#twdg marlie

[ericsonclan]

Sophie: I promised Marlon I wouldn’t do anything stupid.

Minnie: Why would you lie to your boyfriend like that?

[ericsonclan]

Marlon: I love you

Sophie: Haha, noice

[ericsonclan]

Hey, how's it going? I really liked your answer to my request regarding a crossover between TWD and Star Wars, sooo... more xD

Of course you can add as many children as you like, but I'm mainly asking for Marlon, Louis, Mitch and Brody:

-Last time you wrote, that actually all of them have a tendency to the dark side, which I totally agree on. But do you think one/some of them will really fall and become Sith?

-After Order 66, what do they do? Do they stay together, do they split up? Will they join the rebellion, become lonely bounty hunters or just disappear and hide somewhere?

-Any changes regarding their lightsabers and fighting style as they grow up? (if they live long enough of course)

-And last but not least - how do each of them die in the end? A fierce battle with some inquisitors? Old and withered, chilling on some rocks and becoming a force ghost? Or something completely different?

As always, thanks for your answers, alsways love reading your stuff ;) Have a nice day!

Ooo! More Jedi au, let's go!

Do any fall and become Sith?

The answer is yes. Everyone assumed it would be Mitch but he actually stays solid on the light side. After Order 66 Brody disappears and Marlon does sometime later which really concerns the group that was with him especially Louis, Sophie, and Ruby to name a few. Others had been taken by the Sith too such as Violet, Prisha, and Minnie. Minnie fell to the dark side fairly quickly being taken after desperately trying to protect Sophie. Marlon and Minnie more fell to the dark side willingly while the others were forced to through intense methods. Violet and Prisha's safety was used against each other and Brody was isolated for a long time and broke. All five become Jedi hunters, hunting those they care about most.

What occurred after Order 66?

Aasim wanted to keep the Jedi Council as intake as possible and suggests they find those who are force sensitive to become Jedi. So he heads out and searches for new potential Jedi. He finds some more strange ones like Renata and Oakley who had been tossed out of the Order for being too eccentric. Mitch stays behind and cares entirely about keeping the young padawans safe and finding Brody. Louis is focused on finding his missing friends both those who fell and those who were rumored to be dead but no one had solid proof. Javi is with the rebellion and some Jedi join him while others like Sarita and Tripp start a new order of gray Jedi. Clementine who was told she was the chosen one for as long as she remembered disappeared after her Jedi master Lee died. She couldn't handle the pressure of the galaxy's expectations on her. As for Brody and Marlon, they are Sith now and trying to come to terms with their new orders. Brody gets in an intense fight with Mitch and also clashes with Ruby. Both try to remind Brody of who she was and what she stood for. Louis also gets into a confrontation with Marlon and later with Violet. He along with Sophie desperately try to get Marlon and Violet back. Willy is the one to try and save Prisha even though everyone says its too dangerous.

Any changes in lightsabers or fighting styles?

For Louis and Mitch, no. They stay as wild and flamboyant as always with their fighting styles and their lightsabers stay the same. As for Marlon he discards his old lightsaber and picks up a red lightsaber. His fighting style switches from a firm, normal grip to a reverse grip depending on his emotional state. He is incredibly easy to read in battle but also extremely dangerous. As for Brody she keeps her yellow lightsaber since her loyalty to the Dark Side is shaky and unstable but she also has a red lightsaber. In battles when she is extremely emotional she recklessly pairs the two lightsabers together. Does it always work? No, but she is extreme when emotional in battle.

How do they die?

Louis- Dies at an old, old age super peaceful and surrounded by his loved ones.

Brody- Also dies at an old age, and becomes a force ghost.

Mitch- Dies at an older age protecting his kids and his friends' kids some of who are all padawans in training.

Marlon- Dies around late 50's from old battle injuries that have finally caught up to him. He gets to have his redemption and a family so while he of course wanted more time he couldn't complain since he got a happier ending than he thought possible for himself.

Thanks for the ask! As always feel free to send in more asks whether it's for this au or if anyone has anymore aus they'd be curious about our inbox is always open.

[ericsonclan]

Jingle All The Way

Summary: Sophie and Marlon work to find the perfect Christmas toys for their kids.

Word Count: 1472

Read on AO3:

Sophie and Marlon weren’t sure how this had happened. They had been so caught up in all the holiday activities, festivities, and chaotic stress that came with it that they had forgotten something huge. They had forgotten to get the one toy that their two kids had been practically begging them for for months leading up to Christmas: the holiday edition Captain Commando action figure with built-in water jets in the toy’s wrists.

“We’re so screwed,” Marlon rested his head on the steering wheel while his wife sat in the seat beside him frantically scrolling through different stores' online catalogs.

“Maybe ooorrrrr this will just make it a special Christmas adventure!” Sophie spotted the annoyed look on her husband’s face. “Babe, it’s gonna be okay. We’ll both go searching all of today. You already called Louis, I called Vi and they both said they’d help us. Minnie and Ren are looking after Raylan and Marley who were practically bouncing off the walls to spend time with them and Timothy. It’s gonna be okay,” Sophie gently rubbed Malon’s back. The sensation helped anchor him in that moment, pulling him away from the anxiety and potential dread he was feeling.

With a shaky breath he lifted up his head and gave a smile. “You’re right. Okay, let’s find those toys!”

“Hell yeah!” Sophie stole a quick kiss then opened the car door and jumped outside.

“First one to find the action figures gets bragging rights!” Sophie called out then was off like a shot, haphazardly trying not to slip on the icy road as she made her way over to Violet who was waiting nearby.

“Be careful!”

“Yep!” Sophie gave another wave and then was off on her quest for the fabled Christmas toy. Marlon watched her in the car window for a minute then turned the key in the ignition and pulled out onto the street. He still had to pick up Louis before he could start the hunt.

“I’m still surprised that you and Sophie didn’t get the action figures like a month ago,” Louis caught Marlon’s annoyed glance. “What? All I’m saying is that I got toys for Maisy, Lee Kenny and Juliet in November and that was just the extra gifts.”

“You know what, Lou, if you’re gonna be sassy like that then I can go on my own.”

“No! Come on, Marlon, don’t be like that. Besides I have good intel that those special action figures are still available for sale at the Target right by Crawford Ave.”

Marlon felt a smile pull on his lips at that. He switched lanes to be able to turn on the right street as they approached their destination. He was gonna make Raylan and Marley’s Christmas perfect and beat Sophie at this Christmas toy hunt! He knew he would because he’d do anything to get those toys.

There were no Captain Commando limited Christmas edition action figures there. Instead, Marlon was staring at a completely barren toy aisle.

“Oh damn, well I guess this is why you shop early.” Louis gave an awkward grin when he saw his best friend’s scowl. “Okay, okay, let’s not worry. We’ll go get some hot cocoa then continue to look. This is just the first store after all.”

Marlon took a deep breath and sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just really fucking stressed and I don’t wanna seem like a bad dad because I couldn’t get Raylan or Marley what they wanted for Christmas.” He kept walking until he felt Louis’ hand grab his shoulder.

“Hey, they’re not gonna think that. You’re a great dad.”

Marlon still seemed down in the dumps but he cracked a smile. “Thanks, Lou.”

“No problem, buddy. Alright! To hot chocolate and then the perfect Christmas present!”

“So let me get this straight-”

“I don’t know, can you get it straight if you’re gay?” Sophie sent over a teasing smile to Violet who already looked tired of her best friend’s mediocre jokes. “Okay sorry, continue.”

“You didn’t get some action figures for Raylan and Marley so now you’re trying to find them just four days before Christmas?”

“Yep, that’s pretty much it,”

Violet sighed and shook her head. “You and Marlon are unbelievable.”

“Hey! We got all the other Christmas shopping done! What about you? I bet you haven’t gotten everything you need for Allison and your grandkids.”

“Prish and I got everything weeks ago. A new knife for Allison’s collection, some stones we found during our trip, superhero toys and marshmallow guns for Mitchie and Griffin and cute baby clothes for Wren. Plus a bunch of stuff we found for super cheap and bought on a whim for them too,”

Sophie was speechless. Her attempt to throw it back at Violet had failed. “Okay well, yeah. Whatever, I love my kids!”

“I never said you didn’t,” Violet grumbled, her back hunched and hands stuffed in her pockets. Sophie didn’t seem to pick up on that though and instead was laser focused on finding the action figures.

But it amounted to nothing. No matter what stores they went to, all the action figures of that kind were sold out. Even after a call to check in on the kids where Raylan and Marley went on and on and on about how much fun they were having building snow castles, Sophie’s mood didn’t brighten.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. Just take a few deep breaths,” Violet instructed; Sophie listened to the best of her ability. “Feel any better?”

“Nope, I still feel like a bad mom. Okay! Back to hunting! I know that luck is gonna be on my side!” Sophie dashed off before Violet could say anything. With a long sigh she chased after Sophie. She could almost never catch up to her best friend when she was going full speed. Finally Sophie sat down near an escalator, her chest heaving. Violet stood beside her, doubled over in exhaustion.

“Let’s call it a day. You tried your best.”

“No! I’m not giving up yet! There has to be some kind of way to-” Sophie was interrupted when an announcement was made over the loudspeaker.

“It’s time to spread that holiday cheer and what better way than with a chance to win two Captain Commando action figures! Come to the center of the mall if you want a chance to bring home something special for your kids!”

“That’s it! Let’s go!” Sophie grabbed Violet’s hand and dragged her along until they reached the center of the mall where the rules were already being shared.

“...And so if you have the right number on your raffle ball, then you win!”

Sophie grinned. It seemed easy enough. She just needed luck. She bounced nervously on the balls of her feet as she reached into the Santa bag. Violet soon followed suit and the two waited until the numbers were called.

“Number twenty seven.”

Sophie’s eyes widened. Holy shit! She had it! Her excitement made her feel all jittery and she threw her arm up in the air to show off her winning number when suddenly she bumped into someone, causing the raffle ball to bounce on the ground.

“Shit!” Sophie dashed after the ping pong ball, running back and forth down the escalator to try and grab it as it fell but it was too quick. The ball kept bouncing and bouncing until it landed in a kids’ play pit.

“What the hell are you doing!’ Violet called out as she watched Sophie dive head first into the ball pit.

“Winning!” Sophie declared. She kept searching until finally she found it. Using all the strength of her lungs, she shouted, “I have the winning number!!!” She rushed back up and pushed her through the crowd, apologizing until she got to the front.

When she arrived she accepted the toy with an exhilarated grin and stared at it as though she was holding priceless treasure. She was so caught up in the moment. “This is great! Now all we need is for your number to win! Show me your ball, Vi!” Violet rolled her eyes at the wording then grumbled as she held up the lottery ball. Both of them waited with tense breaths.

“Number forty eight.”

Immediately Sophie’s optimism deflated. It wasn’t the right number.

“That’s my number!”

Moments later Marlon moved forward before he spotted Sophie and paused in shock. “Sophie?”

“Marlon?”

“What are you doing here?” The married couple asked at the same time.

“I’m winning an action figure,” Marlon explained as he accepted the prize. A happy laugh left Sophie’s lips at that and he looked over with slight confusion. “What?”

“Guess we didn’t screw up Christmas after all,” She held up her action figure and both of them shared a happy smile. Maybe they were pretty awesome parents after all.

[ericsonclan]

Marlon: Soph, are you sure this is a short cut?

Sophie: Not as sure as I was an hour ago...

[ericsonclan]

Got a Shutterfly coupon from a friend and decided to use it to make a look book of some of our favorite TWDG commissions so far! We’ve been lucky enough to commission so many talented artists over these past two years such as @emcdraws @spanimator @harveytxt @bonecrypt @kelseymichikoart and others on IG like lovelymiku_artworks and satelitte_souls_. It’s so wonderful having a collection of all these beloved artworks in one place 🥰 Many thanks to the artists!

[ericsonclan]

Got a new display shelf for the TWDG Funkos at Target! I hope to pick up another cuz they all look so stinkin’ cute 🥰 Still gotta make Tenn and James sometime soon!

[ericsonclan]

Christmas Is The Time To Fall In Love

Summary: Louis tries to convince Marlon, Mitch, and Violet to go to the mall thinking that they can all get girlfriends.

Word Count: 2096

Read on AO3:

“I’m so booooored,” Louis groaned as he dangled upside down on his bed. His eyes stared blankly at his wall. He soon looked over to see that Violet was busy spinning a pencil on the top of her finger while Mitch and Marlon played a card game. “I said I’m bored.”

“We heard you the first time, Lou,” Violet grumbled.

“Well then you have to help me, I think it's a fatal case,” Louis dramatically draped his hand on his forehead.

“Can I have your cards if you croak?” Mitch glanced up after placing down a card that made Marlon swear.

“No! All my cards will be split between my blonde besties,” Louis huffed.

“I don’t want your stinkin’ cards,” Violet commented then leaned back in the chair. “Guess that means Mitch will have to fight Marlon for the cards,” She smirked over at her friends.

“Heh, I can kick his ass,” Mitch had a smug expression on his lips until Marlon placed down a card that messed everything up.

“I don’t know, I have some tricks up my sleeve,” Marlon’s eyes shone with confidence.

Louis watched his friends banter then glanced out the window to see the snow falling down. He didn’t want to go out and make a snowman or have a snowball fight. He was pretty sure that he couldn’t convince Mitch to do snow angels again considering that last time it had ended with Mitch looking like he pissed his pants. The other three had teased him relentlessly so that idea was now a bust. Louis continued to stare at the snowflakes when a thought appeared in his mind. Without really thinking he spoke. “Christmas is super romantic, so why don’t any of us have girlfriends?”

