#ts fantasy au

[sleepyvirgilprompts]

Virgil is a faerie who likes napping in the woods, and if a human happens to wake him up, he's likely to do something terrible to them. One human, though, wakes him and manages to end up unscathed.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts virgil #sanders sides prompts #fanfiction prompt #fantasy au

[delimeful]

give me mercy no more (1)

G/t July Day 1: Enchanted

(Full Prompt List)

patron prompt: virgil hugging a crying janus!

warnings: arguing, tension, betrayal, mentions of assassinations, offscreen character thomas, it's a g/t fic but i didn't actually get to the g/t yet LOL, self sacrifice, crying, angst

-

“You can’t do this.”

Janus paused for the briefest moment at the sound of his closest friend’s voice, before continuing to pack away rations.

“Can’t I?” he asked airily, not turning around to face Virgil.

He’d known this confrontation was inevitable since they’d come up with the only possible solution to their kingdom’s problem. He hadn’t realized how unprepared he’d feel even now, with the hour of tribute rapidly approaching.

“It’s not right. Thomas needs you,” Virgil insisted, stepping closer.

Without even looking at him, Janus could picture the scowl he was wearing. Terrified and defiant in the face of impossible odds, as always.

Bringing up the heir apparent was a low blow, however.

“Yes, he does,” Janus snapped, a bite to the words. “Do you think anything else on this continent or any other could possibly move me to do something like this?”

A short, stagnant pause as Virgil struggled to find a retort.

“His Highness will be alright,” Janus added, softer. “Of course he will. You’ll be there at his side.”

A year ago, the idea of trusting any of the knights of this kingdom would have been laughable at best. The Sanders kingdom was a pit of vipers, and Janus had blended in with the best of them, climbing the ranks to the position of advisor through means that would make any moral man weep.

He’d still only barely been in time to prevent Thomas from perishing in a political assassination, one initiated by the same mage faction that had orphaned the young boy originally.

Janus didn’t have to do any investigation to learn that particular tidbit; it was an illuminating and concerning letter from the queen, an old friend of his, that had brought him back to the kingdom.

He’d been too late to save her. He’d made sure that the same couldn’t be said for her son.

Back then, he and Virgil had constantly been at each other’s throats, both expecting the other to betray the prince at any moment. Virgil saw right through Janus’ sly facades, and Janus knew that the rank and file of the kingdom’s army were only loyal to the highest bribe.

That was what they’d thought, anyhow.

When the next attempt rolled around, Virgil had been forcefully diverted from his usual patrol route, and was halfway across the grounds when the alarm was raised.

He’d torn through any opponent in his way in a desperate frenzy, and burst into the prince’s quarters expecting to see the worst.

Instead, he’d found Thomas whole and unharmed, positioned solidly behind Janus, who stood ready with two narrow, poisoned blades. The room already had a handful of would-be assassins collapsed on the ground, some in the same exact livery Virgil wore.

“Come and try,” Janus had hissed, keenly aware of the slash along his side and the way blood was already darkening his doublet.

Virgil, bigger and stronger and less winded even after a sprint across the kingdom, had taken two steps forward and knelt before him, head bowed.

The fool. Janus had almost stabbed him on reflex alone.

“Thank you,” he’d said, the back of his neck well and truly exposed, “for protecting him.”

Janus wasn’t used to being trusted. It had thrown him off for long enough that he’d stayed his blade, and before he knew it, Virgil had managed to worm his way under his defenses and become not only a trusted ally, but a snarky, paranoid, invaluable friend.

They grew to be called the Two Hands of the Future King, a title probably invented by some of the more pretentious court nobles. Virgil hated the attention, and Janus leaned into it just to annoy him.

They’d have to come up with something different, after Janus was gone. He wondered if his death would be referred to as something garishly insensitive, like The Amputation. Hopefully not; Virgil might actually come to blows if he heard that sort of thing.

He dragged his mind out of the past, sliding another ration he would likely never eat into his bag with the same smooth calculation he’d done everything else in his life.

“Besides, there’s no cause to be dramatic. I’ll be fine,” he said, voice full of a certainty he didn’t feel.

He held his breath as Virgil stood silently at his back for a long moment. His lies had never worked on the knight, but now he silently begged that for once, Virgil wouldn’t shatter the illusion. That he wouldn’t make this harder than it needed to be.

“Tell me how you plan to convince them,” Virgil finally said.

Janus let out a breath, his shoulders sagging in relief. “I already went over my strategy at the council meeting, didn’t I?”

“I was too pissed off to pay attention,” Virgil replied bluntly. “Tell me again. The way you’ll tell the beast.”

It was a rare occasion for Virgil to want to embrace a lie instead of the painful truth. Janus could grant him that, at least.

“With the damages from the invasion, we find ourselves unable to provide our usual tribute without starving to death ourselves,” Janus began, the speech long-memorized in the agonizing past week of waiting. “In order to preserve the existence of our kingdom, and by extension, the existence of your future tributes many years to come, we have provided an alternative offering that we hope will please you.”

He turned and spread his hands in an elegant flourish, his posture loose and pointedly unwary. “Along with precious heirloom riches, you are offered His Highness's own most trusted advisor, with vast wisdom and knowledge gathered from this continent and others.”

To do with as you please, he completed silently in his head. That would be no comfort to Virgil.

After all, everyone knew what most dragons pleased to do to humans that inconvenienced them.

Virgil stared at him with a deep wrinkle in his brow for a moment, and then snorted. “I should have guessed that you would flatter yourself even in a time like this.”

Janus smirked, repeating his favorite retort. “I speak only the truth, Honored Knight, and I’d thank you not to imply otherwise.”

Virgil smiled despite himself, but as the silence stretched it collapsed into an expression much more desolate.

“I’ll be perfectly fine,” Janus lied, and then, after a beat of hesitation, lifted his arms in a wordless offering.

Virgil crashed into the hug with enough force to nearly bowl Janus over, but he didn’t bother with a single complaint, only savored the warmth of his best friend safe in his arms.

He was doing this for both of them. His two most important people.

They stood like that for a long moment, and then with a low, pained sigh, Janus began to pull back.

Only to find that his limbs had gone strangely numb.

A jolt of surprise went through him, but all Virgil did was slowly shift them over to the nearby armchair, giving him somewhere to sit heavily as the prickling feeling spread further through his body.

“Something’s wrong,” he managed through lips he could barely feel.

Virgil, usually so quick to check him over at even the slightest sign of injury, spent a moment longer with his head tucked over his shoulder before withdrawing.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and his eyes were eerily lit up from within by magecraft. “But we both know who Thomas needs more. And it’s not me.”

The enchantment didn’t hurt. It settled soft and heavy on him like a blanket with the weight of stone, keeping him stuck in place even as his mind began to shriek.

“How?” he managed.

“I was born into a bloodline with the gift. Got kicked out. I didn’t want anyone to know,” Virgil said, letting a few sparks flick off his fingers. “I probably could have told you, I was just… afraid, I guess. I know it’s not fair to ask, but don’t tell Thomas? I don’t want to bring back bad memories for the kid.”

Janus had moved rapidly from shock to anger, not at the secret of Virgil’s nature, but at what exactly he planned to do with it.

“Don’t,” he said, a desperate tilt to the word even as it came out slightly mangled.

“You were right, Jay,” Virgil said with a wry tilt of his lips. “You’ll be fine. So take care of him, okay?”

Janus managed the slightest shake of his head, and whatever expression he was making was enough to make Virgil’s own composure crack slightly.

“You hypocrite,” he said, voice choked, and pulled him into another hug.

Janus hadn’t wept when he’d realized that the only way to keep Thomas safe was to sacrifice himself.

Now, with Virgil’s arms wrapped around him, he felt his stinging eyes spill over.

His breath hitched, the only version of a sob that could make it through his body’s current stasis.

“I know,” Virgil murmured, clutching him tightly. “I know. I won’t change my mind, but I’m sorry. I don’t— I don’t want to leave. But I have to.”

He couldn’t do anything to stop this, Janus realized blankly. He could only clutch back at his best friend’s arms with the barest curling of his numb fingers. He could only see the slight tremors that shook through Virgil’s frame, the pallid cast to his skin.

He could only watch as Virgil released him, picked up his bag and walked to the door, stopped to look at him with fear and stubbornness in equal measure.

“I’ll see you around,” he said simply, giving him a simple salute and a small smile.

And then he was gone.

#sanders sides g/t #ts virgil #ts janus #fantasy au #g/t july #g/t july 2023 #my writing #writing #give me mercy no more #gmmnm #posted late again. sory. #“why are you posting g/t july in september” this is an ADHD task completion simulator and you're all invited to participate

[fandombead]

👑 Happy Logince Week~! 💫

Prompt: Poetry

Our love shall bind me

And allow you to find me

In your world someday

TFW your soulmate is from another realm and gets cursed trying to break the rules to be with you, amiright??

~❤️💙❤️💙~

Tiny bit belated to the Logince Week Party, but I got inspired yesterday and my fic was slow going!! So here we are! I worked like I was possessed until this was done hahaha!

@loginceweek2024 !

#logince #loginceweek2024 #roman sanders #logan sanders #thomas sanders #tss logan #tss roman #sanders sides #ts sides #logan x roman #it’s the red & blue couples I keep seeming drawn (heh) too #they’re cute #tss fanart #haiku poetry #this was fun #the poetry prompt made me do visual poetry #I went a little texture crazy 😆 #i had a vision #it’s implied fantasy au #maybe I’ll expand on it sometime

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

I suppose this could be considered a sneak peak into a new longer fic I'm writing, buuuut whatever it's art.

Witchy Janus!!! He trades potions to fellow magic folk. Sound similar to another Janus we know? Well let it be known that I've been working on this since before Doc Janus made his debut dnkskdksodos

I used Green as well as yellow mainly because this AU has background Dukeciet that barely features at all but I thought it was a fun detail to add Remus' colour to Janus' design too :D

#sanders sides #art #sanders sides art #digital aritst #janus sanders fanart #ts janus #janus sanders #witch #witch janus #fantasy au #but not THE fantasy au #dukeceit #rowan arts

[warcats-cat]

A Knight and His Prince

Virgil contemplates his relationship with his beloved prince, Roman. Patton contemplates his relationship with his son and said son's first love.

Lots of fluff with a twist 💜

A/N: My piece for a little exchange among friends; my giftee being @its-the-cat-queen! It was so much fun to write for her aus; a nice pile of fluff to counteract my usual angst ;)

That being said I genuinely don't know what to tag this with so please let me know if I need to add anything. Enjoy!!

Read on Ao3 here!

-----

The early evening around them was warm, washing their camp in the soft glow of sunset; the firelight kissed Roman’s beautiful face as the dark creeped in around them. The prince had let his little hare out to sniff at the dandelions; the bounty of late summer. Virgil carefully removed his hood, laying it on one of the large stones they’d pulled forward as seats to rest on.

Roman was inspecting his sword again, running his hand carefully over smooth steel and worn leather. His crown was set just barely askew on his head. Virgil smiled to himself; his prince never could quite keep the circlet balanced, but he dared not take it off.

