#all the little doodles folks did around my drawing really made my day/night and kept my spirits up so thanks I greatly appreciate them!

[lurking-loaf]

The board I drew on during this weekend's @daycarefriendpickup Magma had some frog themed art already in-progress, so I continued the trend with Sun holding a Froggy Chair.

Bonus rough sketch from Saturday (technically Sunday) when I stopped drawing for the night.

[poliel]

Surprise Egg 2/13: Morning Sickness

I don't have a real solid headcanon for how long grumpus pregnancies last so I'm vague about the passage of time in this fic. But that's not super important anyway.

~

Almost from the start Buddy had made sure to make time to spend with Filbo even though he never requested anything of them after he’d asked them to bring everyone back to town and to assist everyone else if their various problems if possible. Now that they were dating though, Buddy tried to do so a bit more often. It still wasn’t as much as they would’ve liked though. Their story and finding Lizbert had to take precedence. Keeping everyone fed and bringing folk back to town and helping everyone with their things was also important and took up quite a bit of their time as well. Adding in the fact that they were actively exploring the island and testing all the ways they could interact with and catch the various bugsnax scattered across it, they were very busy indeed.

They did what they could though and if Filbo minded he didn’t show it. He seemed happy with whatever time they could find for him. They felt a little guilty about it but that’s just how it was. To make up for it they tried to sleep in town more often, with him if they came in early enough in the night. Which steadily became a thing more and more often because they were just that exhausted.

“You feeling okay, Buddy?” he asked them one evening after they’d stumbled into town with little to show for their hunting efforts.

After doling out what little they had caught, they’d gone to flop down by the firepit to stare into it as they forced themself to eat. So it was their own fault he’d noticed their discomfort. There wasn’t any use complaining about it so they never did but well, he’d asked so… “I’m sick.”

The already worried expression on his face grew more so. “Oh uh, I’d offer to make you some soup or something but uh… yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Except for the fact that it had heavily affected their ability to function today.

Filbo fidgeted with his paws. “You seem to be eating okay though, that’s good.”

“That’s the thing, I feel like I’m going to puke but I’m also starving.” And so they ate, staring into the fire to distract themself from how every ketchup ‘flower’ they ate made them want to throw their guts up a little more. The newfound peanut butter helped though, they should’ve grabbed more of it while up in the mountains earlier, it had yet to grow in the garden since Wambus had planted it literally just yesterday.

“Oh, if only Eggabell was still in town. She’d know how to help.”

“Well, she’s not so… sit with me and talk? Tell me what goes on around town when I’m not here.” A distraction was welcome and spending time chatting with him was always nice.

He still looked a little unsure but sat down next to them anyway. “Okay. After you’re done eating though you should rest.”

Today day was already more of a bust than anything so why not go ahead and waste the rest of it. It’s not like they’d get much done anyway so… “Fine.”

~

The nausea came and went randomly, sometimes worse, sometimes barely there, just a nuisance. The exhaustion and hunger were constants though. Often they were light headed too, standing up and not having blackness eat at the edges of their vision became a rarity. With nothing that could be done about it though they kept trucking on and didn’t complain.

Filbo picked up on the fact they weren’t feeling well though. Insisting they rest more or even take a whole day off. The former they did fairly often when he suggested it, the latter though they couldn’t afford to do. Thankfully, probably due to the fact they often listened to him about the former, he never heavily insisted on the latter, making things easier for both of them.

One thing they were willing to share though was… “Sometimes I want to eat mud.”

On the bed, Filbo looked up from the notebook they’d lent to him at his request to see more of their doodles because he liked them for some reason. “What?”

His tone had enough concern in it to draw Buddy’s gaze up from the notebook they were currently doodling in – a spare that had mostly doodles of bugsnax but would now have a doodle of Filbo flipping through the other notebook. “Sometimes I want to eat mud,” they repeated.

“Uh… why?”

Maybe they shouldn’t have brought it up after all. But the sound of the rain pattering against the hut’s roof and the view they had of it through the window as they sat at Filbo’s little table had brought it to mind in general. Making the craving return. “I don’t know. It’s really weird though, huh?” They’d never felt like that before.”

“Okay, but um… you’re not ever going to, right?”

“Of course not. I also really want to eat the bugsnax but like mud, I know it’d be worse for me if I did.”

Filbo was silent for a few seconds before flipping the journal closed and rolled out of bed and walking over and sit at the table across from them. “Maybe it’s time you uh, take a break or something? Go back to the mainland, get some real food and then come back.”

“I can’t.”

“I’m sure we’d all be fine on our own without you for a couple weeks.”

“I’m sure you would be. But I can’t go back until the story’s done. And the longer Lizbert’s missing, the worse her situation could be for all we know. If I take the time to go back to the mainland, she could be dead even before I return to start looking for her again.” Which would be bad in general and would hurt the conclusion of their big story.

Filbo sighed, hanging his head. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I’m just worried about you.”

Buddy had already known that of course but… it was nice to hear. So nice it made them almost feel like crying. Which was dumb, it wasn’t that big a deal, so why were they so emotional? … “I’ll be fine,” they said instead, putting on a smile for him. “I’ve been through similar hardships before and came out fine.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I was lost in the woods for like a whole month apparently when looking for Moth-grump once. And while that’s far less time than I’ve spent here so far, I didn’t have a reliable source of food or water and no shelter whatsoever.”

“That sounds pretty awful.”

“It was.” Even if sauce, dandelions, and tree sap from the Surgerpine trees wasn’t much it was at least consistent, plentiful, and took no energy to find and collect. Even if for some reason they felt worse off here they couldn’t be, right? Especially since they weren’t really losing much weight, they’d started to at first but seemed to have evened out. “But it was worth it, just like this is going to be. … Or it was almost worth it.”

“What happened?”

“I got concrete evidence the Moth-grump is real, pictures and video, everything you could possibly ask for. It was going to be my biggest story. But then, after I got back to civilization, before I was even fully recovered from being lost in the woods for a month, I got mugged and robbed. They stabbed me three times, stole all my stuff and left me for dead. And now no one believes me and I couldn’t find the cave again when I tried because I’d been that lost. And I’m still mad about it.”

As they’d talked Filbo had leaned forward on the table in interest, his expression going from intrigued to worried to frightened before settling on a mix of bemusement and concern. “You sound almost uh, more mad about them ruining your story than them trying to kill you.”

“I am. Well, I’m mad they tried to kill me too but… it was going to be such a good story. And now no one I tell believes me. My boss thought I was making up excuses for why I was gone so long and didn’t have anything until I went to office to show her the stab wounds. And even then, she didn’t believe me about the Moth-grump. No one does.”

“I believe you. I mean like, if bugsnax exist, why can’t Moth-grump?”

As they looked up at him, they were almost overwhelmed with how much they loved him, letting it out in a purr. Was being overly emotional a normal symptom of malnutrition? “Thank you! This story’s going to be better anyway though and no one’s going to take it from be this time. It’s worth whatever I have to go through to get the full thing.”

He smiled at them warmly. “You’re very passionate about your work, huh?”

“Yeah. Hunting cryptids is kind of my thing.” Had been for as long as they could remember. “Though, solving any mystery is cool too and I do ghost hunting stories pretty often as well, those are always fun.”

“Could you tell me more about uh… the stuff you hunt and… stuff? If you want to anyway. I’m just curious and uh… I’ve never actually asked you about that before, huh? I’m always doing most of the talking. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” Buddy didn’t typically bring up their specific work with people since they often got looked down on for it so it was a habit not to. Also… “I like listening to other grumps talk, especially if it’s you. I’ll gladly tell you more though, what do you want to hear about, if anything in particular?” And he’d already convince them to take the rest of the evening off so it’s not like they had anywhere else to be right now.

“Uh… more about the Moth-grump maybe?”

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 17

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Nora sat on her bed, writing in her book and doodling some drawings alongside them. Her subject matter of the day being judas's cursed arm, a detailed sketch of the matter on one side, and notes of what she knew next to them. Growing up with judas and sky for years, she always had watched them from afar, they never had been close, but at the same time she felt like she knew them. She could point out their quirks, what they liked to do, their relationships with their parents, anything. Her parents were always so cautious, probably because they were dominant when it came to preventing sickness and curing it, and that mindset has sunk into wanting to make sure they didn't get involved with anything that seemed harmful. If they saw her drawing her journal now, or saw the pictures she kept of judas or sky in her drawers, they'd probably freak. They meant well, but nora honestly was surprised they didn't chain her to their side every day.

