#* luce thorne // replies.

[fcrtheglcry]

a starter for @hollowichor muse: luce thorne

✧˚ · . luce was proud of her little flower shop – it wasn’t huge, but it was well-maintained, and the flowers seemed to be happy under her care. it was quiet and contemplative and made her relatively enough money, and it wasn’t like she had a social life to prioritize, anyway. she was perfectly content to spend her time here – even if it did mean her head was a bit up in the clouds, to the point she didn’t even notice the door had opened with a chime of the bells to signal it. luce jumped when she finally saw them, quickly putting down the flower she had been transferring to a bigger pot.  ❝ I’M SORRY, I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE, ❞ she said with a quiet laugh, brushing her hands off on the thighs of her jeans to get rid of the dirt. ❝ DID YOU NEED HELP WITH SOMETHING? ❞

[wildcr]

a starter for @crookedcrowns​ inspiration plot linked in source muse: luce thorne

            —               “HOLY SHIT,” luce breathed, her heart racing. as was expected when in the presence of this much blood. how much blood was it okay to lose before a person was fucked? luce didn’t want to think about it. “DID THEY HURT YOU?” she asked the other, though it was a bit of a dumb question when they were bleeding like this. still, she tried to will her hands to stop shaking with a barely-contained anger as she reached out to touch them. to help or at least get some of the blood off.  “ARE YOU OKAY?”

[kabira]

05 | job hunting

pairing — spider-man!vernon x ofc

featuring — joshua, yeji (itzy), felix (skz), yangyang (nct)

word count — 2.9k

genres — spider-man au, marvel au, fluff, action, angst, humor

warnings — none

note — so...you might have noticed some changes to the pairing. i’ve decided to go ahead and convert this to an x ofc fic because when it’s a 3rd person pov thing the ‘you’ pronoun kind of jumps out at you and it just sounds really unnatural lol. she’s been left race-ambiguous in the description, and she’s pretty cool, so i hope you like her !! even though she doesn’t show up very often djskalskjs

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Vernon stepped out into the open, finding himself on the highest level of the Helicarrier—not the top floor, but the deck itself.

The wind was strong, pushed by the rotator blades keeping the carrier in the air, and he shivered on feeling the sudden chill descend upon him. He hesitated, resting his palm against the side of one of the structures containing the blades, and glanced around. The aircraft was massive, big enough that despite being right next to the Quinjet runway, he couldn’t see any of the city beneath.

When he finally spotted White Tiger, she was sitting near the edge, mask in hand. At first, he was apprehensive about her being spotted, but when he got close enough, he realized they were way to high for anyone on the ground to be able to make out her features.

New York was easily a couple thousand feet below them, the tallest buildings looking like toy figurines from the high vantage point. The harbor glittered a dark blue-green underneath them, catching the dying light of the sunshine like little stars contained in the water. It was a breathtaking sight, so beautiful that it washed away Vernon’s initial fear as easily as a wave clearing away dug letters on a sandy beach.

He glanced at Yeji, pressing his teeth against his lower lip. She had her back to him, shoulders tensed—of course she would have heard him approach. Her hair was still up in a ponytail, but swayed lightly with the breeze. Even as he stood behind her, she said nothing, remaining silent and stony as she stared down at the view below.

“It’s nice up here,” he murmured. “Unless you have a crippling fear of heights, that is.”

Silence.

Vernon sighed to himself, slowly taking a seat next to her on the sun-heated deck, and pulled off his mask. The air was cool against his sweat-soaked skin, but did nothing to set his heart at ease. That was the hard part, one he had to figure out himself.

“So, White Tiger, huh?” he asked, scrunching up his nose as he looked at her sideways. Her chin rested on her folded forearms, which were balanced against her knees, legs crossed at the ankles. It should have been a relaxed posture, but her muscles were too tense, standing out like steel cables on her arms and sides. “Do your powers have anything to do with that jade amulet you wear?”

She unfolded herself, unconsciously touching the amulet that hung from one side of her gray belt. It was a vibrant green color, looking fragile like glass, but despite her generally offensive style of fighting, there wasn’t a single scratch on it. “It was my father’s,” she answered dully. “And my grandfather’s before him. The amulet is a family heirloom that passed down to me when the rest of my family died, and with it, the powers it bestows upon the bearer.”

“Oh,” he said, a little surprised. He hadn’t expected her to speak, but she had opened up, despite the still guarded tone of her voice. He pulled his knees up to his chest and looked out at the view, feeling calmer than before, but also a lot more awkward. “Are you afraid of the water?”

She glanced over at him, a confused scowl on her face. “What?”

“The water,” he repeated, indicating the harbor with a tilt of his head. “Aren’t cats supposed to be scared of water or something?”

Her eyes narrowed, but not before he caught the glimmer of amusement in them. “I’m not a cat,” she said. “The amulet gives me the agility and tenacity of a white tiger, but not all its fears. Are you afraid of house lizards, spider boy?”

“Well, one in particular.” He half-smiled. “But he’s back to human now, so I guess not really.”

She gave him a small smile back, one that indicated she got the joke. It wasn’t a big gesture, but it made him feel a bit better—which was funny, since he was the one supposed to be comforting her. He recalled Luce’s words from their earlier conversation. There’s no harm in being decent.

“Look,” he started, reaching up to rub the side of his neck, “I’m sorry about what I said back there. You said you knew I didn’t like you guys, but that’s not true. It’s just—it’s a sudden change,” he mumbled. “To have a whole team of supers in the school, and so soon after the—incident, it just set me off.”

She said nothing, waiting for him to continue. He shook his head. “You probably don’t know what happened a few weeks ago, and what happened, it’s not your fault. Heck, it doesn’t even have anything to do with you.” He laughed weakly. “The incident that took place, it followed a regular pattern I already should have known. When superhero stuff and real life mix, nothing good comes out of it. I wasn’t prepared for you guys, and I took it badly. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Yeji hummed. For a few moments, they sat in silence, but it was a comfortable sort of silence. For Vernon, it felt good to get all of that off his chest. It was hard to admit to something because of his pride, but putting it out there made him feel a bit better. No one liked seeing their faults, but to him, it was better than hurting someone he didn’t really want to hurt. In a way, even the superheroes around him were innocent people who could become collateral damage.

“What incident?” she asked.

He glanced at her, a little confused. She stared back at him with her eyebrows arched, as if expecting him to say something. “Sorry, what?”

“I told you about my family, how I came to be in possession of my powers,” she said. “Your turn. What incident were you talking about?”

He bit the inside of his cheek, staring at her thoughtfully. “Do you know Harry Osborn?” he asked at length.

She nodded. “The Goblin—I mean, Norman Osborn’s son.” She gave him a curious look. “Wasn’t he at Midtown with you?”

“Yeah.” He looked away again, studying the lenses of his mask. Speaking about it was difficult, and he wasn’t too sure about instantly opening up about such a horrific incident to someone he had met two days ago, but his instinct told him he could trust White Tiger. Either way, there was no harm in talking about that day, at least not the general aspects of it. “And you probably also know about how Norman Osborn was taken down.”

She nodded again, slower this time, looking thoughtful. “Wasn’t there a bargaining chip of some kind involved?” she asked. “Wait, sorry. I meant a human hostage.”

“Yeah,” Vernon murmured. He hung his head, running his spandex-covered fingers over the cloth of his mask, swallowing hard against the sudden dryness in his throat, but it hurt to do that, like there was a thorn stuck in his flesh. “Long story short, Harry Osborn…well.”

Yeji glanced at him in surprised concern, and he looked away, avoiding her gaze. Now would come the pitying glance, the awkward condolences, the unsure silence. He had had enough of that in the past few weeks.

“I get it,” she said, to his immense surprise. When he looked back at her, her eyes were sad, but there was a firmness beneath them, like stable ground at the bottom of the river. Even if she didn’t quite know all the details, they both spoke the language of loss, and it didn’t need words to be understood.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said.

“I won’t.” She turned her face away, towards the sky, and he followed suit. The silence this time was more than comfortable, it was comforting. “No more details?”

Despite himself, he smiled. “Not yet,” he replied. “You have to get past level twenty first.”

She snorted a laugh. “I don’t really play video games,” she answered. “It’s a little difficult to fit in when you live in the same quarters as a couple of teenage boys, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“Really? You can drop by after school sometimes and I’ll show you.” He grinned, then grimaced. “Or maybe Aunt May can. I’m not the best at them, she kicks my butt on Night game night every time.”

“She sounds amazing already. I can’t wait to meet her,” Yeji said, smiling. “And while we’re on the subject of family—argh, I’m totally going to sound like Agent Fox, but here’s the thing.” She shifted her weight, sitting with her legs crisscrossed. “I know it’s hard to deal with loss, and that it’s different for everybody, but protectors feel guilt on a different level than everybody else—and you can’t carry that kind of weight around with you.”

Vernon picked at a small cut on the leg of his costume. “Agent Fox,” he repeated. “You too, huh?”

Yeji winced. “Therapists aren’t really equipped to deal with our kind of experiences,” she said. “I mean, what do you say to someone who had to physically fight their best friend’s dad because he turned into a genetically enhanced green monster?”

