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finemealcreates · 2 months

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Family Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

July 15: Meeting a new member of the family | wire

Billy shifts on his feet, uneasy and nervous.

“Are you sure they’re gonna like me?” Billy asks Danny as he fixes his shirt for the nth time.

Danny just rolls his eyes with a smile, elbowing Billy lightly.

“Don’t worry so much! They’ve been bugging me to meet you since I told them about you,” Danny replies soothingly.

Billy can’t help but let out an uneasy breath, shaking his hands out to try and rid himself of some of the nerves. It helps, but only slightly. He really does want to make a good first impression on Danny’s family.

“Okay, okay let’s meet them before I get so nervous I change my mind,” Billy states, reaching out to grip Danny’s hand tightly in his own.

Danny offers a soothing smile as he squeezes Billy’s hand gently, offering some comfort. Then, he reaches his other hand out, curling his fingers as nails extend from the tips. In one motion, he swings his hand in the air, a portal opening in front of them.

Billy gets tugged through before he can think too much about the fear and anxiety of entering a portal that leads to someplace he’s never been before.

The first sensation he feels is cold, freezing cold. Followed by warmth as a heavy coat is placed over his shoulders.

“I told you it was going to be cold,” Danny huffs good-naturedly, apparently not feeling the chill in his ghost form.

“How was I supposed to know you meant freezing and not just chilly,” Billy pouts.

Danny raises an eyebrow as he smirks slightly.

“Maybe because I told you multiple times that’s what I meant?”

Billy huffs and shoves Danny good-naturedly.

“Great One!” a voice booms before a white furred being envelopes Danny into a hug.

Billy’s eyes widens as he looks up at the being. They have two icicles for horns atop their head, blue and gold clothing and accessories adorning their body, and an ice left arm with the bones visible. Not to mention the fact that they are giant. So much taller than anyone Billy’s ever encountered … well, maybe not bigger than Darkseid, but it’s close.

“Hi Frostbite,” Danny squeaks out, voice strained from the force of the hug.

“It’s good to see you again!” Frostbite booms, finally releasing Danny.

“Good to see you too,” Danny says honestly, stretching slightly.

“And who is this?” Frostbite asks, purple eyes turning towards Billy.

Billy gulps nervously under the gaze of the yeti, resisting the urge to transform into Captain Marvel. He’s fine. This is Danny’s family. He’s fine.

“This is who I was telling you about!” Danny answers excitedly, flying over to hover next to Billy. “Frostbite, meet Billy. Billy, meet Frostbite.”

Frostbite grins and extends a hand. Billy cautiously takes it, watching how the other’s hand envelopes his own completely.

“Wonderful to meet another member of Danny’s family!” Frostbite booms, shaking Billy’s hand gently yet excitedly.

“Nice to meet you too,” Billy agrees, feeling a little light at being referred to as family.

Frostbite smiles wide and releases Billy’s hand.

“Shall we?” Frostbite asks before turning around and beginning to walk.

“Where are we going?” Billy whispers to Danny.

“To meet everyone else!” Danny answers, grinning.

“Everyone else?” Billy asks nervously, eyes wide.

Danny laughs and nods.

“You didn’t think Frostbite was it, did you?”

₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊

Billy feels like his head is spinning from how many yeti’s he’s been introduced to. First there was Frostbite’s husband, Hailwind, then Frostbite’s siblings, Glacierwalk and Snowfall. And that was just Frostbite’s immediate family!

There are the other yeti’s in the village, most of whom Billy forgets the names of. All with different names and different occupations. There’s also an elderly couple that helps look after all the Frostlings.

His head feels like it’s spinning as he shakes hands and smiles, says hello and gets handed food. His head gets pat a lot, every Yeti smiling at him widely.

Consistently, they’re all so nice to him. Tell him they’re so happy to meet him. Grateful Danny has found family in such a kind young man.

Billy feels … shy. Undeserving. Danny’s family is so kind and nice. Billy’s just … Billy. He hasn’t earned any of the great things he’s been gifted, he just does his best to do what he can with what he’s been given.

“You okay?” Danny whispers to Billy when he gets a moment to breathe.

“I’m okay,” Billy assures, slightly breathless. “Just a tad … overwhelmed? You have so many people who love you.”

