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auroraphilealis · 7 years

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A Familiar Kind of Love Chapter Fourteen

A Familiar Kind of Love

Genre: Chaptered, ace/aro (flux and other experiences including but not limited to queerplatonic relationships), self discovery, witches, slow burn, getting together (eventually and in a mixed romantic/platonic way), RP format

Warnings: inaccurate herbology/plant & medicine stuff, self-esteem issues & confused hierarchy systems between familiars & witches (that does get resolved), threatened non-con (later, warned in chapter, and non-explicit), explicit discussions of nudity/sexual content but no actual smut, light experiences of ace/aro discrimination & feelings of discomfort/dysphoria during self-discovery, swearing

Summary: Born in a world full of magic, Dan spends his days running an apothecary and curing the sick. Potions and antidotes are his only friends, and he lives a happy life of quiet solitude - until a familiar he never wanted takes it all away. Forced to make a decision that’s life or death for one of them, Dan and Phil have to learn to co-exist together, entering a journey of self-discovery… and a familiar kind of love. Ace/Aro

Word Count: 9,912 this chapter

Thank you to @vanillasolitude who we could not have done this without. Every inch of their commentary and editing was a huge confidence boost, and we can not thank Emily enough for even being willing to do this with us. Seriously, it was a mammoth task and Emily just completely rose to the occasion, so giant thanks from us!

Updates: Monday & Friday

Disclaimer: In no way do I claim that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil.

For reference, @insanityplaysfics is Phil, @ineverhadmyinternetphase is Dan

(Previous) (Masterlist) (AO3)

Hey guys! Just a quick note at the top of this chapter; it looks like we’ve been nominated for a phanfiction award! A Familiar Kind of Love has been nominated for Best Collab, and it would be pretty amazing if you wanted to vote for us to win. You can vote here and check out the other nominations here!

Chapter Fourteen

"So... about that recipe we came up with together," Phil said as the two stood in front of Dan's still destroyed office. "I'm not sure we could magic it back, nor can I bring back the desk you apparently threw out, but... I think we can manage it again, if you wanted to try?" Phil asked, mindlessly letting his magic work to restore Dan’s office as he turned back to face Dan, who was standing just next to Phil in the doorway to his office. Phil tried for a sweet smile.

"I mean. After it's all fixed, of course. And maybe we could create you a new desk." Just like that, Phil's mind was building, and when he turned back around, there was a beautiful mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room. "Or I could create you one," he said, laughing and shrugging as Dan gave him a look. "It's like my magic has a mind of it's own," he teased.

Dan shook his head, staring with awe as Phil casually went about fixing up his office until it actually looked better than it ever had before. The new desk was shiny in its dark wood, and it glowed with something special that was probably the remnants of Phil's magic, which, apparently, was pretty strong just then.

"I think you're just excitable," Dan shook his head fondly at Phil. "No wonder you accidentally blow things up if I don’t keep an eye on you. Good work, though. I like the desk." Tentatively, Dan took a step further into the office and ran a hand across the wood, smiling at the soft texture.

Dan wasn't wrong. Phil was definitely just overly excitable, and that was probably a better explanation for why his magic had decided to create a desk for Dan instead of them doing it together, but Dan didn't truly seem to mind even as he teased Phil. Phil watched him take a step forward, looking shy but undoubtedly happy as his fingers ran over the wood of the desk Phil had created him. His paper and materials were still gone, but at least the walls weren't black anymore, and there was no lingering scent of destruction. At the very least, Phil could be proud of that. He smiled to himself, and followed Dan inside.

"This is actually the cleanest my office has ever been," Dan admitted, "So clearing it out may have been good. I'm sure we can come up with the recipe again - I hope so, anyway, that'll be a bestseller if we can cure the common cold." Dan smiled, relieved that he was back here with Phil this time. He hadn't been back since he'd been furiously scrubbing at the corners, and he was a bit worried at the amount of destruction his office had taken.

"I guess we've discovered what I'm good for then; cleaning up after you," he teased, and then laughed as he realised they very much seemed to clean up after each other. "Maybe that's just what our relationship is; two really tall boys who clean up after each other," he added, laughing and pressing his hand to his mouth when he felt something weird happening. He was surprised to feel his tongue poking out between his teeth, and blinked a few times before looking at Dan. Dan didn't seem to be paying him much attention though, digging around instead through his papers he'd managed to salvage, and coming back up with an excited "ah ha!"

"What is it?" Phil asked, stepping forward and around Dan's new desk to where he stood, taking in the sheets of paper he'd gathered before he realised it was a very old version of the recipe Phil had helped Dan to perfect. He grinned, and nudged Dan with his hip. "Budge over, I got this," he said, and grinned, laughing as Dan rolled his eyes. His tongue darted out between his teeth again, and he snapped his mouth shut in embarrassment. Dan's tongue didn't do that when he laughed.

Dan shook his head, relinquishing the papers with a long drawn out sigh. Clean up after each other’s messes they might do, but that didn't stop Phil from being a complete pain. An adorable pain who had a nice habit of hugging Dan whenever he could, but still a pain. At least they'd salvaged a very old version of the recipe, which had most, if not all, of Dan's equations on it. He thought he remembered the rest.

"Fine, I suppose I'll trust you to do it," Dan grumbled, moving around the desk to straighten up the chair that Phil had apparently magicked back into existence as well. It was covered in black velvet - very much Dan. Now they were both human, though, they were going to need two chairs, so Dan focused for a moment and flicked his fingers in his best imitation of Phil's magic.

Another chair appeared beside Dan's, almost identical except the velvet was blue instead of black. Dan pursed his lips. That would do for Phil, hopefully, even though Dan had been aiming for an exact copy. His magic, it seemed, had other ideas.

He turned back to Phil just in time to see Phil covering his mouth with his hand and looking a bit startled. Dan tilted his head. He hadn't quite looked quick enough to catch what Phil was up to, so he approached him with a slight frown. "What's up?"

Phil simply backed away, keeping his hand pressed over his mouth. Dan narrowed his eyes. "Am I going to have to hug the answer out of you?"

At that, Phil gave a surprised chuckle, and his hand moved just enough to reveal his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth. Dan's eyes brightened, his lips stretching into a smile, and he took a quick step forward. "Oh. That. Do that again, quickly."

Phil laughed, the sound shocked out of him by Dan's silly comment. If he was honest, he wouldn't mind if Dan hugged anything out of him, overly happy at the fact that Dan would want to, and quickly hid his mouth again after he accidentally revealed to Dan the strange thing his mouth was doing. Dan was quick to step towards him again, though, despite Phil having tried to sneak away from him, embarrassed and confused by the weird thing his tongue seemed to want to do.

"No," he whined, "it's weird."

Dan wasn't taking no for an answer, however, choosing instead to poke at Phil's ribs until he was laughing uncontrollably and his tongue was sticking out of it's own accord. His eyes were bright as he squirmed with mirth, trying to get away from Dan, laughing so loud he was sure that the entire world could hear him.

