#dibble dabble drabble

[shushposting]

I can be your Prince or I can be your Dragon

Possessive Full Demon Form Vox, intersex Val, toxic relationships because Vox and Val being Vox and Val, they’re so codependent it's disgusting can you have make up sex and hate sex at the same time? Yeah kind of.

Valentino stays gone too long after a fight, Vox doesn’t handle it well

It’s a dance at this point, well practiced and predictable. They fight, they break apart, they fuck, and the broken pieces fit back together. It didn’t matter how many times they stormed out they always always came back.

But even the most practiced dances stumble sometimes, right?

Valentino had walked out of the Vees tower two weeks ago. The longest he's ever stayed away in all their years of euphoric highs and sickening lows. Any attempt Vox made to contact him was ignored. Texts left on read, calls dumped to Vmail, assistants baring messages and gifts shot and left wherever they crumpled. That was the first week and by the tenth day, the texts and calls stopped.

After that, it got more drastic. TVs in the hotels he stayed or in window displays where Valentino walked on the streets burst. Voxtek appliances shorted and sparked or just combusted once he touched them. Lights shattered in his clubs, showering him with sparks and colored glass.

The moth’s last frayed nerve snapped when the next casualty was his phone. He'd only glanced at a text from Velvette that he needed to haul ass back home before every contact and app changed to Vox's speed dial.

Vox vox voxxy V̸̨̊o̶̺͛ ̴̀ͅxv̴̎͜o̸̰̐x̵̢̚x̶̡̒v̴̙̕oVox ̷̬́x̸̪̊ẍ̵͎v̷̱̍ȏ̶̧x̶̄͜Y̴̞̚v̸̟̓Ǒ̸͎X̴̞̍V̸̄͜ö̸̟́X̴̫̀vXY̸͌ͅo̵͖̓Ơ̶̯0̴̡͂0̸͕͘x̶̉͜

The thing rapidly heated and glitched in his hand until the screen cracked. He'd just barely managed to throw it down before it shattered apart with a sharp pop!

Under threat of being sent back to the goddamn stone age Valentino finally relents, he tells Dia to call his car for him and thankfully she's able to do it with minimal static and sparking around the phone. The car was suspiciously close, too close for it to not have been waiting on standby for him. It's not his usual driver who opens the door for him, it's Vox's and he's not asked where it is he wants to go. He swears he sees Vox's eye staring at him in the driver's V-Watch through the partition the whole way back to the tower.

The walk to the media overlord's surveillance room is.. honestly a shitshow. Vox's area of the tower was always pristine, sleek, and perfect. Now it looks like a war zone, with pieces of employees and debris scattered along the floor. Lights hang from their fixtures in ugly wirey tangles, ceiling tiles broken on the floor, elevator doors stand jarred between floors, doors not able to close properly and ding obnoxiously. One shudders to life and opens for him, the light overhead indicating the destination was Vox's lair.

It's not a smooth ride but it doesn't drop him to a temporary death either. Small mercies. It does leave him though, the second he steps into Vox's private space the thing slams shut behind him and groans back up the chute, stranding him.

Wires and cables writhe like snakes along the floor, the ceiling, and walls; all feeding back to the bank of monitors. Vox's highbacked chair was in a gnarled heap, torn from where it had been fastened to the floor, more wires coming up from the hole it had left. The TV demon himself hung in front of the screens, the cables connected to his body holding him aloft like a puppet. Or maybe he was just standing. It was hard to tell with Vox's disjointed limbs, too-long cables and wires lengthening his joints like some grotesque doll. And he said Val was theatric.

Valentino's own reflection looks out from the screens. Recordings and still shots of him over the last two weeks cover every monitor. In his clubs, hotels, the street, looking up at him from his phone before the damn thing detonated. Right in front, the one Vox was fixated on, was the live feed of him standing there in the here and now.

"And you get mad at me for wrecking shit?" Val says to his partner's back- might as well get this shit started "I take a siesta and you trash the whole tower while I'm out."

"G⦻N3" The glitched snarl seemingly comes from everywhere as the screens go red, Vox's black-ringed hypnotic stare broadcast across each one, glaring down at him "Not 'out'. You were gone."

A sneer pulls Valentino's upper lip off his teeth "Oh excuse me, I didn't know I had a fucking curfew."

"Two weeks" In a surging wave of sparking cables Vox is in his face, bodily slamming him against the wall.

"Ow- Goddammit, Vox-"

"You left me." Vox's claws fist into the ruff around his partner's neck as wires wrap painfully around him, sparks of electricity singing the fur. "For two weeks. You. Left. Me."

"Oh poor fucking baby," Valentino growls through a mocking grin, sucking in the electrical smoke and hissing it back out red and thick, cocooning around them as his body threatens to change, to grow monstrous in the face of Vox's own more demonic form even if it makes the wires cut into his skin.

They snarl and growl in static glitches and insectoid chirps, pushing and pulling at each other with too-sharp claws. Val's teeth grow in his mouth, snapping loud in front of Vox's screen when the hypnotic stare tries too obviously to catch his eye.

"You want to bite me? Here-" Vox's throat is suddenly right in his face, synthetic skin pressing against sharp dripping fangs. The hold feels suspiciously like a hug, cradling the back of Valentino's head as he tucks him into the crook of his neck, offering to let him bite and rip. "-bite. I don't give a fuck if we're fighting. Scream. Cuss me out. Hit me. Level this goddamn tower to a parking lot, Valentino I. Don't. Care. But you will fucking come home when I call you."

And fuck if that horrible- pathetic- declaration doesn't have Valentino's hips rolling up against Vox's leg where it pins him between his legs and takes the invitation to break skin under his teeth. "You miss me that bad, Papi?"

Vox's groan is miserable and angry, the cables writhing and tightening around Valentino's limbs, but he grinds his own aggression-hardened cock down to meet his partner's rolling. "You're not supposed to stay gone."

Electricity crawls across his skin as he lets go of Valentino's neck fluff to forcefully lace their hands together. The moth retaliates against the shocks by moving to the TV demon's shoulder and sinking his teeth in there too. Their hips slot together, rocking their cocks against each other, Valentino's pink-tinged slick dampening the panties under his short dress and the front of Vox's slacks. Finally back in step with their dance.

"We have a goddamn deal, Val." The surging electricity burns them both, smoke wafting off Valentino's fur and from Vox's overloaded processors. Burns down their arms, raising lighting-shaped marks to their joined hands where rings manifest around their fingers, the delicate chain joining them unseen between their clasped palms. "We don't leave each other. You don't leave me."

Valentino laughs bratty and condescending, breathing more red into the air around them, "Maybe if you reminded me more often why I shouldn't then I wouldn't have to take a two-week vacation fucking and getting fucked like I deserve. You've not really been acting like my prince have you? I thought I was supposed to be your Princesa?"

The eyes watching him from all over the room spark and glare and threaten to drip digital tears. His poor, hopeless little Voxxy. His ingrained 1950s ego was too fragile to even insinuate he wasn't doing enough, wasn't The Man, wasn't the steadfast and proper provider. That he was failing as a lover. Vox's screen flashes lines of rainbow before going blue, white text typing out frantically

Mine. Mine minemiN3youucaN'+1eavemme3y0u're MmineCaNT13avemem1n3on1ymine

Vox tears through his fishnets and raises bloody lines on his thigh as he pulls Valentino's leg up to hook over his hip. The cables tighten and yank sharply, taking them down to the floor. He's not easy either when he goes up under the tight little skirt, blindly slitting the soaked panties straight down the middle, not minding whether or not he nicks his partner. The grinding, insectoid hiss tells him he must have and the thick cherry scent of Valentino's pheromones flooding the air tells him he liked it.

Finally, some attention. The moth rolls his hips against the sharp points making them slide and rub over his cunt, teasing himself as an obscene gush of candy pink slick coats the media overlord’s fingers and drips down his wrist. "Come on, Papi. I'm yours? Show me."

Vox's digital face loads back in sharp and snarling, bringing the fingers to his mouth, licking his fingers clean before grabbing Valentino by the jaw and spitting it back into his panting mouth "You taste like a whore, Princess."

He snaps his belt at the buckle, not bothering to try and undo it before tearing his zipper down. He doesn't tease or let his tip kiss up sweet and slow like he has for decades when they come back together and he's winning his princess back. The push is sharp and faster than either of them are ready for, fucking like they fought, full of snapping teeth and cutting claws. The media overlord is ruthless, thrusting hard enough that they slide across the floor. Valentino tears a bloody wrist out of the wires to press above them to keep his head from knocking against the wall, stilettos slipping loudly as he digs his heels into the polished floor trying to give just as good as he got.

"I'm going to kill every worthless nobody you let touch you." His voice crackles over the wet sound of driving himself into the moth's cunt, "Your pussy is mine. I don't give a fuck who you let suck you off or how many whores you stick your dick in. But this-" Two fingers slip in beside his cock, "is mine. Nobody else fucks you. I'm going to start hanging them flayed in the streets, do you understand me?"

Long tongue swiping at the drool and blood painting his lips Valentino arches up with a chuckling moan, gushing and dripping around Vox's cock. "Mmhm, medieval. My Prince knows how to make my heart flutter."

"Maybe I'm done being a prince." Vox leans all his weight into the hand laced with Valentino's with a static rumble, hilting hard until he can see the outline of himself through Valentino's belly with each deep stroke, "Maybe I need to be a dragon and keep my princess in his tower where he belongs. Keep you tied up in silks and jewelry until I get home and I can show you you're mine over and over and over. How many times do you think I would have to write 'mine' with my tongue inside you before you came?"

"Oh fuck- Vox"

"If that doesn't work I'm sure I can make a lock strong enough. Whatever it takes. What about this Val? Would this keep you?” There’s a whirr and a vibration pulses from his cock.

Valentino wails, hand leaving the wall and flying to the vibrating bump buried in his guts, feeling like it was jarring down to his bones and he gushes. “Vox Vo- Papi, please fuck”

“Say you’re mine, Val.” Vox growls, hips snapping faster, the hand tucked in beside his cock slipping out to hold him by the neck. “Tell me you know you’re mine.”

“Yours, Vox. Ah-always yours- only yours”

He pulls Valentino into a kiss by the throat, and they rut like that, rocking and shouting around each other’s tongue until the vibrations pushed them over the cathartic edge of orgasm.

The cables don’t loosen. Vox’s body doesn’t return to form.

“Val.” Static laced lips rub softly across the moth’s “If you ever leave me like that again I’m dragging you back to this tower and I’m chaining you to it.”

Valentino only laughs, long tongue dragging across the screen. “Wear the dragon attachment and it’s a date.”

.

[hlfmoonshine]

"he's ignoring my calls, posey" rory closed the cupboard door, a little too harsh with eleanor sleeping on the couch, finally down after josie fussed with her for an hour. rory didn't mind the crying, ellie sounded just like josie had when she was little, there was something comforting in that. josie's brows raised, a laugh threating to bubble up, but she quashed the feeling down. "rory, come on, wouldn't you ignore your calls too, if you were him?" she loved her siblings, but they didn't always have the healthiest relationship. "what is that supposed to mean?" rory pried open the container of flour, trying not to be insulted by her baby sister's words. "i mean, you bankrolling his mistakes—" "i don't bankroll anything!" "oh fuck off," josie's voice dropped on the cuss, always afraid eleanor would pick something up when she wasn't paying attention, "aurora calla eden, you have paid for every rehab stint, every hospital stay and surgery! you've been enabling him for years, decades even. clearly he doesn't want your help anymore." "that's stupid! he should be accepting the damn help, where else is he going to get it from?" rory shuddered to think what new scheme coen could have signed up for. god, she hoped he wasn't getting into sex work. josie stood from the table, grabbed her sister's hands and forced her attention. "rory, he might be growing up. we all do it at different times. i didn't grow up until i was pregnany with ellie. maybe it's coen's time. i know it's hard, but we can help him by letting him figure it out on his own."

