#thank you teeth and ciaran for like

[atinyladybug-daydreams]

I can't believe I got into TMA because @eepy-turtl pipebombed me with fucking cunty bitch boy bastard twink ass motherfucker Elias Fucking Bouchard.

The fact that all it takes is one twink to get me into a piece of media is not something I am proud of and is being exploited repeatedly by my friends 😭😭😭

[homesteadchronicles]

A Cycle of Seals: Writing Excerpt (Princess of Impotence)

After three months of continual debate on whether or not to post this excerpt, my friends convinced me to submit it on-stream tonight. While it imperfectly handles heavy topics I myself am still working through, I hope you see the heart and healing process behind it - and, most importantly, behind Eirys.

You may remember these three from my recent Character Description Challenge! I can never get enough of writing their dynamic, even as their in-canon scenes continue to dwindle through editing. Whomp.

___

Project: A Cycle of Seals Timeline: Pre-Book One Canonical? No Context:

The House of Salvation has long isolated society’s sick. The Godewine twins - Royan and Eirys - visit every dawn and tend to the condemned. While Royan attracts the masses with the supernatural power of his Timekeeper’s Seal, the powerless Eirys attends to one individual: Oeden Sincairn, locked away even from the other infirm. 

Content Warnings: Illness, Isolation, Mentions of Ableism

___

The Yoreword warns of a wickedness more contagious than any sickness, one bestowed upon the lowest amongst them. Eirys has never - paragons forgive her blasphemy - believed that. Illness did not demean one’s internal divinity. Not when the skin-deep sainthood of her fellow nobles could nauseate an angel. Even still, sacrilege guides her away from those surrounding her blessed sibling to instead seek solace with the kingdom’s most corrupted citizen.

With the crowd thoroughly enthralled by Royan’s abilities, Eirys slips outside their thinning scope of notice and down the western hall. While the main chamber had been filled to overflowing with the infirm, naught but a begrudging servant files through the passage here. Those who notice her appearance regard her with the civil disinterest paid to one of their own. Or had they purposely dismissed their princess? Nonsense, she thinks (but does not believe).

Would such insolence not make sense? She is no Shepherd. She bears no Seal. She does not sway the hearts of nobles like Isolde, does not command the arms of soldiers like Sigrid, does not awe the minds of scholars like Ciaran. She is but another stumbling block to the damned’s salvation, a scourge to kiss their scars.

Why must power inhabit those who refuse to wield it well? That question had no answer, or at least not one the spirits deign to supply.

Yet, despite her inherent impotence, one resident still awaits her entrance.

Eirys shuffles down the corridor, around the corner, and up to a room quartered off from the rest. With a knock for courtesy, she slips in without awaiting permission.

Inside, the chamber holds little else other than Oeden, perched at the edge of a bed as unkempt as he. He is dressed, thankfully - not that a medic cares much for modesty - with a tunic hanging loosely off his wiry form. The tension that inhabits his shoulders evacuates whilst registering his visitor’s identity.

You’re safe, she thinks, willing the assurance to reach him. Safe, but not saved.

A flicker of mischief lifts his lips, too weak to raise the bags beneath his eyes. “Abandoning your brother, are we?”

Eirys huffs, indignant fists finding her hips. Even Oeden thought only of Royan! “I do hope that’s not a disappointment.”

He does not answer, and so Eirys sets to work. Oeden needs attention - medically, at least - every day before sunrise, lest their superiors deny him access to the sanctuary. If coming here every morning means her friend can escape isolation? Well, it made her wartime training worthwhile. Her bag unpacked, the bedside table stands littered with supplies of every shape and size: needles and knives and salves that would unnerve even hardened warriors.

Oeden refuses to flinch.

“You should have seen them,” Eirys says as she rifles through her satchel for a binding beneath the draughts. “All those patients, pawing at his Seal like it might peel off if they rub it right. They were two fools short of a parade!”

Oeden cannot see it, can see little else beside this room, and instead snorts from imagination alone. “With Royan there, they only need one more.”

She swats him with the wad of bandages in hand but cannot hold back her laughter. How tragic that such wit must stay locked away. “At least someone pays him any mind.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? His only admirers come from ones the rest of the world admonishes.” The laugh that follows lacks all humor.

There is a sickness in Norire. One that spares the poor and spoils the pure. One whose unholy hand reaches across the nation, fingers of infirmity digging into every manse and mansion. Even her own. Eirys knows this, intrinsically. Hates it, irrefutably. But, like every other illness, she cannot cure it. Not anymore than she might will away the wickedness of kings who condone quarantining the chronic, the heresy of priests enslaving the impoverished, the sinfulness of princesses submitting to these societal normalities.

Instead, she sits down. Shuts up. Prays behind sealed lips to an imprisoned god for forgiveness, for change.

Oeden never minds the silence. His proclaimed disdain for company disproved itself with every unspoken show of appreciation. This time, it crumbled beneath a subtle repositioning atop the bed: an invitation for intimacy.

Eirys accepts his summons, scooting closer, the equipment her plus one. A once-over of his body shows no sign of his condition having spread, but she can tell little with the glove that disguises his limb. Her hand hovers above, but does not touch. “May I…?”

Oeden nods. Neither required consent – thus why she elicits it. No one asked Oeden permission to burden him with this power, any more than they had asked Eirys to deprive her of it. He deserves this small dignity.

With measured tenderness, Eirys peels back the fabric encasing his left arm. Each inch of cloth stripped away reveals the crystalline protrusions carving through calloused skin in misshapen patches. Flesh split in bloodied fissures, ore corroding the body into its personal deposit. No worse than before, she thinks. The thought does little to placate her concerns because that does not make it better than before either.

Oeden evades her gaze. Witnessing her displeasure would surely confirm a deep-whispered suspicion: that he was, even to her, grotesque. She knows that he spies her reaction when he thinks her attention lies elsewhere, awaits a well-deserved grimace or an artificial grin. Instead, Eirys freezes her face in cold indifference. It comes naturally, she realizes - her family has done the same on the throne for one hundred years, after all, for far less noble a purpose.

She pulls a rag from the pouch at her hip and dips it into one of the pungent balms scattered about the bed top. The whiff of peppermint briefly assaults her before the musty scent of Salvation overpowers it. “Ready?” she asks. His nodded ascent initiates the delicate process of cleaning the crystal. Eirys traces the edges of fractured skin with her cloth as if she painted a masterpiece - with precision, and with respect to the canvas.

Oeden winces with each misplaced press of fabric. He never complains, but none could deny the pain he endures on the nightly. The momentary sting ebbs away at the gritted teeth and tensing posture until relief resumes its rightful mantle upon him. Eirys has never seen such strength from someone so weary. Weary, she realizes, and lonely.

He needs tending to. In his body, yes, but even more so in his soul.

“It’s not, you know,” Oeden says suddenly. He still refuses to meet her eyes, but he picks up on her confusion nonetheless, for he continues, “a disappointment, I mean. That you’re here.”

Had he dwelt on her greeting this whole time?

Eirys slips her free hand into Oeden’s, clasping it with desperate compassion. You deserve deliverance, but I can only give you decency. “I’d sure hope not,” she teases, “but we both know you’d prefer my brother’s company.”

“Royan would have only worsened this,” Oeden reminds her. The Seal of Progression could do little to cease the spread of crystal. It could only comfort those who conformed to its whims - and Oeden had never been one to obey. “Besides, who knows what I would have seen, had anyone else done this…”

Ah, yes. The visions.

Eirys understands next to nothing of them, despite her supposed spirituality, but she does not doubt their existence any more than she doubts that their god remains trapped in some undiscovered vault. One touch of crystallized skin could send Oeden into an unconscious stupor. Foreseeing an unfortunate future from unprompted contact became an all-too-common occurrence.

“And with me?” Eirys entangles their fingers, drawing his hands up. “What do you see?”

Oeden’s breath hitches as she scales the goosebumps raising across his arm, but he does not deny her. His left hand rises to meet her, ore-crusted finger brushing against a freckled forehead. A breath. A moment. A hope.

“…Nothing.”

Oeden exhales like oxygen had always evaded him. His head slumps against hers. “Thank the Seals you’re safe, Eir.”

You’re safe for me, is what he means. She hopes he knows he’s safe with her, too.

They sit there, undone and unsure, in each other’s presence until time unwinds itself around them and Eirys realizes: the military, the clergy, the royalty - none of them need her. None of them need to. Oeden does. And a flustered, wistful part of herself believes she needs him too.

She always loathed her own powerlessness, but this powerlessness to resist him? She could live with that. She might even love it.

[pilgrimageaesthetic]

replying to this here instead of my main--thanks for the ask!! @hollow-dweller​

i ended up infodumping, oops, so i’ll put everything under the cut.

aubade (the symphony) is my most recent Pilgrimage WIP, having worked on it up until earlier this month. It’s extremely indulgent and leans shamelessly into melodrama territory, but I’m writing it for me, okay? Themes of loss, grief, recovery, the thin horizon line between life and death, and love, love, love. All kinds of love. Every kind of love. Also my cheesy adoration for writing a bunch of seemingly-unrelated characters and tying them all together in the end.

The basic premise is that Diarmuid is a young king, whose parents passed when he was even younger. He meets a man who fascinates him, and to bring him closer he requests this man become his combat instructor. Strangers to lovers, David and Diarmuid have three years of blissful marriage. Then war comes to the kingdom, and the unthinkable happens--for Diarmuid, it’s happening again.

Sick and tired of the universe’s shit, Diarmuid sets out for a remote island that is said to have the power to give him what he seeks, accompanied only by a practitioner of forbidden magic--Geraldus--the prince of the enemy kingdom--Raymond--and a shadowy, faceless angel of death who is always standing by his side--the Mute.

//

Maybe it’s borrowed time, Diarmuid says to Ciaran at daybreak.

They’re sitting on the hillside--the same one Diarmuid had sat with his parents, with Rua and Cathal, with Máire, with David, to watch the sun rise—again and again and again.

Maybe it’s not, Ciaran replies.

A golden apple falls from the branches overhead, lands in the soft grass between them with a gentle thud, and Ciaran reaches for it. Diarmuid takes his hand instead; it’s softer these days, and thinner, with dark, arching veins that remind him of the first time he saw the horizon line of The Mountainland, before light had crested its peaks.

Maybe all of it is, Diarmuid relents.

Ciaran clasps his hand around Diarmuid’s. His grip is strong.

Maybe there’s no such thing.

The sun rises.

//

who ever said angels had to be white? is a short(-ish) story I wrote in a high school creative writing class. An elderly woman named Millicent lives alone in an old farmhouse, until a hot demon boy with the personality of a feral angsty teengager, only ever referred to as “the creature,” falls out of a lightning bolt and crash-lands in her front yard. Slice of life hijinks ensue, and as they bond, Millicent’s loneliness is relieved and the creature learns to behave... or something along those lines. Also, after re-reading the story, they definitely fall in love. What kind of love is pretty ambiguous, but the subtext is there.

The story is complete but still in my WIPs folder, because while high school-me’s writing was severely lacking in pretty much every regard, and my approach to Millicent’s various problems is clumsy and naive, I do genuinely like the core of the story. It just needs to be... completely rewritten, with some major changes. And probably given a completely different ending, because I wasn’t even satisfied with it in 2014. Also, the title--god, that title. It’s a quote from the story and I’m embarrassed just thinking about it.

//

There was an apple orchard on the property, past a few hills behind the house.  Millicent hadn’t tended to it in over a decade, but it still managed to produce fruit every year.  When the trees came into season, the creature began to spend his days among them, and Millicent could watch him from the kitchen window as he ascended to the sky and dove into the branches.  She soon learned to leave windows open, as the creature seemed content to perch on the sills like a four-legged bird, a captured apple trapped between his teeth.  He didn’t seem to mind hunching his shoulders and twisting his neck to fit into the smaller spaces, and it was always a pleasant surprise to find him balanced under the pane of a window as she went through the house about her business.

“Millicent,” he said one day, still chewing the last bite of an apple and twirling the core by the stem, “come down to the apple trees.”

Millicent looked over at him, where he was perched in the broad window at the end of the upstairs hall.  She was replacing the lightbulbs of several sconces that had gone out - she had been putting off the job long enough, and with the days getting shorter, the house needed all the light it could get.

“I’m afraid I’m too old,” she told him, turning back to her work.  “It’s too far a walk for me.”

“I’ll carry you,” he said immediately.  His toes were curled around the edge of the windowsill; despite the effort Millicent had put into fashioning shirts just for him, he still seemed pensive of anything that covered his back.  Today he was wearing a pair of baggy open-backed overalls, and nothing else.

“I’m not a fan of flying,” Millicent said evenly.  “I’d prefer to go by foot.”

“But you just said you won’t walk,” the creature protested.

Millicent smiled softly at the sconce.  “Then I suppose I’ll have to stay here.”

//

thanks for the ask, friend!! it was an interesting trip down memory lane--one of my oldest pieces of writing and one of my newest.

[hollow-dweller]

wip tag game

rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title(s) that most intrigues you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips.

hey @ambivalentmarvel every time you tag me in something like this my wips list is longer than the last. considering this a personal attack at this point you will be hearing from my lawyer (ilu)

okay so (not including future parts of posted wips or pwps because this list is already WAY TOO LONG):

mcu

acadec squad saves the day

buried alive

find the beginning

fos bonding hours

hot idiot summer

may pov poisoning fic

morgan mj kidnapping fic

ned saves the day

out here in the wild oats

peter goes to space

sad hours with morgan stark

tony gets shot

monica/yelena feels

pepper/okoye fic

pilgrimage

a shrine, or else a scar

character study series

emmyrua monster

medieval sugar daddy cinematic universe

TSTH

your heart (like a bird in my teeth)

amnesiac knight/rogue au

bloody beef man on the stoop

ciaran is Stressed

ciaran POV

cinderella au

demon/priest au

diarmuid goes alone

diarmuid was in the cart

fine i'll do it myself

flame and rust

future mob boss diarmuid au

hunchback of notre dame au

hunting season

no post on sundays

oh how the turn tables

pagan diarmuid au

presumed dead au

prison au

prisoner diarmuid fic

raymond is a bad man

rivals raymuid 4 rua

role reversal au

serial killer/SOTL ripoff

take your broken wings

the love is contained in the soup

the one with the baby

tomorrow, after you leave

tragic: the worst person you know just made a great point

where the spirit meets the bone

you don't have to know that it's haunted

other fandoms

nile saves the day (the old guard)

hannah grose deserved better (the haunting of bly manor)

yassen ex machina (alex rider)

for you (i'll take the blue) (vld.hell)

hold my bones and wonder (vld.hell)

the cracks you'll see (vld.hell)

the shallurance masterwork (vld.hell)

hi yes i live in shame at all times thank you so much for asking

i'm not tagging this many people lmao but (no pressure ofc) @lunannex @saltwaterpanda @lnnkeeper @emkayoh @gooddaygalaxy @grazygardener @unwanted-animal @123-its-just-me

and anyone else who wants to do it!! (seriously tag me and i'll gladly harass you about your wips)

[mercuryislove]

can you tell me about ur oc's smiles. any number of em any ones you want. we need some smiles today. <3

i got you!!!!! <333

(okay I'm very excited about this because it gives me a reason to also talk about the way they laugh lol)

When Ciaran smiles and he means it, it's so wide that his nose wrinkles and he squints. He smiles with his whole damn face and he smiles like all the fucking time, so he has laugh lines around his eyes that he doesn't notice or care about. He also sticks his tongue out a little bit if he's laughing. Also. You know that post that's like “I hate people who touch me when they laugh hard like unhand me you raggedy bitch”?? (it cracks me up SO much because I am the raggedy bitch that grabs people when I laugh.......) Anyway. That's Ciaran. He laughs loud and hard and snorts sometimes and is the kind of guy to grab someone's arm. and he doesn't care when people think it's weird.

Meanwhile Anwei has mastered the art of both smizing (thank u tyra banks) AND smilling only with her mouth. She can basically have two different facial expressions at once (bc she's a fucking weirdo). Her like “professional” smile is very demure. Shows no teeth, barely counts as a smile, would be perfect for photo ops. But her real smile is sooooo beautiful. She has extremely kind eyes and a warm smile and basically it can win the heart of everyone in a five mile radius. She doesn't share the same like. nose wrinkling, sore cheek smile that her brother does but it's still infectious and friendly and people love to see it.

OH AND THEN the fucking. omg. the Sovereign aka the most beautiful man on earth wtf. What is the thing they say about like. helen of troy or whatever. That she was so beautiful a thousand ships sailed for her or some shit. Well. His smile is so gorgeous that a thousand AND ONE ships would sail for him. I'm talking words can't even describe this man. You see him smile and it's like being welcomed into the arms of a lover or best friend. You could get lost in it (which is also kind of the point because he IS the perfect charismatic, hypnotic, magnetic uh killing machine). You WANT to get lost in it. People get light headed if they look at him too long. like. he IS the moment.

