#he acts like a grumpy teenager at camp dinner!

[wolfmeat]

at any given time the most important thing to be considering is charles smith

[d-dixonimagines]

PROMPT: "Thought you'd be taller.."

I feel like I want to do this one again with a different approach, but I don't know. I envisioned it being something light-hearted and fun, so please excuse my attempt at being funny...! @darylsdelts A/N: It's not edited so there's probably typos

There was a weird buzz of energy going around the camp that you couldn't quite place. The way people whispered to one another excitedly like gossiping teenagers. Eventually you got wind that Daryl Dixon was supposed to be arriving. It was overheard on the radio when your group leader was communicating with Aaron, arranging some kind of supply drop. They had been talking for months and were finally closing on a deal to join forces and create connections.

Sure, you had heard Daryl's name before, but it was strange to see people act like it was some celebrity coming through their town, a behavior you thought was long dead when everything fell. He had been the talk for days, apparently. People telling stories about all the things they've heard he's done, even some you were sure couldn't possibly be true, like blowing up a group with a bazooka? It sounded ridiculous.

He had managed to gain a sort of reputation. He was the lone wolf you didn't mess with. People have said that he mostly kept to himself, some describing him as a grumpy old bear, and good luck if you ever got on his bad side.

You've heard he was mean and intimidating and had a permanent glare, but others say he is kind and had a softness to him. That he had a type of charm that was hard to explain. But it was all the same as rumors go; you didn't know what you were supposed to believe.

He had come to the camp a few times, but somehow you've never seen or met him yourself. It was like he was a myth. A story someone made up, and depending on which version you heard, he was either a scary boogeyman or some kind of hero.

None of that mattered, though. You were determined to find out for yourself who this Daryl guy really was, and if he was worth all of the commotion he seemed to cause.

The sun was just about to set when he and Aaron finally arrived. They were greeted with welcoming smiles and were invited to join you all for dinner. You were appreciative of the large cart of food and supplies they brought, but so far you weren't seeing anything too spectacular. He was quiet, mostly. Handing over crates and stuff, no particular look about him. He didn't look scary, there was no scowl-y expression. So many not a grumpy bear?

As the evening went on and everyone was settled, scattered about around the fire, you sat silently - continuing to watch him. When it was mostly just the two of you remaining, you decided that the silent stalking was getting you nowhere, so you took things to the next level; you approached him..

"Would you like some more?" You offered, extending the kettle of food you had in your hand. He looked up at you for a second before shaking his head, "Nah, I'm good.. Thanks." His voice was gruff, but there was a softness to it, it didn't make sense!

"I'll have some more." Your attention was brought to Larson, a guy from your group, who was sitting close by with his plate stretched out, a friendly smile on his face. Without saying a word, you took a step towards him and practically tossed the kettle in his lap, taking a seat next to Daryl, your back towards Larson.

There was a silence again, aside from the confused mumblings from Larson as he dished himself more food. You tried not to make it so obvious that you were eyeing Daryl, trying to glance at the fire every now and then, but you were failing quite miserably.

"Can I help ya with somethin'?" Daryl finally confronted you. When you didn't respond he continued. "You've been starin' me down since I got here and it's startin' to weird me out..."

You straightened up a bit and put your hands up briefly, an attempt to express you didn't mean anything by it. "I'm sorry. I'm just... trying to figure you out." "Whats'ta figure out, exactly?" he remained calm, but you could tell he had a guard up. Which was understandable.

You have a quick shrug as you tried to gather your thoughts. "The way people talk about you, you're at all what I expected." He gave a sight grunt, like where this was going all clicked. "Should I even ask what you were expectin'?" "Thought you'd be taller.." Your response surprised him a bit, causing him to let out a chuckle. Your shoulders relaxed at his reaction. He definitely wasn't a boogeyman type.

"There were a lotta things you could'a said, but I wasn't expectin' that one," he shook his head a bit and set his dish down by his feet. You could understand where he thought you were going, so many mixed reactions to him, but you were feeling more inclined to believe the positive ones, based on your current encounter with him.

"There was a lot of buzz around here when people learned you were visiting. They talk about you like you're some kind of celebrity. Which, I guess in some sense, you kind of are. With all the stuff you've done, you've made quite a name for yourself."

"Pshh.." he scoffed, "I don't buy into all that. People's opinions don't mean shit." "Even if it's good? People look up to you, from what I gather." He shook his head again. "It's all bullshit. They don't know me or the shit I've done." "We've all done things. Larson here?" you pointed your finger over your shoulder, Daryl's eyes following the direction, "the worst thing he's probably done is kill a rabbit, and that's saying something when it comes to him, and while he's probably not the best example, we all still know he's a good person."

Larson looked up from his plate, his gaze going back and forth between you and Daryl. "It was an accident..." Larson defended himself, a silent look of panic etched on his face. "The rabbit, I didn't see it, it was in the -" "You don't have to explain, Larson, it's OK. No one blames you." You cut him off before looking back at Daryl. "...Why would they blame me..?" "It was a whole thing.. but that's not the point. I'm just saying, the stuff you do makes a difference to people. The good stuff, I mean."

Daryl looked confused for a second, trying to figure out Larson's deal, but brought his attention back to you. "I dunno about any of that. I ain't tryin' to be anythin', I'm just doin' what anybody else would." You nodded, planning on keeping things at that, but there was one thing you couldn't get out of your head and needed answers on.

"I just have one question," you opened. He seemed almost reluctant to agree, but he did with a nod. "Is it true you shot a bazooka at some group? Some people say there was a group of like fifty highwaymen and you just blew them all up." He looked at you for a second like you were insane and let out a sigh. "There weren't fifty of 'em, there was only about eight.." "But you blasted them with a bazooka?" "Yeah?" he responded like he didn't understand what the big deal was. "They were a bunch'a assholes, they had it comin'."

"No, I completely get it," you let out a small laugh. "It's just a crazy thing to think about, you know? A bazooka! Where the hell would you even get one of those?" "Military truck," both Daryl and Larson answered at the same time, causing you both to look at him. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you're there." You almost felt bad. "Anyway, I should get going. It was cool to meet you," you turned back to Daryl and stood up, talking some of the empty dishes. Daryl gave a nod as you walked off.

"... The rabbit incident really was an accident," Larson chimed in after a moment of silence; he was leaning towards Daryl like he was trying to keep it between the two of them. "It was in the -" "Let it go, Larson!" Two other people in the group shouted at the same time. Larson slammed his plate on his lap in frustration as he was interrupted once more and he straightened up. Daryl sat there awkwardly in silence for a moment before getting up himself. He walked passed Larson and gave a quick sympathetic pat on his shoulder. "It's alright, buddy. I believe ya.." Daryl let out an amused scoff as he walked away to find Aaron.

[luimagines]

Date Night with The Chain Part 2!

Masterlist

Part 1

Part two will include Four, Wild and Time!

Content under the cut!

Four

A sigh leaves your lips as you finally sit down after a long day.

There was a large stone jutting off of the side of a cliff where your group had decided to camp for the night. It had a high vantage point and the entrance was hidden by the surrounding foliage, making it a cozy secluded resting spot for ten weary travelers.

Your feet sighed with relief with the weight off of the them and you began to kick them back and forth. After some moment to yourself you pull your legs in and take off your shoes. 

You resume kicking your feet into the wind, more relieved than you were before without shame.

“Rupee for your thoughts, my darling?” You hear him come up from behind.

“No thoughts, head empty.” You snort and glance over your shoulder. “Join me?”

Four has his hands on his hips as he stands there, watching you with a calm smile and hearts in his eyes. “If you’d have me.”

“As if I could ever turn you away.” You look back out into the distance, pointedly ignoring the commotion of Legend tackling Warrior in the background.

Four doesn’t even try to hide his laughter when he sees what’s happened but comes to sit by your side regardless of what is happening with the others.

You watch him as he lowers himself down and are only marginally confused when he shifts to sit on his hip instead- oh no wait- Four leans over after shifting his body around to place his head directly into your lap.

You grin and waste no time in running your fingers through his hair, taking his hairband out and letting it all fall across your legs. “Comfortable?”

“Best spot, hands down.” Four snuggles a little close and turns his head to look beyond what the rock has to offer.

The sun has begun to set and even if your friends are busy losing their minds in the background it surprisingly easy to tune them out with Four by your side. As the sky turns from blue to orange and reds with the feint outline of purple at the top, you and Four watch the day end with gentle smiles on your faces.

On a whim you begin to braid his hair, letting them collect in number even if it’s messy and unorganized. 

“Having fun?” Four sighs and pokes your knee a little.

“Yes.”

“Good... Feels nice.”

You can’t help but grin to yourself and wait a minute before undoing it all and starting over with more purpose in mind. “I wish I had flowers or feathers or something... Maybe some ribbon... Make it look pretty and stuff.”

“And stuff?”

“And stuff.”

“Why not use my head band?”

“It’s too big and if I’m going to use ribbon it should be made out of silk or satin, only the highest quality of materials for my love.” You say and lean over to give him a kiss on his forehead.

“I don’t think it’s necessary.” Four raises an eyebrow and you can see that he’s on the cusp of falling asleep.

Everyone is tired.

“Maybe not but I say you deserve it, so it must be so.”

“I love you.” Four mumbles sleepily and you know that a this point if someone were to wake him up he’d be grumpy until the next morning.

“I love you too.” You smile and let him sleep against you.

The sun sets and it’s nice.

Wild

“Do you need any help?” You walk up to Wild as he’s beginning to take out whatever ingredients needed to get dinner started.

You stand a little ways behind him and wait for him to turn around. He pauses from arranging the vegetables and glances over his shoulder to look at you.

You smile as pleasantly as you can and laced your fingers together behind your back, trying to look at innocent as possible, trying to visually butter him up to let you help him.

Wild knows what you’re doing. You do this every time.

And every time he melts a little on the inside at your genuine joy and want to help him out. Not to mention that he thinks it’s cute and would give you his everything in a heartbeat before you could even ask.

“Of course you can help.” He grins and stands up. “I have to check the fire but do you think you can peel the potatoes and carrots for me please.”

“Sure!” You skip ahead and take his spot, picking up the peeler he left out and begin to get to work. 

“Thank you.” Wild smiles as he turns away again, picking the fire and checking the temperature. 

“You’re welcome.” 

“If you could cut them too, that would be nice.” 

“Are you asking me to?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course not.”

Wild smiles to himself at the exchange. The others are minding their own business, tending to their weapons or licking their wounds from the day and just simply hanging out with people who know what it’s like to be the hero more than any one in the history of Hyrule.

It’s nice.

Domestic even.

You start to hum a little tune that must be from your home because it seems like no one else can recognize it. It’s light and a little sappy if the way you’re swaying your head has anything to say about it.

Wild feels himself fall a little more in love with you, even if you’re not looking at him.

He’s been done with checking the fire for five minutes, but he doesn’t want you to stop for the sake of answering him again.

But he should probably start cooking the meat while the vegetables are being prepared.  

Wild slides over to your side and picks up the Shekah Slate from where he left it. He chances a glance at you and thinks... it’ll be a last minute change to the meal he’s prepared in his head, but maybe he’ll cook your favorite tonight instead.

You deserve it.

“Ok, what else Master Chef?” You look his way and blink, instantly going a little red in the face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just love you is all.” Wild leans in and kisses your forehead, snagging the cutting board from under you and spinning around to throw them into the pot.

“Hey...” You pout, trying to save face and failing. “That’s... not fair...”

“How is it not fair?” He laughs. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I... refuse to let you win.”

“Win what? What are you talking about?”

You step over and kiss his cheek. “You’re too good to me. And the carrots are going to burn.”

“Wha- Hey!” Wild spins back to attention and tries to save the carrots from the hot metal. “Ok- I- Hold up!”

“Do you want me to start cutting up the green beans too?” You smirk.

“This isn’t over.”

“Yes or no?”

“...”

“...”

“..Yes please.”

Time 

“Ok, I know you said we were going somewhere tonight but why are we sneaking out of the inn like teenagers?” You say as Time looks around the corner.

“Shh...” Time puts a finger to hip lips as he looks back at you. “Do you really think the boys wouldn’t try to follow us if they knew?”

“Is it that important for them to not come?” You tilt your head. Sure, they were a bit rambunctious at times and a bit more rowdy than you knew what to do with but they were good kids and you loved them all- so the secrecy was a little lost on you.