[animelovegirl16]

Dibble Dabble, it's time for a drabble!

@proj-edens-garden

SPOILERS FOR P:EG!!!

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Ulysses being mastermind is something I want to see. Please let our sleepy history baby survive for the entire game. And not just because "History repeats itself." Is the first thing you see in the game. Just from Chapter 1 alone, it looks like it could be a recurring trend. Wolfgang tried to lead the whole "We will stop the Killing Game completely!" and look what happened to him. As soon as the chapter was over (albeit it may have been a bit corny to some), Diana immediately pulls the same narrative (pun very much intended, given the circumstances), but from the looks of that, history is already repeating itself. It would explain why Diana being so optimistic is what pisses Damon off in the end, like "did you not learn your lesson yet?" If that keeps up in future chapters, seeing Ulysses, the only one of the group who's a complete history nerd, being slowly be affected by this would be a good way to set him up to be a mastermind who's on an insane extremist quest to "stop history from repeating itself."

[creaturefeaturepictureshow]

Yesterday I made more appts to see doctors and therapists for my psyche. I’m terrified they’ll lock me away once I open up about my silly eye disease and topsy turvy ears.

[metalallcrgy]

What she remembers is this: he wrote poems on her armor, inkless glyphs traced out by gentle claw tips with barely any space between them and punctuated by kisses and quiet smiles. He promised her the world and all the stars and the sun and she believed him when he said i will love you until the stars go out because she had touched the very core of him and the truth of his promises was written there in blinding light. He gives her string and she dyes it red, tying it around their wrists with laughter and a promise to be together forever.

What she remembers is this: betrayal and the taste of ashes on her glossa as the world burns around her. He's writing poems on her armor again, but his claws are not gentle and energon bleeds sluggishly between the lines. Death is not a mercy, and it is not kind.

What she remembers is this: She dies, and war comes.

[ishis-ppg-blog]

Arturo-centric chapter going up! Check beginning of chapter for content warnings 

[cadenceholly-blog]

Cadence was never one to pride herself on her preparedness. She was the type of girl to consistently forget to bring an umbrella even though the forecast called for rain. She often forgot to bring a jumper whenever she went out at night and usually ended up having to warm herself with a cup of tea (if she was in the Muggle areas) or even resorted to heating charms. She was reckless, distracted, and would rather spend her life wandering about in childlike amazement than actually think about the future. She was a distracted mess of a girl, and she quite liked her life being that way. It kept things light, cheerful. She could have a laugh with a stranger when she popped into a shop dripping wet. She could share a meal with someone she otherwise might not, bonding over a cuppa and some chips, if she was feeling particularly peckish. She always tried to find the good in her unpreparedness, but she was struggling to find the good in this one.

"This was always an option from the beginning..." The Healer's voice sounded distant, like a lost echo trapped in her mind. As if she was a maiden in the middle of a quest, remembering the good words spoken to her before she left, but she doesn't feel like she's doing anything heroic. If anything, she feels more like a damsel, trapped inside a tower and unable to save herself. "It's something you should've prepared yourself for."

She knows, distinctly, that his words ring true. She should have prepared for this. She should have known from the start that this could be a possibility, but she was young, and afraid, and naive enough to think that there was no way, no possible way, that her mum could die. She knew death was inevitable, even for witches and wizards. Just because they had a long life span didn't mean they were immortal. But parents weren't supposed to die while their children were still in their twenties. They were supposed to die at the ripe old age of at least a hundred. After their children had grown and created a life of their own; got married, had kids. Patricia had just passed over the hill. She wasn't there yet. It wasn't her time.

Early on there had been grief counselors, those sent to help them understand what was happening, that there was a possibility of it ending horribly. Cadence had met with them a few times, but they spoke in such soft tones and looked so forlorn. It felt like they had already signed her mother's death certificate, and she wasn't ready to face that. She isn't ready to face that. Not yet.

"We've exhausted all of our efforts... The potions are only doing so much... We can't slow it down anymore. We can only minimize the pain..."

Part of her wants to speak up, to tell them that they couldn't have exhausted every angle, but she knows it isn't her place to say something like that. The Healers have been nothing but kind and helpful to them since the beginning. They often explained things to her in layman's terms, helping her to understand what was going on and answering all of her questions patiently. Snapping on them wouldn't do anybody any good, but there's an itch beneath her skin that's telling her to do something. Say something. Scream. Fight. Cry. Run. She isn't sure which.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this. We're still not sure what this is, and I don't think we'll have the time to figure it out. Her body is essentially shutting down. We're not sure how much longer she has..."

Cadence feels a sting in a palm, but when she looks down she can't see the damage through the watering of her eyes. The tears burn like acid when they slide down her cheeks, but she's powerless to stop them. They keep coming, quicker and quicker, almost as if they're racing each other. Seeing which one can reach the linoleum floor beneath her the  fastest. She feels helpless all of a sudden, as if she's been turned back into a five year old, unable to help out her daddy when he's going through one of his client's books. Only the feeling is more crushing, now, like the walls closing in on her from every angle and forcing all of the air out of her lungs.

She wishes there was a silver lining to this cloud; that there was some sort of good that could come from this, but all she feels is a crushing sense of defeat and a sick sort of anger at herself for not toughening herself up. She thinks maybe if she had prepared it wouldn't hurt as much. That she wouldn't be half as afraid as she is. But she didn't, and now she's stuck.

The itch underneath her skin is more of a burn, now. Like her lungs were screaming for air, or her muscles were aching to move. It’s distracting her from the words her father and the Healer are exchanging, and she feels light headed. She mutters something--an I’m sorry or I need some air, she isn’t sure what--and then she’s turning to leave. She picks up her bag from where she had placed it underneath the chair when the Healer pulled them aside, and wipes the tears from her cheeks. She tries to ignore how quickly they come back. 

For now, this is all she can do. She can pretend, if even for a day, that things are okay, and she can leave the hospital behind without fear. 

ooc stuffishness:

hey hi what’s up! i figured i’d make this here instead of making it long-winded in the tags. i’m starting on like... the plot for cadence now. so to those people i’ve had talks/plans with it would be super duper super awesome if you could message me? so we could finalize some things or change some things etc etc. 

also if you think your character would know of this happening (basically her mom is for sure like. dying. like she probably has a year or two at the most) please, please hit me up so we can discuss! or if you want to be apart of this plot in anyway, because it’s gonna be a long process, let me know~ esp if your chara travels.

anyway yeah ! 

[shushposting]

intersexValentino, chastity devices, dub-con, self-dubcon, self-piv, overstimulation, toxic and horny

Short thing for @cyberrat @arc-after-dark and some awesome anons from whump Valentino getting railed by his own prehensile dick discussions

https://www.tumblr.com/cyberrat/752016261412700160/val-considers-sleeping-in-a-chastity-belt-to-give

.o.

When Vox unplugs from work for the night the lights in Valentino's room are already out. Only the pink wash of Vee Tower's lights and his own dim screen guide him to the bed where he hears gasping and the sound of something rhythmic and wet.

"I thought you’d be asleep by now. Having fun?" Vox asks into the dark as he shrugs out of his clothes.

The answer comes on a choked, sobbing gasp "No"

“”No”?”Vox's hums, screen brightens as he crawls up on the stupidly large bed to see the moth's face.

Tears stain and mat the fine, thin fur around his eyes, down his cheeks, from the corner of his eyes to his temples. The pillows and sheets are a wreck from trying to find a position where he could close his legs tight enough to block his prehensile cock out of his cunt before giving up and laying spread out and defeated as he is now. The circles under his eyes are so dark, making him look haggard, exhausted, and weak.

“I can’t- it won’t- goddammit I can’t make it stop” Valentino shouts through his teeth, gripping and tearing at the sheets.

“I know. Poor baby.” He coos, petting a cum slick, trembling thigh.

And he does know. He’s watched it build all day leaned back in his chair with his hand down the front of his pressed slacks. The nervous glances Valentino kept directing down at himself as he crossed and uncrossed his legs, calling for constant breaks to go in the back and bend over his vanity to get railed by his own restless cock, fumbling at his toy rack trying to find something anything to stuff in his pussy that his dick couldn't slip in beside hoping it would give up. It never did.

The obscene, wet rhythm quickens, the moth hiccupping punched out little 'no no no no's as his lower hands shoot down to grab at his cock. But the damn thing is rooted right where it wants to be, curling upwards hard and anchoring against the strangling grip. Whether he wants it or not- and fuck he doesn't- Valentino cums, biting into the ball of one hand, sobbing and shouting as another orgasm is wrung out of him.

Vox spreads a hand across Valentino's shivering belly, petting the tight muscles beneath that bunch and cramp in the aftershocks. "Breathe, Val. Breathe."

He doesn't. He can’t. The air won't come, between his hand clenched in his teeth and the sobbing all he can manage is choked hiccups.

Vox gently pries the hand out of his mouth "Do you want your cage?"

Val hates the device even though they'd had it custom fitted for him so it was as comfortable as it could be. The vulnerability of admitting he needed a cage to control his own body was too humiliating- too terrifying. Even brought to tears and his pussy overworked and raw he looks like he wants to say no, even starts to shake his head.

But then his eyes go wide, fat tears welling up while his lower hands scrabble between his legs again. It's not done. There's not much movement of the shaft that Vox can see other than lazy wriggling, but he knows better. He's had that insatiable thing inside more times than he can count, he knows what it's up to.

And yes, with his screen casting shadows down the length of the moth's body, he can just make it out. The pushing, the digging, making just the slightest bump low on his pelvis. Valentino's cock roots hard against his prostate, pushing against the nerves in a loop of it's own pleasure.

Valentino's breath hitches on a sob and he covers his face behind his hands, "..get it.. Vox fuck please I'm losing my goddamn mind."

"Shh I know, I've got you. Daddy's going to fix it." The cage is conveniently lying in 'fun drawer' of the nightstand, kept easily within Vox's reach.

Vox moves from Val's side to between his legs, stretching out on his stomach and pushing his thighs apart. The media overlord replaces Valentino's grip on his cock with his own, hushing the distressed whimpering as he pumps the base slowly, trying to ease it out bit by bit. Cum froths around the shaft and drips from the moth's swollen pussy, pulling out before driving back in stubbornly. He rubs and teases but an unsatisfying hand job is not enough to tempt it out. He holds Valentino's wide, teary eyes as he teases his tongue along his stretched pussy where the moth's cock is buried.

"Oh fuck" Valentino jerks, the tips of his wings flapping loud against the bed as he grabs at Vox's monitor "no wait goddamit Vox wait-"

Cables wind around the moth's hands before they can shove his screen away and hold them oh so terribly gently "Hush, baby, let me work. You want it out don’t you?”

Val's lip wobbles pitifully before biting down on it and turning his face into his neck fluff.

"There's my good boy."

Vox lowers his head again and gets to work. He licks hot and wet down the length of Valentino's cock, alternating between laying sucking kisses and dipping his tongue into his pussy to follow along the throbbing veins. It writhes, fucking into the soft cushion of it's favorite hole and arching back for the attention of Vox's static-laced tongue.

While Valentino is damn near wailing, Vox is cooing at his cock like a pet. Sweetly scolding it for what a naughty thing it was making a mess he had to clean up. Mummering over the slick skin for it to be good and come out to play, ignoring the choked, humiliated pleas to "not talk to it like a dog". But, like a dog, it wriggles and slides out excitedly- wagging- for Vox's attention.

It leaves a wet trail across Vox's screen as it tries to find the tongue it wanted to play with. The media demon lets it slide into his mouth and curl with his tongue, sucking on it- kissing it not unlike the way he kisses Valentino.

