#terran willows

[shelbeetaylor]

Character Introductions (Part 2)

-> story masterpost

moodboard by @singingslayingsoprano

Genevieve Santira

Most of her life, people have only called her Genevieve, but Evie’s calling her Gena has begun to stick.

Genevieve uses she/her pronouns.

Genevieve is 20 years old at the beginning of the story, and her birthday is on May 16 which would make her a Taurus.

Genevieve is known as the Crown Princess’s maidservant to those outside the palace, but those inside know her as one of Cassandra’s best friends.

Likes: working with her hands like sewing and embroidery, helping her father in the smithy, and taking care of her friends

Dislikes: playing mother to the chaotic individuals she happens to be friends with, her inability to read or write, and Cassandra only when the princess doesn’t listen to her

Genevieve often frequents the taverns of Vale Serine not to drink but to listen to the songs played by the traveling bards. Since she cannot read or write, the lyrics of the nomadic musicians provide her with stories she wouldn’t be able to know of otherwise.

If Genevieve lived in our world, her playlists would probably be filled with songs by artists like Rihanna, Selena Gomez, and SZA.

Genevieve, though quite confident in her ability to perform her job adequately, she struggles a lot with her life at home. Her parents were forced into marriage and out of their village after having her brother--who she hates talking about-- out of wedlock. Genevieve was very young when her brother disappeared, and her home life took a turn for the worse. Now she relies on her time away at work and the adventures Cassandra drags her on to grant her reprieve.

Face Claim: Angel Coulby as Guinevere in BBC Merlin

moodboard by @singingslayingsoprano

Wesley Moonbourne

A lot of people often refer to him as Wesley, but Evie has deemed it more appropriate to call him Wes.

Wesley uses he/him pronouns.

Wesley is 20 years old at the beginning of the story, and his birthday is on October 14 which would make him a Libra.

Currently, Wesley holds no official title, but by training in Vale Serine under the instruction of Theo he hopes to earn himself a spot as one of the knights of Nevernia.

Likes: dogs, hunting, and playing chess

Dislikes: feeling like he doesn’t belong, Evie feeling bad, and being without his dog Ranger

Wesley grew up in the outskirts of Bellbury, a city surrounded by farmland, so one of his odd interests is agriculture. Most of his days in Bellbury were spent voluntarily helping around the nearby farms, much to his family’s chagrin. If Wesley wasn’t able to become a knight, his dream would be to move out into the countryside and live on a farm with his animals, his dog Ranger, and the love of his life.

If Wesley lived in our world, he would listen to a variety older music like songs by Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles.

Wesley, having just moved to Vale Serine, is really struggling with trying to fit in. He wants to be accepted by the knights and especially by his idol, his cousin Theo, and he’s trying his best to become friends with them whether it’s by acting cool or sneaking along on their adventures. Hopefully his newfound friendship with Princess Evie will lead him in the right direction.

Face Claim: Noah Beck

moodboard by @singingslayingsoprano

Terran Willows

People usually just call him Terran, but the knights are also partial to Terr-man or giving him briefly-used, more colorful monikers… Sir Enoch’s favorite at the moment is Bog Man.

Terran uses he/him pronouns.

Terran is 20 years old at the beginning of the story, and his birthday is on June 20 which would make him a Gemini.

Terran is currently studying as an apprentice to Galen, the Court Physician, and he has been working under Galen for about five years.

Likes: his mother’s yearly visits, reading, and practicing magic in his room

Dislikes: Galen’s intense exams, getting scared, and Galen’s overprotective rules about magic and going out

In the spirit of helping people, Terran dedicates as much of his time and energy into improving the lives of others. While he is working towards becoming a physician full-time, Terran volunteers around Vale Serine helping those who need it. Sometimes the knights will even tag along to help and protect him, especially if he’s making a trip into places like Serine’s Hope to hand out food, provide free medical care, or distribute clothes.

If Terran lived in our world, he would definitely be a big fan of Maude Latour, but he would listen to mostly folk music like Hozier, Lord Huron, and Noah Kahan.

While Terran is quite proud of who he is as a person, there is still a lot of turmoil inside his head about it. He grew up in the outlying villages of Nevernia where it isn’t uncommon to see friends string up friends for being queer or possessing magic. Terran managed to escape that environment with his secrets intact, but the inner demons spawned in that hell have followed him to the big city, though he’s lucky to have Galen there reminding Terran every so often that he is not a monster for the way he was born.

Face Claim: Colin Morgan as Merlin in BBC Merlin

[novapark]

The Nova Family - Mainline Gens 1-6 [Founded 2013]

So I wanted to reintroduce my main family line for the new people and recentish mutuals who aren't familiar with them yet. My blog is named after my old Adam and Eve challenge town which was founded and maintained by this family until the save file died in gen 5.

Okay with that said, let's buckle up cause this shit is long and it gets campy and weird at times but here is the general telling of the Nova Legacy up until Bastian's generation.

Generation 1 - Founders Cole and Ember, they had Edric, Dagny, Folke, Ander, Oliver, and Liv. They were farmers with few neighbors and fewer worries.

Generation 2 - Dagny took over for her parents once they passed on. She was a pretty chill chick who founded and ran the village consignment shop. She had two children with her husband Kellan, Owen and Edda.

Generation 3 - Edda had a one sided affair with a local farmboy named Miles that resulted in her daughter Sedona. Her parents took care of her child so she could go to Uni where she met Cid and they went on to get married and then divorced, then married again in old age. They had three children together Payson, Page, Phoenix.

Generation 4 - Page quickly took over management of the town from her mother as soon as she was able. Thinking it had languished under her elders for too long she quickly began selling land to outsiders in an effort to expand her influence and her wealth. She married her childhood best friend Vivek and they had four children together, Kiran, Teagan, Regan, and Penelope (who Page is expecting in this picture).

Generation 5 - Regan was a romantic from the start, always dreaming of her perfect match and once she found Bryn she knew it was him. Unfortunately he was much too old for her and already married but no one stops a Nova with a dream. To this day no one knows why Bryn's ex-wife left town so quickly after she turned 18. It's a mystery to everyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, they had 8 children (partially due to her mother Page's meddling with fertility potions): Zoey, Brenden, Brielle, Brynna, Maddox, Ferryn, Laryn, and Kamryn

Generation 6 - Being born between two sets of triplets gave Maddox a bit of a complex. He was always forgotten but also always forgiven when he acted out. So is it no wonder he grew into a monster?

He wasn't that way at first though, his love for his first wife Allison and their children - Willow, Dawn, and Layne mostly kept him in check. The root of his obsessions with genetics would begin there though, with one of his first experiments resulting in his plantsim child Ivy.

Unfortunately around this same time their youngest was born he got into a personal feud with a local group of vampires who took their revenge by setting his house on fire. The resulting blaze claimed his wife and although his children survived he soon abandoned the girls to seek a new life in exile.

His second wife was the clone of his lab assistant who died in a mysterious accident soon after they met. They had three children together, Nova, Bastian, and Delora. I don't think there's a picture of all of them together. She divorced him midway through her last pregnancy then later died young of an unusual disease.

His final (known) wife was Morgan, is who he had Terran and Skye with. She divorced him in absentia because he fled from their home in Strangetown after "the incident" with his son Bastian.

And that brings us to Bastian, who was my main sim for a couple years so we'll get to his assorted tales and children in another post. This is very much long enough.

[dragontamerno3]

DS9 S2 E23 - Crossover

Horrifying episode but also a good one? If that makes sense?

I thoroughly enjoy the idea that no matter what the timeline Spock literally changes the course of history. I fucking love Spock so damn much.

Its an interesting twist that Terrans are the "lower class" in this episode, especially after all that we know that happened to Bajor in the main timeline. It makes absolute sense, though, that if the Terrans were as cruel as they were SOMEONE would step up to knock them down.

