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salt-clangen · 6 months ago

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Moon 7 2/2

Leaf Fall

Lynxpaw tried to keep conversation with Darkfold as they walked. She actually did have questions, but was trying not to reveal too much about Wolfstar or Snowspeckle’s states. But her nerves were making her jaw clench, she knew the rest of the patrol could scent her stress which only made her tenser.

“So with poppy seed use, I know cats can be reliant on them, what’s the best way to circumvent that?” She asked, happy to match the older molly’s slower pace.

“Try not to use it except in emergencies, and be prepared to hide it when you start to wean them. And never use it on yourself unless you have another cleric who can take you off of it. Just like kits nursing, you should slowly take away the poppies and introduce a safer herb for long term use.” Darkfold said very seriously.

“Do you think topical pain control would be enough or would it be smarter to use an oral type?” She pondered.

“I would say oral, but honestly both would be appropriate. I find that comfrey and dandelion tea mixes well with a poultice or ointment made of marigold.”

Thornstrike’s ears swiveled, trying to catch their low conversation over the sounds of the river.

“Thank you, we recently managed to get a significant amount of poppy seeds so I’d like to be prepared for using it.” Lynxpaw lied, hoping she sounded casual. “What’s your opinion on using cobwebs verses moss bandages?”

“Hmm I suppose I prefer cobwebs for stopping bleeding, it’s easier to see bleed through. But moss is pretty good at keeping topicals on the skin.”

Crossing over the fallen tree took a minute, Darkfold slowly ascending, unable to fully leap up onto the log. Thornstrike seemed to finally have some respect and let her brace again him to get up. Shadowpaw crossed through the river, showing off Lynxpaw assumed, racing ahead to let her use him as a step to get down.

Darkfold never acknowledged her pace or shortcomings, not even to thank the toms for their help. Lynxpaw supposed she didn’t want to seem weak, but she was dying to know what her ailment was. Despite that she kept her mouth shut and tried to ignore Thornstrike nearly shoving her off the log to try to beat her to the end.

She got there first, smug as she hopped down.

The gathering was just as large and overwhelming as she remembered. Though this time no one really batted an eye at them, taking longer to notice the pair as they arrived with the very strong scented Duskclan cats. Thornstrike shouldered past her, more forceful now, to assume his spot on the deputy’s rock, she snarled after him.

“Here, come wait by the leader’s rock. The gathering should start soon, Oakclan is still on the way. We can chat until it’s time for me to speak.” Darkfold instructed them, leading the pair to the shadow of the large stone. A few cats gave them wide eye glances but no one approached.

Jaggedstar and Rookstar were both lounging on the rock, the former watching them with sharp eyes. Her gaze narrowed as she realized Wolfstar wasn’t with them, but she didn’t call out to them.

“What do you plan to say?” Shadowpaw asked bluntly.

“You’ll see,” Darkfold answered, her tone was bored like she’d been asked this a million times already. “I did receive visions about your little group, but I’ve only told Jaggedstar, Rosedrift, and Mousefoot. Who relayed their dreams to me as well, Mousefoot and I will present them at the start of the gathering.”

The dark molly settled onto an exceptionally plush group of ferns and moss. Possibly her usual spot at gathering given her condition.

Lynxpaw shifted closer into Shadowpaw nervously, tucking herself against his side. He stayed still letting her shield herself from the crowd. After a moment he grunted at her, making her smile.

“I know Starclan is on our side, but I’m really nervous. What if something goes wrong? What if the clans decide to attack us.” She murmured into his fur, letting his salty scent comfort her.

“Don’t worry, Licks.” He answered simply. “Starclan will intervene on our behalf. I know it.”

Strangely his blunt, straightforward way of speaking was comforting for her. Though any words of reassurance probably would’ve worked on her. They settled into mirrored loafs, him facing the crowd while she was angled to face him and Darkfold.

That’s how they passed the time waiting for Oakclan to arrive. Lynxpaw trying to ease herself into glancing at the crowd of cats, all of whom seemed intent on staring. While she did that Shadowpaw kept his face blank, almost bored, a few younger cats gave him a nod as they walked by, but he didn’t acknowledge them back.

A young, familiar red tabby tom nervously stepped closer, a large burn covering the left side of his face. Lynxpaw was sure this must be Burnpaw, cleric apprentice of Duskclan and one of Wolfstar’s old friends. He glanced around nervously as he approached the front of them, almost like he was gonna talk to the pair, but he dodged around them in a jittery rush. Neither cat was subtle as they watched the odd cat approached Darkfold, he bowed quickly and whispered in her ear. The motion made her notice the bag around his neck, a small dark pouch likely leather.

Darkfold nodded then whispered back briefly, with a final nod he left the bag beside her and turned to go. He walked towards the pair again, eyes wide and he started to speak, zoned in on Lynxpaw. Her large companion stood up though, a low growl made the cleric apprentice pause. In another awkward rush of movement he turned sharply and walked away towards the crowd.

Lynxpaw purred and gave her clan mate a quick lick on his shoulder as he returned to loaf with her. The crowd was no louder or quieter than before, suprisingly.

It wasn’t much longer when Oakclan finally arrived, their shining leader, Archstar, entering first. Their long legs carried them at a breezy pace, their deputy and clan mates had to trot to catch up. They had managed to leap atop the leader’s stone before the final members of their clan had actually entered the clearing.

Lynxpaw watched Shadowpaw watch the crowd, curious to see who he knew. His face was blank, but his eyes were quickly scanning over each cat. Searching.

He let out a short huff through his nose when the final cats passed. Only one cat out of all seemed to catch his attention, a small lean black cat, somehow dwarfed by him despite being clearly full grown. Lynxpaw tried to see if the grey tabby that had abandoned him was here, but she couldn’t remember his face well.

The only cat to approach them was Mousefoot, the large wirey furred cleric, who ambled up to them. He splayed onto his side with a loud, but amicable, groan. Stretching his legs and toes, he gave the trio a fond greeting. He lay prone between them and Darkfold, much more lax despite his age.

Darkfold gave a brief greeting, while Lynxpaw only nodded.

“Shadowpaw my friend,” The old Tom chuckled. “Thought you were dog food, came running with a patrol when we’d heard about ya fight and found nothing but blood and fur.”

“Mousefoot.” Shadowpaw said, lips tight. Lynxpaw couldn’t tell if he genuinely hated the cleric or if he was just annoyed.

“Well I’m glad to see ya. Guess this means you won’t be coming back with us tonight huh?” Mousefoot didn’t seem sad though, his eyes shined with fondness. “Well can’t say I blame ya.”

“Let’s talk more after the gathering.” He dismissed, ears flicking.

Ah, mild annoyance, Lynxpaw thought fondly.

Mousefoot grunted an agreement and settled into a relaxed posture as the leaders called for the gathering to start.

The beginning of the gathering was… boring. Despite everyone’s anticipation to learn more about Saltclan and its legitimacy, the leaders seemed oblivious and went on with the standard announcements.

Honeyclan welcomes two new warriors.

Duskclan has a new warrior apprentice.

Oakclan just had two litters totaling in 6 kits.

Nothing interesting really, aside from warnings of a large dog around the carrion place, which was really just the one that attacked Shadowpaw and Wolfstar. Jaggedstar mentioned her clan took down a large boar and have began processing it, issuing an open invite to trade.

She got distracted watching Darkfold open her bag and begin to eat the contents. It looked like seeds, large spherical seeds with a rich smell. Mousefoot subtly lifted his paw to get her attention, shaking his head slightly when she looked. Admonished, Lynxpaw returned to watching the leaders.

The evening got a little interesting when Archstar brought up an issue concerning Honeyclan’s burial sites leeching into Oakclan territory, but it was shot down by Rookstar quickly. Archstar offered to discuss details in a smaller setting with mediators present which was accepted by the orange leader.

Finally when it felt like Lynxpaw was gonna rip her fur out and scream from boredom, Jaggedstar began to speak again.

She called for Darkfold to ascend the stone. Archstar, in turn, called for Mousefoot. Rookstar apologized for their lead clerics absence but gave no further explanation.

Surprisingly, Darkfold stood without assistance and climbed atop the rock quickly. Mousefoot followed at a leisurely pace, taking his time with the steps. When seated together, the older Tom crouched to allow Darkfold to speak first.

“I’m here to describe to you all the visions seen at the clerics most recent half moon gathering.” She spoke loudly and clearly. “Specifically regarding the new groups of cats, originally from Duskclan, claiming to be ordained by Starclan and calling themselves Saltclan.”

Lynxpaw flinched as Jaggedstar’s gaze dropped down to her. Shadowpaw didn’t move, despite her trembling.

“Many of you know that the three clans we have today weren’t born out of the dirt and mud, they were cats that were compelled to organize and coexist together as clans. Many, many seasons ago there was only Oakclan, lead by the first cat of nine lives Oakstar. Before the end of his final life another cat stepped out of the clan by Starclan’s will. This was Duskstar, who had been the original cleric and the first cat to visit the moon spring. Many seasons passed and again another cat stepped outside of Oakclan, driven by love and grief. She would be known as Honeystar and it would only be after she sacrificed her only life to protect her makeshift clan that Starclan acknowledged her leadership and gave her nine lives.”

She took a moment to pause and nod to Rookstar.

“It has been many seasons since Honeyclan’s formation, no cat alive today was alive when she was. So while there is precedent that new clans may form by splintering off their original clan, there is precedent for something much more sinister. Some of you may be too young, but I remember being a kit during Tall Water’s raids. A vicious tom cat named Talltail who believed he deserved to be leader and when rejected by his clan for his extremist views, took up with a group of rouges and exiles. He took the name Tall Water’s and hid amongst the rocks at the shore. He attacked without mercy and stole prey from our clans. His most heinous crime was kit stealing.”

A wave of murmurs and gasps broke out amongst the group, though quickly hushed.

“I myself was stolen and it was only after Jaggedstar, then deputy, Moltenfeather of Honeyclan, and Mousefoot of Oakclan came together that I and many other kits were rescued. Those three brought a final raid again Tall Water’s group after finding his location following a vision Mousefoot received from Starclan.”

A few cats made sounds of cheer, again hushed by the deputies.

“Tall Water’s band claimed to be a clan, calling themselves Tallclan, but when Jaggedstar took his only life. It finally proved he was truly just a cat.

Tall Water was not the first cat to defect from a clan and claim to be following Starclan, only to go against nearly every law ordained by our ancestors in the warrior code. And he likely won’t be the last.”

Her gaze, like every cat in attendance, fell on Lynxpaw.

“I tell you these stories not to sway you one way or another, but to remind you what our history has taught us. Starclan has required several things from a clan to be gifted with their blessings. A clan must have a hierarchy, they must have their own land, nearly undisputed either by trial or by chance. They must be able to defend and maintain their borders, a clan who can’t keep their borders doesn’t deserve their territory. And finally, they must follow the warrior code to the greatest extent they can.

Our history has shown that if a clan follows these guides, then they are aligned with Starclan. If they don’t, eventually they will be eradicated by the true clans.”

Jaggedstar stood for a moment, letting Darkfold finish her sentence before stepping forward to command attention.

“Please Darkfold, tell us of the vision you received.” She asked.

Lynxpaw wasn’t sure if she was actually trying to hurry Darkfold along for the sake of time. Or if she just wanted to emphasize Duskclan’s importance in this situation.

“Yes, on the most recent half moon gathering, I met with lead clerics Mousefoot and Rosedrift at the moon spring. We all set our intentions to learn more about the legitimacy and future of Saltclan.

Rosedrift and Mousefoot have spoken to both me and their leaders, their vision was only of me. They saw me in a bright light, sitting with my back to them and my tail resting in a pool of water. The light slowly faded into evening and their visions ended.

After much deliberation we agreed that this is a sign that my vision, the only one that differed, was the true vision to be interpreted. This is why Mousefoot and Rosedrift, who was not able to come this moon, allowed me the honor of being the one to speak at the gathering.”

Everyone was waiting with bated breath for her next words. As she began to speak again the moonlight broke through the wispy clouds and bathed her and Mousefoot in a bright beam. A show of Starclan’s will, Lynxpaw audibly gasped.

“My vision showed me standing on a brightly lit beach, the sand was shining so vivid, it seemed nearly white. Everything around me was glowing and iridescent. The waves however were dark, nearly black as they lapped at my feet. As I stepped further away from the water, I watched as a set of paw prints began to appearing. It was as if an unseen cat walked past me, side by side with the waves. However when the water receded from the shore, the paw steps remained, unlike mine which had washed away as one would expect. No matter how far I looked or how rough the waves were, the paw prints remained.

I, and the other lead clerics, believe that this vision shows that not only is Saltclan blessed by Starclan, but it shows that they will remain steady and present even when faced with adversary.”

Lynxpaw heart felt light, she felt like she could breathe again. Against her side she could feel Shadowpaw’s rumble purrs. Tears nearly sprung to her eyes as she stared up to the stars with gratitude.

As the noise of the crowd swelled again, Lynxpaw could distinctly hear Thornstrike hissing at everyone to be silent. Somehow managing to be louder than most of the cats.

“Thank you, Darkfold, Mousefoot. You may both return to a more comfortable spot.” Archstar’s voice rang out like a bell, compelling the cats’ attention without shrieking. “I’m fully satisfied with the cleric’s interpretation of the vision.”

“As am I. Though I do think a meeting between clans to establish borders is necessary.” Rookstar agreed, glancing at Lynxpaw.

“And Jaggedstar?” Archstar prompted, an easy grin on their face to mirror the snarl on hers. “What do you say of the new clan?”

“I’m more than satisfied with Darkfold’s analysis.” She turned to face the crowd. “I would’ve like to have heard from the newest leader, but she seems to be absent. Would either you have an explanation?”

She glared at the pair of them as Darkfold final manages to get back to her soft nest, all her strength and vigor gone.

“I would be happy to.” Lynxpaw could tell she was shaky, but as a cleric she’d need to be used to speaking in tense situations. She just pretended she was practicing at camp with Snowspeckle. “Wolfstar sends her apologies. Our clan’s artisan has given birth recently and is much too weak to be on her own.”

She paused to try to manage her thoughts again, she didn’t like lying, but the truth was too dangerous to admit right now.

“I would’ve stayed but Wolfstar decide that between a leader and a cleric, it was smarter to send the cleric.”

“Even though it’s a cleric’s apprentice?” Archstar asked, a little playful tone to their voice, but it felt just shy of mean spirited.

“Even still.” Lynxpaw smiled widely, trying to match the flamboyant leader’s tone. “An odd situation for sure but I agree with her decision.”

“And why not leave the apprentice?” Jaggedstar asked, causing most of the crowd to really focus on Shadowpaw for the first time. He bristled slightly but didn’t move even as some cats murmured.

“Wolfstar has a lot of practical knowledge when it comes to healing, if I couldn’t attend I wouldn’t have been comfortable without her there to care for our first litter and queen. Shadowpaw has recently joined us since last moon. The large dog Oakclan had mentioned has actually been taken care of already.”

“You mean to tell us your clan took on a dog?” Rookstar gasped, disbelieving.

“No Ssfu, last month after returning from Capri’s post, Wolfstar and I saw the dog attacking Shadowpaw. Wolfstar went to help and the cat he was with left, she managed to keep the dog at bay enough for its two leg owner to recapture it.”

The realization that partial truths were easier to say than outright lies made her stomach twist. It felt like lying no matter what.

“I’m glad Shadowpaw survived this attack and while I’m not enthusiastic about departures, I understand if he chooses to remain in saltclan given this event.” Archstar announced, Lynxpaw caught some eye rolls, likely from Oakclan cats. Snowspeckle had told her loyalty to their clan ran deep.

“We’re more than glad to have him, he is an exemplary addition to the clan.” Lynxpaw chirped, her squeaky voice got high as she said it. She bunted her head against his shoulder.

Shadowpaw, for his part, just sighed through his nose.

Very mild annoyance, she thought.

“Thank you, Lynxpaw for speaking.” Rookstar said, blinking fondly at the apprentice, her kittenish behavior had charmed him. “If there’s nothing else?”

He glanced at his companions on the rock, neither spoke.

“Then we may close this gathering.” He announced and the crowd broke into chatter right away.

“Should we stay for the after gathering?” Lynxpaw asked, a little excited. Wolfstar had only been to one after gathering, but she talked of it fondly. Snowspeckle had been to multiple and told Lynxpaw about them often.

“It’s late, it might be a good idea to head back home.” Shadowpaw stretched, glancing toward the clearing’s exit.

“Oh it would be nice for you to stay though!” She said. “You could let your friends know you’re ok.”

“Don’t have any friends here, don’t wanna talk to any of those cats.” He snapped, Lynxpaw didn’t flinch, though she was surprised. He pressed his ears against his head, looking all the world like he’d been reprimanded. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright, let’s head out.” She bunted his shoulder again.

“You can’t go yet.” Darkfold called, still lounging in her nest. “Didn’t you have questions for the other clerics? Now would be the time to ask.”

“Oh! Yeah,” She glanced at him cautiously, but he just nodded. “Thank you, Darkfold. That’s a good idea.”

Darkfold didn’t get up from her spot, letting the crowd disperse a little first. Lynxpaw noticed that not everyone stayed for the after gathering. All three deputies departed with group of their own clan. Jaggedstar and Rookstar also left, but Archstar stayed behind. They had an easy way about them, it wasn’t hard to see they’d enjoy the peaceful environment.

Lynxpaw watched in a load as some apprentices pulled a large pot out from behind some brush. There were buckets filled with water already set aside and a fire was quickly started. The crowd was either very young warriors and apprentices along with very aged warriors, some could even be elders. The elders attended the pot while the younger cats gathered to show what they brought, Lynxpaw inched closer.

“I brought some extra rosemary I helped a cleric gather.” A flame point tom offered, dropping it into the pot.

“We brought some marinated rabbit meat.” A black and white molly said loudly, tucked behind her was an identical tom, looking much more nervous.

The meat was added by the elders, who stored the now boiling water gently.

One by one each apprentice and newly made warrior put forward a different ingredient. Thyme, honey, fish meat, sage, and even ground flax for thickening. Lynxpaw watched on, letting out a dreamy sigh.

“Shit, I wish I’d brought some salt.” She frowned, earning some odd glances. She flushed until an elder laughed.

“You sound like a loner over there little one.” A dark grey elder chuckled.

“I’ve been in charge of trading with Capri while our artisan recovers from birth.” She smiled widely.

“Ah she’s got some great goods,” Another elder, a blue molly, laughed. “A bit far for a young one like yourself.”

“It’s pretty quick, I just follow the shoreline and go around the two legs.” She shrugged the order cats nodded.

“Well that’s a lot faster than traveling from Duskclan I’ll tell ya what. But don’t ya worry about salt I already mixed in some colt’s foot for a bit of flavor.”

As the conversation’s focus left Lynxpaw she glanced back and noticed her large companion was missing. She tried not to look worried as she checked around the clearing. A gentle tap of a tail to her hip made her glance left.

“He- uh Hi.” It was the red tabby from before. “I’m Burnpaw.”

“I know.” She said, head tilted.

“Oh ummm yeah. I was friends with Wolfstar when she was in Duskclan.” He said.

“I know that too.”

He was visibly flushed.

“Listen… I know Wolfstar isn’t here because she on nurse duty.” He said seriously, ears flat.

Lynxpaw knew about his last confrontation with Wolfstar, the argument over what his dream meant and whether she should return to the clan.

“Your dream interpretation was off, she survived the dog attack.” She avoided admitting her lie. He didn’t seem surprised that she knew.

“But her neck was slashed, right?” He asked, letting the obvious diversion go. “She survived? Or she lost a life and came back?”

“She survived,” Lynxpaw said firmly, but they both knew he was right. “Why do you care? You wanted her to come back because she wasn’t strong enough. This is proof she can be the leader she deserves to be.”

“Can she meet me?” He ignored the dodge again, now she was feeling irritated, tail flicking. “I need to talk to her.”

“Why?”

“Just please, tell her. I’ll wait every evening, right at sunset, for her at the abandoned two leg nest. I’ll stay for as long as I can. When she’s well enough, have her come talk with me.”

“Lynxpaw.” Shadowpaw called out, her head snapped up. He was further across the clearing, half hidden in the shadows.

He stepped out into the moonlight, following beside him was the small black warrior from before. A molly with matching green eyes to his.

“What’s going on?” He asked, circling around the pair. The black molly stood waiting.

“Discussing clerical matters with a fellow apprentice.” Burnpaw answered tightly, face pinched.

Shadowpaw cut across his circle now, going between the two cats, his size caused them both to skooch back to avoid him. He continued his circling, now with them further apart, a very unsubtle move.

It made Lynxpaw smile.

“We were finished speaking anyways.” She gave him a head bump when he passed her again. Burnpaw quietly agreed. “Who’s this?”

“I’m Inkypelt, code keeper of Oakclan. I’m his older sister.” The molly answered for him.

“I’m Lynxpaw! It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled widely again, Inkypelt seemed as stoic as her little brother, she only nodded.

“Soups ready!” One of the elder called, pulling out bowls and ladles, the utensils all looking very well loved.

Shadowpaw sat between her and Burnpaw, sharing a bowl of the mixed soup. It wasn’t nearly as salty or fishy as she was used to. She would’ve called it bland but, while the broth was thin and simple, the marinades and fatty meats added a layer of flavor she hadn’t had before.

“Oh here, if you want it a bit spicier.” The flame point apprentice offered a small bowl. “It’s concentrated juniper broth, a little goes a long ways. Not everyone likes spicy so we bring this as a condiment instead.”

Burnpaw took the bowl and poured some into his soup, Lynxpaw declined. She was sharing with Shadowpaw and knew he dislike the spicy juniper berries. Perhaps next time she and Wolfstar could share.

In the distance she saw Archstar sharing a bowl with the older blue molly from Duskclan she’d talked with.

They finished their soup slowly, savoring the warmth as the evening chill deepened. Side conversations started up and died down as the moon reached its peak. Lynxpaw asked the clerics more questions, apologizing for seeming so uneducated.

“Nonsense!” Mousefoot laughed, some soup sticking to his thick muzzle fur. “You have no mentor, of course you’d have questions. In fact I was the one to train Fernstorm when they were a -paw.”

“That’s right, when I was an apprentice my mentor had died right after my ceremony. The other cleric of the clan fell gravely ill and wasn’t able to teach me much. Finally at a gathering I just asked Mousefoot right there if he’d help me. Him and Burdockpelt of Duskclan took turns mentoring me and helping Honeyclan while I learned.” A light gray gib, Fernstorm, spoke up. They recounted the story fondly. “It’s really not such a burden.”

“You’ve got quite a bit of knowledge already though. You ask complicated questions and know a lot of herbal uses.” Darkfold pointed out. “How have you been getting that training?”

It felt like a spot light was on her and she felt a little flustered.

“Well… Wolfstar actually knows a lot about herbs and how to gather them. She used to take me as a kit to help gather moss and she’d point out which plant was useful.”

“Yeah Wolfstar was always a good learner, she was great at remembering the warrior code and stories Ashenstep told.” Burnpaw chimed in, at first he seemed bright, talking about the past. “I’m not surprised she managed to learn a few clerical things before leaving…”

He seemed to dim now, hesitating as his sentence dropped off awkwardly, Shadowpaw huffed a little laugh at him, smirking into his bowl. Lynxpaw nudged him.

“Well I also had visions from Starclan cats.” Lynxpaw admitted, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence.

This got some attention, most cats in the circle pausing their meals.

“How so?” Fernstorm asked.

“Well it doesn’t happen as often now that I’m older, but when I was a kit I would see starry cats a lot. Especially while Wolfstar was hunting or patrolling. They’d show me which herbs were which that Wolfstar had gathered. And they’d teach me about different illnesses and how to treat them.”

“Remarkable.” Mousefoot smiled again, she felt a little relieved. “Kits are truly so connected to our ancestors, it’s wonderful they were able to help you.”

“Well I see them maybe once a moon now and it’s very briefly, so I feel like my training has stalled.”

“Well I can spare some time each quarter moon to fill in the gaps for you if you’d like.” Mousefoot offered. “We’ve got two clerics besides me and an apprentice, so I won’t be missed.”

“And I or Rosedrift can visit twice a moon for lessons as well.” Fernstorm added.

“That’s amazing! Thank you it would greatly help!” Lynxpaw purred.

The two clerics glanced at Darkfold.

“My apologies, but unfortunately I won’t be able to contribute.” Darkfold said politely. “I’m the only full cleric in the clan and I don’t travel long distances well. This is the first gathering I’ve been to in moons.”

“I understand completely,” Lynxpaw blinked fondly at her, the only acknowledgment Darkfold gave was a tail twitch. “I appreciate all the help you’ve given already.”

Fernstorm and Mousefoot agreed to a schedule with Lynxpaw as the conversation drifted to new topics. Once finished she settled into a relaxed flop and pressed against her clan mate. After a while Shadowpaw nudged her and they began to stretch to leave.

As they did a conversation caught her attention.

“So I hear you’re about to get a second apprentice? What’s the hurry?” Fernstorm asked Darkfold.

“Well Burnpaw is nearing the end of his education and the clan is large so it’ll be wise to have as many clerics trained as we can. Right now I’m borrowing warriors and gardeners to help gather herbs. I might even consider snagging a code keeper apprentice that I think would do well as a cleric. But we’ll see.”

“The evening was wonderful but I think it’s time for us to leave.” Lynxpaw announced, bowing her head in thanks. Shadowpaw walked over to his sister, they spoke in low voices before he gave her a head bump.

