Waiting For The Storms To Make Their Way Into Kansas Out Of Oklahoma And These Storms Are Producing Tornadoes

Mushy May 2024

Day 10- Quiet Nights

I played it a little loose with the concept of the prompt, but it still fits and overall is something I enjoyed writing :)

Rating: G

Characters: Sunshine and Zephyr, background Ifrit and Swiss

Words: ~1.1k

Summary: Shortly before her summoning, Sunshine gets worried about how being summoned topside and having the latent fire magic inside of her activated will change the air element she already has. Some late evening meetings with some ghouls recently returned to the pit alleviate her concerns.

Involves my personal headcannon that while hybrid ghouls are born as such, multi ghouls are made so

Thanks to @forlorn-crows for organizing and @ghuleh-recs for the great dividers ♡

Already, Sunny can feel the pull. The humans of the ministry might not know yet, but she has been told by the Dark Lord himself that she will be the next ghoul summoned by the satanic ministry. In three short months by topside calculations, she will be summoned.

This time is different though, a direct blessing from Him to strengthen the fire element within her. She has always felt its potential, but once she goes topside she will be both air and fire. A true multi ghoul. The prospect is exciting, everything she could ever ask for, but nerve-racking all the same. What if she learns to love the fire too much, forsaking the air element she has known her whole life? What if in order to strengthen the one element the other weakens?

These and various other questions have been blazing through her mind ever since she got the news, a wildfire of worry charring any other line of thought caught in its way.

The answer to her worries comes in the form of a resource she didn’t even know existed, the previous band ghouls. Getting an introduction to Zephyr and Ifrit was simple enough, news of returning ghouls travels fast and why not set up a dinner meeting for them and the new kid to chat.

Sunny sees the meeting with the ghouls for the perfect opportunity that it is, exactly the chance she needed to quell all her worries about being topside and her latent fire element.

She has always been extremely direct and voices her concerns to the two ghouls almost immediately, before the hellish vintage Zephyr picked out has even finished being poured.

She carefully notes the roaring laugh this pulls from the fire ghoul and the fond exasperated sigh from the air ghoul.

“Told you she wasn’t worried about the fire part, this is all on you my dear” Ifrit teases, pouring a little extra wine into Zephyrs goblet with a knowing look.

The plan gets worked out quickly leaving lots of time to chat and get to know one another. Each night leading up to her summoning Sunny will meet up with Zephyr and work on meditations to better connect her to her air magic. In addition, every other evening she will meet with Ifrit briefly to go over fire ghoul things. Just because it’s not her present concern doesn’t mean it won’t come in handy and Ifrit is historically eager to help anyways.

The meetings with Ifrit are raucous and energetic, freeing in a way she didn’t know was possible. The meditations with Zephyr are magical in multiple senses of the word.

As in tune with her magic as Sunny previously thought she was, it quickly becomes clear how much more she could improve.

Zephyr's techniques tend to be a mixture of focused meditation and light yoga, after which she swears she can sense the ambient magic swirling on the breeze around her.

There’s a closeness that grows in the silence. The shared concentration and mirrored movements accompanied by the soft sounds of air rustling the plants around them imprints upon Sunshine a feeling of having the air ghoul’s soul laid bare and hers revealed in turn. These moments together quickly become the highlight of her day, and something she knows will be missed terribly once she is summoned.

Halfway through her summoning countdown she meets up with Zephyr but something feels different. The older ghoul is holding back, but this time she doesn’t push, willing to let the conversation topics float along however Zephyr sees fit.

After several minutes she finally hears it, that same resigned sigh from the night they met.

Still, she waits patiently. A light smile and a turn of the head as encouragement to spur Zephyr to speak on whatever is weighing his mind without pressuring him. It works perfectly.

“If it helps at all, you won’t be the only multi ghoul up there. I hope that you find kinship with them,” he starts, nerves seeping into his normal light demeanor. “The method I want to show you tonight is something I made with said multi ghoul. There are parts specific to a multi-element aptitude, which I do not possess, but I hope I can explain clearly enough for you to understand.”

