#the minute i finish assigning everyone dragons it is OVER

[ck2k18]

oughghlk have you heard this cover of forbidden friendship, i listened to it years ago and had to learn (a simpler version of) it on the piano because it was SO moving i've loved a lot of stories over the years, but something about httyd wrenches my heart especially

WOW WOW WOW that cover is so beautiful. my only thoughts are just WOW. legitimately got chills starting around the 2 min mark and then around the 3-minute mark? wow. i dont know piano but i highkey wish i did. that cover is incredibly underrated i am shocked that it doesnt have more likes and views.

httyd is not only such a moving story but like the lore and the dragons pulls me in. i watched the netflix series "race to the edge" which i dont think is canon to the second movie but it introduced so many cool dragons and characters and made me really fall in love with the groups dynamics and UGH. i got obsessed with it a few years ago and i decided to rewatch the movies and series and IMMEDIATELY was sucked in again. i underestimated how much of a dragon nerd i am.

anyway im rambling sdfjdslkfs but thank you SO MUCH @maridotnet for 'bothering' me with this it made me very happy.

[sunflowergirl522]

The Other Wheeler 1

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Wheeler!Reader

Summary: you’re normally the forgotten Wheeler to anyone other than Mikes friends but Eddie is captivated by you upon first glance.

Word Count: 7600

A/N: This series is just gonna be updated whenever I can get myself to focus on it. I was gonna wait till I had at least part 2 finished before posting it but Lea really wanted me to finally post it and who would I be if I kept my biggest fan waiting.

Eddie Masterlist

“Mike, come on, let's go!” Nancy yells for your brother who’s waiting for his waffles to pop out of the toaster. This is how almost every day of school has gone so far because Nancy has to get there early to do stuff with the school's paper. “I swear to God I’m going to leave you here and you can bike to school!”

“I’m coming!” He yells back through a mouthful of Eggo.

“I could always drive you.” You offer watching him wince as he grabs his newly toasted waffles. You’re just now getting yourself breakfast since you don’t have to leave for another twenty minutes. You’ve offered the same thing almost every morning and each time you’ve gotten the same response.

“It’s fine, thanks though.” He smiles at you before shoving a waffle in his mouth.

“Mike!”

“I’m coming!” He slings his bag over his shoulder as he runs out the door following your sister to her car. You’re not shocked that he picks Nancy again, it’s what everyone seems to do. To everyone other than Mike's friends you’re the forgotten Wheeler. Even your parents seem to forget you exist unless they’re comparing you to Nancy or other kids your age. You sigh before turning your attention back to the bowl of cereal in front of you. When you leave you make sure to grab the textbook Mike forgot on the counter again.

“Who’s that lost sheep over there?” Eddie asks after a while of watching the girl sitting alone bobbing her head along to whatever is playing through her headphones and doing what looks like homework while picking at the little food in front of her. He had seen her in a couple of his classes this year already and she intrigued him because she always was just listening to music or doing the work assigned. He’s not sure he’s heard or seen her talk until earlier that day when he spotted her talking to Mike and handing him a book. “Wheeler, you know her don’t you?”

“Huh?” Mike follows where the older man's attention is before turning back to him and shrugging. “Oh, yeah. That’s my sister Y/n.”

“I didn’t know you had a second sister.” Eddie leans forward and the rest of the club nods along, a little surprised to hear that. 

“Y/n’s the best, Mike doesn’t talk about her for whatever reason though.” Dustin chimes in, glaring a little at his friend. “If she was my sister I’d talk about her all the time.”

“You do talk about her all the time.” Mike rolls his eyes going back to paying attention to his food. “I’m shocked you haven’t told Eddie about her yet.”

“She never came up in conversation.” Dustin shrugs, turning back to look at Eddie. “She’s been driving me here in the mornings.”

“She’s been driving you to school? And you let her?” Mike sputters out not being able to believe this. But really he shouldn’t be surprised because from the first time you came down to the basement to offer the boys freshly baked cookies during a dungeons and dragons session Dustin and even Lucas and Will had all but claimed you as their own. Dustin even had a crush on you for the longest time before it faded away.

“Yeah, you should really take her up on her offers to drive you y'know, or you’ll be stuck coming in early with Nancy all year.”

“Y/n’s car is being held together with duct tape Dustin, duct tape. I’m not getting in that death trap.” Eddie smiles a little as he watches the two freshman bicker before turning his attention back to the Wheeler he didn’t know existed until now.

You’re oblivious to the attention you’re getting. You’re too focused on getting the math homework that’s due next period done that you didn’t have time to do after closing Elixir Records last night. You loved working at the little music store in town, it’s why you were so okay with working right after school till close, but sometimes you had to rush last minute to get your school work done because of how busy it could get. Normally you get your homework for that night done at lunch or at work with the rare time of having to stay up when you got home to finish it. Last night was one of those once in a blue moon times that you still had some to do but you were so tired from running around the shop trying to get the stock done that your coworker who walked out the day before, your day off, was supposed to do that you had passed out at your desk.

You’re distracted by finishing up the worksheet and the music flowing through your ears so you don’t notice Dustin walking up to you. His presence is so sudden and unexpected that when you glance up and see him standing in front of you you jump a bit in your seat. You pull your headphones down to sit around your neck and drop the pencil in your hand so he knows he has your full attention.

“Jeez Dustbunny give a girl some warning before popping up out of the blue.” 

“Sorry, I thought maybe you would’ve noticed me coming.”

“What do you need, bud?”

“I was just wondering if you were still willing to take me home after school? If not that’s fine Eddie offered to give me a ride since he wanted to talk to me about this new campaign he’s planning for Hellfire.” The boy in front of you points with his thumb over his shoulder at the older boy who ducks his head down when you peer around Dustin to look his way. 

You knew of Eddie Munson, it was hard not to have at least heard of him before. He was in some of your classes this year and Dustin’s told you about him and their club during the drive to school. You admired how he took your brother and his friends under his wing almost immediately. You’ve never interacted with him yourself but you knew he wasn’t the freak everyone wanted to see him as.

“Yeah I can still drive you home, I told Lucas I’d give him a ride too. But if you wanna go with Eddie that works for me. It’ll give me a smidge more time to get ready for work.”

“Okay, I’ll let him know. Are you closing the shop again tonight?”

“Yeah, you want me to see if there’s anything good in the clearance section for you again?” He smiles wide at the offer. He loved when you presented him with music you thought he’d like that you found on sale at work. Sometimes you’d even hand him a tape of an album that just came out.

“If you have time, yeah. I’ll let you get back to your work.” He motions to the almost complete worksheet in front of you. “I’ll see you tomorrow Y/n!”

“See ya Dustin.” You smile at the boy before he turns and heads back to his table. You put your headphones back on, giving Eddie a small wave when your eyes meet, and get back to finishing up the last two problems before you can move on to the work you’ve been given for tonight. 

“Tomorrow we’ll be picking lab partners for the first big project of the year.” Ms. O’Donnell rushes out after the bell rings and everyone starts collecting their things. Picking partners is your least favorite thing and you wish she would’ve just assigned them like most other teachers. You have no idea who you’d pick with not really making the effort to become friends with anyone anymore. After Barb ditched you to be better friends with Nancy you stopped trying, you figured anyone else would just do the same thing. As you make your way out of the classroom you see Eddie in the corner of your eye finishing up a doodle in his notebook, something you’ve noticed he does a lot instead of paying attention. Maybe you’ll see if he wants to be your lab partner because you doubt anyone is going to be fighting to be his. You don’t even care about doing all the work if you have to.

You rush down the hall knowing that Lucas is probably gonna beat you to your locker. His last class is right next to his own and that’s down the hall from yours. You dive around people in the halls who are moving slowly distracted by talking to their friends instead of hurrying to get home. You smile when you see Lucas walking up to your locker unlocking it for you.

“You ready to go?” You ask, grabbing your bag and shoving your notebooks into it.

“Yeah, are we waiting for Dustin and Mike?”

“No, Dustin’s getting a ride with Eddie and Mike told me he’s going home with Nancy again.” You both make your way down the hallway towards the entrance of the school. “How were basketball tryouts yesterday?”

“They were alright, I think I made the team but I won’t be sure until next week.”

“Well if you didn’t make the team they’re dumb. You’re a great player, I mean you always beat me when we play together.” You bump your shoulder into his own and he laughs at you.

“Yeah that’s because you suck at sports.” You send him a mock hurt face over the roof of your car.

“That’s the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Lucas just rolls his eyes getting into the car and you shoot him a smile once you’re seated next to him. “Seriously though Lukey I’m sure you made the team you’ve been practicing since you found out about the team.”

“Stop using that nickname Y/n, I’m not a little kid anymore.” He groans out but turns to look out of the window so you can’t see the small smile on his face.

“I’ll never stop. Now let’s go get your sister and blow this popsicle stand.” With that you pull out of the parking spot and start over to the middle school.

You make it to work twenty minutes early but after getting home and changing your dad started going on about how you need to do stuff for college already and how Nancy already filled out college applications. All you wanted to do was scream about how that’s because Nancy knew what she wanted to do after high school and the only thing on your radar is moving out as soon as you graduate. You didn’t though, you had stopped responding to his tangents with anything other than ‘yeah I’ll get right on that dad’ since the first time you got held back in the eighth grade. 

You searched through the cassettes on sale deciding on the Eagles first album to get for Dustin before checking that you can clock in. You spend the first hour of your shift restocking the vinyls that are getting low. Once that’s finished you switch out the album that had finished playing over the store's speakers for a new one before moving behind the counter for the next six hours of your shift. After checking out the two people that were in the shop you pull out the book assigned for English to get the next chapter read for the day after tomorrow. You’re halfway through it when the bell above the door chimes once more and you glance up from it to find Eddie Munson himself entering the store. You giggle at his wide eyes from the sound of the new bell and his head snaps from where it’s tilted up to examine where the chime came from to where you’re sitting behind the counter. His mouth parts slightly as you give him a friendly smile before looking back down at the book and continuing reading.

Eddie stumbles a bit at seeing you here. He’s been buying albums from this store almost exclusively since it opened and he’s never seen you here. He never would’ve thought that the intriguing girl he just found out was Mike’s sister would be working at his favorite music store the night he came for a fucking Abba album. His eyes keep finding their way to your slouched over figure as he makes his way over to where he knows he’ll find their Super Trouper album. On his way to the counter he grabs a Megadeth album that he definitely already has to make this situation less weird.

“Did you find everything okay?” You ask putting in the bookmark and shutting the book before placing it off to the side.

“Yeah.” He so badly wants to say something else to you but his mind blanks as he hesitantly places the tapes on the counter.

“Do you wanna be my lab partner in Ms. O’Donnells class?” You blurt it out as you ring him up.

“What?”

“We’re in the same science class and she said we’re picking lab partners tomorrow.”

“No, I know that. You want to be mine?”

“Well yeah. Why not? Unless you already have one of course. I just don’t really have anyone else I’d want to do it with.” Your voice softens near the end and Eddie can see a hint of loneliness flash across your face before you try to cover it up with a smile. He can tell that’s what it is based on your words, tone, and the fact that he’s felt the same way before. It’s not often people want to hang around the town freak.

“Nah I don’t have one yet. So if you’ll have me Y/n I’ll be your partner.”

“You know who I am?”

“Yeah, I noticed you sitting alone at lunch today and Mike and Dustin told me about you.” He rubs the back of his neck a little embarrassed to admit that he was watching you.

“Mike was talking about me? Willingly?” The disbelief is strong in your voice and it shocks Eddie because as soon as the two boys had started talking about you they couldn’t seem to stop.

“Why do you sound so shocked about that?” Eddie leans his elbows on the counter resting his weight on them.

“Oh, it’s just I don’t know, Mike never seems to be all that interested in being related to me I guess. It’s not that we have a bad relationship or anything, he just seems to want to be around Nancy more. Probably because they’re closer in age.” You add in the last part more to reassure yourself.

“Really? He seemed to have nothing but good things to say about you and I’ve never seen him talk about Nancy with the sort of excitement he had today. And Dustin seems to absolutely adore you.” You can feel yourself getting flustered at his words and his scrutinizing gaze.

“Oh I love Dustin, he’s my little Dustbunny.” You look away as you begin to bag up his items and he chuckles at the nickname.

“Dustbunny?”

“Oh shit, don’t tell him you know that. As much as Mike's friends enjoy my nicknames for them, they hate when I use them in public for everyone else to hear. You should see Lucas’s face when I use his, he’s slapped a hand over my mouth before.” You laugh just thinking about it and Eddie finds himself hoping to hear the sound again. “Their friend Will gets absolutely blushy when I say his a little too loudly.”

“Oh I definitely need to know what all of their nicknames are.” You shake your head and mimic zipping your mouth shut and throwing the key over the counter. “You can’t just tell me they hate them and not tell me!” Eddie complains before diving to act like he’s searching for the key and jumping up victoriously and acting out unlocking your mouth. “Please, you’re killing me here Y/n.” You ignore the feeling of his fingers on your lips as he unzips them and laugh as you knock his hand away.

“Fine I’ll tell you Will’s since he’s all the way in Cali and it’s unlikely you’ll meet him anytime soon.” You let out another round of giggles at how he perks up at hearing that. “I call him Yam Yam. It started as just calling him Will Yam since his full name is William but then I discovered how much fun it is to call out Yam Yam instead. Now that’s it, forget you heard his and Dustins, no one needs to know that you know alright?”

“I’m not promising anything.” He holds his hands up and shakes his head before pointing at you. “You shouldn’t have fallen into my trap and told me.”

“That’s not fair, how's anyone supposed to deny your big puppy dog eyes?” The bell above the door chimes again and you quiet down since someone else has entered the store. “How about this, you don’t bring up the nickname thing to them and I won’t tell everyone about how our resident metalhead is a secret Abba head?”

“Fine, you drive a hard bargain.”

“Your total is thirteen dollars by the way.” He places a ten and a five dollar bill on the counter while taking the bag from you.

“Keep the change.” He motions towards the tip jar next to the register. “I know all about your taped together car.”

“Get out of here I will not tolerate disrespect towards my sweet sweet car. I’ll see you tomorrow Eddie.” He laughs as you shoo him away and listens to you greet the next customer on his way out the door. He can’t seem to shake his smile the rest of the night.

The next day you’re a little shocked when Eddie takes a seat next to you in your shared third period English class. As he pulls out the chair next to you he also pulls your headphones down to rest on your neck. It causes you to immediately straighten up not sure who it was at first but relax when you see the brunette take a seat next to you.

“So, do I get a fun little nickname now that we’re friends?”

“Who said we’re friends now?”

“Uh, you did when you asked me to be your lab partner. You signed a contract and everything. Is that Motley Crue playing?” He takes the headphones you’ve placed on the table while you went to stop your walkman and places them on his head just before the music cuts off.

“I don’t remember signing any kind of contract, you'll have to talk to my lawyer. And then maybe we’ll see about that nickname you want.” You smile at him, taking the headphones back and turning to face the teacher as he starts to speak. Eddie’s attention stays on you for a little bit longer before pulling out his notebook and starting to doodle instead of paying attention.

At lunch Eddie spends the first half of it with his attention drifting from the guys over to where you’re sitting doing the same thing as yesterday. His legs bounces up and down as he fights the urge to get up and go bother you. In the end he loses the battle and pushes away from the table the screeching of the chair on the floor causing Dustin to stop mid sentence as the group watches him walk over to you.

“So, I’ve spoken to your lawyer, sadly the contract is binding and you’re stuck with me.” He says after knocking your headphones down over your face. You let out a fake sigh of disappointment as he sits next to you spreading out.

“I guess I am, you sure he couldn’t find some sort of loophole? He’s normally so good at that.”

“Nope. What are you working on?” He pulls your notebook to sit in front of him instead of you. “This doesn’t look like a list of nicknames for you to choose from.”

“It’s my psych notes. I gotta study now for the test tomorrow because I probably won’t have time tonight after work. Don’t worry though Eddie I had a nickname picked out for you from the very beginning.” You pull said notes back to you watching how his face lights up at your words. You can’t help but match his smile with one of your own.

“What is it?”

“You’ll find out when you’ll find out.” You shrug and look away from him back down at your notes.

“What kind of an answer is that?” You laugh as his arms flail around with his question.

“Looks like someones cozying up with Y/n.” Dustin teases Mike as they watch the two of you laugh together.

“Shut up Dustbunny.” Mike grumbles to his friend as he turns away and focuses on his food again in a mood over Eddie seeming to be into his sister.

“You’re not supposed to call me that Mikey Mouse.” Dustin kicks Mike under the table. “You gonna go all overprotective little brother mode on him?”

“Pft no why would I?”

“Because you do that. You don’t notice how you start acting towards people who seem to want to get close to her? You come off real standoffish and try to seem tougher like that’s possible.”

“I do not, just shut up Dustin.”

“Dustin! Are you coming or what?” You yell out seeing him across the parking lot at Eddie’s van. “We gotta pick up Erica!”

“I’m coming!” Once he’s in the car with you and Lucas you drive up next to Eddie and stop. “If you were coming here anyway, why'd you yell for me?”

“Because you should’ve already been in the car.” You lean over the middle console and Lucas to stick your head out the window. “Hey Eddie, you coming over to work on the project still?”

“Yeah, do you want me to follow you?” He leans down so your heads are closer together.

“No you can just head straight there since I gotta drop Dustin off first. You remember which house it is right? I know you’ve given Mike rides home after club meetings before.”

“Yeah, I remember where it is. So I’ll meet you there?”

“Yep.”

“You guys done throwing goo goo eyes at each other over me?” Lucas complains and you give him a side eye.

“Shut up Lukey Poo-” You’re cut off as Lucas throws a hand over your mouth wide eyed and pulls you back in the car.

“Okay bye Eddie she’ll see you in like not even twenty minutes! Y/n go, drive, Erica’s gonna be all crabby if we’re late again.”

“We’ll just blame it on Dustin again. See you soon Eddie!” Eddie laughs as you peel out of the parking lot turning into the middle schools. He’s pretty sure he was about to find out your nickname for Lucas if the kid hadn't pulled you back into the car. His mission is to find out your nicknames for each of the freshmen at some point.

“See you tomorrow Dustbunny!” You yell getting the middle finger in response from where he is on his doorstep. You laugh as you watch him get inside before pulling away and heading home. As you drive up your street you spot Eddie getting out of his van and Lucas groans.

“Y/n please do not yell that goddamn nickname as I walk away. Not with Eddie right there.”

“No Y/n do it.”

“Erica shut up, you’re just lucky for not having one yet.” You laugh at the Sinclairs pulling into the spot in front of the house sitting between your house and their own. You weren’t planning to use it before but now you think you will just because he complained about it. You let the kids get out first, giving Lucas time to walk away and feel safe before getting out yourself.

“Hey Eddie.” You step out of your car and give him a wave. “Hold on just one minute. Bye Erica, bye Lukey Pookey, see you both tomorrow!” Eddie laughs as the younger kids groan is loud enough that it reaches his ears.

“Lukey Pookey?”

“I normally just use the first part but when he annoys me or I can tell he’s really upset I use the full nickname. Now c’mon you get to meet the parents on our way up to my room.” Eddie’s head swims with thoughts of being a disappointment to your parents and immediately not getting an approval from them. Meanwhile you’re getting ready for whatever it is your father might say to you in front of your new friend. He’s sitting in his normal chair when you enter and you give him a wave and a smile. Your mom isn’t anywhere to be seen but you’re sure she’s in the kitchen making dinner. “Hey dad, this is Eddie, we’re gonna go work on our science project.”

“Nice to see you actually put in the effort. Maybe you’ll actually graduate this year instead of failing again.” Your heart drops at the same time that your eye twitches and your smile falls for the fraction of a millisecond, both things that Eddie catches. He doesn’t even look up from his paper to greet Eddie as he speaks.

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” You grab Eddie's wrist and quickly make your escape from the living room and into the kitchen where your mom is getting ready to make dinner it seems. “Mom this is Eddie, we’re gonna be upstairs working on a science project if you need us.”

“Is he staying for dinner?” You look at Eddie expecting him to answer the question while your mom straightens up.

“Uh, no that’s fine Mrs. Wheeler, I don't want to be a bother.”

“You wouldn’t be a bother. I normally make more food than I should in case one of Mike's friends stops by out of the blue. Not that I would need to worry about not having enough, Y/n barely ever eats with us anymore so her portion goes uneaten.” You stop the eye roll that wants to happen at how she’s trying to guilt trip you again. It’s not your fault you have to work all the time in order to pay off your car when they just straight up bought Nancy one. And you wouldn’t need to save up to get a place of your own if your dad wasn’t awful to you.

“Eddie would love to stay for dinner mom. We should really start working on our project now though.” You pull Eddie away and up the stairs pausing in your journey only to wave to Mike who’s jaw drops at seeing Eddie trail behind you.

“So, they seem interesting.” Eddie says about your parents once your door is shut and you’ve collapsed face first onto your bed. You wish you could scream into your pillow right about now. 

“Yeah, interesting is definitely a word for them.” You roll onto your back and Eddie sits next to you.

“What did your dad mean about failing again? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” 

“I’m two years older than Nancy. The first time I got held back and failed was in the eighth grade because I had a hard time getting myself to get out of bed most mornings so I just didn’t go to school. My mom helped me get through a lot that year actually. And then I failed sophomore year because I kept skipping in order to go to work to get my car. My dad refuses to let me live either of those times down, always bringing up how pretty perfect Nancy never had to get held back.”

“Well failing isn’t that bad, I mean look at me I’m going on try number three on senior year. Schools tough, especially when you’ve got other things distracting you from it. Besides, you're not gonna fail this year because everytime I see you, you're busy working on something for classes since all your free time is at the shop. So you’ll be off to college and out of here in no time.” You smile at his words and sit up to kiss his cheek.

“Thanks Eddie, I’ll make sure you graduate this year too.”

Dinner has an awkward vibe around it that night. Eddie sits next to you, the both of you across from Mike and Nancy, the two of them not seeming to know how to act with your guest around. Nancy keeps side eyeing him while Mike just stares into Eddie’s soul. Your parents both sit at the heads of the table silently eating until your dad clears his throat.

“You wouldn’t happen to be that Munson kid would you?” His words cause you to choke on your food and Eddie sends you a worried glance before looking at your dad.

“Yes sir, that's me.”

“Didn’t you flunk out of high school?”

“No sir, I just failed senior year twice because I was too focused on my club. I’m graduating this year though my friends are helping me stay on track.”

“Y/n are you sure this is the type of person you want to surround yourself with?” You nearly spit out your drink.

“Dad!”

“I’ve heard some rumors about this kid and colleges aren’t going to want to accept you if you’re friends with freaks.’

“Ted!” Your mom exclaims while your siblings look at him wide eyes and mouths gaping. They haven’t seen the two of you in a fight in a while but Mike knows that this is definitely going to start one either between the two of you or with him and his dad.

“Eddie’s not a freak! I can’t believe you would call him that when Mikes into the same stuff that gets him called one. Eddie’s nothing but a sweetheart, you should see how he stands up for Mike and his friends and how at home they are with him. And who cares what colleges think of my friends, I don’t even think I’m going!” Your mom gasps along with Nancy. Mike is busy moving his eyes between you and your dad and Eddie places a calming hand on your knee. 

“Mrs. Wheeler, this meal is just delightful. I think it might be the best food I’ve had in a while.” Eddie says smiling towards your mom to try to break the tension a little bit. It’s not a lie either, with Wayne going to the plant early lately he’s mainly just been eating scraps.

“Oh! Thank you Eddie, feel free to come by for dinner whenever you like.”

“Sure thing!” With that everyone goes back to eating and Eddie leans over to whisper in your ear. “Next time, let’s do this at my place.”

“Yeah definitely.” You whisper back to him before focusing on your food hoping if you eat quickly enough you can escape with Eddie without another comment from your father.  

You walk Eddie to the door and wait until he gets into his van later wanting to kill time before having to go in and deal with the consequences of your words earlier. Hopefully you can avoid him altogether and go straight to your room but you can feel the storm brewing from outside. You just know he’s waiting inside getting ready for a screaming match. Something the two of you haven’t had since your second year as a sophomore and you started picking up every shift you could so as to avoid him as much as possible. 

“Y/n.” His stern yelling but not a yell voice reaches your ears as you start to walk past the living room making you wince before backtracking. 

“What?” You cross your arms standing in the entrance refusing to look away from him to glance at Mike and Nancy on the couch. You refuse to let him think he makes you even a little bit nervous by breaking eye contact first. 

“You really are stupid if you think we’re not talking about what you said at dinner.”

“I’m not stupid, I just don’t want to talk about it with you.” You grit your teeth feeling the anger boiling up inside you. 

“You’re going to college Y/n. You’re not going to be a burn out working at the music shop and living at home the rest of your life.”

“I won’t be. As soon as I graduate I’m gonna find my own place to live and you won’t have to worry about me anymore.” Mike’s eyes go wide at hearing this information, he didn’t know you were planning on moving out. Were you going to stay in town, or were you going to get the hell out of dodge? Was this year his last year to have a relationship with you before he only sees you on major holidays? Is he going to lose his big sister because his dad is that big of an asshole? He starts to get anxious at the thought and gets stuck in his head for a bit tuning out the fight in front of him.

“And I don’t want you hanging around that Munson kid anymore, he’s a bad influence on you. He’s probably the reason you think you don’t have to go to college.” You force out a fake laugh at his words and Mike’s attention goes back to the two of you.

“That’s rich, you never cared about who my friends were before so don’t try to care now. Why don’t you just open up and tell me exactly what you want to say about him.”

“No daughter of mine is going to be hanging around a known satanist!” You actually laugh at his words this time feigning wiping tears from your eyes.

“That’s funny, really it is. Because even if that were true, which it’s not, that means a satanist takes better care of your son than you do. And you should be embarrassed about that regardless of what religion Eddie may be. You’re supposed to be the protector aren’t you? So why is Eddie the one batting away the bullies and building up his self esteem and doing your job for you?”

“Get out! And don’t come back until you have a head back on your shoulders.” He points to the door and you put your hands up in surrender.

“What?” Nancy and Mike both look at each other in shock.

“Fine, I guess I won’t be coming back.” You turn on your heel and run to your room in order to pack up some clothes and buy you some time to figure out where you’re going to go. Worst case scenario you could see if Steve would let you crash at his place for a few nights. Sure the two of you aren’t the best of friends but you’re close enough after everything you’ve been through together to know that he probably wouldn’t say no. By the time you’re heading for the door you’ve decided on trying Eddie’s first, knowing where he lives because of seeing him here and there when you’ve gone to Max’s to pick her up.

“Hey, Y/n?” Mike stops you before you can leave. 

“What’s up Mikey Mouse?”

“Do you think you could drive me to school tomorrow?” Your heart swells at him wanting to spend time with you. 

“Of course I can bud.” You ruffle his hair. “Can you tell mom I love her when she gets home? I was hoping she’d be home before I left so I could say bye.” She had taken Holly out for ice cream after dinner and hasn’t gotten back yet. 

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“I’ll be back when he stops being an ass. So probably in a couple days after mom reems him out and makes him apologize.”

“Where are you going to go?” He follows you out the door towards your car and you can’t help but smile at his worry.

“Don’t worry about me kid, I'll figure it out. I’ll see you tomorrow morning okay? We’re driving the Sinclairs and Dustin too.” You get in the car and start it before thinking about it and winding down your window to stick your head out to look at your brother. “I love you Mikey Mouse.” 

“I love you too Y/n/n.” You beam at him and drive off towards your destination.

“Y/n?” The sound of Max’s voice calling out to you causes you to spin around to face her trailer instead of Eddie’s. She’s crouched outside feeding her dog and straightens up as she realizes it really is you waving and walking towards her. She meets you halfway letting you give her a hug, something she hasn’t really been letting anyone do. “What are you doing here?”

“Pops kicked me out so I’m gonna see if I can crash at Eddie’s.”

“Do you wanna just crash here? My mom won’t mind, I think she’d even be excited that I had someone over.” You can hear the worry in her voice at the thought of you being kicked out.

“Nah, I’m good, Eddie and I gotta work more on this science project anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah don’t worry Max and Cheese, if I can’t stay or I get uncomfortable at all I’ll come running right back over.”

“You better.” You nod at her letting go of her shoulders and heading back over to Eddie’s.

“Hey!” You yell out as she turns to head towards her door. “You want a ride to school tomorrow? I’m getting the others too. It can be like old times when I’d drive the clown car full of all of you down to the arcade.”

“Is there gonna be room in your car for that?”

“Even if there isn't, we'll make it work, we always have in the past.” There’s something on your face making her want to finally say yes to the question you’ve been asking her all year.

“Well then yeah sure. I’ll take a ride.”

“Great, see you tomorrow!” You’re smiling despite everything when you knock on Eddie’s door. Even if Max just has her headphones on and ignores everyone the whole way to school it’s still a win in your book.

“Y/n?” Eddie’s voice is full of shock as he opens the door to find you standing there with a duffel bag thrown over your shoulder. 

“Hey Eds, can I come in?” He holds open the door and steps to the side before smirking in your direction. Upon seeing him in his pajamas you worry that you may have caught him right as he was going to bed but then he probably wouldn’t have let you in so quickly.

“Eds? Is that the nickname you came up with? I thought you’d be more creative than that.”

“Oh don’t worry, you just have a couple of them.”

“So…”

“So?”

“What are you doing here Sweetheart? How did you even know where I lived?”

