Gavin had only returned to Aria once or twice in the last few decades but this was an exception to his usual avoidance.
Caelum was always glad to see him though. One of the main things Caelum loved about his physical form was how hugging felt and there is a kind of equivalent in their ethereal forms but it doesn't feel as nice, the squeeze doesn't feel the same.
He was in the midst of explaining this to Gavin when the incubus interrupted him.
"Caelum, I'm here because someone's asked for you. Can you come with me?"
He nodded vigorously and followed Gavin's rift into a familiar space. Caelum had never been in this exact spot before but the feeling of the place was familiar.
Now the chance was there, he wrapped Gavin in a hug, squeezing as tight as he could. The other man quickly squeezed his shoulders before pulling out of the hug and taking Caelum's hand instead.
"Who are we seeing?" Caelum asked as Gavin opened a door.
Inside was a bed with a person bundled up in it.
Caelum knew their core.
"Freelancer!"
He jumped up and wrapped them in a hug before looking at the more closely. Their face was the same and different - there were lines and freckles he hadn't seen before but their smile was the same. And they felt happy!
"It's so good to see you Caelum! How are you?" Their voice was quiet but still warm.
"I've learnt a lot and I'm doing really good. You're not my charge anymore Freelancer, but why do you need me?"
Their smile turned sad and their fingers gripped his a little harder.
"Caelum... I'm dying, my love. I just wanted to see you one more time."
He looked them over again. Their skin was grey and breathing sounded difficult. If he focused, their core was dimming with each beat of their heart.
"W-We can help right? We can fix this, we can fix anything if we try!"
"Not this time Caelum," Gavin said as Freelancer shook their head.
"This can't be fixed. But you are helping it be a bit happier." Freelancer smiled at him. "Would you stay? Just for an hour?"
Caelum stayed the whole night. He told Freelancer stories; some about his recent charges and others about his brothers and sisters.
They talked until the moon was high in the sky. Almost until the moment Freelancer died.
There core grew dimmer with every second and both Caelum and Gavin were holding their hand as the last of their light went out.
Caelum felt a hole punch through his stomach. They were right there but they weren't. Gavin pulled them into his chest and cried. So many feelings whirled around in both Gavin and Caelum, so intensely and quickly he couldn’t name them all. All he could think was that he wanted to be strong for his friends.
So, no matter how much he just wanted to break apart Caelum held Gavin and made sure he knew he wasn't alone in grief.
Hosting a month long Redacted-based prompt list for October again! Redactober 2025!
I made a more run of the mill Redactober list, a voiced character one, but also made a more horror/hurt/angst based one! But that one is also fair game to fluff-ify and turn cute or cozy. Or lean in and go darker, I dont make the rules, I just post the lists!
This year returns the weekly prompts! If you're like me and want to participate but cant commitnto every day, then the weekly prompts are for you! Alternate prompts can be used to swap ouf any dailt or weekly prompt you like!
Typed out version of each listed below. (Also reminder these were not made using AI, and no AI "fic" or AI "art" is welcome here.)
Consider this: wolves in the snow having fun. Please enjoy early Sam still getting accustomed to the chaos that is the Shaw Pack.
And here it is on ao3! Do not feed to AI, claim as your own, or repost to other platforms without my permission. The characters belong to Redacted Audio and this is a fan work. Hope y'all enjoy!
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“And uh this is… normal?” Sam asks with a wince next to Sweetheart, as a wolf (Asher) is flung past them into a snow pile. The vampire watches as he happily bounds back up and flings himself back into the fray. The mates watch the chaos that is the Shaw wolf pack so near to the solstice; gathered on the back porch of one of the cabins David had rented.
“Yup.” Sweetheart takes a sip from their coffee unperturbed as a spray of dirt misses them by inches.
“You get used to it.” Baaabe adds with a chuckle, cradling a terrifyingly large hot chocolate from underneath their bundle of coats, scarves and fluffy blankets.
