TIMING: Current
SUMMARY: Alex goes to Mike's Pawn Shop to buy a new guitar and gets more than a little sidetracked.
CONTENT: Warm, fluffy puppies?
There was something of an electric feeling running through her as of late and Alex couldn’t quite place where it came from. Some of it, she was certain, had to do with the venture into the Emerald Oasis with Cass. She found she hadn’t been the same since, but she supposed simping could do that to you— she was still new to the whole simping thing, so she wasn’t entirely sure. Still, looking forward to seeing someone and sharing new things with them was exciting. Not even that, their meeting had brought in an array of new friends into her world that she could just be herself around. It was refreshing and it had something of a creative energy flowing through her.
She had already filled her garden with some new wildflowers in a particularly aesthetic arrangement and sketched some of the rocks she’d seen around the forest for Cass. Even her music ventures had seemed particularly inspired as of late. She’d strummed her acoustic guitar more and more as of late, and found herself enjoying that outlet the most.
As much was the reason for her trip to Mike’s Pawn Shop. An upgrade to her guitar might be nice and she did have a good chunk of money thanks to the people of Wicked’s Rest loving the gays– which was a win in her book. A guitar that didn’t look beat up would be a nice improvement. Maybe she could even customize it herself to make it even more aesthetic, but for the moment, she was more focused on the music itself. She did have a couple of Speak Now vault tracks to learn still.
There was a sense of excitement as she approached the shop. She’d been humming on her scooter when she pulled up, but found the inflatable tube man outside the shop had caught her attention first. She wasn’t sure how long she had been staring at it, but she had been almost entranced by it. There was a glassy haze to her eyes as she turned as she found herself walking in the direction the tube man danced, toward the abnormality, rather than towards the shop.
Years of hiking difficult trails made navigating all the fissures near the abnormality easier than it would be for most. Even in somewhat of a daze, she was able to scrabble during some of the rougher parts with ease. She had nearly reached the abnormality and her hand extended to touch it, but a whimpering in the distance pulled her from the fog she’d been in.
“Putain de what the fuck,” Alex murmured to herself, unable to be amused by her own combination of French and English. She barely even remembered walking there and the abnormality still had an almost magnetic pull to it. The black of it was darker than that of magnet and the smell was putrid, but she felt almost hesitant to leave it. “Nope,” she spoke aloud, “Don’t know what sorta cursed trick magic you’ve got going on, but not today Satan Rock.”
Another whine came from a few feet away and it sounded like a small animal. Alex knew she should just leave it. It wouldn’t surprise her if whimpers were actually attached to some vicious beast that was like ten times her size or something, but something softer in her wasn’t able to ignore the cries.
She followed the sound of the small whines and carefully climbed into one of the more shallow fissures. This was a terrible idea. She still took slow and careful steps down the rough, cracked pavement and into the small hole. As she approached, she smelled something almost familiar, animalistic— and it almost made her turn away until one of the small puppies poked its head above a rock.
“Oh my god,” she cooed, rushing over rather clumsily to the small animal only to find a whole litter of puppies. Excited sounds escaped from their little snouts as she knelt down on the group next to them. “Well, look at you,” she exclaimed, picking up the one who had shown its face first, “How’d you get down here, huh?”
She held the puppy close and soon had the others gathering around her. “Aw,” she let her free hand pet some of the others, “Aren’t you guys just the cutest?” As if to mock her statement, one of the puppies burped a cloud of smoke. That wasn’t normal. Her gaze drifted to the abnormality in the distance and some of the crystals and sludge collected around some of the fissure’s edges. “Big ‘ol mineral got you feeling a little… gassy, bud?”
Decidedly, she couldn’t leave a litter of helpless puppies to this crack near the abnormality. With this town’s luck, they’d grown into some weird abnormality giant hellhounds or something. Right now, they were just cute puppies that looked like little German Shepherds that may or may not have had some quirks. Another puppy… mooed? Okay, definitely had some quirks.
There was no way she was leaving them there and the one in her arms, she had already decided was hers and Andy’s. “How do you like Puppyeye for a name, lil guy,” she asked in a baby voice, “So you can grow strong– but you gotta finich your spinach.” Her eyes drifted towards a somewhat quiet puppy that seemed content to watch over its siblings. Something in the way it carried itself reminded her of Kaden. Did he even want a dog? Too late. “How would you like a grumbly but kind French guy as your dad?”
The puppy seemed to perk up. That was settled. Now to get them all home and find homes for the other… five puppies.
Timing: Current
Location: Downtown Rec Center
With: @letsbenditlikebennett & @eldritchaccident
Warnings: Parental Death mentions
Summary: A local cooking class gets two very invested students.
Finding entertainment for oneself was a never ending sisyphean effort. Teddy had a thirst for knowledge and fun that would never really be quenched. No matter what they did. No matter how many hobbies they picked up, or how they filled their time. It was like an aching pit of curiosity. Calling like a siren in any and every direction. Today, it led down to the local rec center. Not the first time the demon found themselves in the concrete cube, standing side by side with a few other ‘Resters’ or whatever the hell they were supposed to call citizens of this messed up town.
Cooking.
Something that already piqued the demon’s interest (enough that it consumed them entirely some days) was enough to drag them from their houseboat. They donned their very best apron and a massive grin. Big brown eyes behind red sunglasses staring at the instructor like they were some sort of celebrity. Giddily shifting their weight from one food to the next. It didn’t actually matter if the guy was going to teach them something new or not. It was the community aspect of it.
The Joneses were more often than not either gone too soon to make any sort of attachments, or far to suspect to really ever enjoy participating alongside the others in their locale. Wicked’s Rest had been much more than the rest stop the young demon expected it to be. Two whole years already behind them, and with the way Leviathan’s business had put down roots, maybe a whole lot more ahead. It was strange. But exhilarating. Something new. Teddy had to care what they said to people because they might see them more than once. Had to take care of people who they wanted to keep around. It all had a learning curve, and they definitely messed up here and there. But they couldn’t say it wasn’t an enjoyable ride.
“What do you think is on the menu tonight?” Ted leaned down to the smaller shape at his side, a fidgety little thing almost making them look still. “Chef hasn’t said yet, but I’m hoping it’s creme brulee. Love working with fire.”
—
The presence of her cousin in their home had Alex on edge in more ways than one, but the initial worry of him possibly wanting to kill her had long since passed. As much was apparent in the effort Kaden put into helping out around the home and pretending to like her less than stellar attempts at cooking. He was always trying to get her and Andy to eat better, likely out of concern, at least from what she could gauge. Kaden was far from the easiest person to get a read on, but she’d spent so much of her childhood reading people and mirroring them to convince everyone she was something she wasn't that she felt like she had a fairly good grasp on him.
Not enough of a grasp to outright ask him when his birthday was, but Alex had done a bit of snooping through his things and found out his birthday had just passed and she missed it. Putting an effort into making a nice dinner had to count for something. So she found herself at one of the free cooking classes at the local rec center. Maybe it wouldn’t be the fine French cuisine Kaden was used to getting back home, but he’d be happy to see her making something that didn’t come from a can or powder.
There was a lot of nervous energy in Alex as she fidgeted with the different cooking utensils in front of her. She hated not being good at things. That probably had something to do with the fact she never felt good enough for her parents, but that was a suitcase of emotional baggage to unpack another day. Today was about embracing learning something new and using it to make a kind gesture.
The voice next to her pulled Alex pulled her out of the loop of shuffling through measuring spoons that she’d been in and she looked up with a curious glance. “I’m hoping something French,” she answered, “So creme brulee would fit the bill… though not sure if I trust myself with fire in my own kitchen.” Kaden had made a lot of small repairs around the cabin, but she figured a burned down kitchen might be a bit much for him to fix, especially on his birthday.
“Wanted to make my cousin something for his birthday,” Alex explained, “He’s French… well, we’re both French, but he, like, actually grew up there.” Speaking French was about as close as she ever got to really connecting with her heritage, which never really bothered her all that much. “You ever been to one of these before,” she asked, hoping maybe they were more skilled at cooking than she was.
—
“Ahh oui!” Teddy was smiling like it was their job. Like they were ready for a photoshoot for the cover of Demon Weekly. “French cuisine is a lot of fun. They are much more adventurous than a lot of American pallets.” Thoughtfully, they clicked their tongue against the roof of their mouth. “If you aren’t a fan of torches at home, you could always use a broiler. It’s a great tool once you master it. Mostly you gotta just pay attention to it cause it can go from golden to burnt so fast.” Problems, they figured, needed solutions. Teddy liked to offer solutions to anything they had knowledge on, which kind of gave them the air of a know-it-all sometimes. But mostly they were just excited to share. They were just as excited to be corrected as they were to give out corrections.
Especially about food. Whenever the topic of cooking came up, it was like Teddy couldn’t shut up if they tried. Which they didn’t. Because why would they? Why would you go to a cooking class and not want to chat about cooking? Didn’t make any sense at all! They were always a bit of a loquacious gadabout though, when they had the energy for it. Always searching for the next bit of joy to come from someone else, or make it themselves if they had to. After all, if you couldn’t find organic happiness out in the wild, homemade was fine.
“Oh!! A birthday! Gonna make him something special then? That’s exciting! I’ve been to France a few times. Paris is a bit overrated if you ask me but Lacoste is absolutely gorgeous no matter what time of year you go. Not as close to the ocean as I’d like it to be but– Sorry I’m being a motor mouth. I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Teddy. And yes. Been to a few. The usual instructor is very… interesting. But a really good cook too!”