"Papi" He feels the cables shift, looking up to see the moth pulling at the slack to cover his face.

Vox fakes a hum of sympathy and slowly pops off, "It's almost over, Val. You're doing so good. You need to calm down so it'll fit in the cage, yeah? You can give me just one more can't you?"

"No no no I can't-" Valentino babbles, his legs clenching around his partner's shoulders, sharp claws and feathered fur of moth feet scrabbling at his sides

"You can, baby, I know you can. One more and we can lock you up and you can go to sleep. I'll make it quick." Vox promises, pumping two fingers into Val's fucked out cunt and swallows his cock again.

The high-pitched wail is insectoid, a grinding chirrup in the undertone. Vox feels the cock bulge in his throat, watches the short fur up the length of his long body stand on end, and tastes demonic power on his tongue. For a moment he wonders if Val will turn, let the overwhelming sensations push him too far, snap his restraint on his true form. Now that would be a sight. That monster cowed and whimpering like a heating bitch on it's own cock. He files that idea away in his wish list folder for later.

But the moment passes and the flare of power fades. Valentino goes kitten weak, simpering and mouthing at his own hands, pink saliva making a wet mess of his fingers. Vox rewards him by curling his fingers inside that sweet, swollen pussy, fingering low vibrating shocks into his nerves until the moth is howling and slick drips down his wrist. The cock in his throat flexes in little uncoordinated jerks, so so close.

"Give it up for me, Val." He croons through his speakers as he sucks harder, static sparking on his tongue and down his throat, knowing it was too much, "Let go."

He does, sobbing and choking on Vox's name like a prayer for mercy.

It's a prayer he feels gracious enough to answer. Whispering how good Val had been for him he pulls off and out to hold the cock, lazy in it's afterglow, and pats down the rucked sheets for the chastity cage. It goes on easy with so much slick and cum on Valentino's skin and on Vox's fingers. When it locks with a click Valentino shudders, still sniffling pitifully but for the first time since he left for the studio that morning the tension eases and the tense lines of his long limbs go loose.

"You did so good for me," Vox tells him, gathering his moth up and moving him to the other side of the bed and off of the soaked sheets. He'd call Kitty in to change the bed tomorrow.

"Y'didn't answer my calls." Valentino slurs accusingly as he drags Vox down on the bed with him. His face pinches and a few more tears well when he rolls onto his side, leg spasming when it puts too much pressure between his legs.

Vox cups the back of one long thigh and eases it over his own hips, letting it rest on him so Val could cuddle closer, head laying heavy on his shoulder. "I was so busy, baby, I didn't know you needed me."

He did. But where was the fun in rescuing his princess if he wasn't sobbing and desperate? He'd make it up to him tomorrow, call off work, take him out to eat, to shop, let him be a pillow princess for a few days and he'd be forgiven.

As Valentino's breathing goes deep and even Vox finally ends the recording. He reaches down to palm his own cock and starts the video over again starting from this morning when he'd tipped a drop or two of love potion into Val's coffee.

.o.

[hlfmoonshine]

"if you want out, you tell me, coney. i won't make you fight." it was a lie, they both knew it, but sometimes it hurt less for both of them if they pretended. francis still had a hold on the younger man. darius could do what he had to to protect his friend, but when you owed a landon, there was little to be done until the debt was paid. coen rolled his eyes, a scoff rumbled from his chest. "i have six more fights." "wins." "yeah, fine. six more wins, and then francis said i could quit." coen ran a hand through his hair, he didn't know how much longer he could do this. his body was getting older, his punches just as strong, but the ache after a fight seemed to take longer and longer to recover from. "you can do this one, coney. don't think about the others, just think of this one, alright?" he clamped a hand against coen's neck, pulling him closer until their foreheads touched. "she'll let you off the hook as soon as you're done, i promise. i promise. she let me go, she'll let you go too." "it's okay, dare. i asked for this, didn't i? i am the one who didn't try to get out before it all went south. i deserve it." darius knew better than to argue with the other man, his heart broke, he wasn't sure anyone could convince coen of his worth. convince him that making a bad choice at rock bottom didn't mean you had to suffer for your own sins forever.

[ulavellan]

Dystopia

Dystopia - Am imaginary place of total misery. A metaphor for hell.

Narya looked around. What was this place? It didn’t looked familiar, at all. She took another look, trying to spot something that would hint where she was. Nothing. Everything was dark and misty. Only light was the odd green glow that tinted everything to green. Narya coughed a bit and scrunched her nose in disgust, the air was suffocating and stale.

After walking around for a while, she spotted something familiar coming her way. She squinted her eyes to see better in the twirling mist. It was someone, Narya’s heart bounced from excitement. She started running as soon as she recognized who it was. 

Narya ran, tried to shout but didn’t get anything out, she skipped over the stones and puddles of darl water. She glanced and saw the familiar figure had the had stopped and was looking at her. Narya rushed the last few steps ,almost tackling him and wrapped her arms around him. 

"It’s you!" she sniffed when the feelings of relief overwhelmed her. "I though I was here all alone."

[shushposting]

Hell is Our Paris (2/3)

Valentino puts on his gift, Vox's repressed 1950's ass is hot for it.

princess!kink, feminization!kink, intersex oral sex, prehensile moth dick, exhibitionism/does forcing your employees to stay on video call with you while you go down on your partner count as public sex?, Vox jerks off with the train of a dress because of course he does

Part 1 here https://www.tumblr.com/shushposting/745247138870624256/part-12-staticmoth-princesskink-daddykink

.o.

The elevator paused on the ride up to the top of V Tower, the doors opening for Velvette. The twisted grin she gives him is knowing and full of filthy promises. She shuts the door on her little media clowns that try to follow after her in favor of the two of them riding alone.

“Off to your ivory tower to get ready for your fancy date with your flat-faced prince?” She teases “Did he tell you anything?”

Valentino shakes his head with a hum, “Only that a box or something is waiting for me upstairs and we have a reservation at 10.”

“‘A box or-‘ fucking hell that ‘box’ is worth more than a car.“ She snaps indignantly “And what’s in it is priceless.”

Fuck could this elevator not go any faster

“Stop looking like a kid at Christmas, Val, it’s disgusting.” But there’s no bite, if anything his enthusiasm makes her look smug, no doubt patting herself on the back for her hand in it.

“I’ve waited all day to see what this is. I don’t like waiting. I’m allergic, I get hives and shit.”

“You’re an idiot.” The click click clicks of her typing fills the brief silence before she nudges him with her hip “You’ll love it. Promise.”

“Is it hot?”

“Like hellfire. It’s..” she clicks her tongue, picking her words as carefully as she picks patterns and fabrics, “niche. Honestly, it's the first I’ve ever made like it.”

“You made it? Just for this?” It wasn’t rare for her to make pieces just for them but it made it feel more intense- intimate- that whatever it was Vox wanted had been so specific it needed to be done from scratch.

“Hand sewn by yours truly, I wouldn’t let anybody else touch it.”

“Aww Vel-“

“Upupupup- don’t drag me into the gross feelings, save that energy for Vox.” She flippantly waves her hand in a shooing motion but leaves it dangling in the air expectantly.

He catches her hand and dips at the waist to kiss the back of her knuckles “You're the best, Babydoll.”

"Of course I am." She says as the elevator opens to their shared common room and she steps off "At least remember that when you're ruining that outfit."

The doors close behind her and he watches the numbers climb- and yeah he is like a kid at Christmas, restless and damn near bouncing in his stilettos. He knew the ride was going to take up his whole damn afterlife he would have just flown up-

Really it takes less than a minute to reach the penthouse and for the doors open to the long hall leading to his rooms. Kitty and his sentry girls are already standing by with the doors held open for him. He doesn't bother to acknowledge them, just strides in and slams the door behind him.

And oh Vox, that sweet, hopeless romantic. There's a trail of petals under his feet as soon as he steps in, sweet pink candles flickering here and there along the path they made. He follows them through his flat to the bedroom. There are at least three bouquets worth of the silky red petals scattered on his bed, beautifully setting off the immaculate white of the package sitting on top of it.

The box is massive and Velvette wasn't kidding about the damn thing's worth. There was no ugly brown cardboard and cheap stickers. Like a jeweler's box, it was covered in thin, shiny leather with his name embossed across the front in elegant looping gold. Unmistakable as Vel's exclusive luxury line.

When he lifts the lid all he sees is white. White lace. White silk. White sheer gossamere. White white white

He sees the telltale lace garters and knows where this is going.

Vox's repressed 1950's ass always did get hot and bothered for Val in a dress.

He lifts.. and lifts and lifts and lifts. The sheer skirt is floor-length, slit up the front with a train, the shimmering gossamer pooling over the bed and he has to step back and hold it up as high as he can just to be able to see the whole thing. The bodice is a plunging sweetheart cut with rose-patterned lace over silk cups, the corset below was the same see-through as the skirt. Tight lace panties and a garter set are all there is in the way of bottoms under the skirt. The whole thing was more vintage bridal lingerie than a dress.

For a moment he thinks that in life Vox must have had a magazine with something like this secretly tucked away from his uppity bitch of a wife that never let him touch her unless the lights were off and they were under the sheets. He wonders how long Vox has been sitting on this little fantasy. Wonders if he'll even let him get out of it or just tear the train away from his ass and rip the panties down the middle and fuck him just like that.

Velvette was right, they were going to ruin this.

His phone buzzes, Vox's contact flashing across the screen Do you like it?

"I do." Valentino says out loud, smiling at the camera in the corner of the room

Then put it on. Strip for me.

Val unfolds his wings slowly, letting them slide away as he peels out of his leather pants, bending deep at the waist as they fall off to either side to show his ass. Staying bent Valentino spreads his legs further to slide off his heels- far enough he knows Vox can see between his thighs. He straightens slowly with an exaggerated arch of his back that keeps his hips canted out for Vox's viewing pleasure. When he turns he can see sparks around the camera and he knows the media overlord is getting off on the tease.

He walks towards the camera like he's on a catwalk as he flicks open the buttons of his shirt, his upper hands coming up to play with his chest once they're free. "What do you think, Papi? The gold rings or the diamond barbell tonight?"

He doesn't miss the zoom of the lens as he gets another text Diamonds. The ones I bought you for last year's award show.

A flash of red and Val is in the air, wings lifting him up to level with the camera as he cups and pushes his chest up giving Vox a close-up of the cleavage he's made, rolling his nipples between his claws for show while he slips his lower arms the rest of the way out of the shirt

And drapes it over the camera

HEY

This time Valentino texts back "Commit to the bit, Voxxy. You can't see me in the dress yet, bad luck or some shit."

The typing bubbles appear and disappear a few times. Valentino just laughs and thinks "I broke him" until it finally buzzes

Eyeliner. The cheap shit so it runs when I ruin you

Vox always knew just what to say to make his heart flutter.

.o.

Vox straightens his crisp white suit as he walks briskly down the hall to Valentino's penthouse suite, his assistant skittering after him. "Tell them I want the wine already poured when we sit down, leave the bottle. Wait five minutes and bring the food, then nobody enters the balcony unless I call for them. You did get my order didn't you?"

The eel furiously types up the instructions under the overlord's complex, obnoxiously specific order. "Yessir. I'll send this to the restaurant right away."

A sharp, withering look is shot over the media demon's shoulder as he adjusts his new diamond cufflinks.

"A-and I'll call as well, of course, to make sure they thoroughly understand your instructions, Sir."

"Good man. Have the driver bring the car around."

The eel walks as fast as he can without outright running from his boss. Kitty stands dutifully off to the side of Valentino's double doors, the fat bouquet of roses and little velvet box worth more than her that he'd ordered held out to him.