“Yeah you’d better go relieve that poor leader of yours from Nurse duty!” One elder joked.

“She’ll lose a life for each kit I’m telling ya.” Another laughed.

The crowd’s playful jeers faded as they left the clearing. Entering the swift river, the chill barely felt due to their thick coats, they let the current carry them home.

She missed the gathering, the first gathering as a true clan. Lynxpaw and Shadowpaw had to go alone.

Alone. Wolfstar wanted to wail, but her barely together throat wouldn’t let her.

She glowered in the dark, angry at herself and her wound. They’d left just before sunfall, making an early meal for Snowspeckle and herself.

The night dragged slowly, she kept herself entertained by slowly inching herself to the den entrance. Her upper body still protested the strain, any tug to her neck made her clench and twitch. Slowly she gathered her legs under herself, shakily she managed to take a few steps.

The walk, though agonizing, was actually great at relieving her mind. Forced to focus on each individual limb and her balance. The flares of pain occupying her mind, but she was determined.

She wanted to see the stars.

When the camp clearing finally opened up to her, she nearly cried. It’d been so long since she’d left the den. Lynxpaw, a young cleric with no mentor, was playing it safe with her recovery. Too safe. She needed the pain and activity, she needed to work towards something. If not, she was just wasting away.

The clearing was quiet, as expected, and the moon was at its peak. It had taken her nearly half the night just to walk out of the den. The sight was lovely though, the tide pools glowing in the full moon light, everything lit up some beautifully.

She settled into a loaf, such a mundane position caused her to put strain on her chest and abdomen. It was a bruising, but satisfying stretch, like how it felt after combat training or a long journey. When it became too much, she lowered her chin to the ground, resting her chest but now stretching the back of her neck and shoulders. She switched between the two poses, even stretching a paw out one at a time to get a new sensation.

Eventually her injury and exhaustion caught up with her and she began to doze. It was hard given that the poppy seeds she was given at meal time seemed to be fading now. She was tempted to just grab herself another dose, letting herself enjoy the buzzing comfort, but she wasn’t a cleric and had no business touching Lynxpaw’s work.

The moon dropped down low in the sky, not long now until the sun rises. Fear settled in her stomach like a stone.

Were they ok? Did the clans believe them? Or did they slaughter them? She shivered with distaste, it couldn’t be true, but where were they.

Tiny mewls drew her attention away from her worries. The nursery was just on the other side of the leader’s den, her den. Snowspeckle had moved there when she’d recovered from birthing the small litter. It wasn’t a surprise given how she’d basically set up the nursery to be one giant numbest for herself, pelts and fur everywhere. She’d even gotten Lynxpaw to bring her a blanket from Capri’s, the plush, softer than fur fabric had only cost a paw full of salt and a promise to bring the kits to see her when they were old enough.

Focusing completely on the mewls and soft singing, Wolfstar was almost asleep when Lynxpaw and Shadowpaw finally returned home. She jolted awake as Lynxpaw checked her over, worried about why she was out of her nest, let alone the den in such weather.

Wolfstar shivered as she noticed the chill for the first time, it didn’t help both cats hovering around her were still wet from their swim. She sneered a little as water dripped on her.

Slowly she managed to stand, pushing away overly helpful paws, and slowly made her way back to her nest. Shadowpaw stayed outside, checking the camp for any changes in his absence.

“What happened?” Her voice was creaky and she really wished she had some honey, but she spoke anyways.

Lynxpaw fussed over her as she sleepily retold the events of the night. Changing her moss and bringing her cool tea with herbal honey on the side. Wolfstar eyed the jar of poppy seeds, but Lynxpaw quickly moved it out of the way, giving her a bundle of herbs instead.

Wolfstar listened closely as the apprentice spoke, her worry ebbed away to joy as the story went on. She finished her tea and herbs just as Lynxpaw finished her recount, the two of them settling in to share a nest- typical.

“Sorry I left you here for so long.” Lynxpaw frowned, her nose buried in the fresh moss. “The after gathering was so much fun and I was learning so much… I didn’t wanna leave. I should’ve been back sooner.”

Wolfstar’s chuckle was a bit smoother now, she let it rumble in her chest just like her brother’s would.

“Don’t regret it. ‘m glad you had fun.” She purred.

“Oh… I almost forgot. I met Burnpaw.”

“Hmmm?” Wolfstar wasnt sure how she felt hearing his name, his indecisiveness and lack of faith in her still rubbed her the wrong way. But she remembered how truly nice it was to be around him as apprentices, someone quiet and agreeable.

“He said that he knew you were injured.”

A spike of cold shot through her heart, but Lynxpaw soothed her with a few licks to her face.

“He didn’t tell anyone. But he asked me to tell you that he wants to talk. Whenever you feel better. He said he’ll be waiting for you at the abandoned nest. He said he’d be there every evening, at sunset.” She whispered hurriedly, glancing at the entrance.

Wolfstar stayed quiet, mulling over her next move. In the stillness Lynxpaw began to fidget. The older cat shot her a sharp look.

“I… I didn’t tell Shadowpaw about this.” She admitted, looking so guilty for such a meager offense. “And I don’t think we should… tell Shadowpaw.”

Wolfstar cocked her head, eyes neutral, waiting for her to continue.

“I love Shadowpaw I do… it’s just I don’t think he’d let you leave. Like obviously you’re the leader so he can’t really stop you, but I feel like it’d cause a big fight.” She mumbled, worrying her lip. “He’s very protective of us, especially you.”

The way she said it made Wolfstar feel flush, it was true but she caught off guard by how Lynxpaw worded it. The younger cat continued on, not even noticing.

“You could tell him afterwards. He’d be annoyed but he’d be fine with it.” She sighed, Wolfstar smiled and gave her a few reassuring licks. The movement used to cause pain to flare up in her neck, but now it was just a slight stretch. “I feel bad saying this…”

“Let me think.” She murmured into her friend’s soft fur. “Don’t worry.”

Over the next several days, Wolfstar pushed Burnpaw to the back of her mind, only mulling his words over when it was late at night. Most of her time was spent working on regaining her mobility, stretching and low bouts of exercise throughout the day. Shadowpaw and Lynxpaw protested at first, trying to keep her in her nest longer, but she put her foot down.

Snowspeckle, ever the good natured cat, cheered and sang for her from the sidelines. Her kits mewled and crawled around as she stretched in front of their mother. Though the chill was unpleasant, on calmer days she paddled in the shallow waters, just deep enough that she could barely touch the sandy bottom.

Of course Shadowpaw supervised this particular exercise, either swimming along side her or watching from a tall rock closer to shore, ready to dive in to save her.

His attention made her feel guilty.

She was training so hard, not to get back to her duties, but to be able to visit Burnpaw. She wanted to know what he was going to say, what did he want? Their last meeting had gone poorly, he didn’t believe in her or Saltclan and why should he? But if he didn’t believe in them, why bother her at all. His vision, she realized recently, had come true. A wolf struck down with a red collar around its neck surrounded by shadows, it was about her first death and Shadowpaw joining the clan.

Maybe he was gonna rub it in her face, it was so unlike him, but she’d been gone a long time. Who knows what he was like anymore.

Her legs started to burn so she paddled closer to shore, ready for a break. Shadowpaw met her halfway to the shore, letting her lean against him for a moment as she shook her coat out. The pair walked back to camp together, it was late in the day and Snowspeckle would need someone to watch her kits while she cooked. Tonight was the night she finally announced their names and everyone was excited.

Rather than cook, Shadowpaw took over kit sitting, which he was actually very good at. Their eyes had opened up earlier today so their crawling had gotten more purposeful. Shadowpaw let them clamber over him as he sat quietly in the nursery’s entrance.

Wolfstar helped Snowspeckle finish the stew and roasted mackerel she’d been preparing. She was slathering the fish with a gravy, marinade thing she’d learned in Oakclan. Finally once everyone was gathered and the dishes were sat out, the clan began eating.

The group remained close to the nursery to watch the kits, two little toms, snoozing in their nest as the sun set. Everyone eyed Snowspeckle during the meal, anxious for her announcement.

The white molly played coy, of course, and kept eating and chatting like normal. Once everyone had eaten their fill, she plucked each kit to place the in from of the clan.

“I thought very hard about their names ever since I gave birth.” She started. “In oakclan I know I would’ve named them something else, Blackkit and Whitekit. Simple names that could become more when they become warriors. But now that I’m here, having the first litter of Saltclan, I don’t want simple. I don’t want names that would blend in with the other clans.”

She paused and broke out into a big teary smile.

“I want their names to make every single cat know where they come from. Even if they leave the clan, even if they pass before becoming warriors. I want these names to be special.”

She paused again to pull the white tom forward.

“This is Ripplekit, he was born first and as such his name is based on the ripples in water you see when there’s a change.” She gave the whiny kit a lick, then pulled her other kit forward.

“This is Otterkit, I named him after the water loving creatures that I was told about as a kit. It’s not as deep of a name, but I always liked those stories and I think he would too.” As she finished speaking she looked up at the group, eyes misty, and waited.

Wolfstar stepped forward a wide smile as she began chant.

“Ripplekit! Otterkit!”

The others joined in.

“Ripplekit! Otterkit!”

It was almost half a moon after the gathering when Wolfstar saw Burnpaw again.

She finally felt strong enough, both for the journey and to defend herself in case it was a trap. Something Shadowpaw had brought up when she told him.

She’d decided against not telling him or Snowspeckle about the meeting. Both had made good points against it, especially the large tom, but she wasn’t swayed.

No matter what, she needed to know what he was going to say.

The night she set out she gave everyone firm instructions, do not follow her. Lynxpaw was in charge and would spend the time preparing herbs, Shadowpaw was to help her. If he disobeyed, Lynxpaw was to run ahead and warn her so she could send Burnpaw off without a confrontation.

She arrived just at sunset, scenting the air for that familiar pine scent Duskclan cats tended to have. Up ahead she found him, pacing between the tree lines, behind him was a dark silhouette.

Wolfstar froze and almost bolted, she was sure that was Jaggedstar on the fallen tree. But a heartbeat later she realized, it was Ashenstep.

Her sibling didn’t greet her, didn’t look back as Burnpaw exclaimed as she came into the clearing. Just an ear twitch let her know they were listening.

“You came!” Burnpaw smiled, awkwardly shuffling his paws. His eyes caught sight of her scar. “That looks bad, does it hurt?”

Yes it did, but she wasn’t telling him that.

“No,” She dismissed. And it was mostly true, as long as she did her stretches and ate her herbs, she was fine, she wasn’t even taking poppy seeds anymore. “Why did you ask to meet me?”

“I wanted to know if you were ok.”

“That’s not why,” She scoffed, flicking her tail. “Why are we here? Why is Ashenstep here?”

The cat in question finally glanced over at her, eyes sullen and red. They’d been crying.

“They cover for me when I come here, it’s less suspicious.” Burnpaw said. “At this point though I think half the clan knows what we’re doing. No one’s said anything yet.”

“They probably wish we just disappeared.” Ashenstep said dryly, a quick huff of a laugh was the only sign they were joking… mostly.

“I’m here because…” Burnpaw paused glancing nervously around. “I want to leave Duskclan.”

That was a shock, despite the clan’s harsh culture, most cats didn’t want to leave. Even Wolfstar still missed the rigid structure some days. She took a moment to think before replying.

“Did you have a vision?”

“That’s the thing…. I’ve never gotten vision before… I’m not good at cleric work.” He shuffled his paws again, eyes downcast.

“What about you dream about a wolf and a red collar?” Wolfstar asked.

“That was Darkfold’s dream, she has me pretend to get signs so Jaggedstar would think my training is going well.”

“She’s been covering for him,” Ashenstep interjected. “Ever since the fire.”

“So she never had a sign that you should be a cleric?” Wolfstar asked, incredulous.

“No, she said that because she was worried I’d be exiled for my mistake. She thought I would learn, but I’m not getting better, I make the same mistakes, I’ve never gotten a sign from Starclan. They don’t even speak to me when I’m at the moon spring, except for last moon.” Burnpaw explained. “It’s becoming so obvious I’m not fit for this role, it’s jeopardizing Darkfold’s reputation.”

“What did Starclan show you?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Footsteps leading to sand… I figured it meant that… you know I should join Saltclan.” He trailed off, glancing nervously at her face as he spoke. “I can’t keep dragging down the only people that help me.”

He stared at Ashenstep now, their back still turned, staring off at the sunset.

“And what makes you think we’d take you?” Wolfstar felt a sick twist in her stomach saying that, his distraught face giving her a bit of satisfaction.

“But I-“

“Take him.” Ashenstep said with a level a finality that rivaled their mother’s. “If anyone finds out him and Darkfold have been faking signs, he could be exiled and so could Darkfold. You know she wouldn’t survive as a loner.”

Wolfstar sat in the uncomfortable silence, regretting her callousness, despite their recent disagreement she knew she couldn’t turn Burnpaw away.

“Meet me at the border after the next gathering.” She said. “You’ll need to inform Jaggedstar of your decision, you’re not running away, we’re gonna do this the right way.”

Burnpaw gasped aloud, nearly collapsing with relief and tears in his eyes. Wolfstar continued on, ignoring his outburst. He curled his tail around himself as he wiped his eyes.

“Tell her about your dream, you don’t need to confess to everything.” She sighed, glancing at her sibling again, hoping they’d speak up again. “Ashenstep?”

The older cat slowly turned and jumped down from their perch on the log. They gave her a cheerless smile, eyes misty in the low light. They sat a few tail lengths across from her.

“I’ll miss you.” They said.

“You could come with me.”

“No I can’t leave my clan, they need me.”

There was a long silence, the wind picking up and rustling the nearly bare branches surrounding them.

“I understand.” She finally said, bowing her head.

“From now on, when we meet, it’ll be as rival clans.”

“I know. I’ll still love you, but I’ll have to put my clan first. You’re always welcome.” Her head stayed bowed as she spoke, the world around them fading as the weight of their words sink in.

Ashenstep finally broke, surging forward to wrap their sister in a hug, tears silently falling as they embraced her.

“You don’t know how proud I am of you.”

They stayed like that until night fully arrived, chilly winds cutting through their thick coats. Burnpaw sat quietly further away, tired eyes watching the stars. Finally parting, Wolfstar squared her shoulders and left, not looking back.

Moon 0

#clangen #warrior cats #wc #saltclan #saltclan moon update #moon 7

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izdatazn · 1 year ago

Text

Welcome to S.U.I.T.S: Initiation By Fire

TERRAN 10 - CULTURAL FESTIVAL

The final race for the 100m mixed relay had begun, with Aikawa, Kumiko, Nanako, Sho, Asuka, and I in our designated positions. It was a significant event following our recent competition because advanced technology had healed our wounds from just minutes ago.

We didn't have time to relax after being attacked by the hooded figure; we couldn't afford to appear in public with bleeding wounds. Therefore, Asuka prioritized patching up Nanako, Aikawa, and me before attending others later on. By the time we left the auditorium, suited individuals began gathering inside.I didn't dwell on this as my focus was solely on the final event.

“Aikawa, How’s your head?” I asked.

"Don't worry about it, Issei," he replied. "I'll patch myself up after this. Let's focus on giving the spectators a wonderful time." He lightly tapped my shoulder before taking his position. He was right. With our visible wounds healed, we continued the last event without any worries as anticipation continued to rise for the final race.

The spectators' eyes were fixed intently on Kumiko and Asuka at the starting line. I drowned out the sound of cheering and focused on the starter gun about to go off. After a few seconds of silence, the gun shot rang through and both girls took off at full speed. Anticipation filled every corner as spectators watched in excitement while Kumiko and Asuka raced neck-and-neck once again. They showed no signs of slowing down as they passed the baton to their respective teammates.

Sho sprinted forward with breakneck speed, refusing to slow down even for a moment. He gave it his all until reaching the end of his leg, passing the baton to Nanako who sprinted towards me with incredible speed. Once again, my team and Asuka's team were neck-and-neck in this exhilarating race.

Aikawa and I turned around and trotted forward eagerly awaiting our turn with hands outstretched to receive the baton touch that would propel us toward victory or defeat. The baton touched our hands, launching us towards our final stretch to cross that finish line.

I took a lead by two seconds and triumphantly crossed over as first place winner amidst thunderous cheers from ecstatic spectators celebrating my victory in the mixed relay race.

As I raised my arm in celebration, I turned around to face Aikawa who had finished second with an arm crossed over his stomach revealing that despite external healing, there were still internal wounds lingering beneath his tough exterior.

Lowering my arm, I watched Aikawa trot towards me while whispering words of encouragement, "Don't let it get to you. We'll compete next time. For now, enjoy your win." He chuckled and walked past me, his left hand subtly touching his side while the other arm raised in victory for securing second place.

“How's Masaru is doing," I asked. "And what about Aikawa?"

"Asuka replied, "Masaru will recover, but Aikawa will need to rest for a while. He pushed himself too hard while fighting the hooded figure and during the performance."

During the meeting, I was accompanied by Akane, Asuka, and Kumiko. Ren also joined us with Akane's squad. Unfortunately, Nanako and Hideki had to seek medical attention for their injuries and couldn't be with us.

I inquired further, "How did he push himself?"

"Well," explained Asuka, "at least you're unaware of the element Aikawa utilizes. His element is water, but allow me to provide further clarification. A single water droplet cannot harm a human being; however, when a violent wave of water is generated during a storm, humans are unable to resist its force. A water cannon possesses enough strength to render a person unconscious, and a focused high-pressure water jet can effortlessly cut through even the most robust metal. Recently, Aikawa has acquired an advanced technique that enables him to shape water into a weapon by concentrating his energy."

Akane added, "Mastery of precision with water takes over one century and presents challenges even for experienced users. The technique swiftly depletes the user's energy during combat, which is why it's considered a double-edged sword."

"Due to his ignorance," remarked Asuka with disdain, "he exhibited his skills in front of you and yet still got defeated in both the fight and on the tracks. When you see him again, make sure you thank him."

Shifting gears in conversation, I asked for more information, ”What happened to the hooded figure?"

Akane responded, "We have apprehended them; our superiors will detain the hooded figure in jail and conduct an interrogation for some time to ensure they won't escape.”

“Our mission ended successfully with relatively minor injuries.” Asuka sighed. “So, are going you going back home Akane after this?”

Akane pondered for a moment before responding, "I might stay around for a few days to explore Tokyo. Your school festival is happening next week after the competition." She glanced at me and then at Kumiko. Suddenly, she approached me and unexpectedly linked her arm with mine. "Issei, how about you be my guide for that day?"

I blinked in surprise, pointing at myself quizzically. "Me?" I asked, still trying to comprehend her request.

"Of course," Akane playfully teased me. "I want someone as good-looking as you to show me around."

"Yes, Issei," Asuka said with a tone that sent shivers down my spine. Though it wasn't evident to Akane and Kumiko, I could sense her disapproval through her eyes. "Why don't you do that, Issei?”

The school's social media platform celebrated my victory in the mixed relay race for an entire day, until it eventually faded away as everyone shifted their focus to the upcoming two-day school festival. However, this momentary fame lasted only fifteen minutes before the hectic days leading up to the festival took over. It is truly astonishing how every year, the track and field competition coincides with the school festival, immediately followed by exam preparations. The final months for third-year students are incredibly chaotic.

It is Monday, January 20th, 2079, the first day of the school festival, a multitude of guests flooded onto campus. I eagerly waited at the entrance for my special guest to arrive. It didn't bother me that they were in awe of me due to my victory in one of the two significant races during the tournament.

Soon enough, Akane came into view and entered my school wearing weather-appropriate comfortable clothing. She looked completely different compared to when she was on the field. Akane dressed elegantly and her appearance left me speechless for a few seconds.

Teasingly, she remarked, "Did this old lady render you speechless?"

"Miyagawa isn't old," I stammered.

"One point for you," Akane said as she took a step closer and wrapped her arm around mine. "But I am indeed an old lady, like a hundred years old."

"Wait," I exclaimed in surprise. "What?"

Suddenly, a familiar annoying voice interrupted us. "Well, well... what do we have here? A couple of lovebirds?" Aikawa sneered at me. Looking up ahead, I noticed Aikawa and Asuka entering my school. Abruptly, I removed Akane's arm from mine and awkwardly moved away from her. Soon after, Kumiko joined us in our circle and dragged Asuka away, leaving me with Aikawa and Akane.

"Why did you come, Aikawa?" I asked irritably.

"I didn't want to come but Asuka asked me to join her so I reluctantly agreed," responded Aikawa. "Today is a special day because it's my first date with Asuka. I will cherish this forever." His words irritated me as I glared at him, yet my tension eased when I noticed the arm brace on his left arm.

Leaning in closer, I whispered gratefully, "Thank you for saving me the other day."

Aikawa took a step forward and pressed his ears near me before asking, "Can you speak louder, Issei?"

Clearing my throat confidently, I spoke up. "Thank you for saving me the other day!”

He gave my chest a slap and said, "See! It's not that difficult!" Laughing at me, he suggested, "Why don't you show me and Akane around today?" Declining his proposal, I turned around and started walking away with Akane by my side. Nevertheless, he decided to follow me.

We were completely captivated by a courtyard performance happening on a bridge that connected two buildings. This mesmerizing spectacle showcased the musical talents of guitarist Saki Mori and flutist Hinata Ishikawa. What astonished me was their ability to create such an extraordinary performance, despite their unique sounds. Suddenly, my attention was diverted as Asuka appeared walking in the hallway with Kumiko.

Akane subtly noticed my attention shifting away from the performance, prompting me to take a sip from my juice box. Playfully, she asked, "So, are you and Asuka dating?"

I was caught off guard and almost choked on my drink. After a few seconds of coughing, I responded in a hoarse voice, "Where did this come from?"

Aikawa joined in the teasing and exclaimed, "They even had sex."

"I absolutely did not do such a thing!" I exclaimed, clearing my throat.

"Really?" Aikawa inquired. "Because I asked Asuka personally and she said you guys did it that night."

"Why would you ask her?" My face turned red with embarrassment.

"Because you didn't give me a direct answer, so I went straight to the source," Aikawa replied.

"Why would I give you an honest answer?" I frustratingly punched his shoulder. "I have never done anything like that to her!" I denied the accusation and continued to stutter. "Asuka is a close friend."

Akane seemed skeptical of my words and continued to question me. "Are you absolutely certain, Issei? I've been observing your social circle for a few days now, and it became evident within just one day that both of you have developed feelings for each other. As an elderly woman who has witnessed childhood friends date and marry others throughout my lifetime, what is holding you back exactly?"

I hesitated before responding. "I'm not afraid of anything," I said, but my voice betrayed me.

Akane continued to press me. "Your voice tells a different story, Issei," she pointed out. She gestured towards Aikawa. "Your face and expression say it all. You can't deceive a jock like him or a hundred-year-old lady like me." Akane let out a sigh as she stretched her limbs and looked at me intently. "Regardless of whether you two did something that night or not, it's none of my business. Don't miss your chance to tell her how you feel before it's too late." She lightly tapped my chest with her knuckles. "Anyway, thank you for showing me around the school, but I am feeling tired today so I will be taking my leave now. Aikawa, please accompany me back to the train station as I need to catch a plane." With those words spoken, she walked away with Aikawa by her side, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The atmosphere quickly turned unpleasant for me. Luckily though, I was alone for the rest of the day until the conclusion of the school festival. From the second floor of the building, I watched as guests departed. Some students remained intoxicated in the hallway as I made my way upstairs to the solitary rooftop designated for student use. Leaning against the railing, I continued observing as guests bid farewell to my school while dusk slowly settled in and left me alone with my introspective thoughts.

Suddenly, I noticed that Kumiko opened the rooftop door and joined me on the rooftop. She approached me near the railing and said, "I knew I would find you here." With a plastic bag in hand, she handed me a jelly drink and took out a juice box for herself. She reached for a nearby box and sat down.

"Good job today," I complimented her while snapping off the top of my drink.

"Likewise," she sighed. "It's going to be chaotic until graduation." I agreed with her.

"Do you want to go somewhere with me after graduation?" she asked while looking at me.

"What do you have in mind?" I inquired.

She pondered for a moment before answering, "How about Hokkaido? Just us two."

I questioned her suggestion, saying, "Hokkaido? How about we go somewhere else?"

"But you love Hokkaido," she paused briefly before cautiously asking, "Did someone invite you first? Is it Shigihara Asuka?" Without immediately answering her question, Kumiko awkwardly giggled and said playfully: "Ah! She beat me to it."

Kumiko stood up and took a step forward before stopping abruptly. After taking a deep breath followed by a heavy sigh, she brushed her hair over her left ear. Instantly recognizing what was coming next from this familiar gesture of hers when feeling embarrassed or confessing her feelings for someone, I lowered my drink and gave her my undivided attention. Kumiko was unaware of it, but her ears turned bright red.

Her voice trembled as she stammered, but after clearing her throat and taking another deep breath, she spoke again. Silence enveloped us as I patiently awaited her response.

"Issei, please go out with me," she finally confessed. Another silence fell upon us. Kumiko stammered, "But you don't have to answer right away." Taking a step backwards, she added, "I'll wait for your answer."

Suddenly, an ominous feeling surged within me out of nowhere. It felt unpleasant—like a sense of familiarity. So absorbed in her own emotions, Kumiko failed to notice the change in my expression. In that moment, a shadowy figure materialized behind her and confirmed my concerns.

