edenfalling | Reading

Title: the key to bonding is at the base
Prompt: 452. Bounce
Word count:500
Rating: E
Summary: Markus' anatomy was very, very interesting sometimes
Warnings: explicit sexual content, A/B/O elements

( Read more... )

musesfool

So I watched season 4 of The Bear. ( spoilers )

*

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Music: The Mets losing again

senmut

Marlene Dietrich in a daring dress - Photo set
Julie Newmar - Photo

Watson birthday Prompt Fest - AO3 event
X-Men Unconventional Ships - Prompt Fest

Lucanis Dellamorte - Art
Emmrich Volkarin & others hugging - Art

Amazing Barista - bullet point captures

"Plasma" Gun made at home - Video
Spicy Kitten and Big Dog - Video

veronyxk84 posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Flicker of a Dream
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author:

veronyxk84
Characters/Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word count: 200 (Google Docs)
Spoilers/Setting: Set shortly before S7.
Summary: Buffy is having recurring nightmares about girls being chased down and killed. But this one has something different.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.

Challenge: Amnesty #80 + #260 Cave, #314 Nightmare, #356 Spark

—
( READ: Flicker of a Dream/Double drabble )

selenak

Aka the series which was delayed for years, with the result that there is much preemptive sceptism. Having watched the first three episodes which got dropped a few days ago, I very much like what I'm seeing so far. The way the series provides a distinct feeling of a place and people reminds me of what the show Ms Marvel did with the Pakistani community in New Jersey - in this case, Riri Williams comes from the Chicago South Side, as does the director, google tells me, and that's where she returns to in the series' pilot.

( Spoilers could make an Iron Suit in a cave, but would need the cash to be brought to the cave first )

Current Mood: pensive
Current Location: Sylt

badly_knitted posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Pride At Work
Fandom: FAKE
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, Chief Smith.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: It’s Pride month, and the detectives of the two-seven are flying their colors.
Word Count: 250
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 483: Amnesty 80, using Challenge 451: Rainbow.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble and a half, 250 words.

( Pride At Work... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

m_findlow posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Treasured
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,507 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 483 - Amnesty, using Challenge 26 - School
Summary: Ianto has some important documents to file in the archives.

( Read more... )

tielan

If I do nothing else today, I'm going to make foccacia.

soullessserenity posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Interrupted Cat Nap
Fandom: Tokyo Mew Mew Olé (Manga)
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 300 words
Content notes: Established Shibuya/Anzu, fluff
Author notes: N/A
Summary: Ever since getting his Mew Mew powers, Shibuya would nap more often than before. But this time, his nap gets interrupted.

( Read more... )

rachelmanija

84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff

A sweet epistolatory memoir consisting of the letters written by a woman in New York City with extremely specific tastes (mostly classic nonfiction) and the English bookseller whose books she buys. Their correspondence continues over 20 years, from the 1940s to the 1960s. It's an enjoyable read but I think it became a ginormous bestseller largely because it hit some kind of cultural zeitgeist when it came out.

I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, by Lauren Tarshis

The graphic novel version! I read this after DNFing the supposedly definitive book on the event, Dark Flood, due to the author making all sorts of unsourced claims while bragging about all the research he did. The point at which I returned the book to Ingram with extreme prejudice was when he claimed that no one had ever written about the flood before him except for children's books where it was depicted as a delightful fairyland where children danced around snacking on candy. WHAT CHILDREN'S BOOKS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

The heroine of I Survived the Great Molasses Flood is an immigrant from Italy whose family was decimated in a flood over there. A water flood. It's got a nice storyline about the immigrant experience. The molasses flood is not depicted as a delightful fairyland because I suspect no one has ever done that. It also provides the intriguing context that the molasses was not used for sweetening food, but was going to be converted into sugar alcohol to be used, among other things, for making bombs!

My favorite horrifying detail was that when the giant molasses vat started expanding, screws popped out so fast that they acted as shrapnel. I also enjoyed the SPLOOSH! SPLAT! GRRRRMMMMM! sound effects.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton

A very unusual murder mystery/historical/fantasy/??? about a guy who wakes up with amnesia in someone else's body. He quickly learns that he is being body-switched every time he falls asleep, into the bodies of assorted people present at a party where Evelyn Hardcastle was murdered. He needs to solve the mystery, or else.