Judas and Sky got to go on adventures. She was forced to learn to cure boils. They stood up to people who treated them like garbage. Nora could barely even keep eye contact with most people, much less talk to them without softening her timid voice. They had such great relationships with their parents, who were so loving and playful. Nora's parents were boring, finding enjoyment together in finding a new species of moss and consistently restricting their daughter from doing literally anything. Despite everything though, here she was, trying to do as much research as she could on the cursed arm judas had. She was probably in over her head trying to do this but why not right? She had nothing to lose by at the very least, looking into it.  The infection itself was harbored into the poor boy's dna, so it was not like another curse or a normal parasite. Not to mention the whole thing was magic, so she'd need to do some research on magic to get what she needed. Her family, being magicless, made that incredibly difficult. It probably didn't help that magic itself made her so anxious, but then again everything seemed to have that kinda affect on her most of the time. Doing this would mean diving into new territory, something nora was far from used to. The girl closed the book nonetheless and put it in her nightstand drawer, it was getting super late and if her parents saw she was up they would make her get some rest anyway. She'd have to figure out the details of her research at a later date. "Nora? Sweetie?", nora froze as the door to her room swung open and her mother stood at the top of the steps, smiling. "Dear, i hope i wasn't interrupting anything, you ok?". Nora nodded meekly, she really should say something to her mom, anything, about last night. But as much as her voice fought to speak out, nora's lips keep her words sealed in. "Ok well, i wanted to wish you a good night, and me and your father want to speak with you early tomorrow morning ok?". Then she let out a small laugh, "Also, we're replacing our sheets tomorrow, your father keeps staining ours.....let me know if you need any yourself ok?". The girl only simply nodded, eyes not even looking at her mother, instead they were off to the side, avoiding eye contact and scattering around her bedroom. Nora was always like this, avoiding eye contact, or avoiding any contact if possible if she could.Where speaking to someone, even a family member, was torture for her. The queen didn't seem to notice though. She smiled at nora sweetly as the door closed and nora felt like punching herself. The lights turned off and the girl slipped under the covers of her slime covered bed. Her hair made so much of a mess but there wasn't a ton she could do about it, these stains were more then permanent at the point and trying to clean them of slime would be a waste. She closed her eyes gently and made herself comfortable, nothing but the sounds of crickets outside and gushes of wind and.....tapping? The girl suddenly froze, eyes wide open and looking at her window. There was no one there. And yet, that's where the noise was coming from. Grabbing a rather heavy book next to her, she got out of bed, position the item as a weapon just to be safe. She crept to the window silently, hesitant as she unlocked the hatch, opening the window to get a better look at whatever was making that racket. Only to find... A girl's face suddenly appeared in front of nora, dark hair, blue eyes. Sky "Hi nora..." Nora fell on her back, clearly startled to see sky's head peeking in as she scooted across the floor behind her. Sky shushed her as she stepped in, and nora watched as someone else followed in behind her, no longer invisible and keeping an eye out for guards as she closed the window. Upon closer inspection nora remembered this girl, from the night before! However, she still didn't move or approach the pair, and sky awkwardly rubbed along her arm as she put her wand into her back pocket. "Uh, sorry to drop in like this....but we uh.....we needed, well..I needed....to talk to you.", she wasn't too surprised nora seemed so freaked out, but it wasn't like sky could give her so much as a warning before she showed up tonight. She moved towards nora, she couldn't say she had the comforting presence judas seemed to have but she had to try. If nora's parents found sky in her room, she'd be in such big trouble not to mention she'd most likely be unable to leave the castle when she wanted ever again. She'd end up like nora. Nora's eyes shifted around the room, she clutched the book to her chest. She needed to say something, anything. She wasn't even sure if this were some trick or not, it could be right? Magic could make someone do many things, things that could hurt her. She refused to move when sunny stepped forward, "Nora, we're sorry we uh...broke in, but well, sky wanted to help you....speak to judas again. ". Nora's eyes shifted to sky, who seemed to slightly be regretting this choice. "Sorry the night before was a mess....but well, judas has kinda been sad ever since you left and I thought.....I should help everything with your folks, so...you can hang out with us..", the monster girl slightly moved her book away, and that gave sky the opportunity to move forward a bit. "Like, i know we're all not SUPER close, but It's just....well, he likes having you around and he wants to help and he kinda feels like he failed and...I guess I thought, we should fix that...". "Did he tell you I wanted to fix his arm?", she mumbled out. "Wait, you wanna fix his arm?". Nora nodded gently, "He's been really nice to me since we were little and I-I wanted to help him...". "But you can't if you're stuck in here...right?". Sky fell to her knees, "We never should've ignored you for so long, i mean, i don't what we would've done when we were younger but....we totally would've snuck you out of the castle to hang out if we really thought about it. I mean, i know it's not our fault your like this, but...we knew and....we didn't try hard enough to spend time with you or make real friends with you. Me and jude, we've just kinda always been bad at trying to make people like us....but well, these days, we got a lot of things going on and....we kinda think you should be in on it.". "Sky...", nora dropped the book, "I uh no.....it's...i always REALLY wanted to hang out with you...I mean.....well, who wouldn't? I mean...oh this is embarrassing......", she pulled her hair in front of her face. "I get scared talking to you two, sometimes i worry you guys think I-I'm....silly or weird or....you guys are only nice to me to make me feel better. I keep wanting to talk to you but i'm bad at it and I panic and.....please don't blame yourselves! It makes me feel bad.". "Nora.." "You shouldn't be in here, i don't want you getting in trouble because of me!" "Nora-". "And judas, oh if my parents find out they'll never let me go to another ball with you guys again!" "Nora!". The girl quieted and her intruders looked at each other, "Please...It's ok......look, that's the point, we uh....we want to help you so you can leave the castle! And uh...so your parents won't make you stay in here! Please don't panic we want to help! Just please, calm down!". Nora looked up at the girls and wiped her face, "I'm sorry, I'm not good at this...I...I just.....I mean, I-I WANT to talk to my parents about it...but i can't talk to them about it, I mean, they're my parents sky.". "Yeah but well...I mean, have you tried?", the girl's light green eyes looked to her wooden floor, "What would I even say to them sky? That i want to hang out with you and judas? That i should leave when I want? That i can protect myself?". Sky answered quickly, "Yes!", but nora sighed. "Sky, my parents aren't like that, they worry about my safety. I mean, i'm scared of magic, scared of being attacked, i've never even held a weapon before and my parents know it.". "You held that book pretty well..", the girl turned to sunny, who nodded to the book in nora's hands. Nora blushed and eyed away, "It was just on instinct, I-I don't know if i really would've used it on you if you were evil or anything.". But sunny persisted, "Well, you know, we could help you learn to protect yourself? If that's all it would take to convince your folks you can handle yourself.". The girl moved away some of her slimy hair, "Look, you should talk to my parents.....not me, they want to keep me safe..a-and i get it, i just want to...you know..". Sunny twiddled her thumbs, "I know how that feels....my family kinda kept me and my brother under protection for years too. We couldn't leave or go anywhere without assistance....but then, I learned to fight, my parents trusted me to handle myself. And I could do it! I mean, your parents can't keep you in here forever....". The princess nodded, "Judas told me something similar, I think, but, they're my parents sky....what if they make it stricter for me to leave? After last night, they're panicked...they doubled security....". "Well.....do you have dimensional scissors...?". "Sky....are you suggesting i sneak out of my room? I-I can't do that! What if my parents come in when i'm not there or someone sees me and rats me out?! I really want to sky, But-". but sky grabbed onto her shoulders and pressed their foreheads together , "But nothing nora! If you want it, you should go do it! I mean, c'mon! It's not fair for your family to keep you from making friends or helping someone or letting you explore! Yeah like, it's dangerous but you're their daughter, they should trust you!". "What if i get caught?". "Can they really do much worse to you then keep you here? Not let you hang out with anyone most of the time? Never let you go anywhere without them?". She thought for a moment. "Maybe not....but...". Sky felt her hopes sink further and further as this conversation went on, her shoulders sinking and a frown on her face. This wasn't going to work was if? Then again, what was she expecting? Nora to just jump at the chance to ditch her parents? The same girl who had a hard time just talking to people normally? Even if she wanted this more then anything, leaving the castle like this was brand new to the girl and incredibly scary. She wasn't like her or judas, and sky sighed as there was a bit of silence. "Coming here was risky, it was kinda stupid of me to think i could just easily convince you to do something like this." , she mumbled out, "I shouldn't have put all this pressure on you to leave. It's just, judas cares about you and i know you don't want to be here. You don't have to agree to it if you don't want I just....I just think if you want something....you kinda have to grab it. I just....i don't know when we're going to be able to talk again but if you want to help judas....i know it'd mean a ton to him..". "Does...judas really miss me?". "Yeah, he feels bad he didn't do anything to stand up for you before and...look, you don't have to do it-". "I guess i could try..". "Hmm?". "I'll do it.". "For real?", sky couldn't believe it, nora actually said yes. God she hoped she didn't pressure her into it or anything, but nora stood up, walking to a drawer near her desk and pulling a book from it. She opened the old thing to show her recent drawings and notes on judas's condition. " I just want to help him, I just.....I cure sick people all the time and....he's always been really nice to me. If i really want to help him, I-I....I can't stay here, i'm supposed to help sick people in need..". "You sure..?". The girl took a deep breath, closing the book and holding it to her chest. "Well, he'd do the same for me....wouldn't he?". Sunny now stood in front of her and smiled, on her tippy toes to be a bit taller," I think he would, and i think he believes you can do it too...". Nora blushed and smiled, "But.....what about my parents? Or being seen outside of the castle?". The two girls exchanged looks, "Well, maybe you should tell them you want to do your own research, even if you don't tell them it's with us...". "But you know my parents .....they're paranoid right now, they won't just let me go around on my own. They especially won't let me into your castle after last night.", sky eyed the door, "Does that thing lock?". The slimy girl nodded, "Then instead of you coming to us, how about we come to you?". Nora blinked at her, and sky explained, "You just tell your folks about a private study session, me and jude pop through a scissors portal, and like...we can use magic so they don't know we're in here?". "You two....are going to hang out in MY room?", she asked for clarification, thinking