Interesting, was a fun way to say ‘secretly a two hundred year old fae who got very into the rumor that eating fae food binds you to them in some way but doesn’t usually use it for that, even if they do make a mean meal’ that owed Teddy a favor or two. Which is probably the only reason they hadn’t been kicked out of class. Somehow their bright and cheery and overly ambitious attitude didn’t always come across as infectious. “How about you? First time?”
—
The amount of enthusiasm her partner in this class had was something Alex wished she could muster for… just about anything. That level of unbridled joy wasn’t something she could ever remember possessing, even as a small child. Even then, the weight of her parents’ expectations seemed crushing and now– Well, now she wasn’t too sure. It was hard to pick apart the right and wrong in how she was raised when all her feelings about her parents were clouded with grief. The blues of grief, the reds of anger, and the small yellow slivers of joy were all muddied together into a brown that she could parse through, even on a good day. The fact she couldn’t bring herself to even likely didn’t help, but even if she did, she couldn’t imagine carrying such a carefree feeling. The enthusiasm was almost contagious at least and they brought a smile to Alex’s face.
“Isn’t the American palette just like… the McDonalds menu,” Alex joked, “Which no shame, I regularly feast on cold Spaghetti-os. Just comparatively other cuisines don’t have much competition. Unless we’re throwing apple pie into the mix.” The broiler she could try to work with. Kaden had been fidgeting around with the shoddy oven and probably got it working. He was really on his Bob the Builder shit and she loved that journey for him. “Huh, that could work. May have to give it a try some time.”
While Alex wasn’t sure she had the cooking skills to back up calling anything she made special, that was in theory, the whole idea here. “Special, passable,” she shrugged, “It’s the gesture, right? And Lacoste– I’ve only been to Lyon and… well, I forget where the camp I went to was, but somewhere in France with my cousins. Cities aren’t super my vibe so I think I’d probably agree with you on Paris. And hey, no need to apologize. The enthusiasm is a whole ass vibe. I’m Alex.”
It was comforting to know that this wasn’t Teddy’s first rodeo. Alex was no Gordon Ramsey and being alongside someone who had a better idea of what they were doing would surely be helpful in the class. “Good stuff,” she responded, “First time here for me, so if I ask like 20,000 questions– well, I’d say sorry, but that’d be a lie.”
As if on cue, the instructor came in and introduced themself to the class. They told them they’d be working on a pie crust and that they would get to choose the filling. That was way too much freedom for Alex. Did she choose an American classic like Apple? That was kind of boring and Kaden wasn’t even American. He did seem to really like pie though. “Hm,” she wondered aloud, “Kinda stumped on a flavor. It’s the first birthday gift I’ve given him in like…. 15 years or something.”
—
“You’d think so, right? But there’s actually a pretty interesting dynamic to it.” Teddy bounced in place, a new energy surging through them with the chance to explain something like this. “Because so many people come to America, right? And they influence and are influenced by the culture around them. It creates this sort of… Mix? Everything is a little bit of fusion, and if you give it enough time that develops into whole new cuisines! It’s amazing and–” The excitable demon was cut off mid sentence by a loud stare they happened to catch out of the corner of their eye.
Chef Spencer was standing opposite their station, arms crossed, sporting an all too familiar expression that Teddy knew meant something along the lines of “For the love of god please hush Jones. I respect you and love you, but dear lord. You are so knowledgeable and funny and hot and have such great stories that it overshadows my class.” Or something like that. Maybe just “Shut up, I’m trying to start.” But Teds liked to think it was the former.
Teddy shot a wink along with an apologetic smile over towards the teacher, who rolled his eyes and laughed under his breath. Whether it was the topic or the fact that this wasn’t the first time this had happened in this very kitchen was hard to tell.
The class started, and the very first second of acceptable chatting time that popped up, Teddy resumed the conversation like it’d never stopped. “Go with a classic. But give it a twist. Apple, but in addition to the warming spices, add just a pinch of chili powder. It deepens the complexity and gives it this whole new bite. Plus, if you add a bit of nice gruyere on top, ahh–” A chef kiss, fit for Julia Child.
—
“Huh,” Alex pondered in response, “Never really thought of it like that, but if I’m being honest most of my meals are stolen cans of spaghettios and vienna sausages.” She whispered, as to not draw more attention to them after the Chef had all but told them to quiet down. Teddy was pretty excitable, but she found she didn’t mind it as much. It made her feel more at ease being in an unfamiliar place and doing something that was way outside of her skillset.
She listened closely to Chef Spencer explaining the basics of how to get started on their pie crust. Alex was wondering if maybe she should have enlisted Andy for this, but how different could it be from one of her labs at school? Not very– at least she hoped. Teddy’s input was helpful. She would have never thought of the addition of chili powder, but it sounded good. Her brow furrowed in confusion at the last part.
“Chili powder, I’m gonna try that,” Alex agreed more enthusiastically than she had expected, “But what’s gruyere? Is that some sorta Guy Fieri branded thing?” Diners and Dives was admittedly one of her favorite late night watches, but she hadn’t heard of that one. Not that she was an expert on ingredients that couldn’t be found in 7/11. “Thanks for the idea, definitely want him to love the pie.” Well, she wanted Kaden to love her– which in families was supposed to be some sort of given, but she wasn’t sure that same logic applied to a faulty werewolf kid in a family of rangers.
—
“Oh but those are the best.” Teddy had probably more than their fair share of the best of Chef Boyarde. The days before a settled kitchen was a guarantee often included a canned meal or two. Shared over smiles, regardless of the situation they were in. Made Teddy wonder about their little partner in crime. Food crime? Nah, this wasn’t the place for that. Chef Spencer might say otherwise considering Ted’s proclivity for strangeness, but oh well. Alex was keeping up with Ted’s jittery joy. A rare feat, which meant she was a rare find. A wonderful addition to the metaphorical rolodex the demon kept in their mind.
What was her childhood like? Was it lots of tinned meat and overly sweet sauce because she had to, because that’s all that was around? Or was that just choice? A good choice, but y’know. Not the one most humans made. Balanced meals and all that. Teddy had a lot to ponder as they worked their hands through the flour and butter. Mixing just enough to combine, not so much that the dough wouldn’t be flaky and lovely.
“What’s Gruyere?” The demon smiled again, there wasn’t any malice to it or anything like that, no Teddy was just excited to be able to expose someone to something new. And delicious, a bonus bonus. “Oh it's cheese!” They still tried to keep their voice hushed, lest Chef Spencer have something important to share with the class. “I think it’s french, but honestly it might be Dutch or something. I’m not the most informed on ch-origins.” A pause, a toothy grin. “Cheese Origins.”
—
It was nice that despite the clear passion that Teddy had for cooking, they weren’t overly judgmental about things like canned meals. There was a lot about them that made Alex curious. It was nice that they weren’t a total snob despite their clear love for all things culinary arts, but hadn’t grown out of tinned food. Not that she had either. Sure, they had a bit more money to scrap together now everyone in the household had some form of income, but it wasn’t like she and Andy could afford to go all out on every meal. Oftentimes, Alex just found the familiarity of Chef Boyardee and Velveeta comforting. She wondered if it was the same for Teddy, she wanted to ask, but at the same time, that usually meant sharing more about herself in return. And the intricacies of why she and Andy spent a good chunk of their life on the run wasn’t something she exactly delved into with… well, anyone.
Instead of voicing any of the thousands of questions running through her head, Alex donned a winning smile, and responded, “Clearly, we have a refined palette. Glad I’m taking pie-flavor advice from someone with taste.” Whether that would be up to Kaden’s tastes or not was to be determined, but she hoped that this little surprise was worth the effort as she carefully worked the flour and butter together to form a crust. Chef Spencer advised they’d want to give the dough time to chill while they prepared fillings for their pies.
The mention of fancy cheese clearly excited her new… did she daresay friend? Alex had resisted the idea of friends for a long time, but the more she opened herself up to the idea, the more she found she craved the connection. Maybe she was a monster that didn’t deserve it, but that thought was harder to hold onto when Teddy had a megawatt smile that was definitely contagious. “Fancy French cheese,” she hummed, “That’d actually be perfect. Fancy French cousin and all. You should see how long that guy spends on his hair in the morning.” She secretly hoped it wasn’t one of the extra stinky French cheeses, but she could put up with it for the sake of surprising Kaden with something nice.
A snort escaped from Alex as she made the finishing touches on her crust to give it time to chill. “Ch-orgins,” she laughed, shaking her head, “That was so cheesy.” The smirk she wore made it obvious the pun was in fact intended. It was a happy and light feeling, one she realized she didn’t want to end, which brought a sort of bittersweet feeling. She didn’t want another fleeting encounter, she wanted to be around people that made her feel like she belonged like she did in this moment. She wanted to do this again and despite the fact the idea of being rejected in an earnest moment, she asked, “Would you wanna do this again sometime? Not necessarily here, I mean, the kitchen at my cabin is small, but this is fun and you’re cool.”
—
“Oh, why I must say! I am so charmed by your noticing. It is so good to share in such resplendent company.” Teddy donned a very played up and intentionally not that good British accent. One of those Down-town Abbey types or whatever. All the while adopting the mannerisms and affectations of an old rich lady who might be concerned with such things as taste. Very, very few people on this earth shared in Teddy Jones’ taste.
