#but its confusing as hell to us that have the lore locked and loaded in our brains at all times lmao

[that-one-loz-nerd]

Nintendo casually rewriting pieces of the timeline while us fans go insane pulling at our hair trying to figure out how it could all work

[tearsincerulean]

It Was Always You

Summary: Y/n met the Winchester brothers a little over a year ago and has been riding with them since. But when complicated feelings arise, what will happen during their time together?

Pairing: Dean x Reader 

Series Warnings: slow burn, fluff, smut, angst, blood, violence, torture, fighting, individual kinks. Specific warnings before each chapter.

Chapter Warnings: slow burn, fluff, angst, fighting, 

Word Count: 1,600

Chapter 1: 

You and the boys just finished taking out a vamps nest in some rural, backwoods town. The nest itself was bigger than the three of you expected and there were some close calls, but you guys got it done. Now you're heading back to the motel to get cleaned up, Sam is passed out in the back seat which left you and Dean in the front. You look over towards Dean and can tell he’s still pissed at you for almost getting bit by a vamp. In your defense you were preoccupied with the two vamps you were trying to decapitate in front of you and didn’t have enough time to turn around to spot the third. Luckily Dean stormed into the room, blade swinging, and saved you. You didn’t think much of it, being in dangerous situations is part of the job...hell, he’s the one who repeatedly preaches that before, during, and after hunts. 

When it’s him in danger that's one thing but if it’s someone else, even if they have no control over the situation, it's a completely different thing. And this was that. He was pissed at you even though there was nothing you could do, and it’s not like you can go back and redo the scenario, so he’s gonna have to get over it. You wanted to get the conversation over with before you got back to the motel so that the three of you could hopefully have a good night and blow off some steam at a local bar you passed on the way into town.

You didn’t really know how to start or what to say so, without even looking at him, you say, “I’m sorry Dean…”

“Sorry what was that sweetheart? Couldn’t hear ya.”  He glances over and says with a bite of anger in his voice. 

You are still too scared to look at him. You hate when Dean is mad at you. Especially when you had no control over the situation that caused it. Honestly, you don’t even really understand why he is mad, Sam has been in the situation you were just in hundreds of times and Dean has never been this pissy with him.

But still, you can’t help but tear up when responding, “I said I’m sorry, I know you're mad even though I don’t really know why, and I don’t like when you’re mad at me… so I’m sorry.” You say louder this time but still looking out the front windshield instead of at him. 

“You don’t know why I’m mad? Don’t be stupid y/n. You know exactly why. You could’ve been bit or worse….” he snaps.

His knuckles are turning white he’s gripping the wheel so hard. And his jaw - oh god that jaw you’ve stared at for countless hours, the jaw that has taken blow after blow in fights, that jaw that sometimes rests on top of your head when he walks behind you to see what lore you’re reading up on, that jaw covered in the perfect amount of sexy stubble - is repeatedly clenching. You know you should be mad at how he reacted, upset that he's upset, but the ache in between your legs from seeing him wound up like this is proof of a much different reaction. You continue to watch the flex of his jaw muscles, his hands twisting tightly over the wheel, his emerald eyes with a predator-like focus on the road. You press your legs tighter together to create some form, any form, of friction to help alleviate the throbbing at your core. 

You know you shouldn’t be thinking like this, for one Sam is literally in the back seat and two, Dean probably sees you as nothing more than an annoying sister. But you can’t help it. You try to focus and get yourself back under control, you turn your head back to the road, but out of the corner of your eye you can still catch glimpses of him. You cross your legs now and shift around in your seat, pretending to get comfortable, but really the motion is causing the seam in your skinny jeans to rub against your clit just right. 

“You alright there?” Dean looks over, and for a fraction of a second you think you see a smirk cross his face. But, just as quickly as it was there, it was gone, and he was now looking at you quizzically.

You're ripped from the sinful thoughts and inner ramblings and panic takes over for a second. Come on y/n, calm down, play it cool, it’s just Dean… you tell yourself. You push the ache and throbbing of your core to the back of your mind and remind yourself that you can take care of it later. “Yeah, just uncomfortable, I need to get out of these clothes, the blood is causing them to stick.”

“Okayyyyy” he draws out still sounding confused, but then his expression changes and he looks back towards the road. Suddenly, he lets out a sigh and looks over at you, his expression now soft and caring, “I’m sorry for snapping on you sweetheart. I know it wasn’t your fault, but I…” he trails off and a look of pain and deep thought crosses his face. He looks down at his lap, takes a deep breath and then looks over at you, those eyes piercing your soul. “Damn it y/n, you scared the shit out of me okay. I know that danger is in the job description, but I hate seeing you hurt, and I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.” 

He looks back at the road ahead. You can tell he was holding something back, but you didn’t press the issue. You sat quiet for a moment, trying to comprehend everything he just said. What does that mean, he wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to me? You replay his statement over and over in your head. A flicker of hope builds in your chest that maybe deep down, Dean feels something for you too, but just as soon as that flicker lit, it was put out by your own subconscious reminding you that Dean doesn’t do relationships, he doesn’t want to risk anyone's lives for being close to him. So you push the statement and the thoughts and hopes it brought with it to the back of your mind. You look back over at Dean and can tell he’s hurt, maybe he thinks you're still mad at him. God, I should say something, do something, you tell yourself.

You reach over and take one of Dean’s hands off of the wheel and place it in between your own. With that minimal amount of contact your heart starts beating a million times faster, your breathing more shallow and labored, and sparks are shooting through every nerve in your body. Maybe you imagined it, but you swear you heard Dean's breath hitch at the touch, only you didn’t imagine it because you just watched him swallow the lump in his throat it caused. You look back down at his hand that you had subconsciously been rubbing with the pads of your thumbs, you steal a glimpse of him through your eyelashes and you catch him wetting his sinful lips taking a shaky breath and briefly shutting his eyes. It’s probably just because he’s emotional and still kind of upset, you reason with yourself. There is no way he can feel the same about you y/n, stop it, now tell him what you meant to when you grabbed his hand in the first place. 

Now it’s your turn to take the shaky breath, “Dean, I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you…” you try to articulate how to say the next part without giving any inward feelings away. “I promise to be more careful, and I understand why you snapped and why you were so upset. If something were to happen to you…” you tear up a bit and your breathing is getting a tad shaky. “Or Sam” you quickly stammer out fearing he may uncover your feelings for him if you don’t add it, “it would literally kill me.”

You look up at him when you’re done talking and his gaze meets yours, he uses the hand you were holding with both of yours to gently wipe a stray tear that made its way down your cheek. Without thinking you nuzzle into his hand, but quickly realize what you just did so you pull away and look back at the road.

Up ahead you see the blinking neon sign signalling you are almost back to the shithole of a motel you are shacked up in this weekend. You let out a breath of relief and turn to wake Sam. All the while replaying the last few minutes in your head. The conversations. The expressions. The body language. The feelings. The emotions. The physical contact, and what it all means.

You shake your head, trying to clear it. This is Dean, your best friend. You can’t ruin that. So, you decide to push it to the back of your head with everything else and lock it away. Dean puts the Impala in park and you all let out a sigh of relief, that you can finally take a load off. Then Sam finally and suddenly speaks up from the backseat with a wide puppy dog grin on his face, “So who wants to go blow off some steam and down a few drinks? It’s happy hour!”

To be continued….

[lifblogs]

#SPNAdventCalendar2020 | Christmas Curse | @bend-me-shape-me

READ ON AO3

“DEAN!”

Dean was shocked from his sleep, hearing Sam calling for him as effective as getting doused with a bucket of ice water. In a second, he was grabbing his Colt MK IV from underneath his pillow, re-checking that it was loaded, and hurried out of his room. He went quickly, but kept the gun held out, knees slightly bent to have better control over his motions should he need to dodge anything.

When he entered Sam’s room, the light was on, and his brother was running his hands through his hair. Dean checked every corner of the room, and aside from seeing a creepy Santa doll, he didn’t see anything strange. He lowered his gun.

“Sam, come on! I thought you were dying.”

“Yeah, me too. I woke up in bed with that thing,” he said, pointing across the room where the Santa doll had clearly been pushed onto the floor.

Dean decided to not put his gun away just yet. He approached, pistol pointed at the floor away from his feet. He kicked the Santa doll, and then, expecting some form of retaliation, he stepped back, leveling the gun at it.

“Sam, what the hell?” Dean asked, not taking his eyes from Santa. “We don’t own any crap like this.”