This premise gets even more complicated from then on; it's not just a mystery who killed Evelyn Hardcastle, but why he's being bodyswapped, and who other mysterious people are. It's technically adept and entertaining. Everything does have an explanation, and a fairly interesting and weird one - which makes sense, as it's a weird book.

krait

Firefox, my web browser of choice, just updated and dumped a bunch of new "AI features" that are enabled by default.

If you, like me, hate this nonsense, I found this very helpful guide to removing it. It took about one minute, and seems to be working - I no longer see the 'AI link preview' popup window when I hover over a link, for instance.

Please feel free to pass this on!

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Annie: I have always felt like the odd one out in my family. I love them deeply, but I cannot ignore the quiet, persistent feeling that I do not quite belong. My two younger brothers, "Tom" and "Michael," are close with each other and with our parents, especially our mom. They talk every day, go on trips together and always seem to be in sync.

I, on the other hand, have always felt different. I was more sensitive, more artistic and more emotional growing up. While they were into sports and fixing things with Dad, I was reading, journaling or off by myself. I was teased for being "too dramatic" or "too much," and I learned early on to keep my feelings to myself.

Now that we are adults, not much has changed. Family group chats often go on without me. I find out about birthdays or get-togethers after the fact. When I try to bring it up gently, I get told I'm imagining things or taking things too personally. My mom says she loves me just as much, but I still feel like I'm standing on the outside looking in.

I want to be part of the family, not just in name but in heart. I want to feel seen, heard and valued -- not like the extra piece that doesn't quite fit. Is there anything I can do to shift this dynamic, or is it time to accept that things may never change? -- Outside in My Family

( Annie's advice is better than I would've hoped for )

analogbasilisk posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Melancholic, And Hungry
Prompt: 240. Feed
Word count: 788
Rating: M
Summary: sometimes Mack hated her biological needs.
Warnings: implied past abuse, implied sexual content

( Read more... )

badly_knitted posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Battle Wounds
Fandom: BtVS
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Giles.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 250
Spoilers/Setting: Sometime late in Season 1 or early Season 2.
Summary: Buffy has suffered a loss while battling a demon.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 483: Amnesty 80, using Challenge 467: Finger.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble and a half, 250 words.

( Battle Wounds... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

smallhobbit posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: The picture in Vogue
Fandom: Spooks (MI5) [werewolf!Lucas verse]
Rating: G
Length: 516 words
Summary: What's a werewolf to do when he suddenly realises something?
Also written for ficlet_zone Madonna challenge

( What's he reading? )

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

1. DEAR ABBY: My son and daughter-in-law had their first child three months ago. This was the first grandchild on both sides. Her mother stayed with her for two weeks after the cesarean birth. I have no issues with that.

My issue is, my son told me I needed to leave when they and the baby came home from the hospital. Mind you, I live 6 1/2 hours away. I fought him to get at least three days when they got home. Then he said I needed to leave, but he never told his father-in-law to leave. Also, on the days I did stay, they asked me to get a motel while her parents stayed with them. I only got to go over during the day.

When I told my son my feelings were hurt, he said I was being a drama queen. I did respect everything they asked. I just want to know if I was wrong for sharing my feelings or should I have remained quiet. It has caused friction between us now. -- SECOND-CLASS IN TENNESSEE

( Read more... )

*********

2. DEAR ABBY: My 19-year-old son, who is on the spectrum but high-functioning, has left home. He's legally an adult but wouldn't allow me to teach him normal survival skills, such as balancing a checkbook, paying with a debit card, etc. He knows very little about the world; he learns from his online friends.

It has been four months, and he has now changed his phone number and won't call, email or text. He moved across the country to live with an online friend. I'm very concerned about him. What should I do? I don't email him often, but when I do, I just tell him I love him, and I never say anything negative. -- LOST IN CALIFORNIA

( Read more... )

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Care and Feeding,

I just learned my son has been doing something truly vile.

The warmer weather has been back in our area for a little over a month now. Many of our friends and relatives have swimming pools (we do, too). Last weekend, we were at my sister’s place and had been in the pool for a good three hours when it came time to leave. Before we went home, I asked my 7-year-old son, “Noah” if he needed to use the restroom, and he said, “No.”