Danny smiles softly as he looks out at the crowd of Yeti’s mingling.

“Yeah, I’m really lucky to have all of you,” Danny says softly.

Billy doesn’t say anything. But he’s thinking about how lucky Billy is to have Danny, not the other way around.

Danny pulls Billy into a side hug.

“If you need to leave, we can,” Danny offers.

Billy smiles kindly, warmth filling him. He’s glad to have someone like Danny who’s looking out for him.

“It’s fine, go enjoy the party. I’ll be back out mingling in a minute,” Billy assures.

Danny grins and gives a mock salute before flying back out to join everyone.

“We’re really lucky to have someone like you watching out for Danny,” a voice says.

Billy jumps slightly, turning to see it’s the leaner Yeti he met earlier. What was his name? Hailwind, wasn’t it?

“It’s the other way around, really,” Billy responds softly. “Danny has so many people who care about him. I’m so grateful I’m considered one of those people.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Hailwind replies, smiling. “Danny might have a lot of family, but he’s not as open as he projects that he is. Everyone in his life means a lot to him.”

Billy feels himself flush slightly.

“Well, I’m glad that Danny considers me part of his family,” Billy admits shyly. “I think we’re just as lucky to have him in our lives as he thinks he is to have us.”

Hailwind chuckles and nods in response, a smile growing on his face.

“Yes, I think you’re right.”

Together, they watch the party in front of them, joy in the air.

#finemeal writes #finemeal fics #dpxdcfamilyweek24 #dp x dc #danny fenton #billy batson #frostbite #hailwind #far frozen #found family #fluff #light angst

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oliverreedmasterass · 1 year

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Chapter Summary: Rae, Jake, Josh, and Sam find Danny's jacket and bring in reinforcements for extra help.

Words: 3.2k

Warnings: blood/wounds, mentions of death

Notes: Thank you to @infinisonicosm for the fic idea!

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“SAM!” Jake’s holler made Rae’s shoulders raise to her ears. Sam and Josh had been deep in some kind of intense conversation but, at Jake’s voice, he had their attention. Within seconds, Sam and Josh were by their side.

“Oh my god,” Sam choked out as he grabbed Danny’s jacket from Jake, holding it up to his nose to give a deep inhale. “There’s that smell again.”

Josh stared at the note on the back of the jacket as Sam continued to sniff the inside, completely oblivious to Danny’s cry for help. It seemed like he couldn’t restrain himself, as he pulled the back of the jacket towards him and let his tongue pass over the blood.

“Dude!” Jake scolded Josh. Josh quickly folded his tongue back inside his mouth, his face flushed red.

“I’m hungry,” he tried to explain himself.

“Eat a rat or something, asshat,” Jake spat. “Don’t lick the evidence.”

“Lick the evidence?” Sam’s head cocked to the side as he took a step back from Danny’s jacket. “Huh?”

It seemed mutually agreed that Sam had a right to know about Danny’s message, so Jake silently turned the jacket around for Sam to see. Sam stared blankly at the words for what felt like a lifetime, and then a few fat tears poured from his eyes.

Jake took a strong whiff around the jacket and looked troubled.

“I don’t recognize this smell either, Sam,” he told his younger brother. “But the scent is still strong. Danny must have written this not too long ago.”

Sam took comfort in Jake’s words as he wiped at his eyes and nodded his head. Jake handed the jacket off to Rae to hold and enveloped Sam in a tight hug, just for extra assurance that everything was going to be alright. Josh stood off to the side, just behind Rae, still licking his lips but looking embarrassed by his lack of control. After Sam released from Jake, he pointed at the jacket.

“Where did you find that?”

Jake and Rae pointed down to the small crater Jake had created in the dirt, just a few feet away at the base of a tree that looked to be withering. Sam hurried to it and got down on all fours to inspect the area, sniffing and pawing around the terrain. As he did this, Jake cleared his throat to get Josh’s attention.

“Taste anything weird in that blood, Dracula?”

Josh looked surprised that Jake was willing to talk to him, and then pissed off by the nickname.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he spat back at Jake. But then, he thought more about it and seemed to be swishing the aftertaste of the blood around his mouth. “Well,” he started again, “it is a bit clumpier than it should be.”

