#eris oc:aisling

[awkwardgtace]

Knights, Nagas, and More

Time for its own page. Have written a lot more for this so I don't wanna keep all the links in the main list. Thanks so much for folks who enjoy this and @alarcomet for letting me use Nutmeg and Aisling in the stories!!

Luckier Than It Seemed

A Knight's Duty

Out Of Control

Knights' Discoveries

Full Size

Nervous Follow Up

Levels of Comfort

Cave in

Truth of Trust

Moving Forward

Kyrie's Trip Plus A Song

The Boy, The Wolf, and The Fae

Wings and Shadows

[awkwardgtace]

Nervous Follow Up

Next part of the Knight AU! Melody still has to let Kyrie know her secret, but she's been nervous to open up. Not to mention the Naga and Drider she hasn't even considered telling him about. Again featuring Nutmeg and Aisling who belong to @alarcomet

Nervous Follow Up

One day turned into two turned into a week turned into a few weeks. Kyrie knew it was getting to be too long. He trusted Melody, he knew she’d come back to talk like she promised. He also knew he had to tell them she knew, he just hoped dinner was the best time.

“I told her about me,” he said. The subtle noise of the room halted instantly.

“You did what?” the green haired man growled. He slammed his hands on the table making Kyrie flinch. The growling continued barely reminding him that the man wasn’t human.

“I told her, or well I showed her.” Pel just stared at him, the subtle pink in her eyes fading as she grew worried.

“Are you sure it was wise to do that?” she asked. She started to fidget with her hair, the blonde ends seemed to fray as she did.

“I-”

“You didn’t think about anything telling a human about you! At the very least we should have been there to make sure she couldn’t repeat what she saw.” Kyrie tried not to show the nerves bubbling from what Byssal said. He couldn’t let them do that, she had to tell Caprice. He knew hiding it from him would crush her.

“Byss,” Pel motioned for the growling man to stop. He stormed from the room.

“I won’t let anything happen to either of you! She only knows about me.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.” Pel stood up placing a hand on Kyrie’s shoulder before starting to follow Byssal. She turned back with a sad smile. “He’s more worried about you. If she tells the order you won’t be able to avoid them if you stay near humans. He doesn’t want you isolated again.”

Pel left before Kyrie could answer. He slumped down, staring over the table. Half finished meals, some marks where Byssal’s claws had slipped out, and silence. He knew she wouldn’t send anyone after him, that she was coming back. He just also knew they had to know… just in case he was wrong.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Kyrie, I need you to know I’m half fae, so is Caprice,” Melody said, her eyes squeezed shut. “There’s a lot of what we both can and can’t do, but I never used my abilities on you.”

“I think that was good!” Nutmeg cheered.

Melody groaned and slid down further into the snake’s coils. She knew Nutmeg didn’t mind, it became clear how much the naga liked being around others while she was stuck small. Nutmeg slipped a hand around her, lifting her up slightly as she moved her tail so Melody was sitting up. She smiled up at the naga, a silent thank you.

“This is stupid, I should tell him just like that and be done with it,” she moaned. She felt Nutmeg’s tail move and knew the giant naga was hiding her more. Soon she felt a weight on her lap and laughed. She started to play with Nutmeg’s hair while they stayed curled up together.

“Is it that bad to tell him? It wasn’t bad to tell us, right?” she asked. Melody smiled, it wasn’t bad to tell them. Aisling was a bit suspicious at first, but that seems to be more their normal.

“She just wants to complain!” Caprice yelled. She jumped but Nutmeg just hissed in content as she nestled her head against Melody’s lap. “We’re back by the way.”

“Could have said something sooner…”

Melody’s gripe fell on deaf ears as Aisling appeared over Nutmeg’s tail. She held a hand up to them and smiled as they climbed onto her palm. She used to hate spiders, Aisling was changing that every day. She used a finger to pet their spider half, smirking as they seemed to melt into her hand. Nutmeg lifted her head up from Melody’s lap until she was hovering over them. 

Melody watched as Nutmeg’s hand disappeared over the coils of her tail. It returned holding Caprice who had a smile on his face she didn’t trust. Nutmeg set him down next to Melody and waited patiently for him to get comfortable. Once settled both of their laps were used as a pillow for the giant naga. The first time she did this Caprice complained, but Melody could see the smile he tried to hide for hours.

Caprice started to play with Nutmeg’s hair just like Melody had been. It was probably something he missed from when his own hair was long. He hated how it had felt though. She leaned against him and resumed petting Aisling a bit as they sat there. The silence was nice, but the smirk on Caprice’s face made her nervous.

“So what the hell do you think will happen if you tell the knight asshole about you?” Aisling asked. Caprice laughed while Melody sighed, he loved how Aisling treated Kyrie. He was still mad that the man ran off after destroying part of their house. Probably hurt that he wasn’t told in person about the whole secretly bigger than the gods thing too.

“He could change his mind about me…” she whispered. Nutmeg’s hand found its way to her. Holding her tightly in a hug, the naga wasn’t quite asleep, but she had to be close.

“Right because hearing you have a secret is going to change how he feels obviously, I forgot that part about love,” Caprice said. She glared at him, the sarcasm was not welcome right now.

“You don’t get to be rude because you don’t feel like this!” He bumped her with his shoulder before offering a hand to Aisling. Once the drider climbed off her hands she started to fidget with Nutmeg’s hair again. Braiding the parts she could reach.

“No, I get to be rude because I’m your brother who knows you’re being stupid. He wouldn’t put up with all your stupid risks this long if he’d stop caring about you because you’re part fae.”

“He might think I charmed him… or that I was tricking him. He could think that-”

“You’re just panicking,” Nutmeg mumbled. She gripped Melody a bit tighter, it was more comforting than she would have expected a few weeks ago.

“Not like it matters. Caprice told him that you’re going over tomorrow.” Aisling’s tone was a bit softer than normal.

“What?!” She tried to squirm out of Nutmeg’s hold, but the way all of them were settled made it impossible. “No I’m not doing that! I-it’s too soon. Where did you even see him!?”

“In the fucking market where else?” Melody watched as Caprice pulled Aisling closer to his chest, letting them climb on his shoulder. She was ready to kill her brother. If Aisling and Nutmeg weren’t there things would be extremely different.

“You’ve avoided going out for weeks in case you saw him. It happened that I ran into him today. This needs to stop. I told you telling him was fine so just tell him. You’re going to him tomorrow, Melody.” She glared at her brother, that was low.

“That’s mean, using my name like that.” She folded her arms, abandoning the started braid.

“I’m nicer than you think. I could have said you have to tell him.” Melody groaned again, hating the smirk on her brother’s face.

The next day she dressed in the nicest casual clothes she owned. A simple dark colored dress with darker leggings. Aisling sat with her as she fixed her hair, trying to decide if she should bother with anything. He knew she was coming and she had a feeling he’d be giant again. Probably trying to make it sink in it was real. She gave up, leaving it down like it always was.

“I can go with you,” they offered. She smiled at them and shook her head.

“No, it’s better to just face him on my own again. Once it’s over I’ll make sure he knows you two are here to stay and safe,” she said. Aisling looked away quickly. She took a deep breath and swiped at her dress a few times. “Ok I’m going.”

With a determined gaze she turned on her heel to leave. Caprice was at the door with Nutmeg on his shoulders. She was still mad at him, using her name wasn’t necessary… It might have been, but it still wasn’t alright for him to do that. He just offered an encouraging smile and held something out to her. She grabbed it, a bit surprised to see the bread she baked. All of the bread she baked.

“I made this for us,” she murmured. He reached up to ruffle her hair, pausing when Aisling hissed from the table behind her. 

“Yeah well, he’s huge right? Probably eats a lot so just give him all of it,” Caprice smiled. Nutmeg nodded along as he spoke. She laughed and used a finger to ruffle Nutmeg’s hair.

“Thanks… I’m heading out.”

“Good luck!” Nutmeg cheered. She smiled and nodded at the little naga before finally leaving the house.

The walk itself was quiet. She tended to go out earlier in the morning, Kyrie knew that. The times they met she always showed up around dawn. She just preferred the quiet hours when humans weren’t quite awake yet. She grew up watching as fae would use the time to weave their magic. It felt like the time of truth after all those years. She kept her head down as she made her way down the path to the clearing.

Melody froze when she found the house she recognized instead of a leg. She swallowed the budding feeling of dread and stepped forward.

“You can do this… just tell him and leave if he gets upset,” she whispered to herself. She didn’t bring anything to help her run away if she needed it. She’d rather take time to calm down if he rejected her. She finally walked up to the door and knocked with a shaking hand. It opened as soon as she touched it, Kyrie stared down at her. “H-Hi.”

“Hey,” he smiled. His chest was heaving a bit, like he’d rushed to be at the door. The smile seemed to bleed joy and love as he looked at her. Her heart twisted, desperate to keep the smile facing her. “I knew you’d be here early. I was getting things ready, I thought we could talk inside. I-If you want to, that is…”

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t form words. She just stared at him, his hair was a bit of a mess. The first time she was able to notice that it had a subtle blue to it. It looked more like when he was huge. She jumped as she noticed her hand reaching up towards his hair, she was growing curious about him. Curious in ways she couldn’t expect to know after today. His eyes softened, like he would let her if she kept going. Instead she placed her hand on top of the covered basket.

“B-bread!” she squeaked. His eyes widened, she felt her cheeks heat up. “I made bread… This morning I baked some and brought it with me. I thought you might like it, Cap was fine with…” A hand on her head made her trail off.

“Thanks, I can’t wait to try some,” he murmured. Her cheeks only seemed to grow warmer. He pulled his hand away and stepped to the side. She looked up at him, a smile she had seen so many times on his face. “We can talk inside, uh the others wanted to meet you first though. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Th-that’s fine!” She tightened her hold on the basket of bread. All of this was making everything worse. She could leave now, she’d done what Caprice ordered her to do. Taking a step forward she locked herself into it. She was telling him today, that was the plan.

The door shut behind her. Melody bit her lip trying not to show her anxiety. She just had to hope he didn’t bring up what she wanted to talk about in front of the others. If he didn’t accept her then they didn’t need to know. A crash to their right made her jump. She turned to see a woman with long blonde hair and black skin standing near them. She felt her eyes widen as the woman’s pink eyes slowly faded to a pure white. 

The woman slowly brought her hands up to her face. Melody noticed familiar faded scars, she had asked so many questions about them before. A squeal left the woman as time seemed to speed up. The woman’s form quickly started to shrink, as she did bright pink wings grew from her back. The woman continued to shrink until she could fit in someone’s hand. Then she flew forward, hugging Melody’s cheek.

“[My wingless song!]” the woman shouted. Melody brought her hands up around the small woman. A smile growing to match the excitement.

“[Pelago?!]” she said. She pressed her hands firmly to the small woman, hugging her back. “[Why are you here?  How are you here?]”

“[I should ask you that!]” Pelago flew out of her hands and hovered just above her face. She received a piercing glare she hadn’t seen in over a decade. “[I return to visit only to hear you and my wingless spell left!? Not even a word of where you’d gone!]”

“[We didn’t think you were coming back…]”

“You can speak fae?” Kyrie asked. The excitement she felt from seeing Pelago again drained. Slowly she turned to look up at him, a look of awe on his face. “You know Pel too? That’s amazing…”

“I…”

“Get away from it Pel,” a man growled. She quickly turned to see him glaring at her. Green hair braided tightly behind him. She saw the subtle changes, the fangs growing… he wasn’t human.

