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jingabitch · 4 years

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Armed to the Fangs ch.7

SUMMARY: you grew up in the hunter’s guild, understanding that it is your sacred duty as a hunter to protect humanity from the vampires that lurk in the dark, draining the life from anyone unlucky enough to be caught. while making the rounds one night, you encounter taehyung, a fabled born vampire - not that you know that when he tries to entice you into a dark alley. next thing you know, you’re kidnapped and taken to their home, where you realise that all of them somehow crave your blood and seem to know more about your past than you do. finding out about where you came from might be the key to setting humanity free.

PAIRING: eventual ot7 x reader

WARNINGS: some description of violence, angst, pining, maybe eventual smut but not for a looooong time, slow burn (really the slowest of burns), injeolmi being adorable, argument between some of the boys

RATING: T

WORD COUNT: 3k - this one is a lil shorter!

A/N: yay hobi finally makes his appearance!! thank you @pasteljeon for looking over this for me.

Also, small announcement - I doubt anyone will really care, but ATTF is going to be put on hold for a little while. I’ve decided to give writing my own original work a try, and am hoping to self-publish my work on kindle! since I only keep 2 AUs going at a time, I will be focusing on DADT and my original work for now. ATTF will be continued when I complete DADT. :) I’m really excited about this new project and I hope you guys will support me!

series index

If Hoseok heard one more word about the hunter ‘ambassador’ who’d taken up residence in the manor, he thought he would scream. The younger ones were especially enthusiastic about you and your cat, and even Yoongi walked around with that dumbass smile once in a while, usually after spending time with you.

Thankfully, they’d quickly realized that he wasn’t all that interested in talking about you after he shut them down or walked away mid-conversation. It wasn’t the most polite way to go about it, but telling them with words hadn’t really worked to dampen their enthusiasm.

It was just that Hoseok didn’t really feel like meeting anyone new. It wasn’t anything personal, it was just that he didn’t quite have the energy to engage with anything much these days. The others, for the most part, understood, especially the older ones who knew exactly what he’d been through.

Instead of spending his time out and about like the others did, he was holed up in his suite most of the time. He’d had a small fridge installed so he could keep his blood there instead of going down to the main fridge every day like the others did, and usually spent hours staring at the miniature portrait of Minhee. It was the only rendering she’d posed for before she died. He knew his brothers didn’t think it was the healthiest thing to do, but they left him alone for the most part.

After all, it wasn’t common for a vampire to survive losing his mate – they agreed that all things considered, Hoseok was doing fairly well, even if he was a shell of his former jovial self. If they hoped he would come out of his shell a little more to make friends with the human girl who now lived with them, they mostly kept it to themselves after Hoseok had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in playing nice with hunters.

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Injeolmi had really taken to life in the manor, you were pleased to note. You weren’t quite ready to let him just run around without your supervision yet, but he was growing more confident whenever you let him out of your room to run around the mansion. There were litter boxes installed in various other rooms, too, like the library where you tended to spend a lot of time. You were on your way there again, Injeolmi following you like he did most days, when the cat suddenly made a break for it.

You were stunned for a moment, trying to process what had happened. Your sweet baby had never done something like this before, and it took you a second to gather yourself enough to run after him. “Injeolmi, stop!” you called, but since today was apparently a day of firsts, he ignored you.

As you rounded the corner, you wondered why there were so many random hallways in this manor, anyway. It looked like it was just the seven of them (and you now, of course) and they didn’t even have any servants. You were still unsure of how the whole place stayed so clean, since it wasn’t like you’d ever seen any of them pick up a broom.

Hoseok was having a normal day – for him, anyway – up till that point. He had the miniature of Minhee in his hand as he sucked down his snack, his door slightly ajar to let the others know that he was feeling up to their company that day. He heard the ruckus occurring outside and rolled his eyes, but stayed on the couch. Hopefully, the noisy new human resident would just run past. He didn’t think she’d ever been in this wing of the mansion before, and she definitely didn’t know it was his room.

Hearing the door to his room move slightly, he whipped around in surprise, half-expecting you to be standing there. He didn’t see anyone in the entryway, however, and sat up more fully to peer over the back of the couch. A small chatter caught his attention, and he craned his neck further to see a cat standing in the gap he’d left.

“Hello,” he said out of habit to the cat, which meowed again at him and took a couple more steps into the room. “What’s a cat doing in the house?” he asked no one in particular, having forgotten momentarily that you’d brought your furry companion with you when you moved in.

Injeolmi, showing a remarkable lack of fear, just waltzed right in and hopped up on the couch to sit next to Hoseok, chattering at him. Belatedly remembering that you’d brought a cat into the compound, he just sighed and frowned at said cat. “You’re really a hassle, you know that?” he grumbled, gently shooing the cat away so that he wouldn’t have to return him.

Flicking his ears, Injeolmi just turned away, as if he couldn’t be bothered to dignify Hoseok’s complaints with a response. He could hear you approaching, still calling for your cat and stomping down the hallway.

“You little prick,” he accused, though the words didn’t have any heat behind them. Gently, he picked the cat up – and cats had no business being this big, he thought – and carried him back to the door, putting him down on the floor and patting his butt to get him to leave. “Go on,” he urged, although the cat hardly seemed interested, instead sprawling out across the floor.

The footsteps were coming close now, and he knew you were about to walk past at any moment. Perhaps if everything was quiet, you wouldn’t notice, and would just walk by…? He could kick the cat out of the room once you rounded the corner, and wouldn’t have to make any awkward introductions.

Of course, he could never be so lucky. Just as you were passing by his room, the goddamn cat let out the loudest meow he’d heard in hundreds of years on this earth. Panicked, he leaned down – just as you heard Injeolmi give what you assumed had to be a wail of distress and burst into the room, gun cocked and ready to defend your baby.

“Back the fuck away from the cat!” you cried, immediately aiming your gun at the man who was leaning down towards Injeolmi, for whatever nefarious purposes. He looked up at you in shock, and your aim faltered for just a second as you recognized the man in the painting. The last vampire. Who was glaring up at you in irritation, and none of the fear you would expect from someone who had a gun trained right between their eyes.

Instead, you watched as his furrowed brow smoothed for a second as he gaped, his eyes wide with shock, at you, before resuming his initial stern expression. “Your cat was the one who barged into my room,” he snapped, although his voice hid an odd tremor. “Just take it away.”

“Uh, okay,” you said, sliding your gun back into its holster since it didn’t look like he was a threat to either you or Injeolmi. You were about to ask whether he was doing all right, since he looked a little pale and off, but he got up abruptly and turned away from you, walking back to the couch and sitting down. He stubbornly refused to look at you again, and you felt a little sulky, since you’d been curious about him for a while, and now that he was here you wanted to ask him some questions and find out more about him.

Still, since he’d walked away from you, there was no way to assuage your curiosity today. “Come on, baby,” you said in a far higher-pitched tone to Injeolmi, squatting to gather him up in your arms. He was pliant and obedient for you as always, happy to be held by you, and it was almost hard for you to believe that this was the same cat that had run off earlier. Injeolmi was the laziest cat ever, and that had been wholly uncharacteristic of him.

Standing up with Injeolmi cradled in your arms, you turned to leave the room. “Ah, do you want the door open or shut?” you asked as you hovered right outside.

“Shut,” the mysterious man inside said firmly, and you shrugged as you followed his instruction before continuing on your path to the library.

“You’re a really naughty boy,” you cooed at Injeolmi, jiggling him a little in your arms nonetheless. When you let yourself into the library, you put Injeolmi down and he went and settled down in the one spot where there was sunlight, streaming in through a small crack in the floor-to-ceiling curtains that had been left there specially for him.

Shaking your head at him, you drifted further into the library, to the sitting area near the back. Namjoon was already there, with Jin. They had their little blood bags in front of them on the coffee table, which you could mostly ignore as long as you thought of them as Capri Suns. “Hello,” Namjoon greeted, while Jin just smiled at you. “I chose something new for you today,” he continued, leaning forward to tap the cover of a book he had resting on the table.

You smiled at him. “Thank you,” you said, coming to sit next to him. Leaning forward to pick up the book, you completely missed the way he stiffened as you sank into the comfortable couch, and Jin’s responding smirk at his brother’s momentary loss of composure. Because you’d never had much time at the Guild to pick up hobbies like reading, you’d been completely blown away by the size of the library, and Namjoon had taken it upon himself to pick different books of different genres and on various topics for you to decide what you liked reading. So far, you were really into thrillers and memoirs, but you were definitely hiding a secret love for romance novels.

Opening the book, you were soon so immersed in reading that you completely forgot to ask them about the man you’d just met.

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Hoseok was, to put it mildly, freaking out. He held the portait of Minhee in his left hand, while reaching for the bag of blood he’d been nursing with the right, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to drink it. His hand shook slightly as he raised his drink to his mouth, hoping against hope that he was wrong.

The moment the blood bag neared his mouth, though, the smell of the blood became too much, and nausea bubbled up in him.

“Fuck.” He tossed the bag back down onto the table, grimacing.

There was no way this was possible. You couldn’t be his mate. Vampires didn’t get more than one, and he still remembered her dying in his arms, despite his frantic attempts to stop the bleeding. Her whispered apology as her life slipped away haunted his nightmares.

And yet… you smelled just like Minhee. You’d think that four hundred years away from his mate would have dulled the memories, but he recalled exactly how her blood had smelled and tasted, like absolute perfection. When he’d scented you, it had taken all his willpower to stop his eyes from changing colour and his fangs from descending.

“Minhee-ah… what’s going on?” he murmured, tracing the edges of the portrait with his thumb. His mind raced, and he knew there was only one person in the house who might possibly know the answer to that question.

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Conveniently, Namjoon was in Jin’s study with him that evening when Hoseok came, so he could tell them both about the problem he’d encountered today.

When he knocked and entered the study, Jin and Namjoon both gaped at him for a second before Jin gathered himself. “Hobi, hello,” he said smoothly, covering up his surprise. “What brings you out here tonight?”

Hoseok frowned. Seokjin was talking like he never came to hang out with his brothers, which wasn’t true at all. He’d been getting better about spending time with others… at least until you arrived.

“I met our new housemate today,” Hoseok said by way of greeting.

Namjoon and Jin exchanged slightly panicked glances. “And… what did you think?” Jin prompted, trying to hide his unease. Hoseok hadn’t been the most cheerful or chatty person for a long time now, and this whole situation, while not ideal for anyone involved, was definitely something that would upset him.

Hoseok hummed, trying to find the words to explain. He didn’t know whether to ease into it or just blurt it out, and he didn’t know how much his brothers already knew. They’d been good friends with Minhee as well, since the four older vampires had always been together.

“Do you remember Minhee?” he asked, sidestepping his hyung’s question.

From the way both Namjoon and Jin gaped at him, he had a sinking feeling that both his brothers knew exactly where he was going with this.

“When were you going to tell me?” he said tiredly, running his hand over his face.

“Uh…” Jin started getting a deer-in-the-headlights look, so Namjoon stepped in.

“We just weren’t sure what all this meant, and we didn’t want to bother you unnecessarily,” he explained. “The whole situation is really strange, and none of us really know what to make of it…”

From what he was saying, it seemed like there was more at hand than this girl’s unexplained connection to Minhee, and Hoseok’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by this ‘whole situation’?”

“Jesus,” Jin muttered under his breath. “Good going, Joon.”

Namjoon cringed, knowing he’d messed up.

“You guys seem to have some explaining to do.” Hoseok pulled the chair out from Jin’s desk and slung himself into it casually.

“Right, I suppose we do,” Jin sighed, massaging his temples.

“Well?” Hoseok asked, his brow raising as Jin didn’t say anything else after that.

Jin looked over Hoseok’s shoulder at Namjoon, who was still sitting on the couch in his study. “Would you like to take a crack at it?”

“Sure, throw me under the bus,” Namjoon grumbled, but got up and came to sit in the chair next to Hoseok’s anyway, so the three of them were seated around Jin’s desk.

“So, Taehyung found Y/n, and, uh…”

“Spit it out, already,” Hoseok snapped, accompanied by an eye roll.

“It turns out that she’s his mate…?” Namjoon said, so uncertainly that it sounded like a question. He eyed Hoseok warily, hoping he wouldn’t blow up at the unexpected (and likely unwelcome) news. He hadn’t even finished telling the story.

Hoseok turned to regard Namjoon more directly. “How can she be his mate? He’s been eating fine, hasn’t he?”

“Uh, we aren’t that sure about that,” Namjoon admitted. “But he isn’t the only one.”

“What.”

“As it turns out…” Namjoon paused and looked over at Jin for help. Jin nodded encouragingly for moral support. “Uh, all of us… are her mate.” He cringed away from Hoseok as he said it, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion.

“How the fuck is that possible?!”

“Hobi, please.” Jin held his hands out placatingly, trying to calm his brother down. “We don’t know what’s going on either, but we’re trying to figure it out, okay? Joon and I are spending all our free time in the library, trying to find out more.”

Hoseok put his head in his hands and groaned. “Why can’t things ever just be normal around here?” he mumbled.

Namjoon, sighing, patted Hoseok’s shoulder, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. “I’m sorry, bro,” he said, the words falling flat because he knew even as he was saying them that it wasn’t enough. “We’ll figure this out together, all right?”

“This is fucked up,” Hoseok said shakily, and Namjoon wasn’t sure if he’d even heard him. “All of this is so messed up, I can’t believe it. How can the seven of us be mated to the same girl? We’re going to drain her dry.”

“Hobi, let’s not get ahead of ourselves…” Jin looked slightly alarmed, reaching over to pat the top of Hoseok’s head.

“I never wanted any of this, losing Minhee was bad enough. I can’t deal with any more mate drama,” Hoseok complained, ignoring his hyung.

“Hobi, come on!” Jin lost his patience finally and snapped, raising his voice. “None of us know what’s up, and we’re all trying to get through this together, so will you please get it together and stop playing the victim?”

From the way Hoseok looked up at narrowed his eyes, his brothers knew they were in for it. “Together?!” Hoseok asked derisively. “Right… is that why you were hiding Y/n from me?”