Sam looks dubiously at the assembly of mates and then to the chaos taking place in front of him. When the pack had invited the vampire to join them for a few of the activities on their annual retreat, he had arrived well dressed, bottle of wine in hand, fully anticipating something akin to William’s solemn solstice celebrations of a group dinner. However, Darlin had neglected to inform him of the group’s ritual of playfighting in the woods whilst shifted - a way of getting out some of the extra energy that accompanies the apex of the winter months.
He was glad to see them settling back in so well with their pack mates, at least into an activity like this that they could feel confident in. Sam was still fighting off that lingering awkwardness he felt when surrounded by the whole pack, but having Angel, Sweetheart and Baaabe by his side was slowly helping lessen that particular knot.
Angel is highly amused watching the wolves, cackling and cheering every time David successfully tackles someone; dressed in an outfit with far too few layers for the surrounding snow. “This is the best show of the year, are you guys k-kidding?” They shiver the tiniest bit, and immediately the largest wolf freezes in the middle and pads out the tangle of wrestling wolf limbs towards them. No one moves to stop him, happy to let him slip through, but there's a couple of yaps that sound awfully like Asher and Milo’s teasing laughter.
David pays them no mind, rolling his eyes as he nudges Angel’s arm with his nose. His look screams ‘I told you to wear something warmer’.
They snort affectionately and pat him on the head, “I'm fine Davey, it was just one shiver.”
He huffs disapprovingly, bumping against them insistently again. Baaabe sighs and unwraps one of the blankets from their shoulders and drops it on top of Angel.
“Hey!” Angel pulls it off, with an indignant glare at the mates who are poorly stifling their laughter. David ignores all this, taking the blanket in his teeth and adjusting it to properly wrap around Angel.
With David split off the wrestling begins to die down a little, and Milo takes this opportunity to transform back with a stretch. He winks at Sweetheart as he catches their gaze, before tripping over Asher who just happened to be in front of him. The beta starts laughing so hard he transforms back despite himself, Milo giving him the dirtiest look as he stands back up, sweeping the debris off his clothes.
Deciding he wasn’t worth his time Milo returns his attention to his mate. “Hey Sweetheart, enjoying the show?” He grins, recovering his pride and turning to where Sweetheart was to find… no one?
“Boo!” They rematerialise beside him and he nearly falls over again but they catch his arm, having predicted his reaction, and pulling him in close with a teasing grin.
He pouts up at them, “you are so fucking rude. Just after Ash tripped me over too? Unforgivable.”
“Would a kiss make it better?” Sweetheart offers, eyes sparkling with mirth.
“Perhaps, perhaps.” he pretends to think about it, wrapping an arm around their waist and pulling them in close. “We’ll have to see won’t we.” He murmurs as he captures their lips in a sweet kiss.
Behind them, Baaabe plops down their hot chocolate on a table, and approaches their still cackling boyfriend lying in the snow. “Ash baby you’ll catch a cold.”
“Awe, I’ll be okay Baaabe.” He grins up at them, his hair and clothes a scruffy mess but their heart melts quicker than the snow around him at the sight. “Come and join me!”
They scrunch their nose up at the suggestion, “no thanks. Cold. Very cold, and wet.”
“Pleaseeeee it’s the solstice you gotta!” He pleads.
“Why does that mean I have to join you in getting cold and wet my love?” They ask bemused, wrapping themselves tighter in their remaining clothes.
“Then I guess I’ll have to come and join you!” Asher declares bouncing up.
Baaabe tries to run away but they are very quickly caught by their energetic mate, who manages to worm his cold and damp way inside their coat. “AH you’re so cold Asher!” They shriek through laughter, failing to push him away.
“And you’re so waaaaaaarm mmm. Come here Baaabe and accept my love!” He cackles putting icy hands on the back of their neck. “Perhaps a kiss would help warm us both up- woa-!”
His sentence is cut off as Baaabe quickly drags him into a kiss, and he smiles against their lips as he tastes the hot chocolate on their tongue. “Mm we may need to try again. For science you know. And warmth.”
