#she was behind the one obstacle in the yard

[foxytunes]

its insane how i gotta go "where the hell is my chihuahua" SHE IS A FAT FUCKING CHIHUAHUA I SHOUDLNT STRUGGLE TO FIND HER IN AN EMPTY BACKYARD

[ilguna]

☼ utterly irresistible (Finnick Odair) ☼

summary; Finnick's been flirting with you nonstop since he's seen you in the Capitol, and you've finally had enough.

warnings; swearing, ehhh gore, death, death mention, weapon usage.

wc; 2.8k

–

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games begin!” 

The words echo over the waves, and straight into your ears. You lift a hand to shade your eyes from the blazing sun, seemingly brighter than you’ve ever seen it before. It’s sweltering hot, beating down on you, even through the thin wetsuit that you’re required to wear this year.

You can feel a bead of sweat begin to form on your forehead, the first of many.

Finally, you’re able to see past the sun’s reflection on the bright blue water. You lower yourself into a crouch, dizzy at the thought of how deep it must be under you. You’re hoping they haven’t done something evil like put a mutt in there to pick you off on your way to the cornucopia. You wouldn’t be entirely surprised, but you’re going to struggle enough trying to swim to the black rock. The last thing you need is more obstacles to worry about.

The golden cornucopia is sitting forty yards away on a circular black rock island. There are twelve thin strips of land protruding out of it, allowing access to the cornucopia, and all the way to the narrow beach behind you. Beyond the beach is the dense jungle, lush and green and tall. That’s where you want to be.

You glance to your left to see who you’ve been paired with in this wedge, and find that it’s none other than Cashmere. As soon as she notices that you’ve caught sight of her, the expression on her face changes to something more sinister. Her frustrated face changes to one that resembles relaxation, a smile hinting at the corners of her lips.

You stand up from your couched position, dizziness subsiding, concentration taking over. You shake your head at her, warning her not to go through with whatever she’s thinking. She’ll be in for a nasty surprise if she tries to attack you. Maybe she forgot how you won your games, or the nickname that they gave you for it.

They don’t call you ‘Career Killer’ for nothing.

Although it is Cashmere you’re talking about, she might take this as a challenge. You wouldn’t put it past her. The opportunity to kill the person that made an embarrassment out of her specially trained volunteers? You think you’d jump on it, too.

The gong sounds. And instead of feeding into Cashmere’s delusion that you’ll go straight for her, you dive off to the right, to the strip of land that’ll take you straight to the cornucopia. 

The warm water engulfs your body, inviting you to join the waves that flow over your body effortlessly. You kick your legs, moving your arms, propelling yourself forward to the rock. The distance is far, further than what you’re used to swimming at home. You can feel the relief take over your body when you touch the rock.

You pull yourself out, much heavier than you were when you got in from the water. You sit for only a second, trying to figure out your surroundings, and whether or not you should actually head into the cornucopia. You can spot Cashmere, still swimming towards her own strip of land. You know that when she gets out, she’ll head straight for the middle. That’s where your alliance will be.

You get to your feet, carefully jogging to avoid tripping over the uneven rock. A warm breeze caresses your skin, briefly making you feel better regarding the temperature, but it’s over as fast as it came. You’re going to be miserable here, you’re sure of it.

You peek around the corner, checking to see who has beaten you here, and whether or not it’s worth it to fight them off. You catch bronze hair shining in the sun, his hand tightly gripped onto a trident. Over his shoulder, you catch the infamous braid of Katniss Everdeen, her bow string pulled back, arrow balanced between her fingers.

She catches sight of you, lip turning upward, “Right!”

“Duck!” Finnick shouts.

Katniss places her hands on the back of her head when she hits the crouched position, Finnick’s trident whizzes over her head, and plunges straight into the man from Five. The same guy who threw up on the sword-fighting station in the Training Center. He’ll be the first of many to fall today.

“Behind you.” Katniss says, arrow aimed in your direction.

Finnick turns to see who she’s talking about, ready to fight with just his hands. When his eyes land on you, a smirk plays at the corners of his lips, “Hey, gorgeous.”

“Shut up.” Your nose crinkles, but you can feel the heat returning to your cheeks, “I could’ve guessed you’d say that.”

Finnick quirks his eyebrow at you, before turning around. He heads straight for Five, pulling the trident out of his chest. “Don’t trust One and Two.”

“Long time no see, Katniss.” You nod at her, before disappearing inside of the cornucopia to find anything to use. 

“Each take one side?” Katniss asks. They must come to an agreement, because Finnick doesn’t respond.

Inside of the cornucopia, you head straight for the back, knowing very well they hide the less common items. And sure enough, you find what you’re looking for on the back wall, held up by a hook in the wall. The throwing stars are held together by a metal hoop through the middle, clasped to keep them together and for easier transportation. You unhook the two of them, and head for the front.

“Anything useful?” Finnick shouts.

“I got what I’m looking for!” You yell back, meeting Katniss at the front.

“Weapons!” She calls, “Nothing but weapons!”

“Same here,” He says, “Grab what you want and let’s go!”

Katniss shoots an arrow at Enobaria, who dives into the water before it can hit her. As for the one for Gloss, it sinks into his calf, and he’s thrown off-balance and into the waves. She pulls another bow and a second sheath of arrows on, two long knives and an awl into her belt, before she moves on. You grab only one knife, because you got what you need.

The two of you meet Finnick at the front pile. He jerks his head toward one of the spokes, “Do something about that, would you?”

You look in time to see Brutus hurling himself in your direction. He’s taken off the belt to use as a shield. You let out a scoff, “I’ve got it.”

“Are you—?” Katniss begins, but you’ve already pulled a star off of the hoop.

You draw your arm back, whipping it forward, releasing the star from your fingers. It slams into the belt, which he’d managed to move in time to avoid you puncturing his heart. The belt explodes a purple substance, coating his face. You reach for a second star, but Brutus hits the ground and rolls into the water, protecting himself.

“Let’s clear out.” Katniss says, leading you away. Enobaria and Gloss have made it to the center island, and they’re not hiding it, either. They’re throwing around weapons, no doubt looking for the perfect fit.

Katniss spots Peeta, standing on his metal plate still. She picks up the pace, you and Finnick keep up with her the best you can. When she’s as close as she can get, she begins to remove every item from herself to make it easier to swim to him.

Finnick touches her shoulder. “I’ll get him.”

Katniss squints at him, “I can.”

Finnick puts down his trident, “Better not exert yourself. Not in your condition. Just stand there and look pretty like (Y/n).”

“Finnick!” You snap, looking away from him.

He prepares to dive, a mischievous laugh leaving his lips, “Cover me.”

Katniss obediently raises her bow, turning to face the golden horn, waiting to see if the careers come out to attack. You’re halfway tempted to sneak over, pick off one or two, and then leave with your alliance. You’re not sure how Finnick would react, though. You’d be attracting unnecessary danger. 

Or, you’re sure he’d just find another excuse to flirt with you, like he’s been doing for the past week. It’s irritating, and you’re sure that no one is taking you seriously anymore. How could they? All you can do is tell him to shut up and use the backs of your hands to cool your hot cheeks.

At least the blithering heat and humidity of the arena will give you some excuse now.

You can see Cashmere picking through the weapons at the front of the cornucopia with the others. She briefly looks up, catching your line of sight. That same smile crosses her face, your fingers twitch to unclasp the hoop one more time. You have a wicked aim when you’re pissed, you could be down one career right now.

“(Y/n).” Katniss murmurs, pulling you out of your thoughts. You look over to see who she’s motioning at.

You find Mags, still standing on her own metal plate, on the other side of the same spoke. You head over to her without being asked, carefully placing down your belongings before sliding smoothly into the water to meet her halfway. She can swim just fine, in fact she is, but you’re sure that a woman her age would appreciate the help.

She doesn’t struggle when you grab a hold of her, pulling her to the spoke. By the time you get there, Finnick is waiting with Peeta and Katniss. He has his hand outstretched for her. You let her go, he scoops her out of the water as if she’s lighter than air, and then he immediately turns to you, grabbing your forearm and helping you out of the water.

“She helps old ladies, too?” Finnick murmurs.

“I’ll kill you, Finnick. You’re still technically a career.” You press your lips together.

Mags pats the belt around her waist, “Helps you bob on the water.”

“Look, she’s right. Someone figured it out.” Finnick points to Beetee. He’s having a hard time riding the waves, but the belt is helping him keep his head above water.

“What?” Katniss asks.

“The belts. They’re floatation devices.” Finnick pinches at yours, “I mean, you have to propel yourself, but they’ll keep you from drowning.”

You slap Finnick’s hand away, he gives you an amused look. Katniss watches Beetee for another second, before she turns her body away, “We should keep going.” 

To make her load lighter, she unloads half of the weapons she grabbed from the cornucopia onto Peeta, who doesn’t offer a word of complaint. When Mags won’t leave her alone, she passes the awl on to her, which is good enough apparently. Finnick throws the net over his shoulder before pulling Mags onto his back, holding her with one hand.

Katniss leads the way to the beach, followed by Peeta, and then Finnick. You don’t move for a long moment, staring back at Cashmere, who seems to have her full attention on you now. She wants you to go over there and put up a good fight, but if you do, that means you’re defending yourself against four people.

“We’ll meet again, bitch.” You spit, turning harshly on your heel to follow your allies into the jungle.

The jungle is worse than the open air. Everything is heavier because the moisture has a harder time escaping the wide leaves of the trees. You have to be careful watching where you place your feet, afraid of getting your foot snarled in a tangle of vines. 

Katniss lets Peeta take the lead, he cuts through patches of the dense vegetation with the knife that she gave him. And then she insists that FInnick go in front of her, too, because he’s got his hands fuller than she does. One look at your face, and she decides that she won’t try and argue with you for last place.

“You aren’t allies with Chaff?” Katniss asks curiously.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded,” You tell her, “But I got into the alliance with Finnick first. For me, it’s easier to work with people my age than my own mentor. Two different perspectives, two different time periods.”

“Makes sense, actually.” She agrees.

“She won’t say it, but she found me utterly irresistible and couldn’t help saying yes.” Finnick breathes out a laugh after.

“Shut it.”

The incline of the jungle is tough to fight against. Katniss tries to keep up a conversation for as long as she can, but the two of you run out of breath, and end up focusing on getting through the first mile. You have to admit, this isn’t as hard as half of the hills that you’ve climbed before back home in District Eleven. 

When you were younger, you would pick apples off of the trees. It’s easier for the smaller kids to do it, since they’re fearless and haven’t yet realized that they could fall and hurt themselves. They’re more excited about the height they’ve reached, proud that they can help their family.

Well, there were plenty of times when you cut the time really close. Either heading to the orchards or on the way back from them. You have to be with your group at count, or everyone can get in trouble and get suspended from picking. However, the more you pick in the time you’ve got, the bigger the payout.

You were the only one willing to stay behind an extra five to ten minutes to pick a tree clean, and even start a new one before it was time to head back home. And each time, you made it to count with less than a minute to spare. The peacekeepers in charge of your group knew that you’d always come, so they would stall as long as possible. 

And then you got reaped for the Hunger Games when you turned sixteen. After you won, there wasn’t a point to go to the orchards and pick apples anymore. It’s been seven years since you won. Sometimes it still feels like it was yesterday.

“Let’s take a minute.” Finnick says, finding a nice patch of shade before setting Mags down to rest. You pick your own area.

“I’m going to scale a tree and get a look at the cornucopia.” Katniss murmurs, giving a look to Peeta, “I’ll be right back.”

He nods, and the three of you watch her wedge her fingers between the smooth jungle tree’s bark, before hoisting herself up. In the matter of a few seconds, she’s disappeared completely into the branches and leaves, hiding her from sight. If she really wanted, she could probably shoot a couple arrows down, effectively killing you.

You’re not sure if she’d choose you as a target, but she hasn’t hidden her distaste of Finnick.

“What?” Finnick starts, you let out a sigh. Of course he’d take this as a chance to get at you again, “Can’t stand my company?”

You squint at him for a second, wanting to strangle him. You are really sick of it, and you know he just wants a reaction out of you. If you stop telling him to shut up, he’ll just take that as a win, but any response gives him the same satisfaction… right?

“Partially,” You agree, “I’ve decided you’re just too hot to handle.”

Finnick opens his mouth to speak, unfazed by what you’ve said. It must hit him then, because no words come out. He lets out a breath of air, and you’re able to watch his cheeks and ears turn a gentle shade of red.

“I…” He trails off, shaking his head slightly. 

“Did I just manage to render the Finnick Odair speechless?” You laugh, “It’s okay, babe, take your time, we have all day for you to put yourself back together.”

There’s a smile forming over his face, “You…”

“What about me?” You bat your eyelashes, this seems to bring him back to life.

“You’ve been fucking with me the entire time.”

“Oh, you wish I’ve been fucking with you.” You manage a serious face at first, but as soon as his face turns a bright red, you can’t help the laughter that bursts from you. You fan your face, trying to get the heat to leave your face quicker. “I don’t know how you manage to do this all the time, I feel like I’m going to explode.”

“I can’t believe you.” He sits back.

“What, like you’re the only one allowed to have fun, here?” You flick your hair over your shoulder, “You’re just mad you got a taste of your own medicine.”

“More like I’ve been missing out the entire time.” He raises his eyebrows.

Here he goes again.

[theflashesoflove]

obstacle II

Larissa Weems x f!reader (nsfw) – series

part I :: part II :: part lll :: ao3

a/n: thank you to everyone who showed me some love for the first chapter!! i am very very smitten (and quite nervous). let's see how all of this goes from larissa's point of view. there are some inconsistencies with canon events (not to mention that larissa is alive, which she very much is in canon as well, we all know that)

warnings/tags: unhealthy online relationship, dom!larissa x sub!reader dynamics, sexting, implied masturbation, angst, insecurity, guilt – you get the vibes

chapter word count: 3.7k

Part II: she puts the weights in my heart

It was a blissful evening, but Larissa’s inner state was nowhere near bliss. Nevermore was finally back on track after the horrible Hyde situation, yet Larissa lagged behind in adjusting to the new reality. It wouldn’t be this hard if she didn’t spend two weeks in hospital after being poisoned by Laurel Gates – she never went on vacation, she never took additional days off, and being away from her principal duties certainly slowed her down. Especially when she absolutely hated being patronised by doctors and nurses who didn’t want to discharge her from hospital no matter how many times she snarled and threw tantrums about how extremely important it was for her to get back to work. Even after finally nagging her way out earlier than a proper healing process required, Larissa still couldn’t shake the feeling of being out of place. It felt as though all of her efforts had reset to zero and she had to start everything all over again – negotiate with the new Mayor, establish a reverent relationship with the normie population and mitigate the consequences of Hyde attack among students. Her mind was still weak after she was nearly lying on her deathbed, her heart was still heavy knowing what her students had been through. The only thing that stayed the same even after the incident was her relationship with you, and she would hate to admit that it only added to her problems. She was constantly followed by guilt, all-consuming and unmerciful. 

Larissa didn’t like to feel like a bad person. Life had taught her that if she wanted to achieve something, being her charming and ambitious self wasn’t enough – she had to be clever and sly, sometimes even manipulative and ruthless. She had good intentions, but the only language the world around her could understand was a language of fierceness. Larissa could always come up with an excuse for her problematic actions when it came to protecting the school, but she could never come up with an excuse for being dishonest towards you. 

Some of the students gathered in the yard after the classes were over, sitting in small groups and enjoying one of the last warm days of September. Larissa wished to return to her school days and be as carefree as they were in that moment, laughing and gossiping and perhaps worrying about their first love. A small smile crawled on her face as she looked out of the window – students seemed to adjust after what had happened more successfully than their Principal did, but this fact made Larissa hopeful that she would catch on soon. One detail, however, was still out of place. A tormenting reminder of Hyde attack, the destroyed tower that was off limits for students and hurt the Principal’s eyes like a grain of sand. Perhaps the upcoming renovation could finally calm her heart. She stepped away from the window to return to her chair and looked at the clock – her last meeting of the day was supposed to start five minutes ago. As soon as she decided to check if there were any new messages from you and reached out for her phone, she heard a confident knock on her door. Larissa moved her chair closer to the table and opened her laptop while inviting whoever was waiting for her response with a light “Come in!”. Deep down Larissa was glad that the architect got there a little late, she really needed those extra five minutes of solitude to catch a breath after a rather tense meeting with the new Mayor. 

To catch a breath, that was immediately stolen away from her when you walked in. 

At first, Larissa thought she was hallucinating. Her mind was undoubtedly playing games with her, she just had to blink the mirage away. But you were still there even after the woman closed and opened her eyes a few times, and your lovely voice was like a slap on her face – it’s real, it’s real, you are real and you are here.

“Terribly sorry I’m late. I had to stop for petrol,” you murmured, closing the door behind you. 

Larissa couldn’t move. You never told her that you were an architect, you never told her what your new project was about, you never told her that you knew anything about reconstruction. You just entered her office like a deadly storm, and Larissa had to act professional somehow. It felt as though she was doused with ice cold water, as though she was blinded and deafened, as though she fell down in her sleep and woke up in cold sweat. She couldn’t feel her own breathing, she wasn’t aware of her surroundings anymore. However what felt like an eternity of catatonia lasted only for a split second, and Larissa’s stupor was followed by a sheer panic. You swiftly approached her desk and extended your hand, introducing yourself, and suddenly Larissa was very aware of it all – of how rapidly her heart was beating, of how hot her cheeks grew, of how painfully her stomach flipped when she saw your oblivious smile and felt the softness of your hand as she met it with her own, moving on autopilot. All the formal interactions she practised every day became entirely foreign concepts to her, and she kept rudely staring at you, at a loss for words.

The circle of lies and secrets she had created backfired on her with its full force, leaving her trapped with you in the same room. When you entered Larissa’s office, she already knew what your name was. When you shook her hand, she already knew what that hand did just a couple of nights before, teasing your body on camera for her. When you spoke, she already knew how that voice sounded when you were on edge. She already knew your every curve, your dirty fantasies and what you were capable of for her – no, for Lydia. Every little detail of you was shared with non-existent Lydia, but it was Larissa who always was on the receiving end. Larissa knew, Larissa knew everything, she wasn’t supposed to be the one who knew it, but she couldn’t run away from it.

You pursed your lips and shyly touched the backrest of a chair that stood in front of Larissa’s desk, and it alerted the woman that she still didn’t invite you to sit down. “Ah, yes, yes, please, take a seat. I am sorry, it’s been a rough day,” she uttered, looking around her desk in search of something to hold on to. She found a pen and clutched it in her hand as she listened to the rustle of you pulling out the chair and sitting across from her. 

“It’s alright, I won’t keep you long. For the first meeting at least,” you gave her a small smile, and Larissa’s whole being buzzed from anxiety, her nerves completely destroying her professional composure. “Our manager has already drawn up a contract, I just need you to read through it, check if everything’s right, and sign it. In two copies,” you reached in your bag and pulled out a thin folder with documents, “one stays with you, one stays with me.” You handed Larissa the papers and she immediately busied herself reading through them to avoid making eye contact with you. 

Words seemed to melt together, and Larissa couldn’t focus on the content of the contract for the life of her. She knew that you were patiently watching her, presumably seeing her struggle to read a few pages. Her mind drifted away once again, agitated that at any moment you could recognise in her someone who sent you dirty messages and kept you in the dark about her real personality. Larissa scanned through the contract, not paying attention to the formalities, because her brain was occupied with calming her heart down. You couldn’t possibly know that Larissa was Lydia, or the other way around, you couldn’t possibly recognise her, because she never sent you pictures of her face. The only bits she’d shared were her legs and her- her hands… Could you recognise her hands? Her manicure? Larissa’s mind raced as she hesitated for a second before taking a look at you to see you scrolling through your phone. She carefully dropped the pen and brought her hands on her lap to shift her nail colour to something, anything else. A second later she grabbed the pen again and saw that her nails got a different shape and were painted silver. It wasn’t a bad choice, Larissa thought, but it was a very unusual one. And you wouldn’t even notice the insignificant change, would you? She felt ridiculous for caring about such a small detail, but it calmed her nerves a tiniest bit nonetheless. 

Larissa looked through the contract again, and she was glad that she found it in her to do so, because she noticed a mistake, “It doesn’t say anything about the installation of a new heating system,” she noted, looking up at you. 

You put your phone away and frowned, “Did you mention it while talking to our manager?”

“I… I suppose I forgot. Can we add it to the list though? The tower was the only part of Nevermore that never got decent heating, and we always had to cancel lessons in the observatory during cold seasons.” Larissa internally winced at how unusually weak her voice sounded.

“Of course. I will notify our manager and bring you a new contract. It’s a good thing you noticed, usually clients don’t pay much attention,” you said lightly. 

