#still wandering around? what about plants and animals? what about the pets who ran up to greet a machine only to realize it wasnt human

[size-two-shrimp]

Thinkin about dead clades walking.

[anxious-changeling]

GN Witch!Reader x Familiar!Crusaders (-Joseph)

We hope you enjoy this!!! We put a lot of love into it!

Avdol

His animal form is a Partridge Rock Chicken!

The only traits he carries from his animal form is small feathers dusting his cheekbones!

You met him while you were walking around Cairo and just happened to feel a pull towards a curtained area.

Following the pull you found yourself in front of a fortune tellers booth, a beautiful man seated behind a table.

With a kind smile he welcomed you to sit and have your fortune read, you could almost feel the electricity crackle in the air.

When he grabbed your hand it felt like lightning had struck you. You knew what he was and he knew what you were. A witch and an unbound familiar staring into one another eyes.

Still he amused you with a palm reading reading of coming good fortune and a lifetime of happiness. With a hint of mischief coloring his voice while saying the latter.

You proposed him the idea of him becoming your familiar to which he agreed after some bargaining. Such as what days he would be employed and what he could and couldn’t do!

He told you of his previous witch, a cruel woman named Enyaba, who would clip his wings so he couldn’t fly. A sad fate for such a beautiful bird.

In his chicken form he’s very cuddly and makes adorable cooing noises when you pet him.

He looks so cute when he falls asleep on your lap as you read from a grimoire you recently bought. Burrowing deeper into your warmth subconsciously as you idly fun your hand over his feathers.

He’s the perfect familiar and the perfect partner, attentive to your every need and attuned to your aura!

He’ll be your loving guardian against any spirits that may try to target you! Beings with malicious intent don’t stand a chance against him!

He specializes in fire magic and reading the auras of the world! Making him perfect for monitoring potions that are volatile!

He likes to show you all the little designs he can make with his fire magic. He loves even more the look of your face illuminated by his flames~

Has a fire elemental he calls Magicians Red that likes to follow him around! Going as far to take orders from him.

Once Magicians Red grows to like you it’ll lean down to let you sift your fingers through it soft head feathers!

Fully expect MR to join you and Avdol to cuddle! Personal furnace right there! Great in winter, intolerable in summer.

Polnareff

His animal form is a Stoat!

Carries his ears and tail from his animal form into his human form! When his hair is down it’s easier to see his ears since they aren’t covered up!

You met Polnareff while sitting in a local cafe, where he had approached you boldly to flirt. When he grabbed your hand to plant a kiss on the back, spark flew.

You could only stare in shock at one another before he grinned largely in joy! An unbound familiar finding a witch, what a lucky day!

You sat in the cafe for hours learning about one another, and eventually you extended the offer for him to become your familiar!

He accepted enthusiastically and thus you set off on your adventures!

He had a previous witch who he was bound to, known as Mariah, but she passed leaving him unbound for a long time.

He’s just as playful in his animal form as he is in human form, and enjoys rough housing with you! He likes to be tossed in the air and caught!

Likes pull pranks by hiding under furniture and farting out to nip at your ankles as you pass!

He enjoys being in contact with you someway, whether it be an arm over your shoulder or his head in your lap.

If you’ve been over working yourself on a potion he’ll whine loudly demanding your attention. He wants your attention but also knows you need a break.

He specializes in earth magic and spell casting! He is a vital help during long spell casting sessions as he helps balance you.

He’s a very affectionate and kind partner making sure to never overstep your boundaries!

Beware anything that sets its eyes upon you with malicious intent because he’ll make sure to tear them asunder.

Has a metal Gollum named Silver Chariot bound to him and it follows him everywhere, silently like a shadow.

Chariots emotions compared to humans is very muted, but if he feels affection for you he will hold onto you.

Chariot shows his affection through gifts and will often present you with flowers he’s found!

You make his bonded one happy which makes him happy! It also helps you’re kinda to him and give him gifts too! He cherishes every treasure you’ve gifted him!

Jotaro

His animal form is a Moray Eel! He’s also quite large for his species coming in at 6 feet long!

The traits he carries from his animal form are that his teeth are sharper than normal!

You met Jotaro while lazing in a secluded cove soaking in the sun. Charging a few crystals for an upcoming major spell.

You barely heard him enter but you did feel when he passed your rune barrier.

You had expected to see maybe a minor demon or a pixie, but not a hulking man who’s cold glare pierced you.

You both exchanged words as the adrenaline wore out, and you just waved him off so you could enjoy the sun without him.

He scoffed shouldering you as he walked past, electricity ran through you both. Like a live wire had hit your skin.

To be an unbound familiar this close to a witch could be dangerous when caught off guard in a secluded area.

So when Jotaro whirled around to bare his teeth at you, he was surprised to find you moving to sit back down. Didn’t you want to enslave him to you?

After a few hours of coexisting on the beach you break the ice asking questions. Sometimes he’d grunt in response or answer in rambling sentences. What an enigmatic creature.

You learned that his last witch had been a hideous woman named Midler. He had been wandering unbound for many years, ignoring every witch who begged to become bound to him.

Humming you told him that your homes open to him and left your address on the sands as you left for home. Faintly feeling blue eyes drilling into your retreating form.

Weeks later as you sat slouched over a grimoire taking notes, you heard someone pounding on your door.

When you answered the door you found yourself face to face with none other than Jotaro.

After sitting him down and going through the motions of being a host you began to talk.

He laid out his demands, days he could and couldn’t fulfill his duties, and his boundaries. You beamed at him while signing the contract agreeing to your partnership, kick starting a wonderful future!

It took a bit for mutual comfort to happen but in the end it’s well worth the wait!

Jotaro compliments your spellcasting style and is an excellent potion making assistant! Both of you taking your craft very seriously.

When your relationship takes a slow turn to partnership neither of you are surprised!

Jotaro isn’t much for outward displays but he does like to show his appreciation through gifts. He’ll drop a new griomoire he acquired in you lap saying it was an “accidental buy”.

If you’re sick he’ll call up his mother to get her soup recipes. He’ll complain as he does but you know he really doesn’t mind it.

He specializes in water magic and energy manipulation making it easier for him to control volatile spells! He’s also very proficient in drawing spell circles with near perfect precision!

Has a minor water deity named Star Platinum that always follows him around much to his annoyance.

While Jotaro isn’t affectionate Star very much is and makes up for Jotaro in that aspect!

Star will twirl you around gleefully and enjoys hanging off of you as you read or spell cast!

Both Jotaro and Star would tear apart the world with their bare hands to ensure your safety.

Kakyoin

His animal form is a Orchid Mantis!

He doesn’t retain any traits of his animal form in human form except for some pink dusted here and there!

You first met Kakyoin at your local library as you scoured the shelves for your favorite book.

As you went to grab the book a slender hand grabbed it first. Silently huffing you turned to swear at the thief but found yourself face to face with an interesting man.

He already started to walk away but you felt something pulling at your gut to stop him.

As you grabbed his wrist you felt electricity hum through you and his pupils expanded in surprise.

He tugged his hand out of your grasp and took long strides to the check out and out the door.

Well that’s one way to make an impression on a witch. You by instinct wanted to race after him but your gut anchored your feet as you watched him flee.

You didn’t run into him for many months, a careful unbound familiar who had no doubt been mistreated in the past.

You didn’t actively seek him out but it seemed that fate put its back into dragging you two together.

You found the strange man at your door one morning bloody and bruised badly. Hauling his lanky form onto your couch you got to work fixing him up.

Spell after spell you cast and even eased mild healing potions down his throat. Now all left to do was wait, so that’s what you did.

Curled up on your armchair with the newest grimoire to your collect you began reading. It took him a few hours but finally he began to stir.

He looked defensive as his purple eyes scanned your living room. Eyeing you warily as you slowly stretched from your arm chair.

As you explained what had happened and how you treated him the calmer he became. He also explained he just came to the closest house after he was attacked. A low level demon having gotten the jump on him as he slept.

You happily welcomed him to stay in your heavily warded home, which is near impossible to break into. He hesitantly took your offer and so began your journey with your new roommate!

It took months of tip toeing around one another before he finally approached you with a deal. Very clearly and sternly laying out his boundaries and expectations.

You gladly welcome his into the bond, celebrating by making a nice meal! After many years you finally had a familiar!

He helps a lot to cover the areas you lack in and help mishaps before they happen! If one side of the spell isn’t reinforced he’s there working on it! Making sure it won’t backfire in your face!

In his mantis form Kakyoin is content in just punching on you as you go about doing what you need to! He doesn’t enjoy touch as much as others but enjoys your warmth!

Enjoys looking at the outside world from his smaller perspective, behind glass and wards of course can’t have a bird snatching him!

It takes a while for Kakyoin to allow himself to court you and at first he’s very cautious. Aware of your ever movement, but as he get more comfortable he opens up more!

He enjoys holding hands with you and resting his head in your lap as you read or watch tv.

Enjoys baking for you because he’s a horrible cook. He enjoys making a great variety of desserts and you are his personal taste tester!

If you become sick he’ll show how he can make a mean chicken noodle soup from scratch. The only dish he can’t mess up when cooking!

Is a helicopter partner when you’re sick, worried if he takes his eyes off of you he’ll miss something!

He specializes in air magic and has a keen eye for plant identification! Making him useful very useful when you go foraging!

Has a bonded nature spirit named Hierophant Green that follows him wherever he goes. They’re very attached to one another.

Hierophant will be very wary of you for a long time, but as he sees that you treat Kakyoin well it’ll win his favor.

Once Hierophant becomes attached there’s letting go, he’ll follow you everywhere demanding pets.

He lets off a strangely high pitched purr when you pet him and wraps around you protectively at home.

Hierophant and Kakyoin would sacrifice the whole universe to make sure you stay safe.

Holy shit that’s.. long. We hope you enjoyed and we bid you a good morning/afternoon/evening! A lot of love went into this piece :D

[hitoshisbabygirl]

Author's Notes ♡:Sooooo I wrote this once with no mythological background and it was so blank because one I half read and two it had no pizzazz. So here I am...enjoying this collab wholeheartedly. For some context the readers dad is Dionysus, yknow the festive, wine maker? So I tried to incorporate that with being a potions maker! Rappa is based on a mix between Behemoths and the Kusarikku, so i wanted him just a big and a bull man hybrid but not fully a Minotaur! I hope whoever reads this enjoy it as much as I did writing it! (Also I’m slowly realizing how much I hope this man)~ bunny ❥

Here’s the lovely masterlist of the others beautiful arts!

Warnings : NSFW again! (◎_◎;)

A use of pet names l, uh some heavy size kink (if you know who I based him on, also is one of my kinks showing yet) , Needy Rappa, breeding, Light cursing, a bit of a pussy job, female oral and a bit of overstimulation.

Word count : About 6.5k (ooof) !

Paring(s) : Bullman! Kendo Rappa x F!Reader

Summary : Being a demigod had perks, you could travel, you had god and goddesses as siblings and family members and of course the power! But what happens when you have to help a stubborn farm...pet?

Enjoy ♡

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Growing up as a demigods daughter who owned a garden on earth was one experience. All types of people, gods, goddesses and hybrids needed her experience with all sorts of plants and other things from nature ; rather it be for healing medicines , a bouquet for an upset lover or for help with livestock growth, [ ] and her parents helped with every little working class they could. As [ ] went from child to young adult she was used to her fair share of men from every place asking for her attention. A human asking for her hand and giving her the bare minimum, a god, wanting to make her a goddess, or just simply flirting to warrant her attention. But alas to them all she gave them no leadway, keeping her same polite smile and overall sweetness to each and every person she dealt with. On a warm day in the heavens as she walked the sky castles grounds she ran into a farmhand, one she remembered worked for Demeter approached her hesitantly, his eyes wandering to the young maidens “U-uh M-miss [ ] right?” The male asked her , her eyebrow raising as a silent answer “Lady Demeter would like to speak with you, she need some help but she did not tell me exactly what” he said with a bow and soon turned to leave. Wondering what the goddess could want she headed to her ranch, watching the cattle and other animals graze. Suddenly the door swung wide, revealing the deity to her “[ ] my favorite niece how are you love!” The tall woman sing songingly yelled, hugging the wide eyed girl “Hello Auntie Dem, im quite alright! Uhm, what seems to be the problem? One of your hands came to get me” [ ] said as she took in the ranch home her harvesting aunt had, all sorts of gains, wheats, fruits and more spewed about in her living room “Ah yes! Your father told me how great youve become with your potions and mixes of herbs, being the daughter of Dionysus im not surprised! I told him to let you grow and do more now look at you, serving us gods and mortals alike!” Demeter went on, handing her confused niece a large apple as she took one for herself. Becoming her to a table by the window they both sat, eating on their fruit as she explained her issue.

“You see, i have a lot of cattle, different kinds, different kins and legacies, but im a bit stuck. My favorite mare, had a child a little while ago and he seemed to just be your average bull at first….but..as time went on he out grew his father, my prized minotaur bull and even his normal cow and bull family.” Taking a glance to the field they watched as the minotaur children and some sheep danced and played, other average cow cults running to join. Sighing Demeter continued “Hes a hybrid, my prized minotaur as his father and well, my biggest and prized heifer as his mother. He wont come out of the shed, doesnt deal with his other kind, minotaur or not. Hes around your age now, getting to be his prime but..he wont converse in the fields. Both his father and mother voiced concerns to me about his health but when i checked on him, hes fine! Fields away under a sun and away from my younger and ready cows! I dont get it! Maybe because hes more human than he is bull, he does have a human face and even body, just taht everything below is...well bull. Tail, those wonderful breeding-” “Auntie!” Before she could finish [ ] was hushing the woman, waving her arms “I get it i get it Bull bottom human top i dont need to hear about his loins!” She pleaded.

Laughing, the goddess reached to a pile of hay, whistling to feed some of the nearby cows “Ah you silly girl, I was only gloating about my finest bull yet! I even tried bringing him mortals but...he crushed them, saying they were too small. Every single one! Younger older it didnt matter, he wanted nothing to do with them and just squashed them like a bug under his hoofs! I'm at my wits end, Im not sure what he needs, and hes so large i cant just let him walk around the palace place, he intimidates the clerks and huffs when talked to!” Dramatically laying against the table she looked to the thinking girl, her eyes shining with an idea “Hey auntie, how about you take me to him, i can see if hes loss any weight or seems sickly anywhere. Where do you think hed be at this time?” [ ] asked “Ah you brave girl, what time is it, almost high noon? He might be in the field but its the one with my giant tree that he likes” Demeter responded, pointing to a large tree up a few fields with nothing much around it but luhs grass. “Doesnt even matter if i put up a fence, he walks on two legs so he just hops over it” She sighed again as the duo headed outside.

Seeing a tall minotaur coming towards them [ ] stopped along Demeter, her goddess aunt speaking “Ah Milvor, how are you and Altine?” “Lady Demeter and I'm guessing this is [ ], we are fine. The misses is in the field now, seeing if she can see our boy” He said. Realizing that this was the after for her case [ ] spoke up “Uhm sir have you noticed anything amiss with er-” “Kendo, his name is Kendo” The Minatour said “Ah yes with Kendo, anything seem to be hurt or missing from his way of life” She asked. “Well..not particularly. Hes always fought some of the other males here so bruises and marks are a common thing we see from him. Besides a broken horn he doesn't have anything major going on. Just that he refuses to be around anyone here. Even us at times when were out with the others” He said solemnly , looking at the girl. Grabbing her hands he pleaded “Please, help our son? I know he can be rude and dismissive but down there our sweet boy is in there, were worried sick about him” Milvor said, a sad moo coming from his approaching wife “Miss i do appreciate you checking on him, I just hope he'd be home soon” A half cow women spoke , coming beside this Kendo’s father “Well i'll do my best, it doesnt sound like hes too hurt or anything serious so i'll make sure to try and get him to be with you both” Giving a reassuring smile [ ] started off, heading to the tree at the top of them hill. Just before she got far Demeter called to her, handing her sweet wheat “Heres some of his snack, he sometimes will come back if we offer him more” She said. Taking the wheat and putting it in the side of her flowing peplos. Soon with enough treading uphill , she got close to the tree , soon seeing a tail swish from in front of the tree. Hesitantly she walked forward before seeing hooved legs, also covered in black fur, pop out from the tree. Placing a hand at the side that had no person on it she peeked over to in fact , find a rather giant back in the sun, small flecks of freckles on the toned skin. Holding her gift closer she walked to the male before hearing a snort “ ‘M tellin’ ya Elinor I dont want nothin’ to do with ya, go on, go back to the heard” A rough and deep voice said, a larger hand coming up to wave off whoever was behind him. Feeling a bit bad for this mysterious Elinor and offended, she was brushed off [ ] walked closer , standing at the ends of his legs until the male growled. “I told ya to-'' Stopping himself from yelling once he turned around he was surprised to find not hybrid named Elinor but in fact the small [ ] her eyes widening as amber ones looked down “Yer not Elinor” He said as [ ] giggled “And im guessing youre Kendo” She said as the bull sat up, cruising his legs and the curious woman in front of her. “Whos askin?”

He huffed as [ ] looked at him as she did the same , sitting across from the hybrid “A…. doctor of sorts. Your parents, along with Goddess Demeter asked me to come check on you, see how youre doing” she said as he huffed again “ ‘M fine, now why did they send you” He said as he watched her pull things out, paper , a quill, ink and is that..? Pointing to the bustle of wheat he called out “Is that… for me?” Blinking [ ] looked at the almost childish Kendo, smiling as she untied the snack “It is for you, I heard you liked it. Brought it in the hopes youd talk to me?” She questioned, holding a piece out for him to take. Hesitantly he did, gnawing at it as he hummed in delight, his tail swishing. “ So uhm… Doc what do want to know” He asked, watching as the smaller girl touched his chest and arms, squeezing lightly as she wrote down different things “If ya wanted to touch me ya shouldve asked” He teased, taking his own hand to her face. Felling he face warm up she moved back, poking him with a finger “Now now be good im just seing if youre injured. Besides that horn, do you have anything broken or doenst feel well?” She asked as she waved a pisces of wheat, making him focus. “Nah, im as fit as a fiddle” Side eyeing his response she still gave him a piece , hearing him hum in delight as she wrote more notes.

“So no injuries, no pain , nothing?” shaking his head he continued to eat , taking some pieces from her bundle as she reached for the uneatten pieces “Hey! No you get these as a reward for answering me not to eat at your leisure!” She scolded. Reaching as far as she could she grabbed at his hand before he lifted them higher, smirking “Well miss doc i want what i want, and I want my snack” He said before she grabbed his arm, poking a manicured nail at it hand “Well Kendo ill let you have it if you tell me whats wrong, without covering it up deal?” Feeling him flinch at her poking she did it again until he moved away , glaring at her through his bangs that hung low “Fine! Stop poking me though, ya nails hurt! And theres nothing wrong, i just dont like ‘em cows! They stink!” He said as he knelt closer, moving her from his arm. “They stink? How old are you 5? Why do they stink!” [ ] huffed back as he chewed more of his treat, looking to the flustered girl “Im 22 in human years little girl , and like i said they stink! Reeks like open sores and meat” He said as he kept eating , laying in the sun. Thinking over his words it dawned in her what he could be talking about “And what do i smell like Kendo?” [ ] asked, catching the half bull off guard “I dunno, you dont stink, Neither does lady Dem” He said as he turned to her. Leaning over she gave him a piece of wheat again but this time, pushing herself a bit forward, watching as his body shook before he took the piece , eating it. “Well Kendo, my name is [ ] and ill be checking on you moreoften okay? I need to run down to the house but ill be back if that's okay with you?” Silently he shook his head, watching her run off as he opened his still crossed legs, feeling himself unsleeth as he groaned ‘Shit...now why am I gettin turned on’ he thought to himself, rubbing away what he could before the girl came back

As soon as she got to the farm she was met with the eyes of the worrying three, the first to speak being his mother Altine “Oh! [ ] youre back!” She said, the bell on her neck dangling as she ran to the fence “How is my boy? Kendo is he alright?” she asked as Demeter and Milvor came soon after for the report “Well maam i can confirm he is healthy, not is wrong with him the only thing is..” [ ] hesitated as she looked at them “He might have a heat approaching, is this his first one by any chance?” SHe asked as they all looked at eachother, Demeter speaking up “Well not exactly, this is why I kept bringing mortals up here, he wouldnt mate with the cows, and even other hybrids! Nothing! Hed turn his nose up at them all and go back to that field. He actually broke that horn of his fighting a bull from a neighboring farm who wanted to cow that was trying to get his attention” Demeter said, sigh as she saw her nieces blank face , afraid she overwhelmed her “Its alright if you dont think hes fixable [ ] i can-” “No hes fine. I can help him, and i think it wont be that hard either” [ ] said, giving the group a smile. “Watch him for a few days for me , im gonna go back up there with him, see how he is then come back in a few days with some of my things, ill stay here as long as need be to help your son” She said as she gave them all a smile, going inside to get her something to eat. Soon she hear her aunt appear, shuffling about to give her a basket to put her things in “Here, Im so gald helping him is a easy fix” She said sighing happily as she continued “I know he should mate on his own time, but im more concerned for his heath of it all, he doesnt even release into anyone or even by himself” Glancing towards her auntie she took in a breath before saying something “Well, i know it has to be bad now, he even said the er, cow women here stink, so their hormone have to be covered with other bulls or maybe he genuinely doesnt see appeal with them” [ ] said. Thinking it over Demeter gave her an almost alarming look “Well if thats the case just as you arrived he asked me what i was cooking, that something smelt good. I told him I didnt have anything and he just retreated back to his part of the barn before leaving for the field again.” Slowly [ ] realized she might be in for more than she imagines but brushed it off. “Interesting..” She said as she took her full basket “I have an idea, im gonna see if his heat hits its peaking times in a few days, I do plan on staying here if youd have me here?” She asked as a delighted look spread across Demeter’s face “Of course dear child! I missed having you around! Your Father was bad at bringing you over, him and his festivals” Demeter huffed before she poked her nieces cheek “Besides! We can have a girls night, or well er, weeks depending!” She said as the laughed together “Well it's a deal!”

Heading back up the hill she saw that Kendo had moved, facing a running river as he sast in the sun once more, looking content. [ ] smirked to herself before grabbing some of the things she had ; a brush, a lavish soap and a towel. Heading to where the behemoth of a hybrid laid she noticed his ear twitched, before he opened an eye to look back at her. “Hey Doc, ya back.” He said as she gave him a smile, sitting beside his head “Why yes I am. You seem to be enjoying yourself” She teased as he smirked, turning to face her. “Well i do enjoy the sun, keeps me warm nd my hair soft.” Looking him over again she noticed that his hair was always up in a bun but his bangs covering his eyes, a different hue of color, more of a rustic red than his black furred legs. “Well about that...Im gonna give you a bath!” the giant bull flinched at her words, seeing the happy look gracing her face “Oi now look, ‘m fine i dont need no bath” He argued as she pouted “Why sure you do! I know you dont go when the others get theirs, and if that bun of yours is any indication, you need to wash all of that dirt and grime off. Now let me help you” She barked back, pointing the soft looking brush towards his face. He stood up, now overthrowing the girls height as he pointed a finger at her “Now look, I like being this way, it keeps those girls offa me if you clean me now they wont leave me alone!” [ ] sighe before stepping closer, pointing her own small hand at his face, moving closer “Now you listen to me Kendo, I have things to help keep them off of you, this is for your own health! I can leave you here, dirty but your hair and fur is gonna get so matted theyll have to shave you!”

At hearing a potential that hed be shave Kendo flinched, moving his bangs so his soft eyes could meet her determined ones “Theyll shave me? Ion wanna be like the sheep” he said she she gave him a satisfied look. “Well go into the water then and ill make sure you wont!” Reluctantly he sighed, walking into the river as she followed behind, pinning her longer robe so it wouldnt get too wet as she sat at the side of the river. Holding a hand out she waved him closer, the male coming to her as she undid his hair. To her utter surprise it fell down his shoulders, stopping just short of his waist. Gently she pushed his bangs back to see his pretty amberish eyes looking up to her [ ]’ed ones. He had a typical Bull hook through his nose , the gold shining in the warm sun. He was quite handsome, sun kissed skin and a clear face, broad shoulders and a nice body. Even with his mostly human body his horns, tail and ears were bull, on top of his legs and...neithers , that were covered in fur. Softly she traced a scar under his eye, the wound slightly tender as he jumped from the touch. Going to her wrist she tied a string to hold his long bangs up, a giggle falling from her lips as he almost looked like a younger child getting a bath “What're you lookin at me like that for” He huffed as she laughed more, pushing his face together “You look like an upset child is all. Now go ahead and dip in the water for me , ill scrub you after.” Listening to her, Kendo dropped watching as some of the debris and dirt washed off around him as he stood up, shaking his hair “Good enough?” He asked as she shook her head, pouring some of the sopa on the brush as she started to was his chest,making sure to scrub him as clean as she could from land. Sensing her struggle he reached to her, lifting her over his body as she squealed “Sorry, you were just strugglin so i thought i'd help you” Kendo said as [ ] hesitantly started to wash as much as she could, tapping his arm anytime she needed to move. Being up there did help, she was able to was his horns and his hair, revealing the rust orange and copper hair underneath. Surprised she ran her finger though it, giving him a shy smile. “See dont you feel a bit better?” She asked as he shyly nodded, noticing how her clothes clinged to her chest. He reached to put her back on land, coming out of the water himself as he allowed her to scrb his legs and hoofs, the dull black fur coming to life as he watched in awe. She didnt mind helping him, still came to bother him when he said he didnt want help and now she was bathing him. Kendo mulled over how helpful she was, and realized she was more comforting than most. After scrubbing his hoofs shiny she tapped his legs, signaling she was done.

“All right! Now that youre all clean and such Ill make sure you stay this way okay Kendo?” [ ] said as she went back to the basket, pulling out two apples. The bull in question watched as she came back to him, handing him the other one “Here ya go! Thought you could use something sweet” kendo took the apple from the girl, before biting into it, thanking hier softly as they sat in silence. Soon [ ] spoke up, breaking their silet aurora “So...ill be around here the next few days or so, ill probably stay longer, giving how nice it is” She laughed, looking at the curious male beside her “Dont be afraid to ask me for anything okay? Im here to help you” With that Kendo nodded, going back to the apple. Quietly Kendo touched her arm, making [ ] look to him as an unfamiliar look went over his face. Gently herself, [ ] put her hand on his, shaking her head as a signal for him to talk. “Would you mind...pettin me?” he asked before [ ]’s eyes went wide. Now feeling a bit more embarrassed he spoke up again “I have problems going to sleep, ‘ts why i like it out here in the sun, its warm , nd comforting…” Pausing he continued after he got his words together. “You do the same thing like the sun. Youre warm...comforting.. And make me feel sleepy...so if you pet me...ill be comforted to sleep..its what my mama did, but im too big to be in her lap” With that kendo finished, glancing to the girl who gave him a soft look “Of course i can! I have to get pick some more clothes up but once i get back, I can stay with you out here.” Shaking his head Kendo looked back to the river “Ya dont have to sleep outside with me just...put me to sleep” Unable to stop herself [ ] hugged his arm, looking at him through her lashes “Oh cmon you big baby, I dont mind it! Havent slept under the stars since i was a kid!” Brushing off her dress she ran a hand though his thick locs of hair, giving him another warm hug “Ill be back before sundown, now you be good” And with that he watched as his new found friend walked down the hill.