It’s possible he loved the crown almost as much as he loved Virgil.

The thought made Virgil’s smile widen, just a bit, as he plopped down next to his prince and leaned his head on his shoulder.

“It’s been a good day today,” Roman said, wrapping his arm around the knight. Virgil hummed in lieu of an answer, listening to the prince’s steady heartbeat and honey voice. “I’m looking forward to the journey home.” He turned to Virgil, his face alight with a new idea, “We should throw a ball! And invite the whole kingdom, and we can even set out food for the poorer families, so everyone can enjoy the festivities.”

Virgil’s smile widened further at that; “My father would object to the entire affair if we didn’t provide an actually nutritious meal alongside the party treats. Not to mention, only one of your dads’ cooking is edible.” Both paused for a moment, shuddering as they remembered Roman’s papa Remus being left to his own devices in the kitchens one fateful night. The green pile of goo that had been set out on plates as if it was anything close to food. The horror from Roman’s dad Patton when the king returned to find such a sad excuse for a meal.

Although, Roman and Virgil had ended up feasting on roasted chickens tossed in bread crumbs and golden strips of potatoes that evening, after the initial disgust and panic; it was the highest form of cuisine, in Roman’s humble opinion.

The rumble of Roman’s words in Virgil’s ear was soft, comforting. Even when laughing, the prince stayed gentle for Virgil’s sake. He felt Roman’s arm wrap around his shoulders, and the prince began carding fingers through his knight’s hair as he rambled, planning out the grandiose party they would host.

After a while, Roman’s hare hopped closer to the pair, and the prince lifted her gently into his lap to stroke her ears. He went quiet, staring off into the middle distance as if contemplating the woods beyond. The crackle of their fire and the calls of distant birds was the only noise for a long while, before suddenly Roman looked to Virgil again and asked, “Will you dance with me?”

Virgil flushed, a little embarrassed, as he admitted, “I don’t know how to dance. And we don’t have any music.” The rabbit turned to sniff at his cheek, as if sensing his discomfort.

“I could teach you,” Roman said gently. “It’s easier to learn when you can go slow.” He gently nudged the rabbit off his lap, and she wandered away to forage for more treats, always staying close enough to watch the pair. Roman stood, and offered a hand to Virgil, which the knight took with little hesitation. The prince pulled him close, so that they were chest to chest, and put a careful hand around Virgil’s waist.

Roman was always so warm; his hands soft and welcoming, his heart steady and soothing. Virgil felt himself relax, even if he was about to make a fool of himself. He faintly remembered one of his fathers trying to teach him a few steps, all while Virgil stood on the tops of the elder’s feet.

It hadn’t gone well.

Roman began to carefully guide the pair in simple motions, holding Virgil’s hand and waist, leading him with confidence. If it were anyone else, the knight would have been staring at his feet, flushed scarlet in shame. But this was Roman, his Roman, who never looked at him unkindly.

His Roman, who sat with him as they shared books, and praised him for his ideas, and protected him from all of the strange beasts of the world. His Roman, who had never laughed at him, only with him. His Roman, who was staring into his eyes right now with all the adoration in the world, making Virgil feel like he could do anything.

His Roman, whose crown was slipping off his head again.

Virgil laughed, gently pushing the prince back and reaching up to straighten the crown. The taller man bent slightly, so Virgil could reach, and Virgil couldn’t resist the swell of bravery he felt as he softly leaned closer to kiss the prince’s forehead after the crown was set.

When Roman met his eyes next, they were filled with awe. As if Virgil had just slain some magnificent beast, or done something amazingly heroic. His hand came to caress Virgil’s cheek as they stared at each other.

“I love you,” Roman whispered, as if the world were only them. “I’m the luckiest man alive, because I have you by my side.” The prince returned Virgil’s kiss with his own to Virgil’s cheek, and Virgil felt his face heating once more.

“I love you too,” Virgil replied softly, almost surprised as the words came out of his mouth. “You make me feel like I can do anything in the world.” They pressed their foreheads together, feeling the world around them go soft and quiet’ as if it was only them, only this spot, that made up the entire universe.

But, of course, the moment had to end, as a familiar voice split the air from father off in the field.

“Roman! Your daddy’s here to pick you up!”

       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Patton couldn’t help a giggle at watching the two toddlers, even from afar. Roman’s face was split with a bubbly smile as he led Virgil, hand in hand, over from the edge of the playground. Virgil had his own tiny smile, and followed Roman like he was the other boy’s whole world. He was so proud of his baby; always looking after his little friend. Poor Virgil had had such a rough first month at daycare, and now he and Roman were almost attached at the hip.

“Daddy!” the kiddo cried, “Daddy we played prince again!” Roman’s yellow paper crown slipped from his head, (Patton suspected it wasn’t for the first time today) and Virgil tugged lightly on their conjoined hands, making the bubblier toddler stop.

It was hard not to squeal, watching as little Virgil retrieved the accessory, and very carefully set it back on Roman’s head, as if it really was made of gold. Patton also noticed that Virgil was carrying their shared toy, Mrs Fluffybottom, in the pocket of his onesie, and it was vaguely reminiscent of a kangaroo.

“Princes, again?” Patton asked, crouching down in front of the two boys. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the daycare attendant walk away, knowing Patton would take both boys home today. Roman nodded, and hummed an affirmative, his whole body bouncing with his excitement. Virgil, too, was bouncing, just a bit, and he swung their conjoined hands lightly.

“I’s a knight today.” the smaller toddler said softly. The daycare was doing a lot to help the boy with his confidence, and by extension, his enunciation. Still, Virgil speaking up at all was rare, preferring to follow Roman’s leads and let the other boy talk for him when adults or other kids were around. Patton gave the boy a warm smile, and ruffled both kiddos’ hair at the same time, producing the sweet sound of giggling.

“I’m sure you were a very brave knight,” Patton said, offering an arm in case Virgil wanted to be picked up. Both boys gave the affirmative, and Patton found himself with both arms full, hefting the two toddlers up and heading towards his car. “Are you kiddos excited for your sleepover tonight?”

Roman cried “Yeah!” as loud as he could, and Virgil hummed again, nodding against Patton’s shoulder. “Virgie is the best knight EVER!” he hollered, pulling his wooden sword from his pocket and kicking his feet as Patton buckled them in. “We’re gonna build a castle an’ bring out all the animals to be our subjects, an’ we’re gonna throw a party an’ invite everybody from all over!” He started to babble, planning out the story he and Virgil would be playing out when they got home; occasionally pausing to ask Virgil his opinion or ideas, to which the other boy offered that same soft smile and warm voice. They would have a ball, and dancing, and cake (if daddy said yes). Patton had a feeling he and Remus would end up in attendance at some point, and was already looking forward to seeing his eccentric artist husband crouching to play with their boy; whether that be crawling around as the monster for him to slay, or sitting cross legged at the coffee table holding a pink plastic teacup.

Patton loved how much Remus wanted to encourage Roman’s ideas. He loved how vibrantly Roman saw the world. He loved being the king to Roman’s storybook prince.

Patton tried to listen in as he drove, happy to hear his son so happy; and happier still to hear Virgil softly following along. He remembered a few months ago when the pair had met; the initial worry to find out that Roman was being bullied by a few of his classmates (and more worry to think that the boy hadn’t told them), and then not two days later Roman coming home to say that a brave knight had appeared to save him from those meanies. Then said he wanted said knight to come over and play after school.

Patton also remembered meeting Virgil’s fathers, being more than a little relieved to find that he and Remus weren’t the only gay couple in the neighborhood anymore, and there wouldn’t be any awkward comments or meetings for the boys’ sakes. Knowing that separating the kiddos would only do more damage to their development.

The pair really were wonderful for each other.

Roman helped Virgil feel safe, and the teachers had told both families how Virgil was more likely to try new foods for lunch, explore and play away from the teachers. He had even pet a porcupine when the class went to the zoo a few weeks ago. Patton had the photo of both kiddos gently touching the quills in wonder framed and attached to the fridge; he knew Logan had done the same.

In turn, Virgil reminded Roman to be more mindful and gentle. Patton smiled as he remembered taking the boys to the park so all four parents could actually talk, and watching Roman lead Virgil around by his hand, but also constantly check in on the smaller boy. Asking Virgil’s opinions, what he wanted to do, was he tired or thirsty?

Not that Roman had been fussy or selfish, but he had a loud and vibrant personality, and used to be prone to forgetting his manners. Now, though, Roman was more patient and careful. Always attentive to Virgil, and by extension, the other people around him. Even when Virgil wasn’t around, Roman had stopped throwing his toys around when he was upset, and more often asked his questions with please’s and thank-you’s.

Patton snuck another glance at the boys from the rear-view mirror, and his heart absolutely melted as he watched Roman lean over from his car seat and give Virgil a little kiss on the back of his hand, just like the knights and princes in his favorite movies.

Tonight, they would have pizza and maybe some ice cream, and cuddle up to watch movies. He and Remus would be tasked with building a fantastic castle of pillows and blankets. All of their little ‘kingdom’s’ stuffies would be brought out in force. If Patton was lucky, he’d get some pictures from the entire affair; if he was especially lucky, he would get a picture in the morning, of the two toddlers snuggled up in a messy blanket nest, exhausted from their fun.

Yeah. The kiddos would be okay.

#wacats writes #ts fic #sanders sides fic #prinxiety #fantasy au #human au #gift fic #writing prompts #art trade #ish #ask to tag

[jhdanes]

Day 19–>A kitsune queen and her dragon consort. @augustwritingchallenge for #AU_gust_2023 my contribution for day 19!

#au gust 2023 #totally spies #jackie chan adventures #totally spies britney #jackie chan adventures drago #jca drago #ts+jca #jca+ts #crossover ship #crossover #fanart #digital art #art #my art #myart #romance #supernatural #fantasy #kitsune #dragon #half breed

[hsmtmts-arrows]

fantasy au madlyn

bc galaxy gave her a few more scars than i was expecting

that second comment. i swear-

#IF YOU'RE ABOUT TO RELATE THEM TO THE WHOLE OF FOLKLORE IM GONNA- #ngl i am now about to find a bunch of ts lyrics to fuck you over w either way while watching episode two KFDSJH #fantasy au

[artistowlsnest]

I’m Not Afraid (I Lie)

@dukeceitweek

For Dukeceit week Thursday Prompt: Acceptance/Abandonment

3,967 words

Summary:  Remus was a big kid. Who cared if his village banished him because he couldn't entirely control his magic, he could take care of himself! What, did they think that he was dumb enough to walk into some great beast's cave and get eaten?

The desert was really different at night.

It was cold, for one. You wouldn’t think it in the day when the sun was beating down on you and there was no shade, but at night the air was cool, and there was nothing to break the wind. If he stayed out for much longer, the air would go from cool to just cold. The night was noisier, for another. Everything came alive at night, and they made their presence known.

If you didn’t know anything, you might have been scared by it. Even if you did know some stuff, most people still kept a respectful fear of those long stretches of sand and rock that you could walk through for days with no sign of water, or other people. There were so many ways to die in the desert – too much sun, not enough water, not enough food, exhaustion from going so far, and of course, all of the animals and bugs that would kill you without hesitation.

