#i think i’m more wary so if o knew bear in the area i would avoid it and if it was close enough to start coming towards me i’d try to leave

[t4tstarvingdog]

what if a bear saw you and it started coming at you WHAT DK YOU DOOOOO THATS SO SCARY

:( i would give it a little kiss

[vampiric-daydreams]

Severance

Jasper x Reader

This is Part 4 of the Jasper miniseries. Here is Part 1.

Summary: Jasper approaches you one evening and tries to make things right - but between your fear and your lust, you find time to question the motives of him and the rest of his family. 

Word Count: 5,057

*

“(Y/N), please come with me.” Jasper’s voice pulled you out of your shock. You never thought you’d ever see Jasper Hale standing in your bedroom. Sure, you’d thought about it almost every night, but you never thought he’d be standing there under these conditions.

“No.” Your voice sounded firm. You kept your breath steady, refusing to succumb to the hysterics that had preyed on you earlier that day. His molten gold eyes softened. He took a cautious step towards you, but stopped as you met him with a glare.

“You figured it out all on your own,” he spoke his words slowly, as if he was afraid of scaring you away again. “I know you have a lot of questions, and I will answer them for you. But before I do, I need to be sure we’re talking about the same thing. I need you to say the word out loud.”

“You say it.”

He exhaled sharply, “I can’t. I can’t say anything until I know you’ve put it together entirely on your own.”

It was there, lingering in your mouth, impatient to be spoken but afraid to drip from your tongue. “Va-” It wouldn’t come out. Just say it. Vampire. You were in love with a vampire.

“Please, (Y/N).” Was he serious about telling you the truth, or was this all a ploy to see if they could trust you? Did they send him here to kill you? All of this had started from your silly crush on him. Was it his job to dispose of you?

You swallowed hard, and then the word fell out. “Vampire.”

The word hung in the atmosphere, turning the frigid air so brittle it could snap. He glued his eyes to you, but you could only look at the ground as your cheeks burned. How silly it sounded out loud. You may as well have called him a fairy. Your teeth nipped at your bottom lip as your last shred of confidence diminished, stranding you with dread and anticipation for the mocking laughter that never came. 

Jasper denied nothing.

“I tried to give you answers at school today, but you wouldn’t follow me.” He took another step towards you; careful and steady, leaving a muddy footprint in his wake.

“Are you going to kill me because I found out?” You looked at him then. He seemed so out of place, surrounded by your mess; and thoughts of dreams you’d had of him coming to your room like this contrasted with the cold reality that threatened to devour you.

“No,” Jasper stopped you in your tracks. “We aren’t like that. We’re different from our kind, we don’t hurt humans.”

“But don’t you… drink blood?” That brought your attention to each pulse of your heart. It made you aware of the warmth rushing through your veins; and how gratifying it might feel for Jasper if he sank his teeth into the soft flesh guarding your neck.

Jasper took another wary step closer to you. “Think of us like vegetarians. We don’t drink blood from humans, but from animals instead-”

“So, you bite neighbourhood pets?” You tried to lighten the mood, hoping to distract him from your growing anxiety with humour. Jasper returned a polite chuckle, seeming to understand.

“Think more like mountain lions and bears.” A sudden flash of delicate little Alice tearing at the throat of a mountain lion made you shudder.

Jasper glanced around. “(Y/N), please know that I understand your discomfort and I don’t want to worsen it, but your house won’t be empty for much longer. It isn’t safe to have this conversation here, and I know you won’t wait until tomorrow. Please come with me, and I swear I will return you safely. The minute you say you want to come back home, I’ll stop everything and make it so.”

You wanted to take the plunge—you were already alone with him, so how different would it be? But the thought of being the single human among a family of vampires—vegetarian or not—begged you to refuse. Though it wasn’t like the last time you had spoken to him; it wasn’t like when Alice or Rosalie or Emmett had approached you. This time, your gut fought its natural survival instincts and told you that the sincerity splashed across Jasper’s refined features rang true.

“I’ll go with you on two conditions.” Jasper held eye-contact; ready to abide by your rules. “One; you keep your promise and bring me home as soon as I ask for it.”

“Of course, (Y/N).” He gave you his word. “And the second condition?”

“I get to leave a note behind saying I went with you in case something happens. Neither you nor your family can touch it, hide it, or edit it. If you meant what you said about not hurting humans, accountability shouldn’t be too harsh a term.”

He followed you into the kitchen where you grabbed an orange sticky-note and began writing a quick message. “There is no reason for us to meddle with it. You’ll be safe.”

“You guys can’t steal it either, like I know you did with my notebook.”

Anyone else would have missed the quick flash of hurt in his eyes, but you caught it right before he masked it. “My family and I aren’t the evil people you think we are. But that notebook is evidence, and therefore a danger to our existence. We can’t have it falling into the wrong hands.”

You frowned, “I wasn’t going to…”

“We know that now, but we can’t risk anybody else finding it.”

“Is… Is that why you guys were so unkind to me? Was I close to figuring it out?” Despite the supernatural discoveries and truth, being treated like that by those so close to the guy you liked had stung you deeply. If you were correct about him having an emotion-influencing ability, it was likely he knew how you were feeling. Jasper didn’t answer.

“We need to go, now,” was all he said. You grabbed your keys as he led you out the front door to where his motorbike was parked on your front lawn. He passed you a black helmet. “I’ll answer more questions when we get there—whatever you want. I’ll stay by your side until sunrise if that’s how you want it.”

You took the helmet from him, grazing his hand on purpose. It was just as cold as last time. You took his hand in yours and held it for a moment. He didn’t pull away yet, and allowed you to press your soft, warm flesh against his icy marble skin. It was hard like stone. You turned his hand so that his palm was facing upwards and traced it with your finger; slowly grazing from his palm to his wrist, noting the absence of veins but the appearance of bite marks, similar to Bella’s; though larger in quantity. He pulled away from you, then.

“The sooner we leave, the sooner you can ask me everything.” He put his own helmet on, likely for the sake of appearances, and sat on the bike. You followed him.

“What, you aren’t going to turn into a bat and fly me there?” you asked as the motorcycle revved.

A genuine chuckle escaped his lips. “No, that’s a myth; and I didn’t want to scare you with our natural method of travel.”

You wrapped your arms around his waist as the bike took off slowly, building speed. “What is it?”

He didn’t answer you; not that you would have been able to hear him as you ripped through the wind, wondering if you were on the road to certain death. As hard as your heart was beating; both from the uncertainty and the physical contact, the smell of Jasper, of fresh citrus and some sort of flowery scent, made you never want to let go. You waited for him to speed up again, to give you an excuse to hold on tighter. The town of Forks faded away, your surroundings growing deeper and denser with forest. Before long, you could see the Cullen house through the trees.

It wasn’t at all what you had expected. You hadn’t thought of gloomy castles with dungeons or anything, but the openness of the architecture surprised you. The house was large and extravagant, easily worth millions. The bright colours stood out against the greens and browns of the surrounding woods; and the rectangular shapes and wide windows introduced a stunning, modern feel.

Jasper parked the motorcycle in the driveway, hanging his helmet on one handlebar. You copied him. “Are you going to tell me everything, now?”

“(Y/N), I’ve admitted to being a vampire and brought you to my home. Don’t you want to poke around?”

“Loitering outside the lion’s den is risky enough; there’s no way I’m walking straight in.” You spotted a log in the distance; blanketed in thick, green moss that was definitely not inside his house. He followed behind and sat beside you.

“What do you want to know?”