Sunshine works through the movements slowly, a drawing of pure elemental power into the body and a push down towards the ground to expel any other random magic within. It makes her veins feel like they are sparkling in an intoxicating way.

She frowns a little noticing there doesn’t seem to be as strong of an effect on Zephyr, but shakes it off choosing to enjoy the time with her new friend.

Night after night the two have dinner, joyous swapping of stories without a care in the world, followed by quiet purposeful meditations. Before they know it though, it is the eve of Sunny’s planned summoning.

Zephyr, Ifrit, and her have one final dinner together to celebrate the short friendship that they have fostered. The two older ghouls insist that they will see her again and cannot wait to hear about all the fun she will get up to. They both pass her along a few messages for ghouls on the surface, and leave her to prepare for the following day.

As she moves through the magical exercises on her own that night she feels at peace, bolstered to tackle whatever being topside will throw at her.

~~~

The summoning is chaotic as always, but overall goes uncharacteristically smooth. Sunny takes to her new element with gusto, the time spent with Ifrit more than paying off.

Everything is definitely still an adjustment for her with many new places and faces, but there are a few people in particular she is on the lookout for as the day moves along.

Late in the evening after all the chaos calms down, she sets out to wander the grounds and find a nice spot to meditate and reconcile both the elements inside her. From a distance she spots a lovely looking clear patch in a garden and makes her way over to it.

In the center of the clear patch stands a tall ghoul, performing movements that at this point are as much a part of her as anything else. A calm breath in, a forceful one out. A purposeful sway to facilitate the movement of ambient elemental energy. Leaning back on a bench nearby is a skeptical looking Ghoulette, looking on and heckling him as she corrects his form.

A hopeful smile creeps its way onto Sunny’s face and with a confident stride she bounds over to the meditating ghoul, hand outstretched.

“Hi, I’m Sunny and I bet you must be Swiss, Zephyr and Ifrit have told me so much about you. Mind if I join in?”

Okay, the Carhartt coat thing. Here we go @autumnblooms , some soft squishy thoughts for you ft. Water Dew and Mountain.

Ft. some flower language.

Red roses meaning love and passion

Cyclamen meaning lasting feelings and sincere affection

Cocoa With Chili

Dew steps out of the Abbey doors and squints into the light. It's winter, and there's a crystalline quality in the way that the sun filters through the frost dancing in the air. Dew grips the mug in his hand closer to his chest, trying to absorb a bit of its warmth and hunching his shoulders forward into his coat. Ice crunches under his boots as he makes his way to the heavy wooden door across the courtyard that leads to outside the ancient stone walls.

Dew ducks under the dormant ivy and through the door, ears twitching at the sound of an axe ringing through the air. The smell of balsam reaches his nose and he smiles, tail swishing as he walks quicker towards the source of the sound and smell coming the edge of the forest.

As he draws closer to the treeline he sees Mountain with his back turned to him. The Earth giant is crouched close to the ground, clearing snow away from a great Spruce tree. Its magnificent, the ends of its branches sparkle with diamond-like drops of ice, frost coating the pinecones dangling off the tips of its boughs, sparkling with frost like a coating of glitter. It will be a beautiful Yule tree once Mountain brings it into the Great Hall of the Abbey.

Dew trills, and Mountain turns at the sudden noise, smiling broadly at the sight of the approaching Water ghoul. He pushes the hood of his Carhartt coat back from his head and straightens, approaching Dew.

"Hi, Droplet, whatcha got there?"

Dew withdraws the mug from his jacket, offering it to the taller ghoul, "I brought you some cocoa, prepared with spices and a tiny bit of chili, just the way you like it."

Mountain takes the covered mug from Dew's tiny hand, taking a sip. Warmth and comfort blooms in his stomach, and he purrs at the taste of the spiced chocolate, his favorite. He looks down at Dew, who's trying not to show that he's shivering now with the absence of the mug's warmth. Mountain sets the mug down on a nearby stump. He unzips his jacket, opening it in offering to the Water ghoul.