“Is it so wrong to want to spend an evening alone with the one I love?” Time turns to you and takes your hands in his, lifting them to kiss your knuckles. “Just for tonight?”

The thought of being alone together hadn’t even occurred to you and it’s embarrassing to have Time basically spell it out for you. A blush blooms across your face and you bite your lip with a quick glance to your toes. It has nothing to do with the kiss, you’re sure.

“Ok.” You whisper. “Ok, I’ll be quiet. Is the coast clear?”

Time smirks when he sees your reaction, more than pleased with himself before he turns around and checks around the corner one last time.

He grins and gives you his hand, holding you gently as you creep through the hallways together. After a few twists and turns and near trips from walking on your tip toes, you make it out of inn.

You ignore the weird looks from the inn keeper as you leave. They don’t understand the length the boys would go through to spy and/or ruin this for you two intentionally or otherwise.

Time looks up to the window of one of the room you’ve rented before pushing you quickly out of its line of sight.

You follow him wordlessly and look back just in time to see Warrior lean up against the window. He’s not looking out, merely resting where the people below can see him but the thrill of not being caught shoots through you and you force yourself to act natural and look away from the inn entirely.

“What the plan, beloved?” You shoot a grin his way and skip to match his pace.

“I don’t have one. I wasn’t entirely sure we’d get this far.” Time admits and lets his child like glee show on his face. 

Your heart swells when you see it. It’s not often you get to see this side of him and you’re happy to indulge him in these moments when he has them.

“We could just walk around?” You pull yourself closer to him and lean against his side. “Sight see? Shopping?”

Time lets go of your hand to instead wrap his arm around your waist and pulls you even closer so that you’re flush against him. “I’m not sure... I just wanted to spend time with you.”

“Wine tasting?” You try again, pointing to the sign outside of a small hole in the wall shop.

Time actually stops in his tracks and glances at the shop in front of you. “A brilliant idea darling. Shall we go have a look?”

“We shall.” 

Together you walk into the shop despite the later hour and see couples with the similar idea and calmly sharing drinks with one another. Time breaks off from you as you wander further into the space. You glance around the sparely decorated room and glance at the various signs and bottles to see their designs. You pick up a bottle and swirl around the liquid inside, watching it rise and fall against the green colored glass.

Time comes back in seconds, glaring at one of the other persons without your knowledge when they try to make a move closer to you. 

“Here.” He takes a calmly breath and hands you a glass. It’s halfway filled with a warm colored amber liquid and it piques your interest instantly.

“Thank you.” You take it and take a sip. It’s as warm as it looks and strangely smells like strawberries.

Time finally looks at you again when the person leaves and takes a sip from his own glass. It’s more crimson than you’d imagine possible and you have to wonder how it would taste. “Can I try?”

“Hm?” Time looks at the glass and back to you, handing it to you with out much thought.

He tries to it with your own but you’re faster than he is. You lean into his space on your tip toes and place a bold kiss on his lips.

They’re soft and laced with the tangy wine from his previous sip.

“Yum.” You wink and take another sip from your own wine.

Time stands there stunned before he smirks and takes you hand with the glass away before leaning down to kiss you properly. He takes it slow and holds you there for a moment despite the fact that you’re in a public space.

He pulls back just as slowly and finishes with a final kiss to your forehead.

“Can’t do that with the boys around.” He mutters to himself.

“Nope.“ You giggle and go back to sipping your wine. “But I’m not complaining.”

Part 3

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Sleep Over’s and Ghost Stories

AU: Rural Au

Words: 2289

Rating: General

Characters: Hatake Kakashi and Tenzo|Yamato

Warnings: Ghost stories, Mentions of blood.

Summary: Naruto informs Kakashi that he has invited his friends over for a sleepover at their ranch that night. Knowing he can’t do everything himself to get ready to host a bunch of kids, Kakashi calls in some help.

Warning wasn’t something that Naruto had given Kakashi a lot of that afternoon when he came running into the house after a long day of school and announced that he had invited his classmates over for a camping sleepover, tonight.

Any less warning and Kakashi might not have been able to secure any help for the night, leaving him to take care of all of the food prep, wood gathering, and other chores that needed to be done while Naruto took the trunk into town to get enough marshmallows to feed an army.

That was an understatement of course. It was more likely that they could feed all of Konoha with the number of Marshmallows he had bought. At least he had also thought ahead and gotten eggs and bacon for tomorrow’s breakfast, which Kakashi had no doubt he would be cooking.

Panicking over the amount of work that was being handed to him, and wanting someone there to help him out, Kakashi decided to call the best person to help him out for the night.

Gai had unfortunately informed him that he had to head into the city the next morning for a supply run, meaning Kakashi had to call his other best friend. An unpleasant call to make since he knew that Tenzo had planned to go to the lake tomorrow for a relaxing day by himself.

Thankfully with enough pleading and a promise to go to the lake next week with Tenzo, he finally secured some help for the night.

Which was how he ended up here. Setting up a bonfire for the kids while Tenzo and Naruto put out chairs for everyone.

“Did you buy enough non-marshmallow snacks?” He called over to Naruto, wanting to make sure that no one was left hungry tonight.

“I even made sure to pick up extra bags of everything for Choji,” Naruto beamed. “And I asked Choji to bring some snacks from the bakery, Sakura to grab some stuff from the general store, and Kiba’s even bringing some dog food because I told him it was the only way you’d let him pet Pakkun.”

This must be one of those ‘proud dad’ moments that Gai was always talking about.

Tenzo, on the other hand, didn’t seem as happy about Naruto’s underhandedness, judging by the unimpressed look on his face. “Some days I wonder how you two get along, and then moments like this happen,” crossing his arms over his chest he turned to glare at Kakashi. “Quit teaching him bad habits, Senpai.”

They both knew that was never going to happen of course. Kakashi loved teaching Naruto all of his worst habits. It ensured that there would always be someone in the village to mess with other people, even long after Kakashi was gone.

“I also asked Sasuke to bring some cat food,” Naruto added. “Once Kakashi Nii-san told me you were coming over to help. He said he could bring a bag of cat food that Itachi made himself. Something that your cats would love.”

Tenzo’s hands dropped to his side, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

“I see,” his voice softened. “Still, you shouldn’t lie to Kiba to get free food for the dogs.”

“He’s right you know,” Kakashi added, smiling when Tenzo gave him a skeptical look. “But really it’s Kiba’s fault for believing you. Everyone knows Pakkun won’t let anyone pet him but me.”

Ok, him and Gai, and sometimes Tenzo depending on how nice the pug was feeling.

“Senpai, what did I just say about teaching him bad habits!?”

Resting his hands behind his head, Kakashi chuckled when Tenzo started to lecture him about the importance of friendship and trust. This wasn’t the first time he had gotten this exact lecture and there was no doubt in his mind that it wouldn’t be the last. Tenzo gave it to him at least once a week after he used his friends’ love of praise to get a free coffee or lunch out of him.

Meanwhile, Naruto continued to set everything up. Far too used to Kakashi and Tenzo’s arguments he had learned long ago to tune them out and keep doing whatever it was he was in the middle of.

It was simply better not to interrupt Tenzo, or one risked him dragging them into the lecture. Naruto was already lucky he wasn’t getting it alongside Kakashi since it had been his actions that upset the woodcarver.

“Oh!” reaching out, Kakashi placed one hand over Tenzo’s mouth to silence him and used the other to point towards the driveway. “Naruto, your friends are starting to arrive.”

Naruto immediately dropped what he was doing and turned towards the driveway, throwing his hands up into the air when he saw Itachi’s car pulling in beside Tenzo’s truck. “Sasuke!” He called out, running towards the driveway and leaving Kakashi and Tenzo to finish up with the bonfire set up.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Once everything had been set up and all of Naruto’s school friends had finally arrived, it was finally time to relax and enjoy the rest of the night. At least, enjoy as much of the night as one could while Kiba was sitting beside him trying desperately to pet the pug dog sitting on his lap.

“He’s going to bite you,” he warned, chuckling when Kiba continued to ignore him and narrowly avoided getting his hand chomped by Pakkun. “I told you.”

“He’s supposed to love me,” Kiba huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring down at Pakkun. “All dogs love me.”

“Pakkun’s a picky dog,” scratching the pug behind the ears, Kakashi chuckled when he instantly relaxed into his hand. Forgetting all about the mean teenager who had been interrupting his relaxing nap just seconds ago. “You have seven other dogs to play with on this ranch. I don’t see why you’re so determined about getting Pakkun to like you.”

“All dogs should like me,” planting his hands on the chair, Kiba glared back at Pakkun from the corner of his eyes. “I’m a dog person. All dogs love me.”

Giving his head a shake Kakashi turned his attention back to the rest of the group and continued to scratch Pakkun’s ear. It was amusing to see Kiba continuously trying to win his favourite dog over, but at some point, the kid had to give up.

When feeding Pakkun treats didn’t work, it was a lost cause. He had chosen his favourite human and he simply wasn’t interested in anyone to who Kakashi wasn’t incredibly close.

“We should do something interesting,” Glancing towards Tenzo, Kakashi raised an eyebrow when he saw him staring at Naruto and all of his friends huddled around the fire roasting marshmallows. “It’s too quiet. Something interesting has to happen.”

And Tenzo accused him of being a bad influence.

“Mmm, and what ‘interesting’ thing would you like to happen?” Watching as Tenzo leaned in close, Kakashi listened to his plan carefully. A small smile pulling at his lips.

This was going to be perfect.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Catching the attention of the kids hadn’t been as hard as Kakashi thought it would be. With the simple mention of a ghost story, he suddenly found himself surrounded by excited, bright-eyed kids waiting patiently for him to tell them the story.

Now he just had to hope that Tenzo was ready to put his plan into action.

“The tale of old man Tobirama, hmmm. Well, I guess you’re all old enough to hear it now. But don’t come crying to me if you end up having nightmares for years about it.”

“Kakashi, stop teasing us and tell us the story already.” Naruto insisted, puffing out his cheeks and glaring at his guardian.

“I bet it’s not even that scary,” Sakura commented, acting like she wasn’t leaning in to hear better. “‘Old man Tobirama’. There probably wasn’t even anyone named ‘Tobirama’ in our village.”

Oh, boy were they in for a surprise.

“Well, in the case,” leaning forward, Kakashi planted his hands on his knees and smiled down at the group. “Let me tell you the story of old man Tobirama. The grumpy old guy who lived in the old Senju ranch and would cook up children for dinner.”

At the mention of the Senju ranch, he could see the kids already starting to shake.

“Long ago, before I was even born, the Senju ranch was full of life. With a large family, parties every weekend, and a garden that could make anyone jealous. They were known for having the best fruits and vegetables in all of Konoha, though back then the village was a lot smaller so who knows how good they were.”

He’d probably get smacked by Tsunade for saying it, but it was worth it for the giggles he got from his audience.

“For the longest time, the Senju’s lived in the village peacefully. Mingling with the other villages, trading their fruits and veggies for other goods that they could use. But then one day the Senju’s just stopped coming into town. It was like they disappeared. No one knew what had happened to them, but there were rumors. Little whispers that floated around the village about the middle child, Tobirama.”

Naruto shivered in front of him, Sakura slinked behind Ino just a little, and Kiba used Bull as a shield from Kakashi. So far, none of the other kids were showing much of a reaction except for prompting Kakashi to continue with the story.

“For years the house lay empty. No one going in or out. It slowly started to decay and rot from the inside, and the garden became overgrown. Surrounding the house with vines, vegetables, and fruits. There wasn’t an inch of the place that was accessible. After fifty years the villagers finally got together and made a decision. The house had to come down.”

“This is boring,” Sasuke interrupted him. The same unimpressed look on his face that he always had when someone other than his big brother was talking. “Nothing is even happening.”

Giving his head a shake, Kakashi reached out and flicked Sasuke in the nose.

“Hasn’t Itachi taught you anything about patience, brat?” he teased. “I’m just getting to the good part. Now shush.”

Settling back into his seat, Kakashi returned his hand to Pakkun’s head and took a deep breath. “Anyways, the villagers had made their decision. They found a group of hard workers to tear down the old building and started to gather all of the equipment that they would need. A week later the workers were ready to head onto the property and start with the demolition. They hoped that it would only take a few days, but as the hours passed by, they slowly started to disappear one by one.”

Sakura was now completely hidden behind Ino, and it looked like Ino wasn’t doing much better. Her face had lost all colour, and her eyes were wide with fear.