“We’re all ugly,” Violet stopped spinning around the pencil. “That’s the secret,”

“I don’t know, I think we’re pretty good-looking,” Louis countered. “Marlon is starting to get some facial hair - ladies love that,”

“Yeah, but his hair looks like that ,”

Marlon frowned at Violet’s comment. “What’s that supposed to mean? My hair is cool,”

“Maybe in the eighties,” Mitch laughed as he threw down his last card. “I win!”

“Damn it!” Marlon groaned and fell back onto the floor.

“Alright, so Vi’s answer was wrong. I think that this is the perfect time to find a girlfriend,” Louis sat up with a hopeful grin.

“Why do you say that, Lou?” Marlon poked his head up to look at his best friend.

“Because Christmas is the time to fall in love! Think about it - the snow, the singing, fireplaces, mistletoe. It’s like it was made to be the perfect time to fall in love!”

“So what, do you want to just run after girls and yell ‘I’m single’?” Mitch held a teasing smile on his lips.

“No, I’m smarter than that,” Louis huffed and jumped up to his feet.

“Are you?” Violet smirked as she continued to lean back in her chair.

“Yes, yes I am. Because we are going to the mall to find girlfriends! It will be great!” Louis beamed as he strolled forward to get his Christmas jacket.

“I don’t know, Lou,” Marlon was hesitant. “I think-”

“It’s a fucking great plan! Let’s get us some girlfriends!” Mitch jumped up, high-fiving Louis. Marlon and Violet shared a look; there was no point saying otherwise. With those two on board, they were gonna go no matter what.

It took a few minutes for Louis to pick out which holiday turtleneck he wanted to go with while he tried to convince the others to let him buy them some new holiday threads at the mall when they arrived. Violet declined immediately, disappearing into the backseat of the car while Mitch asked if this generous offer applied to any other items at the mall.

“No, just clothes,” Louis looked back through the rearview mirror at his friends.

“Then I’m good,” Mitch readjusted his jacket then got comfortable in his spot.

“I might pass too, I think I’m getting too nervous. My hands are sweaty,” Marlon mumbled as he rubbed his hands together.

“Damn, no one wants to take advantage of my holiday generosity. Well, then I guess you will just have to apologize by singing along to Christmas music with me.”

That got some groans from certain friends but once the music started Marlon soon joined in with Louis. The pair kept bouncing off of each other during the song while Mitch seemed to only join in during certain songs. Violet tried to hide the fact that she was humming and singing along softly to the music but the others seemed to know.

After what had turned out to be a loud car drive, the four of them entered the mall where the sound of Christmas music appeared, playing the same four songs that malls always played. A big Christmas tree could be seen smack dab in the center of the mall. Lights and other decorations filled the different sections around the mall while the shops held their own special decorations to try and entice customers to spend some money during this jolly holiday.

Alright! Today is the day!” Louis spun around, holding his arms out dramatically as he walked backwards in front of the other three. “By the end of the day, we will all have girlfriends!”

Violet and Marlon seemed more unsure about that but Mitch soon pumped his fist enthusiastically.

“Fuck yeah! Let’s fucking go!” He was raring to go and so Louis decided to help him out first. The group wandered through the mall, trying to find a girl that Mitch could get the nerve to go up and talk to. After what felt like forever Mitch spotted a girl he wanted to give a shot at getting to know.

“Alright, you got this!” Louis clapped Mitch on the back who stumbled forward. After a second he put on a confident smile and sauntered over, trying to act cool. The other three watched from a distance.

“I think he’s doing good,” Marlon commented as Mitch continued to converse with the girl.

“Yeah, he’s knocking it out of the park!” Louis smiled optimistically as he watched his friend lean against the wall by the girl.

“His fly is down,”

Violet’s words made the other two look over and soon spotted the fact that Mitch’s zipper was down. Marlon and Louis waved their arms, trying to get Mitch’s attention but he perceived it as them giving him some support. So he gave a cocky smile back at them then continued talking with the girl.

“So, could I get your number?” Mitch gave a smile over to the girl.

“Yeah, umm, I don’t really give my number to guys who can’t even remember to zip up their pants. Sorry,” The girl turned and walked away while Mitch stared down at his pants in shock.

“What the shit?!?” His eyes snapped up to look back at Louis and Marlon who were pointing at their pants in an attempt to help their friend but it was too late.

After that Mitch was in a mood, clearly embarrassed by it all, and decided to not bother with another try. So Louis turned to work on convincing Violet but she shut him down each step of the way. It got to the point where she hid out for a bit until Louis called to tell her that he wouldn’t try to pressure her into it anymore.

“Really? You’d hide in the bathrooms before flirting with a girl?” Mitch looked over at Violet who was more hunched over than usual.

“Shut up, I don’t like being pressured,”

“Yeah, let’s cut Vi some slack. I’ll give it a go,” Marlon offered which made Louis smile.

“Yes! Okay, time to find you a girlfriend,” Louis swung his arm over the back of Marlon’s neck. “Lead the way and we’ll support you,”

“Okay!” Marlon was pumped; he was ready to finally get up the courage to talk to a girl. That all soon dissipated though when he was standing frozen in place when he saw a pretty girl.

“Game plan time. Just go up to her and say she’s beautiful, that will be the perfect icebreaker,” Louis grabbed Marlon’s shoulders and gave him a good shake.

“Yeah, okay! Here I go!” Marlon walked forward, feeling his nerves rise. His hands were getting clammy again. He had to do it though; all he needed to say was the line that his best friend gave him.

Standing in front of the girl, Marlon took a deep breath. “I’m beautiful!” His voice rang around the general area for a second. A few awkward moments passed before Mitch burst out laughing. He clutched his sides while Marlon felt his confidence wither away; he was beyond embarrassed.

“That’s nice, I’m gonna go now,” The girl gave a friendly smile then walked away. Marlon watched her for a second before his head fell in defeat.

“Can’t win them all, buddy. But hey, A for effort!” Louis smiled at Marlon who returned it although his smile definitely looked sadder. After that Marlon called it quits which just left Louis.

“Okay, go show us how to do it,” Mitch looked over at Louis.

“Yeah, go get a girlfriend,” Violet mumbled as she took a sip of her soda.

Louis seemed more nervous than usual, his eyes searching the crowd at the mall. He didn’t really see any girl that he wanted to talk to. He didn’t get that feeling. “Nah, I’m not gonna be the guy that gets a girl while the rest of you don’t,”

Mitch gave a half-hearted laugh. “Maybe you’re just worried you’ll fuck it up like all of us,”

“I didn’t fuck up,” Violet corrected. That brought back the usual banter between Mitch and Violet until Louis spoke up again.

“So this year wasn’t the one, but don’t worry! Just watch, one Christmas all four of us will have girlfriends!” Louis declared confidently even though the other three seemed too skeptical or defeated to agree. But he was sure it would happen.

“So, when did they say they’d show up?” Marlon swayed back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Clem texted me that they just got to the parking lot, so any second now.” Louis checked his phone, staring at the text.

“There they are,” Violet smiled as she spotted the group.

Prisha was talking excitedly with Brody about their favorite kinds of Christmas decorations while Sophie seemed to be debating with Clementine on which holiday food reigned supreme. All four of them were having such a good time together that it wasn’t until they heard Louis’ voice that their conversations stopped.

“Clem!” Louis ran forward and spun his girlfriend around. Clementine laughed as she was spun round until she cupped Louis’ face and stole a kiss.

Sophie moved past the happy couple and made her way to Marlon. “Hey there, Mar. I see your head hasn’t gotten the holiday memo?”

“Holiday memo?” Marlon looked confused until Sophie stuck a Santa hat on his head.

“There we go, much more festive!” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and intertwined their fingers. While those two shared a few laughs Brody went over to greet her boyfriend. Mitch immediately gave her a hug until he noticed that she wasn’t wearing a coat.

Brody seemed to pick up on his concern. “My coat got a tear in it but it's fine, it's not that cold,”

“Yeah, so I won’t need my jacket,” Mitch took off his jacket and wrapped it around Brody’s shoulder. “Looks better on you anyways,”

Brody blushed at those words then gave him a soft kiss.

Violet watched the other couples for a minute before she heard the warm cadence of her girlfriend’s voice.

“You are looking lovely,” Prisha strolled over, casually holding both of Violet’s hands in hers.

Violet felt her face heat up at that. “Thanks, you look great too,”

Prisha smiled at that and stole a quick kiss. She was about to say something more but was soon interrupted.

“Alright, it’s time for some holiday fun!” Louis declared as he wrapped his arms around Clementine’s shoulders. “Who wants to lead the way?”

“Oh! Me and Mars Bar will!” Sophie grinned then started to walk forward with Marlon. Quickly the other couples followed them. All of them talked happily, giving their input on what they wanted to do at the mall today. Violet watched silently for a few seconds, a soft smile on her face. Turns out Louis had been right after all.

[ericsonclan]

A Moment in a Flower Field

Summary: Marlon takes Sophie to a field of flowers to help with her art block.

Word Count: 1004

Read on AO3:

Notes: Got inspired by a Marlon post from @omydarlinclementine and wrote this

“It’s just a little bit further,” Marlon smiled back at Sophie before he whistled for Rosie. The pitbull barrelled forward and stopped in front of the blond. Marlon patted his legs for a second, signaling Rosie to hop up in his arms. With a small grunt he caught the pitbull and helped her up on the ledge that led to another path. After he was sure she was safe he turned back to his wife to help her up.

“Thanks, babe,” Sophie pressed a kiss to his cheek then accepted his help. As soon as she was up there she helped Marlon before the two continued forward hand in hand. Rosie quickly trotted back to them and strolled alongside Marlon as the couple enjoyed the trail. “So, are you gonna tell me what’s at the end of this walk?”

“Hmmm, I think I’m gonna keep it a secret,” Marlon leaned over and shared a kiss with Sophie.

“Okay, well, I’m sure it’s gonna be good,” Sophie swayed their joined hands back and forth.

A twinkle of excitement danced in Marlon’s eyes. “Yep, it will be,”

The two of them soon started up a new conversation, only being stopped whenever Rosie got distracted by a squirrel. The pitbull would charge forward wanting to play with the woodland creature but each squirrel soon scampered up the nearest tree. Rosie whined at that response, her front paws pressed against the tree trunk as she gave some barks up at the squirrel.

“Hey, Rosie, come on, the squirrel doesn’t want to be buddies right now,” Sophie gave a whistle and Rosie ran back over her way. Soaking in the love and affection, she soon forgot all about the fuzzy creatures and instead enjoyed her time with some of the humans she loved most in the world.

“Oh! Oh! Oh! We’re here, close your eyes,” Marlon instructed to which Sophie shrugged and listened. After quickly waving his hand in front of her closed eyes Marlon then guided her over. It was a bit of an awkward time getting over there. Sophie kept blindly bumping into small rocks and tree roots but she always brushed it off with a laugh.

“Okay, ready?”

“Yeah,”

“Alright, open your eyes,”

Sophie listened and felt her eyes widen when she saw that they were both standing in the middle of a flower field. As far as the eye could see were beautiful blue flowers gently swaying in the breeze.

“Holy shit, this is awesome!”

“Yes!” Marlon pumped his fist, glad to surprise his wife. “I knew you’d like it. Rosie helped me find it on one of our walks recently,” He knelt down and immediately started showering the pitbull with headscratches.

“It’s amazing,” Sophie took a step forward and let herself get lost in the awe of the moment. “Great job, you two,” She went over and gave Rosie some headpats. After a few seconds, Sophie grabbed Marlon’s hand and wandered over to the perfect spot. Once they had found it the two of them lay down together and stared up at the clouds while Rosie ran around chasing some butterflies.

“This is really nice,” Sophie looked at the lazily rolling clouds then over at her husband.

“Yeah, it is,” Marlon’s eyes stayed on Sophie’s before he grabbed a blue flower and tucked it behind her ear. “Thought it would help get you out of that art block,”

“I think it’s starting to work,” Sophie kissed Marlon’s nose then sat up. Immediately she began to gather up as many tiny blue flowers as she could.

“Inspired for some art piece?”

“Yep! And you’re the canvas. Mind if I braid your mullet?” Sophie grinned as she held up her collection of flowers.

“Sounds cool to me,” Marlon sat up and turned his back to Sophie so she could get to work. Sophie’s fingers tenderly ran through his hair before she began the process, slowly intertwining flowers into each tiny braid she made. Marlon hummed softly, leaning back against his wife.

“ I should bring my guitar here sometime,”

“Ooo yeah! And we can have a picnic, make it a whole afternoon. It would be awesome!”

“Yeah,” Marlon felt his smile grow as he watched Rosie trot back over. Time seemed to slip by as the clouds rolled through the sky. He was completely lost in the calming peace of the moment until Sophie’s voice drew his attention.

“Okay, all done,” Sophie smiled as Marlon tilted his head back and stole a kiss.

“Thanks, babe,” Marlon turned around to face her, feeling his heart overflow with all kinds of emotions as he looked at her. Everything about her made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. How her eyes sparkled whenever she got inspired by an idea, how much she got lost in her laughter at a bad joke, how she made the casual look of a hoodie, jeans and a snapback hat look so good. The little details like the groovy alien pin on her hat that radiated her positive attitude and the other bits of jewelry she wore… he was just caught up in all of it.

“Hey,”

Marlon was taken out of his thoughts by the sound of her voice. “Yeah?”

“I love you,”

Marlon felt his heart tumble happily around inside his chest when he heard that.

“So, so, so,” Sophie got up, wrapped him in a hug, lifted him up and twirled him around. “So much!” Marlon chuckled at Sophie’s romantic gesture as Rosie barked, excited for whatever was happening.