“[Byss calm down. This is my wingless song! I’ve told you about her!]” Melody stepped back, but Pelago sat on her head. It would be a welcome feeling if the man in front of her wasn’t a threat.

“That thing isn’t her. You said she’s half fae half human, it smells like neither. Get away from it. I’ll use your name if I have to.” 

The man seemed to grow larger, she noticed him slipping a bracelet from his wrist. The same magic Kyrie used must be on him… That might make him a wolf and she wasn’t prepared to face that. Kyrie stepped in front of her, blocking any path the man might take. She looked up at him, there wasn’t any change in how he looked down at her. A reassuring smile that he wouldn’t let her be hurt.

“[Of course she doesn’t smell like either. Lying is against our very nature. She can’t smell human when she isn’t and she can’t smell fae when she isn’t. She’s both at once and also neither. Don’t you dare hurt my song Byssal,]” Pelago insisted. 

The fae flew off her head and hovered just above the still growing wolf. He let out a rough growl, but he set the bracelet back on his wrist. Kyrie didn’t seem to relax despite that. As quickly as Pelago shifted before, she returned to a human form in front of them. The human sized fae turned around, the smile on her face cast away the budding fear in Melody’s chest. She ran past Kyrie, grabbing Pelago in a hug.

“I missed you,” she whispered. Pelago hugged her back, the warm grip a familiar feeling.

“Oh my wingless song, is my spell still with you?” Pelago asked. She nodded, the arms around her slipped away quickly. Melody followed Pelago’s gaze to the green haired wolf. “Let’s go! It’s been so long I need to see him!”

She knew there was no fighting the woman and just sighed. Kyrie’s armor clinked behind her as he set a hand down on her head. She looked up at him, his smile was nearly blinding. Pelago pulled the basket from her hands and started pushing her towards the door. Kyrie had already started walking and opened the door for her. They were outside and she was lost in Pelago’s whims again.

“You two go ahead! We’ll be along in a few minutes,” Pelago smiled. The door shut behind them and all she could do was try to figure out how to explain the naga and drider. She was used to following the whims of fae, but this time was a bit harder. 

“You can just head home, I can talk her out of it,” Kyrie said. She jumped, looking up to see a sad face staring at her. 

“No it’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting it,” she said. Kyrie smiled at her, she didn’t really want to let it go. “We should go…”

He nodded, she felt her cheeks growing warm as she started her march off. He fell into step beside her, it was like a normal trip. They made their way out of the forest and she started humming. A small tune that would make everyone ignore her as she passed by, Kyrie too. She kept humming as the town itself started to wake up around them.

“So, what did you want to tell me today?” he asked. She jumped, he heard it already. She hummed a bit longer before sneaking a peek up to look at his eyes. A sigh escaped her as she let her humming end.

“You heard already,” she whispered. He grabbed her arm to stop her and made her face him. It felt awful to stare up, knowing that she didn’t even say it.

“I didn’t hear anything if you didn’t tell me.” Kyrie leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. It felt like all she could see was him. Another time she’d be embarrassed, worried that someone might see them. Right now she knew the village wouldn’t register it was them, and couldn't remember seeing them. 

“...what if I don’t tell you then?” Melody felt almost cruel asking that. She went to tell him, had been determined to tell him. Hearing that he’d act like someone hadn’t said it for her made it tempting to keep quiet.

“Either way you’re you, nothing changes.” He grabbed her face in his hands. His eyes sparkled, it made her tempted to stay like this. Instead Melody reached her hands up to rest on top of his. He looked happy, even knowing she might not tell him her secret. That she’d act like he shouldn't know.

“I’m… Caprice and I, we’re half fae.” He kept his warm smile aimed at her. The heartbeat in her ears made it hard to know if he spoke. “I… I can enchant with my voice, I did it now so no one around us will notice us. I’ve never used it on you though.”

“I believe you.” Just like that all her walls crashed down to dust. Terror of his reaction, his possible accusations, left her body as soon as those words reached her. He slipped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. It wasn’t so long ago that she’d been worried about the burns this could cause. “Nothing’s going to change how I feel Melody.”

“Even when I have your name?” Kyrie squeezed her just a bit tighter, it felt nice to be held like this.

“Even if you use my name.” He moved so he was speaking directly into her ear. “Are you afraid? Do I scare you?”

“Not enough for me to leave.” He started to laugh, the arms around her tightened more.  He lifted her off the ground, spinning them both around in a circle. “What are you doing!?”

“I don’t know, but I’m relieved.” He kept laughing and eventually she joined in. It didn’t feel like a real bit of time.

He stopped when someone bumped into them. A person who seemed to enter a daze as soon as they saw their faces. She paled, expecting some form of concern now that he saw the reality of what she was. Instead he just grew more excited, refusing to set her down while he walked. Their faces were close from the way he’d been holding her. He slowly moved closer until their lips met. He pulled back slowly, and she knew she was bright red. She buried her face against him and started to hum again. She wanted to make sure her song was still working.

“Well, I knew sending you two ahead was the right choice,” Pelago cheered. Melody looked behind them, finding Pelago and the green haired man nearby. “See Byss, she’s just like I told you!”

—--------------------------------------------—-------------------------------------------------------

Caprice had spent the morning wandering from room to room. Nutmeg had grown a little while after Melody left, Aisling stayed on his shoulder. He had no idea how long Mel would be gone. If he’d have to worry about getting her back. He wanted to assume the best, but a lot of people turned on them when they learned the truth. He wandered back to Nutmeg, finally sitting down near her coils.

“I should have given her a way to escape if he gets mad,” Caprice sighed. Nutmeg’s hands appeared around him, he set his hands on them to stop her from lifting him. She moved a bit to rest her head over his lap while he stayed on the ground.

“Do you think that fucking knight would hurt her?” Aisling asked. He shook his head, Nutmeg hissed as she got comfortable.

“No, but it doesn’t mean anything. He wouldn’t be the first one to hate what we are.” 

“I like you both,” Nutmeg said. He laughed a bit, he was glad Mel took a risk on these two.

“Cap, I’m back! I brought Kyrie and-” Mel called out. He waited a bit for her to continue, but nothing more came. He pushed Nutmeg’s head off him and started to leave. They couldn’t hide her well like this. Aisling started to climb down his arm.

“I’ll go with you, in case that fucking knight is planning something.” He smiled and offered them his hand. They climbed on and he set them in his pocket.

“Probably better if you’re out of sight. In case this is bad.”

Caprice made his way to their front entrance, looking back to make sure Nutmeg was out of sight. It had to be that Kyrie just wanted to come back here. It wasn’t something bad. His mind was racing with possibilities, ready to find them all a way out. He lost any thoughts in his head as he took in the people who stood in his home. He ran forward grabbing a woman just a bit taller than him in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him, he never thought he’d see her again.

“Pel… I missed you,” he whispered. She started to pet his head.

“Oh my wingless spell I missed you too,” she murmured. “I went back to visit and you two had left. No one even knew what made you leave so suddenly. Why did you leave?”

“[Please don’t ask us that, Pelago,]” Melody said. 

He bit his lip, they didn’t want to talk about the time they decided to leave. It wasn’t easy to avoid when asked directly like that. It helped that they made sure to use their names to lock it behind them both. He heard a growl that knocked him back to his senses. He stepped back from the woman who taught him everything, finding a green haired man glaring at Mel.

“[Who are you?]” he asked. The green haired man started glaring at him.

“[I don’t plan to give my name to someone claiming to be fae,]” the green haired man growled. Caprice sneered as Melody flinched. Something they always had to deal with. A person who knew what they were and didn’t bother thinking about the human half. 

“[You entered our home, the least you can offer is your name. Leave if you won’t.]” He and Mel didn’t follow most rules like that. Their human half made up for it, but he would abuse the lack of knowledge. He’d done this plenty of times before.

“Byss knock it off,” Kyrie said. It was the first time Caprice even looked at the taller man. He was glaring at the green haired one, stepping forward and towering over him.

“Quiet.” He noticed something about the green haired man change, like his teeth were sharper.

“Both of you stop! If Byss wants to cause trouble he can just go home. I’m spending time with my wingless spell and wingless song,” Pel said. Caprice kept a glare on the green haired man. 

“Pel, these things can’t be them. They don’t smell anything like they should. I don’t know why they know your name, but we’re leaving.” The green haired man grabbed Pel’s hand, but she shrunk down to her fae form. She landed on his head.

“Cap, Kyrie just stop. He doesn’t trust us, he doesn’t have to. It’s fine…”

“Why would I trust either of you with all of our names?” Caprice was starting to bristle at this man. It was stupid, people just kept acting like this. Mel put a hand on his shoulder, he curled his hands into fists. 

“[You’re always like this! Acting like we are worse than actual monsters. We can’t even-]”

“Caprice! Quiet!” He lost the sound behind his words and glared at his sister. Her face filled with guilt in a moment. “Sorry, sorry you can talk, Caprice.”

“...how did you do that? I’ve never seen a name work that strongly?” The green haired man actually seemed shocked. 

“It’s just as strong as when you were children, then?” 

Pel started to pet his head where she was still sitting. The small touch reminded him of the drider in his pocket. The man mentioned scent, he had to get Aisling away. He gave Mel a look to catch her eye before slipping his hand into his pocket. A nod was all he needed to know she understood.

“Pelago, Cap was working on some new potions today. We should leave him for now,” she said. She offered her hands to the small woman, but that didn’t work. In fact, Pelago just flit off his head and landed on his shoulder.

“Then I can help you like when you were young!” she smiled. It was hard to say no to her, but something in her expression changed. She hopped off his shoulder and landed in front of him. It was like when she caught him trying out spells alone as a child. “Why do I sense a curse near you? My spell… you haven’t started using those have you?”

“Of course not!” He and Melody shouted together. It caused a strange look from the others, and a bout of struggling in his pocket. Kyrie stepped closer, cupping Mel’s cheek. Caprice curled his hand around Aisling in his pocket, they weren’t going to be hurt while with him. He noticed Kyrie give him a strange look before turning his focus back to Mel.

“...I forgot,” the human-sized giant whispered. Caprice stared up at him, nervous of just what Kyrie realized he forgot. He smiled, it made Caprice almost hopeful the knight planned to help get the other two out. “You wanted to make some changes to my armor today didn’t you Pel?”

Pelago opened her mouth to argue, but she stopped when Kyrie stared at her. Caprice recognized the smile that grew on her face, she knew they were hiding something.

“I can do them here. They know the truth don’t they?” she asked. Caprice stiffened, it was one thing to hear about it from Mel. Kyrie didn’t like it either if his stumbling steps backwards said anything. Mel’s face had gone completely white at the idea. Pelago started laughing, but that didn’t stop the other man from growing angry again.

“What are you thinking?” he asked. He stormed up to Pel and made her face him. Caprice felt a shiver down his spine as the green eyes became more wolf-like. “...drider…”

Mel grabbed his arm and took off before anyone else could act. He was dragged behind her as she brought them to the training room. Mel shoved him towards Nutmeg the second they reached the still broken wall. Grabbing a sword she kept near the entrance and taking a ready stance. He swore he could hear the burning of the hilt on her skin without her gloves. The weapons were a special mix of metals, ones that burned fae badly.

“Mel put the sword down,” he said. Melody just shook her head and kept herself poised to fight. He never liked seeing her like this, but he understood why. Nutmeg’s hands were surrounding him before anything else could happen. He didn’t stop her from lifting him up from the ground. 

