#shubrine

[hmshermitcraft]

Shelby is pining okay, there she admits it! It's so hard not to when Katherine is just- borderline perfect. Katherine is amazing, but no. She already rejected Shelby at the festival. Shelby just needs to, get this off her mind. It's alright, Shelby is already around 50% over her anyways.

Katherine is not pining. No. No way in hell. Just because Shelby is sweet, pretty, smart and amazing does not mean Katherine is pining. Just because Shelby is all Katherine can think of recently, just because Katherine regrets what she said at the festival, just because Katherine daydreams about Shelby- no. She is not pining, no shot. Not when Shelby is already over her, Katherine is not pining.

She doesn't completely regret what she said. There were valid points there! But maybe she does a tiny bit regret shutting down any possibility of a relationship.

Because, really, Shelby hadn't been pursuing her in the same way Joey once. Katherine doesn't like that she was treated as a thing to be won, but that was Shelby's only offence. And she's been so nice and sweet since, and it would be so nice to take her out on a picnic...

Agh, this is awful! How's she supposed to make a move now?

[hmshermitcraft]

Katherine was confused.

Like, really confused. What do you mean soulmates are real!?

When she first heard about it, about the fact that everyone had a soulmate and eventually you’d get a red string connecting to your soulmate, she thought it was a joke. It had to be! There’s no way that’s real! It can’t possibly be real…

Until it happened. She just… woke up one day and there was a string attached to her finger! Just… there! She couldn’t de-attach it, trust her, she tried.

She did wonder who it was though. She was a princess, so surely it would be whoever her parents married her off to, right?

Shelby thought the idea of a soulmate was pretty cool! If a bit unbelievable. Sometimes, she stayed up at night imagining who it would be. She wondered what their voice sounded like, what they acted like, looked like.

So when she finally got her soulmate string, she was ecstatic. At last, she would find out who it was! She was new to the mangrove when she got it so she hadn’t met all that many people yet, she had met Katherine thought… she secretly hoped she was Shelby’s soulmate.

Katherine decided to follow the string, alright? But it was only because others had started doing it and found their soulmates already. Not because of a certain witch, no, that’s dumb.

…and then she saw her.

It was Shelby, standing right there with that adorable shocked look on her face that made her feel all sorts of feelings that she shouldn’t be feeling.

But, saint Pearl, was Shelby pretty…

There's a lot of things you feel upon finding your soulmate. The two of them celebrate, holding each other's hands and talking without pause.

Neither of them expected the stress.

Shelby doesn't have any social standing - she's even new to the area! And her witch schooling is... Mm. Best not to talk about that. Yet, now she has to be a match for a princess! Katherine doesn't care about any of that (and Shelby will love her forever for it) but everyone else does!

And Katherine didn't expect to need to justify her soulmate. She literally didn't choose Shelby (though if she had a choice... Just don't tell her parents that part!)

They'll get through all this together. Life brought them to each other, and now with their combined powers, they're gonna kick some ass!

Hopefully. And mostly socially.

[hmshermitcraft]

Ever since Sausage killed or uh, revived? Whatever Sausage did, ever since that, Shelby has become stronger. I mean way stronger, like, rivalling Joel stronger. Joel is a literal god! Yet now, Shelby can do the same things he can. And honestly, Katherine thinks that's quite attractive. I mean-, no she doesn't!

She already could shift dimensional planes - but now she even has better control of it! Which is useful when Joel gets too big for his boots (literally, in some cases!)

Katherine totally doesn't find that hot too. No way. A confident woman? Hot? Never!

[hmshermitcraft]

Some S1 nature wives for the royal theme?

(Maybe Shrub is a princess forced to deal with a bunch of men that want to marry her but she only wants her knight Katherine perhaps?)

It's no coincidence that Shelby's suitors keep 'failing'. Every attempt they make goes disastrously wrong and Shelby's parents decide they aren't worth their daughter's hand in marriage.

