some hsr writing i made on a whim while i'm proof reading one of the hakurin chapters
this is not a fic just au drabbles
Silver Wolf’s hand traced Sam’s armor tenderly. She rested her head against it, recalling how warm he used to feel.
If she tries hard enough, she can recall the way the mech’s hands would hold her. She can almost convince herself that Firefly is inside.
But now is not the time to indulge herself in such fantasies.
Fixing Sam was her apology to Firefly.
One final act of love that she could give to her.
“Sam now belongs to you.” She pulled away and turned to Starlight, who stared at him in awe. “You’re still too young though, so I’ll take care of him until you can pilot him.”
“Really?” Starlight ran around Sam, checking her gift out, with Prometheus tagging behind her.
“I can’t pilot him, I tried. But since you share Firefly’s blood, he’ll likely respond to you.” Silver Wolf crossed her arms and stared at the armor.
She spent years putting him back together, and now she was left with a hollow feeling.
Sometimes she considered taking the cartridge and letting it consume her. Let that terrible future of hers have one last laugh.
But… working on Sam kept her grounded, and Starlight didn’t deserve another loss.
She always told herself that Blade and Kafka could move on if anything happened to her, but she had seen the way Firefly’s death affected them.
Especially Kafka.
Silver Wolf felt small fingers tugging at her sleeves.
“Don’t you want Sam too?” Starlight’s eyes stared at her with some understanding. She was incredibly smart for her age. “You miss her the most.”
Silver Wolf smiled.
“Sam belongs to you.” She rested her hand on Starlight’s head. “And you have a copy of Prometheus, that way you’ll have both of us with you.”
“But papa, I already have you here!”
“But I won’t always be here… I mean-”
“Are you going to where mama is?” Starlight started to tear up.
Crap! She’s terrible with words!
“No! I meant that… Uh…” She picked her up in her arms. Damn, she’s getting too heavy for her. ”You’ll grow up and leave one day, maybe you’ll go on your own adventures.”
“Does growing up mean I have to leave my family?” Starlight hugged her. “I love you, I don’t want to leave you.”
“You don’t have to.” Silver Wolf’s expression softened. “You’ll just have more games to clear, but if you want… we can clear them together?”
Starlight nodded.
Silver Wolf smiled. Her eyes shone as bright as Firefly’s.
But her smile fell at the sight of certain lines starting to show on Starlight’s skin.
“Papa?”
Silver Wolf tore her eyes away from them. “Wanna play a game before bed?”
“But I have homework!”
“We can do it together, tomorrow. You’ve been a good girl so I’m rewarding you.” Silver Wolf forced herself to smile. “And well… I love you too.” She ruffled her daughter’s hair, and Starlight giggled in return.
She should say that more.
She should have said that more to Firefly.
Her eyes drifted back to the lines on her daughter’s neck.
Hello my friend!
For the one-shots request, please choose whichever of these you find most inspiring, but if you're not feeling either, no worries!
1. “ i’m promising you all of eternity. ” with Avior/Starlight (and while I would adore it if it was my version of Starlight, Estelle, that is nowhere near required, please don't think you have to)
or
2. "is that my shirt?" with Milo and Sweetheart
No pressure if you're not feeling either of these! I just love to see your creativity!
Thank you! You're amazing!
~Star(lit)🌟
Thank YOU, @starlitangels! You’re amazing, and that’s why I was so happy that you trusted me with your Estelle to write this piece!
Rating: G; WC: ~1.4K ; Prompts: Avior/Estelle (female!Starlight OC) “I’m promising you all of eternity.”
Hiii... I was writer's blocked on this one for A While™. But I bring to you, the next chapter! And, uh... I'm sorry for the cliffhanger...
2.4k words
Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7
—
Chapter 8 - Arrival in Aria
—
Moments after Estelle collapsed, her eyes were opening again. Avior was just grateful he caught her before she hit the ground. “Estelle?” He cupped her face. “Are you alright?”
She scrunched her eyebrows. “How long was I out?”
“Not long. Few moments.”
“Oh good. That didn’t feel like enough magic to warrant another all-day blackout,” she mumbled, regaining control of her muscles. “But… I do need to sit down.”
“Let’s get you back in the carriage and we’ll be on our way. We’re only going to travel a bit longer to find someplace to rest for the night anyway,” Avior said. He scooped her knees up and took her back to the carriage, where Vindemiator had convinced Caelum to go back to the driver’s bench of the darker carriage.
The inside of the white carriage had two benches, one facing the direction of travel, and one facing the other way. Avior laid Estelle on the former and took the latter for himself. He felt Vega get back in his position and heard the snap of reins encouraging the horses to go.
The carriage lurched and off they went.
Estelle didn’t bother to try to sit up. Just lounged across the bench, pinching the bridge of her nose. Avior watched over her intently.
“That was incredible,” he said.
She peeked one eye open and looked at him. “You lit a candle from a distance with the snap of your fingers. You’ve got power yourself.”
“Mm. Nothing like yours. I’m half-demon. My powers tend to be… fiery. Destructive and dangerous. I can do other things but it’s difficult. Yours… it was… that was… pure. Radiant, even.”
