#you get surprisingly far climbing the mountains to the side of the gate before completing dying lands

[hzdtrees]

Borderlands

[bicount-de-lettenhove]

Preferences are a privilege that Geralt doesn't get to have - Part 3: Toussaint just ain't the same without your bard

Not really any trigger warnings in this one, apart from drinking and a bit of self hate from Geralt

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After spending a long summer winding their way across the continent, Geralt and Jaskier find themselves in Toussaint as autumn sets in. It’s only a few weeks before the festival of the vat and the harvest is in full swing, the women and men of Toussaint out in the vineyards as long as the sun will allow it, the sweet smell of crushed grapes filling the air. Much to Jaskier’s surprise, Geralt agrees to stay for a few days. It’s only because Roach could do with the rest, especially with the long journey North looming, and so when Jaskier mentions the word ‘holiday’, Geralt shoots him a warning glare. Surprisingly, it isn’t mentioned again.

They quickly fall into the rhythm of life in Toussaint, and the bard is a bad influence and encourages Geralt to overindulge in women and in fine wine. Each night when he returns to his room he finds his coin purse a little lighter. On their sixth night, Jaskier plays his last set for the people of Beauclair and steps off the stage to riotous applause. Geralt is deep in a game of Gwent and before the round is up Jaskier is singing again - this time, without his lute, he’s leading the inn in a rowdy and seemingly neverending version of fishmonger’s daughter. Geralt wins the game and they start another, and Geralt can feel the comfortable warmth of the wine settling in his shoulders and knees, Jaskier’s songs fading to background noise as he concentrates.

Suddenly there’s a hand on his shoulder and then a yelp and Geralt finds himself with a lap full of bard, Jaskier sitting sideways on him, one hand braced on his shoulder, the other making a mess of the deck of cards on the table.

‘Oh, Geralt!’ he sounds slightly slurred, and Geralt can immediately feel the heat of him through their breeches, even in the warmth of the inn. ‘Thank Melitele that was you! I think…’ Jaskier turns his face towards Geralt. He trails off, his gaze dropping to Geralt’s mouth. Geralt suddenly realises how close the bard’s face is to his, their wine-sweet breath mingling in the space between them. Jaskier’s pink tongue darts out and wets his bottom lip, then he blinks rapidly and shakes his head minutely. ‘I think, my dear Geralt, that I am drunk.’

‘Hmm’ agrees Geralt.

‘And therefore, I think.’ he prods a finger into Geralt’s chest, frowning as if the coordination is taking all his concentration ‘that I am going to bed.’ The bard stands up with surprising speed and Geralt reaches out to steady him. ‘And furthermore,’ he adds, now facing away from Geralt and projecting more than is necessary. ‘I am going to your bed, because these people tip in wine, and hence I am penniless.’ He frowns again, like he’s forgotten something. ‘And drunk,’ he remembers. Then he adjusts his doublet and sways his way towards the stairs, gone as suddenly as he arrived. After Jaskier has left, Geralt continues his game, but his opponent is no longer playing as well as he was and he finds himself losing interest. It’s not long before he’s packing up his deck and climbing the stairs himself.

Inside their room it’s dark, but Jaskier has opened the windows onto the balcony so it’s cooler and a thin strip of moonlight is filtering through the thin curtains. The air is hardly moving but the thick scent of jasmine has filled the room from outside. Jaskier lies strewn across the bed as though he’s been dropped from a height. He’s taken his doublet and boots off and his shirt is open down to his navel, exposing his chest to the moonlight. Geralt carefully doesn’t look as he strips down to his smallclothes and climbs into what’s left of the space in the bed. He lies on his side, facing away from Jaskier, carefully arranging his limbs so he doesn’t risk taking advantage, but once he’s in the bard makes a soft, contented noise and folds himself around Geralt, throwing one arm over him and hooking his knees into the back of Geralt’s. Geralt stiffens slightly. It’s far too warm to lie like this, he thinks. It’ll take hours for him to sleep with the bard pressed up against him like some kind of lover.

It doesn’t.

The next morning, Jaskier complains tirelessly of sore feet and a sore head as they climb up through the vineyards. Geralt is trying to reach a mountain pass he last used several years ago.

‘Really, Geralt.’ the bard complains, each phrase punctuated by a dramatic huff of breath. ‘I don’t see why we can’t take a path that’s less hilly. Do you want me to pass out?’

Geralt grins. ‘There is another way. We could go through the flooded caves under the mountains and avoid the hills completely.’ Jaskier reconsiders - actually stops walking for a moment as though his brain and his feet can’t both be in use at once - and then has to jog to catch up.

‘Actually, you make a very good point.’ he concedes. ‘But at least we would be out of this relentless sunlight. I feel like someone’s used my head as a battering ram.’

‘Your hangover is your own fault, bard. You know the wine here isn’t watered down.’ Jaskier grimaces, as though the mention of wine physically pains him further.

‘Ah, well. One can’t say no to one’s adoring fans.’ He stops talking as he squints around at the view, his boots and Roach’s hooves scuffing on the dusty track. ‘How was your evening anyway, Geralt?’ He asks, lightly. ‘How was your Gwent game? Did you win?’ Geralt didn’t. But as they reach the mountain path and look back down on the lush green of Toussaint, he finds he really doesn’t mind.

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Geralt leaves Kaer Morhen early that year, heading South under the misapprehension that the weather has broken. The path through the mountains is treacherous and Velen, when he reaches it, is as sodden and miserable as he has ever seen it. One night, the wind howls as he huddles under the bare branches of a long-dead tree, knees drawn up into his travelling cloak to preserve any semblance of warmth. His clothes are already soaked through and caked with mud, rain dripping off the hem of his hood where it dips over his face. His breath forms plumes in the freezing air. Roach stands by the tree, huffing her own breaths into the cold, her mane plastered to her neck by the unrelenting rain. He offers her a conciliatory grunt.

‘I know. We’ll head South.’ As he says it Geralt realises exactly where he’s heading. He’s not expecting to rest in Toussaint - the year is still new and he hasn’t earned the luxury - but there’ll be contracts in the area; work he can take up. The days he spent there last year have taken on a hazy, dreamlike quality and the thought of returning fills him with warmth, despite the freezing rain.

It takes him around a month to reach the feet of the Amell mountains. He’s skirted wide around Oxenfurt, knowing that if he stops then Jaskier will find him and the bard will slow him down. As he climbs the mountain pass, he’s glad of the quiet.

Geralt spends a month in Toussaint. It’s nothing like he imagined. The grapes aren’t ripe and the vintage from last year isn’t as sweet as he remembered. The working women fuck convincingly but they’re cold and impersonal afterwards. Geralt understands that it’s a contract like any other, and so one evening he pays one of them double to stay and hold him. He sends her away before an hour has passed, filled with hot shame and frustration. After she’s gone he opens the balcony windows and lies stiffly on the bed, willing himself not to cry. Pathetic, he thinks. What made you think you deserve that? The wind rustles the plants outside, but the jasmine isn’t flowering and all he can smell is the woman’s thick perfume on the pillow. He leaves the next day, and this time, he doesn’t look back at the view.

Much of the year passes as normal, and Geralt accepts contracts that take him further North. He’s drinking alone in a dingy tavern in Novigrad when he meets Jaskier again. The bard, as ever, is full of stories of his winter, and questions for Geralt, and he keeps flitting back and forth between the two as though he can’t decide which is more pressing.

‘So Geralt, tell me, where have you been? I must say I was a little disappointed when you didn’t pass by Oxenfurt on your way South, but I assume you left the mountains late this year? The snows didn’t ease for a long time, even in Velen! You should have seen oxenfurt in the snow, it really was beautiful! Little Eye found this sledge, and- No, I’m getting distracted.’ He really doesn’t even stop to breathe, thinks Geralt, smiling gently. ‘I’m sure you have lots of exciting tales just begging to be woven into ballads. Where have you been?’ The bard finally stops and takes a swig of his ale, watching Geralt over the rim of his mug.

‘Went down to Toussaint.’ Jaskier gulps down his mouthful of ale.

‘Oh! So early in the year; you’re finally learning how to treat yourself. Was it as lovely as ever?’

‘No.’ The disappointment of his wasted trip rises in Geralt again, and he swallows it down.

‘Oh.’ Jaskier sounds unsure now, and there’s a glint of something in his eyes. ‘Well I’m sorry to hear that. I thought you liked Toussaint.’

Geralt grits his teeth. He had thought so too.

‘Or the time we spent there, anyway.’ adds Jaskier, very softly. Geralt knows the bard is watching him for any reaction, but he can’t stand to look at his foolish, earnest face. Instead, he swallows hard and stands up from the table.

‘No.’ he grits out, and then he turns away before he can see Jaskier’s face crumple, and goes out to fetch Roach. He should be on the road. When he leaves the city gates that evening, he lets Roach choose the direction; it makes no difference to him.

She picks North anyway.

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I'm sorry for the no comfort ending!! Nothing felt quite right as an ending for this but Jask will find him again I promise!

This is part of a freeform series of short and unconnected drabbles based around Geralt denying that he has preferences, and Jaskier’s reactions. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here.

[sapphire-strikes]

I Looove the dynamic of Habit Kamal and FK. Thank you for writing so much for them! I was wondering... What do you think Kamal's first impression of FK was? At the habitat he was so anxious and he seemed to helpless - I can't help but think FK helped him become a better and more confident person after the big event happened... But what about before that

• He'd been fighting with himself about the whole situation ever since it went down. Maybe he was too harsh with Habit, he was a pretty sensitive guy after all. He'd been far to nice with him for far to long and that hadn't gotten him anywhere. The things he was doing weren't right, none of it even made sense for a mental health retreat!

• Why even put an ad out looking for a dental assistant if you weren't going to be doing any dentistry. Kamal swallowed hard at that thought, pushing away the fact that he might already know the answer.

• Bor-Habit was unhinged sure, but he wasn't a bad person, that was something Kamal at least thought he was sure of. In fact, that was the only reason he'd stuck around for as long as he did.

• It was too late to change things now though, right? He could just put all of this behind him and move on with his life. All he had to do was walk out the gate and never come back. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to complete that simple last step. Because if something really was wrong, then he'd have moved on being one of the only people that could have stopped it.

• Kamal's conscience wouldn't let him leave but his anxiety made him too damn scared to actually do anything. So he settled on a substandard inbetween; waiting it out to see what would happen.

• It had been what, a few weeks now since his fight with Habit and things in the Habitat had remained monotonously unchanged.

• The Doc himself had gone eerily silent on top of that. Maybe that was for the best. Knowing Habit; the big guy was probably sulking in his office, too frustrated and uncomposed to actually do anything. Those weird little PSAs even stopped airing and Kamal started to feel hopeful that maybe Habit was actually giving up on this whole silly idea.

• Then you showed up. He didn't even know the Habitat was excepting any new members. Habit had even mentioned cutting off applications to see how this first batch of "patients" worked out. He could only assume this was the doctor’s way of trying to kickstart things again. Smashing all hope that maybe this place was actually going to shut down. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little annoyed by a new arrival considering his current situation.

• After a few days the rumors started to make their way up to his spot on the balcony. Looks like this new member has been making a name for themselves.

• Along with this rise in activity came the return of the PSAs. This time around though, something wasn't right. Boris was getting annoyed, Kamal could tell. Hell, you'd have to be a moron not to be able to.

• Kamal actually figured that would be it for you. You'd see the not so subtle threatening messages and go into hiding just like him and Wallus. However the very next morning Borbra was excitedly showing off her brand new Y'owl to everyone on the terrace. Unfortunately the purveyor themself stayed up all last night trying to catch it and wasn't around to join in on the fun.

• It didn't really seem like much at first but day after day things in the Habitat started to change. He never went down much further than the apartments but Lulia kept him pretty well informed and the PSAs alone gave him enough information to figure out what was going on.

• Soon the Carnival and the Lounge reopened as well and it almost seemed like every day more and more color was returning to the dreary Habitat. People eyes gave way to a kind of spark when they'd talk about you and anyone that crossed you path seemed to have a sort of glow around them.

• You and Habit had this weird little rivalry going on. It was terrifying but hilarious. You'd improve something around the Habitat and Habit would follow your action up by trying to show you up or by denouncing your behavior.

• Apparently you'd been refusing to eat anything from the lounge and your snarky comments about the poor supply management must have been overheard because by the next day the lounge received what, according to Jimothan, was more stock than the lounge had room for.

• That's what was so funny about it! Habit didn't care about making people happy, at least that's what Kamal figured at this point. He was just childish and jealous that you were doing his job better than him!

• It wasn't long after that that he'd finally get the chance to meet you himself. Not to sound rude but you didn't look like much at first. You were surprisingly normal looking compared to the other people around here. You didn't seem to pay him much mind either when you stepped up to the highest part of the balcony, gazing out over the edge through the missing bars.

• He could only assume it was you, the person everyone had been referring to as the flower kid. You didn't look like much of a kid per say but he guessed the term of endearment matched your actions. Maybe you were some kind of beatnik?

• If it wasn't for the way he unconsciously gasped when you leaned precariously over the edge you might not have even noticed him.

• You looked nervous at first but his own anxious prattling seemed to help you loosen up a bit and soon you got to talking. Gosh, you were a weird kid. Definitely not the type of person to find in a self help resort of all places.

• To think...you'd actually find him a tooth brush. To be honest, up until that moment he didn't think he cared what you were getting yourself into. But after helping him fix his teeth you just collected yourself calmly and went to move on like it was no big deal. In that moment he couldn't think of the last time someone had just done something for him. So he spoke quite unceremoniously in what he assumed was his own half assed attempt to talk you down from the mountain you didn't know you were climbing.

"Habit?" You questioned him as if not understanding what he was getting at. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that guy wants to kick in my teeth", you continued half joking."

"You'd be surprised how not far that is from the actual truth." Kamal mumbled quietly. So you weren't oblivious to Habit's annoyance.

"I'll be honest, I don't know what I did to piss him off but if he wants me to leave he can ask me himself." Your tone wasn't challenging, it sounded more confused than anything. "I've been here almost two weeks, I just really want to talk to him at this point."

"Careful what you wish for, kiddo, but.... Kamal paused, "he's really not that bad a guy when you get to know him."

"Hm?"

"Heh, never mind. I do got a question for you though. What's someone like you doing in a place like this in the first place? You've obviously got enough positivity to share." His question seemed to catch you off guard and you looked to be searching for an answer. After a moment however you just shrugged wordlessly. "Fair enough fair enough."

• A while after that you made it a habit to stop by and say hi to him when you were making your rounds around the Habitat. It hadn't occurred to him how much he'd actually began to worry about you until you pulled a particular stunt.

• You came up to say hi like you usually did but instead of heading down to the apartments you stared wistfully over the edge of the balcony. He was about to tell you to be careful but didn't get the chance when you jumped through the missing bars and down into the courtyard.

• Kamal rushed down the ever daunting stairwell at a speed he didn't think was possible only to find you standing unharmed at the bottom. How did you - did he just - why??? 

• After that he regained the courage to start walking around the Habitat again. He didn't have to worry about Boris coming down. The big guy talked a big talk when he was behind that puppet but Kamal new him well enough to guess he wouldn't be coming down from his tower any time soon, at least not while you were still here.

• Apparently at some point amongst your little back and forths with Habit you even staged a little mock election for president of the Habitat. While it started out as a one sided joke on your part, Habit actually went through the trouble of having the fake campaign posters Putunia and Tim Tam had made around the Habitat torn down and replaced them with ones of his own. (All of which were quickly vandalized with marker mustaches and devil horns)

• While the whole thing started as a joke, it was just a testament to the fact that you had the whole freakin’ Habitat on your side, even those stupid Carlas. All you had to do was ask them and they'd let you into restricted areas or even forgo escorting you to your room at "beddy time" when you'd try to stay up. 

• The whole beddy time situation was something even he was too scared to mess with. You on the other hand didn't seem to mind ending every night passed out in the courtyard.

Kamal settled down pretty early one night and was just dosing off when he was startled awake by a distant scream. Had he been more awake, he'd have surprised himself with the guts he showed as he rushed out into the dark without a second thought to find the owner of the voice. He hadn't even made it to the stairs when a body crashed into his own. After stumbling for a moment he finally focusing on the panicked figure in front of him.

"Kid, what's the-"

Before he could finish you lurched away from him. "Kid, kid! It's okay it's me!" He spoke quickly, reaching out to steady your shoulders before you tripped over yourself

"K-kamal?"

"Yeah, it's just me, little buddy..." He gave you a reassuring smile as you finally seemed to be taking in your surroundings "Was that you who screamed? What happened?" Unfortunately this question struck the wrong cords as you quickly seemed to remember why you were running in the first place.

"Th-there was this-this...thing...down in the courtyard!" You backed away from him a few steps, pointing down the stairwell.

"Calm down. What kind of thing?"

"Some kind of, I don't know...some kind of shadow thing!" If you weren't still freaking out you might have noticed the way Kamal's face straightened in realization as soon as those words left you mouth. His attention was soon turned back to you though as he shifted into damage control mode.

"Okay, you're okay though right y-" Just then Kamal noticed the way you had been holding your left shoulder, his eyes trailing up to the small abrasion on your head above your temple. "Wait wait wait, did Ha- did this "shadow thing" do that to you?!"

"N-no, but I-", you were interrupted by a rush of lightheadedness but was steadied by Kamal before you could fall over.

"Lets...get out of the open and get you patched up, this "fresh mountain air" is giving me a headache. You can tell me the whole story once your nerves have settled a bit. " You could only offer a shaky nod, stumbling a few times as he seemed to be leading you in the direction of his room.

After instructing you to sit on his bed, Kamal got to work cleaning up the small wound on your head. It wasn't actually too bad, just a shallow scrape with a lot of bruising.

"You see a few hours ago Tim Tam snatched Millie's golf club and stashed it somewhere in the courtyard. We searched for it all day but we couldn't find it anywhere and Mil was getting really upset so I promised her I'd find it for her by morning..." Kamal listened quietly, putting a bit of pressure on your sore shoulder to see how you'd react. "It was getting dark and I was about to give up, but then I saw it up in that big tree by the corner."

"Don't tell me; you climbed up to get it, didn't you?"

"I...yeah. I'd almost made it the whole way up when I started feeling groggy and after a minute I must have blacked out, cause the next thing I know I'm on the ground looking up at the stars.

"You fell out?! Is that why you screamed?"

"No-no, I couldn't do anything at first, I was so out of it." The color drained from your face as you continued. "My vision was fading in and out but I think the pain in my arm was keeping me awake. It hurt so bad but I still couldn't move....it was terrifying."

"Sounds like it..." Kamal finished his inspection and sat beside you when he noticed your growing discomfort.

"That's when I saw it. It was out of the corner of my eye at first but it kept getting closer. I thought for sure I was hallucinating, because I couldn't hear any footsteps and the next thing I know it's standing over me... It was...some kind of...shadow. Then...it reached down and-and started trying to pick me up! That...that must have been enough to get my adrenaline pumping cause I screamed and kicked it right in the stomach! Then...I pulled myself to my feet and ran..."

"And that's when you ran into me huh?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I just..."

"Don't apologize, I'm glad ya did actually. Your shoulder should be okay, just a little sore for a while, try not to sleep on it, kay?" You once again responded by nodding quietly.

Shoot, you were really shaken up...not that he could blame you. It was a bit jarring actually; to see the infamous flower kid so scared. Stupid Habit and his stupid laughing gas. Stupid him for helping that maniac load the stuff into that stupid machine!

While he had all night to sit there and curse himself out, he was brought back to reality when you stood up beside him.

"I should probably head back to my room... Whatever it was was probably just another one of Habit's tricks to get me to follow curfew anyways." One thing Kamal was sure of; he was not a fan of the despondence in your voice.

"Actually!" He jumped from his spot to stop you, "Why don't you crash with me for the night? No reason to got trudging around in the dark."

"That's sweet but I'll be fine really."

"Ayy, c'mon it's no trouble. I'll sleep on the futon. 'Sides, won't it be kinda fun throwing the green guy for a loop? You ain't out and about, you ain't in your room; he'll be up all night tryin' ta figure out where ya went!" While Kamal never considered himself good a cheering folks up, the small smile you cracked had to count for something.

"Only if I get to sleep in the futon, I don’t want to impose..."

"You're twistin' my arm here, kid, buuut...I guess I can compromise, for the sake of irking a common enemy." The small laugh he got out of you mad him feel happier than he would have been able to admit with a straight face. You really had a way of making folks care about you, kid, and he was no exception.

• That night shared something in common with the night of the Big Event

Kamal was scared, he was always so scared; until he saw someone that was just as scared if not more than him. It's easy to be scared when the only person you're worried about protecting is yourself. But even after finding out Habit was involved that night, seeing someone like you beat up and frightened because of him made him angry. The same went for seeing you walk out of those gates, mouth bloody with Habit in tow.

• He's always going to be a little angry at himself for it taking seeing your courage the night of the Big Event for him to fully realize it. He never would have thought himself brave enough to almost uppercut Habit, let alone have the patience to invite him to come along back to his place with the two of you afterwards at your request.

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Waiting by an Open Door | Carlton Drake x Reader

Trope Prompt: Fairy Tale

Words: 2053

Fandom: Venom

Summary: You search for your friend and fellow reporter, Eddie Brock, only to find a mysterious mansion where the CEO and founder of the missing LIFE Foundation had been cursed with a creature that will consume him entirely if he can’t find the cure. Beauty and the Beast AU

-

You rolled up to the imposing cliffside and stopped at the deadend in front of a wide clearing that overlooked the ocean. You double checked Eddie’s GPS signal that confirmed that it was indeed coming from this location. The weather had been fair that day and it only seemed to grow cloudier the closer you went to the cliff. You slowly climbed out of your car, spinning around to take in your surroundings, hoping to see Eddie pop out with a sheepish grin, explaining that he had been chasing a lead but came out empty and was left without a ride back.

It was quiet on the cliffside. A gentle breeze brush through your hair, the smell of salt and earth and the impending rain filling your nostrils. You zipped up your jacket and trudged upwards.

“Eddie?” you called out.

Nothing.

You decide to walk closer to the edge of the cliff, taking in the view before you. Ever since you moved to the city for work, you never had the chance to explore and appreciate San Francisco. It was a shame, really. Growing up, counting down the years until you can branch off on your own and travel and do all the things that you want once you’ve got the means to do it, far from your small hometown where you never fit in, only to realize that it wasn’t that simple.

You wanted to be a writer, to create stories that would teleport your readers into another world as your favorite books had done to you. Instead, you became a journalist, exposing corruption and lies that had been buried, and reporting only the truth. That’s where you met Eddie Brock.

The two of you were wary of the other until you were partnered up to cover a story. You worked so well together, that you decided to help with the Eddie Brock Show. You couldn’t be in front of the camera, though. You didn’t have the right charisma for it like Eddie had. It was fine though. As long you had credit for it and that it made a difference.

Which lead to the current situation. Eddie heard of the unethical experiments going down at the LIFE Foundation that was rumored to still be on the very location you were standing on, only hidden. It had been days since he left to check it out without you. The two of you had an agreement to notify the other when any information was found during field research and you have yet to hear from him.

What happened to the LIFE Foundation was a mystery. It used to be this impressive, futuristic, modern facility built into the cliffside with an extension that reached the ocean. Carlton Drake, the CEO and founder of LIFE was a rags to riches story that newspapers and magazines like to eat up, especially with the breakthroughs he’s had.

A blackout occurred one night. Residents flooded emergency call centers and electric companies scrambled to find the source of the problem, but came out empty. And then, the power came back on. No one could find an explanation for it, maybe some old power lines that needed fixing, but was was even curiouser was the fact that the entire LIFE Foundation facility had vanished.

You were nearing the edge of the cliff, continuously trying to call Eddie, when something shot up from the ground. You stumbled back, lowering your phone slowly as you watch the dark gooey substance morph into a large gate that swung open, almost as if inviting you in. It was never a good sign of sanity to see dark goo moving around and forming objects in thin air, let alone seeing a wide rundown mansion with dark vines crawling along the walls, fog and dirt covering the windows, with a healthy and thriving colorful garden in contrast. What the hell is this?

You looked back at your car, then down at your phone where the signal was blinking straight ahead from your current location. You needed to find Eddie.

So, you did as anyone crazy enough to be best friends with Eddie Brock and stepped through the gate.