Dew chirps and leaps forward, wrapping his arms around Mountain's waist and burrowing his face into the Earth ghoul's solid chest. Mountain puts his hands in the pockets of his Carhartt coat and wraps the fleece and canvas around his partner. A purr kicks up in Dew's chest and Mountain chuckles as he squeezes the Water ghoul close to his body, a rumbling purr vibrating through his chest and into Dew's body.

"Your cocoa is gonna get cold," Dew mumbles from within the cocoon of canvas and fleece.

"It's okay, Water Lilly, you're the more important priority right now," Mountain laughs, squirming a bit as Dew rubs his nose into Mountain's underlayer.

After a short time, Dew emerges from Mountain's embrace. His face scrunches and he twitches his nose at the dusting of snow flitting down from the trees around them.

"Come sit and have some of that cocoa while I finish here. It shouldn't be too much longer," Mountain shucks off his coat, spreading it canvas side down on the stump for Dew to sit on, and places the steaming mug in his hand.

A few last good thwacks of the ax brings the Yule tree down to the ground. As Mountain sets the ax down and wipes his hands off on his work pants, he glances over his shoulder and his heart stops at the sight behind him. Dew had taken his Carhartt jacket off the stump and burrowed into it, the material dwarfing his tiny body and covering his legs down past his knees. His dainty hands peek from the gargantuan sleeves as he sips from the mug of spiced cocoa.

Dew watches Mountain approaching him, eyes slipping upward to the flowers that had bloomed at the base of Mountain's antlers in the the time it had taken him to cross the clearing to the Water ghoul enveloped in his massive coat.

Mountain reaches up, plucking a red rose and a Cyclamen from his antlers, offering them to Dew. He bends down and presses a soft kiss to the smaller ghoul's lips, conveying all his love and affection for his ghoul wrapped up nice and snug in his coat.

"I love you, Bug."

"I know."

Mushy May Day 3 & 4 - Massage & Wound Tending/First Aid (Aether/Dew)

Ended up combining days 3 and 4 into one fic. Based loosely on that time Dew (presumably) injured his arm during the Prequelle era. As always, thank you @forlorn-crows for organizing this and to @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!

Day 3 & 4 - Massage & Wound Tending/First Aid (Aether/Dew), cw for Dew's shoulder injury. Hurt/comfort, fluff, 1518 words

Aether notices it right away. The way Dew seems to be favoring one arm. The way he furrows his brow and rolls his shoulder seemingly every five minutes. How he makes soft little grunts and sighs of discontent at night when he’s trying to settle into his bunk above Aether’s on the bus. 

When he broaches the subject, Dew denies anything is wrong. His shoulder is just a little sore is all. Maybe he slept funny, he says, brushing off Aether’s concerns.

But Aether knows the truth, and is pretty sure the whole pack knows what’s up actually. It’s Dew’s new guitar. The Fantomen. For as beautiful as it looks and as powerful as it sounds, the son of a bitch is heavy. Even for Aether it can be unwieldy at times.

Of course Dew hasn’t let it affect his playing. He never would. He’s far too proud, and rightfully so. Dew’s the best player Aether has ever seen anywhere in his life. And his playing continues to be immaculate, so Aether doesn’t want to push. Instead he watches Dew power through their set each night for weeks.

Until Dew’s shoulder gives out completely in the middle of a ritual.

A missed note, glaringly obvious. Rare to be due to Dew’s mistake and not because of some equipment malfunction (or Aether’s own mistake throwing Dew off, something he can admit has happened more than once). Aether whips his head towards the fire ghoul, knowing immediately that something is seriously wrong. Copia and the other ghouls are watching him now too.

Dew curls in on himself for just a split second before catching himself and resuming his perfect playing. But Aether knows the damage has been done when Dew purposefully ignores the rest of his stage cues and instead shuffles unsteadily towards the back of the stage as he finishes out the song.

Thank Satan they’re at an intermission. Time for Copia to change out of his white suit and into the red cassock. Instead of taking his usual water break, Aether books it towards Dew, who he finds leaning against the wall just past the curtain.

