#and then he realized he was a girl alongside the rest of the healing journey. this is true (to me)

[infizero]

still crazy that bede's gym leader outfit is just straight up the trans flag

[azucanela]

OMG I AM OBSESSED WITH YOUR WRITING YOU ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BEST WRITERS ON TUMBLR NO CAP!!! i love ur zuko fics, and i wanted to request some sokka x reader!!! i want u to have complete creative freedom but i love how you write slowburn omg so some enemies to friends to lovers sokka content would be insaneeee! maybe reader is fire nation (zuko’s cousin/iroh’s daughter??) but joins the gaang after crossroads or something?

AFTER | SOKKA X READER

SUMMARY: Sokka didn’t expect the girl who held a knife to his neck to be the same girl he’d fall for. Y/N didn’t really expect to fall either. 

WORD COUNT: 10k

WARNINGS: injuries, implications of death, kisses, bloodbending, threats of bodily harm, death threats

A/N: time to give sokka the attention and hype he is OWED, also im SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONGGG but this is quite possibly my favorite Y/N. writing for sokka is hard tho. im not sure how much i like this tbh but its really long omg. also thank you!!!! i feel honored to be considered the best :D you are too kind

When she was younger, Y/N joined Azula’s little troupe of girls. Though she wasn’t some loyal little soldier for her to order around, no, Y/N never feared Azula. Nor did she follow her blindly. No, it had always been a struggle for power between the two. Even when her father was booted from the throne as the rightful heir. 

Losing her brother made her wonder if giving up like her father had in Ba Sing Se was the easy way out. Perhaps thats why she promised herself she would never give up. Maybe thats why she challenged Azula to... an unofficial duel when she’d heard her comment. Challenged her and won. 

The new Fire Lord’s pride and joy had lost against his niece, a shame. 

Y/N hadn’t thought much of it, but it probably would’ve explained why Fire Lord Ozai was rather pleased when Y/N had came to him and explained her intents to go alongside her father and cousin in banishment. She was, no matter how unlikely, another potential heir to the throne. And unlike Zuko, an actual threat. Sending her on a journey to find someone who’d been missing for a century was the best way to get rid of her. 

If Y/N was honest, she viewed the banishment as more of a vacation. All her life, she had to deal with banquets, politics, war tactics, all at such a young age. It was tiring, and dull, spending day and night in the palace doing such things. Now, she had the opportunity to travel the world, though her grumpy cousin was rushing them throughout each spot, it was still nice. Zuko certainly didn’t think so, given that they hadn’t found the Avatar yet, not that Y/N believed they ever would but, it is what it is.

A sigh escaped her as she sat, on leg propped up against the other on the deck of the ship, they had arrived in the Southern Water Tribe after seeing an odd light in the distance. Maybe it was cruel, but Y/N sincerely hoped they didn’t find the Avatar. She didn’t want her vacation to end, she didn’t want to return to the politics, and she didn’t want to deal with one of the most powerful people on the planet. Aside from her own desires, Y/N couldn’t help but disapprove of Zuko’s need to please his father, the man who’d hurt him beyond forgiveness.

She sincerely doubted her father approved either. Though their relationship had been strained for some time now. Y/N didn’t hate her father, she doubted that was possible, he was a kind man and a good father. Things between them simply felt... off. She liked to think she’d gotten over it, the initial jealously she felt when she discovered her father intended to join Zuko on his hunt for the Avatar.

When she’d found out from Fire Lord Ozai. 

Sometimes she wondered if her father even intended to say goodbye. But she wasn’t a fool, Y/N knew he had recently lost a son, they were both hurting and Zuko needed someone who wasn’t going to hurt him if he did something wrong. Though, Y/N saw him try to save the lives of the soldiers of the so-called great Fire Nation, not do something wrong. Regardless, Zuko needed a father figure, yes. But Y/N needed a father as she grappled with the death of her brother. 

Maybe she was just a little bitter about it. 

“Are you coming?” Zuko asked, his words coming out harshly.

Raising a brow, Y/N shook her head, “no. Don’t get too violent, though.” She warned, looking at him pointedly, “they’re a small tribe that’s going extinct.” 

Zuko rolled his eyes as he exclaimed, “that’s not my fault!”

Sitting up to face him, Y/N smacked him upside the head as she walked past him, “considering the royal family, which you are a part of need I remind you, ordered the genocide of every single Waterbender they had...” She paused, cracking her knuckles before turning to look back at Zuko, “I would say you that everyone here probably blames you for it by assosiation.” Y/N reasoned. She had never liked the history that her ancestors had, much less approved.

Taken aback, Zuko exclaimed, “you’re a part of the royal family too!”  Y/N was well aware of the circumstances surrounding his banishment, he’d tried to save lives, but war was the only thing that mattered to the Fire Nation it appeared. 

His attempt at defense simply earned him a shrug, “perhaps.” Y/N didn’t consider herself a member of the royal family, and she doubted her father did either. And no matter what Zuko thought, though he was royal by blood, his banishment severed his ties to the throne permanently.

Unless they happened to find the Avatar, though that wasn’t very likely, Y/N decided she would rethinking her life choices should the Avatar be here of all places, as she rested her forearms on the side of the ship and watched Zuko march down his soldiers.

She wasn’t going to tell him that the Southern Water Tribe didn’t have a military, much less benders. As previously mentioned, the genocide destroyed the benders, and the most of the soldiers in the village had headed off to fight in the war against the Fire Nation. Though her brow did raise as she watched him yank an old lady from the small crowd of people, Y/N straightened her back, preparing to get involved. 

Of course, a young warrior ended up running at her cousin, war paint and all as he attempted to attack. Key word being attempted. Watching him fall face first into the snow, Y/N realized he wasn’t a warrior, but a boy. The Avatar also happened to be a boy. A very, very young boy. Not a century year old Airbender. 

Y/N supposed it was time to start rethinking her life. 

Sokka didn’t know what he was supposed to do as he helped Princess Yue onto the Sky Bison. They needed to find Aang’s physical body, quickly, otherwise he wouldn’t be returning to the real world, and they happened to be fresh out of Avatars up until recently so that wasn’t really an option. Not when they needed the balance of the world to be restored immediately. 

Sighing, Sokka moved to get onto the Sky Bison, only to be yanked backwards, stumbling before having a knife pressed to his neck. “What the hell!” He exclaimed in shock, garnering the attention of the others that were already on Appa. Katara’s mouth gaping open at the sight of him as Princess Yue cried out in shock.

The knife against his neck is certainly uncomfortable, and he realizes that he probably should’ve stuck around Kyoshi Island long enough to learn how to get out a situation like this. “I’m coming with you. Someone has to make sure Zuko doesn’t do anything else dumb.” Comes a voice from behind him, and Sokka’s brows furrowed in confusion, who was this? And why were they trying to kill him? More importantly, how did they know Prince Zuko, the guy who had been chasing them since Aang had come out of that iceberg. Questions ran rampant through his mind, and he nearly forgot that his life was being threatened.

That was a luxury he couldn’t afford at the moment. 

Though he couldn’t see the person behind him, he could see Katara grimace at her demand, anyone associated with Prince Zuko likely had a similar end goal, to capture the Avatar. This wasn’t something they could allow, and Sokka recognized this as Katara asked, “why should we trust you?” Katara’s eyes soon met Sokka’s and he knew that no matter what he said, she would give into the girl’s demands for his safety. Sokka mentally scolded himself for failing to prevent this situation. 

The girl behind him scoffed, “unlike my dear cousin,” Sokka couldn’t help the shock that flooded him, cousin? As in Zuko is this girl’s cousin? Or did she mean someone else? He was kidding himself, there was no one else it could be. “I like banishment, it’s like a fun little vacation. I could care less about the Avatar.” The knife draws in closer to Sokka’s neck, nearly drawing blood, likely expressing the fact that she could care less if Katara believed her. Though Sokka doubted she didn’t care about the Avatar, he was one of the most important people in the world. 

But Sokka would likely die if she didn’t agree, or at least end up fatally injured. No matter how far Katara had come with her Waterbending, she hadn’t perfected it yet, and healing was only so effective. Sokka sincerely doubted she could beat the speed of this girl and her weapon considering the fact that she’d gotten the jump on them the first time around. Death wasn’t something he wanted, but anyone who knew Zuko couldn’t be trusted, much less someone who shared his blood. If he turned out... like that, Sokka didn’t want to imagine how this stranger ended up.

“Don’t try anything.” Katara warned, eyeing the girl wearily. Though it was an empty threat for the most part, in the air, there was little Katara could do against a foe. Though three, well two if you exclude the princess, against one seemed like favorable odds, this girl seemed talented in combat, even without bending.

She released Sokka, and he turned to see her beaming up at Katara, “happy to be doing business with ya.” Turning to Sokka, she looked him up and down, sizing him up before speaking, “be a gentleman and help me up?” Yeah, she was crazy. The pretty ones are always crazy. That, and she was Zuko’s cousin, it made sense. Though Sokka was fairly sure that she was joking, you could never be too sure.

“Who even are you?!” He exclaimed, exasperated and preparing to whip out his boomerang as he glared at her. He didn’t recognize her, but she’d likely been traveling with Zuko for quite some time now if they were related.

She just shrugged, “you can call me Y/N.” She got onto Appa with ease, Katara on guard a she eyed her, eyes piercing into her soul, Y/N raised a brow upon noticing this, “calm down. I wouldn’t have killed him.”

Katara inhaled deeply, trying to maintain patience as Sokka got into the saddle, “yip, yip.”

Y/N wasn’t really shocked when it turned out Azula was after them. Of course good old Uncle Ozai sent his most valuable asset to bring them back. Though some good at come of it, Zuko cut his ponytail, something Y/N had taken pleasure in bullying him over. Now they were on the run, in the very city that her father had tried to run to the ground all those years ago. 

Irony at its finest.

Tugging at the sleeves of her Earth Kingdom garments, Y/N sighed, walking through the streets of the city. She didn’t know where she was if she was honest, and standing in the beautiful plaza, Y/N wondered if maybe, it would be better if she never returned back to that horrid apartment. Her father was starting over, getting them all jobs at a tea shop, even Zuko had tried to move on, going out on a date with a girl. 

The Earth Kingdom was an odd place, but here, no one knew who she was. It wouldn’t be difficult to restart, alone. Without the expectations she’d been raised with. Fists balling up, Y/N exhaled slowly, turning a corner. There wasn’t graffiti in this part of the city, she realized, staring at the walls. Though there was an odd poster, squinting at it, she moved closer. It was a poorly drawn image of-

A Sky Bison. The same one she’d ridden on back during the Siege of the North, not that any others existed, the Sky Bison were a dying breed. Which could only mean one thing, the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se. 

"Have you seen him?” She heard from behind her. Y/N recognized the voice, it belonged to the boy she’d held at knife point, “the drawing isn’t my best but-”

Turning around she spoke rapidly, “don’t freak out.” This was a problem.

Y/N liked to think she was the least threatening of the Royal Family, aside from her father that is. Though they could both be lethal in their own ways, neither demonstrated the true extents of their power unless it was truly necessary. Maybe that’s why Y/N hoped that the boy, Sokka, she believed his name was, wouldn’t freak out.

Of course, he did. Dropping the posters in his hand, he opened his mouth, likely to scream, only for Y/N to practically tackle him. She slammed his body against the wall, covering his mouth with her hand as she glared at him. Sokka let out a grunt of surprise, immediately beginning to struggle in her hold, “calm down! I don’t have a knife this time around.” Y/N cried out, her voice a hushed whisper. Of course, what she said was a lie, she always had at least three weapons on her. Upon entering the city, she’d knocked that number down to only two weapons, much to her dismay and Iroh’s relief.

She felt him lick her hand, and she quickly removed her hand in disgust, while keeping the other planted on his shoulder, they both exclaimed, “what the hell!”

Sokka’s eyes narrowed at her, “look. I don’t wanna cause a scene, so I’m just gonna go-” He sighed when her hand remained on his shoulder, firmly holding him against the wall as he tried to move away only to be pushed back into the wall. “Or not.” 

“Look, you cannot go back to your little group and tell them that I’m here.” Y/N tried to choose her words carefully, if she didn’t need to, she didn’t want to suggest that her father and Zuko were also in the city. “I’m trying to have a permanent vacation, away from the Fire Nation and my crazy family, in Ba Sing Se.” She explained, slowly removing her hand from his shoulder, “think you can respect that?”

He looked at her wearily, during their last interaction, she’d made no attempts to actually injure them. And when she had the Avatar right in front of her, unlike Zuko, she hadn’t tried to kidnap him. Y/N had been honest last time, and chances were, she was being honest now. That didn’t make him feel any better about trusting her though. 

“How do I know you won’t follow me and kill me in my sleep?”

Y/N looked at him incredulously, “is that a joke?” She’d considered that too though, the possibility that he’d follow her back to her shared apartment and alert his friends of their location. Y/N refused to be the reason that they lost their new lives in Ba Sing Se, and had already decided to check into an inn for the night. 

Raising a brow at her, Sokka gestured for her to give him an answer, and Y/N stared at him momentarily, “well. How do I know you won’t kill me in my sleep?” Y/N retorted.

Sokka rolled his eyes at her, “I’m a good person.” Came his response.

“Debatable.” 

Sokka stared at her in disbelief, “I’m trying to save the world here!” He exclaimed, and Y/N wasn’t shocked by his response, her goal had been to fluster him and she had.

Tilting her head at him, Y/N replied, “sure.” Stretching her arms upwards, she waves to him, “don’t tell your friends I was here, and we’re good.” She began to walk further into the alley, towards the other side, “see you around.” If he was here, his friends were probably around the area as well, meaning she had to leave.

His mouth gaped open and he stared at her figure as she stalked off, pausing momentarily before groaning and running after her, ending up at her side. “What do you mean, sure?” Sokka asked, confusion laced in his tone. 

Y/N raised a brow at him. “What are you doing?”  She wanted to laugh at his reaction, though he was now following her liked a lovesick puppy, which could prove problematic. 

Crossing his arms he responded, “making sure you don’t do anything bad.” Sokka eyed her suspiciously, “because I am a good person.” He asserted.

“And I’m a bad person?”

She already knew he was going to say, ‘yes, yes you are.’ After all, she was from the Fire Nation, and Y/N had no doubt she’d done terrible things in her life, especially when she’d fallen into a dark place and taken on... less than favorable coping mechanisms. 

And he’s silent for a moment, leaving Y/N to wonder if he suddenly cares about the feelings of the enemy. Only for him to say, “in my experience... good people can do bad things.” 

That wasn’t what she expected. Y/N found herself stunned, speechless as she looked to Sokka, though he simply continued to walk alongside her nonchalantly. Quickly collecting herself, she looks away from him and to the nearby food stand, “that didn’t answer my question.” And as Sokka opened his mouth to likely continue his statement, Y/N realized she didn’t want to know the answer as she spoke, “you want food? I want food. Let’s get food.”

Sighing, Sokka followed her, “as long as you don’t poison me.”

Y/N’s brows furrowed at his comment, looking back at him, “do you-” A small laugh escaped her, “do you think I just carry around poison?” 

Sokka didn’t know why he swelled with pride when he made her laugh, “in case you run into your enemies, absolutely.” It was probably because she was the enemy, and it took real talent to make someone who hated you laugh. 

“How often do you think I run into my enemies and invite them to get food with me?” She asked, picking up a few things from the stand, before heading over to pay.

Frowning, Sokka watches her pay, “I thought we were bonding over,” he paused to take a meat bun from her and shove it into her face dramatically, “meat! Yet, I’m still your enemy.”

Y/N simply shrugged, “this is a one time thing.”

It was not a one time thing. 

Sokka found himself ‘coincidentally’ running into Y/N, more and more often. She’d be walking through the streets of the upper ring about once a week, though she had started walking through the streets of the inner ring of Ba Sing Se far more frequently than normal in recent weeks. He’d been meaning to ask her why, maybe she’d also grown accustomed to their meetings and started to come around more. During their meetups they’d talk, about things other than the war, which was a conversation difficult to come by with the others. Though he cared for his friends, talking to Y/N felt different, a good different. She wasn’t overbearing like Katara, or mean like Toph, but she also wasn’t as passive as Aang. 

It was odd. Knowing someone who had once held a knife to your neck in a more friendly way. Though, if Sokka was honest, he didn’t trust her, and she likely didn’t trust him either. They’d both taken precautions due to the mistrust between them, not that be blamed her. At the end of the day, they were still on opposing sides, kind of. Y/N had never seemed to care about finding the Avatar, but she was certainly loyal to her family above all else.

She’d demonstrated that in the Northern Water Tribe. 

Sokka was the same, if he had saw an inkling of betrayal as a possibility, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell the others. Their safety was his priority at the end of the day, and Y/N didn’t owe him anything, just like he didn’t owe her anything. Maybe that was the beauty of it all. But for now, everything remained peaceful, calming, and simple.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. 

Katara had oddly disappeared after Aang arrived with news of his vision. And then, as though things couldn’t get any weirder, Iroh arrived, Y/N’s apparent Father Iroh. Toph seemed to know him well, which certainly came as a shock to Sokka and Aang. “I need your help, Prince Zuko has been captured.” He explained, opening his mouth to continue only for Sokka to interrupt. He couldn’t help it when his brows furrowed in both confusion and frustration, Y/N had never suggested that the rest of her family was here.

“Are you crazy? You guys were trying to capture Aang not to long ago!” Sokka pointed out, throwing his arms outwards, “why not get Y/N to help?” She was certainly capable of raiding the palace and retrieving her cousin.

At this comment, Iroh’s face darkened, “we were separated in the palace. I’m unsure if they managed to capture her or if she escaped.” Oh. So that’s what he was going to say. 

Sokka couldn’t help it when his face dropped, looking to Iroh he exclaimed, “well- why didn’t you lead with that!” Pushing past Aang who had been prepared to start giving a speech on why they should assist Iroh, only for his mouth to gape open as Sokka headed for the door.

“Why are you so eager?” Toph asked as they began to follow him out the door.

He faltered, quickly trying to think up a good excuse as he replied, “no reason.” 

Toph’s frowned, “I can tell when you’re lying Sokka.” She reminded him. 

“We can discuss this later!” He exclaimed, flustered. “Let’s go.”

Y/N had contemplated killing Zuko before. 

It had never really been serious, as far as she would’ve gone was maybe injuring him badly enough that she got her point across. But at the end of the day, she protected Zuko to the best of her ability, and tried to keep his mind from being poisoned by the Fire Nation ideals that she’d once lived by unquestionably. 

Now she actually wanted him dead. He stood alongside Azula, who had offered Y/N her spot in her little gang hours ago, though she’d rejected the offer much to Azula’s chagrin. But she seemed sure that Y/N would accept some time soon. Perhaps it was because Zuko had betrayed her father and left him to the Dai Li. 

He had betrayed her father, the man who had practically raised both of them. 

Y/N had a violent past, she wouldn’t deny, and she liked to think that she was past all that. But looking at the situation ahead of them, watching the Waterbender, Sokka’s sister, Katara, cry over the body of the Avatar, she realized that maybe violence was the answer. Just this once. 

So, when she hopped in front of them, she had a plan. A violent one. 

“Pull yourself together.” She snapped at Katara, who looked up at her, bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down her confused face, “he’s getting out of here alive. But first, I need you to soak them.” Y/N gestured towards the troops coming towards them, Zuko and Azula accompanying them. Katara opened her mouth, and Y/N didn’t care what she was going to say as she ordered, “now!” 

Katara’s brows drew together as she released the Avatar’s head onto her lap, raising her hands to use the waterfall behind them to successfully drench the soldiers, who groaned at the discomfort but pausing temporarily before they continued towards them. “What did you think that would accomplish? What a pitiful-” Azula’s taunts were paused when she watched as Y/N drew her hands together, inhaling deeply, and Azula stopped her movement. “That’s not possible.” 

Suddenly, lightning was between Y/N’s fingertips, and she extended her hand into the large puddle of water that Katara had created. Y/N had learnt to bend lightning soon after she’d mastered Firebending, from her father, he’d insisted that she only use it when necessary, so she kept her ability to herself. This was necessary, she decided, hand touching the water and sending a shock throughout everyone with it, successfully putting all of the soldiers out of commission. 

Unfortunately, Azula recognized the signs of lightning bending, and withdrew alongside Zuko, and the two were now coming to attack from above at a rapid rate. Y/N whipped her head around to see Katara, mouth gaped open at all the fallen soldiers. “You two need to leave, I’ll hold them off.” She began to move to create another strike of lightning

“No.” Called out another voice, and Y/N whipped her head over to see it was her father, Dai Li agents likely nearby as he moved in front of Y/N. “You all need to leave. Take Y/N with you, she will help the Avatar reach his destiny.” Y/N wanted to laugh at that, how could he be so sure? If the boy did die, then this would all be for nothing

Y/N scoffed, “are you crazy?” She moved closer to her father, “unlike Zuko, I’m not leaving you.” She exclaimed, exasperated. 

Iroh simply smiled at her as he said, “I’m proud of you, Y/N.” 

Sokka knew he seemed dumb. He knew how others perceived him, as the ‘extra’ member of Team Avatar, the useless one, because he lacked bending. At the end of the day, Sokka was the brains of their operations, he was observant, and this helped him develop plans that most people would never even consider.

Not that anyone else knew, but Sokka was the only one that had actually interacted with Y/N prior to what happened in Ba Sing Se. Sure, they’d all met once or twice in the past, but Sokka had a knife to his throat then, so Y/N probably didn’t seem that appealing to the others. And he doubted they understood how odd it was that she was so... apathetic. Normally she’d tease, and joke alongside him but now? 

It was odd, and nobody else could notice the shift in her personality but him, and he was concerned. Y/N had lost her father, and been betrayed by her cousin, and she had yet to talk about it, at all. Sokka liked to think that they were close enough to discuss such things, and he’d tried to get some sort of emotion out of her, the key word being tried. 

Despite her apathetic personality, the others had warmed up to her for the most part. Apparently Toph had met Y/N in the past, during the time she’d run off and encountered Iroh. So, the two got acquainted fairly fast, Aang was happy to have a Firebender, and insisted that once he was back to full strength, and they’d found a better place for practice, he’d learn Firebending from her. Y/N had agreed but it was clear Aang wasn’t as excited as he was acting, Sokka figured he still associated the time he hurt Katara with Firebending.

Katara had been far less weary of Y/N than Sokka had expected, but given what Katara had told him when she’d first joined, that made sense. Y/N was a powerful Firebender who had betrayed her entire nation to help save Aang’s life, and though Katara didn’t approve of everything she’d done in the past, she tolerated her. Which was better than nothing in Sokka’s book.

They were currently camped out in the woods beside a Fire Nation town, everyone had scattered to prepare for the few nights they’d likely stay in the area. Katara had gone to the town with Toph and Aang, in search of supplies and food, while Sokka and Y/N set up the camp and collected wood to help start a fire. Y/N had insisted that she could maintain the fire without any wood, but Sokka viewed this as an excuse to get her alone and force her to discuss her feelings.

“So...” Sokka mumbled, looking to her as she leaned down to pick up another piece of wood, “lovely weather we’re having.”

Y/N turned to him, raising a brow before nodding, “yeah.” It was clear she wasn’t entirely paying attention the nonsense that was coming out of his mouth as he tried to get her to listen to him. 

Sokka grabbed another piece of wood, “how have you been?”

Tilting her head at him in confusion, Y/N brought another piece of wood into her arms, “fine.” Looking up at the dimming sky she frowned, “we should start heading back to that spot we’d found earlier.” Y/N turned to begin walking, and Sokka struggled to match her pace.

His brows furrowed in frustration as he stared at her, the light of the falling sun filtering in between the trees and onto them. Y/N seemed to glow as she maneuvered between the trees, “how have you been sleeping?” Even Sokka sounded confused at the question he asked, but he didn’t know how to broach the topic with Y/N.

She simply paused her movement, turning to him, he stumbled slightly due to the abrupt stop, and met her eyes. “Just ask what you wanna ask, Sokka. Stop dancing around whatever it is.” Y/N sounded tired, looking to him expectantly as she awaited his question. Sokka scolded himself for being so obvious that she’d noticed something was up. 

He sighed, “are you okay?” And she opened her mouth to respond but he continued, “actually? You can say that you are okay, and not mean it. Y/N you lost your dad and were betrayed by your cousin, and you-” Sokka grimaced as he met her eyes, “you haven’t been the same since you joined us.”

Y/N is silent for a moment, then her eyes were piercing into his, “how would you know that I haven’t been the same?” She asked, turning away to continue walking back to the chosen campsite, “it’s not like you know me.” His statement had set her off it appeared, but her response had easily done the same for him. 

“Are you serious? Not like I know you?” He scoffed, jogging to catch up with her, “I know that you do whatever it takes to protect the people you care about. I know that you really like Earth Kingdom food because most of the food within the Fire Nation is on the spicier side.” Y/N didn’t seem to be listening, and the camp was in sight, but Sokka continued, “I know that you get really cold easily unless you regulate your body temperature with your Firebending. And I know that you can’t pick a favorite color because you are very indecisive.” 

Aggressively, Y/N dropped the sticks into the center of the campsite as they arrived, turning to him, “you can stop now.” Her voice was almost taunting as she spoke, sarcastic in a way. 

Sokka simply followed suit, placing the firewood in the center and facing her head on, “and most importantly, I know what it’s like to lose someone.” He takes her hand, and Y/N practically growls at the contact, attempting to yank her hand out of his grasp, she ends up pulling him closer towards her. Sokka clumsily topples onto her, knocking the both of them down into the dirt with a grunt. His forearms preventing him from crushing Y/N under his body weight as he held himself up, his eyes meet hers.

Y/N finds herself glaring daggers at him, while Sokka finishes his little speech with, “you don’t have to deal with this alone.”

And in that moment, he looks at her, really looks at her. And she’s really pretty.

Y/N opens her mouth to say something to him, only for someone else to begin speaking, “are we interrupting something?” Toph. Looking up, Sokka sees the others as well, Aang looks rather smug as he wiggles his eyebrows at Sokka, and Katara gives him a pointed look, likely disappointed that he’d fraternizing with the former enemy. He can’t help it when he feels his cheeks warm, and before he can move to get off Y/N, she’s launched him off of her, and he’s flat on his back on the ground. Toph laughs at the actions, bending a seat of earth for herself and the others before falling backwards into it, the girl seems to wish she had popcorn as she watched the moment unfold.

“No.” Y/N mumbles, bringing herself to her feet and dusting herself off. “I’ll be in my tent if you need me.” She retreats into one of the tents they’d set up earlier, and Sokka groans as he lets his head fall backwards into the ground and runs his hands over his face.

When he removes them, Aang is standing over him, along with Toph, while Katara organizes the firewood. “So... did we interrupt something?” Toph asked.

Sokka just sighs, his plan failed. This time at least. Next time, his goal would be to make her laugh, to make her smile. At least she had expressed some emotion, anger was better than nothing.

Anger seemed to turn to annoyance, since Y/N doesn’t leave her tent until nightfall and Sokka can’t help but wonder what was entertaining enough to keep her in there for all that time. When she does exit, she uses her Firebending to light a fire, and uses the firewood they’d collected earlier to ensure it stays alight. The rest of the group was seated around the center of the campsite, and Sokka wonders if she’s going to go back to her tent when she realizes the only open seat is next to him. 

She doesn’t return to her tent though and he’s grateful. Though she sits as far as possible from him on the bench that Toph had created, half-heartedly listening to the things that the others are saying. Y/N can feel herself getting cold and can’t help the resent that bubbles up in her chest as she recalls what Sokka send earlier. Exhaling deeply, a puff of blue fire escapes her mouth and Y/N feels nauseous at the small reminder of Azula. 

This catches Sokka’s attention, though the others are too enraptured in the story Aang was telling, Sokka turned to her, “cold?” He asked, leaning to the side to grab a blanket from his small pack, he offers it to her.

Y/N knew she wouldn’t be able to regulate her temperature when she fell asleep, but accepting the blanket from Sokka felt like... it felt like accepting him and everything he had said about her. So, when she doesn’t take the blanket from his hands, Sokka sighs, moving to put it back, only for Y/N to snatch the blanket from his hand and wrap it around herself begrudgingly.

This was her way of apologizing, moving closer to Sokka on the small bench she huffed as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself and turned her attention to Aang. She’d been mean, she wouldn’t deny, but what was she supposed to say? Exhaling deeply, Y/N closes her eyes temporarily, allowing drowsiness to consume her for a moment, before looking back to Aang.

It isn’t until Sokka feels a weight fall onto his shoulder midway through his own story that he realizes Y/N has fallen asleep, his mouth gaping open in shock as he pauses his words. He quickly shakes off the shock, cheeks warming as he turns back to the rest of the group, who all regard him curiously. Aang once again wiggles his eyebrows and Sokka ignores the action, continuing his story. Though he’s more weary of his vivid hand movements in fear of awakening Y/N, and noticeably quiets his voice. Sokka finds himself wishing he was Y/N as he listens to Katara’s Water Tribe horror story intently, after all, this is the most peaceful he’s ever seen her. 

It doesn’t last long, because she’s soon startled awake, hand going to her side where she keeps her dagger as she and Toph speak simultaneously, “someone’s coming.”

As an old woman emerges from the shadows, Sokka practically holds Y/N down to keep her from lunging at her and attacking as the woman speaks. And of course, Y/N’s distaste for the woman doesn’t stop there, even when she invites them into her home, though Sokka doesn’t blame her. She’s a suspicious woman. 

It’s not until he and Aang are attacking each other that Sokka regrets preventing Y/N from attacking the old woman when she had the chance. Katara is struggling to move, and Sokka can only hope that Toph and Y/N return from the cave soon as he yelps upon nearly making contact with Aang, the old woman laughing cynically. Sokka watches as she shifts, hand outstretching behind her, “don’t think I forgot you little Firebender.” 

His eyes widen in both shock and fear as Y/N’s body is suddenly thrown onto the ground in front of him. Her body rising almost mechanically, back to a stand, Sokka realizes there’s lightning at her fingertips, the woman manipulating her body to aim for Sokka. “A shame you’ll be the woman to end your friend’s life isn’t it,” She’s making eye contact with Katara who is crying out and begging for her to stop.

Sokka can see the panic in Y/N’s eyes as the her hands aim towards him, “Y/N. It’s okay.” He calls out her, in an attempt at assurance that he doubts does much to soothe her. “It’s okay.” He repeats, squeezing his eyes shut as he prepares for the lightning to hit him. Except it never does, instead, it goes upwards into the sky as Y/N cries out in pain, having moved her body despite the woman blending her blood. 

She had overpowered Hama’s bloodbending, something that clearly came as a shock to the old woman as Y/N turned around sluggishly, staring at the shocked old woman as blue fire left her mouth once more, chest heaving. Sokka could feel the weight on his bones slowly disappear, leaving behind an ache, the woman likely intended to focus her abilities onto Y/N, who was struggling to walk towards her. 

“Scared?” Y/N asked, looking up at the woman, “you should be.”

The next time that Team Avatar feared Y/N. She was face to face with Zuko.

He’d approached them as they sat in the Air Temple. And Y/N had practically jumped out of her seat, preparing for a fight as lightning seemed to dance at her fingertips. Though Sokka knew better than to allow her to attack her cousin, and grabbed her arm. “Can you guys handle this?” He asks the others, maintaining eye contact with Y/N. The others looked to them understanding what would likely occur if Y/N was allowed to be involved.

Zuko wouldn’t walk away from that fight. 

“We got this Sokka.” Katara assured, pure hate in her eyes as she stared Zuko down, and Sokka couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he should remove both of them from the situation. 

Sokka’s hand found Y/N’s, and it was almost burning hot, a sparks seeming to fly between them, he pulls at her hand. Y/N hesitantly allows him to drag her away, though she turns back momentarily to meet Zuko’s eyes. “I’ll kill you later, cousin.” She promises, and her voice is scarily calm. “For my father.” The condescending tone in her voice and the wince Zuko has in response is enough for Sokka to know that her intent was to hurt him emotionally if she couldn’t do it physically, and it was clear she had been successful.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N closes her eyes temporarily as Sokka brings her into one of many abandoned rooms in the temple, sitting her down onto a bed before kneeling down in front of her. “Are you good?” He asks. 

“That’s a stupid question.” Comes her response.

Sokka tilts his head at her, giving her a smile, “well I’m a stupid guy.” 

He’s rubbing gentle circles in her hand as she shakes her head, a small laugh escaping her, “no you’re not.” Her voice cracks and she cringes at the sound so she clears her throat, staring at the wall beside her. Sokka can’t help the way his heart swells at this comment, because for once he doesn’t feel like the comic relief, he doesn’t feel like the side character. Though he appreciates the rest of Team Avatar and loves them all dearly, at times, they didn’t take him seriously. 

Y/N makes him feel important. Though he doesn’t say this as he looks at her, clearly shaken by Zuko’s sudden appearance, she speaks once more, “are you sure I can’t kill him?”

