iluvroadrunner6 | prompts { 2022 } fictober

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prompts { 2022 } fictober

Going to do one fic a day in an attempt to buff my word count for this year. Is this dumb when I already have prompts that I'm working through? Maybe but I'm in for the challenge.

PROMPTS:
1. “I chose you.”
2. “Nobody warned you about me?”
3. “That was not my intention.”
4. “How would that even work?”
5. “No, anything but that.”
6. “Adaptable, I like that.”
7. “Check that again, are you sure?”
8. “Do you remember?”
9. “Sounds like a you problem.”
10. “It’s my name on the line.”
11. “Think! For once!”
12. “You’re making my head hurt.”
13. “I don’t want you to do that.”
14. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”
15. “What are you doing?”
16. “You’re looking, but you don’t see.”
17. “Are you serious?”
18. “I don’t think this is your problem.”
19. “Do we have a deal?”
20. “There’s only us.”
21. “I never said that.”
22. “Who said this is a good idea?”
23. “Not on my watch!”
24. “Is this safe?”
25. “You know I’d do anything.”
26. “I’m doing it, shut up.”
27. “That’s not why we’re doing this.”
28. “We all have our reasons.”
29. “You love this, don’t you?”
30. “I know what this looks like.”
31. “I’m not alone and neither are you.”

Request plurk
Completed: 31/31
Word Count: 63,823

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

If you have a request please comment to this thread with your choice of prompts and character combos.

11 or 16 or 19 or 31 or any combination: Waverly and Bobo

25. “You know I’d do anything.” - Lizzie/Waverly
1. “I chose you.” -Stefan/Rebekah i was feeling nostalgic ok
14. “Yes. No. I don’t know.” Freya/Yennefer
4. “How would that even work?” Nate/Zari
28. “We all have our reasons.” Allison/Lydia
22. “Who said this is a good idea?” Seth/Wynonna

and that's it, i don't want to claim too many

Edited 2022-09-19 17:10 (UTC)

6. “Adaptable, I like that.”

Allison + KOTW aka the Hargreeves in Hell verse

9, and somebody with this fella. I'm not picky.

29. “You love this, don’t you?” - Wynonna/Dean
27. “That’s not why we’re doing this.” Sam/Alice
3. “That was not my intention.” Kady/Julia
7. “Check that again, are you sure?” Alice/Kady
18. “I don’t think this is your problem.” Fen/Julia
17. “Are you serious?” Fen/Nate

Edited (i'm done now i swear) 2022-09-27 02:43 (UTC)

Grabbing another one bc I can, lulz:

26, Neal and Peter.

Stefan and Damon leave Xhorhas together, side by side, intending to deal with the unknown in the same way. No matter who enters their party, who they work with, or what circumstances force the party apart, it is always the two of them. Until the moment that it isn’t.

They save the world, but Damon dies. Stefan doesn’t know why it’s worth it to save a world his brother couldn’t be in.

Rebekah is there, though, and that is a relief. If he lost both of them, he probably would have lost his mind. She sits with him for weeks as he goes through the motions, pieces himself back together and comes out the other side. A couple of months on a beach in Nicodranas, and he’s finally feeling like himself again.

And he wakes one morning to Rebekah packing her things, and he scrambles up, trying to catch up with her. “Where are we going?”

She looks up at him, regret on her features, before taking a deep breath. “I am going to Shady Creek Run, to see my sister. She sent me a message saying that she wants to see me. But I’m probably going to stay there, I think.”

“You’re going. But I’m not going?” Stefan pauses, brow furrowing as he tries to process the meaning of that statement, and the more he connects the dots, the more his stomach drops. “You’re leaving me?”

“Not … not the way you think.” She pushes up, coming over to rest her hands on his shoulders. “I love you, Stefan. But I am done with adventuring. I want a life and a family of my own. I want … more.”

“I thought we both wanted those things.”

“We did. When Damon was alive.” She slides her hands down his arms to take his hands. “I know how awful losing a sibling can be, and I am certainly sympathetic. But I also don’t want you to come with me out of necessity, clinging to me because I’m the only thing you have left. I want you to choose me because the life I want is the life you want, and the life you’re ready for.”

A heavy weight settles into his palm, and she curls his finger over it. “Keep this end of the sending stones. That way, you’ll always be able to reach me. But … take the time. To make sure this is really what you want.”

“And my telling you it’s what I want isn’t good enough?” He’s angry. Angry that he’s being abandoned, angry that the people in his life are just moving on, angry about all of it. It’s the first genuine feeling he’s felt since Damon died and while part of him is grateful for it, the last person he thought he’d be feeling it for is her.

“Just…be sure.” She takes a step back and offers him a small smile. “Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”

The door closes behind her, and part of him just wants to chuck the sending stone she gave him into the ocean. Since the ocean isn’t available at the moment, he’ll settle for chucking it into the wall instead.

* * * * *

Three days later, he sits on the beach outside of the Lavish Chateau, drunk and staring out at the waves in the sunlight. The beach is populated with people all going about their happy lives, and he wants to scream or possibly get another drink. But since he is no longer welcome at the Lavish Chateau for causing a ruckus during one of the Ruby of the Sea’s performances, he'll have to make due with the beach.

It’s probably for the best.

The sand curls between his toes and he doesn’t look up as two bodies sit on either side of him. He doesn’t look at them, just keeps his eyes straight ahead at the waves. “Fuck off, or regret it later.”

“Nice to see you too, Salvatore.”

He blinks at the familiar voice, before glancing over and seeing Neal and Mozzie, one on each side of him. His mouth works open once, twice, before finally spitting out the only genuine option. “How the hell did you find me?”

“Would you believe random coincidence and fate intervening on our behalf?” Mozzie asks, and Stefan’s eyes narrow.

“You did a scrying spell.”

“I did a scrying spell. You were easy to find. Didn’t resist at all.”

“I’ve been drunk a lot lately. Haven’t had a lot of reasons to care.”

Neal’s face softens for a moment, before placing a hand on the other man’s shoulder gently. “We heard about Damon. I’m sorry.”

“Everybody’s sorry.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “I don’t think you did a scrying spell and came all the way to Nicodranas just to offer your condolences. What do you want?”

Neal and Mozzie glances at each other, and Mozzie fishes a scroll out of his cleric’s robes. “We have a job we need your help with.”

Stefan unfurls the scroll, but the diagrams and sigils are already spinning, so he closes it again. “I’m not sober enough for this. Can I get back to you tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Neal claps a hand on his shoulder. “We can meet for breakfast tomorrow? The Lavish Chateau?”

Stefan makes a face. “That might not work. They just banned me from the Lavish Chateau.”

Neal frowns. “Where are you staying?”

“Kind of up in the air at the moment.”

Neal nods again, slowly. “Right. Let’s find you a bed and figure out the rest in the morning.”

Probably the best for everyone. Didn’t turn out being great for Neal’s shoes though. That’s definitely going to come out of his end of the cut.

* * * * *

Stefan comes down for breakfast the next morning and places the plans down in front of Mozzie and Neal. “This is a four person job. Who’s the fourth person?”

“You are,” Neal replies.

“Okay, who’s the third person?”

“Still you,” Mozzie points out. “You count for two.”

Stefan’s hand comes up, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know that’s not how my abilities work, right? It’s not like I can duplicate myself into a fully functioning person.”

“It’s good enough.” Neal holds out a mug to him. “Coffee?”

Stefan takes it with a grumble, before sliding onto the bench across from them. “Why are we doing this, exactly?”

Neal clasps his hands in front of him. “Mozz and I are working on this long con. A big one. But in order to do that, we have to break into Rexxentrum and act like we belong there, which means we need …”

“Wealth. Not just gold, but actual power.” Stefan makes a face. “Rexxentrum? Really? You want to fuck around with the Assembly?”

“It’s a long story.” Neal looks at him earnestly. “So are you in?”

Stefan looks down at the plans, and drums his fingers against the table. Despite being a drunken mess, he has been thinking about what Rebekah said. He needs to find out whether he wants to still be in the game, or if he’s ready to be done, for good. And the best way to do that is with people he already (semi-)trusts.

“I’m in.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Just this one job, though.”

Neal grins and nods. “Deal.”

* * * * *

It isn’t just one job. In fact, it’s more like one job that spirals into many jobs all towards whatever Neal and Mozzie’s end goal is. If nothing else, the experience is fun—Neal and Mozzie always seem to know how to have fun—but it’s also not the same. There’s an emptiness to it and he can’t say he likes it. Maybe that’s the thing Rebekah tried to tell him to find. Once you save the world, it’s kind of hard to keep doing the same thing.

He never stops picking up her calls, however. He takes some time to start making them himself, but whenever the sending stone activates, unless the three of them are under duress, he always answers. In so many ways, it’s a relief to hear her voice again, and remind him that there’s something out there he should still reach for.

“So how’s the house?” He asks one night as he lays back in his bed at the tavern. Neal and Mozzie are sharing the room next door, but the walls are thin enough he has zero doubt they’re eavesdropping.

“Making progress,” she sighs. “Freya is helping, if by helping you mean using druid craft to tie off the corners of things. It’s likely not up to code and I’ll have to fix it all later, but it’s a start.”

He laughs. “Is that a pro or a con for the state of your sister?”

“Hard to say. When you spend most of your days alone in the woods and the only time you ever see people is when they want something from you, it certainly weathers your social skills. Finn is a lovely fire spirit, but he doesn’t exactly talk back.”

“At least she has you now.”

“Yes, she does. And her old adventuring friend, that teleports in from time to time.” There’s a pause. “You should come see the house.”

He knows the reason for that statement. It’s feeling out where he is on this journey of self-discovery, and he doesn’t want to get her hopes up, even though part of him feels like he already decided. “I will. Let me just get through this job first. Maybe I’ll convince Neal and Mozz to have us swing your way.”

“Mmmm. Don’t let those two idiots get you killed. It would be a real shame for you to have saved the world, only to die taking a blade for Neal Caffrey.”

“I won’t.” He pauses as he goes to set the stone on the dresser next to him. “I love you.”

“I love you too. See you soon.”

* * * * *

“Alright. I think I’m out.”

Neal and Mozzie look up from their take on the last job, eyes widening at him in surprise. Mozzie frowns. “I thought you were coming with us to Rexxentrum.”

“I was,” Stefan admits. “But now I don’t think I will.”

Neal looks down at the take. “You don’t want your whole third, do you?”

Stefan laughs, before shaking his head. “Tell you what. Trade me one magical artifact that I can fence for enough to buy and fix up a tavern with and do a scrying spell for me and we’ll call it even.”

“Really?” Mozzie frowns. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Why so generous?”

“Because one, the more I have on me, the more likely I am to get caught by whoever might still come after you.” Stefan points out. “And two … you’re going to need that money more than I do. I have enough that I can get by until I get the bar running.”

Mozzie nods. “You know you could just ask her where she is, don’t you?”

“I could,” he nods. “But where’s the fun in that?”

* * * * *

He pawns the item, a scepter with a delicate red ruby and a diamond lined handle—Neal always had expensive taste—on his way out of Zadash, and uses some of the profit to buy himself a horse to carry him the rest of the way to Shady Creek Run. He names the horse Damon, because Damon would have hated it, and spends most of the journey planning what he's going to say when he gets there. The days of travel are odd to face alone, having become accustomed to the ramble of Neal and Mozzie nearby day in and day out, but in other ways it’s refreshing. Satisfying in a way that tells him he’s on the right path.

When he finally arrives at the front door of the house, he lets himself down off the horse and takes a breath. For the first time in a long time, this place he’s arrived at feels like home. He makes his way up and knocks on the front door.