Shelby knows it's Katherine. She's seen the sly smiles she gives her, nevermind the nights they've spent together when Katherine was supposed to be 'guarding' her. And Katherine respects that Shelby isn't interested in sexual intimacy, when all these men just talk about children!

It won't work forever. But by then, maybe they'll have another plan... She can only hope.

[hmshermitcraft]

False knew it was stupid. False is a taken woman! Shelby was taken! But, damn, Shelby was just. All that, she's amazing. No way it could ever happen, Shelby is so obviously inlove with Katherine, that much was true. False was also, evidently, down bad for Gem. No way they could ever date!.....right?

(Meanwhile, Katherine and Gem having a tea party wondering when their partners were gonna realize that they could simply be a polycule.)

Katherine and Gem don't even care about dating each other. They could go either way on it really. But, at this rate, it seems like bringing up the topic will be the only way to get through to their partners!

But then they couldn't have gossipy tea parties about it, so they'll let the pair simmer a little while longer.

[hmshermitcraft]

Magic comes naturally to Shelby, it appears on her fingertips, she can practically feel it surrounding her, consuming and flowing out of her very being. Which makes her magic, a little finicky, it's very strong, dangerously strong, in ways Shelby can't control sometimes. But it's powerful and has so much potential, something Shelby will shape so well.

Another thing about her magic, it makes her emotions clear as day. When she's happy, her eyes have small rainbows in them and the air is evidently fresher, when she's sad there's a little rain cloud above ger head, when she's angry the air around her is suffocating and electric.

When she's very happy when she sees Katherine, the rainbows in her eyes are painfully obvious, the area around her is brighter and her hands are stained with pink and hearts. Katherine finds it so endearing.

It feels like the magic of the world gathers around Shelby. It's exhilarating just being around her, Katherine could never get enough of it. She loves Shelby, and she loves how the world loves her too.

[hmshermitcraft]

Katherine's had a lot of suitors, as in a lot. She didn't like one, not one. It concerned her parents quite a bit, all these handsome men and her daughter didn't want even one? Ah, I guess they just have to keep trying. Eventually they land on the Prince of Rivendell, Prince Scott. Katherine is oddly accepting of this one? Well, it's good for both kingdoms so they can't protest.

Truthfully, Scott and Katherine are friends, very close friends. Thing is, they both swing the other way, this is just, well, a cover up of some sorts. To get their families off their backs, and their partners Jimmy and Tango for Scott and Shelby for Katherine, know about it and have no issue with it.

When they tell their parents they're out on a date, they are. Just not with eachother.

It's the perfect cover up, in their opinions. Because if their parents find out now, they'll simply have to accept it. Making a big deal about it would cause more issues for their families - why fix something that isn't broken!

As long as they get to keep living their lives how they want to, they're happy.

[hmshermitcraft]

Monsters are supposed to be scary, right? Atleast, that's what Katherine was taught, that they were blood thirsty, vicious, monsters. Especially Wardens, they were seen as the most ruthless monster of the overworld.

Katherine found an ancient city, she couldn't not loot it. In hindsight, she probably should've asked for company. But it was going well, till she fell, made too much noise, and awoke the warden. This warden, seemed more human, than any other warden she's seen. Long white hair, a bright golden eye, pale human skin, dark-blue stormy themed clothes. But there was skulk all over the girl, her other eye was infected with it, turned a light blue.

But. She was friendly, her name was Shelby. Shelby said she didn't mind Katherine looting, she had no use for it. Katherine would go daily, every night after monster hunting, Shelby would always patch her up. Whoever said wardens were scary, clearly haven't met Shelby.

Shelby would point out Katherine hasn't met other wardens. Shelby talks to them sometimes, through the skulk, but they're not very good conversationalists. She much prefers Katherine's company. And, Katherine coming here keeps her safe from the other wardens too! They're more grouchy than she is.

It does mean Shelby has been working hard to find interesting things for Katherine. She doesn't want to run out, what if Katherine stopped visiting!

Meanwhile, Katherine is realising Shelby is the most interesting treasure in the whole city. If only she could find a safe way to bring Shelby back with her...