They’d learned that one way or another, many people were put off by how individual the demon allowed themself to be. And for all Ted cared, they could choke on it. People that mattered, they figured, would stick around regardless of the kinds of shirts Teddy liked to wear, the strange combinations of foods they liked to try, and the peculiar way of viewing things they always seemed to have.
“Eh–” Teddy returned to their normal accent, “I can brie cheddar than that.” Puns were a specialty of the demon. Patron anti-saint of portmanteaus, silly jokes, and all things punny. Alex definitely won a basket full of points by unlocking that little number. A few more in asking to hang out after Chef Spencer’s class had concluded. “Hell yeah dude, your cabin, I also have a decent kitchen on my boat. An even better one at my dad’s place, which is still basically my place too, just gotta give a heads up. You’re cool as ice cream too half-pint.”
–
Normally, Alex would find the use of a fake British accent annoying at best, but something about the way Teddy used it in such a joking and dramatic fashion made it a lot more amusing. Much less grating than that one girl in her high school chemistry class that talked in a British accent for months after her trip to London. She laughed along as she worked on the filling for her pie, taking both Chef Spencer’s instructions and Ted’s inventive ideas into account to make this the best pie ever… or at least the best pie she’d ever made. Given it’d be the only pie she’d ever made and Andy probably still made better pies, but maybe that didn’t matter much if she was having a good time and doing something thoughtful for someone she cared for.
The pun sent her into another fit of giggles as Alex carefully added a little bit of chili powder to the apple mixture she was working on. “Okay, that was gouda,” she added with overemphasized awe, “Gonna need to get some crackers in here for all this cheese.” It was easy to joke with Teddy. Perhaps it was their openness and the unapologetic way they were just themself. She wondered what that was like. She felt as if she’d been apologizing for who she was for as long as she could remember. Then again, Teddy was human. What did they have to apologize for? Though she supposed she was once just that, too, and she had been filled with just as much self-doubt and overcompensating.
Her filling seemed to be coming along nicely and Alex had a feeling that Kaden might actually enjoy the pie. Better yet, Teddy was down to hang out in the future which indicated she may have successfully made a friend. Maybe Andy would stop recommending her to people who needed insoles, but that was a long shot. “You live on a boat,” she asked incredulously, “That’s fucking cool.” Did they have money or something? Usually boats were a rich people thing, but at the mention of their dad, it was clear parents in the picture usually meant more stable finances. “And that’s cool of your dad, to let you use his kitchen.” Was that a normal father thing? Her own father seemed to hate when she focused on anything that wasn’t directly related to her training, as if more practice would every make up for the fact that the ranger genes happened to skip her. “We can make it a thing. Switch it up where we go. Maybe make something your dad loves when we go over there since he’d be letting us use his kitchen and all.”
The threads of a plan had begun to tie together in a way that left Alex feeling good about this whole experience. She had to admit, she was curious to meet whoever raised Teddy. That level of easy confidence and enthusiasm made her wonder what their father was like. “First up will be that creme brulee,” she assured, “Then, who knows? The possibilities are endless.”
–
As Alex caught a case of the giggles Teddy felt more and more alive with an overdeveloped sense of pride. Nothing felt better than watching someone fall into that breathless joy. If they were going to live forever, if they were going to have to watch as the world changed. Watch the faces of people they’d grown to like, get older and eventually leave him for good… Well all then all they could hope for was a few moments like this with each of them. Delightful, silly, bordering on preposterous.
“Doesn’t it just melt the stress away though?” A warm hum filled Teddy’s chest as they busied themself with their own fillings. Already well on their way to making something that Levi might like. Mango and peaches, a bit of basil and tajin. All set in an earl gray custard. Sweet and spicy, just like the old kraken itself. Papa shark would like this little one, Teddy was as sure of it as they were sure that Leviathan would like the pie they were carefully arranging. “Ahh, Crackers. Then we’ll really be putting on the Ritz.”
Each slice of fruit thin and careful, they even broke out the mandolin. An element of musically homonymous danger made any dish just that much more delicious. The ‘petals’ of fruit all spun into a central bud, making the whole pie look like a blooming rose. Teddy wasn’t much of an arteest, but they had the queer audacity to believe they were good enough to do anything they set their mind to. And in this particular case? It worked out.
Time passed, pies were in the oven and all there was left to do was wait. “You know what Chef Alex, I think that sounds grand. Creme brulee day will be crackin’.” The devilish smile softened again. Excited to add another little buddy to their growing arsenal. Wicked’s Rest was full of folks who just seemed to get it. Ted’s kind of people. It was… nice. Made it the kind of place they didn’t want to leave. Even if the thought of staying somewhere more than a decade sent shivers down their spine. “Once we’re less coated in flour, I’ll have to grab your number. For now though–” timed to a scarily accurate degree, the buzzer on the oven popped off and Teddy nudged Alex with a grin. “Bon appetit!”
TIMING: Before the allgoods party because time isn't real
PARTIES: @magmahearts & @letsbenditlikebennett
SUMMARY: After chatting online, Alex and Cass decide to go spelunking in the Emerald Oasis.
CONTENT: Parental Death mentioned
Despite all the time she spent at the forest between her internship and her free time, Alex had never actually gone spelunking before. It wasn’t for a lack of interest, but it wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to do for the first time alone. Better than most, she knew the dangers, both natural and supernatural, that hid away in the forests and caves of Wicked’s Rest. The buddy system was always the way to go, so now that she seemingly had a buddy to go with who was just as enthused, if not more so, than she was, it seemed like the perfect time.
From what she could tell from Cass’ profile, they were about the same age and the other girl seemed cute in her pictures. Alex found the eagerness she’d shown for different rock formations only compounded that notion. She found she was a little nervous as she headed to the makeshift trailhead that led to the Emerald Oasis. On a very surface level, she was good enough at making conversation with people her own age, she just found she had a hard time connecting, though she supposed that was the case across the board. She put on her best face for her instructors, but they didn’t know her, not really. She didn’t want them to. She didn’t like herself so why would anyone else want a window into who she really was, or rather what.
Alex stood under a shady tree and waited for her partner in crime for the afternoon to arrive. She heard the footsteps approaching before she saw the figure approaching. When Cass was in sight and it wouldn’t raise suspicion, she raised her hand to wave. “Hey,” she greeted with a smile she hoped was warm, “Cass, right? I’m Alex.” The vague scent of fire and stone in the air around Cass was unlike anything she’d ever come across before. She found she liked the scent, it reminded her of nights huddled around a fire with Andy filled with silly stories her sister would tell to distract from the fact the chill in the air was far from comfortable. She extended her hand to politely shake Cass’ and found herself blurting, “Has anyone ever told you that you smell really good?” Well, so much for a good first impression.
She was trying to distract herself and she knew it. It was a bad habit she’d developed, a way of trying to fool herself into being okay when she wasn’t, when she didn’t deserve to be. Her foster mother dropped her off on the mainland with a couple dollars and a warning to stay away from the island and she’d hopped from group to group to avoid thinking about it. Kuma died in a way she knew was tied directly to the promise she’d bound her to and she’d become a superhero so she could pretend she was still a good person. Debbie’s body was rotting in a pit where Cass and four other girls had thrown it and she was going spelunking with a stranger. This was a familiar pattern. She knew it probably wasn’t a good one.
But what else was she supposed to do? If she stayed up in her cave alone, she’d never be able to think of anything but Debbie’s face as the light left her eyes, never be able to smell anything beyond the burnt flesh where her hands had landed on Debbie’s shoulders, the way hurting someone smelled exactly the same as helping them had when she’d cauterized everyone’s wounds. And maybe she deserved to be stuck with those thoughts, but she didn’t want to be. She wanted to go spelunking with a cute girl who seemed nice. Was that so bad? Did it make her unforgivable?
The smile she plastered onto her face as she approached the Emerald Oasis was only mostly fake, because even if it was just a distraction she really was excited to hang out with Alex. It was rare she met someone who cared about rocks even half as much as she did, rarer still that they actually wanted to talk about the shared interest. Most people found rocks boring, like the grumpy guy who’d told her there was ‘no difference’ between them. Alex was different. And much, much cooler. “That’s me,” she confirmed with a bright smile. Alex thinking she smelled good was a pleasant surprise, given the fact that the Magmacave didn’t exactly come equipped with a shower. Cass’s smile widened a little at the compliment. “You smell pretty good, too!” Cass had no concept of how Alex smelled — whatever soap she used wasn’t strong enough to cut through the scent that had settled over the town — but it seemed like a nice thing to say, anyway. And it wasn’t a lie; whatever Alex smelled like couldn’t be worse than the Wicked’s Rest stink. “All right, are we ready? It’s so cool in here.” She hadn’t been back in a while, but she had explored the Emerald Oasis plenty before settling in the Magmacave.
Thankfully, the comment about her spelunking partner for the afternoon smelling good went over well. Alex figured it was worse than telling a girl they smelled like shit, but it still was far from smooth. There was no use in overthinking it though, she’d only further make an ass of herself if she chose to harp on one thought over and over. That was decidedly the last thing she wanted to do. It wasn’t like Alex was exactly killing in the friends department. She went on dates here and there, had flings, went to occasional social outings, but every single one was short-lived. She could tell Andy worried about her making friends and wanted her to have a full and happy life. Even if Alex wasn’t sure that would ever be possible for her, she could at least try so that Andy had one less thing to worry about.