“I hope it won’t be a bother, it’s easy to forget things while looking after hundreds of teenagers at once,” Larissa handed you the papers back.

“No, no, it’s alright. I must admit, I never realised that being a principal might be this stressful. Not saying that it’s easy, but… just never really thought about it.” You gave Larissa an awkward smile. It was precious to her. “I was planning on seeing the tower and taking a few pictures. And maybe there will be something else you remember about?”

“Oh, right, right. I’ll lead the way.” Larissa stood up, nervously smoothing the fabric of her skirt. 

The meeting proceeded in the school yard, Larissa watched as you carefully observed the tower ruins and took pictures from every possible angle. Ironically, Larissa was glad that she finally wasn’t the centre of your attention.

“The top part is completely destroyed,” you mumbled to yourself softly, craning your neck to look up at the damage that was done to the part of the building, “I cannot even imagine what could have caused it, especially in a school. It couldn’t have been students, could it?” You turned to look at Larissa who stood at a discreet distance. 

“Well, I suppose it could. But it wasn���t their fault. It’s… hard to explain.” Larissa was surprised to see that you probably didn’t know what exactly was happening at Nevermore just a few months ago. After a small pause, she asked, “Is it necessary to completely take down what’s left?”

“If you’d prefer to leave the remaining parts, I can work around it. We’ll just have to reconstruct the top…” you were focused on the ruins and Larissa couldn’t help but think how enticing you looked while doing your job. Now that the two of you were outside it was much easier to breathe, and Larissa could freely admire your form – not that she didn’t have enough opportunities to admire it before. Oh, and the way your beauty was even more outstanding in real life. You were dressed for work, and for Larissa, a woman who deeply valued her appearance in the office, it was the most delightful, the most attractive sight to see. Your little smiles were much brighter in person, your hair looked soft and your shape was unsurprisingly smaller compared to Larissa’s. It made her want to cover you with her body and hide you in her arms. Tearing away from inappropriate thoughts, she internally cursed herself and tried to pay attention to your words. “It seems like a pretty solid construction, It could have stood for centuries,” you mused, touching one of the old mossy bricks. “But we’ll find the materials to blend in beautifully,” stepping away from the tower wall, you approached Larissa. “I’ll have the first renders ready for our next meeting and we can discuss anything you would like to add or get rid of.”

“Very well,” Larissa breathed out, not expecting you to come this close to her. In fact, she was only being dramatic – you maintained a professional distance. “I… I look forward to it,” she forced a smile that barely touched her lips.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Once you left, Larissa felt anxious all over again. She realised it was only a matter of time before you wrote to Lydia, and how could she continue all of this, knowing full well that she would have to see you every week and work with you on the renovation? How could she pretend to be just a mere stranger, a put-together principal and continue to secretly order you around, to send you filthy messages and not feel like shit about it? Guilt gnawed at her, it made her nervously pace her office, completely unable to finish her work for the day. Perhaps her lies had to come to a halt, and that meeting just marked the beginning of the end. 

Larissa never thought that the first conversation she’d shared with you would lead her into this kind of relationship. She never tried shopping for antiques online, she didn't even bother to properly fill out her profile information on the reselling site – she just wanted a peculiar-looking record player, but you forgot to take the advertisement down after selling it. It was a pity, she really liked that old little thing, but in the end she was blessed – or rather cursed – with something much more interesting. Next thing Larissa knew, both of you engaged in discussing music and, gradually, you started sharing some innocent facts about your life. Larissa thought it was fun – she hadn't had a conversation about something not related to her job in ages. Then, you started texting her more frequently and Larissa couldn’t help but tease you for it. You seemed to like her teasing tone and started playing along. It made her more confident and bolder with her words – she would never admit it, but sometimes she blushed at her own messages; it wasn’t because she was shy, it was because of the image in her head, the fantasy of having you just the way Larissa wanted. What was worse, she smiled like she was young and carefree again whenever she got your response. With you she felt more at ease exploring this passionate and provoking side of her, feeling a tad smug when you reacted to her ambiguous messages in the most adorable way. It aroused a thrill within her, a deep interest and longing for more. 

However she was awfully scared of bringing this into real life, knowing that she had accidentally set the bar too high, and that you would surely be disappointed to learn that behind those messages was a woman who was overconsumed with her work and actually quite dull as a person – that was what Larissa thought of herself. After a week of your rapidly developing relationship, you texted her, i just realised i never got your name! – and Larissa didn’t know why she lied. It was a good idea at the time, she assumed that sooner or later you would become bored even of this bolder version of her, and giving you her actual name wouldn’t change anything. To her surprise and secret delight, it wasn’t the case. You accepted everything she offered you and didn’t ask uncomfortable questions. Just once, though, you suggested meeting somewhere for dinner, and Larissa politely refused, saying that she wouldn’t have the time for it in the foreseeable future. It wasn’t entirely a lie, but Larissa knew that if she wasn’t such a coward, she would have found all the time in the world to see you. 

Being in love was unhealthy for Larissa. It was painful and distracting from her work. It made her dizzy and nauseous, certain that the object of her infatuation would never reciprocate her feelings. It happened once, twice, it happened enough times to make her hopeless and stern – her heart couldn’t take it anymore. Deep down she always craved intimacy and touch, but even occasional one-night stands made her stumble and sense an unpleasant cramp in her stomach once they were over. Lydia was a clever barrier that, Larissa hoped, would catch her when she would fall again. She wasn’t getting too close, she didn’t allow herself to get attached, because Larissa’s heart was shielded by a mysterious and more confident image of a different woman. She was foolish thinking that this could ever work.

The messages you sent her had become a part of Larissa’s daily routine, and initially innocent and friendly conversations inevitably escalated into sexting. On some days, both of you exchanged only text messages, but more often you sent her nudes which made Larissa immensely aroused. Sometimes she would sit in her office, curtains drawn and door locked, basking in the warmth of the fireplace, drinking wine and waiting for you to finish recording your video. She’d watch you shaking and squirming and accidentally moaning Lydia’s name instead of the mistress title. It didn’t happen often, but when it did… Oh, how she wished to be Lydia. To be the woman you were so close to, whom you trusted with everything, whom you cared for. How she wished that she could give you what your kind soul deserved – honesty. A minor lie about her name evolved into an entire net of secrets. Larissa embellished her image, drifting away from reality. She gave all the credit to Lydia, who was fun and enticing, who deserved to be loved and wasn’t afraid of her fantasies – in Larissa's head Lydia was everything that she wasn’t. In Larissa's head her real self was the one who was only rejected and forgotten, whose beauty wilted years ago and whose charm was only suitable for overpowering her business associates. She didn’t even give herself a chance to be proven otherwise. 

The darkness finally settled around Nevermore, cold air whistling through the windows all over the dim empty halls of the school. Students were back to their dorms and Larissa observed the empty yard, tense and restless. She tried to breathe deeply – it didn’t help. Just as she’d expected, you sent her a picture a couple of hours after the meeting. You were laying on your side in pretty light pink lingerie, inviting and painfully lovely, what can i do for you tonight, mistress? 

Normally, Larissa would open the messenger and tell you all the things she wanted to do with you. She would order you to be a good girl for her and send her a video of you touching yourself – making it all nice and pretty, exposing your flushed skin and releasing heavenly sounds. She would bring herself to the edge, groaning under her breath and revelling in the power she had over you. Then, she would praise you and tease you further, just to bring you the lightest mood for the night. Maybe she would even send you a picture in return, but it was a rare occasion, when Larissa was too tipsy to overthink it. This time she couldn’t do anything. She didn’t open the messenger – she looked through the notification from her lock screen – she didn’t tell you how much she wanted to see you pleasuring yourself for her. She chose to ignore you. And it made her feel absolutely horrible for the rest of the night. There were dozens of unanswered emails on her work laptop, and after it became unbearable to be alone with her feelings, she busied herself with answering them in a rather harsh tone, venting her spleen at whoever needed something from her. Her head ached. Her heart squeezed inside her chest. She was angry at herself, fearful and bursting with guilt from knowing that her little game had to come to an end and there was no place for Lydia anymore. From knowing that it was going to hurt you. 

A few hours later she received a new message from you, are you still at work?

She could sense your worried tone through her screen. It wasn’t usual for Larissa to leave your messages unanswered until morning. Only once, when she was in hospital, was it taking her too long to reply. She was physically unable to respond to your messages, though she explained it to you in advance, saying that she got terribly ill, but her recovery went smoothly. It left no room for unneeded concern on your part, you just hoped that Lydia would be fine.

This time, however, there was no adequate explanation. Larissa still didn’t answer. She tried to go to sleep at her usual time but ended up staring in the darkness, guilty, awfully guilty. If her exhaustion hadn’t finally forced her to fall asleep, she would have seen your message in the dead of night, lydia, is everything alright? – you couldn’t sleep again, but this time Larissa was the one to blame. 

She saw your message in the morning but didn’t reply. Her heart was heavy the whole day, and she drowned out the pain with more work; insufferable meetings, Wednesday’s outbursts and ignorant parents. Larissa would never say that she hated her job no matter how difficult it was – she didn’t tire easily, but her soul was worn out. That was why she never let herself be swallowed by feelings that were even remotely close to those of romantic love and affection before. That was why making an exception for you was a terrible mistake. She received a few more messages from you during the day and hid her phone in the desk drawer to avoid seeing them. Larissa had always known that sooner or later Lydia would have to part ways with you – she couldn’t keep you in the dark forever. It was a necessary sacrifice for her own peace of mind, and the two of you got business to do, after all. 

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

💌: @scream-queenlover @kimiinou @gwendolinechristieiscute @weemssapphic @imprincipalweemspet @gwenslucifer @im-a-carnivorous-plant @evanivox @ctrlamira

(tell me if you want to be added to the taglist <3)

[dumbslxtclub]

steddie looking after extremely drunk reader??

catch me if you can | s.h + e.m

steddie x fem!reader

content warnings: fem!reader, adult language, reader is very drunk, mentions of underage drinking, mainly just chaotic fluff

word count: 621

a/n: did I swear to myself I wouldn't write requests until I finished my other two current wips?? yes. am I a filthy liar and decide to whip this up in half an hour? absolutely. took a bit of a chaotic angle on this one, hope you enjoy anon xx

The chill of the wind burns your cheeks, but you don’t care. Or rather, you can barely feel it thanks to the copious amounts of vodka in your system. For whatever reason, you’re running. The kind of run that is so exhilarating, dashing around the grassy expanse behind Steve’s house heading nowhere fast. In the distance, you hear two increasingly agitated voices calling out after you. Your chest hurts from how much you’re laughing, the source of which is the two boys trailing after you. 

“I’m gonna count to ten, and if you’re not back here, you’re gonna be in serious trouble.” The younger boy calls out, hands firmly on his hips near the patio.

“Oohh, Stevie’s putting on his big boy voice!” You laugh, hiccupping as your legs continue to carry you as fast as they can in no particular direction. Darting, weaving through the trees lining the edge of his yard, you feel like a child again. 

“Jesus, Harrington! I could use some help, y’know?” Eddie is breathless, finally catching up to you but still far away enough to taunt him. “C’mon, sweetheart. We promised Robin we’d have you home by midnight, and hopefully in one piece.”

“Don’t wanna go.” You retort, dashing past the metalhead in a flurry of chaotic movement. 

“Fuck- nearly had her.” A squeal of laughter echoes in your lungs, his ringed hand barely brushing past your wrist.

“Come and get me!” Taunting, you dart towards the edge of the pool, hoping the threat of water will ward them off. 

“That’s it, I’m not letting you accidentally drown on my watch.” Steve jogs forward into your view, effectively blocking you. With a giggle, you stop in your tracks and poke your tongue out at him, taking off in the opposite direction. You don’t anticipate the man-sized obstacle in your path, large arms quickly scooping you up and throwing you over a leather-clad shoulder. It knocks the breath out of your lungs, but does little to stop your giggling.

“C’mon, cheeky thing. Party's over, time to go home.” Eddie says, tightening his grip around your legs.

“No, Eds! I’m having fun.” You reply, dangling helplessly as he carries you up the steps. Steve follows behind, readjusting one of your shoes which has almost fallen off your foot thanks to your antics.

“I know, doll. But a deal’s a deal. And I don’t want Buckley biting my head off tomorrow when you’re hungover and useless for your shift.”

“God, you guys are no fun.” 

“We are very fun, thank you very much.” Steve replies, scooping Eddie’s keys off the entranceway bench on the way through. “Fun enough to make sure you don’t fall in the pool and freeze to death.”

“She probably wouldn’t, y’know? Like the chief baker on the Titanic. Drank so much brandy that he couldn’t freeze to death.”

“Bullshit.” Steve retorts, pacing beside the two of you. Reaching out, you put all of your core strength into messing up his hair with a scruff of your hand, much to his dismay. He pulls open the passenger side door for Eddie, who gently lowers you into the seat and buckles you in like a toddler.  

“Mind coming with us, Stevie? Don’t want to have this flight risk on my hands all by myself, could use the extra manpower.”

“Yeah, like he’s gonna be any help.” You mutter, eliciting a shit-eating grin from the metalhead. Steve simply rolls his eyes and opens the sliding door on the side of the van, shuffling into the back.

“You’re trouble, you know that?” Eddie gives your shoulder an affectionate push before throwing a water bottle in your direction. Looks like all of their babysitting practice is finally paying off.

[love-toxin]

Yandere fruity four have a whole thing where they cannot see you bleed, not after what happened in the upside down. So when you fall over playing tag with Robin and Eddie outside and get a smallish cut on your leg, all four of them go crazy. They baby you to death and back

* rubs my little rat hands together *

cws: yandere fruity four, blood, minor/major injuries, scars, !!PTSD!!, angelface has aquaphobia, mental illness, trauma flashbacks, panic attacks, choking, drowning, near-death experiences, very mild emetophobia, mild self-deprecation, post-s4, gn!reader.

One of the first days that you wake up and feel that things are back to normal is in June of 1987. The sun is coming out properly now and brightens the yard with soft, summer rays, the grass is growing in enough to start being trimmed, and it's far too warm to stay in bed for longer than an hour past your usual alarm. Indiana isn't too hot yet, so when you crack open the windows to get a breath of fresh air, you're greeted by a comfortably cool breeze that cuts the warmth radiating off the ground.

Much better than the cold and the snow that kept you inside, although that wasn't the only reason. The world beyond the Harrington's front yard is still a little too scary to breach--but you've got a good amount of space to work with, so long as you stay away from the pool and the woods around the back. It's been drained for a while now though, and Steve reassured you he has no plans to fill it back up.

That first day is a good day, it's refreshing. The next week skirts by with a stream of good things piling in; you all built up the firepit to roast marshmallows, Eddie bought a sprinkler at a garage sale, Nancy and Robin have started buying seasonal fruits and cutting them up to make little salads. There's not much you have to worry about with your new life, but there are obstacles--and you're happy to say you've overcome one when you're especially full of confidence one afternoon, and peek into the garage to ask if Eddie can bring the sprinkler out. Obviously he says yes, a smile on his face as he tugs his gloves off and rolls out from beneath the van, excitedly grabbing the hose and hooking it in so he can take it out and set it up on the front lawn.

You were planning just to run it and watch, maybe stick your hands or toes in to cool off, but Robin comes running down the stairs with a giddy grin and jumps right through it--and at her shriek of it being so cold, you and Eddie both join in to try it and end up running around on the wet grass, laughing and flicking water at each other like children. It's not terrifying like you thought it would be, and you don't immediately break down like you did the first few months of taking showers after the watergate incident. It's the first time in a long time you've been so carefree. It's been even longer since you've thought of a moment as a memory you want to keep forever, of Eddie grabbing you from behind and kissing your cheek under the cool spray, and of you and Robin holding hands and shrieking as he picks the sprinkler up and chases you with it. That feeling ends, though, when you slip on the grass and tumble to the ground with her in tow, a sharp twang of pain running up the side of your calf from nowhere.

"You guys okay?" Eddie calls out, dropping the sprinkler and walking over to where you're laid out on your back, Robin scrambling to sit up at your side like she hadn't also fallen victim to the slippery ground.

"Yeah, I'm good--just fell!" You manage a lighthearted giggle, because that pain you felt is already dull, and you're sure it was just a twig or something that scratched you.

"You're bleeding," But Robin's voice tremors, her dulled and painted nails hovering over your calf as you bend your knee to pull it up. Disbelief runs through you at first--but with a glance and a double take, you realize she's right. You've got a long, thin cut up the side of your leg, and although it's clearly too shallow to do much damage, it's deep enough for blood to pool at the surface of your skin and start trailing downwards in little rivulets. She's stiff right now, and her eyes say too much--they spell out danger, and your first instinct is to cup her cheek in your hand and try to talk her down.

"It's okay, Robbie--calm down, okay? Just breathe."

"You're bleeding...." It pains you even worse because you know exactly what she's thinking, you know the place she's at right now, and it's not gonna be pretty if she doesn't come back to earth and starts reliving all those horrible days you left behind.

"Robin, it's fine, sweetheart. It doesn't even hurt. It's not deep, you don't need to worry, I'm totally fine." She shakes her head--she can't tear her eyes away from the sight of your blood. "Remember what the doctor said? Worst thing you can do is panic? So don't panic, my love."

By the time she's struggling to keep her breaths even, Eddie's knelt down at your side to assess what he just heard. A warm, wet hand grazes your calf to take a look, and you can tell by the shuddered breath he inhales that he's trying really hard not to join Robin in freaking out.

"Let's...let's get you inside. Robin, go-"

"I-I'll get Nancy!" Her assumption is thankfully correct, and she tears off across the lawn to run up into the house, probably taking the stairs two at a time just to get to your girlfriend and boyfriend faster. Eddie sighs, and pulls your arm around his shoulders to help you up, barely letting you put any pressure on your injury as he leads you into the house. Past the front door, towards the kitchen, and helps you up to sit on the nearest chair that he pulls out for you.

"Eddie, I'm fine. Really," You gesture towards the cut--which really is more like a scrape--but you know better than to move your leg or try to get up. Sometimes, as much as you love them, your partners just won't see reason.

"I know. I know you're fine, but...but if you're not-"

"This isn't the same thing. This isn't Vecna." He shudders at the mere mention of the name, but it's the truth and you're not going to just let them flip out. To keep him from pacing, and because you hope it might help, you grab hold of his hand. Upstairs, you can hear animated chattering and then the scraping of chairs, like whoever it was that got up did so in an enormous hurry. "No clocks, no ticking, no visions. Just a cut."

Eddie nods in agreement, but you're not so easily persuaded. "Just a cut." He repeats, his other hand coming up to rub your head and carefully, sweetly stroke your hair.

"Baby!" The two of you both jump when Steve comes skidding into the room, having leapt nearly over the entire banister just to land with a thud and dash in. Nancy and Robin aren't far behind, equally as hurried as they come to crowd around you with panic-stricken looks on their faces. Steve drops to his knees at once to take a look at the cut, while Nancy peers over his head and thankfully breathes a deep sigh of relief when she sees how calm you are.

"Why are you soaked?" Are the first words that come out of her mouth, and only then does it click. Your chest tightens a little, and you feel a cloud hanging over your head, but it makes sense. It wasn't just the cut, or the blood--it's the fact that you're also drenched, your clothes clinging to your skin and your body wracked with a chill that pierces you through the bone.

That night on Lover's Lake was much the same. You'd never been much afraid of boating or swimming, but those circumstances were different--that was when you thought your alternating crushes on your friends were the most painful thing to deal with, back when you kept switching from one to another. From Eddie to Nancy to Steve to Robin and back again, wondering what the hell was wrong with you and why you were so whipped you'd join them on a dinghy in the middle of the night, just to check something out that they swore was something they could never fully explain. You just had to see it, and you'd been so determined to help them that you wouldn't be left behind.

But you did a lot more than seeing when you leaned over the side to look down at whatever 'gate' Steve had found as he clung to the edge of the boat, drenched and handsome as ever. Even though you struggled to piece your memories back together after the ordeal was over, you remember squinting your eyes at a shadow flitting under the water and praying it was just a fish. Nancy's voice had cut through the chatter to ask you what was wrong--and then your arm went under as a tendril burst out to hook around it, and Eddie's hand shot out to grab your hoodie, but you were gone before you could even scream. The boat had rocked from side to side and you heard muffled yelling, screaming of your name that you couldn't call back to. Steve's fingers had grazed your ankle in a flash to catch you as you were yanked through the murk, but even he could do nothing as you were thrust through watergate and thrown into another world, one you never would have believed in if you hadn't been forced to.