This time Sokka laughs, shaking his head, “I’m sure Katara would love to help you with that, but I doubt Aang would approve.” 

Y/N nods slowly, letting out a shaky breath as a tear escaped her, though she quickly wiped it away and looks to the ground. “You wanna sit with me?” She asks, patting the spot on the bed beside her. 

“Sure.” He replies softly, moving to sit on the bed with her. One he’s situated, Y/N leans her head onto his shoulder, and Sokka finds his hand wrapping around her waist. And they sit like this for several moments. 

Taking a deep breath, Y/N removes her head from his shoulder and looks to him, “thank you.”

Sokka raises a brow, “for what?”

“Being here.” She replies, bringing her hand to move a hair from his face, Sokka watches her actions intently and in awe. “With me.” Her hand remains on his face for longer than necessary, and when she moves to let it fall back into her lap, Sokka’s hand cups hers. 

They’re both silent when Sokka’s hand releases hers, and his other hand leaves her waist, both coming to her face. The look in his eyes tells her enough, and she nods to him. 

The kiss felt like the first breath of fresh air in a while. Maybe it’s because it had been long overdue, but as Y/N brought her hands to his arms to pull him closer, she felt her head empty of all thoughts. 

He pulls away momentarily, their foreheads resting against each others, he can see her eyes are shut, lashes pressed against her cheeks. “I hope,” Sokka pauses, and her eyes flutter open to look at him, he can feel his cheek warm as he continues, “I hope I can always be here, with you.” It’s a confession in its own way, and Sokka understands the weight of his words as he watches her reaction. 

She opens her mouth, likely to reply, be closes it quickly, and Sokka can’t help the panic that floods him. Though this is quickly replaced by the feeling of her lips on his as her hand collides with his chest and pushes him down on the bed, earning a grunt from him. 

“Guys, Zuko is gone-” Y/N throws herself onto the floor as she rolls off Sokka, and he sits up immediately. “Am I interrupting something now?” Aang asked, giving Sokka a look.

Y/N clears her throat, “no.” Sokka couldn’t help it when his brows drew together at this comment, bringing a hand to his temple as he sighed, and Y/N stood, dusting off her thighs as she mumbled, “see you guys later.”

She started avoiding him after that. 

When Zuko joined the group, she’s also made a point to avoid him no matter how hard he tried to apologize to her. And of course, when Sokka first showed him to his room they had a... chat. To put it simply, Sokka had threatened him. 

Just a little. 

“So yeah, here it is, your room.” Gesturing to the room, Sokka gave Zuko a tight lipped smile, watching him wearily. 

Zuko’s back was to him as he placed his stuff down, “thank you.” He said, expecting that to be the end of it, upon hearing the door close he assumed Sokka had left.

When he turned around, Sokka was still very much there. “Let’s have a chat, Prince Zuko.” It didn’t go unnoticed by Sokka how the boy grimaced at the use of his title, though that didn’t stop him from moving forward and placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder a little too tightly. “Y/N does not want to speak with you.”

“I know,” Came his reply. “Thank you for keeping her from... killing me. The other day. I intend to apologize-”

A small laugh escaped Sokka, “next time. I won’t stop her.” This was for multiple reasons, one of which being that Y/N was avoiding him, and the other being that he wished to respect her and her feeling about Zuko. “And you need to respect her wishes. One of those wishes being, avoiding you. Until she approaches you, leave her be.”

Zuko’s brows furrowed at this comment, “she’s my cousin. You can’t expect-”

“Leave. Her. Be.” 

Zuko became silent, nodding slowly as he looked to Sokka curiously. 

And now, to avoid some of his problems and solve some of them, Sokka ended up running away in a hot air balloon with the person he related to the most at the moment, and the person he threatened rather recently. Zuko. Both of them were being avoided by someone important in their lives, and they both had slightly crazy younger sisters. Though their conversations were certainly... odd.

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko looked at him for a moment before saying, “that’s rough, buddy.” There was silence after this, a temporary lapse in conversation that Zuko seemed determined to fill. “So...” Zuko mumbled. “You and my cousin huh.” 

It wasn’t a question, Sokka realized this, but he disregarded it as he responded, “what about us?” Playing dumb would hopefully get him to drop the subject. 

Zuko raised his brows at Sokka, “us?” 

Scolding himself, Sokka realized he’d unintentionally dug a deeper hole for himself when he said this as he tried to avoid Zuko’s gaze. “Not really.” Sokka replied, “she’s avoiding me too.” 

Nodding, Zuko gave him a tight lipped smile, “what did you do?”

“I wish I knew.” Sokka could only make assumptions about why Y/N had begun to avoid him, but at the end of the day was confused over it.

He really needed to talk to her. 

As the day of Sozin’s Comet drew closer, Sokka had started trying to talk to Y/N more and more, she’d keep basic conversation but whenever he tried to address... the kiss, Y/N would shut down the conversation. And now, it was the day of Sozin’s Comet, and they established that Zuko and Katara would take on Azula, Aang would take on Ozai, and the rest of them would go after the army that was heading for the Earth Kingdom. 

It seemed that Sokka intended to try to speak with her once more as he approached her while she strapped a dagger to her thigh. “We need to talk.” He said, plopping down onto a rock beside her.

“About battle strategy?” She asked, looking to him, “I had some ideas.”

Play dumb, play dumb, play dumb.

Sokka’s brows furrowed as he shook his head, “about the kiss, Y/N.” Y/N tried to hide her shock at his forwardness, he’d never been this blunt before, during his previous attempts to discuss this with her. Turning to him, she prepared to speak but he silenced her, “you’re going to listen this time.” Grimacing, he looked away, towards the horizon. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today. And if something goes wrong, I need you to know-”

“Nothing is going wrong.” Y/N stated firmly. “Nothing. So, we can have this conversation after.” 

Sokka sat up from his place on the rock, moving in front of her, “there’s no way to guarantee that Y/N.” 

Squeezing her eyes shot, Y/N took a deep breath, “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you guys.” She promised, “and I swear we can talk about this after.” She grabs onto his hands, holding them in hers as she looks away. Y/N knew why she was avoiding it. He was right, it was totally possible for one of them to die, and a relationship in the midst of a war was the worst possible idea. After would be better, or at least that’s what she’d told herself.

The pleading look in his eyes almost burns through her resolve as he asks, “will we?” It almost hurts that he doesn’t believe her, but Y/N can’t blame him.

“We need to go.” Her voice was almost a whisper as she releases his hands. Even if she wanted to continue discussing the subject, they needed to begin the battle soon. 

Sokka frowned though, “if you don’t want this, just tell me and I’ll-” He sighed, bringing a hand to his temple. “I’ll stop bothering you.”

Y/n began to shake her head, “you are never a bother to me I just-” Sighing, she looked into his eyes, “I want this. I do, I’m just scared, and we’re in the middle of a war Sokka!” She exclaimed, the words spilling out of her mouth before she can stop them.

“You think I don’t know that?” Sokka cried out, exasperated. “Y/N I’m so scared that something is going to go wrong, and I’ll never get to tell you that I-”

“Don’t say it.” She interrupts, fear in her veins as she watches him.

So, he didn’t. 

If she didn’t feel like she had something to come back to, maybe that would make it easier. Sacrifices would have to be made to reach victory, and Y/N wouldn’t hesitate to be the one to make them if it meant the others survived. They deserved to see the new world, the world of peace, prosperity, and freedom, the one that came after all this.

Y/N could feel the power flooding her as the comet drew closer, pure and raw power. Though this accompanied by her skill would likely help her in the upcoming battle, dozens of Firebenders with half her skill and the power of the comet was something she was definitely worried about. Overpowering them all was unlikely, and in the best case scenario, Y/N could slow them down. But she wasn’t a fool. In war, there were always casualties, and she was prepared to become one of many. 

Then there were the thoughts in the back of her mind. Though nobody had discussed it, the throne could potentially go to her after all this, and that wasn’t really something Y/n was looking forward to debating. Perhaps it was selfish, but Y/N didn’t really care. Was it wrong of her to dream of escaping the shackles that bound her to the Fire Nation since birth, to leave behind the politics and the lies and the pain of it all?

Maybe. 

Sokka knew Y/N had a lot going on in her mind right now. And he knew she was scared of what was to come, and no matter how much it hurt him, he respected her wishes to wait until this battle was over to discuss whatever it was between them. He knew where he stood. But now that Suki had left them, he found himself beginning to regret it. On the top of the Air Balloon, Toph was practically blind, and Sokka could do little in terms of long distance, aside from his boomerang. Which left Y/N to do her best to defend them from the Firebenders that had begun to swarm them. 

“Go!” She cried out, knocking one of the Firebenders off the balloon. “Take out the rest of the fleet.” Y/N dodged the oncoming flames, intercepting them with her own to prevent the others from getting burned.

But Sokka wasn’t going to let anyone die today. “You still owe me a conversation,” came his response, looking down at the bridges on the Air Balloon. “Jump!” Sokka cried out as another ball of fire rushed towards them, he took Toph by the hand and hoped that Y/N followed. 

Thankfully, she did, he took notice of her as he fell towards the bridges extending from the giant hot air balloon. They were all screaming as they fell, and Y/N grunted in pain as she hit Sokka, tumbling over him and off the edge, yelping as her hands grasped the bridge, with little leverage. Toph similarly went over the side, her screams filling Sokka ears as Y/N released one of her hands from the bridge and caught Toph’s wrist. 

Panic flooded Sokka as he scrambled to the edge of the bridge, Y/N’s hand slipping, “Sokka! Hurry up-” Another scream rips out of her as she loses her grip on the edge.

Nearly falling as he grabbed her hand, his chest heaved. “It’s gonna be okay.” He promised, looking into Y/N’s panicked eyes. “It’s gonna be fine Toph!” He cried out to her.

“Yeah, right!” She called out into the wind, the fear evident in her voice despite the sarcastic nature of the comment. “Y/N I don’t wanna die.” 

Y/N almost can’t hear her, too focused on maintaining her grip on both Sokka and Toph’s hands. She exhales slowly, eyes falling on the soldiers that are beginning to make their way down to them as she replied, “you’re gonna be fine, I promise. I’m gonna get you to Sokka, okay?” 

Sokka was internally panicking, he wouldn’t be able to fight back against the incoming soldiers if both his hands were occupied, but his grip was faltering and he couldn’t pull them both up. Grimacing as he looked down at the two, he nodded in agreement to Y/N signaling that he was ready. It made sense in his mind, she would be able to use her free hand to Firebend, which was far more useful than anything he could provide at the moment. 

Inhaling deeply, Y/N looks to Toph, “Toph, I need you to climb up my body, and grab Sokka’s free hand, okay?”

Toph’s death grip on her hand seems to grow stronger, tears brimming her eyes, “I- I don’t think I can.” 

Y/N shakes her head at these words, “yes, yes you can. Bring your legs up to grab my lower body, and then make your way up, okay? Like a tree.”

Toph shook her head rapidly, “I’ve never climbed a tree!”

Sokka couldn’t help but grow impatient as he exclaimed, “there are soldiers coming, Toph please!” His hand was growing sweaty as he used his free hand to throw his sword at one of the oncoming soldiers, effectively knocking him down. 

Y/N felt her arm swing slightly, and watched as Toph blindly extended her legs, finally managing to wrap them around her legs. She released Y/N’s hand and wrapped both arms around her lower body, slowly inching upwards until her legs were around Y/N’s waist and her arms were on her shoulders. “Good job, now reach up, as far as you can, and Sokka’s gonna grab your hand.” Y/n instructed using her free hand to pat the hand that Toph had wrapped around her.

Y/N could feel the young girl’s tears fall onto her shirt as she extended her hand upwards, Sokka’s freehand moving as far down as possible. The strain on Y/N’s body slowly becoming too much as tears leaked out of her eyes.

Maybe it would be better to just... let go.

She quickly shook off those thoughts, Toph, Toph, Toph, she couldn’t do anything brash until Toph was safe. Y/N watched as Sokka’s hand narrowly missed Toph’s. “Sokka, please.” Y/N whispered, looking to him with pleading eyes.

Maybe it was the desperation he heard in her voice that moment, or maybe it was pure luck, put his fingers grazed Toph’s and he latched on, extending his arm as far as possible and gripping her hand. “Now let go of me, and Sokka’s gonna pull you up, okay?” Y/N explained, looking to Sokka, his eyes meeting hers. Y/N quickly realized he couldn’t lift either of them up. Just like her, this was straining his muscles, and Sokka was struggling to keep both of them up. 

“Sokka.” She said, demanding his attention, his eyes met hers, filled with fear as Toph relieved Y/N’s body of her weight and evened out the distribution on Sokka’s body. “You can’t fight back with both your hands taken.” More tears were streaming down her face as she spoke, “a-and... you can’t pull us both up.” Sokka was crying too now, shaking his head rapidly as Y/N simply pointed out the facts.

Toph’s grip on his hand tightened, “we’re all going to die.” There was resignation in her voice, and it hurt Y/N to hear it.

“We’ll figure it out. We are all going to be okay.” He stated firmly, a shaky breath leaving him as he made an attempt to pull them both upwards, a failed attempt.

Squeezing her eyes shut momentarily, Y/N allowed herself to imagine it, a life with Sokka and the rest of her friends. A life where they were all happy. Where everyone made it out of this war alive, and they helped bring balance to the world.

To give them that world, they had to end this war. And what was war without death?

Opening her eyes, she looked to Sokka, and he was panicked, noticing that far more soldiers had surrounded them and were preparing to mercilessly throw them off the balloon. “Sokka.” She repeated, and he looked to her with a tear streaked face. 

“I love you.” 

Everything seemed to slow as she spoke this words, and Y/N didn’t see the horror on his face for long as the grip of his hand faltered when she released it, he was screaming, crying, begging for her to stop. Toph clearly didn’t understand what was going on as she began to call out Y/N’s name in a panic. 

And then she was falling. 

It appeared there would be no after.

It felt peaceful, she decided. Falling. The stress on her body had dissipated and she caught one final glimpse of Sokka’s mortified face before going through the clouds. The comet was visible from where she was, the horizon, it was a beautiful way to die. But staring at the comet she realized she wanted to know what would come after, she realized that Toph was practically helpless and all Sokka had was a boomerang against dozens of Firebenders.

They would die. So, what was the point of her sacrifice? What was the point of her dying?

No, she wouldn’t be dying today.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N felt the power course through her veins, and she reminded herself that she was Y/N L/N, a force to be reckoned with. Nobody would forget that as fire tore through the soles of her shoes, and extended from her hands, propelling her upwards. 

She was the daughter of the famed Dragon of the West. And she would take on his mantle, she decided, as she flew upwards and through the clouds. 

She could see Sokka had managed to bring Toph upwards and onto the platform alongside him, and they were surrounded by Firebenders. It was clear that they’d seen her when their mouthes gaped open, and a few of the soldiers began to retreat, much to the chagrin of their commanding officer. Y/N found herself ceasing her Firebending and falling towards the platform, she landed in a roll and rose on one knee before opening her mouth and allowing fire to pour outwards.

The Firebenders fell off the bridges beside them one by one, and those who didn’t retreated back inside along with the others at the sight of the Air Balloon that Suki had evidently comandeered.

Closing her mouth, Y/N’s chest heaved, and she felt Toph tackle her from behind, “you’re alive!” She exclaimed, punching Y/N’s arm roughly, “idiot.” She dug her head into Y/N’s shirt.

“Yeah, I am an idiot.” Y/N replied breathlessly, holding the girl tightly.

When Toph finally released her, she gave her a smug look, “I’ll give you and him a minute.” Though this was partially an excuse to head back inside and into the safety of the balloon, maybe even attack some of the remaining Firebenders, it was also because Toph could read the room.

And there stood Sokka, mouth gaping open, tears streaming down his smiling face as he looked at her, before lunging towards her similar to how Toph had. Except his hands came to her cheeks as he brought their lips together, effectively knocking the two onto the ground of the platform, be pulled apart from her with a smile on his face, “I love you too.”

Yeah, after was looking pretty good right about now. 

A/N: i hope you guys liked this SUPER LONG THING WOW, that was an accident. i was super close to like breaking everyones hearts and killing Y/N but then i felt bad so be grateful i was nice ksaljdlahfkj

anyways take care of yourselves!

taglists:

atla:  @bubblebars @jada-cleo @art-flirt @the-deli-meat

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Magic Mom (1/5)

Warning: Talking about the death of Dick’s parents, but other that that you should be save  Word count: ~1k Summary: Being Batmans wife was one thing, being a strong magician a whole other thing, now, what happenes if you combine those two and add motherhood? Welcome to the life of the Batfam’s very own Magic Mom...

Requested by the great and amazing @imgayandilikeit: Batfam x Batmom who actually have magic. She met Bruce in he early years being Batman ( I kinda bad when making request like this 🤦‍♀️ , just say she and Bruce have been together from the beginning go through the whole DC event with him)

A/N: Okay, I didn't really know how to go with this so I decided since it's a Batmom fiction, after all, I'll split it into five parts following some of the biggest Batfam moments in fanfiction which are the children so: Dick's arrival, Jason's arrival, Jason's death, Tim's arrival, Damian's arrival (I usually don't like leaving the girls out, but this would have gotten way too much if I also added their arrivals). Hope you get it and that you like it 

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Dick's arrival - You had been married to Bruce ever since you had been old enough to get married, your whole life long only loving him and never doubting this feeling, it also helped to be a child of a magical prophecy that bonded you to him. Of course, Bruce being Bruce wasn't very fond of the idea that some higher power had created you to be meant for him, why it did that is unknown, but maybe it just took pity on him, but no matter how long and far he was away, he couldn't help but always come back to you. When he finally understood that the prophecy didn't make him love you, that it was still his heart that was beating faster when thinking about you, he decided that he'd screw his prejudice against magic and put a ring on it. And in retrospect, having a spouse that was born to master the magic arts could have some advantages. Bruce and you decided that you'd only help out in Gotham if there was a catastrophe and otherwise you were a part of the league and got called for magic emergencies alongside Zatanna and sometimes even Constantine who tried to recruit you for the justice league dark. But other than these exceptions, you were Gotham's lovely starlet, head of the fashion department of Wayne Enterprises Inc. Maybe it was the magic inside you, or it was just your personality, but people seemed to just be drawn to you, be it the people on Bruce's Galas (even though you could do without the attention of the old, rich men who tried to get you to dance with them), the Media or Bruce's 'colleagues'. It also helped that you were such a cheery, happy, loving woman. Your smile could light up Bruce's world. He knew his decision to spend the rest of his life with you was the best he ever made, so, when you asked him if the two of you could go visit the circus that was in the city, he immediately agreed and booked the tickets. He would never forget the look of horror in your eyes as the flying Graysons ceased to fly and left their young son to see them perish. He was able to feel the magic that was swirling around you, could basically feel that you wanted to change the situation using a spell, but he grabbed your hand tightly, trying his best to calm you down knowing that there was no way you could mend this situation. You loved him enough to agree, but you couldn't just do nothing after what you had seen, so you were the one who took the next step into your relationship by asking Dick if he wanted to come home with you. After the adoption was officially through, you spend as much time with Dick as he could take. You made it clear from the beginning that you weren't trying to replace his mother, that you never could, but that you would love him just the same. At first, you and Bruce had decided that you'd get Dick used to his new life, keeping both Bruce's alter ego as well as your talent for the supernatural under lock and key. That went well for a few months, Dick started to settle in and he may even have started to think of you as something similar to a mother, not quite at the point yet where he would ever tell anyone that, but near it. It wasn't until the two of you made a trip to the amusement park that you couldn't keep the act up anymore. Dick had begged you to go on the rollercoaster with him even though you weren't that big of a fan, saying that you had enough rollercoasters in your normal life already, but when he used his puppy eyes, you just couldn't say no. And it was fun, at first, it was fun until the two of you were at the highest point of the coaster and Dick's screams of joy ebbed away as he stared into the space that was leading to the ground. You could basically feel his panic and quickly looked over to him, seeing the terror in his eyes. There was no real thought process about what you did at that moment, and you were sure you would get an ear full about it later, but the only thing you could think of doing was putting your arm around him and mutter the words that would bring the two of you into his room in the blink of an eye. You were gently stroking your hand through his hair and muttered calming words into his ear until he was calmed down enough to realize the situation. Obviously you had a lot to explain after that, but oh boy, did you gain a fan after that. Dick practically begged you to use magic as often as possible after that. Did someone spill something? You can magic it away. The book you want to grab is too far up? Magic. You're too warm or too cold? Magic. The top you're wearing isn't the colour that you would like it to be? MAGIC! When he started his journey as Robin you were trembling on the edge of your seat beside Alfred every time they were away longer than usual and you would lie if you'd say that you didn't use your magic to heal his bigger wounds every time you could. He grew up quickly and the two of you formed a strong mother-son-bond, he even started calling you mom after just one and a half year, which was why it hit you hard when he and Bruce had their 'falling out' and he moved away, leaving you with a heavy heart.

[pomegranates-and-blood]

Headcannon: Shieldmaiden friend with his brothers

My Masterlist

Pairing: Ivar/Reader

Summary: “I was hoping I could request a headcanon of Ivar being nervous around a new shieldmaiden that is friends with his brothers? He finds her attractive, but that makes him nervous bc of his legs and what ppl have said all his life.”

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: My horrible attempts at whatever the fuck this ended up being, nothing else I can think of.

A/N: So yeah, I made a thing. Am I happy with the thing? Nope. Am I proud of the thing? Nopity nope. Am I gonna post it anyways and hope you guys don’t hate it? Yep.

But yeah, first time writing headcanons, first time diving head first into season 4 Ivar. I sincerely hope you like it, and idk, would love to hear your thoughts, good or bad, on this one. Thank you!

Taglist: @1950schick​​

·         You were one of the shieldmaidens to accompany Björn to the Mediterranean, and you grew close to both him and Hvitserk on the journey.

·         You joined the Great Heathen Army alongside your brother, and everyone was surprised to see Björn sprint towards you as soon as he saw your ship, lifting you off the ground in a tight embrace.

·         Although Sigurd isn’t too thrilled or interested in you, both Ubbe and Ivar are immediately drawn to you.

·         The former, because there’s rumors about how you once bested Björn when sparring with those curved swords.

·         The latter, for completely different reasons. Though, you being a great warrior does help.

·         With you being close to his brothers Ivar finds himself knowing more and more about you with every passing day, and in the midst of the war to avenge his father, with his heart heavy with pain and loss, he finds you, with your easy smiles and your friendly nature, a welcome distraction.

·         That’s what he calls it, at first. When he spends each chance he has watching you from afar, witnessing your interactions with the group of shieldmaidens you call sisters in arms; when he finds himself thinking of you late at night and early in the morning; when he realizes he misses you when you’re gone, even though he tells himself he has nothing to miss.

·         The realization that he actually feels something for you dawns on him when he sees some Dane warrior dancing with you on a feast after Aelle is conquered, and the urge to stake his claim, to go there and interrupt whatever it is that is happening before his eyes, fills him, makes an impulsive hand reach for the axe at his side.

·         Ivar is…well, Ivar, so there’s no way he’d willingly let you -or anyone else, for that matter- know that he’s interested in you.

·         Which he is. Very much so. Because, much to his growing frustration -in more ways than one- he can’t get you out of his head.

·         Still, that doesn’t mean he’d willingly disclose it. He isn’t subtle, though.

·         But people notice. His brothers notice.

·         Björn isn’t thrilled with it, but considering Aslaug isn’t alive to bend to Ivar’s will and have some poor girl forced into marriage with the youngest son of Ragnar, he isn’t too concerned. If something happens, it is because you choose it so, and that’s enough for him.

·         Ubbe bristles up. He knows bits and pieces of what happened with Margrethe, but he has been witness too many times of how Sigurd uses what happened with her against Ivar- something he swears one day will end in tragedy, thankfully nothing too difficult to contain or heal so far-; and he still feels responsible about setting up the whole thing. The last thing he wants is for it to happen again, with someone that is quickly becoming a close friend of him and his brothers.

·         And of course, Sigurd notices, and is cruelly delighted in it. He does try a couple of times teasing Ivar about it when you’re near, but you never stood for those kinds of games, so he was eventually discouraged from continuing.

·         Doesn’t stop him from privately tormenting Ivar about it. It is his duty as older brother after all, and since Ubbe is too busy mothering Ivar, and Hvitserk too busy trying to fuck his way through England, it falls unto him. He may go too far once or twice, but their relationship has always been that way.

·         Sigurd’s teasing only manages to put Ivar more and more on edge about these stupid -pathetic, useless, soft- feelings, and the few times you try getting close to him, he usually snaps at you or reacts badly.

·         Because you are very interested, even if you are much better at hiding it. Ivar proves to be incredibly smart, and with the march of the Great Heathen Army being the first time you’ve travelled this far from home, fought in so many important battles, you find yourself fascinated by him and the way he seems to understand what goes beyond fighting, what becomes war.

·         But, when you are try getting close to him with subtle flirting or soft touches, Ivar thinks you are pitying him or mocking him, and when you are more direct and try finding common ground to get to know each other, he thinks you’re pushing him away.

·         It confuses you, and frankly, it confuses him too.

·         It confuses everyone that has become an unwilling spectator to all of this.

·         Ivar does try his best at being nice to you, it just manages to backfire most of the time.

·         You could be sharing a meal with him and his brothers, and he’d try complimenting you, saying something about how you have proven to be a fine shieldmaiden. But feeling too many eyes on him, feeling like he left himself open for ridicule or rejection, he’d add something else, like how you are obviously aided by the fact you use weapons not familiar to Vikings.

·         He’d fuck most things up, is what I mean.

·         And he’d know -and you’d make it very much clear- that he has upset you, or made you angry.

·         He would try apologizing, but it is Ivar, so “I’m sorry” won’t leave his lips unless someone pries it off him, so, he’d try…alternative approaches.

·         First, gifts. Women like those, right? He’d try buying the prettiest, most expensive thing he can find, and leaving it for you to find. Or, if he is in a particularly good day -if he managed to get one up on Sigurd, maybe, that’d be a good day- he’d give it to you in person.

·         Throwing expensive things at you wouldn’t exactly work, making you feel inadequate and cheap. He notices, so he’d try something else.

·         He wants you closer, so he makes it so that you always sit with him and his brothers at the table where the leaders of the army dine.

·         Before long many men -including Harald, to whom Ivar notices you giving easier smiles than the rest, much to his horror- manage to sleaze their way to the chair at your other side, chatting with you during the nights, making you smile and laugh.

·         When word of how one of them tried talking your brother into a marriage arrangement reaches Ivar, he pulls back on his idea of having you sit with him.

·         To you, it just looks like a rejection, and Ivar notices you grow colder, more distant.

·         With the threat of how desired you have proven yourself to be, a beautiful woman and a fierce shieldmaiden, hanging over his head, Ivar grows more and more restless, and resolute he has to prove to you he can offer you much more than any of these men can.

·         He tries everything he can think of. Make it so that you are there when he beats his brothers in target practice, boast about how his strategy was what won them many a battle against the Saxons, repeat the tales about how he and his brothers are descended from the Gods themselves.

·         When Ivar makes the contraptions for his legs, he goes to find you with -barely contained, he shouldn’t even bother trying to hide it really- enthusiasm, trying to show off in front of you.

·         He ties a lot of his self-worth into how people perceive him, into how much of a ‘normal man’ he can pass off as, and as we know he stands a lot prouder and a lot more confident once he gains more control of the Great Army and manages to make those things.

·         When you see him, though, even though he is preening and standing tall, chin high and shoulders squared; all you do is look at the contraptions around his legs and back into his eyes.

·         “You’re a better fighter without those.” You’d say, and nothing else.

·         Ivar would sulk. There’s no way to impress you, nothing he can do to make you look at him with that mischievous streak you share with Hvitserk, or that companiable closeness you have with Björn.

·         Anger would quickly enough win over any impulse to sulk and feel sorry for himself, though.

·         He’d eventually grow colder, crueler, towards you. He’d feel like you rejected him, and being angry towards you -and in return making you be angry towards him- gives him someone to blame, gives him some way of letting the pain have form, have a target for all the mess of emotions it leaves inside him.

·         When Björn starts making plans to return to the Mediterranean, he fully expects to see you depart following his brother and never seeing you again.

·         He hates himself for grieving the loss of you, someone he never had, someone that -as far as he knows- never cared about him anyways.

·         But he does. The day when Björn and those who choose to come with him will depart East approaches, and Ivar is more on edge than ever.

·         Restless, angry, and with no one to blame but himself. But, of course, he won’t do that, no.

·         He taunts you, makes jabs at you and how you run after Björn like an enamored thrall, points out you choose to sail a ship like a coward instead of staying here -staying with him- and fighting the Saxons.

·         When you snap back, voice loud and eyes furious, that you were never planning on sailing back with Björn, you manage for once to stun Ivar into silence.

·         You don’t even give him time to hold on to cruelty, to the pain and anger he uses as both a weapon and a shield. You stand up from the table and leave the hall.

·         Hvitserk doesn’t lift his head from his food, but still grumbles that he should go after her. At Ivar’s affronted frown, Ubbe insists that he should, offering his little brother a sly smile and something about going to find his woman.

·         Ivar would deny to his very grave and beyond it that his ears turned red at the implication behind Ubbe’s words.

·         But he did, trying to dispel thoughts that told him how he was running after you like a lovesick puppy.

·         When he finds you, you are still angry, because of course you are. And your anger is to Ivar like an electric shock over an exposed nerve, drawing out all the vitriol and fury and explosiveness.

·         Before long he has managed to make you angrier than he has ever seen you, and your voices rise with your tempers.

·         A second time you manage to stun Ivar into silence comes shortly after the argument between the two erupts.

·         He doesn’t even remember what he was about to say, only that with a few words about how you chose to stay with the Great Army for him makes all the thoughts on his head disappear.

·         Before he can twist himself into knots about it, thinking how it must surely be a lie, how you are playing some cruel trick on him; you lean in and kiss him.

·         Ivar doesn’t know how to react, not at first. The only woman he has kissed before was a slave his brother instructed to sleep with him, and he refuses to think of that night, of that woman.

·         He stays frozen under your touch, until you pull back, and smile.

·         He realizes when lack of air makes your kiss end that in your eyes you don’t have that glint of playfulness you share with Hvitserk, or that comfortable understanding you have with Björn; but something more tender, more real, and definitely hungrier.

____

So yeah, that’s that. I have never written headcanons before, and I struggle a lot with season 4 Ivar (who am I kidding, I struggle with writing Ivar in general) even tho he is my favorite Ivar. Idk, I gave it my best, hopefully I can learn from this and get better at it lol

Thank you so much for reading, lovelies!! <3

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Shadow Into Light (Lena Restrospective) Finale!: Lena In Season 3! (Commission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome to the FINAL part of my look at the life and times of Lena Sabrewing. It’s been a long and satsifying journey through the character’s rich arc and some of Ducktales 2017′s best episodes. Lena started as a tourtured but complacient teen willing to do bloody awful evil things if it meant her freedom, who through the power of love and friendship realized what she was doing wrong, that she loved Webby and turned on Magica... and after a brief stint of this going horribly wrong a magica simply just bodyjacked her, she sacrificed herself for Webby he story seemingly done. Of course it wasn’t, Disney woudln’t let them kill a teenager... fully grown lion men horrifcally decaying indiana jones style yeah, of course it’s disney, but killing a teen is where they draw the line. Point is Lena was merley trapped in the shadow realm with a bunch of those guys Yugi beat and with the help of everyone’s faviorte stoic hummingbird, freed Lena. Lena found new family in Violet.. but also found dying is easy but living is harder and had to wrestle with both her fears of turning out like Magica and Magica herself who naturally was gaslighting her to try and get the last scraps of her power back. We also took a detour or two to see where she came from: looking at both Minima De Spell and her rivalry with a 34 year pretending to be a small child, and Magica’s Shadow whose like Lena except almost nothing like Lena. We also took a look at her one comic apperance which was never released here for some reason and was incredibly disapointing. 

So yeah i’ts been one long, fun ride filled with gay subtext, launchpad’s spider sense, giant legs, movie refrences from warriors to jaws to nightmare on elm street 3: the dream warriors, toddlers who look and probably are 34, launchpad apparently huffing enough paint to damage his brain as that’s the only way to explain the terror of the terrafirmains subplot and gay subtext. I’ve enjoyed every step of the way so before I take the last one of those steps, i’d like to thank all of ya for reading this. I’ve gained at least 10 if not more followers off this series alone and I appricate all of you. I’d also like to thank Kev for directly comissioning this, keeping me in work and in x-men comics since 2020. 

As you can probably guess by the title.. this one’s a bit different. This is a combination of two things: The first is that i already reviewed “The Phantom and the Sorceress” when I was reviewing each episode of Season 3 as it came out.  My thoughts have not changed  at all so I felt redoing that review would be redudant and a waste of Kev’s money. The same goes for Split Sword, which has the extra issue of  being a three story episode with only one of the parts starring the focus of this retrospective. The second is while she shows up about the same amount as season 2, her apperances in season 3 outside of her Christmas Cameo are all more substaial outside of her two starring roles. Both COTHJSW and The Last Adventure shed some more light on our faviorite shadow and feel like natural evolutions of her character so it felt wrong to just flat out ignore them. 