Only to have it fall over into the main hallway.

“Damnit!” Rebekah swears from somewhere in the house, followed by the stomping of her feet. “I spent hours putting that—” Her voice cuts off when she sees him, before the stern expression on her face melts into a wide smile. “Stefan?”

“I’ll fix it. Promise.”

She runs at him, and he’s able to catch her easily, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her close. “You’re here! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I wanted to surprise you.” He pulls back to look at her, reaching up to tuck some of her blond hair behind her ear. “And like you said, I wanted to make sure I was ready. You were right. I needed some space to let it all go.”

“Should I be thanking Neal and Mozzie or be concerned for them?”

“Oh, definitely be concerned,” he nods. “Whatever it is they’re up to, I’m pretty sure it’s going to get them killed unless they’re very, very lucky.”

“Well. When the inevitable damage crashes down on our doorstep, at least we will have a doorstep for it to crash on.” She turns and looks at the door lying in the entryway. “Once we fix it up, at least.”

“Yep. I also might have bought a bar on the way into town.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Damon always wanted a bar. I figured it would be a nicer way to honor him than just naming the horse after him.”

Rebekah laughs. “Well, he really is a handsome animal. It’s not as though we could have named it anything else.”

“Exactly what I thought.” Stefan grins. “But hopefully you have room for me?”

“I do,” she nods. “If you’re going to stay.”

“I am,” he replies, leaning in to kiss her again. “I choose you. Always.”

Rebekah smiles into the kiss, keeping him close. When the kiss finally parts, they both turn and see Freya, hands clasped together as she watches them. “Does this mean I get to help plan the wedding?”

Stefan looks down at Rebekah, and she laughs. “One thing at a time, Freya. We’ve got to get this house ready first. Then we’ll worry about a wedding.”

He smiles, and that last bit of weight slips off his shoulders. It feels good to be finally home.

Edited 2022-10-01 16:19 (UTC)

12. “You’re making my head hurt.”

Doppelganger shenanigans! Leaving it vague so you can follow your heart (even do it Felderwin-y with someone else if you want)

10. “It’s my name on the line.” | David and Ezra
13. “I don’t want you to do that.” | Stefan and Buffy
24. “Is this safe?” | Elena and Damon

Freya assumes she’ll never see Peter Hale again.

The crew from Pearson Spector comes in often, and after the time they attempt to slip Peter the House Special, he doesn’t come with them. It’s highly possible he’s interested in a better class of friends, a better class of establishment, et cetera, but there’s something about it Freya finds slightly disappointing. She’s always interested in making new friends, and everyone is abuzz about the new pack in town.

Not that Laura Hale has been here or alpha-ing long, but Hales are Hales. Everyone with any kind of clout is clamoring to do her a favor. The sooner you can get her in your debt, the sooner you have a piece of leverage over everyone else. Now Freya, specifically, isn’t after a favor. It’s always best to test the waters, see what to make of the new packs in the area and how they feel about witches—Mikaelson witches specifically. But sometimes, a little leverage didn’t hurt either.

Just because she’s friendly doesn’t mean she lacks ambition.

Still, the assumption has her recalculating her approach, wondering if it might be worth it to send in one of the younger Mikaelsons. Find out where the youngest of the Hales is attending school and if she is amenable to friends. She’s flexible with her options. But before she can put any of those options into action, the door to her bar swings open, and in comes the man in question.

Her head tips to the side curiously, pausing in her wiping down of the bar to study him. “Well. Isn’t this a surprise?”

Peter raises an eyebrow as he moves closer, taking an empty spot at the bar. Most of the spots are empty aside from a few nocturnal cryptids who like to patronize the place, usually with varying flavors of fae. “Not expecting to see me again?”

“Your lawyer friends have been back, but you haven’t.” Freya shrugs. “I thought it might be a sign.”

“Mmmm. I think your wrong assumption there was that those people were my friends. That is not the case.”

“Ah. My mistake.” She offers him the menu from the stand. “In that case, what’s your poison?”

“Not going to offer me the House Special?”

“I think you and I both know that I’m not in the habit of coercing my customers into something they don’t want.”

She likes to think she proved that to him the last time they met, otherwise he wouldn’t be standing here now. Her head tips to the side as she takes him in again, letting the distractions of his appearance be just that, distractions, and focus on seeing past them. As much as his suit is immaculate, his demeanor calm, she’s picking up the cracks in the picture.

His tie is slightly askew. She doesn’t have to be a werewolf to hear the way his heel drums ever so softly against the wooden floor of the bar. The way his thumb currently worries over one knuckle. She doesn’t know him well, but she’s observed enough people to pick up a few ticks, here and there.

“Unless you do want the House Special?”

Peter glances back over his shoulder before leaning in closer, dropping his voice. “I’ve never been that way before.” Admitting weakness to someone is difficult for him. She can tell from the tension in his voice. “But—tonight is a night where I find myself in need of getting out of my head, and I’m out of options.”

Freya eyes him quietly before glancing out at the rest of the bar. “And you’re coming to me?”

“I’m hoping that I can trust you.” He doesn’t sound like he can. Peter Hale certainly doesn’t seem like a man who trusts easily. But he’s mostly trusting her not to take advantage of him while he’s drunk—not with the life of his firstborn.

“Elijah? Can you take over for a bit?” Her brother nods, and she grabs two glasses and one of the enchanted bottles of whiskey from behind the bar. Then she turns to Peter with a nod. “Follow me.”

Peter hesitates, glancing around to the rest of the bar, before nodding and following. They don’t head towards the Mikaelson apartments, but head to the roof of the bar, where the wind and sounds of the city whip around them. There are two lawn chairs stretched out in a sheltered portion of the roof, with a small table for the drinks.

“Have a seat.” She gestures to one of them and goes to pour them the first two shots. “I’m not normally a whiskey girl, but the spell ruins the taste of tequila.”

Peter snorts. “I wasn’t aware magic had a flavor profile.”

“It does. When you’re sensitive enough to notice.” She pushes the glass out to the side once it’s full. “Sip it slowly, not too much too fast. That’s everyone’s first mistake, and then you’ll be in real trouble.”

“How does it work?” he asks, studying the amber liquid carefully.

“Blah blah magic blah blah enchantment.” She gives a small shrug. “Honestly, it’s not my recipe. But according to my brother Kol, it essentially forces your body to metabolize it like a normal human would. This allows the alcohol to perform all the normal reactions.”

Peter nods, before taking a slow sip as instructed. He licks his lips, before shrugging as he stretches back on the lounge chair. “Nice flavor.”

“Thank you.” Freya sighs as she takes her own sip. “You know, I really am surprised you came back. Nobody warned you about me?”

Peter smirks. “That’s usually my line.” He shakes his head. “But no. No one did. Mostly because I don’t think anyone thought I would actually be in your company, and I didn’t ask.”

“Mikaelson tell you all you needed to know?”

“No. Though it raised a few eyebrows.” He takes another sip, and his posture is already relaxing. “But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t make friends in extreme places.”

“Another thing we have in common,” she admits with a smirk. “Does this mean we’re friends now?”

“Friends,” he nods slowly. “I can do friends.”

Friends it is. They pour another couple rounds, and Peter seems much looser, so she has to ask. “I am curious. What brought you to my doorstep tonight?”

His head tips back, staring up at the stars. “Today’s the anniversary of my sister’s death. And it’s my fault.”

Freya raises an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that, or your niece wouldn’t be the alpha.” She knows how werewolves work.

He shakes his head, and the words keep tumbling, almost as though he can’t stop them. Alcohol will do that. “I didn’t kill her. But I might as well have. I trusted the wrong person, and she was the one who killed her.”

Freya’s face sobers, and she pours him another glass. She knows all too well the pain of trusting the wrong people and the things it could cost you. She’s not sure she’s right to be trusted with this, but she can’t unknow it now. Might as well prove that his drunken ramblings are not in the wrong hands.

After they finish the last glass, she stands and offers him her hands to pull him up. “Come. We should get you in a cab.”

He shakes his head but takes her hands anyway, using her as a counterweight. “No. Can’t go home like this.”

This is normally where she would have told most people that like the song, they don’t have to go home, but they can’t stay here. But as Peter stumbles closer to her, she can’t quite bring herself to kick him out into the cold. She licks her lips. “Peter—”

“I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t. You barely know me.”

“That goes both ways.” She takes a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh. “Alright. But you’re gone in the morning, understand? And if any of my siblings catch you, you came early for witch business.”

“Understood.” He gives her a small, drunken salute, and she shakes her head before sneaking him down to her rooms. She deposits him gently on the couch before escaping to clean up, and by the time she returns with the glasses and whiskey, Peter is asleep, relaxed and peaceful and she feels a stirring of something she hasn’t felt in a long time.

“Oh, Freya,” she murmurs to herself as she closes the door behind her. “You’re in so much trouble.”

Feelings are certainly not the leverage she had in mind, but unfortunately for her, the heart wants what the heart wants.

Edited 2022-10-02 15:36 (UTC)

20. “There’s only us.” - Lizzie and Josie
8. “Do you remember?” Waverly and Wynonna

Kady’s always been a line-in-the-sand kind of girl. Things either are or they aren’t. Yes or no. Black or white. No shades of gray or in-between because she spent too much of her life growing up waiting on promises and wishes that would never come true. Her mother would never quite break away from trying to wrangle the glimpses of magic within her from charlatans on the street. Kady spends too much of her childhood giving Hannah enough rope to hang herself with that she doesn’t have any rope left to give.

So, when one of those lines she’s drawn walks into the Dry County one night, the usually consummate professional loses her cool, just slightly. Her voice breaks on one of her signature high notes, choking in a way that’s embarrassing. Most of the patrons don’t care. They’re there for an excessive amount of alcohol, not a masterful musical performance, and are more interested in fucking her than caring about her perfect pitch.

But Diego and Stefan, they know better. They turn to look, and probably don’t know how to make sense of what they’re seeing. Why this small, dark-haired woman who looks, for all intents and purposes, like she wouldn’t be able to hurt a fly would send her into a tailspin, and she doesn’t want to give them a chance to linger too long on it. Instead, she finishes out the song, and says that they’re going to take a break, practically fleeing from the stage to the back door where Julia waits.

She can’t remember how long it’s been—four years? Maybe five? Measuring the time only leads to spirals and guilt of things she couldn’t fix and looking for an oblivion that Stefan did his best to save her from. She intentionally tries not to go around ruining his good work. But seeing Julia again—she looks the same, but not at the same time. Both familiar and stranger and Kady’s heart aches for the gulf between them, even though she’s the one who put it there.

“How did you find me?”

“Hi, Jules. It’s been a long time. So good to see you. I’m glad you’re not dead.” Julia gives her a look and Kady rolls her eyes.

“Fuck off.”

“No, I’m serious. That’s the first thing you say to me after five years?”

So it is five. Kady makes a note of that. “I think it’s a pretty valid question, considering I told you I was done.”

“And I could have just stumbled across you doing your thing because I was passing through Shady Creek Run.”

Kady squints at her. “No one just passes through Shady Creek Run. And the look on your face says this isn’t an accident.”

Julia flinches, and Kady’s stomach twists with regret. It’s been five years. She shouldn’t still be this angry, but it’s the one thing she’s never quite been able to shake. Kady takes a breath, stalking away briefly before coming back again. Deep breath, starting over from the top.

“Just—what are you doing here, Julia?”

“I wanted to see you isn’t a good enough answer?”

“Not really, no.”

Julia nods slowly, before taking a breath and straightening her shoulders again. “I asked a wizard that was helping me to scry for you. Because…I think I found something.”

“Found something about what?”