Reacting swiftly and raising my voice to grab Kumiko's attention, I stepped forward and reached out for her wrist. Instinctively pulling her behind me, I made eye contact with the figure shrouded in darkness who held a weapon raised.

"YOU THINK CONTAINMENT CAN STOP ME!" it angrily roared.

The figure, hidden in a cloak, swiftly brought down its scythe and sliced my left eye with precision. Without pausing, it swung the weapon upward and cleanly severed my dominant arm. My blood splattered onto Kumiko's face as I fought through excruciating pain and dizziness. Stumbling backward, I instinctively shielded Kumiko by wrapping my remaining arm tightly around her. In an instant, the scythe swung once more, slicing into my back and sending us hurtling off the railing towards the ground below.

In a desperate bid to protect Kumiko from the full force of impact, I employed momentum and weight-shifting techniques to position myself beneath her as we collided with the ground. I lay there, blood forming a pool beneath me, enduring severe injuries that gradually caused me to slip into unconsciousness. However, amidst the haze, I could faintly hear Kumiko calling out my name. Struggling to stay alert, she gently slapped my face in an effort to hold onto any remaining bit of my attention before everything blurred into oblivion.

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four-loose-screws · 3 years ago

Text

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 4 Section 1

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Chapter 4: Blood of Pride (Section 1)

"Please! Someone… anyone, please help!!" A little boy's heartbreaking screams echoed throughout the inn. He was so small and slim that one might mistake him for a little girl. Worry clouded his still innocent baby face, and his red ruby-like eyes conveyed his desperation.

On the first floor of the inn were about five or six villagers and travelers, all seated at either a table or the counter. However, not a single one of them listened to his words. They all looked away from him.

He opened his mouth to plead for help again, when the inn's owner shouted, "Hey, get outta here, kid!! Nobody wants you brewin’ up any trouble!!"

The boy shivered in shock at the tone of the owner’s voice, and had tears in the corners of his eyes when he turned towards him. "Sir… But why? You were so nice to me just yesterday!"

"...I was being nice because I thought you two kids were traveling performers… But if that lot is chasing you, then you must be up to no good! Leave now! You bring plague wherever you go!"

"..." At the owner's words, the boy's shoulders drooped like a puppy’s, and he walked out of the inn.

"...Whew… that was close." The owner knew not just how much he hurt the young stranger with his words. He was simply putting his own safety first above all else.

After watching the boy leave, he sighed and patted his chest, then returned inside the inn. The customers there all showed their own expressions of relief. Knowing that this event ended without anything dangerous happening made them all relax completely.

As such, no one noticed when a single monk left to run after the boy.

☆

Lyn's Legion gave up on trying to obtain Marquess Araphen's help, and arrived next in the vicinity of a village in Khathelet, a neighboring territory of Caelin.

With her Grandfather in danger, they were in a race against time. Lyn suppressed her anger, turned towards Kent standing next to her, and asked, "Kent, how far are we still from Caelin?"

"If we go south from here, we will be in Caelin territory. Then we will be roughly ten day's distance away from the castle. …So long as nothing impedes our progress, of course."

"...Ten days."

The news Marquess Araphen had relayed to them, that her grandfather had fallen ill, was not only terrible, but also filled Lyn's heart with all the more worry. They could not confirm it was true, so it might be a fake rumor from Lundgren meant to trick her. But if it was true…

Lyn's face clouded over with her worry about her one remaining blood relative.

Just then-

"Um! Excuse me!" A little boy approached Lyn.

On his androgynous, cute face was a mixed expression of worry and seriousness. If one looked closely at him, they could see that a flute was sticking out of his waistband, and that he was dressed like a traveling entertainer or bard.

"What is it?”

"Miss, would you and your companions happen to be mercenaries?"

"...And if we are?"

At Lyn's response, the boy's slightly cheerful face changed to a pleading one and he said, “I want you to lend me your strength!”

At the boy’s earnest expression, Lyn forgot all about her urgent journey and opened her wary stance.

Kent acutely picked up on that sudden change and whispered a warning to her, “...Lady Lyndis. Do not let your guard down just because he is a child.”

“I know that.” Lyn became aware of her body language, but unable to let go of her current objective, she said to the boy, “...I’m sorry, but we’re in a hurry. Can you ask someone else?”

“If we don’t hurry, then it will be too late! Ninian… My big sister was taken by them!”

A certain someone showed a significant reaction to those words.

And that certain someone was Sain. “Y-Your big sister?! Your big sister was taken by someone?”

“...Sain!” Kent felt a headache coming on at his partner’s reaction, ever faithful to the man’s interests.

The boy, on the other hand, put even more strength into his words, now that someone who seemed like they would listen to him had appeared. “Yeah! They’re really terrible people! If they get Ninian… I don’t know what I’ll do…”

“Lady Lyndis! We’d be helping others!!” Was the clear answer that came out of Sain’s mouth.

But in his head, he was thinking, ‘This boy is as pretty as a girl! Meaning his sister must be an absolute beauty!’

He did not have to say the words aloud for it to show that was what he was thinking.

Kent of course saw right through him, and held his head in his hands as he shouted, “Sain! We are on an urgent journey! If the marquess really is ill, then we must return home imme-”

“Kent, I… want to help this boy.”

“Lady Lyndis?!” Kent whirled around in surprise at the answer that came from his lady behind him.

“I am worried about Grandfather… But I cannot forgive anyone who would take a child’s family away from them…!!”

Her words made him close his eyes.

The marquess' life might be in danger, so they had no time to waste here. Hausen's life, and the request of a boy they did nt know… when he weighed the two against each other, the choice was obvious.

But after the events of Araphen, he had sworn within his heart his loyalty to Lyn.

Meaning that there was only one answer that he could give.

Kent opened his eyes, and gave that answer. "... Understood."

"Kent… I'm sorry."

"Please do not apologize. I am your retainer. Lady Lyndis, you should do as your heart wishes. I will follow you, no matter the decision you make.

"...Thank you."

Sain frowned. "Hey, how dare you make only yourself look cool! …Oh, whatever. You're in luck, boy! Now let's go save your big sister!"

"Okay! You can call me Nils! Thanks for helping me out!" Having had someone take on his request, his face returned to its prior cheerfulness, and he shared his name.

“Save your thanks until after we’ve rescued your sister. Now tell us where we need to go!”

They had made their decision to help him, and no longer had any time to waste. It was critical that they saved Nils’ sister as quickly as they could, then started out on their journey once more.

The moment Nils went to tell her where the people keeping his sister were located, Lyn felt a presence from somewhere behind them. “Who goes there?!”

"Um… I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you…”

Lyn whirled around with a hand gripping Mani Katti’s hilt.

The person who flew into her field of vision was a young man so beautiful he could be mistaken for a woman.

He had shimmering blond hair and white skin, and draped over this fair beauty were the robes of the St. Elimine Church.

“Robes… are you a priest of the St. Elimine Church?”

“Yes. …Ah, although, I am still just an acolyte… My name is Lucius. I am a monk of St. Elimine.” At Lyn’s words, he nodded and introduced himself.

“What business do you have with us?”

“That boy came to the inn a little while ago looking for help. However, the owner was afraid of getting involved, and said some terrible words to him…”

“...It’s fine. He idn’t bother me much. I’m used to it…”

“Nils…” His muttered words stabbed deep into Lyn’s chest.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was going through a more painful experience than she could ever imagine. His few words were so heavy and dark that such a conclusion was easy for anyone to come to..

“...May I help as well? I want to give whatever strength I have to give to this boy.”

There was not a single reason to turn Lucius down.

Lyn agreed immediately. “Of course!”

“Thank you! May St. Elimine bestow upon you her blessing.”

“So, can you show us where the bad men are?” With the monk Lucius added to her group of allies, Lyn once again asked Nils to lead the way.

“Yeah! …But they’re really strong, so be careful!”

"That's fine, leave them to us. There's no way we can lose! Right, everyone?"

At Lyn's question, everyone nodded with expressions full of confidence on their faces.

But the moment they did so, Nils suddenly screamed. "Ah…!"

Nils' voice made everyone feel the strange air around them.

When they each readied their weapons and surveyed their surroundings, a group of people appeared and surrounded Lyn's Legion, who emanated an abnormally strong sense of lust for blood.

They were the Black Fang.

They covered their heads and mouths with black cloth, and wore black cloaks.

In their hands were a variety of specialized weapons. Swords, lances, bows, axes… even shamans welding dark magic were among them. Though they were a mixed group of fighters, each and every one of them was a master of their own weapon.

The black robes and overwhelming bloodlust were the two characteristics that unified them.

Among them, a single person stepped before Lyn's Legion.

“Keh keh keh… We've found you! Now return to Lord Nergal's side like a good boy!"

“No way! Give Ninian back!!”

"...So long as he still lives, there will be no issue if you injure him. Now go!" The black robed man, ignoring Nils' words, shouted his violent order at his allies and rushed to attack Nils.

But Lyn stepped in front of the man as he lunged.

He aimed an attack at Nils’ feet so the boy could not run away, but Lyn swung Mani Katti, causing him to completely miss his target.

“...Just who are you?!” The man stepped back for a moment, staring with cold eyes at the person standing in his way.

"...Give back this child's sister!" Lyn shifted into a fighting stance with Mani Katti.

At her words, the look in the man’s eyes shifted to one of ridicule.

"Oh…? So you're trying to save this child? What a pitiful story. If you hadn't involved yourself, you wouldn't die here!"

"Maybe I won’t! You’re the ones in trouble because you’re underestimating us!!”

"Keh… Don't regret your words later, woman! Attack, all of you!"

At his order, the Black Fang all came at them at once.

The battle between Lyndis' Legion and the Black Fang that had kidnapped Nils' sister began.

But as Lyn fought, she felt a cold chill shiver down her spine. 'They are different from the enemies we have fought up until now…'

She could sense bloodlust within the bandits, ruffians, and assassin's sent by Lundgren. But the members of the Black Fang before them now had not just that, but an energy that felt unsettling and unlike anything she had felt before.

"Lady Lyn…" The boy, standing behind her, reached out to her. His ruby red eyes trembled in fear. "Don't push yourself. I don't want any of you to get hurt for accepting my request…"

"It's fine, Nils. We may not look it, but we’ve been in some pretty sticky situations before, and we were able to all make it through by working together. A group like this is nothing to us!”

"Still-"

"Don't look at me like that. We'll be fine. And we will save your sister." Lyn told him gently, then gripped Mani Katti tighter. "Like I said, I will not forgive those who would take a child’s family away from them!"

After losing both of her parents only six months ago, the pain and sadness of losing her family was still overwhelming in her heart. She felt very strongly that she couldn’t let this boy experience those same feelings.

She was worried about how her grandfather was doing.

‘But I cannot turn a blind eye to this boy.’ Lyn resolved once again to help Nils.

“Let’s go! Nils, do not leave my side!”

“Okay!”

Lyn swung Mani Katti at each enemy before her, protecting Nils as she went.

ー

#fire emblem #fe #fe7 #fire emblem 7 #gba #game boy advance #lyn #eliwood #hector #translation #localization #japan #japanese #novel #light novel #fe7 novelization translation #the blazing sword #fire emblem the blazing sword

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violetnotez · 5 years ago

Text

Izuku x reader

⤷ Genre: Fluff

⤷ Word Count: 2330+

⤷ Warnings: none!

⤷ Synopsis: You wake up one night to a nightmare, and the only person you want to comfort you is Izuku.

Song Recs: ⤷ Revive-Lione ⤷Graveyard-Halsey ⤷Passion-Mree

This fic is for the @bnhabookclub Bingo Event! Here’s my masterlist to see all my work for this event!

Bingo Slot: Lingering Hugs

Sorry for this being short! I just really wanted to keep it short and fluffy like Izuku

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

You tossed in your damp sheets, the fabric suffocating as it stuck to your skin.

Damn your brain-it was barely 1 in the morning, and of course you had to wake up, covered in sweat and your heart racing from fear, due to a nightmare.

Your brain relayed the terrible scenes in your mind, your heart picking up pace as each one flashed against your eyes. You tried to push the thoughts away, the skin of your eyes scrunched up tightly like thin rivers cross crossing against your skin.

Somehow the darkness behind your eyelids made your anxiety hitch even more, the walls of your room somehow feeling too small and suffocating.

You knew it was childish to be so scared of a figment if your brain’s imagination-but it felt so real, so terrifying. you flipped the sheets over your head, protecting yourself from any lurking ghouls and demons as your hand swiftly flailed out to grab your phone from the bedside table.

Your hand encased the device, bringing the small contraption quickly under the sheets with you. You cuddled closer to the phone, your eyes squinting from the intense brightness of the screen as you clicked it on.

Your cursed quietly from the intense flash of light, your thumbs unlocking the phone screen and quickly going to your messages.

You felt bad to be texting Izuku so late at night, knowing the poor boy must be tired. He was always studying or training, always working towards his goals yet always refusing to ever sleep. You were always the one to force him to take a nap or actually get a few hours of rest, so you felt guilty for ruining his sleep when he rarely got any.

But the race in your heart and the panic in your mind pushed away that guilt-all you could think of was the comforting embrace of your green haired boyfriend, and his reassuring voice telling you everything would be alright. You desperately craved his positive energy and warm hold, your fingers quickly forming a quick text-

“Are you awake 🥺?”

You sent the message, the little bubble of speech displaying on the screen. You stared at it for a few moments, your brain somehow trying to will Izuku to look a his phone.

You sighed, knowing that that was futile and, well, not possible. You fingers clicked off the messaging app, your tired mind deciding to go into Youtube and watch a few videos, hoping they would lull you back to sleep.

Maybe he would message you back-and hopefully soon.

Even as you clicked on your favorite YouTuber and settled into a comforting old video, your heart was still racing with the fuzzy scenes of your dream. They were gripping your body with fear, making your muscles taut with anxiety and your brain fumbling to stay sane.

Your toes curled in the sheets, scrunching the now hot fabric as you prayed Izuku would text you back soon.

Not too long after you delved into your second video, your screen pop up with a call from Izuku, his name you had given him, “Broccoli Bae💚”, bringing a small smirk to your cheeks. You quickly took the call, bringing the screen to your warm ear.

“Hey ‘Zuku,” you grinned slightly, your heart flooding with ease as you heard Izuku’s calming voice on the other side.

“Hi puppy,” His voice sounded thick with sleep, his tone sounding slightly worried, “ are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Izuku was always fussing over you, making sure you were comfortable, safe and happy. It was heartwarming how much he tried to make sure you were okay, and sometimes you wondered how you were able to land such an amazing guy as Midoriya.

You sighed, shifting slightly under your thick blankets.

“Well, um, I had a bad dream…” you chuckled nervously, feeling embarrassment trickle into your stomach.

Even though you knew Izuku wouldn’t judge you or find you strange for having a nightmare, it still felt silly you had to call him to feel better. Something about Izuku though always calmed your nerves, making you feel so safe and secure. He was your rock, your shield, your home away from home when your life was in turmoil around you.

“A nightmare?” He repeated, his sweet voice awakening slightly from the grogginess. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I’d-rather not..” you smiled softly, the motion evident in your voice. “I just wanted to hear your voice,”

You heard Izuku chuckling nervously, imagining the boy’s adorable blush as he laid in his bed, one of his comfy shirts wrapped around his frame. A pang of want filled your chest, wishing you could crawl yourself out of your bed and into the comforting arms of Izuku’s.

“Oh-oh I’m happy I can make you feel a little better!” He stuttered out, his voice feathery and bright. “It must have been pretty scary if you needed to talk to me…”

He almost said it as an afterthought, as if he was talking aloud to himself and didn’t realize he had spoken it so clearly. You sighed again, brushing a damp piece of hair from your face. Memories flooded into your mind again, making a cold pang of fear attack your chest.

“It-it was,” you gulped, trying to push that fearful feeling down your throat. “Can you stay on the phone? Please? I just need to take my mind off of it-“

You hated how needy and desperate your voice sounded, as if you were pleading to Izuku to stay up with you.

“O-okay, don’t worry, Ill be with you for as long as you need me,” you heard the worry in Izuku’s voice multiply, making his voice soft and warm as he spoke to you so gently.

You began to here a rustling on the over the side of the phone, the faint sound of a door opening and closing swiftly entering the connection.

You cocked a brow, holding the phone closer to your ear-was he walking around?

“Whatcha doing ‘Zuku?” you mumbled into the phone, a nervous chuckle cascading into your ears.

“Nothing!” he immediately stated, a grin forming on your lips.

Izuku was the most terrible liar-ever.

Just as you were about to press your adorably awkward boyfriend for more information, you heard a slight rap on your door, making you jump. Your tired mind immediately reimagined your dream, your blood running cold from the thought.

But that’s when you realized you heard that knock a few seconds after though the phone speaker.

“Izuku-are you-outside my door?” Your heart soared at the thought, your voice full of shock.

Izuku gave a small chuckle, trying his best to stay quiet.

“I’m sorry, I had to come over once you said you had a hard time sleeping, I was hoping I could-“

You instantly flung your sheets off your sticky body, the smile bright against your cheeks as you ran to the door.

Any thought of that evil dream seemed to escape your mind-just the thought of Izuku being sweet enough to break the rules for you made you love him a little more. Midoriya was a good student, but wasn’t the best at following rules. Still, he could get in serious trouble for sneaking out in the middle of the night, and the fact he did that just to make you feel better made you have the intense urge to just wrap him in the biggest hug ever.

Your hand wrapped around the cold doorknob, the door creaking slightly as you were met with a blushing Midoriya. His eyes were bright and cheerful, the white shirt he was wearing crumpled in places and his curly green hair even more unruly than usual.

Even with his sheepish expression and awkward stance, he looked ethereal and protecting, like a knight in shining armor. Just his presence in front of you made your heart swell and your body loosen, as if the dam of fear that was cascading throughout your body was finally quenched and secure. Izuku held the fear at bay inside you,and you couldn’t be more grateful.

When Izuku had decided to come to your room, he was afraid you may be a little angry with him. You were always trying to make sure he stayed out of trouble, which was near impossible with his impulsive nature, but he couldn’t just sit in his room knowing you were overcome with fear. He knew he had to go and comfort you, even if it was just for a few moments, so you could get some well deserved sleep.

Now that Izuku was standing in front of you, all worry of you being angry left this mind. He could only focus on how adorable you looked when you first came from bed, your hair messy and tangled as the over sized shirt you wore pooled around your thighs. You looked so snuggly and warm, he felt embarrassed from the thought of wanting to hold you so badly.

Before he could even utter a word your body instantly collided with his, your arms wrapping around his broad shoulders. Izuku felt his blood against his eardrums, his face an unnatural shade of red as you cuddled into his neck, those soft green tresses tickling your forehead.

Izuku felt cool against your warm skin, a welcoming sensation from hiding under your blankets for so long. Your nose snuggled into the crook of his neck, taking in the scent that was so invigorating and intoxicating. It always reminded you of such soothing scents, like fresh linen or the ground after a rainstorm. The taut muscles encasing his arms wrapped around yours, holding you close to his body and making you feel secure. Your body melted into his, the worries of that nightmare doing the same.

Izuku sighed peacefully, his chin resting against the tip of your shoulder.

“You okay angel?” He asked sweetly, the palms of his hands rubbing soothing circles along your back.

It almost felt too good to be true, to have Izuku so close to you, even with his sweet voice gracing your ears. Your arms squeezed him a little tighter, almost like a vice against his scarred skin.

The shock of Izuku so near you mixed with the terrible memories resurfacing through your mind made your chest feel tight and your heart quicken. The fear was somehow growing in your chest again, your hands digging deeper into his skin.

Izuku felt your chest collide against his, the back muscles he was rubbing so tenderly tightening under his palms. A small sniffle emitted from your nose, warm tears trailing down your cheeks.

Izuku held you tighter, your tears staining the rim of his white shirt as you cried out the fear that had been stuck in your chest for so long.

“I-I’m so sorry, I’m not trying-to be- dramatic,” you blubbered out, the tears making it difficult to apologize.

Izuku lovingly kissed the skin on your neck, just under your ear.

“Puppy, you don’t have to apologize-really,” he cooed into your ear. “Just take your time, it’s okay to feel scared, I’m right here-“

He smiled gently as he noticed how his words affected you-you seemed calmer and more still, the muscles on your back and chest not so tight against his limbs. But he could tell you were still really shaken up by that nightmare, and he was more than willing to stay with you for as long as you needed.

“I-I’ll stay with you-for as long as you need me to,” he whispered into your ear, leaving a tingly sensation against your spine, “Is that okay angel? Would you want me to stay with you?”

You brain felt numb, your limbs heavy with lead from the breakdown that had overtaken your body. All you could muster was a quick nod, your chest still heaving slightly from the sobbing.

Izuku smiled gently, a blush creeping into his cheeks. His hands began to softly run downward against your back, his digits trailing lower and lower. Your breath hitched as his fingers hooked against the plush skin of your thighs, raising your legs up around his torso.

Your heart was beating fiercely against your chest as Izuku carried you into your room, shutting the door with his foot.

The feeling of your feet unattached to the sturdy floor made you grip Izuku tighter, a small giggle escaping your stuffy chest.

“You’re way more bold tonight ‘Zuku,” you smiled against his neck, making Izuku’s heart race.

“Well I-I want to make sure you know I’m here for you puppy,” he stuttered, his cheeks bright red with heat as he laid you gently against the bed. “Your my sweet angel, and-and I hate to see you feel so sad.”

You cuddled your tear stain face into the pillow, facing Izuku’s sweet expression. His wide eyes were bright with love, the moonlight shifting through your sheer curtains making him look ethereal, his green hair glowing eerily and his freckles dusted against his cheeks like little galaxies. His scarred digits wrapped against your own, bringing your hand to his lips. He gave your knuckles a chasté kiss, letting your fingers graze against his warm cheecks.

“Can I get you anything puppy? Do you need water? Or maybe some more blankets? I can go to my room and bring some more if you like-“

You gave the boy a grin as he began to start blabbering again, his ideas and suggestions so fast they were beginning to mold to one.

Your hands reached out for Izuku, the digits curling against the collar of his shirt and pulling him gently towards the bed.

You watched his eyes widened in shock, a small, sheepish grin forming against his lips as he realized what you were implying.

“Nope,” you smiled, popping the “p” in your sentence, “I just need you.”

