#But they didn’t so I’m just doin my part by lending my ears

[jellyjamheadobb]

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Subaru Sakamaki–⁠ (Chapter 2)

[Chapter 1]

Place: ??? (BG black)

Yui: (nng…)

(Huh, what time is it…?)

(Last night, I was having difficulties in sleeping so I couldn’t sleep well…)

(...? Oh no...I can’t move my body…! Bu- but why…!?)

???: ….Zzz

Yui: (Someone...is here...!?)

Place: ホテル•モーントシュタイン  客室 / Hotel • Mortstein,Guest room

Yui: 一Su- Subaru kun!?

(Lemme think? Why’s he sleeping on my bed…!?)

(Could it be I accidentally fell asleep here…? ...Nope, it’s no way…)

Subaru: nnh…

Yui: (Wa- What should I do! He is about to wake up…!?)

*Subaru gets up*

Subaru: ….ah?

Yui: Err...that’s...Good morn- ning?

Subaru: ...Yeah….hm?

That’s, Yo- you!? Uwaa! Why are you here!? *blushing*

Didn’t I warn ye’ not to enter on the other side!?

*Subaru backs off*

Yui: You misunderstood! This is my portion…!

Subaru: Haah!? That’s not一

Yui: Then look! My Rosary is on this bed-side…

Subaru: ……

Yui: (What can I do, he isn’t saying anything…)

*Subaru stops blushing*

Subaru: Oh...I see now...yesterday…

Haah…

Yui: Subaru kun…?

Subaru: ...How’s your health today?

Yui: Eh…? Health? I haven’t felt anything recently though…

Subaru: ...Then, it’s good.

Yui: (Why does that mean…?)

Saying that...why were you sleeping on my bed-part…?

Subaru: ...kh...that’s ‘cuz…*blushing*

...Shuddup! That doesn’t even matter!

Yui: Eeh...but I’m curious…

(Because...he strictly prohibited not to enter on the other side…)

Subaru: ……

Yui: ……

Subaru: ...Tch! Aaah, damn it!

Got it, if you’ll be satisfied if I say it, then I’ll!!

...You’re...having a nightmare last night.

Yui: Eh…?

Subaru: When I was sleeping on my side, I heard you making painful noises and...

That’s why...I go there to check out your state.

...Was it my bad?

Yui: Oh…

(Last night, it wasn’t a dream that I felt my chest hurt…)

(Because of that, Subaru kun has...slept…)

You were worried for me, right?

Subaru: Wha...I didn’t really worry or something like…*blushing*

Yui: Fufu…

Subaru: Shit, don’t laugh!

*Screen shakes + Subaru gets closer*

Yui: Kyaa…!?

Don’t pull off my arm so suddenly…!

Subaru: Shuddup! I’m gonna sleep twice.

Yui: Eeeh…!?

Subaru: Just be quiet and embrace me…!

*Hugs her tighter*

Yui: (Oh come on. We must have to get up by right now...but…)

(Last night, I am sure he had been concerned for my health all the time…)

(Just a little bit...should be fine, no?)

Place: Glimmer Street  Main street / グリンマーストリート 表通り

Yui: The antique art dealer that you’ve mentioned yesterday...do you know where he is?

Subaru: Yeah...but saying the truth, I don’t wanna drag myself near him…

Yui: Is he such a weird person…?

Subaru: Weird you say...He’s a narrow-minded guy who always comes up with a disagreement for some reasons.

Even for the father, he is a damn crap old-uncle who always shows-off around. 

Yui: You didn’t have to explain it in such a cruel manner…

Subaru: Hmph…

Subaru: However...this old uncle is the only guy who can resist my father. 

By putting it that way, that guy is incredible, I think.

Yui: Oh...I see now…

(The one who can resist Karl-Heinz san...then he should be a pretty amazing right…)

(I wonder what kind of person he is…)

Subaru: I am sure he lives around this area…

Oh, here it is...let’s enter.

Place: Aizen Stahl, Antique Art Store/ アイゼン シュタール古美術商店 

Subaru: 一 Oi, Ye’ here?

Antique Art Dealer: Hmm…?

Ooh! You’re the youngest kid of the Sakamaki.

Yui: (This person is the artist of the antique…)

Antique Art Dealer: You were so small in the past…

Now you’ve grown up so much, like walking in the future carrying a woman huh.

...I think she looks like a young girl having a plugged-nose though.

Yui: Pu- pugged nose…!?

(How awful…)

Subaru: Tch…

...Don’t care about him that much. I told that he's narrow-minded and has a disagreement with everything, right?

Yui: Y- yes…

Antique Art Dealer: So, what’s up today? For you coming in this place is rather rare.

Did Karl-Heinz assign you any mission or something? Heheh…

Subaru: Ye’ aren’t even close, that old man has no connection with it.

...Do you know that guy called Earl Walter?

Antique Art Dealer: Hm….

Subaru: I had smashed several furnishings of his castle yesterday.

Antique Art Dealer: ...You did?

Subaru: Yeah.

Antique Art Dealer: Ho...you see...the furnishings of the Walter are…

Pfft….Hahahah! Oh my, I see! You breaked them huh!

That was the masterpiece thing you did!

Yaay, you did well, youngest kid of Sakamaki!

Yui: Eh…

(He seems to be laughing so much…!?)

Subaru: O- oi…?

Antique Art Dealer: What are you trying to hide? I strongly hate that guy.

Yui: Is that so…?

Antique Art Dealer: Yeah, absolutely. For telling the truth, he has stolen my treasures in the past.

Since then, I just continued hating and hating him…

For this, I become overjoyed hearing this, you know!

Yui: (I get it...so that was the reason…)

Antique Art Deal: I think I can repair the implements in his castle other than the goods in his treasure house.

Subaru: You mean it!?

Yui: That’s a relief….!

Antique Art Deal: Since you had blown up the hell out of that guy then...I shall help you.

Which stuff do you wanna repair?

Yui: A jar, sculpture and a painting…

Antique Art Dealer: I get the point. If that's the case then I can manage somehow I think. Hold on a sec.

*Walks away*

Yui: Looks like at the end we can come up with something, Subaru kun…!

Subaru: Yeah, I believe so…

*Pulling something big*

Antique Art Dealer: I appreciate your waiting. What about this thing?

These things are quite similar with those types of implements, right?

Subaru: Yeah, almost like that.

Yui: Then...if we give these to Earl Walter, he may pardon us…!

Subaru: Yup, we appreciate it. Then We’re takin’ out leav一

Antique Art Dealer: Hold ittt!

*Slaps Subaru*

Subaru: Ouch…! What the hell are ye’ doin’!?

Antique Art Dealer: Who said I’ll do these for free!

Subaru: Haah!? Did you say you’re gonn’ help us out!?

Antique Art Dealer: If you sound like having complaints then I won't hand these over to you.

Subaru: Ghh…

...Oh! Then I am gonna go to the human world and get some money from that old father.

That’s why...let us make an exchange with these.

Antique Art Dealer: Hmph, I don’t even slightly agree that Karl-Heinz will take out money for such things.

Subaru: ….kkh….

Yui: Then...what can we do for the charge…?

Antique Art Dealer: Let’s see…

If you can hand me three things that I’ll order, then I am gonna exchange these things.

Well, if I put in other others, those things should be close to my hand-maid things.

Yui: Hand-maid…

Subaru: Tch….annoying but...that’s the only way.

一一Understood. We’ll get them for you.

Antique Art Dealer: ...Told you, right? Then, let’s tie up our discussions here.

Yui: What should we search to begin with?

Antique Art Dealer: ...The head-mask of a clown. That should be an antique item.

Subaru: HAAH!? Why the heck you need such a thing!?

Antique Art Dealer: That’s because I want that, so you can’t blame it.

If you don’t want to then you don’t have to, ya’ know? Since I am not allowing exchange if so. 

Subaru: ...Told ye’ that I am gonna do it! I’m gonna search for that right away so wait!...What a shit!

Place: サントノレパーク通り /  Saint Honoré Park Street

Yui: It’s much crowded that I’ve thought…

Subaru: Ahh...ear sore…

Yui: (It's a parade after all so we have to endure these…)

一Ah! There is a clown right ahead! I think there’s gonna be a performance onward.

(It was a great decision for visiting the amusement park. Because, after it if we ask about the head-mask to the clown, then一)

Vampire Child A: Oh! It’s a clown! Hurry up and come 一!

Vampire Child B: Hold on一!

Clown A: There, there. Don’t push each other, okay~!

Yui: (Wah, it’s a huge crowd...I can’t get near him at all…)

Subaru: Oi, what are ye’ gonna do? There’re so many kids so we can’t get to him.

Yui: Umm...at this rate, the performance is gonna begin soon…

(What shall we do…)

Clown B: ...What shall we do?

Clown C: I can’t answer even if you ask...it’s a weekend after all…

Yui: (Hm? Over there are…)

Look, the clowns are getting prepared over there. Let’s talk with them.

I think they are having some kind of trouble…

*Walks over there*

Yui: Excuse us…

Clown B: Yes?

Yui: Did something happen? You look somehow troubled…

Clown C: Oh...that’s...the clown who was supposed to play main role in this performance,

Cannot show up for getting an injury…

Vampire Child A: So we can’t start!

Vampire Child B: I am getting sick of waiting!

Yui: (Ah...there children are…)

Clown A: ...Kh, We can’t buy ourselves time anymore! What should we do!?

Yui: Tell us! Is there anything we can do to help you?

Clown B: Eeeh!? But…

Subaru: Ha? Oi, what are ya’ sayi…

Clown C: No...maybe you can. If you lend us a hand in the fountain-show then…

...Certainly...if you do that much then...At this moment, that’s the only way.

Subaru: What’re ye’ thinking? It’s now way...we can help ‘em!

Yui: Sorry for deciding all of these even if you’re refusing to….

But, if we help, then we can have a talk with them as early as possible…

Subaru: ………

Clown A: Can you please do it for us?

Subaru: ...Certainly...we won’t have a delay talking with ‘em if we do so…

...Understood, we’ll do it.

Clown C: That’ll be a great help! But...we’re lacking time so, please get ready right away.

Yui: Yeah…!

*After a moment*

Clown A: Alright, dear people! Thank you so much for your long wait!

Clown B: After a moment, we’re going to show everyone in a fantasy world.

Yui: (Aight...let’s do my best…!)

→Game 

Words Subaru said in the game 一

What're you doing? Get started.

Looks like we’re done.

If you win 一

*Audiences’ claps *

Yui: (Have we done it...perfectly…?)

Vampire Child A: Ohh! Wonderful!

Vampire Child B: The fountain-show was so incredible, right…!

Clown A: Thank you very much! You succeed so well!

Yui: Really….!? We did it, Subaru kun!

*Yui hugs Subaru*

Subaru: Uwaah…!?

*Fades to CG*

Yui: (What a relief...we get that right…!)

Subaru: O- oi! Lemme go!

Yui: Eh?

Vampire Child A: Look! It’s a couple, a couple!!

Vampire Child B: Right~! A lovely-dovely one~!

Yui: ...kh…!

(I was so happy that I….!)

Yui: Ah, Subaru kun, that’s...err, I didn’t mean to do it…!

Vampire Child B: Couple~! Couple~!

Subaru: Tch…! Ya’ll are being damn noisy!

Vampire Child A: Uwaa! We got him mad! Let’s escape!!

*Run*

Subaru: Fuck…!

Yui: (Uuh...and also, what was I doing….so embarrassing….!)

*CG Fades*

Yui: S- sorry, I did something weird so suddenly…!

Subaru: Geez…

Clown C: Phew, thanks to you two, the show has ended up smoothly.

Furthermore, you absolutely deserve larger congrats than I’d expected!

Clown B: Honestly, thank you a lot!

Yui: (I’m glad that we’ve come out handy to them.)

Clown A: 一Once again, we’re expressing our gratefulness for supporting us.

Clown B: As a thank you, please recommend to us what can we give you as a present.

Yui: Err...Actually, if you could manage us a thing that we have been searching…

Subaru: 一 This one. Can you recall seeing something like this?

Clown C: This is…

Yui: (Ah...that photo was…)

Subaru: It’s a head-mask used by a clown. If you have it, then please give it to us.

Clown A: Oh...it looks like an old-modeled head-mask. I hope it is left out in the warehouse...

However, you have helped us so much after all, so we’ll search up the warehouse for you.

Yui: You mean it!? Thank you…!

Clown A: Then, we’re gonna go there to search….can we request you to wait here for a while?

Yui: We’re counting on you!

*Goes away*

Yui: That’s good right, Subaru kun…!

Subaru: If they find it, then yes…

Yui: (...Looks like we’re having a freetime. What can we do…)

Oh...tell me Subaru kun. We’re having some time so let’s play something cool?

Subaru: Huh?

Yui: It’s boring if we just wait here plus…

Subaru: ...What do you wanna ride?

Yui: Err...let’s see….Oh, what about Merry-Go-Round?

Subaru: HAAAH!? Which fool is gonna ride such a childish thing!?

Yui: Ah…

(So we can’t huh...I really wanted to ride something together…)

Subaru: ……..

Tch…

*Walks away*

Yui: Subaru kun…?

Subaru: ...What’re ye’ standing like a statue for? Hurry up.

Yui: Eh...hurry up but why…

Subaru: Huh...you wanna ride, no? Come along before I change my mood to ride.

Yui: ...Mhm!

*After a while*

Yui: Haa, it was fun…!

Subaru: Which side was fun….such stuff was just embarrassing! *blushing*

For starters...You ended up choosing that horse-drawn vehicle…

For making me ride on like a clerk...of that horse…!

If ye’ make me do so next time, then I’ll blow ye’ up…!

Yui: (Certainly it was embarrassing of two of us riding together but…)

I enjoyed riding with you, thank you for that.

Subaru: …ngh…*blushed*

Well...if you’d enjoyed it then it’s okay but….I won’t gonn’ face such a ride next time!

Clown A: 一Sorry for making you wait!

Yui: Oh, you are…

Subaru: You’ve found that?

Clown A: It was...expectedly way much old, so it wasn’t left in our warehouse.

Subaru: Haah!?

Yui: S- such…!

Clown A: However, if I take the correct conjecture then you may find it in the dress shop of this town.

Yui: Dress shop…

(Then we should go there I think.)

Thanks a lot for giving us valuable information. We’re going to that shop then.

Clown A: Yup. Take care…!

Place: Glimmer Street, Aizen back street

Subaru: 一Where can we find that dress shop?

Yui: Umm...according to the map we received earlier, that should be around here.

Right ahead of that crowd, I guess…?

Subaru: Crowd….I’m sick of that.

Yui: Ahaha, you’re right…

(By the way, I wonder if it’s just my imagination to have a bad feeling about it…)

Place: Dress Shop /ドレスショップ

Yui: ………

Subaru: ………

Why is it crowded here too…!

Yui: Y- yes…

(The bad-feeling that I was having was true after all…!)

Umm...excuse me. Anything going on here?

Vampire Woman A: Yeah, there’s going to be a fashion show.

Yui: Fashion show!?

If the fashion is gonna start then I bet the workers in this shop are busy…

Subaru: Ahh...crowds are annoying too. So, let’s wait until it’s over.

Yui: Right...let’s wait then…

(Fashion show of the Demon World huh, I am bit interested一)

???: 一Ah! Hey you there!

Subaru: Aah?

Yui: (Hm…?)

???: I want you to follow me!

*She pulls Subaru*

Subaru: Aaah? What’s so sudden!?

Dress shop owner: I am the owner of this shop. I’ll explain everything inside that room. Anyway, come!

Subaru: Oi, hold it!

Yui: Ah, wait….!

(What on this earth going on…? I should just follow them…)

Place: Dressing Room / 試着室

Yui: (She has brought us very inside this shop…)

Dress shop owner: My apologies for bringing you here so suddenly but please get changed into this costume.

Subaru: Haah!? You’re doing these so abruptly! Why the heck is going on!

Dress shop owner: ...Right, I was forcing you way much…

For here on, we’re going to perform a fashion show here, however…

It was frustrating that there wasn’t a single model out there to wear my masterpiece costume.

I was able to find substitutes from the time being but none of them were perfectly suitable.

However, in the meantime you show up! You’re an ideal model for this.

Yui: (Subaru kun….a model…)

Subaru: Stop fussing around! Who’s gonna do such a shit!

Dress shop owner: No refusal! I’ll make you to be the model by any means!

I bet you’re gonna be pleased with the costume that I created.

Subaru: Hmph, what an absurd one. Oi, we’re going back.

Yui: Ah, but….

(We must have to ask them about that head-mask…)

(Above that…)

*BGM stops*

(I am very interested in seeing Subaru kun participating in the fashion show…!)

Tell me, Subaru kun...it’s a great offer so please participate in it?

Subaru: AAAAH!? You’re also saying these!?

Yui: ….Please do!

Plus...please lend me your ear a bit?

*Subaru gets closer + Yui whispers*

Yui: You see, it may be the right chance for us to ask them about the head-mask…!

Subaru: ...gh…

Dress shop owner: I have no clue what you’re mumbling for…

But I am begging you too. Because you can be the supreme model for sure.

Subaru: ………

….Lend that thing. I’m gonna wear it.

*Starts putting on*

Yui: Subaru kun…!

Dress shop owner: Woo! Thanks a lot! Then come here please!

Yui: (I am looking forward to the upcoming…!)

Place: Glimmer Street  Main street / グリンマーストリート 表通り

*Shutter sounds of taking photos*

Yui: (Every single model has so cool styles. I can’t help but to admire them…)

(Subaru kun’s turn hasn’t come yet…)

Dress shop owner: Alright, so our last display will be this costume of our pride!

Yui: (Ah, he shows up…!)

*Louder Applause + Shutters* 

Monologue一

The appearance of Subaru who modelled was looking so cool that anyone’d get caught in his enchantment.

...It was rather a displeasing mood for me though.

He was in an unusual appearance or for something else, I was feeling like he was refreshed.

The shop-owner who stood by this Subaru kun 一一

She is so beautiful too.

I was just curious that...two of them who were getting captured in photos taken by others, what conversations they were having while having short distance in between them.

End of Monologue

*Shutters*

Dress shop owner: The visitors are congrating us so much…!

Come on, you also shake your hand with these audiences.

*Swats her hand*

Subaru: 一Don’t you freely touch my hand.

||気安い means actually friendly or familliarly. However, I thought ‘freely’ would go smoothly with the sentence. However, the more literal concept would be “Don’t touch my hand treating so friendly / familiar with me.

Yui: (Ah…! Subaru kun just shook off the shop-owner’s hand.)

Subaru: I’m engaged. Hand-shake with someone else.

||Spoilers! 予約済み means engage / reservation. I am pretty much sure he meant engaged. Because it reflects a clue about ‘engaging’ to the dress-shop owner. :p But some translators may also translate like “I am reserved here. Touch other else” x’D However it would sound weird or logicless since ‘reservation’ has nothing to do with ‘touching hand’. The next sentence, it makes it more obvious :’)

Dress shop owner: Oh my…

...Fufu, it’s that girl over there huh.

Subaru: ...Hmph.

Yui: (I hope he won’t fight over this time…)

*After a moment*

Yui: 一Subaru kun!

Subaru: ...Oh, you come huh.

Yui: Oh...you have got back to normal appearance huh.

Subaru: Absolutely! Who’d wear that damn cloth for a long time.

Yui: (I want to...tell him about my impressions of that show...How should I describe that?)

→Selection

面白かった / You looked interesting

かっこよかった / You looked cool (+correct)

Yui: Subaru kun, you looked so cool!

Subaru: I- is that so? I haven’t really done anything. *flushed*

Yui: It’s not like that. That costume also suited you pretty well and…!

Subaru: ...Thanks.

Dress shop owner: Thanks for the earlier. For you, we really hit a huge profit.

Subaru: I’d acted just as you said. This time, listen to our request.

Dress shop owner: What is it? It will be a pleasure to help you with anything I can.

Subaru: ...Have you seen something similar to this photo? We’re searching for that.

Dress shop owner: ...Oh, it’s inside our warehouse. I’m going to bring that so wait please.

*After a while*

Dress shop owner: 一I think it’s this one.

Yui: Yeah, it is!

Dress shop owner: No one has been using it since it was just left there...You can have it if you need it.

Yui: Thank you so much! We did it, Subaru kun!

Subaru: Hm...I have no clue what he's planning to do with this worn-out thing…

That’s fine. Let’s get back to that old uncle anyways!

Yui: Right. Ah, really thanks a lot!

Dress shop owner: Whether it’s useful to you or not comes first. If it’s possible then stop by here again.

Place: Aizen Stahl, Antique Art Store/アイゼン シュタール古美術商店 

Subaru: 一Here, ye’ haven’t gotten any complaints right!?

Antique Art Dealer: Oooh! This one indeed! I haven’t imagined you’d really give it to me.

Subaru: Geez, my head hasn’t just got that why do ya’ need such a thing.

But...with this we’re done with one of the assignments I hope.

Antique Art Dealer: Yeah, you sure did. I’ll count on you tomorrow as well.

Place: Diamante Fountain / ディアマンテ泉

Subaru: Haah...I’m tired…

Yui: The first day was tough…

Ah, I got churro from the Wagon. Wanna eat?

Subaru: Yeah….mmn…

...The saying that “Sweet things taste more tasty the time you’re tired”, not a lie after all…

Yui: Fufu…

(But, today we really had to face many things.)

(I hope we’ll be able to hold out tomorrow as well…)

Subaru: Don’t make such a depressed face…I’ll be with you.

Yui: Right…!

(That’s true, if Subaru kun’s with me then we’ll be fine…!)

(Alright, let’s do our best tomorrow!)

一The END of Chapter O2

[heartwoodventures]

Primary Access Required: Testing, Testing

In which Heartwood heads back to (bloody) Coerthas in order to test Aislinn’s aether dampener and catch themselves a spidery bioweapon!

Aislinn arrived in Heartwood’s front hall after a quick rest and a change of clothes. Seeing Rising near the tanks, she walked up and peered into the aquarium. "How's your friend?" she asked, doing away with any preamble.

Rising was eyeing the smaller fish swimming around the bottom of the tank as Aislinn approached. "Seems like he's doin' alright! If he ain't been eaten yet I don't think he will."

Aislinn gave a brief smile as she caught sight of the little bugger. "Looks like he's one of the team now. Good on him." she nodded before turning and taking a seat to wait for things to get under way. "How about yourself? How's things?"

Cravendy slips out from her room and joins the others by the couches. Once seated, she immediately begins to fiddle with her gun, double and triple checking its parts on repeat.

Riylli lazily waves to Cravs as she enters and takes a seat near her. "Hey! Have we always had this many Miqo'te in the company? Why'd no one tell me?"

"Still need a name though." Rising rubs her chin as she was clearly running through suitable options in her head. "Crimble I suppose seems alright, an' can't complain here, yourself? Carve anythin' neat yet?"

"Crimble." Aislinn tried the name out a few times, murmuring it under her breath. "Aye, that fits. Tiny-sounding. Like a crumb or a thimble." At Rising's question though, she tilted her head. "I'm getting really good at spatulas. And kindling. Lots of kindling for the fire." she replied in a deadpan way before shrugging in wry amusement. "So it goes."

"Well then after you start your fire with the kindlin' you have somethin' to flip your food at least! I guess next thing ya should work on is a fork or a plate eh?" Rising plopped down on the other chair, cursing a moment later. "Shite, we're headin' to Coerthas right?"

N'yami moved through the estate with a carbuncle following right behind her, the Seeker chose to stand next to the railing and eye the group that had showed up. Ears flicked at the mention of Riylli's comment then offered a small wave. "I tend to hide out in my workshop, only come out when I'm either needed or dragged out."

N'ana Firesong stretches.

“I always figured ye cat-folk kept to yourselves...” Cravendy dips her head at N’yami. Case in point.

Riylli waved back to N'yami and flashed her a quick grin. "Well, it's nice to finally meet ya then. My names Riylli." She said, before her friendly attitude turned on a dime as she turned back to Cravs. "Don't call us cats." She said, her voice cold and clearly annoyed.

Haila meanwhile, merely remained silent. She could see new faces being involved in this particular case, and it didn't bring any relief more than worry. Having more people meant bigger risks of losing someone again, or at least, such was the case in her eyes as she glanced around with a small frown.

N'ana Firesong simply dusted her legs and made herself comfortable.

Evelyn Blazewing laughs and shakes her head upon hearing Riylli's comment. "Fufufu... this vessel is merely temporary. But I suppose I am still /technically/ a Miqo'te..." She brought her bandaged right hand up to cover the left side of her face. "I much prefer the company of my familiar than I do that of mortals. But, I figured I should at least come out every once in a while to converse with the commoners..." She smiled smugly to herself with her last comment.

Riylli Aliapoh raised an eyebrow at Evelyn's comment, then looked around the room to check everyone elses reactions only to find no one looking as confused as she was. "Erm... Right. Well, nice to meet you too... I think."

N'yami Synch: "N'yami, ya ever need somethin' fixed lemme know and I'll lend a hand." The carbuncle next to the Seeker jumped up onto the Seeker's shoulder to wrap around her like a scarf, the summon wanted to feel a part of the conversation. "Oh, and this is Whackara before she hits me for not introducin' her." The summon puffed out her chest with joy. "So I'm sure the rest of ya are as excited as I am to head out to Coerthas and deal with that cold hell."

Cravendy Hound grunts, but obliges to Riylli’s request. She was used to hanging out with pirates whose conversations were often thinly veiled insulting contests, and old habits die hard. “Right...Mee-quote-tay. Not cat.”

Aislinn was about to open her mouth to reply to Rising but quickly shut it as N'yami started talking. She turned her attention to the miqo'te and simply sighed. Damned bloody Coerthas.

N'ana Firesong: "What is in this Cold hell ye are dealing with?"

Haila Wetyios: "The reason we're short three people within the Company right now..." was all she'd comment, choosing to allow N'yami to take the floor on this one.

N'yami Synch: "Allagan spider creatures that some crazed scientist made to drain aether from living things...." She paused and thought it over for a moment. "I think that about sums it up." The Seeker shrugged. "I just got pulled into this recently."

Evelyn chuckles to herself. "Ah, are you all going out? I, Evelyn Blazewing, third incarnation of Lord Blazewing the Phoenix, the Eternal Ember, shall accompany you. You said we are headed to Coerthas, is that right, mortal? Fufufu... a phoenix not need worry about the cold. You should be most glad that I'm tagging along! My prowess with fire shall prove most useful to all of you there... i-if you'll have me, I mean." She looked away a bit at her last statement.

Rising Lotus grumbled more as their location was confirmed, shrugging as Riylli glanced at her. "Don't have my damn cold gear with me..gonna be a fun day." she sighed and slumped down a bit in the chair.

After casting an askance look at Evelyn and her declaration, Aislinn murmured almost to herself. "I'll have to grab my bleeding coat before we head out." If Aislinn hated anything, it was the cold.

N'ana Firesong: "Well then meh blade if for ye then. Don't know much of whatever these spiders are but aye am always willing to test meh metal."

Riylli grinned. "Finally, I've been waiting to go after those spiders ever since I joined this group! You can't just lead with that then make me build up some town for moons instead. I'm built for smashing, not building!"

Haila snapped her eyes towards one of the newcomers. "Pride won't do you any good in this, nor recklessness. These things have casters as their primary targets each and every single time we've come across them." she said, immediately sighing afterwards as she raised a hand to her forehead. "It goes without saying that magic should be the very VERY last resort in this expedition you're all about to go." she added, this time glancing at everyone.

Cravendy Hound: “Are ye all ‘earin’ what I’m ‘earin’? Or am I ‘avin’ some kind of...” Cravs shakes her head in confusion at Evelyn’s remarks. But it was all very curious to her, and she found herself wondering about the curious character. “Aye, let’s bring along that one.”

N'yami had a very confused look on her face for a moment but it vanished as soon as it appeared. "Well, I believe Aislinn had a device to help us?" She perked a brow when looking over to the Hyur. "Last time we talked we were goin' to use me as bait for pullin' the creature in while the rest of ya bring it down."

Haila Wetyios: "All of this while keeping the spider as intact as possible. 'Tis all I'd ask to finish cracking the data and communication they all share."

N'ana Firesong: "So we are studying them, not slaying them."

Riylli Aliapoh breathed a sigh of relief that someone else was hearing what Evelyn was saying, and that she had not just gone insane. But she had another concern now, turning to Haila, "Wait, we can't use magic? No one said anythin' about not using magic."

Aislinn nodded to N'yami. "The aether dampener, aye. Did you remember to grab it from your mother's desk?" she asked. "Like I said before it. ..*should* mask a person's aether signature a great deal. But, you can't get something for nothing. In return, it makes using aether far more difficult. Like training with weights on. Should being the operative word. I've tested it out here but it's never really been field tested before. And not against those bioweapons." she added.

N'yami’s ears went down for a moment, that's right she was supposed to grab it. But never fear Whackara was on the case! The carbuncle swatted Yami over the head before opening her mouth to show the object they were talking about. "Oh yea! Gave it to ya to protect." Holding her hand out the carbuncle just dropped it in Yami's hands like it was no big deal. Clearly this wasn't the first time the carbuncle was used for storage.

Cravendy‘s frown deepens at the mention of N’yami being bait. “It sounds like ye ‘ave all the pieces aligned, but that sounds risky. If it looks like yer in trouble, then ye’ll ‘ave to forgive me for trashin’ the enemy.”

"We've lost three people so far, all of them having a specialty somehow tied to conjury or white magic. We can't take extra risks again." Haila paused, turning over to Riylli. 

"When the first person went missing, a group of three assembled secretly and went to try and find them without telling anyone... Needless to say, only the one person that wasn't exactly magically inclined came back. Those creatures are an army of machina to say the least."

Evelyn Blazewing sighs. "Fine, mortal. I shall hold my magic unless it is absolutely necessary. You needn't worry regardless, for a phoenix always rises from her ashes!" She struck a small pose, leaning back in her seat for a moment before returning to her usual position. "So we're letting it live? Perhaps it is best I not use my magic after all..." She sighs and shrugs. "I will simply find another way to assist you all, then. I shall exercise extreme caution so you do not worry, viera. Does that help ease your nerves?"

Riylli Aliapoh peaked up from over the back of her couch to listen to Aislinn explain. "Well... I should be able to work with using less aether, but you won't be getting me at my best! I was hoping to show off proper this time too, since no one could see anything during that dodo fight..."

Aislinn nodded in thanks to the carbuncle for remembering. She looked back to N'yami. "Once you're ready, just cuff it to your wrist, the stone and circuitry should do the rest." she once more eyed Evelyn with a wary gaze.

Haila Wetyios: "As long as you keep your own distance, I won't complain." she merely stated with a serious tone, though from her voice, it was clear that she had her own reservations or even personal feelings about this entire case.

Rising Lotus raised her hand "Going with what Cravs said, in case things start to go sour, we ought to have a signal or somethin' to switch from catchin' to smashin' and gettin' outa there."

Aislinn turned her attention to Riylli. "Unfortunately, I only had time to create one prototype." she jerked her chin to the one in N'yami's hands. "The rest of us need to be careful."

Riylli groaned. "Great... Guess I'll just... Play defense, or somethin'..." She muttered, totally pouting over not getting to fight the spiders properly

"Should I put it on now or wait till we get there?" N'yami eyed Riylli for a moment, an actual caster would be better playing bait but the Seeker couldn't bring herself to letting the others getting injured if things went bad.

Aislinn does her best to hold her tongue in the face of such idealistic exuberance. The gravity of the loss of Heartwood members in the face of these bioweapons hadn't truly sunken in for the new recruits. Sometimes experience was the best teacher. She looked to N'yami and took a refocusing breath. "Depends on if you think you're going to need to call upon some aether between now and then."

“Scream once if yer in trouble, twice if yer just foolin’ with us.” Cravs dryly advises N’yami.

"What happens if I do it three times?" N’yami grinned, joking of course and an attempt to lighten the mood. "No worries, if things start goin' bad I'll let ya know guys know."

Evelyn: "Ah, is that what our signal shall be? Primitive and simple, yet effective. The success of our mission is all but assured regardless if we take the necessary precautions."

N'yami nodded. "So." N'yami clipped the item onto her wrist. "Who wants to hold the Carbuncle? If things start goin' bad she'll let ya know." The summon’s ears perked up and pitch black orbs looked around the room to determine who her Coerthas buddy will be.

Evelyn raises her hand enthusiastically. "I shall care for thy familiar, mortal. Choose me, and you shall not regret it."

Cravendy Hound tries to lean into N’yami’s confidence, and tries to tell herself this mission will be smooth sailing. But an ever familiar anxiety sets her heart pumping.  Cravs huffs, and moodily looks to the corner of the table.

"Whackara is connected to me, if I'm in trouble her fur will bristle so just keep an eye on that." The carbuncle jumped down from N'yami's shoulder and went to sit on the arm of the chair where Evelyn was, a paw reached out to rest on the red heads shoulder as if to say 'Buddy'.

Evelyn grinned quietly to herself and chuckled. "The pact is complete, then. I shall guard this one with my life. You needn't worry, I will simply resurrect should anything happen to me. Your safety is all but assured, friend." She reaches a hand out to softly pet the carbuncle.

Rising Lotus "We have somethin' to catch it or keep it too right? Or should we jus' break it's legs an' bring it in?" she crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "Granted I don't know anythin' near enough 'bout them as Haila, but I do remember ya sayin' it can call other ones too right? Do we have some way to stop that?"

Haila turned over to Rising, "No ways to disrupt it yet I'm afraid, 'tis one strong signal, but the best would be to drag the straggler you mean to capture as far away as possible before it calls reinforcements."

N'yami hummed in thought for a moment. "Could use wires? A barrier would just be absorbed by the damn thing, but we would need a couple people who would want to volunteer to just jump the damn thing and tie it up."

Aislinn let her gaze drift over to Rising and Cravendy

Evelyn sighed and looked around. "Unfortunately, this vessel's arms are quite frail, otherwise I would love to volunteer... are any mortals willing to take the lead?"

“Seems easier to just break its legs. We won’t be needin’ those to do whatever we need the spider for, right?” Cravendy looks around, suddenly wary of another’s gaze on her. “Jump it. Beat it up. Been there, done that...”

Rising Lotus grimaces "Ugh, alright. I don't wanna see a wave of them things again if I can help it." she glanced at N'yami as she offered her suggestion. "..that sounds like it'd work, sure Cravs is a right fine knot tie-er too. " she looked toward Cravs.

Riylli raised her hand. "I could probably incapacitate it with my magic pretty easy, depending on how strong the thing is. Would give me something to do too..." She said with an overexaggerated sigh

Haila Wetyios: "As long as it gets the job done, I have no quarry with it. Breaking the legs should do the job, but if all else fails, I'll take a broken spider."

"Ah, are you not joining us, mortal? A shame, your apparent experience with these spiders would be quite the help." Evelyn said, turning her gaze to Haila.

Haila Wetyios shook her head. "As much as I wish I could, I have my reasons for not going... 'Tis been by mere coincidence that the spiders didn't pick up on me the other times. But I can't risk a third one. At least not if I want a few plans of my own to work."

N'yami Synch: "So who's ready to go catch us a spider!? That's a dumb question no one really is but hells we need the bloody thing so let's go punch it in the legs."

N'ana Firesong gave a small sigh. "Why spiders" she mumbled.

Cravendy glances back at Rising. “Can’t say I’ve ever kidnapped a spider, but there’s a first for everythin’. But the idea would be the same. Lure it away to some lonely corner, away from pryin’ eyes, and tie it up afore it knows what got ‘im. Or beat it till it’s broken.”

Riylli gave a concerned look to the pirate Roe, unsure if she was joking or not

Rising Lotus: "Well lets play it by ear then. If we have a chance to bind it lets do that, if not we'll smash it's legs off, and as a last case option we'll kill it all together."