Kira's whole deal made me think of Vamp Willow and how she was even hitting on herself when the two crossed paths. I liked this version of the character in the way you can appreciate the bad guy sometimes. She was fun, interesting and horrifying. She was not a good person in the slightest but she was also... creepily empathetic? Like if Hannibal invited you over to dinner, he'd have a pleasant talk and THEN murder you.

Odo in this only felt different in the sense that he was filled with hate but tbh, I feel like our Odo would be a little like this if we just let him have his way. Our actual Odo has said several times already, in various ways, that he missed how the Cardassians ran things. I'm not sure how much mining and what not happened on the station then but the rest felt close. What I was shocked by was how he died. Dude literally exploded into piles of goop.

The second Sisko showed up I knew he'd end up being the hero. When Mirror Kira called him to meet with her his smile wavered for a fraction of a second, it was clearly there but gone so fast that it could easily be missed. And then when the Garak murder threat came up, how our Kira spoke to him, he was seriously thinking about what she was asking for. I love that he took Miles with him at the end.

Speaking of Miles. Meek little Miles. I adored him in this episode. Poor thing, I just wanted to hug him. How he was excited that other him had a best friend and then got even more excited over the idea that he could be a Chief of ANYTHING? And then later when he was fixing things and Bashir was trying to hide how he whispered "I don't see you. You're not here...."? Poor broken, Miles. The way he spoke up to Mirror Kira may have been my favorite part. That and Quark.

I did not imagine Quark to be the leader of the underground but it makes sense from a smugglers POV. It was a great way to bring him in and change the tone of things. I don't have much to say about him because he was in very little of the episode but damn was that a nice touch to bring him in like that.

8/10

[stargazer-sims]

🖊 🖊 🖊 🖊 Xaela please.

thanks @dandylion240 !

Here's Xaela (with bonus Kaji)

Xaela

Xaela is the child of diplomats. Her mother is a high-ranking interplanetary liaison and travels extensively between worlds, while her father is a science advisor. Xaela was born on Earth, and although she's been to the home world several times, her experience of it is very limited. She was raised almost exclusively on Earth, attended Terran school and extra-curricular activities rather than the Sixamish school, and is well assimilated into Earth culture. The majority of her friends are Earth people, and it's made her somewhat of an outsider among Sixamish people of her age. She's not particularly bothered by that, though. The way she sees it, people who don't accept her for who she is aren't worth wasting too much mental energy worrying about.

She’s two years younger than Kaji. She met him at university, where she was studying social work and he was studying political science and public policy development. She was totally shocked to find a polychromatic male getting a post-secondary education, particularly one with a rare colour mutation like his. A lot of the other Sixamish students shunned Kaji, but Xaela was intrigued and decided she wanted to get to know him. (bonus: Xaela was actually the person who caused Kaji to realize he'd finally reached physical maturity)

Xaela has faced criticism from many people of her species because they don't think she's taking proper care of Kaji. Older people and traditionalists in particular don't agree with Kaji working, making big decisions and generally being self-sufficient and independent. As for Xaela, she doesn't really care what anyone else thinks. She loves Kaji and she sees him as her partner and her equal, not as just a pretty trophy husband. She knows he's worked hard to overcome his past, and she's proud of him for wanting to work and make a difference in the world. Despite all that, though, she's still a product of her culture, and can't help gloating a little because her mate is so beautiful and rare. She still indulges and spoils him, because she thinks he deserves it.

Her claim to fame is her singing ability. She's gained modest notoriety around Willow Creek for her fondness for karaoke. She's also an exceptional dancer, and her favourite sidekick to go out dancing with is Félix, who also loves to hit the dance floor.

[waheelawhisperer]

Here's a strange one for the ask request, if you have to ship a RWBY character with a Arknights character, who'd it'd be and why?

Fuck I'm not good at crossover ships

Qrow gets pegged by half the cast because this man has a phenomenal ability to attract tops that crosses the boundaries of gender and sexuality, they're helpless to resist the overwhelming urge to bend him over the nearest furniture

I actually had to think about this one a little bit, but if I had to pick one entirely serious ship I'd go with Horn x Robyn Hill, they're both very used to fighting for an oppressed people by this point in the story and I feel like they could get along quite well. Their potential dynamic actually reminds me of Schneewood Forest in a way.

I will marry Ironwood to Theresis because I enjoy watching disasters unfold in real time

Cinder x Talulah just seems funny to me for some reason

Taiyang and Saria bond over being divorced dads, get married, then get divorced. Silence's Homewrecker Instincts activate but she can't decide which one to sleep with so she ends up choosing both of them. The whole thing ends with everyone miserable but Saria and Tai have both doubled the size of their repertoire of dad jokes, so the real losers are Ifrit, Yang, and Ruby

Ruby is too busy gushing over all the Terran technology to get shipped with anyone, but she probably makes friends with all the engineers

Weiss collects a harem of people with ice powers

Silence's Married Woman Senses go off the moment she sees Willow, Willow gets her first orgasm in at least a decade as a result (and then her second, third, fourth, and so on)

I think Jaune would see Nearl and be painfully reminded of Pyrrha, poor boy would watch Margaret do her Paragon of Chivalry and Goodness thing and start sobbing uncontrollably on the spot

Specter and Nora become fast friends and cause no end of trouble

Blake and Blaze end up dating solely because they think it would be funny to watch everyone around them mess up their names

Yang marries Nearl and then I marry both of them because tall busty blonde onee-sans who could kick my ass activate all my neurons

[earthenterran]

It bothers me so hard watching TOH s1e15 when Amity reveals to Willow the truth about why they stopped being friends, and tells her ‘I was too weak to be [your friend]’ like no, you were a child who was forced into an ultimatum by your parents who threatened the livelihood/education of another child. that’s on your parents. they’re to blame. you’re not the weak one. you were a CHILD

[theotherrookie]

I feel like Willow's Youtube channel would be a tech channel where she reviews one thing versus another. Like Iphone XS versus iPhone SE versus iPhone X. It could also be like: Could the iPhone 8 survive being burnt by a blowtorch? What about being frozen for an hour? Does this Otterbox case actually work?

I can see Willow do something like that to make up for that need to infodump she’s gotten from Rook. She probably gets a lot of criticism for always sounding so unimpressed even by the latest model, something that can’t really be helped given where and when she’s from.

 Not to mention, the idea of Willow testing Siri’s responsiveness is rather amusing.

[forest-of-mogai-genders]

.

.

꧁Pronouns꧂

For/est/forest/forests/forestself

.

Mo/moss/mosses/mosses/mosself

.

Le/leaf/leafs/leafs/leafself

.

Gre/green/greens/greens/greenself

.

Woo/wood/woods/woods/woodself

.

Pla/plant/plants/plants/plantself

.

Mo/moth/moths/moths/mothself

.

Gra/grass/grasses/grasses/grasself

.

🍄/🍄s/🍄self

.

🌿/🌿s/🌿self

.

🌲/🌲s/🌲self

.

🪨/🪨s/🪨self

.

꧁Names꧂

Forrest, Moss, leaf, lily, mushroom, Alex, rose, jade, sage, fern, Raine, sky, clover, ash, willow, basil, cedar, ember, woody, birch, oak, olive/Oliver, poppy,

Daisy, Chloe, sylvie, winter, Citrine, holly, lake, reed, Terran, Ember, Sierra, Moth

. I’m

.

꧁Xenogenders꧂

Starforestgender

naturervusplushic

Foggyforestpunk

Leafin

Forestgender

Naturecoric

Plantgender

Pinusfungic

Plantcoric

Biogender

Fernean

Noxalistic

Undergrowtheon

Mossdomtic

Escapignian

[Banner ID: Dni: lgbtphobes, swerts, exclusionists, transmeds/transcum, pro map, pro shipper, pro incest, anti pansexual, acephoes, arophoes, anti neopronouns, anti xenogenders, anti m-spec lesbian/gay, anyone coming here to start discourse/ drama/ arguments. ID end]

[mandyizzym]

HavenFall.

By Sara Holland.