Rae and Jake shot him disgusted looks, which Josh ignored.

“When the weather drops from hot to cold really fast, the blood thickens to try and regulate a normal body temperature,” he explained. “I usually see this when there’s a cold front to kick off the winter. But I don’t know why that would be happening to Danny, considering it’s still hot as hell out.”

“That’s really weird,” Jake agreed, looking lost in thought. Rae was getting sick and tired of all these moving pieces that didn’t seem to fit together in the slightest. Down at their feet Sam continued to search the area, his face planted into the ground to find more clues.

“That smell,” his voice was muffled, “it’s getting stronger.”

“What was that, Sammy?” Jake called to him. Sam looked back at them, his face caked with dirt.

“The smell on Danny’s jacket is getting stronger down here.”

Jake immediately joined Sam on the ground and shoved his face into the ground. Rae and Josh glued their mouths shut to try and keep any laughs from squeaking through at the strange sight. After a few seconds of looking like an ostrich, Jake sat back up, his face just as dirty as Sam’s, and addressed the group.

“Sam’s right. I need to dig to get closer.”

Sam, Josh, and Rae didn’t need to be instructed to get out of Jake’s way. They stood and watched as Jake moved at inhuman speeds to produce a gaping hole in the wooded floor, extending down nearly five feet. He looked spent from his work, but he managed to climb out, his face scrunched in thought.

“Well?” Josh tried.

“There’s ice down there,” Jake replied.

“Huh,” was all Josh could say. Sam was already in the hole, seeing for himself, and Rae made her way to the edge to peer in as well. Lo and behold, there was a sheet of ice at the bottom, and Sam was slipping around on it while he tried to get a better smell.

Behind her, Jake tucked his sweaty strands of long hair behind his ears and, with a grunt, pulled his soaked shirt off over his head, which earned him a loud groan from Josh.

“Give me a break, Romeo, you’ve got nothing to flaunt.”

“I’m not trying to flaunt,” Jake growled back. “I’m overheating.”

Rae turned to see what the commotion was, and let her eyes land on Jake’s tanned skin for probably a bit too long. He seemed to glisten in the sunlight and, after exerting himself with the hole, his arms were tense, his veins bulging. He made eye contact with Rae for a split second and started to give her a smile, but Rae turned her head the other way. Now didn’t feel like the time or place, especially considering she was holding Sam’s missing friend’s jacket in her hands.

“I can’t break through the ice!” Sam shouted from the hole, sounding frustrated. “It won’t budge at all, but I can tell the smell is stronger down farther.”

“We might need to get some tools,” Jake called down to Sam. “I don’t think there’s much more we can do with what we’ve got right now.”

“Is it really safe to be in town right now though?” Sam’s head popped up so he could look around at everyone.

“I don’t see why not,” Jake shrugged, but Josh cut in.

“No.”

Jake turned fast to study Josh.

“Word got around about us being evicted,” Josh caught Jake up to speed. “The hunters know, and the town leaders are doing nothing to stop them from coming into Frankenmuth to drive us out. Already a few from my nest are missing.”

“For the love of God,” Jake groaned out, wiping his face in disbelief.

“Why don’t we bring our parents out here to show them what we found?” Sam offered. “Maybe they can help us break through the ice and get to Danny so all of this can be sorted out.”

“I don’t know, Sam,” Jake’s voice trailed off. “I’m sure Dad’s got his hands full right now.”

“It might be our only chance to get out of this mess,” Josh told Jake under his breath. “Plus, they’d be safer out here.”

Jake mulled it over.

“My dad will kill me for being around you.”

“Trust me, my mom’s not gonna be happy either, but I think there’s a lot at stake here, and you can afford to get a light scolding from your dad.”

Jake looked like he wanted to protest, but he wound up giving a shrug.

“So, how do we get them out here?”

“We have to brave going into town.”

***

It was agreed upon that someone needed to stay with the hole in the woods, just in case they couldn’t find it when they brought the parents back. It was also firmly agreed that Rae wouldn’t be the one to stay with the hole, since they didn’t know what they were up against in the woods, and Sam wouldn’t stay either since Jake refused to let anything bad happen to him while he was away. Since Josh had to negotiate with his mom, they decided that Rae, Josh, and Sam would head back into town while Jake stayed behind.