“We weren’t hiding her,” Jin said, offended now. “We told you about her; you just didn’t want to meet her because you’d rather stay holed up in your room by yourself all the time!”

“Jesus Christ!” Hoseok slammed his fist down on Jin’s desk. “Maybe, just maybe, if you had started with ‘Hobi, by the way the hunter you’ve invited into our home smells like Minhee and is apparently our shared mate’, I might have paid more attention to her!” With that, Hoseok stormed out of the study, done with interacting with his brothers.

In the wake of his outburst, Jin and Namjoon sat quietly, the silence ringing loudly in their ears.

Jin was the first to break the silence with a loud, gusty sigh. “It’s so hard to talk to him nowadays,” he complained to Namjoon. He still remembered the jovial, smiling Hoseok of years past, back before everything had changed. As much as he understood the anguish his brother was going through and wanted to be there for him, it was just so difficult when Hoseok was belligerent like this.

Namjoon nodded in agreement, resting his chin in his hand. “If nothing else, hopefully Y/n will be able to help him.”

Jin hummed. “Do you think we should tell the others?”

“They wouldn’t understand, you know that,” Namjoon responded. Reluctantly, Jin agreed – the maknaes had never been quite as patient with Hoseok as the older brothers. They just didn’t understand why he was so angry all the time, and Hoseok didn’t like discussing what he’d gone through. It was difficult keeping secrets from their brothers, but it was necessary in this case to protect Hoseok.

#btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #kwritersworldnet #btswritersnet #plotsofpastel #ficswithluv #magicshopnet #btswriterscollective #bangtanhq #armed to the fangs #attf #bts fic #bts scenarios #bts vampire au #vampire bts #ot7 x reader #bts ot7 fic #bts ot7 #bts x reader

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sir-adrien-swagreste · 4 years

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Miraculous Ladybug AU: Toilet Bound Chat-Kun

As opposed to limiting the Apparitions to just the School, I thought it would be more fun to have them inhabit the City of Paris. “The Seven Wonders of Paris”. Each of them are based on the 7 Main Miraculous, with each of them possessing an object of Power called a Miraculous. I will continue to update this as I come up with more Ideas for this AU.

Chapter 1 - The Origins of the Tales of Buginette & Chat Noir

Marinette heard about The Seven Wonders from her only friend Alya, who loves to do research on the Super Natural. She told her that one of the Seven Wonders of Paris actually haunts their very school. Apparently the Apparition is the Ghost of a Student who haunts the Halls and is Bound to an Abandoned Bathroom. For reasons unknown, the school hasn’t gotten rid of the Restroom despite it not being used by the Students. The name of the Deceased Student has been long forgotten by all, including the Teachers, however; due to his supposed Cat Like Form, some have found themselves calling him Chat Noir. Alya also told Marinette that there is a Rumor that The Seven Wonders of Paris are capable of Granting people Wishes.

Marinette couldn’t help but be curious of the idea of finding a Wish Granting Spirit....not to mention she was curious to see if the Tales were True about this Cat Like Kid or if it was a Rumor or just some weird student with a Furry Fetish. When she arrived at the bathroom, she noticed a Bell on one of the Doors. Unsure what to do next, she decided to Ring it to see if the Bells summons the Ghost. At first nothing happens but as she begins to leave feeling dissatisfied and foolish, she notices a Long Black Belt hanging from the Ceiling. When she pulls it, a boy falls from the ceiling Tile and crashes down on top of her.

Marinette was about to apologize when she noticed that this boy was wearing a Cat Like Attire. Unsure of what to say, the Cat Boy is the First to break the silence.

“What the heck? Why did you pull my Tail?”

“Uhh...I.....”

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue or something?”

“..Pft”

Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle at the unintentional pun that was made. To her surprised, the strange Cat Boy started to laugh as well. The Cat Boy apologized for yelling at her and introduces himself as The Fabled Ghost of Collège Françoise Dupont, Chat Noir; one of the Seven Wonders of Paris. When asked why he was bound to the Bathroom, he stares silently and dodges the question with one of this own. He asked the girl her name and why she was here. Marinette introduces herself to the apparition and told him she was curious as to if he was real or not. She also was curious as to whether or not the rumors of him being able to Grant Wishes were true or not as well. Chat denies this rumor but mentions that he does possess an Artifact that holds various Powers.

When Marinette noticed the Earring in Chat’s possession, he tells her that they provide the Holder Luck but at a cost......unfortunately all she heard was “grant the user Luck” and put them on without any hesitation as she was a girl with terrible Luck (a real klutz). This resulted in her turning into a Ladybug. To her surprise, another Apparition appears and tries to claim her, introducing itself as an Agent of Death claiming that “as per the Rules of Magic and Magic Like Objects, only an apparition can possess the Earrings of the Ladybug”.

Chat-Kun of course interfered, resulting in him saving Marinette. Afterwards, Marinette is sad that she isn’t a Human anymore and asks Chat if there is any way to turn her back into a Human. He tells her that if she wishes to become Human, he does have the means to Grant her that wish but tells her that it will come at a cost. Not wanting to be a Ladybug anymore, Marinette agrees claiming that she doesn’t care about the conditions and wishes to be a Human again. Chat is able to to help grant her wish by using the Ring on his Hand. As a result, Marinette turns back into a Human. Marinette was so happy to be human again that she found herself jumping onto Chat in a big embrace out of reflex.

Marinette was shocked that she could now touch the Phantom when before she went through him when she reached out to him (with the exception of his Tail). Chat explained that it was due to the Ring on his hand. It holds a connection with the Ladybug Themed Earrings that she was wearing. When both are worn, it binds the holders of the Two together, allowing her to touch him as if he was Human despite him being a Apparition.

Chat apologized to Marinette for everything that happened, however; despite everything that has happened to her, Marinette couldn’t help but smile. When Chat asked her why she seemed so giddy she answered with a simple response:

“All this time, I’ve always felt so unlucky. Always tripping where I walked. Always having difficulty making friends. Today was no exception, yet despite all of that, I was able to make a new friend today. We are friends, right Chat?”

Chat couldn’t help but blush to this statement. He simply nodded without any statement. Marinette didn’t let the opportunity go by and tease him about it asking him if a “Chat” had his tongue now.

Deep down he couldn’t help but think a similar thought. In all of the years he spent alone in the School, she was the first friend he had in a long time. There was once another, but that was while he was still flesh and bone

.......but that is a Tale for another Day.

#Miraculous AU: Toilet Bound Chat Kun #Miraculous Ladybug #ml au idea #ML AU #Miraculous Ladybug AU #Chat Noir #ml chat noir #marinette cheng #ml marinette #marinette dupain cheng #Buginette #miraculous #apparition #ladybug #the tales of ladybug and cat noir #ml aus #ml #mlb #mlb au

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writinginthesecrettrees · 5 years

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Halloween

Currently thinking of Henriksen, and he doesn’t have to wonder what the Winchesters are going to be doing on Halloween because they’re already there, killing.

“It was like this last year,” he says to Guntram as they fly towards Oregon, towards Portland and three bodies with missing hearts in the last two days, apparent animal attacks but there’s a pattern to it that feels human. “Not the hearts and the claw marks and bites. That’s just more Winchester theatrics. No, last year they were in St. Louis. Killed a bunch of folks, made it look like vampire attacks.”

“How?”

“Best guess is they stabbed them with a barbecue fork, drained the blood and left the bodies in alleys. Some they kept, and we found those ones later. After Halloween. Fuckers like to pretend to be classic movie monsters this time of year.”

“So if last year was Dracula, this year is…”

“Looks like Wolfman, from the MO. I don’t even want to know what Dean offered Sam to get him to dress up.”

“You think that’s Sam, in the witness reports?”

“Got to be. Too tall to be Dean, although the witnesses must have been exaggerating somewhat. But a man Sam’s size, in the dark, dressed up as a werewolf… Easy to see why they thought he was seven feet tall.”

“They could think that about Dean, though.”

“Except they also mention seeing a man in a leather jacket, light hair, pale skin, watching as the ‘monster’ attacks. Getting his rocks off watching baby brother maul innocent folks.”

“I dunno, boss. It seems like a lot of trouble to go through for some murder.”

Henriksen laughs, a harsh mirthless bark of a sound. “You’re talking about the brotherfuckers who spent all summer last year kidnapping folks and stashing them God only knows where, only to turn around and murder them, leave their headless corpses in a warehouse that they burned down, and we still don’t know what the fuck they did with the heads. Getting Sammy dressed up like some psycho furry freak is probably an average Wednesday night for those assholes.”

Guntram smiles wryly, conceding the point. “Still, it’s too bad about the moon. Bet Dean’s all sorts of pissed.”

“... the fuck you on about, rookie?”

“Just… the moon was full last night. The 26th. Guess the Winchesters figured it was close enough, but…”

“But Halloween’s not until Wednesday,” Henriksen finishes. He’s silent for a few minutes, mulling over the issue. “Fuck. Shit, fuck, damn, and all the rest.” He stands, starts pacing the aisle, wishing airplane seats could be tossed.

“Sir?”

“This whole charade is just the preshow. They’re gearing up to the grand finale… and we’ve only got four days to stop it.”

They land just after midnight on the 27th, and the first thing Henriksen does is look up at the moon, hanging just past full in the sky. “What do you think, rookie? Winchesters gonna kill some other unlucky soul?”

“They did the last two nights,” Guntram says. “Be a crazy break from the pattern if they don’t.”

A detective is waiting for them on the ground, her face grim. Henriksen nods as the team disembarks. “Just take us to the scene.”

Another body, covered in claw marks, missing a heart. Mutilated to the point that it’s impossible to tell if it’s male or female, they’ll have to leave that up to the coroner. Blood splashed across the walls of the ill-advised alley shortcut the victim risked earlier that evening, and massive pawprints from the killer - Sam.

Guntram talks to witnesses. No one saw anything, but they heard screaming and “some kinda animal, growling.” Everyone noticed a gleaming black muscle car at the end of the alley, and the handsome man driving it away once the screaming ended, but it’s long lost to the city traffic. Henriksen puts out a BOLO anyway, sets up surveillance on warehouses and motels in the area.

“We’ve got a chance here - maybe our best chance - to catch them. So stay sharp.”

And there’s nothing left to do but wait.

It’s not a long wait.

The car doesn’t turn up - the brothers seem to have a sense for when Henriksen and his team are in the area, know to stash the distinctive vehicle and stay under the radar - and they don’t stay in any motels, don’t go near the warehouse district.

It’s a panicked call from Beaverton that reveals their location, the morning after Halloween, from a family that went on vacation and came back to a crime scene in their garage, obvious burglary in the rest of the house. Henriksen sends Guntram ahead, already talking with state troopers about putting up roadblocks and checkpoints for the next few days because they have to be in the area and he’s tired of playing catch-up.

In the house, in the garage, there’s the body of a woman who went missing three days earlier. She’d been kept alive, collared and chained, subjected to torture. What looks like chemical burns around her neck, up her arms and down her legs, and signs of repeated electrocution, a car battery sitting on the nearby workbench. She’s been dead less than eight hours, killed just before the homeowners returned.

Like all the other bodies, her heart is missing, a gaping wound left that the coroner declares to be postmortem.

And the Winchesters are in the wind.

“Stick around, Guntram. Brotherfuckers aren’t done with this town yet. They’re planning something for tomorrow.”

(masterpost)

#currently thinking of henriksen #serial killer au #serial killer dean #serial killer sam #wincest fanfic #outsider pov #tw: torture #tw: murder #sweet little serial killers #having all sorts of bloody fun for the holiday

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for-a-flower · 5 years

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Close Call

Flowey pushed up through the ground in a dark cave behind Frisk. He watched from shadows as the human entered the next area. There was a stream running through the cavern. Frisk glanced over the flowing water for a moment then approached some lily pads near the far corner. Flowey's stem bent as he snickered quietly. "He's gonna go right to the barrier and die to Asgore like every other stupid human before him." Flowey grinned. "And then when Asgore tries to take his soul, I'll come in and grab all seven! Stupid king won't know what’s coming." Flowey scowled. "Serves him right for not listening to me in the first place." Frisk placed lily pads in the stream in order to reach a sign near the bridge he had crossed earlier. The sign read, Congratulations. You failed the puzzle. Frisk sighed then began pulling the plants out of the water again.

Flowey shook his petalled head and smirked. “Idiot,” he whispered. "Wait. If Chara does have something to do with this, she probably doesn’t realize it’s me. Which means I'll probably need to show her to convince her. But I can't do that until I get a soul. So what do I do? Hm . . .” Flowey paused, his eyes drifting down. “Should I wait until I finish my plan then bring her back and reset the timeline?" He nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good." Flowey watched as Frisk solved the puzzle and continued through the cave. He frowned. "What am I saying? Chara probably has nothing to do with it. Just wishful thinking. Doesn't even matter anyway," Flowey grumbled. He sunk into the ground again.

As he walked slowly, Frisk stared at the cave ceiling above. It was covered in blue crystals, twinkling softly almost like stars in the night sky. The child noticed a plaque mounted on the left, rock wall that had blue letters. It read, Wishing Room. The letters were glowing with a magical light. There was a tall blue flower standing to the right of the sign. Frisk stepped toward it as it whispered softly, as if he was hearing a past conversation.

"A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky. If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true," it said. "Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling." Its soft voice echoed through the cave before fading. Frisk sighed. He could sense sadness in the monster’s voice. He wanted to tell them that it would all be okay one day. They'd find a way out. They'd be free soon. The little human looked further ahead and saw a few more Echo Flowers. He approached the next which had grown on the right.

It spoke with a voice louder than the last. "Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that," it said. Frisk passed the flower, stepping toward the next which stood beside a fourth. "Come on, sis! Make a wish!" said the first. "I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday," whispered the other. Frisk frowned then glanced beyond them. One last Echo Flower stood in this part of the cave. Almost feeling the hopelessness of the monsters as well, Frisk moved over to the far corner of the cavern where the last blue flower stood alone.

