johanna stopped mid sentence. 

“Jo I know and I won’t let anything happen to you two”,. 

Kaisa placed a hand on Johanna's stomach. 

“I am only two Mounths Kaisa I can still help”.

“No I can not lose you or the baby, I have to get better at magic in hopes to protect you two”.)

This whole Scene of Kaisa and Johanna Talking about Johanna parents and then to the Baby I love writhing there scenes.

12. What Episode Inspires you- Hilda Episodes would have to be any Episode with Kaisa and any of Johanna being a Badass Mom. And any scene Hilda is being selfless.

And for The Owl House any Lumity Scene.

And for my Original work it would be any Superhero Movie.

15. If I could Which of my fics would I want filmed. It's a Three way tie.

My Queen of The Underworld Fanfiction I am working on , The Curse and Kaisa and The 7th Heaven which is my superhero who in a way is a OC as it has been wrote into Movies and Cartoon But has its own Back story.

#thanks for asking #hilda series #jetcat answers. #sketchbook #hilda (netflix) #owl house #lumity

[happyflappymoscowbirbpleyyn]

Tillykke med fødselsdagen

Cooking - “Know that you are wanted and adored.”

Pairing: 2P!Denmark/2P!Finland

@nordicrareshipsweek

Mikkel’s birthday is coming up and Leevi wanted to surprise him, Kaisa as well. She wanted to get him something special because that’s what he is to them. Special. Leevi took her to the store to pick out a present for Mikkel. She looked around, trying to figure out the right gift for him. What to get, what to get? What would far like? Shaving cream? No, he likes his stubble as is. Something caught her eye, bringing a smile to her face. That’s it. That’s what she can get him. She brought it to Leevi and showed him what she’d found. Leevi smiled a bit and ruffled her hair. He mentioned that Mikkel would love it. This made Kaisa smile more. The item was purchased, then brought home and wrapped. It’s ready for fars birthday in a few days.

His birthday is here and Kaisa is excited. She hurried downstairs to see a certain Finn in the kitchen drinking his coffee, so she said, “It’s his birthday!” “I’m going to make him breakfast,” Leevi said to Kaisa. “Then you can give him his present, ok?” Kaisa nodded. “Ok, isä” Leevi hummed before he got to cooking. He was making some of the Dane’s favorite breakfast foods for Mikkel’s birthday to surprise him in bed. When he was done, he carried it on a tray to the bedroom to see Mikkel sitting up. The tray was set on the Dane’s lap.

“What’s this about?” Mikkel asked asked as his stomach rumbled. The smell of the food was making him hungry. “Can’t I spoil you on your birthday?” Leevi asked and crawled into bed to cuddle Mikkel before patting Mikkel’s pudgy abdomen. “Besides, got to fill that hungry belly one way or another.” His stomach gave another signature rumble. There’s no denying it at this point. He’s hungry. “Thanks.” Mikkel started eating as Leevi cuddled him. “Kaisa also got you a gift.” “Did she now?” Leevi nodded, kissing Mikkel’s cheek. “Picked it out herself.” “I’ll go see her after breakfast,” Mikkel said. A soft hum escaped the red eyed Finn. “She’s excited about it, as well.” When breakfast was done, Leevi kissed Mikkel’s cheek and took the tray of dishes to be cleaned. Now for Mikkel to find Kaisa. Getting out of bed, he walked out of the room to see Kaisa bounding up to him.

“Hey, sweetheart.” A present was handed to him. “You got me a present?” Kaisa nodded. “Thank you, sweetie.” He took the present from her and opened it. It was a book about medicine. Mikkel smiled when he saw what it was. “Thank you, Kaisa,” he said and hugged her. “I’ll be sure to look through it.” She hugged him tightly. “I love you so much, far! Someday I want to be just like you.” A kiss was pressed to her head.

#nordicrareshipsweek #2p denfin #*screaming goat*

[silveryinkystar]

Fog and Ice

Rating: Gen

Summary:  In the dark, everything seems a lot worse than it is. Come morning, and an old friend to help you on your way: Lee is offered a choice that he couldn't ever refuse.