Taggings:

@weebartistinc @orokayagi @leeeah-loooser @bakarinnie @freckledoriya

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illfoandillfie · 5 years ago

Note

Hey i hope you're enjoying your time off work so far! Id like to request a roger blurb please, it's not from a prompt list but I had a thought the other day I couldn't get out of my head! So I was reading something on The Cross and the other lads in the band were like 22, and I just imagined being one of their friends and they offer to bring you into the studio for a day because youre interested to see how they record but you're a bit nervous to meet roger and when are introduced you can't get over how hot he is in the flesh and he thinks youre really cute and takes a liking to you and theres a bit of flirting and loads of chemistry 😍 honestly would love to read a whole fic on this but a blurb would great! 😁 p.s sorry this is so long! 😂

This is such a cute idea! I hope I did it justice!

~~~

You’ve known Peter for years. Watched as he’s picked up the bass as a hobby and then got seriously into it. You went with him when he went to audition for a band, waited out the front of the building they held them in and asked him how it went when he was done. The rumour was that a musician who was already quite famous was looking for people to join a new band so your first question was actually…

“Who was it?”

“Roger Taylor!”

“Who?”

“From Queen! Y’know, the drummer,”

Less exciting than you’d imagined. If it had been Freddie himself you would have been more impressed. And the guitarist (whats-his-name, tall fellow with all the hair) might have been worth a exclamation and maybe tempted you to turn back and try and catch a glimpse. But the drummer? Who cares. But the good news was that Peter was in. Rodney or whatever his name was had clearly liked what he saw and you couldn’t blame him, Peter was the best bassist you knew, best musician you knew. You were proud of Peter and happy for him.

There were a few perks to being besties with the bassist in a proper band. He gave you copies of all their albums and you got to meet the rest of the band. Well most of them. The singer, the famous one, had never been able to make it, always busy with Queen or his family. But he seemed like a top bloke from everything you heard about him and you did like his style, his voice. You’d thought you might finally get to meet him when you went and saw them play on the tour but unfortunately you’d had to back out at the last minute after catching a flu-like bug.

It wasn’t until they were working on the next album that it happened. You were hanging out at Peter’s place, his first day off since they’d finished recording, when he got a phone call. As he put it, some fucking moron had fucked up one of the tapes and they had to go in and re-record a whole fucking song. He was apologetic for ruining your day together but you waved him off. You could see him again tomorrow or the next day or whenever.

“Unless you wanted to come with me? Hopefully it won’t take more than a couple of hours and then we can go see a movie or something. And you can see how we make an album.”

“All that shit you’ve told me about it might actually make some sense,” you laughed but agreed to the plan.

Spike was the first to see you, pulling you into a hug but the rest of the band was soon saying hi too and waving as they plugged in instruments and tuned them. Peter left you to find Roger and ask what had been lost so you ambled around the studio, looking at the records that hung on the walls and all the equipment. The numerous buttons and dials and adjustable slides made you feel a little like you were in a space ship in a sci-fi movie. You were just beginning to wonder where Peter had vanished to and when they’d be getting on with it when the door behind you opened and in he walked with Roger. You smiled and waved and he said something to Roger before they came over to your corner of the room.

“So you’re Y/N? I’m sorry I haven’t been able to meet you earlier, Peter’s told me so much about you.” He reached out to shake your hand as he spoke and you were struck by how charming he was.

“He has, has he?”

“All good I promise,”

“Of course it’s all good. He knows how much dirt I have on him.”

Roger laughed as Peter rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, I’m Roger by the way.”

“Nice to finally meet you Roger,”

“I’ll try not to keep your boy too long. But please, make yourself comfortable. There’s a couch over there or you can sit and watch what they do at the desk.”

You thanked him for letting you be there and wished them luck as they turned and went through the second door into the recording space. And then you kicked yourself for saying something so stupid. No one had told you Roger was hot. That was crucial information and no one had thought to inform you. You’d heard he was funny and a great musician and all this other stuff and not once had they said he was hot! You tried to remember if you’d noticed it on any of the record sleeves but you couldn’t say you’d really paid much attention. You’d been much more focused on Peter. But now, after having met Roger, you felt like you were regressing to a giggly teenager again and had to turn around so no one would see you grinning.

After a bit of discussion half the band left the recording space, leaving the drummer to lay down his part first. Peter came over to talk to you, but your eyes were firmly stuck on Roger as he bent over one of the mixing boards.

“Y/N, did you hear me?” Peter said, tapping you on the shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Can you stop drooling over Rog for a second,”

“I’m not drooling,” you wrenched your eyes away from Roger and turned to face Peter instead.

“Might as well be,”

“What’s his deal anyway?”

“Seriously?”

“I’m curious, sue me,”

“Divorced. Kids. Twice your age,”

“Any downsides I should know about?”

“Twice your age isn’t a downside?”

“Course not. Means he’s experienced and mature,”

Peter laughed and you took the opportunity to look over at Roger again, though you quickly brought your gaze back to Peter.

“Seriously though, is there any reason I should be wary?”

“I’ve known Rog for a few years now and he’s a really great guy, if a little busy. Plus, if Spike’s stories about Queen tours are to be believed, you’re right to say he’s experienced,”

You laughed and this time when you looked back at Roger your eyes met. You smiled, the sort of flirty smile the boys in the local pub liked. He smiled back before turning to the desk again.

For the next few hours you watched as each band member took a turn in the booth, playing their part over and over and over until everyone was satisfied with how it sounded. It was a little boring, the novelty soon wearing off, but there were things to keep you entertained. Peter talked to you while he wasn’t preoccupied, sometimes joined by one or two of the others. Occasionally they’d interrupt whatever they were saying to comment on how the person playing sounded, and Roger would make adjustments based on the feedback, or talk into the little speaker and relay the advice. Mostly you amused yourself by fantasising about Roger, watching him over the shoulder of whoever was talking to you. You caught him look at you a few more times too. It happened more frequently once Peter was in the booth and you decided you might as well make a move. Afterall, how likely was it you’d see Roger again any time soon?

He’d said you could sit closer to the desk if you wanted so you sidled up next to him and asked him to explain what you were looking at. He beckoned you closer still, wrapped his arm around your waist as he pointed out different slides and buttons and explained what they did. There was a definite tension between you, something electric, something that made your skin tingle where his hand lay. You nodded along, asked questions. He seemed impressed by that, happily answering everything in great detail. Until he turned back to watch Peter, his hand slipping from your waist and his voice becoming much more serious. When Peter was done, you hugged him and said he sounded great.

“I saw you practically sitting on Roger’s lap just now,” he whispered, double checking Roger himself wasn’t listening in.

“I think he likes me,”

“You’re young and pretty of course he likes you,”

“You’re the worst person to talk to about this,” you laughed, “But would you care if I…”

“What, seduced him?”

“I was going to say asked him out but same diff,”

“Y/N, you’re a grown woman and I’m not your keeper,”

“Okay but you’re in a band with him, I don’t want to like, get in the way.”

“If you want to go for it then go for it.”

“Even with the age gap?”

“It clearly doesn’t bother you and lord knows I hope that when I’m 40 something I can still pull 22 year olds.”

You laughed, your mind made up.

There wasn’t much chance to put your plan in motion inside the studio. Too many people and Roger became distracted as it was his turn to record his vocals. Hearing Roger sing what was obviously a love song made your breath catch and your heart race. If you’d felt unsure about him, those doubts were gone. You found yourself standing by the desk again, not to see how they adjusted the levels but just to be closer to the glass between you and Roger. He smiled at you between verses and you desperately wanted to be the person he was singing about. As he re-sang the final verse, adjusting based on feedback from the others, you felt like you needed some air. Slipping out the door you headed down the corridor and stepped out of the building. Two vending machines were there and you dug out your purse for some change. As you were crouching down to collect the bottle you heard the door open again. It was Roger.

“I’m sorry this is taking longer than we thought,”

“Oh, it’s fine I feel like I understand what Peter does now. But maybe can make it up to me after with a coffee?”

Roger opened his mouth to respond and then paused.

“Doesn’t have to be coffee…”

“I’m flattered but I’m not sure that’s a good idea,”

“Why not? Is it because I’m younger than you?”

“No, no, that’s not it. I’m just not in the habit of taking my bandmates girls’ out on dates,”

Realisation dawned on you and you began to laugh, even more so once you saw Roger’s confused expression, “Me and Peter aren’t together. We’re just mates,”

“Really? But he talks about you a lot and Spike said-”

“Spike doesn’t know what he’s on about. Did you not wonder why I was flirting so much?

“No, I definitely wondered. But that’s, that’s good.”

“Good?”

“Well, what I mean is, you’re cute. I would have asked you out already expect that I thought…But that’s by the by, um,” he scratched the back of his head, “So you still want to get that coffee?”

#my writing #my blurbs #roger taylor x reader #roger taylor imagine #look! somehing non filthy!#scorpiogemini

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rafael-silva · 5 years ago

Text

Really fast. Or so agonizingly slow.

For @buckleystrand! Someone write a ficlet for me where the team rushes to save Buck after he threw up blood in Bobbys backyard because I don’t have time for it but I wanna read it haha, please?! (❁´◡`❁) | I hope you like it!

Angst, hurt/comfort, team as family, buddie feels!

It all happened really fast. Or so agonizingly slow. Depending on who you ask, Buck or Bobby.

One moment, Buck was thanking Bobby from the bottom of his heart for being by his side. And then Bobby went to lighten the mood, making Buck laugh.

But the laugh was caught in the blond’s chest, a cough taking over instead. He tried to control the series of coughs that followed, each one cutting through his words. Buck began to stumble backwards, the harsh coughing fit knocking his balance off. And it just kept getting worse and worse.

All conversations around Buck and Bobby died down, the collective attention traveling to Buck and the state he was in. Everyone’s faces scrunched up in worry and concern; Eddie and Karen’s conversation had trailed off, Athena begins making her way towards her husband and his surrogate son, Maddie’s hand is clutching at her chest, as she frantically looks at her little brother, not knowing yet what’s happening.

And with one more cruel cough into his hand, Buck lifts up his arm to see specks of red and crimson running down his skin.

“Buck?” Bobby frowns.

And then the Captain watches in horror as a large amount of blood spills from Buck’s mouth.

Pain, fear and confusion all mix together in the young man’s blue irises as his vision blurs. His chest hurts, it hurts so much. It’s so tight, and he can’t breathe. He can’t breathe.

He’s knocked completely off balance, hearing Bobby yell, “Buck!” as gravity pulls him down towards the Earth.

It’s chaos from that moment. Everyone springs into action and Bobby is kneeling next to Buck in two long strides, Athena hovering over him.

“Oh my God, Buck!” Bobby hears Eddie say as he quickly reaches his best friend’s side.

“The kids,” Eddie looks over his shoulder at Karen.

“I’ve got them, I’ll take them inside the house,” Karen replies, already walking to where the kids were, all watching but not quite understanding what’s happening.

Then Hen, Chimney and Maddie are all crowded around Buck.

Tears have already begun pooling in Maddie’s eyes at the sight of seeing her brother hurt, again, and she wishes she could just gather him up in her arms and keep him there forever, where he’s safe.

“Someone call 911!” Eddie yells, now crouching by Buck’s head, and he can’t help running a hand through Buck’s soft, short strands.

“Hen! Chim!” Bobby calls and then Chim is pressing his fingers to Buck’s neck.

“His heart is racing,” Chim says.

“His breathing is slow and shallow,” Hen adds after placing a hand near Buck’s mouth and nose. “I think he’s having a Pulmonary Embolism.”

“Come on, Buck, hold on,” Eddie breathes out, trying to remain calm but he’s losing it inside.

“Turn him on his side, to clear his airway,” Maddie says from above, finally finding her voice to speak. “There could be blood in his throat, which makes breathing harder.”

“Gently,” Bobby instructs as he, Chim and Eddie work in unison to turn Buck on his left side.

Eddie places both hands on either side of Buck’s head, stabilizing him as they turn him. He still runs his fingers through Buck’s hair, and adds a soft brush of his thumb to Buck’s clean shaven cheek.

“Hang on, Buck,” Eddie repeats, hoping beyond hope the taller man can hear him.

“Help is on the way, Buckaroo,” Hen speaks.

“Where’s the damn ambulance?” Eddie howls, frustration coating his voice.

He can’t lose Buck. He can’t. Seeing Buck pinned under that truck and feeling so helpless to help him, it tore at Eddie’s heart, and it hurt, it hurt so much seeing Buck in pain. And all Eddie could do was hold Buck’s hand and reassure him. Tell him everything was going to be okay and that they’ll get him out from under that truck. And now, that feeling of helplessness was starting to wash over Eddie once again, and he hated it. With every fiber of his being, he hated it.

And hasn’t Buck already been through so much?

God, Eddie just wanted to take Buck’s pain away.

With a raged breath, Buck’s body suddenly jerks and for a second, Eddie thinks Buck is having a seizure.

But a second later, Eddie is met with windblown blue eyes, filled with panic.

“Hey, hey, Buck,” Eddie immediately says, his brown eyes glued to Buck’s. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re okay,” he rushes to reassure his best friend. “I need you to take slow breaths, okay? Can you do that for me?”

Buck didn’t really know what was happening, but Eddie is right there, and that helped settle the anxiety in his chest a little. He does as Eddie asks, as best as he can.

“That’s it, querido. That’s it, I’m right here,” Eddie continues, calming down his own voice so he doesn’t spook Buck even more.

One of Eddie’s hands moves to rest on Buck’s chest, and Buck automatically reaches for Eddie’s hand, gripping it tightly, as tightly as his body will allow.

“Hang in there, Buck,” Bobby says.

“They’re here, the EMTs are here,” Athena announces with a relieved sigh. Everyone moves out of the way, except for Eddie; mostly because Buck is still holding his hand and well, Eddie doesn’t move. He doesn’t think he can move.

No one comments, as Hen quickly relays information to the EMTs and they start work on Buck, covering his face with an oxygen mask and saying they’ll connect and IV en route to the hospital.

They all work together to move Back onto the backboard and on the gurney, pushing him through the backward to the front of the house.

Eddie gives Buck’s hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you at the hospital, okay?”

Buck slowly nods, reluctantly letting go of Eddie’s hand.

Eddie, Hen, Chim and Athena watch as Maddie and Bobby jog next to the gurney, disappearing around the house.

Everyone is silent, aside from Eddie’s harsh breathing.

“He’s going to be okay,” Chim looks over at Eddie.

Eddie can’t speak so he settles for a nod, the pit in his stomach still wide and hot.

He looks down at his own hands to discover that they’re smeared with Buck’s blood. And Eddie has to close his eyes to slow down his breathing and kick down his heart rate.

He then grabs a tissue and does his best to wipe the blood, and goes looking for Chris. He finds Karen and all the kids inside the living room.

“Christopher,” Eddie goes to his son, wrapping him up in a hug.

“Dad,” Chris replies. “What happened?”

Eddie swallows. “Buck isn’t feeling the best right now, so he had to go to the hospital.”

Chris’s eyes go wide.

“It’s okay, mijo, he’s going to be fine,” Eddie quickly says. “But I do need to go see him there.”

“Can I come?”

“Aw, buddy, not right now. But when Buck is better, you can visit him,” Eddie promises. “But Karen will stay with you and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Chris nods.

“Okay,” Eddie kisses the top of Chris’s head. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Chris replies.

“Eddie, come on,” Chim waves for him.

Eddie, Chim, Hen and Athena exit the house where Bobby is already getting in his truck and turning on the ignition.

They all pile into the car and Bobby drives off to the hospital.

#911 on fox #911 fanfic #buddie #118 firefam #buckleystrand #evan buckley #eddie diaz #*fics

260 notes · View notes

crystalwillow · 4 years ago

Text

Count My Blessings

Pairing: Noah Harris x Anna-Rose Price

Features: Mason Jennings, Hazel Harris, Elijah Harris & Ms. Harris

Mentioned: Samantha Lawrence, Mackenzie Price, Dave Price (Mc & Mack’s dad)

Word Count: 4.7K

Inspired by the finale of My Two First Loves. I wanted to write something for us who took the route of romancing Noah. Having Mason and Ava as friends. I do want to quickly disclaim that I chose to rename Ava to Samantha, to give Elijah one last chance and not turn him over to police, and to take the sweet route in the finale, not the steamy one. So this will mostly be fluff with slight steamy moments between Noah and Anna-Rose.

I am using the names of the characters in my play through, and I am referring to Noah, Elijah & Hazel’s ma as Ms. Harris.

I will at some point replay the book a further two times so I can write something similar to this for both Mason and Ava. But I do ask you to just bear in mind that Ava might be called Samantha because that’s what I’m choosing to call her.

Also, this is written in first person, which is different for me as I usually mainly write in 3rd person. But nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this fiction.

=============================================================

The night after the recital, I sat around the dining table in Noah’s home with his family. Ms. Harris had no idea what to make for dinner, so in my infinite wisdom, I had offered to pop by the store earlier in the day, and with the help of Mason, I was able to get all the ingredients I needed to make my favourite pasta dish. We’d also stopped by a clothing store to buy a couple of new outfits for me to choose from to wear for dinner. But of course, now being part of the family, I couldn’t not get anything for Hazel. So naturally, I spent hours browsing the shelf for the little rascal whilst Mason went through the women’s section, picking out potential options for me. I was starting to feel hopeless in the store we were in when I saw something that was screaming Hazel right at my face. Red is a colour that has always suited her, so when I came face to face with a beautiful red dress, with golden stars printed onto the material and a headband to match. I screamed, snatching up one in her size almost immediately. I was adoring the dress when Mason came rushing round the corner with what looked like a dozen dresses over his shoulders.

“Anna-Rose!” he panted, slightly out of breath.

“Mason? What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked, confusion clear on my face.

“You screamed.”

My face fell before breaking out into a wide grin and eventually laughter erupted from my throat.

“What? Why are you laughing? I don’t get it.”

“I just found the perfect dress for Hazel, I’m not in danger.”

He scowled at me as I grinned at him before breaking out into laughter of his own, realizing how ridiculous our current situation was. “Right... You didn’t shout the..”

“Codeword of shobaloobagoobleflop.”

“Yeah… that.”

We stood in the moment for a while longer before heading to the fitting rooms for me to try on the dresses he had picked out and carried over his shoulder. After a further 45 minutes in the store, I’d narrowed it down to three options. A stunning silver bodycon dress, but it looked more like something someone would wear to an award show. A beautiful flowing sun dress in a beautiful midnight blue mixed with a little purple colour. And my personal favourite. A simple yet effective shirt dress in my favourite colour and made from my favourite material. Navy blue denim. I already owned a dress similar to this one, but in all the excitement of getting back to Eastridge to support Samantha at her first recital, I’d forgotten to pack it. And nobody can ever own too much denim. Or too many dresses. Right?

“How’s it going Anna-Rose?” Mason asked loudly from outside the changing room.

“Uhhh… I don’t know which to choose. I don’t want it to be too much and inappropriate for the dinner table. But I also want to look rejuvenated after actually spending the time cooking which is going to make me tired.” I shouted back.

“Well.. what options do you have left?”

As I told Mason the options I had left in the changing room with me I heard him reacting.

“Okay. so you so do not want the bodycon. Hand that back.”

“Okay..” I replied as I stuck my arm out of the curtain, dress hanger in hand.

“Thank you, I’ll just pop this back. One moment please,” Mason said and I heard his footsteps retreat, I sat on the stool and looked at myself in the mirror and let out a small chuckle. Six months ago the girl looking back at me was going through so much she thought she might just not wake up one day due to exploding from stress in her sleep. But now, she’s a student at NYAI, is certain in her future, is lucky to have the friends she has and is proud of being the girlfriend to one of the most handsome people she has ever seen.

As I sat staring in the mirror waiting for Mason to return, my phone pinged on the side with a notification. It was a voice note from Noah in response to a message I’d sent whilst I was shopping for groceries with Mason.

“Anna-Rose, you’re already too sweet for me. But it sounds like a good idea for you girls to get in some premium bonding time. I guess I could spare you for... Let’s say… 2 movies.”

I smiled as I listened to his chuckle and small whispering of “I love you” at the end, I held down the button to record and send my own response to him.

“Noah Harris, you are not getting out of spending time doing face masks and painting your nails with myself and Hazel by slinking away to watch your videos about macho racing cars, or whatever it is you do. Plus I got our favourite candy! You can’t say no to that!”

I followed the voice note with a picture of me pouting in the changing room mirror. Just as I locked my phone, I heard Mason return saying my name after clearing his throat.

“I’ve just spoken to a shop assistant and she said that you should definitely go with the denim dress. It’s perfect pair with black heeled booties and your hair in a braid, pretty much how it is now.”

I smiled as Mason relayed the information to me and got dressed back into my own clothes before making sure I had everything and pulling back the curtain. These two remaining dresses in hand.

“Then I guess we’re putting back a sun dress.”

Mason smiled and before we knew it he was dropping me back off at the Harris household, helping me inside with the bags before bidding me goodbye and leaving to head home. I was unpacking the groceries when I heard small footsteps bounding towards the kitchen, followed by much bigger ones.

“Anna-Rose! Thank Goodness!” Hazel gasped as she ducked behind my legs as a grinning Elijah rounded the corner. He straightened up upon seeing my presence and swallowed harshly as he cleared his throat.

“Anna-Rose. Ah. I um-”

“Was just doing what big brothers should do. Playing with their younger siblings and making them happy. Carry on, I just need to unpack these groceries and then I’m going to start preparing for dinner. But, I do want you two to clean up and be settled before your ma and Noah get home from work, okay? They’re going to want some peace and quiet before dinner.”

Elijah and Hazel looked at each other, talking with facial expressions before turning back to me and nodding profusely with large grins. “Okay, Anna-Rose!” they said in unison before carrying on with their game.

Later on around 5:30pm, the door opened and closed as Noah returned from work, taking a deep inhale.

“Something smells delicious.” he commented.

“Anna-Rose is cooking dinner for us sweetie.” Ms. Harris replied as Hazel and Elijah bickered over a crayon’s shape on the floor.

“No! I’m telling you Elijah. It’s a mermaid!”

“Nooo. it’s definitely a shark.”

Noah looked at them and chuckled from behind me before greeting me with a kiss.

“Hey gorgeous. Miss me?”

“Of course I did.”

He smiled at me and we shared another kiss before he sighed. “As much as I’d love to stand her and cuddle you whilst you finish cooking, I’m gonna go jump in the shower. I’m covered in grease and brake fluid. It’s not the best smell.”

“Okay. Dinner won’t be long, only about another 10 minutes maximum.”

“Alright. I’ll try not to be too long.” he winked before walking in the direction of the bathroom.

I listened back to the conversation happening between Elijah and Hazel.

“But you said that basketballs can be customized to be rainbow. And that you’d get me one with my name on and everything. Even teach me how to play. And you still haven’t.”

“That was before. When my ways weren’t moral at all. I used to be a bad guy, like dad. The only difference between us is, I had a brother and a girl that’s very special to him, show me it’s not too late to be good before I was a copy of dad. So I’m not going to jail. Noah isn’t going back to jail. Ma will be around more often soon too. Things are only going to get better from now on. Okay, kiddo?”

I smiled softly as Hazel turned her head to look at me before looking back at her brother and breaking into a soft smile of her own. “So you’re a good guy now?”

“I’m at the very start. But it was the tortoise who won the race, wasn’t it?”

Hazel nodded with a smile and launched herself into Elijah’s arms. He looked over her shoulder at me and mouthed a “thank you” as tears glossed his eyes. And I knew he meant it. He was on the edge of no return when Noah, Mason, Samantha, Mack, and I found him in that warehouse that night. We could have made the total wrong decision giving him one last chance. But he wasn’t wasting it. It took for him getting severely injured for the danger of the lifestyle he was choosing to register in his mind. But I could tell he was truly sorry for all the pain he had caused. And I could tell that Ms. Harris was happy to have her eldest son back at home safe and away from being a criminal. Just as I was plating up dinner and Hazel was setting the table, Noah walked back into the kitchen, freshly showered and in some cleaner, more comfortable clothes.

“Hey, Hazel?”

“Yes, Anna-Rose?”

“I could use your help quickly. Would you mind?”

“No, I’m coming!” she chimed and took my hand, following me to her bedroom.

As we entered she immediately noticed the bag hanging on her door handle. “What’s in the bag?”

“Why don’t you go ahead and take a look?”

“Okay…” Hazel cautioned as she opened the bag, taking out what was inside, screaming happily. “AH! ANNA-ROSE! HOW DID YOU KNOW I WANTED THIS?!” She abandoned the dress and headband in her bed and rushed into my arms hugging me tightly. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”

I chuckled as she hugged tighter before letting go. “Can you help me put it on?! I want to show Noah and Elijah how many heart’s I’m going to break when I grow up!” She enthused

“I don’t know about that.” I chuckled. “I think they might be a bit protective of you.”

She gave me her best “and you think I care?” look before we burst into a fit of giggles. I helped her into her dress before disappearing into the bathroom and changing into my own. As we were inside, I didn’t bother with heeled booties as suggested. Instead I put in some fluffy black slippers and gave Hazel a matching pair, then together, we applied some lip gloss before rejoining the rest of the family for dinner.

“Ohh Hazel! Look at you! You’re so pretty my sweet.” Ms. Harris cooed as she engulfed her in a hug, whilst Noah and Elijah gave me matching skeptical looks.

“What?”

“Do you know-”

“Are you aware-”

They stopped and looked at each other, mumbling an apology at each other.

“Oh. I get it. You boys are jealous I got Hazel something and not you. Don’t worry. Elijah you’re after your mom who is next month and then Noah, you’re after Samantha, who is after Elijah.” I teased with my best poker face but couldn’t help but break out in a smile as Elijah failed to remain his own poker face beside me at Noah’s twitching eye.

“I’m teasing! Of course you’re next month with your mom. You two deserve something nice with all the hard work you do. I’ll send you details in the post.” I winked at Noah before taking my place between him and Hazel, Ms. Harris flashing me a kind smile.

“Thank you so much for making us this meal Anna-Rose. I can’t express my gratitude enough.”

“Your smile is all I need ma’am. Nothing more.”

“Oh.” Ms. Harris replied as she choked back a sob. “Noah. Don’t you ever do anything foolish and lose this girl. Because I will personally rearrange your entire being myself.” She warned and Noah flashed a grin.

“Don’t worry ma. I don’t plan on it. She’s my everything. I wouldn’t- WE wouldn’t be where we are, had she not come into my life.” Noah reassured her, looking at me lovingly as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“You’ve got to teach me the game Noah.” Elijah stated.

“What game?” He responded, his adoring gaze never leaving mine.

“The one of scoring a girl of my own with a heart of gold.”

“There is no game.” He said, a small smile gracing his features. “You just have to be your true self, give them your everything and let them know they have you, even if for a while you don’t have them. If they need space to figure out who they are for them to then figure out what they two of you could be. Give it to them. Because if you don’t. You’ll lose them. Forever.”

I smiled back at Noah softly and gently reached up, swiping the tear from his cheek that left his eye and he voiced the alternative of what could’ve happened to us.

“Noah.” Hazel piped up.

“Yes, ballet master?”

“You haven’t told Anna-Rose how pretty she looks. That’s really rude. Ma raised you better than that. Also. This pasta is delicious, thank you Anna-Rose.”

Everyone chuckled at her bluntness as she chowed down on her food.

“She’s right. I haven’t. You look stunningly gorgeous tonight babe. Thank you for the effort you’ve put in.”

Elijah piped up too. “Yes. Thank you Anna-Rose.”

“Oh. Guys. It’s nothing, seriously. I just wanted to cook a nice meal for my family.”

Elijah, Hazel and Ms. Harris froze mid-bite and looked at me. Elijah lowered his fork back to his plate before clearing his throat to speak.

“We- you- but you two aren’t-” he stuttered.

Noah smirked. “How do you know?” He teased.

“You didn’t…” Elijah gasped

“Maybe I did.”

“But she would have…”

“Not necessarily.”

“Bro, did you seriously…”

Noah was about to respond when their mom interjected.

“Noah, stop winding your brother up.”

“Ah, maaa! You ruined the fun. Just look at his face!” Noah chuckled with a gleam in his eye.

Elijah looked between the two of us for the rest of dinner, I could see the gears turning in his head. Trying to figure out if Noah had popped the question. Even though the answer right now was an obvious no.

After dinner was done, Elijah offered to do the dishes whilst Ms. Harris announced she was off to bed, leaving myself, Hazel and Noah to take up the living room and watch movies whilst doing face masks.

As the night wound on, I flooded my Pictagram stories with small videos and various pictures documenting our night. Being careful to stick to Ms. Harris’ rules of not showing off the location of their house. By 10:30pm Hazel was sound asleep on the couch, whilst Noah and I were snuggled on the floor under blankets. We were engrossed in a movie when Elijah stuck his head in the room startling us as he spoke up.

“Hey. Ma wanted m-”

“Ah!” I yelped quietly, Noah gasping beside me.

“Sorry.” Elijah apologized, “Ma asked me to check up on you three. She’s now going to sleep but could help but worry.”

“Oh. Well. Hazel’s asleep. And we were just finishing the movie before heading to be ourselves.” I explained.

“Okay. Let me carry her to bed. Oh, and Anna-Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. Again. When are you going home to see your dad?”

“Uhh… tomorrow. Why?”

“Could I.. tag along? I owe him a massive thanks for risking his job to save my life.”

I let the question hang in the air for a moment before smiling softly, “Sure. But… you’ll also owe him a profuse apology for leaving his daughters to get arrested for a crime they didn’t have any active part in.”

“I… yeah. I do. I’ll work on it tonight. Noah?” He jerked his head at his younger brother. Noah raised a brow back at him. “Am I crashing in your room tonight?”

“No. There’s 15 minutes of this movie left. You can settle on the couch and wait for us to leave, we won’t be long.”

“Okay. Cool.”

As the movie finished, I spared a glance over at Elijah who had rejoined us after putting Hazel to bed, and was now asleep on the couch. I felt my brow furrow with concern as I watched him flinch and whimper in his sleep, a cold sweat taking over him before he sat up with a shout, scaring Noah, who was putting the DVD’s away.

“Hey. It’s alright. You’re okay. You’re safe.” I said softly, gently rubbing his back in circular motions.

“Wha- Where- …”

“You’re at home. With your family.”

He looked at me and his eyes widened in terror.

“You!” He exclaimed pointing an accusatory finger at me. “You’re lying about your full name. Noah doesn’t know it. He only knows the shortened version.”

Noah looked at Elijah suspiciously. “Hey. Are you… okay? What nightmare did you have this time.”

“She’s a criminal Noah.”

“What? Elijah. She’s not. It was just a bad dream. Anna-Rose, can you grab a bottle of water from the fridge?”

“Sure.”

“No!” He yelled as I turned to leave the room. “She’ll poison it.” He whispered to Noah, earning a confused look in return.

“Elijah. You’re being silly. Who do you think I am?”

“The largest serial killer known to man.”

“What? No. I’m Annabella Rosaline Marianne Price, 1st daughter to the late Sheila Price and her husband Dave Price. I’m a graduate of Eastridge High and am currently pursuing my passion of photography at The NYAI. I’m no murderer. I’m your brother's girlfriend. And I see you as family too. I helped make sure you survived a horrible attack. If I wanted you dead I would have left you.”

I looked on with a steel gaze towards Elijah despite Noah looking at me with his cute puppy dog face. Once Elijah came out of his trance and nodded I turned to Noah and raised a brow.

“What?” I asked softly.

“You’re full name.”

“What about it?”

“It explains why you’re so beautiful… Annabella Rosaline Marianne Price. The woman I will one day, make my wife. I- … Wow.” He whispered softly with a smile, which I gracefully returned.

“I’ll go get that water.” I said as Elijah cleared his throat reminding us of his presence.

--- The Next Day ---

As the sun beamed through the crack in Noah’s curtains, I stirred awake and turned to face the wall with a groan. It couldn’t be morning already could it? I smiled as I felt a soft tickle of breath against my neck followed by Noah’s voice.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He whispered in my ear and I could hear the smile on his face.