On the drive back home, I joked that Noah must have a bladder of steel since he’d had no fewer than three iced teas while he was in the pool! Noah replied that no, he just urinated when he was in the pool, so he didn’t have to get out and use the bathroom. I was horrified and asked if this was something he had done before. He said, “All the time.”

I laid down the law with him. I made clear that this was never to happen again. I explained how harmful and disrespectful it was to everyone in the water around him and that it throws the pool chemicals out of balance. Noah agreed not to do it again, but I’m not sure I completely trust him. I got the sense he didn’t seem to think he did anything wrong. What can I do to make sure he keeps his word?

—Parent of a Pool Pisser

( Read more... )

senmut

1992, drawing ever closer to adulthood, pushing my boundaries with friends and lovers... Let's look at the cinema of that year? 24 films, and that was leaving several I saw completely off. Hmm. Okay, time to be choosy. Ten highlights.

~ Kuffs - Christian Slater was allowed to go ham with this one, and it was just fun. If you like Fourth Wall breaks, check it out.
~ My Cousin Vinny - MARISA TOMEI. +swoons+ Yeah, no, that's what I've got. It's a fun movie, some beloved actors but HOT DAMN.
~ Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest - 2nd, I think of the three Mathis/Slater flicks. They both rocked their roles, but come on. Tim Curry was given license to OOZE through his villainy.
~ Sister Act - Witness in hiding, musical numbers, nuns being awesome? CHECK. I loved it. Sequel too.
~ A League of Their Own - Geena Davis. Lori Petty. Lots o' ladies being badass at what they do. HELL to the YEAH. Sweet, funny, sad by turns.
~ Rapid Fire - Brandon Lee got me to watch it. Powers Boothe made it worthwhile. I swear Brandon worked screen chemistry with every costar he ever had...
~ School Ties - anyone who doesn't think Brendan Fraser can ACT in addition to being hunky adorable and athletic? PLEASE GO WATCH THIS. Warning for all the antisemitism. It's the point of the movie, to shove it in your face and try to make you open your eyes.
~ Bram Stoker's Dracula - I don't care how unfaithful to the book it was, I actually enjoyed the tragic love story/reincarnation angle. And the movie is PRETTY.
~ Aladdin - Robin Williams. Period. That is the sole reason I enjoy this film so much, sorry, shallow.
~ The Muppet Christmas Carol - Did not quite bump the George C Scott one out of favorite position, but I still loved the hell out of it. Caine did well by the Muppets.

glassesofjustice posting in

sedoretuex

Schedule:

☆ Deadlines/Reveals are 8:59pm PDT | 11:59pm EDT ☆
July 1, 2025 - July 12, 2025: Nomination Period
July 13, 2025: Tagset Cleanup
July 14, 2025 - July 27, 2025: Sign-up Period
July 28, 2025: 16 hour grace period for unmatchable - reply to mods inquiries by 1pm PST | 4pm EST on July 28th. Assignments will be sent out no later than July 29, 2025.
September 29, 2025: Fanworks due (What time is that for me?)
October 13, 2025: Archive goes live (Archive opening may be delayed to ensure everyone has a gift) (What time is that for me?)
October 20, 2025: ♥ Creators revealed! Comments are not required but encouraged. ♥

AO3 Collection | AO3 Tagset

☆ Deadlines/Reveals are 8:59pm PST | 11:59pm EST ☆
♥ "What is a sedoretu anyway?" ♥

Rules & FAQ

Rules

This is an exchange dedicated to celebrating the sedoretu. A sedoretu is a specific organization of a poly marriage created by Ursula K. Le Guin