He takes it, checking inside the box that it's exactly what he wanted before closing it with a satisfied snap. "Kitty, have the elevators cleared, nobody hits a button until after we've left for our reservation. We won't be stopped for a second from this door to the car, you understand?"

She dips into a dainty curtsey with the tails of her bow and stays there until after the door closes behind him.

As he strolls to Valentino's room he notes everything had been arranged exactly how he'd specified, from the scent of the candles to only the most vibrant and perfect of rose petals making a path on the floor. Now as long as everyone could manage to be just as competent for the rest of the night there wouldn't be any problems and heads wouldn't have to roll.

He sees himself in his cameras, giving himself one last check. Velvette had assured him the immaculate white of his suit was made from the same silk as Valentino's outfit and the navy of the undershirt was the perfect compliment to his partner's lilac skin. 'Perfectly paired down to the last detail' she'd said.

He'd make damn sure tonight was exactly that. Perfect.

He only knocks for show, three quick raps before letting himself in with the little box tucked behind his back.

And oh he's glad Valentino didn't let him see before now.

The lights are dimmed and the moth is in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathed in the pink glow of the tower lights as he smokes. It's art, the silhouette of his long long legs outlined by the shimmering, see-through skirt and the way it fans across the floor around his feet. Hands that weren't holding the long cigarette stick were resting on his body, touching himself through the bodice, over the lace garters around his thighs, resting on his hip with fingers dipping just under the hem of his panties.. It's like the cover of one of those erotica novels and he's sure Valentino had staged the visual on purpose- the pose too modeled for it to be candid. Even from across the room, Vox can see the eyeliner rimming his eyes and a red sheen across his lower lip. He couldn't wait to smudge the hell out of them both.

Valentino's red eyes look away from the cityscape below and land on him, a hungry grin spreading until his gold fang glitters in the pink light as he looks Vox appreciatively up and down.

"Evening, Princess." Vox crosses the room, passing the bouquet into one of Valentino's hands, taking the one off his hip as soon as his own is free. "Let me look at you."

The moth sweeps the skirt out, the slit opening up to show the skin of his thighs, "Is it what you imagined?"

"Almost. Just missing one little thing.." He holds Val's knuckles to his mouth as he goes down on one knee, bringing the velvet box out from behind his back and flipping it open with his thumb.

Valentino purrs, pleased and giddy as he looks down at the massive diamond presented to him. "Christ Vox that's a fucking rock."

"I only buy you the best." Vox hums back at him, sliding the ring on with the same reverence as the prince with Cinderella's slipper.

-"S'that what gets you off? Some sweet prince charming bullshit? Put on Cinderella's stiletto and you get to go up under the skirt on your knees? Fucking hell Vox, no wonder you don't get laid down here."

"Oh fuck you, Otis."

"Nah, I'm not on the market. And unless you start earning me some big bucks with that little camera, your ~Princess~ ain't either. He's a whore Vox. My whore. Don't you go forgetting that." -

The static overlay of the memory fills him with a spiteful kind of satisfaction knowing the fat pig was rolling in his second grave because Vox was about to do exactly that.

He catches Val's eyes and lowers his digital mouth to the ring, then the inside of his wrist where the kiss turns to a barely-there lick. Daftly he moves Valentino's newly ringed hand over his shoulder and around the back of his neck, a silent signal 'hold on to me' as he moves the slit of the skirt out of the way to press his mouth just above the lace garters cinched around his thighs. A blue-clawed hand slides up the skin-warm silk of the corset and pushes the moth to lean back against the glass window.

"Come on, Princess, I said I wanted to look. Show me all of it" Vox slips a hand behind the back of one knee and hooks it over his shoulder.

And fuck does Val show him. His upper claws hold onto the free shoulder of Vox's fine suit and arches his back against the window to spread his legs while balancing on one perfect white stiletto to show off the lacey panties. One hand touches himself, guiding Vox's eyes from the little bow in the front, slowly to the strip of silk where it disappears between his cheeks, and back down to the frilly lace of his garters. Vox follows the path back up with his tongue, nibbles hickies into his thighs, and mouths wet over the silk until it clings tight to every outline and swell. He tests the hem over one hip with his teeth, it was so thin he could just bite right through.

Not yet. Tonight. Definitely tonight.

Vox's head buzzed with an incoming call, tongue vibrating in time with the ringing "Goddammit-"

Valentino's hand pushes hard on the back of his monitor, grinding into the vibrations with a pleased chirp. Digital eyebrows tick up as Vox feels the heel thrown around his back dig in, keeping him from pulling his mouth away to answer. Vox looks up the length of the moth's body, seeing expectant red eyes peeking over the fat bouquet of roses he was holding against his chest.

Fuck it, let it ring. Vox's vibrating tongue curls beneath his cock and further back, tracing over the hidden slit of his cunt through the silk, trying to tease the tight little snatch open. There's the slightest give and the first hint of cherry-sweet pheromone laced slick when the call drops. Incoming Call

Dead. Whoever they are they're dead. Dead dead dead dead. Vox shakes his head sharply, dumping the call. Blue claws slide the wet panties to the side, sharp tips stroking oh so soft over feverish skin and spreading him open, finally gets his tongue on that sweet little cunt he's been starving for all day-

Incoming Call

"Oh goddammit- WHAT?" He shouts against Valentino's skin, the pimp's hands holding him in place as the face-time frame pings into the upper corner of Vox's screen.

It's Vox's driver, wringing his chauffeur hat in his hands, pointedly trying not to stare from his perspective of his boss's static tongue lapping - the sounds this close obscene- at the porn overlord's pink-tinged slick. "I'm- I'm sorry, Mr. Vox Sir. The restaurant.."

"Will still be standing when. I'm. Done. You, on the other hand, will be lucky if I don't gift your head as a hood ornament to your replacement." Every stressed word is punctuated by thrusting his fingers hard enough Valentino is making punched-out little noises and the hand braced on the window squeaks against the glass as he arches into the feeling.

Hard-ass looking shark that he was the driver does a pretty good impression of a beaten dog "Sir, please, the restaurant called. Everything is ready, they're worried the food would-"

"They'll make it again." His tongue slides into Val's pussy between his scissoring fingers, driving in deep and pulling back off with a loud swallow. "Call them back and remind them I fucking own them. I own them, I own the restaurant, I own the brimstone under their feet, and the sky over their worthless, empty little heads. They exist only on my goddamn dime and they'll wait for me for as long as I say."

Valentino's mean laugh hisses above them as his prehensile cock slips out of the hem of his panties, dipping into Vox's mouth, trying to tangle up with his tongue as it licks at him. "Querido, he looks like he's going to cry."

"You'd love that wouldn't you?" Vox hums and takes the wriggling cock into his mouth, tangling his tongue with it, making out with it. "You're so mean, my gorgeous princess."

"You know it makes me wet when you lay down the law like that."

"Sir?" The miserable plea from Vox's speakers is ignored and the driver is left hanging on the line, knowing better than to hang up on his boss.

"Yeah? You like it?"

"Mm-hmm. Reminds me why I love to get on my knees for you and call you 'Sir' and won't ever do it for anyone else. Who else could do this to me?" A perfectly manicured claw slides down the edge of Vox's monitor and pulls him back to the dripping mess.

"Say it for me, Princess." Deep static bass vibrates through Vox's tongue as he licks long and slow through that wetness. "Tell me who else could."

"Nobody, Vox." Valentino moans, breathy and low, rocking between thrusting fingers and lapping tongue. "Nobody- oh fuck- nobody can do to me what you do. Never been this wet for anyone else. Never had to fake it, always fuck me the way you know I need it- the way only you can give it to me. Fucking ruined me for any other dick."

"Good." Vox goes down on him rough and starving, cheeking the moth's probing cock and driving into his cunt with his tongue. Licking loud and messy until slick is filling the seams of his screen and dripping off the edge into a growing puddle on the tile floor.

He pulls open the immaculate white slacks, blindly grabbing for a handful of the dress's train and fisting his cock, fucking into the fine fabric. Static crackles around him, shocking and stinging in delicious little kisses of pain over his skin and between Valentino's soaking folds.

"Vox" The flowers fall to the ground and all of Valentino's hands are grabbing at Vox's monitor and shoulders, riding his face hard.

"Cum, baby." Vox commands against Valentino's pussy, tightening his grip around himself until the friction from the dress burns and his cock starts kicking in his fist. "Cum for me. Now."

Candy pink and cherry sweet fill his mouth. A surge of Valentino's pheromones flood through Vox's fans, an instant high that chases the crest of his own orgasm and prolongs it until he thinks maybe he's cum twice.

He lets his tongue linger with unhurried slow drags through the mess they'd made until Valentino is chirping, pulling at his monitor by his antenna. "I'm going to cum again if you don't stop."

Tempting. Very tempting. But he hears traffic through the face-time feed where their driver was doing his very best to look anywhere but the screen, still waiting to take them to their reservation. He puts their clothes back in place, kisses the thigh thrown over his shoulder before setting Valentino's foot back on the ground.

"We're on our way down," Vox says to the driver before dumping the call and standing. He strokes over the skin-warm silk of the bodice before pulling the moth away from the window by his hips. "Are you ready?"

"After you just ruined me?" The moth's long arms drape over the tv demon's shoulders and waist, not sounding angry in the slightest.

Wet panties, hickie-covered thighs, and cum on his dress, Vox takes it all in with self-satisfied pride. "Tonight's all about us, about belonging to each other. I want everyone to see."

Valentino preens " Then let's go. Carry me?"

Vox sweeps him up all long legs and longer train, their ridiculous height difference putting his screen level with the moth's chest. Valentino had a few more visible hickies by the time they got to the car.

.o.

[cadenceholly-blog]

part one // part two

8th, September, 1979.

Exhaustion was not something Cadence was particularly used to. Ever since she was a young child she had an exorbitant amount of energy inside her that no matter how long she ran about the house, it never seemed to dull. Tag was easily her favorite game and she could play it for hours on end, only stopping occasionally when her mum called for her to snag a cup of water. While it was true growing up she started losing the drive to simply run around, she found herself expelling her energy in her other pursuits. Cadence was never one to sluggishly do anything. Vigor was a word many had attributed to her. Spastic, another.

So waking up on the morning of the 8th, the fact that she was so exhausted had struck her and left her feeling confused. It took a moment for her sluggish brain to catch up to her, and as she was rubbing the heavy sleep from her eyes she had remembered why she was so tired. Her mum. The hospital. Healers. We don’t know how much longer she has.

The realisation that it wasn’t just a nightmare had seemed to slap her in the face. A heavy weight settled on her shoulders and she slumped over, dragging her feet up onto her bed and tucking her knees up under her chin. Her eyes welled with fresh tears, but they didn’t fall. They simply remained there, collecting on her eyelashes and blurring her vision. Part of her wanted to cry, because it felt like the right thing to do. When one was presented with the fact that a loved one--your mother--was going to die, tears were the obvious go to. As was shouting. Immediate reactions that Cadence had observed more times than she could count throughout her visits at St. Mungo’s. But in that moment, it didn’t feel right. It felt too dramatic. Something that she didn’t want anyone else to see. A laughable excuse, considering the stunt she pulled at the Ministry two days before.

Growing irritated--at the unshed tears; at herself; at her mum. She wasn’t entirely sure which.--Cadence furiously rubbed at her eyes, dragging her knuckles across the damp and puffy skin. It burned, the skin already raw from the two nights of crying before, but she was taking out her frustrations the only way she could. She stopped when it grew too painful and blinked past the spots in her vision, trying to focus on the door of her bedroom. It was a cluster of some of her favorite things--an article about the changing of vampire status from beast to being; a letter from her mum she got when she was twelve years old, congratulating her on her dedication to her schooling; a photo of her and Gemma snapped at the beginning of 7th year. Her eyes stuck on that picture, watching as her old friend smiled brightly as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Looking at the picture stung, the feeling of loss suddenly overwhelming her. Gemma was a young life, taken far too early in life, and now it felt like she was reliving that sadness all over again, only more amplified.