“Shhhhhh.” I said back, earning a small chuckle from him as he wrapped his arms around me and snuggled as close as possible.

“We have a couple hours until we need to get up. How long do you wanna stay like this for?”

“Forever. You’re so warm and snuggly. I’m gonna miss you so much when I go back to New York.”

“I’m gonna miss you too. Though. I have a question.”

I opened my eyes as I turned to face him, his bright blue skies meeting my forest greens. “Shoot.”

“When moments are special. Like this one right now. Can I call you my Annabella?” He blushed.

I smiled at his cuteness. “Only if I can call youuuu…”

“Noah Maurice Harris?”

“What?”

“My middle name. It’s Maurice. After my late grandfather on ma’s side.”

I smiled for a moment bringing my hand to his face and cupping his jaw, caressing his cheek with a gentle thumb. I watched as he closed his eyes and inhaled, peace etching itself on every inch of his face. He somehow looked even more angelic this way than when he had his eyes open.

“I don’t want to call you your full name. I just want to call you mine.” I whispered, placing a soft kiss on his forehead as his bedroom door opened. Ms. Harris poking her head inside, giving us a smile as she laid her eyes on us.

“Good morning Anna-Rose. Morning Noah.”

“Morning Ms. Harris”

“Hi ma.”

“Oh. Anna-Rose. Thank you.”

“What for?”

“I haven’t seen or heard my little baby so relaxed for years. You two truly are meant to be. Thank you for being a safe person for him.” She whispered, gently stroking Noah’s hair and we watched as a small smile crept onto his face.

“Ma. You’re gonna seal the deal and put me back to sleep in a minute.” Noah smiled lazily and I chuckled softly as Ms. Harris smiled.

“It’s… nothing Ms. Harris. I… I love him. He’s amazing. His past doesn’t define who he is at heart. A soft, sappy, kind, warm, loving, hopeless romantic. And… and someone who I can see my future with. I would trade what we’re starting to build for ourselves for anything in the world. You’re an amazing mother Ms. Harris. And it’s reflected in both Noah and Hazel. I’m hoping one day we’ll see it in Elijah too. I know it’s there. He just has to stop being afraid to let it shine through. Please never doubt yourself because every one of your kids has the purest of hearts, just like you.”

I reached out and took Ms. Harris’ hand in my own as she sniffled and a tear fell from her cheek onto the pillow beside Noah’s head.

“I couldn’t ask for a better daughter-in-law than you Anna-Rose. You’ve done so much, not only for this one here but, for Hazel and you helped bring my other boy home. Things feel more complete now, and we have you to thank.”

I smiled at her as we squeezed each other's hands in an understanding gratefulness. I was thanking her for bringing Noah into this world and she was thanking me for loving him despite the rumors and harsh things being said about him, for reaching deeply and seeing Noah within. Who he truly was. Our moment was interrupted as Elijah poked his head in.

“Is he not up yet? We’re supposed to be leaving for our morning run in 5 minutes.”

“Oh shut it Elijah. I’m in a moment of bliss. Go for the run on your own.” Noah slurred. Ms. Harris and I chuckled quietly as Elijah let out an exaggerated sigh with an eye roll before leaving.

“Well, I popped in to remind you not to be late for work today Noah. And tell you your lunch is in the fridge. I need to be off to work myself. I’ll see you later.” She smiled and pressed a kiss to Noah’s temple and one to my forehead before collecting her bag from the floor and leaving, quietly shutting the door.

After she had gone, Noah slowly opened his eyes and smiled at me.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just… thank you. For treating her so well. She means a lot to me and well… she’s the only parent I’ve got. If it wasn’t for her..”

“Hey! It’s okay. I… it’s been a while since I had a mother figure in my life. And well… your mom’s not exactly mean is she? She deserves the nice words, gifts, and love. To be cherished and shown how amazing she is. Plus. Being rude isn’t in my nature.” I whispered softly

He smiled back at me and I stroked his hair, sighing contently before pushing himself up. “I should join Elijah for our morning run. Then we can cuddle up again when I get back okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” I smiled, sharing a kiss with him before snuggling under his blankets and hugging his pillow.

“NOAH I'M LEAVING!” Elijah shouted.

“ONE MINUTE, I'M TYING MY SHOES!” Noah shouted back and gave me a wink as he pulled his shirt over his head, grabbing his shoes from the rack by the door and walking out.

There wasn’t much to do whilst he was gone, but put the dishes away from last night's meal and have a shower myself. I was reading a book, coffee mug in hand when Hazel came into the room, plopping herself down next to me.

“Good morning, Anna-Rose.”

“Good morning, Hazel. Can I get you breakfast?”

“Can you make pancakes?”

“I make the best pancakes. Shall we see if we have all the ingredients?”

Hazel nodded and together we made pancakes before getting up and dressed. When the boys returned we were sitting watching TV. The rest of the day passed by how you would expect. We played board games and drew pictures, when Ms. Harris arrived home from work, Elijah, Noah, and myself set off for my dad’s house. When we arrived he received us with a warm welcome. Firstly Elijah apologized profusely to dad for the mess he got myself and Mack in. Then he apologized to Mack for even putting her in that position in the first place. By the end of the evening everything was smoothed over and starting to heal. The next morning Mason knocked on the door, he was taking me back to New York today. There were some things I needed to get before college started back up and it was gonna take a while.

Elijah decided to make his own way back home but Noah was coming with us too. I’d promised him I’d show him the sights. As we travelled along the highway, I couldn’t help but feel sadness. Being miles away from your friends and boyfriend sucks. You just want to stay close forever and make a tone of memories together. But everyone has to lead a life of their own eventually. Mason was Noah’s ride back to Eastridge so he parked in the parking spot outside my dorm and the two helped me inside with my bags. After they were secured safely, I locked my dorm and we headed out to see the sights and go shopping.

Eventually the part I had been dreading came and I teared up as I stood on my dorm doorstep with Noah, clutching his hands tightly in my own.

“I wish you could stay.”

“I wish I could stay too. But we’re blessed with phones. We can hear each other daily.”

“It’s not the same as being able to hold you though.”

“I know. But we’ll see each other again over our next break.”

“Promise?”

“Wholeheartedly so, my sweet Annabella.” Noah whispered and I closed my eyes as he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead before pulling me into a tightened embrace. “Did you hug Mason goodbye?” He mumbled into my hair and I shook my head.

Noah turned to the car and motioned for Mason to join us. He walked over and cleared his throat.

“What’s wrong?”

“You haven’t hugged your friend goodbye. That’s pretty rude Mason.”

Mason sighed and looked at me, opening his arms and I dove into them, squeezing him tightly too. “I'm going to miss you. Have fun in the Navy.”

“I will.”

I stepped back inside and waved goodbye, watching as Mason's car drove off into the distance. When I could no longer see it, I closed the door and climbed into bed. I had just settled when my phone pinged. Opening the message from Noah I chuckled. It was a goofy selfie of him and Mason pouting as they sat in traffic, captioned “We miss you already 😢”

Sighing I sent a pouting selfie of my own back captioned “missing you guys too! 🥺😢💔”

Usually I found it hard to fall asleep being away from everyone, in a big city all on my own. But there was something different, I realized as I was drifting off to sleep that all I had to do was count my blessings.

#choices stories you play #playchoices #pixelberry studios #pixelberry mtfl #choices mtfl #pb mtfl #mtfl noah #mtfl ava #mtfl mackenzie #mtfl mason #mtfl mc #mtfl dad #noah harris #noah harris fanfiction #choices fanfiction #mtfl fanfiction

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adoreyou303 · 5 years ago

Text

Sweet Creature (H.S. Fic)

(CW: Mention of sexual assault and panic attacks)

Chapter Two

As time passes, Harry’s world feels as though it’s standing still. He isn’t sure how long he has been in the uncomfortable chair before the shrill ringing of his phone rips him from his thoughts.

“Hello?” he rasps.

“Harry? Where the hell are you? What is going on?” Harry’s manager, Jeff, screeches through the phone.

“It’s Melanie. She’s been attacked. ’m with her at the hospital.”

“Jesus. What the fuck happened? The news is showing pictures of you getting in an ambulance. Are you hurt too?” Jeff questions worriedly.

“No, ‘m fine. We found her being attacked. Scared the guy off. Jeff, he hurt her. Bad.”

“The whole place is reeling with cameras. There’s no way he got in or out without being recorded.” The line goes quiet for a few seconds before Jeff sighs. “Do you want some company?”

“That’d be nice,” Harry mumbles, running his fingers through his hair, the styling long forgotten.

“Right, I’m on my way. I know this isn’t a good time, but we have to release a message to your fans about the concert. Do you have any ideas?”

“Something about a personal emergency. I will release a statement when you get here. Just make it short and sweet, but vague. I’ll do damage control when I know she’s okay.”

“She’s going to be alright, mate.”

Harry and Jeff wait for an agonizing 30 minutes before Dr. Rameriz knocks on the door to the private room. The singer stands nervously, waiting to hear any news on his best friend.

“She’s awake and asking for you,” the doctor smiles. “We’re only allowing one person at a time, so let’s just start with Harry.”

His heart almost beats out his chest upon hearing the news of her asking for him. If it were up to him, he would run down the hallway and be by her side in an instant. Something in the air of how Dr. Rameriz looks at him tells him there’s something more he needs to know.

As they walk toward Melanie’s room, Dr. Rameriz places a gentle hand on Harry’s arm.

“Based on the injuries we were able to assess, we believe she was raped. We haven’t told her the full extent of her situation yet. She wasn’t in the mindset for any of us to tell her. In order for us to run all of our tests and submit a report to the police, we need her consent.”

“I can’t believe this… Are you asking… Are you saying you want me to tell her? This should be her decision.”

“I know this is a lot to take in. Of course it’s up to her to choose what she wants to do. She has every right to decline. We would just like your help to break the news to her. She seems to trust you. Sometimes it’s easier for patients to hear this kind of news from a loved one or with a loved one around. It can help aid them in making decisions or just having emotional support.”

“Okay, what can I do?” he asks eagerly.

Walking into her room, Harry felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Even in the hospital with tubes and bruises, she looked like the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. He attempts to walk on his toes to be as quiet as possible, but the shuffling causes her to stir.

“Harry,” she croaks, her eyes lighting up when she spots the figure by the door.

“Hello, love. How are you feeling?” he asks, crossing the room in nearly two strides. He reaches down to grab her hand, but immediately recoils, fearing he will hurt her further.

“It’s okay, you can hold my hand,” she smiles gently, wiggling her fingers slightly. Harry intertwines their fingers, bringing her hand up to his lips to leave a tender kiss near her thumb.

“How are you feeling?” he urges, tilting his head slightly to indicate she has his full attention.

“Sore. They gave me some stitches and I have bruises everywhere, but I’m okay. It could have been worse,” she sighs. He nods sadly, looking down at her body that is covered by the white sheet.

“Do you remember anything about what happened?” he asks softly, placing his other hand over their intertwined ones. Her eyes widen and for a second, he can almost see a scene flash through her mind, but as quick as she stumbled, she recovers as she shakes her head no.

“I just remember something over my mouth and waking up not able to move,” she whispers. He can feel her hands shake beneath his, slightly wet from the nerves of recounting her recent attack.

“When I found you, your attacker was on top of you,” Harry starts, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on her palm.

“I remember falling out of a room or something. We were against a door…” she recalls, her eyes searching around the room aimlessly.

“Right. He was on top of you… with his pants off,” he finishes, the last part quieter than a whisper. Her heart feels like it stopped. Her body freezes as she frantically tries to piece together any memories she can.

“What?” she whispers, her eyes watering.

“’m so sorry,” he says, lowering his head in a mix of guilt and sadness.

Before Harry could even process any thoughts, he hears the sounds of rapid breathing and painful sobs emanating from the person he cared about most. If he thought the sight of her in a hospital bed was bad, the sight of her completely breaking down shattered his heart to pieces. A rush of alarms and bells sound, signaling she’s in some sort of distress.

“Can I touch you? ’m going to help,” Harry asks quickly, but calmly, dropping their hands to bring himself face to face with her. She looks at him hesitantly, but nods in agreement despite her panicked state. Harry climbs into the bed behind her, noticing how she flinches at his touch. He reminds her of his intentions by repeating his name and what he’s doing in a slow and soothing voice despite the mess of nerves building in the pit of his stomach. Nurses race into the room and take in this odd sight.

“She’s panicking,” Harry relays. “‘S okay, love. It’s Harry. I know you’re in there. Can you feel me breathing?” She nods against his shoulder, a feeling of embarrassment and anxiety swelling in her throat.

“Good. Try to match your breathing with mine. Start small. In and out,” he instructs, exaggerating his breathing to help guide her. Her painful gasps of air start to even out as Harry continues to give her praise and encouragement. He peppers her hairline with kisses, admiring her inward and outwardly for her courage to fight.

“You’re doing so well, darling. Just keep breathing, nice and slow. ’m right here with you,” he says gently.

“Please don’t go,” she chokes out, her fingers grasping at his expensive shirt.

“‘m not going anywhere, love. ’m staying right here with you.”

Her uneven breathing settles into strangled cries mixed with an occasional sob. A kind nurse with a warm smile asks if she would like some medication.

“No, no medication,” she cries, turning her head into Harry’s chest.

“It’ll help you sleep,” she encourages, placing a hand on the bed’s safety rail.

“I don’t want to sleep. I don’t want to close my eyes,” she admits, a fresh wave of tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll stay right here while you sleep,” Harry tells her, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. She contemplates it for a few seconds, almost falling asleep with Harry gently running his fingers through her hair. Suddenly, her eyes snap open as she frantically tries to push herself out of Harry’s arms.

“Wha’? Wha’ is it, love?” he asks worriedly. “Are you hurting?” The nurse frantically presses the red assistance button and snaps on a pair of gloves.

“The concert! We have to… YOU! You have to go! Your fans, they’ll be so disappointed if you don’t show up,” she rattles off. Harry takes her face between his hands in an effort to talk to her quietly and calmly, eyeing nurse readying the injection behind her. The nurse places the medication in her IV. Slowly, her muscles relax and her eyes begin to close.

“Rest now, love. I’ll be here when you wake up,” Harry whispers, running his fingers lightly across her forehead.

“Your injuries are healing nicely. If you notice any oozing or new bruising, come back immediately. This paperwork has all the information we talked about earlier, all the medications, and numbers to reach me at if you need anything at all, okay? Take it easy. It’s been a pleasure taking care of you, but I don’t want to see you back here,” Dr. Rameriz smiles, handing Melanie a thick stack of discharge papers. She nods appreciatively and thumbs through the papers mindlessly. Harry watches her with careful eyes, not wanting to push her before she’s ready.

“I can feel you watching me,” she speaks up, her eyes not leaving the papers in her hand.

“Sorry, love. Are you ready to go? We can leave whenever you’re ready.”

She looks up with timid eyes, an uneasy feeling suddenly saturating the room. Sensing the shift in the air, Harry pushes out of the chair he had been perched in since the early hours of the morning and makes his way toward her. He makes all his movements visible to her, and she watches him with fear filled curiosity. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he nervously rubs his palms on the fabric of his pants.

“W-what if I’m never ready?” she stutters, feeling small and helpless.

“Oh, love. I wish I could take this away from you… all of this. I can’t go back and change what happened and I’m so sorry, but I can be there for you, with you, through the rest of this. You’re not alone, Melanie.”

With trembling hands, she reaches out to grip the hand resting on his thigh. He responds by lacing his fingers through her hers. “Take your time. We will go at your pace.” Slowly, she leans her head on his shoulder. They sit on the hospital bed for an unknown length of time, with his head atop of hers, and for just a moment, it’s just the two of them: two small people in this big world.

#sweet creature #chapter 2 #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles imagine #harry styles writings #harry styles fandom #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry styles #hs fandom #hs fic #harry styles series

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thedrunkdoc · 5 years ago

Text

Daydreaming

XIUMIN X Y/N

Genre: It’s safe to say that this is fluff with a little bit of Angst on the side.

AN: Here I am again after a very looong hiatus. Only this time, I won’t be serving you guys some steamy smut. I wanted to write something cute for Xiumin since I’ve been feeling giddy these days. I hope this gives you as much excitement as the smut one shots I’ve done.

Alsooo, try listening to EXO’s Heaven as the background music for this. ^_^

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Today was a perfect day for a trip to the amusement park. It was in the middle of autumn- not to hot and not too cold, just right. The ice cream cone that you were holding started to drip on your fingers sending you a signal that you have been staring at a father-daughter tandem for too long.

You couldn’t help it. The sight reminded you of someone. You watched intently as the father carried his sleeping daughter to the bench. Guess this girl had a fun day at the park. He held his hand up in the air to shield his girl’s eyes from the sunlight and you couldn’t help but smile as flashbacks appeared right before your eyes.

It was your final year in Uni and you wanted to be remembered as the girl with the best glow up. You entered the cosmetics store in hopes of going back to your dorm with a bag full of new makeup to try.

You scanned the lipstick aisle and started picking out 3 different shades of red. Red lipsticks were your thing. Although you’ve never actually gotten it smeared all over your face because of too much kissing, making out, and grabbing just like what the myths told you about your stay in Uni. But that was fine. At least you were still on your final year and you still had hope.

And if you could make out with anyone, you would have definitely picked Kim Minseok from the Theatre Club. He was two years ahead of you and he was in charge of the recruitment of new club members during the Freshmen Orientation. And you’ve only had eyes for him ever since which is why you joined the Theatre Club even if you didn’t even have any acting experience or whatsoever.

He always landed the male lead. Which meant he always had big roles and big scenes, some of them you’d rather not watch because a sudden pang on your chest would pull you out of consciousness. Not even exaggerating this part. You literally fainted the first time you saw him kiss the female lead during practice.

You’ve always worked backstage and you were okay with that. After all, your goal in joining wasn’t to actually be on stage. It was to keep a close distance between you and the love of your life who you knew would never be yours. He never even looked at you, not even once.

Come to think of it, there was actually one time. When you pulled a different lever sending the sandbags, holding the props in place, in the air and landing on the acting coach’s head and knocking him out. You could’ve sworn he smiled at you that time because the acting coach annoyed the living hell out of him.

You finished picking your new makeup and went straight to the counter so you could pay. You watched as the cashier punched in the items one by one while the other lady put it in a paper bag. “That will be 256 dollars.” She smiled.

You reached inside your bag for your wallet. And reached even deeper. And deeper…

You gave the cashier an awkward smile after you realized what a sticky situation you were in. “Is there something wrong?” She finally asked.

You were still looking for your wallet inside of your bag when a thought finally hit you. “I’m sorry. It seems like I forgot to take my wallet when I switched my bags today.” You said with a mix of concern and humiliation in your voice.

The two ladies exchanged a look that said I-KNOW-SHE-DOESN’T-HAVE-MONEY-AND-SHE’S-TRYING-TO-PUT-ON-A-SHOW. You hated being insulted like that. Because you had no love to protect, all of your sassiness went into protecting your pride.

You took your phone out and landed it on top of the counter. “See this? This is the new Note 20 Ultra. I’m gonna leave it here and go back to my dorm to get my wallet and come back to pay the price of the items I picked out and maybe even give you a tip even if you’re trying to insult me right now.” You turned your back on them and headed straight to your dorm.

You walked back inside the shop when you finally got your wallet and you were startled to see one of the two ladies approaching you. She was all smiles and it gave you the chills because you were certain you’ve seen that smile in a horror movie before.

“I’m sorry that you had to go back to your dorm, Ma’am.” She greeted you while handing the paper bag full of the cosmetics you picked out and your phone. “A young man came in just moments after you went out and paid for everything. He just told me to relay a message to you which is on your phone.”

I took a look at my phone and an on-screen note appeared.

“Bet you’re curious about who I am. Come and meet me at the coffee shop across the street. I’ll be wearing a gray hoodie. I’ll see you.”

Okay. His message definitely spiked up some creepy vibes.

Is he a stalker?

Is he a murderer?

Is he going to ask for sex because he paid for your makeup?

You clutched your chest tightly as you started to make your way towards the coffee shop he mentioned. You were scared about who he could be. But you were actually raised right so you knew that the right thing to do was give him back his money.

Thoughts were dancing inside your head. Panic started to kick in the moment your feet landed in front of the door of the café.

If he’s a bad person, he wouldn’t ask to meet at such a crowded place right?

Besides, the ladies were in such a good mood after seeing him. Maybe he’s got looks?

You pushed the door and stepped inside immediately eyeing someone wearing a gray hoodie. As you started to walk towards his table, another guy joins him which sent you to a cloud of confusion. It was only then that you realized that almost 50% of the people inside the café were wearing gray hoodies.

Was he trying to toy with you?

“One Caramel Macchiato for Y/N!” The Barista’s voice snapped you back to reality.

Wait. You just got here. How the hell does she know your name? And how could you have possibly ordered your favorite drink without you actually ordering it?!

You stood in place and watched as a guy stood up from his seat and claimed the drink.

The Barista’s face immediately lit up when he saw the guy standing in front of him. Now you were even more curious. You walked towards the guy and felt your soul leave your body when you finally found out who he was.

“Kim… Minseok?” You asked in disbelief.

He handed you the cup of coffee with a shy smile plastered across his face. He still looked like a squirrel when he smiled which sent you down memory lane. That same damned smile was what cajoled you into joining the damned Club where you humiliated yourself a couple of times.

You haven’t seen him ever since he graduated two years ago. You started forgetting about him when you quit Theatre Club right after he left. And you were doing fine.

Until you saw him again.

The lingering feelings that you tried so hard to erase and suppress for two years resurfaced. Your love for Minseok was like a fungal infection- it came back no matter how hard you tried to eradicate it.

You joined him at his table and sat across from him. You spent a good 10 minutes staring at him and trying to figure out why he’d do such a thing. Because no matter which angle you looked at it from, the puzzle pieces just don’t quite fit.

“Are you just going to keep on looking at me?” He asked with a slight chuckle at the end.

You still couldn’t believe your eyes. And even though you wanted to answer his question, you couldn’t fathom the right combination of words to say. Excited was an understatement. You were ecstatic. You finally saw him after two years. So why couldn’t you speak?

He took a sip of his coffee and leaned forward locking his gaze with yours. “Yes, I paid for your makeup.” He blurted out which sent your back to your seat, digging as deep as it can into the cushion.

You composed yourself and finally mustered up enough courage to speak. “Why did you do that?” You asked out of complete curiosity.

“After I graduated, I found out that girls pretend to be clumsy to get a guy’s attention because I’ve dated quite a few. I’m not that ugly, you know?” He sat back and looked outside for a moment before continuing.

‘This conceited ass.’ was all you could think of.

“I’m just kidding.” He suddenly took back what he said and you felt your muscles relax. “Truth be told, I found you really cute the day you knocked that annoying acting coach unconscious. You looked so scared.” He laughed at the memory.

“So?” You asked hoping for a decent response.

He cleared his throat. “It’s not that I didn’t see you. And it definitely wasn’t because I had noticed that you had the biggest crush on me that I never approached you.”

“Wow.” You responded as you felt your muscles tense up again. He knew? Yet he chose to ignore you all this time? His reason better be valid.

“I knew how important your studies were for you.” He finally blurted out which sent your eyes right to his gaze. He was sincere. You knew he was sincere.

“There was one time that I almost approached you. But I was too scared. I saw you walking to the library right after practice and I mentally made a promise to myself not to bother you until you graduated so I won’t be a distraction to you.” His words sounded like a symphony to you.

Was he somehow confessing?

“I tried so hard to avoid you, Y/N. But I can’t wait another year anymore considering the fact that you planned to buy so much makeup so must be trying to look pretty for another guy.” He shook his head slightly and you could see that his smile was slowly turning to a frown.

You felt your heart race. Adrenaline was pumping all over your body, making your hands a bit shaky. Butterflies were flying in all directions in your stomach and the smell of coffee didn’t help at all.

You held your hand up in front of your chest signaling him to let you talk. “Alright, hold up. First of all, I wear makeup to look pretty for myself and not for other guys. Second of all, I’m going to pay you back. Third-”

He cut me off. “I don’t want you to pay for those. I intended to buy something for you before showing up in front of you. But this is fate? I guess?”

“I’m still gonna pay for them. You know that, right?” You asked with eyebrows raised.

“Well, you can pay me in the form of kisses and cuddles.” He smiled. Again.

His smile melted you. His smile was your kryptonite. His smile dissolved all sense of rational thought left in you if there were still any. His smile made your knees a good kind of weak. And if you weren’t sitting, you’d probably be down on the floor, in the fetal position, while smiling like a dork.

“Kim Minseok, did you just confess to me?” You asked before letting out a sigh to mask the fact that you were enjoying this. Oh how the tables have turned.

“Confessions are for kids.” He stood up and held your hand and pulled you up so you’d be standing in front of him. “You’ve been mine ever since. I’m just claiming you now.”

He slowly lifted your chin up and the last thing you saw were his eyes closing as the distance between your faces became shorter and shorter until you could feel his warm lips on yours.

You could feel your face getting hotter and cheers from the people in the café drowned the sound of your heart beating so loud it could practically escape your chest at that very moment.

You had no choice but to pull away because you couldn’t suppress your smile any longer.

“Now I only owe you 255 kisses.” You said before pressing your lips together because there were no words to explain how happy you were.

“Let’s finish our coffee and head somewhere else… boyfriend.” You said as you picked up your coffee and started sipping.

“Boyfriend? I’m your fiancé, stupid.” He let out a cute laugh and you had to hold yourself back so hard to not tackle him into an unending cuddle.

“Well hello there, Angel.“ Minseok pulled you out of your daydream and gestured for you to walk towards them.

You finally sat on the bench beside your husband who was still shielding your daughter’s eyes from the sun as she slept soundly on Minseok’s chest. Your had to share your favorite pillow with your daughter now.

You licked the ice cream that was supposed to be for your daughter. “Give me some of that.” Minseok pleaded as he watched you devouring the soft serve in front of him.

“I don’t want to.” You said before sticking your tongue out like a little kid.

You’d been married to Minseok for 4 years and you were blessed with a daughter during your second year of marriage. But you were both still young at heart given the fact that he insisted on pushing through with the wedding just 2 years after you graduated. Acting like little kids when your daughter wasn’t watching was your own little way of keeping the romance alive.

“Do that again.” He said before cracking a mischievous smile.

You closed the distance between your faces and before you could stick your tongue out, his lips were already on yours.

“Hmm. Strawberry.” He licked his lips.

He caught you off-guard with that little peck. Specially because you were right in the middle of an amusement park and you were dead sure that a lot of people saw what he did. But it didn’t matter. You were married. And you couldn’t care less about what people thought about you because at least you were happy. You had a loving husband and a beautiful daughter. What more could you ask for?

“Y/N.” He whispered and you stared at him while waiting for him to continue what he was going to say. “I think it’s time for baby number two.”

You didn’t even have time to respond to what he just said. He pulled you to the car, careful not to wake your daughter up so she could be put to bed immediately when you get home.

“You know what?” You looked at him as he started the car. “Maybe I am in the mood for baby number two.” You playfully tugged on his hair sending him a signal that you weren’t kidding.

You smiled at each other and held your laugh so hard that you both turned into tomatoes.

“I love you, Y/N.” He muttered before giving you another peck on the lips.

“And I love you, Minseok.” You answered with a smile.

He started driving home and you knew it was going to be an exciting night.

Oh and the cosmetics you needed to pay back? You both lost count of the kisses you shared three weeks into your relationship. You could already imagine him sweating on top of you and you couldn’t wait to actually do the deed when you get home. But first, a warm bath.

#xiumin #xiuminau #xiumin one shot #kim minseok #exo #exo xiumin

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starshine583 · 6 years ago

Text

Le Paon Part 2

(oof~ this is a day late I’m sorry guys. Here ya go.)

Part 1 / Part 3

Felix glared down at the lump of blankets in front of him, unimpressed.

“Adrien.” He said sharply, picking up a pillow and smacking the pile of blankets with it. “Get up.”

The pile shifted, and Adrein’s head popped out, mumbling incoherent sentences- something about Ladybug and.. hamsters? He had the weirdest dreams.

Felix huffed and grabbed the edge of the blanket. “This whole school thing-” He ripped off the covers “-was your idea. Get up!”

Adrien shivered towards the sudden loss of warmth.

“Fe~ five more minutes~” His little brother whined, lazily grabbing at the air.

Felix scoffed. It’s already been four days since they started school. He should be used to the sleep schedule by now!

Throwing the blankets aside, He scowled and climbed onto the bed. Adrien barely even had time to look at him before Felix shoved him off the bed.

Adrien yelped, flopping onto the ground.

“Get. Up.” Felix hissed.

“Fe..” Adrien began, voice muffled from landing face first on the floor. “You haven’t had your coffee yet, have you?”

“And what if I haven’t!”

Adrien grunted as he pushed himself off the floor. “Yeah, I figured. I’m gonna go get ready.”

“About time.” Felix rolled his eyes.

The blonde chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “You go get yourself some coffee so I can make it through your grumpy mornings.”

He narrowed his eyes, though he didn’t argue, simply spinning on his heel and stalking out the door. His caffeine addiction was itching at him anyway, and he could already smell the delectable aroma of freshly brewed coffee grounds.

Felix reached the bottom of the stairs, sparing a glance to his father’s office. Nathalie stood guard in front of the door, still as a statue. They’d chalked it up to waiting for them in the morning, but Felix knew better. He used to be able to enter Gabriel’s office whenever he wished, until he saw that hole the other day. Suddenly, his Father was “too busy” or “working on a special project that was top secret”.

They were hiding something, and he was determined to find out what that something was.

For now, though, coffee.

Steam clouded the air as the dark liquid spilled over into the silver thermos. Felix twisted on the cap, ensuring it would stay piping hot, and set the glass pitcher back into the coffee maker. This particular brand was a special cinnamon mix he’d decided to try.

“I’m ready!” Adrien announced from the doorway. He wore his usual, black t-shirt along with his white, near-short-sleeved jacket and jeans. His wavy, golden hair swept to the side and his smile could probably light up a Christmas tree.

Felix squinted, mockingly holding up his hand as though he were trying to shield his eyes from the sun’s light. “How do you do that?”

He hadn’t even woken up till five minutes ago! How did he look so energized?

“Don’t know whatcha mean, Fe.” The model replied innocently.

Felix rolled his eyes, noting the energy drink Adrien pushed further into his bag. How he got it, Felix doesn’t know, considering their forbidden around the house, but there’s no point in calling him out on the matter. Adrien needs to learn to defy some of their Father’s rules, to be honest. There are far too many of them to be reasonable.

Nathalie cleared her throat from the other room, a quiet sign it was time to leave.

The boys grabbed the rest of their things, Felix making sure to put his extra thermos in his bag, and headed for the door.

“You got your other thermos?” Adrien asked, mirth reflecting in his bottle green eyes.

Felix nodded, proudly opening his bag to reveal the second thermos.

Adrien snorted. “You’re so paranoid. Isn’t that heavy or something?”

He shrugged in response and took a sip of his coffee, sighing in pleasure towards the warm, cinnamon taste.

“You never know. Best to be prepared.” Felix stated simply.

“Right, right. Well, when you don’t end up using the thermos, I get ten bucks for calling it.”

Felix smirked. “I’ll take that bet.”