[mrslittletall]

Title: A Storm is coming (Chapter 28) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Chosen Undead/Dragon Slayer Ornstein Word Count: 7.115 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16603610/chapters/60837541 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/620106785321369600/title-a-storm-is-coming-chapter-27-fandom-dark

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein are venturing into the Oolacile Township in search of the key that opens the path to Gough.

(Author's note: It feels like it has been a while. Simply put, I was finishing up some requests and couldn't write as much on Storm as well as I was a bit uninspired, because I had to play through the game again and take notes. I now finally managed to do it (had to put the game offline because of all the invaders) and could write out the next chapter. Please enjoy!)

“It looks like the town has been swallowed by an earthquake.”, Tempest murmured, walking behind Ornstein.

“In a sense, this is what happened.”, Ornstein said as he went down the stairs right in front of them. “The township got swallowed by the abyss. It won't take long anymore and no living being will be able to even walk here anymore. We are only able because the abyss hasn't spread too far yet.”

Right after Ornstein had finished his explanation, he turned around and stabbed a dark coloured creature with too long limbs and too many eyes. It looked identical to the one that Artorias had killed before they had fought him, Tempest noticed.

“How did you know it was there?”, Tempest asked.

“I still remember a lot about this place. I have ventured into it after everything had been over. Back then, Sif was at my side. Or more, this will still happen. Speaking about Sif, we should look out for her. She hasn't been at Artorias' or Ciaran's side.”

“Sif..”, Tempest said and then clapped his hands. “Oh, Artorias' wolf companion! I guess something like a wolf isn't too easy to overlook.”

“Still, keep an eye out for her.”, Ornstein said and stopped in front of a few stairs. On their left was a roof of a sunken house. “Little Storm, step up on there.”, Ornstein said, pointing at it.

“Why?”, Tempest said and climbed on the roof. Right as he was on top of it, he learned just why Ornstein wanted him up there. Down there were a full four of these creatures with the awful bloated head. Bloathead! That would be the name Tempest would give them from now on.

“I lure them in and take the ones in the front and then you plunge on the ones in the back.”, Ornstein said. “Luckily they aren't very intelligent, having gone completely mad.”

The bloatheads only felt the need to confirm Ornstein's word by pointing and snickering at each other. Tempest didn't question Ornstein's choice of words... it was pretty obvious that these bloatheads once must have been the population of Oolacile, having been corrupted by the abyss. Technically, they were like hollows, there was no way for them to ever come back.

“I am ready, Ornstein.”, Tempest whispered and ducked down on the roof, sword in both hands.

“Good.”, Ornstein whispered back and then headed down the stairs with wide strides, readying his spear. As soon as the bloatheads heard his steps, all four of them charged. Ornstein impaled the two on the front on his spear and Tempest dropped down, sinking his sword in one of the bloathead's head... but missing the other! Damn, he should have taken this in account, Tempest and his weapon were far smaller, even the bloatheads towered over him. As Tempest still was busy trying to get his sword out of the swollen head, the last bloathead raised its claws to swipe at him. Tempest gasped and freed his sword by sheer force, only to stumble and crash against the wall behind him. As Tempest waited for the claws to come down, hands already on his Estus, the bloathead suddenly stopped moving and looked down in confusion, screaming in pain once it noticed the tip of a spear through his chest.

“That was dangerous, little Storm.”, Ornstein said. “My apologies, I should have known that you wouldn't have been big enough to plunge attack two of them.”

Tempest, still sitting there with his sword clutched in one hand and the other on his Estus, slowly stood up. “Thank you, Ornstein.”, he said.

“Don't mention it.”, Ornstein said. “Let's move on. And keep an eye out for the key and Sif.”

Tempest nodded and followed Ornstein who turned to the left. He stopped briefly in front of a dome with a tile, stepped on it and when nothing happened, he mumbled: “Inactive, of course...”

“Oh, is that an elevator like in the gardens?”, Tempest asked and Ornstein nodded his head, a nearly unnoticeable shift in his posture, but Tempest had spend enough time at Ornstein's side now to know that it was a nod.

As they went down more stairs, Tempest said: “Isn't it strange that the town sunk in a way that the stairs perfectly line up? How great is the chance of that happening?”

“We don't have to agonize our brains about this fact.”, Ornstein said. “Just be grateful for this coincidence. If not for the stairs, we would have been forced to climb down. That would have been very difficult with my arm.”

“How is it, by the way?”, Tempest asked, eyeing Ornstein's left arm. He knew that Ornstein was able to move it, so it was not broken, but Tempest had seen the wound and it was a bad one. It must hurt a lot and Ornstein was keeping a straight face. Or maybe he was clenching his teeth under this helmet of his and was merely keeping it together. For Tempest's sake.

“I'll live.”, Ornstein said. “I had more severe injuries, little Storm. It is a nuisance, nothing more.”

Tempest had the feeling that Ornstein wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't had any time to think more about it, because two more bloatheads came their way. Ornstein was taking down one of them and Tempest put himself in the way of the other, managing to take it down without taking a hit of its claws. It appeared that he truly was getting better at his whole fighting stuff.

“How comes it that you managed to take them down with one hit?”, Tempest asked as Ornstein removed his spear from the bloathead. The tip was more then coated in blood by now. Tempest had the feeling he could see tiny little abyssal sludge drip down from it too.

“I have been a knight for long enough to be able to attack the vital points with ease.”, Ornstein said. “You are still a bit more clumsy. You manage to hurt your foe, but you need to wound them several times until their wounds are life threatening. If you learn to strike at the vital points, you can end them far more quickly and easier and less painful.”

“I am impressed, Ornstein.”, Tempest smiled. “Even in your state and at this place, you still care about giving your adversary a clean death. You have to teach me how to do it.”

“Not really easy when there isn't anything to practice on.”, Ornstein murmured. “We can't just borrow the hollows from the archives... or could we...”

“Don't tell my you are considering it.”, Tempest laughed and then gasped as a ball of dark missed him by a beat, followed by snickering.

“A sorcerer.”, Ornstein said and readied his spear. “Leave it to me. Take out its friend.” Tempest slowly nodded and crept closer to his target as Ornstein was approaching the sorcerer. It was using a catalyst that Tempest had never seen before as well as the magic, he also never had seen it before. Sorceries were blue, pyromancy was red, but it was never dark purple.

As Ornstein was confronting the sorcerer, Tempest fought with his foe and tried to copy Ornstein by boring his sword right into a vital point, but he must have missed, because the bloathead only screeched and seemed to get angry. While his sword was stuck, Tempest quickly summoned a fireball and ended the sorry existence of the bloathead by burning its head off. Then he pulled his sword out and turned around, eyes falling onto something in a nearby building.

“Hey, Ornstein, there is something. Let me check it out.”, Tempest said.

“Little Storm, be careful.”, Ornstein said. “It could be a...”

Before Ornstein could finish his sentence, a hidden bloathead had charged at Tempest and dug its claws deep in his arm.

“...trap.”, Ornstein finished and then ran over to take care of the bloathead while Tempest was busy fiddling with his Estus.

“Oh, ouch.”, Tempest said as the claw marks closed, sometimes the closing of the wounds was hurting more than actually receiving them. “I should have known better, Ornstein. Once again you saved me.”

“Has getting injured at least been worth it?”, Ornstein asked.

Tempest looked at the corpse next to him and determined that the shining thing he had seen was a floating soul. “Poor guy.”, Tempest said. “Probably has been lured into the trap.” He then put the soul into his dark sign and stood up.

“...I will never get used seeing that.”, Ornstein said. Tempest looked at him with wide eyes before realization dawned.

“Oh, putting or removing souls in the dark sign? Believe me, Ornstein, it feels a lot worse than it looks like. It tries so desperately to cling onto anything you put in there, that removing souls is downright painful. If Undead are comfortable enough with each other, they can trade souls by touching each other, but letting your dark sign be touched feels super awkward, so I normally prefer to get them out, even though it hurts.”, Tempest rambled.

“I didn't need such a detailed explanation, little Storm.”, Ornstein said and then headed to the stairs leading down, but Tempest stopped him.

“Wait, Ornstein, there leads a path around that building!”, he said. “We are searching for Sif and the key, right? Shouldn't we search it off the beaten path?”

“You have a point.”, Ornstein said and followed Tempest. “Even though I haven't been here back then, please let me go first.”

“Of course.”, Tempest stepped to the side and let Ornstein take the lead.

The path was narrow and just wide enough for Ornstein to barely fit there. Tempest felt a bit of nausea as he looked down, that would be a deadly fall for sure. Of course he would just come back, but the impact would still hurt. Dying from falling of great heights was one of the most awful ways to die. He practically could feel how every bone in his body shattered and his organs ruptured. Alone the thought made Tempest gag and he put a hand in front of his mouth. He might only be able to vomit up the little Estus he had, but nonetheless, it would be uncomfortable.

On their way around the building only one other bloathead waited which Ornstein disposed off quickly and then the path ended.

“Dead end.”, Ornstein said, but Tempest nudged on Ornstein's thumb and pointed down.

“We can fall down and investigate there.”, he said.

“We won't come back that easily anymore then.”, Ornstein said.

“Nonsense, Ornstein, you can just jump back up.”, Tempest said with a smile.

“True...”, Ornstein said and dropped down. Or more, Tempest dropped down, for Ornstein it was more like climbing down a layer.

They continued to round another building until some wooden planks leading into a building to the right came to view. Tempest opened his mouth to inform Ornstein about it, but the knight just kept walking. Confused, Tempest followed him.

“Where are you going?”, Tempest asked.

“I want to check if there is an entrance to the building we are currently orbiting.”, Ornstein said.

They soon had to stop, no entrance in sight, but an orange soap stone message. Tempest rolled his eyes as he said: “That is better not another one of these 'try jumping' messages.”

“You Undead surely have a sense of humour.”, Ornstein chuckled.

“What is funny about sending people to their death?”, Tempest yelled. “What is written on the message?”

“Let there be light...”, Ornstein said.

“Huh, never had one of these before.”, Tempest shrugged. “Must be some new code or something.” Tempest already had turned around and was about to leave, but got hindered by Ornstein applying a slight pressure on his shoulder.

“Little Storm, you still have the skull lantern, right?”, he asked.

“The one from the catacombs? Sure.”, Tempest said and searched in his bag until he found the desired item. “Aha, there it is! But why do you need it, Ornstein? It's bright enough.”

“Shine it on that wall.”, Ornstein prompted.

Tempest shrugged again, but stepped forward to shine the light on the wall, gasping as an entrance appeared. “Well, that's new!”

“I knew it.”, Ornstein said with a hint of triumph in his voice. “This kind of illusion could only be made by an Oolacile sorcerer or someone who knows how to wield their sorceries. They have quite a repertoire of spells like this.”

“That's all fine and good, Ornstein, but now I want to know just what was so important to have been hidden behind an illusionary wall that can only be broken by light.” Without awaiting Ornstein's answer, Tempest went into the room. He could only spot a single chest and gave it a careful nudge with his sword before opening it, finding only a small silver pendant inside of it.

“That's all?”, Tempest said. “Just a pendant? Hm, this shape looks familiar...”

“But...”, Ornstein said, voice quivering. “Why is it here?!”

“Ornstein, you know what that is?”, Tempest said, turning around to Ornstein, dangling the pendant in front of his face.

“That pendant... was given to Artorias.”, Ornstein said. “It has a special power. It can ward off the dark sorceries, the ones we have seen earlier. It is protection against the sorceries of the abyss. Why is it here? Artorias should have had it.”

“Maybe he lost it?”, Tempest suggested. “And one of the Oolacile sorcerers picked it up and hid it to sell later? You said the illusion was Oolacile magic, right?”

“I want to believe that, little Storm, I really want, but...”, Ornstein took a deep breath. “Artorias was able to use rudimentary Oolacile sorceries too. That illusion wasn't very complicated... but why... just why should Artorias leave the thing behind that should protect him? Unless...”

Tempest looked at Ornstein in anticipation. He was right, it didn't make sense. Also, even if Artorias had lost the pendant, would he have just given up the search for it?

“...unless he never intended to fight.”, Ornstein finished.

“But... why shouldn't Artorias want to fight?”, Tempest said, looking from the pendant to Ornstein. “He was tasked with slaying the beast of the abyss, wasn't he? And even if he didn't want to fight, bringing the pendant with him wouldn't have been a sign of ill will. It was for protection, not offense.”

“Yes... you are right, little Storm, this doesn't make any sense.”, Ornstein said, raising his left arm to rest a hand on his helmet only to carefully remove it and let it dangle loosely at his side again. “I am reading too much in this. It probably got stolen from him and he couldn't find it, then decided that he could take on the beast without help.”

“Shall we take it with us?”, Tempest asked.

“Yes, it will help against the dark sorceries. Hold it in both hands and concentrate on the magic within, then you can summon forth a barrier for one or two seconds, even if you haven't an affinity for the sorceries.”

“So, no key, but a pendant.”, Tempest said and hung the pendant onto his belt, next to his Estus flask. “Where to now?”

“There was an entrance earlier into another building.”, Ornstein said. “Let's go there.”

Tempest nodded and followed Ornstein, cursing as another dark ball almost hit the two of them. Or more, Ornstein dodged out of the way in the last second, dragging Tempest with him and then stabbing the bloathead sorcerer into one of its too many eyes. Ornstein then sunk down, breathing heavily.

“You alright, Ornstein?”, Tempest asked as he scurried back to his feet.

“I am... fine.”, Ornstein said. “Just need a moment. That hurt.”

Tempest nodded in understanding, that must have been quite a strain on Ornstein's injured arm. Tempest decided to scout out the area. He had hold onto the pendant just in case, but he was more than glad that he did, because a row of orbs was about to rain down on him. He had enough finesse to activate the pendant's powers which let a silver shiver appear around him and indeed cancel out all the dark magic.

“Amazing!”, Tempest said, backing away, staring at the pendant. Such a powerful tool and Artorias had either locked it away or lost it? It was hardly believable.

“What have you seen down there?”, Ornstein asked, standing up.

“Two more sorcerer.”, Tempest said. “Are you sure you can move on, Ornstein?”

“Yes.”, Ornstein said, stepping nearer to the stairs. “Little Storm, I could need your help... Go first and use the pendant to cancel out their attacks, so that I can use an opening to attack.”

“I will try my best.”, Tempest said and clutched the pendant, slowly moving forwards, trying not to think how much it would hurt when he messed up the timing.

To his surprise, everything went well. When exactly had he become competent? Though, Tempest didn't want to imagine how hard it would have been to traverse the township without Ornstein at his side. Then he probably would have died at least ten times already. He also would never had discovered the pendant. Tempest asked himself if it would have been possible to take on this duo of sorcerers without the pendant.

“Three chests are here.”, Ornstein said. “But only one of them is still closed.”

“Maybe it's a mimic?”, Tempest asked.

“No, not this one.”, Ornstein said. “Can you take a look inside, little Storm?”

“Sure...”, Tempest came closer and even though Ornstein had sounded sincere about it not being a mimic, he nudged it with his sword before opening the lid. He then produced a single scroll from the chest and unfolded.

“Woah.”, Tempest said.

“What is written on it?”, Ornstein asked.

“It's a sorcery. It is called Dark Orb and it looks like the thing that sorcerers have thrown at us. It is explained in full detail how to use it.”, Tempest shuddered. “Alone holding that scroll feels wrong.”

“Damn, so that is how the dark sorceries managed to escape into the world.”, Ornstein sighed.

“Ornstein, what is the dark sorcery?”, Tempest asked, sitting down next to the chest.

“It's the magic of the abyss.”, Ornstein said. “It's hard to put, but... little Storm, you know about the four souls, right?”

“Of course!”, Tempest said. “Everyone does! Life and death, light and dark!”

“The dark soul it is... the source of the abyss.”, Ornstein said. “You use humanity sprites to reverse your hollowing, little Storm. Now imagine what would happen when you would use ten of them at once.”

“Uh...”, Tempest said. “I don't think I would appear human anymore...”

“That is what happened to Oolacile.”, Ornstein sighed. “The abyss is the dark, but in such a potency that not even bearers of the dark soul are save against corruption. The monsters we have fought against... all of them were once citizens of this city.”

“I know.”, Tempest said in a whisper. “I already knew that they were hollow...”

“You are taking this surprisingly lightly.”, Ornstein said.

“All this stuff has already happened, right?”, Tempest said, standing up, pocketing the scroll. “There is no need to dwell in the past. I just hope that we learned from it.”

Ornstein whispered something that Tempest couldn't hear.

“What was that, Ornstein?”, he asked.