“I’ll be fine,” he promised them as they left. “Just don’t take too long, I don’t want to be out here alone in the dark.”

“We have to move fast,” Josh instructed Rae and Sam as they moved out of the dense coverage of trees into more open space, coming closer to the suburban property lines.

“We should get stuff to cover our smell,” Sam piped in. Rae looked at him worried, and he explained, “the hunters have a serious knack for spotting us out. It’s almost like their kind have evolved over the years so they can sniff us out.”

“Here,” Rae offered, giving Josh her backpack, and Sam her flannel that she had stupidly brought for her first day of school, just in case it got cold out. Josh tugged the floral Jansport backpack on and Sam tied Rae’s flannel around his waist without a single argument.

“They should still be at town hall,” Josh shared. “The last I heard they were doing everything they could to convince the mayor to round up the hunters.”

They moved past the last tree in the line marking the entrance to the woods, and Rae stared back at the shaded area with goosebumps prickling across her skin. She didn’t like leaving Jake alone in there. It felt like something bad was going to happen, but she tried to push that bad thought out of her head. She needed to focus on getting through town undetected.

They kept their heads down and, with Josh in the lead, hurried down the residential street leading back into town, right past Rae’s house. She looked up for a brief moment and noted that both of her parents’ cars were in the driveway. Morgan must not have a doctor’s appointment today.

It was startlingly quiet as they trekked farther into town, especially considering it was the first day of school. But Rae understood why the streets were so still: based on everything she had learned from Jake, Josh, and Sam, she could only assume there were a decent number of supernatural residents in town. They must have all been hiding, terrified out of their mind, or fighting to save their kind at city hall.

The latter, as it turned out, was where almost everyone was. Josh, Sam, and Rae were shocked by an overflow of people crammed into the main hallway of the city hall, leading to the mayor’s office. A few people greeted Josh and Sam with melancholy half waves, and others stared Rae down, trying to figure out what she was. The sheer number of people was overwhelming, but it became abundantly clear that Josh and Sam both held some kind of power amongst the werewolves and vampires, since the people parted like the Red Sea, telling them their parents were up ahead.

They squeezed their way through the doorway and Rae felt her stomach flip flop when a group of serious and cold looking adults who were speaking with the mayor behind his desk turned to face them.

“Sam?” a bald man on the shorter side said in surprise.

“Josh?” a woman equally on the shorter side with graying hair raised an eyebrow, as if expecting an explanation out of him. Rae noted that the two parents had two other people beside them, all looking powerful.

“We’re in the middle of something, boys,” a tall and tired looking man next to Sam’s father told them. Rae hated how excluded she felt from everything that was going on. It was as if she was invisible.

“Mom, we need to talk to you about something really important,” Josh pleaded. “Please.”

“It’s about Danny,” Sam added in, staring at his dad with desperate eyes. “We found something that seems promising. I think we’re getting closer to finding him, Dad.”

“Samuel,” his dad’s voice shook. “Because of your carelessness, we could all be fighting for our lives outside of town in the next couple of hours.” He turned back to address the mayor. “If you’d just listen to us,” he clasped his hands together, “we’ll explain everything. This is all a massive misunderstanding.”

“The Wagner family is beyond devastated,” the mayor spoke over Sam’s dad. “I have to do something to let them know that their son didn’t die in vain.”

“He’s not dead!” Sam raised his voice in protest. His dad put a hand up to stop him.

“We found his jacket in the woods with a note on it written in blood,” Josh quickly explained to his mom. “The blood was thick, like he was in cold weather. Jake dug a hole where we spotted the jacket and found ice at the bottom. There’s something weird going on out there.”

“Hold on, you were with Jake?” Sam and Jake’s dad butted in, his eyes narrowed. In that moment, it seemed like Josh understood why Jake had been so hesitant to share that they had been together.

“It’s a long story,” Josh answered while avoiding eye contact.

“Where’s Jake now?” Sam and Jake’s dad demanded.

“In the woods,” Sam responded for Josh, since he seemed to be having trouble forming any coherent words. It was jarring how quickly the parents both shifted from looking angry to distressed.