“Um well, funny story actually,” you offer up a sad chuckle, “my dad kinda kicked me out tonight. We really got into it after you left. I saw you over here when I helped Max and her mom move into the trailer across the street.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” He steps closer to you wanting to scratch the itch he has to pull you into his chest.

“Not really, I basically told him he should be embarrassed that you’re doing a better job raising Mike than he ever did and that seemed to be the thing that crossed the line. So that’s that. Do you think I could crash here for a night or two until my mom eventually figures out where I am and convinces me to come home?”

“Yeah of course. You can have the bed and I’ll sleep out here on the couch.”

“What? Eddie no I couldn’t take your bed. I’m the one intruding, I'll sleep on the couch.”

“Nope, can’t let you do that besides Wayne might get weird if he sees a pretty girl asleep on the couch when he gets home in the morning.” He gently grabs your wrist and pulls you through the little space there is to his room. “Sorry it’s a bit of a mess, can’t say I was expecting company.” He’s quick to kick the magazines laying on the floor under his bed while ducking down to grab the dirty clothes strewn across the floor to throw them in his hamper. He’s blushing up a storm as your eyes drag across the poster covered walls.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve seen messier. I mean I live with Mike. Is this a lion costume?” Your eyes snag on his open closet and you reach out to touch it. And here Eddie thought he couldn’t get any redder.

“Yeah, I was the cowardly lion in the school's production of The Wizard of Oz a year or two back.”

“Oh yeah, I remember going to see that. Corroded Coffin’s your band right?” Eddie watches as you step up to look at the ripped poster he and the guys had made before one of their first shows. 

“Yeah it’s just me and the older guys from Hellfire.” 

“Are you the reason Mike’s been eyeing up the guitar in the music shop lately? I think I’m gonna get it for him as a really early Christmas present when I get paid next.”

“He’s asked me a few times about playing and I told him I would teach him how to. He doesn’t even need to have his own guitar; he could use one of mine while he learns.” Speaking of guitars Eddie grabs the one he left on the bed before going to get the door and leans it in the corner of the room. “So the bathroom is right out there, hopefully you brought your own toothbrush because we don’t have extras just laying around.” Eddie walks to the door and points to the small room hoping it wouldn’t make you claustrophobic or anything. “Feel free to use the shower if you need to.” 

“Thanks again Eddie.” You stop to place a kiss on his cheek for the second time tonight on your way out. He stands there frozen for a hot minute before rushing around his room and cleaning up some more making sure he gets all the junk, like his notebooks and his copy of Lord of The Rings that he’s rereading again, that he normally just leaves on the side of the bed is put away.

You glance at the shower wondering if you should but decide against it since you did last night and you didn’t even think to bring shampoo or conditioner or anything. You had barely remembered your toothbrush and toothpaste. So you just brush your teeth and get dressed before sitting on the edge of the tub with your head in your hands. Sure you’ve been kicked out before, it’s how you know your mom will come looking for you, but something about this fight feels like your relationship with your father will forever be changed. You sigh and stand up ready to just pass out and leave the day behind you. You walk back into Eddie’s room to find him organizing his desk like a mad man. The room is a lot cleaner than it was when you first walked in.

“Did you do all this cleaning just for little old me?”

“Can’t have a princess sleeping in a pigsty.” He straightens up and smiles at you while you drop your bag onto the floor and sit on the bed. “I’ll leave you to it, come get me if you need anything.”

“Why don’t we just share the bed? It’s big enough and I promise I don’t snore.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure it’s your bed anyway and I’m not gonna lie your couch doesn’t look too comfortable.”

“Okay fine, stop begging me to sleep with you, I’ll do it.” You laugh at his over exaggerating and he smiles in accomplishment at getting the dark cloud you came back into the room with to disappear. He turns off the lights before getting into the bed next to you making sure to leave you space instead of taking all of it up like he normally does. You take him by surprise though when you shimmy your way next to him.

“Sorry, I’m a cuddler. I can go back to where I was if you want.”

“No, you’re fine. I can be a cuddler.” With that he stretches his arm out so you can rest your head on his chest.

“Thank you for everything Angel Eyes.”

“Angel Eyes?”

“It’s your nickname, since your eyes are so pretty and you like Abba too.” Eddie never felt so grateful over the darkness as he is in this moment. He can feel how red his face is at your comment about his eyes and he’s nervous you can still tell and he’s glowing like a light bulb. He clears his throat before speaking.

“Pretty unoriginal to just steal the title of a song isn’t it. You should just come up with a new one.”

“Don’t worry Eddie Bear I still have a few different ones up my sleeve. Goodnight.” You place a kiss on his chest before nestling your head into it and closing your eyes.

“Goodnight Y/n.” Eddie beams up at the ceiling and wraps his arm a little bit tighter around you.

Eddie Taglist: @sadbitchfangirl​​ @notbeforelong​​​ @munsonswhore86​​​ @navs-bhat​​ @emotionaldreamer​​ ​ @fromasgardandback​​ @rockchickrebel​​ @yourdailymemedelivery​​ @magicalchocolatecheesecake​​ @watercolorskyy​​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​​ ​​ @fangirling-4-ever​​  @gaysludge​​ @audhd-dragonaut​​ ​​ @eddiethesexy​ ​​ @mazerunnerrose​​ @tvserie-s-world​​ @redgetawaycar​ @eddies-lover​​ @alexis6699​

Everything Taglist: @bejeweledmastermind​ @matchamunson​ @bubsonnobx​ @practicalghost​ 

[anshares]

Another continuation art from my Cat AU from renheng week

Full plot below the cut

Ren - Slytherin House

Dan Heng - RavenClaw House

Ren and Dan Heng are both wizards but they are exes, Ren’s next class is potions which was DH last class and he stayed behind because he is still doing his extracurricular homework but Ren doesn't know that his ex is there so when he opens the door He accidentally bumped into him.

Meanwhile, Dan Heng who just finished making his special assignment potion accidentally spilled it all on Ren and it turned him into a cat. Both were shocked about the turn of events and just stared at each other for a while letting it all sink in.

They haven't met again since their break up half a year ago so this was unexpected, now Ren is giving off ominous vibes and is very angry that he got turned into a cat BY HIS EX but it's not his fault it wasn't as if he knew he would be there!

But now he is stuck as a cat. Dan heng better turn him back or else! DH apologized for the accident and said that he’ll take responsibility and turn him back to normal but all said reluctantly because he doesn't really wanna be around him after their bad break up months ago but the sooner he fixes this the sooner they go back to their separate ways.

So he goes back to the common room/lobby with Ren in tow. When his friends see Ren they all coo at him, the twins try to touch him but got clawed and March took a lot of pics (Ren hates every minute of it)

"Ommgggg he is so chonky i could squish the lil guy!!"

" hey dh did you get a familiar??"

" does the cat have a name?"

"Sesame...."

Ren: *bombastic side eye*

No way DH will tell them that the very cat was his ex that he cried over 6 months ago but they don't need to know that) so he just speed walks afterwards to his room where he will try to come up with a plan. Ren stays a cat for quite a while (a few weeks) and is being a general menace like how cats are, he is especially hostile to DH other roommates (he isn't jealous of them esp caelus, definitely not! whatever DH does afterwards isnt any of his concern they are already over but he almost clawed their eyes out tho when they try to pick him up for cuddles or selfie)

Ren is super annoyed that everyone flirts with DH altho DH doesn't notice it so Ren just attacks them suddenly. DH stops him everytime and confused what his problem is so you'll see a cat in the corner with glowing menacing eyes no one gets close to dh now except his friends ever since he got a familiar

While DH was pulling an all nighter for reversal potion and Ren was sleeping on the table where DH works. DH unconsciously pets Ren like how he did back when they were together just like how Ren likes it. Ren starts purring and leans to DH touch.

Ren opens his eyes to see DH soft smile but then he wakes up fully hisses at DH and goes to a random corner away from DH but Ren was so conflicted on why it felt good and just sulks in the corner but then over time he finally goes to DH lap for some pets but be giving off the “hmph it's not like I'm asking for pets or anything it's just warm here” and he enjoys it a lot and even falls asleep on dh lap everytime (he doesn't want to admit it but he misses DH too, he doesn't even remember why they broke up in the first place)

During his stay with DH he also overhears DH friends talk about him like how they are happy that DH is doing well now after the break up incident half a year ago and how he locked himself in his room then.

 DH seemed happier now, basically Ren finds out that he wasn't the only one affected over their break up since he only saw DH's stoic expression so he thought that DH didn't care. On the contrary he cares A LOT he just has a bad habit of bottling his emotions.

There's also one thing he is bothered about, he knows that DH is a vidyahara, one of the legendary dragon races its quite rare to see one in person and most are in hiding.

He noticed that DH doesn't let out his true form in front of his friends, he knows how uncomfortable it is to hide all his other features DH told him that when they were still together but now he is in his human disguise 24/7.

Ren wants to know how long this has been going cuz that must've been uncomfortable. Apparently the transformation potion that DH was making was for himself (he just calls it special assignment so that no one except the teacher know)

He is not very comfortable in telling people what he actually is especially since vidyadharas are still looked at with disdain due to what his ancestor did a few thousand years ago. So Ren jumped to DH shoulders and pawed at DH earrings

DH knew that he is asking on why he is hiding his form even at his own home. Its DH closely guarded secret and even if he thinks of them as family he doesn't know how they'll react to it especially with his race’s bad rep.

He doesn't want to ruin their friendship and he tells Ren not to worry he got used to it now and not as painful as before. Ren realizes that DH trusts him enough to let him know and be out in full form whenever he is in Ren’s home. Ren was guilty that the one DH trusts the most, trusts enough to be in his true self is also the one who broke his heart.

He tries to apologize by cuddling and stares at him that he didn't need to hide it in front of him so DH lets the dragon form out and they cuddle to sleep.

DH made several potions to try on Ren but all it did was either make him floofier or lengthen his claws so they have no choice but to consult professor Kafka so DH told the her about the contents of the potion and other details while Ren just chills in DH's shoulder so they find out that they just have to wait for the potion to wear off and basing from what DH said, it should wear off a few days from now!

Kafka also jokingly says that  DH could just kiss him to turn him back into a human. Ren hissed and DH refused, saying it'll be awkward so they went back to DH apartment. Since it'll be off in a few days they just spend the day like normal and while DH was sleeping on the couch since the all nighters are catching up to him.

Ren licks his face (cuz DH is too adorable he couldn't resist and his way of thanking him) DH half awake just cuddles Ren and kisses him and POOF Ren is back to human and naked. Both of them are blushing like crazy and DH roommates walked in on that scene 

March, caelus, stelle: .....

Ren and dh:...... *blushing like crazy*

Stelle: errr you know this is a public place right...?

Caelus: *slowly closing the door* aight! Well leave you guys sorry for disturbing whatever it is you are gonna do!! Byyyeee!!!

Anyway once ren is all decent he called back his roommates and explained stuff but both ren and DH has to address the elephant in the room on where do they go from here do they go back to being strangers or talk it out and see where it goes so they decided to have their long overdue talk and found out that both are miserable without each other and that they still do love each other or how they missed each other’s presence, so in the end they got back together.

Bonus:

- ren turned back to human not because of the kiss its because the potion wore off at that exact time

- sure he is back to human but he is still has cat ears and tail for another month

- ren still retains cat like tendecies whenever he and dh cuddle/kiss his tail wags and his ears twitch. Dh thinks its adorable

-THE END-

[honeybewrites]

Echoes of War Chronicles WIP Intro!!!

Look at me! Writing and posting a WIP Intro and not a tag game like last Wednesday!! Did it take fifteen reminders and ten instances of sitting down with the intention to write it but getting distracted and not making any progress? Yes. But I finally got it finished!! So let's get into it!

Fair warning, this is kind of a long post, but when is anything I post not?

While nothing in this post has any kind of CW/TW I can find, this whole series is pretty dark/gory in its contents, and for that reason, I'm labeling it 18+. Specifically for excessive violence, dark themes, and general explicit content and gore. I try my hardest to label content appropriately whenever I post tag games and snippets.

Series: Echoes of War Chronicles

Genre: adult high/dark fantasy/sci-fi (I don't really know what genre to label this as lol)

Status: First draft/planning

Tags: #echoes of war chronicles #eowc

Synopsis (for the overall series, so it's pretty vague)

Created to fight a war that has wrecked the Realms for years, two genetic experiments were trained side by side. Merciless, lethal weapons of death. Inseparable. Until they weren't. Years later, they're on opposite sides of the war. Both of them intent on destroying the other, regardless of their shared history. Bonds are tested. Secrets revealed. Loyalties made and destroyed as two partners threaten to destroy the entirety of the Realms in their hunt for blood.

Tropes and Things

Found Family

DRAGONS + other fantasy creatures

Living Weapon

Lovers to Enemies

LGBTQ+ OCs and relationships

LOTS OF MAGIC

Morally gray OCs and just downright completely morally black OCs

Angst

High Action

War

Now let me introduce you to the stars of the show!

Asset 703

Created from Project Viall, 703 has been with the Mors her entire life. Trained from birth to be the most deadly weapon in the Realms. She is regarded as a demon of death and an unfeeling monster. It's the only life she's known, and she long since accepted that fact. She doesn't particularly care about the nature of her creation or the brutality of her job. She was created for a purpose, and it's the sole reason for her existence. It's not her place to think about things like life outside the Mors. Those were traitorous thoughts and pointless hopes.

Fres

Another of Project Viall's subjects, Fres was also raised in the Mors. Nearly as deadly as their partner 703, the two were feared. But as Fres was exposed to more of the Realms during their missions, they began to resent the life they had. All the pain and abuse fueled their anger. So they created a plan, escaping from the Mors in a blazing chaotic mess. From them on, they devoted themselves to fighting against the Mors. They wanted to see them burn in eternal damnation, unable to ever rise back from the smoldering pile they left them in.

Ronan "Rage" Airvix

Assigned to be 703's field handler and healer, Rage works for the Mors. He's very calm and patient, unless you disregard his healing expertise, then you'll see where the nickname Rage came from. He will adopt anyone left unattended for five minutes.

Dana Hueland

Dana is one of the hardest fighters against the Mors. A feisty woman and phenomenal fighter, she's intimidating to anyone that comes across her. She excels at close combat and piloting and is a certified BAMF, MILF, and top tier Bisexual.

Master Gerd

One of the highest ranked in the Mors, Master Gerd is a psychopath with a god complex. He abuses his power religiously, especially over 703. He is feared my nearly everyone in the Mors and he knows it. -1000/10 would drown violently.

Healer Asurr

The head of Project Viall, Healer Asurr is a bit of a mad scientist. They're only concern is their life long work of enhancing species, ultimately to create the superior lifeform. They would stick you in a cage and study you obsessively for months.

Now, because the Seven Realms are so expansive, I'm just including a few basics here (she says after having written way too much info and then hitting delete far too many times). If anyone shows an interest in knowing more about them, I'll do a post for each Realm, I'm planning to anyway at some point, but for now, enjoy the little snippets that tell you absolutely nothing about their importance to the plot!

Mirralia has the second largest population of the Seven Realms. With its variety of biomes and massive cities, it's one of the most sought after places to live. Full of some of the most rich and powerful flora and fauna, many resources for alchemy are found in the Realm. It also remains to be one of the only Realms dragons have still been spotted. Mirralia government positions are highly sought after and their military is one of the strongest of the Seven Realms.

Enkkon produces some of the best Agi (trained magic users) in the Seven Realms, with schools to match. With top schools in many specialties, it brings in species from every Realm, creating the most diverse population of any Realm. Far less rich in raw elemental, Enkkon is a quiet Realm, reliant on technology far more than the other Realms, but that doesn't make its native species any weaker than the other Realms.

Levekint has the largest population. While the cities are large and bubbling, the flora and fauna of the planet interacts with everything. It's not uncommon to see buildings with vines or trees growing out of the middle, or for a shop to have bird nests and other creatures wandering about indoors. Levekint taught healers make up ninety percent of the Seven Realms healers. It is the forefront of healing innovation, producing some of the most renowned and well known healing names in history.

Zj'ahju is the smallest Realm, with the smallest population to go with it. The harsh biome and oppressive heat make the Realm nearly inhabitable for non-native species. However, it has some of the most beautiful architecture of the Realms, specializing in metal and glass. Both are big exports for the Realm, and they produce nearly fifty percent of the Seven Realms building supplies. Weapons and jaw dropping pieces of glass art are other major exports.

Ketaawi is the second largest Realm, comprising of ninety percent water. Most of Ketaawi's native species can breathe underwater, or can hold their breath for long periods of time. The massive cities of Ketaawi are either floating on the water, able to move much like a boat, or beautiful domes underwater. Right after Enkkon, Ketaawi is one of the most technologically advanced Realms, with some of the best defenses and security to be found anywhere.

Rorrut is a mountainous planet, having the highest peaks and deepest caves in the Realms. With such conditions, it's also a major Realm for rare alchemy supplies, specifically minerals and powerful, giant creatures. The planet is constantly "growing," creating more mountains and caves to replace the ones mined. With some of the most dangerous creatures in the Seven Realms, the natives became natural fighters and survivalists. There are very few large cities, and the habitants mostly form small villages, keeping to themselves and protecting each other.

The largest of the Seven Realms, Aveilu is a gas planet. The natives of the Realm have built their cities on the many rings of the planet, which are made up of large floating island, with the largest cities being floating cities, completely fueled by energy to keep them in the sky. Most native species in the Realm have some form of flight capabilities. Aveilu is the top Realm in ship production and export, creating ninety percent of the Realms flying transportation. It is the only other Realm dragons have been spotted in.

My Master Post is here with all the links to my other more detailed intros, including OCs, world related things, and the magic system if anyone is interested in reading any more about EoWC.

I know this is a pretty long post, so if you read through everything, wow, you're amazing! Thanks for reading through my little (okay, big) rant!!!

If anyone wants to be added/subtracted from the tag list, you can comment or DM me!

General Tag: @orions-quill @fractured-shield and @leahnardo-da-veggie

EoWC Tag: N/A

LotA Tag: N/A

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

I should be finishing up some assignments but instead I'm sat thinking about Babey, Daemon and their babies (your series has consumed my brain) and I love the thought of them having a mixture of children some of who are just pretty chill and well behaved and then some who are just absolute mischievous trouble makers. They give the vibes of parents where I could see Babey going about her day and doing her duties and she's got a baby on her hip who's just chewing on their little fist all content whilst they stare at the world around them and a little toddler holding onto her dress and asking her questions about what she's doing and then cut to Daemon trying to wrangle one child down off a dragon because they're too young to ride on their own whilst another has like gotten themselves stuck up a tree and one is covered in mud and refusing to bathe. Like I can see their little ones obviously respecting both of their parents and if it's serious they'd listen to their father but most of the time with day to day things they are running rings around that man like they just do not find him intimidating at all but the minute Babey is like "come on that's enough time to wash up for dinner" they go and do it with minimal push back. Everyone who doesn't spend much time with their family/know them personally is like "Those poor children having to grow up around such a ruthless parent I really hope their mother doesn't let him hurt them" meanwhile Daemon is sat having a tea party with his daughters whilst he has a toddler hanging off his back and telling another to stop trying to stick toys up their nose

Hey nonnie!

I love this! This is so cute, and honestly Daemon deserves the karma. I'm already building some of this vibe in the next chapter (essentially the twins like to pull on his hair and climb all over him in the morning until he finally gets up and 'threatens' them, which only makes them laugh hysterically because Papa isn't scary, he's just silly). I think Daemon is definitely the type to try and come across as a really strict parent, though, because his image relies on it!

Thank you for this, nonnie!

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Interlude: Shadowland Chapter 16

Previous | First | Next

Master Post

Once Dunja and Torunn had realized that Aureolus had gone missing, they double timed it to Barna and the others. While this happened, Sir Odo took position at the exact spot the boy had vanished. Since it was the end of Andelin’s part of the big plan, he no longer had to don a disguise. Still, he was incredibly nervous as he knew Barna would not be in the mood. It was to be expected given that Aureolus was nowhere to be found. How the knight was going to stall until Andelin was ready was beyond him.

Odo could hear the group approaching. “Okay, act natural, Odo…”

“Guarda là!” Claudius called out, pointing towards the street corner. He was followed by Barna, Dunja, Torunn, and Albrecht. “Sir Odo? What are you doing here?”

“Odo? You mean Dragoslava’s friend from The Market District?” Barna replied, albeit directed at the knight.

“Aye, that’d be me, haha…” Odo was mentally cursing Andelin’s desire for surprises.

“Sten had requested his assistance” Claudius began to elaborate. “He was assigned to investigate the anomaly, or what we now know is The Fear of Old. It was on a need to know basis, hence why most of you are unfamiliar with this. I assume I don’t need to explain why?”

Albrecht chuckled. “Folkvar was telling me about this in vague detail.”

“Why him though?” Barna wondered.

“He’s a former primordial, my friend,” Claudius answered. “From what I have read, he and his kin are the reincarnation of a legion primordial known as The Dream of Old. Of interesting note is that they have a counterpart in The Nightmare of Old. Evidently both had troubles reincarnating. The Dream became the first dimensionals and The Nightmare became the zero dimensionals.”

Barna nodded. “I see… wait, that last bit about the dimensionals and whatnot… How do you know that? I mean, I didn’t know that, but that all sounds like something Blood and Aureolus would tell me about because Leif had told them about it in the first place.”

“Well you see, in addition to the tomes Sten has collected over the years, I got to meet with The Dragon of Old, prior to Sir Blood-Wraith’s birth. Quite the pleasant fellow, despite the split-off ego.”

“Ah,  that makes sense…” Barna then approached Odo calmly. “Since this was the place Dunja lost track of my boy, do you know where he is?”

“Um, yes. He is… around… somewhere nearby…”

“Alright, where then?” Odo was beginning to look down and mumble, agitating Barna. “Boy, look me in the eye and speak up.”

Odo glanced up, meeting Barna’s gaze. It was like it was piercing right through him. For a moment, he felt like his heart had stopped. “Give me one moment…” He turned around and began whispering into a card with a circus tent on it. “Andelin! Would you hurry up? Barna is literally right here!”

“Calm down and place the card on the ground,” her voice replied. “We’ll be done in a minute…”

Odo took a breath and did as he was told. Turning around was murder as everyone was now focusing on him. “If you’ll all indulge me while Aureolus finishes up in the powder room, it is an honor to finally meet all of you in person…” 

Back in Andelin’s tent, she began organizing her papers. “We might want to finish this up soon. Sounds like your father is getting a bit impatient, haha…”

“One more second…” The last card Aureolus was working on glowed for a brief moment. “...done!”

“Ready to go then?”

Aureolus sighed in relief, yet was a tad nervous.. “As ready as I’ll ever be…”

“...furthermore, I aspire and strive to be as heroic as his grace, Duke Radovan Raynot” Odo continued, up until he was startled by a tap on the shoulder. “Andelin! Don’t do that! And what took so long?!”

“Relax, Aureolus just needed to iron out a few kinks in his deck.”

The boy went over to Barna, who picked him and hugged him. “Hey, dad. Don’t worry, everything’s fine. Andelin was just teaching me some magic.”

Barna set him down. “Boy, don’t worry me like that… and just what were you learning?’

Torunn and Dunja stepped over to Andelin. She spoke before they could. “As great as it is to see you two again, let’s save the catching up for after my duel with Aureolus…”

“A duel you say?” Barna remarked, a little concerned.

Aureolus smiled. “I got this, dad.” He took out 5 cards from his deck and pointed them at Andelin. “Ready to duel?”

“Just one second…” She got out two cards and tossed them, releasing Weaver and Gabriella. “I’d imagine they’d probably want to see this.”

“There you two are, thank goodness” Barna pointed out. “So Weaver, did you find Gummi?”

He gave him an amused look with his hands on his hips. “Barna, I think we’re well beyond the point where that’s relevant…” They both laughed, with the others chuckling and giggling.

Barna gave him a good pat on the back. “Good job getting those warehouses ready for us regardless. We do have some things to discuss when this is all said and done, however…”

“Yeah, I know…”

“WEAVER! How’s my favorite cousin doing?!” Torunn took him by the head and gave him a noogie.

“Argh! Torunn! Stop! We saw each other last week!”

“Yeah, and I haven’t seen you since then, ha!” She then took him over to some nearby benches and sat him down. The others (save for Odo) followed suit.

Barna leaned forward in his seat. “Gabriella, I presume Weaver didn’t cause you any trouble?”

“Nope. He was quite the gentleman, all throughout our little adventure.”

“Good to hear. Keep at it, Weaver, and you find yourself a fine woman in no time…”

Weaver smirked. “Like you?”

Everyone else laughed. “Haha, very funny…” Barna conceded.

Sir Odo cleared his throat. “Ahem, since I assume we’ve got all the pleasantries and whatnot out of the way, let’s begin the duel. I shall be mediating, of course.”

“So what kind of duel shall this be, honorable knight?” Claudius inquired.

“Aureolus and Andelin will take turns casting hexes with their cards. They’ll go until they either deck out or cannot respond to the other’s play any further.”

Torunn nodded, then tapped Dunja on the arm. “Ha, hopefully it’s not as rough as your duel with Blood-Wraith, am I right?”

“Well goodness, I hope not. I still feel bad over how rough I was on him…”

“Don’t worry, hand to hand combat is not allowed” Odo assured them.

The two duelists got into position and readied their cards. Andelin let Aureolus go first, out of courtesy. He tossed out his first hex and to everyone’s surprise, it was a recreation of Blood-Wraith’s Indigo Wolf. It barked and growled a few times before settling down. Dunja noted that it was small, like before she had given Blood-Wraith her soul fragment. Andelin’s move had her summon a recreation of Gratiana. The specter was an echo of the blade’s power. The two summons then clashed, with Andelin’s hex coming out on top.

Aureolus drew his next card, sending out his own Verdant Might. He was a match for the Gratiana hex and defeated her. This elicited applause from the others. Andelin’s turn was up next. She knew she would have to play smart, casting a hex that would activate later. Her next summon was a shifty little creature, twitching and looking around. Naturally this caused Aureolus to get a bit overconfident…

“Andelin, I know you’re going easy on me, but this is a little ridiculous…” Verdant Might charged forward.

“Am I though?” Before the attack could land, a shockwave sent Aureolus’ summon into the air, causing it to fade away.

“Jeez, okay then…”

“Careful, sweetie,” Dunja called out. “Be sure to approach this tactfully.”

Aureolus nodded and looked at his hand. He had an idea, but it needed time to set up. “Well first I’ll cast this hex for later, and then I’ll send out Violet Train!” This surprised everyone as a large steam engine appeared above them. “He’ll head out to get some steam ready!” With a huff and a puff, the train journeyed off on spectral tracks.

“Wait, Blood has a train form?!” Barna exclaimed.

“Huh, I guess so…” Dunja replied. “I mean, there was one attack of his I could not pin down and I guess that was it?”

This concerned Andelin. “I see… well then I guess it’s time to summon this darling…” An odd jester appeared next to the creature. She was white and purple, moving around in a rhythmic fashion. “Now my dear, if you could be so kind as to help inkling over here…” The jester giggled and waved her fingers: four more Inklings appeared. “Strength in numbers.” Andelin then set another hex and passed her turn.

The Jester was daunting, but Aureolus drew another good card. “Go, Azure Scorpion!” The giant creature looked like Azure Spider, but was a different arachnid.

“Um, dear? I think something may have been lost in translation…” Dunja pointed out.

“No no, I fully intended this” he assured. “Now go! Attack!” The scorpion lurched forward, making advances towards the jester. She dodged effortlessly, up until she was struck by the stinger. “HA! Got her!”

“Don’t celebrate so quickly…” Andelin warned. The Jester’s fall caused the Inklings to multiply to ten.

“Wait, what!? Er, Scorpion! Get them!” It tried to strike them, but Andelin’s set hex triggered, causing Inkling to become twenty. They swarmed Azure Scorpion, vanquishing it.

“Careful, Aureolus. Two’s a crowd, but three’s a party.” It was Andelin’s turn once again, summoning what looked like a mage. He began chanting, causing Inkling to become thirty. Noticing a crowd gathering, Andelin smiled and set a hex. “Your turn, Aureolus.”

Aureolus drew another card and summoned Ochre Serpent. It towered above them and roared. He then activated a protection Hex. “Attack the mage, serpent!” It reared up, striking Andelin’s mage with great force. Nothing was left in its wake, causing the audience to cheer.

“Well played, Aureolus… but that last hex wasn’t a counter…” Activating the spell, ten inklings piled together and became the mage. It then cast a spell that not only restored Inkling’s numbers, but created ten more.

Aureolus panicked. “Serpent! Defend yourself!” It roared once more and brought forth a wall of surging water around it.

The turn finally went back to Andelin. She did not even have to look at the card she drew and played. Pointing at the mage, it summoned the last ten Inklings. “Excellent. Now that we’re fifty strong, COME FORTH, DARK TITAN!” She declared with energy in her voice. The mage chanted and banged his staff on the ground. All of the Inklings came together, forming a shadowy mass that became a giant man.

“WHAT EVEN IS THAT?” Aureolus cried.

“ATTACK HIS SERPENT!”

With a mighty strike, Dark Titan punched through the water barrier. He hit Ochre Serpent head on, causing it to fall to the ground. It then vanished from sight. Some asked Sir Odo if that was it, but he quelled these concerns. A train whistle could be heard in the distance, even if faint. Aureolus was beginning to break down until he heard this. Then he remembered that hex he had set near the beginning of the bout. The duel was not over yet.