"Stop!" he whined, still laughing as Dan him backed into a corner. "I give, I give, you've seen enough!" he whined, still laughing as Dan finally pulled away. Phil bent over at the waist to catch his breath, and was wiping tears from his eyes when he straightened back up. "It's embarrassing," he claimed. "You don't do that!"

Dan grinned wickedly, only stepping back once he'd seen that Phil had laughed enough for his tongue to reappear again. That was...completely adorable. Dan could feel himself melting again, bursting with affection as he regarded Phil with a soft gaze.

"I may not do it, but I'm glad you do," Dan replied with a small grin. He reached out to rub Phil's cheek, his thumb swiping gently against Phil's soft skin. He was always so warm. Dan could feel himself dimpling just from touching Phil. "You're completely adorable, you know that?"

He glanced around the office with another warm smile, pleased that things were coming together. A lot of his books had been chucked out, but Dan knew where to get more copies, and he had enough recipes backed up that his loss wouldn't be disastrous. And he had Phil to help him bring everything back up.

"I should pop out to see PJ soon," Dan sighed. "Just to get the shop opening again. Then we can get going on some potions. Sound good?"

Something warm and fluttery filled Phil until he was practically squirming under it, inhaling sharply and just managing to catch his breath as he straightened up and stared at Dan, who reached out and touched his cheek gently. Phil tilted his face into the touch, still grinning even as his cheeks hurt from all the laughter, melting under the look Dan was giving him.

"I'm not cute," he complained, even as he sunk into the feelings swirling between them. Dan was just.. Dan. Phil wasn't sure he even knew how he made Phil feel all light and bubbly and like he was doing something right with his life each and every time Dan relaxed with him, made a sweet comment or implied that he did like Phil, on more than one level. He liked that Dan considered him adorable, and that he seemed to enjoy Phil's mind, and that he liked the way it felt when the two of them touched. Everything was just so right in Phil's world that he was practically beaming as he reached out and poked Dan's dimple.

"You're adorable, too," he murmured, and leaned in to press his face into Dan's shoulder, just wanting a hug. Dan's arms wound around him automatically, and Phil sighed, reaching out to do the same. He wouldn't be so embarrassed of the weird tongue thing if Dan liked it.

Sighing sadly, Phil let Dan go. "Off with you, then. I'll work on your equations and fix your remedy," he teased, and shoved Dan right out his office door. "I don't want to see you again until you're ready to give me all of your attention!"

Phil grinned as Dan laughed, shaking his head before leaving, and then sighed and turned around. He hadn't noticed until just that second that Dan had conjured a chair for him, nearly identical to Dan's own, and nearly melted into the ground at the sight of it. It was blue, the color of Phil's eyes, and matched Dan's black one quite nicely. Phil loved it, and sat in it immediately before finally getting to work on Dan's formula.

Dan squawked in something like professional fury, poking his tongue out at Phil and saying, "You always have my attention, greedy. Honestly, so needy, what on earth am I going to do with you?" He laughed again as Phil all but slammed the door in his face, turning to the empty shop before him.

There was still an hour before opening time (Dan tended to open late, he liked his lie ins), and so the shelves were spotless and the orderly aisles were empty. PJ had kept things spick and span in Dan's absence, which Dan was pleased about and knew he'd have to thank him for later.

Dan went about dusting down the counters and opening up the till for the day, and quickly popped out to check on his plants in his greenhouse. The dragonplant was still thriving the most out of all of his plants. Dan fingered the soft leaves thoughtfully before replacing their glass container and going about his business.

When he returned to the shop, PJ was already there. He dropped the folder he'd been holding, staring at Dan with wide eyes. "You're back!"

"That I am," Dan answered wryly. "Sorry for everything I've put you through. It's been...a crazy few days.

PJ simply shook his head, staring at Dan until he ran forward to wrap him in a hug. Dan patted his back awkwardly - he didn't do contact very well. At least, not with people who weren't Phil.

"I was worried," PJ confessed when he finally released Dan. "I thought you'd need more time to recover, after rescuing a familiar. No-one has done that before." At that, his voice took on a tinge of awe.

Dan shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, well," he answered in a gruff voice, privy to the information that it had indeed happened before, just not very often, "I had to. I couldn't leave Phil like that."

PJ smiled. "He seems nice."

"He is," Dan confessed, warming without realising it. He coughed, instantly getting back to business. "So, anyway. We're open as usual. You can watch the shop floor, I'll be in my office with Phil catching up on regulars and working on some new stuff."

"Sure thing." PJ gave him a two-fingered salute. "Oh, and the Bramley twins need their usual tonic."

Dan nodded, already on his way back into his office. That was enough interacting for one morning.

Phil thoughts were all over the place as he worked, thinking far too fast and remembering far too much at once to really keep track of himself. On top of that, he was still grinning over the chair Dan had conjured him while also giggling about Dan calling him needy and greedy for Dan's attention. It was all far too true, and Phil was warmed all the way to his toes. He hadn't even realised just how happy he was until the chair he was sat on suddenly began to float, shocking Phil out of his focus on the equations he was trying to re-organise and re-figure out.

He gasped when his pen fell, and just managed to regain enough control to set himself back to the floor safely before he burst into uncontrollable giggles. Was this how it would always be? He kind of hoped so. The idea of monotony ever being a part of Phil's life again was... not pleasing, and in fact, upset him quite a bit. He liked the way things were now, with his feelings for Dan propelling his magic into doing strange things... like apparently creating a small apple paperweight in gold that now sat in front of his chair. Phil blushed, and then laughed again, and turned back to Dan's formula.

It took a lot of figuring out and shifting through his thoughts, but Phil could still remember that afternoon when he'd helped Dan with the maths and had watched him flip numbers around until it worked. Eventually, Phil was satisfied that he'd done it right, and without bothering to wait for Dan, Phil set about preparing it.

Dan entered his office again and shut the door behind him, determined to keep Phil all to himself for now while they still worked things out. Thinking of, he hadn't seen the raven with PJ at all. Maybe she'd buggered off for the day - Dan wouldn't be missing her. Unless Phil wanted to talk to her, of course, but Dan felt an irrational flare of jealousy at that thought.

Phil was his, after all.

Upon looking into his office again, Dan nearly snorted at the golden apple paperweight that had mysteriously appeared on his desk. He could feel the thin tendrils of Phil's magic still floating in the air, and there also seemed to be a cauldron on the desk happily bubbling away that definitely hadn't been there before.

"Starting without me?" Dan questioned as he leaned against the wall and surveyed Phil with twinkling eyes. "And here I thought it was going to be a joint project."

Phil jumped when Dan spoke up behind him, having apparently appeared in the room without Phil realising it. The sound of his voice scared him so much that he literally jumped, and nearly knocked over his cauldron. In fact, the only reason he didn't lose his potion was because of Dan's magic suddenly catching it and preventing it from burning a hole through the desk Phil had only just conjured up for him.

"Don't scare me like that!" he complained, whining a little as he whirled on Dan with his hand over his heart. He laughed, tongue sticking out and everything, and closed his mouth only to shake his head at Dan. "It's hardly fair for you to just appear out of nowhere!" he added, motioning Dan inside. "Come help me! I'm not sure if I read your handwriting right. Do I stir counter clockwise six times, or eight? Your writing is atrocious," Phil complained, handing Dan the paper as he approached and leaned into his side.