Aether knows it's bad because Dew has his mask off. His face is pale and he’s sweating bullets, cradling his arm against his body as he struggles to even out his breathing. But before he can do anything there’s chaos. Copia and the crew are scrambling to do what they can to keep the show going. Aether is being ushered back to stage before he can get a word in. 

In the end Dew insists he can finish out the show from backstage, perched on a stool where he can rest the weight of the Fantomen on his lap. He even comes back onstage for final bows, cradling his bad arm gingerly, and Aether finds himself trailing behind him protectively instead of his usual routine of throwing out guitar picks and interacting with the audience. 

Finally, the curtain goes down and they’re free to go. Thankfully it’s a hotel night and then they’re off for two days before they travel to the next city. A small victory.

As soon as they’re in the room, Aether is looking Dew over while Copia watches on worriedly. Dew keeps grumbling that ghouls heal fast, so he’ll be fine, but Aether can see otherwise. The shoulder is swollen, angry red and inflamed. Dew’s definitely pulled something, maybe even a tear, and then he continued to irritate it night after night until it gave out. Aether feels guilty that he didn’t notice it was this bad before, that he wasn’t more insistent. He could have used some of his quintessence to keep it from going this far… He shakes the thought away for the time being.

“Alright,” Aether sighs and turns to Copia. “The bad news is, as of right now his shoulder’s fucked,” he says point blank. No point in sugar-coating any of this now. Copia pales and he hears Dew swallow nervously and shift from where he’s sitting on the bed behind him. 

“Good news is, I can fix him up in the next two days.” He turns to Dew to see a wave of relief wash across his otherwise stoic face. “But he’s gonna have to take it easy for a while after that. And that much healing takes a lot of quintessence, a ton of energy. If we push it any farther than that, you’re gonna end up out two guitarists.”

Copia agrees and they make arrangements for Aether and Dew to stay in his suite while Copia takes one of the regular rooms. The cardinal bids them goodnight and lets them know he’ll get them anything they need to be comfortable for the next few days while Aether works on Dew’s arm.

As soon as he leaves, Aether turns to Dew. He wants more than anything to scoop the little ghoul up in his arms and shower him in kisses, but he knows better than to jostle his bad arm. At any rate, Dew hates to be fussed over.

“How do you feel?” Aether chances, popping the cap of his water bottle and handing it to Dew along with a couple painkillers. 

Dew snorts, avoiding Aether’s eyes. “Like absolute dogshit,” he answers, blunt as always, before swallowing the pills and chugging half of Aether’s water.

“Alright then,” he motions to the compression shirt Dew still has on. “Let’s get this thing off of you so I can work on getting some of the swelling down.”

It isn’t easy, but they work together to hold Dew’s tender shoulder steady while Aether slowly peels the fabric from Dew’s body. Dew winces as he finally pulls his arm out of the sleeve, and Aether presses an apologetic little kiss to Dew’s temple.

The kiss seems to break some of the tension, and Dew’s body sags. He looks up at Aether with a sad little frown on his face. He looks guilty. “Sorry, Aeth…” he starts. “I know I should have said something before it got this bad…” he trails off.”

Aether shakes his head, tells Dew not to worry, that he’ll have him fixed up in no time. Jokes that thanks to his bum shoulder, they get to lounge around in Copia’s suite for two days in a king sized bed and in the jacuzzi tub. Says that if they play their cards right, Copia will probably even let them call for room service to their hearts’ content. The mention of room service seems to lighten Dew’s mood even further.

Meanwhile, Aether works Dew’s shoulder, pressing feather light touches to sensitive flesh while he focuses his energy on delivering enough quintessence to calm the inflammation. Once he’s satisfied with their progress, Aether pulls away to go draw a hot bath. Before he can go Dew reaches out, grabs his hand and pulls Aether back to him.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” Dew says softly, looking up at Aether. He holds Dew’s gaze, contemplating, before leaning in and kissing him on the lips, carding his fingers through Dew’s hair until they’re both humming contentedly against each other. 