to the photos she had of sky and judas in her drawer that she would most definitely have to hide if these two were going to be anywhere in her room. And the butterfly princess nodded, "I mean, you can't leave, but me and judas still can....so if you don't want to get caught, we can come to you. You can study jude's arm while he's here for your "Study session", and we can leave before they even notice we were there.". "That's.....actually a good idea sky...", nora blushed and brushed aside some hair, "Thanks, I thought about using scissors to get here tonight, but uh.....it's probably a really bad idea to teleport in a room until you're sure everything's ok and everything. Plus that might've been worse then tapping on a window.". Sunny slapped her on the back, "She's more talented then she thinks she is, and she thinks the only thing she's good at making is clothes.". "Well....sorta, but i only started that because my mom wasn't very good at picking out clothes for me...", sky grumbled, "But uh, yeah, we can drop in tomorrow and you can tell us the time you have set out for you, ok? I'll tell jude tomorrow morning.". Nora nodded and took a seat on her bed, "Uh...sky, i've never told you this before, but i really love your hats...". Sky smiled a bit at that, nodding to the other princess, "Thanks nora..uh....maybe i'll make you your own sometime." "I'd like that...like...a lot...", they exchanged a smile as sunny grabbed onto sky's hand to teleport away, "I'll see you later nora!". Nora's eyes then turned to sunny and they lit up, "Thanks sunny, i'm glad you came to visit too." The two vanished in a flash as nora was left by her lonesome once more. Sky really came in the middle of the night to see her? To help her? The princess of the butterfly kingdom snuck out with risk to go and see her? Nora couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Tomorrow was going to be a great day. - "Why are you pacing so much all of a sudden?" "Because my MOM is coming here soon." Luna grumbled as she walked around her room, celeste on the bed and munching on chips. "Yeah well, I already got a load of my parents...so...", luna shot her a look, "That's not the point, my mom is the head knight in this universe and i'm not remotely sure what to expect from it. Not to mention if the head guard is arriving early from a long mission that can't mean anything good. Especially not for me, kelly might like me, but, i don't know what to expect from my own mother...". "Why? What's she like back home?". "I'm not talking about my life back home, you all already know this.", celeste snorted, throwing a chip at the blonde, "Why? What are WE supposed to do with the info? How in the heck could i possibly get to believe me anyway?". Luna shook her head, "Haven't heard you talk anything about your home either, so you might not want to sound like a hypocrite.". The brunette eyes to the window and the pink sky outside, "Well, you did tell us king lucitor didn't have kids, so that's something." Luna made a face and turned her head. "Wait a second, you lied didn't you.....?". "What?" "I could see it on your face, just now, you lied when you told us he didn't have kids....", luna was about to say something and celeste smirked, "Oh, don't try and deny it now, i'm used to being lied to, i know a liar when i see one.". Luna crossed her arms, "It's none of your concern what goes on back home for me, we're better off not trying to get attached to each other.". The girl on the bed just rolled her eyes, "You're lame luna, no fun to hang out with at all.". "You're one to talk, every time i see you anywhere in the same room as your father you look like you're going to hit someone, if you're so open to sharing you might as well explain your lousy attitude. Have daddy issues back home?". Celeste threw another chip at her, "Shut it...", this time luna caught the chip, "Then i suggest you do the same, right now i need to get back on track of what to do once my mother gets here, what approach to do?". "Don't most people tell you to just be yourself or something?", luna turned back to the brunette and she looked off to the side, "At least, that's what everyone says. Cause apparently the "Real you" is what matters, even if they hate the "Real you". The blonde finally took a seat on her bed, leaning back against it as her back hit the mattress, "Depends if the "Real me" is the person i need to be to avoid any further issues, and clearly around here people don't seem fond of "The real me". The girl on the bed snickered, finding joy in luna's frustration it seemed. It was behavior like that that made the wheels in luna's head turn, though she would do better to not waste much of her energy on understating the psychology behind the girl when she had more important things to think about. The events of the day before left her frustrated and angry, mostly with judas and sky.  Before luna understood the push for secrecy, even supported it, but her time and patience was running out. Then she took a look at celeste, "Why did i even let you in here again? All you're doing is leaving crumbs on my bed and i'm pretty sure you're supposed to still be down in the underworld still before the lucitor family freaks at you being gone". She didn't look amused as the younger girl propped her legs up and on the older one's knees, "You invited me here,  you said everyone else was being so inactive you thought i'd be the only one to i dunno...take action or something. You really gotta be going nuts if you forgot already...". Luna clapped a hand over her face, "oh right, THAT'S why, though it's just my luck the princess most willing to take action is the one with the smart mouth.". She moved Celeste's legs off her and faced forward, "It's clear if we're going to get anywhere we need to use magic and get the info we want and clearly i can't get anyone else to do it....except for you for some reason." Her companion finished her chips before crumpling up the bag and throwing it to a trash bin, missing it. "It's almost like you all forgot i was here until you guys needed me for something dirty...". "Well, it's not particularly much like you have much to say or do anything...", luna commented, "Ever since you got here all you've done is complain, you barely like talking to anyone and you don't even make yourself remotely welcoming. But if we're going to work together I'm going to have to just deal with it". Luna half expected the girl to argue with her but celeste said nothing, it wasn't like she had proof or anything, even lexi spent her time drawing and making friends. The closest thing to a friend celeste has made is Landon, and even then landon was now spending a bunch of time with that human boy he dismissed LIKE liking. Celeste was left on her own more and out of the minds of everyone else. Though she supposed it could be worse, making comfort out of sitting around and finding things to do, sometimes that meaning for her to play with magic for a bit on her own. Shooting at cans or rocks as she waited for hours to go by. "You done insulting me?". "Are you? If we're going to work together, the less this, the better.". Luna stood up, arms behind her back and in a formal position, she continued to walk around the room, speaking to Celeste. "We need more eyes on eclipsa, and not only that, we need to really step up our questioning. But the matter is where to start, the high commission would be suicide trying to go for, not even i can handle all of them at once, even in my own dimension. I wonder if this masked figure has an accomplice somewhere around here, someone to tell them what they need.". "Well, considering they broke into two castles supposibly, wouldn't it mean they'd know both places inside and out? how many people are gonna know THAT?". "Good point.....unless there are either more accomplices, one accomplice knows one and and the other...the other, or this person knows both without much help....", luna's mind seemed to be working at a rapid pace, did this girl ever take a break? She looked like she'd combust have the time and her face was clearly stressed, she picked up the crumpled bag on the floor and expertly shot it into the trash can before resuming. "How could ANYONE be this powerful though? I can't even counter charm something like that?!", she was talking to no one anymore, just herself. "Luna, you're mumbling to yourself." "Look, how about this,  you go do some digging in the kingdoms. And I start going through the queen's offices." Celeste raised an eyebrow, "You hadn't done that before already?". But the girl looked her over and turned her head, "I still have a cover to maintain, I wasn't THAT desperate, but now, I am. If i'm caught, i'll just erase their memory of me, i can get in and out without being seen, at least if i rule them out we won't have to worry about them afterwards...". "And then-?". "And then we investigate the lucitors, we have to put them on the top as they all are powerful magic users that may know more then they're letting on. Being is disguise would only make sense so they wouldn't be recognized, or they could've even hired someone to help as the queens were at that meeting the whole time supposibly. They could all even be working together, after all, they all know their security systems better then anyone.". "Ok, and you want me to run around mewni and do what exactly? I don't even know where to start, this dimension isn't exactly small, you should be smart enough to know that." Luna was clearly very annoyed with the girl's constant insults but she summoned her wand in all it's pink,turquoise,and orange glory as she used magic and summonsed a map for the girl. "I want you to mostly check out the woods, there are secret areas around there the creep could be living in and better you search those first.". "Gross....", she twisted her fast in disgust but luna didn't seem to care, "You have to get dirty to get what you want sometimes, And besides, if they're abandoned you should be fine. But if you do find anything, take some pictures, and if you find anyone, get out of there as soon as possible.". Celeste looked incredibly unhappy with her job, clearly it wasn't what she thought she was getting into at all when luna decided she needed her help with investigation. Was she trying to get her killed? She was totally trying to get her killed. "I know you clearly aren't fond of this plan...", she started. "Oh? What gave you THAT idea?". "BUT...", she closed her eyes, "You seem capable to handle it, and you know how to contact me. As long as we stay safe and follow my directions we should be just fine and dim down locations and suspects.". She leaned again a wall, "I'm in a tight spot, i know the team doesn't trust me, but you're on the outs just as much as me, we are the only ones trying to get things done here, and i'm done sitting here and doing nothing because of them." Her companion let out a breath, blowing her bangs out of her face. "When do we start?". - "Sorry sky, Judas isn't here right now, i send them with their father to the cloud kingdom. Ponyhead hasn't heard much on the matter of the masked crook, so they're working on something in case they break in there next, it's just me here today." Marco went through some files in their office, looking up to the girl who was standing in front of them, "You'll have to wait till they get back, we're all a little stressed and busy, and that's not to mention tom's parents have been fussing with me all day.". "How long will they be gone?", sky adjusted her hat and watched as the queen took a seat at their desk, "As long as it takes, in the meantime i promised to feed lucy and keep an eye on mason's garden for him in their absence. I'm sorry sky, but right now is not a good time, you should head back home and i'll tell judas when he gets back.". The human quickly organized the files they were holding, drinking what was probably coffee out of a mug before setting the files off to the side and opening up a letter. Sky was about to think of her next course of action when the door opened, a couple of demon servants entered. Marco's attention was then diverted to them, putting down their mug and watching their rather frantic faces. "Your highness.....we uh....your son's garden has gotten out of hand....", marco stood up quickly, brows furrowed,"I told you two to feed his plants appropriately, what did you both do?". The demons eyed each other before going back to their queen. "Well,  we did as you asked, but then a plant you hadn't listed attacked us! They wrapped around our ankles and almost poisoned us, we just