As promised she brought a blanket and joined him, laying under the tree as the large male went to sleep on her lap, contently humming as [ ] ran her fingers through his hair, making Kendo groan as he fell asleep like mentioned, hugging her thighs as he slept the most comfortable he had in weeks. Watching the hybrid sleep she saw all types of scars, some down his back , others on his chest. A few on his arms and only one on his face, plus the broken horn. He obviously got himself into different groups of problems, but he was sweet, not as curt as he expected. Running her fingers down his back she watched him shiver, going to wrap his arms higher around her torso. Giggling as softly as she could [ ] started to braid his hair back in his sleep, the moving under her ceasing as he was well resting once more. Thinking to herself ‘ If he’ll be like this it should be a breeze to help him.’ Oh how wrong she was.

A few days passed with little to no incident , [ ] going around helping with the daily chore and hanging out with her deity auntie. As the two of them sat in the living quarters, drinking a mixed juice that her father set them they heard a bell appear towards the window, it being Kendo’s mother “I'm so sorry to bother you , but i think something is gravely wrong. Kendo is whining in the shed, earlier he even started to-” Before she could finish a thumb came from his shed, followed by a groan “and that, he's been head butting his room” sitting up [ ] looked to his shed, seeing the door shut but large banging still coming from inside “Hey Auntie, is it alright if we could move him to the other field? I dont want his lashing to accidentally hurt anyone here” Coming besides [ ] Demeter chewed at her lip, thinking “Well, if we can stop him then yes, I'd get the boys to move it quickly”. With that answer [ ] got up, heading to the rocking shed. Taking in a breath she knocked, hearing that the groans subsided. The door slowly creaked open, showing a heaving Kendo “[ ].....?” He whispered, looking over her body as she reached to his forehead, pressing her hand against it. Hot, way too hot. “Kendo, sweetie come with me okay? We’re gonna go to the fields and we're gonna move your shed there okay?” Silently he nodded, coming out of his place. He was gasping, chest heaving as his eyes swirled a darker color than normal. Taking the outstretched hand of [ ] his larger fingers curled against it, following the light pull of the girl. Softly, He nudged her back “ ‘M hot..” he said as she looked back at him, making sure the fever wasn't wearing him down. He gave her a weak smile, rubbing the back of her hand “ ‘M alright princess, just hot” Kendo said as she noted how his voice dropped octaves. “Well theyre gonna bring a bigger shed for you out here and ill check on you every hour. Does anything hurt?” [ ] asked as they walked up the hill “Nah, but my horns are ackey.” “Is that why you were bashing them on the shed?” “Yeah...its like trying to scratch an itch you can reach” Kendo sighed, seeing his usual tree coming into view. As the duo got there he dramatically fell under it, pulling [ ] with him. “K-kendo! Careful!” she fussed as he let go of her apologizing as he drifted to sleep. Soon some of the workers had started working on the new roomed shed for him , finishing just before sundown as they would inform Demeter of where she was.

Gently pushing the deep sleeping boy from her lap she went to his new place, checking everything out. It was more of a small home than a shed, filled with a huge bed and a nice aesthetic to them, the touch of the goddess laced through the look of the place. Going around to sort some of the things they brought for Kendo, [ ] felt a presence behind her “whats all this..” the groggy bull said, ducking down to walk into his lavish bedroom “Your new home! I had them build something spacious but also not overwhelming, and these white are just so lovely.” [ ] kept talking as she soon felt two large arms wrap around her torso “ Ya did this for little ol me..?” He whispered as she ran a hand over his forearm. “I did...you need somewhere to relax in this state” She responded, trying to get from his grasp as he tighten it “Uh uh dont leave...tell me whats wrong with me doc..why cant I stop feeling hot...and anytime you come around I...cant help myself” He ended with a groan , burying his face in the shorter girls neck “Well once im sure of you being in a state of need ill be back okay? Just...relax for me and i promise ill be back.” finally convincing him to let go of her waist, not without a pained groan as he went to the bed, hazy eyes glancing over the short dress wearing girl “Get some more rest okay? Im gonna get something to eat and ill be back in the morning. Call me if you need me okay?” [ ] said as he just groaned a meek response, turning to his side.

Earlier the next morning [ ] woke up to an empty house. Stretching she found a neatly written note with some food on the table

Dearest Niece, Im currently headed to your Uncle Poseidon's place, I should be back some time later ; an update on Kendo, hes been begging for you all day, wont let anyone touch him or check on him. He should be awake now but do be warned ; He’s a lot more scatterbrained than usual

Auntie Demeter

Reading over the note again [ ] sighed, putting on her more comfortable and workable dress as she headed up to his new little house on his hill, the sound of groaning and whines coming to her ears as she got to his door. Seeing it ajar she pushed it open slightly, the place dark except from a crack of light coming from the window. Going to the shades she opened them, hearing a hiss from the bed. “Kendo its me..[ ]?” She called out as the wild set of hair came into view. He was even more disheveled, eyes filled over as he looke to the girl before growling, crawling out of the bed to her. With a gasp she was in his arms, body shaking as she was met with unnaturally feral eyes from the boy. “You left me yesterday..” he rapeseed out, burying his face in her neck again as she grabbed at his thick neck “Kendo honey, i told you id be back this morning didnt i?” She calmly said as he held her tighter, pushing her chest to his “Dont care, ‘ts too long” Realizing why he was so needy [ ] tried to reason with him “Well im sorry love, here lets sit down on the bed” Trying to get him to move she walked forward only to feel something large and hot push into her bare thigh. Nervously she looked down only to be faced to what she feared it was ; His hanging member. A wicked laugh came from above her as she was met with his ever lust driven eyes, a hand of his going to cup her ass and pull her closer “See what you left me with? No matter how hard i fuck my fist i cant cum, it wont come out” He whined and burried his face again, rocking himself on her thigh “Please ill do anythin..youre the only one who sgotten me like this...the only one i want..[ ] please princess help me” Overwhelmed but the situation she tried to pull back, eyes searching his “K-kendo youre getting yourself worked up relax-” Without warning he picked her up, making her screech as he brought her crouch to his face, inhaling as he whimpered, reaching down to his growing dick “Fuck you smell good, like flowers...and sweets..” Letting his tongue roll out he sucked over her panties, making her squeal as she gripped his messy hair “N-no kendo put me down i need to help y-you!” She moaned as his tongue flicked over her clit, a mutual groan coming from both of them. Soon a hard tug to his hair resonated, cause him to put her down as she barely touched the floor, hand grabbing his biceps “Kendo please, please sit down youre overworking yourself.” Trying to calm her racing heart she saw how hazed he was, his hand coming to wrap around his visually throbbing head, stroking himself as tight and fast as he could, looking at the awe struck girl infront of him. His hips lifted up as he was chasing a high but he soon groaned, thrusting meekly in his fist “I-I cant, fuck I cant do it doll, ‘t hurts...p-please” Finally snapping from her haze she got closer to Kendo, hand still trying to milk himself as she put her hand over his, stoping the motion.

“K-ken..ill help you okay? Youre gonna rub yourself raw at this pace..” nervously [ ] pulled his hand away, precum coating it as she gulped. He was huge, red and swollen tip curved in the right places. Even with his bull heritage he was still humanly manageable, but with a lot of work to try and get it to fit. With her staring at the intimidating size it twitched , curving up to his belly button as he gave her a lop sided snarl “ Cmon darlin, he... er, we need you . ya keep staring make me feel a bit exposed” He laughed as [ ] gave her own light chuckle. Facing her fears she wrapped a hand around his tip, a hurting yelp falling from Kendo at the touch made her eyes flicker to him but what she saw was pure lust, eyes blown with his tongue licking over his lips “Y-yes finally...shit I-i can feel somethin” Kendo couldnt help himself. Reaching down he grabbed her other hand , wrapping them tightly around his tip as he thrusted between them. “Mhmm im cumin, im gonna cum o-oh shit” As soon as she twisted her wrist to help him he felt himself twitch , spurts of warm cum splattering on [ ]’s face and the floor a he gave her a nervous laugh “S-shit doll face yer good...im sorry i couldnt hold it in..” he said shyly as [ ] gave him a sympathetic look, stroking over his still throbbing head. “[ ] please...can I fuck you? I-I promise ill go slow its juts the smell of you is..mhmm intoxicating” Kendo pulled her up from her knees, pressing his mouth against her clinging panties ,pulling them with his teeth. [ ] squeaked, grabbing his hair as he pushed her hips closer, trying to lick her. “W-wait ill take em off” Pushing at his shoulders she pulled the piece he had in his mouth out, sliding the flimsy lace as she came a bit closer, a growl coming from his lips as he pushed her dress higher, finally able to taste her. Throwing one leg then the next on his shoulder kendo fell back, making her fall onto his lips.

[ ] let a pitched moan come out, startled by his rummaging in between her thighs , his diligent uskcing on her clit taking a toll as she came, bucking her hips onto his mouth. Swallowing her juices Kendo flipped her on her stomach, pushing the fabric of her dress up and over her shoulder to release her covered chest, now exposed “mhmm i want more of that sweet nectar baby why dont you give it to me?” whispering in her ear and now bucking his even harder dikc between her small lips [ ] started to panic “K-Ken wait I dont think youll fit!” ignoring her thrashing Kendo looked over her body, seeing how she shook at every stroke of his tip against her sopping core “I told ya ill be gentle, hold still [ ]...i wouldnt hurt my mate” The heaviness of those word took over [ ]’s body as she looked back to him, only to see the save behemoth size push against her ring of muscles. Agonizingly slow he pushed, letting his tip slide in as he pushed each small inch he could in, a whine falling from them both. Once he was halfway in he slowly thrust his hips, causing the girl to yelp “I-its alright i got ya okay? Youre fine...its okay im here” Constantly praising her , Kendo was able to slip more into her, each mini thrust pushing him a bit closer to her, the sounds of squishing and pleasure filled moans filling the room. Becoming overwhelmed at almost being full [ ] pushed her hips back to take the rest, making Kendo yelped and [ ] moaned, the sudden feeling of him bottoming out almost too much as he placed his hand on her stomach, feeling him brush her cervix. Swinging his hips more fluidly he started to pounder her even more, gripping her neck as he pushed her deeper in the bed “Fuck yeah i knew youd be my perfect little minx, taking me so well i cant wait to see you swollen with my babies” He huskily whispered , the stretched out girl too blissed at taking him whole to care about his words.

“I bet youd love being my mate, wouldnt have to lift a finger for anything , id take good care of ya..” Continuing his beating against her cervix he felt something strong hed never felt before, a blind need to cum hitting him like a train “mhm..please let me breed you, this pussys’ mine, all i ever wanted...ill make you a cute little house wife hm? Make you swell with cute little us running about.” Feeling her weakening clench over him he reached for that bundle of nerves, switching his hips to hit even deeper, his throbbing dick pushing against that sponge in her walls. Crying out [ ] fell lower, feeling him slip impossibly deeper as he sped up.” Cmon [ ] , babygirl cum for me..give me it..t-then i can give you what you want yeah? Fill ya to the brim so you can bear me a strong child….”Finally at that the little sense of control snapped coming from a particularly hard push and roll of her clit she was whining , grabbing the arm beside her head as angry red lines welted up. Feeling her hit her peak Kendo got to his knees , nursing her bud as she tried to tug him away, thighs shaking as teary eyes looked down to his fierce lust filled one. As soon as she started whimpering and pulling her hips away he stopped, scrubbing his tip along her folds as he entered without too much pull, [ ]’s mouth falling open “Mh..i'm so close baby...just wanted to look at you when I fill you full..” Kendo felt his tip twitch, making his hips stutter as he picked his pace up again, watching as her arms went are far as they could to his back, stretching his shoulders as he came with a growl, and almost audible sound of him pumping in her heard as she weakly pulled him closer, their lips meeting in a intimate kiss.

With care he pulled from her lips, seeing her eyes fill up again as he kissed tears away “Its alright...its okay ‘m here princess...its alright..I didnt hurt you did I?” Kendo asked as he looke at her slightly bulged stomach, a satisfied smirk on his lips “ Hey [ ]...” He started as she gave a weak hum he continued “Be my mate..I know i didnt ask before filling you bu...id be honored to make such a caring woman my mate and wife...treat you just like my father does my mom..…” He said, nuzzling her cheek before [ ] pulled his face up, kissing him lightly as she gave him a tired smile, rubbing his cheeks “I-id be honored to be your mate..take good care of me okay? Or Auntie Demeter has your head..” Laughing he kissed her lips again, sealing their new deal

[waithyuck]

TRICKY

pairing: elf! na jaemin x reader (f) **halloweenie special**

genre: smut, supernatural au

word count: 3k

warnings: {OKAY IM PUTTING A WARNING FOR VERY MILD *DUB-CON* BC TECHNICALLY THE READER IS TRICKED , BUT IN THE END OBVIOUSLY CONSENTS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED}, sexual content (fingering, dry humping), explicit language, use of several pet names, possessive behavior and vocabulary, reader just wants to find her damn cat but gets a whole lot more than that, bad attempts at explaining folklore, I’m sorry for any inaccuracies 😬 **ALSO UNEDITED**

a/n: **repost bc tumblr sucks** this is definitely more of my own spin on what I think an elf would be like, so sorry to those of you who are into the lore and stuff 🥺