"Now that you're here, it can be a joint project," he added, grinning as Dan told him eight - "eight, how the heck is that an eight anyway!?" - and stirred twice more before letting it simmer. "So. You're back. That means you're ready to ignore everyone but me now, right?" he teased, though he really was greedy for Dan's attention to be focused on him while he taught Phil how to help him with his work.

"That's so obviously an eight!" Dan whined, pointing at the paper and brandishing it in Phil's face. "It's not my fault if you can't read properly, just look at that - look at that curl, right there. It's so obviously not a six, you spork." He ruffled Phil's hair, promptly ducking out of the way of his retaliating whack and snickering.

Dan quickly returned his attention to the cauldron, though, making sure his magic was keeping it in check. With Phil, you never knew when some random spark could appear and burn a hole through his carpet. Still, Dan was having fun as he picked up his recipe sheet and scanned over the additions Phil had made. It looked pretty perfect to Dan.

"Alright, needy," he chuckled, sending Phil a small, fond smile. "I promise to give you my full and undivided attention for the rest of the day. Happy now?" He shook his head, then moved up behind Phil and took his hand in his own. "You're stirring a bit wrong. You have to use your elbow - like this." Dan opened up the bond, showing him how it was supposed to feel as he moved Phil's arm in careful circles. "See?"

Right, so. Apparently there were still some new sensations that Dan could give Phil, and one of those was a greedy feeling in the pit of his stomach at Dan coming up behind him and gripping his hands to show Phil the proper way to stir. He didn't understand it, but he liked the way it made him feel. It was something like affection and safety that made him grin and immediately lean backwards against Dan's chest. He was that little bit shorter, so he was able to lay his head on Dans' shoulder and grin up at him. "Hi," he greeted with a little giggle, enjoying the way Dan's lips quirked and his cheek dimpled, laughing harder as he sat back up straight, focusing more on the the potion he was meant to be brewing.

"I didn't think being human would be so hard," Phil complained as the new movements made his arm ache, and he blew air up at his fringe to force the long black hair out of his face. Seeing it made him miss his fur, but he was learning to enjoy being human, and it really was more useful in some things. Phil was sure he'd find a way to switch back and forth in the future.

Dan snorted when Phil leaned against him and looked up at him with a cheeky little grin. He nudged back, muttering, "A menace, you are. We're supposed to be working." He was smiling, though, as he directed Phil back. Dan had done this often enough that it was instinctual, even though he was using his weaker right hand to show Phil how to properly stir.

"Oi, being a human isn't so bad," Dan sniffed. "Thumbs are useful! And you must be cooler without all that fur." Dan paused for a moment, though, because he actually kind of missed that black fur. It had been soft and nice to curl his fingers through, never mind how nice it was to have Phil sprawling in his lap.

Well. They'd probably figure out how to switch him back eventually, and for now it made more sense to see a human talking out loud than a cat.

"What exactly are we making?" Dan asked after a moment. He stepped back from Phil, sure he'd got the hang of it by now, and instead scooped the altered recipe back up again. He scanned it quickly, lips pursing, and smiled when he saw that Phil had near-perfectly remembered the recipe from before - the one to cure the common cold. This could potentially solve an issue Dan had spent most of his career trying to fix.

Phil rolled his eyes. "Always with the thumbs," he complained. "As if the mouth isn't just as useful for picking things up," he added, though he truly did have a new appreciation for fingers than he might have had before the switch. It was nice to know he could pick up something easily without breaking it or hurting his mouth. Using his hands was just safer on so many levels.

"It's really not all that hot to have so much fur," Phil explained, considering the concept. "In fact, right now I constantly feel cold. There isn't enough hair on me to keep me warm," he said, glancing down at the jeans and t-shirt Dan had given him to wear. It was far warmer than the robe had been, and Phil appreciated them, but it wasn't quite enough. He still felt cold to the bone, and honestly missed the heavy fur coat that had kept the weather out. "Maybe I'm just more used to being warm than cold?" he guessed, finally finishing stirring and glancing back at Dan, who’d moved away from Phil to glance at the recipe he'd come up with.

"How's it look? I thought I remembered fairly well."

Dan pursed his lips to Phil saying he felt constantly cold. "Really? Because you always feel boiling hot to me. Maybe familiars just run at a different temperature?" He tilted his head, considering Phil, and determined to look it up later. For now, he'd just make sure to lay out a bunch of warm woolly jumpers for Phil to wrap himself up in.

Maybe it would give Dan an excuse to hug him some more, too. He was missing the touch, if he was completely honest with himself.

"Yeah, it looks pretty good to me," Dan agreed, brandishing the recipe. "We might have to play with the ingredients a bit, I'm not sure there's enough foxglove. We can test it next time I catch a cold." Dan slipped over to his cupboard and pulled out a large mixing bowl, then started to gather up some of his dried ingredients for the twins' tonic. "We've got some other customers to work on," he explained at Phil's questioning look. "I've been neglecting my regulars."

Phil pouted a little. He'd thought he'd done pretty well with the formulae and ingredients, but he supposed there was no way he was going to do a perfect job his first time around. Even when he'd helped Dan, it had mostly been Dan who'd figured things out with Phil's opinion offering a new perspective on the things Dan had taught him. Sighing a little, Phil tried to drop it from his mind, raising a brow and a questioning look at Dan as he started to pull out another cauldron and different ingredients.

Grinning excitedly, Phil set a timer for his boiling concoction, and rushed to Dan's side, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Can I help?" he requested. "If I know how to help your regulars, you can concentrate on new patients and new recipes to help the ill," Phil explained, eager to be of proper use to Dan. He wanted to make his witch's life easier the way he was meant to, after all.

Dan gave a startled laugh at Phil's excitement. He'd never worked with someone as eager to please as Phil, but it seemed to run deeper even than that - Phil wasn't just excited about this because he wanted to help Dan, he was actually excited about the process, too. Dan could feel his interest thrumming through their bond. No one had ever wanted to share this with Dan before - even PJ was more interested in serving people than in coming up with recipes.

"Of course you can help," Dan agreed with a warm smile. "I'm starting off with a tonic against childhood bone weakness. The twins are five now, I've been making it a while. Come along." He brought Phil over to the desk and showed him the recipe from among the piles of books, as he began to chop up the dried herbs.

"It's a pretty simple one. Then we've got plenty of other regulars to work on. Together we'll get it done much faster than I ever managed alone."

Phil had never felt more happy or proud of himself than that morning he spent with Dan, learning recipes and the best way to go through them for the best results. The stronger your magic, the better the potion was likely to come out, as Dan showed Phil how his magic managed to seep into almost everything he did, including touching the ingredients. Phil listened intently, doing as Dan said, and tried to monitor his own excitable flow of magic that always seemed to want to get involved, whether it was meant to or not.