barely got away but those two girls..". The mention of two girls made marco raise their voice, "Two girls? what two girls? I only sent you two in". The pair were now sweating, one trying to hide behind the other, "Sire, the demon girl you're keeping as a guest, she ran inside, tugging along a friend, we couldn't go back in to save them-". On instinct, marco summoned their skull mask on their face, their piercing green eyes making the servants more nervous. Marco was more then used to his own kids being in danger, and their parebtial/hero instincts activated almost immediately, '"Sky, stay here, you two, come along, we need to get in there IMMEDIATELY.". Marco left in a flash, the two demon servants quickly behind him and leaving sky alone in the queen's office. She almost forced herself to stay put, but that only lasted a few seconds as she ran out after them. Sunny must've ran in thinking she could handle the plants herself. And taken lexi with her. She was going to be in so much trouble but trouble was better then her friends being dead. She waved her wand, needing her cloudy to move faster, but much to her dismay, it wasn't working. "Oh come on! My friends could be in serious trouble and you're not going to work NOW? I don't have time for this!". She kept running but then she tripped as she felt the ground shake, for a second she assumed it might've been judas's grandmother. Only to see a dog, with three heads, bouncing through the corridor, it stopped as it saw sky, smelling her. Familiar with the girl already. Lucy got out. "Hi girl?". The dog started barking, and licked sky as the girl stood up. "I guess you haven't been fed yet...huh?", the dog barked in response. "Sorry, lucy, i gotta get moving to mason's garden....I-". Then the dog used one of it's heads to grab onto sky's shirt, lifting her up. "Lucy!! What the-WOAH", she'd ridden lucy in the past, with judas, but never had lucy lift her up and carry her. She was practically being shooken like a doll as lucy bounded her way over to mason's garden, dropping sky onto the ground. "Ahhh....uh....thanks?", sky got up and rubbed her head only to see Queen Lucitor call for lucy to come forward, so they had summoned lucy, she hadn't just escaped this time around. Sky watched the dog wander into the garden after it's master. Marco using magic to brush aside the plants as the dog sniffed around for the missing girls, sky walked in after them, and the servants weren't kidding. There was one plant going on an uproar, vines with spikes waving around and it practically screaming. no doubt this was one of the plants landon gave him, one their parents would not have approved of. Tom and Marco let their son keep a ton of things, but they had their limits. No plant in the garden could be an eater of meat, nor could be incredibly dangerous to take care of unless supervised. But mason was a child, and he wanted to own as many plants as he could. The fact there hadn't been an accident like this sooner was a miracle in itself. Sky had her wand out at the ready, this place was terrifying, like a jungle full of nightmares. She was going to be in such big trouble with her parents for going in here but she felt obliged to do something. These were her friends, sisters, out here and she knew judas would do this in her position if given the choice. She heard yelling and seems cloudy wanted to work today and the bat-winged creatures lifted her into the air to get a better view. She spotted the plant and on instinct her licorice rope extended from her wand and around some of the vines, holding them in place. Next thing she knew, Lucy's heads were already grabbing the vines and pulling, the plant quickly dying and falling as marco grabbed the girls from nearby. The giant three-headed dog teared the thing up like a chew toy, it was almost gruesome as the plant fell to pieces and crumpled. Mason was going to freak when he saw this, he already freaked enough when his family had to trim his plants, now he had a dead one, with traces everywhere. Sky didn't know nearly as much as mason did about plants but she had a hard time believing this thing was going to recover from something as bad as this. "What are you girls doing in here!? You two could've been seriously hurt!!", Marco's parent instincts kicked in fast. Before sky dropped down and Marco turned their attention towards her, "and YOU, what are you doing here sky? I told you to wait because it's dangerous.". Sky twiddled her fingers as the small demon came to her defense, "She probably just wanted to help....she's our friend after all.". The Queen signed, crossing their arms, "Fine, but never do it again, are we clear?". Sky nodded, Sunny sending her a smile as a thanks. Marco led the girls out, lucy following behind, dropping the dead plant vines onto the ground. "Mason's not going to be happy but....he's also going to be in big trouble when he gets home for keeping something like THAT in there. Those guys are highly dangerous, they have acidic spurts. Why mason had this and how he got a hold of it i have no idea but he knows better then to do this. Ugh, i even send it servants to help in the garden and even they didn't point this out to me...". The mask was removed and marco's hand trailed through their brown locks, "Why did you girls go into that garden anyway? Even without plants like that it's not safe without some supervision, we can trust mason with most plants because he's an expert but...you two could've been hurt.". Sunny took a hold of lexi's arm and nodded, "We're sorry, we saw the plant and we just wanted to help, since you know, we handed that last one so well before.". "That's not the same thing, this plant went on a rampage because of it wanting to feed, the previous one needed trimming and it was reluctant to it. It can hurt you but with me and tom around you're all in safer hands taking care of those things. You two are not allowed to go into the garden without our permission, you understand that?". Geez, and there were times judas thought his parents were too busy flirting with each other to pay attention to their kids. Queen Lucitor didn't fool around. The human walked over and patted one of the heads of their dog, giving it a small smooch. "Good girl, c'mon, get on back, we'll see about dinner later.". The dark Cerberus licked the human before barking and turning itself around, hopefully towards it's usual home. Marco tried to wipe off the slobber but sighed, there goes another suit, but it was probably worth it. A guard was called over and the queen told them to grab a team and further examine the garden for dangerous plants that were not to be kept and the guard left as soon as they could. Marco then motioned for the girls to follow them. "My family leaves for one day to have a meeting and the place is already falling apart on me.", marco walked ahead and sky got close to the two girls, even lexi was oddly quiet for someone as bubble and out as her. "Lexi says she drew a plant like that awhile back...with shampoo...". Sky gave her a look and mumbled, keeping an eye on the queen, "Ok, why did you guys really go in there? It's really freaky in there and everyone would've flipped if you both got hurt." "We saw the plant freaking out just wanted to take it down, we weren't lying." "Ok, but why were you around the garden in the first place? Did you know mason was out?". "Well, lexi told us to come here, i think she wanted to see if mason wanted to play more DND but......all we saw was the plant and we had to do something". The girl sighed, her expression turning sad, "Mason's going to be sad about his plant....isn't he?". The older girl crossed her arms, "Yeah, yeah he will, his plants and stuff mean a lot to him. When his parents had to release some of his pets back into the wild he cried for days, and he kept hiding in his wings...". "Pets?". "Mason snuck animals into the castle to take care of, but most of them weren't the "Pet Type", so his folks had to take them back where he found them. I mean, with the dog and the bunnies , dragon cycle, and the skeleton horses, feels like their's enough critters running around. Also, queen lucitor's allergic to cats, so that kinda means they need to be careful whose allowed in the castle so they don't have a sneezing fit or anything. There have been incidents after all.". "Oh......". "Anyways, mason's...not going to be happy at all, i mean, he did raise all those plants after all. So he's going to be heartbroken.". Originally, sky thought marco was leading them back to their office, only to find where they actually were leading them, was sunny's room. They opened the door for them and let the girls go inside before closing the door behind them and leaning against it, they still didn't look happy, whether  it was about the girls, the plant, or what they were going to have to tell their youngest son, sky couldn't be sure. It was probably a mix of all three though. "Girls, i want you to stay here for a moment while i call sky's parents for a bit. No leaving, i'm not ok with any of you getting out of my sight, especially since sunny here is supposed to have guards watching her and somehow evaded them despite their orders. I take safety seriously, especially during this time around when we have a possible threat running around, none of you may be my children but under my roof you need to follow my rules, i don't want any of you hurt.". The human turned to sunny, nodding at her. "Your bravery in wanting to help is great, but do not willingly put yourself in danger under my roof, i'd never forgive myself if the worst happened.", they sighed and rubbed their forehead, strained and stressed from all the work and issues of today. "Me and tom normally split the tasks of today but he has a job to do and i need to hold the fort until he gets back, and we're already off to a bad start. So please stay here till i come and get you, alright everyone?". All the girls nodded, making it clear. "Good." They yawned and lifted themselves off the door. "Alright, i'll see you girls soon.", they messed with their dark hair before walking out the door of the room. Gee, sky comes all the way here to talk to judas and finds herself locked in a room, great. Judging by Sunny's face she knew exactly why sky was here and spoke up, "You should've texted him instead, called him, It's usually not a good idea to walk in when you don't know where he might be today.". Sky fell on the bed, "i TRIED texting him, but he didn't reply. I think he's being held up...". "It's ok sky, you can wait till he gets back.", Sunny took a seat as well, watching lexi start sketching in her book. "I know but.....ugh....", she grumbled as her arm covered her eyes, the small girl smiling and laughing. "Something else getting under your skin?". The dark haired princess uncovered her face, sighing, "I might be also still kinda annoyed i'm stuck with angel a few hours everyday, i'd much rather my mom teach me and risk taking my wand then be stuck with angel...". "he's really not that bad...". "Hm?". Sky sat up, looking the girl over, "What?". Sunny bit her lips, "Well, i talked to him a bit more during the interrogation, he kinda just seems like he needs help, is all. I think he wants so many things but just makes some bad choices in getting those things. But, he seems ok if you talk to him.....just maybe a bit defensive with touchy subjects.". The other girl just crossed her arms, not buying it at all, "Sunny, c'mon now, i don't know what he said to you, but i've spent so much of my time kicking him out....and my mom doesn't do anything about him, he's so stubborn.". "Well, wouldn't you do anything if your mom or people were in trouble?". "You're starting to sound like judas, and....yeah, but i'm not gonna stand outside of their castle and annoy them until they listen! Like angel just wants to go back in time! He thinks we can do so many ridiculous things and fix all our mistakes with a snap of our fingers!". She raised her arms up before they fell down to her side, "And his dad trusts ME to be someone to look after him, why me? Why not judas? Judas is way better with him then i am....way calmer, i think angel prefers his company too...". "Maybe because you are kinda more strict with him....maybe he needs that...". "Have you seen his dad?" "Well, maybe you have something that his dad doesn't?", sky bit her lip, trying to recall anything about her relationship with angel. Yeah, she showed him sympathy at times, never really wanted him hurt, and felt bad for him at times when she did hurt him. But was that really enough to warrant her