“I know! I just… I don’t know. Guess I’ll have to hit the lore. Till we figure out what to do with it, maybe we should lock it up in the storage closet with all the other artifacts.”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

~~~

Both Winchesters slept in that day, having to recharge after their odd encounter with the Santa doll. They were in the kitchen now, eating breakfast, and drinking coffee that Dean had made. Dean was telling Sam about something Cas had texted him, and then, off to the side, a flash of red and white caught his eye.

Dean dropped his spoon into his cereal bowl, milk splattering onto the table, and onto his black undershirt. His jaw went slack as he turned, and he saw it: the Santa doll.

Dean kicked Sam under the table to get his attention.

“Ow! What the hell? What?”

Dean just tilted his head in Santa’s direction. “Look.”

Sam, confused for a few seconds, did so. His face relaxed into a look of utter disbelief.

“You locked the chest you put it in, right?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s throw it out,” Sam suggested.

“Dude, bad idea!”

Sam turned to look at him, face furrowing in confusion. “Wait, why?”

“What if it gets angry?”

“It’s a Santa doll. I don’t think it can get angry.”

Dean picked up his coffee to have a sip, and then he pointedly said, “That is exactly what a dude who ends up getting murdered by Santa would say.”

Sam just tilted his head at him, nostrils flaring.

“I’m throwing it out,” he declared.

Dean raised his eyebrows, shaking his head. “It’s your funeral.” He downed the rest of his coffee.

~~~

Sam was relieved, but a little nervous after throwing the doll out. What if it came back?

Don’t be stupid. How could it come back?

But it had before.

For the most part, the day was normal. Sam tried to do research on the possibility of objects being possessed by ghosts (though he didn’t think that was what was going on here, since there weren’t any other signs of ghost activity), and he looked into cursed objects.

So far, that creepy doll hadn’t reappeared. Thank god. Sam just wanted to shoot the thing in the head at this point.

He got up to go to the bathroom, and when he turned… there it was. Staring at him.

Sam held in a yelp, and then took it and threw it out the door. He finished with his business, and then grabbed the doll, feeling some bit of satisfaction by holding it around the neck. He went to the library and dropped it on the table Dean was at. Dean jumped at the sudden clattering.

“It was watching me in the bathroom,” he said, taking his seat across from Dean.

Dean just started laughing.

“What?” Sam asked, spreading his arms out.

Dean laughed harder, head tilted back, mouth open. His face was turning red, and when he finally seemed to calm down, he looked at Sam. My god, were those tears in his eyes?

“Sammy, that’s hilarious.”

“It’s not. What if it was trying to watch you do your business?”

Dean just shrugged, and pulled a book closer to him. “I ain’t ashamed of what I got.”

“Great. Real helpful.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

~~~

They kept an eye on the doll, digging deep into cursed objects. So far… nothing.

“What if we lock it up?” Sam asked. “You know, put it in a curse box.”

“Maybe…” Dean mused. “Or we can just burn the sucker.”

“You know that’s bad for the environment, right?”

“Thank you, tree-hugger police,” Dean intoned. He grabbed the doll, and stared at it. The eyes were empty, dead. The thing looked like a normal doll. “I mean,” Dean went on, “it’s not all plastic. It’s ceramic, so maybe it won’t be so bad?”

Sam sighed, and slapped his hands to his thighs. “Alright, fine.”

~~~

Despite the thin layer of snow, and the frozen mud on the ground, they went out to their usual abandoned, dirt crossroads where they burned their dead. This thing didn’t deserve a hunter funeral, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to get one.

Dean was carrying the doll in a duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. Sam had salt, and oil.

They set about their work, struggling to find any bits of dry wood, but eventually, they had a sizeable pile. Kindling was set up along the edges.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Dean said.

He went and placed the doll on top of the wood, and Sam salted it, threw oil on, and Dean lit the kindling. The kindling didn’t want to go up at first, thanks to the wind, and the cold environment. Eventually, Dean got it. He gently blew on the fire to coax it to life, and used a stick to nudge at the kindling.

The fire hit the wood, and found the oil that had dripped down the logs. It went up.

The doll burned.

They stayed till the doll was nothing but charred, half-melted remains, and then they used snow to douse the fire.