So rather than do a full review of the episodes i’m just going to go into Lena’s apperances for Season 3. This way I can cover Phantom again without fully repeating myself, and fully track the last steps Lena takes as the series closes out in a fresh and hopefully enjoyable way. So join me under the cut for one last step into the shadows as we finish bringing Lena into the light. 

Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!

Challenge was one of the very first Ducktales I ever talked about on here, alongside Quack Pack, so it’s quite a trip returning to it a year later, even if i’ts just my memories of it. It’s also an excellent episode, with a great and engaging main plot and a “it’s just kind of there” subplot. 

It’s also one of the only three episodes to focus on Violet, and one of only two that focuses just on her and not on Lena in any way. It is a shame: While I love Lena as a character, I wouldn’t of just spent several weeks talking about her if I wasn’t getting paid for this retrospective or not, Violet is equally intriguing and so i’ll be taking a second out to talk about her as I really HAVEN’T gone into her character this retrospective and given how important she is to Lena and to all of us, most Lena fans like Violet just as much and vice versa. I’ll still be talking about Lena in this episode, obviously, but I feel her sister from two misters deserves some time in the spotlight too as the show only gave her three episodes, and one was more focused on Webby and Lena by design and the other we’ll get to. 

Violet is an excellent character. She speaks well and with little emotion but that’s just how she is and she’s never called out for it or insulted, something I like. Likewise she dosen’t judge others, never really batting an eye at the rest of the groups own quirks and at most being freaked out by leg huey a bit. She’s just a kind, curious, intellgent young lady. 

And this episode shows that off: We get to see her in the spotlight of her own, every bit the Woodchuck Huey is and more, but still supporting and encouring him, seeing their contest as a friendly one and putting no stakes into it as she’s failed before, she can fail again. What matters is she get back up and keep going. Her “razzing” is also just downright adorable, and nicely shows off her and Lena’s new dynamic: they’ve gone from friends to siblings, something really not shown off last time and something that wason’t confirmed on screen till now but it just works naturally, the cool and collected but chaotic underneath that lena just plays perfectly off the uttelry calm and deadpan violet. It’s a natural, perfect dynamic that they clearly had mapped out from the beggining and simply had to build up to that. 

Her genuine shock at Huey’s betryal... hurts the heart, as she genuinely thinks it’s her fault and not just my boy having a panic attack and doing something questionable. But it also shows her character.. when givne the same opprunity and no guilt for it, he struck first.. she dosen’t. She saves him because it’s the right thing to do and shows Huey she really is the bettter woodchuck.. but htere’s no shame in it. It’s okay to fail, what matters is you keep trying. And as a result despite giving Huey the opporunity to win with her.. he turns it down. She gets a deserved win, celebrating with her family and just wearing the most adorable smile. She also just has.. buckets of chemistry with Huey. I mean it was apparent to me with the whole Library Scene in Nightmare but god damn do they ramp it up with this one. They just contrast each other perfectly here, the handshake is adorable and he clings to her.. while also being hilarious “I naturlaly defer to authority!”. I will take this ship to my grave, and fully support it... that being said if you ship Huey/Boyd or all three togehter, go for it man. I do the latter sometimes. Your good. You didn’t need me to tell that but sometimes shipping discorse can get downright ugly so rather than make it a war between two ships, I just wanted to offer an olive branch for once you know? Same with Weblena. I obviously adore that ship but if you have a non-boys ship with her, tha’ts cool too. Ship what you want to.. i’m just doing me through this retrospective. 

Now back to Lena. Her apperance in this episode is really heartwarming and really nice after all the shit she’s been through. This is the first episode she’s in where NOTHING bad happens to her. No really, every apperance, even her two cameos had her suffer in some way. She spent the entire first season grappling with Magica, and her season 2 apperances trapped in a shadow dimension and nearly loosing her girlfriend to her own jealously, horrifically stalked by her abuser using her own self doubt against her, attacked by a literal tempest in a tea pot and captured by aliens. The girl has not gone one friggin onscreen break since the series started and probably not many off it either. 

Here? She just gets to cheer her little sister, proudly celebrating both her and her new dads. She gets to teach her sister to trash talk, even if that ends up backfiring a bit but she meant well. And she gets to celebrate with her family when her little sister wins. It’s all small stuff.. but it’s all things she’s NEVER had. A sibling to be proud of and support. Dads to sit with and go places with. A family to celebrate things with. This is all pretty normal stuff, but not something everyone gets to have and something Lena NEVER had even remotely. But now she’ll ALWAYS have that. A supportive loving family to give her a place to belong, and to support in turn. After a nightmarish 14-15 years of existance, she’s FINALLY allowed to just be happy without having to fight a giant monster first. 

She’s finally made it, she’s hoped and she’s waited, for the first time in her life she dosen’t feel alone. Her hearts started to heal, to know this is real, this is how it feels.. to have a home. Yes I haven’t given up on that song. And if you think this is the last time i’m going to quote a song you clearly didn’t read the review I did of the next episode. 

The Phantom and the Sorceress:

Season 3′s primary focus outside of the FOWL plot was tying up loose ends. Pretty much every major recurring episode outside of Fethry got an episode tying up their character arc and of course Lena was no exception.

You’d think with Magica no longer a threat to her and having fully accepted she’s a good person now, and having found a place to belong that Lena was done.  But while she accepted her past, that she’s not magica, and that she deserves to be happy.. she never accepted Magic as part of her despite being made of it and that’s what this episode ties up as well as the mystery of the blue aura that surronded her magic at times. 

The episode starts with Lena’s amulet, which she has back now which is the only part of this episode I don’t like as they don’t really explain why she’d take it back from Violet. But her magic keeps goofing up and making Sleepovers dangerous, and gets Scrooge grousing about how magic is bad.. only to naturally backpedal when an angry Webby points out Lena is magic. He does amend things and genuinely apologize for it, having not meant her at all and not even thinking of her as part of his hatred of the stuff. It also shows why Lena likely didn’t take him up on his offer.. with her self loathing still going she probably thought he was just pitting her and would always resent her.. when really he just geninely did not care despite his overwhelming hate of magic. It worked out granted, she found a better fit for her family wise.

But Lena hates it too.. and while she hasn’t fully brought it up before it makes perfect sense: We saw how she viewed it as dangerous and not worth the risk to bring her back in Friendship Hates Magic and Magic has brought her nothing but pain, nearly killing her on several occasions, allowing magica to fuck with her head  or directly control her and general putting the one person she cares about more than anyone in harms way. She hates what she is.. because it’s brought her nothing but pain and misery. She has ever reason to resent it..

Yet this episode is about forcing her to accept it.... to realize that Magic is part of who she is, and that it’s not inherently good or bad, it’s all about the intent of who uses it. Her last two uses of it were not made with any malice and in fact using it to pull her friends into her dreams allowed her to break free of Magica. 

And it’s perfectly done by giving her a new enemy, something I REALLY wish tehy’d done with Fenton at some point, but get why it took this long with Lena: The Phantom Blot. The Phantom Blot, like many characters in this series is HEAVILY redone: he keeps the iconic look and threat level but instead of being an operatic supervillian, he’s an anti-villian with a link to magic he never really had before. He works with FOWL sure but it’s likely because unlike the rest of FOWL he actually agrees with Bradford’s goal for a less chaotic world and his desire to wipe out magic is perfectly in line with that. 

He’s also given a backstory that perfectly parallels him with Lena: Both were created by Magica in a way and horribly abused by her: Lena mentally and phsycially, and Blot by having to suffer under her rule after he took over her family and then barely survivie as she wiped out his villiage, his family and his normal life swearing vengance on her. LIke Lena magica didn’t care about him or see him as a threat, figuring like most people who swore eteneral vengance on her he’d get swatted down like a gnat once and never return. INstead he returned again and again and again for decades, learning each time getting stronger and wiping out more magic along the way. He went from what was probably a good normal person to a vengeful vigliante dedicated to wiping out magic good or bad because he can’t concieve that it isn’t ALL bad. He’s easily what Lena could’ve become if , ironically enough she hadn’t encountered him, seeing the end result of hating something just for what it is as it tried to murder her. That hating and resenting Magic would just lead her to become as hollow and vengful as the blot, having a good cause to start.. but slowly loosing yourself to hate and anger. Letting the person who ruined your life still control it simply by focusing all your energy on hating them and people like them. 

It also gives us an interesting and painful teamup as with the boys and Scrogoe stuck in another dimension, there’s only one person they can turn to deal with Magic: Magica herself, whose resulted to depression eating pizza and the most she can do as a threat is eat the garlic Violet was wearing in case of vampires (”There now your susceptible to vampires!” is easily the best joke of the episode, from how Magica eats the garlic in one bite to her manical laugh to Violet just being annoyed rather than terrified or anything). Magica only agrees because they have a common enemy and if he sucks up her magic amulet, that’s the end of any magic she has left. 

It’s also here we learn the reason for the blue and purple color coding: Duckworld magic is indeed color coded.. but rather than be based ont he emotions used or anything.. it’s based on the user. The purple is Magica, and as we later learn Poe’s, magic, and thus Lena borrowing it via the amulet. The Blue is HER magic. Tapping into her emotions and her own inante power. It’s a nice twist I didn’t see coming but makes absolute sense in hindsight: Every time she’s triggered it.. it’s been when she’s been using her own emotions and been doing thigns for her own good, and not for anyone elses. It also explains why the Magica powers aren’t working for her or stable: their not HERS to control and thus are fighting her. 

So she trains to use her own using the time honorted traditions of montages and having your sibling shoot things at you out of a magical amulet. She grows in her talent and power and herself, even if she learns from the person she hates more and comes to accept magic.. in time to fight the Blot who misguidedly thinks harming her will show Magica the pain he felt.. even though as we learn later that ship already sailed and we already knew she cares nothing for Lena. 

But as he drains her amulet... she focuses on what she cares about... and if we didn’t already ahvea  MOUNTAIN of subtext for webby and lena her “frienddship” montage has maybe one or two shots of her sister.. and about 80 of webby. Seriously they.. they weren’t even hiding it at this poitn outside of the finale, which we’ll get to. 

And so she takes hold of her magic, no longer need the amulet to channel it and taking on her super mode! Which was highly contreversal at the time.  BUt I get why. As a transformation, ala dragon ball, and a superhero type costume it works, giving her a power and grandeur not seen before and showing she’s using all of it, giving weight to when it only shows up in the finale when she needs it most and likely would’ve given it weight any other time it showed up. But it wasn’t clear if this was her permenant look now and Frank’s response to it was to say he wanted to dress everyone up in that outfit , at the same size Lena has it, including launchpad wearing it like a cape. Which while hilarious and it was, was also blatant trolling as her return in Split Sword showed it wasn’t her default form, and they could relax. But as a form showing the apex of her power, character development and confidence, it works and has all the drama i’d expect from a form like this, reflecting the blot’s power back onto him and overloading the gauntlet and facing down Magica easily. 

It’s the perfect way to cap things off... Lena finally acccepts herslef as she is fully: she’s not evil and neither is magic.. magic is a part of her and her power is not something to hate.. but to embrace. To use to protect the world from people LIKE Magica who would misue their power to harm others or the blot who belivie her power is inherently evil. This is a lena freed from the chains of self hatred, fully accepted. It turns her story into a wonderful, beautiful story of escaping abuse and accepting yourself as who you are, that no matter what you are or where you come from, you are beautiful, you are good and you can do good. And as she flies off with her sister and girlfriend, she’s finally, fully, truly at peace with who she was who she is now and flies into the future.. and to free her girlfirends dad from another dimension. Nothing is holding her back now, no one can push her around, she’s who she wants to be, she’s the master of her, and the thoughts enough to lift her off of the ground. She and Webby are independent together and they are flying. And yes i’m linking the song again. 

But even with her character Arc Wrapped she still could support others in their own growth. Case in point:

The Split Sword of Swanstantine!

This was the vingette episode, with a pair of the kids, one from Team Magic the other from the Duck Boys, going after a piece. And while Violet’s segment is neat it dosent’ really expand on her enough for me to go into it like I did with Challenge, so i’ll only be covering the cold open and Lena and Huey’s segment. Given these two are some of my faviorites, Lena hasn’t really gotten to have any meaningful interactoins with anyone besides Webby, Violet and Magica (And scrooge but for like.. two minutes), and this bit is really creative and intresting I loved it. It also has Steelbeak so I got a nice Jason Mantzokus fix on top of that despite him barely getting to speak in this one.. and really all season. Season 3 REALLY wasted Steelbeak, only using him three times and just ignoring the whole idea of him growing more compitent with time. Maybe Frank’s saving that for darkwing duck if he gets to do that I dunno. At least Invincible and Close Enough are using the man properly so I got that. 

THe setup to the episode as a whole is comedic gold: Scrooge has taken the kids to Monocrow to find the split sword, one of the missing mysteries before FOWl.. only to then realizze in one of the best jokes of the season, after HOURS of plane travel probably that Violet and Lena had also come along having slept over and thus spending the episode in their sleep clothes. As Violet puts it in LIebe’s best delivery of the series “You said eveyrone get on the plane so we got on the plane”. So, fricking relatable. Scrooge’s awkard “Do you.. like history?” is also great, David is a treasure, as if he’s just now realizing he really dosen’t know Webby’s closest friend and girlfriend and is scrambling for some common ground so he can stop talking. 1/2′s good enough and we’re off. 

Lena and Huey’s plot, the final one of the three, likewise has a simple setup: Huey finds the sword piece.. and also Steelbeak, whose ready to punch  him some children. Lena freezes time as she can do that but can’t delay the inveitble, just give them time to plan. 

And this is a nice showcase for Huey and a nice chance for Lena to be snarky as Huey wants to try anything and everything he can do that dosen’t involve fighting as he hates it and Lena endulges him as he gets tossed around, playing on her phone while he tries dumb scheme after dumb scheme from prtending to be his dad, to his inner child, to construction to offering him a snack, to “what sword piece” while hodling the sword blade twice his side behind his back.

Lena eventually calls him on it: He can’t keep avoiding this and there’s some reason he dosen’t want to fight. The reason turns out to be he bruce bannered himself and thus has a split personality for all his agression and primal rage, the duke of making a mess,  Huey’s version fo the McDuck family anger he’s buried away and is ashamed of, hating his  more impuslive emotions due to his desire for control. 

As for how Lena impacts this.. it’s her own acceptance of the part of her she hated, her magic, that gives her the clarity to help Huey, helping him realize like her this shit isn’t healthy and to make peace with the Duke instead of fighting him and locking him away. The result is a perfect combo: a huey with all the power and strength of a mcduck, but the nuance and tactics Huey normally has to beat Steelbeak easily. Lena is impressed, a friendship is forged and we see how far sh’es come: from hating herself.. to helping others stop doing it before it gets worse. 

How Santa Stole Christmas!

All we really learn here is that she and Violet share a room and a king sized bed.. but we got that cheek smooch and I had to mention that so there you go. 

The Last Adventure!:

Like most of the main cast Lena gets a decent note to go out on, if a bit wobbly. The wobblyiness comes from two sources. The first is just a nitpick of mine; We don’t get to see the climax of her fight with the Blot alongside Manny. No really. The Blot got two spotlight episodes, his own sidekick/wife/amy sedaris, and was built up as one of FOWL’s biggest threats.. and his defeat isn’t even shown on screen for some damn reason. I feel they just ran out of time but given how important Lena and Manny were series wide and how awesome the keith david reveal was, it’s a cop out

Speaking of Cop Outs we can’t talk about this episode without talknig about the elephant in the room: Lena saying Webby “already has two sisters”, seemingly shooting down any posiblity of Weblena. I do not see it that way but do feel the two could’ve phrased it better and we could’ve gotten SOME Weblena by the end instead of none to offset this. I feel Lena’s motivations, esecpailly given the context were purely to try and placate Webby to keep her from investigating the twins further and endangering herself, not realizing how badly this wouldn’t work as Lena’s never cared about where she comes from and her past is all pain and abuse before Webby, while Webby had this gnawing at her her whole life. I do think the last episode was the WORST POSSIBLE place to put this, as it comes off as queerbaiting evne though I don’t think that was the intent. So yeah this line sucks and was poorly conveyed. 

Everything else though is thankfully excellent: Her raging frekaout at June feels warranted, as June is literally trying to cut Webby out of her life and was purposffully trying to galight webby as we find out. Her and Violet’s reason for going is also just pure awesome, pure heartwarming and pure badass, both angrily and simply proclaming when stating why their going on the final attack no fowl “It’s Webby”. Webby helped Lena become a better person and lnvoes her more than anyone else and vice versa and Webby gave Violet Friends, a sister and a life of her own. Nothings going to stop them and Scrogoe wisely backed down on that one before they strangled him. 

Her final scene is the best though: Not only do she and Violet give May and June friendship braclets but despite the earlier hostlitlity... Lena helps them with not a second though. She now understands them, gets that their like her: a being made by an evil dickhead who saw them as a tool to use and not a person and was willing to kill them the moment they were no longer useful. She too was once lost, sad and felt alone..but Webby pulled her out of that and now she’s going to be there for these two, these alterante versions of the love of her life, to give them the same support and encourages them they’ll find their home. And sure enough my boy comes by not a second later to adopt both of them. In an instnat they’ve gone from alone with only webby like Lena was.. to having a family of their own and loyal friends to stay by their sid.e 

And so Lena ends the series charing off into the wild blue with her sister and her newfound friends, the future all ahead of her, the past finally put to bed, and herself finally at peace, in love with Webby.. and with herself at long last. 

This retrospective was a wonderful time. I throughly enjoyed going through Lena’s history and being more and more impressed how much I’d missed and how it was even BETTER the second time around. This arc is Ducktales at it’s best and Lena is the finest thing they acomplished. This is easily Kimiko Glenn’s best role and really let her show off her range. Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ll see of this wonderful lesbian shadow, but as it stands with peace, love and self worth found, it’s still a good place to leave her. If she ever returns i’ll of course pick this up again, and free of charge but for now I enjoyed the ride and throughly enjoyed this retrospective. T

Thank you all so much for reading. If you liked this retrospective, please stick around. My next comissioned story arc is covering the various crossovers Lilo and Stitch did, but after that in three weeks return here for Season 2. All three arcs, All done intermidtley. Buckle up. 

Until then follow for more, and join my patreon. My next stretch goal is monthly reviews of darkwing duck and reviews of the super ducktales mini series, and after finsihing this post i’m going to throw in some extra non-duck ones! 25 is being changed up from covering Tailspin every month, to covering a Danny Phantom episode every month, and the beloved special ultimate enemy. So check that out. I may throw in some more on both 20 and 25 so stay posted. And just for joining at the 2 dollar tier you get acess to my discord server and get to pick one of the shorts for my varoius shortstaculars I do. Next one up is goofy’s birthday with Donalds in june so join now! 

ANd if you just have one speciifc episode I haven’t covered you’d like me to, those are 5 bucks a pop on commission and available via my ask box, direct messages on here or discord at technicolormuk#6550 and until the next rainbow i’ts been a pleasure

[365days365movies]

March 12, 2021: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Part One)

I am so goddamn excited for this one.

Back to Greek mythology, my first mythological love! And not just Greek mythology, because this...THIS...this is the first true Avengers story. Oh, yeah, like The Avengers.

After all, mythology produced the first equivalent of our modern superheroes, with demigods and legends that wield fantastic abilities and powerful items to fight the forces of evil. I mean, it’s the most superhero thing I can think of, and it’s literally a story as old as time. Fact of the matter is, I love superheroes, and I love mythology. Which is why I’m excited to finally see an adaptation of one of the biggest superhero team-up stories ever: Jason and the Argonauts!

See, it all starts with Hera, queen of the Olympians and petty as FUCK.

See, the newly (and wrongfully) ascended king of Iolcus, Pelias, honored the gods after stealing the throne from his brother. Well, all of the gods except Hera. So, Hera, rightfully pissed off, decides to fuck Pelias over by recruiting his nephew, Jason. Jason’s a naturally hot blonde kid who was raised by the centaur Chiron, also making him wise...theoretically.

Hera tests this kid, and he passes, so she gives him her favor, and tells him to fuck up his uncle. Jason arrives in Iolcus, and demands the throne from Pelias. His uncle agrees, IF he can bring back the Golden Fleece, a legendary treasure that is guarded by a vicious monster and a zealous king. Pelias didn’t think Jason had any chance, but Jason had the gods on his side. They sent their best subjects to his aid, and Jason procured an awesome ship, the Argo. So, who’s coming to help? Oh, you ready for this? ARGONAUTS ASSEMBLE

Now there are anywhere between 46-85 heroes that are assembled in the Argonauts, with different members in different iterations of the myth. But the big members are:

Heracles, son of Zeus, with the strength of a thousand men

Orpheus, son of the muse Calliope, and master musician

Calais and Zetes, sons of the North Wind, with the ability to fly upon it

Atalanta, the swift-footed huntress, and only female member

Castor and Pollux, twin half-brothers (yeah, really) and horse-riders

Theseus, son of Poseidon, and slayer of the Minotaur

Tip of the iceberg there, but you get the point: we’ve got a superhero team on our hands! And these heroes would perform MANY great deeds on their journey to the Fleece. They fought the Harpies to defend an oracle, they passed the dangerous Clashing Rocks, they battled the Stymphalian Birds, with feathers of metal. Sirens, fire-breathing bulls, and a giant bronze man named Talos.

Different one. Eventually, they procured the Golden Fleece on the island of Colchis, where they fought a dragon with a help of the young sorceress (and niece of Circe), Medea. She fell in love with Jason, and the two fled the island, married, and had twins. Only for Medea to reveal herself as a stone-cold sociopath, and only for Jason to ditch her for another woman. That goes...VERY badly for Jason. Breaking off his marriage pisses off Hera, THE GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, and he dies sad and alone after Medea does...Medea does a lot, I’ll just leave it at that. Jason, completely fucked at that point, takes a nap at the foot of the now rotting Argo, which collapses on top of him and kills him.

For the record, I truncated that story A LOT. There’s a lot to it, but I have a movie to watch, goddamit! And I’m really excited because this is my first Harryhausen movie! You know, Ray Harryhausen, one of the early greats of practical special effects in film? A specialist in stop-motion from its earliest days, he revolutionizes the art throughout films in the 1950s and 1960s, with this one being one of the most successful. You’ve definitely seen his influence, from stuff that he’s done directly...

...to those inspired by him and his methodology...

...to the arts that were descended indirectly from his groundbreaking effects.

Oh yeah, I’m fucking GOING THERE. Fun fact: Ray Winston Studios, a stop-motion group active during the ‘80s and ‘90s, and a descendant of Harryhausen’s works, were originally going to do the animation for the dinosaurs in this movie, in Claymation. However, the recent advent of advanced animatronics, alongside ILM’s founding, caused them to take some of those principles, and apply them to CGI and animatronics. So, yeah, I’m claiming an indirect connection here!

Anyway, enough being a nerd, LET’S WATCH THE GODDAMN MOVIE! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

As the bombastic and epic score plays, the credits role of a Greek-style fresco, detailing the various adventures of the Argonauts. And before the movie starts, I come to a realization: there is a high chance that I’m going to hate this movie’s inaccuracies to Greek mythology. It’s not impossible. I’m real persnickety about my mythology adaptations, just warning you all now. I’ll probably get into it in this Recap, too. Full goddamn warning.

We begin with a seer, reading the future for the treacherous Pelias (Douglas Witmer). He sees first a Golden Fleece at the end of the world, but Pelias ignores this, and asks of his upcoming conquest of the kingdom of...Thessaly. Not, uh...not Iolcus. Mmmkay.

The seer fortells that Pelias will seize the throne, by force, from his brother and the king of Thessaly...Aristo...not Aeson. OK then. The seer says that he will be successful, but will eventually fall to one of Aristo’s kids, who will take his throne. He has two daughters, Philomena and Briseis, and one son, Jason. Looks like they’re gonna die, too.

The invasion begins! Amongst the chaos, Briseis (Davina Taylor) takes her baby sister, Philomena, into the temple of Hera, and pleads to her for her protection. However, they’re found by Pelias, who asks who she is. He’s interrupted by a priestess of Hera, who claims that the Queen Goddess has answered the girl’s prayer for protection.

Pelias responds in kind.

Well...I’m sure that’s gonna piss off Hera. He claims it to be the will of Zeus, but she states that it is his will, not Zeus’. The gods have abandoned him, and he will one day fall to a one-sandaled man, Jason. And as the woman reveals this...she disappears. Nice. FUCKIN’ NICE.

This “priestess” is Hera (Honor Blackman), of course. She goes to her husband, Zeus (Niall MacGinnis), and asks if he ordered Pelias to destroy and profane her temple. He says no, as that was Pelias’ attempt to stave off his inevitable fall by Jason. However, Jason has escaped Pelias’ wrath, as has his sister Philomena. Hera decided, however, that she wants to take down Pelias, and Jason is the best was for that to happen. Hence, she wishes to sponsor Jason.

However, Zeus, being the classic misogynist, says that he will allow it, but she may only help Jason 5 times, once for each time that the fallen Briseis prayed to her. She agrees, and waits 20 years to start fuckin’ with Pelias. Pelias, meanwhile, is growing more paranoid over the one-sandaled man prophecy that Hera gave him.

One day, on the bank of a river, Hera appears to make Pelias fall off of his horse into the river. He’s saved from drowning by a young man, who loses his sandal in the process. This is, of course, Jason (Todd Armstrong), who was already on his way to see Pelias for some reason.

For the record, this is an adaptation of the original story, in which Hera disguises herself as an old beggar-woman, and Jason proves himself to her by helping her across the river, after which she gives him her favor. To be honest, I like this a bit more, or at least as much.

Pelias brings Jason back to a camp for a celebration, with him as an honored guest. Jason reveals exactly who he is, and that he was raised outside of the city by one of his father’s loyal soldiers. He has come to reclaim his right place as king of Thessaly, and to restore it to it’s rightful glory. However, Pelias hasn’t revealed himself as king, and asks Jason how he plans to accomplish these feats. Jason replies with his ultimate plan: obtain the Golden Fleece.

Here’s the deal about the Golden Fleece. One of the most legendary items in Greek mythology, the fleece is essentially a symbol of royalty, and is the coat of a ram with wings found on the island of Colchis. Now, the meaning of the fleece has long been debated, with the main consensus stating that it’s a symbol of royalty. However, some claim that it’s a symbol of prosperous farming (golden grains of wheat), the forgiveness of the gods for some unknown deed, Zeus in the form of a ram, or simply the promise of the unknown at the edge of the world.

What it DEFINITELY ISN’T is a magical healing garment, as Jason claims it to be. But OK, whatever, we need a good reason to get the Fleece, sure. Pelias, not revealing himself, says that Jason should try to get the Fleece, with a boat and a crew, and bring it back to Thessaly, returning and killing Pelias in order to take the throne. Of course, Pelias thinks that this is impossible, which he says to his son Acastus (Gary Raymond). He also knows that if he kills Jason, he it will mean his own destruction, as Hera told him.

Jason goes to ponder this journey, only to encounter the seer. The seer asks if he has come to pray to the gods, to which Jason states that he doesn’t believe in them, nor does he have cause to. The seer offers to give him that cause, and reveals himself as Hermes (Michael Gwynn), the swift-footed messenger god, god of medicine, and trickster god of the Olympians.

Hermes isn’t usually directly involved in the myths of Jason, but that’s OK. He also does something particularly unusual, and brings Jason TO Olympus to meet the Gods themselves. Which, uh...yeah, hot damn. Zeus and the rest arranged for Hermes to bring Jason to them. They ask how they can help him on his quest. Zeus offers him a ship and crew, but Jason refuses, much to the gall of EVERYBODY.

Hera helps him by telling him where to find the Golden Fleece: the island of Colchis, at the other end of the world. To get there, though, Jason’ll DEFINITELY need a ship. He decides to go to the shipbuilders of Greece, and tell them that great treasure lies on Colchis, and they may receive some for their aid. As for the crew, he’s got a similar tactic. Offer the reward to the athletes and heroes of Greece, who will compete in games to determine their eligibility.

Not from the original myths...but it actually makes a lot of sense. Goddamn, is this going to be a good adaptation? I’m excited! The games are held, and many athletes win their place on the journey. They include: Castor and Pollux (Ferdinando Poggi and John Crawford), Acastus, and of course, Heracles (Nigel Green). And yeah, he’s called Hercules here, but I don’t care.

When Hercules arrives, this grabs the attention of the young Hylas (John Caimey), who arrived to late to compete in the games. He challenges Heracles to something, believing that beating Heracles in something will guarantee him a place on the ship. 

While everyone mocks this, Heracles agrees to go up against him in a discus-throwing contest. They must hit or pass a rock in the ocean by throwing their discus. Heracles hits it easily, of course. And the frail Hylas...

...Nice. Did not see that coming, and that’s actually very smart. Also takes a lot of skill, because I could NOT do that. Hylas wins his place in the ship, to the delight of both the crowd and the Olympians. And yes, Hylas actually is a companion of Heracles in the original stories, so that’s neat!

Now for the boat, being built by master builder Argus (Laurence Naismith), who is coming on the ship with them. He notes that something appears to have guided his hand during the ship’s construction. In the original myth, that would be Athena. However, here, it’s probably Hera, as the figurehead is specifically carved in her image. And is also...alive?

Well...to be fair, in many myths, the ship contains wood built from a magical tree that could speak, and see the future. So, OK, magic ship, fair enough. Well, hopefully, that ship’s guidance will happen soon, as the voyage immediately proves difficult. No water, no rest, and frustrated men.

Jason asks the figurehead for help (which would be help #3) and Hera speaks through it to tell Jason to head to the Isle of Bronze, where Hephaestus once had his forge. However, the island is lorded over by a powerful something called Talos. I know what Talos is, but the movie hasn’t revealed him yet.

The Argo makes its way to the island, and the men head ashore to get food and water. They see goats there, which will provide them both food and drink, and Heracles and Hylas chase after them for just that aim. And that’s when they blunder into a giant bronze statuary, lorded over by the statue of Talos.

The two enter a chamber in the statue’s base, which is filled to the brim with gold and treasure. However, Jason warned the men of the Argo not to take anything from the island but food and water. Hylas remembers this, but Heracles doesn’t care, and takes a golden staff from the chamber. And Talos...Talos doesn’t appreciate that.

Oh, that’s a great place to take a break! See you in Part Two!

[gleamingrednuzlocke]

Chapter 3-On the Road

Neth, Cassia, and their Pokemon made it back to Viridian City, where they decided to chill at the Pokemon Center and drink some ice cold lemonade and chat for a bit because Cassia had some news to share to Neth that she wanted to tell him.

“Wait, you're doing Pokemon Contests?” Neth asked.

Cassia nodded. “Yep!” She replied. “After I saw contests live on TV a few years ago I figured doing that as my goal then the gym challenge like you or Miles.” She explained.

Neth smiled at his friend, as much as it was his, Miles and Cassia’s goal to do the gym challenge together, he realized that trainers need to find their own path in life, and if Cassia’s was to be a Pokemon coordinator, then a coordinator she wanted to be.

Shelby, who was eating berries with Morgan and Jasper, looked up at her trainer and asked, “What’s a Pokémon contest?” She asked.

With a smile Cassia explained, “A Pokémon contest is a performance where trainers, called coordinators, perform with their Pokémon. There are two rounds performing and a battle round.”

The Squirtle smiled interested in this conversation. “Oooh that sounds fun!”

“It is!” Cassia exclaimed. “Also you and I both get to dress up, and the battle isn’t like a typical gym battle!”

Shelby’s eyes glistened like stars hearing how fun contest battles were. She never thought of performing in front of everyone in Kanto before. The Squirtle then jumped on her trainer, her eyes growing bigger. “When is our first contest?” Shelby asked.

“In Cerulean City.” Cassia replied. “The contest is on Tuesday.”

“Well, we better get there, fast!” Shelby shouted.

Cassia chuckled, seeing the Squirtle was slowly starting to act like her now. “Relax Shelby.” She reassured her starter Pokémon. “We have plenty of time before Cerulean.” Cassia then went to her bag and pulled out her map and pointed at their current location; Viridian City. “So we’re here and it will take us till tomorrow morning to get to Pewter City, then a day or two to get Cerulean.”

“See you’ll have plenty of time.” Neth told the Squirtle. “By the time you're in Cerulean it will be Sunday night or Monday morning.”

Shelby sighed, but felt the excitement in her as she’ll start performing in the contest soon. Cassia put her Squirtle down, then went to her bag and pulled out two extra maps. “Here Neth, I had extras for you and Miles to bring with you on your journey.” She told him.

“Thanks Cass.” Neth replied. He took his own map, leaving Cassia with Miles’s map with her till she sees him.

As Cassia was putting the map for Miles away, she had to ask Neth about him. “How is Miles by the way?” She asked. Neth looked up at the girl. “I haven’t seen him since…” her voice trailed off, but Neth quickly interrupted.