It spoke in a soft, sad voice like that of a hurting child. "It's not fair. Why can't things be like they used to be?" it said.

Frisk sighed, reaching out to feel the velvety, blue petals of the flower with a small hand. "Someday," he said. "Someday it'll be better. Just don't give up." He lowered his hand as a gentle breeze brushed by him from the left. Frisk glanced that direction. There was an opening along the rock wall.

"Someday . . . someday it'll be better. Just don't give up," the Echo Flower whispered.

Frisk managed a smile and nodded. He continued on, leaving the flowers behind. The human exited the small cave into a large, open cavern. Its floor was completely flooded with water, the exact depth of it unknown. A large, wooden bridge extended before Frisk. It led to a large cliff face that rose from the water. Frisk casually started across the bridge, glancing over the water’s surface. He could see tall reeds and water sausages scattered sparsely, meaning the water couldn't be very deep. He reached the cliff and followed the bridge along it. He put a hand on the rock to feel it as he went. It was surprisingly smooth. Frisk glanced at his hand and stopped suddenly. The wall was covered with ancient, carved writings. The child hurried back to the beginning to attempt reading them. There was a label before the text that read, The War of Humans and Monsters.

Struck with interest, Frisk read the writings to himself. "Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul." Frisk paused to think about that. "Whoa," he whispered. He moved on to the next section. The words were hard to make out in the dim light. "But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their soul. Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death." Frisk nodded slightly in understanding and moved to the next part. "If a monster defeats a human, they can take its soul. A monster with a human soul . . . a horrible beast with unfathomable power." Frisk reached the end of the wall to find an illustration carved deep into the rock. He observed it closely. There was something very unsettling about this drawing. The monster depicted here strangely resembled Toriel. It was furry, wore a similar robe and had two horns on its head. But its horns were much longer than Toriel’s.

Frisk stared several seconds trying to make sense of it. He had only seen one monster so far that looked like Toriel . . . and that was Toriel. So who was this? Someone related to her? Someone from her past family perhaps? Frisk shook his head and continued on. The bridge was wide and lead forward into the dark as far as the human could see. Frisk jumped when a blue spear shot down from above and stabbed into the wooden platform only inches before him. He stopped in fear, looking around quickly. On a higher ledge to the left, Undyne stepped from the shadows with spear in hand. She threw it at Frisk. Frisk screamed and bolted down the long bridge. Undyne jumped from the ledge, landing hard on the bridge which shook with a thud. Frisk didn't look back. His boots clomped against the wood as he ran. He could hear the knight throwing attacks at him. Spears flew over his head. Frisk zigzagged as he ran, panic setting in.

This probably wasn't going to end well. He had been seen and there was no telling what was on the other side of this bridge. As spears flew by on either side, Frisk kept running. Undyne stomped after him. She followed at nearly the same speed despite the weight of her metal armor. She summoned sets of three projectiles each time she attacked. Frisk panted hard. Ahead he saw the end of the bridge and patch of tall grass. He tried to increase his pace but couldn't manage. One of the spears flew over his head, but the next struck his back and shattered with a burst of magic. The impact threw Frisk several yards forward. He yelled and landed in the tall grass, tumbling over a few times before coming to a stop. Sharp pains shot up and down his spine. Frisk rolled into a ball taking in deep breaths as he tried not to yell and give away his exact location. He squirmed a little and cringed.

He could hear Undyne stomping toward him, like a predator searching for its injured prey. When she stopped nearby, Frisk glanced up through the grass around him. He could see her towering, dark silhouette staring down at something close by. Undyne suddenly reached down to grab something. With one hand, she lifted a little, yellow monster kid out of the grass by a spine on his head. She stared at him for a few seconds . . . the monster kid staring back at her, mouth open and completely speechless. Undyne scowled then slowly set him back down among the grass. She turned and left the way she had come, mumbling something to herself. Frisk finally coughed a few times and let out a yell of pain. He rolled over to crawl out of the grass weakly as the unpleasant sensation inside him began to fade. Frisk stood up in a smaller tunnel beyond the tall grass, still trembling in fear.

The monster kid rushed out to join him. "Yo! Did you see that?! Undyne just touched me! I'm never washing my face ever again! Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a little bit to the left . . ." Frisk cringed. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if he had been. "Don't worry!" said the monster kid. "I'm sure we'll see her again!"

Frisk backed into the rock wall in alarm. The little monster hurried on down the path. "But . . . I don't think I want to see her again," Frisk whispered. With great reluctance, the child forced himself onward.

Flowey emerged among the tall grass as the human continued. "Don't want to see her? Oh, don't worry. You'll get to see her plenty," he whispered.

Full Chapter List

#undertale #undertale fanfiction #waterfall #frisk #undyne #monster kid #part three #frisky business #foraflower au

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puzzlingdreamblog · 7 years

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Unlucky Seven - Update #1 - Pixelart in 3D world

Now you can check out our new art style in full 3D (and even in VR)!

sketchfab

Unlucky Seven - Moreau by PaulsRage on Sketchfab

Do you like it? Be sure to add Unlucky Seven to your Steam wishlist!

Let’s be honest, our team got infected with the pixelartosis. Yes, we got lost in the beauty of Hotline Miami and Papers, Please, which reminded us how much we missed Another Worlds and Jazz Jackrabbits. Like dozens of other developers we had decided to add our own drop to the wave of nostalgia, which resulted in making of The Way.

[The Way - our first game]

It might seem that two years of work should effectively satisfy the need for expressing ourselves with pixels, but we simply fell in love with this style. Of course, you can change the object of your love, but it's like trying to remove a tick from your heart. With this emotional deformity, we started creating our next game.

Unluckily, during the design phase, we remembered some of our other childhood romances, such as Gothic, Silent Hill or Soul Reaver. We were torn between worlds of 2d and 3d. Which of them would work better? Which one to choose? We couldn't decide...

...So we let the two worlds collide. You can view the result in full 3D (and even in VR!) by simply checking out the model placed at the very top of this post!

Stylistically Unlucky Seven is our recipe for a combination of eighties and nineties aesthetics. This is the new form of pixelartosis growing in our humble laboratory. We really hope to get all of you infected when it's complete.

Welcome to our weekly logs from our experiments!

Today Pawel (our lead artist) wants to say something about creating a character in this style:

I do all the work in Blender. Modeling usually starts with a cube, which I divide into sections and extrude some of them to create a form for a character. Then I perform multiple iterations of this process until it’s well shaped. The final model does not have to be too complicated, a simpler one goes better with large pixels on a texture. Like in good old games. We decided to use only the diffuse maps, to not interfere with pixelart style.

After unwrapping the mesh, I choose a few basic colors (based on my concept art sketch) and I cover each element, such as trousers, jacket, shoes or head, with one. Then, using variations of brightness and hue I paint details such as corners of clothes. I'm always trying to use a limited palette, but sometimes I leave some texture regions "dirty" to get a less structured effect and to save some time.

[Moreau texture - versions with and without the jacket]

I designate a different pixel density for different parts just like you normally would with high-poly models with high-resolution textures. A head requires more detail, unlike trousers. I’m trying to hide seams with objects overlapping each other. If it is impossible, I leave a small offset between texels. They are barely visible.

Due to the irregular form of the mesh it is not possible to keep perfect square shape of texels (big pixels) on its surface. Perfect shape like this could be only achieved when objects are formed from cubes and planes. Fortunately, small distortions are not visible to the player. In some places, I use them to get a little bit more detail than normally allowed by a texture. For example, eyebrows forms are arched and slightly narrowed toward the center of the face, although this fragment corresponds to one pixel.

[Distorting pixel shape to get more detail and using planes as fuzz]

I enrich the characters with fuzzy elements such as tufts of fur on body parts, but instead of simply using planes with a transparent texture applied (like regular games do) I extrude individual planes. I narrow them gently at the ends and set at a proper angle relative to the surface to make them easily visible.

When the model and its textures are done we can finally preview it in our game engine. However, some additional preparations are needed to make sure that the pixelart textures display correctly... But that's a story for another update!

#indie #gamedev #pixel art #unlucky seven #puzzling dream #adventure games #games #video games #furry

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tashaleway · 4 years

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KVAAFCRS: Chapter Seven: A Whole New Day

Chapter Seven: A Whole New Day

Chapter Seven: A Whole New Day A/N: So, it's been a while. Yeah. Sorry about that. But hey! At least it's not been a year, right? This chapter annoyed me greatly. I started out with the list of the things, I wanted to happen in this chapter but it just took off so I had to re-write almost completely to make it fit with my timeline.

Karkat woke up early in his bed in the Slytherin dorms, drew back the curtains and was met with a faintly familiar face. The red-eyed boy from yesterday. Caliban or something.

"Good morning?" Karkat remembered how he'd blown up yesterday, and wanted to at least pretend to be somewhat polite. It wouldn't do to make too many enemies. That could wait until next year.

Caliban-whatever took that as an invitation and stepped closer.

"I believe that we got on the wrong foot yesterday. And I wished to remedy that. As I mentioned last evening, we Slytherins must stand together. The rest of the school looks down on us, and we must not show any weaknesses, especially not amongst ourselves. So, I would like to offer my hand, maybe not in friendship, but as allies. You need one, don't you?" Caliban-whatever held out his hand in invitation. Karkat didn't like the gleam in the other boy's eyes, but he didn't really have a choice, did he? Karkat was sure, if he didn't accept, he would be thrown to the wolves. Better be one of them, than their food.

He shook the offered hand and his headache lifted a bit.

~naknaknak~

The first day of school was crap. It usually was anywhere else, but Karkat was pretty sure that the first day was supposed to be a way of gently introducing to the classes, get to know each other and the teacher, and then perhaps get a plan on the different subjects. Hogwarts had obviously never heard of that. When they arrived at the classrooms, they were told to sit down, find their books, told what was expected of them, a quick explanation what the class was about, and then they jumped straight into it! They were supposed to try and transfigure a match into a needle in their first transfiguration class, for fucks sake!

Karkat had never been taught at a public school before, no he had always been home-schooled along with Kankri. Speaking of Kankri, it seemed like the world was trying its damned hardest for them not to meet up. When Karkat had woken up that morning he had decided he would have a talk with his brother and make sure they were still alright. But when he had arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast, he learned that Kankri had already eaten and left for his first classes. Karkat had then tried to follow and meet up before classes started, but the annoying kid, John had apparently spotted him and chatted him up all morning, right before classes had begun. Great.

And now he was here; in Transfiguration. Unable to focus, out of mind, worrying about what his brother would say to him later. Oh, and he had gained a new chatterbox of a follower. Mr-Sunglasses-Inside stole the seat next to Karkat as soon as he could and had not shut up since. One would think that the teacher would put a stop to it, but the kid had a gift of whispering so low that only Karkat could hear him. On top of that, the kid made sure to only speak when someone was writing something down, so the scratching of quills against parchment would mute him out. So, fuck that guy.

"Hey, so what did you get for question 14? I got 257," the guy would whisper. Karkat stared at him incredulously.

"This isn't bloody math, you absolute shitclusterfuck! It's not even an exam and we got fucking Transfiguration!" Karkat whispered as low as he could, trying to calm down and not get a detention. "What in the shitty world are you thinking?! Or is your lack of brain the reason you walk with those wall-fuckers called glasses? 'Cause that would explain everything about you!"

And then the guy would just smirk and snort and return to his notes. Karkat fucking hated him.

Even worse; as soon classes ended, Sir Sunglasses the Worst would follow him around and comment on every. Single. Thing.

"Hey, any idea why the Gryffindors hates us? I mean, I understand they're jealous, because… well, look at us! We're awesome, but still, they always sneer and growl at us. Do they think they’re lions or what? Hey! Does that mean we should hiss at them?? That would be fun, even though, everyone would think we’re furries, or, ew, copycats, yeah, scratch that idea! What about-“

“Can you PLEASE shut your dumbass piehole for just ONE second??! Every word out of your mouth is another nail in my skull, and I feel pretty crucified here! No, I’m beyond that! I’m beyond dead, I’m beyond saving! You can’t even play a pretty little song to the lord of the underworld to save me now! It’s too late! And even if you went so far and saved me, you would still have to guide me back to the living world, without looking back at me, and EVEN IF YOU WOULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THAT, I WOULD RATHER RUN BACK TO GET TORTURED EVEN MORE THAN LISTEN YO ANOTHER WORD FROM YOU! SO PLEASE JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BRAIN-DEAD DUMB-FUCKING-“

“KARKAT VANTAS! DETENTION!”

“…Fuck…”

~naknaknaknaknaknaknak~

Karkat hated his life. It was nothing new, but today had to be the worst of all. First, he hadn’t been able to talk to Kankri at all because of the dumbass classes. Second, the classes themselves. They were horrible. Or maybe it was just Karkat. Whatever. Third, he hadn't had a chance to talk to Kanaya, the only sane person at this castle of insanity. Fourth, he had gotten himself some kind of a stalker. Or perhaps his own personal chatterbox, who got Karkat thrown into detention. Thanks, pal! Fifth, the detention itself, which was another thing that made it impossible to talk with his brother. Sixth, his companion at the detention; the blabbermouth himself! How awesome was that?! Apparently the idiot had tried to skate down the handrails of the stairs. He luckily got stopped before he got himself injured, but he ultimately landed himself in detention alongside Karkat. So yeah, his life was the worst.

Karkat tried to concentrate on a very stubborn piece of slimy and smelly potion in the cauldron he was cleaning. Meanwhile, Dave Strider; Ultimate Worst Person Ever, saw this as an opportunity to keep on talking.

"-and it was so cool! I would totally make it, of course, nothing can harm a Strider. Too bad the teacher was there, but I'm probably gonna try again tomorrow, wanna join? You can film me- wait… oh yeah, phones doesn't work here. Dammit! Oh well… hey! We can see what they are hiding behind the forbidden door! That'd be so epic! We can have bragging rights, and if we die, we at least left here in the most cool way ever! Unless of course the only reason it's locked, is because the room is full of deadly poison, then it wouldn't be as cool, I don't know about you, but if I ever die, it should only be because I did something very cool-"

"Like trying to fucking murder yourself by skating down the stairs??"