“Alright. Home,” Dean said. “There’s a bottle of scotch that’s calling my name.”

~~~

Dean went to sleep peacefully that night knowing that the Santa doll was dead. That peace didn’t last, and he tossed and turned for what might have been hours, his dreams filled with a doll that came to life, and stabbed him through the gut, eyes completely black and soulless.

Blood splattered on the living doll. It stared down at him as he collapsed to the floor. Its bloody beard was the last thing he saw.

Dean woke up, covered in a cold sweat, startled. When he realized he was in his room, and that he was alright, he just shook his head, and started to laugh at himself.

Idiot, he chastised. The doll’s dead. Pretty sure it can’t kill you neither.

A clattering sounded from out in the hall. Dean grabbed his gun, and went to hunt down what was causing the noise. His heart beat fiercely in his chest, blood rushing in his ears. His skin tingled, all of him alert.

Please don’t be Santa. Please don’t be Santa.

When he turned a corner, he saw it. The doll was back. It just stood facing the wall that was only a few inches from its stupid ceramic nose. It didn’t move, was utterly still in the dark. Dark ash was smudged across its entire body. Then, the Santa doll seemed to shudder and shake.

“Merry Christmas,” it growled.

Dean let out a startled cry, and shot the thing till it was just shards and dust. Then he found a curse box to lock it in.

All the noise had woken Sam, and he helped Dean with sweeping up the mess, and locking it away.

“What the fuck, man?” Dean asked, now nursing a beer while leaning against the metal counter in the kitchen. Sam was doing the same.

“I don’t know.”

“Seriously, what the fuck?”

“Christmas curse, I guess,” Sam said.

Dean shook his head, had a few swallows of his beer, and then said, “I knew I always hated Santa.”

[terraclae]

Day out

Lore pings: @yuushanoah-fr @cityofinoue @rasvimhia

So this is a pretty long chapter, I intend for this one to be the end of this specific part of Glasir's introduction. I might need some time now to write new chapters dealing with the effects of what happens with this one.

That morning Arodan woke up alone, Atlas already gone. He noted the dip in the bed, the bags having been rearranged in the corner, and his own bag sitting by the side of the bed. He could just lay here for a little while longer perhaps. He was already tired and the day had only just started, and besides, the dim light from the windows seemed to beckon him to stay.

That was, if Dmitri hadn't stormed in yelling. 'Good morning!' The door almost flew out of its hinges and he gave it a moment of thought before he came to a halt by the foot of the bed, a big grin on his face. 'Ready to face the day?'

'What is wrong with you?' Arodan growled, holding up the blanket as if it was a shield. 'Do you do that to everyone you meet, you just storm into their room this early in the morning?'

'Nope. Also it's noon Dan, lighten up.' Dmitri hummed, hopping onto the bed. 'Atlas told me to go wake you up, Kassa too. Also Atlas told me he's coming along with us into town but will part from us when we're there, he wants to scout out the town.'

'That's okay, I guess.' Arodan said, quieter this time. He reached up and rubbed his eye. He wondered if there were people in town that made prosthetics like Kassa stated for less than what Odin might possibly charge. 'Is Sachairi going to fly your body into town, did he tell you?'

'He did in the-' He held up his fingers to form quotation marks. '-You are kind of incompetent, sort of way.' He shrugged. 'Says he'll come out when I give him a heads up.'

'Fair enough.' Arodan shrugged along,  and moved to crawl out of the bed. He only ended up dropping out of it and onto the floor and remained there for a bit. 'Can you give me a bit to get dressed and compose myself?' He briefly closed his eyes, fearful to meet Dmitri's gaze.

'Arodan, get goddamn dressed already, we don't have all day.' Said Sachairi. Arodan looked up then and he saw half of Dmitri had grown shaded and flickering. It was an odd sight to say at the very least. 'Hey, don't rush him, will you?' Dmitri and Sachairi speaking dually only highlighted how they used the same voice with different intonation and variations on pronunciation.

'Is that a new thing you two can do?' Arodan asked, sitting up. 'Isn't it straining to both be in control at the same time?'

'Yes, but you two are not getting anywhere sitting around like that.' Sachairi grunted again, only half of the face twisting into a scowl. 'Fucking hell that's weird, okay, Dima, tap out for a bit okay?'

'Marlowe is downstairs. I don't think it's a good idea to just wander around looking the way you do.' Dmitri responded. He hauled the body forward to pull Arodan to his feet. 'Look, let's not fight, okay?'

'I'd rather have you two stop fighting, this is too confusing for me.' Arodan added, moving away from Dmitri. 'Give me some space, I'll get ready.' He pushed Dmitri out of the room, Sachairi being the only one who struggled. 'I'll be right there.' And he closed the door behind them, locking it.

*

'Is there anything else we need?'

'I don't think so, we shouldn't overburden ourselves.'

'Good, here's the plan.' Arodan wedged himself in between Dmitri and Atlas who were currently surveying the contents of their bags. He himself was holding on to a tourist's map of Glasir. Together, they stood in a secluded part of the courtyard. Atlas had taken along a sword alongside gold and trinkets, while Dmitri had taken the opportunity to borrow two daggers from Atlas. 'We'll fly high, in the cover of low clouds until we reach water flight's quarter. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about but it's still a good idea to not have Sachairi be seen by too many people just in case.'

'And from there I'll head over to lightning's neighborhood which borders it.' Atlas added, patting the sword that hung from his hip. 'I have to pick up extra fabrics for Kassa too so it's going to be a slow flight back.'

'Just don't be back too late, you never know.' Arodan scanned the map. Considering it was a lengthy flight the last time, being burdened by additional load could double the flying time. 'I'd say, head back once the sun starts to touch the horizon.'

'I'll keep that in mind.' Atlas hummed, leaning his head on Arodan's shoulder. 'What are you two going to do?'

'I'm gonna show Dmitri around since he asked me to.' Arodan answered. Dmitri was smiling at his other side like a giddy child. 'We'll try to be back around dinnertime. Otherwise we'll eat something in Glasir.'

'Interesting. Balam's apparently making soup tonight so if you guys can take along some bread that would be greatly appreciated.' Atlas stepped back and gave his shoulders a good roll, rolling into a full body stretch. His wings slowly shifted into being, flaring out in a flurry of shimmering white. 'Aight. Are we going, because I think we have our plans coordinated now.'

'Yes, we are going.' Arodan followed along and shook his body, immediately taking his full skydancer form. 'Atlas, you're waiting until we're in the air right?'

'If I go and shift here I'd take out the wall over yonder.' Atlas airily responded, smiling as he shook his head. He sidled up to Arodan and pat his leg fondly. 'I'm not as pretty and compact as you are.'

'I'm compact now?' Arodan leant down, beholding Atlas with a half lidded and smug look. 'That makes me faster and more maneuverable than you.'

'I'd like to see you try.' Without warning Atlas took off from the ground. Arodan, caught in the moment immediately took off after him, rocketing into the sky.

A cloud briefly hid Atlas' shape, and Arodan lost sight of him. The moment was only brief, as Atlas fell from the cloud in his true form, his massive hulking form barely evading Arodan. He spun into a twisting flight and flew circles around Arodan, the light reflecting from his wings in beautiful ways. 'Come and catch me then, Dan.'

'You caught me off guard!' Dan yelled in return. He bolted towards Atlas to reach him. His flight was instead stopped short by Sachairi's massive hulking form only just avoiding him in his own ascent. Briefly it was as if the sun was devoured and Arodan felt small so consciously close to Sachairi hovering before him who didn't look particularly amused by their shenanigans. Arodan steeled himself. 'Yeah, I get it, we're getting off track.'

'I'm not stopping you from playing around but at least try to do it while leading the way.' Sachairi grunted, with a flap of the wings moving sideways so Atlas could join Arodan again. 'Let's go.'

The flight did not take as long as yesterday. Arodan felt it could have been an illusion and that it just was because he was in good company but that wasn't a bad thing, now was it? They darted through the clouds as they had decided upon with Sachairi tailing him closely while Atlas stuck more closely to his side or underneath Sachairi to obscure his Shaded form from any potential onlookers watching the skies. He looked to Atlas who was currently gliding just above him to his left. Atlas had his eyes closed and he looked right at home in the clouds with the sun ever so often illuminating his bright form. His smile was the most radiant thing about him at that moment, something the sun in the sky couldn't rival. He lowered his altitude then and threw a brief glance at Sachairi. He stuck to the denser clouds and Arodan swore they clung to his form from time to time. 'Are you two keeping up?'

'Perfectly.' Atlas called out. He came to fly right next to Arodan again. Arodan chose to additionally respond by flying a circle around him until he flew at the level of his head. He tapped Atlas' nose, which wrestled loose an amused snort from Atlas. 'Don't get me out of my concentration now.'

'It's not as if we'll crash in something. No one flies in this city.' Arodan responded. He threw a glance at the ground and took note of the water quarter's familiar white houses with blue roofs. He took a brief moment to behold the lightning flight's quarters and the only word what came to mind was majestic. If Arodan did not know any better Arcane must have had a hand in developing it's architecture although the geometry seemed a distinct lightning feature. Most structures incorporated symmetry, squares and domes in their architecture, creating an immaculately structured neighborhood. Perhaps he and Dmitri could go explore that neighborhood after he finished touring water's neighborhood with him.

Arodan guided the two down to what seemed like a good secluded spot close to the border of water's quarter. They landed in a small park which looked like it had seen better days but hid them from curious eyes. 'Okay, we're here.'

Atlas was first to land in his bipedal form, Sachairi following who chose the shade of a tree. 'I like this place. It's nice and green.' Atlas stretched his entire body yet again but this time also shook his legs and arms, rolling his head on his shoulders. 'You've been here yesterday?'