“Alone?” Josh’s mom asked, looking at Sam and Jake’s dad with worry. Sam nodded his head, his lips pursed. He, Josh, and Rae shared the same thought: Okay, maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to leave him out there on his own. “Kelly,” Josh’s mom addressed Sam and Jake’s dad. “We need to get Jake out of there.”

“Go, we’ll try to sort things out here, Karen,” one of the vampires standing next to Josh’s mom assured her.

“We’ll be back soon,” Karen promised her.

“I hope so,” she said.

“Lead the way,” Kelly motioned for the door. “And hurry.”

The group was in such a rush to make sure that Jake was okay, that neither Kelly nor Karen even bothered to ask who Rae was, or why she was with them. That was fine with Rae, because she really didn’t know what the right explanation was to give. The last thing she wanted was to say the wrong thing and then pay the extreme penalty.

They were at the foot of the woods, and Josh pointed west.

“He should be that way,” he shared.

“He better be,” Kelly said to Sam and Josh. They barreled through the trees, Sam leading the way with the promise that he could smell Jake, and they were coming up close to him. Rae’s heart thundered in her chest, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the strenuous activity, or the anxiety that they might make their way to the hole in the middle of the woods, and not a single trace of Jake would be there. What made her even more nervous was the sun, which was starting to make its trek down towards the horizon. They didn’t have long before the woods were entirely dark, and they were virtually defenseless against whatever lurked around.

The trees around them grew more familiar to Rae in ways she couldn’t comprehend, and then in the distance she spotted Jake sitting at the edge of the hole.

“Thank god,” Kelly and Karen both breathed out.

As they got closer to Jake, two things became apparent to Rae: something had obviously happened, and Jake was in distress. When Kelly and Sam caught onto this, they ran the rest of the distance to Jake, squatting by his side. Rae, Josh, and Karen approached them as Kelly tried to pry information out of his son.

“Please talk to us, Jake.”

Jake had scratches running up and down his arms and bare torso, and a nasty slice on his cheek that looked like it would never permanently heal. His hair was disheveled and he shook out of control, but the most concerning thing was the look of devastation on his face.

Sam gave Jake’s bare back a light rub to try and calm him, and then placed his palm on Jake’s shoulder. Rae watched as Sam’s eyes rolled back in his head and he started to tremble in place, his hand still firmly on Jake. In return, Jake continued to gaze off into the distance, his eyes widening as if he was reliving whatever traumatizing event had happened while they were gone. Kelly watched between his two sons with concern, and was on top of holding Sam upright when he released from Jake with a gasp.

“Oh god,” Sam’s voice cracked, looking around at all of them in a panic. Kelly tried to soothe Sam, but he shakily got to his feet and, to everyone’s surprise, approached Rae. Unsure what was happening, Rae looked beyond Sam and saw that Jake was looking at her with tears streaming down his cheeks. “It’s your brother,” Sam told Rae.

“What?” Rae’s words felt disconnected from her body. What the hell did Morgan have to do with anything??

“He came out here looking for you.”

“Oh shit,” Rae said as her knees buckled.

“Jake tried to stop it, but some beast that I’ve never seen before grabbed him and dragged him into the hole,” Sam told her.

“Is he still alive?” Rae whispered.

“I don’t know,” Sam’s voice was hardly audible. Rae felt herself drop to her knees, but the pain from the force of impact didn’t seem to register in her brain. Everything was buzzing around her, and her eyes couldn’t focus. She wanted to scream out, to bawl her eyes out, but it was like her body was paralyzed in fear and grief. Anger trickled in. What the hell was he doing looking for her in the woods? He knew it wasn’t safe. But Rae did too. She shouldn’t have been in there either. Rae wanted to smack herself for being so foolish.

“I’m so sorry, Rae,” Jake’s voice came behind her, sounding like it was echoing in a pool. Rae didn’t want to look at him in the state she was in, but she turned to face him and was immediately swarmed in a tight embrace. As Jake held her in his arms, Rae had a hard time discerning if he needed the hug more, or her. She could feel the heat from some of his blood oozing onto her shirt, but it was the least of her worries. Morgan was gone, taken by some terrifying thing beyond any of their imaginations. As if Jake knew what she was thinking, he whispered into her ear, “I tried to do everything I could to keep your brother safe. I really tried. I’m so sorry.”