He laughed.

“Agent Fox might not be your best bet, but there are other things you can try,” she continued. “I know you probably don’t want some kind of preachy advice, but for me, being White Tiger helped.” She ran her fingers along the grooves of her amulet again, as if deriving comfort through its touch. “Doing something, even little things that just keep your mind off the past, it helps.”

He thought back to Luce’s words. “Like getting a job?”

Yeji frowned. “I guess,” she said. “If it doesn’t take over your time as Spider-Man, that is.”

“That’s twice in a day someone’s advised me to get a job,” he said. “Maybe I really should go ahead and get one.”

“Maybe you should,” she agreed. “But I have a feeling most normal jobs won’t interest you. If you’re going to work, might as well work on something you’ll enjoy.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, the gears of his brain already having been kicked into action. “I think I already have something in mind.”

The last time Vernon had met Dr. Curt Connors, it had been as Spider-Man.

It was not an experience he had particularly enjoyed, since it had been one of his bigger fights had had left him with a hairline fracture and a few bruised ribs, holed up in his room for a week to nurse himself. Gym had been worse than usual that Tuesday.

As he pushed through the revolving doors at the entrance of Roxxon Industries, he was already beginning to regret his decision a little bit. Sure, there was no way that Dr. Connors could know his secret alter ego, but the knowledge didn’t help his nervousness one bit.

Plus, with Oscorp pretty much in ruins, the research scientist had shifted his work to a different corporation, and Vernon didn’t know his way around the new building at all. It was a tiny thing to be so worried about, especially for a person who had faced Doc Ock at the age of sixteen, but even the little things seemed big now that he was out job hunting.

Vernon clutched his father’s briefcase tighter, taking his visitor’s pass from the front desk and heading up the escalator to the designated room. Dr. Connors had met Vernon Parker exactly once before, when the latter had shown up at his old laboratory asking about his father, Richard Parker, Connors’s former colleague.

Back then, their conversation had been cut short by a Spidey emergency, and after that the only time he’d been able to see the doctor was while battling him as the Lizard. Vernon had been too afraid to go back afterwards, scared of the decades old formula Connors had developed which turned him into the monster, and what he might discover about his father’s work.

But Dr. Connors had made him a proposal that the boy remembered three months later—that Vernon was always welcome to come work at his lab. Now, the idea of being a simple research assistant didn’t sound very great, especially when the project was so controversial that its funding had been hanging by a thread even at Oscorp, where they weren’t exactly known for their safe experiments. However, biophysics had always been fascinating to him, not to mention the fact that it was his father’s legacy.

He guessed it was about time he went back to claim it.

Vernon stood in front of the door awkwardly, unsure what he was going to say. But he lifted his hand, and he knocked.

“Come in,” came the doctor’s voice from behind the door, and Vernon took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The room was bigger than he had expected it to be. It definitely wasn’t just an office, with multiple tables and various small instruments and charts held down by random objects acting as paper weights spread across them. Tall shelves lined the wall behind the main desk and the one opposite it, stuffed with old and new volumes. The doctor’s table itself was pushed into a corner to make way for everything else, but despite the packed space, everything was organized. It was a pattern Vernon knew from his own room: order in chaos.

Dr. Connors was standing behind his desk, reading through a paper on a clipboard in his hand. He looked up as Vernon entered, and a range of emotions flashed through his eyes when he saw him—first confusion, then recognition, then fear, then guilt. Finally, the doctor smiled, straightening as he placed the board back on his table.

“Vernon,” he said, and Vernon felt a thrill upon seeing that he remembered his name. “A face I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Vernon tried to press his lips into a smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. “I would have come by earlier, but what with midterms and everything happening in the city…” He hesitated. “I was just a little afraid, I guess.”

“I understand,” Dr. Connors said, and it wasn’t just an empty phrase, like he actually understood Vernon’s fear of facing his father’s past. But then, maybe he did. “I would have liked to see you again after our conversation was cut short, but perhaps a few months’ lapse in between was necessary.”

Vernon thought back to the Lizard incident a couple of months ago, when Dr. Connors had injected himself with an underdeveloped serum, turning himself into a giant lizard. “I read your recent article on the lizard formula,” he said slowly.

The doctor’s hand froze on the table for a moment, but relaxed just as quickly. He looked up at Vernon with a gentle sort of intelligence in his eyes, a look so different from the Lizard’s that he had trouble believing they could be the same person. “Did you, now?” he asked. “And what did you think of it?”

“Genius,” he breathed, and Dr. Connors’s eyes lit up even more. “I looked through my dad’s old papers, and cross-checked the changes with your research.” He opened his mouth and closed it again. Better get this over with quickly. “I know this must seem abrupt, but I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go on.” Dr. Connors inclined his head, gesturing at a seat with his good arm. The other one ended up to just above the elbow—a sight that reminded Vernon that it was the doctor himself who had been the first human trial for his cross-species grafting formula.

“The last time we met, you asked me to come work with you in your lab,” Vernon spoke slowly, hesitating between words. “And when I read your paper, I saw that you would continue to research further on the gene splicing and the, uh, the blood-brain barrier and—” He cut himself off, realizing that he had begun to ramble. “I was wondering, after last time, if you could—”

“Take you on in my lab for the research?” Dr. Connors completed his question for him, positively beaming. “Of course! Your father was a genius, and you follow in his stead. It would be a great advantage to have you on the team.” His smile faltered a little. “And then, even after all these years, I owe him my life and its work,” he added in a lower voice. “I’d be glad to have you.”

“Really?” Vernon looked at him with rounded eyes, clutching the case tightly enough that the skin of his knuckles paled. “I—wow. Thanks, Dr. Connors.”

Dr. Connors shook his head. “There will always be a place for Richard Parker’s son at my lab,” he said. “If you’re free, I could show you around the lab now, just so you get the feel of the place. Unless, of course, you’re busy right now, in which case you could swing by later.”

Vernon laughed, relieved and gratified and ridiculously happy. “I have all the time in the world.”

“Great,” Dr. Connors said. “When can you start?”

[welcometophu]

Into the Split: Reinforcements 3

Twinned Book 3: Into the Split

Reinforcements 3

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Nikolai wakes up when he hears voices in the hall. Dax, he thinks, and Nate, with Dax laughing and Nate shushing him as they go. The voices recede and there are no more doors or steps after they’re gone. The bed is still warm, and Seth is asleep, so Nikolai rolls over and tugs Seth closer so he can drift in that space of almost sleep.

He’s not sure how much time passes before there’s a knock on the door, but the room is brighter, more sun spilling around the window shade.

“Drea says breakfast is in the big hall downstairs,” Mac calls out. “You can come down with us in a few, or you can come down later on your own.”

Seth rolls over, buries his face in the pillow.

Nikolai isn’t positive he remembers exactly how to get there from here, but that doesn’t matter. “We’ll be down later,” he says.

“Gotcha.” Mac’s steps recede, and there are more voices in the hall as she goes.

Seth rolls onto his back, reaches up to frame Nikolai’s face with his hands, drawing him down. “Much later,” Seth mutters.

It sounds like a great plan to Nikolai, and he wastes little time in putting it to action.

The delay in getting out of bed means that by the time they have towels wrapped around their waists and go looking for the shower down the hall, no one else is around to interrupt them. There is a long row of shower heads on one side of the room, and a selection of soaps and scrubbers to use. The huge bath is heated on the other side, the size of half a swimming pool, with a sign hanging that says “please cleanse before you bathe” hanging on the wall above it.

As tempting as it might be to shower together, it’s easier to shower separately and wash quickly. By the time they are finally done, dried, and dressed, Nikolai’s certain that at least an hour has passed since the rest of their group went downstairs.

They make their way carefully, taking direction from teens who wait at two of the intersections, pointing their fingers while still staring at their phones. Nikolai can’t imagine sitting around waiting for people to get lost is at all exciting. But as they pass by, he notices one of them peeking up as they go, and looking away quickly once caught.

Maybe it is interesting after all, getting to see all the newcomers, particularly if they aren’t used to seeing anything but Clan.

The room at the center of the house is full of people, even more than the night before. Either more came in overnight, or there were new arrivals early in the morning. The seated tables are mostly full, and there are more people at the buffets around the edge. Motion catches Nikolai’s eye, and he spots Corbin waving and pointing at a small cluster of tables where most of the people from PHU seem to be. When Nikolai nods, Corbin then gestures toward the laden tables against the wall.

Drea leans in to say something to Corbin and she lightly smacks the back of his head, but Corbin flies up as a crow, staying close to the ceiling before he drops down and abruptly in human form when he lands in front of Nikolai and Seth.

“I’ve been sent to make sure you eat,” he says.

Nikolai’s pretty sure that’s not exactly what Drea said, but he won’t correct him. “Thanks. Is there space for us?”

“Alaric and Chris said something about heading upstairs.” Corbin makes a face somewhere between a smirk and a wince. “Drea and I were thinking about heading out to the apple grove to see how the trees are doing. It’s been warm, so they’re probably getting close to blooming.”