“Okay, where do you wanna go for lunch? Choose whatever you want, I’m buying!” Sophie grinned as she placed her husband back down.

“Oh, umm, I’m gonna have to think about that. But wait, don’t you wanna stay here a bit longer?” Marlon watched Sophie’s expression change at that for a second, looking a bit more guilty. “You’re hungry,”

“Yes, but! We’re coming back here as soon as we get lunch!”

“Okay,” Marlon reached out and took her hand. “Sounds good to me,”

[ericsonclan]

You’re The Crybaby

Summary: Violet tries to help Brody find her blanket when suddenly Justin appears.

Word Count: 2126

Read on AO3:

It was nap time. Which was Violet’s third favorite time right after coloring and break. The blonde scampered across the room to clean up from her reading time. Her small hands picked up the big book on stars and struggled to get it up to the tallest shelf.

“I can help!” Sophie ran forward and gave a bright smile. Picking up the heavy book with a small groan she chucked it up to the tallest shelf. The book whacked against the wooden frame of the bookshelf and looked like it would fall off but luckily it didn’t. Instead it stayed in a rather odd position in a precarious spot halfway off the shelf. Sophie looked down at Violet with her usual smile.

“Thanks,” A small smile appeared on Violet’s lips as she watched Sophie give a thumbs up and barrel towards nap time where Louis was hoarding all the pillows and blankets he could. Violet watched Louis talk with Aasim who huffed at how rude Louis was being.

“But I gotta make sure Clem is comfy!” Louis’s bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

“Everyone should be comfy!” Aasim frowned deeply at his friend. Louis was about to speak up but Ms. Martin soon intervened.

“Louis, how about you bring over one or two blankets and pillows for you and Clementine. I’m sure it will be comfy enough and if it isn't then you can always ask for more, okay?” Ms. Martin knelt before Louis to be at his eye level.

Louis studied her eyes for a second before nodding. “Okay,” He reached up and held onto Ms. Martin’s hand as he worked to hold the supplies he needed for him and Clementine. Aasim watched for a second then went back to his spot.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Brody’s panicked voice made Violet look over to her friend who was searching the backpack area. Curious why Brody was worried and concerned for her friend, Violet walked over. The auburn was so caught up in the search of her backpack with small cartoon seashells that she didn’t even notice Violet was standing behind her. That was until Violet spoke up.

“What are you doing?”

Violet’s voice startled Brody who gave a small yelp and spun around. She looked towards the blonde who had her arms crossed yet her eyes looked worried about the small tears in Brody’s eyes. “I can’t find my blankie and I need it for nap time,” Brody sniffled and brushed at her face where tears were beginning to fall down. “Can you help me? Mitch would help but he’s-”

“That’s Brody’s spot!” Mitch’s booming voice erupted across the room. Violet and Brody looked over to see the young hothead glaring at Marlon.

“I saw that spot first!” Marlon snapped back and tried to look intimidating as he stood before Mitch.

Mitch didn’t budge from his spot. “It’s Brody’s now! She just has to get her blanket!” Mitch curled his fists and continued to stare angrily at Marlon.

“I want that spot for me and Sophie!” Marlon took a step forward but Mitch immediately pushed him back.

“No!”

That angered Marlon who moved forward again only to get the same result. The two boys locked eyes for a moment and were silent until Marlon gave an angry cry and wrapped his arms around Mitch, tackling him. Mitch yelled back just as loudly as he whacked Marlon’s back. Soon the two were rolling around, demanding the other give up the nap spot. Sophie cheered on Marlon and Renata decided to be on Mitch’s side while Omar tried to intervene to stop the fighting. He wasn’t successful though and soon ended up in the pillow pile that Louis had been planning to sneak over to him and Clementine later.

Brody watched on for a moment and felt her panic rise. Everything was going wrong. First she couldn’t find her blankie and now Mitch was fighting Marlon which meant he would go in the timeout corner. More tears began to slip down Brody’s face as her breathing became more uneven.

Violet picked up on that fact and tried to figure out a way to help Brody. “Just breathe. Take deep breaths and rub the spot around your heart,” Violet did the motion first so that Brody would understand what she meant. “Prisha says that helps. It does whenever I’m feeling that way.”

Brody gave a shaky nod and tried to take deep breaths. Slowly her breathing became rhythmic as she rubbed the spot by her heart. Violet gave a small smile, proud of her friend for getting rid of those mean feelings when suddenly a voice appeared.

“Are you crying again?” Justin walked forward with his usual mean smile. “You’re always such a crybaby,” He looked over at Brody who was clearly deeply hurt by his words. New tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head back and forth.

“No, I’m not! I’m just sad about Blankie and-”

“Crybaby! Crybaby!” Justin pointed at Brody and laughed. Brody’s tears grew at those words and she gave Justin a push that made him stumble back before she ran off.

Violet took a step forward and reached out her hand, wanting Brody to come back. A sad frown pulled on the corners of her lips as she watched Brody hide herself away under Ms. Martin’s chair. The rest of the class was still too busy pulling apart Mitch and Marlon. Ms. Martin’s voice could be heard scolding the two boys who were both really mad at each other. Violet glanced at Ms. Martin, wondering if she should get help when Justin spoke again.

“She’s such a crybaby,”

Justin’s mockery angered Violet. She didn’t want anyone saying mean things about her friends. “And she named a blanket Blankie. I bet she ran off to cry again,” Justin turned to smile over at Violet but was immediately met with a punch to his face. The force of the attack made him stumble back and fall on his butt.

“Brody isn’t a crybaby! You are!” Violet glared down at the boy who had tears in his eyes.

“Nuh uh! I’m telling Ms. Martin!” Justin scampered up to his feet and ran off. Moments later Ms. Martin was in front of Violet giving her a lecture about how it was wrong to hit people.

“You can’t just go hitting people, Violet. That’s not right. We use our words and if someone is still being mean then you come and get me for help,” Ms. Martin guided Violet over to one of the timeout corners where Marlon was curled up in a ball, a large pout on his lips. Violet was silent and didn’t respond while Ms. Martin talked. Instead she sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“Now you’re going to be in timeout and once you come back you’re going to say sorry to Justin,” Ms. Martin looked over at Violet who held a deep frown.

“He called Brody a crybaby! I’m not saying sorry!” Violet didn’t look up at Ms. Martin.

Ms. Martin gave a long, tired sigh. “Well, you will once your timeout is done. Just like how Marlon is going to apologize to Mitch,” Her eyes wandered over to Marlon who still looked really upset. With another sigh Ms. Martin walked off to start nap time for the others.

After a few minutes most of the kids were napping. Duck was happily off in dreamland while Oakley was laying down spread eagle. Aasim was out like a light next to Ruby who was holding onto Brody’s hand who was sitting up, still sad about her blanket being missing.

As for Louis, he was trying to be sneaky and visit his two best friends. Of course he wanted nap time with Clementine but he hated seeing Marlon and Violet look so sad. So when he was positive Ms. Martin wasn’t looking, he rolled over and began to caterpillar crawl over towards Marlon and Violet. He was sure if he got over there he could get them to smile again. In fact, he bet he could spend a whole ten minutes there before Ms. Martin even knew he was gone.

“Louis,”

Ms. Martin’s voice made Louis stop mid- caterpillar crawl. He looked up to see Ms. Martin next to Sophie who was wrapped in a burrito blanket and had tried to make a roll for it towards Marlon.

“It’s nap time. You can see Marlon and Violet after they’re done with timeout. Okay?” Ms. Martin’s eyes made it clear that he was going to go back to nap time. With a sad nod Louis along with Sophie went back to their spots. Ms. Martin sat back down at her desk with a long sigh. She really hoped another kid wouldn’t try anything during nap time.

She was wrong.

A loud thud made Ms. Martin’s eyes shoot up to see Prisha standing by the bookshelf, a book by her feet. The young child looked over at Ms. Martin and locked eyes with her as her hand wandered up and pulled down another book. Prisha repeated this again and again, clearly wanting to get in trouble. Ms. Martin had a pretty good idea why.

With a groan Ms. Martin got up and began to walk over towards Prisha. Prisha continued her misbehavior when suddenly her elbow bumped against the shelf, causing the large book on stars to fall down with a harsh sound. The book had fallen while open, causing some of the pages to be crumpled. Prisha let out a scream and knelt down to unwrinkle the pages to the book until Ms. Martin stood before her.

“Prisha, that was really rude. The others are trying to nap like you should be doing. Anything to say for yourself?” Ms. Martin looked into Prisha’s eyes.

The small child stood her ground and puffed out her chest. “I’m not sorry!” Prisha yelled.

Ms. Martin ran a hand down her face. Why the kids were being so wild today she had no idea. “Fine, then you’ll have to have a timeout,” Ms. Martin noticed the smug smile appear on Prisha’s lips. “In the corner with Mitch,”

The smile immediately disappeared and was replaced with shock. “That’s not fair! I wanna be with Violet!”

“Well, you could’ve been with Violet sooner if you behaved,” Ms. Martin replied simply as she guided Prisha over towards the corner where Mitch had a scowl on his face. Prisha’s face fell and she sat down with a huff, her arms crossing as her braid swayed. “You’re going to stay here and once time out is done you’re going to clean up the mess you made, alright?”

Prisha was silent, clearly still upset that her “master” plan hadn’t worked.

“Alright?” “Alright,” Prisha frowned and dramatically flopped onto the floor.

Ms. Martin stared at her for a second then shook her head and walked off.

After a few minutes Prisha sat up again and looked across the room where Violet was glancing her way. The two shared a small, soft smile then waited as patiently as they could for timeout to be done.

It felt like an eternity for the timeout to be done for the four kids but once it was they all apologized and decided to not let anything mess with coloring time.

After Prisha helped clean up the books she dashed over to grab some crayons with the help of Clementine. The two talked excitedly about what they were going to draw today while Violet went to grab some paper. When she reached the table where the blank pieces of paper were she noticed Brody.  

The auburn bounced on the balls of her feet for a second, her eyes on the ground before they traveled up to Violet’s. “Thanks for standing up to Justin.”

“It’s no big deal. He’s a poopiehead,” Violet glanced away and brushed off Brody’s thanks even though it meant alot to hear those words. She moved forward to grab some paper when suddenly Brody wrapped her arms around Violet. Violet froze, her eyes growing large as she registered the hug.

“He is a poopiehead, but you’re not. You’re cool!” Brody held onto the hug for a little while longer before pulling back.

Violet gave a quick warm smile then looked behind her to see that Louis had already set out a whole spot for coloring time. “Wanna color with me?”

Brody beamed and nodded excitedly. Violet led the way towards the table where Louis immediately greeted them with a grin. Soon all the drama of the day melted away as the kids happily colored together, their minds solely focus on coloring time and the joy that came with it.

[ericsonclan]

We Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Summary: Marley and Raylan stay up and hide by the staircase to spy on Santa when he comes to visit.

Word Count: 1533

Read on AO3:

“Shhhh, do you want Santa to hear you and not even come?” Marley glared at her older brother as he plodded over in his onesie and joined her by the banister above the staircase.

Raylan cocked his head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t he come just cause he heard me?”

“He’d be hearing you spying and spying is bad,” Marley lifted the binoculars to her eyes and looked down at the first floor, keeping an eye out for any movement.

“Well, if spying is so bad, why are we doing it right on Christmas Eve? We could lose everything!”

“Bad stuff only counts if you’re caught. So don’t get caught,” Marley eyed the baby monitor expectantly. “Is the spy gear working?”

Raylan nodded excitedly. “Yeah. Both sets needed new batteries, but I found some. I took them out of the smoke alarm in our room,”

“Smart,” Marley chuckled to herself as she scoured the lower floor through her binoculars. “We’ll be able to hear Santa the second he comes down the chimney!”

The children waited in silent anticipation from the dark second floor, listening for any sign of jolly old Saint Nick. They could hear their mom in the kitchen heating up hot cocoa and talking excitedly to Rosie.

“That’s right, Rosie! One more night then you and Ferdie get to open up your very own stockings and eat all the treats you can fit in your mouth!”

Ferdinand the Japanese Chin who’d been asleep at the foot of the stairs perked up at the sound of his name and padded over toward the kitchen. As he passed down the hallway, Marley and Raylan rolled back and curled up in tight balls, afraid that Ferdie might spot them and bark, revealing their location. Once the coast was clear they unrolled themselves and crawled back over to the banister.

“Wanna switch?” Raylan held out the baby monitor from which faint, garbled static emitted.

Marley considered the offer for a second then nodded, handing over the binoculars. She sat with the baby monitor cradled against her ear, desperately listening for ant sort of sound that might mean Santa was near.

Suddenly there was a knock upon the front door that just about scared the pair out of their skin. They scooted back on their butts out of the light, looking at one another and wondering who could be coming to visit so late at night – it was almost 10.

“Oooh, we’ve got company!” Sophie scurried over to the front door and opened it without hesitation. There stood Marlon, decked out in a full Santa suit, beard and pot belly with a huge sack of present slung over his shoulder. Sophie smiled at her husband mischievously. “Why, Santa! I was hoping you’d come around tonight,”

“Ho ho ho!” Marlon carefully navigated the sack of presents through the doorway then shimmied forward. He was about to lean forward and steal a kiss from his wife when Rosie and Ferdie came barreling toward him, barking joyously. Marlon knelt down to pet his dogs and chuckled as they tried their best to lick his face through the beard. “What good dogs you have!”

“The best in the world,” Sophie smiled as she watched Rosie do her best to topple Marlon to the ground while Ferdie tried to climb his back.

“A little hand?” Marlon looked up pleadingly though the twinkle in his eye told Sophie he was enjoying the attention.

