Waiting For The Doors To Open

Eigengrau - #phanter cuddle buddies

Phantom had been partially blind from an accident that happened when they were a kit. But with the stress of being forced away from their Papa - who chases every bad memory away - not only do they lose sight of a possible reunion, but they also lose their sight, altogether while they other Ghouls are helpless but to watch them spiral into depression...

Words: 2.2k

Relationships: Phantom & Copia, Phantom & Aether, Dew/Aether. Swiss/Phantom

Tags: they/them Phantom, Phantom and Aether are siblings, blindness, hurt/comfort, angst, family dynamics, forced separation, parent-child relationship, implied murder Ghouls at the end, mostly phanter and aethtom (platonic) but a little bit of dewther and swisstom for the soul lol

~~~

    Phantom’s skin had long been painted in a myriad of scars acquired from a whole host of injuries and tales, but perhaps the most obvious is the one on their face. They got it when they were just a kit and training with their clan, getting a little overeager and causing a burst of unbridled Quintessential magic to erupt into their face. The instinct they got to turn away caused the damage to only hit the left side of their face, but it also took away most of the vision in that eye.

    They had no peripheral vision left, very little depth perception and only a straw’s width of a gap in the eigengrau void to actually see through. They slowly adjusted to their new way of having to view the world, always feeling unbalanced and often getting migraines from the sheer amount of compensating their right eye had to do.

    But, by the time they were summoned to Earth, they had fully adjusted and accepted what they now had to live with. And considering they now had their Papa with them, and were reunited with their brother, Aether, once more, they could never complain too much about anything in their life.

    Nightmares of all they went through were chased away by Copia’s scent of stale tobacco settled into woollen sweaters and aged parchment. The human’s strong arms around them made them feel safe and at home. And they could never get enough of sleeping in their Papa’s arms, listening to his heart and feeling his fingers thread through their black and white hair.

    It was all so perfect and Phantom could memorise every detail of their Papa despite their partially blind condition.

    Well… That was until it all fell apart, and a wedge was driven between Phantom and their beloved Papa. Now, they could no longer spend their nights holding each other, Phantom couldn’t be soothed by Copia’s scent after a nightmare, and their soul ached with the loneliness of it. All because of some promotion and arbitrary new rules that deemed their parent-child relationship as unprofessional and unsafe.

Read below the cut or on ao3

    Copia no longer had the responsibility of caring for the Ghouls. That was a Papa’s job and he was a Papa no more.

    The most interaction Phantom got with Frater was a nod in the corridor and a handshake at formal events. No hugs, no I love you’s and no visits to either’s rooms for sleepovers and cuddles.

    It had been just over a year and a half since this separation started and Phantom was losing hope for any reunion. They were having more nightmares than ever and so many were of Copia getting hurt and Phantom not being able to save them. The anxiety of those dreams possibly being premonitions was making them beyond stressed and what sleep they were getting was of no real quality.

    One day, they woke up from one of their nightmares and cracked their right eye open, gently smacking their left temple to get the other eye open. Sometimes it took a little longer to clear the sleep out from what little they could see from that side. But… that side was open… Why was it still so dark?

    Phantom felt their breathing pick up and their throat become dry. Their right eye saw the room spinning and the left saw completely nothing.

    “Aeth?! Aether, help!” They called, smacking their hand against the wall behind their bed that separated them from their older brother.

    The older Quint was in like a flash, holding their face in his hands and checking them over.

    “What’s wrong, love? Nightmare?” He asked, his heart breaking for his younger sibling.

    They shook their head as all breath seemed to have failed them.

    “M- my eye… C- can’t s- s- see anyth- thing…” They strained out against the panic and tears that had started to consume them.

    Aether’s face grew to one of worry as he checked in and indeed saw their left eye devoid of anything, and his mind devoid of a solution or remedy.

    “It’s okay, Bug. I’m here, it’ll be alright.” He said, gathering the little Quint into his arms and holding them tight, rocking them back and forth and encasing them both in a Quintessence bubble to calm them.

    Phantom didn’t know if it was calming them or just stopping them from getting worse. What they did know, was that their Papa being there would have made it all a lot better.

    Over the following weeks, they couldn’t adjust to their completely half-blind state. They practically had a constant headache from how much effort their right eye was putting in and they felt so horrifically unbalanced that they were a walking hazard. If it wasn’t this situation, it would be slightly funny and everyone would be calling them Bambi on ice.

    Aether was at a complete loss for what had caused this. He helped heal Phantom when the accident that took part of their vision first happened and even the best healers in their clan said it wouldn’t get worse after it had healed. Inbetween reassuring Phantom and shifts in the infirmary, he was researching everything he could about ocular health and spending as much time as he could doing it.

    One night, when Dew came down to force-feed him and make sure he actually took a break, he found the answer.