She didn’t realise that she was on her feet until she had reached the door, and it only took a slight tug at the corner of the photograph for it to slide out of it’s place in the collage, her fingers trembling as she held it delicately. She stared at it for a long while, watching as the picture moved and danced. It showed both girls laughing, Cadence herself leaning into mutter something into Gemma’s ear. She remembers distantly how it took a moment for both of the girls to notice that they were being photographed, but when they did they seemed to light up. Arms were draped around shoulders, smiles were donned, and the biggest feeling Cadence can remember from that moment was just happiness in it’s purist form.

The tears started falling, then. They started slowly, small drips that just barely missed the photograph and landed on her hands, but then they kept coming quicker. It wasn’t long until she was trying to hold back a sob and in her effort to do so, she dropped the picture. It landed somewhere on her floor--where, she wasn’t entirely sure--but all that mattered at that moment was the overwhelming sadness that she felt.

Cadence stumbled back to her bed, landing with a quiet umph before she was curled up on her side. She cried for an hour--maybe even longer--before she felt that exhaustion seep in again. Sleep overtook her shortly thereafter, and when she slept, she dreamt of bright smiles and happiness, and of a light being snuffed out.

9th, September, 1979.

Cadence hadn’t slept well. She would like to say that it was obvious, but she wasn’t entirely sure you could see the bags underneath her eyes with how puffy they were. She had tried to remedy that after she had woken up--late, especially after a long night of tossing and turning--but the eye cream she had only worked so well and she didn’t trust herself to use magic. It took her longer than usual for her to fully get up out of bed and into the shop, but when she had made it there she fully intended to pretend like everything was fine. She was just sick, she told herself. Hay fever. It didn’t matter that it was September.

She managed to get by decently enough for the first hour. She was exhausted, but one Pepper-Up Potion and a few sickles in the cash register and she was back on her feet. It was the second hour that everything started going downhill.

She was sifting through the receipts on the counter and checking on the parcel orders, making sure everything matched up alright. Her eyes had crossed after a few minutes of reading the small handwriting and in her effort to double check the stock, she had sent a jar of leeches crashing off of her counter and smashing to bits on the floor. She had tried to catch it before it broke, but her arms felt like jelly and she just wasn’t quick enough. She sat still for a moment and stared down at the mess, sighing to herself for mucking it up before standing. It was relatively painless to clean up, but Cadence should have known to leave before it got worse.

Not long after that she had knocked into a shelf, nearly toppling everything over. After that it was the stock in the back room. Then it was nearly selling the wrong ingredient to a customer, for the wrong price. Her little mishaps were starting to get more and more frequent as the time went on, and she was sure that if she stayed any longer the entire shop would be a giant disaster area.

After apologising profusely to Wren, she asked if she could leave. It wasn’t a hard decision to make considering she was doing more harm than good, and it was without incident that she managed to return home. She slipped inside and upstairs without catching any attention, and it wasn’t much longer until she was back underneath her sheets, eyes fixated on the walls. She stared, and kept staring, watching the shadows that played over the surface before she was lulled to sleep. When she slept this time, she didn’t dream.

[cadenceholly-blog]

The walk to St. Mungo's was brisk. Cadence's cheeks stung as the air whipped by, tangling up the loose hair that hung from underneath her beanie. It was cold, yes, but Cadence rather enjoyed it. It was refreshing, and far more appealing than the stuffy air in the shop. Breathing in deeply, she could help the sigh of satisfaction that slipped out. It really was a lovely day despite the cold.

Despite the owl that arrived in the middle of her shift, Cadence was in a good mood. Her father wasn't known for getting his exact emotion across in his letters, so the words asking her to meet him at the hospital didn't raise any alarms. After the move, St. Mungo's became a sort of neutral zone for them. It was the only place the two of them could get along properly for fear of incurring Patricia's wrath.

If you have time, I'd like you to come up to the hospital. There are things we need to discuss.

She wondered what he could possibly need to talk about. As far as she knew, everything was alright. She'd settled in at the house in Hackney nicely, and she was positive she hadn't left anything of hers lying around. They hadn't gotten into any arguments the last time they saw each other so there wasn't any lingering resentment either. The vagueness of the letter piqued her curiosity, and when that happened, there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it.

So she walked and she breathed in the fresh air. She only stopped once or twice to admire something in a shop window, and before she knew it she had arrived. She said her normal hellos and well wishes to the welcome witch and continued on her way, slowly loosening up the scarf around her neck and shedding her winter layers. They always kept the hospital comfortably warm in the winter, and she would rather not sweat through her clothes.

Patricia was sat up in her bed looking rather displeased with all the attention fixated on her. Gordon stood near the window talking to a Healer, the pair speaking in hushed tones. The sight alone wasn't all that unusual, so Cadence just continued on until she was standing next to her mother before bending over and kissing her on the cheek. The two exchanged their usual small talk before another Healer stepped into the room. His face wasn't all that familiar to her, but she had learned to take that in stride. It seemed as if there was a constant rotation of Healers coming in and out of the room, all wanting to get a closer look at the Holly's. Nearly three years and still nothing.

"Ah, you must be who we were waiting on. Your father has already been informed, as well as your mother, but they decided it would be best if you heard it from us. If you please, Miss Holly." The Healer made a gesture towards the door, giving her a look that told her she should follow me. Confusion crept in as she got up, shooting a look at her mother for reassurance. All she got in return was a withered sort of smile and worry blossomed in her chest.

They didn't go very far. There was an empty waiting room just off the hall her mother's room was on, and the Healer told her to get comfortable. He disappeared briefly before returning with a cup of steaming tea and took a seat next to her. She felt nervous, worried about what he had to say, but she couldn't help noticing how personable he was being. That alone seemed to ease her, if only a little bit.

"I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but it is something you should know. Your mother, bless her soul, wants nothing more than to protect you, but I believe as an adult you have a right to know." He adjusted his position so that he was facing her. The look on his face was serious, his eyes almost hard as he spoke. Cadence had learned enough over the years to tell when bad news was coming. She took a deep breath and nodded, clenching her fingers around the mug in her hands.

"We've run some more tests," he started, and Cadence steeled herself for whatever was coming. "and we've found something new. Something we weren't expecting to find. There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out with it, alright? If you have any questions, feel free to ask me." Cadence nodded again, pulling her lip between her teeth and nibbling on it. The Healer sat up straight and gave her a sad sort of look before he spoke. "There seems to be significant tissue damage to your mother's kidneys. It's not as bad as it sounds, but her condition has worsened. We've decided that the trips out of the hospital will have to stop, at least for the foreseeable future. There is going to be a surgery, as well. We're confident that she'll make a full recovery, but if it's alright with you, I'd like to run some tests. If you're a match, that could save us a lot of work in the future if this does happen again."

Significant tissue damage. Cadence felt sick. The disease, whatever it was, was starting to spread to her mother's organs. Surgery usually meant a removal, and if they were looking for matches--she felt dizzy. Her condition had worsened. She wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to take the news, but the Healer was patient. He let her have time to digest the information, and Cadence took as long as she could.

It seemed like ages before she finally managed to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth and speak, and when she spoke the words came out almost whisper quiet. "The tests. How soon can they be done?" The Healer seemed pleased with her question and he gave her a reassuring smile before patting her hand. She realized belatedly that her tea had gone cold. 

She got all the information she needed, and it wasn't long until he lead her back to the room where her parents were waiting. She said nothing to either of them and simply crawled into the bed with her mother, wrapping her arms around Patricia like an overgrown child. She didn't cry, she wasn't sure the tears were there, but she refused to move until the same Healer--Michaels, his name was Michaels--returned with the appropriate papers. She signed them, and they spoke for the next hour and a half discussing when would be the best day to start the tests. It wasn't until late that she finally left, arriving home and settling back into her room without greeting the other girls. She sat her desk for a few minutes before pulling out a slip of parchment and a quill.

Mme. Santini,

I regret to inform you that I wont be able to attend the event. As it happens, something has turned up and I simply can't ignore it. I do hope we have a chance to meet eventually, but for now I must apologize. I thank you for your generous offer, and I hope you have a lovely time.

--Cadence Holly.

[cadenceholly-blog]

one//two

Germany, as it turns out, is just as beautiful as France. Not in the same sense, obviously, but still. The buildings radiate history and the people seem modern, but quaint. Frankfurt had an entirely different feel to it than Paris did, and for the first day it was nearly impossible for her to sit still. She had to see everything, taste everything, speak to everyone. Anna had simply followed along, snapping pictures with a Muggle camera they picked up before they met with the others at the portkey. (“It’s for documentation purposes, Cady. If we’re going to be famous we’ve got to have proof of our journey.”) The first two days were bliss. It was that feeling again, the one that she had gotten when she first started this whole trip. A sense of adventure. It felt like she was finally doing something with her life.

Marcus showed them around the city for awhile, pointing out the major landmarks and telling them his own version of their history. It was rough trying to listen to him talk for extended periods of time, his Australian accent far too heavy for her to focus on, but she liked listening to him anyway. He had a nice voice and he seemed to really know his stuff. They broke on the second day and said their goodbyes. They had another group to meet up with, and Anna seemed determined to get the show on the road. Cadence was perfectly alright with letting her take the lead. She wasn’t entirely sure where they should start, or even how to go about everything. Anna has said, “Just leave everything to me!” and Cadence had. It was out of her hands.

Their third day in, Anna had showed up at lunch with a dozen maps under her arm and a few books in another. She told them she talked to a few locals and gotten a few things. “Any grand adventure starts with a brainstorming session,” she had said, laughing around the brim of her latte. “We’ve got to plan the trip before we begin it, yes?”

Cadence wanted to tell her that she hadn’t exactly planned her trip at the start of all this, but something about the way Anna said it made it seem like she already knew that. Instead she just smiled and nodded, putting her ham and swiss sandwich off to the side and dragging a map closer. It was of Germany, she saw, and the Black Forest was already circled with red pen.

They shared a smile and got to work.

--

Anna, as it turns out, was terrible at Apparating. When they had landed just outside of Gernsbach, Cadence had to take a moment after and calm her stomach. Anna kept apologizing, telling her that it had been a long time, but Cadence managed to laugh it off. “It’s alright,” she kept saying, keeping one hand pressed against her stomach in an attempt to keep it from rolling, “I’m fine. Really. But maybe let me handle it from here on out?”

The town, when they finally trekked into it, was beautiful. The buildings were gorgeous and there was so much greenery around that she almost got distracted. Anna kept her on track, though, and lead her towards an inn she had spoken to a local about. It seemed like she had everything all planned, because when they walked inside and Anna introduced herself, the woman behind the counter had acted like she was expecting them. Apparently she had called ahead to reserve a room, and when Cadence tried to at least pay half of the amount for the room, Anna had simply shook her head and told no. “It’s the least I can do,” she had said, and Cadence left it at that.

They had dinner on the the river and Anna began going over their plans. “I’m not aware of any wizarding folk around,” she had whispered, darting her eyes around the restaurant in a comical fashion that had Cadence laughing and Anna smacking her lightly on the arm, “but I imagine there are some close. Not a lot. The best I can gather is they do not like to live near the forest.”

“It’s for a good reason,” she finds herself saying. She picks at her food and dodges Anna’s gaze, turning instead to look out over the river. It’s beautiful, and she finds herself reaching over and plucking the camera from its spot on the table. She snaps a photo, pausing a moment to admire the view before setting it down on the table. “There’s a lot of things in the forest. Surely you remember what they said about it in school? It’s a very dangerous place, full of very dangerous things.”