Sophie picked up Ferdie in her arms then whistled for Rosie. “Come on, you two, let’s give Santa a break and let him get to work,” She headed toward the kitchen while Marlon toted the sack of presents into the living room. “There’s milk and cookies waiting for you in there, Santa, and I’ll bring you some hot cocoa in just a minute!”

Marley and Raylan watched in wonder as their mom and Santa chatted together like old friends.

“Dude,” Raylan whispered excitedly, “Mom knows Santa?!”

“Maybe he knows all the parents,” Marley replied, her eyes still glued to the mythical figure. “Y’know, so they’ll let him in the house and stuff.” She turned to her brother in confusion. “But why didn’t he come down the chimney? Santa always uses the chimney. That’s part of his magic!”

“Shh!” Raylan pressed a finger to Marley’s lips, worried she was getting too loud. Marley was perplexed for a second but then nodded in understanding and returned to observing Santa.

Santa was in their living room now, placing presents around the tree. Ferdie had returned and was still trying to climb Santa but his leaps in the air couldn’t rocket him farther than Santa’s butt. Santa would turn around from time to time and give the dog a few pats, commenting on what a good boy he was.

Meanwhile their mom was bringing in hot chocolate which she set beside the sugar cookies and milk. She joined Santa in unpacking presents and sticking them under the tree. “I see you’ve been sampling the sugar cookies already,”

“Yep, I couldn’t resist. They’re delicious, ho ho ho!”

Marley and Raylan beamed at each other. They had worked all morning making the cookies with Mom for Santa’s arrival tonight. They listened with rapt attention as Santa went on about how good the cookies were, the binoculars and baby monitor cast aside and forgotten.

Once the presents had all been tucked under the tree, Santa joined their mom over by the fireplace to enjoy the rest of the milk, cookies and hot cocoa. The siblings strained to hear the conversation, their faces poking as far out as they could between the rails on the banister. Suddenly Santa burped then clutched pot belly. “Ho ho ho, what a delicious meal! Well, I should be off. There’s still plenty of houses to visit tonight,” Lifting his now empty sack, he headed toward the front door but their mom stopped him in the hallway.

“A kiss for the road?”

“I don’t see why not,” Leaning forward, Santa caught their mom’s lips in a kiss.

           Raylan and Marley looked at each other in horror. Santa was kissing Mom! What would Dad think if he saw? They had to put a stop to this!

The “goodbye” kiss was warm and wonderful. Pulling back, Sophie smiled at her husband. “Who knew kissing Santa would be so sexy?”

Marlon waggled his eyebrows. “Would you like another?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Sophie closed her eyes, leaning in for another smooch when suddenly a wild ruckus came from upstairs and Marley and Raylan came flying down the stairs.

“Get away from my mom!” Raylan yelled and kicked Marlon right in the shin.

“You’re gross, Santa! You’re the bad man!” Marley cried, punching Marlon’s gut before pulling at his beard. The cheap beard came off in an instant though and she pulled back in shock. “Dad?!”

Raylan pulled back from his latest kick, his mouth gaping open in confusion. “You’re not Santa?”

“Oof, no, I’m not, buddy,” Marlon groaned as he plopped down on the floor; the kids had really given him a walloping. He quickly noticed the concern in Sophie’s eyes though and amended his statement. “I mean, I help Santa sometimes on years when he gets really busy,”

“That’s why you came through the front door instead of the fireplace?” Marley asked, looking uncertain at this sudden turn of events.

“That’s right, honey,” Marlon smiled at his daughter, reaching out to gently take her hand. “Don’t worry, the real Santa will be by later to drop off the rest of the presents. I was just helping him out a little,”

Raylan’s eyes widened in excitement. “So if we stay up later that means we’ll get to see the real Santa come down our chimney?”

“Oh no,” Sophie came up behind her son, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Santa comes by reeeeally late at night, far too late for you two to be staying up,”

“Awww, but now we’re too excited to go to sleep!” Marley protested, making her best puppy dog eyes.

Marlon and Sophie shared a look; Sophie sighed. “Fine, you can stay up five more minutes,”

“Yus!” Raylan pumped his fist in victory. “Let’s go shake our presents and guess what’s inside!”

“Oh no you don’t,” Marlon caught his son and gently redirected him towards the kitchen. “You both can have a cup of hot cocoa then back to bed,”

“But Daaaaaaaad,” the kids whined.

“Don’t push your luck,” Sophie gave her children the best stink eye she could muster before her expression melted into a smile once more as the kids raced each other to the kitchen. “Careful with the ladle!” she called after them.

Marlon chuckled and wrapped his arms round his wife from behind, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “That was a close one,”

“Yeah. But they still believe in Santa and that’s what matters,”

“And we gave them a memory that will last a lifetime,”

“Speaking of, are you gonna need an ice pack?”

“Yeah,” A soft groan left Marlon’s lips but his eyes were still bright with laughter. “Merry Christmas, Sophie,”

Sophie grinned and kissed her husband’s cheek right above his lopsided beard. “Merry Christmas,”

[ericsonclan]

An Odd Napping Spot

Summary: Sophie decides to play a game with her dog but it ends up going wrong.

Word Count: 1202

Read on AO3:

It was quiet in the house, something that was rare for the Davis household. Sophie let out a sharp yawn, stretching her arms high above her head. Glancing down, she knew she had gone overboard this time with her day off. Bits of caramel and popcorn kernels were all over her clothes.

“Shit, guess I got too excited, huh, Ferdie?” Sophie smiled over at her dog who gave a yawn in response before rolling over on the floor. His tail flopped over before he noticed Rosie and trotted over towards the pitbull. Sophie watched in amusement as the two dogs started to play together. Leaning over, she checked her phone. Based on the time she had a little less than an hour before Marlon came home with the kids. With a grunt Sophie got up, carefully holding her shirt to make sure she didn’t get crumbs on the ground.

“Alright, Rosie, Ferdie, it’s cleanup time before everyone gets home,” Sophie walked into the kitchen where the two dogs followed her. Brushing the caramel bits and kernels into the trash she then walked around gathering up stuff she had haphazardly thrown about in her moments of excitement at her day off. It didn’t take long for her to clean up. Her two happy helpers seemed more than proud of their assistance of simply following her around. After a little while Sophie had cleaned up everything with a few minutes to spare.

“Okay, everything’s good. What should we-'' She paused when she felt a kernel stuck in between her teeth. Sophie tried her best to defeat the prickly foe by slapping it with her tongue but it was no use. With a defeated sigh she wandered into the downstairs bathroom to get some dental floss. “Come on, you little sneaky turd,” Sophie valiantly fought against the kernel and after some quick maneuvering she had gotten the sucker out. “Ha! You see that, Ferdie!” She smiled over at the chin dog who did a little spin, happily mistaking her tone for snack time. Sophie gave a soft chuckle and was about to stroll out and wait on the couch for her husband and kids when suddenly an idea entered her mind. With a playful smile she moved the bathroom door to block her face then pulled it back, revealing herself to her dog. Ferdie was completely shocked by this, his eyes huge. That sight made Sophie’s smile grow and so she continued the game.

“Peek a boo!” Sophie hid her face then revealed it again. “Gotcha again, Ferdie!”

The dog barked excitedly, his tail wagging at this new game. The shenanigans continued for a few minutes, both participants having way too much fun with it until Sophie suddenly pulled back the door too fast, causing it to whack into her face. The force of this caused her to fall to the floor, unconscious. Ferdie tilted his head, eyeing the redhead for a second before pitter pattering over and licking her face. After a second the dog settled down by her face, giving a sharp yawn then placing his head on his paws. Ferdie only got to rest a few minutes though before the front door was kicked open.

“We’re free!” Marley crowed then immediately kicked off her shoes before barreling up the stairs.

“Marley Davis! Get your butt back down here and put your shoes away!” Marlon called out to his daughter. After a second she walked down the stairs with a pout on her face. While Marlon worked to get Marley to take a few seconds to put away her shoes and backpack, Raylan wandered forward.

“Mom? Mom, we’re home. We want our welcome back hugs,” Raylan poked his head into the kitchen but felt a frown pull down his lips when he didn’t see his mom. He kept searching until he heard Rosie and Ferdie run forward. The dogs immediately showered him with a warm welcome making Raylan laugh loudly before Ferdie tore down the hallway towards the bathroom.

“Ferdie! Wait!” Raylan called out with a happy laugh then skidded to a halt when he spotted his mom passed out on the floor. His eyes grew large, his lips parting, mouth ajar until it dawned on him. “Oh. Oh!” Raylan covered his mouth. He couldn’t wake his mom, she was taking a nap. Still it was a weird place to sleep; her face was right by the toilet. But his mom always told him to not judge people so he wasn’t gonna do that now. “Come on, Ferdie, Mom is taking a nap,” Raylan took a few steps back before he realized that he should find a blanket or something. He started to look around here and there when suddenly he heard his dad’s voice.

“Hey, Raylan, wanna help me get dinner ready?”

Raylan’s eyes sparkled at that. He was excited for dinner tonight. Ribs took forever but they sure were tasty.

“Yeah! I’ll be right there!” Raylan called back then grabbed the first thing he could use as a blanket and tossed it over his mom. Scampering off he could barely contain his excitement to help out his dad, leaving behind his mom with a towel covering her face and Ferdie resting on her chest.

Sophie woke up to the smell of something delicious. A smokey, comforting BBQ smell filled the air, stirring her from her sleep. With a groan she opened her eyes only to panic when she could see nothing. Sophie’s heartbeat skyrocketed for a second as she wondered if knocking yourself out with a door could make you go blind.

“Ferdie! I think I’m bli-” Sophie stopped when she sat up and whatever was on her face fell down into her lap along with the chin dog who seemed upset at being woken up from his nap. Sophie blinked a few times, letting her eyes readjust to the light before she noticed the towel. “What the hell?” Sophie got up with a deep breath, wandering towards the smell of food and the sounds of her family talking loudly in the kitchen. When she entered, Marley and Raylan’s faces both immediately brightened and they barrelled forward, tackling their mom in a hug.

“You’re awake!” Raylan beamed up at Sophie.

“Yeah, I am,” Sophie ruffled both of her kids’ hair then looked over at the clock, shocked when it read that it was nearly seven.

“Hey, babe, did you have a good nap?” Marlon walked forward and gave Sophie a quick kiss before his eyes caught sight of the bruise on her forehead. “How did you get that?”

Sophie gave a small laugh. “Yeah, about that... it’s pretty stupid,” She grinned then turned the topic elsewhere. “So, we’re having ribs tonight?” “Yep! Thought I’d surprise you since you’ve been working so hard on your latest art exhibit,” Marlon gave a loving smile and was pleasantly surprised when Sophie gave him a kiss.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” She mirrored his smile then looked down at her kids. “Who’s ready for ribs?” Me! Me! Me!” Both Raylan and Marley chimed and soon the family got into the setup routine for dinner, excited to share about their days as they sat and ate together.

[ericsonclan]

Way Up

Summary: Marlon takes some time before school to swing around the streets of New York.

Word Count: 1633

Read on AO3:

Marlon glanced ahead at bright morning sunlight that shone upon the great city of New York. His left leg dangled off the edge of the roof that he was sitting on while his right arm rested on his other knee. His gaze turned to look around the city, seeing the big, impressive buildings that filled the streets. The sounds of businesses opening up and traffic filled the air as New York began to wake up.

The blond tilted his head back, letting the wind blow through his mullet and allowing himself a few seconds to enjoy this moment. After a minute Marlon opened his eyes. The smell of the breakfast burrito drew his gaze over to the remnants of his breakfast that was tucked away in his hand. Unwrapping the last bit, he tossed it in his mouth then hopped up. School wasn’t starting for another hour or so which meant he had a bit of free time. It was time to swing around the city as Hacklemesh.

Picking up his mask, Marlon secured it over his head before chucking the trash from breakfast into a dumpster down below. He took a moment, inhaling a deep breath before exhaling. The morning sun shone on his grey and black suit and especially seemed to favor the white webbing on it, making it shine especially bright.

With a grin hidden behind his mask, Hacklemesh took a few steps back then sprinted forward. Putting all of his power into his feet, he leapt high into the sky. His arms extended out as he fell for a moment before he tucked his arms to his side and dove towards the ground. Once he’d almost reached the ground he shot out a web that attached to the side of a building in an instant. With a mighty pull Hacklemesh sent himself back up amongst the pigeons of New York.

Another whoosh of a spider web and a tug upon it made it clear that he had successfully hit another building. Hacklemesh threw himself even further up into the sky then tucked his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, making himself a small ball that spun downwards at a rapid pace. With a swift shot Hacklemesh secured another web to swing on and with another move he swung up into the air once more, doing a small twirl in the process.

Folding his legs, Hacklemesh leaned back and did a series of backflips mid-air. In an instant he webbed a lamp post and used it to propel himself towards the bright sky again. Hacklemesh placed one arm in front of him and the other behind his back, his legs tucked as he spun around in a circle a few times then sent another web towards a building. After a few more air tricks and well-placed jumps Hacklemesh reached the Empire State Building. With an excited smile lost to the world, he sprinted up the side of the building, his arms moving alongside the movement of his feet as he reached the top of the iconic New York landmark in moments.

As soon as he reached the top Hacklemesh leapt off, giving a loud cry of pure joy. “WOOOOOOOOOO!” Hacklemesh threw his head back and shot a few random webs in the air before letting himself freefall, waiting for the final moment to shoot out the next web that would swing him to safety.