“Good to meet you in person, Cass,” Alex said with a smile that was much more confident than she felt, “Can’t wait for you to teach me about all of the rocks.” A sly wink was thrown in at the end, one that further painted the picture of a confident young woman that might as well have been more curated than one of the girlboss insta influencers. “I’ve actually never been down there,” she added, “I’ve heard it’s really cool, just hadn’t ventured there yet. Glad to have someone who knows it well to lead the way.”
She motioned an arm forward, indicating to Cass that she’d follow along. Alex knew approximately where the Emerald Oasis was, and could honestly probably try to sniff it out, but that would raise more than a few questions. With the stink hanging heavy in the air from whatever was going on in town now, it was hard to do much in the way of directional sniffing anyway. So she stuck close to Cass as they wove through trees and mountain edges to reach the cave. “Do you do a lot of spelunking,” she asked, genuinely curious.
In spite of the years she’d spent away from her aos si, Cass’s experience with humanity was… limited, to say the least. She’d had a few groups she’d run with over the years, but it had always been temporary and she had always existed on the outskirts of them despite her best efforts. She did everything she could do to fit in, and it still wasn’t enough. People liked her until she was no longer useful, and then they stopped liking her at all. And she wanted it to be different here. She wanted everything she’d been through to mean something. So what if the first thing Alex said to her was that she smelled good? Maybe that was just how people greeted each other in Wicked’s Rest. At least… people who didn’t then go on to kill a girl together and dump her body in a pit.
No. Not thinking about that.
“It’s good to meet you in person, too, Alex! I like your hair.” Red and fiery, like a volcano. She’d known a girl with red hair in Oregon once. She hadn’t stuck around, had left when the rest of the group she’d run with had, but she’d at least told Cass goodbye. She was one of the few who ever had. She’d been nice, and Alex seemed nice, too. Anyone who was willing to listen to Cass go on and on about rocks the way Alex had online and still invite her to hang out in person was someone Cass thought she could probably get along with pretty well.
With a nod, Cass began to lead the way towards the cave. She listened to make sure Alex was following behind her, not wanting the other girl to leave while her back was turned. “It’s a pretty cool cave,” she said. “Maybe not the coolest one in town, but totally worth seeing.” The coolest cave in town was, of course, Cass’s cave, but… She wasn’t quite ready to show Alex that just yet. The only person she’d shown it to was Metzli, and evidently they’d told their friend and stirred up enough concern that she was offering to let Cass live in her shop instead. That wasn’t what Cass wanted. Pity was never something she’d been after. “I guess it’s kind of like a hobby. I like the Earth, and caves are a good way to see different parts of her, you know? Rocks and dirt, but plants and animals, too. What about you? You seem like you know your way around the outdoors and stuff.”
There was a small grin on her face as Alex ran a seemingly nonchalant hand through her fiery locks. Even though her parents had scoffed at things like beauty and fashion, she had always liked her hair. Despite her mother not “caring” for these things, there were nights when she’d spend longer brushing Alex’s hair and gently patting her head in a way that was almost affectionate. Almost normal. But that was the thing, her mom liked to sometimes tease them with the smallest shred of normalcy only to rip it away just as quickly. Not that the young werewolf could fault her mother when she still looked at both her parents through rose-tinted lenses.
“Thanks,” Alex responded, “Grew it myself.” The last part came with a joking lilt that almost made her sound like Andy who was undoubtedly the person she learned humor from. Girls liked people who could make them laugh or something, though the attempt at a joke was hardly funny, but Cass hadn’t run ahead and left her in the dust yet, so Alex figured she couldn’t be making too bad of an impression. It seemed like they had enough in common, as it was. They both appreciated the earth in a way that so many seemed to overlook. The explanation of why Cass enjoyed rocks and cave left Alex smiling in a manner cheesier than she would normally show to someone that wasn’t Andy and somewhat by proxy Kaden.
“Maybe one day you can show me the coolest cave then,” Alex offered happily. Hopefully. And this was precisely why she didn’t enjoy the whole making friends thing. Garnering a teacher’s approval was one thing, they just had to appreciate that she was respectful and awe at her academic prowess. Friends? That was a deeper connection, one where something a lot more personal than a missed mark on a test was being judged. But this was only their first time meeting, it wasn’t like either of them had to get into any traumatic past stories or share the darkest thoughts on their mind. She perked up, as they got a little closer to the cave. It wasn’t quite in sight yet, but there was something earthy mixing in with the stink in the air that made her believe they were getting close. “That’s a really cool hobby,” Alex commented, “What’s under the surface kinda plays into the whole big picture of nature and ecology.”
Alex shuffled a bit on her feet as she thought of how to answer that question. “I guess my parents were super into like… survivalist camping when they were alive.” That was one way of putting it, but it’s not like she could exactly say her parents dedicated their lives to hunting the very thing she’d become. “Guess as I grew up I naturally became more curious about the natural world and protecting it. So I decided to study Ecology and now here I am, accompanying a cute internet stranger into a cave to find some cool rocks.” She quickly added, “More than anything, being out in the forest and helping keep it thriving just feels right, you know?”
Cass let out a giggle at Alex’s joke, because it was funny. It also wasn’t one she’d heard before… though that wasn’t saying much. Jokes were things people tended to tell to someone they were hoping to impress, and no one had ever really wanted to impress Cass. Not when she was so eager to please that there was no need to impress her. Cass would be whoever she thought she needed to be to get someone to like her, even when it hurt. But… so far, there wasn’t a whole lot of pretending with Alex. Alex told her jokes like she was trying to impress her, Alex liked spelunking, Alex listened to her talk about rocks without telling her to shut up. Maybe that was a good sign.
“I’ll have to show you someday,” she said, heart pounding a little as she said the words. Bringing Metzli back to her cave had been one thing — they were bound by words that wouldn’t let them hate Cass without consequence. Jonas had stumbled upon it by accident. But bringing someone back intentionally without the safety net of a bind to fall back one? That was a whole different concept entirely. A terrifying one, but maybe a little bit of an exciting one, too. Like a roller coaster… or, at least, like what Cass assumed a roller coaster would probably be like. It wasn’t like she’d ever been on one.
She grinned as Alex remarked that it was a ‘cool hobby.’ It wasn’t really a hobby, of course, but Cass could hardly reveal how deep her connection to the Earth went without either outing herself as an oread or letting Alex think she was a total weirdo, and she didn’t want to do either of those things right now. Maybe someday, eventually. “I think people underestimate it sometimes,” she said, looking down at the ground as she walked. Her steps were always heavier than it looked like they should be, a side effect of being a little rockier than her glamour made her appear. “People think that what they can see is what’s most important. But there’s a whole world under our feet. Not just the bugs and the dirt, but the stuff under that, too. The outer core, the inner core. It’s all important. None of it works without the rest, you know? You can’t separate the pieces, can’t leave any one on its own without everything else failing, too.”
The closer they got to the Emerald Oasis, the more excited Cass felt. She didn’t think anything of it; she was walking through the woods with a girl who’d called her cute, heading into a very cool cave. Who wouldn’t be excited for something like that? The energy thrumming through her was very natural, wasn’t it? “I’m sorry,” she said, looking back to offer Alex an apologetic smile. “About your parents. That must have been hard.” She was only assuming, of course. She’d never even known her parents, so what could she know about losing them? You couldn’t even begin to comprehend the loss of something you’d never had, after all. But Alex didn’t seem to want to dwell on it, and Cass nodded as the subject shifted back to the much more familiar one of rocks. “It does feel right,” she agreed. “I feel like — I don’t know. More like me, even if I don’t know who I am most days.” She could see the cave now, could feel it. It was exhilarating. “Here we are.”
“I look forward to it,” Alex responded flirtatiously, wearing a grin that was somewhere between a real smile and smirk. It came naturally to her, flirty remarks here, a wink there. That surface level was simple. Even if this was not officially a date, so to speak, the first few dates were always easier. Lighthearted conversation was where she thrived– it was a nice mask that covered the storms that laid just behind her eyes. It was where she felt most at ease and honestly, talking rocks and ecology was fun for her. They were a small mirror into what made her her. Too bad “her” was a monster.
“Oh, for sure,” Alex agreed. She carefully stepped over some rocks on their path and did her best to keep a nose and ear out for anything suspect. Ears were going to have to be the sense of choice today with the odor that clung to air. “They definitely do. I see it a lot at the park… or with wealthy business bros who don’t seem to care about protected species in areas they want to build. Mother Nature has a knack for playing the long game though, which go off, queen.”
It was refreshing to see someone else as enthusiastic about how everything in nature was so intertwined. Alex still had no idea where she fit into all of that, but it was nice to think that somewhere in the big picture was a missing piece in the shape of her. Andy seemed to think so, or at the very least, didn’t seem to think being a werewolf made Alex some sort of abomination. Despite everything they’d been taught as kids, Andy thought she was worth saving, so she had to be worth saving. “The inner layers of the earth are interesting. I imagine just as beautiful as what nature’s got going on above ground, too. Though I doubt I’ll ever see it… Or rather, I shouldn’t hope to see it because I doubt I’d live to tell the tale.”
