#buffalowizardssalad

[captainkappa]

For anyone interested, I’m uploading most of my old Buffalo Wizards fanfic onto AO3

[wildh10l]

Deadbones Has Feelings

Also known as "Wild attempts to write a fluffy Valentine's Day fic at 2am." SFW

--------------------------

If any of his friends heard about the situation Deadbones was in, they would have laughed. Because Deadbones did not worry about having feelings for people. He never had any trouble charming pretty much anyone he wanted into bed. And he definitely did not get hung up on people he couldn’t have. And yet here he was. Caught up on his best friend, for god’s sake! The feelings had crept up on him, lying in the back of his mind, growing as the days went on. Maybe it was because it had been so long since he actually had feelings for someone that it took him so long to realize what it was. Because one day, Deadbones was hanging out with Rob and it was all fine. They were playing video games at Rob’s place like they always did when they both had free time. But as they grew bored of playing Minecraft and they sat back on the couch, Rob looked over at Deadbones. “I’m thinking of asking out Nisovin,” Rob grinned at him. “What d’ya think?” And suddenly, like a huge wave crashing over him, anger and frustration welled up into Deadbones. He made a face, confused for a second by what he was feeling. Rob watched him, smile slipping off his face at Deadbones’ reaction. “Is it really that bad of an idea?” he asked, less confident. Deadbones blinked at him for a moment and then smirked. “No, no, just had something weird in my mouth,” brushing off Rob’s concern. “Anyways, are you kidding? That’s a great idea! Can’t believe it took you this long!” And that got Rob going on about his feelings for Nisovin and how he was planning on asking him out and so on. Deadbones’ only half paid attention, managing to nod and smile at all the right points. He mostly tried to understand why his brain seemed to be screaming No! at him every time he agreed with Rob about Nisovin. Even as he left Rob’s place, hours later, Deadbones was still trying to figure out what had come over him during that conversation. He finally gave up as he got home, putting it back to the back of his mind. But it kept coming back to him. When he got off the phone with Rob after Nisovin had said yes, Deadbones felt the inexplicable need to punch something. Or when Rob wanted help trying to figure out what to wear for his and Nisovin’s first date, Deadbones could barely get through the hour of helping with a smile on his face when instead, he really felt like glaring at both Rob and his wardrobe. Or when they hung out with all their friends and decided to go to the bar together and Deadbones ordered almost double what he would usually order simply because he needed some sort of distraction from noticing how close Rob and Nisovin always were. But it took Rob and Nisovin kissing at a party everyone was attending for Deadbones to realize what was going on. He took one look at the couple, taking in how happy not only Nisovin looked but also Rob and he excused himself from the couple of ladies he had been chatting up. He pushed his way through the crowd impatiently and making his way outside onto the balcony. With a sigh, he leaned on the railing, listening to the faint music coming through the door behind him as he took a sip of the shitty alcohol in the cup he held in his hand. And that's when it hit him. He was jealous. He, the great Deadbones who was notorious for not being affected by that kind of stuff, was jealous. A completely unheard of situation. Because to be jealous, that meant he had to have feelings. Feelings, for his best friend. His best friend, who was in a happy relationship with the guy he’d been wanting for ages. Deadbones growled in frustration, kicking at the railing. What the fuck was he supposed to do about it now? Dealing with feelings was a completely new situation for him. “That’s quite the violent behaviour there,” said someone from behind Deadbones. Deadbones whipped around, almost spilling his drink. He recognized Roamin who was leaning back against the wall of the house, watching him with a smirk on his face. “It’s almost like you’re angry about something,” Roamin went on, amused. “Shut up Roamin,” snapped Deadbones. Roamin smirked wider and Deadbones realized his mistake. “Looks like I was right,” Roamin said. “I wonder, is that anger the same anger that made you run out of the house even though you were talking to a couple of pretty looking ladies?” “I said, shut up Roamin. I don’t need this right now.” Deadbones ground out. “And i wonder, does it have something to do with the fact that our happy couple was kissing in front of you?” Roamin continued, ignoring Deadbones’ protests. Deadbones glared at Roamin. “Whoops, looks like i hit a nerve there,” Roamin said, completely unapologetic. “So you’re not angry then, you’re jealous!” “Am not!” Deadbones exclaimed, denying the statement immediately. “Poor Deadbones! The feeling of jealousy finally affects him!” Roamin mocked, smirk still wide. “Well, I’m glad i got to see such an important event in person. I shall forever treasure this moment.” And with that, Roamin bowed slightly at Deadbones and then slipped back inside. Deadbones stayed out on the balcony for the rest of the night for the fresh air. Or at least that's what he told Rob when he came to get him when it was time to leave. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with avoiding a certain happy couple. Nope! As the months passed, Deadbones pushed it to the back of his mind, throwing himself into his work to avoid thinking about it. Until one day, Rob was knocking on his door with a bunch of junk food and pop in grocery bags and pushing his way inside when Deadbones opened the door. “Woah, hey man. What’s up, you ok?” Deadbones asked, closing the door and following Rob into the living room as he placed the bags on the table and then collapsed back onto the sofa. “Nisovin and I broke up,” Rob said quietly. Deadbones was ashamed at the selfish glee that flared up at Rob’s words. He shouldn’t be celebrating over his best friend’s break up. Best friends don’t do that to each other. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel relieved and glad that Rob and Nisovin broke up. With some effort, he pushed his own feelings to the side and sat down beside Rob, grabbing a bag of chips and placing it between them. He then began to get Rob to tell him what happened between him and Nisovin. Rob left the next morning, having slept on the sofa after binge eating and video game playing with Deadbones late into the night. It would take him some time, but Rob would be ok. Of that, Deadbones’ made sure of before he let Rob leave. Months passed after the break up and while Rob seemed to be fine, he didn’t make any move to ask anyone else out, nor accept any invitations he received. Something that Deadbones’ once again ashamedly was glad for. Because despite how long it had been, Deadbones knew he still had feelings for Rob. Not that he was going to do anything about it. No way. Rob obviously wasn’t on the market and besides, Deadbones’ didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Rob meant everything to him, and he would rather suffer silently through feelings than sacrifice their friendship. So Deadbones once again brushed everything aside and tried to forget about it when he could. He was pretty successful too, since both he and Rob had been pretty busy the last few months, meaning they hung out less often. Until, someone else came knocking on his door. “Roamin,” Deadbones groaned as Roamin pushed past and inside. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” Roamin looked over his shoulder at him and smirked as he walked into the livingroom and sat down on the sofa like he owned the place. “Remember our conversation on the balcony at the party?” Roamin asked innocently, looking up at Deadbones who was standing in the doorway. “Which party you talking about?” Deadbones asked, despite knowing exactly which conversation at which party Roamin was referring to. “Ok good, you do remember,” Roamin smirked, seeing straight through Deadbones’ bluff. “You should do something about it.” “Excuse me?” Deadbones snapped. “I don’t think you understand what you’re suggesting here.” “I understand exactly what I’m suggesting. I’m suggesting you do something about your jealousy,” Roamin replied, unbothered by Deadbones impatient tone. “How the hell do you even know I’m still jealous, that was ages ago!” Deadbones exclaimed. “Well i suppose you’re not jealous anymore,” Roamin admitted, “considering there’s no one to be jealous of. But you obviously still have feelings for him, so do something about it!” “I’m not taking a chance on ruining our friendship like that,” Deadbones replied, “not that I should ever need to tell you that.” Roamin pushed himself off the sofa and stood up, meeting Deadbones’ annoyed gaze with a smirk. “Valentine’s Day is coming up, Deadbones. I think you should do something about it, or Rob might hear it from the wrong person, if you know what I mean.” “Seriously?!” Deadbones exclaimed angrily. “Did you just threaten to tell Rob about my feelings?” Roamin brushed past Deadbones glare, back out towards the door. “That I did. Although, trust me, I know what I’m doing,” he smirked. “Which means I know this is a good idea, so really, you should be thanking me.” “Get out, Roamin,” Deadbones ground out. “Have a good day, Deadbones!” Roamin exclaimed cheerily as he stepped out the door. Deadbones slammed the door shut behind him before stalking back into the living room and collapsing onto the couch with a groan. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Other than murder Roamin the next time he saw him, of course. But, Valentine’s day was less than a week away. Which meant planning for anything elaborate was out of the question. He needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol. By the next morning, though, he had figured out a plan. Step one, call and ask Rob to see if he was free the sunday of Valentine’s Day. As luck had it, he was free. They made a plan to just chill like usual, candy, chips and pop galore. Step two, go out to the store the next day to buy said candy, chips and pop. Some specifically Valentine’s Day candy, chocolate kisses and some candy sweethearts, of course. And somehow, a single, red rose made it’s way into the basket. When asked if he wanted it wrapped by the store clerk, Deadbones accepted with a quiet nod. Step three, freak out and worry if he was doing the right thing and if this was really a good idea or not. And curse Roamin under his breath every two minutes. He was very good at step 3. Step four, take a shower and clean up and then figure out what to wear. Something clean but casual, so as to not look like a fool when Rob showed up completely casual. He settled the classic black button up shirt, the one that always made the girls look twice, and jeans. Step five, pace around his living room swearing at Roamin under his breath until the time Rob said he’d be over. Continue to pace restlessly, trying to rearrange everything and anything. Step six, almost have a heart attack when the knock on the door finally came. Step seven, play it cool until the right moment. They pulled out their favourite games, setting them up as they chatted about this and that. Deadbones grabbed the bag of chips and set it between them as they both collapsed on the couch to start playing. At one point, in a lull between rounds of the game they were playing, Rob looked over at Deadbones, “Where’s the candy, man? I need something to counter all the salt of these chips.” Deadbones got up and swore one last time at Roamin before grabbing the candy out of the shopping bag it was in and dropping it down beside the almost empty bag of chips. He sat back down, watching Rob out of the corner of his eye observing the candy. “Valentine’s Day candy, Deadbones? I’m flattered,” Rob teased. “Hey man, it is Valentine’s Day, might as well take advantage,” Deadbones defended. “If you say so,” Rob smirked, before ripping open the package of chocolate kisses. They sat back and started the game up again, as Deadbones tried to breathe slowly and calm his racing heart. He could have sworn Rob had looked at him strangely before they had started playing again, but Deadbones chalked it up as him projecting his own nerves onto Rob. The hours passed easily, Deadbones managing finally to calm down and settle into just hanging out. They ate their way through the junk Deadbones had bought and ordered a couple of pizzas for dinner. As they were fucking around in some random MMORPG, their respective laptops on their laps, Rob looked over at Deadbones. “You got any more of those kisses? They’re good.” And that set Deadbones’ heart pounding once more. It was now or never. With a quiet breath, and one more silent curse directed at Roamin, he sat up and placed his laptop on the table, turning and facing Rob. With a quizzical look, Rob sat up as well and placed his own laptop onto the table. “I only have one left,” Deadbones said, meeting Rob’s gaze, trying to see anything that would help him know that he wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of his life. “Alright, I’ll trade you,” Rob said, a small grin on his lips. Confused, Deadbones watched as Rob grabbed at something on the side table behind him. When Rob turned back, he offered Deadbones something small. Deadbones took it from Rob and realized it was a candy sweetheart. Now really confused, he looked back up at Rob. Rob nodded back at the candy and Deadbones looked back down. And then he read what the heart said. <3 Kiss me Deadbones eyes widened as he realized what Rob was trying to communicate. He looked back up at Rob, who had a soft, unsure smile on his face. Deadbones felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest, it was pounding so hard. He smiled softly at Rob as well and said, “alright, trade.” And with that, Deadbones leaned forward, reaching up to hold Rob’s chin in his hand, and pressed their lips together gently, questioning. And Rob replied by pressing his lips firmly against Deadbones’. Deadbones took the silent answer as permission and gently deepened the kiss, seeking entrance. Deadbones felt Rob’s hands on his shoulders dragging him closer and Rob’s lips opening up and he gasped softly. When they finally broke apart for air, their foreheads touching, they smiled at each other. After a moment, Deadbones moved away from Rob and reached beside the sofa to grab the rose that he had hidden there earlier, before Rob had come over. Deadbones slid back over to Rob and faced him. “Will you be my Valentine?” Deadbones asked quietly, as he offered the rose, wrapped in clear plastic with a simple red ribbon tied in a bow around the stem, to Rob. Rob smiled at Deadbones and accepted the rose. “Only if you have more kisses,” he teased. Deadbones found that that could be easily arranged. ---------------------------------------------- A/N So yea, this is a thing. My apologies if it's a bit all over the place, like i said, it was written at ungodly hours of the morning. I hope you all enjoyed this, somehow it got carried away from what i had planned to write, but i'm not complaining. Roamin also managed to end up being really snarky and mean in this fic, but whatev, that's what wanted to happen. Hope you enjoy! <3 Happy Valentine's Day ~Wild

