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solivagusdraco · 3 years

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From the Depths of a Lab: Boundaries Between Nonhumanity and Creativity through the Journey of a Potential Silvally 'kin

I'm a dragon.

That's a fact I've known for over a decade at this point. It was pure chance that I ever even learned of otherkin - somewhere along the line, one of my best friends mentioned being a therian, and so I asked what that was. If I ever had any doubts about my draconity just being something developed because I heard this new fascinating thing… the fact that I still feel my wings and get sense memories when I search for them, even after this long, would eliminate those… we'll call them worries. Perhaps a poor choice of words, but it's what fits in my experience - I'm firmly in the spiritual otherkin camp.

And perhaps that, and my continued journey to understand psychological 'kin, is part of the "problem" that spurred this essay.

Again, perhaps a poor choice in words.

This isn't some discussion about facets of the community, or debate on origins. My experiences aren't another's, just as theirs aren't mine. This is an essay on personal exploration, and the adventure of trying to confirm or deny a kintype whilst sifting through muddy water, years after I've last done any serious introspection on such topics. But if you're still interested in the personal ramblings of this dragon, then I welcome you and will pull up a nice rock for you to sit on. All I ask is patience, for words are hard for me. Talking about myself is even harder.

I awakened as a Dragon in 2010. I found a hearttype in Painted Dogs in 2014. Both of which were… simple.

I found my dragon in meditation and introspection, finding memories of both sense and the more traditional kind. The senses persisted, and still persist. Perhaps one day I'll wake and realize I'm not a dragon, but that doesn't change what I am now, nor how I feel. I am a dragon, and I found that through soul searching.

I found a home in painted dogs during a chance trip to the zoo. They had just recently finished a new exhibit for those fancy canines, and for some reason I just felt so excited to go see these creatures I'd never heard of before that moment. And then I saw them and while I didn't feel like looking in the mirror… It felt like looking through a photo album. I'm not them, yet still they're so familiar.

But this isn't an essay about dragons or canines. Or perhaps it's an essay about them both, just in a different, chimeric form.

Pokémon has always been a part of my life. As of writing this, I'm 27 and the franchise is 25 - the only part of my life without Pokémon are years I don't even remember. I learned the TCG, my first video games ever were Gold and Silver, I had plush and played pretend with my friends. I had favorites… but I never made a character. Not a trainer, not a Pokémon. Rather, it was literal decades before I made a proper Pokémon OC.

Sev the Silvally was made out of a desire to try and run a Pokémon ask blog as a means to improve my art skills through regular practice. I don't even remember the thought process that made me choose a Silvally over any of the other hundreds of Pokémon - I just knew that I'd started drawing and suddenly I had a crime against Arceus with a broken RKS Drive. Granted, Type: Null and Silvally had been my favorite Pokémon of that generation, and my inspiration for the blog was a Type: Null blog.

Later on, Sev would become something of a comfort and coping character for me.

I had been abused by someone I considered one of my best friends in high school, and while I had since recognized it as abuse by the time of Sev's creation… It still bothered me. So I decided to have Sev's escape from the Aether Paradise be that he was stolen by an abusive trainer, and his evolution happened when that trainer turned her abusive hand to a Rockruff pup - an evolution not through love for his trainer, but rather through a desire to protect. Sev escaped his abuse and got the chance to learn how to live without the shadow of his trainer looming over him, just like I hoped to do. Escape that shadow. Let Sev be my guide through the nightmares and hate scrolling that still persisted.

He stopped being just a character.

But what does this all have to do with otherkin?

As I mentioned, Pokémon has been a part of my life for effectively my whole life. Yet despite that… There's never been a Pokémon that gripped me with the intensity that Silvally has. I've hungrily looked for merch, official and unofficial. I'm in the midst of making a fursuit, complete with electronics. One of my Tumblr usernames is multi-attack, and oftentimes now when making an account on a website, the first thing I check is if 'Silvally' is taken as a username. The design I painted on my mailbox is of my dragon and Sev, in a sort of "coat of arms" reminiscent style. This chimeric Pokémon latched on to some part of my mind and refused to let go.

And yet it wasn't until this past year that I even considered that Silvally could be something other than a "mere" favorite character.

Perhaps it's a hearttype. Perhaps it's a kintype. Perhaps it is just a mere favorite character. Introspection is the answer, regardless. My way to find just what Silvally is to me. But then there comes another question. Another problem.

With my dragon, the hunt for memories was clear cut. I had no existing thoughts to sway the hunt, and what memories I eventually found… They had little comparisons to various dragon media I'd consumed. But I start this investigation with Silvally at a disadvantage - I've made a character with crafted backstory, and consumed what little canon information exists on the species. There's no blank slate for me to start from - whatever search I do will always be colored by Sev and his tale.

So then I have to ask myself:

Is Sev his own character, or is he me?

I've never had a character that I was able to just write. Perhaps it's akin to soulbonding, but what I've read on that experience just doesn't quite taste right for the circumstance. I'll create a path for my characters, a baseline for their personality to grow on… but all too frequently, they end up bucking those guidelines and becoming their own person, as it were. They don't keep me company in my mind, but they still make their own minds clear should I try to direct their story or actions in ways they don't agree with.

Where does one find the boundary between self and other, when those "others" make their own decisions yet aren't their own entities?

To say nothing of my tendency to dole out my flaws and traits to each of my characters. Each little facet of myself being the seed from which a character will grow. Sometimes as the simple fact that the familiar makes creation easier. Sometimes as a means to work through a problem. But regardless of reason, it doesn't change the fact that almost every character I've ever made has had some piece of me in their core.

But… When every character you make is a facet of yourself, the moment you consider that they might be more than just a character gets muddy. Is it a hearttype, born from a facet of yourself that your subconscious decided you needed to care for more? Or is that facet just a part of you that recognized what you were, long before your consciousness connected the dots? And if kintype it is, then how do you determine what memories are real? Were the plot points and character biology you designed mere fabrication of the mind? Or were they flashes of another life, fleshed out, recorded, and/or adapted in the name of writing?

As if the discovery and determination of memories wasn't already complicated enough.

Sev's name was the only decision I consciously made whilst creating him - shortened from 'severance', as his creation was for the partial purpose of finally separating myself from old memories. Everything else just… happened. There was no rhyme or reason or choice to anything. Not his color, not the reason he and the other Silvally of his world were created. Every plot point, every musing on his biology was a simple moment of "Oh, so that's how it happened".

In what way is that different from how I found my dragon, with her quiet nights of meditation and introspection until the memories and feelings fell into place?

Now don't misunderstand - this isn't me saying that discovering a kintype is nothing more than making a character. That couldn't be farther from what I'm saying! Rather, I'm musing on the question of where the boundary is between the creative process and the discovery process. If Sev (or just Silvally in general) isn't a kintype, then it's still fascinating to me that his creation was so similar to me discovering my dragon. And if he is a kintype? Then is that particular creative process something to be mindful of when contemplating "original character" kintypes?

Perhaps this question would be easier to find an "answer" to if I knew what Silvally was to me… but I don't! That's almost the point of this essay - a vague attempt to knock some solid feeling thought loose from my mind.

It just happened to lead to a fascinating line of thought.

#otherkin #otherkind #alterhuman #heraldic speaks

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for-the-ninth · 3 years

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‘ You should be resting. ’ yes, yes, hit me with that hurt/comfort!

Thank you for the @dadrunkwriting prompt! I'm gonna switch gears for this one and delve into some supporting OCs.

Vunora is one of Shielan's (my Dalish Inquisitor) childhood best friends. They had plans with one another that fell through, and Vunora really had no choice but to move on with her life. This little blurb is about Vunora and the first person she bonded with after Shielan left, Belavahna.

Note: Shielan's clan is large (around 150-200) and they live in five different social pods underground depending on their role (e.g. those who guard or hunt regularly stay in the pod closest to the surface). They call these pods "camps," or refer to them by their proximity (e.g. "Last Camp," "the Last," or "the Fifth" all refer to the pod farthest away from the surface entrance, as in the last area an invader would reach out of the five). They're strict isolationists, so trips out of the Plains are rare and require the Keeper's permission. Belavahna is a Therian (shapeshifters that guard the clan) and Vunora is a Lifelight (the word they use for Healers who take vows never to harm another living creature, even in self defense).

"The sun is setting!" Doshiel's amber voice echoed down the corridor and bounced off the painted stone walls of Vunora's room, and her heart surged with warmth.

Doshiel was the first to comfort her when Shielan left. He'd held her while she wept at night, dragged her from her bed each day to make sure she saw sunlight, and been her sounding board every time she got trapped in the "How could she do this to me?" cycle. But most importantly, he'd introduced her to Belavahna.

Belavahna was tall, and her skin a lovely shade of brown from years spent on the surface as a Therian. Vunora could still remember the first day she'd seen her face—that gorgeous chiseled jawline and pointed chin; and the thick, stiff brows that softened the moment she locked eyes with Vunora.

"I've never seen Belavahna smile like that," Doshiel had said to her, and though Vunora was flattered at the time, she was also dreadfully nervous. It would've taken her another six months to work up the nerve to speak to her if Belavahna hadn't left the surface to find her the next day—and come to see her almost every day after.

It'd taken years for Vunora to accept that Shielan wasn't coming back, and even if she had, things would never be the same. Vunora had often wondered if her obvious pining for Shielan would scare Belavahna off, but the woman's patience was everlasting. She let Vunora ramble on in angry circles until there was nothing left but a pile of sobs, at which point she stroked Vunora's hair with her calloused hands, and allowed her linen shirt to be soaked with tears. Vunora would always trip over herself apologizing, and Belavahna would only smile—that smile that seemed to reserved for Vunora only, because no one else claimed to have seen it—and say, "Thank you for trusting me."

Now, after three years of unending patience and compassion, Belavahna had asked Vunora to bond with her, and the answer was a resounding yes. The ceremony was meant to take place the following evening, so Doshiel had asked Keeper Istimaethoriel if he and Vunora could leave the Plains to collect flowers in a nearby forest.

"Who's escorting us this time?" Vunora called back, her own lilting tones bouncing down the corridor to Doshiel. A beat of silence passed, followed by the unmistakably gentle padding of Doshiel's bare feet headed in her direction.

"Probably Belavahna," he said, grinning as he rounded the corner. "I doubt any of the other Therians will have much interest in the flora and fauna."

Vunora folded her arms over her chest and scowled. "But I wanted them to be a surprise."

"Surprises don't keep for long around here," Doshiel said, chuckling. "You know that as well as anyone."