“Oh, uh, nothing.”, Ornstein said. “Little Storm, we haven't found anything important here. Let's head back.”

“Wait.”, Tempest said. “I want to take a look at this corpse!”

“Why?”, Ornstein said.

“I am interested if they have anything valuable with them.”, Tempest said. “Besides, who knows if one of them has the key we are searching for?”

“You have a point.”, Ornstein said and leaned against the wall as Tempest was checking out the pockets of the dead sorcerer and thoroughly investigated their catalyst.

“Look at their heads.”, Tempest said and put both hands around it, lifting it from the ground. “They are so swollen, it wouldn't surprise me when they have put stuff in their heads.”

“Now I doubt that, little Storm.”, Ornstein said.

“Haha, true, I was just kidding.”, Tempest said and wanted to let the head fall back onto the ground, but before he could open his hands, the body fell away on its own, leaving Tempest standing there with only the head.

“Oh, ew!”, he screeched and yanked the head on the ground.

“You wanted to take a look at them, little Storm.”, Ornstein said, completely unfazed.

“I didn't had a clue they would lose their heads.”, Tempest said and then curiosity hit and he went nearer to the severed head, expecting to see nothing but blood and gore inside, but to his surprise, the head indeed was hollow.

“Woah.”, Tempest said. “You could even stick your own head into there. Of course, I don't have a clue who ever would want to do that. You need to be a special kind of crazy to even consider that.”

“Let me guess, there are no keys in there.”, Ornstein said.

“No keys.”, Tempest confirmed. “Let's head back.”

As Ornstein already went up the stairs, Tempest saw an exit to the house he hadn't seen earlier. He stepped out only to see a jump that wasn't doable for him. For Ornstein it might have been possible, but in case he would fail, there was a really deep drop, so Tempest decided to save this place for later, should they even need to check it.

“Don't dawdle, little Storm.”, Ornstein said, waiting in the middle of the house, next to another exit.

“Huh, should we check that out?”, Tempest asked.

“It won't hurt.”, Ornstein said.

“Speaking of hurt, how is your arm?”, Tempest asked as the stepped out on another small ledge and started to surround the building.

“I'll live.”, Ornstein once again said.

“Alright, but tell me when it gets worse, yes?”, Tempest said, not expecting any reply and he also didn't get any. They reached the end of the narrow pathway in silence with a bloathead sorcerer turning their back to them. “Oh, perfect...”, Tempest whispered and drove his sword deep into its back, the sorcerer going out without ever knowing what hit it.

“See, if you aim for the vital points, it is so much more effective.”, Ornstein said.

“Well, that was easy.”, Tempest said. “That one wasn't moving.” His gaze then fell on something in the hand of the bloathead. He bend down and picked up a piece of wood, it looked like someone had processed it. “What's that?”, he said, staring into the patterns of the mask, yeah, it looked like a mask.

“Oh, one of Gough's carvings.”, Ornstein said. “I guess some of the citizens bought them from him. Hmm... what was it again? Throw it on the ground, then we know.”

“Why should I do that?”, Tempest asked but complied and threw the mask on the ground, flinching when a low but gentle voice called out “I'm sorry”.

“Ah, the one for apologies.”, Ornstein said, seemingly satisfied with himself. “Gough loved to occupy his hands with whittling, he would always pour a bit of himself in every piece.”

“But... how...”, Tempest said, trying to get back his composure. “It did talk, Ornstein.”, he said, giving the dragon slayer a side glance. He was talking about this mask as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“It's Gough's feeling that went into that mask.”, Ornstein said. “That is why we can hear his voice.”

Ornstein then averted his gaze and went back into the building without saying another word. Tempest only assumed that he dragon slayer had to face his feelings regarding Gough, another one of those that he lost and would be forced to see again, knowing that he couldn't change his inevitable fate.

“...Do you mind when I hold onto that?”, Tempest asked once he had hurried after Ornstein.

“No...”, Ornstein said. “I always wished I had taken some of them with me back then...”

Knowing that this conversation would only open up wounds, Tempest let the subject rest and followed Ornstein until they were back at the beginning. Ornstein kneeled down and let Tempest climb him to get back up, the small Undead paid extra attention to not jostle Ornstein's left arm, and then Ornstein jumped up himself.

After they were back at their original location, Tempest squinted at a chest at the end of some stairs, it was sitting in the middle of a round platform, wide open. Tempest immediately didn't trust this chest. At least there was only one bloathead on the stairs which Ornstein took care of without trouble, but then Tempest heard the sound of another Undead arriving.

“Wait.”, he said and then whispered. “I haven't touched a white soapstone sign...”

“Then it can only mean that we get attacked.”, Ornstein whispered back. Tempest turned around to look at the one who was so dumb to invade him while Ornstein protected him and gasped as he recognized the silhouette.

“Chester!”, he blurted out.

“Someone you know?”, Ornstein asked.

“He was hanging around the coliseum.”, Tempest said, ducking as Chester used a crossbow to fire three bolts in rapid succession. “He was kinda awkward to talk to, so I didn't do it much...”

Ornstein sighed and charged at Chester, his spear ready, but Chester simply lowered his crossbow and evaded the attack with ease, leaving Ornstein surprised. Seldom had he seen someone who could keep up with his speed. Tempest used the opportunity that Ornstein had given him and tried to cut down Chester with a two handed slash, but before he could even reach him, Tempest lost the ground under his feet and fell. Chester apparently had tripped him up.

“That guy is fast.”, Tempest said as he scrambled back on his legs, seeing how Ornstein avoided another flurry of bolts.

“Little Storm, let's try a pincer attack.”, Ornstein said. Tempest gave Ornstein a nod and made space between them, intending to attack Chester from the left while Ornstein was coming from the right. It was more than a surprise for the both of them when Chester jumped up and landed behind them, both of them struggling to stop their attacks to not accidentally hurt each other (or kill, Tempest doubted that he would have survived that blow of Ornstein's spear). As Tempest turned around, he saw that Chester had his crossbow loaded again, aimed at Ornstein who currently was standing there, holding his arm, having jostled it when he tried to not kill Tempest.

Tempest didn't think, he just ran and put himself between the bolts and Ornstein. Getting impaled by three of them hurt like hell, one landed in his shoulder, one in his upper arm and one in his chest, but gladly seemed to miss the most vital organs. Tempest still felt a cough coming and tasted blood, his lung was pierced for sure.

“Little Storm.”, Ornstein cried and then charged at Chester, driving his spear deep into his chest, red smoke billowing from him. Chester tried to fire his crossbow again, but Ornstein put his whole weight on Chester and stepped on him once he was down, pulling the weapon out of the phantom and slashing over his face. After that, the phantom vanished.

In the meantime, Tempest had found his Estus and after taking two sips of it, the bolts had fallen out of his body and the wounds were closed. Still, Tempest never wanted to have the experience of being impaled by three bolts ever again.

“We don't even have time for this.”, Ornstein grumbled. “Are you alright, little Storm?”

Tempest raised both his hands and gave Ornstein a thumbs up with a wide smile. “Yes, I am fine. Let's move on.”

“Why did you protect me, little Storm?”, Ornstein asked as they went down the stairs.

“Isn't that obvious, Ornstein?”, Tempest said, his eyes going wide. “I can't die.”

“But... every death is eating at your humanity.”, Ornstein said. “Aren't you afraid? What happens when one day you come back hollow...?”

Tempest couldn't help but smile at Ornstein. He was worried about him. The dragon slayer didn't admit it, but they had become friends. Tempest surely would have loved for it to be something more, but just knowing that he cared... that was enough. It should be enough. It had to be enough.

“I won't go hollow as long as you are with me, Ornstein.”, Tempest said. The dragon slayer fell quiet for quite some time before he suddenly spoke again.

“So, do you know why that... Chester was invading you? Did you say something to upset him?”

Tempest shrugged. “I don't know.”, he said. “Maybe he was pissed because I didn't buy much? His stuff was totally overpriced. I just didn't want to make him mad. Guess I did. Or he was bored. Or frustrated. He said that he also was coming from another time...”

“Huh, another one who got brought here...”, Ornstein said. “Anyway, he doesn't seem to be important. Back then, Ciaran and Gough told me that the Undead they encountered wasn't wearing a mask.” Ornstein glanced down at Tempest. “Because they probably spoke about you, that matches up.”

“It's so wild to think about that Ciaran and Gough have met me before I have met you, Ornstein.”, Tempest said. “Getting thrown back in time sure is weird.”

“At least you don't have to worry for anyone recognizing you.”, Ornstein sighed. They had arrived down at the platform and Tempest was heading over to the chest to give it a good hit. Of course it stood up and started to snicker.

“Oh, have you learned to spot mimics now?”, Ornstein said, coming nearer to help Tempest with the fight, who was currently dodging a flurry of kicks.

“Come on, Ornstein, that was obvious.”, Tempest said, cutting the mimic into the arm. “A chest in plain sight in the middle of a very alluring looking platform? That had to be a fake.”

“Very well observed.”, Ornstein cut one of the mimic's legs with his spear while Tempest was driving his sword deep into the mimic's tongue as it had tried to grab him. “This mimic surely chose a poor spot waiting for travellers.”

Once the mimic laid on the ground, it coughed up another mask. Without hesitating, Tempest threw the mask on the ground, to hear “very good” ringing out.

“Aw, thank you.”, he said and bowed. “Wait, why am I talking to a mask?!”, he yelled and picked it up. “These things are strangely endearing.”, he said as he glanced to Ornstein.

“I know. If you want more of them, Gough sells them.”

Tempest briefly asked himself, if Gough had a mask that would say “I love you”, but he probably wouldn't get it anyway. He knew that Ornstein wasn't liking him back in that way. Besides, they had other stuff to worry about. Getting back to their own time for example. And treating Ornstein's wound. His mental state probably also wasn't the best, but the dragon slayer was moving on as if he hadn't had to witness the death of his best friend by the hands of the one he had to protect. Tempest could only imagine what kind of whirlwind of emotions was brewing in Ornstein right now. By acting as the leader and captain of their venture, Ornstein probably tried to distract himself from everything.

The duo moved on and after a few more foes and one sorcerer who was mean enough to stand at the end of a narrow pathway and even had the guts to laugh when Tempest managed to get hit by their magic. One bloathead later, they stood in front of a rather large building.

“It seems like we are pretty deep now.”, Tempest said.

“Still no key in sight.”, Ornstein murmured. “Just where is it hidden?”

“Why are you so sure that it is here, Ornstein?”, Tempest asked.

“Gough said that the Oolacile citizens had locked that door. He simply was fine with it, because... you probably know that giants were mocked and feared because of their brutish behaviour... Gough was never one of them, but they still hurt him horribly. He told me that he cherished the solitude without the fear of being wronged again.”

“But we are going to open up that door.”, Tempest said.

“That is why I want to find the key. So we can lock it again when we leave.”

Tempest nodded and moved on, closely behind Ornstein, who peeked around the corner in the building. “That reeks like a trap.”, Ornstein whispered. “Let us enter it and be prepared for the worst.”

Tempest nodded and once they were in, they were attacked instantly by a bloathead. Tempest rushed forward to help Ornstein, who for a change, seemed to struggle, but had to turn around and engage in combat with another bloathead that dropped down from the upper level to not let Ornstein been caught in a pincer attack.

Once Tempest's foe was down, he looked at Ornstein, who held his left arm and panted.

“Does it hurt?”, Tempest asked, worry shining in his big, blue eyes.

“It's fine.”, Ornstein said. “Just accidentally tried to take my spear in both hands. I am fine.”

Are you?, Tempest asked himself, wandering around the building in search of more bloatheads, but he only found some rubbish.

“Where to now?”, Tempest asked. Ornstein had already moved to the left of the room, looking down some stairs.

“Well, that is the trap I was anticipating.”, Ornstein said and Tempest knew instantly what he meant. The room down there was full of bloatheads.

“I guess I use my bow...”, Tempest said. “I may not be able to take them out, but I can at least lure them out.”

“Good idea, but don't alert the sorcerers.”, Ornstein said. Tempest nodded and found a spot at the top of the stairs, couching there, fiddling with his arrows and then shooting two in quick succession, one of them hitting a bloathead in the arm and the other one missing, falling onto the ground with a clank.

“Now they definitely know we are there.”, Tempest said and hold his breath, anticipating if their plan worked or if they would get rained down by dark sorceries. They seemed to be in luck, because the two bloatheads started running up the stairs and apparently that they were gone, didn't seem to interest the others.

“Here they come.”, Tempest said after he released his breath and Ornstein waited on top of the stairs, shoving his spear through the heads of both bloatheads at once, blood and goo coming out of them.

“Disgusting.”, Ornstein said, working on removing his spear as Tempest felt the air flicker around him and didn't move out of the way fast enough, his left arm got a nasty dark burn once the sorcery had hit him.

“Ow.”, Tempest growled. “Why does this burn? It isn't even a pyromancy.”

“It seems like you alerted one of the sorcerers.”, Ornstein said, coming over and looking down next to Tempest, where indeed a sorcerer was laughing and preparing a new spell.

“Out of the way, little Storm!”, Ornstein yelled and yanked Tempest out of the danger zone, a dark fog which looked extremely uncomfortable.

“What is that?!”, Tempest said, eyes wide. He never had seen a sorcery like that before.

“Nothing good, that is for sure.”, Ornstein said and then barely avoided another dark orb that got shot at them from the right. “What the...”

“The other one noticed us!”, Tempest gasped and fumbled for his bow, ignoring the pain in his arm, he could heal it later. Loading an arrow into the bow and spraining it, aiming, Tempest murmured: “Please hit.” as he let go. The arrow turned out to be a bullseye, because the sorcerer fell down the beam they had been standing on. “Success!”, Tempest jumped up, but Ornstein was fixated on the stairs.

“Little Storm, the others have seen us. Quick, let's go down and take them out. Take care of the sorcerer that is trying to end us from behind the stairs.”

Tempest only nodded and followed Ornstein, arrow already in his bow, aiming and once they were down, Ornstein charged into the bloatheads that just wanted to come up the stairs and Tempest narrowly avoided another dark orb before planting an arrow directly into the chest of the sorcerer. Unfortunately it wasn't a deadly wound, so he dropped his bow in favour of his sword and went into close combat, getting another painful wound as he slashed the sorcerer into bits.

Once Tempest was done, he looked for Ornstein who was leaning against a pillar, two more bloatheads were laying dead a few feet away from him and his spear was coated with blood. Ornstein seemed to be short of breath, so Tempest went over and asked: “Ornstein, do you need a break?”

“No.”, Ornstein said without hesitating. “Let's move on.”

It wouldn't surprise Tempest when Ornstein would manage to get sick once they were done. He was already hurt, he was pushing himself too hard. However, Tempest knew two things. Once, Ornstein would keep to his duty and follow him to the world's end and second, Tempest would be unable to slay the beast of the Abyss on his own. Well, maybe after hundred deaths, but without Ornstein at his side hollowing would await him sooner or later...

Tempest didn't want to think about this and instead searched the room. He found several exits, one led up some stairs farther into the building and two let back outside, the township even more garbled and full of abyss sludge than before. He even found a sorcery scroll, which read Dark Fog and as Tempest read the description about the spell, he was more than glad that it hadn't hit him.

“So, there are several paths.”, Tempest said once he came back to Ornstein, who had straightened himself up. “I would advise to go into the door right to the stairs next. It seems to lead to the rest of the house.”

Ornstein nodded and started walking without saying another word. Tempest silently followed him. The both of them landed in some kind of attic and Tempest was a bit disappointed, because the path led outside again, but it turned out, that it was simply a balcony. A bloathead was hidden there which Ornstein for once didn't manage to kill in one hit, so Tempest ran over and finished the job.

“You are sure you don't need a break, Ornstein?”, Tempest tried once again, only for the stubborn dragon slayer to shake his head. Tempest sighed and leaned against he wall, spotting a treasure chest from the corner of his eyes. “Hey, Ornstein, there is another chest. Maybe this one finally has the key we search. But... I don't think we will get to it from here.”

“Think about this logically, little Storm.”, Ornstein said and his breath was definitely coming shorter. “There is another entrance a little up. From there, we should be able to reach the room.”

“Makes sense...”, Tempest said and just as Ornstein said, they could drop down easily from the room higher up. Tempest went to the chest straight away, but stopped in front of it, frowning.

“Just to be sure.”, he said and gave it a smack with his sword. How Ornstein actually could find out if a chest was a mimic or not by sight alone, he didn't knew, but he was glad that he tested it, because the chest actually turned out to be a mimic!

“Oh, that just had to be true.”, Tempest sighed and prepared himself to fight he chest, getting kicked directly into the face once and one time almost eaten, he only managed to prevent this fate by slashing the tongue of the mimic, which made it howl in pain and splattered hot blood down on Tempest. Only when he had worn the mimic down by cutting at its legs constantly and the moment that Ornstein's spear came out between its teeth, did Tempest notice, that he mostly had fought on his own.