[captainkappa]

RobTC (or BlamePause or whichever MC/BW pairing) Pirate war :)

BTC took another sip from his beer, grimacing at the taste. He didn’t know what he expected from a tavern in the middle of a tiny island that was mainly inhabited by pirates, but he wanted something better than the piss-water he was currently drinking. But he knew the Cracked Mind would only be there for another night, so he took another sip, knowing he’d have nothing else better to do for the rest of the night.

Almost immediately after he put down his drink, he heard from his left, a familiar voice. He wore a simple white shirt and dark red pants. The gold bands on his wrists clattered on the bar top.

“Hey Jarool.”

Blame closed his eyes briefly, sighing. For a brief moment, when they’d first ade port, he thought he’d gotten lucky.

He turned to face the speaker, who was grinning wide.

“Hello Captain Willakers,” he said, not trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.”

“No need for the formalities,” the captain said, smirking. “And, Jarool, I thought you’d be happier to see me.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m ecstatic to see the captain of the ship the Cracked Mind is in a war with.”

Willakers laughed, “Is that how Captain Guude described it to you guys? I told my men it’s more like a game of tag.”

BTC smirked, “If only it was that simple.”

The captain leaned closer to Blame until he was right up in his face.

“You know what else is simple?” the captain whispered. When Blame gave no reply, he continued, “Walking up to the room I rented for us to sped the night in.”

He leaned back, smiling at BTC’s scowl.

“Enemies usually don’t invite each other to their rooms,” Blame said, still scowling.

Willakers pouted, “What made you think we were enemies?”

Hw dug in his pocket, pulled out a could of coins to pay for his drink and after a moment, slid some over to Blame.

“Drink’s on me,” he said before getting up and walking to the back of the tavern, to where the stairs were.

He looked back to BTC, eyebrow raised. Blame looked down at his drink, then back to the captain.

“Fuck it,” he muttered, picking up his drink and downing it in one go before going over to the captain. He didn’t even look at him, going straight up the stairs.

“You better not call me Jarool,” he said when he reached the top.

“Then stop calling me Willakers,” the captain retorted, walking up after him.

“Fine… Rob.”

Rob smiled before pulling Blame with him to their room.

[theropodtheroblogs]

Rob/DB, Royal AU where Rob is Kind/high ranking lord and DB is a visiting lord who tends to have scandal follow him around

King Rob might have been too wary. Perhaps it was a bit much to have three different spies tagging after a visiting nobleman, but really, with the peace treaty so close to being signed he couldn’t afford another scandal in his palace. Especially not one from Deadbones, again.

Fucking hell, the monkey had nearly destroyed the last peace treaty he’d been trying to get passed with the neighbouring country thanks to the looks he’d been throwing the princess. And the prince. And the queen. Rob had been this close to stringing him up when negotiations failed.

So naturally, he had the man followed and carefully redirected from the palace during negotiations.

That didn’t really help when he was handed the paper the next day to screaming headlines that read:

LORD SEXBONES AT IT AGAIN: ELOPES WITH PRINCESS DURING PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

PRINCE ALSO SUSPECTED MISSING

“FUCKING DEADBONES! YOU FUCKING MONKEY!”

[captainkappa]

Fanfic- Beards in Hogwarts

*shrugs*

Hogwarts AU

--

“You know Steve, you should probably shave before the match,” the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain said, pointing to his chin, which hadn’t fully grown into a beard but was definitely more than a stubble.

Steve waved her off. “Nah, I’ll be okay.”

“Whatever you say, just don’t come crying to me when you’re not aerodynamic enough to catch the Snitch.”

Steve laughed as she walked to the locker rooms.

The next day, during the Ravenclaw VS Slytherin match, Steve was indeed the only one on the field with a beard.

And he thanked his lucky stars for it when the Snitch flew straight past him and the tip of its delicate wing snagged onto his beard, winning his team 150 points and the game.

He did not thank anyone when afterwords he had to rip off the Snitch, taking a chunk of hair with it, leaving a bald patch on his left cheek.