    “IT’S STRESS!” Aether called as he read the article on the screen.

   After the librarian came to admonish him for his volume, he hugged Dew tight, happy to have an answer.

    “Wait, if stress causes blindness, how come Mountain hasn’t been blind from birth? He’s the biggest stresshead we know.” The Fire Ghoul chuckled.

    “Who fucking knows? Probably because Phant’s left eye is already weak? As for Mountain, no clue.” Aether was still smiling, happy to have an answer for his little sibling and now hopefully start being able to help. That smile, though, was soon wiped from his face when his phone buzzed with a message from Swiss.

    ‘Get back up here NOW. Phantom needs you.’

    Aether forgot to clean up or switch the computer off before he was running out of the library and back up to the den but he didn’t care one bit. Nothing and no one stopped him until he was back in Phantom’s room, asking what was wrong when he saw Phantom deep in another panic attack.

    As Aether desperately tried to get Phantom to calm, Swiss explained that the vision in Phantom’s right eye was starting to fade now too…

    Aether’s heart sank as he saw that cloud of blindness start to creep in around Phantom’s healthy eye. The distress of this whole situation being so cruel to such a pure soul that had already fought so much. When would they ever get their break?

    The right eye now saw what the left used to. Merely a pin-point of light and the blurred shapes and figures of things in their immediate vicinity. They couldn’t read, couldn’t see the faces of their loved ones and couldn’t even see when they passed Copia in the corridor.

    After Swiss told them when they had, yet again, missed a wave from their Papa they broke down and sobbed for what they were losing. Not only their sight but the hope of everything going back to how it was. How was everything meant to be the same again when Phantom couldn’t even see the person in front of them?

    They knew blind Ghouls could still live good lives but they didn’t want this. They wanted to be able to see their Papa’s eyes light up when his pipistrello entered the room and the warm smile that caused every little crease and wrinkle on his face to pop out.

    Every morning that Phantom woke up without Copia was another that made them more depressed for what they lost. And as they lost even more of their vision - it only taking a couple weeks for sightlessness to completely take them - they only became more catatonic. The pack ached to see such a vibrant Bug so dull and flat.

    Aether’s heart cried even more for his little sibling and he was draining himself dry to try and give them plenty of Quintessence to just do something other than stare at the nothing and cry.

    Seeing the little Quint’s stars fade was tearing the pack apart. All of them had been affected by the forced separation to Copia, but none more than Phantom. There had barely been a night since they came home from Frater’s last tour that at least one of them didn’t sleep with Phantom because while their Papa may not be there to chase the nightmares away, someone else could be.

    No one dared tell Copia either. Aether, Swiss and Mountain – being the biggest and strongest Ghouls – were occasionally chosen to escort Copia as security on business trips but even then they were too scared to be anything but professional with Frater.

    They’d all seen what the Clergy is capable of - Primo, Secondo and Terzo’s bodies and Dew’s unnatural Element are all proof of that - and no one would dare tempt a reprise or something even worse. Sister may be gone, but she certainly didn’t act alone in her cruelties and her followers still dominated the Clergy.

    If Copia knew the situation had made his bambino blind from the stress of it all it would break him more than he had already been broken by the separation too. And at least very least, one of them had to appear strong for the other.

    Copia knew his Ghouls though, and suspected they were hiding something from Swiss’ jaw tightening, the way Aether’s Adam’s apple bobbed, how Mountain’s ears flicked at the mention of Phantom’s name. But, pry as he might, he could never get any information from them that told Copia how his pipistrello was doing aside from the bare minimum.

    He couldn’t go and investigate either. Not without risking so much. He already had visions of his Ghouls being sent back to the Pits they came from and he could never risk Phantom being sent back, not after all they’ve been through.

    So Copia kept his nose down and did his best. Though even his best didn’t seem to be enough to help Phantom. He never saw them in the halls anymore or in the cafeteria. He couldn’t find them in the crowds at Black Mass and apparently they could no longer attend rehearsals or their duties either.

    Phantom couldn’t do much of anything as they rotted in their own mind. They felt as useless as a kit as they wandered the den in tiny steps with one hand on the wall for stability. Their other senses were overwhelmed by what they had to make up for too but they couldn’t shut them off when it’s all they had to rely on now. They didn’t really leave their room much anyway. Sitting in front of the TV felt like a mockery and it wasn’t like they could cook for themself – even before they were blind. Walking around the halls was more hassle than it was worth and they could barely even feel the sunlight on their eyelids anymore.

    Aether went in to see Phantom in the morning before work, kissing their forehead with a promise to come by after his shift. When he did, his heart broke into an infinitesimal number of pieces as he realised they hadn’t moved an inch since he left them twelve hours prior.

    “I don’t know what to do, Dew.” Aether said to his mate in the evening after Swiss came in to sit with the Bug. Planting his elbows on the breakfast table, he buried his face into his hands.