I would like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing Plc & Sara Holland for my copy of the ARC. Due to this kind gesture, I have decided to leave an honest review.

I absolutely adored Everless so when I was approved for a copy of Havenfall, I got giddy with excitement! I love the way Sara writes and she manages to catch my attention at the start of her books which is really important for me as I tend to lose interest if it doesn't. I struggled with my rating here but I have settled on a modest 3.5 stars!

When all the whispers of the town are directed towards you, it gets lonely trying to escape them but Maddie manages to keep it together because every Summer for 3 months, she gets to escape to the most amazing place ever.. Havenfall. Maddie's uncle Marcus owns an Inn deep in the mountains of Colorado, but it isn't just any old inn of course. Its a place where worlds connect, mingle, trade, but what if the peace is disturbed? Can Maddie help be the new Innkeeper? or will Havenfall.. fall.

I have fell in love with this new series! We have new worlds that absolutely intrigue me. Fiordenkill, a world encased in ice and forst, where animals are big, colourful an beautiful. Palaces of packed snow under amazing auroras and stars. Byrn, a world in ruins of sweltering heat and bad storms due to magic. Their King has built an Oasis behind walls to keep it safe from the storms, but if you live within the walls you can no longer use your magic, except the nomads. Solaria, a tiny seled off world that no one knows hardly anything about. Shapeshifters with advanced technology where mythology surrounding vampires, djinni and demons began. All under a blazing sky. Now tell me whats not to love about this?!

The plot was pretty good, but a little slow. Did you kinda know what was going to happen? A little... but Sara did put in twist an turns that had you second guessing yourself. I have fell in love with the worlds, the reason I haven't given the book any higher than 3.5 stars was due to it only being in the Inn. I seriously hope we get to explore them in the next book.

I did like our characters, even the bad guy! We had our leading lady Maddie, her uncle Marcus and his husband Graylin. Willow and the mysterious Silver Prince. Taya and of course The Heiress. Lastly, our handsome Brekken! I didn't really connect to any of our characters but at the last length of the book I started to a little place in my heart for Taya. Also, I loved our bad guy, like seriously.. I hope he lives up to it.

All in all its worth the reading, I feel it leans into the more younger YA readers but it is still enoyable!

[pupyzu]

Could I get some forest / garden themed names?- And maybe pronouns too if it's no problem

names under the cut! i already have pronouns here!

FOREST:

Alvia

Alyvia / Alivia / Olivia / Olyvia

Amber

Arden

Aspen

Aspen

Aster

Autumn

Ave

Aveline

Bambi

Birdie

Casper / Caspar

Cedar

Clark

Clover

Coy

Daffodil

Dagwood

Diana

Eden

Elm

Eve

Faun / Faunus

Fauna

Fawn

Fay / Faye

Fern

Finch

Finn

Flora

Forest / Forrest

Grover

Hazel

Ivy

Juniper

Laurel

Maple

Marlow

Oakley

Olive

Oswald

Parker

Perrie

Robin

Rowan

Sage

Scout

Seda

Sierra

Silvester

Soliel

Sparrow

Sylva

Sylvain

Sylvia

Sylvia / Silvia

Sylvie / Silvie

Willow

Woodie

Wren

･┈┈･･⟡ ∞ ⟡･･┈┈･

GARDEN:

Azalea

Bentley

Blossom

Calla

Cassia

Clover

Cynthia

Daffodil

Dahlia

Daisy

Daphne

Delphine

Fleur

Flora

Florian

Indigo

Iris

Ivy

Jasmine

Lavender

Leslie

Lilac

Lily

Marigold

Poppy

Primrose

Quince

Ren

Rosa

Rosalie

Rose

Terra / Terran

Veronica

Viola

Violet

+ herb themed names!

[voidselfshipp]

If I Could Make A Wish

(Pt2)

Pt1

Word count:1,088

<♡♡♡>

The café was filled with tired students and equally tired professors.

Gigi sits with jerico in a corner right up the Window, the wall like decoration separated them with the people right besides them.

--i know a great tea you could try

--oh please do tell

--its Arab Tea with Cardamom and Cinnamon, youre going to love it

Jerico was a picky eater and equally picky tea drinker.

--sounds good, lets order that

There wasnt really something to talk about.

Jerico hated talking about school.

Gigi hears jer sigh deeply with worry.

--whats up?

The djinn asked.

--its nothing really,im just missing my brother thats all..

He spends so much time going from desert to desert , and a very special holiday is coming up back at my home and I dont want to miss it,its usually celebrated with family and Friends...

--what is he after exactly?he sounds desperate as a djinn without their lamp

The dragon seems to chuckle and looks away--hes after the lamp of his ancestor... he was a djinn too

The tea arrives with some cupcakes to accompany them.

--maybe I can go with you to that holiday-- the djinn said-- you dont have to go alone

Jeri's eyes lit up-- would you go with me?

--Of course! When is it exactly?

--in three days

--do I have to wear anything in specific?

--no no..you dont have to maybe I can come up with something similar to what we wear , how do you feel about terra's style?

--oh, I really like it,the colours are too earthy for me but i gladly wear them for you

And her cheeks went red.

Jerico could only contain her giggles--that means a lot thanks gigi, ill talk with a friend see what I can get for you okay?

--ok --okay

And so evening goes by, the moon slowly makes her way up to the Sky.

--ill see you tomorrow then

--yeah, diesection class?

--Yeah, ill see you around gigi

And then jerico says something in a language she recognizes.

djinn tongue

Her cheeks heat up as she also says goodbye and makes her way back to home.

The Next couple of days went by quickly, and finally there they were, gigi looks in the mirror of jericos house,the outfit was a mix of djinn clothing and terran style.

She looked beautiful.

The djinn and the dragon walk side by side in the festival, lively music plays as the old terran women singed and told the tales of old.

Their hands brush togheter and shyly their fingers intertwine.

Both would be lying if they said they dont feel the chemistry between the two of them.

--oh you gotta hear this one

Jer tightens her grip on gigis hand and she runs towards one of the stages that were set up.

An old woman of wich jerico couldnt quite recognize but still seemed familiar started talking.

She was pale and with a long black hair , a scar across her left eye covered by her dark locks.

-- a long time now, there was a faery that lived in a willow tree.

She had hair like Fire, emerald eyes and a beautiful voice.

A young Man heard her singing, and followed the sound towards her.

For Many Many days he tried to court her, but nothing seemed to work.

The young Man, brought down her ancient tree, and took the faery out of her forest.

When she was far away just at the entrance of the Woods she collapsed and faded into a flower, that would Bloom for a bright eve.

The Man...understanding his greed called upon Ray, the god of providence, who made a pact with the goddes of life to bring back the faery and her tree in exchange for her soul.

The soul of the Man was embeded into the old willow,so he could stay with the faery to Keep her company....

This story show us that we dont realize what we have until we lose it,and that love is stronger than the gods themselves ...

Gigi looks at jerico who had her eyes sparkling with ilusion.

The djinn suddenly feels a tug on her stomach,as the dragon goes to get something to eat, she runs as the sensation of familiar magic strenghtens.

Another djinn was close.

She ran and ran until she found him.

Sitting alone in a corner.

--excuse me?

Gigi asked.

A Man looks up, its evident that genie blood coursed through his veins.

The same blood as hers.

--youre a genie too --the Man says -- I suppose youre gigi Grant, jerico told me about you

--jerico?...so youre her brother...her half djinn brother

--Im aajab halba, yeah, I am...have you seen her around?

--yeah actually im with her

--do you mind taking me to her?

--Not at all, this way

And so they walk in silence, not uncomfortable silence but rather familiar one, after all they were genies too.

--so jerico talks about me?what does she say?

Aajab chuckles and crosses his arms-- you havent realized by now?

--re realize what?

--oh come on,you know what im talking about, youre a genie too, you tellin me you dont have a crush on her?

Genies cant lie to eachother...Its too obvious even for them.