Remus had been born in the desert, and he’d lived in it for more than ten years now; he knew everything. He wasn’t scared at all.

Well…he hadn’t exactly lived in the desert, not really, he’d lived in the village. 

And now…he didn’t.

The colorful tents and few stone buildings had long since faded from the horizon behind him, and the green plants growing around the lake had faded from view even sooner. 

Remus scuffed his boot in the sand, letting it drag. He hadn’t bothered looking behind himself for hours, so he had no way of knowing by his tracks if he was still walking in a straight line or not. 

It didn’t matter much, as long as he stayed away from the village, which he’d be able to see from way away.

He’d been walking since just past noon, and his feet were aching. So were his legs. And his arms, from carrying the few supplies he’d been granted – bag in one hand, waterskin in the other. 

More importantly, he was bored. Normally he would have sung a song, or at least whistled a tune to help the time go by, but he’d only been given one skin of water, and he knew better than to waste it. He would have danced, or even just skipped, but he was already tired, and wanted to find shelter rather than just lie down in the sand to sleep – with the way the wind was going, he’d be buried alive. He would have preferred to at least talk to someone, even just at someone, but, well…

Another gust of wind blew past. Remus turned away so that he didn’t get sand in his eyes and shivered, drawing his robe tighter around himself. At least the cold felt like a blessing against the brand on his cheek, the burn still fresh and smarting. 

Stupid village, stupid family, don’t need them anyway, he told himself, and pretended that it didn’t feel like a lie. He could totally survive on his own, become a mad desert guru, living off of wild dog meat and cactus juice.

A patch of sand a little ways in front of him shook, and a scorpion crawled out. Remus froze, an excited smile on his face. A meal already!

There was a reason that he wasn’t scared of any of the animals, even though the village hadn’t let him take any weapons with him into his banishment.

Remus pointed his first two fingers at the scorpion, carefully taking aim. He concentrated very hard.

The magic always felt like it started in his chest, zipping out of his heart and through his veins until it burst out of him. He sent it through his fingers, letting the bolt of lightning zap out of them and onto the ground.

Sand pelted his face and clothes, the strike kicking up a huge cloud of it. He knew that would happen, of course, since he’d done this before, and he knew to close his eyes and hold his breath just before he let go of the strike to protect himself.

Remus waited, super patiently, bouncing on the balls of his feet as his eyes stayed closed, waiting for the sand cloud to settle. He hadn’t eaten since the morning, before the trial, and was so hungry it felt like his stomach was trying to eat itself.

When he didn’t feel like he was getting smacked in the face by very very tiny hands, he rubbed the grit from his eyes and darted over to the center of the blasted sand, looking for the very dead, very cooked, and very tasty scorpion.

It wasn’t there.

Remus blinked in confusion. He squinted, looking closer at the sand – it had to be somewhere –

Oh.

There was a tiny bit of charred carapace left, there in the sand. Which had mostly melted.

Remus stared at it for a moment, then pouted. That wasn’t fair, how was he supposed to catch food if even the tiniest little strike of lightning he could make would blast his prey to smithereens?

He felt – no, it wasn’t fear. Couldn’t be fear. Remus wasn’t scared, he was too powerful for that! He was so clever and powerful that the other people were scared of him, and sent him away! He felt…wary, that’s it. He would need to find a new strategy, since he couldn’t use his magic to catch his food. He would just make a knife, since they hadn’t given him one. He’d find a sturdy rock. Better yet, he’d make some sharp glass. Then he could hunt! He could make spears and knives and anything he needed.

His people moved with the seasons, they lived in the desert for weeks at a time. It didn’t matter that he was on his own, he could still do the same! 

…Once he found shelter, at least.

~*~

It had taken so long to find the rock.

Remus felt like his feet were going to fall off. He’d been walking half the day and he was pretty sure that he’d also been walking half the night by then. He was…going to have to get some more food pretty soon, he hadn’t realized how much he’d eaten out of his pack.

He still felt hungry, too.

But the sand dunes had finally turned into dry, cracked rock – well, not really, there was still a lot of sand, but it was mostly rock – and a few sparse, dry plants. Those gave Remus some hope – maybe there was water nearby. 

Even better, there were more rocks sprouting up from the ground, like the stumps of massive trees. Remus immediately found the biggest one – bigger than his whole village, and maybe the lake too – and made his way over. There would surely be some alcoves in the rock that he could tuck himself into for shelter. 

He scouted around the big rock for a bit, and his luck must really have been looking up, because he didn’t just find an alcove – he found a cave.

Remus immediately wriggled into the open space, and realized that it was entirely dark inside – duh, there wasn’t any moon to light it up. He snapped his fingers, and a few sparks appeared, flickering around his hands, briefly lighting up the place. The cave looked narrow, and Remus reached both hands out, touching the walls before either of them had extended fully. That was fine, it meant that he would be able to walk without a light, letting the walls guide him and stepping carefully to make sure that the ground didn’t suddenly disappear under his feet.

Remus made his way forward. The space was cramped, but he’d always been on the shorter side, and managed to get through it fine, only sometimes having to duck his head. He kept his hands to the sides, fingers skimming along the rough walls for ages – the tunnel felt like it was super long, though that may have just been because of the dark and how slowly he was going.

Suddenly, the rock disappeared. Not the ground under his feet, thank the ancestors, but the walls beneath his fingertips, and Remus stumbled a little as he entered what must have been a cavern.

Oh, that was perfect. He could totally live here, with the opening so small that no one else would be able to enter. He raised his hand to summon more sparks –

Fwoomph.

A fire roared to life beside Remus, and he stumbled to the side, throwing up a hand against the bright light. He heard more and more fires rising up around him, and he moved his hand from his eyes, squinting in the light as his eyes tried to readjust.

His jaw dropped open.

The cavern was huge, easily able to fit his village inside of it, probably with room left over. There were huge braziers lining the cavern that were holding the fire, illuminating smooth stone walls and somehow barely lighting the ceiling, it was so high. There was a pool on one side, a few tables and chairs in front of a hearth on the other, the walls were lined with rich cloths, and in the center of the thing was a pile of riches – Remus could see more cloth, colorful glassware and pottery, and stacks of precious metals and gems. On top of the pile was a pillow, huge and decadent, covered in embroidered silk and lined in tassels.

On top of the pillow was a dragon.

A dragon that was looking right at him.

The dragon was a sandy-golden color, with heavy scales, its back lined in spikes and ridges, and its face ringed in different sized horns. It was long, like a snake, and had – Remus was pretty sure it had six legs, stuck out to the side like a crocodile or a lizard as it rested on its belly. Remus didn’t know much about dragon expressions, but he thought that this one might be angry. It was hard to tell – the narrowed eyes and upper lip curled back just enough to show teeth might have not been a snarl. Maybe it was a smile.

(It probably wasn’t a smile)

“What,” it said, in a deep, rumbling voice, “is this pest doing in my lair?”

The smart thing to do would probably be to stumble out some hasty apologies, and then run for his life.

Remus puffed out his chest and looked the dragon in the eye, even as his heartbeat quickened. He wasn’t afraid, he told himself. He was never afraid. “Am I supposed to be scared of you?”

The dragon paused at that, staring him down like it was thinking yes you fucking should be you idiot, I will eat you now.

“I will ask again,” the dragon said after a moment, the threat of a growl in its voice, “why have you come?” It leaned closer, long sinuous neck arching so it could look down at him. Its breath was as hot as the desert sands at noon when it wafted over Remus, stealing the night’s chill from his skin as it carried the threat of a fiery death. “To steal? To kill?”

“I was just looking,” Remus snapped defensively, forcing his body to not shake. Not afraid, not afraid – “You don’t have any signs or anything, how was I supposed to know someone lived here?”

The dragon pulled back its lips further, snarling. Remus couldn’t stop his gaze from falling to the sharp teeth set in purple gums, each longer than his arms. “Only a curious whelp, hm? And I’m supposed to believe you?”

A heat rose up behind Remus’s eyes, and he blinked quickly. No, no, he wasn’t going to cry, he was ten, he wasn’t a little kid anymore, how could he survive on his own if he cried at every little threat –

But this wasn’t a little threat, and Remus might not get a chance to survive to the next dawn.

“I’m not lying!” he said, voice rising sharply.

“I don’t care,” it said bluntly, and Remus felt like the floor had suddenly dropped out beneath him, leaving his stomach behind as he fell. “I have no patience for trespassers, and I know well enough that to let one go will only lead to a hunt for my head.”

Remus spun around to run to the crevice, but a shadow passed over his head and with a heavy thud that shook the ground, the dragon landed between Remus and his only exit. Remus skidded in place. His heart thudded against his chest, and the heat was prick-pricking behind his eyes.

He was going to die.

“I won’t tell anyone!” Remus said, panicked. “I won’t!”

“Why should I believe you when humans always lie?”

“I’m not lying!” Sparks were starting to flicker off his shoulders. The dragon didn’t seem to notice, but Remus also probably could have fit inside the dragon’s eye socket if it was empty, he didn’t even know if the dragon could see the little sparks.

The next breath that blew over him smelled of ozone, though that probably was Remus himself. “I tire of this. Goodbye, human.”

And it opened its mouth, and its throat lit up. Remus scrambled back, but it didn’t do any good, and the dragon let out its breath.

Remus screamed, shocked and scared, but…

Not in pain.

It wasn’t fire that the dragon was breathing onto him, it was lightning. 

Lightning, crackling and snapping and dancing across his skin in ticklish pinches. Not hurting. Lightning wouldn’t, couldn’t hurt him.

The rapidly melting sand beneath his bare feet was a bit more hazardous though, and Remus skittered backwards away from it as the dragon closed its mouth.

The dragon looked as surprised to see Remus still alive as Remus felt. “How…”

Remus wanted to say something witty in response, but his throat didn’t seem to work.

It didn’t matter that the dragon’s breath couldn’t hurt him, the beast could swallow him whole with ease, slice open his stomach with the swipe of a claw, crunch his skull between its teeth as easily as Remus could bite through the skin of a fruit.

(Remus had always had an overactive imagination for these sorts of things and often cheerfully relayed them out loud, it was one of the things that made the villagers wary around him. The thoughts didn’t seem as fun and interesting when any of those things could happen to him right then.)

(And the heat behind his eyes only grew.)

“I – I won’t tell anyone, I swear,” Remus said, breath quickening to a pace just shy of a sob, eyes filling with tears. “I can’t, they won’t let me back, I can’t go back and I –” Remus just barely managed to bite back his words before he said that he wanted to go home, like a child, but as the tears spilled out of his eyes he didn’t think that he would be able to keep his pride intact, whether or not he escaped with his life. “Please,” he begged, sinking to his knees, “I don’t want to be here, I didn’t mean to trespass, I – I’m sorry, I won’t tell anyone, I swear, please don’t kill me.”