It was fun, as well. Phil had never enjoyed himself as much as when he was applying himself to potion making, the puzzle of it all and the way it stretched his muscles - physical and mental. He was panting by the third brewing, arms sore, and trying not to pout at Dan who thought it was hilarious that Phil was having a hard time. Phil knew it wasn't malicious laughter, though, and teased Dan back as often as he was able, grinning and rolling his eyes and messing about with him whenever he could.

Dan, mostly, helped Phil and worked on new formulas quietly when Phil was concentrating too much. On those occasions, Phil would sometimes sneak up on him and hug him from behind, pressing his chin over Dan's shoulder bone for his own comfort and sighing against the skin as they spoke. Sometimes, Dan jumped and tensed for a moment before relaxing, but he stuck true to his word, and didn't seem to mind that Phil was so touchy feeling and needed the comfort of Dan pressed to him often.

By afternoon, PJ was popping his head in as if to check in on them, and Phil was wishing he was a cat so he could take a cat nap on top of Dan's desk. As it was, he was slouched over in his chair while potions simmered and Dan took care of measuring them out, taking a much needed but probably very short break.

The afternoon wore on slowly but comfortably. After PJ had popped in to check on them both, Dan reassured him that they were both fine and sent him back out to the shop front armed with the tonic for the twins and some other regular medications that he'd worked on with Phil. PJ raised an impressed brow at how much they'd got done. Dan grinned proudly back. He was allowed to be proud of Phil, now that they were starting to iron things out.

Once PJ had gone again, Phil and Dan settled back into their routine. They'd settled into Phil stirring and watching the cauldrons as Dan read and added to recipes, occasionally chopping up dry ingredients and passing them onto Phil. Occasionally, Dan also pointed out ways to help Phil, or poked fun at him for his overexcited magic. Dan had already had to curb his enthusiasm, much to the relief of his desk and lightbulb.

Things were good, though. A quiet day spent in another's company could be a truly beautiful thing - and Phil's habit of randomly hugging Dan was hardly a bad thing, either.

When it was getting late, Dan set down his recipe and glanced over to where Phil was bent down over the fireplace eagerly watching a cauldron bubble away. Dan smirked and edged up behind him, suddenly throwing his arms around Phil's waist and chuckling at his yelp.

"Hello," Dan snickered, pressing his face into Phil's shoulder. "How much longer have you got on that? I'm just about done for the day, but I need to go check on my greenhouse. You want to come?"

Phil's only solace for the day was his ability to kind of cat-nap while in human form, sleeping with one eye open while his potions simmered, and only tuning back in when things needed to be stirred. It helped to give him his energy back, and soon enough, he was up and about again, encouraging Dan's teasing with small pouts of his own and bitter words that only made Dan come over and hug him to comfort him. Phil was pleased, feeling mischievous but also able to tell quite clearly that Dan was very aware of what he was doing. It was good, though, and Phil loved it; even when they grew quiet or didn't speak much, when their concentration was at it's peak. It was just nice to have someone there, someone who was meant for you and provided comfort just by being them.

Phil even managed to avoid any more total disasters, though there was a point where Phil got distracted by something shiny and nearly knocked over a cauldron that needed eight hours to simmer, just barely catching it before Dan could yell at him or notice. Phil snuck a glance back at him, but Dan wasn't paying attention, and Phil picked up the shiny coin on the ground and shoved it on his pocket to play with later.

There was one potion in particular that Phil really liked. It bubbled a dark purple color, flashing green from time to time, and swung over the fireplace in the back of Dan's office. While the rest of his potion work was being cleaned up and put away by Dan, Phil sat hunched in front of the cauldron and watched the flickering color excitedly. Magic was honestly a lot cooler when it was small things like this than it was when Phil merely snapped his fingers to make something happen.

Dan's arms suddenly appeared around his waist, then, and Phil yelped, jumping and nearly falling backwards into Dan, who caught him easily enough. Phil relaxed, smiling to have Dan initiating contact like this for once without any type of prompting from Phil, and just relaxed as Dan nuzzled his shoulder.

"Hello," Phil greeted back, eyes closing from contentment. He was humming again, proud of their easy familiarity with each other now. "It needs another hour but if I set a timer..." Phil murmured, already clicking one on in head. "Okay!" he said, growing excited already. "I want to come with you!"

Dan frowned, glancing around. He couldn't see a timer anywhere, despite Phil proudly announcing that he'd set one. After a moment of contemplating it, Dan shook his head, and mumbled, "Timer? What timer?" not quite loud enough for Phil to hear. The other boy was far too busy jumping up and down eagerly to hear much of anything, though.

Dan gave the cauldron a quick once-over, admiring the swirling green pattern, but after clarifying that it was bubbling along nicely and would be fine on its own for an hour, Dan gripped Phil's arm and tugged him out of the office. PJ was starting to close up the shop for the day, so Dan simply waved at him before heading out of the back door and towards his greenhouse.

Dan was proud of his greenhouse. He'd spent years cultivating the most precious herbs and plants around, creating special environments to grow the most delicate of flowers while lining the whole thing with hardy ferns that were the staple of any good potion. Dan had resolved to stop ordering in any plants over the next few years, determined to grow them all himself.

There was a burst of colour and smells as Dan opened the door and let Phil in. Flower after flower, shoot after shoot decorated the entire place, with creepers growing right up to the roof and shrubbery and leaves littered all over the floor. Dan gave the harberry shrub a pat on his way in, and then instantly went to check on his most valuable crop - the dragonplant. It was taking over well over a quarter of the far wall by now, encased behind a warm glass screen.

"Well?" Dan asked, spinning around to face Phil with a small, suddenly shy smile. "What do you think?"

Phil was feeling ridiculously giddy as Dan led him out and into the front shop, waving to PJ on his way by and grinning happily at the bemused man whose raven was currently missing. He smiled and waved back at Phil, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what he was actually seeing, and Phil squeezed his fingers tighter around Dan's.

Before he knew it, he was being led back and into a greenhouse he had only been outside the front door of before, and the first thing he noticed was the sheer mass of magic and power emanating from inside. His skin crackled with all the power overlaid with the essence of Dan, but most definitely outlining just what was inside. The smells hit him next, like a slap to the face in the best way. Phil inhaled deeply, smiling as he glanced around himself to take it all in.

Every inch of the greenhouse was covered in plants of all kinds, some tall, some small, and some growing in small patches that might have looked like mould if Phil hadn't known any better. There were things in the building that Phil hadn't even known could exist together, and then, as Dan walked off, Phil following behind blindly, they came upon a supply of dragonplant that Phil had not been expecting to see.

"Wow," he said, awed by the sheer mass of it encased behind a glass screen. "When you said it was flourishing, well, I didn't imagine you meant like this," Phil whispered, reaching forward and stroking his fingers over the glass.

He turned to Dan with a grin.

"I love it here. It's beautiful. It's perfect, Dan."

Dan grinned back, more pleased than he could say that Phil liked it in here. Dan spent most of his time here, pottering around his plants and tending to them. It often felt more like home than his empty flat did.

Not so empty anymore. Not with Phil around.

"Yes," Dan snorted when he looked at the dragonplant. "It's your fault entirely it's doing so well. I've tried and failed four times to grow my own crop, and then you turn up and give me the best quality I've ever seen, and it just keeps growing. I barely have to do anything to it, other than build it a bigger screen."