“Alright, Aureolus. Be awesome, like Blood-Wraith…” He said to himself.

Andelin felt her blood pumping, causing her to get theatrical. “Draw your last pathetic card, Aureolus!” This made Dunja and Barna scowl, but Torunn and Weaver cheered.

“My deck has no pathetic cards, Andelin” Aureolus rebuked as he drew. “Go! Golden Dragon!” It was small, but let out a tenacious roar at his foes. The audience cheered him on.

“You’ll need more than that to defeat me!”

A grin formed on Aureolus’ face. “Dark Titan? Your train is here…” The titan jerked his head in the direction of the noise, only to see a raging steam engine barreling towards him. It thundered into the giant, taking him with it into a dark vortex before disappearing.

This left Andelin flabbergasted “Wait, what? How? Mage! Get ready!” Her summon began chanting and banged his staff on the ground, like he was banging on a drum. Purple flames erupted around him.

“And I’m not done yet! Go, Golden Dragon!” Aureolus finally activated the hex he had set so long ago. Golden Dragon was engulfed in bright light, emerging in a form just like Blood-Wraith’s.

“Uh-oh…”

“ATTACK!” Aureolus commanded. The Dragon let out a mighty stream of fire that annihilated the mage, despite him trying to fight back.

When all was said and done, Andelin stood there, utterly bewildered. She had dropped her cards. “I thought… I thought… how did you…”

“Andelin, do you have any response to Aureolus’ play?” Odo asked, ready to call the match.

She stuttered, then picked up her deck. “No…”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Aureolus is the winner!”

Everyone erupted into cheering and applause, with Barna walking over to lift Aureolus onto his shoulders. The boy had been concerned that Andelin knew too much of his deck, but he came out on top regardless. His determination was not to be tested, just like Blood-Wraith’s. And despite Andelin’s reputation, some went over to congratulate her on a duel well fought. Dunja and Torunn were certainly proud, getting her her own round of applause. Making things even better, she announced to everyone that she was officially turning her back on Milosh and leaving his foolish cult.

Next: Chapter 17

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 84: Feeling of Belonging

"Draco!" Ron shouted across the room packed full of Weasleys celebrating Christmas.

He looked up at him and raised an eyebrow in question, he'd long since learned his lesson about trying to shout across a room full of Weasleys.

"Come give me a hand!" he called before entering the kitchen.

He pressed a kiss to Harry's temple by way of goodbye, and Harry squeezed his knee, continuing his conversation with Charlie about the new baby dragons that had just hatched.

Making his way through the crowded living room and dining room was no easy feat, every few steps someone stopped him to wish him a Merry Christmas and to ask him how his case load was with Ron.

When he reached the kitchen Ron was pouring champagne into glasses, "Can you get them onto the serving trays?" he asked.

"You're asking her?" he asked then, unable to hide his grin.

Ron shrugged, a blush staining his cheeks, "They're just all the family she has at this point, I thought it would be nice. Christmas, you know?"

Draco nodded, "It's a great idea," he encouraged him, "You've been practicing, you've got the whole speech down."

"Thanks to you," the other man laughed. "All those hours you spent listening to me in our office between cases and helping me iron out the details."

"Taking out all of the awful food metaphors," he added as he finished putting all of the champagne flutes on the serving trays.

(Read more below the cut)

Ron clapped him on the shoulder, "Thank you," he said. "You've been a really good friend to me."

"You've made it easy to be a good friend," he replied. "Now," he said, clearing his throat, "Enough of the sappy stuff in the kitchen, save it for Hermione."

"Too right," Ron replied. "Can you-?" he asked, gesturing to the trays.

"Yeah," he replied, "Yes, go. I'll bring these out when the time is right."

He watched from the doorway as Ron got everyone's attention and declared his love and intentions for Hermione. Then he clapped and cheered with everyone else when she said yes.

Afterward he levitated the trays of champagne around the room, sharing in everyone's joy, and being asked several times when he and Harry were going to finally make things official.

When he finished handing out champagne (sparkling grape juice to the littles), he saw that Harry was still talking to his best friends, all but glowing with joy for them. And it all became just a little too much for him.

He slipped outside when no one was looking, pulling the sleeves of his lovely, pale blue Weasley jumper down over his fingers. He leaned against one of the railings leading up the drive and stared up at the stars, thinking about his life and how he'd gotten here.

It wasn't long before he heard a set of footsteps heading up the drive toward him, then a set of well loved arms wrapped around his waist. "Hey," Harry murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of Draco's neck and send a little shiver up his spine.

"Hi," Draco replied, pressing back against Harry.

"Ron was raving about you," he said, "he thought you might come over so he could say thank you again."

Draco shrugged, "There wasn't anything to thank me for. He could have said anything and she would have said yes."

Harry laughed, "I'm sure you're right, but I'm equally sure Hermione appreciated the finesse just the same."

The corner of his lips tipped up, "Well it was no hardship to help."

"Why'd you leave?" Harry asked.

"I just needed a minute to think."

"About?" he asked.

Draco hummed, trying to get his thoughts in order, "Ron said something before he proposed," he started, "about how this was the only family Hermione really has at this point."

Harry nodded, "The Weasleys are good at adopting people," he murmured. "They adopted me when I was just 11 years old for all intents and purposes."

"I never really felt like I fit in my skin," Draco said, remembering all of the years he spent trying to be something he wasn't, trying to fit into the roles that had been assigned to him; heir to the noble house of Malfoy, servant to the Dark Lord, Death Eater, Pureblood, the list went on and on. "But I feel like I belong here, you know? Like they all accept me and love me, they want to support me and see me succeed. They want me to be happy."

Harry nodded, "They're your family," he murmured.

He turned to face Harry, "But only because I'm with you," he said. "If we broke up, I wouldn't be welcome here an-"

"That's not true."

Draco protested, "Yes it is. You brought me here with you, their history is with you-"

"I thought the same thing," Harry said, smoothing his hands up and down Draco's arms, "When I broke up with Ginny. It made it even more difficult to break up with her, I was so afraid of losing my family."

"But it's different," he said.

"It's not," Harry replied. "They care about you, too, you know. And maybe if you broke up with me in some awful way they'd want to protect me for a while until I healed up. But the same would be true if I broke up with you in a way that traumatized you."

Draco frowned.

"But it doesn't matter anyway," Harry added, "Because I don't have any intention of breaking up with you and I hope that you don't either."

"Of course I don't," he replied.

"I might consider proposing right now," Harry said, "except that I don't want to steal Ron and Hermione's big day."

Draco laughed, leaning his forehead against Harry's, "It'll keep."

"I love you."

"I love you, too," he murmured, kissing Harry and basking in the feeling of belonging with Harry and with the family that had found him.

-----------

Day 83: Arcade | Day 85: Old and Still In Love After 50 Years Together

[randomshyperson]

The Scarlet Witch Prophecy - The Third Year

Series Masterlist ||  Read on AO3

Summary: As the youngest daughter of Howard Stark, you have ordinary expectations for your years at Hogwarts. Little do you know what adventures await you when your destiny is intertwined with the legendary Scarlet Witch.

Warnings: +16. Adaptation of the Harry Potter Saga, Magical Thematic, Prophecies, Mentions of Violence, Torture and dark magic, Language (swearing and minor/major offenses), manipulation of will, Underage kissing, insinuation of smut with minors, Smut (overage), descriptions of death, aggression, obscurity, angst, fluffy, soulmates analogies.

Chapter Words:  7.290K 

Chapter Notes: Wanda x Reader friendship is here. And more about the world history. I’m pretty sure this is the last chapter where things are easy going. Just like Harry Potter, things start to get dark during four year. Good reading to everyone, i hope you like the story so far.

Tag list ( let me know if you want to be tagged or removed idk haha) @mionemymind​ / @abimess​ / @stephanieromanoff​ / @yourtaletotell​ / @tomy5girls​ / @justagaypanicking​ / @thegayw1tch​ / @idek-5​ // @myperfectlovepoem​ // @helloalycia​ // @ENSORCELLME // @AIMEZVOUSBRAHMS // @imapotatao​ / @aimezvousbrahms​/ @ensorcellme​/ @helloalycia // @ichala

//-// x //-// //-// x //-//

Your list of materials is much longer in the third year.

Tony complains that you shouldn't have taken so many classes, but you are so curious to explore the areas of magic that you can't help it.

This time, Mantis meets you in the diagonal alley. You were hoping to spend some time with Gamora and Nebula as well, but once you get a glimpse of their father, you know that's not going to happen.

Thanos is a tall, muscular man, and has a permanent aggressive look on his face. He also kept his hands on the shoulders of his two daughters while they were waiting to be attended to at Flourish and Blotts. You also noticed that your friends were wearing very beautiful and remarkably expensive dark green capes, and just like their father's outfit, they had a bundle of a silver snake. That was the first time you understood what Slytherin pride meant.

"He's scary." Mantis commented softly beside you. You nodded in agreement. Groot, who was a little bigger since you saw him last year, jumped on your shoulder, sitting next to your ear. You smiled at the creature before looking forward again.

You and Mantis were standing at the entrance of store, and saw your friends through the window. You gave up the idea of complementing them when you saw their father.

"Let's restock the potions list first, Mantis." You tell her. "Then we'll buy our books."

You meet Tony again at the Leaky Cauldron after you finish. He hides something from you quickly, but you are distracted by an apple muffin flying towards you, and you don't ask.

Bucky was staying at the Leaky Cauldron because his house had a magical accident. His father said something about a persistent spell flood. Since the rest of Bucky's family were muggle, only he and his father were staying there, solving the problem while Bucky's sisters were at his aunt's house.

Since everyone needed to buy the materials for the new school year, Tony asked you to join his friends when you were done buying your stuff.

After lunch with everyone, Mantis said goodbye to you, and you returned Groot to her hands.

You led her to the exit of the bar, but as you walked back to the table, a conversation caught your attention.

"I'm telling you, they saw him in Sokovia." A bearded man whispered. He looked so nervous, you couldn't help but pay attention. The woman standing next to him, a cup of a strange liquor in her hands, rolled her eyes.

"That's miles away, Thomas." She said. "If Korvac gets anywhere near London, the ministry will send him back to Azkaban in two seconds."

"He's already escaped once, Sara." You rebut the man. 

You frown at the conversation. Walking back, you have a thoughtful frown on your face, and Tony teases you.

You get distracted by Steve's jokes about the coming year, and forget all about it.

It's only after you've packed your bag, during dinner, that you remember.

"I heard something strange today." You say casually as Tony and your father dine beside you. "Some folks in the Leaky Cauldron were talking about someone escaping from Azkaban."

Your father chokes. Tony stares at you, and ducks his head when your father looks at him angrily. Howard gaze softens when he looks at you however.

"Honey, who told you that?"

You shrug.

"No one told me dad." You reply. "I ended up overhearing two strangers talking about it. I never knew about anyone escaping from Azkaban before, it seemed important."

Tony kicks you under the table, and you frown in confusion. Your father takes a deep breath.

"Honey, listen to me carefully, will you?" He begins, and you worry at his serious tone. "There are important things going on at Daddy's work. Things that could be dangerous." He says and you look at him in surprise. "You and your brother are too young to be getting into such matters, and I hope you will trust me to keep you both safe."

"Yes, dad." Tony assures, but you remain silent. A moment later, you add: 

"Daddy, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No honey." He says taking back his fork. 

"It's okay to tell me what's going on, I won't be scared. I can help..."

"Enough!" He exclaims angrily punching the table. You jump lightly in your chair, startled. Your father doesn't look at you. "I don't want you to hear anything about this anymore. You two are children, and it's dangerous. Have I made myself clear?"

You look at Tony, but he is glaring at the plate in front of you. 

Swallowing the urge to cry, you get up, hurrying to run to your room.

Your father calls you several times, but you don't answer. 

A few minutes after you are in your bed, he appears in your room. His posture is much gentler than before, and he kneels down beside your bed.

"Honey, hey." He calls to you. You keep your face in the pillow, and he sighs. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." He says, and with your silence, he continues. "Can you forgive me?"

It takes a few seconds, but you look at him, and nod. Howard smiles faintly.

"You and your brother are the most important things in my life." He says fondly. "And I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."

"Dad, you can't control what is in the rest of the world."

Your father chuckles lightly. 

"Yeah I know." He says. "Damn, I wanted you to stay a little girl forever, so you wouldn't be so smart."

You laugh, pushing his shoulder lightly.

"You're not going to tell me what's going on, are you?" You ask and your father sighs, looking away.

"It's nothing that will affect you honey." He says. "It's just problems of the magical world. I don't want you meddling in something like that. Not at this age."

You sit down on the bed next, raising your pinky to your father.

"I swear I won't pry into such business if you promise to tell me if things get serious enough for me to know."

Her father laughs, raising his own pinky then.

"I promise, kiddo."

You both laugh as you take the oath, and your father hugs you next. When he lets go and stands up, you pull his hand away.

"Apologize to Tony, Daddy." You ask surprising him slightly. "He doesn't like it when you yell either."

Your father sighs, bending down to kiss your forehead. He asked you to go to sleep before he closed the door.

//-//

It is very cold when you arrive at Hogwarts.

But you don't care because all your friends link arms and walk together, making you laugh at the confused looks you get when the other students notice the small row.

Over dinner, your mood changes quickly however.

"I imagine it has come to the attention of many students here, especially the older ones, the recent untoward events in the magical world." Principal Harkness began during the announcement of the new school year. She had a serious and authoritative tone, and deep dark circles under her eyes. You have never seen her like this before. "But for those of you who are not aware, the dark wizard known as Korvac escaped from Azkaban a few months ago." The hall exploded into murmurs at the mention. You saw Professor Strange lock his jaw, probably disagreeing that such a topic should be broached with eleven-year-olds. "After much consideration, the Ministry of Magic thought it best to apply additional security to the castles."

"So, starting next week, we will have special guests at the Hogwarts castles; The ministry has determined that aurors and Azkaban guards will be guarding the outside of the grounds."

The crowd erupted in boos as soon as the words echoed in the hall. Your Hufflepuff colleagues remarked in horror that the dementors, the guards of Azkaban, were terrifying, and you sought your brother's gaze at the Slytherin table, but he was looking earnestly at the principal.

Agatha sighed impatiently, and the hall fell silent. She asked everyone to be careful with the guards in Azkaban, not to give them reason to fight back. And then she returned to the daily announcements as if nothing had happened.

You didn't eat very well after that.

History of Magic with Professor Okoye was one of the hardest classes in school.

You were hoping to get decent grades this year, but you were assigned to be with Peter as your pair, so you knew you would have to work for two, as your friend had no interest at all in that subject.

"Why don't you try to pay attention?" You asked slightly annoyed as you made your notes. Quill was drawing small dragons in his notebook.

"I want to be a famous Quidditch player, I don't need to know the history of the Goblin revolution for that."

You sighed, turning your attention back to the blackboard. Several minutes after class had begun, a Gryffindor student raised his hand.

"Professor Okoye, may I ask you a question?" it was Thor Odinson, and he seemed to have grown at least twenty inches over the summer. You noted that his hair was also longer when you looked back, wondering who was speaking.

"Of course, Odinson." The teacher said with a gentle smile. Thor cleared his throat as he lowered his hand, seeming to hesitate.

"Could you tell us about the Mephisto followers?"

The room fell absolutely silent at the mention of the name, and many students looked at Thor with wide eyes. The smile on Professor Okoye's face completely disappeared.

"Where did you hear that name, boy?" she asked sternly, Thor swallowed dryly.

"M-my father, ma'am." He replied. "I heard him send a bawler to the ministry quoting that name. When I asked, he told me to study the history of the wizarding world. I thought I would ask you because I couldn't find anything in the books."

The room looked at the teacher expectantly. Okoye sighed, seeming to decide whether to talk about it or not.

"Listen to me carefully please." She asked as she walked around the tables. "Some years ago long before any of you were born, there was a sorcerer who made all the wrong choices. He sought immeasurable power, and was never satisfied with his own abilities. And many other wizards believed that the quest for ultimate power was something worth dying for. When this wizard became a symbol of power and cruelty, he named himself Mephisto."

Her classmates exchanged startled looks, but the teacher continued to tell.

"The dark wizards and witches who supported this quest became known as the Followers of Mephisto, or Walkers of Death. The magical ministries around the world banded together to put an end to the group, and there was a great battle, where most of these wizards were imprisoned or killed in a duel."

"What happened to Mephisto?" Thor asks suddenly, interrupting the narration. The teacher hesitates, but then gives a reassuring smile.

"He's dead, of course." She assures.

"My mother says he was never found." Added another classmate, you think her name is Valkyrie, but you've never talked to her. Much buzz runs through the room at her utterance, and Professor Okoye twists her fingers nervously.

"When the Walkers of Death were eliminated, Mephisto lost his power." She tells seriously. "The last person who faced him is related to someone in this room actually."

Professor Okoye turns to you, and you want to sink into your chair, feeling your heart soar.

"Auror Howard Stark was the last sorcerer to fight Mephisto before his demise. Thirteen years ago." She says and you feel all the stares on you. "But that's enough from this matter for today, students. Mephisto's story is taboo in our witch community because of the thousands of lives that were lost during that period." She adds, "I hope you will be respectful about the memory of those victims, and not comment on such a thing, or mention the name of this despicable wizard again."

The teacher closes the subject after that, looking upset. You can't pay attention to the class again when she goes back to talking about the magical revolution.

//-//

"Did you knew about that?" You ask angrily when Tony looks unimpressed when you approach him in the third floor hallway, after searching all over the school for him.

He looks tired.

"Stop talking so loud, will you?" He asks looking around. "Of course I knew, I've been researching this story for months."

You frown in confusion, and Tony rolls his eyes leaning against the bookshelf next to him.

"I didn't tell you anything because you're only thirteen!" He adds nervously. "That's not children's business."

"It is my business if it involves our family!". You retort angrily. A group of students walk past you, looking at you curiously, but Tony just pretends to be admiring the trophies until they leave.

"Look, I don't really know what happened, but dad used to be an auror when mom was alive." He recounts. "And then he took on this powerful sorcerer, and mom died when you were born. He became an inventor, switched departments in the mystery, and nobody talks about this Mephisto guy nowadays."

"Do you know what this has to do with the wizard who escaped from Azkaban?" you ask with your arms crossed, Tony gives a chuckle.

"Isn't it obvious, sis?" he retorts wryly. "Korvac was Mephisto's greatest ally at that time. And he escaped from the most secure prison in the world. A lot of people think that means the walkers are getting back in business again."

"My god Tony, why didn't dad tell us any of this?" You ask worriedly and Tony laughs humorlessly, looking upset.

He straightens his posture and points to the glass on the trophy shelf that was propped up. 

"And there's more." He says. "Take a look at that."

You turn your face to stare at the objects that were stored there. Most were trophies, but there were also pictures of the Quidditch teams from previous years. Tony is pointing to one of those.

"No way." You whispered as you see it. In the caption on the board, it read "Howard Stark and Erik Lehnsherr receiving awards for their honorable service to the school." It was your father and your teacher, probably in their senior year, and they seemed both content. The magical photograph showed them hugging each other by the shoulders, huge smiles on their faces, and two golden cups in their hands. 

"Yes, little sister." Tony said also looking at the picture. "Dad and Magneto were friends in school days. I wonder what happened to Professor Lehnsherr to make him so bitter. He looks happy in that picture."

The sound of the bell announcing the next period makes you jump in fright, as you were completely distracted by the photograph in front of you.

"Let's talk about this later, Tony, I have charms now and..."

"No way, Y/N!" Tony interrupted frowning. "That's none of your business. Dad told me that you promised to stay out of it, and I agree with him. You're too young!"

"Oh and you think he'll like knowing you're investigating this whole story?" You retort and Tony sighs, looking away, "That's what I thought.

"I'm not going to get you mixed up in this story."

"Fine, I'll find out on my own, then."

"Y/n..."

"See you, Tony."

//-//

Having dementors in the castle is really scary.

It's been two weeks since classes started, and with the first Quidditch game of the year approaching, you're pretty anxious.

You didn't make much progress in your research during those days. None of the professors wanted to say anything about Mephisto's time, and you lost fifteen points when you tried to ask Professor Lehnsherr about his school days, for being a snoozer.

The only things you found out other than what Tony told you were what Gamora and Nebula shared with you. They mentioned that Thanos was particularly busy during the summer, and that they had never seen him go to the Ministry so often before. 

You also started reading the Daily Prophet, and every day they would publish something about Korvac's escape, even if it was only to say that there was no news in the case. 

When the day of the first match arrived, you ignored the strange feeling that settled on the edge of your stomach as if something bad was going to happen.

You are overjoyed when you are in the air, waiting for the match to start, and notice that all of Tony's friends, including yourself, have yellow flags in their hands to cheer you on.

Everything goes well until the end of the first half.

You noticed a bludger almost reaching your chaser team mate, Clint Barton and moved forward to defend him many meters above the stadium. Because it was raining, your visibility was very poor. You knocked the ball away, but lost sight of Clint, although you heard him shout a thank you. As you dived down again, lightning exploded beside you, and you jumped in fright, feeling your ear whistle as you became completely disoriented.

As you began to get used to your surroundings again, you felt your body become completely tense. The cloud in front of you was almost a face shape, it looked like someone with horns or maybe wearing a tiara. The image dissolved in the next second, and you felt a strange chill run through your body. Releasing the broom handle only to hug your arms, you looked down, the whole team many meters away. 

When you tried to join them, something came in your way.

Dementors must have been the scariest thing you had ever seen in your life. And there was one of them right in front of you. You widened your eyes in shock, and the creature looked straight at you.

Losing your strength quickly, you felt yourself slipping off the broom. A feeling as if you had been wrapped in a very painful spell overtook your body as you fell. 

//-//

You woke up in a jolt, and warm hands pushed you back into bed.

"Relax, kid." Your brother spoke with a smile. "I swear I'll actually forbid you to play at some point."

"What happened?" you asked confused. All of your friends and Tony's friends around your bed.

"You fell off the broom, damn it." He retorted and you rolled your eyes.

"Yeah but there was a dementor up there..."

"Yeah, everyone saw it." Tony interrupted looking annoyed. "Professor Harkness kicked everyone out of the stadium after Professor Strange conjured up the patronus."

"I have never seen Professor Strange so angry." Gamora remarked next. 

"Oh, there's something else." Natasha warned moving around the crowd to stand beside you on the bed. "Your broom fell into the Whomping Willow, and well. It' s right here."

In Nat's arms were the remains of what had once been your Nimbus 2000. You sighed in displeasure, but at least you could ask Jarvis to buy you another one.

After you were released from the nurse's office, Principal Harkness was waiting for you in the hallway. She waved for all your other colleagues to go their ways, as she escorted you to the Hufflepuff common room.

"Tell me, dear, are you feeling all right?" She asked tenderly. You nodded in agreement as you walked.

When you reached an empty hallway, she stopped walking, and touched your shoulder so that you would do the same. She knelt at your height and looked deep into your eyes.

"Tell me what you saw up there."

" Professor, I don't remember..." You started to say, but then fell silent, immediately recalling what you saw as you gaze the purple glow in front of you. It was as if your thoughts came out of your lips before you even thought to say them. "I saw an image in the clouds, it was like a horned creature or someone wearing a crown. Then the dementor reached me and I felt an immediate chill and unhappiness. I had the feeling that I was wrapped in a sensation of pain as I fell down."

The professor seemed to absorb every one of your words. She smiled then, her eyes returning to their normal color quickly, making you believe you had imagined the whole thing.

"Thank you dear." She said. "Let's keep this between us, okay?"

When you two walked back, you didn't remember any conversation at all.

//-//

Your first trip to Hogsmeade is amazing.

You buy two bags full of candy at the Honeydukes, and then you and your friends go to the Three Broomsticks, to have some buttery beer.

Quill seems to have become friends with Pietro Maximoff during Quidditch practice, because as soon as they see each other, they greet with a hug.

You ignore the feeling of nervousness that settles on the pit of your stomach when your gaze meets Wanda's.

Your friends don't mind sharing a table with the Maximoff twins, and that's how you end up sitting a few feet from Wanda, Gamora's watchful eye on you trying to understand why you're so quiet and flushed.

"Everyone is so nervous about the dementors at the castle, that I think we should try to do something fun. Like throw a party." Quill suggested to the group. Mantis looked excited.

"I think we could do something before Christmas." Gamora suggested and the group agreed.

"Does anyone have any idea where we can have this party? Quill asked." Since we are from different houses, maybe the common rooms are not a good option. I heard that the Slytherin kids don't really like the Hufflepuffs.”

Quill's teasing makes Wanda roll her eyes, but the rest of the table giggles. You look away to your cup.

"We could use some empty room on the seventh floor." Pietro suggested, and Quill gave an excited exclamation.

"This is a great idea." He said. "If the older students are going to participate, we can get some prefect to cover for us."

Quil looks at you and Mantis has to poke your shoulder for you to notice and pay attention.

"Sorry, what is it?" You ask when you notice all the looks on you.

"Can't you convince Steve Rogers to join us? He's your brother's boyfriend."

You laugh, nodding in agreement

"Okay folks, I'll try to call them all."

On the way back to the castle, after you spent the afternoon talking about the most diverse random subjects and telling jokes, you leave your hands in your pocket, because it is very cold.

Quill and Pietro start playing tag, and Wanda walks alone. You hurry up to join her.

"Hey." You greet with a smile, Wanda also has her hands in her pockets.

"Hey". She responds kindly.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes?"

"Are you asking me?" You say back with humor and Wanda laughs, looking at the floor as she walks. "I… I thought it was cool this afternoon." You confess the next moment, feeling your face get hot. "With everyone together, I say. And you and your brother, it's ... you two are nice."

"Thank you, Stark." She replies with a smile. You move your fingers inside your pocket before you speak again.

"If we're going to be friends, you can use my first name". You say and Wanda looks at you, but you keep looking forward.

"Are you sure?" She asks after a moment. You frown without understanding. "Are you sure you want to be my friend?"

You look at Wanda in surprise. But then your expression softens.

"I thought we were going to be friends last year, but you looked angry every time you saw me."

Wanda laughed lightly, looking ahead.

"Yeah, I… I'm sorry about that." She says. "It wasn't something you did. It was just a few things I heard. And I ended up thinking that you were judging me like everyone else at that school." She tells you. "It would make sense since you saw me face the troll." Wanda whispered the last part. You bit your bottom lip before speaking again.

"You could have talked to me, you know?" You say. "I kept thinking that I had done something wrong."

Wanda said nothing, and you sighed, running your hands through your hair.

"We can forget about it and be friends now, what do you think?" You then suggested a smile on your face.

Wanda looked at you, and her green eyes cause something in your stomach to sink.

"I would like that."

"Cool." You comment breathlessly.

//-//

Being friends with Wanda is so natural that it almost surprises you.

Now whenever you sit down at the Slytherin table, there are two new members in your group of friends.

Eventually you discover that it was Quidditch that build Quill and Pietro friendship, as they stopped fighting because they were spending a lot of time training together.

At the Slytherin table, you know that Pietro and Quill receive angry looks because they are from Gryffindor, but no one has the courage to say anything to you, perhaps it is the deadly stare that Wanda gives anyone who dares to look foully at her brother.

You also succeed in inviting Steve and Tony, in addition to your brother's other friends, to the party before Christmas. Steve says that you all can use the old Astronomy room on seventh-on Saturday, and that the curfew would be at ten o'clock. The news of the party ends up spreading quickly around the school, but your friends don't seem to mind that it stopped being something small just between you guys.

When the day finally comes, you wear a comfortable jeans and sweatshirt set, realizing that it is a choice of clothes much more similar to Muggle-borns than pureblood but no one seems to care.

"Hey, you took so long" remarked Gamora as soon as you went up to the seventh floor and met her at the door of the room. "Come on, everyone is already in there"

As you took some of the non-alcoholic fruit drink that Mantis helped Quill make, you looked around the room. You waved sheepishly when your eyes met Wanda's, who was coming in. She looks very beautiful in her wine red sweater, and she smiled at you, and you didn't understand why you felt your stomach flip.

Soon everyone were all together, talking animatedly on various subjects. When Quill and Pietro started doing a dance competition, you laughed so hard that your belly was aching when they were done.

//-//

You have your first Divination class that week.

Professor Heimdall was already waiting for the students while he was sitting on a kind of ivory throne in the corner of the room, which smelled of incense that made your head spin slightly. It really was a remarkably mystical and mysterious environment, even for a magic school. The illumination was limited due to long white curtains on the walls, and there were many candles scattered around the room. Mantis whispered that this kind of thing was done to increase concentration when working with this kind of magic. 

"Welcome to our first meeting on Divination, students, the most complex and unstable of magical arts." began the professor as soon as everyone was seated at the tables spread around the tower. "I must warn you that if you seek answers to your most personal questions here, you will most likely not find them. There is no stability in this subject."

Some students commented softly among themselves, but no one seemed willing to contradict the professor, his yellow eyes roaming over everyone in the room.

"Let's begin today's class with an introduction to the basics of study in divination." He warns, and with a flick of his wand, the cupboards at the back of the room open, and from there several sets of cups fly out to all the tables. Then the professor touches his wand to the teapot on the table, and it multiplies into four pairs, flying around to serve everyone.

When everyone has their cups full, Professor Heimdall goes to the small blackboard, and begins to explain how divination works. You hurry to start writing it down.

Many minutes later, when you have finished your tea, Mantis pokes your shoulder.

"Let me look at yours and you do mine?" she asks and you nod, handing her your cup. You clear your throat, looking intently at the dregs of tea in Mantis' cup.