“Ma chére, what isn’t dangerous lately?” She’s got a sad sort of look in her eye that Cadence feels herself dodging. She knows what Anna’s talking about. Of course she knows, but it doesn’t mean she likes to dwell on it. So she simply takes a sip of water and clears her throat.

“You said there’s a local? One who’ll take us into the forest? When will we meet them?” She’s grown quite good at avoiding uncomfortable things, she thinks. She’s not subtle about it, not at all, but her tactics work and soon Anna’s off again. Cadence tries to focus on what she’s saying, and about how they’ll be meeting early in the morning, but she’s distracted. She keeps looking off into the river, watching it and wondering about what’s going to happen. She’s never been this close before. The fact that in a few days she could be meeting a vampire seems surreal. What if I can convince one to come back with me, she wonders, chewing on her straw in thought. What if they can save my mum?

Anna keeps talking. Cadence half listens. The River Murg keeps flowing, and somewhere in the big, impending Black Forest there’s finally a cure for her mother.

To say she’s anxious would be an understatement.

--

They’re advised to dress warmly, and when Cadence finally steps her first foot into the Black Forest proper, she’s thankful she opted to go with the second jumper. The air is much cooler under the canopy of trees, and it’s still early in the morning. There’s a fog that seems to blanket the area and give it an ominous sort of feeling and their only ten minutes into their admittedly very long trek that Cadence starts to voice her doubts.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this,” she says aloud, trying not to shiver at the chill that’s seeping in through her bones. She’s thankful she didn’t simply just jump into this all, because she’s sure that the walking would do her in instantly. If not, then the heavy weight of a well-stocked and heavily charmed backpack surely would. Anna keeps her gaze alternating between reading the map and watching where they’re going. She lifts one hand to wave off Cadence’s words before almost misstepping. Cadence laughs and Anna shoots her an unimpressed glare.

“Look, I understand if you have cold feet. But we are doing this. This is a life dream of yours, yes? And hikes are good! It’s exercise.” Anna says before tripping over a large root sticking out of the ground and almost falling to the ground. She catches herself on the bark of a tree and Cadence cracks up, having to stop for a moment to catch her breath from laughing so hard. “And see! You are already having fun. We are meant to do this, Cady. I can feel it.”

She says it with so much conviction that Cadence agrees. She shuts up for the most part, following along silently before Anna gets tired of holding the map and has her take over. They walk for hours before taking a break to rest and eat a quick lunch. They talk for a little, sharing stories of home and their pasts before continuing on. They don’t stop again until it’s well into night time and they’re both too tired to continue. They make camp, and both girls fall asleep quickly despite the cold and hard ground beneath them.

--

One thing that Cadence had learned very, very quickly was that the beauty of nature wasn’t only so beautiful for the first two hours. Then it was just cold, harsh, and messy. There were insects and all forms of creatures everywhere, and so much dirt that she was nearly covered in it. It didn’t matter that it was well under 21oC because with the amount of walking they were doing, and as far off the path as they were, it didn’t take them very long to be covered in sweat. It took a lot of convincing for Cadence to get Anna to keep her jumpers on, and the other girl only stopped threatening to disrobe when Cadence huffed out, “I’m not carrying your frostbitten arse all the way back into town, Miss Leon. I will take your gear and your maps and leave you here to die”

It was a joke, especially because she was panting as she said it, but Anna just laughed at her and promised that she’d give it up. They remained mostly in silence until they stopped to rest and eat, but even then they only spoke about the maps.

--

It was nearing the end of day three when they finally caught signs of life. They’d run into various forest animals and plenty of insects on their trip, but it didn’t take a very close look to see that something humanoid had made the tracks. Footprints lead off uphill and when they followed them, they started finding little signs that someone had been there. An hour later and they were drastically of course and standing in the middle of an old camp site. It was clear it had been recently vacated, but Anna didn’t want to stay around. “It’s late,” Cadence found herself saying as she rested against a tree. Before she knew it she was sitting on the ground and Anna was suddenly much, much taller. “We can make camp here. It’ll be fine.”

“And what if they come back?” Anna had hissed, worried that whoever made camp was still close by. Cadence waved her off and could feel herself starting to doze. Anna sighed, and Cadence listened as she placed her own backpack on the ground and got comfortable, poking at the remains of what once was a fire. “Fine. But if we get killed that is on you. And I will haunt you.”

“Like the Fat Frair?” She asked, grinning cheekily at Anna. The other girl whipped around and stared at her, making a strangled sort of sound before throwing the stick she was using to mess with the fire with at Cadence.

“I am not fat!”

Cadence laughed, and laughed, and found herself feeling genuinely happy, even if she was covered in about six layers of sweat and exhausted down to her bones.

--

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you.”

“Be quiet.”

“Didn’t we come from that way--”

“I said, be quiet.”

“Maybe it’s upside down--”

“Pour l'amour de Dieu”

“Fine! I’ll be quiet.” A pause. “We’re lost aren’t we.”

“You’re insufferable!” Anna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before neatly folding the map. She turned slowly to look at Cadence who was leaning up against the tree, picking at the label of her water bottle. Cadence raised an eyebrow at her, waiting, before Anna sighed again. “Yes. We’re lost.”

“I knew it.” Cadence grinned.

“Will you shut up!”

--

Day five had Cadence wondering if this was all a wild goose hunt. They haven’t seen anyone else, or even seen tracks of another person since before and they were simply getting deeper and deeper into the forest. She figured that was a good thing. The deeper in they went, the more hidden everything was. It was the perfect place to have a secret society of vampires, but getting there seemed to be impossible.

They had no idea where they were going. Now it was simply just a guessing game. Cadence knew that if things got back that they could apparate out, but anytime she thought to bring it up, Anna would shake her head. “No. We can’t go back. Not yet.”

Cadence wondered if there was something Anna was running from too, but they had a mutual understanding. Keep the topics light. They had to stay positive. Still, the further they went, the harder it seemed to be. The darkness around them didn’t just seem like normal darkness. It was an odd sort of feeling. Oppressing, sort of. Like something dangerous was lurking just around the corner. It made Cadence think of home, of what was waiting for her back there. Ultimately that’s what kept her going. She had to find them. She had to convince one of them to come home with her, to save her mum. She wasn’t going to stop until she did that.

Still, pressing on seemed a lot harder than simply turning around and going home.

--

They had made camp for the night in a tiny little area that was really only big enough for a meager fire. They didn’t bother with setting up a tent, figuring it would be a wasted effort. Easier to simply lay out their bedroll and sleep on the floor than worry about finding the room for the tent. It was well into the night when they started winding down, silence falling between the two as they laid out. The fire crackling was the best soundtrack to looking out at the stars, she thought, and it didn’t take her long to start drifting off.

She wasn’t out for long before a noise startled her awake. She found Anna’s eyes in the dark, wide with worry, before she raised a finger to her lip and sat up slowly. The fire had died down some, so she was only lit up just a fraction. The tree she had claimed as her bed for the night did well to hide her. She sat still as she listened for the sound, and when she started to relax thinking that it was a nocturnal animal, she heard it again.

Distinct footsteps. Heavy, too, by the sounds of it. And more than one person. Cadence groped around for her wand in the dark, holding it tightly against her chest and looking around carefully. The footsteps were coming closer and seemed to be heading right for them. She pointed at the small fire and muttered augamenti quietly, watching as the fire burnt out and sizzled. The footsteps seemed to stop and Cadence wished she was closer to Anna. In the dark, she couldn’t see a thing.

It was quiet for a long while, but before Cadence could dare speak up she heard Anna scream. She quickly cast nox and grabbed for Anna’s arm, pulling her close. “Something grabbed me,” Anna said, the words getting lost in the middle of everything. She was rambling in French, saying only a few words Cadence could pick up. Most of them being swear words. “A man. I’m sure of it. He grabbed me. We need to leave.”

Cadence quieted Anna, keeping an arm wrapped firmly around her while holding up her wand. She moved it around carefully, taking in the status of their campsite. It didn’t look like anything changed, but Anna was trembling. Someone was here, she was sure of it.

“Whoever you are, show yourself.” She willed her voice to remain steady. She wasn’t an intimidating person in her normal life, she knew that, but out here she could be. She had to be. She was roughened up by spending nearly a week in the woods and even if she was rubbish at dueling, whoever was messing them certainly didn’t know that. “I mean it. It’s not funny sneaking up on people in the middle of the night. Who are you.”

She saw a shift in the shadows and quickly pointed her wand at it, trying desperately to see whoever it was. She was terrified, more so than she had ever been before, but she knew showing that fear could be dangerous. She tried to keep her hand steady as she searched, but when she took a half step forward Anna yanked her back. “It is too dangerous,” she hissed, her fingers like a vice grip on Cadence’s arm.

She shouldn’t have turned to look and reassure Anna because as soon as she did she saw the figure move out of the corner of her eye. She quickly raised her arm, readying a spell at the tip of her tongue before freezing. The light from her wand illuminated the man. His skin was pale and covered in grime. It looked like he had been in the forest for at least as long as they had, but when she lifted her wand to get a better look at his face, his eyes gleamed unnaturally. He seemed to flinch, too, at the sudden light in his eyes, but Cadence was frozen in place.

“Are you--You’re--”

“Die Engländer, so laut.” The man said. Anna was insistently tugging on her arm, saying things that Cadence only half heard. She was far too focused on the man in front of her though. She couldn’t see that well, and the light from her wand washed him out, but she was sure that he would be pale. If only she could get a look at his teeth--

“Cadence!” Anna shouted, clearly startled when the man stepped forward. He looked bored, as if running into strays in the forest was an everyday occurrence, but it didn’t do anything to minimize how intimidating he was. “He’s not human. Cadence, we have to go--”

“No,” she found herself saying. She swallowed past the fear and stood up straighter, doing her best to meet his eyes. “You’re right. He’s not human. But that’s why we’re out here, remember? We found one.” She breathed the last part, the realisation of what was happening finally dawning on her. Excitement rushed through her system and she found herself stepping closer, leaving Anna to stand on her own. Before she could get too close the man hissed, baring his fangs at her. It reminded her of a cat, standing up for its territory. “You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”

“Das lächerliche Mädchen, of course. This is territory.” Cadence wanted to step closer, to get a better look at him, but Anna was begging for her to stay away. It’s not safe, she kept saying, but Cadence didn’t care.

“We’re invading your territory?” She asked, pressing closer. When he didn’t immediately step back or make a move to harm or threaten her, she lifted her wand again to get a better look. Shaggy hair, clearly hadn’t been combed in what looked like weeks. Dirty, too, as if he had been walking for days. Or running quickly. She figured it was the latter. Vampires had sensitive hearing, so they probably heard them coming from a mile away. She couldn’t suppress her grin. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry. It’s just--Are there more of you?”

The vampire said something in German, what she wasn’t sure, but his tone was clearly exasperated. She’s pretty sure he called her foolish, and under any other circumstances she would fight him on that, but she couldn’t deny it. Stepping up to a vampire, getting in it’s face. It was foolish. But she didn’t care. She had to get a good look at him. To talk to him.

To convince him to leave with her.

“Where are they others?” She asked, stepping back and reaching to grab onto Anna. She gave her a reassuring hug before putting out her wand and restarting the fire. It was a much softer light source, and she waved him closer to it before sitting down herself. It was risky being so casual around a vampire, but Cadence was confident he wouldn’t hurt them. If he wanted to, he would have already, she reasoned. “I imagine their close. Did just you come? Are you a guard or something?”

