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[michiigii-writes]

Sorry! This is neither Voltage nor on time, but I still had a good time writing… 👀

Fandom: MLQC

July 8th - Kiro x MC

It was still mid-morning by the time you got to the beach, but the day was already warm. The breeze that came off of the sea was cool as it ran through your clothes and hair, just enough to soothe your skin rather than chill you. Kiro had already set up a spot on the sand, a huge beach umbrella defending from both the sun and potential prying eyes. It was a private beach, owned by one of the companies that Kiro had done some modelling for, and it was supposed to be reserved just for the two of you, that day, but the threat of paparazzi was always a looming possibility.

Still, as you reached the beautiful idol and set your bag on the ground, you could look around and see that the view from the boardwalk, the surrounding beach houses, and even from the walk up from the parking lot were completely clear. There was nobody around.

Instead of greeting you with his usual enthusiasm, you were surprised to see Kiro was in the middle of a nap. He was outside, by himself, and he had managed to fall asleep. He was either very trusting or very tired, but from way it looked like he had been in the middle of playing a game on his phone, you were inclined to think it was the latter. He was a busy, busy man, and it had been hard enough to convince Savin to give Kiro this day off.

You wanted to wake him up, but you also wanted him to rest. Maybe there was some way you could do both?

A wicked idea came to you and you glanced around the beach again. Yes, you were definitely sure the two of you were alone. You could definitely do that.

Quietly, you crouched in front of Kiro, between his legs. He really was defenceless…maybe he wasn’t really asleep?

“Kiro? Are you awake?” You murmured, not too loudly, in case he really was asleep.

The golden-haired idol didn’t moving, continuing to snooze peacefully on the beach towel. Thank goodness he was out of direct sunlight; he definitely could have gotten a sunburn, lying openly on his back like that.

Carefully, you peeled the waistband of his shorts down; conveniently, you saw that they were swimming trunks. Exhausted as he was, Kiro had been ready to strip off his shirt and just jump into the water, if you had so chosen. He really was the sweetest…

Inch by inch, you tugged his trunks down until he was on full display. He was relaxed enough in his nap that he was half hard; idly, you wondered what kind of dream he was having. You lightly traced a finger up his length, testing to see how sensitive he was.

He didn’t move. His breathing never wavered; he was still asleep. But you could see that his cock was starting to stiffen.

Tentatively, you rubbed the underside of his cock, coaxing it to attention. As it gradually stood to attention, Kiro stirred a little in his sleep; you stopped, hand still on his cock, until your boyfriend stilled again.

You waited until Kiro’s breathing evened again, then wrapped your hands around his erection, the warmth of your grip stiffening it further. Slowly, you began to pump, matching time with Kiro’s breathing. Little by little, you could feel him growing harder in your hands; you could espy little muscle contractions in his abs, but whenever he stirred, you froze and waited for him to slip back into his dreams.

Patiently you worked, not wanting him to wake up completely, yet. You wanted him to wake up in the middle of bliss, not frustration.

Finally, beads of precum developed at the darkened head of his erection; glancing up at Kiro’s sleeping face, you could see his forehead wrinkle a little, a sign of his growing need. With a small smile, you licked around his glans and over the tip of his cock, swirling your spit and his cum where he was sensitive.

The sensation was becoming too much for Kiro to stay asleep; a small sound came from the back of his throat, somewhere between a whimper and a sigh. He was starting to wake up.

This time, you didn’t stop. Instead, you took his cock into your mouth, sucking at the head while pumping his shaft with your hands. Kiro grunted again, a little louder this time, his face tensing up and his eyelids flickering.

“Mnh…nnng…!”

You kept your pace steady, not sucking too hard, but just enough in the way you knew he liked. You could feel his body twitching from your efforts; while still fisting his cock with one hand, you splayed the other hand across his abs, touching him almost soothingly.

“MNh…Miss…Miss Chips?”

Kiro’s eyes finally opened, his voice thick with both sleep and desire. One of his hands went instinctively to your touch on his stomach, and you laced fingers into his reassuringly.

“Miss Chips!” He gasped, his eyes widening at the sight of waking up and finding you sucking you off, “Oh my…g…go-“

At his words, you sucked more eagerly, bobbing your head up and down his hot, throbbing cock. Kiro moaned, louder than he normally would, his mind too foggy with sleep to remind himself to hold back. Gasping wantonly, his head lolled back as his phone fell forgotten onto the sand, and he raked his hand through his hair.

“Oh god, Miss Chips!!” Kiro gasped, writhing against the beach towel, “You feel…s-so good….!”

Normally he could last so much longer, but you had caught him off guard, and he was so excited to wake up to your beautiful self, pleasuring him in one of his favourite ways. He could almost feel you smiling as you took him deeper and deeper into your mouth, tongue swirling around him as you sucked and rubbed him in all the right places.

Propriety completely forgotten, Kiro screamed your name, bursting into your mouth as his back arched off the towel. You could feel his cock twitching against your tongue and the roof of your mouth, could feel every twitch on his abs under your interlaced fingers, could feel his thighs quiver under your arms and chest as you lay partly on top of him. You held him tight, until every last twitch finally subsided, and his body relaxed again on the sand.

Swallowing every drop, you tucked him back into his trunks, and suddenly found yourself being pulled up beside him. Wrapping his arms around you, he kissed your lips, heedless of his taste there, kissing you long and deep before holding your forehead to his.

“That was amazing,” he breathed, nuzzling the tip of his nose against yours, “You are amazing.”

For a long, long time he held you in his arms, whispering praises to you while he kissed your lips, your face, your hair, your hands…

It was the beginning of a beautiful day. And Kiro made sure to pay the favour back several times over.

—fin—

(The prompt was Blowjobs on the Beach)

[michiigii-writes]

Hello~

This is a Bit More Oof.

NSFW, rated lemon.

Short but sweet. And AAAAAAA.

July 7 - Gavin x MC

“Gavin!!”

Minor pushed the door to the department’s roof open, calling for his coworker at the top of his lungs. He needed Gavin’s advice for something, but he was nowhere to be found in the police department. Looking around the rooftop, he didn’t see his friend anywhere, but just before he gave up, he noticed some movement across the way. To his delight, he saw Gavin’s love interest, the young producer, seated behind a row of huge, wooden crates. He could only see her head and shoulders, but she was there, and wherever she was…

“Hey!” Minor called out her name, not noticing the startled expression on her face when she saw him at the doorway, “Have you seen Gavin?”

“H-have I?” She looked around the rooftop before calling back, “What do you need him for?”

“I wanna ask him something for a shoot,” Minor answered, starting to walk across the roof to her, “Do you mind if I wait with-“

“Wha-what about the morgue?!” she exclaimed, holding a hand out over the crates in a stopping motion, “I think he mentioned something about the morgue?”

“The morgue?” Minor visibly paled, swallowing self-consciously, “Uh…that sounds creepy…”

“Yeah, but he mentioned he would be stopping by there,” she said, nodding emphatically, “For a while. And then he’d be headed to…to training.”

“I guess I could wait for him at the gym,” Minor said thoughtfully, then nodded to himself, “Yeah. I’m gonna go to the gym.”

He smiled at the girl on the other side of the building, “Thanks for your help! Oh, is that a new sundress? It’s really cute!”

“Thanks, Minor,” she laughed a little, “Good luck finding him.”

“See you later!”

He waved over his shoulder, already turning to go back downstairs, and finally, the metal door clanged shut and he was gone. The young producer gave a small sigh of relief; that had been too close.

“Huh. Minor likes the dress, too,” Gavin said thoughtfully.

The tall, handsome officer was lying on the rooftop, completely hidden by the wooden crates. His girlfriend was straddled on top of him, where he could easily take advantage of the perks that came with wearing a skirt.

“I told you you looked pretty,” he smirked, then stifled a grunt when he felt her clamp slightly around his erection.

“We almost got caught!” She exclaimed in a stage whisper, even though they were the only ones on the rooftop, again, “You didn’t see how close Minor got!”

“Well…” Gavin sat up, pulling the girl closer into his arms and rubbing her back soothingly, “Maybe I don’t care. Maybe I’m more upset about how close you got before he interrupted us.”

“You’re awful,” she muttered, cupping his face in her hands.

“Let me make it up to you,” he replied, grazing her nose with his before pulling her into a kiss.

It was such a bad idea. Anybody could walk onto the roof again and catch them. It was such a terrible idea and they really should stop.

But instead of pushing him away, she melted into his arms, gasping softly as she felt his hips grind up against her. She let him feather kisses against her jaw, her neck, let him curve her backwards as his lips trailed down her neckline. She let his strong arms cradle her thighs and ass, moving her up and down his hot length, her breath quickening between little moans and sighs.

Oh, they really were making such a mistake.

But her misgivings were steadily being blown away by bliss, and she knew this wouldn’t be the last time she visited him in a sundress.

