#even though i am Definitely not an authority on delusions and keep having to bounce it to Babydog jfkdjsf

[a-dragons-explanations]

soo I’m psychotic, possible system, and I also ID as otherkin and fictionkin.. and I’m having a hard time understanding if my experiences should be called delusions(DAs), kin types, or if it’s an alter fronting and I’m mistaking it to be a kinshift. I’ve been in the therian and otherkin community for a long time and I’ve always known that it was an involuntary thing, that it can be spiritual, etc, and I’ve never chosen my kin types for fun. the way I go about thing is… I will get very attached to a character, feel like I’m 100% them at times and my behavior changes, and that’s how I’ve figured out my kin types. I don’t relate to them at all.. they’re just me. and some have told me that it could be a DA instead and say that “kinning is voluntary, DAs are not” I know that’s not true but I’ve seen them be given the same definition.. “involuntary belief that you’re a creature/character”.. so I don’t know how to tell them apart for my experiences? also one of my kin types(or could be considered theriotypes) is a dinosaur so not all of them are fictional characters for me. but I only have three/four of them .. I know u can’t diagnose me or anything like that but it’s very confusing.. could u explain?

Okay, I am going to open with the fact that I'm not psychotic - that being said, basically everything I say about DAs is based on a) what I've seen psychotic people say about them (primarily @strawberrybabydog, whom I will tag because I think it might be able to help you better than me anyway) and b) what I've seen them say about themselves.

You're right that people often seem to give DAs the same definition otherkin and/or fictionkin should be given, usually while simultaneously making the "kinning is voluntary" claim - bluntly, this is basically trying to rebrand 'kinity as "delusional" again, whether that's the intention or not, and it's just flat-out not true. A nonphysical identity, by itself, does not constitute a delusion, by definition. We've had that argument time and again, and it hasn't changed now just because it's being phrased in more "politically correct" language. If your identity is wholly nonphysical, it's not inherently a delusion, full stop.

That being said: It is still possible for a nonhuman identity to come from delusions - the delusions just usually have to involve physically being nonhuman (or something other than you are) in some way, from what I understand. This is where Babydog can probably help you better than I can, regarding figuring out where that line lies and whether your experiences are influenced by your delusions or not. The term "delusional misidentification" seems to be what's used in psychology, from what I understand, and the term "endel" was coined specifically to describe a nonhuman identity stemming from or influenced by delusions - more on that here. (Regardless, even if your nonhumanity is influenced by or stemming from delusions - you still qualify as otherkin if you want to use the label.)

Regarding telling a shift apart from an alter/headmate co-fronting, I'm... afraid I really don't have much advice there; that's just not something I have expertise in. The folks at @liongoatsnake are my go-to reference for plurality - they may be able to give you better advice and/or resources than I can.

[heartwoodventures]

Lightning Strikes Twice

This time, Red Argos had hit close to home. Earlier in the week Momori had brought word to Heartwood Ventures that the pirate crew had been spotted in the Black Shroud. There had been reports of kidnappings as well as rumors of one paranoid man who, being convinced he was next, had barricaded himself within his home near the Honey Yard. 

It was a rainy day in the Shroud but those who had been summoned to the Company House didn’t bother to go inside. They knew they’d be leaving just as quickly as they had arrived. Instead they gathered under the cover of umbrellas in Heartwood’s front yard. The weather seemed to keep the conversations muted, subdued. 

Suddenly a young midlander girl darted out from the company building, her long black braids bouncing as she giggled uncontrollably. She held a pair of red tinted glasses aloft in her hands, and she was soon followed by a very angry lalafell that came chasing after her.

“INGA. Give those back! I swear, if you don’t drop them right now...” Momori growled at the girl, who scampered up a tree laughing. 

It was at that moment that Momori noticed the company’s presence, and immediately shifted to her professional composure.

“Hello. Ahem. Thanks for coming today. Nice weather we’re having.”

Lumarto kept his eyes on Inga as she ran off, clearly used to it. "Dreary, but aye." he said, glancing back to Momori.

A ripple of agreement moved through the group. 

The lalafell wasted no time and began to explain the situation at hand. Red Argos had been seen in the Shroud. Two Honey Yard workers have disappeared and a local madman claimed he was the next to go. When there was noise among the group in favor of paying this supposed madman a visit, Momori made it clear she thought that lead was a waste of time. It was a strange situation, to be sure. But the authorities had said that Ser Stone, as that was his name, had a history of grand delusions. 

"Well, if he's not what you want to pursue, who then?" Muneshige gruffly asked. 

The Raen swordsman made a few of their company nervous. He was loud, brash and always seemed to be itching for a fight. There was little doubt that if there came even the slightest whiff of the possibility of violence during this endeavor, he’d charge at it like a bull at the sight of the color red. 

"Two other leads. Could ask workers at the Honey Yard, see if they know where Argos is hiding this time. Or even Little Solace. I am aware the pirates are....somewhere, in the Sylphlands, though exactly where is uncertain." Momori explained. 

"Sylphlands..." He repeated, seemingly mystified by the name. 

Zorah shook her umbrella a bit, closing it up as the rain finally stopped. "I like the Sylphs.  Cute little creatures."

"Creatures? Are they...native to this wood?" Muneshige was definitely curious now.

Aislinn weighed the options, considering which one would bring them in contact with the pirates the quickest. Because, ultimately, it was the pirates she was after. "Aye, and if we know the pirates are in their lands, I say we go there."

"Whatever you choose, I will be tagging along....virtually, of course.” Momori produced a handful of the modified linkpearls and passed them out among the group, explaining to those who had yet to see the devices how they worked. “For the unaware, aside from normal linkpearl functions, this device captures data about an image and aetheric levels at the time of taking it. Press the button on its side to snap a photo. It’ll save the last one you take.”