"I don't see anything." You grumble, trying to concentrate. The powder doesn't seem to form anything. 

"Remember to check the symbols in your books." Warned Professor Heimdall aloud the next moment. You took a deep breath, running your fingers across the paper as you tried to identify the images.

"Mantis, let's switch, I don't think I'm getting anything..." You start to say softly looking at your book, when you glance at your friend however, you frown in confusion. She has her gaze glazed on your cup, one hand covering her mouth, "Mantis, what happened?"

She gasps softly, and you straighten your position as you notice a thick tear running down her cheek, feeling your heart soar with worry.

"I'm... I'm so sorry." She sighs breathlessly, dropping her cup on the table. The noise attracts everyone's attention, but Mantis is getting up the next moment, and running out of the room. You stand up, but Professor Heimdall puts his hand on your shoulder.

"Don't worry, miss Stark." He says. "It's common for those more sensitive to divination to have that kind of reaction in their first contact with the spirit world." He explains with a tender look. You don't understand why, but his voice calms you. "Go back to your activity, I will talk to your friend."

He waves to the rest of the room next, and then leaves. You sit back down, exchanging worried glances with Gamora and Nebula who are at the table in front of you. 

Your first action is to look at the cup that Mantis has thrown on the table, but the impact has broken it at the bottom, and the liquid has run down the cloth. You sigh in dissatisfaction, using your wand to clean up the mess.

When class is over, Gamora and Nebula quickly join you.

"Any idea what that was about?" Gamora asks as you walk together through the castle. 

"No, she just got a glazed look in her eyes, and then she ran off." You count. "I'll try to ask her in potions class."

"Maybe she saw some evil omen." Nebula comments, and Gamora elbows her in the stomach. "Ouch."

You frown worriedly.

"Does that mean something bad is going to happen to me?"

Gamora denies with her head, forcing a smile as if trying to reassure you.

"Bad omens can be many things, even something silly, like losing a sock in your room." She says and you leave your hands in your pockets, not feeling reassured by this information.

"Yeah, but Mantis wouldn't cry over a sock." You retort and Nebula nods in agreement, but Gamora has a serious expression.

"I'd rather think it's nothing bad." She says. "Professor Heimdall said it's normal for sensitive students to have that reaction, isn't it?" She adds and you shrug. "Maybe she's just been watching you lose a game or something, but she was so overwhelmed with having seen something, that she got emotional."

"I hope you're right." You grumble as you reach the stairs. You sigh. "See you at lunch, girls. Have a good History of Magic class."

Gamora and Nebula wave goodbye and head in the opposite direction from you after they watch the staircase move.

You hurry to avoid being late for potions.

//-//

Mantis doesn't come to the dungeon either. You poke Quill in the back as he sits down in front of you, and ask if he's seen her anywhere, but he shrugs, worried that you don't know either. You just sigh, telling him what happened in class.

"I'm glad I didn't take that subject." He says as he hears the story. "I've heard that some people learn to see the day that the other person is going to die. That's scary."

You laugh incredulously.

"That sounds like a lie."

Quil shrugs his shoulders. "That's what I heard."

You wish you could talk more, however Professor Erik entered the room the next moment, and everyone fell silent. You tried to forget about the divination class by concentrating on making your poison antidote correctly next.

//-//

You only found Mantis at lunchtime.

Or rather, she found you.

You had just come out of charm class, and she was waiting for you outside. You looked at her with surprise and concern, but she just smiled, looking much more relaxed than earlier.

"I'm sorry I disappeared." She says. "Professor Heimdall thought it best that I get some rest, and then he taught me some things about aural sensitivity."

"I don't know what that means." You comment making her smile. 

"It doesn't matter." She says. "I'm sorry for scaring you earlier."

You shake your head.

"Mantis, come on, no need to stress about it." You retort. "I was worried about you, and I'm sure it wasn't your fault." 

Mantis smiles, looking forward. You bite the inside of your cheek, finding her strangely calm and distant.

"Do you remember what you saw in my cup?" You ask hesitantly, and a small glint passes through Mantis' eyes, but then she smiles quietly, denying it.

"It was no great thing, I believe." She says. "Professor Heimdall has assured me that it must have been just a bad memory, and that there is nothing to worry about."

You frown, but something in Mantis' expression tells you that she just won't talk about it anymore. Not wanting to make your friend uncomfortable, you don't press the issue again.

//-//

It's Christmas again, and you don't go home.

This year Hogwarts is much emptier than it usually is, and you know that it's because of the dementors. 

The vast majority of the families, even those who usually leave their children at Hogwarts, have asked the students to return home. Your father briefly mentioned in his last letter how there were many requests for shift changes during the holiday period.

Tony also stayed in the castle, you knew he was planning to enter the forbidden section of the library, and he had told you to mind your own business when you asked if you could help.

Surprisingly, Gamora and Nebula returned home. It was very unusual because Thanos didn't like parties, but they promised to write to you. Mantis always returned home, so you just handed over your present before hugging her goodbye. Quill and the Maximoffs stayed with you.

"You know you're losing right?" you remarked with amusement as you were spending time with your friends in the Gryffindor communal room, a wizard chessboard in front of you. Quill let out an annoyed groan. 

"That game is harder than it looks." He grumbled looking at the pieces. " Knight move to E3 please."

The piece moved, cursing softly that Quill was making a stupid move, and you laughed.

"Can't you see her bisbe right there you idiot? "Squinted the black item, and Quill sighed in irritation.

"You want to play by yourself, do you?" He retorted, and Pietro and Wanda who were watching you two, giggled.

"Are you talking to the game, Quill?" Pietro teased as if the boy in front of him was crazy. 

After you beat Peter, it was your turn to face Pietro. He was a much better player, but he still made a lot of thoughtless moves.

Someone walked past the door, and you heard noises of footsteps, and then there was a girl joining you all.

"Hey, Monica!" Pietro greeted the girl cheerfully as soon as he saw her. The girl smiled at him. "Guys, this is Monica Rambeau, she is..."

"Professor Rambeau's daughter." Quill completes as if it is obvious. And you and Wanda smile at the girl. "Everybody knows Monica, man."

"What are you guys doing?" The girl asks curiously.

"Playing chess."

"Losing at chess, you mean right?" you tease with a smile. Pietro and Quill laugh in agreement, Wanda is distracted by the book in her hands.

"Do you want to hang out with us?" Pietro asks.

"Actually, I'm going to go outside." Monica says excitedly. "I just went in to get a coat. Darcy and I are going to make a snowman. Why don't you guys join us?"

You exchange glances with your friends. They all seem to think the same thing. And that's how you end up in the outside yards, in a snowball war.

" Back off, Pietro, I'm on your team!" You yell at the older Maximoff who has just hit you with an icy snowball to the chest. Pietro laughs.

"In war it's every man for himself!" He shouts running toward you. You laugh as you run away from him, preparing to hit Quill who is in the opposite direction.

"Hey, get down!" You heard someone shout and you turned around, obeying the order as soon as you noticed Darcy's raised arm toward you. She threw a snowball at someone behind you, and you laughed when Pietro let out an exclamation. Running toward the girl, you thanked her with a wave of your hand before running back. 

After hitting Monica and Quill twice, you ran out of Pietro's reach when he appeared at your side, laughing. Stumbling, you ended up miscalculating your speed, and knocked Wanda down next.

"That's a foul." Joked Pietro as he watched you two fall, laughing along with both of you. Before he could throw a snowball at you, Quill was back and he ran. You helped Wanda up as you apologized for knocking her down.

"One point each." She says holding the snowball at chest height. You smile, and wait for her to throw the snow at you. She laughs when she has done so gently, pushing the ball against your shoulder, the icy liquid running down your blouse making you shiver slightly. 

You pick up a snowball from the ground next, but when you look at Wanda, her face flushed with cold, and emerald eyes sparkling with amusement, you don't have the heart, and just smile wryly, making her look at you curiously.

"What is it?" she asks confused by the way you are just looking, making no mention of throwing the snow at her.

But the moment was broken next, when you all heard an animalistic noise nearby, and turned your heads with curiosity.

A few meters away was the guardian of the lands, Drax, leading a line of winged horses through the snow. You and your friends let out a chorus of excitement.

"Wow, look at the size of those horses." Pietro commented looking in the same direction. 

"They're not horses, people!" Monica exclaimed excitedly. "They're unicorns! Mom said we were going to study them next class don't you remember?"

Only when Monica said this did you squeeze your eyes shut to get a better look, and you could see the white horns in the distance. Drax waved at you from a distance when he noticed that you all were looking. He led the horses to the area where the class on Magical Creatures was usually held, and you saw that Professor Rambeau was waiting for him.

After that, it seemed to get colder. And you all decided to go inside and have some hot chocolate, as you took your friends into the kitchens. The elves were happy to serve you sweet breads and cakes, even outside of dinner time.

//-//

On Christmas morning, all of your friends, including Tony and Natasha who was Tony's only friend to stay at Hogwarts, gathered at the same table in the main hall for the gift exchange.

"Stop fussing, boy, you'll mess up the presents!" You heard Darcy complain to Quill. She and Monica were also with you because Pietro invited them. Neither of you guys minded, because they were very nice.

"I'm just trying to get a peek." Retorted Peter raising the gift package in the air out of Darcy's reach.

"It's not your gift, so you can't look!" 

You laughed at the interaction, finishing opening the package in front of you. Natasha had given you a new collection of wand care products and you loved it.

"You do need to take better care of your wand indeed." Teased Tony when he saw the gift. You laughed while waving a middle finger at him, and stood up to hug Nat in appreciation.

Most of the gifts were clothes, and candy. You bought a collection of exploding snap cards for Quill, and he was very pleased, already throwing the cards on the table to play with everyone. Pietro and Monica eventually agreed to participate, while Darcy watched them.

"That's mine right there." You said shyly to Wanda as she picked up one of the packages from the stack. "I hope you like it."

Wanda bit her lower lip in anticipation as she opened the package. And when the red scarf became visible, she fell silent, and it was your turn to be nervous.

"I know you're from Slytherin and all, but I've noticed that you really like red." You hasten to justify. "And then I saw this scarf in Hogsmeade and I remembered that day after charms class that you forgot your scarf and Pietro lent you his and so I thought it would be a good idea and..."

"I loved it." She interrupts looking at you. Her cheeks redden and a tender smile on her lips. You relax with relief immediately.

"Oh, right." You say. "Good, then."

You think you've been looking into Wanda's eyes too long, because your face is starting to heat up. But Peter gives a celebratory shout for getting the card move right, and you and Wanda look away quickly. She puts on her scarf next, and you look down at your lap to hide the silly smile that insists on escaping your lips.

//-//

When classes at Hogwarts return, the Dementors leave.

Apparently there was a big commotion in the Ministry of Magic. You hear many students commenting on this during the class break. And then there is a story in the Daily Prophet saying that Korvac was killed in combat with aurors in London, but there are also many people saying that this is a lie, and that he has run away again and the Ministry of Magic doesn't want to assume to the public.

Anyway, Headmistress Harkness removes the dementors from the castle and the atmosphere in the school improves considerably.

Nebula has a large purple mark on her left eye when she returns. Gamora tells everyone that she fell off her broomstick. You choke when she tells only you that it was Thanos who did this after he caught her snooping in his office.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay?" She asks tearfully and you nod frantically, hugging her to calm her down. "I've never seen our father like that."

"It's okay now, Gamora." You say tightening in your embrace. "I will help you."

When you write to your father, asking what to do in a situation where the dangers are indoors, he says that Stark Mansion is big enough to accommodate your friends.

When you come home for the vacations after doing very well on your final exams, Gamora and Nebula are with you.

[arcanetoastfiend69]

She-Mikey Pt. 1

(in which y/n is in Toman & is rlly strong. rival gang leaders see her as a weakness for them to exploit, but they are in for a rude awakening as she is everything but.) ((not important to the story but Y/N is a knockout even w/o her fighting skills so ofc everyone loves her<3))

(dk if this makes sense or not but I had a dream like this & had to write it out. let a girl dream ugh)

before timeskip but very much deviates from canon. reader is afab.

(characters mentioned-y/n, y/n's bestie Jasmine, Mikey, draken, baji, mitsuya, ran, rindou)

WARNINGS- none really, fighting ig, very much sfw

"Can I pleaseeee use your answers? I totally forgot we had an assignment due today" Y/N put on her best puppy dog eyes to try and convince her bestie to borrow her homework. "Girl she reminded us all week. Maybe if you actually paid attention in class instead of falling asleep every day you would have known" She glared back at Y/N and she stood there taken aback. "It's not my fault! You know I never get a good night of sleep." She looked innocently at her friend on their way to their lockers

"I have more important things to worry about" She rolled her eyes after hearing this "Yea like what? Getting into pointless fights?" Now it was Y/N's turn to roll her eyes as she put in the combination to her locker. "I wouldn't expect you to understand Jaz, fighting is really fun when you actually win" She opened her locker and her friend just looked at her and silently disapproved. "Forget it, it doesn't matter if I fail or not, it's not like I actually need to pass." "Oi" A voice coming up from behind sounded even more disappointed than Jasmine "You shouldn't say things like that", The lilac-haired boy approached the girls, putting his hand on Y/N's shoulder, "What would your mother say?" Another voice exclaimed coming from the same direction.

Y/N turned around to see two of her fellow gang members approaching the girls parked at their lockers. Mitsuya looked actually serious but the pout on Draken's lips showed that he found it funny. "Well if it isn't the infamous Twin Dragons coming to stick their nose where it doesn't belong once again" Y/N rolled her eyes at the nosy boys with one hand on her locker door and the other on her hip. "Hey don't be mad! We just want to make sure Toman's little princess doesn't fall behind in her studies!" Draken pinched her cheek and she swatted it away while glaring up at him. "Don't get your dirty hand oils all over my pretty face, and don't call me that." She grumbled halfway joking. Mitsuya just side-eyed his friend "But seriously, if it were up to me you wouldn't even be in Toman. Your mom already didn't like us being friends, I thought she was really gonna kill me when I dropped off your jacket". Y/N opened up her mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of her friend closing her locker door shut,

"I'd love to continue observing this little delinquent exchange, but some of us actually have aspirations outside of going to juvie or burning up cars". "That's literally two people! Don't stereotype us ms. girl" Y/N retorted jokingly and Jasmine let out a chuckle, "Whatever, here are the answers you wanted though, I'll be in class whenever you decide to join." She finished shutting her bag and slung it over her shoulder "Anyone coming with?" She asked while turning around making her way to the class they all shared. Mitsuya began following her still facing Y/N, "Stay on top of your work Y/L/N, and that's coming from your division leader". "Aye aye captain" Y/N saluted as the responsible pair walked away. "I'm gonna copy these down really quickly so you might as well follow them" Y/N looked back up at the tall blondie while getting a pencil out. "Well I was gonna wait on you, but if you're gonna be a minute I do need to hunt down Mikey, catch up with you in class?" Draken queried, beginning to walk away, Y/N looked up with a mischievous smile "Maybe, later Ken-chin" He chuckled, knowing he probably wouldn't see her until the Toman meeting later that night. "Later princess" "Do not call me that!" She called out and he didn't turn around, but he did raise his hand to his ear as if he didn't hear her, which she was secretly grateful for. This way he wouldn't see the slight redness that formed on her cheeks. She didn't mind that nickname at all, especially from the right people. She shook off her embarrassment as he walked away and she finally turned back to finish copying down her friend's hard work.

---

Maybe 15 minutes passed and she looked around to see the hallway was now empty. "Hmm, well at this point I've missed half the class anyways, no need to walk all that way for half of the lesson" She grinned to herself while sliding Jasmine's paper through the slits in her locker door. "Maybe I'll get some snacks before the next one starts" She went to fish her wallet out of her locker and was so occupied by the conversation she was having with herself she didn't notice the shadows creeping behind her, but was she really so oblivious?

Her face was buried in her messy locker when she suddenly felt a hand touch her shoulder. This hand didn't have the same comforting energy that she was so used to feeling from her friends, she froze at the unfamiliar feeling and slightly turned her head to see a blonde boy leaning against her friend's locker with blue streaks throughout his hair and a devilish grin splayed across his face. "So the rumors are true, Toman really does have a princess among them" The unfamiliar boy seemed almost flirtatious, but the looks on the goons placed behind him showed Y/N that he was not there to court her. "Sorry to barge in on you like this, I'm Rindou and this is my brother Ran. We'll be taking you with us. I'm sure Mikey would do anything to get his pretty princess back, even if that means joining our ranks" Y/N just looked back at him crazy, he must not know who she is. Why would Mikey throw away everything he's built with Toman just for an annoying girl from down the street, sure she's in the gang but it's not like she's a division leader or something.

"It is a shame we're gonna have to mess up such a pretty face though" The one touching her shoulder finally spoke up, slowly moving his hand from her shoulder towards her face. She assumed he wanted to place his hand on her chin, but of course she wasn't going to allow his dirty hands anywhere near her skin.

She broke out of her trance and licked her lips, reveling in the taste of a fight brewing. Just the excitement she needed to brighten up her boring day. She pouted as he neared her face "It is a shame, isn't it" She stated and sighed, before quickly grabbing his hand just before he made contact with her chin, she then rearranged them and pushed him up against her locker, closing it with his body. "Such a shame to mess up this pretty face, especially with your hair braided so nice too" She mocked the tall boy that she had pinned against the blue lockers. "I'm sincerely sorry" She teased with a shit-eating grin.

He grunted at the impact, and tried to free himself, but found he couldn't break himself from her grip. Everyone present froze in shock for a moment, surprised that the short girl was more than just a pretty face. Sure they had heard that she was a fighter but how strong could she really be? She just looked like a little girl that should be in dance or cheer, how was she going to actually defend herself against the heads of Roppongi? Unbeknownst to the sexist delinquents, Y/N grew up down the road from Mikey and Baji, and has been fighting alongside them(and against them), in the dojo and in the streets for as long as she can remember. Maybe she doesn't look it, but Y/N has always had a fighting heart, much to her mom's dismay.

The first to react was Rindou, but as he approached her she quickly switched her hands' positions to hold Ran against the lockers with one hand, and with her free hand she grabbed onto the shorter brother's skull and slammed it against the lockers. She winced at the dent she left and knew she was going to be yelled at by Jasmine and the janitor, whom she had just paid off to replace that same locker door earlier in the week when some dumb jock didn't get the hint that she wasn't interested in him.

Rindou fell to the ground unconscious, and his brother began writhing again thinking he would surely be able to break out of a one-handed grip. Oh was he wrong. His squiggling broke Y/N out of her daydream, she has got to remember not to get so distracted when she's trying to enjoy a fight! "Damn, I have got to say, you're pretty strong for a princess" Ran chuckled sounding almost defeated. "Hmm, maybe because I'm not a princess?" She whispered in his ear before applying pressure to just the right spot between his shoulders, causing him to fall to the ground much like his younger brother.

She turned around wiping her hands to see 6 strong-looking boys, some with bats. She stepped over the braided boy's unconscious body and to their surprise she still didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. "Oh don't tell me you all want to fight too?" She smiled at them. "Can this day get any better?" So much better than just grabbing snacks before class <3

a.n.- I'm gonna continue this, i don't think someone as good as fighting as Y/N wouldn't notice an entire group approaching in an otherwise empty hallway. Maybe she just wanted some real excitement? Or is she actually more intelligent than she comes off?

[pheita]

Dimensonal Tides Part 20

Yes, I am the master in putting too much into one story. This will take some more parts till we meet Sojan and the gang again. I also can't wait for it.

Warnings for: talk about sex, and sexual preferences.

Tagging @ashen-crest @adie-dee @abalonetea @cometkov @contes-de-rheio @kainablue @chris-the-dragonslayer @viskafrer @vivian-is-writing

The preparations went well after Casimerin assigned everyone their task. On the fourth day, Miada found herself already halfway through in the position that she could not continue until the next day. After a few minutes spent considering if there was anything else she could do, she decided to let it go for the day. "I was going to force you," Cindarin laughed behind her. Somehow in that short time, the older dragoness had become something like another aunt. "Don't worry, I'm not that much of a workaholic." "I wasn't so sure about that at first." Laughing, Cindarin waved her goodbye and continued on to the kitchen. Arriving at the locker, she found Bayeen just gathering everything together as well to call it a day. "Finished too?" "I have to wait for data and it won't come in until tonight." "I guess we all have the same thing going on," Fenor commented from the doorway. Behind him, Sykova and two other colleagues arrived. Miada looked up at the clock. It was just early afternoon. "The weather is nice. I think it calls for a picnic." "That's the best idea I've heard in the last three days," Fenor sighed. Slowly he became more theatrical than Sykova. "You poor man," Sykova played the pitiful one and took Fenor in her arms from behind and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

It was clear how Fenor immediately went stiff as a board. Out of the corner of her eye, Miada saw Bayeen looking at her in confusion, and she could understand. How many times had the two of them taken each other in their arms and given each other a kiss. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Sykova had noticed it too, and as quickly as he could unobtrusively let go of Fenor. "I heard picnic?" he resumed the thread from before. "That's the plan." Always keeping Fenor in sight, Miada gathered everything together. The question of why the men always had to make such a mess accompanied her as she walked over to Vivalka. "Hey, Viv, still busy?" "Not really, an hour or maybe an hour and a half. You're done?" Vivalka turned in her seat to face her. "Yeah, have to wait until tomorrow. We're going to the park for a picnic. You can join us if you like." "You're going to raid our favorite bakery?" "Were you expecting anything else?", Miada just grinned in reply. "Not really. I'll see how long it takes me. But you guys should work something out first." Vivalka nodded over to Fenor, who was very careful to keep the distance between himself and Sykova. Miada sighed and looked to her with raised eyebrows. "Would you help me lock these two in a room?" "If I may observe the outcome?" "I corrupted you...," Miada replied in a dramatic tone. "I'm just better at ignoring such thoughts." "I can't argue with that. I may come back to that. And Viv?" "Hmm?" Vivalka had been half in the motion of turning back around. "Love you." "Love you too, stubborn. Now get your dragon's brains right." Laughing, Miada nudged Vivalka with her shoulder and received a light slap in response. Oddly enough, she was in a little better mood now, even if it wasn't good that the tension between Fenor and Sykova was so evident. Since everyone knew where they were going to meet, it was just a matter of who got what. It wasn't the first impromptu picnic, and they had a favorite spot where everyone would meet again either way. On the way to the bakery, she went over what she could do the next day and found that it would again come down to only having something to do half the time. Without giving it any more thought, she booked one of the institute's training halls. She had barely gotten to work out since graduation, and with what was ahead of them, she wanted to be in as good shape as she could be. After detouring to the bakery and loaded down with cupcakes, sandwiches, and fresh bread, she finally arrived at the place. Fenor was already there, laying out the blankets. There was a bag at the side, where Miada firmly assumed there was the cutlery. Fenor preferred the comfort of picnicking, which, in her opinion, had ruined them all forever for simple picnics. "Mis, you're quick." Half amazed, half amused, Fenor commented on her arrival. "I was lucky there was no other customer. Besides, I was there alone." His laughter meant he knew she was getting at the fact that usually Sykova was the reason for the delay.

[rosaetae]

spellbound to be | one

☇ “I don’t need to drink your blood to have my lips on your neck.”

[this is a part of tale of the purebloods] — prologue / one / two 

➣  pairing: jungkook x reader

➣  genre: vampire!jungkook, fanatasy!au, soulmate!au, angst

➣ word count: 12.3k

➣  rating: pg-13

➣  synopsis: jeon jungkook is the cursed pureblood to have fallen in deep love with someone who was not his Complement. having to have fallen hard, he has to compensate with a life full of heartbreak and pain— one of which a burden weighs heavily on his shoulders. so much so, he hires a witch one day to reverse his inevitable Complement tie.

Bloodshed.

That is what derives from Witch Trial Week at Ember Academy— overly exaggerating, of course. A witch-made week established decades ago, the equivalence to Hell Week in the mundane world, but something your friend, Piper likes to call "Heaven Week" for her own musings.

Ember Academy's witches spend the week hexing, jinxing, cursing each other in the light of every October 31st, Halloween. There's no real motive behind it. Before, whoever was the last witch standing would be given special treatment, but in modern day, it was used as a tactic for the professors to oversee who would be a powerful witch, for some it was a mechanism to either get revenge or to let out one's anger. For you, it was always fun.

To your misfortune, you were at the short end of the stick, being clever and witty enough to be made part of Witch Trial Week, one of the notable witches that some would target, but unlike the rest of Ember Academy, you didn't grow up with the others. They all knew each other the day you stepped into the academy, looking and talking about you as if you were anything but one of them.

And it was true, you weren't fully one of them.

Growing up, you lived in the mundane world, surrounded by people who upheld no special abilities as those in the Upper World. Surely, you were no stranger to the realm of where your mother comes from, you coming home every day from primary school to your father, a human, and your mother, a full-fledged witch who gave up her immortality and her life in the Upper World for the sake of her Complement. You'd spend the day learning simple arithmetic, and after school, you'd come home to your mother teaching you simple, harmless charms.

It was a normal life growing up for you, your upbringing never straying too far from your roots. On some nights, your father put you to bed by telling you bedtime stories, on other nights, your mother would sing a lullaby of broken latin. You were convinced for awhile that it was your mother's soothing voice, but at a certain age when she stopped singing you to sleep, she exposed that it was a siren's song she learned from a friend in her hometown.

As a child, you'd constantly ask about the Upper World, having constant dreams about another worldly realm and a recurring figure holding their hand out for you. And the minute your finger grazes theirs, you awake. Not on your bed made of sea water and a ceiling made of glass, but in your normal New York apartment that had some crooked crevices on the ceiling, on your springy mattress with beige linen sheets. Although, despite your continuous desire to visit your mother's home world, your mother and father were very against world hopping.

However, due to your father's passing when you turned 14, there was no reason as to why your mother should keep you in the mundane world any longer if you didn't want to stay, and brought you to the Upper World of where your dreams of it had come to reality.

Entering Ember Academy, you could not fathom why your mother was so strict of you convincing yourself and everyone else around you that you are a full-fledged witch. And then you learn during one of the history classes that a hybrid witch that shares two worlds forbidden from each other was subjected to execution if entered the soil of the Upper World. You never understood why such a thing as your existence had such dire consequences, but that just made you more aware of your lies to everyone in the Upper World.

Your mother raised you believing that love shouldn't be forbidden, no matter the circumstances, even if that meant two different worlds. The mundane world was like that too. Star-crossed lovers consisting of Romeo and Juliet, Jack and Rose, Joel and Clementine, your own parents— they're all the epitome of what your mother likes to gush on and on about. And in hindsight, you are the product of it.

Due to your inability to grow up with the other witches, you had almost the entire academy against you for the past few years, especially on Witch Trial Week, only for this year to completely change that.

In the mundane world, sports like kickboxing was one of your favorites, and while there was no such thing as kickboxing in the Upper World, your main characteristic was that you like to play rough. A tug a war, a game of chess— this year, you were not holding back.

"Don't be so quick to be disappointed, Piper."

Piper, one of your only purely good friends at Ember Academy, watches you grind up dried lavender buds in a hard stone mortar and pestle, making a few grinds before running an index finger along an old page of your mother's book you took without her permission. She plops down onto her seat in front of you, her dark purple hair bouncing on her shoulders as she taps on her star glitters on her face. "It's Witch Trial Week, ___. That means I have to witch-proof all of my belongings because Rina and her damn fritter friends are going to pull a last year's move."

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad," you state, pouring the crushed up lavender into a glass bottle that had frog mucus and torn rose petals sitting inside about one fourth of the way. Piper doesn't question what you were up to, only continuing to voice out her frustrations.

"They cursed my assignments! You know how many extra credit assignments I had to do? 200 points gone because of this bloody witch-made week!"

Smirking, you peer up at her before standing up from your seat to grab a large jar of purple dragon drool on a shelf right behind you, before sitting back down, "calm down, I have plotted the perfect revenge."

"What?" Piper raises an eyebrow, her facial expression looking concerned. "Is that dragon drool?"

Opening up the jar, Piper makes a sour face when the aroma of a putrid, green whiff draws out of the jar, you having to stifle in a cough at the stench that made no warning traveling up your sinuses. Bringing your index finger and thumb to pinch your nose, you grab the small wooden serving spoon attached to the side of it and put two heeping spoonfuls of the dragon drool into your concoction before swiftly shutting the jar and finally being able to breathe again.

Piper lets out an exhale she's been holding in, staring at you with wide eyes, waiting for an answer that you were sort of stalling as you rip up a piece of paper. "I borrowed my mother's infamous dark magic book."

She gulps at the sound of that. "Dark magic?"

"Calm down, it's not that bad," you roll your eyes at her fear of using an area of magic that you were technically not supposed to touch upon— but you couldn't help it. It's dark magic, it's bound to be used somehow. "Just going to tease around with Rina's emotions a bit. We all know she's been trying to hit on Namjoon despite her Complement is Doyeon. I'm making a simple love potion for Namjoon to fall in love with Rina— only for the week though. She'll be a bit heartbroken at the end, but hey, she stained my uniform with troll's blood last year."

Jung Rina, daughter of Ember Academy's high priestess, who also adapts an attitude problem. She likes to taunt other witches from afar because of the power she gains from being the high priestess's daughter, cursing and jinxing others and acting as if it wasn't her— she gets away with it anyways. Unsure why, even when you do mind your own business, it's as if Rina has something against you— you confirmed this when even after Witch Trial Week, she wouldn't stop jinxing you.