He ducked his head and furiously scrubbed at his eyes as he sniffled, shame somehow finding purchase in the spaces between the fear in his chest. “Please, please don’t kill me…”

He felt a faint touch beneath his chin, and he looked up and jerked back in a single motion, and let out a ragged gasp.

The dragon was…small was maybe the wrong word, but it was smaller than it had been before. It was just a little bigger than a crocodile maybe, and its neck and tail made it even longer, neck curved like a water-bird’s to look down at him while it pulled back one of its upper legs, the one that had brushed his chin. He still did not know how dragon expressions worked, but it wasn’t snarling now, instead just looking at him almost…warily?

The dragon reached that leg back again, and Remus flinched back before it touched his face. The dragon’s foot (hand?) hovered in place over Remus’s cheek – over the mark that had been branded there.

“You’re one of the cursed children?” it murmured, almost to itself.

Remus nodded shallowly anyway.

“Hmm.” The dragon looked him up and down. “How old are you?”

Remus wiped at the snot and tears streaking down his face with his arm. “Ten.”

“Hnn.” The dragon’s grunt sounded a lot less neutral than before, and Remus barely stopped himself from flinching.

“…Can…can I go?” Remus asked quietly, barely daring to hope.

“Hmph.” The dragon looked at him a moment more, then turned away, seemingly disinterested. “Where are you going?”

“…Dunno. Wherever.”

“Do you even know where the nearest human settlement is?”

Remus frowned. “I…I think I came from there. I can’t go back.”

The dragon scoffed and muttered something that sounded like “of course.” It stood there for a long moment, head turned aside, then tipped back its head and groaned. “Fine,” it snapped.

Remus’s heart leapt into his throat. “I can go?”

“Yes,” it grumbled. Then it continued, “I’ll take you to the next village over.”

Oh. Remus didn’t know how to feel about that offer, but it didn’t really matter because – “I can’t.”

“Why not?” The dragon sounded annoyed, he thought.

Remus gestured to the brand on his cheek. “Everyone will know that I’m cursed ’soon as they see me. No one’ll let me stay with ’em.”

The dragon stared at him. Its face didn’t really look like it had moved at all, but Remus got the feeling that it was, in fact, annoyed at him, which was really unfair, he thought – he hadn’t asked for any of any of the things that had happened to him today. 

“Alright,” the dragon said. “So where were you planning on staying then?”

Remus shrugged. “Somewhere.”

The dragon blew out a noisy breath, like a sigh. “Fine then,” it said in a voice that was not quite a growl but also wasn’t not a growl. “You’ll stay here.”

Remus’s heart stuck in his throat again, much less pleasantly. “Wh– you said I could go!” he said shrilly.

The dragon scoffed. “You’ll die alone in the desert at best,” it said, waving its hand/foot at Remus impatiently. “At worst, an untrained child magician such as yourself can do untold damage to the land.”

And Remus was very curious about what the dragon had called him there, but that wasn’t important right now – “You can’t keep me prisoner!”

“You won’t be a prisoner, child, please. I intend to teach you how to survive, and once I do, you may go anywhere you please.”

Remus scowled furiously. “You were saying all that stuff about not liking humans before, so why do you care if I die or not?”

“Call it a bleeding heart,” the dragon said, voice dry as sun-bleached bone. “I assure you, I’m as displeased with this as you are, but even if you manage to not hurt yourself you can hurt so many others. Why did your village cast you out, hm? I assume that no small part of it was due to simple human fear of the unknown, but I don’t think that was all of it – for them to have waited for you to grow as old as you have…you did something to prompt this, didn’t you?”

Remus turned his head away with a scowl.

“You did, didn’t you? Tell me, which was it – did you break something important, or was it someone?”

“Shut up,” Remus snapped.

The dragon made a noise like it was clicking its tongue at him. “I’m not irresponsible enough to let you roam around, a danger to yourself and others. You wouldn’t last a week out in the desert anyway.”

“Maybe I would,” Remus shot back.

“Unlikely.”

Remus fidgeted in place for a moment. “…What was it you called me? A magician?”

“Mm. One of the more tolerable breeds of human, assuming they have an understanding of the world at least. I’ll teach you that, as well as how to truly use your magic.”

Remus looked down at his hands. To actually learn how to use his lightning, rather than stumbling along as he tried to figure everything out himself while hiding it from everyone else who looked at him with hate anyway…it was a thought that came right out of his wildest and best daydreams, the ones that he knew were too good to come true. There had to be a catch. “You aren’t gonna eat me?”

“You would taste terrible, I’m sure,” the dragon sniffed. “Don’t annoy me enough and I won’t even consider it.”

“I am very annoying.” It felt fair to warn the dragon.

The dragon closed its eyes briefly. “Then pray that you will be a good student, so that you may leave quickly.”

…It wasn’t a good deal, Remus was pretty sure. The dragon could still kill him very easily if it decided that Remus was too much trouble.

…But it also wasn’t wrong that Remus wouldn’t be able to make it out there alone. He didn’t exactly have much choice.

Besides, maybe he would actually get to learn more about his magic.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll stay.”

“Huzzah,” the dragon said unenthusiastically.

Remus hugged his arms to himself. He was starting to feel tired again, the rush of fear over and leaving him even more drained than before. “Do you have a name?”

“Of course.” The dragon did not elaborate.

“…What is it?”

The dragon heaved a sigh. “Unpronounceable by human tongue. If you must have something to call me by, then you may call me Janus.”

“I’m Remus.”

“Good to know.” Janus turned and started walking away, twisting its body like a lizard with each step. “We’ll start now.”

Ugh. Remus looked longingly at the crevice, but if Janus was able to shift its size, then it would surely be able to follow him, and it would probably be able to see in the dark too. “M’kay,” he mumbled and started after it, rubbing at his eyes.

When he looked back up, Janus had paused in its steps, head turned to look back at him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” it said, then darted off.

Oh come on…Remus picked up his pace, even though his feet felt heavier than lead. He managed to catch up to Janus, which had its back to him as it messed with something in its hoard. “’S what we studyin?” he mumbled, pinching his arm to try and wake himself up.

Janus heaved another great sigh, then stepped aside. Remus squinted at the bunch of fine fabrics that it had arranged into…a lumpy pile with a divot in the center. “We will start in the morning,” it said. “You’re clearly too tired to do anything right now.”

Remus straightened his posture. “Am not!” he said, though the effect was somewhat undercut because he yawned immediately after. 

Janus didn’t look impressed, though that might have just been its regular face. “Sleep, child.”

“…Fine.” Remus made a show of pouting so that Janus didn’t think that he was listening to it because he actually was tired, and thought that he was only trying to humor it. Remus climbed onto the pile of cloth and – ohhhhhhh that was soft.

More cloth was draped over him. Remus had already closed his eyes. “I will wake you in the morning, of course, so – don’t expect to be sleeping in.”

“Mmhmm.”

As he slipped into sleep, Remus thought that he felt a clawed foot hesitantly pat his shoulder.

#dukeceitweek2022 #remus sanders #ts remus #janus sanders #ts janus #fantasy au #angst #hurt/comfort #off page harm to children #death threats #attempted child murder #kid remus sanders #dragon janus sanders

[spookymultimedia]

For @hello-oing45

#the office #au #ts au #fantasy au #dwight schrute #gem halpert #jim halpert #jwight

[luckyarchivist]

Touchstarved LIs and Fanfiction AUs They Should Be In

Haven't been able to stop thinking about the people who said Ais is "always the tattoo artist in tattoo shop/flower shop AU". I don't even like tattoo shop/flower shop like that but it was such a correct thing to say and I have to acknowledge that. So here's that plus AUs I've seen that I think the LIs should be in.

Ais

Flower shop/tattoo shop, as mentioned. This one is TOO good. Come ON. Ais as the hot-ass owner of the local tattoo shop? Him listening to your idea for a tattoo and then smoothly and easily inking it into your skin and telling you you're good when you don't cry? I don't even need to explain this one. It makes sense in like every way.

NASCAR/Formula One AU. The idea of him getting out of that car sweaty as hell in the full racing suit after crushing a track record? Like, taking off the helmet and shaking his hair out and looking like he couldn't give less of a shit about winning first place? Yeah. I am not immune to vroom vroom

Mermaid AU but he's a bull shark or an octopus, not a fish. IDK if I want his claspers or his tentacles more, but either way he should be lurking in the briny deep and protecting me from the real ocean monsters and threatening to eat me even though he probably doesn't mean it, probably.

Vere

Magic/Witches AU. - C'monnnn, he's already so witchy! He's got the sleeves and everything. And yes I know TS already has magic in it, but you know what I mean. He, like, lives in the spooky forest and the people of the village are deathly afraid of him, but you need his magical help, so against the wishes of family and friends you seek him out. And he forces you through a series of dangerous illusions as a trial and, when you successfully pass them, finally agrees to help you for a price...

Royalty AU as either the capricious king of a powerful nation or that king's advisor, formal or informal (smart concubine). I've never seen Game of Thrones but that kind of castle politics, shadowy backstabbing shit seems right up his alley.

Modern AU as an artist: I already talked about this with Vere as an artist and game dev, but I think it'd be so funny if Vere was just sitting in a coffee shop (local, Starbucks is below him) trying to finish his commissions in peace because his roommate(s) are annoying and/or distracting. Honestly, Vere would also rock as a modern AU witch, like urban fantasy type.

Leander

Barista/Bartender AU. He's so extroverted and congenial I have to put him in a drink service AU. He definitely has a "time to mix drinks and save lives" type of work ethic behind the counter. He remembers regular customers and their drink orders, he is LIBERAL with discounts, and he leaves little notes to the people he thinks are cute.

Serial killer AU. I am so basic and even though I have no desire to watch or listen to true crime now, I was raised on the Investigation Discovery Channel and I've never lost that. Look at his fucking face. He's asking for it to be covered in blood. Even better if this is combined with the above AU and he's a sweet server by day and a ruthless murderer by night but he keeps the same wide, pleasant, and genuine smile on because both things are things he loves to do. Even BETTER if he has an obsession with one of his regulars and starts killing people around them in an attempt to get closer with them.

Theatre AU. Siiiighs. Yeah, I'm a theatre kid. And I just know this guy would be one of those actors who wants to be a mentor/older brother figure for any new troupe-members. He's walking you through all the vocal warmups. He's offering to help you run lines. He's driving you home after rehearsals. He is a triple threat, but he doesn't prefer musicals because he doesn't like singing in front of an audience (even though he's an amazing singer). And I just know props absolutely hates him because he keeps touching shit that isn't his.

Kuras

Hospital AU and Angels/Demons AU is too easy. Instead, I'm giving him the flower shop owner in flower shop/tattoo shop AU. Anyone here like KurAis? Anyways, I think it would be sweet to have him be the super-tall, kind but a little awkward and very knowledgeable owner of a flower shop. He probably enjoys crafting bouquets that have meaning in flower language. And yes, he knows about the nice meanings and the rude meanings, so you can get a "fuck you" bouquet from Kuras.

Detroit Become Human AU as an android. I barely remember D:BH but it was one of the first things that occurred to me when thinking about AUs for Kuras. Maybe because he'd be the kind of android who was like, "Don't worry, I'm not a real person, it's okay if I get shot repeatedly," and wouldn't understand why someone would be concerned about him anyways.