Suddenly he heard the sounds of gunfire and the frantic cries of civilians. His eyes snapped over in the direction of the noises and noticed a car haphazardly driving down the street. Shooting out a web, Hacklemesh zipped over towards the car.

“Fuck! It’s one of those spider freaks!” The driver’s voice cracked from fear as he tried to get rid of Hacklemesh who was slowly but surely closing the distance.

“I’ll get rid of the little shit!” A voice appeared from inside the car and soon a masked individual poked their head out and started spraying bullets towards the spider hero. Hacklemesh spun out of the way then used webbing to redirect himself back on the right path. After dodging a few more attacks, Hacklemesh snagged the roof of the car with a web and pulled himself onto the car with a harsh thunk.

“You little bitch!” Another person poked his head out of the car and aimed the gun directly at the spider hero’s face.

With his quick reflexes, Hacklemesh veered clear of the deadly shot and stuck to the side of the car where the shooter was. Landing a heavy punch to the thug’s head, he knocked him out and quickly wrapped him in a mess of lumpy, odd webs before shooting two webs towards a building. Attaching them to the thug’s back, Hacklemesh let the webs yank him, sending the man flying through the sky. One down, two to go.

Hacklemesh quickly repeated the same tactic with the other shooter. With two shooters gone the spider hero focused on finding a way to stop the car when all of a sudden the driver pulled out a gun and started shooting wildly. He had to be dealt with, now. Hacklemesh’s hands grabbed the edge of one of the windows opposite the driver. With a mighty swing he crashed through the shotgun window, shattering all the glass and letting his feet collide with the driver’s face. The driver groaned in pain and fell out of the car, tumbling onto the ground.

Hacklemesh didn’t have time to check how badly the thug had gotten hurt though; the car quickly tilted on its side due to its lack of a driver. Sparks flew in the sky from metal scraping harshly against the asphalt of the street. He had to act fast.

Just as the car flung itself into the air, Hacklemesh slid underneath it and with his arms outstretched caught the car before it could harm the nearby citizens. His legs buckled as the full weight of the car applied pressure throughout his body. He couldn’t stop now though. Slowly he lifted up the car and gently placed it down. Or at least as gently as he could.

Hacklemesh took a deep breath and was about to swing away when he heard the happy cheers of the citizens. Looking behind him, he noticed just how many civilians were surrounding him as well as the news crew that had arrived on the scene as quickly as always.

Hacklemesh could feel his nerves rising as questions were directed towards him at a rapid pace. It was all becoming too much but he had to keep calm. He had a horrible habit of shooting out a bunch of webs as a defensive mechanism whenever he got too stressed. He couldn’t risk injuring others. His mind tried to keep track of the conversation when suddenly a citizen spoke up above the rest.

“I love you, Hacklemesh!”

“And I love you, random citizen!” Hacklemesh pointed at the citizen and froze, a bit embarrassed by the whole exchange. His eyes scanned the crowd, unsure what to do until they landed on a nearby clock in a shop. Shit, school was starting in the next few minutes. With a half-assed goodbye Hacklemesh shot a web and swung away, hoping he wouldn’t be late to school.

Sophie watched the news in awe. A piece of toast dangled out of her mouth as her eyes remained glued to the TV screen. A clip of Hacklemesh played on the screen. The way he took down those thugs and how he had caught that car and placed it back onto the ground... It was one of the most badass things Sophie had ever seen outside of her and Minnie’s feats as spider heroes.

“Soph!” Minnie’s frantic voice made Sophie glance over to see her twin struggling to put on her shoes. It was obvious Minnie was extremely anxious because her finger immediately became stuck to the shoes with an iron grip. “Help me so we aren’t late for school!”

“On it!” Sophie mumbled as the piece of toast bounced up and down in her mouth. With a  toss she munched down on the jam-covered slice and inhaled it before helping her sister. Quickly the two were out the door and on their way to school.

On the way there Sophie continued to gush about how badass and cool Hacklemesh was this morning. Minnie nodded along but it was clear she just wanted to have her worries about being late be misplaced. Sprinting down the hall, the twins noticed Renata who immediately joined them in their running and started to flirt with Minnie. Minnie became a flustered mess, trying to remain calm enough that her webs wouldn’t make her get stuck to her locker as she grabbed her books for the first class.

Sophie was about to comment on something that Renata said as the three of them walked into their first class when she spotted Marlon sliding into the classroom, his eyes panicked. After a moment of catching his breath, he noticed Sophie. “Hey there, Soph,” Marlon gave a casual smile.

“Hey, Mar,” Sophie’s smile faded for a moment as a look of curiosity appeared on her face. Reaching her hand up, she pulled a leaf from Marlon’s hair. “Did you take a nap in a tree before class?” Sophie gave a teasing smile which made Marlon’s heart flutter. His eyes immediately glanced away.

“Something like that,” Turning away, Marlon walked over to his seat and sat down just as class started. With one more deep breath he let his shoulders relax. That was close; he had almost been late. If one thing became clear to him once more thanks to today, it was this: being a hero was anything but easy.

[ericsonclan]

A Mysterious Bundle

Summary: Louis and Marlon return from a quest with a mysterious acquisition.

Word Count: 5833

Read on AO3: 

“Maisy Mason, you get your ass down from that rigging right now!” Clementine scowled up at her eldest child, her hand on her hip.

Maisy peered down from amongst the ropes, smiling innocently. “What is it, Mama?”

Did you or did you not fill Zachariah’s hammock with potato peels last night?”

“Uncle Omar said to get rid of them-”

“Not in a hammock he didn’t! Now you get down here right this instant!”

Maisy was loath to do so but soon scurried down, little whimpers and sobs escaping her lips as she approached her mother.

“No crocodile tears, today. You know that won’t work with me like it does with your father. Now hold on to my other pant leg while I decide what to do with you,”

Maisy obliged, ignoring the curious gaze of her two year old brother Lee Kenny as he clung to his mother’s right pant leg for support in standing up.

Clementine’s eyes scanned the ship, looking for some task to assign her daughter as punishment. Over by the cartography room, Aasim was still picking potato peels off his five year old son’s back. Ruby was steering the ship, her daughter Savannah sleeping peacefully in the sling on her back and Willy was up in the crows nest with Allison. Violet and Prisha were heading off somewhere hand in hand. Clementine called out. “Vi, where you two heading?”

Violet turned around. “Nowhere really. Just scraping barnacles off the side of Ol’ Kickass.”

Perfect. “I have a volunteer who’ll join you!”

“Nooooo, Mom, anything but that!” Maisy begged, looking up at her mother with pleading eyes. “Barnacle duty is soooo boring!”

“That’s why it’s your punishment. Now scoot!” Clementine nudged her daughter forward and Maisy trudged off in dejection, walking beneath Violet and Prisha’s joined hands to the edge of the ship.

“Mama?” Lee Kenny wiggled round, tugging at Clementine’s pant leg.

“What is it, baby?”

“Poopoo,”

Clementine sighed and picked her son up. Her peg leg clacked against the wooden planks of the ship as she carried him over toward the head. Potty training was a process, especially at sea. Eventually Lee Kenny would be able to go on his own though and she’d be able to say goodbye to the poopy diapers and soiled pants stage of her life. That day couldn’t come soon enough.

Once Lee Kenny was done on the potty, Clementine decided to take a break from his walking practice and opted to carry her son on her hip, humming a soft tune to him as she looked out at the open sea. She’d expect Louis and Marlon home by now. They’d said something about a potential bounty and left early this morning. Surely if there was anything to find they would have succeeded by now. Clementine was about to give up her search when she heard a sharp whistle overhead.

“The captain and first mate off the port bow!” Willy declared, his spyglass pointed to the south. Clementine looked off in the same direction, squinting. She could only make out a speck, but that must be them. Clementine hurried over to the entrance below decks. “Sophie! Louis and Marlon are almost back!”

A clattering could be heard from the sleeping quarters before Sophie shot out, her son Raylan barreling underfoot and her daughter Marley on her shoulders. Sophie emerged above decks with a joyous laugh. “Finally!” I was going stir crazy on kiddo duty,” Her hair stuck out at odd angles, filled with all sort of ribbons and knickknacks Marley had decided to decorate it with.

“Dad’s back!” Raylan exclaimed, racing over to watch his return.

“Not so close to the edge, Raylan! Remember what happened last time!” Sophie warned. She and Clementine shared a sympathetic, frazzled glance before walking over to join him.

Eventually the boat arrived. As soon as Marlon reached the deck he swept his wife and children up in a hug, pressing kisses to all their faces and chuckling as his children peppered him with questions. Rosie and Sophie’s monkey Eight who’d tagged along on the adventure as well, were right behind him. Rosie slobbered all over Raylan’s face in greeting then got on her hind legs in attempt to reach Marley who reached down towards her with a laugh. Eight scrambled off of Rosie’s back and climbed up Sophie’s leg till he reached Marley and could give the toddler a hug.

Louis was a bit slower in his climb. He seemed to be holding some sort of parcel to his chest carefully as though he feared he would break it. As he emerged on deck, he smiled warmly over at his wife and son. “We’re back! Did you miss us?”

“Daddyyyy!” Lee Kenny wriggled in his mother’s arms, signaling he wanted down. As soon as his feet hit the floor he waddled over as fast as he could to his father, clinging happily to his pant leg.

Louis beamed down at his son. “Look who’s gotten so good at walking! Great job, kiddo!”

“Is that the bounty?” Clementine asked, nodding to the bundle Louis held.

“Not quite. The bounty turned out to be a no go but we found something else that we had to bring back with us,” The look in Louis’ eyes was uncertain but hopeful.

Clementine raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly is that?”

Louis lowered the bundle in his arms enough so Clementine could see what lay inside. There slept a baby with dark brown skin and a full head of hair.

Clementine looked up in shock. “Whose baby is this?”

“Well, considering that she had nobody when we found her, I guess she’s ours,”

“She?”

“Her name is Juliet,” Louis smiled down at the baby in his arms, clearly already smitten.

“Back up. Tell me exactly what happened that led to you bringing a baby back onboard. Start from the beginning,”

Louis and Marlon shared a look. Louis cleared his throat then began. “Well, I guess you could say it all started this morning when we headed out for that bounty mission off the coast of Bluff’s Point…”

---

“So what exactly did the description of the quest say again?” Marlon asked as he rowed out toward Crab Isle.

Louis paused his rowing to fish the pamphlet out of his pocket. “Wanted: hunters to acquire crab meat from the famous Gurlinder crabs of Crab Isle. Will pay top dollar for the real deal,”

“So it’s an exotic meal quest. We’ve done those before. I wonder what makes the crabs so expensive,”

“Rarity probably,” Louis shrugged. “It’s not the most exciting quest we’ve ever taken on, but with so many mouths to feed on Ol’ Kickass we don’t have the luxury to be picky anymore. Besides, whatever crabs we don’t sell we can cook up ourselves,”

“How do we know we’re grabbing a Gurlinder crab and not just a regular crab?”

Louis squinted. “Well, according to the description, Gurlinder crabs have yellow top halves, red bottom halves and blue arms. That sounds pretty distinctive to me,”

Rosie barked in agreement. Louis grinned and reached out to give her some pats before rejoining the rowing effort. Eight was asleep upon Marlon’s shoulder, his tail curled against the pirate’s chest. Clearly the monkey had deemed the voyage too boring and was waiting for their arrival.

“We getting close?” Marlon asked, glancing behind him.

“Yep! The island’s finally in sight,” Louis looked toward the island, its heavy forests the only visible thing at the moment. “I’d say another half hour of rowing and we’ll get there,”

Once they had reached the island and successfully pulled the rowboat ashore, the tiny crew set out in search of the famed crabs. Rosie got to work at once, her nose to the ground as she started the hunt. Eight found some crabs almost immediately but they weren’t the right ones; the monkey chased the tiny hermit crabs to and fro along the shore, eager to grasp their shiny shells. Louis and Marlon kept their eyes peeled but were having no luck.

“Think we have to dig for them?” Marlon stuck the toe of his boot in the sand, overturning a small pile.

“Hmmm, the quest flyer doesn’t have anything on the crabs’ habitat or how to locate them,” Louis squinted as if the secret was hidden somewhere between the lines on the page. “You’d think the people that post these would give a bit more detail,”

“Eh, rich folk never think of those things. They just pay the servants to figure details out,” Marlon glanced Louis’ way. “Except for you, of course,”

“A reformed rich boy,” Louis winked. His eyes widened though as they flitted across the sand. “Woah, did you see that? I think it was one of them!”

“Where?” Marlon spun around, doing a 360 in search of the crab.

“Right over that dune. It disappeared behind it and- there it is again! It’s huge!”

The crab was indeed massive, the size of a dinner platter. The captain and his first mate ran after it, Rosie and Eight in tow.

“That must be why they’re so valuable – the size!” Marlon exclaimed as they ran. “A crab that big could feed a whole family!”

“Imagine cracking into one of its claws! It’d be like eating a whole leg of lamb!” Louis’ breath came in little puffs as he sprinted across the beach to claim their prize. “Shit, I think it spotted us! You take right, I’ll take left. We’ll cut it off before it reaches the woods!”

Marlon nodded and followed suit. The pair split off, each hoping to capture the crab that was making a beeline toward the dense forest. It would be a close call, but they could make it. The two men circled back towards each other, ready to meet in the middle to nab the crab.

Just as they were almost upon it though, a deep rumble issued from the forest. The sand on the beach shifted as the ground shook and both men froze, leaving the crab to run off into the woods unimpeded. Both men shared a look.

“What the hell was that?” Marlon asked.

Before he could speak further, they had their answer. A massive claw shot out from between the branches of the trees, followed by a leg that matched the size of the trunks around it. A second later, beady eyes could be seen atop the massive disk that formed the body. This was it: a true Gurlinder crab.