Naruto had slowly begun to inch away from Kakashi, using any of his friends that were readily available as a shield between himself and his guardian. Hinata was cowering behind her favourite hoodie, only her eyes visible.

The only people who didn’t look fazed by his story were Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Shino. None of which were a surprise given their personalities.

He just had to hope that Tenzo pulled through and managed to fix that.

“By the end of the day the only person left was a young woman. Desperate to find the rest of her group she searched the entire house. Looking in every bedroom, searching the yard and even the attic. But no matter how often she called out to them, or where she looked, she couldn’t find them anywhere. Finally, she was left with only one place to look. The old cellar under the kitchen.”

There were a few mummers in the crowd, and at least one ‘not the cellar’ spoken in a whisper somewhere behind Shikamaru.

“Pulling up all of her courage, she headed for her new destination. The door to the cellar creaked as she pulled it open, but when she peered down there was nothing but darkness. She called out to the others, but no one answered.”

Naruto shifted a bit closer to Sasuke, nudging his shoulder until the Uchiha finally gave in and threw an arm around him.

“Taking the first step down the stairs, she held her breath. The stories villagers had told her growing up swimming in her mind. Images of Senju Tobirama, a teenager with bright silver hair and angry red eyes, wielding a bloody ax in his hands. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get rid of those thoughts, and every step she took down into the cellar felt like it would be her last. But finally, she made it to the bottom of the stairs and reached out for the cellar lights pull cord, hoping to add some light to the room. Finding it in the pitch black, she tugged at it and…”

“She was met with the face of Senju Tobirama!” Jumping up behind the kids, Tenzo flashed the light under his chin and warped his face into the most haunting face he could manage. With wide creepy eyes, and his mouth hanging open with what Kakashi could only assume was ketchup smeared all over his chin, Tenzo sent every single one of the kids scattering. Screams filled the air, only slightly drowned out by Kakashi and Tenzo’s laughter.

If Kakashi had been smart he would have brought a camera. There was no way Itachi was going to believe him the next morning when he told him about the look of absolute terror on Sasuke’s face.

[secret-engima]

@hamelin-born

*kicks down door* Okay so I’m so sorry you’ve had a bad week, and since I am physically incapable of coming over and giving you a hug, I shall give you bby Dionysus being adorable with his (dead)relatives and Deleantur getting shipped by the local Galahdian bear woman instead!

...

     The man shrugged and played with the edge of his cloak, “You may call me Herodotus. Or,” he added when he saw Dionysus’s face screw up at the long name —so many of his dream relatives had such long names that were hard—, “you can just call me Wander.”

     “Wander?”

     The soft smile grew bigger, mischievous, “It’s a nickname. I’ve never really been the kind of person to stay in one place for very long. Will that suit, Little Traveller?”

     Dionysus mouthed the word, then nodded, “Wander.” He looked around them in curiosity, at the glowing flowers and living magic lights and trees bigger than buildings, “Where are we?”

     “One of my memories,” Wander answered as he leaned back against the tree trunk, “my … safe place I suppose. Though I have had many over the years, this one was my first, so I suppose it is my favorite.”

     “But where?” He’d never seen anything like this outside of storybooks. He wanted to go see it for himself when he woke up next.

     Wander shook his head and looked amused, “I’m sorry, Little Traveler, but this is not a place you can find on Eos.” Dionysus stared at him with big eyes and Wander leaned in with a whisper and a gesture at his cloak, “When I was younger, I met a wonderful group of people who liked to travel as much as I did, and they showed me many things. Some of those were places that you could not, and will never, find on any map of Eos.”

     Dionysus leaned closer, “Like the story of the magic rock that secretly led t’ the world of Hiso Hiso al’ens?”

     Wander’s eyes glittered and his magic that draped around them felt like delighted laughter, “Just like that, yes. But my doorway wasn’t a rock.”

     Dionysus looked all around in awe. He was in a secret world just like in the stories! Or the memory of a secret world anyway. He looked back over at Wander, “Did you fight an evil copy of your frien’? Did the copy try t’ de- delete the whole world ‘till you an’ Serah stopped it an’ saved all the Hiso Hiso?”

     Wander’s shoulders shook a little, then stilled, “No. Nothing quite so exciting. But I did meet a woman with cat ears and a tail, and we did become good friends.” Dionysus gasped in excitement, and when Wander stood up and held out his hand, Dionysus took it without hesitation, “Come on,” Wander chuckled, “I’m afraid I cannot show you any aliens or evil copies, but I can show you a few other places I’ve been that no one on Eos will find.”

     And he did. A few steps into the woods and the trees all turned to hills of sand and shimmering waves of sunny heat. Strange creatures with humps on their backs plodded slowly by in the distance, and in front of them was a tower that reached up to the sky all by itself. Wander told him that it was a dungeon, and that anyone who managed to reach the treasure at the very top would become a king and get magic of their very own. Dionysus asked him if he’d ever done it, if he had dungeon magic, but Wander shook his head and said he already had magic, so he’d let a friend take it instead. They plodded their way through a few shifting steps of sand and suddenly they were out of the hot sand and on an island in the sky. There was a strange ceiling high-high-high above their heads, and Wander told him that this was not one floating island, but a hundred of them all stacked on top of each other, each one just a bit smaller than the last so they didn’t block out all the sunlight for the levels below. Dragons swooped off in the distance, and when Wander led him to the edge and held him tight so he wouldn’t fall, Dionysus leaned over and saw nothing but thick clouds drifting below them.

     They stepped back and the world became an ocean. They stood on the wooden deck of a ship and around them was bright blue water and flapping sails and before them was some kind of creature so big it was an island, it’s long legs plodding slowly through the sea with trees and buildings on its back. Wander told him that talking animals lived on the back of the big creature, and that very few people could find the island unless they were born there because it was always moving. He led Dionysus below decks and then they were on an island with a tree growing in the middle that was so tall and so big it had another, much smaller island sitting in its branches. The air tingled with old-friendly-amused magic that felt like laughter and mysteries, and Wander told him that this was the island of fairies.

     He showed Dionysus a bunch of places, each one different and strange and amazing, each one with a little story to go with it that made Dionysus want desperately to know and explore more until the next one came and he wanted to see that one instead. Wander held his hand the whole time, steady and sure, making sure he never got lost or stepped too close to something dangerous. It was amazing and weird and exciting, and Dionysus decided he liked Wander a lot. Wander was different from the others, even Grandma Crepera. He didn’t seem to have any questions, and he didn’t mind answering all of Dionysus’s. He wasn’t grumpy, or loud, and there was … something about him. About his soft voice and the look in his eyes that reminded Dionysus of his dad.

... (And here’s Deleantur!)

     He sensed someone approach through the outskirts of the crowd. Not that it was easy to miss someone as big as Chief Ligeia considering she stood a head taller than most of the other people here. He tipped his chin to her in greeting as she came to a stop next to him, a mug of something that smelled like alcohol in one hand. She grinned at him, all teeth and good humor, “Going to just watch? Or are you going to go have some fun?”

     Deleantur shrugged and went back to crowd-watching, “I am having fun.” It wasn’t a lie, he found it both fascinating and entertaining to watch the party unfold before him. Galahdians weren’t all that different from the mainland in how they celebrated, but there were differences that were interesting to see. For one thing, there was a lot more dancing and singing. Even people taking a break at the makeshift feasting tables were all but dancing on the benches, feet tapping, heads bobbing- there was never a moment of stillness even from the groups lingering on the outskirts of the party to talk rather than dance.

     The dances themselves were a lot more vibrant and energetic too. There were no royal waltzes here, but circle dances that dragged everyone nearby into them, or spinning dances where partners traded off at dizzying speeds. There was also a vaguely alarming number of somersaults, backflips, and instances of people climbing up trees and rubble like squirrels to better perform an acrobatic flip in time to the music, and not just from the children and the teenagers. He half suspected that the only reason the Elders weren’t doing such stunts were because they were physically too old and arthritic to pull it off.

    Chief Ligeia scoffed, “Just watching is never fun. You should go out there and dance. Don’t want Stella to think you’re ignoring her, do you?”

     Deleantur blinked at her, then glanced into the crowd where Stella was currently spinning and flipping in time with her little brother Eventus like some kind of circus performance rather than a dance for a party, “She knows where to find me if she needs me.”

     Chief Ligeia slapped one of his shoulders hard enough that he had to bite back a hiss, “Not the point. You should be out there dancing with her. It’s good for young people like you two.” Deleantur gave her the flattest look he could manage and barely refrained from telling her that he was currently two thousand years removed from his date of birth —though that distance was technically in reverse—, even if he only looked to be twenty-six. But that wasn’t something he told anyone, especially not a party-happy stranger. Chief Ligeia rolled her eyes, utterly undisturbed by his look, and slapped his shoulder again in an effort to get him moving, “Go on.”

     Deleantur raised an eyebrow and didn’t budge, “Why do you care?”

     The Behemoth of a woman took a long drink from her mug, then answered blithely, “Because Candor is my second cousin and Stella is the best niece I ever had and I want her to be happy. You dancing with her will make her happy. So,” the woman moved with astonishing speed, so fast even Deleantur’s instincts and borrowed experience couldn’t stop her from bodily lifting him by the back of his tunic with one hand and all but toss him into the flow of the crowd, “go dance with her!” Deleantur staggered into the crowd, trying to catch his balance, then yelped as his hands were snatched up by a passing dancer and he was pulled into the flow.

... (and here, have a long snip of Buckler too)

     They camped on the nearest Haven for the night, and Axis cooked dinner without comment while Nox fussed over his uncle and the redhead just sighed and complained about losing his shirts. He listened to them bicker, watched the way their shoulders slowly relaxed the longer Axis went without recoiling from them or acting afraid, and came to a decision. It was a reckless one, a stupid one even but … but it felt like the right one. He hadn’t asked about what happened, or how Ardyn had magic, but he knew what he’d seen and so did they. He knew not just one, but two of their greatest secrets now —that Nox was a Lucis Caelum, that Ardyn was a Lucis Caelum and couldn’t die—.

     In the morning, before they could wander off into the wilderness again, Axis invited —ordered— them to come with him to Meldacio HQ. The two exchanged nervous glances before obediently following him on the trek up to the Vesperpool area.

     If his wife was surprised when Axis turned up a week later with not just Nox in tow, but Niflheim’s Chancellor, she didn’t show it. She just smiled and welcomed them into their tiny house with a gesture and a promise of dinner soon. Nox’s eyes were wide as they shuffled in and Axis had known Ardyn long enough to spot the nervous edge in his sweeping bow.

     Both of them went totally still when they spotted the playpen taking up most of the living room floor, filled with ratty stuffed toys that Axis had either purchased from Outposts or had been gifted by members of his, Tredd’s, and Luche’s Clans. Inside the playpen, Axis’s triplets —his treasures, his children, his greatest and most precious secrets— cooed and babbled eagerly at Axis, waving their hands and crawling around. His last visit hadn’t been that long ago, and they remembered him —the fact that he had been gone for long enough stretches when they were smaller that he’d been a stranger to them would always hurt—. Venia, his smallest and boldest, spotted Nox and Ardyn and babbled at them, fearlessly crawling up to the edge of the playpen to look at them. Axis reached in and picked her up, kissing her forehead and tickling her stomach with a hand to hear her laugh before turning to watch Nox’s and Ardyn’s reactions.

     Nox was still staring at Historia and Spiritus in the playpen, a bright-eyed look on his face and a shiver of power in the air that felt protective. He looked at them like any of Axis’s remaining clan did, or how Tredd and Luche had first looked at them. Awe and protectiveness and already blooming adoration. Axis glanced at Ardyn.

     Ardyn was staring at Venia, and the look on his face took Axis’s breath away. There was pure, open adoration there, wonder and a bright-edged fear, like just being near her would be enough to break her. Venia spotted Ardyn staring, dressed in all his clashing layers and colors, and giggled at him. She had never been afraid of strangers, and she didn’t hesitate to flail her hands in his direction, babbling with all the energy of a healthy nine month old. Ardyn flinched faintly away, even though her hands were nowhere near him, his own hands curling shyly inside his long sleeves like he was terrified of touching her.

     Something in Axis’s heart broke a little.

     No one as unexpectedly kind as Ardyn should fear being near a child.

     “Her name is Venia,” Axis murmured, “that’s her sister Historia, and her brother Spiritus.”