They left their homey little cave with torches and veils in hand, and scurried through the corridors with impatient excitement, nodding to the Guardians on their way out. Just before reaching the surface, they donned their veils and dumped their torches.

Vunora peeked through the slit of her veil and squinted into the dusk. "Strange," she said after a moment. "Where is everyone?"

She and Doshiel were utterly silent for a moment, heads tilting back and forth as they listened out for their clanmates. In the distance, a white flash of lightning crackled through the air followed by a cacophony of shrieking roars and battle cries that sent shivers down Vunora's spine.

"That wasn't from the sky," she said, but Doshiel was already sprinting in that direction.

"The bell!" he yelled over his shoulder, and kept running.

Vunora knew the plan and understood her role. She knew Lifelights were supposed to stay behind and warn the others, and she knew Keeper would be mildly enraged, to say the least, if Vunora swayed from that plan by not ringing that stupid bell. But Vunora also knew her lover was somewhere amidst that chaos, and she couldn't stop her feet from moving in Belavahna's direction.

By the time she reached Doshiel, the damage was done. Five human corpses—three warriors and two mages—were strewn across the sand with a battered wyvern laying on its side before them, its belly rapidly rising and falling with its panicked breaths. Doshiel was crouched at its head, his brows furrowed in the center.

"Belavahna!" Vunora hadn't thought she could run much further, but she used whatever stamina she had left to reach her lover now, skidding to a halt and nearly knocking Doshiel on his ass.

"You didn't ring the bell, did you?" he said.

"Fuck the goddamn bell, Doshiel!" Vunora planted her hands on either side of the wyvern's face and found its tired eyes.

Slowly, the wyvern faded and Belavahna came into view, hands clasped around her ribs and knees hugged into her chest. She was covered in bruises, cuts, and burns, and a deep gash stretched across her side, spilling blood into the sand. Vunora wasted no time. She tore a strip of fabric from her veil, lifted Belavahna's shirt, and applied pressure with the cloth.

"Hold it there," she said, and pressed Belavahna's own hands onto the wound. Belavahna hissed and gritted her teeth, but softened when she met Vunora's eyes. "I've got you."

But the shaking in Vunora's voice must have betrayed her lack of certainty, because Belavahna said, "You shouldn't be here, Nora."

"You say that like it's not my job to do this exact thing," Vunora said. With gentle hands, she peeled back the blood-soaked fabric on Belavahna's ribs and ran her fingertips along either side of the cut, taking care to move at a glacial pace so as to minimize her pain.

"You know what I mean," Belavahna snapped. "I was down by the time Doshiel got here, and he took the last mage out alone. If you'd gotten here seconds earlier, one of us would've died protecting you."

"Or I'd say to the Void with my vows, and kill them myself," Vunora replied, voice sharp as a knife's edge. Her hands shook as she worked, and her breaths came in uneven pants.

Belavahna narrowed her eyes. "You're pale, Nora. Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," Vunora replied, and even as she said it, a fresh drop of sweat trickled down the side of her flushed face. "I just haven't been feeling well."

"So you are sick." Belavahna sat up as though there weren't a giant bloody tear in her skin and grabbed Vunora by the shoulder. "You should be resting." She'd barely gotten the words out before collapsing onto her side with a sharp hiss.

"Oh, for the love of Mythal," Vunora said, and quick as lightning she sealed up Belavahna's wound without waiting for her skin cells to catch up, making her cry out through gnashed teeth.

"What the fuck, Nora?"

Vunora stood and yanked Belavahna to her feet. Her soon-to-be partner was a whole head and a half taller than she, and Vunora stared up at her, face twisted in stubborn defiance. "You are more important than my vows, I will always intervene when you're in danger, and I am not sick." Then, she turned around, bent over, and heaved her dinner into the desert sand.

Belavahna hobbled to her lover's side, clutching at the still tender site of her newest scar. Vunora wobbled and swayed as she stood, and Belavahna's hands flew out to steady her, eyes searching Vunora's face for answers.

"But I am pregnant," Vunora said, and her face was one of pleading, as though she expected Belavahna to admonish her.

But Belavahna only stared at her with wide eyes and a smile so big it could've shattered the skies. "We're having a baby—you and me?" She didn't wait for Vunora to answer before pulling her into an embrace and lifting her right off the ground. "Ar lath 'ma," she said, planting kisses on her head, nose, forehead and cheeks.

"Ar lath 'ma, vhen'an," Vunora replied, and allowed herself to melt beneath Belavahna's sweet, warm touch. "Now take me home, before I pass out."

#I spent way too long on this #also i'm stoned #so sorry if this makes no sense #lmfaooooo #my writing #dadrunkwriting #i love these two #i should write about them more #dragon age inquisition #lavellan clan

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thelightfluxtastic · 4 years

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30DayTheri 12: Humans

“Wait, seriously?” You might be thinking. “You’re doing a whole 30-day blog challenge about being nonhuman, and you’re going to talk about humanity?” Yes. Absolutely. Because how can I conceptualize my nonhumanity without talking about humanity?

I, for one, am very much in the “both other-and-human” camp. I still identify as a human, and calling myself a dog-person with both halves is important to me. There are a few reasons for this: 1.I’m a psychological therian, and for me part of that means knowing that everything I think and feel and know about dogs is filtered through a human brain. Ironic as it sounds, I think identifying as nonhuman is an incredibly human thing to do.

2. I don’t know how much domesticity plays into my still feeling connected to humanity, but it’s worth considering. I know there are non-domestic kin folk that still identify as human; I suspect I’d be the same if i was a wolf instead of a dog, but I can’t be 100% sure. I don’t have the alienation some other therians and otherkin do, and maybe that makes it easier to still feel human and feel ok with that.

Frankly it was a common motif that I just didn’t vibe with on therian/otherkin forums: the “uuuugh humans” mentality, whether as a complaint for struggling to understand them or the vagaries of external society or species dysphoria, or what. And to be clear I don’t begrudge anyone having that attitude! People have vastly different experiences and it’s valid for someone to feel more disconnected or frustrated or 100% nonhuman. It’s just not me.

Because I love humanity. Not just in my own identification as still-human, but observing the human species from a quasi-external perspective. Humanity is great! It gets into politics and philosophy a little, but I genuinely have a lot of faith and celebration in humanity. Some people (especially the grr arg apocalupse prep types) seem to think civilization is a thin veneer over humanity’s feral nature. But the fact is human societies have been through a few cataclysms, and we keep rebuilding. Over and over and over again. Society isn’t keeping humans from what they “really” want, society is what humans do. The mutual aid communities that popped up after hurricane Katrina are a good example, but there are more. I won’t get into it but see The Good Place as a good shorthand for my moral perspective. Humans are social beings, and, given the space and opportunity, try to connect. It’s one of the things I love about the domestication of dogs- two pack-bonding top-level predators encountered one another and went Friend?!?

I have a whole humans tag to capture the sort of things that make me love humanity. The big things like philosophy, sure, but also the little things. The way people will spontaneously sing. The way Ancient Rome had tacky souvenir pencils and there is viking graffiti saying stuff like “X was here”. It delights me every time I see something like that- this fundamental continuity that, across vast differences in culture and circumstance, people have always been...people.

I also like learning physical stuff about humans as a species. The way humans are especially enduring as pursuit predators, or how we can throw better than any other species, or those video montages of people doing neat athletic stunts. I can’t mimic the vast majority of it, but it’s fascinating to see what’s possible. Honestly it always makes me think of some distant or alternate-universe alien that is the equivalent of humankin. That poor individual might be accused of only going for a cool, romanticized species. Or a mary sue, if they’re the roleplaying type. (OMG humans totally can have green and purple hair, and live to be a hundred, and do backflips!!!) Something about that mental image is fun and endearing to me. Humans are treated as “default” and “boring” so much I think people forget to consider how fascinating the species would be from an external, sentient perspective.

#30 Days of Therianthropy #humans #otherkin #therian #human #alterhuman #mine

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nutmegpirate · 4 years

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Tao Kallan

[GENERAL] Age: 343; looks/feels 22 Gender: Female Species: Tiger Therian Height & Weight: 5'6 (167.6cm); 130lbs (59kg) Birthday: May 15th Occupation: Waiter (former mercenary) Relationship Status: Single Orientation: fitesexual currently undecided Faction: Rosario

[IDENTITY] Personality: + Confident + Fearless + Enthusiastic = Competitive - Hot-headed - Stubborn - Reckless

As a born fighter, Tao loves the thrill of a good brawl, whether it be an impulsive scrap in the street or a coordinated, weapons-out battle. Despite her explosive personality, she keeps her head clear in heated situations - especially those she creates herself. While not at all shy or introverted, she is a natural loner due to her hard-headed stubborness. She works best alone and even better against others, preferring casual rivalries to actual friendships. Fortunate is the soul whom she calls friend. She uses her love of fun and competition to bury uncomfortable feelings such as grief, loneliness, and especially romantic ones, which confuse her the most. These feelings do not exist, okay??!! Despite her ability to hold rational thought under stress, she often overextends herself when the blood runs hot, throwing herself into situations much too large for her to deal with or addressing people with too much enthusiasm or anger and driving them away. She views frightening things merely as new challenges to take on, which she does with glee. Backstory:

When Tao was young, she ran away from home.

Not for long, of course. She was still a child, barely tall enough to turn the door handle on her own. She slipped away when her tutor's back was turned, leaving her history lesson on the table, and was almost a mile into the woods around the estate by the time her family caught her and took her home. It was her first escape, and it wouldn't be her last.

Tao's family were artists, all of them in different disciplines. Her mother was a writer, a literary architect, crafting great literature and collections of poetry. Her father sang, and had once graced the stages of concert halls before settling down at the estate to raise his family. The eldest brother learned music from him and filled pages with compositions both vocal and instrumental. And the second brother became a master of paint and canvas, drawing forth worlds of color and light with his brush.

And not a single one of them knew how to have fun! So Tao ran away from home. She got better at it, the more she practiced. The longer she stayed away, the fewer fistfights she got in with visiting families' children, and the fewer scoldings she received for dancing too wildly at the stately dinners and galas held at the estate. She learned new lessons, not from a tutor, but from nature. She learned to stand in the stream until the fish nibbled her ankles and to snatch one out of the water with her claws. She learned how to snap sparks using magic into a dry pile of leaves for a cook fire. She learned how the animals moved in hidden trails through the underbrush, and how they rested, camouflaged, in sun-speckled shadows. She learned how the winds brought the weather and how to dig out an embankment for shelter in a storm. At first, she could stay away for hours. When she reached her teens, she was gone for days.

Then she never came back at all.