    Dew poured two glasses of neat whiskey for them both and pushed one towards the Quint, standing next to him and combing his fingers through his short hair.

    “We could kill them.” Dew suggested, only half-joking as he referred to the humans that had enforced these cruel rules and restrictions.

    “I thought half of why we’ve done nothing is that we’re scared of what the Clergy will do.” Aether responded as he took the glass and let the whiskey burn down his throat.

    “Do you have any other ideas?” Dew said, shrugging his shoulders as if he was suggesting the most casual activity you could think of.

    Aether exhaled and traced a claw around the edge of the glass.

    “We know who Sister’s loyalists are.” He said.

    Dew’s wicked grin heated up the space around them both. “We do.”

    “We’re natural born predators too. We know how to be discreet and only harm, not kill.”

    “That we are, love.” Dew said, kissing his mate’s cheek with a deep purr.

    “Someone needs to stay with Phantom tomorrow then. While we explain this to the pack.” Aether thought out loud.

    “We’ll figure it out, Aether. We’ll get our Bug back.” Dew promised, toasting their whiskey glasses and letting the glow of the moon light up the amber liquid.

    Phantom didn’t know why, but the next morning, as they awoke next to Swiss, they felt the sun on their eyes a little stronger than usual. And while it was quickly snuffed out by the tidal waves of depression they had fallen into, the tiny spark of hope that fluttered in their chest was so so bright.

    Almost as bright as Phantom would see Copia’s eyes when they finally reunited…

One shot master post can be found here

#phanter cuddle buddies master post can be found here

Mountain the type of mf to split you in half, make you come so hard you black out, then politely thank you for a nice evening

Hyp! You said, so you shall receive! Ofcourse only if you want to do something with it but this lil shit has been rattling around my racoon brain for a bit. So, for you 🤲

Rain has the most delicate wrist’s. They’re not even the smallest in the pack, Aurora for example has teeny tiny, fingers overlap, kinda wrist’s.

No Rain’s are a contradiction of themselves, delicate and soft looking like precious porcelain but there’s strength in there too, there has to be because the bass is heavy.

His Ulna is very prominent and after he’s been playing for a few hours there’s a vein that curves around it, cradling the bone.

It’s also a terribly erogenous spot for him, Dew would know. He’s spent a hours staring, stroking his fingers over the delicate joints, imagining how he’d make Rain into a weepy little mess begging Dew to just do something, stop teasing.

Rains wrists drive Dew absolutely feral and Rain knows it.

Or something like that, idk. 🤷🏻‍♂️

this made my brain go empty for weeks but here i am and i bring food. loosely inspired by @miasmaghoul's fic on dewther watching the ghovie, hope u don't mind

does not contain any rhrn spoilers!!!

“Should’ve made you take the jacket off sooner,” Dewdrop whispers right into his ear with another slow stroke over delicate skin.

It’s stretched so thin over the bones of Rain’s wrist, keeping all the tendons and veins not hidden, but veiled nonetheless.

The water ghoul grits his teeth and digs his claws further into his own thigh. Well, not claws, considering he’s got them glamored—they’re surrounded by tens of unsuspecting humans, after all—but his blunt, perfectly trimmed nails. The same ones that are still flashing on the big screen right before them from time to time.

“I’d get to see those pretty wrists even more.”

Rain can do nothing but keep his head straight and his eyes glued to the screen. He should’ve known. He should’ve known his little mate would go absolutely feral seeing not just him in general in the cinema, but the close-ups of his hands. His wrists.

Why the delicate bones wrapped in fair skin were Dewdrop’s undoing, nobody’s ever learned, even though nobody could deny that every single part of Rain’s body is absolutely perfect. He carries the precisely carved out and yet so natural beauty of renaissance statues. For some reason, the fire ghoul’s favorite part of him is one of the unassuming ones and because of this his mate’s own body was conditioned to betray him every single time a reverent fingertip would be placed over that spot.

“Dew, you can’t–” Rain mutters when the music is loud enough to cover up his cracking voice. There’s nothing more he wants right now than for Dewdrop to go on and work him up and up until he tips over the edge, but they can't, they're in public. And the water ghoul knows he won’t be able to control himself if his mate carries on his teasing.

“Sure I can,” Dewdrop turns to smile at him and if Rain didn’t know better he’d call it genuine, sweet, innocent. The fire ghoul is all but that.

Dewdrop lets his glamor slip the tiniest bit, just enough for one of his nails to return to its natural state. He scrapes it over the middle one of Rain’s flexors, pressing it down just enough to leave a straight red line following the tendon. His skin is so delicate, it takes barely anything to leave a mark.

The thought makes the fire ghoul let out a growl.