"Yeah. Something like that. Thanks, Kitkat, I knew you'd get me."

"Kitkat??!! Don't fucking call me that, you spewing magpie! My name's Karkat, not that you will ever need it, because our conversation ends here! Never talk to me again!" Karkat yelled. That would probably have prompted another detention, but for once, Karkat was lucky, and the seventh-year student had left the room five minutes prior to fetch their homework so they could work on it until the detention would be over in half an hour.

Those thirty minutes couldn't pass soon enough.

"Karkat?"

"Kaaarkaaaat"

Kaaaaaaaaaaaarkiiiittyyy"

"Kitkat?"

"Karkles"

"Karkat, are you ignoring me??"

"If you ignore me for much longer, I'll DIE! I need attention to live!" and with that dramatic speech, Dave toppled over the cauldron he was cleaning, getting sticky, black goo on his robes. Karkat still ignored him. Dave would give up eventually. But unfortunately for Karkat, he didn't know his housemate that well. And he had no idea how far Dave would go to get what he wanted.

It was silent for a few blessed moments.

"You killed me, Kitkat… My blood is on your hands… now…" Dave whispered and gave a final death rattle and mistakenly sticking his tongue out. And thereby accidentally touching the dirty cauldron. He flinched back with a scream that made Karkat burst out laughing. The first time he'd laughed in weeks. It felt good. And to imagine it was the pest, Dave, that made him do it.

His head hurt

Dave shot him a relieved smile, not that it was noticed by the laughing kid. Dave was happy. He'd been worried he wouldn't gain any friends, as he was pretty hard to get along with, and while Karkat had seemed like an unappreciable guy, he'd already heard some nasty rumors about the guy, both in Diagon Alley and on the train. And these rumors hadn't lessened a bit, since their arrival at the school. Getting sorted into the same House as Karkat had been a sign to Dave to immediately befriend the guy. Dave knew from personal experience that nobody wanted to talk to, let alone, befriend the weird guy, that everyone was gossiping about. It had taken hours, and the short, angry kid already hated Dave, but now it seemed that Karkat could potentially warm up to him. Maybe. Yeah… Maybe…

He hoped.

~naknaknak~

After the detention, they headed to the common room together, in higher spirits, joking around. That was, until they met one, Rose Lalonde.

A/N: I imagine that most of you would recognize what I was referencing in Karkat’s little rant, but if there’s an unlucky soul that either don’t know it, or if I was not that great in writing it, I’ll let you know that it’s the Greek myth about Orpheus who lost his wife (Eurydice), and traveled to the underworld to get her back. Most people already know this myth so I'm not gonna blab on about it. Cheers! (I also quickly want to mention that again, the way Karkat is thinking about the different houses are merely a by-product of his upbringing and rumors he's heard. I, the author don’t think that way. So, when Karkat associates Slytherins with wolves, that's just because he's a dramatic child that believes everything Kankri told him and from what Karkat can tell how Caliborn acts.

Over and out - TL!

#homestuck #homestuck fanfiction #karkat vantas #dave strider #chapter 7 #homestuck harry potter crossover #homestuck at hogwarts

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craftyandy · 5 years

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unlucky saeven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6kr0r-QcWE&feature=youtu.be early access new game friday start...also english isn't done being spell checked and refined yet. should be fun.

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kristallioness · 7 years

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Trial by fire

Summary: After an explosion sets almost 3 floors of the hospital on fire, Aang and Katara need to act fast to save each other, bring a lost patient to safety and prevent the building from burning down completely.

Word count: 8,246

Author's note: This turned out much darker than I'd expected, given the name of the prompt, which sounds like something fluffy. Oh no, this is far from it.. I accidentally happened to watch "Grey's Anatomy", season 13 episode 24 "Ring of Fire", around midnight on June the 1st. Everything that happened in there inspired this story. I've never written such an action-packed fanfic before. I can't believe I finished it in 3 days, without editing much. Dalia's name means "fate" or "luck" in Lithuanian. *sends love to my neighbours* Sironah's name is associated with healing and children, I added the 'h' at the end to give her a more authentic Water Tribe vibe. In my headcanon, the first hospital established by Katara was among some of the highest buildings in Republic City, similarly to Cabbage Corp. Also, Aang and Katara are in their early twenties, so they're wearing the same clothes as seen in the "Old Friends" poster.

----------x----------

The last thing she remembered was a rampaging firebender, who was most likely one of her healer's patients, setting nearly everything on fire in the hallway. Until he reached the closet where some of their backup equipment was kept, namely oxygen tanks, dozens of them. Most of the healers nearby were either knocked out, helping the wounded get to the lower floors since that whole level was on fire now, or a few unlucky ones closest to the epicenter of the explosion - lying dead on the ground. And Katara was one of them. Not dead, but a person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right across from the storage room, in another healer's office.

When her diamond blue eyes barely opened, she felt dizzy and confused. What the flameo had just happened? She didn't move, she didn't even raise her head, she just looked at different directions with her eyes. She saw medical instruments scattered on the floor, broken glass, ashes left from burnt piles of documents. She didn't react until she saw blazing orange flames sneaking closer to the door as well as smoke coming in from the tightly sealed edges. She gasped in horror as everything came back to her. She'd been waiting for her employee to return when she heard an explosion that knocked her down to the ground.

When she rose, she released a loud cry of pain and fell back halfway, supporting the weight of her upper body on her left arm. Her eyes grew wide - the skin had severe burns all over, she'd need water to heal those as soon as possible if she didn't want to have so many scars. The sound of stuff cracking in the heat outside of the office reminded her that this wasn't the time to think about minor problems - she needed to get out of there, fast.

Katara grabbed the edge of the desk, carefully rising up to make sure she doesn't have a dizzy spell. The last thing she needed now was to faint again. The fire had already cut off the escape route to the elevator in the spacious waiting room. She'd have to go out through the staircase. It was a matter of minutes when the fire would spread all around the doorway of the office she was trapped in. Katara stared at the back of the room, she cursed a moment later. She was in a regular doctor's office, which meant that there weren't any huge pots filled with water for healing purposes, such as healers like her would've had. There won't be enough time to help anyone else now, she'd just have to run for her life.

With that, Katara turned the knob and opened the door. She was greeted by raging heat and an enormous amount of smoke. She covered her nose and mouth with her good arm and gazed at the damage before her. It was surprisingly quiet, nobody was screaming and she didn't hear any movement, other than the long corridor sizzling and items getting swallowed by the fire. She couldn't just leave anyone if there happened to be survivors, so she decided to head towards the waiting room for as long as she could in her condition.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" she shouted repeatedly and coughed in between, almost reaching the area of the waiting lounge. The furniture and reception area was engulfed in flames, the path to the elevator blocked by the ceiling that had collapsed right in front of it, and not a soul to be seen. The situation was getting critical, so Katara decided to leave while she still had the chance.

"Help!" a faint scream came from the other end of the corridor.

"Oh no.." Katara turned around in shock. It was a child's voice.

"Hello!? Where are you?" she ran straight back inside the burning area of that floor, somehow managing to evade the bigger flames while making her way to the other side.

"HELP!" the cry was a lot louder now. When Katara reached the end of the hallway, the furry edges at the bottom of her tunic had caught fire and she patted them to put it out. After making sure that she herself wasn't in danger, Katara peeked inside another office, the one where she'd heard the shriek emanate from, and there she was. A little girl, not more than 5 years old, hidden in the corner of the room, behind a huge desk. Katara immediately ran to her and squatted down right in front of her.

"Hello, there! I'm Katara, and I'm a healer. What's your name?" she cupped the child's cheek, wiping away her tears.

"D-Dalia," the girl barely stuttered out, covering her eyes when they both heard a loud thud that shook the ground beneath them.

"Dalia, are you hurt?" the waterbender asked, swiftly searching for any visible injuries, but she shook her head.

"Okay, Dalia, listen to me. There's no need to be afraid. I'm here now and I'm gonna get you out of here safe and sound. I promise you that. Alright? Does that sound like a good plan to you?" Katara tilted her head, attempting to calm the child down and fighting her own nerves at the same time. The little girl nodded.

"Okay, come here," she lifted Dalia into her arms, cradling her tight against her chest so she wouldn't have to see the horrors she was about to go through. But as the two stepped out of the office, they were greeted by another unpleasant surprise.

"Oh my gosh!" Katara's mouth fell wide open. In the midst of dealing with the alarmed child, the ceiling of the waiting lounge in the middle had collapsed even more, every little piece covered in flames and the corridor leading to the exit blocked by large construction details. There was no way she was going to get through that without getting burnt alive.

"It's okay, Dalia. We'll just have to think of something else," Katara stroked the crying girl's head, not sure what that something else would be. If only Toph were there to metalbend the burning metal parts out of the way.

But Toph was outside instead, ordering her officers around to help with the evacuation of the hospital. Her police force and the fire department had arrived five minutes after receiving the first call about the incident, which was remarkably fast. Hundreds of healers, doctors and patients had already found their way out of the burning building, but a lot of them were still on their way, especially the ones escaping from the higher floors. At least the majority of the bedridden patients were located at the lower floors where the emergency room and private wards were. The higher grounds were occupied by specialists, family physicians or highly ranked employees, with Katara's office being at the very top.

Since the explosion took place on the 40th floor, the firefighters couldn't possibly reach the fire from the streets down below. They sent a smaller force of firebenders and waterbenders inside, who would go up the staircase and wouldn't disturb the evacuees, since it was the only escape route being used by both. The first ones would begin extinguishing the bigger flames whereas the second ones would put out the remainders with the water they were carrying in their pouches to prevent further damage to the entire building, and the possibility of it collapsing from the middle.

By the time the firefighters reached the 37th floor, which had caught smaller flames from the 38th floor, to begin putting out the fire and the majority of the evacuation was beginning to end, Aang finally arrived at the scene. He'd been busy on Air Temple Island when he'd heard of the fire at the hospital seven minutes later after it'd started. Toph had made an urgent phone call because as the Avatar he'd be a much needed asset to the firefighters. She ran to him when she felt Appa land near some of the police carriages. The sky bison released a loud growl, startling some of the ostrich horses harnessed to the vehicles. He didn't like the smell of smoke nor the sight of fire high up in the air.

"Toph, what's the status?" Aang airbended himself off from the top of Appa's head. The two of them headed closer to the entrance while Toph explained the situation.

"The workers are all almost accounted for, some of them are checking on the patients to make sure nobody was left behind. They've made enough room for patients who are in critical condition on the street at the western side of the building. My metalbenders are counting the other visitors to help them find their relatives."

"Any casualties?"

"So far.. 4 healers and 2 visitors. Hopefully that'll be all of them," Toph sighed, slightly hanging her head. They reached the crowd of people who were supposed to visit their respectful healers on this regular day. One middle-aged woman seemed to be rather hysterical when talking to the metalbenders.

"My baby! Where's my baby!? Please, you've gotta help me find her!"

"Calm down, ma'am. We're going to find your child. Where were you when you got separated?"

"I was right where the explosion happened. Some healer grabbed me from my shoulders and dragged me out of there. She said I was in complete shock, I couldn't speak, I-I.. I didn't even remember that Dalia was still somewhere in there! Oh, why didn't I say something?" the poor woman broke down in tears, falling down on her knees in front of the officer. Aang heard the entire thing and felt sorry for her. He hoped that the child would be found amongst the other visitors soon. Another metalbender ran straight towards his Chief and the Avatar.

"Chief Beifong, I'm afraid we have a problem. The firefighters radioed that the 38th floor is in danger of collapsing and they might get trapped between the metal frames falling from the ceiling."

"Send ten metalbenders up there for backup, immediately! I want that fire to be put out as soon as possible. If there's anyone trapped on any of those floors, I want them out alive!"

"Yes, Chief! There's one more thing. The healers finished their head count, everybody who should be out of that building is present, except for one healer.." the officer averted his solemn gaze to the airbender's worried grey eyes.

"Who?" Aang's heart sank, but he still dared to ask.

"Master Katara."

At that moment, time seemed to slow down. Aang looked up towards the 40th floor of the hospital, flames now visibly growing stronger from the air intruding inside from one of the many broken windows. The black plume of smoke rising high into the sky, so high that he could see it when he was still back on Air Temple Island, jumping on his animal guide to fly to the source of trouble. But now, he knew that Katara was still in there. His Katara. She could've already been dead, for all they knew. But Aang hated that thought, he had to focus on the positive, hope that Katara was still breathing if there was any chance of getting her out of there alive. He clenched his hands into fists, his tattoos nearly glowing white from his fury and determination to save the love of his life. He really had to hold himself back in order not to enter the Avatar State. This was a time for him to have a clear head and come up with a well-thought-out course of action. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright, we're going to need a plan."

Katara had no idea when and if any firefighters would reach them. She'd closed the door leading to the doctor's office where she'd found Dalia to keep the fire out and to buy them some time. The little girl was sitting in the doctor's blue armchair behind the desk while observing what the nearly panic-stricken woman was frantically searching for. She'd looked through most of the cabinets and found some larger blankets.

"Dalia? Are you okay back there?" Katara asked after another minute had passed, her head buried deep inside another cupboard.

"Don't worry! We're going to get out of here soon, now I just need.." she threw a pile of smaller blankets on the floor.

"Water!" she closed the cabinet doors and started looking around the room, spotting a sink on the opposite wall, just like the one in her office.

"Please, give me a few drops.." Katara begged, turning the faucet and waiting for something, anything to come out of the pipe. It took a minute or two before a narrow stream of water began running into the sink.

"Yes! Yes-yes-yes!" the waterbender clapped her hands together and jumped from excitement, finally something she could work with. It definitely wasn't enough for her to put out the entire fire and she reckoned it was too dangerous to stay put since the ceiling had already collapsed in the waiting room. It was only a matter of time before the floor beneath their feet could fall down or the already unstable ceiling above them might crush them. She went back to the pile of blankets, picked up a medium one and the biggest one she could find to bring those back to the sink.