helping him? Just because she didn't want him hurt or felt even the least bit guilty for what happened to him, or his people in the first place? Did the king just want angel to get close to sky in particular for a reason? She was a butterfly after all, the kinda person angel wanted to speak to, maybe it had something to do with that? It left her thinking. The demon dropped down from the bed, summoning her wand, the staff clinking to the ground. "Maybe you both just need to talk, this could be fun!!", now she was starting to sound even MORE like judas. Ugh, no wonder they got along so well. Sky groaned again in protest as sunny summoned a flower necklace, throwing it around sky's neck. "You two should work things out, he told me he does really think you and judas and cool people so.....maybe you guys can all be friends.". "Friends? Us? C'mon now, i don't want to be friends with angel....". "Better friends then enemies...". "Sunny, the dude has been a pain in my side for what feels like ages, if he's gonna do nothing but cause more trouble and complain about my family, why would i want to be friends with him?", sunny looked rather sad, but not surprised either. After all, it was clear sky didn't seem to like angel, there was no way she'd convince sky to change her mind about him so easily. But she carried on, "Well, i think you should think about it, maybe you just need more time to talk to him personally....instead of fighting." "You can't just be friends with everyone and expect that to fix things sunny, at least not around here. ". "Yeah but......you'll never know how to fix these things if you don't try right?" Sky turned on her side and closed her eyes, maybe she needed a nap or something. The girl  next to her decided no longer to bug her, her focus over to galexia, who was doodling on her sketchpad peacefully. She needed to take some time, time to clam down and stop thinking about all these troubling things that were clearly getting under her skin. If she was stuck here, she might as well doze off, off until her best friend came back to talk to her about it. "Maybe..". - Judas shook his compact, grumbling, just great. How was anyone supposed to contact him if there was no reception up here? Granted, his focus should be on the meeting instead of on his compact but he was worried, what if there was an emergency and he couldn't speak to anyone? The girls could take care of themselves but still, he wanted to be able to speak to them. And yet, here he was struggling to get a signal in the cloud kingdom of all places. His brothers seemed fine though, landon listening to music with his headphones and keeping to himself and mason playing with the pom pom on his hat as he usually did during meetings like this. His father was trying his best not to look annoyed to be stuck in a room with ponyhead. Tom put up with pony way more then marco did, but out of all the royals in mewni, pony was not the easiest one to talk to nor the best listener. As she was arguing with her husband since they all go there instead of talking about the crisis. in fact judas wasn't sure if pony even knew why tom was here at all, instead assuming he was there to be their marriage counselor or something. Bring the boys they said, it'll teach them how to be a good king/prince they said. "-And we can't even get reception here today! It's totally no fair, now i gotta go to boring meetings and not text b-fly and plan our next party.", Queen Ponyhead was a master of first world problems, and how tom put up with her was astonishing, guess his anger management had really gotten that good since marrying marco and fixing his life. He let out an annoyed sigh, probably wondering how his partner was doing back home more then anything. Judas put away his compact, asking to be excused as his father sighed and waved him off. Honestly, there was really no reason he needed to be there with what little progress they were making anyway. Judas thanked him and promised to come right back as he headed out of the office, contacting his friends was a bust. But there was someone he could contact while being stuck up here, and perhaps he really should talk to loki again since he hadn't seen him since he hid in his room and ran off. Or as how Coral put it, since judas did something Ponyhead wouldn't like and that his parents covered up for him. Though, his parents had yet to even mention it to him, so did pony even mention it at all? Never mind, he needed to find loki, even if it were just to talk for a few minutes. He'd been here a few times in his life but he couldn't say he new his way around at all, but as long as he watched his step and didn't eat the food he'd be fine. Honestly he was surprised loki didn't find him himself, especially since he was commonly found following judas or sky most of the time, judas chuckled to himself, maybe loki and angel should hang out, they could annoy each other. That'd be a sight to see. Approaching the pony's room, he knocked on the door. "Hey loki, I know i normally don't visit you , but it's been some time and i wanted to check up on you. Is it cool if i drop in?". It was only seconds when loki magically opened the door, stunned to see judas standing there as he frantically looked at his clearly messy room behind him. "Judas....I uh...I didn't know you were coming..uh...", he floated away and started quickly trying to clean his room, and by clean his room he meant stuffing stuff behind things and under his bed. "You didn't know, didn't your parents tell you?". "I was sleeping, I think....", the pony zoomed around and judas looked at him more closely, noticing he still looked tired and a little bruised. "Loki? Everything ok? You look kinda like a mess....", loki froze and turned around, "Oh that? I keep sleepwalking and running into things during it, that's why, mom's been keeping me in my room more often. Kinda sucks, but hey, i don't have to go to those lame ceremony's to be king right? So it's not so bad to me....". "When did this start up?" "I don't remember honestly, it's kinda blur......but don't worry, I'm uh...I can't believe you came to see me."He then looked behind judas, "Wait, is sky with you, she's always kinda attached to your hip it seems ,so?". And here we went again, the demon sighed as he answered, "Loki, my dad's here to meet with your mom and dad, did your sister tell you about what happened, at the sleepover she went to? There was a masked creep that broke into butterfly castle?". "Wait what!? You kidding me!!?". "Your sister really didn't tell you? She was there, and her parents had to pick her up early.", the pony shook his head, "My sister doesn't really tell me anything, she keep to herself and we only talk when we're taking care of our sister. Mom yells about stuff all the time that it's hard to kinda like....pay attention to what she says? It all ends up kinda blending together after awhile and you really stop listening to it. To be honest, that wasn't entirely invalid, one second his mom would be complaining about her phone and another about a world crisis. "Well, turns out a creep snuck into the castle during the night and we ran right into them, we don't know what they were doing , but they got away and we're all trying to investigate and protect our homes in case they come back. That's why our parents are talking, security is bumping up and we don't know if your kingdom is a target, so we're working on a better system to catch this guy in the act. Loki looked panicked, "Wait, you SAW them, did they attack you, they totally attacked you right?!". "uhhh....no, they kinda retreated when i showed up...". "Oh...". "anyways, i hadn't seen you since you left me that note about finding angel and i thought while i was here i'd see how you were doing, sorry if this was a bad time.". , Honestly he was probably only encouraging loki to follow him and sky and bother them more by doing this, but considering how long it'd been judas really had no reason to dismiss the prince. And it was probably a good idea he showed up because loki was more informed on the situation, although...it seemed to freak him out a bit. "Wait, what about angel?". "What do you mean what about him, you left a note saying you were going to talk to him, you were trying to see if talking to him would make sky want to hang out with you more. I assumed you decided not to and went home instead considering what your sister said". The pony still looked utterly confused though, as though judas had said something outrageous or insane. Judas's curiosity peaked as the pony turned his back to him and seemed to think to himself. "Loki, are you sure everything's ok? You seem a bit more absent minded.....", but the pony brushed it off, turning back to judas and rolling his eyes, "Yeah yeah yeah, i'm totally fine jude, you're just being silly dude, like c'mon.....". Judas bit his lip but sighed, no point in pushing it, "Alright, well maybe you need to get some rest for a bit, you look tired....and um...maybe we can work something out in the future, so you can maybe hang out with me and sky.....maybe.". The pony's eyes lighted up,  "Wait, REALLY? Wait, sky still doesn't really like me does she? Does she?". Judas nodded his head, "Well, no, she's still not fond of you, but right now she's also got a bit on her plate this time around. But we're making an effort to work that out and making when you're feeling better we could try and hang out some more.". Yeah, sky would not be happy at all he proposed loki hang out with them, especially since the guy invaded into their business a lot. But then again, judas was more willing to fix things so they didn't have issues then sky. "Wait, what kinda issues..?". "Uh......well...", Judas couldn't exactly spill the real big issues to loki, especially since there's no way he wouldn't blab about it, but then again he could at the very least stick to a part of the truth. "Well, she and angel are going to be working together, she's not entirely happy about it, but i'm sure they'll be fine.....angel is pretty harmless and maybe they can talk things out. If ether of them stop being stubborn and just listen to each other at least...". "Angel angel angel, why is he all you're ever talking about, like...whose obsessed with who here?", loki flopped on his bed, "Like, i'm WAY cooler then him. Also, working together? What are they working together on, something weird? Are they dating now?". Well, at least loki was acting like loki again, "They're not dating loki, they have study together now, so they're just going to learn how to be a good ruler and do the things they need since they're both kinda behind....". "Oh.....well that's kinda lame....", loki snorted, trying to brush his light green hair using magic now, "I dunno, honestly, i think you could maybe benefit from it too, especially since your parents are so persistent on giving you the crown as soon as possible.". The horse didn't seem to be buying it though, "Uh...no....i don't want my mom making me do more work, that's so annoying judas why do you put up with doing this kinda stuff all the time?". "Uh, because i kinda have to?", judas let out a weak laugh, "I mean, you kinda have to take being a king seriously and study dude, i think your parents stink at helping you but when you take over you should be prepared. I mean, aren't you excited to be king, even a little bit?". Loki's blue and yellow eyes looked right at judas, and his glare made his answer rather clear. "Loki, it's not that bad, when you get on that throne, you'll be seen as a leader...someone to admire..". "I'm already someone to admire...". "Uh...yeah, well i mean, you'll be even MORE impressive to everyone around you.". "That's better....". "Look, it's just, maybe you outta make the most out of it? Things will be OK Loki , i promise. ", he was trying to be reassuring but it was hard to tell if loki was even remotely being shifted my the boy's words. Judas eyes to the wall, and all the posters in the boy's room. Popular mewni celebrities, boy bands, and hair products lined the walls and judas looked back to loki, sometimes he forgot loki was a teenager, his behavior at times felt so  childish for a pony his age. "Loki? Listen, i know we have our issues at times, but I do want to work stuff out. But, if you really admire me like you say you do, you need to take my advice. You need to take being king more seriously, you'll have people counting on you to decide things for them, to make their lives better. If your parents aren't gonna help, then maybe you need to get some advice elsewhere, but you have no choice but