Last year, she took your uniform while you were showering after with a game of shuntbumps, only to wear a uniform stained with a bright yellow color leaving a horrendous, pungent smell of troll's blood. It was one of the most talked about trick for the year, everyone bringing up the fact that Ms. Jung Rina was able to get her hands on troll's blood and use you as a target. A laughing stock, the black sheep— you've endured it for long enough.

"You're using dark magic! On the high priestess's daughter! That's—"

"Risky? I could care less." You finish for her, shrugging. You write down the template for the love spell that was written in high level latin, writing it carefully letter by letter. As your quill inks the paper, you look at a sweating Piper momentarily. "Stop worrying! If anything, you're guilty by association."

Piper places her hands over eyes and sighs. "I did not see anything."

"No, you didn't," you muse along with her as you place your quill back into its holder and roll up the paper into a thin tube, tapping it into the bottle that finishes up the spell. You watch as the dragon's drool acidifies the paper, already acidifying the rose petals, ground lavender buds, and frog's mucus prior, all in all creating a lilac hue in the glass bottle. "See? It's done. Now I just need to pour this into his cup of juniper latte when we go to potions."

"Huh," Piper says aloud. "That's sneaky."

Clicking your tongue at her, you slam the dark magic book closed, quickly shoving it into your tote bag while you plug the glass bottle with a cork, gently placing it along with the magic book.

"May the games begin," you whisper audibly only for Piper to let out another sigh of disappointment, but also in anticipation.

Everything was going smoothly. Going to class was like a mission, having to make sure that you don't mindlessly enter a trap, but as you sit down in your seat, in the sight of Professor Young of where safe base was, you just had to get through this class without being suspicious. Despite all else, everything was smooth sailing. Even pouring the potion into Namjoon's juniper latte when he wasn't paying attention was easy. And you noticed that no one has caught you— yet.

In a whirl of lingering moments, the grace period, you were sat in your seat, reading your potions book when you hear an abrupt sound, you and almost everyone in the class looking up to see Namjoon, his told figure looming over the other students with eyes wide as day.

He makes one audible noise, "Rina," before dashing out of the potion room in a coarse and gawky manner, Professor Young calling after him while the rest of the class took it to their own accord to follow him, already presuming that something only Witch Trial Week can influence. Eventually, all classes grew curious of the commotion that people trickle into the crowd as they follow in a hearty distance from Namjoon's graceless gait.

You pull Piper to the side when you see Namjoon approach his and your target, standing from one of the many columns of the area to get a good look given by the angle you were given. Piper couldn't help but to let out an amused giggle when you both see the moment unfold in front of your eyes.

"Namjoon?" Rina speaks, her cheeks going red when she sees Namjoon on his knees, head down. You almost snort at how her eyes go wide when she finds her biggest crush right in front of her, thinking this was out of his own willingness— Namjoon actually being in love with Rina. "Namjoon, what are you doing?"

"I love you!"

The loud announcement rings and echoes in waves down the hallway, you and Piper already having a hard time stifling your laughter at the confession. Rina gulps before she lets out a scoff in disbelief, a smile creeping on her face as if this was a moment she was expecting. Her cockiness makes you want to gag.

"I love you with all my heart, Rina! I want to stay by your side forever!"

Whispers upon whispers dissipate into the air, one of concern, one of cheer for Rina, and one of straight amusement.

Rina raises her eyebrows, clearing her throat. "Namjoon."

"Please, keep me in your life," Namjoon states, almost like a whimper. In that moment, he peers up at Rina with huge bug eyes, as if he was really begging. The anticipation stabs at you like daggers as Rina continues to stare at him in both awe and confusion by the sudden confession. "Master."

The last word leaves his mouth almost like a mutter, and you were for sure, for a mere second, that you misheard him— everyone did, until you're finding Namjoon leap from his stance into Rina's arms, immediately peppering her with kisses on her cheeks, causing her to stumble backwards. The murmurs amongst the crowd grow, following with a few giggles as Rina is trying to push Namjoon away, trying to hold in her giggles.

"Namjoon," Rina says through fits of giggles as she brings her hands up to his chest, trying to keep some distance between them. "Namjoon, not—"

The words are taken out of her mouth when Namjoon, shamelessly and giddily swipes his entire tongue along her cheek, earning a large gasp from the crowd. It leaves not only you in shock, but as well as Rina who entirely freezes in realization of the contact that was just made. Your mouth hangs open, until you roll your lips inward, trying so very hard not to break into a fit of laughter.

"Wrong spell, you hobworm!" Piper whisper yells, slapping a hand on your arm as you let a snigger out, looking at your friend with amusement, wondering why she wasn't finding this just as funny as you did.

"Hobworm?" You gasp at her insult, your amusement unabashedly shining through.

Piper scowls at you, biting her tongue to prevent from encouraging you further into amusement. "You cast the wrong spell!"

As your smile grows, you shake your head. "No, I swear I didn't. I did everything correctly—"

"Then why on earth is Namjoon under a puppy love spell?"

Glancing your eyes at Rina, you hear whispers among the crowd who watch as she tries to push a puppy in love Namjoon away from her. He whines and whimpers each time she makes the distance greater between them.

"Who did this!" Rina exclaims, trying to push a licking Namjoon away from her. "Who in the heavens thought this was funny? I will be reporting this to my mother and every little squeamish fritter that allowed this to happen— no, Namjoon, bad dog!"

This allows you to snort, all your laughter you were containing bursting out as you couldn't hold it in anymore. However, doing so only allows Rina to make direct eye contact with you, her face twisting in volatile spite, knowing very well that you are the culprit. Widening your eyes, you began to run before your mind processed it.

"___!" Rina screeches from the tops of her lungs, everyone in front of you turning heads to find you, the witch who dared to pull a little stunt against the High Priestess's daughter.

Legs stride step by step, zooming through the halls with adrenaline pumping your veins as the wretched witch was probably right behind you, chasing you down when you hear the sounds of heels, knowing very well that's Rina's 3-inch heeled mules clacking in the distance. Professors peek their head out of their classroom in curiosity, some yelling at you to not run in the halls, however, your eye is set on the prize— the exit.

It was closed, and to save time, you swipe your hand in front of you, a spell recited in your head swinging the door wide open that it hits the walls and causes a loud slamming noise. It was the door that led out to the garden of the academy of where fresh herbs grew, and at this point of your escape plan, you were hoping to hide in the depths of the greenhouse until class ended.

You run down the steps, eyes looking down as your feet land on each step, careful not to miss one or you'd fall down to your doom. And just when you safely made it down the staircase, you are bumped into a wall of rigid flesh and muscle, your immediate reaction to apologize, except the words are taken out of your mouth when you look up and see the face on all pictures and drawings matching to the person who looked just as mesmerizing in person as he is on paper; the one and only—

"Your grace," Jungkook hears you sputter, shutting your eyes and lowering your head to hide your own embarrassment and disappointment in such a quick second. His men behind him step forward, but he raises a hand to halt them in their place. "My sincere apologies—"

"Do you have no mind?" Jungkook hears the secretary who was leading him on a tour around Ember Academy snap, her booming and high-pitched screech at the sheer shame that has been exchanged by this incident.

"I am so incredibly sorry, your grace. I am at fault—"

The king himself is not at all bothered by a simple bump by a young witch, considering that it seemed you were on the run from something. He glances down at you in subtle curiosity, your head bowed before him with your hair braided, as you stand still despite the constant nagging of the secretary scolding you for being so unaware. And something catches his eye.

His eyes focus in on the crystal of pale, fair, ivory that hangs on your neck. It twinkles in his sight with the sunlight just bouncing off of it into his cornea, right before he settles in recognition of where he recalls it. There's a swift movement moments later of where you raise your head just slight, only to lock eyes with him.

How you've grown, he thinks to himself. He remembers how your eyes were that of similar of a doe, and how you stared at him with the same wide eyes when you were little. It scares him how much time has passed and how you stand before him, more matured than before— he wasn't expecting to see you this soon.

The locked gaze lasted briefly before your eyes widen and you bring your head back down.

He manages to let out a sigh, "I suggest you pay attention where you are going in the future."

Jungkook can tell that you were surprised by his response, despite you committing the worst crime by even daring to be this close to the king. Even the secretary was a distance away from him.

"Yes, your grace."

"You may look up," he speaks. The permission makes you hesitate, but swallowing the lump in your throat, you inhale deeply and rise, and when you steadily meet his eyes, immediately, it's as if you could see his past. The pain and sorrow he has been through. It all encompasses into the hallows of his eyes.

"What is your name?" You blink at the question blankly as he awaits your answer, arching an eyebrow when you stay mute. "Well?"

"___," you answer. "My name is ___, your grace."

There's this glint in Jungkook's eye that even he is aware that you notice. It occurs to him that he has not once asked your name before, but somehow he finds it this moment valuable to gain that piece of you. Meanwhile, you hope he does not find any significance to your name, that this incident isn't one to be held against one day.

It's then, he smirks, giving a single nod, etching your name into his brain for he knows he will not forget it. 

"Your name will be in my memory, ___," he speaks ominously. Your heart drops in return. "You are dismissed."

six years later.

"Welcome."

The books weighed heavy in your arms, but you ignored the fact that it was nearly slipping out of your grasp as you gripped on the jar of dried magnolia leaves in the other hand, making your way to the small work table just right out into the shop of where you greet the presence inside the shop. Taking one last step to your marked destination, you let out a sigh of relief, your shoulders relaxing as you plop all of the buttery books onto the work table, still keeping the jar of magnolia leaves in your grasp.

"Is Circe here?"

At first, the voice processes in your mind, realizing that you were so engrossed on completing a minor trip without making a fool of yourself and dropping all your books at once that you forget for a mere moment that someone was in the shop. And what makes your whole body freeze like the ice age of modern day was the name you haven't heard in so long— only when your father would let it tumble out of his mouth and him being the last one to ever speak of the name.

The aura shifted within the shop. Not daring to turn around and meet eye to eye with the person who knows your mother's real identity, you keep your back turned away, placing the jar gently onto the table right next to your books, a pinky setting down first before gently setting down the bottom of the jar to relieve the loud sound it would have made.

"Who's asking?"

There's a moment of hesitation, one that you can only take in as sly and mischievous. Silently, you maintain a mantra in your head, one that recites a spell to freeze one's muscles entirely, the silence teeter totter between having to put the spell to use or not. The sound of a step is heard— one that sounds too close for your liking that in a whirlwind, you swiftly twirl around and let the mantra come to life in an instant, "carpe musculus."

And with wide eyes, you realize your mistake immediately when eyes lock with the ones that belong to the sheer ruler of the property you stand on— the king. It wasn't hard to forget them, since the last time you two had a rather unpleasant encounter. His eyebrow quirks up at your spell you casted upon him, his body completely frozen over as he was in the midst of grabbing one of the crystal necklaces hung on display at the register, an arm outstretched, but posture and dignified stature remained.

"An old acquaintance."

"Verto," you mutter, blinking with the same wide eyes as you see him gain control over his muscles again, his hand retracting and meeting his other hand from the behind, his throat clearing at the situation that he assumed— correctly— that you were fearful of. Bringing your head down instinctively, you open your mouth with eyes shut. "Your grace, I apologize—"

"Apology accepted," he cuts you off, making you peer up at his form from the curtains of your draping hair. Slowly, you rise your head, keeping your chin up to match his formal, dignified persona. "I am merely here to see your mother."

Scoffing lightly, you let your lips curl upward, turning around to grab at the jar of dried magnolia leaves from the table. "You must be an old acquaintance to call my mother by her real name," you take note aloud, wandering and maneuvering around the vast shop to the corner near the front of where the jars of special ingredients sit in the cupboards.

"Is Circe not what she goes by?"

You shake your head, opening the jar with one of the keys wrapped around your neck, twisting and turning before the cupboard unraveled a collection started by your mother. "Cora," you correct him. "She went by Cora."

"Very well then. Is Cora present?"

You blink at the question, mindlessly nudging the other jars to make room for your new ingredient you've obtained from the village due to a friendly seller who saved the leaves just for you.

"You just missed her," you announce, placing the jar snugly just between the phoenix feathers and pickled frog tongues. "By three years. She passed away."

"She passed?" The king speaks his question in subtle shock, evidently oblivious to your mother's passing, one that makes you question what connection he had to your mother as you turn around to meet his wide eyes. Politely, he realizes the atmosphere that was created and clears his throat. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I'm sorry for yours," you try to keep the the spirits high, a teasing smile on your lips. "It seems like whatever reason you came here for was pretty important if the king is in need of my mother's services. And in replacement of my mother's absence, how may I assist you?"

In comparison to the young witch that was so invigorated with competition that you grew blind to your own surroundings, you were not like her to easily cower in front of intimidating figures— including the king— anymore. If she saw you now, she'd probably wonder why you are so nonchalant speaking to the king as you are in the moment, but there is one thing you noticed that allowed you to act the way that you are now.

He came into the shop looking for your mother, seeking for her services. Though he has the power to put you into exile or to chop your head off or to even rip your heart out of your chest, it means nothing when he is obviously wanting a favor.

Jungkook's eyes narrow slightly before he scoffs lightly. "Not quite sure if you can help me."

"I'm not that sure either," you muse. "But I am the next option to my mother's assistance. Or if you have no interest of my assistance, then I believe this shop is not meant for you, your grace."

It wasn't hard to notice that he was having an internal battle the minute you turned the other cheek to resume what you were doing. Shutting the cabinet and locking it, you wander to the back of the room of where the work table was, taking the top book of the stack and dusting it with one of your mini feather dusters.

"What do you know about Complements?"

Freezing your wrist, you take a second to process the question set in the air, your eyebrows furrowing. Setting the duster and the ancient novel down, you twirl around once more to meet the eyes of the distant king, each second becoming more comfortable under his gaze that seemingly brought temptation and fear amongst others.

"Depends. I'm not very interested in the topic enough to know the ins and outs of it. However, I do know how to expose a Compliment tie—"

"What about erasing a Complement tie?"

An eyebrow shoots up on your face, his questions becoming more questionable from your mere curious uprising, but as you let his inquiry sit in your mind, you shrug. "Never been done."

His grace scoffs, allowing the pad of his thumb swipe under his nose before returning to hold his hand from his behind. "That's what your mother said."

"And I'm afraid, to this day, her word remains true," retorting to his attitude, you fold your arms over your chest. "However, I can unknot a Complement tie if needed."

"Your mother has already done that."

"Of course she has," you roll your eyes, realizing that the more you talk to the king of Frawen, the more you realize that you were talking to a wall. "How about this? I will do some digging about it in her archives. She has mentioned before that terminating a Compliment tie is hard. However, I do believe it's not impossible." He stares at you attentively before you placate his energy with a smile, a little light of hope intended. "I will come by your castle once I've retrieved a decent amount of information."

He stays silent, a steady gaze on your eyes that slowly made you more uncomfortable with each passing second, but thank the dark lords that someone enters your shop, the door making a very loud entrance that ruined the staring contest between you two, your eyes averting to the customer who entered the premises.

"Welcome," you announce, strolling from the work table up to the front to sit right behind the register, flickering your eyes towards the king when seeing that he hasn't moved from his spot. "Until then, King Jungkook, I have a customer to attend to."

The customer that saved the awkward tension takes a step into the shop, but with a single glance headed their way from the king, the customer drops their head and mutters an, "I'll wait outside" and flees back into the Upper World sun, the door shutting again. Lips parting, you gape at Jungkook who looks back at you, ignoring that his own presence had made one of your customers scurry off in intimidation.

"When will I hear from you again?"

Scoffing at him, you shake your head at his evident advantage and inhale deeply. "I'll start doing some research tonight, your grace. Expect me in front of your castle in two days. And if you could kindly so, can you tell my customer they may come in on your way out?"

He lets his gaze linger on yours for a second before silently nodding on his way out, his presence exchanged for the customer's. The customer glances at you awkwardly as you count write something on a piece of paper with your quill, as if confused that you were not trembling after just speaking with the king, but going back to your normal day as if the king had never arrived.

"Why, King Jungkook came to visit. Quite sooner than I expected," the amused tone that drips from Circe's tongue when she notices the arrival of none other than the King of Frawen just two weeks after he had gone up and left her abode after the reveal of his dreaded Complement tie.

"Came to greet a happy birthday to her?" The witch doesn't meet his brooding gaze, but gathers bouquets of flowers in her hold.

"No," he flatly states. "I still have a favor to ask of you."

"Ah," Circe nods, balancing the bouquet carefully before tossing her aging hair over her shoulder. "The one about your Complement? You left so quick the last time we spoke."

Jungkook clenches his jaw, an attempt to not forget that his own fear and apprehension after making the forsaken revelation that he had met his Complement so soon; a child— a hybrid, a product against the Upper World law— is his Complement. Curse himself for being so easily affected.

And while the two have known each other for awhile, Circe wastes no time to remind him of inevitable fate, despite her own idea of the past he carries. It weighs on him heavily that even Circe cannot recognize the aura of whom she once knew of.

"Yes," he inhales sharply. "I need you to erase it."

Circe bellows a light chuckle, one that makes his eyebrows raise at the response. "Are you insinuating I kill my daughter?"

Jungkook knows that the witch likes to dig in places to prevent the other party from kicking around the bush. She hates fluff and she hates time being wasted. Only now, giving up her eternal life only makes her that much crabbier about it.

"Do you believe that I'd be daft enough to try to imply such a thing?" He shakes his head, a slight smirk growing on his face. "Murder doesn't sit very well on my shoulders, Circe. You must at least know that much of me."

"Do I? It's been too long."

Jungkook smiles at the grinning witch, "I am insinuating you sever our Complement tie."

The witch in decorative forest green and black, stares at the king who wears a sack-colored cloak that did not do justice hiding his black, feathered doublet that resembled such royalty and wealth. Even with the hood on, it is no mistaking that the man with raven hair and pale, glimmering skin, is the king. She laughs, her finger tapping against the paper wrapped around the bouquet of plum-hued calla lilies. "I'm afraid I can only live up to your favor in part."

"The most powerful witch I know cannot cut a Complement tie?"

She is no stranger to his challenges, but because she has no need to maintain the name of being the infamous witch who wields such immense power no longer (as she knows that name will be given to someone much worthy), she merely shrugs, a smile on her face. "Not even I know how to cut a Complement tie, dearest Jungkook."

"Your lack of knowledge of erasing something as mere as a Complement tie is disconcerting, Circe."

The witch hums in response, before whispering something of broken latin, and with a waver of a her fingers, a string of deep scarlet attaches against Jungkook's chest, one that floats in the air and trails in a ragged line right over Circe's shoulder and through the wooden door of her home as if he were tied to something— to someone.

The unveiling of the string causes Jungkook's breath to be caught in his throat, a pinch of nothing like before right against his chest of where the string is attached to.

"I see that, despite your best efforts, you could not stray away from her. And you want to know why?" Circe turns over her shoulder, before pointing at the single evident knot made along the string. "This knot was formed when she touched you and so long as it is there, you will live in constant yearning to see her and to be with her. Tell me, how many times have you had to prevent yourself from coming here until it became too unbearable?"

"Can you reverse it? Untie the knot?" His breath is tattered, uneven. It's as if the exposure of the string wrapped every inch of his heart and silently, the king of Frawen fears that his heart might be taken out of his chest.

"I can," she nods, an expression of indifference on her face. "But doing so does not change the fact that you are each other's Complements. It means that you will no longer feel the constant and desperate need to see her."

"Then I beg of you to do it—"

"However, the bond is strong, Jungkook," her gold eyes stare back at him before they soften, as Jungkook's mental mantras to fight off the peculiar pain deriving from the scarlet string has become a door to all of the pains he has experienced in the past. "I fear that the more you leave it in the dark, the more it will create more conflicts in the future."

"Having this complement now is already creating conflicts for me, Circe."

"Jungkook, if you two were to see each other again by the universe's happenings, must you know that the knot cannot be made again by simple touches. It has to be tied by the hand of a witch."

"If it's not any burden to you," he breathes in sharply. "I'd like you to unknot our Complement tie."

Circe makes a face of indifference before sighing. "Very well," she states just before she mumbles another string of latin and snaps, and lo and behold, the knot unravels by itself. The scarlet rope looked like it had no indentation of where the knot once was.

Jungkook lets out an aching sigh, as if he was under water for too long. Circe makes one more movement of her hand before the red string dissipates into the air, no longer exposed to the eye.

"There," she says. "Now leave, before she sees you again."

Circe doesn't give Jungkook a look of goodbye as she hurries inside her house. She feels the presence of Jungkook leave, exhaling in relief as she peers down at her daughter who gleams up at her, her hair in two buns on either side of her head. Her daughter lets out a squeal of "mommy!" before dropping a sage bundle in her hand to run up and hug Circe's leg.

"Happy birthday, my dear. Six years old already?" The witch pats her daughter's head as she giggles against her. "Go on into the kitchen. I'll be there in a moment."

And as she turns around to trot inside the kitchen, Circe takes notice of her neck that has been exposed due to her hairstyle that she wanted to wear this morning. The etching of her Complement mark that once inked her skin of a rose, had become a blank canvas.

As if the mark was never there to begin with.

You haul across the other wing of the castle that stretches from the main entrance of where the gigantic black, grandiose door stares at you mockingly for not having the privilege to be invited by the king himself as well as enter the main entrance to unravel the glory of what stood for centuries.

Servants of the fairest skin and darkest of hairs escort you to the a room you are unsure of, but you don't question them when they open the doors for you of the building. This was as close you were ever getting to the castle.

"Your grace," you announce your arrival before you could realize that another man stands there from the side of your kingdom's king. Freezing in place with books tensing against your chest, your lips part. "King Jimin—!"

"Hello— oh, please. I don't like the bowing," his voice is light, a striking contrast from Jungkook's ominous tone. You lift your head that was on the way down of honorability, eyes staying wide at his unexpected presence. "Trust me, I'm not a big formalities type of person like my brother."

"What is it? Did you find anything?" The king ruins the moment by his barking, an impatience growing in his chest.

You open your mouth, and close it. "Yes, and no."

"Proceed."

Walking over to the table, Jimin smirks when he hears the loud plop that comes from your stacks of ancient books slapping on the table, dust sprinkles in the air by such impact as you wave it dismissively out of your face to spread out the books evenly.

"These are just merely collections my mother had of Complement ties laying out and about," you begin, grabbing hold of the green and gold accented leather bind novel of browning pages. "They all talk about the history of it, the perspectives of it, and some old spells that used to be done moderately back then, but have been taken out of a witch's curriculum in school. Oh, like this one goes on and on about the importance of it and why finding out who your Complement is before you meet them is deemed as bad luck. Like seeing the bride before the wedding, which actually originated from arranged marriages when— sorry, tangent. If I can just find the book..." As your voice trails, your eyes furrow in concentration to find the book amongst the pile you brought that would deem as very important.

Finally, you hold it up to and pat it, Jungkook raising an eyebrow and Jimin looking bemused at your inner workings being elicited through your rambles and tangents.

"This is where I stumbled upon something fruitful," you began. "It's a book that's anti-Complement. The author was actually a witch who thought his Complement was, and I quote, "vile and tremendously horrendous", so he composed this book that explains how to unknot the Complement tie."

"Nothing about cutting it?"

You smile as you open the book. "There's a whole chapter about it, but," as you flip open to it, the book in your hands bursts into bright blue flames illuminating your skin with a blue tint before it calms down, living proof that the book itself was cursed, either by the author or your mother's doing. "The book has been cursed and the most vital information you want means you're not the only one who is searching for a severance."

"Couldn't you just... cut it?" King Jimin chimes in and you shake your head.

"No, this witch said that cutting it would damage the blade and not the tie," you close the book to prevent the fire from getting anywhere. "The tie itself, when exposed, is simply a scarlet rope. Its material is very ethereal and even your finest sword cannot cut it in two."

"Brilliant," Jungkook says, defeatedly. He sucks in a deep breath before looking at you, eyes flickering up and down your form. "When will I hear from you again?"

Making a loud sound as you stack the books on top of each other, you look up at him and raise an eyebrow. "Again? You're expecting me to continue the search for an answer that I can't give you? This is all the information that I can gather from my mother's archive. I don't know what else you expect me to do."

"What the daughter of the most powerful witch of this kingdom can do, of course," he retorts, easily. It makes you scoff.

"I apologize, your grace, but I am not going through those extra lengths."

"For someone who adheres to formalities very often, you don't seem to be very intimidated by me. At least not enough to do what I say."

"Is your job as a king to be intimidating?"

It was that type of riposte that would have your head, an immediate escort to your death for even thinking that a cocky retort would come out of your mouth. If only if Jimin hadn't let out an amused snort, punishment would not have immediately be put off the table, but the irritation forming in the king's blood remains. He doesn't turn to his brother to hush him, but rather keeps a heavy stare at you, narrowed eyes into slits as a heavy warning— yet you stay grounded, raising an eyebrow at him.

"And you don't seem to know when to not speak your mind."

"With all due respect, King Jungkook, may I remind you I am here because you requested my services. I've given you what I can provide, free of charge. My mother has probably dealt with a customer who has wanted the same thing, and if the book was cursed, it's a heavy sign that it's not a wise path to follow."

King Jungkook inhales deeply, eyes staring at the hybrid who fears nothing under his gaze. He mentally curses to himself knowing very well that Circe was the most probable culprit of cursing her own books, for the sole reason of not wanting him to get his hands on vital information that would separate a Complement tie attached to her own daughter. Sighing, he makes a dismissive nod towards you, a finger tapping on his arm chair repeatedly. "Very well. Dismissed."

And without a word, you gather your things and leave, the same men escorting you away from the castle and the inconsiderate king.

Once your presence no longer lingered, Jungkook sinks down into his chair, letting his head fall against the fist of his arm that propped it up. Jimin clicks his tongue beside him.

"Now tell that was not who I thought that was," Jimin sings once the door had fully shut closed and it was just Jungkook and his brother of the neighboring kingdom.

"Your instincts are spot on, brother," Jungkook says with heavy sarcasm, shaking his head.

Jimin heartily laughs. "It doesn't take a Merlin to see that she's your Complement. It's quite obvious."

"Care to go more in depth?"

"Other than the fact that she's the only outsider you granted a visit at your castle, you're not so quick to throw her out either," he begins before tapping his finger on the table. "You also don't like looking her in the eye. You get tense when you do. Either you fear her or you fear getting close to her."

Jungkook raises an eyebrow in surprise at his brother's quick observation— it must be all the times he's observing human behavior in the mortal world.

"She's mentioned that her books derive from her mother's archives— is her mother...?"

"Her mother was the one that undid our Complement knot."

"Her mother was the infamous Circe, then?" Jimin marvels with his signature taunting smirk on his face. "Well, I'll be damned."

"You already are," Jungkook rolls his eyes.

"Your Complement is a hybrid— and not just a hybrid, Circe's daughter?" Jungkook didn't like that his own brother kept reminding him of who his Complement was, thus encouraging the fire of searching for a severance. "Despite the fact that she holds tremendous power, she seems very promising. You're not fond of her?"

"Jimin, you know—"

"Right, pardon me. You don't want her," Jimin inhales deeply, nodding.

"Jimin," Jungkook begins once again. "I can't have her as my Complement. I need her to find a spell to wither our tie."

"Is there another reason why you need to find such spell other than you're dreading that she's bound to you?"

"So that she could find real love and romance. She will not find it with me."

There was an unreadable look in Jimin's face that even his own brother could not decipher. It lingers for a moment before he makes the executive decision to stand up from the seat, knocking on the table with his pale knuckles. "I'm heading back to Merosa. May I make the suggestion that you take her to Sagewood?"

"Sagewood? Why in the heavens would I take her there?"

"If you want to cut the tie so badly, then I think it wouldn't be a very shabby place to start, no? After all, she only has access to such limited information— you're not being much help either. Besides, you both will most likely find something valuable there."

It was pruning day.

The plants you planted outside your windowsill in its respected pots looked green as ever, with some minor flaws sticking out. You walk outside with shears in hand, identifying the buds you'd snip off with love. You enjoy taking care of your plants, the only common denominator between this world and the mundane world that gave you a sense of normality.

Humming an old folk tune from the mundane world, you admire your plants, recalling that some of these plants were the ones your mother would plant back in the mundane world. As you snip off one of your greenery, you hear the faint sounds of neighs from afar, halting in front of your shop and creating audible commotion behind your back. You overhear your neighbors rush out of their respected buildings, having you grow curious by the second.

Raising an eyebrow, you turn around to find nothing but the king hopping off his trusty steed of ebony glory with a luscious mane, planting his feet flat onto the ground with ease while two other men follow his lead, staying a hearty distance from him. He meets your eyes immediately, ignoring that everyone around him are caught in a trance by his sudden appearance in the town.

"King Jungkook," you marvel with a smirk, ignoring the fact that your neighbors were staring in mixed awe and fear. "What a lovely surprise."

He approaches you, stepping onto the gravel, expressionless. "I request your stay at my castle."

The words don't process fast enough in your mind, a blank expression being your response, but even then, you couldn't help but to laugh, but it came out more like a baffled scoff. "I beg your pardon?"

"To make use of the castle's library," he fills in, a smirk painting his face. "We, too, have an archive for all things your curious, knowledgable mind may want to see. Thousands of collections over the centuries, compilations from notable figures. I'm giving you access to that information in search of the severance."

You gape at him, lowering your shears. The king takes this action with positivity as his smirk only grows for a second before he's back to his emotionless expression.