—fin—

(The prompt for today was “Sex Under the Sun Dress”)

[michiigii-writes]

Because I am Garbage Person, I’m taking part in Summer of Smut.

This is actually one of my tamer ones. So.

Fandom: L365/KBTBB

Heat warning: More sweet than spicy, but definitely starting to sizzle.

I did not edit this and I barely read it over I’m supposed to be studying/writing Zine submissions.

Strip Poker - Soryu x MC

He was normally amazing at poker. He could confuse even Eisuke with his poker face, when he put his mind to it. So, when you had suggested playing strip poker together in your hotel suite, during one of Soryu’s rare days off, he had figured he would have no trouble getting you naked and flustered for him. And that was the best prize for him to win, was it not?

The first few hands had passed without any difficulty; of course he had won, causing you to lose your shoes and tights in quick succession. But he had made a mistake in setting up the game’s rules: he had given you the freedom to choose which item of clothing to take off.

For the next hand, after a little thought, you had thrown him a coy smile and removed your blouse. Soryu had been stunned: that seemed like something that he would have needed to work his way up to, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t you have taken off an earring? Or even your hair accessory? Getting rid of your shirt felt like too big of an early win.

It wasn’t until he lost the next few hands that Soryu realized your tactic. The lacy bra you had on was an absolute distraction. Relieved of his socks and shoes, Soryu remembered that you found lace itchy, and were clearly only wearing it for his benefit.

And he certainly appreciated the gesture. The sweet curves of your breasts gently cupped in the delicately spun fabric-

“I won again, Soryu!”

Blinking rapidly, Soryu’s eyes shot to your cards, placed before you on the table, then at his own, still in his hand. He had nothing. He didn’t even have a proper hand.

“…you’re a clever girl,” he muttered coolly, but you didn’t miss the light smile on his lips.

You also very happily watched him remove his tie, even taking the opportunity to open the top buttons of his shirt. His sharp collar bones flirted with your line of sight; maybe you were spending too much time around Luke, but Soryu really did have a nice neck…

To your chagrin, you found yourself losing the next hand. He was onto you. There had to be another way to distract him. You had thought that flaunting one of Soryu’s favourite bras had been enough, but clearly your lover was a tougher nut to crack than you had hoped.

“You know…” you said slowly, thinking out loud, “If I recall correctly, this bra came in a set.”

You had Soryu’s attention. What were you getting at? You could almost hear the gears in his mind turning.

You revelled in the pink tint that spread across Soryu’s face as you maneuvered under your skirt, shimmying this way and that, until finally you placed in his hands a lacy pair of panties that clearly matched the bra he had been admiring.

Both of you could see a little damp patch in the delicate undergarment.

“…are we done playing, Soryu? I think I’ve won.”

The grin he gave you before sweeping you off your feet to carry you to bed was the perfect answer.

—fin—

[michiigii-writes]

Fictober Event,  The prompts for 2020

Here is the list for October this year. Write something short (or long) and tag it with #fictober20 in the first five tags. Let’s see your creativity!

“no, come back!”

“that’s the easy part”

“you did this?”

“that didn’t stop you before”

“unacceptable, try again”

“that was impressive”

“yes I did, what about it?”

“I’m not doing that again”

“will you look at this?”

“all I ever wanted”

“I told you so”

“watch me”

“I missed this”

“you better leave now”

“not interested, thank you”

“I never wanted anything else”

“give me a minute or an hour”

“you don’t see it?”

“I can’t do this anymore”

“did I ask?”

“this, this makes it all worth it”

“and neither should you”

“do we have to?”

“are you kidding me?”

“sometimes you can even see”

“how about you trust me for once?”

“give me that”

“do I have to do everything here?”

“back up!”

“just say it”

“I trust you”

This event is open to all fanfiction and original fiction.

Start October the First. You do not have to do the prompts in order. Tag your posts with #fictober20. Please state if your entry is original fiction or fanfiction and what fandom at the top. State common warnings and triggers at the top and tag accordingly. I reserve the right to not reblog fics that I find inappropriate. I will reblog things here on @fictober-event, follow this blog to see all the entries.

Go forth and write!

Photo by Vladas Kalnys on Unsplash

[michiigii-writes]

Inktober 1, 2020

Theme: Fish

-----

I love fishing.

My father taught me how.

Nobody expects emotion when you're fishing.

Being expressionless while wielding a pole just makes sense.

It was a reason to escape the mercs.

A chance to be alone.

An excuse to spend time with my father.

Fishing helped me connect to my students.

They were surprised to see me enjoy such a silly hobby.

My serenity while fishing made me look more approachable.

It gave me an ice-breaker for some of my shyer students.

I love fishing.

Fishing gives me a safe place.

It centres me.

I am at peace when I fish.

But…

After one rainy, autumn day, even fishing wasn't enough.

After all…

My father taught me how...

---

[michiigii-writes]

Of Shadows and Tyr (3/??)

We continue our story of Strive, a Teifling swamp druid who has been charged by her master to travel and experience the world.

Prior parts are here: [1] [1.5] [2]

-----------

“No eggs or gold here!”

THUD.

THUD.

Something impacted hard against the building's roof.

Debris began falling from the Tortles' ceiling. Shadow and I managed to dodge anything that came our way, but the others took some damage.

"Is that the thing that's been carrying your people off?" I asked one of the Tortles.

"It is!" they replied, cowering further into the hut.

"Okay...and is it only one big thing, or a lot of things?" I asked, readying my staff and dagger.

I noted in the corner of my eye that Craven and Valzan were already running outside, pulling their weapons out as they went. Fallon and Shadow remained inside; Shadow did not look pleased at our current situation.

"There's more than one creature," one of the Tortles answered my question, head retreating into shell defensively.

I frowned at that. It had been a long day, and the sun was getting low in the sky. I didn't want to fight more creatures. I stepped to the doorway and peeked outside; Craven was already being set upon by a large, bird-like creature with stag antlers, while Valzan ran at a second, similar beast. I vaguely recalled pictures of our enemies in one of Master's books; Perytons, they were called. They were beautiful, and I would have loved to study one, but these were incredibly hostile; my learning would have to wait.

I looked at Craven, who was closest to the doorway. He seemed to be managing well enough, sword swinging zealously. I decided to help Valzan, hurrying to his side and shifting into a Giant Lizard to help fight. To my surprise, Valzan summoned thunder from the sky, hitting his Peryton to good effect. My own snapping jaws fell a little flat; I missed when I tried to bite our enemy.

Craven was fighting very well for himself; he took out his own peryton with almost flawless ease, even taking the time to make a heroic pose while his kill fell to the ground behind him. Shadow ran out of the hut, hurrying to meet a third peryton that was going to join our fray. To my relief, Fallon and Craven followed her suit.

Valzan finally managed to finish off our creature, but when I turned to join the others, I was horrified to see Shadow get pinned to the ground by the last peryton. It was a deer with wings; it was heavy, and yet Fallon jumped onto its back! I think he was trying to attack, but all it seemed to do was crush Shadow further.

"Semuanya's blood, you're making it worse!" I yelled at Fallon; thankfully, he got off of the beast.

I ran to join them, changing back into myself and throwing healing words Shadow's way. Craven managed to do some good damage, even getting the peryton off of Shadow, and Fallon dealt a final blow, dispatching of it completely.

The scuffle was brief, but brutal, and then we were safe again.

Shadow got to her feet a little unsteadily, then turned to me, squeaking painfully. I thought she was stretching her arms out to me.

"Are...are you asking me for a hug?!" I exclaimed, my heart beating a little faster.

She gave me a bland look then more obviously showed me the wounds on her neck.

"Oh...oh, you want healing. Of course," I blushed, "That makes more sense. May your body be strong," I murmured, and sent a little more healing her way. It wasn't much, but she looked a little better.

"Here, take this potion," Valzan suggested, pulling a potion out of his pack and offering it to Shadow.

She glanced between him and the bottle, and held her ground. With a shrug, I took the bottle from Valzan, but before I could give her the potion, Shadow walked away, off to do her own thing. Valzan and I shared a look, then I put the potion in my pack, saving it for later.

After a short rest and some discussion, our motley little party decided that if the perytons had, in fact, carried off the town crier's daughter, there was a chance that she had been taken to their nest. It was time to search deeper into the woods. We came across a house where more Tortles lived; they pointed us in the direction that they often saw the perytons go. 

Trekking along, we found an area with some very sturdy, nest-able trees.  I turned back into a Giant Lizard and climbed up the one that had the most signs that something lived in it.  To my delight, there was a good-sized next there, large enough for three perytons to live comfortably.  I found a purse with a tidy amount of gold, three large eggs, and three old hearts in the nest.