WARNINGS: Spoilers for episode 7

Read on Ao3

The balloon shuddered violently, nearly tossing Lee over the edge. Iorek spotted his loss of balance from his precarious position – half hanging out in a failed attempt to catch Lyra – and grabbed the back of his jacket, hauling him to safety. Another surge of turbulence dislodged Lee from Iorek’s grip, sending him flying into the altimeter. His left shoulder slammed into an errant lever and he let out a strangled groan at the jagged bolt of pain that shot through his arm from his old bullet wound.

By the time Lee blinked the stars from his eyes, he noticed that he and Hester were alone in the balloon. His stomach lurched in fear. “Iorek!”

He scrambled towards the loose panel, looking for a sign of his friend’s survival. And the absence of others meant that the kid, Roger was missing too. Guilt sent him reeling for a moment before Hester snapped, “Lee, the panel!”

Of course, think about the next thing he could fix. He grabbed the anchor and tossed it over the edge of the panel, allowing the rope to snap taut as it caught over the metal with a screech that made him wince. He ignored the biting cold, the pain in his arm, the ache in his heart, and pulled hard. Luckily, the balloon rocked back and eased the process, though it sent Lee falling back against the fur-coated floor with a grunt. He stumbled towards the panel and bolted it shut.

They entered the eye of the storm, and Lee leaned out over the basket as he looked for Iorek. His eyes stung, from tears or the cold he didn’t know, and he shouted into the silence once more. “Lyra! Iorek! Roger!”

A piece of tarpaulin flew, rough and stinging, right into his face. He recoiled with a cry, feeling the ache in his shoulder return with it. “Hester,” he croaked, sinking to the floor. His beloved dæmon was there for him, as she always was, even when she didn’t exactly approve of his decisions. This was something that went well past the sacred bond between a human and their soul, this was what true partnership was, unbreakable and firm as sky-metal from the love that had been part of it since its beginning.

Hester said nothing for once. There was nothing she could have said, because she felt the same Aurora of exhaustion and grief as he did. She did look up at him with her bright golden eyes, though, and said, in a voice full of concern, “Lee, you’re bleeding.”

He met her gaze with a glassy one of his own. “Pass me that cloth,” he said shortly. She did, and he pressed it to his forehead. That was where the tarpaulin had struck him. She stayed close to him, offering physical comfort as they waited out their passage from the eye of the storm. Lee stroked her fur absently, slipping into a timeless haze of grief and guilt. He should have taken better care of Lyra, he should have kept Iorek safe, should’ve ensured that Roger was not in any danger.

Logically, he knew that he couldn’t have predicted the storm or the cliff-ghast attack, and he had fought off those creatures entirely. That didn’t stop him from thinking of Lyra’s fall, she must have felt so cold and there was no way she would have survived a night this far North, even if she had survived the fall somehow. Her furs were of the highest quality, but even they would not keep out the cold for so long.

He inhaled raggedly and pressed his palms to his eyes. The gas-engine sputtered a bit, and his head shot up in alarm. No, this couldn’t be happening now. The gas valve spun loose, and they dropped. Lee swore and shot to his feet, barely holding on to the rail as they crashed into a cliff.

He ducked and curled into himself – Hester close to his chest, safe from any debris – and waited for the impact to hit. It jarred his balance heavily, and once everything settled, he was shaky on his feet as a new-born foal.

“Wish I had some bloodmoss,” he muttered. The cut on his forehead stung a bit, but at least it had stopped bleeding. Hester hopped out of his arms outside the balloon, and Lee surveyed the damage before them. It was no good trying to fix it in the dark, he decided, after abandoning his effort to find the small anbaric torch he always had on him. He staggered out and slipped into a small nook between snow-covered rocks that could protect him from direct breeze. He pulled his coat closer around him, protecting his and Hester’s warmth, and slept.

In the morning, when Lee woke, he felt slightly better, and decided to salvage the balloon, which soon proved to be beyond his ability. He swore loudly and tossed a dented part over his shoulder. And another.

And another.

“Hey!”

He ignored Hester’s indignant cry, though he sent an apology in her way. He started to hum an old melancholic tune he remembered – from where, though, he had no idea. He started going off-key at some point, of that he was sure, but he frankly couldn’t care less, so long as it took his mind off the looming predicament he found himself in.