The mimic dropped down and coughed out... a key!

“Ornstein, is that it?!”, Tempest held the key up, eyes glowing in excitement. He would be able to meet Gough. ...He also would be forced to kill a dragon though, so Tempest's excitement went a bit away.

“Yes, that is the key.”, Ornstein said. “Who would have thought a mimic had stolen it?! And so far in. Let's head back.”

The duo went back to the big room which was still littered with bloathead corpses. Ornstein was heading to the stairs, but Tempest nudged him and pointed to the exit.

“...I have scouted this area earlier and there was a shortcut.”, he murmured.

“Oh, of course, I completely forgot about this.”, Ornstein said, a hand at his forehead which he quickly lowered down again, because it was his injured arm.

A few minutes later they both stood in front of the door to Gough's tower, Tempest looking at the key in his hands. “So, I go up there, introduce myself and ask him if he shoots the dragon for me?”, he asked.

“Yes, pretty much.”, Ornstein said. “As with Ciaran, I will stay out of side. They can't know that I am here. Don't mention me.”

Tempest nodded and the key creaked in the lock. He took a deep breath and strode through it, bracing himself to meet even the last knight of Gwyn. (Author's note: I hope you are all ready for Gough and Kalameet in the next chapter! Please write me your thoughts about this chapter into the comments.) Chapter 29

[jupitersflytrap]

SUMMARY OF NEW WEST END LES MIS BECAUSE I JUST SAW IT ( hella long post)

ACT I

look down was just a brillant start to a brilliant show

THEY ADDED PETIT GERVAIS OH MY GOD

amazing, amazing valjean. 24601/10

valjean got absolutely battered by mr “feel the weight of my rod”

also there were flaming torches now and throughout which was pretty sick

valjean crying when the bishop redeems him

the hordes in at the end of the day had their shawls taken off to become the factory girls which was cool

there was a PROPER SCRAP between fantine and the factory girl

there was a lot of fighting in this actually

it was good tho

carrie hope fletcher just... *chefs kiss*

no teeth pulling for fantine in lovely ladies

and all the ladies were really good too

when fantine told valjean her story she was clinging onto him and crying it was… very emotional

have i mentioned javert yet? because he was really really good, bradley jaden really came through

fantine dying was extremely sad. as usual.

THE CONFRONTATION WAS THE BEST EVER IT WAS A PROPER FIGHT AND OOOH IT WAS JUST GREAT

THE UNIFIED “JAVERT!” GAVE ME CHILLS I SWEAR

anyways

madame. frickin. thénardier. was excellent. she was a really nice change from the normal pantomime vibes, like a cross between that and helena bonham carter in the film

the actor playing thénardier had some problem with his vocal chords so he wasn’t on, but the cover was acting his heart out and trying his best to sing but i think he’d lost his voice too which was a huge shame. he was still really good and funny though.

that master of the house… my god. hilarious.

there was a new bit at the start of it??? very exciting. it was like,,, people ordering drinks i think

valjean and little cosette was… so cute i literally can’t

the bargain was brilliant as per

GAVROCHE WAS AMAZING

look down featured enj and marius getting told off by the police and getting their banner taken down

also enjolras??? hello?????? he was amazing and pretty much exactly how i picture him. stellar work ashley gilmour.

and harry apps was a brilliant marius, big brick!marius energy

and!!! eponine was so cheeky with marius it was adorable

stars?????? amazing. emotional. the street-lamps were on wires which was nice.

red and black!!!!! new!!!!! harmonies!!!!!!! yes!!!!! also it was perfect in general marius was so melodramatic and grantaire was so… sexual with the bottle

do you hear the people sing!!!! oh lord i heard them!!

also all of les amis were just great

in my life!!!!! oh cosette!!! marius!!!! eponine!!!!!! oh god they were all so well cast and their voices were all unique and beautiful

a heart full of love!! my heart is full of love for this cast!!

oh side note montparnasse was very handsome and had a knife

ONE DAY MOOOOOOORE was as rousing as ever

ACT II

on my own,,,,, oh god my tears, shan ako’s voice is just gorgeous and i love what she did with the song

monsieur warnings was great

and the spy javert?? excellent scene. “SHOOT THE BASTARD” great work gav

they said “incoming!” instead of “there’s a boy climbing the barricade!” which i think was more fitting tbh

yeah so eponine got shot and little fall of rain nearly broke me

grantaire was holding gavroche back :(( my heart

AND WHEN SHE DIED HER HAT CAME OFF AND GAVROCHE HANDED IT BACK TO MARIUS OH MY GOD

drink with me had no right to be that emotionally devastating

grantaire was angry and enjolras tried to comfort him but he pushed him away :((((

on the upside tho whoever it was that sang the line about witty girls who went to their beds then got slapped by the witty girl it was directed towards lmao

OKAY SO bring him home!!!!!!!!! NORMALLY i really don’t like this song it feels a bit like torture to me BUT!! MR JON ROBYNS MADE IT SO GOOD, I WAS HANGING ONTO HIS EVERY WORD AND IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL

also the staging was great he was sitting on the barricade above sleepy marius

it was just generally great and the old man sitting near me audibly said WOW when he started singing

okay now it’s time for the deaths

FIRST OFF gavroches death was...... harrowing. he made it back to the top of the barricade before he died. when he got shot there was like a blood effect and i was just,,, shook tbh

now the other deaths

hoooooly shit

enjolras died first and i was not prepared AT ALL so i just started sobbing

everyone else died and grantaire was last f

it was super sad and i was crying basically the whole way through this bit lmao

jvj + marius -> sewers

BUT FIRST the bit with enjolras dead hanging off the cart!!! oh no!!!!!! the tears!!!! and when they picked up gavroche and put them together i just,,

yep

okay now dog eat dog

don’t like this song much but it served its purpose in distracting me from my tears by suddenly pulling teeth out before my very eyes

thanks thénardier

back to the surface! it’s javert! speaking in third person again! he’s very unhinged now which i like, hair all loose and everything

oh god the soliloquy i just,,,,, oh god, the staging of this was amazing but i won’t spoil it :))

TURNING YES IT WAS ALL I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR

empty chairs… oh marius baby he looked so broken, and all the candles were great as ever

oh marius whatever will we do with you

not to worry cosette is here to make it all better with her amazing voice, and her weird dad to make it all worse again with a criminal record

huge brick!marius energy here, very much passive until valjean told him to be angry lmao

THE WEDDING!! IT WAS SO SWEET! cosette’s dress was gorgeous

the thénardiers were great here as well, mrs thénardier was eating snacks the whole way through the bargain with marius

and marius punched thénardier in the stomach

i also cackled very loudly when mrs t tried to pass off stealing the silver as a magic trick

valjean kicked the bucket in the most stunning way he could have tbh

and of course the reprise of dyhtps had me in tears as always

amazing

just amazing

STAGE DOOR

added bonus: i got to chat to and get autographs of a few of the cast at stage door

they were all lovely!! carrie, shan, ciaran, harry, lily, jon, loved ya

also harry had a cut on his hand and someone asked how he’d got it and he said “i wish i could say it was on the barricade, but i cut it on a can of baked beans” and if that’s not the most in character thing ever i don’t know what is.

okay intense summary over hope u enjoyed

[astraeal]

hiiii <3 can you do 1-6 & 11 from the dnd oc ask for faelan and novix pls???

oh boy!!! yes i absolutely would love to!! fáelán is my pallid elf twilight domain cleric and novix is my tiefling celestial warlock; the answers got very long so i put them under a read more! thank you for asking 💌💌

fáelán: pallid elf twilight domain cleric 

How easy is it to make them angry? Do they show their anger or hide it?

She definitely doesn’t show her anger through violence, I think her anger manifests more as sadness or frustration. If she is angry she’ll often express through words, but in general she’s pretty even keel unless something touches on a personal hot button issue, like the Dynasty, the Luxon, the safety of her party members, and lying. 

Do they believe in soulmates?

She absolutely does! But it’s hard not to when her queen has had a continuous lover for several lifetimes. I think it’s more so that she believes that work should be put into the relationship, and that it’s not an instantaneous thing, but she does believe that certain people fit together and should be together for a long time! 

Do they have any pet peeves? 

Lying!!! She detests lying. The truth will come out anyway, so why bother?? Also when people think they’re better than someone else for superficial reasons. 

Do they have a happy place? Somewhere they go to in their heads when they need to relax? 

Thinking of the Lucid Bastion and of the long nights spent with Tevkiir and just the feeling of safety that the Bastion has given her. She also thinks of her mom and her time with her bat, Ciaran, and safe places at home, though lately her sense of “home” is changing to include a whole lot more than just her memories of her house in Xhorhas

At what stage of their life were they the happiest?

That’s a big question!!! Honestly I don’t know!!! Working at the temple as an Acolyte was I think when she aligned the most with her personal purpose so she was pretty happy then, but JUST NOW she was allowed to start the cycle of consecution so she’s really happy right now, though when the cycle is complete she’ll, obviously, be even more ecstatic

At what stage of their life were they the least happy?

Probably when she made Tanvir ( owned by @kesselin ) cry; she’d gone down in a fight for the second time, when they were fighting a hag, because she was trying to get to save him, and then when they got back to the tavern he hugged her close and she felt awful for scaring him in such a way. 

The second time she felt bad was after the hag when she had tried to side with the rogue and get her more invested in the moral cause for the party; later that night, the rogue had referred to one of the were’s (either Tanvir or Bird, i can’t remember which one) as an “it” and Fáelán was so disgusted that she had tried to buddy up to her that she threw up right there on the spot and had to be comforted by the fighter

Do they have a “type” that they are usually attracted to?

Fáelán’s personal relationship to gender and sexuality is very nuanced and due to that/part of that she’s having a difficult time conceptualizing intimacy beyond that in storybooks. So she's attracted to the typical prince charming: someone strong and brave and honest, but simultaneously someone who can be tender and gentle when the time calls for it. Someone with complementary skills to her is also nice, because if they’re too similar to her it feels like there’s competition. 

She’s primarily heterosexual which stems from her own internalized transphobia, feeling like other women won’t consider her a “real” woman and she doesn’t want to open herself up to that kind of rejection. Hence, she’s primarily attracted to men, because she considers them to be the “safer” option. 

 novix: tiefling celestial warlock

How easy is it to make them angry? Do they show their anger or hide it?

Novix responds to anything that makes him feel any emotion other than pleasure with threat displays. He definitely shows his anger in a very physical way, but again not through violence; more like hissing, baring his teeth, ears back, that sort of thing. When he’s angry, you’ll know. 

Do they believe in soulmates?

I don’t think he does? He has a sharp learning curve when it comes to romance, love, and general tenderness. The concept of there being someone destined to be with someone else, and not having that be some kind of subject-to-deity connection, doesn’t compute to him. 

Do they have any pet peeves? 

I don’t think he has any pet peeves, really; he’s not super socialized with his upbringing so he doesn’t have a lot of common things. But something that does make him extremely angry that others would consider is a pet peeve is when people disrespect Clerics (something due to his upbringing) 

Do they have a happy place? Somewhere they go to in their heads when they need to relax? 

Curled up in a warm place of sunshine and getting soft pets while he’s purring himself to sleep!!! He’s very cat like. But honestly I don’t know if he has a whole lot of “happy” places. 

At what stage of their life were they the happiest?

I don’t think that’s happened yet, really? His campaign kind of left off before it could even start, but his general happiness comes when the inevitable relationship starts up with the Cleric of the group, Kellen ( owned by @kesselin ), and then things start to get better; but that “happiest” moment Remains To Be Seen

At what stage of their life were they the least happy?

Shortly after he killed his parents – or, at least, thought he killed his parents. That’s what lead to him having to leave home and run out into the wilderness and resulted in his semi-feral state, so….that would probably be the lowest. 

Do they have a “type” that they are usually attracted to?

Similar to Fáelán, he doesn’t have a concept of romance, but unlike Fáelán, he hasn’t had any type of positive influence from storybooks. His family’s own attitudes towards relationships are less than stellar, and very hierarchical and specifically between Clerics and Warlocks. But over time he does develop his own criteria, and it is similar to Fáelán! But he’s moreso focused on the Cleric who has his eye…..

[tillman]

hi i ranked every single dark souls 1 character by who i think is the most kissable . its 79 characters all with a description of why theyre at the place theyre at with images for reference :-) its all under cut for u to enjoy.. thank u

this is all my opinion cus hehe im making the list but also im god so this is fact now . 

counting down because u know what ! buildup is fun and i have to start off with everyones most favorite:

GWYN - 79

im kidding. fuck gwyn and everything he stands for. he wouldnt even be a good kisser he doesnt have FUCKING LIPS

SEATH - 78

oh you really wanna kiss the incel dragon who kidnaps ladies for his weird experiements?? yeah?? who are you, big hat logan?

EINGYI - 77

heres one i wont get hate for: this fucking asshole . die bastard . he cant even kiss his face is all infected and gross!

KAATHE - 76

he sucks.

SMOUGH - 75

not only is he too big to kiss! hes a cannibal!! hed eat you!!!! thats no kiss i want!

MANUS - 74

listen i know yall love daddies and all that but hes manipulative and not a nice person so id watch out. i GUESS hes kissable as he was a human before but def not a good kiss

BED OF CHAOS - 73

its just some vines that sometimes set on fire!! If it were still the witch of izalith she would be probally in the 20s as shes a good person who tried very hard to help the world but in this state... u cant even kiss her!

FRAMPT - 72

better than kaathe but the whole no lips and being a manipulative snake monster really throws me off and shoves him down at the bottom

FINA (GODDESS OF LOVE/BEAUTY (?)) - 71

(mentioned character - no image sorry :-( )

Listen as much as im all for love, this is love u dont want ! just trust me dont be lautrec dont do it you dont want to kiss fina listen to me. please dont kiss fina.

VINCE AND NICO - 70

way of the white members are NOTABLY unkissable but these guys. are just so boring. theyll be your white bread boyfriend as neil would say... bad kissers and bad people!

LAUTREC - 69 

aw fuck wait can i make another character 69 he doesnt deserve it. anyways not only is he not over his ex (fina) hed probally gut you and steal your lunch money half way through the kiss anyways so whats the point . thats not how u treat a lover idiot

CENTIPEDE DEMON - 68

it eats your face and you die. next pleaaase

PETRUS - 67

another way of the white cleric. he at least starts off nice and he says fuck rich people but also he let that happen to rhea and i fucking hate his guts so no.

PALADIN LEEROY - 66 

out of all the way of the white idiots hes the best in that he wears armor and seems cool but its the way of the white man.  i cant get past that. sorry leeroy at least your armor is cool. he probably hasnt kissed someone in hundreds of years anyways 

MOONLIGHT BUTTERFLY - 65

delicate ... but beautiful! i dunno how to smooch it but i def would if i could ! i dont think it can kiss back but, o well! we all have flaws

IRON GOLEM - 64

it cant kiss back but its COOL and can throw me like a javelin so like . yeehaw id smooch its little face place 

UNDEAD MERCHANTS (BOTH) - 63

between moss and yulia i think they got enough on their plates! plus since theyre so hollowed, i dont think they have any lips to kiss back with! 

INGWARD - 62

hes not like . bad persay but also i dont trust him after he helped with new londo. cool design tho. i wanna kiss that bird beak mask

JEREMIAH - 61

was a bullfrog, and never took off his crown long enough to kiss another person...... i feel like if he did though! oh boy!!!

Asylum Demon + Demon Firesage + Stray Demon - 60

more kissable than some bosses, but still not the greatest lips. good butts though on all of them.... so i guess thats fr u kinky people 

SNUGGLY THE CROW - 59

(no image shes a crow) 

please stop drawing her as an anime girl shes literally just a grow that likes warm things oh my god you freaks be nice to her

BIG HAT LOGAN - 58

hes hard to kiss around the hat! and on that note hes pretty much taken with his obsession with seath. good luck! hes nice though so better than most of this list so far

GAPING DRAGON - 57

ranked so high because past its giant underbelly of teeth and destruction is this very tiny head which i think is so funny i cant help but want to kiss its little snoot.... hehe baby

PRINCE RICARD - 56

oh now were actually getting into kissable range! ricard is a prince (maybe even of astora... kissability increase.) so his high ranking might get you some kissability points, but the hollowing is gonna lower that. 4/10 no kissable lips!

4 KINGS - 55

whats better than a prince..... a king... whats better than a king..................  4 KINGS! just watch out for their overly anime spiky armor and the fact their in a never ending void nightmare but they do have faces so thats points above the rest!