~~~~~~

I’m late, I’m late, I’m sO LATE! Marinette panicked, racing down the sidewalk towards the school. How did she manage to sleep through her three alarm clocks?!

She rushed up the front steps of the school. The halls were obviously empty since class started five minutes ago. They were probably waiting for her, waiting to make fun of her for being late again. It only made things more embarrassing that everyone was most definitely in class all ready.

Well, everyone, except for a certain Felix Agreste, apparently.

Neither had time to register the other’s presence, as Marinette slammed right into his back. Clangs and Thumps echoed through the hallway as their things spilled onto the floor.

“I-I’m so sorry!” She apologized, immediately kneeling down to pick up their stuff. The books had scattered across the floor, along with an odd, brownish liquid.

Marinette squinted, following the trail of the mysterious substance to a silver thermos. It took a full minute to register what it was.

Then she completely paled.

Oh gosh. Oh gosh his coffee. She’d made Felix Agreste drop his coffee. What was she gonna do? No doubt he’d march right up to the principal’s office and demand she be expelled for her ignorance. What would she tell her parents? Which school she be transferred to? Would she still be able to make friends their? Maybe Alya could visit her on weekends?

A stifled chuckling came to her ears, and she blinked.

Carefully glancing up, She saw Felix brushing off his black vest and dark grey, button-up shirt while laughing.

“Thanks. You just got me ten dollars.” He said, a faint smirk on his lips.

Marinette blinked again. Did he just.. Thank her? With a smile, no less??

Felix knelt down next to her, his pale blonde hair falling over her eyes slightly as he helped her gather the books on the floor. Once he was finished with that, he proceeded to pull another thermos out of his leather backpack. He even pulled out napkins!

“How..?”

“I live with Adrien. He’s a lot more chaotic than you think.” He glanced up at her, a mischievous glint in his cool, blue eyes. “You never know when something like this might happen.”

Marinette felt there was a hidden meaning behind those words.

“W-well, that’s good..I guess.” She replied dumbly. He was being so.. Nice?? I mean, He’d never been mean to her before. You know, in the four days he’s attended their school, but she’s seen the way he acts around other people, specifically Chloe Bourgeois. Marinette never wanted to be on the end of his bone chilling glares.

The two stood, Marinette shoving her books back into her bag while Felix placed his now-empty thermos in his.

“I need to go to class. Try to watch where you're going next time.” He advised, probably sounding more rude than he intended.

Marinette smile sheepishly and nodded, watching as he walked away. She shook her head, still in disbelief towards his gentle demeanor. They haven’t really talked all that much yet, but maybe they should.

She ran her hand over her phone, making sure there weren’t any cracks from it hitting the floor.

Then she saw the time and gasped.

“Ah! Now I’m even more late!”

~~~~~~

Felix almost whistled as he walked into his classroom and sat in his designated seat. That ten dollars was all too easy to achieve. Marinette had been delightfully predictable in her tardiness, and, as he expected, didn’t even see him coming when he stepped out in front of her. He imagined Adrien would grumbled about it when he overheard Marinette tell Alya of the collision in class.

Her panicked, bluebell eyes and jumbling words came to mind, and he smiled. Even if he hadn’t done it on purpose, Felix wouldn’t have found it in himself to be upset. She was too cute when she got nervous.

Out of the corner of his eye, a brunette-haired boy peeked over the back of his seat, tentatively searching his desk. When his gaze landed on Felix’s cup, the boy sighed in relief and straightened.

“We’re clear! He’s got his coffee!” The brunette grinned, sliding into the seat next to him.

Felix rolled his eyes, but a girl in the class giggled.

“You really think lack of coffee is the only reason he’s bitter?” She teased as she approached them, her sky-blue eyes filled with mirth.

“Yeah,” A dark-skinned boy in the seat in front of Felix spoke up, “If I had to guess, I’d say his coffee is sweeter than he is, and Felix takes his coffee black.”

Claude, Allegra, and Allan. He’d met this trio on his first day in class, and they adopted him into their group on the spot, for whatever reason. Felix never actively hung out with them, but they did seem to drag him around a lot.

“Oh! Did you guys hear about the explosion in the art room the other day?” Claude said suddenly, getting that look in his chestnut brown eyes when he’s about to relay one of his pranks.

"Explosion?" Allan asked, shifting his green cap with interest and turning in his seat to face Claude. The brunette mostly talked with his hands, so you normally needed to see him when he told stories.

A devilish grin spread across Claude’s lips, and he shifted in his seat to prepare himself for the story.

“So! Alex wanted to make some glow-in-the-dark paint for this new graffiti thing. So she snuck in some chemicals from the lab-” He hunched over, mockingly shifting his eyes from left to right to look shady- “and started mixing them with the paint.” He rotated his finger in the air.

“Can’t you buy that at an art store?” Allegra cut in, absently trailing her fingers along her platinum blonde braid that hung over her left shoulder as she listened.

Claude waved his hand. “Nah, she says it’s too expensive. Anyway, She’s mixing em’ together, and Nathaniel’s all like, ‘Isn’t that dangerous?’, and she’s all, ‘don’t be a wuss, Nath, it’s fine.’ So she keeps going. Now, I’m already taking cover in the back, cause I know it’s not gonna end well.”

He holds up his hands as if he’s holding onto a canvas to hide behind it. “The stuff starts glowing- you could see it from there -and she’s like, ‘See, I told you it was fine’, but before she could even finish the sentence the entire thing just erupts and sprays paint everywhere!”

Claude flails his arms around for emphasis of the explosion.

“And they-” He pauses to laugh, trying to stifle it so he can continue. “And they just- they’re just standing there, looking down at the empty can of paint. Alex and Nathaniel are-”

He bursts out laughing, holding his hand over his mouth. Allegra and Allan start chuckling from how contagious the laughter is.

“They are covered in paint. Head to toe. I’m dying. Marc looks like he’s trying not to laugh and like he’s kind of disappointed cause it sprayed him too. And Nathaniel-” Claude snorts, shoulders shaking and fist banging on the desk from laughing so hard.

“He just- he just looks at Alex. And he says- he says, ‘yeah. You sure told me.’”

All three of them lose it. Even Felix is having trouble holding back a laugh. It was a good thing their class started at a different time today, else they all would have had detention.

“I didn’t know this school had an art room.” Felix commented, somehow being heard over the madness. Admittedly, he should have taken more initiative to tour the school grounds.

“Wait, really?” Allan was the first to speak, his chocolate brown eyes widening in surprise.

Felix shook his head, and Claude dramatically gasped in disbelief.

“Oh, heck no. As soon as school is over, you’re coming to the art room with me.” The brunette declared firmly.

The next thing he knew, Claude was eagerly leading Felix through the school halls.

True to his word, He’d grabbed Felix and rushed out of the classroom as soon as class was over. Even Allegra and Allan weren’t able to follow them, though Felix assumed they’d catch up later.

The brunette stopped in front of a muddy brown door, covered in flecks of paint with a tilted sign that read “Art Room”. He kicked open the door- not hard, but enough to create a dramatic entrance. From the looks the students inside gave him, Felix assumed Claude did that often.

“Welcome to the Art Club!” Claude announced, gesturing around the room.

There were various projects around the room, such as unfinished paintings, scraps of cloth, papers, books, extra materials, etc. Paint flecks littered everything in the room, creating a lingering scent of the settled pigment. It was probably the result of the explosion that Claude mentioned earlier.

Claude waltzed inside as if he owned the place. “And now, to introduce the crew!”

He pointed to a short girl with pink pigtails and black and green attire. “This is Alex! Her specialty is graffiti.”

Alex gave a half salute with two fingers as a greeting before going back to her project of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“That’s Nathaniel. He draws comics.” Claude continued, pointing to a boy who’s red hair fell over his eyes.

Nathaniel timidly glanced up from the sketchbook he was hunched over, muttering a quick “Hello”.

“Next up, We have~ Marc! The man behind the dialogues of Nath’s comics!” The brunette introduced, flamboyantly bowing towards a black haired boy currently hiding in his red hoodie.

“And last, but certainly not least, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Felix perked up, eyes darting to the corner Claude was gesturing towards.

Marinette rolled her eyes, a playful smile on her lips as she set her sketchbook aside.

“Hey guys! You’re joining the art room?” She asked, the excitement in her tone surprising him.

“I’m.. not sure. Claude was just showing me around.”

“Wait, wait.” Claude interrupted, brows furrowed in confusion. “You two know each other?”

“We’ve run into each other a few times.” Felix smirked at Marinette, causing her to giggle towards the inside joke. The delicate pink spreading across her cheeks gave him an odd sense of satisfaction.

Claude only stared, dumbfounded. Then he pulled a pout. “Hey, what gives? You don’t smile like that for us! In fact, you don’t smile at all!”

Felix’s smile immediately fell, and he rolled his eyes, attempting to ignore Marinette’s snort.

“Is that all? I’m leaving otherwise.”

“Oh wait! You haven’t seen my stuff yet!” Claude said hurriedly and ran to another corner of the room covered in various canvases.

“And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for!” He began, holding an imaginary microphone to his mouth.

Marinette smiled fondly and sat down in a chair, pretending to be the audience. Felix noticed the rest of the club members were doing the same.

Claude made a small drum roll with his hands, and the others joined in shortly. Once he was confident they would keep the drum roll going, he stepped back towards one of the canvases.

“Ta-da!” He spun around the easel, a bright grin on his lips. A black stick figure was painted onto the white canvas, along with a yellow house with a red roof and a green tree. It almost looked like.. It was finger painted by a toddler.

Nevertheless, Marinette and the others laughed and cheered and clapped for him. Felix couldn’t help the feeling of.. relief. The painting was obviously less than impressive, but they gave him encouragement and praise anyway. It was refreshing. The thought of getting complimented whether your work was good or bad seemed extremely contradictory to the life style he’d grown up in.

“So what do you say, Felix, you wanna paint with me?” Claude asked, bringing him from his thoughts.

Felix hummed, looking around the room again. So full of life. Creativity. Of acceptance.

“Not today.” Nathalie and Gorilla were already waiting for him. “But perhaps tomorrow.”

Marinette was known to have a great taste for things. if she enjoyed it here, he might as well give it a shot.

~~~~~~

Felix speed walked into the mansion, pushing Adrien in front of him.

“What’s up, Fe? Why are we rushing?” His brother asked as they neared the steps.

Felix looked over his shoulder at the doors he purposely left wide open.

“No time to explain.” He gave Adrien a final shove towards the stairs. “Go to your room. I’ll be up there in a minute.”

Adrien didn’t have any time to question. Felix spun on his heel and walked briskly into their father’s office. It took Nathalie and gorilla around five to ten minutes to park the car. That’s all the time he had right now to investigate the room.

Swiftly slipping into the office, Felix went straight for the hole he saw four days ago. It was closed up now, but the outline was still visible.

He knelt down and picked at the sides of the hole, hoping to force it open somehow. When that didn’t work, He searched the room for a stray switch. Under the desk, in the drawers, behind the curtains. Nothing. So he checked the computer for certain commands- the security system was linked to it, meaning it had access to all the openings in the house.

Still nothing.

Felix huffed, closing the tabs on the computer and turning to face his Mother’s abstract portrait. She looked so.. Happy. And warm. The exact opposite of their family as of late.

He moved towards the painting, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he ran his hand over the work of art. What would life be like if Father went missing instead? Not that he’d really want either of them to leave, but if he had a choice.. Felix was forced to believe that Emilie’s presence would be far more welcoming than Gabriel’s. What if neither of them left? Would they be a happy family? Just imagining-

Felix paused. He ran his hand over the painting again and knitted his eyebrows together. Are their supposed to be bumps in this painting?

Again, he ran his hand over the art piece. Yes, there were most certainly bumps- No, no, not just bumps.. Notches?

The door swung open, and Felix yanked his hand from the painting.

“Felix, you’re not supposed to be in here.” Nathalie said sharply from the doorway. Despite her posture being firm, He could see the way her fingers nervously trailed up and down her clipboard, or the way her feet shifted just a bit too much.

He met her eyes, composed, if not a bit panicked, though that could be one’s own imagination.

“Right. I was just looking for something.” He replied vaguely.

Neither broke eye contact as he left the room.

~~~~~~

Nathalie held her breath as Felix walked past her. Stay calm. No need to panic. Felix was only studying his mother’s painting, that’s all. No way he was trying to find the secret button to unlock everything she and Gabriel worked for. No. not at all. He was just a boy. He isn’t smart enough to figure them out without any completely obvious clues. Everything had been hidden quite well. They were fine.

These thoughts didn’t stop her from pacing as soon as she heard the door close. She needed to talk to Gabriel, but would he see her? She’s not supposed to interrupt him at these times..

Nathalie drew in a breath to calm herself. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

She stepped in the middle of the circle and pushed in the two buttons on Emilie’s painting. The platform beneath her clicked, before slowly descending into the floor and bringing her with it. The first few minutes were met with darkness, concrete on all sides. It passed a door to Gabriel’s secret lair where akumatized people. Then, the concrete merged into glass, revealing a large, abandoned park.

When the miniature elevator stopped, Nathalie started down the broad, metal pathway. Gabriel stood at the end of it, quietly watching the coffin of Emilie Agreste.

“I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but I have concerns.”

Gabriel didn’t respond at first. He didn’t turn to face her.

Then, “About?”

Nathalie pushed down her anxieties and continued, “Felix is getting suspicious. He’s started poking around your office, and he won’t listen to me. I think- well -I think it might be best if you talked to him.”

Her employer nodded absently, and she almost wondered if he even heard her.

“So Felix is ‘getting close’?” He finally asked.

She nodded. “Yes sir.”

Gabriel hummed. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”

Nathalie’s eyes widened. “But sir-”

“Felix is the next in line for the company. He will be taking over one day. If I can’t trust him with things like this, then his role as my heir would be concerning.”

“Besides,” He murmured, lightly touching the glass of the coffin, “We need all the help we can get.”

Nathalie resisted the urge to wretch. Help? From Felix? Absolutely not! They didn’t need help from a child.

“Of course sir.” She nearly growled, gripping her clipboard a bit too tight.

You know what? Fine. let that selfish, egotistical brat work with them. Then Gabriel will finally realize how incapable his son really is.

~~~~~~

Felix rolled onto his side, catching the time on the alarm clock. 2am. Everyone should be asleep by now. Perfect.

He looked over at Adrien, sleeping soundly next to him in their shared bed. Carefully, Felix pulled off his side of the blankets. If his plan was going to work, he needs to keep Adrien asleep. Thankfully, that kid was a heavy sleeper.

Once safely off the bed, Felix sneaked down the corridor, towards the stairs.

From what he could tell, the office was empty, no one guarding the door or residing inside. Felix flipped on the lights, looking around again just to be sure no one was watching him.

His breath caught in his throat when he found the notches on the painting again. What was he going to find? Would he even find anything?

He pushed the buttons.

A familiar click echoed in the room.

Felix nearly fell backwards when the circle he was standing on started to descend. It took him lower into the ground, surrounding him in concrete. Where was it taking him? How long had this secret entrance been here without him knowing? On that note, why would they keep it a secret?

He jumped through the first door he saw.

Butterflies, pure white as freshly fallen snow, illuminated a huge, dome-shaped room. There were millions of them. Why?

A butterfly landed on his shirt, and Felix narrowed his eyes.

Wait.

His heart stopped in his chest as he studied the creature. These butterflies had appeared on the television just a few days ago.

The same butterflies Hawkmoth had talked through.

Felix’s blood ran cold.

No wonder the voice was so familiar! His Father practically raised him through a screen! (If you can call that “raising”)

The butterflies, the voice, the secret door. It had to be him.

But why?

“I see you’ve passed the test.”

Felix whipped around, only to come face to face with Gabriel himself.

“You!” He spoke without thinking for once. “This is all you! You’re Hawkmoth! Why would-”

Felix paused, Gabriel’s comment finally catching up with him.

“What test?”

His father smiled- a bit unnerving since he normally doesn’t do such things.

“Follow me.”

Anticipation formed in the pit of stomach. He just found out his Father was a mass super villain. A super villain who wanted him to follow him down a strange, secret elevator.

Now, why would that be a bad idea?

Felix pushed away the obvious warning signs and did as he was told. He needed answers. If this was the only way to get them, so be it.