“What’s going on? Isn’t he good?” she asked. He grimaced, Kyrie wasn’t the threat. Aisling climbed up from his pocket until they sat on his shoulder. 

“One of them fucking knew I was there. Not the knight from the other day, a different fucking human,” they spat. Nutmeg’s hands tightened around him. She set him on her coils and started to reach for Mel.

“Don’t touch me,” Mel ordered. Nutmeg froze. She fixed her stance, Caprice could smell the burning of her palms. “Cap, get a spell ready to bust out of here.” He didn’t like the way she sounded, the burns were bad already. “I helped you two get here to protect you, that doesn’t stop any time soon. I think he’s a wolf Cap, just cover your scent as you leave.”

“Melody?” Nutmeg’s voice was sad. He knew what that meant, what she wanted him to do. They had one way to do that. He grabbed the top of Nutmeg’s hand.

“It’s ok, we’ve had to run before. It’ll be fine Nutmeg.” He held a hand out to Aisling, they climbed down from him and over Nutmeg. He watched them until they reached the hand Nutmeg left near Mel. They jumped off and landed on her shoulder. She jumped, but didn’t move from her stance.

“Give me one of your hands, I’ll cover it with my silk. It should help.” Mel shook her head, but they didn’t leave her. He smiled as she pulled one of her hands from the sword and offered it to them. He just had to hope they were fast with their weaving.

“Quiet.” Mel pulled her hand back, Caprice grimaced as she set it back on the sword. “If you’re coming for a fight I’m ready.”

Caprice held his breath as they waited. He couldn’t hear the footsteps, but he trusted Mel. It seemed like time wasn’t moving. Then the footsteps echoed. He waited for the person to come into view. He called up a spell, carefully preparing to send the energy out. Kyrie walked in first, the green haired man was close behind him. Mel didn’t move, Aisling hid under her hair.

“Melody, it’s ok we’re not-” Kyrie tried. She pointed the sword at him, he held his hands up and stepped back. The green haired man growled again. They still didn’t have his name, if they had his name this would be easier.

“What do you plan to do now that you’ve seen them?” Caprice started to let the spell dissipate. He couldn’t risk it going off at the wrong time. “You don’t trust us and that’s fine. You’re not hurting them.”

“Why trust you when you hid a drider in your pocket? How do we know you didn’t buy them?” the green haired man growled. Caprice glared down at the man, they weren’t the ones buying and selling at those places.

“They didn’t buy me fucker!” Aisling yelled. Melody shifted so her shoulder with them was closer to Nutmeg’s hand. Caprice slid off Nutmeg’s coils to stand next to her. 

“[Byss I told you to stop overreacting!]” Pelago shouted. He jumped as she flew in and landed on Melody’s head. “[Look at how bad my wingless song has already hurt herself. Enough of this. If they weren’t fae how would this be hurting her!]”

“Pel…” 

The man just stared at her for a while. Caprice didn’t know what to expect. Finally the man walked forward, he completely ignored the sword aimed at him. He grabbed both of Mel’s hands and forced them off the sword. He heard Nutmeg gasp as the damage became clear to them all. The man kicked the sword away and sighed before ripping the bracelet he wore on one of his wrists off with his teeth.

Caprice felt his eyes go wide as the man grew in front of them. It was nothing like Kyrie, it seemed more contained. Slowly one hand could hold both of Melody’s. That’s exactly what he did, switching to hold them both. He watched Mel start struggling, starting up a spell. He only stopped when Kyrie placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing a reassuring smile that he desperately wanted to ignore. 

The man towered over everyone except Nutmeg. He still had a glare, but it was aimed specifically at Melody’s hands. He reached into a pocket with his free hand, pulling out a vial. Caprice recognized the contents, the ointment that helped heal their metal burns. He used two fingers to pull the bit of web Aisling put on her hand off. He then opened the container and dumped it over Melody’s hands. She stopped struggling as he gently rubbed the ointment on her burns.

“What…?” she whispered. The man didn’t react, just stayed focused on her hands. 

Unlike when Caprice healed her, the man mumbled a spell for it. The way magic worked with every creature besides fae. The ointment glowed a bright white before fading into his sister’s skin. The burns were healed and the man let her go. Melody stumbled back, Caprice just grabbed her hands to check them himself. There were signs of damage, but it would heal in a few days. 

Caprice watched as the man carefully took the bracelet from his mouth and placed it around his wrist. Pel flew off Melody’s head and landed on the shoulder of the shrinking man. Mel had to be right, he was a wolf. That matched with everything else. He glared at them while he returned to a human height, Pel just smiled. 

“Byssal,” he grumbled. Caprice’s eyes went wide, he looked at Mel who seemed just as shocked. Pel flew off her shoulder and quickly made herself human sized again.

“Well, now I think we just need the names of your unexpected friends,” Pel said while clapping her hands. “Can’t I have your names?”

“Oh!” Nutmeg said. Caprice wanted to stop her, but the man… Byssal stopped him. He knew that it was fine, Pel wouldn’t do anything bad, but Nutmeg should know. “I’m-”

“No, no, no!” Pel switched to a fae again and flew right up to Nutmeg’s face. Caprice always had a sense of jealousy when he saw that. The others could use that kind of magic so readily, he never could do that on his own. “If a fae asks to have your name you never give it, slithering cloud. You tell us what we may call you. It’s safest when it isn’t your true name, but as long as it isn’t given to us you’ll be mostly fine.”

“Oh… then call me Nutmeg?” Caprice smiled. It was how Pel taught them as kids. The others never bothered since their names didn’t work like normal names, but Pel wanted them safe. Pel smiled and he watched her fly down to Melody pulling her hair back to stare at Aisling. They were pressed up against her neck, he couldn’t blame them. 

“And what do we call you, venomous weaver?”

“What the fuck?” they sneered. Melody offered her hand to them, they moved on to it quickly.

“She gives everyone nicknames, it’s common for fae to do that. Usually it’s two words or more, it’s descriptive so that we know who you mean. Just tell her what you want to be called,” Mel explained.

“Then Aisling, I guess…”

“Wonderful! Aisling, my venomous weaver and Nutmeg, my slithering cloud!” Pel flew up to Nutmeg’s face again. He couldn’t see well, but knowing her she would be switching to a human size while sitting up there. In seconds he was proven right, Nutmeg looked scared. “Now then, why don’t we talk about the curse you have and how to fix it?”

Melody zoned out a bit as Nutmeg started telling Pelago what she’d told them. It was more of a relief than she wanted to admit that they had help. Caprice knew a lot, but they made a point to avoid curses, too easy to backfire on them. She slipped out of the room, getting away from the overwhelming feeling of everyone. She needed to wrap her hands, even with the healing magic it could get worse. She was lucky. She let out a heavy sigh as she made her way to their supplies. 

She could tell this would be fine, just like Pel could see that Nutmeg was cursed. This would just make sure they were safe. She froze when the floor creaked, someone followed her. Byssal gave them his name and didn’t trust them, Kyrie would call out to her, Caprice was helping explain the curse, Aisling didn’t have the weight to make the floor creak. No one made sense to come after her. She kept walking, hiding to the side of the entrance to their supply room.

Carefully she grabbed the dagger they kept on the wall. This one had a hilt properly covered so she wouldn’t make her hands worse. Taking a deep breath she waited. As soon as the person stepped in she had the knife held to their throat. 

“Are you always this ready to kill someone?” Byssal grumbled. She dropped the dagger, He caught it before it reached the floor.

“I’m so sorry! I couldn’t see a reason for anyone else to slip out of the room so I thought someone might have…” she trailed off. It was stupid to think that when she considered who was in her home. Byssal sighed, he was more intimidating up close. He offered her the dagger, she almost wanted to refuse it. She relented, taking it from his hand. Once it was placed back where it belonged she just looked at him. “Did you need something?”

“You’re wrapping your hands right?” She felt her eyes go wide, but nodded. He looked away from her, but held out one of his hands. “I’ll take care of it.”

“No, it's fine. I’ve done this before. I’m-” He grabbed her hand and walked further into the room. He forced her to sit in a chair and started going through their supplies. She wanted to stop him, but the way he acted didn’t feel like guilt. He pulled out wraps they used and then stood in front of her. Slowly he started to wrap her palms, he added a bit of some herbs he’d pulled from his pocket too.

“I always carry this stuff around. It speeds the process up. Pel has a tendency to get too close to iron. I enchanted them to heal the damage faster.” Melody smiled, she knew he wasn’t bad. This wasn’t going to be easy to adjust to, and someone would ask them why they left when they couldn’t just blow it off. For now she’d just try to accept the moment. 

“Thank you.” His eyes went wide before he set a hand on her head. Kyrie did this all the time, he must have learned it from Byssal. She couldn’t ignore the oddity gnawing at her though. “I thought wolves didn’t have magic…”

“We don't.” She jumped as he started to rub her head. A wolf having magic was unheard of, she could only imagine what he’d been through. The animosity made a lot more sense now. “Make sure not to do that again. Protecting someone isn’t worth it if you lose feeling in your hands.” 

She nodded a bit, standing when he turned around. Together they walked back to the others. Kyrie was in the corner on his own, but Nutmeg had set Pelago on the ground and set her head in her lap. Byssal joined Kyrie, it was then she noticed he was staring at Aisling. She’d get them to talk later, for now she just wanted to accept things hadn’t turned out any worse.

[awkwardgtace]

Knights' Discoveries

More for the knight au with @alarcomet ocs Nutmeg and Aisling. We learn a bit about everyone and the world this time!

tw: mentions of death, blood, uhhh lemme know anything i'm missing!

Knights' Discoveries

Caprice sighed as another crash sounded from Melody’s training room. Nutmeg had grown to her larger size again, unfortunately she’d stretched out while small. That meant the room was a tight squeeze for her. Another crash meant her tail twitched and knocked something else over.

“Cap, how much longer?” Melody called. He let out another sigh before dropping a dragon scale into his bubbling potion. A bright red cloud burst out of the liquid making him cough. 

“Just finished!” he shouted as he scooped some of the liquid into a vial.

He rushed to the training room as he heard another crash. It was worse than he expected. Mel’s weapons were thrown all over the room. Her extra armor was crushed beneath Nutmeg’s tail. Worst was Melody held near the naga’s face as she tried to calm down the panicking snake. He stepped into the room holding back a groan.

He flinched as Aisling landed on his shoulder. He didn’t trust a venomous drider, especially near his neck. He waved at Mel who whispered something to Nutmeg. The naga set his sister down slowly. Once Mel stood on her own she offered a hand to Aisling. He liked it even less when they were near Mel outside of her armor.

“So how exactly will the shit you were working on help?” they asked. He pinched the bridge of his nose. A drider was not someone he expected to explain himself to.

“It should give her control, just stand back. There’s no telling how it’ll interact with us,” he said. Mel made a face, but stepped back as he wanted. Of course he knew what it would do to him and his sister, but that didn’t need to be shared. He turned back to the naga. She’d curled up as best she could while looking at Caprice with a strange face. “Nutmeg, try to shrink down again.”

“O-ok,” she whispered. 

Caprice waited for the usual signs she was trying to change her size. Nutmeg closed her eyes and a subtle amber glow began. He threw the vial at her tail once she was covered in the glow. It shattered and surrounded her in a red cloud reminiscent of the scale he’d dropped into the potion. He heard Aisling mumble something, but chose to keep his eyes on the naga. After a tense few minutes the red smoke started to dissipate. The first thing he noticed was the ruined armor near the wall.