Rain whines pathetically like a kicked puppy and throws his head back against the top of the cushioned cinema seat. Another clip focused solely on his own fretting hand flashes on the screen and the water ghoul wants to scream.

Instead he throws his free hand over his crotch, pressing down onto the steadily growing bulge to take some of the edge off. It doesn’t escape Dewdrop’s attention—just as the smell of the fire ghoul’s cunt in arousal doesn’t escape Rain’s.

He leans into his ear once again.

“It’s actually a wonder you’ve never tried putting your whole hand into me,” Dewdrop whispers, moving his claw up Rain’s forearm as he shakes in his seat. “We should try that later. Wanna see your wrist buried inside me while my slick is dripping down this pretty veiny forearm all the way to your elbow.”

The next noise the water ghoul lets out makes the entire auditorium turn their heads.

....who was gonna tell me THIS photo of mountain existed???

his...he....

Mushy May Day 20: Gardening

Sunny, Rain, and Mountain plant strawberries in the Abbey garden.

Thank you to @forlorn-crows for putting Mushy May together, and to @ghuleh-recs for making the dividers <3

"Will these do?"

Mountain looks up, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He knows he's left a smudge of dirt behind but can't bring himself to care. Rain's walking closer to the raised bed he's currently planting in, shirt rucked up to hold about three dozen stones. He's dripping wet, starting to dry off in the late spring sun, hair hanging in curtains around his face.

The angle is something Mountain doesn't get to see every day, the water ghoul actually looming over him on his knees.

"Lemme see, tadpole." Mountain shifts up on his knees as Rain gets close enough for him to examine the stones. They're all vaguely oblong, narrower at one end than the other, smoothed by years of the lake's waves lapping at them. "These are perfect," he says, glancing up at Rain until their eyes meet, emerald to aquamarine. "Sunny's got the paint. I've got about ten more of these to plant and then could I have you water for me?"

Rain smiles, revealing his serrated teeth. "Sure thing." He bends down to press a sweet kiss to the corner of Mountain's mouth, watching pleased as punch as a blush blooms over the earth ghoul's olive skin. "You've got a little," he gestures at Mountain's face.

"Come on, Rainy, you know better. A little dirt won't kill me," Mountain sighs, rolling his eyes as he smiles fondly at the water ghoul. "We're gardening, there's going to be some dirt."

Rain returns the fond smile, flicking the finned spade of his tail on the brim of Mountain's hat, something floppy to keep the sun out of his eyes. Rain, along with the rest of his packmates, finds it incredibly endearing. He turns, heading to where Sunny's sitting at one of Mountain's workbenches.

"I come bearing gifts, sunbeam," he says, dumping the rocks from the lake into a neat little pile in front of her. She glances up at him, a paintbrush tucked behind her pointed ear, curls bouncing softly as her head moves.

"Pretty," Sunny coos, though she's not looking at the rocks. Rain preens, patting the small of her back with his tail. She rolls her eyes playfully, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him down to sit next to her. She picks up a rock, examining the smooth, grey surface. "It's a shame we've got to paint them all red."

"You want strawberries come July?" Mountain asks. "We could just let the birds and critters get them, or we could put out the decoys."

"I know, string bean," Sunny laughs, taking the paintbrush from out behind her ear, shaking the little bottle of red craft paint she brought out and squeezing some onto a little plastic palette. She starts painting each rock, coating them in red, whistling something bright that carries through the gardens as she works.

Mountain barks a laugh at the nickname, turning back to his strawberry plants. He whispers in Ghoulish as he plants each one, encouraging words of earth magick and blessing. The lines of his knuckles and his fingernails are caked with soil.

Rain meanders back over. "I can start watering the one's you've done so far?" he asks, settling on his knees on the far side of the planter opposite Mountain.

He hums approvingly, examining another strawberry plant that they're repotting from the seedling containers. They're big enough now to go in the actual ground, let the roots expand down into the earth, leaves furling out to soak up the sun. There's twenty in total, the work meditative, especially as he catches glances of Rain, brow furrowed as he focuses, pulling moisture from the air and sinking it into the soil, nurturing and precise.

The three of them work quietly, soaking in their packmates' presence. The tip of Sunny's tongue peeks through her teeth as she focuses, making the stones look like strawberries, deterring the birds and fauna from nibbling on the plants when they eventually fruit. There's plenty of berry patches in the woods not a hundred feet from the gardens for them to forage from.

Sunny hums in satisfaction, setting aside her paintbrush and calling on her air and fire to dry the rocks, now painted to resemble perfectly ripe berries. She gathers them up just as Mountain finishes tamping down the soil around the last plant, scattering them around the garden bed.

Mountain groans as he stands, knees protesting and coveralls stained with grass and dirt. "We'll be eating good in no time," he hums, nudging his shoulder against Sunny's. "They'll be just as sweet as you."