'Not everywhere but kids are pretty good at guiding you through neighborhoods at high speed. I saw this park when she had to head back home.' Arodan responded. He himself took the opportunity to catch his breath. From the corner of his eye he could see Sachairi speaking to himself, to Dmitri, his posture changing in accordance to him handing over control to Dmitri. 'The gardener here apparently allows nature to do it's thing.'

'I noticed.' Atlas had reached a small headstone of sorts that was covered by vines and leaves. He brushed and pulled away the foliage to see what was written on it. 'I guess they're not particularly religious around these parts huh?'

'Not as far as I've noticed, why?' Arodan made his way over to Atlas and bent around him. The stone was engraved with mosaic waves and an inscription, written in a dialect he had difficulty deciphering. It was still eligible, but possessed lingual twists and turns he couldn't quite place. 'An altar?'

'Yeah, to the Tidelord, logically so.' Atlas knelt down and surveyed the altar further. It showed signs of offerings that had been made in the past, shells, shiny trinkets, rocks, partially swallowed by the vegetation around it. 'Although… This one more resembles a spirit's beacon. So, it isn't directly for the Tidelord but it goes to a representative.'

'What's a spirit's beacon for?' Dmitri chimed in this time. He looked over the stone curiously and shifted so he stood close to it. 'It looks beautiful.'

'It's good craftsmanship.' Atlas got up and continued to explain. 'As my former employer explained it, spirit beacons are built and maintained by dragons who are far from their flight's home. It's a way of feeling connected to your element. Often because of the energy that comes to cling to these types of altars you get spirits that represent these and are connected to the gods.' He sounded disappointed as his gaze fell upon the buried altar. 'Mayor should know, he's a spirit of nature himself, one clinging to a tree.'

'So why isn't anyone tending to this one?' Dmitri asked. He dropped to his knees and dug out the altar further until it was clearly visible how much love went into its decoration. A small painted image of the Tidelord graced the top of the stone. 'It seems like a waste to just let it decay.'

'I think maybe people here are at peace with just their innate connection. Maybe they don't need altars to connect with their gods.' Arodan chimed in. 'It is a bit of an old tradition perhaps.'

'Well...' Dmitri's ears fell flat against his head, dissatisfied with the answer. He silently pulled something wrapped in silk from his bag and backed away. 'Okay, let's go.'

'What is it? What did you give?' Dmitri was starting to make his way over to the actual street and out of the park. Atlas and Arodan followed him closely. 'Should i be worried about angry ghosts again?'

'No, it's just leftovers from breakfast, but I felt like loitering any longer would have been disrespectful.' He came to a halt just outside the park and his shoulders fell as if there had been considerable tension on them.  'Not sure why though.'

'Well, hopefully the spirit likes your offering. I know if I was a spirit though just someone paying attention would make my day.' Atlas cheerfully added. He jovially pat Dmitri's shoulder, just a hint of thankfulness to his smile. Maybe something like this meant a lot to Atlas, Arodan thought. 'I should get going, otherwise it will be sundown before I even have half of the things I need.' Atlas spun around and marched up to Arodan. 'You'll be okay right?'

'Of course, I went here on my own yesterday.' Arodan gently rubbed Atlas' shoulders to add weight to his assurance. He leant forward and first kissed Atlas' nose (on accident however), then managed to gently press a kiss to his lips. 'I'll see you tonight. I'll be fine.'

'I trust your word.' Atlas said and grinned. He pulled Arodan in for a quick hug and started to walk off as soon as he pulled back. 'Stay safe and have fun you two.'

‘You have fun too!’ Arodan yelled after him, Atlas’ smile having prompted him to grin similarly. He stood there, watching for a while until he didn’t see Atlas anymore. Even then he was lost in thought and didn’t snap out of it until Dmitri put his hand on his shoulder. ‘Sorry, he’s just…’

‘Don’t apologize for love.’ Dmitri looked momentarily star struck, nodding as he spoke. He contained his emotions and composed himself however. ‘Is something the matter though, are you worried about him?’

‘If something was the matter, it’s probably because of me. I cause Atlas far more grief than he deserves.’ Arodan said, giggling uncomfortably all the while he spoke. ‘It’s nothing major, today is just not a good day for my head.’

‘Well, best to take your worries off your mind right?’ Dmitri tilted his head slightly and smiled fondly. ‘You came out of bed today, that’s a small victory. Show me around, let’s not just stand here.’ He pulled at Arodan’s arm, urging him to come along.

‘It’s not really a case of just putting it out of my mind.’ He was dragged along by Dmitri and they started to make their way through the neighborhood. Dmitri was already marveling at the first decorated windows and richly cultivated flower pots he saw. ‘It doesn’t just go away.’

‘That’s not what I meant. I know that feeling.’ Dmitri hummed. ‘I know it’s not just feeling sad, and I understand that Arodan.’ He pulled him around a corner into a street lined by small vendors. It was obvious today was a slow business day. ‘But I know you’d tell others to keep going despite that. Can you tell that to yourself?’

‘Not today, but I guess you dragging me along helps.’ Arodan responded in his telltale sneer. He couldn’t help but smile at least a little. ‘We need to go to the right at that crossroads, the local marketplace is busier and more interesting.’

‘Okay, then we’ll go there. I’ll pull you along and you give directions.’ Dmitri exclaimed cheerfully. He marched on with Arodan in tow. ‘Can’t wait to see it.’

‘Can I join you guys?’

Dmitri slid to a halt, Arodan bumping into them. A third weight bumping into Arodan in turn alarmed him. ‘What?’

Arodan slowly bent his upper body to look around. He had already felt someone had grasped his tail and of course, who else to do so but a child? Angua stood right behind him, tugging at his tail. ‘Angua, what did I say about holding my tail?’

‘Something about that you didn’t like it but I forgot.’ She said, bouncing on her heels. She dropped his tail and made a beeline for Dmitri, scanning him up and down. ‘Dan, you didn’t tell me you had mountain friends!’

‘Mountain?’ Dmitri bent down to Angua’s level and she immediately took to pulling on his horns. He sat there frozen in mild confusion.

‘Yeah, you’re huge. I like your horns by the way, they’re pretty.’ Angua idly responded, finally stopping her mini investigation by pointing at the scar on Dmitri’s nose. ‘How did you get that one? It looks neat.’

‘I’m not sure actually.’ Dmitri said, awkwardly grinning. He looked uncomfortable at that moment, but kept on smiling, reaching up to tap the side of his head. ‘You see, my head’s kinda empty, so I don’t know a lot of things about myself.’ He shrugged and shook his head. ‘So I’m sorry, I can’t tell you about it.’

‘Oh, that’s okay, then you just have to fill it with new stuff.’ She assuredly pat his shoulders. ‘If you don’t know a lot then there’s plenty of room for new things to learn.’

‘Fair enough, Angua, can you give Dmitri some space?’ Arodan said, already reaching out to gently nudge her. Dmitri stopped him however, equally gently by pushing his hand away. ‘You uh… Can come with us. Are you okay with that Dmitri?’

‘I’d love to. It’s always nice to meet someone new.’ Dmitri beamed at Arodan and then Angua, extending his hand towards her. ‘My name’s Dmitri, but Dima will do.’

‘I’m Angua, and I like your name.’

‘Good, I like my name too.’ Dmitri said, a laugh escaping him. He held out both of his hands now. ‘Hey, wanna sit on my shoulders?’

‘Let me!’

Arodan watched from the side. He could have been wrong, but Dmitri has lied to Angua there. By extension, that meant there was something he wasn’t telling Arodan, bad liar that he was with his transparent smiles and upbeat demeanor. He put it out of his mind for now. If it was just a memory then maybe it wasn’t such a big problem.

‘Oh yeah, mom’s back too, so you can meet her!’

Arodan looked up at Angua who was currently beholding, and in her mind perhaps ruling over the world from her perch on Dmitri’s shoulders. ‘I’m excited to meet her. What kind of work does she do?’

‘Well, she’s an overseer of sorts. She writes all these reports about the neighborhood and talks with a lot of people.’ Angua gestured around her. ‘I think those reports go to Odin, she represents this neighborhood.’

‘She sounds important.’

‘She is!’

‘So she’s gone a lot because of that? I didn’t see her yesterday.’ Arodan continued to ask. ‘Doesn’t that bother your dad?’

‘Doesn’t seem to bother him, no.’ She hummed, looking around attentively through the neighborhood as a guardsman night. ‘He says he doesn’t worry because she’s his friend and also loves us. My other dad is her colleague too, so he makes sure they always get home.’

‘Hold on.‘ Dmitri did not stop walking but held up a questioning hand. ‘So your dad is not married to your mom, but your mom is married to someone else who's also your dad? And that person lives in your house too?’

‘Yep!’

‘Well, that makes sense, I guess.’ A house came into view that Arodan had remembered from yesterday. Angua bounced her heels against Dmitri’s shoulders, and he put her down. ‘That’s where you live?’

‘Yeah, look, mom’s here!’ The gate to the House was a little crowded. Holmes leant against it idly, and he was currently talking to a man with long braided hair who held his hands close to him as he spoke. A woman sat knelt down by Angua’s brother and sister, happily conversing with them instead. Angua ran up to her and almost knocked her over in trying to hug her. The woman burst out laughing at a distance, a familiar laugh. The worst of it all was that Arodan recognized her.

‘... Yuri?’ He asked quietly first, and she didn’t hear him. She saw him though and looked at him with as much confusion as he was beholding her with. Slowly she rose and started to pace over to him. ‘Yuri, what are you doing here?’

She didn’t say anything and immediately took to hugging him, near sweeping him off his feet. She did manage to lift him slightly. ‘Yuri, you’re going to crush the air out of my lungs!’

‘Sorry, sorry!’ She put him down and took a bouncy step back. ‘You were always a lightweight, I couldn’t help it.’

‘And you were always the stronger one.’ Arodan rubbed a bruised part of his ribs. He looked up at Yuri hesitantly. ‘... It’s been…’

‘... Years. That happens. The world’s big.’ Yuri met his stare with equal hesitation but flashed him a cheerful smile nonetheless. ‘Who would’ve known I’d see you here? And…’ She stepped forward once more and took hold of Arodan’s face. ‘... Missing one eye, Dan, what the hell did you do?’