Melody stepped forward, but he stopped her. The cloud needed to completely disappear before they could approach. Melody grumbled, but stayed where she was. It only took a few more minutes for the cloud to be gone and the only thing left a pocket sized Nutmeg. He walked up to her, kneeling once she was close enough he could grab her. He ignored her flinch.

“Ok, can you try to grow now? Make sure to curl up first,” he instructed.

Nutmeg’s dual colored eyes stared up at him with fear. He hated that, it made him more worried about what she’d do while huge. She nodded despite the fear and closed her eyes. He knew the fear was most likely better than the alternative. He held his breath as she focused on trying to grow, it had to work. Melody kneeled beside him as he waited.

“The fuck did you do?” Aisling asked. He tore his eyes from the naga to look at them. “The glow is gone. She always had that amber glow when she tried to change. Why is it gone?”

The bristling tone from the drider caught him by surprise. He looked back at the little naga with wide eyes. They were right. She always glowed, but right now there wasn’t even the faintest hint of it. Melody reached forward just as Nutmeg opened her eyes. He could have sworn the little snake was shaking. He had to be imagining it, or it was in anger. Mel slowly pushed the snake into her hands before pulling her close to her chest. The look of betrayal on the naga’s face stung more than he wanted.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took a few days for Melody to convince Nutmeg and Aisling it was an accident. The two spent all their time hiding in Mel’s room while he searched for an answer. Nutmeg didn’t seem to want to be near him, he didn’t mind. Melody fell into a chair next to him as she grabbed one of his books. She would probably be able to help find something. He sighed as he flipped the page finding nothing to explain the mishap.

“Any luck?” she murmured. He shook his head. “I hope we can fix this soon.”

“...Mel,” he started, “Are you sure we should even try to fix this? I mean a pocket sized naga seems like the better option.”

“We’re fixing her.” Melody slammed the book on the table and glared at him. He shrunk under her gaze. “She’s terrified like this, besides we’re supposed to be helping her.”

“When are you going to stop taking these risks?” He sighed and closed his own book. This conversation came up too often.

“My ‘risks’ haven’t been wrong yet. Besides if I didn’t do this you wouldn’t have a lifetime supply of dragon scales.” She smirked and returned to the book she grabbed. He reached over and pulled the book away.

“I know, I know, but what if you are wrong? How are you going to protect yourself when you always leave yourself vulnerable? These two might have been coming to find you. You know that we’ve already-”

“First, we don’t need to go over what we already dealt with. Second, you and Kyrie will be there to help me if I mess up. Third no one will know who I am with all the enchantments you put on my armor. Remember?”

“This isn’t going to be solved easily either way.”

She nodded and he let go of her book. He went back to his own and started reading over the potions he modified. He couldn’t understand how anything had even gone wrong. He and Melody had used a slightly altered version years ago. It should have just changed her control over her innate abilities. A knock on the door distracted him, but Mel went to answer before he could.

He could hear the sound of someone banging against the door. It sounded frantic. He could hear when she started to try and calm the villager down. The sounds of it meant someone needed a knight. Kyrie wasn’t due back for a few more days at least. The door slammed, she definitely was going somewhere. She walked in with a pensive look before making a face he knew meant he wouldn’t like what she said.

“There’s some problems with the crops. A lot have been stolen, if anymore get taken the village won’t have enough from the harvest,” she said. He nodded along, skimming the page in front of him. “I need to take Aisling with me, there were some signs of a drider. They can help me figure out if it’s venomous.”

“And?” he asked. She was building up to something. She never gave him this much information.

“And… you need to stay with Nutmeg. She’s afraid to be alone right now.”

“Why can’t I just go help you and we leave the two here?” He already knew the answer. It was hard enough to get armor Mel could use let alone enough for him. They had to rely on the armor supplied by the order and that meant Nutmeg had crushed the only one he could use. It wasn’t hard to fix, but wouldn’t be safe to use for a few days.

“Because to fix this you need to be able to research what’s going on. Without the other armor it’s too dangerous for you and I can’t go without my armor.”

“Fine…” He sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Just… bring her out here. I’ll keep looking into what went wrong.”

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melody finished securing her armor. Aisling had taken some convincing, but they were willing to help her avoid unnecessary danger. She left her training room and made her way to the two. They both stiffened as she walked in, her armor made them nervous. She raised her visor and tried to smile reassuringly. She crouched by her bed and set both her hands down. Aisling climbed on right away, but Nutmeg hesitated.

“Shouldn’t I just stay here?” she asked. Melody slipped her hand under Nutmeg’s tail. The naga wrapped her fingers tightly with her tail and moved onto her palm. She pulled the pocket sized snake close to her chest.

“Caprice is just going to be reading. This is just in case anyone stops by, that way you’ll be safe with him hiding you. I promise we’ll be back in a few hours,” she whispered. The tail around her fingers tightened.

She made her way to her brother slowly. He had actually set up a spot for Nutmeg near him. She smiled, but Caprice was absorbed in his book. She set her hands down on the pillow he’d set out on the table. Once Nutmeg slithered off Aisling climbed up to her shoulder. They hid just below her helmet. Once she closed her visor no one would notice them. Especially if she left her hair out today.

She walked out silently and started on her way. A number of people waved as she wandered. Most of them were whispering about her. She and Caprice never had a warm welcome in places like this. Whispers of how out of place they were. She knew that being a knight was the only reason they could live here. 

“That’s her right?” someone said. She grimaced, thankfully the visor hid her distaste. “The knight with the cursed blood? I don’t know why the order ever took her on. Pairing her with Kyrie too.”

She rushed to get away from the ones talking. Hearing this didn’t make the fact she’d secretly pulled the ‘deadly’ naga from the cave sit better. Usually she was open with her choices, but without Kyrie to back her up it wouldn’t have been easy. Especially when they were ready to trap her in the cave too.

“Why the fuck are they saying all that?” Aisling mumbled. The anger in their quiet voice made her feel a bit more confident in saving them.

“Caprice and I aren’t exactly welcomed here. We’re bad omens and this village never lets us forget it. I’m allowed to travel for the order, but Cap wants to stay around… so does Kyrie,” she explained. She felt Aisling shifting, her hair was pulled a bit as they moved.

“Who’s Kyrie?”

“He’s my partner. We usually work together, but he’d gone on a trip about a week before I’d met you and Nutmeg.”

“I didn’t think knights had designated partners.” Melody was glad they couldn’t see her face. It’s always harder to hide the truth when someone was staring in her eyes. Lies were something she’d had to work towards.

“We don’t normally, Kyrie and I are a special case…” She didn’t want to admit that he had originally been assigned to watch her. She knew that ended a long time ago, he never even knew that had happened. They just complimented each other well enough that the order felt they should stay together. At least that’s what she told herself.

“Oh did you mean-”

“No!” A few villagers turned to look at her. She made a show of patting herself down before pulling out a dagger and nodding. Then she continued towards the farm. “No, we’re just partners and friends… I don’t think he’d think of me like that.” 

“That’s fucking stupid.” She laughed, they would think that. “You’re probably overthinking it.”

“There’s a lot more to it, but it would be nice if you’re right.” She looked around, the farm was close. “We’re nearly there, no more talking.”

Melody marched up to the villagers who called on her. They were frantic. Ponting out web and bits of destroyed crops. It didn’t look like a drider, it didn’t seem like how they usually eat either. Aisling agreed it wasn’t something a drider would be doing. She sent the villagers away and started to make her way through the tracks. She drew her sword.

“Aisling, this might not be as easy as when we met,” she whispered. Stepping into the nearby trees she was surrounded by the stench of death.

“Fuck…” they said. Caprice was going to kill her if this wound up being something she couldn’t just fight.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caprice was trying hard not to focus on the shaking naga in front of him. He’d gotten a pillow for her to lay on and set one of the easier books he had in front of her. She curled up with those eyes locked on him. He couldn’t get over the fear in them, or the betrayal. She had been shaking since Melody left. He sighed, when she flinched he finally lost it.

“Why are you shaking like that?” he asked. She tensed, for a minute he was sure she would start crying. “I’m trying to fix it.”

“S-sorry,” she whispered. He closed the book and stood. He’d just get something for them to eat, he couldn’t remember when he last ate. He took a few steps before hearing a small whimper and turning back to her. She’d curled up smaller on the pillow. He didn’t like the naga or the drider, but he wasn’t even a knight. The fear was painful. He walked back, she had hidden her human half completely in her tail.

“What happened?” She just shook her head. He knew Mel wasn’t going to be wrong about them, but he wasn’t going to trust a size changing naga. He didn’t like people being scared of him though. “I don’t get it, I don’t even try to talk to you and you’re terrified of me. Look I’m sorry ok? I didn’t mean to get you stuck like this.”

“I-it’s ok. I-I’m fine.” She kept shaking, but she at least didn’t look at him the same. He narrowed his eyes as he studied her, if she wasn’t calm he couldn’t work. He leaned on the table, jumping from the chill of the wood.

“Are you cold?” 

His eyes went wide when the pale skin of the naga’s face turned a faint red. She nodded at him, he hadn’t considered it. He and Mel are always pretty covered up. They notice the heat more, it’s why he enchanted most of their clothes. He sighed, she flinched away again. He reached a hand forward, she moved her tail to cover her more. He carefully tapped her tail, it was freezing.

Caprice turned and walked off. He had a few blankets he’d left normal around. He found them buried in a closet below a number of his books. He stopped to grab some leftover stew Mel had made the night before. A quick spell had it warm, he paused looking around for a minute. He threw the blanket over his shoulder and grabbed one of the dishes they had about the right size. He scooped some stew into it before walking back to the desk.

Caprice started by setting his dish down by his book. Then he set down the one he’d brought for Nutmeg. She slid away from his hand, but he tried to ignore it. He pulled the blanket off his shoulder and set it down on her. Finally sitting back in his seat he went back to reading through the potion effects. He’d find something and fix this, then worry about her fear.

“Thank you,” she whispered. He pulled the book he was reading up to hide his face. He didn’t want her to see the smile he had.

The silence between the two lasted for at least an hour after that. He was growing increasingly angry at the lack of progress he’d made. He should have had something to clue him into it. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes, jumping at the yelp that came from beside his hand. He snapped his head down, Nutmeg had slithered next to him. Her hands were just about to touch his own.

“S-sorry nevermind,” she squeaked. He moved to stop her from moving away, cupping his hand behind her. She stared up at him with fear again, it made him want to walk away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. She flinched, but didn’t try to leave. She just curled up into her tail again.

“I-I’m still cold, I…” He nodded and moved his hand a bit closer. Her tail hadn’t gotten much warmer. The extra blanket hadn’t been enough, everything else had enchantments. The enchantments set for him and Mel wouldn’t help Nutmeg.

“What would help?” She uncurled a bit and stared at him with wide eyes. In some ways it reminded him of how he looked when he first found someone to teach him magic. He should check in with her again, but that wasn’t much of an option. She’d left their home long before he did.

“Usually Aisling lets me curl up around them…” She turned her head away. Caprice forced himself not to curl his hands into fists. She coiled up faster than he’d seen her. He took a deep breath before nodding to himself. Mel was right, if the naga and drider were going to hurt them it would have happened by now.

“Ok, I guess you could curl around my neck? Are you long enough to do that safely right now?” 