to be king, you can't hide in your room and ignore it..". "I'm only important to my family because i'm a boy, otherwise they don't remotely care about me. I could live in your room for the rest of my life if i weren't the only boy to inherit the throne. But guess what? I am, so therefore, my parents need me, coral gets to sit in her room and play games all day and do whatever she wants. It's not even remotely fair for me to not be able to do anything i want cause i got no choice, how am i supposed to look on the bright side of this?". "You don't even want the money or anything, nothing?". "Well, yeah i want the money but....i still don't want to be king....", granted, loki didn't seem built to be a king but there really wasn't much judas could say that he hadn't already told loki. "Loki, you have to do something with your life, and it can't be just following me and sky around. Even if you could not be the next king, what would you do? Loki you need to stand for something, you need to find your place on mewni and you kinda have to take it.". "For the record, i DO have a place judas! i'll be totally fine", the green pony sat up and made themselves comfortable , "I want to do what I want to do, not have my mom make me do it. You're cool judas and everyone loves you but i'm not doing this stuff. I got better places to be and i'm not giving my mom the satisfaction.". Judas sighed, "Well, i can't make you........but i think i better get going anyway, before my dad worried about me. We'll see each other sometime ok?". "If i can leave the house again, sure" Judas sighed as he walked out and closed the door behind him. So many stubborn princes in this dimension, so many he had to deal with. "Judas! There you are!", the king of the underworld came around the corner, hugging his son instantly, "I was worried for a second, just wanted to tell you i FINALLY managed to get a word in with Queen Ponyhead. So.....we'll all be implementing a call button, we'll use it to instantly summon someone to the scene during another emergency. We'll also in the meantime be letting lucy out for walks to sniff around for the culprit and the culprit's been put on a watch list...." "Uh....". "I know I know, it's imperfect and things are starting to get scary but....", tom placed a hand on his son's shoulder, sighing, "Trust me, it's worth it. Anything to keep you and your brothers safe right now is important to me and your mother both.". The boy nodded, "I just, hope we find them soon, i uh....i know you both worry about us.". Tom pulled his son into a hug, he tended to do that often during times like these, as king lucitor was known to be very affectionate to his family. Judas could recall when he and his brothers were smaller and their parents gave them goodnight kisses. It was like this, small but sweet moments, the kinda moments judas kinda felt he needed more of these days. He hugged his father back, "You're getting so tall....". Tom mumbled under his breath, and judas could tell he was smiling, "I'm almost taller then you....must be the demon side of me coming out more and more.". Tom laughed before letting his son go and reaching to ruffle the boy's hair. "You're cute, just like your mom...". "DAD!". "Sorry!, But it's true and you can't convince me otherwise...i know my children are amazing, even if you won't admit it.", tom patted the boy's shoulder before his smile slightly faltered, ending the sweet moment. " Anyways, we better go collect your brothers, they stopped to go to the kitchens to get some lunch and we better find them before they realize they have to eat from troughs around here.". Tom seemed way too happy about that idea as he ushered judas along. "Hey judas, D-" "No dad, no girlfriend...". "H-". "No boyfriend either...sorry, you gotta wait longer if you expect grandkids...". Judas knew him too well, and tom smiled to himself once again. "Eh don't worry, my dad did the same thing at your age, nu rush in your case.". The king twiddled his fingers, "But, you'll tell me if you start dating anyone, right?". He was met with an elbow to the side and tom wrapped an arm around him, "Alright alright, i'll stop.". The walk along the cloud kingdom still remained lively, the two talking amount each other on the way to the cafeteria. Judas could even feel his own stomach start growling, he really hadn't eaten much at all today had he? Guess the stress and stuff had been getting to him a little more then he would've liked. Even tom seemed to have noticed it as he led the boy along, finding both demon children easily among the cafe of floating horse heads. Mason even ran up to hug tom as tom approached the table they were sitting at, ushering judas to sit down. "I think maybe we should get a bite before we go back, but....no troughs....ok?". Landon made a face, "Yeah, no duh dad...". "Love you too sport..". "I want PIZZA!!", Mason excitably took a seat next to landon and landon went back to listening to music, pulling out his compact to no doubt text bernard.  Tom took note of this as he tapped on the table to get landon's attention, "Hey...landon, i don't mean to be a bossy dad or anything. But you mind taking the headphones out and put down the compact? I'd like to talk to all of you while we're here, i'm sure your friend would completely understand". Reluctantly, landon, obeyed, the headphones coming off and and compact sliding into his hoodie pocket. Landon looked less then pleased to be told he couldn't talk to what he considered practically his only friend and he crossed his arms as his father called for a servant and told them their order for lunch, the pony giving them as look as tom told them that they wanted it on a plate rather then a trough. Them tom focused on his sons, clearly relieved to be hanging out with them then with ponyhead. "Sorry boys, i thought our meeting would've been way better then it turned out. Wanted you to see your old man be a real king but uh....guess maybe i'm better off doing it with a much different kingdom..", though mason's expression showed he didn't seem to mind as much landon still didn't seem pleased. "Yeah well, no wonder mom didn't want to come here, they probably would've lost their cool sitting in a room with queen ponyhead for an hour." "Well, your mother also just wanted to make sure someone was in charge back home, sometimes it's better one of us stays at home to keep everything in order.", he was smiling, looking off into the distance, clearly lost in thought about his spouse. If his father wasn't in front of him, judas was sure landon would fake gag about the king's cutesy and puppy dog-like love for marco. Even when they weren't together it still felt like they were, and tom attempted to hold himself together too focus on his kids. "Sorry sorry, didn't mean to phase out there...I know you boys think it's gross, but you won't be saying it's gross when any of you start dating.", he winked to all the boys at the table, judas snorting and face palming as mason smiled and landon tried to hide his face. Mason never seemed phased by much, at least not like his brothers, he rarely got embarrassed about anything and most things that bothered him related to his family or his garden and pets. "i don't think it's gross, you guys are cute...". So of course he'd say that. "Thanks little bat....", tom made a face at mason and mason made a matching face back, "Anyways it's good to sit down and eat together, i mean, i know we do that during dinner. But i mean it's nice to do it without my parents as...you know how they can get sometimes.". He sat back in his seat, watching mason tear off the bottom of a straw wrapper and bow the rest using the straw at judas, the boy taking it as a challenge and doing the same back to him. "I know they mean well and everything but sometimes they do crazy things and it makes me and marco on edge, i'm not to deal with them when they probably take some drastic measures themselves to find the guy we're all looking for. Especially since star and janna both suspect them as a magic user...". Judas's ears perked up, guess he couldn't be surprised his dad found out, their parents weren't stupid, they were going to come to similar conclusions eventually. Even landon's expression perked up for a split second. But mason, being the oblivious one, seemed a little more surprised. And a little scared. "Wait, if they have magic doesn't that mean they could hurt us more easily.?", tom instantly regretted  speaking about this matter in front of mason. The boy was not frightened by some things, but no doubt something like this would probably give him nightmares. "Mason, no no no, because me and mommy will take them down if they do, "No one will hurt any of you, you have my word.". Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted judas's shock bracelet and closed his eyes, "No one...". They ate in a bit more silence after that, tom trying to crack jokes in order to lighten the mood. But it didn't seem to entirely be working, not even pizza was enough to make mason feel less anxious, and he loved pizza. Landon didn't seem any better, annoyed he couldn't take his compact out and talk to bernard. Clearly there were no pleasant thoughts surrounding the masked foe and the danger surrounding them. Tom sighed, putting down his slice and closing all three eyes. "Boys, we didn't mean to worry you...any of you. Me and your mom, we're scared too....but we've been in tight spots before, and you know me and your mom would do anything to keep all of you safe. It's just part of the job, and we won't let any of you get hurt.". Tom, glimpsed to judas's arm, "I'm not letting anything bad ever happen to any of you....we'll catch this guy soon and everything will go back to normal, ok? We promise you, we'll find them as soon as possible...". "And what if you don't?", landon blurted out suddenly, "What if you don't and things get worse...?!". "They won't landon, we're the lucitors, we are some of the most powerful royals in all of mewni. We control the dead, we control fire and lava, we've been here longer then the butterflies ever did. You can't tear a lucitor down so easily. We have never failed before and we won't do it now, magic or no magic this being can not evade us forever. Me and marco have been taking bad guys out since before we were even dating, and we've handled tougher then this...". That seemed to get landon to stop talking, tom wrapping an arm around judas and reaching out to landon's shoulder.  "We're family, we'll get through this mess, and i have complete faith in all of you to be able to protect each other if you have to.", mason seemed a bit relieved, breaking out into a smile. "Will mommy wear their scary mask like before?  To go out and get em?". This seemed to lighten tom's spirits as well, "Oh heck yeah, mommy will scare the heck outta this guy....make them regret it.". The exchange between judas and landon in facial expressions said it all, what would their dad think if he found out they were trying to track the guy down? He'd probably be proud to a degree they caught them, but on another hand tom hated his family getting themselves into danger. Or even putting younger kids into possible danger as well, as the adults would take full responsibility if one of them ended up hurt under their roof and protection. And god, worse off, what if they suspected the girls of not being who they say they were. Showing up oh so conveniently when all this started happening? There was no way they could keep this charade up forever, if they didn't wrap this up soon, they were all busted. Then what? Be grounded forever? Even if their father was ok with it there was no way their mother would feel the same way. They were all about safety and the one of their family was a huge priority for them. The food was finished, the group was ready, and judas couldn't wait to talk to sky about Loki. Though as the flames lifted and they were surrounded in the familiar warmth of the underworld, it was clear something wasn't right. Even tom sensed it, calling a servant over and asking about the situation. "There was an incident, no one was hurt thankfully, but your husband wants to speak with you.....immediately. And you uh...better bring the boys as well..". tom exchanged looks with his sons and ushered them to follow as they moved forward, walking to marco's office, tom opened the door, almost in a panic. "Marco what hap-", their lips were pushed instantly against marco's who tugged them forward before hugging them tightly. Marco looked to their sons, who looked stunned and nervous. "We need to talk, now...".