“I’m not sure I like that song anymore,” Hester said dryly.

“I have to sing when I’m nervous, you know that,” he replied flatly, gingerly stepping over the overturned basket. “Think she’s busted?”

“Of course not,” she said calmly, “we just need to get out of here so someone can take a look at her.”

“And how do you suppose you do that?” The ordeal of the previous day caught up to him again, and anger surged within him. “She’s our only means of travel!” The last word was a shout, punctuated by the clang of machinery he tossed aside bitterly.

He exhaled, getting himself in control again. Now, what the hell was throwing a tantrum supposed to do for him?

“Maybe I can be of some assistance,” said Serafina. He swiveled around.

“When did you – I didn’t-” he stumbled over his next words, completely flummoxed by her appearance. “I didn’t expect-”

She interrupted him rather kindly. “One of my sisters managed to track your movements. You’re important to us, Mr. Scoresby.”

Damn, there it was again, the reminder of the abysmal turn of events last night. “But I failed you,” he said in a small voice. A lump formed in his throat as he added, ���and her.”

He looked up at Serafina, his vision glassy with barely held-back tears. “I lost Lyra.”

“You didn’t fail me in the slightest,” the witch-queen said gently. “Or her. You fought for her, and now her fate is in another’s hands.”

His heart flipped. It might have missed a beat, in light of this new information. “She’s alive?” Then he remembered, he’d had other passengers too. “And Roger and Iorek.”

“Kaisa brings word that they all live, and all thrive.”

The tension he hadn’t known he’d held left him in a single exhale of relief. But that wasn’t the end of it, no, quite far from it.

“Iorek, with Lyra’s help, has reclaimed the throne of Svalbard.”

He burst into slightly hysterical laughter. “Yes!” He thought his heart would burst with pride. He glanced at Hester.

“Well, isn’t that something?” He whooped with joy, stopping himself in the nick of time as he remembered that last night’s storm might well have left him in danger of an avalanche.

“I believe this is yours,” she said solemnly, and handed over his revolver to him. He stared at it in disbelief and back at her.

“Where did you – how did – oh.” Of course they’d need him to fight again.

“The battles are just beginning. The great War is coming soon-”

“A’right, no more fancy talk,” Lee cut her off, never quite comfortable with the mystical, obscure ways of prophecies. It was the only thing that reminded Lee that his old acquaintance was not entirely human. “I’m just a hustler, I played my part.”

Which might have been more convincing if it hadn’t been an utter lie. Serafina knew as well as he did that he would have torn apart the world to protect Lyra, even though he wasn’t sure where this sudden fatherly instinct had come from. And yet, he persisted.

“I was useful for a piece, but… I’m no use to you now.”

She laid a hand on his heart, though her expression held a certain amount of disbelief at his words. “You’re wrong. And it’s Lyra who will need you.”

“So this is still about fate.”

“Of course it is.”

“She needs me.”

Serafina met his gaze with empathy. “She needs all of us,” she said.

With that, Lee had already made up his mind. “Then I hope I’m strong enough.” He slid the revolver into the holster at his hip, and energy coursed through him. Well, he wouldn’t be able to visit Lyra after this, he had no idea where she was headed now, but he could assure her protection some way…

Serafina was watching him carefully. When he pointed this out, she only said, in an echo of a conversation from years ago when they’d first met, “In all the time I have lived, Mr. Scoresby, I must confess I have never met another man like yourself.”

The contexts might be vastly different, but he thought it was just as ridiculous a thing to say now as it was then. Sure, he might have made a choice not many others would have, but it seemed right to do so. Still, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that someone else in his position might not give his dominant arm to protect a wonderful child like Lyra. He did know a few people up North who looked out for themselves first, and found himself wondering if what Serafina had just said really made sense.

Anyway, he had a job to do. For once, since choosing to be an aeronaut, a job of his heart: to protect Lyra.