Her shirking of lessons came back to bite her. With little knowledge of the lay of the land, Tao went a little too far from home. The wilderness called her, and within a few weeks, she had lost the way back entirely. She felt a change in the land while wandering the vast plains and rolling hills - a drought, it felt like. Foliage withered, prey grew scarce, and the little brooks she drank from became muddy and shallow. The sparks she made with her fingertips came less and less easily.

Just a few miles away in the ruins of an old outpost, secluded from civilization, lived a sorcerer who feared death. Despite his elvish longevity, a terrible sickness had taken hold of Aegis, and so he shut himself away to find the secret to immortality using dark and forbidden methods. Each day he grew weaker, and so used the life force of other living things to sustain his spells and experiments with no regard for the waste of life he perpetrated. In the cold undercroft of his outpost he devised a spell - successful in theory, but risky. He'd need a test subject first before applying it to himself. Out here, though, where could he find one in time?

Tao stumbled across the outpost, footsore and fatigued after days without food or rest, desperate for a safe place to bed down. She entered the ruin without her usual wariness and selected a level section of the earth floor to make camp.

"You'll do."

As Tao turned, a cold numbness gripped her limbs, spreading quickly through her body. Her eyes remained fixed, frozen, on the elf before her. He looked crestfallen. "Can you move at all?" he asked her. Tao longed to tell him what she would do to him if she could move, but of course, being completely encased in frost, she could not move, and therefore not speak. Nor could she blink, or look away, or even breath. Rage consumed her, but it did no good, and her life for the next immeasurable span of years became one monotonous day after another, with the sorcerer pacing before her, in and out of her field of vision, studying her and the effect of his spell.

He had accomplished at least part of his goal, it seemed, as his captive did not age or wither over the years. But being unable to move or free oneself made the spell a failure, useless to him. Existing, frozen, for eternity? That was not living. He began anew, though death drew ever nearer, determined to preserve himself even if it meant the end of more lives, and Tao could only watch him with ever-burning hatred.

Then the day came when Aegis left the outpost and never returned, and Tao's endless fury, without a person to focus on, gave way to fog. In the fog, she found, she didn’t notice the time passing so much. And so she slept. Nothing is infinite, however. Without the sorcerer to sustain it, the spell, regardless of how strong the magic, began to degrade. The fog in Tao's mind cleared a little when she felt the change. The process was slow, agonizingly slow, a true test of her mental fortitude as she waited for the right moment. Years further must have passed by the time she felt the icy bonds become brittle. With a roar pulled from the darkest reaches of her tiger soul, Tao moved, and the ice shattered. She collapsed on legs that couldn’t remember how to stand and struggled to draw breath after forgetting how for over three hundred years, years she had no idea had passed.

When she recovered, she wasted no time heading home, but found she could not quite remember the way. What should have been a few days' journey stretched to nearly a month. When she at last found the estate, it was not the home she remembered; it had been converted to apartments and flats for rent, and the people there were little help with their strange, garbled speech. They directed Tao through the woods, and there she found a city that had not existed before.

Thus began her time in Almaria.

First, she studied. Through a great deal of questioning and delves into the library's special collections and archives, she found that more than three hundred years had elapsed since her imprisonment by Aegis, and in that time, the Kallan line had died out with her youngest brother's family. The estate and all its contents had been auctioned off or donated - much of the art ending up in the archive itself - leaving Tao with nothing.

Except her drive for vengeance.

Burying all the complex feelings that came with finding out one's family has been dead for 300 years, Tao began her hunt. She tried her best to exist peacefully in the modern world, all the while honing her fire magic and gathering whispers. Three hundred years should have barely touched an elf; Aegis had to be out there. The archives bore no record of him, nor did any of the graveyard headstones. She gathered allies, friends and rivals, and walked dangerous roads with them, getting into trouble here and there. At last, a lead, but a false one. The return to the outpost gave her nothing but more secrets and ash. Though the world is altered now, and Arcadia's history different from what Tao remembers, she knows Aegis is still around, somewhere, well hidden. She won't let the paradox in her memory deter her. She will find him, and inflict all the pain on him that he ever did on her.

Abilities: - Tiger Senses: Sense of smell and hearing are stronger than your average human's, and she has night vision. - Firestarter: This covers creation of sparks with a snap, or heating small objects in her hands. - Flame Resist: She is somewhat resistant to her practiced element of choice, but not immune. - Burning Hands: Allows her to light her hands on fire and extinguish them at will, as well as maintain and control the flame's intensity. (unlocked through RP) - Blaze Command: Tao can manipulate the movement fire to a small extent, even blazes she did not create, though they do not listen as well as her own flames. (unlocked through RP) Strengths & Weaknesses: + Fighter: she’s got moves and muscle and can take quite a few hits + Survivor: she knows how to last in the wilderness a loooooong time + Rhythm: despite her lifelong rejection of her family's practice of the arts, Tao has an excellent sense of rhythm and beat and can tap a drum quite well - and dance along to it even better. - Hard-headed: good luck getting her to function on a team or to follow orders she disagrees with. - Loud: when around other people she can get pretty… shouty. Usually not tactful things, either. - Short fuse: not always in an angry way, but she’ll challenge anything with a “fight me,” and not sarcastically. - Ignorant: there's a lot she just doesn't know yet, from slang to locations to magic to technology.

Likes & Dislikes: + fighting or competing (and winning at both) + exploring the outdoors + swimming + free food + dragons - confined spaces/being trapped - bossy/stuffy people- formal events - being touched in a friendly way (wrestle? yes. hug? no.) - Aegis

[EXTRA] - She's flown twice on dragonback, fulfilling a lifelong dream of flying, and longs to go again someday. - Her hair used to be long, worn in a ponytail. She cut it short not long after breaking free. - She has pads on her hands and feet, and fur on her ears, tail, lower legs, and feet. - Enhanced vocal chords allow her to make these kinds of sounds. - Her speech is still pretty old-fashioned, but she's making a conscious effort to adopt modern speaking patterns.

Relationships: - Whole immediate family has passed away. - Akane: Best friend and slam-dunk pool buddy, troublemaker-in-arms, etc etc; current employer. - Aithne: Fire rival; secretly friends but Tao will never admit it. - Yao: Detested enemy for minorly poisoning her when they first met. - Delta: An ally, though kind of a fragile one. - Nisha: Boss with the money. But not anymore! Because she has a new job now. :D - Yelena: Sharp! And fighty, like herself. They get along pretty well, though Tao is not totally sold on the person-shaped-sword thing - it mystifies her. - Takuto: Another fighting ally. Though they met on shaky terms, she'd have his back in a scrap. [RP PREFERENCE] Media: [Discord] | [Google Docs] Methods: Paragraph | Literature | Script | Headcanon Timezone: MST

#arcadia #art

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thegreatpikminzx789 · 5 years

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Beyond the Stars - Etrian Odyssey V - Chapter 11

Wattpad|Ao3

Summary: Keiko and Demetria go clothes shopping for their new friend, and the rest of the guild prepare themselves for the next stretch of the journey into the labyrinth.

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A/N: Apologies for this not being up earlier. I was debating on putting pictures I made to help create some imagery, but then this chapter was held off even longer until I decided I should just keep going with writing instead.

Drayce, Zohar, and Ashton (c) @theshatteredrose

It happened so suddenly. From being in the Council Hall, to buying clothes in the nearby shopping store... Honestly, if this wasn't the weirdest day Amare would commit to memory, who knows what would be the weirdest thing she has done. It's been about a few years since she had even bothered to shop for new clothes, so being out and about in a public place felt so difficult due to hiding within the labyrinth for the last fifty years.

"There must be something suitable for Necromancers..." Keiko spoke up, looking around for a suitable article of clothing. "The only thing that I'd imagine being suitable would be open hoodies and jackets. Aside from the other female Necromancer's clothing, I'm not sure if these would be viable for Amare's clothes..." Demetria pondered, thinking about wanting to look for something that's at least some decent article of clothing.

The twin Therians looked around, with Amare following close behind them. If a particular area didn't have anything interesting, they moved onto somewhere else. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, only changing factor being the needle is clothing that would work for Amare.

Soon, Amare was looking back and forth at the twin sisters, who were going left and right all over the place just to find a suitable piece of clothing. Despite wanting to follow them, the Necromancer knew nothing would come from it. So, she started to wander on her own, hoping to find something of interest.

Amare looked through the areas the Therians looked at prior. Perhaps they might have glanced over something that they didn't notice the first time around. Moving all these clothes was difficult, due to the hangers typically wanting them to fall back to their original place.

Minutes passed, and she felt like she wasn't getting anywhere. She had only just gotten to the third spot they visited for clothes, but was searching through it be just a waste of time? Night would fall way before they're able to make it back to the Crescentia...

"Why did I think this would be the right size?" A voice groaned, catching Amare's attention, turning to see a female Therian citizen with purple hair, and almost similar skin color to Keiko and Demetria, holding an interesting piece of Necromancer clothing. It was a mix between the older Necromancer dresses, along with a hoodie, along with a silver skull, and a single strand of chains connecting around the cloth.

"Now what am I going to do with it? I can't just take it back, that store doesn't have a take back policy..." The female Therian sighed, lost on what to do with the cloth she held. Amare silently walked up to her.

"Hey, is it alright if I can have that particular piece of clothing from you?" Amare spoke up, surprising the Therian as she turned to face the young Necromancer. "W-Where'd you come from?!" She yelped.

"Sorry about that," Amare apologized. "Didn't think silently walking up would be a more appropriate way to strike up conversation."

The female Therian sighed, calming herself down a bit before continuing the out-of-nowhere conversation. "Truth be told, I bought this piece of clothing because it was the only one, but I guess I must have messed up by not reading the size tags..." The Therian explained.

"Though I guess you can have it. Saves me the time in figuring out what to do with it." She handed over the article of clothing to the tiny Necromancer, holding it easily in her hands.

"Are you sure you don't want anything in return for this?" Amare asked, wanting to make sure in case the Therian ever needed anything. "Oh, no, I already gotten everything I needed. But, uh, thanks for asking anyways." Well, thought she'd ask anyways.

"The name's Amare." The pink haired Necromancer spoke, after a few seconds of silence passed. "Shizuka." The purple haired Therian responded with her name. A rather pleasing name, especially for a Therian.

"Are you part of a guild?" Amare queried. "No, I'm more of a solo explorer. I do things my own way..." Shizuka declared.

A solo explorer? The labyrinth is already dangerous as it is, so why explore it alone? Did she have her reasons, or did she have one previously? Many questions started to arise, but if she asked them now, they'd be here forever.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. Thanks again for letting me have this." Amare bowed, likely wondering in the back of her mind that Keiko and Demetria are looking for her.