"Dalia, we're getting out of here. I'm gonna make these blankets wet so the fire outside won't hurt us. I'll wrap you inside this smaller one and pull the bigger one on top of my head. Then we're gonna run through the hallway and reach the staircase on the other side, unharmed. Are you okay with that plan?" Katara peeked at the terrified little girl from behind her shoulder. Dalia merely hummed in agreement, there wasn't much else to say.

"Come here.. this might feel a little cold," Dalia hopped off the armchair and stood in front of Katara, who squatted down to wrap the wet blanket around her. The little girl shivered a bit when the cold fabric touched her skin. Before she was wrapped up nicely like a baby, she screamed and hid her face against Katara's chest. Something else blew up in the corridor with a sharp bang, which forced Katara to have a slight scare as well.

"Shh-shh! It's okay. We're getting out of here now," she patted the child's back, holding her in her embrace for a couple of seconds until she calmed down. Katara wrapped one wet blanket around her waist like a skirt and pulled the other one over her head. Then she lifted Dalia into her arms exactly like the first time, letting her bury into the crook of her neck so one of her hands would remain free to waterbend some water onto the fire in their path.

"Okay, Dalia, you can close your eyes now if you don't wanna look," Katara said, allowing the girl to wrap her arms tightly around her neck to hold on. She turned the faucet and used the streaming water to slowly form a thin protective cloak around their bodies. It'd have to do. Once they were completely covered with water, she opened the door to begin their escape.

"The explosion took place on the 40th floor, so that's the most unstable level right now. We're working on stabilizing the lower two floors so we can enter the next ones," one of the metalbenders explained.

"Okay, so the firefighters and Aang can't enter the building until the metalbenders already inside have secured the entire 38th floor, which would help prevent the building from falling apart," Toph said, holding a hand on the map that contained illustrations of the hospital's construction plans.

"That's right, Chief."

"How far are they?" Aang asked and watched how the officer radioed the task force, waiting nervously for them to answer the call. It took a few seconds, but finally there was an answer.

"..Given the impact of the explosion, the 38th floor is remarkably strong to have sustained it. The ceiling hasn't collapsed, but we added some metal structure to strengthen the walls just in case. We're almost near the end of the eastern wing, only a few smaller fires that need to be put out. We'll be entering the 39th floor in about ten minutes."

"Any survivors?" the airbender interrupted, but the officer let him speak into the radio.

"No.. None yet. We'll make contact when we're ready to enter the 39th."

"Copy that," the officer put the radio away, Aang lowered his head for a moment.

"It's time to brief the firefighters about our plan," he said before turning around and walking over to a group of more than 20 men and women, firebenders and waterbenders, ready to assist him.

Katara wished she had some assistance right now more than ever. The eastern end of the hallway stood strong, but the flames had already swallowed half of it. She tried to hurry because as soon as they'd stepped into the heat, she could feel how their thin water cloak began turning into steam. The water molecules were being boiled into vapors one by one. Carrying Dalia on her burnt arm, towels blocking her ability to move her body freely while manoeuvring through the burning construction details and waterbending the shield around their bodies at the same time - saying that it was hard would've been an understatement.

When Katara reached the area of the waiting room, the most difficult part of their escape began - stepping over or crawling under long frames of burning metal. The pieces were scattered so chaotically that it was impossible to move through them fast. Katara tried to lift her legs as high as she could to avoid her long tunic from catching fire, especially since her water cloak had practically dissipated around her legs by the time she reached the middle of the lounge. She waterbended some of the remaining liquid from the top of her head down below to protect her feet.

The other end of the corridor leading to the western wing was in her sight, but once she'd climbed over one of the final metal frames, she stopped in her tracks. There were at least ten of those thick details piled up next to the former storage room, blocking their exit completely. She couldn't turn back to fetch more water and they couldn't afford to stand still in the flames that were boiling their water cloak for long. Katara had to kill two birds with one stone, or much rather, one pebble - waterbend a strong enough blow against the metal, which would knock at least half of the pile off from the top so they could climb over the rest, and extinguish the bigger flames so they wouldn't burn themselves while climbing across.

"Dalia, I'm going to put you down now! I need to use the water to remove this metal out of the way. When I say run, run straight over that pile of metal, okay? I'll be right behind you!" Katara yelled to the little girl as she let her stand right next to her. Once Dalia nodded, Katara pulled off their water cloak, hoping that their wet blankets would protect them from the worst. She focused all of her energy and sent their only water bullet towards the tower of the pile, barely knocking down five bigger construction parts towards the western end of the corridor. At least there was an opening. She ran to the now-smaller heap and quickly placed both of her bigger wet blankets on the smouldering metal in the center.

"Run, Dalia!" she shouted and watched how the little girl began climbing over the pile, following her the entire way, risking burning herself even more to spare the child who was holding onto the wet blanket wrapped around her tiny body.

A minute later, they'd both made it over the pile of metal and reached the other end of the hallway, which was filled with smoke and flames covering the walls on either side. The damage hadn't been this bad when Katara had regained consciousness after the explosion. She quickly stood up and picked up Dalia before she began running towards the door leading to the staircase. Kicking it open, she faced another problem.

"No..." Katara gasped, her diamond blue eyes growing wide. The connection between the 39th and 40th floor was cut off by burning debris from the storage room's wall. She didn't have time to think about their next move since something rather hot began warming up her legs and it was becoming harder to breathe. The lower half of her clothing was catching fire, as was the staircase on the higher levels, and the smoke began rising to the top. The waterbender decided to head to the roof, hence she jumped over the broken part of stairs, which the storage room wall had taken along, and landed safely on higher ground.

"Uhh.. it's okay, Dalia! Let's go upstairs instead! We'll be safe there.. at least until someone puts out the fire down here," Katara continued talking to the little girl to remain calm as she hurried up the stairs while coughing the excess smoke out of her lungs. Her speaking helped calm herself down more than the child. She could've finished that thought in another way - and as long as the entire hospital doesn't collapse.

"..As soon as we have the affirmative, the task force will meet us at the window of the leftmost office facing the southern side of the building on the 39th floor. They'll break the glass if it's still intact, or open the window so we can climb in. We'll help put out the bigger fires, the metalbenders will stabilize the entire floor along the way before moving on to the next floor, and we'll all search for any more survivors, including Katara. Any questions?" Aang asked once he'd finished his speech to the group of firefighters and officers. The members of the rescue workers shared a few glances, but otherwise remained silent.

"Good. Let's move out, people! We have the world's best healer to save!" he ordered and waited for the group of benders to run on one of the police airships Toph had sent specifically for their mission. Once everybody was safely on board, he began heading up to join them, but was stopped by someone who'd grabbed his right hand.

"Aang, wait!" Toph exclaimed, her tone sounding rather emotional. She waited for the airbender to swiftly turn around, then she pulled him into a hug.

"Bring Sugar Queen out of there.. Good luck!" Toph whispered into his ear and gave him a strong pat on his back, after which she released her hold. With one foot back on the street, Aang smiled, hoping that she could sense him doing it.

"I will."

Just as the airship started taking off, with the door on the side still open and Aang holding onto the edge, gazing down at the crowd waving them off, Toph gave him a thumbs up. He knew she couldn't see it, but he returned the gesture to her and everyone else cheering them on. One of the women among the rescue workers, a waterbender and a firefighter, kept staring at the Avatar. She could've been in her mid-twenties at best, not much older than him. Aang noticed once he leaned back inside, waiting for the airship to reach their destination high in the sky. He stared back at her for awhile, but his face softened, his grey eyes filled with kindness urged the woman to talk to him. She gathered enough courage to speak what was on her mind.

"Avatar Aang? Are you sure you wanna come with us? It could be dangerous.. I mean, we've handled these kinds of things before and-" her blabbering was cut short when Aang supported his hand on her shoulder. The young lady jumped a bit from the surprise.

"Are you married?" he asked directly, she gulped before answering his question.

"N-no.. but I have a boyfriend."

"Would you be willing to do anything to save him if it was him in there?"

The firefighter looked behind the Avatar, seeing smoke coming out from some of the broken windows on the 39th floor. They were in position.

"Yes."

"Well, right now, my wife's still somewhere in there.. I'm going in, too," Aang smiled back at her, hoping that she understood his answer. The metalbending officer, who had come up with the plan together with him and Chief Beifong, radioed the task force inside.

"Are we ready to go?"

"Yes, sir! But there's a problem - the staircase leading to the 40th floor is blocked by debris. The storage room wall must've collapsed to the inside of the stairs. We'll need some help to clear it out of the way."

"Copy that," the officer put the radio back in his shoulder bag and turned to his team.

"Attention, everyone! We should be able to enter the building within a few minutes. However, I've received news that the staircase leading to the 40th floor is blocked by debris. Once we're inside, I need some of our metalbenders to stay put and begin clearing that away in order to gain access to the higher floors as soon as we're done on the 39th."

Just then, Aang noticed three members of the task force open the window across from the airship.

"It's time to go!" he shouted to the group aboard. The officer ran right next to him on the open door, metalbending a cable between the airship and the outer wall of the hospital. After that, each firefighter was carried into the building in a metalbender's arms, who slid down on the cable and landed safely inside the office. Aang was the last one to jump and enter the building.

The door leading to the roof opened with a loud clang when Katara kicked it open with her foot. She barely managed to take a few steps further before she fell down on her knees and broke down in a horrible coughing fit, still cradling Dalia in her arms the entire time. Having caught her breath again, she wiped her eyes and stared at the familiar skyline in front of them. She'd never realized what a beautiful sight it was.

"Huh, we made it.. Dalia, we made it! We're alive!" Katara exclaimed, almost laughing in the end, whereas a few tears rolled down her cheeks from the relief. At least they were out of danger for now. She slowly removed the dried up blanket from around the child's body. Her heart skipped a beat - she saw that the girl's eyes were closed, like she'd fallen asleep.

"Oh no.. No-no-no-no-no! Not now.. Dalia? Dalia, wake up! Don't fall asleep!" Katara patted her cheeks to keep her awake for as long as she could. She examined her body for external injuries a second time, but didn't notice anything. It wasn't until then that it clicked in her head - they were on the 40th floor, the rightmost office of the eastern wing. She knew who the doctor was in that office.

"What medications are you on? What does your doctor give you?" the waterbender shouted, slightly shaking the child.

"In.. inch.. ins-lin," the girl muttered before losing consciousness. She needed insulin, she was diabetic. Katara couldn't afford to wait for long, she laid Dalia down on the ground and ran back to the door leading to the staircase. She opened it and attempted to go back down, at least so far that she could reach the floor of her own office to fetch the necessary medicine. She didn't even take 20 steps before she ran back outside into the fresh air, closing the door behind her to stop the fire from growing. The thick smoke blurred her vision and irritated her lungs too much for her to dive straight in. This wasn't going to work, she'd have to find another way down.

Katara ran to the edge of the roof and looked down, wondering whether the firefighters had already arrived. She had no idea how long they'd been trapped inside. She saw even more people surrounding the place - her employees and patients arranged on two sides of the building, a group of police officers trying to keep the crowd of bystanders further away from around the hospital's perimeter. Even an airship was flying not too far away from the roof, probably near the 40th floor.

"HELP! WE'RE UP HERE! ANYONE? HELP US!" Katara began screaming from the top of her lungs, waving her hands above her head in the hope that someone would notice her tiny figure. She tried for at least a minute, but it seemed that not even the people aboard the airship could hear her. Her voice faded into nothingness halfway down and the propellers of the airship were creating too much noise. Katara ran back to Dalia and checked her pulse, she was fading away, too.

"No-no-no.. Don't you dare leave me! Dalia!" Katara's voice cracked when she said the girl's name. There had to be something she could do to save this child's life. She held Dalia against her chest almost as if she was her own daughter and looked up at the cloudy sky with tears forming in the corners of her diamond blue eyes, praying for the spirits to spare this girl. Her sobbing ceased a moment later.

"Wait a minute.. that's it!" Katara let Dalia go again and stood up, doing a full circle to spot the clouds nearest to the rooftop of the hospital. She lifted her arms and began summoning the water closer to the southern side of the building. She noticed the awful burns from the explosion that'd destroyed the sarashi wrapped around her left arm and damaged a lot of the skin underneath the cloth. Either she'd already forgotten about them or the scar tissue had turned completely numb and her body had shut down the pain to focus on more important tasks, such as staying alive.

Once she'd gathered enough clouds into a big soft cottony heap, she waterbended them into different parts, forming a specific word out of each one. Her message was huge and ready two minutes later. Finally, Katara ran to the opposite edge of the roof to guide a couple of heavier and thicker clouds to her, forming a rather enormous amount of water into a round ball. Holding the water ball above her head, she ran back to the southern side and stared down at the crowd around the hospital. Where should she land it? Somewhere someone would notice. Not the area the patients and her employees occupied, it'd scare off the crowd as well. She decided - the police it is then - and waterbended the liquid down like a short, but heavy shower.

"Has everyone located their friends and family?" Toph asked one of her metalbenders in charge of making a list of the visitors.

"Almost, Chief. One mother hasn't seen her daughter since the explosion. We radioed the task force to keep a look out for a 5-year-old girl hiding in any of the offices on any of those floors."

"Good job-" Toph didn't manage to finish her sentence when a sudden dose of water fell on top of her head, including most of the metalbenders near her as well. She felt how a wet circle formed on the ground around them, the shape was too neat.

"What the flameo!? Where did this sudden rain come from!? Last I heard there wasn't a rain cloud in sight!"

"Chief, look up there! It's a message!" the metalbender she'd addressed earlier pointed to the sky. She knitted her brows and grimaced at him. She'd been the leader of the Republic City Police Department for a short period of time, hence why many of her workers tended to forget that she was blind.

"Well, tell me what it says, you idiot!"

"Oh, sorry! It says: 'HELP! WE'RE UP HERE!'."

Toph's pale emerald green eyes grew wide and a smile formed on her lips. She felt like a huge rock had just fallen off her shoulders.

"Katara.. of course. She's alive."