This exchange is for participants 18+ only.
This exchange does not allow AI generated content in any form.
Don't be an asshole. No mononormativity. No kink or ship shaming.
Assignment Minimums: Art requirements: Art must be complete—sketches are not permitted. Art must be a minimum of lineart with basic colors/shading as well as background OR two lineart drawings. Lineart may not stand alone as a gift without colors/shading/background. Art may be traditional or digital, but cannot be drawn on lined paper. Manips and other graphics are not permitted. Fic requirements: Fic must be at least 2,000 words.
A minimum of four fandoms must be requested. A minimum of three fandoms must be offered.
Gifts must be complete and cannot be part of a previously posted series.
One sign-up per person. Socks are not allowed and if discovered, all sign-ups will be deleted.
Do not link or post your assignment in public or semi-public spaces before creators are revealed.
If you "no show," meaning you do not default before the deadline and do not post a work by the deadline (or extended deadline), you will be banned from the next round.
Defaulters are not guaranteed a gift.
This exchange will allow any gender combination in your foursome. If you wish to only create/receive traditional combinations, only request and offer those combinations.
This exchange matches on fandom, ship, and medium. Morning and Evening preferences can be stated in the Additional Details box but are not matched on. We want creators to have as much creativity in the process as possible. Aunt/Uncle preferences can also be noted in Additional Details but are not necessary part of works.
This exchange allows up to three ship DNWs per request. If you absolutely don't want a particular pair to be one of the marriages, you can DNW them as a ship. If you request a sedoretu and your DNWs make it impossible to write, your contradictory DNWs won't be enforced.
Sign-ups without four unique requests, one of which is tagged Safety Fandom Request (details below under heading "Safety Fandoms"), will be deleted without notice when sign-ups close.

An Archive of Our Own account is required to participate. You can request an account here or let mods know if you need an invite.

AO3 Emails
Make sure the email attached to your AO3 account is one that 1) you check regularly, and 2) are comfortable with exchange mods seeing. You can verify your email here: archiveofourown.org/users/[your ao3 name here]/change_email.

Please read the FAQ, if something isn't clear or you have other questions, please comment on this post.

FAQ

Nominations

Please add disambiguations to all of your relationship nominations. This means adding the fandom in parentheses after the relationship, e.g. Poe Dameron/Amilyn Holdo/Leia Organa/Rey (Star Wars), Carol Danvers/Jessica Drew/Patricia Walker/Jennifer Walters (Marvel Comics)
Check the tagset for existing fandom conventions and disambiguations.
How major fandoms should be organized:

Use DCEU for all related movies, DC Comics for all comics, and Arrowverse for all DC TV Shows.
Marvel movies and shows will be grouped into Marvel Cinematic Universe (Note: D+ TV – WandaVision, Falcon & Winter Soldier, Loki, What If?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Echo, Agatha All Along, Iron Heart, etc all go under MCU), Marvel Comics all together, and for Marvel Netflix TV, please disambiguate under the fandom "The Defenders (Marvel TV)", Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter are their own fandoms.
X-Men movies under either X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies) or X-Men (Original Timeline Movies), X-Men comics under X-Men (Comicverse) disambiguated (X-Men Comics) and feel free to add specific runs to your disambiguations, X-Men cartoons and animated series can be nominated as their own fandom.
All Star Wars properties (this includes Star Wars D+ shows) together under Star Wars - All Media Types
Dragon Age video games together under Dragon Age - All Media Types

You can nominate up to 10 fandoms with up to 10 relationships

Fandoms may be requested more than once with different relationships, however, there must be a minimum of three unique fandoms.

Creator's Choice of Fandom will be allowed this year, and whether or not the gender is specified is up to the nominator. When unspecified, it is then up to the creator. Family Member/Family Member/Family Member/Family Member is fine, as is Female Family Member/Female Family Member/Male Family Member/NB Family Member. Given character limits, you can use [Gender Abbreviation!], so in the above example: F!Family Member//F!Family Member/M!Family Member/NB!Family Member. You can also be explicit, Sister/Sister/Mother/Brother, etc.
Creator's Choice of Character and Creator's Choice of [Insert Gender] Character is allowed. Please put them at the end of your group, e.g.: Peter Parker/Pepper Potts/Tony Stark/Creator's Choice of Character (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Note:

Nominate crossovers under Crossover Fandom with the tag format Character A (Fandom)/Character B (Fandom)/Character C (Fandom)/Character D (Fandom). Disambiguations might need to be abbreviated to fit in the character limits. Do the best you can to make it clear. If you have two characters from each fandom, you disambiguate once for each fandom, e.g. Abby Griffin/Marcus Kane (The 100)/Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (MCU)
Nominate original work under Original Works Fandom, disambiguated to (OW). Whether the pairing gender is specified is up to the nominator. When unspecified, it is then up to the creator. Given character limits, you can use [Gender Abbreviation!] to shorten your noms: e.g: F!Apocalypse Survivor/F!Apocalypse Survivor//M!Apocalypse Survivor/M!Apocalypse Survivor (OW) is fine.
If you'd like to request or offer worldbuilding related meta for one or more of your fandoms, nominate under Worldbuilding Fandom. Use this convention to format your noms in the ship field: WB: Fandom e.g. WB: Star Wars All Media Types, WB: Ocean's 8, WB: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells. If you are open to worldbuilding focused fic, note it in your Additional Details.
RPF nominations must be for famous people 18 years old or older. Non-famous relatives or associates of famous people are not allowed.
Rule 63 is not allowed in this exchange for established canons/characters.

Sign-Ups
You may edit your Sign-Up at any time before Sign-Ups close.

Requests

You must request a minimum of four unique fandoms, one of which qualifies as a safety fandom (max ten), 1-10 relationships per fandom, and 1-2 mediums.
At least one of your requests must meet the requirements for a Safety Fandom (outlined below) and must be tagged Safety Fandom Request in the Additional Tags field. We will be checking all sign-ups for four unique fandom requests, one of which must be tagged Safety Fandom Request. If your Safety Fandom does not meet the requirements, you are not guaranteed a gift.
Fandoms may be requested more than once with different relationships; however, there must be a minimum of four unique fandoms.
Each request will include the option to specify medium: art, fic, or both. The medium you choose applies to all relationships in that request.
Do Not Wants (DNWs) need to be mentioned in your additional details box in order to be enforced. DNWs should represent things that would ruin a gift for you. They should not be used to box in your assigned creator. You can also list up to 3 ship DNWs per request.

Please only use your DNW's for concrete things that would ruin your gift. They should not be used to try and receive a hyper customized gift that boxes in your creator. Vague DNWs are unenforceable. Including a lot of general and/or smut likes is the preferred route and will give your creator a lot of options to create something you enjoy. For example, this would not be enforceable: DNW: Anything but fics about ice cream.
Re: Ship DNWs are intended to signal to your creator that you do not want certain sexual relationships within a requested sedoretu. They operate as follows:
- Request: Michael Burnham/Ellen Landry/Gabriel Lorca/Saru (ST Disco)
- DNW: Michael Burnham/Saru
This would create a sedoretu where Michael and Saru would be of the same moiety, whether evening or morning, and could not be in a sexual relationship. Even if you request non-traditional moiety relationships, your creator cannot violate this DNW by writing Michael/Saru; it is a DNW. However, we will not enforce ship DNWs that make a sedoretu request impossible to write.

Each request will include a space to link a Dear Creator letter where you can note specific prompts and preferences, and/or you can include these in the "Additional Details" box. "Additional Details" are optional. However, creators only have to honor the DNWs that you have included in the “Additional Details” box in your Sign-Up but should try to make a gift you will enjoy.

Offers

You must offer a minimum three unique fandoms (max 10), 1-10 relationships per fandom.
Each offer will include the option to specify medium: fic, art, or both.
You may choose to offer "any" to indicate you are willing to be matched on any relationship in the tag set in that fandom.

Safety Fandom(s)
This exchange requires you to sign up with at least one Safety Fandom. A safety fandom is designed to allow Pinch Hitters a reasonable time to enjoy a new canon or review a familiar/old canon if you are unmatchable and no PHs are available for your main fandoms
What is a Safety Fandom?
It must:

be in English or have an English translation, AND
be a piece of visual media (TV, Movie, etc.) between 15 and 300 minutes (5 hours), OR
be a standalone written (reading length) work at 50,000 to 80,000 words (80-140 pages), OR
a standalone audio work (song, book, podcast) at 2 to 6 hours, OR
a manga of up to 30 chapters, OR
a run of up to 30 comics, OR
a video game that can be completed in under 10 hours, OR
a still image or short series of still images.
RPF must fit into one of the above categories.

If your choice is rare or hard to acquire, it is not a Safety Fandom.