The ringing in Rae’s ears died down at Jake’s words. It was her job to keep Morgan safe, not Jake’s. She moved away from Jake’s arms and studied Sam, Josh, Kelly, and Karen, who were finally looking at her with suspicion, just noticing she was a part of the party.

“We need to find where this thing is taking its victims,” Rae instructed the group. “I’m getting my brother out of there if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Sure,” Kelly nodded at her. “But first things first, who the hell are you?”

****

Taglist:@lvnterninthenight, @writingcold, @myownparadise96, @i-choose-the-road, @psychedelicsprinkles, @mama-likes72, @ascendingtothestarssasone

#greta van fleet #gvf #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #the frozen light #greta van fleet fanfiction #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fic #gvf fanfiction #gvf fanfic #gvf fic #gvf werewolf au #gvf vampire au

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juliamstarr · 2 years

Photo

Instagram

#sunlight #november #dreamy light #evening light #sunshine #best of nature #nature photography #nature pics #frozen #icy pond #sunlit plants

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cupidlovesss · 2 months

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Frozen Lighting Mod with Sunlit Tides Water

I'm glad I finished this because it looks so good in game and I also took a photo of the light blue water in map view.

(Yes it was winter in my game but it should look the same regardless of the season) More photos

•Comes with auroras of course •All credit goes to @brntwaffles I just edited the ramp to include the sunlit tides water and made some adjustments to the ini file so it would show up in game •All photos taken without reshade Download Alt Download

If these download links don't work let me know in messages and I'll gladly send you a link!

#sims 3 #lighting mod #s3 mods #brntwaffles #frozen lighting mod #s3mods

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wojakgallery · 3 months

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Ghoul Collection (Templates):

Brown / Feral / Frozen Blue / Green / Light Green / Red / Rotten Feral / White

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radioactivepeasant · 2 months

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Free Day Friday: Trespasser

(From the poll: "In Which the Demolition Duo made it to the Wastelands without being banished because They Are Trespassing)

Damas was not, by and large, a religious man. He didn't worship Precursors -- there were some who insisted that his ousting from Haven was divine punishment for his arrogance -- nor spirits. If spirits could be killed, so could Precursors. That made them oracles, elders to be respected for unique perspectives on time, but not gods in Damas’s opinion.

Which made it an oddity to find him in the temple.

He sat on the shallow steps, staring up at the six carved heads meant to represent Precursors. More insectoid than Oracles, or perhaps just more elaborate. They seemed to wear headdresses over their bizarre masks.

"If you, by action or inaction, let Mar die, then at least have the decency to tell me," he whispered into the empty air.

"You always foretold a future moment of need that my House would answer. Has that need passed unnoticed that you stay silent while my bloodline ends? Or does my son live?"

The masks were silent, of course. Carved stone could neither hear nor speak.

Ungrateful wretches. Damas had a fleeting thought that perhaps they'd allowed -- or even orchestrated -- the abduction of his little son because he wasn't servile and "pious" enough for their tastes.

Damas wondered if spirits could harm Precursors. If perhaps the "Good Grandmother"*, She-Who-Hears-Them-Cry, might take an interest if something in this temple had been directly involved in bringing Mar to harm.

Má took her payment even from the hides of fellow spirits, after all.

"Even if you were capable of bringing him back unharmed, I very much doubt you would," Damas whispered harshly to the open air. His throat bobbed with a painful, bitter anger.

"But if you took him, you owe blood-debt to my House, old ones. So grant closure or sit in your realm knowing that I will seek answers among others as old as you."

Was it wise to threaten the Precursors? Damas neither knew nor cared anymore. Two years he'd barely survived having his heart metaphorically ripped out of his chest.

What more could they do to him? Really, what could they possibly do that could be worse than not knowing?

No answer arrived, not that it surprised him. Damas sighed and braced his elbows against his knees, head in his hands.

Stone grated against stone and metal to his left, and he turned his head swiftly.

There was a door there, one heavily fortified with traps. A hovering Sentinel eye kept watch for movement, designed to activate a spike trap if anyone tried to enter the lower levels without permission. And if someone managed to somehow get past that, the door would still be sealed. Whether by an enterprising ancestor of his or by meddling Precursors, that door could not be opened without an Heir of Mar. Damas was the only one who had ever been beyond it.