-- fine and what about it?

--she has a crush on you too,I know my sister damn well

--oh my Ra!

Jerico runs towards aajab hugging him tightly.

The Man hugs back

--مرحبا الهوام

(Hey rascal)

Jeris eyes water -- gv vcgizñe (I missed you)

--Me too me too...

--gigi hes aajab,my djinn brother

--Yeah we met--the Man says-- she brought me to you , anyway im hungry ill give you guys some privacy

The half djinn goes to a food stand.

--they have to kiss

A familiar voice says.

--Dont jinkx it Ray...

--thanks for bringing him to me gigi

Jer steps closer grabbing her hands.

-- no need to, I know terrans value family very high...and its nice to meet someone like me

--Its nice that I have met you

Both chuckle and press their foreheads togheter

--gv zom

--What does that mean?

--its terran for 'I love you'

Gigi is taken back for a bit before pressing her lips against jers.

Jerico hugs her waist holding her close.

--hungry?

Both meet the others gaze, breaking the hug while holding hands.

--yeah ,starving

--Oh let me show you this youre going to love it!

And so off they went to enjoy the festival.

Love above all,above the gods.

[shelbeetaylor]

Chapter Eight | Flowers & Spells

-> story masterpost

-> previous chapter

Hours and hours and hours of staring at the spellbook had started to make the words seem like words no longer. It was just a jumbled mess of squiggles and dots– well, most of it still kind of was because it wasn’t like Cassandra was going to learn the Old Tongue in one night. She learned just enough to recognize a few basic words, and of course the spell she was trying to perform. She just kept staring at the book trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. Cassandra was growing more and more frustrated the longer she went on trying to read this gods-damned fucking book. 

Despite her anger, Cassandra tried to be gentle with the book as she set it down on the end of the bed not just because it was Terran’s copy but also because Terran was fast asleep next to her. He passed out a few hours ago… maybe? She wasn’t sure. Her sense of time was lost at this point. In any case, Cassandra set the book down with much care and then turned towards the closed bedroom door.

“A closadh,” she said towards the door.

Nothing happened. Why was nothing happening? Terran worked with her for who knows how long on the pronunciation of the incantation, so she was fairly confident she was right. She tried looking harder at the door, but the squinting was threatening to put her to sleep the way Terran was currently.

“A closadh,” she repeated, this time with more enthusiasm.

Still nothing. Was she thinking hard enough about locking the door? Was she not speaking with the right tone? Oh, what was it that Terran said earlier… “magic is and always will be my heritage” or some shit like that… Cassandra glanced over at the slumbering Terran. Sounds like some stupid fucking proverb or something, like “trust your instincts.” Seriously, who the fuck tells someone they know what they’re doing when they actually have no clue what the fuck is going on. Cassandra looked back at the door, contemplating whether or not she should try again, but then her brain started up again. No clue what the fuck is going on… sounds familiar…

“Ah, fuck it,” Cassandra breathed aloud.

She resituated herself into a more comfortable position that faced the door and backed off a little on the intense staredown. Cassandra instead slowly extended her hand towards the door, her arms and fingers stretching gently outwards as she did often when she awoke from her nightmares. She really hoped this worked and didn’t make her look dumb as fuck.

“A closadh,” she chanted once again.

This time something happened. There was the familiar tingle, the one she usually felt in her sternum after waking, and that energy passed through her body and down her arm to the very tips of her fingers. The moment that energy left her fingers, there was an audible click. The corners of her lips spread into a wide grin, even more so after she got up and tried the door. It was locked. It was locked and she locked it. Cassandra's arms shot up into the air, but she was mindful not to shout in victory and wake up Terran.

A quick scramble back to the bed and Cassandra picked up the book she had previously closed. The bookmarked page was the one with the locking spell, and she scanned further down the page looking for its opposite. Naturally it was at the very bottom of the page in the middle of a bunch of complicated Meredian words that were unknown to her. No matter, time to try this new one.

She extended her arm again, and took a breath. “Datasgladh.”

Same tingle, this time the sensation running faster through her body, and another click sounded. All of her energy became focused on not screaming and jumping about, and she instead decided to redirect it towards repeating the two spells. Lock, unlock, lock, unlock. Each repetition, the wave of energy moved faster, becoming a more normal sensation. However, it never lost its strange addictiveness. A closadh. Datasgladh. A closadh. Datasgladh.

After a few minutes of endless clicking, Cassandra locked the door again, but it was followed almost instantly by a thump that moved the entire door. She was taken aback, wondering at first if she accidentally caused that. Another thump, the door shaking a bit harder this time, and Cassandra's head tilted slightly at the inaudible mumbling. Then there was a knock. Oops…

Cassandra muttered her magical incantation again and the door unlocked. The door was finally able to swing open, and there was Galen in a purple and black robe. She couldn’t contain the joy that performing magic had created, and Galen began looking between her and the door as if he recognized the joy in her.

Galen, with slightly pursed lips, concluded, “You’re practicing magic, aren’t you?”

Cassandra raised her eyebrows and said, “You seem concerned?”

The physician shook his head. “Just another thing for you to get in trouble for.” Galen then looked the princess up and down. “Have you been practicing all night?”

“Have I?”

Galen’s head tilt was slightly terrifying. “It’s morning,”

“Then the answer is yes.”

Galen clenched his jaw, disappointment masking most of the concern lingering in his eyes. Cassandra felt like she had just gotten in trouble for not sleeping, and she became the equivalent of a very uncomfortable kid. In a usual mood swing, Galen kicked the bed and yelled, “Oi! Get up.”

Terran shot up, and it was only slightly scary. He was still very groggy from the several hours he stayed up past his bedtime. “Yeah?”

Galen waited for Terran’s yawn to continue. “Stayed up all night studying did you?”

“Yes, it was very informational.”

Galen nodded, “Ah, I see. I too would find teaching Cassandra magic very helpful for your studies as a physician.”

“Yup,” Terran replied. Cassandra was unsure if he actually processed the physician’s statement or if this was a sassy remark laced with grogginess.

“Maybe next time you should start with the rules about locking the door?”

“Hm?”

Cassandra began grinning uncontrollably again. “I did the spell.”

Terran yawned and gave a dazed reply, “Oh, yay. I’m so proud.”

Cassandra could only blink at the unenthusiastic response. 

“Regardless, I wanted to speak to you both, so wake up Terran,” Galen said.

“I’m awake…” Terran replied, warranting Cassandra to punch him very hard in the shoulder. And by very hard, she meant very hard. She didn’t need much of a backswing to nearly hit him off of the bed. “Ahhhhhhh, I’m awake, okay?! I did not need to be in pain for this.”

“It woke you up, didn’t it?” Cassandra scoffed.

The banter could have gone on, but Galen silently stopped it. Another skill of the physician.

“I wanted to apologize to both of you for my outburst yesterday,” he began. “You two, along with all the other kids in this castle, are like grandchildren to me. I just want to look out for you and keep you safe. It was wrong of me to discourage you from having fun and being yourselves.”

“Galen, it’s okay,” Cassandra replied.

“Like you said, you’re just looking out for us,” Terran chimed in.

Galen put up a hand. “You two are young, unlike me. You have plenty of years left in you, and I need to acknowledge that. There isn’t enough time in the world for both of you to deny who you are.” Both Cassandra and Terran sat into the bed, listening intently. “So, instead of cautioning you constantly, I’ve decided to aid you in your inherently illegal actions.”

Cassandra felt her brows furrowing, and they furrowed harder as Galen handed them a slip of paper.

“This is the location of a tavern made for people like you two. It’s not only hidden, but also password protected. I’ve written this week’s code word there as well.”

“But you said–” Cassandra tried to say.

“There’s almost no risk in you two going here. I would know because I used to visit it back in my day. If Terran wants to go, he can go.”

Cassandra's unstoppable smile returned, and its contagiousness infected Terran as well. Galen shook his head and chuckled at the two grinning idiots he’d adopted as his grandchildren.