“About maybe getting Penny back.” Julia must sense that Kady is about ready to bolt. She holds up her hands, reaching to take hold of her arms and maintain eye contact. “Just—hear me out. Please?”

Kady doesn’t want to hear her out. The name Penny opens up a well of emotion that she thought she locked away for good. All thinking about Penny makes her want to do is find something that will help her see oblivion. But Julia came all this way. Hearing her out will probably make her go away faster, so that she can rebury that ache as well. The box is already cracking just by her being here, after all. She can’t think about Julia without thinking about Penny, too.

In a lot of ways, that’s why Julia is the line in the sand she had to draw. She swallows before glancing back over her shoulder.

“Fine. Let’s…go get a drink.”

* * * * *

Stefan gives them a key to one of the private rooms and a bottle of whiskey. Before Kady can close the door completely, a hand appears on the door frame and Diego’s trying to wedge his way into the room. She places a hand on his chest, gently pushing him back out of the room.

“No, Diego.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with her.” Diego’s protective. She knows this, and normally she appreciates that about him, but this isn’t the time. Even then, it’s not like she’s his girlfriend, even if there’s some part of her that thinks maybe, one day. “She upset you.”

“I know. But she didn’t do it on purpose. She’s not here to actually hurt me. I’ll be okay.”

Diego doesn’t seem satisfied with that answer, but she pushes him back again and this time he yields. “Fine.”

“I’ll explain later, okay?”

That seems to placate him more, and he nods, letting her close the door and leaving the two of them together in silence. Julia mostly looks amused, raising an eyebrow as Kady returns to the table.

“You still haven’t lost your touch.”

“Shut up.”

Kady pours them both some of the whiskey and knocks the first glass back. She considers, then holds up a finger, pouring one more glass and finishing it similarly before she nods.

“Okay. Why are you here?”

“I think I can bring him back.” A beat. “Penny. I think I might have a way to bring Penny back.”

In some ways, it’s what she expected and not at the same time. Julia, coming all this way to do this in person, had to be about Penny, but it’s still a bit of a shock to hear her actually say her words. “Penny’s dead, Julia. After the explosion, nothing was left. We even paid all that gold for the fucking True Resurrection spell, and it didn’t fucking work.”

“Yeah. And I was thinking…what if it didn’t work because in order to resurrect someone, they have to be dead and Penny’s not?”

Something dangerously close to hope flares in her chest at those words. She tries to stamp it down, but Julia keeps talking and with every word, it continues to flare further.

“Penny used to transport us all over, remember? And he was in the middle of that ritual when it went wrong. What if it … mixed with his power, sent him somewhere like … on another plane?”

Kady’s never really been one for all the mechanical intricacies of magic. Bards manage their magical talents into their performances and don’t study further than story and song. But Julia’s always been a nerd for that sort of thing, so Kady accepts that if the evidence is interesting enough to bring Julia looking for her, it’s a viable theory. Julia’s not stupid.

But the implications of that statement, that it’s been five years and Penny’s just been out there—it sinks into her stomach like a lead weight. It must show on her face, because Julia’s hands immediately fall over hers. The familiarity of it has Kady seizing her grip out of instinct, without even really thinking about it, because she needs something to hold her steady. Amid it all, Julia keeps talking.

“It’s not hopeless, though. The wizard I’m working with? He thinks we have options. There’s this thing called the apogee solstice coming up and it could generate enough power for us to scry for him, locate the plane he’s on—possibly even summon him back to us. We could find him, Kady.”

It’s still easy to believe her, even now. Even after all this time. The sheer determination on her face says exactly that: that they can save Penny, because Julia has never met an obstacle she couldn’t find her way around.

“Okay.” Kady lets go of her hands, throwing back another drink as she tries to get her head to stop spinning. “Okay. So…what do we do?”

“My friend, I met him when I was digging through the libraries at the Academy in Rexxentrum. I was looking for anything that might have an answer and he told me about this relic, called the Por’co Sphere. It’s rumored to be one of the oldest records of pre-Calamity magic. Like … hardcore Age of Arcanum shit.”

Those words only vaguely mean something to Kady, so she nods. “Yeah okay. So we have to go find it?”

“Actually, he says it’s rumored that the Cobalt Soul already has it. It’s one of their founding artifacts or some shit.”

And with that, a lightbulb goes off. Kady doesn’t know if she should be bitter or amused, and the smile she gives Julia is a bit of both. “So that’s why you’re here. You need my connections.”

Julia’s face flickers again, and she shakes her head. “No, no.” A beat. “I mean, yes, I heard you were working with an expositor who may help us, but … I wouldn’t do this without you, Kady. And if you think it’s a bad idea, we’ll leave it where it is. We do this together, or not at all.”

Part of her feels like she should be angry at that, putting all the decisions on her. But part of her knows that’s always been Kady’s role. To pull Julia back when she’s going to hit an edge. And Penny’s was to remind them both. Or bail them out when they go too far. It's unsurprising that the first thing they do once he’s gone is fall apart.

“No, it’s not … I don’t know if it’s a bad idea. Not yet, anyway.” She runs a hand through her hair. “But if he’s out there, floating somewhere, we can’t just leave him there.”

Julia’s face brightens and she nods. “Thank you.”

Rubbing her eyes and hoping she doesn’t sound completely sloshed, she fishes a piece of copper wire out of her pocket; she flicks the end and casts Sending, pulling the image of Alice Quinn into her mind.

“I need a favor. A big one. Is there any chance you know anything about the Por’co Sphere?”

A long silence hangs in the air before Alice’s voice appears in her mind. “How do you know about the Por’co Sphere?”

Deep breath, she flicks the end of the wire again. “From a friend. Do you know anything? Please?”

There’s another silence, and a heavy sigh follows. “The Cobalt Soul has it. I can try to see what strings I can pull, but they’re going to have conditions.”

Another flick. “I’ll take it. This is my last Sending for the night. Just tell me where to go.”

Silence follows. She and Julia work on finishing the rest of the bottle together, and Stefan brings them some bar snacks to balance out the alcohol. But an hour later, alongside empty glasses and empty dishes, Alice’s voice appears in Kady’s head again.

“Go to Zadash. Ask for Expositor West-Allen.”

“Thank you.”

Julia’s eyebrows go up curiously. “For what?”

“Not you.” Kady shakes her head. “We’re going to Zadash. We leave in the morning.”

* * * * *

Traveling out of Shady Creek Run is never as easy as you want it to be.

The roads to and from the little hive of dastardly people doing dastardly things have their fair share of bandits the day that Kady and Julia leave for Zadash is no exception. The bandits decide to spring on them as they’re getting ready to bunk down for the night, and while they’re nothing that the two of them can’t take, it’s not without damage taken. Kady drops a crystal bead in the middle of their tent, casting Tiny Hut around them to protect them while they sleep. Then she gestures for Julia to come closer.

“Let me see.”

Julia, knowing better than to argue, sits on the bedroll next to her. As she lifts her arm, Kady frowns at the bloody line in her side and murmurs a soft incantation, casting Cure Wounds to seal it off.

“I forgot how handy you were at that.”

“Yeah, well, between you and Penny, one of us had to stitch you up on the fly.” Kady takes a deep breath as she lets her go. “Figured it was a spell worth knowing.”

“I think that’s a little unkind to Penny. He was usually the one yelling at us not to get into trouble.”

“Oh, he liked to complain, sure. But when push came to shove, even he couldn’t stop himself from doing the right thing.” Kady feels the itch of her eyes watering, and she does her best to blink the tears away. “I miss him so much.”

“Me too.” Julia brushes one hand against the apple of her cheeks and then takes Kady’s. Kady can feel the wetness against her skin. “I missed both of you.”

“I’m so sorry.” The two of them, together like this, bring it all bubbling back and she can’t stop the tears from flowing. “For all of it. For leaving like I did. I just … I couldn’t be with you without him. Not because I loved him more, but because—”

“Without him, it wasn’t the same.” Julia turns to face her more. “Just a big hole where Penny used to be.”

Kady nods, running her thumb over the back of Julia’s knuckles. “I can’t lose you the same way, Jules. I don’t have it in me. If this blows up and I’m the only one left—”

“No, you won’t. I won’t. I promise.” She squeezes Kady’s hands tightly, keeping her steady. “I meant what I said. You pull the plug and we stop.” She lets go of one hand before extending it to Kady, pinky out. “We do this together or not at all.”

Kady nods, hooking her pinky around Julia’s. “Together or not at all.”

The gesture is so familiar, a reminder of all the promises they made to each other once upon a time. Some broken, some kept securely between them, but even with each promise that breaks, it’s a promise to try again. And in this one, it’s also a promise to not let the other slip so far again. It’s also a gesture that lingers a little too long, both of them holding each other’s gaze. Eventually, Julia pulls her hand upwards, to kiss the side of her hand and ends the moment, but impulsively, Kady drops her hand, dragging Julia’s hand down with her.

Julia looks at her in confusion and slowly, tentatively, Kady leans in. She brushes her lips against Julia’s once, offering the invitation but also giving her the chance to pull away. There’s surprise in her expression, but when neither of them immediately pulls away, Julia reciprocates, her hands coming up and pulling Kady in closer.

Slowly the barriers crumble as they both sink into the familiar, hands rediscovering places they used to know well, until they’re both falling back onto the bedclothes and getting lost in each other.

* * * * *

The moment passes, alone in the quiet of the woods. As they redress and prepare to fall asleep, Julia looks over at her with a wry expression.

“What are you going to tell Diego?”

“Diego and I aren’t anything,” Kady replies a little too quickly. “Nothing … real anyway. Not yet.”

“He wants to be.”

“That’s because he lacks a healthy sense of self-preservation.” Kady slumps back against the pillows, rolling onto her side to face Julia. “But I think he’ll get that this is about closure more than anything else.” There’s a beat. “Because this is about closure, right?”

Julia nods. “You were right. We couldn’t be us without Penny. At least not in the same way. But I’d like it if we could be friends, though. Rather than people who used to be.”

“Maybe.” Kady takes a deep breath. “Let’s get Penny back first. But … I think being friends could be nice.”

Julia nods. “Diego seems like a nice guy, rather than an asshole.”

Kady laughs. “No, he’s still an asshole. And a little fucked up. But … he’s good.” Nice and good are two different things. “I still don’t know what the fuck he’s doing in Shady Creek Run.”

“Maybe you should ask him one day. Seems to me like he wants to tell you. And maybe you want to tell him too.”

Kady closes her eyes, if only to avoid letting that thought settle in too quickly. It’s a lot of baggage to unload on one person, especially considering what Diego wants from her.

“Maybe. Let’s get this done first.”

* * * * *

Expositor West-Allen is there to meet them when they arrive, asking about the Sphere. And she’s also quick to tell them that no, they won’t be getting access to the Sphere today.

“The Sphere is one of the oldest relics in the Cobalt Soul’s possession. We don’t even like to admit we have it. The minute we got Expositor Quinn’s request, we transported it to a different location.” Iris glances between them with a sympathetic expression. “I’m sorry."

“Then why the hell did you have us come, anyway?” Julia demands, her face matching the bubble of anger forming in Kady’s chest. All that hope, just to get turned away at the door? The Cobalt Soul isn’t playing fair, and they’ve always played fair with her before.

“Because,” Iris begins. “We’re not saying no forever. We’re saying no for now.” Iris straightens a bit before placing a ledger down on the table in front of them. “If you’re willing to do some work for us—a lot of work for us—you might earn it.”

Kady wants to believe that. Alice has never done her dirty before. “How much work?”