With that done, she dove into debriefing the crew on what she had learned from the information they had collected during their last endeavor. She paused in particular on the matter of the Allagan artifact, the Helm. 

“Now, the artifact. The Helm. It’s not so useless after all! The crystal at the center of the artifact has unlocked its capabilities. Unfortunately, the snapshot Lumarto took has too much noise in it. If you could get a photo of just the crystal at the center, before the ritual has happened, I would better be able to pinpoint what it’s composed of.” she said with a look to the miqo’te. 

"Something that strong and heavy with aether wouldn't be so easy to approach just like that... depending on who has it, at least..." Luma said, scratching his head as he tried to make heads or tails of even the realistic nature of such a request.

He wasn’t wrong. What Momori was asking simply wasn’t feasible. 

Aware of this fact, Aislinn shifted a wry glance to Lumarto as he stood next to her. "Ask if you can get a close-up shot next time. I'm sure they won't mind." she said, all but deadpan.

Lumarto glanced at her and scoffed. 

“I believe in you.” Momori returned. Also deadpan.

Aislinn shook her head at the lalafell. 

From there the talk devolved into more discussion as to the origins of the Helm, the artifact’s history and it’s possible purpose. 

"Do we think the elements surrounding that in the center correlate with the brands we found?" Lumarto asked, glancing back at Inga in the trees before rubbing at the burn on his hand. "If so, there may be more missing that answer the puzzle."

Momori nodded at Luma. “This one carries the brain cell, I see. Yes, the brands, the artifact, the core...they’re all linked, somehow.”

Thankfully, the rest of them refused to rise to the bait. Zorah bit her tongue while it took a considerable amount of self-control on Aislinn’s part not to roll her eyes. Hard. 

“We use our scant resources wisely.” Rolanda quipped. 

The lalafell flipped to a different page in her journal, where she had sketched two marks. One shows the sigil of fire, and the other, earth. Both are surrounded by six wings.

“The mark of fire was found burned into a skeleton’s wrist. The mark of earth, currently found on young Inga. Both recovered from Red Argos’s old campgrounds.” Momori glanced at Inga, the young midlander girl who was busy climbing in the treehouse.

Zorah looked toward Inga, "Is she going to be buried alive? Is that the hint?"

"Haha, who knows? Not us, not yet." Momori smiled.

Zorah blinked, ears flattening.  "Well, hopefully we'll prevent that."

"As for the rest, let me be brief. I showed the Yellow Jackets Aislinn’s photo. The one she took of Aiswyda’s evil twin. No dice. Perhaps if we found more evidence..."

Aislinn compressed her lips together at the mention of the intractable Yellow Jackets.

"Now, I leave you to your work..." Momori said, sending them off.

The group traveled through the Shroud, the journey blessedly uneventful, until they arrived at the small camp at the very edge of the Sylphlands. Little Solace. There were sylphs galore and none of them seemed particularly concerned or alarmed. At least here, all was well. 

Muneshige was taken aback, really, the forest of the Black Shroud was nothing like he'd ever seen out east, and the mystical aesthetic of Little Solace and its small population briefly captivated him. But only for a moment, for he was already looking around for signs of strong opponents, "Well, this is quite a location..."

Two slyphs by the red tent were deep in gossip. Others flutter about, warming their cabbage bodies by the campfire.

Zorah clapped her hands together as the band arrived. "Look how cute they are." She spoke quietly, reaching for her chocobo’s reins.

"First order of business was to gather information, yeah? These gossipy little creatures are sure to have heard a word or two in the forest." Lumarto said, getting down to business. 

Aislinn tucked her gemstone into her pouch as the carbuncle dissipated. Looking around, she noted the general air of calm around the camp. "Don't seem to be too agitated. But aye, we should probably ask around. See if they've heard anything." she said in agreement with Luma.

Zorah had dismounted and now nodded, stepping forward, "Oh most likely.  Let's go talk to those ones." She gestured to the sylphs near the red tent.

As the Company approached, they overheard snatches of conversation. Giants. Gunfire. Komuxio’s secret sauce. Nosey outlanders. They turn towards the group, now aware of their presence.

"Hm. I'll let you handle the talking." Muneshige huffed. 

Zorah smiled, bowing her head to the two talkative Sylphs.  "Hello! Might we inquire further about this gunfire?"

Aislinn raised a hand in greeting from just behind Zorah’s shoulder. 

The sylph on the right crossed her arms. “Walking ones ask with much rudeness! This one prefers more polite company.”

"Polite or humorous? If I recall, you and yours prefer outlanders with hilarity to offer?" Lumarto said to the sylph in question.

Zorah’s ears flattened, the smile disappearing.  "I do apologize," She spoke quickly, heat rising in her cheeks, letting Luma continue.

The slyph nodded eagerly at Lumarto. He seemed to have struck a chord.

Aislinn dropped her head. "Dancing. I bet it's dancing." she said under her breath.

Lumarto shuddered at the thought. "Dancing..." Luma said. He began doing his best impression of a dance he would do for his son Rohmio; ignoring the embarrassment.

Rolanda quickly joined in with a dance of her own. Aislinn watched the two for a moment before she inhaled a breath and steeled herself. It wasn’t that she couldn’t dance. She could. Very well. But it was rarely something she had done in the presence of others. But, dancing it would be. She joined in and like Lumarto, tried to ignore the embarrassment. 

The slyph clapped her hands together excitedly. “Walking ones have pretty dances! What about those two?” She looked at Zorah and Muneshige who still had not joined the dance. 

Muneshige was not going to dance. In fact, he began to distance himself. He didn’t want to be seen with these weirdos.

Lumarto tried staring over at Zhora amidst his dancing. "Hurry and dance so we can stop being in this ridiculous state..." Luma muttered, clearly at his edge.