He turned to the back of the greenhouse, then, where he had a small table full of his tools and bits and bobs for caring for the plants. He gestured Phil over. "Hey. Can you use your overexcited magic to float these things around for me? Then I don't have to keep coming back to the table."

Phil smiled, eyes going bright with the knowledge that he'd given Dan the best of the best to help him cultivate his own crops, rather than having to buy from an outside seller. From the looks of his garden, it seemed pretty obvious that was his overall goal for all of the plant based materials he would need in the future, and Phil could see already it was definitely working for him.

Following Dan further into his greenhouse, Phil felt himself beginning to bounce on the balls of his feet with excitement. More than anything now, he wanted to see how Dan took care of things, desperate to help as much as he could. He pouted as Dan teased him again, though, and shoved him a little, nearly upending himself in the process.

"Stop it. You need me," he whined, but did as he was told. His magic followed his command, gripping the items and dragging them behind the two of them as they moved about Dan's greenhouse. Phil continued to stare around in awe, handing Dan item after item as they went on.

Nearly overbalancing at the unexpected shove from Phil, Dan flailed his arms around windmill-fashion until he managed to save himself by grabbing onto the branches of a giant tree with one hand, and Phil's shoulder with the other. His nails dug in slightly and he straightened himself, giving the tree branch an apologetic little pat.

To Phil, he simply rolled his eyes with a fond smile and released him. Neither of them had enough balance to risk playing around in here - at least, not seriously. Dan still planned to have a little fun.

He started moving among his plants, taking the watering can from Phil's little floating selection of tools and carefully pouring exact amounts into the rich, earthy soil of his plant pots. He sprinkled light portions of feed lovingly into their roots, stroked carefully through their leaves, and tended to their dead shoots or dying leaves by carefully clipping them away and sending them into the compost pile heaped in a corner, where they could naturally decompose and add to the growing of new shoots.

Dan had always had green fingers. For as long as he remembered, plants were his only company, and he loved them perhaps more than anything or anyone else in his life (Phil notwithstanding). It showed in the affectionate way he patted branches and ran leaves through his fingers, knowingly avoiding thorns and sprinkling feed and water wherever it was needed.

As he went, Dan also began clipping some fresh leaves and petals and roots to use in his potions, once they had been dried and clumped together. His clippers were thin and delicate, and he gestured Phil closer to show him how to properly cut the shoots without damaging the plants.

"The trick is not to take too much at once," he explained, voice rough with so much talking as he'd been telling Phil stories all about his favourite plants as they moved through the greenhouse. He'd never talked this much at once ever. "They'll grow better if you leave good young shoots, but the adult ones can be clipped and brought inside. It's like giving the plants a haircut." He sent Phil a mischievous grin, playfully snipping the clippers at him. "Could give you one, too, while I'm at it."

Dan's voice was music to Phil's ears, and as he began talking, sharing stories with Phil's about the first time he'd brought in each plant, and how and why he loved this one in particular, Phil began to watch him, staring at the side of his face in order to just take him and everything he was saying in. It was enjoyable, just watching Dan, listening to him, laughing with him about his stories while his fingers stroked over his favorite plants with so much affection it reminded Phil of when Dan pet him as a cat.

The plants almost seemed to love Dan back, issuing forth magic every time he fed and cared for them, snipping away dead parts and feeding the healthy bits, only taking from the oldest parts of their shoots and leaves and leaving the new bits intact. All the while, he talked, teasing Phil and claiming to want to give Phil a hair cut. Pouting, Phil nearly dropped all of Dan's tools as he reached up in distress to cover his hair.

"No!" he wailed, but he could see the twinkle in Dan's eye, knew his witch was teasing, and grinned as he caught Dan's tools before they touched the ground. "If you cut my hair, I'll cut yours," he complained, lips twitching. "What if it affects my fur!"

At that, Dan couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. "You know, that's a pretty decent idea, actually. When you've figured out how to be a cat again I'll give your fur a snip." He snapped the clippers shut to make his point, and quickly dodged Phil's indignant whack with another snort of laughter.

The mental image of an indignant Phil in cat form with wild, messy, chopped black fur was slightly too entertaining to ignore.

Still, that thought sent Dan down a different track, and he tilted his head, considering Phil for a moment. There was something he'd never understood, or at least never paid much attention to before. Now they were getting on better, though, Dan thought he could risk asking. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Phil," he started, biting his lower lip for a moment before releasing it, "Can I ask you something? So you know why you're a cat?" He shook his head, trying to explain. "It's just - PJ loves birds, and he's got a raven. I thought familiars represented something of their witch, but...I've never really liked cats. Until you, I mean," Dan hastened to add, "I'm not saying I don't like you. I'm just curious. Why a cat?"

Phil would have hissed had he the ability to make such a noise, but as it was, he huffed out something akin to a growl and shrunk away from Dan, giving him the dirtiest look he could manage while he pouted to himself. He would kill Dan if he ever tried to snip Phil's fur, and his magic would probably freak out. Dan didn't need to know that, though. If his witch considered it a funny prank, than he got whatever he deserved in retaliation. Part of Phil knew that Dan meant it completely as a joke, but the other part of him was just too horrified by the idea to calm himself down.

They had stopped walking by now, when Dan spoke up again, asking the same question he'd asked Phil weeks before. Sort of. He'd wanted to know then too if Phil had any control over his form and why he'd picked a cat. This time, though, Phil had the feeling Dan wanted to know why a cat suited Dan's soul enough for Phil's mind to pick that form. He thought about it for a minute.

"Well... as I told you before, I didn't get to pick my form, and I can't change it at will," he said, "But I think I'm beginning to understand why your soul seems to think a cat is the best representation of you, whether you like it or not," he teased, finally sidling up to Dan again and knocking his hip into his witches. "For one, you're really stubborn," he said, considering it. "And I've got first hand knowledge of that one." Dan had been very difficult in the beginning, not that Phil could truly blame him, but to a point of contention. Phil was pretty stubborn as well, though, so it would be okay. "And you're inherently lazy. Don't pretend. The amount of time's I've caught you catching cat naps," Phil teased, laughing as Dan gave him an affronted look.

"But you're also proud, and keen, and far too intelligent and curious for you own good. Really, Dan, when you think about it, every inch of you is feline."

Dan's face went through a whole range of emotions, from indignation to huffing to smiling until he finally settled on a pout. Mostly, though, he was honestly surprised that Phil had already picked up on so many of Dan's traits and habits - even the ones he didn't want to admit to himself.

Was he right, though? Was Dan actually best represented by a cat? He could feel his pout growing, a small huff leaving him. He could have sworn he was more canine. Hell, he'd even have settled on being a bird, like PJ. But a cat? Him?

Well, it could have been worse. At least he wasn't a seal.

"I'm totally not a cat," he mumbled after a moment, knowing full well he sounded like a sulky child. As he pruned one of the bushes, he turned to Phil again, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Besides, you're just as bad! I'm sure you're more stubborn than me. And you nap as well, don't think I haven't caught you."