Rain's head perks up from between two plants. "And what about me?"

Sunny and Mountain share a look, bursting into laughter.

Cryptid Biology Season 2: Something Special

[Previous entry in this series: Here. The ghouls participate in a time honored tradition in celebration of the summer solstice... or Dew has an encounter with Special in the woods.] Below the cut.

Dew can feel his heart beating in his chest as he runs through the darkness, ducking and weaving to avoid branches and thorn bushes that appear just inches away from him before disappearing into the black surrounding him.

He curses, feeling his muscles scream at him to slow down, to stop, but if he does, he'll get caught.

Breathing heavily, Dew stumbles over a root, but manages to keep his footing... only to trip and fall over the next one, landing upon the ground with a heavy thud that would hurt a whole heck of a lot more if not for the bed of decaying leaves on the forest floor.

He groans and attempts to scramble to his feet, but when a boot against his back keeps him from rising right away, he relents, flopping back down with an angry huff.

"First you failed to outrun me during the Imbolc hunt, then you ran into me at the one for Ostara, and don't get me started on that pathetic attempt to hide from me during Beltane... and now here we are again." the ghoul above him chuckles, eyes glowing red, face just barely visible with Dew's lackluster night vision, "I think you're getting in my way on purpose, Tadpole."

"Stop calling me that, Special, you prick..." Dew grits out, "Maybe you're the one chasing after me, huh?"

Special hums and grinds his foot down.

"Mn, no, I don't think so." he says, crouching down, "I'm not much of a hunter, you see, I've always been more of a scavenger; I take what the others leave behind, so normally I'd wait and see who's left..."

He moves to press his knee into Dew's back, applying more pressure as he leans forward to whisper into his ear, "You're too much work, so for me to catch you, either nobody wanted you this time, or you're deliberately making it easy for me, because after our first encounter, you've been aching for more..."

Special brushes the hair from his neck and presses a kiss there, "...Haven't you?"

"Shut-" Dew starts to shout, but can't as Special's jaws lock onto his nape, it stings, both from the act itself, and from the toxin dribbling into his wounds from the ghoul's mouth, "Uh-huunh..."

"There's a good boy." Special coos, licking Dew's blood from his lips, swiping his tongue over his teeth for good measure, "Feels better than when a quint fucks your mind, doesn't it? I know it does... It's such an instant relief."

His hand comes down the massage the wound, grinning as the skin heals over from his touch, while also aiding in spreading the venom faster.

"There we go..." he says, finally lifting himself from Dew's body and flipping him over onto his back, "Well, look at you~"

Dew's whole body feels flush, and his breathing has yet to settle from his mad dash through the forest, so he has to look like a sweaty mess, but Special doesn't seem to agree, reaching down to cup his cheeks with his hands, shaking his head teasingly back and forth.

"Aren't you just the sweetest thing?" he grins, then pats his face lightly, "Hm, guess we should get this show on the road then, huh?"

Dew mumbles something and raises his arms slowly, wiggling his fingers, and Special blinks at him for a moment before snorting, "Oh, poor baby, can't take your shirt off yourself? You need me to do it for you?"

"Feeeel allll... wiggly..." Dew supplies unhelpfully, giggling as Special hooks his fingers under the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head in one fluid movement, "Umph!"

"The venom's making you a little silly, isn't it?" Special squishes Dew's face again as he wads up his shirt and tucks it under his head, "That's good, you always seem so uptight..."

He spreads his fingers over his chest, thumbs poised beneath his nipples, "You know..."

"Most people come to these hunts so they can do nasty, freaky things in the woods without consequence." he says, teasing the small bud, "But you, and pardon the joke, are something special, huh?"

"You just wanna be loved.... adored, taken care of..."

Dew mewls as Special descends to nibble at his neck again, fingers rolling his nipples around in soft, slow motions.

"Are they not treating you right, sweet thing? Hm?" Special asks, "Should I talk to that water ghoul you like so much and tell him he doesn't need to be rough?"

"I like... I like rough..." Dew replies meekly, eyes shutting, "S'okay..."

Special makes a disappointed little noise and pulls back.

"You know I don't like liars, Dewdrop." he chastises, "But if that's what you want-"

Dew's eyes widen as Special's hand begins to wrap around his neck.

"Do you want this?" he asks, applying pressure to his throat, "Or do you want me to treat you like you really want?"

Dew groans and kicks his legs slightly, squirming under his grasp.

"Want-"

"Yes?"

"...Don't wanna say it..."

Special pouts.

"But I want to hear it, c'mon, baby, when you're with me, what's your name, huh? How do I treat you?"

"Pri..."

"Yes~?"

"You're a prick." Dew cackles, and Special sits back, rolling his eyes.