You didn’t even know where to start. Combing through what you already knew, you thought it best to elaborate a little. “Why do your eyes change colour?”

“They change based on feeding. When we’re full, they look like mine always do. But when we’re hungry, they darken.”

“So, do you… overeat or something? I’ve never seen your eyes look any different.”

He shifted his weight. “I prefer to be well-fed when in the presence of humans; particularly in high-density areas like high schools.”

Stupid question. “O-Of course. You guys wouldn’t want any accidents… Have there been any accidents? Have you ever killed someone?” When you asked him this, it was because you were embarrassed about asking such an obvious question. You tried to cover it up by rambling. So, when Jasper’s gaze lowered to the forest floor and his lips sealed shut, the shock of it made you jolt. He had.

“You’re getting scared. I can feel it. (Y/N) I promise that was a long time ago and as difficult as this diet is for me, I’m getting better and better every day.”

The next question shot out of your mouth like a bullet. “Exactly how safe am I with you right now? You’re getting better? Is it hard for you to be near me right now?”

“You’re very safe. The others are inside and will stop me if anything happens.” The way he spoke about the prospect of murdering you was so uncomfortably casual, like it happened all the time. It was as if a thousand disapproving eyes were glaring down at you, wondering what the hell you were thinking by coming here.

“When was the last time you killed—no—when was the last time you tried to kill somebody? Successful or not?” Bella’s bitten wrist was at the forefront of your mind as you waited for an explanation. “Did you give Bella that bite?”

“No, that was from another vampire. He’s dead now; but he drank human blood and went after Bella.” Jasper paused, studying you with his citrine stare. “This isn’t helping. You’re still afraid.”

“Am I already in danger because I know?”

Jasper slid closer, bridging the gap between you. “Not so long as no one else finds out.”

“I’ve told you I won’t tell anyone.” It hurt that he didn’t seem to trust you; like this entire thing was an excuse for the Cullens to follow up on your character. You stuffed your hands in your pockets and looked at the dirt beneath you; wondering if that was how the Cullens thought of you. Dirt. For liking Jasper, they probably hated you; Edward certainly seemed to feel that way. Perhaps their apologies only came once their rudeness drew too much of your attention? Little did they know.

“Other vampires,” Jasper’s clarification interrupted your spiralling mind. “So long as no vampires find out.”

“What about Bella? Is she-”

His next words slashed your heart like a knife. “Bella’s situation with Edward is different to yours and mine.”

The reminder knocked the wind out of you. It was the truth; the vampire you had fallen in love with wasn’t available, and you solving the mystery of his true nature would not change that. It would not impress him so much that he’d slide into bed with you and abandon the girl who—for all you knew—he had been with for hundreds of years. An unkind part of you wanted to kiss Jasper there and then; just to get something out of this mess. Or was it to prove to him you could be like Edward and Bella? A powerful urge to further insert yourself fought to take over. It couldn’t be that difficult. He wasn’t too far to miss. You fought back against the desire.

“Can we go inside? I-If that’s still okay… I’m cold.” You disregarded your fear about entering a vampire’s lair. Now, you wanted to see where he lived, and sat, and watched TV.

Your hands were still stuffed in your pockets, freezing. You wondered if they would be the same temperature as his now. You got your answer as he held your hands in his, gently helping you stand; ever the gentleman. Every instance of chivalry you had watched him perform for Alice ran through your brain like a movie. It was a habit of his time. His hard marble skin contrasted with your own soft flesh as you fought the urge to entwine your fingers with his; to bring your lips to his, to make him press you against a tree.

Instead, he pulled you up and then let go of you without a second thought. Shame weighed down your shoulders. He winced, not looking at you now. Your voice trembled. “Can you sense emotions?”

“Yes.”

Did that include lust?

You changed the subject, not daring to ask for elaboration. “When we go in… is everyone—are their eyes going to be gold?”

He seemed to relax as you said that; chuckling softly, like music to your ears. “Nobody is thirsty, so yes. You’ll be fine in there. They want to see you for themselves again, though. And there are some things Alice would like to clarify.”

Alice. Would she pull you aside and intimidate you? Stay away from my boyfriend or I’ll literally kill you?

You swallowed thickly, following Jasper up to the front door of the house. Inside, his home was light and inviting. The walls were painted white, and there was a lot of open space. Various paintings decorated the walls, including an enormous picture frame filled with a rainbow of graduation caps. Your lips curled as you got the joke.

“Where is everyone?” Knowing they were aware of your presence was startling, in a way. Could they smell you the whole time you were outside? Had they heard what you were saying? An overwhelming sense of dread consumed you as you realised who else would be waiting. Did Edward hear you contemplating kissing Jasper? You hadn’t seen Edward at all since the incident at school. He hadn’t approached you like the others had, and the mere thought of seeing him again after all his mind-reading made your knees quiver.

Jasper didn’t reply and continued to walk. You followed behind him, sticking closer than he probably would have liked.

Alice was the first to reveal herself, meeting you at the top of the white staircase. Her usual beaming smile was absent from her face as she looked between you both. “(Y/N), thank you for coming.” Bile rose in your throat; you wanted to throw up. Edward had likely told her about what you were thinking outside. You couldn’t speak and only nodded your head in response. You risked a glance at Jasper, who was staring intensely at his girlfriend; but Alice’s attention was fixed on you. She took a small step closer to you. Her usual voice, as graceful as wind chimes, sounded cracked. “Can I borrow you first?”

Jasper’s eyes were downcast while Alice’s held an edge of urgency. “O-Okay… Um-”

“I won’t be long, Jaz.” She cut through your mumbling, still not looking at Jasper. He nodded, jaw clenched, and walked past her, deeper into the house. Alice seemed to relax after he left and took your hands in her cold ones. “How are you feeling about everything?”

That was the last thing you had expected to hear from her just then. “I’m fine… considering.”

Her smile returned, adding sugar to her sweet, honeyed eyes. “I want to take it upon myself to explain what really happened. I’m sorry I lied to you at the café—but we have an important secret to protect and I just couldn’t-”

“I get it, it’s fine. But now I’m wondering, did I actually deserve it?”

“(Y/N), come with me.” She twirled around and fluttered down a hallway to your right. She led you to a room covered in everything Alice. Walking through the door was like having her entire personality punch you in the face at once. Like the rest of the house, the walls were painted white, and the ceilings were to the heavens. All-white modern furniture decorated the space; accompanied by some mannequins modelling some of Alice’s nicer luxury pieces by the vanity. White, floating bookshelves hovered on the back wall beside modern artworks and posters of fashion designs. Enlarged photos of Alice and Jasper in black-and-white decorated the walls on the opposite side. A pile of designer clothing was heaped onto the enormous, white bed on the left side of the room.

“Couldn’t decide what to wear?” You cracked a joke as you took everything in. Alice returned a smile.

“At least someone around here understands.”

Looking at the intricately designed headboard, the words left your mouth before you could stop them. “You don’t sleep in coffins?” You looked at her wide-eyed. Just because Jasper was okay with the stereotypes, it didn’t mean Alice would be.

“Oh, no. That’s a myth. We don’t sleep.”

“At all?” You looked between her and the gigantic bed, and then realisation clicked. A pang of jealousy twisted your insides as you understood exactly how the bed was used. You recalled Jasper’s old words. So, Alice and I will have the entire house to ourselves again, which is always a pleasurable time.

As if sensing where your mind was going, she changed the subject. “There are some things that I need to explain—with the truth, this time—I promise. Please, take a seat wherever you like.”