"No problem, ma'am. Good luck with exploring the labyrinth." Shizuka hummed, making her leave. Amare couldn't help but feel like her aura is quite different from the other Therians she witnessed roaming through the streets.

But now's not the time to dwell on that. With the objective cleared, she made her way back to where Keiko and Demetria likely were at. The two were likely worried for her, having noticed a bit too late that they lost her.

"Amaaaare, where are you?!" Keiko's voice reached her ears, as the Celestrian spotted Keiko and Demetria a few feet ahead of her. She didn't need to respond, as walking to the Therians was not an issue.

"Worry not, you two, I'm here..." Amare spoke up once she was in talking distance, feeling Keiko and Demetria stare at her. "How can we not, we realized you weren't following us! We thought something bad happened to you!" Demetria exclaimed, before spotting a piece of clothing in her hands.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked the Necromancer. "Got it from somebody named Shizuka. Said she got the wrong size, and I felt like it'd fit me just fine." Amare answered, looking back up to the Therians once she stopped looking at the piece of clothing.

"I don't suppose you two can find a room for me to change in? I'm getting too cold with each passing s-second." She asked, holding tightly to the clothing as she felt a chill run through her spine. The twin Therians wasted no time, guiding Amare somewhere she can change clothes in peace. Though they also had to hurry, as they had to meet up with the others once they were done.

................................................................................................................

Back at the Crescentia, the others left the carriage, as Hilda and Ashton open the doors. "Welcome back, Drayce." The man greeted, as Drayce exchanged some words in return. "Dinner's ready, by the way. Hilda is surprisingly a great cook."

Korey noticed a little smile form on Hilda's lips. "Is she now? Well then, I'm quite curious as to what she cooked up!" Drayce grinned, as Korey was wondering the same thing as he was. He never thought of her to be a great cook... but looking at the female Harbinger clothing again, there was no shadow of a doubt that they dress somewhat similar to maids.

"...Where's Keiko and Demetria? Weren't they with you guys?" Hilda inquired, a little worried about them not being with them.

Footsteps quickly approached them lightning fast, that Korey barely had time to respond when he turned around, seeing Keiko nearly trip onto him again. He surprisingly caught her at the last second.

"J-Jeez, Keiko, don't startle me like that!" Korey exclaimed, as the Masurao stood upward with the Fencer's help. "S-Sorry... we came running as fast as we can. We didn't want to wait for another carriage to show up."

The brown haired Fencer blinked in astonishment, before seeing Demetria and Amare approach them. "A-Amare... Those clothes fit you nicely..." Altum gulped, seeing Amare's new clothes., as the others turned their gazes at the millennium necromancer.

It carried the same vibe as a typical Necromancer's clothing, but at the very least they weren't... quite revealing. It brought some warmth to her skin, so that she wouldn't get cold whenever they camp outdoors. She mumbled some tender loving words back at Altun before urging him to go inside before he ends up freezing cold. Which confused the Celestrian because he was wearing more clothing than she was all their life.

Chuckling a bit over hearing Altum and Amare's back and forth conversation, Korey and Drayce's group enter inside, as Ashton guides the Lux Guild over to the dining hall. The pleasant sound of conversation between guild members easily reached Korey's ears, seeing his newfound guild get along with a well formed guild.

After all, it's not every day one gets wrapped up in exploring for ancient treasures.

"You gonna stare, or are you gonna sit?" Zohar insisted, pointing to the empty chairs beside him. Korey nearly flinched upon hearing Zohar speak to him, but relaxed seconds after and sat down, with Drayce sitting to his right. Hilda, Keiko, Demetria, Bortos, Altum, and Amare sat on Korey's left side.

"There's so many types of food..." Amare cooed, unsure which ones to grab. "Better than the raw materials we had to fight for in the labyrinth, eh Amare?" Altum hummed, helping his wife pick out the food she wished to taste.

Curiously, Hilda grabbed quite a bit of variety of food. Chicken, vegetables, meat, and a lot more food that took time and effort were equally spread across her plate. Perhaps she liked to sample the food before dedicating herself to one, the Fencer thought to himself.

As Korey shrugged off the thought and began to indulge himself on the meal he grabbed, he tried to listen in on some of the conversations he and his guild members had. Though he wasn't quite able to tell much, he picked up faint details about one guild member of the Angelward talking about how their day went while the others were off assisting the Lux Guild. The ones who did join the Lux Guild discussed about the guild they had came across, which made Hilda a little nervous, urging them to talk about something else when she didn't stuff her cheeks with food.

Looking back, he didn't expect that by picking up that one unnoticeable box on the first floor of the labyrinth, that he and his guild would suddenly jump into the thrilling excitement of treasure hunting. Would the same events happen had they didn't find the treasure? Could another guild have come across it, with much more darker intentions once they did find the treasure inside?

Korey was quite known for thinking about the alternative scenario quite a bit growing up, which tended to end up making him fear other possibilities of a certain situation. But even if it led to him being restless a little bit, it was still fun for him to speculate such possibilities. He looked up at his fellow guild members, and just smiled, seeing how much fun they're having. They didn't really reach far into Yggdrasil's labyrinth, but the sheer fact that they succeeded in their first treasure hunt was really making him proud of himself.

"I know a smile when I see one." Drayce's voice startled Korey as he turns to face the red haired Dragoon, chuckling upon seeing Korey flinch. He patted the Fencer's back before giving him a smile of his own.

The way he smiled... it reminded Korey of his little sister, back when he was younger. "If you need any help regarding treasure, you know where to come to now. Just give us a holler, and we'll do our best to help." Drayce hummed, as he took a bite out of his own meal.

"Thanks, Drayce. We... wouldn't have gotten this far had we tried on our own." Korey replied, his smile returning for a couple of seconds before focusing on his food once more.

Time had passed quite easily, all the members of both guilds almost unaware how fast it came and went. Some members of the Lux Guild were quite helpful in washing the plates and cups, while everyone else helped clean up the mess in the dining hall. By the time they were finished, it the moon was quite high up in the night sky.

"Should we get back to the inn?" Keiko asked, before noticing Kyo's tired head shake no in response. "After all that walking and fighting, dinner had just made me quite exhausted..." The brown skinned Celestrian groaned, not looking forward to having to walk back.

Other members of the Lux Guild began to express their dislike of having to walk back when it's quite dark out. "Keiko would just trip more easily if she doesn't know where she's going." Demetria blurted out, which the other sister replied with confusion as to how her sister came to that conclusion.

Drayce, who was more than likely trying to sneak off and attempt to do research, noticed that Korey's guild was still here, and approached Korey, who turned to face him when he noticed him. "Sorry if we're making this much noise, Drayce, but I'd like to ask for one more thing while we're here..." Korey apologetically began.

"You wish to ask if you want to stay here in the Crescentia for the night?" The Dragoon educated a guess, which surprised the Fencer easily. "W-What are you, a psychic?!" He exclaimed, before seeing a grin on the Dragoon's face.

"Nah, I could just tell by everyone's faces." Drayce reassured, patting Korey's shoulder, before quieting the conversation the other members of the Lux Guild. "People of the Lux Guild, I know how tired you all are from today's events," The Dragoon began, almost like he had rehearsed a speech.

Bortos, Keiko, Demetria, Hilda, Charon, Ion, Altum, and Amare listened intently, despite their bodies having a tough time standing up straight. "So until you've regained your strength, you're more than welcome to stay in the Crescentia for the night. Don't worry, it's on me." Drayce continued, hearing the others sigh with relief.

"Thank goodness... Ion not want to walk and waste magic trying to light up the path back to Jenetta's Inn." Ion was the most relieved of them all. Kyo and Altum simply nodded alongside Ion's statement.

"Feel free to take some of the vacant rooms. I'll fix them up by the time you all head back out." The Dragoon also added, as the others began to walk up the spiral stairs.

Korey partially made his way up the stairs, before looking back at Drayce. "Thanks again, Drayce... You're a real kind man." Korey thanked once again, hearing him chuckle a bit.

"It's what I like to do, you know." Drayce hummed. "Anyways, have a good night's rest, now." He waved, as the Fencer waved goodbye as well, climbing up the rest of the stairs and took the first vacant room he can find, hearing his own guild members say their good nights to one another before closing the door behind him.

Korey looks around the room, seeing a neatly organized room. A table, a bed, a place to store clothes... whose to say a room in a guild house would be better than the inn's rooms, but neither he nor his parents have the current money to buy a guild house of his own. He didn't recall if his parents had a guild house or not. It would take some time for them to respond, but perhaps writing a letter to them about the idea could get some gears rolling.

Though as much as he would love to rest now, the restless side of him urged him to stay up a little longer until he just couldn't anymore. Looking outside the window, the night sky easily shone through the glass, giving the room a bit of that nightly feel to it. Korey tried to count the many stars in the sky, but he'd lose track partway through before giving up after several attempts.

Stargazing didn't do much, so he reached into his bag, taking out a notebook of some sort. Lighting up the nearby lamp, he took a bit of time finding writing utensils in the room, before settling down and began to write all that happened today. The notebook was a gift from his parents when he was reaching a point of being able to explore the labyrinths.

He thought of it as having no use if he ever planned to journey to Yggdrasil, so it was placed into his bag without a second thought. Time soon changes that plan, as he made sure not to rush his own hand writing, trying to make each stroke perfectly clean. Part way through writing, he looked out at the window again, thinking about his young sister, who saw him off with his mom and dad as he and Kyo went to Iorys.

"I wonder if she would be proud..." Korey pondered, before resuming back to his writing to finish the last few sentences. "With day one a huge success as it is, I wonder if we'll find more of Yggdrasil's treasures, lying higher up on its branches..." He muttered to himself, writing down the exact words, ending it off with a signature, and closed the notebook.

Without any hesitation, mostly because he started getting tired halfway through his writing, he takes off the light armor he wore, placing them nearly next to each other a couple of feet away from his book. He takes out some casual clothes he brought with him from his home, taking his sweet time to be as comfortable as he can. Lord knows sleeping with armor on will do wonders in the labyrinth, there's just no need to waste its potential in a simple room.

A knock on his door shifted his attention from turning off the lamp. Was anyone else still up later than him...? He heads to the door, opening it to see a tired Hilda look up at him.

"H-Hilda? What are you doing staying up this late?" He inquired, noticing how tired she was.

She took a deep breath before answering his question. "I just...couldn't get enough sleep. I was...wondering if it would be alright if I stay in your room?" Hilda retorted with a question of her own, not making a comment when Korey's cheeks slightly turned red.