< previous | next >

~10/14/2020~

~~~~

your grandmother was always a very smart woman, and you knew that very well. so when she told you not to do something, you made sure to NEVER do it.

you lived with her on the very outskirts of your town; your own backyard made up of a very dense forest with enough trees in it to block out almost all sunlight. your bedroom window faced the forest, and every night you were forced to stare at it as you sat at your desk, contemplating what went on in there.

your grandmother repeatedly told you to never go in there, no matter what, ever since you were a child. she would talk about all kinds of crazy things, like witches and faeries, and even elves.

the first time she told you about the dark forest, you were only six years old.

“you can’t go in there, y/n.” she said seriously, crouching before you as you stood in the kitchen with her. “no matter how much it may call you, you can never enter it.”

you didn’t understand, so of course, in typical child fashion, you questioned her.

“well why not?” you shot back, crossing your arms and pouting. she stood back up after looking at you for a second, going back to mixing brownie batter in a large bowl.

“the fae are dangerous creatures. the forest is littered with them, my dear.” she stopped for a moment, gazing out the kitchen window and into the thick gathering of trees and plant life. “the elves will claim you once you enter, and you may never be able to escape again.”

after that, she didn’t say much else to you about it.

at first, you thought she was just trying to scare you into not wandering off, but after a while you began to believe her.

there would be strange noises in the night; like whispers calling out to you from the direction of your window. it creeped you out but you tried to convince yourself it was just your imagination playing tricks on you.

your life continued on like that for years, and eventually it didn’t phase you at all. you were used to the nightly whispers now, and even your cat didn’t seem to mind them, if she could hear them at all.

you never told your grandmother about them, however. she was getting old and you didn’t want to be the reason she had a heart attack, as awful as that sounded.

for being as old as she was, she still got around pretty good, and there were days when she left you along for a good few hours to go out on walks with her other old lady friends.

it was really cute.

today was just like any other day like that; your grandmother left around eleven in the morning to go out, leaving you some breakfast on the counter for when you inevitably stumbled out of your room at one o’clock in the afternoon.

everything seemed normal. you ate in silence and scrolled through your phone at the kitchen table, but then noticed something was right.

looking around you, you noticed your cat was nowhere in sight. she would usually be up on the table sitting and staring at you or rubbing against your leg for no reason, but currently she was nowhere to be found.

at first you just assumed she was sleeping somewhere else, but after eating you searched the house and couldn’t find her anywhere. walking back into the kitchen you happened to glance outside and your heart jumped in your chest.

then you started to panic.

looking out into the backyard you saw her stark white fur disappear into the thick brush of the forest, and you almost screamed out loud at the sight.

“fuck,” you exclaimed, your heart racing and your mind thinking of all the ways to try to get her back. you were always advised to not go into the forest...but you couldn’t let your poor cat who you loved very dearly to get mauled out there by some bigger animal.

you had to go after her.

you mustered you all the courage you had inside you, not bothering to change out of your ratty shorts and t-shirt before shoving your feet in your sneakers. you let out a shaky breath as you walked into your backyard, staring down the darkness of the forest with determination.

as you apprehensively made your way to the very entrance of the brush, you spotted a large crooked stick, and didn’t hesitate to grab it to use as a weapon if necessary.

you didn’t want to be completely defenseless against any supernatural creatures you came across. you had a gut feeling that running into one would be inevitable, and the fear rang like a siren in the back of your mind like a sonata.

the ‘do not enter’ and ‘keep out: danger’ signs did nothing to ease your pounding heart and screaming nerves, but you pressed on regardless. you had to do this, for your stupid cat.

with one large step, you passed the boundary of the trees, the wind picking up as soon as you did. a chill ran down your spine but you kept your legs moving, careful not to break your ankles on any protruding roots. it was incredibly dark, even though the sun was high in the sky, but the leaves of the towering trees cut out almost all light.

you stumbled around aimlessly for what felt like hours, but in reality it had only probably been about 45 minutes before you stopped and took a breather. checking your phone for the time, you felt a pang in your chest when you realized that it was off, and wouldn’t turn back on no matter how hard you tried.

“fuck,” you muttered, fear creeping up on your soul once again. you really didn’t want to be in this forest longer than necessary, and you really seriously contemplated just leaving your cat behind, as horrible as that was.

your eyes gazed around, taking in the trees surrounding you. nothing seemed too out of the ordinary...all though you really though you saw a few small dashes of light fly around you through your periphery. you prayed that they weren’t pixies or fairies of whatever else your grandmother told you about.

you didn’t trust anything, no matter how beautiful or non-threatening they seemed to be on the outside.

“hello there.” a voice spoke out suddenly, causing you to jump and spin around, dropping your makeshift weapon in the process.

your eyes met the sight of a young man who looked to be around your age, with a slightly unsettling smile upon his face. he was almost too handsome; the beauty that emanated from him in waves was incredibly addicting, and you felt the pull of him immediately. it was hard to tear your eyes away, and that scared you.

you had no idea where he had come from, nor did you know how he managed to so quietly sneak up behind you like he did. you definitely would have heard him coming, considering the amount of twigs and leaves littering the ground at your feet.

your heart raced at the possibility of who, or what, he was, your mind trying to go through everything your sweet old grandmother ever told you. some inner part of you already knew what you were dealing with.

“don’t hurt yourself, darling,” the man spoke again, referencing to your mind working in overtime. he took a step forward toward you, and in turn you took a large stumbling step back. he watched you move, chuckling. “I’m jaemin, care to tell me your name?”

“n-no,” you managed to say, your hands clutched at your chest as you tried to calm your racing heart. you swore you saw his eyes flicker a bright aquamarine for a moment before returning back to brown as his smile faltered slightly. It came back a split second later.

“you’re a smart girl,” he purred, most likely realizing that you knew he wasn’t human, inching closer once more. you felt frozen, unable to step back like you truly wanted to, and you willed yourself not to panic. “you know what I am, I presume?”

your lips shook as you opened your mouth to speak, your tongue running over your chapped lips and he watched every single movement, causing your body to shiver.

“I have a-an idea,” you softly whispered, not breaking eye contact as he stopped in front of you. he didn’t say a word, only smiling at you as you stayed frozen in your spot. one word screamed in your mind: elf. you didn’t even have to look at his pointed ears to deduct that. the vibe he gave off was abundantly clear, even if you had never encountered another being of his kind before.

it didn’t feel like he was compelling you; it was more or less your reaction to the immense shock and fear you felt, coming in contact with a creature your grandmother always warned you about.

and it’s all because of your dumb cat.

“l-look dude, I’m just trying to find my cat.” you stated strongly now, holding your ground as best you could as he looked at you intensely, that slightly unsettling smile never leaving his face.

“once it entered the forest it became mine.” he simply retorted, leaning against the tree trunk beside him. “anything that passes the trees here belongs to me…” he paused for a moment, his eyes now glowing a full bright aquamarine, startling you as he seared his gaze through your very soul. “so I guess that means you’re mine as well. how lucky.”

the elf spoke softly, but there was an edge to his tone that made you shiver, paired with his choice of words.

“I-I’m not..” you stuttered, your fists clenched by your sides. was he the ruler of the forest? some sort of elf king?

“you’re not?” he asked, chuckling to himself as he pushed his body from the tree, slowly slithering toward you on his bare feet. “did you not hear what I said? everything in this forest is mine. that includes living creatures,” you had no willpower to move away as he crowded your space, his glowing eyes paralyzing you as his body drew closer and closer. “I wonder what I should do with my new possession.” he smirked to himself, reaching a pale hand out to gently cup your chin, laughing lowly as you instinctively flinched. “you are without a doubt the prettiest thing I’ve seen enter my domain in years, princess. I’ve been waiting for you.”

his last sentence threw you off, but for a moment your brain couldn’t remember the whispers you heard all those years, and it didn’t click. you couldn’t deny that this elf man was attractive; and you couldn’t deny the fact that his voice had your legs weakening with every word he spoke. you cursed yourself mentally for being affected by him, because deep down you were aware of the danger of encountering elves.

thinking back to your cat, you wondered why she would have left the house in the first place. she was lazy and never wanted to really move...unless something was calling her…

your heart seemed to stop beating and your blood ran cold.

“you tr-tricked me…” you said in realization, your eyes widening. “you tricked me into coming in here, using m-my cat!” your voice was panicked and you found it hard to breathe. then, your brain finally figured it out. “you’re the one that’s been whispering to me all these years, aren’t y-you?”

he smiled at you with dark aquamarine eyes, and now you weren’t sure how you were going to get yourself out of this mess.

you weren’t entirely sure you wanted to get out of this mess.

wait, what?, your eyes widened at your own thoughts, where did that come from??

suddenly and without warning, your entire body was grasped in his hold. his hands dominantly gripped your waist and flipped you around so that your front was smacked up against a tree, the sharp bark scratching your cheek as your face was scraped against it.

“you’re my kitty now.” his voice whispered directly into your ear, his breath causing your body to visibly shiver in his hold.

you didn’t mean to whine, you really didn’t, but when he his teeth found your ear and nibbled gently on the skin, you couldn’t hold it in. your legs trembled beneath you as your knees weakened, the feeling of his warm body pressed tightly against your back leaving you wanting more and more.

he pressed deceivingly sweet kisses along your neck, your hands clutching the bark of the tree in response, your nails scratching along the surface. you jolted when you felt his right hand move down your front and nestle between your legs, putting pressure right against your covered center.

“hmm, you want it, don’t you?” he mumbled quietly, his chest rumbling against your back. “your thoughts are so loud, I know you can’t resist me.”

your thighs clenched in anticipation as he ran his long fingers delicately along your core through your shorts, and you let out a breathy whimper in response.

he tsk’d at you, giving your pussy a light slap through the thin fabric before completely drawing it away. “I wanna hear you say yes, kitty.”

his voice was demanding as he spoke, and you couldn’t disobey.

with your eyes glazing over, you gripped the tree trunk tightly and mewled out, “yes!”

you could practically hear him smirk, his chuckling causing you to grow even more wet as he finally slipped his hand down your front and into your shorts. when his long finger reached your bare and sensitive nub, you could help but arch your back, causing your ass to press tightly against his rapidly hardening cock. he groaned right in your ear, his hips bucking and grinding against your behind in time with his strokes against your clit.

“you’re already so wet, darling,” he moaned out, dipping his finger down to circle your entrance. “I could just...slide right in.” with those words, he slipped his index finger into you in one clean movement, his long finger reaching deep inside your pussy.

you cried out when the tip of his finger brushed a sweet spot inside you, and you heard him groan in response, a deep chuckle following.

“good girl,” he muttered, casually slipping his middle finger inside you beside his pointer. the stretch had you throwing you head back, giving him access to your pretty neck. “be as loud as you want, baby. it’s just me, you, and the forest now.”

his hips grinding against your from behind never ceased, and he thrusted his fingers to the same rhythm as his hips. he was literally fingerfucking you; before you knew it he was adding a third finger.

to help with the burn of the stretch, he reached his free hand down and used two fingers to pinch and roll your clit, making you squeeze your eyes shut and clench your teeth at the sudden immense pleasure you were feeling.

it was embarrassing, but you were already so close to reaching your high. you really wanted this feeling to last forever, so you tried to hold it as long as you could.

the noises escaping from you only grew louder the harder he went; the powerful strokes from his hips driving you into the bark of the tree and his fingers plowing deep inside you had you practically screaming.

his lips found your neck and he left wet kisses there, his grains and growls only enhancing your feelings of ecstasy. he sounded like sin, and even though he was an elven boy that you had just stumbled across, you knew you didn’t want him to leave your life. you never wanted to live in a world where you couldn’t hear his moans, and that thought almost terrified you. the effect he was having on you was extremely intense, and you weren’t sure if it was normal, but at this point you were far too gone to care.

“are you gonna cum, kitty?” he strained out, breaking you out of your thought as his hips stuttered against your ass, his fingers still powerfully fucking into you. you could only nod desperately, your throat sore from the guttural sounds you were releasing.

he let out a breathy laugh, causing your walls to flutter around his digits. “then cum. I wanna feel you fucking drench my fingers.”

his words were all it took for you to let go. you screamed as you came, your nails scratching against the tree as your cheek scraped sharply on the bark, most likely drawing blood. your pussy clamped so hard around his fingers that he could barely move them in and out of you, so he drew circles over your clit to help you ride out your orgasm.

his hips pressed tightly against you, and you could feel through your own pants the wet spot on the front of his, indicating that he had cum as well.

after a powerful minute of cumming, you felt your eyes droop in exhaustion almost immediately. jaemin withdrew his fingers from you, wiping your essence on his pants before grouping your waist to keep you from collapsing. you definitely would have fallen if it weren’t for his hold on you.

he gently lowered you to the ground, turning your body so your back was able to rest against the trunk. he wiped at the scratches on your cheek with his thumb, but even though it stung you didn’t have the energy to flinch.

“go to sleep, precious.” he said softly, still stroking your face lovingly. his gentle nature should have set off all of the alarms in your mind and body, but you didn’t have enough energy to care.

in the back of your mind you realized that you probably would never see your cat or your grandmother again, and that you would most likely be trapped in this forest with jaemin for the rest of your days on earth. you didn't want to think about it now, so you took his advice and allowed your eyes to close, dreaming of jaemin and nothing else.

maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

[buglife]

Frogs + king Quirrel /king ghost. (Sorry for the lack of direction I like you  weird frog things)

Info about Hallownest Frogs -> Here

There was something on their face.

Ghost roused from the land of dreams, having just pruned some more nightmares from the collective minds of the kingdom. They had first noticed the pressure a short while ago. It quickly escalated into the feeling of cold wetness as something alive wriggled on the front of their built-in mask. It had got annoying very quickly, and they had decided to hasten their return to the waking world. The sight that greeted them wasn’t another prank by Tiso, a leak in the roof, or anything else.

It was a goddamned frog.

The fat little creature looked them dead in the eyes with their wall eyed stare and blinked slowly.

“Keroo.” It croaked softly. “Keroo.”

At least now, they were actually bigger than the frog. The first one they ever encountered was back when they were small, and the frog was nearly as big as they were. They had remembered poking it with their nail a few times, watching it inflate bigger and bigger in annoyance. Finally, it had one too many pokes and opened its fanged mouth to scream, which sent them running. Absolutely Terrifying. The sound they make when pissed is even enough to make a god shiver.

They were surprised to learn later that frogs were actually the pet of choice for many residents of Hallownest before the fall. They tended to be mild mannered and docile, until poked too many times. They had started seeing more of them after taking the throne, but those ones were on leashes and in the front cases of pet stores. They personally didn’t interact with them much.

The frog croaked again, and it was answered by many more, and it sounds like they were on the bed as well. Moving carefully, Ghost moved their arms out from under the covers to grasp the frog and lift it from their mask. It puffed up in annoyance, but thankfully didn’t start screaming. They turned their head to look at their spouse, and sighed.

Quirrel was still asleep, and also covered in frogs. They looked down to see many more, just resting in the covers and attempting to snuggle in near their legs and body. Ghost guessed that they were looking for warmth, and cuddles, as clearly these ones were friendly. They did not appreciate how the one in their hands started to wiggle, wanting to be put down. They did just that, and the frog crawled over to lay on their chest.

They reached over to shake their spouse, annoying more frogs as they climbed off Quirrel to snuggle next to him. Quirrel took a moment to awaken, as it was a little earlier than usual.

“Mmm….what’s the matter, dear?” He yawned widely, and was startled awake by a loud croak.

He sat up quickly, beholding the frogs that swarmed the bed. He looked at them, and then back to Ghost. “Love...why are there frogs in our bed?”

Being around them for so long has dulled their beloved pillbug’s sense of shock. He rolled right with the punches, and as far as they knew, waking up with a bed full of frogs was on the bottom of the list of distressing discoveries.

Ghost hummed and looked over the amphibians crowding around them. Now that both were awake, they were attempting to shove their way under any hand that was available, demanding attention. They looked clean and plump, so they weren’t strays that broke into the palace. Looking closer, they saw little bands on their arms, each in different colors. They sighed as the realization hit them.

“Hollow.”

------

Hollow was the happiest they have ever been. After years of therapy and love, they have decided what they wanted to do with their lives. Having the support of their siblings has been wonderful and being allowed to choose what they wanted to do was a very welcome feeling. They had wanted to be kind. All they have ever wanted to do, was to help. Even when the Pale King had convinced them that they were hollow, that feeling of wanting to help and protect were still strong.

They were now a proper knight, Hollow the Kind. No longer were they a tool, an ornamental piece designed to just stand there like a living statue. They were free to wander the kingdom and help, but today, they were in their room in the palace. They were often away, but they were happy to have their own room to decorate as they pleased. It ended up turning into a sanctuary with potted plants that lumaflies liked to gather on. They kept their window open, letting them in and out as they pleased. It tickled them so much that they would choose to visit, and they would sit and watch them flit about for hours.

It was a few days ago when they found a box of abandoned frogs and their young, pollywogs, left in the city of tears. The box was shut, so most likely someone got tired of the strays and decided to do something about it. They had taken the box, sneaking it past everyone, to take it to their room. They have been caring for them ever since, giving them attention and making them healthy again. Soon, they’ll be ready to be given away to new families and get their second chance in life.

Hollow knew all about second chances.

They had fed all the frogs and put them to bed on a nest on the floor, and then fell asleep. At least, they think that is what happened. They jolted awake in their armchair when they heard the voice of their twin in through the void.

“Sibling, are you awake?”

Hollow was awake now. They were family, but they were still their knight as well. Is there trouble? Anxiety shot through them and they shivered slightly.

“I am.” Hollow replied in turn, void rumbling within themselves as they grabbed their nail. “Are you in danger?”

“No. May I come in?”

Hollow chuffed. “Yes.”

They were not prepared when Ghost opened their door. Hollow was prepared to see them in any other way except covered in frogs. They needed all four arms to hold them, and the ones that did not fit were perched on their head and shoulders. Hollow looked at the frogs and then towards the nest where they were supposed to be. It was empty. They looked back and forth a few times and didn’t move when Ghost entered. Hollow watched them deposit all the frogs gently back into the nest, picking the ones off their head.

“They were in our bed.” Ghost continued. They didn’t sound angry, just amused.

Hollow shrank in on themselves. “I’m sorry, they must have gotten out, I fell asleep-”

“You are fine, my sibling.” Ghost had to reach up to put their hands on their shoulders. “I am not angry.  I am happy that you are enjoying what you do, and that you are using your strength to help those who are weak.”

“However,” They continued, sweeping their eyes across the room. “Your heart has outgrown the space for you here.”

Hollow didn’t know what to think about that comment. Were they going to have to leave? Luckily their fears were quickly put to rest when Ghost continued.

“I believe we have extra funds in the royal treasury. How about we make plans together for an animal shelter? Surely you’ll have more room there and will have proper tools to use to rehabilitate them.” Hollow could hear the humor in their siblings voice as they gestured at the frogs now swarming in attempts to get on their bed. “Of course, if you don’t mind one more duty on top of the ones you have, I can only think of one person suitable to head it.”

Hollow wheezed happily and gripped their smaller sibling in a hug that would have smooshed a lesser bug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Their void speech ran together as their joy didn’t allow for pause. Ghost chirped and hugged back, now happy that from now on, they are less likely to wake up with a creature on their face.

And that, is how the Gentle Giant Animal Shelter came to be.

[tokoyamisstuff]

Betrothed Ch. 6 - Illumi Zoldyck x Reader

Chapter 6: Bold

Summary: Two pretty unusual family meetings, but one of them lacks a happy end.

Warnings: Angst, Family Drama.

Words: ~4300

Story Masterlist

A/N: Tumblr accidentally posted the unfinished draft a few days ago. Sorry for the confusion! As a treat, you get a very long chapter! (:

Before you were married, Illumi was rarely at home.

He had no one to come home to anyway, let alone someone who cared.

Anyway, this was only one of many things you had changed.

These times, whenever he left, it was only for a good reason like missions, training or caring for his siblings. Sometimes family conferences you were allowed to attend as well, yet not to talk.

Whenever he got home, it felt so cozy and peaceful.

Like he was welcomned and safe here - unlike anything he knew before.

Your home would always smell like scented candles, the many flowers you had planted at the balconry, and whatever you were cooking at the time.

It was very lovely and kinda cheesily decorated by now. Most of the things were stuff you asked Illumi to bring home from his missions, but lately he got you anything he thought you'd like.

Of course you were grateful for everything. It meant he took the time and actually think about what you'd appreciate!

Occasionally, you’d bring home injured animals you found in the forrest surrounding Kurokoo mountain. Sometimes your husband reluctantly assisted you, even though he found kindness futile - he just couldn’t say no to your begging eyes, so be it.

From you, he got love and care in return for his efforts. But a wild animal? Well, if he thought about it, he consdiered himself lacking a real consciousness just as much as the pets you kept.

One day, he’ll understand why people help each other without wanting something back - you promised him. Even though he always emphasized that saving such small lives won’t redeem him anyway.

Yes, the weight of his sins was sure massive - especially now that it all broke down on him, suffering under his newfound sympathy.

You swiped through your phone, adoring all the photos you persuaded him to take together.

It filled your heart with joy to notice every small change he underwent:

He'd run himself a bath from time to time, buy sweets or other things to try out, and spent his free time reading or wandering the estate's forrest instead of thoughtlessly staring into the void.

And for the more nasty things, well...let’s just say Illumi is a quick learner. And you were glad that he began taking the initiative and try out things he may enjoy.

Your husband was more and more developing a personality.

"She's so pretty!"

"Yeah, right?" you proudly commanded the owl to come back, and she immediately landed on your lap. "Her name is Luna."

“She was a gift from big bro Illumi, right?” Your familiar had grown strong very fast, yet it's claws never hurt you. Sometimes you almost forgot that Luna was a dangerous animal rather than a cuddly pet. “Yes, she is!”

"Maybe we can play in the forrest some day. I just need some time to convince your parents."

Alluka was sitting on a chair next to you, cheerfully petting the patient bird. "Thanks, big sis!"

Illumi's little sister was probably the only normal person in this building. No nen, no assassin training either, and a loving nature.

If only there wasn't-

"Y/N!" Oh no. Your husband was back earlier than you expected. "Did you bail her out again?!"

"Big bro!" the little girl cheered, jumping down the stair and wobbling to his direction.

There was not the slightest hint of hate inside of her. Even though she was alone all the time, she was blissfully unaware about her own family resenting her.

"Illumi!" That was the first time you actually raised your voice against him. "Take.down.the. needle. Right now!"

You kept Alluka from getting closer to Illumi, defendingly wrapping your arms around her.

God knows what he'd do...

"Then get that thing out of my face."

Actually, you didn't want to fight in front of a child, but Alluka needed constant superveilance . "How can you be so cruel? She's your sister!"

"Did you make a wish?"

"Of course not! I used my nen to get her out unnoticed, so she could spent some time like a normal child. I would've brought her back tonight. That's all, really! I promise!"

Suddenly, you felt a foreign, powerful aura under your palms.

Damn it.

You forgot her last wish was a hug, which was exactly what you gave her right now.

"Aye."

"That's enough." Illumi already had his needles prepared, infusing them with nen. "I'll end this right here."

You knew he didn't mean it like this. He was afraid of Nanika's powers, and even if this wouldn't end in a disaster, his parents would punish you for your reckless actions.

"Nanika?"

The girl answered, her blackened orbs obediantly glaring at you. "Aye?"

"Y/N" Illumi almost growled, still hesistant. "Know your place."

"Give Illumi a hug."

Baffled, Illumi's needles disappeared into thin air. The girl didn't even reach up to the tall man's thorso, rather embracing one of his legs.

She was so small and weak and fragile - and for the first time, Illumi was able to acknowledge the affection his sister felt for him.

"See?" you calmly explained, now hugging him as well. "Nanika is not evil. Only the people's wish are."

"...she's all alone" he spoke to himself, trying to at least logically understand the situation. "Just like you when I'm gone."

He didn't get it.

Hard enough to understand why you were caring so much about him, but Alluka? The sibling he always despised, insulted, abused, and locked away?

There were still so many things he didn't know yet.

"Well, if it's only the two of you, and I'm supervising..." he mumbled, kneeling down to the girl's height, "Then I guess I can promise you a few liberties."

Alluka's face and aura were back to normal, her glimmering eyes blinking happily at her brother, who was absentmindedly petting her hair.

"Great!" You clasped your hands together, disappearing in the kitchen. "Let's make a hot chocolate for you guys!"

Quickly, you reappeared to the two sitting on the sofa with an awkard distance, until you wrapped them in a blanket.

Illumi sat in middle of you two, deeply buried in thought while you and Alluka were watching TV until she fell asleep.

"I'll bring her back now" you whispered softly, but Illumi already cradled the snoring girl into his arms. "No. I will."

For a second, you were taken aback, unsure about his intentions - but you wanted to believe in him, so you stayed quiet about your apprehensions.

"She's cute, right?" you noticed as Illumi got a strand of hair out of her face. He held her with such great care and insecurity, it was a truly cute sight.

"Dunno. I know the definition of cute, but I don't think I really understand it."

"You are cute, for example." Placing a wet kiss on his cheek, you waved him goodbye as he walled out the door - but in the frame, he stopped.

"You're changing so many things at once."

"For better or worse?"

Illumi wouldn't turn around to look at you, instead watching Alluka's soundly sleeping face.

"I don't know. We'll see."

When Illumi took longer than expected, panic began to rise inside of you.

Did his parents find out? Due to your powers this should basically be impossible, but still-

"Alluka wanted me to stay and play with her" Illumi's voice appeared behind your back, making you jump a little.

So that's why he took so long.

"Was it fun?"

"I'm not a good brother" he murmured, "Not to her or any of them."

He remembered the time he got Kalluto a kimono you picked out for him, as a gift. 

“You’ve changed” the boy said back then, and the confusion in his eyes made Illumi painfully aware that the child was close to become just as inhuman as he was.

And he was the one who teached his siblings to be that way.

Your husband sat on the edge of the bed, with you already laying inside. He buried his face into his hands, seemingly distressed.

Yes, it was fun. Even though he didn't know how to properly entertain a child, Alluka seemed to enjoy her brother's attention inconditionally - just like you did.

Was that love?

"You just tried to protect your family, Lumi" you cooed, massaging his tensed shoulders.

"What about yours?" he suddenly asked, turning to you with a stony expression.

"I, uh-"

"Do you miss them?" Seems like he was afraid to lose you.

You tugged on his arm until he'd finally let himself fall into the bed, and you put an arm and leg around him, effectively trapping him into your hold.

"Of course I do. But this is my home now."

"And they're nice people?" he wondered, since your parents were assassins too.

He laid his head onto your chest, trying for your heartbeat to lull him to sleep.

"They are...special. Strict but loving. I think all parents fuck up their children somehow. But I still love them."

Both of you had already closed your eyes, his cold skin feeling refreshing on your warm one.

"Then let's meet them" Illumi suggested as his hand ran across your bodyline, before he stopped himself with a tender kiss on your skin.

"I want to know what other families are like."

Only a week later, you were allowed to leave the Zoldyck estate for the first time. Wether it was because of Illumi’s curiosity or maybe that he knew you missed your family, it didn’t matter.

Two different worlds.

Your family was living in the midst of the small town, loved by the inhabitants. Being honorable head hunters who mainly killed wanted criminals and acting as protectors of the city, you had kind of a reputation.

So it was no wonder everyone you saw greeted you with great respect, yet also as if you were never gone.

That was what a real home must feel like, Illumi thought as he watched you casually talk to anyone who recognized you while both of you wandered the main street.

“They sure think highly of you” he deducted out loud, seeing how anyone was smiling and cheering at you.

“Well...” Flustered, you rubbed the back of your head as you kept on walking, “I’ve grown up in between those people. Of course they know me! That’s all.”

“Mhh” he murmured, still eyeing everyone quite suspecting. This was your first day outisde the manor, and your husband would be damned if something would happen to you.

“There it is!” Already running ahead, you pointed at the tallest building of the town - your birthplace.

“Y/N Y/L/N” a familiar voice behind you spoke, trying way too hard to keep a straight face.

Turning around, you saw all of your siblings gathered at one spot. Of course you knew they had followed you this whole time, due to your nen - but it was still a pleasant surprise. “You guys!”

Giving each one of them a wholeheartedly hug, you immediately began to chatter about all kinds of things. You haven’t seen each other for a while, and you wanted to know everything.

“Better tell me next time” Illumi abruptly cut you off, and only now you realized the needles in between his fingers. “I almost killed them.”

Oh. So he noticed them too.

Well, your family had it worse, so they just laughed it off.

“So this is your husband, huh?” They didn’t dare speak his name - the family was too infamous, and not in a positive way. it wouldn’t really gain you the good kind of attention. “I thought you’d be more...intimidating.”

All of your siblings got way too close to Illumi, aving hands in front of his face and eyeing his appearance, at least trying to make the stoic man react in any way.

“Nice to meet you!” One of your brothers offered his hand for your husband to shake, yet Illumi decided on staring him down instead.

“Pleasure is all mine” he retorted in his robotic way, sounding way too fake for anyone to buy it.