After seeing the bed and knowing what its sole purpose was, you couldn’t stop yourself from spitefully sitting right on it .. “Did I freak you guys out back then or something?”

“(Y/N), we know you’re already aware of what Edward and Jasper can do. My gift is seeing the future. It’s a little flimsier than what you’re imagining. I can see the decisions people make and then what the outcomes of those decisions will be. And I’ve been having quite a few visions about you.” You watched her, mouth hanging open, waiting for her to continue because you didn’t know how to respond to that. What had she seen? What decisions had you made without realising? Alice continued, “I saw you finding out we were vampires early on. During your fascination with Jasper, you noticed the same things you ended up noticing, anyway. In the vision, you reacted differently. You let your fear rule you, and you came close to exposing our secret.”

“Did you kill me?” You asked. “In the vision?”

“No, but the decisions themselves were fragile. I had three unique visions about you in one day, all in which you found out about us. And in only one of them, you kept our secret. At first I didn’t realise how you were figuring everything out, but Edward heard your thoughts about Jasper and we put it together. We tried to wean you off of him; so Jasper talked to you more - but only about me and how happy we were. The plan was to make you stop liking him so you’d stop noticing things—but it backfired. Jasper used his gift on you when you were too close to figuring it out. Edward suggested a colder approach, which was too hard for Jasper as he could feel everything you were feeling.

“Then, I met you at the café and tried to smooth over the situation. We approached it differently again. So, we treated you kindly and acted like the entire thing was just Edward running on a tangent—but my visions about the outcome were murky. They kept changing. Sometimes you’d figure it out and react badly, other times you’d let it go and move on from us, and only once did you find out and accept us. I think we’re living in that vision now.”

It was a lot to take in, and you had so many questions; but the one that came out was, “I can’t imagine trying to tell anyone about any of this.”

“The whole Edward-as-the-scapegoat story wasn’t a complete lie. When he read your mind, he saw that you would often fantasise about-” she paused, almost as if she was about to choke. “About separating Jasper and myself. Jasper had no intentions of letting that happen—but Edward wondered if your disposition might change after you found out about everything. If you were capable of blackmail, or-”

“I’m not. So you can all chill out, if that’s what I’m really here for.” Your anger at Edward was justified, then. “For all of you to check if I’m safe.”

“My intention tonight wasn’t to upset you-”

“Jasper!” You called out. Behind you, one door to the adjoining rooms opened and Jasper emerged. “I want to go home now.”

“Of course.” You didn’t miss the look he gave Alice; it was one of frustration. And as before by the stairwell, Alice didn’t look back at him.

“Goodbye, (Y/N),” Alice’s angelic voice rang from behind you as you left the room. “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”

It didn’t take long for you to get back outside. The wind had picked up, and the air smacking against your face made it harder to hold back your tears. Jasper’s voice came as a comfort. “Are you okay, (Y/N)?”  

You didn’t reply and only shook your head as a stream of tears spilled down your cheeks. The embarrassment of it all. These people truly thought the worst of you. Edward was still assuming your entire personality and relaying the most negative parts of it to the rest of his family; and Alice insinuated that you were a traitor. Meanwhile, all of this was happening in front of Jasper. You were now crying in front of him, and he wouldn’t even comfort you.

“What were you doing in the neighbouring room?” You wiped your tears on your sleeves.

“We have a closet and an office adjoined to our room, and I wanted to be nearby to keep my promise about taking you home.”

You were glad you were facing away from him, because you couldn’t stop yourself from squeezing your eyes shut and silently sobbing. Our room. They shared it; of course. You had been mistaken in thinking it only belonged to Alice. All the humiliation on top of the physical reminders that Jasper was spoken for was too much at once. You regretted ever going inside. Now you definitely wanted to throw up. The vampire thing should have scared you away from him. It should have made you run for the hills; and while you were still afraid from time to time, it somehow made you love him even more.

Jasper had moved closer to you while you cried, and you could feel his cold hand chilling your shoulder through the fabric of your shirt. “Are you ready to leave?”

You still had so many questions—the tension between Alice and Jasper being at the forefront of your mind. Had you caused it? But you couldn’t ask, not with your feelings already so out in the open. You had embarrassed yourself enough up to this point. So instead, you nodded and turned to face Jasper; no longer caring if he saw you cry. Your voice sounded raspy as you said, “I want you to use your gift to make me stop feeling sad. Will you?”

“You’re sure?” But he didn’t hesitate; and already the melancholy made way for contentment. You wiped the rest of the tears from your face.

“Thank you.” You wanted to ask him to do something else, but couldn’t will yourself to ask the question. He handed the motorcycle helmet to you for the second time that night, and you paused. “What’s your natural method of travel? The one you mentioned earlier?”

“We can run really fast. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen, and faster than you could imagine. I’d be happy to run you home, but not if it will scare you.”

“It won’t.”

He gestured for you to climb onto his back, and you did; resisting the urge to bury your face in his neck. His muscular arms held you close as he reminded you softly, “Hold on as tightly as you can.”

Without another moment’s notice, he launched you through the forest at an impossible speed. The tall trees surrounding you morphed into an indistinguishable wall of brown and green, and the ground behind you moved so quickly it made your eyes blur. Before you could even think to breathe, Jasper had stopped outside your front door and the world around you was visible again. The world was spinning, and Jasper picked you up bridal-style and carried you through the front door to your bedroom; carefully laying you down on your bed and sitting beside you on the mattress. “You’ve had a big night, you should get some sleep.”

“Wait,” you called out before he could disappear. “What happens now?”

You wanted him to say he would call you tomorrow, or meet you somewhere. You wanted to be told that this would continue—but the serious look on Jasper’s face warned that you wouldn’t be hearing any of that. Conflicting looks crossed over his features as he looked like he was debating something within himself. “You should talk to Alice again when you can. There’s a lot more to her vision than what she explained to you. It’s important that you seek her when you’re ready to listen. It’s about you, and you deserve to know what she believes will be coming.” He added dryly, “You’ll like what she saw for you.”

“And what about you, though?”

“Because of… foreseen circumstances, Alice has asked for some distance in our relationship for now. I can feel her emotions. I know what she’s trying to do—and you’ll find out when you talk to her—but I can’t let her. Please understand this. Regardless of whatever Alice says to you, I need you to keep a distance from me.”

“But-”

“There is nothing you can say to change my mind, I meant what I said. I love Alice with my entire heart. We have been married since 1950. Now you know everything, there’s no reason for you and I to continue talking about it. Please talk to Alice; but listen to me. I will not leave my wife for you.”

That was the final blow; all you needed to push you into an unfamiliar territory; one where you wanted to sever the one-sided bond. You thought back at the question you didn’t ask him earlier and realised you might die if you didn’t. “I want you to use your gift again to help me achieve that. Every time I feel attracted to you, every time I love you or I want you… You have to quell it. I realise I’m in way over my head. I realise I am embarrassing myself by continuing to love you.” Jasper winced as you said the last sentence, but watched you intently as you continued. “I can’t stay away from you if I can’t get over you. I need help. Will you please put me out of my misery and control my feelings for me?”

“I can only do it while I’m in range. It’ll wear off-”

“It might at least condition me to stop thinking about you. I don’t know. Can we at least try it?”

His beautiful eyes locked with yours, and your heart felt lighter. As you watched the vampire in front of you, he looked less godlike, less devastating. Still conventionally attractive, you felt the adoration slip away as you studied his face, his hair, his body… Everything melted away and was replaced by neutrality. For the first time in a while, you stared at Jasper Hale and you didn’t want to kiss him, or hold him, or profess your love with him. 