Slipping the purse into my pack, I examined the hearts closely, my own heart thumping high in my throat.  To my relief, they didn't look like human or left hearts.  They appeared to be Tortle hearts, most likely from the perytons’ latest victims.  Picking the heavy body parts up, I hesitated, then added them to my pack as well.  They could end up useful; I might find a book that cites the medicinal properties of Tortle hearts, or I could feed Craven's bear with them, later.

It was when I was examining the eggs that Craven's voice started echoing in my head.

Have ye found anythin'?  We're gettin' right bored down here! he boomed, surprising me.

I forgot he could link minds with anyone who was willing.  

I considered being unwilling.

Then I decided to be a team player.

Haven't found much, I thought, trying not to think of my lovely pouch of gold, or the three, pretty eggs before me, Some hearts.  But not the girl's heart, thank goodness!  Just...yeah, no gold or eggs here.

There was some silence.  The problem with trying not to think of something, and being mentally linked with someone, is of course you're going to think of the thing you're trying not to think about.

A very clear picture of 150 gold pieces spilling out of a leather purse, and three eggs easily the size of two of my fists sprang into my mind.  

I could sense Craven smiling.

I'll keep your secret, he grinned, meaning the gold coins, If you give me one of them big eggs there.

...Deal, I agreed, thankful he didn't want the gold.  

And that he only wanted one egg.  

And that, because it was Craven, he probably wanted to hatch it, not eat it.

I had already climbed halfway down when it occurred to me:  Craven didn't think bears hatched from eggs, right?

-----

Once I had rejoined my group, we had a brief discussion about what to do next.  At this point, we were all convinced that Condor's daughter had never been in this direction.  We unanimously decided to retrace our steps; we had already heard multiple accounts of a seeing small person on the shore that we were originally on.  Chances were, she had never actually crossed the lake.

Our return passed without incident.  It wasn't until we were halfway back across the lake, when we saw some kind of humanoid at the old dock we had searched earlier, that day.  The person seemed to notice us, then dismissed us an unhurriedly retreated into the trees beyond, heading east towards the Manticore Mountains.

It seemed only natural to follow suit.  Our group continued tracking our unknown quarry, deeper into the forest.  It was dark when we could all make out firelight in the distance.  There was a group of goblin lute players, sombrely playing music near the mouth of a cave.

We all approached warily.  I turned into a black cat, both to better blend in to the darkness, and to seem unassuming should the goblins notice me.  To my surprise, Shadow seemed to prefer me in this form; as we approached the fire, Valzan leading us as was his habit, Shadow scooped me up into her arms.  It was unexpected, but I didn't mind.  It was a free ride and we looked that much more unassuming.

Valzan made his introductions to the group, who interestingly did not speak much.  Instead, they held out to Valzan a bit of paper.

That piqued my interest; could the girl have come through here?  Shadow wanted me to stay with her; when I started to jump down to the ground, she held me tighter.  However, as a cat, one of my superpowers is disobeying and getting out of tight spaces; I managed to wriggle out and land on the ground neatly, to Shadow's chagrin.  

I trotted over to sniff the paper in Valzan's hand.  It was moldy.  That wasn't helpful:  that probably meant the thing was ages old.  Condor's daughter would have passed by only a few days ago.

But there was child-like writing on the paper, "Evil Inside.  Help."

As soon as he read the words, Valzan was off like a shot, running into the cave without a glance back.  I vaguely recalled Elyssia saying something about paladins being sworn to fight evil in all it's forms.  Good to know the human took his vows so seriously.

I wouldn't normally have followed him so readily, but sometimes being in animal form gives me odd instincts.  The cat part of me was very eager to run; without thinking, I bolted after Valzan, taking no heed to the fact that it would be very, very easy to run into a trap at the end of the cave.

However, instead of a trap, we found ourselves heading towards a red door at the end of the tunnel.  Normally, my mind would be screaming about Fae magic, but all of that was suppressed with the exhilaration of running.  Valzan kicked the door down as he approached; I enthusiastically helped by leaping up and hip checking the door.  Surely, it was only with my key assistance that the door could possibly have been broken down.

I landed on all fours, fur completely standing on end, spittle flying as I hissed at the unknown.

I was ready for a dungeon.  

Or a witch's lair.  

Or to find three bears enraged that we had interrupted their porridge.

Instead, we were greeted with empty, clean marble halls, and the homey smell of freshly baked bread.

I unpuffed my fur and glanced around again.  How...odd.  This was not the moldy, dank cave that I had expected.  It certainly didn't match the cave that we had just run through.  This was a fine house, maybe even large enough to be a mansion.  Could it be an illusion?  But a cat's nose is rarely wrong; that was real bread that I was smelling.

The sound of stomping came right behind us, and Shadow, Craven, and Fallon piled into the hall, joining us.  They, too, looked about in surprise.  Craven pointed out a very prominent painting on the wall, a portrait of eight handsome gnomes.  I remembered reading a story in one of Master's books, about seven dwarves.  But there had been a princess involved; Rose Red, or something.  I side-eyed Shadow; would she be...Violet Purple?

Valzan could hear someone groaning, deeper in the mysterious building.  He followed the sound without consulting any of us.  Shadow shrewdly kept checking for traps; I followed silently, sniffing around corners but otherwise keeping to myself.  We came to a bend in the hall, with a door on our left, or another hallway leading to the right.  Following the sound of someone in trouble, Valzan opened the door to the left.

There was a room with a fireplace, and two suits of armour.  Nothing seemed out of place; Valzan nonchalantly crossed the room, to another door that could be seen there, Shadow and Craven close behind.

However, as he passed, one of the suits of armour suddenly animated, hitting Valzan before he could dodge.  I shifted back into myself, immediately, and got my staff at the ready, joining the group in the room.  Fallon managed to get a hit in, but Shadow did something strange:  to my horror, she used her dagger to cut her arm, creating another scar amongst the many that striped her wrists.

Then, somehow, the dagger came to life with vines of energy; striking out at the suit of armour, Shadow channeled a huge bolt of lightning, thoroughly dispatching the enemy.

I was shocked and impressed, to say the least.  That was an incredible amount of power.  And she controlled it so very well.  Even Valzan couldn't suppress murmuring, "...damn."

But Shadow's eyes...a cold feeling dipped in my stomach when I saw her eyes.  They were devoid of...anything.  Something was missing from her.  The teifling fighting beside Valzan wouldn't notice shiny things at the side of the road, or throw curses at Craven when he acted silly.  This teifling was empty.

I didn't like seeing her like that.

Craven finished off the other suit of armour, with my meagre assistance hitting at it with my magically imbued staff.  I wasn't sure if they were golems or just suits of armour under enchantment; before I knew it, Valzan had continued deeper into the building, following the sound of groaning, with the others close behind.

I, personally, had had enough of running.  I wanted to know where the smell of fresh bread was coming from.  I turned back and retraced my steps a little, going down the short hallway and cautiously opening the door at the end.

I was pleased to find a dining room, with a table at the centre housing enough chairs for eight people.  Most likely the eight gnomes.  There was no food visible, but there was a writing desk nearby with an open journal lying on it.  It looked to be logged into regularly, but the last entry was dated one and a half weeks ago.  That didn't make much sense for the moldy paper the goblins had offered us.  But it definitely indicated that something had happened to the gnomes that lived here.

I also found a few blank notebooks, pens, and a well of ink.  Whoever owned this desk probably wouldn't notice if some of it was missing, I decided.  I wanted to see if Shadow could read and write; she never spoke, except for spells, but she seemed to have understood the goblins' note.  I glanced at the door, then slipped a couple notebooks and some writing supplies into my pack.

I realized I had done a lot of foraging, that day, all things considered.  But still no fresh bread...

I heard footsteps in the hall and quickly pulled on my pack and readied my staff.  I heard someone run out of the room the others had entered, then hurry away, probably exiting the building.  They never even approached the dining room.  A moment of silence passed, and then different steps approached.  I braced myself for perhaps a gnome who would upbraid me for taking his belongings, but instead, my group re-joined me.  

Fallon looked awful.  The fight with the suits of armour had not treated him kindly; he looked pale and sore.  The others managed to convince him to take a healing potion, and while he did that, I checked out the dining room's adjoining kitchen.  There was some stale bread, but also some salted meat that was still good.  I added that to my collection of Taken Things, and then we all headed to explore the building further.

There was a second door in the hallway, between the dining room and the room with the suits of armour.  Entering it, we found a dark area with a winding path in an "S" shape, to a door on the opposite side; finally, it looked like we were in the cave, again.  

Valzan marched across the path first, and soon grimly discovered that the ground would crumble from under him if he walked too slowly; he ran the rest of the way across, and managed to make it to the doorway on the other side.

"...yes, this seems safe," he called back, waving to us across the dimly lit area.