The gate slammed shut behind you and disappeared, replaced by a thick wall of greenery. The only way was forward, you guessed.

As you neared the building, you realized how alive those dark vines were, squirming and crawling and seemingly watching your movements. You went to open the front door when the vines quickly covered it and opened the door for you.

What should you do? This shouldn’t be possible in the first place, but the shock was keeping the panic at bay for now. Should you try calling Eddie again? You doubt he would answer. If he hadn’t done so during those million times you’ve called and texted him, it was rather unlikely he would right now.

The slam of the heavy front door echoed through the massive space inside. You clutched your phone close to you and crept forward, taking in the interior of the mansion. You heard whispering behind you, making your blood ran cold, convinced that you were caught. You spun around, but saw no one. Your heart picked up, hearing whispers on the other side of the room, then back at where you first heard them.

Were you hallucinating? Were there mercury fumes that LIFE had managed to obtain and experiment on?

“How the hell did she get in here?” a gruffy man’s voice whispered. You spun around again, trying to pinpoint the voice. All you could see was furniture and scattered objects around the room.

“Maybe it was one of the symbiotes,” a soft woman’s voice said.

“She’s here for that damn reporter,” the man growled.

Your ears perked up. “Eddie? Is Eddie here? Please, just tell me where he is and we’ll leave,” you begged, wanting to be out of this strange dream as soon as you could.

“No,” another man’s voice said from the top of the stairwell.

You whipped around to face the stairs, seeing a familiar man half concealed by shadows looking down at you with dark brown eyes. He wore a black suit with a high collar jacket underneath, his appearance clean and presentable in contrast to the mansion.

“You cannot have Eddie Brock,” he said firmly.

“Why not?” you challenged, stepping forward.

He fidgeted in his spot, the thought of retreating completely into the shadows seemed tempting for him. “Eddie Brock not only trespassed, but he also attempted to steal from me!” he said, his voice echoing down the stairs.

You squint your eyes, your feet carrying you towards the staircase. The man immediately took a step back. “You’re Carlton Drake, aren’t you?” you said, “What the hell is going on here? What is all of this?”

He remained silent.

“Look, just let me see Eddie and we can talk this through. He’s been missing for days,” you tried to reason with him.

The whispering started again, though it was sort of comforting to know that he could hear them, too, as his body language responded to their words.

“Just let her, Doctor Drake,” the woman’s voice said.

“Enough, Skirth,” the man, confirmed to be Carlton Drake, hissed under his breath.

“We can’t stay like this!” she hissed back.

Drake glared at the source of the voice, then sighed.  He inhaled sharply, then exhaled through his mouth slowly. “Follow me,” he muttered, finally walking into the light to reveal the surprisingly handsome CEO.

He lead you around the mansion towards another set of stairs that led downwards to a large basement. You slowly followed in after him, internally cursing yourself for not bringing any form of self-defense besides the lessons you’ve been having. You fell into the habit of looking behind you, almost hoping to see another person in order to put a body with the voice.

Drake turned on the lights, revealing a long corridor that led into a wide room filled with glass paneled chambers. You gasped when you realized there were people in them, many curled up in the corner of their chambers whimpering. Their eyes widened as they spot you, crawling over to the panel and banging their palms to catch your attention.

“Silence!” Drake ordered, breathing heavily as he tried to control his anger.

“(Y/n)!” Eddie shouted from the last chamber.

You ran passed Drake towards your friend, slamming your hands on the panel, looking for a way to get him out, “Oh, god, Eddie! What are they doing here? What is going on?” you demanded.

“(Y/n/n), you have to get away from him!” Eddie said, “He’s got a freaky parasite up his ass! And he’s been trying to get one in all of us as well!”

“Enough from you, Eddie Brock!” Drake snapped, stalking over.

Eddie pressed himself against the glass and laughed. “Or what? Gonna force that freaky parasite in me? Your subjects are dying! You think it’ll work just like that? You think the world won’t get suspicious about this company?”

“Eddie, stop! Doctor Drake, release him and everyone else,” you said, stepping in between them.

“A company founded on a mountain of bodies!” Eddie shouted, provoking him.

“Eddie!”

Drake growled, clutching his head as dark veins, reminiscent to the vines covering the mansion, crawled over his skin until it swallowed him whole. A slimy grotesque creature took over, his mouth opened in a cruel grin.

“I should have eaten you when you walked in,” the creature growled.

“You can have a go.”

“Please you two, stop it! Just released Eddie and everyone here, and I promise that the information won’t get leaked out,” you said, holding your ground, though on the inside, while you were scared for your life, the need to protect the others overrode that.

“A trade, then,” the creature said, his long tongue drooling out of his mouth, “You for the others.”

“What? No!” Eddie protested, banging on the panel.

“And what will I have to do?” you asked, ignoring Eddie.

The creature groaned, retreating back into Drake’s body. He shook, staggering backwards as he clutched his head, He took a moment to collect himself again, but when he raised his head, half of his face were covered by the dark veins like a grotesque lace mask.

“Help me get rid of this,” he said, a shaky hand hovering over the veiny half of his face, “and I will release you, too. I am bound to honor my words. I promise I will release them. Deal?”

You looked back at Eddie who pleaded with you not to do it, but you saw the others, weakened, disheartened, and possibly malnourished. No one deserves this type of treatment.

“Deal,” you said, sticking a hand out to him.

He grabbed it firmly and shook. The walls began to melt into piles of dark goo, giving the imprisoned a means to escape. They all laughed and cried, seeing the outside after who knows how long. They ran out with their arms wide, feeling the warm sun against their skin and the breeze caressing them.

Eddie looked over at the others and the car, then back at you. He didn’t want to leave you. He knew that he shouldn’t have gone alone, but his resource was sketchy and there was no proof that the LIFE Foundation was still there. Whatever thing is keeping the place together allowed only certain people to go through.

In all honesty, Carlton Drake hadn’t done anything to him. Yet. Maybe he would have if you hadn’t gone looking for him. He only knew about the experiments because of the other subjects trapped along with him, a pile of goo next to the bodies that didn’t survive the experiment. Even then, he couldn’t quite figure out what he was planning on doing.

“I can’t leave,” Eddie said, shaking his head.

You gave him a grim smile, tossing your keys to him. “Annie misses you,” was all you said before the walls reformed again.

Panic was starting to set in, you could feel it. Your heart beating against your ribcage and the tips of your fingers tingling while you began to feel lightheaded. Your body swayed until your legs gave out. Drake quickly caught you, carrying you up three flights of stairs to the guest room.

[meghan-huntergirl-winchester]

Why Me? Part 1 (eventual John Seed X F!Deputy)

So this is my very first attempt at a Far Cry 5 story and I hope you guys really like it. I don’t wanna give too much away but I do know that it will be a multipart story as I have already finished part 2 and am currently working on part 3. As of right now there are no warnings but there will be in future chapters. I hope you all enjoy and I wanna space this out a little so I’ll be posting part 2 probably in a few days! Enjoy!

Deputy Rook sat on the hillside outside of Seed Ranch contemplating her next move. No, she wasn’t going to recapture the Ranch for the Resistance. Instead, she was trying to figure out a way to get a letter to John without anyone else finding out about it. Glancing at the roof, she suddenly remembered the skylight that was over the dining room table and quickly shoved the letter into her shirt pocket before creeping through the brush. There was a blind spot at the back of the ranch where if she was quick enough, she could slip in undetected and climb up onto the roof.

As she turned towards the house, she was forced to come to a skidding stop when she realized that John had added extra security after her first successful break in where she stole back Nick Rye’s plane. Now how was she going to get inside. She couldn’t and wouldn’t call anyone from the resistance to stage a distraction, she didn’t want them knowing what she was doing. Thinking quickly, she noticed a bear on the other side of the runway that was just walking along sniffing the ground. Rook grabbed a piece of bait out of her bag and tossed it in front of the plane hanger in hopes of drawing the bear in and using it as a distraction. Surprisingly it worked and the Peggies began to yell and rush towards the bear.

Knowing she only had a minute or two, Rook threw her grappling hook up and pulled herself onto the roof making sure she didn’t leave any trace that she was up there. With a quick glance down through the skylight she saw that the inside of the ranch was empty, and she quietly dropped in. Now, where to leave the letter so that she knows he would find it. She knew she didn’t have time to explore and find his bedroom, but she found a worn copy of The Book of Joseph on the sofa next to an unfinished letter. That must be John’s personal copy, she thought and slipped the letter inside it with just a little bit of it sticking out. She made sure to put it back in a different way so that he really did notice that the book was out of place and would find her letter.

Now for her escape. Rook could still hear the bear outside so she pulled herself back up onto the roof and then dropped to the ground and took off running as fast as she could. Now all she could do was wait. If John did read the letter, then she didn’t want to be around any of the Resistance when he contacted her.

“Dutch. Its Rook. Copy?”

A few moments later her radio crackled, and she heard his voice come over the radio.

“Dutch here, where you been Rook? Been getting reports that you had been taken by Jacob in the Whitetails, and then by John in the Valley. You alright? Over.”

Rook sighed as she came to a stop a few miles down the road from John’s Ranch and sat down against a tree so that she was concealed from any vehicles on the road.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Look I need a day or two to recover from just everything, you know anywhere besides the bunker where I can just be alone for a day? I’ve been running from one area to the other non-stop and I just need some time. Over.”

It wasn’t a lie if she was being honest, ever since her failed arrest of the Father, Rook had been running back and forth from the Henbane to the Valley and more recently the Whitetail Mountains. She hasn’t had a decent night sleep in over a week and its starting to catch up to her.

“Uhh let me see here. If you’re still in Holland Valley, there’s a cabin to the  North of Seed Ranch just past Lamb of God Church. The owners left before Eden’s Gate moved into the county. It should still be standing and easy to get into. I know you probably don’t hear this enough Deputy, but we’re proud of you for what you’re doing for us. A lot of people are gonna be safe because of you. Dutch Out.”

Rook sighed and pulled out her map to locate the cabin Dutch was talking about before heading in that direction.

 ~With John Seed~

John had just arrived back at the ranch after meeting with Joseph earlier in the day to discuss what to do about the Deputy in his bunker. He and Joseph had spoken for several hours not only about Hudson, but about other things that needed to be done for the Project. Just because he had possession of one deputy, did not mean that he could neglect his duties as herald. Slipping off his jacket, he carefully folded it over the back of the chair before glancing down at the sofa. He then remembered the letter he was writing.

With a tired sigh, John sat down on the couch to finish his letter to Joseph when something caught his eye and made him uneasy. He distinctly remembers leaving his copy of Joseph’s book on the couch on to of the letter. He had read in it before leaving that morning. Now the book was on the table and flipped upside down. Someone had moved it on purpose. He also noticed something sticking out of the top. With a little bit of unease and apprehension, John pulled the piece of paper out only to discover that it was an envelope with his name of it. The handwriting was foreign to him but it was on an envelope with the Eden’s Gate symbols on it so it was their own stationary. Opening the letter John began to read:

 To Mr. John Seed,

First off, I want to say that I am just as apprehensive as you are right now. I shouldn’t be doing this, but I feel like I have to. I would like to arrange a meeting between us. No Resistance, No members of Eden’s Gate, and no weapons. I will let you personally disarm me upon meeting so that you trust I am not trying to pull a fast one on you or trick you. I need someone to talk to and you said you wanted a confession, right? I’ve discovered a frequency that the Resistance, Whitetail Militia, nor Eden’s Gate uses. If you are to agree to meet with me, you can contact me on frequency 12. I know you do not trust me right now and you have every right not to. Even if you do not want to meet, I would at least like an answer from you to know you have at least read the letter.

 Deputy Marie Ann Rook

 To say that John was shocked would be an understatement. The deputy wished to confess to him, of what he did not know, but she was willing to risk her life to get this letter to him and it had him puzzled as to why.

“John Sir?”

John’s head snapped up and he saw one of his guards standing in front of him.

“What?” he snapped out as he hastily shoved the letter back into the envelope before slipping it back into The Book of Joseph.

“We have not gotten a single sighting report of the deputy in the last 9 hours. It seems she has either left the region and fled to one of the other herald’s regions, or she is hiding out somewhere here in the valley.”

John sighed before standing up.

“Thank you for the report. If you receive any sightings let me know. Other than that, no one is to disturb me the rest of the night.”

The guard nodded before picking up his rifle and returning to his post outside. John paced back and forth for a few minutes. He knew that this very well could be a trap set by the resistance, but on the other hand, this was the first time that the Deputy had contacted him personally and was completely respectful. Not once did she refer to them as Peggies, she used his full name, and she even gave him information on who she was by giving him her full name. After a few more moments, John had made up his mind and made his way over to the table that his radio was sitting on and changed the frequency to 12.

 “Oh, Deputy….”

[torscrawls]

Medicinal Molduga

Link to Ao3

Link exited the Gerudo palace with his eyes resolutely averted from the giant Divine Beast standing on the mountain in the distance. The last of the four Divine Beasts to be freed from Calamity Ganon’s control.

Now, the beams of light connecting the Divine Beasts to Hyrule Castle and Calamity Ganon could be seen stretching all over the land; indicating with indisputable finality where he had to go next. Of who he had to face next.

But above all else, it was a reminder of his silent promise towards a person he couldn’t remember who was fighting where he himself had failed.

Link hesitantly started making his way down into the city, his mission of “resolving the Gerudo Town people’s problems” to get the Thunder Helm was a welcomed distraction as he tried to file away the fresh memories of Thunderblight Ganon and Urbosa’s achingly unfamiliar friendliness.

Despite the distraction, the mission hung over his head like a reminder of who he had been before his failure— the hero everyone seemed to think he still was. He wasn’t even sure if solving everyone’s individual problems instead of going directly to Calamity Ganon was something he should do, but coming face to face with Urbosa made it hard to turn his back on her people; however temporary.

The sun beamed down from above, pressing in its heat, making Link squint in the harsh light as he slowly took one step at a time, letting his feet carry him through town. He wasn’t completely sure how to go about finding people who could need his help; ever since he had woken up trouble had had an uncanny ability of finding him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of raised voices and Link looked up to see a Gerudo slowly walk away from the guards outside the palace with her face turned down, shoulders lightly shaking. Link hesitated for a moment; who was he to butt into a strangers problems? And besides, he thought with a quick look towards Vah Naboris and the beam of light leading off into the distance, he really did have more pressing matters to attend to. A quiet sob reached his ears.

Link approached the Gerudo and waved in greeting to catch her attention. She looked up at the gesture and quickly wiped at her face with one arm.  “Sav’aaq...”

Link put on what he hoped was a reassuring smile and signed, “I’m Link. What’s your name?”

“My name is Malena.”

Link tilted his head in question. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and looked down at the ground, voice thick as she answered, “I… I finally found the voe of my dreams, and I just recently married him…”

Her voice caught in her throat and she cleared it before continuing. “I thought I had finally found happiness. But then… then my husband fell ill with a rare disease. A disease that is very difficult to cure.” She looked back up and now the tears in her eyes were overflowing. “The only thing that can save him is the guts of a Molduga, but I would never be able to take down such a creature myself.”

She sent a look over her shoulder at the guards and lowered her voice. “I asked the soldiers for help, but why would they want to help me? The Molduga is a menacing beast and no-one who faces one escapes unscathed. Perhaps it’s foolish to expect anyone to stick their neck out for a stranger…” She trailed off, and Link had a second where he almost regretted approaching her; what could he possibly do when not even the soldiers could help? … Who else would help her if not even the soldiers would?

“Molduga?” Link signed the word hesitantly, asking for clarification.

“The Molduga is a monster,” she said as she turned her attention back to Link, red-rimmed eyes meeting his. “A terror so savage that even other monsters won’t approach it. It’s very sensitive to vibrations and tends to attack anything that draws near. You can’t approach it or even move near it. So, what am I to do…?” She trailed off again, eyes turning distant as she wrung her hands.

Link frowned. He knew he should walk away and focus his attention on Zelda and her impossible mission of defeating Calamity Ganon. He was already trying to justify sacrificing his own life by going up against the reincarnation of all evil for the greater good. How could he be supposed to risk his life to help everyone he came across?

On the other hand; if he can’t even save one person, one person desperate for help, then what kind of hero was he? Taking down Calamity Ganon was an insurmountable goal, something he wasn’t even able to comprehend. This was something he might actually be able to do; a concrete way to help someone. And who was he to place more worth on his own life than someone else’s?

He resolutely pushed away the feelings of guilt that rose up at the thought of leaving Zelda to fight her lonely battle for longer than necessary. In the same way that he couldn’t prioritize himself over a stranger, he couldn’t prioritize her either. He didn’t know Zelda any better than he knew Malena and they both needed help. One simply happened to stand right in front of him.

That was easier to grasp than the whole fate of Hyrule.

“Where is this Molduga?”

She looked surprised for a second before shrugging, her eyes turning sad again. “It’s often spotted west of here, in the Toruma Dunes, and in the south. You can avoid it if you don’t go near those places.”

Link patted her on the arm with a smile. “Wait here. I’ll be back.” He turned towards the closest gate and shielded his eyes from the sun as he took off. Even if it was too late to save everyone, he promised himself that he would do better with the second chance that he had been given.

 -------

 The sun was a constant in his face, almost blinding him as he walked on in the sand. The landscape around him was vast and unchanging; prompting him time and again to look over his shoulder to confirm that Vah Naboris was slowly shrinking in the distance and therefore confirming that he was making any headway at all. After an indefinite amount of time the only thing he was able to make out as he cast a look over his shoulder was the faint glowing line connecting the Divine Beast to Hyrule Castle and its dreaded occupant.

He cursed under his breath as he slipped in the sand for what felt like the hundredth time and he turned his eyes back towards what was in front of him. Sand, sand, sand, and even more sa— He almost slipped again as his eyes fastened on something in the otherwise unending landscape of rolling dunes; something that looked surprisingly solid! He increased his pace and cursed the fact that he hadn’t stopped to rent a Sand Seal before setting out. He took step after step in the loose sand, trying to ignore the way it almost seemed to grab onto his feet and drag him down; not even his sand boots were able to make it effortless. The form he had spotted over the dunes slowly took the shape of stone pillars, and he hoped that they were the Toruma Dunes Malena had been talking about even as he tried not to dwell on just how he was supposed to fight a giant monster in sand that he could barely walk in. The pillars slowly inched closer, shimmering in the heat. He would be there soon. Just another step. And another. And another.

The monotone was suddenly broken by a rumbling sound and Link stopped in the middle of a step. He looked out over the unending expanse of sand and saw nothing worth noting except the pillars right in front of him. Had the sun gotten to his head? He started walking again as he shook his head before taking a hasty sip from his water bottle.

His body was the one thing he had always been able to trust since he woke up, and the thought of it betraying him filled him with cold fear that almost combated the heat of the day. Maybe his attempts to stay cool hadn’t been enough. Maybe he shouldn’t have offered to help with this. Maybe this was Hylia punishing him for shirking his duties. Maybe—

His thoughts were interrupted by the sand to his far left suddenly rising up into a big mound; moving at a fast pace in his direction.

Link froze again.

Was it a hallucination? A sign of his body finally giving up? Link shook his head again in an attempt to clear it. The mound in the sand was still there, but Link noticed that it had started to veer off; moving away from him.

Link took a small step towards the stone pillars and watched in horror as the mound immediately changed direction again; coming straight towards him. Maybe not a hallucination, then.

He took off for the closest stone pillar, wanting to get up and away from whatever was moving in the sand.

Link took a running leap, grunting as he slammed into the stone, and started climbing. He hadn’t even gotten to the top of the pillar when a sudden, deafening, rumble sounded out behind him. Link whipped his head around to look over his shoulder and almost lost his grip on the rock beneath his hands as he tried to take in the sheer size of the creature that had heaved itself out of the ground a couple of meters from him; just where he had been mere seconds ago.

The Molduga broke completely free from the ground and snapped at nothing; its massive jaws closing with a decidedly final sound.

It was all Link could do to hang on to the side of the stone pillar. How in Hylia name was he supposed to fight that? None of the mental images he had conjured of what the Molduga would look like after Malena’s description managed to come close to the real thing. The guards had been right; one person could not be expected to fight a monster like this and he was just a regular person, no matter how much everyone tried to tell him otherwise.

The monster twisted in the air and dove back down; the impact of it hitting the ground shook the very earth even as it dove beneath the sand without much effort.

Link thought of the trail of light leading to Calamity Ganon, the trail of light from his past failures. He had to try.

Link sucked in a deep breath and heaved himself up to the top of the pillar, immediately grabbing for his bow and sending an arrow flying. It hit the Molduga’s tail just as it was disappearing back into the sand. It didn’t seem to faze the creature at all.

He followed the moving sand with his eyes; squinting against the sun. Link’s hand around his bow tightened. Defeating the Molduga was a step towards defeating Calamity Ganon— a step towards becoming the hero people needed.

He considered his options; if he went down into the sand he would be easy prey for the giant monster, but if he stayed up here he couldn’t reach it… Hadn’t Malena said something about the beast being sensitive to vibrations? Link raised his bow and readied a bomb arrow. He knew how to make vibrations.

He aimed at the moving mound and let the arrow fly. It struck true; flinging sand high into the air, but even so there was no sign of the monster. Until there was.

The Molduga roared as it heaved its giant form from the sand once again and blindly snapped at the air. Link didn’t allow himself to hesitate before jumping from the pillar and unfurling his paraglider, keeping his eyes the monster. Its small peering eyes glazed over him where he hung in the air.

Link immediately nocked another bomb arrow and let it fly; desperate for the sightless, soulless, eyes to not find him. He fired off as many as he could before one of them hit the Molduga square in the side and he noticed that the wind had brought him closer to the creature than he had expected—

Too close! The explosion flung him backwards and he landed in the sand with a dull thud. Link rolled to the side and managed to narrowly avoid getting pummeled into the ground; the monsters massive tail thumping down where he had been lying with enough force to produce a small explosion of sand.

He shook himself and scrambled to his feet, but to his relief he saw the Molduga lying still on the sand, the perceived attack with its tail being from when it landed, seemingly stunned. Link hesitated a second before taking a step towards the monster. One step. Then he ran; raising the master sword high and getting ready to strike.

Before Link reached it, however, the Molduga started moving. It raised its tail slightly, before spinning its massive body in a devastating circle; its tail hitting Link square in the chest and sending him flying.

He spat the sand from his mouth and raised his head in time to see the Molduga burrow back down into the sand. He shakily got to his feet and winced at his complaining ribs. That was going to bruise.

Link took as deep a breath as he could before throwing a bomb, watching as it rolled across the ground and the Molduga made a sharp turn straight towards it. Link ran in the opposite direction.

It once again rose up from beneath the sand, swallowing the bomb whole.

Link pressed detonate and the monster roared. Okay, maybe he could fight it like that.

The beast once again landed on top of the sand with a heavy thud.

He reached for another bomb arrow, but found his holster empty. Link cursed internally as he let go of the bow, letting it fall to the sand as he reached for the master sword.

The creature twitched where it lay.

Link didn’t waste any time before running towards it with his sword at the ready, ignoring his aching body. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. If there was something he had learnt since waking up it was that to survive he had to be a fast learner. His earlier mistakes had almost doomed this land, he couldn’t afford to make any more of them.

Link grabbed the master sword with both hands and jumped.

He allowed the force of gravity to aid him as he took a steady hold of the sword and aimed it straight down. He plunged down just as the creature righted itself— if he missed he would have no way of defending himself.

It struck true; piercing the creature right between its eyes. Link jumped backwards, raising his sword in front of him.

The Molduga slumped to the ground with a heavy thud, before rearing up and letting out a terrifying and deafening roar. Link did his best to steady his exhausted arms and prepare for another attack— but the monster simply slumped down on the ground before dissolving into purple smoke.

Left in its place was a treasure chest, fins, and… guts! Link took a step towards the loot and dropped to his knees; his shaking legs not able to support him any longer. He heaved in painful gasps of air as he inched closer to what remained of the massive monster and felt a smile spread over his face. He had done it. He had managed to defeat the monster— he had managed to fulfill one wish.

He scooped up the spoils and got to his feet, and for the first time he didn’t feel dread as his eyes found the beam of light extending from Vah Nabori’s, but hope. Maybe he would actually be able to do this after all.