“What the shit,” Louis breathed, frozen in fear. Then his survival instincts kicked in. “What the shit!” Both pirates turned tail and sprinted back towards the boat. Rosie ran ahead of them, barking like crazy while Eight finally looked up from his pursuit of the hermit crabs and joined the crew in running for their lives. The rowboat was all the way on the other end of the beach. Would they make it?

They would not. The giant crab came barreling onto the beach, blocking their way and snapping its claws in the air menacingly. Louis and Marlon stopped dead in their tracks, sharing a look. Their swords would have little to no effect against the crab’s bony exterior. Even Marlon’s gun might not be enough and they couldn’t risk the sound drawing in more of these behemoths. Their only choices were to run, but would they go forward or back?

“We gotta reach the boat!” Marlon declared before surging forward. His valiant effort was met with immediate retaliation. The crab lowered its massive claw, reaching out towards the blond pirate who barely dove to the ground in time.

“Marlon!” Louis leapt forward to help his friend to his feet.

At this point the crab seemed truly pissed. Lifting its leg, it brought it down as though intending to impale to pirates. Both men rolled out of the way just in time. Moving forward wasn’t an option after all. They’d have to seek shelter. Running along the shoreline, their eyes searched for any sort of hiding place.

“Do we risk the woods?” Louis asked breathlessly, running as fast as he could.

“And risk coming across more of these things?” Marlon shook his head. “We need something else!” He turned his head to look out at the ocean. Nothing at all. All that was left was the beach, but that only held sand. At the end of the shore though, by the reef… “There!” Marlon pointed to a rock formation by the water. “The crevice between those two rocks – it can’t reach us there!”

The crab was gaining on them. They had to hurry. Giving it their all, Marlon and Louis sprinted toward the rocks. Rosie reached them first, Eight clinging to her back. She barked worriedly, waiting for them to catch up. The pair didn’t even slow down as they reached the rocks. Marlon shot through the opening first, followed by Rosie and Eight and Louis right behind. Louis let out a yelp as he ran, tumbling and rolling in the sand right as he cleared the crevice. They all looked back to see the crab’s claw jammed in the crevice, still trying its best to reach them.

“It jabbed my ass,” Louis whimpered, his face still in the sand. Marlon walked over and helped his friend to his feet. They took a moment to look at the crab’s struggle and reassure themselves that it couldn’t break through. They were safe… for now. Turning round, they began to make their way down the new stretch of beach that was open to them.

“So what now?” Marlon sighed, looking out to the sea. “If we’re not back in the next few hours, everybody’s gonna panic,”

“Then we find another way home. We’ll comb the beach for supplies and if that doesn’t work, we’ll face the forest. Lash a raft together from logs or something,”

“And what will we fell trees with? My cutlass? Your rapier?”

“Maybe we can find fallen logs,” Louis offered. His face fell almost immediately though. “We’ll figure something out. Let’s just see what we come across,”

The island was massive. After twenty minutes of walking, the group had only circled the first bend. There were no fallen logs or other building materials in sight upon the beach. They’d soon have to turn to the forest and risk facing more crabs. That was when Louis spotted something. “Hey, you see that or am I just crazy?”

Marlon glanced over and his face immediately brightened. “Holy shit, it’s a boat!” A pale blue rowboat lay nestled upon the edge of the water, moored on a sand dune. They sprinted toward it only for their hearts to almost immediately falter. The boat was wrecked. The back half had been totally decimated, pieces torn and crushed irreparably. This was more than a patch job could fix. Perhaps it was another Gurlinder crab’s doing. Marlon still examined the exterior of the boat, hoping against hope that the boat was somehow salvageable. Meanwhile Louis began searching inside the boat for usable supplies. Rosie hopped inside, sniffing everything thoroughly. There didn’t seem to be much. A crumpled sail that was completely ruined lay in tattered pieces across the base of the boat. Piles of seaweed and sand had worked their way in with the rising tide. This ship looked to be recently abandoned. Or perhaps it had washed upon shore, its passengers, lost to the sea.

Rosie sniffed at one particular part of the sail with interest. Coming over, Louis pulled back the fabric to reveal a lumpy blanket underneath. Perhaps there was food there? Louis leaned forward to examine the blanket more closely and let out a gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Marlon asked, his hand immediately upon his saber.

Louis took the blanket in his arms and stared at it in awe. Gently, he pushed back a corner to reveal what lay inside: a baby. Louis cautiously pressed a hand to its forehead. “Still alive, just sleeping,”

Marlon came over to examine the baby. “How long has it been alone? We need to get it food, water at least!”

“The flask by my hip. Open it,”

“Lou, alcohol is not gonna do this baby any-”

“It’s full of water, OK? I just pretend there’s alcohol in there to look tough!”

Marlon gave Louis a look that told him he would take that secret to his grave then got the flask out and held it to the baby’s lips. Pushing them open just slightly, he let the water spill slowly into the baby’s mouth.

The infant woke immediately, letting out a strained cry. Louis laid the babe over his shoulder, patting its back softly. “Hey, hey. It’s ok. We’re here. You’re gonna be ok,”

Marlon looked round for any other signs of life. Nothing. Whoever the baby’s parents or guardians were, they had likely perished at sea. No one would leave a child unguarded in the open like this. As Louis bounced the baby and tried to calm it, he circled the boat, looking for anything that might tell them where it had come from. There was nothing more except the name of the boat painted in pink, faded lettering. Juliet.

Louis bounced the baby for a few seconds longer before the smell hit him, one that had been buried deep within the folds of the blanket. “Marlon, see if you can find a clean portion of that sail and cut it off. We’re gonna need to do a diaper change,”

A few minutes later with the use of a length of weathered sail and some leaves scavenged at the outskirts of the forest for cleanup, the baby had a new diaper. Louis picked up the baby once more, wrapping the blanket round its tiny arms and legs. “We should name her Juliet,”

“Juliet? After the boat? What about finding her parents or relatives?” Marlon looked at his friend with concern.

“We’re leagues off from the coast, at least a hundred miles from any port or town. Whatever family she had in that boat is gone. Maybe it’s strange to name her after the boat we found her in, but it’s the only part of her past we know,” Louis watched the baby with care, stroking a damp lock away from her forehead,”

“Well, if we want her past to have a future to it, we’ll need to find a way to get off this island. And Juliet’s a no go,”

“Back to our boat then?” Louis met Marlon’s eyes. “Do we have any other choice?”

“No. I guess we don’t,”

“Then we head back,”

The two men walked side by side, Rosie to Marlon’s right and Eight scampering along the shore to Louis’ left playing with leaves and other odds and ends. Juliet still cried intermittently, wriggling within Louis’ arms. Most of the water he offered her got spit up on her dress but at least a few drops got in so Louis kept trying. The forest was silent, eerily so. Perhaps the Gurlinder crab they’d run into had been one of the last of its kind. They could only pray that was the case.

“What’s Clem going to think when you bring a baby home?” Marlon asked, glancing over at Louis.

Louis was silent for a moment, deep in thought. “I don’t know. It feels the same as when we found her and AJ though: stranded, helpless. If Clem was here instead of me, I figure she’d do the same thing. That’s what Ericson Pirates have always done: taken in the outcasts and give them a home,”

“So you’re planning to keep her then?”

Louis looked down at the baby in his arms. Juliet had settled a bit and was gnawing hungrily on his finger. “I can’t make that decision without Clem. But I can’t help feeling like we were meant to find her. Maisy’s been asking for a little sister, y’know,”

“Clem laughed when she said that,”

“True… but can anyone say no to a face like this?” Louis held out Juliet who had started to happily gurgle as she clung to his finger.

Marlon smiled down. “Hell, if Clem feels overwhelmed, Soph and I can take a turn with her. Ruby loves babies too. Everyone will pitch in,”

“Just like we have for all of the kids,” Louis beamed down at Juliet, trying to get her to smile. “You hear that, Juliet? You’re gonna have a whole pirate family!”

As they began to round the corner of the beach, the forest ceased to be silent. They could hear rumblings from deep within as well as noises ahead. Both men drew their swords.

“It sounds like a lot of them,” Marlon noted, his eyes scanning the treeline.

“We couldn’t even handle one,”

“Then we’ll have to hope we can sneak around them,” As they rounded the corner, Marlon and Louis were prepared for the worst.

It was even worse than they imagined. The beach that only 20 minutes ago was completely clear was now crawling with Gurlinder crabs. The massive beasts along the sand, intermingling and waving their claws at each other. There had to be dozens of them.

“What the shit is going on?” Louis whispered. He tucked his coat further around Juliet protectively.

“Mating season? That’s the only reason I can think of,” Marlon watched the crabs cautiously. “If that’s the case, they’ll be way more focused on each other than us. That first one was probably pissed we messed with a baby crab. If we leave them alone, maybe they won’t even notice us,”

“That’s all we can hope for. Keep Rosie and Eight close,”

They headed out in a line, Marlon leading the way with Rosie behind him and Eight on her back. Louis took up the rear, rocking Juliet softly in hopes that she would stay quiet till they reached safety. Skirting the treeline, they walked along the edge of the beach, trying to keep out of the crabs’ way. Marlon’s hunch seemed to be right. The crabs shifted from side to side, waving their claws in rhythmic motions at each other. They must be trying to attract mates.

Their progress was going as smoothly as could be expected. Occasionally they’d have to freeze and wait for a crab to lumber on by or scurry out the way as a new crab exited the forest. Overall though, the Gurlinder crabs seemed utterly unaware of them, focused entirely on their courtship dances. Marlon felt himself breathing a sigh of relief. Rosie was staying nearby to protect the baby and Eight was happily chewing on the gold ducat Marlon had given. Juliet seemed to have fallen asleep as well. They just needed a few more minutes to reach the crevice and they’d be in the clear.

All of a sudden, Marlon felt a pressure from behind. Before he could turn round, he was yanked into the air by his collar. “Woahhh, shit!”

“Marlon!” Louis watched in horror as his best friend was lifted up on the end of a Gurlinder crab’s claw. Drawing his sword, Louis ran forward and began to whack the nearest leg of the creature. “Give him back! Drop him!” Rosie joined in the struggle, biting angrily at the crab leg again and again while Eight screamed in outrage and threw pebbles. The crab hardly seemed to notice them, instead drawing Marlon closer to its beady eyes and gazing at him in curiosity.

Marlon wriggled wildly, brandishing his cutlass in an effort to scare the beast off. “Fuck, I think it wants to eat me!”

“Maybe it’s just mistaken you for another crab!” Louis offered, trying to jab his sword into the joints of the beast to no avail. “After all, you’re yellow on top just like them!”

“You mean my hair?”

“Yeah, exactly!”

“So then it wants to mate with me?!” Marlon looked at the crab with fear, struggling even more to escape.

“Or maybe it thinks you’re a baby cause you’re so tiny!”

“Nu uh, fuck this!” Sheathing his scabbard, Marlon pulled out a dagger. Cutting through the collar of his shirt, he sawed at the material till it snapped and sent him plummeting to the ground where he tucked and rolled with a grunt before rising to find the crab still staring at him. It was not pleased to see him go. Taking steps forward, the crab began to pursue Marlon, almost crushing its attackers underfoot in the process. Letting out a frightened cry, Marlon ran away.

“Keep aiming for the rocks, Marlon!” Louis shouted, sprinting behind the pursuing crab. Juliet had been awakened by all the commotion and started to cry again, causing Rosie to bark in concern. All the noise drew the attention of the other crabs, who began to move toward them, curious as to what was going on. Louis swore under his breath, barely skirting a curious claw that was reaching his way. “Go between their legs, Mar! It can’t follow you there!”

Everything was chaos. Marlon frantically weaved between the enormous deadly legs of others crabs in an attempt to escape his pursuer but nothing seemed to work. The Gurlinder crab was still only seconds behind him. Meanwhile Louis tried to keep up with a baby in tow and make sure Rosie and Eight didn’t get caught up in fighting all the crabs that came their way. At one point when it looked as thought Eight was about to start climbing one of the legs Louis scooped the monkey up his hat and kept running with the furry stowaway tucked beneath his right arm, the baby cradled in his left.

Finally, the crevice was only a few yards away. Marlon dove for it headfirst, narrowly avoiding being nabbed once more by his captor’s claw. Letting out a frantic swear, Louis slid underneath the crab as it blocked the passageway, kicking up sand and seaweed as he scrambled after his friend. Moments later, all five members of the castaway crew emerged safely onto the other side of the beach, a beach that was still as bare as they had first found it.

“Thank fuck!” Louis gasped, taking a moment to catch his breath before removing Juliet from the folds of his coat and working to comfort her. Marlon knelt down, examining Rosie and Eight to make sure they hadn’t received any serious injuries. Once it was clear that everyone was alright, they continued to move forward, heading for their abandoned boat.

“We’re almost home,” Marlon said with a smile as he brushed the sand out of his hair.

“Yep! Almost back and no worse for the wear! Isn’t that right, Juliet?” Louis cooed at the baby in his arms who seemed entranced by the way his dreads swayed as he walked.

“Now all that’s left is to find the boat and… shit,” Marlon froze in his tracks. A second later he was running forward. “Shit shit shit!”

Louis soon saw what the issue was. The first Gurlinder crab they’d run into hadn’t left this beach after all. Instead it had made its way over to their rowboat and was now poking at it with interest. If they lost that boat, they were trapped. Louis sprinted afterwards, humming a shanty under his breath in an effort to keep Juliet calm. “There once was a ship that put to sea, the name of the ship was the Billy of Tea…”

They were still a great distance from the boat. The giant crab snapped at the edges of the boat with interest, drawing it out of the sand and up into its claws.