[coestaroutofcontext]

I'm Knight of the salad

Coestar, streamaday 483

[captainkappa]

Last one I promise, "I will savor the day I can watch you fall." Ship of your choice

Tbh, this is the one I was really ready to do. Deadbones and Rob, LoM setting

——-

"I will savor the day I can watch you fall."

Willakers’ eyes widened at the random comment from his drinking buddy for tonight who, ironically, could not drink a drop. He put down his drink and leaned on his elbows, staring straight at Deadbones, who was sitting in front of him.

He fumbled for words for a moment. “I… Did you… Come again?”

Deadbones mimicked his position, blood red eyes staring into brown ones.

"I said, I can not wait till you, and everyone really, falls," he drawled.

Willakers blinked, brain still trying to comprehend what his friend just said. He was only able to spit out, “Why?”

The other man shrugged, “Because that probably means I’m going to fall as well, which wouldn’t be all that bad at this point.”

His eyes glazed over as he got lost in thought, with Willakers looking confused at his friend.

"Are you… unhappy with life?" he asked tentatively.

Deadbones snapped out of his trance with a tilt of his head and a slight gasp. He shook any lingering thoughts or memories away, bringing his focus back to the other man. His carefree attitude snapped back into place.

"Not really," he replied with a shrug, "I’ve been alive a while, it’d be nice to be free."

A pause, then Rob voiced a question he’d had for a while, but had never had the time.

"How old are you?"

Deadbones smirked, something unsettling for an undead skeleton.

"A while… far to long for me to remember," he said, voice growing quietly as the weight of his words sunk in. "Still remember alcohol though… God I miss that."

His boney fingers played with the rim of an empty bottle, a small “tink” heard every time his hand hit glass. Willakers did the same, dragging the pads of his fingers up and down the neck of the bottle. The feel of his skin stretching just slightly, the simple touch seeming like so much more than usual.

Suddenly grabbing his bottle, he held it aloft.

"To you not being able to drink!" he proclaimed, putting on the voice he usually put on for speeches.

Deadbones grinned, holding an empty bottle with his. “I’ll drink to that.”

They clicked bottles, and as Willakers drank, he added one more toast to himself.

To learning more about Deadbones.

[captainkappa]

Fanfic:: Beauty and the Bear

Justin/Kyle, LoM setting where their skins are why they are (DB still skeletal and Kyle's a bear), Fluff and silliness, playing off a trope I'm surprised no one has done yet.

Thanks to Olivia and Lily for betaing!

-----

Not to mention, there was mistletoe everywhere, something Shay had “forgotten” to mention when she invited all the Lords (and Prince and Emissary) over for Nismas Eve.

The evening turned out to be fantastic; everyone enjoyed the huge meal that was served to them, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes; everything someone could hope for in a holiday dinner. Even Deadbones was enjoying himself, ever since Nisovin had found a spell that made him able to drink again. By the time all the Lords were done with dessert, there was nothing on their plates and Shay guessed the same could be said about her kitchen.

Thankfully, her wine cellar was fully packed, so they all convened in the parlor, the servants trailing behind with baskets of wine, to get absolutely drunk.

Larger than most of the rooms in the mansion, Shay requested it to be added on purely so she would have a grand space to entertain guests. Windows covered two out of the four walls, letting the light from the moon and stars in. The Nismas tree in the near left corner, the crystal chandelier above them, and the roaring fireplace to their right also provided light for them as they sat down. The couches and chairs were arranged in a vague semicircle around the coffee table that now held the drinks, facing the two entrances into the room, where a large painting was hung.

The Lords all entered the room, none of them side by side and none of them noticing the mistletoe hanging above their heads.

Shay tried to hide her disappointment as a servant popped open the first bottle. No one had walked under the mistletoe with someone else. It was by some miracle she had been the only person caught under the mistletoe and that was just absolutely unacceptable!

As the night went on and they all got more and more drunk and no one had walked under the mistletoe with someone else, Shay was just about to take matters into her own hands when Kyle and Justin both walked through the double-doorway leading into the parlor. She had forgotten that they had gone out separately.

"Stop!" she yelled, nearly out of her seat with excitement. She pointed at the doorway above their heads, waiting for them to look up.

The two lords did so, a confused look on both their faces. Kyle’s eyes widened and Justin’s mouth dropped open.

“Oooooh, this is better than I could have hoped for!” Shay said, giggling and practically bouncing in her seat.