“Mhm,” Baaabe nods, “for warmth.”
In the meantime, Darlin has gotten bored with their current sparring partners and decided to check in on Sam now everyone is distracted. Scooting over to the shy cowboy, they plant a lick on his hand, looking up at him with big questioning eyes. He admires their scarred furry face with a goofy smile plastered over his face, and bends down kissing their forehead gently. “I’m alright Darlin, don’t you fret none.”
Their tail wags despite their best effort and they headbump him gently. To their left David shuffles back looking a newly bundled up Angel over with a pleased expression, and is then immediately tackled by Darlin. Sam bursts into laughter at the Alpha’s incredibly offended expression, and starts to understand why Angel and Sweetheart both brought popcorn.
James' voice was soft and surprising. His partner would've sworn he was asleep.
"Baby..."
Thankfully the chores were easy to pause and they padded their way towards their room.
"So sweet..."
They were right - he was asleep and his arms were wrapped tightly around their pillow.
"So beautiful..."
It seemed like a peaceful dream at least. Still, he wouldn't be happy he'd reached out while asleep. They sat next to him and tried to quietly wake him.
"James. James. Come on darling, wake up."
His eyes barely opened but he pushed up against them reflexively.
"Hey baby, is everything okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. Are you alright?"
"uh-huh. I was just dreaming about you actually."
"I know"
"How do you know?"
"I heard you and you're still not using your mouth to talk, numpty.”
James groaned and wiped his hands over his face.
"I'm sorry," he actually said this time, "that really shouldn't happen."
"It's okay. Was it a good dream though?"
"Not as good as real life. Come 'ere, lie down with me."
James replaced the pillow with his partner, promising 'only a few minutes' but he was asleep again almost instantly, happy with the warmth of his love in his arms.
"Come on Honey! Work with me here - we can totally be the best dressed couple for Halloween!"
"If it's already in my closet I'll wear it otherwise no," called Guy's lover from their office.
Guy proceeded to fall dramatically to the floor of their living room, making sounds to effect that he was dying of a stab wound. Specifically to the kidneys.
"Cruel betrayal! Honeyyy, if you don't fix me with kisses imma die!"
The quiet keyboard click-clacking stopped with a sigh. In short order his gorgeous partner was there, staring down at him.
"You need to get off the floor if you want a kiss."
"But I've been stabbed in the back -"
"'Kay then I'll get back to work"
"No! no no no no no no no!" Guy zipped to his feet and locked Honey in place with a hug. "No I need kisses."
Honey chuckled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "There."
"That's not enough! Honey why are you so mean?"
"Do you want kisses or to talk more about costumes?"
"Why not both"
"Guy, I'm still working"
"Fine," Guy sighed, "but we would totally be the hottest people there with just a tiny bit of planning.
"How about, I dress as myself for this party and for you we'll get one of those blow up dancing man costumes and you can wave your arms around at everyone."
"That's not sexy Honey!'
"No, it's natural."
Just as Guy was going to object further, his lovers hand wrapped around his jaw and pulled him in deep for a kiss. They only pulled away when Guy was about to run out of breath.
"I'm going to finish my work and then I promise we will talk properly about costumes. Just give me an hour."
"Well, if you promise then I guess I can do that"
He gave them a peck before releasing them, most certainly thinking with the wrong head about where exactly their evening would go.
Poly DAMN Crew my beloved are back again. I just think they should all hold hands, personally.
Behold! Here it is on ao3! Also do not feed to AI, claim as your own, or repost to other platforms without my permission. The characters belong to Redacted Audio and this is a fan work. Hope y'all enjoy!
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“Are you alright Gavin?” Dear murmurs to the incubus beside them.
He pauses his bouncing leg momentarily, forcing a neutral look on his face, “hmm? Oh perfectly okay my Dear, no need to worry.”
“Well I’ll always worry after you, I’m quite fond of you, you know.” They smile softly, intertwining their hand with his and giving it a soft squeeze. “How can I help?”