If anything, you wanted him out of your room. 

And so, with one last look at you to make sure it worked, Jasper turned away from you and walked out the door.

For the first time in a long time, you could breathe again.

*

Tags: @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @eggmettcullen @scuzmunkie @xcharlottemikaelsonx @oi-itsemily @cacti-succulents-andlesbians @aw0kenangel @jelly-fishy-babie @kawaiikpoplover268 @awkwardnesshabitat @salsameter @dillybuggg @awesomebooklover17 @badgirlsdeaddreams @raindancer2004 @camillapad @champagnejoker @tweedlydumbtweedlydoo @starrybumbles @bubblegumcat229 @boywivlove @mauvette268 @pleasantlycrazyworld 

[nightklok]

Kiss prompt (if you are still doing them!) Lavonna/Nathan - #75 Kisses Meant To Distract The Other Person From Whatever They Were Intently Doing

76 Kiss Prompts  [Open]

Oh of course, these sort of prompts are always open! :O And I’m sorry for this taking so long, I’m just now getting through to these prompts I owe! And I realize that this may not have filled the prompt but i hope you enjoy it either way!

75. Kisses Meant to Distract the Other Person from Whatever They Were Intently Doing

Lavona placed an ice pack over her head as she looked at the other members standing before her.  They had a look of defeat on their faces as those uninjured tended to the injured. There had been quite a lot of losses from their side and their deaths were sadly in vain as they hadn’t won. It felt selfish to say they had to continue on. Well...the manager seemed to no longer be in the picture so perhaps they could try again. They were running out of ideas, however and the member size was dwindling.

She set the ice pack aside, trying to get the attention of her members, “This has been a day of failure for all but we can’t lose the purpose of our mission, our destiny-“

And then her phone rang and once she checked, she saw that it was a text message: Hey  so I was thinking the other day and ur kinda hot so im fine with 4getting wat happened that day so uh wanna go out?

Followed by another text.

It’s Nathan btw

And another.

From Dethklok

Well, seemed like she had a plan now.

Her triumphant smile easily outshines the worn looks of her members, “looks like we have a good chance of getting him.”

___

The arcade lights of the Dave and Busters were bright, a little too bright for her, but it was what he had picked. Well, it was her fault for saying he could pick whatever he wanted. And that she should’ve listened to that gossip magazine saying Nathan preferred amusement parks/arcades as first dates in a ‘Which Dethklok member should you date?’ quiz. Who knew they were fairly accurate?

Nathan wasn’t wearing his signature black shirt. Well, it was black but it looked more like a polo shirt and he threw on a leather jacket as well. If it weren’t for the fact he was already a tall and intimidating looking guy, he would’ve definitely appeared more nervous than he already must’ve been, “So I hope that this is okay.”

“It’s fine,” She answered as she looked around. There was no one around except for a few klokateers that were near the exits, and in random areas for the room. Most likely the place was bought out for the night for security reasons. She would’ve panicked that it would destroy her plan but it was a plan that didn’t require her members to be put into anymore peril. She glanced around the various arcade games and crane machines, some familiar but others not as it had been years since she last went to one, “What do we do now?”

“Oh uh well, you can pick. We can eat first or play some games, it’s your call.”

“We can play some games,” She answered as she looked around. Surely there must be some game that would let them be alone to be able to take things further? She tried looking but couldn’t find any or didn’t see from her angle. It was a good idea to at least try and play some games, gain his trust and maybe a little flirting here and there wouldn’t hurt. She looked at a crane machine that was full of, ironically, Dethklok themed teddy bears, “I wanna try that one.”

“Oh, crane machines, huh? Nice choice,” Nathan answered. He offered his hand and she took it. Holy shit, his hand was huge and warm and surprisingly soft.

The crane machine was themed around Dethklok unsurprsingly enough. It was with black with blood splatter and an 8 bit version of their songs playing, thankfully not the same song in a loop. A klokateer quickly handed them each a cup full of coins and Nathan inserted a few into the game. The game changed songs and a timer was shown next to the joy stick.

Nathan had given quick instructions on how to effectively strategize. She look around the sides, did mental calculations, and she had the bear in the claw’s grasp only for it to fall completely. She cursed to herself at losing at such a childish game.

“Guess it’s really rigged. I can get a-”

“No, I’ll just try again,” Lavona said quickly. She inserted as many coins as the game would allow her before trying again.

It took about five tries before Lavona realized that Nathan was right; the game was rigged.

Before any of them could even say a word to each other, they both punched through the glass. An alarm quickly sounded from the machine but was quickly shut off from one of the attendants. They picked a bear that wasn’t covered in glass and handed it to each other with a simple ‘thanks’.

Though in all honesty, the sentiment of breaking glass using their bare hands was rather touching. Nathan really didn’t need to do that and probably could’ve had a klokateer smash it for him an attendant un-rig the game. Maybe it was impulse or him trying to make her feel better; but it was the same result of him giving her a bear regardless. It gave a feeling that she hadn’t quite felt in years.

“How about we try some other games?” She asked once klokateers finished bandaging her hands.

“Oh, you still wanna continue? I mean, I understand if you wanna call it a night or something. Sorry about your hand,” Nathan said sheepishly. He took a sip of the cheap beer that was given to them.

“I’ve been through worst dates, Nathan,” She answered, “Besides, it’s been only thirty minutes. There’s still time.”

“Oh yeah, that’s true. Then maybe games that don’t have claw machines?”

“Deal. What other games are there?”

As Nathan began talking about the type of games there are to play, Lavona noticed a klokateer grow limp near the exit and be dragged out. The klokateer, or rather one of her members dressed in their clothes quickly replaced them. The member gave a thumbs up though Lavona tried to tell them to leave. That wasn’t part of the plan!

As Nathan finished talking about one of the arcade games, he noticed that Lavona seemed distracted. Then she noticed that he had stopped talking asked him to continue on talking and he obliged though he did seem a bit wary of what she was looking at.

Suddenly, there was a shout from a klokateer and before Nathan could react, she pulled him down by the shirt collar to kiss him. It was as warm as the first time they kissed among the flames. This time, there was no urgency or even fear or adrenaline. Just a kiss and that was all. Maybe a spark but that was beside the point. She couldn’t just...fall in love with her target-that was completely unethical!

There was silence thankfully though she had a feeling her plan was ruined. And for some reason? She didn’t seem to mind. She took his hand afterwords and they went over to a shooting game.

Aside from whatever the heck happened in the beginning, the date went on without a problem. They played games, won prizes, and ate. There was something she felt when she spent more time with him. It wasn’t the sexual attraction she had always felt with him but rather something more. It felt like being some teenager again and falling in love with the cute guy in math class or something. Felt innocent, almost.

Maybe she could’ve been able to fulfill her plan successfully. After all, Nathan and her relaxed quite a ton thanks to the conversations and beer by the end of the night. But for some reason, she had a feeling that he wasn’t the type to want to go further on a first date and she didn’t mind the delay. 

At the end of the night, when they had only smashed two crane machines and won a ton of prizes, the dethlimo pulled up to Lavona’s house.

“I had a great time. Thank you for asking me out, Nathan,” Lavona smiled at Nathan.

“It’s not really a problem. Thanks for accepting. I had a great time,” Nathan answered with a smile of his own. It was slightly creepy but cute and she liked it.