“Enough until we know we can trust you with what’s in that sphere. The Age of Arcanum ended for a reason. We don’t enjoy reviving that magic if we don’t have to. So, show us you can be judicious with the power we’re offering you, and we can talk.”

Julia eyes the ledger on the counter. “Can we talk it over?”

Iris nods. “This will be here when you’re ready.” But there’s something about Iris’ tone that says she wishes they won’t be.

The two of them leave and sit on a bench across from the Valley Archive, staring up at the building decorated in the image of the Knowing Mistress. Kady sighs heavily before rubbing her eyes. “It might take years to earn that trust.”

“We could try to steal it?” Julia asks, glancing back at her. “I mean, how hard could it be to break into the Cobalt Soul? We just have to find out what branch it’s in.”

Kady shakes her head. “The Cobalt Soul doesn’t just employ monks and clerics. They pick up wizards sometimes. Necromancers. Meaning they’ll kill us, bring us back for the indentured servitude they’re offering now and we get nothing.”

Julia makes a face before sighing. “We’ll need a party.”

“Guess it’s time to get the band back together. If they’re even still alive.” Knowing some members of their original party, it’s hard to say for sure. “Or we drum one up in Shady Creek Run. Diego might help.” Kady glances over. “What about your wizard friend?”

“Zerxus?” Julia nods. “Yeah. I think he’d be willing to help us. I bet he wants to see what’s in that Sphere just as much as we do.”

“Okay. So we rally a team and get to work.” They’ve already waited five years. Hopefully Penny’s still out there and he can handle waiting a few more. “This could be fun.”

Julia laughs. “Just like old times. I’ll go get the job.”

As Julia heads back into the Cobalt Soul, Kady reaches down, fishing out her familiar piece of wire. She remembers reading, once, that there’s a chance a sending spell could reach across dimensions, but there’s also a chance it could miss. Worth a shot to try now.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but Julia and I are looking for you. We’ll find you, Penny. We’ll bring you home.”

She doesn’t get an answer. But for now, that’s okay. She’ll try again tomorrow.

Edited 2022-10-03 22:48 (UTC)

"I chose you."

I loved this so much, everything about it was fun and good and is now my accepted canon. Rebekah wanting out first, Stefan being so lost in grief he doesn't know what he wants. His adventures with Neal and Mozzie. Freya helping with the house. The reunion. Freya being in the background excited for a wedding. The horse named Damon. All of it is so good I love it. Thank you.

Zari walks into the common room one morning and finds it to be an explosion of newspaper articles and historical records. Nate is in the middle of it, looking frantic and while she has seen him in the middle of a whirlwind like this before, usually when he’s working on his book, he’s mostly taken that back to the real world at this point.

This feels different. She’s not sure how, but it’s different.

“Babe?”

Nate looks up at her, eyes wild. He’s probably had too much coffee and not enough sleep. But before she can call him out on that, he points up at her. “Sara didn’t send me a birth announcement.”

Of all the things she expects him to say, it’s not that. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Sara and Ava are pregnant—I told you, right? Sara’s pregnant with Ava’s baby.”

Her brain record scratches briefly. “How would that even work?”

“The weird alien biology thing?”

“Oh, right. I’m with you now. Continue.”

“Right, well, it’s been almost a year and a half. So unless Sara’s alien DNA causes her to gestate like an elephant, I should have gotten baby pictures by now.”

“Well. I wouldn’t expect Sara to be formal enough to send out birth announcements.”

“Sara, no, but Ava?”

“Okay, good point.”

“And, if no one else, Sara would at least tell her dad and her Earth-Two sister. And when I talked to Laurel, neither of them have heard from her in months. So, I started digging.”

“Thus explaining the conspiracy mess in the living room.” Taking her own cup of coffee, she steps over some papers and settles into a spot on the couch next to him. “Okay. Walk me through it.”

It takes some time, but as they go, the picture becomes clear. After their brief appearance during World War I to save Gywn’s lost love, there’s no future appearance by the Legends in the timeline. It’s hard to track, given that Gywn’s life can’t change if they still want time travel to be a thing and not create a massive paradox, but Gywn doesn’t return to the timeline either. Even if the Legends avoided him getting blown up by his own invention, they would have settled him and Alun somewhere new where they would have been happy.

They didn’t.

When Nate finishes, Zari has barely touched her coffee. “Crap. They really are in trouble.”

“See! We need to do something.” Nate slumps back against the couch next to her. “I took the time courier that Ava left me with so I could get home and tried to get on the Waverider, and I couldn’t find it. It’s like the Waverider’s been taken out of the timeline entirely, even out of the temporal zone.”

“We would know if they were dead.” Zari shakes her head. “Gideon had me put protocols in, and I’m sure she had B do the same. If the Waverider is destroyed, a notice gets sent to STAR Labs in Central City and Smoak Tech in Star City. Barry and Felicity would have told Ray, and Ray would have told you.”

“But—that Waverider was destroyed.”

“…Oh.” Zari makes a face. “Right.” Nate gives her a worried look, and she holds up her hands. “No. We’ll figure this out. I feel like we would know for sure if they were dead. Behrad and Fancy Z would be here.” She takes a deep breath. “We need more information. From someone who knows more about the timeline than we do.”

Nate’s worried expression suddenly turns annoyed. “I know who we might get information out of.”

“You do? Why do I feel like I’m not going to like it?”

Nate sighs. “I’m going to have to go talk to Rip.”

“Rip’s dead, Nate.”

“Yeah, I know.” He picks up his time courier and sighs. “Which means I have to find a point in time where he knows me but also might help me, which is a very narrow window. Time to go check on the Time Bureau.”

Zari is relieved that she doesn’t have to go deal with Rip herself. But she pushes up, giving him a kiss for luck and nods. “You can do it. I love you.”

“Love you too. And I’m sorry. I know I said I was done—”

Zari shakes her head. “Our friends need you. Behrad needs you. Go.”

He disappears in a puff of wind, and Zari hopes everything is going to be okay.

* * * * *

Rip Hunter, in traditional Rip fashion, is just as helpful as he ever is, giving Nate vague allusions to the troubles that the Legends could be in, and not wanting to know too much information for disrupting the timeline. But he mentions something call the Time Police, that would be capable of taking people out of the timeline and allowing them to not be interacted with. He also alludes that there is a time courier entrance at the Vanishing Point that could be useful to them if they have the means of doing so.

Basically, it’s a start. But Rip gives Nate one final warning that might be a bit of a problem.

“The Time Police can monitor the timeline wholesale for mentions of them. So we can’t plot outright in the open, otherwise they’re going to catch on and bust us, too.”

“Maybe that’s our way in?” Zari asks, tipping her head to the side. “Get to the Legends by getting caught?”

“Maybe. But we need to have a plan first, and it can’t just be the two of us. We’re going to need backup and a safe place to plan.”

Zari leans back against the couch, looking around at the information they gathered, before she turns back to Nate with a smile. “What did you do with the rest of the totems after you defeated Mallus in this timeline?”

“Behrad kept his and Amaya hers, but … Kuasa has the rest. Why?”

“A place outside of the timeline where the Time Police can’t spy on us while we come up with a plan?” She gestures to the liminal space around them, and Nate’s face stretches into a wide smile as he leans in to kiss her.

“You’re a genius.”

“I try,” she grins, before looking up at him with a deep breath. “Time to call on the reserves. The Legends need us.”

“I’m on it.”

* * * * *

Slowly, totems appear in critical places. Earth lands on Ray’s work table as he tinkers with his latest project. Water on an altar where Wally is meditating. Fire in the front seat of a car Jax is working on. Death goes directly into Nora’s hands, because if anyone other than Sara can handle the weight and power of the Death totem, it’s Nora Darhk. Soon, they all appear in the totem, one after the other, and the last spot is filled by Mari McCabe.

“My sister said you could use some help,” she says with a smile. “Grandma says hi, by the way.”

Nate smiles and drapes an arm around Zari’s shoulders. “Tell her we miss her every day.”

After that, it doesn’t take long to lay out the plan, take what Rip can provide about the Time Police and put it into something actionable. It’s going to take a hell of a lot of luck to pull off, but they’re the Legends. Ninety percent of the time, they’re running on luck and a prayer, anyway.

As they come to an agreement on their next moves, slowly the totem bearers slip out of the meeting area to make their arrangements. As Zari and Nate settle into bed that night, he turns to look at her. “With Zari and Behrad out of the timeline, maybe you should take over on the air totem end of things. You’re a lot better at it than I am, and it means that Behrad will probably be safe.”

Zari knows that this is about what’s best for the mission in the end. He wants to make sure that they save their friends, rather than taking all the glory for himself. And as much as she appreciates the offer, she shakes her head.

“You’ll be fine. And we have a plan. It’s not like I’ll be sitting on the sidelines the entire time.” There will definitely be points when they need her hacking skills. “We do this together. Now’s not the time for lone wolfs.”

Nate nods again, before turning and curling up against her side. “Oh, there’s one more thing. Rip asked for a favor if we were going to do what he thought we were going to do.”

“What we were going to do being breaking into Time Police HQ?”

“Yeah. Have you ever heard of a guy named Booster Gold?”

“Nope. What about him?”

“We might have to break him out of Time Jail too.”

* * * * *

On paper, the plan is simple.

Get taken to Time Jail, smuggling in the totems. They’re willing to bet that the reason that Behrad hasn’t sounded the alarm prior to this is because the Time Police took his. Then, use the totems to break out, locate the Legends, find the other half of the air totem and the Waverider, and get out of dodge, fast.

Like most Legend plans, it doesn’t quite go according to the letter of the plan, but it keeps the spirit of it. Things definitely go wrong. Nate will have to tell her all the gory details later, as she misses most of it in the totem, but there are also moments where she and Nate move like one person. She pops quickly out of the totem to hack a lock or steal the cameras, and then he continues moving forward to help save their friends.

In the end, once the totem is back in his possession and they’re safe on the Waverider, Behrad pops into the totem and throws his arms around her, warm and tight. It’s with relief that she hugs him back, glad that he’s all in one piece.

“Nate told me it was your idea. With the totems and getting our friends together,” Behrad murmurs into the top of her head. “Thank you.”

“Always,” Zari replies, closing her eyes in his embrace. “I’m glad you’re all okay.”

After the Waverider drops Nate off back in Central City, he returns to the totem and leans in to kiss her. “Couldn’t have saved them without you.”

“We’re a team,” Zari nods. “Always.”

Nate nods with a smile. “But I was thinking, on what our next team up should be.”

“Oh?”

He nods. “You’re here from an erased timeline. I’m willing to bet your Behrad is too.”

There’s something about that response that stills her. It’s not as though she hasn’t thought about reaching out rather than back, wondering if he’s looking for her the way she wants to find him. But totem is an endless space, and not great at giving clues.

“We could look for a really long time.”

“Yeah, we could. But from what I understand—and believe me, I understand very little—we have a lot of time to look.”

Zari smiles and leans in to kiss him softly, brushing her thumb against his cheek. “I would love your help with that.”

“Good.”

She smiles as she turns to settle against him. “Are you going to put together one of your crazy conspiracy walls to do it?”

“Maybe,” he teases, getting comfortable. “I think it’s a very efficient way to get things done.”

Zari laughs. “Well, I can’t argue with that.” She glances over at him and nods. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

She sinks into his arms, and while she doesn’t know how she got this lucky, she can’t help but be grateful that things worked out just the way she hoped they would.

Edited 2022-10-04 22:40 (UTC)

Yayyyy I'm so glad you liked it! I had a lot of fun writing it, and building their little connections to the world.

“Uh, Cora? What’s this stuff on our bed?”