Shadow rolled her eyes, and with remarkable agility, managed to jump across bits of path that curved back onto itself, taking the shortest route directly across the darkness below.  Neatly, she landed on the other side, and waited for the rest of us.

Craven went similarly as Valzan, running along the "S," then stopping right where the ground was sturdy, again, and checking behind.

Then, it was my turn.

I have never claimed to be graceful, or strong.  Master always told me to thank Semuanya for giving me my intelligence; without it, I would never survive in this world.  I was not a fast runner, and I only knew basic staff fighting to protect myself.  I would never be a warrior; that wasn't what I was meant to be.

So, it was no surprise that after getting about halfway across the path, my foot caught against something and I fell headfirst into the darkness.

I'm startin' to regret wastin’ my last Wild Shape on that cat, I mentally kicked myself, bracing myself for impact.

It was something of a fall; I must have easily fallen a good 30 feet down before landing into some shallow water.  I was now bruised and sore, not to mention my ego was neatly flattened, but at least I could still walk.  The water came up just below my tail; I waded through the shallows, grateful for being able to see in the dark.  I could still navigate towards the other side, and managed to get to where I knew Craven was waiting, up above.

"Oi, Craven!" I called, activating fire in my hands and waving them so that he might see me, "I've fallen and I can't get up!"

"Indeed!" he called back, "Are ye all right?"

"Yeah, I just need a leg up," I answered, sighing, "Have you any rope?"

"Aye, just a moment..."

Before long, Craven dropped a length of rope down, for me.  I wasn't too concerned about him being able to lift me; I barely came up to his shoulders, and he was built like a wall.  I wrapped the rope around my hips into a makeshift seat, called up to let him know I was ready.  As I expected, he began pulling me up without too much difficulty.

Unfortunately, just when I got about halfway up, I heard a faint splash down below.  At first, I thought maybe I had narrowly escaped cave eels or some such monster.  But then I remembered that we had a sixth group member who needed to cross the path.

"Uh...Craven?" I called up, "Did Fallon make it across?"

"Ah haven't seen 'im yet," the Kalashtar answered, "Why?"

"Um...I think I heard him falling in," I answered, fatigue tinging my voice, "Do you see him on the path?"

"No..." Craven raised his voice, "Oi, Fallon!  You alright?!"

Nothing but silence.

"...Ok, Craven, let me back down," I sighed, tugging the rope for emphasis, "He didn't look too well, earlier.  If he fell in, he might be hurt."

I didn't know him that well, but he was part of the group, so I had to try to help him.

Craven lowered me back down, and I backtracked, calling Fallon's name, hoping when he didn't call back that he was just saving his voice.

Instead, I found him facedown in the water.

"...That's not what you want," I groaned, hurrying to flip him over before he suffered the indignity of drowning in very shallow water.

He was unconscious, definitely breathing, but he needed healing.  I had one spell left in me.

"...Ok, Fallon, wake up," I grimaced, patting the sides of his face to liven him up a bit.

I reached into my pack and pulled out the potion that Valzan had meant for Shadow.  Somehow, I managed to maneuver the tall man so that he was sitting up, and I held the bottle to his lips.

"Wizard-man, drink this," I said firmly, carefully tipping the potion so that it just barely wet his lips, "And please don't inhale it or spit it out, instead, because that would be such a waste."

To my relief, I saw him swallow the potion.  Some colour came back to his cheeks, and before long, he was properly conscious again.

"Welcome back," I said, helping him to his feet, “C'mon, they're waiting for us.”

Together, we hurried back to where Craven was waiting, and soon we were reunited with our group.

There was a doorway at the end of the path, revealing a set of stairs that led down, down into the dark.  Valzan lit a torch, walking ahead, guiding us into the dark.

We were hushed, careful not to fall down the steps, when suddenly it came to us:  the unmistakeable scent of sea air.

Semuanya, have mercy, I groaned inwardly, fatigue pulling at my insides, What horrors are yet before us?

-----tbc

[michiigii-writes]

Of Shadows and Tyr (2/??)

The second night of our campaign, following this post!

In this installment, Strive struggles with the whims of Wuy and Fai, twin pagan deities of communication and connection.

Shadow’s POV is right here.

-----

Condor, Fallon, and Usaris

"My daughter!  They took my daughter!"

Turning sharply to the tavern doorway, I saw a dishevelled half-elf, aged somewhere in his late thirties, pleading with anybody who would hear him.  He looked sincerely upset, but all the bar patrons around him were laughing and waving him off.

"What else is new?" I heard one patron snicker.

"Sit down and calm yourself," another patron jeered.

I wanted to continue with my filched pie, and finish drinking my cider, personally.  I hadn't eaten much that morning.  Valzan, on the other hand, got up and of course he offered his assistance to the man at the door.

I wondered if all paladins went out of their way to offer people their assistance, or if this was specific to Valzan.  Maybe it was part of the tenets of Tyr.  Or maybe it was just his catchphrase.  I'd have to ask Elyssia the next time I saw her.

The man joined our table, Valzan directing him to sit a good distance from Shadow.  He introduced himself as Condor, the town crier of Kendrith.  He reported that the reason why the other bar patrons had laughed, was because his daughter had a habit of sneaking off.  But this time was different; normally, she stayed away overnight, but she had been missing for ten days, already.  Clearly, something was wrong.

As Condor continued his tale, I happened to notice that there was a human seated nearby, dark, tangled hair falling around his face.  He wasn't obvious about it, but the way he was leaning slightly towards our table made me suspect that he was listening in.  I didn't sense any danger or aggression coming from him, but I kept him in the corner of my eye.

"Can you help me find my daughter?" Condor asked, looking around the table at each of us, desperation clear on his face.

I examined him before answering.  He seemed sincere; this wasn't some strange bait to lure us to a second location.  Genuine concern for her daughter was apparent.

He lost a few points with me for admitting that he usually locked his daughter in their home while he was away.  If she was about 12 years old, surely she wouldn't need to be caged in, like that.

Valzan and I were pretty sure that we could trust Condor (Shadow, naturally, seemed ambivalent about the whole situation), but Craven wanted some kind of character witness.  When Condor admitted that he was a regular to this tavern, Craven got up crossed the room, searching briefly until he came across three dwarves who were settled at their own table.  I didn't catch the conversation, but from watching across the room, the dwarves seemed civil, Craven nodded as he questioned them a few times, and then he suddenly got very flustered and yelled something about, "Not that there's anything wrong with dwarves!" before hurrying back to our table.

Our waitress, Mildred, returned around the same time that Craven did, and he requested that whatever foods we didn't eat be sent to the dwarves across the way.  He seemed contented with that for about a split second, before regret flashed across his face.

"Wait, but then I'm leaving them with our scraps!" Craven bemoaned, "Oh, no, the implications...!"

Muttering to himself, Craven sat down heavily, shaking his head.  I wasn't sure what had happened between he and the group he had interviewed, but chances were, he was being silly again.

Noticing that Mildred seemed less busy, Valzan requested to speak privately with her at the bar.  The two of them moved off, leaving Shadow, Craven and I with Condor.

“Anyway," Craven sighed, "Condor checks out!"

I nodded my agreement, and Condor seemed relieved.  We made arrangements with the town crier to investigate his home and see if we could figure out what happened to his daughter.  Craven decided to keep Valzan informed.

"Hey, Valzan!" he yelled across the room, "We're going to Condor's place!"

Valzan made a shooing motion with his arm, indicating that he was busy, but Craven seemed to think he was waving.  The Kalashtar stood up and waved his own arm enthusiastically over his head.

"Yeah, byeee!!" Craven boomed, making Shadow cringe.

I pulled my hood even deeper over my face.  The tavern wasn't crowded, but there were still enough patrons that we were gathering stares.  And it was embarrassing.  I did not like being the centre of attention in a public space.

Being the centre of attention got you kicked.

At the bar, Valzan put a hand up in a clear "stop" signal.  As in, "Craven, please just stop!"

"You want five more rounds?!" Craven exclaimed, motioning to the mug he had been drinking from.

"nO!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet, "We should step out!"

"What?" Craven asked too loudly, probably not able to hear me because he was so used to hearing the sound of his own yelling, and I have a normal voice.

"Craven, we should step outside!" I said, panic rising in my voice as I could feel even more eyes turning towards us.

I tried to pull him by the arm towards the door, but of course he was a giant lump, and strength was my weakest attribute, so I couldn't budge him.

"We're going to go outside!" Craven yelled, giving Valzan a thumbs-up, and finally to my relief began moving towards the exit.

"Shadow, are you coming?" I asked, motioning to the door while Condor got up to follow Craven.

I looked back at Shadow; she seemed pretty content where she was.  The silver-eyed stranger who had been eavesdropping looked like he was snickering, but he, too, didn't move.  I glanced at Valzan; he seemed to be keeping an eye on Shadow.  I didn't trust him with much, but at the very least, I knew Shadow was safe with him.