Elementary school teacher/single parent AU but I don't know if I want him to be the teacher or the parent. Do I want him to look after a group of children, making efforts to understand their silly little words and communicate with them so they learn and feel cared for? Or do I want him to be the struggling single parent who is so happy to see their child finally getting the attention they deserve outside the house? IDK, but I'd be happy either way.

Mhin

Superhero AU. They're kinda already halfway to superhero gear with the hood and the cape and the tight pants, but I think it be cool for them to dart from rooftop to rooftop, saving civilians and fighting crime. IDK if it'd be cooler if they were half-hero half-villain (controlled by their bird-monster side and wreaking havoc) or if it'd just be nice to have a crow hero motif. Anyway they save me and I'm a reporter who uses my reporter contacts to try and track them down not knowing they're actually my upstairs neighbor who I bring shepherd's pie and strawberry cupcakes to sometimes.

The other tattoo artist in tattoo shop/flower shop. You know how there's always some other character working in one or both of the shops? Ayeah that's Mhin. Number one, I think it'd be hot if they had tattoos. But even if they don't they're still hot when they give the tattoo because focus and skill are attractive. They're talented enough that Ais keeps them around even though they hate him. They never talk to him even though he's their boss. Over the course of the fic Mhin and Ais get closer b/c Kuras is friends with both of them and he wants them to like each other.

Angel/Demon AU as an angel because I want them to be corrupted :) I want them to be forced to submit to their own worst impulses :) and eventually realize that being evil makes them feel good and more importantly liberated and in control :) also maybe they can get wrecked by a demon please :)

Aaaand the DLC cast gets one as a treat!

Sen

Pacific Rim AU but PLEASE don't ask me why. I don't even REMEMBER Pacific Rim. But the clarity with which I could imagine Sen in a Pacific Rim AU is startling. She's gruff and she doesn't want to partner up with you, a rookie, but somehow you have perfect chemistry in the mech she doesn't want to acknowledge. She's too reckless out of disregard for her life, and you reel her in; you're inexperienced, and she fixes your mistakes. Then one day she starts to notice that she's guarding her own life more fiercely than ever before...because of you.

If that's not what Pacific Rim is about shhhh don't correct me /j

Elyon

Easy answer is pornstar/industry AU or camming AU but I'll never take the easy way out. And I know we don't know shit about the guy but I think reincarnation AU would kinda hit with him. His promo talks about wanting things money can't buy? Like possibly the ability to save his soulmate from dying and forgetting him over and over while he retains the memories of every life they've both shared and lived separately, as friends, lovers, enemies, and strangers? That would go hard imo.

If you read all of that, thanks! I hope you enjoyed~

#luckyfiction #touchstarved game #touchstarved vn #ais #vere #leander #kuras #mhin #sen #elyon #touchstarved au #was gonna include psychopass au but istg i'll put ANYBODY in psychopass #when i rewatch psychopass s1? it's over for y'all #also don't get me STARTED on omegaverse #maybe later i'll do smthn for that #(if people won't strangle me) #anw that ppt post is so fucking funny #i started laughing all over again please look at it if you haven't

[sleepyvirgilprompts]

In a fantasy AU, Virgil is some kind of magician/sorcerer/mage. His friends are fairly sure he has never heard of moderation or taking care of oneself. He passes out from overtaxing his magic on a regular basis.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts virgil #sanders sides prompts #fanfiction prompt #fantasy au

[delimeful]

a still-glowing ember (2)

warnings: g/t, remus pov-typical violence/gore/innuendo, ignoring one's needs/magical burnout, self destructive behavior, hypothermia, death mention

-

If Remus didn’t find his brother soon, he was going to burn this stupid forest to the ground.

He decidedly ignored the way the night’s cold was seeping into him, frost biting deep enough that he probably couldn’t even conjure a spark, let alone a flame.

That wouldn’t stop him. He’d figure out how to start a fire the human way if that was what it took.

(And afterward, if Roman’s spark had already extinguished by the time he found him– he would find him– Remus would figure out how to burn to death the human way, too.)

They’d never be able to come back to this valley, anyhow. Remus had snatched three whole territory markers from a shifter as he headed north, using the decision-making process that had gotten him labeled ‘a danger to himself and others’ at his first colony.

What could he say? Roman was the closest thing he had to impulse control.

He’d considered going back for another one– the temperature drop as the sun set was killer, literally– but stealing foxfire was the sort of thing one couldn’t repeat without getting gleefully disemboweled by a pissed-off fox shifter, and who would track down Roman then?

Already planning exactly how he’d make fun of his brother for losing to a measly storm, Remus flapped his wings sharply, sending another wave of warmth through them and ignoring the way the cold pit in his chest deepened a bit more.

It didn’t matter. He’d always wondered what it would feel like to gutter down to ashes, anyhow.

The world’s most torchable forest continued to look the same no matter how far he flew, all thick-trunked trees and mossy undergrowth that he’d normally be eager to taste test. There was barely anything resembling a breeze, so the murmur of rustling leaves had been completely overtaken by the hum of insects and distant calls of night birds.

The lack of wind was just another stroke of bad luck. Normally, without any drafts to coast on, sprites would find a perch to occupy. He couldn’t glide for long, meaning that his half-frozen wings were working twice as hard to keep him in the air.

He had to keep moving. Roman was out there somewhere, perched in one of these identical trees or flitting from branch to branch in his own search. If he actually cared that Remus was missing, that was. Remus’s brain was beginning to suggest otherwise.

Maybe he’s glad to have the chance to get away from you, his mind offered. You should hunt him down and break his wings into little frozen splinters.

There was a heavy thud and rustle nearby, and Remus veered towards it, because investigating things that could potentially murder him sounded way better than listening to the squishy gray matter in his skull.

The source of the commotion turned out to be a sizable bear, shuffling its way down the trunk of a large tree. Remus circled around the scene on quiet wings, taking in the practiced movements of the beast.

Oh yeah, that could definitely murder me, he thought, successfully sidetracked. In a single hit, even. One of those paws probably weighed as much as three of him.

It was a moon bear, he was pretty sure, just barely able to see the telltale sliver of cream fur on its chest in the dark of the night. Not one of the more carnivorous species, boo.

No idea what it had been doing up there, but he didn’t have time to pursue the distraction any further.

With all the turning, his glide had shifted to more of a controlled fall, and he flapped his wings a few times, ignoring the way the bear’s attention shifted towards his direction. The flaps were frustratingly weak, slowed by encroaching icy numbness, and he forced another surge of warmth through them.

His spark pulsed painfully, and in the next moment, his vision blacked out entirely.

His wings flailed out to try and brake automatically, but vertigo had struck like a viper, and he could hardly tell up from down. There was wind in his ears now, which probably meant that he was currently hurtling towards a very splattery end.

He’d always said he wanted to go out screaming and covered in someone else’s blood, but he couldn’t even draw breath to yell, his whole body struggling to right itself amidst the pain of nearly burning himself out.

There was a sudden impact against one wing, hard but thin– a branch? Any semblance of direction vanished as he tumbled head over heels through what felt like an endless stretch of bush. Each stinging lash hurt, but by the time he hit the ground, his momentum had slowed enough to make the impact totally agonizing instead of extremely fatal.

He lay there for a few long moments, stunned or possibly paralyzed. He couldn’t really tell if the snapping sounds had been the branches around him or all of his bones. Slowly, his vision began to fade back in, each blink bringing a new arrangement of black spots.

Distantly, he finally registered an odd sound, one that was gradually growing closer.

Snuffling.

Oh, right. The bear.

Moon bears weren’t particularly active carnivores, but their primary meat intake was carrion. He remembered because he’d thought it was extremely funny, and also an excellent fact to gross Roman out with.

Remus attempted to twitch a wing, and failed miserably. His whole body felt like it had been tenderized into a paste.

… He was pretty sure he counted as carrion, at this point.

Getting eaten by a bear was a cooler death than hitting the ground because he forgot how to fly, at least.

The rustling of leaves intensified as something began pushing past the bush’s branches, presumably searching for him.

There was the sour taste of misery on the back of his tongue, knowing that if Roman was still alive out there somewhere, Remus had abandoned him with not even a corpse left behind. It was his own fault, he thought with a pang of aimless violent fury. If he’d been smarter or quicker or more reserved about his search, he wouldn’t be in this mess.

He was distracted from the impulse to bite down on his own arm– half to vent his anger and half because if something was going to eat him, he wanted the first bite– by the sensation of something soft and warm grazing him.

It was like his body remembered it was freezing all at once. He leaned against the warmth despite himself, his breath catching as a new wave of involuntary shivering agitated every bruise and bump he had, and struggled to think past the sensation.

The thing grabbing him wasn’t a bear mouth, he realized, mildly disgruntled. There were no teeth. Only a bunch of flexible, appendage-like protrusions poking through the brush and curling around him.

The mystery of it all was the only thing keeping his mind off his shrieking nervous system as his battered frame was steadily pried free from the bush’s tangled grasp. He stared down at the fleshy lump settled across his chest like a band and abruptly realized he was looking at a fingernail.

A hand. Had a human somehow grabbed him? Remus blinked, dizzily sinking into the warmth of it. Maybe they could help him with the forest fire. He’d been planning to set something on fire human-style, hadn’t he?

“Try to stay awake. Your body temperature is dangerously low,” a low, measured voice informed him.

Remus hadn’t even realized he’d closed his eyes until he opened them to the sight of a considerably larger face looking down at him. Not human after all, going by those fangs and the round, fuzzy black ears atop the stranger’s head. Where had he seen those ears before…?

The stranger had continued talking, not that Remus had caught any of it, and was now levering his arm up between two fingers and pressing on it. It felt gentle, but sensations could be deceiving in the cold, so it was totally possible he was about to watch his humerus get snapped in two. The stranger was staring at him expectantly now, as though a question had been asked.

Remus didn’t have an answer, but having finally figured out just what kind of shifter was holding him, he did have something to say. Inhaling past his bruised ribs, he tilted his head back against the palm he was resting on to make eye contact.

“You’re beary hot,” he managed, and with his piece said, proceeded to immediately pass out.

–

Remus woke up to fur in his mouth.

“Pfah,” he said, coherently.

The fur underneath him twitched, everything swaying slightly as though wherever he was laying wasn’t exactly solid ground. He was also sweltering, which was a great state for him to be in if he didn’t want his spark to go out from overstress. Really though, how much fur did one have to inhale to start coughing up hairballs?

There was a careful oversized breath, and then the surface below him abruptly shifted to something much flatter and smoother. Fabric, Remus realized, his cheek pressed against distinct woven threads.

“Hello,” a voice rumbled through him, large and close. “You’re on top of me. Please don’t be alarmed.”

Remus waggled his eyebrows blearily, still too disoriented to even contemplate being alarmed. Besides, he didn’t startle easily. He was normally the one alarming.

“Did you at least buy me dinner first?” he asked, his delivery weakened by the instant pain that blossomed in his chest. “Ow.”