At least they were not afraid of him. Your husband was very talented in hiding his bloodlust, after all - even though it was constantly there, not even a skilled nen user would notice.

“Mother and father are awaiting you at the usual spot.” Your brother’s voice was more serious now that he had assessed the situation.

It was clear from the very first moment that they didn’t only come to greet you - their main goal was the eldest Zoldyck.

“Seems like he’s now our leader” you pondered as all of them dispersed into different directions. 

Things had changed. Of course they did.

Back then, you declined your fate of becoming the clan-leader, even though it had been the centre of all your ambitions up until now.

Meeting Illumi made you question anything you expected from life.

You didn’t even know why: What would it matter if you left an assassin family just to join another one?

Even your youngest sister was different. You could feel her steady aura, meaning she had completed her training.

The situation made you both nostalgic and anxious.

“Do you regret it?” Illumi’s blank stare turned to your form, black orbs interrogating you. He knew you were meant to be a leader, yet you gave up on that dream and had laid down all your independency.

“Not really.” Shrugging, you quickly linked arms with your husband, leading him to the secret entrance of the headquarters. It was sealed with nen, just like back then.

At leas that didn’t change, and so you’d soon find yourself in the middle of the hall where you’d plan all of the operations back then.

“You’re home.” That solemn tone was fitting for your father: Hard to detect his emotions, but easy to understand. “Welcome home.”

Illumi took a few steps back, almost withdrawing into a dark corner of the room as if he wanted to disappear from this earth. He was more likely to be a mere bystander or observer than to be in social situations.

“My little angel of death!” your mother almost cried out, both incredibly happy and sorrowful. “You’ve returned to us!”

“And that handsome young man over there?” After she was done smothering your face in kisses, she directed her welcoming nature to Illumi was well. “C’mon, don’t be shy. Take a seat!”

That’s right. She’s never seen him before. He was here exactly once to propose in front of your father - god knows how he even got inside. Obviously it wasn’t really a big deal to him.

Your family was so insignificant compared to his heritage - not that it mattered to you, it was just an observation.

“When we heared your wish to bid our humble fort a visit, we were greatly honored” your father declared as all of you sat down at the great, round table. Now everyone was there: Siblings, uncles and aunts, even your grandparents and great-grandparents. “And we are glad of your safe arrival.”

Illumi didn’t really seem to be impressed, being able to silence the room with a single gesture of his hand. “Don’t go out of your way. I am here because Y/N wished to see you.”

You couldn’t help but smirk at his polite manner, even though he wasn’t very talkative. Trying to get a hold of his hand under the table, you’d spend the day just like that.

Hours just flew by as your family held a great dinner to honor ‘the happy couple’, with Illumi absorbing every little detail like a dry sponge: Daily conversations about irrelevant topics, tales about the past and especially the childhood.

He even managed to show a lopsided smile when he realized something made you particulary happy.

Yet everytime someone of your family tried to get close to you, all of you noticed how tense he became.

Of course he was very possessive, and didn’t want to share you with anyone. But it was so damn sweet that he at least tried to get himself together...

“I’ll be waiting outisde. Might give the town a visit.” Even through all of your objections, your husband was gone faster than any of you could comprehend. “Take all the time you need.”

“He’s amazing” you thought to yourself, not noticing how much you were trembling due to your excitement. Being here together with him was such a huge progress, and he was doing so damn great.

“Y/N?” Your father was the first one to take the word, clearing his throat before continuing. “Now that we’re alone...”

Of course he knew they weren’t. Illumi was supervisioning everything somehow. But they waited for so long, and needed to let it out.

It was ‘speak now or stay silent forever’.

“Tell us about life with the Zoldycks.” Your sister once again let her hand run up and down your arm, and you realized this wasn’t just loving closeness - they were searching for injuries. “Are they harsh on you?”

“His family is pretty crazy, but it’s nothing wild, really. I manage” you stated, pulling away from the touch of your siblings.

All of the eyes were on you now, dropping the act. Everything left was sympathy and...guilt?

“So...what’s your point?” You didn’t know why, but their glares made you furious somehow. Maybe because you knew what they were hinting at. “Just speak your mind.”

“Y/N, dear...” Now your mother was the one taking the initiative, squeezing your hand ever so slightly. “We’re so, so sorry! You need to understand why we did this, okay?”

“Did what?” When they didn’t respond, you repeated the question with a much weaker, almost broken voice. “Did...what?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” your brother now spoke, almost disgusted by what he was about to say. “Giving you away to this...freak.”

“Huh?”

Your mother now clung to you, as if you were about to disappear if she was to ever let go. “There was no other choice!” she exclaimed, while your father dramatically swung his balled fist on the table. “The Zoldycks are dangerous! We knew your fate was sealed when he came asking for your hand in marriage...”

“Of course we despise that sick weirdo. Who would wish for their child to be with someone like him?!” your father continued, his explanation wrenching your heart dry. “But if we hadn’t complied, they would’ve taken you by force. You know they would’ve killed all of us. It was to protect the family, so we had to give you up! My sweet, sweet child-”

“-shut up” you whispered as you felt tears burning in your eyes.

“It’s okay, Y/N” your sister was trying to wipe them away, letting her thumb run over your cheek. “We’ve grown stong now, Y/N! You don’t need to protect us anymore, we’re-”

“You still don’t stand any chance against them.” You got up from your chair, slamming your palms on the table. “But that’s not the point!”

“What did that monster do to you?” 

“Oh, he? Nothing!” you now screamed, slamming a plate to the ground to release some of the built-up tension. “In opposite to you, who abandoned their daughter to save their own skin!”

You didn’t know. How could you have missed that fact? Those people weren’t glad you married him, they just weren’t honest with you.

And they were selfish - for all they cared, they would’ve given you away to die if Illumi had been that way.

“My husband-” you choked on a sob, feeling as if the love you felt for Illumi was crushing you, keeping you from breathing freely. “He’s been here with you, wanting to understand what a normal family is like. But only now I realize this one is just as fucked up!”

“Don’t say something like tha-”

“I’m not done!” Suddenly, an outburst of your aura shook the whole room. “Illumi is a kind and confused person. He was benevolent with you, against all of his teachings. And you are talking behind his back? How cowardly of you. I thought we were a family of proud warriors!”

All of them were looking at each other, nodding in unity as they all thought the same.

“Illumi Zoldyck is probably the most dangerous of them all. Maybe not the strongest, but the most mad of them all.” You grid your teeth, almost snarling at your grandfather’s words. “Don’t fool yourself, Y/N. Love is a foreign concept for him. The word has spread across the whole continent: Even his own family, those bloodthirsty monsters fear that young man!”

“You don’t know him like I do.” Turning around, you prepared to leave - but your siblings blocked the way. “As if I’d listen to the opinions of people who gave me away just like that.”

“Listen to us, Y/N. Maybe you can free yourself. He might’ve placed a needle-”

“That’s enough.”

Your eyes widened in wonder. How did Illumi get back in without any of you noticing?

Yet here he was, and his aura had turned purple, stained with black from all the disappointment, hurt and anger he miraculously contained without breaking down.

“I think Y/N is tired and wants to leave.” His voice was as unaffected as always, yet one look of him was enough to make your siblings freeze in terror.

“You’re Y/N’s family, so I won’t kill you” your husband declared in an absentminded tone, grabbing your wrist and turning towards the exit without anyone daring an attempt to stop him. Just after he shoved you out of the door, Illumi would turn around one last time -  a threatening ember sparkling in his eyes.

“But consider this a warning: Y/N belongs to me.”

“Why?” your father asked with an almost begging undertone. “Why did it have to be Y/N?”

“Because your child is important to me.”

Illumi had carried you all the way out of the town, only getting to a hold when you were at a mountain far enough away. Not that your family would follow you anyway.

After being done crying to your heart’s extend, your husband let you down in the slightly wet grass, and you were able to see the dim lights of the city far away at the horizon.

“We’ve played here very often” you sniffled, trying to get a hold of yourself. “My siblings and I.”

“Ah.”

You appreciated moments like these. Illumi was a very good listener, even though you weren’t even sure that he actually cared about what you were saying.

It just felt good to have him near when you were sad.

“I’m so terribly sorry, Lumi...they shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s okay.” No, it wasn’t You knew he tried to hard to be the best version of himself today, to try and respect boundaries and to trust people, and yet- “I am aware I’m a repulsive person.”

“Not to me.” Gently stoking his face, you could feel him rubbing his cheek on your palm in return.

“That’s enough for me.”

For a while, you just sat there, enjoying your closeness and the absence of anyone else in silence.

“So this is what family is like” Illumi cut through the nature’s sounds, “They protect you. And they only want your best.”

“They only ever thought of themselves.” You pulled your knees onto your chest, burying your face in them.

“I refuse to believe that.” Your husband wanted to pat your back, but decided against it just at the last second. “They seemed to be in great pain because of their actions. Can’t this only be because they cared about you?”

He was right, of course. The man with the heart of stone was great at knowing other people’s feelings, apparently. What an irony.

But you were too angry at that moment to listen to his rational explanation. That was only human, too.

“You know, when I was a child, my parents-”

“Please.” You wanted him to stop right there and now. “Don’t elaborate.”

Every time Illumi would complete a story about his childhood, it usually ended up with you having a crying fit. Then he was the one having to console you instead of the other way around, and it made you only feel guilty.

Of course you were happy that he’d finally open up a little, but...no. Just not now.

“You defended me” he changed the topic, quietly adding “Even though they were right...”

“That’s only natural. You’re my husband.”

Back then, you didn’t know Illumi’s intentions when he asked you to become his. But truth was, you didn’t regret it - not even for a second.

Illumi on the other hand was as overwhelmed as always.

“I was afraid you’d stay with them.” His voice sounded impassive, yet you knew him better than that. “But now-”

Listening to you passionately defending your husband’s honor was satisfying, obviously - yet knowing you broke with your family left a foul aftertaste in his mind.

No one ever stood up for him like that.

What a day.

His mind was racing, still trying to catch up with everything that had happened today: You did all of that, no - gave up so many things, just because of him.

His entire life was going one set and predetermined way, revolving around his family. Yet meeting you had changed both of your fates in a completely different direction.

And this meant he now had to learn with the consequences of actions he did out of his own, free will.

What for? And was it good or bad?

Now that he was with you, he had liberties. Choices. But freedom felt wrong and made him feel...scared? Not even he could decipher his emotions very well.

All that was clear from now on that - to a certain extend - you were free to draft your own ways - and together, it didn’t seem all that bad for him.

_____

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[urlocalbunny]

.ruined orgasm - ethan.

hi, babes! My posting rate went DOWN, i’m aware, but lots of things happened and the national exams are nearing my asscheeks, so please understand that i’m overwhelmed so the requests are stopped in time lmao

1.675 words, enjoy!

Ethan was moody, and everybody knew that much. Always slamming doors, yelling, frowning, laughing at people evilly, sometimes, even... Hissing? But Eloise still put up with a lot to make their relationship work.

And in the end, it did make a difference. Ethan would tell her where he went and with who, how his day was, sometimes he'd even get her food instead of sending Beliath to learn more about her favorite things! Even if she told him that he didn't need to justify himself because they were dating, he tried to show her he could be more than just a moody young vampire. He wanted to show her he could be reliable when it counted.

That's why Eloise had the stupid idea of trying to be reliable too and got herself sitting on his bed, listening to him talking trash about everything possible with his head laying on her lap.

"And he's such a dumbass. Did you see his hair this morning? He looks like a mop. Aaron takes care of him, and he doesn't learn anything, probably burnt all his brain cells trying to find out how much is two plus two. Ah, speaking of Aaron, can you believe he ditched Leandra again? That tomato head is fucking crazy! I mean, there isn't any competition anymore because you're way hotter and you're my girlfriend, can't he do something?-"

"You're acting like a 72-year-old grandpa who likes a gossip." She deadpanned, watching his face contort into a disgusted frown.

"What the fuck? You're so mean! Pet my head." She sighed, patting his head.

"What's happening to you? You're talking too fast."

"I need to vent!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, god. Look, let's calm down. You have to sit down." She patted the bed near her. Ethan was very fast, but she never saw him using his powers inside his room like that. He sat down anyway, but then he fidgeted. "Sit down." She said softly and straddled him harmlessly. He blushed.

"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm just chilling with you. I'm not going to hurt you."

Sometimes, talking to Ethan was like trying to aid a hurt animal. He was in pain, scared, angry. That made him have very wary reactions. She was the first girlfriend he took seriously, after all. He wasn't the type to stay too much in one place.

"You're... Um- close." He mumbled, a little uncomfortable.

"It's okay then. We can sit side by side again. I'm sorry for pushing. I didn't realize I was too quick." She smiled, beginning to scoot over, but he held her by the waist.

"N-no. Stay like this. You're warm." He hid his red face in the crook of her neck, smelling the perfume Beliath bought for her on her birthday. Fitting.

"You're cold." She said, squealing lightly. "It's not overwhelming, though. You're chilly. I like it." His head felt very heavy. Her treatment of him was too much to handle.

"Are you alright?" She asked, quirking one cute and now messy eyebrow. He huffed, looking at her hesitantly before cupping her face on his hands and kissing her softly.

Her tiny smile on the kiss pushed Ethan further. His heart hammered like crazy. He couldn't help but squeeze her waist, making her open her mouth to moan softly. His tongue slid in slowly, licking hers tentatively, tenderly. She returned the caress, scratching the hair on the nape of his neck as a treat for his boldness. His kisses got eager and full of little appreciation noises as his hands groped her thighs roughly. Her hands got rid of his coat. Eloise tried to spare him a glance to see if she needed to stop, but he urged her back with an annoying whine, tasting her tongue again. The feeling was as if they kissed for the first time again. He wished he could stop, but her lips were so good. He wanted her to keep going even if he didn't know where.

"Eloise, I want to fuck you so bad." He whispered, pulling her hips against him. She matched his movements, combining with wandering hands, to keep him calm until the situation escalated. Her eyes took in his glazed over stare, his panting, and his now swollen red lips. A small white hair stripe ran from his belly button and lower, hiding on his pants.

"Kick off your shoes," she panted, pulling his shirt off. He did as she asked, kicking them off and pulling his socks with his feet. The sight of his flushed neck made her suck in a breath and lean in, kissing his skin eagerly. His hands found themselves on her thighs again, this time creating little red marks under his fingertips.

"You don't have to be shy, love." She whispered, making him scoff.

"You think I'm some virgin you can control?" His hands slid to her ass, squeezing it. The friction his zipper gave made her clench around nothing, whimpering louder than usual. His composure fell, a shy yet pleading stare taking place. Her fingertips ran along with his nipples, eliciting a violent shudder. His back arched nicely against her hand. Her hands worked slowly, appreciating him while his own hands kneaded her ass slowly. His stare fell on her breasts, the way the dress strap hung down still engrained on his mind. He kissed her neck, daring.

"You're so lovely." His whisper woke her up from a deep daze, her hands squeezing his waist ever so slightly.

"You're beautiful." Her answer was almost immediate. He was taken aback by such warmth. No one-night stand ever did him like this. That was already intimate. He was told he's beautiful before. Not like this. Not by her.

Pushing him on the bed and standing up to allow him to raise his hips, Eloise pulled his pants and trousers down. He blushed.

"You look pent up." She sighed, running a hand through the tip. His cock twitched.

"Why am I naked, and you're fully dressed?!"

"That, honey, is called dominance." She gripped the hem of her dress, pulling it up and planting a knee between his own, revealing her thong. He had imagined, and he'd definitely seen and felt her before, but that laid beyond his expectations. The adoration he felt broke the last of the boundaries he had. His shoulders relaxed. Raising his arms above his head and laying them on the bed, he thought that maybe surrendering once wasn't so bad.

"Open your legs for me, honey." He obeyed. Placing herself between them, she kissed him intensely. He couldn't help but pinch one of her nipples, earning a high-pitched moan from her... And his nipple pinched in return. "My, my, you look so clever taking advantage of our positions, don't you?" His hand dropped by his sides, back arching against her hand. She began to slide her nail against his stomach, gripping his cock with her hand and jerking him carefully.

His eyes fluttered shut, a peaceful expression dancing on his face as he whined lowly and pushed his hips in sync with her hand. She gripped harder, coating him on his precum. Her hand worked up and down, sometimes he felt her other hand cup his balls, and she occasionally sucked on his nipple, appreciating his body, but Ethan wasn't going to last.

"Eloise, please. I'm close. So close, I'll be so good to you, so, so good, just p-please-"

"Oops!" Her hand shot up just as Ethan was about to cum. His hips jerked upwards as he moaned helplessly and loudly, sobs erupting from his throat as he thrashed around, orgasm now ruined. The pain mixed with the full pleasure that could've been something else. Betrayal danced behind his eyes, his back arched and his hips thrusting up against nothing, tears dripping from his cheeks.

"Eloise!" He sobbed pathetically, reaching for her hand. "Elo-" he coughed.

"Shhhh, it's okay, you're still so hard." She cooed, running a hand on his stomach to soothe him.

"You ruined it- why?" He was shocked, making her chuckle.

"I couldn't resist, honey. Here, let me fix it."

"How are you going to fix- ahn-" he shut up quickly when her entrance engulfed his tip, swallowing him and bringing him into her soaked heat.

"Like this." She struggled to say, holding herself against his shuddering form and waiting for him to adjust to her. Ethan kept panting, but soon enough, he came around, starting to grind up frantically until he was balls deep within her, earning some approving moans from her. She coaxed him into turning them around, making Ethan cradle her head on his arms and thrust desperately, looking for release no matter what. His cock twitched, the sensitive tip rubbing against the sweet spot that had Eloise seeing stars. The girl arched her back, nearing her end when Ethan lifted one of her legs and held it, bruising the skin and creating a new angle.

"That's it. You're doing amazing." He moaned at that compliment, snapping his hips in a low mantra of "Eloise, I wanna cum," and the groans when she pulled on his hair.

Ethan started growling incoherent stuff, tears streaming down his cheeks. His face and neck were red, and he held a breath. Eloise keened, gripping on his arm as her walls spasmed around him. Her back arched, legs trembled. His head was spinning, white dots all over the place.

"Eloise, I-" he didn't have time to explain, a long whine taking place followed by a gasp as he came inside, hips still snapping, then stilling comfortably.

"Are you okay?" She asked, caressing his back. He looked at her with his bloodshot eyes.

"That was amazing." He panted, resting his head against her chest. "Can I dom next time?"

"Of course, baby." She said softly. Ethan smirked when Eloise gasped, and the slap he gave on her leg made a loud sound in the room.

"Ah, ah. The baby is you. Get on all fours. Now. You're paying for not giving me what I wanted.

[vintage-squid]

Vulture Culture

Summary: Remus loves living in his little cabin in the woods with his two gorgeous, snarky partners. Coming home from another scavenging adventure to Virgil and Janus being their wonderful selves, Remus has a very important question to ask them.

Pairing: Virgil/Janus/Remus Rating: G Warnings: Animal bones, use of scavenged bones for art, a whole truck load of fluff

Huge thank you to @rosesisupposes for beta’ing for me! 

-----

“Ohh honey-bunny-bums! I’m home!”

The front door slammed against the wall, echoing through the house as Remus stomped inside, a wide grin spread on his face and his backpack heavy over one shoulder. Bracing the toes of one foot against the heel of the other, he aggressively yanked his feet out of his boots, laces still tied. He haphazardly tossed his jacket and toque over the back of the nearby armchair - on top of other outdoor outfits that had already received a similar treatment. With much more care, he set his bag on the floor.

“We’re in the kitchen, Re!”

“And I swear to the gods, your boots better not be on your feet when you get in here, because I am not mopping up after you again!”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to get your knickers in a twist,” Remus snorted, grabbing his backpack by one strap and slinging it over one shoulder. He made his way further into the house, following the sound of his loved ones' voices. “I’m still wearing socks, though, so no peeping at my toes for you! You’ll have to wait ‘til later for that treat.” Coming around the corner into the kitchen, Remus gave an exaggerated wink to his partner standing on the step-stool by the window.

Virgil rolled their eyes, shaking their head and setting aside the small scissors they had been using to tend to their plants. “I offer to give you a massage one time for your sore feet, and suddenly I’m the one with the foot fetish, I see how it is.”

Smirking, Virgil turned to face Remus, but before they could hop off their stool, a pair of burly arms cinched around their middle and swept them into the air.

“Remus!” They shrieked, dissolving into laughter as their boyfriend held them close and spun them around the room.

“I’ve got a Virgil!” Remus hollered, bouncing them both as he giggled. Even in play, Remus was cautious not to spin too fast and actually upset Virgil’s nerves; it was a delicate balance, one he had perfected over the years. Both of them were snickering breathlessly when Remus finally came to a stop and set Virgil’s feet back on the floor, though his arms remained snug around their chest. The pair faced Janus, who was smirking at them with a raised brow.

“If the children are done playing in the kitchen where I am currently working over a hot stove?” Despite her tone, Janus’ smile softened fondly as she flicked her wrist to cut the heat. The fire witch stepped forward and planted a smooch on Remus’ nose, her hand following quickly to cup his face and smooth her thumb over the boisterously grinning chub of his cheek. “Welcome home, possum. I’m glad to see you’ve returned safe and sound, and not covered in pond scum.”

Remus only grinned wider and hugged Virgil a little closer, much to their grumbling delight. “The grime feels so good, though! Oozing between your fingers and squelching when you bend your knees! Come on, you have to admit that my skin was so soft for, like, a week after I fell in last time!”

“I will admit to nothing, other than that you smelled like a rotted fish for that week too,” Janus retorted. “I still think you did that on purpose; there’s no way a water witch wouldn’t be able to bathe himself properly to get rid of that odor.” Pushing up onto her toes, she pressed a tender, lingering kiss to his lips. “I, however, much prefer your natural musk.”

Leaning in to Remus again, Janus yelped as Virgil suddenly grabbed her by the front of her shirt and tugged her into a searing kiss that made bursts of colour flash behind her eyelids. Melting against their mouth, she gripped Remus’ forearm with one hand while the other ran through Virgil’s long hair over and over, dragging them back for more when they tried to pull away. When the pair finally parted, panting heavily, Janus couldn’t help the lazy satisfaction that settled over her when she was greeted with Virgil’s smile.

“What?” They asked innocently. “You gave Remus kisses, and I wanted some attention too.”

Janus rolled her eyes, thumb tenderly rubbing the back of their neck. “So needy, I swear.”

Remus snorted, gently depositing Virgil into a dining chair and scooping his bag off the floor where he had left it in favour of his favourite tiny plant witch. “You’re one to talk, mixter-”

“Ah, she/her now, darling, changed about an hour after you left this morning. I just haven’t had the mind to swap out my necklaces while Virgil and I have been working in here. Sorry, possum,” she murmured, fiddling with the sparrow’s skull resting at the hollow of her throat from a braided rope.

“Well, princess,” Remus adjusted smoothly, kissing the top of Janus’ head and petting over the buzzed side of her hair. “First off, you have no grounds to complain about me being needy, Miss clings-with-all-four-limbs-every-night. And secondly,” his voice softened, “you never have to apologize for expressing whatever gender feels best for you, ever. Okay? Do you want me to grab Trip for you?”

Laying her hand - slimmer than his, but still larger than Virgil’s - atop Remus’, Janus nuzzled into the calloused warmth of his palm. “I would appreciate that, possum. I think I left her on the smaller bookshelf in the bedroom.”

“Anything for you, dandelion. Lemme take Kee, too.”

Obligingly, Dee lifted her hair, long only on the right side of her head and curlier than a pig’s tail, to allow Remus room to remove her current necklace. She glanced up, feeling a tingle down her neck that had nothing to do with her boyfriend’s wandering fingers. Virgil was seated at the table across the kitchen, their cheek propped on one fist, a dreamy haze over their normally snarky features.

“See something you like?” Janus asked with a snort.

“Only the loves of my life,” Virgil replied, grinning wider when Dee scoffed to hide her fluster. “Ohh, you thought I meant you two? No, no, the coffee machine and a bag of chips are on the counter behind you, babe.” They cackled as both their partners squawked in indignation, hiding their wide smile behind their sleeve.

Janus rolled her eyes, stepping away from Remus and lightly kicking the leg of Virgil’s chair before sitting across from them. “Ha ha, you’re so funny, V.”

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you recognized my true genius.”

“Alright you gaggle of gossiping gophers,” Remus cut in, dropping his bag on the table between them. “Why don’t you have a look through what I found today while I get Janus’ necklace and change into something a little more cozy.” He exaggerated a wink at his partners, taking their snorting laughter with him as he swaggered off in the direction of the bedroom.

Virgil and Janus shared a look before diving for the ties on the bag. Janus worked the flap open, allowing Virgil to reach their hand in for the first discovery. Their eyes lit up, with a sparkle that had nothing to do with the green magic flowing through their veins, as they pulled out a neatly tied bundle of watercress, the pale roots intact and cleaned of any potentially parasite carrying soil.

“Ah! Where did he manage to find this!? I’ve been needing more since that doe and her fawns have started coming by,” they murmured, bringing the bundle up to their face and inhaling deeply. “Mother Earth, there is no better smell in this world.”

“And of course you’re selflessly going to plant it all outside in the pond for our little ungulate neighbours without keeping some as a snack for yourself,” Janus drawled while reaching into the bag herself.

Virgil finally looked away from the watercress to smirk at their girlfriend, plucking a plant free from the bundle and nibbling on it like a rabbit. “I never said anything of the sort.”

Heart throbbing fondly, Janus snickered and pulled out the next of Remus’ finds. Her fingers wrapped around a small burlap bag and she squealed. Pulling it out, she eagerly opened the drawstrings and carefully dumped the contents onto the tabletop: a grey, spherical rock, seven small vertebrae of assorted shape, and three colourful, river-polished stones. Janus cooed, smoothing the tips of her fingers over her new treasures, eyes wide with wonder and ideas for her latest art project.

When she looked up to share her excitement with Virgil, they were already rifling through the next of Remus’ gifts, a collection of plucked flowers spread out across their side of the table. Their wide smile softened as they glanced up and made eye contact.

“Reme really went all out today, I can’t believe some of these blooms he managed to find at this time of the year!”

“I wonder what we did to deserve such a spoiling?”

“You two were absolutely perfect, that’s what.”

Virgil and Janus perked up, turning to look at their returned third. Both seated witches felt their stomachs lurch with affection as Remus stood in the doorway dressed, for once, in a clean shirt the same colour as his intelligent blue eyes. It was buttoned up only halfway, his burly chest exposed to the warm air of the kitchen and his partners’ hungry gazes. Both hands were held suspiciously behind his back.

Virgil recovered first, trying to appear nonchalant by tousseling their fingers through their shaggy bangs. The effect was betrayed by the glowing vines that had begun to creep up their forearms like living tattoos, pulsing in time with the rapid fluttering of their heart. “Whatcha got there, possum?”

Biting his lip, Remus couldn’t stop himself from breaking out into a wide grin as he shrugged one shoulder in a not-answer. “We all know that Janus is usually the sappy one among us-

“Hey!”

“So, I’m sorry sunshine, but I’m about to borrow your role for a second.”

Virgil and Janus exchanged a glance as Remus paused again to exhale slow and deep, almost as if he were running through one of Virgil’s breathing exercises. What could have made their fearlessly boisterous possum so uncharacteristically nervous? Their attention snapped back to their third as Remus stepped forward, stopping at the head of the table between the seated pair.

“Most of the people I meet in my life haven’t been overly enthusiastic to meet me in turn. Lotsa people don’t want to put up with my magic or my brain, or really anything about me, and even among those who do, most of them just don’t really get me, y’know? But... but you two...”

Remus looked from Virgil to Janus, love welling in his eyes like the rising tide he so adored. His hands tightened on the objects still hidden behind his back.

“You two not only understand me, but you encourage me to be myself and are actually fucking comfortable being around me? Like, holy shit. I don’t even have the words to explain to you what that means to me - and I usually have no problem describing anything! Like how some sharks are so gluttonous they will gorge themselves and then throw up everything they just ate so that they can keep eating! Isn’t that so cool!?” As he got more and more excited, his shoulders began to hunch and roll in a mimicry of his usual out of control gesturing. Somehow, he managed to hold onto enough sense of mind to keep hidden his hands, and the precious cargo they held.

Janus leaned forward, tapping one manicured nail on the table to draw Remus’ attention back. “C’mon, possum, you can tell us all about vomiting sharks after you finish our surprise speech.”

Shockingly, a faint blush coloured Remus cheeks. He cleared his throat and glanced to the side with a sheepish grin. “Ah, right.” Looking back to the loves of his life, Remus set his shoulders square and dropped down to one knee, delighting in his partners’ gasps and widening eyes.

“What I was trying to say, is that I love you two so fucking much, and I wanna spend the rest of our lives together. So…” Remus brought his hands out from behind his back and held them up.

In front of Janus he presented a gaboon viper’s skull, meticulously cleaned with the top few vertebrae still attached at the jaw hinge so the mouth could remain propped open to show off the elongated upper fangs. The larger bones were intricately carved with runes for love, protection, and strength all twined together. Looking closer, the grain of the pattern wasn’t rough, as it would be if the markings had been made with a knife, but smooth and even like a stone polished by the endless waters of a river.

Cradled in his left hand for Virgil was a delicate crested gecko skeleton. Every minute bone was present, complete down to the tiny claw tips on each foot. With the tail slightly raised, and the front right foot lifted in step, the tiny skeleton looked like it was moments away from coming to life and skittering up their arm. Only the skull was large enough for the carved depictions of hyacinths to be visible - Virgil’s favourite flower. They had always favoured constancy, after all.

“Will you marry me?”

Though Virgil covered their mouth with both hands, it couldn’t hide the smile crinkling the corners of their watery eyes. Sniffling, they nodded rapidly. “Y-Yes! A million times yes!” Reaching out to cup the fragile skeleton in their hands, they brought it up to their face to briefly admire the little bones. By the time they had carefully set it aside on the table, Janus had already slid out of her chair and into Remus’ arms on the floor. She was pressing kisses all over his face, and the snake skull was resting on the countertop above them.