“Hey asshat, that’s not yours!” Marlon shouted angrily, his ponytail blowing in the wind as he ran. Louis tucked Juliet back into his coat, shielding her ears from the language. As they reached the crab, they all ran to the opposite side of the rowboat and grabbed onto the end of it. They wouldn’t be able to defeat the crab. They’d have to wrestle the boat from her grasp and get out to the sea before she could give chase. Marlon pulled with all his might, Louis using his spare arm to try to aid in the struggle.

The crab was unimpressed by their show of force. It glanced down at them with annoyance before lifting the boat higher. Both men gasped as they were lifted off of their feet. Rosie was barking like mad below them, trying again and again to bite through the crab’s outer armor and save her fellow pirates, but it was no use. Eight meanwhile had got ahold of one of the ropes dangling from the rowboat and climbed inside the boat to scold the crab face to face.

“You fucker! Give us back our boat!” Marlon growled. Drawing out his pistol, he fired a shot straight at the crab. The bullet bounced off like it was nothing.

 “The eyes! Aim for the eyes!” Louis cried, his focus entirely on not dropping Juliet while they were shaked to and fro.

Dropping back to the ground, Marlon pulled a new bullet from his pouch and began reloading his gun. He couldn’t afford to miss again. Aiming the newly reloaded flintlock, he closed one eye, hoping his aim would be true.

A second before he fired though, the Gurlinder crab suddenly changed its mind. Opening its claws, it suddenly dropped the rowboat to the ground. Louis fell hard to the ground, his legs crumbling beneath him as he fell on his back in an effort to protect Juliet. Immediately he struggled to his feet though, letting out a pained moan as he and Marlon both leapt into the boat and pushed it down to the water. Rosie was right beside them, leaping into the boat beside Eight who shook his fists threateningly at the retreating crab.

 “Are you hurt? Is Juliet okay?” Marlon asked as he got the oars sorted and began paddling out to sea.

 “She’s alright, just shaken is all,” Louis rocked her back and forth, trying to quiet her cries. “Do you need me to row? I could try setting Juliet beside me or-”

 “I’ll manage! You focus on her!” Marlon put all of his strength into rowing the boat out to the open sea.

 Louis glanced behind them. “Why do you think it gave up? It was totally whopping our asses back there,”

 “Beats me. Good riddance,”

 “It just keeps heading toward the forest. Maybe it went to look for its baby? Wait…” Louis gasped. “There’s another crab!”

Sure enough, another crab had emerged from the forest and joined the first in a courtship dance. It looked as though the pirates’ enemy wasn’t the only crab to get lost on its way to the mating grounds.

  “Awww, they’re sort of cute together!” Louis smiled at the joint dance.

  “From a distance maybe. We’re never going back there again,” Marlon grumbled, putting extra force into his strokes.

  “I mean, at the end of the day I guess the crabs were just trying to live their lives. Look at them, it’s like they’re kissing! Oh, wait, now they’re-” Louis flushed, quickly looking away and shielding Juliet’s eyes. “Yep, definitely not a place to visit again,”

  “I can go for a bit longer then I’ll need a break. You willing to give me a turn holding the baby?”

  “Of course! Uncle Marlon’s gonna take a turn holding you, ok, Juliet?” Louis smiled down at the baby who looked quite tired from all of the recent excitement. “You just rest. We’ll be home soon,”

---

“…And that’s the story of how we found Juliet!” Louis finished with a grin.

The rest of the Ericson Pirates who had all gathered round to hear the tale all began talking at once. The noise woke Juliet who started crying again, her wail broken and frail. Immediately Clementine stepped forward, gently taking her from Louis and rocking her in her arms. “She needs another diaper change, one with a real diaper this time. Also she must be starving. Ruby, are the supplies still in the crate under your hammock?”

“That’s right,” Ruby responded, stepping forward and taking Lee Kenny’s hand. “Y’all go ahead, we have things covered up here,”

While the others took care of things above deck, Clementine and Louis headed below deck to the sleeping quarters. Clementine sat down in the nearest hammock, directing Louis to grab a fresh diaper and some powdered milk from Ruby’s trunk. Once Louis returned with the needed supplies, the two worked together to change Juliet, laying her in Clementine’s lap while Louis kept her head stable and tried to keep her arms and legs out of the soupy mess that was her makeshift sail diaper.

“There was so family round there at all?” Clementine asked, her eyes focus on her work.

Louis shook his head. “None at all. It looked to have been abandoned for a few days. I’m surprised the boat made it to shore or even stayed there at all. Another day and it may have washed back out to sea,”

“She’s so skinny,” The concern in Clementine’s voice was clear. Working quickly, she hummed a little tune to the baby as she changed her, the same shanty Louis had sung back on the island. Soon the baby was changed and the impromptu messy diaper set aside. Clementine readjusted her grip on Juliet, nestling her in her arms. “The last bottle broke awhile back. Do you have your flask with you?”

“Well, it’s-”

“I know it’s water, Lou. I swiped it a while back to get a drink. Not surprised, just disappointed there wasn’t anything stronger around,”

Louis grinned knowingly up at his wife. “I’ll treat you to whatever your heart desires at the next tavern we visit,”

“I’m holding you to that. Now pour a bit of the powder into the flask and shake it up,”

Louis followed Clementine’s directions, turning the remaining water into a frothy white liquid. Clementine took the flask and raised it to the baby’s lips. This time Juliet drank more eagerly, gulping down the milk substitute noisily.

“We’ll need to stop in the nearest port town and get some more powdered milk and supplies. We weren’t expecting a baby again anytime soon,”

Louis listened for anger or annoyance in his wife’s words but there wasn’t any; she was only stating facts. Looking up at her, he could see the same fondness in her eyes as she looked down at Juliet that he had felt when he first held her.

Clementine caught him looking and a soft smile crossed her lips. “She’s beautiful,”

“She certainly is. The best bounty we’ve ever come across,”

The room was quiet now, the only sounds being the soft creaking of the ship and Juliet as she eagerly suckled the flask. Louis and Clementine watched her in silence, lost in the simple beauty of the moment. They both knew what was yet unspoken. They had found another daughter to call their own.

[ericsonclan]

A Halfling Jig

Summary: After a successful quest, the group settles in for a night of food and merriment.

Word Count: 1911

Read on A03: 

The tavern was warm and bright as the group piled inside. Upon entering, the halflings’ eyes lit up. They were excited for food. Louis, Violet and Omar scurried over to place the orders while the others looked round for a table. They settled for a large one in the corner. While a booth would be cozier, it was better to choose seating where they could pull up as many chairs as possible and accommodate larger beings like Marlon. High stools were grabbed from over by the bar for the halflings while the harpies settled on perching atop the backs of others’ chairs. Eventually they had all found their places except for Rosie who had to wait outside. Though the tavern was race-inclusive, wargs were still not allowed indoors.

Marlon looked toward the door worriedly, his tusks sticking out even further as his mouth turned down in a frown. “I don’t like leaving Rosie outside alone. Maybe I should go out there with her…”

“And miss all the fun?” Louis exclaimed. “We should be celebrating! We just got paid! And we’re all alive!”

“That’s certainly a miracle,” Aasim muttered, straightening his robes in annoyance. “If I never see another owlbear for as long as I live, I’ll take that as a blessing,”

“Willy wishes we’d captured one,” Willy commented, his thin, pale arms draped haphazardly over the table. “Rosie could have had a friend,”

Prisha shook her head. “They were beyond domestication. Besides, there was quite the bounty on them. The villagers of Heldenfeld can rest safely now and we can eat well,”

“Speaking of eating…” Omar looked in excitement toward the full trays that were being brought their way.

“Here’s the first few rounds,” the barmaid said, setting the trays before them. “Extra cheese just as requested. The ale will be along shortly,”

They thanked her and began to dig in, some like Prisha and Aasim taking their designated portions while many of them simply grasped whatever pieces caught their eye and stuffed the food into their eager mouths. Their conversations continued, loud and jovial as food and drink were passed around.

Sophie noticed Marlon was still looking unhappy despite the good food. Brushing her feathers against his side, she drew his attention. “Hey, you wanna grab a plate and get out of here? We can go sit with Rosie if you want,”

Marlon’s face lit up at the offer. “Really? Ok, let’s go!” The two of them grabbed as much food as they could carry, ignoring the protests of their friends, and ran out the door. Though the food they took and their company were missed, the group appreciated the extra space Marlon’s absence left.

Mitch moved over to sit next to Brody, tossing his legs up on the table and leaning back, his arms behind his head. “So, Brody, didya think I looked awesome today or what?”

Brody paused in her conversation with Ruby, turning from the dwarf to give Mitch an unimpressed smirk. “What, when you tried to lasso that one owlbear and nearly got trampled? I think Willy showed more prowess in today’s quest than you. He actually rode one of them,” They both looked over at the goblin who was busy picking his nose as he talked to Tenn perched behind him.

Mitch scoffed. “Well, you obviously missed it! There was one point where I was standing right on top of one of those fuckers. You tell her, Minnie!”

Minnie looked up from preening one of her wings. “What?”

“Tell her about how cool I looked riding that owlbear!”

“Oh, that! Mitch is right. He did look pretty cool… until his pants started falling down. That’s what you get for using your belt as part of your lasso,”

All three girls were laughing at Mitch to his great embarrassment and annoyance. He downed his drink, mumbled something about getting more ale, and headed over to the bar.

Meanwhile, Louis was impressing A.J. with his ability to balance spoons on his face. Each time he added another, the child clapped in glee, asking him if he could fit even more. Clementine watched on with a smile. She was glad to see A.J. fitting into the group so well. The halflings seemed to have adopted him as one of their own even though at less than ten years old he already was beginning to tower over them. It was good to see him entertained and laughing, enjoying childish things rather than scavenging for food on the street.

Clementine still couldn’t believe this chaotic bunch had stuck together this many months. Every day they found themselves falling into another adventure and every night they camped together underneath the stars. She was afraid to think of it as such, but at times their motley group almost felt like a family. She hoped their good fortune would last.

Meanwhile, Prisha had found herself admiring the halfling Violet from across the top of her mug of ale. Over these last few weeks, she’d found herself noticing her striking features more and more: her sharp jawline, large upper lip, strong nose. Prisha hadn’t come across too many halflings in her years of roaming, but if Omar, Louis and Clementine were good indicators of common halfling features, then Violet was the anomaly. While their faces were soft, rounded and pleasant, hers was sculpted with keen edges. She certainly was a fascinating being.

Violet seemed to notice Prisha’s gaze. She looked up at her, silently pushing forward her plate of food. Had she thought she wanted part of her meal?

Too embarrassed to admit she’d been staring, Prisha took a piece of her bread, dipping it in her ale before quietly chewing on it, her observations less conspicuous now.

Her eyes drifted over to Aasim now, who was regaling Ruby with some of the theories historians had posited behind the origins of owlbears. The dwarf seemed to be listening with some interest, nodding along to his narrative and asking questions from time to time. Aasim’s head was turned away from Prisha, but she could just imagine the dopey grin on the high elf’s face. He truly was smitten. Now if only he could admit that fact to himself.

---

As the night drifted on and the drinks kept coming, the group found themselves pleasantly inebriated. Clementine and Minnie offered to put the younger members to bed, hauling A.J. and Tenn off of their seats despite their protests. No one was quite sure how old Willy was but he decided to join the early bedtime crew as well, scurrying up the stairs behind them to the rooms they had reserved. This left the rest of the group ready to have as much fun as they wanted till the wee hours of the morning.

Marlon and Sophie had returned after settling Rosie down in the stables for the night. Somehow Mitch got the idea into his head that a drinking contest between him and Marlon was a good idea though the half orc outweighed him by at least ten stone. With reckless abandon, the two embarked on their drinking contest, most of the others watching from the sidelines and cheering them on. Marlon was sure to be the winner but Mitch remained stubbornly oblivious to this fact, guzzling down pints of ale as fast as he could manage. He was determined to last as long as possible.

The halflings, while not participating in a drinking competition, were able to tuck their ale away at an impressive rate. Once the fervor of Mitch and Marlon’s competition had died down and both contestants laid back in a drunken stupor, the Meadowvale halflings decided it was their turn to lead the party. Stepping up onto the table, the three of them began dancing together, linking arms and twisting and turning round and round the table. As they danced their jig, they sang a tune together, a traditional reel about warm homes, tasty food and plentiful ale. Louis sang the loudest but Omar and Violet seemed to be enjoying the song and dance just as much, their faces shining from the ale and the exercise.

Prisha clapped along to the beat of their song, getting caught up in the excitement of it all. The halflings’ feet stomped upon the table, the emptied plates clanking and rattling underneath them. Seeing their appreciative audience, Louis motioned for the others to join in the dance as well. Mitch and Marlon were down for the count and Brody too shy despite the halflings’ pleas. The halflings looked round the table, wondering if they could convince anyone to learn their jig. Violet’s eyes caught Prisha’s. Perhaps on impulse in the excitement of the moment she reached her hand out in invitation before her eyes fell in embarrassment.

Prisha wasn’t sure what possessed her in that moment, whether the mirth of the moment or the way the ale and dancing had deepened the blush upon Violet’s cheeks, but she found herself taking the halfling’s proffered hand and joining her atop the table. The group broke out in raucous applause upon seeing the usually stoic wood elf letting loose. The halflings were elated, all three jumping round her and exclaiming how wonderful it was of her to join. They immediately began teaching her the steps to the jib, dancing and singing and believing in her ability to immediately follow along.