SALAMAN - 54

(mentioned character only! sorry!)

hmmmm we dont learn much about him other than he was close with quelana and he was ............ hot!  hes a pyromancer.  being of the great swamp pushes him down a bit because he prolly smells like his name sake but u know what ! maybe hes cute! we cant be sure! hes in the running at least!

TAURUS DEMON - 53

hmm... bad lover.... good kisser................................................... the things i do for big beefy demon love.

GOUGH - 52

While you cant kiss gough cus all the sap in his helmet i cant bare to put him lower than he is hes just so sweet. a kiss on his helmet because i love him so much

NITO - 51

while he cant kiss back, nito deserves a kiss or two! plus he has a lot of hands so u can hold his hands and be hugged at the same time and u know what that might be just as good as a nice kiss. good on you nito!

STONE DRAGON - 50

again a non kisser........ damn beaks! the stone dragon does need a kiss though. they havent seen another living soul in years down in ash lake! so im giving them points on that alone.

VAMOS - 49

like the last two.... no lips! vamos though makes up for it in his charm and wit, and his exceptional skill in smithing! so even without lips to kiss, you still should kiss vamos! hes a good friend

ARIAMIS - 48

(mentioned !)

wow... a painter! and a skilled one at that! this man created the painted world used to keep priscilla safe and that is so noble it gives him points right off the bat! i feel like though, as an artist, he might be a bit weird about it. so watch out and be safe, but in the end, get free art and some free smooches out of him!

ELIZABETH - 47

thats my mom ... of course she gets a good cheek smooch for all her hard work keeping dusk safe!

DOMHNALL - 46

i love domhnall hes a good guy whos trying his best but also his mask is so fucking goofy i dunno if i can do it .

RICKERT - 45

as much as i think rickert would be a good kiss (hes smart, cute, and skilled!) he is trapped behind some bars willingly and probably wont let you in. i can dream though!

CEASLESS DISCHARGE - 44

if theres any boss that NEEDS a kiss its him. poor dude lost all his family and was turned into this laughing stock of a creature. youd probably burn your lips but .... please just be nice to him :-(

SHIVAS BODYGUARD - 43

ooo a strong yet silent type.... hes even cute under his mask! good kiss, but i feel like he might just care more about his actual job than a kiss ! hes dedicated !

CIARAN - 42

putting aside me knowing shed be a good kisser, i just understand she probably doesnt want a kiss right now, shes grieving over the loss of her friend and i respect her comfort. maybe a good pat on the shoulder and a cup of nice tea with her would be nice though! 

PINWHEEL - 41

may seem like a weird choice to put a necromancer up so high on the list but.... honestly pinwheel needs some love. dude lost his whole family and in trying to revive them accidentally fused them to himself. while he might not be the best kisser, i honestly just wanna tell him everythings gonna be ok.

KIRK - 40

ok if you know me you KNOW how much it pains me to put kirk so low but. hes a busy guy! not only is he doing so much work to help out where he can with the fair lady, but you might just get pricked by his spiky armor while youre going in for the smooch! so, as much as he deserves a kiss for all his hard work, maybe pass until another time!

SIEGLINDE - 39

were getting there! she is just so strong... and so brave........ she may not even be undead! sieglinde is so strong and wonderful doing all that just to deliver a message to her unruly father, she deserves so many kisses! Shes got a lot on her plate though so please respect her......

BERENIKE - 38

(just mentioned!)

implied to be a huge strong knight who made it to even sens fortress! yes please ! 

BELL GARGOYLES - 37

hmmmmm,.......... if u can get past the whole lighting your face on fire, these are two loyal gargoyles! that seems pretty good to me!

BEATRICE - 36

a wonderful helpful witch friend! she is so nice to help you defeat flying bosses with her magic!! i love her so much! shes even cute to boot! 

GIANT BLACKSMITH - 35

HE HELP ANYTIME................... I HAVE TO GIVE HIM A KISS FOR ALL HIS HARD WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEGALLY I HAVE TO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RHEA - 34

putting aside my hatred of the way of white.... rhea really is just a babey.... shes adorable and kind and just wants everyone to be ok so im won over. maybe a little forehead smooch for being such a good person!

OSCAR - 33

oh oscar. a noble, heroic, and cute knight but in the end. would he be a good kisser........ i feel yes, but maybe not so much so! hes busy focusing on being a hero you know! hes a good friend and i cant help but fall in love with nice guys

THE FAIR LADY - 32

she deserves the entire world and all i can give her is my humanity and a kiss........... sobs. i wish i could do more to ease her pain but she is so strong and wonderful! please give her a nice smooch! 

QUELANA - 31

i didnt wanna separate them ........ her wonderful sister! who even taught humans pyromancies! shes smart and nice, and honestly probably needs a kiss. 

MILDRED - 30

uh my notes from last night are just

so yeah! thats mildred!

CRESTFALLEN MERCHANT - 29

hes sad as fuck but also... kinda handsome! he was a knight of berenike and made it almost all of the way through sens fortress showing how skilled he is! a strong man like this (inspired by maybe the best kisser in demons souls, boirr) has to be a good kiss!

SIEGMEYER - 28

hes going through a lot right now but... how could u not think siegmeyer is kissable. thats on you man. thats your own character flaw.

OSWALD - 27

ok this might be slightly controversial but i feel like oswald would be a good kisser. if you got past his slightly weird love for velka who well get to (thats just carimites (carimians? carimfolk???)) hes nice and kind and maybe the funkiest character in dark souls

KALAMEET - 26

another cant kiss you but.... kalameet is just so cool ! very shadow the hedgehog and u know what that is NOT a bad thing. you might have a rough time trying to get there, but..... aww whos a good dragon.....

DARKMOON KNIGHTESS - 25

alright the final stretch! the darkmoon knightess is the anor londo firekeeper, and a friend of gwyndolin! shes supposed to be “ugly and shit” (real quote. i would never lie to you) but her model is so cute! defiantly kissable as fuck!

 SANCTUARY GUARDIAN - 24

GOFH ITS JUST A WIDDLE KITTEY CAT........... I GIVE IT A WIDDLE KISSEY ON ITS FOREHEAD AHOWHWWAWWW BABEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALVINA - 23

AWHAHWAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SHES H(FADOESAGVFOSDHFSO CUET EIFEDKC LKOFIE JS I LOVE YOU FJEADFIDASHCODEUFCUSFKSDHFKSUHFC

DUSK - 22

oh yes!! the princess of a lost land...... will you be her knight in shining armor.......... oh i just love her so much. shes sweet and nice and cute and deserves a kiss or two!! please be nice to my daughter!

SHIVA - 21

hottie with cool armor and a cooler sword. since they cut his whole sidequest i can with all certianty say YES he is super kissable and is probably a great kisser 

QUELAAG - 20

IGNORIGN HER GIANT SPIDER LOWERBODY........... SHES JUST DOING THIS FOR HER SISTER SHE JUST WANTS TO HELP HER POOR SISTER WHOS IN PAIN HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE HER SO MUCH!! PLEASE KISS QUELAAG! 

GRIGGS - 19

im putting griggs so high cus hes kissable in a factor unseen before...... baby factor. hes soft and nice and is just trying to find his dad! just tuck him into bed and kiss him goodnight! its what he deserves! 

ARTORIAS - 18

everyone already KNOWS why artorias is a good kisser. hes nice, strong, brave, and most importantly. cool as FUCKING HELL ! HE DOES SICK ANIME FLIPS!! if you can look past the abyss slowly taking him over, youll find a good good boy who deserves a good kiss.

ANASTACIA - 17

the good firekeeper who we spend most of our time with in 1! YES of COURSE Shes kissable. she deserves SO MANY kisses for all of her hard work in keeping the firekeep shrine lit! good job anastacia im sorry lautrec is like that

VELKA GODDESS OF SIN - 16

(just mentioned!)

if her title alone doesnt bring you in, youll be pleased to know shes implied to help watch over priscilla (who well get to hold your horses) and keep the poor girl safe! a strong sense of justice and a love of crows, shes probably an amazing kiss if you can find her! 

ANDRE - 15

were closing in on #1 and i just have to throw andre in here. hes so nice and strong! just . please kiss andre! he deserves some he does so much work! 

PRISCILLA - 14

poor priscilla. called a monstrous crossbreed and has to hide in a painted world to stay safe from those who would hurt her. including the internet! leave her alone you freaks shes not your fetish fuel!!! she deserves a good kiss on the cheek and a hug for all she has to put up with

 CRESTFALLEN WARRIOR - 13

its my list i get to put the crestfallen warrior where i want. and u know what? he would honestly be a good kiss. hes kind and helpful and never once wishes you harm, he just needs to be held tightly and kissed passionately and u know what. dont we all. 

GWYNEVERE - 12

she is beautiful but .... 1 shes married and 2 shes not even real! whatever. her husband the flame god flann is at least.......... hot! haahgdaefshdfcdhswfe im so fucking funny

BLACK IRON TARKUS - 11

listen i see a big beefy dude i go “hey thats hot please kiss me” so of course tarkus is this high up hes the beefiest dude around.... right?? anyways all knights of berenike are kissable hes just the MOST kissable of the 3 named ones!

ORNSTEIN - 10

this dude kisses the son of gwyn you KNOW hes a good kiss. the golden lion armor just helps so much. we love you ornstein .....

HAVEL THE ROCK - 9

HERE HE IS ... THE BEEFIEST GUY AROUND ... this bitch uses a DRAGONS TOOTH as a huge club to bash people with if that isnt big dick energy i dont know what is. armor made of stone. heart made of gold. havel the rock please god kiss me passionately under the moonlight .

SIF - 8

oghfoghfohg puppey..................................... SMOOCHIE THE PUPPY>...........

NAMELESS KING (!?) - 7

(hes just mentioned in ds1!!) 

I KNOW HES A DS3 BOSS BUT LISTEN TO ME THEY TALK ABOUT HIM SO MUCH IM ALLOWING THIS.  he defected from his awful dads team to go help the DRAGONS!! thats so cool hes so kissable. would be more kissable if he wasnt kissing ornstein but thats ok . i respect them both.

MARVELOUS CHESTER - 6

this MAY just because i have a huge crush on him but also here are some good kissable things about him: his fasion, his voice that sounds like a purr, his laugh, his malice, his funny mask, him. thank you for your time.

GWYNDOLIN - 5

FINAL FIVE! heres gwyndolin. the most kissable of all of gwyns children for the sheer fact of how much work they put in to making sure people stay safe and happy. they are so kind and wonderful they deserve SO MANY kisses! good on you gwyndolin....

LAURENTIUS - 4

now heres a fun one! laurentius is one of the nicest guys u will EVER meet in any souls game. he genuinely cares about you, he loves and respects u even if u dont respect him or his skills, hes nice cute and above all: i love him . please kiss laurentius he is a nice guy who just wants the best for u..... dont be mean to him.....................

CAPRA DEMON - 3

the highest one that cant kiss back and thats for the capra demons SHEER HORNY ENERGIES. this is a demon you can fuck! thats it i have nothing else to say i just think the capra demon is funny

SOLAIRE - 2

do i seriously have to explain why solaire is so high up. not only is he nice and cares about you, hes handsome, passionate, and just a good fucking person. he is hands down one of the most kissable characters in any souls game ever! fuck yeah! go off you funky little lover boy! 

and finally.

its patches.

[dungeons-and-demiplanes]

Reflections - Session 3

In which a dwarf and a cleric (mostly the cleric) force the party to clean up their mess.

<< Last | Next >> [First]

Backtracking a little bit...

Be a Dwarf Fighter named Ciaran Broadblade

Formerly Ciaran Silverlord III

Left home a few months ago after getting into an argument with his dad

Renounce original surname, take on a new one

Wander the land for a few months, working as a sellswordaxe

Arrive in Lorthas Village; decide to stay, to help with the goblin problem

Rent a room at the Midnight’s Breeze

Get awoken shortly after going to bed by some kind of a ruckus

Get dressed, go downstairs/outside

...The whole town is drunk. Why is the whole town drunk?

Why is that elf dragging a human woman and a blue goblin with him through town?

WHY IS THE ALARM HORN SOUNDING??

Suddenly wave of multicolored goblins pouring in from the front gates

Elf & co disappear into a random house

They obviously caused this shitstorm.

Ciaran follows. TIME_FOR_JUSTICE.gif

Busts down the door

Watch someone disappear into the bathroom, follow

… What the fuck, there’s no one here

But there are no other exits aside from the front door

How in the shit? Did they just… disappear??

… Did they go through the mirror in the bathroom somehow???

No time to think about it, goblins are attacking

Like 5 goblins of various colors enter the house.

Cornered in the bathroom

TMW the Goblins decide it’s more interesting to fight each other than to fight the moderately armored fighter

Ciaran used “I’ll Hit A Motherfucker With Another Motherfucker”

Attempts to bullrush one of the goblins into another to knock them both prone

It’s not very effective…

Right. Welp. That’s what waraxes are for, I guess.

Eventually all 5 goblins go down

NowToSaveTheTown.jpg

One Dwarf vs Goblin Horde. Round one. Fight!

#DarkSouls

YOU DIED

MEANWHILE IN THE MIRROR REALM

Saren is still studying Azure

Morthal has been practicing a little with his new psionic abilities

He can make bolts of pure energy

And also an ectoplasmic creature called an Astral Construct

Lah continues to insist on referring to Morthal as “Breaker”

Morthal is not amused, begins throwing books at her in retaliation

She gets the hint (and also gets kind of offended), and stops

Saren suggests that they go back through the mirror to gather supplies from Lorthas

Lah: That…………….. May be a problem.

TMW your employees accidentally set a goblin horde loose on a town composed of residents who were all too drunk to stand

“GO FIX YOUR FUCKIN’ MESS”

Morthal & Lah head back into town

It’s pretty late at night - early morning, at this point

Head outside, look around

Oof.

Well…

Shit.

Basically everyone is dead

Bodies litter the streets

Even in the dark, it’s clear that some are goblin, but others are human.

Only a few people appear to still be up and about, and they look pretty banged up, too

The only person who appears mobile is an old man wandering about

He’s wearing white robes and carries a staff with him

He kneels beside the body of what appears to be a dwarf

There’s a sudden, radiant glow

Ciaran inserts coin to continue

TMW the first thing you see after being resurrected by some old dude is two of the motherfuckers who you are 99% sure caused this mess in the first place

Thank the old man quickly, then get up

Go to aggressively confront the elf and human

They aren’t amused

“Listen, man, we didn’t do shit, leave us alone.”

The old dude walks up, introduces himself as Kraxis

He’s a humble Priest of Pelor

Lah is instantly suspicious of him

He explains that he happened by Lorthas shortly after the goblin attack, and is in the process of healing the wounded, and resurrecting the fallen

“So, if you’ll excuse me”

Starts to wander off to continue his task

Ciaran immediately starts interrogating Morthal and Lah again

Morthal doesn’t feel like he should have to answer to this random dwarf

Isn’t very forthcoming with information

Eventually lets slip that they MAY have had a SMALL hand in this attack being so… one-sided.

Kraxis appears beside them again

He heard that shit.

He’s not amused.

Kraxis used “Zone of Truth”

It’s super effective!

Forces Morthal and Lah to introduce themselves, and explain what the shit happened

They begin to do so, begrudgingly, and incapable of disobeying

Lah is very upset that she’s been forced to tell Ciaran her name

Morthal explains the events of the past 24 hours

Ciaran is pretty pissed

Their hairbrained Plan to End All Plans (effective though it may have been) meant the painful deaths of a lot of innocent people

Kraxis isn’t thrilled either.

“Tomorrow, we’re all going to the goblin caves nearby and wipe the rest of them out, to prevent this from happening again.”

Before anyone can protest, casts Quest on Lah, Morthal, and Ciaran

They’ll get sick/eventually die if they don’t comply

Ciaran is LOLING SO HARD

Morthal is NOT AMUSED

Everyone splits off for a while to gather supplies/prepare

Lah disappears to go steal from the mayor, will be back by the morning.

Kraxis goes off to continue healing/rezing people

Morthal & Ciaran have an awkward meal at the inn

Next morning rolls around

RISE AND SHINE, LET’S GO KILL GOBLINS

Arrive at a cave a couple hours later

Yep, this is where the goblins are coming from.

Doesn’t look like many are home, though.

Ciaran guides the party through the caves

Darkvision, heck yeah

Go through a few fights. Kill a swarm of spiders in one room via Hulk Smash Stomp

In another room, spend forever trying to figure out how to get across a pit with spikes at the bottom

Lah can probably make the jump

Maybe Morthal, too

But Ciaran? In all this armor? There’s no way in fuck

And what about the old dude?

Eventually the cleric just casts Stoneshape, makes a bridge

#ThatWasEasy

Fight a few goblins in a couple of other rooms

The wizard keeps summoning bolts of energy

Can wizards even do that??