“There’s an apple grove?”

Corbin nods at Seth. “We have about a dozen different varieties. Plus peaches, plums, and pears. We have strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and black caps. There’s farmland for vegetables and other kinds of fruit, not to mention the livestock. We’re fully sustainable when it comes to food.”

“Maples, too, I assume.” Nikolai thinks he spotted some of them while they were walking the night before.

“Sugaring season just passed, and I was so glad not to be here for it thanks to school.” Corbin exaggeratedly wipes a hand across his forehead. “Sugaring is hard work, and I’m glad to leave it to everyone else for a few years.” As they reach the table, Corbin points to a silvered pot sitting over a warmer. “But if you want to taste it, that’s the good stuff. The jams and preserves are better, though.”

They load up their plates, moving slowly through the line. Nikolai spots Pawel ahead, talking to a man who reminds him of Thorne, and a woman who has strikingly striped red and black hair.

“…Finding them was a godsend,” the woman says. “They’ve taken in five kids already. And Pawel, I know you have Conor, and it might be harder to officially place anyone with you, but if you ever think you might be able to—”

The man puts a hand over hers as she reaches for Pawel. “Luce. Slow down and give him a chance to think. Don’t worry, Pawel, she understands that not every Talented adult out there is a great candidate to foster Talented kids who need homes. She just gets enthusiastic.”

“And you don’t, Rowan?”

“I don’t mind,” Pawel says, with a small, tired smile. “Lucy, I appreciate what you are trying to say, and what you need, but unfortunately I already find myself acting as a parent to young adults who are barely younger than myself. In fact, I have two living with me right now.” He gestures, and Nikolai hesitates until Pawel gestures again, motioning for them to approach.

“I’m just going to let you two field this on your own,” Corbin whispers. “Those are two of Rory’s parents, just in case Pawel forgets to mention.” He disappears in a flutter of wings and a breeze.

Right, they met the night before, when Rory brought them over. Nikolai barely remembers it.

The empty space is a small void between them and Pawel, until Nikolai and Seth step forward, plates in hand, to close the distance.

Lucy smiles, shifting to face them with her hand extended. “Hi. I’m Lucy Wilson, and this is Rowan Baker, one of my partners.”

Rowan grins, and he’s eerily like Thorne, aside from more smile lines around the eyes, and possibly a shade shorter. “It’s good to meet you. World travelers aren’t the usual kind of Talent we get to meet.”

“Just an Empath and a Dreamwalker,” Seth replies, nudging his glasses up his nose after he shakes hands. “The world walking wasn’t exactly up to us. And with any luck, we’ll be leaving soon enough, Pawel. We won’t be in your guest room forever.”

“We run a program to help rescue Talented children who have either already dropped into the foster system, or who are living endangered lives in their homes,” Lucy explains. “We’d love to have Pawel involved, even in the outreach to help Emergent children who have parents who may not be as familiar with what being Talented involves. There’s so often a sense of fear, and children try to hide—” She stops abruptly when Rowan reaches up to put a hand over her mouth.

“Lucy rescued our Daniel and I don’t think she’s stopped rescuing people since,” Rowan almost whispers, his mouth twisted into a fond smile. “She forgets that sometimes she needs to stop being an advocate and just be a Mage who happens to sniff out Talents in an alarmingly accurate way.”

Lucy wiggles out from under his hand. “I also fly. On a broom. Like a witch.” She grins then, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Just because it’s fun.”

Her enthusiasm is infectious, although Nikolai gets the feeling that Pawel’s too exhausted to really respond. “We live in a community at home that is a haven for all Talents, because our world isn’t friendly to them at all,” Nikolai tells her. “Someone like you would love it. You should talk to Pawel about that; he was with us for a while. It’s actually built in the same place as this Clan community is here.”

“For all Talents?”

“A cooperative community for Emergent and Lineage Talents, from Clan to Mage and beyond,” Pawel agrees. His expression relaxes and he gestures for Lucy and Rowan to move. “Why don’t we sit down and I can tell you about it. I know your experience growing up in Burlington might be familiar, Rowan, I know there is another group in New Hampshire that has combined communities as well; they are part of the new alliance that Alaric has been forging. I think this might need to be more common on our world. It is absolutely vital to survival in Nikolai and Seth’s world.”

Nikolai breathes more easily as they drift towards one of the tables. He nudges Seth, and they move on, finishing filling their plates before they look to see if there’s space with their friends so they can sit and eat.

When Nikolai takes a step, there’s a woman in front of him. She looks vaguely familiar, and Nikolai suspects they met last night as well, during the glut of arrivals throughout the evening. Her gaze is narrowed, amber eyes focused intently on Nikolai first, then Seth as she shifts her gaze. She doesn’t have a tray or plate, her hands clasped behind her back as if she’s keeping herself from reaching out. When Nikolai meets her gaze, she carefully moves, reaching up to tuck wavy strands of her tawny hair behind one ear as her head cocks, neck protected when her chin lowers slightly.

“Dayton!” someone calls out.

“I’m not going to eat them,” she replies loudly, her gaze never wavering. “I just want to meet them.” Her voice lowers as she leans in, nostrils flaring. “So. You two are the catalysts. Do we blame you, or give you acclaim? Likely both. I think more good than bad will come of this; it’s what we wanted, after all. Cooperation.”

Nikolai has been hunted by humans and Shadows alike, and this sense of being prey is entirely different. He remembers her now—the girl that Stormy had leapt onto. She hadn’t seemed so predatory last night.

Seth pushes forward, putting himself between Nikolai and Dayton. “I don’t think we’re at fault for anything. Your side of things started the process that led to us being here. We’re just along for the ride.”

Nikolai consciously relaxes, wrapping one arm around Seth’s shoulders, and kissing the side of his head. “And we will help as much as we can. But I don’t think we’re any kind of catalyst, unless you want to blame the Dreams that Nikita and I shared. Even then, I think I’d blame your Emergence after everything we’ve heard about your world.”

“You didn’t have an Emergence?” Dayton’s expression softens just enough to unpin them; Seth relaxes in Nikolai’s arms, leaning back against him. “What happened in your world?”

“Shadows,” Seth says bluntly. “We were outed by Shadows destroying everything they could. And we’d really like to keep that from continuing to happen before our world falls into darkness, thanks.”

Dayton’s smile is swift and sharp. “And so would we. You’ll be good allies. Alaric’s community is becoming wide and varied, and that can only be good. We need diversity and Talents of all kinds. The world is changing.” She turns and stalks away, her movements long and lithe like an animal.

Definitely a predator. Definitely Clan.

Nikolai steps back slowly, still balancing his plate in his other hand. “Let’s eat.”

They grab the nearest table with people they know, just to get there without further interruption. Del kicks out a free chair for Nikolai, and Heather gets up to offer hers to Seth then shares with Nikita since there don’t seem to be many free chairs left. They squeeze in around the table as Del introduces Sam and Shawn.

Nikolai tries to eat quickly. He has a feeling this small peace won’t last long.

“How long before you have to go back into the Dreamscape?” Shawn asks.

Nikolai lowers his gaze, chewing on a piece of bacon. Not even five minutes.

Seth leans close, shoulder to shoulder. “Do you ever miss being on our own?” he murmurs.

Nikolai nods and offers him a strawberry. At least the company comes with plenty of good food.

“Me?” Del taps her chest, “or us?” Her gestures encompasses Nikolai and Nikita. “The answer’s different depending on which one you’re asking about.”

Sam raises both eyebrows as he looks at her; even Nikolai senses the silent judgment.

“You,” Shawn says curtly. “You’ve spent too much time there. It feels like it’s getting harder and hard for you to come back.”

Nikolai remembers Del in the meadow, or Del on the paths, looking like she’d easily skip into the Dreams and lose herself there. “We won’t let her go,” he says.

“Of course we won’t!” Nikita agrees quickly. “Del, you have anchors.”

“I have two of them.” She pats Shawn’s hand where it lies clenched on the table, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. “And soon; I need to go in before we start meeting officially this morning. Tonight again after that. I need to keep going back and see who’s responded to the call in that space as opposed to online. We’re not going to be able to talk to Dreamwalkers from other worlds on our own internet. And my abilities work differently enough that I can have that beacon and bring people to my meadow, so yes, I have to keep going back in.”

“You’ve been going in alone.” Normally Nikolai wouldn’t think this is a bad idea, but he’s seen Del, and he has a feeling that repeated trips into the Dreamscape aren’t helping her at all. “How have you been—”

“I’m fine,” Del brushes it off with a wave of her hand. Shawn inches closer to her, his hand across the back of her chair. Del leans in, elbows on the table and fingers intertwined, her chin on her hands. “You don’t have to worry about me, Nikolai. I’m not going to go skipping off into the distance.”

“I disbelieve,” Nikita counters. Her weak smile attempts to soften the worry that suffuses the rest of her expression. “Pretty sure we’ve seen you do that.”

“It’s a little easier with these two holding me back. We’re learning, even if they aren’t Empaths. We’ve got our own way of doing things. We could probably use some advice from someone with experience,” Del admits, her attention shifting to Seth. “I don’t know if you can extrapolate from the Empathic point of view, but anything you can suggest to help us out would be good.”