Zorah shook her head and hurriedly joined the trio.  

The slyph seemed appeased by the dancing. “Hehe, such moves. What can this one do for you?”

Aislinn stopped almost immediately, her cheeks aflame. "Oh, thank the Twelve."

Lumarto stopped dancing, and cleared his throat. "We were hoping you had some more information about that gunfire you heard? We're looking for... bad... outlanders?... Metal machinery, pirates, etcetera..." Luma said, questioning the sylph.

The slyph nodded. “This one has seen the green giants and their small, gun-bearing mascots. This one mostly stays out of the Sylphlands, but has an idea of the direction that they went.”

Rolanda noticed everyone had stopped dancing and stopped as well. "That was surprisingly fun."

Lumarto nodded to them, opening up a small journal and jotting down the Sylph's words. "And where did they go? Further northeast?"

Aislinn touched the back of a gloved hand to one heated cheek and then the other, listening intently to the exchange.

The sylph nodded again. “This one heard a big wind fly overhead, northeast. And then saw many of them enter and exit the Sylphlands.” The other slyph interjected. “And /this one/ saw a big group of them split from the rest! Deeper into the woods!”

The miqo’te nodded to them both, smiling lightly. He added the notes to his journal. "So two groups? Do you know where those groups might be now?" Lumarto asked.

"The ones that split away...perhaps they did so to start another ritual. Much like last time." Aislinn hummed in thought. 

Lumarto nodded to the woman’s train of thought, agreeing with her.

Despite distancing himself, Muneshige still listened in on the information. If all else failed, he could just follow the group. The rumor about many somethings and a big creature...that sounded like it could be fun. Hopefully.

The two slyphs looked at each other, and then looked to the party. “This one...is uncertain. But this one can lead walking ones to where the split happened."

"Please if you wouldn't mind, you're being such a great help right now. I'll be sure to return by to repay the favour." Lumarto said, closing his journal and stashing it away.

One of the sylphs, the braver one by the looks of it, nodded. It fluttered ahead and beckoned for the party to follow. The other stayed behind.

As they ventured deeper into the Sylphlands, they all felt the air grow thicker. It was as if there were sparks in every breath. The slyph carefully helped the party avoid any monsters and patrols, and finally came to a halt at an intersection. “This one last saw the outlanders here. This one...is scared.” It looked left and right, and then fluttered back to the safety of Little Solace.

Aislinn turned and looked off to where the little slyph had left a trail of dust in their wake in their haste to return to Solace. "Well, then." she scanned the forest around them, keeping a careful eye out.

There were clearly two paths. One that headed further north, and another that headed east. Nothing but lush, deep forest surrounded the band, and all around them were the ominous sounds of aggressive wildlife and giggling sylphs, touched by Levin.

Lumarto made sure to thank the Sylph for its help before pressing against the pearl attached to his collar. "We followed a helpful sylph to where they last saw the potential pirates or garleans; basically, we have a lead. Two paths ahead of us with the differing states.” he reported to Momori. 

Muneshige glanced down each path, the giggling more or less an irritant, "Well, pick a path. I've half a mind to just start cutting things down."

Somehow that came as no surprise to Aislinn. 

A crackle. Momori’s voice came through. “I’m unfamiliar with the Sylphlands. Perhaps scout the area, or split the party?”

"Splitting sounds best, we can cover more ground and ease the search." Lumarto said, looking to the group for agreement; or for any issues.

"So who wants to interrupt a ritual and who wants to chase an airship?" Aislinn asked with a measure of black humor.

After some discussion it was decided. Khora, Muneshige, Zorah and Aislinn would track the airship while Lumarto and Rolanda would follow the pirates that had traveled north, further into the wood. 

"Sounds good. Lumarot, we must be cautious, we won't have much backup." Rolanda told the miqo’te. 

"Last time we encountered the airship it was chalk full of Pirates and Garleans, Muneshige. So you'll have your hands full." Lumarto informed the Raen. Most likely in a bid to advocate caution. 

Muneshige nodded, "Finally, something of actual interest."

Aislinn glanced between Lumarto and Muneshige "Or....we could maybe not? Maybe reconnaissance first."

"-You- can do your recon. I'm not here to sit around." Muneshige returned loftily. 

It had been worth a shot. 

"Considering what you found back then, talking first is better if she's there." Lumarto said to Aislinn, offering a rather concerned look.

Aislinn returned the look and with that, the parties split, each following their own leads. Rolanda and Lumarto disappeared into the dark of the deeper forest heading north while the rest made their way east. 

Lumarto held his hand to his collar, speaking with the group, his voice crackling over the linkpearl. "Remember, we need to take a picture with the device if we come across anything. Considering our numbers now, we should get a lot of evidence." He paused. "...Someone should probably take Muneshige's before he breaks it..."

Aislinn gave a derisive snort.

Zorah looked toward Mune, holding her hand out.  "Hand it over."

Muneshige made no effort to keep the device to himself, and tossed it towards Zorah. "Take it. I've no interest in these...devices."

The Ritual 

As Rolanda and Lumarto headed north, they could hear....footsteps through the undergrowth. Up ahead they could see a large patrol of pirate seawolves, transporting a large, covered cart. It was in that moment, the worst possible time, that Rolanda stepped on a stick. The pirates all looked towards the source of the sound.

Lumarto immediately held Rolanda back some, pulling her behind a nearby piece of lumber to hide their bodies from the nearby patrol. "Be careful next time... there are all sorts of natural traps like that lying around..." Luma said, catching a breath before letting out a soft sigh. "We're hidden, but we can't see much from here."

"I am normally quite agile, I do apologize. I will be quite careful. We need to get into a better position if we're to have any hope of discovering something useful." Rolanda whispered. 

Lumarto nodded, peeking around the lumber and trying to best decide about their next choice of action.