With the cave opening in sight, Alex felt a sense of relief. That’d make it all that much easier to brush past the whole dead parents thing, which was nothing if not a mood killer. “Kinda is what it is,” she shrugged, “But I appreciate it.” And the more she talked to Teagan, the more she wondered if perhaps they’d had it coming, a thought she shoved to the back of her mind every time it popped up. “I get that,” she assured, “Not really knowing who you are, but feeling at ease out here.” She wasn’t quite ready to delve into that though, but she was curious about how someone like Cass could be unsure of herself. Aside from being beautiful, she knew a lot about the earth. But she supposed everyone had their demons. “Is that it,” she pointed ahead excitedly, “There’s so many plants around it!”
Alex was flirting with her. It took a moment for Cass to register the fact, and she sucked her lower lip between her teeth with a small smile. The blush that spread across her face was a little hotter than it would have been if she were human, a little brighter, but her glamour meant that she wasn’t quite glowing with it the way she might have been had she not had it up. She’d been flirted with before, but it always made her feel just as warm inside as the first time. It was nice, being wanted. Being desirable. Maybe Alex would feel differently if she knew Cass better, but for now? She got to pretend that she was the kind of person people were interested in knowing. It was one of her favorite lies.
“I don’t usually take people there unless I think they’d understand it, but I can tell you would.” Alex was one of the only non-oreads Cass had ever spoken to who talked about the Earth in the same way nymphs did. It was nice. It felt like something she could rub in the face of her old aos si, an ‘I told you so’ that she could spit in their direction. If all humans are bad, tell me why this one loves the dirt and the rocks and the grass. If all humans are bad, show me why they like me more than you ever did. Of course, in order to shove something in someone’s face, they’d have to let you see said face. Cass doubted she’d ever see any of the nymphs she’d known in Hawai’i again. She doubted they’d ever let her get close enough to try.
But that didn’t mean it was any less refreshing to hear Alex talk about the Earth with such respect. Cass listened with a grin, nodding along. “Don’t get me started on the rich haoles who think they own the land just because they have a piece of paper someone gave them. Nobody can own land.” In spite of her fondness for humans, she could admit that there was some validity to the disdain her fellow nymphs tended to hold towards them. Some humans were cruel and destructive and bad. But not all of them. Not Alex. “I think volcanoes is as close as most people will get to seeing how it works inside.” Even Cass, with her connection to the Earth, couldn’t see its inner workings. She could feel them, but that was different. That was always different.
Energy thrummed through her as they approached the cave, chaotic and wild. If she were thinking more clearly, perhaps, she might have noted that it was different than her usual energy; stronger, harder to rein in. But Cass was so ecstatic to have a friend, so excited to be able to share the Emerald Oasis with someone who’d understand it instead of someone who’d only want to see what was in it for them. Everything else fell by the wayside. “There’s more plants inside! Come on!” She grabbed Alex by the arm, pulling her towards the cave perhaps a bit rougher than she should have. It didn’t register to the nymph. She was struck with a single-minded focus — get Alex into the cave. Nothing else seemed to matter.
There was an easy familiarity in the moment— the light-hearted chatter about things they were passionate about, a long walk in the woods, and the ethereal glow of a pretty woman’s blush. The latter was something Alex loved more than most things in the world; the fact her words and mannerisms could paint a girl’s cheeks in such a perfect flush allowed her to pretend for a little while that she was someone worth knowing, someone worth loving. It was a pretty little lie tied together with a blush ribbon and she clung to it every chance she got. She found herself smiling along with the words, because she would understand. And if she didn’t? She’d make herself. She could chip and chip away at herself like the miners and jewelers chipped away at the very rocks and gems she and Cass were going to admire. She’d twist and turn, mold herself into someone far easier to love as if that could somehow make her anything other than a monster.
At least with Cass, the process felt easier. They had enough in common on a surface level that they could go back and forth all day without ever learning anything real about one another. “Fuck,” Alex started with a smile, “And I cannot stress this enough, capitalist connards.” Well, maybe besides Alan, but somehow in his case the whole capitalist thing was comforting. He could carve out a “normal” life for himself despite also being a monster, it gave her hope that maybe she could have her version of normal, too, not that she even knew what that looked like.
Thankfully, there wasn’t time for Alex to ponder too deeply on that thought. Before she knew it, Cass’s hand was grasping around her arm and pulling her toward the cave. It was a bit rough, but the contact still brought a rosy blush to her own cheeks and a sense of exhilaration. Was this what normal kids felt like when they were running free? The wind whipping their cheeks and the sense that anything felt possible? With a gleeful laugh, she wordlessly let herself be pulled into the cave they were going to explore. The climb down was really more of a scrabble, but she could hardly feel the impact, not when the combination of shadow and light dancing across Cass’ face was just so damn captivating. It took her a minute to even peel her eyes away to take in the cave itself.
When she did, it was almost as stunning. Alex marveled at the shimmering fungi scattered across the cave and the thick swaths of foliage that seemed to cover the ground around them. “Wow,” she breathed, “This is amazing.” Her eyes could hardly focus on one spot in the pit cave, they flickered from different plants and fungi, to gems and water trickling down the cave walls, but they kept coming back to Cass, who seemed utterly giddy to be there. It was pretty to think that maybe her presence contributed to that feeling, so she’d let herself believe for the afternoon. “What kind of rocks form down here,” she asked, genuinely eager to know the answer and experience it from Cass’s perspective.
Wicked’s Rest was brimming with people who understood in a way most places weren’t. Cass had never really experienced anything like it before. Most places she went, she cut off pieces of herself in order to squeeze into whatever box she thought was the easiest to want. She pretended not to hate it when the kids she ran with in LA threw their trash on the streets, hid the fact that she went back later to clean it up. She pretended to like the weird music the kids she met in Colorado listened to, acted like it didn’t hurt her ears when they played it too loudly. She’d worn a thousand different masks over the years, skirting by on lies of omission because most of the time, people didn’t bother to ask her anything. But in Wicked’s Rest? She’d found people who got it. Nora and Van and Ariadne and Wynne and maybe Alex, too, if she wanted to stick around.
She grinned as the other girl came back with a retort that made her feel like she belonged, made her feel like it was easy. She knew Alex would get it. It was people like her who made Cass feel vindicated in her staunch defense of humankind, made her positive that they weren’t all as bad as other nymphs said they were. Sure, there were people who thought a piece of paper allowed them to own something that had been there long before them and would remain long after they were gone, but there were people like Alex, too. People who saw the ridiculousness in that, people who understood what a silly notion it was. You couldn’t blame an entire species for a few of its numbers’ mistakes.
So Alex deserved to see the cave. Alex deserved to experience the wonder of it, deserved to run her hands along the stone walls. And Cass could show it to her, could tell her trivia that she wouldn’t think was boring and feed her facts that she wouldn’t immediately forget. Alex’s laugh made her feel light and airy, and she led her into the cave as her own giggles joined the fray. And, just like she’d known it would, the wonder that crawled across the other girl’s face was blatant. There was no cruel disinterest, no painful boredom. Alex thought the cave was cool and, because of it, Cass thought that Alex was cool.
The burst of energy she felt in her chest when they entered the cave was palpable, though she wasn’t sure if it was because she felt naturally more energetic in caves due to her nature or because Alex looked so fascinated that it left her buzzing. Either way, it was exhilarating. “There’s even more when you go deeper, too!” She began leading Alex deeper into the cave, too excited to worry about anything but the path ahead. “Oh, all kinds. There’s a lot of limestone in here. Most of the rocks in caves are sedimentary, but the mineral abnormality makes caves around here pretty weird. You can find all kinds of igneous rocks around here.”
There was no capturing every detail of the moment in her mind. Every time Alex returned her gaze she thought she had fully taken in before, it seemed to be brimming with even more life. Various leaves and fungi peeked through small cracks in stone, interwoven together in a way that seemed impossible to untangle, not that she’d want to. The lush array of flora was perfect as it was and its vibrance almost made her feel just as alive. If she hadn’t before, she felt on top of the world when she saw the pleased way Cass looked at her. It was enough to make her pretend she was worthy of being on the receiving end of such a gaze. In the flickering lights of the oasis they found themselves in, she could almost even believe it, too.
The deeper Cass led her into the cave, the softer the sound of trickling water got and the more her voice seemed to echo within the walls of the cave and Alex was hanging onto every word. This place and Cass both left her in awe, she wanted to know everything. Her eyes followed where the oread gestured and took a mental note of what the different rock forms looked like. The white of the limestone seemed to catch the shimmering colors of some of the mushrooms and the varying shades of gray and rusty browns swirled together throughout the sedimentary rocks like a painting. Her attention turned back to Cass and smiled, “Igneous rocks… Those were the ones you said are your favorite, right?”
More than anything, Alex hoped they found some in their spelunking adventure. There was something magical in watching someone’s face light up when they saw and talked about something they loved. The contagious wonder in Cass’ features would only be more palpable if they stumbled upon something so clearly dear to her. “I hope we find some so you can tell me all about them,” she said honestly. It was a truth that was safe to share because it was so simple.
The tunnels grew more narrow as they went on, not that Alex minded. Physical closeness was easy, comfortable even. “I’ve never seen mushrooms like these,” she marveled, “I thought honey mushrooms and destroying angels were the only bioluminescent varieties in the state.” These didn’t have the signature warm honey coloring and glow of the former or the skinny stems and pale white glow of the latter— they sparkled in shades of blue that paired with the drip of water from some of the cracks of rocks made it feel as if they were underwater. It was a masterpiece that only mother nature herself could paint; something so inexplicably beautiful that Alex was reminded of what really drew her to ecology. Her birth name suggested she was to be a sword to be wielded, but god did she just want her hands to be used for care, preservation, not destruction. She wanted that to be enough, for it to feel like enough. As if to solidify her grasp onto that idea, she grabbed Cass’s hand and happily followed towards the wider opening of the tunnel.