Later, Aether sits beside the tub while Dew soaks, periodically working another round of quintessence into Dew’s shoulder as the little ghoul dozes off, finally beginning to relax as the pain goes down thanks to Aether’s ministrations.

Aether helps Dew out of the tub and wraps him in a fluffy bathrobe from the closet. Between the quintessence, the painkillers, and the hot bath, Dew is ready to crash. Aether guides him on wobbly legs to the bed, helping him lay face down into the pillows. From his prone position, Dew wriggles his shoulder.

“Feels better now,” Dew slurs, eyelids fluttering closed. “Can move it now n’everything.” He moves his shoulder in another little circle to demonstrate.

Aether chuckles. He loves to see Dew like this, blissed out and sleepy, he just wishes it were under different circumstances. Aether feels exhaustion pulling on him as well, between the crash of adrenaline after Dew’s injury and the copious amounts of quintessence he pumped into the little fire ghoul, his body is feeling beat. He’ll need rest soon, too.

But first, he climbs onto the bed and straddles Dew’s hips, careful not to press down too hard or to knock into his arm.

“Backrub?” Dew asks, eyes still closed and face pressed into the pillows.

“Backrub,” Aether confirms, leaning in to run his palms up Dew’s back, letting another dose of quintessence bleed from his fingertips into the fire ghoul’s soft skin, paying special attention to his injured shoulder. He massages Dew’s back until the little ghoul is half asleep and purring into the sheets.

Two days later, and they’re back on the road, en route to the next venue, Dew feeling better and set to shred once again, under the caveat that he doesn’t overdo it just yet. Aether has appointed himself Dew’s own personal masseuse. Now, after every ritual, Dew gets a nice, long, quintessence-infused shoulder rub.

Dew is happy to let Aether fuss over him, just this once.

Sometimes I feel that someone should do a welfare check on that guitar

it’s not even 8am why must you do this

The Ghildo is trending on X. Why do I find this so funny?

Does baby Dew ever get his languages mixed up at all? I love that he knows them all but I just wonder if when he's little he can't really get them out right?

Very quick short little thing!

Cw: sick baby Dew

Dew had fussed all night, warm with a fever and uncomfy. Mountain had stayed up with him, pacing the halls or rocking in a rocking chair, swaddling him or leaving him in just his thin jammies…

But nothing worked.

His little cheeks were red and he was obviously exhausted but he couldn't sleep.

He kisses the top of his head as the sun rises, waiting for anyone to come take the baby so he can shut his eyes for a little while. Swiss answers the group chat first, letting Mountain know he's on his way.

“Swiss is coming, honeybee.”

“Duele…” More tears gather in his eyes. (Hurts)

Mountain cocks his head. “I don't know what that means, I'm sorry.”

Dew sniffles, rubbing his eyes and pressing his ear closer to Mountain's chest, whimpering and sniffling.

Swiss knocks once before quietly entering the room, eyes soft when he spots Mountain still standing and swaying with the baby.

Dew reaches his arms out and snuggles up under his neck as soon as Swiss takes him.

“He's still warm and hasn't slept.” Mountain squeezes the back of his neck, groaning at the tension.

Swiss kisses him quickly. “Get some sleep, Mount.”

Swiss carries Dew down the hall to his room, humming as he walks. Dew squirms against him, clearly uncomfortable and Swiss wishes he could read his mind.

He gets his record player going, hoping the music will help him settle a bit but his little face is still twisted and red, dry tears on his cheeks.

“Fa male. Brutto…” His voice is weak, exhausted and the words are jumbled and slurred, still mostly babbling but Swiss knows he's trying to say something. (Hurts bad)

“What was that, amor?”

But he doesn't repeat it, his lower lip wobbles and he cries again, twisting his head and pressing tight against Swiss' chest. He sighs and bounces him gently, hating that he can't just help him.

He keeps him close, singing and bouncing him until Phantom runs into his room with their jacket on.

“Are y-you ready?”

“Oh bug I'm sorry, I forgot!” He had promised the little quint they'd go on a walk on a rainy day so they could splash in puddles.

“Oh…s’ok…”

“No, give me just a second. I promised I just forgot. Dew doesn't feel well so I was just a little distracted. Let me text Rain real quick ok?”