‘Stop that, you’re going to poke out my other eye at this rate!’ He tried to keep Yuri at an arm’s distance to no avail, instead averting his gaze. It fell on Dmitri and Angua who looked appropriately confused. ‘At least introduce yourself to my friend.’

‘Oh, Yeah, of course.’ Yuri said through a giggle. She withdrew her hands and turned to Dmitri. ‘A pleasure to meet you.’ She extended her hand towards Dmitri. ‘I’m Yuri. I’m Arodan’s sister.’ While Dmitri hesitantly reached out to shake her hand Angua looked to be on the verge of exclaiming she had an uncle now. She shook Dmitri’s hand then turned back to Arodan, putting an assuring hand on his shoulders. ‘Let’s catch up on things, shouldn’t we?’

*

‘Raz.’ A shadow fell over him. Slowly Raz peered out from under his arm. Moira was standing by the bench he had chosen to lie down on and she further blocked out the dim light that managed to bounce onto the porch of the shop. ‘We don’t have a lot of time to nap.’ She spoke, but still signed along as she did. It was just a little necessary considering Moira never spoke aloud and only ever in a soft voice.

Raz sat up and retrieved paper and a pen from his pocket. He had grown used to writing swiftly. He slowly held out the note to Moira which read ‘I’m only resting my eyes. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.’

Moira sat down besides him. ‘I noticed.’ She  folded her hands and looked over Raz. ‘Nightmares?’

Raz nodded and wrote out more notes that he handed to Moira. ‘It’s nothing important. I am sorry if it bothers the others, I don’t mean to.’

‘I know.’ Moira nudged him with her elbow and made sure to notice if Raz flinched. He luckily didn’t so the contact wasn’t unwelcome. ‘It’s not a problem. I have nightmares too.’

‘What kind of nightmares?’ Raz asked via another quick note. He was swift to scribble another and hand it over. ‘If that’s okay-‘ Moira put the note away before she had even finished reason, turning to Raz fully.

She started first by lifting the lock of her hair that fell in front of one of her eyes. Ghostly skin and an empty eye socket were revealed, glowing with an eerie faint light. ‘This. What killed me is what I dream about.’ She tapped her forehead. ‘I’m dead. A ghost.’

Raz sat there in befuddlement, his eyes wide with surprise. Very slowly his hand rose and soon he found himself tapping against Moira’s forehead with the thought maybe his hand would phase right through her. She pulled away and he lowered his head in apology.

‘What keeps me stable and anchored is this.’ She held out her wrist this time. Around her wrist she wore a pink flower shaped charm of unknown material. Just by looking at it Raz knew it was imbued with powerful magic. ‘Ronan made it.’ Moira’s gaze shifted and Raz followed it to see Ronan currently chatting with the store owner. Mithra had her arm around his shoulder and laughed along heartily. ‘This makes me look normal.’

‘So what killed you?’

Moira held Raz’s note for a bit, then put it down and started to sign more extensively than she spoke. ‘I fell at the hands of a very powerful man. Me and a few others were the only ones that stood between that world coming to an end and him, and we failed.’ She sighed. ‘It’s not as much the death I dream of. It’s that I failed that world.’ She lowered her hands and folded them. ‘I will not fail this one.’

Raz nodded along quietly. He mimicked a few signs Moira had made with her hands but didn’t manage to follow along as well so he picked up writing again. ‘That’s awful and I’m sorry that happened. Is there anything I can do?’

‘No, I’m afraid not. But that’s alright.’ Moira pat Raz’s head and read over his words once more with a blank stare. Her ears rose and fell as she thought and soon her gaze shot back to Raz. ‘Such is life… What was it you dreamt about last night?’

Raz averted his eyes once more. He wrapped his arms around himself and took a breath, picking up his pen again. He had trouble summarizing what he dreamt on the small slip of paper he picked. Once he finished he handed the note to Moira shakily.

‘Sometimes I dream about my father. More usually it’s my husband.’ Read the first note. ‘I don’t know what’s worse and I don’t think it matters. Usually what I dream of is what they did to me.’

Moira blinked a few times, then pointed at Raz’s prosthetic arm and the scars that littered the point it had gotten amputated. ‘Did they do that?’

He wrote ‘Yes. Guillaume later said it was an accident, that he had not intended for that to happen. I know better than that.’ His words perfectly encapsulated his bitterness. ‘My pearl, my arm, what dignity I had, an eye replaced with another… I don’t have anything left but my heart and what’s left of my mind.’ He resettled the eyepatch so it sat firmly over the eye he dreaded. ‘I hate it and the worst is that I thought for a while that was love what he gave me. Then I met the residents of Paramo, and learned I was wrong.’

Moira nodded in agreeing manner. ‘You’ve mentioned that before.’ She looked off to Ronan and Mithra, who were heading their direction. ‘You know, Ronan helps me with my dreams. Last night he helped you with yours, but you were not awake for it. Ronan and I were.’

‘So that is how you know?’ Raz wrote, and added ‘Did he do anything to me in my sleep?’

‘Ronan doesn’t do anything to anyone if he’s not allowed to. Dreams seem to be his thing though.’ Moira stated flatly. ‘All he did was momentarily soothe you, I believe. He won’t just dig around in your head without permission.’ She took his shoulder and pulled him near for a moment. ‘Just ask him about it later.’ She let go and got up, pocketing her hands in her coat. Ronan and Mithra reaches them, cheerfully shaking canisters of water. ‘Are we leaving?’

‘Yes, Glasir isn’t going to come to us after all.’ Ronan responded, smiling from ear to ear. ‘Are y’all ready to go? Need to stretch, anything we can’t to on the road?’

‘I think we’ll be fine, sheesh.’ Mithra said, patting Ronan’s shoulder. She shared a massive grin and was already turning to walk into the eastward direction. ‘Let’s go all, let’s try to reach a quarter’s distance before nightfall.’

‘As long as we make enough stops.’ Ronan said. He shook and in a flurry of purple and pink magic he took his draconic form. Mithra ran up to him to climb onto his back and he expectantly looked at Moira and Raz. While Moira did take her true pearlcatcher form Raz hesitated. ‘Are you tired of flying for the moment Raz?’ Raz nodded in response and Ronan turned to Moira instead. ‘You haven’t quite regained your strength yet so I understand. Moira, can you carry them?’

She signed that she agreed in response and lowered herself so Raz could climb onto her back. For a moments notice he seemed embarrassed by having to rely on others to fly him around but just as quickly it was clear he didn’t give it much further thought, climbing onto her back. Moira was first to take off, Ronan following her, taking to the blue skies that were threatened by yet another thunderstorm raging in the distance.

*

That remaining afternoon was spent touring the neighborhood once more, this time alongside Yuri. Yuri’s explanation of the neighborhood and the projects she undertook was a lot richer than the ramblings Angua had to offer but Yuri was also a lot more focused on the sort of work she did, which made it less colourful. She had settled in Glasir a while back, he learned. She still found ways to practice the magic she learned when she still lived at home, she told him later, which was surprising to him. 

Yuri’s life sounded more established than his own. He didn’t want to explain to her what had happened to him and miraculously the conversation never went there, not even a word being spoken about his eye as if she could read him like a book. They spoke professionally as if they had only just met that moment. 

When they returned in the late afternoon they all settled in the yard, except for Dmitri who instead stuck to hanging around with the kids who had taken a liking to him.

‘Angie, stop pulling on the nice man’s horns already.’ It wasn’t that Dmitri seemed to mind that he currently had three kids hanging off of him. It was more that he was threatening to walk into walls and trees and could hurt himself. ‘Or at least stop swinging around so much.’ Yuri added.

‘They’re delightful miss, don’t worry about me.’ Dmitri called out laughing, continuing to stumble around with the laughing children hanging off of him.

‘Well, at least he’s having fun.’ Arodan said, sipping his tea. Him, Holmes, Yuri and her husband Hush had settled at the garden table and this time Arodan had made sure to ask milk in his tea. ‘Kids get bored if you only tell them stories.’

‘Well, Angua has always been the rowdy one.’ Yuri said, chuckling. ‘Naoise and Aoife are calmer but Angua is good at stirring them up.’ She sipped her tea and giggled more seeing the four figures running through the yard. At some point Dmitri tripped and fell face first onto the grass. The kids did not waste time jumping onto him. ‘These three have a strange life.’

‘Why adopt if you say you don’t have a lot of time though?’ Arodan asked, wincing a little at the shenanigans in the yard. He hoped they weren’t going to hurt Dmitri. ‘I mean, this seems like a strange family organization to have.’

‘We uh… Wanted kids, at some point.’ Hush chimed in. He was soft spoken but with a gentle squeeze of encouragement from Yuri he spoke louder. ‘And we didn’t have time like you say, but then Angua was brought in, and we couldn’t just leave her where she was. Naoise and Aoife had already been adopted by Holmes and he offered to bundle efforts.’

‘It’s working fine and Yuri and Hush are here throughout the weekends.’ Holmes added. He shook the empty kettle. ‘I’m okay with this setup. Anyone want more tea?’

‘I’d love to, but…’ Arodan glanced at the sky which had taken a deep orange color, announcing the setting of the sun. ‘I think Dmitri and I should really head back. My boyfriend and friends are going to be worried about us if we stay out too late.’

‘Fair enough. You need to introduce me to that boyfriend of yours once.’ Yuri said. Her lips had curled into a knowing little smile and she got up. ‘It’s not as if I’m going anywhere, I guess you know where I live now.’ She paces over to Arodan and slung her arm around his shoulder. ‘He does treat you well, I hope? Not to be a typical big sister but no siblings of mine deserve to be treated badly.’

‘I honestly do not deserve him.’ Arodan quietly said, smiling to himself. He started to leave the table and only turned to nod in humble goodbye at Hush and Holmes who he hadn’t spoken to that much. ‘I’ve been handling my relationships better though.’ As soon as they were out of earshot of the others his demeanor turned more serious. ‘Yuri, can I ask you a question or two?’

‘Always Danny. What do you need?’ Yuri already pulled out a notepad and a pen, ready to diligently note down what he said. ‘Artificial eye? I can get you one for a discount if I strategically word it to my supervisors.’