Evelyn stands up and strikes a pose with her staff. "Let our operation commence. The Goddess of Victory is on our side, so long as we err on the side of caution. Now, let us show these spiders true despair..." She held her bandaged right arm up to her left eye again, folding her left one across her body. She let out an enthusiastic "Fwahahaha!" and shook her head afterward.

Aislinn nodded and rose to her feet. "Seems like we have a plan in place." Roughly, but it was still a plan. "I'll go grab my bloody coat." she shook her head and retreated briefly back to her quarters.

After the group made the walk through Coerthas back to the area where they knew the spiders would appear, with some grumbling cause of the cold of course, N'yami lead them through the snowy terrain. Stopping in her tracks the Seeker looked around with perked ears. "Where exactly were you all ambushed before? Perhaps that will be the best spot to look for one."

Riylli kicked at the ground below, trying to keep her shivering to a minimum. "...Hate this stupid place... Grounds all frozen... Terrible to work with..." She muttered to herself as the rest of the group did their thing

N'ana: "Aye hope we finish up quickly. As much as aye enjoy mountain trips in Othard this cold is a different story."

Aislinn looked to Rising and Cravendy to answer that question. She hadn't yet ventured out to meet these spiders head on. For obvious reasons. Heartwood still needed at least a semblance of a medical staff until they could get G'lewra and Vanriri back.

Rising Lotus huffed as they exited the cave, rubbing her hands together as she was a tad underdressed. "I think it was a bit more down there, near the bridge right?" she glanced at Cravs, keeping her body moving to build up some heat. It then dawned on her the Cravs was kind of not there at the time, but maybe she knew somehow?

Evelyn shivered quietly, holding Whackara in her arms. "F-Fufufu... this cold is n-nothing... you m-mortals always complain about the silliest things..." she posed again in her usual fashion.

Cravendy feels her gut sink as she remembers a time when...it was before she woke up, and yet. She groans, but answers to the best of her ability. “Yeah, I remember it was by that hill, and we crossed a bridge at some point. Over there?” Cravs points down south.

N'yami Synch: "Works for me." She offered a shrug and just started walking down the path, they'd eventually run into the blasted thing right? That's how it usually worked from what she heard. "Time to give this damsel-in-distress thing a try I suppose."

"I-If these things go after magic users, how 'bout we just start channelling and wait for it to show up?" Riylli offered, getting sick of standing in one place freezing her tail off

Cravendy lightly elbows Evelyn as she passes her. “Phoenix-lass, right? Ye think ye can ‘eat up the poor sods who’re freezin’ their arses off?”

Rising Lotus looks at the river over the hill. "This is lookin' familiar, bridge ain't too far from here." she pointed across it. "They all came from the other side of it, and we fell back to the bridge." she pointed to the left down the path.

Aislinn heard Cravendy and looked over her shoulder. "I'm good. No need to light me up or anything."

Evelyn Blazewing 's eyes open wide. "Sh-Share my warmth? With... e-everyone? F-Fwahaha, I certainly would if it were possible. Touching a mere mortal with my body temperature s-so high would incinerate them to mere ashes!" she quietly mumbled to herself. "B-Besides, I'm kinda using it right now..."

Cravendy nods to Rising’s statement. “Some of ‘em were underneath the snow too, so watch where ye step.”

Aislinn took a few steps back at that. "Great." she muttered as she peered down at the frozen ground around them.

N'ana Firesong: "Ye seem ye can mix a drink right now, Phoenix."

Evelyn: "I would be happy to mix you a drink were now a good time, mortal. Ask when we return home and I shall happily oblige."

N'yami looked around for a moment as they paused. "We'll stick around somewhere safe so the rest of ya have a place to hide while I drag the damn thing out." The Seeker pointed over at the boulder sticking out of the ground. "Go hide over there while I call it out. Rising, and Cravs, get ready to launch yerself at it once it comes out."

Rising Lotus: "Aye, pulled...uh.. someone off one before it got her, then it called it's friends." she tapped her boots on the ground to shake some snow out of her sandals.

Cravendy: “Aye. Come on Rising, we got a boulder to snoop behind.” She starts to walk over.

Heartwood runs into another RP FC also RPing (Riylli Aliapoh) (feels like two rival gangs are passing) (Aislinn North) ((Throwdown)) (Haila Wetyios) Oh snap)) (Rising Lotus) We have to intimidate them, everyone make yourselfs big)) (Cravendy Hound) OH?? )) (N'yami Synch) PUFF OUT)) (N'yami Synch) I think we win)) (Cravendy Hound) omg haha )) (Riylli Aliapoh) (as big as you can get) (N'yami Synch) Lol one of them is a friend of my so I whispered yelled at him to get out of my swamp xD))

Rising Lotus nodded, pumping herself up before tailing behind Cravs, drawing her spear on the way.

"I can help too y'know..." Riylli muttered as she stomped off to hide behind the boulder

Aislinn murmured to N'yami as she gestured to the device on the miqo'te's wrist. "If your plan is to take that off to lure a spider, I'd suggest snapping it right back on the moment you get one on your trail. As it is we're going to have a hell of a time shutting it up before it calls any others." she nodded. "Watch yourself, aye?"

Cravendy ducks behind the boulder and peeks out, as sneakily as she can manage. But she’s half-distracted by Rising, who to her...does not look dressed for success, in this weather. “Nophica’s teats, ye askin’ to catch a cold again?!” She harshly whispers.

N'yami Synch: "Cravs and Rising, pull Riylli with ya when the thing comes out, the faster we bring the thing down the better." The Seeker looked over to Aislinn and offered a short nod. "I can defend myself pretty well, if you know someone else needs it more I'll be fine without it."

Riylli's ears perked up, her pouting interrupted. "Wait, me? I mean, yeah! The grounds a bit frozen, but I'm sure it'll be fine" She finished with a confident nod, back to her usual self

Rising Lotus was peeking around the other side of the rock, spearing humming away as they waited. "I'll be fine, been through here lots of times dressed like this. Build's character." she shivered a bit as she said the last part. " 'sides fightin' will keep me plenty warm."

Aislinn shook her head and snorted. "I'm not playing the lottery like that. You're going after the spider, you take it. I'm just saying." she turned and went to stand with the others.

Riylli kicks a bit off snow onto Rising's exposed toes. "Builds hypothermia is what it does. How are you gonna fight when you're frozen to the ground?"

Cravendy: “Might be awhile ‘fore we’re fightin’.” Cravs looks back at N’yami and watches the miqo’te like a hawk. Her breath coming out in chilly plumes, she mumbles something under her breath. “Feh, character...Personally, I’m done buildin’ anymore of that.”

N'ana Firesong keeps a watchful eye over her surroundings.

N'yami unhooked the device from her arm for a moment, and that's when the rest of the group would feel a surge of aether crash over them. The group would feel a wide range of emotions hit them, the strongest one they felt would send a warmth through their cold bodies. Raising her hand in the air the Seeker summoned a ball of aether and shot it off in the air, one after the other like a show of fireworks and each one burst in the sky. Red aether mixed into the white winds that were carried off to call upon the creature they were looking for and with how much the Seeker was giving off did the group hear an echoing screech off in the distance. Those who had met the creatures would know the sound all too well, it was coming.

N'ana Firesong knelt over, feeling the warmth take over her body and shivered. "Thralls balls!"

Rising Lotus shot Riylli a glare, flinging the snow off her foot, about to retaliate before N'yami started and she focused up, tightening her grip on her spear. She grit her teeth as they had garnered hopefully only one's attention.

Evelyn recoils a bit, reeling from the emotional surge she just felt. She then turns her attention to the sky, and back to N'yami. "An excellent show, mortal, but will it do the tri-" She's cut off by the screeching, which causes her to smirk. "Fufufu... it seems your ploy worked. Everyone, ready yourselves. Our enemy will be upon us soon." She mumbled to herself again. "I-I think... that's our enemy..."

Aislinn stumbled back as the aetheric emotions hit her, the warmth flowing into her body triggering a sense of alarm. No. Not now. But it soon passes as she realized it was only N'yami and not herself. She breathed and tried to shake off the feeling. "That'll get them if nothing else." she said low, her voice wavering slightly.

Riylli glances over to Evelyn. "Hey, crazy lady, how hot can that fire of yours get? Y'think you can thaw the earth a bit for me when we jump out?"

Cravendy grunts as she weathers the wave of aether, sets her jaw as foreign emotions flow through. When it passes, she finally takes a gasp of air. Without knowing it, Cravs had been holding her breath. But she could not breathe easy, not yet. They were coming.

Evelyn glares at Riylli. "I am not crazy, mortal. My flames are the hottest in the realm. I would be more than happy to assist you, however." She sighed.  "So, my talents shall simply be used to thaw the earth? Fine, fine... I came here to offer my assistance, after all."

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard as the beast came crashing through the snowy plains, this one was the perfect size to carry someone off and with how much aether it detected it seemed determined to catch whatever was creating it. At the last possible second N'yami slapped the device onto her wrist again to dampen her aether, and that's when the Crawler stopped in front of her. The familiar whirring noise was heard as it scanned the Seeker for the aether source.

Aislinn North From her hiding place behind the boulder, Aislinn tensely watched, her breath trapped in her lungs. She sincerely hoped her device wouldn't fail now, of all times.

Cravendy‘s eyes widen at the sight of the machine, but any hesitation is quickly pushed down. Cravs shuffles over the boulder and charges at her target, hoping to knock it off balance with a low blow to one of its many legs.

Rising Lotus "Great, a big one..." she hopped out from her hiding place and charged forward, taking a great big swipe at it's front left leg as she got in range.

Riylli Aliapoh hopped up onto the rock, shouting out to Evelyn. "Time to shine, crazy phoenix lady! Help me get the earth under it's legs!" She commanded, and began to swirl aether around her as she commanded the earth to reach out and swallow up the spiders legs, though as she suspected the ice made it difficult to manage. However, with Evelyn's help…

N'ana Firesong: "Take out it's eye!"

Evelyn sighs and smiles, bringing her rod close to her. "Fufufu... behold mortals, the purest of flames, the hottest of cinders! This is a gift from Lord Blazewing himself! To ash do we fall, and from ash do we rise... now!" *she launches a small fireball, which then explodes into a larger flame that consumes the ground around the spider. "Hell's Maw!"

Aislinn reached into her coat, white-knuckles wrapping around the grip of her pistol as the others charged. She wouldn't use her aether but she would shoot if things began to take a dire turn. For now, she watched and waited, fighting the frustration that rose in her.

Despite the several attacks aimed at the spider, it seemed as only a selected few even had an effect on it. Riylli's rocks for once, managed to at least ground it on the spot. It's metal legs though, were stronger than the ones that they'd faced before, that much was clear from the fact that it's hindleg barely took any damage from Rising's attack. The edges of it's fleshy limbs suffering very slight charring as it detected the aether sources around it. The fire spell becoming it's first target as it had been the biggest display of aether out of all of them, with the earth rocks being a close second.

Aislinn North can see where this is going and cursed harshly under her breath. The weapon was already assessing and zeroing in on those who had created a display of aether. "Get ready to scatter." she warned.

Finishing it's scans of it's primary targets as well as potential threats, the mechanical spider made several whirring sounds, had it been a smaller one, it would have surely attempted to call for backups already. This one though, was big enough to attempt it's own attacks. Lifting the few legs that weren't trapped in stone, it attempted to free it's other legs as it hurled rocks around at the closest people within it's range whilst smaller spiders dropped off the big one, rushing at the people in the back.

N'yami watched as the crowd charged at the Crawler and watched the chaos start to form, the Seeker waited for the right time to interfere and if needed she would join the battle. Her ruby gaze kept flicking down to the device on her wrist, debating to take it off to act as bait again, that's why she was here right?

Riylli pumped more aether into her spell, refusing to allow the spider freedom so long as she could help it. "Gonna need you guys to keep those things off me! Can't exactly multitask right now!" She called to whoever might be able to help

Ready for it, Aislinn dashed out from behind the boulder as the smaller spiders charged toward them. She fired off a few shots as she went, hoping to pick a couple off before they swarmed the others.

Rising Lotus managed to dodge the stones that were throw at her, grunting and gripping her spear tightly. With a mighty shout she jabbed the tip of her spear right between where the leg meets the body, twisting and pushing open a gap towars the now exposed and vulnerable shoulder mechanics! If someone could aim several shots in there it would sure do a lot of damage!

Cravendy Hound: “Umf! Shit, thing’s built like a brick ‘ouse!” Why did she think that tackling a thing made of solid metal was a good idea to begin with? Now her shoulder felt all kinds of wrong. She rolls to dodge the flurry of rocks and, out of the corner of her eye, she sees the smaller spiders rush at the party’s backline. A bitter cocktail of anger and anxiety sets her heart alight. Not on her watch!

Cravendy grins when Rising serves her an opening on a silver platter. “Thank ye, flower. Now!” She whips her gun out and sends a flurry of shots aimed directly at the exposed circuitry.

N'ana stabbed at the smaller spiders around her. slashing and kicking the ones too close to her.

Evelyn targets the small spiders approaching her, readying another area fire spell. Without giving a small speech this time, she simply readies and casts another area fire spell, hoping to get rid of the smaller spiders coming after her. After launching her attack, she mutters "Calamity Blaze." and strikes a pose.

Relatively assured that she hadn't made herself a target for the smaller spiders, Aislinn continued to fire off shots to drop the bastards before they could reach the ones casting aether about with abandon, pausing only for the scant seconds it took her to reload. Her precision as a sharpshooter on display, she rarely seemed to miss her marks.

Riylli grit her teeth, trying to hold on as the spider did everything it could to free itself from it's bindings. "I ain't gonna be able to hold much longer! Do whatever it is you gotta do, and do it fast!" She called out to the front lines, swearing under her breath. "'Take it alive' huh? Easy to say when you aren't the one holding the damned thing..." She mutters angrily, before pumping another dose of aether into the earthen shackles

Rising Lotus grinned as Cravs fired several shots into the hole she made, twisting her body around to try and spear the other front leg, aiming for the first joint from it's body and thrusting hard, hopefully she'd continued to have good results aiming for those points compared to hacking and slashing

Cravendy feels that telltale burn of combat. Of blood boiling, of time slowing. Given her proximity to the large machine, Cravs decides to try to grab hold of another leg and directly press the end of her gun at its joint. Squeeze, and fire.

The onslaught of attacks took it's toll, for a moment it seemed that the large spider had underestimated it's targets. Such was the issue of programming it's priorities. The leg that Rising and Cravs had worked together to damage caused several circuits to go haywire. The spider had to pause for a moment as the rest of it's legs too, started taking damage from the shots, the spears and the rocks keeping it grounded all causing damage beyond acceptable parameters, the creature attempted to step back to no avail, it's smaller spiders being taken one after the other with the group work from everyone attacking it. Upon finishing it's damage calculations, it buckled down, almost compacting part of it's body for a moment as it emitted a deafening sound alongside static that was nearly palpable in the air. It wouldn't damage it's opponents as much as it would deafen them briefly, but it was for sure calling for nearby backups.

Riylli just kept channeling really. Nothing to see here. She wasn't getting tired or anything. It's fine. All fine.

Cravendy recoils at the explosive sound blaring right next to her ears. She searches for the source of the sound but can’t quite focus with this ringing in her head, so instead she opts to continue her assault. Cravs aims her gun at the spider’s chassis and fires several times. If it’s broken, the racket’ll stop, right?

N'ana shook her head feeling a bit dizzy and off balance from the noise. She put the sword inside its holdster and then drew it with a blinding light of power on one of the spiders back legs.

Aislinn staggered to the side and clapped a free hand over one ear as the blaring beacon went off. Damn it all. That thing simply needed to -die-. Gritting her teeth against the painful noise, she did her best to keep watch on the casters, and pick off any of the smaller spiders that still remained. "Someone shut it up, fast!" her words barely heard over the blaring siren.

Rising Lotus braced herself as the screech blared, bracing herself while she gazed over the ugly thing. Things usually make sound from their mouths, so she thrusted right under it's glowing eye, hoping that was where it would be? If it had one?

N'yami Synch placed her hands over her ears as the creature called out for help. Why did it need to be so loud? "Take it down now! We need to get out of here fast before the backup arrives!"

Riylli Aliapoh huffed, feeling neglected out there in the backlines, watching everyone else do cool stuff. She was not one to enjoy taking the support role, and suddenly a very stupid idea dawned on her. She grinned, "Alright, time to end this!" She called out, suddenly thrusting her arms out to the sides and pumping in every last bit of her aether, the earthen shackles that had been binding the creatures legs suddenly flying out in opposite directions, ripping the spiders legs out with them

Evelyn Blazewing covered her ears and crouched down in recoil from the harsh noise the spider emitted. "I-It's worse than the wails of the damned... shut up!" She stood up, braced herself, and fired a ball of flame at the mechanical arachnid, yelling out "Flames of Ifrit!" as she did.

Cravendy Hound brings her arms up in time to guard herself against a shower of earth and ice. “By the godsdamned Navigator! Warn me next time ye use yer magic!” But, seeing as the spider was now rendered legless by Riylli’s efforts, it seemed a good opportunity to grab and go. Cravs stumbles to the other end of the machine and tries to lift it. They had to get this thing, and themselves, out of here fast.

While incredibly risky and stupid, Riylli's idea worked, the sudden pull from the rocks alongside it's already damaged legs nearly ripped all of them off on the spot. Only one leg remaining, which was the one N'ana kept attacking as the blasted thing started to squirm as much as it could. Several smaller spiders dropped off it's insides, clearly confused as the signal it was sending out to them was not going off well thanks to the damage caused by Rising and Crav's shots.

N'yami bolted towards the giant spider and went to lift it with Cravs. "Let's go go go." The carbuncle grew in size to be big enough to ride and trotted up to Riylli incase she needed to be carried home. "Those who can lift get over here."

The large spider was rendered defenseless, and most of all, it was half intact.

Riylli fell to her knees, aether spent and body exhausted. She grit her teeth and picked herself back up, using her staff to keep her balance as she didn't want people seeing how wiped out she was. "What else could 'time to end this' mean!?" Riylli shot back to Cravs, before carefully trying to crawl her way off the boulder she was dramatically perched on. Maybe exhausting herself right before it was time to run... was not the best plan

Rising pulled her spear back just in time to watch Riylli pull it's legs off like a child would do to a bug, and probably Riylli to a bug too honestly. Quickly returning her spear to her back, she made her way to the front, squatting down and preparing to lift it with the others.

As the limbs come off the spider in a mighty pull of earth, Aislinn wasted no time rushing towards the downed bioweapon, taking out the small spiders that wandered around in confusion. "Alright. N'yami's right. Let's take it and run." she holstered her weapon and made ready to lift along with the others.

Evelyn applauded Riylli's display, a proud smile on her face. "Excellent, truly excellent work, mortal. Your prowess with the earth is quite remarkable..."

Cravendy grumbles something under her breath about being more specific, that “time to end this” should clearly state -how- as well. But it was all bullshit and Cravs knew it - couldn’t expect people to say all that in the heat of the battle. Didn’t stop her from complaining the whole way back though.

Riylli gave a tired grin, always ready to accept some praise. "Best geomancer in eorzea, you can bet on it! You were a big help with that fire though. Couldn't have done it without ya." She said with a nod, before noticing the large carbuncle seemingly waiting for her to pass out. "Oh, hey... you. You offering a ride?" She asked, giving a shrug as she hopped on and did her best not to look so relieved.

As Heartwood managed to take the giant Crawler back, hopefully Haila was fine with the size of it, the group successfully completed their mission and even managed to escape the backup before they showed up but now the real question. How are they going to get it through the door?

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CXIX (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

Words: 3,473

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘Like To Be You’ -by Shawn Mendes ft. Julia Michaels

Chapter Seventeen: Resolutions.

"So here's the plan," Mel whispered to Hermione as they followed Hagrid deeper into the forest, "if things get out of control, make sure everyone goes back safely and I obliviate them as soon as we reach the castle..."

"Don't be stupid," Hermione said. "Now's not the time for jokes. Oh, I really hope Hagrid knows what he's doing!"

"Gather roun', gather roun'," said Hagrid. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me..."

He let out a high-pitched shout and everyone stood there in anxious silence waiting to see what would happen. Mel's ears picked up the sound of dead leaves crunching, even though no one seemed to be moving. She heard a quiet huff and a few branches breaking.

"Why doesn't Hagrid call again?" Ron whispered beside her.

She felt someone press against her and she jumped lightly, Neville had found his way towards her and now was tightly gripping her arm. He was staring at some point a few feet away from them. That's when she remembered something from the first night back in the castle, when Harry had mentioned something about... what was it? A horse?

She turned to look at him, Harry was eagerly looking around, trying to see if someone else was noticing. Mel spoke up.

"What are they?" It had been a long time since she'd heard her own voice sounding so frightened.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Now... put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

A total of three people raised their hands. Neville, Harry, and a Slytherin boy.

"Yeah... yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry," Hagrid grumbled. "An' you too, Neville, eh? An' —"

"Excuse me, but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?" Malfoy sneered.

Mel watched the meat Hagrid had thrown onto the grass as it was ripped off piece by piece by some invisible creature, Parvati gasped.

"What's doing it? What's eating it?" She asked in terror.

"Thestrals," said Hagrid. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows — ?"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" Parvati exclaimed. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once —"

"No, no, no! Tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! 'Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate — an' here's another couple, look —"

Parvati yelped. "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"

"Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh," Hagrid smiled. "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' you can see them an' some can't?" Hermione raised a hand. "Go on then."

"The only people who can see thestrals are people who have seen death."

Mel should've known that a creature with such fame had to be related to death. Still, far from scared, Mel was intrigued, she knew what it would take to be able to see them, and yet, part of her wished she could.

"Tha's exactly right. Ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, thestrals —"

"Hem, hem." An unpleasant tension settled on Mel's shoulders. Umbridge had arrived. "Hem, hem."

"Oh hello!" Hagrid beamed.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning? Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"

Mel didn't like the way Umbridge talked to him, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

"Oh yeah! Glad yeh found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see — or, I dunno — can you? We're doin' thestrals today —"

"I'm sorry?" Umbridge dramatically leaned forward and put a hand on her ear. "What did you say?"

Mel gripped the hand that Neville kept firmly around her forearm.

"Er — thestrals!" Hagrid repeated loudly. "Big — er — winged horses, yeh know!"

Hagrid flapped his arms as if they were wings, Umbridge quickly started to write that down.

"'has... to... resort... to... crude... sign... language...'"

"Well... anyway..." said Hagrid, blushing a little. "Erm... what was I sayin'?"

"'Appears... to... have... poor... short... term... memory...'"

She hadn't been so rude to any of the other teachers and Mel was wondering exactly why was she giving Hagrid such a terrible time when it came to her. Of course, she hated Hagrid, at this point everyone knew he was a half-giant and Umbridge was the biggest piece of racist rubbish she'd ever met, she wanted to get rid of him.

"Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk" She pretended to walk. "among the students... and ask them questions."

"Neville," Mel whispered. "I need you to let go of my arm."

"Why?"

"Because if I blow up, I don't want to get you in trouble," She growled.

"Do you find that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?" Umbridge asked out loud to Pansy.

"No... because... well... it sounds... like grunting a lot of the time..." Pansy was shaking with silent laughter.

"Don't do it, Mel!" Neville warned her. "If you get in trouble you won't be able to attend the D.A. this week!"

"Er... yeah... good stuff abou' thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' senses o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go —"

"Assuming they can understand you, of course," said Malfoy.

Mel made a movement to reach for her wand and Neville gripped her arm with unexpected strength. That caught Umbridge attention, she walked up to them with a smile.

"You can see the thestrals, Longbottom, can you? Whom did you see die?"

"That's a personal question," Mel replied. "I don't think Neville has to answer that if he doesn't want to."

Umbridge raised a brow with disinterest.

"You can't see them, Miss Dumbledore, am I correct? Well, at least that's one mental detriment we don't have to worry about in you..."

"Excuse m—" Mel started, but Neville was quick to step in.

"My grandad," He retorted. "That's whom I saw..."

"And what do you think of them?" Umbridge acted like her insult to Mel hadn't happened.

"Erm," Neville glanced between Mel and Hagrid. "Well, they're... er... okay..."

"'Students... are... too... intimidated... to... admit... they... are... frightened...'" muttered Umbridge, scribbling it down furiously.

"No!" Neville frowned. "No, I'm not scared of them — !"

"It's quite all right," Umbridge patted Neville's shoulder and Mel glared at the woman wishing she could do something. "Well, Hagrid, I think I've got enough to be getting along with... You will receive... the results of your inspection... in ten days' time."

She lifted all her fingers, smiling in that cold way of hers.

"I'm sorry," Neville mumbled next to her. "I didn't want to..."

"It wasn't your fault," Mel said roughly. Neville flinched, and she immediately softened her tone, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze a little. "You did nothing wrong, Nev."

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle! You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again — she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dim-witted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother — and oh, it's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all — I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but thestrals are fine — in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!" Hermione rambled as they made their way back to the castle.

"Umbridge said they're dangerous," said Ron.

"What does that bitter fat rat knows about magical creatures?" Mel spat. "I'm with Hagrid here, those are all superstitions..."

"Well, it's like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves," Hermione nodded in agreement, "and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly-Plank wouldn't usually show them to us before N.E.W.T. level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could."

"Do you?" Harry asked carefully.

Hermione winced.

"Oh Harry — I'm sorry — no, of course I don't — that was a really stupid thing to say —"

"It's okay, don't worry..."

"I'm surprised so many people could see them," said Ron. "Three in a class —"

"Neville was extremely sweet, helping Hagrid out and trying to keep me away from detention," Mel lowered her gaze, her fists tightly closed. "I'm so sick of that woman..."

"Weasley, we were just wondering," Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were walking up to them. "D'you reckon if you saw someone snuff it you'd be able to see the Quaffle better?"

"That's rich coming from you,  you puny ferret— Did the beating Harry and George gave you whipped the memories of your lack of skill?"

Malfoy's smile faltered a bit, but it didn't vanish.

"Moody, are we?" He said. "I'd be too if I were losing my marbles..."

Ron made an attempt to move but Hermione and Harry held him back. Mel glared at the Slytherins as they walked past them.

"One day," She said through gritted teeth. "One day I'll get him... and Umbridge too."

"Peeves, this is my last warning!" Mel warned as the poltergeist attempted to strangle Ron with tinsel. "Go away or I'll make a fanged frisbee follow you for the rest of the year!"

Peeves stuck out his tongue but flew out of the Great Hall anyway. She was helping with the Christmas decorations, Flitwick had asked the prefects to lend a hand and so Ron and Hermione had been expected as well as Erick, though he had to keep his distance. Mel noticed he was more tired and jumpy than usual.

"You know, I have to admit it," Hermione said as she handed a few fairy lights to her. "I was worried about you dating Fred— Thought you'd get out of control, but you're getting better!"

"What do you mean?"

"She means you don't fight people as much as you used to," Ron replied bluntly. "By people, she means Harry."

"Yeah well, we don't talk at all," Mel shrugged. "Can we not discuss this? I don't feel comfortable discussing my love life..."

"I don't love talking about you snogging one of my brothers either," Ron scoffed. "Can't say I hadn't seen this coming though, I knew this would happen, Fred and George always flirt with you..."

"They flirt with everyone," She clarified. "They even tried to flirt his way out of detention with McGonagall once."

"That was different," Ron rolled his eyes. "They were joking then, with you it was clearly intentional."

"Clear, was it?" Mel snorted. "How come you're suddenly an expert?"

"I've always been good at it when it comes to you and my brothers," He replied matter-of-factly. "You were really obvious."

"You want to talk about obvious?" She glanced at Hermione to make sure she was distracted. "You really want to go there, Ronnie? I can list all the times you've been obvious..."

Ron's eyes widened.

"Either way," He quickly changed the subject. "Hermione's right. You're in a better mood now, and if dating my brother does that to you, then I have no problem with it."

"How kind of you," The girl replied distractedly

"You and I," Ginny sat down in front of her. "We're trying for the Quidditch team."

Mel choked on her pumpkin juice.

"What gave you that idea?"

"You have pent-up anger and being able to push someone out of their broom might help," Ginny smirked.

Mel lowered the book she'd been reading and thought about it. Hadn't she dreamed about trying out for the team a year prior? Well, yeah, but only because Harry said she could be a great addition. It didn't mean she was good... but it didn't hurt to try, though.

"Dunno, Ginny," She bit her lip. "I have so much to do already..."

"C'mon!" The girl insisted. "How many times have we stayed up till late talking about it? I know it's not exactly how we planned it, but we can't give away our chance!"

Hadn't she said she would find a way to get back at Malfoy and Umbridge? This was her chance, she could drag Malfoy's butt on the field.

"Oh, all right," Mel groaned. "But not a word of this to anyone! I don't want more people breathing on my neck, I have enough with them waiting to catch me and Fred snogging in the halls!"

"It's kind of weird how you never kiss," Ginny mentioned, a little giggle escaping her lips. "Never thought Fred wasn't into public displays of affection..."

"Oh, he is," Mel raised a brow. "But I refuse to give a show."

Most people were rendered speechless with Ginny's display, she had a natural talent. When it was her turn, Angelina asked what place she wanted.

"Er..." Mel shrugged. "I guess beater would be okay?"

"Really?" Angelina frowned. "You and Ginny are small and not too strong... the both of you are great options to be seekers."

"I suppose that's true," Mel looked back at her friend, who was watching from the stands. "Well, if you take both of us we can take turns to be seekers and beaters."

She'd meant that as a joke, but Angelina's eyes shone with excitement.

"You're right I could. You don't need to be all muscle to be a beater, you just need to have a decent aim... Okay, Mel, show me what you got and I might consider your idea."

First, she tried her skills as seeker and released the snitch at the other side of the field, throwing golf balls to distract her and see if she'd lose sight of the golden orb, but it was hard to miss its glint between a bunch of white dirty balls. She did this a total of four times. Nothing too impressive, two times the snitch was close to escaping, but she put up a good fight.

Then she was placed in the beater position, she was a bit clumsier with the bat and she didn't have the deathly aim George and Fred had, but she figured she could develop a decent one with time. It was up to Angelina though, Mel could only hope she hadn't looked like a complete idiot.

"Okay, gather round!" Angelina called after a few minutes.

Ginny and Mel stood side by side, holding hands and squeezing.

"Thank you all for coming," Angelina continued. "I've made a decision. It's my duty to choose those that did it best..."

Mel held her breath, already thinking about how the twins were going to tease her once they'd found out she'd been rejected.

"WE MADE IT!" Ginny was jumping around happily.

Mel was elated, she laughed loudly and let her friend do all the noise. She still couldn't believe she wasn't dreaming, she was part of the Quidditch team!

Officially, Ginny had the Seeker spot and Mel was beater along with Jack Sloper, but Ginny promised to take turns even if Mel had insisted on letting her take the spot completely.

"It's better this way," Ginny discussed. "If we practice in both, we'll be brilliant in more than one way!"

Mel was still flushed red and sweaty when she walked into the castle, she couldn't wait to find the twins and tell them the news...

"I'll go grab us something to eat on our the way to the D.A. meeting, keep going!" Ginny turned around and rushed to the Great Hall.

Mel kept walking, an easy-going smile on her face as she replayed the events of that morning, she felt herself floating, happier than she'd felt in weeks. Things were starting to get better, she was popular, and now she was part of the team, what else could she—

"Erick?" She watched as the boy appeared around the corner, his eyes glued to the parchment on his hands. "Erick, you won't guess what just happened!"

Forgetting all about discretion, Mel ran up to him ready to talk about the tryouts. Then, as she got closer, she noticed his face was strangely pale, and he was shaking.

"What's wrong?"

The boy looked up to her but his eyes were lacking their usual presence. His gaze was absent, when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. Erick cleared his throat and tried again.

"I... I just got this," He said. "During lunch... I went to the owlery to send a letter to Joseph... though probably my parents sent a letter to my aunt as well..."

"What is it?" She insisted.

Erick blinked furiously, and it was then she realized he was trying not to cry.

"I... I have to..." He cleared his throat again and shook his head. "My grandad, he..."

"I'm sorry," She said, skimming through the contents of the letter in shock. "I don't know what to say..."

"Mel!" Ginny appeared again, holding two sandwiches. "There you are! C'mon, we need to hurry!"

Mel gave a start, but Ginny didn't seem to notice Erick as she ran up to her and caught her arm, dragging her away from the boy. Mel barely had time to return the letter before Ginny pulled harder.

"What are you doing? Hurry, the meeting starts in five minutes!"

Mel was going to protest and go back to the boy, she looked over her shoulder to call his name and realized he was gone, she didn't know how he'd managed to disappear so quickly. She let Ginny take her away, thinking that tomorrow she would hopefully have the right words to comfort him.

When they arrived at the room of requirement Mel had finished eating even though it all had tasted like cardboard. She was no longer excited for her new position as a beater, and she wanted nothing but to end the meeting so she could go and look for her friend. He needed her.

"Okay," Harry started. "I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three-week break. What d'you think, Mel?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, desperately trying to remember what the hell Harry'd been saying. "Yeah, that's fine..." She replied absently, Harry stared at her with a small frown.

"We're not doing anything new?" Zacharias Smith asked in annoyance. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come..."

"We're all really sorry Harry and Mel didn't tell you, then," said Fred.

"We can practice in pairs," Harry continued, realizing Mel wasn't going to be helpful that night. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

While the group divided into pairs, Harry pulled her away from the crowd discretely.

"Mel," He repeated, his tone urgent. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She blinked. "I just... I ran into Erick a few minutes ago..."

"Did he upset you?" Harry scowled. "What did he do?"

"Nothing," She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her. "He got a letter this morning... his Grandad... I just need a moment, I'll be fine."

"...You can leave if you want."

"They need me here."

"You need a break."

"Look who's talking," Mel said defensively. "Why do you care, anyway? You've been ignoring me for weeks, please continue."

Harry stepped back taken by her sudden outburst.

"Fine," He eyed her up, then added carefully, "...I heard you got a place on the team. That's excellent."

"Yeah," She said shortly. "I'm a Beater, like my mum."

"Angelina said you and Ginny were taking turns to be seekers. You'll be wonderful, I'm sure."

He was trying to be polite, he could see she was in distress and wanted to distract her, even if she was doing all in her power to upset him. Harry had to stop a groan from falling out of his lips, he had no idea of how to talk to her now, it was as if they no longer knew each other.

"You know," The boy continued over her silence, not knowing why he was trying so hard to cheer her up. "They've come a long way, haven't they? I think we're making a difference, even if it didn't look like it at first..."

Her eyes landed on Neville as he successfully managed to freeze Ron in place for a second time. She thought back on the little shy thing he used to be, and how confident he looked then. A small glimmer of optimism peeked through Mel's sense of hopelessness, and somehow, Harry felt it too.

"Yeah..." She smiled lightly. "I think you may be right..."

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

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[chazz-anova]

...And Hell Followed With Him, Chapter 3

Guys I finally did it!! 😭 Thank you to @fadedjacket who helped motivate me to keep writing this story, and thank you to everyone who reblogs content of my girl, Veronica! 💚💚  So, without further ado, here’s my newest chapter in my main fic! (Here’s the ao3 link for those who prefer to read there!)

1 / 2

Sunlight streamed through the bedroom’s windows, casting a golden glow onto the hardwood floor. Veronica’s eyes opened lazily and she squinted into the sunshine, her throat felt dry and her stomach hollow. When she looked at the end of the bed, a grey mass of fur rose and fell slowly. Wiping the sleep from her eyes- V made out the shape of Boomer slumbering at her feet. A smile came across her features when she heard quiet snoring from him. 

Ronnie shifted her legs under the covers, trying to move slowly as not to wake her companion. Her bare feet met the planks quietly, and she went to the door. The moment she turned the knob to leave, Boomer’s head shot up and he looked around for a moment before yawning. He cocked his head at Veronica, and she went back to the bed to pat him on the head. “You can stay here, I’m gonna go check in with Mary May… and hopefully get a shower.” V tousled his floppy ears once more before heading downstairs as he settled back down.