"A-Are you sure? W-What if the others get the wrong idea?" Korey whispered, trying not to make as much noise as possible.

Hilda's head tilted a bit to her left. "And...? It's not like we're doing anything wrong in a public area, we're just...friends, wanting to comfort the other, even if their friend is the very leader and founder of the guild." She explained.

Not wanting to argue any further, Korey sighs and motions for her to enter, closing the door behind her. Hilda looked a bit around his room, seeing the neatly tucked away armor and articles of clothing, before noticing the book next to the lamp. "A notebook, huh?" She approached the table where it lied upon and took it to herself to read the content within.

"I uh... decided to keep track of the events that happened everyday from this day on." Korey began, as Hilda listened while reading through the book, closing the book after reading the first page. "I suppose that's one way to tire yourself out, eh?" Hilda hummed, seeing him nod in response.

Korey sat on the bed, trying to arrange it so that it'd comfortably hold two people. The room was silent for quite a while, before he noticed Hilda pacing a bit back and forth. "You OK there, Hilda?" He asked, a little curious about what's on her mind.

She stopped and sat next to him, placing her hands on her lap. "Well... I'll be honest, I couldn't get some sleep because I feel bad about judging you too quickly back at Jenetta's Inn." Hilda began, taking a moment or two before she continued on.

"Ever since my break up with Byron...I feared that anyone, male or female, would attempt to pull the same tricks he did. My heart was still upset over that man, and seeing him again...didn't do any wonders."

Korey felt a bit pained to hear Hilda's explanation, but he looked a little worried once he noticed some tears forming in her eyes. "All because of one incident in the labyrinth, he replaces me... it's not... fair..." Hilda tried desperately to continue, before leaning onto Korey's shoulder, letting her tears out all over again.

He could only guess that this anxiety and fear is what keeps making her a bit weary of the others who might do just that, even if they weren't in a relationship so rare as boyfriend and girlfriend... Although she did explain who he was back in Iorys, it seemed to only resurface her terrible memories. A bit lost on how to properly encourage her to move on from him, he placed an arm around her and patted her back, silently letting her run her tears dry.

After a few minutes, Hilda wipes away her tears, looking at Korey as he looks back at her. "You know...you're more comfortable to be around than it has been with Byron." She noted, noticing Korey's cheeks turn red a bit before shaking the feeling off.

"Maybe...maybe it's because I can help you try and conquer your fear of being betrayed..." Korey began. "It's... not going to be easy, but I promise you, no matter what it takes, I'll make your time here in the Lux Guild enjoyable. Not just for me, but for everyone."

Those words... for whatever reason she couldn't comprehend, she felt like those words had some warmth to them. And... for the first time... a smile formed on her face. Her arms acted on their own, as they pulled him in for a hug.

Surprised, but finding the feeling quite relaxing, Korey returned the hug. They sat there for what felt like forever, with neither of them wanting to let go of the other. "Thank you, Korey." Hilda finally spoke, seeing a smile on his face too.

"Your welcome, Hilda." Korey hummed, before getting up and turned off the lamp. Any minute longer and they'll be quite as tired as they were today.

One last question bothered Hilda, as she took the right most side of the bed. "Korey... we're friends, right?" She asked, stopping Korey a bit as he turned to look at her, before giving her another smile.

"We've been friends the moment we started journeying into the Yggdrasil, Hilda. And I hope things will be different than your previous experience." He assured, seeing her sigh in relief before he lied down onto the bed, as they exchange their good nights.

.......................................................................................................

The morning sky gives off its bright glow once more. Everyone in the Lux Guild was roaring to go, their energy renewed for the day. Korey turned to face Drayce and Ashton, who were more than likely up earlier than the other Angelward members first to see them off.

"Well, it has been fun having a guild around to change things up for a change." Drayce hummed, as Korey lets out a chuckle. "It sure was, Drayce." He replied, seeming to have enjoyed visiting the Crescentia.

Ashton simply grinned for what seemed like a second. "If you ever have any questions about treasure, you are more than welcome to visit. Me and my guild will gladly do our best to help. And maybe we'll get to see new members of each others' guilds every now and then!" Drayce continued, with a grin on his face.

"We wish you the best of luck in climbing the Yggdrasil." Ashton added, even if it was a minor note that Drayce wasn't gonna mention. "And me and the others wish you the best of luck in uncovering the treasures that Yggdrasil holds." Korey replied with a similar wish.

Drayce hummed, before Hilda walked up to Korey. "We're ready to go, Korey." Korey nodded at Hilda's notification, taking an Ariadne Thread from her hand, looking back at Drayce and Ashton once he stood with his guild.

The three of them didn't exchange words, but instead waved goodbye to each other. Afterward, Korey and Hilda used the Ariadne Threads they had to teleport them and their guild back to Iorys, with Hilda going first, taking Ion, Charon, Altum and Amare, while Korey took Bortos, Kyo, Keiko and Demetria. The sounds of the citizens beginning to stir and make conversation didn't surprise most of the guild members.

Korey and the others returned to Jenetta's Inn, as they had to prepare for the next stretch of whatever goal they need to do next. And one can't think without having some food in their stomach. Or something to that effect, as Keiko constantly spouts that philosophy whenever she can't think of an idea.

The conversations of explorers in the inn didn't bother the guild as they sat and ate breakfast. With ten members in the guild, planning about what to do took some time, especially because they needed an income somehow. "We could easily go up to the third floor, but going in there unprepared may make things worse than needed..." Korey began to ponder, while taking a bite out of the bread in his hand.

"Plus, we do need to make a map of the second floor." Demetria added, noting that things wouldn't be so easy without some way to recognize their location. Hilda seemed to nod at what Demetria said, agreeing with the notion.

Some of the other members began to ponder what to do. "If I may make things simpler," Altum announced. "Perhaps a group of us can go around the collection points and slay monsters to gain some materials to sell, while the other group makes the map to the second floor." He proposed, giving the members some time to settle on the idea before coming to an agreement.

"Great. Then I, the mighty Charon declare that I'll be the leader of slaying the fiendish monsters!" Charon announced, as Ion chuckled at the Harbinger trying his Harbinger of Death personification again.

Korey chuckled a bit, before composing himself a bit. "Alright, Charon. Who wants to stick with him, I suppose?" He asked, probably wanting to make sure he diversifies his team well enough so that they're balanced out in the end.

"I'll go," Demetria declared. "I'll need to get used to the Aeterna, and to make sure I don't properly misuse the miasma in a dire situation."

As far as everyone was aware, a potential misfire could mean disaster. Granted, if they didn't have Bortos, they would've had to prepare to be stocked to the brim with Theracia's. Best to take it slow and steady, and see when the opportune time to use the miasma will come to effect.

Keiko soon followed up with wanting to come along, promising not to trip up during their training. Altum and Kyo volunteered themselves as well, making the process a little more easier. "So me, Hilda, Ion, Amare, and Bortos shall explore the second floor to make a map about it." Korey nodded, rather thankful of his guild members to make the splitting process easier.

"And if we do get enough time, we could explore a tiny bit of the third floor." Hilda added, just as a means of spending a little more time should they finish the map quicker than expected. She didn't want to rush head on back into the floor she only partially knew about.

She could only ponder that her ex-boyfriend's guild will likely pester the guild she's in now that Byron is fully aware she's trying to catch up. Having not seen him in forever, it's going to be difficult to determine what he's gonna do to try and slow her guild down... Unlike Korey's more organized guild, two Necromancers together is already begging for trouble, as they have to share the wraiths they summon.

After everyone ate their breakfast, they started to gather their stuff and prepared to head out to the labyrinth. Hilda took a look upon Yggdrasil, staring at it for what seemed like an eternity. If they were to climb, they'd surely meet Byron and his guild waiting for them at some point in the labyrinth. How far they'll have to go to see them is anyone's guess. However, Hilda was not gonna let the past bother her.

"Byron," Hilda muttered to herself. "Soon, I'll show you the pain you caused me back then... Because when we meet again, I'm sure to be stronger than you."

#eo #eov #Etrian Odyssey V #Etrian Odyssey #writ #etrianodysseyv

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shackled-fox · 2 years

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Lmao, I only did the first one then quit but imma keep doing it!

Day 2: Are you out? To whom?

I would consider myself out! All of my friends that aren’t alterhuman themselves know as well as my parents.

A couple other members of my family I’ve told but I really feel no need to tell others unless they ask me, same with coworkers and the such but I’m completely open about it if they do ask. At my previous job working at a camp I had a couple people ask me if I was a therian because I wore a tail (wore them mostly for the kids and the horses liked playing with it). So, a couple random coworkers know too hha

#30 day nonhuman challenge #therian #otherkin #flicker #therianthropy #alterhuman

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theshatteredrose · 7 years

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The Treasure Seeker - Saga 1 (Chapter 7) - Etrian Odyssey 5 Fanfiction

AN: Wow, almost didn’t make this week’s schedule, haha~ A longer chapter this week as well. Took a life of its own really. Hoped everyone had a decent Christmas break and the next update will be in the New Year. So please enjoy reading and let me know what you think~!

AO3 | Wattpad | FFNet

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 7:

It was mid-afternoon as Drayce returned to the Crescentia with Kamali in tow. Ashton chose to stay behind for a little while longer to speak with Shashi about something. He of course wouldn’t divulge what and just told Drayce to go ahead and that he’d follow shortly.

The walk back to the guildhouse had been a rather quiet one. Drayce didn’t mind the silence. He knew when to talk and when to shut up. Well, for the most part at least. But Kamali was really quiet and seemed to be almost lethargic as he looked idly at the passing scenery. He also appeared a little nervous, at some point during their walk his hand had snuck out to snare a very light grip on the back of Drayce’s jacket.

His lethargy and apprehension must be what Shashi mentioned earlier. How the stagnate spiritual energy of the city made him feel listless.

So in order not to drain Kamali of any more of his energy, Drayce remained silent. He couldn’t help but watch him from the corner of his eye, though, feeling concerned and protective. As they drew closer to the Crescentia, though, he could see that Kamali was perking up a little.

And as they passed through the front gate of the Crescentia, Kamali perked up into an energetic state. He released his loose grip on the back of Drayce’s coat as he looked around with wide eyes. Not of panic or fear, though. Out of curiosity and interest. Maybe even excitement.

“This place…?” Kamali murmured as he hands fidgeted in front of him.

“Yeah, this is the Crescentia,” Drayce answered, not entirely sure what to make of Kamali’s suddenly burst of energy.

“I can detect so much mana here,” Kamali unexpectedly replied. “It’s energetic but also peaceful. Comforting in a way.”