“He’s fine.” He replied, turning away from his friend. “He too started his journey. He got a Charmander, and just left.” Neth explained.

“Oh did he say anything about me?” Cassia asked. Neth shook his head. “Figures.”

It soon got quiet between the two trainers as they silently drank their lemonades. The three Pokémon looked up from eating their berries and wondered if they should say anything to bring the mood back up.

“Should we say something?” Jasper asked.

“I don’t know.” Morgan replied. As much as he wanted to cheer them up he didn’t want to make the two trainers feel worse by helping them. So he, Jasper and Shelby waited before deciding on what to do.

After what felt like forever, Neth had an idea hoping that would change the topic. “Hey, why don’t we travel together?” Neth asked. “It will make the journey fun, plus we could make it to Cerulean faster.”

Cassia smiled and was ready to agree till her PokeGear started to ring. She gave Neth a signal to hold on for a second as she took this call. “Hello? Oh hi mom!” Her face dropped as she sighed when her mom told her what was going on. “Again?” She asked. Cassia sighed, “alright I’ll head on over.” She then hung up and sighed.

However, the expression Neth had made him guess what happened. “Let me guess, your grandfather again?” He asked.

The coordinator to be nodded. “Oh yeah. He fell again thanks to missing out on his medications.” She told him. It was well known in Viridian City, that Cassia’s grandfather would always fall in the most random places in Viridian City from the roads to the entrances of buildings. Cassia’s family had tried taking him into a nursing home, but he always refused so he lived with her family so they could take care of him.

Cassia sighed hoping to travel alongside Neth, but she had to help her family first. “I gotta get going, just travel on without me.” She told him.

Neth nodded. “Alright, but let’s travel together once we see each other again, okay?” He asked.

“Okay!” Cassia replied. “Shelby! Come on, let's go!” She yelled.

Shelby nodded. “Coming!” She yelled back. Before she could take off, she turned back to face Morgan. “Take care Morgan! Be safe out there!” Shelby reminded him before going with her trainer.

Once the two were gone, Neth was studying the map and finishing his lemonade before telling his two Pokémon the game plan. “Alright, before we head off to Pewter City, I think we should check out Route 22 to train and find a new team member.” He explained. “Then we head on the path leading towards Pewter City.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Jasper agreed. The Rattata turned towards Morgan, hoping the Bulbasaur liked the idea.

Morgan looked back at Neth and Jasper as they waited for him to hear what he thought of the plan. “Uh…sure sounds like a great plan.” He told them.

“Great!” Neth replied. “We’ll set off when you're ready.” Jasper and Morgan nodded as Neth went to put everything back in his bag and wait on his team.

The Rattata gobbled up the rest of the berries and gave his trainer a smile. “Okay I’m ready when you are!” Jasper beamed.

Neth chuckled seeing how hyped up Jasper is since joining the team. Neth then looked towards Morgan and saw how quiet, but trying to be too happy he was. When the Seed Pokemon looked at him, Morgan gave a quick (but fake) smile to show he was ready to leave too. Knowing what Morgan has been through a lot and it’s only been day one of their journey he didn’t want to ask Morgan more questions to make him uncomfortable.

“Alright.” Neth started as he grabbed his bag. “Let’s get going.” The two Pokemon followed him out of the Viridian Pokemon Center and made their way left towards Route 22. Though as they walked, a tall man in a grey coat and hat walked by and Neth almost ran into him. He went into a halt as the man turned to him, glaring at the young trainer with his cold, black eyes.

Neth and Morgan gulped at the man, and took a step back. “Ah. S-sorry.” He apologized.

The tall man glared as a wave of fear rushed over Neth and his team. They were anxious this man was now going to mug them of their Pokedollars or worse. Neth let out a gulp, and was ready to book it with his team. However, the man spoke up.

“Watch it, next time.” He threatened with a low growl before walking away from Neth and his team. The trio waited till the man was completely gone from Viridian and sighed that he just threatened them and nothing else.

“Man that was scary!” Morgan yelled. “I-I thought we were going to die!”

Neth sighed and gave Morgan a pet, something that Neth noticed that calms the Bulbasaur down when he’s in distress. “Hey there are just jerk trainers like that. If we see him again, let’s beat him in a battle.” He promised his starter.

Jasper glared and crossed his arms. “Well I hope we don’t run into him.”

Once everyone was settled down, the trio made it to Route 22. From there, Morgan and Jasper stopped when they saw a Mankey doing some training, punching rocks and scratching at berries that fell from the tree.

“Oh that’s cool!” Jasper cheered. He ran towards the Mankey to get a close up of the Fighting-type’s training.

“W-wait! Jasper!” Neth shouted.

The Mankey heard Neth and before Jasper got a good close up, the Pig Monkey Pokemon quickly scratched the Rattata that was ready to attack her.

“Jasper!” Neth shouted. He went over to his Pokémon and picked him up. Luckily, Jasper just had a minor scratch wound that would heal in a matter of days. “Are you okay?”

“H-hang on mom.” Jasper said, dizzy from the attack. “I just need to steal snacks from this stupid traveler first.”

Neth sighed seeing his Pokémon was going to be alright. “Trainer.” A feminine voice spoke up. Neth looked around to see who spoke up and was surprised it was the Manky. “What are you doing, disturbing my training?” She asked.

“O-oh. I didn’t mean to.” Neth apologized. “Jasper just wanted to see you train, and…” he paused, realizing Mankey was a girl. “I never knew Mankey could be female as well? I thought they were male only Pokemon?”

The Mankey sighed and rolled her eyes. “You're not the only trainer who said that.” She told them.

“Oh. Well sorry if I disturbed your training.”

The Mankey nodded. “I’m sorry for attacking your Rattata.”

“Apology accepted.” Neth loved how strong Mankey was and quickly decided to ask her, “hey is it alright if we can train together?” He asked. The Mankey turned to face him. “I mean if it bothers you we can train somewhere else on the route.”

“On one condition.” Mankey spoke up. “I’d like to train alongside your team.”

Neth’s eyes widened as he didn’t have to capture and battle for a team member, but the team member asked him. “Alright! Welcome to the team!” He accepted. The Mankey smiled and held her fist to signal a fist bump. Neth smiled and he and his new team mate fist bumped back. Once that was settled, Neth grabbed his Pokeball and put Mankey in. Once the ball clicked three times, which signaled the capture he started to think of a name for her. He was trying to think of a name that fits a Mankey that isn’t too girly for her tastes.

Once the trainer finally thought of a name for his Mankey he quickly sent her back out. “Hey Mankey, do you like the name Amber?” He asked.

Mankey nodded, accepting the name. “Not too girly, but fitting.” She replied. “Why not!” Neth smiled glad that Amber joined the team and liked her name.

Training on Route 22 wasn’t too bad. There weren’t as many Mankey, and Amber was great to have around. She gave good training advice to Jasper and Morgan. The training helped and soon Morgan and Jasper were learning new moves.

For Morgan it was Leech Seed, and for Jasper it was Quick Attack.

“Alright Morgan if you use your Leech Seed you can heal as you deal more damage.” Amber told him.

Morgan nodded and did what he was told, and soon he launched a seed at a wild Rattata he was fighting. Soon the Rattata was feeling tired as the Leech Seed started to drain his energy and Morgan came in with a quick Tackle attack defeating the Rattata.

“That was fun!” Morgan beamed as a true smile appeared on his face.

After a whole hour of training, Neth and his team decided to head back to Viridian City and head on to Route 2. However, the joyous walk came to a vault as they saw two Pidgey in a battle with a Caterpie?

The Caterpie looked tired, but she wanted to keep on fighting the two flying-type Pokemon. “Give it up, worm!” Pidgey shouted.

The Caterpie glared and went in for another Tackle, but it didn’t take out the Pidgey. The Tiny Bird Pokémon snickered before Tackling the Worm Pokémon to the ground.

“Hey!” Neth shouted as he and his team were running towards the Pidgey.

“A trainer!” One Pidgey exclaimed. The two flying type birds were ready to fight till they saw Morgan, Jasper and Amber running towards them. It was then the two Pidgey realized they were screwed.

“Quick, let's bail!” The other Pidgey exclaimed as they flew off.

Neth growled seeing the Pidgey fly off. He started to calm down and then turned his gaze towards the Caterpie. The Worm Pokémon slowly started to crawl, breathing heavily.

“I-I could have…handled them.” She coughed out. Morgan went over to her and used his vines to put her on his back. The Caterpie gave a groan, as much as she wanted to struggle she was too weak to do so.

Neth crouched down to Morgan’s level and looked at how bad the Caterpie was. The bug-type Pokémon has some scrapes and cuts from the Pidgey. Luckily the Pidgey around Pallet and Viridian don’t learn too strong of flying type moves otherwise this little Caterpie would be dead.

“We need to make it to the Pokemon Center! And fast!” Neth exclaimed. Running as fast as a Ponyta, Neth and his team quickly dashed back to the Viridian Pokemon center to get the Caterpie some help.

At the Pokemon Center, Neth and his team waited to hear the results on how the Caterpie was feeling.About an hour and a half passed before Nurse Joy came in holding the Caterpie in her hands. The Caterpie was now wide awake and no longer injured.“Neth. The Caterpie brought in is doing just fine, she just got beaten up a bit, but she’s okay.”

Neth sighed in relief as Nurse Joy handed over Caterpie to Neth. “Thank you.” He replied, giving a small smile. The nurse smiled in reply and Neth and his team went off from Viridian City back on Route 2. On their way, The Caterpie jumped off Neth’s hands and started to crawl her way back. “H-hey! Caterpie! Wait up!” Neth yelled, running after the Caterpie.

The Caterpie was on the grass; looking for another Pokemon to fight. Neth and his team caught up with the Worm Pokemon before she got herself hurt again.

“Caterpie!” Morgan shouted. The Caterpie heard the Bulbasaur’s call and turned towards him. “What are you doing?” He asked.

“Battling! I need to show these riff raff Pokemon I’m not just a weak little bug-type!” The Caterpie explained.

“Why?” Morgan asked.

Caterpie rolled her eyes. “Because the Caterpie around here is always taken away, or worse.” She explained. Morgan and Neth looked at each other as the Caterpie continued. “So I made it my goal to battle as many Pokémon to show them that not all Caterpie aren’t week.”

“Well it’s true.” Jasper grumbled, hoping the Caterpie didn’t hear him.

However, it was too late. “What was that, rat!” She snapped.

“N-nothing!” Jasper lied, scared hearing that kind of voice from a Caterpie.

“Thought so.” Caterpie then looked back at Neth. “See because I’m different then other Caterpie I can strike fear into the heart of a Rattata.” She explained, proud that she almost gave Jasper a heart attack.

“But,” Neth started. “Would you like to train and get stronger with a team?” He asked.

Caterpie tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“I mean if you joined my team, you can be 10x more stronger and make new friends.” Neth offered.

“Plus.” Amber started. “If any Pokémon tries to hurt you, you have a Mankey, Bulbasaur and Rattata by your side.” She explained pointing at herself, Morgan and Jasper in that order.

Caterpie thought about it for a bit. Sure, she heard trainers capturing her fellow Caterpie, but never heard what happened to them afterwards. She wasn’t anxious for what would happen to her, but hearing that adventure and battling stronger Pokemon then the usual Rattata and Pidgey gave her a story to tell when she does see her family again. Caterpie gave a gleeful smile hearing she was strong, and turned towards Neth. “Alright trainer,”

“Neth.” He corrected in reply.

“Neth. How do I join your team?” She asked. Neth smiled and held his hand out for Caterpie to climb up his shoulder. Slowly, the Caterpie crawled her way up and once she was close enough Neth grabbed the Pokeball and placed her in.

After three clicks, Caterpie was caught.

“Looks like we got another friend.” Neth said. He then let Caterpie out and looked at her to think of a name for her. “Hmm…you're green in color. Maybe…Peridot! I’ll call you Peridot!” He exclaimed.

“Why Peridot?” Caterpie asked.

“Because you're as green as a Peridot.”

Hearing Neth’s reason made the other teammates look at one another if they heard Neth correctly. “Does he know Caterpie evolves into Butterfree, which are blueish-purple in color?” Amber whispered.

“I... hope so.” Morgan replied not sure if his trainer knew either.

Now Neth had four teammates on his team, and was ready to take the next step heading down to Viridian Forest on the road towards his journey.

[imaginesforyourfandom]

Heal My Heart - Chapter 3

December 2007 (Y/N) POV

“To the left (Y/N), to the left…oh my god! Do you not know what the fucking left is?” I rolled my eyes as Blake turned and glared at me. “We could’ve had that you know…”

“I am so sorry.” I muttered as she continued glaring at me.

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m not.” I grinned as the other girl shook her head. I sat the controller down standing up at the knock on the door. I opened to see a smiling Alex Morgan. I grinned back at the girl as I moved aside to let her into the room.

“Hey guys. I am getting ready to leave. My mom is here.” Blake and I both nodded as we gave the girl hugs.

“Merry Christmas Alex.” I said as she hugged me tightly.

“Merry Christmas (Y/N). If I don’t see you before you leave for camp, good luck and I believe in you.” I smiled at her as she turned to exit the room. “Bye! I love you!”

“Love you too.” Blake shouted back as she turned to set up a new game.

I went back and sat by her as we continued playing. After playing for another few hours, I realized it was almost time for me to go do my last shift at the coffee shop before I had to head home for the holidays.

“Are you excited to go home?” Blake asked me as I laid in my bed.

“Yeah. I miss my family and it will be nice to spend some time with my mom. What about you?”

“I’m excited. I missed my dad.” I nodded my head before getting up and getting ready for work.

Things have been a little better lately. I finished the semester strong with A’s and B’s and I’ve been a little bit better. I still haven’t really talked much with Christen after the whole Kelley thing. We both apologized and made up, but I still feel awkward about talking to her. I guess a part of me is still hurt by what happened. Blake has helped me a lot through it. I don’t think I realized how much I needed an actual friend to talk about stuff with until I started to open up to her.

We have a lot in common and it feels like we have known each other a lot longer than we have. I opened up to her about my dad and how he left. She told me about her mom who passed away when she was younger. She has shown me that I can’t let the whole Christen situation stop me from living my life.

“Do you love me?” I turned towards her as she lifted her head up.

“What do you want?”

“A doughnut.” I laughed slightly, grabbing my phone before turning to exit the room.

“Glazed?”

“Yes please…you’re the best.”

“I know.”

I made my way towards the shop as I contemplated what the next few months would look like. I thought that it would be nice and chill since soccer season is over, but with the call-up to the national team coming into play. Well, I wasn’t getting to fully relax like I wanted to. Everyone flipped out when they found out about my callup. The girls took me out drinking which was an experience. My mom cried on the phone with me when I told her.

Three of my friends got called up to the team alongside me so I felt really good knowing I wasn’t going into it alone. I don’t know what I would do without Tobin, Amy, and Lauren being at camp with me. I feel like my journey in my career so far has featured them heavily and I hope we get to have long careers on the senior team together like we did in the youth teams. Amy was lucky enough to have been called up before as was Lauren, but this would be Tobin’s first camp so I was mainly sticking with her.

I had yet to tell Christen that I got called up. It kind of goes along with the whole not talking to her thing. She was the first person I wanted to call when I found out, but with everything that has happened it just didn’t feel right.

“What’s got you thinking so hard?” I turned towards Tati who gave me an odd look.

“Just how busy the next couple of months are going to be.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Yeah, the call up to the national team is insane.”

“It is.”

“You deserve it though…you’re an incredible player and they are lucky to have you.”

“Thanks Tati.”

“Plus, you get to feel good knowing I am not going to fire you because of how much you won’t be around.”

“Lucky me.” I said sarcastically as she laughed. Our shift seemed to pass by slowly given that most people were gone for Christmas break. I was leaving the next day to go home and I was so looking forward to being back with my family.

The rest of the night continued with me making sure all my stuff was together for when my mom arrived to get me. Blake was planning on leaving the same night as me because ‘being in the dorm by yourself is weird’ and to be honest I can’t argue with that. The next day when my mom arrived, I took a little time to load up the car and introduce my mom and Blake. They seemed to hit it off as I noticed them laughing a lot. They didn’t even offer me any help because they were too busy talking to each other.

“I love your mom.” Blake said as I gave her a look. “You lucked out in that department”  

“Yeah, everyone tells me that.” I commented as she grinned at me. We stood for a moment before I gave her a somber look. “So, I’ll see you after break?”

“Yes. I’ll be back before you, but I won’t hold that against you.” I grinned pulling her in for a hug. She groaned slightly before reciprocating the hug.

“I’m gonna miss you.” I admitted as she squeezed me tighter.

“I’ll miss you too. You have my number if you need anything though.” I nodded my head before letting go of her.

“Merry Christmas Blake.”

“Merry Christmas (Y/N)” I gave her a wave before heading towards my mom’s car. We got in and began to drive. It was silent for a little bit until my mom spoke.

“So, Blake seems nice…” I looked at her giving her a confused look before realization dawned on me.

“EW! Gross. No. Hell No!” I said as she laughed. I gave her a disgusted look before responding again. “Blake is like my best friend. There are no feelings there.”

“You said the same thing about Christen.” She defended as I gave her an offended gaze.

“I love Christen. I am actually in love with Christen. I am not in love with Blake.” I said feeling offense at the thought of loving anyone other than Christen.

“How is Christen?”

“Um…I wouldn’t know actually…we haven’t really been talking. Not since the Kelley incident.”

“Didn’t that happen at thanksgiving?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you two made up?”

“We did, but it still isn’t the same. I don’t know. I mean…I am sure we will hangout when we are both on break.”

“I hope so. It would be sad if you two weren’t friends anymore.” I nodded my head along with her knowing that it seemed like torture to ever have to live without the other girl.

The drive felt like forever as we soon made it home hours later. I wasn’t so surprised to find my aunt and grandma at my house as I got big hugs from both of them. My grandma wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate both my coming home and my call up to the national team. I could never decline free food, so I happily accepted.

The next couple days after that were spent sleeping around the house. The laziness in me had really come out as I really only moved to go to the bathroom. Watching tv and texting the girls was how most of the days were spent. I had a little money saved up, so I planned on doing a little Christmas shopping for my family. Since my dad left, our Christmases haven’t really been the same. We used to have these big Christmas parties where all my family on both sides would come over, but after their divorce. It has only been my mom, grandma, and aunt.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock noticing that it was only 2:34 pm which meant that it was far too early for anyone to be knocking on my door. I stood walking over and opening it.

“Hey!” Christen beamed as I stared at her in shock for a moment.

“Hi” I said as her smile faltered at my non-enthusiastic response.

“I didn’t know when exactly you were going to be home from school so I thought I would chance it and see if you were here.”

“Yeah…I got back a few days ago.” I responded as she nodded her head. We stood there for a moment before I moved aside to allow her into the home. We went to the living room as I fell back onto the couch. She took a seat in one of the chairs next to the couch as we were both silent. I think we were both trying to figure out what to say.

“Are you happy to be home?” I turned to look at her as I nodded my head.

“Yeah, I missed my family so much. Also, sleeping in my bed just feels better when I am here versus being there at the dorms.” I turned to look back at the tv trying to focus on the show.

“Yeah same…why have you been avoiding me?” My head snapped towards her as she gave me a sad look. “I thought after our conversation at Thanksgiving that things would be better between us, but it still feels like you’re avoiding me.”

“I’m not-” she cut me off with a look as I stared at her. I looked down before continuing. “I don’t know. I thought I was over it, but I guess I am still a little hurt.”

“I don’t think I really expected you to forgive me so easily, but I am really sorry (Y/N).”

“I know.”

Things fell silent again as we both seemed to fall lost in thought. I know it isn’t fair to her to continue holding this against her. She doesn’t know that her dating Kelley and not telling me hurts more than anything else I have ever experienced. She doesn’t know that I wish it was me every single day and it’s not fair for me to continue hurting her because she chose to live her life.

“I’m sorry Christen. It’s not fair to continue being weird about this whole thing….can we just move on from it? I’ll be better I promise.” She moved from her seat to sit on the couch. I sat up and moved my legs, so she had room.

“I don’t want you to just forget about it because you think it’s going to make me feel better…” I stared at her as I sighed. “I lied to you and that wasn’t cool.”

“You didn’t lie.”

“Lying by Omission is still lying.” I stared at her as I shook my head.

“No, it’s fine. Seriously, I just want things to go back to the way they were before.” She nodded her head as I opened my arms for a hug. She didn’t hesitate to hug me as I enjoyed the feeling of her in my arms.

When we pulled away, she gave me a genuine smile. I smiled back as she leaned back on the arm of the couch and brought her feet up to tuck between me and the couch. I leaned back against the other arm as I let my feet hang on the side.

“You really stay invading my personal space…” I commented as she laughed. I grinned as I moved the pillow to settle on top of her feet. We both continued watching tv for a little bit before she decided it was time for us to catch up.

“I won’t even talk about Kelley.” She said as I shook my head.

“No, it’s not a proper catch-up if you don’t say everything.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Okay. Well, it has been great…” she then proceeded to go on for a little while about how great Kelley is and how much she likes her.

“So…like are you in love?” I asked as she seemed to think for a moment before shaking her head.

“I wouldn’t say I am there…or that I could ever get there with her…” she responded as I nodded my head. “It’s fun. That’s what it is supposed to be is fun. I don’t really think either of us are looking for something super serious. I think we are just enjoying each other’s company for now.”

“That’s…awesome.” I said as she smiled.

“What about you?” I was responding to a text from Alex as I looked up at her.

“What about me?”

“Has anyone caught your eye?”

“No. I have too much going on to date anyone right now.” Unless, it’s you.

“What do you have going on?” she asked as I stared at her with confusion before remembering she doesn’t know about the call-up.

“Shit! That’s right. I did not tell you. I got a call up to the senior national team.” Her eyes widened as she surged forward to hug me. I grinned and laughed at her reaction before having an internal meltdown at the fact that she was basically in my lap.

“How could you not tell me?” she had her hands on my shoulders as she hovered above me beaming with excitement.

“Well…” I was at a loss for words partly because she knows why we weren’t talking and partly because she is extremely close to me. She seemed to catch my awkwardness a little because she backed off and fell back onto her side of the couch. I let out a little sigh of relief as she smiled at me.

“Right. Well, I am so proud of you. I knew a call-up was coming for you. When is the camp?”

“January.” I responded as she nodded her head.

“I can’t wait to cheer you on. I knew you would make it. I never doubted you.”

“That means a lot.” I said as she grinned at me.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out together. Things were slowly going back to normal and I was grateful for that. I didn’t like being in an awkward position with her. It didn’t feel good. The following weeks were spent doing my Christmas shopping and hanging out with Christen. I figured out a new form of torture was listening to her talk about Kelley. I was torn between being a good friend and wanting to rip my hair out. I usually would text like Blake or Alex during those conversations. They were a good distraction from the pain.

Christmas had come and gone before we were bringing in the new year. Christen had been invited to a party with Kelley and so our usual plans for a movie marathon during the new year was axed out and that was fine. It was a major bummer to not spend it with her, but I respected that she had other plans. Luckily for me, I had also managed to get invited to go out for the night.

Alex came through with the invite to a New Years Party. I was hesitant to accept at first because I definitely wouldn’t know anyone, but she seemed excited and I found it difficult to say no to her when she gets excited like that. That would be where I currently am at the moment.

“I appreciate you going with me.” Alex said from the passenger seat as I looked over at her.

“Yeah no problem…I didn’t really have anything else going on.”

“Still….you didn’t have to.” She said as I smiled at her.

“Seriously…it’s no big deal.”

Once we arrived, Alex immediately started introducing me to all of her friends from high school. They all seemed cool enough and accepted me for the night. I stayed pretty close to Alex since she was the only one, I really knew. The house we were at was pretty nice. As the night continued on, I got separated from Alex and decided to go find some air. I found a place of solitude on a balcony overlooking the backyard and the view had a pretty good view of a festival that wasn’t too far away.

“Hey…” I turned to see the forward coming out onto the balcony. She had two drinks in her hand as she handed me one.

“Hey yourself.” I said as she gave me a smile.

“What are you doing out here by yourself?” she questioned as I looked to the sky. It was a nice night and I was thankful that I hadn’t stayed in.

“Just needed some air. Big parties aren’t usually my thing.” I admitted as she laughed.

“You and Blake are so alike.” She grinned as I shook my head.

“Sorry we would rather enjoy a night in.” Her smile widened at my confession. “I’m actually glad I came tonight. I feel like I’ve been in a slump and it was nice to get out.”

“Well, then I am glad I could help you out of your slump.”

“Yeah…thanks!” she gave me a smile before turning back towards the party. “Seriously, I usually spend new year’s watching movies with a friend, and I guess I never really knew what I was missing…”

“It’s not about what you’re necessarily missing…you should spend your time doing what you want. You said it yourself. Parties aren’t really your thing and that’s okay.”

“Still…I had only one person in high school that I really was okay being friends with and so most of my time was spent with her. All my traditions spent with her and I never really experienced the whole going out thing all the time.”

“Well, I don’t go out all the time. I like to for certain occasions. This is definitely one of them.”

“I wish I was as much of a risk taker as you are.”

“I don’t. I like your laid-back personality. You’re the chill I need in my life.” She joked as I grinned. “Plus, you work hard for what you want and with the call up to the senior team…I have a feeling it’s all about to pay off for you.”

“Maybe. I still have a lot of respect for you Alex Morgan.” I smiled at her as she stared at me shaking her head.

“Keep playing and I might just make you my new years kiss.” I laughed at her as a thought came to mind.

 “I don’t really think I would mind if you were my new year’s kiss, but um…speaking of kissing…have you talked to Tati at all?”

“Ha-ha very funny. Actually, we have been talking a lot more lately and I have been really enjoying it. I’m not going to lie. I think I might be in love with her.”

“Oh, you used the L word…it must be super serious.”

“Don’t make fun of me you dick…” I grinned, shaking my head as she continued whining.

“I’m not. I am genuinely happy for you! I think it’s great that you’re in love. You should go for it!” I said as she gave me a nervous smile.

“You think so?”

“Yeah for sure…” I offered her a supportive smile

“I just don’t know if she feels the same…”

“Alex…she would be crazy not to. You’re an amazing person. Anyone would be lucky to have you by their side.”

“You really mean that?”

“Of course, I do! You are genuinely one of the most amazing people I have had the privilege of knowing.”

“It’s amazing that you don’t have a girlfriend with how sweet you are.” She commented as I shrugged my shoulders.

“I guess we will never know.” I took a sip of my drink as she laughed. We spent a little while longer listening to the music of the party and talking before we could hear the countdown begin. Usually, Christen and I would be together for the countdown and we would try to time a dramatic moment in a movie to match the new year, but obviously that wasn’t going to be happening this year.

“Can I just say…I am really glad I get to spend the New Year with you.” I said as she grinned at me.

“Me too.” We heard the countdown reach one before the fireworks went off. We watched them and continued sharing stories with each other before she offered me a toast.

“To hopefully a kickass year.”

“To a kickass year.” I said as she grinned at me. We headed back down to the party to rejoin everyone else and continue having a good time.

We stayed for a little while longer before leaving. I didn’t really drink because I wanted to make sure she got home safely. Her family was nice enough to let me stay the night with them due to how dangerous the roads could be at this time. The days following New Years were wild due to having to get ready for my first senior camp. I was extremely nervous as I was constantly texting Cheney, Amy, and Tobin about what I should be packing.

Before I knew it, it was time to leave for camp. The camp was being held only twenty minutes from my house so that was a relief that I wasn’t having to travel too far. Amy was going to be the first out of my friends to get there since she also lived in California. Tobin was coming from Jersey and Cheney from Indianapolis so it would take them some time.

Hours later saw me sitting in my room with the girls as we caught up with each other about our holidays. We had about half an hour before we had to report for the team meeting, so I was taking the time to try to stay as relaxed as possible.

“How were your holidays?” I focused back in as the three stared at me expectantly.

“Boring. I didn’t really do much.” I admitted as they all gave me a look.

“Well, that’s a bummer.” Tobin said as I nodded my head.

“You didn’t do anything fun?” I shook my head as Cheney rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to call your mom and ask her.” Amy said as I gave her a confused look

“You have my mom’s number?”

“No. I would just call off your phone…”

“oh.”

“Idiot.” Tobin joked as we decided to get up and head down to the meeting.

When we walked into the room, it seemed somewhat tense which caused me to look around in confusion. There was something off, but I couldn’t quite place it. I didn’t notice that the other three had left me standing by myself before I noticed I was alone. I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I tried not to internally scream as I came face to face with Christie Rampone. She gave me a smile as Kate Markgraf came up from behind her.

“You must be one of the rookies!” Kate said as I nodded my head.

Yeah. I’m (Y/N) Torres!” I held out my hand as they both smiled. They shook my hand as Christie seemed to think for a moment.

“Left back right?” I nodded my head as she grinned. “Great!”

“I love when defenders get added to the team.” Kate said as I laughed.

“Come on. You can have a seat with us.” I followed them taking a seat next to them and Heather Mitts. I was surrounded by some incredible defenders and I was having a hard time not losing my shit. Behind me sat my other three friends who had been joined by Ali Krieger and Heather O’Reilly. Tobin gave me a wide-eyed look as I nodded my head. We were both a little starstruck.

Once I sat down though, I noticed why the room had seemed so tense. It was obvious that not many people were making an effort to sit with Hope Solo. I would be an idiot to not know about the drama that had gone on at the last world cup. There were many conflicting stories about what happened afterwards, but the message that not everyone was pleased with the goalkeeper was loud and clear at this moment.

I stared at her for a moment noticing Carli sitting next to her before turning my head towards Pia who had just entered the room. The team meeting seemed to go by quickly as we talked about camp expectations and what she wanted to see from the team. She seemed to emphasize that she didn’t care about team drama and that she was focused on putting out the best team to get the best results which was something I respected.

After the meeting, we had about half an hour to get our stuff together before we would go for our first training session. Tobin and I had already agreed to be bus buddies because we didn’t know anyone else. Though, we were given advice from HAO to wait until everyone else got on the bus to figure out which seats weren’t taken. HAO also said that we needed to not be afraid during the practice session because no one else was going to go easy on us.

The training session seemed to come and go, and I felt good about my performance. Kate and Christie both seemed impressed with me. So did Pia which was a great feeling. My highlight of the session came when I was able to lock down Abby Wambach which was the most surreal feeling in the world. She is one of the best forwards in the world and I successfully managed to stop her attack.  

The rest of the day was pretty chill and ended with us hanging out with some of the vets. We had got dinner with them and they seemed to like me which was a major plus. I know that off-field chemistry is just as important as on-field chemistry, so I needed to make a good impression with them.

“With your skills, I am seriously surprised that Berkeley didn’t make it farther in the season…” Abby said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“I can only do so much in the defense. Our forwards are incredible though. It just happened to be an unlucky season.” I said shrugging my shoulders as they all nodded their heads.

“Still you have a lot of great skills and the potential to grow is there.” Christie said as I grinned at her.

“Thank you! That means a lot.”

I headed back to my room with Tobin and them as I tried not to freak out from the excitement of the day.

“The vets really seem to like you.” Amy said, giving me a slightly impressed look.

“Probably because she almost killed Abby during practice.” Tobin said with an amused look as I shrugged

“I was doing my job.” I laid down on my bed as I looked over at them.

“Exactly why they like you.” Lauren said as I nodded my head. They both then said goodnight leaving me and Tobin there. We didn’t stay up much longer as we knew the next few days would be hectic, and sleep would be a necessity.

The next morning, we got down to breakfast as we made our plates, we looked around for a place to sit. I noticed some empty seats next to Hope and Carli as I moved to make my way over towards them. We were intercepted by Kate though who brought us towards a table with her and some of the others.

“That would have been a mistake.” She said to me as I stared at her.

“Sitting with Hope?” Tobin asked as I noticed some of the other girls get uncomfortable looks on their faces.

“Yeah. We typically try not to sit with people who throw their teammates under the bus.” She responded as I stared at her.

“Okay I get that.” Tobin responded as I nodded my head. I looked over where she was sitting noticing that truly everyone minus Carli was avoiding that table like the plague.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for the goalkeeper. It probably didn’t feel good to have everyone being rude to you and not talking to you in these kinds of moments. The next couple days I felt my interest in Hope continue rising as I felt the need to get to know the goalkeeper.

“Hey, we got invited to go to dinner with some of the other girls. You up for it?” Tobin asked as I thought about it before shaking my head.

“I’m not really feeling it.” I lied as she nodded her head. “You guys go without me. I think I am just going to chill here.”

“Okay text us and maybe we can bring you something back.”

“Okay.” I said as she turned to leave with Lauren and Amy. I waited a few minutes before exiting the room and walking towards the goalkeeper’s room. I knocked on the door and waited until it was pulled open.

“Hey” I said as Hope stood there giving me an odd look.

“Hi”

“I was just wondering if you wanted to hangout.” I said cautiously as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“What are you doing here kid?”