They kissed and Lavona pulled apart. A klokateer opened the door for her, another bringing out the stuffed animals to carry for her. Once the klokateer dropped off the stuffed animals in her living room couch, they returned and Nathan waved before the limo drove off.

One of the members greeted Lavona though paused when they saw her hand was bandaged, “What happened? Did you get hurt by him?”

“Not at all,” She answered but refused to tell what really happened, “It’s fine, the date went well.”

“So you seduced him?!”

“No, I’m afraid not. It seems like...I’ll have to try again for another date.”

Another member had heard the conversation and went over to them with a sigh, “Nathan seems like the kind of guy who would want to take things slow. It might take weeks, months even! Are you sure this is the most effective plan?”

The idea of getting to spend months with Nathan made her face flush though she tried to downplay her excitement, “Well, whatever is needed for the church, right?”

____

"So did you figure out who she is?” Pickles asked when Nathan went to the living room. The rest of the guys were there as well, watching whatever disturbing horror movie Toki had picked.

“I-uh-yes and no. I know who she is but not what she’s doing exactly,” Nathan answered.

“I knew you couldn’t do it! We shoulda had me ask her on a date!” Murderface said.

“Looks at yous. I thinks she’d justs dies of embarrassments if yous dids.” Skwisgaar didn’t hide his disgust at all.

“Look, I have a plan for this. And it’s just gonna take a while, okay?”

“How longs?” Toki asked suspiciously.

“Uhh..a week...maybe a few months?”

“Are you sure just...asking her is not an option? To save us the time?” Pickles asked.

“Uh, no. Has to totally be my plan. If we wanna figure out what really happened that night, my plan is the only option if we wanna actually..y’know, live.. Anyway, gonna go to bed I’m tired. Good night,” Nathan quickly left before the others could object.

He could ask. He knew that. She would most likely tell him everything. But his mind went back to that kiss and the fun time he had with her. Besides, if she enjoyed destroying crane machines as much as him, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to delay the plan as much as possible.

Before he went to bed, he went to his phone to send only one text to Lavona.

Had fun 2nite. Wanna go out again?

[artnerd1123]

A Familiar World

Complaining About Cereal  ——————————————

She might have all her boxes moved in, and a familiar to boot, but Evangel forgot about doing a rather important errand until now. Grocery shopping. 

The masterpost for AFW can be found here. The chapter post for AFW can be found here.

——————————————

This started as a scene in the “Evangel” chapter, but I ended up pulling it out as plans changed. However, I couldn’t quite get the scene out of my head. Thus! It goes here on its own. Here we have another look at Evangel in her natural habitat. And she’s got more whining to do sldkjfs

                                                     ————

Going out was always a bit of an experience. Whether or not it was a fun experience depended on a lot of things. Was it for errands? For friends? Just to get some air? Just to go browse the local stores, or hang around town? Unfortunately for Evangel, it didn’t matter what she went out for. It was always horrendous. With a new familiar at home and plenty of misgivings about her “kind” neighbors, the last thing she wanted was to go out among unknown- probably judgemental- strangers. But the town was new! She could see herself getting turned around very quickly. That was horrible enough when she knew an area. She didn’t want to think about how terrifying it would be in this new town. She might as well try and get her bearings before directions became a burden on someone else. Plus, she needed food. She and her new familiar had eaten all the stuff her new neighbors had left. Stocking her pantry and cold cabinet hadn’t been on her mind when she left home, and now she had another mouth to feed. Ugh. Not going sooner was a stupid mistake on her part. Only someone like me could’ve made such an idiotic oversight…

The sorceress was walking down the street with her hood up. Normally, she wouldn’t attempt such a thing. It would muss up her carefully braided and smoothed hair! Not to mention the wrinkling it would give her dress. But nobody knew her, and she didn’t know anyone. It was better to try and go unnoticed, right? Even though she could clearly feel eyes on her back. Her footsteps slowed the farther she went down the road. She cast a glance behind her, wary gaze searching for the grocer’s. The passing strangers kept… looking at her. Why? She hadn’t gone out of the house without sprucing herself up a bit. Maybe she hadn’t styled her hair right. Is it really that bad? She fretted worriedly, catching eyes with another stranger. She looked away as quick as she could. O-or maybe they don’t like my cloak… Or my dress? I must’ve f-forgotten something- oh dear me- If she hadn’t caught sight of the grocer’s sign a couple buildings town, Evangel would’ve rushed back home. As it was, she pretty much ran right to the shop. A loud ring from the door’s bell announced her entrance. It left her frozen in place. The few customers inside cast a look at her- at her- but they looked away quickly. Uninterested. … she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or unhappy. This would’ve been much easier if people knew who she was. Then they could stop just staring at her. Even though she’d been wishing to disappear from their plane of existence a moment ago… But, contradictions aside, she was inside. Taking a deep breath, the sorceress just. Tried to calm down. She was here for food, and there was plenty of it here. Her familiar wouldn’t need anything special, either. It was just a familiar.  It could eat have the same thing she did. That simplified things further. Hopefully she wouldn’t manage to fudge shopping up. Timidly taking a basket, she wandered towards the breakfast isles. First meals first. She walked slowly down the row of shelves, taking in the selection. They had plenty of nice looking food here. Plenty of bread. Some cold cabinets full of eggs, sausage… all sorts of things. It was pancake mix that really caught her eye. Ah! Pancakes were a common sight at her old home’s breakfast table. They’d be perfect! All she’d need to do was add the fixins. She grabbed the box off the shelf happily, humming to herself. It was only when the box hit the bottom of her basket that she realized… wait. I never learned to make these. Ah. Right. She had to make her own food now, didn’t she? That… might be a problem. Especially since she had no desire to learn how. Looking down the aisle, the only thing that didn’t require a bare minimum of cooking knowledge was cereal. Cereal. Imagine it. Her. Eating cereal. She wrinkled her nose in displeasure. It would have to do for now. A sigh slipped out as she exchanged the pancake mix for cornflakes. Great. Just great. Ok… so… breakfast was a bust. But maybe lunch food would be better. There had to be some ready made foods she liked. Every meal she used to eat couldn’t possibly have needed prepared. Right?

… as it turned out, she was wrong. Very wrong. Every single food she wanted had to be mixed, or baked, or cooked, or something. Her basket was full of dry or frozen foods. It was, quite honestly, a terrible tragedy. Evangel sighed heavily as she headed to the checkout line. It drew glances from the other shoppers- the exact opposite of what she wanted- and she ducked her head. Why couldn’t she have thought to bring one of the cooks with her when she left? That would’ve been smart. Now all she had was this basket of… of… could she deign to call it food? … If she had to eat it, she supposed the label was forced upon it. Eugh. As she checked out her food, the sorceress couldn’t even look at what was in her bags. 

I’m going to be miserable, she thought mournfully. Absolutely miserable.

[crystallinecrimsonmoth]

Future Serial Killer [ongoing]

Chapter 39

The Sanctuary was bustling with life and loud voices as usual while Carl showed their new addition around the lands, pushing a stroller that one of the other Saviours had found for Jasmine. Two days had passed since their trip to Hilltop and the assault on their truck by Liùsaidh, spent by Carl in the gym and in the new addition’s room, attempting to settle her in properly and making sure she didn’t keep hitting the wall and making her fists bloody by gifting her a punching bag.

Since then, the Saviour Queen had been trying to teach his daughter how to speak, both him and Negan fighting to convince Jasmine to say “Dada” and “Papa” respectively, only for the toddler to stare up at them with blank eyes and no idea what they were saying. Carl had coaxed her with bites of every baby food they could make, blending fruits, vegetables and even sausages to see if his little girl was more of a carnivore baby, but all his efforts produced nothing in the end.