     “They’re so little.” Nox cooed as he crouched just outside the playpen, watching the two babies who stared back with far less fearless curiosity than their sister had —but not outright fear, Axis wondered if they too could feel Nox’s magic swelling around the room, rumbling with protective and already loving emotions—. Porrima reappeared at Axis’s elbow, reaching past him to pluck Spiritus out of the playpen. She gave their guests a considering look, then calmly reached out and plopped their son into Nox’s arms. Nox’s grip tensed, but his arms shifted into a proper position with a speed that looked instinctive, “Hey, wait-!”

     Porrima ignored Nox’s breathless squawk and Spiritus’s wary coo, just picked up Historia and turned to face Ardyn, who had gone stiff as a board and deathly white, “Madam,” Ardyn said tensely, “I don’t think-.”

     “Are you going to hurt them?” Porrima asked.

     Ardyn’s jaw tightened, “Never, but I don’t-.”

     “Are your arms so weak you’ll drop her?”

     “No, but-.”

     “Are you sick?”

     Ardyn shook his head but kept shying subtly back, “I-.”

     Axis sighed at his wife as she exchanged Historia for Venia, then turned and fearlessly stepped into Ardyn’s space to put their boldest daughter in the arms of Niflheim’s Chancellor —and the king’s unknown relative—. Ardyn went stone still as soon as Venia was in his arms, hands cradling her like she was fragile as glass and his eyes huge. Axis bounced Historia in his arms a little as he scolded, “Porrima. Don’t force them to hold the children if they don’t want to.”

     “But they do want to, and it’s good for the triplets to meet new safe people,” his wife sniffed back. Then she flitted back to the kitchen without waiting to see the fallout of her actions.

     Sometimes his wife trusted his judgement and choice of houseguests a little too much.

     Axis sidled closer to Ardyn and held out an arm, “I can take her back if this really makes you uncomfortable.”

     Ardyn stared down at Venia with the roundest eyes Axis had ever seen. Venia blinked up at her new handler, looked over at her dad, then looked back at Ardyn and clumsily patted his cheek, grabbing curiously at his red-violet hair a moment later. Ardyn inhaled, and Axis felt a second magic flood the room, old and powerful and monstrously protective. Where Nox’s was deep like the ocean, powerful but … subtle, like currents under the surface, Ardyn’s magic felt wild. It felt like the ripple of spotted fur in the jungle, the glimpse of fangs and teeth of a feral beast. Nox’s protective adoration of the little boy he was bouncing in his arms was like the pull of the tide, sweeping in and out with each breath, but Ardyn’s-. Ardyn’s was the rumble of a Coeurl’s purr as it curled around its cub, the singing edge of bloody steel, promising death to anyone that so much as looked wrong at Axis’s triplets.

     Ardyn very slowly sank down onto the floor, legs crossed to form a lap for Venia to flop on, and when he looked up at Axis, his normally blue eyes were a brilliant, Coeurl gold, “They’re beautiful.” He whispered hoarsely.

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 15

Warnings: None   Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC   Summary:  “You have everything you’ve ever wanted.” “No.” He said softly. “Not everything…”  His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. “I guess not.” She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

Uncle Iroh had spent the last couple of weeks training Zuko on a new fire bending move. A deathly one. One that Tsai had never even seen her brother practice. Lighting manipulation.

He had advised Tsai to invest her time into training with a long-rage weapon.

"But- what?" She had said confused. "I like using my hidden blades because they are like an extension of my body. Something else- would be much harder to use." She had said to him. "I believe the fight with Azula would've had a very different outcome if this weren't the case." He said wisely.

It was a hard decision to make. She pondered long and hard into a new strategy or thought of a new weapon she could immediately begin to practice and came up with a few ideas.

Naturally Tsai had a lot on her mind. She missed her family. Her dad, her over-beating mother and her brother. She wondered where Mecha found himself now a days or even if there was any of him left. She lowered her head, heart swelling with pain as she thought specially of her brother. She wondered if she'd ever see any of them again. If the war would end. If they would ever meet the Avatar again.

Her fists clenched around the railing of the ferry they were currently on.

She had been so close to capturing the Avatar and now he was gone. Gone with no trace. It wasn't as if they were in a position to be looking. The three of them had been continuously on the run as they struggled to survive and find peace in their arduous journey to freedom.

They were continuously on the run. Sleeping on the ground, without a penny to their names often starving. It didn't help that every time they slowed down to set camp somewhere in the land someone would find and attempt to kill them.

Tsai also thought about the Blue Spirit sometimes. Sometimes she wondered if he had been figment of her imagination- or if their paths would ever meet again. She was certain that she would know who he was if they met in person. She was cerain- but could've been mistaken- that the Blue Spirit was male. Another clue was the fact he seemed to be able to sneak around both Fire and Earth Kingdom territories with ease. It couldn't just be anyone. Also the coincidence that their paths had crossed more than once?

Through some of Iroh's connections the man had managed to get the three of them smuggled into Ba Sing Se as humble refugees. It had been a long journey, but there was finally a moment of peace. Some light at the end of the tunnel to look forward too.

The ferry was small, wooded and crowded as they sailed the open sea. The scent of sea salt water and the ocean welcoming them. Tsai removed the bandage that hid her hair in her hands. It swayed lightly with the ocean breeze. Ba Sing Se... It seemed so hopefully. The thought of a new beginning. One in which they could find a safe haven, start from scratch and make a new life. It was unreal. The idea that she would never see the walls of Yu Dao again or her family. She had to shed her ambitions and become someone new. Capturing the Avatar now... it seemed like a far away distant dream. It was something she had to let go. It had never been and probably never would be her destiny. Her grip on the bandana became weak and the breeze ripped the clothe out of her hands and carried it away into the sea.

She was done hiding. There was no need to hide anymore. It wouldn't be necessary in the Earth Kingdom. Besides, if Zuko could get away with his trademark scar what were the odds of somebody rattling on her? Also, worst case scenario she's be an ally of the Earth Kingdom. After all, she had saved the Avatar. How does that saying go? Your worst enemy's enemy is your best friend?

She took in a deep breath.

No more Avatar. No more sulking about family. No more pessimistic thoughts.

Ba Sing Se would be a clean slate.

Her eyes darted to the side and she saw Prince Zuko scowling at something. She felt her ears burn slightly.

No more Zuko.

She straightened her back like an arrow composing her posture and let out that breath she had been holding. He would never change and Ba Sing Se was supposed to be a clean slate. Besides he was so morose all the time, but he was so fun to tease and-

'Stop.' Irritated stopped herself from hopping on that train. She had to find something else to keep her mind busy to keep her distracted.

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace..." Iroh mused ominously as he stood beside Zuko and Tsai aboard one of the ferries departing for Ba Sing Se. "As a tourist!" He exclaimed with a cheesy grin after placing a comically floral hat on his head.

Tsai snorted as she turned her attention away from her thoughts and to Uncle Iroh. Still her humor was down in the blues. And Zuko well-

"Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees." Zuko snapped, killing the cheerful mood with his grumpiness as he took a sip of cold food from the bowl in his hand then spat it out a moment later with a disgusted look on his face, "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!"

Zuko was being Zuko. She rolled her eyes as she stirred her own bowl with indescribable food around with a lack of appetite.

"Alright, princess," she uttered under her breath rolling her eyes at him. "What?" he snapped, his eyes narrowing. "You're acting like a brat," she retorted with a scoff and a chortle. "Why can't you just be thankful that the three of us are safe and sound and on board for a better life?" She shot back irritated both of her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

'And to think they had been getting along so well,' Iroh thought before sighing.

"Hey Red," A slick voice said. Both teenagers turned their attention to face the person who was addressing the red-head in the room. Before them stood a young man with a cocky smirk. He was tall, lean, with tanned skin and looked to be slightly older than both of them. He wore a mis matched armor of navy blue, red and leather. His hair was thick, shaggy and messy. However his most striking feature was the remarkable sly grin stretched across his features. Between his teeth lazily hung a single wheat stem.

"What's your name Red?" He asked standing before them and placing a hand on his waist. He was also handsome in an unconventional kind of way.

"Your boyfriend upsetting you? You're way too pretty for this clown."

He was stepping way too close to Tsai for Zuko's comfort.

"What?" She made a sound that sounded like the blend of a gush and a gasp at the male's attention.

Ba Sing Se. A new beginning. He was just what the doctor had ordered.

"He's not my boyfriend!" She said faster than Zuko had ever heard her say anything in his life. Tripping on her words as she approached the stranger looking at him with stars in her eyes.

Zuko glared.

Normally he would've been the first to gladly inform this person of the fact that they were in-fact nottogether, but this time- it was different. There was something slimy about this guy he didn't like. Besides, they had to keep a low profile. It was essential for their survival.

Not that anyone noticed but Uncle Iroh watched with particular interest in the background.

"My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters,"

The young man introduced himself and gestured towards a shorthaired girl and a young man with a bow strapped to his back, "Smellerbee and Longshot."

"Hey." Smellerbee greeted while Longshot nodded his head silently.

"So are you going to tell me your name or not pretty thing?" Jet leaned in close enough to touch the girl's chin and much to Zuko's horror she emitted a monstrous noise which sounded similar to a giggle. He grimaced at the nightmare he was witnessing unfold before his own eyes.

Was she not listening properly? He had just called her a 'thing'. He had sworn her off. He had made a deal with himself in which he would lock her in a box and put her away. He DID NOTcare whom she canoodled with. He could care less. But this clown? There was something slimy about him. He did not trust him. Heck! It could be dangerous for their survival. He hadto do something about this.

Tsai felt her teenager hormones going into over ride. It had been a while since the last time any male had shown her this kind of attention. Much less a handsome, tan, stranger on a ferry. It was almost like a play!

His confidence- wow, it was so attractive to her.

"I'm T-" She paused before blurting out her name. Remembering that she had to hide her identity. However, it had been so long since anybody had asked her the simple question of what her name was that she had forgotten to keep her identity hidden.

"Homura," she responded with a small smile, there was an edge of flirtation to her voice.

She suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder and realized that Zuko had put his arm around her shoulders and was holding her close. She glared at him, her teeth almost grinding in a matter that would've seemed comical.

"Hey," Zuko greeted in the most unfriendly tone he could muster.

"Here's the deal." Jet stated as he walked closer to the trio, his gaze on Zuko, "I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed of his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What sort of king is he eating like?" Iroh asked curiously and Jet glanced at him.

"The fat, happy kind." Jet replied drily.

Iroh's jaw went slack and he began to drool as he thought about what Jet was saying. Tsai was much too preoccupied drooling over Jet. "And after I can take you out for dinner," he winked in the colonial girl's direction making her blush. Jet smirked lightly at her reaction. Zuko didn't realize that he had pulled her closer almost smothering her.

"So waddaya say? You want to help us 'liberate' some food?" Jet addressed them.

"I'm in." Zuko said through narrowed eyes. "Me too!" Tsai clapped her hands together stepping forward stepping out from the prince's boa constrictor grip.

"No sweetheart," Jet stepped forward and placed his hands on her upper arms. "You sit back and relax princess. I'll admit, I made up this entire ploy just to talk to you, but I've realized that something actually has to be done. These people can't live like this."

Her heart melted. Wow. Here was this confident young man. He knew what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to get it. And not only that he care for others and wasn't afraid to bring his own justice! He really was a dream boar.

'Why is he holding her like that?!'Zuko seethed glaring daggers at them.

Xxx

Tsai sat between Prince Zuko and her latest flame, Jet. Even his name was cool.She was starring at him dreamily and very obviously as they ate. The other was holding on to his tea cup so hard Iroh was afraid it might actually shatter in his palm. Smellerbee and Longshot sat next to Jet and Iroh sat next to his nephew.

"So, Smellerbee, that's an usually name for a young man." Iroh commented idly as he looked at Smellerbee curiously.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man...I'm a girl!" Smellerbee snapped and she got to her feet, walking away from the group.

"Oh, now I see." Iroh called out to her, trying to fix his mistake as Longshot got to his feet and hurried after the girl, "It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!"

Tsai remained oblivious to this still ogling Jet much to Zuko's disgust.

Longshot followed Smellerbee quickly and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to face him. He gave her a look and she sighed.

"I know, you're right. As long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other people think. Thanks, Longshot." Smellerbee stated gratefully and Longshot nodded at her.

The group sat together sipping tea and eating bowls of rice, nuts and fruits. It was refreshing. The food sat well with them and really lightened up their spirits.

'Jet is so great,'the girl thought dreamily.

"From what I hear, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se." Jet said "I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

"It is a magnificent site." Iroh commented idly as he sat his bowl down.