On the main floor of the Spread Eagle- the people of Fall’s End were still celebrating their emancipation from the cult. Beer bottles clinked together and people laughed in groups. Mary May was running food and drinks to a table in the corner before she met Veronica at the bar. “Morning dep, you look tired.” The woman observed, her blonde ponytail swinging cheerfully as she wiped up a spilled drink at the end of the counter. 

“Well I feel like shit. Got any aspirin?” Came Ronnie’s response. 

“Nope, fresh out.” 

“Hair of the dog it is then! One beer please.” Veronica sighed, hopping onto a stool. 

Mary May grabbed a bottle from the cooler, setting it down in front of her with a smile. Veronica twisted off the tip, hoping the frosty beverage would quell her headache, “Also, could I use your shower, and maybe a change of clothes? I could definitely use it after last night.” 

“Go for it!” Mary called back, hurrying over to another table to take their orders. 

V headed back upstairs, opening the door to see Boomer sitting up with his tongue lolling out. “Hey little guy, sleep well?” She asked him and he hopped down, walking over to her and nosing her hand so she’d pet him. “You’re such a sweetie..” The deputy smiled and scratched under his chin before going into the en suite. 

The shower was a small standing one with subpar water pressure, but as Veronica stood in the warm torrent she released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. This was practically the only moment of true solitude she’d had in two days, yet she couldn’t keep her mind from racing. How was she supposed to take down Eden’s Gate when she was just one woman? Sure, she’d been lucky so far, but at the end of the day she was only one person. V thought of her mother, the bright grin on her face the day that she’d watched Veronica follow in her footsteps and graduate from the Police Academy. What would she think of her daughter now? Would she also think she was a coward and a murderer like John? 

Veronica raised a hand to clutch the heart-shaped locket her Nana had given her; it hung loosely around her neck and the metal was growing colder as the hot water depleted. She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, thinking ‘I’ve only done what I had to do… my hand’s been forced..’ Yet in the back of her mind, V knew part of her wasn’t hating this, part of her wanted to make the people who’d snatched her from her normal life pay for the turmoil she was going through.  

Almost thirty minutes later, Ronnie emerged from the steamy room wrapped in a fluffy purple towel. She immediately made her way to the dresser and dug through the drawers until she found an outfit that suited her. ‘Anything is better than tan fuckin’ cargo pants.’ She chuckled to herself, laying out dark blue jeans and a low-cut black tank top. 

Once changed, she admired herself in the mirror and slipped her boots on. She noticed her brunette roots were spreading, and she was sure it would be a long time before she could dye it again. 

Next, Veronica strapped her holstered handgun around her waist and grabbed her backpack and M60, swinging both over her shoulders. “God this gun is fucking heavy!” She cursed. Taking one last look around the room before heading downstairs, she saw Boomer had taken his leave already. ‘That dog has a mind of his own.’ V smiled, and closed the door behind her. 

On the main floor of the Spread Eagle, business was still booming. Mary May was behind the bar speaking to one of the patrons who sat in front of her. When she caught Ronnie’s eye, she gestured her over. “Deputy! After a shower and a beer you seem bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

“Well I certainly feel better. Any way I could badger you for a meal?” The woman pulled out her wallet from the red backpack containing most of her belongings. 

“You put that away, heroes eat free in my bar!” 

At being called a hero, Veronica stiffened. The moniker didn’t seem to fit as comfortably as the barkeep used it; ‘What kind of hero murders people?’ Her mind practically shouted at her. 

Mary May had already turned towards the kitchen, calling out “Casey? Get our friend, the deputy, some breakfast ready- would ya?” 

The man in the window wiped his hands on his apron and nodded at the pair “One full breakfast, coming up!” 

V came to her senses once more and put her wallet back in the pack she’d withdrawn it from, giving the barkeep a smile. “I appreciate that, but the ‘hero’ stuff isn’t necessary… I’m just trying to do what’s right, that’s all.” 

“Oh I don’t think you have to worry about trying, seems like doin’ what’s right’s in your blood, hun. Not a lot of people would run in here guns ablazing to save a town of near strangers.” The blonde gave her another smile before going to check on her tables. 

“That’s a pretty thought.” Veronica mused, thinking she wasn’t quite sure what was right anymore. 

Her foot tapped against the metal of the bar stool as she watched the chef work, her stomach growling at her impatiently. She realised the last time she’d eaten was well over 24 hours ago, and that thought did nothing to help her hunger panes. Turning to the patron next to her, Veronica asked “Got a cig?” The man next to her obliged, giving her a nod as she stepped off the barstool and out the front door. 

“I really wish this were a joint.” V shook her head before lighting up, inhaling the bitter fumes. Cigarettes had never been her favourite vice- but she would take what she could get at this point. 

The morning sun poured over the small town, framing everything in an angelic light. Townspeople roamed through the streets, picking up debris and throwing it into contractor bags. Despite spending almost the whole previous day cleaning and mending the broken town, there was still much to be done. It heartened Veronica to see the people of Fall’s End working together to fix their home.

Another drag of her cigarette, and the deputy couldn’t help but reflect on the past two days. She’d seen more bloodshed than in her whole life, and been the cause of most of it. The weight of each death she had caused was heavy on her heart as she replayed watching the light fade from too many eyes. 

Ronnie had never thought she’d need to discharge her weapon in the line of duty. Working at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department was a relatively easy job, there were your fair share of crazy people and petty criminals, but she had never seen anything like this. It crossed her mind that every time a call regarding Eden’s Gate had come across the scanner, her partner, Staci Pratt, had been completely against going and always let someone else go in their place. ‘Hell, even Sheriff Whitehorse didn’t seem to want to send us on those calls. God I hope he’s okay…’ 

Veronica’s mind drifted to her companions- and what they must be going through at the hands of the cult. Dutch had assured her that they were all alive, but he’d neglected to give her any details. She thought of Joey- the fear on her face as she had been snatched out of the flaming wreckage of their helicopter. Now where was she? Trapped by John, being held against her will for what purpose? To convert her? 

The thoughts and questions raced through the deputy’s head, making her feel dazed. She continued to circle back to one thought: ‘I have to save them, I’m the only one who can.’ Her fingers felt the warmth of the cherry of her cigarette, and she realised she had smoked it down to the filter. V tossed it to the ground and wandered back inside. The customers were rowdy for only 11 in the morning, and their clamoring mixed with the song on the jukebox to create a nice din that allowed Veronica to not have to think anymore. 

Reaching the bar, she saw a plate filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, and toast. Her stomach rejoiced as she picked up the silver fork and dug in. 

In no time at all, the heavy meal rested comfortably in the deputy’s stomach. Ronnie leaned back on the stool and patted her midsection with a delighted smile. “My compliments to the chef!” She grinned and felt some of her bad mood fading away. 

Mary May strode behind the bar and leaned over it, resting her elbows on the polished wood. “Don’t say that, or it’ll go straight to his head!” She chuckled, glancing at the kitchen window.

“So, deputy, remember last night when I mentioned you.. lending a hand?” 

“I don’t remember much of last night, but I do recall that… what do you have in mind?”

Mary May took a deep breath, her gaze turning to the bar. “Yesterday, you had some balls running into town like that. Most people see Eden’s Gate and run the other way… but, my dad was one of the first to stand up to ‘em. Any time one of those peggies would show up lookin’ to cause trouble- he’d hop in his big rig and chase them right outta town.” She smiled at the memory, and with a nod she continued, “He loved that truck; called it the ‘Widowmaker’.”

Her face darkened, thunderclouds practically rolling into her deep blue eyes. “Those fuckers stole it from him, a week before he passed…” Her fist clenched on the bar and she shook her head.

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” Veronica sympathised, unsure if she should take the other’s hand but ultimately deciding against it. 

The blonde pulled herself from her memories and met V’s eyes once more. “You really wanna piss off the cult? Get the Widowmaker back. Show them we’re not just gonna roll over… and give folks here something to cheer about.” 

At this, Ronnie nodded; mulling it over for a moment. “How do you propose I do that?” 

“It’s locked up under guard at a grain mill not far from here. Hell, you came in here and saved a whole town! I think you’re the person for the job, Veronica.” 

The deputy saw sincerity and a hint of desperation in the bartender’s eyes, striking a cord in her. This woman had shown her some much needed friendship yesterday when the past days’ events were starting to take their toll, and Veronica wanted to do what she could for her. ‘This is also the only way I can get any closer to saving Joey, even though that’s a daunting enough task…’ V felt herself almost begin brooding, but got back on track quickly- “Okay, one Widowmaker coming up!” 

Relief washed over Mary May’s features, and she smiled, “Somehow I knew I could count on you, dep.” 

She returned her smile, and the two shared a happy moment despite the days of chaos. “Could I steal a beer for the road?” Ronnie asked. 

Turning to grab a cold one from the cooler, Mary May obliged- popping off the cap and handing it over. “Be safe out there, and go ahead and take the Jeep ‘round back, just park it somewhere I can go get it after this business is over. The grain elevator is northeast of here, follow the road and you’ll be there in no time.” She offered as the deputy headed for the door. 

“Thanks, I figure I can’t order an Uber around here.” V joked as she managed to catch the keys Mary May threw unceremoniously her way.

Outside- the morning sun rose higher and higher, blinding Veronica as she stepped out of the Spread Eagle. She made her way around the side, spotting the Jeep at the end of the dirt driveway. As she opened the driver’s door, a bark came from behind her. “Hey buddy!” The woman turned to see Boomer watching her expectantly. He padded closer to her with a small whine. “I don’t know if you should go with on this one, it’s pretty dangerous…” 

His brown almond eyes met hers as if to say ‘And our last escapade wasn’t?’. She shook her head with a chuckle, reaching down to scratch him under the chin saying, “Most dogs aren’t adrenaline junkies, that’ll take some getting used to!” 

Sighing, Ronnie put her hands on her hips; Boomer stood there, projecting as much sass as a 35 pound furball could. Finally relenting, she moved away from the open door and gestured him in, “Fine, I guess if you want to run headlong into danger I can’t stop you!” 

The pup jumped into the passenger seat, celebrating his victory. Veronica took her spot next to him and started the car, pulling out of the driveway while fiddling with the radio. Faced with the ‘only-two-radio-stations-conundrum’, the deputy landed on the peggie station. The song playing relayed the perks of baptism, advising the listener to ‘let the water wash away their sins’. 

“Is this seriously all they listen to?” V asked, glancing at Boomer as they cruised down the road. The dog sighed, putting his head between his feet in agreeance. She reached forward and switched the station back to the original one, where a soft rock song played.

The trees they passed blurred together, one green line as they sped to their destination. Veronica couldn’t help but let her thoughts stray to her own father. When Ronnie was only twelve, Benjamin Rook had ruined their family’s picturesque life by finding love in the arms of another woman, and abandoning Veronica and her mother. He moved to North Carolina and forfeited his parental rights without much of a fight so he could start life anew without the burden of his old family. 

Letters would come in the mail; at first every week but then every two, then every month, and then not at all. Before long, Sarah Rook had decided her and her daughter needed a change of their own. The two packed up their belongings and moved from Butte, Montana to Hope County, right on the outskirts of Missoula. 

Sarah, with previous law enforcement experience, had no problem securing a job at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department. She became quick friends with Earl Whitehorse, who was chief deputy to the sheriff at the time. Because of this friendship, she’d been able to secure a job for her daughter those many years later when Ronnie had felt so lost and needed a direction to go in life.

The wound of her father leaving never quite healed, and it wasn’t one Veronica tore open too often unless she was deep in her cups. Seeing the admiration Mary May held for her own father had almost reared the ugly head of jealousy in her; however irrational that may be. At the same time, she’d felt the need to preserve that happiness in any way she could. ‘Man, projecting much?’ She chastised herself. The things lack of closure will do to you. 

Coming out of the trees, V saw a towering grey structure up the road and knew she’d reached her destination. To the side of the grain elevator and the building next to it rose a large hill. The deputy pulled off into a clearing, making sure the Jeep was out of sight of the road before getting out. 

Boomer hopped out with her once parked, and the pair began their trek up the hill. It took them only a couple minutes before they were at the summit and had a decent view of their objective. The cattle dog growled at the sight of peggies patrolling the grounds, armed to the teeth. “We gotta be careful, okay bud? Just follow my lead and stay safe.” Veronica smiled reassuringly at him and pet his head. 

The hill they stood upon sloped directly down to the fence around the building in which the deputy knew the Widowmaker must be kept, offering her a quick entrance to her objective. Patches of tall grass and flowers offered sufficient camouflage as the woman and her dog crept downhill. As they approached- the sound of the cult’s music and sermons could be heard. John’s voice was practically blasting over the speaker as he preached, “...We are fast approaching the Collapse! Soon, the world as you know it will be gone, and with it- all that is cruel and evil!”  

V rolled her eyes at his words, trying to count the cultists waiting below. John’s voice continued, “But for those of you that embrace us, those of you who say yes to the Father; Eden’s Gate will provide salvation! Do not be afraid, God has graced us with the opportunity to start anew!” 

The deputy pulled around her backpack, pulling out a pair of binoculars. “Looks like four peggies so far…” She muttered, watching them patrol. John’s voice over the speaker grew sinister as he said, “But not everyone is going to embrace us, some have fires that need.. dampening. Some need our help to say yes… that is the will of the Father, to say yes! To say ‘Yes I will be reborn.’, to say ‘Yes I will give my life for the project.’, to say ‘Yes I will pledge my soul to the family at Eden’s Gate!’!” 

Veronica tossed the binoculars back into the pack and shared a horrified look with Boomer, affirming “Sounds like cult shit to me!” Her pup whined in response, taking the lead as they reached the bottom of the slope. 

Slinging her M60 around her shoulders to the front of her body, Ronnie popped open the top and made sure the gun was fully loaded. As she did so- the deputy caught herself humming the cult song she’d heard on the radio barely thirty minutes earlier. “‘Now that this whole world is ending….’ fuck that song is such an earworm!” She cussed to herself and let the gun settle against her body once more. Taking a few deep breaths to prepare herself for whatever may occur, she decided it was now or never.

  The woman lowered to almost a crawl and made her way to the bottom of the hill, into one of the flower patches. The soft yellow flowers had a perfumy scent that filled the air, but Veronica felt no different among the blossoms so she assumed these weren’t the Bliss flowers Dutch had mentioned.

One of the men who guarded the building strolled out of the fenced area, coming to stand just in front of her. He was whistling quietly, not paying attention to the danger behind him. V checked that no other peggies had followed him, and she rushed forward to grab him in a chokehold; slowly taking him to the ground and pressing her arm to his windpipe until he stopped struggling. She hoisted him onto her shoulder and retreated to the flower patch. After dropping him to the ground, Veronica checked his pocket and found a twenty dollar bill and a grenade. “Seriously? Are all these guys armed like this?” She wondered aloud before sliding the grenade into her bag. She hesitated over taking the money, thinking ‘Am I any better than one of them if I take this?’ After a moment, Ronnie slid the bill back into his pocket, thinking better of it. 

Leaving her fallen enemy, she made her way back to the chain link fence and passed through a gate leading to a space behind the building filled with piles of wood, pallets covered in tarp, and all manner of odds and ends. Veronica took refuge behind a pile of 2x4s and peeked over it, spotting only one cultist at the end of the alley. Boomer waited outside of the gate, watching her every move. ‘I’ll take this guy out, and just keep trying to move forward.’ She planned loosely.

V moved from crate to crate, getting closer to her target until got close enough to take him out much the same way she did his lookout. She stashed this body behind a crate, finding only some spare ammo on him before advancing. 

At the end of the warehouse was the backdoor. Ronnie tried the handle, but found it to be locked. “Well fuck..” She sighed. Turning to her right to continue on, she saw a note next to the door. 

“The warehouse is to remain locked and access is limited. If you need to get inside you can find the key by the workshop tent, but check with the Baptist before using it. We can’t afford to be careless around the Widowmaker.”

The deputy frowned, “Baptist… that must be John.” The last line gave her a light laugh and she murmured, “I think it’s more careless to leave a note saying where your key is stashed, assholes.” And she set off. 

In the space in front of the building, Veronica counted four more peggies. Looking to Boomer, Veronica murmured “It’s a damn infestation.” She scanned the ground and found plenty of small rocks, and helped herself to a few. One man was near the corner of the compound, away from the others. Taking careful aim, one rock was thrown about 10 feet from him. The man startled before going to investigate. V smirked and threw another one at the side of the building, luring him away from the flock. Once the man was alone he was dispatched, leaving only three. 

Creeping further out than before, Ronnie saw the three gathered around two large cages covered in black. On the side, they both read ‘Meat Wagon’ and angry growls could be heard from within. ‘What the fuck is a ‘meat wagon’?’ She wondered. 

“That was a hard hunt today.” One of them said, looking at the others. 

“It was… I hope Brother Jacob appreciates these offerings.” The one in the middle replied. 

The gnashing of teeth could be heard clearly as Veronica recalled what she’d read in Dutch’s bunker, ‘Jacob, he’s the eldest… didn’t his note say something about monster wolves?’ She contemplated this, deciding the best course of action. 

She drew her pistol, shooting the lock on the first cage and allowing a large grey wolf to spring forth, leaping onto the cultist that had called it an ‘offering’. The wolf savaged the man as the others yelled, raising their guns. Before they could even get any shots off V shot them both to the ground. 

The thick sounds of flesh tearing reached Veronica’s ears, and were sure to occupy her nightmares later. Once the wolf finished his revenge, its amber eyes found her own and a deep growl emitted from its throat. The deputy froze, licking her lips nervously as her life practically flashed in front of her eyes. 

It felt like far longer than a minute as the wolf contemplated the deputy. Suddenly, the beast broke eye contact and looked behind her before dashing out of the tall gate leading to the road, and then to the treeline; content to not eat its savior. 

It was only when Ronnie could no longer see the wolf that she resumed breathing. She turned around to see Boomer watching her. “Did you just scare a wolf?” She asked him in disbelief. The dog barked twice in response, and V sighed in relief “Props where props are due... holy fuck that was scary!” 

After another solid minute, they headed towards the tent mentioned in the note. The keys to the warehouse were sitting on a table directly inside, and Veronica grabbed them. 

Once inside the warehouse- the deputy took in the sight of her charge. The semi-truck was painted purple with a mural of a bald eagle painted on the side, and hot-rod flames graced the hood. On the front near the grill, twin M2 Browning machine guns were mounted. “Wow… I think I’m in love.” V chuckled, staring at the machine in awe before tentatively climbing into the cab, keeping the door open for her furry friend to hop in. She found the key and the garage opener in the visor, and then they were off. 

Easily crashing through the fence gate, Veronica felt they were home free until someone called over the radio “Someone made off with the Widowmaker! Block the roads leading back to Fall’s End, don’t let it through!” Ronnie took a deep breath and turned up the radio, blasting rock music.

As she sped towards the first roadblock, Mary May’s voice crackled through the radio, exclaiming “Holy shit you did it! I knew you had it in the bag, V!” Before Veronica could think of a response, she continued. “Listen, the cult’s gonna throw everything at you now, shove it right back down their fuckin’ throats! My daddy put cannons on that thing, don’t be afraid to use ‘em!”

“You got it!” Ronnie called into the radio. She scanned the cab and her eyes landed on a trigger mechanism near the gearshift. The truck barrelled forward and the Brownings fired off, sending several peggies flying. Boomer hunkered down in the passenger seat, attempting still to peek up through the windshield.

Ahead, two of the off-white trucks with Eden’s Gate symbols blocked the way. The deputy braced herself for impact as the 18-wheeler crashed through the first of many roadblocks; the first truck flipped off of the road and the second spun out of the way. “Goddamn!” The deputy yelled as the Widowmaker hurtled down the asphalt. 

The truck cleared the block with no damage, and Veronica lit up like a kid in a candy shop. She turned to her companion in the other seat, Boomer gave her a big doggy smile and turned back to look out the window. V pressed the call button on her radio, reaching out to Mary May. “This is pretty badass!” She whooped. 

A second later, her friend was on the line, saying “Hell yeah! Hit those sons of bitches! Better yet, honk that horn every time you do so I know when to cheer!” 

As they approached the next roadblock, a fierce grin came over her features and she smoothed a finger over the trigger in anticipation. The upcoming barrier was composed of one white truck, and a fuel truck blocking the entire road. When they were about two-hundred feet from the block, Veronica pulled the trigger, shooting off round after round into the tank on the truck ahead. When they were only a hundred feet away from it- the fuel truck erupted into a blaze, sending flaming shrapnel flying in every direction. Clearing the second block, V laid on the horn with an almost crazed grin.

The pair flew down the road and through the wall of heat and embers that had roasted all nearby cultists.  They had once more come out without a scratch, causing Ronnie to rejoice. “Woo! This is the shit!!” She yelled, adrenaline pumping as the music resounded through the cab and they careened down the country road. 

A few minutes later, the turn to Fall’s End was the next left. V’s eyes darted between the turn and the open road that lay ahead. ‘I’m sure the cult has even more roadblocks ahead.’ She mulled the thought over before turning to Boomer and declaring “I say we do a victory lap!” Before pressing the pedal almost to the floor, rushing down the road. 

Many roadblocks later- Veronica and her furry friend were once again rounding the bend that led to the turn for Fall’s End. The deputy felt as though she was practically vibrating with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. The sounds of men screaming, the warmth of the multitude of explosions, the feeling of the trigger under her finger growing more and more comfortable. Her aquamarine eyes seemed to glaze over as she considered what all this might mean for her, and what her eagerness to cause mayhem may say about her true nature. 

Before V could travel too far down that rabbit hole, her radio crackled to life with the grateful voice of her friend, “The way you’re handling that rig would make my dad proud, Ronnie. Now bring her home!” 

Hearing Mary May’s voice laden with joy, Veronica couldn’t help a small smile. “Be there in 5!” She called back down the line, turning down the road at the sign for Fall’s End. 

The moment Veronica and Boomer rumbled down main street to the Spread Eagle, the blonde bartender could be seen waving them on. The rig turned slowly onto the dirt driveway- and the hydraulics of the brake system hissing loudly as the 18-wheeler came to a full stop. 

V pulled the keys from the ignition and the truck shuddered as the engine cut off, leaving the semi to creak and settle like a great beast falling into the deep slumber of hibernation when the pair hopped out of the cab. 

Boomer’s tail wagged and he bounded ahead to circle round Mary May’s legs before returning to his companion’s side. Across from the pair, the barkeep beamed at the sight of the rig right where it belonged. 

“I gotta say, deputy, seeing my daddy’s truck rumbling home sure brings back memories. I’d stand out here every time he came back, just like this, wavin’ him home.” A sigh escaped the woman and she nodded at Veronica, her eyes almost misting over. “Thank you for this, I honestly can’t thank you enough.” 

Seeing the joy and nostalgia from her newfound friend warmed V’s heart, and she offered the other a heartfelt smile. “Ain’t nothin’ but a thing, girl. I’m glad to stick it to those peggies, show them they’re not the ones in charge. Not for long anyways.” 

Mary May clapped her on the shoulder, looking up at the semi, her face filled with pride. “You know, my dad woulda liked you. You’ve got grit, that’s for sure! If you ever need to use the Widowmaker you don’t even gotta ask!” Moving past Veronica, the other placed a hand on the curved steel of the machine, sliding a hand lovingly over the smooth metal. 

Ronnie’s smile faded, and she scratched the back of her neck. Clearing her throat softly, she spoke, “I really appreciate that, Mary May. Listen… do you know anything yet? …About Deputy Hudson, I mean.” 

The blonde met her eyes, a frown plain on her face as she stated, “I ain’t heard nothing good, I can tell you that. All I know so far is that John’s got your friend holed up somewhere, and he’s trying to make her ‘atone’, whatever the fuck that means. So far it sounds like Hudson’s been holding out- but no one can hold out against John for long. Motherfucker’s crazy.” She spit on the ground, as though unable to contain her disgust. 

Anxiety overtook Veronica, icy cold fear freezing the blood in her veins. At the forefront of her brain, images of Joey bound and bloodied assaulted her senses. Swallowing past her emotions, V asked, “What can I do next??” 

Mary May put a reassuring hand on her shoulder before taking a few steps towards the bar. “Go talk to Jerome at his church, then come back and see me. I’m gonna go put my ear to the ground, and make a ridiculously strong drink with your name on it.” 

“Sounds like a plan… especially that drink.” Ronnie muttered. 

Once she was sure the bartender had made her way back inside, Veronica wrapped her arms around herself, a shiver running down her spine despite the warm breeze touseling her dirty blonde locks. She thought of her friends, each of them trapped and waiting for her. The weight of her obligations felt like too much to bear for one woman- but she knew there were no other options. Her hands fell to her sides, and her gaze was drawn to the ground. ‘What the hell am I doing here? Running around playing vigilante… and enjoying it, for fucks sake! These people may be monsters, but I sure as shit am not any better.’ V scoffed, chastising herself silently. 

Her hand felt wet for a moment, and she looked next to her to see Boomer nudging her with his shiny black nose. He licked her again and met her eyes- his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he gave her a big smile as if to say, “It’ll all work out!”.

Despite everything, the corners of her lips tugged upwards, and she lifted her hand to stroke his soft fur. “Thanks bud, don’t you worry about me, I can handle this...” She reassured him, not quite convincing either of them. 

Behind them, church bells from down the road chimed suddenly, signifying the top of the hour. The pair’s gaze was drawn to where the bells swung in the white tower- sounding off three times before coming to a stop. The echo of the last ring filled the air, and Veronica adjusted the strap of her M60 uneasily, looking down at Boomer once more to say, “Sounds like that’s our cue, huh?” 

The pup barked encouragingly, starting off down the short road without looking behind to see if she followed. After only a moment of hesitation, V joined him. 

Golden sunlight filled the near empty streets, painting the white walls of the church a shining shade of yellow. Paint peeled off the outside walls, but a platform on the side of the building with painting supplies held the promise of the future. 

A simple garden graced the front of the building; two large flower pots framed the stairs leading to the entrance. Under a large glass window- the doors to the church were propped open, offering a view of the interior. Pastor Jerome sat on a chair in the front of the church, a Bible in one hand as he read to an injured man lying on a mattress on the floor. 

As Veronica came through the entrance, she noted the bullet holes in the walls that were accompanied by violent maroon swatches of dried blood. It was hard to believe the fight for Fall’s End was merely 24 hours ago. The deputy stopped at the end of the aisle as Jerome’s words echoed off the holy walls. 

“Psalm 41:3, and the Lord will heal him upon his sickbed, The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness. In the darkest of times, there’s always a bit of light.” 

On the mattress, the man’s eyes stayed closed and he rolled on his side. The pastor’s eyes lifted from his pages, finding Ronnie’s. He greeted her with a smile, closing the book but leaving his thumb in it to preserve his spot. “Veronica. I’m glad you came.” 

Clearing her throat, she replied “I just finished helping Mary May, I figured I’d drop in and see what you needed help with.” The woman’s finger ran down the strap on her weapon restlessly, glancing at the podium behind Jerome. It wasn’t hard to envision him there, preaching to his flock. 

The man in front of her nodded, adjusting his glasses. “Jeremiah 23:16, ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” He met her eyes once more and there was a weight to his gaze she didn’t quite understand.

Resisting the urge to say ‘Huh?’ and give him an annoyed look, Ronnie waited for him to continue. She’d never liked church, but standing in one now with proverbial blood on her hands felt even more wrong.

He waited only a moment more before saying, “Scripture tells us there is evil in the world. And that horrible things happen for reasons that do not make sense.” The pastor sighed.  “A long time ago, in peaceful times, I asked John Seed what was driving him. He gave me so many answers… all of them lies. I had one conversation with him and I knew. I knew… he masks his words as guidance, but deep down there is a selfishness that can only come from pure evil.” 

Not knowing what to say, Veronica looked away from him. She saw the man on the mattress had stirred, his eyes were glazed over with milky white cataracts yet they still searched the room for something. His breath came out in labored wheezes. 

On the floor next to the mattress, a cup of water lay within his reach. V leaned over to grab it, putting a gentle hand on the man’s arm and saying, “Here…” While guiding the cup into his now waiting hands. He took small sips before offering it back, rasping out a quiet thank you as he settled back onto the bare bed. 

“You seem tense, Veronica, how are you holding up?” 

A long sigh escaped her lips, and she took a seat in one of the askew pews. “I’m not sure how to answer that.” Came her honest response. 

“Do you need to talk about something?” He offered. 

Ronnie smiled humorlessly- finally looking at him. “You know, this is the first time I’ve been in a church since my grandma died.” 

Jerome pondered her for a moment before inquiring, “How old were you?” 

“23. It was just last year, actually. I don’t go to church, but she did… every day. Except one morning she didn’t wake up, and she never went again. What do you think that got her? Do you think she stamped her ticket to heaven by going to church?” 

When Veronica received no reply, she continued, “Because if that’s the case, I think my ticket’s already been revoked. Especially now.” 

Settling his elbows on his knees, the pastor leaned forward. “Why especially now?” 

V shook her head, a dry laugh escaping her. “Isn’t murder a big no-no to the man upstairs?”

Jerome frowned at her, understanding her tangent now. He took a moment to contemplate his answer. “Years ago… I refused to own a gun. I relied on the Lord to help me win every battle, to stand by my side and lead me to victory. Now, I know better.” He stood from his chair to join her where she sat dejectedly. “We are fighting a war, deputy. You’re here to protect people.” 

She couldn’t help but scoff. “I’m here because I got thrown in a fucking river and dragged into this ‘war’. Excuse my French.” 

“Veronica, I can’t heal the pain you’re feeling but I can say this: there’s a destiny for everyone. The work you’re doing here, fighting against Eden’s Gate, this is the Lord’s work. You are doing what you must, and every one of us is grateful. You are stronger than even you know.” Jerome gave her a long look, his faith in her clear in his eyes. “The cult has done so much damage to this Valley, and you’re doing right by us. Giving people something to believe in again… you can’t know how much that means to all of us.” 

The woman took a deep breath, unsure how to feel. Jerome’s words filled her with hope for herself, and her friends; but she worried about what her breaking point might be. ‘At least someone thinks I’m doing this shit right.’ She thought, the weight of the world temporarily lifted from her tired shoulders. “Is it ironic that I’m an atheist?” Ronnie asked, a small smile appearing on her features. 

“I think that’s the definition of irony, my friend.” Jerome smiled with her, and for the moment they both felt a sense of calm. 

Veronica nodded, the idea of doing more dirty work not bothering her as much as when she first stepped in. ‘If a literal pastor thinks I’m the good guy, then I am, right?’ She reasoned with herself, pushing aside her moral dilemmas for now. “So, what exactly is it you need from me?” 

Jerome sighed, suddenly weary once more. “With the Resistance budding, and people starting to fight back, I’ve been needed here in Fall’s End now more than ever.” He stood once more and wandered to the front of the church, pacing as he continued, “As you can see- John’s making a lot of people suffer right now, and quite frankly, I can’t keep up. These people need me, they’re my responsibility now... but that just means keeping tabs on the Resistance has been that much harder.” 

The deputy nodded, urging him to finish his thought. It seemed everyone was experiencing some degree of the mental turmoil she’d been enduring over the past few days. 

“There are a couple of people hiding away at Woodson Pig Farm, trying to hold out from the cult. I haven’t heard from them in a few days now, and I’m getting worried. Can you check on them for me? We can’t afford to lose a single one of our fighters.” The man pleaded, finally coming to a stop at his podium. 

Veronica reached into her backpack, pulling out the map Dutch had given her. “Where’s it at?” 

Jerome pointed out a building almost directly east of Fall’s End, only a couple miles away. 

The deputy nodded and stashed her map, “I’m off then!” As she headed for the exit, Boomer got up from where he’d been lying in the corner and stretched before following after. V paused in the doorway, turning back to say, “Thank you, Pastor. Really.” 

“Any time, Veronica. I’m a pretty good listener. Good luck.” He nodded to her as she stepped through the threshold. 

In less than 10 minutes, the duo saw a long dirt drive leading up a hill into the trees. They could hear shouting not too far away. “Sounds like it’s time to ditch the car.” V pulled the key from the ignition, and the pair left it at the bottom of the driveway. 

They trudged up the hill, the yelling growing closer by the moment. At the crest of the driveway, there was a worn sign that read “Woodson Pig Farm, Family Farm Since 1942” with a pink pig above. The word ‘Gluttony’ had been scrawled on the pig. 

Behind the sign stood a small, mint-green house with dried flowers adorning the front porch. A rustic looking fence surrounded the house and farm, but had been broken down in a few spots where the cult’s trucks had crashed through. Veronica crouched behind one and peered around it. 

The front door of the house stood ajar, and a single peggie stood inside. He held his gun close, and was yelling at another man who was bound on his knees. “Saying yes is the only way!” He shouted before using the butt of his gun to hit the man in the face. Ronnie winced as the captive spat blood. 

Creeping closer, the deputy peered through the windows of the house. She saw no one else inside, and inched forward. Next to the frame of the door, a white and red poster had been hastily hung. Veronica’s eyebrows raised in surprise as she recognized what the poster depicted. It was a ‘Wanted’ poster, with the word ‘Sinner’ bolded on the bottom; the picture in the center was from a grainy security camera, but Veronica’s face could be clearly made out. 

‘Wow, I’m so infamous I get my own wanted poster?’ She thought with a brief, bemused smile. Ronnie made it to the doorway, and pulled out her long black hunting knife. Inside, the cultist was still yelling at his hostage with his back to the doorway. 

Veronica crept forward and then lunged, grabbing the man and thrusting the blade through his neck. A deluge of blood sprang from the nicked artery, painting both the cultist and the hostage red. V kept her hand clamped down on her victim’s mouth, until his muffled yelling turned into choking gasps. 

The man’s body slumped to the floor; and the woman wiped her knife on his shirt before using it to cut the bonds of her ally. The man stood his eyes wide with shock. “Go, get out of here and hide! I’ll take care of the rest of them.” Veronica insisted. The man nodded shakily and turned, running out the door. 

Ronnie moved through the living room to the back of the house, heading towards the back door. She paused at the entrance to the bedroom, where she could see two peggies outside the window. One held a flamethrower, and was using it liberally on a pile of the occupant’s belongings. 

Pressing on to the back, V came through the door into blinding brightness and held an arm over her gaze to let her eyes adjust. When they did, she gagged at the sight in front of her. In the fenced pen, a pile of pig corpses festered in the sun. To the left of this awful vision, another cultist berated a woman lying on the ground, her hands and feet bound. 

A moment was needed to compose herself, then Veronica crouched once more to sneak along the side of the building. Behind her, the other two peggies were bickering. “Brother John’s head is clouded. We should just kill the deputy.” One of them said. 

“He said she needs to atone, see the error of her ways. He’s serious about this one.” The other replied, his tone cautionary. 

A chill seized Veronica as she imagined herself at the hands of John; tied to a chair, at his mercy. A strong shiver traveled down her spine, and she stiffened as her brain took that thought in a much different context. Bile filled her throat with the realization that even with all she knew of John, she was still attracted to him. She shook her head, shooing the thought from her conscious.

Behind her, Boomer had made his way out the back door and to her side. It relieved her to see him, and she smiled. “Wanna tag team on this one?” Veronica asked her companion. 

The cattle dog’s ears perked up, and he scratched at the ground in anticipation. Nodding, Ronnie murmured “Good boy! Now, see him?” She pointed to the man in the pig pen. “You take care of him, and I’ll grab them.” Her finger drifted to the pair who were still complaining behind them. 

Seeming to understand, Boomer started forward with his ears low and came up behind the man. He leapt forward and seized the peggie’s arm- wrenching him down to the ground. The man fell with a startled yell and hit the dirt. Boomer wasted no time and went for the jugular,  mauling him before he could make another noise. 

At the same time, Veronica pulled her M60 forward and jumped out from behind her cover. She shot a spray of bullets at the two cultists, not even giving them time to go for their weapons before they dropped. V let the machine gun fall against her, and she went to the woman in the pig pen to cut her loose. 