Cora hears the question from the stove, easily—werewolf hearing is useful that way—but said delicate hearing also picks up the crash of Alex’s spaghetti being shoved onto the floor with an uncomfortable wet splat. She takes a deep breath before deciding to deal with the toddler covered in spaghetti sauce first.

“Just a minute!”

She should have known better. Stiles will not wait. Cora cleans up the high chair and most of the major damage on Alex’s clothes, before scooping him up and taking him upstairs to swap into his pajamas. When she reaches the threshold, though, her husband steps out, ready to make a demand of her.

“No.” A beat. “Why is Alex covered in tomato sauce?”

“Because he’s three and throwing things is fun.” Cora continues into Alex’s bedroom, setting him down on the changing table before undoing the front buttons. “What are we saying no to?”

“What is that on the bed?”

“That is our costumes for the annual Salvatore School Christmas Extravaganza.”

“And why are we wearing costumes?”

“Because local parents are encouraged to participate and costumes are required.” After she finishes changing Alex, she turns and passes him off to her husband. Then, she turns and heads to the bedroom to change out of her own tomato-sauce-and-drool combination. “Werewolves get to be elves.”

“There are tights, Cora.”

“Yes, I noticed.” She heads into the closet to get a clean shirt, changing quickly before coming back out again. “But not a lot of the wolf kids have parents that can or will participate. In fact, they’re basically a lot of orphans and foster kids. Caroline and Alaric are heavily encouraging us to take part and set an example.”

Stiles sits on the edge of the bed with Alex and her heart swells briefly at the sight, but when Stiles looks back up at her, she knows the conversation isn’t over. Hope that he would just go with it because he loves his son is bursting. It’s not like she wants to do this either, but they don’t really have much of a choice.

“Cora. You know I want to be that parent that gets involved in all the things but. Not that. No, anything but that.”

“Unfortunately, babe, this time we don’t get a choice. This is for Ben.”

He huffs. “You know what happened the last time I wore tights.”

“And now you know how to prevent it.” Cora makes her way closer and gives him a quick kiss. “And if it makes you feel better, Derek and Allison have to do it, too.”

Stiles blinks briefly before looking up at her with a grin. “You’re right. That makes me feel better.”

“I thought so.”

Footsteps sound in the hallway next to them as Ben rounds the corner wearing his elf costume. It’s bright green with puffy sleeves and short pants. A green felt hat sits on his head, while yellow and white striped tights lead to his big green shoes. The dejected look on his face really makes the look, and he sighs.

“I look stupid.”

Cora covers her mouth with a hand to smother her laugh. “No, sweetheart. You look great.”

“You’re lying, but it’s a nice lie, so I won’t hold it against you.”

“This is exactly my point. You realize this, right?” Stiles looks up at her and she shakes her head.

“This is parenthood, Stiles. Sometimes you have to embarrass yourself for the greater good.”

* * * * *

When they arrive on the backfield of the Salvatore School, it’s rather sad to see that Caroline’s predictions are true. Of the small smattering of wolf students, there are only four adults between them—Derek, Allison, Cora and Stiles. Most of the students are older, which is good, as they’re the type of wolf that has to trigger their wolf side by killing someone, but there are a few young ones that fall into that category that makes Cora’s heart hurt.

And when it’s time for the factions to split into smaller teams, one adult a piece, Ben grabs his father’s hand to be the chaperone of his team.

“No offense, Mom, but we need Batman for this one if we’re gonna win.”

Cora raises an eyebrow at that. “You are aware of the two of us. I’m the one who’s actually a werewolf, right?”

Stiles’s eyes widen, and he looks down at his son. “We’re in trouble.”

“Not if we win,” Ben insists, hands on his hips. “I bet we can do it.”

“We’ll see about that,” Cora replies, before heading over to the group of younger wolves that they have assigned her to. Baal seems to have chosen his father for his team as well, and Allison’s got a group of teenagers that she’s already rallying to the cause. Honestly, if Stiles wants to be worried, it should probably be about Allison’s team.

Still, as Cora is heading to the team, she spots a sparkly snowflake sitting at the end of the bleachers. The young witch is staring longingly at the other teams of snowflakes. Most of the witch parents had shown up for their children, so much so that some of them were handed reindeer costumes and handed off to the vampires. But Hope is out there on her own, and Cora slowly makes her way closer.

“Hey, Hope. You okay?”

Hope looks up at Cora and smiles sadly. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just…I don’t think my team wants me around.” She nods over to Josie and Lizzie Saltzman, who seem to be heavily invested in their team and shooting glares at the witch on the bleachers.

Cora’s face softens. “Still having trouble making friends?”

Hope shrugs. “I just wish I was a wolf already, so I could be on Ben's or Baal’s team.” At that, a lightbulb goes off over Cora’s head and she glances over to Caroline, raising an eyebrow. She knows the vampire is listening, so when the blond meets Cora’s eyes, she nods.

“Why don’t you come be on my team?”

Hope frowns. “But I’m a witch.”

“Yeah, but you could be a werewolf one day. Maybe you should make some werewolf friends, too. They might be nicer to you than the witches are.” She remembers what young girls could be like. Hope just needs to find a place to fit in.

“Okay.” Hope brightens instantly as she hops off the bleachers to follow her to the rest of the group.

“Okay, everybody. I’m Mrs. Stilinski, Ben’s mom. This is Hope. She’s going to be joining our team.”

Jed, a tall Asian boy with shaggy dark hair, who is far too young to have activated his abilities, stares up at her from under his elf hat. “But she’s a witch. She’s supposed to be playing on the witch team.”

“But her mom is a werewolf, which means she might be one too some day. The witches have a little extra, so Ms. Forbes said she could join our team.”

Jed looks suspicious, but he accepts that as an answer, for now. “So what’s the plan?”

“Well, a scavenger hunt is all about working together. We’ll want to split up and use our senses to our advantage. A lot of the items on this list have distinct smells.”

“If we split up, how will we know when some things are found.”

“I can help!” Hope offers. “We just learned a spell that helps us talk in each other’s heads like we’re in the same room even when we’re not.”

“Good. So we’ll use that spell to keep in touch. When you find something, let Hope know, and she’ll cross it off the list.” She turns to place the list in Hope’s hands. “Now, who’s great at scent tracking?”

A smattering of hands go up, a little less than half the group. “Okay, everyone who isn’t, pick a buddy who is. We work in teams of two.” Quickly, the rest of the wolves pair off, Hope getting first pick of her partner since she doesn’t have a nose yet. Everyone except Jed and Cora places a hand on his shoulder gently. “You work with me, alright?”

Jed swallows before nodding.

“Good. So we have a plan. Hope, when we have everything, let all of us know and we’ll meet back here.” The kids nod and she gives them a small smile. “I know this is a game, but don’t worry about winning. Right now, we’re just here to have fun, and work on our honing our senses, okay?”

A whistle sounds in the background, and Cora nods as they all take off into the woods. “Alright. Let’s go!”

* * * * *

Jed actually isn’t bad at scent tracking, despite his being so young and new to his wolfiness. He flanks Cora like a partner should, facing the opposite direction see is to make sure all angles are covered. She tucks another one of their located items into her pocket before sending word to Hope through the spell.

She’s heard Ben complain about Jed. That he’s bossy and mean, and he doesn’t know how to work as a team. The way he’s behaving now seems like evidence to the contrary, but she also knows that she’s an adult. It’s probably different with kids.

“You’re pretty good at pack tactics,” Cora says as they head toward the next item on the list. “Do you have one back home?”

Jed looks up at her, eyes wide, almost as though he’s been caught in something. “I used to. Not anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Why do you care?” Jed looks up at her with a sullen glare. “I’m not friends with Ben.”

“No, you’re not.” She will give him that much. “But I know what it’s like to feel you lost your pack. To feel you’re alone. I’d like to help, if I can.”

Jed looks down at his hands, playing with a piece of bark in his hands. “I killed my dad. My alpha. But he was going to make me kill my best friend, and I didn’t want to.”

Of all the stories that she was expecting, that isn’t the answer. She doesn’t know much about pack structure for the cursed wolves, but she knows how hard it can be to disobey your alpha. Especially when they’re a parent.

“If he was going to make you kill your best friend, then it doesn’t sound like he was a very good alpha. Or father.”

It’s hard to tell an eleven-year-old that they did the right thing by killing someone. But she will not tell him that what he did was wrong, either.

“And that’s how you turned?”

He nods again. “I like it here. But I don’t think it likes me.”

Cora nods. “I get that. But different packs have different rules. And I don’t think the pack here will make you do anything like that ever again.”

“No. But that doesn’t mean the pack wants me either.”

“I think they do. And I think you know a lot about being in a pack, how you have to protect each other.” She points to what he’s doing. “You always make sure you’re looking where I’m not. Face downwind to make sure someone isn’t able to sneak up on you. Those are good things to do. You could probably teach them a lot—you just have to show them you’re all on the same team, okay?”

“Okay.” Jed almost seems relieved that he has something to offer the rest of the pack. “You think even Ben would want to be my friend?”

She laughs. “Ben wants to be friends with everyone. But he won’t put up with someone who’s mean to him all the time.”

Jed’s eyes drop a little, embarrassed. “I’ll be better at that. But could you not tell him we talked about it? I don’t want him to think it’s because his mom told me to.”

“It’s between you, me, and the trees. Promise.”

“Guys?” Hope’s voice goes through their heads like a loudspeaker. “Matt and I just found the last one. We’re done!”

Cora nods before placing a hand on Jed’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s head back and see if we won.”

* * * * *

They don’t win. Allison and her pack of teenagers sweep the competition, but no one is surprised at that. Well—none of the adults are, anyway. As the kids are rounded up and taken back to their classes for the end of the day, Cora meets Stiles back out on the bleachers to wait for Ben. She sits next to him and tucks into his shoulder as he wraps an arm around her.

“Remember when we used to sneak out to make out on the lacrosse field?” He teases. “I was usually wearing something much sexier.”

“I remember,” she smiles. “I remember it fondly, actually.”

“Good,” Stiles grins, kissing her forehead.

Cora takes a deep breath. “So I talked to Caroline.”

“Oh?”

“I wanted to ask her about one wolf on my team today. I wanted to offer, in case he needed an adult to intervene for him. He doesn’t really have anyone, so I figured I could check in on him from time to time. And she made me a counteroffer.”

“What kind of counter offer?”

“She was very impressed with the way I could organize the wolves and help them use their scent training to work together. Also, how I got them to work with Hope. She asked if I would be interested in coming on to teach full time.”

Stiles sits up in surprise, glancing at her curiously. “What would you be teaching?”

“I pointed out to her I’m not qualified to teach much, but she pointed out that a supernatural school needs to have a supernatural curriculum and that I have pretty much almost thirty years of expertise in that. They have classes for witches to teach them magic and training for vampires for their abilities—they just never had someone available who would teach for wolves.”

“So you’d basically be like their de facto alpha.”

“Yeah.”

“What’d you say?”

“That I had to talk to you first?” Cora makes a face. “I know you were thinking about maybe finding another job, but if both of us go back to work, we’ll need to find child care for Alex that’s closer to home.”

Stiles shakes his head. “Or I could not find a job and you could go do this. It’s not like we need to have two incomes.”

Cora frowns. “Are you sure you won’t get bored being home all the time?”

“As you see fit to remind me often, Alex does his very best to keep things interesting.” He smirks. “I think we’ll be just fine.”

“Okay.” She smiles as she leans in to kiss him. “Thank you. I’ll tell Caroline I accept her offer in the morning.”

“Good.” He pulls back to look at her. “So. Ben is staying at school tonight and Alex is still with your sister until the weekend. What shall we do with ourselves until then?”