And I really, really wanted to get out of the Room of A Hundred Judging Eyes.

On the way out the door, I could have sworn I heard Shadow hiss something, and suddenly Craven was reeling slightly.

"Ow..."

The three of us finally outside, Craven turned around and I could see a thin trail of blood leaking from his nose.  I made a mental note to thank Shadow later.

"We should wait for the others to come out before heading to your home," I said to Condor, but also speaking to Craven, "They don't know where you live."

"That suits me just fine," Condor nodded, taking a seat on a nearby bench.

Craven also sat down, pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding, and I pulled out one of my library books, examining diagrams and comparing them to plants growing in the lawn and garden out front.

"What are you looking for?" Craven asked, a little nasally. "Healing herbs," I answered, squinting at what was probably just a daisy, "You'd be surprised how many plants that people think are weeds end up having healing properties."  The Kingsfoil plant came to mind.

"Well, if you find a health potion, that'd be great," Craven suggested.

I hid a smile.  Like I would give him a free health potion for a minor wound like the one he had.

"It's just a nose bleed; you'll be fine," I waved dismissively, content in waiting outside for the others to join us.

--

To my surprise, our mystery eavesdropper was accompanying Valzan and Shadow when they finally exited the tavern.  Valzan introduced him as Fallon Kalabtihn, and apparently, he had volunteered to join our party.  He was a very, very tall human; even taller than Craven, by a couple inches!  But he wasn't as muscular as Craven or even Valzan; most of his body was hidden by a long, flowing cloak, but from his face and hands, he looked lean.

Again, he did not seem dangerous, but he smiled in what I could only describe as a friendly look.  Nobody I had ever met had warmed up to me that quickly.  Clearly, there was something off about him.

While we walked, I made sure to keep Valzan and Craven between Fallon and I.

It wasn't too long of a walk, heading out of town with the sun at our backs.  Craven kept up conversation by chatting with Fallon.  Apparently, Craven was from the west side of where he was from, not to be mistaken for the east side.  This was very important to him.

We came to the edge of a forest, and in the shade of an oak, Condor's house came into view.  It was a weathered, old building, and when he opened the door, we could see that it was mostly just one main room, with a couple beds for its residents.  Valzan asked if Condor knew about a group of slavers working nearby; the town crier reported that he hadn't been all that aware of them.  

Not seeing much indoors, I let the others investigate there while I moved outside.  I knew about survival and terrain, anyway.  Craven joined me, and we looked around for tracks.

Interestingly, nothing was out of the ordinary.  It was like Condor's daughter had never left.

Giving up our search, we headed back to the house, and were just in time to see Shadow scurry into a hole in the ground.  Pushing past the others and hurrying after her, I saw that she had moved one of the beds, and there was ladder leading down into the dark.  Worried about Shadow's safety, and feeling pretty confident that I would be able to see in the dark, I followed suit, moving quickly down the ladder.

At the bottom, I was surprised to see a decently sized bunker, small, but just large enough that I didn't feel too claustrophobic.  And the air was surprisingly fresh; maybe even better air than in Condor's cramped house upstairs.  A torch lit the room, revealing a wardrobe in one corner, and a table towards the room's centre, where Shadow was already investigating some trinkets.

"There's a room down here," Valzan called up; I started a little, then turned to see that he had followed me down, Craven and Fallon not far behind.

"A room?" Condor's voice from above sounded shocked, "I didn't know of it!"

I crossed the notably empty room, to the wardrobe.  I knocked on the door a couple times, in case Condor's daughter was hiding there, hoping not to startle her, before trying the door.

It swung open smoothly; there was no lock.

A breeze of cool air, and the scent of blood and dead flesh wafted out at me.  This was no simple wardrobe:  it was a hidden passageway!  A tunnel stretched before me, further into the dark.  I meant to call back to my friends, but something in the middle of the passage caught my eye.

A bloody body.

I moved toward it immediately, nothing in my mind but the vision of a slain child.  Was it the daughter?  Were we too late?!

--- "She is small and weak, the little hellspawn!" "Useless!" "Garbage!" "Let us eat her!" "No!  She is mine, now.  If she turns against us, we eat her, but until then, she is mine!" ---

Even the demon-marked deserve to come of age, Master had often said, he and the other Lizardfolk never realizing I could hear.

Before I could even see the body clearly, skittering claws scratched across the ceiling of the tunnel before me.  Three soft thuds fell, not far from me, and a trio of hissing, green creatures revealed themselves.

They looked like a pale imitation of the Lizardfolk, thin and gangly as they menaced me.  They had elongated skulls, huge, clawed hands and feet, and rows and rows and sharp, long teeth.  Feeling sick to my stomach, I realized I had made a mistake; I had run headlong into some kind of monster nest.

"Chokers!" I heard Valzan yell, and before long, the rest of the group had joined me.

Valzan was faster to react than me, he ran further into the tunnel and swung his axe at one Choker, getting a good hit in.  Shadow stopped not far behind me, pulling out her daggers and spitting a curse at another Choker, making him reel a little.  I took the opportunity to take the shape of a Giant Lizard; it was one of the few forms I could take, and I felt safer being heavier and having thicker skin and longer teeth.

That got one of the Chokers' attention; it took a swipe at me with its claws, but missed as I managed to lean out of its way.

Craven made very quick work of one of the Chokers, felling it with his sword.  The second Choker went after Shadow, but missed her, too.  Fallon joined Valzan, stabbing his monster, and Valzan dealt the finishing blow.

There was one Choker left; Shadow stabbed it successfully.  I snapped my jaws at it, but it was too fast and managed to dodge my bite.  The creature knew it was cornered, and made a great leap, though whether to attack or run away, I would never know; Craven swung his sword, slaying the monster in mid-air.

I felt incredibly stupid.  Obviously, it wasn't smart to rush into a dark tunnel alone.  And I was not that good of a fighter.  I had to act more wisely, in the future.  I was usually so very cautious, but the sight of that body...

That temper will be the death of you, Charity, Master liked to scold.

I looked back at the body I had been so worried about.  It was a deer carcass, and an old one, at that.  It wasn't even good enough to scavenge a little venison off of.

I risked my life for you? I grumbled, moving away to travel down the tunnel with the rest of the party, Amazing.

Valzan walked beside me, very politely asking for a little healing.  I gave him a once-over with a yellow, reptilian eye.  He seemed sore, having clearly taking some damage during our scuffle, but he looked like he could manage.

I wanted to tell him to rub some dirt in it and walk it off, but I was a lizard.

Even if I had wanted to heal him, I was a lizard.

I sent a little prayer to Wuy and Fai, pagan twin deities of connection and communication, before I gave Valzan a little shake of the head, and he seemed to understand.

We continued to the end of the tunnel, where another ladder was waiting for us, this time leading back up.  Naturally, Shadow scurried back up, followed by Valzan; I dropped my Wild Shape and climbed the ladder as myself.  I could have shimmied up the wall, but I wasn't sure if the hole leading out was large enough for my lizard form.

Coming up through another trap door, we found ourselves in the middle of a forest.  Checking the ground, we found tracks for a small person, most likely Condor's daughter, heading away; they were maybe six days old, but we followed them anyway.  It occurred to us that we had never actually asked what the girl's name was.

I supposed we were more eager to help Condor out than we were willing to admit.

On the way, a large, beautiful white bear joined us from the woods; I was a little wary, but Craven seemed very happy to see it.

"This is my spirit guide!  His name is Usaris!" Craven explained, happily,  "He's who I talk to sometimes, but you can't see him.  He wanted to take a physical form, so here he is!"

Oh, I thought, remembering all the times I had seen him muttering to himself, I thought he was just talking to himself.  That explains some things.

I muttered an incantation that usually let me talk to animals, and tried to Speak to Usaris.  He didn't really react, and if he was trying to talk to me, I couldn't hear it.  He was clearly something more than just an animal friend; I could believe Craven's claim that he was some kind of spirit.

Before long, we came to what the others called Old Rivermount Lake; the person we were tracking seemed to have come right up to the edge of the lake.  Looking forward, we could see an island at the lake's centre.  On our left, there were some old buildings and abandoned docks.  On our right, the rivermouth opened to some rapids flowing south.

Shadow occupied herself with admiring the lake, sitting on the ground at the edge.  Valzan and I went searching for supplies; he went to the buildings, while I tried the docks.  I didn't find much at there, just a moldy old oar, but I brought it back to the group in case we needed it for firewood. 

It was at that point that the deities Wuy and Fai decided to turn against me; I wasn't sure what Fallon was doing at that time.  It was quite possible that he was the one who found a boat, not Valzan; the point is that somebody found a boat.  I was happy; that gave my oar a purpose!  And Valzan could stop making comments about us Tieflings using our tails to somehow propel the boat through the water.