She snickered. “You should see my brother’s,” she said. “I’m nothing compared to him.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
She shuffled so she was on her side, facing him. “You met Morgan. My brother. He’s the Crown Prince. He’s the one who got the lion’s share of the magic. He’s the one who can see the future, not me. I can use the positioning of the stars, sun, and moon to make a few guesses and predictions, but Morgan is far more accurate.”
“But can he make that swarm of falling stars?”
She smiled. “He could make a bigger one. He actually is the one who taught me how.”
Avior hummed in thought. The carriage hit a dip in the road and bounced. Estelle winced but otherwise didn’t react.
He stuck his head out the window. “Vega? Are we stopping soon?”
“As soon as we find a defensible position to make camp,” Vega replied.
“Hm… well… hurry up.”
“Yes, sire.”
—
Vindemiator kicked his ankles up onto Scorpius’ lap. Who, for his part, didn’t bother to push them off. “See, the problem,” Vin said, “is Avi’s wife has white hair and I don’t know how to work with that.” He glanced over at where Avior had Estelle curled up on his lap. She was asleep and Avior was quietly speaking with Vega. “Like. All of us except Caelum have dark hair. I can make anything to work with dark hair. But I don’t know how to make anything for hair that pale. Like. With dark hair a red outfit pops and is sexy. But white hair? Which is the pop? What do I do with it?”
“Vin, you know you’re not actually the royal tailor right?” Scorpius asked. “Like. You know you outrank the royal tailor by a lot. Right?” He snickered. “Besides. The king will probably hire a female seamstress from Castle Town specifically for Estelle’s wardrobe when she needs anything.”
Vin scoffed. “Rude.”
“All I’m saying is she’s brought her entire wardrobe with her. She’s not going to need anything new for a while.”
Vindemiator stared at Scorpius, disbelief painted all over his face. “Are you implying she’s not going to have an entirely new gown made for her coronation? Which, by the way, is in two weeks?”
“No one in Aria will know that the gown she wears isn’t brand-new.”
“They’ll have a decent guess if it’s got Star Kingdom written all over it. She needs something that shows she’s our queen. Something that feels Arian.”
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he muttered.
Vindemiator pulled out his little book where he liked to sketch out design ideas. Caelum shuffled where he was asleep on his bedroll beside Vindemiator. Caelum’s hair had once been blond. But the transformation had turned his hair a soft, pale pink. Vindemiator could work with pink. It was the white he wasn’t solid on.
White just stood out so much. If he wanted to do a pop of color, the white would still outshine it. But a white gown—in Vin’s opinion—was too much of the same color. He needed something to complement the white. Her wedding gown had been even paler than sky blue. Which had been… nice. He supposed. He didn’t work with pastel shades for anyone other than his brother. Maybe he’d have to learn.
Across the small campsite, Estelle was asleep on Avior’s lap in the dimmest light of the campfire. Vindemiator narrowed his eyes at her and glanced down at his book.
He sketched the basic profile of a grand gown, and in the corner wrote, Dark Red? Black? Maybe one of those would work. She’d probably prefer a pastel, considering everything he’d seen of her wardrobe. But a deep, dark shade would be more Arian.
He brought his legs off Scorpius’ lap and bent his knees up as a firmer surface to draw on, adding details to the gown and material considerations. Satin and silk were nice but she needed something richer for a coronation. Velvet and taffeta were added to his list of notes. He didn’t care that he wasn’t the actual royal tailor. He liked the work and he liked the artistic expression.
Vindemiator kept designing long after everyone else had drifted off—barring Vega, who’d elected to keep first watch.
—
“Caelum?” Vindemiator asked his brother as the party finally crossed into the Arian castle keep’s walls. “Why don’t you show Avior’s new wife around the castle? Give her a grand tour?”
Caelum perked up. “Okay!”
Avior gave Vindemiator a confused look. Vin just shrugged.
Caelum scampered over to Estelle. “Can I show you around?” He bounced a little on his feet.
“Of course,” Estelle replied.
Caelum tried so hard to be proper. He offered her his elbow and tried to be dignified. But the second they reached one of the doors, he grabbed her wrist to point out something and went back to bouncing.
“Why Caelum?” Avior asked.
“He’ll show her all the best parts of the castle and make it easier for her to remember how to get around. And I wanted to talk to you,” Vindemiator replied.
What few members of the guard had been rebuilt were helping to unpack the supplies from the journey. Avior nodded away from the group and led Vin after him to somewhere more private. “What’s on your mind?”
Vin opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Your wife is going to need an attendant,” he said. “I… I was thinking that… my partner might be interested. I haven’t asked, but I know they were wanting to try something new. Their current job hasn’t been fulfilling for them. They need more interaction with people, not just being alone.”
Avior nodded. “Go ahead and ask them. If they’re interested we’ll get them started. See if it works for them.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
Before Avior could move to leave, Vin stepped into his path. “There’s one more thing,” he said. Avior paused and gestured for him to go on. “We’ve, uh… we’ve been like this… for a month, Avi.”