Practically: Use the Additional Tags area to add Safety Fandom Request to at least one of your requests where the fandom meets the above requirements. You can add the tag to more than one if it applies, but it must apply to at least one of your requests.

Matching

Matching will be OR matching (you only need to match on one relationship in the request, not all of them).
Matching will be on Fandom, Ship, and Medium.
If you are unmatchable as a creator (i.e. no one is requesting anything you are willing to create), the mods will contact you when signups close and ask you to add more offers (See above re: ao3 email). If you do not reply within 16 hours, your signup will be deleted.
If you are unmatchable as a recipient (i.e. no one is offering anything you are requesting), your requests will be posted to the Dreamwidth community for claiming as a pinch hit (see below). We will only hold the collection opening if you have 3 unique fandom requests.
If you have someone blocked, please request not to match to them If this is the case, please tailor your sign-up on your own (as much as possible) not to match them. Then contact the mods with the following:
- reach out by email to: glassesofjustice4all+sedoretuex @ gmail . com with "Do Not Match" in the subject line,
- do not tell us why you don't want to match with them,
- indicate whether you do not want to be matched as their creator, their recipient, or both; and
- Tell us what to do if they want to pick up your pinch hit or they write you a treat.

Assignments

Assignments cannot be created in part or in whole by AI.
Fic must be at least 2,000 words long.
Art must be complete—sketches are not permitted. Art must be a minimum of lineart with basic colors/shading as well as background OR two lineart drawings. Lineart may not stand alone as a gift without colors/shading/background. Art may be traditional or digital, but cannot be drawn on lined paper. Manips and other graphics are not permitted.
You must respect DNWs.
Betas are not required but encouraged.
Please do not discuss your assignment or giftee in public. This exchange has a mandatory anon period before authors are revealed.

Defaulting

If you cannot complete your assignment, please select the "Default" button on the Ao3 "Assignments" page as soon as possible to allow more time for a pinch hitter.
There is no penalty for defaulting before the deadline.
If you do not default and do not post a work by the deadline or post a work that remains incomplete after the deadline, you may not participate in the next round of this exchange.
Defaulters are not guaranteed a gift.

Pinch Hits
Pinch hits will be posted to the Dreamwidth community. To claim, respondents can post a comment to the pinch hit post.

Treats

Treats are welcome! You may write treats whether you are signed up for the exchange or not. They can be posted to the collection..
Treats must meet assignment minimums and must respect the requestors' DNWs.
Treats can be gifted to the collection without a recipient if, after finishing your work you aren't sure if your work matches the original request enough or edges too closely to a DNW (but this will not fulfill your assignment). Do not gift them to the mods.

Moderated Collection

The collection is moderated. Your gift will be checked by a mod before it is approved into the collection.

Recent ao3 updates indicate you can access your unapproved work from the "Works in Collections" page to make edits to it. If you think you will need to make frequent edits, you can keep the fic open in a browser tab or search for it from your stats page.

senmut

Sojourn to Korvallen (10312 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s), Ensemble
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

The events of Sojourn take a left turn when a Knight in Silver joins Dove's party to assist with a hunt for a drow.

Korvallen never expected it to go like this.

Sojourn to Korvallen: Hunting

Few things were as distinctive as the Knights in Silver wearing their armor, riding upon their specially bred mounts, with their squires and a Spellguard in attendance. Dove actually held her friends back to let the group pass through the gate of Sundabar first, knowing they had to be on their way home. She half-wondered why a patrol of five with two spare mounts and one provision jack were all the way here. Maybe she'd remember to ask Alustriel later.

"Ranger Silverhand — ahh, no, Falconhand these days?" the lead knight called and she focused on the details, noting in surprise that it was Sharrevaliir's very own heart-brother. A memory of Alustriel being overwhelmed a few years came back; Korvallen had come to her after three decades of being thought dead.

"Well-met, Protector. Though it seems I should call you Knight Captain by the armband I see?"

"Indeed. Let's not hold up gate traffic, but I'd carry messages for you once we're outside?"

Dove smiled at him, glad to see the man was actually sociable now. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she was Alustriel's sister. The fierce need to protect in that elf had slowly encompassed all of the Silverhand women over the centuries, as it had affected Sharrevaliir to know they were as safe as they could be.