Nutmeg nodded excitedly. He kind of liked that she was happy to be near him. He brought his other hand close and cupped them both around her. She wrapped her tail around his wrist as he lifted her. He hadn’t held either of them in his hand before, it was a strange feeling. Comforting in a way. Melody’s insistence to trust them started to make more and more sense. He held his hand up to his shoulder, shivering as Nutmeg slithered over. She was colder than he thought.

It was odd she wasn’t able to regulate her temperature well at this size. It was a natural ability so her body should handle it. He felt her settle against his neck, a strange feeling. He started looking into nagas and magic. As far as he could remember it wasn’t common they had any of their own. Nutmeg had probably been an outcast for her abilities. It was something he could relate to.

He went through book after book, but nothing that showed power like this. He couldn’t even find a history of a size changing power being innate. It seemed more like there should be some spell cast on her. That didn’t track, anyone who cast the spell would keep her close. He groaned again, the twitch of the tail on his shoulder keeping him from leaning back.

“How could this backfire on an innate ability…” he mumbled. Nutmeg twisted on his shoulders. Her small hands tapped his face, distracting him from his thoughts completely.

“Doesn’t innate mean natural?” she asked. He grunted an affirmative sound as he switched to a new book. He felt as Nutmeg started to fidget around his neck. It made him nervous. “...I wasn’t born with this…”

“...what?” His eyes went wide as he pushed books away. If this wasn’t natural then the potion would have locked it. 

“I was cursed a long time ago. Someone wanted me to use me, but they died…”

He nearly dropped the book he held. A curse interacting with the potion he modified would have side effects like this. He needed to just remove the effects of his potion. He was searching for a few minutes before landing on the one he needed. It would remove the effects of his potion, then they could work on the curse. He reached up and rubbed Nutmeg’s head with a finger.

“Looks like you’ll be back to semi-controlled size changing soon,” he laughed. Nutmeg curled tighter around his neck, it didn’t make him nervous like usual. He felt her arms spread around his neck.

“Thank you!” she said. He should probably start trusting Mel’s risks more readily.

Melody ripped off her helmet and threw it to the side. She grabbed Aisling, holding them tightly against her chest. The beast stealing the crops was a drider, one that wasn’t quite willing to talk. It wasn’t happy to have Melody show up, and was even angrier once Aisling crawled out of her helmet. It didn’t look normal, legs that looked to be injured somehow and wounds coated with something black. She panted as she fell to her knees. There had been something horribly wrong, like something had corrupted the drider. 

“Fuck,” Aisling whispered. Melody realized how tight she was holding the drider, quickly loosening her grip. “Fuck are you ok?”

“I’m fine, did you get hurt?” she asked. They shook their head. “Good, we’ll head back in a minute.”

She spent a minute on her knees before trying to climb back to her feet. Aisling climbed out of her hand and up to her shoulder. She was going to say something, but the sound of footsteps put her on edge. She forced herself up and dove to her helmet. She grabbed Aisling and put them in it. She held it close as she stood walking over to retrieve her sword from the now dead drider.

“Lady Melody?” the villager called. She grimaced, they only liked to say that when they thought she was dead. She turned towards them with her sword in hand. Their eyes went wide as she flicked the blood off the blade. Carefully she sheithed it, cautious of the blade’s metal.

“It’s dead, make sure to burn the corpse,” she ordered. 

They nodded at her and she started to step forward. Unfortunately her strength didn’t hold, sending her down on one knee. The villager made a face instead of helping her. Biting back her groan she set down the helm Aisling was in. A glare kept the villager far enough they wouldn’t see the small face. She ripped off her breast plate and pulled the potion out Cap made her restock. She downed it quickly, the healing effects making it easier to breathe already. She rushed to place her chest piece back before standing.

“I’ll burn it quickly, wouldn’t want to attract a giant with the blood after all,” they said. Carefully she moved to place the helmet back on. She waited until she felt Aisling climbing on her head to actually put it in place. 

“What makes you bring up giants? They haven’t been seen in the area for years,” she sighed. They always panicked over nothing.

“I’m shocked you didn’t hear it, lady knight. Apparently Sir Kyrie had nearly met with one in his travels. It was seen near the village he’d gone to. I’d heard it was bigger than the gods.” She froze, giants were something she never wanted to face. If one had been seen anywhere she knew the order would send her. The image of someone like Aisling near someone that made her look like a doll was terrifying.

“Wait… bigger than the gods? Which gods? That can’t just be a giant.” She stormed towards them grabbing their collar. Her height sometimes made it hard to be intimidating. The strength enchantments helped a lot.

“I-I only heard rumors! I-It was far off, apparently bigger than Lord Life and Lady Death. Sir Kyrie can tell you, he returned recently.”

“Kyrie’s back?” She let the villager go and stormed off. She heard the insults he made, but she had bigger problems.

“What the fuck was that about?” Aisling asked. Melody waited until she’d left the forest to consider answering.

“Giants aren’t supposed to be near here. Their territory isn’t anywhere around us. Besides they don’t reach remotely close to the gods. If something is that big we might be in trouble.” She left it unsaid that she’d be sent to deal with it. She’d seen enough of the damage humans could do, she didn’t want to see what a giant was capable of. The idea of it being like a god made her shudder. It would be worse if this was a new god, she was raised on the stories most mortals were finally forgetting.

“What about that Kyrie guy? You said he’s your partner, are you going to meet him?” She almost shook her head.

“No, we're going home. If he just got back he’s going to stop by soon. We’ll need to make sure you and Nutmeg are safely hidden. Cap might have messed up the potion at just the right time.”

“Shit, we should hurry.” Melody nodded this time, Aisling grabbed her hair. She moved in silence, murmurs from villagers picked up again. She knew there was blood on her, blood that made them remember she was a knight and would kill if she had to. “What happens if there is a giant near a village?”

“...I’m not sure…” She grimaced, the lie felt hard to say. She knew exactly what would happen, the exact thing that she’d been told would happen once they trusted her. She’d go to try and see if she could talk it down. Kyrie was her partner because he’d be able to kill it if she failed. If she failed the order wouldn’t be as willing to keep her anymore.

“Fuck, it would suck if they send you.” She wanted to laugh at that. The order would only take someone like her if she’d take risks like that. She just had to focus on getting home.

Caprice jumped when the door slammed. He rushed to pull his hood up to hide Nutmeg. The clank of armor made him relax, it was just Melody. He pulled Nutmeg off his shoulders and set her down on the pillow again. Mel needed to go get the ingredients, she could make sure no one asked any questions. He went to check on her, but froze as he rounded the corner.

The person in armor in front of him was a lot taller than his sister. The armor had blue accents instead of Mel’s black. He paled as the blue gauntlets reached up to the helm the knight wore. The face below was one he’d usually be happy to see. The only knight that didn’t give him and Mel dirty looks. Blue eyes met his own brown as the black hair fell to frame the face. Kyrie was back.

“Hey Caprice, I wanted to come check in,” the knight smiled. Caprice tried to smile and nonchalantly block Kyrie’s view inside. The spell books and potions weren’t a problem, but the naga sitting on the table certainly was. “Is Melody around? I heard she took care of a naga while I was gone.”

“Oh yeah, we had to take care of a few wounds after that one,” he laughed. He hoped Nutmeg would realize to hide. Keeping Kyrie out would cause suspicion. “Luckily nothing major. She ran off while I was out too.”

“Of course she did.” Kyrie shook his head with a smile. Mel would be happy to know he was worried, but this wasn’t good. The other man took a step forward, Caprice had to tilt his head up to meet his eyes. Kyrie was too tall, and he was fully human. “Did I come at a bad time?”

“No! I was just working on some more potions so it’s a mess in there.” Kyrie smiled and set a hand on Caprice’s head.

“Do you need help cleaning up?” Caprice tried not to let his panic show, Nutmeg wouldn’t be easy to hide. He never turned Kyrie’s help down usually.

“Yeah, just let me get the potion out of there. It… it could make you sick. I uh I was working on some poisons for you and Mel to put on your weapons. She went to take care of  a drider, at least she thought it might be one.”

“How long ago?” 

He knew Mel would hate it if he sent Kyrie to her. She’d hate it more if Kyrie found Nutmeg. He put up with her taking these risks, but he didn’t have a reason to trust her. Unfortunately the door opened again before he could answer. Mel stepped in, her armor coated in bits of blood. He saw Aisling on her shoulder as Kyrie started to turn towards her.

“Mel, you’re back! Kyrie stopped by to check in!” he shouted. Kyrie gave him a look, he wasn’t being subtle. He did see Mel reach up and grab Aisling. She held out her hand to a nearby table. They all had to hope Kyrie wouldn’t notice.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyrie felt out of place with the twins for the first time. When he got back from his trips he always stopped by. Caprice seemed like he’d invaded, they had told him to just walk in when he got back. He looked over Melody, her armor would need to be fixed. She never let him help even though he was skilled with enchanted armor. Then again she didn’t know he was skilled with enchanted armor.

“Melody,” he said and went to hug her. She was over a foot shorter than him, it felt too small most of the time. He wished he could be closer to her height, see in her eyes when she wasn’t staring up at him. She tensed in his hold, he always forgot she hated when he did this. He just liked to be close to her. He tried not to let how he felt break through. “How did things go with the drider?’

“D-drider?!” she squeaked. He pulled back to look at her. He wouldn’t be shocked if she let it go again. It was why he cared about her so much. It was why he couldn’t let her know what was in his heart.

“The drider that was going after the crops, remember?” Caprice said. Kyrie stepped to the side to keep both twins in his view. They stared at each other for a minute before Melody started to nod.

“Right, right. They weren’t willing to work anything out. The second they saw me and-” He furrowed his brow at the way she cut herself off. She cleared her throat before talking again. “And my armor they were hostile. We had to fight this time. They even seemed corrupted, like the last thing we fought together.”

Kyrie put a hand on her head. He wondered what it would feel like if he took off his gauntlets. It wasn’t like he could do that though. Melody looked up at him with a strange look. He knew that she hated when she had to kill something. It was part of what made him determined to stay near her. If she ever left the order he probably would too. He wanted someone like her to stay safe and alive.

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” he murmured. The look on her face morphed to one he understood. The same relief she had every time he apologized for killing something. He rubbed her head before pulling his hand back. “I left you to kill something twice while I was gone. I’m sure it was a lot harder with the naga.”

“Yeah… I need to change, Cap can you help me real quick. Kyrie, can you stay here for a bit? Just while Cap takes care of my injuries.” He nodded, a part of him thought he should leave. The selfish part of him that was desperate to be near Melody after his nightmare was stronger. The two walked off, it was the first time she seemed worried about any injuries she got. He leaned against the wall near him, it was small things like this he appreciated so much.

He could hear the two whispering to each other. Probably Caprice was angry at some way she had been hurt. He wouldn’t doubt she’d removed her helmet and got hurt from that. He smiled as he thought about her when she went to deal with problems. She had so much fire in her as she tried to reason with their targets. He stared down at his hand, flexing it. Someday he had to tell her.

“Kyrie,” she said. He jumped as he turned to look down at her. She’d changed quickly. He stood straight and smiled at her. She’d switched to a simple black shirt and pants. He noticed a bag at her side. “Caprice finally cleared out the potion leftovers, you can wait inside. I just need to run to the store quickly.”

“Why don’t I-” he tried.

“No, just relax, I want to hear about your trip when I get back. I heard you had a close run in with a giant.” He tried not to let the comment phase him. He’d heard the rumors and had to feed them. He hated that it happened. He’d been careless.