"I will have my men come by to escort you to the castle tomorrow morning at nine-hundred. Pack your things," he says with no confirmation from you. His passive command makes you blink while you watch him turn his shoulder.

Amidst his turn to head back to his source of transportation and the other men who stand in front of your property, you stop him, "really? And when have I agreed?"

His body comes to a full stop just a hearty amount of distance from you. "And you wouldn't?" He calmly states aloud. In a moment, he's turning his body back to completely face you, cocking his head slight. "Tell me, you're not at all curious about how to cut a Complement tie?"

"Why would I? I have no intention of doing so."

"So you'd want to stay bound to one person your whole life? When you meet your Complement, you want to be so attached to the point that being even just miles away from them tears you apart? Every second you do not see them is as if your heart is being shredded apart in layers. Finding out who your Complement is only ruins you in a way that is a hell disguised as a heaven," he says as if it were straight spitfire. There was remorse and dread in his voice that even you cannot decipher completely— as if the pain that courses through his vein is truly authentic.

"In the mundane world, it's different, no? Humans fall in love with who they want, when they want. Did you ever compare that to the Upper World where it is frowned upon to not be with your Complement?"

"They differ, yes," you say through gritted teeth.

"Are you not so curious as to how to sever the tie? To at least be one of the first witches in centuries to hold great knowledge of a severance? That maybe you would one day change your intentions to cut your tie?"

You stay silent, placing your shears down as you stare at him attentively. Sure, you were curious, but your curiosity grew more prevalent seeing how the king was doing so much as to using a rhetoric tactic to ease your answer into a yes. And oddly enough, it was working.

"Besides... free stay, breakfast— in the castle? Surrounded by all things good and gold?"

Letting out a scoff, you narrow your eyes at him. "Is that your way of paying me for my services? A bed and breakfast at the castle? A week to pretend I'm royalty?" Challenge dripped from your tone evidently, but while the others around you and nearly the whole kingdom all feared the king's presence, you didn't share the same feeling. After all, this was the king asking for your services.

And suddenly, his expression changes, one of seriousness turned into dry amusement as he lets out a deep laugh bellowing from his stomach. "No, I'm offended that you may think I'm that cheap," he states as you raise an eyebrow, stabbing your shears, sharp point down into the window sill just right behind your plants. "I may have taken advantage of your services before, forgetting my place as a client to you. For that, I apologize sincerely. I am offering pounds of gold to you in exchange that you continue your search to cut a tie."

"Pounds of gold?"

"I notice that you live in your shop," he speaks of apparentness, making your cheeks go red as he turns his gaze to look at the shop behind you, a place you vaguely remember growing up in. "After your mother died, you decided to turn your home into a shop? Selling your services?" In that moment, you freeze only slight, caught off guard by how easily he put two and two together, you merely forgetting that he was an "acquaintance" with your mother— of course, he knew of this property before you probably were born.

"If the pounds of gold are not enough, I would be glad to make your stay at the castle permanent after you've found the severance."

You raise your eyebrows at his offer, never missing the way his lips quirked upwards for a ghostly second when he sees he's appealing you in the right direction.

"A permanent stay at your castle? As what? Your mistress? A maid?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Of course not. Your mother would find a way to resurrect herself to rid of my existence if she found out that I made you, her daughter, a mistress. Let alone a maid."

"You will be staying at my castle free of charge. And while I know this shop has been dear to your mother— dear to you, I am also willing to put a new location in the center of Sapphire Hill for your services on the table. Closer to the castle and in the heart of Frawen. That is, only if you have a mind to accept my proposal."

Inhaling sharply, you both stare at each other in silence as your mind juggles and he patiently awaits your answer, his body still as a stone, probably cold as one too. There was no other ulterior option to choose from— after all, why would you decline such a proposal? You were just as curious about the severance as he was, wondering why your mother never wanted to stray close to that path and why she has never mentioned about it before. And perhaps, you too could also cut your tie before you ever get to find your Complement if you ever came down to it.

However, despite his generous offers for a mere severance, there was a deep feeling in your stomach that didn't sit very well with you, one that was silently yearning you to not accept. It felt alarmingly unnatural. Just as unnatural as interacting with the king up close three times in a month.

"Alright," you sigh, defeatedly, grabbing your shears from the wood and returning to pruning day. "You've appealed to me."

"Wonderful," he acknowledges, a single celebratory nod coming your way before he turns around to head back on his steed. "I will have people to escort you tomorrow. Nine-hundred."  

"Quite a castle," you announce, eyes boggling at the interior design of the castle you never thought you'd see in person. Hell, you didn't think you'd ever get to see it closer than it being on top of the hill until just previously.

The halls were a fair color accented with alluring gold, intricate designs resembling a brush stroke, as if the gold were painted free-handedly, yet a symmetry being maintained. Crimson rugs, drapes, furniture dabble the expense of the hallway itself, and ebony statues and sculptures stare back at you broodingly. Two broad statues of fairies introduce you on either side of the entrance, facing each other with conch shells held to their mouths.

Selene purrs in your arms, probably just as dazzled at the structure as you are. "I know, baby, I know," you mutter under your breath as your pace slows along the red carpet.

"___." The voice announcing your name echoes throughout the vast hallway, pulling you out of your thoughts and daydreams as you peer towards the grandiose staircase ahead, finding a familiar figure in red with accenting white tassels walk down the steps, slowly and gracefully.

Selene suddenly paws out of your grasp to be let go of, you lowering her down to the floor carefully as you know that she likes to roam around new and foreign areas by herself.

"Your grace," you acknowledge, pacing towards him to meet him in the middle, eyes watching Selene trot along the scarlet carpet just in front of you, only to realize that she made her independent way to the king. You arch an eyebrow when Jungkook stops his footing altogether, both of you noticing Selene taking a liking into him, purring against his leg and her tail curling around his calf, making elegant circles around him in adoration. "I see Selene likes you."

Jungkook coughs before removing his eyes from the feline to meet yours. "You have a cat."

"I do," you nod. "Is she not allowed in the castle?"

"I'll make the exception," Jungkook swallows as Selene rubs her cheek against his leg. You mentally thank Selene for kissing his arse, knowing that Jungkook might have gone soft for your feline friend immediately and discarded the direct thought of kicking her out.

"I was given her a couple years back."

"Were you?"

You hum in response. "Given to me as a gift for my birthday. I named her after selenite, one of my favorite crystals."

"As long as she doesn't get into anyone's way, your feline company is welcome. However, if she were to be causing mischief, do not be blowed if she is in your soup," the king warns as he turns around, a hand motioning you to trail behind him, but the whole situation nearly made you snort out loud. Was that humour in his voice?

Following him, you scoop Selene with a hand as you caught up to her, cutting her curiosity trip short as you did not want to have her disappear and find her as your dinner, despite King Jungkook's warning sounding slightly sarcastic. His foot steps climbing up the stairs echo, his boots emphasizing his steps as you follow a few steps behind him, your flats being light-sounded from underneath you.

The Upper World resembled a victorian age from the mundane world. As much as you missed your tennis shoes and trousers, the Upper World called for bell-shaped dresses, the air-sucking corsets, and uncomfortable shoes that hurt your back if standing for too long.

As King Jungkook walks down the spacious hall with such glorious designs, you notice that there were two beautiful women in gray high neck dresses, eggshell aprons wrapped around their waist standing on the side with head lowered. Despite their dull attire, their appearance is what caught your eye.

The one on the right had skin of the bluest topaz with complementing navy hair tied up into a sleek bun. If she had looked up earlier, you would admire her sunshine eyes that made her look so kind. The on the left had contrasting mauve skin and emerald hair flowing down her shoulders. She wore a headband to keep her hair out of her face.

Nymphs.

"Cricket, Calla," the king's voice ruined the solace of the hallway, the snap of both ethereal beings' heads making direct eye contact with King Jungkook, you catching the hazel eyes of the mauve skinned beauty for a split second before she keeps steady eye contact with the person she serves.

"They will be serving you throughout your stay," he states towards you, a nod cueing the two nymphs accordingly.

"Good morning, ___. I am Calla," the topaz nymph speaks first, bowing her head as you respectfully did the same.

"And I, Cricket," her partner speaks, bowing as well.

"It is lovely to meet you both, Calla and Cricket," you speak with a kind tone as they give the smallest of shy smiles.

"Aster and Fickle are unloading the carriages. They will be up to bring her belongings in any minute. You may start unpacking—"

"Oh no, that's not necessary," you intervene. The king sends you a glare for interrupting him, but daringly, you roll your eyes at him. "Cricket, Calla, just have Aster and Fickle leave my luggages on my bed. I didn't pack heavy, so it's alright. I'd prefer if I unpack myself."

"As you wish," Cricket and Calla say in unison before King Jungkook gives one last asserting, yet hesitating nod, turning his shoulder to continue walking down the hall.

"Come. I will show you the library," he orders, having you share one last look at the beautiful nymphs who both smile at you. In that moment, you give them a smile that you hoped would make them feel safe— as if you all have been friends before. As you tear your eyes away, you trot up to the king's pace, Selene being safe in your arms as you mentally curse the king for having long legs.

Walking for nearly a minute or two, you didn't realize he had stopped in front of large double doors, black wood engraved with the exact designs you recall in the main entrance, intriguing you with every bit. You blink for a nanosecond until you hear the door unlock and open, having to blink once more when you see that the king was only a few feet away from the immense opening, arms held behind his back as the door widened.

"Did you do that?" You question aloud. It sounded very mundane of you— as if you had not seen anything weirder in the Upper World.

"Yes," he speaks, raising an eyebrow at you as you wait for the doors to open fully. "I am a Pureblood, aren't I?"

His reminder made you realize that you did indeed forget that Purebloods hold some sort of power. It was only the three kings who held such powers, being why they were named the most powerful trio over centuries to live. Unsure why, you didn't take the King of Frawen to hold telekinesis, if anything.

The doors finally stop opening, two grand doors coming to a halt on either side of the opening and creating an entrance to a room that already has your mouth hung open.

"This is the library," he speaks, taking a step in first. "All of Frawen's greatest works over the centuries are all kept in here."

It was not the immense room that was its own castle itself, but it was the giant collections, endless spines of literature and word composition that was tempting you to swallow all of the knowledge up from them.

"These are the collections of Edgar Allen Poe," you observe, remembering that you had to read one of his famous works in your mundane junior high, the eerie components of his pieces standing out to you enough that you recall his name. "The Upper World holds mortal works?"

"Just the finer ones. Homer, Machiavelli, the Brontë sisters, Cordelia Maine—"

You widen your eyes. "No way. Cordelia Maine? You have her works, too?"

"Of course," he laughs at your never-ending bafflement. "She might be famous to you mortals, but her roots don't stray away from Frawen."

"Mortals," you repeat, catching his word that he knowingly categorizes you. It makes you blink up at him, more concerned why you weren't feeling as uneasy as you should that the king who stands in front of you and has brought you inside his castle knows you're the product against the Upper World law. "Dare I ask how you know this?"

The king smirks at you, probably bemused at how you weren't exactly trembling in your boots, but you probably have a spell prepared at the tip of your tongue. "Do you forget that I can smell your blood? You reek of mortals."

Arching an eyebrow at him, you narrow your eyes just slight. "Should I be worried?"

He smirks. "That I hold such knowledge? No, or else I would have no way to find a severance now, would I?" His rhetorical question is followed with a quirk of his eyebrow, a bemused smile illuminated from the indirect sun from the window. "Besides, your mother and I were acquaintances. I am well aware of your father and while I have never met him, I do know that your mother loved him, even if they were worlds apart."

Not saying another word, you smile. One that lingers on your face for a bit, one that is shared between you and the king, one that is as if you two have created some sort of connection by this secret he finds indifference to.

However, you do not let the smile linger for too long, for you cannot trust anyone so easily, no matter if your heart is oddly beating out of your chest and there is an odd stir in your stomach when his eyes remain on your form for a moment as if he is trying to study you and your every feature.

You disregard it though, as if a chip on your shoulder, or a hair in your face when he leads you back to your room from the grand library, claiming he has work to finish.

Later that afternoon, you were in the midst of unpacking your luggages when Calla and Cricket make an appearance into your room. They were there to escort you to lunch, but you told them to give you a few minutes to organize your things, encouraging them to wait in your room as you did so.

"Are you his betrothed?"

The sudden question makes you stumble, nearly dropping the books in your hand that you deemed most viable to bring to this trip. "Sorry?" You laugh, looking at them with a sheepish smile. A harmless question, but a stretch to inquire.

"Isn't that why he's having you stay here at the castle?" Cricket asks, keeping her hands intertwined in front of her as they both watch you organize your knick-knacks of books and crystals and Selene's toys.

"Oh to the heavens, no," you laugh, Cricket furrowing her eyebrows and cocking her head to the side, wondering why your peculiar stay at the castle isn't for that singular motive. "I'm here for an entirely different reason."

Calla blinks blankly, her long, blue lashes making it obvious. "Our king doesn't usually like to keep guests overnight— let alone indefinitely."

Placing your books onto the antique dresser, you raise an eyebrow at them. "Is that right?"

"We thought, perhaps, this was his attempt in courting you," Cricket says, rather timidly. "After all, you're very beautiful."

The compliment brings red to your cheeks. "You're just saying that—"

"But, 'tis true," Calla nods. "We're nymphs—"

"We can't lie—"

"We thought that he may have found love again—"

"We would be surprised if he didn't find you, at the very least, beautiful—"

"Our king doesn't open a room for just anyone, since he's very..."

"Closed off."

They jump off their sentences swiftly, as if a ball ricocheted against the walls in great speed and force. It intrigues you as you furrow your eyebrows, more interested in the last part they had to say. "Closed off? Why is that?"

Cricket and Calla look at each other before bringing their head down. "Have you not heard of his past?" You shake your head before Calla sighs and begins again. "Our king is the most kind, most fair— but it does not redirect the light away from his past—"

"Lost the people most close to him. Lost his mind along the way, and perhaps, most tragically, lost his soul. It began with Dawn and then his best friend who happened to be his general, and then his parents, and so on. They are frightened of him."

You furrow your eyebrows. "Who's they?"

"All of Frawen. Even those in the mundane world have heard of his story," Cricket answers.

"Frawen respects our king, if anything. However, that respect derives from fear. I'm afraid that the people in this castle are the only people who love him, who see the better in him."

"So I see it's been a lonely castle on this hill," you nod in understanding. "I won't bombard you both with anymore questions. You both are free to leave, I will meet you both in the dining room."

"Are you sure, my lady?"

"I'm sure. Please, I do not want to be a burden to you both."

The nymphs giggle. "We assure you that you are not. It's rather refreshing to tend to someone other than the king and his brothers."

"You both have been very kind. I will see you both there."

"And my lady," Cricket speaks. "We wish you a wonderful stay."

"Jungkook," Circe acknowledges his presence in a blink of an eye the minute he makes a step onto the property that was under an invisibility spell for nearly a decade, only to have it reappear as if it didn't disappear in the first place. "Here to welcome me back?"

The king lowly laughs, not taking another step onto the property as Circe turns around from watering her deep red rose bushes planted right outside. "I was surprised to hear that you made a foolish decision to move to the mundane world."

Circe ticks her tongue, shaking her head at how his prejudice against the humans stain his tone. "I don't believe it was foolish, dear Jungkook."

"Is that what you tell the Counsel?"

Circe lets out an amused sound, maneuvering around her bushes. "The Counsel can believe what they want, but they hold nothing against me. By law, I am allowed to be here and to be there. I may be a witch, aging like a mere mortal, but I still uphold powers strong enough to burn them alive before they can even think of crossing me."

"I have no doubt," Jungkook smirks. "But by law, is your daughter allowed to be here?"

Circe pauses her watering, hose in hand halting with the water continuously drenching a part of the rose bush as she raises an eyebrow. "Why are you here, Jungkook?"

"I heard she attends Ember Academy now. Enrolled as a full-fledged witch. I've come bearing a gift for her."

"A gift?"

"Call it a welcome back gift," he speaks with an anticipating tone right before he walks over to his horse of where a woven basket was attached to the saddle. Circe remains where she stands, watching him carefully as he walks towards her before she senses something, one that makes her hair stand on her arms. As he nears, Circe peeks into the basket, only to have her jaw drop as she sees that it is a kitten.

A kitten of midnight beauty, sleeping soundly in its basket of blankets.

Circe, who could not help it at all, laughs. Soft laughter rumbles through her throat as she coos at the creature, reaching her hands out to take the basket in her hands. "And your arrival has nothing to do with the fact that today is her birthday?"

"Is that today?" Jungkook ponders aloud as Circe laughs, sneaking a smirk on his face before she strokes a finger on the kitten's head carefully and gently. She can tell that he remembers, and that the years leading up to now, he always have.

Sighing, Circe's smile fades as she looks up at Jungkook, tired eyes and all. "I must tell you, Jungkook."

He raises an eyebrow at her.

"I've grown ill," she begins, retracting her finger from the kitten to hold the basket with two hands. "I have been for awhile now and I can feel my end nearing. I trust to believe that you will protect her."

Jungkook blinks a couple times, the odd construct of having someone who has been around for longer than he has tell him explicitly that their end is inevitable and that it was nearing quite sooner than he expected was worth a double take and a few seconds to digest.

"You may not want to stay tied to her, but I trust you enough to uphold her secret. And to protect her when needed," the kitten purrs meekly in the basket, making Circe glance at it for a mere moment before meeting the concerned eyes of Jungkook with matching knitted eyebrows. "Believe that I am not entrusting you with her life, but that the feeling in your heart of wanting to protect her is inevitable. No matter if the knot remains untied."

He opens his mouth, but the words he could not formulate were taken away quickly by Circe's chuckle, waving him off.

"I know what you'll say," she raises an eyebrow, lips curling and eyes creating crescents. "But if anything happens in the future, must you know you have my blessing."

"Circe," he begins.

"She'll appreciate this kitten," Circe interrupts, smiling at how the kitten inhaled and exhaled, curling in its ball with comfort of the soft fleece blankets. "I'm sure you don't want her to know it came from you, perhaps?"

There is a knowing look that the two share, one of pure guise. "May it be our little secret."

"Among thousands," Circe nods, one in which Jungkook does the same. "Will this be the last time we meet?"

"I would hope not."

"Then I bid you farewell, either for now or forever," Circe smiles, a weak curl of her lips, an evident form that made Jungkook realize that she looked much older than before— the gray hairs, her smile lines and forehead wrinkles. It all reminded Jungkook that she is, in fact, a pure mortal, withering faster than most. It scares him, but it makes him curious as to her motive despite him knowing that she did it out of love.

As he leaves the ebony kitten in Circe's hands to give to her daughter's possession, he departs her property with the lingering thought that maybe— perhaps people really do scary things out of love.

[hexalianrebel-blackfeathers]

Crossfire

Panda’s Notes: Hey, it’s a new fandom. >w< I kind of fell in love with the chaos and characters from Friday Night Funkin’, so I’ve got a few stories in mind. This one is based on this piece by @fluffymary!

Find it on AO3!

John didn’t have a side. Demons, mortals; the blood of both ran through him. All he really knew was war. The smell of the gunpowder; the ringing in his head from explosive shells; the sounds of tanks and jeeps rolling across their battlefield and the men calling—

“Sir!!” He flinched out of his inner monologue and spun around to see one of his soldiers panting softly in the doorway. “He’s back again.”

As if on cue, there was a chorus of shouts under a melody of loud gunfire. Usually, John wouldn’t bat an eye, but today, he snatched his helmet and the staff leaning beside his door.

“Get Squad 17 together; tell them it’s time.”

The soldier sprinted down the hall, and John took a brisk march in the opposite direction. As he passed the infirmary windows, he could see several soldiers already appearing in beds; and with enough frequency that they quickly began to appear on top of each other. The kid certainly wasn’t slacking this time either.

The soldiers that had recovered were quick to fall into line behind John as he made his way out of the building and onto the field, fanning out to return to where their weapons had fallen from their deaths.

The air screamed as something tore through it at supersonic speeds, and the bullets from several soldiers’ guns were redirected or ricocheted back into their own or a fellow soldier’s face. A cloud of dust suddenly appeared, swirling around the little beast that caused it with his sudden stop.

Fully clad in red and green scales, carrying a beast of an automatic rifle, and excitedly whipping a long tail was the brat they’d met all those weeks ago; and had been continuing to meet every time the bastard needed to blow off steam or something. The little dragon glanced over his shoulder, eyes glowing bright green as he smirked with sharp teeth at John.

John only huffed as the dragon disappeared in a burst of speed, and he drew a strained breath as he felt blood strike his face from a soldier that happened to pass near him. Oh, he was going to teach this kid a lesson alright…

“Sir, do you copy?” John’s radio crackled softly on his shoulder, and he glanced around warily before tipping it closer to catch his voice.

“Copy. What do you want?”

“Squad 17 is in position. On your mark, sir.”

John smirked this time, drawing his staff from its holster on his back and stepping forward. “Everyone, you know what to do.”

The soldiers mobilized quickly, scattering away from the main area and gathering up in a tight group on the target practice field. Many were less than thrilled about the position they knew they were in, and they could only clutch their riot shields and brace when the call went out.

“Here he comes!” Someone shouted, and indeed, the beast could be easily spotted perched on a lamp post and sneering down at them. The rifle in his hands glowed with his green aura before he ripped it into the pair of Uzis they were all too familiar with. The second he vanished, soldiers were dropping and vanishing left and right as bullets ripped through them.

John took his time approaching; there was nothing more that the little bastard seemed to enjoy beside playing with his prey. In the meantime, he leaned into his radio, reconfirming the position and preparation of every member in Squad 17. He could feel a surge of power swirl around him and his staff, and he couldn’t resist the smile on his lips as he finally called out to their attacker.

////////////

Pico adored the battlefield. Miles away from any cities or towns to damage or helpless people to put at risk; dozens of targets to mow through for his personal speed tests; and, most importantly, he knew he couldn’t kill any of them. Pico had known about the “Tankman’s” power long before he’d first been summoned to this place by Lilith’s own abilities. He’d always assumed it was just some kind of rumor; one if his mother’s exaggerated stories.

But here he was again, watching the same soldiers he’d shot through the head reemerge from the main building to come rushing back to the fray.

Fuck whatever Heaven’s got; this was the life.

He must have been a damn sight, tail wagging all over the place. He hadn’t razed like this since he was little, and even then, it was with his mother over his shoulder making sure he was sticking to the targets and locations she’d been assigned. Nothing like letting a fully loaded toddler do your job for you, after all.

He was smacked out of the casual memory by a bullet bouncing off of his armored hand. An attempt to disarm him, probably. Yeah, right. He lunged into a run, his aura spreading out around him. He never got tired of the way bullets hung in midair, easily redirected by a slap from his hand or tail and usually finding a new target in one of the soldiers firing at him. He paused again to catch his breath, unable to keep from laughing to himself as he rolled his shoulders and checked the stopwatch he’d mounted on his rifle.

He felt a sort of tingle as a new, powerful aura hit his senses. The half-blood; the leader; the Tankman. He glanced over his shoulder, sneering a bit fiendishly at the man before zipping off and sending a shot through the soldier that was running by him. He adored pissing him off almost more than mowing through his soldiers. Almost. Nah, no he didn’t.

He spotted a crowd growing at the far end of the training field, and he made his way to the top of a lamppost to get a good look. They were practically lined up, every other row bearing riot shields that wouldn’t stand a chance against Pico’s shots while the others were taking aim.

“Here he comes!” Someone called, and they all seemed to brace and cringe.

Oh, well, now he had to flex. He made a show of transforming his rifle into his favorite pair of Uzis before lunging down into the crowd. The sounds of his guns couldn’t even reach him with how fast he was moving, and he couldn’t resist tackling some soldiers to the ground to make room for a sweep of bullets before shooting them as well. His average time was coming up; he just knew it. He needed a good finisher. Maybe something flashy…

“Alright, you little shit!” Pico flinched at that familiar voice, looking up from his position of standing on a soldier’s chest. Oh, perfect! A high level tag. It’d be a first, for him at least, but taking Tankman down a peg in front of all his soldiers would be a fantastic note to head home on.

“This little game of yours ends now, ya goddamn salamander!” Tankman barked at him, holding a…a fuckin…glowing stick?

Pico blinked, capping the soldier he was standing on before turning to face his target. Why was it taking so long for him to catch his breath? He could have been over there by now. He scoffed as he caught sight of Tankman’s smirk; what’s a little headache if he got to punch that jaw in?

His aura spread out as he prepared to rush, and whoa, whoa, time-fucking-out!

He was dizzy; way too dizzy. He stumbled to a stop, keeping his distance from Tankman; but he was still shaking. His guns vanished, and his head cleared a bit. He could see the staff in Tankman’s hand glowing, and when he narrowed his eyes to hone his demon senses, he could see purple lines and symbols etched into the ground around him. Unfortunately, such an effort threw his head back into a spin, and he found his butt hitting the dirt as his tail and scales shifted off of him to leave him seated there in his school clothes. He pushed his red curls out of his face, panting softly as he glanced around at the soldiers surrounding his new little cage. Shit; there went his run.

“Men, I’d say Operation Coyote was a complete success.” Tankman said with a grin as he stepped forward, and the soldiers cheered and laughed around him.

Pico growled as he locked his gaze on Tankman. His face shifted suddenly as his eyes glowed, flames wisping between the gaps in his teeth as he—promptly faceplanted into the dirt from the sudden lightheadedness.

“Aw, isn’t that cute?” Tankman jeered as others chuckled, and Pico looked up to see him kneeling beside the edge of the circle, which seemed a lot smaller now than it had a minute ago. “He tried to do the scary eyes.” The man popped the visor off of his helmet, and Pico’s face fell as bright purple eyes bored into him from pitch black sclera.

Tankman sneered for a moment at Pico’s speechless staring, standing up as he reattached the visor. “Heh, and that’s how you do it, kid. You like your new playpen, brat?”

Pico blushed a bit, embarrassed, and quickly got to his feet. “It’s tacky, old man.” He growled, clenching a fist and trying a punch. He wasn’t surprised when his hand couldn’t go past the circle, but he was surprised when Tankman’s hand came through to grab him by his shirt.

“Yeah, it’s an older setup;” The man hummed, easily dangling Pico’s human form as the kid kicked against the barrier. “It’s amazing what you pick up when you’re raised by Demon Hunters, eh?”

Pico snarled softly, trying to pry those deceptively strong fingers off of his collar. “When I get out of here, I’m gonna fucking—!" He was shut up when his face was yanked against the barrier.

“You’re not gonna do a damn thing, you shitty little snake-spawn!”

Pico had winced a little at what he assumed must be the “Captain voice” he’d heard rumors about, a cheeky smirk seating itself on his lips to mask his nerves.

“We’re getting sick of your games, runt; and it’s about time you were put in—”

“What?!” Pico shouted exaggeratedly, tipping his head back and kicking the barrier again. “I-I can’t hear you; some old fuck blew my eardrums out with his bitching!”

He just knew Tankman was glaring at him through that stupid visor, and Pico couldn’t help laughing tauntingly until he was dropped on the ground. The man drew his hand back, resting it on his hip as the other tightened its grip on his staff.

“Men, next step. Get started.” He ordered shortly, stepping backwards.  

Pico scrambled to his feet. Okay, he was fine as long as he didn’t use his powers; no problem. The soldiers were regrouping, and about ten of them stepped closer to the circle with staves or wands or whatever conduit they carried. Pico growled softly; he had a feeling he knew what they were doing, but dammit, he couldn’t tell which of them was going to attack first. He glanced over his shoulder, sure that they’d go for his blind spot, only for something to lash around one of his wrists.

He yelped, planting his feet and trying to lean back. He did his best to suppress the instinct to use his demon strength, and he growled angrily as he was forced into a tug-of-war with at least one full-grown man who didn’t look like he was having much of a problem keeping the magic coil still. The soldier beside him seemed to perform the same spell, another coil of magic energy zipping around his free wrist.

“Ack! F-Fuckers!” Pico barked, his sneakers dragging in the dirt for a moment before he was yanked down to the ground. He cried out as his tongue got caught between his teeth, and he struggled to find traction to pull against the magic ropes.

“Not bad, boys.” Tankman called, sauntering into the circle. He rested his boot heavily on Pico’s back, and a pair of soldiers managed to wrangle Pico’s flailing legs from outside the circle. “Well, kid, not so tough now, are ya?”

Pico growled up at him, but dammit, he couldn’t think of a response. They’d actually caught him.

“Pfft, no stupid quips either, huh?” Tankman jeered. “Damn, that’s almost sad. Stevie! Front and Center!”

Pico could hear footsteps running toward them, and another soldier made an effort to pass through his sightline and give him a wave.

“Hello, Pico.” He said almost politely, carrying a book under his arm; and Pico hated how genuine he sounded. “Ah, sir, the spell’s ready when you are.”

 ////////////

John couldn’t help a roll of his eyes when Steve greeted the little brat, given the position they were all in. He was a sweetheart to a fault.

“The spell’s ready when you are.” Steve said with a smile, the book floating out of his palm as his hands glowed. As the pages flipped rapidly on their own, John cracked his knuckles and grinned.

“Good to hear it.” He chuckled, removing the glove on his left hand. “Hit me, Stevie.”

Steve took a deep breath and spread his fingers, and John felt magic wrap around his arm. It coiled and tightened between his fingers, supplying his powers without the circle draining them away. His arm shifted: a dark black-purple form with sharp fingers, meant to reach and pull at souls and the essences of life itself.