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked with eager curiosity.

"Once." Iroh replied carefully as he looked off to the side, "When I was a...different man."

Tsai snapped out of her day dream and smiled at Iroh softly when he turned to look at her.

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning." Jet explained, his tone sounding slightly pained, "A second chance."

"A clean slate!" She chirped.

Wow they were even in the same page! He was so mysterious. Her attention was once again captivated by him. He was so right. Ba Sing Se would be a new beginning for all.

"That's very noble of you." Iroh remarked with a small nod then he glanced over at his nephew, "I believe that people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances."

Zuko glanced over at his uncle and the two stared at each other for a moment.

"This is were we grow. How are we to grow and become better versions of ourselves if we live in fear of trying again? Of second chances," she added with a dreamy smile. That little part of her head that reminded her most of her grandfather said to her. Jet looked at her and nodded agreeing. She didn't notice how Zuko's was viciously glaring at the new couple.

She was too busy too notice this as she was presently day dreaming about walking the shops of Ba Sing Se while holding hands with Jet. For some reasons there were also flowers everywhere in her vision.

"Yeah." Jet agreed with a small nod of his head in her direction, "They should."

xxx

Zuko sat next to his uncle absolutely seething the next morning. His mood had only worsened overnight. His face was green with envy as he kept on replaying the events of the previous night in his head.

He couldn't believe that Tsai had actually stayed up talking to the buffoon all night long. What did they even talk about? She'd probably bore him to death with philosophical quotes of ominous origins or some irritating rambling between the differences between Matcha and Sencha tea... Sencha is made by steeping whole tea leaves, matcha is made by grinding up the leaves and mixing them with water. He mentally cursed. He hated that he knew that fact.

"Your jealousy is showing Prince Zuko," Iroh said with a light chuckle as he grinned in his nephew's direction.

"What jealousy?" The other snapped back bitterly crossing his arms over his chest his words dripping heavily with such said jealousy. "Why should I care who Tsai spends her time with?" He huffed. "And that Jet-" he thought of him. "I don't trust him. What's so great about him anyways?"

Iroh shrugged with the same teasing grin on his face.

"What do I now? You should ask her, I think she went to gaze at the horizon with him."

Iroh had never seen his nephew move so fast. As he stomped away to find the auburn haired girl. He stopped when he saw them both. Standing at the front helm of the ship, both standing next to each other leaning over the railing to look at the horizon. He had an arm wrapped around her as they stood together. There was a heavy fog as they approached Earth Kingdom land.

He saw them turn to face each other.

"Homura," he barked louder than he had intended. The unfamiliar name tasting odd in his mouth. She turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow an annoyed expression obvious on her features.

"What is it?" She half-snapped. "Lee," she hissed out his name after a moment. "Uncle wants to see you," he added dully not taking his eyes of Jet's filthy hand which was wrapped around her waist.

"Ha! I'm kind of busy," she said beginning to turn away. "It's his arm, it hurts." Zuko lied through his teeth.

It took her a moment of hesitation before running off to check on Iroh. Zuko glared at Jet before turning away.

"You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were." Jet commented suddenly as he approached Zuko. He appeared to be bothered by his bold interruption.

Zuko tensed and glanced at the other boy as Jet came to a stop beside him.

"You're an outcast, like me." Jet continued as he too stared out at the fog, "And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's back. Because no one else will."

"I've realized lately that being on your own isn't always the best path." Zuko stated calmly, his thoughts turning towards his uncle and the Tsai, no matter how irritating her presence was.

"He's fine!" Tsai had returned speed walking back to the end of the deck.

Wow. That had been fast!

"Come on Jet, let's go see if we can find any pink-finned dolphins," she said reaching for his arm and dragging him away.

She shot Zuko a glare before going away. The other clenched his fists as his bottled up emotions bubbled inside of him like a dormant volcano.

Xxx

The large woman with a mole on her forehead looked at the three passports in her hand critically then she looked at the three individuals standing in front of her.

"So Miss Homura, Mr. Lee and Mr. ummm...Mushy, is it?" She asked and she looked at Iroh curiously.

"It's pronounce Mushi." Iroh corrected her with a small smile.

The woman leaned forward slightly and gave him an annoyed look, "You telling me how to do my job?"

Tsai cringed. No offense to the lady but she reminded the young girl of an angry bull frog.

"Uh, no, no." Iroh said hurried and he quickly approached the ticket booth, giving the woman a flirtatious look, "But may I just say you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating." 'There was no way in hell that she was buying that,' Tsai thought shaking her head slightly. Eyes wide. Zuko's eyebrow twitch slightly and a scowl was starting to form on his face.

"You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Raorr!" The woman replied back just as flirtatiously and she gave a small flirty kitty growl, "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

She stamped three tickets and Iroh smiled coyly at her as he took them from the booth. He walked back over to his nephew and young friend with a smug smile on his face.

"Still got it old man," Tsai grinned taking her ticket from him.

"I'm going to forget I saw that." Zuko snapped in disgust and he snatched his ticked from his uncle, stopping away from him.

Iroh grinned cheerfully to himself as the three of them headed towards the monorail that would take them into their new lives at Ba Sing Se.

xxx

Jet leaned to the side slightly and watched as the three he knew as Lee, Mushi, and Homura walked through the archway that led towards the monorail while he waited in line with Smellerbee and Longshot.

"I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter. He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us." Jet commented with a smirk as straightened and held his piece of wheat in one hand, "And with some training I know that Homura would be great. Wouldn't it be nice to have another girl on the team?"

"You don't know anything about them, Jet." Smellerbee refuted his idea flatly as she looked away from Lee and Homura her arms crossed over her chest. "Why would you want him and his girlfriend on the team? Also, she seems pretty useless." Smellerbee rolled her eyes, really not thrilled at the idea of another girl joining the team.

"She's not his girlfriend," Jet responded irritated. "And I do know he didn't get that scar from a waterbender." He retorted and he rolled his eyes. "And- it'd be nice. She could learn," Jet stated completely oblivious to the fact that the girl could kick ass.

Longshot raised both of his eyebrows musing at Jet's newest infatuation. Smellerbee ignored Jet's comment, "Besides, I thought we were going straight now."

"We are," Jet said reassuringly as he looked at his friend, "And the new Freedom Fighters could use a couple like that. What do you think, Longshot?"

The archer looked at him silently with a meaningfully expression on his face and he blinked slowly.

Jet nodded, "I can respect that."

xxx

Tsai sat between Iroh and Zuko on a bench at the monorail station, waiting for their train into the city. She kept on looking over her shoulder hoping to catch a glimpse of Jet in the station so that she would say her goodbyes to him. The three were leaning against a pillar sitting on a bench. Zuko had his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you looking at?" He exhaled from his nose as he turned to look at Tsai. "I'm looking for Jet. I want to say goodbye to him," she admitted before sighing with heartfelt sadness. He rolled his eyes. "What do you even like about that jerk?" the other scoffed.

He had to look away from her so he focused his attention towards the rails as they waited for the train.

"He's so mysterious," she said in awe. Just like the Blue Spirit...

"And charming, he knows how to treat a girl and most importantly he cares about others," she spoke in a dreamy tone.

Zuko took all of that in. What did she mean by that? Regardless the only thing he could manage with a pouty look of defeat on his face was.

"....I can be mysterious," he said after a moment of silence.

She blinked twice taking in what he had just said. A smile cracked on her face, she looked at the awkward look on his face and let out a small laugh. Something clicked in her head.

when she felt a presence next to her and an arm slid over her shoulders. She turned to see Jet and smiled at him forgetting what she was about to say.

"So, you two got plans once you're inside the city?" Jet asked casually making himself comfortable.

"Get your hot tea here!" A man yelled out pleasantly as he pushed a small tea-cart passed the four, "Finest tea in Ba Sing Se."

"Ooh!" Iroh gasped excitedly and he waved his hand to get the tea-seller's attention, "Jasmine please."

Never too busy for tea Tsai stood up leaving the two teens behind and got herself a cup with Iroh. Both of them exchanged a goofy grin before taking their leaf cup jasmine tea. They both took an excited sip at the same time.

"Blaugh! Ugh, coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it" He spat and he shook his head in disappointment, "What a disgrace." "I think Zuko's tea from the other day might've actually been better," she added feeling slightly insulted by a cup of tea.

"Hey," Jet said suddenly, pulling Zuko's attention away from his family, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Jet stood and motioned for Zuko to follow him. Zuko glanced at his uncle and Tsai briefly then he sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. The two teenage boys walked several feet away from Iroh's and Tsai's spots, Zuko moving so his back was to them while Jet stood in front of him. He could feel his uncle's and Tsai's curious gaze on his back, but he ignored it for the moment.

"We'lI have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together." Jet stated bluntly and he smirked at Zuko as he put his hands on his hips, "You wanna join the Freedom Fighters? Think that Homura would want to as well?"

"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang." Zuko replied vaguely and he shifted so he could see his uncle and his friend out of the corner of his eyes.

"C'mon, we made a great team looting that captain's food." Jet said in an attempted to persuade the other teen, "Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."

Zuko started walking back to the other two and he called over his shoulder, "I said no."

Jet frowned slightly as he watched the other teen walk away, "Have it your way."

Sensing the tension Tsai rushed over to him. Zuko couldn't figured out what they were saying to each other. But Jet took her hands in his and leaned forward. Hesitating she leaned back and shook her head. He couldn't read lips but whatever hers were saying did not sound good. Shaking her head with a frown she made her way back to the Fire Nation royals.

Jet's gaze flickered over to the the auburn haired girl as she walked away from him then he looked at Iroh. His brows furrowed slightly when he caught sight of the old man beside her sipping at the leaf cup, steam rising from it. Jet's eyes went wide with shock and realization when he remembered that the old man had said the tea was cold.

Zuko scowled as he stomped over to his uncle and friend. He glanced over his shoulder slightly, catching sight of Jet. He saw the other teen's eyes narrow then he turned and walked away. Angrily, Zuko knocked the teacup out of his uncle's hand, startling Tsai enough that she looked at him with her eyes wide. How dare he.

"What are you doing fire bending your tea?" The banished prince hissed through gritted teeth as he glared at his uncle, "For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move."

"Iroh!" Tsai gasped quietly and she gave him a scolding look, but the old man was staring sadly at the cup of tea on the ground.

"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but..." He sniffed slightly, "It's just so sad!"

"It wasn't even that good!" Tsai cried out in disbelief. She face palmed and shook her head slightly. Zuko scowled even harder at his uncle.

xxx

"Last call for Ba Sing Se!" The train conductor shouted from the front of the monorail that would be heading into the city.

Jet stormed towards the train with Smellerbee and Longshot.

"Jet, relax." Smellerbee pleaded with her friend as they walked, "So the old guy had some hot tea and your new girlfriend turned you down. Big deal."

"He heated it himself!" Jet snapped back at her and his tone turned dark, "Those guys are firebenders!"

Jet's eyes narrowed when he spotted Lee, Mushi, and Homura, if those were even their real names, board the train cart behind the one he was getting on.

Zuko, Tsai, and Iroh sat down next to a small family, Tsai sitting between the two men. Iroh smiled when he noticed the sleeping infant in the arms of the woman on his other side.

"What a handsome baby." He complimented as he gently stroked the baby's cheek.

Tsai leaned around him and smiled when she saw the baby.

"Thank you." The woman said as smiled at Iroh and Tsai softly then she looked down at her baby with adoring eyes.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Zuko asked bitterly. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face as he slouched in one of his typical morose moods. A pose that had become much too typical for him. "Aren't you going with him?"

She looked at him and the slyest of smirks made way to her face. "Nah," she said casually looking at him with an odd glint in her eyes.

"What happened?" The other inquired nosily straightening out a little. She let out an exaggerated sigh. "He's too-," she shrugged seeking for the perfect word.

He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Wasn't she all over him a minute ago? Man, girls were weird. He thought confused. Also- he didn't care. He reminded himself he had put her inside of that box he would never open again. It's not as if she would reciprocate either way. She liked guys like Jet, not like him...

Xxx

"Homura, come with us. I know you don't know how to fight but- you can learn. And it'll be great. It will be a new life for us!" Jet had said as he took her hands in his and leaned forward.

She starred into his dark eyes. Suddenly feeling an overbearing emotion consume her decision making process. She could feel it tugging at her heart.

"I can't," she said after a moment of silence. "I care for him," she said weakly. "The old man will be fine. Lee is staying with him. You can-"

She remained silent. A blank look in her eyes as she turned away from Jet and pulled her hands close to her body. It took a moment for the realization to hit him.