Quickly dropping to their knees and squirming their way up under Remus’ free arm, Virgil joined Janus in covering their third in smooches. The flurry of joyous affection softened as lips finally met in languidly. They traded off, kissing what they could of the other two when their lips were free.

Both smaller witches suddenly squealed with laughter - though they would aggressively deny it later - as Remus cinched his arms around their waists and rolled to his feet, easily hoisting them up and spinning them around.

When he finally slowed to a stop, Remus was speechless at the sight of their flushed cheeks and wide smiles.

“I love you both so much,” he whispered.

Janus smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek once more with a loud smack of her lips. Virgil was quick to mirror her on the other side, tucking their face into the crook of Remus’ shoulder and neck afterwards with a content hum.

“We love you too, possum.”

“Always and forever, Reme.”

----

Janus' pronoun charms are three necklaces, each a different skull on a rope chain that Virgil braided. Sparrow skull - Kee - they/them Salamander skull - Trip - she/her Squirrel skull - Riz - he/him

[furashuban]

Searching in the Glowing Forest

An original short story with my OCs Arrowwood, Flannel and Jarno in it! and a tall man-eating badger, too, I guess.. This is also my first time posting an original work featuring Arrowwood in so long!

(it does contain a bit of physical/animal violence so please be warned or pass if you don’t feel comfortable with that)

Words: 2.2k

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33220111

Summary: Offering to gather twigs to start a bonfire for him and his friends’ campsite, Arrowwood wanders into the enraptured Ellison Forest to do so. The sky darkens and he does not return, and it is up to one of his friends, Flannel, to look for Arrowwood and find out what happened to him.

“Arrowwood!” a voice yelled through the Ellison Forest, prompting the wildlife to take shelter beneath the shrubbery and luminescent fungi. “Where are you?! Me and Jarno are getting worried, man!”

. . .

Flannel, who roamed the forest looking for her friend, Arrowwood, was the same person who planned their camping trip in these particular woods. The evening started lively enough for her, Arrowwood, and their other friend Jarno once they arrived. They constructed their tents on the least hampered ground for miles, then sang a few songs on Jarno’s mandolin to settle down. Food was abundant, inventory was ample, and the far-flung distance from the camp to the city had blessed the trio with pure repose.

The summer sky, however, though enduringly lit in the Nordic climate, could still only be orange-blue for so long. When midnight struck, the hour gave way for the sun to set and the firmament to darken.

The Ellison Forest, on one hand, was home to special kinds of plants that glowed as bright as the moon.  They sprouted far and wide and varied in colors, the bigger kinds glimmered in blue while the smaller ones were green; the ones neither too big or too small glowed a tinge of pink. Most were mushroom-shaped while some were like rose buds, but all of them were known to emerge from the bottom of the native Ellison Trees - thin and towering as high as apartment buildings. Their wood was gray, and their orange leaves were copious like an undying autumn. But despite the luminosity of the forest, Arrowwood proposed gathering twigs from the Ellison Trees to start a proper bonfire. Light may be more than enough in these parts by night, but it was heat that remained an issue for the group, he explained.

“You don’t think he went that far, do you?” she asked the white-haired man, tightly clinging onto her jacket to withstand the cold at the same time.

He got up from the campsite and wandered steadily into the woods. Flannel and Jarno remained without a sign of worry on their faces, anticipating their friend’s return with twigs very soon.

When the sky was totally black and the forest succumbed to a mishmash of colors, the campsite was left with still no bonfire and one person short of the group. Flannel could feel it somehow. The soft-spoken wanderer had gotten himself into trouble. Neither she nor Jarno could totally concentrate on the glowing plant life decorating the camp as they later wondered about Arrowwood.

“He should be nearby,” Jarno answered, nestled under a blanket. “These grounds aren’t that big compared to other forests. But he sure is taking his time…”

“I’m just gonna go look for him.” Flannel got up from her lawn chair and put her ushanka hat back on her head. “Guard the fort while I’m gone? Just in case Arrowwood actually returns soon.”

“Can do, Nells.” Jarno gave a thumbs up. “Just keep safe out there.” A gust of wind then blew his blanket away. “And uh, I’ll be guarding by my tent in the meantime…” he said while opening the entrance to his store-bought sheltering.

Flannel walked away from the campsite in a similar fashion to how Arrowwood did. “What could be around this forest that would make me unsafe…?” she whispered, looking around the plant life straight out of a children’s book.

. . .

The farther she walked, the colder it grew, and the trees and fungi were never-ending in sight. She was losing herself in an environment which captivated her mind's eye, she never knew just how much luminescence would be around the Ellison Forest up close. The lighting was radiant in the ground, but dim enough to let the stars to shine clearly in the sky. The wildlife was microscopic, appearing more like dandelions with bunny ears and dot-eyes, and they scattered around the multi-colored plants like it were their little villages. Maybe this was why Arrowwood was taking so long to return. It was gorgeous here. He was likely hypnotized by the rare splendor of these woods, Flannel thought. If only she had not left her typewriter at home so she could quickly write the next pages of her novel inspired by the landscape.

Suddenly, a strong pounding noise sounded in the distance, coupled with the tense grunt of an angry human. Flannel turned her attention to where she thought she heard the noise and slowly walked towards the direction. It had to be Arrowwood, she assumed, and her fight-or-flight reflexes set off for whatever was provoking his friend from afar. She kept walking, yet Arrowwood could not be seen where she was approaching.

Flannel’s foot struck a taut and frail object popping out of a bush beside her. She looked down, but much to her surprise, it was half of someone’s leg with a hiking boot attached to it. She recognized the legwear as belonging to Arrowwood and chuckled lightly at the sight of her friend nestled under a random bush, but also her way to express relief that the search for him was over.

“Gosh, I’ve been looking all over for you, Arrowwood,” she said. “Come on, I’ll patch you up back in the campsite. Those twigs for the bonfire better be there on you, though.”

She screamed her heart out and let the fright bring her up on her feet in seconds. Her breathing grew strident when she looked down at Arrowwood’s amputated leg in both confusion and worry. Did this mean he was dead? But Arrowwood was incapable of dying. What even did this to him? Barely taking a break to process the ordeal, she then felt a hand pet her shoulder, hearing her name ring close to her ear. She flinched and ran a few paces away, only to turn around and see a man trip face-down on the floor. Flannel noticed the clothes and hair of the figure, even the tone of the grunt. It was the rest of Arrowwood.

Arrowwood was a tough, merely invincible man who could handle the pain of getting crushed by boulders among other things. Flannel knew that seeing him comatose inside of a bush would be the least of her worries and took it as just him dozing off.

She reached for Arrowwood’s boot and prepared to pull him out with all her might. Unexpectedly, she fell on her back after one forceful tug of the leg, groaning at both the shock of hitting the ground and the realizing the bulk of her own strength, but she looked up to realize that Arrowwood’s leg itself was dormant on her torso. The rest of Arrowwood’s body was nowhere else, and upon further inspection, it had been bruised and paled unnaturally gray.

“Please, help me back up.” Arrowwood begged with a muffled voice.

“Oh smokes,” Flannel uttered, rushing back to pick up her friend up and hold him in place. “Arrowwood, are you alright? What on earth happened? I thought you were just looking for…for uh….” she talked while inspecting Arrowwood’s physique; his shirt and trench coat was still intact albeit stained by dirt, and his brown full beard and hair was scruffier than it usual was. His face and skin, though looking weary, was devoid of any bruises. But his jeans had its right covering ripped out, not to mention the entire bottom half of his right leg in general. “Oh gosh, your leg! W-Why is your leg not attached to your body?!”

“Now, funny story, really…” Arrowwood said tiredly. “I was trying to…Oh, hang on, you’ve found my leg.”

He released himself from Flannel’s grasp and hopped towards his detached limb, sitting down and picking it up. Arrowwood took off his boot and realigned the leg piece with his knee, holding it back together as if it were a Lego brick. He froze and took a deep breath; a white light glimmered through the gap separating his whole leg. A moment befell of Arrowwood concentrating on his body which glowed from the inside, and when the glowing stopped, he began to move his newly mended leg up and down, even stomping the floor and moving his toes one by one.

“Back together again.” Arrowwood whispered, kissing his knee before tying his boot back on and standing up without hopping this time.

“I-I didn’t know you could do…that…” Flannel stammered.  She had seen Arrowwood do many unearthly things in the past, but rebuilding his body after an amputation was not one of them.

“Oh, it’s quite so, Flannel.” Arrowwood answered in his usual serene voice. “I was as dazed as you were when I first had my arm shot off and reattached in a medical ward, then poof, it was moving again after one afternoon. So, nothing to worry about, I just can.”

“But wait, why did you get your leg ripped out in the first place?!” Flannel asked.

“So, on the way back, a wild Imso Maira appeared and went for my leg, then clawed it off while trying to take the rest of me down.” Arrowwood explained. “I fought back for an eternity and scared it off. But It’s still around, so I suggest we…”

The bearded wanderer was interrupted by the bushes shaking furiously, like someone was running through each and every shrub in the forest. Both Arrowwood and Flannel crouched and prepared to either fight or flee, but Arrowwood knew very well what was impending already.

“I didn’t know there were predators in this forest.” Flannel whispered.

“There aren’t supposed to be any.” Arrowwood assured. “I think it’s just wandering like us, so stay put. I got this…”  

The rustling grew louder and inched towards wherever the two were situated, and coupling with the sound of shuddering leaves was a beastly growl that ached with hunger.  

Then, the Imso Maira, the same ferocious, sharp-toothed badger the size of a person, unbefitting in the sight of the Ellison Forest, pounced out of a bush behind Arrowwood and aimed for his head. Before it could shove its mouth onto its prey, Arrowwood turned around faster than it leapt and felt his grip throttling its neck. It struggled and cried in a garbled-up scream, but the tattered man holding him showed no intentions of letting it go (gently).

Arrowwood threw the creature onto an Ellison Tree and plummeted onto the ground. Seeing it was now too beaten to get back up, he was ready to showcase more of his ethereal strengths for the second time in a row. He cracked his knuckles upon approaching the creature, raised his elbow high, and hurdled his fist hard against the Imso Maira with a merciless glare. The same white light that glowed out of Arrowwood’s leg had shimmered out of the creature upon punching it, only that the light was a blazing flash out of the creature’s eyes and mouth which nearly blinded him and Flannel, and a sound comparable to a landmine boomed from Arrowwood’s punch. After the flash, he returned to his normal posture and looked down at what was left of his foe, being a flattened rug of itself with dry blood under its belly.

Flannel also took a look of its remains, then turned around to kneel and vomit. First an amputated leg found in the bushes, and now a witness to animal cruelty all in one night; the thrill and shock was too much to bear.

“Remind me never to take you on camping trips again.” Flannel groaned.

“I had to go and kill the Imso Maira, Flannel, otherwise we would’ve been the ones killed.” Arrowwood tried to reassure, patting her back gently, “I knew something like this would happen again when I agreed to tag along. It always does…” he sighed. “Look, I’ve frightened you, and well, none of that was fun at all. So, I’m sorry.” His tone was more repentant now.

Flannel wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “You’re okay now at least, so don’t apologize for anything,” she said. “Let’s just…head back to the camp. Jarno must’ve heard my scream and is probably anxious about us…”

“That reminds me,” Arrowwood pulled a grey wooden stick out of his trench coat. “I did find the twigs for our fire. There’s not much in my coat, but an Ellison Tree wood provides very potent fuel for warmth when ignited.”

“Oh, uh, that’s pretty great.” Flannel said, remembering that Arrowwood was supposed to find wood at first. “But seriously though, I think I’m traumatized. I just wanna lie down now.”

Arrowwood placed his hand around Flannel and pulled her closer to lean his head against hers out of instinct. The shorter girl gasped as she was feeling the same arm that trampled the Imso Maira to death, but decided to put her own arm around Arrowwood and try to succumb to the comfort.

“Thanks.” Flannel expressed softly.

“Thank you, too,” Arrowwood brightened up. “For searching for me.”

“So uh, is that leg actually doing okay now?” she asked. “Like, it doesn’t feel like you were just attacked by a beast a few minutes ago?”

“Not at all, Flanagan.” Arrowwood replied, marching forward with Flannel to relocate the campsite.

“Huh, well for a moment there, I thought you were going to live the rest of your life with just one leg now.” Flannel said. “Like a…like a wingless pigeon maybe.”

“Or a pirate.” Arrowwood added. “And get one of those a peglegs to walk around…Oh, hey, I actually was a real pirate back in then. It was Eighteen Ninety-Five, you see…”

“Maybe save those for the campfire stories later.” Flannel patted his shoulder.

[maxrev]

Feels prompt for Knox (or a Shepard of your choice if he's not feeling talky): “ you’re not a machine or— or some thing. you’re a person, and i’m sorry anyone ever made you feel otherwise."

Welp, guess Knox felt like talking lol. Here ya go! From this list of prompts      

BIG shout out to @nightmarestudio606 for helping me with the kiss...I haven’t written one in sooo looong lol

            ________________________________________________

What the hell was he doing? He never ran. From anything. Hadn’t since he was four fucking years old. And now, at thirty one, he held many titles: Commander Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy, etc, etc. He’d taken down husks, brutes...hell, even a reaper without a second thought. 

So, why did this particular man have him running for cover, hiding in his own damn cabin no less? Fuck this. 

And yet, he remained where he was, a few steps just inside his cabin door, looking all around but not seeing a thing. The fish tank burbled quietly beside him, fish merrily swimming around; model ships he’d carefully crafted on display in the glass case; a softly squeaking wheel from the hampster - who still wasn’t named - running in circles. All of it a part of his carefully crafted world, even if the fish and hampster had been gifts he’d never have bought on his own. Pets required time and attention he had none to give. 

His world was orderly, meticulously thought out to every minute detail, any possible contingency planned for. Except one apparently. 

Major Kaidan Alenko. Putain de merde.

If was wearing his hardsuit, his vital signs would show his heart rate was up along with his stress levels. As if mocking him, the fish continued to swim, serene and unhurried from one end of the tank and back, not a care in the world. 

“Commander, Major Alenko wishes to speak with you. Would you like me to let him in?” EDI’s voice carried over the speakers above him. 

His cabin. His only sanctuary, such as it was. As the commander, he was available at all times, yet no one ever bothered him here, preferring to stay well away. It seemed there was nowhere left to run. Cornered like a wounded animal and he damn sure felt like one, too. Ready to lash out. Cool heads prevailed, not that he’d ever been accused of having one. The memories of Horizon and Mars mocked him. 

The major was a brilliant soldier and he needed him on the Normandy. He ran a hand over his shorn head in agitation. Okay, okay. I need him on the Normandy. Admitting it turned out to be not as hard as he’d imagined. 

“Commander?”  EDI prodded. 

“Give me five minutes.”  Let the major wait outside, stew a bit in his own thoughts. 

Glancing around the cabin, Knox wondered why he was so damn nervous. Nothing was out of place, all his things meticulously maintained and where they belonged. The only mess to be found were the piles of datapads scattered over the desk. He was having a hard time keeping on top of them. The barrage of information was constant, barely able to read one before another was thrust into his hands. 

Enough. No more stalling. Leaning casually against the ledge along the fish tank, he crossed his arms and ankles. He could give the impression of being relaxed, even if he didn’t feel it. 

“Let him in, EDI.” 

The door slid open. The world narrowed to just one man and his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and pushed away a sudden unknown emotion he felt as his eyes landed on Alenko standing on the other side. He waited for the major to make the first move having invaded his refuge.

Stepping inside, the major nodded at Knox, “Commander.” 

So formal. It should put Knox at ease but instead it irritated him. Irrationally so. Wanting to shake the ground beneath Alenko’s feet, he said, “Call me Knox.” 

Thick dark eyebrows rose up in response, surprised. Good. Knox felt more at ease with the knowledge.

“Okay...Knox,” Kaidan drew out the one syllable as if trying out the feel of it. “Then I ask that you call me Kaidan.” 

Knox simply continued to stare at him, not responding. The silence stretched out and his impatience began to grown. He did not like to be kept waiting. 

“Was there something you needed?” His words came out harsher than intended but if it prompted a response, so be it. 

Brown eyes, wariness in their depths, looked away, the tips of Kaidan’s ears becoming pink. Interesting. He rubbed the back of his neck, a tell Knox had seen often when he was unsure about something or embarrassed. Which was it this time? 

“I…” he took a deep breath, then turned an looked Knox right in the eyes, “I wanted to apologize for my distrust back on Mars, for questioning your loyalties. I realize now you’re the commander I’ve known since Eden Prime and I’m happy to fight by your side...sir.” 

Straightening up, Knox strode over slowly, coming to a stop before him, crowding his space. The air around them was charged with electricity. He spoke quietly, calmly, but with steel in his voice, “Only now?”

Kaidan didn’t look away this time. The intensity in his gaze made Knox’s blood heat. There was more going on here than what one could see on the surface. 

“What is it exactly you want from me?” 

Merde! What a loaded question he was asking. Deciding he needed a drink, Knox turned towards his desk where he kept a bottle of whiskey. He splashed some of the amber liquid into a glass, uncaring when it slosed over the side. Maybe the burn as it went down would put him back on solid ground. The ground he’d tried to shake beneath Kaidan’s feet had backfired. This was new territory for him. 

He tossed the whiskey back, turning to hold up his empty glass, "Drink?"   

Kaidan hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded. Knox poured another for himself, then handed the other glass over. The major sipped sparingly, eyes widening a fraction in surprise. 

Knox shrugged, "I liked the whiskey you added to the bar. Bought some for myself."

An inadvertent admission. He wandered over to watch the fish, lest Kaidan read more into it. Silence followed his words and he turned to find the major browsing the datapads. Knox bristled at the invasion of his privacy, ready to let fly with harsh words and criticism but his inner voice caught up to him and told him to stop. 

There was nothing more than intel about the war and the crucible and maybe Kaidan would be able to provide some insight, see things from a different angle...as he usually did.

Instead, Knox kept quiet and observed him, refusing to admit to himself he was actually committing to memory every nuance of the man across the room. Suddenly, Kaidan’s body tensed up, fingers coming to rest on one specific datapad. Having so many open, Knox couldn’t remember what intel was in each one and now he was curious at the reason for the strange response. 

"Find something?" 

Kaidan’s hand snapped to his side as if caught in a trap. Placing the unfinished drink on the desk, he turned to leave with an excuse at the ready, "I should go get acquainted with the crew." 

Knox moved quickly, stepping in front of him, so close he could see the variations of color in the expressive brown eyes. His own eyes traveled at leisure over Kaidan’s face; new scars blending with old ones, a few more wrinkles and gray hairs from the passage of time and the stress they were under...a tinge of pink on his cheeks. 

Their eyes locked. For the first time ever, Knox found himself lost. Unable to process the feeling, he did what came natural. He charged ahead. 

The world around them ceased to exist, narrowing down to just the two of them, Kaidan’s breath hitching for a fraction of second before relaxing into the kiss, opening eagerly as Knox slid his tongue inside. Pressing up against him, their feet  tangled and they stumbled across the room, Kaidan’s back stopping them up against the fish tank. Knox planted his palms to each side while Kaidan grasped at his clothing. 

They sank into the kiss, neither willing to be the first to let it end. But end it did, Knox pulling away first. What the fuck was he thinking, kissing a member of his crew? There wasn’t time for personal relationships, death on the horizon or not. Things like this just got messy and caused more problems than he needed right now. Either of them needed. 

He walked back to the desk, leaving Kaidan where he was. How he felt about what happened was of no concern to him. Leaning into his arms, hands pushing the datapads aside, one blinked to life. The one Kaidan had been looking at. On the screen was the Cerberus husk they’d found on Mars where Kaidan had questioned if the terrorist organization had done the same to him. 

Behind him, the door slid open and he heard footsteps as Kaidan left his cabin. 

His voice, raspy and deep with the remnants of their kiss lingering still, floated back to him, “You’re not a machine or— or some thing. You’re a person, Knox, and i’m sorry anyone ever made you feel otherwise, including me." 

[secondhand-trash]

Your First Name, My Last Name

A/N: the title came from this cantonese love song. Also, this is loosely inspired by the single best piece of writing I have read on this site that is this post by @linkedsoul​ , it is being expanded to a novel so I strongly recommend giving it a read if you haven’t already!

(au masterlist)

Pairing: fae!Amajiki Tamaki x reader

Description: There was something extremely important the fae would like to ask you, the only issue was the he don't know how.

Word count: 3778

Playlist:

Heavenly//Cigarettes After Sex (This is the softest love song out there please listen to it I love it so much thanks)

Tonight//Sibylle Baier

When the Day Met the Night//Panic! At The Disco

-

Humans had lived under the facade of peace and progress for centuries that they had forgotten the true power of giving someone their names. In other words, they had lost their natural primal instinct to protect themselves from being tricked by faes.

Not that faes were all too interested in playing around with humans anymore. They found human to be too calm and nonchalant about the whole “dropped in another dimension” thing that they liked to do for it to be entertaining anymore. What’s the point of doing all the work if they were so chill about it? Even with the other supernatural creatures moving into the outside world and growing to live with humans, most faes still tended to isolate themselves and stay inside their own circle or live somewhere they wouldn’t be interrupted by people.

Tamaki Amajiki was no exception. This sweet fae was not as mischievous or cunning as most other faes and he didn’t hate humans but he was incredibly, incredibly shy. The mere thought of having to talk to new people every day made him sick and he would much prefer staying in the comfort of his tiny cottage by the lake, surrounded by lovely plants and the occasional company of the chirpy nymph and outgoing centaur that visited him regularly.

Now imagine the shook that his very few friends must felt when the fae let it slipped that he found a human lover over tea one day. The fae in question hid his reddened face behind his palms after realizing what he said, not being able to form coherent sentences while the nymph and the centaur bombarded him with questions.

Truth be told, Tamaki often found himself thinking about the peculiarity of that when he layed in bed at night. Him, who could barely look at people in the eye, found someone who wanted to spend time with him and talk to him and hold his hand and even kiss his lips. Just the thought of that kept him up at night in the best way possible, with his heart fluttering in love and affection.

He could never forget the day he met you because he nearly fainted when he heard the knocking at the wooden door, thinking that it was his friends only to open up and found a stranger standing there.

“Hi, um, I’m sorry if this is too sudden but can you take my name?”

“W-what?”

Tamaki’s head had yet to be cleared from the sheer panic of a stranger showing up at his door and he could not process what you just said to him out of the blue. Take your name? Did you have any idea what you were asking him to do? Did you have any clue as to what giving him your name would meant? A million thought ran through his head and it was too much for him to handle, let alone that fact that he was under your gaze and you didn’t seem to have any intention to shy away.

So Tamaki did the only logical thing he could think of and closed the door in your face.

You watched as the door slammed shut and you heard the sound of rapid footsteps from behind the door. You weren’t sure what you were supposed to do as the clashing sounds from inside the cottage got louder and more frantic as time passed. You knew that it was a sudden request and a strange one at that but you didn’t foresee it to cause the fae so much panic.

Suddenly, the noises stopped and everything fell into silence. You were wondering if you had broken the fae and whether it was a good idea to check up on him when the door swung open to reveal the fae with his face flushed in redness from his cheeks all the way to the pointed tip of his ears.

“Would- would you like to come in?”

You looked around curiously as you entered the cozy cottage. There were many different myths about faes floating around but none of them seemed to match what you saw. It was just a really lovely cottage with the warm sunlight pouring from the window and homey wooden furniture laying around the room. If there was anything unusual about it, it emitted such a welcoming aura that just made you wanna lie down on the woven blankets draping on the chairs and take a good nap.

Tamaki fumbled around in his small kitchen as you took in the surroundings of his home. To say that he was anxious would be an understatement. It had been many years since he had any visitors that weren’t Nejire or Mirio and the humble cottage was not prepared for guests at all. He fidgeted with his fingers as he waited for the water in the kettle to boil, trying hard to think of what he could say to you so he wouldn’t be too tongue twisted when he actually had to sit down with you and there would be no distraction for him to avoid the conversation.

You thanked him as he handed you the saucer with a cup of hot tea on it and took a sip. Tamaki watched attentively for your reaction and let out a relieved sigh when your eyes widened in delight. It was the best tea you had ever have, just the right amount of sweetness and spice. You had never tasted anything like that and you wondered if he would tell you what blend it was if you ask.

Tamaki held his cup so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Should he say something? What would he say? Why weren’t you speaking? Why was neither of you speaking? Should someone be speaking? Did the tea burnt your tongue? Were you silently judging the mess that was his house? Were you silently judging the mess that was him? What if-

“About what I was saying earlier-” Tamaki snapped back from the overriding thoughts in his head as you speak up and let out what sounded like a small squeal in shock. You immediately stopped talking at his reaction, afraid that you had said something wrong to startle the fae.

He lowered his head in embarrassment as the tip of his ears started to turn red again. You watched as his pointy ears dropped with his bashful expression and couldn’t help but feel a warm rush to your stomach at how adorable he looked. You immediately brushed that thought to the back of your head at how offensive such a comment must be to a fae whose kind traced back to way before the existence of humans and with magic so powerful.

“About that...”

It took a lot of encouraging on your part for him to start stuttering less and less as he explained the whole concept of giving your name away to a fae and why he couldn’t just take yours as you asked. You nodded in understanding but couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh which made Tamaki tensed up immediately and rambled on about how sorry he was.

You gave the fae a smile, telling him that it was fine and why you came to him in the first place. You grew up in an extremely strict household where you parents were so overprotective that they did not allow you to do most things that other people your age could do even when they were way younger. It was immature, but you had contemplated running away from home many times before but never did it for real. Earlier that day before you showed up at Tamaki’s doorsteps, you had a heated argument with your parents and you stormed out of the house in anger. You didn’t want to go back and suddenly remembered the tales your friend had told you about how humans in the ancient times were tricked and gave their names to faes. It was said that those people would be taken to the faes’ land and never return. Looking back that you had calmed down, it was a stupid decision but at that point it seemed like a better option than going home and getting scold again. There were rumours that there was a fae living by the lake in the middle of the woods and you decided to try your luck. No one had actually seen the fae and you were certain that it was only a lie adults told their kids to stop them but misbehaving, you were just as shocked as the fae who opened the door when you actually found the cottage and the lake after mindless wandering around.

“W-well, I’m sure that living with the-with the faes would be w-way more boring than you-your old life.” Tamaki said as you were about to leave, his voice trembling as he tried to find words to say that might cheer you up.

“I’d much rather stay here than go home, really.” you said as you stood under the wooden frames of his door and grinned when his eyes widened, “Can I come again?”

“O-of course.” Tamaki scratched the back of his head and gave you a bashful smile as his face heated up once again.

It wasn’t long until you returned to the fae’s cottage by the lake again. It was a sunny afternoon and Tamaki was talking to the animals that gathered in his garden when you arrived.

You kneeled down next to him and he nearly fell over when he finally saw you. You reflectively reached out and held him by the arm to steady him. Tamaki was determined to be less of a stuttering mess when you showed up again but the plan failed when he felt your touch on his arm. His ears perked up as he became hyper aware of how close you were to him when in the position you were in.

“I thought that your house alone was good enough but now that there are animals all around the garden, there is even less of a reason for me to ever leave.” you said as you petted the rabbit that was sitting quietly on his lap.

You couldn’t see the flustered expression on his face as your gaze was fixed on the fuzzy creature. Tamaki wasn’t sure what it was that got him like that, he was shy by nature but he was not as squirmy around other people and his heart rate was abnormally fast with you around. “Can you-can you wait for me inside?” he managed to force out a sentence through his lips that was pursed in nerve.

You nodded and got up to enter the cottage that was unlocked. When your figure disappeared from where he could see, Tamaki’s shoulders relaxed and he put the rabbit on the ground before getting up. “What?” he looked down on the furry rabbit as its mouth moved to let out a soft mutter.

“Huh?” Tamaki’s face flushed as he heard what his animal friends were suggesting, “That’s not true! I- I don’t!”

Despite it being rather unnoticeable, the fae could clearly pick up on how the rabbit’s muttering got more aggressive at his denial. “Don’t say that!” he immediately lowered his voice as he remembered that you might hear him from te cottage, “I don’t have a crush on them, ok?”

The fae quickly added in a whisper that was more to himself than to the animals before walking towards the cottage to join you, “And even if I do, there’s no way they would like me back.”

That couldn’t be any farther away from the truth. It was nice that he was so sure of it though, because that look on his face when you kissed him on the cheek before leaving was one that you could never forget and always managed to make your heart swell.

You frequented Tamaki’s cottage even more now that the sweet fae became your lover. He was often apologetic that he couldn’t take you out on regular dates like other humans do but you would always reassure him that his company was all you need with a soft kiss. It took a while for him to stop blushing madly from the lightest initiation of physical affection and even for him to initiate it himself. You wouldn’t lie, sometimes you tried to make him fluster just to see that expression on his face that you loved so much.

It was a few weeks into your relationship when you met his friends that he always spoke so highly of.

With Nejire, it would be more accurate to say that you noticed her than to say that you ‘met her’. It started when you noticed that there was always a few strands of seaweed in the odd colour of pale blue in the lake whenever you and Tamaki lounged on the grass. You brought it up to Tamaki one day, asking if there were magical plants in that colour because you were almost certain that it was quite biologically impossible for average plants. You didn’t miss the way he averted your stare when he tried to brush it off as some sort of enchantment, adding to your suspicion. When you left his house that day, you got closer to the side of the lake to get a clearer look and yelped when the strands moved and a girl surfaced from the water.