[the-tormented-writer]

Alone Together

Relationships: Bucky Barnes x reader Warnings: none Summary: You're Tony Starks little sister who he's extremely protective of. And he's not the only one. But When Bucky Barnes comes to the tower, are you going to be able to listen to your brother and take his advice or are you going to do what you want? ---------------------- "Y/n, I know you are old enough to make your own choices.. Where you buy your car from, getting your nails done. Even the.. Men..you take interest in. But sweetheart, does it have to be him?" He looks up at you, pausing his work to toss one of his tools into a bag. You rolled your eyes, bitting the inside of your cheek. Thinking long and hard about your choice of words toward your brother. Tony crossed his arms rubbing his chin, awaiting your reply. You knew this day would come. "Tony." You sighed sweetly, leaning on one of the tables, "My brother from another mother, you know I love you..." rounding his work area, you dragged a finger over the back of his shirt. He pushed his safety googles up, raising a brow, "Ok. This can't be good." "Let me finish... " you raised your hands in front of you with your palms up, "I understand. Truely I do. I understand your hesitancy for me to be involved with him. Steves weird motherly intuition hovering about and Nat making sure I'm always armed as I go about my daily activities throughout the tower..." "Good." Tony reached his hand to pull down his glasses, "I'm glad you see it my-" "But." "And there it is." You placed a reassuring hand upon Tony's. "I like Bucky, a lot actually. and I know what you say, it's not some stupid crush." Making air quotes, you rolled your eyes toward him. "Or whatever you old folks call it, 'puppy love'?" Tony let out a boisterous laugh while you continued. "I'm serious. It's more. You know.. how you feel for Pepper-" "Hey now," Tony pointed at you, "You're getting ahead of yourself." He walked past you, retrieving another tool. "No one feels for each other like we do, we're.. well-" he blew out a bit of air making his lips flap. "A CLASSIC. TIMELESS. I know!" You threw your hands in the air turning to follow him. "Historians will write poems of your love that will put Shakespeare's earliest work to shame, and women will tell their children of it as bed time stories." You placed your hands in your hips, unable to hide the smile gracing your face making Tony laugh as well. You had hoped to have a love one day that would come close to what Tony and Pepper have. Deep down you were praying it would be Bucky. "Yeah...Damn right." Tony beamed, crossing his arms against his chest proudly. Sighing you kept a serious demeanor. "Please. Just give him a chance. Ok?" "I have no problem about giving him a chance-" "Oh thanks T. I'm glad we've had this talk and everything's gotten out-" "But..." "And there it is." Taking a deep breath you met Tony's eyes, bracing yourself for what would come next. "You can do all the sweet talkin' in the world, there's gonna be no relations in my tower." "Wait.. what?" You crossed your arms, perusing your lips. "Tony you-" He wagged an oil coated finger in your direction, "No little Winter- Starks running around while there is breath in my body." turning heel Tony headed back toward his chair, feeling victorious. "TONY!" Yelling you followed him around the lab, "I'm not saying...That's not FAIR!" "Uh uh." He rolled his eyes turning around to face you, "I'm the only one that gets to doodle Pepper wherever I see fit. " Continuing to follow him, you felt your face redden. "You're not MY dad ok?!" He abruptly turned wide eyed facing you, your words catching him off guard, "It's not like I'm some teen, I'm a grown ass woman! I too should be able to, as you so eloquently put it, 'doodle' who ever I want." In that moment you felt like a child. Tony wasn't your dad but the closest you ever had to having one. He had done a lot for you, and you had never known there was line until you had crossed it. Gripping a chair and exhaling, Tony spoke, "Then do it y/n! Fuck 20 men, or women, ya know... if that's your thing, I don't judge. Just- just NOT him." Tony took a deep breath looking you over, noticing the frown etched on your delicate features. "Barnes. He's been through hell-Literally. I know you've heard him screaming at night. And I- I just don't want you to have to deal with-" "I can't believe how childish you're being." "Moi'?" Tony pointed toward himself, "You've gotta be joking." "Is this how everyone feels? Did you take a vote amongst the Avengers collective and picked the short straw so you get to tell me I can't be with Bucky?!" Your voice squeaked, "And I get no say?! typical Stark fashion!" Tony grunted focusing on his current tinkering obsession,"I'd hate to disappoint darling. Besides, deep down- you know I'm right." You huffed, leaning on his table. "LOOK." Tony groaned, " I'll admit, overall, he's taken well to living here. Working with Sam for his PTSD, Steve- well, being the ever so clingy weird uncle, Nats informed me of his tactical control progress. Hell! Even Barton is singing his praises. " he let his hands clap around. "Wait" you smiled shaking your head. You couldn't believe this."Ok. So haven't they convinced you enough?" The plea in your voice make Tony's heart sink. There was no avoiding it, you were working his patience. "That doesn't mean you go jump the bones of EVERY SOLDIER with a sob story-" Tony looked up to you realizing what he had said in haste to resume his work. "Shit." Your mouth was agape at his harsh words, "Oh really?" You questioned, "Why don't you tell me how you really feel?" "Y/n, I-" "This is about me and Rogers isn't it?!" Your eyes began to water, damn. You told yourself you wouldn't waste anymore tears on that man. Yet here you were at the mention of your past together and you are barely able to keep calm. "No!" Tony spoke, quickly untangling himself from his current obsession. "Just. Ok. Time out." He rested both of his hands on your shoulders. "Yeah Stark, you don't want to go there with me." You spoke through gritted teeth. "I know." Tony exhaled, resting his forehead to yours, racking his brain to come up with anything to say to fix His remark. "That was completely out of line. Forgive-" "Save it." You forcefully pushed him away, "I'm going out.." Hurrying towards the lab exit, you heard a loud clang of tools hit the flawless white floor. "HEY- " Tony barked, chasing after you,"I told you from the start to let Steve handle Barnes. I gave you a DIRECT ORDER and you disobeyed. In a way, YOU bought this upon yourself." You took a step back as if his words slapped you in the face, "Really?! You're ORDERING ME now?" "YES. You're the one being childish. " Tony swallowed hard searching your eyes. "Talk about an abuse of power." You shrugged reaching for the Lab door handle. "We are family Tony, right? That authority shit may work at Ol Stark industries but not me." You jerked the door back entering into the quite hall. Tony hastily made his way towards the door before it shut fully, catching a glimpse of you before you turned the hall corner. <p>-------------</p> You stormed off an elevator, into the main lobby. Your hair bouncing off your shoulders, making your way towards Wandas wing. Rounding the corner you felt an arm grab you by your waist, yanking you into a vacant hall. "Hey, what's the big-" Your voice cracked, releasing your knife, coming face to face with your boyfriend. The deadly, most feared winter soldier.. More like the worlds biggest teddy bear when it came to you. "Hey doll. " "Shhh!" You straightened your clothes, looking around, "You have to be careful. You know Tony has cameras all around this place!" Finding the area clear you relaxed into his touch, resting your head upon his shoulder. "where are you headed?" Bucky adjusted himself to see your face, "To find you Ofcourse..." his smile faltered noticing your dampened cheeks, "Someone's been talking to Stark I see." Your eyes were glossy while fresh tears clung to your lashes. "Bucky, he treats me like a child," you played with the material of his shirt. " I feel like even if we tell him about us that he won't even give you a chance." "Stark is ..well, your brother. I don't want to speak ill of him because of that, but in a weird way, he's trying to make sure you're safe." Bucky pushed a few loose strands of hair that clung to the side of your face. "I understand where he's coming from. Maybe he'll turn around, hopefully." "Yeah, you don't know a Stark if you think that." Bucky leaned over you, resting his arm against the wall. He sightly shook his head, "Don't get all worked up, once Tony sees how much I love you.." "What?" Your expression faltered when he met your eyes. "I...I love you, Y/n. And I think when he realizes that-" You pulled him close, cutting his sentence short. Holding him captive within your kiss. He inched you both around a door frame, roughly slamming the door behind him. You giggled excitedly breaking away from him, his embrace tight around your lower back kept you in place. "Doll. I. Don't want to make you feel like-" "Like what? I want this with you Buck. So bad." "So have I, but Tony...He won't be happy about this." "I don't care how he or even the others will feel. It can even be our secret. No one has to know." Bucky embraced you tighly against his body, you were growing hot with desire, feeling his hands wander over you, he untucked your shirt, resting his hands on your hips he groaned into your mouth. You smiled, yanking the buttons from his shirt- "Hey. You bough that shirt for me, it's my favorite."</p> "I'll sew them back on." "You can't sew worth a damn babe." "Then I'll buy you another!" You ran your fingers through his long, chocolate colored hair, wrinkling your nose when the strands tickled your face. His fingers trailed across your stomach to gently cup your breast, squeezing your nipple, drawing a quick breath from you. "Someone likes that." You pushed Bucky against the wall now, shrugging off your shirt, he followed suit yanking his belt and pushing his pants down. He pulled you against him once more, moving a finger into your wet folds. Shit. He shifted exchanging places with you. Pushing you up against the wall, he tugged your pants around your hips, leaning forward he continued kissing and nipping at your flesh on your neck, swirling his wet fingers around your nub. "God Bucky." "Just Bucky is fine." "Stop being a smug ass and show me what you've got." ------------------------------ "Who knew our first time would be in an random office?" You snickered, tossing Bucky his shirt. You watched the muscles flex under his smooth skin. "Well when the occasion arises.. " Bucky spoke with a smirk, meeting your eyes. "And here I thought you liked surprises." He walked over, handing you your boots planting a kiss on your lips You blushed, "How long have we been gone before they send a search party out for us?" "By they you mean big brother?" "Please we are completely out numbered." "No! It's all of them? You've got to be kidding me. I've been dong everything and I mean everything to earn their trust." "They trust you Buck, just- Tony he, he's been betrayed so much. It's just difficult for him, give him time." "If You say so." You left a chastened kiss on Buckys lips when you heard something drop from the ceiling. "WHAT THE HELL BARTON?!" "Hey! I was going to ask if you kissed your brother with that mouth then realized how bad that sounded." He coughed, handing you your bra, "Y/n you forgot this." You stormed up to him snatching your bra, you pinched his elbow. "Oh uncle,UNCLE! Geez woman!" "Don't woman me! What are you doing here? "Please you know why I'm here. Hey Barnes." "Barton." "NO! NO PLEASANTRIES! Tony sent you didn't he?" "Well you're not wrong. Actually, they all sent me. Your tracker led to this room and since it's locked..." "Wha- a tracker? Tony put a tracker On me?!" "I know. You two really need to work on your Communication and the trust issues you two have, man! Unbelievable!" Bucky huffed, walking up behind you, "That's one word to describe all this." You turned clutching Buckys hand tightly, swiftly making your way to the conference room, pulling him closely behind you. "Doll calm down. " Buckys voice echoed in the hall along with the sound of your boots hitting the thinly carpeted floor. "You know Starks just protective of you. " "Protective is one way of putting it." Pushing the large, metal door aside with such force, Maria Hill jumped in her seat. You stomped into the conference room with Bucky trailing behind. "LISTEN UP because I will not be repeating myself." Oh shit." "Y/n I don't think this is the best time to do this-" "Bucky Barnes right here, is my boyfriend," "Pumpkin-" "And we just had sex and it was awesome." "You did what?!" "And we are going to have sex, multiple times, because we are together." "Fucking Christ." "And there is nothing that any of you can do about it because he loves me." "He loves you?!" "You love her?!" "I do." "Let me up, I'm gonna kill him!" "This is just too good." "Well, that was a riveting speech there Miss Stark but as you know, the conference room is no place for your relationship gossip or family disputes." Your turned immediately becoming overwhelmed with the need to disappear seeing Fury push himself up from the side wall. You quickly let Bucky's hand drop and averted your gaze to the floor. "Apologies director." "Now besides Mr. Barnes and Miss Stark, can anyone brief me on the events of the mission from earlier this week?" ---------------------------------------- "What has gotten into you Y/n?" "Nat, let it be." "No! I care for you, your like my sister. Barnes.. yes ..he's improved, dramatically but." "You're telling me you couldn't have waited a year or twenty, Y/n?! damn it!" "T, I love him!" "You're just a child! You don't know what that entails!" "What?! Fuck you!" "Y/n, wait..I'm not saying don't be with him." "Oh really? That's new." "I'm just saying he's still healing and I just think-" "Think what, Steve? I don't have all day." "I think he's a rebound, that you both are using one other as a crutch." "Wow Steve, tell me how you really feel." "Fuck doll! how do you expect me to feel? my best girl-" "Umm...try that again? Your ex best girl." "I just think you're still hurting..from us." "Mighty full of ourselves now aren't we?" You waved Steve off quickly headed towards your room before tears threatened to fall. You heard your door creek open revealing Bucky nearing you. Leaning into him, he surrounded you with his warmth. "They all don't get it. " "Well declaring our activities to them wasn't really the best way to go." "I know. I'm so sorry Buck." "Don't apologize, I'm sorry I didn't know they'd all swarm around you when I was meeting with Fury. I should have been there. What we do is none of their goddamn business!" His arm hissed and whirled beside yours. "Don't worry about them, alright?" You rubbed your eyes finding comfort in his enbrace. "You know what?" "What?" "I love you Y/n Stark," "And I love you." "Then that's all we need now won't we?"

[startrek-z]

STZ V: Part 7

There was a quiet knocking at the door. He didn’t open his eyes just yet, still dazed and half asleep. His body felt heavy and relaxed; part of him doubted he was capable of movement. The sound of footsteps told him his roommate was back, and going to answer the door. “Is Link here? I heard about–” “Shh, he’s asleep,” Jeremy muttered in a hushed voice.