It was harder than Prisha had expected. Her feet were so much larger than theirs and seemed to misstep with each new move, knocking plates onto the ground to everyone’s amusement despite the innkeeper’s complaints. The halflings didn’t give up on her though and neither did Prisha. After a couple rounds of the song she had found the rhythm and was singing along to the tune, matching the halflings’ steps with her own. The others applauded as they watched the playful number once more, cheering the dancers on.

Now that there were four dancers there came a point in the song where the halflings split into pairs. Louis and Omar danced round and round each other, linking and unlinking arms in an endless cycle. Prisha and Violet found themselves paired together. Joining hands, they began to dance, circling each other again and again. Prisha couldn’t help but laugh, the joy of the dance bubbling out of her. Her braid spun with her, whirling out as she turned.

Though half her height, Violet continued to lead Prisha, her hands gently guiding her each step of the way as they crossed the length of the table. The introverted halfling seemed just as happy as Prisha to be dancing together. The smile never left her face as they danced, hearts pounding and voices loud as the jig went on and on.

When all four finally tired, the two girls turned to each other one final time. Not knowing what else to do, Prisha curtseyed, her head dipping low in thanks for the dance. Violet awkwardly returned the gesture.

Stepping down from the table, the dancers settled back on their chairs, calling for one last round of drinks to end the night on. The conversation turned to their next adventure: where to go and what they would fight. The truth was they’d take whatever quest fell into their hands but they could dream of whatever they wanted. The tavern lights remained bright and warm as they sat together, full bellies and hazy minds leaving each of them cozy and satisfied.

[ericsonclan]

Fathoms Below

Summary: Louis, Violet and Renata escape from the land dwellers and go back to their underwater home to inform the others.

Word Count: 2591

Read on AO3:

Renata stared at the mysterious object before her. Its shiny black color made the mermaid’s eyes sparkle with curiosity. What was it? Could you wear it? Did it smell? What did it taste like? All these questions bounced around her head as her bright yellow tail flicked up before plopping down with a faint thud on the sand. She had to know the answer to all of her questions but which one would she try to answer first?

After a moment Renata decided on her choice. As her tongue wandered towards the object she heard a loud exclamation with words she couldn’t understand. Renata opted to not focus on those words. Instead she gave the object a long lick.

Suddenly she felt eyes staring at her. Renata turned to see two land dwellers looking at her in shock. Renata’s eyes grew large as her tongue paused mid lick. The air around the cove grew tense but was quickly broken when Violet spoke up.

“Hey, dumbass, get back here now! Fucking hurry!”

Violet’s frantic cry made Louis emerge from the water. With a mighty leap his evergreen tail shone in the light for all to see before he splashed back into the water.

Renata knew what she had to do. She had to be brave and make it back to the water as quickly as she could. Land people were bad news. With a dramatic lunge Renata flopped onto the ground and began to spin her arm in circles. Whether or not that helped propel her forward wasn’t clear but it made her feel speedy. Renata continued forward, doing a series of what she was sure were beautiful belly flops. Of course those belly flops ended up causing the sand and small rocks on the ground to scratch against her belly. It hurt but she knew it was her best bet to escape and not become sushi.

“Warning! Warning! Warning! We gotta help her!” Louis panicked, swimming circles around Violet who was just as worried.

“Renata! Move your ass! Come on!” Violet swam around Louis in circles as well. Both of them desperately wanted to help Renata reach the safety of the water sooner but the land dwellers were right there.

Renata took a deep breath and spun her arms around faster, giving breathtaking belly flops as she made slow but steady progress. The encouraging words of her friends telling her that she had this as well as the worry in their eyes pushed Renata’s determination into overdrive. Based on the land dwellers’ reactions they had most likely found out that all three of them were merpeople. She was nearly there when one of the land dwellers spoke again, trying to get the other one to help them somehow.

Violet quickly stopped that conversation from finishing as she sent a mighty wave crashing towards the surface and slamming against the land dweller. That seemed to do the trick as the other land dweller hurried to check on her friend. Renata put her all into her last belly flop and successfully landed in the water face first before her yellow tail slipped into the cove’s waters. Louis immediately linked his arm with hers then grabbed Violet’s hand. Using all the might of his tail Louis swam under the water, disappearing below the surface and towards the safety of their home.

After a few minutes Louis let go of both of them and swam round Renata. “You’re safe! You didn’t get hurt, right?” Louis twirled around Renata then looked at her with concern.

“Yep! All that was hurt was my tummy!” Renata smiled warmly and swam with a newfound peace now that she knew the land dwellers wouldn’t nab them.

“You almost got caught,” Violet mumbled and swam ahead. “Now they know what we are and once we tell the others there’s no way in hell we can go up there again,” Violet frowned back at her pair of friends.

Her words made Renata’s smile falter for a moment and Louis froze mid-swim. The ends of his tail went limp as he processed what Violet had said. “Wait, no! We can still go up there somehow. The land dwellers seemed nice, especially that golden eyed one. She liked my gift from earlier!” Louis swam forward, catching up with his best friend who was leading the way back home.

“Besides, those stick leg folks are dumb! They don’t even have good or tasty food. That weird black block was stale or something,” Renata’s tail flicked back and forth wildly as she navigated through the seaweed and passed a school of fish to catch up with her friends.

Violet sighed in annoyance as she weaved her way through some colorful fish. “Doesn’t matter if they were nice or if they’re dumb. It would not only be our tails but everyone else’s if the other land dwellers believed those two,”

Louis and Renata were silent at those words, knowing Violet was right. The rest of the swim back home was rather quiet as the three moved through the sea with relatively fast speed.

It wasn’t long before Violet caught sight of home. The tall patches of seaweed where small sea creatures hid away from the larger ones that wanted them for dinner served as a marker that they were close. Violet flicked her pink tail, causing the small creatures to scatter in a panic and zoom off towards the large pillars of sea stone that represented an entrance to the small underwater city the merpeople called home.

Louis’ face immediately brightened when he saw the familiar sight of the different caves that were formed within a massive block of sea stone that the merpeople had smoothed out over the years. The walls were adorned with different sea shells and stones that had become luminous and glossy thanks to the different currents under this great sea.

By the entrance was James who was happily picking soft purple coral to surprise Jesse. The scales on his warm grey tail shimmered in the light as a happy little tune escaped his lips that he was sure only he and Jesse could hear. The merman looked over at his love who was busy being in absolute awe of the wonders of seahorses. Jesse’s eyes shone with excitement and happiness as he studied the golden sea horses who were absentmindedly floating up and down without a care in the world. Jesse’s bright silver tail stood out amongst the gold of the seahorses as he tried not to disturb their space.

Soon his attention was drawn away when James surprised him with a small necklace made from the purple algae. Due to its softness it was able to sway in the small currents underwater without scratching at Jesse’s chest. Jesse smiled lovingly and stole a few quick kisses before inviting James to watch the seahorses with him. Violet, Louis and Renata soon passed the pair and were drawn to the excited voice of one of the younger merpeople.

“Allie!” Willy called out. His copper tail dragged along the sandy bottom of the sea floor while a tiny squid covered his face. The merman navigated blindly as he tried to find his love. Allison watched with amusement as Willy waved his hands this way and that before running into a small sea rock.

“Shit, Willy!” Allison’s amused smile disappeared as she rushed over to Willy. Her blood red tail swooshed this way and that as she sliced through the water to reach him faster. “Are you okay?”

Allison helped up Willy who was silent as he struggled to get the squid off his face. After a moment or two of struggling he successfully got the sea creature off who wiggled around in his grasp. “Look, Allie, look! I got us a new buddy for our daily swims! His name is Inky!”

Just as Willy declared the squid’s name it sent out a jet of black ink which covered the two merpeople. Allison and Willy roughly coughed as the ink slowly dissipated and was swept away by a swift current. Once the water was clear around them the two smiled at each other before Willy tucked Inky under his left arm and grabbed Allison’s hand. Soon the two merpeople were happily swimming off, talking of adventures that they wanted to share together.

“Come on, we should tell Javi and Santi,” Violet swam forward and passed by Omar who was walking back with a crab in his mouth that he had bested.

“Hey there, Omar!” Louis gave a friendly wave to the merman. “Is that for dinner?”

Omar glanced up at his friend. His black tail moved at a steady pace to keep himself afloat, the bits of silver scales on it shimmering for a moment before disappearing as the touch of the faint light that shone from above shifted. Spitting out the crab, Omar caught it before replying.

“Yeah but it's only a small part. Ruby is busy catching the rest with Aasim,”

“Ooo! I can’t wait! Your cooking is the best in all the seas!” Renata beamed and Omar gave a small smile in response.

“Thanks. I should get going; I have a lot of work to do,” Omar gave a wave which the trio returned. After the small gesture the merpeople went their separate ways and Violet noticed Brody chilling on a large stone, basking in the underwater light as she looked at her collection of colorful seashells. The auburn mermaid let the current flow through her hair and let the ends of her baby blue tail sway with the water’s movement.

“Brodes!” Mitch’s booming voice drew her attention over to the merman with the yellowish green tail. A confident, smug grin was resting on his face as he made his way over to his love. The blue claws of crabs clung onto different parts of his tail. He quickly shook them off. “I finally did it! I fucking beat those little shits that Sophie said were impossible to beat! That proves that I’m the best merman around!” Mitch smiled and swam around Brody, his tail brushing against hers. “It proves that I can protect you,”

Brody smiled warmly at her love and kissed his cheek, causing the merman to freeze mid swim. “I already knew you could protect me,”

Those words made Mitch’s heart swell and he quickly swam next to Brody to see what she was doing.

Soon Violet’s attention returned to the task at hand and she spotted the merpeople she was looking for after moving by Sophie whose shimmery white tail was curled around Marlon’s maroon one as she tried a new nickname for him.

“Mar-kerel!” Sophie smiled but it soon faded away when she realized she didn’t like the nickname. “Nah, I think I'll stick with Mar and Mackerel,”

“Sounds good to me,” Marlon looked into Sophie’s eyes then pressed a small kiss to her nose. Sophie returned the gesture before she caught sight of her best friends. With an excited smile she gave a quick goodbye to Marlon then swan off after Violet and Renata.

“Vi! Ren! Lou! You’re back! How were the land dwellers this time? Do they still have stick legs? Or is it a disguise for their tails?” Sophie asked as she swam around the trio.

“You’re starting to sound like T,” Louis smiled at his redhead friend who shrugged.

“What can I say, I guess I’m curious too. I totally wanna come with you the next time you go up to the cove!” Sophie’s giddiness translated to her tail which swooshed around wildly.

“We’re not going again,” Violet grumbled and continued on forward. Her words made Sophie pause for a moment and she looked between Louis and Renata.

“We’re about to explain everything to Javi and Santi,” Renata smiled at her best friend then swam forward. Sophie nodded and quickly followed behind the group.

Soon the four of them were heading towards Javi who was in the middle of flirting with Santiago. His deep blue tail tickled Santiago’s chin before he twirled forward and captured the rose gold tailed merman’s lips in a soft kiss. After a moment the couple noticed the other merpeople coming forward and put kissing time on the backburner.

“Hey, you made it-”

Javi was cut short when a new voice called out.

“You made it back!” Minnie swam forward, her smokey grey tail moving at a rapid pace to close the distance between her and Renata as quickly as she could. Soon the redheaded mermaid tackled her love in a hug and spun her around before letting go and swimming around her. Minnie’s tail locked with Renata’s for a moment before she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend once more.

“Minnie!” Renata happily began to pepper Minnie’s face with kisses that made her turn as red as her hair.

“I was starting to get worried since you took so long,” Minnie held onto Renata.

Sophie snorted at her twin’s words. “Starting,” Sophie used air quotations and Minnie sent her a look.

“No need to worry, I’m A-okay beside some tummy scratches!” Renata smiled brightly at her love.

“You got hurt?” Minnie’s eyes flickered with concern as she searched Renata for any more injuries.

“Yep! And only belly kisses will heal it,” Renata gave a playful smile over at Minnie.

“You don’t deserve belly kisses!” Violet’s tone made everyone look over her way, surprised by her suddenly jumping into the conversation. The pink tailed mermaid maintained her deep frown. “Renata made us blow our cover to the land dwellers and it was all because she had to lick something shiny or whatever,” Violet crossed her arms while her tail flicked with annoyance, keeping her afloat.

“You did what?” Santiago swam forward, the worry clear on his face.

“It wasn’t on purpose. I just wanted to see what was so great about the land dweller’s stick legs but then I got distracted by the shiny black block. I didn’t mean to let them see our tails,” Renata’s face fell.

“So they saw all three of you and your tails?” Javi moved closer to participate in the conversation.

Soon Violet summarized what had happened along with Louis and Renata who jumped in to add certain parts here and there. Some details were important while others like Renata talking about her flopping skills and Louis getting caught up in how pretty one of the land dweller’s eyes were weren’t crucial story beats.

After the trio had finished sharing, Javi and Santiago swam off a little distance to discuss the situation. It was clear based on the different merpeople’s reactions that their opinion on land dwellers was varied. After a few minutes the couple swam back over towards Violet, Louis and Renata.

Javi spoke first. “Okay, Santi and I have decided that it's best to stay put down here for a while. That means no one is allowed to go up to the cove’s surface.” Javi looked around the merpeople as he spoke.

“That includes for shits and giggles, to sneak glances at land dwellers and to confront them,” Santiago looked at Sophie and Renata then at Louis and finally at Minnie. All the merpeople mumbled in agreement and that was that. They knew that if they stayed put for a few weeks these land dwellers would get just as bored as the ones before. But based on Louis’ distraught reaction to the declaration and Renata and Sophie’s secret glance this was surely not going to be a rule that would be kept.