“I’d be interested in the Empath way of looking at things,” Heather says firmly. “I know that the next time you go in, it’s going to be potentially more difficult. Every time we’re getting closer to finding this solution, and every time it takes more power, and more ability to keep the Dreamscape out of reality. Especially as we interact more with other Dreamwalkers.”

“We’re fine,” Nikita says, gesturing between herself and Del. “Not even a flurry outside.”

Nikolai’s not sure if he should be relieved or insulted not to be included in the collection of Dreamwalkers.

“We should still pick Seth’s brain,” Heather says.

“That makes it sound like you’re planning on eating my mind,” Seth mumbles around his food.

“You don’t need me for this, do you?” Nikolai has something else he wants to look into. Curiosity has gotten the best of him, and he’s not entirely satisfied with his conversation with Valentine the night before. He can’t stop thinking about what the Shadows mean when they say bedrock, and if Valentine is as well, he thinks it might be important to fully understand how that works.

He pushes back from the table, pausing when Seth catches his hand, drags him back down for a kiss. “I’m not going far,” Nikolai assures him. “I just want to talk to Valentine. There really isn’t much I can add to conversations about how you anchor me in reality. I just know you do.”

Seth’s gaze drifts to where Valentine sits, somehow alone at a table. “And I always will,” he says, letting go of Nikolai’s hand. “I’ll stick around and be here when you’re done.”

Nikolai grabs a chair on his way to Valentine’s table. It looks as if all the others have been stolen away, which is probably how she manages to have her own quiet space. Her plate is empty, and she holds a mug of something steaming that rests on the table as she looks across the room.

Nikolai follows her gaze to spot Alaric still sitting at the table with Corbin and Drea. Miranda is perched on his lap. She speaks excitedly, and Alaric moves every time she gestures, almost hitting him in the nose. He pays close attention, nodding at her words, and she seems entirely enthralled by the conversation.

He slides his chair into place on the same table as Valentine, so he can look out over the room in the same direction. She’s got her back mostly to the wall with a good view of everything but one part of the buffet. In this corner everything smells like coffee from the drink table behind them, but the view is worth it. “Hey,” he says as he sits. “He really is good with kids. I saw it in Havenhill, too.”

Nikolai wonders if he imagines the way Valentine flinches when he says Havenhill.

“Miranda adores him.” Valentine’s arms are crossed, her toes pressed against the floor as she rocks back on the rear two legs of her chair. “I think Elijah hasn’t decided yet. He seems torn between looking up to him, since he’s older, and resenting the fact that his little sister seems to like him better. I… should have made more of an effort to meet him before now. He’s been out to Burlington twice. David told me that he’s a good kid.” She hesitates, laughs slightly. “Young man. You all are in that awkward age of being adults, but you still seem like kids.”

“I’ve been on my own for a few years, since I thought my entire family other than Seth died,” Nikolai points out. “We grew up quick.”

“I suppose you would,” Valentine says quietly. She licks her lips, tension rolling through her. “Before you got to Havenhill.” She gestures. “Alaric told me a little about it. Pawel told me more.”

Nikolai wants to ask the question again, but he doesn’t want to offend her. He glances at her, mirroring the way she leans back in the chair, his own chair creaking as he rocks back.

She glances at him, her smile wry. She pulls one hand free, lifts it up, fingers spread. She slowly curls her fingers into a fist, then tucks her hand back in to cross her arms again. “What?”

“Did you lie about knowing Alia?” he asks quietly. He doesn’t know who might be listening and if she lied, she probably doesn’t want to talk in public.

“I thought that might be what you wanted to know.” Her gaze rests on Alaric, a small half smile as Miranda finally catches him in the nose with one hand, and as she goes to apologize, manages to kick Elija. “They can’t really hear us. Sound is my natural ability. I’m good at being either really loud, or very inconspicuous. It’s handy as a parent.”

“I don’t know what Val’s innate ability was.” Nikolai watches Alaric and Miranda as well, wondering if it makes it easier for Valentine not to have to look him in the eye. “So, then.”

“I lied.” Valentine lets her chair fall with a soft thump. “We knew each other at PHU. There was a fairly large community of Talent even then. We knew it was safe. The few people who weren’t Talented didn’t make a fuss if they found out about us, and they didn’t seem afraid of us. It was one of those things that was an open secret, and not everyone was in on it. But we found each other, and Clan hated Mages. That’s just the way things were, so we never really got along, even though we were on the same floor of the same dorm for two years in a row.”

“How much did Pawel tell you about Havenhill?” Nikolai figures that he’d be more forthcoming than Alaric, who seemed to still be reeling over the woman who wasn’t exactly his mother.

Valentine huffs. “He started with the fact that Havenhill is led by a married pair—Mage and Clan—myself and Alia. And I guess I could see how that could happen. It’s not like she isn’t gorgeous. Strong. Driven. Loyal. She’s the kind of woman who wants what’s best for her people. So am I, which is why I’m here. It’s not just because Miranda wanted to see Alaric again.”

For a moment, Nikolai thinks she means that she’s here for Alia. But no, she means she’s here for the war, such as it is, against the Shadows. “You’re here because you’re ready to join forces with the Clan.”

Valentine nods. “I’m here because we need to move past old prejudices. And they were never held in much regard in our community, but it was hard to look past someone who hated me so much when we were younger. There we were, in the same place, and when I extended an olive branch, she rejected it.”

“So you rejected her,” Nikolai says, and Valentine nods silently.

He can imagine how one thing could make a difference. One tiny change of a overture accepted. A friendship instead of enmity.

“So we’ll try again,” Valentine says quietly. “I’m sure she remembers me as well. We haven’t talked about it, and I’m sure we won’t. Agreeing to ignore it and move forward for the best of our communities. I’ve already made plans to work with the group from New Hampshire.” She gestures at another table, where a pregnant woman speaks excitedly with a group that includes Dayton. “They’ve already had tragedy strike down two Clan communities and one Mage community, and they’re rebuilding together. They could use the support.”

“The Shadows refer to Alia as bedrock,” Nikolai says slowly. He feels Valentine’s attention shift to him, so he finally looks at her full on, giving her the weight of his regard. “She’s in all worlds. Or most worlds. She’s exactly who she is, with minor differences, like marrying someone entirely different, or having a different family. Unlike people like me and Nikita, who are similar people across the worlds, but not the same.”

“You want to know if I’m bedrock as well?” Valentine scrubs a hand across her face. “I wouldn’t know.”

“You fit the description. Val has a son—Ethan. He’s a little older than your Elijah. She’s also the foster mother for her niece Marybelle,” Nikolai says. “She’s close to Alia, of course. And I have to think that having anchors on both sides of the Split is a good thing. That whatever ritual we’re going to be doing—or rather, that you’re going to be doing while we Dreamwalkers are in the Dreamscape—would benefit by having bedrock in place on both sides. So it’s something you might want to think about when you’re planning rituals with Pawel. I’m sure he’s thought of it already; the similarities are too strong not to. But he might just plan around it without actually mentioning it. And if you’re involved, you should know. In case it impacts how you handle the ritual. He’s Emergent, and he’s a good person, but he’s also exhausted and running ragged and sometimes I wonder if he’s already out of every bit of energy and just really good at faking being okay.”

Valentine’s chair scrapes as she pushes it back. When Nikolai starts to stand, she holds out a hand. “You’re fine,” she says. “I just think I need to go extend an olive branch. If you’re right, we need to build a foundation on this side. This won’t work if the bedrock is cracked.”

She heads out of the room, and Nikolai watches her go. He hopes that Alia doesn’t reject her overture outright this time. It was Alia and Alaric who called this Gather, after all. They opened their community too all Talents, and in Nikolai’s eyes, that’s the beginning of what created Havenhill. It’s the closest thing to home he’s found so far, and he hopes that nudging it closer still is a good thing.

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[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 109

 Eventually, the mansion was relatively silent again with most of the inhabitants sleeping.  Messy, Crazy, Four, Aid, Luce, and Valeria were still awake, and all were looking at me.

 “I don’t really know.  Do any of you have a preference?” I asked hopefully.  During my time here, I had seen the kids laugh as they teased one another, fight against each other with far more skill than I could claim, use magic that still boggles my mind, and show me that they somehow had time to cultivate incredible characters in my favorite game as well.  How was I possibly supposed to choose what we do next!?

 Before anyone else could speak, Luce said, “I want to fight you.”

 “I am very well aware that you would win if you got serious.  I knew even before Aid helped train me for the battle, which I still lost.” I assured her, wanting to cut off that line of thought.

 “I’ll fight you, Luce!” volunteered Crazy, her face looking innocent with its broad grin as she waved her hand in the air.

 Luce frowned, staring at Crazy, but to my surprise she said, “Okay.  Let’s do this.”

 I very much wanted to protest, but I was also really interested in watching.  Luce didn’t even look scared!  Was she that much stronger than I had expected to be confident against Death’s granddaughter?  Before I could think what to say, a portal opened to the backyard, and everyone else started heading through.  I hesitated so long that Valeria peered back through the portal from the other side questioningly.