“I want to…hangout?”

“Why?” she gave me a skeptical look as I tried to come up with something that didn’t make me sound stupid.

“I don’t really know to be honest. I just…wanted to get to know you. I like to be friends with my teammates.”

“I am almost positive you’ve been given the warning on being friends with me.”

“I have and I don’t really care.” She gave me a surprised look as I continued. “I am not going to let them decide who I can and can’t be friends with and I want to be your friend. I have a lot of respect for you.”

“Come on in.”

I followed her into the room where she and Carli were hanging out. The following hours were actually a ton of fun as she seemed to open up with me just a little bit. It was mainly stories about the stupidest things we have done during a game.

“I swear…I didn’t see her coming.” I laughed as Hope and Carli gave me amused smiles.

“Did she at least score the penalty?” Hope asked as I shook my head. They both laughed at the answer.

“No, she didn’t…I felt really bad because I tripped her, and she didn’t score, and I was definitely responsible for the horrible game she was having.” This only seemed to cause them to laugh harder as I tried to keep my own composure.

“Jesus, I haven’t laughed like that in a while. I can definitely see why the other vets like you.” Carli said as I nodded my head.

“You’re their new favorite.” Hope gave me a look as I shrugged. “They like your style. You play without fear and you seem to be a natural leader.”

“I just play my game…” I said honestly causing me to earn smiles from both girls. I soon departed and headed back to my room feeling like I had made a successful connection with both players. When I entered my room, I found Tobin and them who all looked a little worried.

“Thank god! Where were you?” Amy asked as I stared at them with a confused look.

“Chill out. I went to go hangout with Hope.”

“Wait…what?” Tobin asked as I looked at them.

“What?”

“Didn’t Kate say to stay away from her?” Tobin gave me a look as I sighed. “I mean…I know you like to beat by your own drum, but she is the captain of the team.”

“Tobin’s right. You just got here. Now is not the time to be making waves.” Amy said as I stared at them.

“No one deserves to be shunned or abandoned.” I said as Lauren gave me a sympathetic look. She was the only one of the three who knew about my dad and how he had walked away from me.

“Let’s just let it go.” She said, grabbing Amy’s arm. “We can talk more tomorrow.”

“You’re crazy.” Tobin said as I rolled my eyes.

“What else is new?”

The next day we went down for breakfast as I quickly made my plate. Tobin had beelined it for the table we had been sitting at with the vets as I eyed the table with Hope and Carli. I moved towards the table with the vets before making my way towards Carli and Hope. They both seemed a little surprised by my presences but smiled when I sat down. A glance at the other tables told me my decision had shocked everyone. I didn’t know if my eyes were deceiving me but there seemed to be a few looks of respect from certain players as I continued my conversation with Hope.

I didn’t miss how unenthusiastic Kate was about me after that. Though, she was the only one who really seemed to treat me differently. Or at least to my face she was the only one to treat me differently.

“I think you’re making a mistake.” Amy said as I looked at her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, I don’t doubt Hope is an amazing person, but you just got on this team. Do you really think putting your reputation on the line like this is worth it?”

“I love your concern for me, but it’s my own choice. Hope is a great person and you guys would know that if you got to know her a little better. I’m not saying we are best friends, but she is a good teammate and a good friend.”

I went back to doing my homework as Amy continued nagging me about putting distance between Hope and I. Lauren and Tobin eventually got her to back off a little as I finished up my assignments.

By the end of the camp, I had managed to start in two of the three games during the Four Nations Tournament. I was a sub for the third game, but I was proud of getting some playing time. My debut came against Canada, which was a rough and physical game, but Christie had praised me afterwards for holding my own against them.

I hated to admit that I was somewhat relieved to be going home after the tournament because I didn’t want to deal with the drama that came with simply being friends with someone. The ride home was long since we were coming back from a foreign country. I only had like two days to get all my stuff and get back to the dorms, but that didn’t stop my family from taking me to dinner to celebrate my first caps.

“I’m going to miss you.” My mom said as we pulled into the parking lot next to my dorm.

“I’ll miss you too.” I said as she gave me a sad look.

“My baby is all grown up.”

“Mom” I complained as she laughed. We said our goodbyes before I grabbed my bags and headed up to my room.

It took me a little longer because I did have so much stuff, but the room was empty when I got back. I know Blake was in her classes and wouldn’t be back for another hour, so I had time to settle all my stuff. I laid down enjoying the quiet for a few minutes before deciding to take a shower and get comfortable. By the time I was finishing up my hair, I heard the door be opened.

“Well look what we have here…” I said as Blake turned and gave me a wide-eyed look. She then practically tackled me into a hug as I reciprocated.

“I thought you weren’t going to be back until tomorrow?” she asked as I gave her a confused look.

“No, I am back today!” I said with a giant grin as she hugged me tighter.

“Dude you have no idea how much I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

We decided to go for some food for dinner which was fun before we stopped by the coffee shop to get some pastries.

“Holy shit.” Katie said coming over and giving me a hug. “You’re back”

“I’m back” I said as she smiled at me.

“(Y/N)!” I turned just in time to catch Alex who had quite literally tackled me into a hug. I grinned holding the forward close as she held on tight to me. “I missed you”

“I missed you too”

“oh my god! You have three caps with the national team!” she said, giving me an excited look.

“Oh my god! I know!” I grinned as she laughed.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite employee.” I turned and smiled at Tati who reached behind her and then handed me a piece of paper with my schedule on it. “Welcome back”

“Thanks.” I said with a slight grimace as I stared at my schedule.

“I’ll change it when you get called up again.”

“Okay.” I said as I continued talking and filling everyone in on what camp was like.

The next few days were spent getting back into my routing of school. I had spent a few hours each day talking to Christen which was nice. She was so excited to hear about my time on the national team and I tried to give her as much detail as possible without spilling all the drama out to her. She in turn told me about how Kelley and she were officially just a friends with benefits deal because there weren’t really any feelings involved anymore. I wasn’t thrilled but it was better than them being in a relationship. Things were finally going back to normal which I couldn’t be more grateful for.

“Are you even listening to me?” I turned towards Tati as I shook my head.

“Honestly, No. I am so tired.” I said as she rolled her eyes at me.

“Aren’t we all?” I nodded my head a little earning a smile from her.

“Well, now that I kind of have your attention I want to tell you about this date I went on recently…”

“Date?” I gave her a look as she gave me a confused expression. “Who did you go on a date with?”

“That guy from my sociology class? You don’t remember? I told you about him a while ago.”

“No, I…I just thought there was something with you and Alex…” I said as she gave me a look.

“Look, I know she’s your friend…and she is super cool. I love Alex to death, and I know she has a huge crush on me. She isn’t really trying to hide it, but it’s probably never going to happen. She’s sweet and all, but not what I am looking for right now.”

“Tati…if you know then why haven’t you said that to her? Like, you say you know she likes you then why not tell her that? Cause like…now it just looks like your stringing her along…”

“I’m not. I just don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

“It’s going to happen regardless though and the longer you wait the worse it will hurt.” I said as she frowned at me.

“You’re right and I will tell her eventually.” She said as a customer came to the counter earning Tati’s full attention. I stood there for a moment having an internal debate with whether I should talk to Alex or not.

On one hand, it’s not my business. On the other hand, Alex is one of my closest friends and I would feel terrible about her getting hurt. That seemed to be the debate going on in my head for a while as the weeks continued. Tati swore up and down that she was going to talk to Alex, so I tried not to think too much about it.

I tried to focus on other things like the national team. I hadn’t been called into the February training camp due to my school schedule but had been told that I would be going to the Algarve cup in March. I was ecstatic because it was another major opportunity to prove myself and to prove that I belonged on the international stage.

I had left school about four days before the tournament would start. The tournament felt like a breeze and I was trying not to get cocky but from what I was hearing I was definitely making a good case for myself for the Olympics. Hope had told me that if I got invited to the Olympic Qualifying tournament and got playing time during it that I had a good chance of making the Olympic roster which is what I had started to work for since my call up in January.

Returning to school after winning the Algarve Cup was a dream, Alex had begged me for all the details which I had given up willingly because I knew how badly she wanted to be called up. I had learned pretty quickly that Tati still hadn’t told her about her feelings which made me feel bad again.

“This party isn’t just any party. It’s the party before spring break which means none of us have anything to lose.” Katie argued as I stared at her with an incredulous look.

“You hear yourself, right?” Blake asked as I laughed.

“Come on! We all need to go! What better way to celebrate life then to go get drunk!”

“I don’t see that logic.” I admitted as she frowned at me.

“Alex help me…”

“It’s going to be fun.” Alex said as I laughed.

“That’s very convincing.” She grinned at me as I sighed. “Okay. I’ll go.”

“No!” Blake said as Katie jumped up.

“Yes! Come on Blake…”

“No.”

“Come on.” I said as she turned towards me. “It could be fun.”

She stared at me for a moment before rolling her eyes.

“Fine.” I smiled as Katie and Alex high fived each other. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” she rolled her eyes as I smiled at Alex and Katie. This should be an interesting night.

Alex POV SWITCH

I watched (Y/N) and Blake bicker over whether it was a good idea to come to the party as we walked our way towards the destination. I laughed when Blake reached out to smack (Y/N) only to be blocked by Katie.

“You’re complaining about nothing!” (Y/N) said laughing at Blake. “This could be the best night of your life and you’re over here complaining.”

“I hate going out. You know this.”

“It’s not bad to come out of your shell every once in a while.”

They continued bickering as Katie eventually gave up and kept pace with me letting them walk ahead of us.

“So, how are you feeling about tonight?” I turned towards Katie who gave me a supportive smile.

“I am incredibly nervous.” I admitted as my roommate gave me a sympathetic look.

“Look, you just have to march in there and give her the most seductive look you can and tell her that you belong together, but you know in a more put together way.”

“That’s really helpful.” I said as she gave me a bright smile.

“It’s going to work out and who knows…if it doesn’t there are a ton of other people here to hook up with.”

“That does not make me feel better.” I said as she shrugged her shoulders.

We arrived at the party which was in full swing. Katie didn’t hesitate to walk in as (Y/N) stood watching with an amused smile as Blake groaned entering the building. I laughed following them in and looked around at the mostly drunken crowd. We got drinks and danced. I played a couple rounds of beer pong with Katie as my partner before I decided I had enough. I went back into the house and noticed that quite a bit of time had passed. I noticed Blake actually seemed to be having a good time which was great. I was hoping she would have a good time. I spotted (Y/N) talking with some people as I made my way over towards her.

“Hey stranger.”

“Hey yourself.” She smiled as I grinned at her.

“Are you having fun?”

“I am actually…I haven’t had fun like this in a hot second.”

“I’m glad. I was worried.”

“You don’t need to worry about me Alex.” She said as I shook my head.

“I care about you. Obviously, I will worry.”

She laughed as she looked down at her phone that was in her hand. I glanced around noticing Tati talking with some people as I decided that this was the moment.

“Hey, I got to take this.” She said as I nodded my head turning to exit the room.

 I took a big drink of the cup in my hand before walking over to where Tati was. She smiled upon seeing me as I tried to get closer to her.

“Hey!” I yelled over the music as she gave me a grin.

“Hey!” she yelled back. I spent a few minutes dancing with her before deciding that I needed to just do it.

“Can I talk to you?” she nodded her head as we went to where it was a little quieter.

“What’s up?” she asked as I stared at her.

“Okay so…I need to tell you something.” I said as she gave me a cautious look.

“Alex wait…”

“No, I just need to get this out…” I said as she gave me a look I couldn’t read. “Since I met you, I have thought you’re incredible. You make me laugh and smile. My heart beats really fast when I am around you and I think about you all the time. I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but I feel like I might die if I don’t tell you that I am completely in love with you Tati.”

She gave me a sad look as I felt my stomach drop a little. I didn’t like that look. She looked around a little before letting out a little sigh. There seemed to be something close to sympathy in her eyes as she looked down and then back up.

“Alex…I think you’re an incredible person.” I felt my eyes begin to water as I recognized the beginning words of a rejection. I looked away from her as she reached for my hand. “I just don’t think…”

“No, it’s okay. I am so stupid for even mentioning this to you. I shouldn’t have done that. Don’t worry. It’s stupid and I…I’m just going to go.” I turned to leave the house as I felt Tati reach for my arm which I angrily yanked away.

(Y/N) POV SWITCH

“Yeah, I will have to catch you up when I see you next.” I said, smiling as Christens laugh came through the phone.

“Yeah, I should be going though for real…Kelley is waiting.”

“Well, we don’t want that…” I said somewhat sarcastically. “Goodbye Christen.”

“Bye.” I put my phone in my pocket as I sighed. Christen and Kelley deciding to try a relationship again has most definitely ruined my night. I turned to head back into the house when the door flew open and out came a sobbing Alex.

“Alex please wait…!” Tati yelled running after her as I immediately stepped into Alex’s path catching her. She went to push me away but stopped when she saw it was me.

“Hey” I said softly as she angrily tried to wipe her tears. “What happened?”

“Alex please…” Tati begged as I took a second to read the situation. I sighed pulling Alex in for a hug as I sent a glare towards Tati. She frowned as Alex held onto me tightly.

“I didn’t mean to…”

“It doesn’t matter.” I said as Alex buried her head into my shoulder. “It’s done. I’ll get her home.”

I moved to start walking Alex towards our rooms as I continued to let her cry. She seemed to calm down the further we got from the party. She was just silent by the time we reached her room. She opened the door as I stared at her. She walked over towards her bed and sat down leaning against the wall. I moved to sit next to her as we sat quietly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked as she sniffled a little.

“I am such an idiot.” She said as I looked at her.

“No, you’re not.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Yes, I am…I should have seen that she didn’t feel the same way.”

“Anyone can make that mistake Alex…” I said as she looked at me.

“I should have seen it.”

“It doesn’t make you stupid. It just means you have a big heart…and that you are a risk taker. You put yourself out there and it didn’t work out. You know sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”

“I wanted it to work so badly.”

“I know.” I said taking her hand in mine. “For what’s it's worth, I am so proud of you.” We sat in silence for a few minutes before she spoke.

“Have you ever been in love?” I held my breath for a moment as I thought of a reply.

“I have…” I said as she looked at me.

“What happened?”

“I couldn’t find the courage to tell her that I loved her and now she is with someone else who is making her happy.”

“I’m sorry.” Alex mumbled as I shook my head.

“Don’t be. I would rather she be happy with someone else than not be happy at all. All I care about is the smile on her face. As long as it’s there…well I’m happy.”

“Even if you can never be with her…” I looked down at that as I thought about it…

“Even if I can never be with her…” I said, turning to look at Alex who was already focused on me.

“I wish getting your heart broke didn’t suck so bad.”

“I know.” I said bringing my hand up to away a tear that was falling from her eye. “My mom always used to tell me that getting your heart broken was necessary sometimes…because it means that when you do find the person you're supposed to be with…you appreciate them that much more. I promise you Alex…you will get through this. You have a heart of gold and you are so freaking beautiful. It is truly insane. Anyone would be lucky to get to be with you and when you find the person you are meant to be with you won’t remember how much it hurt to get your heart broken.”

She stared at me for a moment before surging forward and attaching her lips to mine. Her hands came up to my face as I was too shocked to move. She pulled back breathing heavily as I stared at her for a moment. It was as if time stood still before I moved forward catching her lips into another kiss.

I pushed her back slightly as she laid down pulling me on top of her. Her legs wrapped around my waist holding me in place as I placed kisses down her jaw and to her neck. Her hands were gripping the back of my shirt as she pulled at it. I sat up and pulled my shirt off as she quickly discarded hers as well. I hovered above her as her lips stayed inches from mine.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.”

To Be Continued…

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Three: Pestilence (Ignis x Reader) Chapter Three

"No red carpet, but a stone staircase is the next best thing," Gladio commented as they navigated down the flight of stairs.

"The entrance to Costlemark only opens during the night. Seeing as we don't have time to wait, I manipulated the mechanism," (Y/n) said.

"A stimulation of shadows activated the mechanism sealing the entrance," Ignis stated as he pieced the puzzle together in his head. "A splendid display."

"Exactly," the Horseman replied. "Even during the brightest time of the day, shadow spells never fail."

"I'm guessing your speciality is spells. You're too dainty to be a sword wielder," Gladio comments.

"How perceptive of you, Gladio, and a little judgmental. Though, I'll let that last comment slide. I'm an enchantress and specialize in fire, lightning, ice, light, and shadow spells."

"Whoa...That's more than Noct can use!" Prompto chanted.

"I'm also well-versed in the artes of healing. Morosely, my knowledge of herbs won't be helpful in battles."

"So we have a healer now? Yes!" The gunslinger cheered. "Now we won't have to stock up on potions so much!"

Descending the last flight of stairs, Noctis glanced at the girl. "You got a staff or something like that? Y'know, like what healers have in video games?"

"I know not of these "video games" you speak of, but yes. I posses a staff." (Y/n) held out her hand and summoned her staff.

"Ooh, never seen a staff like that," Prompto comments. He eyed the weapon until his eyes stopped at her bare feet. "Um, are your feet gonna be okay, (Y/n)? What if you step on something?"

"I'll be fine, Prompto. Without shoes, I can feel the mana flowing through the network of veins inside Eos. I'm able to tap into their energy and use an unlimited amount of mana," she replies. "With how often I cast spells, a large supply of mana is exactly what I need."

Reaching the first chamber, the group was greeted by several gelatins. As the boys were summoning their weapons, the purple blobs suddenly melted and retreated. Noctis dispelled his sword with a scowl. "What the...?"

"Did they just...run?" Prompto asked in disbelief.

"Apparently so." Ignis glanced toward Pestilence and saw the seemingly innocent smile on her face. "Care to explain, (Y/n)?"

She continued smiling as she answered the tactician. "Daemons tend to flee in my presence. Apologies for not mentioning it earlier."

"Does this mean this is gonna be easy?" Prompto asked with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

"Guess we'll see," Noctis replied.

Seeing as the daemons had fled, the group decide to make their way down a hallway to their left. Gladio glanced around at the walls and commented on the structure. "Well, this place is seriously ancient."

"Indeed," Ignis agreed with the brute. "These walls have well withstood the test of time. A stark contrast to the ruins that lie above."

Inside the next chamber, more daemons appeared. While the gelatins immediately fled, the galvanades hadn't picked up on Pestilence's scent until they surrounded the group. When one tried to launch itself at the Horseman, it received a whiff of her mock orange fragrance and retreated alongside its fellow daemons.

"It's so nice not having to fight," Prompto sighs contently.

"There are daemons out there more brazen than others. Some may try to attack if they've the courage to," (Y/n) stated. "But I've yet to encounter one with such valor."

"Let's hope none possess the audacity," Ignis stated.

<-------<<<<<<

A couple of hours passed by and the group had yet to find the royal arm. They had encountered hordes of daemons, but not a single one engaged them in combat. Prompto was whistling to himself with his hands on the back of his head as they strolled down a spiraling ramp. "I could totally get use to this. We haven't even lifted a finger down here!"

Before Gladio could even respond, a yojimbo manifested from the ground with its katana resting against its shoulder. When the boys thought it would run like the others, they waited for it to retreat. When (Y/n) saw it didn't fear her, she tried to shout out to the others but she kept her lips sealed knowing her words wouldn't reach them in time.

The daemon lunged toward Ignis, who was unprepared for the sudden attack. Before he could even react, someone pushed him out of the way. He heard a shrill scream and the sound of a blade ripping through flesh. His emerald eyes widen in horror when he spotted (Y/n) pinned to the ground with the yojimbo's sword pierced through her chest all the way to the hilt. The daemon finally picked up on the Horseman's scent, but it was too late. The boys had dealt with it before it could scurry away.

Once it was eliminated, the four rushed over to (Y/n) and saw the pain written all over her face. She tried to smile through the excruciating pain, but she could only muster a tormented frown. "C-Could one of you gentlemen p-provide a helping hand?"

Gladio was shocked to see she wasn't dead while Noctis supported Prompto when he felt faint from seeing the immense amount of blood pooling underneath the girl's body. Ignis stepped forward and met her (e/c) gaze as he wrapped his hands around the hilt of the blade. "Th-The slower you are, the m-more painful it will b-be, Ignis. Just...rip it out."

"(Y/n), I-"

"I'll be f-fine. Please, hurry."

Ignis nodded and used all his strength to yank the sword out of the stone floor and the Horseman's body. She yelled in pain as the sword exited her body. The tactician was about to grab a potion when he witnessed the skin stitch back together and mend perfectly.

(Y/n) sighed in relief, placing a hand over where the wound once was. "Immortality is a blessing and a curse. A shame the pain is not annulled." She pushed her upper body off the ground and thanked Ignis. The strategist took one of her hands and carefully helped her back onto her feet.

"B-Blood..." Prompto whimpered with a pale face.

Pestilence glanced down and realized the blood that still remained on her body. She gazed apologetically at the blonde. "Apologies, Prompto. I fear I lack the proper equipment to purge the blood from my clothes at the moment."

"A-Are you okay?" The gunslinger managed to ask, trying not to look at the blood.

She nodded with a smile, trying to hide the crimson liquid with her arms. "Yes. All has mended."

"Damn..." Gladio cursed, still in shock from seeing the young girl stabbed. "Iggy would be dead right now if you hadn't been here."

"If I weren't here, you four would be somewhere much safer," the Horseman rebuttals.

"Nonsense, (Y/n). Gladio is correct," Ignis said. "I'm indebted to you."

"I simply did what was right. You are not indebted to me in any way, shape, or form, Ignis." The royal advisor was speechless and had no clue how to respond to her. The snowy-haired girl noticed this and decided to change the subject. "Let's continue forth. That royal arm is not going to magically appear in front of us."

"Dude, if they could, this would be a thousand times easier!" Prompto chanted. "Noct would have all thirteen royal arms by now!"

"If things were really that easy, we'd be in Altissia already," Noctis said.

Pestilence knew of the prince's engagement to the Oracle. Ignis had informed her of their journey and their struggle to reach the city upon the water during their lengthy chat this morning. She was glad he filled her in on the details so she could understand their predicament better.

They continued deeper into Costlemark with no repeated incidents like the one with the yojimbo. The five came across a lengthy pathway with darkness enshrouding everything. Prompto glanced around them and into the darkness. "And what have we here?"

"Dunno, but it's huge," Gladio answered.

The sharpshooter groaned when he noticed how long the path was. "I'm too tired to walk all the way across."

"We'll call it a night here, then."

"Actually not too tired!"

"I'm not so sure about that, Prompto," (Y/n) said. "You have been yawning the most out of all the others."

"Think you, uh, could send some of that immortality my way so I wouldn't need to sleep?" The blonde boy questioned with a gulp.

"I'm afraid not. You will have to stave off the weariness yourself."

"Ugh..."

<-------<<<<<<

Inside a large chamber, the group was bewildered when they found no way to proceed forward. The boys thought about backtracking to see if they had missed anything, but they abandoned the idea when they saw (Y/n) sauntering over to one of the strange platforms. They followed after her as she stood in the middle of the platform and used the sharp tip of her staff to trigger it.

"The floor!" Prompto gasped, bracing himself as the panel descended into the floor.

"It's moving," Gladio gaped in shock.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-?!"

Noctis glances toward (Y/n). "How did you...?"

"A lucky guess," she smiled. "I've wandered ruins like these before and they contain the same mechanism. Though, if I'm honest, I did not expect it to work." She pressed the hidden mechanism once more and the platform retreated into the side of the wall, forcing them to jump down.

A few daemons manifested in the narrow space, but they disappeared in a heartbeat. The Horseman proceeded forward and pressed another switch.

After what felt like hours of traveling through a network of passageways, the five were dumped into a large room and ambushed by gelatins and a red giant. Unlike the other daemons they encountered, these were willing to stand against the group with such a large ally on their side.

"Guess these guys aren't running for the hills," Gladio said, summoning his greatsword.

"This was supposed to be easy!" Prompto whimpered as he conjured his handgun.

"Stop bitchin', start killing."

(Y/n) kept a safe distance away from the daemons alongside Prompto. She targeted the larger assailant while the boys dealt with the gelatins. Using a powerful ice spell, she was able to shatter the giant's swordarm. It roared in pain, collapsing on its back. Gladio and Ignis saw the opening and took out the large daemon. Noctis and Prompto took out the last gelatin and turned just as the red giant's body decomposed.

"Talk about a surprise party," Prompto huffed, dismissing his pistol.

"Yeah," Noctis sighed. "Could've done without it."

Suddenly, a viridescent light enshrouded the four boys. The warm radiance expelled their exhaustion and healed their wounds. Noctis, Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis gazed at (Y/n) as her staff vanished.

"That was..." Ignis started.

"Refreshing!" Prompto finished the advisor's sentence.

Pestilence smirked at the boys. "Glad to be of assistance. Now, let's see where this leads." She gestured to a platform in the middle of the large vacant room. They stepped onto the panel and rode it up to the room they had been in thirty minutes ago.

"Great..." The raven-haired boy sighed heavily. "We're back at square one."

"Not necessarily," (Y/n) said. She checked the other panels and found another one had a switch. "Over here!"

The boys rushed over just as she activated the panel. "Ugh..." Prompto groaned. "Here we go again..."

Following the path, they reached a crossroad when two panels had switches. Noctis went to activate one, but the Horseman stopped him. "I suggest the other switch, Noctis."

"Why's that?" The prince questioned.

(Y/n) gestured to the symbol on the floor. "A symbol commonly used to guide those who've lost their way."

"Uh, okay." Noctis pressed the switch and the other passage was sealed. They followed the path all the way to the end, where they discovered an elevator. Stepping aboard, the lift carried them deeper underground into a lab.

"Wonder how deep we are," Prompto wondered. "And we just keep goin' deeper and deeper."

"No idea," Noctis stated. "Who would build a lab all the way down here?"

"The people who once lived here. You'd be baffled at how all this ancient machinery still works as if new," Pestilence said. "It's rather fascinating."

"You're quite knowledgeable of ancient ruins, (Y/n)," Ignis pointed out.

The white-haired girl glanced at the advisor for a brief second before looking away. She clenched her hands together, refusing to meet any of their gazes. "I've told you of how I became a Horseman, but not who I was before this life." She inhaled deeply before continuing. "I was an archeologist from Galahd. My work took me all over Lucis and certain parts of Accordo."

"Quite an accomplishment at such a young age," the tactician compliments.

"It was all thanks to my father I was able to accomplish so much before my life was taken from me." (Y/n)'s voice was low and brimming with melancholy.

"How did you-?" Prompto started to ask, but didn't get to finish as Ignis had picked up on what he was going to ask.

"Prompto," the bespectacled man scolded.

The blonde hadn't realize what he was about to ask until it had almost left his mouth. "S-Sorry..."

"A tale for another time, perhaps," (Y/n) said, offering the blonde boy a kind and gentle smile to ease his guilt.

"What's it like-y'know, being resurrected 'n stuff?" Noctis asked.

"Mostly strange. Eos has changed immensely since my departure. I'm also aware that my home is...gone. I did plan to see it once I arrived, but I learnt of its downfall."

"Must've been difficult to learn the truth," Gladio comments.

"It was, but I've come to terms with it."

Everyone fell silent as the elevator reached its destination. As they stepped off, they could feel heavy footfalls and glanced behind them. A giant beast stomped towards them with a mighty roar.

"What the hell is that?" Gladio scowled.

(Y/n) conjured her staff, staring into the beast's eyes. "A jabberwock."

[dawniebb]

Collateral Damage Pt.1

So, continuing with the journey @healing-winston-pratt and I have decided to take to rise Winston and Callum from the death, here’s another fic, and this time is about Winston :) This one is a full collaboration, meaning we both wrote this, so we hope you enjoy it XD

Part 2 will be uploaded by her soon.

You can fin the canon divergence explanation here.

And Callum’s fic is here

THERE’S MILD SELF HARM MENTIONS IN HERE

When Winston woke up, all he could see were the lights. Blindingly bright lights. And he stared at the ceiling for a while, because he didn’t know what else to do besides waiting until the rest of his senses responded to him.

His gaze remained fixated on those lights; later, he began to smell; and his surroundings were penetrated with a latex odor, combined with chlorine and something putrid… in the sense that everything smelled like blood and wounds. That is, in case wounds had a characteristic smell to them. To Winston’s view, they did. Everything had a smell, just like everything could be related with a specific color. 

But that was just him, maybe. 

Then he started to hear. And he heard the worried, hesitant chattering all around him. People screaming orders, people screaming as they followed those orders; people bawling; people in a deep state of distress calling some person’s name; he heard questions, some of them empty, routinary ones and others filled with much more substance, meant to subtract more specific details about something. 

Then he started touching, although he didn’t touch anything; he just felt the sheets beneath him, and the uncomfortable mattress and the cold structure of the hospital bed. 

A hospital bed. 

A hospital.

And a very...broken hospital. 

The building seemed fine, of course. But the place...not so much.

From what Winston could tell, he was in the ICU, but he wasn’t the only one in his room. Not even two or three. He could hear more voices; he could see the doctors and nurses’ shoes through the small pace at the bottom of the blue curtain. 

A very blue and stained curtain (Stained of what? Winston didn’t want to know). 

What the heck had happened?

How come a hospital was this...neglected, with such questionable sanitary conditions? 

And it’s not that he’d been in a hospital many times, but he knew they were supposed to be a clean and safe place. 

And why the hell was he in a hospital bed? 

Who had put him here? 

Winston groaned, his eyes moving around the reduced space he was in. 

Slowly, he tried to get into a sitting position, but a sharp pain ambushed him at his side; he then felt and saw the  IV cannula in his hand, and Winston knew he should’ve expected it to be there, as distracted as he was.

This really was happening. Right here and right now. And yet, when a nurse came to monitor his vital signs, Winston felt as lost as ever, as if he were still asleep or trapped inside a void. 

The woman didn’t say anything to him, besides asking how was he doing, of course. And from what Winston could see, she must’ve been a voluntary nurse. Probably a nurse-in-training, as she wasn’t wearing a uniform, just a plain white shirt and jeans. Still, she appeared to know what she was doing, so he didn’t feel too worried about her. 

After taking some notes, the nurse left, and that’s when Winston faced his therapist, doctor Blake. 

And he had never been so relieved to see her face. 

Not even when he was having a bad day and really needed to talk to her.

Because right now she was basically the only person he could recognize among the crowd. 

“Hi.” He greeted her in a hoarse voice, as the woman sat by the chair next to him, calm. 

“Hello, sir.” She greeted back. Her face looked tired, but she still managed to direct a half-smile at him. “I’m going to make you some questions now, okay?” 

Weird.

Very weird, but okay. 

Winston nodded in response. 

“Do you know what’s your name? Can you remember that?” 

Winston frowned. 

“Pratt. Winston Pratt.”

“Good. How old are you?” 

“28…” Then he closed his eyes and shook his head. 

“I’m sorry. 29”

“When did you turn 29?” 

“I...I know all of that. I do remember.”

“But can you tell me?” 

Winston clicked his tongue. 

“April 1st. Can you tell me what happened, please?” 

 “Can you?” The doctor narrowed her eyes, although her voice was still soothing and comforting. “Do you remember what happened, Mr. Pratt? Anything?”

Was he supposed to remember something?

Winston’s frown deepened at the same time he squeezed his brain in order to reach for whatever memory he was supposed to be looking for.

But he still felt kind of heavy and dizzy, and a sudden pulse appeared on his temples, so Winston had to shut his eyes and take a deep breath to make it disappear.

“It’s ok.” He heard Dr. Blake. “You can take all the time you need.”

“I know.”

He gulped, trying harder to concentrate.

Then he remembered nervousness and anxiety. Sweaty palms and cheeks tired of being constantly smiling. Clearing his throat more than once to avoid speaking in his usual high pitched voice.

“My speech.” He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling one more time. “I was about to give… No. I’m pretty sure I gave a speech at… The Arena?

“You’re right.” Dr. Blake slowly nodded. “What else can you tell me?”

“I gave my speech and then… Then…”

His head was filled with static, like a TV screen with dancing black and white dots, mimicking the sound and feeling of a blizzard. 

He could touch and even smell the fabric of his suit. New. And there was the loud static again. Inside of his head and out of it. 

Then he saw the little paper thingies flying right by people’s faces, dancing to the sound of the static.

Paper thingies. 

Figures. 

And that frustrating, obnoxious sound that refused to go away. 

Wait a minute.

It was only then that Winston realized he wasn’t hearing static. He was hearing…

“Bees?”

He was so used to bees. They buzzed in sync with Honey’s emotions and flew around his precious sweets like greedy flies. Sometimes they were so annoying that he wanted to use some of Leroy’s plaguicides to get rid of them. Other times, he couldn’t care less about their presence.

“Did they…” he turned to face Dr. Blake again.  “...attack us?”

“That’s correct. The Anarchists were spotted alongside a group of prodigies who called themselves The Rejects. Have you ever worked with them?”

“I have not even heard of them.”

“You and the rest of the city”. She smiled briefly before it faded again. “The bees contained Agent N, resulting in a lot of neutralized Renegades and so many deaths.”