“Alright, kiddo…” John hummed, curling his fingers and sneering when he caught sight of the brat looking up at him. “Time to learn ya a thing or two about messing with soldiers.”

The kid yelped when John’s hand clutched at his shoulder, and John’s eyes glowed behind his visor as he forced the brat into a partial shift. Scales quickly covered his back, and half of his head became dragonesque, glowing eye included. The soldiers restraining him had to plant their feet and pull as he got a burst of strength to fight.

“Stevie?” John huffed, setting his knee on one of the kid’s legs as his free hand gripped a handle on his belt.

Steve knelt in front of their captive, smiling in that calming way he does. “Now, Pico, I can imagine how upset you must be, but I’d suggest you keep still. All we’re going to do is a sort of test. Research purposes.”

“Fuck you…” The brat hissed, and John smacked him on the back of the head with his free hand before he could stop himself.

“Don’t fucking talk to Stevie like that, shitstain.” He growled, returning his hand to his belt to finally pull up the knife he’d been unsheathing. “Since you don’t want it sugar-coated, I’m going to scrape some scales off you so our boys can find out what kind of bullshit makes you so damn bulletproof. Knowledge is half the battle, you know.”

The kid’s glowing eye turned to him, a mouth half full of sharp teeth trying to snarl.

John just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, kid, I’m so terrified.” He flipped the knife in his hand, angling the blade against the boy’s spine.

Despite the fact that he’d spent at least an hour sharpening the damn thing that morning just for this, it simply rattled along the scales like a tire of the off-road track. John sucked his teeth, his shifted hand clutching tighter when the brat tried to kick again.

“Knock it off!” He barked, sounding closer to a whine from where John was kneeling.

John bit back a chuckle, but a smirk played his lips as he set the tip of the knife at the back of the kid’s neck. “Why should I? You haven’t quit shooting up our battlefield every other day for weeks! I’d say this is the least of what you ought to get.”

Steve was eyeing the kid curiously, and he took a seat on the ground to look a little closer. John crisscrossed the knife along the scales at the center of their prisoner’s back, growing a bit frustrated when he realized he was only dulling his blade.

“I s-said quit it!” The kid’s voice pitched to a squeak, and he tried and failed again to pull. John actually paused this time, quirking an eyebrow.

“Ah, I see!” Steve suddenly said, smiling happily as he tipped his head to try and make eye contact. “You’re a little ticklish, aren’t you, Pico?”

The kid promptly looked away from him, not even letting out a growl this time.

Steve smirked a little, crossing his arms. “Oh, you’re very ticklish; my mistake.” He corrected teasingly, purposefully raising his voice a bit and giggling at the look the kid must have given him.

John rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Takes one to know one, Stevie.” He said with a little smile of his own, attempting to curb his frustration with that cute blush on Steve’s face. Of course, after all this hassle, the damn kid’s dragon hide turned his sharpest knife into a tickle tool.

Wait a fucking second…

  ////////////

It probably would have been easy for Pico to just tell Tankman that his demon form was pretty blade-proof, but he couldn’t resist the chance to upset him a little for putting him through this. He quickly regretted that decision when the knife managed to catch his nerves despite not breaking through his armor.

“Knock it off!” He insisted, trying to keep any giggles from slipping into his voice. That “Stevie” guy was watching him closely, and Pico was too focused on trying to struggle to hear whatever Tankman was saying. A shiver shot up his spine when the knife made zigzags across it, and damn him, that tickled so bad!

“I s-said quit it!” He squeaked out, still unable to escape the magic coils on his limbs.

“Ah, I see~!” Stevie said playfully, watching Pico’s face as he struggled. “You’re a little ticklish, aren’t you, Pico?”

The human half of his face felt hot, and he looked away from that stupid smile. He was just trying to get Pico’s guard down; he just knew it.

“Oh… you’re very ticklish; my mistake.” Stevie taunted, raising his voice enough that a few soldiers behind him actually reacted.

Pico gasped indignantly, and Stevie just giggled. Oh, he didn’t care how nice this guy was; Pico was lighting him up next time. He heard Tankman scoff, and he realized the knife wasn’t touching him anymore.

“Takes one to know one, Stevie.” Tankman teased, but then he seemed to pause as Stevie was pouting at him. Pico blinked and shook his head as it suddenly started to shift back to fully human. He didn’t have the leverage to look over his shoulder, but he saw Stevie and a few soldiers behind him smile and snicker.

Before Pico could figure out what was going on, he found himself laughing loudly and trying to struggle again. Tankman’s fingers were digging and scribbling over his back and shoulders, occasionally giving more firm scratches right over his spine. His hands crawled up and shoved into the spaces between his shoulders to flutter along his neck, ripping a squeal out of Pico’s mouth as he tried to scrunch his shoulders up to his ears.

“Gee, Stevie, I’d say he’s definitely pretty ticklish~” Tankman taunted, wiggling his fingers against Pico’s neck where he could. “The little brat’s caught my fingers.”

Pico, indeed, was making an effort to keep Tankman’s fingers pinned where they were despite the squeaky giggles he kept pulling out of him. This was embarrassing enough as it was.

Tankman leaned slightly, and Pico heard him whistle. There was a bit of a murmur, and a few footsteps crunched on the dirt.

“Oh, quit being a bitch, he can’t hurt you. Now, come here.”

Pico tried to look back, only to squeak and squirm when Tankman so much as twitched his fingers. Another weight set itself on his left ankle, and he could feel his sneaker being worked off.

“W-Wait a minute; that’s not fa—!” He tried to protest, giggles mixing in as Tankman leaned over him.

“Oh, yeah? And why is that? Your little dragon paws tickwish too?”

“Fuck you!” Pico shot back, unable to keep from laughing when the new soldier scratched gently at the sole of his foot, seemingly tracing the snake patterns on his sock.

“You know what I think is unfair?” Tankman continued, letting his nails drag one last time as he finally pulled his hands away from Pico’s neck; Pico still hesitated to let his shoulders down. “I think it’s pretty damn unfair that you keep running in here taking pot-shots at my soldiers just for shits and giggles.”

Pico had to bite his tongue to keep from giggling as Tankman aimed a poke between his shoulders to punctuate the line.

“So, obviously, it’s only fair that they get a few pot-shots at you. And hell, if bullets aren’t going to work, we’ll stick to what does.”

Tankman’s hands burrowed into Pico’s armpits, and the poor kid shrieked and yanked his arms down. “Ohoho! There it is! That’s a tickle spot, alright!” Tankman’s left hand came to pry at Pico’s right arm, his free hand scribbling faster and digging to draw out loud squeals.

Fingers were scribbling all over his foot, and someone else was digging into the back of his knee. He let out a cackle when someone’s hand found the soft part of his side, almost catching the edge of his stomach. Stevie still sat in front of him, ruffling Pico’s hair with one hand while the other gave gentle scribbles around his ears that made him giggle even harder.

“Sir, why don’t we flip him over?” Stevie suggested. “Get the poor thing out of the dirt.”

“Heh, yeah?” Tankman asked playfully, hooking his hands under Pico’s arms. “Or do you just want to find out if his tummy is as bad as yours too?”

“John!” Stevie scolded with a chuckle, and Pico flailed a bit as he was lifted up. Two soldiers grabbed his wrists, and—Wait, when the fuck did his hands get free anyway?! Pico didn’t have a chance to think about it, since several soldiers’ hands returned to their positions of scribbling or pinching around his torso.

Pico’s voice was lost in squeals and cackles as he tried to writhe. That same bastard had ahold of his foot again, and someone else was reaching over to scratch under his toes. An arm was hooked around his leg, and fingers scribbled under his knee; a claw-shaped hand vibrated and squeezed around his stomach, catching the edge of his bellybutton every time he squirmed; knuckles dug and twisted against his ribs; and there was some feather-light tracing under his chin and down his neck.

Pico was a damn patient person. He’d have been willing to forgive all that shit.

If the fuckers weren’t teasing him!!

It was mostly the fact that they were laughing at him that irked him—no, he was not just going loopy from his own laughter, the soldiers were chuckling at his ordeal like fucking sadists—but the cooing in his ears and to each other about ‘how cute’ he was, and ‘poor thing’ and ‘Maybe we could let him go if he’s learned his lesson~”

Oh, yeah, that Stevie guy was so dead.

Tankman laughed beside him, arms crossed for a moment as he tapped his foot. “Nah, maybe a little longer. Kids like him tend to need some tutoring, y’know?”

Stevie gave him a little push, chuckling, and Pico tried his best to find some clarity.

A little headache was worth the glow that came to his eye.

  ////////////

John shook his head as he observed the chaos. Poor kid was kind of getting destroyed. Not that he didn’t deserve it, of course, but John certainly didn’t envy him right now.

Steve approached him with a smile, softly nudging John with his shoulder and adjusting his glasses with his thumb. “The guys are ruthless as usual.” He commented, sidestepping the poke John tried to give him.

“Yes. I’ve trained them well.” John chuckled, only to snicker and shake his head as a few of his soldiers broke off into their own little tickle fights.

“Think they should let up a little yet? I almost feel bad for poor Pico.”

John wanted to roll his eyes, but they stuck on Steve as he smiled fondly. “Yeah, no.” He snorted. “Good cop ain’t on call today, Stevie.”

“Maybe we could let him go if he’s learned his lesson~?” Steve suggested, raising his voice so the kid could hear him.

John let out a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. “Nah, maybe a little longer just for that. Kids like him tend to need some tutoring, y’know?”

“John, you’re terrible.” Steve giggled, punching his arm lightly, and John chuckled with him until he felt something.

He looked up to see the kid glaring at him as best as he could through all that laughter, one eye glowing a bright, flickering green. He rolled his eyes and smirked.

“Yeah, kid, I’m so scared…” He huffed, stepping forward and kneeling in front of him. “But as long as this circle’s up, your powers aren’t getting you any—”

Something rattled, and John spun around for a second. It had sounded like it was right against his head, as if he was wearing a rattlesnake around his neck.

Rattlesnake…

“John?” Steve called hesitantly, looking around for a moment as well. When John’s eyes fell on him, they widened fearfully before he could catch himself. A tiny spot of green light rested perfectly still on Steve’s chest. As he was pulling his staff from over his shoulder, a hail of bullets came down fast enough to turn Steve into a fine mist and hard enough to rip deep burrows in the dirt where he once stood.

“Stevie!!” He cried out, eyes narrowing sharply as he turned around. “Men, get back; get behind me!”

The air itself seemed to rattle with gunfire as the soldiers around the bastard kid were quickly thinned out. Those who had managed to get behind John were encased in the purple shield he cast. Slashing lines were cut deep into the dusty earth, cutting through anyone in their path, and, as John was quick to realize, upsetting the ground enough to break the barrier spell they’d spent so long setting up.

The kid seemed to realize, too, since he shifted quickly into his demon form and curled up tight to protect himself. The rattling came closer until bullets were battering John’s shield. He growled to himself, and the soldiers around him attempted to aid him in boosting the shield’s power, but it seemed to chip faster with their effort.

It burst within seconds, and all of John’s soldiers were gone before he could blink. And to top it all off, John’s body was thrown to the ground by a weight attempting to cave in his ribs. A heavy boot came down on his collarbone. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle, his helmet lost or broken somewhere during the chaos.

Two rattling tails swayed slowly in his peripheral. Less than he was used to; she wasn’t too mad. The gun was shoved up against his cheek as she ground the toe of her boot into his neck.

“O-Okay, easy, easy! Krotalía!” John choked out, grabbing at her ankle with one hand.

“Sergeant John Captain…” She hissed slowly, eyeing him through the sights. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten my name. Maybe got your hand shot off in a way ya finally couldn’t fix it. Would explain why ya never write me anymore.”

John could hear his soldiers’ footsteps coming from the main building, but they knew to keep their distance from this one.

Krotalía continued with a snide chuckle. “But, nah. Here I find you: still in one piece; still running the boys up and down the field; and most importantly: Picking on my goddamn kid!”

“Ma, I was fine!” The kid suddenly argued, stepping forward half shifted. “I could have handled them!”

John saw one of Krotalía’s tails split into two, and a gunshot rang out as the kid was thrown backwards with a little squeak.

“Oh, we’ll be discussing your punishment in a second, ya little hell spawn.” She snarled, but John could see her smiling over her shoulder.

“Alright, Rattlesnake, cut the shit.” John huffed, giving a small grin of his own. “Let me up. We’ll chat, yeah?”

Krotalía hissed faintly, unable to keep the smile off of her lips as she finally pulled the gun away from John’s face. “Yes, let’s…” She stepped back, turning away from him and giving her son a playful kick where he was lying.

John sat up with a wince, coughing softly and spitting some blood between his teeth. “So, who wants to talk about how your little brat has been razing through our battlefield like clockwork for the past few weeks?”

The woman chuckled, lifting her kid up by the back of his shirt and setting him down. “Yeah, I had a feeling he’d been getting some training in somewhere. He’s been getting awfully competitive with me lately.”

John glared slightly; fuck him for expecting a mischief making snake bitch to discipline her mischief making dragon brat.

She laughed at him though, resting her rifle over her shoulder. “I know that look, Johnny; you read like a bad script.” One of her tails whacked her kid to nudge him forward. “Go on, Pico. Make nice for once.”

The kid crossed his arms and looked away, thumping his tail on the dirt behind him; and when he finally looked up at John, he just stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry.

John snorted before he could catch himself. “Y’know, if you’re going to act like a four-year-old, maybe you should expect the tickle monster to get ya again next time too.”

He blushed brightly and snarled, shifting suddenly and attempting to lunge, only to be caught in one of his mother’s tails. “Dammit, Pico!” She growled while John just laughed again.

She set him on his feet again, and he shifted back to a mostly human shape before she gave him another whack on the back of his head this time. He grumbled angrily and stepped forward, extending a hand.

“…You know I’ll be back, right?” He asked, hinting a smirk.

“You gonna call your mommy to bail you out then too?” John teased, but he was quick to accept the handshake before the brat… Ugh, before Pico took it back. He even ruffled that mess of red hair as he chuckled and let go of his hand. “Krotalía, you don’t have to make him apologize. We’re all friends here, yeah?”

Pico spit out a little spark of flame and tried to pout, but he couldn’t help smiling a little. Krotalía looked between the two of them and rolled her eyes with a sigh.

“Boys…” She snickered, slipping one of her tails around Pico to guide his turn away from John and the soldiers. “C’mon, kid. Let’s go over those numbers you got.”

Pico had bounced excitedly at the idea, but he glanced back as they were walking. He drew one of his handguns from thin air and sneered right at John. “I’ll get you, old man…” He growled playfully, getting a little smack on his arm by his mother’s tail.

John chuckled, shaking his head. He’d look forward to it.

“John!” John glanced back to his troops, and the crowd parted slightly to let Steve run up. John smiled as he caught him in a hug, sighing softly over his shoulder and squeezing him tight.

“Are they already gone?” Steve asked softly, having to fix his glasses when John let him go. “That’s a shame. I wanted to speak to her.”

“You would say that after getting fucking shredded, wouldn’t you?” John chuckled, giving Steve a playful shove before addressing the soldiers that had gathered.

“Alright, men! I’d say we handled that pretty well, all things considered…”

There was a chorus of chuckles and murmurs in agreement.

“Now, I think we all know damn well this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing Pico rushing through here. More importantly, the kid’s not gonna fall for that trick so easily again. It’s time I put you all on some heavier demon hunter training.”

He glanced back at Steve, who was already flipping through his summoned spellbook. “Game on, Stevie?”

Steve smiled fondly and shook his head. “Game on, sir.”

[flameo-hotman]

Zuko Adoption Menu #31

@zukoscalzones selected adoption #31, Ty Lee’s family adopts Zuko. This one was way too much fun for me to write and I high key want to turn it into a full length fic.

The news that the crown prince had vanished the same night as Lady Ursa broke not long after Ty Lee had talked her mom and dad into adopting a boy off the streets.

She had known exactly who the boy who became her brother was.

But maybe it was for the better that the new Fire Lord didn’t know who Ty Ken actually was. Besides Zuko seemed happier as Ty Ken than he had been as Zuko. Though it would be two years before he would tell her why he hadn’t gone wherever the Lady Ursa had gone.

It happened when she was braiding a pastel grey ribbon into his hair.

“I found her when she was talking with the Mother of Faces… She chose to forget about me. That’s why I came back to the Caldara.”

It was sudden and blunt, but Ty Lee kept braiding, asking, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Was Ty Ken’s answer.

Ty Lee didn’t need to ask who her brother was talking about. Azula didn’t like talking about Lady Ursa either, but like most people, Azula had assumed that Ursa had likely died. She didn’t know what to think about this information.

Once she had finished with Ty Ken’s hair, the two of them got up to head on over to the vanity that they shared with their sisters and started on their makeup.

“You always do your makeup all gloomy like Mai’s,” Ty Lee teased her brother, but he just shrugged and answered, “It goes better with my outfit…”

But he seemed to pause for a moment and look at himself in the mirror for a few moments, and suddenly grabbed the pot of red eye shadow.

She smiled at her brother and helped him blend out the red smokey eye he had decided on, before handing over the eyeliner so he could do his winged eyeliner. It was a good look and really made his eyes look nice.

“Don’t say it.”

“I won’t.”

Just then Ty Lao came rushing in and plopped down in the seat next to Ty Ken grumbling, “Ty Woo said my mascara was smudged. Is any of the waterproof stuff left?”

“Yeah,” Ty Ken answered, before handing over the mascara he had just used on his own lashes to their sister.

She looked relieved, as she excepted it and started to fix it, asking, “So, are the two of you ready for the show we are putting on for the Princess?”

“Totally, I showed Azula the acrobatic routine I am planning was and she liked it,” Ty Lee answered, as she made a note that they would need to get more mascara. “I think she is going to love your dance routine you have planned.”

“Thank you! Ty Woo saw it and she-” Ty Lao started, before Ty Woo popped her head in and finished, “It looked like something that a noseless shirshu would come up with.”

“I think it is nice,” Ty Ken snapped back, accepting the mascara back once Ty Lao was done with it, and went back to work on his lashes.

Ty Woo groaned, “Make your lashes any longer and you’ll cut them off with your swords, Ty Ken.”

“At least my special skill is good enough to perform, Ty Woo.”

Their sister only answered by rolling her eyes and retorting, “At least I’m not adopted, Sword Boy.”

“Love you to, Jerk,” Ty Ken answered, as he tossed the mascara off to the side.

And with that Ty Woo gave him a soft smile before she vanished from the room.

Ty Ken looked at himself in the mirror for a moment like he was unsure of something.

And well Ty Lee understood because Ty Ken hadn’t been to the palace since he was still Zuko. His nervous aura was completely understandable. He was eleven when he left that life behind him, and some soldiers were still assigned to investigating his disappearance. There was a lot that could go wrong.

And they hadn’t even told their parents who Ty Ken actually was.

But Ty Ken didn’t look much like Zuko had, so it wasn’t like anyone but Mai and Azula would recognize him. And that was only because those two actually knew the truth about Ty Ken.

It didn’t take very long for them to finish getting ready for Azula’s birthday, and then they were headed to the palace with the rest of their family.

“You’ll be fine,” Ty Lum assured him, as she entered the makeup room and kissed the top of his head. “You are amazing with swords and please tell me there is some mascara left over for me.”

“The backups are in the locked case that I definitely don’t know how to pick the lock of, Ty Lum,” He answered producing another mascara out of said case, before handing it to her and giving her a smile.

“I don’t know why you use so much mascara. If I had eyebrows like yours I would try to draw more attention to them,” She giggled as she accepted the mascara and sat down next to Ty Lee.

Ty Lao turned to her and asked, “So did you figure out how to turn origami into something you can do as a performance?”

“Really really big paper.”

“Smart.”

“Thank you.”

Ty Lat peaked her head in and announced, “We need to get going so Ty Ken time to put the mascara down.”

“I just finished my lashes, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

His sisters giggled, as he slipped one of the spare mascara’s into his pocket, but he ignored them, as he got up and left to go grab his dao swords.

He seemed happier living with them than he had been living in the palace.

Ty Lee watched her brother leave, a soft smile on her face.

“It is kind of sad that Ty Lat can’t do her swim program for the Royal Family,” Ty Lao sighed as she put the mascaras back into the lockbox and locked it.

Ty Lee nodded and followed her sisters out of the room.

 Ty Le and her brother ended up in the carriage with Ty Lin and Ty Liu, who were going over their sheet music for the event. They didn’t bother to try and talk to them, since the last few times they had when those two were pouring over their music they snapped at them and hid Ty Ken’s mascara.

And well he may have burned down part of their private forset because of that.

Normally though they got along with Ty Ken and he would play the tsungi horn with them.

Once they got there they made their way to backstage of the stage that had been set up for their performances.

Ty Liu checked over her harp, while Ty Lin got her flute out of its case, and the rest of them got set up for their numbers.

Ty Woo and Ty Lat introduced themselves to their audience, before welcoming Ty Lum onto the stage so she could open the show with her massive origami crown of fire, while Ty Liu and Ty Lin started the first song of the night.

Ty Lao was up next with her dancing, and Ty Lee followed replacing her as the music changed tempo to match with her kart wheels and summersaults.

Azula seemed pleased by the show even if the Fire Lord seemed to not be paying any attention, instead choosing to say something to General Iroh. Whatever he’d said seemed to upset the man, as Iroh grimaced and made the point of not looking at his brother.

The music took a sudden dramatic turn, and Ty Lee shot herself up into the rafters, as a plum of fire unfolded beneath her like a blooming lotus blossom, and there stood Ty Ken with his swords.

She watched him twist and slice, ribbons of fire bursting from his swords.

Watching him with his swords was like watching Ty Lao dance. The music swelling with his movements, as he burned his way across the stage like he was a shadow sending up a prayer to Agni.

He finished his routine using his swords to send a burning dragon shooting up into the sky.

And then all was quiet.

Azula began clapping with as much enthusiasm as a princess was allowed to, and the others watching began to follow suit until Ozai stood and roared, “SILENCE!!!!”

Zuko flinched.

“You dare to dishonor me like this, you insolent whelp?!”

Zuko’s eyes went wide. Ozai had recognized him.

The Fire Lord stormed over to the stage, and Zuko scrambled back, as the man leaped onto the stage.

Zuko tripped and fell backward.

Everyone was frozen, as Zuko began to plead with the Fire Lord,  “It’s not what it looks like, Father! I didn’t mean you any-”

But Zuko’s pleas were cut off by screams and burning flesh.

All hell broke loose, as Ty Lee and her sisters reacted.

Ty Lee dropped down from the rafters and jabbed the Fire Lord with her chi blocking, as Ty Liu and Ty Lat rushed to throw Ozai from the stage.

Mai, while not one of Ty Ken’s sisters, joined the fight with her throwing knives.

General Iroh stood and for a moment Ty Lee feared he would attack them, but instead he attacked an approaching guard, as Azula rushed onto the stage and helped her get Ty Ken to his feet.

Neither of them willing to look at what remained of his face, as they ran with the other Ty Sisters, Mai, and General Iroh, fleeing the palace.

“Happy Birthday Princess, we’re all traitors,” Ty Woo groaned, as they burst through the palace gates and onto the streets of the city.

Azula responded with her trademark smirk, “Well, at least it wasn’t boring.”

At least General Iroh had a ship in the dock that they could use to flee to the Earth Kingdom.

Ty Lee didn’t chi block the Fire Lord of all people just to let her brother die after all.

[unlikelymilkshakedream]

A/n: Hello! Here is part 3 for the Charlie Weasley fic I promised. Sorry this took so long. I promised angst, so I'm giving it. Hope you enjoy!

Another day, another exam, or so it seemed that way at Hogwarts. As May came to a close, and June starts, your O.W.L.s were giving you more stress than you had ever felt. Your future was on the line if you didn't do well with your exams.

Not only were your exams crushing you, your relationship had been rocky for a couple of months. After the valentines day dance with your date, Charlie Weasley, nothing could have made your life better. You were dating your best friend, all of your friends supported you, and you had no tests coming up. In other words, very different from your life currently.

You were still technically dating your best friend, but from long classes and homework that came with them, to Charlie's quiditch practices lasting forever in hopes of winning the house cup, you hadn't had time to spend a moment alone together in what felt like years.

Your friends would always be there for you and you knew that, you cared about them with your whole heart and knew they felt the same way, but they had their own exams and futures just as you did. You would never ask them for anything because you didn't want to be a burden.

And of course, your exams. Your dreams of becoming a curse breaker were very important to you. You wanted nothing more than to help people, on top of finding your brother and protecting hogwarts. You were a natural curse breaker so it only makes sense that you would pursue your passion. However, if you wanted to do that, you needed to not only pass your exams, but exceed the expectations.

With that responsibility came nights on end in the library, studying, preparing and hoping that it would all work out. Your exams, finding your brother, hell, even your relationship with Charlie. You knew how rocky it was and you were devastated by that, but you knew if you two truly wanted to, it would work out, or so you hoped.

So, another night in the library, was your fate. You wanted to be with Charlie, but you knew he had quiditch practice, and you had a potions exam in the morning that you weren't ready for. As you flipped through your book, trying to soak up as much information as you could, you didn't notice a certain redhead sneak behind you.

"Hey baby," you felt the hot breathe on your neck and jumped more than out of your skin.

"Blimey Charlie, you scared me." He chuckled as he pulled a chair beside you.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see you after practice, and I haven't seen you all weekend." He smiled at you, which you couldn't help but smile back.

"I know, its just tomorrow starts like the most stressful week of the year. If I don't do well on my exams, my future can be forgotten. Speaking of, I am not ready for potions tomorrow, hence why I'm here." You smiled as you looked back towards your book.

"Hey, you're gonna do great on your exam because you are great, and smart, and beautiful," Charlie said as you rolled your eyes and laughed. "Its just we haven't seen each other in a while, thought i could keep you company." You sighed.

"Look, I know we haven't been the most talkative lately, but what exactly do you want me to say, you know how important this is to me." He put his hand on yours.

"I know, I get it baby, I do, and after this week, we're gonna celebrate." He said with the biggest grin on his face. Suddenly, Madame Pince came around the corner with the dirtiest look on her face.

"Shh!" You smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Madam-"

"Shh!!!" You sighed as she walked away. You turned back to charlie.

"You better go, I have to study and don't wanna get kicked out." You smiled at him.

"Okay, but I meant what I said about celebrating." He smiled hugley. You returned the smile, only a fraction of what he had given you. That made his smile falter and eventually he turned and walked back to his dorm.

Eventually you had to except the time as 11pm rolled around and Madam Pince kicked you out of the library. You took the book along with all your other stuff and headed towards your common room.

Once you were in, you sat down near the fireplace and opened your potions book once again, flipping to the section about dragon livers and how they were hard to get.

Eventually, you heard the clock strike 2am and had to call it a night. As you closed your booka nd sat back, looking into the fire, you thought of your life as a cursebreaker, how great it would be, how much you wanted to do it, and what you were willing to do to achieve that goal.

As you stood up and headed towards the stairwell, your way was blocked by charlie, the last person you expected to see, especially at this hour.

"Hey, what're you doing up?" Charlie asked groggy.

"I could ask you the same thing. I was just going to bed." You said as you pushed past him and climbed the stairs. He followed you up.

"I thought you'd be up, I was just checking on you." You turned around as you got to the last step before your dorm and smiled.

"Thats sweet, but go back to bed. Goodnight." You leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, then headed into your dorm, falling on your bed and instantly falling asleep.

The next morning, you woke at around 8. Shit. You were late. You quickly got up and dressed faster than ever and ran to the dungeons. You mad either to class just in time, not eating or anything.

"Well, well, Ms. Brooks, you have decided to grace us with your presence, how considerate." Snape sneered at you as you walked to your seat beside Rowan, breathing heavily, across the room, you saw Charlie looking worriedly at you, which was the last thing you wanted in that moment.

Once your potion exam was finished, you walked out of the room, feeling exhausted and like you failed. You started walking to your next exam, which was charms, the easiest of your exams. Soon enough a certain redhead caught up with you.

"Hey, y/n, why were you late today?" You turned to him.

"I over slept, which I dont do, so I didn't realize at which point I had to sprint to make it, which I didnt." You sighed tired lying. "Why?"

"Just wondering, I missed you at breakfast. Did you eat anything?" You smiled softly.

"No, I haven't but its fine, look i have to go to charms and I really don't wanna be late again, see you." Without another word from either of you, you walked away to charms.

At charms, you felt most confident of all classes, which honestly wasn't saying a lot. You finished your exam pretty easily and walked to the great hall, intending on studying until your Defense Against the Dark Arts exam in an hour. Once the clock struck the time to take your next exam, you left the great hall.

Once you reached DADA, you walked in with Tulip and took your seat. You should feel bad, but you just were so glad charlie wasn't there, staring at you like a sorry case. He meant well and you knew it but you just wanted space.

As you finished your final exam of the day, you headed to the library, studying for transfigurations next. When you reached the library, unfortunately you fell into the same pattern as the previous night, except this time no charlie.

When the clock struck midnight, you went to the dorm room and headed straight for bed, not bothering to study anymore. Once your head hit the pillow, you were out.

When you woke up the next morning, the sun was shining into your window nicely. It was a good way to wake up honestly. You say up and saw Rowan asleep. You figured you had a few minutes before breakfast so you got up and got dressed.

You and Rowan walked to breakfast while revising your transfiguration knowledge. You didn't feel as bad about it as potions but you also didn't feel as great about it as charms. Walking into the great hall, you found Charlie sitting with his younger brothers. You knew you had to go sit with him.