“I wouldn’t be smiling so hard,” he said. “You still have to attend council today.”

Cassandra's face immediately fell. “Fuuuuuuuck.”

She should not have stayed there all night. Sure, she distracted herself and didn’t have a nightmare, but she should’ve gone back to her room. Idiot, completely and thoroughly. Now she was going to look like an utter wreck at council. In an effort to save what little time she had left, Cassandra hiked up the skirt of her dress and sprinted out into the chambers. Considering she was also wearing heels, she was making good time for a few seconds before she skidded to a halt and crashed into a large someone standing in the doorway. The figure caught her, and she looked up into eyes of brandy.

Double fuck.

It was Enoch Starvale.

He gently lifted her off of his low cut gray tunic and back onto her feet, and her body was stiff with uncomfortability the entire time. When she was steady, Enoch took his ivory hand and ran it through his chocolate brown windswept waves. As Cassandra's brain was repeatedly screaming the word fuck, he looked at her as though she was a lost puppy or some shit like that. 

Unknown if Galen and Terran had witnessed the entire ordeal, Galen made their presence known with a clearing of the throat and then asking, “Sir Enoch, may I ask what warranted a visit to this dark corner of the palace?”

“I, uh–” He fumbled with his silver necklace for a moment, the shining pendant in the shape of his father’s crest. “The queen requests your presence in the west wing.” Enoch, instead of looking around at everyone, zeroed in on Cassandra's eyes. “All of you.”

Theo had been standing around in complete silence with what he lovingly referred to as the crisis council for about ten to fifteen minutes. Nobody really knew what to say to each other, but you would think someone had something to say to make it less awkward. No. Instead, he stood around with the queen, Ivor, Captain of the Guard Essex, and lead war council advisor General Valseras. Yup. Just him, Ivor, his boss, and some of the highest-ranking officials in the government. 

The clicking of heels echoing down the hall alerted him to their arrival before they rounded the corner, but sure enough Enoch led the physician, his apprentice Terran Willows, and Cass to the crisis council. He wasn’t sure what he expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t the sight of two complete hot messes and a surprisingly well-put-together physician. Terran looked like he had just woken up what with his extreme wreck of a hairdo, and Cass was a completely different story. Her hair wasn’t perfect, but it was neatly resting in its natural waves. On the other hand, her fur shawl only covered up so much of the dress she was wearing last night. Her cosmetics also seemed a little worn out seeing as some dark lines made themselves home underneath her very tired eyes. Theo mentally swore, especially since doing so out loud would be only slightly inappropriate.

“I apologize for the sudden summoning,” the queen said, speaking more to Galen than his apprentice or her own daughter, “but this was urgent.”

“A threat to national security,” the general threw in.

It was always “threat to national security” this and “threat to national security” that with General Valseras. Two decades of a rebellion and he’d only been general of the army for five of those years, and he could not shake that fucking phrase. It had become a catchall for the general, and anything that did not conform to his rigid views was deemed a threat. Same old story, except the queen knew better than to listen to him all the time. She gently waved a hand in dismissal, and continued speaking to the physician.

“Sir Ivor and Sir Enoch found two bodies this morning. I need you to examine the bodies and see if you can determine a cause of death.”

“I should need my equipment and the full use of my chambers,” the physician replied.

“If you can do without, please. It is too risky to move these men across the castle. We’re trying to keep the situation contained.”

Trying to keep the situation from getting to King Guillame’s ears.

“I understand completely,” Galen nodded, and knelt over one of the dead men.

“Now that we have both of you here,” the Captain of the Guard looked between Ivor and Enoch, “recount what happened in full detail.”

The general shifted silently beside the queen, crossing his arms. Theo fucking hated him and his attitude and immorality and–

Enoch began, “Ivor and I had woken up early and were heading down to the armory before training and council. We, uh, heard about the new shipment of Southern-made crossbows.”

Meaning he wanted to fuck around with them. Theo suppressed a sigh and a shake of his head that would usually appear right about now.

“Anyways, we were walking down the hall, talking, and I noticed a weird lump in the corner. And then I realized it was a limp foot, and I sent Ivor to you–” Enoch looked at the captain– “while I stayed and kept the area undisturbed.”

“You did well,” the captain replied. “Both of you.”

Galen stood up finally, drawing the attention of everyone as his old body struggled to lift himself off of the ground. “This man’s neck has been broken. No sign of a struggle.”

“This guy’s too,” came a voice from behind Theo, startling him. He hadn’t realized the apprentice had slipped behind him to check the other body, and he was reminded why Cass always elected Terran to act as a scout during their adventures. The lightfoot apprentice spoke with a voice laced with a tired rasp, “Probably an ambush.”

Galen’s blue eyes shone with pride though his face remained neutral and professional. “For an ambush like this, I’d have to assume that there were a minimum of two offenders.”

“Assassins,” the general breathed loud enough for everyone to hear.

The queen, unshaken by the news, held up a hand to signal the general to stop speaking. She stayed silent for a moment, and everyone waited for a response from her. The stillness was brief and familiar, though Theo was unnerved everytime.

“Captain,” the queen spoke coldly, “put the guard on high alert. Intruders are not to be tolerated, and anyone unknown inside the walls should be brought before me. Have your men check all of the rooms as well, in case this is just a common thief.”

“Your majesty, if I may?” Galen inquired.

“Go ahead, physician.”

“I may be pointing out the obvious, but these men are in undergarments. I’m assuming they’re guards of the palace, which suggests that the intruders have stolen their uniforms presumably to blend in.”

Like a comedy of some sort, everyone did a double take at the bodies.

“I have to agree,” Theo spoke for the first time since being summoned that morning. “Continuing as normal would probably be the safest bet. We wouldn’t know which guards they’re posing as, so let’s not alert them to our awareness. I can order the knights to be on the lookout for suspicious activity.”

The queen nodded, her way of processing the proposal and agreeing to it. She pointed at Theo but looked at Ivor and Enoch, “Inform the rest of the knights. This is not to leave this circle, and it is to not enter the council by any means. Everyone should proceed as usual.”

The gathering all nodded to acknowledge the order.

“We shall discuss this at tomorrow’s war council, then?” General Valseras asked.

“We shall see,” the queen responded, not bothering to look at him.

“I do wonder, though,” he continued unwarranted. “The rebels have been growing in bravery. They may have sent these intruders to assassinate you as a way to weaken the kingdom.”

The queen said nothing, not agreeing but not dismissing the idea either. It was at that moment that Theo looked towards Cass who had heard and thought the same things as him. Just as Galen was earlier, only Cass’s eyes gave any insight into her thoughts and feelings. Her eyes were wide, and in all honesty so were his. 

Why did he ever doubt her? He wondered that sometimes, more often than he’d like to admit. But this was a whole new level.

He barely had time to react to the initial realization before the queen continued on with her orders. “Galen, you and your apprentice need to take care of these men.”

Galen nodded solemnly in understanding, Terran following suit.

“And, Theo, you need to place Bastien in charge of training the knights and the recruits until further notice. I need you to detail Cassandra and I for the time being.”

Nothing new. This was a pretty common procedure for him since he was technically a knighted bodyguard with extra perks. 

The queen dismissed the gathering, and everyone minus Galen and Terran returned to their usual routines. Cass lingered a few moments longer and Theo caught her gaze again. That same twinkle gripped tightly onto her mahogany irises, and his throat tightened a little. There were very few times Cass showed genuine fear and sadness as was common with the battle-hardened knights. They’d seen too much, done too much, experienced too much… but the look in Cass’s eyes…

He should be scared. They all should be.

The breeze that drifted through the open window had the hint of autumn crispness. It should, it was nearly fall. Evie was always a little sad when the end of summer came since that meant the flowers would soon wither away until the next spring, but fall was a fantastic time of year as well. The changing of the leaves, the fall-themed music she brought along, the festivals… so many wonderful things to look forward to. Also Yule, her utmost favorite holiday ever.