Alex remembered what her favorite kind of rock was. The words were jarring, but in the best kind of way. Had anyone ever bothered to remember what Cass had told them before? There was Nora, of course, but Nora was always the exception, remembering Cass when no one else did. For Alex to not only listen when she talked about rocks, but also retain that information and come back with it later…
Cass felt warm all over in a way that had nothing at all to do with the magma flowing through her veins. Alex paid attention to her. Cass had never known the difference between listening and paying attention before this very moment, but she found she much preferred the latter. Being listened to was nice, but being paid attention to? It was exhilarating. She didn’t think she’d ever felt anything better.
“Yeah!” She confirmed with an eager nod. “They’re my favorite. They’re usually formed by volcanoes, so finding them in a place like this is kind of rare. But this town’s weird. It’s got weird rocks.” All tied back to the mineral abnormality that Cass craved close proximity to. Whatever was going on with it, she thought, it wasn’t natural. But it still felt like the closest thing to home she’d had since leaving Hawai’i.
She smiled at Alex, finding that she hoped the same. Some people, she thought, didn’t really deserve to see the igneous rocks that caves had to offer. It was a little mean to think, but it was true. They didn’t appreciate the differences, didn’t care how they were formed. Some people thought that rocks were rocks, and those were the worst kinds of people. But Alex was different. If they found igneous rocks in this cave and Cass described how they were formed, Alex would listen. Alex would pay attention. Was there anything better than that?
Alex’s voice broke her from her thoughts, and she squinted at the mushrooms surrounding her. They really didn’t look like anything native to this area, but then again… “Maybe it’s like the rocks,” she offered. “Weird stuff growing because of the weird town. Right?” Could the mineral abnormality affect plantlife? Cass thought it could probably do just about anything it wanted to do. It was cool like that. Alex’s hand found hers, and Cass smiled with excitement dancing in her eyes. “We’re almost there,” she promised, leading Alex forward. Just a little further now. Alex would love it.
Something in the dim light of the cave made a perfect place to play pretend. There was something warm in Cass’s smile and the feel of her hand that almost made Alex melt just a little bit into it— entertain the idea that she could make someone light up that bright without eventually drowning it out with all her dark. A pretty thought. “Makes sense, town’s kinda famous for its abnormality and all,” she agreed. Despite the fact a lot of the elements of town left her with a gaping sense of unease, there was something special about different strata being able to form alongside the strange weather, flora, and fauna that preceded it.
“Probably,” Alex murmured, still somewhat taken with the glow, “The conditions down here are perfect for a lot of different types of plant life.” Anomalous in and of itself. “We probably shouldn’t touch them though,” she squeezed Cass’s hand a little tighter as if to remind herself, “I know the other bioluminescent species is toxic.”
The cave grew brighter and wider as Cass led her forward and there was a certain excitement in knowing they were almost there. Alex hoped it was the igneous rocks and she could listen to all about how they formed— maybe touch one and feel its layers on her fingertips as imagined how it formed. Though the site that laid before them may have been even better. “Wow,” she breathed, rendered speechless not for the first time by the pit cave’s beauty.
In the clearing, the glowing mushrooms twisted into a perfect circle. Something about it reminded her of the vibe the prom committee was probably going for with their twinkle lights back in highschool. That display had gotten nowhere close to this. Alex wasn’t sure anything synthetic ever could capture the living quality of the lights. She turned to Cass with an elated smile, “Come on.” And this time it was her tugging at Cass to lead her along, emboldened by the frankly magical ambience. She was careful to not step on any of the fungi, not wanting to disturb its growth or potentially release any toxins. She could almost swear the mushrooms glimmered more as she looked at Cass. “This lighting practically demands a good twirl,” she gestured with a grin, surprised at her own smooth delivery. When in nature’s silent rave…
Sometimes, being in a cave with someone who wasn’t fae made her feel nervous. Cass would never admit to it, hated that she felt that way at all, but it was true. There was something instinctive about it, something buried so deep into her genetic makeup that she couldn’t quite escape it. But with Alex? She felt at ease. Alex wasn’t fae, but Alex understood anyway. And that was a sign, wasn’t it, that all the nymphs back in Hawai’i who’d rejected her for how she felt about humanity were wrong? Alex was here and Alex was human and Alex understood. Better than most.
“Definitely,” she agreed, squeezing the other girl’s hand back. “No touching.” Not because she was necessarily afraid of the toxicity of the fungi, but because some things didn’t need to be touched. You could exist in a space without physical contact, could be in a moment even if it wasn’t tangible. Going into something’s home, where it felt safe, and putting your hands on it? It wasn’t right, whether the thing in question was a plant or a person.
She loved the way Alex’s steps shifted, loved how the awe she was feeling was so clear in her eyes, her voice, her posture. This was what people were supposed to feel in a place like this. Not fear, not unease. Wonder. This was how it was supposed to be. She turned to take in Alex’s expression, grinning at the look on her face. After this, she thought, she’d show Alex her cave. And maybe some of the others around town, because Alex would understand. Alex would get it.
Laughing, she let Alex tug her forward and into the circle of mushrooms in the clearing. She stepped over the fungi, just as Alex did, nodding at the request. She held out a hand, doing a dramatic half-bow. “May I have this dance?” That was what people did in movies, wasn’t it? Pride and Prejudice had been a little boring — what kind of movie had no action scenes? — but she remembered the gist of it anyway.
—
Something in the way Cass stepped over the mushrooms like she had sent a rush of devotion through her. Alex could feel the warm swell of being listened to and in the presence of someone who held the same awe for the natural world that she always had. It crashed into her like a hurricane the moment Cass was in the circle with her. The way the other girl looked almost incandescent in the glow of the mushrooms was nothing short of magical. She was pretty sure she’d never seen anything quite so beautiful as the smile Cass wore and the way the ambience seemed to make it sparkle. It was if the werewolf instantaneously knew that she would do anything for Cass and that didn’t terrify her the way it normally would have. She just knew she had to do anything she could to see that smile play on the oread’s lips as often as she possibly could. When had she turned into such a simp? Any of her formerly possessed suave and sense of cool went out the window.
“I’d be honored,” Alex beamed back with the same mock seriousness. Something about the smile she wore felt lighter when she wasn’t preoccupied with chasing traces of worry out of it. She felt lighter. She gave Cass a small spin, marveling at how blue hue shone in her hair, and pulled her closer with a laugh. “I’m not much of a dancer,” she said softly, “Seemed too beautiful to pass up the moment though.” Her eyes lingered as if to fill in the blanks, indicating that as amazing as this cave was, Cass was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen. Because she was, wasn’t she? The inexplicable urge to give the other girl everything she could have ever wanted said as much was true. She swayed momentarily to the nonexistent music like they were in some kind of rom com. At least, she assumed, anyway. She hadn’t watched all that many of them, but she was sure this was better.
“Should we keep moving,” Alex asked, still swaying slightly. If Cass wanted to find the igneous rocks, she wanted to forge ahead. Another part of her yet just wanted to dive right into the movie magic of the moment and kiss the girl. That was from a movie, right? Either way, whatever Cass wanted, she’d follow. As much seemed crystal clear and she wanted her to know as much.
—
There was a buzz running through her mind as she stepped into the circle, a shiver down her spine. Friendship, she thought, this must be what friendship feels like. Had she felt this way the first time she met Nora in those city streets, or when she’d sat across from her in that crappy diner? Had she felt it in the car on the way back from the pit where they’d left Debbie’s body, underneath the guilt and the grief and the regret? She must have. What other explanation was there for the way she wanted to dance until she dropped, the sudden intrusion of thoughts about collapsing the entrances to this cave so they could stay here in this moment forever? It had to be tied to the way Alex was looking at her, eyes bright and smile wide. People didn’t usually look at her that way. She wanted to hold onto it forever.
Alex spun her around, and Cass laughed in a way that bounced off the cave walls, echoing through the space. “I think you’re a great dancer,” she insisted fondly. What if we kept doing this forever? What if we just stayed here? She wanted to drag Alex deeper into the cave, wanted to pull her so far that no light would find them again. Alex would like it, wouldn’t she? Alex understood, and Alex would continue to understand if Cass only showed her. Even if she was scared at first, she’d get it. Right? She had to.
But Alex wanted to move on, and Cass didn’t know how to insist upon losing themselves among the rocks without breaking the spell of the moment, so she only nodded. “We should keep moving,” she agreed. “We’ve got rocks to find, right?”
TIMING: Mid-June
PARTIES: @closingwaters and @oceansrevenge
SUMMARY: A sleep-walking Teagan finds herself in the ocean. Fortunately for her, Marina is nearby and senses she's fae, too, and saves the day.
CONTENT: Some not-so-subtle innuendos & mentions of child death
Nightmares weren’t uncommon for the nix. She’d dealt with them ever since the incident. No two were exactly the same, but they did have the same components. Darkness and blood. It flowed, covering every corner, lathering it in what a young fae once slept in for a whole nice. The sorrow was like a heavy mist. It bellowed and thickened, blanketing Teagan like the most painful quilt ever made. Her mouth opened with a silent scream, but nothing greeted the air.