‘I’ve heard about them but I’m still thinking about it okay? Note it down, but that wasn’t what I wanted to ask.’ Arodan said, shaking his head wildly. ‘First of all, I wanted to ask if President Odin has provided help to partner cities in the last year or so.’

‘Are you possibly…’ Yuri’s gaze fell on the small but intricate Paramo crest that was pinned to Arodan’s bag. ‘You’re one of those Paramo people. That’s why you’re here.’ She said this in an awed whisper and immediately wrote it down. ‘So I guess you want to know how likely it is that he’ll help you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well…’ Yuri tapped her lips with her pen. ‘According to the foreign projects department we’ve only taken up one small one this year. Most of the funds have been going to city development projects and cracking down on the illegal activities in Striker’s Dome.’ She brushed a hand through her hair. ‘I don’t know how to answer that. All I know is that Odin is thinking about it and that he will announce the answer at the upcoming gala. It’s in honor of the city and what made the city what it is today.’

‘Ah. I see.’ Arodan’s stomach sank a little and his posture equally did until Yuri put a hand on his shoulder. ‘We really need the help.’

‘I understand that Danny, I know.’ Yuri assured him, squeezing his shoulder. ‘Where are you guys staying? No-Wait, I can just look that up. I can keep you up to date on developments if you’d like.’

‘I’d appreciate that. It means a lot to me.’ Yuri nodded in response to Arodan. He continued, taking a breath. ‘Okay, second question, but this is more personal.’

‘Shoot.’

‘How well versed are you in the…’ He beckoned her to lean in and whispered. ‘... Art of creating artificial bodies?’

‘You mean organic or an automaton because one is considerably harder to create Danny.’

‘Organic preferably but one of the people I’m searching a solution for probably will take any kind of body.’ He pulled a hand through his hair. ‘It’s… Not urgent, but I want to help two of my friends.’

‘I don’t know about that either Dan, it’s not exactly encouraged here.’ Yuri responded hesitantly. ‘The science department builds stuff, automatons, sometimes we grow limbs but those are hard to attach. You’re asking a lot here.’

‘But can you try?’

‘... Yes, I can try.’ Yuri whispered in resigned manner. ‘I can’t promise anything and it’s a weird question to say the least.’

‘Well, I did expect a less considerate response.’ Arodan straightened out his shirt and gestured at Dmitri that they were leaving. ‘Thank you Yuri.’

‘It’s no problem. That’s what estranged family is for.’ She chimed, squeezing his shoulder once more before pulling her hand away. ‘We need to catch up some more later if you’re in town anyway.’

‘Of course. For now I should be heading back though, I don’t want to get lost flying in the dark.’ Arodan said. He waved at the kids and Holmes and Hush once more. Dmitri made his way over to him, his hair full of braids, grass and flowers. ‘Ready to go?’

‘Yeah.’ He sounded winded but happy and proudly showed is hair. ‘Doesn’t it look pretty?’

Arodan spied Angua standing on a small distance behind him and as such, smiled and nodded. ‘It’s cute, looks great.’ He waved at Angua who cheerfully waved in return. ‘Let’s go then.’ Him and Dmitri left the house, sent off by all household members there. They headed out in the sunset lit streets of Glasir’s water quarters, a salty breeze blowing in from the ocean. They walked and Arodan thought they’d best take to the sky again once they reached the park where they had initially landed. ‘Dmitri?’

‘Yes?’

‘When Angua asked about your scar, you lied.’ Arodan asked, and he could see Dmitri wanted to retort but held his tongue. ‘So I guess you remembered something?’

‘Not as much, but… It’s a feeling. I dreamt something.’ Dmitri started, uncomfortably. ‘I dreamt about what might have been Raz. I will uh… Not give you the exact details of this dream but it must have been because of Sachairi’s presence. I just know, he was there, and one moment he was… You know, what feeling in love feels like despite it having been a long time.’

‘You’re not making any sense.’

‘Well, the next moment he pulled a knife on me, and slashed it across my face. I woke them and just… Knew. Felt why that happened.’ He drew his finger across the scar. ‘I angered someone and paid for it. Which is fair enough, because I think I was an obnoxious person.’

‘That is remembering.’

‘But I didn’t remember the situation, just the context.’

Arodan shrugged. They headed into the park again which was cast in the darkness of the buildings. ‘I guess, but it’s something. Do you have any good memories in there though?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Dmitri meekly responded, smiling awkwardly. ‘But if it helps… I’m making some great memories with you and the others now. I feel at home with you guys and I think I’m at peace with that.’

‘So hypothetically, if you never got your memories back, you’d be alright with that?’

‘I think so.’ Dmitri answered. ‘I’m ready to step into this new world. Learn magic, make friends, make memories.’

‘Good.’ Arodan smiles fondly and took his draconic form. ‘Call out Sachi. Let’s head back.’

‘Okay!’ Dmitri closed his eyes. Arodan looked at him waiting for his posture and way of breathing to change indicating Sachairi had taken over control. When this didn’t happen he stepped a little closer. Dmitri opened his eyes and blinked a few times. ‘Uh…’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘He’s not responding.’ Dmitri whispered. ‘Maybe he’s asleep.’

‘Is that even possible?’

‘Well, he does it sometimes but I kinda need him right now.’ Dmitri said, cracking an embarrassed smile. ‘What now?’

‘Doesn’t he have anything better to do than sleeping?’ Arodan grumbled this to himself, and bent down, still grunting and groaning with great annoyance. ‘Come on. Climb on, we don’t have all day.’

‘Isn’t that weird?’ Dmitri ran up to him and climbed onto his back. ‘I mean-‘

‘I becomes weird when you draw attention to it so can it.’ Arodan said and it shut Dmitri up. ‘Hold on.’

‘Okay-‘

Arodan took off without warning and as he had expected Dmitri held on to his neck screaming. Within seconds they reached an altitude fit for gliding and Arodan rolled his shoulder to tell Dmitri to stop squeezing his neck already. ‘Stop being a wimp, it’s just flying.’

‘Oh that’s easy for you to say, you can fly!’ He yelped, keeping his face buried in Arodan’s neck. ‘I hate this, how are you okay with this?’

‘You learn it.’ Arodan grunted. He looked out over the city. In the dying light of day it looked absolutely gorgeous. ‘... Dima, just look up. I promise it won’t be bad. I’m not going to drop you.’

Dmitri squeezed his neck once more, then raised his head, slowly so. He got up faster once he finally saw how beautiful the view was. Red and orange streaked the horizon and faded into the deep blues and purples of the encroaching night sky. ‘Oh wow.’ Dmitri sat there starstruck with his gaze gliding over the city. In slow waves the magical lighting of the city was being lit under them.

‘See, told you.’

‘You were right.’ Dmitri said, and there was a moment Arodan swore he sounded like he might be crying. He sat there, caught in the moment, feeling as if he was chasing the setting sun. He closed his eyes and basked into the feeling, the wind, the sun, the sounds of the city below… He was at peace. For the first time in Dmitri’s life, he unfolded his wings. Then, because open wings catch a lot of wind, he was promptly was blown back and off Arodan’s back. ‘Oh fu-‘

‘Dima!’ Arodan immediately turned around, watching Dmitri fall helplessly. ‘Oh no, oh no-‘ He folded his wings and took a dive. ‘Hold on, I’m coming!’ If he didn’t reach him in time they’d potentially splatter against the ground or a building in the attempted ascent. He almost reached him and to his relief Dmitri was at least making spirited attempts at trying to fly which lessened his falling speed somewhat.

‘Dan!’ Dmitri spun around and and reached for Arodan. ‘Shift back!’

‘What?!’ Arodan didn’t understand initially, but then noticed that if he managed to catch Dmitri he wouldn’t be able to ascend without hitting a building at this point. He shifted into his bipedal form and finally reached Dmitri, taking hold of his hand and flapping his wings into the opposite direction to slow them down. They couldn’t ascend again, so they had to make sure to land safely. ‘Try to fly, will you?!’

‘I’m trying!’ Dmitri threw one more glance at the ground and drew Arodan in. ‘I have a very bad idea.’

‘What are you-‘ He was whipped around so he was above Dima and saw the ground approaching very quickly. To be specific, underneath them was what seemed to be a field. ‘Dima, do not-‘

‘Too late.’ He squeezed Arodan to him, folded his wings, and they smashed into the ground.

Dmitri certainly broke Arodan’s fall but it didn’t stop him from significantly bruising his legs and ribs. For a moment, his vision went black, but returned soon. He lay there, sprawled over Dmitri. Slowly he rose up, his head feeling scrambled beyond belief but at least intact. ‘D-Dima, you okay?’ He rubbed his eye and every moment his hand slid he felt as if he might fall over again and pass out. ‘Dima…?’ If he looked awful, then Dima definitely looked worse. ‘Oh gods, please don’t be dead.’ He shook him gently. Dmitri finally took a strained breath, Arodan sighing in relief. ‘Oh thank gods.’

‘You okay?’ Dmitri quietly asked. Talking pained him significantly, a strained groan leaving him. ‘O-Ow.’ He balled his fists and grit his teeth. ‘I’m sorry, this is my fault.’

‘That is true but that doesn’t mean I want you to get hurt.’ Arodan said, fighting his urge to chastise Dima. ‘Can you walk?’

‘Kinda. I’ve had worse.’ Dima sat up coughing, pulling back his hand to see blood lining his fingers. ‘Hm.’

‘Oh my gods.’

‘Is that bad?’

‘Is that- If that’s bad? Yes!’ Arodan exclaimed, wiggling his way under Dima’s arm. He lifted him and saw Dima grit his teeth so he wouldn’t help out in pain. ‘Okay, first we’re just going to find someone who can treat this, you, make sure you’re not going to actually die.’ He looked around, noticing they had landed in a courtyard of sorts. ‘I think we’re not too far from the inn so we get some help and head back then and explain ourselves.’

‘Sounds like a plan… Who are they?’ Dmitri said. Arodan didn’t understand what he meant until he took note of the people clad in gold and black standing at the edges of the courtyard. They did not look particularly happy with their presence. ‘Dan?’ Dmitri’s hand slid to the daggers at his side and he discreetly slid one into Arodan’s hand. ‘Get behind me.’

‘You’re off worse than I am.’ Arodan whimpered, clutching the dagger. The crests these people wore were all too familiar to Arodan, a sun set in a lantern. They were currently surrounded by what looked to be Lux Laterna soldiers and by the looks of it, they occupied this building. ‘I’m sorry too Dmitri.’

‘We’re not going to die here, don’t be like that.’ Dmitri whispered, soldiers approaching them now with drawn swords. He reached and squeezed Arodan’s bicep. ‘If you see a path, you run.’