Cora considers, then shrugs. ”We could get out of these ridiculous costumes and enjoy some actual adult time for a while?”

Stiles grins as he takes her hand to pull her up. “Sounds perfect to me.”

Edited 2022-10-05 23:23 (UTC)

Apparently, you can’t try to outrun the end of the world forever. Also, being a shitty person sends you to Hell.

Who knew?

Allison doesn’t remember much about her death, which is probably for the best. When a Kugelblitz is coming for you, you probably don’t want to remember what it does to you. She also can’t bring herself to care that she’s dead, either. It’s not as though she has a lot to live for at this point. Claire is gone, Ray is dead—what else is left?

Even if she doesn’t have reasons to live, she’s still a survivor, in the end. A castle calls to her across the swirling vortex of cold and fear and all of her worst choices and wants. She has practiced suppressing the worst pieces of herself, but this is a new agony, certainly a piece of the torture that they say Hell to bring upon them, but she keeps moving, making it out the other side. She’s cold, every limb shaking with the effort it takes to move a single step, but she arrives on the steps of the dark manor, embellished with black and gold details, and a solitary man standing at the door.

“Welcome to House Wrath. It’s impressive that you made it through the Sin Corridor so quickly on your own.”

Her brain is too slow from the cold to come up with something as witty as she would normally like, but she manages a brief: “Wrath, huh? That tracks.”

The man looks amused, before extending a hand out to her to help her up the stairs. “My name is Anir. Let me show you to your room.”

He leads the way through rooms of opulence, featuring the same black and gold details as the exterior. While it’s not expensive in a way that’s over the top—that’s something she would expect for Gluttony, not Wrath—it still has a richness to it. Each of the inhabitants she sees is dressed impeccably. Groomed as though they’re part of a picture, not one hair or blemish out of place. There is a standard to living here that she notices quickly.

Luckily for her, she isn’t afraid to rise to it.

She’s vaguely aware of Anir giving her some kind of tour, and she might have to take it again. Wandering on her own always gives her a better sense of things wandering on her own. The tour culminates in a set of rooms, just as lavish as the rest of the house.

“You’ll be expected to dine with Prince Wrath and the Princess tonight. Be punctual, as anything else will be taken as a sign of disrespect.”

She nods, before glancing back at him. “Thank you.” It’s the first words she’s spoken since the door, and she realizes she hasn’t given him her name yet. “My name is Allison. Hargreeves.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Allison.” Anir smiles, before disappearing out the door. “See you at dinner.”

After the door closes, silence permeates the room, and she finally has time for the rest of it to catch up with her. In the silence of the rooms, she takes in the obvious comfort of the bed. Expensive furnishings, luxurious fabrics. She wanders to the closet and looks over a line of dresses, each more daring and beautiful than the last—just Allison’s style.

Part of her knows that the VIP treatment likely won’t last. That she will have to prove herself if she intends to stay. Especially since she’s unsure if her powers will even work here. But, never let it be said that Allison Hargreeves isn’t prepared to rise to a challenge. Stalking back to the bathroom, she turns the faucet on the tub and prepares to clean herself up.

Time to impress a prince.

* * * * *

She keeps in tune with the colors of the house, picking a gold dress that brings out her skin tone with embroidered black details. She does her hair, does her makeup, feels like herself again for the first time since they landed back in 2019, and hopes that this is something that could continue. Allison will not lie and says she isn’t accustomed to the finer things in life. She’s more than willing to do what it takes to keep it.

As she descends the stairs to dinner, she takes in the room, as she’s sure that most eyes are on her. Just how she likes it. She focuses her attention on those sitting at the head of the table. The prince, she assumes, is an imposing man with dark hair and gold eyes who almost seems like he can look right through her. To his right is a beautiful woman with long dark hair. They complement each other perfectly, in their dress and with the way they’re observing her.

Part of her almost thinks they seem to approve of her making an entrance. The rest of the table seems less than pleased.

“Allison. Welcome.” Wrath gestures to the empty seat at the table. “I take it the accommodations are to your liking.”

“They are.” She reaches the seat and slides into it, crossing one leg over the other. “I thank you for your hospitality. Though, given where we are, it leaves me to wonder if there’s a catch.”

He raises an eyebrow at her boldness. “And why would you say that?”

“For one, this is Hell. From what all the religions like to say, this is suffering. While I’m sure it’s true for someone, somewhere, I’ve never found fine accommodations and beautiful clothes unpleasant.” She tips her head to the side. “But I noticed that those who stay here are expected to meet a certain standard. I wanted to show that I could rise to the occasion.”

“Adaptable,” the princess says, a smile of approval crossing her features. “I like that.”

Allison smiles as well, glad to see that she is winning approval somewhere. Dinner dissolves into normal conversation, and she does her best to keep an ear on the gossip, trying to find morsels of things that may be relevant later. But as the diners eventually depart, the Princess makes her way to the end of the table and rests her hand on Allison’s.

“I would like to speak with you privately. Come to my chambers in a few hours?”

“Of course.” Allison doesn’t feel that she’s in a place or position of power enough to say no, at least not yet. The Princess nods in agreement before taking her leave, with only Allison and Anir remaining at the table.

“She’s … not like the rest of the people here, is she?”

Anir raises an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting assessment for someone who’s been here less than a day.”

Allison raises an eyebrow back at him. “I’m thinking that I am, too. I’m not here just because wrath is my sin. I’m here because I have something to offer them.”

Anir’s quiet, before shrugging. “With the mortal world ending, things have been complicated. But, no, you’re not wrong to have the impression that there’s something they want from you. I would hear the Princess out, see what you think for yourself.”

Allison nods, before getting to her feet and heading towards the stairs. Her heels click against the marble floors, but before she ascends, she stops.

“The Princess’s chambers?”

Anir smirks. “Forgetting your tour already?”

Allison gives him a mild look, as he turns to fall in step next to her. “I’m sorry. I was still thawing from the ice tunnel I had to walk through to get here.”

“Fine, I’ll show you again.” He glances back over his shoulder as he jogs up the stairs. “Maybe this time take notes.”

Allison rolls her eyes before turning to follow. She still probably doesn’t know if she can trust him, but at least someone here has a sense of humor.

* * * * *

A few hours later, as requested, Allison comes to the Princess’s door and knocks. A few moments later, the door opens, and the Princess appears, dressed down from her appearance at dinner earlier that day, but not completely casual. She smiles before stepping to the side and gesturing for the other woman to come in.

“Allison. Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for having me, your Highness.” A beat. “That is the title for princesses, right?”

“Emilia, please. If you’re comfortable being that informal.”

“I am if you are.” Allison releases the breath she’s been holding as she walks in, taking in Emilia’s sitting room. It’s tasteful decorated, but a few more personal touches than the rest of the house. Likely because this space is personal to her.

“You were right, at dinner, to call out that you being here isn’t a common occurrence. Most need to work their way up the ranks, and in House Wrath that can involve spilling literal blood on your climb to the top.” Emilia circles the room, gesturing to the pot next to her. “Tea?”

“No, thank you.” It’s possible that refusing it is rude, but she should be careful what she eats or drinks until she’s more comfortable. Emilia doesn’t seem to take offense to it, and pours herself a cup. “I’m not afraid of hard work, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No, I don’t think you are. But you and other mortals like you, who were born on that day in October, under those circumstances…we’re not really sure what you are. We’re not sure we can measure you by the same rules.”

It’s not the first time Allison’s entertained the idea that she might not be human. So many theories about how the Umbrellas and the Sparrows happened float around, but now Allison understands the pieces on the board. Forty-three of them, to be specific.

“What do you need from me? Persuading my siblings' loyalty?” That might not be possible. She didn’t exactly leave them on the best terms.

Emilia shakes her head. “They’re going to join the houses they join. Wrath can’t claim those who do not share kinship with him. But with all of those power shifting because of the abilities of you and those like you, we would like to ensure your loyalty.”

Allison can read between the lines of what she’s saying. She’s trying to ensure that if other houses attempt to use her siblings against them, she’ll be able to hold firm with House Wrath. That she won’t betray them for those who have had her loyalty longer. Allison’s eyes drop to her dress, fingers clenching in the fabric. As much as her siblings have her anger, she doesn’t know if she could fully stab them in the back.

“Most of the people like me I don’t care about. Move those pieces however you want. But…I can’t make that promise with my family.” Better to be honest than to lie and make things worse. As much as Allison is a gifted liar, she’s not sure it’s worth the risk.

“The names of your family?”

“Luther, Diego, Klaus, Five, Ben and Viktor Hargreeves.” A pause. “Also, Lila Pitts.”

Emilia nods. “Lila has been eyed for House Wrath.”

“Good choice.”

“Five has been taken by Pride, Klaus by Gluttony and Viktor, Envy.”

“That … also tracks.”

“Pride and Gluttony can be allies, when prompted. Envy, though…”

Allison nods. She and Viktor ended with a rather broken relationship, but even with her being unwilling to forgive, she won’t offer him up on a platter, either. “I can’t. I won’t trade him just to jump the line. So if it means me starting at the bottom, then so be it.”

Emilia’s face softens briefly, possibly even with an understanding of the predicament Allison is in. But she respects her choice and nods as she gets to her feet. Meeting over, Allison stands as well.

“Then that starts tomorrow.” Emilia walks Allison to the door. “I hope you’re prepared to get messy.”

Allison nods. Messy she can handle. “Bring it on.”

Edited 2022-10-02 19:30 (UTC)

Kady’s been in jail for two days. That’s two more days than Kady expected being in jail for.

It is her own fault. After parting ways with Julia after everything that happened, she’s worked with the wrong people. Which has naturally led to them screwing her over and making her take the fall for their ill-gotten gains. In most towns, she’d be able to sweet-talk her way out of trouble.

But not in Rexxentrum.

It’s clear that the miscreants she’s aligned herself with aren’t coming back for her at this point. Which means she’s on her own. She’s been spending most of her time in the cell trying to craft her way out of this joint.

Seduce the guard and steal his keys? Hide in plain sight? While they took her personal effects, she still has a few select spell items hidden in her clothes. The boning and structure of her dress are crafted with copper wire. She could break off a piece and cast send a message to … who? Julia? The crew that abandoned her?

Yeah, neither of those options is appealing.

She’s in the middle of weighing her options when a pair of guards drag in another prisoner and set them in the cell across from her. When they clear away, resting on the wooden bench, a blond woman had her hands pressing into her side. Kady could make out the bright red stain of blood against her pale skin, and while she doesn’t particularly care what happens to most prisoners, she’s generally against people dying if she can help it. But the guards don’t seem to have the same morals, and have done their job of depositing her and walking away.

“Hey, hey!”

Kady picks up the small metal bowl they had given them for their breakfast and chucks it at the Crownsguard’s head. It hits its target, striking him in the back of his metal helmet, and angry eyes turn on her.

“What?!”

“That prisoner over there isn’t looking so good.” Kady points to the cell across from her. “You should get her a cleric.”

“Do you think we have the money to spare for a cleric?” the guard rolls his eyes. “She’s not dead.”

“But she will be, if you don’t do something.”

The blond looks up at her and shakes her head. “I’m fine.” Her voice is shaky, and she sounds like she’s anything but fine. “I’ve still got a couple more hours before I pass out from the blood loss.”

Kady smirks at the faint dry candor to her tone and then looks back at the guard. “See? If you’re not going to call a cleric, at least let me do something for her.”

“You’re a cleric?”

“No. I’m a bard. Bards can heal, but not from a distance.” That isn’t technically true, but Kady is banking on the guard, not being well-learned in different magics. “If you put me in her cell, I’ll make sure someone doesn’t die on your watch.”