It should not have opened even an inch.

And yet Damas was witnessing the two mighty halves forcing themselves apart with a tortured groan born of idleness.

He was on his feet in an instant, ready for a fight. There was no chance that this heralded anything good.

"Whoa!"

That was a hu'men voice.

Damas’s hand hovered over his sidearm, ready to draw the moment he saw a face.

"And I thought this place was huge before!"

It was a young voice. High and a little squeaky.

"It just keeps going, doesn't it?" laughed a second voice, deeper, but just as young.

And then the doors were open wide enough to see the silhouette in between them.

And more importantly, to see the object glowing faintly in his outstretched fist.

Damas’s mouth was dry as he fumbled for the pouch between belt and leather armor where he kept his own amulet of Mar. He knew the shape by heart: twin comets orbiting each other, over stylized hands.

Thief-!

Pure, outraged, fury burned through his veins for a moment. Who had this scrawny figure stolen that amulet from? Heaven forbid it be Mar's amulet, lest Damas murder this boy before his very next step.

"Identify yourself!" Damas shouted, raising his gun.

The figure stepped into view. He was small, so thin his clothes hung loosely on scrawny limbs, but he held himself like a warrior.

"People!"

The animal curled around his shoulders sat upright and spoke.

"Jak! There's real people in here! We're saved!"

Odd reaction to a man pointing a gun at them.

The boy eased a step forward, hands raised as if soothing a frightened animal. He still held the incriminating amulet in his hand.

"Whoa, okay, put the gun down. I don't want to hurt anybody-"

He took a step too far and the sentinel flashed. The spikes shot up out of the floor with a faint shunk!

With a yelp, the boy leapt back -- he was surprisingly light on his feet for someone wearing boots two sizes too big. Then, as if the nearly fatal encounter was no more than a slight inconvenience, he backed up, got a running start, and launched.

He kicked off the wall, seeming to find handholds in the tiniest of crevices as he bypassed the spikes entirely.

Once on the ground again, the boy dusted himself off.

"You okay, Dax?"

"Just peachy, considering you almost dropped me!"

"Did not!" the hu'men boy protested in annoyance.

He really was small.

The general gangly sprawl of his limbs suggested he would gain an impressive height, but for now he just looked..small.

And entirely too excited.

"Who....do you- Where did you come from?" Damas demanded.

The boy pointed back down at the steps and shrugged before scratching his head.

"Exploring?"

Oh that green hair hurt to look at. It was filthy, and matted, like it hadn't been correctly washed in years. He couldn't even determine the age of the trespasser, what with the layers of grime embedded into every crevice of his face. The clothes were just as stained with sweat, dirt, and what looked to be bloodstains. From traps?

"Exploring."

Damas repeated the stranger's explanation incredulously. "How did you even get in here?"

The boy and the orange animal looked at each other for a curiously long moment. They seemed to be having a conversation merely by narrowing and widening their eyes in turn. Then, seeming to come to an agreement, they shrugged and turned back to face Damas.

The boy pointed down a barely visible flight of rough-hewn stone steps, lit by torches.

"We came up through the catacombs."

There were catacombs? He hadn't seen anything like that down there, and Damas liked to think he'd made it pretty far! He examined the stranger more closely, avoiding his eyes -- they're not familiar, you're just projecting your grief -- and avoiding looking at the talking weasel thing. He saw sunken cheeks drawn tightly against sharp cheekbones. A pale, barely visible scar across the bridge of his nose. Deep, deep shadows beneath his eyes. How large was the temple, altogether? Were there more people living below their feet?

"How...long were you down there?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Trust me pal," the weasel-rabbit said, "he smelled like this before we got in that zoomer."

"Hey!"

"What zoomer?!" Damas asked, feeling more confused than before.

"The one we took through the lava tube to the catacombs."

Damas was beginning to wonder if he'd somehow inhaled the monks' incense by accident.

The trespasser cringed as if only just noticing the bewildered and only barely softened hostility on Damas’s face. He shoved his amulet -- not his, it can't be his, there aren't any more of us left!*-- into his pocket and waved his hands placatingly.