“I’m not sure.” He flexes his hands, “I want to do something practical and mindless but there’s nothing here in this office and don’t know what to do specifically anyway.”
They nod thoughtfully, before an idea strikes them and they reach into their bag to pull out a couple of markers, holding them out to Gavin. “Here, give me a tattoo.”
A small smile breaks through the anxiety as Gavin takes the pens, amused. “Why do you have these?”
“Perks of dating a teacher.” They chuckle, rolling up a sleeve to offer him their arm. “Whatever you want, no need to worry what I want, I’ll just be your canvas.”
Tentatively he begins a smooth whirlpool pattern on their wrist and gradually winds his way up their forearm. His lack of innuendo is proof of his anxiety, but Dear takes great joy in watching his shoulders slowly relax as he turns his focus to their arm.
After a good few minutes of quiet, their name is called and they stand up with Gavin who suddenly looks stressed again. Dear looks down at their arm and gapes in awe. “Oh Gavin, it’s beautiful.”
“You think so?” Gavin sounds so hopeful at the compliment.
“Absolutely,” they nod profusely. “Do you mind if I keep it?”
He shakes his head, “not at all.”
They take his hand again, “ready now?”
He squeezes their hand three times, “yes.”
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“Are you alright Freelancer?” Huxley stops, holding out a hand for his partner.
“‘M fine.” They brush him off unconvincingly as they bite back another wince. “No need to stop on my account.”
“Are you sure? You seem really sore today.” He asks frowning.
Shaking their head, they try to take a half step forwards. “I’m okay, it’s been so long since we were able to do hikes like we used to. I can do this!”
Huxley’s heart breaks a little watching them push themselves and catches their hands, taking some of their weight. “Don’t push yourself too far for my sake.” He rubs his thumb over their knuckles. “I like hiking, sure but I like you much more, dude.”
“I just didn’t…” They swallow, “didn’t want to let you down.”
“Oh baby.” He gathers them up in a hug, careful not to squeeze too tight. “You could never, especially not for this. You’re in pain! Please let me take you home.”
Freelancer blinks heavily, fighting back the tears, “okay. I would like that Hux.” They answer thickly.
~
Arriving back to the house - Damien was already in the doorway. Freelancer had fallen asleep on Huxley’s back and Damien ushers the two inside.
“I’ve already run a bath, are they okay?” He hovers uncertainly, eyeing the exhausted looking Freelancer and a worried Huxley.
“Yeah just over did it, I’ll get their meds.” Huxley murmurs, kissing Damien’s cheek. “They’re feeling a lil low tonight, so maybe we could do something nice for them?”
Damien smiles, always touched by how kind and loving his boyfriend could be. “Definietly, I’ll text Lasko to bring some snacks.”
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“Lasko, what's wrong?” Damien eventually sighs, pausing the game he and Gavin were playing.
“W-what? Nothing's wrong.” Lasko insists quickly, tucking away the notebook into his cardigan.
“Mm, maybe try again Lasko.” Gavin hums, amused already by the interaction.
Lasko flushes, flustered by all the attention being suddenly turned on him. “It's silly-”
“Nope.” Damien stops him in his tracks, “we wanna hear it no matter what it is.”
“Don't discount yourself before you even start, baby.” Gavin adds, “besides, you've been practically shaking with how much you want to share with us over there.”
“I was just thinking about dnd again…” Lasko mumbles awkwardly.
“What about?” Gavin prompts when he isn’t more forthcoming.
Lasko squirms, torn between wanting to spill it all and hide under the gaze of his boyfriends. “It’s a new, well kind of new, character idea.”
Damien perks up curiously, “What class?”
That’s all the invitation the air elemental needs to take off into a full ramble. He spends at least 20 minutes detailing his illusions wizard, Pepper, who works as a conman with his cursed crow companion, Salt. Gavin and Damien are a wonderful audience, and at one point Lasko jumps up excitedly to grab his laptop and start modelling.
As Lasko returns, Damien grabs his hand and pulls him to sit with him and Gavin on the sofa.