TMW he rogue has a fucking energy sword attached to her arm

TMW SHE CAN THROW IT, WHAT THE HELL

Eventually reach the last room

Wtf there’s something BIG sleeping in here

It’s covered in a bunch of furs/skins, so it’s hard to tell what it actually is

Que hushed deliberation down the hall

Agree to have Morthal send an Astral Construct to poke the Thing

Kraxis offers to flank the Thing

Ciaran isn’t convinced that’s a good idea

Kraxis insists that it’ll be fine

… Okay

3 2 1 BREAK

Astral Construct pokes it, as planned

It rises up from its slumber, the furs fall off

OhShitIt’sATroll.png

Everyone gets stuck in

Ciaran realizes that the squishy priest is directly in danger

Shouts at Kraxis to switch places with him

As they switch, Kraxis touches him, casts Delay Death

Ciaran tanks the troll, despite being knocked down to -51hp and being literally torn to shreds in the process

“I FEEL GREAT”

It takes forever, because the fucker keeps regenerating

But eventually, the troll goes down

Loot time!

Spend the rest of the day going to other caves and mopping up other goblins

Never come across another troll, thankfully

Head back into town

Alright so this dwarf has proven himself pretty goddamn competent, despite initial impressions

(I mean his dump stat WAS Charisma, but you don’t need that when you’re built to KICK PEOPLE’S TEETH IN)

#StevenAndTheStevens

“NO TIME TO EXPLAIN”

“WANNA JOIN OUR BAND PARTY?”

“........ Yes.”

Morthal and Lah bring Ciaran back to that bathroom with the mirror

“MORADIN’S BEARD, I FOOKIN’ KNEW IT WAS THA MIRROR”

Everyone goes through

FeelsGoodMan.jpg

Kraxis follows

Lah suddenly begins FREAKING THE FUCK OUT

Dreaded realization dawns on Morthal, too

I mean, motherfucker cast Quest earlier

That’s like a 6th level spell

Which means that Kraxis is, at minimum, an 11th level character

(Spoilers: He’s actually closer to 30th)

(WE GO HARD OR GO HOME IN 3.5)

Ciaran doesn’t understand what the big deal is

Doppelgangers appear

Oh shit what the fuck???

Doppelgangers: “I have an army.”

Saren: “We have a Blue Goblin.”

Azure pads up, shoots a laser from his brain

Immediately disintegrates one of the doppelgangers

Lah, Morthal, and Ciaran take out the rest

Ciaran catches on to what’s going on pretty quickly

Lah is still freaking out, though

… Oh. Ciaran gets it now.

Fuck

Kraxis’ doppelganger emerges from the mirror

Takes a step forward

Eyes bulge out

Agonizing scream of pain

Shatters instantaneously

Stare at Kraxis, dumbstruck

He just shrugs.

“Hmm. I guess there can only be one of me.”

Lah is relieved to not have to fight an epic-level evil priest, stops panicking

SHE’S EVEN MORE DISTRUSTING OF THIS GUY THAN BEFORE

Morthal isn’t too sure about him, either, because holy fucking shit

Kraxis takes several valuable gems from Morthal, turns them into a crystalline horse

“If you ever need me, break that, and utter the word, ‘Salvation’.”

Bids the party farewell, walks back through the mirror - his curiosity satisfied

TMW the crazy priest just used your spell components to make a little horse figurine and then fucking left

Saren greets Ciaran

I’m going to paraphrase the conversation that followed:

“Hey kid wanna do some drugs?”

“K”

The weird mirror folk guy injects Ciaran with some kind of dope

TMW your dwarven genes prevail and you don’t vomit all over the place

“Congrats, you are now a Psychic Warrior”

Ooh, that’s why the wizard and rogue are so weird! They’re also part psionic!

Ciaran learns that he can manifest a protective shield around his body, and also emit a seismic shockwave with a stomp of his foot

Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta

End Session 3

<< Last | Next >> [First]

[starfolk7]

Ornstein 👀

Haha, I knew he’d end up here eventually.

How I feel about this character:

Umm where do I begin???? I guess the beginning is good.

So, my brother got me started on the Dark Souls series last year (it’s been nearly a year, now that I think about it), and he hyped up the mid-game fight. He was very adamant about it, so reasonably, he got excited once I got past Blighttown and decided the rest was definitely worth checking out. 

I was absolutely blown away by Anor Londo once I got there. Talk about scenery porn, holy shit. So I’m running around in there for a while and gushing about the architecture, but then I had to head back to school, so the fateful fight had to wait until...May. Cue me being an impatient bean.

So May comes around. I get home, shove my school things aside, and barely wait a day to play the first Dark Souls again. I’m getting through Anor Londo if it’s the last thing I do. I take my little Undead Pyromancer through the fog wall and hold my breath.

Then the cut scene happens. You know the one. 

From the moment Ornstein jumped down from the balcony and landed with all of the gracefulness I wasn’t expecting from someone who just jumped from that height holy shit, I was kind of speechless. It didn’t hit me right away, but after a few attempts at the fight (and a lot of me screeching about that frigging dash attack that he does from the other side of the room), I had some time to think. I stewed in my thoughts for a while until I was able to get back to the fight the next day or so. When I sat down on the couch and continued, eventually taking the infamous duo down, I realized I had a lot of sudden questions about this mysterious knight who had kicked my ass a multitude of times. 

It was all downhill from there. 

The second my brother told me I could get Ornstein’s armor, I huffed my little Undead’s butt over to the merchant and had her wearing the armor for the rest of the game. I started asking him questions about Ornstein, seeing if he knew anything more than I did. He didn’t. We’re both still working on Dark Souls III, so if there’s any info in there, we have no clue. I started Dark Souls II shortly after beating the first game and screeched at the sight of the Old Dragonslayer (I know, but I got really excited and freaked out and there was a lot of “WHO WHAT THE-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?????”). I ended up buying Ornstein’s ring from Etsy for a pretty good price and wore it constantly (I lost it, unfortunately, so I might have to get another one). Around the time I did that, I started thinking: What would happen if you could spare him? How would he react? What is he like?

Annnnnd that’s about the time I started writing my fanfiction centered around that premise and created a snarky and “figure this out as I go” Undead to start it all. Thanks, Rowena. 

Wow, that turned into an essay. I should have known it would. But yeah, I have a lot of feelings about Ornstein. Some of them are expressed in walls of text, others in incoherent screeching, and still others in the form of written work. My brother is lucky I ever stop chucking theories and plot ideas at him. Then again, he did kind of start this mess. I wouldn’t take it back for anything, though. I still have a lot to explore with this Dark Souls fellow. I love Ornstein a lot. 

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Haha, okay, this might take a bit of explaining.

So, I had a lot of back and forth with myself when I was starting my own fic. In terms of relationship, I was fighting over whether to keep it platonic or take the romantic step. In the end, I decided to keep it platonic for a multitude of reasons. But I love Ornstein and Rowena’s dynamic with each other, and I’m pleased with how it’s growing.

Does this mean I don’t ship them romantically at all? Oh hell no. I’ve written little romantic side oneshots and they’re...holy shit, they’re adorable. I shared one with a friend and she swore her teeth were gonna fall out. So yeah, they’re my little side ship. Honestly, anything with Ornstein/Chosen Undead just kind of makes me die, but in a good way. I just have a special cubby in my heart for him and my bumbling Undead.

Other than that, I haven’t been in this particular abyss (haha) long enough to really know anyone else I would ship him with. That might change with time, but who knows?

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Well, I also adore Ornstein and the Chosen Undead for this, if my writing isn’t any indication. However, aside from that, I love seeing things where he’s spending time with Artorias, Ciaran, and Gough, whether it’s with all three of them at once or more of a one-on-one situation. Finding them in the DLC absolutely broke my heart for this reason, among others. 

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I’m not really sure what the popular and unpopular opinions are when it comes to Ornstein. I mean, I personally think he’s a nervous wreck when trying to flirt (emphasis on the ‘trying’) and he probably has issues opening up about his emotions in general, but that’s all I can think of at the moment. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Issparinghimanoption-

Okay, aside from that, I kind of want to know more about him. While I love the freedom that From Software has given us in terms of his character (and a lot of characters, honestly), I’m an absolute sucker for back story. Even if it was only a little bit more, it would still be awesome to have. I debate with myself a lot about that particular point, mostly when I’m trying to figure out dialogue and motivations. 

Oh god, yep, this turned into an essay. More than it was before. Whoops. Welp, I got to gush, so I guess that’s good? But now I want to play the first Dark Souls again. Dammit. 

[mrslittletall]

Title: Keeping it together (Chapter 15) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Lord's Blade Ciaran, Dusk of Oolacile, Great Grey Wolf Sif, Artorias the Abysswalker Word Count: 2.601 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328084/chapters/41647877 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/182428199914/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-14

Summary: Ornstein spends his last day in Oolacile.

(Author's note: Oh wow, I managed to sit down and write this chapter in around two hours! I am amazed. How did I do that? I hope you enjoy ^^)

As soon as Ornstein had set foot into the mansion, he got greeted by Dusk and her maidens. He politely refused when asked if he wanted some dinner, his stomach still feeling upset from the events of the day. Instead, he decided to listen to the requests of Dusk's maiden and told them some stories about the dragon war. It certainly helped him to get his mind off Artorias and the beast he had seen in the chasm. While he was spending time with the maidens, he could see that Dusk sat a bit away of them, staring into nothingness. After a while, she stood up and went into the garden. Ornstein excused himself to follow the princess.

She was sitting in the grass, staring at the moon high up in the sky. Ornstein joined her, raising his head to stare in the moon likewise, saying: “They are watching over us, you know?”

Dusk winced, as if she hadn't even noticed that he had been there. “Who?”, she asked.

“Dark Sun Gwyndolin, our current lord of Anor Londo.”, Ornstein answered. “They are doing their very best, following the footsteps of their father and sister.” Inwardly, Ornstein knew that Gwyndolin desperately wished for their siblings to return, especially his master, who had been banished a long time ago.

“Oh, yes, I don't doubt that...”, Dusk said. “I am just worried what will happen to Oolacile now.”

Ornstein stayed silent for a good while, glancing at the princess for a bit, before he finally spoke: “...I can ask Anor Londo to send you supplies to help rebuild your kingdom.”

“That is a gracious offer, but...”, Dusk folded her hands in her laps and lowered her head. “I fear that it might be too late for Oolacile...”

“Princess Dusk, and that after all Artorias has done for you.”, Ornstein nearly shouted. Strange, did he already became used to that lie? It had come so easily over his lips. “Do you already want to give up?”

Dusk raised her head again, tears staining her face. “...No...”, she said, “I know I have to at least try... but when I see how many citizens are still alive... and when I look at the state of the township... We have been lucky that the mansion still stands. I wanted to open it up for the townsfolk, but Elizabeth said it would be better for me to not having to care for their needs right now, after this traumatic experience... But shouldn't I be with my folk right now? I feel like I lost my right to be their leader...”

Dusk started to sob into her gloves and it soon turned into wailing. Ornstein didn't feel like the right person to comfort her. Seeing the princess like this reminded Ornstein to much of himself, of the breakdowns he faced when it got all too much for him. He felt that he should do something or say something, but he didn't know what. He never had been the comforting type. That always had been Artorias' job. That was, when he remembered Gough's word.

“Princess.”, he started. “A friend recently told me that it is alright to feel weak once in a while. That you don't have to face it all alone. I am sure when you talk to your folk, you can figure a solution. I will make sure that Anor Londo is behind you.”

Dusk sobs slowly ceased. She rummaged for a while and then wiped her tears with a handkerchief as white as her gown. “Thank you.”, she said. “Thank you for not judging me.”

“You are welcome.”, Ornstein said, staring back into the sky. Tomorrow he would return to Anor Londo and he shivered a bit thinking about all the work that would await him after his absence. And then he had to explain Artorias' death to his silver knights, if Gwyndolin hadn't already done it. At least with Ciaran at his side, he was sure to manage the work load quickly and be able to return to his usual duties in a flash.

“I hope my maidens didn't bother you.”, came the voice of Dusk all of a sudden. “They just try to distract themselves. They have been a few of the lucky ones, but some of their relatives haven't been so lucky... I think they try to be so upbeat and jolly for my sake. But that still doesn't excuse their flirty behaviour. So, take my apologies at their behalf.”

“Oh, don't worry, princess, I am perfectly used to it.”, Ornstein answered to the Dusk's monologue. “Our Lord Gwyn used to throw a lot of feasts and the woman would naturally flock around me and Artorias. I just... never had any interest in them, that is all.”

“Are you into...”, Dusk asked.

“Yes.”, Ornstein answered before she could finish the sentence, lowering his head.

“I am glad.”, Dusk said. “Cause for me, it was the same. All these princes gathering around me, wanting me to be their queen, while I just wanted to reign with another princess at my side.”

Ornstein looked at her and despite having his helmet on, he had to smile at Dusk when she smiled at him when they shared this moment of solidarity.

“It is late, we should head to bed.”, Dusk said and stood up. “You have to return to Anor Londo tomorrow and probably should get up early.”

Ornstein nodded: “You are right. Let me just escort you back inside.”

“These few steps? You are a true knight.”, Dusk chuckled, but allowed Ornstein to walk back in with her.

“Have a good night, Sir Ornstein.”, she said once inside. Ornstein watched her departing to her room, joined by her maiden's and turned around to go to the guest room he occupied, his body seemed to be very eager to get some sleep.

Ornstein found Artorias sitting leaned against a tree in the forest. The wolf knight looked so peaceful in this scenario, as if he was at ease with himself.

“There you are.”, Ornstein said. “I was wondering where you went.”

“Hm? Oh, Ornstein, why don't you join me?”, Artorias said upon noticing the dragon slayer.

“Joining you in what?”

“Being one with nature. Sometimes I just need a break from all the fighting. Spending time in the forest, listening to all the noises, watching the animals, is perfect for this.” A wide grin adorned Artorias' face. “Why don't you try it for yourself? You are always so tense.”

“It is hard to not worry when my master's and my lord's fights are getting worse and worse lately.”, Ornstein said, sitting down next to Artorias, laying his spear horizontally over his legs. “And what now?”

“Close your eyes and just listen. Let your mind be washed away.”

Ornstein did as he was told. At first he didn't notice much, but after a while, he understood what Artorias wanted to show him. The forest around them was brimming with life, he could hear all these little noises, from the small animals, the birds, the bugs, the rustling of the wind in the leaves, even Artorias' breathing. And it made him feel calm, as if nothing bad could happen anymore.

“Huh, fascinating.”, the dragon slayer said upon opening his eyes.

“I know, right? I normally come here before we have to go back into battle. To unwind a bit. I mean, every fight could be our last.”

Ornstein felt a pang in his chest. He knew that. He knew that one of them could fall in battle any given time. But he didn't want to think about this yet.

“Don't worry, Artorias.”, he said instead. “I will make sure to come to your aid when you are in trouble. No dragon will be able to get you.”

“...But Ornstein, you didn't come to my aid...”

Huh? That was strange. Ornstein slowly turned his head to look into Artorias' face only to see that his hood was filled with black tar, as if he was melting.

“You left me all alone in this abyss, against this beast...”

Ornstein started to shiver. “No, stop...”, he said between clenched teeth. “I trusted you. I knew you would be able to do it.”

“But I didn't... and you weren't there. Weren't there to help me. Weren't there to stop me. You left me all alone... I even had to die alone, killed by the hands of a stranger...”

“Stop it, please...”, Ornstein said, rattling so much that he could feel it to his very core as he saw the darkness engulf Artorias, a horrible set of glowing red eyes opening around him.

Ornstein jerked up in his bed, making a dash outside, but wasn't able to make it to the outhouse anymore. Whatever he managed to puke out, what wasn't much anymore, felt like it was bile only. It made his throat burn. That dream had been... scary. Now that he thought about it, the first part had been a memory. It just had... changed after Ornstein had said to Artorias that he would always come to his aid. He remembered that Artorias had given the promise right back to him, but that has been such a long time ago.

Now Ornstein was on his knees in some flowerbed, shivering, long red messy hair dragging on the ground, his night shirt wet from sweat, staring at a puddle of bile, unable to get up, with a nightmare still fresh in his mind.

It felt like a good hour had passed before Ornstein felt able to get up. Luckily nobody had been out there at this time of night, he didn't knew how he would have reacted had someone seen him like this. He returned to his room and searched his belongings for a fresh night shirt only to discover that he was wearing his last clean one. Oh, fantastic, now he had to sleep in the nudes, a thing he hadn't done anymore when the master left, but he really didn't want to keep that wet thing on. He got rid of the night shirt and cuddled back into the blankets, closing his eyes, only to discover that he couldn't fell asleep anymore. The nightmare was still haunting him. That red eyes... they had belonged to the beast. Had it been a mistake to come to the chasm? He tossed and turned for a while before giving up and just stared at the ceiling, then realizing how thirsty he was and downing the jar of water at his night stand far too quick and almost forget to put on some clothes when he had to go to the outhouse because of it.