---------

 The trip back to Gerudo town felt shorter and easier than his trek out, even with the extra materials. Thankfully his healing potion had done wonders on his ribs, and his tired legs seemed to find purchase in the sand as he pushed forward; the dwindling sun shining on his back and casting a long shadow for him to follow. The beam from Vah Naboris almost disappeared in the light of the setting sun. He still knew where it led.

As he entered the town he went straight for the palace. He found Malena by herself, standing close to where the guards trained.

“Sav’aaq...” Malena said as she turned around, her eyes widening slightly in recognition when they landed on Link’s smiling face. “Oh, it’s you.”

Link smiled as he extended his hands. “Here, take’em.”

“Wait, these…” She trailed off, wide eyes looking down at the intestines in Links hands. “Molduga guts!”

She raised her hands as if to grab them before stopping a few centimeters away, looking back up at Link’s face. “You… You’ll really give these to me?”

Link nodded.

“Oh, sarqso!” Malena took the offered Molduga guts with relief written all across her face, a smile breaking through on her face. Link felt something ease inside him. The relief and happiness on her face was right. This was what it meant to really fight back against the evil.

“This is all I have to thank you with.” She extended her hand with a golden rupee in it and Link raised his hands in front of his chest in the beginning of a denial, but she simply pressed the money into his palms and smiled. “I insist you take it.”

Link hesitantly smiled back as he accepted the rupee, closing his hand around her gratitude and relief.  She smiled back and clutched the remnants of the molduga close to her chest; tears brimming in her eyes. “This will save him.”

Link gave her a nod and smile before Malena turned and took off down the street, her arms never letting up on their secure hold. He had managed to save someone, and he was still here to do it again. This must be what it meant to be a hero; to save someone when you had the ability to do so. Link swore then and there that even if his mindset wasn’t always the most heroic he could make sure that his actions were something he could stand behind.

As Link once again set off into the town he didn’t spare the distant beast and its connection to Calamity Ganon another glance. He would do what he could to help and to try and be the hero people counted on, but he would not run from what he had to do. The last rays from the sun warmed his face as he resolutely took one step at a time.

---

This was written as part of the Legend of Zelda: Side Quest Zine. It’s chock-full of talented artists and writers and you can dowload it for free here.

The fic is also up on my Ao3: TorScrawls.

[ekebolou]

New Book: Chapter Fifteen

Sorry for the test post - had to do something to get the links to previous parts because search wasn’t working, hahahaha oh god I need to actually move this shit somewhere designed for writing soon.  Really.  Gotta get on that.

You waited all this time for this!?  Sorry, it’s a very busy time at school for me.  If I can do it at all, I’ll try to get more up today, but it may not be until later. (by the way, most of the typos are due to the fact that the New Book file is so long Word’s spellchecker has stopped functioning?  Which is a thing, I guess?  Or I need to check some settings.  Anyway, I ought to know how to spell, but fun facts, y’all).  

Prelude

Chapter One

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Sixteen

That said, here you go:

Chapter Fifteen

Generally, Rev was not one for looting; it was just more shit to carry, and unless it was a really nice rifle, he had no use for it.  Citizens were rarely in possession in rifles any nicer than the one the army had given him. Exchange, however, demanded goods. Plus, he owed the soldier who’d let him have his kit at least a little consideration.

Aster was fine, when he got back, grazing contently on the short grasses and ignoring the soldier who watched her with the doting eye of a hereditary horseman.  She lipped Rev’s hair as they enacted their exchange.

Those soldiers were fools. They had learned nothing from the march by the sea, and had no eye for the tools their surroundings offered.  This random infantryman had the great good luck of having run across Rev, but lacked the wit the appreciate it.  Rev had snatched three long cloths from those discarded on the battlefield; one, he gave to the soldier, as his due for the favor he’d done. Another, Rev exchanged for a heavy woolen uniform coat.  Perhaps Rev should have realized it to start with, but he could neither beg, exchange, or threaten the soldier’s knife away from him (foolish he might be, but he wasn’t stupid: unlike pistols, knives didn’t run out of ammunition).  As it was, the soldier looked both surprised and supremely dubious that Rev returned the pistol having never fired it.

Next battlefield spoils, he would get a knife, Rev promised himself. 

The soldier seemed amused, but not convinced by Rev’s demonstration of how to tie the cloth over his head. Apparently he had a perfectly good hat (he wasn’t wearing), that didn’t look so silly (it did).  Still, he took the cloths, no doubt to exchange them for something useless, like money. 

The afternoon was long, but Rev had something to keep him busy, and a horse for shade, when she wasn’t using him for shade.  Plus, Anik’s extra canteen still had wine in it, which was unwise but nice.  

Rev returned to the baggage and made a temporary camp, ignoring Aster’s occasional prodding as he folded himself a headdress like the ones he’d seen in the city.  With Anik’s sewing kit, he could begin to disassemble the coat. 

By the time Thespasian found him, curled up with Aster in the shade of supply wagon, he looked more like a traveling tinker than soldier, settled to rest among his junk.  Baggage with the baggage.

Thespasian wasn’t fooled, but the anger that darkened his brow didn’t breech his lips (or magnificent mustache).  Angrily tossing about their kit as he loaded it up, checking to make sure Rev hadn’t lost anything, he cast one sand-covered glower after another at Rev, then worldlessly (and reluctantly) signaled for him to follow. 

The march back to the city felt longer without battle drawing him on; or, at least, he found himself growing tired – bone tired, weary, even – as the drew closer.  Thespasian just kept glaring at him, perhaps daring him to make some allusion to his disobedience, to knowing how the battle went before they arrived, but Rev’s mind was buzzing and blank. 

Having a great, nasty hole in the outer wall somehow didn’t diminish the majesty of Niwat-Ra. Perhaps because she was so ancient, Rev thought; there were many ancient things in Sivery, but few which so much defied the land around them.  They built big walls on little hills, big towers in little valleys.  Sivery liked its land, and mountain was good enough without something built over it.  Niwat-Ra rose up in defiance of the rolling sands, the black rocks, the endless, undulating sea. 

Rev though briefly about leaving the sea behind, and was disturbed to find the thought pricked some anxious spot buried deep in his guts.  He had gotten used to it – he had gotten used to it, again – a small and contained space with all its terrible threats and endless, inescapable tension, and he had gotten used to it and missed it now that he really knew he was leaving it. Nothing could be more hateful. When they passed under the great gates, ten times taller than him, he ducked.

It hadn’t taken long for the clearing to begin.  The streets were unusually dusty, the crowds in them unusually cowed, but the signs of battle were all already tucked away.  A random storm could have caused the damage to the houses, except where a lucky ball or unlucky explosion had totally caved walls in.  But for their resentful, suspicious gazes, the people were like any other city or village trying to ignore that a war they hadn’t wanted had come anyway. 

They wound their way up the ever-narrowing streets to a central nest of buildings – an old temple, Rev guessed, rather than a palace, because many of the halls and rooms seemed disused, with air not stale but undisturbed.  There were numerous niches and alcoves, and scores of harried Felanese people pressing themselves flat against walls as the Baathians passed to open long-locked doors and brush dust out balcony doors. 

Surprisingly deep into the complex, Thespasian let an already-established troop of Baathian soldiers take Aster, the sheer displeasure on his face warning enough that they should take the utmost care.  He and Rev climbed further, until Rev thought perhaps his growing light-headed fatigue might be due to altitude.  (This didn’t cheer him up one bit).

Thespasian opened a heavy door into a set of rooms, not so disused as some of the others they passed. He threw down the kit, rounding on Rev.

“This will be Anik’s room. Make ready.”

Was his glare softer as he turned away?  Perhaps not. He certainly slammed the door hard enough.

Left alone, the last of Rev’s energy left him.  The old splicing of comfort and discomfort at being shut away, alone but sealed in, returned, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it.  Part of him wished Aster were back.

He meant to survey the room, but only saw the bed – an insulting thing, if this were one of those prudish religions.  Made wholly of pillows over a silk-rope frame, piled with silk sheets, the bed could fit a family of ten – it even had long gauzy curtains to protect it from insects and breezes from the gaping bay window, and the room’s enormous balcony.

He knew what the bed was for.

Grabbing the blanket rolls from the tops of the bags, Rev made himself a nest on the far side, out of sight of the door, where he could watch the curtains on the balcony waft in the sunlight.  He coud hear water flowing somewhere nearby, but hardly stayed awake long enough to register the noise.

 *

 The day had been long, and now the night was dark.  Anik felt slightly like a fool for having sent away the Felanese boy with the latern at the bottom of the sloped hallway, but one more sullen look – no matter how completely reasonable it was for him to look so – and Anik would have exploded. At least it was dark enough no one could see him also look like a fool as he groped his way along the wall, feeling for the door. 

All day had been one long, sustained explosion.  Most of it had been contained. 

The battle – that had been easy.  Unnervingly so.  Normally this would have been a prompt for feelings of Fortune’s favor upon their mission. Perhaps it was carryover from the tensions of the voyage, or perhaps deeper doubts, but Anik could not feel lucky. He did not feel the blessing hand of Fate on them when the Theras stationed in the city turned and ran, tossing down their elaborate, gilded weapons rather than fight an army many times their size.  He did not get a sense of victory out of the tired look of resignation on the Felanese faces who watched their overlords desert them.  He did not like an easy victory, or mistake it for a sure one.

So it was with grave suspicion he started to work his way up the convoluted chains of command and favor to try to speak with Bohdan about his misgivings.  Along the way he received more intelligence: Manas has been shot, but the bullet only grazed his head, and left him in a foul mood that made him ill-prepared to accept the honor of being placed in charge of the city. Manas would hate being away from battle, but with his wound, it was the only reasonable choice; Anik could only hope it wouldn’t be permanent.  The swarm of Felanese experts Bohdan had brought next absorbed his attention, putting Anik and his tactical concerns at the end of a long line of relief-rubbers, sand-sifters, and pursed-lipped philologists.

Then Dulal had arrived, similarly frustrated by the priorities of their commander and much less prone to try to control her temper – but after hearing her news, Anik couldn’t blame her.  Some of Dulal’s soldiers had been kidnapped by desert raiders that the Felanese called the Nitesh; those that had escaped passed tales of brutal treatment, of the sort which begged vengeance.  Anik had seen vengeance.  Anik had seen vengeance in the supposed cradle of civilization, seen vengeance begged in Baath itself, and there was no power, righteous and divine, that could salve the memory.  Dulal took little convincing, but he had his doubts that Bohdan would take action to stop the spread of such bloody, misnamed justice. 

Dulal also had greater concerns.  The Theras, not native Felanese, but client rulers, had potentially successfully delayed the invaders long enough to begin to send word for reinforcement from their long-ignored but still-powerful homeland.  Both she and Anik had noticed that even in a march so short as the one undertaken in the morning, dozens of soldiers had come down with what the surgeons were calling a heat-sickness.  Half of Dulal’s supplies had turned out to be bad, and according to her local sources, the timing of the invasion was wrong for the countryside to be completely dependable for supplying fresh food. 

Chitt had arrived and informed them both – while also waiting for an audience, now delayed due to the establishement of temporary civil authority from amongst Bohdan’s favorites – and informed them a half-dozen of the cannons had been lost overboard in unloading.  The Admiral, unwilling to lend them any of his ships’ cannons, instead promised them a boat to help bring the guns back up from the ocean floor – and rather than awaiting his appeals, was having his ships sail around the point as soon as they were unloaded so they could not be raided for guns – which was why Anik, Dulal, and Chitt were yet again delayed, as Jatin stormed into the room, nearly squashing the city’s former ruler, screaming at Bohdan.

By then Dulal was half-drunk, and had arranged a duel with one of Bohdan’s favorites, who had bumped her as he left his audience and offered an insufficient apology.  Anik allowed Chitt to precede them as he and the other second attempted to persuade their relative friends that the duel was both uniwise and not worth it.  This was difficult, as Dulal kept of steady stream of more and more offensive accusations as they negotiated the details, until her valet was able to persuade her she needed to change her coat before murdering anyone (she would forget, most likely, who she had challenged by the time she sobered up and thus everyone would get to live), and Anik was able to reassure Bohdan’s pet that Dulal had not at all meant to call him the tumerous product of prolapsed pig’s uterus dragging through the back alley of the Baathian capitol’s most infamous district for prostitution.  It could be considered a term of endearment in some quarters of her home district. 

In the dark, he found the door.  True, he had eventually addressed Bohdan, but by then their problems had so multiplied he found his initial report lacking.  Bohdan seemed to be aware of the issues, or at least he dismissed them with an infallible authority.  Then he added to them: there were no horses.

Three thousand cavalry soldiers, and there were no horses.  Any of the horses they had brought that did not belong to officers would be requisitioned for the Guides regiments, as apparently there was some local strictures regarding social status and camels.  That was what the Theras, and therefore the Felanese under the Theras, went in for – camels.  He could get a thousand fine camels with the snap of his fingers, but there was not a horse fit for riding into battle in fifty miles of the city.  Bohdan would, of course, just requisition what camels were needed, local customs be damned, to satisfy the requirements of functionality and propriety for the Guides and the cavalry, but there simply weren’t enough to go around.  The cavalry would, in large part, have to walk.

Anik had found himself losing his temper.  He opened the door quietly, shut it gently, stepped into the moonlit room and tripped over a pile of packs.  Fortunately, he’d been still in his shuffling gait from the dark hallway, and thus was able to right himself before he bashed his face into the stone floor, but at some expense of dignity as he flailed.  A flash of anger, then a cool wave of relief, as even before he heard it, he expected Rev to laugh.

There came no laugh. What had been cool turned cold, his heart beat seeming obscenely loud as he listened hard for what would not come. The sound of running water, the faintest whispers of city noise, the scrape of the curtain over the floor as breeze from the balcony brushed them inward…

In the stillness, his eyes adjusted to the light in the room – still dark, but much brighter than the hallway thanks to the moon spilling in from the balcony.  It was thanks to the moon, too, that through the light gauze of the bed’s inner curtain he could see a divot in the pillows, its emptiness the more vast for his expectation it would be filled. 

Of course, he thought. Of course.  Of course.  Of course.

He made himself move.  Brush the curtains aside, sit on the edge of the bed, start making his hands work stiffly on the buttons of his uniform. Of course, he tried again, and it was so hollow.

A dozen lovers had left him. Many on the eve of great campaigns. There was something about it – the start of something new, that required a change.  There were lovers in peace and lovers in war and they were rarely the same.

He tried to think of any other lovers of peace he’d had.  Technically – only Rev.  That was how long he had been at war.  What an odd thing it was, too, that it was only Rev. 

Uniform coat came off like shedding a pack after a long march.  He worked on his breeches as if it were normal. 

Of course he would go, though.  Why stay surrounded by Baathians?  They, as a people, were dangerous to him.  The Felanese, though strangers, were longtime trading partners of Sivery. It was reasonable to leave here, now, join what might be a good flood of Siveric people fleeing as the Baathians invaded.  Of course he would go.  He should go. It was safest.

He hissed as his boots came off, like peeling skin.  Of course it wasn’t safe enough with him.  He was not all-powerful.  He was not always present.  He was not strong enough to protect Rev, and hadn’t that been proven?  What did his promises mean, in the face of that reality? He could mean it – he could mean his offered protection with every fiber of his being – he could promise to die for a thing, but that didn’t make the thing real.  Hadn’t he learned that?  Hadn’t Papa Bel told him that?  It was well and good to die for a cause, but what could the dead do to ensure that cause continued? 

His chest hurt.  His chest hurt and he couldn’t breathe.  He felt as if taking a breath in would somehow break him, like the fragile ice still clinging tight to the spring flood.

Hadn’t he done it himself? Hadn’t he left Rev there, with the baggage, thinking, oh, god, at least here he was safe, and the battle could go on without Anik having to cast his glances back at the bloody scrum.  He had meant Rev to be safe, and safe he was, and now – now, now that he was away from this, all this, all this including Anik – he was as safe as he could possibly be.  Safe even from Anik himself. 

His breath caught.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Anik turned, hand grasping the air where his sword hilt had once been.  A raggedy face poked over the far edge of the bed.  Squinting up from the dark, even still, Anik could see the lines etched into Rev’s face.

Anik couldn’t make his throat work to speak.  He meant to say something – something reassuring, something calm, something to help make sense of Rev’s strange excuse, something by way of a greeting, but instead his hand reached out of its own volition, offering itself over the bed.

As confused as Anik, Rev took it.

Anik pulled him up, and Rev came.  Falling back, Anik drew Rev to him, chest to back, tangling legs with legs, crossing their arms together, bundling him in tight, and finally breathed in, chin tucked over Rev’s shoulder.  If it bothered Rev, he gave no sign, but curled in to Anik’s grip, letting it grow tight as together they breathed.

Sleep would come quickly, all thought of the war obliterated, and only later, much later, would Anik start awake with the thought of what a bad thing that was for his part of this campaign.

[moustache-otaku]

Noragami Secret Santa

Surprise @asliceofcolor! Your secret santa was none other than moi. I’m so sorry I took ages, but I got your present in by the 27th! Well, I mean, there are still time zones to consider so uh...

Um, enjoy your present! It’s not exactly the Yatori you requested I’m sorry I got carried away please forgive me And I hope everyone has a great holiday!

The train slowed at the station, and soon came to a stop completely. Its passengers began to file out in as soon the doors opened. A cool winter wind ushered them down the stairs and into the warmth of the station below, each person clutching their luggage tightly and searching for signs guiding them in the right direction.

One particular girl was being swept along with the crowd helplessly. She had her scarf wrapped around her snugly, a splash of pink in a dull sea, and the air about her was clearly one of a person wondering why they ever thought this would have been a good idea. However, the exasperated expression on her face may not have been from the impatient people, as much as from her companions.

‘I can’t believe we’re in Kyoto!’ Yato cheered, dancing about on the tips of his toes. ‘We can go visit Kyoto Tower, Kiyomizu-dera, and even get some decorating ideas for my shrine!’

‘Shut up.’ Yukine sighed and slapped him with a rolled up guide map. ‘How do you plan on decorating your shrine anyway? Just leave Hiyori’s handiwork be.’ He unfurled the brochure, skimming over its contents. ‘I really want to visit the bamboo grove. We can pay our respects to all the other gods around here as well.’

‘How about you spare some worship for me instead?’ Yato pouted. ‘I’m your master, you know. Have some respect!’

‘You’ve been telling me that ever since we met. What makes you think I’m going to change now?’

‘I’m hurt! You should be offering me all your money and asking for my blessing. Come to mention it, I think I hear something jangling around in your pockets. Could it be that you’ve been secretly preparing an early Christmas present for me? You’re such a good regalia! Now, give it here and I can-’

‘Like hell this is for you!’ Yukine retorted, raising his map threateningly. ‘I need to eat as well!’

‘Come at me.’ Yato growled, and tried his best to assume a threatening stance. However, this was rather difficult in such a crowded area. With his arms in absurd positions above his head and one leg raised, he nearly toppled to the ground.

‘Can you guys please just, like, chill?’ Hiyori groaned, wheeling around furiously.

She regretted her decision almost immediately. Yato seemed to be concealing himself on purpose, as the people around her shot strange looks the girl who seemed to be talking to thin air.

Hiyori felt herself go red slightly when the women behind Yato raised an eyebrow and trotted away in an indignant huff. Yukine spotted her discomfort and looked apologetically in her direction, while Yato actually did topple. He was trampled by a hoard of tourists speaking rapid Korean, and Hiyori pushed to the side as they hurried past.

‘He will be missed,’ Yukine said, forcing his way back to her. ‘By no one. Well, not including Kofuku. She’s too nice to hate anyone. Come on, Hiyori, let’s go.’

‘My friends!’ Yato moaned from the floor.

‘Not us.’ Hiyori said and grabbed Yukine’s hand, the two of them hurrying away.

Finally making it out of the train station with nothing but Hiyori’s hair looking rather ruffled, they were met by the sight of a elegant tower dressed in red and white. It wasn’t nearly as tall as the skyscrapers in Tokyo, but impressive nonetheless when compared to the surrounding buildings. A large shopping mall sat at its feet, tourists hurrying in empty handed and out again with bags in hands and their wallets significantly lighter.

Oh, Yato was there too by the way.

Breathing heavily and pointing accusatively at the two who had abandoned him, he looked surprisingly okay for someone who had just been run over.

‘How did he even get over there in the first place.’ Yukine muttered.

‘Never mind that.’ Hiyori replied. ‘Look closely, now, at this perfect example of what not to do when crossing the road. Note the importance of traffic safety, Yukine.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

Yato opened his mouth and took a deep breath, preparing to start ranting at the top of his lungs, but was interrupted by the sound of rumbling wheels. He looked to his right far too late and was met by a bus, crashing straight into him and driving onward without its driver batting an eye. Yukine winced, but Hiyori nodded approvingly.

‘Now he knows.’ Hiyori smiled with an evil glint in her eyes.

‘Traffic safety is no laughing matter.’ Yukine murmured, following after Hiyori and looking down at Yato’s unmoving body as the light turned green and they passed by. ‘Geez, is he dead?’

‘Probably not. Let’s go, he’ll catch up.’

**********

‘Okay, now listen.’ Hiyori began sternly, looking at Yato in particular. ‘I don’t want you guys doing anything too weird, alright? I know that you can handle yourself, Yukine, but Yato… You really need some work.’

They were sitting in a new room, having checked into their hotel just a few moments earlier. Three beds lined one wall, while a window sat perpendicular to them, letting in moonlight through the gap between curtains.

Yato and Yukine sat side by side at the feet of the middle bed as Hiyori stood in front of them, her gaze sliding between the two. Yato frowned as if he didn’t know what she was talking about, but Yukine nodded in agreement.

‘Listen, won’t you just cooperate for a little while?’ Hiyori asked. ‘It was you who wanted to come to Kyoto so desperately, not me. My parents thought I was crazy when I said I was going to go. Right now they think I’m on a trip with Ami and Yama, not a god and his regalia.’

‘Thanks for bringing us.’ Yato mumbled.

‘Hiyori’s right. Why did you want to come so badly anyway?’ Yukine cut in, looking at Yato suspiciously. ‘You were really serious about it and everything.’

‘I thought Kyoto looked… Nice?’

‘You’re not convincing anyone, you know.’

‘Okay, okay, fine. It’s my lucky spot, alright?’ Yato admitted, avoiding their eyes. ‘I got my fortune told, and the old lady told me if I went to Inari shrine, I was going to get rich! A win in the lottery, boom in business, success in school-’

‘You don’t even go to school!’ Yukine interrupted furiously. ‘What the hell, man!’

‘I don’t even want to know how much that fortune cost.’ Hiyori said, beginning to feel faint. ‘Are you serious, Yato?’

‘Wellll…’

‘I’m going to murder you!’ Yukine shouted, jumping to his feet. ‘We wasted Hiyori’s money for this? Come here, you crappy god! You deserve what’s coming!’

‘Oh no, Yukine, that's alright. Money isn’t really my main concern right now.’ Hiyori laughed weakly. ‘Since we’re here, I suppose we might as well go.’

‘Yeah! Hear that, Yukine? There’s no problem here!’ Yato said quickly. ‘And just put that chair back down, okay?’

‘Are you sure, Hiyori?’ Yukine asked, still eyeing Yato irritably. ‘I mean, it really wouldn’t be any trouble.’

‘No, no, that’s okay.’ Hiyori hurried. ‘Let’s just get some sleep, shall we? We’ll have to get up early if we want to avoid the crowd of tourists.’

‘You’re a real god, you know that, Hiyori?’ Yukine said. ‘Yato doesn’t deserve someone like you.’

‘Hey!’ Yato interjected. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘I’m going to bed.’ Hiyori said loudly over the renewed argument. ‘Don’t blame me if you can’t wake up tomorrow morning.’

‘Of course I’ll be able to! I’m a god, after all. I can do anything.’ Yato huffed proudly.

As it turned out, gods could not do everything. Not even close. And as Hiyori woke the next morning feeling disgruntled but refreshed, Yato was still snoring away next to her. Yukine, too, had managed to pull himself out of the warm sheets, but Yato really was hopeless. It was only after taking a pillow to the bed that he sat bolt upright, drooling slightly and mumbling something about sukiyaki.

Hiyori and Yukine were already dressed and ready, but of course, it wasn’t as if Yato had another change of clothes anyway, so they hit the road rather quickly.