Valzan also showed me something he had found in the buildings:  a little rucksack, the right size for a child, and filled with colourful, shiny things.

"The girl was here," I realized, my eyebrows shooting up.

"I think so, too," Valzan nodded grimly, "I'm going to hang on to this."

"Good idea," I nodded, then added after I thought for a moment, "But maybe don't show it to Shadow yet."

Valzan chuckled, nodding as he, too, remembered Shadow's love of shiny things.

I noticed that Craven and Usaris had opted to jump into the lake for a paddle.  They looked like they were enjoying themselves, but then I saw Craven jump onto Usaris, and how the bear still managed to stay afloat.  Usaris was very strong, so...

"Craven!" I called, getting both of their attentions, "Do you think Usaris would be able to swim and pull the boat?"

The Kalashtar conferred with his companion before answering, "...not on a full stomach!"

"Ah, then we should not feed him," I muttered to myself, before calling, "Okay, never mind!"

Usaris was very strong, but pulling the boat would be asking too much of him.  We would have to make do with our single oar.

All five of us piled into the boat, while Usaris swam close beside us.  Fallon took to the oar, moving us slowly, but surely, towards the island at the centre of the lake.  Valzan took the time to tend to his wounds, as we all took a short rest.  I considered all of the spells that I had prepared, thinking to move the boat faster, but none of them were particularly useful.  I contented myself with resting.  Everyone in the boat seemed quiet; it had been an eventful day.

It took us half an hour to reach the island, and we climbed out of the boat onto a sandy shore.  There were footprints everywhere, of varying sizes; there was no way we could tell if this was where the girl landed.  Further up, we could see several buildings, and the beginning of a forest, but no people.

Valzan scouted ahead, and it wasn't long before he waved for us to follow him, and then entered one of the buildings.  I hurried after, noting in passing that there was a grate in the beach, filled with various bottles.  Going into the building, with Shadow, Craven, Fallon, and Usaris following suit, I was pleased to see that there was a group of Tortles huddled in the room.  A few wandering Tortles had traded with my tribe, in the past.  They had always been kind to me, ignoring my horns and tail.  I was always grateful for that.

"What were you doing outside?" one Tortle exclaimed, urgency written all over his face, "It's not safe, these days!"

"What do you mean?" Valzan asked, and I held my breath for his catchphrase, "Can I offer you some assistance?"

I did not laugh out loud, but I wanted to.  Of course he was going to offer to help. The Tortles told us that they were being preyed upon by flying things, and had been for some time, now.  Many of their people had been carried off; usually the smaller ones, but really, it wasn't safe for anyone to be outside.

I was a little more focused on finding Condor's daughter.  I asked if a child had come this way, but none of the Tortles could say that they had.  One suggested that they had seen a child on the other side of the lake, toward the Manticore Mountains; that was where we had come from.

My heart sank a little.  What if we had put in all that effort to cross the lake, but the girl was at the opposite side the entire time?

But then another thought occurred to me.

Valzan was already making efforts to move on, denying the Tortles' request for help.  I tried to get his attention, but once again, the twin deities Wuy and Fai were against me.  It was like I was trying to speak through a communication device of some kind, but my voice had been turned to an absurdly low volume, so no matter how loudly I spoke, or how many times I repeated myself, nobody could hear me.

I tried to say that if smaller creatures were getting carried off, there was a very real possibility that Condor's daughter had been carried off.  The Tortles may have never even seen her.  But it was to no avail; nobody could hear me.  Semuanya protect me, I had to make some kind of sacrifice to Wuy and Fai soon, or I would never get anywhere with my group.

The Tortles clearly looked upset, too.  They had wanted rescue, and we looked like we were leaving them to their own devices.

But then:

THUD.

THUD.

Something impacted hard against the building's roof.

We weren't going anywhere, after all.

---tbc---

part 3 is here

[michiigii-writes]

Of Shadows and Tyr (1.5/??)

A continuation of our DnD campaign’s first session right here.  Because there is a limit to text on text posts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In the beginning:  There was a city (2/2)

We spent about a week living in the Church of Tyr.  Elyssia provided us with a constant stream of free food, and it was a safe, dry place to stay.  Craven and Valzan were also always around, but I spent the most of my time with the Tiefling girl.

She never spoke.  I was pretty sure she could understand common, from the way that she listened to the rest of us speak, but the most she ever said was during that first fight with the slavers.  I wondered if she knew how to write or draw, but she tended to keep herself otherwise occupied, so I never got much of a chance to ask.

She had scars all over her arm and neck, like she had been shackled for a long time and the bonds had chafed.  I tried touching her to cure her wounds, the first evening at the church.  She looked so small and guarded, and had clearly had a rough life; I was worried that there was some kind of wound that she was keeping to herself.

I was promptly bitten for my efforts.

I had hoped that clearly being an ally would have warmed me up to her even a little, but she definitely did not like to be touched ever.  I drew back with a grimace.

“I’m only trying to help you,” I grumbled, keeping my low but feeling annoyance bubble into my tone.

For a reply, she bared her teeth at me in warning.  I frowned, then recalled a different spell that might work.

[May you find sweet grass and gentle water,] I murmured, sending healing words her way.

The spell wasn’t as strong as if I had touched her, but I saw her sit up a bit straighter in shock as she felt the healing take effect.  I couldn’t see or feel if what I had done was enough, but seeing her surprised yet calm was enough to satisfy my efforts.  At the very least, she was well, and I had to be content with that.

For the rest of the week, she remained in my sights, not necessarily beside me, but always nearby.  I’m not sure who thought of her name first.  It might of been me, joking referring to her as “my shadow” whenever I spoke about her.  It might have been Elyssia, nodding to how the young Tiefling always managed to find the darkest, most secret corners of a room.

It was definitely not Craven.  The giant somehow found out that she liked all things that glittered in the light, and from then on, he called her, “Shiny.”

But by the time our company decided to go out and explore Kendrith as a group, we had somehow all elected to refer to call her, “Shadow.”  And she seemed to like it just fine.

Craven and Valzan had a few errands they wanted to run, before investigating about the slavers we had come across.  I heard mention of “books,” so I wanted to go, and wherever I went, Shadow tended to follow.

It was another bright day; I found the weather rather pleasant in comparison to the humid, warm days we had in the swamp.  Shadow walked to and fro behind us, while Valzan and Craven walked ahead.  As usual, I kept my distance from Valzan, but I had to admit he was growing on me.  He treated Shadow and I with the same courtesy he paid Craven.  I still kept my horns tucked away in his presence, whipping my hood up when he approached, but more than once, I had accidentally let my tail peek out while talking to him.  I was getting comfortable around the human, and that troubled me, a little.  Was Valzan the exception, or had it been the humans in my past?

Time and experience would have to tell.  Maybe there was a reason Master didn’t want me to return until a good year had passed.

Not too far from the church, Shadow ended up distracted by sparkling glass shards by the side of the road.  Tail swishing back and forth under the cloak that Elyssia had provided her, she crouched low and fixated on the twinkling remains of what might have been a bottle.

Our party ended up right within reach of a nearby game stall.  There were targets set up, and according to the hawker, if we hit a bulls-eye with a throwing axe, we would get a voucher for a free drink at a local tavern.

I heard “free.”  Considering I had about two silver pieces to my name, that was enough to get my attention.

I waited for Valzan and Craven to play, first.  Craven managed to snag three free drinks!  I was impressed, but not too surprised; the Kalashtar barbarian was huge.

I was, however, surprised when he gave his prizes to Valzan.  Who turned down something that was free?  And Craven didn’t seem particularly wealthy, to me.

When it came to my turn, I did my best, but I clearly had never used a throwing axe, before.  I could hit the targets, but not well enough to win anything.  For my last throw, I could see that it was about to fall just a little too low.  Wanting that stupid coupon, I drew on my Druidcraft and encouraged a light puff of wind to boost the axe up, a little.

I was too encouraging.  The axe ended up blown too high above the target.

"You better not be trying to pull any funny business,” the stall-keeper said suspiciously, looking between the target and I.

Feeling cornered, I forced a laugh.

“Well, if I were going to cheat, you would think I’d be more successful,” I joked, mentally kicking myself for being so eager about a free drink.

The stall-keeper seemed to agree, but I don’t think he completely bought it.  He offered me another try, but I declined; only the first round was free, and it would probably be cheaper to just buy myself my own drink.  Valzan asked the man where we could get information, and he was told that a woman who worked at the tavern where our coupons applied might help us.  Convenient, but good enough for me!

Our next stop was to the library.  I’d never seen so many books in one place, before; I had thought Master had a grand collection, but even all of his tomes would barely take up a shelf.  I was also relieved to see that the librarian was half orc(?).  I hoped humans like Valzan were the rule and not the exception, but I really didn’t want to test it in the library.