#lee scoresby #hester #serafina pekkala #hdm #hdm spoilers #sil's stories #hdm fic #sorry guys this isn't serafina/lee bc I don't ship them #but I do think they were friends in the show #before they spoke on the balloon in ep 6

[bitchwhoreofastorm]

That afternoon in Ald Sotha was lazy. No breeze blew, so the air was too humid and heavy for anyone to be much bothered to do anything, outside of lie on the beach. It was precisely this vital task that the noble-children had sent themselves. Sotha Sil lay on the sand a short distance from the tide, sprawled on his back with a book resting open on his face; Sotha Serlyn and his sister Kaisa sat on a rock that stood just out from the shore and played in the water that lapped it. Only Almalexia, ever the odd one out in that sunny paradise, didn't seem content with lazing about in the sun. She sat beside Sotha Sil, legs crossed, a book on her lap that she pretended to read-- but she refused to sit still, shifting her position constantly: first lying down on her back, then on her stomach, then sitting up again, then lying again but using Sil as a foot-rest.

Finally she sat up straight and gave Sotha Sil a hard poke in the side. "Seht, let's go do something."

"It's too hot." Sil replied, his voice muffled by the pages of his book.

"It's not hot. This is nothing compared to Mournhold."

"Yeah, but that's Mournhold."

"Yeah, but you're boring."

Sotha Sil didn't reply to that, so Almalexia lay down on the sand again, draping her legs over Sotha Sil's chest so that her knee 'accidentally' nudged the book askew off his face. "What's a fundamacy?"

Sotha Sil was putting the book back on his face. "Huh?"

"It's in this book your father gave to me. He said it might help me figure out why I can't cast any spells."

"Can you use it in a sentence? Also, get your legs off me, it's too hot."

"The sentence is, 'it may be the apprentice's fundamacy that hinders magical ability."

"Oh. Fundamacy." Sotha Sil gave Almalexia's legs a hard shove off of him, causing her to roll to her side. "It's the abilities you gain from your birthsign."

"You got sand in my book!"

"Well, your legs are too heavy."

Almalexia rolled back over, sitting up, resting her arm on his chest this time. "According to this book, you can't cast spells if you have the wrong fundamacy."

"Ow! Ayem, your elbow!"

"But they said that the Nords have a way, with standing stones, to give you a different fundamacy. That's interesting. Maybe I should ask them about that when I go home."

Sotha Sil shoved her off and sat up, shaking the sand from his long hair. "Your elbow is really pointy!"

"You're such a baby, Sil."

"I don't understand why you're reading that old thing. It's too hot to be studying. And we're at the beach."

Almalexia looked around them. This beach was separated from the settlement at Ald Sotha by a jut of dark rock that stretched some ways into the sea, the remnants of an old foyada. Out from the shore Kaisa had somehow procured a large crab and was using it to terrorise her brother. Before them the water was opal-blue and glittering in the slanted light of early afternoon, while behind them and stretching out to either sides the dark-green forest was still and shaded.

"I'm going to learn magic," she replied.

Sotha Sil lay back down. "Maybe you can't, though."

"Why shouldn't I?"

You can't cast any spells, can you? And you've been trying, well, all summer. Perhaps you're just incapable of it."

"I'll figure it out, Seht. I know I will." She lay down next to him. "It's just so frustrating, I never know what you're trying to say, or what your father's trying to say-- how am I meant to learn when you can't even explain things?"

"To be fair, magic is a highly complex topic. And you're not..."

Sotha Sil trailed off, then, and turned his head away.

Almalexia poked him in the ribs. "I'm not what?"

"Ah, I don't mean it as an insult."

"I'm not what."

"You're not very smart."

Almalexia's stunned silence must have alerted him to his blunder, for he sat up and quickly added: "I mean, perhaps I phrased that wrong, you're very good at many things, you just have different talents to--"

"I'm not dumb!"

"No, of course not! But, well, you're more of a warrior, you see? You like to swing swords and stuff. You don't need a ton of intelligence to swing a sword--"

Almalexia's shock had well and truly given way to righteous fury. "You think I'm a moron, don't you?"

"I didn't say that!"

"As if you're so intelligent yourself, Sil! You're not 'intelligent', you just spend all your time studying because you have no friends and no life!"

Sotha Sil's face flushed. "That's not true! I am a highly talented mage, and exceptionally gifted, father says I'm the best Ald Sotha's ever seen!"

"You are so arrogant!"

"I'm not arrogant. I'm logically assessing my own ability."