The cold clung to them as they marched along the empty streets, save for the occasional passing car or pedestrian. Hiyori could feel the sun on the verge of rising, but so far, stars still covered the sky. She was glad they had chosen a place to stay which was near their destination, and it seemed Yukine was as well.

‘We’re here.’ he groaned in relief, slumping down onto a bench outside the entrance. ‘Finally.’

‘We’ll take a small break, then keep going.’ Hiyori smiled as she tossed Yukine a drink from the nearby vending machine. ‘If we hurry and climb, we might get a nice view of the sunrise when we get to the top.’

Yukine downed the water and sighed. He stretched, glancing at the deserted shrine grounds behind him. The food stalls were all closed, and so were the souvenir stands, giving an eerie feel to the place. Getting up slowly, Yukine stuffed the empty bottle into his bag and glanced at Yato.

‘You ready?’ he asked, and it was only then Hiyori noticed how unusually quiet he was being.

Yato gazed at the shrine with hands in his pockets, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes jumped from the torii gate before him to the prayer hall further on, and then to the mountain hidden away behind the complex of shrine buildings.

‘We shouldn’t have come here.’

‘What?’ Yukine stared at him.

‘Come on.’ he said, turning and reaching for Hiyori’s hand to pull her away. ‘Let’s go somewhere else, okay?’

‘Yato-’ she began, unsure of what she was hearing.

‘Please, just trust me on this one.’ he insisted.

‘What’s gotten into you?’ Yukine said, flaring up. ‘First you drag us here on a whim, and then say we should just go without even giving a reason?’

‘I was arrested by heaven just a few days ago, remember?’ Yato shot back. ‘I doubt Inari is going to want us in her shrine. I wasn’t thinking much of it before, but now that we’re here, I can sense how hostile the spirits are. It would be better if we just left them be.’

‘Maybe you can’t go, but Hiyori and I sure can.’ Yukine answered angrily. ‘Just stay here and wait.’

‘Hold on. Yukine!’ Hiyori shouted, but he was already marching under the gate.

She held her breath and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Whirling around triumphantly, Yukine glared at Yato, who looked back blankly.

‘See? I’m perfectly fine.’ he sniffed. ‘And Hiyori will be too.’

But before they had any time to respond, a furious gust of wind blew by, sending the trees into a frenzy and the shrine’s bells clanging loudly. It didn’t take a genius to work out that that was not a good sign.

‘Yukine, come back now!’ Yato shouted over the squall.

Hiyori raised an arm to shielded her eyes from the dust being blown in their direction, but the tempest stopped as suddenly as it had started. She looked up quickly, hoping for the best, even though she knew it would be a miracle if Yukine came out of this unscathed. As it turned out, things were much, much worse than she could have ever imagined.

The gate had disappeared, along with the entire shrine. In its place was a vast forest, spreading endlessly before her. Leading into that forest was an old path, overrun with moss and a maze of cracks over its otherwise plain surface. Hiyori couldn’t see where it headed, but that wasn’t her primary concern. Her primary concern was the fact that the ground had disappeared from under her feet.

She felt a strange, momentary weightlessness, then began to fall barely a second later. Reaching for something, anything that would save her, she managed to grab onto a hand just as the path flew upwards out of her sight.

‘Hiyori!’ Yato shouted.

Hiyori opened her mouth to speak, but all intelligent conversation went out the window as soon as she glanced down.

‘OHMYGOD YATO SAVE ME!

‘Okay, okay!’ he relented. ‘Give me a second.’

He took a deep breath and gripped onto the edge of the ground with his other hand, steadying himself. Then, with a great jolt, he heaved Hiyori up over the edge. She collapsed onto the grass a few feet away and scrambled to her feet, heart pounding against her rib cage.

‘W-What happened? Where are we?’ Hiyori stammered. ‘Where’s Yukine?’

‘I have no idea what happened, or where Yukine is.’ Yato admitted, throwing a sidelong glance at the emptiness behind him. ‘But as for your second question, I think you have a pretty good chance of guessing. There’s really only one place like this you’ll ever visit.’

‘Takamagahara.’ Hiyori realised as she took in the pink sky and floating islands in the distance. ‘But how-’

‘Look, sister. The foolish spirits seem to have been here before.’

The voice was high and cruel, and there was a cold amusement to its tone. A sly laugh accompanied this statement, echoing around them as if they were in a great hall instead of the space which surrounded them.

‘Well of course. That’s the Yato-god, is it not? He must still remember his near encounter with the executioner’s blade.’

‘Who said that?’ Yato asked, looking at the space above the forest. ‘Show yourself.’

‘Oooh, scary.’ came the first voice. ‘The little cat thinks himself a tiger.’

There was a bright flash of light, and two women appeared where Yato was staring. Dressed in traditional outfits of red and white, they were obviously Inari’s shrine maidens. The two dropped gracefully to the ground with barely a rustle of the grass. They observed Yato and Hiyori through foxes’ eyes, the only show of emotion on the curved mouths still visible beneath the half-masks adorning their faces.

‘Well? Should we tell them?’ The younger giggled to her partner. ‘About what we did to the little boy.’

‘Yukine!’ Hiyori took a step forward. ‘Where’s Yukine?’

‘Hush, child. The adults are speaking.’ The other maiden chided.

‘Tell us where he is.’ Yato repeated, glaring at the woman.

‘Oh, we’ll give him back to you.’ she laughed. ‘But first, you have to play a game with us.’

‘Isn’t that a bit cliche? Us having to go through trials and crap to get what we want?’ Yato asked. ‘If you want a fight, let’s go. Right here and now.’

‘‘Cliche’?’ she tilted her head. ‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Ah, fine.’ Yato muttered. ‘Go on.’

‘It’s quite simple, really.’ Her partner smirked. ‘There are five torii gates scattered throughout this forest. Your job is to find them all.’

‘That’s it? No strings attached?’ Hiyori asked, but neither of the maidens looked at her.

‘Answer Hiyori’s question.’ Yato demanded.

‘Yes, that is all.’ The elder relented, her lip curling slightly in distaste. ‘Bring them to the top of the mountain once you’re done, and we’ll see about the boy. You have an hour, starting now. Best of luck, Yato-god.’

‘Wait! What happens if we lose?’ Hiyori called, but another blinding flash, and they were gone. ‘Great, thanks.’

‘We should hurry.’ Yato walked past. ‘The clock’s ticking.’

‘Why can’t we just go on vacation in peace?’ Hiyori groaned, and hurried after Yato’s retreating back.

The forest grew thicker the further in they went. Very soon, only thin needles of sunlight illuminated their path. Yato scanned the left while Hiyori took charge of the right, searching for any sign of a gate or clues that might lead them to it. She figured that it couldn’t have been as easy as the maidens made it out to be, and was on guard in case anything should attack.

Their first challenge appeared in the form of split paths. A common trope that, Hiyori had to admit, she was waiting for.

‘Right.’ Yato voted.

‘Right.’ Hiyori agreed, and they carried on.

Well, that was extremely anticlimatic. Hiyori almost found herself disappointed by the lack of resistance they were facing. But as they say, be careful what you wish for, because the narrator can be a massive jerk sometimes. (Spoiler alert: I am a massive jerk.)

An eldritch fog began to roll in. Slowly at first, and Hiyori barely noticed until she was squinting to see where she previously had no problem looking. It was quite clear this wasn’t natural. She reached for Yato, but he was no longer by her side.

Hiyori felt idiotic. How could she have let him wander off like that? Now she was stuck in the midst of a creepy cloud without anyone to talk to. Just great. And then, the whispering started.

A tiny voice murmured something from far off, and Hiyori felt her breathing speed up. Calm down, she told herself. You’re just imagining it.

‘Yato?’ she called.

No response. Something rustled in the shrubbery behind her, and she flinched.

‘Yato,’ she said again. ‘If this is you, it’s not funny.’

Once again, no one answered. Barely a second later, the voice reappeared, and it was a lot closer this time. Hiyori’s walk turned into a brisk jog. By the time the words, still unidentifiable, were being whispered from beside her, she was sprinting.

‘Yato!’ she shouted, desperation now clear in her voice. ‘Yato, help!’

Another whisper started up. It didn’t get louder as the other one had, but seemed to be screamed directly into Hiyori’s ear. She gave a shout of surprise and turned quickly, but the voice stayed. It was how you would imagine a snake to sound if it spoke human words, even though this one didn’t either. It was strange, the way it stayed at a mere whisper but the volume seemed to increase with each passing second.

Hiyori backed away with her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise. She half expected people to emerge from the blank grey that now obscured everything, hands outstretched and eyes dull, grabbing at her clothes, pulling her hair, trying to drag her into the mist.

She felt something against her heel and stumbled, crashing into a tree. Hiyori felt the people close in on her, their voices growing crazed and agitated, desperate for attention. Then a hand escaped the fog and reached out, reached out so suddenly that it forced a scream from Hiyori’s lips.

‘Hiyori!’

The hand closed around hers and dragged her to her feet, pulling her into a tight embrace that smelt… Nice.

‘Y-Yato?’

He let out a deep breath and hugged her tightly. The voices faded. The fog clearing out and leaving without any sign that it had been there in the first place.

‘Yato!’ Hiyori blushed, stepping away and looking around frantically. ‘Where did you come from?’

‘I think the real question is where you wandered off to.’ he complained. ‘Leaving me alone like that. God, I was so worried.’

‘Oh, so I was the one who wandered off?’ Hiyori found her fear quickly turning into anger. ‘Where the hell did you go?’

‘To the gate, obviously.’ Yato grinned. It was obvious he had been building up to this, because the surprised look on Hiyori’s face seemed to be just what he was waiting for.

‘You found one?’ she asked. ‘Where is it?’

‘Right here!’ Yato announced, pulling a miniature torii gate from his pocket.

There was a brief moment of silence.

‘What did you do to it?’

‘Nothing!’

‘It’s the size of your hand, Yato. I don’t think that’s ‘nothing’.’

‘It was like this when I found it.’ Yato protested. ‘Just sitting there at the foot of a huge willow tree.’

‘So they’re all tiny?’ Hiyori slumped in exasperation. ‘That’s why it was so hard for us to find.’

‘Well, now that we know, the rest should be no problem.’ Yato continued enthusiastically. ‘We’ll just have to look a little more carefully.’

‘What was that fog anyway?’ Hiyori asked once they had started walking again. ‘Some kind of spell?’

‘Must be. I have no idea what it could have been.’ Yato confessed. ‘Regalia have all kinds of magic they keep to themselves, especially Inari’s. They’re foxes, so what can you expect. Mischievous like always.’

‘You speak like you’ve met them before.’

‘Well, there was this time a while ago when I used to hang around Inari’s shrine a lot, and those stupid foxes kept mocking me. They even stole my fluffy fluff scarf and hid it! Seriously, they’re nothing but trouble.’

Hiyori laughed, imagining just what sort of pranks the regalia would have gotten up to, but was interrupted by the sound of rushing water. Looking ahead, she noticed the forest seemed to end in just a few meters.

‘A river?’

‘Let’s check it out.’

The grass slowly gave way to rough pebbles and grains of sand, pink sky coming into sight once again as they stepped out into the open. The path continued to the other side, where the forest resumed, but the problem was it went under fierce river to do so.

It was going to be nearly impossible to cross. The current was strong and would wash away anything that didn’t have a firm hold on the ground, including Yato and Hiyori. But, there was good news as well.

A solidary rock stood in the middle of the river, stubbornly refusing to move. Standing on the rock was none other than-

‘The gate!’ Hiyori exclaimed. ‘But why is it there?’

‘They’re foxes. They get real creative sometimes.’

‘Well, how do we get it?’

‘Stay here.’ Yato ordered, rolling up his sleeves. ‘I’ll grab it.’

‘You can’t! You’ll get washed away by the river.’

‘Don’t worry, I got this.’

Ignoring Hiyori’s protests, Yato walked straight into the river, making for the gate. It was okay at the start, with the water only pushing at his ankles gently. When it reached his waist, however, the trouble really started.

If he slipped, he would be done for. And unluckily for him, the river floor was covered with large rocks, each of which had smooth surfaces. Yato began to regret his decision, but the shrine gate was getting closer. Just a few more steps was all he needed.

Hiyori watched from the shore with bated breath. She crossed her fingers and edged closer to the river, ready to jump in at any moment should Yato need help. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the gate was close enough.

Reaching out gingerly and being careful to keep his balance, Yato managed to snag it with the tips of his fingers. He shoved it into his pocket quickly and turned around.

However, as I said, I am a jerk. And also the narrator. All in all, not really such good news for our heroic duo. Yato’s not going to be making it back that smoothly.

‘Look out!’ Hiyori shouted.

Yato whipped his head around to see a massive tree branch being washed downstream, straight towards him. He cursed his bad luck and tried to speed up his pace, but this was a mistake.

He lost his footing and, with a splash, went under. Without a second to lose, Hiyori turned and ran along the shore, trying to keep up. The branch went whizzing past, and missed Yato by inches. Occasional splashes in the water told her where he was, and she could tell they were getting further and further apart.

Quickly running out of breath, Hiyori saw the river narrow further down, and the branch seemed to be lodged firmly in this strip. Yato crashed straight into it. With a strangled yelp, he resurfaced and clung onto the wood, gasping for air.

Hiyori rushed to his side and reached down to pull him up, breathing heavily. Yato grabbed her hand weakly, but the force of the current was far too strong, and the branch gave in. Yato was washed away once again, but he refused to let go of Hiyori’s hand, and so she was as well.

The water was freezing cold, and she was completely soaked within a few seconds. Hiyori struggled for air, untangling herself from Yato and splashing about for a handhold. Every time she found something to hold onto, it turned out to be either Yato’s face or his leg, and they continued downstream in this fashion until finally, the foxes seemed to have gotten bored of their futile efforts.

The river gradually branched off into smaller streams, getting increasingly more shallow and the rapids weaker. Soon, Yato and Hiyori rolled to a stop entirely. They lay in the small river for a solid minute, gasping and coughing.

‘Never. Again.’ Hiyori spat, sitting up slowly.

‘You say that like I chose to drown.’ Yato protested weakly.

Hiyori eased herself to her feet and waded out of the water. They were in a part of the forest that was completely unfamiliar to them, but the path was still here. It was almost as if they had been washed in a circle.

‘Stupid foxes.’ Yato muttered, expressing Hiyori’s feelings perfectly.

‘Hey, what’s that over there?’ Hiyori asked, suddenly spotting something further down the bank.

'I don't know, and I don't care.' Yato struggled to her side. 'Let's just get out of here and keep searching for the gates.'

'Yato, look again.' Hiyori insisted. 'I think that might be a gate.'

Yato froze and looked in the direction she was pointing. A red shape lay innocently on the sand, nothing special about it. They walked over cautiously, expecting traps or an ambush, but nothing happened. They looked down at the gate curiously, then exchanged confused looks.

'Maybe it's ours and it got carried away?' Hiyori asked. 'Check your pockets. See if we dropped one.'

'No, they're all here.' Yato answered after a brief rummage through his tracksuit.

Hiyori bent down and picked up the gate. Nothing happened.

'This is a trap somehow, but I can't quite put my finger on it.'

'Let's get out of here before the trap activates.' Hiyori suggested.

Yato nodded in agreement and they trotted quickly across the river. Still nothing. Hiyori supposed that, after undergoing such a terrible ordeal, the spirits were taking pity on them. Either way, she decided to just accept this stroke of good fortune without questioning it any further.

Just as they were about to step foot inside the forest once again, a strange silence befell their surroundings. The stream's flow grew hushed, and the trees stopped rustling. Then, a single drop of water, and a tinkling laugh.

Yato and Hiyori whirled around to look at the river, but there was no one there. No one the laugh could have come from, or any sign of peopl apart from themselves walking these lands. Even so, they both knew Nora had just paid them a visit.

'Come on, quickly.' Yato said, clasping Hiyori's hand and pulling her into the shelter of the trees.

'But Yato, that was-'

'I know.' Yato looked grim. 'We'll have to watch ourselves from now on.'

Having collected three of the five gates they were meant to, Hiyori would have been in high spirits, were it not for the knowledge that they now had a murderous little girl to watch out for.

The path was definitely sloping upwards now, and she suspected they were climbing to the top of the mountain. Her legs were getting incredibly sore. After everything Hiyori had been through, who could blame her. She had such a wonderful time contemplating what horrid things they would have to do to get the last two gates that she didn't notice Yato stopping, and ended up crashing right into him.

'What is it?' she asked, rubbing her sore forehead. 'Do you see something?'

'There.' he answered.

Hiyori glanced over his shoulder and saw that they had reached a flat plane. The incline stopped suddenly, and so did the path they were walking on. She could see it continue from across the empty space, where the climb also resumed.

Yato stepped up onto the field with Hiyori following closely behind him. Another gate was visible at the foot of the path, and it was clear something was going to happen here. The air was thick with tension, and Hiyori didn't think it was just hers or Yato's. She doubted this would be another smooth victory like the last one, and if it was, she would seriously begin to dread what awaited them at gate number five.

As Hiyori scanned the barren land once again, she couldn't help but think how much it looked like an arena, and it was no mystery who the fighters were going to be.

Smells nice.

Hiyori inhaled sharply and looked around.

Smells nice.

'Yato...'

'Yeah.' Yato glanced at the sky above them. 'It's coming.'

Smells... nice.

A low growl made the ground tremble, and Hiyori clung to Yato's arm tightly. Something was approaching from the mountaintop. A sudden shadow obscured the light, making Hiyori look up quickly. A huge fox dropped to the ground before them, the trademark eyes of a phantom scattered across its body.

Hiyori felt herself step back as the creature tilted its head in their direction and a mask became visible, hanging on its forehead. It wasn't just Nora, the conjurer was here too.

'This is just getting better and better.' Yato muttered.

'What do we do?' Hiyori asked frantically as the fox bore down on them.

'We fight.'

'We don't stand a chance!'

'I said we fight, not we win.'

'Oh my god. Can you even try to be little more reassuring??'

The phantom pounced, and Yato dragged Hiyori away from its claws. Hiyori didn't look back at the feet which would have squashed her in one go, but she was quite certain they were there. The fox leaped after them, and Yato pulled Hiyori to the right, avoiding another fatal swipe. They weren't going to be able to outrun it forever, and the phantom knew it. It stalked towards them slowly, watching its prey back away.

'When I give the word,' Yato murmured. 'Run.'

'I'm not leaving you behind!' Hiyori shot back.

'Who the hell said you're leaving me? Don't you dare leave me, I'm so screwed if you do.'

Hiyori saw Yato stop, and she did as well. The phantom was practically on top of them now. It glared down at them with red eyes, and Hiyori prayed Yato knew what he was doing.

'Ready?' Yato asked her.

Hiyori nodded weakly, and he let go of her hand.

'So, um, hey.' Yato greeted the phantom. 'How was your day?'

Hiyori wanted to murder him. This was his plan? To talk with the phantom until it died of boredom?

'You don't seem to be in a very good mood right now, so I won't bother you too much.' Yato smiled nervously, and Hiyori breathed out slowly. 'But I have to ask. Is that Inari over there?'

It was the most overused tactic in the history of overused tactics, but if the shrine maidens hadn't known the meaning of 'cliche', then the phantom wouldn't either. It turned and looked over its shoulder, unaware of what Yato had planned. He looked at Hiyori pointedly, and she could see him mouthing one word.

‘Now.’

Yato scooped up the shrine gate by his feet and rushed up the stairs. Hiyori stumbled, having not realised how close they had gotten to the other side of the field. After a brief moment of confusion, she found her pace again and raced after Yato, the phantom slowly realising he had fallen for a trick.

A furious howl assured Hiyori that it would be coming after them soon. She managed to catch up with Yato, and the adrenaline in their veins sent them hurtling towards the top at full speed. The thundering of paws told them the phantom was in hot pursuit. However, the large amount of crashes and rustling trees meant that its trip wasn't nearly as smooth as theirs.

Hiyori could see sunlight peeking down from above, the trees thinning and signalling how close they were to the top. They finally managed to break away from the forest, standing at the top of the mountain with fresh air filling their empty lungs, only to find that there was nothing there.

A small shrine stood on the otherwise empty landscape, the entirety of the forest visible beneath them. Hiyori felt an overwhelming sense of vertigo and took a step back, but this vertigo was quickly washed over by another pang of fear as the phantom growled again.

'What now?' she asked Yato breathlessly.

'Cut me some slack, okay?' he panted. 'I haven't thought that far yet.'

'Are you serious?!'

'Okay, okay!’ Yato shouted. 'I know what I need to do.'

'And?'

'And I don't want to do it.'

'Oh for god’s sake. Yato, we are about to be eaten. Just hurry up and do it!'

'Come on, please?' Yato pouted.

'I can't believe you.' Hiyori breathed. 'Fine. Tell me what it is, and I'll do it.'

Yato looked at the shrine with a mixture of uncertainty and distaste.

'We have to ask for help.' Hiyori realised. 'But isn't Inari the one trying to, well, kill us?'

'She can't be.' Yato shook his head. 'I thought so too, what with all the foxes and everything, but those shrine maidens must be acting by themselves. Hell, they might not even be Inari's regalia. It's easy for anyone to wear some masks and claim themselves to be a ‘servant of the gods’ or whatever. The only hitch is that it would seriously blight their actual master. But then, if that master didn't care...'

'Then they could do whatever they want.' Hiyori finished. 'But why wouldn't they be Inari's regalia?'

'Come on, Hiyori. Can't you just trust me blindly and not doubt my decisions?'

'Not after that little incident with Heaven.'

'Okay, fine.' Yato sighed, very aware of how close the phantom was getting and speeding up his talk. 'Even if Inari wanted to kill me, there's no way she would enlist the help of a masked one. Inviting a phantom up to her realm is already unthinkable. If anything, she would just have gotten rid of me outside the Fushimi Shrine.'

'So we ask for her help and pray she responds?'

'Yeah, pretty much.'

'Well, it's not like we have any other choice.' Hiyori knelt down in front of the shrine, pulling a coin from her pocket as an offering. 'Here goes.'

'There will be no need for that.'

The phantom burst from the woods and leaped towards them, fangs bared and ready to finally finish them off. However, neither Hiyori or Yato were paying him any mind, their attention focused solely on the shrine.

'What an ugly phantom.' The voice said. 'Disappear, monster.'

There was a faint poof, and the fox disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hiyori felt like she was meant to laugh at this comical sight, but she was much too taken aback by the talking shrine.

'Lady Inari?' she asked cautiously. 'Is that you?'

'Of course it is. Who else would I be?' Inari answered rather haughtily.

'Oh, well, um...' Hiyori struggled for the right words. You had to be careful when speaking to gods, or else risked being struck down by a bolt of divine lightning. 'Thank you very much for saving us.'

'I wasn't saving you, I was getting rid of that disgusting creature.' Inari huffed. 'I can't believe a monster like that managed to sneak into Takamagahara without my noticing.'

'Say, Lady Inari,' Yato cut in. 'Those women who set up this trial weren't actually your regalia, were they?'

Inari fell silent, and Hiyori took that as her not wanting to answer.

'Well, at any rate,' she hurried. 'Do you happen to know where Yukine is? Those people sort of kidnapped him and, uh, we can't seem to find him.'

'That little boy?' Inari thought for a second. 'Yes, I see him. He's right where you left him, standing at the entrance of the shrine.'

Yato and Hiyori exchanged exasperated looks.

'Seriously?' Yato groaned. 'God, I was so worried.'

'He's looking pretty lost himself.' Inari seemed to be smirking as she spoke. 'You should go back quickly. I'd wager he thinks you ran off without him.'

'Oh no.' Hiyori sighed. 'Poor Yukine.'

'You were set up to fail.' Inari laughed. 'There were never five gates in the first place. Only four were set out.'

'They're seriously pissing me off now.' Yato fumed, and Hiyori didn't need to ask who he was talking about to know. 'But wait, if you knew this business was going on from the start, why didn't you stop them?'

'Well, it was rather amusing to watch, you know.' Inari replied. 'Especially when you got washed down that river. That was-'

'Yeah, don't remind me.' Yato interrupted. 'I'm still sore from that.'

'Watch yourself, Yato-god.' Inari warned. 'Not all gods are as lenient as I am. You being in my realm uninvited is already a perfectly good reason for me to kill you. But as you can see, you are still very much alive.'

'And we're extremely grateful for that.' Hiyori interjected quickly before Yato had a chance to reply. 'We'll be off now, Lady Inari. Thank you for everything.'