The pirates muttered among themselves, unnerved. But they continued to travel north, lugging their heavy cargo close behind. For a moment, both Rolanda and Lumarto seemed to catch sight of something strange. Did something under the carriage's cloth covering just move?

"Good gravy that looked like a person in there! Let's follow them and see if we can stop this." she hissed. 

"Follow them /carefully/" Luma added to Rolanda, choosing to stick to areas with cover as they tried to get a better look; or discern if their hunches were correct about the cart.

Rolanda glared at Luma's back as she creeps forward. "CAREFULLY!" she whispered to herself. She followed along a few paces behind the miqo’te. 

As the two trail the cart without being noticed, they could overhear bits of idle chit chat exchanged between the pirates. “Don’t know why we go through all this trouble, finding special folk...but if Kurr says it's worth it, then it must be so.”

"So this answers the question of the contents... they are probably the source of kidnappings too..." Lumarto whispered over to Rolanda, "I don't know if they are more patrols up ahead, but if we both take one we can probably save a few souls... or just wait it out and find out more... I'd rather save a life if I could." 

"Agreed. We have an opportunity to possibly save someone here, I think we need to take it. If we must flee afterwards, so be it. Perhaps we can be quiet and avoid alerting the others." Rolanda replied. 

After a moment’s consideration, Lumarto turned to the Au Ra. "We can't just sneak and get them out... and there are only those two pirates... we need to act now before they meet up with more." he said, readying his rapier before pulling out a small focus by his hip. "What do you say?"

"I can start by loosing an arrow at the guards from cover, and you can move in and take them by surprise while they are distracted. What do you think?" Rolanda suggested. 

"I think that sounds like a good enough idea, so let's go with that." Lumarto said, facing the group. "Shoot. I'll come from behind." he added, already breaking away from Rolanda as now was the time to act, not talk.

Rolanda drew a deadly looking arrow and nocked it silently. With a nod to Lumarto, she pulled back on the bowstring. She took a deep breath, and loosed an arrow at the first guard, quickly moving to draw a second to mop up whatever remains.

Lumarto approached from behind, dashing forward as Rolanda fired. His rapier impaled the distracted pirate from behind. 

The element of surprise was on the pair’s side. Rolanda’s arrow pinned the pirate to the ground, while Luma’s thrust hit true. They weren’t dead, but they were pinned to the ground by the blows. “Aye! Leviathan’s scaly arse!”

Before they were given a chance to call for aid or make more noise; Lumarto held his focus to the butt of his rapier and hurled a rough rock to both heads of the pirates to knock them out cold. The effort saw to it that both of the pirates were knocked out cold. 

"That's that." Luma said, sighing some as he sheathed his rapier before quickly hopping atop the cart. "Lets see here.." he carefully took hold of the ends of the tarp before lifting it slowly to the side. 

Underneath the tarp were two hyur, their arms and legs bound. Both had a sack over their heads, and feebly struggled against their bindings. As clear as daylight, a brand on each of their wrists. Purple, and the symbol of lightning etched in the center.

He stared at the two in the cart, carefully taking the sacks off their heads to let them get adjusted to the light before offering a sigh of relief. "We're here to help, hold on." he explained, taking a knife from his belt and cutting one hyur's bindings off; moving onto the next after the first had been freed.

"I can take these hyur to safety if you can help me carry them to the edge of the camp. My whale should easily be able to hold us all" Rolanda said as she shouldered her bow. 

Lumarto nodded to Rolanda, then glanced back at the hyurs. "That would help, but we gotta be careful still." he said as he checked the two over.

The two hyur flopped around, as if struggling on instinct. But they seemed to be in a trance of some sort, violet eyes aglow. One of them muttered vacantly... “She calls for us...Our lady.”

"This doesn't look good. I doubt we will be able to keep them quiet" Rolanda murmured. 

Lumarto nodded. "I'm not about to cover their heads again with the sack, but we have to try our best to get them away from here at least... This kind of trance is not going to go away immediately; especially in this highly aetheric area." he said, carefully taking one of them and carrying them on his back. "Try your best to carry them, if we struggle you go and fetch your whale and I'll wait for you."

Rolanda did as he said and carefully lifted the other hyur over her shoulders. "Let's get out of here."

As they made their escape they could hear the faint sounds of fighting and gunfire in the distance. It sounded as if the other party had run up against Red Argos in a bad way. 

And indeed they had. While Lumarto and Rolanda were freeing the victims they had found from the clutches of the pirates, the party of four had tracked the airship headed east, and had managed to hide just as they came upon a small patrol of garleans and pirates making their rounds. 

From their hiding spot, Aislinn peered further into the forest. Patrols appeared to be staggered all along the route ahead. She could see bodies moving between the ancient trees. 

"Suppose the airship lies that-a-way." she said quietly before looking back towards the others. "If we stay to the shadows we should be able to get closer. If we're quiet." she added, eyeing Muneshige like he was a loose cannon.

For his part, Khora made every effort to remain quiet upon Aislinn's recommendation.  "If there is anything one should know about me, it's that I'm am not very discrete."  He admitted before quickly following Aislinn’s glance toward Muneshige. "Yeah we're screwed..."

She inhaled a breath. Was the quiet and subtle way even worth it? "Or...some of us could cause a distraction while the others slip through?" she suggested.

The Raen of course, cared not for stealth. He stood from the grass and began walking towards the thick of it, utterly unafraid of the sheer number of soldiers. He drew his blade and stuck it into the ground, "Hey hey HEY! What's goin' on here?!" He -bellowed-, throwing away all subtlety, "Looks like there's a party here, and I wasn't invited?!" 

"Gods." Aislinn hung her head and wiped a hand over her face in utter exasperation. “Right. Guess we're going with option #2.”