“Hello! You are Tamaki’s human lover, right?” you had yet to recover from the shock to respond but she carried on, “Is this how humans look like? What is that you are wearing? What material it is? Lynen? How interesting!”

You could barely catch up with the speed of her questions and struggled to give answers before she raise another one at you. After what seemed like hours, she let out a satisfied breath and say, “I guess I should let you go, the sun is starting to sink and you don’t want to be in the woods without the sun. I’m Nejire and I live in this lake, do come say hi the next time you’re here!” And with that, she gone back into the water, leaving you with your head still spinning.

You always made an effort to greet the nymph whenever you passed by the lake from that day onwards and she would peek out from the surface once she heard you call her name. There were times when you were so caught up with her chatter that Tamaki had to come out and drag you back in. Nejire teased him endlessly for it.

With Mirio, he was a lot less sneaky than Nejire. You were helping Tamaki with his spring cleaning that day and wanted to dust the frames of the window. The cottage hadn’t been renovated in a long while and its windows still had the old-fashioned design where you open it by pushing the two wooden blinds. You opened the window for better lighting and bended down to wet the cloth. When you stood up once again, your head bumped into something and you took a step back when you looked up to see a blonde man smiling at you.

“Oh, hello.” the man said with a wide smile. “Sorry to bump into you, I was just passing by and wanted to say hi.”

You talked with him for a while. You had never met him before but he was very nice and welcoming. He was leaning in from the window frame as you talked so you could only see the upper part of his body. It wasn’t until he left and you heard the faint sound of galloping instead of normal footsteps that you noticed the lower part of his body was that of a horse.

“What are you looking at?” you heard the voice of your boyfriend from behind and broke you out from your daze.

“You didn’t tell me that there are centaurs around here.”

“What?” Tamaki tilted his head in confusion, “There isn’t any- Oh, wait, Mirio.”

Nothing brought Tamaki more joy than the sight of you and his friends huddling around his cottage, laughter and the fresh smell of grass filling the air. You would always leaned on him on the couch as Mirio and Nejire talked and it was one of the few things that made him believed that the world was truly good. Everyone he loved by his side, what more could a fae ask for?

Well, there was maybe one more thing he would want if he was allowed to be greedy for a tiny bit.

Tamaki realized his own yearning on a day that seemed to be not that different from any other. It was a sunny winter afternoon, the woods was all white and the lake was frozen into ice. The nymphs had went away to the deeps of the mountains to hide from the cold and the centaurs were busy preparing for winter solstice. As much as Tamaki loved his friends, it was nice when it was just the two of you once in a while.

He was lying down with his head on your lap while you mindlessly played with the fae’s indigo hair, eyes fixed on the book in your hand. You hadn’t noticed but Tamaki was looking at you the whole time you slipped through the pages, enticed by the concentrated look on your face. The air was chilly but the warm sun that poured in was enough to keep you warm. Even if it didn’t, the heavy blankets that scattered around the cottage and the loving embrace of your lover was there to keep you in comfort even in the coldest days of winter. Your hair was messed up by the wind on the way and you were wearing one of Tamaki’s old shirts but he was certain that there was no ethereal being that looked more beautiful than the way you looked under the soft light. Your hand travelled from his hair to his ear and traced down to his cheek, stopping by the corner of his lips. You peeked from behind your book and smiled when you saw the faint blush on Tamaki’s cheek.

It was then that he realized that this was exactly what he wanted to stare at for the rest of his life.

Which led to his current struggle and that was how the hell was he supposed to bring that up to you?

His friends tried their best to give advice when Tamaki was breaking down over how much of a big deal it was and how he couldn’t mess it up but it didn’t help ease his nerves any less. He was asking you to take his name and give him yours, when faes said they want to spend the rest of their lives with someone it was no joke.

Nejire suggested doing some sort of grand gesture that many humans were doing when they pop the question but it was quickly turned down because they all agreed that Tamaki would probably combust before even saying anything under all the pressure. Mirio thought it might be cute to do it with a cute letter but the fae was not behind it at all because “how am I supposed to tell them how I feel through a letter THERE ISN’T ENOUGH SPACE ON THE PAPER.”

Basically, he was clueless and he had no idea what to do which sucked because it was all he could think of whenever you were around and Tamaki Amajiki was horrible at hiding things like that.

Before you knew it, winter passed and it was spring again. All life returned to the earth as the snow melted and the plants started growing again. You sat in the field of daffodils and gently brushed over the golden petals of the early bloomers. Tamaki didn’t say anything, only watching you with a smile on his face as he fumbled with the edge of his sleeves. He had been awfully quiet recently so you had noticed. You spent such a large portion of your relationship taking note of his many subtle quirks and habits that indicated his moods that there was no way you didn’t pick up that there was something on his mind but you never asked about it. If there was something you learnt about the fae, he would always open up when the time was right, like the budding flowers in spring.

Tamaki could feel the pounding in his chest as he watched you. You were everything he had ever asked for and more. If only he could just find the courage to say it out loud, to tell you that he wanted to spend each spring with you, witnessing the flowers bloom and the ice melt, to tell you that he would give you his soul and ask for nothing in return but your heart.

“Will you take my name?”

You looked up from where you sat at your lover and wondered if you heard correctly. You were confused for a short second until you recalled that you had said something similar to him on the day you barged into his house. It all became clear when you remembered the explanation he gave you in between stutters on the true power someone’s name held.

Giving someone your true name, one that meant something to you, was no different than giving them your soul. Once you gave it away, it was theirs as much as it was yours. In his own words, “People who shared each others’ true name shares a special bond. Something like what humans called ‘marriage’ but soul binding and there is no way out."

Two names, one soul, a life together for all eternity.

Tamaki wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and hide in it for eternity. He had spent so long being frustrated and thinking of the perfect way to ask you only to let it slip in the spur of the moment. He squeezed his eyes tight, not wanting to see the expression on your face and his grew more anxious as each second passed by without any response from you.

“Only if you will take mine as well.”

Tamaki peaked his eyes open just as your voice rang in his ear. You chuckled as you reach out to tug a daffodil behind his ear and his face was tinted with your favourite shade of pink.

This sight for the rest of your life, what more could you ask for?

[pocket-luv101]

In a Wish || Intro

Fandom: Servamp Ships: KuroMahi, LawLicht, Jekuni, Tetsono

Summary: Mahiru is the fairy guardian of Neverland’s four Lost Boys. He is determined to grant their wish to find love but everyone is afraid of them. He decides to send the four to Earth to meet their soulmates.

(Intro) || KuroMahi || LawLicht || Jekuni || Tetsono

Mahiru believed that everyone deserved magic and kindness in their life. That was the reason he offered to be a fairy guardian to the Lost Boys of Neverland. Due to their reputation, the other fairies were scared to work with them. Thinking simply, Mahiru had to offer his help to them. Each creature in Neverland had a role to keep. The Wolf protected the forest from danger while the Tin Man maintained the trees. The Mad Hatter and the Black Duckling performed plays to keep the villagers happy.

It was Mahiru’s task to help them accomplish their goals. He could never imagine how difficult they would be though. The group wasn’t violent or mad like the rumours. They were very unmotivated. He knew they were good people so he didn’t want to give up. Mahiru flew over Ash’s forest to search for his Lost Boys. “Where are you four hiding?”

He noticed smoke in the night sky and he followed the trail to a dwindling firepit. Mahiru landed on the ground and returned to his full size. The tea set resting the ground nearby told him that the Mad Hatter was the one who made the fire. There were still cinders in the firepit so he knew the fire had been put out recently. He glanced around the area and said, “I know you’re here, Hyde. Kuro and the others must be with you as well. Come out now.”

“No, we’re not. That can be anyone’s teacup!” The voice made him turn towards the bushed. Mahiru lifted his hands and the tree roots rose to push the four men out of the bushes. He grabbed Kuro’s arm before he could run away from him. “The foxes and bats are arguing again so you need to speak to them. Hyde, how is your progress on your next play? I also set up another date for you JeJe.”

“Mahiru, we appreciate that you want to help us with our jobs but can you stop trying to find a partner for each of us? No one in Neverland is crazy enough to be in a relationship with us.” JeJe argued.

“I’m your fairy guardian and it’s my duty to grant your wish. When I asked you for your wish, you said ‘love’. I haven’t been able to find your soulmates yet but I won’t give up. You shouldn’t give up either.” Determination filled his brown eyes and he took Kuro’s hands into his.

The day Mahiru introduced himself as their fairy guardian, they didn’t believe him because most were afraid of them. They sarcastically joked that they wanted Mahiru to help them find love but he believed them. Kuro was surprised by his conviction despite the impossible task he had. Most would’ve given up but Mahiru’s kindness wouldn’t allow him to do so.

“Everyone in Neverland is afraid of us so they won’t give us a chance.” Hyde argued. “Why won’t you just give up and let us work on our own? We were doing just fine without you.”

“They wouldn’t have assigned you a fairy guardian if that was the case. The Great Tree can sense that you’re unhappy and sent me to help you.” Mahiru snapped back. He bit his lip to stop himself from yelling more. While he was frustrated, he didn’t want to fight with them. “Why won’t you try and have faith in yourself? I’m trying to help you but there’s only so much I can do on my own.”

“Hyde, stop provoking your mother.” Kuro said to stop their fight with a light joke. He understood that Mahiru simply wanted to help them and he respected his efforts. He had never met someone as kind as Mahiru and he was surprised by him. Turning to Mahiru, he said: “I have to agree with my brother though. Can we change our wish for love to something else? You already tried to set us up with everyone in Neverland.”

“That’s it! You’ve given me an idea, Kuro.” Mahiru said with a wide grin. He clapped a few times and fairy dust started to rain over them. His magic surrounded them and their feet were lifted off the ground. He took both of Kuro’s hands into his and pulled him higher in the sky. “Let’s try to find your soulmates on Earth. I’m not going to let you come home until you’ve talked with someone on your own!”

“Ducks?” Licht was surprised to find the tiny creatures walking through the city. He stopped and watched the ducks form a parade as they walked across the street to enter a park. Worried that the vulnerable animals could be hit by a car, he walked beside the ducks. Other animals joined the parade such as squirrels and birds. “Where are you going, Mr. Duck?”

He entered the park and he found that there were more animals than usual. He thought their behaviour was strange since it was rare that they would gather in front of people. Licht wondered if they were following a command that others couldn’t hear. He was focused on the animals at his feet so he didn’t see the table in front of him until he tripped over it. Licht fell forward and he blindly reached for something to catch himself.

A warm and strong hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him from crashing into the food. For a moment, he felt as if he was floating. He looked up from the table and his blue eyes met red ones. Laughter sparkled in the man’s eyes as he brought Licht’s hands to his lips. “Welcome to my tea party, Angel Cakes. For a moment, I thought only animals would dine with me. They’re great company but my fairy guardian said I had to talk to a real person.”

“Who are you?” Licht pulled away from him and looked at him with suspicion. Silently the man pointed above his head to the leaves he painted to make a banner. “The Mad Hatter?”

“Misono, there’s a crazy person with an axe in the garden! We need to evacuate you quickly.” His servant told him in a panicked voice and rushed him to his feet. Misono understood his confusion since it was nearly impossible for a person to pass the gate to enter his garden. As a child, people would often target him for his family’s money. He was an adult now and he could only make an irritated sigh at the situation. “Hurry into the house, Misono.”

“I’m in the middle of my research, DoDo. Is it really necessary to go into the manor since the guards will capture him pretty quickly? I’ll go inside for ten minutes and then come out to talk to the police. That happens every time.” He gathered his textbooks into his arms but he accidentally dropped one. Misono knelt down to pick it up and then a worn pair of shoes entered his view.

He looked up and his heart dropped when he saw a blond man standing over him. Misono assumed that the intruder was in another part of the garden. He quickly backed away from the man and his guards surrounded them in a circle. The man didn’t seem to notice the others as he put down his axe and picked up the textbook. He held it out to Misono and his tin arm creaked as he moved.

“I was walking by your home and I noticed that one of the trees in your garden is dying. If you don’t cut it down, the tree will affect the other plants in the garden. I’m a woodsman so I chop the tree down for you.” He offered but Misono barely heard his words.

“You’re a man made of tin. How is that possible?”

Mikuni sat on a bench and he scrolled through the missed calls on his phone. He was tempted to call the number back but he thought better of it. A part of him considered throwing his phone into the pond a few feet in front of him. He tilted his head back and watched the clouds pass over him. His mind wandered to his boyfriend and he groaned.

A sound caught his attention and he turned towards the noise. There was a trail of black feathers that led to the pond. A tall man was feeding lettuce to a group of ducks. Mikuni couldn’t help but stare at the man since he wore several paper bags on his head.

One of the ducks bit the man’s hand and he recoiled in pain. He fell into the pond with a large splash and he floundered for a few minutes. Mikuni thought the man couldn’t swim so he ran to save him. He stepped into the pond and he found that the water was shallow. He was easily able to stand in the water yet the man was struggling to swim.

“Stop panicking and just stand up.” He grabbed the man’s arm and dragged him to the shore. Mikuni took off his vest and shook water from the fabric. He watched the man in the corner of his eyes and he didn’t know what to think of him. Between his clothes and silence, he could only call him strange. “You know, people usually say ‘thank you’ when someone saves them.”

“Thank you.” After a brief pause, the man took the paper bags off his head.

“Oh my god,” Mikuni cupped his face and yelled. “You’re perfect for my revenge!”

Mahiru’s wings faded as he travelled through the two worlds and landed on Earth. He sent his four Lost Boys to Earth with the hope that they’ll be able to have a normal conversation. On Earth, they didn’t have to worry about others judging them and the trip would be a good opportunity to build their confidence. He pulled out a hand mirror and blew fairy dust on it. “Let’s see how my boys are doing.”

He felt something warm press against the back of his neck and the strange sensation made him turn around. A large, black wolf stood over him and nudged him with its nose. Yet, Mahiru wasn’t afraid as he lifted his hand to scratch the wolf’s chin. It started to purr and Mahiru asked: “What are you doing here, Kuro? I told you to find someone to talk to.”

“I have enough friends and I don’t want to go through the trouble of making another one. Too much work.” Kuro shifted into his human for. Mahiru continued to tickle his fingers against his chin and his tail wagged in response. He pouted at him and added: “You’re going to have to give me a lot more than pets to make me talk with strangers. Too troublesome.”

“Cup ramen?” Mahiru offered in a sweet voice but Kuro shook his head. “You must be the most difficult magical creature I’ve been assigned, Kuro. Won’t you work with me for once?”

“That’s why I’m here. Do you want to make a deal? I’ll help you play matchmaker for my brothers if you let me change my wish.” Kuro offered and held out his hand to him. “I’ve known them longer than you so I can help you a lot.”

“If you help me, I’ll give you a second wish. I still want you to be happy and in love.” Mahiru shook his hand. Kuro wondered if he should tell him that he was already in love with his fairy guardian.

[alarawriting]

52 Project #10: The Little Red Hen

Once upon a time, a hen, a cat, a dog, a pig, a goat and a rabbit all lived together in a little house.

Like good housemates, they all worked together to do the chores and pay the bills. In the front yard, Goat had a little pen. Children would come and pay to come into the pen and pet Goat. Sometimes the other animals came out to be petted too, except for the hen, because she was always too busy.  

Rabbit had beautiful long fur and brushed it all the time, and then she would spin the fur that came off with the brush into wool, which she would sell. The wool that came from Rabbit’s fur made lovely soft sweaters.

The others had jobs around the house. Hen kept a garden where she grew food for herself, Pig, Goat and Rabbit. Sometimes Dog ate the food too. Once or twice even Cat did, because Hen’s cooking was very good, but most of the time Cat prowled around for mice, or took naps.

Dog’s job was to bark a lot. Dog barked to warn Goat that children were coming for the petting zoo if Goat was inside the house. Dog barked to warn other dogs to go away. Dog barked to say hi to people. Dog barked to say that people had better watch out and not try any funny business. Dog barked at squirrels. He couldn’t explain why he needed to bark at squirrels. He just did.

Pig was always eating garbage. And then she would track dirt across Hen’s nice clean floor on her way to take a shower. And then she would eat more garbage. And then she would take another shower. When Hen got mad at Pig for taking too many showers, Pig asked Hen if she would prefer it if Pig had a mud wallow instead. After that Hen didn’t complain about Pig’s showers.

Hen tried to keep the house clean. There were always feathers and fur everywhere. Cat didn’t want to sit still to let Rabbit brush her. “I’m a cat,” she would say. “I can clean myself.” Then she would lick off all of her own loose fur. Then eating so much hair would make her sick, and she would throw up a hairball, right on Hen’s nice clean floor. “Ooh, I feel much too sick to clean that up,” she would say. “Hen, can you do it?” Then she would take a nap.

Dog got nervous sometimes. All that barking was hard on him. He had to stay alert all day and all night. When Dog was nervous, he chewed on things. He chewed on Cat’s bed pillow, which got feathers everywhere that weren’t even Hen’s. He chewed on Rabbit’s brush, and Rabbit was angry enough to try to hit him with it. He chewed on a pair of old shoes. None of the animals wore shoes, but the shoes belonged to Goat, who also liked chewing on them, so Goat and Dog had an argument.

Pig would stay in the garbage pen when she was eating garbage. Goat would wander into the pen the day after Hen made spaghetti with tomato sauce, because he loved tomato sauce. He’d pick up the can Hen had thrown in the garbage, and lick it. Pig didn’t mind. There was plenty of garbage. But Goat wouldn’t stay still in the garbage pen. “I have to get back to the petting zoo,” he’d say. “The children want to pet me.” Then he’d walk around with the dirty tomato sauce can in his mouth, letting it drip all over the place. Children thought this was very funny. Hen didn’t.

Rabbit would get angry when she found red feathers in her hutch. “Hen! You’re getting feathers in my hutch again!” she’d say. Hen would get angry because Rabbit shed fur everywhere and it wasn’t fair for Rabbit to complain about Hen’s feathers, when Hen was the only one who even tried to keep the house clean. Rabbit would always say that her fur was putting a roof over all of their heads and paying for the groceries, because six animals ate a lot more than Hen could grow in her garden, so she was always going to the grocery store. Then Hen would say “Well, if that fur is worth so much money why is it all over the couch and not on your spindle?” and then Rabbit would hmph and say that she works hard to sell her wool and she has the right to sit down and watch TV sometimes.

They were all friends and they all worked together to make life better for all the animals in the house. But sometimes friends and housemates don’t always get along so well.

One day Hen decided she was going to bake a loaf of bread. All of the animals loved her bread. Even Cat, who wasn’t supposed to eat bread, because she was a carnivore and it was bad for her. Cat pretended she didn’t really care about the bread, but when no one was looking she would always sneak a slice.

“I’m going to make bread,” she announced. “Who wants to help me buy the supplies I’ll need?”

“Not me,” said Cat, who was running around on the kitchen flour pouncing on nothing. Sometimes she did that for fun.

“Not me,” said Dog, who was at the window looking out into the yard. He saw a squirrel. “WOOF WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF! AR-AR-AR-AR-AR! WOOF WOOF!”

Rabbit rolled her eyes. “It’s just a squirrel,” she said. “You don’t have to bark.”

“I do! My honor as a dog requires it!”

“Are you going to help me get the groceries?” demanded Hen.

“Oh heavens no. Look at all this brushing and grooming I have to do!” Rabbit brushed her fur.

“Pig, will you come with me?”

“I would, but I’m sooo hungry, I feel like I’d eat everything in the store!” Pig said, munching on yesterday’s garbage. “Sorry, count me out.”

Hen stuck her head out the door. Goat was playing with children. “Goat, will you come with me to the store so I can buy supplies to make bread?”

“Not me,” said Goat, as the children petted him.

“Well! Then I guess I have to do it all myself! I swear I live with the biggest lazybones I’ve ever met,” Hen said, which was probably true, because last time she had housemates they were all chickens. The hens worked hard at laying eggs and sitting on them, and finding bugs and worms and plants to eat, and the roosters worked hard at defending the hens and crowing when it was morning to wake all the chickens up so they could eat. Also when they saw a squirrel, much like Dog. Also when they had an itch. Also when they just felt like it.

Hen went to the grocery store, and got flour, yeast, and vegetable oil. The vegetable oil was very heavy. She’d bought a large one, because it was on sale, but it was very hard for a little hen to drag such a heavy bottle back home, especially with the heavy bag of flour too.

When she got back to her house, she yelled, “This stuff is really heavy! Is anyone going to help me carry it into the kitchen?”

“Too busy!” yelled Goat, who was still getting petted by children.

“If I look away from the window there might be an intruder!” Dog said. “Or another squirrel!”

“Still brushing,” said Rabbit.

“I’d help, but if I look at your groceries, I might get hungry again,” Pig said. “I just now managed to get full enough to go take my shower.”

“Cat?” Hen asked.

“What, are you seriously asking me? Of course not. I’m grooming,” Cat said, licking her fur.

So Hen dragged her groceries into the kitchen and began to make the dough. She put the ingredients in a bowl and began to mix them. “Can anybody help me mix the dough here?”

“What part of ‘grooming’ are you not getting?” Cat asked.

“Maybe if Cat will watch the window for me and let me know if anything dangerous is coming, I could help you mix the dough?” Dog suggested.

“How about no?” Cat said.

“Still brushing,” Rabbit said.

Pig was in the shower, and Goat was outside, so Hen didn’t even ask.

When she was done mixing the dough, it was time to knead it. Wings are not very good at kneading things, so Hen washed her feet in the sink first. Then she climbed on the dough and began to knead it. “I don’t suppose anyone wants to help me knead the dough?” she asked.

“I am hunting a mouse here,” Cat said, which Hen thought was strange, because it looked like she was sitting still on the floor with her tail twitching.

“Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute!” Dog said. “THERE’S AN INTRUDER!” He ran outside, barking. “Intruder! Intruder!”

Rabbit sighed. “Dog, that’s the mailman,” she said, although Dog couldn’t hear her, because he was already outside. Also, he was barking very loudly.

“You’re not brushing anymore,” Hen said. “You could help me.”

Rabbit glared at her. “I am spinning,” she said, feeding the fur from her brush into a spinner so she could turn it into wool thread.

After Hen had kneaded the dough, it was time to make it into a loaf. “Does anyone want to help me make these loaves?” she asked.

But the only one left was Rabbit. Pig was still in the shower, Goat was still being petted by children, Dog was patrolling the property, and Cat had gone outside to hunt mice. Hen looked over at Rabbit, but Rabbit was still spinning. “Humph,” Hen said. “None of you are very helpful. It would serve you right if I didn’t even let you eat any of this loaf.” But Rabbit was paying attention to her spinning, so she didn’t notice what Hen said.

When the loaves were made, Hen put them in the oven to bake. She got out the butter, so it would be nice and soft when it was time to put it on the bread, and then she washed the dishes she’d gotten dirty, and cleaned the counter, and swept the kitchen. None of the animals helped her.

Finally, the loaves came out of the oven. By this time, Rabbit was done spinning, and had finished taking pictures of her wool to add to her catalog, and now she was watching TV. Cat was sleeping in the living room with the TV on. Pig was munching on apple cores and peels from the apple pie Hen had made yesterday, as she watched TV with Rabbit. Dog and Goat were playing cards in the living room at the coffee table.

Hen marched out to the living room. “Well, the bread that I made all by myself is done. Who wants to help me eat it?” she asked.

“I’d love some!” said Pig.

“I could definitely go for bread,” Goat agreed.

“Me, too,” said Dog.

“Bread sounds nice,” Rabbit said.

Cat flicked her ear up and opened one eye. “Maybe,” she murmured sleepily.

“Well, too bad!” Hen said. “Because none of you helped me get the groceries, and none of you helped me bring in the groceries, and none of you helped me make the dough, and none of you helped me knead the dough, and none of you helped me make the loaves, and you definitely didn’t help me clean up the kitchen afterward, so why should you help yourself to any of my bread? It’s my bread and I’m going to eat it all by myself!” She flounced back into the kitchen, fluttering her wings.

All of the animals looked at each other.

Goat followed Hen into the kitchen. “You do know that Rabbit and I made the money that you used to buy those groceries, right?” he asked.

“But you didn’t help buy them. You didn’t help use them. You didn’t help clean up after them. And you never, ever do! I work very hard around here to keep this place clean and cook nice food for all of us and none of you ever help.”

“Well, all right then,” Goat said. “You do your job, without any help, and we all get the benefits. All of us do our jobs, without any help, and you get the benefits too, along with the rest of us. So why is this different?”

“Because you are all being lazy and not helping me at all. I make the food! That’s very important! But you don’t help me do that and you don’t clean up after yourselves and I’m tired of it! So I’m going to eat all the bread that I made.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Goat.

Hen humphed. “Well, you didn’t think helping me was a good idea either, and look how that turned out.”

Goat left the kitchen, and Hen sat down to eat her nice warm bread, with butter and cheese. It was delicious, but she couldn’t eat it all. She had to wrap most of the loaf up for later.

I can have it for breakfast in the morning, thought Hen.

***

In the morning, though, there was no loaf on the counter. There was a wrapper, and there were crumbs, but there was no loaf.

“Someone ate my loaf!” Hen yelled. “I said very specifically that no one was allowed to eat my loaf because no one helped me make it, but someone ate it anyway!”

“Not me,” said Rabbit, who was on the computer arranging a sale of the thread spun from her fur. “I’m too busy working to eat your loaf.”

“Not me!” said Dog, who then started barking to let Goat know that there were children coming to the petting zoo.

“Not me,” Goat said, “but if you’re not doing anything with that wrapper, I could get rid of it for you.”

“Not me,” said Pig nervously. “I’m, um, going on a diet. I’m fasting today. Sort of. Anyway I didn’t eat your bread.”

“Not me,” Cat said, yawning and stretching, “but maybe I know who did.”

“Then who was it?” Hen demanded.

“There might have been a bold rat or two in here last night looking for something to eat, and it’s possible they got into your loaf,” Cat said, washing herself.

Hen glared at her. “You saw rats get into my food, and you didn’t do anything?”

“Well, you never help me catch rats, so why should I protect your food?” Cat said. “I know you can catch a rat. I’ve seen you eat mice.”

“Rats are much too big for me! If we had a rooster here, maybe he could help you, but I can’t do anything about a rat!”

“Wait, Hen eats mice?” Rabbit’s ears perked up. “Since when?”

“Since always. Chickens will eat anything,” Cat said. “But did she help me catch the rats last night? No! So I didn’t catch the ones who were eating her loaf.”

“I’ll go outside and hunt for rats,” Dog said. “I don’t like rats being in the house! They’re intruders!” He looked over at Cat. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Maybe later. I think I’m going to have a nap right now,” Cat said.

“You just woke up,” Hen accused.

“I did. And it bored me, so I’m going back to sleep.”

Dog left. Goat nibbled at the wrapper. Hen glared at him. “I hear children outside. Aren’t you supposed to go out there and let them pet you?”

“I’m just not feeling it today,” Goat said. “After all, if I go take tickets so that children can pet me, you’ll just take the money and spend it on food I’m not allowed to eat, so why am I bothering?”

Hen huffed and went to the stove. “Well, if you won’t contribute anything to this household by working, I won’t let you have any eggs for breakfast. I worked hard laying these eggs.”

“I could eat some eggs,” Pig said.

“I thought you said you were fasting today.”

“I’m not fasting for eggs!”

“Aren’t eggs baby chickens?” Rabbit asked. “I think it’s creepy that you’re willing to cook them and eat them.”

Hen rolled her eyes, which was very difficult to do with bird eyes, but she managed it. “If I had a rooster for a husband, they’d be baby chickens and I would never let anyone eat them. But I don’t have a husband, so they’ll never become baby chicks no matter how long I sit on them. If you think it’s so creepy, Rabbit, you don’t have to have any eggs!”

“I don’t care,” Rabbit said. “You think no one gets to have any food unless they do your job for you.”

“I just want them to help! I don’t think that’s so unfair!”

“Whatever,” Rabbit said.

Hen tried to turn on the oven, and discovered that there was no firewood in the oven, so she couldn’t get it to turn on. She flapped her wings in exasperation and went outside to get firewood, but there wasn’t any.

“Rabbit! Weren’t you supposed to order more firewood?”

“Was I?” Rabbit was brushing her fur again. “I eat lettuce and greens. My food doesn’t need to be cooked, and my fur keeps me nice and warm, so why should I care about the firewood?”

“Ugh!” Hen shouted. “I have to do everything!”

She went outside to find some firewood. What she found was a pile of trash, with flies buzzing around it. Pig hadn’t eaten any of the garbage from yesterday. Hen stomped back in. “Pig! Why didn’t you eat the garbage?”

“Um, well, I’m fasting?” Pig said.

“No, you’re not, you asked for eggs.”

“I’m fasting for garbage,” Pig said.

Goat said, “Why should Pig eat the garbage for you? You’re the one who cares about how clean the house is, but you wouldn’t even let Pig have some of your bread, so why should Pig do you any favors?”

“Because it’s her job!”

“And making food for all of us is yours,” Goat said. “Excuse me.” He headed upstairs toward his bedroom.

“Well, I’m going to make some cake!” Hen yelled. “And I’m not letting you or Pig or Rabbit have any!”

“Great. Good luck finding firewood,” Goat called down the stairs.

Cat got up and stretched again. “You guys are so loud. I’m going to go take my nap somewhere else.”

“You all should leave,” Hen snapped. “You’re all useless!”

Cat stared at Hen. “I’m leaving because you’re loud and annoying, not because you told me to.” She stalked away.

“I, um, I’m going to find some food in the woods,” Pig said. “Maybe some truffles. I heard I could make a lot of money if I found truffles and sold them.”

“Goat and Rabbit are supposed to make enough money to support us all,” Hen said.

“Right, but if I had my own money, I could buy my own food and then I wouldn’t have to eat garbage ever again.”

“Well, what will happen to this house if you never eat the garbage?” Hen snapped.

“You could eat it, Hen,” Rabbit said. “You’re the one who thinks that everyone has to help do everyone else’s job.”

“Well, if I only cook for myself, then there won’t be enough garbage to worry about!” Hen said.

Before anyone else could say anything, Hen heard strange voices in the house. Human voices. “I can’t find the goat!” a child’s voice said.

“I’m sure he’s in here somewhere,” a human woman said. “Oh, look! It’s a pig, a rabbit and a hen!”

Rabbit got up and bounded away, very, very quickly, leaving her brush behind her. Hen was not as fast. “Oh no you don’t!” she clucked at the child. “Stay away from me!” The child ran toward her. Hen did not want to be petted; she squawked and ran the other way, and then the human headed her way so she ran the opposite way. Meanwhile an older human child was petting Pig, who seemed to like it very much.

“I didn’t know pigs had fur,” the older child said. “It feels just like our hair, Mom!”

“That’s very nice,” Pig said. “Maybe I’ll work with Goat in the petting zoo. It feels nice to be petted.”

Hen was still running in circles. The child came at her from one direction and then the other. She couldn’t escape the kitchen because the child’s mother was blocking the door. “Mom, I just want to pet the hen! Why is she running away?” the child asked petulantly.