After he was done, Ornstein decided that he could very well stay up now. He went back to the room and packed his things together, although very slowly, with a lot of breaks in between when his legs felt like failing him. He was in the process of packing the drawings he had made, when his gaze fell upon that unfinished one of Ciaran praying in front of the make-shift grave. Did she still sit next to Artorias' proper grave? He hadn't seen her return to the mansion... He should ask Princess Dusk about this once she woke up.

With nothing better to do, Ornstein decided to finish the drawing of Ciaran. He didn't need any reference, he perfectly knew how the assassin looked in her armour. He took his time with the drawing, trying to get every line to perfection when the sun started to rise. He put the drawing away and put on his armour.

Even though Ornstein still didn't feel like he had a particular appetite, he knew that he had to eat something now, he needed the strength for the return trip. He joined Dusk and her maiden's at breakfast, but didn't said much. He only asked if Ciaran had returned to the mansion somewhen in the night and got a negative answer. Ciaran... did she still sit next to the grave...?

After breakfast, he fetched his personal belongings. Dusk awaited him in front of the mansion. “Princess, thank you very much for your hospitality.”, Ornstein said, bowing to her.

“It has be my honour.”, Dusk answered with the proper bow of a princess. “Please tell Lady Ciaran my thanks.”

“With pleasure.”

Ornstein turned around, attempting to raise a hand to wave to her, when he heard Dusk talk: “Farewell, dragon slayer. I don't think we will see each other again.”

Huh, that had sounded strangely final. Ornstein turned around to ask her what she meant, but Dusk was already gone. He shrugged and made his way to Artorias' grave.

Sif shot up when she heard his footsteps, but relaxed instantly. Ornstein came over to her and gave the wolf puppy a few firm pets. “Ciaran?”, he asked. Sif turned around and led him to the back of the gravestone, where the assassin was sitting.

“Ciaran, have you sat here the whole night?”, Ornstein asked.

“It's none of your business where I spend the night.”, she answered.

“I am just worried, that is all. Ciaran, it is time for us to return to Anor Londo.”

“I am not coming.”

“Excuse me?”

“You've heard right. I am not coming. I am staying here.”

What... did she mean it? Was she really serious about that? That changed everything... All this time Ornstein had assumed that at least two of the knighs of Gwyn would return to Anor Londo.

“But Ciaran, what about your lord's blades?”

“Tell them they are disbanded. Gwyndolin doesn't need them. They have their dark moon blades. I have trained every single one of them myself. I am sure they can find a way in life.”

“So, you really mean it.”, Ornstein declared. “You won't come back.”

“Someone has to stay with him...”, she said. “So he won't get lonely.”

He's dead. Ornstein had almost spilled this over Ciaran. He wanted to believe that Ciaran was just confused, that Artorias death had hit her that hard that she couldn't think straight anymore, but he knew that she was dead serious about this. Or she wouldn't have told him to disband the lord's blades.

“Ciaran, you know that this means.”, Ornstein said, head lowered, his stomach was stinging with pain. “You are quitting the duties of a knight of Gwyn and that means you can't ever come back, even if you want to.”

Ciaran just nodded. “I am aware of the consequences.”

“Then let me give you a last order...” Ornstein raised his head and searched firm eye contact with Ciaran, at least he stared a the point where he knew her eyes would be beneath the mask. “Protect him.”

“Orders are taken and will be executed.”, Ciaran had stood up and now bowed before Ornstein. “Captain, it has been an honour fighting by your side.”

Ornstein returned the bow. “It has been an honour to fight at your side, too, Lord's Blade.”

They stayed a while longer like this, until Ornstein took up the word. “Well... guess, I need to get going... I will come back to visit his grave, Ciaran, so we surely will see each other again... Also, I shall deliver you Princess Dusk's gratitude.”

Ciaran raised a hand to wave at him.

“Goodbye, Ornstein. May the flames guide your way.” (Author's note: 15 chapters and Ornstein still hasn't it made back to Anor Londo ^^')

Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/182760646054/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-16

[frayedcobweb]

29, 30, 35 and 44 please :)

Thanks for asking :)

29: Any minor characters and would I like to talk about them...Well, I have Commander Réabadh who is the chief of the king’s police force (comfortingly called the Interrogators). He’s actually a pretty mysterious figure, known more by reputation than anything else... So really I’m just introducing scary, enigmatic guy.I also have Faolan, Pádruíg and Iarann who are close friends of my main character Ciaran. They have known each other from childhood and became even closer in the Soldier’s School, training for the Royal Guard. Faolan is sort of the mature one (sometimes, maybe). Pádruíg and Iarann who are twins are the hellraisers, irrepressible and smartasses both.

30: Folklore, tales told to children.I’m having difficulty with spoilers on this one, so bear with me :)Parents tell their children stories of the Mages who gave their ancestors the spelled-stone that made it possible to build the fixed point of Stillcity on the shifting face of the Mother. Most of the stories are seen as myth, as the magical power of the Mages has been unseen in the Undulating Lands for a thousand years.Darker and used as a warning for those who want to go out into the Undulating Lands, are the tales of the terrifying demonspawn. No one who has fought a demonspawn has lived to tell the tale, the whispered stories come from those who were far enough away from where one appeared to run to safety. Demonspawn appear out of energy disturbances that materialize in thin air for reasons that are unknown. They are four-legged, ‘similar to the massive, yet agile bonecat’ (quote), and have serrated teeth and huge claws.That’s all I can think of for now... I’ve probably missed something lol.

35: Are there any laws in my world that are important to the plot, or any restrictions to magic...Hmmm, this one is tricky, because does it refer to natural laws or laws of society? I’ll answer as best I can.A natural law that is more a state of being (I guess?), is that every night the land shifts and reforms into new landscapes. Forests move from place to place, as do mountains and rivers. The world outside of Stillcity is different every time the gates open in the morning and only the best prepared expedition (equipped with enough spelled-stone to protect a campsite) can survive on the face of the Mother overnight.A societal law and also a prejudice/attitude is that homosexuality is not tolerated and is punishable by death. This stems from back before the people of my world had cities of spelled-stone to protect them from the movements of the Mother and their nomadic tribes were small and procreation equaled survival.Magic... Well with the Mages gone magic isn’t something that my characters can perform. There are a few remnants left behind by the Mages such as the Sweepers, magical machines made to eliminate the threat of war between the spelled-stone cities. And most importantly to each city’s survival are the Cascade Pumps that pull water from aquifers below the turbulent surface of the Mother and recycle it to provide for the needs of the thousands that live within the city walls.

44: Who is the Snow White of the group and who is the Princess Fiona?Argh another really tough one. Because of spoilers I can’t really say why, but Ciaran would probably be the Snow White of my cast lol.Edana is definitely the Princess Fiona (she is scarily similar to both Fiona and Merida, coincidentally I hope).I hope you liked my answers. Stay tuned for more ranting about my WIP :)

[mrslittletall]

Title: Keeping it together (Chapter 11) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Lord's Blade Ciaran, Great Grey Wolf Sif Word Count: 1.533 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328084/chapters/40409756 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/181248417474/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-10

Summary: Ornstein spends a moment musing over Kalameet's death. He helps out at Oolacile township. He gets some unexpected help.

On the way to the basin Ornstein got attacked by some undead dogs, which didn't pose to be a challenge for him. As if the curse of the Undead wasn't worse enough on humans, that it could afflict animals too... Although, for animals it seemed that they just turned aggressive instantly instead of slowly hollowing out how it was for humans. Must have been because they were driven by instincts alone.

When he arrived at the basin, Ornstein stared down from the cliff. He could see the enormous corpse of the black dragon already from up there. Even though Ornstein was confident that he could just jump down there without spraining a muscle, he felt more secure taking the ladder instead. The uneasy feeling in his stomach may have been at fault. He slid down the surprisingly long ladder, the drop had looked shorter from up there, and slowly walked to the dead dragon to have a closer look at it.

The first thing Ornstein noticed was the gaping hole in Kalameet's left wing, that must have been where Gough's arrow had hit. The dragon surely couldn't fly with that wound anymore, or at least only in short bursts. The burned ground implied that Kalameet had breathed fire from a position up above during the fight. Ornstein surrounded the dead dragon and noticed that his tail was covered in slashes. The Undead probably had tried to cut it, dragon tails could make some decent weapons, but failed and gave up on it. Most of the other injuries on the corpse were found around the leg and belly area. Figured, with how big the dragon was and how small the Undead tended to be, there hadn't been much room for them to attack. They had probably be victorious cause they had exhausted Kalameet with coming back and back again until the dragon had made a mistake and left itself wide open for them to deal the finishing blow. A big slash on Kalameet's belly insisted it at last.

Ornstein had finished surrounding the dragon and came to a stop in front of his head. The big red eye of Kalameet, placed on his forehead, was staring right through him and Ornstein jumped back in surprise, raising his spear, ready to pick up the fight and defend himself. Only after a few minutes did the dragon slayer realize, that Kalameet was dead and couldn't hurt him anymore. What a stupid thing to be afraid of. The eye just hadn't closed when the dragon died. Still, it was hard for Ornstein to forget the pain, the disgrace and... he didn't want to admit it, but also the fear he had experienced back then when he first had tried to fight the black dragon. The memories made Ornstein's upset stomach twist, his legs felt like failing and he fell on his rear with a thud, breathing heavily, tearing his gaze away from the large red eye.

“Damnit it, keep it together...”, Ornstein murmured to himself. “Why do you react so badly at his sight...?” Ornstein never had thought that Kalameet had triggered such a trauma in him, he always wanted to go back and let the dragon pay for the ignominy he had suffered. Ornstein felt like he should be glad that his nemesis was laying dead in front of him, but he only managed to feel empty.

Ornstein was unsure how long he stayed at the basin, but it took him a good while until his legs decided to work again and he felt secure enough to stand up and ascend the ladder. On the way back to the arena, guilt started to nag at him. He still hadn't worked on that speech and it needed to be ready tomorrow. Gough's adive was still in his ears. [i]What would Artorias do?[/i] Ornstein still didn't really knew what to do with it and decided to pay Ciaran a visit and ask for her advice too.

As he entered the arena, he heard the sounds of weapons clanging and spells being casted. Confused, he looked around. There wasn't a fight in the arena. He saw Ciaran at the grave and approached her.

“What is that noise?”, he asked.

Ciaran's head rose when she heard his his voice. “Some of the Oolacile soldiers are trying to get rid of the last bloatheads.”, she answered and instantly fell silent again. Ornstein took a seat next to her and spoke a quick prayer in his mind for Artorias.

“Ciaran, can I ask you something?”, he said. Ciaran's head rose again, she clearly seemed to be annoyed when she asked: “Yes?”

Ornstein told Ciaran about that he felt stuck with the speech and the advice Gough had given him.

“I thought you knew Artorias better than that.”, Ciaran simply said. “If you can't figure this out, I would be very disappointed in you, captain.”

Ouch, that hurt. Ornstein let his head droop a bit, but quickly was distracted by the fighting noises from outside the arena again. The weapon sounds were mixed with some gargled screaming and snickering.

“I am sorry that I have bothered you.”, Ornstein said to Ciaran and retreated from her until he was close to the fighting noises. The sight before him showed a few Oolacile soldiers struggling with trying to fight the so called bloathead creatures, apparently they once had been Oolacile inhabitants who had been corrupted by the abyss. The soldiers were literally against a wall, with four of these unnatural looking creatures with far too long limbs closing the distance to them. Ornstein couldn't watch any longer, he still was a knight after all. He grabbed his spear with both hands and leapt into the group of bloatheads, impaling one of them. The other three spread out cackling maniacally, circling him. Ornstein swung his spear in a wide bow then two of them attacked at the same time tossing them from the edge into a seemingly bottomless pit. The last one seemed to consider its option for a second before charging forward and being met with a spear thrust. Ornstein pulled the spear out of the corpse and faced the soldiers.

“Need a hand?”, he asked.

“Dragon Slayer, your help came at exactly the right moment.”, the first soldier panted. Before Ornstein could open his mouth for an answer, the second one screamed: “There comes a new batch!” Ornstein was too slow at turning around and was hit with a ball of magic, which shook him to his core. By the lords, if that was what had hit Artorias it was no wonder that the wolf knight had succumbed to corruption. Ornstein twirled around and activated the lightning power of his spear, answering the spell with releasing it right into the chest of the cackling sorcerer. While the sorcerer fell down on the ground, the other bloatheads from the group started to approach. A quick count told him that there were at least five of them.

“Great...”, Ornstein muttered. “This could turn out to be a challenge...”

Just as Ornstein was trying to think up a strategy for the fight, he saw the flashing of a great sword and one of the beasts howled in pain before collapsing to the floor. Ornstein froze in place.

“Artorias..?”, he murmured. “No, that can't be true...”

The dragon slayer felt a weight pushing against his legs and heard a bark. He broke out from his rigidity only to see the attack of two of the bloatheads at once. He jerked up his spear just in time to impale one of them and hurled the corpse at the second one, making it tumble over the edge. He finally locked eyes with the creature that had come to his support. Sif... Artorias wolf puppy had finally left her master's corpse, sword between her teeth, brought she some havoc to the legs of the remaining abominations. Ornstein could feel how his face split into a grin under his helmet. He approached Sif and gave her a hearty pet. “It's good to see that you come to my aid.”, he said and then turned back to the soldiers, who were still standing at their corner, one of them shivering a bit.

“Leave the cleaning up to us.”, he shouted. He put his attention on Sif afterwards: “Are you ready to finish what Artorias started?” The determined look in Sif's eyes and her bark was all that he needed.

The sun already had started to set when Ornstein and Sif returned from the depths of the Oolacile township, which now was littered with the corpses of the bloatheads and hopefully would turn out to be a safer place. Both of them were covered in blood. Well, at least for Ornstein he would only need to clean his armour, but Sif clearly needed a bath.

“What do you say, Sif? Shall we travel to the basin together and clean you up?”, Ornstein asked and Sif's tail started to wag in return.

“Then it's settled. Let's see who of us will be the first to arrive.” And with this, Ornstein started to sprint. (Author's note: A big thanks to our Discord chat who helped me figure out how to tackle this chapter.) Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/181649700929/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-12

[mrslittletall]

Title: The Silver Knight Ask Box Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Artorias the Abysswalker, Lord's Blade Ciaran, Hawkeye Gough Word Count: 2.398 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14352534

Summary: The knights of Gwyn establish an ask box for the silver knights.

@anaurael @secretlyfemgarrus Thanks for prompting some of the questions.

„Ornstein, what is this?“

Artorias was looking curiously at the wooden box the dragon slayer had brought in to their team conference today.

„I was sick and tired of having to answer all the questions of the silver knights individually.“, Ornstein said while putting the box down on the table. „So I established this box where they could put all their questions and prompts in. I thought we could look through it together.“

„A good idea, this keeps things organized.“, came the voice from Hawkeye Gough from above them. And Ciaran added: „Ooh, this could be exciting.“

“There are quite a few in there.”, Artorias said. “Shall we begin?”

“Yes, everyone grab one and we can discuss them one at a time then.”, Ornstein said and each of the knights grabbed a slip of paper. Ornstein looked at his and his face fell flat upon reading it.

“I think this is for you.”, Artorias said and handed his slip of paper to Ornstein. “This too.”, Gough added and gave his to Ornstein too.

“Guys, you need to hear this.”, Ciaran started and cleared her throat before reading out aloud: “Captain, would you please consider improving your handwriting? One day we spent over 10 minutes trying to find out if these were our names on the shift board and then you came along and got mad that we weren't on our posts already. If that isn't one of the most hypocritical things to do, we don't know.”

Ornstein could see how much Artorias tried to hide his laughter. “I get it, my handwriting is bad. These were all about this. Captain, please improve your handwriting. Captain, your handwriting is really hard to read. But I really don't know how I should improve it, I already tried.”

“I can read it.”, Artorias said. “Just tell them to come to me if they have trouble reading something.”

“Well, fine, this would be cleared then. Let's look at some other ones.” Ornstein grabbed a new slip and quickly discarded it. “That aren't about my handwriting.”

He grabbed another one, unfolded it and quickly folded it together again, getting a slightly red tint in his face: “Ah, no, I don't think I should show you that...”

“What was standing on this, Ornstein?”, Artorias asked. “Did anyone found out an embarrassing secret?”

“It were votes for a popularity contest.”, Gough said, who had been able to see it from his higher position.

“Gough, I didn't want them to know. Things like this are not good for our morals!”, Ornstein complained, but Ciaran and Artorias were already there trying to pry the slip out of his fingers.