"Oh," was all Jet said. "For Him." A dark scowl slowly formed across his sharp features.

"I thought he wasn't your boyfriend." He stated.

"He's not."

Xxx

"He..." she paused for a moment. "He doesn't make me laugh," she smiled at the prince.

He raised an eyebrow with a most confused look on his face.

Ba Sing Se was the city of hope. It would be a new beginning. It was the immigrant dream. Anything could happen now that they turned this new chapter of their lives together.

There would be:

No more Avatar. No more sulking about family. No more pessimistic thoughts.

She was determined to make Ba Sing Se a clean slate. To seize this new opportunity and make something out of it. Specially during these times of hardship and war... A war which had been started by her own people, by her own family. She ignored the pang of guilt that stabbed her consciousness at this fact.

She was leaving so much behind. Yet there was one part that she couldn't manage to shed. One that stuck to her like glue. Her eyes darted to the side and she saw the prince had a lost look in his confused eyes. Still he looked more aggravated than usual.

Without saying another word she hugged his arm and propped her chin on his shoulder with a playful smile tugging at her lips. She focused her eyes on his expression as it morphed from an irritated one to one of surprise his body growing stiff. Her hand reached for his and she held it. He turned away from her and would've never allowed her to see but a genuine smiled stretched across his usually stoic face.

He held her hand back.

Afterall, Ba Sing Se was a new beginning.

xxx

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[ilvsyzj]

Chapter Thirty-Four: Orientation Day of Yin Yang Royal Couple Training.

Week #4, Thursday, 12/24/2020, Christmas Eve

     When I woke up this morning, I was a little confuse as to where I was. Then I remember I was at Safe Haven Mountain. I was really tired. Sky was already up and he was just laying next to me, with a very groggy look on his face. Toothless and Snow climb into our bed and they sat on our chest. 

Sky: -yawning- Can I help you?

Snow: Food. 

Toothless: Hungry. 

Jazzy: -yawning- Five more minutes. 

Snow and Toothless: No. Now. 

Sky: Scarlet and Icy isn’t asking for breakfast just yet. 

Toothless: Because they flew off at sun rise to hunt. Now, feed us. 

Sky: Can we just stay in bed for a few more minutes?

Toothless and Snow: Nope. 

Sky and Jazzy: -getting up- Fine. 

    I went to get ready and Sky fed the cats. Then Sky went to get ready as I was going to our team for breakfast. Sky joined us shortly after. No one was talking to Brandy or Jeff because of what they did last night. I think they are too embarrassed. They should be because everyone in Safe Haven Mountain heard what they did. After breakfast and well deserve two cups of coffee, Scarlet and Icy returned from their hunt. 

Scarlet: Ready for training?

Sky and I: Yes. 

Phil: Do you want us to join?

Icy: Yes. Today, is just an orientation. So every should listen up. Because your official first day of training is Saturday. 

    Scarlet and Icy took us to a quiet cave. There are multiple little caves in this mountain. Inside this little quiet cave we had our orientation. 

Scarlet: This Saturday we are going to start our Yin Yang Royal Mythical Court and Couple training. How this training works is that you all are going to go to a special cave. You will find this cave with a Yin Yang symbol carved into the entrance way. Go into this cave and that’s where all of you will start your training. The first four level are elements. Four of you are going to send some your powers into me and Icy. You’re going to learn a new power called Friendship Power. Levels 5-10 physical training. For the next two weeks all of you have to give it your all. At the end of the two weeks there is a small ceremony and then your Yin Yang Royal Mythical Court and Couple Training is complete. Any question?

William: Will the Healers come with us?

Icy: Yes. But they are not to interfere unless you are injured. 

William: Understood. 

Icy: Any more questions?

Mike: If there wasn’t a war how long will this training usually take?

Scarlet: 9 months to a year. 

Jazzy: Wow! We are taking the express way. 

Scarlet and Icy: Yup. 

Icy: If you don’t have any more questions then lets return to camp. 

Simon: Wow! Scarlet and Icy are already as big as house. 

Toothless: Dragons do grow in rapid speed. But Scarlet and Icy aren’t done growing yet. 

Jazzy: By the time we get home, Scarlet and Icy are sleeping outside. Because they will be too big and won’t be able to fit through the front door, I think we should build them their own little house. 

Icy: No need. We like to spread our wings when we wake up in the morning. We don’t like being trap inside a small wooden box. 

    After our short orientation we went back to camp. We had a little lunch and Sky was acting a little nervous today. I was about to ask why he’s being nervous, but I couldn’t because Brandy screamed-laughed again. Since she was next to me and her voice is pretty loud. I freaked out and shot a fire blast towards the ceiling of the mountain. And few chunks of rocks fell down to the little river behind us. 

Michelle: Jeez. 

Sky: -growling at Jeff and Brandy- 

    Brandy and Jeff stopped fooling around. I went to check to see if anyone was injured from my little scare blast. To my relief no one was hurt. But the large chunk of rock was blocking the flow of water. I moved the large chunk of rock with my wind power. The head Healer told me to put the large rock in far corner of the cave, because she has idea of what do with the large chunk of rock. Then I went back to camp. When I got back to camp I heard some fighting between Sky, Jeff, and Brandy. 

Sky: -angry- Hold it! Do it on Christmas! Not now!

Brandy: -crying- I can’t hold it. Every time Jeff touches me, I feel turned on and I just want to make out with Jeff. -sniff- We don’t want to do it in front of all of you. It’s already embarrassing. -sniff- 

Sky: -angry- Jeff, for the next 24 hours don’t touch Brandy until tomorrow. If you continue to touch her today, than I have no choice but bench the both of you. Understood?!

Jeff and Brandy: -nodding- 

Sky: -angry- Good!

   After that little fight. Brandy went to join her girls and Jeff went to join the boys. Sky asked me if any injures, and I told him no. Just a large chunk of rock blocking the flow of the river, which I moved with my power. Sky nodded and sigh. I understand what Sky is going through because he has to team two different groups. Also, being in heat is really hard. You either get super horney or you’re in a lot of pain. I’m feeling a little bit more sore these last couple days and tired, so I know I’m in heat but I don’t complain because I’m focusing on my training. If I don’t think about me being in heat, I don’t feel it. Unless I bleed all over my pants, which I have done multiple times when I was a teenager. But now, I know when I’m about to be in heat or in heat, is when my body is telling me whether I’m sore or when I’m super tired. When I’m super tired I go to be early at night or I don’t want to get out bed in the morning. But focusing my mind on something different, then I would be fine. However, I do get jumpy when I’m in heat. So, any loud sudden noises makes me jump out of my skin. I also get very grumpy when I’m in heat. I try not to show it but once in while I will show it if I get annoyed enough. Jeff and Brandy little horny festival did annoy me, but my mind was thinking about something else, so I didn’t snap at them, not like Sky who snap at them a couple times. Sky is the leader and he has to make sure everyone stay in line. If not then we will have chaos on our team and we don’t want that. 

     Since today is Christmas Eve, Sky walked over to me and took my hand. Sky led me away from the group. But we were only 5 feet away from the group when Vix came up to us. 

Vix: Sorry, to bother you two. But don’t wonder off too far, because there’s going to be a team meeting before dinner tonight. 

Sky and Jazzy: Understood. 

Vix: Good. Have fun. -smiling-

Jazzy: Where we going?

Sky: I want to show you a place where I find it amazing. 

Jazzy: Okay. 

     Sky took me to a cave called Hidden Crystal Cave. I never been here before and when I walked in I was so amazed by what I saw, that my jaw dropped to the ground. I felt like I was in the movie How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. The entire cave is pitch black with little dots of light. From the glow worms hanging from the crystals. It was the most place I’ve ever seen. 

Jazzy: Wow. -smiling- 

Sky: I thought you’ll like it. -smiling- This is my favorite place to be. Because its like I’m looking at stars. I would come here when I can’t see stars in the city because of the city lights. I don’t really come here unless I want to destress. You are the very first person I brought to this spot. I didn’t even bring my parents. 

Jazzy: Oh. You’re very sweet. This is our special spot. -smiling- 

Sky: Mhm. 

Jazzy: Why do I have a feeling that you’re going to give me something?

Sky: -laughing- You love ruining surprises. Stop reading my mind. 

Jazzy: Hey. -slapping Sky’s arm- A) I didn’t read your mind. 2) When you get nervous about something its written all over your face. So, you’re nervous about some bad news you’re going to give me, or you’re nervous about asking me something. 

Sky: Darn. I do have something to ask you, but I’ll ask you tomorrow. However, I did find the perfect jewel for your Christmas gift. -smiling-

Jazzy: Now, you’re making feel bad. :(

Sky: Why?

Jazzy: Because I didn’t get you anything. 

Sky: You still got time. I can take you to the Jewel Cave tonight. 

Jazzy: Okay. 

Sky: Let’s go. 

    Sky took me to Jewel Cave which turned out to be a Jewelry Shop. Sky waited for me outside so he wouldn’t know what I’m getting him. I spend a good 10 minutes in the shop looking for the perfect gift, and I found it. I’m actually giving Sky a Yin Yang Couple Message Necklace.  I’m actually a little bit of Yin and Yang. Sky is mostly Yang. So I’m his Yin and he is my Yang. The nice employee wrapped it up for me and I left the Jewelry Shop. 

Sky: What did you get?

Jazzy: -laughing- Cheater. I’m not telling you. You have to find out tomorrow. -smiling- 

Sky: Boo. 

Jazzy: Don’t boo me mister. I didn’t ask you what you got me. Why should I tell you what I got for you?

Sky: True. Fine. I’ll wait like a good boy. Can I get a tip?

Jazzy: It’s our new symbol. -smiling- 

Sky: Oh. I know what you got me. Thanks. -kissing Jazzy on the lips- 

Jazzy: You’re welcome. -smiling- 

    Sky and I walk back to the camp site. Because we had a meeting that we need to attend to. 

Simon: Did you two have a nice walk?

Sky and Jazzy: Yes. 

Candy: Where did you guys go?

Jazzy: Did a last minute Christmas shopping. 

Brandy: -excited- Oh. What did you get me?

Jazzy: Oh. I didn’t know the entire group was exchanging Christmas gifts this year. I only got something for Sky and no one else. I’m sorry. 

Brandy: That’s okay. Next year, we’ll do Christmas gifts exchange. 

Jazzy: Deal. -smiling-

Jeff: Oh, you shouldn’t done it. Now, Bran is going to expect a gift from you next Christmas. 

Jazzy: That’s fine. I actually like giving gifts to family and friends. So, I don’t mine giving you guys a little something for Christmas. -smiling- 

Sky: Some of us can be picky. You sure?

Jazzy: Mhm. I usually ask my family and friends what they want. If they don’t tell me then I just bake my family and friends some cookies, brownies, or hand made stuff. 

Sky: Okay. But Brandy can be very expensive. Just warning you. 

Jazzy: Good to know. -smiling- 

Brandy: I’m not that expensive. Sky is execrating.

Sky: I’m execrating? 

Vix: -shouting- Team meeting! 

   We went to where Vix was standing. 

Vix: This meeting is very short so I’m going to take up much of your time. Tomorrow is Christmas so we have the day off. So you can go and do whatever you want. Just don’t leave this mountain. If you leave this mountain you are going to be attacked by the enemy, or the enemy is hiding outside this mountain and watching where we come out, so the enemy can come in and kill everyone in here. So tomorrow and until we leave no one is allow outside. Understood?

Everyone: Understood.

Vix: Good. One more thing, everyone needs to focus in the next two weeks. So if any you have news please announced it tomorrow night. So you can get it out your system tomorrow night. If you can focus without telling us any good news, then please keep to yourselves. I’m just saying if you are a type of person that need to tell people right away, do it tomorrow night but if you are a type of person that can wait until the job is done. Then please keep the news to yourselves. Because I don’t want any of you being distracted from the task at hand. Understood? 

Everyone: Yes.  

Vix: Good. That is it. Have a good night rest. See you tomorrow. 