After that, you still have only bits and pieces you can recall of the ordeal. Flashes of blood and veiny wings spread out against a crimson sky are the worst, they're the visions you try to forget, especially since you associate them with some of the most biting, stinging agony you've ever felt in your life--at your hips, your legs, and your neck, all of which still bear prominent scars. Choking, you remember choking for so long, until you blinked and Steve was above you--his palms thrusting painfully into your chest, and your throat flooding with water and bile that you spat all over the ground. You remember stumbling through some overgrown forest, the flash of a bike light, cloth being pulled tight around your stomach, and being slumped over someone's back as you rode down semi-familiar streets, but that's the most you can bring to your memory. They've always told you it would be better not to try--that you don't want to remember all the horrors they encountered there. That you don't want to wake up. Wake up.

"Wake up!"

You manage to mumble out a single, incoherent word, before a chord splits through the muffled quiet of your mind and you clap your hands over your ears, bass thrumming so loud you feel like your brain's bouncing around inside your skull. It's not totally inaccurate though, because there's an ache in your neck and fingers painfully dug into your shoulders as whoever it is stops shaking you, yells for the music to be shut off, and then worriedly encourages you to open your eyes.

"Huh?" Still completely dazed, you hone in on two warm, sweet-looking brown eyes when your own blink open, before zoning back out and letting yours wander towards every angle of the room. Your head is almost lolling back, trying to get a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary--anything that would reveal that you're still in that other world, and only when you're reassured that everything's real do you look down at Steve's terrified expression. "What's...wrong? Steve?"

Even your voice feels discombobulated, you raise your hand to your neck to touch it, as if you could feel if something was wrong just by feeling it. But it drifts to his throat instead, and you run your thumb over the long scar that's still there--the one that matches yours. Steve doesn't utter a word, just stares up at you from his knees before finally managing to breathe again.

Robin and Nancy are standing over him, and you can see they're just as scared--but Eddie's gone, and before you can ask where he is, his sneakers squeal against the linoleum as he rushes back into the kitchen. In his hands, he's got a tape. The bright sticker on the side of it warns you that it's the one he carries with him everywhere, with nothing but your name written on the tracklist along with Steve's, Robin's, Nancy's, and his own.

"F..False alarm. False alarm." Nancy finally turns back and nods at him, just barely making it to one of the chairs at the table before she collapses into it in a fit of hiccups, like she's trying not to cry and just holding it all in. Robin hits the ground behind Steve and she buries her face in his back, hands clutching at his shirt while his trail down to grab each of yours. It's only in those moments that your senses really come back to you, and you feel an immense wave of guilt settle on your shoulders at what must have looked like a dire situation. You've had those flashbacks before where you've dissociated completely out of the realm of reality--but this must have been a long one, you can feel it, because your body's sore from being jostled so much and your leg is all wrapped up. You've got a towel draped around your neck. You've missed a decent chunk of time, but you're sure it felt like a lifetime for them.

"I'm sorry..." You whimper, hating their body language and their expressions and wishing you could just go back to when you were having fun--and wishing that you would just stop having these episodes already, for God's sakes.

"Don't!" Steve shakes his head, strands of perfect chestnut hair flicking to and fro as he does so. He tightens his grip and pulls your arms closer, a kiss placed on your knuckles in the hope of offering some reassurance. "Don't be sorry--you didn't do anything wrong. This was out of your control."

If Robin wasn't clinging to him, you can sense by his shoulders hunching towards you that he would be moving in for a hug--one of those warm, tight ones that crush you against his hard chest, but couldn't be a better place for you to cry into. You don't really feel the urge to, but surely once some time has passed the reality of what just happened will really hit you. The relative silence in the room is biting into you, and the shakiness of your own voice betrays that. "Are you okay?"

He nods at once, one hand finally moving away to pat Robin's thigh. "Yeah. Little shaky, but I'm okay. You okay, Rob?"

"I'm fine. Just...almost passed out." Robin's voice is muffled in Steve's shirt, but by the comparably calmer sigh that escapes her, you believe it. You turn your head to Nancy, sitting just across the table from you, and reach your newly-freed hand out to clasp over hers. The tight squeeze is enough to say more than she can get out at the moment.

"I'll be fine, soon. I need a minute." She rubs her temples, focusing on breathing in and out and nothing else. Eddie's who you're really afraid for, though, and he's just staring in cold silence from across the room. He only takes one step when you look his way and shoves the tape in his pocket, but after a pause, he takes plenty more to come right up to your side.

"God, I'm glad you're alive," He grabs both sides of your face, and tilts your head up to plant the sweetest, deepest kiss on your lips. He tastes of smoke and sweat, bitterly warm on your tongue as he shows you his affection--something you thought you'd never get when you were sure you had died. "Never letting you go again."

It sits there in the air. Never letting you go. You've heard it in movies and read it in books, although you thought that if you ever heard someone say that to you, it would be.....well, it wouldn't be like this. But it quirks a smile up on your lips at the thought that this is what you've got, this is the reward you've been given for following your heart straight into death. At least you can say you're nothing if not loyal, even though you sometimes feel like you're just....crazy. Like you belong in the nuthouse. They've tried to reassure you you're not, but there's always that inkling in the back of your head. The looks people in the town give you when you go out don't help, either--especially the ones that boldly declared you as one of Eddie's failed victims. That one was especially hard to overcome.

"I...okay. I'm gonna go bring the sprinkler in." Eddie's hands linger on your face, and he seems to evaluate something for a moment before giving in, and pressing another delightfully wet kiss to your mouth. Only after that can he break away, and get himself walking towards the front door--mumbling quietly all the while that he's gonna find whatever hurt his baby and make it pay. To think, this is the man people thought had tried to sacrifice you....how ludicrous.

"Yeah, um...S-Steve, c'mon." Nancy, finally managing to pull herself together, gestures towards him in a way they both seem to understand--and you let out a squeak when he gets to his feet, and slides his arms around your waist to haul you up in a bridal carry, while Robin uses him to pull herself up and messily dry the tears she was hiding.

"H-Hey, it's okay! I can walk-"

"Nope." Steve interjects, waiting for Nancy to take Robin gingerly by the arm and lead her towards the stairs, whispering low enough into her ear that you can't make out what she's saying. Your girlfriend seems to start perking up when she hears it though, so whatever reassurances she's offering, they must be pretty good. "While Sir Eddie is securing the yard, you're gonna be spending some time with us." He raises his brows, that smoldering wink shooting sparks of youthful giddiness into your belly. It's hard not to smile and give in when he's being coy--the flirt in him just always manages to capture your heart, even when he's carrying you up the stairs despite you being certain you can do these things on your own. "Nance still has to finish her article, so we'll just hang out with her til it's done, kay?"

As he reaches the top step, you hear the distinct clanging of something being thrown around in the area of the garage, Eddie's distant swearing filtering through the open windows all over the house before he slams the door shut. Knowing him, he probably got all caught up in the hose and tripped himself, the visual of which evoking a laugh from you that nearly startles Steve as he walks with you into the master bedroom. Nancy's got her desk in there with all of her papers, photos, and notebooks scattered all over the top, a lamp on a bendable frame aimed from above so she can arrange things as precisely as she likes. She's already eased Robin into the bed, a kiss pressed to her forehead that she leans right into--and when Steve comes around the other side and slowly sets you down beside her, she's quick to pull an arm around you and nuzzle herself right into your side to get nice and comfortable.

"It's not gonna take too long, okay?" Nancy glances over her shoulder to look at you after she takes her seat, the second chair by her side soon giving a squeak as Steve drops himself into it. "I just have to organize the spread so I can send it in. Then we'll do something fun, okay?"

Her content smile feels more hollow than usual--you can kinda tell when she's masking her feelings to make everyone else comfortable, versus when she's really showing her emotions. But that's to be expected after what she just went through, so you're not about to pry. Usually it's a lot harder for them to vent to you than it is to each other, because they've admitted themselves they're sensitive to putting too much stress on you, and the doctor himself had warned you to avoid straining yourself lest your heart give out on you. That's a big worry for them too....worrying about you.

Soon enough, though, Eddie comes hustling up the stairs and bursts into the bedroom, narrowly avoiding a frustrated jab when he almost sweeps a pile of scribbled notes off the table--but he looks happy, sweaty and happy, and kicks off his sneakers to climb into bed next to you with a bowl full of cut fruit in his hands. He sets it delicately in your lap, having haphazardly tossed handfuls of the little cubes into it out of the tupperware containers Nancy was keeping them in, and pops a chunk of pineapple in his mouth with an uncanny grin.

"Showed that branch who's boss," He declares proudly through a half-chewed mouthful of fruit, before nuzzling your cheek with his nose and stuffing some more into his gob. It's a convenient way to distract you from Robin's fidgeting, as well as Nancy and Steve's hushed conversation that he glosses over by blabbing on about his newest potential escapades that he's got ideas for regarding the next Hellfire campaign. The best thing to do for you after an episode is give you something positive to focus on, they've found, and Eddie's pretty good at finding things to talk about that just hook you right in and keep you attentive to him, and little else.

You're not delicate, after all, you're strong. But the world has proven to be quite unkind to you, and clearly you've had too much exposure to those things that remind you of that awful, awful day. So does it not make sense to keep you safe, and take all those potential dangers away? It's not like you'll be lonely, after all. You'll have them! And that's all you need--just them.

[ironychan]

Scary Monsters

@dysphoria-sweatshirt @30spiders @sweatersexual @angrylittlesliceofpizza @writer652

Part 1/? - Rocco’s Closet

Part 2/? - School for Monsters

Part 3/? - The Waternoose Family

Part 4/? - The Terrifying Humans

Part 5/? - Hiding Places

Part 6/? - Nobody’s Fault

Part 7/? - Edge of Disaster

Part 8/? - Caged Monsters

Part 9/? - The Journey Home

Part 10/? - Portorosso

Part 11/? - A New Family

Part 12/? - More Obstacles

The rest of the day passed far too slowly. The kids finished their grape-picking and presented the results to Signora Visconti. She was delighted and effusive in her praise of their hard work, and gave them an extra bottle of wine, along with their pay, to take back to the Pescheria. Once they reached home, they gathered up the things they thought they'd need to capture Harry and then re-enter the Monster World - and after that, there was nothing to be done but wait.

Waiting with nothing to fill the time was always terrible, and this seemed worse than usual. Luca, Alberto, and Giulia sat in the yard behind the shop and played card games while the hours ticked by, slower and slower and slower. Luca at one point went in to check the time, thinking it must be suppertime by now, but found it was only half five. He returned to the table with his shoulders slumped, feeling like he was going to curl up in a ball and cry.

Then, just to make things even worse, his parents arrived.

Helena opened the gate for them, and Daniela and Lorenzo walked in with very serious expressions on their faces. Luca knew he couldn't groan out loud, but he certainly did inwardly.

"Luca," Daniela said. "Your father and I have been talking."

Luca felt sick to his stomach. "I have to do this!" he protested.

"Honey." Daniela reached to touch his cheek, but he twitched away. "Please just listen to us."

Luca scowled, but he sat down on the picnic table bench. He hardly needed to listen, he thought. He knew exactly what was coming next.

Daniela pulled another chair over to sit facing him. Lorenzo stood behind her with one supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Luca," Daniela repeated. "We know you want to help. You're very brave, and very responsible, and we are so proud of you. But from what you've said, this world sounds incredibly dangerous, ten times more dangerous than the land, and it really seems like Louise, Curtis, and Mr. Sullivan all decided themselves that they were going to take this risk."

"Sullivan didn't," said Luca. "He was just there, and he had to help because he was in trouble anyway!"

"We've already planned everything and earned all the money," Alberto pointed out.

"And Harry needs to go back to the Monster World," Giulia agreed. "We can't quit now!"

"See? They're going to help, and if you come with me we'll have a grownup and everything," Luca said. "I can't just sit at home when I don't know what's happening to them."

"From your description of these monsters..." Daniela began.

"You're scarier than any of them!" Alberto interrupted.

"You really are!" Luca said. "Even Mr. Waternoose wouldn't want to fight you!"

"I don't plan on fighting anybody," Daniela told them. "I'm sorry, Luca, I hate having to put my foot down like this, and I definitely don't want you to believe we're punishing you because we are definitely not. But the longer we think about this, the more sure we are that we have to say no. We can't let you. I'm sorry."

She wasn't angry, but she was firm, and Luca knew in his gut that was it. He hung his head.

"What about Harry?" Giulia asked. "We promised Ercole we'd get rid of him."

"Ercole will just have to get used to him," said Daniela. "That isn't your problem, either. You can't save the whole world all by yourself, Luca," she added, to her son.

Luca's shoulders sagged further. "Dad..." he began.

"Sorry, son, but I have to agree with your mother on this," said Lorenzo. He came and put an arm around Luca's shoulders, and helped him to stand up. "Let's head home."

There was no arguing with that. Luca kept his head down, and did not speak as his parents led him out of the yard and down the steps to the water. Alberto and Giulia, too, sat in silence as Helena closed the gate behind them.

"I'm sorry," she said to the children. "I know you were all eager to do this, but... I think the Paguros are probably right. Do you want me to stay a few more days, Passerota?" she asked her daughter. "I don't have to go back tonight."

"No, that's fine," said Giulia. "Not if you don't want to."

Helena brushed Giulia's hair back to kiss her forehead, and then went indoors.

For a few minutes, Alberto and Giulia sat there in silence. Alberto leaned his head back, looking at the first few stars winking into view above. To be honest, he didn't like the idea of going back to the Monster World very much earlier. Nobody there had liked them, it was much harder to stay wet there than it was to stay dry in Portorosso, and the food hadn't been very good. They'd barely escaped the first time and there was no guarantee they'd be able to do it again. But as he'd pointed out, they'd made that whole plan and earned all that money - and more importantly, Luca really really wanted to.

Alberto himself wanted a lot of things, like a Vespa and comic books and a bell for his bicycle, but if he didn't get something right away he usually lost interest in a couple of weeks and moved on to something else. Luca was different. When Luca wanted something, he wanted it with every cell in his body and he didn't get to distracted. Alberto had come to realize that if Luca hadn't been allowed to go to school in Genova, he would have spent the entire winter moping about it, and now he was going to do the same about this.

"Right, then." Alberto stood and rolled up his sleeves. "We need a new plan."

"New plan for what?" asked Giulia morosely, leaning on her knees. She was contemplating a summer with both Ercole and Harry doing their best to make her miserable. She wasn't sure if they'd cooperate or if they'd make it a competition and she couldn't decide which would be worse.

"For how we're gonna kidnap Luca after we kidnap Harry," said Alberto.

Giulia sat up, brightening momentarily, but then she frowned again. "His mom will kill us."

"She'll have to wait until we get back from Monster World," Alberto said. "Come on. What would you have done if Luca's parents had said he wasn't allowed to go to school with you?"

"I'd've been down about it," Giulia replied, "but I wouldn't have done anything."

"Well, I would," Alberto declared. "I would have take him there on our Vespa myself. Are you gonna help, or not?"

Giulia got to her feet. She, too, knew that when Luca wanted something he wanted it intensely, and this was clearly something that meant a lot to him. "I'm coming," she decided.

"Great!" Alberto nodded. "I've already got an idea."

She snickered. "Uh-oh."

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were standing outside the Visconti house, throwing pebbles at a particular bedroom window. After a couple of hits, the window opened, and Harry looked down at them.

"I'm not leaving," he informed them, and started to close the shutters again.

"Wait!" Giulia said. "We need your help!"

Harry hesitated, then leaned out again. "With what?"

"You know how Luca wants to go back and help Louise?" Alberto said. "His parents dont' want to let him do it. They're keeping him at home, so we need to help him escape."

"That means we need a boat," Giulia added, "but my dad will definitely notice if we take his. Ercole's got one. Can you guys help us?"

"If you do," Alberto said, "we'll owe you a favour, big time."

That was something Harry understood. "What kind of favour?"

"Whatever you need," said Giulia. "We're desperate!" She crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Let me see if my new brother is still awake," Harry said.

Ercole had been expecting them, but not for Harry to be the one letting him know they'd arrived. He was in his pajamas with his hair mussed as if he'd already been in bed, and yawning as Harry dragged him out the back door to meet their guests. His expression was suspicious. This wasn't the original plan, and for a moment Giulia was afraid he was about to ask why they hadn't brought the net with them and how they were planning on kidnapping Harry without it.

Luckily, he was smarter than that. Ercole's first question was, "where did the other one go?"

"That's why we're here," said Alberto, and explained the situation.

Ercole listened with crossed arms and an annoyed expression, not sure why any of this was his problem. He jabbed a thumb in the direction of Harry.

"What about him?" he asked.

"We need a lookout," said Giulia innocently. She gave a quick wink.

Ercole must have understood. "Right, right," he said. "Let me get some real clothes on."

"We'll wait," Giulia promised.

"My new mom has called a tailor all the way from La Spezia to make me new clothes," said Harry proudly. "She told him it's a very special job."

"It's the same fellow she gets to make little jackets for her dogs," Ercole said, and went back indoors to change.

He returned a few minutes later, still running a comb through his hair, now carefully oiled into place. Alberto and Giulia urged him and Harry to stay quiet as they made their way back down to the piazza. There, a bit more caution was necessary - even aside from the whole kidnapping plot, it was too late in the evening for young people to be wandering around unaccompanied, and anybody who saw them was likely to insist they go straight home. They kept to the shadows as they crept out onto the pier and climbed into Ercole's boat.

Ercole went to start the motor, but Alberto put out an oar to block him.

"Too loud," Giulia said, shaking her head.

"Are you suggesting we paddle the entire way?" Ercole asked.

"No." She rolled her eyes. "Just far enough that nobody will hear the noise."

"Well, I'm not paddling." Ercole crossed his arms and stuck his large nose up in the air.

"Neither am I," said Harry, mimicking the gesture.

"You two wouldn't be any good at it anyway, with your noodly arms," Alberto sneered.

Ercole's eyes narrowed. "Are you calling me weak?"

"Yes," said Alberto.

"He sure is," said Harry, happy to cause chaos.

"I row the boat all the time for Massimo," Alberto said. "I'll get us there way faster than somebody who never even carries anything heavier than a basket of grapes."

"All right." Ercole reached for the oar. "Give me that."

"I thought you didn't want to." Alberto held it away.

"I said give it to me!"

"Basta, both of you!" hissed Giulia, brandishing her own oar threateningly. "You're going to make noise and then we'll get caught!" She sat down and put the oar in the lock. "Somebody better help me or we'll just go in circles."

Ercole snatched the oar from Alberto and sat down beside her. "I'm bigger than you," he told Alberto. "I can pull a stroke further." He turned around to start doing so.

Alberto smiled and sat back, hands behind his head.

They rowed out of the harbour into the gathering dark, and once they'd made it to where Giulia thought they'd be safe, she lit a lantern and let Ercole start the motor. Alberto pointed him in the direction of Luca's house. They rumbled off.

"You know, this is how Il Papa got Michelangelo to paint La Capella Sistina," Giulia told the boys. "He asked and asked and Michelangelo wouldn't do it, so the Popel said, fine, I hear you're no good at fresco anyway. Then Michelangelo had to do it, just to show him up."

"See?" Ercole asked Alberto. "It is a mark of greatness."

Alberto sneered at him, then sat up and pointed at the bottom of the boat. "Here! Right here! Stop here!"

Ercole turned the motor off and threw the anchor over. The boat came quickly to the end of the chain and dragged it a couple of metres, then began drifting in a circle over where the weight had landed. Giulia took charge.

"Okay, ragazzi," she said, cracking her knuckles. "Ercole, you get ready to start the engine and go the moment we're ready. Harry, you watch out for other boats. I'll look after Alberto." She turned to her foster-brother. "Go get Luca!"

"This was my plan," Alberto reminded her. "I know what I'm doing." He took his hat off and dived into the dark sea.

Giulia watched him vanish into the water, and kept a grip on the anchor chain, ready to pull it up fast. Hopefully they could get this done in a hurry, before Harry realized that they didn't really need both him and Ercole for the task. Ercole's hand was on the motor, ready to start it, and Harry himself peered towards the town, waiting and watching.

Alberto knew where Luca's house was. Sea monsters had an innate sense of the right direction to get to anywhere they'd been before - Luca and Giulia thought it had something to do with the earth being a giant magnet, but Alberto didn't care as long as it told him which way to swim. He soon saw the gentle pink glow of the bioluminescent jellyfish the sea monsters used to light their homes, and headed towards it.

He went around behind the barn so as not to disturb the goatfish, which might make a racket if they thought a predator was close. From there he darted to the base of the little tower where the family stored crops and tools, and rounded it to the place where it joined the body of the house. There was Luca's bedroom window. Alberto pulled himself up to the sill, and peered in.

Luca wasn't there.

Alberto's heart beat a little faster. Time, in the human sense of hours and schedules, was a concept he still had some trouble with but he knew they didn't have much of it. If they didn't make it to the last train to Genova tonight, they would have to go home, and then they'd be caught and everything would be ruined. He glanced back at the boat bobbing on the surface, silhouetted against the moonlit sky, then slithered in through the window like an eel.