“Ornstein, that is not fair, you have already seen it!”, Artorias said. “Gough too.”, Ciaran added. “Now we have a right to see it too.”

It didn't take long for them to get the slip of paper from Ornstein. Artorias unfolded it curiously while Ciaran tried standing on her toes to get a look on it too.

“This isn't even so bad, we are pretty even, Ornstein.”, Artorias said.

“You still won...”, Ornstein said between crunched teeth. They hadn't even tried to fight this duel, but he had still lost.

“Where am I standing on this thing?”, Ciaran demanded to know and managed to slip the paper out of Artorias hands with a graceful jump. “What? At the very bottom?”

“Don't take it too bad, Ciaran.”, Ornstein said. “You are working as the assassin mostly, your work simply gets overlooked.”

“Are you saying that I am too small?”, Ciaran twirled around and then crouched into a corner. “And I am making such an effort to be an good assassin...”

“No, Ciaran, I never said that.”, Ornstein said. He knew, it wasn't a good idea to show this thing around. “He kneeled down next to her. “Besides, size is not everything. I am also one of the smaller ones here.”

Ciaran stood up to her full size, which made her roughly the size of Ornstein who kneeled down. “Are you joking? You are twice the size of me! How is that small?”

“I am still the third smallest of this group.”, Ornstein said. “Despite being around 2,60 meter tall. I tell you, that often feels strange.”

“Hey, you two, you have to listen to this!”, Artorias called, who had apparently rummaged around in the box while Ornstein and Ciaran had been talking. The both of them walked back to the table. Artorias read aloud: “You know this rafters Captain Ornstein always uses to do his jogging sessions? The ones you can enter the cathedral from? We would like to take post there with our dragon slayer bows in case of an invasion.”

Ornstein considered this for a moment: “That... that is actually not a bad idea. Any foe who would try to cross this would be in for a surprise and we could get rid of them in a very easy way.”

“Oooh, that is so sadistic.”, Ciaran said with a gleeful tone in her voice.

“It is, but I can't help but be proud of them.”, Gough said, having led the great bow silver knights in countless battles and trained their skills with their unique “arrows”.

“So we are going to allow it? I can't await the next time someone tries to invade us.”, Artorias said.

“Artorias, that is not a thing to look forward too!”, Ornstein scolded the wolf knight. “Besides, they have to go through Sen's Fortress first. Can you imagine anyone trying to get an army through that?”

The other knights shook their heads in unison. Anor Londo was truly the best secured town in this land. All of the knights spend a moment in silence after that decision.

“Fine, let's look at another one.”, Ornstein broke through the stillness and grabbed for another slip. “Why are we all wearing silver armour?”, he read. “Really, that is on their mind?”

“I think it is a good question.”, Gough said. “They want to know more about their origins.”

“Well, I guess Lord Gwyn just liked silver?”, Ornstein assumed. “I doubt that had some higher meaning or something.”

“Makes me think, Ornstein.”, Artorias started. “You are wearing golden armour. Was that because you are the captain of the silver knights?”

“Poor coincidence.”, Ornstein answered. “I just like gold. And it fit very well with the lion theme I was going for.”

“So your armour choice was a choice of fashion?”, Ciaran asked.

“It also has been imbued with lighting resistance so that I don't shock myself. And fire of course, because of dragon fire.”, Ornstein explained. “But I can also look good while slaying dragons, that isn't a crime.”

“Didn't think you were so vain.”, Ciaran said and got the next slip out of the box. “What does Lady Ciaran's face look like under that mask? What the?”, she read. “They even made assumptions about it!”

“I want to see that!”, Artorias said and was at Ciaran's side in mere seconds, where the woman tried to frantically hide the slip of paper. “Thanks for giving me that.”, Ornstein said and took the slip out of her hands from the other side.

“Ornstein, not fair!”, Ciaran called out.

“That is the payback for earlier.”, the dragon slayer smirked and looked at the paper.

“Oh, I know why you wouldn't want us to see that...”

“Show me.”, Artorias demanded and looked at the slip.

“I heard that Lady Ciaran has really bad teeth and that is why she always wears the mask...”, he read. “And there are also rumours that you are missing an eye. Where did these things come from?”

“Maybe you should show your face in public more often.”, Ornstein suggested to the assassin, who laid face own on the table in defeat.

“And that is coming from you.”, came her muffled voice. “You are running around in full armour pretty much all the time.”

“At least I show my face once in a while.”, Ornstein said.

Artorias nodded: “Yes, even while eating you only pull that mask far enough so that you are able to eat without trouble.”

“Fine, I guess I'll show them my face.”, Ciaran finally gave in. “Let's look at another slip.”

Ornstein pulled out the next slip and unfolded it: “Let me finally join as the fifth knight of Gwyn. Damn it, that was the executioner!”

Artorias, Ciaran and Gough sighed at the same time. Artorias took up the word: “Nobody of us wants that discussion. So please, could we skip this?”

Ornstein closed his mouth that he had already opened to rant about Smough and how much he annoyed him. “Uh, fine, let's look at another one.”

“I am picking the next.”, Artorias said in excitement and swooped another slip out of the box. “Captain Ornstein, why do you dislike animals?”, he read aloud.

Now it was Ornstein's turn to sigh: “It's not that I don't like them. It is more that they don't like me.” He considered for a short moment: “Well, I don't like birds and you know very well why, Artorias.” He glared at the wolf knight.

“Hey, I already apologized for this.”, Artorias said in a defensive tone.

“But why do most animals not like you, Ornstein?”, Gough asked.

“I know, it is because he has dragon blood!”, Artorias shouted out. “They sense the far more dangerous animal and that is why they don't want to have anything to do with you.”

“Artorias, we don't even know if that is true!”, Ornstein said.

“Besides, Ornstein is dangerous enough to put everything into flight he looks at menacing.”, Ciaran fell into the discussion.

“Do... do I have such a bad death stare?”, Ornstein asked. Artorias chuckled about this. “You should be glad that you wear your helmet almost all the time. I am sure all the silver knights were already gone if they would see your malicious stare.”

“I want the silver knights to have respect, but I don't want to scare them.”, Ornstein said.

Now Ciaran burst out into laughter: “Oh, Ornstein, we were just teasing you. You don't look menacing at all!”

“Well, thanks!”, Ornstein said, feeling insulted.

“That's the payback for calling me small!”, Ciaran said and grabbed the next slip of paper.

“Is it possible for us to get promoted into the ranks of the knights of Gwyn?”, she read. All three other knights looked at Ornstein, who had been the one to chose them as the four knights of Gwyn, but he didn't answer.

“Come on, Ornstein, stop sulking.”, Artorias said. “You know we didn't mean it.”

“That's not it. Well, not completely. That sounds like Smough again!”

Ciaran shook her head: “Different handwriting.”

“Oh then... I guess they need to fulfill some heroic deeds. Like single-handedly slaying 89 dragons.”, he answered.

“Will there ever be the day you stop boasting with this number...?”, Artorias grumbled.

“I am more upset that I couldn't make it a 90 in the meantime!”, Ornstein said.

Ciaran looked in the box. “Not much left.”, she said. “Only two. Let's look at them.”

She and Ornstein both grabbed one of the leftover slips. Ornstein read his aloud first: “At all the knights of Gwyn: Let us meet for some tea and snacks in my room eventually. Gwyndolin. Oh, I guess they feel lonely. We should visit them soon.”

Gough let out a deep chuckle from above: “Wasn't this thing supposed to be for the silver knights? Seems like all kind of people use it to send messages now.”

In the meantime, Ciaran had read the message and had a wide grin on her face. “Ornstein, is there something we should know?”, she asked.

“Why?”, Ornstein said confused.

“Because that slip reads: Ornstein, come to my room this night. I am eagerly awaiting you. This sounds like you are dating someone! Don't you want to tell us when you are in a relationship?”

Ornstein instantly knew who had put this message inside and what in the world was he thinking? They had decided to keep their relationship a secret for now. That really brought him into trouble.

“That... that must be a dumb joke. I am not dating anyone at the moment.”, he quickly said. “Besides, who would be so stupid to put a message like this at a place where everyone can access it instead of giving it to me directly?”

“True.”, Ciaran said and discarded the message. “But maybe it is someone who has a crush on you?”, Artorias asked. “But they would have signed it then. I guess you are right, it was just a dumb joke.”

Ornstein breathed out in relief that the others wouldn't ask further.

“Alright, this were all the messages. I think we can call it a day now. We tell the silver knights about our decisions tomorrow.”, Ornstein concluded their meeting.

“Good night, everyone. We should head to bed.”

“Good night. That tomorrow will be a successful day too.”, Artorias said and left the room at first.

“I am going to stay up a bit longer, but good night.”, Ciaran said and followed Artorias. That only left Gough.

“That was Prince Gwynfor's handwriting.”, he said. Ornstein froze and then slowly turned around to face the giant. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”, the giant said. “I just think that you are able to trust them. I am sure they would appreciate if you tell them.”

Ornstein sighed: “I made a promise to the master about this... But thanks for your concern, Gough. We will see each other tomorrow.” Ornstein left the room with a wave to the giant and made his way to the master's room.

When he already was heading there, he could ask if he could inaugurate the other knights in their secret. But at most he was glad that he could spend time with his loved one. He only had to made sure that he wouldn't use the ask box again.

This thing was for the silver knights after all.

[mrslittletall]

Title: A nightly talk (Dark Souls Short Story 6) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Lord’s Blade Ciaran Word count: 1.502 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13722741/chapters/32387517 

This piece is kinda a continuation of this one: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/171460684039/title-the-heritage-fandom-dark-souls-characters But you don’t need to read it to understand this chapter.  Summary: Ciaran finds Ornstein late at night and wonders what he is doing.

Ciaran enjoyed the nighttime. Her job as an assassin often would be done in the dark, so she felt right at home in the night. She enjoyed the stillness and the calm of the night, wandering the cathedral of Anor Londo, only coming along the occassional silver knight on night patrol. Even though most of the lights weren't lit by now, a few of them still burned and provided some more light. Not that she needed that light. She could see in the dark just fine, being so used to work in it. And while most people were amazed by the sight of the cathedral shining golden in the light, Ciaran always thought the dark version looked a lot more stunning. She often wandered around, taking in the sight and the calm of the night before heading to bed. Normally so late nobody expect the patrolling silver knights would be out anymore, so she was surprised when she saw a figure sitting on the stairs leading to the trophy room.

Ciaran carefully approached the figure but once she spotted that bright red ponytail she instantly knew who it was. What was Ornstein doing in the middle of the night here? He was dressed in some linen clothes, coloured green which did go well with his eyes of the same colour and was a nice contrast to his red hair. He also had some paper with him, stabilized by a book and appeared to be drawing on it. Ciaran herself was still wearing her armour set. Seeing that Ornstein had took the time to change into different clothes implied that he actually had been planning to end his day. She did get closer and sat down next to him.

"What are you doing?"

Ornstein startled at her voice, he seemed to have been very engrossed in his work. When he noticed that Ciaran sat beside his side, he stopped and answered: "Drawing?"

Well, if that wasn't obvious. She asked further: "Outside of your room?"

"The light here is better.", Ornstein answered. "I don't need to light a candle out here."

"It's the middle of the night?"

"I couldn't sleep well."

Ciaran sighed: "That still didn't answer why you are sitting out here in the middle of night drawing. Do I have to pull every single word out of you?"

"Well, maybe you should have been more specific.", Ornstein grumbled. "Artorias put a thought into my head earlier and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought drawing about it could help." He put his attention back on his drawing.

Ciaran wanted to know what he was drawing and took a look at the paper.

"The path of the dragon? That is an ancient practice. Nobody does this anymore. ... I guess you are partially responsible for this." She gave Ornstein a little nudge: "Right, dragon slayer?"

"Ciaran, now I made a mistake.", Ornstein said, sounding a bit irritated. "Now I have to start anew." He grabbed a fresh piece of paper which gave Ciaran now enough time to look at the drawing in detail.

"I don't think they had wings that large.", she said. "How should they be able to fly? They were said to resemble dragons, not being exactly like dragons."

"Fine, I make the wings smaller.", Ornstein said. "But they had tails and horns, right? Or did I draw the tail too long too?"

"I don't know that much about the path of the dragon. Like I said this is an ancient practice.", Ciaran admitted. "But judging from your picture you let them put their weight on the toes. When they are really walking like that they definitely need a tail for balance reasons. Why are you exploring the path of the dragon anyway? Seems widly ironic for you."

Ornstein spent a moment to put the finished touches on the drawing of the drake like figure, then put the pencil down: "I told you that Artorias put a thought in my head, right? He implied that I could have a dragon heritage."

"And where did Artorias get this idea? You are not looking like a hybrid to me.", Ciaran said.

"My teeth.", Ornstein said and showed the ones that looked like little fangs. "He based it from there and it actually made a lot of sense." He raised his hand again and started a second drawing right next to the first one.

"Wait, you are telling me these things are natural? I always thought you had sharpened them yourself to look more menacing. Which isn't the case by the way."

Ornstein put the pencil down and looked at Ciaran with a frown: "Ciaran, should I be offended by this or take it as a compliment?"

"Whatever you want.", she said with a smirk that couldn't be seen beneath her mask.

"I have the feeling I know exactly which face you are making right now.", Ornstein grumbled and took the pencil up again.

"But just by looking at your teeth he came up with dragon? Cats have teeth like this too and you remind me of a cat anyway. So maybe you just have a cat heritage? This also fits very well with your lion armour."

"Ciaran, by that logic Artorias would be a dog!"

That gave her an idea: "Oooh, could you draw Artorias as a dog?"

"What, wearing his armour set and all?", Ornstein said, scratching his head. But then he provided anyway on a fresh piece of paper. Ciaran glanced at the unfinished second drawing next to the drake. This figure looked a lot more humanoid but still had a tail, horns, claws, a full row of sharp teeth and some scales.

"Oh, I get it.", she concluded. "Artorias is thinking you could have some ancestors that walked the path of the dragon."

"Correct.", Ornstein nodded, not looking up from his drawing. She was under the impression he had actually fun doing this.

"But still...", Ciaran started. "It doesn't exactly have to be a dragon heritage. Who knows what people prayed to earlier? Maybe there was some cat deity around that got lost in history."

"Really? You think there were cat people around? Did they intimidate their foes with cuteness or what? Of course that would work with Artorias." He had finished the drawing and gave it to Ciaran. She was actually impressed. The drawn dog really resembled Artorias, he was shown excitedly panting and wagging his tail. And he even wore Artorias armour set in a dog version. "That's so cute...", she said.

"I guess even Artorias would like it. But I bet he would ask me to draw the other ones as animals too then." Ornstein picked up the drawing with the hybrids again and finished the second figure on it, then started a third.

Ciaran had let herself got distracted. "Wait, we were talking about something completely different!", she called out. "Cat hybrids."

"Yes and I was asking you if they planned to intimidate their foes with cuteness.", Ornstein said. The third figure took shape and now looked almost completely humanoid but still had some horns and large fangs.

"I doesn't have to be a house cat.," she admitted. "I was thinking about something bigger. Like a lion for example. After all, you are wearing armour designed after a lion and it looks very menacing."  

"I can get behind this.", Ornstein took a new piece of paper and started another drawing.

"But why are you so worked up about this anyway? Why don't you just ask your parents about your ancestors?", Ciaran asked.

Ornstein stopped for a brief moment and shook his head: "... not possible."

Ciaran winced: "I am sorry, I didn't want to evoke bad memories..." She wondered if she just had found out why he was the dragon slayer.

"Don't worry about it. I have been over this for a long time now.", he said. He had finished his sketch and showed it to Ciaran: "Do you meant something like this?" The drawing showed a menacing looking lion warrior complete with mane, claws and teeth. "Exactly.", she said.

Ornstein was out of paper now. He put the book and the pencil down and stretched. "I think this really helped. Thanks for keeping me company, Ciaran."

"Oh, that wasn't any trouble. I like to stay up late anyway.", she said. "And let me say just one thing about this topic. It doesn't matter what your heritage is as long as you are happy with who you turned out to be."

Ornstein looked a bit surprised. She didn't even blame him. She normally wasn't the type for this kind of words. Then he smiled at her: "Thanks Ciaran, I'll keep that in mind." He stood up and started to collect his belongings. Ciaran looked at the drawing of dog Artorias she still held in her hands. "Can I keep this...?", she asked.

"Yes, of course.", Ornstein said. "Good night, Ciaran."

"Good night, Ornstein. And thanks..." This time a genuine smile had formed under her mask.

(Author’s note:  Lately I was thinking about exploring Ciaran more so this chapter is written in her POV for once. I like to think that she is a night owl and often makes snarky comments.)