The birds chirped sweetly outside the castle walls, and Gena had laid out another beautiful dress for her to wear. She kinda missed picking out her own clothes though, but Gena was fun to have around. It was just so weird how everything worked around Ravenwell Palace. It’s not like she wasn’t taught basic manners and how to behave during formal events, but the constant formalities every single day were getting tiring. Didn’t Cassie and Teddy get tired too?

Gena seemed perfectly content to help Evie into the pale pink off-the-shoulder gown in silence, but that was not how Evie planned on this morning going.

“Cassie seemed really upset last night,” she said. “I hope she’s okay.”

Okay, a depressing topic to start the day off with, but Gena seemed like the person who would know the most about the situation.

“I’m not sure,” Gena replied absentmindedly. “I didn’t see her after dinner last night.”

“You didn’t see her?” Evie shifted uncomfortably as Gena fastened the dress a little too tightly, apologizing as she fixed her mistake. “Aren’t you supposed to help her, like, get in bed and stuff?”

“I do help her at night,” Gena seemed a little annoyed by the whole concept. “Sometimes she doesn’t get back until late. She might have also stayed somewhere else last night. I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean stayed somewhere else last night? She lives here, doesn’t she?”

“I know,” Gena tightened another fastening, “as much as you.”

Evie took the sharp pain in her side as a warning to move off of this topic no matter how confused she was.

“I want to do something nice for her. I think she’d appreciate it.”

“Yes, I think so.”

The anger carried over apparently.

“What do you think she’d like?”

“Depends on the day.”

Okay, now Gena was just being rude, but Evie decided to not take it personally.

“Would you mind helping me pick something out?”

“I’m sure anything would be fine.”

Evie's slight disdain for that comment may have showed up on her face, but Gena was still facing her back so she didn’t see. Seriously, though, you don’t just get anything for someone. That’s just bad gift-giving. 

When Gena was done messing with the dress angrily, Evie was permitted to step out from behind the screen. Rather than sit at the vanity, Evie grabbed her hairbrush and looked out the window as she brushed her hair. Her window in the east wing overlooked the city, the marketplace just beyond the part of the courtyard that was in view. Maybe she could take a trip there? No, she wouldn’t have time… council eats up a lot of the day and she’d never make it back before dark.

Evie's head snapped towards the door as it opened without warning. Cassie hadn’t bothered to knock which was very out of line as far as the rigid rules of politeness around here were concerned. Evie actually didn’t mind the knocking-before-entering rule because it was really great to know someone was about to come in. 

In other news, Cassie looked like an absolute wreck. The fur shawl she was wearing barely covered the gown that she wore last night, and Evie hoped she had not slept in that because it did not look comfy enough to sleep in. Her cosmetics were running slightly, though a few splashes of water could fix that, and her hair was only a little unkempt. She just looked tired, and the dark circles under her eyes did not help her appearance at all. 

“Gena, I need you to help me prepare for council,” was all Cassie said.

Okay, seriously? Has everyone lost their minds today? A “hi” would be nice…

Gena nodded without hesitation and left before Cassie could even turn around. Cassie proceeded to shake her head in bewilderment and left without a goodbye. Or even just a nod in acknowledgement.

That’s it. Everyone’s getting flowers.

-> next chapter (coming june 15)

[apathbacktoyou]

it’s terran!sinara au time again ;) it’s also “lou cannot count to 6, apparently” day

Sinara followed the woman down the corridor. Willow, Kasius had called her, she reminded herself. Not that she got her attention by saying her name.

The Kree soldier who’d taken her from her level was close on their heels and let out a sharp laugh.“Don’t bother. She can’t hear you.”

Sinara ignored him, his words only making her insides go even colder with fear. The revelation made sense; Kasius’ human servants always spoke unnaturally rigidly whenever they made an appearance.

“You can hear me, though.” He shoved her when she still ignored him.“For now, at least.”

Sinara caught herself against the wall, turning to glare at him.“Careful there, big guy. Wouldn’t want me to tell your boss you gave me another bruise, would you?”

It came out calmly, tauntingly, and she was pleased with herself that she hadn’t betrayed the frantic racing of her heart or her sweaty palms.

The soldier narrowed his eyes at her, clearly deliberating whether the satisfaction of striking her was worth incurring Kasius’ wrath, and then just shook his head.

[ultimavolatusrpg]

ACCEPTED // LUCUS TERRAN

35 years old, 76th Hunger Games, FC: Manny Montana

Perspicacious, Enigmatic, Genuine, Honest and Dauntless

tw: violence, death ( parent death and in general ), murder, birds, blood

THE ARENA

The 76th Hunger Games were an incredibly ambitious and horribly complex design by a game maker with an overly active imagination. Six floating mountains with no solid ground beneath giants of rock covered in dense greenery, mysterious overgrown ruins and waterfalls that fell off these floating behemoths into nothingness. Each of the six mountains were split into two different zones (reflecting each district) with special surprises in each of those zones.

As the game makers would have it these larges floating mountains were a straight drop below the floating island the Cornucopia rested upon which itself was a seemingly steep dive from the supports each tribute would stand upon. A treacherous dive to reach gear, weapons and other such supplies. The dive to the Cornucopia would surely kill some of them, those that missed it entirely causing them to fall beneath the cloud cover to be immediately surprised by encountering massive floating mountains below. At first the design would seem to guarantee the games would last for months but to ensure maximum shock value each surface a tribute landed upon had a timer. Once that timer expired the mountain or island would either crumble beneath their feet or release something even worse. Carnivorous birds, swarms of tracker jackers, crazed mutt-monkeys, snake, rats, pests, ruins designed to drive a tribute made the further they delved into the. Additionally – escaping the mountains for another you encounters powerful gusts of wind, storms, and the underside of each mountain with jagged rock faces and walls of water. Nothing short of magical to wow the crowds of the Capitol who demanded something different. It was a floating, paradisiac hell - a wondrous optical illusion convincing the tributes there was no border and no defined ‘earth’ only land too dangerous at times to stand on and skies to terrible to get caught flying in or too far away from when wind would only shoot you back.

In light of their grand idea – each tribute was outfit with a wingsuit, two clicks of a fist against their chest would cause wings to open and enable the ability to fly. A few more clicks would enable them to increase or decrees in altitude but wings would start to falter and fail if a tribute went too high and once a wingsuit was broken there was no replacing it ( unless you pulled one off a dead tribute before they were taken away. They were engineered with the idea to make tributes move like birds of prey, give them the feel like they were and some skill would be required to actually do anything but fall to their deaths ( because of course there was secretly a bottom ).

One final secret on how they were able to maintain the illusion of bottomlessness was something akin to a vertical wind tunnel, islands that did actually rise and a few other trade secrets to pull off the trick. Needless to say it was enormously expensive but it was an arena that assured no true advantage to anyone but maximum entertainment value. Enduring of all that and nearly dying several times not counting the times something tried to eat him and certainly paying for it in blood – not a single soul alive doubts he more than earned his status as victor.

BIOGRAPHY

There is a strange sensation that occurs above the thousands of trees, past the trouble and branches of the world below and beyond where birds nest and peacekeepers go. Some fools would say just a little farther if given wings to fly you could touch heaven and see as far as the eye could see. It was dangerous to go so far up, especially if you were to get caught not that you could go anywhere but down. That sensation though drove tingles up your spine as lungs fill with fresh air and you imagine what freedom is like. You dream up there. A young boy remembers that feeling as he holds his younger brother’s hand knowing he’s frightened as they lead the children into the square. Then again what wasn’t there to be frightened about your first reaping? Lucus could smell the fear dripping off his little brother in rivulets of sweat, hearing his mother’s dying words like a whisper on the wind. ‘Protect him always. He may be brawnier but you’re smart and your roots go deep. Use your brain, not always your firsts and you stay alive for me sapling. Be strong, for both of you one day. Never let them separate you for two branches are harder to break then one’. For a second Lucus believes she’s there with him – watching over her boys from the heavens above where only birds dare to fly. For a moment he realizes the promise he’ll have to break to honor her wishes. If they call Rowan’s name who else will scream I volunteer as tribute but his elder brother? Who else will fight for the orphan if not Lucus? Who else would sacrifice themselves so Rowan can see the space above the trees and dream?