From her hiding place next to Aislinn, Zorah's ears flattened.  "It's always an Au ra...." She muttered, shaking her head.

The ink upon Khora’s arms began to burn a bright orange, and with a flick of his wrist, so did the steel of his blade.  "And here we go!" The Miqo'te yelled at the top of his lungs while lunging forward.

The patrol turned to look at Muneshige and Khora, before exchanging bewildered looks. Who were these random guys, challenging them to battle? It was suspicious, either way. The two dressed in Garlean blacks drew their guns, while a seawolf pirate drew a rapier. The last pirate hung in the back, making a call on a peculiar black linkpearl.

Aislinn resolutely stayed where she was, low to the ground, hiding. If the Raen wanted to call down every garlean and pirate in the area, she wasn't going to stop him. She was, however, going to wait for her window of opportunity. Idiot. 

"Alright, let's get to business! Akaitaiyo thirsts for blood!" Muneshige yanked the sword from the ground and charged in with Khora, finally something interesting was happening!

The garleans fired off their guns at Muneshige, while the pirate dashed towards Khora, rapier drawn.

Muneshige charged -directly- towards the closest gunner he could find, apparently caring not if he got shot, winding back his blade and swinging wide and hard, with enough force to cleave through bone. The bullets simply glance off what little armor he wore, causing minor bleeding in his side.

Deft was perhaps the wrong word in which to define Khora’s movements.  He still needed work on his up-front-and-personal skills.  The pirate's ability with the rapier caused Khora to stumble back and nice little poke upon his left arm.

As the scuffle began in earnest, Aislinn took advantage of the chaos to nod at Zorah and moved low through the undergrowth, maneuvering further into the wood. The Seeker nodded and followed behind her, keeping low to the ground.

With the help of the boys’ distraction, Aislinn and Zorah made it past the occupied patrols and soon found themselves deeper into the woods. They found a place to hide, which overlooked a /large/ gathering of garleans and pirates. Below, next to the grounded airship were also two elezen with their heads covered, surrounded by several open crates of ...flower petals?

Zorah looked down at the gathering, slowly taking in the scene before her.  Seeing the crates of flower petals, at least she hoped that was what they were, she immediately had the urge to jump in them. She kept her composure, however, ears flickering as she listened around her.  It was then that she finally noticed the two that looked like possible prisoners and glanced questioningly at Aislinn.

The highlander leaned forward, peering down at the gathering with a flummoxed expression. Flower petals? "The brands we've seen have petals but...I assumed it was symbolic." she murmured to Zorah. Aiming her aetheric linkpearl at the gathering, she snapped a picture and continued observing the activity below.

One of the Garleans put his hand to his ear, and afterward, directed a large patrol of pirates and men away from the camp. The ones that stayed behind quickly begin to usher one of the prisoners onto the ship. They seemed to be making preparations for a quick liftoff.

Zorah leaned forward, ready to push herself off the ground as the group left.  "Now, we can get in and out quickly between the two of us."

Aislinn eyed the activity below. "Nymeia's Blood." she cursed, under her breath. Pressing the linkpearl she attempted to alert Khora. "There are a lot more headed your way." she said before nodding to Zorah. "Let's go."

Disturbingly, there was no reply forthcoming to her warning. She tried not to think of why that might be as she and Zorah slid down the overlook and snuck towards the airship. But Zorah clearly thought the same, as she kept glancing back towards where they had left Khora and Muneshige, trying not to feel sick to her stomach. 

It was then that they heard the explosions. They came from the direction of the fight. Aislinn turned toward the sound in alarm. Glancing towards Zorah, she hesitated. Torn. The dogged part of her wanted to press on. It hadn’t been her decision to charge the bloody patrols, after all. Damn it all. She gritted her teeth and continued on, sneaking into the camp, and headed straight for the crate of flower petals. Zorah’s ears flicked as if they were on swivels, listening to every little sound as the two crept close to the crates. 

From their vantage point they could see that Red Argos had moved one of the prisoners onto the ramp of the airship, but the prisoner was putting up quite the fight, and distracting the remaining gunners. The other remained by the flowers, sobbing silently.

Zorah had grabbed one of the crates, pausing as she heard the sobbing close by.  She felt and overwhelming need to return to the fight immediately, but she couldn't just leave this one here.  She glanced toward Aislinn as she set the crate down, reaching for the hood over the prisoner's head, ready to shush him before he'd give away their presence.

The hooded elezen turned towards the sound of shushing, but he couldn’t see anything due to the bag over his head. Meanwhile, they could hear the angry yells, echoing throughout the airship, and heard a few words. “Hurry...Just go...We’ll find more...It’s about to begin!”

Those words sounded like they were out of time. The smart thing to do would be to take some of the petals and go. But Aislinn found she just...couldn’t. She gave a sharp shake of her head and reached out, grabbing the hooded victim by the wrist. "Please. Listen. Stay quiet and come with us. We can get you out of here." she whispered hurriedly.

Zorah took only a handful of petals, and then helped the prisoner up to his feet.

The victim allowed himself to be dragged to somewhere hidden, and not one second later, four gunners dashed out of the ship. Upon seeing that the other prisoner is no longer by the crates, they let out a string of curses, and instead busy themselves by moving the crates of flowers onto the ship. The ship flickered, rose into the air and then disappeared, the cloaking enabled. A strong gust of wind, and they were gone…

From their hiding spot, Aislinn watches the ship flicker and disappear. She lets go a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. That was close.

Zorah glanced back as the airship disappeared, pressing her lips together before turning back to Aislinn and their one rescued prisoner.  "We need to check on the guys." She spoke quietly.

Aislinn looked to Zorah and nodded. "Go. I'll help this one and follow as soon as I can." she said, reaching up to undo the hood that still blinded the elezen.