 There was a flash of light, startlingly bright in the relatively dark night.  Luce and Crazy’s clothes had both been replaced by suits similar to what Aid and I had used for our exercise yesterday.

 “Begin!” exclaimed Four, looking amused.

 Luce was a blur, but the dirt didn’t explode from behind her, protected by a quick telekinetic wall she had made.  Energy trailed in her wake, thick and relatively still, like a glimmering mist.  She attacked Crazy with a series of punches, kicks, and small spells meant to throw her opponent off-balance, nothing to account for the amount of her natural magic she had to be using, though the fleshy sound of the impacts was very loud.

 My eyes widened in shock as hundreds of thin beams of water were suddenly surging through where Crazy had been.  I couldn’t follow their individual movements, especially when more shot up from the ground.  Happening to glance up at where the streams seemed to have originated, I saw a massive body of water floating in the air, reminding me of when Luce had swept Father and I up with a river.

 “What if someone sees that?” I exclaimed, pointing up into the sky.

 Four laughed.  “Father placed an illusion over this entire yard and far into the sky years ago.  No one out there ever has a clue what’s going on anywhere on this property.” he explained.

 I certainly hadn’t even noticed the illusion when I entered.  James’ skills were legendary for a reason.

 When Crazy suddenly threw something that flew with the speed of an enchanted bullet at Luce, I thought she’d fall over, but a thick wall of ice had appeared in front of her, surging up from the ground.  I couldn’t guess at how much effort it took to keep ice solid enough to block an enchanted bullet, but the projectile didn’t even hit it.  Blackened, shriveled vines covered in thorns exploded out, wrapping up and around the ice.  Luce darted away, and the vines shriveled and fell to ash.

 Instead of keeping the offensive, Crazy just started walking forward until that huge body of floating water crashed down at her.  She didn’t even dodge, letting herself be swirled around in the sphere which formed.  Father had taught me how lack of oxygen could still affect me after enough time, and drowning made things even worse.  Swimming against that tide would be impossible for me with Luce actively manipulating it against me.  If she froze it, I didn’t have the strength to shatter it and might not be able to form spells even if she let me.

 “Should we do something to intervene?” I asked, feeling a little worried.

 Messy looked at me in surprise, smiling as she said, “If you interrupt Crazy fun, she might attack all of us.  Luce will probably forfeit soon.”

 “What?  Why!?” I asked in surprise, clearly seeing Luce as the victor.

 Messy turned my body to face Luce and pointed at her feet.  A single blade of grass had grown over a yard long and was periodically taking a stab at Luce, who kept moving to avoid being poked.

 Aid sighed and said, “I’ll help her.”

 He created a spell that lifted his sister into the air as he walked toward her and a large chunk of the yard seemed to erupt into flame, but I didn’t feel the heat at all, meaning he was protecting us.  Darkness seemed to envelop him for just a moment, and his clothing changed to match the one he had worn yesterday.

 Crazy suddenly shot out of the water straight at Aid, he ducked, kicking her into the air where Luce’s small lake surged after her, dividing once more into fast-moving streams.

 “She’s not even gasping for breath!” I exclaimed when I realized she seemed fine.

 “She doesn’t need to breathe.” stated Messy with a small shrug.

 “Yeah… I better help my siblings too.  Valeria, mind joining us?” he asked, looking back at her.

 Another puff of darkness, and both of their outfits transformed.  A chunk of the residual energy which had been forming up around Luce and Aid streamed toward Four, and I was stunned to see them suddenly firing off dozens of deadly spells each at Crazy.  I couldn’t follow her movements at all as she dodged.  Two of Valeria’s gateways appeared, and there was a large explosion in the ground, which could only be Crazy hitting it with her insane speed.

 “How did Valeria time that?” I asked in astonishment.

 “Aid’s keeping telepathy going between the three of them as he’s doing his other spells.  Four probably called it.  He’s still the fastest of them for now.” explained Messy with a smile.

 “How hard is keeping up with all of this for you?” I asked, watching as Crazy waded through the intense flames, frowning at the group.

 “Much easier than I can keep up with her when she gets serious.” she told me, nodding toward Crazy.

 Impressively, Crazy started countering the spells that were being thrown at her from the three siblings as well as Valeria’s slower and somewhat amateurish magic.  A continuous barrage of lightning bolts were deflected to the ground, flames couldn’t quite touch her, boulders of earth were caught by torrents of wind that lobbed the earth back at the siblings, water was vaporized, and… I believed there were other currents of air made by the siblings, meant to dismember through pressure.  The battle was far too much to follow.  Each of the siblings were doing magic beyond what I could manage.

 “Who’s going to tire out first?” I asked, some of my awe escaping in my tone.

 “No one.  I’m sure you can keep up a fight at this level for a good ten minutes at least.  Crazy doesn’t tire any more than I do, and she’ll probably fight back soon.” commented Messy, calmly watching the madness.

 As if on queue, plants thicker than the length of a limousine tore out of the ground all across the yard, and a deep, instinctive fear rose within me as I looked at them.  Before I could register what had happened, they moved and the Somersets as well as Valeria were dumped next to me.

 “She’s really getting better at holding back.” insisted Aid as he rubbed his head with a grimace.

 “Messy!  Messy!  Messy!” chanted what sounded like thousands of people.

 Messy frowned.  “Fine.” she replied as she pulled Valeria to her feet.

 As she spoke, light flashed around her.  Everyone’s clothing was returned to what it had been, and hers changed to one of their workout suits.  What happened next didn’t make sense.  There was darkness, light, and far too much movement that seemed completely unnatural all across the yard at once.  I didn’t know how long I stared before I realized that several hands were patting my back.  Tearing my eyes from the confusing images, I saw the siblings and Valeria watching me.  A spell gently wiped the tears from my eyes.  When did I start crying?

 “You’re fine.” insisted Four.

 Even Luce was nodding, giving me a sympathetic look.

 “The trick is,” said Aid as he stared into my eyes, “not looking directly at Crazy’s plants.  Non-demon brains aren’t wired to process demonic intrusions into this world, which is essentially what happens when Crazy uses her innate magic.  You have to force yourself to focus just around them, though that’s easier said than done in that mess.”  He motioned back toward the chaos where Crazy and Messy fought.

 He glanced at his sister before saying, “Sorry about all of this.  Luce really wanted to give you a better impression of what she could do, and we decided to go along with it.  Are you okay?”

 I nodded, but I felt physically and mentally drained even though I hadn’t participated.  For six thousand years, my family was said to be the strength that kept the monsters at bay for the sake of humanity, but what were we next to these kids?  I had to force myself not to look back again Crazy and Messy’s fight.  My family could not afford to anger these people.

[theolddarkmachine]

Must Love Cats- Chapter Six

Levy hadn’t planned on being a pet sitter when she’d moved into the city. She also hadn’t planned on pet sitting for a sex god either, but here she was.

AKA the one where Levy is a pet sitter, Gajeel is her client, and Lily is the glue that binds them together.

WOW Y’ALL LET ME START OFF BY SAYING HOW SORRY I AM THAT I ROYALLY SCREWED THE POOCH ON GETTING THIS UPDATE UP! I hadn’t really factored in how much things as far as my schedule would change with my move, not to mention the whole getting settled in thing has been a bit of a bitch. While I thought I’d get home and have a ton of time, my family had different ideas and I’ve been getting in a load of prime family time. (Since I’ve been living across the country from them for three years up to this point lol.) I’m back though and I want to apologize profusely for keeping you guys waiting. I honestly should stop doing deadlines because I know I’m the worst at keeping up with them D: I am gonna try to stick with Wednesday updates on this one, HOWEVER I may start just updating at least once a week, whenever I can since my fam bam likes to keep my on my toes. Again, I’m super sorry for the wait and I hope y’all can forgive me!

***********************************

It had been a little over a week since they’d really started texting each other. Eight days to be exact, not that Levy was counting or anything because that would be absolutely ridiculous. Okay, call her ridiculous, she was counting, but she couldn’t help herself. They’d fallen into such easy conversation it didn’t feel like they’d only ever met twice in person. As they’d been texted they’d started to send each other random photos showing  what they were doing at the time, though Gajeel’s photos were always so much more impressive than hers. Each day she’d receive photos of beautiful sights in Europe, photos from side stage of the band he was touring with, and the occasional selfie of him with either of those. She was aware that her favorites should have been some of the gorgeous places he was sharing with her, but damn it all if she didn’t say she was drawn to the ones that had him in it. Even in photos it felt like he was staring straight into her soul, completely aware of the inner turmoil he was causing her. She, on the other hand, filled his texts with pictures of the pets she was with that day and Lily, which she was certain he didn’t find anywhere near as entertaining as she found his. Gajeel never complained though. In fact, he very humbly entertained her and all the random thoughts she had, and photos she sent. It made him that much more endearing and she wasn’t quite sure how much longer she was going to be able to ignore the growing burn of yearning in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw his name flash across her phone screen. At the current moment in time, she was actually fighting back the feeling as she stared at the current message from the cat owner, which contained a picture of the venue the band was playing in tonight in London and a short message:

ud love it here this city is amazin

“Texting Gajeel again, I see,” Lucy’s voice broke her concentration, causing Levy to drop her phone. With the speed she hadn’t even known her friend possessed, the blonde snatched the phone up almost before it had time to fall onto Levy’s bed. The bluenette silently cursed her friend as she made a futile attempt to grab it back from her. On a normal day she’d have left before Lucy was even awake and her roommate wouldn’t have even had the chance to notice that yes, she was indeed texting Gajeel. Be that as it may, they both happened to have the day off today, so of course she noticed. Lucy had started noticing she’d been particularly attached to her phone around the third day they’d been talking, and managed to sneak a peak at who had captured her interests on the sixth day. She’d been an absolute thorn in her side since, trying her damnedest to sneak a glance at what it was they were talking about, as if it were anything scandalous.