She bowed deeply, but Yato just gave a small nod. He seemed to recall the last time he bowed to a god, and how well that occasion had gone. Inari must have remembered as well, because there was a hint of amusement in her voice when next she spoke.

'Try not to get yourselves into anymore trouble,' she said. 'Especially when you're near one of my shrines. But please, do come back to Kyoto one day. You'll be sure to enjoy your stay.'

'We will.' Hiyori answered with another bow, and the shrine didn't reply. Inari was gone.

'I don't think I'm going to survive another visit to this place.' Yato grumbled. 'Let's go, Hiyori.'

'Yeah.' she agreed, feeling the exhaustion start to set in. 'Yukine's waiting.'

Yukine had been waiting for nearly fifty minutes now. Yukine was not happy.

'Where the hell did you guys go?!' he shouted after the initial shock of them suddenly reappearing beside him. 'I was worried sick!'

'I don't really want to talk about it.' Yato yawned. 'And maybe we should just come back tomorrow, or not at all. I'm far too tired.'

'What? But we're right here!' Yukine protested.

'I hate to say it, but Yato's right.' Hiyori admitted. 'Let’s just go home and get some sleep.'

'What happened?' Yukine asked, starting to feel concerned. ‘Why are you two being so secretive?’

Hiyori glanced at Yato, who shrugged.

'Alright,' he said. 'We'll tell you on the way back. Come on, let’s get moving.'

[fuzzhugs]

Progress - Redwall Fanfiction

Lieutenant-Colonel Alastor Farshore gently kneaded the warm sand beneath his pawpads as he stood on the flat, sandy shore that lay alongside Salamandastron. It was supposed to be his day off. He was supposed to be free from supervising drills, inspecting quarters, and chasing lazy cadets from their lunch. Alastor had hoped to spend the day with his wife and leverets (they were growing up so quickly); the afternoon in mid-summer was a perfect time to lounge on one of the many natural porches formed along the slope of their mountain home.  However, at breakfast, a messenger had informed him that Lord Hyrax requested all high-ranking infantry officers to be present for a demonstration, of sorts.

Now Alastor stood on the beach with a mix of other officers, waiting to see what was in store for them. Off to the side, Lord Hyrax sat on a boulder in stoic silence, patient as always. The lord of Salamandastron was far younger than most of the previous rulers of the mountain-fortress, and his persistent silence and frequent self-imposed isolation could have been mistaken for brooding, but those who had come to know the badger knew that, beneath the solemn exterior, a cunning military-minded brain was constantly churning.

In front of the assembled group of hares, a young sergeant was making adjustments to some…contraption. Sergeant Flores had always been mechanically minded. He designed, built, and maintained the ballistae and trebuchets that lined the crater and ledges of Salamandastron.

His latest invention appeared to be something smaller in nature. It was a long metal tube, approximately the same length of a javelin. One end of the tube was fitted into a wooden base shaped in a way comfortable to grip. A metal box containing a mass of gears and springs sat between the metal and wood. A score of paces down the beach, there was a ripe melon perched on top of a barrel.

“Gentlebeasts,” Sergeant Flores greeted his audience, finally getting underway. “Thank you for attending this morning. What I have here is something which I believe will completely revolutionize the way warfare is conducted.”

A few of the officers quietly scoffed at his remarks. Flores had made similar statements before, but nothing had come of them. The multi-shot crossbow had snapped under the pressures of repeated use, the “liquid fire” had proven just as hazardous to those using it as those on its receiving end, and the self-propelled battering-ram, well, it was a mystery how that one had even gotten past the drawing board.

“In this device, I have harnessed both the principals of pressure in conjunction with the incendiary properties of…”

“Get on with it Flores,” a major griped.

Startled at the interruption, Flores took a moment to compose himself. “Very well, observe.” He took up the device and sturdily gripped the wooded base and pulled back a small lever until it clicked. “You may wish to cover your ears.”

Whatever happened next was too fast for even the most keenly-eyed hare to see. In the same instant, a loud bang issued from the contraption in Flores’ arms, a puff of smoke filled the air, partially obscuring Flores from sight, and the melon which Flores’ device had been pointing at exploded into a mess of pulp.

After a few moments of silence, Alastor found the words that everyone on that beach was thinking.

“Sergeant, what…what was that?”

Flores smiled confidently. “As I was explaining before I was interrupted,” he glanced at the loudmouthed major, “a mixture of sulfur, saltpetre, and charcoal is ignited by through a spark created from this hammer here,” he indicated the small lever he had fiddled with prior to his demonstration. “In the confined space of the chamber, the pressure of the ignition is forced outward, propelling a small lead projectile at high speed through the barrel and…”

“We get the picture, Flores,” the same major interrupted, silencing him. “How exactly is this ‘revolutionizing’ warfare? We’ve plenty of ranged weapons. Arrows go farther and can be shot off faster.”

“And how many of those arrows instantly incapacitate or kill their target?” Flores argued. “We’ve a great many talented archers, but rare is the beast who can precisely hit and kill their target every single time. With the amount of damage my new weapon creates, anyone hit by it is bound to be stopped. Besides, this is only my first working prototype. I have dozens of ideas for improvements: the shape of the projectile, modifications to the barrel, prepackaged amounts of powder…”

“That’s enough Flores,” Lord Hyrax stood up. “You’ve given us a lot to think about. Keep working on it.”

The meeting adjourned and the officers departed, some to the training fields, others to the barracks and mess hall.

At Salamandastron’s main gates, Alastor was stopped by Brigadier-General Sibelle. The Brigadier had been Alastor’s sergeant when he was in training. As was typical, there had been some initial animosity from the cadet toward the harsh drill sergeant, but by the time both had started climbing the officer ranks, the two had formed a strong friendship.  

“Are you busy, Al?” Sibelle asked as she leaned against the doorposts.

“I’ve got a day for sabbatical and was hoping to spend some time with the young’uns.”

“I won’t keep you long. Let’s walk.”

The two began a circuit around the training fields, watching young cadets at work, learning the skills necessary to survive in the Long Patrol.

“What did you think of Flores’ demonstration?” the Brigadier asked.

“An intriguing weapon, though hardly ready for battle. It may work as a signaling device or a means of intimidation, but I can’t see a foot soldier marching off into battle with one of those…boomsticks. The Long Patrol has always met its foes with sword and spear; I can’t imagine that changing.”

“I wish I was as optimistic,” Sibelle said, thinking aloud. “Everything we’ve both learned, everything I drilled into you when you were still an idiotic cadet with delusions of grandeur…”

“Now I’m an idiotic lieutenant-colonel with delusions of grandeur.”

Sibelle gave him a playful shove. “Everything we know about the Long Patrol has been based on the traditions of countless seasons. Archery, spears, slings, ambushes, siege-tactics…what if all comes crashing down around us? Where will that leave us, the old, unchangeable officers?”

“The blissful arms of retirement, I suppose,” Alastor remarked cynically, “but it’s better than the alternative.”

“As if either of us would ever retire,” Sibelle said as they returned to the gates. “Give that sister of mine my best. I’ll have to come and visit soon. It feels like ages since I’ve seen my niece and nephew.”

The rest of the day was not as relaxing as Alastor had hoped. His mind was occupied with thoughts of the uncertain future.

***

General Alastor Farshore gently kneaded the warm sand beneath his pawpads as he stood on the flat, sandy shore that lay alongside Salamandastron. He watched as the newly formed rifle companies went through their drills.

It seemed all the new cadets talked about in their downtime: how to get into a rifle company. The traditional units still remained, but their numbers had greatly diminished, and their odds of ever seeing combat were equally abysmal. Twenty hares armed with rifles were doing what had taken a hundred foot-soldiers during Alastor’s days in the infantry.

Some of the new officers had Alastor concerned. They wore swords, but few knew how to use them properly. The sabers they strapped on each morning was little more to them than a badge of office, just another part of their uniform. Most of the members of the rifle companies had little training in melee combat beyond the use of the bayonets fastened to the barrel of their firearms. At least his son could hold his own in a one-on-one battle.

Turning his back on the drills, Alastor surveyed the mountain. Lt. Colonel Flores had removed the last of the war-machines earlier that morning. A few were being preserved for posterity, but the rest were on their way to being fuel for the cooking fires. Hurling boulders and massive bolts were of little use when cannon could fire farther and more accurately.

Taking in all the changes he had seen in his tenure, Alastor sighed.

“What troubles you, friend?” A quiet rumbling voice spoke from behind him. Lord Hyrax, surprisingly stealthy for his size, had a habit of suddenly appearing unexpectedly.

“I am like the ballistae, milord,” Alastor lamented. “I am an antique. The Long Patrol has been my life, but how long will it be before I too am decommissioned?”

Hyrax sat down and faced the sea. “The badger lords and ladies have kept this mountain for countless seasons. In that time, many brave creatures of all sorts have come and gone. Squirrels, otters, hares, mice, all of them different, but brave in heart. Look at the young cadets out on the fields. They may carry a rifle instead of a sword, but are they any less valiant than you or any of the Patrol? They have taken the same oath to defend this shore against invaders and protect all its inhabitants. The tools they use do not matter, for the Long Patrol only looks for the valiant in heart. Look to the mountain. It has stood here longer than any of us, and though countless changes have been made to it over the years, it still stands. Weapons are easily replaced, but valiant hearts? Those will always be needed.”

Alastor smiled. “Of course you are right, milord. I suppose nobeast likes feeling they are being replaced.”

“But it is still inevitable that we are. Some new lord or lady will follow me just as I followed my predecessor, but we all have our role to play for the time being. Anything that helps us fulfill those roles will not undo us. We will not be undone by progress.”

[thehikingviking]

Hot Springs Peak, Skedaddle Mountains

I booked a motel for two nights Susanville. Surprisingly, I had never been before, but I had high expectations. I never cease to be amazed by the pleasantness of so many quaint mountain towns throughout the country. Susanville was once the capital of the Nataqua, a short lived provisional territory in of the 1800s. Upon arriving, I was disappointed to find a hot, run down city. The motel we reserved was one of the worst motels I’ve ever stayed at. I chose this particular location due to its close proximity to a park. I originally intended to hike Hot Springs Mountain the next day by myself and have Asaka stay in town with the baby, but after witnessing the other patrons staying at the establishment, I felt it would be safer to take 12 day old Leif and recovering Asaka with me instead. The hiking distance wasn’t all that bad; something like 8 miles. However, my main concern was the off trail nature of the hike and the heat. In addition to all the downsides of a hot hike, I was also concerned about rattlesnakes, which could easily lie just out of sight throughout what we expected to be a grassy and rocky hike. After somehow surviving the night, we drove to the start of the route on the west side of Hot Springs Bench Mark at a saddle. It was an extremely bumpy ride. We stopped at the barb-wire gate where we got ourselves in order. I could have opened the gate and drive a little further, however that wouldn’t buy us much. We had nice views of Honey Lake from the start.

I put Leif in my carrier, recognizing this as our first “real” hike with the baby. I was motivated to make it to the top because this was a county prominent point, and Asaka and I were well on our way to completing this list. We passed through the gate, followed the road over a saddle and dropped into a shallow wash at the base of the mountain. Up above us was Hot Springs Benchmark, and behind that out of sight was Hot Springs Peak.

We left the road here and began climbing up the grassy and rocky western slopes of the Skedaddle Mountains. There were some cattle grazing here, and I found myself wondering where the ranchers were and how they watched over the cows. My guess is these were free range cows being grazed on BLM land, and they were tracked using a Trimble GPS device by a rancher who probably wasn’t even in the area.

The first part of the hike would be the steepest, so we methodically made our way. Having given birth less than two weeks ago, Asaka’s body was still in the recovery phase. Carrying Leif on my front allowed me to get a sense of what it must have been like to hike pregnant, and I must say that Asaka is indeed a tough cookie.

As a first time parent, I was worried about Leif. If he’s quiet, does that mean he’s not breathing? If he’s making noises does that mean he’s uncomfortable? Every time I checked on him he seemed just fine. I covered him with a light blanket the whole time to shade him from the sun. After about 900 ft of climbing and an hour of hiking, Leif started to cry which I interpreted as a request for milk. We found several nice boulders where we stopped for 30 minutes to feed him.

The good thing about hiking with a new born is you don’t need to bring him any food or water; you just need to bring mom. After our break, we continued up the ridge. Now our hiking was more gradual, but it was hard to lock onto a good pace because the terrain was very rocky.

Among the shrubs I found a rare pronghorn antelope skull.

As I hiked through the grasses, I thought I heard a rattle from underneath a nearby rock. I summed it up to paranoia, and didn’t bother to mention anything to Asaka. When she caught up with me, she told me that she heard a rattlesnake. It looks like I now had good reason to be paranoid. My senses would remain on full alert for the remainder of the hike.

After another hour of hiking, Leif began to cry again. We stopped at another rocky area for a diaper change and a feeding session.

These frequent breaks added a lot of time, but the hike was short enough such that we didn’t need to rush at all. Hot Springs Benchmark stood above us to the east, but this was only a secondary objective to me. From here, we began sidehilling around the base of the bonus peak to the left.

To our north there was an unnamed peak with an interesting summit block. This nipple looked like an interesting diversion for a cooler day without the baby, but for now we could only admire it from a distance.

After circumnavigating Hot Springs Benchmark, the middle summit came into view. We planned to continue sidehilling around this intermediate point.

We tried to minimized as much elevation change as possible. As we crossed underneath the middle summit, I was surprised to find a patch of aspen trees shaking in the breeze.

As we rounded the corner, the true summit finally came into view. It looked far away, but this was mostly an illusion due to the lack of trees.

I admired the beautiful patches of whitish purple flowers as we crossed the final saddle.

A glimmer caught my eye. There was a snake slithering ahead of me in the brush. I quickly identified it as a gopher snake, which looks eerily similar to a rattlesnake. The head was skinny, which meant it wasn’t a pit viper. While the nonvenomous identification was a relief, it was also a stark reminder that snakes were out and active.

The last climb was tiring. Leif was weighing me down and the sun was draining. Asaka hadn’t complained the whole day, but I knew she was having as tough a time as I was.

There were two viable high points. I first climbed the one to the right which was clearly lower. Then I climbed the alternate summit. To the southeast was Tohakum Peak.

To the northeast was Granite Peak.

To the north was Hat Mountain.

To the west were Mt Lassen, Mt Shasta and the middle summit.

To the southwest was Honey Lake.

I felt proud to sign the summit register!

I noticed a herd of wild horses a half mile to our south.

There were a lot of bugs on the summit. We ate our lunch and began our trek back down to the car.

We retraced our steps around the intermediate peak. I wanted to climb Hot Springs Benchmark as a bonus and Asaka wanted to skip it, so I gave her the baby and the GPS so she could find her own way around the peak, while I climbed up and over.

I was really worried after leaving them, but we would reunite soon enough.

I made it to the summit quickly. Losing the baby weight improve my pace quite a bit.

There were so many flies making the summit unpleasant. The intermediate peak blocked Hot Springs Peak to our east.

To the south was Honey Lake.

I quickly made my way down the western side of the peak. I felt a sense of relief when I spotted Asaka down below.

I asked how it went and she told me she fell twice, but both her and the baby were okay. I planned to let her carry the baby all the way down until hearing that. She also said she saw a big yellow snake. I asked her if she took a picture, to which she replied no because she was scared. My guess is it was a Great Basin Rattlesnake, but I’ll never know. The rest of the climb down was somewhat exhausting. As we neared the road I heard another rattle, but by that time I had already walked several meters by where I heard the sound.

Once at the car, we drove back to the flea bag inn where we ate dinner in the room. I had plans of driving up Observation Peak and Shaffer Mountain the next day, but Asaka had concerns about leaving the baby in the car too long and we were both tired. Instead, we decided to hike to Butte County High Point, which was on the way home.

Just like that, Leif already had 3 P2Ks, a county prominent point and a county high point.

[kuwahuru]

15 Days Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru and Safari

All our adventure safaris we use well-maintained Toyota Land Cruisers with roof hatches for unobstructed and up-close game-viewing. Day 1: Arrive in Arusha. You will be welcomed on arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport and transferred to Arusha Safari Lodge, for relaxation. We will gather in the hotel for a pre-safari briefing and an equipment check. We will also confirm you have the appropriate mandatory medical coverage and travel insurance. Dinner and overnight at Arusha Safari Lodge: Half board. Day 2: Game drive in Tarangire National Park. Depart after breakfast and drive to Tarangire National Park Tanzania’s third largest national park and sanctuary for an unusually large elephant population, the theater of the wild in Tanzania. Tarangire national park has a lot to offer you in terms of wildlife and its awe- inspiring sights of the gigantic baobab that dot the park. The Tarangire River is the lifeblood of this wonderful reserve and it ensures an abundance of wildlife along the river when they come to get a fair share of the valuable commodity especially in dry seasons. Among animals spotted in Tarangire includes, lions, elephants, leopards, Oryx , dik diks, and a wide range of birds species. Later in the afternoon you will check in at Nsiya Tented Lodge for dinner and overnight: Full board. Day 3: Game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Early morning game drive is worthy taking if you wish and after breakfast depart Tarangire National Park for Lake Manyara national Park. Lake Manyara is a small beautiful national park famous for the legendary tree climbing lions. Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 species of birds, hot springs, and many other large and small mammals. Lunch can be served at the numerous picnic sites in the park or if you wish you may go for hot lunch at the lodge before returning for game drives in the afternoon. You will drive in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight at Nsiya Lodge Day 4: Game drive in Serengeti National Park. we proceed to Olduvai Gorge, known as the ‘Cradle of Mankind’. It was here, in the Great Rift Valley, that the remains of early hominids dating back 2 million years were uncovered. Afterwards, we visit the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world – Serengeti National Park. The word ‘Serengeti’ means ‘endless plains’, which describes the park’s 5,600 square mile boundary. Yet for its sprawling area, the Serengeti does not disappoint when it comes to rich game-viewing. Annually, from May to December, millions of animals embark on a migration which brings them from central Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara and back again in an incredible spectacle. Even during the ‘down-time’, vast herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle roam here, along with groups of elephant, giraffe, and buffalo. As the lions, leopard, cheetah, hyenas and jackals stalk their meals, we enjoy a picnic lunch in this open arena. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Wild Tented Lodge: Full board. Day 5: Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater. We depart from Serengeti for an encore game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater. At the top of the crater, the views of the caldera and the scattered animals below are breathtaking. We venture onto the crater floor for an up close at the residents of this World Heritage Site, and enjoy a picnic lunch here. The Ngorongoro Crater provides great game-viewing all year-round. The wildlife here makes up a permanent population because grazing and water supplies are plentiful throughout the seasons. We have our final dinner and around evening drive back to Arusha. Dinner and overnight at Arusha Safari Lodge: Half board. Mount Meru-Climb Mt. Meru is the best for acclimatization prior to Mount Kilimanjaro climbing; The Mountain is the third highest peak in Africa and is the second highest mountain in Tanzania at 4,568m. The mountain is located within Arusha National Park, Tanzania’s gem. This prime location gives trekkers the chance to spot some of wildlife that inhabits the area. The ascend is quite steep, the route to the summit passes over streams, through parkland, montane forest, a giant heather zone and moorland. The summit is reached by a narrow, barren ridge, which provides stunning views of the Ash Cone lying several thousand feet below in the crater. Day 6: Arusha to Miriakamba Hut (2,514 m). We start from Momella Gate (1,500 m) in late morning and begin our guided hike by a park ranger. Trekkers often spot buffalo, zebra, giraffe, monkeys, antelope, and often elephants along the route. We take lunch at, or near, the Fig Tree Arch, which is big enough to drive a car through! After lunch, the route continues through less dense forest, where there are an abundance of birds and monkeys. Miriakamba Hut (2,514 m). (5-7 hours walking). Day 7: Miriakamba Hut (2,514 m) to Saddle Hut (3,570 m). The hike from Miriakamba Hut to the saddle below Little Meru is a short day but a steep climb. The morning starts still in the forest, which slowly gives way to giant heather and groundsel as we zig-zag up the steep slopes. As we hike along the ridge we have our first views of the Meru Crater and the impressive Ash Cone. We reach the Saddle hut for hot lunch. The afternoon is free to relax and to enjoy the views of the mountain. The more energetic can make the short climb to the summit of Little Meru (3,820 m). (3-5 hours walking). Day 8: Saddle Hut (3,570 m) to Miriakamba Hut (2,514 m). We start early at around 2 a.m. to climb steeply to Rhino Point (3,800 m.). Then the path continues along a ridge of ash and rock to reach Cobra Point to the summit of Socialist Peak (4,566 m) is an hour further on a steep path with magnificent views of Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro can normally be seen in the distance. However, the fascinating Meru Crater and its cliffs that make up the inner wall will probably capture most of your attention. We enjoy a short rest and brunch at Saddle Hut before continuing the descent to Miriakamba Hut (2,514 m, 10-12 hours walking). Day 9: Miriakamba Hut (2,514 m) – hotel in Arusha. We take a fast descent through open grassland and mixed forest, with good chances of seeing wildlife. This trail has excellent views back towards the crater and over the plains of the National Park. Momela Gate is reached by late morning (2-3 hours walking). Once you reach the end of the climb you will be transferred to your hotel. Rongai Route 6 Day Itinerary Begins at the northern side of Kilimanjaro. We walk through a true wilderness area towards the toothed Mawenzi Peak. The Rongai route is a steady ascent, and is favorite by those with little experience. Day 10: Rongai One (2,600 m); 3-4 hours walking. After completing the necessary registration formalities at Marangu National Park gate, we transfer to Rongai. The climb begins from Nale Moru Gate (1,950 m) on a small path that winds through fields of maize and potatoes before entering pine forest. The track then starts to climb consistently, but gently through attractive forest that shelters a variety of wildlife, including the beautiful Kilimanjaro Colobus monkey. These monkeys are black with a long ‘cape’ of white hair and a flowing white tail. The forest begins to thin out and the first camp, Rongai One, is at the edge of the moorland zone (2,600 m) with extensive views over the Kenyan plains. Day 11: Kikelewa campsite (3,600 m); 6-7 hours walking. The morning walk is a steady ascent up to the ‘Second Cave’ (3,450 m) with superb views of Kibo and the Eastern icefields on the crater rim. After lunch, we leave the main trail and strike out across the moorland on a smaller path towards the jagged peaks of Mawenzi. Kikelewa campsite is in a sheltered valley with giant senecios near Kikelewa Caves (3,600 m). Day 12: Mawenzi Tarn (4,330 m); 3-4 hours walking. A short but steep climb is rewarded by superb allround views and a tangible sense of wilderness. We leave vegetation behind shortly before reaching the next camp at Mawenzi Tarn (4,330 m), spectacularly situated in a cirque directly beneath the towering spires of Mawenzi. The afternoon will be free to rest or explore the surrounding area as an aid to acclimatisation. Day 13: Kibo campsite (4,700 m); 5-6 hours walking. We cross the lunar desert of the ‘Saddle’ between Mawenzi and Kibo to reach Kibo campsite (4,700 m) at the bottom of the Kibo crater wall. The remainder of the day is spent resting in preparation for the final ascent before a very early night. Day 14: Horombo Hut (3.720); 11-15 hours walking. We will start the final, and by far the steepest and most demanding, part of the climb by torchlight around 1 a.m. We plod very slowly in the darkness on a switchback trail through loose volcanic scree to reach the crater rim at Gillman’s Point (5,685 m) we will rest there for a short time to enjoy the spectacular sunrise over Mawenzi and worm up with cup of tee. Those who are still feeling strong can make the three hour round trip to Uhuru Peak (5,896 m), passing close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area. The descent to Kibo (4,700 m) is surprisingly fast and, after some refreshment, we continue the descent to reach Horombo Camp (3,720 m). Day 15: Marangu Gate (1,830 m); 5-6 hours walking. A steady descent takes us down through moorland to Mandara Hut (2,700m), the first stopping place at the Marangu route. We then continue descending through lovely lush forest on a good path to the National Park gate at Marangu (1,830 m). As planned will be a private transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) after unforgettable memory. Do feel free to e-mail us at any time to discuss your travel plans and get the accurate quotation. Price Includes: Hotel lodging the night before and the night after the climb (dinner and breakfast included) (double occupancy). Quality, waterproof, four-season private mountain sleeping tents: Professional, experienced, mountain guides: Two nights hotel in Marangu All Park fees Rescue fees All meals while on the Mountain Arrival and Departure transfers Guides, Porters, cook salaries and park fees Quality Mess tents with table and chairs: Large portions of fresh, healthy, nutritious food: Clean, purified drinking water: Private, portable chemical flush toilets: Crisis management and safety procedures: Fair and ethical treatment of porters: Summit Emergency Oxygen: Walking Poles: Sleeping Mattress: Flying Doctor Service: Price Excludes: Tanzania Visa: $50 per person on arrival Personal Expenses (e.g. laundry, telephone, beverages, etc.) Meals not listed above Optional Tours (short safari after your climb etc) Tips and any items of personal nature. Safety: Success is what we want during our trip. We are prepared for any urgent situation and also have in place a complete evacuation procedure in case of altitude sickness. We carry first aid supplies and supplement summit oxygen. Travel insurance: All customers travelling with Kuwa huru Adventue Tanzania are required to have fully comprehensive travel insurance. The policy needs to be valid from the date that the initial order is placed so as to provide cover for a cancellation prior to departure. During travel the insurance needs to provide comprehensive medical, evacuation and repatriation cover.   Read the full article

[findsarahh]

Timeless

Summary: Isera Lavellan is living in modern Thedas completing her research on plants when her research takes her to a place in the Solasan Mountain range. The discovery of a strange glowing mirror takes her to a world she has never known before where she meets someone she never thought existed.