“Thank you, deputy, I knew you’d come!” The hostage professed, picking up her deceased captor’s weapon. 

Ronnie gave her a bashful smile, replying “Happy to help, Miss… now you should get out of here, get somewhere safe.” What she was really thinking was, ‘Am I a household name or something? Jesus.’ 

The woman nodded before turning and leaving through a gate in the fence. 

Once she was out of sight- Veronica turned back to the house and headed back inside. In the living room, she was about to pull out her radio and call Jerome when she heard something that made her stop. A faint click, and then something that sounded like whispering came from above. 

V looked all around her, finally stopping in the middle of the living room and peering up. Above her there was a large, square opening that looked like it had been hastily covered by flattened cardboard boxes. She frowned and jumped up, hitting one of the pieces with a thud. The sound suddenly stopped. 

Jumping again, Ronnie batted the cardboard away and left the opening uncovered. She paused for a moment, listening hard for anything. A few moments passed with no noise- and the woman made one last jump to grip the edge of the opening. With a small  grunt, she pulled herself upwards into the attic space. 

As she hoisted herself up, she took in her surroundings. The attic was small, only the length of the living room. Two wooden shelves stood opposite one another; one filled with only boxes and the other holding some ammo and a tac vest. Next to the second shelf, there was a dark recess in the wall. 

Veronica clutched her gun closer, and heard the same noise as before: a click followed by a softer noise. She stepped closer to the recess in the wall, and could finally distinguish the noise. A man huddled in the space behind the wall, gripping his radio and whispering hurriedly, “That sinner’s here!! Send a capture party! We can get her for John!” 

Their eyes met, and the deputy scowled at the man before firing at him. He fell backwards with the force of the bullets, gore covering the wall behind him. His radio was still intact, and his contact could be heard shouting “It’s deputy huntin’ season! Capture not kill, we need her alive! Use Bliss bullets!” 

The woman grabbed some ammo off the nearby shelf and stuffed it into her backpack. After taking what she needed, she dropped down into the living room and checked her gun. As she was about to reload- an off-white Eden’s Gate truck screeched to a stop in front of the house, and three men in heavy riot gear hopped out. 

Upon seeing this, Veronica dove for cover before they could see her. Her back rested against the wall next to the front door, and she heard one of them shout “Come on out darlin’!” She swung around her backpack and pulled out her radio, turning it to the frequency she wanted. 

“Jerome, it’s Veronica, I secured the farm but one of those fucks called for backup and they said something about a capture party? I don’t know what the hell that is, but I sure as shit don’t plan on finding out.” She babbled into the radio. When no response came, the deputy moved underneath the window, readying her weapon. She peeked up and aimed, seeing one of them on the porch. 

Before Ronnie could get off a shot, a sound behind her caused her to whip around and she was confronted with one of the men; who must have come in the back while she was making her call. He shot a round, hitting her in the thigh and causing her to yelp with pain. Before she could make a comment about his aim, or think about why the bullet hadn’t torn through her, her vision blurred. 

The world became shaky- and stars swarmed her sight. V was able to slur together a few words before she passed out, and she grumbled “You… asshole…”

Though she could no longer see, Veronica could feel someone pick her up in a fireman’s carry. She knew they’d tossed her into the back of the truck, and heard the engine rumbling in the distance. A few bumps in the road were the last things she felt every sensation was gone, and she fell into a white abyss of Bliss. 

[merzbow]

putting all the disappointing but not surprising stuff here just to archive it

Roberta: And I remember one particular thing that... I've never said this in an interview before, because, you know, it could keep me from work, from getting work, for saying this. But I think now is the time to speak out against injustice. At the time we were on tour with Metallica, and James [Hetfield], Slash and Axl were talking. I remember passing them in... I don’t remember where it was, but it was some outdoor venue, and they were in an area and I had to pass them to get to my dressing room. And I heard James say about Ice T - because Ice T was supposed to join us on the tour – and he said, “I don’t wanna share my stage with a n-word.” And I was like, “What did he say?!” - you know, like, I couldn’t believe my ears. And Axl was just like, you know, “It’s my show” – I don’t remember what he said, I mean that was such a long time ago and I think my whole brain was clouded with such anger that I just kind of blacked out, you know, I just saw red.

Brando: I understand. Did he say “that...”, or did he say “a...”?

Roberta: “I’m not sharing my stage with a... n-word.”

original post with some more information from the 2020 interview with Roberta Freeman, and the short clip of the small transcript above.

How come you don't like rap, then?

"Rap is just to me very annoying. Bunk Bunk y'know like wow, f– man. It really strikes something in my head that I've just got to get away from. Just the fact that it's extra-black too – blacks, y'know, we want everything, we deserve it, give it to us, you f–ed us this and that, and that kind of shit. It's all me me me and my name in this song, y'know …?"

Ironic that, James Hetfield hates rap for the same reason many people hate Metal – because he knows f– all about it.

1992 NME interview.

Last year in Britain’s ‘New Musical Express,’ you described rap music as “extra-black” and said that it was “all me me me and my name in this song.” How about elaborating on that? They say a lot of “I’m this, I’m doin’ this, you gotta do this with me.” It’s not my cup of tea. Some of the stuff, like Body Count, our fans like it because there’s aggression there. I love that part of it. But the “Cop Killer” thing, kill whitey – I mean, what the fuck? I don’t dig it.

Some of it makes me think that they just want shock value. They want people to pay attention. It reminds me of some of the death metal, the Slayer thing with Satan and tear-your-baby-up. Like going out and shooting cops. Hopefully, no one’s going to go out and do either.

People like it, it’s fine. Whatever blows your skirt up, as my dad would say. It just don’t blow mine up.

1993 Rolling Stones interview.

"It's a joke, right?" James Hetfield is asking about Perry Farrell and Ice-T's cover of "Don't Call Me N——, Whitey" by Sly Stone. "'Cause that Perry guy is pretty open minded."

The subject came up when I asked Hetfield about a "rap" he once recorded with lyrics that you'd never accuse of being open-minded. "Rap was just starting, and I did a parody that had the N word—but you can't say n—— especially whitey." The title of the rap was simply "N——". So the lyricist, singer, and riffmeister who accounts for 60 percent of Metallica's sound is a bigot, is that it? Not exactly. After all, Lloyd Grant, Metallica's original lead guitarist before Dave Mustaine, was black.

But Hetfield is definitely, along with hunting partner Jim Martin (Faith No More), a would-be good ol' boy, a... "Go ahead and say it," he roars. "Redneck!!" With his thick build, squeezed into jeans and cowboy boots, he certaintly looks it. That his father was a Nebraska-born trucker since retired to Arkansas gives the image legitimacy—as does Hetfield's own interest in Lynyrd Skynyrd and hunting. Hetfield himself is animal-like—what you'd call a bear of a man if the blond Fu Manchu mustache didn't lend his face a leonine look.

I was warned he'd kill me if I asked him about the rap—or about the bowie knife his father passed on to him which had allegedly been used to kill a black man. He does freak when I bring up the knife ("That's not true!" he stammers unconvincingly), but otherwise he's disarmingly friendly and surprisingly open about his love of "titty bars" and the epic Jägermeister binge that almost killed him and Ulrich.

1991 Spin magazine interview.

here’s the actual video of James saying the n-slur in 1992 or so.

“It wasn’t just irate husbands and boyfriends that James was falling foul of. Alcohol brought out the dark, mouthy Mr Hyde to his more usual monosyllabic Dr Jekyll. On a flying visit to London that summer, he had revealed to Kerrang! designer Krusher Joule just how black his drinking could make him: ...” “Later, after the pub closed, we were walking back to my flat across this park and James started going on about “people coming to our country and taking our jobs.”

above excerpt from the Enter Night: Metallica, the Biography, by Mick Wall. provided by @jaymzhetfield​ (thank you!)

although metallica changed it to “killer kid” in the studio recording of their killing time cover, james would sing the original lyrics “like a n—— kid” (which are the original racist lyrics sweet savage wrote) in late 90s live performances of killing time. he does so here, in 1998 (time stamps: 1:58 and 2:54).

and i’m sure you’ve all seen it before since it’s always included in those “funny metallica compilation” videos that are popular, you know, the racist “you don’t know kung-fu” “joke” james made while putting on a shitty “asian” accent and doing racist “squinty” eyes gestures in like 2003/2004. white metallica stans quote it all the time as if it’s not 1) lame 2) racist. it’s not funny. no one is laughing.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Mount Everest Ain't Got Shit On Us (Fezco x fem!reader, Part 6.)

Description: You were always told that your life will be as you wish it to be if you’ll study enough. That it will pay off if you work hard. And some people were given you like the scary example of what will happen when you don’t obey. But sometimes it feels good to disobey.

A/N: Eyo eyo, Fez and reader being cuteee.

Word Count: 2.5 K

Warnings: None

Read the rest here, babe:  PART 1  PART 2  PART 3  PART 4  PART 5

Masterlist and declaration: H E R E

Not everything in your fuckin' life can go as you want it to go. That's some fuckin' Murphy's law or what. Sometimes you love a girl - and you find our she's boy afterward. Sometimes you want a child more than anything else and just can't have it and those who don't want them have a bunch of kids. Sometimes you kiss a man you have a crush in a pool in front everybody else on a party and everything in you just clicks off at once and you just fell asleep because the combination of eight shots of vodka drank in like five minutes and an almost deadly coffee kicks in too hard.

When you were a teen, you would swear it was you v. the whole world destiny thing. No-one stood by your side, you were a lonely soldier. You were sure that you couldn't reach happiness at any point in your life because something good happened just for something bad to happen immediately after that. But as time was passing, you got to know that everyone has their ups and downs in their lives, that life isn't a straight line of good things. Your life was completely normal and simple.

That morning your life felt nothing like simple or normal. You had a hungover, your head hurt so much it was unbelievable and you were sure that you must be paralyzed because your brain acted like it can't move your body a shitty millimeter forward.

But at least you weren't naked, in fact, somebody has laid you on a sofa and covered you up in a furry, nice-smelling blanket. Your body was warm, but your hair put in a messy bun was still wet. Overall you felt safe and nice.

After having an internal argument with your brain, somehow your eyes managed to open. The light around you was subtle, thank God, so your eyes didn't hurt as much as they could. This place was not familiar to you - it was a small, older flat. It smelled a bit like a good vodka and a good quality kush. You were sprayed all over an old, brown sofa on three big pillows which could be considered mattresses.

A single idea of where you were or how did you got there could not be found in your mind. You must've been tripping during the night a lot.

A hum came up from your lips as you sat, almost screaming when a boy appeared on a sofa on the opposite side of the small table. He was watching you with an intense stare, chewing on a small piece of wood. You were shocked, he was around thirteen years old, but his face had a few tattoos on them, he had a murderous look in his eyes and overall, he was appearing like a not so much friend person to you. You have seen him at the shop as well. He crossed his hands over his chest, not leaving you with his not so nice gaze.

"Ya feelin' alrite? No serious stomach ache or some shit like dat?" - He took the wood out of his lips and remained in looking at you.

"I think I'm good. Headache is the thing that makes me a bit uneasy." - You smiled at him, but his face remained completely, dead serious. Then he nodded, got up and searched through a few cabinets. He gave you a glass of water and gave you a slight nod. - "There's some cereal in the cabinet, drink diz and take the pill, you will feel a bit betta'. Gonna find Fezzy, need to finish some business."

"What's your name, by the way?" - You shouted when he almost left the apartment. The boy turned back to you and played with his huge golden necklace in his hand. He has Fezco's hairstyle and his eyes were flat as well.

"Name's Ash. Nice to meet ya, girl." - He smiled a bit, it was almost invisible, but it felt warm. Then he left immediately, letting you all alone. So you followed Ash's instructions - you swallowed that painkiller and got up to have a small breakfast. Nesquik sounded the best to your grumpy stomach.

You had your Adidas shorts from the party still on, but no socks nor sneakers or your very own t-shirt. Somebody lend you a really long, old, oversized t-shirt which reached the lower half of your thighs. You sat there, leaned with your ass into the counter and held the bowl in your hand. It seemed that Fezco took you home. Could it be his home? His flat? That could be possible.

"Heya newbie. How ya doin'?" - Fez walked into the room with a slight smile shining through his face. Then he seemed to be emotionless in the next second. - "Ya alrite? Ash said ya lookin' good but I like to be sure on ma own."

"Yeah. I'm... I'm good actually. I'm really glad for those painkillers, only my head hurts a bit. Should my stomach hurt?" - You asked with a frown. Ash and Fez both ask you without talking to each other.

"No, it should not. Just askin', I'm curious. You drank." - Fez added. The fear that you made a genuine asshole form yourself in front of everyone was gone in a second. They were just worried when you were out.

"Nice clothes. They aren't Ash's, are they?" - You asked with a slight smile. You rearranged the t-shirt upon your breasts. He nodded, but his expression hasn't changed a single shitty bit.

"Haven't touched ya when you fell asleep, I swear. Any of us. Just brought ya here, made ya wet clothes hang up and covered ya in a blanket. Wanna some coffee?" - He swayed from the sofa to next to the counter just a slight away from you, making the machine brew some.

"... Impatient, I see. Okay. Will have some, thank you." - You nodded and shoved your mouth with a spoon full of some Chocolate cereals. You would fucking swear that it was the best food you ever fucking had.

"Wild evenin' wasn't it?" - Fez asked. Your body tensed a bit as you watched him. You remembered taking eight shots in a row like a pro, you knew that you kissed him right in the pool... But then it was a big black hole in your head.

"If you say so..." - You said quietly with a guessing tone because you really didn't know what happened.

"Nobody kissed me like that in ages." - Fez said in a muted tone which was perfectly matching him in your head at that moment. He had a privilege as well - your cheeks reddened in an instance. He sounded... Like he liked it. And all of it. - "So if ya wanna..." - He stopped himself for a second and laughed at himself. You smiled as well.

"To do something more?" - You asked impatiently, but he frowned and watched you with an unsure face.

"I was thinkin' more like a dinner or shit." - He answered after a prolonged moment. A little "aw" escaped your lips while you felt like a dummydumdum. He was trying to be romantic and now you looked like a thirsty bitch. All you needed was a few smacks in the cheeks. You completely lost yourself in your mind for a few minutes while Fez got both of you a cup of coffee, which made him continue in asking. - "But if ya more hook up chick, think I can handle that shit as well."

"Dinner and shit does sound great to me. I would love to go out with you." - You said hurriedly all of a sudden while he was still talking. When he heard you say that and as he watched you drinking the coffee he made for you, a flash of a bright smile shined through his face. But he was subtle in an instance again.

"Alrite. Make yourself at home, don't go to the back of the house, have some food or what do ya want, yo clothes are hanging there." - He pointed his fingers onto the radiator. - "And here's yo phone. Someone was hitting' it all fuckin' night. Yo better write them back. And if ya want, keep dat shirt. Not gonna need it." - He gave you it and seriously - there was a lot of missed calls and some texts.

"Gonna need to do some shit in the store. Leave whenever ya want, alrite? And hung a paper with yo number on the fridge so I can hit ya up too." - He put his mug on the counter and you would swear he was leaning into a quick cheek kiss, but then he leaned away from you.

So you sat down again, covering yourself in the blanket to feel warm, still sipping the coffee he made for you. It was Rue, it was Fran.

Big sista: Where yo ass at?

Big sista: We need 2 go. Where yo at?

Big sista: Ur freaking me the fuck out.

Big sista: Where the fuck are u. Come on. Call me.

Big sista: Alright. Gonna tell ma u stayed at Rues. Hope ur good.

So Fran was searching for you from midnight until one am. But you were nowhere to be found.

Morgan Freeman: Where yo lazy ass at, Jesus?

Morgan Freeman: Yo are a party wrecker. Where the hell yo at?

Morgan Freeman: Okay, Ash just turned in and said that Fez took u to his home.

Morgan Freeman: Hit me up where you're up.

Both of them were afraid of you when you have disappeared. You somehow found it so sweet you smiled to yourself. And so you turned in and texted to Rue that you're completely fine. Then you called Fran not to be worried about you, that you're good.

"Where the fuck were you?" - She yelled second after picking up the call. You put the phone a bit further from your ear and looked around you to inhale Fezco's own flat.

"I got a bit too friendly with some local vodka out there and passed out. A friend took me to his house. No big deal, Fran." - You huffed out and got some sugar to your coffee to make it sweeter. Fez's coffee was too bitter for you to handle.

"No big deal, shithead? Last time I remember, you were the more adult one of us. You're fuckin' seventeen." - Fran said angrily and you could feel that she wants to give you a punch to your nose as soon as you get near her. - "Listen to me, I saved yo ass. Ma thinks you're with Rue. Are ya with Rue?"

"I'm not with Rue, but you can trust me, this person is seriously cool. You two would get along." - You said calmly. Fran was making a big deal out of completely nothing. You only took a bit too much to drink. She was doing it all the time when she was your age.

"Okay. Okay. Imma calm down. I was just worried, shithead. Be safe. Alrite?" - She exhaled out loud and sent you a kiss through the phone. That was what you loved about her. Usually, she gave up and said that you're the smart one and that you know how to take care of yourself, she was able to say that she was doing the same things as you are doing.

"Yeah. I love you too." - You said quietly with a big smile and hung up the call. Not too long after that, the patrol slash cavalry arrived - Rue was knocking on the apartment door. She was dressed as always, in her own messy way, her hair was messy as hell and she looked tired. Only God knew what was her night out.

"Hey, you lil minx." - Rue said with a huge smile and gave you a big hug. She warm and she smelled nice with a slight touch of the alcohol lasting in her system from the last night.

"Hey, Morgan." - You whispered happily and let her in. She seemed to be well oriented in Fezco's apartment, again pouring her some coffee and taking some chips from one of the cabinets. Of course, her eyes didn't miss that you had someone's clothes on.

"Always thought that Fez has a nice wardrobe, but it looks even better on you. Ya startin' some collection?" - She sat next to you as you turned the TV on and you gave her an ironic look. - "Just kiddin', kiddo. But from the things I've fuckin' heard, you hit it off pretty well yesterday." - That look was somehow different. She looked happy for you two, she must've heard that you made out.

"Have seen Fez on the way in. He looked chill as if he had the best kush after a long fuckin' time, but I know that he has the same weed as always." - Rue playfully raised her eyebrows. That made your cheeks redden, Rue acknowledging that you made her friend's day better. That felt lovely. That felt good. And it made your day better as well.

"Are ya blushin'?" - She laughed and took your shoulder to your palm. - "Tell me everythin'. Tell me what Fez have said in the morning when he saw you?"

"He... Asked me out. He wants to go out with me. And it looks like he likes the way I kiss. I thought that he leaned to give me another one, but then he walked away." - An excited squeak escaped your lips. You were outta the place because of Fez. It felt like a start of something between you two.

"So Fezzy for himself a girl. And a nice one which I do like. You don't even know how lovely this is." - Rue leaned her head onto your shoulder and watched the TV with a dreamy look. You kissed her and then watched the TV as well.

You two left at two p.m. before you could even standstill on your own feet. A small paper hung on the fridge when you and Rue were leaving home with your number your sign with a small heart at the end. Without a word, she automatically set the course to your home and Rue was walking along with you.

"Hello. Enjoyed yourself last night?" - Your mom got up from her small garden, waving at the two of you, walking down the street.

"'t was good, Mrs. Y/L/N. We had fun, watched some Johnny Depp movies, we had a good time." - Rue's hand hung over your shoulder and she smiled.

"Looks like you had a long night, you two. Do you want some lunch?" - Your mum greeted Rue with a quick hug as you two walked inside. You immediately went to your bedroom and changed your clothes in order not to smell like weed. Then you went back to the dining room, where Rue was already sitting at the table and ate her spaghetti at a fast pace. Your plate of spaghetti was served on the table as well. You started to eat. 

When Rue looked at you, her look was somehow playful. She was glad. 

You and Fez were off to a good start.

[youremeimyou]

Promise Me(pt.2)

Part 1 - Part 2

pairing: Park Jimin x reader (ft. Kim Taehyung) genre: Lots of angst, fluff and pure drama... word count: 5k warnings: alcohol consumption, sexual tension

Description: Y/N is Jimin’s longest and best friend. Certain feelings are caught and meanwhile, Jimin accidently sets Y/N up with his other best friend. But not before getting her to make him a promise.

A/N: First off, sorry cuz I know it’s been a long time since pt.1. But finally pt.2 is here, yayy! This one’s a bit more angsty but these two boys are both fluffballs so there are lots of cute stuff. (sighs)I just love Vmin so much, it was hard to do this justice. I hope I could and I hope you’ll like it. I’d love to know what you think. Enjoy!

It had almost been a month since the eventful Christmas. Taehyung was walking to the girl's dorm to spend some time with Y/N. This was his third time going without Jimin since he finally found the courage to go alone a few weeks ago, when he made up a stupid excuse for showing up at her door in the middle of the night.

Of course he was drunk that night. A few words may have slipped out of his mouth that made Y/N a blushing mess. But he never made a move on her in his drunken state and she appreciated that. Y/N took care of him, helped him sober up, let him sleep on her couch. So it became normal for him to drop by just to hang out since then.

After everything that went down on Christmas, Jimin only had one mission in mind: Avoid both of your best friends at all costs.

It was obviously hard considering one of them was a person he saw everyday since he was a kid and the other was his roommate. But he tried his best. It was starting to become tiring, feeling bothered and even heartbroken without understanding why and pretending to be okay so they wouldn't figure out. So he was more ghost than man over the course of last month.

It didn't go unnoticed by Y/N of course, she saw through his acts easily. Especially the times they would work on the musical. Normally doing anything with Jimin was fun for Y/N, even work and studying. And producing a musical normally would've been crazy fun. But Y/N could tell he was being distant. He wouldn't even come over much, saying there was still a lot of time to work on the project. All of that broke Y/N's heart to pieces.

There was a flower in Taehyung's hand that he picked up from the little winter garden at the coffee shop he'd been coming from. And he contemplated whether or not to give it to Y/N as he waited outside her room. But suddenly the door opened.

"Oh- Hey Tae! What're you doing here?"

"Uhh.. Hi. I just came by to ask you if you wanted to play some Mortal Kombat." he said, having trouble keeping eye contact.

"You mean you wanna get your ass kicked by the best player around? Sure." Y/N smirked. "I was just about to take out the trash so after that-"

Taehyung took it from her hands.

"I'll take it out and you get the game ready?" He made it sound like a question but started walking away to do as he said at the same time.

"Wait. What's that in your..?"

Taehyung looked back to see Y/N pointing at the flower in his hand, a funny expression on her face. He mentally face palmed.

"Oh this? Uhh it's just-" he sighed defeatedly and passed it to her. "It's for you." She was cringing and laughing but it still made his heart race as she took it to her nose.

"Thanks, it smells so nice."

After 15 rounds of K.O. -each with fatality- from Y/N, Taehyung gave up and put the controller down with a frown. Then he noticed the sketches on the coffee table.

"Oh, come on. You're good at music, acting and drawing? How's that fair for the rest of the world?" Taehyung protested.

"I'm merely mediocre at the first two and I suck at the last one. Admit it."

"No way! What were you drawing here?"

"Uh.. Jimin.."

Taehyung's eyes went wide. "Oh. Okay, sorry it just looks more like Bart Simpson than anything."

They both burst into laughter.

"I know. It's just- the professor wants the posters to also be original and made by us. So I wanted it to be a cool drawing of Jimin. You know, cause he's the lead." Her face dropped as she continued. "And also.. Jimin's been out of my reach lately. Which sucks.. So I thought maybe I could surprise him and make up for anything stupid I did to make him avoid me."

Taehyung could tell how important this was to her. He also was on Jimin's 'to avoid list'. An idea popped into his mind.

"Well, I can work on a poster for Jimin. Though, it'll be kinda hard to keep it from him. He always loves to snoop whenever I'm working on something."

Taehyung was a graphic design student that did illustrations for a comic book shop as part time gig. So he was more than qualified. But all of his equipment and designing programs were on his computer. And his wasn't a laptop but a desktop pc.

"You're just gonna have to distract him for me!" Taehyung said while looking like he presented the best idea ever.

"That is a brilliant idea. But our lovely Chim doesn't really talk to me novadays." Y/N's frown returned. She really had missed him.

"Come on, he can never resist you."

Now that was true. All three of them knew it. Even if it made Taehyung a bit upset, he just knew their relationship was something way bigger than anything else. And so, they made a deal and shook on it. Taehyung was gonna get free tickets to the musical in return for designing the poster.

Later that day, Taehyung texted Y/N saying he had an inspiration and that she needed to get Jimin out of the room to start working on it. So she quickly got ready and went over there.

She knocked on the door and heard both of the boys collectively say "Come in!" When she walked in she saw that Jimin really was trying to look at what Taehyung was doing on his computer. A curious little baby, she thought.

"Hey Chim. Whatcha doin'?"

The look on Jimin's face as he looked at her was confusing. Because it contained nervousness and edginess but also longing and relief. It gave hope to Y/N in thinking she wasn't the only one missing a best friend. Jimin walked over to her and when he noticed a strand of hair fall on her eyes, he gently put it back behind her ear.

"Nothing much. You?"

"Same. Wanna come over and work on some dance moves? I feel like I can't do any of 'em right. I really need you.."

She had no idea why she expressed that last part with so much emotion. But it made Jimin inhale sharply.

"Okay, sure."

"Great! Oh, you go ahead and I just gotta return Taehyung this uh.. pen I burrowed."

Y/N had one of her own pens in her hand and Jimin knew it. But he wasn't gonna dig on the subject. He just settled for rolling his eyes and saying "Fine.." as he walked out. Taehyung on the other hand was confused not remembering ever lending her a pen.

"Here Tae, thanks!" She shouted that so Jimin would hear and then whispered the next part.

"Whatever you do, just draw him dancing. Oh, and I want my pen back later."

Y/N knew her neighboors would complain about the noise she and Jimin were making while practising. But it didn't matter. With the way his body moved fluidly as he showed her his smooth and flawless moves and the way he held her hips to move her and teach her when she couldn't get it right.. Y/N didn't care one bit about the neighboors, no.

Every once in a while he would dance behind her to lead her through the choreography, all the while his breathy voice in her ear, panting and counting the steps. Needless to say she felt hot and bothered. So she suggested to take a break.

The chamomile sitting on the little table inside a glass of water caught Jimin's eye. He knew for a fact Y/N wasn't a flower person. Whenever he'd buy her some in the past, they'd always end up dead. He did have a guess in mind about who might've brought it here, though.

"I hope he won't get upset when it dies in like two days." He pointed to it with his head.

"I know he's your friend but sorry, that thing was a goner as soon as it was placed in my care."

"Well, sad. Cause coming from Taehyung, it's kinda a big gesture."

A frown formed on Y/N's brows, with the worry of making Taehyung upset. But flowers just didn't grow with her, nothing could be done.

"I'm afraid it wasn't the right gesture to pull on me."

"He doesn't know you like I do."

By this point, he was much closer to Y/N than he was at the beginning of the conversation. Y/N hadn't even realized him moving towards her. This rehersal had been nothing but tense so far.

"No one does, Chim."

They looked into each other's eyes as if it was a staring contest. Jimin would normally win those. But having her right in front of him, with drops of sweat falling from her face down to her collarbones and heat radiating off her skin, he felt a push like never before to get even closer so he had to step back as caution.

"Good job today, panda. These moves fit you so well."

"Thanks. And thanks for teaching me. Sorry for being such a burden-"

"Hey!" Jimin cut in and stepped towards her again to look her in the eyes once more. "You could never be a burden." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and left soon after.

The evening came pretty soon and Y/N was very exhausted after all the dancing around earlier. Jimin was a professional at it. His body and condition would rival any of the boys on soccer team. But Y/N wasn't fit like that. So she was getting ready to call it at a day. In fact, she was barely awake as she layed on the couch. She nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone went off loudly with notifications. Her brain immediately presumed to see 'Chimmy' on the screen but instead it was 'TaeTae'.

-Hey wanna come over real quick? Jimin went out.

-I mean to talk about the poster, I swear I’m not a perv.. u awake?? I really need opinions!

-Y/N, he'll be out prolly all night, this is our chance.

Out all night? Why would he be out all night? Y/N quickly called Jimin first before even opening the messages.

"Angel? What's up?"

"Hey Chim, where are you?"

"Uh.. on my way to the library. I have intel that there'll be a quiz on Theatre History tomorrow." He voiced the last part like those characters in spy movies.

"Oh. Why didn't you tell me? I took that class last year and still have my notes, I could come help you."

"I know but no need, lovely. You were already tired today. And Namjoon hyung's here to give me an intensive course."

He always managed to make a smiling fool out of Y/N with the endless, sweet nicknames. This time wasn't an exception.

"Anything up with you? If you need something I'm already outside I can-"

"No, I just wanted to check in on you, I'm about to go to sleep. Good luck and say hi to Joon."

"I will. Sweet dreams, angel."

She got up to walk to her bed but remembered Taehyung’s messages. Her body desperately craved sleep but Taehyung was right. It was a great opening with Jimin out of the room so she dragged her feet over there. 

When Taehyung opened the door and saw a sleepy Y/N, his stomach started doing flips and somersaults. As a result, he was a stuttering mess.

“Hey, sorry if uh.. if I wake- woke you. Come on- come in! Come in.”

His hair was wet. There was a towel over his shoulders and he held a t-shirt over his chest. Fresh out of the shower. Y/N eyes traced the t-shirt down to where once she knew his tummy was from P.E. classes in high school. Tummy was no more, though. Those were qualified abs. Not overdone but just the right amount of them. Once she noticed she was staring, her eyes quickly changed direction. And when he noticed what she had been doing, he visibly blushed and audibly gulped.

“Oh.. When you didn’t write back, I thought you might’ve gone to sleep so I just hopped in the shower.” he explained as he quickly put on his shirt.

They went over to his computer to see the progress of the poster. Taehyung sat on the chair in front of the table and Y/N took a seat on Taehyung’s bed right next to it.

“Woah, Tae it looks incredible. I can’t believe you’re done so soon!”

“Done? No, I’m not done. There’re still a lot of details we should go through.”

As Taehyung mumbled the list of said details, Y/N couldn’t get her attention away from the poster. The elegancy and the delicacy of the move Jimin was pictured doing seemed so real, like an actual photo. But the colors and the environment looked so abstract. 

“You’ve really captured the essence of Jimin and the way he loses himself to dance. Wow.”

“I’ve seen him perform enough times to familiarize with the demon that posesses him on stage.”

Thank you Mr. Demon, Y/N thought as she always did when seeing Jimin perform.

Taehyung then settled on his bed next to Y/N with a pen and paper on his hands to sketch. He was asking Y/N about the stuff he wanted to change or add and etc and showing her what it would roughly look like. And Y/N tried her best to give opinions but her eyes were slowly but surely closing, drifting into sweet slumber. And so she dozed off. Taehyung didn’t even notice until he also was pulled by sleep. 

He thought about waking her up but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He watched her steadily breathing for a while before being taken by sleep himself. 

A few hours later Jimin came back from the library and slowly got inside his room, guessing his roomate would be sleeping. What he never would’ve expected was seeing Y/N curled up next to him. Sleeping by his side. 

That devastating feeling came back to sit on Jimin’s chest. She knew Jimin would be out for hours, maybe even until the morning. She called Jimin before coming here. Why? Why would she sneak in here without saying anything to him? Why would she keep this.. whatever it was a secret from him? They were clearly way closer than Jimin imagined. 

His breath got stuck in his throat. He felt furious and heartbroken and he wanted to run away but stopped dead in his tracks. The thought of leaving them alone in here like this seemed inconceivable at that moment. So he walked over to his bed and plumped on it. Pulling the cover over his head he hoped it wasn’t real but when he got his head out again, the view was the same.

That’s when he saw Y/N twitching and grunting in discomfort. She was slowly gaining back consciousness. Her head was between her hands as she tried to wake up fully, realizing she fell asleep unintentionally. After miraculously managing to slip out of the bed without waking Taehyung up, she noticed Jimin sitting on his bed staring at her. She wobbly walked over to him. And even though Jimin was upset, he still felt worried, she didn’t look well.

“What’s wrong with you?” 

“This crazy headache woke me up. I feel like vomiting.”

Jimin got up and went to check on her by instinct. “Let’s get you to a doctor.” 

“No no. It’s just normal migraine stuff, Chim. It won’t pass unless I manage to go back to sleep. I should get back to my room.”

She started walking towards the door and decided to explain everything to Jimin in the morning when she’d be able to do it better. Jimin on the other hand couldn’t leave her alone when she was in this much pain. Putting everything aside for the time being, he pulled her back by her arm.

“Just come here, Y/N.”

He pulled her into the bed next to himself and gently turned her to face the other way. His hands travelled on her temples, eyes and forhead, slowly massaging the areas. He would place little kisses on the back of her head from time to time, too. She’d get these headaches every once in a while so Jimin had learned over time what he could do to make her feel better. 

“It’ll be okay. Just close your eyes, try clearing your head and take deep breaths, baby.” he whispered in her ear. 

Jimin’s arms were home. Warm, comfy and familiar. Even that headache couldn’t hold Y/N back from dozing off once more and sleeping soundly in his embrace. Jimin kept watching over her and only allowed himself to sleep when it seemed like all her pain was gone.

With the morning sun Y/N slowly came around from sleep. She felt the lack of a set of arms around her so she turned around to regain them as her eyes were still closed. They opened in disbelief when she couldn’t find the source. Her eyes looked around the room next but only to find that both Jimin and Taehyung were gone. 

Y/N stayed in bed, trying to remember details of last night. She had accidently fallen asleep on Taehyung’s bed. She wondered what Jimin thought when he saw her like that. He did seem upset and she’d love to explain it to him but that terrible headache.. And how Jimin took care of her. Wasn’t new that he helped her but the atmosphere felt different at that moment. Despite being distant for a while before, he was being more intimate with her lately. A different kind of intimate. She really wanted to have a talk with him. She decided to text him but she saw the texts he had sent before on the screen.

-Y/N, I had to leave to get to class. If you're still not feeling okay, you have to go to the doctor. Let me know if you do. If not, bagels in the fridge and coffee's made.

-My keys are on the night stand you can leave them under the mat if you go out. But I'd love to have you there when I get back, angel.

There it was. An opportunity to have the talk. Jimin seemed to want to, as well. So decided on waiting there, it was a free day for her anyways.

Some time later sounds came from the door implicating someone coming in. Y/N thought it must've been Jimin. It was his taller counterpart.

"Oh, uh.. morning, Y/N."

"Hey, Tae. Did you have an early class?"

"No, it's my free day just like you. I just went out for a walk."

"In this cold?" Y/N teased, smiling.

"I was kinda hot headed so the cold helped."

His voice was even deeper than normal. And the features of his face were unusually hardened.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

He shot her a quick smile that didn't even reach his eyes. And anyone that knew Taehyung knew he was never insincere. That was against his nature.

"You can talk to me about anything." Y/N said as she handed him the cup of coffee she poured for him when he came in.

Taehyung stared at the mug. Then, at her strecthed out arm and lastly at her eyes, without saying a word or moving. He looked like he was thinking carefully about what he was gonna say next.

"I didn't wanna scare you away last night. I hope I wasn't but I apperantly have this habit of hugging things as I sleep so I'm sorry if-"

"Wha- No Tae and I wouldn't mind if you were either. You didn't scare me away. A headache woke me up."

"But when I woke up, I saw you over there." He pointed to Jimin's bed. Shit. Y/N worried about what Jimin thought of the situation last night but it didn't occur to her how Taehyung would take it. She sometimes forgot what Jimin told her about Taehyung's feelings. The last thing she'd want would be to break his heart.

"Jimin helped me. There's this massage thing he invented for when I get headaches. That's why we were-"

"I know it's not the first time I've seen you two like that but it's just-" Courage came to him all of a sudden so he took a step forward. "I thought I was being more.. open with you. And call me crazy if I'm wrong but it feels like we've become closer. Haven't we?"