“Because I don’t want to be petted!” Hen squawked. She tried to run out the back door, but there were more children outside in the garbage area, complaining that it was stinky; she could hear them through the window.

“Mom, can you catch the hen so I can pet her?” the younger child said.

“Goat! There are children here trying to pet me! Come down here!”

“Naah,” Goat called back.

“But they’re your customers! They’re looking for you, and they’re chasing me!”

“I don’t see how that’s my problem,” Goat said.

“DOG! Help! There are children chasing me!”

“Um, Dog’s not here, remember?” Pig said. “He went hunting rats.”

Hen managed to slip past the grasping child and get out the door. The children who’d been out in the garbage pile had left, complaining about the stink. When the child who wanted to pet her headed for the same door, the child’s mother said, “No, no, there’s stinky garbage that way. Why don’t we pet the pig? We can pet the hen when she comes back.”

“Fat chance,” said Hen, as she flounced away.

Outside, she found Dog being petted. “Dog! You should have helped me! Some of those children came in the house and chased me!”

“You should have let them catch you,” Dog said, his tongue lolling and tail wagging. “These children love animals! I think I want to work with Goat every day!”

“I don’t like being petted,” Hen complained. “Now I can’t go inside my own house because there are children who are intruders, and they’re petting Pig!”

“Does Pig like it?”

“Pig likes it, but I don’t know why,” Hen complained.

“Well, I don’t have to protect Pig from something she likes,” Dog said.

Two tall adult human men, who didn’t have children with them, headed for the back door near the garbage pile. Hen clucked. “Dog! There are humans going to our garbage pile!”

“So? Maybe some humans like garbage. I like garbage, and Pig likes garbage, so maybe humans do too.”

“But it’s embarrassing! I don’t want strangers seeing our garbage!”

“I guess you’ll just have to chase them off, then,” Dog said. “Since you want everyone else to do your job or you won’t help them, we all decided that we won’t help you unless you do our jobs for us.”

Hen scowled. “Oh, so that’s it,” she said. “You all ganged up on me!”

Dog rolled on his back to get a belly rub. “Well, it seemed a little mean to me, but Goat explained that it was fair, because it’s what you did to us. All of us do our own jobs and we all work together, but you act like you’re the only one who does anything to contribute. So if you’re going to be mean to us, I guess we ought to be mean the same way to you? I mean, that’s fair, right?”

Hen squawked. “I work so hard to maintain this house!”

“And I work so hard to protect the house from intruders!” Dog said.

At this point there was a loud shattering sound from the side of the house. Dog leapt up, pulling away from the children petting him, and ran toward the sound, barking. Hen followed.

The television was lying on the ground, broken. The two humans were running away as Pig chased them, squealing. A moment later Goat came out the door and ran after the humans as well. “They stole our television!” Goat shouted.

“I’m on it! WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF! WOOF WOOF!” Dog ran after the two humans, which let Goat and Pig slow down and return to the house.

“Our television is broken because Dog wouldn’t do his job!” Hen said, angrily pecking at the broken TV. “If he’d been protecting the house from intruders, they wouldn’t have been able to just walk in and take the TV!” She fixed Goat with a glare. “And you encouraged him to do that!”

Goat glared right back. “It’s your fault, Hen,” he said. “You didn’t want to do your job for anyone who didn’t help you, even though we all have jobs? Well, why should Dog do his job for you? You could have chased off those intruders! You have a beak!”

“I am a little hen!” Hen yelled. “I can’t beat up a human! All of you except Rabbit would be better at that than I am!”

“Huh, it sounds like you’re saying we all should be working at the jobs we’re good at and not expecting others to step in and do our job?”

“I tried to do Dog’s job,” Pig said. “When I saw those humans taking our television I got mad and I chased them, and they dropped the TV!”

“Which broke it,” Hen said.

“Yes, but I’d rather the television broke than that intruders get to use it,” Pig said.

Dog came back, proudly holding a scrap of blue jeans in his teeth. He dropped it on the ground by them. “I didn’t catch them, but I got their pants,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll be back.”

“I tried to do your job, Dog,” Pig said. “But I wasn’t as good at it as you are.”

“Thanks for trying,” Dog said. “I really appreciate it. And you know I would never stop protecting you if you didn’t help me protect us, right, Pig?”

Pig nodded.

Rabbit came hopping back. “Are there still humans in our house, and what happened to the television?”

They explained everything to Rabbit, and explained everything again to Cat when she showed up. Goat went into the house to clear out all the human children and get them to go wait outside the petting zoo.

“This isn’t fair,” Hen said. “I spend my whole day cooking and cleaning to make the house nice for all of us, and none of you want to help at all. You’re fine with making a mess, but you don’t clean it. And Goat’s job is just for the daytime, and Rabbit can do her work whenever she wants to, and Cat and Dog take plenty of breaks, and Pig’s job is just eating! How hard is that?”

“You’re the one who decided to cook and clean,” Goat said. “You could sell eggs, just like Rabbit sells fur, but you decided to do the cooking and cleaning.”

“But I have to, because you’re all slobs,” Hen said. “Other hens will make fun of me if they see what a mess my house is! If I relied on any of you to keep the place clean, you wouldn’t!”

Cat washed her paw. “Maybe you just aren’t paying attention to what we do. When was the last time you cleaned the bathroom?”

Hen cocked her head. “Cleaned the bathroom?”

“My point exactly,” Cat said. “I make sure that the bathroom stays clean. I can’t remember the last time you bothered with that. I know none of the rest of you care, but I can’t stand a smelly bathroom.”

“And when you use cans when you cook, I clean them out and take them to recycling,” Goat said.

“And when the trash is so smelly even Pig doesn’t want to eat it, I take the bags out to the road for the garbage truck,” Dog said.

“And then you bark at the garbage truck for no reason,” Cat said.

“Well, by the time they come sometimes I forget I’m expecting them…”

“And when there was a leak in the basement, Dog and I dug out the pipes so we could patch the leak, and I ruined my fur for weeks,” Rabbit said.

“But none of those things are things you do every day,” Hen said, frustrated.

“Um, she has a point,” Pig said. “I thought she was mean about the loaf of bread, but it is true that the chores she does have to be done every day…”

“So is protecting the house!” Dog said.

Goat considered. “We all have a lot of work to do, but Hen is right that her job never stops; there are always messes, and we always need food. I can take a day off from the petting zoo and Dog doesn’t do anything if an intruder doesn’t come near the house and Rabbit only brushes and spins when she feels like she hasn’t got enough to sell, but Hen does her job all the time.”

“But nobody needs her to. She’s the one who wants to live in such a clean house,” Rabbit said.

“You complained about my feathers in your hutch,” Hen said.

“Yeah, actually, you did do that,” Cat said. “Anyway, I like a clean house.”

“I wish she wouldn’t clean up all the smells so fast,” Dog said, “but it does make it easier to smell intruders.”

“I like it when things are clean,” Pig said. “That’s why I take showers instead of getting a mud wallow.”

“So I have an idea,” Goat said. “All of us should pitch in and help Hen with chores… just so no one has a job they can’t ever walk away from for a little while. But Hen needs to understand that if we’re doing our jobs, or if we’ve had a hard day of doing our jobs all day and we’re tired, we aren’t always going to want to jump up and help with whatever, especially if it’s not a thing that needs doing. No one needed a loaf of bread yesterday, Hen, that was all your idea.”

“Well, you all wanted to eat it!”

“And you all wanted to watch TV even though Rabbit and I bought it,” Goat said. “That’s not the point.”

“I was hunting mice,” Cat said. “Who will, let me remind you, eat all your flour if I don’t stop them, and then you’re not going to bake any bread.”

“I was at my job,” Goat said. “Which you don’t want to do, and that’s fine, but don’t act like it’s not work.”

“Getting petted is work?” Dog asked.

“It sure is. You need to make sure the kids don’t fight with each other, and that they all get to pet you a fair amount of time, and of course you have to take the ticket money too, and it can be exhausting having to deal with people all day long, especially children. I don’t just lie around and get petted; I have to manage things.”

“And I was brushing and spinning,” Rabbit said, “because I had a big order I needed to ship today.”

“I don’t know how to cook,” Dog said. “I know how to protect the house, though, so I was doing that, because I was afraid I’d mess up if I tried to help you with the baking.”

“I guess I could have been more help,” Pig said. “I was really hungry, but maybe if I’d gotten a snack I could have helped out.” She looked at Goat. “And maybe I could help Goat in the petting zoo. We could take turns taking the ticket money and getting petted.”

“I could help with that too!” Dog said. “But I won’t ignore intruders going into the house just because I’m getting petted, the next time.”

“And I could help you sell vegetables and eggs, Hen,” Rabbit said. “Most of my sales are online, but I do sell yarn at the weekly farmer’s market, so I have a table there. I never asked you before because I thought the whole thing with the eggs was weird, but if they really aren’t baby chicks then I guess I have no reason not to invite you to come along and sell vegetables and eggs. That way you’d be making some of the household money, and so we wouldn’t be upset that you want us to do chores when we all have jobs.”

Hen sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I got mad because I feel like you never help me and I’m always working. I understand you have jobs, but… it was hard to bring home those groceries by myself, and then I had to do all the work to make the bread, and I just got frustrated. I shouldn’t have said you couldn’t have any bread.”

***

And so the friends made up, and agreed that they would share their workloads more fairly. Hen made another loaf of bread while Rabbit and Dog were out buying a new TV with the household funds, and Goat and Pig shared petting zoo duties. Even Cat went out to get petted, for a little while. Then they all shared the bread, this time.

It was delicious.

[mnthpprt]

Chapter 13: Guilty Of Caring

The next morning, Sebastian wakes me up with three loud knocks on the door. Annoyed to be suddenly pulled from my slumber, I look out the window. It’s ridiculously early. Thankfully, he brings a tray with coffee and a sandwich when I tell him to come in.

“Rise and shine, Anaïs,” he says cheerfully. Ugh, I hate morning people. I shoot him a groggy glare and rub the sleep from my eyes. “Get dressed and meet me in the garden, by the fountain. I have a job for you.” Upon saying that, he leaves again, and I sit at my desk to eat breakfast.

I knew my offer to help would bite me in the ass. Still, I set myself up for this, so I can’t really complain, and truth be told, I am grateful for something to do other than sit around in the library, which I now know is practically Leonardo’s second bedroom.

After our conversation yesterday, he helped me find the book I was looking for. He seems to know those shelves by heart. I stayed there as I researched and took notes for my paper, while he scribbled on a notebook himself until we were called to have dinner. I went to bed early after that.

I walk up to the fountain, where Sebastian is already waiting for me. He hands me a neatly folded apron, which I put on without question. Above us, Mozart’s playing floats out through the open window of the music room.

“I need you to plant some violets for me. But first, let me show you where everything is.”

I follow him as he guides me around the garden, explaining which plants are kept in each area. As everything Sebastian does, it’s perfectly organized, and much larger than I thought it would be. Under the pale morning sun, we make our way to a greenhouse near the edge of the property. In it, all sorts of tropical plants cover every surface, safe for a small work table in the center. Once he’s showed me where all the tools and supplies are, I turn to him.

“Great, so where do you want me to plant them?” I ask, already eager to get down to business. Even after I started working as a chemist and was no longer employed at the flower shop, I always loved gardening, and kept doing it as much as I could in my small London flat.

“That’s the spirit,” Sebastian chuckles. “Right where we started the tour, by the fountain. Mozart likes looking at them when he’s composing. Now, unless you have any questions, I shall return to my work inside.”

“All clear,” I nod. “See you later.”

Sebastian leaves me, taking a different path back to the mansion, and I gather some supplies and the tray of seedlings he pointed out before in a large basket before making my way to the fountain.

I have my sleeves rolled up and my hands in the dirt when a shadow covers the flower I am in the middle of planting.

“Good morning, Aiko-san,” says Dazai behind me. He bends to look over my shoulder. “Hard at work, I see.”

“Anaïs,” I correct him, but turn to him with a smile. I don’t mind the company. “I offered to help Sebastian, since I’ll be living here for a while. I guess that makes me the new gardener.”

“Mind if I stay here with you? I like to write outside,” he informs me as he gets back up and takes a seat on the edge of the fountain.

“By all means.” I return to my labor in silence, but then I remember something. “Hey, Dazai? What do you write about?” I look up at him and wipe my hands on the apron. “I just realized I don’t really know anything about you, compared to the other residents. Cultural differences, and all.”

“Well...” Dazai starts, and takes a thoughtful glance at a nearby tree. “Before I became a vampire, I used to write about my own life, mostly. Sometimes I just wrote about life in general. I still do, but this is just a poem I can’t seem to finish.”

He is interrupted by Isaac, who wanders out of the mansion looking at the floor and calling the name ‘Harry’. As soon as he sees me, he scurries away. I didn’t even know he was avoiding me.

“What is he doing?” I ask, earning a laugh from Dazai.

“Looking for some apples, probably,” he jokes. I stare at him, unsatisfied with his answer. “He’s trying to find his pet hedgehog. The little thing must have ran off somewhere, though I don’t blame him. Isaac-chan is always so grumpy.”

Was that apple thing about how Isaac discovered gravity? I just roll my eyes with a chuckle and continue planting the violets. Meanwhile, Dazai focuses on his notebook, occasionally looking around, I assume for inspiration. By the time I am done with all the flowers, it’s almost lunchtime. As if he read my mind, Dazai approaches me.

“Wanna take a break? I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, me too.” He extends his hand to help me get up and I take it. I decide to leave all the tools there and come back later to clean up.

We get to the dining room and take a seat at the table. To my surprise, Sebastian has already served some food and a bottle of rouge for Dazai. There is also a third set of plates, along with another bottle. I wonder who it’s for.

My unspoken question is answered when Isaac enters the dining room, only to see me and swiftly turn around to leave the way he came from.

“Isaac, wait!” I call after him, but he gets away too fast. With a resigned sigh, I grab my fork and start eating. Dazai observes me with amusement, but does not voice whatever he’s thinking.

As soon as I finish, I quickly excuse myself to return to the garden. I need to put away the tools before I forget. I carry the full basket to the greenhouse and begin organizing the supplies. As I return a bag of fertilizer to a low cabinet, I see something move out of the corner of my eye.

I search around the corners, but there is nothing out of the ordinary. A sound coming from under a shelf alerts me to the location of whatever animal it was that I saw. I hope it’s not a rat. I lower myself to the ground and look under the shelf, and what I find surprises me.

“Hey there, little guy.” Pressed against the corner, a small hedgehog trembles and struggles to move. “Are you stuck?”

I reach for a pair of thick gloves on the work table, and after putting them on, I return to aid the trapped animal. I reach under the shelf and feel around for him, unable to see what I’m doing. It only takes a few seconds for me to grab him gently and, scared, he moves around in my hand. I successfully pull him from the tight corner and get back on my feet, holding the little beast in my cupped hands. He puffs out his spines. Thankfully, the gloves do their job and protect me from being stung by them.

This must be Harry. I think I should take him to Isaac, seeing as he has been searching everywhere, but the physicist wants nothing to do with me, apparently. Oh well, there’s nothing to lose if I try to speak with him, other than a small portion of my ego. 

I knock on Isaac’s door with a gloved hand, and wait for him to open. He takes his time, but when he finally does, his eyes immediately light up.

“Harry! Where have you been, little friend?” he softly exclaims. I hand the hedgehog over to Isaac.

“I found him hiding in the greenhouse. He’s a scaredy one, but I think he likes me now. Don’t you, Harry?” I take off the gloves and stroke him with my finger, earning a happy little chirp. The poor thing was terrified, but I fed him some worms in order to keep him calm.

Suddenly, Isaac seems to notice who he’s talking to. He looks away and quickly thanks me as he tries to close the door, but I wedge my boot in the way before he can shut me out completely.

“Isaac, please. I just want to talk.”

He sighs, fully aware that I am not going anywhere, and steps away from the door to let me in.

“You’re avoiding me,” I state, softly. I walk into the room and close the door behind me. “I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to.”

“I-I could have killed you...” He sits on the bed and puts Harry down next to him. Meanwhile, his eyes look at anything that isn’t me.

“I know. But you didn’t.” I sit down next to him, and he moves away. That’s okay, these things take time. “I’m sorry. You must have been so hungry... It was my fault that your meal was late. Le Comte explained everything. I can’t imagine what it’s like, but I don’t want you to blame yourself for what happened, Isaac.”

He turns halfway to face me, but his eyes are still on the floor.

“You’re not scared of me?”

I shake my head, a sad smile on my lips. He really made a point to avoid me just so I wouldn’t feel scared.

“How could I be when you’re this sweet?”

He blushes at my words, but doesn’t say anything. The silence is not uncomfortable at all, it just... is. I take this moment to look around the room. All sorts of tools and mechanical trinkets line the shelves on the wall, and a dismantled clock sits on his desk. My face lights up when I spot something in the corner.

“Is that a sewing machine?”

He nods, and I almost decide to leave it at that when he starts talking.

“I found it in the attic and repaired it, but I have no use for it.” That is the most words I’ve ever heard him say.

“Could I... Could I borrow it?” I ask shyly. He shrugs.

“You can keep it. It just takes up space and gathers dust here.” Once again I am surprised by him talking, although his voice is so quiet I would not be able to hear it if I wasn’t sitting right next to him. We’re making progress.

“Thank you, Isaac,” I smile at him, even though he’s not looking at me, and get up to look at the machine, which makes me realize something. “Wait... This is not like the machines I’m used to. I don’t know how to use it.”

“I guess... I could teach you...” Now that was unexpected, in the best way possible. I turn around to face him, my smile returning even bigger.

“You’d really do that?”

“It’s the least I can do,” he simply says. Before I have time to thank him, he gets up and approaches me before pulling the sewing machine to the middle of the room. 

“See this latch on the table? You need to open it to pull the bottom thread through the hole and attach it to this bit here next to the wheel,” he explains. He sounds a lot more enthusiastic now. “To make it spin you step on the pedal repeatedly. Then, for the top thread, you have loop it around this bobbin and feed it through the needle, then the pedal and the wheel under the table will do the rest of the work. If it gets jammed, try spinning this wheel up here by hand in the opposite direction and then pull on the thread.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Without thinking, I throw my arms around Isaac and pull him into a hug. He tenses for a moment and then goes limp. I finally let go when he awkwardly clears his throat, and the moment he is free from my embrace he looks away, a pink tint on his cheeks.

“Sorry,” I mutter, embarrassed. I got too excited. “I’ll stop bothering you now.”

He just nods and watches silently as I drag the large contraption out of the room. I stop in my tracks and turn to face him before he closes the door.

“Isaac? It was nice talking to you,” I tell him. “I hope we can be friends someday.”

[elseaa]

Hi! Here is my first participation in the @hetaliamondaychallenge . I wanted to thank everyone because your art and the interesting themes motivate me to participate ❤️

And btw, this text is inspired by my house

I use human names

Belgium -> Bella

Netherlands -> Abel

Portugal -> João

Luxembourg -> Michael

Enjoy ❤️

Despite that Michael had already opened his eyes, he did not get out of bed directly, enjoying his warm duvets, the song of swallows and other birds but also the sound of the wind crossing the trees until the door of his room opened slowly, Pelze then entered the room, took a little momentum and jumped on the bed to join his master, finally licking his face.

-let me sleep…

Michael turned to his dog to pet his head, she then snuggled against his master, he finally decided to get up a few minutes later, wearing a simple blue t-shirt and pants to head then in the kitchen from which there were very good smells.

-What do you cooking ? He asked.

-Hello Michael ! Exclaimed Bella.

-Good morning, we're making pain perdu. Replied Abel

-Yes, there was old bread a little dry, it's stupid to throw it away when we can make of it our breakfast.

The pain perdu is an easy dish to prepare when you have some old bread so you don't have to throw it away, you only need milk, eggs and a bit of sugar, mix everything and after nothing easier than dipping the bread in the preparation and then baking them either in the pan or in the oven.

-Hello ! It looks good! Have you ever been looking for eggs from our chickens? Asked Micheal.

-Not yet, can you do it please? Bella replied

-I’ll go !

Michael started by opening the fridge’s door, Pelze was standing next to him, he took one of the carrots to give it to his dog who was happy to eat it then, he opened the garden door and changed his slippers to put his crocs, he went to the bottom of the garden and opened the enclosure of their chickens, they have three, two of them have black feathers while the last was ginger. The hens gathered around him, following him with every step he took. He then opened the chicken coop to recover the three eggs they had laid this morning while taking the opportunity to pet them.

-In addition to having free eggs, we have adorable animals, it's happiness.

The hens stopped following him when he came out of the enclosure, it was not small, their hens had a lot of space to wander, at some point, they left it open so that the hens could enjoy the whole garden and even kept them company on their patio.

When Michael arrived on the terrace, breakfast was already on the table with their three plates, pain perdu and hot chocolate for everyone.

-I invited the neighbors, they will come around 14h. Said Bella.

-Great ! We should fix the old table before they get to put our plants on it. Abel offered.

-That would be nice, I still have to buy basil, we only have one. Bella added.

The garden they owned was very green, with lots of tulips, poppies and also a few lavender plants. A few years before, they had also planted several fruit trees such as a currant, a raspberry, several strawberries and even a cherry tree which now had grown very large, enough to enjoy the summer without having to go all the time at the market. Sometimes, a few birds came to feast on the fruits of their beautiful garden and also bees and butterflies fluttering from flower to flower, the landscape that was offered to them was the most peaceful. Suddenly they heard the sounds of crumpled paper, Abel turned his head directly to the kitchen cookie cabinet, he suspected, his rabbit was trying to steal cookies. Abel then rose with his celery in his hand.

-No sugar for rabbits! Small rascal…

The rabbit was quickly alerted and despite the fact that his master had celery, he fled with his cookie between his teeth but he was’nt fast enough, Abel grabbed him to remove his cookie from him

-Give me this cookie!

Then, he exchanged the cookie with the celery. His rabbit ran to return to the garden, his celery stick between his teeth. Abel took the opportunity to lock the cookie cabinet this time.

-Your rabbit will always surprise me! Did he really open the cabinet alone ? Micheal asked laughing.

-I have already seen him do it in front of my eyes. Abel replied.

-It seems celery is appreciated too. Michael noticed as he caressed him.

-Even more than carrots. He explained.

Some times passed after their breakfast, Abel looked at what was possible to do to fix the table, only the feet were in good condition while the square surface began to break on some sides.

-We should simply put a large wooden board on the four legs and fix it.

-I see, I'm going to sand the wood, it will be prettier! Micheal suggested.

The two brothers got busy fixing the table, removing the broken part to place the new board while their sister took care of the plants she had placed on the wall separating their garden from the one of their neighbors when a female voice called her

-Bella! Look what we bought !

-Irunya, what a pleasure to see you! These are basil seeds!

-Yes ! I decided to do as you did so I asked my brother to buy it but he took an extra package, I offer it to you! Said Irunya, handing the seed’s package to Bella.

-Are you sure ?

-Yes take them! You told me you still need it so it’s makes me happy.

Bella took the bag of seeds from the Ukrainian girl, blushing a little.

-Thank you ... You should come to the house for dinner… maybe ? Bella suggested.

-I would love ! Are you okay if I come tomorrow? My brother is with his boyfriend today

-Yes of course ! Come tomorrow in the evening, it will be more fun with everyone

-Great, I'll leave you, see you later!

Bella did not take her eyes off the pretty woman, which escaped Abel who was too busy screwing the legs of the table onto the wooden surface, however, her little brother gave her a smile, having noticed the crush she had for their neighbor. Abel therefore finished to fix the table, and although it was not aesthetic, it was much better than buying a new one. All cheerful, Bella placed her plants on the table.

-It's perfect ! Thank you !! She exclaimed.

-It only took us about twenty minutes. Said Abel.

-And it was nothing complicated. Michael pointed out.

The doorbell on their house began to ring, sure that it was the neighbors Bella had invited, they went to the first room with Pelze to open it and greeted each other with a big smile. Antonio, Joao and Lovino entered the house with plates filled with cakes in their hands.

-It looks delicious !! Exclaimed Bella.

-I said that we would bring some cakes. Recalled antonio

-We cook them this morning, there are pastel de nata, cannoli and mantecados, that’s delicious ! Lovino explained proudly.

Michael and Bella brought their guests into the garden, however, João and Abel did not follow them, staying together in the living room.

-I barely saw you this week. Complained João.

-Sorry, I worked a lot

Abel took João by the waist to bring him against him and placed a kiss on his forehead.

-We have the whole weekend for us now. He replied, hugging his lover.

After ten minutes, the couple joined the others in the garden where we could hear laughter, the discussion seemed rather animated.

-Big brother, guess what! The neighbors bought the same water filter as we did. Said Michael.

-Is that so ?

-Yes, we thought it was great choice when we came last time, no need to buy a plastic bottles if you can just filter the tap water. João explained to him.

-And the machine works really well, the water is very good. Said Antonio.

-I think too, it’s Bella who found this on the internet, it’s very profitable and better for the environment. Abel adds.

João and Abel then took their places on the outdoor chairs to join the lively discussions and enjoying this sunny Saturday with everyone.

[forgottenkingdomsworld]

Prince Samouel’s Nameday Parade

Players: @elfishmagic @maiden-of-the-meadow

20th November 1268

People from all corners of Istara - and even the neighbouring kingdoms - poured into the city for the celebrations. The bright autumn sun was pale yellow in the sky and the air smelled fresh and sweet for a change. Music was already ringing out above the rooftops and children ran through the streets with their baked treats. 

The procession was about to start from the Palace gates and make its long journey through the city. With drummers and bards, actors and acrobats. They all depicted different legends through the history of Istara. From The Sun Prince holding back the Darkness to the Rebel Prince, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. 

The trumpets rung out across the city, signifying the start of the festivities. 

The Nameday Celebrations had begun!

Aedan sat on a wall as he watched musicians play a tune or two. The other bandits were all unconcious in the tavern. He enjoyed the small moment to himself, imagining that he was there to play tunes and trade his crafts. Not that he had many. At least it was a relief from wearing heavy, smelly furs and pertpetually damp boots. As an iced bun seller wandered past, she offered Aedan one. He hesitated, fumbling for his near-empty pouch and remembered he spent a fortune buying medicine. 'Sorry, I don't-' 'Ah, it's fine. This one's nearly out anyway.' The bun seller handed Aedan the treat and hurried off.

Amelia had closed her shop for the day. She could have earned a little more money by staying open and attracting some new customers, but where was the fun in that. She didn't want to miss out on the celebration to. Dressed in a yellow and white dress in honor of the Sun Prince and her blonde locks only pinned back enough to keep from hiding her face but hanging loosely and put down her back, she was having a good time already. All the music playing and the people celebrating, it felt like a joyous occasion. She walked along the streets, taking in the people and different merchants selling things, a smile on her face as she wondered what would catch her eye enough for her to purchase. She herself had a satchel full of flowers and was handing them randomly off to people as she passed. No transactions being made or anything, just offering them to anyone and everyone.

Aedan almost thought he was going insane when he spotted Amelia. Estherdale was so far away that he was sure she'd never make it. But here she was. And there she was. He knew his childish crush on her would never amount to anything. It hadn't even given him a discount at her shop. He was very lucky Glade had loaned him the money to pay her. A part of him wanted to approach her. But he couldn't buy a flower as an excuse. And he didn't want to ruin her day. So he stayed back and offered some of the non-iced part of the bun to a bird.

Amelia laughed as a group of children came to her and grabbed her hands to spin and dance around in a circle. This was what she always missed most of the time. While she loved her meadow, she didn't like how lonely it could be at times. Complimenting the children, she hands them all a flower before letting them walk off. Eyes look around once again and they happen to land on someone very familiar. She stares for a moment to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, but there he was. Clear as day. She tried to contain her excitement, but her face always betrayed her when she felt something. She knew that what she felt for him may be considered foolish by some, but she was always drawn to him. It was hard to explain. "Aedan?!" She calls, in clear surprise but also the look on her face showed that she was excited to see him. Quickly approaching the man, she grinned. "Oh, this just makes the day even better. I didn't think I'd see you here," she giggles. "Are you having a good time?"

Aedan's eyes widened when he caught eyecontact with Amelia. A part of him wanted to flee. Make things less complicated. But the other - the more civilised - part of him wanted to greet her. He remained seated on the wall, the bird moving to his lap before he could stand. 'Amelia? I didn't think you'd be here. Um, but yeah. I'm having a great time. Apart from the crowds and the drunks and the walls. The music is great and...' He wagged the half-eaten bun. When he realised what he was doing, he pulled a face and put it back down. 'What're you doing up here, though? What about your shop?'

Amelia couldn't help, but laugh as the bird made itself comfortable in his lap. She bends down a bit to use a finger to gently pet at it's head, the creature responding to her soft coos. "I suppose drunks and crowds come with the territory for things like this, but they aren't too bad. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," she smiles. "Oh I wouldn't miss a celebration. My shop will be fine for a few days. If I worked all the time, I would surely go mad," she chuckles, head shaking at the thought of getting too lost in her work.

Aedan huffed with a smile as he watched Amelia pet the bird. She seemed as good with animals as him. Another reason why he liked her so much. And sadly, another reason why she probably shouldn't be his friend. 'I know how you feel.' But Aedan couldn't leave his 'work'. 'Do- Would you like to go see the market? It's got- Well.' He was going to suggest he buy them a wine, but again he realised he had no money. 'We can window shop.'(edited)

Amelia smiled to herself as the bird hoped off of Aedan's lap to perch itself on her finger. Animals always fascinated her as much as plants. They were simple yet complex creatures. At his offer to accompany him to the market, she brings her gaze back to him. "I would like that. Have you had anything to eat besides that?" She questions, gesturing with her head to the bun he had been snacking on that the bird had also taken part in. While she made money from her business, she had her inheritance from her father still tucked away too.

Aedan gave her a half-bashful look, pretending that he had eaten some of it. He'd not yet eaten any. 'No. I-I'm not really hungry.' He was starving but he knew that if he ate something, it'd just make him feel it worse. 'But we can find you something.' He jumped from the wall and brushed the crumbs off before handing a passing jester the bun.