By then, the task force inside had almost finished putting out the fire and stabilized the entire 39th floor, which would've collapsed from the center if they hadn't gotten there when they did. Aang was helping the firebenders extinguish the last bigger flames in the eastern wing while some of the metalbenders braced the walls around them to keep them safe. Some of the waterbenders used the opportunity to refill their water skins with more water from any working sinks in the rooms. The other half of the metalbenders had dug a big enough hole through the debris, gaining all of them access to the 40th floor. Soon they'd be ready to move on to the worst level.

To be honest, Aang wasn't sure whether he wanted to move on. With each construction detail moved out of the way or used as a support beam, every office briefly searched through, his dread grew. They still hadn't located Katara. If she really was trapped on the next floor, anything could've already happened to her. A metal frame knocking her unconscious, breathing in too much poisonous gases...

"Aang! Do you copy? Katara's on the roof!" Toph's shouting was heard from the radio inside the shoulder bag the officer was carrying. The airbender turned around so fast the metalbender didn't have time to blink before the radio was already in his hands.

"Toph? Can you copy that?"

"Katara's on the roof!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, you dunderhead! She just waterbended a cloud into rain and poured it all over us down here to get our attention! There's a message in the clouds saying that. What else do you want for proof!? Go! Now!"

Aang dropped the radio and ran faster than the wind, back to the office where their task force had entered and where the airship was waiting for them. He climbed outside and stood on the windowsill, searching for something from the inside of his bright red shirt.

"Avatar Aang? Is everything alright? Do you need something?" one of the officers aboard the airship noticed he'd returned. The airbender was busy blowing a tiny bison-shaped whistle.

"Just my sky bison," he replied once he'd released a loud enough sound wave. He looked straight up and saw the message made out of clouds, as well as a familiar figure waving her hands over the edge. It was her.

"Katara... Oh, thank goodness!" Aang sighed in relief and rubbed his eyes as a few tears of joy were scattered by the strong gusts of wind, seeing how Appa approached his location. Once the sky bison was close enough, the airbender gave himself a boost and landed on top of his head, instantly grabbing the reins and guiding him straight upwards.

"Appa, yip-yip!"

Once Katara saw her husband flying towards the roof, she understood that they'd seen her message. She was just as relieved as he was to have been found. She ran back to pick up Dalia. Appa released a loud growl as soon as he'd spotted Katara in the middle of the roof, crouched over someone much smaller than her. Aang landed his animal guide safely and joined her a moment later, tackling her with a surprise hug.

"Katara! You're okay!" he exclaimed as he fell down on his knees, holding her in his embrace for a few seconds. He released his hold when she didn't respond, she didn't even budge to look at him. Appa took a few steps closer and grunted, gently nudging her back with his big wet nose. It wasn't until then that the airbender saw how the waterbender was cradling a little girl, who looked just as grimy as she did. Katara had an ear pressed to her chest, she could hear the child's heartbeat become fainter by the minute. She gazed up at her husband with two heartbroken diamond blue eyes.

"Aang, we've gotta move. Dalia needs insulin right away."

"Then let's move!" Aang declared and swiftly lifted both girls into his arms, airbending all three of them onto Appa's head.

"Appa, yip-yip!" he grabbed the reins with his right hand to guide the sky bison back down towards the street, holding a weak Katara steady with the other one. During their descent, Aang couldn't keep his eyes off her nor the child in her burnt arms. He was mostly shocked by the horrible burns on her left arm, not even he had hurt her as badly when he'd first tried firebending. But the girl in her arms, her name sounded familiar.

"You said her name is Dalia, right?" he wondered, watching how Katara knit her brows while she held her index and middle finger on the child's wrist, mumbling something to herself. She was counting, focused on her pulse. When she was finished, she nodded.

"Why do you ask?"

"It means we've found our last missing person.. besides you, of course," Aang tried to lighten up the mood. He was glad that Katara glanced at him for a second, giving him a weak smile in return. They'd reached the front of the hospital by then. Aang landed Appa in a larger open space behind the line of metalbenders protecting the medical workers and their patients on the western and southern side of the building. He didn't get a chance to grab Katara because she'd already hopped off from his lap and slid down the right side of Appa's head. For someone who'd been through hell for the past hour or two, she had an unbelievable amount of strength left in her body.

"I need some help over here!" Katara shouted to her staff, a group of three healers met her halfway as she hurried towards them.

"What's the matter?"

"This girl needs an insulin shot and pure oxygen immediately," Katara explained, gently handing the child over into another healer's arms.

"Oh my goodness! Master Katara, you're burnt!" the other healer grabbed her left hand and examined her skin.

"We must heal this right away if you don't want-"

"I don't care about having scars! Just get Dalia the help she needs!" Katara pulled her hand back angrily and ran after the healer who'd taken the girl with her to a nearby empty hospital bed. The two healers she'd yelled at stared at each other for a moment before joining their scary boss and co-worker, followed by Aang. They watched how Katara searched for the proper syringe from a box of medications under the bed while her employee placed an oxygen mask on the child's face. Two professionals doing their finest.

"Is that my baby!? Dalia! I want to see my daughter!" a woman started to panic in front of the metalbenders, who then attempted to restrain her. Luckily, both Aang and Katara noticed the incident.

"Katara, that's Dalia's mother!" the airbender pointed towards the woman, waiting for his wife to finish giving the child her life-saving injection.

"No! Let her through! She's the patient's mother!" Katara turned around and screamed to the officers, who backed off and allowed the hysterical lady to pass.

"Oh dear! No!.. Spirits, don't let her die!" the distraught mother ran to her daughter's side and grabbed her tiny hand, peppering it with kisses.

"It's going to be okay, ma'am," Katara grabbed the woman's shoulders to calm her down. She was shaking like a leaf compared to the master waterbender, who remained surprisingly still.

"She needs-"

"Insulin, I know. I'm a healer.. Master Katara. She told me before she fainted when we were up on the roof. I've just given her a dose. She should wake up any moment now," Katara tenderly ran her hand over Dalia's chest, feeling her breathing and much stronger heartbeat thumping against the palm of her hand. The group anxiously waited for her to regain consciousness, not daring to move a muscle as if it would've been fatal for the little girl. Half a minute passed in silence before Dalia's lashes started to quiver and she revealed her gorgeous dark brown eyes. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

"Mommy.. you're here," Dalia said, after which she coughed a little. Her mother leaned over and hugged her as tight as she could, sobbing into the pillow under her daughter's head. Katara couldn't hold back her tears any longer either, so she turned around to bury her face into Aang's chest, who gifted her with a kiss on her temple. The girl's mother looked back at her daughter's saviour crying next to her husband.

"Thank you.. thank you so much, Master Katara! You brought my baby back!" her voice quavered so much it broke Katara's heart. She barely managed a smile and a nod as she wiped away her tears.

"You're welcome.." her own voice cracked similarly, but Aang noticed there was something else to it. Her speech seemed a bit slurred now. Katara's body finally stopped pumping the adrenaline she'd needed to stay alert and act fast. At the sight of Dalia and her mother reunited with three of her healers keeping an eye on the child's condition, she fainted and fell backwards, nearly collapsing on the ground. Luckily, Aang caught her limp body in his arms before she could've hit her head.

"Woah!.. Katara? I need some help!" he frantically looked around them and almost got the other three healers in a tizzy when suddenly someone tapped him on the back. He turned around and stared down at a short elderly woman dressed in a healer's uniform.

"Avatar Aang, I'm healer Sironah. Please come with me. I'll give your wife a checkup," she said with a very sympathetic voice. The airbender glanced at the other healers, who urged him to trust the old lady and go with her. He followed her to one of the many ambulance carriages parked at the side of the hospital. It was a more private as well as a quiet corner right now since most of the medical workers and patients were out on the streets. They chose the vehicle with the calmest ostrich horse harnessed to the front.

Aang gently laid Katara's body on the bed in the back of the ambulance carriage, taking a seat right beside the top of the bed. The healer handed him a slightly wet towel, which he used to wipe off the thick layer of soot on her face. If he didn't know better, she might as well have looked like a coal miner to him. Aang tenderly ran a finger over her clean cheek once he was finished, allowing the healer to place an oxygen mask on her face to help prevent severe carbon monoxide poisoning. He'd forgotten how smooth and beautiful her brown skin was, so dark compared to his pale hand. He noticed a red bump above her left eyebrow. She probably got it from the impact of the explosion when she fell down.

"Would you be a dear and undo her tunic for me?"

"Yes, of course," Aang stood up as much as he could in the cramped space to release the two clips holding the edges of Katara's dark blue tunic together underneath her short-sleeved water tribe coat. He revealed most of her bare skin on her upper chest so the healer could check her breathing. By the time the old woman was listening to her, she started to regain consciousness.

She felt something on her face, fresh air caressing her nose and lips, and.. yup, definitely something cold on her chest. She flicked her lashes a few times, sensing someone brushing his fingers across her forehead.

"Katara? How are you feeling?" Aang whispered in a loving tone. He'd noticed her eyes trembling a little before she revealed those pretty blue diamonds that stared at the top of the ambulance carriage. The first thing she saw was one of her eldest healers checking her over with a stethoscope. The kind old woman offered her a smile. Of course, Sironah.. She recognized her. Katara raised her head to look up behind her, meeting a pair of familiar grey eyes staring right back at her. Aang was sitting on a small chair behind the bed, which was meant for the ambulance worker who had to deal with the patient while riding back to the hospital. Her breathing was a bit rapid, she even came down with a nasty coughing fit, but she was so glad to see him.

"Ah-aang.." she exhaled and slowly tried to raise her left arm to cup his cheek, but startled once she saw her awful burns.

"Shh-shh! It's okay, sweetie. It's all over now. You're in an ambulance carriage, the healer's auscultating you. Just stay quiet for a minute," Aang grabbed her hand with his own and lowered it back to her side so she wouldn't hurt herself. Katara obeyed his orders and tried to relax, letting Sironah listen to her heart like a good patient. She wondered how she ended up in the ambulance carriage, the last thing she remembered was reviving Dalia. After that, everything was a complete blur. She coughed again.

"You have a steady and strong heartbeat, Master Katara," the healer chuckled and put her stethoscope away. Next, she moved the brown belt around Katara's waist a bit higher and grabbed the white fur trimming on the lower half of her water tribe coat, flipping it over to the edge of the belt.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm just going to check your tummy," she explained, after which she summoned some water from her pouch and covered her hands with it like gloves, laying them on Katara's stomach. The liquid began to glow and the healer moved it around in slow circles. Aang didn't quite understand why they'd need to examine her abdomen, but he put it down to the part of a routine procedure. Now that Sironah wasn't listening to her, he could speak more freely to distract her and let the healer carry on with the examination at the same time.

"Katara.. I was so afraid of losing you," Aang stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, she blinked at him. She took a deep breath before answering.

"Me too. But there's no way I would leave you when we're still so young," she grinned. Aang laughed a little, he was beginning to wonder whether such a force of nature, such a terrible disaster that could stop her even existed. He brushed a few loose hairs to the side of her face. This must've been one of the scariest hours in her entire life, yet she still managed to see the positive side. Aang guessed that his optimism had really grown on her. Both of their attention turned to Sironah, who'd finished examining her stomach.

"You're a lucky woman, Master Katara. Everything's alright with the baby," she confirmed, a wide smile decorating her face as she lowered the coat and pulled the belt back near Katara's waist. Aang's mouth fell wide open whereas the blood circulating Katara's cardiovascular system rushed to her cheeks.

"The.. b-baby?" he repeated.

"Umm, Sironah? Is it okay if I sit up?" Katara interrupted before the old woman could explain. She realized the mistake she'd inadvertently made and waved it off.

"Oh, silly me!.. Of course you can, dear. As long as you're strong enough," Sironah grabbed Katara's hands and helped her sit up. Aang supported her from her back just in case. Once she was sitting up straight, she patted the empty side of the bed to invite him to sit right next to her. The healer gave the two some room to manoeuvre. Aang stood up and almost bumped his head against the top of the carriage multiple times while moving to Katara's right side to take a seat. When the couple had found a cosy position, Sironah stepped back in front of Katara and gently grabbed her left arm to begin healing her burns. She really got a lot of them when running through the fire, but she'd received the majority from the explosion.

The two stared at the old woman working on her injuries in complete silence for an awkwardly long minute. Katara was the first one to avert her gaze back at Aang. He stared deep into her diamond blue eyes, she could tell that he was in shock. She was blushing the entire time.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. I just found out this morning. Aang, sweetie.. I'm pregnant."

Another longer pause, Aang didn't seem to find the right words to say.

"Y-you.. you're pregnant?"

Katara smiled and nodded. He still couldn't believe it. The airbender hesitantly laid his hand on the waterbender's belly and gently rubbed a small circle around it. She placed her right hand on his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"We're going to have a baby," Katara said one more time. Tears rolled down Aang's cheeks. He pulled her into his embrace, as close as he could without disturbing the healer working on her arm, and they cried into each other's shoulders.