"Hey y/n, how'd you sleep?" Charlie asked as he saw you sit next to him and his brothers giggled at him, to which he sent a dirty look.

"Um, not the best but ye know. Its whatever." As you sat down you ate the blandest breakfast ever, granola and coffee, it would just have to do for today.

"Are you guys ready for the big game tomorrow night?" Fred asked the table. You looked at him with a confused expression whereas everyone else seemed to understand.

"What game fred?" He turned to you.

"Uh, the house cup game, we are so gonna kick hufflepuffs ass." Ah.

"Right, good luck." Charlie turned to you.

"You'll come right love? What me win?" You smiled as you sipped your coffee.

"Uh yeah, maybe, I might have to study for History of magic but we'll see." Charlie stopped.

"Y/n, you can't miss the game, its only the biggest game of the year. Please come." Ugh when he gave you those puppy dog eyes, you knew you were done for.

"Okay, yes I will go, of course I will." You smiled and kissed his cheek.

As breakfast finished and you and Rowan made your way to transfiguration, you felt confident in the upcoming essay. Going over info with Rowan definitely helped.

Once you were finished with the exam, you went to the great hall, being assigned twenty five inches of parchment for the second half of the exam was not ideal. You were stressed out, but at least you only had care of magical creatures left for the day, something you were sure you'd excel in thanks to charlie.

As you walked down the grounds for your exam, you felt very confident that you'd do well. Your confidence was correctly placed as you walked to the common room to start on you parchment for transfiguration, doing very well on your exam in care of magical creatures.

The real problems didn't start until the following day, charlies big game was today and you hadn't made a dent in your parchment, due to not being able to focus and eventually falling asleep far earlier than you would have liked. Today you had exams in astronomy, history of magic and a regular potions class. You were extremely busy today, it didn't help you woke up 20 minutes before your exam in astronomy so you had to sprint once again to be on time.

Once you were seated in astronomy, your exam begun and you didnt feel very confident. You gave it your all and after about 75 minutes, you were done. You walked out and saw your boyfriend charlie who lit up when he saw you. You walked over to him with a small smile on your face.

"Hey babe, whats up?" You asked him.

"Not much now that your hear, just nervous for later." You looked at his smiling face confused.

"Later?" His smile dropped. You had forgotten about the quitditch match.

"The match that determines who wins the house cup? I thought you were coming, its really important to me." Shit. Right, yeah of course you would go.

"Right, of course I will be there, sorry I'm just tired you know how it is. I will be there, but right now I have to go to potions, ill see you later." Damn, how had you forgotten?

Potions seemed to last forever as Snape lectured on Beatle brains, you swore you were going to die of boredom, all you wanted to do was study for history of magic.

When class was finally dismissed, you headed straight for the library, not having your final exam for an hour and a half. When you sat down in the library, you immediately fell into studying, the time slipping by quickly until it was time to go to your exam.

Arriving to your exam, you set your things down and got ready for it, feeling confident as you had spent a lot of time studying for this. You finished your exam in 65 minutes and headed to the great hall, feeling hungry.

When you got to the great hall and saw what was happening inside, all hunger left your body.

Shit.

Inside, Gryffindor students were celebrating the win of the house cup, you had forgotten the game. You walked in to the great hall and saw Charlie, held up by his teammates above everyone like a king. You smiled at how happy he looked, but when he saw you, its like every drop of happiness was taken from him and you felt your heart break.

Charlie told his team mates to let him down which they did as he made his way over to you, looking hurt and disappointed. You couldn't do much besides stand there and look at him sheepishly.

"Y/n, why didn't you come to the game, you knew how important it was to me and how much I could have used your support." He said loudly, causing those near you to look on at the conversation.

"Charlie, can we go in the hallway?" He looked pissed but didn't object. Once you were away from everyone, you turned to him.

"Charlie, I am so sorry I didn't go to your game, I was in the library studying and the time just got away from me and before I knew it I had to go to my exam and I completely forgot l. I'm so sorry. But you won anyway so you didn't need me at all, cause your just that good." You said with a smile, trying to defuse his anger. It didn't work.

"Y/n, that's not the point, you said you would be there and I wanted you there. You didn't need to study for your exam, you've been studying all week, this is all I asked of you and you couldn't even give me this." As he finished, you felt sorrow drain and anger rise.

"What exactly do you mean I didnt need to study for my exam? I have been studying all week, unlike you, because I care about getting good grades. You know how badly I need to do on my exams to have a future! I didnt go to your match, because I wanted to make sure I did well. I apologized but now your being irrational." He scoffed.

"Irrational? I asked one thing of you, I asked you to attend a quiditch match to support your boyfriend, but apparently if it doesn't benefit you, it doesn't matter, huh is that it?" You were now fully screaming at each other, thank god the hallway was deserted.

"Are you serious? You know maybe if you cared more about your future and grades like I do, you would see where I'm coming from, but all you care about is a God damn match and dragons! No wonder we've been like this for months. You say im selfish, I've done everything for you. I miss one thing and the worlds over to you." Charlie turned away and scoffed.

"You're right, we have been like this for a long time, because we just don't work anymore." You froze. "Y/n, you can't even support your own boyfriend, you care more about tests than anything, this clearly isn't working." You looked at him while a tear rolled down your cheek, which you quickly wiped away. You didn't want to break up with Charlie, God no. But he didn't seem to want to stay together.

"Charlie, it's not like that, you know how stressed I've been, I'm sorry I didn't come to your game, I truly meant to go. I care a lot about my future, but you don't and thats not on me. You can't put this on me, its not just the match, you've been like this ever since the dance, its not only me." More tears rolled down your cheeks as one slid out from his eye.

"Y/n, this just isn't working, I'm sorry." No, God no please.

"Charlie, no, please, don't do this. I swear I-" he cut you off.

"I'm sorry, its already done." He turned and walked away, leaving you standing alone in an empty corridor, feeling your heart leaving your soul. You don't know how it happened, you don't know where it went wrong. Was it truly the match? Or was it ever since the day of the dance? Did he even ever like you?

As you stood in that corridor, you felt cold, you felt like you soul left you. You watched him walk away and eventually out of eyesight, thinking about how you would never feel his kiss again, never feel the comfort of his embrace, never feel his love again.

You didn't want this, God no, but your gut told you it had to happen, you just wish it didn't hurt this much. As you wrapped your arms around yourself and sank to the floor with tears on your face, you felt nothing but hollow, wishing the presence of charlie was still there. Wishing he could hold you and tell you he loved you again, as you loved him still.

You didn't know how you were going to go on without him, but you knew one thing for sure, the last thing you cared about was your fucking grades, because you just lost the best thing in your life.

A/n: okay, sorry this took so long, I suck i know! Im sorry this was shitty, I will try to finish the series relatively soon, there will be 2 more parts. I hope you like it, thanks for reading!

[official-weasley]

The Extraordinary Dragon (Part 6/6)

A fluffy story about Charlie training a dragon with a sad and mysterious past.

A/N: I am so happy with this story and since it's a story of a dragon, I never thought you guys would like to so much but I am glad that you enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for everyone who liked it and comment on it! And thank you again to @am-i-space @madelineorionswan & @the-al-chemist for naming the dragons for me 💙

Warnings: Nothing but the cute conclusion to this story 💙 Word Count: 2,264

“Asterin, what did we talk about? You have teeth, you can chew.” I shook my head, sitting on the ground a few meters away from the Hebridean Black.

It’s been 3 months since I came back from Scotland.

When I read that letter, I needed to sit down and just breathe for a minute. Every second I spent with Asterin to that point rolled in front of my eyes and everything started to make sense.

The fact that she didn’t want to eat anything but chicken blood and brandy. That MacFusty’s were curious why she acted as if she didn’t have any teeth. Why she was so afraid and needed such a long time to get used to the new environment. The fact that she hurt me when I levitated a rock.

She was merely 5 months old when they found her. A dragon that young is supposed to be with its mother – barely even starting the blood and brandy diet. Their teeth are usually ready for solid food around 6-7 months and there is a law to never transport a dragon younger than 10 months if it can be avoided. They are either still too attached to their mother or they are with the other dragonlings.

A dragon that thinks it's 5 months old would still cuddle with its mother at night, eat the food she would provide, and play with its siblings. Being transported to the other side of Europe, meeting so many new people, and staying alone in a habitat suited for a 1-year-old dragon is not the right way to approach the situation.

Being in such a big enclosure with no one she knew around her was very stressful for Asterin. That’s why she ran into the forest the first night – she tried to hide.

And when we thought she attacked me, it was her trying to play. Since her mindset is stuck at 5-months-old she isn’t aware that she is 3 times the size she was back then and that trying to jump on me can be fatal and not being cute and playful.

The second I came back, we started to change her habitat. We made it dragonling friendly by putting in lots of things to chew on, some toys we use to play and train with the younger dragons, a big tire in which she can sleep and Matthew and Jim helped me made a wooden house that can house an adult Hebridean Black because baby dragons like to feel safe and have a feeling their mother is by their side, so having a house in which she can hide and feel snug seemed like the best idea.

We asked Marcus and John to come and stay with us for a week so that Asterin could be around as many people she knows to make her as comfortable as we possibly can.

After two days of sniffing around and starting to play with her toys, we could already see progress bigger than I’ve made in 2 months before we found out what happened to her. She became less fearful, she didn’t dig her claws in the ground anymore and she became playful.

She might be over a year old and is halfway to her adult size but she acts like Hephaestus – the Hebridean Black I got the chance to meet while I was staying with the MacFusty’s in Scotland. She jumps around, awkwardly tries to fly, and is fun to be around.

When I got back, I sat down with the healers that examined her. They told me that due to the damage the hit caused her, her brain will never properly develop. In her mind, Asterin will always be a 5-month-old dragon. They told me everything that is suited for a dragon her mind age and I spent the next 3 days coming up with a plan – how to train her, how to feed her, how to try and tame her, and what to do with her habitat.

We needed about a week to finish everything with the help of other dragonologists and both Marcus and John MacFusty. I asked two researchers to observe her from afar as she gets used to her newly decorated home and to see how she responds to things so they could report back to me to see if we would need to make any changes.

They were over the roof working with her because none of them ever had a case like this. None of us had, truth be told. Matthew still couldn’t believe that that can happen. Marcus and John felt bad that they missed such an important piece of evidence and on the last day of their stay went to Asterin and apologized for mistreating her.

I told them that it’s not their fault and that it was more than evident that they wanted to help her and put her in the right hands.

I have been with her every day since I came back and I can’t express how proud I am of her. She hasn’t hurt me, she hasn’t even roared in my face once since I started treating her like a dragonling. I couldn’t be happier that she was assigned to me and that I have a chance not only to work with a Hebridean Black but to work with such a special one.

She might have a sad past but since she is growing every day, is as healthy as a dragon her age can be and she is showing progress every day, I dare to say she is going to be just fine with us.

After the researchers recorded her behavior and saw that she is doing okay and as the healers gave the green light that everything else is fine, I started working with her. Of course, I am taking a completely different approach than I did before and right now I am trying to teach her how to eat anything other than the liquids we have been giving her so far.

It’s not that we can’t provide that much chicken blood and brandy for her but even though her brain doesn’t see how big she is getting, her body needs solid food to grow into a big healthy dragon. Every day after work, I go to the infirmary where I work with a healer and a researcher and we are trying our best to come up with a plan on how we could trick someone who thinks it's 5 months old to eat a steak.

14 days ago we tried mincing the meat and putting it in her liquids. Asterin was hesitant because of the smell at first but the second day she swallowed it. We did that for a week slowly adding more meat and less blood and brandy. Last week, we started giving her pieces of deer meat that are small enough for her to swallow whole since a 5-month-old dragon isn’t supposed to know how to use its teeth fully yet.

Today is the first day that I tried and gave her a proper steak. The researchers thought it would be good if she gets used to the taste and texture of the food she is supposed to eat. I have been trying for two hours and the best I got was her playing with the steak.

“Asterin, don’t play with your food. It’s not a toy. You’re supposed to eat it.” I put my hands in front of my face, expecting a steak thrown my way any second now.

She looked up at me as I spoke, the steak that was half in her mouth now fell to the ground. I couldn’t help but chuckle, she was adorable.

“What’s it going to be? Are you going to eat it or should I?” I smirked.

Saying that gave me an idea.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes, Asterin.” I got up and waved at her as I did every time I left her enclosure to let her know we will see each other again.

I went to the Sanctuary kitchen and asked one of the cooks to make me a steak. Perhaps if she would see me eat it and chew on it, she might copy my behavior. That is how she learned how to roll over and jump in the air. The latter wasn’t such a good idea because now she likes to jump all the time and sometimes shakes the ground so much that I fall backward.

I thanked the cook that made the steak for me and hurried back to Asterin’s habitat.

“I’m back. Did you miss me?” I smiled.

Asterin was sitting on the ground, her tail playfully moving around, her head tilted in curiosity about what I brought her.

“This isn’t for you. It’s lunch for me. Now let me show you how to eat a steak.” I sat back down to where I was before I left and took the steak from the plate with my hand. “And remember, Asterin, you have teeth, you can chew just like I can.”

I bit into the steak as hard as I could and tore away a piece.

“See…not…that…hard,” I said while chewing. “Now you try.” I pointed at her raw piece of meat with my steak.

Asterin stared at me for a few seconds more before looking down at her steak. She looked back up at me as I took another bite and back down. She lowered her head and sniffed the steak then did the whole routine 2 more times.

“It’s delicious, Asterin. Come on, eat with me.” I encouraged her.

If she could narrow her eyes, she would. I could see her brain being hard at work trying to figure out what she is supposed to do but I understood that she needed time because nobody sane would give a 5-month-old dragon a steak of that size.

Much to my surprise, Asterin picked the steak up with her front teeth and lifted her head abruptly. I thought the steak was going to fly out of the enclosure but she held on to it.

“That’s it. Good girl, Asterin! Now put it in your mouth and chew.” I took another bite of my meal and slowly and exaggeratedly chewed to show her how it’s done.

Asterin slowly put the entire steak inside her mouth and tried chewing on it. She shook her head as if she got confused about what was going on and let the meat fall from her mouth to the ground.

“Okay, that wasn’t bad. You did great! Now repeat the gesture. Pick it up again, Asterin.” I put my plate down and clapped a few times to let her know she is making progress.

Asterin listened to me and picked up the steak again. She threw it on the ground a few more times but every time she chewed a little longer.

After 5 tries she didn’t stop chewing on the steak and suddenly I heard a swallowing sound.

“Did you…did you just eat the steak?” I asked astonished. It’s not like I didn’t believe that she could do it but I didn’t dare to think that she was going to progress so quickly.

“You did it, Asterin!” I stood up carefully not to startle her too much even though I wanted to burst from excitement and jump around.

“I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how proud I am of you!” I walked toward her not even caring if she does something to me. I wanted to show her that what she just accomplished is a big deal and that the behavior is very much desired and encouraged.

“If you continue to eat like this, you will be able to fully transition to deer meat and admit it, it was more delicious than chicken blood and brandy.” I laughed and with a bowed head approached her.

I was now so close that if I would extend my hand I would be able to pat her. Without thinking twice about it, I offered her my hand so she could sniff it and let her know that I mean no harm. She did so immediately and huffed.

“I know. My hand smells like cooked meat which doesn’t smell as delicious to you as to me.” I giggled.

I took a deep breath knowing that Matthew would kill me if he saw me stand so close to Asterin – making progress or not – and touched her rough skin and rubbed a few circles on it.

“You ate your first steak, Asterin. I am so proud. The progress we have made in the past few weeks is admirable.” I whispered to her.

She lowered her head and what I think she wanted to do was rub her head against my side but because she is so big and so much heavier than me she pushed me to the ground.

I started laughing when I saw her confused expression. I know she didn’t expect me to fall to the ground and probably thinks that I am the weakest human not being able to handle her friendly gesture.

I got up, dusted myself, and approached her again.

“The next thing we work on is to make you realize how big you are.” I chuckled.

Asterin replied with a jump in the air and hurried to get one of her balls, indicating she wants to play.

“You want to catch the ball? You got it!” I clapped my hands together and ran after her, feeling like the luckiest dragonologist in the world.

[guiltysecretpasttime]

Parapraxis

Note: So this was inspired by @peachchanvidel’s post and partially by that one-scene in Brooklyn nine-nine. Hope you like this :)

Linzin AU, one-shot

Parapraxis: a lapse of memory or mental error, such as a slip of the tongue or misplacement of an object, which, in psychoanalytic theory, is due to unconscious associations and motives; commonly called a “freudian slip.”

---

 If Lin Beifong were to look back at her life, she would think that some spirit was having a laugh at her expense – more than enough for her to wonder whether she had a past life that angered one of them.

 ---

The Dragon Flats Strangler had finally been caught and so the residents of the borough (and the police) could breathe a little easier now.

Chief Beifong tapped the report with her glasses, satisfied with the paperwork submitted. The sunlight was hitting her desk straight on, a signal that it was definitely later into the day and that she had not budged one bit since she sat down after lunch break.

She folded her glasses and placed it in its case. The pile of reports waiting on her desk signified that reviews and approvals were in her next hours. It was time to grab some coffee.

The police chief exited her room, seeing that everyone was working diligently on whatever assignments they had that week. None of that fake pencil pushing here in headquarters.

On her way to the pantry, she saw the Avatar nosily bothering Mako, who was, to his credit, shooing her away. Based on previous encounters with them, Lin supposed Korra was trying to wheedle the firebender into another double date with her and Asami, another blind date that the detective was adamantly against.

She decided to interrupt for the benefit of the firebender who was looking miserably at the pile of paperwork on his desk that the Avatar had been riffling through, likely looking for a piece of paper to write the details of the date on.

“Detective!” Chief Beifong approached the pair; Mako suddenly sitting up straight and Korra leaned back in her seat, waving weakly. “Good job on the paperwork on the Dragon Flats Strangler.” She frowned at Korra who was reaching over Mako’s desk to grab his pen. “I’d expect all of your files to be submitted with the same level of meticulousness and detail.”

Mako slapped away Korra’s hand. “Of course, Mom.” He answered distractedly.

Chief Beifong froze as did the Avatar – and everyone within hearing radius.

The detective managed to get his pen from the loose grip of Korra and proceeded to work on his next report.

Korra cleared her throat to get his attention, throwing a glance at Lin then placing an elbow on top of Mako’s paperwork.

“What?” Mako growled irritably.

“You called Chief Beifong Mom.”

Lin saw a brief look of panic on Mako’s face before it turned stoic again. “You must have misheard.”

“No, you did.” One of the other rookies from two desks to Mako’s right piped up.

Korra pointed at the man, nodding. “See, thank you!”

“No,” Mako emphasized but was quickly paling. “I said, of course Chief.”

“They’re right – you called me Mom.” Lin slowly enunciated then pursed her lips. “Detective Mako, do you see me as a mother figure?”

“I-I-I-.” The firebender could only stammer, a far cry from the capable detective who could easily spout off details of a report without even reading off a copy of it.

Normally, she would feel amused, but she took pity on the young man. “Don’t worry about it,” She attempted to downplay it. “We could have a mentoring session if you’d like, one of these days?”

Mako looked like a cat deer caught in the headlights of a satomobile so Lin quickly retracted. "Only if you’d want to of course, the offer stands but it’s not mandatory -.”

“Yes, I’d like that.” The detective managed to bite out.

She nodded and quickly went her way to the pantry.

Chief Beifong figured, having one more rookie to mentor is not so bad.

 ---

 “Higher, Dad, higher!”

The moment the words left her lips, Lin knew she messed up. She did not want to face Aunt Katara, who would likely pity reflected on her eyes. The earthbender just knew the older lady would be uttering the words “oh, sweetie” within the next few minutes, gently letting her down explaining that the airbender playing with her was not her father.

Lin knew that. It’s just – why can’t he be?

To the Avatar’s credit, he did not even bat an eyelash nor did he lose the rhythm of bouncing Lin up and down using an airball.

Before the waterbender could even remark on it, young Lin hollered quickly before she landed gracefully. “I know Uncle Aang’s not my dad – I just slipped, okay? Doesn’t mean anything!”

“Well,” Aang bent down throwing an arm around her and his airbending son, who was waiting patiently for his turn. “I wouldn’t mind being your dad. And after all, I could very well be your dad when you marry Tenzin here!” The airbender tightened his hold on the two children and brought them closer together.

“Ewww no!”

“Yuuuck!”

It would be a cold day in Si Wong desert before that would happen, Lin glared at the lanky airbender beside her.

Tenzin stuck out his tongue at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, stomping.

“Ow! No fair, Lin!”

Marry him? Of course not.

 ---

 Lin twisted the cap of one of the many soju bottles she had stocked in her house.

She smiled with satisfaction at the crack that the cap made and poured herself a shot. She quickly threw it back, enjoying the subtle burn of the alcohol and making that pleased throat clearing sound after.

The earthbender placed one of her feet on her chair while another one dangled as she sat at her dining area. A variety of fried, greasy and fermented food that she bought earlier was spread on the table.

This was the kind of me time that she could get behind. No one to judge her as she indulged on alcohol and unhealthy snacks. It was, after all, a difficult day for her.

At least, as she picked at the sliced fermented radish and chewed pensively, she did not have to attend the wedding of the century. She was invited, of course, but it was obviously a courtesy invite. No doubt, Tenzin’s bride would not welcome her presence. So she gladly sent her regrets and mailed the RSVP note immediately without even second-guessing her herself.

She skewered a piece of grilled picken and dipped it in a sweet sauce.

The ceremony should be about finished at this time, she surmised as she took a bite of the meat. This would be followed by luncheon at the island and maybe a short program.

The metalbender took another shot.

Then later that night, there will be the fireworks, of course, sending off the last airbender and his bride.

Well, good riddance.

  Lin had finished most of her food and was at her third bottle of soju. She was also at the middle of the book that she had impulsively purchased yesterday (fiction – she did appreciate the occasional escapism reading brought her) when her phone began to ring incessantly.

She decided to ignore it. Her officers could handle themselves for one day; she was sure there was not anything that would not keep until she was back. Anyway, her deputy was bound to be hammering on her door if there was something that urgently needed her attention.

For a few moments, the phone stopped ringing.

Thank Agni!

Then proceeded to ring again.

Lin groaned, she spoke too soon. Stretching herself from her perch in the dining room, she went to the living room to finally bark at whoever was at the other line for disrupting her day off.

“Beifong here – I swear if this is a salesman or you Saikhan I will -!”

“Lin!” The shrill voice cut through her reprimand.

Lin moved the phone away from her ear to stare at it, stunned.

“Lin? I know you’re there!”

It was Kya.

There was no reason for the sister of Tenzin to be calling her at this time.

“What is it?” She tamped down the irritation that the waterbender did not deserve from her.

“Have you heard the news – on the radio?” Kya’s words rushed forth. “Just wanted to give you a heads up – there’s bound to be something in the evening papers. The media would be keen to get your side as well – they’re having a field day! And -!”

“Kya! Kya!” Lin raised her voice to get a word in. “What are you talking about? I’ve given them my official statement for Tenzin’s wedding weeks ago.” She twirled the cord of the phone.

“Lin,” The earthbender recognized the strain in Kya’s voice. “Yes, it’s about the wedding but not in the context that you think.”

Lin paused in fiddling with the phone cord, sensing there was more to the story. “What happened in the wedding?”

“It’s Tenzin – he -!”

Donk-donk-donk! Donk-donk-donk!

Lin raised her head, hearing the loud pounding on the door. “Kya – is this important right now? Is it a security or safety issue?” The pounding on the door could only mean an emergency from headquarters.

“Well, no, but -.”

“Then it could wait.” Lin bit out harshly; if there was a life and death situation at the other side of the door, she could care less about Tenzin and his tacky wedding. “I’ll give you a call later.” She ended the call abruptly.

Donk-donk-donk-donk-donk-donk!

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Lin hurried to her front door, taking care not to trip over her own feet. She definitely needed to sober up before going on field. Without even checking who was behind the door, she pulled it open. “Saikhan! What is the emergency?”

Her eyes widened.

Flying fishopotamus.

Tenzin was standing there in his formal wedding garb, dripping under the rain. He was breathing heavily as though he had rushed in getting to her Republic City house. Judging by his glider which was sitting pitifully in the mud, Lin thought he probably did.

“What the flameo are you doing here?”

Her voice pulled the airbender from his stupor. “Lin.”

Lin inwardly shivered. The way he whispered her name was almost reverently. She shook her head; she must be drunk.

The man took a step forward, a hand extending towards her.

She stepped back. “What are you doing here – you shouldn’t be here – you’re married.”

Tenzin shook his head slowly. “I don’t think I am.”

 ***

“Repeat after me – I, Tenzin –.”

“I, Tenzin - .”

“Take you, Pema to be my wife, my partner in life and my true love.”

“Take you, Lin to be my wife, my partner in life and my true love.”

 ***

“What the -!” Lin let loose a string of curse words that would have earned her soap in her mouth had she uttered them within earshot of her Beifong grandparents.

Tenzin stood back, letting the rain and the wind batter him down.

“What were you thinking!” Lin clenched and unclenched her fist, visibly restraining herself from punching the airbender. “Think about how humiliated Pema is! Your family, her family! Tenzin – go back there and grovel! Pema…” She caught her breath. “She doesn’t deserve this.” The light in her eyes dimmed and the fight seemed to seep out of her.

“And that’s why I’m here – why it’s still you!” Tenzin’s wild eyes sought hers. “Even after everything,” His tone softened. “You still think about others. That’s how selfless you are and how selfish I am.” He wiped back some of the rainwater from his forehead. He inched closer slowly and hesitantly. “Even after everything, it’s still you.”

 ---

Chief Beifong extremely disliked doing press conferences. Given the choice, as illogical as it would have been, she would have done away with the press (something has to be said of freedom of the press and freedom of expression though so obviously the press needed to stay).

After the wedding of the century devolved into the faux pas of the century years ago, Lin did not have fond words for the press. They skewered Tenzin’s reputation and dissected their interactions over the past months of that year.

It took a few more years and several scandals of prominent members of the nobility for their relationship (or lack thereof) to fade from public interest.

Ironically, it was during this period that they started to become closer (with a lot of work and effort from Tenzin, of course and Lin still vacillating between taking him back or not).

The media circus a rabbit hole she dare not get into again, so she better make sure that her speech is flawless.

She shuddered involuntarily as she reviewed her speech, head bent and hands rubbing her temples. She nodded at the staff who were silently hurrying around, making sure all of the microphones were set correctly and the chairs and tables were available for all attendees.

The press conference today was about the opening of the cultural center in Republic City. The council would be there to give their opening remarks and she would speak in her capacity as Chief of Police regarding how the area would be secured.

After all, the cultural center was situated in a reclaimed area which used to be lorded over by triads. It was up to the police force to ensure that no crime or act of terrorism befalls the center and its opening in order to encourage more investors into Republic City.

From her peripheral view, Tenzin’s robes swept close as he sat himself beside her at the conference table set up for them.

She paid him no mind as she ran her finger on the figures in the packet she was reviewing.

“Seems like a huge crowd will be joining the press conference today.” The airbender arranged his own set of papers as he commented on the people who was starting to gather in the venue.

The metalbender gave a soft grunt in reply.

“By the way, thanks for doing this Lin.” Tenzin shifted in his seat. “I know you could have easily sent a representative to speak for the Police Headquarters.” He murmured softly, inching his head closer to her. “And, personally, I appreciate your presence. You know how much this means to me, it’s a chance to show case my mother’s heritage.”

Lin inclined her head and responded vaguely. “Of course Tenzin, you know I love you so I’ll do what I can to support you fully.” She tapped her pen on her speech and encircled a split infinitive. She would need to proofread a little bit better next time.

She felt a warm hand grasp her wrist; she finally looked up at her seatmate. “What?”

Tenzin’s eyes were suspiciously watery.

Lin became conscious with how whispers were increasing in volume. She raised an eyebrow at the airbender in askance.

Tenzin bit his lip, swallowing before tentatively covering her hand with his.

What was he doing? Why was he doing this in public?

Her thoughts were running all over the place. It was not like Tenzin to be bold or even indiscreet.

“Tenzin.” She hissed.

“You just said you love me.”

“I…” Lin went back to what she did say, realizing belatedly that she did. “I guess I did.”

The whispers were definitely louder this time.

Tenzin gripped her hand tighter; his other hand gesturing forward.

Her heart skipped a beat.

A microphone had been placed on their table for sound check without her noticing it.

Her declaration had been heard in the entire hall.

 ---

Lin Beifong swirled the wine in her glass, silently observing the people weave in and out of the dance floor.

Say what you want of the damn convict, Varrick truly knew how to throw a party.

She reflected on her life so far.

As much as she had emphatically refused to have children, Lin woke up one day realizing that, without meaning to, she had inadvertently taken in several teenagers under her wing. Thank the Spirits that Mako, the one mostly with her, was someone after her own cranky taciturn disposition.

And, despite her steadfast refusal in her youth, in front of the man’s father, she looked at the ring that adorned her finger for decades, Lin found herself wed to Tenzin.

Something has to be said about slips of the tongue, of the unconscious. When you feel strongly about someone or something, it was bound to slip right out – the truth escaping the barriers that the mind has built.

If this was how the spirits feel like treating her after all those mortifying moments, Lin Beifong decided that she was not one to complain.

After all, Lin contemplated with wonder as she looked at the spirit portals across the island with her husband landing a soft kiss on her forehead, unplanned and spontaneous words come up with the best results.