They had been.Taehyung wasn't someone Y/N could easily disregard. And she knew she kept letting him in more and more over time. But she was just confused by Jimin all the time. Maybe she shouldn't have been, though. Jimin's been witnessing them getting closer but wasn't doing or saying anything about it, she thought. Guess he really was okay with it. Obviously he didn't want his relationship with Y/N to change into something.. else.

"You're not wrong, Tae. We have."

His eyes lit up and his mood got back up after hearing her say that. He didn't wanna rush things but he didn't want to do nothing either.

"Tonight, when you're hungry and when I'm also hungry we could- could we? Eat? Like outside- I know a great place."

Y/N couldn't help but smile seeing him stumble over his words.

"How are you this shy with the way you look is still beyond me." It was a sincere comment and she was pleasently surprised to be able to say it to his face. Taehyung still blushed like crazy, though. Then he took a deep breath and asked more confidently.

"Can I take you out to dinner tonight?"

Maybe she needed to move on from the limbo she was in, after all.

"Yeah.."

------

A ryhtmic knocking came from Y/N's door. She opened it and was met with a Jimin holding a lot of shopping bags.

"Chim! What's all that?"

"Well my quiz went amazingly, thanks for asking. So I thought we could celebrate. We're gonna make a cake!"

"I think you've gotten enough stuff to make ten cakes. And congrats."

"Ten cakes are even better. And thanks. But hey, I thought you’d be waiting for your man to get back at his room where he left you." Jimin teased with a smug smirk on his face. And Y/N’s mouth fell open a little in shock. But she quickly recovered and played along.

“Well my man took his time to come back. I can’t be kept in a cage, waiting forever for a guy.” They stared at each other until Jimin said “And scene..”

They were laughing as they carried the stuff inside and upon Jimin insisting, they started with the cake immediately. Twenty minutes in, they already created the biggest mess and didn't even get much done from fooling around. Jimin was in a good mood, dancing around, teasing Y/N and it all felt normal.

Y/N was making chocolate sauce and beckoned Jimin for a taste test. He came to her, sticking his head out from behind, over her shoulder and placing his hands on both sides of the stove, trapping her body with his own. Closer than close. He reached for the spoon and immediately closed his eyes after tasting, humming deeply.

"Mmhhmm.. my diligent panda, it tastes like paradise! Great job."

"Exaggerate away.."

"It does! Go ahead and taste for yourself."

Jimin took the spoon out of her hand and offered her some. He watched her as she tasted it. He was already staring at her lips and now they were covered in chocolate. There was some left on the corner of her mouth, too. Jimin felt that push again but this time he was already too close to not act on it.

He leaned forward and licked the chocolate away. Y/N just froze, not even being able to react.

"You had a little left.. on the corner right there."

When they finally broke apart Jimin got a bottle of wine out from one of the bags.

"I got this for when the cake is ready."

A while later there was some music they put in the background, only a few pieces were left of the two cakes that they made and the wine bottle had been emptied very quickly. It was still early into the evening but emotions, thoughts and feelings were already all over the place. 

They were at their usual spot. On the floor in front of the couch with Y/N seated in the space between Jimin’s legs and Jimin’s arms wrapped up around her. Movements were sloppy due to alcohol. Jimin placed his head on her shoulder. 

“I’m sleepy.” Y/N almost couldn’t understand what he said because of his mumbling. 

“Are you now? I don’t ever remember you being an early bird.”

“What can I do? You’re so cozy.”

“Me? It’s probably the wine making you sle-”

“Nope, this much wouldn’t affect me. It’s all you, bear.”

Bear was a new one, she loved it.

“Oh!” Jimin hopped up and down where he was sitting. “I know your secret~” he sang. Y/N’s eyes went wide. Did Taehyung tell him about the date? And why was he taking it this excitedly?

“Umm.. I don’t know what you’re talki-”

“I saw it on Taehyung’s PC. I figured it was your idea. And the way you were sneaking around with him made much more sense.” He huffed as if in relief. Y/N was also relieved. He meant the poster, not the date. Good. She wanted to be the one to tell him.

“He did all the work. And you weren’t supposed to see until he felt like it was done completely!”

“My dude’s got talent. And I always snoop around, he knows that.” 

They were giggling, Jimin put his head back down on her shoulder and closed his eyes. Y/N’s eyes went to the clock to see the time they agreed on meeting with Taehyung was getting close. She had to tell Jimin about it. 

“I gotta jet soon, Chim.”

“No, you wouldn’t leave me.”

“But I have to get ready.”

Jimin got his head up suddenly in denial with a lovely pout. 

“Where’re you going?”

“Out to dinner.” She paused to avert her eyes from him. “With Taehyung.”

Jimin had a rude awakening. “A date? An offical one?”

She just nodded. They didn’t speak for some time and just stared into space. But something happened in the silence. Jimin understood now. Up until that moment, what he knew was that Y/N was his person. Everyone around them knew it as well. But the void Jimin felt whenever this subject was brought up finally made sense to him. And he had promised himself that he’d tell her as soon as he knew. So that’s what he’d do.

“Don’t go.”

He spoke clearly and seriously.

“What?”

“Even though you complied back then, it was wrong of me to make you promise to not care about anyone the way you care about me.”

“Jimin, I could never-”

“We might be best and oldest friends but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone we open our hearts to. And especially you. You’ve given so much to me and I became comfortable on the recieving end. The reason I made you make that promise is because I knew I wanted to be the one you loved most but I was so dumb to not realize why until now.” 

He moved his head closer and closer until their lips were so close that they even touched but only slightly. 

“I know I’m so stupid. But I’m so in love with you, Y/N. I wanna kiss you so bad..” Y/N was sure her heart would jump right out of her chest at any second.

“But I won’t if you don’t want me to-”

Y/N quickly closed whatever little distance was left between their faces, not being able to take it any longer. Jimin was surprised but when he felt her trying to pull away, he held her and deepened the kiss. He slowly and gently pushed her down on the ground with his body on top of hers, lips still connected. Then linked one of his hands with hers while the other one was still placed on the back of her head, protecting it from bumping onto the ground earlier. 

When they finally parted lips, both were panting. Y/N ran her hand through Jimin’s hair. Jimin was looking at her with fragile eyes. 

“Does this mean you’re not going?”

“No, I only kissed you because there was some chocolate left on your lips and I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

Jimin actually took it seriously for a moment. He let out a relieved sigh when he realized the corners of her mouth curving upwards in humour.

“I can’t believe it took you this long, Jimin.” Y/N complained. 

“What do you mean? Wait- Did you already-”

“You finally figured out your feelings but you never had a clue about mine?”

Jimin was shocked. “Are you serious right now?”

“I’ve always loved you, idiot. And I’ve been pining after you for the longest time.”

“I’m sorry.” he quickly pecked her lips over and over and spoke in between kisses saying “I love you.”, “I’m an idiot.” and “I love you” again. 

“It’s okay, Chim.” she softly tapped his chest, signaling to sit back up. And they were seated once more.

“What’re we gonna do about Tae?” She felt so worried about that. Feeling like she played him. He was an amazing person and a true friend to both of them. The thought of breaking his heart terrified her. It made Jimin upset too, they both cared about him.

“I don’t know.. But we’ll figure it out.”

He laughed bitterly. “You know what? Tae knew. He always told me to stop being an idiot with you. I should’ve listened. But yeah.. I know he’ll understand.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And whatever happens I’ll make it right with him. He’s my brother. Brothers might fight but they’re still brothers.”

She pinched the side of his arm. “No fighting over anyone! Not ever!”

“I meant that figuratively, angel.”

“Wait. Did you just quote High School Musical?” They both burst into laughter.

Then he smiled at her endearingly and pulled her into the tightest hug ever.

“Let’s just stay like this for a while.”

...

@world-moon​​ @nopedopebts  had requested to be tagged so here you go :)

A/N: I’m sorry for this long ass part. Thank you soo much if you bared with me and read it. I seriously hope you liked it because I struggled a lot with the ending, I hope it was good and satisfactory. I’d really like it if you guys let me know what you think and who would you have liked Y/N to end up with. 

[laylacooke]

Tune Out the World || Winn & Layla

timing: Yesterday (5/24) afternoon at Tower Comics & Music. parties: @packsbeforesnacks & @laylacooke summary: The start of one wolf helping another wolf figure out life. warnings: Lots of mentions about mental health.

Alright, so, technically, Winn had never mentored a, what, teen wolf before, but he’d dealt with plenty of teen hockey players — and they acted like wolves, often enough. The Bite should be a gift. That was the mantra that César and the others had drilled into his head. But not every Bite was freely received, nor even wanted. And that resentment, that anger, it could eat you up, if you let it. Which brought Winn to Tower Comics & Music. One of the staffers, Mat or somethin’, had set him up in one of their practice rooms, after some charm and the promise of buyin’ out half the store, if need be, and it was just big enough (and, importantly, just private enough) to work for Winn’s plan. He set the guitar he’d been stringing aside and went out into the main shop to keep an eye out for Layla, picking at the odd back issue of Superman. Comics were hard for him to read, now, given the color-blindness, but he still had the odd spot of nostalgia for the brightly colored heroes. He shot off a final confirmation text to Layla and waited.

Layla had received Winn’s texts. To say she was a bit confused was an understatement, and she had wondered if Ariana or Ulf had persuaded him to take her under his wing, or paw, but regardless, she had reluctantly given in and was headed to Tower Comics & Music. It seemed to have been the popular meeting place for Layla and new wolves in her life. Pushing the door open, she slipped inside, her mind quickly going back to the day she met Simon and how she had freaked out when she first smelled him. Even though it didn’t seem like it, she had come a long way since then. Seeing Winn standing near a box of comics, she quietly walked over, “Hey.” She waved to the man with the hand that had still been dressed out in a cast, “Sorry, I’m late. I was helping Ari with something.”

Ah, right, the hand. Mm. Could still strum, right? Probably. Looked like the kinda gal that wouldn’t let a broken hand get the best of her. Winn smiled at the teen. “Hey, no sweat. I haven’t been here too long.” A small lie. He’d spent the better part of an hour settin’ up. But, in fairness, most of that was before the time they’d set to meet up. “Let’s go on back,” he said, waving her forward and towards the practice room. “I figured somethin’ nice and quiet would be a decent change of pace. Plus, you’re gettin’ a free lesson out of it! A wolf lesson and a guitar lesson.” He laughed at his own dumb joke. Once the door was shut behind him, he sat in his own chair, across from the only other seat. “First thing’s first, somethin’ that one of my mentors made us do. It’s, well, a check in? Like, “I’m checking in… calm, today. The sun is out and I’m about to play guitar and my week has been pretty chill, so… calm. Now, you try.”

She had hoped he hadn’t. The task with Ariana had taken a little longer than expected, so when she caught sight of what time it was, it had almost sent her into a slight panic. However, no sooner than she was there, they were already heading to the back. She had never played a guitar before, but she had always been interested in them. Asking for one for her birthday had turned out to be a mistake, but a good one, because ironically, it’s how she had gotten her bow instead. Layla shot Winn a small smile as she followed him back into the room. Taking the seat opposite of him, she settled in as best she could. It was the ‘check in’ request she hadn’t expected, and when it was her turn, Layla paused for a moment, before speaking, “Uh, I’m checking in... depressed today. I’m bull-shitting everyone around me into thinking I’m feeling better, when I’m actually not, and I’m about to poorly play a guitar with a cast on my hand that’s never going to heal. Like that?” She looked at him with a straight face.

Winn barked out a laugh, before quickly saying, before baby wolf could think he was laughin’ at her: “Honesty is good. That’s exactly it, yeah, you’ve got the hang of it! Checkin’ in ain’t about forcin’ yourself to feel any one which way, but really takin’ the time to ask yourself how you’re feelin’, without worryin’ about how anyone else might take it. Thank you for bein’ honest with me, forreal.” He glanced at her hand, appraisin’ it with a trained eye. “Naw, that’ll be healed up ‘fore the next Moon, prolly before we have our next lesson. So long as you’re takin’ your vitamins.” He realized he hadn’t really given her the pitch for this experiment, and backtracked. “Well, next lesson… dependin’ on how today goes, anyway. I’m a little rusty, but teachin’ is the best way to show you know your shit and I’ve got just a stupid amount of time on my hands. I figure, you get time to just be who you are, and not worry ‘bout worryin’ anybody, we both get some time with the guitar, I teach you some wolf lessons along the way, eventually we lead a nice ol’ bonfire jamboree.” He winked at the last bit, to let her know that no public performance would be required of what amounted to informal therapy. “So, ‘m sorry we didn’t get off on quite the right foot, Layla. I’m Winn, and I’ll be your guitar-slash-wolf guru today.”

Layla hadn’t expected the laugh, which caused her to raise an eyebrow, before he explained himself. Winn had reminded her of one of the football players she knew in high school. He was laid back and had a cool persona that probably put most people to ease, and while she had felt a little more relaxed than she had when she first came in, she still wasn’t fully trusting of Winn. It would take her a little while to warm up to him as it did when she hung out with Lucas for the first time, “So do I just tell you how I’m feeling like every time we meet?” She could do that. Acknowledge her feelings. It couldn’t be that hard could it? “I think Ulf said he could get me some.” If vitamins would help her hand heal, she would take the damn things again. Listening as he continued to explain the goal of today’s meet up, she shifted in her chair a bit. Guitar-wolf guru. Okay. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Winn. And if you think I can play a guitar with this stupid thing on my hand then teach away.” She gave him a soft, sad smile. This was going to be interesting.

“Exactamundo,” Winn said. “I swear that I’ll be honest with you, so long as you try to be honest with me. I’ll go first, too, so you can see right away if I’m bullshittin’ you. Though, if y’ever want to start off, just let me know. I’m flexible.” He could sense the tension in Layla’s form, and he didn’t blame her. Some things, you kept to yourself, until you were ready. He wasn’t going to ask her to tell him anything, not unless she wanted to. But he’d always lend an ear to whatever she wanted to offer. If she was honest, well… That was more than some could be. “It’s a good way to get things you need, ‘specially while healin’. Your body needs nutrients to really heal, same as when you were human. Couldn’t hurt to triple whatever it says on the bottle, though. You’ll, shit what’s the word, metabolize it all away? Whatever diet you keep, make sure that you’re getting in calories, vitamins, and minerals. Like, I don’t know, a really intense workout plan.” 

He settled into playing position, strumming out a random chord. “Mmm, before we get to playin’, I want to show you somethin’.” Winn reached over his own guitar and to a plastic bag that was sitting between them. “This? Is just a fraction of the amount of strings you’re gonna snap.” He played another chord. “Control is difficult to master. We tried a bunch of different things, to get me to figure it out. Only thing that seemed to work was this. Changin’ a guitar string ain’t too bad, but try doin’ it a hundred times and you’ll calm down real fast. Every time one of us breaks a string, we’re going to restring it by hand. Your hands can do so much, good and bad. But right now, early on? You aren’t used to them, how they feel as a wolf. How you feel things, as a wolf.” He shook his head, pausing for a moment. “Stop me if this is a little long-winded, it’s all important, but I can try to condense.”

“I appreciate that. I mean I feel like I’ve been open with people, like Ari and Ulf…” to an extent, “but I guess talking feelings is okay…” Layla had been honest about things. Of course, there were also a lot of things about her past that she stayed quiet on, especially when it came to her parents and how they had treated her. But she would save that for another day. She had only really just met Winn, and while he, too, was a werewolf, there were still things that made her uneasy. Not only had her parents wanted her out of the picture, but so had other werewolves, especially those around the Appalachian area, who knew the tale of the Hunter child turned werewolf. “I was a cheerleader in high school, and I was on a pretty strict diet. Is that what I need to go back to?” She wanted to equate this with something she knew. She had constantly found herself hungry, aside from the depression that had sent her into a downward spiral with her mood. In fact, it was a miracle she had even agreed to meet Winn in the first place. 

However, the strum of a single chord made her ears perk. She was interested. His method for helping her had been so unexpected that she wanted to know more. She had never had time to pick up a guitar when she was still normal, whatever that meant, but now that she could feel everything in her small body raging, she was finally getting to try something her parents had denied her. Glancing down at the bag, Layla found herself slightly intimidated, “That’s a lot of strings. Are you sure you want to put this much time into me? Because, if I’m being honest, I’ll probably triple that amount before we’re even a month into this…” She wanted to give him an out. Would it hurt? Yes, but it was better than the teenager investing her time, and more importantly her heart, into whatever was about to happen, only to potentially be let down yet again.

“Mmm,” he hummed, tilting his head. Winn didn’t expect Layla to open up to him easily, or quickly. But the teenager’s hesitation, her trailing voice, when talkin’ about feelings was, honestly, a solid place to start — she would try. That was her decision. Winn was a fan of takin’ your destiny into your own hands. Layla had her autonomy ripped from her by Salva. There were things she could do, big and small, to regain that sense. Agreeing to work with Winn was a choice, one that he would honor for as long as he could, as long as she wanted to. If this didn’t work, well… They’d find somethin’ else. “I play hockey,” he decided on. “Your body builds muscle, now, easier, carbo-loading can be good to just keep it functionin’, exercise helps, but, unlike some stricter diets, this one works best by lettin’ yourself go a little bit, just piggin’ out. Make sure to eat decent, don’t get me wrong, but eat. ‘Specially while you’re healin’. Don’t know if you’ve been ‘round Luke much while he’s been healin’ up, but he could eat Ronald McDonald himself out of a company.” 

He frowned softly, not knowing how much money that Layla had. “And I know buyin’ food can be pricey, and I think I can safely say that all of us would rather you focus on the adjustment than goin’ out and workin’ your ass to the bone. So, gimme a list. Nothin’ is too extravagant. And I’ll set up an InstaCart or somethin’ for you. No arguments, ‘s the least I can do.” He smiled, toothy, at Layla’s attempts to wriggle out; he knew that self-sabotage anywhere. “Naw, Baby Wolf, I already paid the guy at the counter to order me a goddamn truckload of strings. Little weirded out, but I sure as shit ain’t gonna go through them all by myself. Between that and that,” he pointed to the guitar he’d bought for Layla, “I’m in it for the long haul. If you are.”

Food wasn’t exactly something Layla was a fan of at the moment, but she would make it work. If eating and taking her vitamins meant that the cast on her arm would come off sooner rather than later, she would follow his instructions. And Ariana had already been doing a good job at making sure she was fed. Of course, that too had made her feel less of a person, because she wasn’t currently capable of mentally taking care of herself. Somehow, everything she had suppressed over the years, had started to come to the surface, and it was making a fresh start at a new life nearly impossible.

Money had been another issue. She had already racked up a hefty ‘I owe you’ bill just within the past few weeks, and her mental list was getting muddled. Of course, having Winn offer up buying her groceries gave her mixed feelings. On one hand, she wanted to accept and be grateful for them, but on the other hand her pride and the feeling of, once again, not being able to take care of herself seemed to dig at her. But instead of rejecting his offer, she gave in, “I’ll text it to you, and I’ll keep it short. And as I’ve told Ariana and everyone else, I’m paying you back.” If she’d still had access to her family’s fortune, she wouldn’t have been in this mess, but that was an impossible feat.

It was the guitar that really got to her though. Winn had bought her a guitar, and he barely even knew her. Looking over to the beautifully made instrument, tears started to well up in her eyes. Reaching over for it, she picked it up with care and pulled it in front of her. The teenager let her hands slowly pass over it, before sitting it in her lap and strumming the strings carefully. She had wanted a guitar since she was a child, but her mother and father would never buy her one, and within a day, someone she had only met in passing purchased one for her and was willing to teach her how to play, and, more importantly, how to tame what was raging inside of herself.

Letting her eyes move back to Winn, she spoke softly, “You just gave me something my parents never saw fit to give me. Consider me in.”

Winn cocked his head to the side, wondering whether, or not, to push the issue of money. His inheritance… He had a complex relationship with it. His mother, bless her heart, had tried to keep it from him, until he had graduated college. His grandfather hadn’t had the foresight, though, to know what exactly would become of his grandson. (All the better; Winn barely knew the guy. No time to interrogate a ghost whose opinion mattered little to him.) He settled on, “Keep it short, and I’ll triple everything. You’ll waste shit, and I know neither of us want that.”

She was, in no way, shape, or form, going to be payin’ him back, but she didn’t need to know that.

“It’s yours and only yours, alright?” Winn said, a small smile playing at his lips. He didn’t want to let his sunny attitude run over the confession Layla had given him, but this was something he genuinely loved. His altruism wasn’t without benefits; he loved the look on someone’s face when their heart was full. It let Winn see a different side of Layla, a far cry from that night in his basement. If she stuck with it, he knew exactly what to get her for her birthday.

He clapped his hands together. “Let’s get started!”

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

Just One Little Thing Stops Me Every Time  (3/3)

Summary: T.J. and Cyrus (separately) get some unexpected advice from visiting strangers. (Hint: The title)

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and supported this little three-shot! It was fun and finally got some Chyan out of my system!

Chad waited until they were out of the studio and walking down the pathway towards the street to start talking. He had removed his arm from Ryan’s shoulder so he could his hold hand.

“So, what was that about?” he casually asked, internally smiling when his husband subtly started swinging their entwined hands between them.

“The kid looked like he had gone through hell and back.” Ryan shrugged. “Figured I’d lend him an ear. His face reminded me of… well… me. Back in the day.” He flashed Chad a pointed look. “When I was pining for someone.”

“Middle school or high school?” Chad playfully questioned.

His husband pouted. “Take a wild guess, basketball guy.”

Chad pretended to roll his eyes, but couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his lips. Ryan had always been cute when he pouted. It was one of the things that made Chad question his sexuality for years before coming to the conclusion that he was gay in college.

Well, that and the way Ryan moved when he danced and how his eyes twinkled when he would talk about dancing and musicals and the subtle way he would playfully flirt with Chad when he watched basketball practices and his soft, fluffy hair and the habit of wearing tight pants and… yeah, Chad should have been clued in pretty early on. 

His sexuality crisis was a rollercoaster of denial, hesitant acceptance, denial again, attempt to date girls and hoping he could feel some attraction, and eventual acceptance for good.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him you hated me back then,” Ryan continued.

Placing a hand over his heart in mock offense, Chad denied, “I didn’t hate you! I was just… indifferent. You know… until that baseball game.”

Ryan hummed. “Ahhh, the infamous baseball game. The time when I showed you exactly which way I swing.” He flirtatiously winked at Chad. “I wanted to impress you by winning.”

Chuckling, Chad pulled on his hand and brought him close to his side before wrapping an arm over his shoulder.

“You did impress me. We wouldn’t be married, otherwise.”

Chad wouldn’t have had a reason to talk to Ryan. Admittedly, he was quite stubborn in his teen years and probably wouldn’t have taken the first step to be friendly towards East High’s self-proclaimed Drama King. And Ryan was equally stubborn.

It was baseball that pushed them together.

As if reading his mind, Ryan stated, “Can you imagine what would have happened if I didn’t accept Gabi and Taylor’s invitation to play baseball with you, guys?”

“You sister would have gotten her way, you wouldn’t have won the star award thingy...”

“Star Dazzle Award!”

“… and we wouldn’t have become friends.” At the disturbing thought, Chad couldn’t help but bring his husband closer. “Honestly, I can’t imagine not being friends with you. Or not having you in my life, Ry.”

The mischief in Ryan’s eyes softened into an adoring twinkle. The arm he had wrapped around Chad’s waist tightened.

“Me neither,” he agreed before pressing a light peck to Chad’s cheek.

Ryan was always the more affectionate of the two of them and never cared if they were in public.

The couple continued on their way, not really in a hurry to go back to the hotel so soon. Their life in New York was pretty hectic, with Chad at school teaching all day and Ryan often stuck inside the dance studio choreographing until showtime. It was nice to have this alone time to themselves.

“So, what were you talking about with the kid back there?” Chad asked, curious. “It sounded serious.”

Ryan hummed. “He was having a bit of a crisis with a friend.” He grinned at Chad. “He’s jealous of this girl his friend has been hanging out with. And, if you ask me, it sounds like this friend could be more than a friend.” He chuckled, fondly. “It kind of reminded me of when you and Taylor were dating and I was trying so hard not to be jealous of her but… well… I liked you a lot so it was pretty difficult.”

Chad frowned. “You were jealous of Taylor?” he questioned, wondering how he missed it all these years.

His husband laughed. “I was a better actor than I thought then if you never figured it out!” He poked Chad’s side, playfully. “Anyway, I just wanted to help. You know, give him a little advice.”

“Hmm, that’s funny. I gave some random life advice to a kid, too. While I was at the park waiting for you to be done with your class, I saw this kid playing basketball. He didn’t have his head in the game. The ball was all over the place. Clearly, something was bothering him so I stepped in.”

“Oh? What was it that was bothering him?”

“I think he had a crush on his friend but he thinks he messed up ‘cause he’s been hanging out with this girl and…” He trailed off as he paused in his tracks, the wheels in his brain turning. “Wait…”

Ryan flashed him a questioning look. “What?”

“That kid you were talking to… his name was Cyrus?”

“Yes, that’s what he said. Why?”

“T.J…. that’s the kid from the park… he said his friend’s name is Cyrus…”

Chad could see Ryan’s own wheels turning.

“And Cyrus is jealous of a girl his friend has been hanging out with…” the blonde stated.

“And T.J. says he’s been hanging out with a girl and upsetting the friend he has a crush on…” Chad added.

Ryan furrowed his brows as he turned his head to look back at the dance studio building. “Do you think…?”

Chad followed his gaze. “They’re one and the same? Yeah, I think so.”

“Huh…” Ryan chuckled as he turned back to look at him. “What are the odds of that?”

Chad shrugged. “It’s the universe at work.”

“Since when did you believe in that stuff?”

Chad turned towards his husband, wrapping his hands around the latter’s arms. 

“Since you and I got together, I guess? I mean, what were the odds of Sharpay just walking in on me in the middle of my identity crisis and knocking some sense into me?”

“Wait, what?”

Oh, Chad had never told him that part. It was kind of a secret he was hoping to take to his grave because it was kind of humiliating. Plus, Sharpay would never let him live it down.

Well, he supposed he couldn’t keep it a secret now.

“Remember freshman year of college and you came home for winter break but Troy and everyone else didn’t so I was kinda lonely?”

Ryan smiled, softly. “We spent it together. I went to your house for Christmas and you came to mine for New Year’s.”

“Yeah…” Chad lowered his arm to hold Ryan’s hands in his. “I was… pretty confused, I told you that part.”

Ryan hummed in agreement.

“The week before Spring break, you called me to say you were coming home. And I was so excited and nervous and... confused as to why I was so darn excited. So, naturally, I tried to play basketball by myself. Emphasis on try.”

His husband chuckled but didn’t say anything else.

“I… kind of almost hit your sister on the head with the basketball when she walked in.”

“What?!” Ryan’s eyes widened in shock.

“It was an accident!” Chad immediately defended. “I was frustrated so I threw the ball somewhere and Sharpay just happened to walk in and it flew past her head! That was when she gave me a good earful of how stupid I was being, that I was leading you on, and if I had feelings for you, I should just tell you and ask you out and… yeah.”

“How come she never told me about this?”

“Cause I kind of… begged her not to?”

“Oh… my… god.”

“I was already embarrassed!”

“We got together because of my sister?!”

“Don’t give her credit! Her head is big enough!”

“Oh my god!”

“Ryan!” Chad squeezed his hands. “Look, it doesn’t matter now, okay? I got past my sexual identity crisis, we got together, and we’re happy. That’s all that matters, okay?”

His gaze softening, the blonde let out a soft chuckle. “Okay. I just… can’t believe you and Sharpay never told me! I thought for sure she’d brag about this for the rest of our lives!”

“Well, she can be surprisingly nice if she wants to be.”

Ryan narrowed her eyes at him, suspiciously. “What did she make you do?”

His husband knew his own sister all too well.

“I may or may not have been her servant for a full year. You know, fetched her lattes and carried her books to class and broke up with dudes for her. I was like her personal assistant and bodyguard rolled into one.”

“Oh my god!”

Laughing, Chad brought one of Ryan’s hands up to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles. “Hey, it was worth it in the end.”

Ryan squeezed his hand as he hummed. “Alright, I suppose the end justified the means. I guess the universe knows what it’s doing every now and then.”

“And who knows?” Chad let go of one of his hands and held on to the other so they could start walking again. “Maybe the universe has plans for those two kids we met today.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

Ryan began swinging their entwined hands again. “I hope it works out for them.”

“Me too.”

“Alright, let’s head back to the hotel and pack so I can nap before our flight. I’m exhausted!”

Laughing, Chad pulled him close and wrapped an arm over his husband’s shoulders again, loving the way the other pressed against his side.

What an interesting end to their weekend.

Hopefully, they managed to help out those two boys. Who knows? Maybe they would find the same happiness Chad and Ryan eventually did. It took many years and a lot of hoops to jump through just to get to where they were now.

But, as long as those two braved it out together, nothing could stop them.

Chad had no doubt about it.

……..

Nervous yet excited, Cyrus tried to run things he wanted to say to T.J. when he arrived in his head.

Hi. How you doin’?

Hey, wassup?

What goes on, Teej dawg?

“Hey, Cyrus!”

“H-Hey,” was what Cyrus ended up with.

T.J. grinned sheepishly at him. “Thanks for coming out with me.”

Cyrus shrugged, playing it cool. “Anytime. I was free, anyway. And I missed you.”

He didn’t mean for that last part to come out, but to his relief, T.J. just continued to smile.

“Me too.”

The heat pooled in Cyrus’ cheeks and he cleared his throat. “So… will Kira be joining us today?”

He wished he could take back the question when T.J.’s face fell.

“Um, no, she’s doing something else. Not really sure what, though. But, I figured we could have this day to ourselves, you know? We haven’t hung out just the two of us in a while and… I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

T.J. was pouting now, looking like a kicked puppy. “Neglecting you. I know I’ve been hanging out with Kira a lot and I didn’t mean to make you feel like you aren’t important to me. Cause you are! You’re… one of my most important friends and I don’t want to lose you.”

Cyrus felt his blush deepen, the heat now reaching his ears. He hoped T.J. didn’t notice.

“I’m sorry, too,” he stated, sincerely. “I’ve been distant because I’m… jealous. I just miss hanging out with you. But, I shouldn’t let those feelings get in the way of our friendship because you’re important to me too and I also don’t want to lose you.”

Finally smiling, T.J. let out a soft chuckle. “We’re both oblivious idiots, huh?”

“Totally,” Cyrus agreed, laughing. “So! We have the day to ourselves, what do you wanna do?”

“Uhhh, I haven’t thought that far ahead.” T.J. pursed his lips in thought. “Uhhh… batting cages? I don’t know if you’ve ever played baseball but it’s pretty fun and I can teach you how to swing and everything and… yeah.”

T.J. turned into a cute shade of pink. 

Well, Cyrus had never played baseball before. He had a fear of missing and the ball hitting him on the face. Or accidentally hitting himself with the bat on the face. Or trying to run to home base, trip on his feet, and fall flat on his face. Baseball was a dangerous sport.

He almost declined but then he looked into T.J.’s pretty green eyes. How hopeful, excited, and anxious they were.

And he remembered that for all the “dangerous” things T.J. had encouraged him to do, he never once put Cyrus in danger and always made sure he was safe.

The batting cages would be no different. And he wanted to spend time with T.J.

Smiling, Cyrus tilted his head. “Sure, sounds fun! Let’s go!”

Side-by-side, the two boys headed off together, their hands occasionally brushing as they walked.

Tag list:

@myrandom-fandomlife

@miracufan

@amazingpartytattoos

@tyrusstan06

@tyrusoldme-am-spoilers

@lostandafraiddepressedgirl

@lovefortyrus

@luzawithoutu

@tyrustina

@peach-in-a-pan

[lyravellas]

and many more

Kravitz does not have a birthday.

Obviously he had a birthday at some point, years and years ago, but he certainly doesn’t remember it anymore.  That’s just kind of what happens when you’re a. dead and b. the grim reaper for an extended period of time. The situation doesn’t lend itself particularly well to maintaining a steady social life, much less yearly celebrations with friends.  The Raven Queen is very nice, but she doesn’t really know what birthdays are. Kravitz isn’t completely sure if she was ever actually born. The metaphysics of Faerun is a somewhat headache-inducing situation.

He mentions all of this to Taako during a lull in the conversation one night, while the elf is draped idly across both his lap and the sofa in front of the television.  Taako is not an easy person to dumbfound — being a universe-hopping, planet-saving, wildly successful chef and wizard can do that to you — but this information absolutely blows him away.  Kravitz would gloat about it, but he’s too busy dealing with an immediate, rapid-fire line of questioning from his boyfriend: how old is he, exactly? (He’s not sure.)  Does he know what month his birthday was in?  (He doesn’t.)  Does he even remember the last time he had a birthday party? (He does not. He can’t even remember what he had for breakfast this morning. This is a lost cause.)  Taako speaks with his hands like he always does when he gets excited about things, punctuating each question with exclamations like “How did this happen, Krav?  How?!” and a few emphatic statements of “What the fuck!” as prestidigitated sparks shoot wildly from his fingertips.

Once Kravitz has reassured his boyfriend that yes, he did have an actual birthday at one point and no, he didn’t spring fully-fledged from the brain of the Raven Queen when he was born (“Sweetie, what the hell?”), Taako reclines back down into his lap and hums thoughtfully to himself.  He runs a finger absently through Kravitz’s hair out of habit.  It sends a few wayward sparks fizzing gently about the reaper’s ears.

Then Taako excuses himself rather abruptly by launching his entire body up and over the back of the sofa with a wholly unnecessary levitation spell, startling both Kravitz and their cats in the process.  After a solemn apology to James Buffett Jr. and Stinky Fur Man, Taako waves his stone of farspeech wildly around his head and declares that he needs to take a call (“Do you mean make a call, darling?”  “I never make calls, I only take them.”).  He then departs the room with a flourish, after tilting Kravitz’s head back for a lingering kiss that leaves the reaper feeling more than a little light-headed.

Taako is gone for several minutes.  Kravitz becomes preoccupied with staring very hard at the wallpaper and trying to remember how old he actually is. He is unsuccessful. He develops a very bad headache in the process.

When Taako finally returns, he throws himself dramatically back onto the couch (and into Kravitz’s lap), and declares, “Alright babe, you’re gonna share mine.”

And Kravitz says “What?” because it’s been ten minutes, he has a headache, and Taako is pretty to the point of being very distracting.

The elf tucks the stone of farspeech back beneath the collar of his shirt and snaps his fingers (which forces Kravitz to tear his gaze away from the mesmerizing strip of skin at the curve of his boyfriend’s collarbone).  “You’re gonna share my birthday.  I went and talked to Lulu about it, and she says it’s fine.  She’s excited about it, actually,  even though I don’t think she’ll ever let me live this one down.”  He sighs dramatically.  “Ch’boy always used to complain about having to share a birthday back when we were kids, and now here I am asking her for a plus one.  The things I do for love.”  Taako pauses and then squints up at his boyfriend.  “Krav.  You doin’ alright up there?  You’ve been kinda quiet.”

Kravitz is experiencing a very large number of emotions in a very small period of time.

He recognizes excitement almost immediately — if there’s one thing that he remembers about birthdays, it’s that they’re a lot of fun.  And now he gets to experience his with the people he loves most in the world.  The thought of spending a day surrounded by Taako’s endearing grandstanding and Lup’s infectious laughter sends warmth whispering through his silent veins.

There’s also a little bit of fear, because he was at the twin’s last birthday and so he knows exactly what can happen at their parties.  And if he and Lucretia have to explain to the authorities why the entire city of New Phandalin levitated into the air for exactly twenty-six minutes again, then he is absolutely going to come back to life just so he can die again.  

But for some reason, he also feels sad.  