#Kataang Week #clouds #Kataangtag #Kataang #Aang #Katara #Toph Beifong #ATLA and TLOK #my fanfiction #mine #shards of Kristal

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niche-gamer · 5 years

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Furry Adventure Game "Unlucky Seven" Gets Console Ports in 2020 https://nichegamer.com/2019/08/18/furry-adventure-game-unlucky-seven-gets-console-ports-in-2020/

#art game studios #puzzling dream #ultimate games #unlucky seven

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oneangrygamer · 5 years

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Unlucky Seven, Furry Mystery Game Is Headed To Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Unlucky Seven, Furry Murder-Mystery Game Is Headed To Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One | #Furries #Xbox #Nintendo #PlayStation

Puzzling Dream Games is prepping to release Unlucky Seven on PC on August 30th. However, Puzzling Dream has teamed up port house Sonka S.A., and they will be working together to release the game on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch at some point in the future. (more…)

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#Mystery Game #Nintendo Switch #PC #PS4 #Unlucky Seven #Xbox One

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jamesbyerj · 5 years

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Unlucky Seven will bring out your inner flesh-eating furry

A story of love, hatred, and of a "craving for human flesh" with furry characters. Published first at Unlucky Seven will bring out your inner flesh-eating furry

#Video Games #PC Gaming

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i-am-very-very-tired · 7 years

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Home News US Home Sport UK Showbiz US Showbiz Australia Home Femail Health Sci & Tech Video Money Travel Discount Codes Login | Join now Desktop site Femail Share this articleFacebook Twitter e-mail SMS WhatsApp How can I cure rhinitis? By Dr Rosemary Leonard 00:00 BST 09 Oct 1993, updated 09:09 BST 24 Apr 2002 Facebook Twitter e-mail SMS WhatsApp 0 comments In allergic rhinitis, the lining of the nose becomes inflamed in response to breathing in certain substances, known as allergens. Often, as in your case, the throat is affected too. The most common allergens to cause rhinitis are pollens, which lead to the classic symptoms of hayfever in spring and early summer. Some unlucky people, though, like you, get rhinitis all the year round - a condition known as perennial rhinitis. The most common allergens that provoke perennial rhinitis are house dust mites, animal fur, feathers and mould spores (which, incidentally, are the also the most common causes of asthma). Skin prick testing can help to identify the worst culprits, so ask your doctor if this could be arranged for you. Meanwhile, replace pillows and duvets that contain feathers with ones filled with polyester, cover your mattress with a special anti-allergic cover, and don't let furry animals in your bedroom, or any rooms where there are soft furnishings. The best treatments for allergic rhinitis are steroid nasal sprays, such as Beconase or Flixonase, which help prevent the allergic response responsible for the inflammation. They must be used regularly, every day, for best effect, and you may have to continue with treatment for years. Anti-histamine tablets can help too - it's worth trying different brands to find which ones suits you best, then get a large supply on prescription from your GP. The most specific treatment for allergic rhinitis is immunotherapy. This involves repeated injections of a tiny amount of allergen, with the aim of desensitising your immune system. This type of treatment is only carried out in specialist clinics, as it can cause a sudden, severe allergic reaction. However, if your symptoms are severe, it would be worthwhile asking your GP for a referral. Facebook Twitter e-mail SMS WhatsApp 0 comments Home Showbiz Femail Sport NEXT STORIES1/30 A real cat burglar! Viral video captures cheeky feline's hilarious reaction after being caught red-handed with a piece of stolen fish -... 'If you value your life keep the f*** out of Islam': Loose Women star Saira Khan receives death threat after posting Instagram... 'I don't need a house': US woman sells all her possessions and converts a van into a home to avoid paying expensive rent (and... Queen Maxima is all smiles at a homeless centre in The Netherlands as she steps out for the first time since her father... What does your clutter say about YOU? It all depends where you hide your hoard, says an intriguing new book Are these the most GENIUS hacks ever? 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askthenewhopespeak · 7 years

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Natalie busted open the door to his room, bucket in one hand and deck of cards in the other. “HEY, MARUYAMA! LISTEN UP, ASSHOLE, ME BEING SICK IS PROBABLY YOUR FAULT, SO I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS AND THEN WE’RE GONNA PLAY GO FISH. GOT IT?”

Daichi gave a weak thumbs up. “Did you bring another blanket in that bucket, Martinez, because I’m freezing right now,” he asked, gesturing towards the chairs set up by his bed.

Natalie shook her head. “No, but I’m an actual human furnace, so don’t worry. Gimme your hand, you can help me cool down and I can warm me up,” she said, giving him a weak smile. She walked over to his bed, looking down. “Sit up. It’s hard to play cards when one person is in a chair and the other’s in a bed.”

“Yeah, can do,” Daichi mumbled, pushing himself up. He set his pillows up in a way to support him. “Alright, that better?”

“Sure is,” she said, pulling herself up onto his bed. She set the bucket beside her, pulling out the cards. “If you very too cold, I can try and find another blanket.”

Daichi shrugged. “I’ll live. Although, after this, I’m really getting a coat.” He sits up a little more, pulling the blanket even higher. “Alright, ready to go.”

Natalie smiled. “Fair. I’m considering getting a blazer. Like…I’m just saying, we’d both look killer in suits,” she said, starting to shuffle and deal the cards.

“Hey, we’re despairs, right? We’d literally be killers in suits,” Daichi added. A wry grin worked its way across his face.

Natalie grinned, weakly punching his shoulder. “You fucking son of a bitch idiot. You suck.”

Daichi snorted. “Ouch. I put all this work in my comedy and-” He broke off laughing. “That… was bad.”

Natalie smiled. “Yeah, just as bad as you. Anyway, you know how to play, right?”

“We’re playing go fish, right?” Daichi grinned. “Because if that’s the case, then absoooolutely.”

“God, you sound high. But, yeah. Let’s get started!” She cheered, holding up her hand to look at it.

Daichi does the same. “You starting or..?” He trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

Natalie shrugged. “Sure. Let’s see…do you have any eights?”

“Damn, yeah, I do,” Daichi cursed, handing her the card. “You got any twos?”

Natalie shook her head. “Uh…nope! Go fish!”

“Well, then.” Daichi drew a card. If this was how his luck was going so far, it didn’t seem like it would get any better as it went on.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows. “Um….any sixes?”

Daichi sighs. “You’re shitting me,” he mumbled, handing his 6 over.

Natalie laughed, taking it. “Wow, are you usually this unlucky?”

“I didn’t think I was. But I’m also sick and losing at go fish, so who knows how much luck I really have,” Daichi said. “Alright, so what are the odds that you have a five?”

“Close, but no cigar,” she said, laughing. “Jesus, are you cursed? Or did I just take all your luck?”

“Hah, maybe I am cursed. Would sure explain a lot of shit, honestly,” Daichi replied. He shrugged. “Guess it’s not my day.”

“Alright…uh…sevens?” She asked, haphazardly shuffling through her deck.

“Mmmm…. nope. Go fish,” Daichi said, sorting through his cards.

Natalie drew from the deck, perking up. “Holy shit!” She said, setting down her set of eights.

“No fucking way. Oh christ, you’re not a SHSL Luckster or some shit, right?” Daichi stared at the set. “Because wow.”

Natalie laughed. “Not that I know of. I’m pretty average when it comes to luck, she said, taking moment to puke before turning back to him. "I think I’m just destined to whoop your ass at go fish.”

“May the gods have mercy on my soul,” Daichi mumbled, a small smile starting to grow. He pulls his blanket up to wrap around him easier. “So… got any threes?”

Natalie shook her head. She ran a hand through her,admittedly messy, hair, shuffling through her cards. “Nope. Go fish, bucko.”

“Well, then,” Daichi paused, drawing from the pile of cards. “I didn’t realize you could be bad at Go Fish.”

Natalie grinned. “Neither did I. I knew there were same games you just can’t be bad at, but wow….”

“Maybe I should try other games. You think Old Maid would work out for me?” Daichi shuffled through his cards, checking which ones he had.

“I’m not sure you can play Old Maid with two people… wanna just gossip?” She asked, looking up from her cards. “You can’t exactly lose at gossiping.”

“I’d be fine with gossiping. You got any good dirt on anyone?” Daichi looked up from his cards.

Natalie shrugged. “It’s all pretty pointless stuff. Like, fun fact, Naegi uses chocolate shampoo. Who does that?”

“Chocolate? I always took him as more of a strawberry guy…” Daichi snorted. “Still, how’d you find that out? Did you steal his shampoo?”

Natalie laughed. “You think I’m above a B & E to get info? I just happened to see that, and I haven’t been able to forget it since. Just… chocolate shampoo.”

Daichi chuckled. “Chocolate shampoo… That’s ridiculous…” He smirked. “That being said, I found out where all the whipped cream went a while back. Apparently, a certain doctor is fond of it. Heard about that from a couple teachers in the lounge.”

Natalie stuck her tongue out. “Gross. Nakamura’s like everyone’s lame dad, I didn’t need to hear his weird kinks.”

Daichi shrugged. “Everyone has one, even your lame dad friend. Can’t help it really. Now, got anything else that’s juicy?”

Natalie furrowed her brow. “Let’s see…hm….we’ve all got a bet going round on when Nakamura will castrate himself for what happened to Tsumiki.”

“What like…I have to cut my dick off, it’s the only way. Christ. That’s…hardcore,” Daichi said

Natalie shrugged. “You’ve met Nakamura. He’s an all or nothing guy. Anything else you know, newcomer?”

“Not really… I haven’t had enough to listen to the rumor mill,” Daichi rubbed his chin. “Although… I think Naegi might be a furry.”

Natalie burst out laughing. “Are you kidding? Well, I’ve heard rumor that Tsumiki’s beauty mark is fake. Someone said they saw her putting eyeliner on her cheek.”

Daichi snorted. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, can you blame her? If you do it once, you gotta commit,” She said, grinning a bit.

“What if she forgets one day? Do you think anyone would notice?” Daichi asked.

“Probably Nakamura. Other than that…I don’t know,” she said, nodding in thought.

“I think one of the kids would… probably. Anything else you know?” Daichi tilted his head in curiosity.

“Um…let’s see…I’m pretty sure those Akamatsu kids are related to Kirigiri somehow. I don’t know how, the resemblance is just too uncanny,” she said, frowning a bit.

“You know, the girl… she has hair like Kirigiri’s honestly,” Daichi shrugged.

“Yeah. You got any other info? Like…I heard that Storm got shot. I’m just kinda pissed I’m not the one that shot him.”

Daichi paused. “Storm definitely got shot… and I… have a new boss. No clue who, just know that it’s Red’s boss too.”

Natalie groaned. “Another one of those fuckers? Great. Oh, do you know how I could find Red? I’ve been trying to hook up since V-Day but she’s super hard to find.”

“I mean… I… might have a way. Do you have anything she last touched? Because I probably can make something that will track down her dna signature or something,” Daichi said, shrugging. “It wouldn’t take me that long. Probably. I think I still have the schematics somewhere.”

“I mean. I have her number, so it’s probably way easier than that. I just can’t really do jack shit when it comes to tech. In person manipulation is more my deal, yknow?” She said, giving him a weak smile.

“Oh wait, you have her number? Should have said that first… that’s way easier, we’ll just track her down with that,” Daichi replied, “If you’re comfortable giving it up for a bit, that is.”

Natalie shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ll just tell her I’m on lockdown for the stunt she pulled. So… once we’re over this hell sickness, we’re gonna hunt down my kinda-sorta-girlfriend?”

“Unless you want to start with your family first. Whatever you want to do. Both work.” Daichi shrugged.

“Listen, I at least know Red’s alive. I sincerely doubt my family is, so I might as well try and find her before she’s gone too,” she said, looking down.

“I… yeah, we can do that,” Daichi said, looking away. “Uh… sorry about your family. Don’t know if I said that before.”

Natalie shrugged. “I mean…that’s what they get for resisting. Hell, I’m surprised I’m still alive after joining Storm’s little despair brigade.”

Daichi watched her carefully. Various things were running through his head so he settled on one. “Resisting?”

“Yeah. The Tragedy hit my hometown kinda hard, according to my sister, so…they tried to help save everyone. It really turned out well for my parents, huh?” She said, biting her lip.

Daichi swallowed, his throat dry. That was… unfair. They sounded like innocent people and… he shook the thought away. He couldn’t afford to think like that. “Christ… I’m… I’m really sorry for that,” he said.

Natalie shrugged, trying to keep herself calm. “I’m just thankful she got out alright. You take what you can get, right?”

“Right… right. That’s still… terrible. They sound like good peo-anyways, about Red… It’ll take me maybe a week to get it done,” Daichi said, speaking faster. “I’ll get her location before you even realize it.”

Natalie rubbed her eyes, looking back up at him. “Thanks. To, uh…to repay you, how about I go buy you a jacket? Since you said you were looking for one.”

“That would be nice. I can hide more cigarettes that way,” Daichi said, reaching towards his counter. He was pretty sure he had some tissues.

Natalie laughed a bit. “Alright. It’s a deal, then?” She asked, holding her hand out for him to shake it.

“Deal,” Daichi said, shaking her hand. “Uh… there they are.” He pulled out a couple tissues. “Do you want these or…?”

Natalie shook her head. “No thanks, I’m good. I kinda…cried myself out a long time ago.”

“Oh.. I… yeah, ok.” Daichi set them back on a counter. “I… get that.”

Natalie gave a weak smile before perking up. “Well, now that we’ve talked about our traumatizing dark pasts, what do you say about another game of something, until we pass out?”

“Please,” Daichi grinned awkwardly. “More go fish?”

“You’re on.”