Melissa’s voice continued, though in a quieter tone. “I heard about what happened. Is he  alright?” “Think so. I mean, they didn’t keep him, so…” “Well,” Melissa’s voice trailed awkwardly. “It’s just about dinner time; do you suppose we should wake him up?” There was a pause. “…nah; I’d hate to wake him up now. This is probably the most sleep I’ve seen him get all semester.” Link smiled wanly at that–he was probably afraid of getting hit again, too. He heard the door close, and silence enveloped the room. He opened his eyes a little, still feeling groggy, and blinked in shock at the digital clock beside his bed; he’d been asleep for a solid seven hours. After a moment he rolled over onto his back and blinked drowsily up at the ceiling. “I should get my assignments done,” he thought out loud, before forcing himself to sit up and get out of bed. He slipped a baggy sweater on over his bare chest, band sat down to work. His focus started to wander about an hour into his Warp Physics assignment. Eventually he zoned out completely, his mind blank as he doodled on a spare sheet in his notebook. “Wow, you’re good,” said a voice from behind. The Hylian jumped about a foot in the air, his heart beating painfully in his chest through his fright. He felt as though he’d been woken up from a deep sleep; just how long had he been spaced out like that? “Sorry man, didn’t mean to scare you,” Jeremy apologized, though he was grinning with amusement. Link sat back, taking deep breath to calm his racing heart. Meanwhile he glanced down at his notebook, surprised at the detailed sketches littering the page. A rather accurate picture of the Master Sword ran down the center, and on either side of it, randomly placed sketches of Kokiri, Zora, Gorons, and random objects flooded the paper. “I didn’t know you could draw,” Jeremy remarked, staring down at the pictures as well. “Neither did I …” Link murmured in awe. Jeremy filled Link in on what he had missed, before the Hylian settled and finished his work. Link yawned and moved to get back into bed, but hesitated. Should he take another pill? Dr. Tam had said only one–did he mean one at a time, or once a day? After thinking it over, the Hylian decided it would be alright. Being awake meant that the first one should’ve worn off, so taking another for the night shouldn’t hurt. With that in mind, he swallowed the medication and crawled back into bed, looking forward to a full night of sleep. *** Much to the Link’s dismay, the news of his “episode” had spread like fire through the academy. The following day of classes was utter torture, and his better-than-average hearing didn’t help. He heard all sorts of rumors being passed between peers as he walked by. As much as he wanted to explain what had really happened, he kept his mouth shut. Self defense class was the worst. Though he felt more alert and focused, he couldn’t help but notice the weary glances he got from his fellow cadets. He even caught the instructor watching him a bit closer than normal. The class seemed to drag longer than usual, and he was beyond relieved when it finally ended. “No worries, man. Vacation’s in a bit–after that, no one will remember,” Jeremy   reassured him that night at dinner. Link nodded a little, forcing himself to take a deep breath. “Here’s hoping I can last that long,” he muttered, only half serious. Jeremy grinned; it seemed his roommate was finally coming around. “Actually,” Link continued, “When is vacation?”  The human paused to think. “Let me see…this is the seventh week right? So that means our first break is in…” he started to count on his fingers, “Three…No. Four more weeks…I think.”   Link groaned. “That’s forever!” he sighed, “Are they really gonna talk about it for that long?!”     Jeremy laughed. “Probably. But I wouldn’t  freak out over it. I’m sure someone else will do something even more weird or stupid before then, and everyone will forget about your little…episode.” He gave his roommate an encouraging smile.   “I hope your right.” The Hylian murmured softly.  “So what are you gonna  do for break? Got somewhere special to go or see?” Jeremy asked giving him a playful nudge and a wink.   “Er..no,” Link replied a bit confused by his roommate’s weird behavior. “What do you mean ‘go’?” “ Oh, the campus closes for a couple of weeks and all us cadets get to go home for a while. You know to see the folks and all that good stuff.”   Link flinched. He wasn’t like the other cadets, he didn’t have a home left to go back too. ‘What the hell am I supposed to do!?’ he wondered. ‘Where can I go?’   The human watched the Hylian’s face with curiosity and kind of guessed at his thoughts. “Don’t worry about it man, you’ve got plenty of time figure out what you want to do. Hey, worst come worst you can come and stay back in old Dakota with me; my folks won’t care.” He shrugged and game him an evil smile.    “Thanks Jeremy,” the other boy smiled back, “I might have to take you up on that offer…” ‘At least I have someplace to go,’ Link mused, but he really didn’t want to take Jeremy’s offer. He feared becoming a burden and risking the loss of his only 'friend’ at the academy.   Uncannily the human boy grinned again and said, “What are friends for?”   Link only continued to smile at him. ‘I wouldn’t know,’ he thought sullenly, ‘or at least I didn’t until I met you…and I’m still not all that sure about it.’                                 ***    The rest of the week went by quickly, and Link was finding that thanks to the pills and the wonderful sleep they brought him, he was doing better in all his classes and even beginning to enjoy a select few.    Sometimes it still puzzled him why he had to take that class in Astrobotany; it had nothing to do with fighting or security protocols. The hand to hand class and the one on the history of weapons-which he had found most interesting and had written the highest scoring paper in the class- those made sense for him to learn. But plants? That was a Sulu thing and he really wanted nothing to do with it! How it would serve him later on in his career he hadn’t the slightest clue, but when he had complained to Jeremy his roommate had given him a knowing look and only said, “All information can potentially be used to save the lives of your men…or even yourself.” But that just sounded like claptrap the human had heard in some command class and Link felt it was an inadequate answer.    Of course Friday’s last class had to be a self defense class, the second and last one of the week, and as was common now he felt the eyes of the other cadets on him constantly, and those of the Commander as well. It seemed like she would never stop glancing over at him as he and his partner pantomimed their sets. Her expression… well it was hard to tell what exactly  her gaze said, but to Link it seemed like pity there on her normally blank face, and it bothered him more than anything else.       After class he was in a foul mood and he stalked back silently to his room and flopped down on his bed violently. Jeremy looked up from his books, he had been at a special seminar for command candidates and had missed the self defense class. “Was it still that bad?” he asked.   “Yes,” Link muttered. “They all stared at me again…and the Commander won’t stop looking at me weird.”    The human rested his chin on his hand and appraised his friend. “Remember what I said, they’ll all forget about it eventually…”   The Hylian sighed deeply; he was starting to doubt they ever would.     “You know what, lets go out tomorrow,” the human suggested. “…pardon?” the other asked, misinterpreting.   “Oh come on man! Grow up!” Jeremy groaned, “Tomorrows Saturday right?”    “Yeah.”     “So…lets go and bum around the city for the day. I mean San Francisco is a really cool place. There’s China Town and The Hill and I’ve always wanted to see the historic Wharf district…you know down where they still fish in boats like from the 1800’s?”   Link smiled despite himself. ‘you know Jeremy you could have been a decent sales man…you can sell just about anything,’ The humans excitement was infectious. “Alright…It sounds like fun I guess. Sulu did mention that the restaurants in China Town were good.”   “Awesome!”  Jeremy exclaimed. “This will be fun I promise!” He was practically dancing around the room.   “Gee, I had no idea it meant so much to you,” Link laughed watching his antics. He had to admit a day on the town might be good to help him escape from all the stares of class mates and the monotony of day to day Academy living. Besides, how could he not  have fun with Jeremy? Fun was his middle name, or so he claimed. *** “You sure you’re not still hungry?” Jeremy asked for maybe the fourth time that evening. The day had been a success, as far as the human was concerned. As the day had gone on, his friend seemed to have come around a little. He’d even been sure that the boy had truly smiled on several occasions. But come dinner, Link had eaten little more than a measly appetizer before stating that he was full and refusing to eat any more. “Yes, I’m sure…thanks anyway,” Link reassured calmly. Now, as the stars began appearing in the sky, the Hylian had seemed to descend back into his depressingly solemn and quiet behavior. It was starting to worry him. They’d been walking in silence for quarter of an hour, heading for the academy, when Link suddenly stopped, listening. Jeremy paused and gave his friend a questioning look. “What is it?” he asked. The other boy didn’t answer. Sapphire eyes gazed into a darkened alleyway to their right. Jeremy watched perplexed as Link started walking towards it. “Link?” His only reply was a raised hand, a gesture for silence. Jeremy continued to watch uneasily as his friend disappeared into the shadows. After a few moments, he started to take uncertain steps towards the alley. “Hey, c’mon man…this isn’t funny.” “It’s not really supposed to be,” replied a somewhat amused voice. The Hylian came back into the light, a black form cradled in his arms. “Dude, what is that…?” Jeremy asked. The creature turned its head toward him, ears perking forward. “Isn’t she gorgeous?” Link asked, holding out the cat a little for the human to see. “She must be a stray, she’s kind of underweight, and she doesn’t have a collar.” Jeremy eyed it uncertainly. “Yeah, yeah…put it back and let’s go home.” “She’s coming with us,” Link said. “What? Link, are you nuts? You know animals are against the academy regulations!” The Hylian sighed, looking down at the feline. “Captain Kirk didn’t really give a damn about the rules, from my understanding.” Jeremy had no reply for that. He stared, wanting to argue, but his desire to be like his idol prevented him from doing so. The longer he stalled, the more he noticed the light in his roommate’s eyes. Link looked genuinely happy holding the creature close to his chest, gently scratching beneath its chin. The unusual display of affection tipped the scales. “Alright, alright…but if anyone even suspects what’s going on, it goes!” “Agreed,” Link said, smiling as he continued to spoil the filthy feline. Smudges of black had already been smeared on the Hylian’s shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind. Thankfully, the academy was fairly quiet by the time they got back. After making a stop at the local pet store, the pair carefully smuggled in everything they’d brought back that night. They managed to make it into their room without being seen. “Could you set up the litter box, Jeremy? I’m gonna try and get her cleaned up,” Link said quietly. “Um, sure…” About a half hour later, Jeremy had finished setting everything up, from the litter box to the food dish and a scratching post, just in time to watch Link come out from the bathroom holding a very white cat. “Damn, and I thought it was black,” he murmured in surprise. “I know…she was filthy,” Link agreed, still rubbing a dry towel over the feline’s short fur. She was completely white, save for a few scattered black spots and the black tip on her tail. “What are you gonna name it?” the human asked. “Don’t know yet,” Link replied thoughtfully. He couldn’t see to settle on a name for the feline. Most of the names that came to mind were from his past…people from Hyrule, but he was hesitant to create such a lasting reminder. Jeremy watched his roommate curiously. He could almost see the clouds of thought rolling through the boy’s eyes. Why was he being so hesitant? “I’ll just have to sleep on it,” Link announced, setting the cat down as he went to straighten his bed. “It’s getting late, anyways,” he stated quietly, before swallowing one of the pills. In minutes he was passed out under the covers, and Jeremy could only shake his head in fond exasperation as the newest addition to their room curled up against the Hylian’s chest to sleep as well.

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