“If you’re sure.” She nodded and walked out the door. He stared after her for a few minutes. Slowly his gaze drifted to a small bit of web hanging off the nearby table. He kneeled next to it. He reached out, the webbing wasn’t right for spiders. He leaned closer to it, the way it landed wasn’t from Melody carrying it in after the fight.

“Kyrie?” Caprice asked. He jumped and turned to face the mage. He looked nervous. A bad feeling filled his chest. He was getting nervous, somehow they might know what he was. He let the web fall, it was too small for it to be a drider at least. Standing straight he tried to look calm as Caprice continued to fidget. “Mel’s seen the mess so we can just leave it. How was your trip?”

“Good, didn’t run into many problems.”

Caprice nodded and brought him inside. He looked around, shocked at the mess of books. He made his way to the table and looked over them. All of them were about controlling natural abilities. He flipped to some of the saved pages, finding bookmarks on size shifting. He jumped when Caprice grabbed the book from him. The mage seemed more defensive than normal.

“Is everything-” a crash cut Kyrie short. It sounded like it came from Melody’s room. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and started forward. “Wait here.”

He stalked forward. If something were in here he wouldn't kill it, but he would keep them safe. He kept a careful eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Another crash sounded from nearby, he froze waiting for a sign. He heard a step behind him and spun quickly. His sword was half out before he realized it was Caprice. He spun back around and made his way closer to the first sound.

“Kyrie, you know how Mel is,” Caprice laughed. He shushed the shorter man. “She probably left something in a bad spot and it fell. Let’s just go wait-”

Another crash cut him off. Kyrie turned to give him a look before inspecting the area around them. He turned towards the noise and stepped forward again. Caprice was making too much sound behind him. He spun around and set a hand on the mage’s shoulder. He was determined to keep him safe. Kyrie brought a finger to his lips and Caprice nodded.

He turned back towards Melody’s room. Another crash came as he did. Caprice stayed quiet now as he moved. He paused between the two closed doors. One to the training room Melody set up, the other to her own room. He waited for a sound to come from either room, a crash to his right decided where he’d check. He reached forward and started to push open the door. He was tempted to send Caprice away while he dealt with this. 

The mage backed away from the door, he took that as good enough. Pushing the door all the way open he stepped inside the room. Melody’s armor had fallen into a pile, he looked for a sign of what caused it. The sound of his own armor as he moved seemed too loud. He knelt next to the pile, inspecting the mess. He could see bits of web stuck to the pieces. He smiled as he turned back to Caprice.

“Looks like you were right,” he said. The mage seemed to relax only to tense again immediately. Kyrie stepped forward to try and calm him. “Melody seemed to get web stuck to her armor when fighting the drider.”

“R-right,” Caprice murmured. 

There was a crash from the room behind Caprice that made him act. He marched forward slamming open the door. He didn’t see anything right away, but the place was a wreck. A set of Melody’s armor in here looked nearly crushed. Weapons were pushed haphazardly to the side of the room. The bench that the two sat on after sparring had been cracked in half. He stepped in, Caprice’s footsteps shadowed him. The source of the crash wasn’t easy to identify this time. A guess would be the weapons hadn’t been placed back properly.

Caprice was mumbling behind him. He looked around for anything that could have been the source of the sound. Carefully he set weapons back where they belonged and fixed the armor to stand again. He did move it up against the wall, it was moved closer to the center of the room. He approached the bench, it almost looked like something had tried to break it. Lifting one he saw the break wasn’t as smooth as he thought, like something had fallen on it that was too heavy.

“Looks like it was nothing!” Caprice shouted. It made him jump, drop the part of the bench he was holding. He sighed, it was the first time it felt like he wasn’t trusted by the twins. He approached Caprice and set a hand on his shoulder. A hopefully kind smile on his face.

“Caprice, you know that the two of you can trust me, right?” he asked. The mage quickly looked away instead of answering. Kyrie just sighed again before stepping closer to the door. “Right, got it. I guess we should just wait for Melody? Or should I just-”

Kyrie’s words died in his throat as he took a step. He felt the familiar burning as one of his greaves started to fall off. The pounding of his heart felt louder than anything else. Caprice said something he couldn’t hear. He tried to fix it, but pain coursed through his body before he could. It was too much, he could barely move. Falling to his knees a growl escaped him.

“Kyrie!?” Caprice said. 

He looked up at the human mage, his face was too close. It had already started. Panting, Kyrie used all his strength to push Caprice away from him. It was already more than he meant. The control was falling apart. Caprice fell off his feet, a small naga and drider fell off his shoulders. He tried to ask something, but more pain made him groan instead. A surge of pain and his body grew much more visibly. 

Another surge and he felt his back hit the ceiling. He tried not to move, he didn’t want to destroy Melody’s things. He managed to move his hand and reach for Caprice. The mage scrambled back and into the hall. He preferred that, he didn’t want the smaller man to get hurt. He groaned as another bout of pain racked his body. Pel had warned him about going out of order when removing his armor. He was tempted to try and break through the front wall to get  a bit more room.

His decision didn’t matter as his body surged again. He forced himself off his knees. The movement made his arms hit the wall in front of him. It pushed the wall out so he could see into the hall again. Caprice was standing again, the fear on his face was horrible. He moved down the hall holding the smaller beings he’d seen. A part of him wanted to stop him, to cover him with his hands as his size increased.

The nightmare he had flashed through his mind. The armor shattering as he lost himself. All the people important to him were hurt by his own hands. He let out a growl of pain as his body tried to grow again. He wanted to move so it hurt less, but it would destroy their house. He had no hope of fixing his armor anymore either. Not unless he wanted to destroy a large chunk of their home.

“Kyrie?” Melody called. He sucked in a breath, he didn’t have any smells hit him. That part was at least purely a dream. He couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, he didn’t fully remember closing them. “You’re crying, don’t worry we’ll fix this. Caprice had no idea his potion could do this.”

“M-Melody,” he mumbled. Slowly he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see her right in front of his face. He growled as his body surged again, he would have to tell her the truth. “M-my armor came loose. Wasn’t Caprice.”

“This is normal?!” He hated the way she changed, that she backed away once she asked. He grimaced, but managed to nod. He watched the bit of wood fall from his hair as he did. 

“I loosened the strap on one of his fucking leg pieces. I didn’t know this shit could fucking happen!” another voice said. The drider he’d seen crawled onto Melody’s shoulder. His eyes widened as she offered them a palm. “Stupid fucking knights with all your weird fucking magic.”

“Aisling, go tell Cap I’ll deal with this…” He could hear the fear in her voice. He needed to get out of here, to leave. He could make a life somewhere else… even if he never saw her again. He wanted to speak, but the dream came back, making him keep his mouth closed. He wouldn’t have fangs, he never did, but if this time there was a chance he didn’t want her to see it. She set the drider on the ground before looking up at him again. “Ok, which leg was it?”

She stepped closer. He saw her clothes and hair move as he sucked in a breath. She shuddered, he couldn’t make himself talk. Melody sighed and stepped close enough to touch his nose. As she placed a hand on his nose he fought back a chill down his spine. She was so small already, his real height would make her seem miniscule. His eyes stung as he cried again, her smile felt forced as she looked at him.

“I’d kind of like my house not to get destroyed, if fixing your armor will fix this let me help, we’re partners aren’t we?” she asked. He opened his mouth to answer and she stepped back. He waited for her to scream about fangs, for his dream to become real. “I’ll be honest, I thought you’d have fangs. Giants usually do, right?”

“Left,” he mumbled. She smiled at him again. The smile felt a bit more honest, he couldn’t help wondering if she’d hate him with fangs. Melody nodded and started to move around his face, he gasped, making her pause. “Don’t… Y-you might get hurt.”

“I always might get hurt, but-” He growled as another bout of pain hit him. She had a lot more fear on her face after that slipped out. It would kill him if she hated him, he knew it. “W-we don’t have a choice.”

He didn’t get to argue before she disappeared from his view. He kept his body frozen despite the pain he felt. The spells Pelago had put in his armor were still active, he could feel her climb over him. She kept a hand on his side as she moved.

“Your armor isn’t made of iron, or any of the other normal metals the order uses,” she whispered. He didn’t risk making a single movement or noise. It didn’t matter, he shuddered as he grew again. The room creaked, that horrible dream playing in his head. “J-just hold still, it’ll only take a minute.”

She climbed on his leg, the feeling unbelievable to consider. He was curious how it would feel if she were near him at his real size. If it wasn’t enchantments that let him feel her small hands on him. He had more pain course through him and he tried to hold back another surge of growth. He couldn’t hold back the twitch as his body shifted a few more feet. She yelped and his blood ran cold.

“Melody!” he growled out. It ripped through him and made her fall off his leg. She started to panic as the metal around her grew, the body beneath it growing too. She knew it was Kyrie, that he was kind. It wasn’t making it any easier to face him growing like this. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before climbing to her feet again.

“I’m almost there, just stay still!” she called. She heard him grunt, the noise sounded way too loud.

She pulled herself onto his leg again. It was her right so his left. She just had to find the strap, she didn’t even know his armor had straps. Her greaves didn’t. She sat on her knees as she finally reached the gap in the huge armor. At first it seemed like her arms wouldn’t reach each end of the straps. She laid across his leg, the skin beneath her felt warmer than any human’s. It made her anxious.

She grabbed the strap and pulled with all her strength. Kyrie grunted, the strap grew bigger in her hold. She pulled it all the way to the other side, some kind of magic seemed to lock it in place. She yelped as the leg beneath her quickly disappeared. She landed on the ground with a groan. Kyrie groaned not too far from her.

“Kyr-” she tried. He was on his feet before she could say his name. He ran off without a word. She climbed to her feet and tried to run after him, but he was faster than usual. She was standing at the opened door as he ran off. “Wait…”

“Mel!” Caprice said. He pulled her back inside away from the door. “We need to treat the burns before they get bad.”

Caprice led her inside. He sat her down at the table, Nutmeg and Aisling were sitting there too. She set her hands on the table, palm up. Caprice applied some ointment they were taught about a long time ago. Her hands were fine though, his armor didn’t burn.

“Cap…” she murmured. He stopped the spell part way through and stared at her. His eyes were wide and filled with worry. “His armor, it didn’t burn…”

“Why would it burn?” Nutmeg asked. Her voice was innocent, asking something normal. Melody paled, freezing as she shared a look with Caprice. He shook his head a bit, but they didn’t have anything good to answer with. They both struggled with full lies, they couldn’t hide the truth. Aisling stepped forward blocking Nutmeg from them.

“What the fuck is going on?” they seethed. Caprice gave her a look, then stared at the two. She saw his gaze focus on Nutmeg for a bit.

“Go ahead,” he whispered. He finished the spell, she knew it was in case she was wrong.

“It would burn if it wasn’t a special type of metal… One that a fae could touch.”

“The fuck do you mean fae? Are you fucking faeries?!” Melody felt her own heart shattering. She liked Aisling and Nutmeg. If it were her choice they’d never learn the truth, the reason she and Caprice were considered cursed. Half fae and the kind that looks more human. The kind that had a human mother.

“Not exactly. Our mother was human…” Caprice took over for her. She always struggled to admit the truth, he did too. “Our father wasn’t. Our blood is cursed. It’s too human to be fae and too fae to be human.” 

“What?” Nutmeg curled up around Aisling. She was shaking, Melody reached forward to try and comfort her. Aisling didn’t seem to like the idea. They bared their fangs at her.