Deadbones looked up from his beer as Shay continued to giggle. When he registered what was about to happen in front of him, he started grinning just as large as Shay.

"Hell yeah, Rob's about to pay me fifty gold diamonds,” he goaded, putting down his drink.

Rob looked up from his conversation with Coe upon hearing his name.

"Why am I gonna have to- oh, OH!" His eyes widened as he saw the mistletoe with Kyle and Justin underneath it, but then turned to glare at Deadbones.

"No wait, I bet forty diamonds that they'd kiss before New Year’s. I ain't paying you shit, DB."

"But you also bet ninety that they wouldn't be forced to kiss. So gimmie," Deadbones held out a hand, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Rob glanced at DB's skeletal hand, then at his own pockets, then to the lord and bearon still standing, and back to the hand.

"Is it really forced though?" he asked, hand slowly moving down to cover his pockets.

Deadens rolled his eyes, "If we walked through that door, we'd be forced to kiss too."

"But!” Roamin chimed in from the other side of the room, “Kissing under mistletoe is less forced and more... tradition!"

"They’re still being made to!" Deadbones exclaimed, throwing his other hand up, the other still held out, waiting for a pouch of gold diamonds.

Nisovin sighed, "They haven't even kissed yet!"

"Shut up, Nisovin, "Rob and Deadbones said simultaneously.

"Hey I already lost my bet,” Nisovin said, “Why don't we let them kiss, then decide who gets the money?"

Rob and Deadbones looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement. They and all the other lords turned to look at the door, where Kyle and Justin were still standing awkwardly. The two turned to look at each other.

"How come we didn't run while they were arguing?" Justin asked, breaking the silence.

“I… I also have money in the pot,” Kyle said, sounding unsure of himself.

Justin sighed, placing is head in his hands before looking back up to the bear.

"Why?" he asked, exasperated but unable to keep the small smile off his face.

Another shrug.

“I thought… I thought I might as well make a profit while they've been making all the jokes. So, anyway." Kyle clapped his paws together, "how do you want to do this?"

Justin looked at him up and down for a moment. "I guess... Just do it?"

"Works for me," the other said with a smile. Before Justin could react, Kyle lips were on his.

Justin’s eyes slid shut on automatic. It was as chaste of a kiss as it could get; lips closed, hands at their sides, nothing especially romantic about it, but then again, there wasn’t a lot romantic about kissing a bear.

Justin could vaguely hear Shay whooping from the sidelines, as well as several of the lords clapping and whistling. When he felt like the others had gotten their fill, he would pull away, but as awkward as the kiss felt, there was something nice about it. It probably had to do with the fact that he kinda sorta had a crush on his very furry friend (and boy was that a revelation, coming to terms with the fact that he wanted to be more than friends with a fucking bear).

He was about to pull away when Kyle forced him back, claws digging in for a moment as he pushed Justin back into the parlor.

His eyes flew open as he stumbled backwards, hitting Roamin in the chest and falling gracelessly into his arms. The other lords rushed from their seats with Nisovin running straight for Kyle, who was clutching at his head, pulling on his ears and breathing much quicker than he should have. Nisovin stopped just a foot away from the bear. He tried to comprehend what was happening, but was at a loss.

"You okay, Kyle?" Nisovin asked, eyes scanning the bear quickly.

"Yeah, I-" the bear growled in pain, paws clutching at his chest, "Oh they don't write this in the fairytales."

Nisovin looked behind him, shooting a questioning glance at Justin, who responded with a shrug, just as confused as the rest of them. He'd like to think his kisses weren't that bad.

Kyle fell to his knees, growls turning into groans as he continued to grip different parts of his body.

"Justin," he said suddenly rough gritted teeth, "I just want to say, thank-"

He cut himself off, screaming in pain and falling forward. Nisovin stepped closer, but stopped as a thick, white mist came out of nowhere, coming in between cracks between the door and the floor, through the windows, and down through the chimney, putting out the crackling fire in one go. The fog and mist, seemingly with a mind of their own, encircled the still breathing bear, climbing higher and higher until it was as tall as the doorway and completely blocking anyone's view of Kyle. Nisovin was about to bring a hand up to touch the mist when Rob rushed forward, scooping up the wizard and carrying him back to the rest of the group, who were all staring at the mist in rapt wonderment.