Before we get too much ahead of ourselves, to the games and beyond even the moments that will shortly play out before the two sons of Willow and Arborius Terran things must be clarified. After all there is a story hidden within a story and a background needed to be put properly into place to understand the future. For the brothers Terran – the world they would be born to was one no child deserved to be thrust. For monsters ruled paradise and angels were left defenseless when husbands were cut down liked trees in a world unable to forget. District Seven was a beautiful place and those great many laboring loggers that lived there who were brave enough to boast dared to call it the most beautiful off all twelve. At least it was certainly the greenest, maybe sickeningly so with trees as far as the eye could see and no shortage of leaves. One only wishes they could report before the reaping of the 76th games that boys were given an opportunity to be boys. Sadly, one must report to the contrary.

For a time yes there was happiness. Cradling a small babe to his chest, carefully concealing the child as the gifted lumberjack climbed, Arborius would bring a young Lucus up into the trees. As he got bigger and Willow was heavily pregnant with Rowan, Arborius would tell grand tales, spout poetry or teach his eldest son to see beyond to the edge of the world, past the horizon and to dream. They were alright and had Arborius lived to see his second son reach his third year could anyone say Lucus would be the same creature he is today? Officially, Arborius’ death was called a tragic accident made by a young woodsman who made a critical mistake. Rumors however err towards the idea a jealous peacekeeper coveted his wife and wanted the man out of the way. They would be surprised that Willow never married again nor did she open her bed to any other occupant peacekeeper or not. She instead took up the mantel as provider and eventually was aided by her young but eldest son when he came of age strong enough to wield an axe. Then working tirelessly got to her and she became sick dying three years after that. She waited to give her message to Lucus before her body gave out and they were taken in by the state.

Quickly little boys learned to fight, scrappy little spitfires that they were. Very few times did one of them go to bed without raw knuckles or a broken something triumphant or not. Lucus, being the oldest though took the vow made to his mother to heart. He protected that boy though and little Rowan always had his back. They weren’t meant to be raised like this or even taught to kill but that was life and it was to be accepted. Even then when it could be believed they would be as dumb as a box of rocks – Lucus was incredibly sharp and did his job well after all one had to be reasonably skilled to be the high climber. When not working to exhaustion be buried himself in books or in the tree tops humming to birds and challenging Rowan to climb before the caught them and made them go back to the home or worse whipped them for breaking curfew. Even during what had been the worst of times, when children weren’t allowed to be children, he still chipped out time to dream and feed the ideas few others harbored.

Letting go now of Rowan’s hand reluctantly, Lucus whispered not to worry. They’ll be back chopping logs and splitting wood in no time and he can teach him about girls too. If there was a higher power out there certainly they’d have mercy just once on the brothers Terran. Even now as a much older man Lucus remembers the sound of his name reverberating through his skull not fully registering until the butt of a baton prodded his backside shoving him forward. It wasn’t Rowan they called as Lucus feared but him. Just as it finally hit him was he taken back to the place of dreaming in his head to watch it’s figurative destruction. How could their ever be freedom in a world that was willing to watch children kill each other for sport? How could the ‘benevolent’ capitolites be so blind or willing to sit idly by?

Gods above and below – Lucus vividly remembers every moment of his arrival, training and games. He chooses to remember because the Capitol would try to dress it in glamorous fashion even call his games one of the most exciting to watch in years. He remembers because it was not a glorious triumph, it was not an honor it was horrible. He remembers because if he has anything to say about it  - it reminds him never to underestimate a foe and that he is bigger than his demons and they should be afraid of what they made him. You would have to be well not even Rowan to know any of that. Arriving in the arena was a surreal experience. To be surrounded by your stylist team one moment, stepping into a tube the next to come up standing on one of twenty-four pieces of floating rock with no other discernable landmass but the Cornucopia below the next. That in itself was a total mind fuck for plenty of people curious if this were some sort of joke wanting them to fight in mid-air. Two tributes at the sounding of the start failed to remember the instructions given to open their suits and completely missed the small island the Cornucopia was situated on with two very loud canons. Other tributes didn’t stick landings and rolled ankles and smack the side of things not much time was given for them to run towards what all would assume would be a bloodbath. Yet as Lucus and one of the Careers rocketed towards the center the ground began to give way. Barely able to snatch his choice of weapon and a survival backpack the world came apart from underneath them. If your hand wasn’t on something as the Cornucopia lifted up past a point where wing suits would go and the island crumbled you were grappling midair to take something before splitting through cloud cover to an unknown.

Grabbing the girl from 7 as her suit failed her trying to rise for the lifting Cornucopia when they pierced the clouds they nearly wiped out on the side of a mountain, crash landing on one of the six watching as two – three more collided head on with mountains floating in midair, or hitting a wall of water to flick into the underside of one of these behemoths. Five were gone and as the remaining tributes collected themselves, formed plans of attack and schemed Lucus actually learned her name. Aspen – the other tribute from 7. Not that he noticed her before or paid attention during all the work beforehand but after nearly dying now holding a completely rattled fourteen year-old he thought she was pretty. That was the other reason he so vividly remembers. He also remembers kissing her between massive carnivorous birds trying to eat them and attempting to fly through a storm the third day to escape mutt-monkeys. Little did they know they’d landed on another mountain teaming with even more dangerous things – careers. That was a bloodbath and that was when Lucus watched Aspen die. He barely escaped with a failing suit himself doing a nose dive tangled up with one of the tributes from 2. All of Panem held its breath as they smacked into a dense forest as one of the mountains shifted. Getting free Lucus went into a dead sprint towards a ruined structure before them with the career giving hot pursuit. The next thing one heard other than the voices Lucus wasn’t sure if they were in his head or not was the sound of canon fire and Lucus dragging a body. Peeling a wing-suit off a dead man -  he looked across to another floating giant as it crumbled watching other assorted mutations take a few more tributes with them as the mountain died. Four more days with increasingly worse conditions to survive through including a series of natural disasters and other creepy crawly things that tried to eat him the final horn was sounded. Lucus killed the last tribute who was barely older than Rowan having done things he never imagined he’d do just to stay alive.

Lauded as a great hero, paying for his victory laurel in no shortage of blood and death, Lucus was changed. He had in a roundabout way kept his promise to protect Rowan but at what cost to him? Just as his mouth was about to open, his own mentor placed a hand on his shoulder and told him ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you son. You lived, your brother is safe but if you learned anything from what you just survived they could just as easily put down a dog. Don’t give them the satisfaction.’ So.. Lucus didn’t. He never would. So with the resources just given to him and the ability to live a comfortable life Lucus made himself anew. More so then ever did he dislike the games but play along dreaming of a different world but cautious now. Quite honestly that is where knowledge of him actually ends. Go through a million highlight reels and specials and you’ll think you know the enigmatic one. That you know secrets when even his own personal life is fraught with them. He’s got plenty of rough edges and buttons not to push these days – Lucus pretends a great deal projecting this fearless and ambiguous self-seeming to care about little beyond Rowan and maybe a handful of things that interest him like books, fine wine, plaid and art. He’s made it clear he will not be fucked with by putting forth such a person into this world.