Amelia stared at him a moment. "You are telling me that you are smelling all these delicious foods and you are not hungry?" She asks, giving a playful arch of her brow. "Nonsense. This is the time to be a glutton and I will not take no for an answer in you joining me for at least a treat and a nice cup of wine," she insists, a smile spreading across her face. Encouraging the bird to fly away once again, she brings her attention back to him. "Shall we?" She asks as she offers him her arm to take.

Aedan held his tongue and gave a closed-smile. 'How could I refuse?' He took her arm and let her lead the way. But in his head, he was struggling to think of excuses. He didn't have a bit. And a bit would pay for them both to have a wee drink. 'I don't think the market will have much of what I can eat. I'm one of those freaks who doesn't eat animals.'

Amelia wondered if she was being annoying as he gave her that smile. She pressed her lips together as she held onto his arm, walking with him. "Well, I did see someone selling lentil stew. And there are plenty of fruit stands," she encourages. "I don't really partake in eating meat often."

'Lentil stew?' Aedan was tempted. But without money... 'It's fine. Really.' If he explained his impoverished state, she'd feel guilty. And this was a special occaision. No one should be unhappy.

"Yes. It smelled devine when I walked bu. I think you'd enjoy it." Amelia was trying to get him to relax since he seemed to be overthinking things. "My treat," she offers with a small smile.

Aedan didn't want to take charity. But he'd already denied Amelia too much. 'Fine. But as long as I buy us drinks later.' He'd have money by then. He'd make sure of it.

If Amelia had known what he was thinking, she would have been quick to assure that she wasn't offering charity. What was the point of having any sort of money if you didn't share it with people you cared for? She lived a simple life and the money just sat collecting dust for the most part. "Alright, a fair trade," she replies, smiling.

With that weight off, Aedan smiled freely. He was excited to have a hot bowl of something that hadn't once been a living and breathing creature. 'So, was there anything you planned on doing while you were here?'

Seeing his at ease smile lifted Amelia’s spirit a bit. He always seemed so tense and worried and she always wondered if he ever got a moment to just be. She walks alongside him through the many crowds of people, trying to find where she had seen the stand. "Well, I was just kind of seeing where the days took me. I did see that there will be plays being held tonight so I thought I might watch those. What about you?"

'Oh, right. Those are free right now, aren't they? I might join you. I mean- I mean I might go to the plays. I'm not inviting myself to go with you. Unless you wanted the company?' Aedan felt a bit of a fool saying that.

"I believe so," Amelia replies. At his stumbling, she couldn't help but see it as more endearing than anything. "I would love it if you accompanied me," she chimes in to stop him from trying to backtrack.

Aedan smiled and gestured to one of the market stalls selling green men masks. 'Are you going to the masquerade? My boss wants me to work through it.'

Amelia looks at the masks with amusement. "I was thinking about it. A night full of mystery and magic," she giggles.

'What'll you go as?' Aedan wondered if he'd have time to enjoy the carnival. If anything, knowing what her mask was would prevent him or the others stealing from her.

"A butterfly. Silly, I know." Amelia had found the mask and thought it was beautiful and she had a dress that went perfectly with it. "Will you be going?"

'A butterfly. That's not silly. It'll suit you.' Aedan smiled at her as they walked to the stall. 'I'll be working. But I might get some free time. My mask is just a wee thing made of leaves and twigs.'

Amelia smiled back at him. "If you get some free time, I hope you can find me. I would love a dance," she replies. "I'm sure you will look handsome." As they approach the stall, she speaks up. "Two lentil stews please," she orders as she reaches for her coin pouch to take out some money, paying the vendor.

Aedan fought back his smile. 'Have you seen me walk? Imagine that, but dancing.' He tried not to pay too much attention to her purse, clinking full of so many coins. He took one of the steaming hot bowls, perfect for the chilly autumn morning.

Amelia gives a laugh at that. "Oh, come now, anyone can dance. It may not always look amazing, but that is not the point. It is all about enjoying yourself." After paying, she tucked her purse away before taking her own bowl. She thanks the woman and turns her head to look at Aedan. She gestures for a spot where they could sit and enjoy the meal.

Aedan murmured his thanks to the lady, giving his bandana a tentative touch to make sure she couldn't see his ears. He then led the way to where Amelia had gestured them to sit. He settled with a grunt and held the bowl close. Maybe not having to wear the furs didn't mean he shouldn't. It was a wee bit chilly.

Amelia settled down and brought the bowl up to her nose so she could give it a smell. She sighed in content, the spices and warmth already filling her soul. "Stew always is perfect for a chilly day," she comments before beginning to eat.

Aedan blew away the steam and started to sip the stew from his spoon. He hummed as the heat of the stew rolled through him. 'It's gorgeous.' It could've been the worst stew in the world and he'd have loved it.

Amelia hums in agreement at that statement, savoring the taste of the hearty lentils and vegetables. "I think we should have tried to find some fresh bread first to go along with it," she muses with a laugh.

'Fresh bread? I haven't had that since I lived-' Aedan hesitated and shook his head. 'I only eat the stale stuff. Use it as a wee spoon most days.'

Amelia tilts her head, expecting him to finish his first sentence. When he doesn't, she decides not to press him on the matter. "Really?" She glances around the market for a moment before her eyes land on a booth. "I'll be right back," she smiles and stands up from her seat. "Stew like this deserves the proper accompaniment," a playful wink is given before she goes off to purchase a loaf for the two of them.

Aedan spent the time waiting for Amelia to come back, stirring the stew. He let his attention stray to the jugglers nearby.

Ophelia normally she didn’t do these things. She had lived for too long to care about who is in charge or who wasn’t. She didn’t understand why the name day of a rich and spoiled boy had to be celebrated on this scale. It was a waste of time and money. She liked humans even less after for a second time someone had tried to kill her “What am I even doing here?” She said probably a bit too loud not realising people could hear her.

Amelia purchased a loaf, managing to get a cheaper price after offering a flower to the merchant seeking it. With a happy Thank you given, she returns to Aedan. "Here. Take a whiff of that," she encourages, offering him the fresh bread.

Aedan squinted when he heard a familiar voice, but had no idea where it came from. But then Amelia appeared and his confusion faded for the moment. 'Bread? Really?' He set his bowl down on the wall beside him and took the bread from her. Breathing in the beautiful scent. He almost fell off of the wall with the warming sensation. 'I'm in love.'

Amelia took her seat once more. "Yes, really. I told you, it is needed for this," she laughs. She watches him take in the scent and she smiles. "You see, you have to take in even the little things that life has to offer."

Aedan tore his bread and took a big bite without the stew on it. It was so soft and fluffy, he didn't know what he'd done to deserve Amelia's generosity. Everything had a price. Bread had a price. He needed to buy her three drinks in return for this.

Amelia let him enjoy the loaf, smiling a little as she stirred her stew a bit. "My papa used to bring home lots of treats from the city when he could come see us. Baskets full of breads, candies.. everything a child would want," she chuckles at the memory.

Aedan listened as he tucked into his meal, relishing the full sized portion and the lack of guilt. 'I remember my uncle used to buy me wee cakes full of alcohol. My ma would chase him off with a broom when he did.' Aedan huffed a chuckle but then his smile faltered. He never told anyone about his life before.

Amelia listened and smiled a little as he tells her about a memory from his childhood. "It sounds like she had a handful with him."

'With my uncle? Definitely. He was... a handful for everyone.' Aedan finished his bread and started with the stew itself.

"Do you ever miss your home?" Amelia asks as she takes another small sip of her soup.

'Olean Ridh? Or Terr?' Aedan huffed a sigh and shrugged. 'I never really got to live in the country the way I was meant to. And the farm was too crowded. Six brothers'll do that.'

"Both," Amelia replies. She wondered about his past and what made him who he was today. But she supposed that was just a natural curiosity to have about anyone you met. "The country is much more pleasant than the city, so it's unfortunate that you weren't able to."

'I wish I could've seen the forests full of ruins in Olean Ridh. But I still get to live in a forest. So I have something.' Aedan tipped the last dregs of stew into his mouth and set the bowl on the wall. He'd never been so full.

"Perhaps one day you will have the chance to." Amelia thought that there was always hope for achieving the things you wanted. Even if it was years later. She finishes up her stew before sparing a glance over to him. "What shall we do now?"

'We should go see where the parade is now. We might be able to catch a wee glimpse of the royal family.' Aedan stood and gathered up his bowl. 'First, I'm going to take these back to the stall.' He headed over to the lentil stall and offered their bowls back to them.

"Sounds splendid," Amelia smiles as she stands out too, dusting off her dress a little. She waits for him to return.

Aedan returned to Amelia and gestured towards the sound of where the music was loudest. 'Shall we explore?'

Amelia gives a nod, eager to see all the the event had to offer. She goes to follow him so they could explore everything.

Aedan had no idea of the layout of the city but it was easy enough to follow the music. As they walked, he glanced over at Amelia every once in a while. There was so much he wanted to ask but that'd open the door for her to return the favour. And he didn't want to ruin what they had. Whatever this friendship was.

Amelia follows beside him, keeping close so she didn't lose him in the crowd. The music was getting louder and it put a smile on her fair face. She was having an even better time now that she was spending it with a familiar face. She wondered if she was intruding on what Aedan had planned for his time here, but she hoped that he would have said so if that was the case.

Aedan checked over his shoulder whenever he wasn't looking at Amelia or for the parade. If the others woke up and found him, they'd drag him off to work or seduce Amelia away from him. He just wanted to spend this holiday with someone who liked him. 'There!' He grabbed Amelia's hand and ran down some stairs towards the procession.

Amelia was too distracted by everything around them that she hadn't noticed how his eyes would sometimes wander to her and over his shoulder. Feeling his hand suddenly take a hold of hers brought her attention to him and she picks up her dress a hit so she could run with him; a laugh leaving her.

Aedan grinned back at her when they reached the parade. The section they got to depicted the Dragon Prince's victory over the last dragon of Istara. Fire eaters made the air turn to flame.

Amelia can't help but stare in wonder at the parade once they reach the parade. Her eyes widen as she looks at what was happening.

Aedan had never seen anything like it and pulled Amelia through the crowd so she could see it better. He was half-tempted to put her on his shoulders, but even he knew that would've been strange.

Amelia tried to watch as best as she could with all the people wanting a look at the spectacle too. She kept a hold of his hand and watched as the fire was blown onto the air.

'I can't believe dragons used to exist.' Aedan watched with fascination. He once dreamed of seeing one in real life. But humans killed those, just as they'd one day kill off nymphs and elves.

"What it would be like to see a real one," Amelia remarks wistfully. Humans seemed to have a tendency to destroy the true magic in the world and it was always discouraging.

'There has to be some. Somewhere. Its impossible to imagine that they're all just gone.' Aedan didn't realise he was still holding Amelia's hand, they just seemed to stop hand in hand.

Amelia finds herself nodding a little at his words. "Maybe someone was able to get a few somewhere safe and they're hiding," she muses. As they stood there, she held onto his hand a little tighter.

Glancing over at Amelia, Aedan couldn't help but smile. He wanted that to be true about dragons and about any number of other animals said to be extinct. 'Like griffons. I want them to still be alive.'

Feeling his eyes on her, Amelia turns her head and gives a tiny smile. "I think that they're all somewhere safe and protected from mankind's touch."

He knew it was a childish hope. But when your life is full of darkness, you sought it out. Aedan nodded. 'I used to dream about being a performer like that,' he said, pointing at the bards who sang to accompany the other performers.

Her attention goes to the bards and she smiles. "Really? Imagine if I was watching you put there. I would be cheering loudly," Amelia grins.

'You wouldn't have met me if I was a bard up there. I'd have lass arseholes to fix.' Aedan swore under his breath and apologised for swearing. 'I'm surrounded by people who swear constantly.'

Amelia shook her head. "It's alright. I've heard plenty of swearing before," she assures with a smile.(edited)

'You say that, but you haven't heard it when Glade caught his...' Aedan's eyes widened. 'Uh, toe in a door of a temple.'

Her brow arches at that. "His toe, you say?" Amelia drawls, a little amused.

'Maybe a wee bit higher on his body. But I didn't tell you that.' Aedan said with a chuckle.

"Ahh, and was it truly a temple?" Amelia laughs.

'I'm sure he did it in a temple once. But it might not be a holy place. Look, I was trying to spare you the image.' Aedan tried not to laugh, but it was hard.

That caused Amelia to give an amused laugh, head shaking at what he was describing. "Some interesting characters you associate with."

'Glade is probably the least interesting of them all,' Aedan said. 'And I'll never let you meet them in case they corrupt you.'

"Who is to say I'm not already corrupted," Amelia countered with a playful glint in her eyes.

Aedan raised his eyebrows. 'Oh really? You've seen men catch themselves in doors often?'

Amelia gives a shrug of her shoulders, smiling coyly. "Perhaps."

He really was curious now. Aedan thought it was a very 'Glade' thing to do something so ridiculous. But to think that others had... 'Please tell me you're joking. I don't want to think it's a common thing.'

She laughs. "Men seem to do lots of things when they're in a rush," Amelia remarks.

'How many naked men have you chased out- Nevermind. No need to answer that.' Aedan tried not to imagine the scenarios, but all of them ended in either ridiculous or rude ways. It gave him quite the odd expression.

Amelia's head shakes, laughing once again. "A woman has to have some secrets, mon ami. I can't tell you everything," she jokes. The looks on his face was too funny.

'There are things better left unsaid.' Aedan huffed a chuckle and turned his attention to the next portion of the parade. The depiction of the Prince of Spirits falling in love with a swan that turned into a beautiful spirit and eloping with her. Aedan wanted to point out that he must've been an elf. An elf and a druid if he wanted to even see the spirit. But he didn't need the attention.

"Exactly," Amelia chuckles before her attention goes back to the parade. She watches with interest at the story being told. She always found these sort of tales fascinating, reminding her of the ones her mother would tell her.

'Dedrek once told me that the royal family like to pretend that they're descended from the spirits,' Aedan whispered to Amelia.

"Really?" Amelia asks as she turns her face to look at him. "The royals seem like the type to make their past seem more fantastical than it truly is."

'Of course they do. They want to justify their ownership of the natives,' Aedan said.

"If they truly were, I am sure their ancestors would frown upon their actions," Amelia remarks.

Aedan huffed a small laugh, a little sour from the treatment of his people. 'One day they'll learn. I believe they will.' He just hoped it would be through peaceful means.

Amelia nods at his words in understanding. "I'm sure they will one day. There is always hope for change."

'Oh, there the little bugger is. Oi, elf!' The sound of heavy footsteps parted the crowd and Glade appeared through them. 'Me and Neris've been looking for you. There's a thing going on where two jesters are gonna see how many cakes can they eat. Loser has to strip down and-' Glade stopped halfway through what he was saying to stare at Amelia. 'Ah, oh. Um. A woman? Or a... woman?'

Aedan stared blankly at Glade for a good minute. 'What the fuc- What are you going on about, Glade?'

Amelia's head shifts to the side towards the commotion and she sees someone approaching them. When Aedan refers to him as Glade, she almost laughs a little as she remembered what they had been talking about prior. Instead, she manages to compose herself. She puts on a polite smile and directs it toward him. "Hello," she greets, trying to be friendly, despite what had just potentially implied about her.

'This is Amelia, Glade. She owns the apocathary I go to in Estherdale.' Aedan tried not to go red with embarassment. 

'Oh! Right. So that's why you insist... alright.' Glade winked at Aedan and offered his hand to Amelia in a faux courtly way. 

'You pay him.' 

'Glade!' 

'A joke. It's a joke.'

Amelia glances between the two of them, noticing Aedan's slightly flushed features, before her attention goes back to Glade. "And what would I exactly be paying him for?" She questions, wondering how the man would respond if he actually had to say his meaning out loud. She offers her hand to give his a small shake in greeting. "Charmed to meet you, Glade. Say, you look like the type of fellow to have some trouble with doors," she remarks, keeping the innocent smile on her face.

'What do you think?' Glade said with a grin, clearly enjoying Aedan's embarassment. But then his smile faltered when she mentioned the door. Before he erupted into laughter. 'Oh, I like her! You make sure he doesn't get lose you.'

Amelia's head tilts and she shakes it a bit. "No, I haven't the slightest clue," she responds. "I will keep a close eyes on him. He's been kind enough to escort me around this big city so I don't run into an unsavory characters."

Glade glanced between Aedan and Amelia and gave a vague gesture to Aedan. 'Really? No one is paying?' Aedan glowered at Glade until he stopped with this nonsense. 'Well, a---nyway. Me and Neris are going to watch a jester puke on his jerkin and get paraded naked by his big toes. I you want to join us?'

"Sometime it isn't necessary to purchase company," Amelia replies, feeling sorry that Aedan was having to deal with the remarks. When he mentions what he was going off to do, she makes a slight face of displeasure. "No, thank you. Others humiliation isn't my idea of a fun way to spend my time."

Glade made a dismissive noise and playfully waved her away. 'You're not normal, girl. You.' He gestured to Aedan. 'You sure you want to miss out on it?' 

'I'm certain. Thanks anyway, Glade.' Aedan turned Amelia away from Glade and guided her away through the crowd. He tried to urge his flush of embarrasment down. 'Sorry about him. He's a good man.'

Amelia gave a slight smile. "What good is it to be normal anyway?" She counters, giving him a wink. With that said, she follows Aedan away. She shakes her head. "Oh, it's alright. I'm sure he thought I would blush like most women would. No harm done."

'Right. Of course.' Aedan gave her a hesitant smile, wondering what she thought of him or his 'companions' given the nonsense she'd heard from Glade. 'He's actually the one who needed all that medicine last time. Something... bit his arm nearly clean off.' You wouldn't have known it given how healthy his arm looked now.

Amelia smiles back at him. "He seems nice though," she assures. She wasn't really put off by his friend, if anything she had been a little amused at the conversation. "He was?" She was surprised by that. He looked perfectly fine now. "Whoever worked on him did a very good job."

Aedan tried to hide his smile when she unknowingly complimented his handiwork. 'I don't think he'd be smiling half as much if it weren't for your medicine.'

Amelia chuckles a bit. "I am just happy it could help in some way."

Aedan flashed her a smile, but the truth was that the medicine for Glade's injury had set both men back. Aedan just hoped they didn't get sick during winter or come face to face with another monster.

"What do you all do when you can't get to the city for supplies and medicine?" Amelia questions, curious.

'I try to make the medicine, myself. I have a wee book with stuff about the power of plants. But if that doesn't work, we have to let nature take its course.' Aedan knew it wasn't the best thing to say, but it was true. And what was the point in telling her otherwise?

"Plants have so many different uses. Once you learn what they all can do, it really isn't hard to concoct remedies," Amelia nods. She thinks for a moment. "You know, sometimes I don't make enough to fill bottles fully the way I like. I have some extra stock that is just sitting around in my backroom... If you can spare to make another trip to my shop, I could give them to you."

Aedan stared blankly at Amelia for a long minute as he tried to understand that she was offering free medicine. ‘Are you sure? I don’t want to impose on you and what not.’

Amelia offered him a smile. "I don't think you could impose if I am the one who is offering," she chuckles. "I'm sure." She places her hand on his forearm. "If it will help you, I want you to have them."

The idea that he wouldn't have to let Neria or Glade die made Aedan feel the kind of happiness that you feel when an old friend you feared dead had returned. And it also meant that he could prevent Tyr dying - which meant Duny would never get full ownership of the group. 'You're a literal lifesaver, you know that?' He wanted to hug her, but he found himself holding back.

Amelia watched him for a moment and she smiled at his words. She wasn't some heartless shop owner. At times, she would accept small items like bags of oats or flour as payment or just tell others that they could pay whatever they could. She even would give it to free to some of the people who couldn't afford to pay. Her business was to help people, not rob them blind. "I don't know about all that, she laughs, glancing down for a moment.

Aedan knew he’d have to repay her some other way. Perhaps he could bring her herbs only people living in the wild could find? He was tentative to give her pelts in case she didn’t honour them properly. Maybe some of Dedrek’s home brewed cider? ‘You’ve saved my life. And Glade’s.’

Amelia looks at him once more and smiles. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you out there. So if the medicine will at least help with some things, then that is all I care about."

Aedan ducked his head to try to hide his smile. He wasn’t used to people caring.

Amelia watches him, giggling a little. "You don't have to do that, you know? There's nothing wrong with letting people see you smile."

Aedan glanced over at her, suddenly feeling very shy about how he reacted to compliments and other sweet things. ‘I wish I had more reason to smile.’

Amelia placed a hand on his cheek, her touch gentle. "You can always find a reason to smile. You just have to look for it."

Aedan huffed a small, breathless chuckle and reached up to touch her hand where it rested. If only she knew. 'Then let's make more reasons to smile.' He looked up at a small group of muscians who were allowing onlookers to try their hand at their instruments.

Amelia smiled a little. "Don't laugh, it's true. Even on my saddest day, I manage to find something to bring a smile to my face." She knew it was silly, but she thought it was important. Her gaze follows where he directed his and she nods. "Yes, let's."

Aedan knew that she would never know his situation. That she'd never really understand why he hid his smile. Taking her hand, he walked with her to the musicians and watched as they tried to play a song with a wee lad who'd never touched pan pipes before.

Amelia wished that they could get to know each other more, but it always seemed he wished to hide who he was. She didn't want to pry too much, but she couldn't help her curiosity to find out who he really was. She holds onto his hand and follows him over to the musicians, smiling at the child trying to play.

'So,' Aedan said with a wee conspiratorial smile. 'Do you want a try?'

Amelia giggles and eyes the pan flute before nodding.

Aedan waved over one of the musicians. 'My friend would like to try. Can she?' The musician grinned and took Amelia's hand. 'Come on then. Let's try out something. Pick anything you'd like.'

Amelia smiles and gives a grateful nod to the man. "Merci," she thanks before she reaches for the pan flute. She looks it over for q minute with a faint look of remembrance in her eyes. "May I?"

The musician nodded with a bright smile and gave a theatrical bow ready for Amelia to perform.

Laughing a bit, she licks at her lips and begins to play the flute. A gentle and soothing melody begins to leave the instrument as she plays for the crowd.

Smiling, Aedan folded his arms and leaned on the nearby wall to watch her play. He used to play the lute, but not nearly half as well as she seemed to play the flute. A crowd gathered, admiring her and a part of Aedan wondered if she was wholly human. Perhaps she was part elf? Or a mythical nymph? He had to chuckle at that thought. If they existed, they didn't come to things like this.

Amelia glanced around at all the people watching and she wondered if they would be doing so if they knew the truth. She liked to think so, but it was hard to say. Picking up the hem of her dress, she begins to dance around as she plays; the way she moves entrancing and graceful.

Aedan joined the crowd as they started to clap in time with the playing. Some clearly misunderstood, thinking that she was a member of the group of performers. So the real musicians joined in with her tune.

Amelia felt true joy as everyone started to clap along and the band joined in. She continued to play and dance, doing her best not to grin and mess herself up.

While Amelia danced and sang, Aedan didn't realise someone had joined him. Not until he felt someone pinch his arse. He turned to give them a mouthful until he realised who it was. 'Neris? Thought you and Glade were going to molest a jester.' Neris grinned up at him, scantily clad in only a few silks, exposing her corset. 'Glade told me that you have a new friend. I wanted to meet the special someone.' She looked about them, trying to figure out who it was. Then her eyes followed Aedan's. 'Oh. Oh, she's wonderful.'

Amelia reached into her satchel with her free hand and began to hand out flowers to people as she played. Children trids to grab at them as she offered them to all that were watching. Approaching Aedan and the woman next to him, she first offered a white lily to the stranger and then she gave Aedan a purple bell flower.

Aedan's smile only grew as Amelia started to hand out flowers. 'She's perfect,' he said under his breath. But Neris heard and couldn't help but jostle him. 'Just be careful with her.' When Amelia handed them both a flower, Aedan thanked her and ran his fingers over the bell flower's petals. 'I won't let anything happen to her. Look.' He held up his flower. 'She knows the way to my heart.'

Amelia sent a playful wink toward Aedan after she handed him his. She loved that she was getting a smile from him and that he seemed to be more at ease than any time she had seen him in her shop. She finishes handing them out before returning to the band and giving a quick ending to the song. Once done, she gives a bow, grinning from ear to ear at everyone.

When Amelia rejoined him, Aedan gestured to Neris with the flower. 'Amelia, this is Neris. Neris, this is Amelia.' He didn't realise that Neris looked inappropriately underdressed.

Once she joins him again, Amelia takes in the woman that was standing with him. Her eyes scan over her attire, but she just giggles. "You seem as if you a dressed very comfortably," she jokes. "Wonderful to meet you."

'See? Only another woman would know the joys of dressing well.' Neris jabbed Aedan playfully with her elbow. 'Lovely to meet you, sweetie. You're the reason Aedan smiles whenever we visit Estherdale?'

"If I didn't have to get dressed some days, I wouldn't complain," Amelia laughs good heartedly. When she mentions Aedan smiling when he comes to the city, it creates a flutter in Amelia's stomach. "Am I? If so, well.. I'm honored," she smiles.

Aedan flushed as the women both talked about dressing in next to nothing. The only reason Neris didn't dress properly was because of her job. Or at least, that was what Aedan had always assumed. 'I don't think men would get away with it,' he said, idly.

Amelia reaches to get a feel of the silks of her skirts and nods at the material. "Very nice," she remarks. Glancing over to Ardan, she laughs. "Probably not. I think women can get away with a little more since we're nice to look at," she jokes.

‘Are you saying that I’m not nice to look at?’ Aedan said, playfully pretending to be insulted.

Amelia pretends as if she's looking him over. "I couldn't say for sure. I've never seen you undressed."

Aedan immediately turned pink at that. ‘Few people have.’ ‘I have! But only because everyone in the camp has,’ Neris added before Amelia could get jealous.

"A shame," Amelia tells him, smiling a little. At the mention of the other woman having seen him, she felt a tinge of jealousy that quickly dissipated. "Oh? Do you make a habit of running around your camp nude?"(edited)

'Don't you know?' Neris said with a playful smile. 'Aedan's one of those special men gifted in the art of magic.' Aedan rolled his eyes and moved the women out of the way of a passing group of strangers. 'Why did I know you were going to say that?'

"Is he? And that means he has to wear no clothes?" Amelia laughs and steps aside at his guidance so she wasn't in the way of others. "Are you really a magic man?" She grins.

'She thinks all druids like to get naked.' Aedan poked Neris in the side. 'Stop telling people.' 'No and no. All druids have to get naked. They breathe through their skin and have tiny roots in the bottom of their feet. That's why they don't eat much.' Neris continued with her playful nonsense, well aware that none of those folkstories were true.

Amelia looked at him a moment. "There has to be some truth to what you hear in folklore. You tell me nature doesn't give you some sort of strength?" She smiles.

'Nature does, sure. But I don't have bloody roots for toes,' Aedan said with a chuckle.

Amelia giggles and pokes at his chest. "So you say," she jokes.

'Yes I do say.' Aedan kept smiling. 'But I don't walk about camp naked everyday. I assure you.'

Amelia still had the smile on her face, the expression not seeming to fade as she joked around with the man. "I think if you did, it would get rather cold after awhile."

'After a while? I'd be a frozen man right now if I did walk about naked.' Aedan couldn't believe Neris' cheek in dragging them to this conversation.

"And we wouldn't want that, now would we? I get a letter one day telling me you have turned into a frozen statue in some forest somewhere," Amelia giggles.

'I hope to the spirits that I never, ever get frozen while naked. I don't want to be remembered with my- Naked.' Aedan huffed a laugh.

"That would be a terrible way to go," Amelia shakes her head at the image in her head.

Aedan fell quiet as they walked aimlessly through the city, the sound of the Parade in the distance. 'You don't mind that I'm a druid?'

Amelia knew of the stories of druids, how the strong ones were powerful enough to control and manipulate her kind if they so wished it. But she felt that Aedan wouldn't do such a thing if he found out what she was. "No, not at all," she answers.

Aedan's anxiety slipped away now he knew she accepted him for what he was. 'I appreciate it. Really.'

"Of course. We all should be a little more accepting of one another... We all breathe and bleed after all," Amelia muses.

'I bleed tree sap,' Aedan said, flatly.

"So if I ever want some for a treat, I know where to get it," Amelia cheekily responds, sending a look his way.

'Of course,' Aedan said, clearly oblivious of any flirtatious connotation.

Amelia laughs bit, head shaking in amusement.

Aedan led the way to a small grassy hill overlooking the river. 'Gods, it's beautiful,' Neris practically cooed. Aedan huffed in disapproval. Nature was harmed so this city to live. He could never really like being in Farington city walls.

Amelia looked out and just observed for a minute. While she couldn't deny that cities did have beautiful architecture at times, it wasn't the same kind of beauty as nature. "I suppose so," she murmurs. Instead of continuing to look, she rested back on the grassy hill. Laying there, she felt the grass underneath her hands and she smiled.

Sitting on the grass, Aedan followed where Amelia's attention went. But Neris remained standing. 'You're not joining us?' 'I would, but Tyr said he'll be needing me soon. Speaking of, he might need you, too. But I'd wait, just in case I'm wrong.' Neris smiled down at Amelia. 'It was lovely to meet you.'

Amelia looks at the woman and smiles. "It was lovely to meet you too. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

Neris hurried off, leaving Aedan and Amelia together. 'She was right. Our boss did mention that I might have to work this afternoon.' He leaned back on his elbows to watch the clouds crossing the pale blue autumn sky.

Amelia glances over to him and did her best to hide the disappointment she felt at the idea of him leaving. "Oh. Well I... wouldn't want to keep you."

'I'm not going anywhere, yet. Not until I'm dragged away by my feet,' Aedan said, teasing her.

That brought up Amelia's mood and she giggled. "Then lay back and watch the clouds with me."

Laying his head back down onto the damp grass, Aedan watched the clouds drift by. 'Istarans said that dragons put the clouds up there with their breath. But my people say they're spirits of air, watching over us and granting us rain with their tears whenever we need our crops watered.'

Amelia felt content and she was sure it was a mixture of nature and the man laying next to her. As she watched the fluffy clouds in the sky, she listened to his voice and smiled. "The way you explain it makes it sound like poetry."

Aedan tilted his head to look at her, a smile on his lips. 'The stories used to be. But now we have writing, no one has to memorise it all.'

"I always thought the telling of stories was much more immersive and romantic than just reading them from a book," Amelia muses. "To hear it come from people's lips, to hear how it has changed but also stayed the same since it was told from past generations."

'My people didn't even write their stories down until Istara invaded,' Aedan said.

"It wasn't their place to force the stories to be written down," Amelia replies, head shaking a bit.

'It wasn't their place for a lot of things,' Aedan said.

"They seem to just do whatever they want, don't they? And no one can stop them," Amelia remarks.