Swiss lays the baby on the bed, keeping his hand pressed against his little chest. Phantom climbs up beside him, frowning at Dew's sad eyes.

“D-don’t be s-sad Dew!”

Dew sniffles. “Ant…”

The little quint cocks their head, trying to focus on why Dew's upset but it's hard to control their magic when their little.

“Ok mi amor, Rain's going to look after you for a bit.”

“Mor.”

“Yeah, he's on his way.” He smiles and kisses his forehead.

Phantom manages to pull a tiny smile from the baby before Rain shows up. Dew's little fingers are curled around two of Phantom's, holding onto them while they talk just to distract him from his discomfort.

He turns as soon as he realizes Rain is there, sleepily reaching out. His eyes are red and puffy and Rain scoops him up quickly, holding him close and rubbing his back.

“He's still fussy.” Swiss lets him know as he adjusts the baby in his arms.

He presses his warm little face against Rain's cool neck. “Mor…tut weh.” (Hurts)

Rain glances at Swiss who just shrugs. “He's been saying stuff but it's nothing I can recognize.”

He nods and kisses the top of Dew's head, saying goodbye to Swiss and Phantom. He shushes the baby softly when he whimpers as they are walking, humming until he settles a bit.

Rain rocks him in the chair for a while, hoping the gentle motions will ease him into sleep. He's quiet for a bit before he cries again, big tears rolling down his cheeks as he presses his ear tight against Rain's chest, his little fingers clawing at Rain's shirt.

He pulls out his phone and texts Aether, getting an almost immediate response to bring Dew down to him.

“We are going to go see Aether, amour.”

Dew sniffles, blinking his big sad eyes up at Rain. “Daidí…”

“Yeah baby, we're going to go see him.” He promises as he stands from the chair, patting Dew's back as they leave the room to go to the infirmary.

Aether is waiting by the door when they make it down and Dew reaches for him as soon as he sees him.

“Daidí.”

Aether holds him tight. “Dia duit mo ghrá.” (Hi my love)

Dew fusses again. “Gortaítear…” (hurts)

“What hurts?”

Rain flinches just slightly. “He was trying to tell us that…” He shakes his head and rests his hand on the baby's back. “I'm so sorry, Mon amour, I didn't know what you were saying.”

Aether touches his shoulder. “It's ok, Rain.”

They get Dew in one of the rooms and Aether lets his magic work, seeking out the pain to soothe it, finding an ear infection. He keeps the pain down and eases back the fever.

His eyes brighten as soon as the pain fades. Rain relaxes when Dew claps his hands.

“That's better, hm?” Aether smiles, wiping Dews face with his sleeve, brushing the remaining tears away.

He points at his ear. “Ow…bad ow!”

“I know, I'm sorry. But it'll be better now.”

Rain sits beside them in the bed, shaking his head fondly. “You've got too many languages in that little head of yours.”

Dew just giggles, clapping his hands again. They chat for a while, letting Dew relax with Aether until sleep finally starts to catch up to him. He rubs his eyes, snuggling closer into Aether.

“I've got to get back to work, firefly.” He kisses his forehead. “If he starts fussing again, text me, I'll come up to see him.”

“Thanks Aeth.” Rain leans against him for a moment before picking Dew up carefully, smiling when his sleepy eyes find his for a second before closing again.

He carries him back to his room and settles on the bed with Dew up on his chest now soundly sleeping. He texts the group to let them know, sending a picture of the sleeping baby along with it before he lays his hands on Dew's back and shuts his eyes, focusing on the rumbly little purr in Dew's chest.

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?"

Could I request some cg Terzo and little dew? I just read the meeting fic one (randomly scrolled through the chapters on ao3 and that’s what I picked) and AUGH cg Terzo and little dew are the best

Hope you’re doing well tiny 💙

I hope this is ok!

Cw: mountain gets frustrated, very short mention of an upset Dew

Mountain tips his head back and bites his lip against the frustration. He normally has endless patience, able to deal with anything and everything tossed his way but not today. Today he's got way too much to do and Dew wouldn't let anyone else take him. That was fine, Mountain had worked while he wore Dew in his sling countless times.