   The meeting ended and we went to do our own thing. 45 minutes later it was time for dinner. All of us were in our own little world. Enjoying our Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner our group start telling stories about their Christmas Eve dinner parties. Some of these stories are funny and some of these stories are embarrassing. But it was all good fun sharing stories about our families and friends. At 9pm I went to take a shower because I was feeling tired. 20 minutes later Sky took his turn. I wrapped Sky’s half of the gift. I put my half on my neck. I already set up the necklaces and I send a message to Sky’s half. I’m wearing the Yin half and tomorrow Sky will be wearing the Yang half. The best thing about these necklaces is that they are waterproof. So Sky and I wouldn’t have to take it off, when we shower or go swimming. Also these necklaces doesn’t look too girly so its perfect for Sky when he wears his. Before Sky came out of the shower, I put his gift in my backpack. When Sky came into our tent Toothless and Snow came in as well. 

Toothless: Do we get gifts tomorrow?

Sky and Jazzy: Sorry no. 

Snow: Oh. May next year?

Jazzy: I promise next year you two that you get gifts from me and Sky. 

Toothless: I’ll hold you up to that deal. 

Snow: Ditto. 

Jazzy: -smiling- 

Sky: Can I have my gift tonight?

Jazzy: No. You and I will exchange gifts tomorrow. 

Sky: All right. Because I’m curious as to what you’re wearing around your neck.

Jazzy: My half of your gift. -smiling- 

Sky: Oh. I know what it is. But in my family we have a tradition of exchanging Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve. 

Jazzy: I don’t believe you. 

Sky: Okay. -handing Jazzy his phone- I have old videos on my phone. That proves my family does exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. Every year. 

    I unlocked his phone and went to his videos. I found Sky’s old family videos and it proves that Sky wasn’t lying to me. After watching 5 videos I was convince. 

Jazzy: -handing back Sky’s phone- Fine. -Taking out Sky’s gift out of my backpack- Merry Christmas. -smiling- 

Sky: -pulling out Jazzy’s gift from his jean pocket and handing it to Jazzy- Merry Christmas. -smiling- 

     Sky and I open our gifts. Sky loved his gift and I love my gift. Sky gave me a Promise Engagement Ring with a beautiful 1/2 carat ruby diamond. Sky already put his gift around his neck. I was crying because I never seen such a beautiful ring. Because my 1/2 carat ruby diamond sits in the middle of the Yin Yang symbol. 

Sky: Promise Engagement Ring is more important than a regular Promise Ring.

Jazzy: -sniff- Why?

Sky: -wiping away Jazzy’s tears- Because this ring symbolizes my promise to love you until death due us part, and I want to ask you, will you do me the honor of being my wife and queen?

Jazzy: -sniff- Yes. 

    With that I’m engaged today to Royal Prince Sky You. I put on the ring and I kissed Sky. Sky hugged me and he was very happy that I said yes. I couldn’t be happier. Because I found my soul mate and best friend. I didn’t have to think twice because I knew Sky was the one for me, when we first met. That night we didn’t get our new tattoo, because the ring symbolizes that Sky and I are engaged. Sky and I came to decision that we won’t tell the team that we are engaged. Because we know that they are going to be more excited over our engagement, and not focus on the task at hand. So, tomorrow we are going to put our gifts into our backpack. We are going to tell them after the war. Because we don’t know when our wedding is going to be. That’s why we decided not to tell them that we are engaged. The most common question is going to be asked is when the wedding is. Sky and I haven’t set a date yet for the wedding, but we know that we want to enjoy our engagement for as long as we can. But December 24, 2020 is the day I’ll never forget. I’m so happy that I said yes to Sky that I’ll be his wife and queen. However, Toothless, Snow, Scarlet, and Icy know our news, but they wouldn’t say anything because they know that we are going to get mad at them, and also they know what is more important which is the task at hand and not our engagement.

    Sky and I went to sleep and our animals are very happy with what they heard. But Sky and I knew that our team heard Sky pop the question and my answer to his pop question. So by tomorrow morning our entire team is going want to celebrate. Especially Brandy. Before I closed my eyes I have a gut feeling that Brandy would want to know what colors I want for the wedding. Because my gut is telling me that Brandy wants to be my wedding planner. At midnight we felt someone come into our tent and plop on top of me. Whoever came into our tent scared the crap out me and I set my tent on fire. It was Brandy who came charging into our tent. 

Brandy: -screaming- I’m sorry for scaring you. But I couldn’t sleep until you give me answer. 

Jazzy: -annoyed and groggy- What is it that so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow?

Brandy: -shouting- Can I be your wedding planner?!

Sky: -annoyed and angry- Jeffery! If you don’t pick up your wife to be. My wife to be is going to set your wife to be on fire! 

Michelle: -yawning- Jazzy just answer Brandy. Because if Brandy doesn’t get an straight answer from you, she isn’t going to stop bugging you with the question for the rest of the year. 

Jazzy: -groggy and annoyed- Ugh! Sky and I will think about it. And in 2 weeks after our training we’ll give you an solid answer. But you are not to ask us the question repeatedly for the next two weeks. If you repeat the question every day for the next two weeks then Sky and I will give you a solid no as our answer. Understood? 

Brandy: Understood.  

Jazzy: -yawning- Good. Now go to bed. 

    Brandy left and Vix gave us a new tent. We all went back to bed. 

-End of Chapter Thirty-Four- 

[sheusedtobesassier]

Day 10,785

172 days until I hit my thirties.

So. An assortment of 172 good memories from my twenties.

001. Addey hype mumbo jumbo singing along with Moana before she was really talking.

002. Being asked to say the big thank you at SOE graduation.

003. Isaac’s face when he peeked at Omar’s new shoes at the East Towne Starbucks.

004. Drinking Mike’s honey moonshine while we played Euchre in his starry cicada humming backyard.

005. Taking Mama on the water taxi rides when she visited me in Chicago.

006. Grandma Kathy calling me, “My pink haired granddaughter.”

007. Sneaking into camp with the Hines girls to write up collaboration glass bottle poems in the Prayer Chapel.

008. The slow and steady hike up to the Hollywood sign.

009. The night I kidnapped Mini Farm kittens to snuggle for a movie and accidentally left the gate open releasing the rest to the Wisconsin wild.

010. Sunday afternoon sipping Stella Artois in the perfect sunny front room of our Albany Park apartment.

011. Zoë giving me all her wallet cash so I could buy bare minimum groceries.

012. Taking turns reading The History of Love aloud in our Winter Staff Forest Springs apartment.

013. The Halloween/Hillside round of Murder in the Dark with All Stars only.

014. Acting a fool in the unfinished Lodge room filled from floor to ceiling with Tempur-Pedic mattresses.

015. Doug lounging in the giant crate of laundry bags in the laundry room.

016. GUBS INSIDE JOKES.

017. St. Patrick’s Day 2021, hahaha.

018.  Beyoncé: Lemonade in the empty downstairs apartment with Mary.

019. Accidentally getting kayak drunk from a backpack bottle of Ménage à Trois.

020. Daylight skinny dipping with Amber to inaugurate the new pool.

021. The perfect stray cat that came around the second half of 2018.

022. Renate being the first to cry with me post breakup. Bill supplying sparkling water to prevent dehydration.

023. Doing drag makeup in Bekah’s bathroom while her and Marissa giggled at each other in the tub.

024. Every kitchen island conversation I’ve ever had with Steve Hines.

025. The perfect colors the night we snuck up on the helicopter landing pad on that Dallas hotel.

026. FACILITATING THAT SAME WEEKEND’S GAME OF ASSASSIN, BEFORE IT GOT UGLY.

027. Becoming buddies with all four Williams brothers.

028. When Mercy told me I’m her favorite Williams brother.

029. Hahaha the Camp Clean Up I put Elliot on my crew for my own amusement and told him his only responsibility was to walk around with me the whole time.

030. The time Blaine and I were avoiding the long lunch line together and Nimanim was like, “Wait so this is like an actual friendship huh?”

031. Tanner enthusiastically reenacting Gandalf’s YOU SHALL NOT PASS as I came up the path.

032. Will realizing I’d Facebook stalked him without sending a friend request.

033. Magically finding Pop Rocks the morning of my perfect 22nd birthday.

034. My perfect 26th birthday weekend in Minneapolis with my dreamy local girl gang.

035. Tauri’s blossoms on the Sky Lodge trees in the spring.

036. Encountering and becoming completely enthralled by the Enneagram.

037. OLIVIA FUCKING GATWOOD APPRECIATING MY PINK HAIR.

038. Clementine von Radic writing that Greyhound always loses her luggage too.

039. My stretch of obsession with Hemingway’s love interests.

040. Becoming friends with Fat Boy Tucker pup.

041. Becoming friends with rescued best dog Star girl.

042. The night Doug was my ride from the airport and he pulled his truck over so we could take a good look at the gigantic moon.

043. That hilarious flirtatious moonlight wander of the horse trails with Omar and Edith and Caleb.

044. Jake Nelson giving me a surprise scoop of chocolate custard as a peace offering after his grumpy bedtime attitude.

045. THE DISCOVERY AND CAPTIVATION OF HADESTOWN.

046. Getting to have Alia in every day for a while there.

047. Les Mis at Overture Center because Ally bought our family tickets.

048. Pat Coakley telling me I don’t know how special I am.

049. Spit handshake with Janelle swearing we’ll never think any boys are cooler than we are.

050. Marissa picking me up without explanation to take us on a quiet sunset drive of her favorite county road.

051. Jayden imagination playing with Blue, Guy, and a motorcycle for a whole night then waking me up with them the next morning.

052. Genevieve asking to borrow my lavender romper for her rehearsal dinner.

053. Getting to be Cali’s sidekick the week leading up to her wedding extravaganza.

054. Houston YMCA hallway phone call from Justin’s dorm room asking me clarify which of the boys was Nick, Schmidt, and Winston.

055. The absolutely ludicrous old woman I got drunk with in the Amtrak dining car.

056. The absolute ludicrous glass skull light up cocktail I drank at Freehand’s hotel bar.

057. When Dan Hartke told me I’m a mother hen.

058. When the most beautiful Sora from Korea told me, “You always flowers.”

059. Hannah’s hand me down Steve Madden sandals.

060. Runaway trips with Amber Bamber to watch Shakespeare in the woods.

061. Storytelling with Jack Thomas.

062. Drunk bar darts after Corn Fest with Marissa’s gang.

063. Leaving the reception with Emmy to go curl up in Amber’s bed and giggle about how it was the last place she slept as a virgin.

064. The night Riana and Zoe and I took turns putting our heads out the car windows to howl like wolves.

065. Falling asleep on the couch with Zelina and Chelle beer buzzed watching Jersey Shore.

066. That perfect little basement Thai place a couple blocks from Emmy’s apartment dorm.

067. When Dan forced me to get out of his car and left because I’d annoyed him too hard on our library trip.

068. Vicki suggesting we go live together overseas.

069. Depop photoshoot with Taurilyn.

070. Mykenza bluntly declaring true things I couldn’t confirm or deny.

071. Norm announcing to the full room he was teaching that I was a rascal.

072. Zochella.

073. Noah Gundersen and Brett Dennen at The Majestic.

074. Every damn time we ate beautiful food at High Rock Cafe.

075. The nights I felt capable at TOCHI.

076. LENA DUNHAM’S GIRLS.

077. Jordan suddenly ballroom dancing Genevieve around the kitchen.

078. Staying up late crying to my mom about trying to take good care of the lesbian teenagers at Sky Lodge.

079. The night Caleb very suddenly showed up with a bowl of sangria then tried to leave a dozen times but we convinced him to stay.

080. Rachel swearing that the man in the Wrigleyville bookshop had love at first sighted me.

081. Making the list of how many musicals I’ve been affected by.

082. Discovering weirdo La Llamada then driving straight to Carlsons’s to immediately watch it again with them.

083. Writing heartfelt correspondence back and forth with Kat for a few years.

084. All the funky cards I’ve received from Amber.

085. Finding that PERFECT dress at Goodwill for Tauri’s Winter Ball.

086. An actual friendship with Paul Bierdeman.

087. COUNSELOR MEETINGS.

088. The night Emily Holverson and I stood outside the Lodge trading sincerity about Sky Lodge and the complications of ministry.

089. Blunt conversations with Josiah, hahaha.

090. The Lower Lakeview round of Murder in the Dark when I killed every single person playing before anyone could call, “Dead body!”