Phil couldn't stop laughing; not only at Dan's ridiculous pout, but at the way he seemed to think pointing out Phil's traits as worse than his own was going to prove somehow that Dan was less of a cat than Phil. It was laughable, and Phil moved towards him to wind his arms around his waist.

"You're a dork," he said fondly, tucking his face over Dan's shoulder. "You realise I was created from you, right?" he teased. "So... of course I'm going to be stubborn, and lazy, and just as keen as you. Makes us a good match, doesn't it?" he whispered. "Who else is going to be able to combat your silliest ideas, who else is ever going to be able to challenge you and win? I was made for you, Dan Howell," Phil said, sighing happily. "I was made in the image of you. So. Embrace your feline-aspects, because I'm not going away now."

It didn't occur to Phil until after he'd let go of Dan just how sensual a thing that had been to do, and he blushed from the tips of his hair to his toes, embarrassed and hoping he hadn't made Dan too uncomfortable. His smile faded as he turned away. In fact, he had made himself a little uncomfortable with how close and intimate they'd been, and Phil loved intimacy.

Dan froze up a bit when Phil leaned into his shoulder, whispering in his ear. It wasn't unpleasant, not exactly, but it was new and strange and a bit overwhelming again. Dan had been growing accustomed to cuddling and hand-holding, even started initiating them himself, but this was...different. He wasn't entirely sure if he liked it.

Luckily, Phil seemed to be on exactly the same page as him, as he drew back from Dan and glanced down, and the sensation of embarrassment flowed gently through their bond. Dan's first reaction to that was to turn around and reassure Phil, laying a calming hand on his arm but standing far enough away that they weren't pressed together anymore.

"Well, when you put it like that," he tried to sound normal as he smirked, "I suppose we do make a good match. Fuck knows what we'll do when we have to clean up, though. Or early mornings. I so do not do early mornings." He shuddered, though he was still teasing, and he rubbed reassuringly at Phil's arm.

It was comforting when Dan pressed a calming hand on Phil's arm, rubbing reassuringly in light circles in understanding and a reminder that Dan understood. Neither one of them had quite been prepared for that, not that Phil was ever expecting them to be. He just hadn't realised how strange and intimate a thing it would be until he'd done it. Whispering into Dan's ear was not something Phil ever wanted to do again, but he was happy to know that Dan wasn't angry with him for it. He hadn't intended to make either of them uncomfortable, after all.

"I mean," Phil said, chuckling a little and finally looking up at Dan. "I'm sure if it gets bad enough we'll manage to force each other to clean," he reassured Dan. "But... if I'm a cat, you can't make me do anything," he teased, and laughed when Dan shoved him. Phil lost his balance for all of a few seconds, catching himself on a potted plant that he nearly upended and managed to grab onto with his magic. However, righting that before he could do any damage to it meant that Phil lost control, and dropped Dan's tools before finally falling to the ground himself, covered in water from Dan's watering can.

He pouted up at a laughing Dan, and tried not to whine too obviously as he pushed himself back up into a sitting position. "Shut up," he complained. "That was your fault."

"You can't blame me for your wild magic," Dan argued through his chuckles, a hand pressed to his mouth. He couldn't help himself. Phil was just sitting there, drenched in water, looking utterly disgruntled. His hair was flat and dripping, and his clothes were sticking to him. Dan could be forgiven for laughing, he thought.

"C'mere, you clumsy spork." Dan sighed through his chuckles, bending down and extending a hand out to Phil. Phil accepted it, and Dan pulled him up to his feet, gently dusting him down and ending with his hands on Phil's shoulders. They weren't pressed together, so he didn't think it was too much for them. Phil could step back if he wanted to.

"Maybe we should head back inside," Dan offered, lips still twitching. "Get you all dried off. Cats don't like being wet, right? And you're so obviously a cat."

Phil was still pouting when Dan helped him up, glaring at the other man even as he dusted him off and very gently took care of him. This was all his fault, and Phil was fully putting the blame on the other man and not his own magic.

"You realise that if I'm clumsy, you must be clumsy too, right?" Phil argued, still grumpy even as Dan put his hands on his shoulders in what seemed to be an attempt to reassure and comfort. Glaring into the warm brown eyes of witch, Phil felt himself beginning to melt into a puddle of gooey happiness just from the sheer reminder that Dan was finally his.

Until said man started making fun of him again, and then Phil's anger was back quick as a flash. He glared at Dan, turned on his heel, and stormed from the greenhouse. His magic swarmed over him, drying him instantly, and he'd just reached the door when the timer he'd set in his head went off.

His eyes went wide.

"My potion!" he cried, and then proceeded to trip right out the door. He landed on his face, and, frustrated as he was, vanished himself only to reappear just in time to flick out the flame in the fireplace. His potion was safe.

Dan watched Phil go with a bemused expression. Where had Phil just winked himself out of existence to? It was like when he'd first appeared and used to disappear seemingly at will. Dan thought he was going back to his own word then, but how could he have done that now? It was impossible, wasn't it? Now Dan had accepted him?

Or had Dan still not accepted him fully? Did Dan get something wrong again?

With fear beginning to wrap cold fingers around his heart, Dan locked up his greenhouse with a flick of his fingers and sprinted quickly back into the shop. PJ had locked up and disappeared already, so it was quiet and dark. There was no sign of Phil. A bit frantic now, Dan searched every aisle and then peeked into the medical room where he'd first let Phil sleep. There was still nothing.

With panic bursting in his chest, Dan finally pulled open the door to his office and nearly collapsed when he saw Phil there, bent over the fireplace. Dan had forgotten completely about the potion. "Thank fuck," he gasped, and threw himself across the room until he had his arms around Phil's waist and his face pressed against Phil's back.

Honestly, the last thing Phil had been expecting was for Dan to burst through the door of his office like a rampaging bull while Phil was working on getting the potion away from the still burning embers of the fire pit, only to then launch himself at Phil's back and curl his body around him. The fear in Dan hit Phil hard, then, and he shivered and whined a little at the overwhelming fear of loss that spread through him.

He felt his chest tighten with the ache of nearly losing Dan, and then realised what had gone through Dan's head when Phil had disappeared so suddenly. Tears were pricking at Phil's eyes, and he could feel Dan's falling onto the shirt he'd left Phil borrow.

"Dan?" he asked, sad and quiet. "I'm - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered, biting his lip against the lump he could feel in his throat. If this was how Phil was feeling from Dan's emotions crashing through their bond, he couldn't imagine how terrible Dan must be feeling just then. "I'm - I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me now," he tried to reassure as Dan just continued to cling to him from behind, not allowing Phil to move, face buried in his back and arms tight around him.

Phil felt the tears slip down his cheeks, and laughed a little through the tense, overwhelming feeling. It was a reminder that Dan cared, and while Phil knew that now, while the last thing Phil would have ever wanted was to make Dan think he was going anywhere, he couldn't help appreciating the sensation of overwhelming want for Phil.