But Dew didn't want to be in the sling, fussing and tugging at it with his little hands and tears in his eyes begging to be set down so he could walk and explore. But Mountain wasn't going to be able to watch him and get stuff done at the same time and Dew was just getting more and more upset.

“Dew please! Stop!” He didn't really raise his voice but he spoke firmly and immediately regretted it. It wasn't the baby's fault that today just wasn't great. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry Dew I just-”

But he was already crying, big fat tears on his cheeks, his lower lip wobbling. Mountain felt awful and was ready to just give up on his chores to make it up to Dewdrop when Terzo wandered by, sipping a coffee and looking at the yule decorations that had been put up so far.

“Zo….”

He sounds so sad and Mountain frowns. He knows the baby will forgive him and he'll make it up to him but he still feels awful.

“Terzo.” Mountain greets him, walking slowly up to him with Dew held up against his chest.

“Oh hello!” He smiles, reaching out to take Dew's hand.

“Zo p’ease!” He leans forward, reaching out as much as he can.

“You busy? I have so much to do and I just can't keep an eye on him. He wants to walk around.”

“You want to come with me, amorino?”

“P’ease…”

Mountain unties the sling, gently handing him over to Terzo. He's bundled up nice and warm against the chilly air of early winter. Terzo sets him down, holding his little hand while he steadies himself on his feet.

“You sure you don't mind? I just…”

He touches Mountain's shoulder gently. “It's fine, go do what you need to do, I'll keep him entertained.” He smiles brightly down at the baby. “Can you say bye bye to Mount?”

He waves but doesn't say anything, too interested in the lights he can see from where they stand. He points to the lights as Mountain starts to wander off.

“Zo go p’ease!”

Terzo laughs and holds his hand tight as they start to make their way toward the pretty colored lights lining one of the main walking paths.

He stumbles occasionally, using Terzos hand to steady himself before continuing on, muttering an ‘uh oh’ each time. He babbles as they walk, and Terzo talks back, filling him in on all the latest gossip he's heard from the Sister's. Dew listens, at least Terzo pretends he does.

Dew gets more excited the closer they get, his babbles more erratic and high pitched and Terzo can't help but laugh.

When they pause at the walkway, Dew's eyes are huge, round and reflecting the lights.

“Pitty….” He whispers, taking it all in with his mouth hanging open.

“Molto bello!” (Very pretty)

Dew claps and plops down to sit right in the middle of the walkway, looking all over the place, pointing at the lights with a big smile.

“Boo!”

“There is blue. What other colors do you see?” Terzo sits on the gravel, folding his legs so Dew can sit on his lap to stay warm. He doesn't care about his nice clothes as long as the baby is happy.

“Geen! Red!” He points at one and looks back at Terzo for help.

“White. Bianco.”

He points up above them. “Dat?”

“Those are snowflakes. Aren't they pretty?”

“Mine!”

He laughs again, kissing the top of his head. Dew continues pointing at the lights, naming his colors and making Terzo do the same.

Eventually Mountain makes his way over to them and Dew reaches for him. Terzo watches the giants shoulders relax and he smiles, easing himself to the ground beside them. Dew crawls over to his lap, pointing at the lights.

“Look vati! Pitty!”

“They are very pretty.”

“Nofakes!”

He laughs. “I see the snowflakes, I think those are my favorite.”

Dew turns to look at him. “Vati mad…”

He sighs. “I'm sorry my love,I didn't mean to raise my voice. It was not your fault, vati just…was overwhelmed.”

Dew watches him for a long moment. “No mad.”

“I'm not mad. I promise.”

Terzo smiles at their conversation thinking about how far Dewdrop had come. The fact that he could communicate now was such a gift and Terzo was grateful for it every day.

“What do you say we go have some hot chocolate and a Yule story?”

Mountain smiles and nods and Dew claps, his cheeks getting red from the chilly air.

“Yum!”

Mountain carries him and Terzo holds one of his hands at his insistence. He babbles about the lights while Terzo makes the hot chocolate, adding extra marshmallows for Dew who giggles while he plays with one in his fingers. Mountain gets the fire started in the den and watches over the baby while Terzo goes to find a book.

They snuggle on the couch together under a blanket and Terzo reads until Mountain falls asleep against him.

Dew shushes him once he sees he's sleeping. “Vati ni ni.”