Once inside, he could hear the voices. People in the next room were having an argument.

"We've been through this, Luca!" Daniela was saying. "The answer is no!"

"It doesn't sound like a safe place for children," Lorenzo agreed, resolute.

"Fine," said Luca, "but can I at least sleep in my own room, then?"

"No," said Daniela.

"You don't trust me!" Luca complained.

"Not when you're obviously trying to sneak away again, no, we don't!" Daniela informed him.

Luca didn't reply, and Alberto knew why - he couldn't argue with that. He'd slipped out of the house to run away to Portorosso last summer, and now he was planning on doing it again. Alberto wouldn't be able to do anything if Luca was forced to sleep in his parents' room, so he had to do something now.

He slipped back out the window and backed off a little ways. It was important that he be out of breath when he arrived .

Alberto aimed himself at the door, and swam as hard as he could. He came bursting in, trailing a current that knocked things off shelves and startled Lorenzo Paguro's show crabs, which began running around in a panic. Alberto himself tried to stop but plowed right into Daniela, who shrieked in surprise and dismay as they both crashed against the kitchen wall, knocking down the bundles of herbs she had tied to the ceiling.

"Alberto!" she exclaimed. "What under the waves..."

Alberto extracted himself from the tangle of limbs, tails, and seaweed, panting. His heart was hammering, not only because of the exertion but because of what he now needed to do. This wouldn't be the first time he'd lied and there was no way it would be the last, but it was going to have to be the greatest performance of his life. "Luca!" he called out. "Giulia's hurt!"

"What?" Luca asked. He grabbed Alberto's arm to pull him out of the mess.

"What?" echoed Daniela, gathering up the drifting herbs. "What happened?"

"We were up in the treehouse after you left, and one of the boards broke and she fell!" Alberto panted, hanging on tight to Luca's shirt. "Massimo's called the doctor and everything, come on!" He swam for the door, dragging his friend behind him.

"My crabs!" Lorenzo exclaimed, trying to herd them up.

"Wait for me!" Daniela protested as the boys fled. For a moment Alberto's stomach sank, thinking she would be right behind them, but then she yelped in pain as one of the crabs grabbed her tail fin. "Lorenzo! Control your crustaceans!"

"I'm trying!"

"Swim for your life!" Alberto whispered to Luca. He dashed ahead to tug the anchor chain, signalling to Giulia to reel it in before Luca's parents could see it. Seconds later, he burst out of the water with a splash that soaked both Ercole and Harry, and set the boat rocking violently as he landed inside.

"Porca paletta! Was that necessary?" asked Ercole, grabbing a mirror to check his hair.

Alberto didn't even bother to answer. He reached in the water to pull Luca up after him.

"Start the motor!" Giulia said. "Start the motor!" But Ercole was still looking at his reflection. Giulia pushed him out of the way and yanked on the chain herself.

The motor stalled.

"Come on! Come on!" Alberto urged. If Luca's parents caught up they were never going to get away.

On the second try, the motor coughed to like. Ercole snatched the throttle back from Giulia and turned them towards their agreed getaway location on shore. This was not the harbour where they'd come from, but another little quay directly below the train station. The boat sped along, skipping in and out of the water as it went.

Luca was only just starting to catch his breath. "Thanks, guys," he panted.

"Hey, I helped you run away from home once," said Alberto with a dismissive wave. "What's one more time?"

"It was my idea!" said Harry.

They pulled the boat up below the train station, and Luca, Alberto, and Giulia climbed out. Giulia counted the money to make sure they had all of it, and then the three of them turned to face Ercole and Harry.

"Thank you, Ercole," said Giulia, as if the words tasted bad.

"You might not be totally terrible," Alberto agreed, equally grudging.

Ercole sniffed - and then it was time. "Oh," he said, "I almost forgot." And he reached under the boat's seat and pulled out a net to throw over Harry. Alberto and Giulia jumped on him to tie him up. Harry yelped and struggled, but his many legs quickly got tangled, and Alberto stuffed a gag in his mouth. Ercole pulled out the second item he'd stashed in the boat ahead of time, a suitcase, and they stuffed Harry insite.

"So we are even, then," said Ercole cautiously, as the kids zipped the suitcase closed around the struggling monster. "I helped you kidnap Luca, you take that little bug away, and nobody owes anybody else anything, ever."

"Correct," said Giulia. "Nobody is allowed to call this in as a favour later. You two are our witnesses," she told the boys.

Luca and Alberto nodded seriously.

Ercole extended a hand. Giulia shook it.

"Now we go back to hating each other, Spewlia," said Ercole.

"Correto, Catfish."

Ercole started the engine and puttered off again, and Giulia and the boys set to work dragging the suitcase up the stairs. Harry was heavier than he looked and had to be tugged up each step individually, making a muffled yelp of protest with each bounce. The kids ignored this as best they could, and hoped the gag would hold. If he worked it free enough to shout, they would have a real problem.

At the top, they approached the ticket office. Alberto, the tallest, strutted up to the window and flashed a confident grin as he presented the man with their money. "Three children for Genova!" he said.

The clerk peered over his half-moon glasses at them. "Are you three travelling alone?"

"Yes," said Alberto.

The clerk was clearly skeptical. "Where are your parents?"

"They said we're old enough to do this ourselves," Alberto replied. Behind him, Luca and Giulia nodded eagerly.

"Do you mind if I call them?" the clerk asked. Like almost everybody else in Portorosso, he knew that Luca, Alberto, and Giulia were a unit - and that while well-meaning, they were good at getting into trouble.

"You know there's no phone at the Pescheria," Alberto told him.

"Don't worry. I'm right here," said Helena Marcovaldo.

The kids spun around. She'd been sitting in the waiting room with her own small bag, and they, intent on their own mission, had entirely missed her. The kids grouped closer together, but they knew it was no good. They were caught now and would be dragged back home. Luca would have to face the wrath of his parents, and heaven knew what everyone would think when they found out Harry was in the suitcase.

Helena came closer and leaned in to talk to them. "Did your parents change their minds, Luca?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he whispered, but could not meet her eyes while he did so.

"I thought so," said Helena with a resigned nod. "This is extremely important to you, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Luca repeated.

Helena straightened up. "They're with me," she told the clerk. "They wanted to pay their own way, but if it's a problem, I'm here."

"It's no problem," the clerk said, relieved. "I just wanted to be sure they weren't up to any mischief." He took the money, and handed each of them a ticket. "Have a pleasant trip."

Luca breathed such a sigh that Alberto and Giulia grabbed his arms, afraid he would pass out from sheer relief.

The train pulled up a few minutes later, and the four of them boarded. Helena's suitcase went in the luggage rack above the window, and Harry's was pushed neatly under the seats. It thumped against the floorboards a couple of times as he struggled inside, earning a strange look from the conductor until Alberto started swinging his legs as if kicking in boredom. That seemed to be enough of an explanation, and the man moved on.

"I don't suppose your mother is ever going to forgive me," Helena remarked.

"Probably not," Luca agreed. "She's probably never going to forgive me, either. Maybe they'll even send me to the Deep after all." He shivered.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Giulia said.

"No, I gotta do this," Luca replied, determined. "Even if I do end up in the Deep. It's not fair to Louise. She got in so much trouble trying to help us."

"You know, a lot of things aren't fair," Helena told Luca.

"That's what Mom says," Luca said. "I say it's not fair and she goes, the world isn't fair, Luca. But just because the world's not fair doesn't mean I have to be."

Helena chuckled. "Your mother's lucky you're so quiet, Luca. If you wanted to be rebellious you'd be an absolute terror."

The train they'd caught had been the last to leave Portorosso that day, and it was very dark by the time they arrived, yawning, in Genova. There was no chance of sneaking into the museum tonight - their plan required them to start in daylight. Instead, they collected their things and went back to Helena's apartment

At some point during the train ride, Harry's suitcase had stopped twitching, as if the prisoner inside had fallen asleep. Luca was slightly worried that he might have suffocated, but when they dragged him down the steps to the platform, the bumping woke him up, and he began to make noise again. They hurried home and unzipped the suitcase on Helena's kitchen floor.

Immediately, Harry spat the gag out, and began yelling.

"This is unacceptable!" he declared. "When my father he... I mean, when my new mom hears about this... when either of them hears about this! They're gonna..."

"We don't care," said Alberto.

"You will care!" vowed Harry. "My father with ruin your lives! You'll never have work anywhere in Monstropolis! You'll never work anywhere! He'll buy that stupid fish shop out from under you and shut it down!"

"We don't live in Monstropolis," said Giulia.

"And Massimo wouldn't sell the Pescheria no matter how much money you gave him," Alberto said.

Harry sputtered and looked around for the nearest adult to back him up. "Are you condoning this behaviour?" he demanded of Helena.

"Apparently I am," she said. "If I weren't, I would have gotten them off the train or called their parents. Which reminds me." She looked at Giulia. "You, young lady, are not going through any closet doors. Luca and Alberto can hide in that world. You can't."

"I know, Mom," said Giulia.

"You can't stop her from coming! Not after you helped me and Luca!" Alberto protested.

"No, Mamma's right," Giulia told him. "Anyway, I gotta go back to Portorosso and find another kid with a monster in his closet, so we can give you a quick way back home. We'll catch the monster and prop the door open." She looked proud of this plan.

"Thanks, Giulia," said Luca. "That's a great idea."

"If I'm going to be a hostage, can I at least have something to eat?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"I think we all need a snack and a good night's sleep," Helena said. "Let's see what we've got."

She made them all sandwiches and cocoa, and then got out extra bedding so that Harry and Alberto would have places to sleep.

"I don't want to hear anybody screaming in the middle of the night," she added. "We don't need any more chaos. That goes for all little monsters, including the human ones." Helena looked straight at her daughter.

"Yes, Mamma," said Giulia dutifully.

"Si, Signora Marcovaldo," Luca and Alberto chorused.

Harry said nothing.

There was very little conversation as they settled down for bed. There was an unspoken agreement among Giulia and the boys that they would all lie down and shut their eyes right away, because they knew Harry would try something the moment he thought they were asleep. They wanted to catch him in the act.

Sure enough, the lights had been out only about twenty minutes when they heard the floorboards creek. Giulia reached over and turned on a lamp, and all three sat up to see Harry creeping towards the door.

"I am going to the bathroom," Harry said indignanly.

"We'd better show you where it is," Giulia said.

"I've been here before," Harry reminded her.

"Just in case," she said, glaring at him. Harry glared back with all five eyes.

Since Giulia was a girl, it was Luca and Alberto who had to get up and stumble down the hall with Harry to the bathroom. He shut and locked the door, and they waited outside through the sound of running water, followed by a series of thumps and mutterings.

"Is there a window in there?" asked Alberto.

"Yeah." Luca rubbed his eyes. "It doesn't open, though. The lock's been stuck for years."

Alberto nodded.

A few more minutes went by, then Harry opened the door again, annoyed but defeated. He did not speak to Luca or Alberto as they escorted him back to bed.

There was relative quiet after that. The three kids did their best to stay at least partially awake, one ear always listening for anything suspicious. They were all tired, though, and eventually they dropped off one by one. Alberto was first, and started snoring. Giulia pulled a pillow over her head to block him out, and was asleep shortly thereafter. Luca tried the hardest to keep his eyes open, but at last he, too, had to close them.

All three were abruptly awakened by the sound of shattering glass.

They sat up, blinking in the darkness. The kitchen clocked chimed for three in the morning, and floorboards creaked in the hall.

"Is everybody okay?" Helena asked, cracking the bedroom door open.

Giulia felt around for the lamp and turned it on, and looked around the room. Luca was in the other bed, rubbing his eyes. Alberto was sitting on the mattress they'd put on the floor for him. Harry was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly wide awake, Giulia scrambled out of bed and past her mother to try the bathroom door. The boys, who'd come to the same conclusion a split second later, were right behind her, and all three cried out in dismay when they found the door was locked.

"Harry!" Giulia banged on it. "What are you doing?"

There was no reply. Giulia rattled the knob.

"Calm down. Here's the key." Helena reached up to take it down from the ledge above the door frame. She got it open, and the kids crowded around her to see what was going on in the bathroom.

The room was empty. The lights were out. The window was broken.

[lisalay00]

Secret Crush 1-Billy Hargrove

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. ✧˚₊‧⋆‧

She was sliding through the pages of the book in her hands carefully looking up every sentence as fixed her position and messaged the paining back of her neck. She frowned at the words as she noted down something on the paper.

Watching her was the best thing to do for Billy. She was like a movie, he quite enjoyed scrutinizing every detail about her. Her dark brown hair reached on her slim shoulders. She pulled back off her shoulders as if she heard his thoughts then collected them with a clasp.

He was highly distracted by her. Otherwise, it was hard to believe to be him in the public library. She closed the book and engrossed her gathering books and rummaged in her bag. He sighed that was the time out from his beautiful view. He stepped to the other side of the library. But an angelic voice made him turn on his heels and freeze him in his place.

She was looking at him with her everyday warm smile. He felt the butterflies filled down his stomach.

Was Hargrove really falling for this girl? No way!

She looked at his shocked expression which caused her to grow to smile. She extended a metal lighter to the nervous boy.

'I guess it's yours' She asked testing his reaction and raising the lighter between her fingers. He had never felt happier ever, dropping his stuff usually makes him pissed off. Also, That was happening too often, especially, these days.

He'd finally found an excuse to talk to her.His thoughts going far wished that could have happened to rain and find another excuse to drop her home.

He flinched and apart with a sudden realization. He wanted to punch his own face owing to his clumsiness.

'Oh yeah, it is mine!' He smiled forcefully avoiding just causing another cringe scene in front of her.'You're welcome.' She smiled back and disappeared out of the hallway.

It was their very first time conversation and he was extremely nervous. He tried his best to hide his feelings of course because he's Billy. However, He had been making girls fall in love with him, but now, was acting like one of them.

He walked out of the library, checking around chasing out any possibility to see her again. He walked to his Camero while pocking his pockets.

He didn't even notice the red-haired girl that slid through with her skateboard directly without skipping obstacles. She could stop when she covered her hands on his back, he faltered front a bit, turned to her vicious smile in shock.

'Are you looking for someone?' She uttered, her implying tone was obvious. He rolled his eyes she'd already known why he was standing in front of the public library.

'So, did you see her?' She continued in his silence. He chose to open his car door, not answer her. She called out his name but he didn't mind it, he was about to close the door behind. She held the car door and pointed to the other side of the yard.

She was there, alone. Sitting on the bench, looking too distracted by her thoughts. He sat up from his seat.

'I think you should talk to her.' Max turned to Billy's fully focused face on her. His jaw clenched at her words. But he didn't say anything back.

She fixed her T-shirt while putting her book into her lap, wiping her cheeks. She noticed the boy and skater girl next to the car.

She tried to push the knot in her throat, taking a deep breath and decided to take place with the two. Billy's puzzled expression suddenly morphed into nervousness as she was getting closer to the car.

'Hi, guys!' She forced herself to give her flashed smile but he knows it was fake.

'Hello, and I have to go!' Max cheered under Billy's fierce warning gaze. She shrugged her shoulder and gave a last smile to her and left them alone in their awkward silence.

'I know we don't know each other well, but...' She sighed momentarily and looked at his blue orbs; he had been paying all attention to her.

She was interrupted by a creaky voice. 'I am late does not mean to find someone else!' He roared. He had a ball in his hand and walked through with his exaggerated ego. The sweating stains had formed on his neck to his hard chest.

It was that obvious he was out on his basketball training. His shoulders were straight and walking by completed his high-hated gesture. She swallowed in fear. didn't break eye contact with Billy as if she was trying to say something to him. He had already gotten the message but just waited for him to come closer to them. His expression quite changed when he made on next to her, in a way more comfortable, more dangerous...

She closed her eyes instantly seeing his straitened forceful tall figure in front of her. It wouldn't be on her list; at least she was planning to disappear before he showed off.'What are you doing here, baby?' He called her not far away from mocking her. 

She sighed at turned to him as Billy's gaze landed on him. 'Talking as you see!' a smile flashed a corner of Billy's lips. 

She felt the cold fear spread through her veins. This was not going to end well. 'That's none of your business Hargrove!' Jason's last words were the warm wind before the storm.Billy laughed at the words meanwhile, his hands reached his jean jacket's side pocket. 

He took the cigarette dead slowly and landed them between his pinky lips. He put the lighter that previously, she had given to him back out of his pocket.

They were just watching his moves patiently.His gaze landed on hers, taking off his jacket under her gaze. When he started walking towards them, she quickly stood in front of him, being a cover between them.

'You should go Jason!' She stammered when she felt Billy's rough chest on her back.

'What the fuck are you talking about? Are you his new bitch now!' His outrageous smile firmed on his face. Billy's clenched his fist attempt to walk passed by her, but she felt the warm hand on his fist.

He turned to her with shock. She forced them to collide their hands.

'Whatever you want to say!' She turned on her heels, dragging Billy to his car. While Billy started the car swiftly, leaving the parking lot She watched Jason's vicious smile before them.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

During the road, silence dominated in the car. She was still holding the book in her arms, avoid to make eye contact with him. She breathed in and out quickly, feeling not enough the breath she took. Billy had noticed something wrong with her.

'Hey, you okay?' he asked her between the road and her. However, she didn't even raise her head to him, putting her hand on her chest instead.

He pulled the car over and got out, walking to the other side of the car door. Kneeled over to her, holding her knees to take her to him.

His eyes grow more concerned as she was still trembling. He tried to struggle to take the books off her. But he could make it even though a couple of pages tear it off by her tight grip. He cupped her cheek and forced her to look at himself. Leaning closer to her face.

'It's okay I am here!'

'Breath with me' He caressed her cheek softly as he nodded vaguely. He put her hand on his chest leading her. Her fast moves slowed down and caught the rhythm with him. Their hearts were now pounding together.

He waited at the moment until she turned her gaze to his. His hand loosened her cheeks slowly. He was being sure her expression whether it turned normal as her breath, waited for her to permission to talk.

'What did he do to you?' Her heart started skipping a beat, again, at his words. She was not sure if she can trust someone who is not more than small encounters instead.He just watched her shifting mood in the minutes. She sighed before getting back to his concerned gaze.

She would tell him.

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. ✧˚₊‧⋆‧

[shadow-gear]

Chapter 3 - Reflections

“I’ve lost sight of him.” Shui Jaing’s soft voice pierced the team’s magic comlink.

Shui, a human below average height with black hair past her shoulder blades, perched above the shipyard on a suspended cargo container. Chains creaked under the strain as they swung with the slightest movement from her. Shui vigilantly kept track of her team through her scope’s thermal setting. She toggled between thermal and scotopic vision trying to find her target. Her marksmanship skills earned her top of the class and her small stature made her a hard target to spot. A perfect candidate that Adalissie couldn’t pass up.

“Skathor, time for Plan B.” Adalissie panted through the coms.

Adalissie, a taller than average human with brown shoulder length hair, sprinted and leaped over abandoned lift trucks and other obstacles in a maze of cargo containers. She slid to a stop and slammed her back against a tall container waiting for Shui’s directions.

“I hate Plan B.”

Her partner, Rorgal Daymantal, a suave grizzled dwarf with a long braided beard down to his hips, hot on her tail. He tapped her shoulder as he came up behind her—his way of letting her know he’s in position. He took a back seat on this mission and let Adalissie take over as team leader. He mentored her long enough. Their paths diverted and they both looked in opposite directions covering their respective flanks.

With a puff of air, Adalissie blew her bangs out of her bloodshot eyes. “He’s built like an airship. How is he so fucking fast?”

Sweat rolled down her olive-toned forehead into her eyes, making them sting. The coms remained silent, and she looked behind her at Rorgal.

Rorgal chuckled, hitting her lower arm in a friendly manner as he struggled to catch his breath as well. “You’re just out of shape, girl,”

His aging body won’t be able to keep up with this chase for much longer, and Adalissie knew that. Even in her late twenties, she also felt the strain of the chase. A Dragonkin provoked the team into entering a shipyard off the coast of Staera. Dragonkin is a race rarely seen outside of Uzon, the East continent. His kind were all sorcerers thanks to the dragon blood that flowed into their veins. The kingdoms of Athewen, Procaria, and Staera had laws that banned magic and the execution of any known affiliates and practitioners of sorcerers. Those same three kingdoms formed a joint team comprising their finest to apprehend criminals such as this.

Adalissie snorted, “Look who’s talking, old man. Don’t die of a heart attack this close to retirement.”

Skathor, the other member of their team, broke the silence of com chatter. “Authorization approved from HQ. Quit the chatter. I need to concentrate.” 