Teagan’s lungs ached to release decades of pain, to reach her mother and her siblings. She wanted to end the terror and turn on a light. To pull herself from the place she could not escape. Splash!
Hitting the water struck whatever dream out of the way, forcing Teagan to wake with a powerful start. She gasped, water filling her lungs. That scared her. Normally, she could breath just fine, the water her home. The clear taste of salt explained it all. She wasn’t in Darkling Lake. Somehow, her sleepwalking led her to the ocean.
Panic quickly washed over her face and her body began to splash wildly. Teagan’s skin ached, turning red and drying quickly despite being surrounded with water. She was far too panicked to find a way back to shore, not realizing it was only a few feet away. The world nothing but a blur.
Of everything in the world, there was little more beautiful than the moon and stars reflecting on dark ocean water. The constellations that speckled the sky made the waves appear to be shimmering in a way that no artificial aquarium light could ever mimic. The ancient stories of the gods reflected into the water and lived on it much like her daughter’s memory. It was the cephalopods, assorted octopodes, squid, and cuttlefish swimming around her, but in her exploration of this ocean, she saw reminders of Eula in every current and crevice. The loss was still fresh, even after five decades, but she had to trust the fates. She had to hold on to the pride she felt for her daughter. Even if her death came far sooner than Marina ever wanted, Eula placed the waters and creatures she was born to protect above herself, like any good nymph would. Pride however, was no substitute for holding her little girl close, but that was a joy she would never know again.
The deep hum of the voice from her true form seemed to be like music to the little critters that swam around her as she watched the stars in the night sky, mentally drawing the lines between them. Remembering the stories her mother, aunts, and uncles all told her about each constellation. Remembering how Eula was so fascinated as they were shared with her. Longing was something Marina had grown familiar with, but at least now she could long for what was lost to her from the open waters, free to swim and move about as she wished.
One of her tentacles had been tracing the pattern of Cassiopeia, her favorite constellation, when she heard thrashing in the water closer to the shore. Satisfaction pulsed through her hearts as Marina swam closer to the shoreline to see the show, that was, until a familiar feeling danced under her skin. The chiming of bells dancing across like the waves that carried her. Another fae. A kindred spirit was far better than a drowning human– which said a lot as there was little she enjoyed more than watching humans being pulled under by the tide.
Marina put her speed in the ocean water to good use and raced towards the nix who was gasping in the water that burned her lungs. Two of her tentacles wrapped around the fae and lifted her out of the water and brought her to the shore. She set the other nymph down and quickly scanned the area for any potential threat that would have driven the other fae into the ocean despite the effect its water clearly had on her. Once she determined there was no threat present, she turned her attention to the nixie. “Why were you in the ocean,” her deep voice boomed, unintentionally. A form they could both share would be more comfortable for the moment and thankfully other fae rarely seemed to be offput by nudity in the same way humans were. So she put her glamour in place and spoke again, this time in a gentler tone, “It hurts you,” she noted, “Are you well?”
She was going to die there. In an ocean of all places. It was embarrassing, but Fates, it was a bitter end. The nix had hoped to go out avenging her family, not this. Not drowning. Then, something as smooth as silk and cold wrapped around her. Teagan was placed onto shore far more gently than she anticipated, and she quickly succumbed to a coughing fit.
The water burned in Teagan’s throat, fire bellowing in her lungs while she attempted to cough out the remnants. Salty bile spilled out of her mouth, relief resting in her chest when she felt the grains of sand stick to her skin. Teagan shook like a leaf, seeing how red her skin was even under the blue hue of moonlight. It would take hours in the lake to soothe her skin, but that didn’t matter. A voice, muffled and worried, was calling to her.
“What?” The fae swallowed, eyes languid and searching. “How do you know that…” Teagan felt the thrum underneath her skin, and she whimpered. It was a happy, little thing. Filled with surprise and wonder. Her first nereid in years, and she had saved her. Fates! She was far more blessed than she thought. So many fae in Wicked’s Rest, and Teagan had had the honor of meeting many of them already. But this one? She had to be the most beautiful.
Leaning forward, Teagan cupped the nereid’s face and connected their foreheads, overcome with gratitude and relief. “You have my gratitude, lass. I don’t know how I got here. I was…I was sleeping.”
There was not much in the way of help Marina could offer the other nymph when it came to sputtering up the salty water. Instinctively, she still wanted to care for the other fae, offer something in the way of comfort. A nymph’s instinct to protect was not something that dwindled no matter how the years tried to chip away at everything she once was. The fact she could not simply take the pain and injury away was a familiar ache. She was just as powerless now as she had been behind the glass, watching the warden’s lackey pierce Eula with iron bolt after iron bolt. Any dream she had always seemed to play her daughter’s pained cries on a loop.
The nereid was skilled enough with compartmentalization. After all, Marina understood her own pain mattered little in the scheme of things. She knelt down in the sand beside the nixie as she coughed up the remaining water from her lungs. Even with skin marred red from the water that soothed the nereid, the nixie was beautiful. A nymph always was and under the moonlight, the stars were reflected in her eyes much like they would dance across the calm lake on a clear night. A stunning feature that mirrored the very waters the nix was to protect, as the gods intended. There was confusion in those same eyes that quickly turned to realization, which Marina returned with a soft smile.
When the nixie reached out to her, Marina welcomed the touch. For so long she’d been deprived of it, that she relished in the feeling, leaned into the touch that despite singed hands was still soft as could be. “It was nothing,” she assured gently, “If it had been in your waters, I’m sure you’d have done the same.” Because it was just what fae did, there was a certain loyalty in their shared nature. In the short time since her escape, she’d seen it when the banshee’s screams brought Siobhan to delightedly watch the nereid’s escape and now in this moment where she demonstrated her own show of loyalty to her kind. “I did not see anything out here besides you,” she noted, somewhat perplexed that the nix had ended up here in her sleep, “But we should get you back to your waters so you can begin to heal.”
Her hand ran through the nixie’s sopping wet hair to shake some of the water out and away from the nymph. It was a simple closeness that Marina had been too busy stewing in rage to truly acknowledge she missed. The nereid blinked slowly and held out a hand to her new companion. “I am Marina,” she spoke, “I am still learning the area, but may I accompany to the lake, river, or stream that you protect?”
Teagan leaned into the touch, not minding the burn the salt caused on her scalp. As long as she was out of the sea, she was fine. It was a shame, really. The saltwater could kill Teagan, but she couldn’t deny its beauty. Painful as it would be to die by drowning, it would be a gorgeous place to lay eternally. Lucky for the nix though, Fates had granted her the opportunity to relish in the nereid’s presence. Such grace was an honor. She would not dare waste the chance to cherish the nereid.
“I would have saved you.” She promised, kissing Marina’s cheek. It stung her lips, but what did that matter? Teagan had only known Marina for mere moments, and she knew she was well worth it. Cupping the nereid’s cheek, Teagan nodded absentmindedly, still too tired to start a trek just yet. “Don’t know how far the walk will be. Are you sure you don’t mind?” Teagan looked around to find any landmark she recognized, but there were none. Lights were all but obscured in the distance too. Fates, how far had she walked?
“I live by Darkling Lake, but if I’m by the harbor…” Teagan stumbled to her knees, finally standing to get a better floor at her surroundings. “The Pines are a good twenty minutes by car. Can’t imagine how long it’d take by foot. Do you know of any inns nearby? Maybe we can finagle a deal. People here aren’t the brightest.
Helping another fae was never something that Marina minded. Loyalty to her kind had been instilled in her from a young age. While she was not yet back at her full strength, she would have endured a trek of any length to see the other nymph to safety. Principal aside, the nix was undoubtedly beautiful, not that she’d ever met a fae who was anything less. The soft kiss on her cheek only made her want to hold on to the other fae tightly and never let go. The Fates were a fickle force, weaving some threads of the universe together and fraying others. Not that she would ever fault them for the cruel moments they delivered. The only person she would fault for that was the liar of a warden who saw to her daughter’s death. This moment was far kinder.
“I would never make an offer I have no intention of following,” Marina assured, still carefully wringing some of the water from the nixie’s hair, “That would be a lie.” Her lips twisted upward into a sly grin. If there was anything in this world she could trust, it was another fae. Lying was something so human. Dishonest words burned in their throat and had far more dire consequences, not that she minded. A lie was a vile thing. A simple belief that Teagan likely shared and at the very least knew lies were something that would never fall from the nereid’s lips. “It would be an honor to ensure your safety, fíltatos,” she answered, not quite able to pull herself away from the nixie’s touch despite the fact she knew it stung Teagan.
Much of what Teagan had said about directions had gone right over her head. Freedom was still so new to Marina that she hadn’t entirely learned the area yet. “Hm,” she hummed aloud, “I am not too sure truly. I do not know the area well, but a kind banshee helped me figure out the phones and the like.” Her eyes glanced over at the tote back she had taken from the aquarium on her way out. While she detested the establishment, the tote bag did have an assortment of octopodes decorating it. “I believe there are accommodations along the boardwalk. It isn’t terribly far away. We’ll dry you off a bit first. You can wear the dry clothes I have stowed away.”
Of course Marina would never lie, not even for something as passive as an offer. If she wasn’t so damn irritated with her skin and they had time, Teagan would’ve lingered just a bit longer. Marina seemed as if she yearned for more touch, like she hadn’t had a taste in so long. She was begging for water, and who was Teagan to deny Marina a drink? She’d give her a whole glass if she could.