"This better not be one of your crazy schemes, Rob," Shay muttered, eyes still on the fog. He shot her a glare, still carrying Nisovin.

A light appeared suddenly in the doorway, shining brightly despite being hindered by the mist. Justin could’ve sworn he saw a shadow of a man hovering in the center of the fog, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

The brilliant light slowly dimmed into nothing. The mist dissipated, crawling back under doorways, through cracks in the window sill, and back up the chimney. When it all vanished, the rest of the lords were too shocked to move.

From the doorway stepped a tall, muscular man with dark brown, shaggy hair and a beard as big as Justin’s. He wore the clothes of royalty, white trousers with a brown tunic and vest, a dark brown belt holding his sword at his side. He stopped and blinked for a moment, before looking down at his body. Justin had never seen a grin bigger than the one on his face as he saw himself, flexing his fingers and curling his toes.

"Holy shit," the man mumbled in an all too familiar voice, "Holy shit!"

The man looked up and stared at Justin. His eyes were alight with excitement and something else Justin couldn't distinguish.

"You did it Justin!" the man exclaimed, "You did it!"

The others around him stood with eyes wide and jaws slack when the connection finally hit them. Justin was the last one to understand who the devilishly handsome man in front of them was.

"Wait, is that you Kyle?" He took a step forward, mouth dropping open.

"Yeah, it is," Kyle said, running a hand through his hair which was not helping Justin in anyway with the whole new revelation of "Holy fuck, Kyle is human and really hot".

"But... How?"

Kyle snorted, "It's actually pretty cliché. I was taking a walk in the woods a few years ago and ran into this old woman. Apparently she had this personal vendetta against my family because she starts cursing me off and screaming nonsense words that I think have no meaning, but next thing I know, I'm a bear and she's telling me only a kiss will break this bullshit spell."

"Why would she have something against your family?" Nisovin asked.

"Oh yeah, didn't tell you guys that, huh." Kyle smiled as the other lords shook their heads. "Well, I'm Prince Kyle,” he gave a sweeping bow, “son of King Ursa, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Karhu. Nice to truly meet you all."

The other lords muttered their responses, still in shock of the whole ordeal.

Except for Spyd, who piped up with, "Don't both those names just mean 'bear' in different languages?"

The other lords all turned to stare at him with varying expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"What?! I had to take languages back in West Delphia," he said, straightening his back and puffing up his chest slightly.

The others took that answer and turned their attention back to Kyle, who shrugged.

"Yeah, our crest had two bears on it as well. Witches tend to be fairly literal. She hated the royal family and all we stood for so she decided to take it out on me."

“If she hated your family that much, why didn’t she just kill you?” Roamin bluntly asked. Coe punched his arm immediately.

Kyle responded with another shrug. “I’m the youngest, so she just had to get me out of the way. Maybe she was feeling generous when she added the kiss part. I don’t know, I never talked to her after that. I basically ran out of the kingdom once it happened. Magic was absolutely outlawed there, so it really was better for me to leave.”

“Where’d you go?” Shay questioned.

“Anywhere I could, really. If I heard there was magic in a place, I went there. But after a long time with nothing working, I went where there was food. Eventually I ended up here and you guys were crazy enough to make me a baron.”

“No, you’re a bear-on!” Deadbones exclaimed, causing the rest of them to laugh.

Justin laughed along, suddenly realizing how ridiculous this whole situation was. When he stopped, he found that Kyle was much closer than he previously had been.

The prince smiled, holding a hand out, “Thank you, Justin, truly. Without you, I’d still be a bear.”

Justin glanced down at Kyle’s hand, then back up at his smiling, far too handsome face.

“Fuck it,” he thought to himself, decision made quickly.

Grabbing Kyle’s hand, he pulled them so they were chest to chest and kissed him. Kyle stood in shock for a moment before reciprocating, letting go of Justin’s hand to wrap his arms around the other’s waist. He tilted Justin’s head, getting a new angle to deepen the kiss, tongue tracing his lips.

Behind them, they could hear the rest of them clapping and whooping, this time for an entirely different reason. As they broke apart, Deadbones loudly proclaimed, “Get a room!”, before loudly squealing as one of the lords clamped a hand over his mouth.

Neither one of them paid attention, already going in for a second kiss.

Shay mentally patted herself on the back. This had to be the best Nismas Eve of all time.