“Now, let’s see what it is this mysterious man has been sending you to capture your heart,” the blonde said slyly, throwing a wink in Levy’s direction.

“C’mon, Luce, give it back!” Levy snatched at the phone again, falling short as Lucy hopped out of reach. Her eyes scanned the opened message and accompanying photo before looking up at her with a smug look.

“So you both seem to be getting on well,” she said with a smile. “Levy, you little minx, you haven’t told me anything!” The bluenette felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she tried to avoid eye contact.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied quietly. The blonde shook her head as she hummed doubtfully and scrolled through the messages. A minute or so passed as her eyes danced across the screen.

“From the looks of it you have been talking for a week now, and from the looks of it you have been flirting,” Lucy said in a singsong voice. She didn’t want to admit that it felt like they were flirting, because Levy did believe in jinxes, but it felt an awful lot like they had been. Which, she was totally okay with. However, with the way Lucy was eyeing her, she really didn’t want to go into detail knowing that her friend would only drive her crazy with questions about it.

“It’s nothing, really, Luce,” she said in an exasperated tone, reaching for her phone again and finally getting it. “He’s just really cool to talk to. He’d be a great friend to have, and you know I don’t have many out here besides you guys.” It was mostly true anyway. Saying it was nothing, however, had caused a bothersome pang to ripple through her chest before she shook it off.

“A great friend to have,” Lucy repeated, staring at Levy with a incredulous look. The bluenette nodded in response, aware that she wasn’t fooling either of them. Her best friend sighed loudly with a look of resignation in her eyes. “Look, Lev, I love you. A lot. And Erza loves you, and Juvia loves you. We will always be here for you for anything, and you know we only want the best for you.” She paused, staring at Levy as if she was waiting for permission to continue. Levy, to her credit, wasn’t quite sure where this was going. “We haven’t really brought it up, because we figured that you’d say something on your own, but I think it’s time I say something anyway. Lev, you’re lonely. And I know you hide it for everyone’s sake so we don’t feel bad for living our lives, but you go to work and only see animals all day. You come home and see us. Wash, rinse, repeat. You hardly ever get to see other people, and normally when you do it’s on your day off when you get into a studio to pitch your script.”

Levy bit the inside of her cheek, feeling the sting as it drew blood. It distracted her from the pain she’d started to feel well up in her chest as Lucy said everything she had left unsaid from anyone.

“You work your ass off, and I just worry you’re going to work so hard and push everything away while doing so, that you’re going to let your life pass you by.” Lucy reached out to grab her hand and squeezed it before smiling at her. “I won’t harp on it, because I know you hate that, but I just want to say that this guy seems like a good one. And he seems to like you. So, don’t let him get away because ‘it would be weird since he’s a client,’ or ‘you’re too busy,’ or literally any other excuse I know you’ve been feeding yourself to push down how you feel.”

With that close to her unexpected talk, Lucy let go of Levy’s hand, and headed out of their room, leaving her alone. The blonde had always been very perceptive of how Levy felt, almost knowing more about her feelings than she normally did, which did drive her crazy especially whenever Lucy decided to put in her two cents on the matter. But as the pain in her chest started to ebb away, leaving a numbness in its wake, she realized just how right her friend was. As much as she hated to admit it, she was lonely. When she’d moved into the city she’d started working almost immediately, and she filled up as much of her time as possible with work. Erza, Juvia and Lucy were all so happy with what they were doing, and with the people they’d met and it wasn’t that she was jealous since it was entirely of her design, not at all. Just that she envied that they had more than just the people in their apartment to turn to from time to time. She stared down at her phone, whose screen had fallen to sleep since Lucy had handed it back to her.

Don’t let him get away.

The thought echoed through her mind as she pressed the home screen to awaken the screen and unlocked it to open her messages again.

ud love it here this city is amazin

The small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that he was a client.

Don’t let him get away.

Her phone vibrated in her hand as she received another message from him, this time a photo of him and the band standing in front of the venue. Levy’s heart jumped as she saw the smile stretched across Gajeel’s face. She definitely wouldn’t let him get away.

***

Levy filled Gajeel’s thoughts for the entirety of the band’s set tonight, and even more so now that they had also given him a few more shots than he’d intended to take. At least, that’s the reason he told himself. If he could bring himself to be honest, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head for some time, especially in the past week that they’d been talking. He couldn’t remember the last time he connected so well with someone and was able to talk with them all day every day, yet here he was in constant communication with a near stranger and he couldn’t stop thinking about her because of it.

Gajeel had learned so much about the blue haired woman in the short amount of time they’d really been talking that he felt like he’d known her for a lifetime. He could tell you that her favorite color was yellow, that her favorite book was called the Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, and that she was currently writing a script about two lovers cursed to keep finding each other in each life just for the guy to die for the girl every time. He could tell you that she hated mornings-- a fact he’d picked up on just by the change in her use of exclamation points in the mornings-- and he could tell you that prior to starting her job as a pet sitter, she’d never considered herself a fan of cats. So yeah, it felt like he’d known her for a lifetime instead of only meeting her twice and really talking to her for a little over a week.

“The woman?” The singer’s voice asked from behind him as Gajeel sat at the bar with another shot of whiskey in front of him and his phone in his hand. He nodded in response as he unlocked his phone to see the message he’d just received from her. He’d given up on denying that she wasn’t “his lass” after the first couple of days he’d been on tour. While he knew she wasn’t his by any means, it was easier than trying to explain why he couldn’t tear himself away from his phone because of his catsitter. The singer chuckled as he clapped a hand on Gajeel’s back, peaking over his shoulder at the photo she’d sent him before leaving him be.

The alcohol must have really been hitting him, because as he stared at the picture, his heart began to race. At least, that’s what he told himself. The bluenette was smiling into the camera in the photo as Lily sat on her shoulder as if he was a parrot instead of a cat. It looked like Lily had been rubbing his head against her’s and her eyes were bright with laughter. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the photo. She was so beautiful and he wanted nothing more than to let her know that. He took in the way her eyes crinkled at the edges with happiness, and the way her blue locks perfectly framed her face. While they’d been exchanging photos, Gajeel had sent selfies but she never had until now. His memory certainly hadn’t done her any justice. Even through his small phone screen, her smile blinded him. Levy liked to say that his job was so cool and she’d much rather be in his shoes, but in that moment he wanted nothing more than to be there, with them. Closing out his messages, he pulled up his camera and took a quick selfie with his next shot. Opening messages again, he sent it and threw back the whiskey, reveling in the burn that slid down his throat to distract him from the way his stomach was twisting with desire. His phone went off immediately with her reply.

Man, I wish I was there.

His fingers typed his response before his mind caught up.

me too

[pixiescribbles]

Chapter 4 : The Trip.

For the last few days, Natsu and I have been preparing and getting ready for our trip to Crocus. From what we've gathered is that William and Bella are a fire wizard and celestial wizard respectively. And they are really clingy. Like, reaaaaly clingy. Worse than Edo Bisca and Alzack. We let them out of the handcuffs and like magnets they stuck to each other. Turns out that they're actually okay human beings, I had some okay conversations with Bella. It seems like we got more in common than at first glance. Natsu and William however, are total opposites. William is kinda reserved at first, but relaxes a little after a few minutes. When Natsu is more, well, Natsu. This is going to be difficult for him.

"Look, I'm not happy about the situation we're in now, but if you and that pink haired boy are going, you guys might wanna know that this 'meeting' isn't just a one day meeting. It's planned in multiple days, different activities, parties and festivals. They planned it that way so they can eliminate the guilds they don't want to work with. We'd rather go ourselves of course but I understand your situation." Bella tells me suddenly. It had never occurred to me that these people are only doing this to survive.

"Why did you join a dark guild anyways? I mean, from what I've gathered, you're decent human beings. Except for cheating Yukino and stealing her keys".

"Yeah, about that. The guild master was there too. William and I always had doubts about joining Screaming Shadow, and we wanted to prove ourselves to the master. I got a little carried away with those keys after that." Bella admitted, her head hanging low with shame.

"Then why not reconsider your actions, apologize and join an official guild? It's never too late." Juvia interjected. She came over with a soft, understanding smile.