The guard rolls his eyes. “Step back from the door.”

Kady does as she’s told, holding up her hands as the dry metal scrapes across the stone floor. The guard takes her roughly by the arm, pulls her to the opposite cell and deposits her inside. Kady immediately moves to the woman’s side and casts Cure Wounds, stitching up the woman’s wound. The blond relaxes with a slow breath, before nodding.

“Thank you.” She waits until the guard disappears around the corner before she continues: “But we both know you could have done that with a Healing Word from across the way.”

“Yeah, we know that. But he clearly didn’t know that.” Kady smirks. “And now we can talk without shouting at each other.”

The blond nods. “Smart.” She holds up her hand in a wave. “Alice.”

“Kady. A bit cliché, but what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

“Long story, but I could ask you the same.”

Kady leans forward, making sure the Crownsguard isn’t coming back before she sighs. “Some people I thought were my friends talked me into a job only to have me take the fall for it.”

Alice nods. “I was trying to get into the library at the Solstryce Academy. But apparently they haven’t warmed up to me since I was a student.”

Kady frowns, not sure what to make of that story. “And they stabbed you for it?”

Alice glances down at the bloodstained hole in her clothes where her wound used to be. “Well, I may have been trying to get myself into this ultra-exclusive portion of the library to see what one of my old teachers was working on, and shockingly, I’m not one of the stealthiest people.”

Her tone shows that’s not supposed to be very shocking. Kady nods, because she knows the feeling.

“Maybe we can help each other?” Kady asks. “You help me figure out a way for us to break out of jail, and I’ll help you get to the heavy duty magic stuff.”

Alice raises an eyebrow. “You don’t even know why I want it.”

Kady probably should be more careful about things like this, but right now she wants out of jail more. And if Alice went to the Solstryce Academy, that means she probably knows more about the jail than she does. Especially since the Academy doesn’t seem to have been fond of her.

“It’s none of my business.” Kady shrugs. “And I’ve met people who’ve wanted to use magic to do bad things. Some of them are in that academy. I don’t think you’re one of them.”

Alice nods. “Another problem: I’m a wizard, not a bard or a sorcerer. Which means I need my spell book and my casting materials and they generously relieved me of that when they were making me a prisoner. I don’t think even you have everything you need to get us out of here.”

“Yeah, this is not my first time in jail.” Kady reaches down and pulls off her boot, before swirling the bottom to reveal a hidden compartment full of assorted spell focuses she might need to have hold of. “I think I’m covered. I’ll handle the magic, if you’re familiar enough with this jail to have a way out.”

Alice holds her gaze for a minute, before nodding. “Yeah. I think I can make that work.”

“Good. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

* * * * *

Getting let out of their cell seems to be easy enough. It’s not the brightest members of the Crownsguard that are employed to monitor the prisoners, especially ones that have supposedly been stripped of all their spell ingredients. So all it really requires is a quick invisibility spell and waiting until the guard notices they’re “missing.” It’s not long before the door to they open the cell so they can search, and quietly, the two of them slip through the door and further into the cells itself.

“This way,” Alice murmurs, keeping her voice low. “There’s a back door.”

Kady nods, keeping close on her heels. “So guess I was right to peg you as a troublemaker.”

Alice rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t. Not really. But I had plans that were bound to get me into trouble so this—friend. He told me all the ways out.”

Kady senses from the way she talks about him he was more than just a friend. But she seems uncomfortable talking about him, but Kady doesn’t push. Not her place. Instead, they just focus on winding their way through the back hallways until they reach a metal ladder built into the wall. Kady frowns.

“What the hell is this?”

“This is the backdoor to the library that they would theoretically use to funnel guards, if the Academy is under attack.”

Kady is also getting the sneaking suspicion that Alice might have gotten herself put in here on purpose. “I would also assume that they probably locked this door from the other side?”

“Probably. But I’m willing to bet you know a Knock spell?”

“That spell makes a lot of noise.”

“There’s also a Silence spell.”

“Knock doesn’t work without you saying the incantation. And it also counts as casting a spell, which means we lose our invisibility.”

“Maybe, but this is our only way out. Unless you want to sneak out through the front door where they have magic nullification at every other entrance.”

Kady huffs before climbing up the ladder to the trapdoor. “Fine. But you better be ready to haul ass.” Alice nods as she comes up behind her, and Kady takes a deep breath before dropping the invisibility and murmuring the incantation for Knock under her breath.

She raps her knuckles against the door and hears the lock on the other side slide open. She also hears the loud, echoing knock that definitely carries down back towards the guard station that they snuck past.

Swearing softly under her breath, she pushes the trap door up and open and tumbles out into a quiet annex of the library. She reaches down to pull Alice out after her, and as soon as they close the door, she casts invisibility on both of them again, gripping the other woman’s wrist to get her to stay calm and still.

The guards come by to investigate the sound, and they retreat quietly back into the stacks. Soon, with nothing to find on their own, they talk about going to gather magic users who might be better equipped to handle the situation, and Alice nods to Kady.

“Let’s go. What I’m looking for is close to here.”

Kady nods and follows Alice through the twists and turns of the library until they eventually come to a stop in front of an office door.

“It’s magically trapped,” Alice explains. “Do you think you could—”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think Knock is strong enough for this.” She reaches up and pulls a pair of bobby pins out of her hair. Running her fingers along the edge of the door frame, she delicately undoes the trap triggers she can find before sliding the pins into the lock. She works slowly, waiting to feel the give the way they had taught her, and sighs when she hears the final click.

“Okay. I think it’s open.”

“Check that again.” Alice moves closer. “Are you sure?”

Kady turns the doorknob and pushes it open gently, holding her breath and prepared to dive out of the way if necessary. When the doorframe doesn’t explode in a fireball, she gestures with her hands.

“See? We did it.” She smirks. “Sometimes magic isn’t everything.”

* * * * *

It takes about twenty minutes for them to find what Alice came for in the first place, and then another hour for them safely to wind their way out of the Academy and into the streets of Rexxentrum. Kady’s invisibility drops at a certain point, but by then, they were so far from the point of their arrest that it doesn’t matter. Another hour after that, and they stop for a meal at a tavern on their way out of Rexxentrum, where they intend to go their separate ways.

“Oh, wait!” Kady looks up from her beer, frowning. “What about your spell book?”

Alice shakes her head. “It was a duplicate. Only had the spells I needed for the job. My real one is safe and sound.”

“Smart,” Kady nods. “Then again, wizard.” She pauses as she takes another pull of her drink. “You said you went to the Academy, right? So why not sign up with the Assembly after?”

Alice shakes her head. “I didn’t actually graduate. Something happened and I couldn’t bring myself to stay.” The blond finishes her own ale and sighs. “I found something new, though. Something better.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Alice drums her fingers against the table. “I think we worked really well together. Maybe you should join, too. It’s called the Cobalt Soul?”

Kady’s eyebrows go up, and she nods. “I’ve heard of them. But I don’t think they’re for me. I’m not great at flying under the radar.” It goes against her bardic instincts. She’d much rather make a scene.

“That’s a shame. I think they could use more people who think outside the box.” Alice shrugs. “But if I need your help with something in your area of expertise…?”

Kady nods. “I’d be open to it. I don’t know where I’m going to end up yet, but you could always use a Sending.”

Alice nods. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She holds out a hand as she gets to her feet. “It was nice meeting you, Kady.”

Kady nods and shakes her hand. “You too, Alice.” Alice nods as she turns to go, heading back out into the city, when Kady realizes that there’s no reason this partnership can’t go both ways. “Wait. What’s your specialty?”

Alice raises an eyebrow, before dropping her voice. “Necromancy.”

Kady nods and gives her another wave, before turning her attention back to her food again, quietly hoping that she never needs Alice’s help with something like that.

Edited 2022-10-07 22:41 (UTC)

"That was not my intention."

“Wynonna!”

“Oh, you are hammered.” Wynonna grins as she catches her sister, rescuing Waverly from falling completely to the ground. Waverly spins them in a circle before pulling back with a bright smile.

“It’s m’birthday,” she says with a nod. “I’m allowed to get a little hammered.” Then her grin turns saucy. “And maybe a little nailed—”

“Okay, what you and Nicole do in the privacy of your own bedroom is not for me to hear about when I’m still completely sober.” Wynonna points to the bar. “If you’re going to talk about that, we’re doing shots.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Waverly follows Wynonna to the bar, and what follows is, in fact, a great deal of shots. Possibly more than Waverly should have had, given how much she’s already consumed. Her head is going to hate her for it in the morning, but she’s needed a night of not being wound so tight.

Sometimes it sucks to be the responsible one, and you shouldn’t have to be responsible for your birthday.

A few hours later, she’s sobering up some as she and Wynonna sit next to the bonfire, wrapped in blankets. She shifts, resting her head against Wynonna’s shoulder with a sigh. “I missed you. I’m glad you could come.”

“I would not have missed this for the world.” Wynonna squeezes her hand gently. “It’s my favorite person’s birthday. There’s no place else I’d rather be.”

The phrasing of that strikes something in her. “Can I tell you what I want for my birthday next year, even though it's still my birthday?”

Wynonna snorts. “It’s your birthday, kid. You make the rules.”

“Mmmm. Next year for my birthday, I want you to take me somewhere.”

“Take you somewhere?” Wynonna raises an eyebrow. “Like where? The moon?”

“No, silly.” Waverly shrugs. “I’ve never been anywhere. And now Nicole can’t take me anywhere, but you can.” Her head lifts so that she’s looking her sister in the eye. “It can be an annual thing. Our birthdays are so close together, maybe it can be an Earp Sister Birthday Adventure.”

Wynonna grins. “I’d like that. Any preferences about where you want to go?”

“Somewhere not Purgatory. And also not in the Ghost River Triangle.”

“That’s a very broad category, but I think I can make it work.” A beat. “You’re probably not going to remember this when you wake up, will you?”

Waverly shakes her head. “Nope. Probably not.” Waverly knows herself when she’s drunk, and she’s not that sober yet.

Wynonna nods before kissing the top of her head. “Good. It’ll be a surprise.”

Waverly nods as she closes her eyes. “Just make sure you clear it with Nicole first.”

“Always.”

Waverly drifts off not long after that, basking in the comfort of having her favorite person around.

* * * * *

“You packed, baby girl?”

“Packed?” Waverly glances up at Wynonna, brow furrowing with confusion. She can’t help but feel like she’s forgetting something. If it’s something that she has to pack for, you would think that Waverly would have had knowledge of it in the past. But nothing is connecting, and Wynonna grins.

“You don’t remember.”

“Don’t remember what?”

“Last year, on your birthday, you asked me to come kidnap you for a birthday trip for the two of us.”

Waverly blinks, because she doesn’t remember this conversation. “How drunk was I? Wait, how drunk were you? You remembered.” It’s a roller coaster of emotion, ranging from confusion to surprise to happiness, but honestly, Waverly is touched. She shouldn’t be surprised that her sister remembered something important to her, but with Wynonna’s track record, it’s better to embrace the wins rather than remembering the disappointments.

“You were very drunk. I was not very, and of course I remembered.” Wynonna slings an arm around her shoulders. “And I even cleared it with Nicole behind your back to make sure that your schedule was clear and that I wouldn’t get arrested on the way out of town.”

“Aww,” Waverly smiles at both of them. “Thanks, guys. This is probably the best gift I’ve gotten in a long time.”

“Of course.” Nicole presses a kiss to her temple as she passes by. “Just send me all the pictures, okay?”

“Deal.” Waverly waits until Nicole passes out of the room before turning back to her sister. “So, where are we going? How much do I have to pack? What do I have to pack for?”