Craven walked off in search of books on plagues and blights, of all things.  I opted for herbs.  I was only familiar with swampy things, and it would be nice to see what could be used for healing or poison from local flora.  Shadow followed suit, even finding me a couple books with some excellent diagrams.  Nothing with words, though...I was becoming more certain that she didn’t know how to read or write.  I considered teaching her for a moment, before throwing the idea away.  I wasn’t patient enough to teach, and if she wanted to learn, she was clearly determined enough that she would have made some signs of it.

Still, I wanted her to have something to take from the library.  The books were free.  Everyone should take advantage of free.  I knew she liked shiny things, and Valzan had recently given her a brass bell that she liked, but I asked her what kind of books she wanted.  However, she either didn’t hear or didn’t have time to answer, because Craven took that moment to materialize.

He wanted to know if I knew anything about creeping blights; according to him, the land of his home was slowly dying by some unknown evil.  He said he realized that I was in-tune with nature, and knew about growing things, so he felt that I was his key, or destined to meet him, or something?

He got a bit fuzzy, after that, turning red and tripping over his words.  I thought he was being silly, in an endearing sort of way, and couldn’t help but smile a little.  Shadow, on the other hand, seemed irritated with him, hissing her displeasure.  That seemed to cool Craven off, and rather than let me really respond in any way, the giant lumbered off, muttering to himself as he was wont to do.

I looked at Shadow, and saw that she looked ready to leave the library.  I grabbed a book on healing herbs, and one on poisons, and when the librarian said I could take a third, and snagged a book with a lot of rather beautifully illustrated gemstones.  With my hand, the librarian set some kind of enchantment that would return the books automatically, once a week was up.  I liked it; that would prevent me from accidentally paying late fees, and I wouldn’t need to worry about losing the books.

When we left the library, I handed the book on gems to Shadow.  I had meant well, but from the way she looked at me, she was very clearly offended that I thought she would enjoy a children’s book.

“She’s probably older than she looks,” Valzan pointed out.

I rolled my eyes and tried not to groan, while Shadow moved to the side of the group furthest from me.  It’s not like she mentioned what she did want to check out!  How was I supposed to know!?

I clearly wasn’t doing a good job getting on Shadow’s good side.

And, to add insult to injury, she excepted a shiny marble from Valzan.

“How is that not condescending?!” I exclaimed, while Shadow contentedly added the bauble to a pocket of what I was certain contained a growing collection of shiny things.

Instead of answering, Valzan shrugged dismissively.  The desire to grab a less shiny rock and throw it at his head occurred to me, but instead, we continued to our second stop:  A pet store.

Craven was under the impression that he could find a bear for a pet.  The shopkeeper was surprised, most likely because that seemed more like an exotic/black market kind of pet.  However, when he offered up hedgehogs as an adequate alternative, I was on Craven’s side:  bears are to hedgehogs as falcons are to finches.  They are not equal.

Naturally, Craven got even more upset when the shopkeeper suggested a squirrel, instead. 

To use as bait.

None of us were pleased!  Craven began roaring about what a terrible person the shopkeeper was, and I’m pretty sure when Shadow called him a squirrel murderer, his nose started bleeding.  Valzan ushered us out, but when Craven suggested we return after dark to Free the Enslaved, I readily agreed.  I wanted to Speak to the animals, to see if they were all in danger or just the squirrels, but there wasn’t enough time; already, we were out the door.

It didn’t take us long to reach the top of the hill, finding the tavern where we could redeem Craven’s vouchers was situated.  A creaky sign with the words “Scout’s Mug Bar and Inn” hung over the doorway that we entered, Craven stooping slightly to fit through.  I braced myself for noise, but it was early enough in the day that there weren’t too many patrons.

Shadow moved straight to a table in a secluded corner, dark but safe; I and the rest followed suit.  Craven, of course, immediately ordered every dessert on the menu.  I tried not to let my eyes pop out of my head as plate after plate of confection and pastry were brought by the waitress and placed before him.  I was about to ask how he could possibly eat all of those desserts by himself, when I saw him push all the plates to Shadow.  

...Of course they weren’t just for himself.  I made a note to myself to be a little less snide toward Craven.

Eyeing all the desserts, I surreptitiously slid what looked like a slice of apple pie towards myself.  Shadow didn’t seem to notice.  And while she did have a good appetite, I doubted she could finish everything.  Besides, the pie was warm and smelled heavenly.  I never got to eat anything like this, in the swamp.

Valzan, ever dutiful, was already in the process of asking for Mildred, the woman who would most likely have information for us.  By some stroke of luck, our waitress was Mildred.

Things were coming together smoothly!  Perhaps things would be simple from now on, I thought.

Suddenly, a bang came at the bar’s entrance; someone had slammed open the door.  A dishevelled man rushed in, eyes wild, hands wringing in worry.

...of course it wouldn’t be that easy, I sighed inwardly.

“My daughter!  They took my daughter!” he exclaimed.

I sat up straight, head whipping around to look at the man in surprise.  His daughter?  Taken?  That was awful!  The very idea made me sick.

And yet, for some unfathomable reason, all the patrons of the bar started laughing at the man.

What on earth is going on?

---tbc--

Continuation here!

[michiigii-writes]

Of Shadows and Tyr (1/??)

Summary:  So, after 20 years of searching, I have stumbled upon a DnD group that is willing to deal with my absurd work schedule, and let me play with them!  I have no idea what I’m doing, and I cannot fanart my way out of a wet paper bag, so I appear to have subconsciously decided to write a novel.

Craven and the other Tiefling have written more succinct and appropriately lengthed (that’s a word) summaries.

I have created a neutral 21-year-old Tiefling druid, named Strive.  She has cinnamon skin, short garnet hair, black eyes, a whip-like tail, and horns that curve out and then slightly down and back (Bharal sheep horns).  We have started our journey at level 2.

This is my version of a “the story, so far.”  It is already too long.  8)  I have no idea how many installments there will be; I already had to separate into a second part of our first session because I wrote too much.  I also have an origins chapter for Strive because IM’ SORRY OKAY.

In the beginning:  There was a city (part 1/2)

Master said it was time to see the world.

I didn't want to, of course. I was comfortable enough to live with the Lizardfolk tribe, secreted away in a little hut by the edge of the forest, serving as their healer when Master finally passed on. Why would I need to go out into the world? Our swamp had everything I needed, and that was enough.

But as usual, Master wanted more for me.

As per Master's orders, lightly veiled as 'advice,' of course, the safest way for me to see the world would be with a group. And apparently, the easiest way to find a group of adventurers was in the city.

He failed to mention how busy and loud and DUSTY the city of Kendrith was.  I don’t like sand.  It’s rough, irritating, and it gets everywhere.

There were too many people. Too many humans. It was a warm, sunny day, but I had to keep my cloak closed and my hood up to hide my tail and horns.  Even in the depths of my big cloak, I felt exposed.

And the dust! There was so little natural life in Kendrith; barely any grass or trees.  It had been less than a fortnight, and already I missed the lush reeds and soft, insect-ridden mud near Master's hut. The city was dry and lacking, like stale bread.

I was trying to find quieter streets when I somehow managed to almost step on a small figure, tripping them into the road.  Naturally, I stopped to help them up, but my apology died in my throat when I saw her horns and tail.

She was a Tiefling, too. A young Tiefling with beautiful blue eyes and a spade-tipped tail.

But...her skin...it was purple.

Unbidden, I recalled warmth, and softness, and a smile resting on a purple-skinned face-

And then the Tiefling bared her teeth at me and the memory evaporated.

"Are...are you okay?" I asked, reaching out to her with an empty hand. She hissed at me and scrabbled back. I froze, then raised my hands, palms out, in a sign of peace.

“My name’s Strive,” I said softly, and asked her if she wanted help, but she just hissed and cocked her head at me.  I wasn’t sure if she didn’t speak Common or if she just wanted me to leave.  She made me think of my tribe’s hatchlings:  feral to anybody aside from their family.

We were interrupted, then, by a human in armor.  He had some kind of insignia on the breastplate, but what worried me was that the Tiefling hissed at him, recognition crossing her face.

He was following her and she did not feel safe.

I stood between the human and the girl, tried to brush the him off, but he continued to press forward, offering us shelter, of all things. Why on earth would a human want to help two Tieflings?  People in general didn't trust our kind, but humans!  I felt anger rising to flush my face.  Humans were the whole reason...

If all Tieflings are not alike, the same must be said of all races, Master's voice echoed in my head, stopping my temper.

I wasn’t home, anymore.  I had to be smart, and I had to keep a cool head.

I eyed the human knight carefully.  He introduced himself as Valzan Corindal, and again, he said he wanted to help.  I've always been good at reading people, and for some reason, I couldn't detect any lie in him.  It was odd, but...somehow I believed him.

Almost like a natural 20 had been rolled on my insight.