The two stepped onto the circular platform- a tad “comfy” considering it was only made for one person -and started downward.

Anxiety crawled up Felix’s chest when the concrete merged into glass. Another room, this time a large basement filled with an assortment of metals and plants.

Gabriel was the first to step off the platform, footsteps echoing through the secret garden.

Since when did we have a basement? He thought to himself, following his father down the broad, metal walkway. What else didn’t he know? How much was Gabriel keeping from him? From them? What would Adrien think of all of this?

“It’s true that I’m Hawkmoth.” Gabriel spoke up, regaining Felix’s attention. “But, despite what Paris believes, I’m not after power. It’s such a trivial thing, can be gone in an instant. No, I have a mission. A purpose.”

“And what ‘mission’ would compel you to terrorize innocent people.” Felix scoffed. It was out of turn, but he was tired. And frustrating. The boy simply didn’t have time for their usual game of “perfect picture child”.

Gabriel spared him a glance, one softer than Felix expected.

“There’s someone I need to save.”

Before Felix could question the comment, the man stepped aside, revealing a glass coffin.

Felix blinked, not believing his own eyes. It couldn’t be..

“Mom?”

Emelie Agreste was lying peacefully in the coffin, eyes closed, mouth smiling, and a delicate bouquet of flowers resting in her hands.

He choked out a gasp, reaching out a shaking hand to touch the glass. “How is- why is she- she’s here? What- what happened? Why?”

Gabriel sighed, staring down at his wife with a silent longing. It was still weird seeing him show any sort of emotion.

“She developed an illness, around two years ago. I did everything I could, took her to doctors, tried different concoctions of medicines, but in the end, she fell into a coma. I put her here, where she would be safe until I cure the disease.”

“How?” Felix found himself asking. He was becoming more invested in this than he should be. It was an illness, most likely terminal, and if it hadn’t been cured then, it’s not possible to cure it now.

..right?

“The miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir.” A certain excitement laced the man’s tone. “When brought together, they can grant one wish. Anything you desire. If I can just get those jewels..” He trailed off, letting Felix fill in the blanks.

The blonde tapped his fingers on the glass. It was definitely a mission, but was it worth it?

He looked down at his mother’s soft features. He remembered her sweet words and warm hugs, the way she tucked them in at night and played hide and seek.

And what wouldn’t a boy do for his mother?

“How can I help?”

Tag list: @im-here-for-the-content @novicevoice @mewwitch@minightrose @frostymoon11 @multishipper1needshalp@unabashedbookworm @unholykrow @trubel43@kaydenth3gayden @stardustrevoutionx @whatamessofwords @dani-ari @heaven428 @jaegertea

#Felinette #Le Paon AU #Felix Agreste

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miraculouscontent · 6 years ago

Note

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you didn't like Onichan.

lol I wasn’t aware I had snarky anons. :3

My reaction to both episodes that aired was a hard meh. I mean, they were basically what I expected. I knew about Kagami’s salt over Lila due to the leaks and I have unfortunate experience with family-centric plots, so I knew how Bakerix was going to turn out.

Knowing about the plots themselves don’t inherently make them bad episodes, of course, but Onichan and Bakerix don’t provide a lot for me.

I feel like “Bakerix” needed a few more laughs. It spends a lot of time with this grandfather character who spends 90% of his screentime shouting. I mean, I suppose if that’s funny to someone, the that’s great for them, but for me, it’s just a grouchy old man that I’ve been given no reason to care about. It’s like… he’s family, so what? I don’t see why him being family means he deserves anything. Heck, we don’t even see how Tom is affected by his father not being around; Sabine just brings it up.

By the way, why do both of Tom’s parents dislike him (or, well, Gina favors Sabine at least)? I know I criticize Tom a lot but still, dang.

Maybe it was supposed to show that Marinette’s family isn’t all sunshine and rainbows (not that I thought that in the first place), but I feel like the grandfather thing could’ve been mentioned in passing, like if it was an episode about Sabine’s father and Marinette asked about Tom’s father at some point. I’m not against the idea of a “bad relative,” but if they’re supposedly worth redeeming, I need a reason to like them aside from blood relations.

Anyway, point being, if Marinette’s grandfather is too stubborn to listen to reason and would rather live out the rest of his life alongside the three not-blind mice, that’s his business.

As for “Onichan,” I feel like it needed more structure and focus. I appreciate that it established what Kagami did with the rose and that Gabriel is considering Adrien’s relationship with Lila (I actually guessed that would happen eventually so that was something), but I think it gets bogged down by the fact that it’s spilling a lot onto its audience. Akumatization episodes try to have focus on the characters being akumatized (with very few exceptions, such as “Sandboy”), but Kagami can’t be afforded that attention because the episode is busy with the “Marinette following Lila and Adrien” plot.

And without the Marinette’s side of the plot, I feel like this would feel a lot more fresh, but since the episode spends time having Marinette chase after them and try to sneak in, it means less time on Kagami and less time developing the Adrimi dynamic.

I’m not going to compare it to “Silencer” because I don’t feel like that’s fair. “Onichan” threw a lot more into its episode than “Silencer.” For one, we have Lila added into the mix. For two, unlike “Silencer” where we hardly needed at all, “Onichan” needed Marinette since she’s the main-est main character.

The fact that it didn’t balance these things despite the obvious reasons for an audience to compare it to “Silencer” though? Yeah, that’s definitely something to critique.

For example, Marinette didn’t need to follow Adrien and Lila. She needed to be tied into the plot, yes, but not to waste time with stuff we’ve already seen her do.

That’s where Kagami comes in, because in the episode, Kagami is just kinda mentioned and then just shows up when the plot needs her. We also get a very brief interaction with Tomoe to show that she’s strict (we could’ve already guessed that, but okay, I’ll keep it in mind anyway).

So, here’s my pitch…

Kagami gets a tear in her red fencing uniform. We are relayed this information in the episode itself as Adrien’s phone goes off right at the end of class. We see Kagami’s contact icon, a few messages (presumably explaining the situation) then an image of the tear in question to show the severity.

Adrien considers this (as Lila is trying to peek at Adrien’s phone), then glances over to his side. Lila thinks that he’s going to speak to her at first and opens her mouth to greet him, but then Adrien calls out to Marinette.

Marinette (who was talking to Alya at the time) is surprised to be addressed, but rushes over to his side. Adrien shows her the picture and, in a hushed and begging tone, asks if it’s possible for her to fix Kagami’s outfit.

Marinette is at least happy that Adrien thinks highly of her sewing skills, but a little put off that he’s talking about Kagami in front of her.

As Marinette begins to ask why she has to do it (just because it seems weird for a rich girl like Kagami to need someone who isn’t a professional), Lila cuts in and starts rambling to Adrien as she does in the episode, wanting to go to Adrien’s house with him.

As Lila starts leading Adrien outside, Adrien gives Marinette a glance. Marinette, both knowing that they haven’t finished their conversation and that Lila around Adrien is a solid nope, follows them out to the limo. Lila gets inside (much to Marinette’s surprise), and when Adrien looks back at Marinette, he points sheepishly to his phone to remind her of Kagami’s uniform.

Marinette hesitates, staring at Lila in the limo. She doesn’t trust Lila around Adrien.

…But, Adrien also asked her to do something important.

With a smile, Marinette nods her head. Adrien, obviously very grateful for that, smiles back and gets into the limo alongside Lila. He’s seen typing on his phone (presumably texting Kagami back) just before Gorilla closes the door.

As the limo is driven away, Marinette takes one last look at it before racing back to the bakery.

Time passes, with Marinette talking to Tikki and wondering why she did this because Kagami probably hates her and–

The conversation is cut off as Sabine shouts up that Marinette has a visitor. Marinette calls back to tell Sabine to just send them up to her room.

Enter Kagami, and Marinette notices immediately that Kagami’s demeanor is… different.

Kagami’s steely gaze is shaken; anxious. She avoids Marinette’s gaze, but it’s obvious that something’s wrong.

Trying to be considerate, Marinette just gestures to the uniform in Kagami’s hand.

Kagami glances at Marinette, then walks over and hands it over with care.

Marinette inspects the uniform, observing the tear for a few seconds, then realizes that Kagami hasn’t sat down yet. She offers to let Kagami sit on her chaise, but Kagami insists that she’s fine.

The atmosphere is a little tense and awkward, but Marinette goes to work. Seeing how Kagami’s eyes are practically glued to the uniform, Marinette supposes that it must be important.

Cut to Lila and Adrien arriving at Gabriel’s mansion and everything continuing roughly as it did in the episode.

Return to Marinette and Kagami, the latter of whom is still awkwardly standing beside Marinette. Curious on the matter of the uniform, Marinette asks why Kagami doesn’t get a professional to fix it.

Kagami replies, a little too quickly, that… no! She can’t!

A pause.

Kagami collects herself, reluctantly explaining that her uniform is special and thus, her mother would be furious to know that she was “reckless” enough to let it happen.

Marinette is a little put off by that as a future fashion designer, observing that the uniform, while clearly given care, can’t hold up forever. Honestly, she doesn’t think any type of clothing can. A little wear is natural and things happen.

Kagami looks surprised that Marinette just tried to make her feel better, but makes no comment.

Marinette continues work on the uniform, though does get a bit discouraged and brings up that Adrien can probably relate to Kagami’s problem.

Kagami asks if Marinette has some sort of motive for mentioning that, to which Marinette insists that she has none; Adrien and Kagami just have a lot in common (as much as it pains her to admit it).

Then, we get the important piece of the Adrimi puzzle, as Kagami eases into talking about Adrien and why she is pursuing him, filling in the gap between “Riposte” and “Frozer” with interactions they’d had. This allows Marinette and Kagami to understand each other and know that neither have any ill intent with Adrien; Kagami even shows Marinette the pressed rose and Marinette shows Kagami the Lucky Charm that Adrien made for her.

As Kagami nears the end of her story (still holding the rose in her hands), she mentions the ice rink in “Frozer.” Marinette flashes back to that time, recalling Adrien holding the door for Kagami as Kagami got inside her limo, then flashes to Adrien watching Lila get into his limo, as it happened not too long ago.

Marinette asked what Kagami thinks of Lila, since Lila tries to be around Adrien often so surely Kagami must’ve met Lila at some point?

Kagami responds that, no, she doesn’t know anyone by that name, then questions what that girl has to do with Adrien.

Marinette looks hesitant to tell, as talking to anyone about Lila never seems to go well, but now Kagami seems set on hearing.

Marinette begins, but the scene cuts back to Lila in Adrien’s room, essentially showing roughly what Marinette would tell Kagami about as Lila lies, invades space without asking, and then gets “fake evidence” to prove a claim she’s made (I know Lila is bad about that last one but we all know that she should be doing this).

As Lila sends out the picture of her kissing Adrien’s cheek, the scene cuts back to Marinette and Kagami.

Kagami is sitting down on Marinette’s chaise, looking more like she belongs in Marinette’s room and isn’t so nervous anymore.

However, now she’s annoyed. Her grip tightens on the rose she’s holding. She tells Marinette that, if Marinette is speaking the truth, then Kagami is furious that such a lying, evil girl exists.

Marinette is honestly shocked to have someone on her side–and for it to be Kagami of all people–but she isn’t complaining.

Then, just as Marinette is about to tell Kagami that the uniform has been patched, their phones go off.

They see the picture. Kagami is now fuming.

Before Marinette can explain, Kagami already assures that she’s aware that Lila is deceiving people. Why else would she just send this picture to everyone except to brag?

Kagami isn’t mad because Adrien is hers or Lila is trying to steal Adrien. No, Kagami is mad because Lila is using Adrien.

Hawk Moth sends out an akuma. Akuma flies into Marinette’s room. Marinette tries to stop it by swatting it away and remaining calm, but it manages to land on the pressed rose that Kagami’s holding.

Cue Onichan.

The rest of the episode plays out mostly as normal, though with time tweaks here and there to make up for any lost/added time from the changed scenes.

By the end, Adrien still scolds Lila, but Kagami shows up to greet Adrien at the door. Marinette and Alya are walking towards the doorway at the time, and manage to see Kagami taking Adrien away from Lila, insisting that they have important business to attend to.

She shoots a smug glance at Lila then a fond glance at Marinette. She walks away alongside Adrien while Lila just stands there, stunned.

Alya is entirely confused, asking Marinette what happened and why Marinette isn’t concerned about Kagami being near Adrien when Marinette freaks out when it’s Lila. Like, what happened to Adrien being “in danger?”

With a smile, Marinette simply says that her and Kagami had a heart-to-heart and she knows Kagami has a good head on her shoulders. She starts to add on something else, but stops herself upon realizing that she’s talking to Alya, who wouldn’t understand. Brushing off the comment, Marinette instead starts heading back home. On her way, she gives a glance back at Lila, who’s walking in the other direction, clearly irritated that Kagami just swept up Adrien and took him away like that.

Oh yeah, that was definitely worth it.

#((lol I feel like all my adjustments centering around Kagami episodes involve Marinette in someway and them working past the rivalry.))#category: critique #category: long post #word count: over 2000 #MC's Adjustments #adjustment: plotlines #episode: Bakerix #episode: Onichan #other: ask and answer

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serendipitykpop · 6 years ago

Text

because of you - part 11

Pairing: kim mingyu x reader

Summary: “Everything that happened was because of you.”

part 10

After the hour long bus ride to the meet, everyone was relieved to finally be here. They were starting to complain about their aching muscles, but all of that dissipated as they could rest now. Everyone piled out of the bus, staring in awe in everything they saw. It was the first meet of the season, so it was expected for the newer members since they were getting exposed to university meets.

Getting them into two orderly lines, everyone followed after you, and Scoups with Joshua, and Jeonghan in tow. The people around you stared, starstruck by your presence beside Scoups. He couldn’t help but smirk at their reactions.

“Don’t.” You elbowed him in the side, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He chuckled.

“What? I can’t even be a little happy to see people still fascinated by you?” He teased, throwing his arm around your shoulders, and pulled you into him. You sighed, rolling your eyes.

“It’s your comeback, Y/N. Of course everyone is excited to see you back on the tracks in what seems like forever.”

“Except I’m only coaching, and not competing, Jeonghan.”

“Still, you’ve come out of hiding after so many years. People are obviously going to be curious as to what you’ve been up to these days.”

“Is it really that big of a deal to see what I do now, Joshua?”

The three of them looked at each other, then back at you. Answering in unison as if they couldn’t believe you just said that. “Yes.”

“Hmph.”

They continued to tease you down to the center of the track despite the sour look on your face. Though, the red tips of your ears don’t go unnoticed by them. You just brushed them, and their teasing off as you signed your team in.

Joshua led the warm ups as you checked out the competition. You couldn’t help it. It was your first meet that you weren’t competing in, but instead coaching in. You wanted to do well, but you really didn’t have to worry at all.

The meet went by smoothly, none of the athletes under-performing like you thought. You nodded, and hummed in satisfaction after each event that was finished with. You gave them high fives when they passed you to get water bottles from an assistant of yours.

“You looked pleased.” A panting, and sweaty Scoups came up beside you while you watched the 100 meter event. You glanced at him, the corners of your lips turning into a small smile that didn’t stay long.

“Do I?”

He smirked. “It’s as if you almost enjoy coaching, and being on the track again.”

The two of you stared at each other, which pleased him even more. You sighed, and gave up first.

“Shut up.”

“I know you love it.” He ruffled your hair. You let him even though he was sweaty as hell. You, and Scoups watched the rest of the meet together, exchanging comments about your athletes.

“All runners participating in the relay, please make your way to the track. Again, all runners participating in the relay, please make your way to the track.”

“That’s me.” Scoups took a deep breath, trying to calm his fast beating heart. You nodded, and mumbled a good look. His eyes trailed down, and took note of your deathly grip on your clipboard. He placed his hand on your shoulder, making you avert your attention to him. “You’re making me nervous, Y/N.”

“I-I’m not nervous,” You huffed, and he chuckled.

“You have no need to be nervous. We’ve got this.”

“It’s him I’m worried about.”

Scoups followed your gaze to see the panicking Mingyu. He sighed, then walked over to give him a pep talk. Whatever he said, it looked like it worked. Mingyu seemed to calm down after Jeonghan, and Wonwoo joined in as well. You were feeling a little better with their help, but you were nervous to see how he would perform.

The pass off of the baton from Wonwoo to Scoups was fine, so it didn’t worry you so much. It was the hand off between Scoups, and Mingyu that had you on your toes. When he reached the finish line, Mingyu stumbled, and nearly dropped it. Though, he was quick enough to grab it, and sprinted off to catch up for that mistake.

“Hey. Doesn’t Y/N kind of look tense?”

“Yeah, the clipboard Y/N’s holding looks like it’s going to snap in half.”

“Uh oh, better get away.” The athletes that were standing by you just now quickly scattered in any way they could to get away from you. They were scared of the scary aura you radiated.

That was when the trouble started to happen.

Mingyu was fine up until the halfway point when the murmuring around him became prominent in his hearing. They spoke off his mistake at the hand off, and how despite how much he tried to catch up, he was still third to last. He simply couldn’t do it.

He let out a grunt, trying his best to ignore them, but it only grew louder. The familiar feeling of nervousness replaced his confidence, and he started slowing down.

Mingyu was starting to panic. His form was becoming sloppier, and the steady pace he had for himself was gone. The lagging runners behind him were now picking up their speed to pass him, which did nothing to encourage him.

You watched, and listened in horror. Now, you had a sense of what he went through every match. Why he was so panicky when you put him on the roster. Why he refused to accept that he was on the team.

There wasn’t much you could do, but yell for him to push through. Though, you highly doubt he could hear you through the harsh words thrown at him. You hoped he wasn’t listening, how they tore him to pieces because of his performance.

After passing the baton to Jeonghan, Mingyu stumbled off to the side where he collapsed to his hands, and knees. His legs were numb. His sight was starting to blur, and the pounding in his ears took over the ability to hear the crowd. His breathing was picking up speed, making it uneven, and harder to breathe. He clutched his shirt, feeling it restrict his movements. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to keep upright, but could feel himself start to sway.

“Mingyu. Mingyu! Mingyu!” You ran to him, and held his face in your hands. You raised it up to get a look at him, and you were startled by what you saw. Your eyes widened, your breath caught in your throat. He wasn’t himself at all. He looked at you with a mix of alert, and panic in his eyes. Was this the aftermath of what happens after a race? “Breathe, Mingyu. I need you to breathe. It’s okay, you’re okay. It’s over now, okay?”

The team crowded around the two of you out of worry, loudly voicing their concern for the boy. You ignored them, and focused only on him. You knew you had to stay calm for his sake if you wanted him to calm down.

After some time, his breathing was evening out. He was starting to catch his breath again, and you let out a sigh of relief.

“Mingyu, are you okay? Can you stand up? Here, have some water.”

“Mila. You’re going to make him feel worse.” You held her back with your hand on her head. She pouted, but nodded, and backed away to give him space. He gave her a small smile, thanking her for the water bottle as he drank it down.

You placed a towel over his head, allowing for him to hide for a while. He bit his lip, mentally kicking himself for such a sloppy performance. He knew there was no way you would keep him on the team now.

Mila crouched down in front of him, and her eyes widened at how his hands covered his ears. She softly smiled, and placed her hands on his knees. You followed her lead, and the two of you peered at him under the towel.

“Mingyu, don’t be so harsh on yourself. It’s okay that you didn’t do well today.” Mila squeezed his hand, and he slowly nodded. “Rest now. We’ll take care of everything from here on out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jeonghan managed to pull your team to second out of five teams, and everyone erupted into cheers. It should be enough to keep the team in for the rest of the season, and for that, you were glad.

While Mingyu sat off to the side, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Scoups came over to check on him. He was frustrated, it was clear to see, but they didn’t blame this on him at all. Even though he still couldn’t accept his mistake, the three of them shook it off. They said they still had many opportunities for them to win, so it wasn’t a big deal right now.

“Come on, it’s time to go home.” He begrudgingly followed after them as they gave him pats on the back for trying his best.

You, and Mingyu walked behind everyone else while they were excitedly talking about the first meet. The silence overwhelmed him, and he was getting tired of it.

“Aren’t you going to call me pathetic like everyone else?” Mingyu questioned. You glanced at him, then put our hands in your pockets as you looked straight ahead.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no reason to call you pathetic when you’re not.”

He was left stunned at your answer. He had fully expected for you to lecture, and scold him for what happened after his event. Somehow, that made him annoyed.

“Did you not see my race? H-How weak I was to give in to the crowd’s teasing? How I slowed down at the end when I should’ve pushed myself to go faster?” Mingyu raised his voice, stopping in his tracks. All of the pent up frustration finally overflowed, and the tears poured out.

Ignoring how everyone on the team was looking at the two of you, you turned to him. Your eyes piercing into his own, and he gulped.

“Is that really what you want to hear? That you’re pathetic?” You scoffed, and shook your head. “That doesn’t achieve anything. You’re better than this. Why even bother to listen to what those pathetic people say?”

“Because what they say is true! They’re right about me being a complete mess on the tracks, that I shouldn’t be there in the first place. I can’t live up to their expectations.”

“You can stop talking now. I heard enough of this crap. Go sulk somewhere else.” You pushed past him, and the team to get onto the bus first. Nobody dared to say anything to either one of you. Mingyu scoffed, and followed after you to get on the bus. Everyone else looked at each other, not sure what to do about the tension.

“All right, everyone. Let’s head home!”

#sprinter au #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #mingyu #kim mingyu #mingyu scenarios #mingyu imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen

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otterlydeerlightful · 6 years ago

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LazyTown Ship Week #4

I admit, I gave myself the Feels writing this. --------------------------------------------------------

The pounding at his window jolted the boy from his video game. He looked up in surprised confusion, startled to see the long, familiar face of Robbie Rotten, the laziest man in all of LazyTown, looking at him with almost comically large eyes. They stared at one another in silence for a few long seconds before Robbie rapped loudly on the window once again.

“Prickle!” he whined, his voice muffled by the glass. “I need your help!”

The boy, whose actual name was Pixel, lifted himself from his computer chair and crossed the room. He opened his window and watched the tall man carefully. It wasn’t every day that the town’s biggest ne’er-do-well came to a child’s window begging for help. The entire thing was highly suspicious, but Pixel couldn’t quite ignore the uncomfortable feeling that the adult’s panic-stricken eyes ignited in him. Whatever was wrong, Robbie seemed to be genuine in his desperation.

“I really need your help, Pimple. If you can’t help me, no one in this God-forsaken town can. Will you help me? Please?”

He hesitated. This was Robbie Rotten, after all. What good ever came from talking with him?

“What’s the problem, exactly?” the boy heard himself asking.

Robbie’s hiked shoulders relaxed a bit. Only slightly, but the relief from Pixel’s words was obvious.

“I—I need your help. I have this robot, you see, and…and something’s wrong! I can’t figure out where the problem is and you’re the only other person in town smart enough to help! Please, I don’t know what to do!”

Pixel blinked. Robot? What would Robbie Rotten need with a robot? And were those…tears in his eyes? Okay, maybe the guy wasn’t pulling a prank on him. Pixel would feel terrible if he turned Robbie away when he really needed help.

“Okay, fine. Let me get my tools.”

Robbie wet his lips nervously. “And…and a computer, too! A good one! M-meet me at the billboard outside of town. And be quick about it!”

With that, the tall, lanky figure raced off. Pixel leaned out his window, watching the man all but run down the street. He shook his head and blinked in disbelief, watching the fellow LazyTowner disappear down the road.

“Robbie Rotten…running?” he asked aloud to no one before closing his bedroom window again. Pixel shook his head once again. “Now I’ve seen everything.”

*****

“Took you long enough!” Robbie snapped upon seeing the boy walk up the lane to the billboard. “Er…I mean…thanks for coming.” He swallowed, running a hand through his unusually unkept hair. “Really. I mean it.”

Pixel offered an awkward smile at the mixed greeting. “So, uh…where’s the robot?”

“Inside. Come on,” Robbie said, waving for Pixel to follow him as he hurried through a door in the billboard that the boy had never known was there before.

He blinked and shook his head before following the man. Might as well go with the already-weird flow, after all. Pixel closed the door behind him, figuring it would be impolite to just leave it swinging open, and looked around for Robbie. The man shouted something to him before jumping down the opening to what looked like…an underground silo? A land submarine? Pixel rubbed his eyes, yet still the strange purple tube with its lifted lid remained.

“Man, how do I get myself into these things?” he mumbled to himself, walking over, climbing the short ladder and, with a gulp, sliding down into the darkness.

The boy landed on his feet, though he nearly lost his balance once the weight of his backpack hit him. He caught himself, readjusted the straps, and took a look around at…wherever they were. His mouth fell open at the sight of the expansive room he beheld. Did Robbie actually live here? The boy looked around at his surroundings in awe. There was a weird shaggy-looking orange chair in the center of it, a matching lamp beside it. Along the back wall was a series of tubes, all filled with colorful costumes, and some sort of pipe organ attached to them. Probably a control panel, he decided, but what did it do? Before his curiosity could be satisfied, though, his attention was drawn to a series of work tables and benches on the opposite side of the room.

“Oh, wow,” he whispered, approaching one of the tables.

This had to be it. The lumps and parts strewn across it definitely looked like a half-assembled robot, even if it was partially covered by a sheet. A ballerina, maybe? At least, parts of one. Not all the limbs were attached yet, most of the circuitry was exposed, and half of it wasn’t even painted. A partially finished head sat on a pedestal nearby, the expressionless face not yet complete, though a dark wig sat nearby waiting.