“My apologies,” the voice replied. “I was unable to reduce the bruising of your ribs, since applying ice would have only worsened your condition. I did not prepare any dinner, because you were unconscious.”

Either this guy had the best deadpan in the business, or the innuendo had completely flown over his head. Remus was delighted regardless.

He struggled to push himself upright, his entire body protesting severely, and a giant hand lifted into his line of sight, hurriedly curving around him as a supportive measure. The feeling was familiar, and Remus went rigid as he recalled exactly how he’d gotten here.

“Where are we?” he asked, all traces of his lackadaisical attitude gone.

If the stranger was surprised by his sudden intensity, he didn’t show it. “My home. It’s a cave near the northwestern edge of the valley, and I brought you here after seeing–”

“You motherfucker,” Remus swore, and twisted to bite down on the stranger’s hand.

The fingers contracted briefly, but surprisingly enough, didn’t collapse down to instinctively crush him.

“Ow.” The stranger’s voice was insultingly monotone about the attack, which admittedly hadn’t even broken skin. “Stop that. There’s no need, I don’t intend you any harm.”

Seeing that his best efforts weren’t cutting it, Remus unlatched his jaw and craned his neck to scowl up at them. “Forget harm! You kidnapped me while I was in the middle of something!”

“Yes,” they replied dryly, “dying. I noticed.”

“How long has it been?” Remus asked, shoving to his hands and knees. “Is it still night?”

There were two hands hovering anxiously over him, now. “Not long has passed. There are still several hours until dawn breaks. Why?”

“Because I’ve got a featherbrain brother to find,” he said, “so sorry to smash-and-dash, stranger, but you’ll have to abduct me to your cave against my will another time.”

The stranger went quiet for a long moment, during which Remus painstakingly managed to push himself up to a standing position, though his wings were limply dragging behind him.

He couldn’t really see very far before his vision went blurry, so he wasn’t sure entirely where the exit was, but he could figure it out. It was a cave, after all: either he’d find the opening or he’d walk endlessly deeper and deeper into the earth like a dumbass.

Before he could successfully balance well enough to take a step towards one of those destinations, though, a shadow fell over him.

“My name is Logan,” the shifter spoke up, “and I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

As easily as a breeze would pick up a leaf, Logan scooped Remus off his feet back into his cupped palm.

“Nobody ‘lets’ me do anything!” Remus snapped back, thrashing as best he could against the grip. Seeing as he currently had the strength of a newborn kitten, it didn’t do much. “Come on, you can eat my corpse later, I’ve got time-sensitive shit to do!”

The comment earned him a minor twitch. “I have no desire to eat your corpse. That would defeat the entire purpose of this venture, which is to prevent you from becoming a corpse in the first place.”

“My corpse, my business!” It was frustrating to know that if they had met in normal circumstances, Logan was exactly the sort of stiff-backed repressed nerd that Remus would have delighted in teasing. Almost as frustrating as the fact that the dork wouldn’t let him go!

With a huff, Remus gave up on avoiding agitating his wounds and threw himself into struggling with no care for bodily harm.

“Listen to me,” Logan tried, sounding slightly more harried. “Your internal temperature is only barely beginning to recover. If you expose yourself to the frigid weather outside for any longer–!”

“Oh, I’ll expose myself alright,” Remus snarled, because what was the point of nonsensical threats if they couldn’t also be saucy? “Roman is out there in that weather!”

“And you’ll be no help to him if you choose to freeze to death out of simple, ignorant stubbornness!” Logan literally growled, the noise vibrating through Remus and lingering in the back of the shifter’s chest. “I will help you search once you’ve stabilized, but until then, you are at my mercy.”

Remus stared up at him, in utter disbelief that someone could make playing nursemaid to a sprite sound so threatening.

Logan’s expression softened, but his grip remained firm. “I refuse to sit by and watch such foolishness. I won’t be made to explain it to your brother.”

Maybe it was the way his words assumed Roman’s survival after Remus had spent the whole night imagining the worst, or maybe Remus was just exhausted enough for a rational argument to have an effect on him for once.

Either way, he clearly wasn’t winning this fight. He let his body flop limply against Logan’s hand with no little amount of petulance.

“If you don’t help me search, I’ll learn how to perform surgery on giants just so I can fill your organs with flesh-eating wasps.”

Logan took the concession for what it was, and only raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t it be simpler to lock me in a room with the wasps? My flesh would be eaten either way, right?”

It was the perfect question to distract himself with. Remus launched into a heated defense of the differences between external versus internal flesh consumption as torture methods, barely noticing as Logan carefully moved his limp wings back into a more comfortable resting position.

The shifter kept asking questions as he cupped his hand against his chest, creating a cushion of warmth on all sides. Remus kept talking even as drowsiness began to set in, a sprite cradled up against the heartbeat of a bear shifter. Heh. He had always wanted to cuddle something that could maul him.

Remus knew the warmth rekindling in his chest was his spark. Still, it felt a little like hope, too.

… Blech, Roman had been rubbing off on him.

He’d have to return the favor once they were reunited.

#sanders sides g/t #fantasy au #ts remus #ts logan #a still glowing ember #asge #my writing #writing #i almost forgot it was saturday. shout out to bk forever

[fandombead]

Janus’ Guide for Cynics Who can’t Admit They Need a Family

First of a few Sanders Sides Fics I want to post~

Chapter 1: Right into the Fire

Word count: 2,257

Characters: Janus and kid!Remus

Summary: Janus just wanted to live his life and leave his past behind him. Until a random kid throws a flaming rock into his plans of traveling alone. Why couldn’t he just be selfish?

____________________________

Janus was not one to risk his own life to intervene in other people’s. It just wasn’t who he was.

It stayed the case that it was none of his business while passing a village in flaming doom.

He wasn’t one to be nosey in other people’s spats with the elementals or vengeful spirits that were also none of his business, because the potential of getting irreparably staked in it would mean getting in the way of his self-preserving principles. That was just the sort of thing that would get some other fool, one with a bleeding heart, killed. And Janus was no fool in the slightest. He was in it for himself and didn’t have room in that plan for sticking his neck out for anybody. And that’s why he planned to leave immediately before he drew unwanted attention or saw something he couldn’t un-see.

It seemed he’d lingered too long already as he stared at the alluring blaze, people yelling and scurrying to save possessions more than themselves. Their small forms were easily hidden by the growing flames. Half the wooden buildings were already entirely consumed, the husk roofs and dry paneling only added kindling now, growing the cloud of black smoke towering over the town like a tidal wave cresting.

It was hot even from where Janus stood from the treeline as an on-looker and really wished he knew why he didn’t just walk away now before he somehow got caught up in it. How he’d spotted a scampering child in the chaos of fleeing carts and denizens and domestic animals, he did not know, but they’d caught his attention.

Perhaps it was because this was the only living thing running towards the flames and not away.

No one was trying to stop him as he shoved past hurrying pairs of legs and almost tripped another.

…Only to dart into a weathered house that looked like a repurposed old storage. With the thatch roof and half the side up in flames. Janus gaped and tried to see if anyone else saw that, but they continued on with their own cares. Was literally no one going to stop the senseless half-pint?

It seemed the universe had unfortunately promoted him to active participant now because he’d gone and made the mistake of being a witness. Curse the guilt that clung to his soul, he owed no one anything. Who was his conscience to tell him what to do? How easy it’d be to turn and just leave if not for the threat of knowledge haunting him for the rest of his short life. He couldn’t get involved, he…he was already across the ditch that separated the trees from the dirt road.

Janus didn’t know when he’d fought his way out of the brush to stand outside the door the kid had run through. No one had spared the child a second glance and Janus realized for too long a moment he had already disappeared well inside. Sure, this building on the end of the row slightly back from the others hadn’t caught quite like it had already razed most of the quaint town, the sky amber and raining soot from all the wooden structures the flames devoured and grew from, reaching for more. It would happily take the boy too.

The house wasn’t large at all, at most just two rooms within it. What little had been in it was all but enveloped in flame and at the back of the room was the boy in all his three-and-a-half feet of feral fury, frantically trying to claw and yank his way through a solid door not yet taken by the flames, but close to it.

Janus didn’t know what the hell was so important, but as parts of the thatching fell through flaming, his only goal was snatching the kid and getting out un-barbecued.

Shouldn’t take more than 10 seconds, right?

Within 4 he had crossed the living space with burned hazards like what could’ve been a low table mistaken for a campfire. The kid looked scruffy, in an old green tunic a few sizes too big on his scrawny frame. Janus noted the bedraggled mostly brown hair he didn’t look to have ever attempted combing. He seized the child under their arms, worryingly lighter than he’d anticipated. Oh well, all the easier for him, no time to dwell. Back they went.

Or so he thought.

His plan was thwarted as the child exploded into a fury of limbs now trained on him, entirely ungrateful for Janus’ charitable rescue. A kick to his shin even as he held the child out had him swearing he’d be selfish and jaded the rest of his days.

Janus held the child away from him like you’d hold an angry cat you couldn’t put down, cursing internally. “ You dastardly little heathen, unless you want us to learn what the afterlife is like—“

Janus was cut off by a rather feral snap at his arms.

“Let GO!! I’m getting Roman! I’ll bite your hand off!” he screeched at Janus as if he were kidnapping him from his fiery demise.

Janus gapped at this, brain short-circuiting to process that. Well, it wasn’t because the kid was scared of his scar. “You… what?? Who—“

“MY BROTHER’S IN THERE, I’m not going yet!!” he snarled, desperate trying to throw himself free using his little weight against the traveler, and Janus’ mind stuttered again.

But they didn’t have time for him to leisurely consider that. Okay, so he had to readjust his previous timeframe with this new information. Would a minute work? Two? It would have to, because he didn’t have time and their other exit was far more perilous now.

He all but dropped the kid back onto his feet and grabbed the brass doorknob. The door didn’t budge, either blocked by a collapsed support or from expanding in the flames. Janus hoped it was the latter, otherwise, he didn’t think they’d be getting out alive at all.

“Hello? Kid, you conscious in there?” Janus called through the door even as he pulled up his sleeves. There was no reply, which didn’t help his hopes any.

With one more glance down at the child and seeing an insistent wave at the door and intense pointed stare of shockingly red eyes– had he just been lured by some sort of demon pretending to be a child to his admittedly deserved slow death after all? Was that why no one else had been stupid enough to follow? -- Janus stepped back and rammed his shoulder into the wood with all of his weight. He did it again while trying the doorknob and was relieved when he felt it give inwards, the pain of bruises he could feel blooming again, having him cursing himself for being here.

But if not him, no one, and then two children would be gone because no one had cared. Well, it’d be all three of them now, but they weren’t goners yet and so he wasn’t entertaining it.

Let it never be said that Janus didn’t try once in his life, though.

He coughed from the effort and how hard it was becoming to breathe, the hot air burned his eyes. Heat licking at the back of his neck, He took a step back and ran the four feet of room he had into the door with all his weight. It slammed open with a crack and he fell to the floor due to his commitment to his momentum, groaning.