"Logically assessing, huh?" Almalexia rose to her feet and stalked off towards the forest.

"You're being irrational," Sotha Sil shouted at her back, also standing. "It's objectively true that I'm smarter!"

By now the twins had caught notice of the argument, and Kaisa appeared by his side. "Oooh, Sil, you're in trouble."

"She's gonna beat you up," Serlyn, appearing at his other side, agreed.

"She wouldn't," Sotha Sil said dismissively. "She's just having a tantrum because she's mad that she's a dumb warrior and not..."

He trailed off, because Almalexia was returning with a very large stick in hand.

She marched right up to them and stopped a few metres away. "Sotha Sil!" she yelled, pointing the stick at him, which she held by its base like a sword. "Fight me."

The twins gasped.

Sotha Sil blinked. "What?"

"If you think you're so much better than me, fight me!" Almalexia shook her stick at him.

"You're being ridiculous!"

"What, are you afraid that swords are more useful than your stupid magic after all?"

"Sil's going to get beat up by a girl," Serlyn said, prompting Kaisa to reach around Sil and hit him.

"I am not!" Sotha Sil said. He stepped forwards and looked Almalexia dead in the eye. "You're being ridiculous, because I am going to defeat you.”

Almalexia broke into a grin, a wild grin that at that moment made her look less like a princess and more like a feral kagouti preparing to devour its prey. “I’d like to see you try.”

The two teenagers stalked up the beach and found a flat patch, where they stood a short distance away from each other and facing each other, with the ocean to one side of them and the forest to the other. Almalexia dropped into fighting stance the moment they moved into position, holding her stick before her with one hand; Sotha Sil, likewise, outstretched his hand and readied a simple spell.

“You can still just admit that you’re wrong,” Sotha Sil called out to her.

“If you’re scared, Seht, I’ll graciously accept your apology now.”

“I’m not scared!”

Almalexia’s raised her ‘sword’. “Then attack, s’wit!”

She lunged forwards as she said this, raising the sword above her as she did. Sotha Sil drew his hand back, and quickly loosed the magika from it, which took the form of a vivid fireball that shot from his hand at blinding speed. It hit Almalexia square in the chest, detonating in a burst of flame.

Sotha Sil clapped both hands to his mouth. “Oh, my gods, Ayem!”

Almalexia had come to a halt immediately. “I’m fine, Seht!” she said, reassuringly, and it was true-- most of the fire had disappeared against her skin in little golden flashes, or rolled harmlessly off of her in a plume.

“Are you sure?”

“Why, are you scared? Weakling!”

And Almalexia lunged at him again, raising her ‘sword’ high over her head, preparing to bring it down over his. Sotha Sil barely managed to dodge in time-- on instinct he readied another fireball, and cast it. This time she was closer and it hit harder, actually sending her staggering back, and again the flames mostly slid off of her.

But she regained her footing and once more charged, holding her free hand in front of her chest to guard it. When Sil cast the next fireball she tried to swipe it away with that arm, and her hand cut a glowing streak through the spell, and it looked, for a moment, that the whole limb was alight, her palm wreathed in fire--

And then Sotha Sil was hit in the face by the fireball.

He found himself lying face-up on the sand-- he’d been knocked flat-- he was blinking, dazed, up at a clear blue sky unmarred by clouds. “Oh my gods,” he heard Almalexia say, and then “Seht! Are you alright?”, and then he heard footfalls, and a head of fluffy red hair appeared above his face, wide green eyes staring into his own. “Seht?”

Sotha Sil sat up. “Did you just--”

“I think-- I think so?”

“How? How did you do that? Ayem!”

“I don’t know! I just suddenly had power in my arm and I remembered what your father told me to do and I wasn’t really thinking about it, I just--” she trailed off, grabbing onto his arm. “Sehti! I cast a spell!”

“Do it again,” Sotha Sil said immediately. “Try it again.”

“What, at you?”

“Yes! Hit me.”

They rose to their feet together, and then Almalexia stepped back, screwing up her face, raising her hand…

“Come on,” Sotha SIl said impatiently. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt me, we’re Chimer. Just hit me!”