Dan kept his face pressed tight against Phil's back, his eyes squeezed shut to try and contain their burning. He couldn't help it. There had been so much terror in him, then, when Phil just disappeared without any warning. It reminded Dan of when he'd just wink out of this world, and he couldn't bear the thought that he might lose Phil again. Not now, not when he was just beginning to finally appreciate his presence.

It struck Dan, then, just how much things had changed. It wasn't so long ago that Dan had fought completely against the idea of having anyone in his life, let alone a familiar. He hadn't wanted anyone invading his thoughts. And while that was still partly true, now Dan knew just how much good could come from being close to someone. Phil was a good addition to his life, and not one Dan was willing to lose just yet.

Eventually, Dan loosened his grip enough to let Phil move, but he instantly wound his hand around Phil's, keeping them connected. He avoided Phil's gaze, mumbling, "Sorry. I was just...you disappeared, and all I could think was you weren't going to come back, that I'd done something wrong again." He sniffled, wiping his hand on his sleeve, and giving Phil a watery smirk. "Stupid, I know. What the fuck was so important that you had to leave like that, though?”

Dan let him go, but reached for his hand almost immediately, seeming to need something, anything, to weigh him down and remind him that Phil was still there. Phil could give that to him easily enough, turning so he could actually look at Dan and squeezing his fingers around Dan's. Dan's hands were clammy and wet, and he was sniffling, which broke Phil's heart more than he could ever say. He wanted to reach up and wipe away the light tear tracks currently on his face, but it seemed Dan was trying to pretend he hadn't been crying at all, so Phil held himself back.

"The - the potion for your chronic illness patient? I - I almost forgot about it, and the timer went off in my head, and I thought - I didn't realise you would have forgotten as well," Phil explained, distressed as he stared at Dan and realised just how worked up he was that he was cursing at Phil again, something he hadn’t done since the last time Phil had pissed him off and began this whole mess.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Phil promised, biting his lip and crowding into Dan's space a little in an attempt to grab his attention and reassure him. The hand Dan wasn't holding came up to press comfortingly to Dan's cheek, and Phil peered back and forth between each of Dan's eyes. "You're stuck with me now, I promise. Only death can drag us apart. If I disappear, I'm coming back. Promise."

Dan stared intently back into Phil's eyes, tracking his every emotion, looking for a lie. But he didn't find one. Phil was telling him the truth, he could see it in his face, and Phil's face was an open book. He didn't hide his emotions, never had. He was telling the truth - he was never going to leave again. Dan wasn't going to mess up like that again.

Dan wilted. He pressed into Phil's arms and nuzzled his face into Phil's shoulder, pressing himself as close as he could. Phil wrapped his arms around him, and Dan sighed, feeling grounded again after his little freak-out. He was trembling, he realised belatedly, but it was fading under Phil's gentle touches.

"Sorry," he mumbled into Phil's shoulder, still refusing to back away. "I didn't mean to swear at you. I was just..." He trailed off, and let out a deep sigh. He tightened his grip. "I... care about you, okay, Phil?"

Phil opened his arms to Dan easily, embracing him tightly as Dan pressed his face into Phil's shoulder, bodies so close Phil could feel the heat radiating off of Dan. He could also feel the residual fear, and the pain that seemed to still linger in Dan's heart. Phil hated how badly he'd scared the other man, and kissed the side of his head lightly. He'd always kissed Dan's head, now that he thought about it, and he wasn't sure where he'd learned it, but he hoped that it didn't bother Dan. He hadn't complained so far.

"It's okay," Phil reassured him, hoping Dan's trembling would calm down if Phil kept holding him. "I know," he said, and held Dan tighter to him. There had a been a time when Phil had thought this would never be a thing, and now, Dan was terrified at the possibility of Phil ever disappearing on him again. It warmed him, made him feel proud that he could hold Dan and comfort him, and he sighed as he rested his cheek on the top of Dan's head.

It was times like these where Phil felt bigger, stronger, like he could protect Dan.

"It's time for dinner, I think. You said we should settle down for the night, and there's nothing left to take care of. Come on," Phil insisted, still cradling Dan against his chest.

Dan stayed in place for a moment longer, savouring the kisses pressed to his head and the heavy warmth of Phil's arms wrapped around him. It turned out that Phil had a very comfortable chest. He rested there for as long as it took for his trembling to stop, and then he drew back with a small nod.

"Yeah. Let's go rest," Dan agreed, and kept one hand wrapped tight around Phil's. He didn't want to let him go, in fact he was rather savouring the thought of curling up in Phil's arms some more, up in the privacy of their flat.

(next)

#ace phan #aro phan #iwritephanthings #phan #phan rp #phanfic #phanfiction #snowbunnylester