‘What about you?’

‘Sachairi’s a ghost. He’ll be fine.’

‘I meant you, not Sachairi.’ Arodan nudged Dmitri hastily and kept his eye on the soldiers closest to him. ‘I’m not gonna stand here and have you sacrifice yourself.’

Dmitri didn’t answer that. If he wanted to, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity. A soldier lunged forward and he deflected him around the two of him with his dagger. ‘Ugh.’ A second soldier came forward and this time he used his dagger to block the incoming sword, kneeing him in the stomach. ‘Come at me bastards, I haven’t got all night.’

‘Don’t invite them to kill us.’ Arodan snapped and this time it was his turn to deflect, multiple soldiers coming at him at once. The first he managed to keep at a distance with his dagger, the second he only barely dodged. Dmitri kept a third away and put him out of commission, pressing on despite the blood he coughed up and his injuries. ‘We have to get out of here.’

‘I don’t think so.’ A deep voice bellowed from a balcony above. Dmitri and Arodan whipped around and looked up. On the railing stood a man worrying a long piece of rope with a weight at the end of it. He wore a decidedly tacky ten gallon hat. ‘I think the boss would like to assess you two himself, so if y’all could stay still it’d be much appreciated.’

‘Who’s that?’ Dmitri asked, leaning closer to Arodan.

‘I don’t know, an ophiotaurus wrangler maybe?’ Arodan grasped his knife tighter. ‘Just be careful, you never know.’

‘Tough customers, Huh?’ The man hummed, pulling the rope taut. ‘Well, no mind. I ain’t opposed to some brawling.’ He whipped around his weighted rope and immediately aimed and slung it for Arodan’s head. He did not manage to dodge the weight coming at him and it hit him square against the temple, his sight blacking out briefly before he hit the ground. He knew this man vaguely, because Atlas had spoken of him in the past, in the library. Back then he was less worried.

‘Dan!’

Before he fell into unconsciousness he saw the same rope miss, but entangle Dmitri. He fell, reaching for Arodan frantically. That night, Arodan would not return to Atlas, and he sank, knowing he wronged him yet again.

[typotigress]

Worldbuilding: Calendars

When I first started writing The Forgotten Hollows of Jordaré I hit a problem that I absolutely did not want to deal with: Dates. [warning!  Howto Mathematics included!]

Dates and time systems are an icky thing for most writers whether you are writing in a modern or historical time, or even a purely made up one like my own.  - Use a modern system like the Georgian, or even cultural such as Chinese or Hindu, then you lock yourself into a few situations (historical events clashing, becoming outdated [i.e. “Today - 1980″], and sometimes it pollutes your fictional world with the reality with such a simple connection.)  - But making one up invokes a whole load of extra work for you, and if not done right you are going to confuse readers and yourself nine out of ten time.  Even if you do a cop-out where you simply change every month/day name to some new random term, you either go back to confusing your readers or it just become obvious you ripped off good old George!  It’s just easier to not bother.

I wanted to avoid dates so much that I even went as far as to write in story: “Cole was becoming rather annoyed as the people of this area did not seem to bother keeping track of dates, only the week days.”  A+ for avoidance!

But you know what?  I still couldn’t get away from it.  The story took a turn that I didn’t really think ahead on, Cole was hunting down a beast and acting like a detective in trying to figure out its habits, and so I made myself a private calendar with loose dates just to keep track of my own events.  And you know what?  I still confused the hell out of myself.  Calendars are horrible!

But they are also a fantastic thing and one of the marvels that make just one of the attributes of any civilization, ancient or modern.  And one day recently I came across a three part video series by Artifexian on calendars for a fictional setting [Soli, Lunar, Lunisolar]  With my mind blown and my creative juices flowing, I decided to just dive right in into making up my own system and lore behind it!

Not to discredit his spreadsheet he provides and uses, it gave me some ideas, but it actually didn’t really help me in making things clear.  Sure, I figured out that I wanted to do a random number of 381.2 solar days in a years time, and that I ended up making a random-ass number of 11.4529(goesonforever) lunar cycles per year; and that I wanted to do about 11 months in the year with a rather boring structure of 35 day months(5 7-day weeks) except for the last month which was 31-32.  But that still didn’t help me with one thing: Calendars are used to keep track of important events.

So here comes the adventure and the how I did it for you to make use of if you so chose.

I have a solid structure that avoids the Gerogian complication where one year January 1st falls on a Sunday, while the next year it could be Monday, all funky days happen in the month of winter, which for my primary culture is counted as not a month but a time of mourning, and from winter solstice it is then counted down to the start of the new year.  Only complicated thing to mentally note is that every 5th year it is a leap year and so there will be 32 days during winter. (I have yet to devise month names and such)

That is a compact version above will help a lot in over all my story at a glance, but that wasn’t enough for me because my cultures follows the moon phases and I needed to know when those happened and at any given year without need of counting forwards or back.  I wanted the program to do the hardwork for me.  So, onward to the convoluted mess of logic and if statements!  Took me 3 whole days of headaches but I managed to figure out a way that gave me the lunar cycles of the year with a 94% accuracy, which is good enough for me at this point.  And if you wish to do the same for your own world, keep reading as to how I did it and the math logics devised. (and keep in mind, I’m not a math major so if you are smarter than me and know how to make a cleaner system, kudos to you please teach me, sempi!)

I started with inputting my data.  B2 How long my solar trip around the sun was to be in days, B3 how long my lunar cycle would be in days (the time it takes to make one full pass from full moon to new moon back to full moon), B3 I then divided the my year by my lunar cycle to get my cycles per year.  Because I have a .2 in my solar year length, this means each 5th year would be a leap year, so B4 was just a flat number. B7 was [=B1/B6], and B8 just worked out the Solstice cycle with [=B1/4] (4seasons.) D1 was [=1/B1] to get the fraction amount of what a passing day equaled as part of the year, and D2 was [=1/B2] for the same reason, what a passing day equaled to the total cycle.

With these numbers in place, if I so chose to change my year length and/or my lunar cycle duration, it will automatically change ALL the information accordingly and should still be accurate.

Now for the complicated portions.  For this reason, I am going to link you to the .ods file I created to see for yourself and tinker, and get a better look at the math as I’m sure all I’m going to say won’t make as much sense.

H2 [=B1*H1] - if it is year 1, there then will be 381.2 days passed at end of year since calendar start.  If it is year 0009, 3430.8 days will pass.

I4 [=B1*(H1-)] - same as H2 but minus 381.2.

M6 [=I4/B2]  - this gave the total of lunar cycles that completed. year 1, none, year 9 a total of lunar 91.623 cycles had passed.

M7 [=ROUNDDOWN(M6)] - strips the decimal value.

M8 [=M6-M7] - captures the decimal value

N7 [=B2*M7] - how many rounded days used in past lunar cycles.

N8 [=B2*M8] - same as above but just with the decimal value which will be the days remaining until the next full moon.

Now... this will give me the means to get an output that will tell me the month/day dates for the inputted year of when the full moon will be.

redundantly: R1 [=-N8] and S1 [=R1]

S2 through S13 is a series of [=S1=B2] upstepping where it takes the previous total and adds the next lunar cycle.

T2 through T13 is a series of this [=ROUNDUP(ROUNDDOWN(S2)/35)] to give me the current month of the year.

U2 through U13 is a series of this [=ROUNDDOWN(S2-((T2-1)*35))] to give me the current day of that month that the full moon falls on.

V2 through V13 is only a round down statement for each number in the relative S  column and went unused in the finished product.

How does ALL of the above work? All that leads up to N8 as the star of the show.  By taking the decimal value (ie the left over days of the year that have not completed a lunar cycle) from the previous calculations and multiplied into actual days, this number of days subtracts from the start date of the new year, and thus offsets the calculations in the R1 thru V13 grid.  In year 8 there was a total of 20.75 days remaining in the year after the last full moon, so by subtracting 20.75 from our normal 33.284 lunar days, we end up with 12 days into the new year being the full moon.

WOOF!

For most people, that may be all you need because your actual calendar could be drawn out remain the same as dates do not change, you would just put notations down in pencil for the important changing dates such as the moon cycles and any cultural festivals revolving around lunar cycles.

For me, to have a visual representation of what I am use to with the Georgian calendar, I went one step further and started taking my final lunar date grid and having it read by the year calendar via a series of Conditional Formats.

I am not going to get into conditional formats today as that isn’t nearly as important as everything else I covered and there is other people out there that explain their use.

I do hope you found that both interesting and helpful and hopefully not more confusing than it needed to be, and if you use this knowledge to craft your own calendar for your fictional world, I would LOVE to hear about it :D  Take care, happy worldbuilding!

[wanderingstoryteller]

New Elite Specs: My Thoughts

Another weekend, another demo! There’s no new lore to overanalyze, unfortunately, but we did get access to the new Elite Specializations. And I, naturally, spent the whole weekend fooling around with them. 

Now, as someone who traditionally sucks at PvP... this was a tough time for me. I spent the past three days being repeatedly punched, stabbed, shot, burned, kicked, and... whatever it is Mirages do. But I suffered bravely through all of it, for you, my dear followers. So that I might bring you my firsthand thoughts on the new specs. 

I’m not exactly an expert on these things (I’m more of a lore guy), but I did throw a lot of time into the demo, and spent at least a couple hours on every class. If you were indisposed this weekend, you might find these hot takes useful. Without further ado... 