“Before you get too excited, we’re just going to Minneapolis.” Wynonna holds up her hands. “We’ll start small and save up for the big stuff, alright?”

Waverly tries to smother her excitement somewhat, as she’s never been to Minneapolis, but the promise of there being more is just as exciting, and she throws her arms around her sister to hug her tightly. “Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“I have an inkling. You only ask for the stuff you really want when you’re drunk.” Wynonna presses a kiss to her temple. “Go get packing. We’ll want to leave in an hour if we want to make good time.”

“Yes ma’am,” Waverly grins, before bouncing up to her room to pack. This is probably going to be one of her best birthdays in a long time. She can’t wait to get started.

* * * * *

They hit the road on time and while there’s a minor hiccup at the edge of the Ghost River Triangle, to make sure Waverly can make it through without losing all her memories, the rest of the trip flows pretty smoothly. Nicole gets pictures from various landmarks like the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden or a game at TCF Bank Stadium. There’s also the fair share of bars, because it’s not an Earp adventure without a bit of alcohol.

Their last night in town, they find a spot for dinner with a decent view of the Grand Rounds Byway, so they can see the bridge over the water. As Wynonna returns to their table with drinks from the bar, she gives her sister a little nudge.

“So. A good birthday trip for a first go?”

Waverly smiles back at her before nodding. “Yeah. It was everything I wanted it to be.”

“You really need to stop setting the bar so low, Waves.” Wynonna settles into her seat and sips her whiskey. “There are way cooler things to see out there that aren’t Minneapolis.”

Waverly laughs. “Yeah, but you said we were saving up for those. And considering I completely forgot, I asked you for this and you totally could have gotten away with getting me another gift certificate for nerd books, as you so eloquently but it, it’s definitely exceeded expectations.”

“I’m trying to get better at that,” Wynonna nods. “I’ll admit I’ve been a shitty sister.”

“You weren’t shitty. You just weren’t always thoughtful. Those are two different things.”

“Are they though?” Wynonna asks.

“Of the two sisters I’ve had, you’re the one who hasn’t tried to kill me, so yeah, I think I know what a shitty sister is.” Waverly pauses as she reaches over and takes her hand. “And this trip wouldn’t mean nearly as much to me if we weren’t doing it together.”

“Making up for lost time.” Wynonna nods and squeezes her hand back. “I get it.”

“Do you think we could swing through Miracle on the way home?” Waverly offers a hesitant smile. “I haven’t seen Alice since… well, she was Alice.” And she makes a gesture to show a small baby that would fit in her arms.

“Might take an extra day to get home.”

“I’ll let Nicole know that demons have not kidnapped us. We’re just taking a detour.” Waverly smiles as she turns to watch the sunset, keeping Wynonna close. Tomorrow they’ll get in Wynonna’s truck and head off to see Gus and then return home to her wife and her life. And Waverly knows nothing would make her happier until the next year comes around again.

One trip down, hopefully many more to go.

Edited 2022-10-08 16:03 (UTC)

"How would that even work?"

“This the place?”

Breanna looks over at Sophie with trepidation, and Sophie could understand why. Though it’s already evening, they can feel the heat of the desert rolling off the sands, and the statues and structures lit up by black light give the space an eerie sort of glow. But if this is where they need to find the man who can help them save their client, then this is what they have to do.

“Are you sure about this?”

“If this is where your friends at DedSec said he’d be, then I’m sure.” Sophie tips her head to the side. “Are you?”

“I guess I just didn’t think that Swelter Skelter was your scene?”

“Oh, darling, this is hardly my first rager.” She glimpses through the windshield of the car, taking in the costumes and making sure her look is on point. Then she flips down the window to smudge up her makeup a little more. “Besides, this is what the job requires. And when you do something you’re unaccustomed to, you adapt.”

“Right. Adapting. I can adapt.” Breanna takes a deep breath. “There’s also the fact that he’s probably going to be pretty stoned, so I don’t know how much useful information we’re going to get out of him.”

“Then we take him with us, and ask him when he’s sober.”

There’s a pause. “Sophie, that’s kidnapping.”

“It’s not kidnapping if it’s consensual.” Sophie pushes open the door of the car and starts making her way towards the rest of the party. “Watch and learn.”

Breanna shouts over her shoulder. “You’re terrifying, you know that?”

Sophie smirks as she continues to head out onto the sand. “So they continue to say.”

* * * * *

Finding Raymond Kenney really is the challenge in it all. For one, he’s not using his real name, and an alias can change—she would know. For two, everyone is in costume, and given that she’s not intimately familiar with his face, it might be hard to find it through the makeup and strobe lights. But, Sophie has recognized less familiar people in worse circumstances—she thinks she can manage this one. She and Breanna part ways as they make their way into the party, agreeing to send up a flare if they find their target.

It takes a little wandering, a few conversations going nowhere, and she spots a face that might be her man. Long shaggy hair, thick makeup, and a hat covering most of his face, but still. That’s close enough to the image provided. Giving her hair a bit of a fluff she strides her way over, offering a small smile.

“Have room for one more?”

There’s a process to these things. A rhythm that’s easy to fall into. He gives her the once over. She plays coy. He offers her a drink, and by round two, he’s spilling all of his dirty secrets—or that would be, but it’s hard to run the usual playbook when the mark cuts you off at the pass.

“You don’t seem like a Breanna.”

“I’m not.” Sophie tips her head to the side curiously. “But I am a friend of hers. I take it DedSec warned you we were coming.”

“Wrench isn’t usually one to hang a guy out to dry. Though he mentioned Breanna had a partner who gave hot and scary a whole new meaning.”

Sophie smiles, pleased that she left an impression. “I knew we were building a rapport.”

Ray laughs before tipping his head to the side. “Let’s take this out of the public eye, shall we?”

“Where are you?” Breanna’s voice came over the headset. “I’m stuck in a mosh pit.”

“Let’s,” Sophie nods, taking his offered hand to follow him away.

“Wait! Don’t go in there alone! We don’t know this guy.”

Sophie doesn’t respond to her and lets her instincts lead. Ray is someone they’re trying to make an ally of, not an enemy. And she’d like to think that he’s of the same intent. And if he turns out to be not who she thought he was, well. She has an exit for that, too. She lets Ray pull her off to a quiet corner of the party, and gestures for her to take a seat next to him.

“That’s a lot of trust to place in a stranger.”

“Well, trust is necessary if we’re going to be friends.”

“Is that why you’re here? To be friends, not pump me for information?”

“I need your help,” Sophie admits. “But I believe we’re on the same side. I’d hope that eventually, you saw the same.”

“And you’re making a pitch in the middle of all this?”

“I’m a tad unconventional. While I believe it’s important to set the scene, I also am the type to make do with what I’m handed.”

“And what exactly do you want from me?”

“We need information on your former employer.”

Ray raises an eyebrow before taking a swig of his beer. “Google is free.”

“You and I both know that Google doesn’t have the information we need.”

“That still sounds like a you problem.” Ray holds up his fingers. “You’ve clearly got some hackers on your side. Why don’t you have them hack away?”

“Oh, we’ve tried. Both Breanna and Hardison have been banging their heads against firewalls for weeks now. But I think I can persuade you to lend a hand.”

Ray tips his head to the side curiously. “And why would you say that?”

“Because you don’t strike me as the man who enjoys leaving a job unfinished. And if all goes according to plan, we stand to make quite a bit of money from this job.”

“You think money can persuade me?”

“I think the power to disappear can persuade you, and money affords you the ability to do that.”

“Funny that you jumped right over trying to argue about ‘doing the right thing.’”

“Oh, I think you tried doing the right thing, and it didn’t work out so well for you. I think if you were concerned about doing the right thing, you would already be dead because Blume would have already found you.”

“That’s a cold way of looking at things.”

“Is it wrong?” Sophie crosses one leg over the other as she resettles. “Come back with me. Hear Breanna and Hardison’s plan. If you don’t think it’s viable, then we part ways and you don’t have to risk yourself further.”

“Answer me one thing first.” He turns to face her more. “Why Blume? I’ve heard of your little crew. You go after the big guns, sure, but what made you want to take on Blume?”

“We have a client in need.” Sophie replies, because the answer is that simple. But also: “And, its predictive algorithms are causing big problems for us. Companies are starting to Leverage-proof themselves, and we can’t have them slipping out of trouble any more than they already are.”

“So you decide to chase the white whale.” Ray shakes his head. “I have to say—I admire the gumption. But I think all you’re going to do is get yourself killed.”

“The offer stands.” Sophie fishes out her card with her phone number and address for their headquarters on it. “If you decide you want to help, you know where to find us.”

Breanna appears at the entrance to their hidey hole, and Sophie gets to her feet to meet her. As the two of them make their way back to the car, Breanna glances at Sophie over the top of the car.

“Do you think he’ll bite?”

Sophie shrugs. “I think he’s intrigued. But whether he’ll bite is up to no one but him.”

“If he doesn’t—”

“We’ll find another way.” Sophie slides into the driver’s seat. “But I wouldn’t count our friend Mr. Kenney out yet.”

Let’s just hope that her intuition about people isn’t about to be proven wrong.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 4

prompts { 2022 } fictober

Request plurk
Completed: 31/31
Word Count: 63,823

REQUESTS

Re: REQUESTS

Re: REQUESTS

no subject

no subject

one more....becomes two more....becomes more more because no one else is claiming and i'm greedy

no subject

10/1 ~ i chose you ~ felderwin ~ 2,430

no subject

no subject

10/2 ~ nobody warned you about me? ~ darkest timeline (original timeline) ~ 1,446

claiming two more bc i miss our sisters :c but if i have taken too many pls ignore

10/3 ~ that was not my intention ~ felderwin ~ 3,428 ~ part 1

10/3 ~ that was not my intention ~ felderwin ~ 3,428 ~ part 2

10/1

no subject

10/4 ~ how would that even work? ~ dctv ~ 1,985

no subject

10/5 ~ no, anything but that. ~ puppy love ~ 2,563

10/6 ~ adaptable. i like that. ~ the umbrella academy/kingdom of the wicked ~ 2,006

10/7 ~ check that again, are you sure? ~ felderwin ~ 2,197

10/3

10/8 ~ do you remember? ~ wynonna earp ~ 1,344

10/4

10/9 ~ sounds like a you problem ~ leverage/watch_dogs ~ 1,324

prompts { 2022 } fictober

Request plurkCompleted: 31/31Word Count: 63,823

REQUESTS

Re: REQUESTS

Re: REQUESTS

no subject

no subject

one more....becomes two more....becomes more more because no one else is claiming and i'm greedy

no subject

10/1 ~ i chose you ~ felderwin ~ 2,430

no subject

no subject

10/2 ~ nobody warned you about me? ~ darkest timeline (original timeline) ~ 1,446

claiming two more bc i miss our sisters :c but if i have taken too many pls ignore

10/3 ~ that was not my intention ~ felderwin ~ 3,428 ~ part 1

10/3 ~ that was not my intention ~ felderwin ~ 3,428 ~ part 2

10/1

no subject

10/4 ~ how would that even work? ~ dctv ~ 1,985

no subject

10/5 ~ no, anything but that. ~ puppy love ~ 2,563

10/6 ~ adaptable. i like that. ~ the umbrella academy/kingdom of the wicked ~ 2,006

10/7 ~ check that again, are you sure? ~ felderwin ~ 2,197

10/3

10/8 ~ do you remember? ~ wynonna earp ~ 1,344

10/4

10/9 ~ sounds like a you problem ~ leverage/watch_dogs ~ 1,324

Request plurk
Completed: 31/31
Word Count: 63,823