Fen'harel (Solas) x Lavellan

AO3: Ch1

‘Isera Lavellan is a world renowned botanist, who has traveled across Thedas in search of undiscovered plants and researching their properties…' Isera's glaze over the news article that is in her hand. She is on the front cover of a prominent magazine that is sitting, overpriced, in an airport newsstand. She is about to fly to her final location for her research in the northern part of Nevarra.

She rolls her eyes as she places the magazine back onto the rack before purchasing her overpriced water.

Isera mentally recounts her recent expedition in the southern Arbor Wilds as she pays for her drink. She believes she found a different variation of Andraste's Grace, with larger petals that are golden rather than deep red. She walks away hoping her make-shift preservation techniques survive the plane ride.

She makes her wait to the gate where her plane is sitting waiting for the passengers to board. Isera puts her headphones as she sits down. The soft melody fills her ears as she slows her breathing. Traveling by air is not something she enjoys.

The melody is abruptly cut off with the blaring ringtone of an incoming call. Isera makes a soft grunt as she answers the phone. "Hello?" She murmurs as she stands up again and walks away from the sitting area.

"Lavellan! I have been trying to reach you all day." The voice of one of her dear friends, Dorian, fills her ears. "I told you to call me when you landed in Orlais and before you got on your final plane!" He tuts at her. They share the same office and became fast friends years ago when Isera first got her university job.

Dorian specializes in history, particularly of his home county of Tevinter.

"I'm sorry," Isera mutters. She is tired and wanted to be alone in the crowded airport. "I was going to call when I land in Nevarra." She admits wanting to avoid hurting his feelings. He worries about her when she goes into the wilderness for extended periods of time. One time, he offered to come with her, but Isera called him on his bluff. He hates camping.

She can hear him fussing on the other end. "I'm just tired." She adds.

"I know, I'm sorry. You know I just worry." He tuts once again. "At any rate, what area will you be in? I want to know where to send the search party if I don't hear from you." He asks.

Isera nods unconsciously. "I will be south of the Solasan Mountain range." She tells him as she rests the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she opens her water bottle. "I will be heading south to the southern ridge of the mountain range looking for the Prophet's Laurel. It's about a five-day hike to that area." She explains as she takes a drink of her water.

"Five days!" He shouts. "That is a long time to be out there on your own." He murmurs. Isera can see him now, twiddling his elegant pen between his fingers out of nervousness. "Why didn't you ask anyone to come with you? You could get hurt!"

Isera smiles. "I will be fine!" She reassures him as she hears the flight attendants make their announcement. Boarding is about to start. "I have to go, Dorian. I will text when I land." She says as she begins walking to the gate.

"Remember I have your flight information, I know when you land, Isera." He gently reminds her, but she can hear the worried smile on his face.  She nods. "Bye, Pavus." She responds, her tone high and teasing before hanging up. She is lucky to have him as a friend.

Isera pops her headphone in as she walks towards the gate.

The plane ride to Nevarra is short, almost an hour in length. It is around 8pm when she arrives, and the sun is just beginning to set as she de-boards the plane. Isera smile as walks off the runway and towards baggage claim.

She turns off airplane mode and quickly calls Dorian. He is quick to answer. "Lavellan! How was the flight?" He asks. Isera rushes through the door that leads off of the tarmac. "It was all right. Short." She says as she rushes on.

"What are your plans for the evening, Pavus?" She asks him.

"Oh, you know. Writing that research paper that is due soon, drinking some wine, playing some classic Tevinter music."

Isera shakes her head. "Are you going on a date?" She abruptly asks him. It isn't uncommon for Dorian to listen to Tevinter music while drinking wine and writing, but there is something in his voice that is hinting at something more.

"Why, that may be a possibility, Lavellan." He hums clearly enjoying what is going on.

"I'm happy for you, Dorian!" Isera nearly exclaims. "You have to tell me all about him when I get home." She tells him. Dorian had a rough few years with his family and who catches his attraction. Isera had a front row seat to the pain Dorian endured and tried her best to support his choices. He hasn't spoken to his father in almost a year.

He chuckles. "I will, my dear." He tells her. "I am sure there is a lot that will need to be discussed." He hints. "I have been talking to him for a while now."

Isera arrives at baggage claim and sits on a nearby bench to wait for her items to appear. "Oh! I want to know more!" She exclaims with a smile. "Tsk. Tsk." Dorian tuts her. "You just have to wait." He tells her.

She rolls her eyes. "Fiiiine." She hums. "Make me wait five more days to hear about your date and potential love interest!" She can hear him snort over the phone. "I'll text you when I got the cabin and when I leave in the morning." She tells him.

"Be safe, Isera," Dorian whispers. Isera sighs. "You too, Dorian." She replies before hearing for the phone click. Once she retrieves her bag, Isera quickly heads to her cabin to sleep before her early track tomorrow.

Isera leaves before the sun is up, sending messages to Dorian, her brother, and mother telling them that she is about to head off for her five-day hike. She doesn't mind hiking or camping in the wilderness. She has been doing it on and off for the last few years of her life. She liked being alone and being one with nature.

But, by the third day, Isera was feeling lonely. Most of her hikes only lasted three days. She had heard rumors that there was more to find plant and specimen-wise farther in the Solasan mountains and she just had to search there.

Isera is laying on her stomach looking down a cliff into the ridge below. She can see what she believes is Arbor Blessing. She has one in her collection, but another one wouldn't hurt. The plant is only a few finger tips away…

She pulls herself back up, taking off her large backpack and keeping her herb and flower pouch on her waist as she slowly slides down the edge of the cliff to reach the plant. Her feet press against a jagged piece of stone. Isera grins as she slowly pulls the plant from the rock and tucks it gently into her pouch before reaching up to climb back over the ridge.

The rock supporting her breaks under pressure as she begins sliding down the cliff. Isera screams as her hands try helplessly to grab onto something as she continues to plummet down the side.

She hits the bottom of the cavern with a loud thud and the air knocked out of her body as she lands on her back. Isera gasps for air as she feels pain radiate her body. She lays there for a few minutes trying to catch her breath dizzy from her fall.

After a few moments, Isera pulls her body up from the ground, assessing the damage. The front of her body is covered in scrapes and bruises, and she may have injured her wrist during the fall, but she is surprisingly uninjured all things considered.

Isera drags herself to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she steps forward. She is standing in front of a closed door that is stereotypical of old elven architecture. It is clear that no one has been down here for some time.

"Woah…" Isera mutters as she limps up towards the door. She can see written elvish on the door as she takes her hand and brushing away the dust. She doesn't understand the words though.

Isera presses against the door, and it barely moves, making a gritting noise against the pressure. She pulls back and tries again. "Come on," she murmurs as she uses her good leg to help apply pressure. It creaks open just enough for her to squeeze through.

Inside of the cavern is a room that was once golden and ornate. Isera can see that time has eaten away at the decoration, but it is clear that this place was once something grand and has not seen visitors in centuries. While the door was shut, parts of the ceiling have collapsed letting water corrode and destroy the area.

Isera limps along in awe of the space that has a sense of eeriness and beauty to it.

She wanders down a hall and limps into the first room she sees open. The room is filled with mirrors and clothing, only the mirrors are dark and do not reflect. Except for the one in the center of the chamber. It is glowing blue and is humming with energy. The room is undamaged.

Isera pulls at one of the garbs hanging nearby. She is surprised just how smooth and silky the fabric is between her fingers, unaffected by the environment. It is well preserved, away from light and falling debris.

But she is far more interested in the glowing mirror.

Isera heads towards the mirror still ignoring the pain in her ankle as she walks up the steps. She has never seen anything like it before. ‘How is it glowing?' She wonders. Isera presses her hand against the mirror and jumps back as it ripples at her touch. "What the!?" She shouts.

Once the mirror is still, Isera reaches forward again, ignoring the voice in her head telling her to leave the ruins. She pushes her hand harder into the mirror watching as she surrounds her hand. "How is this even possible?" Isera wonders out loud. She watches her fingers in the mirror as she waves them around.

Isera tries to pull her hand back out, but it doesn't let her go. Whatever power is in the mirror begins pulling her into it.

"No, no, no!" Isera starts shouting as she fights against the energy pulling her in. "Stop!" She screams as she grips the edge of the mirror for dear life. She feels the energy, warm and tingling up her arm and down her body as she is dragged into the mirror.

Isera awakens on the ground in front of the mirror. She feels her body still aching from her fall as she rolls her head to the side. Suddenly the memories of what happened to her flood her consciousness as she sits up in a panic and in search of the mirror. The glass is dark and unreflective.

She reaches the face of the mirror, and it is cold and unresponsive. ‘Maybe it was a dream.' Isera thinks as she looks around. But it is clear that something is not right. This room was covered in dust, and now it is clean. Where once the walls were dull, Isera can see the sparkling of gold.

Isera pulls herself to her feet as she limps towards the door as quietly as she can. She can hear movement behind the door. She can feel her heartbeat racing and her palms are sweating out of fear. She presses against the door as quietly as she can to peak out.

She sees elves walking along the corridor dressed in garbs like the one she saw moments before being pulled into the mirror.

Isera pulls the door back in a panic realizing something is not quite right about what is going on. She spots hangers of clothing nearby and limbs over to them. She begins stripping down and pulling the dress over her head. ‘It's just a re-enactment.' She thinks to herself as she hides her clothing in a box.

But something is eating at her. Fear.

Once Isera believes the dress to be secured properly she quietly makes her way back out into the hall way and towards the entrance of the building. The people who are around her are speaking elvish. She tries hard to keep her eyes down, but she has never heard so many people speaking her language with such clarity.

For almost one hundred years, the humans had tried to silence the elves and their language. Only recently had the elves been allowed to worship their gods and speak their language once more.

Isera spots men in armor walking near her. She keeps her head low as she passes them.

She can hear the clanking of their armor stop as she walks by them. She begins picking up her pace ignoring the pain in her leg as she continues to walk. The guards start calling after her and then shouting when she does not stop.

Isera turns to look back, panic filling her as she sees them draw their swords, she faces forward and begins to run full speed and out the door. The pain from her ankle sending hot strikes up her leg with every step. She ignores the gasps of people as she dashes out of doors and into the wildness with the guards hot on her tail.

[recentanimenews]

The Real World Locations of March comes in like a lion

March comes in like a lion resumed this season after a six months break, and it should come as no surprise, that the show is as visually striking and expressive as it ever was, especially these past few episodes. The show’s painterly backgrounds are also as terrific and lovely as they were in the first season. Usually, Shaft productions offer very little material for my column, due to the studio’s distinctive house style with its often sterile and abstract backgrounds we know and love from shows like Nisekoi or the Monogatari Series. While most of the studio’s trademark tics, like instantaneous close-ups, rapid cuts, or chunks of on-screen text are all still present in March comes in like a lion, the show has actually been extremely and surprisingly faithful to its real-world inspirations. Just like in the first season, the show's setting is still mostly confined to the two neighboring residential areas, Shinkawa and Tsukuda, where Rei and the three Kawamoto sisters live, and the Sendagaya area, the location of the shogi hall. All of those areas have been depicted with great care in the anime, but see and compare that for yourself.

  Just as a small side note, I took all of these photos shortly before the second season of March comes in like a lion even started airing. So you’ll notice that not all of them will be lined up perfectly, but I think I was still able to correctly guess a good number of them ahead of time. 

    “In a small town by a big river, is where I live” was the opening sentence of the second season of March comes in like a lion. While Rei’s first claim might be highly debatable (Tokyo isn’t exactly small), the second one is a bit more accurate. He lives along Tokyo’s Sumida River, which branches from the 173 kilometer long Arakawa River. The river is oddly soothing for him, as it reminds him of the town he lived in during his younger days, which was surrounded by a river on all sides.

    Which structures keep repeatedly appearing in March comes in like a lion? Yes, bridges, lots of them. The show’s most essential one is probably the Chuo Bridge here, as the 210 meters long and 25 meters wide steel bridge crosses the Sumida River, and connects the Shinkawa area (where Rei lives) with the Tsukuda area (the place where the three sisters live).

    It should take Rei roughly 15 minutes to walk from his apartment complex in Shinkawa to the Kawamoto house in Tsukuda. Both Rei’s apartment and the house of the three sisters, unfortunately, do not exist in real life. 

    The Chuo Bridge was completed in August in 1993 and offers a neat view at the Tokyo Skytree, which we’ll probably never get to see in the anime. I’ll explain my bold assumption as to why at the end of the article.

    And from the Chuo Bridge you’ll be able to see the Tsukuda Bridge, crossing the river from Tsukiji to Tsukishima.

    Let’s move on to one the show’s most eye-catching bridge, the lovely Tsukuda Kobashi, which translates to Small Tsukuda Bridge. 

    The vermilion-lacquered railings and ornamental caps give the bride a charming traditional look, both in the anime and real life. While Rei lives in a rather upscale apartment on the other side of the river, the Kawamoto sisters live in the more modest Tsukuda area.   

    Funny about this one is the speed limit sign in the back, which now also correctly states 20km/h in the anime. In the first season, the sign in the anime turned the Tsukuda area into a 60km/h zone, which might’ve been a bit high for a small residential area with mostly narrow roads.

    The 12,5 meters long Tsukuda Kobashi was completed in 1984 and crosses a small tributary of the Sumida River. 

    The small bridge continues to be the venue for a good number of the show’s most important scenes, as Rei guarantees Akari his unconditional support there in the last episode. 

    And last but not least when it comes to bridges in March comes in like a lion, the iron Minami Taka Bridge, as viewed from the Taka Bridge. 

    Let’s move on to another extremely important location of the show, Rei’s shogi hall. But this isn’t just any shogi hall; it’s actually the headquarters of the Japanese Shogi Association, which was founded in 1949. The hall is located in the Sendagaya area. 

    I could probably stitch together at least a dozen more comparison shots of the shogi hall, but I’ll spare you that… for now.  

    Judging by the life-sized cutout of Rei that greeted me at the entrance, it sure seems like the shogi association was just as excited for the start of the second season as I was. I obviously didn’t barge into any of the playing rooms, but I checked out the store, which even sold the March comes in like a lion manga. The shogi boards and pieces were surprisingly expensive and easily cost a few hundred bucks upwards. 

    Shogi hall.

    Just outside of the shogi hall is the Hatanomori Hachiman Shrine, which dates back to 860, and was named after the forest that was located there. The shrine contains one of the oldest Fujizuka, which are mounds shaped like Mt. Fuji so you don’t actually have to climb Japan's highest mountain yourself. But trust me, as someone who climbed the actual Mt. Fuji, the shrine’s small Fujizuka did not grant me the same sense of pride and accomplishment. 

    Due to the convenient location, the shrine was selling various shogi charms, and unsurprisingly, most of the wishing plaques were filled with shogi prayers. In the first season, both Matsumoto and Misumi have been praying here as well before their matches. 

    Another standout location of the anime is the Reiganjima water level observatory in the Shinkawa area, which appears suspiciously often in the anime. I’m guessing the peculiar design of the water level observatory appeases Shaft’s unquenchable thirst for animating eccentric geometric shapes with lots of lines, beams, and circles. 

    A bit further upstream is the staircase to the Chuo Bridge. 

    Crossing the bridge will eventually lead you to the Sumida River Terrace. 

    Back in the Tsukuda area. The tall chimney that gets shown several times in the anime belongs to the public bathhouse here. 

    This torii gate marks the road leading up to the Sumiyoshi Shrine, which was founded in 1646, and protects fishermen and sailors. The Tsukuda area was originally inhabited by fishermen.  

    The torii gate isn’t grey like in the anime anymore, but has now been painted red in real life. 

    On his way to the shogi hall, Rei has to pass the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The sporting complex hosts a variety of different sporting events and was also the venue for one of the dance competitions in the currently airing Welcome to the Ballroom. 

    The current Sendagaya Station is getting an overhaul at the moment in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and therefore looks quite different compared to the anime, which is not a rare occurrence in the show. Like the just mentioned red torii gate, many of March comes in like a lion’s locations are actually quite outdated. Another good example was the old Tokyo Station façade from the first season. It seems like the anime is trying to stay faithful to the manga’s version of Tokyo, which already started serialization way back in 2007. Obviously, a major city like Tokyo is undergoing numerous renovations and reconstructions in the span of ten years, so it’s only natural that many of the manga’s locations are now out-of-date, but it’s still remarkable that the anime is also sticking to those. By the way, this is also the reason why I believe that we won’t get to see the Tokyo Skytree in the anime.

  Here’s the map I made for the second season:

    Have you been enjoying March comes in like a lion so far? And do the real-world locations of the show seem like places you’d like to visit? Sound off in the comments below!

---

Wilhelm is an anime tourist, who loves to search for and uncover the real-world spots he sees in anime. You can talk with him on Twitter @Surwill.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[nyam]

Tulips in the Spring

#saigenosweek

Words: 8412

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Day 2: Horror!AU (but not really...okay maybe for like the first few paragraphs but not at all if I’m being honest, this whole thing just slipped away from me D:)

Summary: Everyone’s heard about the house in the mountain… but when the weather’s taken a turn for the worst, when the thunder clashes and lightning strikes, Saitama finds himself forced inside. Little does he know he’s not alone… and he won’t leaving just yet.

Notes: Everyone's a freaking kid in this fic - not 'kids' as in children, but still really young; just a heads-up they're all in middle school, and act/think their age. Also this thing is a solid 28 pages in Google Docs - believe me when I say this is no short read. Some angst too.

Concept art found here.

Tulips in the Spring

   Everyone always heard about the house in the mountain.

   It was a large mansion, shrouded in the thick of the woods somewhere up there, looming over the small town. Every year some kids would try to climb the mountain and find it, only to return home empty handed and frustrated; they all swore up and down it was fake, it was a rumor, it was nothing but a child’s tale to get the kids away from venturing into the woods.

   But once, maybe twice a year, someone would look up into the mounds of land and swear, for just a moment they saw they edge of a building before it disappeared into the mists.

   “They said a little boy died in there,” the kids at Saitama’s middle school swore, “The house was on fire and he couldn’t get out.”

   “Well I heard it was murder,” one of the girls said, causing a quiet stir ‘ooh’s’ to spread among the children.

   Saitama leaned against his palm with a sigh, yawning in disinterest. He looked out the windows and peered up into the forests. The rest of his class wanted to go find some spooky house, fine. It didn’t really matter to him much anyway - after all, who cares? The house might not even exist, and if no one found it before, who would now?

   Regardless, by the pushing, pleading voices of Mumen and King did Saitama finally agree to do it - because if anything, anyone and everyone who’s ever gone up that hill came back with an air of respect and admiration from all their peers.

   “We’re going to be so popular,” Sonic sang, flashing them a wild grin. “I bet I can reach the top in five minutes fast - I’m a fast runner.”

   “You boys are stupid!” Fubuki huffed and shook her head, small black locks flying with her head. “They’re saying there’s going to be a thunderstorm tonight. You’ll all get sick, wet, and lost.”

   “We’re not going to go too far,” Mumen said, nervously adjusting his glasses. “And I’ll bring some umbrellas and a first aid kit just in case.” He looked to the others. “Safety is priority, you know.”

   King (along with several other students wanting to join) quietly nodded in agreement.

   Sonic rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Fine. We’ll keep close.”

   They did not.

   Sonic and a couple other boys dashed right out of the school after the bell rang and into the hiking trail, claiming they’ll get there first; Saitama, Mumen and King stopped by a convenience store to pick up umbrellas and snacks; and Fubuki only took one look at her new shoes before deciding she’d rather not dirty them so soon.

   “All right,” Mumen said, carefully tucking everything into their backpacks. “We’re set to go - but remember, only for a little walk. We’ll go back before it gets too dark.”

   “Ah - wait. Can you pass me that bag of chips? I’m kind of hungry.”

   “Sure!”

   Now satisfied with his small bag of potato chips, Saitama remained pacified throughout the walk, patiently waiting for a tired Mumen and King to catch up as they started heading in deeper, higher into the trail. It was a little eerie, he’ll admit; the trees were dark and kind of twisting in on them, and it was very quiet and they couldn’t hear much but the crunch of leaves and dirt underneath their sneakers. When they reached a break in the trees, the three boys took in the impressive sight of the small town down below, completely walled in by forest and mountains.

   “Wow,” Mumen breathed, “So pretty!”

   King quietly took a picture.

   Saitama looked up into the gray sky, something settling uneasy in his stomach. Maybe the chips?

    Boom! Mumen jolted, letting out a yelp before bashfully chuckling as a few raindrops fell from the sky and pattered onto the ground. “Heh, I guess it already starting raining. Well, Guess that settles it; no house for us! Time to go back.”

    Finally. They turned back and began the descent down the mountain, the rain pouring in heavy when a rippling scream bounced off the trees.

   They looked at each other. “Um…”

   Mumen paled. “H-Hello?”

   The sound of fast approaching footsteps alerted them to something coming; Mumen quickly stepped forward, obviously terrified but wanting to cover his friends before a screaming Sonic ran towards them, grabbed their arms and dragged them along with him.

   “Run, damn it!” he shouted, “T-There’s something in there!”

   “W-What?”

   Saitama frowned. “Did you see the house?”

   “Forget the house, there’s something coming!”

   At that, the middle schooler looked back over his shoulder, and could almost faintly see something in the crashing rain - something move. He let out a gasp and whirled around, forcing his feet forward and helping along an exhausted King.

   Hunters? A bear? What on earth was -

   “Oomph!” Saitama’s foot caught on a twig and sent him flying forward, tumbling downhill and off the trail entirely. Crashing into dirt and stone as he rolled down the mountain, Saitama felt his head go dizzy and the world start to grow bleary and vivid in pulses; he finally landed in a small field, rolling onto his back and staring bleakly into the sky.

    Ouch, he vaguely thought, hearing the faraway cries of Mumen and twigs snapping, something coming towards him before he heard a buzz in his ears and the world slowly darkened.

   It was surprisingly warm.

   Saitama stirred, slowly opening his eyes and sitting up. Blinking sleepily, he brushed the blankets off him and yawned, content under the heat of a crackling fire and the warm plush chair cradling him.

   He looked down at his clothes, vaguely wondering why they were torn a bit when the events of the day snapped into him.

   “What - “ he whirled around, peering around the dark room. He could hear the heavy rain outside, the windows dark with nightfall, and small trickles of water leaking from the roof and pattering onto the floor.

   Slowly, quietly, the middle schooler lifted himself out of the chair, out of the blankets and stepped away, tiptoeing for the windows before he realized they were all nailed shut. Damn. He quietly made his way to the next room, a much larger one with black shelves and faded ashes and old books - and up on the middle of the room was a painting, charred but visible, of two people and a little boy staring out at him. Saitama briefly skimmed over the faintly glowing gold eyes before something terrible twisted in his stomach and with a growing horror did he turn around and realize where he was.

   “The house,” he faintly whispered.