"You may be easy to catch, but you're hard to break, I'll give you that." He sighs, "But I'll be damned again if I don't love picking you apart."

"Hehe~"

The multi-ghoul slides down and begins undoing Dew's pants, but the zipper refuses to open and he gives a frustrated noise.

"Just pull 'em off..." Dew says, struggling to move his legs around from under Special's body.

"I have a better idea-" The ghoul tugs Dew's pants down to about mid thigh and leaves them like that, the dense, folded over fabric restricting his movements, "-that's much better."

Dew wriggles, trying to slide them down further, but he can't get the leverage and gives a defeated hiss.

"I could just..." Special pushes his legs back towards his chest, "Yeah, I can work with this."

"H-Hey now-"

Special cranes his neck at him, "What? Suddenly you're embarr-Oh. Oh-ho-ho-ho~"

Dew's ears have flicked back, the tips almost as red as his face.

"What do you think? Should I take you like this, or perhaps I should lay you on your side? What is my princess thinking now, hm~?"

"Just-"

A stick snaps and Dew goes stone stiff, whereas Special lowers himself over his body, territorial, a growl emanating from his throat, wholly unexpected from such a usually jovial, prankster type like him.

What or whoever was approaching seems to get the hint and approaches no further, but the ghoul above him remains locked in his protective stance, glaring out into the darkness.

After a minute passes, Dew can finally hear the sound of retreating footsteps, and not even a second later, he feels something prodding at his entrance, causing him to tense and squeak.

"How annoying..." Special mutters, hastily working Dew open, not giving him any time to adjust, forcing a series of involuntary chatters and chirps to escape his mouth, "We'll have to rush things a bit now, I'm sorry."

"Who was-" Dew tries to lift himself up to look around, but Special pushes him back down, "Hey-"

Special clicks his tongue.

"Humans."

Dew furrows his brow.

"The siblings-"

"Not them." Special hisses, then tilts his head back, letting out an annoyed groan, "Dammit..."

"Then who? The gardener-"

"Outsiders."

Dew forces himself up onto his elbows, wobbling as Special helps him tug his pants back up.

"Careful now, don't want you falling down again..." Special chides, wrapping his arm around his waist as they stand, "...Fucking, of course, those bastards would sneak around on a night like this... I bet they're running back to the other side of the lake now."

"We should go after them-" Dew starts, but the second he tries to pull away from Special, his head starts swimming, "-Fuck, Phil, how much venom did you give me??"

"I wasn't expecting our little rendezvous to be interrupted by a pack of mortal morons, so I gave you a little more than last time..." he pinches his brow, "We'll have to inform the other-"

A loud cracking sound startles them both, making Dew stumble, but he is quickly captured by Special, who narrows his eyes in the direction of the noise.

"Do you think that was the trespassers or..."

A second, louder crack echoes through the woods followed by a chorus of human screams.

Dew cringes and Special begins to make a clicking sound, a common distress noise among ghouls, neither of them is sure what's going on at this point, and the lack of any other sound once a third crack sounds sounds has them both on edge, until...

"You better run, you fuckin' little shits! I have more where that came from!"

"...Bea, I think they got the point, put the bb gun down-"

...Ah.

Mountain heaves a heavy sigh, taking the gun from the gardener, who looks positively miffed, even in the lowlight cast by the lantern in the earth ghouls other hand.

"Give that back-" the hotheaded woman starts, but instead of giving her back the gun, Mountain scoops her up and jostles her around a bit before tossing her over his shoulder and lumbering back off into the forest, "YOU BITCH!"

Special and Dew watch the retreating pair in silence, looking at each other after the two are gone from sight again.

"...I'm getting too old for this..." They both sigh in unison.

"Still though, how did they get passed the barricades?" Dew wonders aloud and Special shrugs.

"They could have swam to this shore for all we know." he remarks, "It's happened before, so I expect the next budget meeting will involve putting something in place to prevent this from happening again..."

"We can't just magic some shit in place?" Dew questions, "Like with the woods along the main road?"

"People getting turned around in the woods is one thing, because they usually make their way back out, if we turn them around in the water, they could drown..." Special reasons, adjusting his grip on Dew, "...Not that they wouldn't deserve it with all the signs we have posted about these kinds of things. They've probably learned their lesson for now."

Dew hums.

"...So."

"So?"

"...Now that they're gone-"

"Yes?"

"...You know what I'm thinking?"

Special looks him up and down.

"...That we should track them down and eat their bones?"

Dew pinches the bridge of his nose.

"No, I-"

"-want to get railed within an inch of your life to make up for that frankly unnecessary distraction?"

"...You really are a prick."

"And you happen to like them very much, so it's a win-win situation for us all, isn't it?"

Prompt #1000

"Then why did you even come along?"