“What?”

Then the flashbacks hit him.

There were tons and tons of bees buzzing and flying and stinging everything that moved. 

There were people screaming and powers being shouted. He heard whistles and explosions and a bull’s cry. He smelled soaked dirt and melted candy and smoke.

He saw lots of colors at the same time, because the world started to spin and didn’t stop until he was able to stand from the ground, only to do a double take at a girl that seemed to be holding a weapon.

“Do you remember anything else, Mr. Pratt?”

It was a crossbow.

With a frozen dagger.

And goddamnit. 

That girl’s eyes were so full of rage. 

So much rage. So much… 

Winston wasn’t one to talk about this… But he could tell she was also so, so full of pain. 

“The bees…” Winston scoffed, covering his eyes as he laughed. “T-the...Queen Bee. She…she hated anything that wasn’t yellow, black or golden.” 

BANG. BANG. 

And it was like...an epiphany. Those hateful eyes full of pain, fusing with that other pair of blue eyes, also full of hate; full of grief; full of pain; full of…

Of lies. 

“....but she wore so much red. Because she looked good in red.” 

The white strips of hair trapped between her fingers. 

Bang.

Over and over again, against the floor. 

Jesus. 

The smell of iron in the air. 

Iron and...honey. 

Blood and bees. 

Winston shook his head, trying to breathe normally. He could feel his eyes more open than they should’ve been, as he stared at the ceiling. At the lights. 

As he saw those blue eyes, while a sharp pain took over his whole body. 

She was shaking with so much violence Winston thought she was about to explode, her tiny hand in the open, bleeding wound. Just like that time he had put a band-aid on her knee. 

He thought that would be the last time he saw those blue eyes, because nobody died because of a bleeding knee.

However, many people died because of a wound like this. 

That girl. White as snow. And her icicle. 

An icicle so pointy she stabbed him with it.

But it was originally being aimed at…

“Nova” He screeched, looking desperately into Dr. Blake’s eyes. “Where’s Nova?”

-.-

The next time he woke up, Winston was sure he was not supposed to forget what he was dreaming; however, it was already fading into the void.

He knew he had to remember something, but he didn’t knew what exactly.

His stomach growled, and though he couldn’t recall the last time (or heck, even the last thing) he ate, Winston didn’t feel like asking for food.

Not that he could see if someone was available anyway.

He tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn’t, and he hated when that happened so he just remained lying, suddenly remembering that his ‘dream’ was not a dream, but a conversation.

Fuck.

He really had messed it up, hadn’t he?

First shouting Nova’s identity at the Arena, and now again but in a hospital, right in his therapist’s face.

More than once.

Winston banged his head against the pillow, thinking about how Nova was probably under arrest at this moment, and all because of him.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stu--

The curtain moved and the same nurse appeared, this time wearing a proper uniform, though she looked more tired than the last time he saw her.

“Sir, you need to stop or you’re going to hurt yourself.”

In that very moment, Winston took a closer look on her. Now that he was more awake, he realized she actually was younger than he had initially thought, despite looking exhausted right now. 

Once again, she took his vital signs, without small talk. And then, after asking if he needed something (to which Winston answered he didn’t) she left. 

Then doctor Blake came into the room, and Winston felt as if this were the post-neutralization period all over again, which was...a pretty awful thing if you thought about it. Of course, therapy had been very useful, but that didn’t change the fact the post-neutralization period remained as one of his most unpleasant memories ever, and said memory was characterized by Doctor Blake coming into his cell over and over. 

Just like she was doing now. 

However, she must have noticed Winston was more focused now, because she just sat with her notebook on her lap and took a deep breath before speaking. 

“How are you feeling, Winston?” 

Those words were enough to make his upper lip quiver. He blinked with pain. However, his first impulse was still to ask the Doctor for help, because he had been in a lying position for so long his back was starting to hurt; careful, she grabbed him by the arm and helped him up: then, she placed some pillows behind his back so the effort to hold his body that way would be less. 

“Is that better?” 

Winston nodded, trying to breathe normally. The bandages were wrapped around the wound were tight and sort of painful, even. 

But he was alive.

That...was supposed to be a good thing, wasn’t it?

“Mr. Pratt?” 

“...Yes?” 

“A tragedy happened last night.” Doctor Blake spoke slowly. “Like I already mentioned, we were attacked by a group of prodigies that called themselves The Rejects, short after your speech at the arena.”

He could recall that. His speech. The bees. The panic. 

“Many lives were lost, and due to the Agent N that the bees carried, many Renegades and civilian prodigies lost their special abilities. However, there was another incident reported in the first hours of the morning.” 

“Fuck, no. Please.”

“The Rejects moved towards the Cathedral, taking Ace Anarchy with them, and after a couple of hours, there was a phenomenon that has been denominated the Supernova.” 

Nova. 

“The cause for this strange event is still unknown, as we are yet to obtain a confession of the parties involved. Nevertheless...there were some...repercussions.” 

And he didn’t want to know what those were, but he knew she was going to tell him anyway. 

So fuck it. 

The doctor sighed.

“After said Supernova, all non-prodigy individuals acquired….prodigy features.” 

He heard her words, although he didn’t comprehend them.

Not until a minute had passed, at least.

And Winston scoffed.

“Wow, that’s so shitty.” He said, almost amused.

Almost.

“Good thing they had already taken mine.” 

Dr. Blake remained straight-faced, and Winston’s half smile quickly faded.

Then he felt it.

No.

It couldn’t be.

It was all on his mind.

Winston looked at his palms, wondering when they had started trembling.

He tried to gulp but it seemed that he had forgotten how to do it.

His heart raced.

His breath quickened.

And when he saw his fingertips as they started to ghostly glow with yellow, his hands clenched into fists to turn it off.

His vision became a blur. 

His palms ached due to his nails digging in the soft flesh.

He could no longer hear Dr. Blake, for an endless “beep” resonated inside his ears and filled his head.

His hands went right to his face with the only purpose to scratch the hell out of the makeup that Winston was so fucking sure was there again.

He wanted to whip it out.

Make it disappear.

He didn’t want it.

He didn’t…

He didn’t feel it fading, no matter how many hot tears rolled down his face in an attempt to wash it out.

Just like he didn’t feel the spark dissipate.

The prodigy spark that burned in his insides like a torch. Bright and scorching and suffocating.

A spark that consumed him like that the oxygen the fire needed to keep burning. A spark that didn’t let him breathe until it was gone.

But it had lightened up again.

So all that he could do, was scream.

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 5, Section 2

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 5, Section 1

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 5: Fog of War (con’t)

The moment Eirika's army left Serafew, they were already in Grado territory.

They continued on even more carefully before, avoiding all major roads and traveling around the outskirts of every town they neared. The supplies and food they'd prepared was more than enough for their journey, but without even a moment to rest their tired minds, their anxiety only multiplied. 

Still, Eirika had determination to spare. Each step brought her a little closer to her brother.

Her ever growing group of allies also helped to ease the pain in her weary heart. The mage Lute, strange as she was, indeed had the skills to back up her claims that she was a prodigy. And not only that, she was also knowledgeable about plants and animals, and knew the names of many of the weeds growing alongside the road. Whenever they were marching and one of the young soldiers found a rare plant, she would give its name and medicinal properties in the spot, gaining the fascination of those around her.

Her friend, the monk Artur, was quiet and did not stand out, but studied fervently. Almost all of the items in the heavy bag he carried on his back were books. Whenever he had a free moment, he cracked one of them open, and often asked Moulder questions. Moulder seemed happy to find someone he could make good conversation with.

The ally they'd made in Serafew, Natasha, was pure in both beauty and kindness, making her wildly popular among the soldiers. Some would even fall down and injure themselves on purpose in an attempt to get her to heal them. Seth realized this and scolded them harshly for it, and since then, of course none dared to try that ever again, but some never stopped trying to talk to her whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Then, there was the other person who'd joined them in Serafew, the mercenary Joshua. He seemed to be distant with everyone.

He was lighthearted and joked around, however, the moment anyone tried to get close to him, he would distance himself from them. And even if someone was just having a casual chat with him, he would not speak a single word about his personal life. Behind his cheerful face lied a man who did not want to even try opening up his heart to anyone.

Perhaps his many years as a mercenary had made him wary of others, but Eirika did not think that was all there was to it.

Seth saw right through her, and knew exactly how worried she was. She still hadn't gotten very good at horseback riding, so she continued to ride with him. Because of it, they had ample opportunities to talk about topics that they did not want to discuss with anyone else.

One day, a thick fog had enveloped the land around them since the morning, obscuring their field of vision. The air was chilly, and the soldiers' footsteps were heavy. 

Eirika was lost in thought as she rocked atop the horse. When Seth started talking to her in a low voice, she gasped in surprise.

"Something seems to be bothering you, Milady."

"Hm? Oh, no… not exactly…"

"Is it the mercenary?"

Eirika was surprised that he'd seen right through her. She looked around to make sure that no one else could hear, then answered, "Yes… I think Joshua seems to be keeping a secret of some kind. I have no intention of investigating it, but I'm a bit worried about the fact that he will not open up to everyone."

"I think it would be best to keep watch over his movements."

His tone was firm. It made Eirika uneasy. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's a person who casually switched to our side while he was employed by Grado. There's no guarantee that someone like him-"

"Seth!" Eirika realized what he was trying to say, and interrupted him. "No way, are you saying that he will betray us?"

"I'm saying that it would be best to assume the possibility."

"I… believe him. Even if he does possibly have something to hide, I do not think he is a bad person. And his skill with the sword is very reliable…"

"That is the exact reason why he is terrifying."

Eirika couldn't bring herself to respond.

Seth's apprehensions were probably justified.

If a mercenary of Joshua's skill turned over to the enemy's side in the middle of battle, then… he might be able to destroy Eirika's army in an instant. Just as she feared might happen, she lost her confidence in whether or not it was right to make him one of their allies.

Suddenly, the horse stopped. She started to ask what was wrong, but her body froze.

Several people appeared in front of them. Eirika didn't know where they had come from. They were an unsettling group that seemed as if they had burst up from the ground.

The man standing as the leader was nearing them with shaky, unsteady footsteps. His head was entirely hidden under a hood, and his body was shrouded in a long robe. He couldn’t possibly be an ordinary traveler.

He continued forward until he was standing in front of them.

His facial features, shadowed by the hood, were now easily visible. His eyes were sharp, and his cheeks sunken in. He ordered in a hoarse voice, "Stop, Princess Eirika of Renais."

"...Who are you?" Eirika's hand swiftly moved towards the hilt of her sword. 

All of her allies followed suit and grabbed their weapons in unison.

They had no idea what the man's intentions were. He didn't look like a soldier, but who would challenge them unarmed?

"The bracelet you are wearing… I want you to hand it over to me."

The man's demand baffled Eirika. "My bracelet? What are you going to try to do with it?"

"Do you think I would be privy to such information? His Majesty wishes to have it." 

She guessed that he must be referring to Grado's emperor.

In that moment, she realized they were being ambushed, and bit her lip. They'd intended to march carefully, but the empire seemed to have figured out where they were all the same.

"Do not hand it over, Lady Eirika." Seth said.

She of course nodded.

The man laughed haughtily. "I advise for your own safety that you try not to be stubborn. In this case, I shall tell you one thing. Prince Ephraim's army has already lost to the Grado Army. He is currently in the Renvall Castle dungeon, awaiting his execution."

Eirika’s face stiffened. "That's a lie! My brother would never lose!"

"You can cry all you want, but it's the truth. Ephraim lost. So it would be pointless for you to continue on any further. It is best for you to hand over your bracelet quietly, then run on home."

Eirika glared at him.

He seemed to have anticipated that she would not do as he said, as he chuckled, and continued, "If you will not comply, that is fine. Bring me the hostages!"

The man ordered the group following behind him like shadows. Several people were pushed forward.

They all appeared to be ordinary villagers. There were even small children staring blankly at their surroundings, with no idea what was going on. A slightly older girl was crying and screaming, "Help me!"

So his plan was to use people that have nothing to do with the situation to get Eirika's bracelet.

'How awful…' She whispered, but couldn't move.

"These are hostages I brought with me from Renais. Now hand over that bracelet! If you don't, they will all die!"

"...Understood. I will give it to you, so please let them go."

"Lady Eirika!!"

Seth tried to stop her, but Eirika said with determination in her voice, "We cannot take back the lives of the citizens. Please let me do this, Seth." Eirika dismounted his horse and took off her bracelet.

The man snatched the bracelet out of her hands, then cackled a vulgar laugh into the air. "Yes, this is it! This is the genuine item! His Majesty will certainly be pleased… Now, next, will you drop all of your weapons for me?"

"We refuse." Seth instantly replied. "I doubt you have any intention of letting Lady Eirika return home safely. Do you really think we'll comply with such a request?"

"I don't care what happens to the hostages. By the way, did you know? Rumor has it that huge spider-like monsters are living around here…" The man placed one of his wrinkly hands on a small girl's head. "The monsters will no doubt be pleased if I give these hostages to them…"

The children all burst out crying.

Realizing what their enemy was planning, Eirika screamed.

He was going to take the hostages with him. Eirika felt anger and regret stronger than she ever had before in her life, and glared at the hooded man once more.

"You seem disappointed, princess of Renais. But this is war. There is nothing that the losers can do. The people of Renais, resenting their powerless king, will be eaten by monsters…"

"Silence!" Her voice cut him off mid-sentence like the crack of a whip.

The man jumped back and looked down at Eirika. "Wh… What? Watch your mouth, and know your place…!"

Eirika glared at the man again.

She knew she had startled her opponent. Before she could even realize what she was saying, she yelled angrily, "I… throughout all of this, have told myself that I will never hate Grado. Even when the army attacked the palace, even when I heard that Father was dead, I thought to myself that I must not let my sadness turn into anger. Renais and Grado share a long history of friendship. I did not want to ruin that bond!"

Eirika pictured Prince Lyon's face in her head.

Could he possibly know that his soldiers were committing such atrocities? Could he have allowed them to go through with cruel plots like this one?

There was no way. Surely he didn't know anything about the current situation of the war...

"But if this is Grado's way, then I will not forgive them. If these are the empire's orders… then I will never forgive the Grado Empire!"

"Y-You sound awful full of yourself, girl…!” The man was intimidated by Eirika's anger. His voice sounded indomitable, but it was also shrill with anger. "If you intend to defy me, then I will show no mercy! This will be where you all meet your end!” He disappeared as if he had blown away with the wind.

"Was that magic…?” Eirika panicked and looked around. ‘Where did he go?’ 

"I believe the spiders live in the mountains just ahead of us…"

Lute said, but even when Eirika looked at where she was pointing, the mountains she claimed were there were completely covered in fog, and they could only just barely see them in the distance. 

"Let's hurry. The hostages are in danger!" When Eirika pictured the villagers all huddled together in fear of the presence of the giant spiders, she could hardly stand the thought.

The further they progressed, the thicker the fog became. Even after they lit torches, they couldn’t see very far ahead of them.

Before Eirika even gave her orders, Vanessa said, “I will go to them.”

“But it’s too dangerous in this fog…”

“I will be fine. There is no doubt that I can move faster than all of you on the ground.”

However, the enemy was probably using the fog to hide and wait for Eirika’s army to come to them. It was far too dangerous to let Vanessa go ahead on her own.

While Eirika was deliberating over how to respond, someone else spoke up.

“I will go with her.” The person who stepped forward was Joshua. He spoke in his usual tone of voice, and flashed Vanessa a smile. “I’ve always wanted to try riding a pegasus once. Let me ride with you. While you're saving the hostages, I'll take care of the monster spiders."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

"...No." She held him back. Why did he say he wanted to ride a pegasus now, of all times? 

He looked back at her, puzzled. 

Eirika felt Seth's gaze on her as she spoke awkwardly, “...I want you to stay here. The person to go with Vanessa will be… Sir Garcia. Will you go with her?”

Garcia was surprised to suddenly be called out, but nodded. “If those are my orders, then of course I’ll go! But… Lady Eirika…?”

The pained look on her face was probably suspicious. Garcia tilted his head.

Joshua asked incredulously, “What? Why not me? I should be able to take out something like spider monsters…”

“It's not that, it’s because there are likely a lot of enemies lying in wait just ahead, so I want you to fight here.” Eirika turned her back to him and avoided explaining anything further.

When Joshua had announced that he wanted to go with Vanessa, she'd immediately remembered the conversation she'd previously had with Seth. 

It was entirely possible that Joshua might betray them. He might kill Vanessa, then turn back over to the Empire's side.

She couldn't deny the fact that she wanted to trust him, but she was also worried. If he betrayed them now, they would lose both Vanessa and the hostages.

"Okay then, let's go." Vanessa helped Garcia mount her pegasus, then the two flew off.

Joshua furrowed his brow slightly and looked at Eirika with a dissatisfied expression on his face, but turned around with a huff and withdrew his sword.

Eirika called out, "Cavalry, march to the front! Because our field of vision is so poor, please always confirm where your allies are before making any movements. We must be careful not to split up, even for a moment…"

Before she was even finished giving her order, enemy soldiers started leaping towards them from within the fog.

As they'd suspected, the Grado soldiers had been waiting all across the plain for them. The injured enemies went down shrieking into the air. 

Eirika's army panicked at first, but only for a moment, and quickly regrouped. Maintaining their formation in the thick fog was no easy task, but the soldiers remained calm. They cut down their enemies while periodically calling out to each other to confirm their positions.

This battle was their first true fight within Grado territory. The enemies they'd fought before could not possibly compare to this group. And on top of that, the Grado soldiers knew this area very well, and used that to their advantage by trying to lure Eirika's army into dangerous areas such as cliffs and swamps whenever they found an opening.

Throughout the grueling battle, Eirika confirmed Joshua's position several times. His red hair stood out even within the fog. He rushed so boldly into the enemy lines that one would think he was being reckless, and broke through areas so that the cavalry could advance. It was clear that he was an essential member of Eirika's army now.

Was her previous judgement a mistake? Perhaps he had noticed that she doubted him, and she had ironically lost his trust in the process...

"Eirika!"

Seth's voice snapped her back to reality. 

An enemy soldier was running straight toward her.

It took all of her strength just to dodge his attack the moment he lunged. If Seth had not rushed over to her, the Grado soldier likely would have skewered her with his lance.

Seth defeated the soldier, then pulled her up atop his horse.

"I'm fine, Seth. I can still fight…"

But Seth ignored her plea. The moment she realized that maybe her concentration was still lacking in battle, her body shrunk back.

The battle was gradually reaching its conclusion. The enemy army seemed to be mostly defeated. Franz was rushing around their ranks and confirming the number of casualties. They had not suffered many sacrifices at all.

“All that’s left is their leader. We have to search for the man that stole the bracelet!”

Eirika shook her head. “No, Seth. I am more worried about the hostages. Let’s follow after Vanessa and Garcia…”

“It seems like that won’t be necessary!” Colm said while looking up at the sky.

Perhaps because of his experience as a thief, his hearing was far better than that of the average person. Even on a battlefield like their current one with poor visibility, his keen senses had been helpful, allowing him to give effective directions to the soldiers.

“I can hear her pegasus’ wings. Sounds like they’re comin’ back here.”

Just as he finished saying that, the noise reached Eirika’s ears. It was the unmistakable sound of wings soaring through the sky.

As the fog slowly started to clear, a lone black shadow became visible. It became much bigger in the blink of an eye, then lightly started to lower in front of Eirika and the others.

Vanessa landed with a small girl in her arms. “I apologize for returning late, Lady Eirika.

Vanessa’s cheerful expression caused Eirika to breathe a sigh of relief. “Good work, Vanessa. What about the other hostages…?”

“They are safe. Since I could not carry such a large group at once, I returned with the youngest child for now.”

“And what about Sir Garcia?”

“He is safe as well, of course. He fought the monsters all by himself. Since there may be others still lurking about, he is staying by the hostages’ side for the time being.”

“So they’ve already been killed…?” Lute cut into the conversation with disappointment in her voice. “However, ‘Spider Monsters’ is not their proper name. That would be ‘Bael.” I really wanted to see one once with my own eyes, but… I’ll at least go just to see their corpses…”

“Lute!” Everyone shouted.

“We don’t have time to be studying spider monsters right now. Leave the rescue of the hostages to Vanessa and the cavalry. Everyone else has to go after the man from before.” Seth ordered.

“Bael are much more endearing than that seedy human…” Lute looked up at Seth, but realized that there was no chance her request would be granted, and nodded her head in acceptance. “Understood. It is unfortunate, but I will likely have another chance to encounter a Bael. Let’s chase after the seedy human for now.”

Seth gave the soldiers their orders, and they all searched for the man who should be hiding within the fog. Before long, he received a report that a man had been found hiding in a thicket at the base of a mountain.

The fog had cleared considerably at that point. They were able to see him with their naked eyes.

The hooded man realized that enemies were coming towards him, and tried to flee. It was likely that he’d decided to try to leave the fighting to his subordinates while he watched from afar atop high ground. Thick tree cover and cliffs blocked him off, and there were no escape routes behind him.

Eirika jumped down from Seth’s horse and ran up to him. “There’s nowhere for you to run! Now hand over my bracelet!”

The man glared at Eirika with bloodshot eyes, and clutched the stolen bracelet tightly. “S… someone… wants to give it to His Majesty…!”

“Why does the Grado Emperor want my bracelet?”

“I-I don’t know…!”

The man muttered a spell without moving his mouth.

Eirika realized quickly what he was doing, and jumped back. A pillar of smoke rose from where she’d been standing.

It was now obvious that he could wield offensive magic.

Battle with a mage was difficult because while they had no physical strength, they could launch an attack with magic even from far away. Those skilled in magic could somewhat defend themselves against it, but the average soldiers, like sword fighters and knights, had no protections at all against it. It was far from uncommon for those who were unskilled in combat to be killed by a single spell. 

Would it be best to send Lute and Artur his way? But they were not used to battle yet, and he might be difficult for them to put up a fight against... 

While Eirika was still at a loss for what to do, Joshua rushed far ahead of her.

Eirika was in complete shock, and before she could call out "Be careful…!" to him, he sliced his sword through the man's skin.

"Ahh…!!" The man stifled a scream, and tried to chant one more spell. 

However, Joshua's attack was faster.

 The moment the sword glistened in the light, the man screamed his death cry. 

"Hey, this is valuable, right? Take good care of it." Joshua said teasingly, then handed the bracelet over to her.

"Th-Thank you, Joshua…"

However, Joshua immediately turned away as if he was rejecting her.

Eirika felt the giant rift between them become even deeper.

The cavalry returned with the hostages soon after. Garcia was of course with them as well.

When asked about what it was like fighting the spider monsters, he simply answered “They’re creepy,” and grimaced. They seemed to be a particularly disgusting monster. Lute, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction from everyone else. A twinkle appeared in her eyes, and she started bombarding him with questions, which disturbed him deeply.

-

That night, they unsurprisingly decided to give up on marching any further for the time being, and rested on the plains. 

After their meal, while everyone else was sitting in a circle and enjoying themselves, Seth called Eirika over to him, and broke away from the group.

She had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk about, and put her returned bracelet tightly on her wrist, then waited for him to begin speaking.

Seth walked all the way over to the shadow of the trees, where they could not feel the presence of anyone else, then said gravely, “Lord Fado ordered me not to tell you anything until the time was right… But since the secret has been leaked to the Grado Emperor, it is probably best that I tell you now.”

“...About this bracelet?”

Seth nodded. “As you know, Renais has handed down one of the Sacred Stones since ancient times. And the countries of Grado, Frelia, Jehanna, and Rausten all pass down the other four.”

“Yes, it is said that during the ancient war, the Demon King’s power was sealed away within the Sacred Stones. They should currently be enshrined in each of those countries, which protect them. In Renais, our stone is kept in a large shrine, and the people worship it…”

“That stone is a replica.”

Eirika was surprised by his unexpected words. “A replica…? No… I cannot believe it…”

“I have been told that an exact copy was made and placed inside the shrine. The real stone is sealed tightly away in the Renais Castle basement.”

She couldn’t believe what he was saying. She herself had prayed countless times at the shrine where the Sacred Stone was kept, and she’d seen her father hold sacred rites in front of it before. Had all of that been a large-scale performance to keep the real stone hidden from sight?

“That’s… but… isn’t it pitiful for the people who have prayed at the replica? Everyone visited that shrine with such pure, devoted hearts…”

Eirika’s clouded expression made Seth smile. “No, on the contrary, it was likely for their sake. Lord Fado said that the Sacred Stones contain such great power that they have an effect on people’s hearts… and they will be entranced by that power, so much so that they cannot look away from them. That is why one of the previous kings thought up the idea to hide the real stone. And the key that unlocks the seal is that bracelet.”

Eirika looked down at her bracelet once more.

When she was young, her father had given her and her brother each a bracelet. Her father’s voice had been so uncharacteristically insistent when he told them to take good care of them, that Eirika had always thought it strange.

“Father… never told us even one word about how important these bracelets are…”

“He probably thought the day when we would need to unlock the seal would never come, and decided that it would be for the best. It is likely that Lord Ephraim still does not know his bracelet’s secret. Lord Fado only told me in the case of a one in a million scenario.”

“But then how did the Grado Empire learn of it…?”

“They probably found a way to get the information out of Lord Fado.”

There shouldn’t have been an easy way to get her father to spill such an important secret. No matter how terrifying their methods were… Eirika felt the warmth drain from her body. She couldn’t bring herself to think about it. Now wasn’t the time to lament the tragedy that had befallen her father.

“As Natasha said, the Grado Empire is trying to destroy the Sacred Stones. That is consistent with their actions so far... In order for the emperor to destroy Renais’ Sacred Stone, they are after my bracelet.”

*Maybe.”

“Brother also has the same bracelet as I. So that means…”

“If that man’s words are to be trusted, then Lord Ephraim has already been captured. It is possible that they have stolen his bracelet.”

“Brother…” Eirika clasped her hands together tightly.

They were so close to reaching him… and yet they still might not be fast enough to be able to save him.

“The enemy knows that we have already entered Grado Territory. If they become impatient… it is conceivable that they will execute him.”

“Yes. We haven’t a moment to waste. Let’s hurry!” Eirika looked up at the edges of the mountains above them, clearly visible in the night sky now that the fog had cleared. And past that, she could finally see Renvall Castle.

[eternlle]

in 1897, evelyn was killed in the bazar de la charité inferno, alongside 125 other high - society women.     it was her worst death, and the most egregious injury she ever sustained.    without a doubt,  this was the most horrific experience of her life.

under the cut for a literal short story   (1,700 words, whoops)  about that one time evelyn died in a fire.   graphic description of burning included, so read at your own risk.

evelyn wasn’t actually supposed to be in paris in may 1897.   she’d planned a trip to brussels, which had been abruptly cancelled   ;   and, despite having plans to travel to cairo at the start of the next month, she felt like resting for a while.   the plan was to visit the city for a few days, then move south, on to langeais, where she could rest in her childhood home for a while.

she stayed because of the bazaar.   it was too great an opportunity to pass up.

amidst the sea of finely dressed ladies, tiny evelyn, without a title or an overflowing purse, didn’t stand out much.   she browsed the stands of trinkets and jewelry, had her picture taken, and watched a magic show in awe.   finally, her arms laden with new purchases, she was eager to see the cinema, playing a moving picture   ---  she’d never seen one before, and her heart raced at the very thought.    it should have been a perfect day...

until flames began licking up the walls.

everything happened so fast.  later, evelyn would not be sure when the panic started, or how people realized the danger  ---  only that she did not realize it fast enough.    the first thing she heard were the screams   ---   a game, surely, it must just be a game  ---  but people were running, shouting au feu, au feu  ---   and one woman suddenly crashed through evelyn’s corner of the tent, smashing into a stall, her dress aflame.    then everyone was running, crowding towards the building’s lone exit...   and there was no way out, no way to push through the crowd.

the blaze spread like hellfire.   at once, it was everywhere, sweeping along the walls and ceilings.    the smoke was choking, and she could not escape it   ;   the band was still playing to tranquilize the crowds, but it only added more chaos.   when the lights when out, a tortured wail rose up from hundreds of dying people, and panic increased threefold.

lost in the crowd, evelyn was jostled at every side, nearly swept off her feet.   her only thought was of the exit, now so hard to find in the dark...  but when someone pushed her back, evelyn stumbled back, into a towering man in a silk waistcoat.   he threw her away roughly, slamming her into a jewelry stall. when she tried to get up, the crush of people held her down   ;   she was pinned to the floor, kicked and trampled.   a boot caught her in the head, and she saw stars.   somehow, she was able to pull herself beneath the stall...   but that was only enough to escape the crowd, not the blaze.

evelyn was too injured to try to escape, even when there was no longer a way out.   with the exit overcome by fire, all the trapped souls remaining were left to huddle like rats in darkened corners, shielding themselves beneath tables and behind stages, awaiting salvation that would never come.   through half - opened eyes, evelyn watched people flee for their lives.   women collapsed in pillars of flames mere feet away, and she could only watch, unable to offer help.     one of her legs was shattered, her hand crushed to a pulp   ;   blood dripped down her face, running into her silent scream.

without warning, insistent hands hauled her up, pulling her from beneath the stall.   evelyn emerged into smoke - filled air, unable to hold herself up on her own   ;    only when she looked back did she realize her sanctuary had caught fire, and was burning just over her head.    singed and reeling, she braced herself against the arm of her rescuer.     ( that would be her clearest memory afterwards   ---  wide blue eyes, a purple coat, a grip that would not let her collapse, and a lady’s low voice encouraging her   ---   you must keep moving!  you must!  in the name of god, don’t give up now!   evelyn never even knew her name. )

they nearly made it   ;   they nearly found a spot free of fire, where the air was thin but not choking, where they might have survived a few seconds longer.   flameless darkness was in sight, and evelyn reached for it   ---   but a sudden collapse above their heads brought down upon them a curtain of flame.   something hard struck evelyn’s back, but she could not register that pain over the burning  ---  burning suddenly, burning everywhere, agony unlike any she’d ever imagined.   her companion let out a terrible wail   ;   evelyn shoved herself away from a flailing pillar of flame, crashing backwards into a stall of mirrors.   glass shattered around her   ;   she fell in a heap, still engulfed in flames, screaming until her tongue burned in her mouth and her throat burned to a crisp.

it took too long to die.   she is not sure how quickly death came  ---  maybe minutes, maybe seconds  ---   but it was far too long.

and so, she died.

and so, she awoke.

it was very cold.  that’s the first thought that crossed evelyn’s mind.   she didn’t...  feel cold, exactly, but she didn’t feel right at all, and cold was foremost on her list of concerns.   when she opened her eyes, it was dark as well...  and an unbearable stench hung in the air.   it choked her, and she tried to gasp, but her throat exploded in agony.    for a while, that was all she could manage  ---  the gasps of a dying thing, whimpering and moaning as though the very life itself were being drained from her.

in actuality, it was the opposite.   life was flowing back into her.   evelyn’s body ached, the majority of her body raw and vulnerable, like an open wound...   but the skin was closed, flesh tender where it was healing.   she still sported burns, but they were not as severe as they should have been.    her body was unrecognizable   ;   she’d been burnt to a crisp.     now, half - healed after more than two weeks of sleep, she was like a newborn bird, vulnerable and delicate, and a funny shade of purple.

within minutes, a strange man was hovering over her   ;   his hands prodded her, forcing her to bat him away with a moan of fury.   he raised a cup of water to her lips.   she gulped the liquid eagerly, and after a few moments, was even able to hold it on her own.

the rest of the fire victims had already been buried.   a few bodies   ---   the ones too burnt to be recognizable   ---   went unclaimed, and were set to be disposed of.   instead, the young man   ---   guillaume fleurot, a mortician, as he proudly stated   ---   recognized something strange in one of the bodies.   by the day, she seemed to be...  healing, with no assistance, no aid.     every time the sheet covering wrapped around her was pulled away, she’d regained a little more of herself.    by the time her chest began to rise and fall on its own, the man realized he had something more than death on his hands.    he spirited the body away from the makeshift morgue when it was liquidated, and brought evelyn instead to the mortuary for observation.