   The boy. The fire. All of it was true, all of the rumors were…

   The dull sound of shoes walking against the marble floors snapped him out of his reverie, sending the boy ducking under some old curtains. As the footsteps slowly approached from down the hall, Saitama felt his pulse pick up. He turned around and tried to force the window behind him open - only to again, find nails poking out the bottom.

   Trapping him. Trapping them.

   He gulped, pulse pounding in his ears. He’ll fight them - he… he’s as fast as Sonic, and did beat him at the martial arts tournament in school. Maybe he could  - oh but it’s so dark and raining outside, he’ll get lost again and his ankle is throbbing -

   The footsteps stopped.

   Saitama waited, straining his ears over his heart to listen, but the house was eerily silent save for the low white noise of rain and thunder. Saitama slowly poked his eyes out from his hiding spot, peering over the dark room before he slowly stepped out and walked towards the door. He looked left, then right, empty hallways staring back.

   His heart thudded against his chest, helpless thumps pressing on him to run. Following instinct alone, Saitama sprinted down a hall and made a turn, passing room after room, some doors open, pale moonlight filtering in, and some closed, locked tight and shut. Squeak! Saitama yelped and flinched back, only to peer down at a faded bunny plushie with button eyes, charred and lying on the floor in front of a closed door.

   A knock came from downstairs. Flinching, he broke into another run, footsteps muffled by the faded red carpets under his shoes, crossing halls and zipping past windows, up into corners and down long asiles before he slowly came to a stop, reaching a long hall full of windows on one side, paintings on the other and one single door at the end of the hall. A dead end. Catching his breath, Saitama looked out the windows and found they weren’t nailed - but… when he peered outside, all he could see was the descent of the roof leading out into the front courtyard, all too high up for him to climb out. From the faint light outside, he could almost see the front gates, dark and sharp a little ways from the house. The rest was thick forest, stretching out into the horizon.

   Saitama felt his throat close in, a lump forming; he let out a breathless, humorless chuckle and slowly shook his head.

   He’s lost. Completely, entirely lost. Going out there would be nothing short of murder, at least in the night, and in the rain…

   But when he heard a faint thump of something moving downstairs, his heart lept into his throat and he knew right then and there like hell he was going to spend the night here.

   He took one last look at the single door, the old wood and knob seeming to stare right back at him, before he turned and left the other way, sprinting down and finding an opening.

There! He found himself on a higher floor, two large staircases on both sides leading down to the living room of the house. A chandelier was broken at the bottom, old glass twinkling on the black and white squared floors, but right there in the middle was the main door coming in.

   Saitama darted towards it, hand outreached and hope soaring in his chest when he jumped at the door and quickly pulled the knob, only to find it locked.

   And then he felt the presence of someone behind him.

   “It’s raining.”

   Saitama froze. He stared at his hand, wrapped right over the silky bronze knob. The hairs on the back of his neck slowly stood with a dooming shiver. “It is,” he said.

   He didn’t turn around.

   “You should not go so soon,” the voice said. Quiet, clipped, but firm. “You injured your head during the fall and your ankle is sprained. You are in no condition to leave.”

   “I really should though… my mom will get worried, plus, I have homework due on Monday…”

   Like hell he did, but the stranger didn’t need to know that.

   “I don’t think so.”

   Saitama closed his eyes.

   “But you can leave in the morning. I know how to get back to the trail.”

   He opened them. “Wait, what? I can leave?”

   “I wouldn’t recommend it with those injuries, but yes. Please take a seat until then.”

   Huh. Saitama let go of the handle, uncertainty bouncing around his throbbing head. Should he really trust this guy? Then again, he doesn’t even sound like one, more like… Saitama turned around, only to find himself looking down.

   “What the hell? What are you doing out here, kid?”

   “Huh?” The blonde looked thrown off before a frown overtook his features. “I live here.”

   “No you don’t! Oh, you are in big trouble now, little guy,” Saitama grinned and wagged his finger at him, relief and amusement flooding his body. To think this whole time, some kid was the one wandering the house! He probably heard the rumors around school and joined the other kids with Sonic. He probably came across a passed out Saitama and decided to help him up - and more than anything, he probably just found this house by accident and decided to rest up here while it rained. Smart kid! Now it all makes sense! “Ha! Wait till I tell your parents!”

   The blonde only stared at him. “My parents are dead.”

   “Right, right. And, let me guess - you’re some ghost wandering the house too?”

   “Precisely.”

   “Pssht. You’ve got to be kidding…” Saitama’s eyes wandered down to his legs - or lack of, rather. His words trailed off, confusion, then fear, then shock taking their toll as he watched the little ghostly tail of the kid ever so lightly sway back and forth.

   “Wha - “ he jumped back, pointing at him. “You’re really a ghost?!”

   "Yes.” The boy frowned. “I’ve been saying it many times now, mister.”

   “Woah! Wow! That’s uh - really creepy actually.” Saitama scratched the back of his neck. “It’s so weird… ah - no offense though.”

   The blonde tilted his head, staring at him, golden eyes peering into his. “You seemed so afraid earlier, yet now you’re not? Do ghosts not terrify you?”

   “Not really. I mean, you’re dead. What can you do?”

   The ghost frowned, and Saitama would've been a liar if he said later that it didn’t look like a cute pout. “I can do things.”

   “Like what?”

   “I can…” he looked around, before spotting a vase and drifting towards it, placing both hands on the side and struggling, furrowing his brows in concentration before two trembling palms brought the vase to float, ever so slightly - then slipped and sent the vase roughly landing on the shelf again. “There,” he panted, “I can pick things up.”

   Saitama walked over and easily lifted the vase in one hand. “So can I.”

   “Ah!” The ghost’s eyes glimmered in admiration. “Amazing!”

   He couldn’t help it anymore; Saitama let a grin, so wide it full it nearly took up his face. “What’s your name? I’m Saitama.”

   “Genos.”

   “Genos,” he repeated, nodding his head. “Nice to meet you then, Genos.”

   He reached out to shake his hand, only to have it go right through him. “Um. Sorry.”

   As it turned out, Genos was the kid in the painting - about one year less than Saitama, (but decades older if they were considering the afterlife as "years") - and for starters, the kid was pleasant.

   He had found him earlier, passed out and used all his power to drag him to the house - and then even went ahead to start a fire and put a blanket over him.

   He had also been here for many years, alone, tending to the house.

   “I can help you clean up a bit, if you’d like.”

   Genos smiled, and suddenly Saitama felt warm. “I would like that.”

   They spent the night cleaning up, with mostly Saitama moving the heavier things around while Genos pointed out where certain things belonged and whatnot. Throughout this time, Saitama told him stories about his misadventures in school while Genos mostly listened, adding in small comments.

   It was obvious - terribly obvious - that he wanted to say more, but Saitama couldn’t blame the kid for being somewhat distant. He’s been alone for this long, plus, who would ever want to trust a stranger?

   When Saitama finally reached the limit of what his ankle could take that night, he leaned back into a chair and closed his eyes, only looking up when he felt Genos place a rag over his throbbing leg, watching him with intent pale eyes.

   Morning came soon after; the rain was gone and Saitama was alone. With a yawn and stretch, he packed up his things and headed for the door, noting quietly that it was unlocked.

   He turned back and took one last look at the house. “Bye, Genos.”

   When he reached the open main gates, he turned back and could have sworn he saw the curtains on the second floor shift.

   Saitama would have thought himself to be the guy that wasn’t committed; if he can’t be bothered to do his homework, why the hell would he go back to a ghost’s house?

   But everything has a way of surprising him.

   After a week of having to explain the story over and over at school (only to be called a liar from everyone except Mumen and King) Saitama couldn’t help but wonder about Genos. Was he doing alright? Was he bored, was he lonely? They only cleaned a few rooms, really, and not even fully; they mostly just picked up fallen stuff and set them in a pile, and maybe organized some things in like two rooms. The chandelier was still cracked over the living room, the shelves were still full of ashes, the curtains needed to be cleaned - not to mention the lawn overflowing with weeds…

   So in the end Saitama went back.

   Sonic and some of the Tank Top boys were watching him as he went, confused and baffled when they saw the middle schooler load his backpack with cleaning supplies (and a mop for crying out loud!) and heading up the trail.

   Sonic narrowed his eyes. “Where’s that guy headed off to?”

   They shrugged and continued on, leaving him to his own devices.

   The hike uphill wasn’t as bad without rain - and the sky was bright and clear, Saitama whistling as he reached the opening where he, Mumen and King stopped last time. Retracing his steps from that day, Saitama followed the trail down and took a left, going off the marks and carefully making his way down until he spotted a field. “Aha!” He slid down the rocks and stepped out into the flowers looking around for a head of blonde hair.

   “Genos,” he called, “The house isn’t clean! We’ve got finish it!”

   Hopefully he'd come back again... Saitama looked around, pleasantly noting how pretty the little sprouts were when he noticed a shimmering blue lake down below, a ways off ahead. Huh. Maybe he could go there sometime...

   “Mister Saitama?”

   “Oh!” He whirled around, spotting Genos unsurely hovering at the edge under the trees. “Genos! I almost didn’t see you there… hey, look - “ he pointed down at the lake and grinned. “Maybe we can go there sometime, yeah?”

   “Ah - but I can’t go much farther than this.”

   “Huh? Why?”

   Genos stared at him, cold golden eyes dull under the shades. “I don’t have much energy and I’m not strong enough to stray too far from the house.”

   Oh. “Well, that’s okay.” He showed him his stuffed backpack. “I’ve got more cleaning supplies; we can just work on the house today.”

   He didn’t miss it when Genos’ eyes lit.

   This time they were able to fully scrub the floors of about three rooms, mostly Saitama doing the work since Genos at most could only lift small or light things. It was actually kinda cute, seeing the little guy try to pick up a tiny rag or book and turn red at the action. Was it really that hard for ghosts to move things? He kept trying to offer help but Genos kept proving to be stubborn, claiming he just needed a bit more and... Crash! Whatever he was holding would inevitably slip through him and fall to the floor. Genos was panting by then.

   By the time the sun started to set and it was time to go, Saitama found himself to be just as exhausted as he was; they had two rooms fully cleaned and organized, one room with a shining floor, and though Saitama was too weak to pull the chandelier out, they were able to at least sweep the glass shards into a pile and dump them into a plastic bag to throw away - not much in a giant mansion, but enough to send the two boys sprawling.

   “Phew,” he panted, wiping his brow. “I should start working out… maybe start a training regime or something…”

   The next day he almost didn’t get out of bed, too sore to even sit up without wincing. Saitama swore up and down, huffing and grumbling that that would be it; no more visits. In his eyes, he had now outpaid, in full and more the kindness Genos had shown to him - so there would be no more visits up that damn mountain!

   But by the end of the week he found himself in fields again with his supplies, waiting for Genos to come.

   It was because of this - swearing he wouldn't only to go again - that soon enough it became somewhat of a ritual; every Saturday, and later twice a week, Saitama would go meet Genos in the field and fix up the house. He knew where to find it at this point, if he was being honest - but their meetings there became something of a...tradition.

   Genos started to smile when he saw him there. Scratch that; he just starting to smile more in general. He started opening up more; his eyes would light the moment they landed on Saitama and his lips would start curving upwards; he seemed to be getting stronger too, surprising Saitama once when he tripped and felt the back of his shirt pull back sharply - before abruptly stopping and leaving him to fall face first onto the floor. Genos also started telling him stories about the house, its history and how it passed throughout the generations. He told him about the sounds inside, how a certain crack got on that window or how he had to chase a rat out of the house with only a stick and rag. When Saitama laughed at that last one, Genos’ eyes widened, glimmered then he grinned.

   Soon enough they were sharing stories back and forth; when summer came around and the school year was over, Saitama visited the mountain nearly every day, eagerly racing up the trail to meet his newest (albeit strangest) friend.

   “You’ve arrived even faster,” Genos noted, staring down at the newly forming muscles in his legs.

   “Ha, I guess I’m getting used to it.”

   Genos could now make it to the field; he waited for him under the sun and flowers, golden hair tousling around him like a halo. Now that he could move farther away from the house, they took some days to simply walk the forest.

   “I spy… something green.”

   Genos deadpanned. “It’s the leaves. Again.”

   “Bingo!”

   “Would you like to go to the lake today?”

   “You can head that far now?”

   Genos nodded, Saitama noticing how hit pale empty eyes were starting to gain a vivid golden color.

   The walk was long and they had to be careful should Saitama fall on the way down, but by the time they reached the glimmering blue lake, all the exhaustion was wiped right off; without even taking off his clothes Saitama darted forward and dived right into the water.

   “Be careful,” Genos called from the shore. “I will not be able to help you should you drown.”

   “You can in the water - everything’s light in the water.”

   At this, Genos rose his brows. He slipped into the pool and floated towards him, Saitama not noticing until he felt - a pressure, a feeling of two arms, one on his back the other under his knees - ever so faintly giving him the impression of rising - until it stopped and he sank, dipping back into the water. That was... Saitama shook his head and swam back up; Genos was back on the shore, back turned against him and panting from exhaustion.

   And clear as day did Saitama see a ghost’s pale ears ever so faintly blush red.

   When autumn rolled around and most of the kids played outside or went to the movies; Saitama, rumors went, that Saitama was going up to the mountain still.

   “They say he went crazy after he fell and hit his head,” some of the girls whispered during their sleepovers.

   “Maybe he’s committing a crime,” Tatsumaki huffed as they bought bubblegum over the counter.

   “Maybe he simply grew to like nature,” Mumen defended in the movie theaters.

   But for whatever reason, listless, bored old Saitama would disappear into the woods all day and come back smiling.

   Mothers whispered, fathers stared, children giggled and teens grinned, all tossing half-baked rumors around the town.

   Sonic grew curious; maybe his rival was plotting something. “I’m gonna find out what,” he swore, “‘Cause he’s definitely hiding something.”

   Eventually the rumors got to his mother - after hearing it from her coworkers, she decided she ought to do something about it.

   “Oi,” she called just as Saitama slung on his backpack and headed for the door, “How about you stay inside today?”

   “Huh? I thought you wanted me to go outside.” He rose a brow. “Remember the speech? Burning my mangas if I didn’t?”

   “I know what I said, but - how about you and I spend the day together, yes? We’ll tend to the garden outside, get some ice cream. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

   Saitama looked conflicted. He longingly looked towards the door before sighing and closing it. “Okay.”

   They spent the day doing just that; to her relief, Saitama was surprisingly complacent -helpful, even, carrying sacks of heavy fertilizer with ease as though he’d grown used to doing manual labor. After explaining how to plant the seeds and care for the flowers after, she watched with interest as the youngster stared at the ground, dull eyes lighting.

   “Well,” she said, wiping the sweat off her brow. “I think we’re finished - and with plenty of fertilizer and seeds to go! It’s autumn now, so they’ll flourish in the spring… Say, perhaps we give the extras to Mrs. Idako down the street?”

   “Ah - can I keep them actually?”

   “Hm?”

   Saitama’s eyes were glimmering. “I think I can use them for something else.”

   That night as he laid in bed, curiously poking at the growing, dully aching muscles in his arms while his thoughts swam with blond and gold, he wondered about Genos. Quiet, subdued, pretty -

    Pretty?

   Saitama’s cheeks flushed red. “Yeah right!” he shouted, shaking his head in denial. “As if!”

   (His mother stood in the middle of the hall, confused.)

   “Oi! Genos!” He shouted, running into the cold field with a bag of fertilizer over his shoulder. “I have an idea!”

   “Mister Saitama!” Genos moved forward towards him, then stopped and frowned. “You were absent yesterday. Were you sick?”

   “Ah - no, my mom just wanted to keep me in for the day.”

   “Your mother…” he looked down at the paling grass before glancing up at him. “Perhaps you should go spend time with her instead.”

   “Why’s that?”

   “I do not wish to take your time from her.”

   “I - ...huh?”

   Saitama was confused; Genos looked obviously bothered, almost saddened...but over what? He opened his mouth to ask, only to close it; words had always failed him, always brought trouble his way somehow. It was as though every word he spoke gave others a reason to hate him - it was always like that in school, and always ended with him alone. Looking at Genos now, he decided to keep quiet and wait instead.

   Like this, the walk to the house was quiet.

   Saitama sometimes glanced at him, silent as he dug holes to plant the seeds in. I wonder, he thought, looking up at the mansion. What...happened?

   Genos, squatting on the ground with a packet of seeds in his hands, followed his gaze and peered up at the windows, a grim look casting over his eyes.

   "Mister Saitama."

   He didn't move, only turning his head just a bit. "Do you wish to hear my story?"

   “I - you don't have to.”

   Genos didn’t say anything for a moment. He simply stood up and offered his hand to him. The middle schooler gave him a look, but when the blonde only stared back he took it, surprised to feel a sensation before Genos actually pulled him up and started walking towards the house.

   He followed, smiling when he saw some of his things around the mansion and how clean the rooms were starting to look. Each one seemed to have their own story; a library room, an empty room with a radio, another with burnt brushes and canvases...it was like opening another chapter into Genos' world. But... his smile faded, eyes wandering to Genos quietly hovering up the stairs. In this manner did he truly look like the phantom of these halls. This would not be a good one. What was he going to show him? What the real story behind all this?

   When the ghost finally led him down a hall, it occurred to Saitama that he’d been here before - the first night he was ever in this house.

   He looked up and saw the door at the end, the old wood looking so tired and worn, beckoning him closer.

   “This is my room,” Genos said. He floated up and reached for the doorknob, hesitating before slowly turning the handle and opening the door with a slow creak, stirring a small cloud of dust.

   Saitama hesitated. Maybe this was too personal? He waited until Genos gave him a nod, moving aside to let him in.

    Immediately his heart dropped.

   The entire room was black and charred - faded papers and drawings and books, burned and forgotten. The bed itself was old and faded, the mattress coated with dust and ashes and burn marks. On the floor were little black airplanes with strings - Saitama wondered if they had once hung from the ceiling.

   Finally, in the smallest corner of the room, huddled into itself was a skeleton of a young boy.

   A choked gasp ripped from Saitama’s throat, eyes welling.

  Genos.

   “It was several decades ago.”

   The mansion was given throughout the generations, passed from family to family. Genos’ in particular was on the poorer side, but they made do with what they had. Genos’ father was a stern, strong but gentle man, only loving and kind to his wife and child. His mother on the other hand was an intellect, fascinated with books and eager to teach her son about the world. She and his father would always bring him books when they came back from voyages or trips into town - even his godfather, Dr. Kuseno had been nothing but kind and supportive of him, buying him a small plush rabbit for his birthday.

   They were happy. Genos was happy.

   Until the day a certain man came into town. It was raining so heavily and though the townspeople were sympathetic, they had no place for him there - all the inns were filled and there was no room to spare. “Uphill,” they said, “The family uphill will let you stay.” And so they did; Genos’ parents, despite the maid’s suspicions, let the man in and let him stay in one of the rooms.

   It was the worst mistake they could have ever made.

   The man was quiet, pleasant for all his stay; he happily chatted with them during dinner, he happily said good night. But when night truly did fall, the mask came off: he slipped out of bed and tiptoed around the house, the red carpet muffling his steps. When the maid found him he lunged at her - snapped her bones like twigs and left her in the laundry room. He then made his way up the house, any butlers or maids that came across him killed immediately. When he reached his parents’ room -

   But he didn’t kill them. He locked their door, was all. He locked all the doors, but forgot Genos’. When he was finished, he carefully made out with all the valuables in the house - then to cover his tracks, to assure all in the house to be perished, he methodically and carefully nailed all the windows shut, blocked off all exits, and set a trail of gasoline throughout the house.

   He stood in the living room then, holding a cigarette in his mouth before dropping it to the floor and setting the house aflame, locking the front door behind him and leaving.

   The house burned - Genos awoke to the choking smell of smoke and immediately scurried outside his room with his bunny in tow, eyes watering, heaving coughs. He scrambled towards his parents room on the other side of the mansion when he heard a snap - he ran towards the living room and saw the chandelier drop to the floor with a crash, glass flying everywhere. The house was on fire, he realized, eyes widening as flames rose from the bottom and started to climb the stairs.

   Terrified, he raced towards his parents’ room, shaking hands wrapping around the knob only to find it locked - jammed, from the inside and out, refusing to budge. He screamed for his parents but all he could hear inside were coughs, screams, curses and cries to leave immediately. He couldn’t.

   Genos banged on the door, sobbing, dropping his stuffed rabbit onto the floor and using both his tiny hands to pound against the door, listening intently, in horror as the smoke rose and the coughs grew worse. In minutes, in eternity, the coughs grew quieter, less frequent, before the room was quiet altogether.

   The fire rose to their floor. Genos turned and ran, burning feet slapping down the fiery stairs as he lunged for the front door only to find the knob stuck. He ran to the windows but they were all nailed, too thick to break. In a final terror he ran upstairs and towards his room, stopping when he saw the hall windows were unlocked - he opened them immediately and prepared to climb out when he realized they were too high up - jumping out would mean… He wailed. He wailed in terror and brought himself back into the house. The fire was now in his hallway. There was nothing left he could do.

   Genos ran to his room, locked the door and crawled into the smallest corner, shaking, sobbing, terrified and curling into himself, waiting for the nightmare to end.

   The fire was at his door.

   Saitama was quiet. Genos almost wondered if he grew bored and stopped listening - he knew his friend had the habit to drone of over long monologues. He turned to look only to let out a gasp as Saitama gazed upon his old bones, tears openly pooling out his eyes and puddling under his chin.

   “So that’s why…” he didn’t finish, only letting out a heavy sigh and sinking to the floor, tucking his head into his knees.

   Genos immediately felt sorry - he didn't intend to make him cry. He floated over towards him and took in a deep breath, pressing his hand on his head and ever so carefully ruffling his hair. It cost him a little bit of effort and energy, but at the faint feel of his soft black tufts, Genos felt something inside him warm.

   “I burned for so many years,” he sighed, “I hated that man so much and wanted him to pay… but it’s okay.”

   Saitama shook his head. “It’s not okay,” he shot back, voice muffled and strained.

   “I’m okay. I no longer burn, Mis- Saitama, I no longer burn. I’m only warm. You make me feel warm.”

   Saitama didn’t say anything, didn’t even look up, but when his hand slowly reached up and graced Genos’, he knew it was going to be okay.

   It's almost funny; if he places even a little bit of pressure, his body would go right through; but like this… Genos draped himself over him, using so much of his energy to pass whatever warmth he had over.

   They never went back to that room. Saitama only got up, wiped his eyes, a dull look to them but with meaning, and showed him how to properly plant flowers in the garden. “They’ll grow in the spring,” he said. When Genos tried to explain to him that the ground was dead he only shook his head. “It just needs some fertilizer - but they’ll grow in the spring.” They spent the next two weeks quietly taking out the weeds and overgrown grass from the front lawn before winter came and Saitama could no longer visit.

   “Hey Saitama,” Sonic called, grinning from the cafeteria table across from him. “Not going up the mountain anymore?”

   “It’s too cold,” Saitama mumbled back, poking at the peas on his plate. “Oi, King, you want these?”

   “Saitama you should really eat your vegetables…” Mumen happily took a spoonful and plopped them in his mouth. “See? It’s good for you!”

   Saitama only stuck his tongue out. “Blahh.”

   Tatsumaki shook her head in disapproval, “Honestly, you three - “ she shot a look towards Sonic getting up on the table and shoving cake pops into his mouth as the others laughed - “you four need to grow up! We’re going to be high school students soon!”

   “Two years isn’t soon though…”

   “Shut up! It’s soon enough for me!”

   “Ooh!” Quickly forgetting the angry gremlin, the group turned when Amai stepped into the cafeteria and announced the Spring dance coming out soon.

   “Spring dance? That sounds so fun!” Mumen said, “We should all go!”

   “There’ll be free food,” Saitama pointed out. He wondered what they’d have, but when his thoughts roamed towards actually going, he felt something was...missing.

   “Are you okay, Saitama? You’ve been really happy all summer but lately... you’ve been kind of quiet.”

   “Great.” Fubuki rolled her eyes. “Our old Sai has finally come back.”

   “Oi - I wasn’t that listless before!”

   The other people stared at him. Saitama felt his brow twitch.

   “Okay, so maybe I am a little quiet, but - it’s just - I used to meet someone there and now it’s too cold to see them anymore…” he huffed, poking at his food. “And… I kind of uh. Miss them. And stuff.”

   He looked back up at the shocked faces around him. “What?”

   “Saitama has a girlfriend!”

   “He finally got one?”