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ddrkirbyisq · 5 years

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Happy 7th anniversary to our most beloved game, Journey! This was my 13th journey -- apparently I had not done one last year for the 6th anniversary, so the last time I took to the sands was all the way back in 2017 when I met raisin. On a whim I decided to take part in the 7th anniversary event, which started at 2:30PM my time. I barely managed to get the requisite system updates and such taken care of in time, but made it to the Broken Bridge with a little bit of time to spare, this time donning my fully-embroidered white cloak. Soon after I dropped to the sands below, I encountered a fellow chirpy white cloak and proceeded to do the normal excited meeting rituals, complete with faceplants and all. The faceplanting actually is quite an easy litmus test for the experience level of the traveler, along with their general flying technique and where they choose to lead us. Old-timers will generally always easily reciprocate a faceplant with one of their own, with no trouble at all -- sometimes even going so far as to do a leaping faceplant (!). The real test, though, is where the traveler decides to go after collecting the 3 glyphs in the level -- if they go through the "headbonk" glitch entrance, or start charging a chargeboost near the sand falls, I'll know I'm definitely dealing with somebody who knows their way around. This was certainly the case, as I would later learn that my white cloaked companion was none other than Gilorien! I somehow remembered their name way back from the TGC boards, though I can't say I remembered many details of their exploits or exactly who they were. Truth be told, Gilorien messaged me later and told me that they remembered my ID as well, which honestly quite surprised me as I was never a very active poster in that community. We proceeded to have a wondrous journey, where Gilorien showed me all manner of things I had not seen before (and some that I had), taking me backstage in the Broken Bridge, Sunken City, and the Underground. Gilorien was a wonderful guide and companion through all of it -- very easy to follow, very comforting in the way that they made sure I was with them every step of the way. I did more tandem coasting (where you glide through the air together with no flapping at all) than ever before as well; it felt quite nice to be able to manage it so many times despite my relative lack of experience compared with a lot of the veterans of the game. We even had a nice beamdown or two, though embarrassingly it took me quite a while to get the signal for it -- for a while I thought we were just floating about out of bounds and wondered where we were supposed to go next! In the Broken Bridge, my initial trepidation for trying to do advanced flying techniques like charge boosting (a glitch of sorts where you can accumulate flying "power" and use it to soar upwards into the sky) was quickly met with relief when I was able to chargeboost from the glyph CB spot up to the level end statue on my first try with no problems at all. I wasn't sure that was the correct destination though, and sure enough Gilorien ended up further upward, toward the sand/wind wall marking the proper level boundary. Understanding that they meant to try to go OOB (though I wasn't sure what the proper entry was at all), I went down for another CB. Charge boosting is a tricky thing to do with a partner because it involves tilting the camera at a specific angle, so it's actually really difficult to see where your companion is going if they take off before you do. Fortunately Gilorien was quite clear on the timing of the CB release and I didn't have too much trouble after another try or two. We made it out of bounds and saw some of the weird skybox stuff back there before heading to the Pink Sands. The Pink Sands was where I feel like I really got a sense of what kind of traveling companion Gilorien was. It's hard to describe these things, of course, but we traveled to all the usual landmarks, doing quite a bit of coasting along the way (to my delight), as well as wandering and meandering about, playing with each others' scarves and such. I took a backseat for most of the Journey as I honestly don't remember where everything is anymore in a lot of the levels and definitely don't know where anything is backstage, but at some points I'm not quite sure if either of us was really leading the way at all, or whether we were just sort of moving forward by default, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. In the Sunken City rest stop area we chargeboosted up to the invisible platform and went out of bounds yet again, seeing some interesting things here and there before finally landing past the level exit in the UG spot of light that I particularly like. Unfortunately I can't quite remember a lot of the specifics (there was some swirly sand textures, some interesting background color changes, etc), but I told myself that I wouldn't worry about taking notes or photos or anything and would focus more on just enjoying the Journey and my companion for what they were was this time. In the Underground I was getting a bit worried that our session would run a bit too long if we kept on going at its current pace, meandering about out of bounds every which way to see everything, and I knew that the UG didn't have too much exciting going on in the beginning of the level, so I decided to take the lead there for once. There was a cute moment where Gilorien peek-a-boo'd me from the other side of the cage from the glyph where the bunch of kelp/seaweed/things were, hehe. In the next room (with the jellies) after collecting the glyph I knew we could either continue forward along the main path, or try to go OOB. From what I had remembered, going OOB was relatively easy, but I've gotten lost out there before and wasn't quite sure I was up for it. Gilorien motioned back towards the OOB route though, and I obliged, feeling that I was safe in their company. And safe I was indeed! Throughout our entire time together I felt that Gilorien was quite a great leader in the unknown (to me, anyways) depths of the backstage areas and I never once felt that I lost them or was confused. Perhaps they did not take me anywhere particularly dangerous, or perhaps just knew how to avoid all of the danger areas, but all the same it felt quite comforting. My best friend related Journey to social dance once, and I'm really inclined to agree. There is so much nonverbal communication, and so many different types of interactions, whether it be between two dancers/companions who are already experienced, or perhaps someone new paired with someone who already knows the ropes. I'm happy that I had enough experience with CBs and other tricks to understand pretty quickly what Gilorien was going for in multiple occasions, and I think that really made things easy. As is often the case with guides who take me OOB in the underground, we somehow managed to mess up some of the War Machines, making them inactive and playing with them for a while. We were in the room with the first WM encounter when alas -- Gilorien dusted on me, I assumed due to a disconnect. I quickly checked Discord and the fan forums to see if they had posted anything, and then decided to hastily run through the rest of the level in hopes of meeting them at the beginning of the tower. It worked! I saw the white cloak, recognized the familiar chirp cadence, and the playful faceplant, and I knew I had found my companion once again! We started proceeding up the tower -- I unlocked the first water level, but I think Gilorien wanted to play around without doing the further unlocks (or perhaps they had wanted to do a dry climb in the first place?), so we helped each other up a bit, until .... Gilorien dropped from the sky and....dusted once more. =( Apparently they were having issues with their router, with quite unfortunate timing for the event. So I completed the rest of the tower without doing much special, though I think I did manage a nice CB of some sort at one point which sort of impressed myself. I had hoped to meet up with Gilorien again in the snow, but alas, I paired with a reddie, and accompanied them the rest of the way to paradise and beyond in a relatively uneventful end (aside from us getting chomped by a WM in the snow, oops!! I need to start just leading reddies over to the left side of that area...). Gilorien and I messaged each other after our "companions meet along the way" screen and thanked each other for the wonderful company, but Gilorien also asked if we could perhaps resume our Journey from the Snow level until the end. I was happy to oblige, and we proceeded to right away go for the backstage entrance at the beginning of the snow level. Lucky for me, I'm actually familiar with this OOB entrance, and the "trick" of returning to the beginning entrance to "re-warm" your scarf, so I wasn't super confused by that part and managed to get up there just fine after a try or two. I'm actually also familiar with the other (easy) OOB entrance near the wall painting as well, which was nice. Gilorien showed me a great many fun things in the snow level backstage, including a very interesting steep and tall "wedge" of snow in the middle of nowhere that looked quite beautiful, as well as a flying WM to play around with. When we got back into the stage proper, I took the lead and rushed over to the lantern room excitedly, my favorite place in the entire game. I don't think I really need to ask Gilorien, I'm sure my love for this room came through clearly through my actions, as this was one of the few times I took the lead, and I chirped more excitedly than ever, followed by a lingering meditation session, and than a final large shout after leaving and turning back to the room. I write this pretty much every time I go out of bounds with a traveler, but seeing the mountain in the snow level from out of bounds is always quite something. I always get the feeling of "I wonder if I can really MAKE it this time". Every time we are out of bounds it feels like we are approaching the mountain from a different vantage (though I'm sure maybe it is just the same way and I just forgot), and it really does seem really close, almost within reach sometimes. But alas, the death march must still happen one way or another, and we dropped down into it as soon as we flew close enough. Paradise was a really unique experience this time around. I don't think I have ever felt so =free= and happy to be in Paradise. That is because while I think Paradise is a beautiful level with amazing music and great colors and everything, it's also the level where you can travel the fastest and farthest, and therefore the easiest level in which to quickly lose track of your companion. But for this time, I had Gilorien with me, and I trusted them to be my watchful "chaperone" of sorts through paradise -- I knew that even if I flew quickly, they had more than enough skill to keep up with me and keep track of me, as well as the patience to follow me even if I went meandering off into random places or acted like I didn't know what I was doing. And I think that let me really feel a unique sort of joy and "freedom" in the way that I played in Paradise. Here too I felt a bit less reserved to take the lead if I felt like I wanted to fly somewhere, or see something, or play with the whales, or whatever. Of course, Gilorien also showed me a number of really neat things, including a very very very epic sit-and-slide meditation drop. Wow!!! I have done a meditation slide before in Paradise, maybe it was this one too, but I certainly don't remember it being so epic. That was a lot of fun! We went OOB here too, to see some various things, meandered about and frolicked, and finally went up to the final walk to the light. I felt that drawing a heart here would be too cliche, and felt a bit "cheap" because Gilorien was more of a special companion for me. Besides, they mentioned they had already drawn a heart for me when they were alone in paradise (<3). So we zigzagged our way across the chalky sand, and I spontaneously made up a small "red light, green light" game before we approached the final walk into the light -- where Gilorien showed me you could wiggle your way into the light backwards! Haha, a fun Journey right until the very end... What a wonderful time! I consider myself so lucky to have met you on the sands Gilorien. Thanks for a great Journey-versary :)

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