Jasmine continued to babble and giggle in response to his words and everyone else’s, her big blue eyes focusing intently on his like he was the only person in the world. Despite not being able to talk, his daughter was certainly good at eye contact.

‘Carl?’ The sound of Liùsaidh’s voice distracted him from his rambling thoughts about his daughter, his name sounding foreign on her tongue not used to speaking English.

He turned his head to look at her, giving a genuine smile now that he had grown out of his fear of her knife skills. After watching her kill an entire herd of walkers on her own with just her two daggers, he had been wary of her murderous skill, but her throw of a knife into the walker behind his head changed his mind about that fear.

‘Not knife you, just them.’ The young woman had reassured in her broken English, causing him to relax for the rest of the walk they had been on.

She had proved herself protective of her allies that first day they knew each other, something that was in short supply these days now that almost a decade had passed since the start of the apocalypse and everyone had found their allegiances and settlements.

Carl could tell Liùsaidh had no one before she attacked their truck other than Sorcha, the mud caking her arms and neck barely washed by river water never mind a shower. She hadn’t been anywhere with people since two years after the beginning, according to her signing, meaning she’d been alone for six years straight. The teen couldn’t imagine being alone for all that time and staying sane, but Liùsaidh had done it.

‘What’s wrong?’ He signed in response to her saying his name when he finally focused on reality again, wondering if she had seen something that he hadn’t.

Two days with her was all he had needed to figure out how sharp her senses were.

Liùsaidh shook her head at his question, pointing to Sorcha who stood beside Jasmine’s stroller like a guard dog and then to the grassy area beside the entrance gates. It took Carl a moment to realise what she meant and when he did, he nodded, watching her let Sorcha off the leash and the dog subsequently bounding over to the grass and peeing.

He smiled, a faint expression, before he spotted Daniel and Cara signing back and forth to each other by the gates. He gestured to Liùsaidh to follow, coming up to stand beside his friends and putting Jasmine’s stroller brakes on. The other two turned to look at them when the little girl made a loud squealing noise to get their attention.

Carl noticed Cara’s eyes flicker over Liùsaidh before her hand rested on the pistol in her holster, clearly untrustworthy of the new face. Daniel got behind Cara a little, seeming wary too, causing the Queen to speak up before any fights broke out between the trio that would likely end in the death of the two established Saviours.

‘She doesn’t speak any English, you trigger-happy assholes, tap your chests and say your names.’

‘If she doesn’t know any English, how are we supposed to speak to her?’ Cara frowned, eyeing Liùsaidh suspiciously still which was visibly making the young woman anxious.

‘How does Daniel speak to you? Sign language.’ He scolded them both, offering the young woman a sympathetic smile which she returned awkwardly, clearly not used to smiling at anyone.

Cara nodded with a sigh, giving Liùsaidh the same awkward smile before tapping her chest and shoving Daniel to do the same who had already kneeled down to say high to Jasmine. He stood up straight with a grin, tapping his chest.

‘Daniel.’

‘Cara.’

It was Liùsaidh’s turn to glare suspiciously at the other two this time, her walls raised until she was sure the new people were safe. Then she brought her hands up to sign, speaking in her native language like she did all the time while she signed so that they knew what the words meant.

‘Toilichte coinneachadh riut.’

‘Pleased to meet you too. Carl, how long has she been here? I haven’t seen you or her in the past two days.’ Cara complained, smiling at Jasmine when she began to make noises again to get attention.

The teen moved to pick his daughter up from her stroller when she started to babble, worried something was wrong until Liùsaidh stepped in and kneeled down to the toddler, letting her grab her hand and play with it to keep her quiet. The three Saviours stared at her strangely, confused, until Liùsaidh noticed their expressions and lifted her one free hand to fingerspell her words.

‘Bha piuthar bheag agam o chionn bhliadhnaichean.’

Carl nodded, understanding now why she had become so fiercely protective over Jasmine even in the short space of a few days. She must have reminded her of her little sister. He wanted to ask about everything he didn’t know about the woman, but he figured that would be better to do when his daughter wasn’t gripping onto Liùsaidh’s fingers like a life raft and the young woman wasn’t staring at her like she was beyond perfect. He knew his daughter was perfect already, he was just glad other people agreed with him.

‘I think she’s collecting aunties.’

‘She’s collecting everyone, aunties, uncles, Robbie and Luka too. She’s the star of the Sanctuary.’ He smiled proudly, petting Jasmine’s hair when she looked up at him before going back to playing peek-a-boo with Liùsaidh.

The scene of the two of them playing together put Carl at ease, his comfort reappearing now that he knew Liùsaidh wasn’t going to hurt his little girl. He kneeled down beside the stroller to scratch Sorcha’s ears, watching his daughter bond with the lonely stranger who just needed someone to care about her until Cara grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the quiet scene, looking ready to scold him.

‘You’re trusting a complete stranger to go near your daughter without knowing what she’s thinking, are you insane? She could be saying anything she wants to us and signing what she wants us to hear, I don’t trust her.’ The older woman insisted, causing Carl to sigh and shake his head.

‘She could have killed both me and Negan in that truck on the way home. She could have left me and Jasmine for dead in the middle of the woods on our walk. She’s had plenty of opportunities to kill me off so no, I’m not insane. I trust her because she hasn’t killed me yet. I need more people like her because we don’t know what’s out there waiting to come and kill us, my dad could be planning to straight up murder me, for all I know, so I need people like her to protect me, my family, everything that Negan’s built.’ He fought back, running a hand through his hair and glancing over at Liùsaidh and Jasmine just to make sure they were okay.

Cara shook her head, still not appearing convinced as she leaned against the wall of the factory, still watching him carefully.

‘Well say she is on our side and she trusts you as much as you trust her, how are you going to make sure she doesn’t kill one of our allies for simply going to say hello to Jazz? I imagine she’d kill anyone who touched her at this stage.’

‘I’m working on that part. If I can figure out what good and bad are in her language, I can establish a code so that she knows who she’s meant to be threatened by and who she isn’t meant to threaten.’ He explained, putting a hand over his mouth to yawn as the sky began to get darker.

Both of them looked up at the sky, watching as the colour darkened slowly and the cloud cover got worse.

‘We should get inside before that rain hits, come on.’ Carl got everybody back inside and sounded the rain alarm so that everybody could get inside and no one would get sick from the cold.

‘We’ll have to start distributing the blankets and switching the heating on, I have a feeling we’re going to get snow.’ Cara predicted as she shut the door behind the last person, locking it properly so the wind couldn’t take it down during the night.

‘It hasn’t snowed in years, Cara, don’t get your hopes up.’ Carl rolled his eyes at her suggestion, motioning to Liùsaidh that he’d be one minute so he could take her back to the room she’d been allocated. The young woman shook her head, crouching down to say goodbye to Jasmine who was still in her stroller, staring up at everybody while they bustled around, getting ready to set up for dinner.

‘Chì mi a-màireach thu, a nighean bhòidheach, bi math dha d ’athair.’ She cooed to the toddler before standing up and signing to Carl that she knew the way back by herself then disappearing through the crowd to get to the living quarters.

‘She’s not eating with us?’

‘She’s used to the quiet, I think the main hall is just too noisy for her at dinner.’ The teen explained, kneeling down to get Jasmine out of her stroller and lifting the little girl into his arms.