He hasn’t thought about things like this, like birthdays and balloons and parties, for years.  It’s just been him and his job, alone except for the distant lights floating in the never-ending expanse of the astral plane, for as long as he can remember.  The Raven Queen used to gently encourage him to try going out and meeting new people, but all of her well-meaning attempts had steadily diminished over the years as he’d continued to rebuff her suggestions.

Kravitz’s greatest fear has always been this: if he lets himself get tangled back up in the world of the living, the weight of all the things that he failed to do before joining the Raven Queen’s retinue will eventually crush him.  

For far too many years to count, he’d refused to let himself believe that there might be any option besides cutting himself off from the material plane entirely.  But now this beautiful, lovable elf, who is too loud and too brash and too proud sometimes (and who he loves more than life itself), has taken him by the hands and pulled him headfirst into something he hadn’t even let himself realize he’d missed.

He can feel a strange wetness gathering behind his eyes; a sensation that feels comfortingly familiar, yet still somewhat alien after all the years that time has spent moving steadily on without him.

Taako sits up and puts his arms around Kravitz and just holds him silently for a while.  He gets it.  Both of them do.  Loneliness leaves scars that re-open at the strangest times.

They stay like that until Kravitz finally lifts his face from where it’s buried in Taako’s shoulder, and James Buffet Jr. takes the opportunity to hop up onto his lap and curl into his arms to make sure he’s okay.  Then they sit together on the sofa as the television drones gently on in the background and talk about plans for their next birthday: about how great it’s going to be, about how Merle is not allowed near the flower arrangements, about how Barry is absolutely not allowed to raise any members of the fantasy Beatles from the dead to perform.  Eventually, the few wayward tears give way to laughter instead.

Their next birthday is legendary.

The moon is directly overhead and also on fire for the better part of thirty-five minutes. An entire building in Rockport gets transmuted into a fourteen-layer birthday cake. The Raven Queen shows up — making several individuals in attendance nearly pass out in fear — in order to wish everyone a happy birthday, and also to figure out what exactly a birthday actually is. She walks around arm in arm with Istus, who brings everyone hand-knitted sweaters as presents.  All of the clergymen in the nearby vicinity collectively shit themselves in amazement.

After the festivities are all over and everyone has returned to their respective homes, Kravitz and Taako find themselves back on their sofa, with the radio in the background reporting softly on the ridiculously ostentatious display of fireworks that had lit up the skies over Neverwinter that evening.

“How was your very first birthday à la Taako, cupcake?”  Taako asks Kravitz as the latter flops down onto his lap.  “Actually quick side note, we definitely have to figure out how old your ass actually is at some point.  Not that it’d make much of a difference, since you’ve got the whole spooky scary skeleton thing going on at work most of the time, but I want to see the look on people’s faces when I tell them that my boyfriend is over six hundred years old.”

“That’s an adventure for another time, I think.”  A smile creeps across Kravitz’s lips.  “Lucretia just finished putting out the moon. I don’t think Faerun can take any more excitement in one night.”

“Boring, but fair.” Taako sighs in mock disappointment.  “That leaves yours truly with the responsibility of ‘final surprise of the night’, then.”  He snaps his fingers and a perfectly wrapped package materializes in the palm of his hand, accompanied by a glittery puff of magical confetti.  “Ta-da!  Faerun’s favorite wizard does it again.”

Kravitz clears his throat.  “Not to one-up Faerun’s favorite wizard, but...” he trails off as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, clumsily wrapped package.

Taako puts a hand over his heart and pretends to fan himself in shock.  “Betrayal!  Upstaged by the love of my life!  I’ll let it slide it this time, Krav, but next time...”  He continues his mock tirade as he lifts the gift out of Kravitz’s hands and leans forward to press a kiss to the side of his jaw.  “Next time I’m talking dozens of major images, plus a Taako original dance number!  Me, popping out of a chocolate fountain, dressed in lingerie that is not from Fantasy Costco! Just you wait.”  

Kravitz raises an eyebrow and manages to keep a straight face.  “Consider me warned,” he says, as Taako begins unwrapping the package.  Kravitz’s fingers move toward his own gift, but he pauses and watches with bated breath as his boyfriend tears off the final layer of wrapping paper.

Taako lifts the lid off of a tiny brown box and peers inside.  Even Faerun’s favorite wizard can’t manage to keep the shock off of his face.

“It’s not a... this isn’t a proposal,” Kravitz says quickly.  “We don’t have to... you know, do anything in the near future, if you don’t want to, it’s just sort of... it’s a promise?  Since we talked about it, and I—”

Taako uses one hand to take the ring out of the box and the other to press a finger to Kravitz’s lips.  “Yes.  Yes, of course, you gigantic nerd.  I love it.  I love you.”

Kravitz scoops Taako up into a wordless hug, spinning him around while simultaneously trying to land kisses wherever he can reach, smiling as the elf lets out a peal of laughter.

“So the way I see it, we’ve got two options.”  Taako wraps his arms around Kravitz’s neck as the reaper sets him back down onto the ground.  “Option one: we get hitched next Tuesday.  We invite everyone.  We party, ride off into the sunset, and then bang.  Easy peasy.”  A mischievous smile spreads across the elf’s face.  “Or, option two: we play the long game.”

Kravitz’s grin maches Taako’s.  “An extended engagement, then?”  

“Lup and Barold refused to admit that they even liked each other for years.  It was torture.”  Taako rolls his eyes.  “But we’ve got all the time in the world, hot stuff!  So let’s drag this out.  Be as lovey-dovey as possible.  Really make ‘em wait for it.”

Kravitz laughs.  “But... not for too long,” he says, reaching up to rest his palm against his boyfriend’s cheek.

“Not for too long,” Taako agrees.

[zaren-alcarius]

Coauthored with @thefreelanceangel

As Roy entered the warmth of the cave, the snow melted quickly from his hair. His clothes were wet now, but if they bothered him, he didn't show it. Silently, he made his way back towards the fire and attempted to run a hand through his hair. Length, wind, and snow make for a bad mix, and his fingers instantly got snagged on a knot.

As he worked to extract his hand, Roy debated what to do, especially when he didn't know how much Slate already knew. It would be a gamble to mention it if he'd only come out after the conversation had ended, but he couldn't let it be if anything had been overheard. He would just have to wait it out.

Roy glanced over at Slate, trying to read the other man and figure out exactly what he knew. 

The tin cups were refilled with the last of the coffee, now slightly bitter, and Slate gathered a waterskin and a small rawhide packet out of his haversack. He was oddly calm. There wasn't any visible strain on his face nor did he eye Roy oddly as he sat down near the man and motioned for the injured hand.

"Here, lemme see," he said, opening the packet to show the small jars of salves, the neatly rolled bandages. "Not much of a healer beyond small stuff, but doesn't look too bad on ya."

Roy eyed the salves hesitantly and shook his head. "It's alright." 

Slate's eyes were amber in the firelight as he looked up, looked from Roy to the cave mouth and then back at the other man. "So... Anybody else gonna be comin' after ya? I got some snares in my pack. Probably best to set 'em while the snow's still fallin' so they'll get covered up pretty good." 

"It ain't like that," Roy muttered. It was complicated and the less others knew, the better. A Blade would kill without hesitation to keep the order's secret. Roy kept his gaze on Slate, "How much did you hear?" 

Without arguing it, Slate simply dragged the man's hand over to rest on the rock and examined the rising bruises. He wet a cloth and cleaned the blood from his abrased knuckles, keeping his eyes on his work rather than looking up at Roy. "Everythin'," he said calmly. "So ya can explain or not. It's up to ya." Examining the damage, Slate picked a small jar out of the packet and opened it with his teeth, shaking his glove off. The leather was already stained, but it wouldn't do an open wound any good to have the salve applied with something questionable. Better to do it bare-handed. He glanced up once as he shook out a bandage. "Met one of them Larkspurs once." The disdain was fairly clear in his voice, but Slate's expression was wholly non-judgemental. "My ex-wife was one of them Roses. Went by their desert place a couple of times, but not really my kinda folk, ya know."

Roy snorted and muttered, "Makes two of us." Roy picked through his hair with his free hand, attempting to get through the knots. There was no reaction to the salve, regardless of whether it stung or not. "Ain't ever fit in. Was foolish to think it'd work." Shaking his head, Roy went silent. He'd given enough information. But was there any point to hide anything anymore? He already knew more than most. And even then, what should be done?

With a wry smile that made the careworn lines in his face deeper and threw the facial scars into prominence, Slate nodded. "Know the feelin'." He tied off the bandage neatly and closed up the rawhide packet. "Th' whole reason I didn't contest it when Gwena walked out on me." Slate got to his feet, returning the packet and waterskin to his haversack. Shrugging out of his coat, he glanced at the cave mouth and stirred the fire up before easing himself down to the ground. A hand-carved wooden comb was tossed to Roy, but Slate was looking at the fire as he reclaimed his tin cup.

Roy accepted the comb and started picking through his hair, which was longer than his shoulders. There was no sense in keeping up on it. He didn’t care much about his appearance anymore -there was no need. With a few sips of the bitter liquid, Slate ran a hand over his own fairly short black hair and sighed, nearly laughed. "Figured it'd be easier to just get th' papers done and let her go. She sure didn't hesitate to sign 'em herself."

"No papers involved in this one," Roy muttered. "Just... woke up and she was gone." Roy ran a hand through his hair, now untangled. "It's complicated," he added as he handed the comb back.

Taking the comb, Slate tossed it back into his haversack and put the other tin cup near Roy so he didn't have to reach. "Yeah, I figured." Slate settled back, another slice of bread spread with preserves in hand, and looked at the fire. "Usually is. Sounds like yours is more complicated than mine was. Guess that makes it a lit'l harder to figure out what ya wanna do." Finishing off the 'dessert' in a few bites, Slate licked his fingers and looked at the mouth of the cave once again. "Ain't th' kind of thing where ya can just head on over and see yer daughter again, I'm guessin'."

Roy grunted in response and gave a nod. "They... had time t'move on without me. Wouldn't be right for me to just show up. Don't reckon she'd remember me anyway." Slate wasn't going to disabuse the man of the idea. Sometimes it was just better to think that everyone had moved on and there was nothing left.

Made moving on yourself a bit easier.

Slate drank again himself, resting the tin cup on his knee. "My boys wouldn't recognize me iffen I showed up, but they were only about ten months when their mom took 'em." His mouth shifted a bit, briefly showing bitter lines. "Or sent 'em off with one of her servants rather."

Roy cleared his throat and took a sip of the coffee. It was bitter by now, but he didn't complain. After a moment, Roy sniffed and shrugged. "I'll be honest. Ain't sure quite what to do right now. With... this," he gestured towards the cave with the tin. "Wager you heard more than you should have." 

With a short shake of his head, Slate leaned back against another rock and nodded to Roy. "Probably. But it ain't my business so I'm not gonna be runnin' my mouth. Iffen ya need a hand, ya got one here. Don't see much else needs to be said."

"There's nothing you can do to help," Roy said pointedly. "And even then, why would you want to? Don't know me."

Roy scooted back over to the rock he was previously leaning back against before taking a moment outside. His single eyed gaze shifted back towards the fire. With his left leg, he partially bent the knee, then straightened it, then half bent it. He struggled to find a comfortable position before just giving up and resting his leg on its side.

"And I don't know you. How do I know you won't tell folks about me? Reckon they all think I'm dead." Roy shook his head, "They can't know about me."

"Fair enough."

There were no splutters, no protests, no vehement insistence on his trustworthiness. Slate wasn't going to argue with a fact. They didn't know each other, and his instinctive impulse to offer help to people who looked like they needed it had been considered suspect before.

He took another sip of his coffee, absently rubbing his jaw. "Figure some folks think I'm dead, too. Means I'm not headin' back to Claypool for a long time. Lin'll screech th' ears off my head." Slate paused, chuckled briefly. "Ain't got nobody else that'd care. All my folks died few years back." He glanced at Roy and shrugged one shoulder. "Guessin' that's why I lend a hand where I can. Know what it's like when ya ain't got nobody ya can count on." 

Roy looked between Slate as he spoke and the fire. Roy sipped at the coffee and rested his head back against the rock. So the man knew his secrets and there was no one that would miss him. His gut sank as the lessons that had been beaten into him rang in his head. Keep the secret at any cost.

Shit. 

Roy closed his eyes and exhaled in a soft sigh. He would have to get used to doing things he didn't like. He already had. The fact that the sonofabitch made him kneel... him, the Reaper sitting at the head of the Order... He'd already lost his family, home, and life. He'd already learned this lesson the hardest way possible. Was he really considering making a similar mistake?

Considering how often Slate had been cheek-to-cheek with death, he didn't seem particularly worried about his precarious position.

There was a thing about trust that he knew very few people understood--you had to give it in order to get it. Granted, not everyone was deserving of it. There was always a chance that someone would take advantage of it.

...but you couldn't assume that every time.

Or at least Slate didn't.

Which was why he simply took another sip of his coffee and set another slice of bread--now nicely warmed by the fire--with preserves out for Roy to take if he chose.

Roy spared a glance at the bread and preserves, but made no move towards them. Food was the last thing on his mind. His mouth felt numb, anyway.

It was possible the apprentice didnt take notice that he wasnt alone... his rationality swung the other way. And even if he did tell someone, who would believe him?

Roy cleared his throat in an attemp to get feeling back in his mouth and licked his lips. “What are you doin’ in these parts, anyway?”

He didn't comment on it, but Slate wasn't unaware of some mental turmoil going on across the fire from him. It wasn't something he could assist with, so why mention it? People had a right to their private freak-outs in their heads.

Gods knew he'd done enough of his own in the past.

"Been wanderin' ever since my homestead got burnt down." Slate looked into his tin cup; the loss was still a sore spot, even a year later. "Kids are with my ex-wife. Family's all dead otherwise. Didn't seem much point to try rebuildin' th' place."

He shrugged one shoulder, smiling with wry weariness. "Like it up in th' mountains. Quiet. Not many folks around. Gives ya time to think."

Roy gave a grunt of agreement. “People complicate things.” Lifting the tin to his lips, Roy took another drink of the coffee to finish it off. As he set the tin down with his scarred left hand, he wiped his beard with the back of his right.

“What happened with that?” Roy pried. It wasn’t something he’d typically do, but he was uncomfortable with the prospect of possibly letting the man walk out of here with his secrets without knowing something in return.

A moment of silence passed as Slate gazed at the fire. He reached forward, used a charred stick to stir the coals and tossed another chunk of wood into the flames before sitting back with a low sigh.

"Met Gwena oh... must be 'bout three years ago now." The expression on his face was deeply sorrowful but not despairing. "Never seen nobody with such sad eyes before, poor lit'l gal." Slate cleared his throat, rubbed his hands over his knees. "Ended up fallin' for her pretty quick. Too quick, really. Didn't figure we'd have no trouble even iffen her dad wasn't fond of me. Thought..." His smile was wry without being bitter. "Thought she'd be happy with a simple kinda life. 'specially when she caught pregnant. She seemed real happy with th' homestead and havin' babies. Worried a lot that somebody'd think th' boys weren't mine or she was some kinda witch just wantin' to use me. Things like that."

One hand ran over his hair before it dropped to his lap. "But even with my family havin' a title of some sorts, we weren't rich. Had money put aside, but that's for lean years or when th' crops don't do so well. Gwena was always wearin' some fancy bauble her dad or her brother got her. Didn't even really wanna take my name. She's... proud of bein' a Leours."

He leaned his head back, focused his gaze on the rock overhead. "We both knew it weren't workin'. She didn't wanna be a farmer's wife and I ain't th' sort to play noble. When those Mantle hit Lake Doric, I figured I'd make her happy, send her to her folks in Ebonhawke. It'd keep her safe at th' same time."

With a slow shake of his head, Slate chuckled hoarsely. "She sent th' boys along and went out to th' field with her brother. They're close. Real close. Lotta folk thought there was somethin' between 'em that shouldn't be, but it weren't that. They're just twins. Depend on each other. Her dad was out there too, with his wife." For a moment, Slate looked utterly astonished and laughed. "Fine mess, that. His wife used to be married to his son. They split up, Noel found himself a right sweet lit'l gal--Brooke's darlin', poor thing--and then Lucian comes back up outta nowhere and married Capricia."

The smile faded as Slate looked back at the fire and his expression was set in stone. "Ran into a fella out in Doric. There'd been some trouble, somebody cuttin' up women. Not just th' Mantle, but attackin' medics and th' like." He reached up, absently rubbing his jaw, and his fingertips brushed the scars.

"Caught him in th' act. Fuckin' mesmer. Damn well near killed me, but I got him just 'bout as good. Only thing is he did this," and Slate tapped the scars before dropping his hand. "Knew 'bout the time this pretty lit'l medic stitched me up that th' marriage was over. Gwena wasn't never gonna be happy out on th' farm. 'specially not with a husband carved up like a Wintersday goose."

He let out a slow breath. It was a confidence he was giving, and Slate didn't hold back while he did it. The pain on his face was clear. "Took a day outta th' field and had somebody draw up th' papers. Made sure she got th' boys, set up my will so they'd be as taken care of as I could manage."

Slate's eyes, dark with memory, shifted to Roy. "She signed 'em so fast th' messenger that brought 'em to me was th' same I'd used to send 'em."

Another shake of his head and Slate huffed out a breath. "Once th' lake was pretty well secured, I figured somebody oughta go find this monster that was cuttin' up women. Took me a couple of months to even get a bead on him and that's when a fella I... knew found me up in Timberline. Lucky thing though. Found some poor lit'l thing wanderin' around with her hands all broken up. He took her to get seen to, told me 'bout my homestead burnin' down."

Reaching over, Slate picked up the tin cup and looked into the bit of coffee still there. He swigged it, grimaced once at the taste, and rested the cup on his knee. "Went to go see it. Everythin' was gone. Even th' rosebushes I put in for Gwena. So I made sure Torn got his lit'l cottage out back, had th' land sold off and the money sent to her for th' boys. Then I went back lookin' for that fucker."

Now there was rage on his face. There was no masking it. The fury of a righteous man faced with some offense against the gods and his code of honor was stamped clearly on every feature. "Found some sweet lit'l gal that fucker had knocked up and pretty much locked away. She was so damn scared he'd find her that she nigh well fainted every time she saw some blonde fella. Got her away from th' house he'd stuck her in and her boys too." A flicker of pain showed through the anger. "Twin boys. Cute lit'l fellas they were, not their fault who their father was."

Slate let out a slow breath and then shrugged once, letting the anger ease off of his face. "Got her to her brother 'n her cousin. Just my luck, she's a Leours cousin or somethin' like that. So I saw to it she was safe and all, then lit out. Ain't been back to Ebonhawke since and ain't got plans to go back."

Roy listened with interest to the tale. The more he learned about the man, the more he found they had in common... the less he wanted to follow through on what he knew he should do. His single eyed gaze fell to the fire thoughtfully, his own wear and exhaustion clear on his face.

"Nobles," he finally said with a snort and shook his head. "So the bastard's still out there somewhere?"

"...maybe." Slate sighed, running a hand over his hair once more. "I ain't sure iffen he did survive th' tangle we got into, but some slimy bastards are pretty hard to kill."

Leaning over, he shook the coffee pot and poured a bit more of the grounds-clogged liquid into his cup. "Tracked him to Garrenhoff and that's where I found Brielle. Couldn't just leave th' lit'l bit there, so I had to get her safe first."

He settled against the rock and stared at the fire, the cup almost forgotten on his knee. "...think you're fightin' just one monster then ya run into another one. Down in Timberline while I was headin' to the coast, I ran into one fucker that damn well near ripped my arm off." He rolled his left shoulder and chuckled dryly.

"That lit'l 'vari fella was quick thinkin'. Helped me out a bit with that. Both of us weren't in no shape to go huntin' for nobody else, so we went on to that desert spot. Elona."

"Elona...?" Roy tilted his head slightly. "They've opened passage?"

It was, perhaps, an odd question; hinting that he may be a bit out of sync with the times. He didn't look all that old, nor did he look to be the sort that liked to be ill informed. There was a spark of interest in his eye that faded quickly enough and was replaced by something else.

"Wager my ma's found her way out there," Roy said quietly as he looked to the fire. Another person he couldn't ever see again... More and more ties to sever. She blamed herself the first time. There wasn't a doubt she wouldn't this time. He regretted never saying goodbye before his final deployment.

"Well, it was sorta a panic reaction kinda thing, with Balthazar losin' his damn mind and chargin' out there to raise hell," Slate said, picking coffee grounds out of his teeth with the tip of his knife.

He sighed, shaking his head as he lowered the knife. "Then that damn Brandstorm hit. Where I spent most of my time was helpin' folks pick back up after that. Needed a lotta rebuildin'. Pretty sure it ain't done so I'll likely wander back down thataways after a bit." "Balthazar is back?" Roy asked, sitting up a little straighter. He really was out of touch. There was a sudden sense of urgency, as though he'd momentarily forgotten his woes.

"Yeah. And it's just 'bout blown people outta their minds 'cause looks like the gods ain't exactly givin' much of a damn 'bout him killin' everythin' he can get his hands on."

Running a hand over his hair, Slate sheathed the knife and settled with his feet stretched out. There was a single glance at Roy, a measured silence. "Guessin' yer ma ain't somebody yer keen on seein' 'cause of..." He gestured at the mouth of the cave. 

"It ain't that," Roy said with a sigh. He eyed Slate before asking, "What all did you happen to hear ... specifically?"

Slate reached out and emptied his tin cup, picked up the coffee pot. Pointedly, he got to his feet, lumbered to the mouth of the cave and methodically washed the cup out with snow. With unhurried movements, he returned to the fire and set the pot in to start boiling.

He neither looked at Roy nor attempted covering his back as he set about making another pot of coffee, and this time he put out a paper packet with sugar.

"Enough to guess yer an assassin of some sort," Slate finally said, meeting his gaze evenly. "And they're threatenin' yer kids to make sure ya do what they want. Makin' sure ya don't get any ideas 'bout takin' yer lit'l gal away from that lot of crazy-ass nobles 'cause that'd divert ya from yer purpose, wouldn't it?"

“That’s one interpretation,” Roy muttered. Despite the up front assessment, Roy appeared calm. There was no indication that he would suddenly leap to attack. Roy did note that nothing had been said regarding his identity. “Anything else?”

Slate added a spoonful of sugar to his freshly poured cup of coffee and stirred. He laid the spoon down, filled Roy's cup and set the sugar within reach before he settled back against his rock.

"Anythin' else ain't my business. Just like whatever ya got goin' on ya don't want to talk about ain't my business."

He sipped his coffee, blowing across the black liquid to cool it first. "Ya ain't th' first person I've met who had a whole bunch of stuff they didn't wanna talk 'bout or couldn't talk 'bout. So ya ain't got to."

Roy’s single eyed gaze rested on Slate as he tried to gauge if there was anything he’d been holding back. After a moment, his gaze fell to the coffee on the ground. He wasn’t sure quite how to feel about that piece missing. It made things far less complicated, which he should feel relief for.

Yet ... even still, Larkspur children were Larkspur. He knew she moved on. He figured she did early on. But the fact that his children continued to be associated with only her and not him wasn’t a great feeling.

The thought that he never mattered crept back into his mind, tightening his chest. Stop it. Be grateful he doesn’t know you you are. You can let him walk out of here. 

Finally, Roy gave a slight nod and accepted the coffee. He didn’t bother with any sugar.

He'd outstared Lucian Leours without losing ground. Had held back vital information from a snarling, raging, threatening brother-in-law and not batted an eyelash. Having even confounded a mesmer prowling at him for specific tidbits and memories, Slate didn't show a flicker of concern.

Nor did he make it at all evident that yes, he'd heard the name Araxus.

Did it matter to him? Not a whit. The man before him was Roy and so Roy he was. If there was a point where he felt comfortable in speaking of whatever name he'd held before, then Slate would be amicable to listening.

But it was a hard thing to press a man so clearly used to distrusting everyone around him. And Slate had no intention of doing that.

"Pretty out there in Elona. Least th' place I was seemed real nice. I would've brought Ellie up here but I don't figure those raptors do too well in th' cold. Might see 'bout makin' friends with one of them griffons I've seen a time or two."

Roy only grunted in response as he rested his head back against the rock behind him. There was nothing confrontational in his countenance despite the exchange that had occurred just beyond the cave entrance. Even if the man overheard the name, Roy reckoned it didn’t make a difference. No one knew Araxus on his own merits. Never mind the arms company he owned or his contributions to the war. He was always simply noted as “Luxelen’s Husband” and nothing more .

Roy stopped paying attention to the discussion of Elona, his focus shifting inward as he tried to fight off residual bitterness. Again, he shifted to adjust his left leg. The scars, he could deal with. It was the physical limitation that caused him concern.

It was nigh-well tangible, that abrupt withdrawl of attention from the present. And Slate didn't push. After all, there was only so much that someone could be expected to talk. Especially when they didn't look like much of the social sort. Slate himself had gone weeks without saying a word while he'd been tramping around Tyria.

Silence was easy to slip into and comfortable when it fell.

Without another word, Slate banked the fire to ensure it wouldn't die down entirely through the night, shrugged into his coat against any wayward drafts and settled against his rock, sipping the sweetened coffee and watching the flames die down into shimmering coals.

The other man wasn't sleeping either.

Slate had stood watch many times in the past, and the telling of a portion of his story had stirred up memories usually left dormant. His brow furrowed slightly, but he said nothing, turning over what he recalled of his twin sons, his ex-wife, the monster that he had tried to kill in the belief that it would be dangerous to leave him alive.

Wherever that bastard was, Slate would find him one day. He could only hope that other women wouldn't suffer the same fate while he found the motivation to try again.

If the trail didn't seem to circle back to Divinity's Reach, to Ebonhawke... It would've been easier to stay on the hunt. But despite a year or more passing, the memories were still too raw to risk running into his ex-wife or any member of her extended family.

For now, he would stay gone and trust that sneaky Elonian would pop up if he was needed. Cain had appeared at the oddest times, in the strangest places, and Slate had told him about the blonde mesmer. He'd given off a vague sense of being outrageously competent; Slate trusted his instincts.

If worse came to worse, he'd find a way to send word to the man. There'd been some talk of a house in Ebonhawke that he owned, occupied by a woman of his acquaintance. He'd try for Cain via letter there if he became too troubled.

Sip by slow sip, he finished the coffee and poured himself another cup. Settled against the rock once more and watched the snow gust past the cave mouth, catching the firelight in a thousand faint sparkles before vanishing.

As much turmoil and trouble as the world held, it still possessed beautiful scenery that could be appreciated, and that was something Slate took heart from.

[hillbillyhippiemusicreview]

What Are You Listening To? Volume 2

“Is it LA sunny or Memphis blue Oh, I wish I knew, I wish I knew What are you listening to” -Chris Stapleton

Sooo…I know last time I penned this column and asked “What Are You Listening To,” I said this was going to be a weekly event—but what had happened was….I got lost. Lost in the music. Followed Alice down the rabbit hole of resplendent tunes where time stood still. Yeah, we’ll go with that. In the words of the great Colin Raye, “that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.” Life happens! HOWEVER, I am finally back with some solid songs you need to have constantly revolvin’ in your library like they do in mine. So, without further ado, I bring to you five of the best of the new new. Did ya hear that rhyme? I’m a poet and didn’t know it. (Ya’ll ignore me, I’m sleep deprived and halfway past silly, so just turn up these tracks, tune me out, and fall in love like I did!)

1) Shelby Lore, “I’m All In”

As much as I love the sad songs, I’m a sucker for a heartfelt love song that makes me actually WANT to fall in love again, and have it stick. Shelby Lore effortlessly accomplished that feeling with his recent single, “I’m All In.” His brooding, gritty vocals pair nicely with a lovesick melody that is primed and ready for summer slow dances under the stars. The romantic lyrics reflect upon a burgeoning relationship where the fella is promising his new lover that though “[he doesn’t] know where this is headed, and [he doesn’t] know where it will end, but if it comes down to sink or swim, [he’s] all in,” promising an enduring love rather than a one night stand. My initial listen of this song was the first time Shelby had crossed my radar, and by the end of it I was a huge fan, impatiently wanting to hear more....so I listened to “I’m All In” about ten times in a row, soaking in every iota of emotion, drowning in a well of my own lovelorn blues letting it both break and heal my heart at the same time. My most favorite part? ‘Twas when he’s reflecting on the first night they shared, with the promise he’d do it all over again if only he could rewind time. Swoooooon.

 2) Kudzu Killers, “I Won’t Drown”

From the first chord of “I Won’t Drown,” I knew it was my type of jam with its vibrant, southern rock-tinged sound. By the beginning of the single, I was hooked: “reckless heart and childish games, stoked my heart and set these flames, your gypsy heart ran wild and free, I just didn’t know it wasn’t with me.” MAN...what a way to start off a song and draw you in! The harmonica solo that enters after the second verse is enough to get you on your feet dancing and clapping along, if you weren’t already--and it’ll keep you rockin’ through the duration of the song. It’s a melodious look at redemption from the burn and scorn of a former flame, while simultaneously acting as a lyrical warning about the karma that will eventually come back around. While the single is a very well-written song, the melody is played out in such a rousing way that it takes a few listens before the gravity of the lyrics begins to set in--so make sure you give it a few listens. The Kudzu Killers are at the top of my list for “Bands to Watch” in 2021 and “I Won’t Drown” is the perfect example as to why. Trust me.

 3) Gabe Lee, “’Ol Smokey”

One of my favorite Nashville treasures, Gabe Lee, is a musical force to be reckoned with—I truly believe his talent knows no bounds. “’Ol Smokey” has become a favorite of mine to blast in the car with my windows down, singing my heart out because it’s just that GOOD. This tune can originally be found on Gabe’s 2019 debut release, Farmland, but here it gets re-cut with a bit more funky folk flavor that speaks right to my heart, featuring a rockin’ bluegrass band. Lee is a master storyteller, and I both admire and envy his craft as it typically leaves me spellbound. Here, he spins the tale of a heartsick, forlorn woman still bound by the shackles of the love she shares with a downtrodden man who just can’t seem to cross back over to the right side of the tracks, despite numerous chances. The lyrics allude to Lucy Ann watching the evolution of the demise of her relationship play out on a desolate TV screen as the boys in blue roll in, but perhaps its merely a metaphor of the storm brewing in the jail cell of her mind. Give it a listen and decide for yourself.

 4) Vodka Something, “Just So You Know”

Story time: One night while absentmindedly scrolling through social media, I came across this short clip on Instagram of a wickedly talented, shirtless, heavily tattooed guy with long braids and a backwards cap playing the most beautiful song on my favorite instrument and within seconds, I was hooked. The juxtaposition of the lovely, intricate melody with the eye-catching scene seen in the video drew me in almost instantaneously, and I’ve been enamored with “Just So You Know” since that evening. So enamored to the point that I cannot accurately fathom the words to describe it. To me, it’s a bit like emo bluegrass, as if Panic at the Disco bore a musical lovechild somewhere in the foothills of Kentucky with Bill Monroe. Alternative folk is likely a better categorization, but whatever it is, it’s perfect. The pickin’ of the banjo, the lyrics, the inflection and intonation of his voice, and the whole vibe of the song and music video are jaw dropping. I don’t ever assign numerical ratings to any music I review, but if I had to—I’d give this one a 1000/10 simply for how uniquely beautiful and soul-stirring it is. Consider this an important lesson in not judging a book by its cover and to give everyone a chance--you never know what magic you may find, if only you’ll lend an ear. Now, go do your homework and L I S T E N.

 5) Bella White, “Just Like Living”

Canadian songstress Bella White has found a loving home amidst the bluegrass genre making the style her own with her 2020 album release, Just Like Living. On the title track, her piercing voice is seeped in the folklore of the past, as the euphonic instrumentals pair perfectly with the lyrics to create the quintessential bluegrass track we’ve all been missing, yet it’s wrapped neatly in a new-age sound. At times, her mellifluous vocals remind me of a female Benjamin Tod with the subtle howl and cadence she has to her flow, and I have adored what I’ve heard so far with this coming-of-age tune about leaving home behind to chase love that always seems to be just quite out of reach. Not only does she utilize her voice as an instrument, but Bella is a true wordsmith weaving her words together both vividly and poetically, as evidenced from the very first verse: “The lights pourin’ through my window dressin’ everything up in gold, and I don’t know what I’m doin’ here, I left the howlin’ winds and the prairies to find some kind of idea, am I full or am I empty?” Wow. “Just Like Living” is a must listen.

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Do me a favor--while you listen to these fabulous creations, tell someone you love ‘em today. Peace, love, and music, ya’ll. They make the world go round.

-Lyssa

[somebodyhelpthenotdeadfreds]

Leverage of Tomorrow!

Here’s some cracky goodness for @marywisdom‘s birthday today! Hope you enjoy this mess, it was fun to write!

“You’re all wrong,” Mick declared, setting down his beer bottle and fixing the team with a look. “You’re going about getting the spear back the wrong way.”

Sara folded her arms and looked back at him, nodding for him to continue. “Then what do you suggest we do, Mick?”

Mick grinned, leaning forward in his chair. “Fight fire with fire.” He ignored the eye rolls and muttered comments. He knew he was right. “Hey, let me finish, ‘cause I don’t hear anyone else coming up with the good ideas. So listen to me, for once.”

He cleared his throat and continued. “The Legion is just a bunch of liars and thieves, and sadly, I’m the only liar and thief here, and I can’t do it all by myself. The only way you’re gonna get that spear is to steal it back. But you guys suck at being the bad guys.”

“So, again,” Sarah said, entertaining his motion for the moment, “What do you suggest we do?”

Mick stood up, and nodded over to where Ray was sitting in his chair. “Haircut, you’re with me. We’re heading out to Seattle, early 2000’s.”

“Sure!” Ray said, scrambling to his feet, always eager to help. “But, uh, why?”

Mick smiled. “I’m gonna find some people who actually know how to get shit done.”

When Sophie Deveraux opened her team's office door after the knock, she wasn’t necessarily expecting to see two men standing there, tall enough to tower over her, but she plastered on a winning smile and decided to play along.

“Can I help you two gentlemen? Do you have an appointment?” she asked. The one with the puppy-dog eyes brightened. Naïve, she noted, probably rich. Familiar face, too.

“Oh!” he said, smiling along. “We’d like to speak to an Eliot Spencer, please.”

The other man sighed, exasperated, but Sophie didn’t let anything register on her face that she didn’t want to show. Instead, she blinked and appeared slightly confused.

“I’m sorry, there’s no Eliot Spencer here,” she said. Mick scoffed out a laugh.

“Relax, we’re friends.”

Sophie finally let her expression dim. “That’s not really as comforting an expression as you may think it is.” She turned her head over her shoulder and said, very decidedly, “Eliot! a...friend of yours and his companion are here to see you.”

“Who is - I’m not here!” a voice yelled back. Mick stepped aside from Sophie and right through the doorway, not waiting to be invited in. Ray opened his mouth to apologize when Mick yelled back:

“Hey, Spencer, how’s that burn doing?”

Immediately the door to the kitchenette opened and Eliot came out, grinning. “Hot damn, how you doin’, Rory?”

Mick broke out into a grin and shook his hand, pulling him in and they shared a hug for approximately a nanosecond before pulling away. Ray was still a little stunned but Sophie nodded to him and he stepped inside. “Um, what - ”

“Haircut, Spencer,” Mick said as an introduction, turning back to catch back up with Eliot.

“My name - my name is Ray. Ray Palmer,” Ray stuttered. Sophie turned to him with a surprised look.

“You - you aren’t related to a Sidney Palmer, are you?” she asked.

“Unfortunately yes.”

“Oh,” she said, pursing her lips. “I - may have lifted a few things from him some years back. Just a few small diamonds, I was searching to find a piece of myself for a role - ”

“...What?”

Leaving Ray to Sophie for the moment, Mick turned back to Eliot. “Thought you weren’t a team player.”

“Thought the same about you,” Mick fired back, leaning back on the doorframe, shaking his head to get the hair out of his face. “So, what’s the job?”