Skathor Muse, a young Cambion eager to prove himself, gripped his components bag. His red forehead wrinkled as he prepared for his location spell. In a circle, Skathor painted several arcane symbols in white paint on the blue container in front of him. He reached into his brown leather bag and splashed the wet paint with bits of bloodhound fur. Demonic chants flowed out of his lips as his eyes turned a neon yellow and his vision narrowed, focusing on the Dragonkin. 

“East corner of the yard. Stationary for now. Alone. Heart rate increased. He’s panicking.”

A moment of silence before Shui spoke over the com. “All clear. Both sides. I have eyes on him. Container unit 5793 sitting in a clearing straight ahead. Recommended formation Alpha Delta.” 

“Moving.” Acknowledged Adalissie.

Rorgal gave a head nod of approval to her as she held a finger to her lips. She opened up her palm in one hand and with the other, did a circular motion above it. Both held up their firearms in their respective directions. Adalissi tapped Rorgal’s back without looking back. They crept around the fork and entered narrow corridors. A fog horn from a passing ship echoed off the tall stacks of metal boxes. 

Shui leaped down from her spot and disassembled her rifle. She tried carefully not to make a sound when she jumped from one container to the next. She crouched and followed closely from up top, keeping tabs on Adalissi from the corner of her eye. Skathor did the same as Shui, but followed Rorgal from the top. He had a heavier foot step than his partner and the empty containers reminded him.

Deep into the shipyard sat unit 5793 and their target. Multiple pathways would take her to her target, it was a wide open spot. Too many blindspots and she didn’t like that. She knew a trap when she saw one, but no dice, the only way through is forward. Careful not to let her presence known, she crouched close to the edge of the boxes. 

Shui and Skathor broke off and circled around to the other side to get a better vantage spot. Adalissie and Rorgal waited patiently for the others to get into position masking their presence in the shadows.

Comms were suddenly lit up with a mix of deafening static and broken up voices of the team talking over each other. “Shit, we… play… target… eyes up…”

“Adie, move your ass!”

Adalissie heard Rorgal shout towards her before blurs of green and blue crossed her vision. Cold steel pressed against her body as she heard shouting and gunfire muffled by faint scuffling. A dim golden tether floated by her, leaving a faint sparkle in its wake. Her vision blurred and a high pitch deafened her hearing. 

“Blood of my blood. This is not your time.”

Her consciousness faded to black. 

****

Birds chirped on a warm afternoon. Children frolicked about the playground, their voices carried far across the landscape. A girl, about four, used the cover of a nearby tree and observed them playing. Her long bleach-white hair flowed in the evening breeze. Golden irises that contrasted against her bronze skin tone longed to join the children. 

“Why are you not playing with the others, Miss Mashal?”

A voice behind the girl startled her. The adolescent whipped her head around so quickly that the momentum and length of her hair smacked her in the face. A gasp escaped from her mouth as her chest tightened. Upon recognizing who snuck up behind her, she shrugged it off and acted like it didn’t phase her.

“They don’t want a freak like me playing with them.”

“You are not a freak. You have something special they do not possess.” They processed their next set of words. “Which makes them scared of you. If they do not want to take the time to get to know you, then they are not worth your time.”

“Cia, it is the same wherever I go. They call me names and it hurts.”

Cia kneeled and patted her on the head.

“You are Adalissie Mashal. Nothing more, nothing less.” Cia reached her hand out toward Adalissie. “Now come, it is time to see your mother.” 

Adalissie held on tight to Cia’s hand with a heavy heart. She had not seen her mom in months since the collapse in her study. Doctors tried to explain, but the words they used were far beyond her understanding. Adalissie glanced up at Cia and noticed the dry mascara that ran down her cheeks.

“Is mommy okay?” Adalissie asked.

Cia’s voice cracked. “Yeah. Everything is fine.” 

Liar.

The drive to the hospital was relatively short, but to Adalissie, it felt longer. Thoughts entered her mind, and none of them were good. She noticed Cia crying from time to time when she thought she wasn’t looking.

Doctors and nurses stood outside the hospital with government officials. Adalissie rubbed her eyes as the lights from the lobby blinded her. Officers escorted her to her mother, and the hallways fell silent when she walked down. Nurses who were going about their day all bowed their heads in sorrow as she passed.

It made her heart sink. Drops of water landed on the top of her hand and she instantly reached up to her cheek, wiping away the wetness.

Sporadic beeping machines lined the bed with several hoses hooked to a shriveled woman. People who Adalissie didn’t recognize left without speaking, leaving an empty room for her and her mother. 

Raspy and weak, the bedridden woman spoke.

“Is my daughter here yet?”

Adalissie ran over to her mom, letting go of Cia’s hand. Cia took a step forward, but hesitated. She didn’t want to interrupt their reunion.

“Mom!” Adalissie grabbed her mother’s hand. “What’s wrong?”

It had been months since she heard her mother’s voice. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she couldn’t stop smiling. She wanted to tell her mother everything that had happened in the time she had been in a coma.

“Today at school…”

“My precious daughter.”

Blonde dark-skinned woman stared blankly at the ceiling, paying no attention to the child’s death grip on her arm. Adalissie’s smile faded.

“Mom?”

“You are destined for great things, my love.” Her mother weakly laughed. “I wish to see the new era you bring. I am so sorry that-”

A long, drawn-out tone from one machine filled the room. Adalissie’s eyes darted between her mother and the machine. She looked back at Cia, who had already broken down crying. A flash of light, brighter than the sun, lit the room. Adalissie kneeled beside her mother with white feathery wings spread from her back, reaching to both ends of the bed. Cia rushed into the room and gave a warm embrace to calm the child. The bright light dimmed and her wings drooped. The hallways were no longer silent.

****

Hemp rope rubbed tight against Adalissie’s skin as she lay on a cold, hard surface. Her head pounded as if someone was beating her head with a stick. She blinked, trying to get her vision to focus. A high-pitched wailing drowned familiar voices out. Another voice she didn’t recognize broke the chatter.

“Ah, the girl awakens.”

Adalissie shook her head to clear her senses. “W-what?”

The high-pitched wail subsisted, and her vision focused. Darkness surrounded her and she couldn't see past the bright light shining in her direction. Her team sat detained next to her, hands and feet bound.

Rorgal leaned closer to Adalissie. “You took a bad tumble back there, girl. Thought you wouldn’t make it.”

The bright light from the lamp shined directly into their face and caused everyone to sweat under the intense heat it gave off. A Dragonkin, horns narrowly touching the ceiling, revealed himself from the shadows. Scraping a chair across the concrete floor behind him. He let out a small puff of air while flexing his nostrils giving off an intimidating presence which made Adalissie uneasy. 

Long, black claws gripped the back of the chair and spun it around. His beefy scaled legs straddle the wooden seat as he sat facing them. Colorful bronze scales reflected the light back on the wall making different shapes. His dark brown serpentine eyes darted between his captives studying their reactions. 

“Let’s begin.”

The Dragonkin spoke in a guttural voice, followed by a low growl. Adalissie noted his presence, which carried a bit of weight. As Adalissie’s eyes adjusted to the room, she took notice of the other people in the room with them. She didn't take into account that the Dragonkin had help evading them. It made sense now why he was hard to capture.

“My name is Tiphuc Dravull. Tell me, do you know the reason your kingdoms hunts down sorcerers?”

He snapped his bulky fingers together. A lengthy human, no older than twenty, brought up a strange contraption. An oblong container that faintly glowed and pulsed with purple energy. Twisted supports resembling the roots of a tree, connected to two leaf-shaped ends.

“Sorcery is outlawed for a good reason. It’s blood magic and nothing good comes from using it.” Shui said.

The group of humans in the foreground erupted in a unison laugh and stopped when Tiphuc lifted his hand.

“Is that what they teach you?” A sensible chuckle escaped his throat. “That’s cute. Magic is not free for those who are not born from it. The Gods are dead and your Kingdoms are hiding the truth.” 

Tiphuc rose and pushed the chair aside, then adjusted his glare at Skathor. “Tell me, Red, where does your source come from?”

“It took me years to study magic and learn the spells I know,” Skathor said.

“But where do you draw power from to cast those spells?” asked Tiphuc.

“Valgrea, The Tree of Death.”

Tiphuc strolled toward Skathor, his snout inches from his face. He leaned back to escape the dragon’s foul breath and its massive claws that dwarfed the peculiar gadget that he presented toward him. Two of Tiphuc’s followers moved behind Skathor and stood him up, untying his bonds. 

“That is a Cambion religious faith. Made up to keep you devils in line. I will show you raw arcane power. Power that you can touch, smell, and see,” Tiphuc handed the object to Skathor.

Skathor reached out and grasped the apparatus, bringing it closer to him. Low hums increased in pitch and the purple bloom brightened the longer he held it. Pulses increased and the arcane machine became deafening. 

A smirk gradually drew across his face. A surge of mystic strength coursed through his veins. Translucent blue crystals sprouted from his palm and morphed into a small dagger. He flipped the crystalline dirk in the air for a while.

“This is incredible. I can cast magic without components or incantations.”

Skathor summoned multiple ice daggers and threw them at the closest wall. He coughed up blood the second he cast. The ice daggers melted, unable to maintain composition.

“What-” pain shot through Skathor’s arm. “What’s happening?”

His arm vibrated as the humming grew louder. A moan withdrew from his lips as he dropped to one knee. Veins bulged from his arms and pulsed in sync with the machine. Skathor fell prone, screaming in agony. 

In minutes, his body cracked with purple energy and his red skin turned to a brown, white ash. The screaming abruptly stopped, as there was nothing left but a husk. Tiphuc lightly blew, causing a swirl of dust in the space where Skathor once lay.

“Repentance.” Tiphuc swiped the contraption off the floor and handed it to Adalissie. “Are you ready to be judged?”

“Fuck you.” She spat at his feet while maintaining eye contact. “Do you think of yourself as some kind of replacement for the Gods?”

Tiphuc grabbed her neck and slammed her face into the ground. The weight and pure strength were no match for her thin body structure. The device hummed louder when placed in her hands. Shui and Rorgal struggled against their restraints to help their teammate. Adalissie’s irises flickered from brown to an illuminated gold. 

“Let go of me!” she yelled through clenched teeth.

The roots of her brown hair turned to a bleach white. Tiphuc’s eyes widened as more of her hair changed to the same color.

“Interesting. Does your team know what you are?”

“No.” With a sigh, Tiphuc flew away from her by an invisible force. “And they never will.”

A flash of light filled the room, impairing the vision of everyone. Over the sounds of fighting, the device increased its hum as ambient magic built. The room fell silent except for the creaking hinge of the cargo door opening. A large horned figure dragging a corpse behind it exited.

****

Thick smoke swirled around a room of a run-down apartment. Sirens from the streets passed through the paper-thin walls. Burnt skin mixed with burning paper flowed out of the unsealed front door. Normally, this would be a cause for concern, but this was an everyday occurrence in this neighborhood.

After the sizzle of a paper stick being put out, the teenage girl whimpered quietly. A mid-thirties woman lifted the cigarette from the teenager’s forearm. Burnt skin healed on her with remarkable speed, with no trace of the injury. The smoking woman reached for another smoke and let out an audible frustration.

She looked at the girl sitting next to her on the couch.

“Be a good girl and get Mama more Hellhounds from her room.”

With watery eyes, the girl looked at her caretaker and whimpered, “Cia...”

“Now, Adalissie!”

Cia threw the empty Hellhound box across the room. Feeling defeated, Adalissie carried out the task and proceeded to Cia’s bedroom. She hated nights where her foster dad came home early. He would give Cia some pills that made her zone out, and she would become a different person.

Dread hit her when she walked into Cia’s bedroom. This used to be a happy home before Velcun, her foster father, came into the picture. Cia would bring take out after work and they would watch movies until she fell asleep. Now it’s full of drugs and moldy beer cans. This isn’t what her mother would have wanted for her, but she can’t leave Cia alone with that asshole.

She searched the room from top to bottom before finding the smokes in the dresser’s top drawer hidden under some socks. Pain struck her like someone stabbed a knife through her skull after grabbing the carton. Just like the other times, she pushed past the pain and winced, enduring the irritation.

When leaving the room, her headache grew, dropping her to her knees instantly. Not daring to yell, she shut her eyes and clasped her head while caging her suffering. Before she could halt the sensation, but this felt different. Her dark brown irises flickered an illuminating gold, lighting the dimly lit hallway like a spotlight. 

Spots on her back itched as the skin tore sprouting wing joints. Strands of blonde and white blended into her brown hair. Tiny bone stubs broke through her skull, releasing some of the pain. She squatted and pulled her legs close to her chest while she tightly closed her eyes.

“No, not now.” She mumbled as she rocked back and forth. “Please stop.”

Down the hallway, a door slammed opened followed by heavy footsteps coming toward her. A human male towered over the scared girl.

“What did I tell you about using your powers in my house, freak?”

The man unbuckled his belt and wiped it off his pants with a crack. She knew what came next, and her body froze. She wanted to scream, but the lump in her throat prevented her from letting out a peep. One, two, three strikes from his waistband, leaving red marks on her skin that healed as quickly as they formed. Her heart pumped faster, and she experienced an unfamiliar might swell deep inside. A voice rang in her mind in a language she somehow understood.

Uio avai rad dalok ad koark dhoal kruxo?

Are you not tired of being their slave?

Kdak harkark kudk. Ork dho kuar.

Stop holding back. End the pain.

Iorouko avail dirr kaxoi.

Release your full power.

Twisted horns shot out the tiny bone stubs on her forehead, curving upwards. Pitch-black ooze draped her long white hair, soiling the carpet. The whites of her eyes became obsidian and her gold pupils deepened to a glowing ruby. Long, sharp front teeth poked her bottom lip while her snow-white appendages darkened to the same black as her hair.

“Velcun, ka rad daidh no uravnaio!” Adalissie’s ebony wings fanned out as she walked closer.

Velcun tumbled backward and scrambled to scurry away from the Adalissie. 

A flame lit at the tip of her finger. “Her heart is no longer endured by agony. She is not your plaything. She is no longer Cia’s responsibility.”

Adalissie’s lips moved, but it was not her sweet, soft voice that came out. It was deeper, more confident, and it terrified Velcun to his core. With his backside to the hallway wall, he pushed himself up upright. Lengthy black-tipped nails gently coiled around Velcun’s throat, pushing him up the wall further. The ruby glow of her eyes pierced deep into his core as his trachea caved in from the pressure of her hold.

“I’m not sorry for what I did. You ungrateful child.” 

His raspy last words escaped through his crushed windpipe as his eyes dulled gray and his body went limp. 

Bottles crashed on the hardwood floor in the next room, drawing Adalissie’s attention. She dropped Velcun’s body on the floor and moved on. Cia huddled in the corner, blocking herself with furniture to distance her and the thing Adalissie had become.

“S-stay back, you m-monster.” Cia cried, holding out a broken glass bottle.

Adalissie threw the carton of Hellhounds towards Cia. She dropped the bottle and caught the smoke box.

“Ino’s death deeply scarred you in ways others would never understand. Being left to raise a child by yourself put unnecessary strain on you but, marrying that abusive fuck. It changed you and not for the better.” Adalissie inched closer to Cia’s face and ran her long fingernail across her delicate features. “You’ve fallen from grace, Cia.”

“Every time I look at you…” Tears streamed down Cia’s face. “I’m reminded of what I lost. She… she overworked because of you. You were her world, and I loved her.”

Adalissie backed slowly while lowering her brow. Her inky tips curled onto the sofa, poking holes in the upholstery.

“So you turned to drugs? You let a child fend for herself while you tried to forget? How dare you blame a child for the death of their mother?”

Adalissie roared, shaking the apartment and shattering the windows. Adalissie chanted an incantation and waved her hand in rhythmic motion. An arcane symbol appeared, spawning three small specs that floated into Cia’s mouth. Cia itched compulsively, tearing at her skin. Insects crawled out of her wounds and tore into her flesh more, a repeated cycle generating more bugs with each rebirth. 

“She loved you, Cia, and you let her down.”

****

Tiphuc still breathed, but couldn’t move much more than his torso. His burnt corpse was still smoldering as Adalissie crouched above him, watching him die.

He looked at her and struggled to talk, spewing blue blood. “Nine Hells take you, Sem’Varian.” 

“Take me?” Adalissie leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “The Nine Hells didn’t want me.”

She reached for the knife that was strapped to her leg. Inch by inch, she inserted it in the nape and with the last exhale of breath from Tiphuc; she had verification that he expired. She swiftly stowed the dagger, satisfied that he would no longer be talking. Bones cracked as she grew shorter and her horns retracted back into her forehead.

She dragged her teammates out of the room one by one and untied them. While they were still unconscious, she set fire to the building and destroyed any evidence of what she did. Rorgal woke up first, followed by Shui, who frantically looked around. She helped calm Shui down enough to have a coherent conversation with her.

“What the hell was that?” Shui asked.

“A radical cultist? All sorcerers spew the same nonsense.” replied Adalissie.

“She means what spell did you cast?” Rorgal butted in.

“That wasn’t me. Must have been a malfunction with the device.”

“No.” Rorgal stood up, standing between Shui and Adalissie. “I don’t think it was. What are you hiding?”

Adalissie sighed heavily. “I always liked you, Rorgal, and that’s why I’m giving you an option to leave with your lives. I’ll say you died in the attack like Skathor or—”

“Or what?” Rorgal asked.

Adalissie’s brown eyes flickered gold and her horns grew.

“I’ll kill you.”

****

Adalissie returned from her mission alone and sat in her superior’s office, dodging cups and other objects. Papers swirled around after a frustrated swipe of the Minotaur’s gnarly toned arm across his desk. A ceramic coffee mug with world’s best dad fell to the ground and shattered.

It didn’t phase Adalissie in the slightest. Calm and collected, she endured her aggressive discipline that lasted for several minutes before the Captain calmed down. 

“Tell me again why I have three stiffs in the morgue?” He took a deep breath, then exhaled. “This was a joint operation between three Kingdoms. Do you understand how bad this makes us look?”

“Well, Rorgal was killed as well.”

“Is that what you get out of this?” His large hands pulled his chair closer. “Until this fuck up gets resolved, I’m giving you a new assignment. Far away from me and this Kingdom.”

“Captain-”

Adalissie was cut off as he talked over her.

“It’s another joint operation, but you are taking a backseat on this. Maybe you’ll learn something from…” The captain adjusted his glasses. “Amzer Bright. Not our jurisdiction, but they are seeking help.”

Her death grip indented the foam padding on the armrest. She dug deeper before letting go when she felt her fingers poke through the fake leather. Her jaw tensed and she bit down harder, keeping her feelings in check. She wanted to scream. It wouldn’t do any good, but it might make her feel better. 

“When am I leaving?” she asked, calmly.

“Tonight. All the arrangements have been made.” 

He shifted his metal framed glasses that rested loosely on the bridge of his nose. He grabbed a few papers off his desk and staked them in different piles.

“Where am I going?” Adalissie asked.

A few seconds passed before he noticed she had not left. He looked over the frames as they slipped down the bridge of his nose.

“Black Hollow. A town, if that’s what you want to call it. I’d say it’s more of a fishing village.”

“So, not worth my time.”

“You don’t have a choice. Now get out of my office.”

And with that, she left the building. With her bags packed, she left for Black Hollow. She decided she would play this by the book and keep things close to her chest. She didn’t want another incident on her hands. This case had to go well.

[gogogoats]

Dragonblade Deep Dive - Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter twenty

Welcome to the final chapter of this madness (save for an epilogue still to come) and boy is it a doozy. First of all, that MASSIVE SPOILER EVENT has finally happened, and it disappoints in ways I really didn’t think this book had left to offer. Secondly, if you thought the final chapter might actually resolve some things, please leave your expectations at the cut.

Chapter twenty-one – Acts of Courage

We open in Jester’s POV. He’s lurking outside of Magnus’ house, where he can’t hear or see anything. If this were a well-written novel that could have been foreshadowing, but it isn’t so it’s not. Moving on. The door opens and he hides behind it as one of the henchmen appears, very drunk and apparently incredibly stupid as he repeats his task out loud to himself, which is very handy for Jester. He is to saddle up a pony and cart (NOT a horse and wagon, in case you were wondering. And no, that’s not a crucial detail we needed to know). The Henchman (I would say he is privileged to have a name, but it’s ‘Ox’ so, no) stumbles into a laneway beside the house. Jester assumes he is doing some dodgy deal for Magnus, then repeats Ivon’s line about the princess being his duty now and thinks about how he must do what he can to keep her safe until help arrives and that she’s almost certainly in the house at Magnus’ mercy and… follows Ox into the laneway. There’s no logic here but we’re supposed to understand that Jester following Ox is going to help the princess.