‘Let’s go and get Papa to come downstairs for dinner, huh? He’s being a big lazy bear up there!’ He cooed to make the little girl giggle, clasping hands with Cara as a goodbye before heading upstairs to get his husband to eat.

Opening the door slowly in case Negan had fallen asleep on his documents since Carl last saw him at lunch time, he peeked in and found the man standing by the window, staring out at the rain with his usual leather jacket replaced with a plain blue t-shirt and his jeans turned into pyjama pants.

‘Wearing your old man slippers and lamenting about the rain, King of the World?’ He teased, entering with Jasmine on his hip and wandering over to his husband, causing the older man to laugh and pull him against his side when he got close enough.

Jasmine clambered from Carl’s arms onto Negan, hugging around his neck and burying her head in the man’s neck, not making a sound other than the little giggle that escaped her.

‘Hi, sweetheart.’ Negan smiled when his daughter latched onto him, holding the little girl up and staring out at the rain again.

‘You think it’ll snow this year? Cara does.’

Negan shrugged, looking down at his daughter with a smile.

‘It might. Be nice for kiddo to see snow at least once in her life.’

The two of them watched from the upstairs window as the rain came heaving down onto the paved ground outside, Carl feeling Negan’s arm wrap around him as they observed the weather together, Jasmine wrapped around Negan’s neck and babbling happily with her stuffed fox in hand.

Translation for what Liùsaidh says to Jasmine near the end:

"I will see you tomorrow, pretty girl, be good for your father."

[soulstealer1987]

Arc 2, Chapter 2

Ziist Grozein

The duo continues on through Nightcaller Temple in their mission to destroy the Skull of Corruption and save Dawnstar, although neither of the two are exactly what the other thinks. Secrets are revealed, risks are taken, and both Gallus and Erandur still have a ways to go before their mission here is complete.

Crossposted from AO3. Masterpost is here.

Arc 2: A Dream of Despair

Arc 2, Chapter 1 ~ Arc 2, Chapter 3

“Now I can show you the source of the nightmares,” Erandur says quietly, sheathing his mace for now, heading over to a barred opening, and pointing down through it. “Over here.” Gallus heads over, and looks down. He can’t quite make out what’s down there, save a reddish force field surrounding… something.

“Is that the Skull of Corruption?” Gallus asks, squinting at it through the bars preventing them or anyone else from jumping straight down.

“Yes,” Erandur says in an even softer tone. A quick glance over at Erandur reveals to Gallus that there’s something deeply personal about this to him, or maybe Gallus is just reading too much into it. Maybe he imagined the guilt-ridden look on the priest’s face that was there for moments at most. “Behold, the source of Dawnstar’s woes. We must reach the inner sanctum and destroy it. Come, there’s no time to lose.”

As it happens, Erandur was right to be worried. Both cultists and invaders alike are awoken as he and Gallus proceed into Nightcaller Temple, and they attack friend and foe alike indiscriminately. Fortunately, the cultists aren’t all that good of fighters, but the orcs, on the other hand… they bring to mind the relentless savagery of the Falmer. Gallus really, really hopes he never has to go into another Dwemer ruin, although he’s not particularly optimistic about that one. He just hopes he has someone he trusts at his back for the next one.

Speaking of someone he trusts… Gallus isn’t quite certain that Erandur can, in fact, be trusted. Certainly, he’s a priest, but priests are generally pacifists. Priests don’t generally go charging in with a flame spell in one hand and a well-worn mace in the other. Erandur, on the other hand, does. There’s also the fact that he knew how to open the barrier to the Temple, although Gallus supposes that he could have learned that in preparation for his task here.

Regardless of this, Gallus doesn’t voice his concerns. Instead, he tries to let Erandur take the lead through the strange, purple mist in the air (probably the Miasma, actually) as much as possible, and tries to keep an eye on where he is at all times. In all honesty, he isn’t sure why his instincts are leading him to be this wary - after all, this is just a priest. But they are, and he is, and he hopes he won’t come to regret being too overly cautious about this, about Erandur.

He wonders, momentarily, as they come to a strange sort of barrier, if maybe he’d been betrayed before. Maybe there was a reason he was reacting this way… but Gallus certainly doesn’t know what it is, and the thought slips his mind as he hears Erandur swear in a most un-priestly fashion.

“The priests must have activated this barrier when the Miasma was released,” Erandur explains. “It’s… difficult to breach. Impossible, actually.”

“Really?” Gallus asks. “You mean we came in here for nothing?” Erandur frowns, and after a moment, shakes his head.

“There may be a way to bypass the barrier, but I must check o-” Erandur coughs hurriedly. “The library. I must check the library to confirm it can be done.” Gallus caught him that time, and Erandur knows it, too. The scholar and the priest regard each other cautiously for a long moment, before Gallus clears his throat awkwardly.

“You… weren’t about to say our library, were you?” Gallus asks innocently, not taking his eyes off Erandur, not sheathing his sword, and silently preparing a Calm spell behind his back for if worst came to worst and the priest attacked him. “Because you do seem to know an awful lot about this place, even for someone who’s been tasked by their goddess to destroy it.”

Erandur lowers his gaze, staring intently at the cracked floor of the hall they’re in.

“I was not tasked by Lady Mara to destroy this place,” Erandur whispers, so softly that Gallus can barely make out his words. He looks up, and looks past him. “I took on this task myself, as a way to atone for what I’ve done in the past.” He still doesn’t meet Gallus’ gaze, and it suddenly clicks for him.

“You don’t mean to say-”

“I do,” Erandur says, shoulders sagging. His voice cracks. “I suppose there’s no point in concealing the truth any longer. My knowledge of this temple comes from personal experience. I… was a priest of Vaermina, long ago.”

Gallus bites back a sarcastic remark, because now really isn’t the time unless he really does want to need that Calm spell. Sarcasm, unfortunately, is not the solution to everything. Instead, he says, quietly, “Why keep it a secret?”

Erandur laughs humorlessly. “When the orcs invaded the temple, I fled,” Erandur explains, and Gallus doesn’t think he’s imagining the sorrow in his eyes. “I left my brothers and sisters here to die. I’ve spent the last few decades living in regret and seeking redemption from Mara. And by Her Benevolence, I will right my wrongs.” His expression is full of resolve, and Gallus can see his determination. He can respect that.

“Sounds good to me,” Gallus says. “Anything else I should know, or… well… would now be a good time to mention that I’m an amnesiac?” If Erandur’s shocked expression is any indication… no. Not at all.

“You do a good job of pretending otherwise,” Erandur says solemnly. “I take it that’s why you’re so interested in what’s going on here?” Gallus nods.

“Yes,” says Gallus. “You wouldn’t happen to have any idea on how I can get my memories back, would you?”

“If Vaermina took them, you wouldn’t be getting them back,” says Erandur after a long pause. “However, as I said earlier, you would not be walking around if Vaermina had taken that many from you. I’m afraid I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but once we’re done with the Skull, I can help you look into it.”

Gallus nods, and says, ‘Thank you.” There’s another long pause, interrupted only by whatever is going on within the barrier with the soul gem powering it, but this time, it’s less uncomfortable, somewhat.

“To the library, then,” Erandur says. “I still have my key, from...” He lapses into silence, clearly less than comfortable with the subject. Gallus nods, and lets Erandur lead the way, this time because he actually knows where he’s going. He still doesn’t quite trust Erandur, not completely… but he’s at least not expecting the priest to stab him in the back, or take a mace to his skull. That’s progress, he supposes.