Oh? To him it reminded him of his grandfather. And that, well that also brought feelings of comfort and security. And of adventure. He thought that maybe it was just him and his connection to the place, but it was nice to hear that another found the Crescentia held character all of its own.

“Is it bothering you?” Drayce asked.

“Not at all,” Kamali replied as he drifted forward to the front stoop, eagerly taking in all the details he could. He paused, however, and spun around to face him with a shocked and embarrassed expression on his face. “Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wander off like that.”

But Drayce waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine, really. If you feel something interesting, I don’t mind you wandering. But do warn me before you wander.”

Kamali flushed lightly and nodded his head, though he looked a little uncertain. “I’ll try,” he murmured, giving Drayce the indication that he, like his brother, could be a little airheaded and get caught up in their own thoughts.

He had better keep an eye on him when they finally enter the labyrinth. With Blayke helping, though, he was sure that Kamali wouldn’t be able to wander too far.

“Well, let’s head inside,” Drayce said as he motioned to the door.

Kamali nodded his head eagerly; seemingly happy and relieved that Drayce was so understanding. And as Drayce opened the door to step inside, Kamali was right behind him. He was, once again, fidgeting slightly as he looked around at the interior of the guildhouse.

He looked more impressed and eager to get exploring.

Yup, just as Drayce had thought; they were going to get along just fine.

“Hey, I’m back!” Drayce called out as he closed the door behind him.

“Drayce!” He heard Blayke’s voice call out his name from somewhere within the building followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. A few seconds later Blayke appeared from behind the staircase slightly out of breathe and his face flushed.

“There’s a fishing pond in your back garden!” he suddenly shouted at him as he stomped over.

“Huh?” Drayce muttered as he blinked dumbly when Blayke stopped right in front of him with a frown on his face. “You’ve been in the back garden without me? Rude!”

Blayke narrowed his eyes at him as he poked his chest with his index finger. “I went out there because Fiorello questioned whether or not there would be enough room to have a small herb garden. And what did I find? A fish pond. There is a literal fishing pond with a bridge in the back garden. You could literally go fishing in your own back garden.”

“Convenient!” Drayce said with a large smile. “Also means that there’s plenty of room for a herb garden. So, no hedge maze?”

Blayke rolled his eyes as he folded his arms roughly across his chest. “This place is just ridiculous. If there’s a hedge maze I’m losing my shit.”

Drayce couldn’t understand why. This place is just awesome so far. What else is there to discover?

“Could you lose your shit later?” Drayce asked in amusement as he took a step to the side to reveal Kamali who had been standing behind him the entire time. “We have a new guildmate!”

Blayke quickly lost the look of disgruntlement from his face and he blinked in surprise, seemly stunned. “Eh?”

Kamali nervously twisted a strand of his purple hair with one hand while he gave a small, shy wave with his other hand. “Ah, hello. My name is Kamali. I-it’s nice meeting you.”

“Y-yeah, you too,” Blayke stuttered in response, looking all too sheepish about his previous outburst.

Drayce just laughed as he reached out to loop an arm around Blayke’s neck and pulled him closer toward him. “This is Blayke,” he introduced as he poked Blayke’s cheek with his finger. “My bestest best friend.”

Blayke’s expression creased into a comically disgruntled look as he tugged himself out of Drayce’s grip and waved his hand dismissively at him. He had a light flush to his cheeks, though.

“Where are Faelen and Fiorello?” Drayce asked him as he took a step back to give the blushing fencer some room.

“The last time I saw them they were inspecting the clinic,” Blayke answered as he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “I told them to stay together because if they separate they’d get lost.”

Drayce couldn’t help but to tease him a little more. “But you walked around on your own, you badass,” he said as he nudged him in the ribs.

Blayke snorted as he dismissively brushed him off again. “Oh, shut up,” he said as he turned on his heel and head in the direction of the clinic. “I have a bit more experience in this manmade maze then those two.”

“Hear that, Kamali?” Drayce said to Kamali as he motioned for him to follow. “Better stay close or you’ll get lost, too.”

Kamali looked confused, as if unsure whether he was joking or not. He did choose to stick close to him, though, just to be sure. “Y-yes, of course.”

As they walked into the clinic, Drayce noticed Faelen first. He sat on a chair near the door with a light blanket around his shoulders, his ears twitching slightly. Nashoba, his wolf companion, sat dutifully by his feet, seemingly watching Fiorello carefully. And the botanist was walking around as he inspected the clinic.

“Hey, what’s happening?” Drayce greeted.

Faelen immediately perked up and whirled around to greet him. “Ah! You’re back.”

“Yep,” Drayce smiled brightly. “And I’m not alone.”

Drayce then took a step to the side, like he had done previous, to reveal Kamali. “Guys, this is Kamali. He’s agreed to join our guild and help us with the first mission. Kamali, this is Faelen and Fiorello.”

Kamali politely bowed. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Hello,” Faelen greeted in return while Fiorello made a slight humming noise from across the room.

“Hm? That’s fives of us now, correct?” he asked.

Drayce’s grin grew a little wider. “That’s right. Tomorrow I’ll head to the guildhouse and finally register as a guild. After that we can start plotting our first trek into the labyrinth.” He paused for a moment to look over at Faelen. “But before any of that, how you doing, Faelen? We’re not heading into the labyrinth until after you get over your fever.”

“Ah, I’m ok!” Faelen immediately insisted, only to wince when he heard Fiorello tisk knowingly.

“He’s better than he was, that’s for certain,” Fiorello admitted. “I had wanted him to stay in bed for a little while longer, but I do know Therians. They can never sit still for very long.”

Faelen looked a little put off by that so Drayce ruffled his hair between his ears. “That’s ok, neither can I,” he said.

Faelen seemed to enjoy having his hair ruffled as he was smiling. His cheeks were still a light red, though, so the fever was obviously still there.

“This place is so big,” Faelen commented as he peered up at Drayce. “Is it ok if I look around?”

“Don’t see why not,” Drayce said as he removed his hand from Faelen’s hair. “I haven’t been to the third floor myself yet, so why don’t we head there now?”

“Ok!”

Drayce grinned at Faelen’s enthusiasm as he turns to look at the others. “What about you three?”

Kamali nodded his head eagerly as well. “Yes, of course.”

“I’m insatiably curious myself,” Fiorello also replied.

“Fine,” Blayke said in his usual grumpy, trying-not-to-be-seen-as-too-keen manner as he folded his arms over his chest. “Just because I want to see how big this place really is.”

Drayce laughed good-naturedly as he turned to lead his new guildmates on their first unofficial expedition of the Crescentia. “That’s all of us. Alright, this can be a practice exploration. Should I bring rations and camping gear?”

“From what I’ve seen so far, we might just need it,” Blayke mumbled, only causing Drayce to laugh again.

Having started on the first floor, they had to trek up two flights of stairs to get to the third. The stairs were wide and grand, carpeted with red carpeting to get it a highly regel feel. The banisters were of dark wood, mahogany more likely than not, and crafted beautifully. Whoever designed the Crescentia did so meticulously. Their time and effort could be seen in every engraving and embellishment.

There were a lot of steps, though. A good leg workout, that was for sure.

“This place could do with a good spring clean,” Fiorello commented as they finally reached the third floor.

“Absolutely,” Drayce immediately agreed as he paused at the top step and did a quick surveillance of their new surroundings. To his right was a door that had been left partially open. As a good place to start as any. “Let’s see what’s hiding behind door number one.”

Drayce quickly made his way over to the door with the others right behind him, being mindful not to crowd him, but barely reigning in their own curiosity. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of amusement as he felt them gather at his back the second his hand touched the wooden door.

With a high-pitched squeak, the door opened rather easily.

The room was dark from thick curtains over the windows. But there was a distinct smell. There was the scent of dust and dust bunnies, but under that. The scent of parchments and papers. Of ink and wax.

A bubble of expectation appeared in his chest as Drayce entered the room and moved toward the windows. He grabbed onto the thick curtains and threw them open to allow light to flood in. He turned around, ignoring the dust and fluff he had kicked up from his previous actions, he felt a wide smile spread across his lips.

“Oh, hey! It’s a drawing room!” he said excitedly.

Cautiously Blayke entered the room, idly waving away the dust particles from his face as he looked around. “Are those maps?” he asked as he indicated toward a heavy duty bookshelf with rolls of parchments shoved in nearly every nook and cranny.

“More likely than not,” Drayce said as he moved toward the bookcase and gently ran his fingers over the yellowing paper. “They might be connected to the labyrinth since they’re in the drawing room.”

He made the motion to pull one out, but paused. It was entirely possible that Grandpa or another of his ancestors had managed to sneak their way into the labyrinth and mapped some of it. And it would make navigating the first floor for Drayce and his new guildmates should there be a map here amongst the many scrolls and rolls.

But, he felt that he shouldn’t. Time has passed. They may no longer be accurate. Having an out of date map could prove to be more dangerous than having none at all. He didn’t want to confuse himself or his guildmates during their very first jaunt.

“I better not,” he muttered as he pulled his hand back. “It would be best if I draw my own map and compare them later.”

“You can draw maps, Drayce?” Faelen was the one to ask him with intense curiosity in his voice.

“I can,” Drayce answered as he walked over to the drawing table and inspected it closely. “One of the first things I learnt. There’s a really easy way to draw maps using a compass and gridding system.”

He then turned to look at Faelen to find the rover looking up at him with such interest that it all but melted his heart. So he smiled at him. “If you want, I can teach you a thing or two.”

“Sure!” Faelen beamed.

Drayce chuckled as he ruffled Faelen’s hair once more. “That’s the spirit. I’ll show you the fundamentals when we enter the labyrinth as it will be easier. Until then, let’s keep checking this place out.”

Stepping out of the draw room, a place he was sure to visit often once he started his mapping, Drayce’s gaze was drawn to the opposite end of the long corridor. There, behind the banisters surrounded void of the stairs leading down was a tall set of doors. They were a deep brown and had the engravings of two serpentine dragons. The door handles were solid steel with keyholes in both doors.

They looked rather foreboding.

So naturally Drayce was drawn to them immediately.

“Those are some pretty impressive doors,” Blayke said, his gaze immediately drawn to the doors as well, his suspicions only growing as the moved toward them. “Must be something important on the other side.”

“Hope it’s a library,” Drayce muttered.

From the size of the doors and the location, he couldn’t really see what else it could be.

As soon as he was close enough Drayce reached out to grab at the handles. He twisted them in hopes of they would simply unlock, allowing for him to throw them open in a semi-dramatic fashion.