“Was the attack a month ago already?” Avior muttered, sounding tired.
“Yeah. Uh… it’s been long enough that… that I… I don’t really feel like Vindemiator, anymore.”
Avior’s head tilted slightly to one side. “Alright…”
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Would… would it be okay if you all call me Gavin, instead?”
“Of course. If that’s what would make you the most comfortable.”
“I think it would. Caelum can still call me Vin, but, uh, I think I’d prefer it if the rest of you call me Gav if you’re going to shorten it.”
“That’s something we can do. Would you like to tell the others or do you want me to?”
“Normally I would. But you’re the king now. I think they’ll listen to you better.”
Avior couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think you put too much stock in their respect for me, but I’ll talk to them anyway and make sure they respect your decision. I’m sure they will, but I’ll talk to them.”
“Thank you, my king.” Gavin bowed slightly.
“My honor,” Avior replied.
They shook hands while Gavin rolled his eyes at the formality of it all and Avior smiled.
—
Estelle listened to Caelum raptly. He was excitable and young and sweet—but he also knew the castle and explained it and its layout simply. His rambles tended to wander aimlessly, but always snapped back to the subject of the castle when something of note was in their path. He also kept his directions simple.
“Oh, oh!” Caelum whispered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “This door is one of the offshoots of the kitchen.” He gave her the youthful version of a sly smile—the smile of kids sharing secrets. “This one is the one where they make the cookies.”
Estelle twisted her head to face him properly and dropped her mouth open. “Is that right?” she asked conspiratorially.
Caelum nodded. “Don’t tell the baker I told you.”
“No, of course not.”
Down the corridor, she noticed when Caelum clammed up. It was the first time it had happened—it’d be hard not to notice. He slowed his pace and looked at where several planks of wood had been propped up over a hole in the stone wall out to the courtyard, trying to block the draft. He stared at the hole, brows tilting, lower lip sliding out, eyes watering. Estelle squeezed his hand where he’d been holding onto hers.
“Hey,” she asked softly. “What’s wrong?”
He whimpered slightly, shaking his head.
Estelle gathered him to her, resting his head on her chest and putting her chin on the back of his head. “It’s okay, little guy,” she said, rocking back and forth. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
He shook his head, horns nearly getting caught in her dress’ bodice. “That—that’s where the demon broke through the wall,” he managed to say. “The… the one that hurt Vin. The one that did this to us.” He grabbed his horns and pulled on them. Almost like he was trying to pull them off his head entirely. Estelle grabbed his hands and eased them away.
“Hey,” she entreated softly. “None of that. I know you must miss who you were. How you looked. But you’re okay. You’re alive, your brother’s alive. Neither of you were seriously hurt. And you’re different now but you’re still you. Having a little bit of demon blood in your veins doesn’t stop you from being the sweetest kid I’ve ever met.” She raked her fingers through his soft pink curls. “Don’t let something you had no control over get you down when you and your brother are stronger because of what happened to you.”
He sniffled and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “I-I-I’ll try.”
“Trying is all you need, buddy.”
“Cae? What’s wrong?” a familiar voice demanded. Estelle turned to see Avior and Caelum’s brother picking up their pace at the end of the hallway. Jogging over.
Vin took Caelum from Estelle’s embrace and into his own. He glanced at the hole in the wall. Understanding dawned in his eyes. He glanced at Avior. “I’m gonna take him back to his room,” he said. Avior nodded.
Once the brothers were around the corner, Avior offered his elbow to his wife. “May I finish his tour?”
“Of course,” Estelle replied, taking his arm.
“Caelum is young. He’s had the hardest time… adjusting to all of the recent changes.”
“I guessed as much. At least he has his brother.” She sighed. “What’s his full first name again?”
“Growing up, the name he was given was Vindemiator. But he’s asked that we call him Gavin now.”
“Oh thank the stars. I have a good memory but I couldn’t get that name. Gavin I can remember easy.”
Avior smiled.
The tour of the castle continued for a bit, and Avior paused on the third floor. “Wh…” He licked his lips and sighed. “Where would you rather sleep?”
“Pardon?”
“Do you wish to join me in my chambers, or would you rather maintain your own?”
“Oh. I… I admit, I hadn’t really thought about it.” She reached up with her free hand and fidgeted with the ends of her hair. “Is whatever I decide now… permanent?”
“It doesn’t have to be if you don’t want it to be.” He pushed open a door and led her in. “These are my chambers. They were my father’s.” With his free hand, he gestured around. “As you can see, plenty big enough for the both of us to maintain our own space when we want.” He cleared his throat. “Unless you’d rather have several more tons of stone between you and I when you want space.”
“Um… how about…” On the one hand, she was well aware that she barely knew him. They’d been around each other constantly for a week, but was that enough? It would probably be kinder to both of them if they maintained their own space until they were comfortable enough with one another to share living quarters.
On the other hand… the thought of sharing space and seeing him at his most vulnerable, comfortable, and casual bore a deep appeal.
“Let’s try together at first,” she said. “If we feel like we need more space until we know each other better, I’ll be fine with that.”