“Be careful,” Erandur warns as he turns the key in the lock. “We’re certain to find more of the awakened within.”

“I could… try to keep them from attacking us?” Gallus offers. With his free hand, he readies a Calm spell, then looks to Erandur. Erandur sighs, and shakes his head.

“The gesture is appreciated, but… I fear they will be too far gone even for that,” Erandur says sadly, pushing the door open with one hand and readying his mace with another. Gallus lets the Calm spell dissipate, and then summons a different kind of Illusion spell to his free hand.

“Courage spell it is,” Gallus mutters as Erandur charges in. “Not that you need it.” He manages to catch Erandur square in the back with the blue-ish spell, and the priest charges in.

“Feel the Benevolence of Mara!” Erandur shouts as he runs for a group of cultists and orcs alike. He proceeds to bash the face in of one, and Gallus doesn’t actually have to do anything. He just stands back and watches as Erandur takes down four enemies, two of which are trained warriors, in a matter of seconds. Granted, they were just waking up, but still…

It’s mildly terrifying. Gallus sincerely hopes not all priests in Skyrim are like this, but then again, this is Skyrim.

“Barring any more interruptions, perhaps we can locate the information I need,” Erandur says, sheathing his mace. Gallus nods. They both make a point of not looking at the new corpses adorning the library’s floor, two orcs and two cultists, a Breton and another Dunmer.

“What am I looking for, exactly?” Gallus asks.

“We’re looking for a book of alchemical recipes called The Dreamstride. The tome bears the likeness of Vaermina on the cover.” Erandur frowns, surveying the destruction of the library. “It… should be here somewhere, assuming it’s still intact.”

“If it’s not… how big of a problem will we have?”

Erandur winces. “Big,” he says and looks around wistfully. “This library used to be filled with arcane volumes, and now… Now look at it, almost everything’s been burned.” He sighs, and returns his attention to Gallus. “I’ll check the bottom, if you look up on the balcony shelves?”

As it happens, the ‘balcony shelves’ are significantly more precarious than the area below, but after some extremely cautious maneuvering around a collapsed portion of the ceiling, Gallus finds it. The Dreamstride is a heavy book with vaguely blueish covers and the likeness of something… that Gallus definitely would not have guessed to be Vaermina on the first guess, or the second and third for that matter.

“Found it,” Gallus calls, and after eyeing the drop cautiously, he slips back down to the ground level, the book tucked under his arm for safekeeping. He wastes no time in passing it to Erandur, who wastes no time in leafing through it until he reaches the page he’s looking for. Eventually, he finds it, and nods to himself, satisfied.

“Mara be praised! There is a way past the barrier to the inner sanctum,” Erandur exclaims, looking to Gallus with the same steely resolve from earlier. “It involves a recipe for a liquid known as Vaermina’s Torpor.” Gallus knows he hasn’t heard of it, at least not since his amnesia happened, but if The Dreamstride is an alchemical book, and Vaermina’s Torpor is a liquid…

“Is that… a potion?” Gallus asks cautiously. Erandur nods. “I didn’t read the book. What does it do?” Wordlessly, Erandur passes the book over to him, and Gallus quickly looks through the section on Vaermina’s Torpor, and the titular Dreamstride. He quickly gathers that while this will very clearly be very dangerous, it also seems extremely interesting, and his curiosity quickly overshadows his hesitations.

Of the numerous potions that have surfaced to date, Vaermina's Torpor is perhaps the most impressive. A single sip of this viscous liquid places the imbiber in a state known as "The Dreamstride." This condition allows the subject to experience the dreams of another as if they were actually there. The subject becomes an integral part of the dream, behaving as if they belong. To any other entities in this dream state, the subject will be mistaken for the dreamer; the subject will even find his mannerisms, speech patterns and knowledge expanded appropriately.

To an observer, after the subject has imbibed the potion, they will appear to vanish. As the subject traverses distances within the dream, they will also be traversing distances in the actual world. When the Torpor's effect has expired, the subject will fade back into reality in the exact location projected within the Dreamstride. Some Dreamstrides have transported their subjects a few feet, and some have appeared thousands of miles from their origin in a matter of minutes.

It's to be noted that the Dreamstride is highly dangerous and presents the subject with numerous pitfalls. In certain dreams, subjects have been exposed to life-threatening scenarios such as sicknesses, violence and even death. In most cases, the subject simply fades back to our world without harm, but in some instances, the subject never reappeared and was assumed to have expired or the subject reappeared deceased. It's also quite possible that the subject could reappear in a precarious or hazardous location in reality, even though that location appeared safe within the Dreamstride.

Vaermina's Torpor is as mysterious and elusive as the priests that created it. It's unknown whether this unique transport mechanism is a result of the Torpor itself or simply the odd machinations of Vaermina, but the potential for using the Dreamstride to penetrate seemingly impassible obstacles certainly outweighs its mysterious nature.

“So… if I drink this potion, I’ll be able to travel past the barrier. Through a dream,” Gallus concludes, offering the book back to Erandur. He doesn’t take it, but nods, and eventually Gallus just slips the book into his bag for safekeeping. “Does this… really work?”

“As far as I’m aware, it should,” Erandur says. “Yes, the Torpor grants the ability we… they called the Dreamstride, and yes, it allows you to use dreams to travel distances in the real world.”

“That’s… honestly pretty amazing,” Gallus says. After a moment’s hesitation, Erandur smiles slightly.

“Quite amazing, yes,” Erandur agrees. “Alchemy and the blessings of a Divine distilled into an ingestible liquid.” After a moment, he adds, “Sadly, I have yet to see it function in person.”

“So what you’re saying is, I’m going to be your test subject,” Gallus says bluntly. Erandur visibly winces, but nods.

“Well… yes, but also no,” Erandur says. “If there was another way, I would gladly take it. You see, as a sworn priest of Mara, the elixir won’t work for me. The Torpor will only work for sworn priests of Vaermina, or the unaffliliated.” He looks pointedly at Gallus, who gulps.

“Sounds dangerous,” Gallus remarks. “How can you be certain?” Erandur sighs.

“I’m not,” Erandur admits. “I will not lie to you, there is some risk involved. The last time the Torpor was imbibed could have been decades ago. But I swear upon Lady Mara that I will do everything within my power to prevent any harm from befalling you.”

Gallus hesitates, but nods. He’ll take Erandur at his word for now.

“Do you know where we can find the Torpor?” Gallus asks.

“Not for sure,” says Erandur. “However, there used to be a laboratory adjourning the library. If we proceed there, we should be able to obtain an intact sample, Mara willing.”

Several more dead cultists and orcs later, they’ve found it, along with a lot of other alchemy ingredients that Gallus honestly has no clue how to use. Erandur’s more than happy to take the assorted ingredients off his hands, but the Torpor stays with Gallus. He looks at the tall bottle, staring into the depths of the dark liquid within that has to be Vaermina’s Torpor. If only staring at it could give him the answer’s he’s so desperately seeking.

“I’m relieved you discovered a bottle intact, but Dawnstar’s fate rests in that bottle. The longer we wait, the more damage Vaermina could be doing to those poor people,” Erandur says, putting a hand on Gallus’ shoulder and meeting his gaze. Fiery red eyes meet a stormy blue-grey, and Gallus really wishes he could say he isn’t terrified of this. He is. He definitely is. “I understand your hesitation, but I promise you that it works.”

Gallus nods, slowly, and lifts the bottle.

“Bottoms up,” he says, and downs the contents before he can change his mind.