Almalexia’s arms fell. “I can’t!” she exclaimed, furious, and she rammed her foot against the sand. “I’m trying, I am, but I can’t do it anymore! I don’t know--”

Sotha Sil raised his own hand and slung a fireball at her. It exploded against her, and immediately she cast one right back at him, sending him flying back once more.

He was scrambling to his feet before he even realized he’d been knocked back, and he heard Almalexia laughing, and he found that he was laughing, too. “Ayem!”

“I did it! Seht, Seht, I did it!”

They ran to each other and embraced, both grinning and talking quickly and excitedly once more, discussing their discovery in fast voices and putting forth absurd theories. The day was still hot, far too hot for fireballs, and their clothing was singed, and even the twins had lost interest in the revelation, favouring their game in the cool waves.

***

Sotha Sohleh was enjoying the coolness and stillness of the shrine basement, dutifully plodding through a stack of overdue correspondences with various Telvanni wizards, when he was disturbed by two very distinct sets of footsteps coming down the thin staircase. He pretended not to hear them, even when his eldest son and his ward drew to a diplomatic halt next to his desk, and he could practically hear the excited energy buzzing off of them. Almalexia only stayed at Ald Sotha for about four months of every year, ostensibly for the purpose of ‘learning magic’, and while Sohleh readily welcomed Mournhold’s young princess into his own family, the fact that she managed to bring out in the timid Sil an otherwise dormant mischievousness could occasionally be… trying.

Finally Sotha Sil cleared his throat. “Father, may we speak?”

“Why, Sil! Of course we can.” Sohleh looked up from his letters, with the warmest fatherly smile he could muster. He noted, immediately, that both the children seemed… charred. That was never a good sign. And the fact that they both wore broad grins was even less so.

“Father Sotha,” said Almalexia this time, trying to look serious. “We have something to show you.”

“Well. I would love to see it, Almalexia.”

Sotha Sohleh clasped his hands on the table, and watched as the two children exchanged a long glance.

Then he watched as his son cast a fireball at the daughter of the Queen of Mournhold.

He made to jump up and intervene, but to his astonishment he saw that most of the fire disappeared against Almalexia’s skin in muted golden flashes. And she was faster than him-- the moment the fireball hit her and disappeared, she raised her hands and cast one right back at Sotha Sil, causing him to stagger back and hit the wall.

“Look!” Sotha Sil shouted giddily. “She can cast spells now!”

Almalexia, beaming, looked to him for approval. “How did I do?”

“Her form’s still really sloppy,” Sotha Sil said, “But she did it, we figured out--”

“I can only do it when he hits me, though, that’s how we figured it out, I was going to defeat him in a battle--”

“You weren’t going to defeat me, I think I defeated you, actually--”

“I sent you flying! I won that battle, Sil, your fireballs couldn’t even hurt me--”

“Astonishing,” Sohleh said wondrously. “Sign of the Atronach. How did I never think of it? This is simply astonishing!”

The children stopped their bickering. “Huh?” Almalexia asked.

“You must be the sign of the Atronach,” said Sohleh. “Those born under the Sign of the Atronach are incapable of producing their own magika, but may absorb it spells cast at them. Why, Almalexia, you must have been born in Sun’s Dusk!”

Almalexia touched her own face. “I was born in Sun’s Dusk...”

“I would suppose so. I know your mother has kept the details of your birth a secret, but this would make the most sense-- I should have thought of it! You aren’t incapable of wielding magic, you’ve simply never had any to draw on!”

Almalexia broke into a smile and turned to Sotha Sil. “See? I can wield magic.”

“Only if you get hit with a spell first,” Sotha Sil replied. “Plus we don’t know that you can do anything other than fireballs. Fireballs are a baby’s spell. An infant could cast a fireb--”

A fireball detonated in his face, and before the smoke cleared, Almalexia was already running up the staircase, laughing. With a cry of ‘Ayem!’ Sotha Sil set off after her immediately, and Sotha Sohleh found himself once more in a still, if no longer quite as cool, basement.

With a patient sigh, Sohleh picked up a clean sheet of paper and began a new letter:

“Dearest Amun-Shae,

I am pleased to let you know that your daughter’s studies are progressing well. You’ll have to excuse the burn-marks on this parchment…”

#this is dumb and ive given up on this blog but heres a hc about almalexia :/ #almalexia #sotha sil #fic

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

[personal headcanon that if Johanna let out her kid side a little more she would be just as bad as Hilda]

Johanna, laying on her back across the library’s checkout desk: You think stars have feelings?