“observation”, he said.   more like a game of twenty - hundred questions, none of which evelyn cared to answer.

coming back from the dead is nasty business.    evelyn recovered slowly, returning to herself by the day.    for the first week of awareness, the pain left her insensate half the time.   medication did nothing for her, so she tried to sleep   ;   in her delirium, she sometimes rambled, and was even grateful for the attentions of her unwanted saviour.   she asked often, as guillaume told her later, after the lady in the purple coat.    if her body had been recovered from the fire, he replied, the purple coat was too burnt to be recognized.

there were moments when evelyn truly didn’t want to go on, when the agony was so overwhelming that she prayed death would just claim her...   but each time, she remembered that voice   ---  you must keep going!  you can’t give up now!   ---  and somehow, she found the strength to go on.   it wasn’t as though she had any other choice.

a month after the fire, every burn was healed.    her skin still felt tender to the touch, extremely sensitive to temperature, but it could as well have been a nasty sunburn.    she was able to speak, to stomach food, to move around on her own with ease   ---   it all may as well have never happened.

that was what she told guillaume when she finally insisted on leaving.   in typical evelyn style, she was able to laugh it off.   she’d survived  ---  what did it matter?      ( never mind that she could still taste smoke, and saw flames every time she closed her eyes.   never mind the dying screams which would ring in her ears forever. )     all she really wanted, after so long in hell, was to return home.   the young mortician, his eyes opened to an unprecedented world of scientific possibilities, did not want to let her go.    evelyn stole away in the night, escaping from under his watchful eye as he dozed in the next room   ---   if he wanted a case study to obsess over, he’d have to find some other immortal girl.

instead, evelyn returned to the woods.   the journey took her over a week.   when she finally found her childhood home, long since uninhabited and slowly being overgrown by nature, she spun around in its empty halls.   her first action afterwards was to run barefoot into the woods   ;   she ran and ran until coming to the lake, where she and her brother splashed so often as a child.   evelyn stripped herself of every shred of clothing, down to the very bone, and submerged herself in the waters.

it was cold.   it was blissful.  she felt reborn.

for the first time, when evelyn closed her eyes, flames didn’t lick the blackness of her eyelids.

[darkwoods-darkdreams]

Imagine you live on the edge of town (II)

“Hello!” Nyssa chimed from the front entrance. She closed the door behind her before joining you in the kitchen. She was so cheery despite it being so late. Upon seeing you, she stopped in her tracks. “Are you alright? You look like you haven’t slept.”

You waved off her concern as you transferred a large bowl from the shelf to the table. You had left the mixture of flour and water to ferment. It always smelled a little sour, as it should, but this time it was overwhelming. Your stomach was in knots just from being close to it. Your apron was still sitting differently on you. You were lucky enough that no one had noticed. You tried to angle yourself away from Nyssa. You had seen the looks she had been giving you lately. She knew that something was going on, but hadn’t asked outright.

“Do you need any-“

You couldn’t take it. You turned and vomited into the waste pail hooked on the wall. For a moment, you remained there, leaning over the bucket and trying to breathe through the nausea. You experimentally moved your tongue. You wanted to wash the acidic taste out, but you still felt ill.

Nyssa was by your side in an instant. She grabbed your arm in case you collapsed. “You can’t work like this. You need to see a physiker.”

You swallowed. You couldn’t allow for that to happen. If this was what you thought it was, if you were… You couldn’t let anyone attend to you. No one could know. If they did, you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. You glared at the bottom of the pail. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. It was just the first time you had been caught. “I’m fine.”

“You aren’t,” Nyssa insisted.

“The nearest physiker is in the next town over.” You shakily inhaled. Your eyes closed as you attempted to focus on anything but the nausea. “It’s not like I can walk there this late.”

Her grip on your arm loosened for a moment. Then, it returned to its full strength. “Then you should see my granny. She’ll know what to do.”

You managed to lift your head and look at her warily. You wiped your mouth on your sleeve. Nyssa’s grandmother had a reputation. The children of Fyerdin called her Granny Waxwood or the Waxwood Witch. She lived in a house on the outskirts of town. She was called the Waxwood Witch because she was obsessed with the healing properties of candles and their wax. She would leave candles burning at all hours. She would use the wax for everything. She would bathe in the melted wax and even use it as a perfume, coating layer upon layer onto her skin to the point that her skin looked like the bark of a tree. When she thought no one was looking, she would eat chunks of wax from a small pot she always-

You turned and vomited into the bucket once more. You sighed, knowing that you shouldn’t have thought too deeply about it. You doubted that you’d survive the trip unscathed. You’d probably end up with a set of candles shoved into your arms.

“Promise me that you’ll go,” Nyssa whispered. “I’ll take care of things here.”

You looked to her again. The concern on her face was undeniable. Your expression softened. “…Fine.”

“Good!” She clapped her hands. “Apron off. Out you go.”

You begrudgingly allowed her to take your apron and shoo you out of your own kitchen. You wouldn’t admit it, but the fresh air brought relief. It was a nice change compared to the yeast and booze. Still, that didn’t mean your journey was going to be a pleasant one.

Nyssa’s grandmother lived on the other side of a river. Crossing it was the only bridge in Fyerdin. Technically it existed as a symbol of the town’s limits, but that had been decreed when the town was only made up of twenty-five people.

You approached the bridge. Seeing it always reminded you of the stories your father had told you of trolls and goblins and other monsters. You wished that he had stayed home to tell you more stories rather than fight and die for some distant king.

You kept to the right side of the bridge. You glanced down at the water rushing beneath. The river was wide due to the snow still melting in the north. You raised your head again. Merchants and other travelers used these roads. You didn’t want to get hit by a cart or robbed by thieves.

The house was easy to find. All of the windowsills were filled with candles. The flames danced against the glass. Even the edges of the door were illuminated, as if all of the light was trapped inside and eager to burst free. As you drew closer, you could see Nyssa’s grandmother puttering about. Your brow furrowed as you wondered what she was doing. After watching for a bit longer, you realized she was rearranging the candles in her home. Your pace slowed as you considered the idea that maybe she wasn’t the best person to ask for advice. A pack of wolves howling in the distance forced your hand. You kept moving.

You hesitated when you reached the door. There were countless handprints along the wood. All of them were from frail, thin hands covered in wax. Your attention lowered to the doorknob. It was covered in wax, too. You decided to knock on the doorframe instead. “Hello?”

The old woman stopped moving. For a moment, you almost thought that all of the flames had gone still. Silence. Then, shuffled footsteps coming toward the door. “Who is it?”

“_____,” you replied. “I’m a friend of Nyssa’s. I was wondering if I could-“

The door swung open, revealing the Waxwood Witch in all of her glory. Her nightgown was stained with multiple layers. Her skin was coated in different colours and scents. Her feet were covered in soot. She stared up at you with wide eyes. When she tilted her head, her hair barely moved. There was too much wax coating her scalp.

You tried your best to take a subtle step back. The smell was making you dizzy. “I-I’m sorry if I woke you. Nyssa-“

“You want candles?”

“No, I’m looking for some help.”

“Help from candles.”

Your mouth opened, but you said nothing. You refocused. “No, not from candles. From you.”

She ushered you in. Against your better judgment, you obliged. You lifted your skirts to make sure that they didn’t catch flame. There were so many candles and so much wax covering the floor that it was hard to walk around. Narrow paths zigzagged through the house. You followed her into another room. There were two wooden chairs. One was completely clean. You guessed that it was where Nyssa sat when she visited. You sat down.

The woman sat down across from you. She looked you over. She seemed to be a bit more coherent now that she was back inside.

You waited, anxious. You didn’t know how useful she would be regarding your predicament. You weren’t even sure if she would keep this a secret from Nyssa. At the very least, the Waxwood Witch wouldn’t be able to tell anyone else. Whenever she came into town for supplies, she was avoided at all cost. She got most things for free because the townsfolk were afraid of her. Well, most of the townsfolk. The candlemaker was more than happy to see her.

You leaned forward. “What should I call you?”

“Granny Waxwood.”

You hesitated. “I mean your name.”

“Granny Waxwood.”

“I…I wouldn’t want to insult you.”

“Insult? I like it.”

You stared at her. This was going nowhere.

Her head tilted once more. “Boy or girl?”

Your body went cold. She couldn’t possibly be insinuating- “I’m a girl.”

“I know you’re girl. I mean little one.”

“L…” Your throat tightened. You couldn’t repeat it. “I-I’m- How-“

“Can tell.” She gestured to your abdomen. “I see?”

You didn’t want to, but she was already up before you could refuse. She placed her hand below your navel. Your face burned. The resistance against her hand was obvious. Still not noticeable at first glance, but enough to be felt, and it was growing bigger.

She shuffled away. “Very tiny little one.”

You sniffled. You had hoped that you were wrong when it first crossed your mind. Now, it felt like the weight of your reality was crashing down on top of you. “…What can I- What am I supposed to do?”

“No drink. Careful. Take rest.”

You didn’t know what to say. You had hoped that she would have a more short-term solution. You had heard people whispering about it. Certain herbs that would stop things before they progressed. Then again, you knew that there was a reason those things were whispered.

“River flowers.”

You looked to her once more.

“Crush up. Put in water. Drop of blood. Will glow.”

You hesitated. You hadn’t seen flowers on the way to her house.

“Married?”

You shook your head. You knew it would be a problem as time passed. Soon enough, you wouldn’t be able to hide the pregnancy. Knowing that you weren’t married, the townsfolk would disapprove. You would be stared at. Gossiped about. They would smile to your face but shake their heads when you weren’t looking. And how were you supposed to raise a child? You owned a tavern. You couldn’t have them crying in another room when the patrons were too rowdy. You couldn’t close down. The werewolf was someone in the town. What if he tried to get involved? Your hands shook as you tried to think of a more positive outcome, but you only came up with more worries.

You stood up. You needed to leave. You needed to think of something. “Thank you. Good night.”

You hurried out before she could call after you.

You huffed in annoyance. You had walked alongside the riverbank as it twisted and curved until you were exhausted. The moon was hanging high in the darkness. You stared up at it, basking in the glow. Maybe Nyssa’s grandmother was wrong. Maybe the flowers were from somewhere far away. Your shoulders fell. They probably didn’t even exist in the first place.

The sight of something dark made you go still. It was faint, but you could still see it. Blood. You looked upstream, farther ahead on your path. There was a curve in the river. On the outer side was a dark figure. It was crouched by the edge of the water. Its pink tongue dipped into the river to pull up mouthfuls. Its maw was shining with a dark fluid. The river water was slowly washing it away as the beast drank.

You froze. It was the werewolf. You needed to leave. You watched the beast. If he heard or saw you, you were going to run and hide as fast as you could.

The wind shifted. You shivered as the cold blew over your back. The iciness only settled deeper into your chest when you saw the grass rustle in a slow path towards him.

The tongue disappeared. Ears swiveled. His head lifted as he sniffed the air. Then, he looked right at you.

“_____?”

You flinched. The voice had come from somewhere else. You turned in its direction.

Nyssa was standing a few feet away. Her hands were clasped together.

You glanced over your shoulder. The river was empty. You swallowed. For a moment, you wondered if you had really seen the beast or if you were just consumed by worry. You refocused on Nyssa. “What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you!” She hurried closer. “You were gone for ages. I thought that something had happened, so I left the bar.”

Your priorities shifted. “You didn’t close down? What if something happens?”

She crossed her arms. “You’re the one in trouble, not-!”

A howl put a stop to your argument. It was close. Far too close. And it was alone. You knew what it was.

Nyssa grabbed your hand. “We need to go back. It’s too dangerous out here. We’ll sort everything out then.”

You allowed her to pull you back into town. Even as the urge to glance over your shoulder grew stronger and the weight of a distant gaze grew heavier, you kept your gaze on her.

The chill of night was being kept at bay by the flame before you. The tavern had been opened for a few hours already. You could hear people singing and talking and laughing. You were sure that every seat was full. It certainly sounded like it. With so many people drinking, you were hidden away in the kitchens making their food. You didn’t mind it in the slightest. You hadn’t been able to find the river flowers. There was no need. You hadn’t bled since the spring festival. The swell continued to grow. You couldn’t deny it any longer, as much as you wanted to. You were thankful that you always wore an apron. At least it made things a bit more ambiguous. But that wouldn’t last forever. You had seen some of the older women give you looks when you were running errands that morning. It wouldn’t be long until speculation became fact.

Your gaze fell. Your hand slipped between the white fabric and your dress. Fingertips ghosted over the curve. Against your better judgment, you gently pressed your palm against it. There was only slight resistance. You mostly felt your own flesh. You frowned. Soon enough, your womb would be full to the brim and it would be firm to the touch. You wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

“_____!”

Your hand immediately withdrew. You turned from the stove.

Nyssa stood in the doorway, panting. “Could you help me for a bit? It’s a madhouse out there.”

“Give me a moment to finish these and I’ll be right out.”

She sighed. “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”

You got back to what you were doing, hurrying this time. When everything was plated, you carried the food out yourself. Sliced and buttered bread for the regulars. Meat and potatoes for those with more of an appetite. Your final stop was at a table in the back corner. A few of the younger men were there, laughing. Kelv and Henris were in attendance. They usually stopped by whenever Kelv’s father had given him a bit of money to spend. It was clear that they were all drunk. Even the merchant you had danced with at the festival, Arthur, was slurring his words.

“You’re heaven-sent.” Tomas hunched over his plate the moment you set it down. “What do you put in this?”

You grinned, placing your hands on your hips. “If I told you that, I’d be out of a job.”

“I wish I could eat your cooking every day,” Arthur drawled. “I almost wish I didn’t have to leave at first light tomorrow. Could you make me something for the road?”

“I have some extra pastries that-“ You laughed as all four of them cheered. “I suppose I should bring out one for each of you?”

They nodded.

“Do any of you need another drink?”

Tomas sniffled. “She’s heaven-sent.”

“Nyssa just came by, so we’re all set,” Henris replied.

“Perfect. I’ll be right back.” You disappeared into the kitchen, returning with four more plates. “Can I get you boys anything else?”

“Your hand,” Kelv answered with a hiccup. “Not for me, though.” He gestured to Henris. “Please just get married already. I’m tired of hearing him whine about you.”

Henris’ expression faltered. He immediately sobered. His back straightened. He stared down at his dessert and didn’t say a word.

“The miller’s son and the best baker east of the Hymnals.” Arthur waved his hand like he was directing a music troupe. “The perfect match.”

You were about to go along with their game, but you noticed Henris’ brow twitch. His hand were clenched beneath the table. You relented. “Well, I’ll let Nyssa know that you’ve all had enough to drink. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

You continued down the line of booths. Nyssa flitted up and down the bar to refill mugs. She smiled when your fleeting gazes met. More ale and beer was poured. More barrels were opened.

The second-to-last booth housed some of the heaviest drinkers in Fyerdin. You smiled, though you made sure to keep your distance. Richard was the only one still awake, but his tendency to grope any woman that wasn’t his wife grew even stronger when he was drunk. “Do you need another drink?”

He stared up at you blankly. Then, his attention lowered.

You did your best to mask your disgust. You didn’t appreciate him ogling you on a normal night, but this was even worse.

He didn’t look up. “How about a sip from those tits of yours?”

You scowled. He hadn’t made that sort of comment before. Usually he just asked you to sit in his lap while you poured him another drink. You put your mask back on. Your laughter was a nervous lilt to it. “You and I both know that I don’t keep that in stock.” With that, you promptly walked past him. The booth nearest to the door looked empty. You hoped that it was. You had had enough of drunk men for the night.

Dark clothing came into view as you approached the table. Broad shoulders. Rough hands. It was the hair that gave him away. Black with wisps of silver, like stars in a midnight sky. Nikolas.

Your eyes narrowed. You said nothing. He had never stepped foot into your tavern before, so you weren’t sure why he was starting now. You had invited him countless times when you were still naïve and wanted to be kind to Ilya’s best friend. He always refused and walked off. Ilya tried to comfort you with the knowledge that he was quite nervous around people, but now you knew that he was just the type that didn’t know how to act around others.

Your annoyance grew worse as he didn’t even look at you. He was just staring down at his drink. You didn’t want to get him another one. Knowing him, he’d probably refuse.

Finally, you chose to speak up. “Did you come here to lick your wounds?”

Nikolas’ eyes lifted. He stared back at you.

“What got away from you this time? A deer?”

He leaned back against his seat. “No.”

You exhaled through your nose. The tension hang in the air. You looked to his mug. “Do you want another?”

“I’ll get it later.”

You rolled your eyes. “If you’re that attached to Nyssa, then bother her when she isn’t working.” You then headed farther back into the tavern.

At least, you would have, if Richard’s arm hadn’t shot out to stop you. He had gotten up from his seat and nearly collapsed onto you. One arm was around your waist, pulling your stomach flush against his. His other hand cupped your breast through your dress.

The tray you were folding clattered to the floor. One of the mugs broke with the impact. You tried to shove him away from you, but he was too persistent. “Let go of me!” you ordered.

“Whose brat is it?” He asked. His breath stank of ale.

You went to push him again. Another pair of hands grabbed Richard from behind. In the next instant, he was thrown to the floor. The room went quiet. Henris was standing beside you, red in the face from booze and rage. He turned to you. “Are you alright?”

You nodded. “Thank you.”

His gaze lingered on you, as if he wanted to say something else. He refocused on the drunk. “I think he’s had enough fun for the night.” He then grabbed Richard by the front of his shirt and hauled him up to his feet. Richard was nearly dragged out, his legs wobbling beneath him.

For a moment, you stood there. Your breathing had quickened despite it being such a brief struggle. Your heart was still pounding in your chest. Everyone had turned to look when Richard hit the floor. You hoped that no one had heard anything else. You glanced to Nikolas. He had been the closest. He wasn’t looking at you. He was taking another sip from his mug.

You took a shaky breath and disappeared into the kitchens once more.

Hours later, you closed the tavern for the night. The moment the doors were locked, your body wilted. Your hands slipped behind your back to arch it. Everything felt sore. You didn’t bother cleaning up. You would worry about it tomorrow. After what had happened, you just wanted to sleep and forget.

You trudged up the stairs. You were panting softly by the time you reached the top. Your gaze lowered to your abdomen. It still had so much growing to do. You didn’t know how you would manage. You swallowed. You supposed that you’d find out eventually.

Your bed was a welcome sight. You changed into a nightgown quickly. It sank beneath your hands and knees as you climbed inside. You lowered your head onto the pillow and shut your eyes.

You stirred as a distant noise woke you. You turned to look at the window. The sky was just beginning to change colour. The rooster hadn’t called out to start the day. You got up, mind still foggy. Your hands moved with practiced ease, even though you were still half asleep. You reached for the latch, only to feel that it wasn’t in place. You rubbed your eyes before taking a better look at it. You didn’t remember leaving it open. You gently pushed the panes apart. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be any damage. Your brow furrowed. You peered out the window. Your room was on the second floor. No one could reach the window unless they had a ladder There was no sign of anything like that in the soil. You straightened. You closed the window and locked it.

It wasn’t until you stepped away that you felt something strange. The fabric of your nightgown was sticking to your body. It didn’t make sense. You weren’t sweating. Your hair was completely dry. You grabbed the fabric and pulled it from your skin. The sight of a dark stain made you freeze. Not breathing, you lifted it higher. You whimpered, tears forming in your eyes as the shape came into view. Five marks were the darkest. Fingers from a hand larger than any man’s. At the ends were smaller, triangular stains. The tips of claws. The palm was faint. It had picked up the blood that had dripped from the fingers.

You let go. Your gaze followed the stain. It settled over your stomach once more. Dread washed over you. He had broken in while you were sleeping. He had stood behind you and placed his hand on the growing swell.

You wrenched the nightgown from your body and tossed it into the hamper. You grabbed a dress and began to put it on. You would worry about the stain later. You were far more concerned with how he had gotten in. Maybe there was evidence on one of the doors, or he had used a ladder to get to your room. You hurried down the stairs. The front door was too risky. He would have been seen by someone. The back entrance was much more likely.

When you turned to walk down the hallway leading to the back door, you stopped dead in your tracks. The door was open. Cautiously, you approached it. It was ajar. You couldn’t tell if it had been pulled close to shut by the wind or if the werewolf had moved it on his way out. You leaned down to examine the door more closely. The lock wasn’t broken, but it was covered in scratches. The frame was in the same state. Had he forced it open with his-

A figure moved to stand behind the door. You jumped to your feet with a gasp.

Kelv opened the door. “Did you just wake up?”

You stared at him. What was he doing at your back door? Why hadn’t he knocked on the front or shouted for you? You took a step away from him, your hand over your chest as you tried to calm your heart. “A few minutes ago. Why?”

He hesitated, as if it wasn’t something you should know. “Something happened last night.”

Your hand fell to your side. You steeled yourself. “What happened? Tell me.”

“Jonathan found a body in his fields.”

Your throat tightened. You had a bad feeling about this. “Whose body?”

“Richard’s.”

A second passed. Two. Three. The blood on your clothes. Was it from-

You strode past Kelv. You headed straight toward Jonathan’s property.

“_____, wait!”

“I need to see this for myself.”

He caught up, walking beside you. “You’re not wearing any shoes.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Is something going on? You’ve been acting strange lately.”

You didn’t reply. You just kept walking. Finding the scene was easy enough. Most of the townfolk were already gathered around. Women were clustered behind the fence, hands covering their mouths and tears in their eyes. Children leaned this way and that to get a closer look or played amongst themselves out of boredom. Men were staggered throughout the field, all facing one particular spot. Jonathan was talking to the mayor.

“_____!” Kelv called after you once more.

You didn’t listen. You stepped onto the field, ignoring the feeling of dewy grass and mud between your toes. Your attention shifted to someone standing behind Jonathan and the mayor. Henris. He was farther away than the others. His arms were crossed. He was staring at the ground. You faltered. He had been the one to pull Richard away from you and drag him out of the tavern. It was almost right after his friends had let slip that he had feelings for you. You swallowed. Was this his doing?

You stopped when the body came into view. Your lips pressed together. The smell of blood was so strong that you could taste it. You tried to breathe through the nausea as you looked over corpse. Richard’s body had been torn apart. His organs had spilled from gaping wounds in his abdomen, staining his skin and his clothes and the ground beneath him.

Nikolas was kneeling beside the body. He hadn’t looked up when you approached. His attention was focused on the wounds.

“What do you think?” The mayor moved to stand next to him.

“Too rabid to be a man. Too smart to be an animal.”

“A werewolf?” Jonathan asked. “Like the one that killed my cows and sheep?”

“It’s the same one. They’re solitary creatures. They don’t hunt in packs like wolves.”

“Were the sheep not enough? Has it moved onto humans now?”

“It wouldn’t kill a human if there was a better meal around. This was personal.”

You glanced to Henris. He had moved further away.

Suddenly, he was eclipsed by Nikolas’ shoulder. He was standing now, over a head taller than you were. His gaze was focused solely on you. It only lasted for a moment. Then, he turned away as if you weren’t even there. “The tracks lead into the forest. I won’t be able to trace it back to a source.”

“So you can’t figure out who it is,” you spoke up.

Several pairs of eyes flickered to you, including Nikolas’.

The mayor was the one to speak. “I trust that you’ll be able to sort this out, Nikolas.”

“There are wards I can use. Certain materials that can drive it away. But there’s another problem.”

You tensed. You had a feeling you knew where this was going.

“What is it?” the mayor asked.

“It’s likely that the werewolf is someone in Fyerdin.”

Silence fell over the field. When Nikolas looked to the forest, Henris was gone.

“It would be wise to start a curfew,” Nikolas continued. “You’ll have to get volunteers to stand guard at night.”

The mayor nodded. “I’ll ask around today. I hope that you’ll join them.”

“I will.”

With the decision made, the crowd began to disperse. You walked back to the tavern alone. For once, you were actually relieved by Nikolas’ presence. At the same time, you were worried that someone else would die. The werewolf had only chased off Ilya. If your suspicions were correct and the beast had killed Richard for touching you, he was becoming more territorial. You refused to think of it as him protecting you.

You slowed as you entered the garden behind the tavern. You grew some of your own supplies and bought everything else. Usually you only worried about the things that were too expensive to buy on its own. You looked over the mud and the glistening plants. Some of the stems were broken. There were footprints leading to the back door. You frowned. You brought out a rake and upturned what soil you could. It would look suspicious if you only worried about the pawprints. You wiped your brow when you were finished. You had never thought that you’d be hiding evidence of such a creature. Then again, you hadn’t even believed in such monsters a few moons ago.

You washed your feet off before heading back inside. You glanced to the stairs. You wondered if it would be better to burn the nightgown or wash it.

A knock at the door put a stop to those thoughts. You looked over your shoulder. The sound had come from the back door. You approached warily. The werewolf wouldn’t show up in the middle of the day. Someone would see him. You wondered if it was Henris, or Kelv, or-

Opening the door revealed none of the men you expected. You were instead met with the sight of dark leather. Your gaze lifted. Dark hair. Light eyes.

Nikolas.

[shirtlesssammy]

15x03: The Rupture

Then:

Long Live the Queen

Now:

We start right where we left off. Hunters are guarding the failing perimeter, while our team heads back to the crypt to perform Rowena’s spell. They set to salting the place while Rowena casts her spell. It starts to reinforce the barrier, but then things start to flicker and Rowena is knocked back in a blast. The spell didn’t work.

There are too many ghosts and they’re too strong. Dean suggests killing as many ghosts as possible before the wall falls, but Rowena scoffs at the idea. Belphegor walks off and Cas follows him. Dean gets all soldier mode and starts yelling about not giving up. 

*Samwitch Alert* Sam, ever the mediator, hunkers down next to Rowena to ask if she needs anything. He rests his hand gently on her shoulder and they share meaningful looks. 

Meanwhile, Bel and Cas wander the graveyard. Bel tells Cas, “You can’t even look at me.” Put a pin in that comment. They wander to the hell mouth. 

Sam and Dean discuss strategy. Dean’s pissed at God. (*AHEM*). He’s not going down without a fight. Sam is distracted, staring at a lovely framed Rowena looking at the Book of the Damned. 

Bel has an idea. He suggests finding Lilith’s Crook, a horn Lilith used to keep order with all the demons in Hell that she sent to Earth.

If they get it and use it, they can draw all the ghosts and demons that are now topside, back to Hell. Rowena has a spell of her own devising to close the hole in the ground. (Crack thought: This is a healing spell. Maybe she’ll use it on herself to heal her own wound.) The spell only takes a couple ingredients, and she’ll need an assistant. She says this while looking at Cas, but then says, “Dibs on Samuel.” Lololololol. That’s right, girl, he’s all yours. 

Someone will also have to lob the spell bomb over the edge of the tear. Belphegor then pipes up asking for help in Hell. “I want protection. Muscle.” Without a beat, Dean responds, “Yeah, Cas’ll go.” And Cas’s look of WTF sums things up quite nicely. Cas has been to Hell before. I mean, yes, uurgh, saving your sorry ass from it, Dean (ok, I’m on no Dean hate-train but it’s easy to lash back at him when he’s being this way.) “Well, it sounds like I don’t have a choice.” I feel like all three members of Team Free Will uttered something along those lines tonight and I’m not well. Dean says, “Go team.” There’s no free will in this house. 

Ketch is still in the hospital and is visited by the demon, Ardat. Things don’t go well. (Remember in Temple of Doom when they ripped a still beating heart out of someone and an entire film industry created a whole new rating because of it? Now they’re just showing this shit on network TV at 7pm. What a time to be alive.) (Also, good riddance Ketch. You killed Eileen and I’ll never forgive you.)

Belphegor continues to needle Cas with the idea that he’s not wanted by the Winchesters. Cas tries to ignore him. Cas asks how they get down there. Belphegor isn’t sure and walks closer to the edge to look over. Cas pushes him over the edge and a good time was had by all. Cas jumping in after him, not so much fun. 

Bleached hair hunter (what’s her name, she seems cool and I hope she sticks around) shows up with all the spell ingredients for Rowena. Dean reveals that he DOES know about Harry Potter. 

Dean hears from Ketch, but it’s not Ketch, and Dean spills their entire plan to Ardat. Question: If Castiel is spelled with one ‘s’ but his nickname is spelled ‘Cass’, why wouldn’t Belphegor’s nickname be ‘Bell’? (Why yes, I do like to rehash centuries old fandom sticking points.) 

Cas and Belphegor wander around a very quiet Hell. Everyone is topside apparently. 

Belphegor tells Cas that he thinks he’s growing on Sam and Dean, “like a cancer.” Cas tells him that they’re using him and that he shouldn’t mistake that for care (AAGHH, stop). They find Lilith’s vault. 

Inside the vault, they discover a demon happily looting the place. He greets Belphegor cheerfully. Looting is fun! When the other demon doesn’t have the horn, however, Cas kills him immediately. Cas is SO DONE. Belphegor leads Cas to the box containing Lilith’s crook and we learn that it’s warded by an Enochian hymn praising Lucifer. How very on brand for Lilith! She was also the only one who could read Enochian so, Belphegor points out, it’s a damn convenient thing that Cas came along on this trip to Hell. 

Cas tries to recite the incantation on the box but it fails. Belphegor points out that perhaps it ought to be sung. We as a fandom are then ROBBED of Misha singing the entire incantation. (CC: Shaving people punting things? After a suitable mourning period, of course.)

Dean sets up next to the Hell pit while inside, Sam’s torn between fighting alongside his brother and performing the quieter (but essential) magics inside. THIS SCENE -- this tiny line represents so much of what I hope for Sam’s journey this season. That he’s described as a witch by Rowena, that he’s GOOD at this and leadership… There’s so much potential just waiting below the surface for Sam to give voice and form. “And magic isn’t fighting?” Rowena asks him as he frets. “[Dean’s] doing his part; it’s time for you to do yours.” GUH

In Hell, Cas pulls out the crook. It is indeed a sheep’s horn. He’s about to hand it over when he’s tossed across the room. It’s Ardat! She’s been onto Belphegor since the gates flew open, suspecting that he’d try to take over Hell. Cas and Ardat fight, Ardat arguing that Belphegor’s aspirations are much higher than he lets on. Belphegor kills Ardat and Cas confronts him about her claims. Belphegor laughs and then casts Cas from the vault. 

He crows over his victory to Cas. The crook is a siphon that can pull all the souls into him, giving him godlike power. Cas realizes that every move by Belphegor has been carefully planned to somehow get Cas down to Hell with him to open the chest and get him the horn. WHERPS.  As Belphegor blows the horn, the Earth and Hell resonate with it. Cas struggles against a forceful wind to try to get back into the vault and stop Belphegor. 

For That Shirt Barely Survived Science

In the crypt, Sam and Rowena join hands and start the spell.

They chant together. Sam turns away for a moment to look towards the door, no doubt wondering what’s going on outside. Rowena calls him to task with a gentle smile and “Sam.” GUH that’s what finally broke me. (Boris has always been the more ardent Samwitch shipper but this gentle remonstrance really did me in.) The spell ignites. Dean’s hex bag glows and he hurls it into the pit. Belphegor fills with souls. It’s happening! All the things!

And then Cas tackles Belphegor and the horn ceases abruptly. He punches Belphegor again and again. (It has been a VERY trying couple of days.)

Upstairs, something’s wrong. The rift continues to crumble but Rowena looks…afraid. 

Cas is interrupted from punching Belphegor by the demon pleading for mercy in Jack’s voice. “It’s me. Jack.” UGH fucking demons. Cas is visibly tormented by this. He spreads his hand, hesitates, then summons his grace. It...FLICKERS. (Ruh roh) Still, it ignites enough for him to press his palm to Belphegor’s forehead - to Jack’s forehead - and smite him. (Ever since that Shaving people promo, I’ve been expecting Jacks’ body to burn but I never imagined that Cas would have had to be the one to do it. What a horrible, traumatic thing. Excuse me while I wrap Cas in a blanket, then myself, then Boris, then all of you readers.) (Boris: *crying noise, crying noise*)

Sam and Dean compare notes over the phone. The crack is closing but “something doesn’t feel right.” That old hunter instinct is correct, because things are about to get even worse. Rowena wanders across the room while Sam is on the phone. He looks over in time to see her STAB HERSELF in the shoulder. She pulls out her resurrection sachet. “Won’t need that where I’m going.” 

Rowena bitterly explains that they’ve bungled their last option. Or, penultimate option. There’s one more spell she can use to contain the souls. “Death is an infinite vessel,” she explains. “It draws its power from its caster.” Tears linger on her cheeks as she reveals that there are only two ingredients: her “still-coursing blood and the last is my final breath.” She’ll absorb all the spirits and after a time, her body will break down and release them all to Hell where they belong. (She will also, of course, be trapped there AND dead which SUCKS BIG TIME.) 

Sam tries to talk her out of it but she doubles down. She needs to die and Sam’s the one who must do it. “My real, permanent demise is in your hands. It’s in Death’s books.” Sam tries the “screw fate” argument on her but it doesn’t fly.

Outside, Cas reemerges from the pit and Dean confronts him about the shaky spell. Cas explains that he had to kill Belphegor and the crook was destroyed, and Dean handles it with his customary grace. JK Dean flips the fuck out. 

Rowena says something incredibly intriguing to me, then. Rowena tells Sam that she wouldn’t kill herself for the sake of anybody, but she would do it for prophecy. For magic, to which she’s devoted her life. (I’m looking directly at Billie here, who chose to reveal the agent of Rowena’s demise to her. Who MEDDLED and helped bring this about. Billie! What’s your game? Call me!) Sam tries to pull away from Rowena, who has gripped his hand and pressed the knife to her gut. “We’ve gotten quite fond of each other, haven’t we?” she asks and places a friendly hand on his shoulder. I’d love to write that suddenly PUPPIES ran into the crypt and they played with them for the rest of the episode but…

Rowena tearfully commands Sam to kill her, weighing her life against the fate of the world and the survival of Dean. She pushes AAAALLL of Sam’s buttons. Sam embraces her and stabs her right in the gut at the same time. She forces him to look her in the eyes afterward. “That’s my boy,” she tells him and I take a crying break from this recap because this performance is too goddamn much. 