Smoke billowed at the ceiling but the holes in the roof seemed at least to help in not choking them here. He was really banking on the thickness of the roof’s slats to buy them time before it fully collapsed in, but that thickness would also trap them if it fell early, the weight of it not enough to crush them, but a slow way to die from the surrounding smoke and flames. Janus grimaced.

The rotten goblin child scrambled in over top of him, the audacity. As much as he would rather stay splayed on the relatively cooler earthen floor, he knew he had to get up as the very real possibility of the half-burned roof trapping them at the bottom of what could become a bonfire grew with each passing second. He pulled himself up while grabbing his fallen hat as his shoulder let him know just how reckless it thought he was.

Janus pushed the plank door closed against the inferno behind them. It wouldn’t be a viable exit anymore anyway and might as well buy them time, futile and minuscule as it was.

The air was suffocatingly arid regardless and Janus needed to identify their new exit preferably soon.

The child to his credit was standing on the old bed frame trying to shove the window’s frame outwards and struggling due to his height, back to Janus.

Janus frowned and whirled around, expecting to see another kid occupying the little room. There was an old rumbled thin bed with no sheet and lumpy pillow that looked like a burlap bag stuffed with scrap cloth and wool. A worn brown blanket that looked like it was made the same way a sack would be (was it just a cut sack?) was rumpled on the floor beside the bed, discarded.

Perhaps he was hiding by the old wardrobe that was catty-cornered opposite the bed? But when Janus checked the place over, there was absolutely nowhere for another person to effectively be hidden away, no matter how short. The bed was high enough Janus saw the floor beneath it, also child-free.

Janus’ eyes snapped again to the only kid actually in the room, confused. The kid looked unbothered by a lack of this “brother” around, and only now Janus noticed a little crocheted doll in the crook of his arm, inhibiting his attempts to open the window as he refused to put it down.

Janus blinked a few times as his brain drew a conclusion just as the kid seemed to reach the latch. He gave a gap-toothed grin at his achievement and shoved it open before hopping down quickly and wiggling under the bed.

“I— you—!!“ the caped man sputtered as realization sparked a fiery fury, his blood pressure suddenly louder in his ears than the fire. “You made me break into a room in a burning building to get a doll??!” he hissed, unable to mask the vitriol in his tone.

“I didn’t ask you to come too! I’m his brother, of course I had to get him! Roman can’t move,” the insane child’s muffled voice replied with the tone of someone having to argue the grass was green.

The kid squirmed back out holding a curved circular object that looked like an oversized wooden plate in his hands. It was too shallow to be a bowl and had badly attached leather straps that looked like they were one good tug away from falling off. He then made a grab beside the bed and didn’t seem to be listening as he set the two items down.

Janus had half a mind to chuck the doll in his fury, but as it was they’d already committed to the damn thing, and causing a fuss now would absolutely delay their departure. He wasn’t so sure his rescuee wouldn’t go charging into the fire after it before Janus could grab him. Later, then. He could chuck it back through the window once they were safely outside to teach the child a lesson in self-preservation priorities. “A doll is replaceable!! What, you think you’re indestructible?! Last I checked you're a squishy little brat! Neither of us is fireproof!!”

The mini menace just glared and had the nerve to wiggle past Janus as the adult looked on incredulously.

He shoved the circle out the window first then quickly went for the other on the bed.

“Oh, yes, please do take your time packing, the blazing roof over our heads will wait for you.”

Janus lurched after the kid with his goodwill and patience all but abused and spent. He’d be chucking the kid out at this point because clearly he had not been born with any survival instinct. At all.

The child barely managed to wrap his free hand around the stick of the wooden sword before Janus was hiking him bodily over his shoulder and they were — with as much grace as a fawn on fresh ice— tumbling through the narrow window. It was all Janus could do not to squash the kid as they landed in the dirt.

They had landed and then rolled five feet from the fire and Janus couldn’t find it in him to move any further. Janus could only lie there, somewhat dazed, and coughed faintly. If death somehow still got him at this point, then so be it. Though he somehow forgot he wasn’t the only person here in that too-brief moment.

The kid sat up after 3 seconds of recovering from the rough landing.

He peered down over Janus, tipping Janus’ hat back onto his forehead from where it had rolled off. “Are you dead?”

Janus stared up and blinked slowly as the punctual roof finally fell in, throwing burnt hay and smoke up in the wind. “Sometimes I wonder.”

“Oh. Okay~” the now homeless child shrugged, sitting back beside Janus. The doll was held loosely in his arm as they watched the fire burn down everything manmade in front of them. “I’m Remus!”

“...charmed.”

#my writing #sanders sides #everyone eventually makes an appearance but this chapter is just Remus and Janus #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #fantasy au fic #sanders sides fanfiction #ts sides #ts fic

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Virgil is done!!!

His wings are based on the Deaths Head Hawkmoth, which is very very pretty <3 as is he

His hair covers his eyes, he could cut it but he's gotten used to it at this point. His eyes are a lilac colour :)

Prince Virgil <3

Next will be Roman, and then finally Remus :)

The others:

| Remus | Roman | Logan | Patton | Virgil | Janus |

#sanders sides #art #sanders sides art #digital aritst #sanders sides virgil #ts virgil #fantasy au #rowans fantasyau #moth!virgil sanders #hes such a lovely boi #he squeaks when alarmed. #this is non-negotiable

[warcats-cat]

Wide Eyed in Wonder (AKA: Two)

Patton has an unfortunate mishap with some wayward magic. Some chaos and some softness ensue.

A/N: Please read The Long Road Home (Tumblr) (Ao3) before reading this fic! It will make a lot more sense with the context from that work.

You can also read this work on Ao3 if preferred!

I'm doing it I'm posting this!!! I've been messing with it since literally before the first chapter of Long Road Home was *posted*. And I know that if I don't just bite the bullet and *post* it, I'll never stop messing with it. Not that I'm not happy with it!! This has one of my favorite one-liner's I've ever written. I just never stop editing...

As always, please let me know if I missed any tags! I hope you enjoy this very silly piece as much as I enjoyed writing it!

- set roughly 3 months after leaving Wardenthall Manor -

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Virgil was still grumbling, wondering why he had been put in the lead when Roman was going on and on about some mysterious fountain that he just had to see, when Patton yelped next to him. The half-fairy had stiffened and fallen backwards, as if something had pushed him over. The party stopped abruptly, Virgil rushing immediately to his fairy’s side.

“Pat? You ok?” he asked softly, kneeling to help him back up if needed.

Patton forced himself back up, bracing with one arm and holding the other to his face. He groaned.

“ ‘M ok. Just a little shocked, I think.” he said, strained. He shook his head as if to clear it, before accepting Virgil’s hand gratefully, and being pulled to his feet. 

Upon standing, he immediately stumbled, but quickly righted himself. Virgil could tell the fairy was becoming uncomfortable, watching as he fiddled with the edges of the half-cape that laid over his shoulder. 

“Are you ready to continue?” Logan asked, looking like he very much wanted to check Patton for injuries in the meantime. Patton roughly nodded, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms, before setting off once more.

Patton made it about two steps before he stumbled again, flailing his arms out and almost slapping Virgil in the process. 

"Woah," the mage said, reaching an arm under Patton's to help support him, "You sure you're ok?" 

Patton made a face, as if the question was particularly difficult. "I feel… funny." He said finally. 

Virgil shuffled him a little closer, noticing the fairy's eyes had gone a little unfocused, tinged red at the corners. What had happened? This time, Logan did come closer, and gently inspected the back of Patton’s head. 

“You have no visible injuries. Perhaps you and Virgil should walk closely for a while, in case you continue to feel disoriented.” the scholar said softly. Patton made no motion to acknowledge that Logan had spoken at all, which was extremely weird for him. Patton always acknowledged whoever was speaking, at the very least nodding to signal that he’d heard; a habit long ingrained from his time with the Marquis of Assholes.

Virgil felt Patton start to tremble, just slightly, and as he took another step, he almost seemed to swing his leg, as if it were detached. Virgil had to grab the fairy completely around the chest to keep him from falling flat on his face. 

"Hey Ro, need your help." Virgil grunted, and Patton made a hysterical, almost strangled laugh. And yet, at the same time, Patton tilted towards Virgil, as if trying to press the side of his head into Virgil's face. The Prince came carefully from behind the pair, taking a firm but gentle hold of Patton's waist. 

"Hello love," Roman said lowly in his ear, "may I pick you up?" The fairy leaned into his touch easily, and nodded. And yet, as Roman adjusted his hold to lift him from the knees, the fairy squeaked, grabbing desperately at Roman's vest and tucking his face into the prince's chest. 

"You're alright, tadpole. I've got you." He murmured into Patton's hair, to which the smaller man hummed and relaxed some in his grip, although he made no move to turn his head back around to the others. 

To say Virgil was concerned was an understatement. 

Patton was still getting used to them as friends, occasionally allowing Virgil to hold his hand, but never one to initiate, especially outside the safety of their little group. It had taken almost a month for him to so much as look Roman in the eye, let alone accept compliments or physical affection. And yet here he was now. He'd flipped faster than a coin from nervous about the situation to red faced, almost purring at snuggling with Roman while the prince held him; and from the side they could see a light, relaxed smile on his face. Virgil exchanged a nervous glance with Logan's curious one.

"Patton," Logan moved closer, and the fairy hummed again. "May I see you please?" The scholar placed a careful hand on his shoulder, and after a moment he finally seemed to understand what Logan had asked, releasing his grip on Roman's vest and turning his upper body to face the other two. 

Whatever had happened had happened fast. 

Patton's eyes were lidded, glassy, his whole face and body relaxed. He smiled wider at seeing Logan, and when the scholar reached out to get a closer look at his face, the fairy turned to nuzzle into his palm as well. If it was possible, his blush seemed to grow darker red, flushing to the tips of his ears and maybe even down his shoulders. 

What the hell?

Logan brushed a thumb over Patton’s cheek, and the fairy shut his eyes completely for a moment; but when Logan pulled his hand away, Patton pouted, and looked to the scholar as if asking what he had done wrong. 

“His pupils are excessively dilated.” Logan said, half to himself. The scholar reached out to cup Patton’s cheek once more, and the fairy hummed happily, turning his face into the touch. 

“Did we step in something?” Virgil asked, watching Patton’s strange behavior from a distance.

Roman was scanning the area over their heads, when suddenly his eyes widened.

“Virgil, those red flowers in the underbrush. Just next to you. Be careful.” he said lowly.

Virgil looked down where Roman was indicating, and sure enough, there were blood red poppy flowers peeking out. But that wasn’t the worst part.

The flowers were carefully arranged; they’d almost stepped right into a fairy ring. The fastest way into the FaeWilds with absolutely no way back. There were two that lay crumpled, having been crushed under Patton’s foot as he walked.

Logan reached his other hand out to Virgil, who took it and stepped carefully away from the deceivingly innocent flowers. The three moved back carefully, scanning through the underbrush again.

Patton whined at being deprived of Logan’s hand once again, which Roman tried to soothe by bringing the half-fairy’s face back to his chest, muttering, “Hush, tadpole. It’s alright.” There was a long pause between the three, staring at the circle.