"Juvia and Gajeel-kun were part of Phanthom Lord, even attacked Fairy Tail. But this is our home now, we love the people of Fairy Tail. It's never too late." Juvia explains to the woman. They started talking and I stepped away from the conversation. It was almost time for me and Natsu to leave. All we had to do was gather some colored contacts so we have the same eye color, and dye his hair to hazel brown. If that was even possible.

Three packs of hair dye, a visit from my 10 spirits and 4 hours later, Natsu and I are now officially William and Bella Thorns, on our way to Crocus in black capes.

"Natsu?" There's something on my mind and I really just have to know how he feels about this mission. He turns to me curiously looking at me from under his hood.

"Aren't you bothered at all that the Master didn't ask Lisanna to accompany you on this mission? I mean, it's a pretty big deal to be impersonating a married couple. Especially since, you know.. You and Lisanna.." I'm stumbling over my words, and can't really find the right words to say or ask.

"Lucy, I get where you're coming from, but what Lisanna and I had was in the past. I 'grew' out of those feelings a long time ago. Yeah I liked her then, but I wasn't really in love with her. I didn't feel the same things she felt then, or feels now. I still don't feel that. Plus, there's someone else I kinda like." Natsu confessed. So he's not in love with Lisanna? That comes as a shock. That does give me reason to pry. I smile teasingly at him.

"So, who is it that you like, huh Natsu?" I close the distance between us as to see if his face would give something away, but his face didn't change.

"Oh, you know. This girl, I know her. Quite well." He says sheepishly. I just stare at him in confusion for a second and start laughing. It's so cute to see Natsu this self-conscious, It's a rare sight to see from the always confident Natsu.

"I'm only joking, you don't have to tell me. Well, I hope it works out for you Natsu, she'd be quite the lucky girl." At this Natsu gives me a smile, but it doesn't really reach his eyes like it usually does. It looks like there's some sadness hidden behind his eyes. It makes me feel different kind of emotions seeing that. My heart aches for something, but I can't place what for.

When we finally reach the train station, Natsu starts protesting about how he can't ride the train.

"Hehe, that's why I have a little surprise for you." I say with a smug smile on my face and right on cue, Wendy shows up.

"Wendy here, is going to cast a Troia spell on you, so it doesn't take forever for you to recover when we get there." I look at Natsu, remembering all the times we traveled it took him hours to recover.

"Woah, 'Bella', RUDE!" Natsu joked as he got in place for Wendy to work her magic. I can't help but giggle at the sight of his happy demeanor.

"Good luck on your mission, guys!" Wendy yelled and waved as the train departed from the station. We sink back in our seats when she's out of sight, and I sigh. There's no turning back now, is there.

"Lucy? Don't you find it weird that you're on this mission with me, and not with Gray? Since you're dating and all?" Natsu suddenly asks me. Somehow I knew this question was going to come, but I didn't have to think at all for an answer.

"Gray and I only went on a few dates Natsu. We're hardly dating, really. But, no I don't think it's weird, or at least. It doesn't feel weird to me. We've been on so many jobs together before and even though I can rely on the rest of the team, you're really the only one I feel confident enough around to actually finish a job with if it were only me and someone else." And I mean it all. Natsu looks as if he's thinking about something really hard. He then turns to me and smiles at me.

"I feel the same way Luce, only I'm absolutely confident I could finish this mission on my own too!"

"Natsu, you're supposed to be William who is reserved and modest and doesn't boast about his abilities!" Happy lectured him, and reminded him of how William was. All the way up to Crocus. A four hour train ride. I'm pretty sure I can dream William's mannerisms, magic and other traits.

"Happy! Please, you can stop now. We're almost in Crocus and we and we can't risk being caught already." I tell him exasperated. I'm just glad I got to shut Happy up about William.

As we left the train station and entered the capital, we were almost immediately approached by two shady figures. They fall in step with us, and we turn a corner where there aren't any people around. There we stop and they start talking.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thorns?"

"That would be us". Natsu replied, grabbing hold of my hand protectively.

"Noted. And this little fella?" The man asked, looking at Happy, who was standing on all fours.

"Our cat, he has separation anxiety if it's for a longer time period than one day." I lied.

"Okay, weird. Go to the pub, ask for your room. You will receive further instructions later."

"What are we supposed to do in our room in the meantime?" Oh Natsu, this is such a stupid question. We're supposed to be married! The man looked quizzically at Natsu and then gave me a look over, smirking. Natsu followed his gaze and set a threatening step forward while placing me behind him.

"Well, if I were married to her, I'd be able to come up with a thing or two to do, but I'm not. So good luck finding something to occupy yourself with." They left, without saying another word.

"You're so dense! We just recently got married, remember?" I quietly scolded Natsu, what a fool!

"How would I know! I've never been married."

"What do you think he implied we could do?"

"I don't kno-." Natsu cut himself off when he finally realized what the man implied, and turned bright red with embarrassment.

"Is that what you want to do?!" Natsu squealed in panic.

"No! You dummy! That's what they think we're going to do, because we're married!" I emphasize married, because he clearly doesn't seem to notice the position we're in.

"Ah, ofcourse! Okay, let's get to our room then." Natsu exclaims as he grabs my hand and holds it tenderly. His callused hands feel rough in mine, but it fits there perfectly. Hand in hand we make our way over to the bar, to go and wait in our room.

[fcrtheglcry]

tag dump for muses 1-5.

[wildcr]

open to: males / females / nonbinary (someone vaguely near her age, she’s 28) connection: friend, crush (f only, unrequited or not), old fling plot: based on this plot, your muse just showed up at luce’s flower shop after several years of not seeing one another. whether they know it’s luce’s flower shop is up to you

 —   luce was pretty certain they hadn’t seen her yet, so she spent a long moment openly staring in surprise. it had been years since she had seen the other in person -- she’d gotten texts once in a while, and instagram updates between them, but they really hadn’t been friends in years. she never expected them to show up suddenly at the flower shop she owned. when she gained her composure, luce gathered some courage and made her way over to them. “hey,” she said, keeping her tone polite. just in case they didn’t recognize her. they had to recognize her, right? “need help finding something?”

[wildcr]

open to: males / females / nonbinary connection: stranger, acquaintance, maybe the bartender plot: it’s the anniversary of luce and her dead wife’s wedding, so she’s in her feels about it and drowning them in alcohol by herself. she keeps a notebook of letters written to her wife that she’ll never get to send, and she’s a little defensive tonight. 

     —       a bar wasn’t the best place to write a heartfelt letter. but in all honesty, the recipient of the letter was dead, so she wouldn’t really mind if luce’s handwriting wasn’t up to scratch because of the dim lighting and general distraction of the atmosphere here. and luce could really use the alcohol. noticing the other’s presence trying to look over her shoulder at what she was writing, luce immediately shielded her journal from their eyes and looked up at them with a withering glare. “CAN I HELP YOU?” she asked, maybe a little too defensively. but she was already drinking alone and writing in a journal at a bar, so she figured she couldn’t really sink much lower anyway.

[wildcr]

@intcashes | continued from here

“ Oh, I’m so sorry! “ Blythe said and stepped away from the little sprig of aster. The warm glow faded from her hand and she muffled it in her skirt with a polite smile. The sprig, which had moments ago been bent and wilted, was back to life and in full bloom. The young woman ( or something of the like ) tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled with as much innocence as she could muster. “ I was just feeling the petals, is that alright? I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to be touching the merchandise. “

 —   luce had reacted faster than she meant to. she wasn’t quite sure what she was seeing -- it sure looked like the young woman in front of her had brought the flowers back to life. but that was impossible. but she spoke without thinking enough about the situation -- she should have stopped and watched for a while, tried to catch her in the act of -- what? luce wasn’t sure, but now there was no chance of seeing it again, anyway. “i- sorry, it looked like you were up to no good for a second,” she said, a little lamely, when she found her voice again. “um,” she hesitated, not wanting to look crazy. “i could have sworn those flowers were supposed to get thrown out tonight because they were dying.”

[wildcr]

starter for @poisonlves​ muse: luce thorne plot: based on the post linked in the source

 —     luce wasn’t usually very confident or self-assured. she also didn’t usually drink more than one beer in a night, let alone enough to get her tipsy enough to be laughing this easily. it was a welcome change of pace if she was being honest with herself. “are you telling me the truth right now? this actually happened to you?” she asked, the echo of a giggle still on her lips from the story the other had been telling. she took another sip of her drink and scooted a little closer to them. “this sounds like a lie.”

[wildcr]

a starter for @iinterastra​ muse: luce thorne plot: ‘we were joking around and you picked me up and spun me around with no trouble and i had no idea you were so strong is it weird how turned on i am by that fact?’ (post in source)

     —     luce gasped when her feet left the floor, both out of surprise and shock and laughter. maybe a little giddiness mixed in there as well. later, she might be embarrassed about the little yelp that escaped her mouth when she realized she was being picked up but in the moment, the rush of elation is the only thing she can register. since when had they gotten so strong? “put me down!” she gasped, a laugh escaping with her words. “why would you do this?” 