And just like that, the first ingredient is in play. Rowena walks from the crypt in her flowing pink gown like a stained rose and souls fly into her. She strides to the edge of the pit and looks at Team Free Will one last time before saying, “Goodbye, boys.” She throws herself down into the depths of Hell. The ground seals behind her. It’s done. 

For Buffy Summers “Death is your gift” Science

In the bunker Dean’s footsteps echo down an empty hallway. He checks in on Sam, who’s sitting sorrowfully in his room. Sam brushes away tears before turning to face Dean and I’m basically dead right now. 

Dean drops a quick recap: the town is safe, Hell is closed, Ketch is dead. Dean tries to rally Sam. They beat Chuck’s final apocalypse. Hooray?

Afterwards, Dean throws a giant taco party for all their hunter friends. JUST KIDDING! Dean drinks hard liquor alone in the library when Cas comes in.

Cas asks how Sam’s doing and Dean is just…so angry. Dean asks Cas why he didn’t stick to the plan. Cas defends his decisions. “Something always goes wrong.” 

Dean rejoins with: “Why does that something always seem to be you,” and I’m feeling sudden empathy for Ketch, for I have also just had my heart ripped out of my chest and held, still beating, up to my face. 

“You used to trust me. Give me the benefit of the doubt.” But that’s no longer the case. Cas winds through the issue quickly, with spare words. He’s tried to talk to Dean about what he’s going through, about his failing powers, but Dean freezes him out. Dean still blames him for Mary’s death. Cas realizes it now fully, perhaps. He is DEAD to Dean. This is all delivered so softly. So TERRIBLY softly.

Dean meets this all with utter silence. He is so emotionally shut down, he can’t even shout anymore. There are no broken lamps. It’s just one non-functioning Dean with no words and bare flickers of eye contact.

“I don’t think there’s anything left to say,” Cas concludes and turns to go. 

Finally, Dean speaks. “Where you going?”

“Jack’s dead. Chuck is gone. You and Sam have each other. I think it’s time for me to move on.” Dean speaks not a word, doesn’t move a muscle, and Castiel turns and walks out the door. And just like that, Team Free Will fractures.

We’re back to Sam and Dean against the world, and doesn’t everybody just…feel great?

______________________________

Oh, My Still-Beating Quotes:

Get me close to the epicenter, find me a nice protected ghost free space. I’ll patch those crumbling walls right up and we’ll all be home for high tea.

I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let some glorified fanboy get the last word

To put it in American action movie terms, you’ll be carrying the bomb, I light the fuse, you toss it in

Oh Cas, your voice, it’s like an angel

I’ll be a god. Or, you know, close enough

I know this in my bones. It has to be this way.

I know we’ve gotten quite fond of each other, haven’t we?

______________________________

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[multisfabulis]

The Road to Forgiveness Be Damned

For Her Sake (Chapter 6/7)

Word Count: 4972

Here’s the sixth chapter!

Sorry this took so long to come out. I wanted to take some time off after I published the Qrow fic to give myself a break and it worked! Then we got a new puppy that was 6 weeks old at the time and a lot of my week now has been watching her and making sure she isn’t getting into shit. It’s been getting easier the older she gets but she likes to throw me curveballs now and then!

Only one chapter left till this story is done! This has been a long journey and I can’t wait to see this through to the end!

Read on AO3 | Read on DA

     A scream rang out into the night, jolting Ferreth awake. His heart raced as he quickly sat up on the couch, his eyes darting about the room. He strained his ears to pick up something, anything, and he heard it. Sobbing, coming from Ven’s room. Throwing off the blanket, he ran down the hallway and stopped at her door. He didn’t bother knocking and barged into her room.

     Ven was sitting up in bed, hugging her knees as she cried. Her body was curled up so tight… He could barely understand the words that were falling out of her mouth but they were clear enough for him to confirm what he suspected.

     “Why couldn’t it have been me? Why wasn’t it me? Why did I live? Why couldn’t it have been me?!”

     This wasn’t like the other times her nightmares had woken her up. She’d shrug it off and try to go back to sleep or power through the night. Not this, though. This was his first time seeing her like this and it broke his heart.

     He knelt beside her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, her eyes red and puffy and her hair disheveled. More tears spilled over her cheeks as she latched on to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck and her hands gripping the front of his shirt. He brought her closer, rubbing his thumb along her arm to console her.

     “Ferreth, I…I…”

     “Shh, it’ll be okay. I’m here.”

     “S-stay with me, please…please…”

     His arms tightened around her as he nosed through her hair. It hurt to know that he couldn’t take away her pain. He couldn’t just wish it away or take it upon himself. The familiar feeling of helplessness crept up again and he could do nothing about it. If she wanted him to stay with her, he’d do it. If being with her meant she’d feel better for a little while, then that’s all that mattered.

     Still holding her, he carefully slid onto the bed, attempting to not disturb her more. It was uncomfortably small, definitely not for someone of his stature. He had to curl his legs up and bend his neck down to avoid bumping his head against the headboard. He had an arm draped over her waist and the other awkwardly folded underneath his head. Tonight would NOT be a good night for sleep.

     She had quieted down some, though he could still hear her sniffling. There was nothing he could say to brighten the mood. Instead, he chose to look out the cracked window to gaze at the silvery full moon in the sky. It was as beautiful as always, its gentle light blanketing the village in a soft grayish blue.

     What would tomorrow, or more like today, bring? It was the day they needed to report back to Filaurel about the completion of their task. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t know what her verdict would be.

     He’d never say it to her. He tried, he really wanted to try, but he just couldn’t find it within himself to believe that she was going to be forgiven. Not because he thought she didn’t deserve it but Filaurel wouldn’t give her that. She was too stuck in her prejudiced beliefs to forgive her. Even if she did, she’d somehow find a way to twist it to not mean anything and leave her devastated. Either way, Ven would be walking out of Thal Esari, picking up the pieces of her broken heart.

     Upon noticing the silence, he looked down to see her sleeping. He felt relieved; she needed all the rest she could get. He began carding his fingers through her hair to settle down the anxiety bundle bouncing around in his stomach.

     This poor girl has undergone so much pain in her short life. There’s no counting how many times she’s wanted to give up, to run away from it all. Yet she still found the strength to resist those temptations, the courage to come back here and ask for forgiveness. Her bravery and fortitude are just small parts of herself that he, along with many others, admire her for. Only in his wildest dreams would he even think of coming close to being like her…

     So he decided to wait out the rest of the night. If she had another nightmare, he didn’t want to be sleeping in case she needed to be comforted again. Her scream also gave him quite the shock to his senses so… He stared out the window to see the telltale signs of the sun rising as it painted the sky in gold and violet hues.

     Dawn came at last, though not in the way he expected. He watched as dark clouds rolled in, lightning flashing above and low rumbles of thunder following soon after. How fitting for a storm to occur on a climatic day, he thought.

     What seemed like hours passed by till he felt her stirring awake. He stopped what he was doing as her eyes slowly fluttered open. Tired amethyst eyes looked into his and it was as if he couldn’t breathe. Her first waking up was a rare sight to see and she was as beautiful as ever.

     “Ferret? Is there something on my face?” she asked before letting out a yawn.

     Realizing he had been staring at her, he averted his gaze while blushing furiously, saying, “N-no, there’s nothing! Absolutely nothing! Nothing at all!”

     “Uh, is it okay if you, um…” She glanced down and let go of his shirt.

     “O-oh, yeah, sure,” he stammered out as he awkwardly rolled off the bed.

     It was after he left the room he felt pins and needles were being jabbed into his arms and legs. That, alongside the crick in his neck, hurt and it sucked. Never again did he want to stay in a bed meant for someone much smaller than him. At least he didn’t have to put up with it for long.

     They were going home after their check-in with Filaurel. They just needed to last a little while longer and then it was smooth sailing from there on out. He could already hear the seconds ticking away in his head.

     He yawned and almost collapsed on the couch as the weight of exhaustion crashed onto him. His eyelids felt heavy yet he knew he had a full day’s travel ahead of him. Just hold on until tonight, that’s all he had to do. He patted his cheeks in an attempt to stay awake, hoping it’d work its magic.

     When he heard her door open, he quickly stood up to face her. She came out with her hair brushed and pulled back and her eyes bright. Even the cuts and bruises she sustained a couple days ago seemed to have healed. He probably looked way worse, compared to her.

     “Hey, you doing okay after…last night?” he asked.

     “Yeah.” She cast her eyes downward, as if she was guilty of something. “…I’m sorry for lying to you.”

     Confused, he asked, “Lied? What did you lie about?”

     “Remember when you asked me yesterday about my nightmares and I said they were the same as usual? I had one like last night’s the night before,” she replied, her eyes fixed to the ground.

     “Ven, why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve done something to help you if I had known.”

     “I didn’t want to worry you more than I already did. I thought I could take care of it on my own and not be a burden to you. I’m sorry.”

     No matter how many times he’s said it to her, she’d never believe she wasn’t a burden to him. He wasn’t angry at her, or even disappointed. It was just exasperating to try and convince her to let him help her with things like this. Still, he’s only got words by his side so he has to use them to the best of his ability. Maybe if he repeated himself enough times, she’ll finally believe him.

     “Ven--” He put both hands on her shoulders-- “you are not, have not been, and will never be a burden to me. I said you could lean on me whenever you wanted to and I meant every word. What happened to not trying to feel like one?”

     “I know and I still managed to screw it up,” she muttered, continuing to stare at the ground.

     “Hey.” He took hold of her chin, lifted it up, and looked into her eyes. “I know it’s hard to rely on others but I’m here for you. I promised I’d be there for you and I don’t plan on going back on it. Don’t be afraid, okay?”

     She smiled softly as she butted her forehead against his. He knew he couldn’t stop her from feeling like she was a burden to him. He could only hope his words were finally starting to get through to her. Maybe her doing this meant she was beginning to believe him if just a little.

     Once they left the house, he glanced up at the sky and grimaced. The storm was making more of its presence known, its clouds as dark as night and its lightning strikingly white. It looked as if rain would come gushing down at any second. It was bad and they were going to be caught in it, one way or another.

     His mind began to wander off as they walked towards the village square. So much had happened within the last few days. The first couple were nothing to write home about but the third day nearly sent him to an early grave. Yesterday was probably the most pleasant day they had here, though that wasn’t saying much. How was Ven taking all of this?

     Then a question popped into his head. It was a question he had honestly never thought of asking before because it hadn’t mattered till now. He may already know the answer but he still needed to ask it.

     “Hey, Ven, is it okay if I ask you something? You don’t have to answer it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

     “What is it?”

     “Do you… Do you think you’ll ever tell Eric about what happened?”

     She stopped dead in her tracks and he instantly regretted asking that. Eric was easily the most important person in her life. There’s no way she could just tell him every torturous detail of her life before him. She’s convinced people would be terrified of her if they knew of what she did. She loved Eric too much, way too much, to ever tell him and risk having him be scared of her.

     “I…I don’t know,” she replied hesitantly, clutching her chest. “I’m scared to tell him because what if he’s afraid of me? What if he hates me? What if…I lose him?”

     “Ohh, Ven…” He hated being right. “He won’t think any differently of you.”

     “It’s just… He was the first person to show me kindness in such a long time, the first person to be friends with me. He risked everything for me and I can’t ever repay him for all he’s done. I don’t wanna lose him or have him hate me.”

     “You know how he is. You’d have to be an especially horrible person for him to even think of hating you and you aren’t. You believe that, don’t you?”

     Seeing her withdraw more, he hastily said, “Whatever you choose to do is up to you. I won’t pressure you or tell him anything.”

     He decided to end the conversation there. She buried her face into her cloak as he looked on sadly. Her friendship with Eric mattered too much to her to want to risk it. She had a right to decide on if and when she wanted to tell him about her past. It was her story to tell and he refused to take that away from her.

     What started as a couple raindrops became a sudden downpour. They ran the rest of the way to the town hall, desperate to avoid getting soaked. Deftly walking up the stairs, they barged into the foyer.

     He shivered as the coldness of the interior hit him. Ven was faring better than him, due to her cloak protecting most of her body from the rain. He looked over at the set of doors that laid before them.

     Just beyond those doors was Filaurel. He, for one, could not wait to get what they were here for over with so they could go home that much quicker. She reached a hand out towards the knob and stopped. He could see it trembling ever so slightly and knew he had to step in.

     Grabbing her hand to lead it to the knob, he said, “No matter what goes on in there, I’ll be there with you.”

     She gave him an affirmative nod and let out a deep breath. She seemed to be trying her best to not let her fear show in front of him. Confronting her abuser for the second time this week was probably making her anxious as all hell and she was still wanting to ease his worries. He meant every word he said to her, for better or worse. She finally pushed the door open and they walked in.

     Everything appeared to be the same as when they first came in here. The floor length window that now showed the deluge of rain. The dais that held three seats to their left and the group of benches meant for an audience to their right. In the center, much like before, was Filaurel.

     Just looking at her made him bristle. What use was there in saying more than he already did? The woman scarred Ven for life because she had a sick and demented way of handing out “discipline”. She brainwashed her into believing she was a monster, that she didn’t deserve or have a right to exist, and for what? Because she carried an absurd hatred towards Vlixeoxs? Whatever it was, no way in hell did it excuse doing what she did to a child.

     “My Lady--” Ven knelt down before her, with him following suit-- “we’ve come back bearing news of our success.”

     Giving them a haughty chuckle, Filaurel said, “So you actually did it, and within the time limit as well… I must say, I’m impressed.”

     He wanted to mimic her like the petty guy he was. The tone in which she spoke that was as if she didn’t expect them to even do it, much less in the time she allowed them. Still, he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to jeopardize Ven’s chances at forgiveness by acting immature.

     “If it isn’t too much to ask, my request?” she asked shyly, both of them standing up.

     “Ah, that. I had honestly forgotten about it,” Filaurel replied, her hands tightening on the grip of her cane. “You know I don’t like being reminded of my age, Venli---”

     “I-I’m sorry, my Lady, I-I didn’t mean to---”

     She slammed the butt of her cane down to quiet her. “What have I told you about interrupting me, young lady? Surely you haven’t forgotten that among everything else, have you?”

     Ven timidly bowed her head while apologizing. It was getting harder and harder for him to bite his tongue with each word that spewed out of her mouth. He couldn’t wait for this to be over with so they could head back to Aurora Zenith. There, she’d be treated with the respect she deserved.

     “Now, about what you asked for…”

     They waited for her answer with bated breath. He wasn’t expecting forgiveness, their first meeting sealed the deal on that right away. She was too cruel and heartless to suddenly be “generous”, whatever her definition of that was. Then there was the matter of how Ven would take this.

     She was going to be crushed, that much he knew for sure. Whether it be by rejection or a massive guilt trip from Filaurel, the result would be the same. The only question was, what would hurt more?

     “Unfortunately, your crime is far too great for what you seek so I will not grant you forgiveness.”

     He watched her face fall in devastation. Even when he knew it was coming, it did little to ease the pain he felt after seeing that. He needed to get her out of here before she started crying. He put a hand on her shoulder to turn her away when---

     “How long?” She took a step forward. “How long did you consider?” Don’t do this, don’t challenge her, he silently begged.

     As the thunder slowly rumbled outside, Filaurel asked, her voice low and holding back tranquil fury, “Are you questioning me? Do you dare question my ruling?”

     “N-no, I-I-I’m just asking if…” She stopped speaking, all the color gone from her face.

     “If what?” She slammed her cane down once more, startling Ven. “You know how much I hate you not finishing your sentences.”

     “Did you ever think of forgiving me or were you never going to, no matter what I did?”

     Outside of the rain battering on the window, the room was deathly quiet. He wasn’t sure on what would happen next. If it came down to it, he’d grab Ven and hightail it the hell outta Thal Esari. Filaurel began to walk towards them after a moment passed, a look of barely restrained rage on her face.

     “I-I’m sorry, my Lady, I spoke out of line so please---”

     With the curved grip of the cane under her chin, Filaurel interrupted her with, “We’re past the point of apologies, Venlithea. You have a lot of gall to question me on whether or not I thought about granting you forgiveness. Frankly, I didn’t have to mull over such an outrageous motion, considering the severity of your crime, but I did. So don’t you dare challenge my authority again.”

     “I-I’m sorry, my Lady.” He could see her shaking like a leaf from how scared she was. “P-please forgive me…”

     “Honestly, what in your right mind made you think you could just ask for forgiveness? The blood on your hands can never be washed away, least of all with a simple task. You killed fifteen people. Fifteen innocent lives---”

     “What…? Fifteen?” Was this her first time hearing how many had died that day? So they only saw half the people she…

     “No matter what you do in the name of ‘atonement’, you’ll never be forgiven for what you’ve done. You should be ashamed for even thinking a monster such as you is worthy of forgiveness.”

     A lightning bolt struck down then, the window rattling as thunder boomed. It shrouded Filaurel in shadow while illuminating Ven in light for a split second. He could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

     He swore he could taste blood from how hard he was biting on his bottom lip. He was this close to grabbing the bitch and chucking her out the window. The only thing stopping him was his promise to Ven to not let his temper run wild. Why won’t she stand up for herself?

     “Stop your sniveling, Venlithea. You needn’t act like a child over me telling you what you did all those years ago when the families you irreparably destroyed are still grieving over their lost loved ones to this day. Not only are you selfish, you’re cold-hearted as well. Get out of my sight and don’t think about coming back here ever again. I’ll have you killed on the spot.” She turned away brusquely and gestured at the door to wave them out.

     He could tell she was fighting the urge to just collapse. His heart ached at seeing her shoulders tremble and hearing her breath hitch. His vision narrowed on Filaurel as he felt his teeth sharpen into jagged points. He had been holding back for her sake but this was the last straw.

     “V-very well. Thank you for at least considering my request. We’ll be leaving now.” She sniffled as she turned to leave. He quickly took hold of her wrist.

     “Hey, Filaurel,” he called out, almost growling the words as he said them, “you wanna take back what you said?”

     “I thought I ordered you to leave. Both of you,” she emphasized.

     “Ferret, let’s just go, okay? It’s not worth it,” Ven tearfully whispered, touching his arm with her free hand.

     “No, Ven, I’ve had enough of this bitch walking all over you just because she can. Now she gets to deal with me.”

     “And what, pray tell, do you want with me?” she asked, her mouth a wry smile. “Don’t tell me you condone this murderous girl’s actions.”

     “It’s your fault those people are dead! You may not have been the one to kill them but you pushed a little girl to that point with your twisted ways of doling out punishment. The only one I see deserving the honor of being a monster is you, lady.”

     “You have a lot of nerve, talking to me like that. You do know who you’re talking to, don’t you?”

     “Yeah and I don’t give a fuck! You’re just an old cunt who tortured a kid for being a Vlixeox! Why the hell should I treat you with any kind of respect when you utterly refuse to treat Ven with an ounce of it?!”

     “How dare you talk to me like that… You have no right in speaking to me like that when you answer to me!”

     “The only person I answer to is my lord, a man that doesn’t see Ven as a monster like you and everyone else in this fucking village. You’re just a hag that gets off on abusing your power on people weaker than you. You’d be nothing without that.”

     “Then tell me, what is so special about her?! What is so special about a Vlixeox that slaughtered several of my citizens in cold blood?!”

     “She’s not you. We happened to meet some of those she killed and they forgave her for what she did. They did that because they knew she never meant for any of what happened that day to happen. You say one more word about her and I dare you to try me, bitch.”

     Another bolt of lightning struck down outside. She became shrouded in shadow once more but he caught a glimpse of fear overtaking her beet red face. She’s probably never seen a Dradnach before this moment and it must’ve scared her, seeing the eyes and teeth like that. Good.

     It was darkly thrilling to have someone like her be afraid of him. She deserved every last bit of the terror she was feeling, since it was nothing compared to Ven’s. He’d do so much more but he needed to take care of a more important matter.

     With her lack of a response, he said rather curtly, “Now we’ll be leaving.”

     He wrapped an arm around Ven’s shoulders and gently led her out the room. Each step he took, slight tremors shook the building, causing tiny cracks to appear along the walls and ceiling. It may have been petty but it was the best way to vent his anger without getting physical and alerting the guards.

     The rain had lessened some when they came out. The guard posted at the bottom of the stairs threw them a glance in their direction but a quick glare scared him back to his front. She only sniffled as tears continued to fall down her cheeks, worrying him. He needed to get her to a quiet place to calm down. His outburst probably worsened her already jumbled emotional state.

     Although he was naturally easygoing, he had a nasty temper. Whether it was due to his lineage or his race, he could be scary when he was pissed. He only lost it once around her and it terrified her to the point of tears. He’s kept his anger in check since then but he couldn’t do it this time. How could he stand there and stay silent as she was almost driven to her knees in despair? He may have just expressed his fury in words instead of his fists but it still must’ve scared her.

     They finally returned to the house, the rain a light drizzle now. He led her below the roof and slid his jacket off to begin drying her. Slight hiccups escaped from her mouth as she whimpered. Seeing her like this sent disappointment coursing through his body, believing himself to be the cause of it.

     “Ven?” he called out softly. “Listen, I’m sorry for losing my cool back there. I just couldn’t sit back and let that bi---woman say that crap to you. I know you’re probably scared but I---”

     She cut him off with a hug. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she buried her face into his stomach, feeling her tears soaking through his shirt. He was about to ask her what was wrong when she tearfully said---

     “Thank you. Thank you for being with me, for being my friend. Thank you, Ferreth.”

     His heart swelled with love as he smiled warmly down at her. This girl would seriously be the death of him someday and he was perfectly okay with that. She didn’t need to be thanking him for doing what anyone would’ve done in that situation. He’d do it again in a heartbeat, if it made her happy.

     “Jeez… Crying doesn’t suit you, Ven.” He knelt down in front of her, gently holding her hand as he wiped away her tears. “I think a smile fits you better so try and give me the best one you can muster. It doesn’t have to be big.”

     Through her tears, she gave him a small smile. Sunlight trickled out from behind the clouds while the rain lightened to a sprinkle. Today wasn’t over by any stretch of the imagination but he thought it was starting to look up.

     Wiping away a stray tear, he stood up and whispered, “Let’s go home, okay?”

     So their time in Thal Esari had come to a close. He’d be lying if he said he enjoyed staying here and couldn’t wait to visit again. The trip wasn’t a complete bust, though he wished he never came in the first place. If there was anything he learned from all this, it was that Ven deserved to be happy, more so than he thought.

     He wanted to give her everything in the whole world and more. He knew it to be an impossible task so he’d settle for her happiness instead. This trip caused her a lot of pain and heartache but she managed to get through it. If she could do that and come out better than before, she’d be okay. It was time for them to go home and, with that, the chance for a brighter future.

If you enjoyed reading this and wanna support me, consider donating to my Ko-fi!

[harusha]

by last 2 gens, I meant SUMO and SWSH. I loved XY, but liked SUMO characters better. USUMO could have made great sequels. Lillie as prof. Gladion as champ, Hau as a kahuna. Etc. Would also make the transition to wormhole traveling more realistic if they were set in a universe where the events took place. I loved Gen 2 for letting us see Kanto 3 years later, and BW2 for letting us see what's changed in Unova. Just frustrating with the direction of things

Whoops, sorry anon. I never got the notification for this, so this is probably a week old or so. Tbh, I feel you though. I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but it feels like the mainline games are riding somewhat on name brand at this point. Making games is hard don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot going on w/ SWSH rn on release.

I love the whole sequel stuff, but my only concern is “canonzing a protag.” Like…look at Alexio/Cassandra from AC:O. Sheer madness in how those arguments go on “canon. Like, I like ambiguity because I can avoid that.

Tbh alongside the sequel idea and the coherency it would bring, I would love it if wormholes let you go to the OG timelines (RBY–>GSC, FRLG/RSE–>PDPT/HGSS->BW->BW2), and that’s why you get hidden abilities, rare Pokemon, and increased shiny chance. They could just explain it as the wormhole changing the Pokemon’s characteristics. RBY timeline is basically “no one had abilities,” hence the drastic changes, FRLG timeline could be “they decided to go with you, and now they changed to fit your timeline.”

 Like they wouldn’t have to put every single region in; they could even just make it to where you visited parts of each region, perhaps the most iconic locations and/or moments, as a post-game/high difficulty thing (everyone is set to lv. 100 and have ideal spreads+sets). Like dropping in on Mt. Silver at the foot of the mountain, and have the area name pop up as “???” and have the player traverse the dungeon (w/ the HGSS encounters but inflated to 80s-90s so the observant veteran player can go “hmm this is familiar”) and have it accumulate in walking in on EthanVSRed on Mt. Silver, and it ending up in a double battle with them. Like that would blow people’s minds and make them realize what the post-game is, a love letter to every single generation so far, and set the stage for the rest of the post-game.

They don’t even have to confirm the canon protagonist for Johto if they just cover them up in snow gear (ie. put a cloak on them and have the hood up), and give them Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Tyranitar, Raichu, and Espeon/Azumarill. The three starters, the Pseudo-Legendary of the generation, Raichu to parallel Red (also small callback to how Ethan was supposed to be Red’s younger brother in the old GBC pamphlet), and Espeon if they want to showcase the OG day/night cycle gen+it being the gift Pokemon and a Easter egg part of Red’s original team. Azumarill is if they prefer to reference the childhood friend.

They could even make this a chance to up the difficulty through the excuse of “alternate universe/wormholes caused their Pokemon to change abilities.” Make Red’s and Ethan’s teams complement each other and have them carry optimized spreads and sets for doubles. Ex. Blastoise or Pikachu with Fake Out and Focus Sash sets up rain and Ethan’s Raichu w/ Air Balloon/Choice Specs and carrying Thunder+Surf and has Lightningrod (wormhole shenanigans gave it a Hidden Ability) and so forth. Give them things such as Magic Bounce Espeon, Dual Screens Meganium, Mega Charizard X (wormholes made it happen), etc. Just showcase them as a bonus challenge and their status as legendary trainers akin to Mameo from Digimon. Perhaps give a reward of something like “Red gave you that extra Master Ball he never used” or a music player from Ethan so you can listen to curated songs from the older games. Or even simply clothes modeled after their original designs (Leaf and Kris outfits for girls and Red+Ethan for boys; or make it all available as unisex outfits where the inspiration is obvious but it’s not exactly the same).

And if they want to make it even more of a nostalgia bomb, have Ethan’s Raichu have a spiky/notched ear to imply that it’s a timeline where the special Pichu evolves and had Surf instead of Pain Split as the special move.

Other iconic moments could be dropping in at Turnback Cave and traversing Distortion World again and saving on Lucas, Dawn, and Cynthia and rescuing them from Giratina. Reward is catching Giratina and a battle against Cynthia, Lucas, Dawn, and perhaps Cyrus. Avoids picking a canon protagonist and arguments over who should have showed up. Focus is single battle gauntlet with each trainer giving a choice on whether you want to heal after each victory (exception is Cyrus).

Have Lucas/Dawn mention how they like trading and that’s why one of them has two starters (or multiple gift Pokemon) to help avoid narrowing down the canon protagonist. Lucas could work in Trick Room (Torterra, Cresselia/Dusknoir, Vaporeon, Magnezone, Heatran, Machamp). Showcases the notorious number of roamers/legendaries in Sinnoh, Mt. Coronet evolution, trade evolutions (GTS), a new gimmick of the gen in Trick Room, and incorporates a gift Pokemon). Dawn could work with Iron Fist Infernape, lead Empoleon w/ Stealth Rock (showcase that infamous entry hazard), Paraflinch Togekiss, Porygon-Z, Lucario, and Glaceon. Gift Pokemon+showcases the (then) new evolutions of that gen.

Have Giratina be like lv. 80-100 with Totem Pokemon stat to explain how in the darn, everyone lost with those sorts of levels.

RSE could be dropping in on Brendan and May going up Sky Pillar and setting Rayquaza off to stop Groudon and Kyogre, and it starts a side quest of following them to experience the climax of the Hoenn Saga. Climax is them itching for a fight from seeing your skills. Have Brendan (Sceptile, Mega Blaziken, Celebi , Salamence, Starmie, and Latias) and team up with Steven and May (Mega Swampert, Gardevoir/Gengar, Latios, Metagross, Jirachi, and Ninetales) with Wallace in a doubles. Both teams have callbacks to stuff like the manga (Brendan with Celebi and Salamence), references the two Pseudos of the generation, the roamers, trading with Orre for the promotions (Celebi and Jirachi for US and JP respectively) and Red/Leaf in Brendan’s case, Wally’s OG signature, or even the OG Mystery Dungeon. Have Brendan wear his Emerald outfit while May wears the Ruby/Sapphire outfit to blur who the canon protagonist is. Bonus fight could be seeking out Archie and Maxie in their atonement/voluntary isolation for a fight.

BW is dropping in on Hilbert and Hilda encountering Kyurem (since it feels wrong to interrupt N’s goodbye tbh). Teams would be [Contrary Serperior, Samurott, Victini, Archeops, Zoroark, and Mandibuzz] for Hilbert and [Emboar, Keldeo, Genesect, Volcarona, Braviary, and Carracosta] for Hilda. Their teams aren’t amazing, but it’s meant to showcase the generation’s fossils, gift/event Pokemon, and version exclusives. Have it be you saving them from the snow and from Kyurem. Have them talk about how they’re thinking of setting off together to find their friend N, and how much they want to see him again. Make it emotional and have them talk about what they’ve learned about Pokemon from him and their interactions on their journey.

BW2 is saving Rosa and Nate from Ghetsis’s murder attack and fight Ghetsis. After you all return to a Pokecenter, have the two of them challenge you to a Rotation and Triple Battle respectively. Rosa runs a rain team with Drizzle Politoed, Octillery, Smeargle, Kabutops, Kingdra, and Ludicolo while Nate runs a Sand Team with Hippowdon, Sand Rush Excadrill, Rhyperior, Garchomp, Scizor, and Gliscor. Have it be a gimmick to where weather is infinite again in this wormhole location since their teams are meant to be a callback to the weather wars of gen v and the stars of those teams.

And have N show up to thank you for saving Rosa and Nate since he was almost too late right as you are leaving through a wormhole. Have the player tell him about what Hilbert and Hilda said and how they want to meet him again+urge him to meet his friends again and have it end with N saying something to the effect of “…I’ll think about it.” and leave it on an ambiguous note to whether he will meet them.

And finally, have it end with Red encountering Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave and have it diverge by you saving him from Giovanni (he lied about quitting and it’s only after you defeat him that he leaves for isolation until Ethan/Lyra/Kris beat him up again). Ends on a note of “this is where it all began.” Reward is catching Mewtwo and battling Red in a single. Here, they can make his team diverge from canon because it’s pre-Mt. Silver Red/alternate universe. Alakazam, Dragonite, Zapdos, Persian, Eviolite Chansey, and Mew. Showcases popular threats of that gen+trade evolution, irony in Red having Meowth’s evolution (Giovanni is associated with Persian b/c anime), the mythical #151 and source of playground rumors, the pseudo, one of the “your reward for exploring” stationary legendaries, etc.

Could even do a bonus of letting you travel to Kalos (but just the port) and meeting Serena and Calem who are both arguing about fashion while waiting for Sina and Dexio. Make their reason for battling you something lighthearted like you interrupting their argument to say “both of your fashion senses suck.”

Have them carry [Delphox, Chesnaught, Tyrantrum, Furfrou, Mega Gyarados, and Goodra] and [Greninja, Talonflame, Aegislash, Mega Kangaskhan, Meowstic-M, and Aurorus]. Showcases starters, Megas, radical gender differences, fossils, popular threats of Gen VI meta, Furfrou cuts, etc.

And if that’s too much, just recreate parts of the legendaries OG encounter dungeons, Cerulean Cave for Mewtwo, Bell Tower for Johto, etc.

Like…Gen VII was the “this is the 20th anniversary of Pokemon” gen and that would have been a great time to pack everything into one gen. Like…they had space for multiple walking Pokemon animations on the cart that they could have taken out or even tweaked these ideas so the dungeons would be slightly smaller (ie. fit to cart) or reduce the weirdly high number of Lillie models in the game. This isn’t an entire region (or regions) either, but snapshots and small locales to revisit. It also incorporates more fights with the Team Leaders at higher levels and difficulty.

Like idk, I made myself sad because I realize this would never happen unless some mad lad decided to create a massive rom hack/expansion, Masuda gets a larger team (and Pokemon stops with the yearly releases so the team isn’t pressured as much), etc.

Idk, I feel like the games for the 20th ani weren’t as good in hindsight for what they made out to be a year of Pokemon. But that’s just me griping again about Alola.

Also perhaps solviing all this gives you a final wormhole where you’re taken to fight Leaf. Give her Clefable (Clefairy’s original yet scrapped mascot thing), Golem, Flareon, Jolteon, Aerodactyl, and Omastar. Showcases fossils, gift Pokemon, other Eeveelutions, etc.