“Is this it?” he asked.

“Is what…? No, not her! Don’t touch, she’s not finished yet!” Robbie hollered, though his voice sounded abnormally shaky. “This one, over here!”

Pixel turned toward Robbie’s voice to see the man hunched over something on the floor near the corner of the room. The mass, he quickly realized, looked human. Definitely the robot. Still marveling over the fact that the town outcast was apparently making such amazing, advanced-looking mechanical creations in a secret underground bunker, Pixel trotted over to see what he could do to help.

This robot was much bigger than the first, the size of a grown man, in fact. It...looked like it could be a real man, actually, if not for a few lines at the joints and other minor details. The craftsmanship was amazingly impressive. The face was so detailed, complete with a messy mop of blond hair and one of the weirdest mustaches Pixel had ever seen. Some kind of camouflaged antenna, maybe. It looked real, like it was just a regular guy who happened to be asleep on the floor. What gave it away, though, was the gaping torso. It looked like Robbie had already taken off the robot’s vest and pulled up their shirt to open a few panels to take a look inside.

“Wow…this is amazing, Robbie!”

“It’s not amazing!” the man snapped. “He’s hurt! W-we were running tests on the waterproof casings and…and everything looked fine, but then…” Robbie’s voice fell the longer he spoke. “We overdid it, and…I tried to get him back to the table but he…” He sniffled. “He’s too heavy for me to move him and…I really need your help, Pencil. I don’t know where else I can go. I don’t…I don’t even know if he’s still in there or if he’s…if he’s…”

The boy looked back and forth between man and machine. Robbie was really attached to this thing, wasn’t he? Well, he was here to help, so he would do his best to manage just that. Pixel slipped off his backpack and began pulling out his equipment: a toolbox, laptop, and a bunch of different wires.

“Don’t worry, Robbie. I’ll take a look and I’ll have this thing up and running in no time, I know it!”

Well, he had though he knew it, anyway.

Robbie and Pixel worked together for over two hours before they mutually decided that Robbie needed a mental break from the stress. The man sat in his orange chair, fidgeting with worry and asking the occasional question as Pixel worked. They replaced a few parts and burned out circuits, even taking a look inside the robot’s—“Sportacus! Stop calling him an it. His name is Sportacus. It’s a stupid name, but it’s his!”—head to see what intricacies there might need to be fixed or replaced.

The entire process took the entire day, and the robot Sportacus still wasn’t responding.

Robbie slumped to the floor nearby, unable to stay in his chair any longer. He watched quietly as Pixel tried and failed again to get Sportacus up and running. He sighed and wiped at his eye when it seemed he thought Pixel was busy staring at the readouts on his laptop screen.

“This whole thing was an accident,” he said quietly.

Pixel nodded as he worked. “Yeah, I know. You said you were testing—”

“No, not that.” He swallowed and nodded down at the robot. “Him. I tried to make something that might be able to hold a conversation, that’s all, just a simple one so there’d be someone to talk to now and then, maybe clean up the place so I didn’t have to. I went through nine failures before I finally got one to start up properly without exploding something in the first five minutes.” Robbie gave a weak smile at the memory. “He jumped up right away…wouldn’t stop jumping. I don’t know how, or what I did different, but…he’s not just a robot with a list of responses. He thinks. He has a personality. And I…” The man let out a loud, shaky breath. “I’ve killed him.”

Pixel swallowed, picking his words carefully after hearing the story. “You didn’t kill him, Robbie. It—he’ll be okay.”

“Even if he turns back on, he’ll probably be gone,” Robbie sighed. “Spontaneous intelligence like that wasn’t something I planned for. A wire must’ve gotten crossed or something and...oh, he was alive, Pixel. And we’ve been playing with his brain all day. If he wakes up, the perfect circumstances that made Sportacus Sportacus won’t…” He swallowed. “He may not be there anymore.”

The boy shifted where he sat, unsure what to think about all of this, much less what the best thing to say might be. All he could offer was “I replaced a couple of relays, and the diagnostic test looked okay so…maybe it’ll work this time. Maybe it’ll be okay.”

The man nodded, but didn’t look convinced. If anything, he looked like he may fall apart at any moment himself. Pixel carefully connected a few wires and moved a small switch, sitting back to watch the circuit complete itself. The sound of a fan started up. A few little lights blinked to life inside the robot’s chest cavities and Pixel could hear Robbie gasp with hope as a couple of gears began to turn. And then, all at once, it stopped.

“Wh-what happened?” Robbie demanded, jumping to his feet. “He was working! He was working!”

Pixel’s eyes were wide and frantic as he searched the Sportacus robot’s chest for answers. “I don’t know! It looked like it was—Robbie, where are you going?”

Pixel scrambled to his feet, chasing after the man. He jumped back when Robbie grabbed some tools from a nearby table and, with a mighty grunt, threw them across the room. He kicked over a bucket of nuts, another filled with bolts, and threw a screwdriver straight into the tubes of costumes, causing a small crack in one. Robbie let out a roar of frustration and stomped over to the far table, causing Pixel to gasp, panicked as he realized where the man was headed.

“Robbie, no, don’t—”

Instead of throwing or hitting the pieces of ballerina, though, Robbie collapsed onto the stool beside her, his arms limp and back hunched. Something in the boy’s stomach twisted at the sight of the mechanical genius crumbling in front of him.

“I was going to try again,” he mumbled, reaching out to stroke the half-finished cheek before of him.

Pixel wasn’t sure if Robbie was talking to him anymore or not.

“I wanted to try again. Sp-Sportacus was so excited when I told him. You...” Robbie shuddered, holding in a sob as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “You were going to be our daughter if I could figure out how to…to…”

Pixel almost didn’t hear the soft click. He did, however, distinctly hear two others immediately after the first. He turned slowly, the sound of a soft hiss filling his ears as the sight of something sitting up filled his vision. The robot, after plucking some of the wiring out of his chest, closed the panels on his chest and pulled down his white shirt. He sat up, looking down at himself with a look of confusion. The boy began to wave his hand in his host’s direction.

“Robbie!” he whispered. “Robbie! There was a startup delay! It was just a delay, look!”

As if hearing his words, the robot, Sportacus, looked up. He paid the newcomer little mind, though, as his attention was drawn almost immediately to his creator. Sportacus’ glowing blue eyes widened at the sight of the man crying over the pieces of the little ballerina. The robot jumped to his feet, the movement so sudden that Pixel jumped.

“Robbie, what’s wrong?”

The inventor froze for a second before looking up in disbelief. “Sp…Sportacus?”

The robot smiled and quickly closed the distance between them, wrapping the man in a grand hug that was readily returned. Pixel stared, slackjawed, at the sight of the usually grumpy man squealing with joy and hugging the robot so tightly that the boy wouldn’t be surprised to see dents in Sportacus’ casing. Robbie covered Sportacus’ face with relieved kisses and let out a heavy sigh as he all but collapsed in the mechanical being’s embrace.

“I thought you were gone for good. I thought your memory would be wiped and…and I’d be alone again. I never installed a failsafe for that. I never expected…oh, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Sportacus kissed his creator’s cheek. “I learned how to make backups myself,” he reassured the man. “Just in case. Now I’m glad I did! I only lost a little bit since the last one, I think. Did something go wrong with the tests?”

“I’ll say!” Robbie laughed. “You genius, idiot robot, you!”

Pixel smiled while the two of them laughed. While he made a mental list of questions to ask Robbie about the amazing fluidity of Sportacus’ movements and his clearly sophisticated AI basis, he decided that now wasn’t really the time for them. He was just glad that everything was okay. It seemed Robbie was a little more than just attached to his robot, and the man’s earlier terror suddenly began to make more sense.

Robbie, looking over Sportacus’ shoulder, finally seemed to realize that the child was still standing there watching the two of them. He gestured for his mechanical companion to turn and look.

“This...this is Pretzel. I mean, er, Pixel. He’s…without him, we’d…we’d both be lost.”

The boy gave an awkward wave. “H-hi.”

The robot practically beamed. “Is he our new son?”

Robbie snorted. Pixel smiled.

“Not exactly,” Robbie said with a fondness in his eyes.

The robot nodded, leaving his creator’s side to greet the new human. He held out a hand. “Halló. My name is Sportacus Ten! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Pixel!”

The boy smiled, offering a hand of his own. “It’s nice to meet you, Sportacus.”

#LazyTown #LazyTownShipWeek #Fanfiction #Sportarobbie

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sondersoft · 6 years ago

Note

Prompt: ice cream

this is the condensed version out of respect for people’s eyes when scrolling through tumblr - rest of the response below the cut. you can find the full version on ao3. thank you, anon, i really enjoyed this one!

So here they were, on the blue sandsof Hush’s famous Longora Beach. Everything was overwhelming – the brightcolours of the sands, the ginormous houses on stilts, the food stands sellingpungent foods. And the sounds ofeveryone, locals and visitors of the planet alike.

The Doctor had helpfullysupplied them with all the information she could remember about the populardestination spot, pointing out old friends and new alien races they hadn’t metyet. Yaz loved how the Doctor’s eyes lit up at every new littleobject of interest. She loved how wide that grin could get. She loved how sheshined. It was easier to concentrate on that right now.

Even if she ran off at hardly a moment’s notice.

“Aw! Now this is what I wanted toshow you!” the Doctor grinned,letting go of Yaz’s hand and running off into thecrowd. But Yaz knew to follow, albeit with a roll of her eyes, and soonenough Yaz, Ryan and Graham had caught up with their friend. They found her ina queue for – ice cream?

“Looks just like the one I used to chasewhen I was a little lad,” Grahammuttered.

It was a hit with the locals, thatwas for sure. They spent just as much time waiting for the ice cream as theydid walking along the beach. (“Mate, you travel across the universe and you still can’t escape queuin’,” Ryan sighed.) When their turn finally came around, Yaz’s expectations had been adequately stoked.

“Yaz, Ryan, Graham, I present to you: Junior Jaraa’s Ice Cream Imitators!” the Doctor crowed with delight as she handed over the ice creams. Theylooked exactly like the Mr Whippy ice creams from back at home. Yaz and Ryanshared a confused look. “They’re meant to resemble Earthen ice creams but they’re really clever. The cream is infused withlittle readers that respond to the inside of your mouth. All your hormones,past foods, even the angle of your expressions relative to the structure ofyour face. Fascinating little things, perfectly safe to eat. And then –” in demonstration, she took a big lick of her icecream. Immediately, the soft ice cream shimmered a beautiful scarlet red. “—They display how you’re feeling in a colour! Look, there’s the colour chart over there.”

They moved off to read the panel,taking a curious mouthful of the goodness just as it was starting to melt underthe three suns of Hush. Like Graham had reminisced, they tasted just like the99 ice creams at home – full of sugar and happiness. Yaz wanted to eat it allup immediately (how she’d missed thesefamiliar comforts) but her curiosity won out.

Pushing through the throng oftourists crowding round the mood colour panel, the Doctor threw out her hand tosteady herself. Yaz instinctively reached to grab it, feeling the blush rise toher cheeks as she realised it wasn’t meant for her. Still, the Time Lord’sglance back at her showed no surprise. Nothing she could interpret butcontentment.

At least Ryan was tall enough to seeabove the crowd. “Alright I got it guys. Green means – hang on – uh – green means… ‘excited’,” Ryan noted loudly, straining his neck to get agood luck at the small, faraway words. “That sounds cool.”

Graham’s chomp down on his ice creamcone was loud enough to be heard over the bustle of Longora Beach. “Can you look for us? I got caramel.”

It took Ryan a few more moments ofstretching. “Graham, you’re ‘hungry’,” he relayed dutifully.

“It ain’t wrong,” was his step-granddad’s self-satisfied response.

“What about scarlet?” Yaz asked, struggling to make herself heard over the wall of sound.

“Same as me,” the Doctor smiled halfway through another mouthful. She was so close – Yaz could hear her clear as day. “My last one of these was definitely a couple of regenerations back. I’ve forgotten what they all stand for.”

“Sure, sure,” Ryan responded. Then he paused. But when he responded, none of themcould hear.

“You what?”

He bent forward, surprise colouringhis expression. “You two got ‘in love’!”

“Are you sure?” Graham frowned. “Not your eyesight already, is it?”

“Nah, mate, there’s no other red.”

The Doctor couldn’t meet her gaze.Yaz suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore.

Yaz supposed the rest of LongoraBeach was beautiful, but she couldn’t really take it in. Their return to theTARDIS was earlier than intended, and Graham and Ryan had scuttled off, clearlysensing the awkward tension between the two women.

Yaz had no idea what the Doctorwas thinking, but she was kicking herself forbeing so obvious.

Why couldn’t she have just denied it?Laughed it off, said it was wrong – like those mood rings everyone got as kids,the cheap and unreliable ones? She was good at hiding things.

She couldn’t be in love. She couldn’tbe in love with the Doctor. She was, but she couldn’t be.

“Mind if I sit there?”

Yaz looked up to see the Doctorstanding awkwardly next to her.

“Sure.” It wasn’t like Yaz could say no to a little company. Shemay have been in love with the Doctor, but the Time Lord was still her bestfriend.

There passed a minute or so betweenthem. The TARDIS filled the silence with its deep humming, the orange glowfading and swelling as they breathed together. It did nothing to tame therising tide of dread building in Yaz’s chest.

“Do you want to talk about it?” the Doctor asked softly.

She could smell the sea on the TimeLord, mixed in with a peppermint scent. “Not really.”

From the periphery of her eye, shesaw the Doctor nod. “Easier to avoid it, isn’t it? Ignore the feelings. Not getinvolved. They’re scary, feelings are.”

“Yeah.”

“But you can’t lock ‘em away, because then you lock awayeverything,” the Doctor continued. “You’re too loving for that.”

Yaz heaved a sigh. Here it was.

“I knew how you felt about me already, Yaz,” the other woman confirmed, and Yaz felt herstomach drop. “Those feelings are too hard to hide. And that’s okay, I promise. It really is.”

“I’m sorry,” was the police officer’s sudden response – a burst of feeling she was unable tohide from the world any longer. Everything unravelled – her words tumbling out from her mouth as a quicker and quicker speed. “I’m sorry that I had to upset things.Thing is, I love travelling with youthree, more than anything. I don’t want to jeopardise that. I don’t want it tostop! I can deal with these feelings, that’s fine, I can cope, but I just don’twant anything to change. Please.”

So she said it out loud. She actuallysaid it. Out loud. Okay. Finally she could look up at the Doctor.

And this time the Doctor watched her,hazel eyes round and endlessly understanding. “I do.”

Oh. “What?”

Her hand landed on Yaz’s knee, andher thumb started stroking it gently. “I was never gonna be upset by it, Yaz. But it wasn’t a coincidence my ice cream was red, too. I want things to change.“

For the first time in a while, Yazstarted smiling again.

"It’ll be hard,” the Doctorcontinued. Her eyes kept searching Yaz’s. “For me. I endanger youjust by letting you know that I love you. I didn’t want to tell you at first -there are always consequences. But even after deliberating on that I still want this. Us. If you’ll have me.”

Yaz swore even the TARDIS had fallensilent.

"Of course,” she breathed.

#thasmin #thirteen x yasmin #doctor who #dw #thirteenth doctor #yasmin khan #paintedivolet writes #thasmin prompts #writing

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rosesnvines · 7 years ago

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Voltron Wars: Star Wars AU

(OK, so, this is turning out differently than I had originally planned, and at the rate this is going, it’s going to turn out to be at least a trilogy. The first book is going to be the Star Wars prequels rolled into one, primarily Attack of the Clones. The second book is going to take place two to five years later and is A New Hope primarily, with a bit of Rogue One thrown in. The last book is going to be a mix basically of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Anyway, hope you enjoy these little tidbits!)

Scene from Attack of the Galra

“Oh Keith, I’m so sorry,” said Allura, placing her hand gently on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith passed his fingers over the name of his father on the tombstone. “At least he died doing something he cared about.” Keith’s voice began to crack.

“He died a hero, Keith. And . . . I’m beginning to see where you get it from.”

Keith glanced at Allura in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I can see that not only did you learn how to be a hero from Shiro, it’s apparently something your father gave you too.” Allura put her hands on either side of his face.

“Princess,” he whispered.

“It’s just one of the many things that I, I . . . admire about you. And, I just want you to know, I’m here for you,” said Allura as she brought her face closer to his.

“Princess, I . . . I don’t think this is exactly . . .” Her lips met his, and his body relaxed as his eyes closed. His hands promptly went to her face, one went to the back of her neck while the other traced her jaw. They pulled back ever so slowly, not really wanting to end the kiss, but Keith wanted to say something. “Thank you, Princess.”

“You’re welcome.” Allura smiled as she brought him in for another kiss.

“Princess! Keith!”

The two rose from the ground as Coran paused to catch his breath.

“Coran?” asked Allura.

“We have an incoming message from Shiro. He says he’s found important information on Naxzela!”

“What?” exclaimed Keith and Allura. The three raced back to the ship. There, on the console, stood a miniature hologram of Shiro.

“Keith, Princess! What are you doing on Earth?”

“Well, I, uh . . .”

“I wanted to meet Keith’s father,” said Allura. “But, apparently we were too late.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry Keith.”

“Thanks Shiro. What did you find on Naxzela?”

“A lot. I need you to relay my message to the Blades of Marmora. We’re going to have to act fast.”

“Right, I’m recording you now,” said Keith as he pushed a button on the console.

“But, what did you find?” said Allura.

“A Galra named Sendak is behind all of this.”

“Wait, wasn’t Sendak one of the top Blades?”

Shiro nodded. “Apparently he’s turned against us. There’s more. It sounds like he’s working for someone else.”

“Someone else?”

“Who?” asked Allura.

Shiro shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve only heard references to a boss, and it wasn’t directed at Sendak. Sendak is merely in charge of building an army of Galran robots, ships, and weapons.”

“What?” exclaimed the three.

Shiron nodded sadly. “Seems to me like they’re preparing for war. For whom, I don’t know. But it sounds like it’s going to be directed at the rest of the universe.”

“We have to put a stop to this,” said Keith.

“Exactly why I need you to send this to the Blades. We must take action immediately. I’ll stay here and do what damage I can until reinforcements arrive.”

“We’re the closest ones to you. We’ll be on there in two vargas.”

“No, your mission is to protect the Princess at all costs. We can’t put her life at risk.”

Keith closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Fine. But if something goes wrong, I’m coming after you.”

“I know. Now . . .” An explosion interrupted him. Shiro quickly ignited his lightsaber.

“Shiro!” shouted Keith as a few robots entered the hologram, firing. Shiro blocked many of the shots, sending some back and slicing through robots. A shot hit him, and he fell forward. Allura placed her hands over her mouth as she gasped. Keith could only watch as panic began to fill his chest.

“I hope you didn’t kill him,” said a voice from the hologram as a Galra entered the room.

“No sir, our guns were set to stun, as ordered,” said a robot.

“Good, bring him in for questioning,” said the Galra, right before the hologram shut off.

Scene from Hope of the Universe

“Hey guys, this is Lance, he’s the pilot of the Kaltenecker.”

A dark-haired, blue-eyed guy stood up from the table and gave them a smirk. He gave Pidge a wink. “Well hello there. Hunk here says you need a fast ship and an amazing pilot to get you to . . . wherever it is you need to go,” he said.

“We need to get to Altea as fast as possible,” began Shiro, but Lance put up his hand.

“Yes, yes, we need to talk money.”

“Uh, I don’t have anything,” said Matt, glancing worriedly at Shiro.

“Neither do I” said Pidge.

“Oh, that’s alright, you can pay me kisses,” said Lance with a wink.

Pidge grumbled before stomping on Lance’s foot. Lance yelped. “That’s all you’re going to get if you don’t bring us.”

“Alright. Listen, I can’t give you everything I have, but here’s what we’ll do. I will pay you two thousand now, and eleven thousand when we get to Altea.”

Hunk’s, Matt’s and Pidge’s mouths opened in shock as they glanced at Shiro. Lance’s did as well, but he quickly snapped his mouth shut as he gulped.

Lance glanced between them. “Something tells me your friends didn’t know you have that much.”

“No, I had to keep my ties to Altea a secret from everyone on Earth. Now, will you take us there?”

“If you’re offering that much? Oh yeah! The Kaltenecker is at your service,” said Lance with a bow.

“Good. How soon can we leave?”

“We can leave in half an hour. Hunk wanted to do some tune-ups before we left the port.”

“That’s fine. There’s a few last minute things we need to take care of before we leave. That should be plenty of time,” said Shiro as he held out his hand.

Lance shook it. “Alright then, see you at docking bay sixty-five.”

“Docking bay sixty-five, in a half hour. Sounds good. See you then.” Shiro turned, and flanked by Matt and Pidge, walked out of the bar.

“Are you sure the Alteans will be able to help us find our parents?” asked Pidge.

“No doubt about it. They have the best technology in the universe. And they trade with just about everyone. If there’s any place someone would have heard of where your parents were taken, it would be Altea.”

“Good, I just hope we can find them before something bad happens,” said Matt.

“I’m sure we will. Now come on, we need to get ready for our trip.”

Scene from Return of the Alteans

“Wowee, man, you’re doing pretty good for yourself!” said Lance as he spun around to get a good look at the city.

Rolo chuckled. “Hey, it’s pretty good here at Senfama, what can I say? We’re thriving, we have plenty of food, practically no crime . . . yeah, life is good. So, what brings you to my side of the universe?”

“Oh, we’re helping Pidge here look for her parents,” said Lance, pointing at Pidge.

“Pidge? Interesting name for a girl, but I like it.”

“Thanks, it’s actually my nickname.”

“Still, I like it.”

“Well, thank you!” said Pidge with a beam. Hunk snorted as Lance shot Rolo a glare and scooted a little closer to Pidge. Rolo grinned before turning around and continuing the tour.

“So, you’re just passing through?”

“Well, actually, we were hoping you could let us ask around to see if anyone’s heard or seen anything pertaining to Pidge’s parents,” said Hunk.

“Oh, sure, we’ll be glad to help. As a matter of fact, I think you got here just in time. We just got another group of traders in. Maybe you can start with them,” said Rolo.

“Really? Thank you so so much! How can we repay you?” said Pidge. Lance started glaring between the back of Pidge’s head and Rolo.

“Oh, why don’t you have lunch with me? I’m sure you guys must be hungry.”

“Oh man, you have no idea,” said Hunk.

“Lunch would great. Lance?”

Lance groaned and sighed. “Yeah, fine, lunch will be good.”

“Great!” cheered Pidge and Hunk.

“Awesome! The mess hall is just around the corner. Lunch should be set up for me by now. Let’s check.” Rolo led them around the corner, and the doors opened. The four looked into the mess hall, and gasped. Lotor was sitting at the head of the table.

“Well welcome,” he said nonchalantly.

Lance whipped out his gun and began shooting at him, but Lotor blocked the shots with his lightsaber before snatching the gun away from Lance using the Force.

“My my, that’s no way to treat one’s host,” said Lotor as he dropped the gun to the floor.

Lance turned to try and leave, but several Galran robots showed up in the hall behind them. Lance backed up, placing himself between Pidge, Hunk, and the soldiers.

“Sorry, they showed up just before you did,” said Rolo.

Lance glanced at him. “Yeah, I’ll bet you are.”

“Now come on, come eat. The food’s not poisoned, I promise. No use killing you if you have information I want,” said Lotor.

Lance glanced at his friends before entering the room. They followed him to the table, sat down, and began to eat.

Meanwhile, Keith, Shiro, and Matt were on their way back to Olkarion with Slav, and they couldn’t wait. All three were tired of listening to him talk.

“How much longer?” muttered Matt with a moan as Slav burst into another lengthy talk about math, alternate universes, and chances for survival.

“Another varga,” muttered Keith, his eye was beginning to twitch.

Shiro’s eye also was twitching. “Yippee, can’t wait.”

The screen flashed to life and Allura’s face appeared.

“Allura!” said Keith with relief. But then he noticed her worried expression. “What’s wrong?”

“We just received a coded message telling us that Pidge, Lance, and Hunk have been captured by Lotor at Senfama!”

“No,” whispered Shiro.

“Pidge!” Matt glanced at Keith. “If we head over there now, how long will it take to get there?”

Keith pushed a few buttons on the console. “Ten dobashes.”

“But we have Slav with us,” said Shiro. “We can’t take him with us and practically hand him back to the Galra!”

“I think it will be fine, provided he stays with you at all time. You’re the only ship close enough to help. I know Lotor has his ways of getting information, and I don’t want to put them through anything like that.”

Keith nodded. “Understood. We’re heading to Senfama.”

“Thank you, and all of you, be careful.”

“We will Princess, don’t worry. We’ll make sure Keith gets back to both of you.”

Allura smiled. “Thank you Shiro.” She turned to Keith and blew him a kiss. He blew one back.

“Give my love to . . .” Baby sounds interrupted him. Allura bent down and came back up with a little girl in her arms. She had her mother’s white hair, but a single curl came down her face, making her hairstyle look a little more like Keith’s. “Hey Larmina, you be good for mommy, alright? Daddy will be back soon.” Larmina put her hand out and opened and closed her fingers. Keith smiled and waved back before blowing each of them kisses.

“Good luck,” said Allura, before the screen went black.

“Alright, time to go save Hunk, Pidge, and Lance,” said Keith as he altered course, heading towards Senfama.

#Voltron #Star Wars au #kallura #plance #juniblade #rosegold #rainforest

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