But as he twisted the handles, he heard a telling thunk and he felt his heart drop a little.

“They’re locked,” he explained as he knelt down. “There’s something jamming it, too.”

If they were just locked, he would simply pick the lock. No big deal. But something seemed to be shoved into the lock from the other side.

Crouching down further so he could look into the key, he noted that the right side of the door was clear, able to see through to the other side to see a mostly darken room. The other lock, however, he could see something metal inside. Not jammed in, but slotted in.

“I see it,” Drayce muttered. “There’s something there. I think it’s the key.”

“How are you going to remove it?” Kamali asked him as Drayce pushed himself to his feet.

Drayce ran his hand through his red hair and smiled. “Easy; you just push it out from this side. But before that, I need a piece of paper. A large one.”

Faelen tilted his head to the side in curiosity. “Paper? What are you going to do?”

Drayce just shot him another smile as he turned on his head to head back to the drawing room. “Just wait and see,” he said before he broke out into a light jog.

He headed into the drawing room and spent a few minutes looking for the right size piece of paper. He soon found one, a flat one with nothing written upon it. Perfect.

Grabbing it, he quickly made his way out of the room and headed back to the double doors where the others were waiting for him. They were softly talking amongst themselves, no doubt wondering what Drayce was up. They soon fell silent when Drayce joined them once.

With the eyes of his guildmates watching him, Drayce placed the paper on the floor and slid it under the door, leaving only a corner exposed. He positioned it so it lay directly under the door handles. And more importantly, the keyhole and whatever was blocking it. With that in place, he reached into his coat and pulled out his trusty lock-picking kit. He quickly selected the right tools and set to work.

A few seconds of some strategic poking and prodding, Drayce managed to manoeuvre whatever was blocking the lock enough to push it out cleanly. With a telling clink, it fell to the floor inside the room.

Setting his lock-picking kit aside, Drayce uttered a silent prayer in his head as he carefully pulled back the piece of paper from under the door.

Drayce couldn’t help but smile in triumph as a golden key came out atop of the piece of paper.

“Handy trick, right?” Drayce quipped when he heard a few murmurs of awe and surprise from his guildmates. “Now, let’s see what’s hidden inside.”

Picking up the key, Drayce inserted it into the lock and turned it. With little resistance there was the sound of the lock disengaging and the door popped open slightly on its own accord. Removing the key and placing it into his pocket for safe keeping, Drayce pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Though it, too, had heavy curtains blanketing the windows, Drayce felt his mouth drop open in surprise as his eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light. And what he was what he had hoped to see, but he never dreamed it would be on such a grand scale.

From floor to ceiling, all but wall to wall saved for narrow walk ways and tables to rest upon were bookcases.

“It IS a library!” Drayce said as he looked around in awe, barely registering the gasps and mutterings of surprise from the others.

He quickly made his way over to a window to draw back the curtains and allow light in. As light flooded into the room, he turned to get a better look at the room.

A large oak table with several chair sat in the centre of the room, surrounded by tall bookcases. Some were neatly ordered, while others seemed to be shelved haphazardly. All of them were full, however, saved for one. A lone bookcase, smaller than the others, was completely empty.

Perhaps that was a small gift from his grandfather? For him to fill with his own findings and documents?

Whatever the reason, this room was amazing. The knowledge that could be found here.

“I need to tell Shashi,” Drayce found himself muttering.

“A-ah, no!” Kamali unexpectedly squeaked at him and latched onto his arm.

Drayce turned to look at the purple-haired warlock and blinked at him. “Huh? Why not?”

“Just not yet, please,” Kamali said in a positively pleading tone. Even his eyes seemed to be shimmering imploringly at him. “You saw how he was like in his own office. Imagine what he would be like in here.”

Again, Drayce blinked. “I don’t see the problem.”

Kamali’s shoulders instantly slumped like they had done earlier that day. “Ah…” he muttered, seemingly trying to search for more words to say.

“I do,” Blayke suddenly spoke up and walked over to them, though his gaze mostly on Kamali. “Let me guess; he’s your brother who has the habit of getting so caught up in his work that he forgets to eat and sleep, and when he does sleep it’s usually slumped over his desk from pure exhaustion?”

Kamali blinked at him before he mutely nodded his head.

“Yeah, no,” Blayke said as he planted a hand on his hip as he outstretched the other toward Drayce. “Not having two of you idiots here. Give me the key.”

Drayce arched an eyebrow at him. “Why?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you know why,” Blayke counted. “I’m going to make sure you don’t sneak in here. You may be able to pick the lock, but that takes time. Enough time for me to catch you.”

“Dude, you are such a parent,” Drayce pouted as he plunged his hand into his pocket to take a hold of the key. “Look, let’s be reasonable. I promise I won’t do any researching until after I complete the first mission, ok?”

Blayke gave him a blank look as he pointed at his other hand. “Your fingers are twitching.”

Drayce winced and glanced down at his left hand to find that, yes, it was literally twitching. Only ever so slightly, but twitching nonetheless. He was just itching to get his nose into any of these books to learn anything he could.

“Of course they are,” Drayce relented. “They’re going to continue to twitch until I can start researching.”

Blayke continued to look at him blankly. “Give me the key,” he ordered.

Drayce pulled the key out of his pocket but kept a firm grip on it. “Come on. I’m an adult. I know restraint.”

For some reason, Blayke did not look even remotely convince. His right eyebrow was even twitching. He then suddenly lunged at him in order to physically take the key from him. “Give me that damn key!”

Drayce lifted the key up over his head while he tried his hardest to fend Blayke off with the other. But Blayke grabbed a hold of his wrist in hopes of giving himself some lavage while also ensuring that Drayce didn’t make a run for it.

Honestly, the second Blayke demanded the key, Drayce should have bolted.

“Dude, come on, trust me!”

“Not a chance!”

“You don’t trust me? I’m so hurt!”

“I don’t trust you for a second in regards of your own health!”

“Rude!”

While Drayce was trying to push Blayke away from him he suddenly felt someone else come up behind him. Were they gaining up on him?

He didn’t have the time to think of an counter when the key was forcibly removed from his hand and a familiar voice rung through his ears.

“I’ll take that.”

Drayce’s eyes widen and he could see that Blayke was also caught off guard by the new person. They both paused in what they were doing, Blayke’s holding Drayce’s wrist while Drayce had a knee to Blayke’s stomach in an attempt to push him off.

“Ash?” Drayce blinked when he looked over his shoulder to see the green-haired Earthlain looking at him with a rather pleasantly smug look on his face. “When did you get back?”

“About five minutes ago,” Ashton replied as he idly twirled the key to the library around on the tip of his finger. “And good thing I did. I think we shouldn’t tell Shashi about this library. Not yet, at least. Not until-”

Drayce groaned as he and Blayke detached themselves from each other and he turned to give Ashton an irritated pout. “After we complete the first mission, all right. I get it.”

Ashton gave him an empathetic look as he snatched the key and used it to poke Drayce on the forehead. “One task at a time. And, yes, I’m keeping this key on me at all times.”

“You’re acting just like a parent,” Drayce whined as he planted his hands onto his hips, looking purely disgruntled. “I’m not a kid.”

Ashton arched an eyebrow at him and once more poked him on the forehead with the key. “One; your father asked me to watch over you. Two; I know how you treasure hunters operate.”

Drayce pretended not to know what he was referring too. It wasn’t like Drayce, or his father or grandfather would ever get so caught up in researching a possible myth or reading about one that they would forget to eat and sleep. Like, who would do that? Seriously?

“Everyone out of the library,” Ashton suddenly ordered.

“Why?” Drayce asked as Ashton placed his hand on his shoulder and began to push him out of the room.

“Because it’s a distraction,” Ashton returned as he motioned for the others to follow with his left hand while his right kept a firm grip on the back of Drayce’s coat. “You need to focus on what you need to do to be allowed free access into the labyrinth. Until then, try to hold off finding any myths and legends you want to pursue. Out.”

“Gwaaaad, fine,” Drayce whined childishly again.

“Shashi’s here, also,” Ashton said when everyone stepped foot outside the library and he spent a moment or two securely locking the room. “Distracted, thank the Mighty Tree.”

Drayce couldn’t help but wonder how annoyed Shashi was going to be when he learnt of the library’s existence. Of course, that annoyance was likely to last only until he could get access to the library. After that, the only thing that would matter would be getting his hands on anything remotely interesting.

And, honestly, Drayce was likely to be there right along with him. So not telling him was going to be hard.

“Besides its nearing dinner time,” Ashton said as he placed the key into a pocket in his vast and smile at them. “Who’s hungry?”

A chorus of affirmation quickly followed and they quickly made their way down the stairs to head into the kitchen.

As Drayce followed everyone down he couldn’t help but smile to himself. He had enough members to officially form a guild. He could finally enter the labyrinth. He could finally do what he had dreamed about for as long as he could remember.

He was so looking forward to what the future had in store for him.

And his guild, Angelward.

#Etrian Odyssey #etrian odyssey 5 #fanfiction #The Treasure Seeker #angelward guild

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overhere-series · 7 years

Text

Over Here: Chapter Five

Having a buffer is so lovely. Here you go! Next chapter goes up this coming Saturday if I remember among all of the laptop and self-care shenanigans that day. Love you folks!

Do let me know how you think things are going or share if you enjoyed it enough!

Marcy Faust takes both travelers by the hands and drags them toward the path, Hazel and her brother close behind. She makes her siblings look downright anti-social, twittering about how much they’ll like the kid’s mom and their food and every single detail about her and Mason’s day prior to finding the hole. The only thing keeping Cass from clamping a hand over the girl’s mouth is the thought of Hazel going bear over it.

Besides, Marcy’s story takes on manic speed when they come to the half-withered horse thing and its voice. “And Mason and me weren’t scared yet until we got under and it was so pretty with all the metal and Over There things everywhere but we did get scared when it got asking for our names, because we know what the stories say but it kept asking and asking and got scarier- but I was smart! I told Mason ‘don’t you tell’ and then you came and-”

“Breathe, Marce,” Hazel says.

“You were very wise to hold onto your names,” Winston assures. “And courageous, especially when a fragment requests them.”

The smile he offers only encourages Marcy to take one on, too. “Yeah! I told Mason not to say my name or his name, because I heard from my aunt you can lose your name if someone else gives it away-”

“Not possible, I’m afraid. You can only give away your own name, never another’s.”

Cass blinks but continues on. Already the list grows longer and longer for all the questions she’s got, but it’s all she can do on their walk to hide the tick in her jaw and the stiff steps to help her knee.