The laneway is very messy and cluttered with objects, which doesn’t seem right for someone as possessive and mercenary as Magnus Breech. Instead of being an opportunity to show how years as court jester have made Jester nimble and light-footed, allowing him to be sneaky, this obstacle course is a struggle for him, but it allows him to stay hidden from the drunk Ox (henceforth known as Hugs and Kisses) who is in a yard at the end of the passageway untying a pony (not a horse!). Another man appears from nowhere to see what he’s doing, they talk, the second man helps Hugs with the pony and points out he’s drunk, and gets efficiently knocked out by said drunk. It’s really hard to tell if Ox actually is drunk or if he’s faking, but I think he’s supposed to be drunk for real. Then again that’s a transient state at best in this novel.

Ox picks up the man he just knocked out and carries him over his shoulder to the laneway. Jester searches for a hiding place and finds a pile of musty, stinky, gross damp sacks. He crawls under just in time for Ox to dump the unconscious man right on top.

We join Gunther now, who is shaking so hard he’s almost rendered mute, as his father continues to beat him. Magnus curses him for his fear and Gunther defies him for it, claiming he’s angry not scared. He tries to persuade Magnus that this is not who they are but Magnus strongly disagrees, and tells Gunther that he is of Magnus’ blood, so his parentage now gets even more confusing.

Magnus lays out his plan to Gunther. He has promised to pay Ox a vast sum of money if he kills Lavinia by throwing her off a cliff and making it look like she fell off Dragon. He says Ox will do it for “fear of me and love of gold” so he really knows how to motivate his employees. Gunther is still shaking violently (this is really focused on a lot) as he tries to point out that Ox can’t keep a secret. Magnus says that won’t be a problem because Gunther is going to follow along behind and kill Ox. I’m really starting to question Magnus’ ability to formulate a plan at this point, if he honestly thinks that Gunther will stand back and watch Ox kill Lavinia and then walk up and kill him.

Magnus tells Gunther that they either succeed together or hang together. Well at least someone finally acknowledges that Gunther wasn’t exaggerating about how this situation would probably get him killed. Yay?

Gunther tries to protest and is smacked around some more.  Magnus continues to extrapolate, telling Gunther that Lavinia was always meant to die, after Gunther had married her and they had produced an heir. Cuthber was supposed to be killed too so Gunther would be regent until his child came of age. This is a very convoluted plan with lots of room for error.

Magnus tries to “calm his rage” by pacing and punching his own thighs. It’s as strange and awkward as it sounds. He insists that tonight Gunther will leave his “spoilt, comfortable childhood behind.” For those playing along at home, Gunther has been hiding money in his bedroom walls since he was thirteen in expectation of the day he will need to run for his life from the house where his father beats him and he serves as unpaid labour. I think whatever childhood he had ended long ago.

Magnus tells him that tonight he will kill Ox.

Dragon joins Jane and Robert, and is immediately angry at Robert as he can feel Jane’s pain through their psychic link or whatever. Jane tells him it was wolves, and that he should thank Robert for saving her. Blech.

Jane asks about the Princess and Dragon tells her where she is. Both Dragon and Robert want to take Jane back to the castle to have her injuries seen to as they both say she is more important than the princess. Not sure why Robert gets a vote here but Jane overrides them both anyway.

Robert “assists” Jane onto Dragon, and Dragon is briefly annoyed but then realises that Robert is agreeing with him and is mollified. He also mentions Robert’s TEETH, in case you’d forgotten what book we’re reading.

Dragon argues in favour of letting Pepper patch Jane up and Robert agrees again, saying that his hands have (miraculously!) started to mend.

Robert starts giving Dragon orders and call Jane his Dragonblade, which gets Dragon indignant and then confused. It’s worth mentioning at this point that Dragon has been told literally nothing about all of the life-altering information Jane has learned thus far.

Jane overrides them both and tells them they are going to find the princess.

We’re back at the merchant’s house, where Lavinia is less than impressed by the Ox and Pony show. She tells Magnus she would rather walk back to the castle and that Gunther should escort her. Magnus insists that she ride in the cart and Lavinia is quickly distracted by a not* at ALL** important*** pile of canvas in the back of the cart (it’s not even shiny?) and agrees. She reminds Magnus that he and Gunther are to come to the castle tomorrow and sort out the whole misunderstanding. I’m struggling to believe that she’s really this stupid. She offers Magnus her hand so that he can kiss her ring and as he does so she notices that his sleeve is completely soaked through with blood. She comments on it and Magnus sighs, which is apparently Ox’s cue to stuff her into a sack. Magnus tells him to make sure her death looks like she accidentally fell from Dragon.

*definitely not

**not even a little

***nope

Jester is watching all of this from the alleyway, and jumps unseen onto the cart as it passes by. We’re given a long-winded insight into his decision making leading up to jumping in the cart but it’s completely unimportant. The main point is that he’s being Very Brave.

Now he’s on the cart, where he climbs over the canvas. The canvas is mentioned A LOT. If this were a well-written novel that would NOT have been foreshadowing, but it isn’t so it is. He sits behind Ox and deliberates for a seemingly endless amount of time over what to do, if/how to over power him, if to call for the guards at the castle gate as they pass by, wishing he had paid more attention to Jane and Gunther’s training over the years etc. etc. ad nauseum. Ox turns the wagon away from the castle towards the cliffs. It’s a dangerous stretch of road with one corner known locally as “Widow’s Bend”, for the many fatal accidents it has caused. Jester finally decides what to do and it’s… pulling his hat down over Ox’s head? Ugh. Ox has his hand over Lavinia’s mouth to keep her quiet (why didn’t he just thump her over the head? He’s good at that) and she bites him, so he’s doubly distracted.

Lavinia tosses off the sack and sees Jester. The pony freaks out and takes off, Ox and Jester are thrown into the back of the cart but Lavinia remains on the seat. Ox tries to stab Jester with a knife but is thrown out onto the road. Lavinia grabs the reigns and tries to get the pony under control and Jester crawls forwards to help her, holding onto the back of the seat for support (what a good idea). They approach Widow’s Bend and Jester knows they won’t make it. He tells Lavinia they have to jump (another good idea) and they both get ready when Lavinia spots Dragon flying towards them.

Jane has seen the wagon and instructs Dragon to grab hold of it. He swoops down and Robert holds tight onto Jane’s waist (eyeroll). Jane hadn’t even known who was in the cart until they got closer, she was just following her heroic instincts.

Jester sees Dragon coming and tells Lavinia to hold on tight to something (a GRAND idea). Lavinia grabs hold of the bench seat and wraps her arms around it. Jester jumps onto the pile of canvas and holds onto a piece of rope that holds it together (a very, very bad idea).

Dragon grabs the pony and cart as they careen off the road, and funnily enough he’s not particularly slow or gentle about it, so the loose cargo (and the jester holding it) slide right out. Jester lets go of the cloth and tries to grab the cart, but is left with nothing but air.

Jane didn’t see him fall, but she notices his absence when the cart is back on the ground. She tells Robert (the guy she just met who recently escaped from the castle dungeon) to get off Dragon and look after the princess, and she and Dragon race off to find Jester.

They find him and Dragon lands close by. Jester is still alive as Jane runs to him, heck he’s even singing! He’s a mangled and bloodied wreck with some bones protruding, and Jane knows there won’t be any saving him. He asks if Lavinia is safe and Jane says she is thanks to him.

Jester claims he’s a hero, and Jane agrees. She tells him he will have to write a ballad about it.

Incel!Jester makes his move, telling Jane he wrote ballads for her, and she requests to hear one. He sings for her as she watches her friend dying, but this scene is all about Jester. He makes Jane promise that she will find Gunther and keep him safe because of all the blood on Magnus, then he tells her how he wants his funeral arranged (I shit you not). He wants to be cremated on a boat Viking-style with dragon fire because it’s the colour of Jane’s hair. He tells her he would have brushed her hair every day of her life. Jane kisses him as he dies, then starts crying.

End chapter.

Overall Impressions:

UGH.

Last chapter we learnt that Gunther isn’t Magnus’ son, but in this chapter we’re told they’re still blood relations. Is this supposed to absolve everyone who failed to intervene in Gunther’s life because it turns out he IS a Breech after all? Because it doesn’t, just to be clear.

I know the scene between Gunther and Magnus is overshadowed by the end scene but the disturbing undertone of the previous chapter really carries through here. Why, in a chapter called “Acts of Courage” is Gunther’s fear focused on so intently? Jester is off being a man of action while Sir Gunther the Knight quivers and quakes with no reprieve. His reasonable fears have been dismissed by everyone he has shared them with throughout this novel but now that we are seeing how on point his predictions were, the focus is on how terrified he is? We don’t even get to see if he was able to make any difference at all, or how hard he fought to stop his father, or even if the blood dripping from Magnus’ hand is his or Gunther’s. We ALREADY KNOW he’s scared; he’s spent the last twenty chapters explaining WHY he’s scared and if one person had listened to him this whole mess could have been avoided. Instead, everything has imploded, and doubtless Gunther will be blamed and probably called a coward to boot.

ROBERT’S HANDS. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this last chapter but he fought off those wolves with bandaged hands?? Which have already started to heal even though they were only burned THAT AFTERNOON???!!?!?!? Anyway, he sure can’t keep those hands off Jane, which is a detail that really didn’t need to be included full stop, but in this chapter especially.

Robert telling Dragon that Jane is his Dragonblade is really telling of his attitude towards Jane and her autonomy in this whole situation. It should be up to Jane to have that conversation with Dragon when they are able to on their terms, it’s really none of Robert’s business. But of course he can’t let a chance to exert control over Jane pass him by.

Now, about Jester. I found his POV in this chapter frankly exhausting. So much time spent extrapolating all of the things he could/should/would do before he just goes and does the dumbest thing. I’m not sure if all the reasoning was meant to show how intelligent he is and how deeply he thinks everything through, but really it contributed nothing except a higher word count.

His death was meaningless and unnecessary. He didn’t die to save Lavinia, she was already saved, and would still be saved if he had not died. It could be argued that sometimes death is unnecessary and meaningless and that is the point, but I don’t think that applies here. If Jester had just listened to Gunther instead of dismissing his warnings, then this could all have been avoided. But no, better to call him dramatic and then grandstand from his deathbed by making Jane promise to find Gunther and keep him safe. Never mind that Gunther would be safe and Jester would be alive if he’d been just a bit smarter earlier in the day.

The death scene itself was painful to read for all the wrong reasons. He has fallen to his death from some kind of height, his body is destroyed but his lungs and brain are working just fine. He gets to have the “death he deserves”, confessing his feelings to Jane as she cradles his head, singing the ballads he wrote for her, alone with her at last. We see this from Jane’s POV but as usual she is just a passive vessel into which male characters pour their adoration, and we get very little insight into how she actually feels about it. Does she kiss Jester because she realises she loves him, or because she pities him? We don’t know.

Time passed since the start of the novel: day two - night

Mentions of the word gong: 1

Mentions of Robert’s teeth: 1

[theresawritesstuff]

prompt - something of midge/lenny at steiner? or something from your 'verse where esther ends up changing her name (like in the years leading up to that dinner)? thank you!

Why not both? 😘

Steiner 1963

"Great job, Ethan!" Joel applauded as his son circled around, having made it through the little obstacle course the councilors had set up for the kids to use on their bikes.

"Joel?!" Mei called across the yard from the cabin.

"Yeah?"

"Okay Daddy, I'm ready! I'm ready!" Esther crossed the yard from the neighboring Weissman bungalow towards him, a little pink helmet strapped to her head.

"Joel!!!"

He looked away from the bike course to see his one year old toddling as fast as he could towards the lake, butt naked, waving his diaper over his head.

"Ah shit. I got him!"

"Daddy?" 

"Yeah, just one second pumpkin! Daddy's gotta handle something. Watch your brother. He knows how to do it," he answered, dashing off after Ari.

"Okay…"

Esther stood in the yard, swallowing her disappointment as she watched as her father run off after the latest addition to the Maisel family.

"Hi Ethan," she said as her older brother rode past her to do another lap through the course.

"Hey Es!"

But before she could ask for his help, one of the other kids his age came bounding over the hill. 

"Ethan!!! Jimmy caught a frog!"

"What? No way!" Ethan's bike screeched to a halt and dropped to the lawn as he ran off to join the fun, leaving his little sister behind.

A while later, Lenny found her sniffling on the front porch step, drawing little circles in the dirt.

"Hey Esther," he greeted gently, sitting down beside her.

"Hi Lenny," she replied, not looking up.

"Thinking about going for a ride?"

"No…"

"Really?" he wondered. "So the helmet's just a fashion statement?"

He tapped lightly against the helmet in an attempt to get her to smile.

She just let out a sigh.

"None of the bikes here have training wheels," she explained sullenly, gesturing to the abandoned bike she'd selected earlier leaning against the porch rail.

Lenny nodded understandingly. "I see. Did you want to try riding without them? You've been talking about it for a while."

She shook her head, looking up at him with those wide intelligent eyes of hers.

"I'm too scared," she whispered.

He reached to brush a bit of hair out of her eyes from under the helmet. "Why's that?"

"I'll fall," she explained, as if it was obvious and inevitable.

"Well everybody falls down sometimes," he replied. "We just need someone to help us up again."

He looked around the yard, all other members of the family obviously preoccupied.

"Hey…" He came around to kneel in front of her, meeting her at her level. "What if I help?"

Esther wiped her nose on the back of her arm. "Really?" 

"Sure." He pulled the bike around for them, holding it up as he demonstrated. "You climb on here and I'll hold on like this and we'll wear some nice crop circles in the soft dirt right over there."

She took a moment to consider it before nodding. "Okay."

"That a girl," he praised, rubbing a hand over her helmet affectionately.

She got to her feet to stand next to the bike.

"Well no wonder you were having trouble. This seat is up too high for you!" he explained. "Hang on, let's fix that."

After a few adjustments, they had the bike set to a better fit for her legs and her on board.

"There. Is that a little better?"

"Uhuh," she nodded, looking more comfortable.

"Good. You ready?"

She hesitated, gripping the handle bars tightly even as he held it steady for her.

"Promise you won't let go until I'm ready?" she wondered quietly.

He smiled gently, her little face pulling at his heartstrings.

"I will hang on for as long as you want me to. I promise."

Esther blew out a deep breath, steadying her nerves. "Okay."

Lenny rang the little bell on her handlebars, giving her a push to get started.

Midge returned from her hair appointment, coming through the back door of the bungalow only to find her husband oddly missing from the premises. 

That is until she heard laughter coming from around the corner of the yard.

"That's it. Nice and steady. You've got it!"

"I'm doing it!" Esther giggled excitedly.

She came out onto the porch to see what was going on. 

There a few yards from their bungalow was Lenny, running along beside a little bike as Esther pedaled her feet, a hand holding steadily on the back of the seat for reassurance, a broad smile on each of their faces.

"Think you're ready for me to let go?" he asked.

She seemed to be doing most of the work herself.

"Okay," Esther agreed tentatively. "Don't go too far though!"

"I'm right here beside you, kiddo," he assured her.

Midge leaned against the porch rail to watch, a wave of love washing over her as she observed the pair. 

Fatherhood was a good look on him. 

It always had been, seeing him and Kitty together over the years, but watching him with Esther was different. Because it was something he chose. Most of the men she'd briefly dated before him after her divorce had seen the kids as secondary. Baggage. But not Lenny. 

He loved her kids like they were his own flesh and blood.

And that made her love him even more.

"Okay. One…two…three!"

He let go of the bike, jogging lightly to keep up with her as Esther pedaled away all on her own.

"Way to go!" he praised.

Esther spotted her across the yard, her little face beaming. 

"Mama! Mama look!" she exclaimed proudly.

"Great job, sweetie!" Midge called back.

Ethan came running, a bucket sloshing in his grip.

"Esther! We found some tadpoles!"

"Cool!"

Esther began to tip, losing focus in the excitement. "Woah!"

"I've got you!"

Lenny caught hold of her before she could hit the ground, steadying the bike so she could properly climb off.

Esther began to follow her brother but doubled back, throwing her arms around her stepfather in a tight hug.

"Thanks Lenny."

"Any time, sweetie."

He crossed the yard to join her on the porch, a quiet smile on his face as he watched the kids hurry off on their next adventure.

"That…" she murmured, threading her hands up behind his neck as she placed a kiss to his lips, "was one of the sexiest things I have ever seen you do."

Lenny smirked, blinking incredulously. "Really?"

"Easily in the top five," she insisted.

His grin grew wolfish as his arms encircled her waist. "What else is on that list?"

"I'll tell you later," she promised, pecking his lips again before pulling away, heading back into the bungalow to dress for dinner.

Lenny just smiled, shaking his head. 

Joel wandered down the lane, having finally gotten things settled with Ari and calmed the chaos that came with it, only to see his other two children running past him covered in mud.

"Hey Es, you still want to tackle that bike?" he offered, belatedly remembering his promise to teach her. 

Where had the day gone?

"No thanks! I figured it out," she called over her shoulder.

"Oh. Okay honey."

Huh. Maybe Abe was right. Maybe she was a genius.

[grace-huxley]

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐖𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐔𝐗𝐋𝐄𝐘 “Demons run when a good man goes to war.”

➢ 𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙸𝙲𝚂

Name: Grace Liliwen Huxley Nickname: Huxley Date of Birth: 23 August 1996 [28] Place of Birth: Swansea, Wales, UK [Welsh] Hometown: Cardiff, Wales, UK Current Residence: Lyon, France Occupation: Criminal Intelligence Officer

➢ 𝙵𝙰𝙼𝙸𝙻𝚈

Status: Formerly engaged to Sean Ames † Father: Phillip Huxley † Mother: Meredith Huxley (née Davies) Sibling(s): Owen †, Heather, Eowyn & Arwyn (twins) Huxley

➢ 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺𝚂𝚃𝙾𝚁𝚈

Raised in Cardiff, Wales, Grace grew up admiring her father and older brother, Owen, for all that they'd accomplished in life. Phillip Huxley was a decorated police officer in his time, having made a name for himself as one of Cardiff's leading detectives before retiring as an esteemed Chief of Police. Owen, on the other hand, had moved to London and climbed the ranks there. Grace found great honour in what they did, and at a young age, she couldn't think of anything more admirable than to protect and serve the community. Grace's father passed away years later from a fatal injury caused by a raid gone wrong. Terrified for her children, Meredith begged her eldest to return home, but it was too late. He too was killed in the line of duty. Grace's mother pleaded for her to reconsider her career plans, but unfortunately, there was no going back. This is what she wanted to do, and continuing their work would be her tribute. So, to move up the ranks, Grace took every step necessary to realise her dreams, even if it meant biting the bullet as she tore past every obstacle in her way; a grave reality for any woman working in a male-dominated workforce. Eventually garnering the respect and recognition she deserved, she soon made a name for herself in the force. It was here too where she found — and lost — friendship... and love. As like-minded individuals, it had been hers and her fiancé's shared ambition to join INTERPOL. But those dreams came to a screeching halt when he was killed in the line of duty just days before recruitment. Consequently, Grace was made to take a sabbatical to grieve for losses heavier than anyone should have to carry. But 6 months away from work and Grace grew steadily restless. It was to her mother's dismay when she finally announced that she was headed for Lyon, France to pursue the goal she'd long set aside. This time, she vowed that nothing could keep her from it any longer. However, unbeknownst to her the harrowing nightmares that awaited her behind those INTERPOL doors that not even Scotland Yard could have ever prepared her for.

➢ 𝚃𝙴𝙼𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃

✓ determined, sharp, resourceful ✗ detached, stubborn, rebellious

➢ 𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙸𝚅𝙴

N01

DISCLAIMER This account is for roleplaying purposes only and is not associated with any individuals depicted herein. All written content are original works of fiction; any resemblance to existing works and/or characters should be considered coincidental and free of malicious intent. Please do not reproduce/redistribute. Thank you.

[questionablecuttlefish]

Ill-Omen's Game Chapter 12: Six Rats In A Hole

“Tag-rat! Got your tail!”

Powder burst into a flailing run. Her thin legs tripped, and she stumbled. She caught herself, ducking around half a broken door jutting out of an ancient bathtub. Her chest already ached, and they’d only just begun the game.

Of all the junkyard chasing games, Powder loved Rat-in-the-Hole best – because you were allowed to hide. She was good at that, at least.

Claggor pounded past her position. As a Catcher he was slow, but as he had the build of a Noxian war rhinoceros and the stamina to match, he didn’t have to be fast…he just had to outlast you.  And he could outlast anyone except Vi.

Powder’s wide eyes peered out of the gap between the bathtub and the door. Her heart pounded louder in her ears as she saw the prize; the Ratbag, a little dirty, patched cloth bag painted – by her own hand – with a rat’s face above stinky cheese, its eyes X’d out in green. It hung from the bent and rusted old signpost at the top of their junkyard obstacle course.

Powder held her breath. ‘Tag-rat’ meant Claggor had caught someone. There was now a Snitch in play. She hadn’t seen who. Going out there now was risky - so risky - she could be quick up close, but she wasn’t fast, anyone could outrun her, even Ekko…

Powder’s eyes flicked sideways. She shrank back and hunkered down.