Kaisa, writing on a pice of paper resting on Johanna’s stomach: They do, but because they live so long, it’s very slowly.

Johanna: I love you.

[basically Johanna is endlessly curious about things too, but instead of running around going on adventures she asks her librarian gf]

This gets even better if you assume that that’s just how Johanna Is™️ whenever Hilda isn’t near. Like anytime she doesn’t have to be the responsible one in a situation a switch flips in her brain and she is like “chaos mode on”, resulting in Kaisa getting some text messages with the Weirdest questions out of nowhere

#on the not so bright side of things #Johanna really does give me the vibe Thayanna was forced to grow up too fast #so it really wouldn’t be a stretch to think that the repressed child was right there inside of her #hilda the series #johanna hilda #wife answers asks

[codename-freya]

~*~ Senior year. The first time being in a public school since she was just a tiny child. She'd grown up mostly in a boarding school that was a mixture of a military school and advanced education programs. Weeks into the semester of health the teacher had gone over some more basic things like diet and exercise. This week started the week they'd spend on the topic of abuse. It wasn't something that she was keen on. No one had noticed that she'd been going through a lot since she'd moved in with her aunt and cousins. Not even when she was landed in the hospital over the summer did anyone quite realize the extent.

A knot twisted in her stomach as she stood outside of the door to health class. Kaisa felt dread in hearing the topic. She felt like she was alone with nowhere to go to even get out. Ever day she'd been in fear for so long that she couldn't remember what it felt like to not be afraid.

The small pale female hesitated before stepping into the room. She kept her emerald eyes downcast as she entered and made her way to her assigned seat. Long black sleeves of a cardigan covered her arms and she stared at the desk, avoiding any eye contact with other classmates.

As students filed in and the teacher started the lecture she mindlessly took notes until he finished speaking. The teacher then told them about their project that they were to work on in groups of two. He passed out the pair assignments and instructed for the class to split into them to figure out what they were going to work on.

Kaisa looked to the other fair haired and skinned blonde in the class. She noted his striking blue eyes and how his clothing hid the same bits of skin hers always hid. She wasn't a shy person, but since she'd been there Kaisa was much quieter and more reserved. The short teen got up from her seat and quietly made her way towards him.

"I-I'm Kaisa. It looks like we're partners for this. . . " She said softly. Even with her soft voice it was clear and held a subtle accent that denoted her Scandinavian ancestry.

@spidersandthorns-blog

#ic #closed starter #closed rp #v: main #spidersandthorns blog

[hirako5hinji]

[ UNPROMPTED | ALWAYS ACCEPTING ] 

@codename-freya​ asked:

"Hirako-taicho, I brought you some coffee," she gave him a gentle smile, "also, all the paperwork you needed me to take care of is done."

She may or may not have stayed up all night to do it, but seeing how he's been she wanted to do something to help.

               “ ...Thanks, Kaisa. Yer a lifesaver. ” He has been surviving solely on the coffee made by her for the last few weeks. The drink is rich, mellow, and fragrant, with a vicious kick that can keep him awake even through multiple quadruplicates of the dullest bureaucratic forms. He takes a huge gulp of the piping hot beverage like a boss, not even blinking as the scalding drink burns its way down his throat to hit the pit of his stomach. He accepts the bundle of paperwork that she passes over too, shuffling the forms and briefly flipping through the pages to check that all the sections are accounted for and in order. 

               “ This is the last of it, right? ” He sighs with satisfaction. The work she submits is always neat and impeccable. It is very pleasing to vet through, mainly because there are usually no editions required on his part. He is appreciative of her effort, albeit in a more subdued manner lately. She must have worked really hard. 

               “ Great work today, too. A bit more and we’ll finally be done with the budgeting season. ” He may be quieter lately, but he’s no less observant. “ How’re yer viking braids goin’? Ya must be really good with the simpler ones now- ”

#codename-freya #||αѕкѕ #[ awww kaisa - thanks for supporting your dork of a captain =u= ]