“We should get moving,” Virgil said finally, “in case whoever left this here comes back.”  

----------

Logan only had one working theory as to where Patton’s odd behavior had suddenly come from. 

A fairy of sufficient power could, theoretically, disrupt whatever spells had been laid on a given fairy ring; the ring was only as strong as the fairy who planted it. And Patton, though reserved about his powers at the best of times, clearly had significant magical ability, especially for being only half-blooded. He’d been slowly gaining confidence and control with Virgil’s help (and the help of other mages they encountered in their travels); even in the early stages of his training, it was becoming more and more apparent to Logan that whomever had been his fae parent, they had to be of incredibly high rank. 

So it was entirely possible that, when he had stepped on the flowers forming the circle, Patton had effectively snuffed out the magic there entirely, without even being aware of doing so. And, because he’d been connected to the ring for those few seconds before being thrown backwards by the release of excess magic, he’d absorbed some of it. 

To put it in terms Roman would understand, Patton was Magic-Drunk.

Now, Patton walking of his own power back to their camp was entirely out of the question; both because it was clear his sense of balance had been all but obliterated, and because any attempt of Roman's to put him down only elicited upset whining, and that same incredibly broken face that tugged at even Logan's firm heartstrings. 

As if Roman were going to abandon him in the woods forever, not just adjust his backpack. 

At the same time, Virgil's nervous hovering only increased with each minute. He alternated between frantically scanning the woods around them for assailants and checking up on Patton. It was almost dizzying to watch, and yet also moderately adorable. 

Perhaps Logan would admit to being the slightest bit envious of the pair's relationship. Virgil was the only one of their group with whom Patton would allow himself to completely relax, though he was slowly but surely becoming comfortable with Roman and Logan himself. It was slow-going, but well worth the effort. 

And yet, here they were, walking through the woods back towards camp, the half-fairy snuggled comfortably into Roman's arms and occasionally softly swinging his feet. Virgil running a gentle hand over his hair every time the mage turned back to check on him. 

They were, perhaps, two-thirds of the way back when Logan felt eyes on him; and sure enough, when he looked over, Patton's widened eyes were fixed solely on the scholar, peeking halfway out from his position tucked into Roman's chest. Logan couldn't control the smile that broke out on his face; whether it was from fondness or nervousness at being stared at, he couldn't be sure. 

The fairy's face didn't change, however; Patton continued unabashedly staring, as if Logan was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the vicinity. 

Really, Logan couldn't help himself. 

He ambled closer to Roman, reached over, and softly poked Patton's nose. Just as he'd seen Virgil do, dozens of times previous. 

Patton made no sound, but his mouth opened, just a touch, and his eyes crossed to their extremes while trying to look at his nose where Logan's hand had been. 

Roman, who had been watching the scene, snickered at the fairy's actions, angling his head down and pressing a light kiss into his hair. The noise then prompted Virgil to turn back, and upon seeing Patton's face broke into his own fond smile. 

"What did you do to him?" Virgil asked softly, moving closer to Roman so that their company was now tightly packed against the unaware fairy. The mage waved a hand in front of Patton's face, which at the very least righted the position of his eyes. 

"I did nothing." Logan said with a casual smile. "I merely tested a display of physical affection that I have seen you employ several times." The scholar then demonstrated by poking Patton's nose again, this time causing the poor fairy to cross his eyes and slightly tilt his head. 

Virgil chuckled as he spoke, "Aww, Pat." He waved a hand once more in Patton's face to refocus his eyes, and it seemed that Patton had tired of the game as he blinked a few times before leaning his head back against Roman with his eyes now shut. "Nothin's goin' on in there right now, is there buddy?" 

Virgil smiled fondly anyway, and ruffled Patton's hair for the fifth time that hour.

"Never fear!" Roman said, his voice lowered but tone still excited. "I'm sure we can take excellent care of our dear cupcake in the meantime." The prince adjusted his hold slightly, prompting Patton to curl inwards once more. "With my luck, he probably just needs some time to sleep it off."

----------

Virgil was really reaching his emotional limit today. First the fear of Patton stepping on a fairy ring, then the fear of  what the hell happened,  and  now  having no idea when it would wear off. 

And Patton's face,  every time Roman tried to set him down. It pulled on Virgil's heart worse than seeing him in the stockade. 

They definitely couldn't leave him alone in the carriage or in the tent; if he couldn't see at least one of them, Patton would bury his face in his knees and just shudder with silent crying, and it had taken almost two hours before Roman had managed to coax a few words out of him. He was scared they were going to leave. 

They'd propped Patton up at first in one of the bed rolls, and the fairy had watched with a downright creepy silence as the three worked around him. Then Roman had gotten the idea of setting the fairy a little higher, and strung up a (thankfully well secured) makeshift hammock for him to sit in. 

Now Patton could see the whole camp, and they'd given him a blanket and pillow in the hopes that he would go to sleep, and maybe be back to normal. 

Four and a half hours and counting, and Patton was still higher than a kite. 

It was Virgil's turn to sit with him; they'd been rotating every fifteen minutes or so, so everyone could get a chance at getting work done. The mage was just chattering away about anything he could think of, his left arm going numb from reaching up to let Patton hold it.

It wasn't until hour five hit that Virgil got an idea. 

The sun was still blazing its highest in the sky, Roman and Logan setting up something to eat for lunch, and thankfully Patton didn't protest when Virgil kissed his hand and let go, running off for a minute to the carriage. 

No one was allowed inside Patton's backpack except for Virgil. He wore it constantly when they were traveling, refusing to let go, and Virgil had learned early on that everything inside was carefully organized into different pockets. 

The fear of someone taking away all of his possessions ran deep; even if there had been a spell in place protecting anything in his room, apparently anything left  outside  the little living space had been fair game. Thankfully, Roman and Logan were graciously understanding of the situation. 

Still, Virgil was very careful not to disrupt anything as he unbuckled an inner pocket in the bag where Patton's most precious possessions were hidden. From the safety of the very bottom, even hidden under the bag of the fairy's savings, Virgil fished out his prize.

Patton was testing the ropes of the hammock when Virgil returned, idly swaying his body and producing the slightest swinging motion. Virgil couldn't help the soft smile on his face; Patton would be doing that even if he wasn't a little out of his mind. 

"Hey Pat, I got you something." Virgil said, leaning in a little. The fairy tilted his head and hummed; words were pretty hard at the moment. Still, Virgil smiled a little wider as he presented the gift; a tiny stuffed puppy that they had shared when they were still kids, a donation from the village that Patton had snatched up as his prize for being especially good one week, and apparently never given up. 

The fairy's face lit up, his smile wide and blinding. The first actual smile he had made since being carried around in Roman's arms. And, Virgil noticed, the very tips of his ears twitched just a hair upwards; the surest bet that Patton was extremely excited about something.

"Pup!" he said, almost in disbelief, and Virgil wondered for a moment if the fairy had forgotten the toy existed while in his present state. 

Patton presented his open hands and carefully took the pup, cradling it close to his chest. 

"I thought he might help you get some sleep," Virgil said softly, watching as Patton nuzzled the top of the puppy's head. "Since he used to be so good at chasing away the bad dreams."

The half-fairy only hummed in response, but that was all Virgil needed for now. While Patton was fixated on the stuffed animal, Virgil very carefully began threading his fingers through his hair, weaving a light spell to make the fairy drowsy.

It took almost instantly; usually Virgil had to work for a few minutes when trying to make Logan or Roman (usually Logan) sleep, and he had to be a lot more sneaky about it. But Patton was already half gone, and to the mage's relief, he was out like a light within seconds. 

Logan would probably comment about pushing more into his system when he was already overloaded, but Virgil didn't care if it meant the fairy would sleep. And hopefully wake up normal…

----------

Patton did sleep for several hours, and it was early evening before he woke again.

However, his eyes, and therefore his mental state, seemed unchanged despite the rest; and now he was sitting up in the little hammock he'd been laid in, staring hard at his hands. 

At first, Logan thought he might be pondering his family sigil, but as the scholar came closer, the fairy suddenly looked up at him with wide, deeply upset eyes; his dilated pupils almost completely obscuring the iris. 

"What's wrong, starlight?" Logan asked, hesitantly using a more affectionate nickname. The words seemed to sail right over Patton's head, however, as he moved both hands and held them up, showing Logan his empty palms. 

"Two." The fairy said sadly. 

Logan had no idea how to respond to that. 

"Yes?" He said, half questioningly, unsure of what to say. It was almost impossible to tell anything that was going on in the fairy's mind at the moment. 

His response proved unhelpful, as Patton's eyes became watery, and his lip quivered as he openly, though silently, cried. He moved his hands back, staring down at them. 

Well. Time to call for help. 

It took some coercion to separate Roman from whatever project he had undertaken in the carriage, but at least Logan's urgency on the matter spurred Virgil into action. The mage spotted his now-sobbing love and immediately moved to his side, kneeling down next to the hammock. 

"Hey Pat," he murmured, gently so as not to startle the other. "What's wrong sweetheart?" 

Patton neglected to move his head this time, sniffling and repeating the heartbroken "Two," as if that was the answer alone. Virgil took this to mean he wanted to hold hands, but when he reached for both, Patton held them farther away from him, only allowing Virgil to take one. 

Ah.  

Logan couldn't help the fond smile, although he did try very hard to restrain his laughter. Roman gave the scholar a look, and Logan put a hand behind the Prince's back, moving them both closer to the upset fairy. 

Maneuvering himself so that Logan was in between his two currently sober loves, Logan gestured for Roman to take Patton's empty, outstretched hand. 

The prince made another face when this seemed to upset Patton even more, but Logan paid him no mind. Instead, the scholar gently took hold of either side of the fairy's face, and bent just slightly to touch their foreheads together. 

The tears stopped almost instantly, Patton closing his eyes and seeming to calm, although his breaths were still heavy and watery. 

"Easy, starlight. Deep breaths." He said softly, closing his own eyes, running his thumbs tenderly across the apples of Patton's cheeks.

"Hey Lo? Wanna fill us in here?" Virgil asked after a few minutes of silence. Logan smiled once more, brushing noses with Patton and eliciting a hiccup and pleased little hum. 

"Our dear heart only has two hands, and there are three of us, creating quite a dilemma indeed." Logan said, fondness and just a touch of sarcasm lacing his words. 

Both prince and mage then burst into their own snickering. 

Poor Patton would never live this down.

#warcats writes #sanders sides #moxiety #analogince #LAMP #fluff #fantasy au #fae and faeries #fae magic #magically induced high #sanders sides fic #ts fic #Long Road Home

[jhdanes]

Day 17–>Fallen angel: I fell from grace just to get one teste of you. @augustwritingchallenge for #AU_gust_2023 my contribution for day 17! #AU_gust

#au gust 2023 #jackie chan adventures #totally spies #totally spies britney #jca drago #jackie chan adventures drago #crossover #crossover ship #ship #ts+jca #jca+ts #fanart #digital art #couple #fantasy #supernatural #angel #demon #angel/demon #interspecies romance #my art #myart #art