“Cap, I left everything by the door. Let’s get Nutmeg fixed and you two can head out.” She felt something catching in her throat. She couldn’t let the pain show, this was normal. Fae played tricks, there was a history, it was more likely they lied and were changelings. If it wasn’t that they were Fae in disguise.

Caprice went to get what he needed. Somehow she thought she could keep up the lie in front of them. That they’d never ask a question that she couldn’t dance around. Nutmeg moved around Aisling and came up to her hand. She smiled, the little naga was kind. She knew the shaking was fear, she could see it. Nutmeg still set her small hands on her fingers. Looking up at her with a sense of curiosity.

“Is that why you helped me?” she asked. Melody smiled and shook her head. She could hear Caprice brewing the new potion already. It wouldn’t take him long.

“No, I helped you because two innocent beings were going to be killed out of fear. Being part fae is just why I knew you were the honest ones.” 

Nutmeg nodded, but her shaking continued. Slowly the little naga slithered up onto her palm. She gasped as Nutmeg settled calmly into her palm and wrapped her tail around her wrist. Melody nearly cried as the little snake sighed and settled more. Aisling climbed up and settled on her shoulder. She flinched a bit, but was happy to feel the fuzzy spider half pressing into her neck. Caprice came back in with a vial in his hands. 

He paused as he looked over the three of them. She set the vial down and went to sit on the side opposite Aisling. He leaned his head on Melody’s shoulder, she smiled at him. 

“Cursed blood is stupid… You’re just weird humans,” Aisling mumbed. Nutmeg was shivering more, Melody was sure it wasn’t fear this time. Caprice slipped her off Melody’s hand and brought her up to his neck. She slithered off his hands and wrapped around him.

“I guess we found the first ones not afraid of the fae in us,” Caprice laughed. Nutmeg let out a content hiss. “Maybe we leave things as they are for now. You’ll be back to sort of under control shifting tomorrow Nutmeg, if that’s ok?”

“Mmm,” she sighed. Melody and Caprice both laughed at the sleepy sounding naga.

“You still promised to fix her, give her full control. We can’t leave until you do that.” Melody raised a hand and ran a finger down Aisling’s spider half.

“I think we can manage that…”

Melody sighed. The feeling of Kyrie’s armor on her hands flit through her mind. It made sense now, why he always wore the armor. She had to go see him. Find out more about the life he hid from her. Depending on what he said she may even trust him with her truth. She wouldn’t be able to tell Aisling or Nutmeg, at the very least one would try to tag along. Caprice was easy enough to stop. She just had to use his name. They were all still recovering from what happened. She’d deal with the aftermath later.

[awkwardgtace]

A Knight's Duty

day 30 fan art. An idea @alarcomet and I talked about a while back. Fan art is a thank you for all her help this month beta reading my stories when I wasn't sure.

Love her characters and they definitely deserved some fanart in the form of writing <3

A Knight's Duty

Melody made her way through the cave slowly. The villagers complained about a blood thirsty naga that needed to be dealt with. Melody was the only one available, she did have some of the villagers push for her to wait on her usual partner. Kyrie was gone for weeks at least, if this naga is as dangerous as they say it’s not safe. She hit a rock and listened for the incoming danger.

Silence met her so she continued on her next steps. She needed to stay quiet. That quiet spell Caprice cast on her armor was coming in handy. She grunted as something caught her leg. A small web was attached to the lower part of her armor. She knew what that meant, driders. She hissed, they weren’t known to live in these caves.

“I’ll take care of the damned human,” a voice said. 

She grabbed the hilt of her sword as she continued forward. She was entering the depth of the cave, it would be a lot more dangerous now. Especially with that voice planning to take care of her. Her arm was caught in another drider web. This was getting troublesome.

“Fuck off human. You don’t know the danger you’re in being in my territory!” the voice shouted. Melody tensed her hand on her sword, she couldn’t back down now.

She kept moving forward, scanning the area for a sign of danger. She slowly reached up and tilted the visor of her helmet down. Caprice and Kyrie never stopped talking about how she needed a dark-sight spell on it. She’d never hear the end now that they proved right. She hadn’t found anyone yet, it made sense with how quiet the voice sounded.

“Knight, I said to back the fuck off!” the voice yelled again. She just lowered her head to try and pinpoint the position.

“He’s not leaving, what do we do?” a louder feminine voice said.

“Quiet Nutmeg, I said I’d take care of the fucking knight,” the voice sounded almost desperate. “If you keep walking you’ll be trapped in my web and just a fucking snack to me!”

Melody stopped, this wasn’t a blood thirsty naga or anything else the village should fear. She let go of her sword, held her hands up and continued forward. She hit more webs, it didn’t feel like one of the larger ones. She had seen a drider web before and they were never this small. She didn’t stop until a large hand was placed directly in front of her.

“Aisling, are you ok?” the feminine voice said.

“I-I’m fine this stupid fucking knight just should look where he’s going. Oh right humans don’t see in the dark so they never fucking care!” the other one said. Melody sighed and took a step back from the hand in front of her. She had to make herself ignore the size of the fingers.

“So you’re the blood thirsty naga I was sent after,” she narrowed her eyes, they had a spell to mask her voice in the helmet too. They wouldn’t know who she is until she took it off. “Along with a drider that is apparently smaller than the usual ones I deal with.”

Melody felt her eyes widen as a small form climbed on top of the hand. It looked like she could hold them in one of her own. Red hair, dark skin, and the furry back of a smaller spider. Their eyes were locked on her, an orange against black staring up at her. She tilted her head up and tried to hide her shock at the naga. 

She was bigger than any she’d seen before. Pink hair that met her snake half and covered her front. Eyes of orange and green that had the faintest glow. Pale skin covered in a number of bruises. Sharp teeth that could match the blood thirsty idea if she didn’t cower from Melody already. She was livid. The damned villagers wanted to wait and now she knew why.

“In all the fucking realms,” she cursed and ripped her helmet off. Both creatures before her made a shocked noise, the larger one cowered more before the drider hissed. “The damned villagers wanted to wait until someone else was here so I wouldn’t get to find out who they wanted slaughtered this time.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” the little drider shouted. Melody froze, choosing to use an emergency spell Cap had given her. She set her helmet on and tapped by her ear. She pulled the vizor up and left her brown hair cascading past her shoulders.

“Do you think she’ll kill it?” A villager asked. None of them trusted her, she knew that. She and her brother were bad omens. “She left that dragon alive, and the sorcerer.”

“If she’s not back soon we’ll be trapping them all in there anyway,” the one who came to get her asked. She glared behind her, bastards. Once Caprice came home he’d come to get her, Kyrie would definitely search for her body. He refuses to leave anyone behind.

“We don’t have time,” she growled.

She looked up at the naga again. The eyes that looked at her were filled with fear. She looked at the drider, clearly ready to fight, but Melody was covered in protective steel. A drider bite wouldn’t reach her. She pulled her helmet off again and hoped her face would be enough to convince the two.

“The village wants you dead, it’s clear you’re not the monster they claimed. I have a plan to get us out of here, all of us alive,” she explained. She set her helmet on the ground, leaving herself easily vulnerable in the dark. She drew her sword. “If I cut your hand, even just a finger, we let it coat my sword and armor. Then grab me and leave. Play like you’re taking me and run.”

“As if that could work!” the drider yelled. She glared at the small creature. They didn’t have time for her to be deceiving them.

“I don’t have the time to lie to you. I’m the only knight around for at least a week. Get to the woods, set me down and run. I’ll limp back, it might be better if you hurt my leg for real. I’ll claim you’ve died. If you have any old scales I can use it to lie.”

“Lady Melody? A-Are you still alive?” a villager yelled. The echo made her more desperate. The two creatures looked at her like she had three heads, hell she might as well. 

“Stay back, I’ve yet to locate the naga. It has started to burrow through these caves!” 

“You… really want to help me?” the naga asked. Melody glared out towards the villagers.

“I’m not killing someone because they’re bigger and stronger than most people.”

“Nutmeg you’re not thinking,” the little drider looked up in shock as the huge hand started to move. 

The naga, Nutmeg it seemed, pinched Melody’s sword and pulled it from her grasp. Melody felt like a fool as the naga fiddled with the blade. None of the spells were active, she couldn’t call it back. The drider had jumped to her helmet when the hand moved, she couldn’t defend herself. She watched the naga finally pinch the hilt between two fingers and stab it into her own palm.

Melody let out a yell and moved forward, but the naga was quicker. She pushed her back with her bloodied hand and dropped the sword too. It was more force than she was used to and Melody’s head hit the rocks hard. She had to force herself to her feet as the naga gave her an apologetic look.

“I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. Melody shook her head there wasn’t time to deal with it.

“We don’t have time, you need to grab me and go now!” she ordered. The naga shrunk back, but the drider started climbing up Melody’s arm. A part of her wanted to send them flying, but her goal was to get them out of here.

“Just wait,” they murmured. The drider sounded almost resigned as they both looked at the naga.

Melody stayed frozen as the naga started to glow with a subtle deep amber hue. The giant creature that could hold her in one hand was getting smaller. She had no idea how much smaller the naga could get until she finally stopped small enough to fit in her hands. Melody kneeled, more in awe at such a small being in front of her. The drider had been shocking too, but she wasn’t expecting a mini naga.

The naga slithered close and wrapped around her arm. She almost closed her fist, the few times she ran into dangerous snakes cycling through her mind. She held back and the drider climbed down to sit near the now miniature naga. Melody forced her awe away and started to move. She had some pouches hidden within her armor for spells Cap wanted her to have. She dumped the two creatures into her helmet.

Melody’s head started to spin, but she couldn’t stop. She started to pull off her breastplate and let the heavy metal fall to the ground. She grabbed a pouch that she never refilled, a bit regretful since it would probably help her head. She didn’t have time to be careful grabbing the drider first and shoving them inside. The naga yelped as Melody grabbed her.

She didn’t have time to explain. She shoved the naga in and ignored the colorful words from the drider as she did so. She quickly placed the pouch where it belonged and grabbed her breast plate. She put it on and started running. She didn’t have much time, her head was starting to ache and if she passed out here the villagers would find the two.

“Quick, prepare the explosives!” she shouted as she ran out. The villagers jumped as she rolled out of the cave and hit the fire one was holding onto the gunpowder. She started panting as the villagers stared at her. She was coated in blood, had a bloody sword, and a head injury.

“L-lady Melody, we had only had the-” one started to explain. She stood and dusted herself off glaring at the villagers. She set her helmet back on as she started to walk away from them.

“Save it, the naga is trapped and should starve in there. I found its nest of bones, best to make sure it didn’t lay any eggs while in there by closing off the cave.”

“My lady knight, we are-”

“I know you were just as ready to trap me in there. Don’t think this is going to be forgotten.” She grabbed the village chief’s collar and pulled his face close. “Try and kill me again and see how well the order treats you after killing one of their best.”

She stormed off, pain she didn’t expect striking through her leg. She must have twisted it when she rolled out of the cave. Better for the act either way. She could hear the mumblings about her attitude as she left. They’re lucky Caprice liked this place or she would move on by now. Kyrie seemed to too and she couldn’t understand why. 

The trip home she felt the squirming of her passengers the entire time. It wasn’t a good feeling. She just had to get home. Her vision was starting to swim and fill with spots. Her head injury was worse than she expected. She stumbled along until she almost fell into the door of her home. She took a few tries to finally grab the handle and stumble inside. She nearly forgot her passengers.