Zorah nodded and without wasting a moment she raced back toward where the fighting had been, "Khora?!" She yelled out as she ran, looking through the disheveled earth they had been fighting on. Her ears flickered slightly, hearing familiar voices and following them until she eventually came upon Muneshige and Khora.  "What the hells..." Zorah growled. 

Both of the men looked worse for wear but Khora clearly took the brunt of the fighting. He lay in the grass, clutching his side and bleeding from a number of rapier cuts. 

"Don't worry too much, he's alive. Might not have made it if I hadn't ran back here with him, had a whole firing squad on our tails." Muneshige smirked up at the woman from his spot next to Khora, "Can't say I've been shot this many times."

Zorah’s ears flattened at Muneshige’s words, as she knelt between them.  One hand came to lay on Khora gently while she looked over the Au ra's own body.  "Well, you can say that now, I suppose." she shook her head with a sigh, "We need to get you both to the medics.  Those bullets need to come out of you." Zorah turned to Khora, pressing her lips together.  "Are you -trying- to die?" 

Khora struggled to raise his arm, trembling as it extended upward to give a thumbs up.  "I'm okay!"  There was an obvious strain in his voice.

This elicited a grin from Zorah and she rolled her eyes at his comment.  "Yeah, you look like shit, actually."

Khora trembled amidst a weak bout of laughter.  "Yeah, well I feel like shit."  Blood ran down his arm and soaked at the cloth of his outfit from the stab wounds.

It was then that Momori’s voice crackled over the linkpearls. "Lumarto. What's your status?"

"We stopped a cart from hauling two Hyur prisoners further into the Sylphlands and are currently carrying them back to the entrance." Luma said, the effort in his voice lending credence to his words. "They seem to be in a trance; violet eyes, lightning brand on their wrist, probably because of the lightning aspect in these woods." He continued, glancing at his side where Rolanda was holding her own as they just made it to Little Solace.

“A brand and violet eyes....?” There was a long pause from Momori’s side. “Like Inga.”

"Inga has amber eyes, do you think their eye color is related to their aspect?" He added. He was muddled with thoughts and kept trying to figure out the links; he had his own side mission in all of this after all.

Momori. Aislinn. Lumarto. It seemed each of them had their own goals in all of this. 

“She has the mark of earth. Perhaps...” Momori was cut off as everyone in the area around the Sylphlands found themselves caught in a sudden and violent earthquake! 

The tremors tore at the earth, pulling ancient trees upward in the shifting topography. As if that wasn’t enough, a foul wind picked up, whipping through the dark forest. One dripping with lightning.

Rolanda and Lumarto stumbled in their race to safety. 

Muneshige jolted as the earth beneath him suddenly heaved, his pain now twofold with all the shaking, "GRAGGH! Kami forfend what is this?!" The wind picked up, and the sound of thunder followed, "Is this some kind of calamity...?" He couldn't tell what was going on now, what was happening?

Zorah quickly knelt to the ground as the earth shook. "I ... I don't think so.."

Further east, Aislinn and the elezen man were taken by surprise. "Seven hells!" 

Aislinn’s first instinct was to hit the ground but the groaning and cracking of the ancient trees around her quickly divested her of that idea. Instead she reached into her pack and tossed her battered gemstone in the air. When her carbuncle popped into existence, she wasted no time explaining and simply pulled the elezen onto it after her and took to the air.

The two victims Lumarto and Rolanda had saved began to twitch violently, bodies contracting in an unnatural manner. They screamed to be returned! For an end of suffering! Something...was released from them. A torrent of lightning aether flew out from each of them and shot to the north. And afterwards - they went limp. They breathed, but they may as well have been dolls. 

Lumarto had held tightly onto the Hyur. The spastic shuddering and screams caused his ears to sharply curl, paining him to hear the shrieks. The high concentration of aether sent a tingling sensation up his back before he felt the body grow limp. He worried immediately for their well being before hearing their breath. "We have to hurry, I don't like the sound of this!" Luma exclaimed, trying to set a faster pace for Hawthorn Hut. 

After what seemed to be forever, the earthquake finally stilled. A tense calm returned to the forest, and all the parties had time to catch their breath. But, to the aetherically sensitive, they could feel that the land had changed. Scars that were felt but unseen.

Aislinn tried not to focus on it at the moment, instead steering her carbuncle towards the safety of Hawthorn Hut to deposit her passenger and ask if it would be alright if she returned later to ask him some questions.

Understandably, the elezen seemed extremely shaken. As she landed just outside the main building of the outpost, he dismounted and fell to his knees almost immediately.  But he nodded in reply to her request. “Of course, my lady...my savior.” He looked incredibly grateful, but sad as Aislinn helped him to his feet and guided him into the safety of the hut and one of the waiting beds. “...they took my sister. Since you saved me, perhaps on your travels you might...?”

Aislinn looked up, her eyes meeting Lumarto’s as she sat the elezen down. The miqo’te stood his own vigil over two unresponsive bodies lying in their own beds.  "Another one?..." Lumarto said, clearly looking troubled as he glanced at the two Hyur. "The two I saved are speechless after that quake..."

The elezen's words left Aislinn with a stricken expression. His sister. She could only imagine what she would do if something like that had happened to Ren. Her recent bouts of flaring temper would be nothing in comparison. A quaint tempest in a teapot. 

She shook her head. "I...yes. Yes, of course. We're..." she tried to order her thoughts and reminded herself she needn’t put herself so far in the man’s shoes. "The Company I work for. We're tracking these pirates. I will try my best to find your sister." she said, softening the edges from her voice. "For now...try to rest. I'll visit you and we can talk more later."

“Sorry, I was interrupted by another quake...The others dropped off their pearls at the company. What is your location?” Momori came through on the pearl.