   “I thought I’d never see that day!”

   “What - no! He’s not my-”

   “Saitama’s got a boyfriend!”

   “He finally got one?”

   “I thought I’d never see the-”

   “You guys-!”

   Winter was cold and bleak and Saitama could only make two trips up the mountain - but when it finally ended and spring came around, the middle schooler nearly bolted up the trail and threw himself at Genos, arms encircling for a hug when he felt it - for a split second, skin and a body - before he phased right through him and crashed into the ground in a heap.

   “Saitama!” Genos looked down at him but grinned. “Are you all right?”

   “Ugh, I’m fine.” He got up and dusted himself off, looking at Genos when he suddenly realized something. “You - “ he pointed at him, “You’ve grown! And you have legs, and not the ghost-tail thing! And you’re kinda more see-through… Ah - ! Your eyes! They look like mine - just ah, golden now.”

   Genos only stared at him, softly smiling as Saitama stood across and measured them both, hand on his forehead before moving it across and reaching Genos’.

   “You’re as tall as me now! Wow! Wow. Actually at this rate, I think you’ll end up taller…”

   “I’ve grown stronger, Saitama.” Genos extended his hand towards him. “Please. Let’s go home, I’ll show you.”

   Saitama slowed.

    H...Home?

   The tulips in spring bloomed around the house and gardens; Saitama looked up and had to fight down an impressed gasp when he saw the state of their house.

   It… it almost looked repaired. The roof still had holes and the chandelier was still in the living room, but there were potted plants around the house, and a fire burning in the fireplace.

   “I’ve been keeping it lit the entire winter,” Genos said, almost sounding smug about it. “In the case that you’d ever want to visit…”

   “Oh. Right, I’m sorry. It was really cold and snowy and I couldn’t make the trip.” Saitama scratched the back of his head, unaware of the golden eyes widening a fraction and taking in his newly developed arms.

   When he looked back, Genos snapped away, cheeks red.

   “Anyway. I’m happy. You’re getting a lot of energy now, right?”

   “Yes. The new life around the house… it makes me feel stronger. I can move more things, and touch more things, and go even farther away - I once made an entire trip to the city.”

   “To the city!”

   “Yes. I did make a few trips into town too…” at this, Genos lowered his head, almost looking bashful. “But I could not find you.”

   “I kind of stayed inside all the time, really.”

   “Ah.” Genos looked up, and though his eyes were staring at the ceiling it seemed he was watching the skies. “I feel lighter.”

   “That’s good.”

   The blonde only stared at him, eyes glimmering.

   “So there’s a spring dance coming soon…”

   Genos turned over, raising a brow.

   They were sitting up top the roof, Saitama repairing what holes there were and filling in the missing pieces.

   Saitama flushed. “It’s just a thing at my school. It’s going to be kind of boring anyway, but I was wondering if - “

   “Yes.”

   “Huh?”

   “I would be honored to go with you. I’m strong enough to go into town, remember?”

   “Yeah but - won’t other people see you?”

   “No. I can make myself visible to whom I choose - only the people I want will see me. And I only want you to see me.”

   The things this guy says... Saitama rubbed the back of his neck as the teasing from earlier came to mind. “Geez…” He looked down at his work and realized they were finished. “Hey - wow. I think we’re done. What’s next?”

   Genos stopped smiling. Eyes widening, he looked down at himself before visibly calming down. “Not much. Just getting rid of the chandelier.”

   “That's it? Huh. I’m actually kind of proud, then. I never really thought I’d get anything done - especially not a house.”

   “I am glad too. But…”

   “What?”

   “Let’s take our time with this, please. There’s no rush anymore.”

   Saitama raised a brow, confused. “Okay… then I guess we can just-”

   “Holy crap! It’s real!”

   They stopped and peered over the rooftop; down below was Sonic and the Tank Top brothers, gaping up at the giant house.

   “Oh hell," Saitama cursed.

   Genos’ eyes flickered towards him. “Did you invite them?”

   “No! They must’ve followed me, those guys…”

   “What do we do? I don’t want them inside the house.”

   “Just uh… oh! Oi!” He called form above, scaring the crap out of the three boys. “Sonic!”

   At the sound of his call, his self-proclaimed rival jolted back and looked up at the sky, bewildered. “Wha - h-how do you know my name?”

   What? "No, you-" Ssaitama stopped and suddenly had an idea. They think this place is haunted. That means... He grinned, nudging Genos. “I am the ghost that haunts this very house! Bewaaaaaaare!”

   Genos let out a loud laugh before covering his mouth, fighting off a fit of chuckles as Saitama sucked in a deep breath and bellowed out, “If you do not leave immediately, you will be cursed!”

   The brothers paled. “C-C-Cursed? But we’re not even in the house!”

   “You’re on the premises and that’s close enough!”

   Sonic took a step back, confusion, terror and disbelief swirling over his features as he looked around. “T-Then where’s Saitama…?”

   “He is a welcomed guest!” Genos added in, grinning. “But you are not - leave immediately or be cursed forever!”

   Saitama covered his mouth, cackling. “I think they need a little push more. Genos?”

   “I’m on it.” He closed his eyes, hair slightly rising, body glowing in a strange white light before he shot his arms out and a giant blast of wind swept across the yard and sent the three middle schoolers tumbling backwards.

   “W-Wha - oh forget this!” Sonic turned back and darted away, the two terrified brothers running after screaming.

   Neither of them heard the sound of two boys absolutely losing it on the rooftop, laughter echoing for miles around.

   For the first time in his life, Saitama was terribly worried over how he looked.

   “Does the flower look right? Is my hair ok?”

   “You like fine, Saitama. For the fifth time,” his mother mumbled, “Now stop moving, I’m trying to comb your hair.”

   Saitama nervously fixed his collar. “I hate this. I hate feeling nervous. Are you 100% sure that I - “

   “You look fine, sweetheart, honestly! She’s going to love you!”

   Saitama’s face flushed. “What do you mean love?! No one’s talking about - Genos isn’t my... It's just a dance! I’m going out now! Bye!”

   “What? You’re not going to let me take a picture?”

    “Bye!”

   He quickly closed the door and huffed, hurrying down the street to where they agreed they’d -

   “Saitama!”

   Genos looked the same as always - the same simple buttoned-up shirt and pants, the same blonde locks… Only now he looked incredibly faint. Kind of like a-

   Saitama slowed down, staring at him.

    Kind of like a ghost, his thought finished. He’d nearly forgotten. “H...Hi, Genos.”

   “Hello, Saitama. You look well.”

   “Ah - thanks.” Two hours of freaking out over this was now worth it. Genos looked off to the side, almost looking exhausted, before reaching out and handing him something. “Here.”

   Saitama took the gift, looking it over with a smile. “You got me a tulip.”

   “I thought the color would fit.”

   Huh. The tulip was yellow, but with reddish-orange tips. What’d that mean? Saitama shrugged but liked it anyway. “Thanks, Genos. We should go.”

   When the blonde nodded, he looked tired, but happy.

   The spring dance was everything Saitama would thought it to be; loud, annoying, but good punch. A lot of his peers were teasing but nice, and told him he was free to join whenever he’d like (and even Sonic, albeit grumbling and reluctant, did say he was “sorta cool” for climbing up the mountain every day.)

   Genos was happy. He didn’t say much and it was a little hard to make out his outline in the crowd, but right when Saitama caught him staring off into the crowds, he saw the way his lips were curled upwards in a permanent smile. Every time Genos caught him staring, he turned to look at him and smiled even wider, a little sadder, though.

   “Is something wrong?”

   “No. I’m happy. Really.” He sighed, leaning back against Saitama, nuzzling into his neck. “I’m so happy.”

   “You look tired. Want to go?”

   Genos said nothing, only looking out at the room one last time before turning to him and nodding.

   “So what do you want to do at the house?” Saitama said as they hiked up the mountain, the bright moon painting strokes of light through the trees. “I didn’t really bring anything with me, sorry.”

   “It’s fine. We just need to do one last thing.”

   “Okay?” Saitama looked down to where Genos was holding his hand, trembling. “You can let go, if you want. I know you’re using a lot of energy for this.”

   “I don’t want to let go.”

   They passed their field, Saitama only taking a look at the shimmering silver pool down hill before, wondering when they'll go visit again when they made their ways through the trees and reached the house.

   Saitama was immediately left breathless. The house looked...complete. Not in the construction sense; there was just no way one dead kid and a middle schooler could fully repair an actual mansion; but...standing tall and proud, tulips in the garden blooming and fireflies lighting the colors and rising up like a crowd of tiny souls... the house looked ready to rest.

   He wanted to tell Genos when they reached the door and he raised his hand, the heavy wood immediately bowing open under his command. There in the center was the quiet chandelier.

   Oh. “You wanted to finish? Why didn’t you say so?”

   Genos said nothing, only squeezing his hand tighter. Together, they walked towards it and lifted the heavy thing up, carefully pulling old brass piece out the door and setting it by the front door.

   “There,” Genos whispered. “It’s done.”

   He didn’t say anything more, only holding tightly to Saitama’s hand.

   Saitama looked at the chandelier, before his eyes slid up to the far window on the left of the house. “What about your room?” He opened and closed his mouth, all other words...better left unsaid. It still hurt to think about Genos, his Genos, left all alone for so long...

   “I cleaned it myself. Over the winter.”

   It was then Saitama noticed the small rabbit plush sitting on a square of dirt, little buds sprouting from the ground. He had buried himself. His eyes widened in shock; suddenly, all the pieces were coming together: Genos growing, Genos able to move things, to command things, to look so vivid only to fade away and finally-

   He turned around and Genos was crying.

   “I was supposed to leave by then," he said, shoulders shaking with a sob. "When I - I felt I was supposed to leave after I cleaned that room, but,” he reached up and wiped his eyes, “But I just wanted to see you again, I wanted to go to the dance so much, I...”

   Saitama felt a lump in his throat. “Oh.” He squeezed his hand around Genos’; it wasn’t skin, never felt like it really, but it was Genos all the same. “Okay. That's okay, just come back soon.”

   Genos stared at him, tears glistening over before throwing himself at him, grinning, crying, nuzzling under his chin and letting out a laugh. “I promise - but you have to find me next time, Saitama!” He let out a sob, joy and sorrow swirling in a strange mix. "Please look for me!"

   “Okay." Saitama's was voice strained and high, nuzzling into his fading hair and letting out a shaky breath, eyes welling over until droplets were leaking off his chin and hit the empty space between them. Saitama’s hands phased right through the air and he caught himself.

   "Okay."

   There's no house up the mountain anymore; they teared it down for construction and made several attempts to build new property...though with a raging mob of high schoolers and a few negotiations later, it was decided to let the land remain untouched, lest some old ghosts remain. Nonetheless, sometimes the local middle schools nearby would take their classes uphill to the field of tulips in spring, leave flowers to the single grave marked up top and warn the children of fires, tell them stories of a lone wandering ghost looking for a friend.

   They say to be very quiet:

   You can hear the sound of a faint laugh in the tulips.

A/N: wtf this was supposed to be horror

[mohawktimmy]

or about 16km of walking…

16km of walking around Seoul

The next day I had breakfast in the hotel and waited for Alex and his wife, Lyn, to meet me before we headed out for the day. I got a message saying they were going to be a bit late, so I should head out in the morning first and they’ll meet me a little later at the hotel, so I went for a wander.

Luckily I went in the right direction, and stumbled across Changdeokgung just around the corner not far from the hotel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I purchased a book of tickets that would also cover off a few other attractions I wanted to see later in the day and attached myself to the rear of a guided tour in English that was about to set off.

The site dates from way back, late 14th century, but there isn’t a lot left from that era. As the tour guide introduced us to each of the buildings she ended each with “But it was destroyed by the Japanese during occupation, and we rebuilt it.”

It was still fairly early in the day, but the sun was already quite hot. Most of the grounds were gravel or paved with rocks, and while a few had umbrellas to keep the sun off, they did nothing for the heat radiating up from everywhere. The group huddled in any shade it could when we were stopped. After the tour wrapped up I headed back to the hotel for a cool drink before heading out again.

Alex and Lyn, met me at the hotel and we set out on foot towards a popular shopping area, Insadong. We walked nearly the length of it before finding somewhere to eat. They only had 3 or 4 things on the menu. There was some negotiation, and one of each appeared at the table. The place specialised in cold noodle soup. One of my least favourite dishes, but it was very refreshing in the heat, and the spice made everyone sweat even more.

After lunch we started walking back up Insadong towards the main palace precinct around Gyeongbokgung. The first thing we visited was the National Folk Museum of Korea. Alex had never visited it before, so it was new for him as well. The museum covered the history of the Korean Peninsula, and the relationships between the area with China and Japan.

The place really just gets straight to the point

I have no idea what is going on here

The most interesting displays was a series that took you through the life of a Korean, from birth to death and all the important cultural moments. It included how certain traditions began, but also how they were still practised today, and how they had changed over time. Alex also found these interesting, and commented that his family still practice some of the traditions today.

We left the museum and head further into the palace complex. There was an arm of school kids, and klumps of tourists in Hanbok. We walked through the different builds. We spotted a few police officers near a gate, I didn’t think anything of it, but Alex was perplexed. There usually aren’t guards at that gate. He ran up to ask what was going on, and ran back to us with a grin on his face. “Do you want to see the blue house?” he asked excitedly. “Sure” I had no idea what the blue house was.

The Blue House

We excited through the gates and walked up towards another gate in the outer wall of the complex, that was completed blocked by tourists. They were trying to avoid the sun, but in doing so had made it completely impossible to pass. Alex, Lyn, and I politely barged our way through. The Blue House is the president’s official residence. Built into the side of a hill facing south.

We took a few photos, and I started to put my camera away before trying ot make it back through the crowds, when someone grabbed my arm. I looked up. A small woman was pointing at a friend holding a camera.

“Photo!”

All I could think was, but I’m not American. Granted, if I kept my mouth shut I could easily pass for one, but I was not an American. I stood still and looked vaguely in the direction of the friend with the camera, keeping my hat and sunglasses on. Alex had walked off, and I started to make my getaway back into the crowd.

We continued walking around the palace grounds, looking in the different buildings before making our way to the ‘front gate’ – Gwanghwamun. We walked down Sejong-daero to Gwanghwamun Square. A large public square with a statue of King Sejong, who, amongst other things, invented the Korean alphabet in the 13th century.

Love this bike

We continued down to Cheonggyecheon, a creek / public walkway through the middle of Seoul. I was really enjoying all this public open space, and the walk through Seoul, but it was into the high 30s and we needed a drink, and something to eat. We tried one bar on Cheonggyecheon, but we left there without ordering anything. We walked a bit further before finding a 7-eleven with a tablet and chairs out the front. We then headed back to the hotel to refresh.

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

We didn’t stay long, not even long enough to sit down.

Cheonggyecheon

Lyn had done enough walking for the day in the sun, and I think Alex had too. I was the only one wearing a hat. Lyn left to catch a subway back home. Alex and I went looking for dinner in the maze of places just across the road from the hotel. We did a lap, inspecting each of the options before settling on a bbq place. Alex ordered all the appropriate things and started preparing the cooking plate. The food was great.

Chef Alex

In his element

Preparing the coals

Al fresco

After finishing first course we set out again to find something else. Alex wanted to go to Gangnam, but I wasn’t that interested. I had a flight the next day back to Japan, and despite wearing a hat all day, also looking forward to bed. We found a small place on a road, I took a seat while Alex examined the menu and ordered for us. We had a mixed plate for fried things, including a few items that were very spicy, but the main reason for choosing the restaurant was a fermented chestnut drink Alex wanted me to try. It was slightly sweet, but surprisingly tasted remarkably like a fermented chestnut drink.

Alex dutifully inspecting the options

More al fresco / taking over the road with chairs.

The next morning I had breakfast in the hotel before packing everything back into my backpack and heading back out into Seoul. I followed my nose and found Cheonggyecheon and walked back into Gwanghwamun Square, where I found a tour bus to take me around Seoul, a good way to do not very much, but still see a bunch of things while carrying a backpack.

Boshingak Bell

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

Cheonggyecheon

The bus tour went for over an hour and included a trip up Namsan Mountain. The bus passed a lot of cyclists on the way up. It looked to be a very popular climb for the locals. At the top of Namsan I am sure I could have seen some great views, but I was tired and was carrying everything with me for the day, so I sat in the bus and enjoyed the trip back down into Seoul and back to Gwanghwamun Square.

Not my first choice for a long climb

The view part way up

How many spokes do you really need?

Cycling central

My next quest was to find a bus to the airport. I had barely any Korean (Won) left, or I had gotten almost exactly as much cash out as I needed the day before.

I located a bus heading to the airport and got on last. They had a card scanner at the front and I hopefully waved my credit card over it. Nothing happened. The driver took off. I waved my card at it a second time, nothing. Through the drivers broken English and my complete lack of Korean we agreed I had to get off at the next bus stop as I had no way to pay for a ticket. They didn’t take credit card – only magic Korean transit passes – and I didn’t have enough cash.

I flagged down a taxi and stuck my head in the window, looking for a credit card machine, and asked if they took card.

“Where do you want to go?” “The Airport. Incheon.” “Yes, yes yes.” “Do you take credit card?” “…. airport. Incheon. Yes.”

I jumped in the back. What was the worse that could happen, I end up where I need to go and no way to pay? We get into a heated discussion at the other end in two languages neither of us can understand? I kept trying to decipher the various electronics attached to the centre console. There was a contactless payment machine like the one in the bus that was useless to me. Various other screens and counters informing me the amount of the trip was going to exceed my cash reserves by an order of magnitude. We got to the terminal and I handed over my card. The driver reached under the seat and pulled out a familiar looking payment machine, waved the card over it, and I was off into the terminal to look for a paid lounge.

It was there I discovered I really loved  french fries covered in honey syrup stuff.

30 some hours in Seoul - Part 2, the rest - ALL THE PHOTOS or about 16km of walking... The next day I had breakfast in the hotel and waited for Alex and his wife, Lyn, to meet me before we headed out for the day.

[kilipeak]

14 Days Serengeti, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

Day 1: Arrive in Tanzania. Arrive anytime at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), there will be a pick up private transfer waiting to Plane lodge in Arusha. All airport transfers are the part of the package, no extra fee is required. We will gather in the evening for a pre-climb briefing and an equipment check. We will also confirm you have the appropriate mandatory medical coverage and travel insurance. Dinner and overnight at Outpost lodge: Half board. Day 2: Machame camp. After completing the necessary registration formalities at Machame National Park gate, we begin to trek through a beautiful and lush forest. We have a picnic lunch en route. We camp at Machame Camp (9,800 ft).  Day 3: Shira camp. We soon leave the forest behind and enter the moorland zone of giant heather. The trail climbs steadily through rocky hills with wide views of the Shira Plateau (11,000 ft). From our camp near Shira Hut (12,600 ft), we take in the unforgettable views of Mt. Meru as she floats among the clouds.  Day 4: Barranco camp. A morning of sustained ascent and panoramic views brings us to lunch near Lava Tower (14,900 ft). The trail then descends to the bottom of the Barranco Valley (12,800 ft), where we stay in the spectacular Barranco Camp sheltered by towering cliffs and with extensive views of the plains far below.  Day 5: Karanga camp. A steep climb up the Barranco Wall leads us to an undulating trail on the south-eastern flank of Kibo, with superb vistas of the Southern Icefields. The terrain changes to scree, with pockets of lush vegetation in sheltered hollows, and there is only a short distance to our camp at Karanga Camp (13,100 ft), the last water point on the approach to the summit.  Day 6: Barafu camp. We follow an easy path on compacted scree with wide views that gains altitude unrelentingly to reach Barafu Hut (14,800 ft) for lunch. There is a short acclimatisation hike to the plateau at the bottom of the southeast valley (15,700 ft). The remainder of the day is spent resting in preparation for the early morning final ascent.  Day 7: Summit to Mweka camp. We start our ascent by torchlight about 1 a.m. so that we can be up on the crater rim by sunrise. The steep climb over loose volcanic scree has some well-graded zig-zags and a slow but steady pace will take us to Stella Point (18,800 ft), in about five or six hours. We will rest there for a short time to enjoy the sunrise over Mawenzi. Those who are still feeling strong can make the two-hour round trip from here along the crater rim to Uhuru Peak (19,345 ft), passing close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area. The descent to Barafu is surprisingly fast, and after some refreshments, we continue to descend to reach our final campsite, Mweka Camp (9,300 ft).  Day 8: Mweka camp to Mweka gate. A sustained descent on a well constructed path takes us through a lovely tropical forest alive with birdsong and boasting lush undergrowth with considerable botanical interest. Our route winds down to the Kilimanjaro National Park gate at Mweka (5,400 ft); and on through coffee and banana farms to Mweka village, where we are transferred to our lodging in Arusha.  Dinner and overnight at Outpost lodge: Half board. Day 9: Game drive in Serengeti National Park: We head towards the Serengeti National Park. En route there is an opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge. It is within this steep sided ravine that Louis and Mary Leakey made some of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries in the 1950s. Here in a small museum we are able to see evidence of our ancestors that have been dated back 2.5 million years. After lunch we drive into the Serengeti itself and the rest of the afternoon is spent game viewing in the vast plains that are broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje. In December, January and February we will normally meet the migration with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There are always plenty of resident animals, such as giraffe, buffalo, and elephant, and many large predators such as lion, cheetah, and leopard. We return to our special tented camp for the night. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Lobo Wildlife Lodge: Full board. Day 10: Game drive in Serengeti National Park: We have another full day in this wonderful park, rising early to make the most of our time. Our guides will choose the best spotting locations for the time of year; we can spend time at the Hippo pool watching these majestic animals laze about in the cool water happily living alongside the crocodiles, watch a big pride of lions, be in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest, sometimes by zebras, which travel with the wildebeest. We journey from the wide open plains to the kopjes: these volcanic rocky outcrops provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals and from the top we can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide us with the ultimate in game viewing, we will hopefully see all of the plain games; elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lions and it you are lucky the elusive leopard and cheetah, as well as huge amounts of interesting bird life, from the elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich. We return to our special tented camp for the night. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Lobo Wildlife Lodge: Full board. Day 11: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater: Today we will descend 2000 feet (over 600 meters) to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater for your crater tour. Here you we will explore the forest areas inhabited by monkeys and elephants, the lake area, where we may see flamingos. We will also visit the open savannah where the lions hunt. Picnic lunch will be served in the crater. In late afternoon we make a short journey to Arusha. Dinner and overnight at Outpost lodge: Half board. Day 12: Holiday in Zanzibar. After safari you will fly via Precision Air to Zanzibar Airport (ZNZ) in the late afternoon. We will attempt to get you on the earliest flight possible so that you will maximize your time in Zanzibar. Once in Zanzibar, we will transfer you from the airport to your hotel where you will spend the night. Dinner may or may not be included depending on the hotel that you choose. Dinner and overnight at Tembo Hotel: Half board. Day 13: Holiday in Zanzibar. The lodge can arrange for various tours and activities such as snorkeling, fishing, spice tour, tour of Stone Town, boating and more. Breakfast is included. Dinner may or may not be included depending on the lodge that you choose. Dinner and overnight at Tembo Hotel: Full board.  Day 14: Departure day in Zanzibar. We will transfer you from the hotel to the airport (ZNZ) where you will fly via Precision Air back to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) usually arriving around 5pm. We will attempt to get you on the best flight possible to fit your schedule. Return flights to Nairobi are also available (additional costs may be required). The package Includes. All Park Fees Hotel Lodging the night before and the night after the climb, with dinner and breakfast included (double occupancy) Transport from the hotel to the trailhead Transport from the trailhead back to the hotel Tents (double occupancy) Private toilet tent All meals and water on the mountain Support personnel (guides, cooks and porters) All Park Fees Pick up and drop off from any hotel in Arusha Lodging during the nights of the safari (double occupancy) Safari vehicle and personal driver/guide All meals during the safari Transfer from lodges in Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport Transfer to lodging from Zanzibar Airport (ZNZ) Transfer to Zanzibar Airport (ZNZ) from lodging Package Excludes: Tanzania Visa: $50 per person on arrival Personal Expenses (e.g. laundry, telephone, beverages, etc.) Meals not listed above Optional Tours (short safari after your climb etc) Tips and any items of personal nature.   I am waiting to hear from you soon. Best regards William   Read the full article