#cannon thread

[clockworkapothecary]

☠: my muse’s reaction to being told that your muse is missing, and presumed dead

Melissa wouldn’t anything keep her from her work, not even Dominic. He had come to help take the wounded to safety, and brought news from the council of Elders as well. News that Melissa knew she didn’t want to hear.

She was bandaging a gash across the forehead of an unconscious woman who likely wouldn’t make it to morning even with the strongest healing magic Melissa or even Dominic could muster. That wouldn’t stop Melissa from trying, though, even despite the toll it had taken on her to use so much magic again and again without resting. The war had already taken so much from all of them. She focused on her work as Dominic spoke, on the energy flowing from her fingertips to the damaged flesh beneath.

“We’ve lost contact with Sebastian. He was supposed to report back more than a week ago, and there’s been no sign of him… at this point we have to assume the worst. I’m sorry.”

The words were muffled and distant, so surreal Melissa had difficulty believing they were real. She paused, her fingertips trembling as she tightened the bandages and smoothed her patient’s hair to one side, the gesture of affection more a nervous habit than anything else. Still, she wouldn’t meet Dominic’s gaze as she shook her head.

“He’s fine. He’ll be fine. I know he will. He always is. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” A world without Sebastian in it was impossible. Surely if he were gone, that would be the end of it all.  And the world was still turning, even if the streets were washed with blood and the islands were plummeting from the sky like dropped stones.  The walls around her still stood; the war was not yet lost.  So, by the only logic her exhausted mind could muster, Sebastian had to live.

“He’s fine,” she said again when there was no response, determined to make Dominic believe her. If he did, maybe she would be able to convince herself as well. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.  Just wait.  He’ll be back.  He’s going to come back.”

Her voice grew shakier the more she spoke, and she turned away hastily to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.  She still fussed over the dying woman in front of her, pulling a blanket over her, doing all she could to make her more comfortable.  Sometimes she couldn’t stop thinking that that was all she could do, make the dying comfortable.  Couldn’t even save an innocent bystander, couldn’t even find the one man who had always mattered most in her life...

“He’s not dead!” she snapped, finally turning to meet his gaze, not caring how much it showed that she was falling apart at the seams.  She had been for weeks, and she couldn’t deal with the thought of losing Sebastian too, not now, not ever.  “He’s not.”  Her voice grew quiet again as she seemed to remember where she was, how many people were still depending on her ability to hold everything together.  “I’m sorry, I... I have to get back to work,” she muttered in excuse, pushing past Dominic to the next room.

[clockworkapothecary]

altenprano replied to your post:Starter call

“Mairead would be interested in trying with Angela??”

----------

“It wasn’t wise of you to come here.”

The voice rose out of the shadows of the alleyway Mairead found herself in, as soft and as chilling as the tendrils of mist that swirled around her.  The speaker stepped slowly forward, blocking one of the two possible exits.  The whirring of clockwork punctuated every movement as the figure approached.  She was surprisingly small in stature, dressed in a dark cloak to keep off the chill and damp of the evening.  The hood concealed much of her face, but her eyes gleamed pale as moonlight, the way a cat’s eyes flash in the darkness.  Through the gloom, the metal hand that emerged from the cloak looked almost skeletal, a delicate construction of silver.

“Are you lost?”

It was always so convenient when humans wandered so willingly onto what one might have called her hunting grounds.  She was always in need of fresh materials.  Especially the lost, the homeless.  The ones who wouldn’t be missed.

[clockworkapothecary]

“Do you know what happens to lads who ask too many questions?”-- Mairead (mouseofeire)

“If they’re lucky, they get answers.”

Perhaps Vaughn had gone too far this time, perhaps he was getting into matters that were best left alone.  But he had spent most of his life as he knew it asking too many questions and never with nearly enough answers, and he wasn’t going to back down now.

“Say what you like, I don’t care.  They’re hiding something important and I’m going to figure out what it is, whether they like it or not.”

(( @mouseofeire ))

[clockworkapothecary]

(( @friends-by-the-throat liked for a starter - so sorry this took so long))

Emmett kept to himself most of the time these days, and hadn’t yet had the opportunity to meet the newest member of the household.  He had heard from Melissa that the room next door to his had finally been filled, of course, and he had heard Ava’s complaints (the girl couldn’t exactly be called quiet, and frankly it terrified him a little) but as of yet the new neighbor was a mystery to him.