“I-I thought you should know,” the naga yelled, making Melody jump. She had to get them somewhere safe, her room should work. “I can’t really stay small all the time…”

Melody bit back a groan. She had a training room that was probably big enough. She limped through her home, stumbling the whole way. She knocked stray potion bottles and spell components to the ground as she moved. She thought she heard the drider’s voice, but the words were lost on her. She finally made it to the training room and collapsed on the floor, barely avoiding landing on her front.

She slid her breast plate off and pulled the pouch from her. Melody opened the pouch and dropped it as she moved. Her vision was going in and out. She knew she shouldn’t sleep, but her head hurt so much. Just a few minutes. The drider and naga climbed out of the pouch and came to her.

“Sorry, can’t stay awake,” she mumbled. She closed her eyes once and the amber hue appeared again. She blinked and the naga was growing. A part of her wondered if she just set herself up to die. Someone told her a long time ago it might happen. Each blink the naga seemed to get bigger. Finally hands were around her and she just accepted whatever would happen.

“Aisling, what do we do?” the naga’s voice echoed in her mind. 

“I don’t know, stupid knight shouldn’t have removed that stupid helmet in the cave,” the drider said. Melody made a noise, suddenly remembering the helmet. She tried to move to pull it off, but it wasn’t working. She felt the drider’s legs near her neck but the helmet was stuck on her head. A spell by her brother to make sure she never lost it. “Shouldn’t put yourself at so much risk.”

Melody didn’t remember falling asleep, but she felt weird. She could still feel her armor on her legs and arms, but not her chest. She went to fight a naga, then came home. She couldn’t remember the in between. It was warm and soft, her head was on something extra soft, but her helmet was on. She groaned a bit and the warmth moved. It was probably Caprice again.

“Cap, I’m tired,” she whined. The warmth moved more and her head pounded. It kept moving by her head, the soft didn’t move.

“Miss knight are you ok?” a loud effeminate voice asked. 

She felt something on her chest, if she could move her arms she’d swat at it. That made her confused, she couldn’t move her arms. She tried, but something held them down. She snapped her eyes open, the light in the room blinding. She tried to move more as the feeling of something on her chest moving came again.

“Stop moving, I think you hit your head pretty hard,” the voice was quiet, she sort of remembered it. Once the light seemed to die down she managed to make out a huge face above her. Sharp teeth, dual colored eyes, and a split tongue. The naga, the naga was here and she couldn’t remember why. The feeling on her chest left and a small face joined her face.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you like that, I didn’t mean to,” the naga cried. Melody was pulled close and pressed to a soft bare chest. “I just tried to do what you were saying and then you were closer and I don’t deal with humans much and I’m so sorry and-”

“Nutmeg, calm down,” the smaller one ordered. Melody’s head pounded, but she didn’t feel like she was in danger. The soft thing behind her was nice. “You’ve been out for a while… I uh made you a pillow while you were out. I figured it was better than the metal of your helmet.”

Melody was trying to come up with something to say. She didn’t know how to ask about what was happening without causing some issue. Of course the sound of a door far off made her realize she wouldn’t get that chance. She didn’t know how she still could hear that far, it must be the spell was still active…when did she activate a spell.

“Mel! Mel where are you!?” Caprice called. The hands holding her tightened. She almost shouted out but the naga quickly coiled up taking her and the other one deep behind scales. She had to know what was going on before he showed up. “Mel!? Th-the village said you took care of a monster. Did you get hurt? Mel where are you?”

The naga coiled tighter around her.

“You helped me, I won’t let you get in trouble,” the naga whispered. Her head pulsed and she remembered the naga in the cave and the tiny drider. She remembered telling off the villagers, but not how she got here. Especially with a giant naga.

“C-Cap I’m fine!” she tried shouting, buried in the scales it came out muffled. She felt the small hands of the little drider pressing against her face. At least, it had to be the drider and not something else.

“Nutmeg, let up she’ll make him stop!” the drider called out. The naga uncoiled enough that Melody’s head was free, but it was too late. Caprice was already walking into the room. 

Caprice hadn’t known what to think when he found the mess of their house. He knew she’d do something insane and get hurt. He ran following the mess and he barely heard her muffled shout. Prepping a spell he slowly opened the door.

“H-hey Cap,” Melody smiled. He stared at her, then the naga, then the drider that had bits of web stuck to his sister. He let the spell he was building flare up prepared to save his sister. “No wait, don't do that. Dispel it!”

“Mel, I know how to take care of something without hitting you,” he growled. The naga moved a hand and blocked the drider and his sister from view. “Drop her now!”

“Cap it’s fine really!” Melody had to be getting threatened. The drider might have poisoned her.  He grimaced as the spell started to fizzle out.

“Did you bite her?” Melody tried to speak, but the drider must have made her go silent.

“Do you fucking think I’d bite just anyone? You’re the one who fucking showed up ready to fight! Just fucking try to hurt us,” the drider glared. He had to think fast and get Mel out of this.

“Cap, it’s really fine.” Melody did something that grabbed the attention of both creatures. The huge hands of the naga moved and his sister was set on the ground in front of him. He pulled her back behind him, her armor was half off. She still had her helmet at least. She reached up and pulled it off, flinching as she did so.

“Mel, what the hell happened to your head?” He reached up and tapped a bad looking cut that was covered in dried blood. She pulled away, but he forced her to stay still. He called up a small spell to at least clean the wound. The helmet should have healed her right away. “Did you take your helmet off again?”

He looked back at the two creatures. Mel was defending them. He pushed her out of the room ahead of him. She was fighting, but her feet were unsteady. For now he’d know if the naga tried to leave. He kept forcing Melody through their house until she was sitting at their table. He went to his stash of healing potions first. He grabbed a cloth and water after.

Caprice sat next to her and started to clean the wound. It wasn’t bad, but knowing all the spells he set in her armor it was a lot worse than it looked. As long as she kept it on for most of the time it should avoid her being too injured. She grimaced and pulled away as he cleaned the wound. He shot her a look that made her sit still.

“That’s the naga isn’t it,” he murmured. She looked off in the distance like she didn’t know the answer and slowly she nodded. “How many times do you have to get hurt before you stop doing this?”

“I’m not blindly killing Cap,” she whispered. She reached for the potion, drinking it down quickly. He sighed and grabbed the empty bottle from her.

“You know I need to clean the wound before you drink that.”

“I… I can’t remember everything. I was in the cave, then I woke up here. I didn’t feel like I was in danger in her hands.”

“Mel you were being held captive by a fucking giant naga and some weird species of drider, don’t act like they’re innocents you need to protect. They would ki-”

“No they wouldn’t!” She stood and slammed her hands on the table. At the same time a quiet yelp sounded behind them. The two both turned to look at the sound and found the drider, staring at them with thinly veiled fear.

“Are you-” The drider hissed, a bit of web was in their hands.

“Fuck off!” They yelled. Caprice didn’t trust the drider sneaking around and stood to catch them. He took a few steps forward when they bared their fangs. “Stay the fuck away from me! From both of us!”

He wasn’t listening, driders had poison and even this small it could be deadly. He moved closer before a strong grip grabbed his arm. He turned back to see Melody glaring at him and not the drider that could kill them. She pulled him back and took a few steps forward before kneeling in front of them.

“Hey, my head is still foggy, but you guys were worried right?” Melody asked. He crossed his arms glaring at the two of them. “I don’t think we ever got names, if we did I’m still pretty bad. I’m Melody.”

“The fuck are you two gonna do now? Did you go through all of that to fucking kill us?” they shouted. Melody put her hands down in front of them and shook her head. Caprice sighed, she was going to die doing this. She had to stop saving creatures she thought weren’t bad. Knights were hired to take care of danger, she’s been lucky so far.

“Nothing, I’m going to talk to your friend and find out what I’m missing. Caprice is going to come with me and if he tries to cast a spell I’ll stop him.”

“Mel,” he started. She turned and glared at him. “Fine, let’s go talk to the naga.”

“Aisling.” Melody put her focus on the drider again, but Caprice didn’t care. He was trying to remember if he heard a spell that used that to cast it. “That’s my name…”

“Aisling, nice to meet you.” Caprice sighed again, this was another long day.

Melody remembered a bit more after drinking the potion. Most importantly she remembered the cave empty of anything showing a bloodthirsty monster. She kept her hands flat and tried to smile encouragingly at Aisling. They eventually relented and climbed on her hands. They climbed past her wrist and up to her head holding the bundle of web where her head was still bleeding.

“It’s better than human gauze,” they whispered. Melody just smiled and stood with her new passenger. It felt weird to carry someone on her shoulder, but she knew the drider was safe. If they wanted to kill her there was plenty of time. Neither of these beings were going to hurt her.

She made her way to the training room. Seeing the naga at her full size was a lot more intimidating. In the darkness it was easier to miss how big she actually was. Her tail was coiled to take up most of the room and she was curled up on top of it. It looked like she would reach the ceiling if she sat up straight. The naga was buried in her tail.

“Hey,” Melody tried. The naga jumped and curled up more.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll leave. Please don’t hurt us,” she begged. Melody walked up and set her hands down on the scales closest to her. She realized her gloves were still on and pulled them off, dropping them to the ground.

“Mel,” Caprice warned. Melody turned and glared at him before petting the scales in front of her.

“No one is going to hurt you, my mind is a little messed up from getting hurt so I don’t remember everything.” The naga curled tighter on herself. Melody felt the movement of the scales beneath her hands. “My name’s Melody.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Melody knew Caprice came closer, but she also knew he was losing his nerve against them.

“Why are you sorry?” Melody’s head throbbed despite the rapid healing from the potion.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I tried to do what you said. Please don’t kill us.”

The memory of the cave hit Melody like a brick. She panicked, the naga took her sword, cut her own hand and knocked her back into a wall. It shouldn’t have been as bad, but her helmet was off and she took her breast plate off after. The protection spells wouldn’t do much when she willingly abandoned the things they were cast on. Caprice gasped next to her.

“I know you didn’t, it’s ok,” Melody whispered. 

The naga’s tail slowly stopped moving. She looked up and the face she couldn’t see well earlier appeared over the coils of tail. Her skin was bruised a bit and she looked terrified. Caprice turned and left, Melody could guess why. It seemed like she hadn’t eaten any good meals in a while. Aisling climbed off Melody’s shoulder and up the coils of tail to the huge head above them.

“I’m Nutmeg,” she whispered. Melody smiled, she could already hear the sound of Caprice cooking. He was going to kill her later.

“Nice to meet you Nutmeg, you too Aisling. You’ll be safe here. A knight’s duty is to protect the innocent and you two fall into that,” she said.

“Mel, go to town and get more food. You brought home the giant snake, you're the one dealing with the food!” Caprice shouted. Nutmeg flinched, but Melody smiled.

“Anything specific we need for you two?”

Each shook their head and she smiled. She left to her room, changing out of the armor to normal clothes entirely. Caprice coming home was enough reason for her to go out shopping. She’d need to get more for them too. They keep some fairy things in stores that could work for Aisling. She went back to let the two know she was leaving. Nutmeg had gotten small again.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said and kneeled in front of the two. Aisling stood in front as if they thought she’d hurt Nutmeg. She didn’t even reach closer.

“I… can’t always control it,” Nutmeg said. She cupped her hands around the head of both and turned away.

“Cap, I think you need to see this!” His footsteps were loud as he rushed back to them. He’d always assume it was bad until he saw differently. He slammed open the door and she made a face before revealing the now tiny naga.

“In all the realms…” he sighed. It seemed Nutmeg wasn’t just a naga that they were housing for a while.