"Hawthorne Hut, we managed to rescue three of the four prisoners; an elezen and two hyurs. We're just leaving them with the menders here for safekeeping at the moment." Luma replied before looking over to the Elezen in the bed who could speak. "We'll come back later like Aislinn said... for now rest, we'll try and get everything sorted out."

In the middle of everything, Lumarto stepped back a bit to get both the Elezen and the two Hyurs in frame for a pearl capture; the Elezen sitting up and shaken while the two Hyurs remained motionless; their brands visible in the picture. "We have some pearls for you too, should deem helpful."

The elezen weakly nodded at Aislinn and Luma, but he showed the two of them his wrist. “They put my sister and I in some sort of...dream. I can’t describe it, but after I woke, I found this on my body.” A light teal marking, easy to make out on his dark skin. A symbol of ice, but markedly simpler than the others they had seen. No wings surround this one…

The highlander woman glanced down at the mark before passing Lumarto a meaningful look. It appeared they had some inkling as to where the pirates were headed next.

Lumarto nodded over to her in response, "Try and keep that hidden... we aren't sure its importance yet, but for now it may be a bad target on you." he said, reaching into his pocket and handing the man a small woven bracelet; blue fabric twisted into itself. "Wear this around your marked wrist, and just rest; when those other two wake just let them know to also rest and relax, either of us will return to check on you and make sure you're safe."

The elezen nodded, accepting the bracelet and winding it tightly around his wrist. “Yes, I...” He looked at the two sleeping hyur. ”I don’t know who they are, but I’ll take good care of them.”

With that, Aislinn and Lumarto gave the man parting words of comfort but once outside the hut, their troubled expressions returned. They didn’t need to put it into words. They each knew there was more trouble ahead. This whole thing would get worse before it, hopefully, got better. If they succeeded. If. 

[tamago-hoe]

Out Tonight - Langst Oneshot

Based off the song Out Tonight from RENT so this has been lurking in my drafts for a while, and i’ve finally decided to post it lmao

TRIGGER WARNINGS: mentions of self-harm

When Keith walked into the observation deck unable to fall asleep; he wasn’t expecting this.

“Lance?”

Said boy swivelled around, a goofy, lopsided grin gracing his features. “Keef! My man!” He hiccuped, wobbling his way towards the other Paladin. “Wassup?” Keith eyed the bottle in Lance’s hand, flicking back up to the boy who had since slung an arm around Keith’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Loosen up man!” Okay, Lance may be a goofball, but not to this extent. “Have a drink!” He offered the bottle, Keith scrutinising the label written in Altean.

“What is this? Where did you find it?”

“I... Don’t know! It tastes gross but after a while it doesn’t matter! I mean, I feel great!” He cheered, snatching the bottle back and taking a long swig.

It dawned on Keith that it was not simple juice or water. Keith was no genius, but Lance was acting drunk, so whatever was in there had some sort of alcoholic substance or properties.

“Lance, you need to stop, it could be poisonous!” Raising his voice for some sort of authority, Keith reached for the bottle, only for Lance to step back, cradling it in his arms.

“Boo, you’re no fun.” Lance pouted, his reflexes pretty quick considering he was not in his normal state of mind. “Let me have my fun!”

“Lance, that’s probably some type of alcohol, meaning it’s illegal to drink until you’re 21!”

“In England you can drink at 18!”

“You’re not English.”

“We’re in space Keef, who’s gonna stop me? There’s no police and the aliens don’t know about the age of drinking.” Lance gestures to the stars scattered across the dark sky through the large window. “Do they even have laws? And I don’t even know how old I am anymore, when was my birthday? What day is it? Ah well, let’s say it’s today and I’m turning 21. Cheers!” And another swig.

“You - You’re right.” Keith admitted, slumping down in his seat. “Hey Lance, pass us some.” Lance skipped over, happily handing the bottle to Keith. Smirking victoriously, Keith jumped away, “Ha! Now you can’t drink more!”

“Sorry, I drank it all!” Lance laughed hysterically as Keith tipped the bottle upside down, not even a single drop falling out.

“What the hell Lance?! We’re going to the medical wing now.” Keith grabbed Lance’s arm, only for Lance to pull away. “Lance?”

“What’s the time? It’s gotta be close to midnight...”

“Probably? Why does it matter? Lance, you could be dying-“

Lance snorted mockingly, “Dying? Sounds dangerous. But I don’t want to die right now.”

“Then we need to-“

“Right now I want to put on tight shorts and flirt with a stranger.” Keith spluttered in shock at Lance’s blunt confession. “I want to be the cause of a fight, you know? I want danger!” Lance spun too quickly, Keith rushing to help him stand somewhat upright without falling.

“You’re already dangerous enough, and isn’t possibly being poisoned enough danger?”

“I don’t want “possible”, I need definite! Life’s too short!” Lance whined, pushing Keith away and throwing his arms up. “I want to go out tonight!” He decided firmly.

“No Lance. Where would we go anyway?” Keith sighed heavily wondering how he ended up like this, following after Lance as he meandered through the pristine corridors.

“I know a place, where this chick can dance in the rain!” Lance sung, suddenly turning on his heel, pressing a finger to Keith’s chest, looking up through naturally long lashes. “We won’t need money, I always get in for free. You can get in too, if you get in with me.”

Lance was going to be the death of Keith, his whole face flushing an intense red. “That’s not the issue!” He snarled, flustered, Keith pushing Lance away this time, folding his arms across his chest.

“I have to go out tonight Keef!” Lance stressed, voice taut and whiny as he clung onto the Red Paladin, “Lets run away! We’ll be back by the time the sun rises!”

“There is no sun.” Keith pointed out, though Lance was unaffected by Keith’s statement.

“Take me out tonight! Keeeeeef!” Said male jutted his chin the other way as Lance practically threw himself on Keith, lips curled in a pout. “Let’s go out tonight! I have to go out tonight!”