He crept out of his room early one morning, intending to get an early start on his work.  He bustled around the kitchen for a moment, preparing his simple breakfast of bread with jam and tea, already dressed for the day.  He didn’t expect anyone else to be up yet, and so was quite surprised when a stranger entered the kitchen a short while after he did.

“Oh.” He stood and stared at her for a moment, pausing in the middle of pouring himself a cup of tea, not entirely sure what to say. “...Um.  Good morning.  Tea?” he offered as an afterthought, gesturing to the teapot still in his hand.

[clockworkapothecary]

(( @tinyfaries liked for a starter - it’s up to you whether this is Flora or another little fairy. I feel like there are probably a few of them who like to hang around Melissa’s garden.))

Melissa knelt by the strawberry plants in her garden, a basket of ripe red berries in the grass beside her.  Her hands worked gently and deftly, selecting the last few berries to bring inside.  The harvest had been bountiful that year, plenty to enjoy throughout the summer, and now with autumn approaching the last of them would make more than enough jam to last through the winter months.

She reached for one of the last few berries, but drew her hand back when it brushed against something else.  A tiny winged figure, hiding among the leaves.

“Oh!  So sorry, little one, I didn’t see you there.” She smiled and held out a hand to show she meant no harm. “Are you the one who’s been nibbling at my strawberries?” She had blamed snails for the few damaged berries she had found, but hungry fairies also seemed a likely explanation.

[clockworkapothecary]

❛ If I asked you where the hell we were, would I regret it? ❜

“Probably.”  Flynn grimaced as he picked himself up off the ground, brushing dirt off of his clothes.  He peered skywards, towards the expanse of swirling darkness that didn’t quite look like clouds or like the night sky. “…I don’t know if I’d be able to answer that question, anyways.”

There was no sign of sun or moon, but he could see well enough - a faint glow with no apparent source kept the landscape illuminated, punctuated now and then by bright flashes around the horizon that Flynn knew were something much more sinister than lightning.  The landscape was devoid of life, a rocky desert of strange pillars and arches that had the roughness of a natural formation but an odd sense of intent that he couldn’t quite place, a feeling that they had been fabricated millennia ago.

This wasn’t where he had intended to end up.  Not by far.

“I think… I think we fell through a weak spot.  Time can be delicate, sometimes there are holes… but you know that, of course.”  He gave the woman a sidelong glance - it was easy enough to recognize another time traveler, and the fact that he had collided with her in transit was pretty much a dead giveaway.  Leave it to him to actually crash into another traveler.  He hadn’t even thought that was possible until now.  He was surprised to note that she was human - she must have been from a time far later than his own, judging by the device at her wrist.  He had no such device, of course, and was already wracking his brain for an acceptable explanation as to why.  She didn’t look like the type who would accept “magic” as an answer without some skepticism.

He offered a hand to help her up, smiling grimly.  “Name’s Flynn.  As for where we are, hell might be a more accurate answer than you think.  Right now I’m a bit more concerned about how we’re getting back.”

(( @ask-the-time-assassin hope Flynn is alright with you - I thought it’d be fun to have our time travelers meet. :)  He doesn’t have a proper profile quite yet but can be found here if you’re curious))

[clockworkapothecary]

flora would chirp and land on Emmett's head with a soft whistle. (tinyfaries)

@tinyfaries

He had been dozing off at his desk, a book open in front of him, a mug of tea and a half-eaten scone on the desk forgotten from earlier.  He shook himself awake at the whistle, startled.

“...wha...?” The slight weight on top of his head made him look up, squinting slightly in the afternoon sunlight filtering in through the window. “...What the...? Flora?” He stifled a yawn, trying his best not to dislodge the small figure perched on top of his head. “Is that you?”