“Who says I didn’t just miss you?” Mick joked.

“Yeah, I’m a real catch, Rory. But you got a job for us, don’t you?”

Mick grinned, full of teeth. “Yeah. You guys ever steal...time?”

Hardison was actually going to pass out from sheer joy.

Time. Travel.

Honest-to-god time travel. Interdimensional travel. Literal, actual superpowers. He was in heaven, and the only thing that would make this better was playing around with technology from a hundred years into the future. Amazingly, he was able to find a plug to connect his computer not on the Waverider and started trying to work his way into the system.

But he almost had a heart attack when he heard a chipper, computerized voice start talking directly to him.

“Can I assist you, Mr. Hardison?”

“Uhhhh,” he stuttered, looking around him frantically for the source of the voice. “Maybe. Who - who are you?”

“I’m Gideon. I’m the captain’s personal assistant,” the voice declared. “And I find your attempt at hacking into my servers quite amusing.”

“Uh, sorry, I didn’t - I didn’t mean to, uh, offend you or nothing. I mean, I’m just really into all of-” he gestured around him, wondering if she could see him “-this.”

“If you are curious, you could simply ask, Mr. Hardison, instead of hacking into the softare without permission.”

“I - I apoloize,” Hardison siad, sitting back odwn on his chair. “Could you tell me aobut this ship and, uh, all the tech stuff?”

“What in particular?”

Hardison grinned outright. “Everything.”

Parker narrowed her eyes from where she was watching in the doorframe before walking away, running to catch up with Eliot and jump onto his back. “Eliot!”

The man in question grunted, but adjusted her position so it was easier for him to support her. “Jesus, Parker, we’ve talked about this: I need a five-second warning when you do this.”

“You’ll catch me anyway,” she said back, then turned back to the pressing subject at hand. “Eliot, Hardison found a computer that can talk. What does he need us for, now?”

“Parker,” Eliot soothed. “Don’t worry. He needs us. Please - please don’t be jealous of an AI.”

“Fine,” Parker said, pouting as she held on tighter. “Where are you going?”

“Sparring off with Sara,” Eliot said, hoisting her up a little higher as he walked on down the hallway. “Do you think I’ll win?”

“Hmm,” Parker thought, resting her head on his shoulder. “First round doesn't count. I’ll bet afterwards.”

Team Leverage took up one side of the flight deck, and the Legends took up the other half.

“I can't believe you recruited thieves to help us,” Martin said to Mick with an eyeroll. Parker blinked at him for a few minutes, then turned to Sophie.

“Was that the insult?” she said in a stage whisper. “Because - because we are thieves. I don’t get it.”

“Do you have his wallet?” Sophie asked back, a slight smile pulling at her lips. Parker nodded.

“I’ve lifted a wallet, a knife, a couple tools, a Rolex, and a bag of Fritos.”

Sophie gave her a small high-five and then they turned their attention back to the briefing Sara Lance was giving.

“The main heads of the Legion are Eobard Thawne, Damien Darhk, and Malcolm Merlyn.”

Eliot’s head snapped up, then grimaced from where Sara had gotten him good at the base of his neck. “Did you say Malcolm Merlyn?”

Sara raised an eyebrow at him, then crossed her arms, hissing at the sting at her shoulder.

(The sparring match had been good for both of them, not having to hold back. But maybe they should have waited to do it until after the con was completed.)

“Do you know him?” she asked dryly.

“Seriously, Merlyn?” Eliot bit out, spitting the blood out of his mouth as his foot remained firmly on Merlyn’s neck, causing him to choke out a curse. “You - you run the goddamn Legion of Assassins, and you sent me some third-rate ones. I deserve better than that.”

Merlyn growled and tried to get up, but Eliot just added more pressure as he caught his breath.

“If - if I’m not honest, you aren't gonna improve.”

Eliot blinked. “Maybe.”

Nate Ford finally spoke up, addressing his team. “Alright guys, I have a plan. But I need to know how to knock out a guy with superspeed. Multiple times.”

Mick cleared his throat after swallowing his beer. “We’ve got these, uh, things that-”

“We are not lending some thieves that you just happen to know borrow any of the Waverider-” Martin’s exasperated interruption was cut off when he caught sight of Eliot’s hard glare.

“‘Scuse me,” Eliot said, his tone a few shades short of a snarl. “But your teammate was speaking.”

“Well, I-”

“Isn’t he a part of this here team? Why don’t y’all shut your mouths for a second and let the man talk?” Eliot snapped, and he leaned back against the wall of the Waverider and nodded to Mick. “Keep talking.”

Mick nodded back. “Thanks. We’ve got these things that can knock you out with a flash or something.”

“Does it look like this?” Parker asked, holding up the device in question. The entire Legends crew stared at her in disbelief.

“We keep those in our rooms, under lock and key.”

Parker shrugged, handing it over to Nate. “They were bad locks, what can I say?” she said innocently, flashing a grin at Mick, who returned it.

Nate cleared his throat, addressing his team again. “Alright, plan, plan. I think we’re going to go with a time warp.”

The Leverage crew nodded while the Legends looked confused. Nate only continued. “Okay, Sophie, I’m thinking Russian.”

Sophie’s eyes lit up. “Of course, Nate, nothing screams ‘seductive femme fatale’ like a well done Russian accent. There was this one time in Switzerland-”

“Yes, thank you, Sophie, but we need to continue,” Nate said, cutting her off. She gave him a narrow-eyed glare that meant that he would be getting an earful later that night. “Now, Hardison-”

“Comms are all set up,” Hardison announced, tapping away on his laptop. “We should have a standard connection, and I’ve set up all our fake IDs, except for Eliot, ‘cause, well, one of them already knows you.”

Eliot nods, surveying the room again with narrowed eyes, daring anyone to interrupt. No one did.

“...And if at any point we need to contact anyone on board,” Nate finishs, directing this point to the Legends. “We’ll call Mick.”

“But-”

Eliot turned up the glare and Nate Heywood went silent. Nate Ford cracked his knuckles and sighed. “Yeah, should only take us about four days.”

“Four days? We’ve been tracking them for months,” Jax said in disbelief. “You can’t just-”

“Yeah, you guys did all the surveillance work, thanks. Shouldn’t be too bad.”

The Legends all silently disagreed.

Four days later

Eliot came hustling back onto the Waverider, tossing the Spear of Destiny onto the floor and straightening out his neck, ignoring the bruises and dried blood on his face and arms. “Here you go.”

Martin actually dropped his glass on the ground and shattered it. Everyone’s jaw dropped as the rest of the Leverage crew, sans Parker, climbed back onto the Waverider. Nate stretched his neck as well, letting out a sigh.

“That was fun, got your spear back.”

Jax broke the ice first. “How - how did you-”

“Oh, it was just marvelous,” Sophie drawled as she came up behind Nate. “Time loop scheme, of course.”

“Classic,” Mick said, raising his beer bottle in celebration. The other Legends just looked confused. Nate rolled his eyes.

“Sophie, they’re not criminals, they don’t know the time-loop con.”

Hardison came up behind them, leaning against one of the chairs. “Basically, it’s a Groundhog Day situation. Make the mark think they’re stuck living the same day over and over.”

“Took four tries,” Nate yawned, itching for a drink. “Honestly, I thought it would have taken longer, Thawne looked like he was going to crap his pants when he thought they broke time.”

“And poor Damien, I had to spill his coffee on his suit over four times. Must have a second-degree burn right now,” Sophie sighed, blowing her hair out of her face. The Legends were still too stunned to say anything. Hardison suddenly straightened up.

“Oh, almost forgot, we got somethin’ else,” he grinned, then called over his shoulder. “Hey, Parker, you coming or what?”

“Here!” Parker squealed, rushing onto the Waverider. And she was dragging someone behind her...someone who looked pissed off, yet amused...

“Leonard?” Sara screeched in disbelief, and everyone’s jaws hit the floor again while Mick spit his beer out onto the floor. “You-”

“Did everyone miss me?” he drawled, letting Parker pull him all the way to the center of the room.

“How - how -”

“I stole him!” Parker grinned. “I mean, I stole a whole orphanage once and got them all ice cream, but Len was just there. You were - you tell them,” she directed to Len, and he grinned back at her.

“Yeah, so when the Oculus blew I kind of got sucked into the time stream and it just so happened that the Legion pulled me out first. Thanks for looking, by the way. How do you think the Legion came up with half their plans, they had me on background duty. Armchair planning. The worst,” he half-groaned, rolling his eyes for effect, before smiling again. “And now I’m back, I hope you still have room,” he said, directing a short glare over to where Nate and Amaya were standing, and they shifted uncomfortably.

Len noted this with satisfaction and walked right over to Mick, who had his arms folded and his eyes narrowed. Len tried the smooth smile to be annoying. “Miss me?”

“That was goddamn stupid, you know that?” Mick snapped, referring to the whole affair at the Oculus. Before Len could respond, Mick was already talking again: “You do that again, I’ll kill you myself. They gave your room away.”

Len winked. “Nice to know you missed me. And good thing I was sleeping in yours anyway, then.”

There was a choking noise from behind them, it sounded like either Ray or Martin. Len was sure he heard Sara giving a thumbs-up.

“Well, our work here is done,” Nate announced to his crew, and they all said their goodbyes the Leverage team, and walked off the Waverider. All was well.

“...Parker, did you steal a billionaire’s wallet?”

“He doesn’t NEED it, Eliot, he’s a billionaire. He could buy a billion wallets.”

[wonderlandinrope]

Not All Monsters Part 5

Sam X Reader

Warnings: Violence, blood, kidnapping, language

Summary: While the brothers are trying to work a case things start to go downhill for Aris.

It was late in the day, Aris was doing her best to try and help Jody around the house. Tonight she was making dinner, a full spread: Roasted chicken, potatoes, two veggies, even pie for dessert. After Sam and Dean had left she found herself doing whatever she could to keep her mind busy, reading for a few hours, cleaning even when the house wasn’t dirty, cooking. Once or twice a day Sam would call to check in but the calls never seemed to last long enough. Always ending with Aris falling asleep in the middle of the conversation or Sam rushing off to track down a lead on whatever they were working on. Aris was smart enough not to push when it came to what they did. Not that she wanted to know.

Checking the fridge for carrots, she found that they were out. The store was a twenty-minute walk, it would still be another three hours before Jody made it home. Plenty of time to run to the store and back plus make dinner. Grabbing her wallet and the phone that the brothers had given her, she headed out the door locking it behind her. Aris had grown more comfortable going out on her own. She had been working with Jody on how to defend herself, along with learning the area.

About halfway to the store, Aris felt a familiar sensation of being watched. Looking around nothing seemed to stick out, shoving the paranoia down she passed it off as just another short-lived episode of PTSD. Once at the store she made her way quickly to the veggies stopping only for a moment to grab some chocolate for herself, when she did so she got the same sensation of being watched. Looking around again no one was there hurting now she picked up her pace as she left the store phone in hand ready to call.

“Want a ride Darlin’?” A man with a scruffy looking face, and dirty work clothes asked as she made her way out to the parking lot. Looking down she ignored him, and began to jog. He kept after her calling out the window again. “Come on I’m just trying to be friendly.”

“Leave her alone, can’t you see your ugly ass face is scaring her?” Another man taller clean shaven with a regal stance appeared just a few feet from her. He had a scar on one of his hands.

“What you doin, bub? You her boyfriend?” The first taunted.

“No, but you’re kind of ruining my chances.” Without hesitation, he swags back knocking the first man to the ground. Aris jumped, eyes wide and tried to take off the man was fast though. Too fast for to be human. “Hold on there, easy, easy!” His hand over her mouth and arm around her waist he pulled her tight whispering in her ear. “You're ok. No one is going to hurt you just come with me.”

Swinging her head back it struck him hard but only brought out a laugh.

Sitting in the at a table The brothers had been following a lead. A man that they had been looking into was who had been doing all the killings. He seemed to fit the profile. After interviewing three different bars and losing at video footage, the man had been at present before each disappearance. Tonight he zeroed in on one woman rather quickly. A short woman with curly hair, in her 20s. As they flirted the girl seemed to be into him, both exiting the bar. The brothers following close behind. Once in the parking lot, they approached, telling the women to leave. Without hesitation, she ran off assumingly back to the bar.

“What the fuck man!” He gasped. The guy held up his hands as Dean shoved him against a random car, just beyond the light.

“What were you doing with that girl?” Dean growled, hand ready to grab the gun at his waist.

“Clam down! Some guy paid me fifty bucks to hit on her. You her boyfriend? Won't happen again.”  The man murmured.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. Every girl you’ve met the past week has wound up dead.” Dean ordered.

He was starting to sweat, beads forming on his brow. The guy's eyes darted around feet shifting nervously under him. Lunging forward he tried to push past them only to be slammed back against the car. A hand shoots up again as he tried not to seem like a threat. Doing his best to stay in control and get the full story Sam pulled out a silver knife holding it close to the man's face. Fear actually causing the man to urine on himself.

“Come on. I didn’t know anything would happen to them! I swear it wasn’t me.”

“Sam check him.” Dean barked.

Sam splashed him with holy water, then took a silver knife placing it against the man's skin. “Nothing. Who’s been paying you?”

Before the man could answer Sam’s phone rang. Dean gave him the familiar look of annoyance. Sam put it on silent and Dean went back to trying to get answers out of the man only to be interrupted by the phone again. Looking down Aris name flashed across the screen, he hit ignore again. Only to have it go off a third time.

“Come on man!” He said over his shoulder. Before grabbing the man as he tried to walk away again.

Sam held up his index finger then turned away sliding the phone to answer. “It's really not a good time right now Aris. Can I call you back?”

“You could but I don't think Aris will be around much longer to answer next time.” The voice on the other end was cold and calculating.

“Where's Aris?” Sams blood went cold. Trying to recognize the voice but unable to place it.

“Don't worry she's safe here with me. We've had a very nice chat.” On the other end of the phone, there was a light tapping noise as if the phone was being hit with something. “Say hello darling.”

“Please Sam!,” Aris pleaded desperation in her voice.

“Don't worry I'm coming to get you!” Sama anger leaking out into his words.

“Why don't you try.” The voice paused thoughtfully for a moment. “You know I was going to let you try to figure it out on your, however, I'm feeling rather impatient today. The man you're looking for that killed those women is the same man who's been lending me a helping hand. Why don't you come to me and we can sort this out like a gentleman?”

“Don't you dare lay a Fucking hand on her!” The sudden rise in Sams' voice catching Dean off guard.

“The address will be texted to you.” Click.

Shoving the phone into his pocket Sam took his own gun from its holster. Rushing the man Dean held against the car. Taking him by the scruff of the neck Sam pressing the gun sharply into the man's stomach. “Next time someone offers you money for any reason know there's always a catch.” Throwing the man to the ground Sam stormed in the direction of the Impala. The man scrambled to his feet taking off running.

“What's going on Sammy?” Sliding into the front seat Dean started off in the direction of Sioux Falls.

“Someone has Aris. He said he's also the one responsible for the killings.”Sam brooded. “We should never have left her alone Dean.”

“We had to leave. This wasn’t something we could control. At some point, we knew that she would be on her own.” Dean shutting down his brothers self-blame. Cutting his hand through the air.

The brothers sat in silence until Sams phone buzzed with an address to where to find Aris. Along with it was a picture of Aris wrists tied above her hanging from the ceiling. Her head hung limp unconscious a large bruise covering her face. Furry and fear for Aris taking hold of both men. Picking up speed it would take two more hours before they made it to the location.

As the world began to spin slowly around her nothing was in focus. Aris felt her arms becoming painful yet numb simultaneously. The air was warm yet she felt so cold, goosebumps running up and down her arms, and cold sweat began to form. She could feel the presence of someone just out of her line of vision. Doing the best to lift her head she took in the vision of the dirty garage. Concrete floor stained with oil, tools lined a bench.

“Sam…” She whispered trying to call out. Her thought hurt, parched desperate for something to drink.

A hand appeared in front of her coaxing her to look up. It was calloused, and firm, a familiar touch that brought back nightmares. Each time she opened her in the morning the face was there taunting her, before she knew the image was just a figment of her imagination. Not this time, however. Flesh and blood, face staring back at her, holding her like she was a lost doll being returned to an excited child. Fear reared its ugly head turning she to stone, unable to flinch

“No baby, It’s Dan. Oh, Sweaty I thought you died.” His hands cupped her cheeks refusing to let her go. “If I had known I would have come barrelin’ after you. Shot those two dead.”

Her heart began to race, how did he find her? How was he able to get to her so easily, without her knowing. Recalling the moments before she blacked out, The man with the scar, he had taken her she had a faint idea that at a point she had even spoken to Sam, sometime between beatings. But why would he have done that if he was working for Dan?

“Don’t worry sweety, you’ll go home soon.” Roughly taking kissing her, it was painful, both mentally and physically.

“Not too soon I hope. Her company was a nice break from the monotony I have had to deal with.” From around the corner, he glided across the floor. “You’re boyfriend here was nice enough to loan you to me for the time being. Don’t worry your pretty little self you’ll be back with him soon.”

Dan dropped his hands charging at the man fist at the ready. “I’m taken her now, I did what you asked, bub. Three women for my Aris, that was the deal.”

“Yes, well deals change. I need her as leverage. You can either go hide or stand around I don’t care but she’s staying here.” He retorted.

Speaking with a certainty that Dan was not used to. Instead of doing as he was told his temper flared pulling back his fist he hit the man hard across the face. It had no effect, however. In fact, the man laughed turned and smiled. Throwing another punch still there was no reaction other than laughter. Dan stood holding his hand. With one last laugh, the man stood suddenly stone faced. Opening his mouth Aris watched as long daggered teeth sprouted from his mouth. Gripping Dan by the shoulders, they sank into his neck, before Dan collapsed on the floor.  

Standing now covered in blood he turned on Aris “They’re here.” Was all he said.

The man without a name drifted to her side pulling her down. Hitting the floor with a thud her arms were useless, one of which seemed to be out of the socket. Looking up from the floor she could have sworn that he was smiling. Pulling her up by her hair she almost missed the sound of the door being kicking open. The silhouette of a two-man stood just out of the light, it took a minute but as her eyes adjusted Sam’s face became clear. Tears started to fall stinging as they hit a cut on her cheek. He held a gun one hand and a machete in the other

“Sam!” Trying to move yet unable to even breath.

“I don’t think so, put the weapons down. It seems that you boys have a weak spot and I’m not above bruising this delicate peach.” Pulling her close he inhaled her smelling. “She is quite something you know. After spending the last day with her I see why you and that gentleman were so attached.”

Taking in the image of Dan’s body Sam judged how much of a threat this single Vamp was. Blood dripping down his chin, while he grinned sheepishly at the idea of taking something away from the brothers that seemed so precious. Laying down the weapons Dean and Sam watched as the Vamp opened his mouth moving it closer to Aris neck.

“Easy we putting them down tell us what you want so we can get the girl and be on our way.” Dean was taking the lead Sam did his best to stay stone-faced.

“I want my family back. We were minding our own business only taking what we needed and you men had to come in and kill them.” He inhaled Aris scent even deeper. “Fortunately, for you, it’s not to difficult to make a new family. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that you hunters owe me.”

As the dove for their weapons three knew vamps dropped from the ceiling. Two young men and woman all late 20s, Teeth ready. Each vampire going after a brother while the third went for the weapons. Already dealing with more than she could handle Aris looked at the dead body laying on the floor somewhere in the back of her mind she acknowledged the image of Dean and Sam fighting desperately for their lives and hers. The pull of her hair just barely taking her focus off the body. Holding her a way that her eyes had to take in the brutality before her.

Dean dodging to the right, fists at the ready, Sam going to the left landing a punch no one of them only to be thrown by the third. Both getting a few blows in only to have the vamps get up regaining the ground that was. One pulling Dean’s hands behind him. Sam looked ragged as the vamps went for his neck.

“Hold them still my children.  I want them to see as the one they were trying to saves becomes the thing that they hunt.” Teeth cut into the vamps wrists. As blood dripped down his arm.

“Don’t!” Losing his cool Sam struggled against them.

The warm liquid forced into her mouth, Aris trying to resist but unable to move. She felt her arm and bruises heal, her throat that once hurt now felt dry a craving that she didn’t recognize pulled her out of her fog. The lights burning her eyes, footsteps in the distance thundering in her ears. There was a smell in the air that called to her. Looking around she followed it only to see the pulse in Sam’s neck. His heart beating fast rushing with adrenaline.

“How poetic, You save her she kills you. Please, help yourself.” With a laugh he let her go.

Releasing her toward the brothers Aris took a few tentative steps forward. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay in control, to plan the next step. Maybe she should just give in let the new instincts guide her. The smell of blood seducing her to the point of madness. Eyes centering on Sam he swallowed hard as she took another step toward him. Hands shaking, mouth-watering she couldn’t hold back any longer.

[totalfanfreak]

One of Three - Chapter 16

One of Three

Chapter 16 – If you’re Lost You Can Look and You’ll find Me

[Why did this take me so long? I swear, the further into the movie plot I get the more I struggle but…I wanted to get something out before all the winter festivities came. But thanks again to my betas – bleedingrose0688 and canadianjelly! Thank you for what you do with this project and basically hearing me ramble. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and for reading! Rainey Day Smiles I want to message you but the thing won’t let me but thank you!]

“Besides all the swelling, there’s nothing serious for you to worry about. You won’t be feeling too great alongside the minor bumps and bruises you received to your body, when the anesthetic wears off, your face is going to give you a moderate amount of pain. I can write out a prescription –“

“No, thank you.”

The three of them had been stuck at the hospital for hours, waiting, all Sera wanted to do was go somewhere and rest. Somewhere safe, and that in itself was going to be a task now, and narcotics tossed in wasn’t going to help.

She poked the brace on her nose, her whole face felt like it had been scraped through glass, but her nose got the worst of it. “If I’m clear I’d rather just go back to the lobby so I can make sure my guys are okay.”

The way the old doctor’s lip straightened in a hard line had her raising her chin.

“Yes, well, if I’m to recommend anything at all, young lady, it’d be for you to get away from whichever one did that to you.”

Her mouth gaped. “Doctor, you’re out –“

“I see it all the time, almost 24/7 here, and you may have thrown in a few good punches but they –“

“You’re wrong; whatever scenario you have thought up of us you’re wrong. It’s my fault they got hurt –“she gestured to her face – “but this, this had nothing to do with them.”

They stared hard at one another, the old man finally relenting with a sigh. “Just be careful, I really do see enough domestic violence in here that I don’t need you to add on to it.”

She pursed her lips. “Note taken, may I leave now?”

The doctor gave a curt nod, and she slipped out of the room before he could comment any further. She couldn’t say it was a five-star hospital, but it did have a lot of business. And as Murphy had said while they were driving away, they wouldn’t ask questions.

Just make bad assumptions, and stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.

She had wanted to stay and wait for Connor to be looked over, being taken back first with the most injury. But Murphy had pressed her to go on, that he’d make sure they both were taken care of. She was glad for it at this moment, wanting away from all the sick and hurt – nothing but misery in these halls.

Sera found both her boys in the main lobby; Connor laid back in a chair, exhausted, his wrists now bound in gauze. The leg that faced her quivered, she was surprised he hadn’t popped both his knees out of their sockets jumping from a damn roof. Murphy told her how he watched Connor jump while she had sobbed her apology, helping Murphy throw in the bag full of guns and wallets then Connor into her car. He had remained unconscious for the majority of the ride, barely coherent going in, but somehow here he was hurt – probably more so than he let on but alert and awake. Arms crossed with a small smile while he watched his brother sitting with a young boy on top of a gurney playing cards, while the boy gave pats to Shep between turns. She took note that both boys had bandages across their foreheads.

Her hand went for Connor’s shoulder, taking the seat beside him. “How are you doing, Conn?”

The smile stretched. “Doin’ fine, got da papers ta prove it.”

She nodded, her eyes drifting to the bloody robe. “Didn’t they think to give either of you some scrubs or something?”

He shrugged, not bothered by the stains. But she was – his blood, Murphy’s blood, the Russians’ blood. There was too much red mingling there. “I’m going to the nurses’ station.”

Connor tugged her back, and she was able to feel Murphy’s eyes on her.

“Don’t be doin’ that, aingeal.”

Her mouth had dried up, leaving it sticky and parched. “Do what?”

“Runnin’. We sure the hell ain’t.”

It was seeing them – like nothing was wrong. Yes, she would’ve been devastated if they were in a hospital bed, but this…the nonchalance of it as if it were no big deal that they had almost been killed. It made it that much more troubling.

“I’m not running. I just thought you two would want some clean clothes.”

“Rather have a smoke ta be honest.”

She snorted at Murphy. “We need to find somewhere safe for you guys to go.”

“Us.”

She fell back into the seat, hands going to her hair. “I want it to be that way, and we’ll keep it that way if that’s the way you want it. But this, the shit that just happened I can’t live in the daydream that the two of you will magically be okay through this. You nearly took a bullet to the head, Murphy,” she turned to Connor, “And you, you had to go and jump off a fucking roof.”

Connor sunk in his seat, his nose turned up: the scolded child. “Was protectin’ my brother.”

“I know. And you shouldn’t have had to. That’s the damn point I’m trying to make here.”

Murphy patted the boy’s shoulder before jumping off the gurney. “Too late fer that, told ye, yur stuck with us. Not leavin’ no matter what happens or shit ye say.”

She laid her head on the back of the chair. “I’m not saying anyone should leave. But you two need somewhere to recuperate for a while. And I need to figure what to do. We need somewhere safe to go.”

She was trying to be calm, to put her head on straight to know what to do and say. But she was floating, floundering if she were honest, because she had no idea what the hell to do. The only thing that was clear thudded in her ears like a heartbeat. They almost died. They could’ve died. They would’ve died. They’re going to die. All she could see was Connor on the asphalt, the gun pointed at Murphy while he scrambled with the toilet lid.

Holding back the tears, the pressure of them hurting her nose as she sniffled; sighing heavily, she felt an arm sling around her. Opening her eyes she turned to the owner.

“So what do we do, Murph?”

He gave a heartening smile, mole and cheek dimpling. She could feel the bandages that covered his fingers smoothing on her shoulder. It gave her the image of Murphy heaving the porcelain up, the rough cement inside digging into flesh each hit cutting him deeper. She gave the top of his hand a squeeze, head going to its place on his chest as he opened his mouth. Only to have Connor cut him off.

“Fuck ‘im, he don’t know what ta do.”

Eyes were narrowed with his brother’s brush off. “Fuck me? Fuck you and yer movie bullshit! Didn’t have no stunt double fer ye, did we? Better be rememberin’ who carried yer dumbass to da car. Ye ain’t like the girl; ye weigh as much as a walrus.”

“Oh, fuck ye, Murph!”

“Fuck ye, too!”

She shook her head, standing. “You both should be ashamed, cursing like that in front of a young child like that. I’ll be back.”

Connor reached for her. “Told ye, lass –“

“I’m not running, Connor. Not anymore. Even if you’re both okay with it, I…it’ll ease my mind if we get you into something else. I don’t like seeing –“she gestured at the scarlet stains. “That on you two.”

The boys nodded, solemn, making her reprimand herself for bringing them down. “How about you two come up with something, I may need to get Shep looked at. Stupid fuck kicked him.”

The boys grinned at her language. “Who should be ashamed, love?”

She snorted at them, walking away to the nurses’ station. Every light on the phone they had behind the desk flashing, each one jotting down something on a clipboard. Catching one she asked to be pointed in the direction where to get some scrubs, giving her name and how many so she wouldn’t bother them. She grabbed one of the shirt covers for herself, her top splattered from her nose as well as wiping Connor’s blood from her hands on it. She decided to toss her shirt in the trash when she changed out of it. She didn’t have a need to feel the sticky relic against her skin.

It was thin material, and she wished the boys had something to go over it. They were probably going to have to wear the robes out. She zipped up her own jacket, surprised when she turned the corner and saw Doc there. The elder man was hunched down patting Shep’s side. She smiled at him and the boy on that remained on the gurney before passing out the clothes.

Murphy grinned to her, gesturing to Doc. “’pparently da old man was holdin’ out on us.”

Connor chuckled. “Aye, came in and told him about da poor dog’s situation and says he used to be a vet back in Ireland.”

Her brows rose. “Really, Doc?”

He nodded, the movement more pronounced with the twitching in his face. “S’true sweetheart, came from a long line of farmers and the like; s-seemed ta fit that I take care of da animals t-t-there with them.”

“Then why did you decide to become a bartender here?”

Doc shrugged, Murphy lending a hand to help him stand. “T’was easier. Ye move to another country, they want ye ta s-s-spend extra money on their schoolin’. Didn’t have da money fer all of dat s-sh-s…Fuck! Decided ta just…t-ta…Ass! Easier ta play da part and open a bar. Used m-me savings and opened McGinty’s.”

She crossed her arms, nodding, her expression staid. That wasn’t fair, especially seeing how easy it was to see Doc fixing animals on a farm. Shep jumped on her side, scoping her to make sure she was alright. She smiled and scratched behind his ear. She heard Doc laugh.

“He’s fine, might be a tad sore, but nothin’ broken or need of care. May want ta give ‘im some c-c-c…baby as-as-Ass! Aspirin! Will help the pain just as well.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you so much, Doc. Who knows what Shep and me would have to do if you hadn’t shown up.”

Which begged the question…she turned to the boys. Murphy shrugged. “Ye wanted us ta come up with somethin’. We’ve been trying ta make one beforehand so we called Doc when you were gettin’ patched up.”

Her eyes went to Connor who was propped on the wall. “What are you thinking Doc can do?”

Murphy thrust the shopping bag up. “If it’s okay with him, hide this shit fer one. We’ll come after it when we’re done.”

Doc took the bag without question, making her eyes dart between the three. “When we’re done with what?”

“T-that’s what I was tellin’ these two, a man came to da bar today, gave me his card and wants ta speak ta all of ye.”

Connor held out the card letting her look it over. “So you want us to go to the police?”

“Was self-defense wasn’t it, aingeal?”

It wasn’t an actual question but she shrugged in answer. “From my experience the police aren’t much help in any of these matters. But if you guys think it’ll help…”

Doc took her shoulder, a fatherly gesture. “Dis man appeared ta know what he was doin’. Told dem here, he knew it was ye three defendin’ yerselves. He’s with da FBI might be worth takin’ a peek into, won’t hurtcha none besides.”

She patted his hand. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t. Thank you, Doc, for everything.”

“It’s no problem, lass. Can’t be losin’ me best customers now, c-c-c…Fuck! Ass! Can I?”

She smiled. “I’m sure you have better ones than them.”

“Hey!”

“Da fuck?”

She laughed at their expressions. Turning back to see Doc’s which had turned gentle.

“May be true, but at least it had a far better view since they started bringin’ ye in.”

She shook her head. “Oh, you Irishmen always turning on that charm. But get a few drinks in and all of you would confuse Roc with me.”

Connor balked. “One time, love, one time, and I was hammered beyond a fuckin’ nail.”

She grinned, turning to Doc and hugging him. “Be careful, those were the ones that came to the bar. But there could be more.” There’s always more. “I think I speak for all of us that we couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”

“Don’t be worryin’ after me, lass. Might look decrepit, but I can pull a trigger as fast as anyone.”

“Good.”

“Ye t-t-three just better be headin’ ta da…ta da…Fuck…Ass! Ye three be on yer way.”

They had clamored out to the car, Connor fussing and Murphy laughing that the former got sent out in a wheelchair. Her car was another thing to add to the list, though sturdy, the station wagon wasn’t exactly inconspicuous for around here. She needed a smaller car, especially if any of the Russians had pinpointed it. But that was something for later.

Connor wanted to sit in the front with his brother, but she wasn’t having it. If she could when they got through at the station she wanted them both to get cleaned up and rest for a few days. She felt awful for both of them…But Connor right now, she was able to see his wounds the gash in his hairline, the bandages on his wrists, she wanted to help deal with him. Murphy…poor Murphy, his wounds would be internal, sure he had scrapes and his hands, but she knew he was processing that he had to take a man’s life today. Yes, it was in self-defense, he was protecting himself as well as his brother, but she knew it would haunt him somehow.

“Ye gonna sing me a song, aingeal?”

The only way Connor would lay in the back was if she was back here too. With his head in her lap she stroked his face. “I don’t think either of you would care for damaged ears.”

“Come on, love, fill the silence fer us.”

She could hear muffling and knew Murphy was speaking around his thumb. He was nervous, maybe scared, and it hurt. Situating Connor, she took off the seat belt to maneuver herself so she could fit an arm around the headrest letting her fingers run through Murphy’s scalp while simultaneously keeping a hand on Connor’s.

“סלאַמער אויף מיין טייַער אָנעס; שלאָפן אין שלום די גאנצע נאַכט דורך. טאַקעד אַוועק זיכער אין דיין בעדז. בשעת מלאכים וואַך אָוווערכעד, נאָענט ענג די אויגן פון בלוי. אַי עס ליו לי לו.” [Slumber on my precious ones; sleep in peace the whole night through. Tucked away safe in your beds. While angels watch overhead, close tight those eyes of blue. Ai li lu li lu.]

She smiled at the serene expression on Connor’s face, Murphy’s shoulders slumping in the seat like he had been soothed.

“See, knew it’d be a lovely thing ta hear.”

She moved her hand, cupping Murphy’s scratchy cheek in her palm, hearing Connor hum in agreement. “I think those doctors gave you both too many painkillers.”

“Ye know we wouldn’t lie to you. No point in dat. Sound better than our Ma, doesn’t she, Murph?”

“Aye.”

She bent down to kiss Connor’s forehead, the three remaining silent after that, giving him time to fall asleep. She knew they were almost there, but she needed that time with Murphy, to let him know that his trauma hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Murph, you want to talk to me?”

“About what, love?”

His voice was too chipper, close to being forced. She tried to scoot closer, to hold him tighter. “I’m so sorry what you both had to go through. Seeing Connor the way he was, the way he is, I was terrified for him. I thought I lost him. But that doesn’t mean I’m not scared for you too. What you had to do…I know about that hurt. I just don’t want you to pull away, don’t feel it alone, okay?”

She could see his hands trembling on the steering wheel. “I’d never in a million years admit it ta anyone else. But I was fuckin’ scared.”

“It’s okay to be.”

“It wasn’t even about dyin’. I was afraid of not being there ta help Conn, to help you.”

“Oh, Murph.”

“Then ta see Conn’s stupid ass flyin’ down, I knew he was a fuckin’ goner. But he was breathin’ and so was that other fucker. I’d do it again, Seraphine, over and over if I had ta. The only regret is that ye had to fight that bastard by yerself. God forgive me fer it, but I’d be fine with killin’ all of ‘em.”

She wanted to tell him she had Shep, to tell him not to say things like that, to not want that. But he was in autopilot, survival mode, and she wouldn’t be able to tear those thoughts from him for a while. She could only be there to comfort him. So she clung to him from behind, feeling a hand come over her arm to squeeze back. They remained that way until they pulled up to the station’s steps.

“Yer gonna hafta help me ye dumbass!”

“Fuck ye, should leave yer ass here!”

There was no way Connor could walk up those stairs on his own, but his bedside manner was grating on his brother, especially with him throwing orders around. She rubbed Murphy’s back, trying to calm the tension out of the muscles.

“Afraid they’ll want to interview him too, Murph. Or I might be with you on that.”

“I can’t help that I can’t walk!”

“Well, I could go on about refraining from jumping from buildings. But, yeah, I know, Connor, we’ll help you. But you’re going to have to be less grouchy with your brother.”

“Grouchy? Ye talkin’ like I’m two.”

She shrugged. “Well –“

His reply was a glare. They were able to make it, Sera sweating rivers from trying to take the brunt of the weight. Even with Connor’s help he was so heavy, muscles, tendons, and bone taking him down.

“I swear to God, we’re finding you a bed after this Connor MacManus.”