Truthfully for people smart enough to read through the lines and discern the real person behind a quiet and mildly prickly demeanor – Lucus is genuine in all he does. The man has no qualms about telling you where to go, how to get there and what information he’s willing to share. You can see it in the way he gives tough love or in a touch with more fragile victors or the ones he’s trained that have made it back alive… Under the mystery and the crust – he’s honest and good. Learned. Talented. Hell if you knew him well enough and what to look for even down right sweetly compassionate and tender. Buried deep is that boy who lived to dream and loving brother who’d do anything to take care of his own. Most see very little of that and that is the point to it. Lucus Terran is neither good nor bad but something else. He’s different These days between episodes of appearing not to care and little bouts of a rare exposure of his true self - he hears things. Observes where others believe themselves to be hidden when he owns a portion of the shadows. Some in Panem, even here in the Victor’s Village share a similar dream as the boy in the trees who saw beyond what man could see. What a strange and illusive dream freedom is. Not all men dream equally and no man is quite like Lucus Terran thats if you believe…

PENNED BY: EDEN

[leongraphics]

GREENTOUCHED // *drabble. ( 1354 words, commissioned by @ivcrn​ for @zyrc​ ) happy birthday, zyrc !! i wish you had an amazing day ( and i hope you enjoy this ) !!

GOOGLEDOC: here.

     A vine-touched head lifts regally to the soft murmurings of whispers in the waving blades of grass, green-covered roots lifting from the soil of the earth. Ivern could hear it, the excited murmurings of flowers tittering amongst themselves.

“It is the greenmother! The bloom-mother is here!”

The greenfather feels a smile gracing his features as he, first, feels this thorn-blossom through the soft movement of the breeze and the soft vibration of lacey-wings and twitching antennae, creatures disturbed by the movement of the animated trees and vines excited for this new visitor. Then, he sees her, as graceful and entwined to the earth as he, her knowledgeable, glimmering eyes fixated upon his own. The loam beneath her rhythmic steps yearns, small green sprouts spreading their innocent tendrils opening through the dark prosperous soil of the surrounding magical forest, opening to the clearing host to this fae meeting.

They do not speak, no, not at first, their greeting done through touch and the connection of the terran domain beneath them. Grass-stained, thorn-marked fingertips touch to bark-covered fingertips worn by the weary passing of time, a woody brow lowering to touch theirs, tender-velvet like the petals of a young blossom (and as deceptive to the dangerous thorns beneath, currently hidden for this tender moment). And those two pairs of knowing eyes, wise beyond the years and as old as the very Earth itself (perhaps, it is not so far from the truth) closed to better hear the hum of the forest.

The beetles and sparrows whisper around them, witnesses to this mythical moment. The shining of the forest grows, unable to be contained from the limits of their grasping brush, the very sky above the canopy aglow with the enigmatic emotion that surrounded these two speakers of the wild, two of the last saviors for the voices of the roots and branches who cannot speak for themselves.

Silence is broken as a voice, rare, untinged with their usual sultry tune and instead genuine, caring, warm.

“It has been so long since we have last met, love.”

There is a response in a throaty, kind chuckle, those eyes colored like the dandelions and marigolds mumbling in the meadow around them opening to peer endearingly at those golden eyes beneath him.

“And yet each time we meet, it is as if time flows at a stand-still.”

The thorn-blossom laughs, the small daisies around her feet bobbing along with the near-musical sound.

“You still have a way with words, greenfather.”

“Strange, this poetic side to me only seems to arise when you are near.”

A pair of songbirds pass overhead, a twittering whistle the music to their motionless dance, the two beings opting instead to seat together in that grassy meadow and enjoy the talk of the forest around them.

A young squirrel family chittered, talkative, in a nearby tree. Somewhere deeper in the woods, a dire-wolf barked half-heartedly at its rambunctious young. A spring bubbled happily at the bathing raccoons enjoying the cool water. All the while, these two guardians enjoyed the conversation, occasionally looking to the other for a reassuring smile or an affectionate glance.

And that momentary silence is broken once more, a voice this time tinged with worry, with sadness.

“Ivern, why not leave your responsibilities and escape with me to the wilds… You have no ties to the humans you have left behind, you are no longer one of them. You have no need to help them.”

The flower turns, placing her tendril laced fingers upon that wooden head, gently moving so that she may directly gaze into those loving eyes, her brows furrowed.

“I can feel you, I can feel your heart all the time, no matter how far I am. You grieve, you suffer, for every fallen beast, for every fallen living creature who are lost to the greed of humankind, who kill not for necessity but out of want.”

The greenfather opens his mouth, but not a sound is uttered. The greenmother continues, insistent, her eyes imploring, asking.

“You are my other-half, the trees to my flowering, the leaves to my bloom. You need not suffer so, just come, live with me, deep in the wilderness where no human dares wander into thorny groves. You will not need to witness the fall of your creatures any longer, please, cease your grief...”

The wind stills, and the birds are quiet. The squirrels have long moved to another tree, the dire-wolves retired to their den, and the spring vacant from its previous bathers. For a moment, time did stand still, centered around these two progenitors of life. A daisy nearby is touched in the shadow of a cloud.

“I love you.” She finishes, simply, a statement devoid of flourishing decor and yet so full of her life, leaving those red-tinted lips, so like a rose bud.

And Ivern brushes a finger across those lips, his eyes softened by sentimentality, another one of those gentle chuckles leaving his throat before he leans forward and gently touches his lips to her pale cheek, her head lowering in response, gaze downturned for she knew his answer before he even speaks.

“My rose, I never meant for you to worry for me. I love you, I love you as my other-soul, my fellow guardian, as another aspect of life for the forest itself… But as you may never forget your origins to the beautiful thorn-blossoms, I also can never forget my roots in humanity.”

His gaze is firm, steady, full of that determination he has felt ever since he first felt the endless mercy the God-Willow, a determination as strong as he is kind, as willful as he is compassionate.

He looks fondly to Zyra, his mate, his fellow parent, guardian, and protector of nature, and, most importantly, his friend. A blooming exquisite beauty, who would dirty her face with tears at his expense, who would dirty her hands with the blood of beasts to feed him, who would go as far as to open her own sanctuary to provide him shelter from the cruel world of a human-run world. He murmurs soft thanks, running his hands over the soft featherings of petals upon her eyelashes, to the grasping green leaves that adorned her hair, her limbs, anything to comfort this treasure.

“But I do promise, upon the day my mission is done, no matter when or where that will be, I will return to you, my dear. I will return, and we will spend the rest of our eternity together, under these green canopies until they turn into dust, under the stars even should they lose their light. Even when humanity ends and the very sky falls, I will remain by your side.”

He grasps that vine-tangled hand, entwining their fingers together and listening, feeling, carefully, the thrum of life that beat through her body, to the life that ran through those veins. A life that he cares for, that he loves with all of his very being.

That rose-blossom, with her brows still furrowed and yet eyes lifting from their previous downward gaze to look incredulously, tender-heartedly, full of the lush life that blooms all around them to the honey-tinged gaze of her light.

“And you say you are no poet.”

The greenfather lets out a laugh, hearty, heartful, a sound that reverberates deep to Zyra’s heart.

“I really am not. You, my dear, just bring out the best of me.”

The two spent the rest of their time together seated in that meadow, fingers still intertwined, limbs touching, eyes upturned to the passing of wispy clouds and ears listening to the resuming of life. One of those previous songbirds return, splashing in the spring with a sweet song. A raccoon rummages for mushrooms and tubes in the root of the tree where the squirrel family had occupied before. One of those young dire-wolf tumbles out of the den, its sibling close after its heels as their parents looked on in sleepy pride from inside the dark cave.

Life moves on, and life’s guardians remained together, peering on upon their children, proud.

Full of love.

[skymade]

   Fun facts with Serena time: Willow’s name isn’t Willow or Will! That’s just the translation of her name into our language and other Terran languages! The translator in her head won’t actually let her say her name in her language, because it translates everything out to something understandable by others. Her name essentially means something similar -- it’s after a thin sort of wispy Sky Oak that has an ethereal quality. Winter’s the same! His name isn’t our cold season, but after the colder season on Amyr. ( The cold months are often regarded in a positive, glowing way, because many of the very carnivorous animals on Amyr go into hibernation or die during colder months. Of course, Amyr’s cold months aren’t near anything that we would experience in winter on Earth, as the entire planet is very, very warm. )