Hide. Just hide. Just wait until someone else wins. Just…let the others have the fun. She wasn’t good enough; she wasn’t fast enough or strong enough or brave enough…

Suddenly, across from her, Powder spied Vi, creeping up behind the rusted wheel of an ancient mine cart.

Vi spotted her and froze. For a moment she furrowed her brows, but then gave Powder a ‘shh’ gesture and a wink. She followed where Powder was looking and pursed her lips. 

Vi looked back at her, smiled beautifully, and gave her a firm, single nod.

A nod that said ‘you can do it. You’ve got this.’

Powder stared at her, and then at the epic quest yawning between her position and that dangling treasure atop the mountain.

She could hear Claggor’s huffing breath as he chased someone to her left.

But…the bag. It was still there. No-one else had claimed it.

Powder’s eyes narrowed.

Vi winked at her again, her muscular body tensed, and then she sprang past Powder’s hiding place and deliberately kicked over an empty can as she bolted for the next cover, long legs pumping.

Powder heard Claggor grunt and puff and pound turf chasing her. Moving away.

She sucked in as much air as she could. Her tiny body tensed. Her lungs screamed in protest as she coiled up, mimicking Vi’s ‘running’ pose…

Eyes on the p̕r̶i̷ze̸,͢ sh͡e ra͟n̴..͢.̶  ------

.̨.̵.Ji͡n͡x ̕p͟e̷l̸te͞d ̧do͞wn t̡he̸ ̀ga̧ntry͘, eyes wide and wild, lips parted, the familiar weight of Pow-Pow and Fishbones bouncing with her fluid, bestial sprint. 

She’d long since learned to move with the weight of her weapons - not only to compensate for them, but to use their balance, mass, momentum, to pull her in erratic patterns her enemies would never expect. Thinking her guns slowed her down was their first mistake.

Her guns weren’t encumbrance; they were extra limbs.

Ahead of her, the walkways shimmered between p͠a̧st ̧and ̡pr͡e̡se̷ņt - muddy ramps of battered metal and wood in the yards behind the Lanes - steel walkways with dangling monkey-bars and high safety rails in a Piltie facility…

Brass and rubber and foam hissed and whooshed – automatons with punching arms and swinging, padded weapons striking at her from all directions – Powder ducked her head under a wooden arm holding an old Enforcer baton, still spinning from being tripped by Mylo as he passed –

Jinx rolled under one, sprang over another, caught the third in her upraised hands and swung from it, legs swinging forward to hurl her through the gap between two more –

Somewhere behind her, Lux was shouting her name, thready p̡a͞ni͘c̢ in her voice –

Ahead of her, the blue glow of the Hexgem waited at the top of the mountain.

Eyes on the prize, Jinx ran.

Operation Foxtrap reaches its climax; past and present collide and fated reunions between sundered siblings draw nigh.

But as the situation rapidly spirals - who is really trapped with who?

And who will make it out with the prize?

[blossom-adventures]

Kingsglaive Legends 2023! Organised by @calling4glaives

Day 3: Training (Feat. Nyx & Drautos)

It was the hottest day of the year, the height of summer, the training grounds in the Citadel were exposed to the full sun at this time of day. Captain Drautos had called off training when he saw how the Glaive were struggling, he let them go home, and they did just that, all but one.

Nyx sprinted through the obstacle course, throwing his dagger and warping to it, his face was covered in sweat and his legs felt like they were ready to give up from under him, but he couldn’t stop, he needed to get stronger, if he wanted to protect his home and protect his people, he needed to keep training, even in these conditions.

As he finished the course, for the fourth time, his legs wobbled, and his stomach churned, he leant forward, taking in deep gulps of air as he prepared to go round for the 5th time.

“Ulric!” Nyx spun around and stood to attention in response to the Captains voice behind him, expecting to see the Captain in his usual uniform, but surprisingly he wasn’t wearing it; instead he was wearing formal trousers and suede shoes, and a dark red, button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up revealing his forearms, which were adorned in intricate woven leather bands of various colours. “I didn’t think I’d have to order anyone to stop training today, Ulric” Drautos said as he approached, he summoned a bottle of cold water into his hand, from the Armiger granted to him by King Regis, and handed it to Nyx. “Don’t kill yourself out here, Nyx.”

“I need to get quicker, I let you down in the last mission, if I had been faster, then…”

“You didn’t let me down, and you did nothing wrong, Hero,” Drautos put his hand on Nyx’s shoulder. “Everyone survived, with only one injury in the whole group, I call that a pretty successful mission, in my experience”

“But… but we didn’t achieve our main goal?”

“Do you think I care? You all survived, that is a success for me, now, stop training in this heat. I’ve got no problem with you training in the gym, but if I find out you’ve stayed out here after I’ve left, I’ll put you on desk or gate duty for a month, am I clear?”

“Yes Sir”

“Good,” the Captain checked his phone, “right, my ride is here, see you tomorrow” he clapped Nyx on the shoulder and turned to leave, just as Violet Amicitia came into the training yard “heading to the gym, Violet?” He asked as he walked up to the 18 year old

“Yeah, going to work on weights today” Drautos gave her a smile and whispered something to her, as he walked off she shouted after him “enjoy your date, Titus!” She picked up her small gym bag and walked over to Nyx “hi, Nyx!”

“The Captain has a date?!”

“Oh don’t sound so surprised, he has a life outside the Citadel, you know” Violet laughed, “are you still training? Or are you done for the day?”

“I don’t know yet, why?”

“I was just wondering, because I was going to do some weight training, but everyone who I usually ask to be a spotter for me is busy, I understand if you want to head home but… if your free?”

“Sure, I can help you” Violet smiled brightly

“Thanks” she walked past Nyx, across the training yard, with him catching up with her a moment later “I might try for a personal best now that I have you helping me”

[waywardstraysau]

The school’s gym was in fact a converted ballroom, which meant it was quite big. Not quite as big as the gymnasium back in Gravesfield mind you, the ceiling was lower and the walls were still covered in ornate wallpaper. In fact, if Luz had to guess, it was smaller by a good few yards. The chandeliers above gave the impression that the conversion wasn’t quite done either, a stray ball that went a little too high would easily hit them. If the translucent bits hanging from them were glass, anyone directly below would be in serious trouble. If they were real crystals however, they’d probably be better off, not great, they would still be heavy and sharp, but falling glass usually meant a trip to the emergency room.

The staff, thankfully, seemed to be aware of this risk, for while the students met in the gymnasium, the actual class was being held outside. Stan led them (calling him Grunkle was still weird), and had them meet in the forest near the front of the school. “Alright, you all-” he stopped when he noticed the newcomers, “Most of you know how this works. One lap around the property and no powers allowed until you reach the halfway point, ya got it?” “Yes Grunkle Stan,” the majority of the class said in unison.

“Alright! Now, you all go at the same time, try not to kill each other when you do! Start stretchin’, ya got five minutes!”

Luz held King closer to her chest as she looked around. This was a bit less formalized than what she had expected, the others seemed to be doing their own preferred warmups with no real cohesion between them. Hunter had already made it to twenty-something with his push-ups and showed no sign of slowing down. The odd part was that they were all expected to run at the same time, at every other school she had attended, they would have gone one at a time. Then again this course seemed a lot bigger than anything her old schools could have managed.

“Yo, squirt!”

“Eep!”

She squeaked and nearly jumped out of her shoes at the sudden gruff voice being directed at her! She turned away from her thoughts to see Stan standing in front of her.

“Yer the new kids right?”

“Uh, y-yes sir.”

“Alright, hate ta do this to ya kiddo, but her little furball’s gotta stay here,” he said as he pointed at King.

“Weh?! No! I’m not leaving Luz!” the little demon squealed. “Kid, this is an obstacle course, she’s not gonna be able to carry you and run it at the same time. Plus it’s a bit too big for someone yer size anyway.” “I’ll ride on her back! I’ll hide in her hoodie! I’ll-” “I got candy!” Like a magician, he pulled out two large handfuls of sweets from seemingly nowhere, and King’s eyes widened. “But… but… I can’t leave Luz… she’s-” “Hey, King, buddy, it’s okay,” the girl in question interrupted, her voice soothing, “It’s just going to be for a little while. Plus you’ll be spending the day with the other little kids soon, one class away from me’ll be good practice for that.” He let out a tiny whine and she kissed him on his skull. “Just for one class, and I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.” He hesitated, but then nodded with a small noise of affirmation and sat in the grass by Stan’s feet. The grown man then knelt down to hand him a piece of hard candy, that appeared from seemingly nowhere by sleight of hand. It reassured Luz enough to turn away and start her stretching. As she was finishing up her stretches, she was surprised to hear someone running towards her. She looked up and smiled as she recognized Tulip, who looked rather excited. “Hey, Luz!” “Hey, what’s up?” “You remember those friends I mentioned this morning? Well one of them wants to meet you.” “They… do?” “Yeah, I told them about you and they wanted to say hi before class started.” “Oh, uh, o-okay, sure! Where are they?” “I loom behind you!” Luz let out a small yell and jumped in surprise, turning around so fast she almost made herself dizzy. The first thing she registered was that the person had the same face as Tulip, to the point she thought they had to have been a twin the redhead had failed to mention. The second thing, though it probably should have been the first, is that they were made of metal. This new person had a cocky smirk as she soaked in the details of their appearance. While their face was the same, barring a single eyebrow slit, they also had a shaved head, with a few needle-like strands of hair, and holes in their earlobes. They wore a black t-shirt that had the sleeves ripped off, jeans, a little black bracelet and brown boots. “S’up? The name’s Lake,” they asked, with a metallic ring to their voice, like they were speaking into a soup can. “Whoa…! What… I… ahem, lo siento. Hi, I’m Luz.” “So you’re Tulip’s new roomie, huh? I thought you were supposed to have a living stuffed animal with ya or somethin’.” “Y-Yeah, well I mean, I am her roommate, along with King,” she pointed towards the little demon, Stan seemed to be showing him a magic trick, “He’s too little for the obstacle course so he’s staying here… also he’s a demon.” “Oh, huh, that’s cool.” “Yeah… um… can I go ahead and ask the obvious question here?” “Hehehehe, you wanna know why I’m made of metal right?” “...that was actually my second question. My first one was why the heck do you and Tulip look exactly alike?” “You wanna tell ‘er or should I?” Tulip interrupted, resting her arm on Lake’s shoulder. “Eh, I might as well,” they smirked before looking at Luz, “I used to be her reflection.” “Reflection? As in like…?” “Yup, I don’t have a reflection anymore,” Tulip grinned, pulling out a small pocket mirror and held it up, showing only Lake, “I’m like a vampire! Bleh! I’m gonna suck your blood!” “You can try, you’ll never be able to bite through my skin!” The two of them laughed, and Luz tried to restrain back her own giggles. “How did you two even meet?” “Remember the Train I told you about?” “Uh huh?” “One of the cars was the Mirror Car, and inside, you could switch places with your reflection, one thing led to another and I helped Lake escape the Mirror World.” “We went our separate ways after that and eventually I got off the train with the help of my friend, Jesse.” “Oh… uh, is she here or…?” “Well, first of all, Jesse’s a boy, and second no, not yet. His parents want him to finish out the semester at his current school before sending him here.” “What, why?” “I ‘unno, adults are weird.” Before anything more could be said, Stan called out, “Alright kids, get to the starting line!” The students scrambled to the starting line, it was drawn in the dirt with yellow chalk. A few of them crouched down, like the professional runners she sometimes saw on TV, while others were simply standing. She didn’t know which she should do and didn’t know who to ask. She also didn’t see Hunter anymore, there must have been too many people between them. “On your marks!” Stan loudly proclaimed, “Get set!” He pulled out a blow horn. “GO!” The horn rang loudly and spooked a flock of nearby birds. The gaggle of students began to run, Luz had no idea where anyone was, and decided following the group as best she could was the safest option. The first obstacle was very simple, a large downed tree that laid across the path, she could see the others vaulting over the trunk with ease. Some were getting a lot more air than the others, it was rather impressive to see! She managed the jump with a semi-awkward landing on the other side, and she could see the next obstacle. It was a steep wooden incline with a series of small ledges for footholds and three lengths of rope hanging from the top. At the base, there were three lines forming as the others got ready to climb. She looked up and could see Hunter disappear over the top, how the heck was he so fast?! It took no time at all for her to reach the front of one of the lines to begin her climb, and she was happy to find it wasn’t quite as hard as she had been expecting. She looked to her left and saw Tulip reaching the top, who looked back, noticed her and grinned, geturing for her to hurry up. When Luz joined her, she looked down the other side and saw that there was another incline on the other side, one that was made of colorful foam and wasn’t nearly as steep as the one they had just climbed. “I love this part,” the redhead smirked before sliding down with a loud, “Woohoo!” Down below, Lake was standing at the bottom, as if waiting. When their double reached the end of her slide, they helped her up, the two said something and then the bespectacled girl looked back up to the summit. She quickly waved for Luz to come down, followed by the former reflection doing the same. They were encouraging her to follow them. She smiled to herself a bit before sliding down. Her roommate was right, it was fun! Then the two helped her to her feet and they started running again. This whole thing was turning out to be fun already! Further ahead, Hunter was having different thoughts. He thought it was insultingly easy. Now, he knew not everyone was as athletic as him, he was the Golden Guard after all, excellence was expected of him in everything he did… but by the Titan this was child’s play! There was no challenge to it! Where were the traps? The spiked pits? The swinging axes? Sure this wasn’t the castle but they could have set up something! Were humans too fragile for that? He had left the human and her little rat in the dust at the very start, followed shortly by just about every other student he could actually name. He hadn’t seen that loud-mouth MK yet though, had he gotten ahead of the group or something? Were there others who had gotten ahead of him as well? Whatever, he’d overtake them all eventually, he couldn’t fail at this. He had to reach the end first. His suspicions were proven right when he reached a rope ladder that led to a series of large platforms built into the trees. When he reached the top, he could see someone up ahead. The witch frowned and ran faster. He caught up to the kid as he was crossing a suspended bridge that hung between two of the trees. The stranger was going a bit slower, clearly trying not to lose his footing as it swayed softly. Down below, Hunter could see a net, set up to catch anyone who might fall. His eye twitched. This was getting very insulting. He grunted and ran again, gaining ground on the boy on the bridge and pushed past him, feeling a tiny prick of pride at the success. He could hear the kid yell out in surprise when he did but he didn’t pay him a second thought. Once he reached the halfway point, he’d use Flapjack to catch up to whoever else might be left. Or at least, that was the plan. Instead, he found himself having to put actual effort to run faster, the boy from the bridge was also fast, and able to keep pace. There was still some distance between them, but Hunter had no doubt he’d make a move to close the gap soon. He cursed his luck before looking ahead to see there was one platform left. The way to reach it was by crossing a series of small, wooden platforms that were suspended by a pair of wires strung between the ones built into the trees. He would have to jump to reach them, if he was lucky he might be able to skip over some if he had enough momentum. He made it to the first few with ease, after only a few jumps, he realized he was losing speed. Taking a risk, he skipped over the next one entirely and went straight for the one after it. He made it, but he needed a second to regain his balance. Feeling emboldened, he jumped again, skipping another platform, but this time, he couldn’t regain his composure in time and fell to his knees. He panted as he looked down below, seeing the net again. “Hey, you okay?” the boy called. Hunter looked back and got his first good look at him. He was surprisingly mundane-looking, with neatly combed black hair that was parted on the side, big blue eyes and very willowy. He was dressed in a blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up, just below the elbows and zipped up halfway, showing a white shirt underneath. He also wore blue jeans and blue and white shoes, overall, he was perhaps the most boring-looking human he had seen yet! But there was also something weirdly familiar, he just couldn’t place it. He chose not to answer the question, instead jumping to his feet and decided not to repeat his prior stunt. Instead, he simply returned to taking them one-by-one, he had to keep his lead! The last of the large platforms ended with a tube slide, one that curved and left Hunter’s body so filled with static that it tickled his nose. He didn’t look back to see if the boy was still right behind him, he had to assume he was. Well he wouldn’t let him catch up! No, he had to prove he was the best, he had to focus on reaching the end. The second his boots hit the dirt, he took off running again. He considered dispelling his cloak to cut down on the drag but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t explain why but he just couldn’t send it away, not yet. Up ahead, he spotted a large sign along the side of the path, and written in sloppy white paint were the words “Halfway point! Powers are allowed now!” This made Hunter smirk. Time to prove why he was the Golden Guard. “Flapjack!”

He drew his staff from his cloak and held onto it tightly. He waited until he was safely past the sign before igniting his teleportation spell, immediately jumping forward several dozen yards, leaving streaks of yellow magic behind him. He cast the spell again, and then a third time, putting a considerable distance between him and the human. He continued with this strategy, and wondered if he would be allowed to actually fly on his staff to the finish line. Would he get in trouble for not doing it right? Better not risk it, plus, this way he could prove himself further by sheer physical capability alone. Though he did spot a few rings suspended just below the canopy, so some students were clearly meant to fly through this part. Any further thoughts he might have had were interrupted by the sound of… something? It almost sounded like ringing metal, but there was something more to it, something he couldn’t identify. Hunter hadn’t had time to think on it further, nearly maniacal laughter followed the strange sound and it was approaching him from behind, fast! He looked over his shoulder, with only a split second between him recognizing MK and the young man’s look of excited enthusiasm turning to immediate regret. He then plowed into the young witch at a speed no magic staff could possibly match, sending them both tumbling across the forest floor. They only stopped when they crashed hard into the trunk of a tree, Hunter first and then MK landed on top of him. Hunter’s vision was dark for a second, possibly even two, before it slowly faded back, accompanied by a series of color-changing dots, fuzz in his brain and a ringing in his ears. He let out a groan as he began to make out voices, the face of the boring-looking human was leaning over him in concern, MK had somehow already bounced back and was looking at him in worry. The dazed boy tried to move only to let out a harsh grunt as a sharp shock of pain shot out from his left shoulder. He tried moving it again only to growl in his throat when he was greeted by a tingling that spread from the joint and up his neck, while his arm and hand were entirely numb. Yup, dislocated. It was far from the first time this had happened, he’d had countless injuries throughout his life. Be it from training, during his missions or from uncle Belos’s outbursts, pain was like an old friend to the young witch, an overly familiar one. His thoughts were disrupted when he recognized a small weight on his chest, and a small, high-pitched sound, the only one that was coming in clearly. “Flapjack…” The cardinal was sitting on his chest, a look of concern in his one big eye.