[wildcr]

open to: males / females / nonbinary connection: stranger, acquaintance, maybe the bartender plot: it’s the anniversary of luce and her dead wife’s wedding, so she’s in her feels about it and drowning them in alcohol by herself. she keeps a notebook of letters written to her wife that she’ll never get to send, and she’s a little defensive tonight. 

 —  a bar wasn’t the best place to write a heartfelt letter. but in all honesty, the recipient of the letter was dead, so she wouldn’t really mind if luce’s handwriting wasn’t up to scratch because of the dim lighting and general distraction of the atmosphere here. and luce could really use the alcohol. noticing the other’s presence trying to look over her shoulder at what she was writing, luce immediately shielded her journal from their eyes and looked up at them with a withering glare. “can i help you?” she asked, maybe a little too defensively. but she was already drinking alone and writing in a journal at a bar, so she figured she couldn’t really sink much lower anyway.

[wildcr]

— muses tag dump part one !

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 94

 Crazy and I had barely figured out where we were when the time came for us to quit our game for the day.  After the game closed, I froze up, not knowing what to do.  I wasn’t ready for this.  I didn’t know anything about magic.  What if I couldn’t do it at all?

 “Come on.  We’re going outside.” stated Crazy, pulling me up with ease and giving me a hug.  I hugged the tiny girl back, leaning down to squeeze her shoulders.  Feeling those unyielding muscles in someone so much smaller than me was really something.  Messy was very short, but Crazy couldn’t even be three feet tall yet.  She was nine, but that had to be short for nine.  Even Aspy was taller than her!

 She didn’t let my thoughts keep us from heading out with the others.  I hadn’t even registered Valeria’s doorway yet when I was being pulled through, stumbling after Crazy.

 “Be gentle.” stated James.  He was standing in the yard with an amused expression as he looked down at us.

 “Yes, Boss!” exclaimed Crazy, releasing me to salute him.

 I impulsively hugged her again.  Being so cute was unfair for someone as gifted as she, but that was Best Friend For Hire.  I couldn’t imagine competing with any of the kids here.

 “Ready to start?” asked James.

 I nearly jumped when everyone else replied immediately.  I wasn’t focused.  I hadn’t even noticed that they lined up around me.  “Y-Yes?” I mumbled, wondering what was happening.  Wasn’t I the one learning magic?

 “Layla, I realize you’re confused, but I will explain.” stated James with a smile.  He was looking at me expectantly.  When I nodded, he said, “The first obstacle between you and using the energy around you is being able to sense it.  If you can’t sense the energy around you, you can’t reorganize it into spells.”  Motioning to the other kids, he said, “Your friends here will be showing off what they can do, which will bring additional energy into our world while also using some up.  The energy is easier to notice when in motion.  We could take you into the forest, but the fey would all come to us, and you’d be far too distracted.  Despite how distracted you’re about to feel, the forest would be even more intense.  Just remember to breathe and remember that you’re perfectly safe.”

 He motioned, and the world changed.  Giant streams of water came rushing toward us from far parts of the yard, enormous flowers of fire danced through the air, the ground rushed up to form  soldiers that marched in lines, and the air itself stirred into a frenzy, visible by the movement in the trees and grass.  Then the yard rippled even more, and a deep, terrifying darkness surrounded plants as they grew higher than the mansion.

 “Breathe, Layla.  Try to stay calm.” ordered James as he gently patted my back.

 I focused on Four who was chasing Valeria, playfully attacking her as she effortlessly dodged through her doorways.  She could step from one section to another with ease, but one leap could take him as far as her.  Then he started to fly, and an enormous, shimmering cape trailed after him.  He almost seemed to sparkle.

 A shift in the darkness, barely seen at the corner of my eye, brought my gaze back down.  The nightmarish plants were shooting thorns down at Messy, but she ignored them, gracefully dancing along under an umbrella of light.  Only then did I realize I could hear the music she was dancing to, and where she stepped, the grass turned to silver and gold.  Focusing on her was relaxing, unlike what attacked her.

 “She’s creating a picture!” I exclaimed, as I realized the metallic colors were forming in specific shapes.

 “She’s also transforming the yard, so Serenity doesn’t attack her from under her feet.  A bulldozer couldn’t move that ground at the moment.” explained James.  Then he pointed over to where Deo was dancing as well, shifting forms with each step.  “Deo, or Dea, will probably prank you off and on when you return in the future.  He and she like to do that.”

 “What’s Ella doing?” I asked, seeing her skipping along after Doc, who was chasing a dragon made of water.

 “Honestly, she probably doesn’t remember what’s happening, which doesn’t really matter.  She uses magic constantly without trying, creating small illusions that reflect how she feels.  Her other power isn’t very well-suited to our current purpose.  Ella can control anyone who meets her gaze.”

 “What!?  Seriously!?” I asked, not trusting my ears.

 “She inherited that particular gift from her father.  Don’t worry.  Ella isn’t malicious.  She did create a little confusion not long ago, forcing a thief to allow himself to be arrested and to confess all of his crimes, but that was as much self-defense as a public service.”

 “Wow.  Honestly, I’d probably have bragged if I could do something like that.” I told him, completely impressed.

 “She forgot about it seconds later, not caring enough to even attempt to remember.” he told me, watching her run through the air with a smile.  Then his gaze shifted, and his eyes stared intently for a moment.  The earthen structure where the quadruplets were standing crumbled.  “Girls, no experimental cannons right now.” ordered James in a booming voice.

 Four disappointed apologies quickly followed.

 “I am fairly certain that one would have been somewhat safe, but I prefer Mila and their father to look over their inventions in laboratory conditions.” stated James, smiling and shaking his head.

 Shutting my mouth, which had fallen open, I thought about that for a second.  Then I asked “A cannon?  Really?”

 He nodded.  “Individually, those four can strip most anything mechanical or electrical in the world and use the parts to build whatever they need at the moment, within the realm of possibilities.  Working together, they occasionally make their father scratch his head in wonder, which is really saying something.  He’s brilliant and far more experienced.”

 My gaze had wandered back to Four as James talked.  He was still flying, but without a cape now.  He was dodging around, fighting the evil plant-things with magic.  Fire and lightning shot from his hands, and the plants seemed to shred at times.  Unfortunately, they kept returning in greater numbers, new sickly branches shooting out toward him.  I wished that I could make out his face from this distance.

 “Do you see that glow around him?” asked James.

 I nodded, still trying to follow what was happening.

 “Keep relaxed, and look over there.” he ordered, pointing to my left, so his arm passed between me and Four.

 “What is it?” I asked in surprise.  The yard was sparkling as if someone had taken a house-sized container of glitter and threw it over the yard.  As I looked around, I realized the sparkles were pouring off most of the kids, leaving trails in their wake.

 “That is where you begin to learn magic.  You’re seeing the energy we harness when forming spells.” he told me, and the world around us went silent.

 I was along with James in a small, black room, but there were still sparkles in the room with us.

 “That’s good.  Stay relaxed.” stated James.  “Try focusing on this one and willing it to come closer to you.”

 I tried, but nothing happened.

 “Don’t give up.  You’re doing well, Layla.  Try shutting your eyes, but don’t stop thinking about this bit of energy.  Imagine it drifting closer to you.” he encouraged, sounding as if he was smiling.  “Very good.  Now try moving it in a circle.”

 James kept giving me strange instructions, so I kept doing as he said until I felt exhausted.  To my surprise, we were surrounded when he finally let me stop.  What happened to the room?

 “That was great, Layla!” exclaimed Luce, giving me a hug.

 “Huh?  What was?” I told her, feeling pinned under her arms.

 “You were controlling the energy.” replied Four with a gorgeous grin.

 “A few weeks of practice, and you’ll probably be able to learn a spell or two.” encouraged Messy.

 “I will!?” I asked in surprise.

 “Yes, you will.” stated James.  He too was smiling.  “For now though, say your goodbyes.  Layla needs to head home for today.  Mila has already seen to her things.”

 “It’s that late!?” I questioned, staring at the darkened sky.

 “You simply must come visit again soon!” insisted Luce.

 “I will as soon as I can.” I assured her, wishing I could invite them all over to my house until I realized how crowded we’d be.  I tried to picture them using their magic in my neighborhood and could only imagine the whole block being destroyed.

 “Will you be online tomorrow?” questioned Aspy.

 “Yes, I believe I will.” I assured him.  “We still have to escape that beasty.”

 “Excellent.” stated Aid.  “We’ll keep in touch in the game until Father gets around to telling us when you’ll be visiting again.”

 “You already know?” I asked, looking up at James, who had stood up.

 “Yes.  You’ll return in three weeks.  I know you were hoping for sooner, but some of the girls are already plotting a sleepover, which your parents will wish to host, not being too well acquainted with the children here.  Don’t worry.  You won’t be lonely, and you still have your friends from school wanting your attention.” he told me with a smile.

 I hugged him and thanked him, not knowing what else to do.  Three weeks really did seem like too long to be away, but knowing that some of them would be visiting me was wonderful.  Wasn’t it?  By the time Rona and I were in the car, I was feeling a little anxious.  What did I have to entertain any of them?  Maybe knowing part of the future really wasn’t a good idea.