"Because someone has to save your ass if this inevitably goes wrong."

𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆

just a lil something i tortured @divine-misfortune with last night after he shared this post with me and said "Now hear me out Zeph/aeth and or omega bc they won’t slow down fr a damn second "

and thus i started a doc lovingly called "zephyr/omega go to sleep ya old man"

1263 words of omega misusing quintessence in order to (lovingly i swear) force zephyr to get some rest. yes zephyr will be mad at him later. yes omega is being a lil bit of a bastard. yes i am indulging in my (our) hypnokink, just go with it.

“You’re a stubborn old thing, you know that?”

Zephyr rolls their eyes before side-eyeing the quintessence ghoul, making a face. “Care to elaborate?”

“Been spending a lot of time with those new ghoulettes. When was the last time you slept?” Omega puts a hand on the back of the leather armchair Zephyr is currently seated in, where they were, up until now, engrossed in a text about ancient languages. 

They bite their tongue against the urge to correct him on Cirrus and Cumulus’ names. “I slept last night, there’s no need for your concern.”

“Oh, last night, hm? So that wasn’t the organ I was hearing in the wee hours of the morning?”

“You are as old as this building, Omega, surely you’re aware of the noises that aged pipes make when all else is silent.” 

He tuts. “Far too melodic for old plumbing, Zeph.”

Zephyr grumbles and makes to return back to their book without replying. Omega chuckles, and suddenly his hands are resting on their shoulders, thumbs heavy over the strained tendons on the back of their neck. 

“Why don’t you let me help?”

The air ghoul grumbles again. Slots their small stack of notes along the book’s binding as a makeshift bookmark and snaps the thing shut. They place it onto the table and stare at the fire in the hearth.  

“And why should I let you?” they say to the fading embers. 

Omega hums. “Because you need your rest, you cranky ghoul.”

“I am plenty rested.”

“These knots in your shoulders say otherwise.”

Zephyr closes their eyes and sighs like an exasperated teacher. “And you claim that I am the stubborn one?”

“Come on,” Omega goads them. Telltale magick crackling to life beneath his fingertips. “Doesn’t have to be much.”

Before Zephyr can so much as think about scurrying away with their book, warm quintessence seeps into their bones, the tension held there unraveling from the inside out. Their eyelids flutter, shoulders slumping. Some undignified noise bubbles up from their throat, and they can barely catch their chin from hitting their chest as their head lolls forward. 

“You . . .” They try to protest, tongue too heavy in their mouth to form its usual elegant timbre. Their hands can’t even grip the arms of the chair anymore, cementing them into place and thwarting any chance they had of escaping Omega’s nagging. 

Said quintessence ghoul shushes him, self-satisfied and certainly not even close to genuinely comforting. “There you go. See? Knew you were tired.”

“Hn . . .’m not—”

“You are, look at that sleepy face.” Omega brushes a few strands of hair back behind their horns, their head leaning into his touch without their permission. Zephyr’s eyes are drooping, rolling with the effort of trying to keep them open. Maybe they are more tired than they thought, he didn’t give them that much magick, did he?

Omega coos at them, running his thumb along the base of their horn. “Just close your eyes,” he whispers. 

Zephyr just groans, something close to uh uh, but it doesn’t sound very disagreeing. They’re falling asleep sitting up, and his warm hand against the side of their face does nothing but drag them closer to unconsciousness. Suddenly, they don’t want to get away from him. Magick swirls all syrupy in their veins, and, really, it’s getting harder and harder to have any opinions on the situation. 

Behind them, Omega shakes his head and loops around to the front of the chair, still cradling their head as he kneels between their parted legs. The hands at their sides, having slid off the arms of the chair, twitch towards him. Zephyr watches Omega’s other hand as it comes to hold the other side of their face, eyes slow and delayed as they track its movement. 

“You’d do well to listen to me, you tired old hen,” Omega chides them. He wiggles their head a little, not unlike a chiropractor looking for sore spots. Ensuring they’re close to limp and loose. 

Zephyr just lets him. Has no choice, really. They’d call him a plethora of names later—bastard, unwelcome imp, meddling hypnotist spawn—but the thought of remembering to do so slides away like rain on glass. 

He must sense the fleeting thought behind Zephyr’s glassy eyes, because he adjusts their head again, tightening his grip almost imperceptibly. 

“None of that; you’re being so good, aren’t you? I’m only helping, aren’t I? Little bit of magick to get rid of all those pesky cobwebs between your ears. I know, you’re so tired underneath all those stubborn thoughts. Just takes a nice, kind ghoul like me to help you relax, doesn’t it?” On and on he drones, the words going in one ear and out the other, washing away their own internal monologue and replacing it with his own. They are tired, and an afternoon nap isn’t so terrible, they aren’t really busy. And Omega’s helping them. 