“Du redest zu viel. Yes. There are others. They live here. Der Schwarzwald.” He didn’t sit, but he did get closer. Cadence smiled at him, one of her more reserved ones. She found herself wanting to make him trust her, to not see her as a pesky intruder, but she wasn’t sure how to go about it. She poked at the fire with a stick before waving Anna over. Anna seemed to be shaking herself of her fear once she realised he wasn’t physically posing a threat to them, so she sat close to Cadence. A quick glance showed that she was gripping tightly onto her own wand, but keeping it hidden. Cadence made a show of putting her own down on the ground, close enough to her hand that she could grab it if the need arose, but still down and not pointing at him. She smiled again.

“I’m sorry. We’re not--I have so many questions--You’re--” She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and think rationally. It wouldn’t do to scare him off by rambling on for an hour. She had to remain calm. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this. I want to talk more, if that’s okay? Ask questions?” She paused, trying to get a read on him before exhaling loudly. “I’m sorry. Will you stay?”

He sits, hesitantly, and Cadence grins. Her smile is bright even in the dark, and there’s not much she can do to stop it.

--

She managed to convince the vampire to stay well into the early morning, and she interviewed him until the sun began to rise. Anna had quickly fallen asleep, still close to Cadence just in case but exhausted from the events of the night. Cadence herself was far too excited to sleep, so she made good use of it.

She filled page after page of her journal with things she asked him and his answers. His English was broken, and hard to understand, but over the hours she had grown accustomed to it and even began correcting it. He told her about the Forest and the inhabitants; that there was a very large faction of vampires that called it their home but refused to give her exact numbers; that there had been a lot of English in the forest lately, and he was growing tired of it. Cadence had pressed him on that, but the things he mentioned had her hair standing on edge. “Dark wizards,” she had muttered, and he had nodded. She asked personal questions, too, but he dodged them with an expert hand. She learned his name, too, but it was nearly impossible for her to say, no matter how many times she tried.

When the sun finally started shining bleakly through the trees, he stood. Cadence stood with him, groaning and grimacing when her knees and back popped from being still for so long. She gave him a weak smile, but stopped when she caught the look on his face. He looked almost… amused.

“Menschen,” he said, looking over the pair of them. “So weak.”

She opened her mouth to retort, finding herself at a loss of words before she laughed and shook her head. “You’re not wrong,” she muttered, dusting herself off this time before stepping closer. She held out a hand for him to shake and smiled brightly. “Thank you. For speaking with me. If it’s alright, can we do it again? Tonight or, or whenever. Oh! You should come into town. We’re in Gernsbach.” He didn’t take her hand, but she wasn’t offended. She let it fall to her side before reaching up to fidget with her hair. “I’d really like it if we could talk more. There’s something I want to ask you.”

He said something else in German, the words getting lost in the air. He didn’t seem to care much that she didn’t understand him, but exhaustion was weighing heavily on her shoulders. She said thank you again, just in case he didn’t hear it, and she watched him walk off into the treeline for a moment before sighing and lowering herself to the ground. The minute her head hit her bedroll she fell asleep and she slept until Anna shook her awake, questioning if the night before was real.

It was, and she had the words to prove it.

--

The stay in the same spot for another night, and Anna shakes her head when she sees how excited Cadence gets the closer it got to night time. “He probably wont come again, you know. Vampires are not normal people. They are different.”

Cadence waves her off and waits up anyway. She’s not sad when he doesn’t show again, but she’s not exactly happy, either. She sleeps, restlessly, and in the morning they pack up camp and set out. Before she leaves, she writes a note and pins it to the tree. It’s got the inn they’re staying at in Gernsbach, and when she thinks on it again, she leaves her address back in London there too. She wants to speak with him, she tells Anna, any way she can. And if it’s by letter, then that works too.

--

When they get back to their room, Cadence is the first to crash. She opts out of the shower and goes straight to bed, promising herself that she’ll take a nice, long, proper hot shower in the morning. She sleeps for 12 hours and wakes ravenous. She showers, eats, and shakes Anna awake so they can spend the remainder of the day in the town. They visit a few tourist shops and Anna convinces her to stop in one of the spas. They both get massages and leave feeling more human and less like just one giant ball of muscle, and they take dinner back in their room.

Cadence tries not to get too hung up on not seeing the vampire again, or hearing anything from him, but it’s obvious she’s disappointed. When ever she starts thinking back on it, Anna pats her on the knee and tells her it’s alright. “You should be happy, yeah? You met one! And he didn’t eat you. That is probably the best thing that could have happened.”

Cadence definitely does not pout.

--

She finds a note left for them at the front desk when they check out. The scrawling on the front is nearly illegible, but Cadence still gets excited and nearly rips the note from the nice lady. The words on the front are in German, but when she sounds them out they sound familiar. She holds it out of Anna’s reach before the girl can take it and rushes up ahead, ripping open the seal and quickly reading the insides. She’s smiling so hard it hurts when Anna finally catches up to her again, and she shoves the note in her face.

“He wants to keep talking to me. He says we can write. Write! He wants to keep talking to me, Anna!” She’s nearly shouting, she’s so excited, and even Anna seems happy about it. She hugs Cadence (though, in reality, it’s more of Cadence crushing her) before she’s passing the note back to her and linking their arms again.

“See? It all worked out. You have a vampire boyfriend now. You should tell him that he is creepy. And that I do not like that he grabbed me.” Anna sniffed, feigning perturbed. “It was very rude.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Cadence replies, rolling her eyes at her friend and looking at the words on the paper once more. She tucks it into one of the many pockets in her backpack and leads them out to a more secluded area. They’re going back to Paris for a few days, and she thinks she might be ready to go home soon. “And I’ll tell him. If I don’t forget. I have so many questions.”

“I know, I know. You are full of questions. This is not news.“ Anna teases, and Cadence shoves her half-heartedly. “Let’s go. I could kill for some coffee right now.” They get ready and Cadence stops her before Anna can lead them off. She sighs before waving Cadence to continue. “Fine, fine. You do it. But if I get splinched--”

“I’ll buy you a coffee, don’t worry.” Cadence says, and she’s smiling widely. Before Anna can roll her eyes, the world is shifting and turning, melding into a blur of colors, and before they know it they’re back in Paris, just around the corner from the hostel. They’re barely on solid ground before Cadence is leading them off to her new favorite coffee shop, muttering about pastries.

She’ll think about home later. For now, there are more pressing matters to attend to.

[cadenceholly-blog]

one// two

Paris was similar to London in a lot of aspects. It was loud. It was busy. People were everywhere and speaking all sorts of languages and the flash of cameras was blinding even in the midday sun. But they were different, too. The music that played, and the scents that filled the air. It was refreshing, and terrifying, and when she stumbled into the first shop she had seen and asked them in English where the closest inn was, she found herself on the business end of the nastiest stare she had ever received. It made her laugh--probably something she shouldn’t have done, considering the local seemed like her very existence was causing him harm--but all of her emotions were swimming in her head at once. It was true, she had thought dazedly. The locals really do hate tourists.

Saying she was overwhelmed was an understatement, but in that moment she was happy for it. Being in such a foreign place sent her mind reeling and it took all of her focus and effort to try and find her way around. Thoughts of what was waiting for her back in London quickly fell to the wayside.

It didn’t take her long to wander off and find herself in a part of the city she didn’t know about. It took even less for her to decide that following a group tour was clearly the best course of action. Briefly she thought of what her family would say, of how irresponsible she was being, but the thrumming in her veins and the racing of her heart was enough to squash any of those thoughts.

It was nightfall by the time Cadence had enough of wandering. Her legs were aching, her eyelids heavy, and the overall excitement at being in a new city was starting to wear off. She felt drained, exhausted in an entirely new sense and when she let her mind drift back to London, she found herself fighting back. No, she told herself, forcing her legs to keep moving as she caught sight of a hotel. You have no reason to worry. Everything will be fine.

She knew, deep down, that there was a chance she was wrong, but Paris was beautiful and Cadence--Cadence was easily distracted.

--

Luxembourg Gardens. The Pantheon. The Bastille. Notre Dame. Lunch at a bustling cafe filled with tourists that looked much the same as her: wide eyed and awestruck, fascinated by the sheer history around them. A short walk and she was at the Louvre. The night finishes off with sandwiches at the Place de la Concorde.

The days continue much the same as the first one. Cadence walks. She finds all of the major landmarks and makes sure to buy a postcard at each one. Hovering around them for any length of time makes it easier to find the hidden treasures, the places she feels the biggest pull towards. She gets lost in those places for hours and emerges with a lighter pocket and a brighter smile. The thoughts of sickness and responsibilities drift further and further away in her mind, and before she knows it the week is up.

She knows she could go back. That she should go back, but she’s not ready. She hasn’t seen enough, she tells herself. So she books out another week in the room. She goes and visits the Eiffel tower. She walks down Champs-Élysées and has lunch with a fantastic view of the Arc de Triomphe. She does more shopping, picks up more post-cards, and she meets the locals.

Because Paris is unlike anything she’s ever experienced, and Cadence wants to be selfish just this once.

--

A week passes. And then another. She’s got a bundle of postcards and letters all wrapped up and ready to be sent off, but every time she makes her way to a post office something changes her mind. So, another week passes. She finds herself standing outside the inn she’s called home and wondering about what she could do. She’s been in Paris for quite a long time, now, and while the sights and sounds fill her with amazement, she can tell that it’s starting to wear off. It doesn’t seem all that exciting when you’re starting to pick up the language, she thinks, and she wonders for the millionth time if she’s ready yet.

She’s not. She knows she isn’t, but she isn’t sure where else she could go.

She could travel south. Maybe even see the coastline. She didn’t remember reading much about France’s beaches, but she’s sure they must have something.  She stares up at the building and sighs, tucking a stray strand of hair that escaped her braid behind her ear. She pushes open the door and makes her way up the familiar old staircase and tells herself she’ll decide tomorrow.

--

Cadence was a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. No matter how big or small, or how negative or positive. If it happened, there was a reason for it, and for the most part the reason was a good one.

She had to remind herself of that when she suddenly found herself wandless.

Realistically, she knew something of the sort was bound to happen. Cadence was, as several people liked to put it, a space cadet. She forgot things all the time, misplaced things even more than that, and overall wasn’t a very well put together person. Which was fine. The only things she felt were important were her wallet, her journal, and her wand. Normally the three things she always kept on her person. But Cadence wasn’t in Diagon Alley. She was--for all intents and purposes--living as a Muggle. She hadn’t used magic properly in what felt like ages.

Upon returning to her room, she had dumped out her bag and began sorting through it, making sure everything was there. It took her a moment to realise she was missing her wand, clearly more focused on sorting through the plethora of receipts she had accumulated over the course of her trip, but when she did notice it took nearly everything in her to resist swearing.

That was how she found herself frantically rushing around the streets of Paris, trying desperately to remember where she had gone that day. It was proving to be a lot harder than she had intended, especially with it being so close to night time, but the only thing she could think of was the pressing matter that she needed to find it fast, before a Muggle got ahold of it. (Realistically she knew it shouldn’t matter if they did. Nothing would happen, and they’d mostly just be holding onto a stick, but it could still run the risk of her getting in trouble with the Ministry and that was the last thing she wanted to do.)

It takes nearly two hours of her searching before she finally gives up and accepts that fact she’ll just have to get a new wand once she gets back, but then she’s passing a small little table and it pops out in front of her. It takes her a moment to register the fact that there’s something in front of her face, and even longer for her to realise it’s her wand, but the confusion as to how it got there sticks until a voice picks up.

The words are in french, so she only understands half of it, but then her gaze is following the line of an arm and meeting the face of a very amused girl. At first glance she seems friendly, Cadence thinks, so she relaxes her shoulders and offers a tiny smile before speaking in her own broken french, “Je ne parle pas.” She knows she probably butchered it being that languages were never her forte, but the amusement on the girl’s face only grows and she nods in understanding.