091. When I suddenly caught him listening to my singing in the tunnel.

092. Putting together outfits from Lolita’s wardrobe.

093. Driving into such an unexpectedly lush part of Missouri.

094. A nighttime surprise of Big Ben and The London Eye and Buckingham Palace and St James Park in the falling snow.

095. MY PERFECT ABODE IN ST. LOUIS, MO.

096. OUR PERFECT ABODE IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM.

097. Becoming one of Steve’s best friends.

098. The evening Elorine and I didn’t go with and REALLY talked.

099. THE UNDENIABLE INHERENT GOODNESS OF MERRY’S KIDS.

100. Farrell’s crying apology on the sidewalk outside of Maple.

101. Alex’s irregular sudden extreme compliments.

102. The females I’m close with over the internet due to mutual admiration.

103. Lars from Hinge, hahaha.

104. Sitting at the end of a long table with Janelle making a napkin list of our all time favorite manic pixie dream girls.

105. The handful of LotR marathons we’ve accomplished.

106. When Kat told me she understood the Harry Styles crush but that maybe he wasn’t right for me.

107. Reading so many Donald Miller books and getting others to read them too.

108. Kisses on the cheek from Esther.

109. Getting raspberries for Mike’s turtles as an apology for making death threats.

110. Tipsy dancing alone with my eyes closed for like a hundred songs at Sheryl’s Club on New Years 2021.

111. The flattering comparison to the wonderful Harley Duke.

112. Aw omg, our happy hammock stacks at Observatory Hill. 

113. Telling slumber party stories on stage for Women’s Retreat.

114. BEING THE MIME FOR LIFE GROUP’S FAVORITE.

115. Fatigued watching The Kissing Booth and laughing harder than ever.

116. Spastic goofing around with Ashley AND Brittany the day we moved Amber into her new home.

117. Sitting on my closet floor showing crying Riana baby videos of singing piano playing Janelle.

118. Giggle running through Piggly Wiggly parking lot at closing with Rene with like $400 of alcohol on Ally’s birthday.

119. Fireball shots ALL NIGHT with Jeremiah and his uncle on Christmas Eve.

120. Listening to the delicious details of Emmy’s Europe romance.

121. Zion giving me his Adidas crewneck as sentimental goodbye gift.

122. Arguing with Austin over our differing zombie apocalypse ideologies.

123. Drunk Discord/Among Us with Hunter and Bekah and Nick and Marissa.

124. How soft Kenny’s absurd speeches made my heart.

125. MINUTE LONG VOICE MEMOS STACKS WITH ROSIE. ♡♡

126. Listening to Lizzy McAlpine in an afternoon candlelight bath.

127. Listening through John Mayer’s The Search for Everything mowing the ball field.

128. Emotionally painting my old house in Birmingham.

129. Being really damn good at that Heads Up game with Omar.

130. Compiling worthwhile stuff for Foreman training.

131. GROWING MY PLANTS.

132. The stretch when Bryanna was usually wrapped in my blanket.

133. Talking about going to Colorado with Alex.

134. The notorious reputation of knowing everybody at CCCA.

135. GETTING ALL DRESSED UP FOR DINNER THEATER.

136. Calling Ally from a parking lot at Emmy’s bachelorette party because I was SO CONFIDENT I was a hot person that I had to talk to her about it.

137. Playing the stupidest laughingest game of The Floor Is Lava with Jackson when I came to visit them all in Dallas.

138. Feeling really really really at home in my apartment at Sky Lodge.

139. How Ryan Boon would struggle to talk through his laughter.

140. Belonging to myself at Fiddleheads Coffee in Cedarburg.

141. THE UNDENIABLE IMMEDIATE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN ME AND COURTNEY HART.

142. Big Falls County Park. Every time.

143. Kayaking down Blue River with Duke, Jeremiah and Addey, Hunter, and Hunter’s friend.

144. That perfect burger at Pier Burger in Santa Monica.

145. Riding The Brown Line down to The Loop and all the way back up.

146. Aw. Welp. Every lengthy truthful phone call with Sam.

147. The four seasons I was compiling four second videos.

148. Ashley’s and my perfect roommates stretch, featuring our perfect couch.

149. The night we forced so many to come to our Blackfish showing then sign our petition opposing Sea World. Hahaha. #emptythetanks

150. The night Ben and I sat in the corner giddy burning through TriBond cards.

151. The night I showed up at Doug’s and Lueck’s door losing my damn mind over The Dress.

152. Community Soccer at the local elementary school gym.

153. Frigid stranded in the Chequamegon National Forest with Mary and Caleb on our return drive from our nightmare trip to Duluth.

154. The final night of being “cats in a bag” sleeping in Janelle’s bottom bunk.

155. Filling up the broomball courts under a negative degrees meteor shower.

156. Getting another wonderful summertime of Delala.

157. The Sunday service the pastor wouldn’t quit snapping his fingers and a bunch of us were txting each other like, “OMFG NO AHHH HOW DO WE MAKE HIM STOP????”

158. Oomph. The perfect veggie omelette (no cheese) at Sparks.

159. Dad’s soft voicemail about his admiration for Adele.

160. Their neighbor lady Maddie’s outfit for the Christmas cantata and her disappointment with the unfamiliar song selection.

161. Raquel’s completely irresistible fun streak.

162. Listening to folklore with Jayden and the girlies first thing when I woke up every morning for a while there.

163. Going through Met Gala looks cuddled up with Omar.

164. The way it felt reading Anthropology of an American Girl.

165. The giant primary colors crochet blanket mom made for me.

166. Noah scooping me up in that hug in the Waterloo parsonage kitchen.

167. When Omar completely surprised me with what he can do to a piano.

168. Deciding I am a Pinot Grigio girl.

169. Omfg, the Nest Night we intensely debated our way through a Staff Wives wrestling bracket.

170. Dismantling multiple purity talks and dress codes like it’s my calling.

171. Laying on blankets in the middle of many fields in different places for the sake of being very very very very sunkissed.

172. Regularly running into Bill at Kwik Trip.

[journal-of-a-gamer]

Who I Am

Chapter 2 : Singing to the Moon

Once aboard the cruiser, I found it to be dubbed the WSC Alexia. A third-class Helios cruiser under the Wei Conglomerate; it was spacious and a sanitary grey. However, the first thing I really noticed was the fragrant aroma of curry gently assailing my nostrils. My stomach grumbled, it had been months since I had enjoyed real food and not some processed meal bar that had all the nutrients that a person needed to stay strong and healthy; but the bars tasted like shit, they looked it too. The captain, Hayden Dogma, gave out a laugh that wasn't quite loud enough to cover up for her growling stomach, looked at me and sighed “Ewan can wait before he gets you initiated and rolled into work…let’s have dinner.” Never before have I beamed as hard at someone ever before than when I heard her say the D word. It probably didn't mean much to her but working for a company that spent all of its money on ships and gear but not on food really wears down on you like a steel razor shaving a stone obelisk for ten years straight, without a change of pace in this case in food I would've killed for anything that wasn't a shitty meal bar.

Hayden grasped my hand and led me down the corridor and down a set of steel grated stairs right into the mess hall. It wasn't grey like what I’d seen so far more of a copper orange seemed to be the colour of choice in here. There was a large standard looking table with stools all around it in the centre of the room, this was flanked to the right by what appeared to be a hot drinks machine and a small fridge. behind the table was a cooking unit, it had a stove, an oven, a pressure cooker, some sort of pasta machine, various herbs and a section of cupboards up and down the unit; some see through and others, well not so much.

“Hi, captain, what’ve you dragged in this time? Another kid with no talents to put on the pay role, then train them to do something kinda useful and feed them?” grumbled an older man hunched over and methodically stirring a large pot with his back to us. “That’s rude of you, you old fart, last I checked you were one of the people with no skills that I took on board, seems hypocritical of you to complain now,” Hayden retorted opening her arms to shrug and smirking at the man as he slowly turned around and straightened his back out to finally face us, “plus the kid's not useless, probably better than you, in fact,” Hayden chuckled before saying, “this kid is your new partner, be nice Ewan.” Now facing us and straightening up, I could see that he wasn't old at all, well older than me, but that wasn't a hard task, but his skin was a glossy dark brown. His eyes were a soft emerald colour, he didn't really have hair to speak of as it seemed to be all just shaved down to a good buzz cut, it was a common enough hair cut really thinking about it, it was easier to maintain than a full head of hair as you just didn't have hair to be fair. He scanned me with those green eyes of his from tip to toe before opening his mouth again, “yea sure, you look like you’ve been with those science nuts back on titan, maybe I’ll be able to find some stuff for you to do; and maybe I’ll finally be able to get some sleep when we’re traveling.” “That’s the dream isn't it,” Hayden groaned back in his direction, “well Ewan lets have some of that world class curry of yours then.” “People would die back home for a bowl of my world class curry for your information captain,” he grumbled before pouring two bowls of fragrant curry stew.

This was my first time meeting Ewan the ‘head’ engineer onboard the Alexia and I had to see him every day and as he grew on he with his grumpy persona I could see why everyone on the ship called him old man as he acted as though he was double his actual age. Since I ended up doing most of the physical repair and maintenance jobs on the ship and simply just reported to him for my next task, it gave him more free time on the ship such as flirt with Jenny the gun hand or to sit in the social area and plan out breakfast, lunch and dinner and then cook all of them. He was sweet, in a get off my lawn or I’ll cook you some bacon and eggs kind of way.

Jenny was from Earth, she grew up there around the ruins of Detroit. She learned the hard way how to look after herself and to not trust people, she conducted several raids and gun fights with rival territories and with refugee camps. It got so bad to the point that the Wei Conglomerate was forced to put boots on the ground to snuff out this street warfare. It was a bloodbath for anyone caught in the sights of the Wei gun hounds that had been set upon the ruined city; refugees and gangs alike disappeared overnight in bloody firefights through the city. Jenny got lucky, she was only a teenager when she stumbled into the captain as she gunned down the gang camp which Jenny had been returning to. Hayden didn't like killing people who didn't try to shoot at her first; Jenny was unarmed so she made her an offer. If she’d work under Hayden as a hired gun then she’d get her away from Earth. Since then I heard that she had performed amicably and was worth every grain of salt that she might throw at her team during her free time.

Around the end of my first month onboard was when I had the pleasure of really meeting Jenny for the first time. I had just finished sorting the pressure distributer for the crew shower unit as it had been too high and was causing some displeasure. To actually be honest about it I had played a prank on Ewan buy waiting for him to go for a shower and then blasting him by putting the pressure all the way up. He was so furious that he ran across the ship stark naked to punch me in the back. I tuned the pressure back down but obviously not low enough for some people’s tastes, I had fixed pretty much everything on the Alexia that I had been tasked to at this point and was bored but fulfilled. So, when I tuned it back to the original setting that people were used to I went into the shower area to check that everything was working, not wanting to have made a mistake after pulling a prank.

That’s when I heard her. It’s not uncommon to hear singing from the shower area, but I had never heard Jenny talk let alone sing. It was mesmerising, she could captivate a whole asteroid dome worth of gig goers looking to see the main act and not caring about the support acts but her voice would captivate even them. I rushed over unable to control myself and yanked the curtain to the stall where the sound was coming from. Of course, she screamed and decked me instantly, I blacked out before I even hit the floor. When I woke up I found myself in her cabin, her face was scarlet and she was staring me down with a how dare you kind of look and began to slowly walk towards me. “Jenny? You can sing? That was amazing, I didn't know you could talk let alone sing.” She stopped in her tracks, “I’m sorry I knocked you out cold kid, I thought you were maybe Jerome trying to sneak a peek at the goods again.” She paused for some time and we just stared at each other for a while, until I realised that she was barely wearing anything, and what she was wearing was soaked through, then I found a corner of the room to divert my stare into. Which I soon found to be the corner of the room that she was using to dry her underwear. Flustered and blushing I flicked my head around the room till I decided the only thing to do was to either die or to close my eyes; spoiler I closed my eyes. I didn’t open them again till I felt a pair of slightly wet but tender hands caress my cheeks. “Looks like you found me out kid, I can sing, now don't go telling anyone about this.” “Hmm, yea sure, whatever you’d like Jenny.” “Good, now go, I think Ewan buzzed you five minutes ago and my only audience is the moon raggedly floating above Earth.” With that I scampered out of the room with a dazed but blinding urgency.

“Where in sweet hell have you been hiding kiddo?” “Ah sorry, I sneaked into a concert for astral bodies only.” “Sure, sure, now here’s that list of repairs I told you I had been working on, you should start with the climate control in the training deck, Jerome set it too low and now the setting is stuck and Jenny keeps refusing to train with the rest of the gun hands.” I took the list and smiled knowing exactly why she wouldn't go into a freezing room with Jerome. “what’re you grinning for, beat it, I’ve got a mean pot of chilli to start making for dinner tonight.”