Was there another Heir all this time? Is that why I was given no chance to protect Mar? Were my child and I expendable?

"Didn't mean to bother you," the kid apologized, "We'll just uh- huh. Actually, where are we?"

And then he looked to the door rather than Damas.

"Hey Oracle!" he shouted, and Damas was glad no monks were present to hear this and faint at the impertinance.

"Where the rot are we?"

Alright. This was now officially more of a problem than he'd first thought. Not even the monks were supposed to have found that Oracle down there.

One of the past Heirs who never inherited the throne had sealed it up the moment he discovered it long ago. After all, the discovery of light and dark eco being opposite poles of one energy might have thrown society into chaos and they didn't want to deal with the fallout. Even Damas was leery of reintroducing that knowledge outside of the Arena yet. Apparently this trespasser had no such thoughts.

He spoke to Oracles -- or pretended he did.

He held and used an amulet.

The boy was a mystery. And Damas hated not having the answers.

"You," Damas decided, wearing anger like a shield, "are coming with me. You have questions to answer."

The boy balked.

"No!"

He dodged before Damas could seize his arm, stumbling back amidst the columns.

"Uh-uh, I'm not falling for that."

"Falling for what?"

Damas was genuinely confused, and more than a little irritated.

The boy continued to back away.

"No, no I know how this goes. You're gonna take me back to the Haven Council, aren't you!"

"Haven?!" Damas sputtered, "Why the bleeding rot would I want to go there?! I'm taking you to my city!"

That didn't reassure the kid, who apparently was not fond of the leaders of Haven City.

Well, that was at least a bare minimum of common ground.

"You ain't takin us to no secondary location!" the orange one declared, pointing a skinny digit at Damas.

"The last time I got transported to a new place, I got kidnapped and experimented on for two years," his friend agreed.

Embleer Frith.

Damas stared at the boy. He squinted, as if that would give him insight into the unsettling response, then shook his head.

"You what?!"

What was he talking about? Experimented on?! That would explain the sudden shift from curiosity to distrust. But why-?

Damas knew. Deep down, he thought he knew.

If the boy was an Heir -- and he didn't even want to entertain the thought, but it had to be acknowledged as a possibility -- then that alone would be motive for someone like Praxis to torture even a young man -- or young boy?

If he was still obsessed with creating the ultimate war-sage, then an unclaimed and unattended Heir of Mar would be invaluable.

But if Praxis had been so focused on an older Heir, then perhaps it at least meant that he'd never gotten his hands on Mar.

That there was a stab of shame to follow that whisper of relief was an unsettling proof that he had not successfully hardened his heart as much as he'd thought.

"You came here from Haven?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

Thoughts of a breach in their defenses sickened him.

"And others will follow in pursuit of you?"

This time both trespassers scoffed.

"Only if they feel like sharpening their reaction time enough for a volcanic subrail," the hu'men said. He almost smiled.

The orange one nodded. "Jak here's the best driver there is! Also the most demolition-happy, but nobody's perfect."

Jak?

Now that was a name his spies had been mentioning a lot in their reports. An alleged juggernaut who had turned the Baron's own secret project against him and -- rumor had it -- even destroyed the metalhead nest.

Damas had been expecting someone a little...older.

* the "Good Grandmother" Damas is referencing is a spirit I made up for the Wasteland called Má Crocadeer. Fairly grisly figure with a crocadeer skull wreathed in flowers for a head, and a crocadeer's legs and tail. Her purpose is to punish those who deliberately cause or inflict harm on children. There's a lot of people in Haven who should avoid the desert for this reason.

#fic prompts #writing prompts #jak and daxter #dadmas #king damas #jak and daxter au #trespasser au #Jak got his first light eco power early so he's in a really good mood. Damas meanwhile is having a crisis again #he's going to order a dna test but those don't give you results overnight so until then he's just got this guy loose in Spargus #Jak pulled an Elsa via Frozen 2 and followed a mysterious 'call' down the eco mine to the subrail #he doesn't want to leave until he knows what that call is. the Haven crew aren't happy about it but they literally can't reach him so...#Jak 100% sneaks into the Arena because he heard if he got an amulet he could stay in the city #Damas is so stressed because he can't get answers if this kid goes and gets himself killed #free day friday

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