“He did go night night.” He kisses the top of Mountain's head and carefully moves out from behind him,taking Dew along with him. “Let's let him sleep.”

He carries him down to the library and grabs a stack of books to read to Dew. They settle on the couch and they read together as a gentle snow starts to fall outside the window.

Mushy May Day 14 - Silly Baby Talk (Aether/Dew)

Thank you for giving us Mushy May again this year, @forlorn-crows and thank you @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!

Mushy May Day 14 - Silly baby talk, Aether/Dew, no warnings, 701 words. The return of Chicken Nugget!!

Aether closes the door to the bedroom with a weary sigh. He’d just finished a double shift in the infirmary, working through the night and was only just getting back at nearly noon the next day. He makes a beeline for the shower, stopping at the bed where he’s greeted by the sight of Chicken Nugget, their little orange rescue kitten, curled up in a pile of blankets and fast asleep. He leans down to plant a kiss on the kitten’s tiny head, receiving a sleepy little mew in response, before snuggling back down into the soft blanket.

Aether showers and dresses quickly, exhausted and very eager to join Chicken Nugget for afternoon naptime. He’s finishing toweling off his hair when he hears their bedroom door open and shut. Dew must be back from band practice.

As he makes his way to the bathroom door he hears what sounds like the fire ghoul’s voice. He can’t exactly make out what Dew’s saying, but he’s talking with a high-pitched voice in what Aether can only describe as baby talk. A tone he has most certainly never heard coming from the lips of his fiery little mate. He pushes the door open quietly, and hangs back, watching.

There he finds Dew kneeling on the floor and bent over at the edge of their bed, nuzzling his nose into the soft fur of Chicken Nugget’s belly while the little kitten watches him curiously with sleepy eyes.

“Ohhh my cute little nugget, I missed you so,” Dew coos, high-pitched and sweet. He stops his nuzzles in favor of delivering a string of loud smooches to the little kitten’s tummy. Dew coos again, telling Chicken Nugget just how cute he is in that same little baby talk voice. He scratches under the kitten’s chin with a finger before booping him on his little pink nose.

“I love you, sweet little nugget,” Dew says, and Aether could swear that “love” came out sounding a lot more like “wuv.”

Aether has never seen anything cuter in all his life.

But as much as he wants to keep watching this rare little display, he steps out into the room, clearing his throat to let Dew know he’s not alone.

Dew and Chicken Nugget both whip their heads towards Aether, wide-eyed and startled. Aether can’t help but laugh out loud at the similarity of their expressions. 

“If you make fun of me, I’ll kill you,” Dew says, completely deadpan.

Aether places a hand over his heart. “Are you kidding me? Dew, I think I might freaking cry. That was the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen in my life.” He pretends to wipe a tear from his eye.

Dew grumbles. “Sounds like you’re making fun of me…” He bends down to scoop up the little kitten into his arms, pressing their faces together. “What do you think, CN, is mean old Aether making fun of us?”

Chicken Nugget reaches out with a tiny orange paw to boop Dew on the nose in response.

Aether laughs, “Sorry Dew, looks like he’s taking my side on this one.” 

“Wow, are you two little shits ganging up on me now?” Dew asks in mock outrage.

Aether gasps, covering Chicken Nugget’s fuzzy ears with his hands. “Dew! Don’t cuss in front of our kit!” he jokingly scolds the little fire ghoul with a laugh. 

Dew waves him off, but Aether slings his arm around his shoulders, pulling him to his side. He reaches out to scratch Chicken Nugget behind the ears until he’s purring away happily in Dew’s hands. 

“He really is like our kit, isn’t he Aeth?” Dew contemplates later, snuggling into Aether’s side on top of the blankets. Beside his head, Chicken Nugget kneads at the pillow, very happily getting ready for naptime round two.

“Yeah,” Aether agrees, pressing a soft kiss to Dew’s forehead, then leaning over to give the same to Chicken Nugget. “Think he takes after you more than anything though.”

Dew hums in agreement, and Aether pulls him in close, already falling asleep to the sound of a purring kitten and the warmth of his mate, happily holding his perfect little family in his arms.

Can’t wait for the ghost tags to be filled with hands <3