“How long has it been?” The nereid knew what her salty skin did to nixies, and she spoke about ensuring Teagan’s safety. That, and Marina couldn’t pull herself away. For as long as she could remember, Teagan was an observant individual. It made her a good hunter. But this time around, it made her a good listener. She could hear Marina’s heart. So, she asked again, “How long has it been, cariad? You know, since you last had kind hands all over you?” Dry clothes could wait. What was a little pain if she could quench Marina’s thirst?
It was easy to drink in the feel of another fae’s touch. Their shared connection thrummed under her skin the way the waves swayed on a clear day, little bells chiming in a rhythm that could so easily lull her into the same sense of calm. Had Marina been a better nymph, she would have pulled away sooner, insisted on getting the nix free of the saltwater that blistered her skin, but she wasn’t and Teagan could see plain as day in the night how the nereid craved closeness. She’d been so far removed from the world for so long, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the nix was astute enough to pick up on it.
For a moment, it was enough for Marina to straighten her posture to prepare them for the trek to the more populated stretch of beach. The instinct to nurture never truly buried away, but the questions that followed made her throat turn sand dry for a moment. She had no doubt that was the intended effect. “Fifty years or so,” she answered, her voice raspy as if it had been her drowning only moments ago, “That matters not, you’re hurt. There is plenty of time for me to know kind hands again.” The gaze she let linger on Teagan left little up to interpretation. There was nothing murky in it, her desire for said kind hands to be Teagan’s was clearer than the waters of the Ionian Sea.
“Come,” Marina urged softly, forcing herself to pull away despite immediately missing the closeness between them, “The tide is getting higher yet.”
Fifty years? What cruel hand was Marina given to go through such an unkind fate? Yes, Fate always had a reason, but it didn’t make Teagan question any less. Didn’t stop her chest from tightening at the cruelty. Her heart ached unbearably, as if she could be consumed by the pain Marina had gone through, but she couldn’t. The nereid had actually existed in such a state and survived, and all Teagan could do was empathize. All she could do was ignore her pain and the way her skin felt like it was cracking with every movement.
Why couldn’t they stay there just a little longer? Teagan wanted to mend everything—make it right. But evidently, it wasn’t the right time, and really, she knew she could never fix anything. Not completely. She didn’t have the power to. And even if Teagan did, she knew herself too well. She’d fail just as she always did.
Still, she wanted to try.
“Wait.” She stopped Marina gently, grabbing her wrist and pulling herself up. Hands cupped Marina’s cheeks softly, cheekbones and jawline prominent at that distance. Teagan traced down her jaw with her finger and hovered for a moment, giving what she could in a small instant. “Let’s hold hands while we walk.” Fingers intertwined as Teagan kept eye contact. “You said you have dry clothes somewhere? We can switch clothing and then I think we can find a phone on the boardwalk and call a driver, or something. You said you understood phones? Do you have one?”
Some innate part of Marina had always been endeared to other fae. They could understand each other in ways no one else possibly could. Each one had such a specific role in the fabric woven by the fates.The nymphs safeguarding different aspects of nature, the banshees serving the fates themself and honoring the cycle of death, muses inspiring stunning creation– even the small sprites were part of the way of things. The connection she felt to Teagan was no different in that regard, but there was something else too. Despite the differences in their waters, water flowed and moved with wind– it flooded man-made streets and crushed ships with unmatched force. Every bit of Teagan, even with burnt skin from the salt of the ocean, was watery in its own way. It was easy to long to be closer and harder yet to pull away as she helped the nixie up.
The separation was short-lived and Marina found herself selfishly grateful for it. “Of course, dearest,” she answered, not bothering to hide the relief in her tone. Her fingers laced through Teagan’s and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. If it weren’t for Teagan’s injuries, it would have reminded her of home, walking along the shoreline hand in hand with a fellow fae. “Yes, just up this way,” she pointed toward a rocky area a few yards ahead, “A towel as well, should do a better job of ringing the excess water out of your hair.”
“I have a phone though I am still getting used to it,” Marina explained, “Don’t be alarmed by some of the stuff on there. It belongs to a human man who was very liberal in his use of the word promise. I have his credit card as well.” Even for the short walk to her tote, it was hard to keep her gaze from looking over toward the nix every so often. She truly was a divine specimen and she was sure her true form was even more so.. She reluctantly let the nymph’s hand go as she grabbed her tote bag and grabbed a flowing, pale-blue dress from the bag and a towel with some odd cartoon woman on it. “Here,” she offered, her eyes warm as she looked over the nix yet again, “The fabric is soft. It almost feels as if you’re nude while still following silly human laws.”
Oh Fates. Marina was becoming more and more fascinating. Much like the nix beside her, she too had acquired a deal with a man. Had a sugar father—or sugar daddy, as Arden so eloquently put. “You beautiful nereid!” Teagan stopped them in their tracks and pulled Marina’s face to hers. It didn’t matter that the leftover salt burned her lips. She needed to show her companion how much she truly adored her antics, that she acknowledged her skill. “I too have a man’s plastic money. Quite daft of him to promise to give me whatever I wanted, wasn’t it?”
Just as reluctantly as Marina, Teagan pulled herself a way, giving the nereid a departing kiss. She made quick, unabashed work of her sleepwear, plucking the dress from Marina. It was a relief to switch into something dry and all around soft. Teagan let out a sigh, looked around the area for the phone Marina mentioned. “If you can hand me the cellphone, I can download this app that sends a driver to your location.” She nabbed the towel and began to dry her hair, stepping toward Marina to stay close. The hum beneath her skin was impossible to resist. Especially with someone so beautiful. “I have an account that has my address and the man’s card. It’ll get us to my house. Fascinating, isn’t it?”
The kiss took Marina by surprise, but just as quickly, she returned it eagerly. The nixie’s lips were soft and the taste of salt water still lingered. It made the nereid long for more, to discover if every inch of her body tasted as sweet as her lips. However, the kiss was short-lived, which was to be expected in Teagan’s condition. “Mm,” she hummed, still taking in the ghost of a feeling of the nixie’s lips still lingering on her own. Once she was properly taken care of, Marina had every intention of getting to know every beautiful inch of the other nymph. “Impressive,” she whispered, “If I were a foolish man, I’d be just as loose with my words for a chance to kiss those perfect lips.” Fortunately, she was not a foolish human and she need not promise anything to the nix for the chance to take in all of her.
Marina listened intently as the nixie explained the app. It was all still new to her. She’d heard about all of these things in conversations she listened to from her tank, but hadn’t experienced them. Even prior to her time as a fixture of some traveling show, her time spent in the human world had been minimal and usually limited to outings with a few faun friends she had made over the years. “It is fascinating,” she agreed, “You seem to have a good grip on all of this. I’ve only really observed, it’s hard to put it all to practice. Perhaps you could show me a thing or two.” The mischievous look in her eyes indicated she was playing with several meanings, which seemed to match the easy way the nix could make near anything sound flirtatious.
Once she had slipped the clothes on, Marina took Teagan’s hand again and gave the phone to her. Perhaps she should have been paying more attention to what the other nymph was doing on the phone, but she was more taken with the way the light from the screen illuminated across Teagan’s skin. Truly a stunning nymph, but then again, was there even such a thing as a nymph who didn’t look like they were painted by the gods themself? “I think we’re ready to get out of here then. Get you into some freshwater and get to know more of each other.”
Pink dusted over Teagan’s cheeks, and she could’ve sworn she heard a ringing. As if her mind was malfunctioning at Marina’s choice of words. When was the last time someone made her stutter or made her face go flush with such forward phrasing? Had it ever happened at all? Teagan didn’t mind, not really. There was a kind of vulnerability one had to let themself be to receive such attention so easily. If there was anything the nix wasn’t, it was vulnerable, but for Marina? For a nymph? Teagan would let go of her inhibitions and let the nereid have her way—to a degree. After all, she preferred the way women looked beneath her.
“I’ll show you a thing or two,” Teagan began, connecting both of their foreheads together. “And then you’ll show me a thing or two. We’ve got all night, and then the next day.” Her lips hovered closer to Marina’s, a smile tugging her cheeks up while a chuckle tumbled past her lips. “I’ll make sure the driver rushes us to my home, too.” She licked her lips. “I can’t wait to get to know more of you.”
A wicked smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. In her years before the tank, Marina had taken a good number of lovers as was normal in her aos si, but something about another nymph was always just a little sweeter. The shared connection to a part of nature, the thrumming of bells pulsing through her– it was a sweet piece of the heavens that only a nymph could know. The short distance between them felt as vast as the ocean itself. If Teagan hadn’t been hurt by the salt in her water, she was certain she wouldn’t have waited for the ride to somewhere more “suitable”.
“I look forward to it,” Marina whispered, not bothering to hide the shakiness in her own breath. Her teeth tugged at her own lower lip as she gathered herself and the small ounce of self-control she possessed in that moment. “I’m sure no human driver could tell you no. I know I certainly could not.”
And she meant it. It was more than years of deprivation of touch and conversation that pulled her to the nix. They shared a nature and something in Marina told her that perhaps they shared a grief, too. The nix had been asleep before ending up in the ocean, not that she would push. The tide brought Teagan to her and that was a thread of the fates she would hold onto tightly.