She presses the lost wand into Cadence’s fidgeting hands and glances around as if to make sure the coast is clear. (It surprisingly is, but she assumes with how late it is everyone’s off on the busier sides of town, not hidden in the back streets.) When she notices that they are, for the most part, alone, she offers a wide smile at Cadence and holds out her now-empty hand. “My name is Annabelle, but you can call me Anna. You?”

Cadence fidgets, awkwardly trying to stuff her wand back in the safety of her bag while also trying to shake the proffered hand, and Annabelle laughs, clearly amused with the stranger in front of her. To her credit, she’s patient, and when Cadence finally grasps her hand and gives it a firm shake, Anna is already motioning to the small table and offering her a chair. She sits, and then when Anna simply raises an eyebrow at her, Cadence finally realises that she was asked a question. “Sorry, I’m Cadence. Thank you?” She starts, and when the other girl simply stares, she motions towards her bag again. “For finding that for me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t found it.”

Anna nods, making an ‘ah’ sound as she does before she’s offering another bright smile. Cadence wonders if the girl’s friendliness is something to be worried about, but she’s tired and had a long day so she pushes the worries to the back of her mind. If Anna wanted to hurt her, she thinks, she wouldn’t have given her her wand back.

“You are English, yes?” Cadence nods and Anna leans forward, clearly interested now. “I visited once. A long time ago. I hear it is not safe there, now. Is that why you’re here?” The look on her face is earnest, as if she’s seen a lot of people defecting to France lately, but Cadence simply shakes her head with a small smile, eyes falling to look at the table where her hands are picking at loose fibers on her sweater. “Oh! Then you are on holiday?”

“Sort of,” she finds herself speaking up. She offers Anna a half-hearted shrug before turning her eyes to look towards the streets. It’s beautiful, even at night, and Cadence finds herself not wanting to leave. She’s been feeling that a lot lately. “I’ve never travelled before, so here I am. I thought it was time.”

“Ah…” Anna leans back with a knowing smile on her face. She’s got one eyebrow raised, assessing Cadence quietly. She fidgets in her spot again, uncomfortable with the attention, but before she can question the girl, Anna’s speaking again. “You’re running away.”

Cadence flounders, clearly caught off guard by the statement. “I’m not--That’s not why--How--” but Anna just chuckles. She waves her hand to cut off Cadence’s tirade and leans forward again. She covers one of Cadence’s hands with her own and shushing her, tells her it’s okay until Cadence finds herself nodding. She doesn’t pout.

“It is okay. I have seen many like you. I know the type now. No need to feel embarrassed.” She pats the back of Cadence’s hand twice before she stands, swinging her purse over her shoulder and pushing in her chair. “Come. I trust you haven’t seen our community? I would’ve recognized you if you were there. It is like your Diagon Alley, only much bigger. And not full of holes,” Anna jabs, and Cadence can’t help the laugh that gets out of her. She nods, standing up and grabbing her own things. Anna links their arms together and starts leading the way, yammering on about this and that, and what Cadence should expect when they get there. It isn’t until they’re just inside the threshold that she remembers what Anna said.

“You said that you would recognize me. How?” She asks, curious. She’s even more curious by the massive buildings that unfold out in front of her, looking just as familiar as Diagon Alley but with such a different feeling to them, but she’s taught herself to take things one at a time.

Anna simply reaches over and pulls on a lock of Cadence’s hair, snorting when Cadence feigns pain, before saying, “Because you are very, very blonde.”

Cadence laughs, and then she drags Anna into the street further to explore.

--

It takes a whole three days of her being there for Cadence to find like-minded individuals. Anna spends most of the time showing her around and introducing her to people, but it isn’t until she runs into a group of backpackers that Cadence feels that sudden urge to simply leave again. They’re staying at a hostel just outside the alley, and when Cadence listens to their travel stories, she finds herself fascinated. Anna simply laughs as she listens when Cadence tells her what she heard, patting her hand and shaking her head. “You are adorable, Cadence. Truly. I have never seen someone get so genuinely excited over hiking in the Polish countryside.”

With Anna, Cadence feels comfortable. She starts letting the girl in, telling her things about herself and about London. She doesn’t every discuss her family, a topic she obviously avoids at all costs, but Anna just gives her one of those looks that says I understand and drops it, and Cadence has never been more grateful.

She tells her about the vampires, too. About how she’s fascinated with them, how she’s read nearly everything she could about them. How she’s always wanted to meet one. Anna, to her credit, takes it all in stride. She just smiles and tells Cadence what little information she knows, but tells her there are lots of stores around with information. Their contents aren’t anything new to her, but she thanks Anna anyway. Their close, she thinks. She could even say they were friends and she had always wanted more friends. Thinking about it, though, has her missing home. She tells herself she’ll write Caroline. Later.

She doesn’t get around to it. Marcus, the self-proclaimed tour guide of the group of backpackers, tells them they’re stopping off in Germany for a bit. “There’s another group,” he tells them over a hastily prepared lunch of sandwiches and crisps, “A couple’a mates we haven’t seen in awhile are gonna be there and we thought we might as well meet up. Trade stories. You know how it is.” Cadence feels bad when she hears the news. She likes Marcus and his ragtag group. None of them are much older than she is and they’ve all got that same familiar look in their eyes. She tells them she’ll miss them, that it was lovely meeting them, and she even makes sure they’ve all got her address. She tells them it’s in case they ever visit London.

Anna just stares at her with a weird sort of look in her eye, as if she noticed something and she can’t believe Cadence missed it. She responds with a confused look of her own, but then she’s distracted by the group slowly splitting off. Marcus tells them they’ve got to go get ready, that they’ll be taking a portkey out that night and Cadence waves them off with a sad smile. Almost as soon as their alone Anna is in her face, speaking in rushed French that has her head spinning. She can’t even question the other girl before Anna is letting out an exasperated sigh and collapsing back into her chair. “That was your chance!” She shouts, her arms up in an odd gesture. Cadence stares, clearly confused before glancing around.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” she mutters, blushing when a few other patrons turn and look in their direction, their quiet meal disturbed. Anna swears under her breath, shaking her head at Cadence before sighing again. She leans forward quickly once more, nearly sending Cadence’s head spinning, before taking her hand in both of her own.

“Ma chére,” Anna shakes her head but that amused smile is playing at her lips. “They’re going to Germany. And you do know what is in Germany, yes?” She’s got that earnest look in her eye again, the one that makes it seem she always has Cadence’s best interests at heart, but Cadence is still confused. There’s lots of things in Germany, she wants to say, but she can’t recall anything that would make her want to visit. Anna seems to understand her confusion so she reaches over and plucks Cadence’s bag off the seat next to her. It doesn’t take her long to drag out the familiar worn journal and then she’s waving it in Cadence’s face like all of the answers rest somewhere in the pages.

It takes her a few long moments before she gets it and it’s like a lightbulb going off in her head. “Oh!” She shouts, the energy of it having her stand abruptly. A wild smile is stretching across her face before she can even realise it and she’s pointing at the cover of the journal. “The forest! You want me to go to the forest! Wait.” She freezes, staring at Anna and taking a moment to think. Everyone knows the story of the Black Forest, and the kind of creatures that inhabit it. It’s a dark place. Much darker than anything she had ever been near. Darker even than the small venture she took into Knockturn. “You want me to go to the forest?” she hisses, leaning over the table herself. Anna just keeps nodding, the bright smile on her face never diminishing. She stands up herself, taking Cadence’s shoulders in hand and giving them a good shake.

“This is your chance. They live there. All of your research says that they are there. Why not go? You need to go.” She sounds so sure of herself. She’s excited, obviously, and worst of all she’s supportive. Cadence wasn’t sure she’d ever meet someone who actually wanted her to realise her dream. For years she had to listen to people tell her that it was ridiculous, or that it was dangerous. That she was childish for thinking like that. But Anna wasn’t any of that. From the moment they met she had made sure to support Cadence, in whatever it was. She spent hours with her, listening to her and going along with whatever she had wanted to do. And now this. Cadence wasn’t sure what to think.

“I--I don’t know. Anna, the Black Forest is dangerous. Vampires--They aren’t the only ones who live there. Plus, how would I even find my way around? I even get lost back in Hackney--”

“Ma chére, you do not have to go alone. I will go with you. I’m sure the two of us could find our way around. There are maps.” They’ve shifted a bit without her knowing. Anna’s got her arm linked with her own now and she’s leading them out of the restaurant and into the alley. Cadence isn’t entirely sure she knows where they’re going, but she has a feeling. She’s excited, and nervous. The more Anna talks, the more possible it sounds and the more excited she gets. “I must admit, it is not only for you. These past few days you have taught me much. Things I never thought I would care about. But I’m interested, now. And you are an expert! If anyone can find these elusive creatures it is you, and it would be an experience for the books if I were to come along. Perhaps we could even be famous. ‘The Vampire Huntress.’ It has a nice ring to it!”

It doesn’t take them very long to end up outside of the hostel Marcus and his group are staying in. For the first time in several days Cadence feels nervous, as if she’s imposing, but when Anna tells him that they’re coming along he just grins and nods, telling them to have their things ready by six. “You know how portkeys are, yeah? Finicky as all hell. If you’re not there, you’ve got to find your own way to Frankfurt.”

“Six on the dot,” Anna says, beaming up at Marcus before laughing quietly and dragging Cadence back to their room at the inn. Briefly, she wonders if she’s got a say in any of this. It seems Anna’s got everything all figured out, and that her mind is made up. They’re off to Germany, and then they’re going to wander off to search the Black Forest. It sounds so simple when she puts it like that, and Cadence thinks not having a say in the matter is better. She’s far too excited to speak.

--

[cadenceholly-blog]

There were a lot of good things about being herself, Cadence thought. People could always trust that she would do her best to bring a smile to their face, and whenever she let her mouth run away from her, it was easy to shrug off whatever she had said. “That’s just Cadence being Cadence,” she figured they would say, and she supposes that it’s true, for the most part. 

She was friendly, open, caring, and while it was true she didn’t have very many close friends, she prided herself in having a plethora of acquaintances. To put it shortly, Cadence knew people. Sure, she didn’t really know what was going on in their heads, and she read their moods wrong nine times out of ten, but she still knew them. She learned faces and taught herself to recognize them. If she saw anyone she knew while she was out, chances were that she’d stop them for a quick hello and maybe a chat. People person is the term her mum used, and Cadence was never more happy about that fact than she was when she met him.

Miles was not at all what Cadence was expecting when she finally met a vampire. He was… Sweet wasn’t the right word for it, but he was nice. Not necessarily kind. It took him awhile to build up to intelligible English and Cadence spent time teaching him through the letters, helping him along whenever he was confused. Cadence had used her intense focus to learn at least basic German for when he got really stuck and no amount of thinking could make sense of the words.

Their correspondence was kept up to a pretty regular schedule and with every new letter that came in in neater and neater handwriting, Cadence felt her happiness growing more and more. She had learned a lot over the weeks they’ve been talking. He didn’t seem bothered by her questions (though was a bit confused when she asked him about vampire reproduction. Admittedly not one of her finest moments.) and Cadence was more than happy to answer any questions he had about her. She could even tentatively call them friends, she thought, and when she asked if he’d be interested in visiting London, she was more pleased than surprised when he said yes.

If she didn’t stop grinning the entire day after she read the letter, then it wasn’t like it was out of the norm. She had a sunny disposition. It didn’t raise any alarms.

ooc: yes this is a very very poor attempt at an apology. shh. it’s mostly just a lead up of dudebro coming to london, and it’s terrible because i haven’t written in centuries. i’m gonna try to be working on this to make it seem less like a clusterfuck, and obvi wait to get back into the swing of things.

i spoke to mel so she knows what was up for the most part but for awhile there things were Bad. they’re better now and i was supposed to be back sooner, but my laptop broke. because my life is one big karma ball or s/t idk ugh don’t hate me ;-;