It helped abate my suspicions when an elf woman wearing similar armor joined him, and he backed away.  I relaxed a little, although the Tiefling behind me still seemed wary.  I spoke a little with the woman.  She seemed kind.  Bitterly, I wondered if it was easy to be kind when your race was generally admired.

Nobody chooses their blood, Charity. Only their path, Master chided.

I did my best to shut down my concerns, and listened to the elf woman's spiel about their church.  Her name was Elyssia, and according to her, she and Valzan were hoping to develop a church worshipping Tyr in Kendrith.  I wasn’t particularly interested in converting.  Semuanya, Master’s deity, was enough for me, valuing my survival instead of my dark heritage. 

Thankfully, Elyssia wasn’t trying to change me, only offering me a place of rest, and then she retreated into a run-down old building nearby. That made me wonder: I'd been taught that churches were grand affairs with coloured windows, not dusty ruins. This 'church' didn't look anything like that; it looked significantly more forlorn than what I had imagined a church to be.

It was then that the Tiefling shook her head and looked even more upset.  I didn’t see any flies buzzing near her ears.  I couldn’t hear or sense anything, myself.  But I knew I was missing something, and that bothered me.

My answer came sooner than I expected:  a very tall gentleman decided it was time to join our group and with a booming voiced asked if he could be of some assistance.

I wanted to go home, personally.

The Tiefling girl spat an insult at the tall man, making him dizzy, somehow.  I suspected he had done something to upset her.

I, on the other hand, looked at the newcomer appraisingly.  He seemed otherworldy to me, somehow.  In a loud, boisterous voice, he announced that Craven was his name.  He was tall for human standards, but his hair stood up in a crest and his eyes glowed blue.

I had never seen anything like those eyes.

I also started to wonder if maybe the Lizardfolk and I were the strange ones and everyone else on earth had blue eyes.  I glanced at the human.  Nope, his were green.  Stranger and stranger...

I decided then that I was going to try to convince the Tiefling girl to come back with me to the swamp where we would never have to deal with anybody on Semuanya's green earth ever again.  That was the only logical thing to do.  There were too many things happening out in the world and I, personally, was done with it.  Master was clearly wrong; I did not need to see the rest of the world.

Instead, two men in black sauntered over, chains on their belts, and clearly looking for the Tiefling girl behind me.

The way she hissed and backed away from them, by comparison, she had been downright cozy with Valzan only a moment before.  Forget not trusting the Paladin of Tyr; these two men, who were soon joined by a third, were definitely an active danger.

To my pleasant surprise, I saw that Valzan and Craven were also of the same mind; together, we fought to take girl’s enemies down.

The four of us made short work of the three men. I entangled the one who was closest to us, using vines, while the girl behind me spat curses with some kind of magic.  The tall Craven cut down one slaver with his great sword, while the paladin finished off the other with a few swings of his axe.  The third enemy tried to run, but was quickly caught by Valzan, and the coward passed out as soon as he saw his fate was sealed.

Craven carried their hostage into the church, but Valzan stayed behind, hoping to talk us into following them, once again talking about safety.

I looked at how thin the Tiefling girl was, then instead of properly answering him, asked if the paladin had any food.  He pulled out some bread, offering it to her.  She shifted back, ever distrustful.  I didn’t blame her. 

Silently, I took the loaf, took a bite of it to show that it was fine, then offered it to the girl.  She hesitated, then snatched it from me, munching eagerly away at what I now knew was incredibly dry bread.  I mentioned so to the paladin, but with a small smile and shrug he explained that it was rations.  I nodded, chewing thoughtfully, noting that he didn’t snap defensively at me.  A comment like that would have earned a slap, with Master’s tribe. 

I was also impressed to see that the girl was almost done the loaf; quite a feat considering how dry it was.  Without thinking, I said out loud that she reminded me of a chipmunk. 

She did not appreciate it.  She pulled a face, and I regretted saying it.

Again, we were invited to the church.  I told the girl that it seemed like a good offer, and if she was anything like me, she didn’t have anywhere else to go.  I slowly followed the paladin to the church, and was pleased to see that the girl stayed right behind me.

Crossing the threshold, I paused, and it was with some degree of relief to find that I would not burst into flames.  The highest point of my day, so far.

In the main foyer of the church, we found that the elf woman, Elyssia, had prepared a wonderful spread for us.  The Tiefling girl made a beeline towards the fruits and sweets, but my eyes gravitated to the cheese!  There were great, big, yellow and red wheels of cheese, beside loaves of bread that were so fresh I could still see steam rising off of them.  And wine!  I loved wine.  I’d only had it once or twice, but I knew it was so much better than the brackish moonshine the Lizardfolk made. But first, to business.  Craven and Valzan hauled their unconscious slaver into the church’s basement, myself following silently behind.  Elyssia stayed with the girl upstairs, so I figured she would be safe. 

In the basement, a lone chair, small table, and candle awaited them, along with two large barrels of water.  My mouth twisted, hidden by the shadow of my cloak.  I could imagine what was coming.  I reminded myself that their victim was a slaver, and a cruel one, if the Tiefling girl’s scars were any indication. Valzan splashed water into their victim’s face, effectively reviving him.  Craven thought it would be a good idea to dump a whole barrel onto him; I rolled my eyes, hiding a smile at the unnecessary action.

It didn’t take much to make the man talk; almost immediately, he willingly shared everything he knew about his employers, even if it wasn’t much.  I frowned when he mentioned that he was just a hired hand, trying to make his way in the world.  He was a slaver.  A slaver.  How could he stomach such work?

But his insistence that he just wanted coin rang true.  He needed to work to eat, and jobs were scarce.  It just happened that what he had to do was vile.

I didn’t want to hear any more.  Without the others noticing, I turned away and slipped back upstairs.  I would much rather keep company with the cheese and wine.

--(part two)--

[michiigii-writes]

MLQC - hands headcanons

I liek hands...

Get yer minds out of the gutter.

I like holding hands and admiring hands and leave me alone; it’s not that kinky!

Victor:

long fingers

surprisingly tough skin for a businessman

all that cooking and washing made his hands more weathered than one might expect

a couple old scars from accidentally cutting himself while using a knife

old burn scar on his thumb from a cooking mishap

doesn’t hold hands often, but when he does, he takes your hand without looking and pointedly does not make eye contact the whole time

Kiro:

soft hands, very steady

likes to fidget, playing with pens, twiddling hair, tapping fingers surprisingly loudly

very touchy feely; will take your hands any chance he gets

ridiculously fast typing speed

Lucien:

very large hands

surprisingly soft, and cool to the touch

good at handling fragile or small things

likes to touch your face

more of an arm around your shoulders or hand in the small of your back sort of guy

carefully holds your hands; not quite loosely, but definitely very delicately

Gavin:

rough, strong hands

breaks things if he’s not aware of how delicate something is

calloused and scarred, some old, some fresh

a bit self-conscious about how beat-up his hands are

very warm; always nice to hold when your hands are cold

likes to take your hand and put it in his pocket

[michiigii-writes]

*someone insults MC*

Gavin: WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

Gavin: Kiro, hold my flower.

*Gavin picks up MC and places her in Kiro’s arms*

Kiro: Yeah, you go, bro!

Kiro: I got your flower!

Kiro: ...

MC: ...

Kiro: ...I’m going to drop you, now.

[michiigii-writes]

Ōtsubo: We don’t have a tree!

Takao: Wait, I have an idea!

Takao: *drags Midorima in*

Takao: *puts a star on his head*

Takao: THERE! He is green and tall.

Ōtsubo: I SEE IT.

Midorima: ...I hate you both so much.

[michiigii-writes]

MC: Why are you always on Saizo’s side?!

Yukimura: *is at a loss*

Saizo: *from the shadows* Tell her I’ve known you longer.

[michiigii-writes]

Yukimura: Saizo would let me do it.

MC: Well, clearly he loves you more than I do.

Saizo: *from the shadows* Told you.

[michiigii-writes]

My Persona User OC

Name: Senritsu Hamamoto

Codename: Siren

Persona: The Piper - based on the Pied Piper of Hamlin (the adults had her spirit their pests away, then refused to pay her. In response, she took their children and stole their future)

Melee weapon: Staff

Ranged weapon: Blowdarts/Flute

[michiigii-writes]

I'm feeling a bit morbid today :'( how would the bros react to their s/o if they had a miscarriage? (I love you and your work so much ugh💞)

Oh my dear god that’s depressing why. I… I will try to write this. Not that I’ve had a miscarriage before but I try to refrain from stuff like that (or, I will after this) because of how purely heart wrenching it is.Another group reaction because they’d react the same GOSH MIX IT UP PEOPLE.

—

The bro would be sad, and would comfort their s/o. They’d wait a while and then try again.

—

Eh, it sucked but I tried.. I don’t deserve this blog fuck