When they arrive the Fausts lead them to a private kitchen upstairs, the one in their home above the restaurant. It’s all tapestries and wall to wall cupboards, small and cozy and definitely better than the dining room below. They’re told to wait and then left be at a table in the center.

At the Fausts’ retreating backs, Cass eases into her chair. Her knee thanks her for it. Now seated and idle, though, Winston twitches, raking his hands through his hair, drumming his long fingers on the tabletop. Cass squeezes her eyes shut to ignore it, but eventually the tap-tap-tap of his nails and the bounce of the vase acting centerpiece grates on her ears.

“You wanna cut that out?”

“We need to be going and-”

Cass kicks back in her chair, arms folded. “Oh yeah, you really wanted to get out of here when you signed us up for this,” she mutters, throwing a wave over the room. She tries to keep her voice down but keeping her tone to a raspy half-yell takes more effort than she’s got left.

“That’s different,” Winston says.

“I don’t know, I didn’t get any input when you decided to play hero. Guess we’re even for that now, right?”

“Cass, this isn’t-”

“Except for you trying to sell me to a freaking monster back there. Want to explain that one to me, birdbrain?”

Winston quits drumming on the table. “Yes, that. My apologies, but I had to think quickly, you see. You should have come with me from the start,” he says. “The plan might have worked better, actually, though it’s amazing enough to believe the fragment fell for the scheme as it was. With a bit more preparation it could have been fun indeed.”

He’s got a wistful smile Cass doesn’t like one bit. “Yeah, no. That was the exact opposite of fun.”

“It made a decent plan, even if it relied on our friend being so very broken. And you proved yourself rather capable in there. All the same, I’m sorry I didn’t ask your thoughts. I just wanted to work quickly so we could be out of here.”

“We can’t just bail, they sort of owe us,” Cass shrugs, even if her jaw pangs a little from her low words. Under the table her foot bounces up and down. Just a little time to feel better and then they could get moving without making it worse.

But Winston straightens in his seat. “That is not why we do this.”

“What’s with the ‘we’? I’m not a warden. We’re not doing this again.”

“If the need comes I have no choice. It’s my job. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you much earlier, I just hoped things wouldn’t-” He pauses, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. “I hoped it wouldn’t be relevant so soon. Which reminds me,” he adds, “I need to scribe the others so they don’t worry.”

“Other wardens?”

Winston lays out his map and bottle on the table in front of him. The map sketches out four main countries, Ellis just beneath a group of mountains with a coast running its lower border. Haven’s marked with a big black dot on the far east of it. “Yes. Our work isn’t about reward, Cass. It’s about doing what must be done.”

“Poetic,” Cass says with a roll of her eyes. “Well, I’m not honor-bound or whatever. I got hurt helping them. I say we reap the benefits.”

“You could be, with time. Some training with Jermaine and Rissa and you’d- wait, why didn’t you say you were hurt?”

Before she can answer, his bare foot prods hers under the table. Her skin crawls, not just from his touch but like warm water spilling down to wash over her leg. Said comparison doesn’t thrill her. She shivers but the sting of her scrapes smooths away.

“Fascinating,” Winston says.

Cass stiffens. Being called fascinating, the way science experiments and unexplainable deadly accidents are fascinating, doesn’t endear her to the bird any more than his touchiness does. “Keep your magic to yourself,” she rasps.

“You’re no longer injured, yes? At any rate, it was not my magic.” His hands spread over the map, tracing the lines with his fingers.

“What’s that mean? Did you like pull out of the air or something?”

“No, I pulled a fair bit of it from you.”

“Like I had some on me.” Magic from some tree or other living thing, powdered on her like pollen. It’s not a question, just an explanation- even if she can’t see it, he claimed it’s everywhere.

Winston looks up from the map with a deep breath, folds it like he’s closing his mind on it until he’s handled the conversation. “From within you. Honestly I’m surprised the fragment noticed what little you have or it’d never agreed without a name. I wish you would have told me earlier or you wouldn’t have had to walk with your knee as it was.”

“Back the hell up to where you said I had magic in me? You said seeing magic,” she hisses. “You never said anything about making it.”

“I told you, magic is a fact of life here. It’s a system in the body, necessary as the heart or the brain. You don’t will its production any more than you can the blood in your veins. From the moment you fell here the roots have been forming around your nerves-”

“Magic equals life just sounded like some fancy fantasy BS! What is this, a virus? You’re telling me there’s nothing I can do?”

“Well, I can bind the magic in your vessel to slow the effect. You’ve got to keep me informed of how you feel, but… generally, yes. You’ll be able to control the magic in your body once it’s there, but there’s not much even I can do once you’ve developed an inclination. I must say, most otherlanders are much more pleased about it.”

Cass can’t deny to herself how much the idea pleases her, just a little bit. The same part of her that wanted to know what lay behind the gap once and for all, but look how well following that voice turns out. The heat in chest pulses out, humming through her spine and out as far as her fingertips in a ripple. Basically she’ll get magic powers. Something the little kid on the bridge always wanted.

Whether she wanted them here and now or not.

“So, what? I don’t get back in time, I turn into a bird or something?” How’s that for controlling jack?

“It’s quite possible, should that be how the magic decides to express. I doubt you’re therian as I am but taking other forms is just a single way the magic could adapt. Guiding magic in other organisms, controlling materials of life- changing yourself or the world around you. It’s personal as a name.”

Cass forces down the heat in her chest and plants her feet on the floorboards, ready to run. Get out before things get crazier than they already are. “Can we go back to the part where I can stop it? How long do I have?”

“Days, likely.”

“And we just wasted an afternoon here.” She tries to ignore how she factored into it, wasting even more time retracing their steps back.

“I wouldn’t call it a waste, Cass Douglas. We have time. Breathe.”

“I’m fine. I just don’t have time to sit here and you just put us off tracking knowing I had a time limit. What’s wrong with you?”

He chuckles, opening the map again. “I’m well aware of our time. I’ll try to keep you better informed, but it’s my duty as a warden to handle this sort of thing. Hopefully we won’t encounter many more incidents like this but I’m afraid our barriers are only going to get weaker the further we are from Haven.”

“Why’s that?”

Winston blinks, like he’s forgotten what he’s said. “Well, the amalgam we keep the barriers with is in Haven. The further the magic extends from the amalgam, the weaker its effect- with a whole country, quite a lot of room for holes and errors. We’re at the edge of Ellis as it is but even so, it shouldn’t be happening so soon.”

Cass flinches with the return of Marcy, who gives her a tap on the arm. “It’s ready! You want to come to the kitchen down there?”

“What’s ready?”

Marcy pulls on her arm again and they both rise to follow. With all her focus on the conversation, Cass had mostly ignored the combination of smells wafting up the stairs. Cheese, bread, some sort of fishy smell she remembered from camping on the coast with her parents...

They come to a table against a few barrels lining the walls, on them two plates with bread bowls on them. Marcy sits them down with a flourishy little bow. Cass takes a seat as the rest of the Fausts circle the table with chairs of their own. The aunt, the “guard” Perrin, a few more ladies who’d been cooking and might have been a couple.

“It’s lunch soon anyway so we thought we’d treat you,” the aunt says. “Perrin insisted, and you can’t sway them when they get an idea like this.”

Perrin puts an arm around each traveler, tears in their eyes. On first glance they look pretty feminine, but they just seem to go by guardian instead of Mom to the Faust kids. “You save my babies, you’ve earned a free meal.”

Cass eyes the bowls and tries not to blush. Or be tempted by the food, but by the time everyone’s seated Cass already has a spoon in hand. It ends up cramped, but she can’t care less.

Fortunately magicians don’t have a blessing and she can dive into her bowl with as much gusto as Marcy and Mason. Maintaining her level of activity requires calories and lots of them. The soup melts in her mouth, the bread stiff enough not to get soggy before she finish off the goods inside but not stale.

The Fausts listen while they recount the thing from the pool, although Hazel and Winston are careful to tiptoe around the parts that might frighten her. Cass pitches in with her kick to the thing’s face once they get there, which got a nice chorus of ew’s.

“I’m glad no one was hurt,” Perrin pops in. They stare into their bowl, tapping a foot under the table.

Winston ate half the bowl before anything else, but keeps drumming too like he’s waiting for a Faust to untie him from his chair. “It’s the least we could do.”

“We do need to go soon,” Cass adds. Not too eager-sounding, she hopes.

“Warden business?” Dani asks. A knowing grin crosses her face for the two guests. “Always curious when one of you longcoats come to town, but you didn’t look the kind until you said something.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, my dear.” His tone’s playful, amused even. “But yes. For that matter, we need to tend to a bit of closing business now. Thank you very much for your kindnesses today.”

There’s some hugging and promises from the kids not to go running off behind the barriers again, then they got the okay to finally leave. Yet again Cass tries to look miffed about stopping, but the kids’ reactions are too good when she winks at them on her way out the door. The last thing she catches is Marcy’s grin and Mason’s big ol’ saucer eyes.

“So where next? Clemence?” she asks the bird as they go roughly along the same path they’d come. For all the time-wasting they still got a map and a meal out of the afternoon. Time seems to work the same here as it does back home, so that leaves them a few hours before dark and the rest of the evening for travel. Not much in the grand scheme, not if she knows she’s got a timeframe on this trip.

They continue back along the stream, Winston keeping an eye out for the opposite shore. “To finish our business, yes?”

“You mean the hole? Why? That thing’s trapped, we’re good to go.”

“The hole’s still there,” he says. “I still haven’t scribed Finch to close it, and light won’t stop our fragmented friend for long. I wouldn’t like to see their attempts to take anyone else. Would you?”

“Alright, alright,” she says. “Back there and then back on track again, though. Right?”

“Right,” the bird agrees. He keeps his hands at his back as they walk the way they’d come, back through the mud and carefully across the stream where they found the hole again. He stands there a moment, considering the tunnel worn through the bushes.

“Would you like to come with me or would you like to wait?” he asks, peering still further inside.

Cass stares at him. What is this, a test? At least he’s asking her this time rather than just ditching her, but knowing what lies behind that tunnel doesn’t make her all warm and fuzzy about going this time. She gives the bird nod and watches him disappear into the bush.

Then she stands there and gives it a little more thought. The bird doesn’t see her coming this time. She can get the chance to see what he’s up to when he doesn’t think she’ll be watching, and to see the kelpie again at a safe distance.

She looks into the hole and lets out a groan, teeth grit together. Fine. Still growling she gets down on her hands and knees and crawls.

#chapter update #about to keel over so i'm posting now instead of in the morning #because nothing is waking me before seven that i can tell you #writing #over here series #ya fantasy #fantasy #finally getting out of this town

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