“D-Damien? Are you okay?” Lasko asks with big eyes.
“Do I need an excuse to want you near me?” Damien huffs as he pulls a blanket over the three’s legs. “And you can always talk to us about stuff.”
“Aww thank you hun.” Lasko squeezes Damien’s bicep and the man flushes. Gavin exchanges a look with him over the fire elemental’s flustered form and smirks.
“Damien~” Gavin starts, but Damien is having none of it, recognising the mischief in his tone.
“Don’t.” He warns, slight pout on his face.
“Can I hold your hand?”
Damien softens, pleasantly surprised, turning away and holding his other hand out wordlessly to the incubus, who takes it gladly and relishes the slight rise in temperature as he does.
“Guess we’re watching a show now instead.” Damien grumbles as Gavin and Lasko laugh affectionately.
Your paws hit the ground, falling into a smooth rhythm. The even sprint had always been one of your favourite parts of being a wolf. Keeping close to the ground, powerful legs and muscles pushing you, taking you farther than your human body could ever manage.
Thump. Thump.
The final rays of sunshine fade away, the last vestiges of sunny warmth hidden in your fur for a few more moments. The cold of the night cuts through you on the wind, hitting your snout first but still, you keep running. Your wolf body is made for it, like you could go on forever.
Until you feel a pain in your side.
You're thrown off course and brace your back legs, skidding to a sudden stop. The scent of your blood fills the air and looking to what clipped you, you discover it's a who. A growl rumbles deep in your throat.
He stands there, staring you down and lifts his hand to his smug lips. He drags his tongue across his fingers, making a show of tasting your blood.
Run or fight. Those are your options. Running is barely a choice - he'll catch you quickly, so you choose to fight.
You lunge, trying to damage his legs first to make it easier to tear out his throat, but he's fast. Almost faster than you.
Your teeth don't connect with their target but your claws digs as deep as they can, tearing flesh and muscle before he can fully escape your reach.
Fingers dig into your fur, holding you as still as they can. He chuckles into your ear and another stab of pain hits your neck.
You thrash and manage to throw him off but you know it's too late.
You run, but his laugh still follows you. And something is wrong.
You falter as you run, hitting a branch and tumbling. Looking down you see one wolf paw still soaked in blood and one human hand. You're changing back and you can't control it, the change isn't listening to you.
You reach a river as the change completes. You're completely human once again. You plunge your hands into the water, washing the blood from your sharp fingernails and thinking. You've never known a wolf shifter to lose control of their shift this way.
Your nails weren't this sharp before you changed.
"Precious..."
You find your eyes in the river. The blood tinges the image red bu you can still tell. You're eyes are lighter than they should be, glowing silver and fangs are protruding from your lips.
"Precious..."
You touch one of the fangs, maybe the water is playing tricks on you. The bubble of blood gathering on your finger suggests not though. You know this isn't how turning works.
Maybe this just proves it. There was always something wrong with you. You're monstrous. You can't be trusted.
He finally got what he wanted.
-
They bolted upright - it had been a nightmare. Tank ran their hands over their body. No protruding fangs, no sharp nails and a strong shifter core. Their breathing calmed even if their heart didn't, still beating so strong in their ears they didn't notice their mate next to them until he touched them.
Tank's hand flew out, reaching for the throat on instinct but Sam caught their wrist before they could find purchase.
"Darlin, Darlin, it's me, hey calm down..."
Of course it was Sam, he was always there when they needed him. Tank relaxed, if only a fraction, but dropped their head onto his shoulder and his arms wrapped tightly around them.
"There we are Darlin, you're alright I'm here."
And after a moment, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Tank shook their head, their fingers gripped his shirt tighter. This was now. This was real.
"Alright then, just stay with me for now."
Sam held them, rocking gently and humming The Girl from Ipanema.
As much as Tank wanted to close their eyes, forget and sleep, they couldn't shake the fear that they'd return to the same dream. That he would appear again. That even though he couldn't reach anyone anymore, that they would hear his mocking laugh in their head until the day they died.