#natalie martinez #daichi maruyama #danganronpa #submission #owlwyng #taketothesky

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readbookywooks · 7 years

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Triwizard Tournament

Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale. Leaning against the window, Harry could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain. Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with its magnificent marble staircase. "Blimey," said Ron, shaking his head and sending water everywhere, "if that keeps up the lake's going to overflow. I'm soak - ARRGH!" A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Ron's head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Ron staggered sideways into Harry, just as a second water bomb dropped - narrowly missing Hermione, it burst at Harry's feet, sending a wave of cold water over his sneakers into his socks. People all around them shrieked and started pushing one another in their efforts to get out of the line of fire. Harry looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again. "PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!" Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling. "Ouch - sorry, Miss Granger -" "That's all right, Professor!" Hermione gasped, massaging her throat. "Peeves, get down here NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upward through her square-rimmed spectacles. "Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves, lobbing a water bomb at several fifth-year girls, who screamed and dived into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived. "I shall call the headmaster!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "I'm warning you, Peeves -" Peeves stuck out his tongue, threw the last of his water bombs into the air, and zoomed off up the marble staircase, cackling insanely. "Well, move along, then!" said Professor McGonagall sharply to the bedraggled crowd. "Into the Great Hall, come on!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped and slid across the entrance hall and through the double doors on the right, Ron muttering furiously under his breath as he pushed his sopping hair off his face. The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in here. Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked past the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, next to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. Pearly white and semitransparent, Nick was dressed tonight in his usual doublet, but with a particularly large ruff, which served the dual purpose of looking extra-festive, and insuring that his head didn't wobble too much on his partially severed neck. "Good evening," he said, beaming at them. "Says who?" said Harry, taking off his sneakers and emptying them of water. "Hope they hurry up with the Sorting. I'm starving." The Sorting of the new students into Houses took place at the start of every school year, but by an unlucky combination of circumstances, Harry hadn't been present at one since his own. He was quite looking forward to it. Just then, a highly excited, breathless voice called down the table. "Hiya, Harry!" It was Colin Creevey, a third year to whom Harry was something of a hero. "Hi, Colin," said Harry warily. "Harry, guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother's starting! My brother Dennis!" "Er - good," said Harry. "He's really excited!" said Colin, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. "I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?" "Er - yeah, all right," said Harry. He turned back to Hermione, Ron, and Nearly Headless Nick. "Brothers and sisters usually go in the same Houses, don't they?" he said. He was judging by the Weasleys, all seven of whom had been put into Gryffindor. "Oh no, not necessarily," said Hermione. "Parvati Patil's twin's in Ravenclaw, and they're identical. You'd think they'd be together, wouldn't you?" Harry looked up at the staff table. There seemed to be rather more empty seats there than usual. Hagrid, of course, was still fighting his way across the lake with the first years; Professor McGonagall was presumably supervising the drying of the entrance hall floor, but there was another empty chair too, and Harry couldn't think who else was missing. "Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Hermione, who was also looking up at the teachers. They had never yet had a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who had lasted more than three terms. Harry's favorite by far had been Professor Lupin, who had resigned last year. He looked up and down the staff table. There was definitely no new face there. "Maybe they couldn't get anyone!" said Hermione, looking anxious. Harry scanned the table more carefully. Tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was sitting on a large pile of cushions beside Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, whose hat was askew over her flyaway gray hair. She was talking to Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department. On Professor Sinistra's other side was the sallow-faced, hook-nosed, greasy-haired Potions master, Snape - Harry's least favorite person at Hogwarts. Harry's loathing of Snape was matched only by Snape's hatred of him, a hatred which had, if possible, intensified last year, when Harry had helped Sirius escape right under Snape's overlarge nose - Snape and Sirius had been enemies since their own school days. On Snape's other side was an empty seat, which Harry guessed was Professor McGonagall's. Next to it, and in the very center of the table, sat Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, his sweeping silver hair and beard shining in the candlelight, his magnificent deep green robes embroidered with many stars and moons. The tips of Dumbledore's long, thin fingers were together and he was resting his chin upon them, staring up at the ceiling through his half-moon spectacles as though lost in thought. Harry glanced up at the ceiling too. It was enchanted to look like the sky outside, and he had never seen it look this stormy. Black and purple clouds were swirling across it, and as another thunderclap sounded outside, a fork of lightning flashed across it. "Oh hurry up," Ron moaned, beside Harry, "I could eat a hippogriff." The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. If Harry, Ron, and Hermione were wet, it was nothing to how these first years looked. They appeared to have swum across the lake rather than sailed. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school - all of them except the smallest of the lot, a boy with mousy hair, who was wrapped in what Harry recognized as Hagrid's moleskin overcoat. The coat was so big for him that it hooked as though he were draped in a furry black circus tent. His small face protruded from over the collar, looking almost painfully excited. When he had lined up with his terrified-looking peers, he caught Colin Creevey's eye, gave a double thumbs-up, and mouthed, I fell in the lake! He looked positively delighted about it. Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty patched wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song: A thousand years or more ago, When I was newly sewn,There lived four wizards of renown, Whose names are still well known: Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, Fair Ravenclaw, from glen, Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad, Shrewd Slytherin, from fin. They shared a wish, a hope, a dream, They hatched a daring plan To educate young sorcerers Thus Hogwarts School began. Now each of these four founders Formed their own house, for each Did value different virtues In the ones they had to teach. By Gryffindor, the bravest were Prized far beyond the rest; For Ravenclaw, the cleverest Would always be the best; For Hufflepuff, hard workers were Most worthy of admission; And power-hungry Slytherin Loved those of great ambition. While still alive they did divide Their favorites from the throng, Yet how to pick the worthy ones When they were dead and gone? Twas Gryffindor who found the way, He whipped me off his head The founders put some brains in me So I could choose instead! Now slip me snug about your ears, I've never yet been wrong, I'll have a look inside your mind And tell where you belong! The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished. "That's not the song it sang when it Sorted us," said Harry, clapping along with everyone else. "Sings a different one every year," said Ron. "It's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat? I suppose it spends all year making up the next one." Professor McGonagall was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment. "When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool," she told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table. "Ackerley, Stewart!" A boy walked forward, visibly trembling from head to foot, picked up the Sorting Hat, put it on, and sat down on the stool. "RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat. Stewart Ackerley took off the hat and hurried into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding him. Harry caught a glimpse of Cho, the Ravenclaw Seeker, cheering Stewart Ackerley as he sat down. For a fleeting second, Harry had a strange desire to join the Ravenclaw table too. "Baddock, Malcolm!" "SLYTHERIN!" The table on the other side of the hall erupted with cheers; Harry could see Malfoy clapping as Baddock joined the Slytherins. Harry wondered whether Baddock knew that Slytherin House had turned out more Dark witches and wizards than any other. Fred and George hissed Malcolm Baddock as he sat down. "Branstone, Eleanor!" "HUFFLEPUFF!" "Cauldwell, Owen!" "HUFFLEPUFF!" "Creevey, Dennis!" Tiny Dennis Creevey staggered forward, tripping over Hagrid's moleskin, just as Hagrid himself sidled into the Hall through a door behind the teachers' table. About twice as tall as a normal man, and at least three times as broad, Hagrid, with his long, wild, tangled black hair and beard, looked slightly alarming - a misleading impression, for Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew Hagrid to possess a very kind nature. He winked at them as he sat down at the end of the staff table and watched Dennis Creevey putting on the Sorting Hat. The rip at the brim opened wide - "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Hagrid clapped along with the Gryffindors as Dennis Creevey, beaming widely, took off the hat, placed it back on the stool, and hurried over to join his brother. "Colin, I fell in!" he said shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat. "It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!" "Cool!" said Colin, just as excitedly. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!" "Wow!" said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for more than being thrown into a storm-tossed, fathoms-deep lake, and pushed out of it again by a giant sea monster. "Dennis! Dennis! See that boy down there? The one with the black hair and glasses? See him? Know who he is, Dennis?" Harry looked away, staring very hard at the Sorting Hat, now Sorting Emma Dobbs. The Sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving one by one to the three-legged stool, the line dwindling slowly as Professor McGonagall passed the L's. "Oh hurry up," Ron moaned, massaging his stomach. "Now, Ron, the Sorting's much more important than food," said Nearly Headless Nick as "Madley, Laura!" became a Hufflepuff. "Course it is, if you're dead," snapped Ron. "I do hope this year's batch of Gryffindors are up to scratch," said Nearly Headless Nick, applauding as "McDonald, Natalie!" joined the Gryffindor table. "We don't want to break our winning streak, do we?" Gryffindor had won the Inter-House Championship for the last three years in a row. "Pritchard, Graham!" "SLYTHERIN!" "Quirke, Orla!" "RAVENCLAW!" And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), the Sorting ended. Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and the stool and carried them away. "About time," said Ron, seizing his knife and fork and looking expectantly at his golden plate. Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome. "I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in." "Hear, hear!" said Harry and Ron loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes. Nearly Headless Nick watched mournfully as Harry, Ron, and Hermione loaded their own plates. "Aaah, 'at's be'er," said Ron, with his mouth full of mashed potato. "You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," said Nearly Headless Nick. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier." "Why? Wha' 'appened?" said Harry, through a sizable chunk of steak. "Peeves, of course," said Nearly Headless Nick, shaking his head, which wobbled dangerously. He pulled his ruff a little higher up on his neck. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast - well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance - but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down." The Bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost, a gaunt and silent specter covered in silver bloodstains. He was the only person at Hogwarts who could really control Peeves. "Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something," said Ron darkly. "So what did he do in the kitchens?" "Oh the usual," said Nearly Headless Nick, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits -" Clang. Hermione had knocked over her golden goblet. Pumpkin juice spread steadily over the tablecloth, staining several feet of white linen orange, but Hermione paid no attention. "There are house-elves here?" she said, staring, horror-struck, at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at Hogwarts?" "Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred." "I've never seen one!" said Hermione. "Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Nearly Headless Nick. "They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning...see to the fires and so on....I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?" Hermione stared at him. "But they get paid?" she said. "They get holidays, don't they? And - and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?" Nearly Headless Nick chortled so much that his ruff slipped and his head flopped off, dangling on the inch or so of ghostly skin and muscle that still attached it to his neck. "Sick leave and pensions?" he said, pushing his head back onto his shoulders and securing it once more with his ruff. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!" Hermione looked down at her hardly touched plate of food, then put her knife and fork down upon it and pushed it away from her. "Oh c'mon, 'Er-my-knee," said Ron, accidentally spraying Harry with bits of Yorkshire pudding. "Oops - sorry, 'Arry -" He swallowed. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!" "Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor." And she refused to eat another bite. The rain was still drumming heavily against the high, dark glass. Another clap of thunder shook the windows, and the stormy ceiling flashed, illuminating the golden plates as the remains of the first course vanished and were replaced, instantly, with puddings. "Treacle tart, Hermione!" said Ron, deliberately wafting its smell toward her. "Spotted dick, look! Chocolate gateau!" But Hermione gave him a look so reminiscent of Professor McGonagall that he gave up. When the puddings too had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet again. The buzz of chatter filling the Hall ceased almost at once, so that only the howling wind and pounding rain could be heard. "So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered," ("Hmph!" said Hermione) "I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. "Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it." The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." "What?" Harry gasped. He looked around at Fred and George, his fellow members of the Quidditch team. They were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, apparently too appalled to speak. Dumbhedore went on, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -" But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table. A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped. The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Harry had ever seen.It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening. One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness. The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbhedore shook it, muttering words Harry couldn't hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side. The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students. "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody." It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students chapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him. "Moody?" Harry muttered to Ron. "Mad-Eye Moody? The one your dad went to help this morning?" "Must be," said Ron in a low, awed voice. "What happened to him?" Hermione whispered. "What happened to his face?" "Dunno," Ron whispered back, watching Moody with fascination. Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his traveling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Harry saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year." "You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly. The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. "Er - but maybe this is not the time...no..." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament...well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely. "The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued." "Death toll?" Hermione whispered, looking alarmed. But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by the majority of students in the Hall; many of them were whispering excitedly to one another, and Harry himself was far more interested in hearing about the tournament than in worrying about deaths that had happened hundreds of years ago. "There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. "The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money." "I'm going for it!" Fred Weasley hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. At every House table, Harry could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbors. But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more. "Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This -" Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. "The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!" Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed toward the double doors into the entrance hall. "They can't do that!" said George Weasley, who had not joined the crowd moving toward the door, but was standing up and glaring at Dumbledore. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?" "They're not stopping me entering," said Fred stubbornly, also scowling at the top table. "The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!" "Yeah," said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand Galleons...." "Come on," said Hermione, "we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move." Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George set off for the entrance hall, Fred and George debating the ways in which Dumbledore might stop those who were under seventeen from entering the tournament. "Who's this impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are?" said Harry. "Dunno," said Fred, "but it's them we'll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potion might do it, George..." "Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though," said Ron. "Yeah, but he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he?" said Fred shrewdly. "Sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are. Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names." "People have died, though!" said Hermione in a worried voice as they walked through a door concealed behind a tapestry and started up another, narrower staircase. "Yeah," said Fred airily, "but that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk? Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get 'round Dumbledore? Fancy entering?" "What d'you reckon?" Ron asked Harry. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it? But I s'pose they might want someone older....Dunno if we've learned enough..." "I definitely haven't," came Neville's gloomy voice from behind Fred and George. "I expect my gran'd want me to try, though. She's always going on about how I should be upholding the family honor. I'll just have to - oops..." Neville's foot had sunk right through a step halfway up the staircase. There were many of these trick stairs at Hogwarts; it was second nature to most of the older students to jump this particular step, but Neville's memory was notoriously poor. Harry and Ron seized him under the armpits and pulled him out, while a suit of armor at the top of the stairs creaked and clanked, laughing wheezily. "Shut it, you," said Ron, banging down its visor as they passed. They made their way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, which was concealed behind a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress. "Password?" she said as they approached. "Balderdash," said George, "a prefect downstairs told me." The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall through which they all climbed. A crackling fire warmed the circular common room, which was full of squashy armchairs and tables. Hermione cast the merrily dancing flames a dark look, and Harry distinctly heard her mutter "Slave labor" before bidding them good night and disappearing through the doorway to the girls' dormitory. Harry, Ron, and Neville climbed up the last, spiral staircase until they reached their own dormitory, which was situated at the top of the tower. Five four-poster beds with deep crimson hangings stood against the walls, each with its owner's trunk at the foot. Dean and Seamus were already getting into bed; Seamus had pinned his Ireland rosette to his headboard, and Dean had tacked up a poster of Viktor Krum over his bedside table. His old poster of the West Ham football team was pinned right next to it. "Mental," Ron sighed, shaking his head at the completely stationary soccer players. Harry, Ron, and Neville got into their pajamas and into bed. Someone - a house-elf, no doubt - had placed warming pans between the sheets. It was extremely comfortable, lying there in bed and listening to the storm raging outside. "I might go in for it, you know," Ron said sleepily through the darkness, "if Fred and George find out how to...the tournament....you never know, do you?" "S'pose not...." Harry rolled over in bed, a series of dazzling new pictures forming in his mind's eye....He had hoodwinked the impartial judge into believing he was seventeen....he had become Hogwarts champion...he was standing on the grounds, his arms raised in triumph in front of the whole school, all of whom were applauding and screaming...he had just won the Triwizard Tournament. Cho's face stood out particularly clearly in the blurred crowd, her face glowing with admiration.... Harry grinned into his pillow, exceptionally glad that Ron couldn't see what he could.

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