[clockworkapothecary]

“Love Me” [can i ask for all the things? probably not]

((Leave a “Love Me” in my ask, and I’ll write a fluffy drabble about our characters. I’ve had this in my drafts forever and I’m so sorry for the delay but here you go anyways. Sorry not sorry for what you’re about to read I swear it was gonna be happy but then this happened

Bonus music to make this even better/worse here ))

Alexander had always known this was only temporary.  But there were times when it was so easy to forget, so easy to let the act slip away and fall into something different.  The warmth of an embrace, the gentle trace of fingertips down his spine.  Something real.

There was a dagger carefully sheathed and hidden in the bedroom he never slept in anymore, for when the time came.  He knew it was there, as well as he would have known if it had been driven into his chest.  Most of the time these days, it certainly felt like it had.  And he knew that Leo knew it was there too - he could see it in his eyes that night, that distant hint of pain, of disappointment.

They both knew - had always known - that this would end painfully.  And yet...

“Dance with me?” The request was quiet, a hand offered to Alexander as Leo stood, leaving behind the table in the little restaurant where they had enjoyed a meal and quiet conversation.  An ordinary date, quite common for them, but somehow different this time.  Perhaps Leo didn’t know exactly what it was that burdened Alexander so greatly these past few days, didn’t understand the shape of the words that had fond their way beneath his skin - we have no more use for him. You’ve done well, now finish the job.  But he could guess, and the weight of that understanding lay heavy between them.  Somehow, that didn’t stop the light in Leo’s eyes as he stood expectantly, hand outstretched, a soft, sad smile playing across his lips.

Quiet music rose from the band on the little stage in the corner, a slow, haunting melody.  Softly, a woman began to sing -

“Turn down the lights,

turn down the bed.

Turn down these voices

inside my head...”

Alexander took his hand, rising slowly and following him to the dance floor.  He wondered, for a moment, why they were here, why they both bothered to keep up what they both knew was all an act.  But he followed Leo nonetheless, fingers entwining, his free hand finding it’s way to Leo’s shoulder.  He leaned in close, moving in unison with every slow step, every turn, faces almost touching, but not quite.

In a place like this, where no one knew them, they didn’t care how many people stopped and stared.

“...Lay down with me

tell me no lies.

Just hold me close, don't patronize.

Don't patronize me...”

“I’ve missed this.” Alexander’s voice was a whisper as they swayed to the music, his eyes closing just for a moment. “Remember the first time we came here?”

“I remember you had no idea how to dance.” Leo’s eyes sparkled, his smile growing more wistful at the memory. “I remember you tried to kiss me, too.”

“And you wouldn’t let me, because you’re so old-fashioned you needed my father’s permission first.”  Normally he might have laughed, but he couldn’t seem to manage it today.  That night had been so many years ago and so much had changed since then, but he still remembered it as clear as day.  The night he had realized there might have been something more to this than deception, the first hint of that spark he had tried so hard to extinguish before the flames consumed his true purpose here.

He moved forward ever so slightly, so that their foreheads rested against each other.

“...Here in the dark, in these final hours,

I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power.

But you won't, no you won't...”

There was so much more that he felt needed to be said, and so much he knew could never be said.  But he couldn’t seem to find the words, and so they danced in silence, both knowing all to well that the song would end soon enough, that the night would be over and the time they had left together would slip away.

There were tears in Leo’s eyes, tears he was trying so very hard to hide.  Perhaps to him, one of it had ever been a lie.  Perhaps to both of them.

“...I'll close my eyes, then I won't see

the love you don't feel when you're holding me.

Morning will come and I'll do what's right,

just give me till then to give up this fight.

And I will give up this fight...”

This time, when Alexander’s lips found his, Leo kissed him back.  They melted into each other’s embrace, still moving in time to the music, still weighed down by the knowledge of the ending they both wanted so much to stop.

If he could have frozen time, Alexander would have lived a thousand lifetimes in that moment, their last night of peace.

The song would end, the truth would come to light.  But not tonight.  Tonight he needed this, needed one last dance, one last chance to hold on to that lie they had so carefully created together.  He couldn’t say what morning would bring, but for now, the lie wouldn’t crumble.  For now, it would be love.

“...'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't.

You can't make your heart feel something it won't.

Here in the dark, in these final hours,

I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power.

But you won't, no you won't,

'cause I can't make you love me,

if you don't.”

(( @apocalypseguard ))