Keith sighed heavily, “Why do you HAVE to go out?”

For the first time that night, Lance fell silent for a moment.

“Can’t sleep in a quiet ship, it’s too far from home. I miss when the Spanish babies cry.” He mumbled, his eyes downcast, clouded with an unreadable emotion.

Keith was quite happy in space, he had his Mother and Shiro and he loved being a Paladin. He found out a part of who he was- something he never would’ve found out on Earth. He could finally put his skills into use, and helping people at the same time. He was saving the universe- that was cool to him. He was pretty content. He belonged in space. He didn’t miss Earth at all- what did Earth have that the rest of the universe and space didn’t?

On the other hand, Lance was homesick. Much so. Being in a quiet ship in the middle of undiscovered space was quite the change from his usual noisy household in a town where he could always find something to do. In space there was nothing quite like Earth’s rain; no nightclubs, no pubs, and Lance’s home was no where in sight. The tree’s on the planets were never as green as Earth’s, the flowers never smelt as sweet, the food never tasted as warm. Most of all the people. There was no one who could quite replace the familiar faces he missed dearly.

Keith rested a hand on Lance’s shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. “Lance, I had no clue-“

“So let’s find a bar, so dark we forget who we are!” Lance cleared his throat, grinning widely as he gripped Keith’s hand, not letting the tears welling in his eyes fall just yet. “So the scars from never’s and maybes die!” Holding Keith’s hand, a single clear thread fell down his cheek as he sent Keith a closed eye smile, pulling him down the corridors.

“Lance...” Scars? Their precious skin-care obsessed blue paladin has scars? -That was what he was implying anyway. How little did they know about him?

“I have to go out tonight.” Lance repeated, the same six words he’d been saying since Keith had found him and the empty bottle. “Just take me out, please take me out tonight.” Lance’s bouncing steps turned to solemn sole dragging, pleading to Keith with tears freely falling as his smile wavered and wobbled, his composure crumbling beneath Keith’s feet.

“Lance, for now let’s get you checked out.” Keith reassured the boy, tugging him towards the medical wing. Question could wait until after.

“Don’t forsake me..!” Lance begged fruitlessly, “Just take me out tonight!”

The pair slumped to the floor, Keith’s arms wrapping firmly around Lance’s trembling body. “Not tonight Lance. I promise that we will go out. Once you reach 21 we can get drunk in a bar together and be night owls and roam the streets. That’s not a never or maybe- it will happen.”

“Will I reach 21?” Lance sniffled.

“Of course.”

“Don’t make empty promises Keef.” Lance giggled, snuggling into the crook of Keith’s neck, Keith’s cheeks heating up as Lance’s breath tickled his skin. “You’re sweet.”

“Can’t say the same about you.” With Lance in his arms, Keith made his way to the medical wing, realising they’d ended up at the air lock. Was that planned? Just what was Lance thinking?

“Don’t care. No time for sweet delusions. I live how I please.”

Keith rolled his eyes. Even drunk Lance was arrogant. “What the about others in your life?”

“Living every day like it’s the last; of course I’m considerate to others the same way. We’re all in the same boat. Or castle-ship actually.” Lance drawled, a feeling of dread haunted Keith. Still, he did nothing as Lance continued running his drunken mouth off, “We could die any day, so we gotta live for tonight! If it’s not by Galra, my body will kill me first! That’s why I love danger! No going back! I get to control when I die, I choose to risk it! I don’t want regrets when I do die. Living on the edge is thrilling!”

“We won’t let you die Lance, not at the hands of Galra or anyone else.” Keith huffed. Huh, so Lance was both a flirty drunk and an emotional drunk.

“Even from myself?”

“What do you mean? Why are we even talking about this?” Finally the pair arrived at the medical wing, Keith paging Coran then taking a seat next to Lance, who was laying on the bed, being surprisingly compliant considering his earlier behaviour. “Doesn’t it get tiring?”

“Yeah. It does.” Lance breathed, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m really tired Keef.”

“No Lance, stay awake.” Keith said sternly, adjusting the bed to a sitting position to hopefully keep Lance awake. “You have to stay awake. Talk to me, about anything.”

“Did you know I have CHD? I haven’t needed meds in years now.”

Keith’s heart stopped. “W - What?” He uttered, eyes blown wide as Lance casually assessed his nails. “Doesn’t that mean you’re getting better?”

“Keef.” The way Lance drew out his name made his heart melt and twist painfully all at once in his chest. “They gave up. I was meant to have surgery. It means my body is giving up on me. It means it’s stopped trying.”

“That...” Keith went from stunned silence to quick-fire questions, brows furrowing in confusion and disbelief. “ When? Why? How? Why didn’t you tell us? We could do something about it! Why wait until now?! What about the surgery?!”

“Doesn’t mean I’m giving up. I’m just trying not to ignore the inevitable.” Lance shrugged halfheartedly, shaking his head with his eyes closed and arms folded across his chest, “I was meant to have the bypass a month after we left Earth. I was unstable. Still am I guess.”

“No... No no no, Lance, you will make it. We just need to program the pod-“

“It’s fiiiiine Keef.” Lance groaned, blocking his ears childishly. “Didn’t want it anyway. I don’t want no balloon or - or something in my chest.”

“For God’s sakes Lance! Why didn’t you say something?! We’re not letting you die!” Keith didn’t realise he’d been crying until Lance wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Don’t cry Keef.” Lance’s offered a cheesy grin, “I know you won’t let me die, so I’m letting me die.”

“That doesn’t even make sense idiot.” Keith scoffed, letting Lance play with his hair. Lance was still here. He wasn’t gone yet. He would take Lance to the pub and watch him dance in the rain and purr like a cat when he was drunk for some odd reason. Lance would live. Keith promised it.