There were two – “Lord’s name –“in reply.

“Don’t be swearin’ to da Lord for Connor’s stupid ass.”

“Aye, wouldn’t take much ta get me inta bed withcha again besides.”

She wanted to elbow that snarky grin from his face but entering the building she could hear men arguing back and forth.

“They’re scared like two little bunny rabbits. Anyone in a uniform or flashing blue lights is going to spook them. So the only thing to do is put a potato on a string and drag it through South Boston. Thanks for coming out.”

Her blood heated. “Oh, fuck your racist bullshit, asshole!”

The boys sniggered, Murphy piping in. “You’d have better luck with a beer.”

Connor grinned grasping their shoulders tighter. “Aye, they would.”

Many of the officers came to shake hands with the guys, letting her ease herself into the backdrop. She didn’t want to be here, what were they going to do anyways? Protect them? They had their chance with that, and failed. Maybe she was a scared rabbit now. The police were nothing more than an obstacle when it came to safety. And with the man she assumed was the head honcho approaching them after scrutinizing her from across the room, she felt tenser than ever.

“If we’re done with the tea party folks, I’d like to get them into interrogation.”

The men relented patting the boys on the back one last time before they were escorted to a private room.

“Can I get you three anything before we start? Coffee? Water? There’s a few boxes of doughnuts left from this morning if you’d like.”

The boys ambled at the chairs; three that were backed to the wall, Murphy pulled the one in the middle out for her. She was reluctant to take it, wanting to remain standing but she couldn’t say no to the humble gesture. They gave them own inspection of the man while they pulled out their own.

“Aye, coffee and doughnuts sound mighty good.”

“A cigarette too, if there’s one ta offer.”

She took note of the mindful way they were speaking. They remained kind, jovial, but were just as wary as her. The man came back in when they had taken their seats beside her, holding out a box and drink tray. There was no sugar, and she didn’t feel like asking, but the hot liquid was welcome since she had something to do with her hands. The same was solved when the man held out a silver case containing cigarettes; she shook her head when it came to her. They thanked him while lighting up, tossing the box between them, again she declined but was giving a powdered cake regardless.

“Gotta eat, love.”

Her stomach knotted at the thought, but picked at it for them.

“Now that we’re all situated, how about we introduce ourselves? If you haven’t guessed, I’m Paul Smecker. I left my card with your friend at the bar.”

Connor nodded. “Aye, ‘m Connor, this is me brother Murphy, and this is our girl Seraphine.”

She watched Smecker jot their names on his notepad, pausing to look back up at them. “Last names.”

“MacManus.”

“All three of you?”

He was staring at her, and she kept her gaze steady. “Shafir.”

He gave a small chuckle. “Doesn’t sound very Irish, sweetheart.”

She held back a glare. “It’s possible there’s some floating in my DNA somewhere. I’m mainly Polish, you know, lightbulbs, and how many people.”

“Just with your little outburst –“

“I’m not fond of stereotypical biases, Mr. Smecker. And, for the record, I’ve studied the Irish culture enough to say that making fun of a time, like the potato famine, when a million people died is kind of trashy, wouldn’t you say? But I don’t think you want me to turn this into a history lesson.”

The calculation that Smecker’s eyes held diminished, staying professional but more genial. “I enjoy history very much, but I’m more interested in the kind that’s relatively recent. If it’s alright, I’d like to begin. This conversation will be recorded; all I want is for you to answer to the best of your knowledge.”

Murphy held his hand out to pause him. “Excuse me, sir. Just give us a second before that.”

He peered at his brother first. “Quid enim ad eum de guns et pecunia?” [What do we tell him about the guns and money?]

She couldn’t tell what he said, but she knew it was a question. Connor, unfazed, shrugs him off. “Et nos iustus got reliquit. bum musta et surrexit ante vigilum advolvit ibi.” [We just got up and left. Bum musta rolled them before the police got there.]

Murphy gaze went to her then, switching to his native tongue. “Cad mar gheall ort, aingeal? Cé mhéad atá ag iarraidh a fhios aige?” [What about you, angel? How much are you wanting him to know?]

Her head lowered, flicking her eyes between them. “Ag brath. Cad a cheapann tú? Ar cheart dom a bheith i muinín air?” [Depends. What do you think? Should I trust him?]

Connor chimed in then. “Is fearr a thabhairt dó na freagraí a bhfuil sé ag iarraidh a dhéanamh dó, ansin téann muid as ann leis.” [Best to give him the answers he's wanting, then we go from there with it.]

They all nodded, Murphy turning back to Smecker. “Okay. We’re ready.”

“None of you are under oath here. But I’m going to assume you knew these guys.”

Connor nodded, putting another chunk of doughnut in his mouth. “Yeah, they introduced themselves the other night.”

“They had some…interesting bandages on, any of you know something about that?”

The boys turned to one another before giving their rendition of that night, nixing out the part about the picture and the exchange from it. Her brain went elsewhere, hearing and visualizing what happened to them, her throat burning with despair at hearing the fear hiding in Connor’s voice. So scared at how close he had been at losing his brother. The same fear pivoting to Murphy when his brother crash landed, it went to the point where she could relive it until Smecker tried to draw her attention back.

“What about you?”

She gave a pointed look. “What about me?”

“There were three men, from hearing this they took on two. That leaves one, and from the nail marks and bite wounds I can take a guess that the loner came at you. Correct?”

“Yes, and yes I was there. But I panicked when those fuckers started getting riled up. I have epilepsy, which is why I have my dog with me at all times, but the panic triggered enough anxiety that I had a small seizure causing me to collapse. I wasn’t too involved with that part of the mess.”

Wow, what a liar you are.

“But the after - ?”

She exhaled. “I was woken early by my dog needing to go out. I was walking him when I was ambushed. I wasn’t even able to croak half a scream before he threw me into an alley. But with the time and the place it wouldn’t have mattered if I hollered myself hoarse. No one was out there, and even if so, no one would’ve helped.”

Smecker’s mouth gaped in disbelief. “Why do you believe that? People seeing someone in distress have more compassion than you may realize.”

“I’m not saying they don’t care at all, sir. But in that neighborhood it’s better to mind your own business or yours and your family’s safety could be compromised. I don’t blame anyone for that, I’m just stating fact.”

Smecker waved for her to continue, but she shrugged. “Haven’t you guessed the rest? I fought back, there was a point where I could’ve gotten away but he attacked Shep for defending me –“

“Shep is?”

She pointed to the sheltie that lied under the table. “From someone else’s perspective it wasn’t a smart move, but he wasn’t going to kill my dog. I pounced on his back to get him to stop when he flipped me to the ground. I kicked him between the legs to give me some time, but he yanked me back causing,” she motioned to her face, “this to happen. I-I don’t know what he was about to do the way he had me in place, but my dog had come back, and, again, he protected me. This time I was able to get my switchblade out and defend myself when he came at me.”

Smecker leaned forward. “You stabbed him twice.”

“Yes.”

“From the coroner’s report the wound to his neck was fatal enough, so why stab him again?”

Her teeth clenched, the questions causing the acid in her stomach to bubble. “Because he was still standing, are you saying it was wrong to defend myself?”

He shook his head. “Not at all, Ms. Shafir, I know that the three of you had to use force to stay alive. But I was trained to see things not everyone can, and from that wound I could see a lot of anger put in there.”

“He attacked me, he attacked my dog, and I knew he had people attacking my boyfriends, am I not justified in that emotion?”

He nodded a small smile tugging. “You are. I just believe it’s more personal than you want me to believe.”

She smirked back. “I’m sure you hate to hear this but you’re wrong.”

He laughed then. “That could be a possibility, but I hardly ever am, Ms. Shafir.”

She nodded slowly. It wasn’t conceit, it was truthful. She could tell there were more questions he wanted to ask, an expectant gleam in his eyes, he might’ve gotten around to asking them if one of the policemen hadn’t charged in.

“Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we got a problem.”

Smecker flicked his cigarette, sighing in exasperation. “What is it?”

The officer pointed behind him. “The press is everywhere out there. They’re going nuts for these guys. What do we do?”

Smecker’s eyes went to her before sliding over to both of the boys. “None of you are being charged. You want to talk to them?”

Her answer was immediate. “No.”

Connor soon joined her. “Absolutely not.”

“No pictures either.”

Bless you, Murphy. They didn’t need that on them either.

“We could walk you three out with bags over your head.”

She made eye contact with Connor before he shook his head. “Our mother can see through bags.”

Murphy licked his lips and nodded, the apprehension in his face told her the realization of their mother had just come to him. “Aye, she can…There any way we can stay here?”

Sera coughed on an escaped laugh as the officer’s eyes brightened, excitement taking over his features. “Sure, there’s an empty holding cell here. You can…can they stay?”

He asked that like a child asking a parent to let their friend spend the night and she shook her head in amusement. The boys seemed to think it was funny as well, huddling closer to her to hold in their snickers.

“We’ll have to check with your mom, but it’s all right with me if your friends sleep over.”

That got them then, the two busting out in a cackle. The officer flushed in embarrassment, leaving the room while Smecker stood.

“If there’s anything else you’d like to add, I’ll be here for a while; plenty of paperwork to keep me for the week while we wrap this up.”

His gaze wasn’t pointed at any of them, but she knew it was directed at her. When no one answered he grabbed his coat. “Well, time to feed the dogs.”

Murphy had went to make a phone call to Roc asking him to bring them all some clothes, while she and Connor were guided to the cell. She didn’t know what the codes were, but the cell couldn’t have been up to them. Two flimsy cots with barely a tissue cloth mattress stood side by side, a constant draft and wetness as moisture gathered on the wall, there was even a crack going up it splintering wider as it went.

She grimaced. “We could find somehow to get out of here. Wait for everyone to disperse, a back entrance…something.”

Connor cleared his throat. “We weren’t expectin’ ye ta stay, aingeal.”

She turned to him, perplexed. “What do you mean? I already said I’m not running, Connor. I know I’ve been flighty, but it’s just that I want you two safe.”

He put his hand over hers, smiling. “We know that, we want ye safe too. Which is why we’re gettin’ you out and havin’ ye stay with Rocco for da night.”

“What? No. I’m not leaving you two here in this dingy cage –“

Connor started to talk over her. “You’ll be safe with him, and we’ll have time to come up with a solution –“

“We need to focus on it together, not just –“

“This way you’ll have a breather, and not be –“

“One at a time works better!”

They both turned to Murphy, Sera’s eyes narrowing in on him. “You’ve decided this along with him, right? You both stay here, and leave me on my own?”

Murphy chewed the inside of his cheek. “Ye won’t be on yer own, Roc will keep a lookout for ye. I mean…ye know it’s not because we don’t want ye here.” He scouted the room. “I mean we don’t want ye in this kind of place, but we’re doing this fer you. Seeing how they were out there, the press outside…if ye stayed –“

“What’re you talking about, Murph?”

“Besides Smecker, everyone else out there believes we’re the only ones involved with this. Or the most think you were there but weren’t the main one to stick up ta anything. Three men down while two standin’ they’re not puttin’ much thought to ye right now, and we want ta keep it that way.”

Her mouth gaped. She hadn’t thought that much into it, but the way the men at the precinct behaved, they had believed it was the boys to take the Russians down. That all these steps they were thinking of her. “I’m sorry, I should’ve known you had your reasons. But I still would feel bad leaving you both here… in this.”

Murphy stepped beside her, squeezing her shoulder. “Eh, our first place was way worse than this. Plus we’ll have the guys waiting on us while we’re here, be like room service. Don’t worry about us, love, it’s just til mornin’ and we’ll meet up have us some breakfast and make a plan.”

She coughed a laugh, going in to hug him. “You know it’s kind of sad this is the first time we’ve really been apart since I moved in with you two.”

Connor snorted. “And why’s that supposed ta be sad? Were ye raring ta get away from us?”

“You know that’s not it, I just never pictured myself as the clingy girlfriend.”

“Ain’t clingy, we’d tell ye if ye were. We like ta keep ye close with us.”

Connor kissed her forehead. “While we’re waiting fer Rocco, how bout we get a card game goin’? Get us a few cigarettes stocked for da night.”

They had won several hands and a few packs of cigarettes before Rocco arrived. Cheers erupting from the boys when they were given a much warmer bundle of clothing, grins unfolding when Roc revealed their rosaries from around his neck.

His eyes wandered to her, and he nearly jumped back. “Damn, honey, what the hell happened to you?”

Murphy scoffed. “What ye think happened?”

He shimmied up to her, hands in his pockets. “I kept yours in my car, I promised the guys not to look at any of your delicates so I just shoved a bunch of shit in a bag.”

She laughed. “That’s fine, Roc.”

She turned to the boys, already tossing off the thin tops for their faded t-shirts. “I guess we’ll see you in the morning.”

It came out as more of a question and they smiled at her. “Aye, ye will.”

“Yeah, Roc will take care of ye, and if he doesn’t we’ll kick his ass.”

Rocco took one of the loose cigarettes they had one from the table. “Yeah, yeah, if I had all the hot air you two have I’d be able to make it to China and back.”

Connor’s face grew stern. “Just keep her safe fer da night Roc, and don’t be tryin’ anything.”

“Aye, twist yer balls off if we hear ye did.”

Rocco flung his hands up. “I ain’t gonna try anything! Jesus!”

“Lord’s name.”

The three turned to her and she couldn’t hide the smirk that came. The boys laughed with her. And with one final kiss to each of them and another threat on Rocco’s balls she followed him out of the precinct. She wasn’t going to say anything but the neighborhood was as rough as Connor and Murphy’s only now it was Italian instead of Irish. She was afraid this may put her in a disadvantage since she didn’t know the language. Unlike the loft, this was an actual apartment complex, many people shimmying by them to get to or from their homes.

“Gotta say, it’s not the greatest place…or the cleanest it’s probably a step up than how those botchagaloops of yours lived before meeting you though. Just don’t be thinkin’ me or Donna keep it like –“

“It’s fine, Roc, I really appreciate you letting me stay the night.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’d do anything to help you guys out.”

Giving him a one-armed hug, she uttered her thanks while being ushered into the apartment. She didn’t know what he was worried about. It wasn’t dirty, only lived in. Several empty bottles on the dining table, couch cushions sunk in, a few dishes in the sink, and a –

“Is that a cat?”

On cue the cat meowed, causing her to glance at Shep, his ears folding back.

“Yeah, it’s kind of Donna’s, your dog won’t like…kill it, will he?”

“No, my sister had a cat, Shep’s more traumatized of them than anything else so he’ll avoid it.”

Rocco chuckled. “You don’t sound too fond of them either.”

She smiled in reply. “I guess not, I’ve always been parcel of dogs. I’m a loyalist at heart.”

He set her bag by the couch, motioning for her to follow through the dining room to the kitchen.

“We don’t have much, but you’re welcome to it.”

“Thanks, Roc, not too hungry right now though. Might need to go and pick something up for Shep, unless you packed his food in there.”

He looked over his shoulder from the cupboards, sheepish with tinged cheeks. “Uh, no, didn’t think of that. But listen, I didn’t tell the guys this cause I know they’d freak, I got something to take care of for my boss. Shouldn’t take an hour or two, I can get something for you both then.”

“That’s kind of you, but I could probably pop out and get us –“

“No!”

She jumped at the raised volume, the cat scurrying away under the table.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry, I got an earful of what would happen if I let you out anywhere.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

She felt a little bad, the way he sounded it was like he expected her to beat him with a rolled up newspaper.

She gave a half smile. “Any other rules I should know about?”

He smiled back. “Nah, most were aimed at me anyways…so will you be alright here? Donna shouldn’t be back tonight, hell she’s been out for a few days so who knows what she’s up in. But you can have the bed, take a shower or something, and lie down - put some ice on that honker of yours til I get back. I-I can leave ya a gun or something if it’d make you feel safer.”

He had said it all in an offhand way, and though he wanted to keep it in there Sera caught the concern he had about his girlfriend. “You don’t have to do that Rocco. I’m more worried about inconveniencing you than anything else –“

“You’re not, hell like I said it’s just been me and the cat. Maybe he can crawl up your ass while you’re here instead of following me around.”

“Yeah, well, I said my sister had a cat. Not me. I like all animals, but I’m not too in like with the feline kind. Does it have a name?”

Rocco snorted. “Thought all girls liked cats…but no, Donna’s usually too fucked up to call it anything and I just call it cat.”

“No, we don’t all automatically like cats, they scratch, hiss, and stare at you like they’ll murder you…like now look at IT!”

She huddled back behind Roc, the cat’s green eyes narrowed into slits, ears turned back in aggression. Shep’s front paws kept tapping as he got nervous.

Rocco laughed. “I’ll throw him out if you want but he ain’t gonna do shit to you. Probably hungry, I got him some stuff, so I’ll feed him before I take off. You want anything particular to eat?”

“Not really. Though Shep prefers beef to any other dog food. But if you’re willing you can pick a few more ingredients I can fix us breakfast in the morning, and whatever you want for supper as a thank you.”

“You don’t gotta be doin’ all that.”

“But I want to Roc.”

“I won’t argue with you then. Can tell by how fat those two fucks are gettin’ that’d I’d be stupid to pass it up. If you’re settled in I’ll take off. Like I said it’ll just be a few hours.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be here.”

He went in like he was going to hug her, then thought better of it and pulled back. Making her laugh and pull him back in.

“You’re a good friend Rocco.”

He blushed twisting his keys before heading to the door, waving on his way out. Alone she went and sat on the couch, Shep folded himself against it, remaining wary of the cat as he laid his head on her thigh. She wasn’t sure she liked this. She had gotten used to people again, the boys always making noise, talking, hitting, laughing. Now there was silence. Trying not to be intrusive Sera looked around the apartment. It was snug, cozy, in its own way, there was a tv in the bedroom, but she had decided she would take the couch. Besides not wanting to burden him, she didn’t really want to sleep where Rocco was getting laid in. He was right when there wasn’t anything in the cabinets a few odd cans of beets and green beans but nothing substantial. She never understood this, if men loved to eat so much how come they never had groceries stocked? It was bizarre to her.

She almost shrieked when the cat bumped her leg, rubbing its face on her ankle. Rocco had been in a hurry and forgot about the hungry creature, so she went about fiddling in the bottom shelfs until she found the bag Rocco was talking about and scooped it some food. Its basic desire sated she walked out of the kitchen with an eye on the cat. Sure, it was an irrational thing, but try being a kid giving a cat a bath. She stayed away from them after that. Finding a record playing to flipped through the options before settling on an old Frank Sinatra, hearing the scratching as the needle started to circle she continued to wander when Blue Eyes started the vocals.

‘It's very clear   Our love is here to stay   Not for a year     But ever and a day.’

Patting her hand on her hip to the rhythm she watched the sun begin to disappear, clouds beginning to move in. It was going to rain, hard if the dark grey was any indication. She was nervous, a bumbling pile of nerves that needed to be worked out. Thinking of her mother and the way she passed the time, she found a bucket and threw in some soap and scalding water and set to work around the house. She wondered if the poor woman felt this way all the time, her mom had always been constantly moving, never satisfied doing nothing. Work was her meditation, and the house and her family were her yoga. Sera was surprised the woman hadn’t had a stroke. Adding a finishing touch she threw a crocheted afghan over the couch, the cat making her stumble backwards as it jumped on it. It kneaded the arm of the seat, starring at her with hooded eyes almost begging to be touched.

Len’s cat did the same, and though, with her sister’s forgetfulness, Sera would be the one to feed it, the thing would always lash at her – grabbing her hand in its paw with nails sunk in to bring it to its mouth, giving a small lick before chomping. Her sister had named it Hippo, it was gray with blue eyes and a very pink nose, it had been sweet as a kitten but as it grew bigger and wider it became more vicious to the hand that fed it. It was like each pound it gathered more meanness entered him. This cat was half Hippo’s size, she knew if needed Shep would be no help, the dog remembering enough about the claws to stay out of it. But against better judgement she stuck her hand out for it to sniff, rubbing its cheek along her hand when it got her scent. It stretched out, yawning, nails embedded in the fabric while it walked along having her hand touched its back and along its tail before coming back to repeat.

“You’re not so bad, are you?”

It blinked, continuing to purr. Thinking to quit while she was ahead she pulled away, sighing, it was reaching the hour mark. Perhaps she’d take Roc on his offer – when cleaning the bathroom she wanted to moan at the sight of the bathtub. After getting used to taking showers, nothing sounded better than a good soak.

“Are you going to stay with the cat, Shep?”

The answer was a hard no when he scampered off the floor, paws sliding back off the hardwood to go after her. Turning the water on to let it heat, Sera gathered some towels, and found some bubble bath in the cabinet. Putting in the stopper, she swooshed her hand in the water to get the bubbles going, the smell of something akin to lavender and jasmine hitting her she stripped down, Shep taking ownership of the discarded clothing as he made his bed from them.

Pinning her hair up, she got in, soaking up to her shoulders in the hot water. Sera moaned low, the heat working its way into her bones, the stiffness fading. She laid her head back on the rim, watching the water rippling each time she moved. The tenseness was still there, she felt awful that the boys were staying in a cell tonight; she felt terrible what they had to do to even end up there in the first place. She slid further in the water, the smell of flowers taking her elsewhere. There were too many things to dwell on, and she needed to push forward. They would have to be better armed, better prepared for when this happened again. Bringing her hands up to her face she was surprised by how wrinkled her fingers had become, sudsing her hands she washed herself being wary of her nose before rinsing and climbing out of the tub. It did make her feel better, sloughing off the day, her muscles less achy and bundled, her bones more lax.

She was becoming concerned about Rocco, the storm had blew in now, the pitter patter hard against the windows making it hard to see anything outside. Who was she to call for him? He left no number, Sera was sure he had a pager but she had no idea the number for that either. Plus he was a grown man, the timeframe given wasn’t set in stone, she didn’t have any reason to worry for him. Going through the fridge she found a lone egg and a piece of bologna that was getting rubbery around the edges. She fried it, making sure to clean the skillet, before splitting the egg with Shep. She divvied out the meat between him and the cat who looked pleased to be included in the meal. She decided on some hot water to drink down with her food to keep the warmth inside her, before settling down on the couch. Throwing the afghan over her legs, Shep bounded up to curl between her legs, nestling between the cushions she gasped when the cat jumped to lay on the back. Tentatively she reached out to stroke its cheek. Shep whined, his jealousy coming out she smiled and let her other hand scratch his neck.

“What do you think, Shep? Should we give him a name?”

Shep exhaled deeply, muzzle on her knee not giving a care either way.

“I don’t know much about you, but you’re kind enough – how about Gus? It seems to fit enough, like an old man that only looks grumpy but has a good heart.”

The cat only purred in answer, eyes closed and ready to sleep.

Her hands fell away, going back under the covers to be warm in a familiar cocoon.

“Fine, Gus it is then.”

Remember now, weak can mean many things – it can be someone who lacks physical strength, a low standard, not convincing, um…

A coward.

Yes! A coward.

But I wasn’t a coward was I?

“I wasn’t weak, was I, Sera?”

Her heart pounded, not just by the voice but by the question, and she struggled to keep her eyes closed. The voice continued to go on, as if not wanting an answer.

“Even when we were little it was like I had to try harder than you both to prove it. Like when you and Sapphire wanted to camp out in the tree fort Popop built for us. I didn’t want to, was terrified of what would happen to us in the dark, but I went with you. I kept telling myself that you’d both protect me, you and him always protected me. Looking back, it was rather silly to be afraid, but it’s in our nature to fear the unknown. But we made it, didn’t we? Only…” The voice was trying to stifle a giggle. “Only it ended with me losing step on the ladder and fumbling down on top of you. I broke my arm and you broke your ankle. Oh, you were so upset with me, Sera…”

The voice stopped, as if pondering. Sera wanted to open her eyes, but this…illusion, hallucination, whatever it was; she didn’t want it to stop.

“I couldn’t be like either of you, and when mom…after her, I didn’t want to be like them, do you see? You said it once yourself, we couldn’t turn into them. They liked the blood they had on their hands, but I didn’t want to dirty them at all. I couldn’t understand what made them so evil, they were like us once – they were children, they had a family, went to school, rode bikes, and had romances. What changed them? And did it change us? I think it changed you, Sera. Especially when I…we don’t have to go into that. But did it make me weak? To not want to kill them? To rather run, and stay away than face them? He’s made me see now that it won’t stop, not until he’s gone and been judged and put away from here. He’s telling your new, uh, friends about that. But He’s letting me talk to you. You used to call me crazy when I said He talked to me…not crazy, you and Sapphire both wouldn’t say anything but I knew you never believed me about it. When you said I was weak, that I was giving up…after everything that I told you. Don’t be afraid; don’t be afraid to let yourself feel something, to be happy just because we’re not there with you. Because we are, in a way, I think it’s because we were made that way, while being molded inside of mom, but I can feel you. Lately your joy, that giddy feeling of falling in love, I’m so happy about that, Sera, happy for you. It’s made me smile for days. But I feel your fear and your sadness too. That pulsing rage that hasn’t died since the bridge, yes, I saw it. I saw you there. I don’t mean to sound petty, but – weren’t you weak then? Didn’t you give up? Oh, heavens I do sound wretched…I just – it hurt so much when you said that, and I wanted to prove you wrong, the both of you wrong so that’s why I did it. Why I didn’t say anything. I wanted to be the one to save you for once. But He was right, yet I did do it. And what I did, knowing what would happen, I’m here to say it wasn’t a weakness, it was agape if it were anything, Seraphine.”

“You were never weak, Len.”

Her voice was strangled, and she noticed the talking had ceased, opening her eyes slightly, she saw her sister’s silhouette. “Hi.”

She saw that small smile only Selene could give. “Hi.”

She felt hot tears streaking her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

Selene shook her head. “Why? Weren’t you listening? It was my decision – I would do it over and over if I had to. I-I just wish you and Sapphire were still together.”

“Me too. I suppose he believes he’s protecting me. The same as I did to you. I pushed you away when you needed me. When you confided those dreams to me, hurt you thinking it would erase the possibility of it happening and, at the same time, make you stronger. But it doesn’t, does it? I know it shattered me when he left. I’m sorry if I made you feel like that, I’ve never stopped being sorry for it. Sorry for not seeing the sudden change in you, especially up to the moment on those steps, that look in your eyes…why couldn’t I see something was wrong? I wanted so bad for it to be over that I stopped seeing the signs of danger. I wish I would’ve done more…I regret so much, and I can’t do anything about it. I’m just sorry, I’m sorry Selene, it should’ve been me –“

She felt the cold ghost of her hand brush through her hair, knuckles pressed to her cheek. “I told you, it wasn’t for you. You’re meant for more here, Sapphire is meant for more here…me, I was meant for greater things elsewhere. And I like it there, I miss you, both of you, but you’re still with me as I am with you. Just know that I am happy, Sera, we all are, and let yourself be happy knowing that. It’s time you let the magic come back. You said you wanted to find it again; it doesn’t have to be snake oil anymore. God sent you in the arms of good men to prove that to you. Just let your mind have it, it’s not just stories, but a reality, a way of life that can bring us joy and safety. You’ll be safe again one day, and you’ll see.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t be the last one, Len. It’s selfish, but I can’t be alone. I’d rather rot in the ground than be stuck here by myself.”

Selene’s bottom lip pursed, smile intact. “But you wouldn’t be alone you –“

“I already have to this without you, but I can’t…not with Sapph gone too.”

Selene let out a knowing giggle, the sound making Sera’s spine tingle in the familiarity. “Oh, Sera, you know, I always thought it was our brother that was bad at making quick assumptions –“ Sera’s head tilted to look at her sister stooping down. Those gold flecks in such similar evergreen eyes glinting at her. She wanted to reach out, touch her, hug her, not let her get away, but she was too frozen, in shock and fear that the apparition would disappear. “I did say you’d be the last of us remaining, but I never did say when. You only assumed it meant now, during this, but who’s to say it’s not 30, 40, or 100 years down the road? You need to quit being so dismal in your thinking. The Lord knows what and how much we can handle. Let him guide you in that. Put the fear of loss aside, Sera, let it make you strong again.”

She felt Selene’s lips on her temple, warmth rushing to her entirety. “You were always the strong one, please know that, Len.”

“As long as you know that there is good and good people out there, know that you are one of them.”

Sera nodded, opening her eyes to a dark room.

“Len?”

Shep sat back to let her up, it was real, that had been real. She felt her sister here.

And you thought I was crazy.

She had, all those premonitions of Len’s were merely her imagination, but now…She went over to turn the lamp on, finding no trace of the interaction that had occurred.

“Oh, Shep.”

It hurt - the loss again, but it was also a good ache. It was hope.

Searching the bedroom she saw Rocco had not returned and though she was concerned she was also fueled. Peeking out the large windows she saw the storm had moved on. Another sign.

“Let’s go for a walk, Shep.”

Up for it, he barked, frantically speeding in circles for her to hurry and attach the leash. She still had the pocketknife Murphy had given her, under forensics the blood probably remained, but she had washed it with bleach after washing Roc’s dishes the steel now as shiny as the day it was purchased. Putting it in her pocket she wrapped her coat around her, flipping the hood in case it was drizzling. It was an aimless walk, letting Shep lead her until she felt she was at their destination. She kept her focus, around her, the slickness of the ground, a few cars honking at one another at the intersection, a group laughing outside one of the restaurants. After crossing the street several, zig-zagging across the city, she felt her legs tiring; Shep had begun to pant heavier as well.

“We need to rest, boy.”

He tugged her forward, her eye catching on a steeple, stained glass windows greeting her. It had to be past midnight, but it appeared the place was open.

Gripping her jacket tighter, she relented. “May as well.”

It was open, a few wary souls like her wandering here to pray. She let her legs buckle as she took a seat in one of the empty pews. The smell of wood and incense wafted up to her, relaxing her, and she let herself doze in peace. Her mind going over her own revelation, her sister – she admitted to herself that she felt so light, a heavy burden diminished. It wasn’t her fault, it wasn’t God’s fault. And though it would be easy to keep the blame on those that waved their guns, she held back, seeing them as Len had – as people. Bad people, but still human. Finally, she felt cleansed, she felt real again. Maybe the magic was coming back to her.

“I know you.”

She startled, jerking up to see a man staring at her. Well, not just a man, but a priest, and she had seen them before.

“Yes, you came to speak at my boyfriends’ church.”

The man smiled. “That’s right, Macklepenny, I think I can say that I’ve never seen many people bring in their dog with them to the services.”

“Uh, he’s a service dog, no pun intended there, sir. But I take him with me everywhere, if you need to see my card –“

The priest held up his hands. “Oh, no, no, I wasn’t trying to make any accusation. I’ve never seen it though, but I love dogs, he’s a beauty too.”

Shep stood prouder, as if he understood, making Sera smile and stroke him. “He is, and loyal.”

Macklepenny nodded briskly. “I hope I may be forward in saying I haven’t seen many men stand at the services either, from what you said you are taken with one of them then?”

She blushed, the technicality in her grammar must have made it singular, but she wasn’t going to correct it. “Yessir, I hope you don’t take offense of it, they’re both very devout to their faith and to the church. I was a bit stunned by it as well at first but no one there seems to mind.”

“No! I’m sorry, I keep putting this in a bad light…I was honestly quite surprised by it but when it was explained to me I understood. No just the three – or the four of you isn’t something that I see often. It’s a breath of fresh air to me.”

She laughed. “I’m glad then.”

“So how about you?”

“Um, how about me what?”

“You said the gentlemen were devout, but you never mentioned yourself.”

She petted Shep to calm her. “I’m getting better at it, I had a bit of an epiphany tonight which I guess was the guidance to bring me here. But I – I hope you don’t…well…I’m Jewish, but I attend with the guys because they’re Catholic. I’m becoming engulfed in both religions it seems.”

He seemed off put but quickly regained composure. “There’s nothing wrong with that, we’re all God’s children.”

Emboldened she pressed. “What does confession do?”

His brows rose. “Pardon?”

“Confession, I’ve been lightened in my mind, but I would like to absolve myself out loud.”

“Confession is to allow the Lord as well as the person to forgive their sins, simultaneously releasing themselves from the binds of it. As a daughter of Judaism you know you do not have to confess your sins of a daily basis –“

She tried to make light of it, and failed. “I know, sir, but Yom Kippur is a ways a way…I’ve sinned much worse than coveting or eating grapes from the market without paying.”

Macklepenny took the adjoining pew, facing her. “And what sins are you wishing to confess then, my child?”

Sera sat a little straighter. “Before we begin, Father, these things are…um, confidential, right?”

The poor man became more fidgety. “Of course, the Seal of Confession stays within the confines of this church as it is with you and I.”

She nodded, taking a breath. “Good, I just needed to be sure.”

With that she began to relay her story to him, every feeling, every action, and consequence that followed her to this point. Soon his eyes went to the floor nodding when the occasion called for it, his brow furrowed while he hummed in acknowledgement and when she was done his gaze slowly lifted back to hers.

“You have been through quite an ordeal.”

“Many of my loved ones have…I’m concerned that it will continue to be that way for them.”

“We must let God guide the way in these times, it may not be easy, or have the result we search for but it is His will. He knows what is best for us.”

“But how do we know which is His will?”

Macklepenny smiled. “You must give yourself time to obtain the answer; you’ll know when it comes.”

Sera huffed. “No offense, Father, but I’ve been out of touch with this for a while. And what I’ve told you, what choice am I supposed to make when another gun is shoved in my face or someone is attacking my loved ones?”

He cleared his throat in discomfort. “No matter how much time passes, once you’ve accepted the Lord, He stays within you for eternity. He’s guided you, Lucifer may have you thinking otherwise, but you’ve made your decisions based on the need of others not yourself those actions say who’s been aiding you in your answers. The things you’ve had to do, no one can imagine, each person is different in their trauma. But it isn’t bloodlust, you may have exacted revenge in an attempt to gain justice of your sister…but it was your grief that did that. It was an action of love in the end, and you telling me the guilt you feel for so much of it now speaks volumes. A sensible person would tell you to go to the police, but from what you told me…I can’t tell you what to do. All I can say is to stay on this path, allow the sheet of guilt and grief fall and embrace the possibilities you can have. Let that be what drives you.”

“Thank you, Father.”

She stood, Shep leaping up to go.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you all that you’re looking for.”

“No, Father, you’ve helped me more than ever…I know God isn’t a magic 8 ball. He can’t give a straightforward answer, but thank you, just for listening. That’s helped me more than anything to have an impartial to hear me.”

“It’s no problem. And please, child, just remember – the Lord doesn’t decide what he does to help his children, but to save them.”

Her face remained blank, but she nodded. Bundling herself back in for the brisk cold the night would have. Rocco had to be back by now, but she didn’t really want to head back there. It wasn’t home, it was flat – in addition, it was empty, and after the tumbling of events tonight she didn’t want to be alone. So instead she decided she would go back to the police station, the press had to be gone, and she could just sleep out in the lobby. But she needed to be close.

“I am the clingy girlfriend, aren’t I, Shep?”

Cold air billowed out of his snout, his head to the ground finding any scent of new friends. After several blocks her posture began to bristle, goosebumps rising to the surface. She was being followed she was sure. Again? This soon? She tried to act casual, adjusting her speed up slightly and inclining it after each block. She put her hand in her pocket, gliding her fingers to the button on her knife. IF the opportunity came she’d scramble, but she wouldn’t hesitate to defend herself. She saw the figure of a man, his outline covered by a huge hooded coat, the black fading with the night. She couldn’t kid herself she needed a taxi, the station was over ten miles and there was no way she’d be able to jog that far. But the block she was on was quiet besides a few stragglers being ushered out of a bar nearby. Stopping at the four-way she glanced in all directions to plot where to go, feeling a hand on her shoulder she lashed out getting the person’s hand who leapt back with a yelp. She turned to continue her attack when she was overpowered, the assailant going for her wrist, pinning her at the sidewalk post.

“You’ve lost your touch. Gotten soft, I like it.”

Her mouth gaped open, her body shaking and heart stammering at the voice.

“Sapph?”