He placed his right hand over the little bird and rubbed his cheek with his thumb, assuring him he was fine. “I’m okay buddy.” He sat up slowly, his body was aching and sore all over, he was going to have some nasty bruises later but he was considerably lucky otherwise. A dislocated shoulder was easy enough to fix, after years of tending to his own injuries, he had it down to a science. Once he was upright enough, he used his right hand to lift his numb arm, he could vaguely hear the humans saying something to him. The one he didn’t know the name of had one of those scroll-things out, what was it called again, a phone? He brushed off the question, as well as concerned voices of the two humans before carefully guiding the bones back into the socket. A crackling sound that was similar to gravel filled the air, his own tightly restrained yowls of pain reverberated in his throat. After a moment, he lowered the arm, flexing his hand gently in a test. Pins and needles still covered him from the tips of his fingers up to his neck but he had done it. The fuzzy feeling in his brain was taking its time to dissipate, but that was fine, he just had to get back up and finish the obstacle course. He pushed off with his right hand, his feet stumbling under him before his balance returned. He took a few staggering steps, let his spinning head have a moment to slow down, and started running again. He could hear the two dark-haired boys calling after him, but he disregarded it. Just had to keep running… The rest of the course was a blur, he didn’t remember how he got through it all or how long it took, just that one minute he was running and the next he had passed the finish line. He was leaning against a tree, using his uninjured arm as support, with Flapjack chirping at him in worry. He took the moment of peace to let the disorientation untangle itself from his brain and felt his awareness shift back to normal. By the time MK and the boring-looking human had made it across the finish line, he was only mildly dizzy and smirking at them like he’d accomplished some great victory. In his mind, he had, he had finished the course first, he proved he was the best, proved he was worthy of being the Emperor’s right-hand man. Not that either of them knew that about him, but… it was important. He didn’t know why, it just was. He ignored their questions, asking if he was okay, that he had taken a hard hit but that was ridiculous. He suffered far worse back in the Emperor’s Coven, this was nothing. “Hunter?” He grunted. Of course. The human was here now too. He hadn’t seen her finish the course, but she was with two others with her and-okay that one had metal skin, he’d have to ask about that later-and she was looking at him in concern. “What happened to you? You look… rough.” “Tch, this is nothing,” he said, speaking up for the first time. Flapjack chirped sharply in something akin to a protest. “Dude, you dislocated your shoulder,” the unnamed boy said, it was the first time the young witch had bothered to really pay attention to his voice, “You are definitely not okay.” “He did what?!” the human exclaimed, her voice becoming high-pitched, “Shouldn’t we be getting Dr. Lake or-” “It’s fine,” the witch interrupted, “I already put it back in its socket. It’s fine.” “...you did what?! You know how to do that?!” she put her hands on her head in disbelief, like it was some impressive thing. “Of course I do, I wouldn’t be the Golden Guard if I couldn’t handle simple injuries like that on my own.” “Hunter, a dislocated shoulder is not simple! I just- that is so messed up!” “Maybe for you humans, but this is perfectly normal for-” “This isn’t even normal among other witches! None of my friends back on the Boiling Isles ever had to do that!” That statement caught him a bit off guard. Okay, maybe it wasn’t normal for civilians but still… “Oh yeah well… th-they’re not members of the Emperor’s Coven, now are they?” “Putting aside the shoulder thing, you still look like you got hit by a truck!” “I don’t even know what that is!” “It’s a type of car!” There was a pause, Hunter could feel his frustration growing, and he could see a strangely similar look on the human… but it wasn’t the same. He didn’t know what it was. He didn’t like it. “Uh, actually,” MK piped up awkwardly, “He was hit by me because I made a dumb mistake with my powers… and we crashed into a tree. Ehehe… seriously dude, you’re a mess, you need to see the doc.” “I don’t need to see anyone, I’m fi-” “YOU CRASHED INTO A TREE?!” “Why are you yelling, human!?” “You have at least five scrapes that I can see, you probably have internal bruising and who knows what else?!” she exclaimed, “You need to-” “WOULD ALL OF YOU CALM DOWN?!” The voice made all of them stop. They all turned to see Steven running towards them, looking both frustrated and worried. He took a few deep breaths, like he needed to calm himself. “Steven! Buddy! Just the man we need!” MK exclaimed in delight, “Hunter here got a bit uh, banged up. Think you could give us a hand here?” He looked Hunter up and down and now he had a concerned look as well. “...I’d say banged up is putting it lightly. What happened exactly?” “Too long to explain, just do your thing please!” He gave MK a sideways look before stepping closer. “Hunter, are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “...no offense but you look like you got trampled by an angry mob.” “Shouldn’t you be worrying over MK? He went through the same thing I did.” “MK is… uniquely hardy. I’m not worried about him right now.”

The witch paused, glanced at the grass below and quietly muttered out what happened, even crashing into the tree. The older boy listened, sighed and nodded. “I see… okay, hold still, I’ll patch you up.” “You don’t have t-” He never got to finish his sentence, as Steven took his hand suddenly, raised it up and gently kissed him on the knuckle. Hunter felt like his face caught fire. He could hear the human making a strange squealing noise. His brain took far too long to catch up with his body and he immediately pushed the other boy away, making a sound that wasn’t a scream but not coherent enough to be words. It still managed to convey the only question on his mind. “What are you doing!?” Steven, who had fallen back on the ground and was now sitting on the ground, looked up at him in surprise… and then looked horrified. “O-Oh! Oh my gosh! I am so so sorry! I-I wasn’t thinking-” “Clearly! What kind of-of… I-I don’ t know what to call you but what made you think that was okay!?” “Just check your wounds!” “My wo-what are you-” He looked down at himself and his eyes widened.

Every small scrape, cut and bruise he had gained from the crash now had white sparkles dancing over them, and all of them were now slowly closing or fading away. “W… What the…” “I uh… that’s… another power I should have told you about sooner,” Steven said awkwardly, “I… kinda have healing powers. Well… healing spit.” He stuck out his tongue and pointed at it. “But people here get a bit grossed out if I just lick my hand and slap it against their open wounds.” Everyone’s skin began to crawl at the thought. “So I started do the kiss thing instead… look, Hunter I’m sorry, I-I should have-” “No! No-no… it… it’s okay… you just… caught me off guard… really off guard.” “...do you feel okay now?” He did. A lot better actually. He wasn’t even sore or achey. He nodded but refused to make eye contact. His ears were still burning. “Well, if he’s okay, we should probably head back inside,” MK piped up, pointing his thumb over his shoulder and towards the school, “We finished pretty early, heck, Stan ain’t even here yet. I wanna get in some extra time for Art class.” “...did you just say art?!” The human turned fast, faster than he thought she was capable of! She certainly hadn’t moved that fast when he threatened her back home! “Oh yeah, that’s next on the schedule,” the young man piped up, “We either have that or Music every other week.” Steven made a strange sound, like he was trying to clear his throat but at the same time trying not to say anything. “Why every other week?” “I ‘unno, all I know is it gives us more time to work on our assignments. Either way, you guys comin’?” “I can’t, Stan’s watching King and I have to go get him.” “Oh, don’t worry! They’re probably on their way over already, Stan drives this… uh… darn it what’s the English term for it again? Gāo'ěrfū chē… Gāo'ěrfū chē… Gāo'ěrfū chē in English…” MK seemed to be rolling something over his tongue, trying to remember. “...you mean the golf cart?” Steven piped up and the older brunette snapped his fingers. “Yes! Xièxiè nǐ! I-I mean thank you! Any Stan drives one of those to get to the end of the course faster, they’ll be here before you know it!”

She smiled in relief.

[gritsandbrits]

Forgiveness Isn't Easy...

But Harumi takes the risk anyways.

Harumi rode in the passenger seat of Odette's Swan Driver as she rode them around the rural outskirts of Ninjago City. They were looking for a certain place, Odette mumbling in frustration as she fuddled with the complex GPS. She offered to go with Harumi, as the Ninja were busy with their duties&reconstruction efforts. In her mind she imagined the rest of them wanted anything to do with her. Not after the things she did.

After years of clinging on to anger and bitterness, Harumi discovered the real culprit behind her parents' deaths. It wasn't the ninja as she initially believed but the VERY entity who brought her back to life and promised her everything. Abandoning her revenge she ended up helping her enemies fight him off. Once the literal dust settled Harumi vowed to spend the rest of her life to make amends to all the people she hurt.

The first on her list: Hutchins' family.

Her old bodyguard mentioned having a wife and son one occasion. It was risky giving out too many details of his personal life, and Harumi never cared much.  "I guess we all had our secrets" Harumi mused sullenly. She needed him out of her way, he was getting suspicious and the last thing she wanted was an obstacle to her revenge. So she bombed the palace, killing him and her so-called "parents." A sob story to earn the Ninjas' sympathy so they'd accept her quicker. But after dying herself, spending time as the Overlord's errant girl, and learning the truth of that day, she realized she killed an innocent man. That same pain she felt, now his family had to experience it.

And it was all her fault.

"We're here," Odette replied quietly breaking Harumi from her thoughts. The ex princess saw that they were in a rural area dotted with cottages.

Odette spotted the house with the correct address. "There it is," she said as she parked the bird shaped vehicle a few yards away from the cottage. Harumi unlocked her seatbelt and was about to head out when Odette asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

Harumi shook her head. "No. This is something I gotta do alone."

Nodding, Harumi started to make her way up the gravel path. Clutching the strap of her messenger bag to calm her nerves. In other situations she would've had a trick up her sleeve. Or her trusty dagger. But not this time: just her and the apology on her tongue.

Once she got to the front door she paused unsure whether to go through with this. Would they shout and scream? Curse her name, or call the police? She knew Odette had her back - even after everything she put her through, the Yokai was still looking out for her, something she'd never openly admit her admiration for - but still the possibility frightened her. But with Hutchins' grave in her mind, she understood she had to do this. So with a deep inhale, she knocked timidly on the door.

She heard footsteps then the door unlocked and a woman's face peeked out.

Harumi coughed. "Excuse me but are you Mrs hutchins? I'd like to have a chat with you."

Mrs. Hutchins opened the door fully and they stared at each other. The widow graying brown hair were in a messy bun, and she wore gray mourning robes. When her red shrunken eyes fell on Harumi she grimaced.

"Why are you here?" Mrs. Hutchins asked.

"I'm here to say I'm sorry for-"

"Hmph! You didn't seem very sorry when you were standing beside Lord Garmadon laughing and grinning," snapped the widow.

Harumi flinched. That brought up another memory of her fatal overconfidence.

"I know what I've done and I'm sorry. But I'm not here to wallow in self pity or beg for your forgiveness."

Mrs. Hutchins replied chilly, "Then why are you here?"

Harumi took another deep breath and looked back at Odette, who was watching the whole scene. She smiled softly, which gave the teenager the courage to speak up.

"The reason I'm here is because I want you to know I will do everything I can to make sure no more families get hurt. I've lost mine yet I've been using that loss as a crutch.

"I wanted people to hurt as much as I did. I wanted someone to understand what I was goin through. I didn't care who got mixed up in my business," Harumi spoke calmly. She stopped, swallowed then continued with her speech. "In my hatred, I've done terrible things and I've hurt you. Your husband  tried to help me and i rejected that help."

At the mentioned of her fallen spouse Mrs Hutchins' lips wobbled in grief. Harumi lowered her eyes knowing she was the one behind her appearance. But the words still flowed out of her mouth.

"When I look back at it now, zi'm ashamed at the monster I've allowed myself to grow into, He didn't deserve to die."

Harumi's eyes stung as the widow's eyes bore into hers. "You didn't deserve that pain, and no amount of apologies will bring him back." As she finished she bowed as low as she could.

Part of the the old woman tempted her to slam the door in her face. But when she saw that there wasn't a hint of smug on her face, Mrs. Hutchins knew this girl was not playing. The anger ebbed away.

"Who's that at the door?" A young man, presumably Hutchins' son, asked as he came to his mother's side. He stopped when he glanced at their unexpected guest. Awaiting what's next Harumi stood back up. Her heart lurched at the man it was like looking at Hutchins again. But unlike the strict older man, the son was very cross.

"You little witch! How dare you step foot on put property!" He lashed out at her.

Mrs. Hutchins gasped. "Jin!"

"No your son is right," Harumi cut in quickly. "I was a witch for that. I took his father he has every right to be angry with me."

"You damn right I'm angry! How could you do such evil things? What did my dad ever do to you?!" Jin's voice trembled as if trying to hold back his own tears.

Harumi pursed her lips and bowed her head. What had Hutchins did to her besides trying to stop her before her anger got the better of her. She thought about the times he took her to the library.

Odette walked up to the porch having heard the commotion.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your Privacy Mrs. Hutchins but she isn't a threat anymore, Please just hear her out and we'll be on our way," pleaded the Pink Ninja.

Jin glared down at Harumi, she averted his eyes. "It's alright Odette. I still have one thing to say," said the blonde teen.

She slipped out an object from her bag and gave it to the widow. She took it carefully and unrolled the scroll. As she did her eyes and mouth widened with shock.

"On behalf of the royal family, the royal palace is now under the ownership of Lady Hutchins, and any related heirs," the woman announced.

"Hold on a sec," Jin exclaimed taking the scroll out of his mother's hand. He read it through and gaped. "You're giving us the palace?"

"I'm not a princess anymore I have no use for it," Harumi allowed herself to shrug, before continuing in a serious tone. "I know this won't make up for anything but I will make sure your family lives comfortably as long as I live."

Tears began to form in Mrs. Hutchins eyes. "Thank you this means so much to us," she said. "We've been trying to keep our house afloat and-"

"Everything is paid for. No rent, all of it is yours! Paid by my own hands," Harumi explained quickly. Seeing the relief on their faces filled her with an emotion she feared she could never feel again. She felt...prideful. Not the smug version she perfected in her quest for revenge. A different sort of pride. She couldn't explain it, but it was a damn good feeling.

"We'll think about it," Jin said still deeply hurt by everything. "Come on mom, let's talk over it."

As the family went back inside, Harumi and Odette walked towards the vehicle.

"Well that went better than I expected," Harumi exhaled, relieved that things didn't explode.

"Yeah I thought he was gonna tear your head off," Odette remarked. "Still I'm proud that you did it."

Harumi smiled softly. "Yeah. But I still feel so awful. If only I had listened, Hutchins would still be here."

"If he was I think he'd be proud of you too," replied Odette. "Even though I never met him."

"Heh, yeah I'd think the two of you would've gotten along," Harumi commented as she looked back at the house. Even though giving the palace wouldn't do much, she still wanted to help them. Maybe that could be it: no more tearing families apart. She'll work off her debts for them. For Hutchins. For her parents. For Ninjago. For herself.

Author Note: Odette is my OC for the show more content of her will be published. But in this au she is a human/Oni hybrid, a "yokai" who became the Pink Ninja and Lloyd's love interest following s10. I do have another AU where she is Harumi's decoy/handmaiden. Hutchins wasn't married in canon but I feel like giving him a family hammers down the point how Harumi's past actions hurts innocent people. I don't want her easily forgiven but actually WORK on her redemption, - with some help ofc. Plus I'm starting to practice writing canon characters and Harumi's redemption arc makes for a lot a fun.

++ the reason why Lloyd didn't go is I know he forgave her and all but i imagine him still keeping his distance. He won't forget what she did to him and it'll take a long time if ever for him to fully trust her. And Harumi would likely want to seek amends her way and not risk dragging Lloyd or anyone else into anymore of her mess!

[maytheoddshq]

Troi Urbest (she/her). Tower Counselor. 34. Melanie Scrofano.

tw: gore

They used to play Reaping when the grown ups weren’t looking. Most of the little children didn’t know what it meant, but the oldest ones of the group would grin with deep satisfaction as the “gamemaker” read aloud each name that was slated to die. The selected “tributes” would chase each other around the yard or the park or wherever their parents had left them to amuse themselves, a mix of tag and make believe until only one remained. Those who didn’t get picked waited until the “gamemaker” shouted out obstacles for them to become, and then they were flailing their arms as a storm or a wildfire among the pack of howling, laughing children. 

Troi was little when her family left. She was barely old enough to tie her shoes, let alone remember much of the neighborhood they left behind. But she remembers moments. She remembers playing Reaping in the park. She remembers the time the lights were dark for a week and they had campfires in their small backyard every night. She remembers being annoyed when her baby sister would cry and cry and wake everyone up. On colder nights she remembers the meager dinners or the carefully mended clothes passed from neighbor to neighbor. And she remembers never wanting it to end. 

When her parents first told her that they were moving, Troi hadn’t originally wanted to go. She didn’t understand why she would have to leave her friends or her bed or her favorite sidewalk step (it was cracked in a perfect T, like it was made just for her, and Troi always made sure to step on each of the three pieces every morning to say hi). But her parents made it sound wonderful and beautiful, like a dream or a fairytale. Her dad was going to join the queen’s knights in shining armor because he had the final clue needed to save the world. He’d aid the knights in their quest, become a knight himself, and then Troi and her mom and her baby sister would be fair ladies and live happily ever after.

Except the knights were Gamemakers, and the clue that her dad found was the code to fix the final bug in the beta version of a new game engine, to enhance the Gamemaker systems for a new generation of Arena technology.

Troi didn’t understand any of it at first. But when she was old enough, she was allowed to gather with everyone else and watch the launch of the Arena. They call it a Bloodbath, but of course that catchy nickname leaves out everything else that can be expelled from a body. All of the other children in the room had taken to gasping, oohing and ahhing at all of the cool ways a body could be destroyed while their parents gave appropriate nods and noises of approval. Troi didn’t know it, but money was changing hands in the other room as each cannon sounded. They were all taken with the drama of it all, the horror so grotesque that everyone else in the room seemed convinced it was beautiful. And Troi watched as a child just a few years older than she was beaten to death with a bat until gray matter splattered across the linoleum tile that supported the Cornucopia.

In the nice neighborhoods where the grown ups watched them all the time, little children played Reaping much differently. They were too supervised to be rowdy and violent, so gone were the four kid pile-ups until a near-smothered child screamed for the cannon, and gone was the melodramatic death that ensued when the child was released. In nice neighborhoods, Reaping consisted of far more hiding and chasing. The children created a polite and structured chaos that their parents found charming.

In nice neighborhoods, violence was fascinating and for other people, but as Troi watched the screen she couldn’t help but remember whacking someone to “death” with a stick, her preferred weapon. Her victim would make a contorted face as the “gamemaker” called for the cannon. When the cannon went off this time, onscreen, the victim didn’t have a face left.

Troi’s family was happy. She grew up surrounded by love and never knew hardship. But the more fancy education her dad’s money bought, the more Troi was acutely aware that love and luxury weren’t granted to many, and it was only by crazy luck that they were granted to her. With every one of Troi’s birthdays that passed that Troi knew forty six more district kids wouldn’t get to see for themselves, the rubies around her mom’s neck looked more and more like blood stones.

She never spoke to her dad about his work. She refused the conversation, even, preferring not to know what deal with devils he struck to advance to the highest class of Panem citizen. But even still, her dad had earned that money, that life. She hadn’t earned anything.

Troi ultimately struggled with the privilege, her own private shame while the rest of her world celebrated. She didn’t understand how they couldn’t see how much they had while others had so little. Or maybe they did see it. Maybe they saw it and still did nothing. 

She couldn’t talk to her parents about how she felt. As close as they were, there was a sense that they all had to keep up appearances, and they all had to live a perfect, happy life, and be grateful for it. And Troi was grateful, she was so grateful. She hated herself for it. She’d try to talk to her sister, but Dew was a baby when they’d moved, and had only ever known life one way. All of Troi’s friends were all more wealthy and confident than Troi and her family would ever be, even in this city of opportunity in which they’d been so randomly placed, so how could they ever understand the guilt that came with knowing that even in her worst possible life she’d been given safety, that she’d simply been handed this, that not wanting to give up this life meant that people would continue to suffer and die for her benefit?

If she’d never earned it, she’d stolen it, and most days it felt like the guilt of that action (or rather, inaction) was going to eat her alive.

So Troi did the only thing she thought she possibly could do, and used her education to get an advanced degree so that she could help people. Really, truly help people.

It was a lot of changing her mind and guesswork before Troi settled on therapy for her career, and even then, starting out was rough. The people who came to her for therapy rarely needed it - Capitolites with mental health issues tended to go to the best counselors money could buy, and Troi, just starting out, was far from that, at least as far as word of mouth was concerned. No one knew who she was, and so she helped with more temporary issues, life organization, petty squabbles, general insecurities, and tried to let that fulfill her. And sometimes it did, especially when someone she saw truly needed a kind of help they hadn’t recognized because they’d never been taught that they were allowed to. But the satisfaction didn’t last. Troi never felt like she was doing enough. She needed to do more.

It was her little sister who came to her with the job listing. Tribute Tower Counselor. It had sounded hokey, like she’d work for two weeks every six months, but the more she looked into it the more she realized what she could do. It wasn’t just tributes she could help. It was everyone who was affected by the Games, especially the ones no one looked at anymore when the Games were over and everyone went back to their regular lives. So Troi applied.

Trauma work was a culture shock. As much as Troi had read about the districts and life outside the Capitol, she had never truly experienced it, and district life was a hard enough burden to bear without the routine child warfare on top of it. Troi was overwhelmed and in over her head, and her hero complex faded fast. 

But Troi stayed. She stayed because she knew she would feel too guilty if she left, like she was giving up on these people, like she was turning a blind eye to their pain. And Troi liked her coworkers and liked her clients. And a lot of days were good days - enough days to stay. So she did, and slowly, she adjusted. She learned. And she helped, or at least, she hopes she helped.

Troi is over ten years into her career now, and is the Lead Counselor for her team. It’s a small team, but there are still directors above her and still room for her to climb the ladder, but she doesn’t want to. That guilt that kept her from leaving ten years ago keeps her from advancing out of direct service now. She tries not to think about it too much. Her goal is to be there for her patients.

As a result of being a prominent doctor in the Tower, Troi has a harder time making friends. She has to keep a professional distance from those who are her patients, which is a little awkward when everyone in the Tower pretty much knows each other, and now her friend has slept with her client and she knows two very different opinions on the effectiveness of certain activities that she did not need to know about. But not trying to be friends with people was harder than trying to be friends with them is, so Troi has long learned to roll with the punches in that regard. She takes everyone at their word and always tries to lend a (supportive, but not professional, unless they ask) ear. Years of the Capitolite lifestyle has taught her how to befriend people who do and don’t agree with her worldview, which she finds extremely helpful, especially during the Games season. She doesn’t meet the tributes as much as she would like, but when she does she tries to be open with them and let them know that there are people who do have their back, even in this world where they are children being sentenced to die.

Off-season, Troi lives in a modest apartment, close enough to the Tower that she can walk to her offices to see clients, but also close to a train station so she can make home visits to other clients if they request it, or just to see her friends in the districts. It’s nice to get out of the Capitol, and Troi understands that she has a special opportunity. She can’t waste it.

+ caring, loyal, just

- anxious, materialistic, jaded