Definitely not using his magick in some smug, actually selfish way, rendering the normally uptight ghoul completely powerless in less than a second. No, it’s completely selfless—a show of his care and concern for Zephyr’s wellbeing. Absolutely not a vehicle to win any kind of argument, not at all. 

Their breathing is slowing now, neck nearly limp in Omega’s hands. Sinking deeper into the fuzzy embrace of sleep. 

“That’s it,” he lilts. “You’re gonna feel so much better, and I won’t even say ‘I told you so.’ How does that sound?” 

Zephyr responds with a long exhale through parted lips, left thigh twitching randomly as the pleasant numbness settles in. 

Omega smirks. “Good.” With one last push of quintessence, he tilts their head just so and watches as their eyes unfocus and fall shut, jaw dropping open with the softest noise as they drift asleep in his hands. The quiet snores follow just seconds later, Omega’s hands the only thing keeping them upright. 

He waits until he’s sure they’re asleep, warming his back against the dying flames while Zephyr slumps in their chair. Only then does he pull back the tendrils of his magick, letting it seep down towards the floorboards as slow as molasses so as not to accidentally rouse them. Thankfully, the library is empty this time of day. Nothing to interrupt the air ghoul’s much needed sleep. 

They’re lax and peaceful now, but Omega’s sure he’ll hear about it when they wake. He laughs to himself at the plethora of elegant insults that come to mind. For now, he takes satisfaction in the way Zephyr’s head lolls back against the chair with the gentlest press of his pointer finger, drool making its way out of the corner of their mouth already. 

“Cute,” the quintessence ghoul comments, smoothing out the wrinkles in his button-down. And then, as a wicked afterthought, he presses the pad of his finger to the middle of their forehead again, sneaking in a cheeky suggestion of a dream wrapped in plumes of balsam and petrichor. Snickering to himself when Zephyr whines quietly and their tail kinks up at the end. “Enjoy,” he whispers, making his exit. 

Omega knows he won’t get any thanks for that—a pity, really, considering it was quite a nice little fantasy—nor will he get any thanks for helping (forcing) Zephyr to get some rest. At the very least, he’ll get a very disgruntled and haughty air ghoul glaring at him for the remainder of the day. 

Omega’s fine with being berated for misuse of magick if it means the poor thing won’t be sleep deprived. Until then, he files away Zephyr’s reaction to it for later.

The unholy ass grab

You idiot

Swiss loves the winter and Mountain is the reason.

Characters: Swiss, Mountain Word count: 446

Swiss loved winter; he just loved it. And the reason for that was a certain earth ghoul, who was currently snuggled up to him, snoring softly. The sun wasn’t up yet, and the multi was lucky that he could turn up his body heat, as it was freezing cold outside. Under the blanket, it was cosy, to say the least. Swiss had his tail wrapped around Mountain's waist, one leg tossed over Mountain's, clinging to him. Unfortunately, the tall ghoul was wearing a shirt, so Swiss couldn’t simply admire his soft skin. And the freckles on his shoulder were also nearly completely gone, which was kind of sad, Swiss thought so at least.

There was the best part of winter, though: Mountain's paunch. How his lover grew from slim to chubby every winter never failed to amaze Swiss. He loved that tummy, trailing his fingers over the ghoul's happy trail, pinching the soft skin. The way it wiggled when Swiss savoured him, how he could hold onto it, sinking his fingers into that bit of fat...

One of his hands found its way under the hem of the drummer's shirt, caressing his gut.

“What ya doin’?” the earth ghoul grunted softly without opening his eyes, his voice thick with sleep.

“Admiring you,” he answered with a grin.

Mountain snorted and cracked an eye open, watching the other.

“You idiot,” he mumbled quietly, but the smile on his lips spoke for itself.

Swiss squeezed the gut and chuckled at Mountain's reaction, who wiggled a bit. So the multi repeated the motion until the taller ghoul had enough and slipped his hands under the blanket, pulling the other's arms away and rolling them so he could press Swiss into the mattress.

Now it was Swiss's turn to laugh his lungs out, as Mountain knew exactly where to tickle him. And while his hands had Swiss's arms pinned away, his tail was free and attacked the multi's side, making him squirm and laugh.

“Stop! Mount-”

It was hard to form a sentence when you couldn’t really breathe, something Swiss knew from experience; and Mountain did too. He let the other suffer until the only thing coming from him were faint pleas to stop.

“So? Will you be a good boy now?” he asked with a grin, still holding the other's arms. And to his surprise, Swiss nodded, his cheeks completely flushed, chest rising fast.

What Mountain didn’t realize was that Swiss got what he wanted: the earth ghoul grounding him, showing how much winter affected his body and how soft he got. So even with the “torture” he had to go through, the multi counted it as a win. _______________

let me tag you here @icechippies