Do you enjoy being delightfully confused? Wondrously confounded? Kicking someone’s ass without having any idea how you pulled it off? Then good news, friend -- The Weaver is the class for you!

With the attunement system, Elementalists like myself have always had a ridiculous number of skills. Now, with the addition of a sword and the ability to mix and match different elements, Arenanet’s added about two dozen more. Want a crazy amount of damage? Use Fire and Air skills at the same time! Want to be a nigh-unkillable tank instead? Mix Earth and Water, baby! This is the Elementalist on steroids, with even more versatility than the base class.

I only played for a few hours, and didn’t even scratch the surface of what the Weaver can do. I leaned hard into the “nigh-unkillable tank” option, and the end result is a class that just Will. Not. Die. And I’m not even playing it properly -- I’m just throwing out random spells and hoping I don’t get crushed. In the hands of someone that actually knows how to play PvP, this thing will be a holy terror. 

Of all the new specs, this is the one I’m most excited to play in the open world. The possibilities are endless, and I really, really love my new sword. 

The Deadeye, it turns out, wasn’t nearly as OP as everyone said it would be. While the idea of a Thief getting a long-range sniper rifle might be pretty scary on paper, remember that it’s only effective when it’s used at long range. The rifle’s best abilities require you to be immobile. Once the enemy closes the ground and you’re forced to move, you sacrifice all that raw damage and become just another glass-cannon Thief.

That doesn’t mean the Deadeye’s not dangerous, though -- not if you’re thinking a few steps ahead. After experimenting a bit, I realized that the Deadeye excels at hit and run tactics. Seek out a 1v1 between evenly-matched players and shoot the enemy in the back. Capture an unguarded point and lay in wait for the first unsuspecting victim that tries to reclaim it. Bring someone down with the burst damage and run like hell... leaving a Needle Trap behind for your victim’s overeager teammates.

All the mobility of a Thief, now with an absurdly long-range weapon. Deadeyes aren’t invincible (especially once you start to plan around them), but it’s a lethal combination once you figure out some clever ways to exploit these advantages. More importantly, though, it’s fun. Of all the Specs they released, this one might just be my favorite. 

So... if the Deadeye isn’t the most OP thing since sliced bread, the question remains: “What is?” To answer that query, please put your hands together for the bane of my existence this past weekend... The Holosmith.

The Holosmith is, to put it simply, a living can of Red Bull that’s been chugging twelve-packs of Sunny D. Fight one head-on, and you’ll be locked into a neverending chain of pulls and knockbacks, being kicked helplessly from one end of the arena to another while receiving absurb amounts of damage. Now, this is supposed to have drawbacks -- if a Holosmith goes on like this for too long, they’ll get overloaded and eventually start doing damage to themselves. But trust me, you’ll be dead long before that becomes a problem for them.

It takes a while to figure out this class, because like all things Engineer, it’s pretty complicated. But once you do, you’ll be nigh unstoppable. Most encounters will be over quickly thanks to the front-loaded burst damage, but if the battle drags on, Holosmiths bring plenty of survivability to the table. Utility skills like Spectrum Shield and Hardlight Arena make Holosmiths hard to take out in an even fight. 

Enjoy it while you can, guys, because as awesome as the Holosmith is, it’ll be nerfed into the ground within a matter of weeks. 

The Scourge was... I’m honestly not sure what I think, actually. Necromancers got a lot of cool toys to play with this expansion -- not just a torch, but an entirely new set of skills that replaces the old Life Force bar. Now you channel Life Force to summon Shades, stationary ghosts that damage enemies and shield allies.

On one hand, their ability to support and sustain their team allows the Scourge to dominate a teamfight. A good Scourge can give their allies the survivability they need to turn the tide in the team’s favor. Problem is, they’re pretty useless outside that one specific niche. 

Scourges can be pretty intimidating, sure. Nobody wants to enter the Scourge’s AoE Funhouse of Doom... until they realize that Scourges still rely mainly on conditions to deal damage, and the new batch of Specs is filled with condition cleansing. Then you start getting dunked on by an entire team of Spellbreakers. Worst part? Because you can’t use your Life Force as a secondary health bar, those Spellbreakers will tear through you like paper. 

I feel like Scourge is something I’d have more fun toying with in PvE. Like the Druid before it, the Scourge is designed to fit into a support role, and those don’t have much of a place in structured PvP. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Quick: what’s the coolest thing you can do with a shortbow? If your answer was “Fire a hail of burning arrows through tiny portals that strike your foes at various angles”, you are not only correct, but also a fan of The Renegade. 

The new Revenant Spec is very exciting for lore nerds such as myself. Channeling of the spirit of Kalla Scorchrazor, legendary charr war hero, you gain Kalla’s incredible sharpshooting abilities... and the ability to summon members of her warband when you’re in a jam. Unsurprisingly, it’s pretty difficult to master, and I certainly didn’t come anywhere close while I was playing. But I did run into some decent Renegades during the demo, and they were able to deal a lot of damage, very quickly. 

This is another one of those Specs I can’t wait to try out in PvE. I couldn’t do much with it in the arena, but in a less stressful environment, I feel like it’ll be incredible. 

I hope you brought a good book, because The Firebrand is about to get literate on your asses. Remember that Tome mechanic the Guardians had way back at launch? Well, it’s back, and just as awesome as you remembered. Massive AoE heals and conditions can be pumped out in the blink of an eye. 

Like the Scourge, Firebrands are excellent in teamfights, putting pressure on the entire enemy team while supporting their own. But unlike the Scourge, the Firebrand still retains the tools that have served it well in PvP before -- namely, its uncanny ability to tank anything you throw at it. Even when they’re caught in a bad situation, a well-built Firebrand can survive, and that’ll make them a common sight in this game mode. 

Personally, I can’t wait to use the Firebrand in World vs World. In the midst of a massive zerg, it can probably do some absurd things.

For reasons I’ve never really understood, some Ranger players really, really want a Spec that lets them play without a pet. While I don’t get the logic -- aren’t pets the main draw of the Ranger? -- Arenanet, apparently, does, and they’ve listened to your feedback. Now, with the addition of The Soubeast,  Rangers don’t just play without their pets -- you merge with them, Voltron-style.

Indeed, Arenanet has taken animal cruelty to the next level, as you eat your beloved sidekick to absorb their power. This’ll definitely be a welcome addition in PvP, where pets are constantly running headfirst into massive AoE attacks and getting knocked quickly out of the fight. 

Like the Weaver, I didn’t really know what I’m doing while I was playing the Soubeast, so I can’t really say anything about its place in the meta or stuff like that. But I do know that my enemies kept breaking under my dagger-waving onslaught, so I figure I must be doing something right. 

The Mirage is the Mesmer in its purest form. They don’t do fair fights -- they overcome their obstacles by tricking, confounding and generally irritating the hell out of them until they give up and leave. Mirages are masters of this. Their new powers help them blend in with their clones, hiding in plain sight while they beat on their enemies. Do you want to bring her down with burst damage? Choose wisely, then, because there’s a one-in-four chance that you’ll unload your best abilities on the wrong target altogether. 

Even though Mesmer is the class I’m least familiar with, I had a surprising amount of success with the Mirage. I think it has to do with me taking the clone gimmick as far as I possibly could. I didn’t just summon clones -- I tried to mimic their behavior, too. AIs in this game are pretty simplistic, and it’s pretty easy to figure out which Mirage is the real one when only three of them are following the simplistic movement and attack patterns. To really blend in, you’ve got to commit to the role and act as much like a clone as possible. Otherwise, you’ll be identified almost immediately, and Mirages don’t survive for very long under direct fire. 

Even so, the sheer amount of AoE can make things very difficult for you. With all the Firebrands and Holosmiths running around, clones will die almost as fast as you can summon them... which, as you might imagine, makes blending in with them pretty difficult. Once it gets buffed a little, though, I think PvPers will appreciate its unique fighting style.

It’s no secret that in the past couple seasons of PvP, condition damage has ruled the meta. But now, ladies and gentlemen, burst damage has returned, and it is through The Spellbreaker that it has reclaimed its rightful throne. 

Spellbreakers, on paper, are simple: they hate magic. All magic. And they’re all about purging magic from allies and enemies -- buffs and debuffs alike. The days of stacking a bunch of Might on yourself and running roughshod over your enemies are over. Under the watchful eye of the Spellbreaker, they’ll make sure both sides are fighting with nothing but their raw stats, as nature intended. 

This Spec is an odd little duckling, because on its own, it’s not really overpowered in and of itself. It is, however, uncannily good at countering builds that are. Spellbreakers are the only class I saw regularly standing up to Holosmiths, stunning them to take away their momentum or stripping away boons they rely on to survive in a prolonged fight. And as for the aforementioned condition builds? Shut down before they could even get rolling. 

However the meta might develop in Path of Fire, I’m dead certain Spellbreakers will be a key component. They’re set to be the superpredators of the meta ecosystem, keeping all the traditionally overpowered builds in check to maintain a level of balance. If you’re a big PvPer, you may want to invest in this guy. 

So... those are my thoughts. What did you guys think about the new batch of Elite Specs? I’m interesting in hearing from the rest of you guys, especially if, unlike me, you actually know something about this buildcraft stuff. As usual, feel free to send me asks or reblog with your own opinions. 

Whatever you think, I hope you enjoyed the demo as much as I did. <3