Processing out of Sundabar was almost as burdensome as getting in, given their deep-seated need to protect dwarven secrets and craftsmanship. By the time Dove and her party were out, Korvallen had dismounted, his gelding's reins held by the half-elf squire near him. Unsurprisingly, the full party was elf-blooded, though only the Spellguard was full like Korvallen. She couldn't have expected him to fully let go of his biases.

"So what has a patrol this far from the city?" Dove asked, after they'd clasped wrists with one another.

"Had to provide an escort to the heir of one of the rival dwarf clans," Kor said. "We were in the middle of this one as arbitrators, so Elué insisted."

Dove nodded. "We were enjoying a brief stop here, but word out of Maldobar is a drow sighting." She watched as Korvallen's spine straightened almost violently at that, and dimly remembered he — like Kellindil, had trauma with the drow.

"Care to take on another hand?" Korvallen said, almost entirely too casually. "Lighter gear in my pack, and we've got a mandate to find all the holes they come out of."

Dove weighed the offer, and honestly, only Kel had experience with drow directly. It might be useful, and there were a few elven villages in Maldobar's region.

"Get out of that pretty stuff, and welcome aboard."

Korvallen nodded, then went to tell the Spellguard and other Knight, before changing out his gear, securing the armor to his spare mount. He was quickly done with that, and let the other Knight lead the patrol away from the city, following the well-kept road despite the deepening dark. Korvallen greeted Kellindil then, by name, and Dove hoped she hadn't just bought more trouble than coercing Fret into her party might mean.

By the time they made it to the farm to start investigating, Korvallen had already had enough of the humans of the hamlet. He didn't mind Dove's friends, even the dwarf, but the bounty hunter and the mayor were grating his nerves. He started circling the property after he drop-reined his horse, looking at various signs that caught his centuries-honed experience as out of place.

While Dove and party dealt with the murder-scene, he was finding clever little traps set in the brambles and on one particular approach to the farm. It took him time, but he did eventually find elf-light impressions of boot prints, and slowly pieced together the traps had been laid by that one. The traps were… very simple, but well-hidden. It didn't add up with what Dove had shared of the original summoning or the hasty explanation of the murders from the mayor and the bounty hunter.

The drow had been seen and interacted with the children, so these traps couldn't have been set for them in Kor's eyes. Too many easier opportunities had been there, based on the tale so far. He eventually spiraled back in, and saw the others inspecting a broken sword in a southern style. He took one look at the two pieces and scoffed with a disparaging noise.

"That wasn't broken in combat," he said firmly. When the bounty hunter opened his mouth, Korvallen mustered his full elven hauteur and leveled it on him. "Over seven centuries of seeing broken weapons tells me something actively snapped it like a twig."

The glowering presence worked and the human wandered off, growling much like the cur of a dog he had short-leashed at his side.

"I hate to ask it, but go look at the women; tell me if you think the half-eaten one could be a large cat's work?" Dove said softly. Darda, her fighter friend, gestured and Korvallen followed the man over.

"McGristle's chomping to get on the trail despite the growing evening."

"Fool," Korvallen spat out, but he took a look as Darda pulled the tarp up.

"Demonic, more likely," Korvallen said. "Not good, if this drow is using Abyssal minions." It didn't actually add up that way in his mind, but he looked over each of the bodies, familiar with all manners of dying. The violence done to them all, the sheer strength of force used on the men…

…that was not drow work.

"The drow has been here. Twice, at least. And set traps off toward that direction," Korvallen told Darda. "He's got a light enough print, but the boot shape is nothing like I'd expect his kind to be wearing."

"Dove noticed the tracks. Did you see the heavy ones?" Darda asked.

"Similar boot, weight distributed differently, and very weighted," Korvallen said, before Darda guided him inside to see the cross beam that had broken the middle-aged man's spine. The beam was damaged, and as it was a support beam, that took doing.

"This slaughter is not as clear as it might have been," Darda murmured, once Korvallen had gotten his own impressions.

"The drow did not kill these people… but he may well be holding the leash of the demonic killer," Korvallen pointed out. "We just need to find him and be on guard when we do."

Korvallen kept his silence around him once they set out to find the drow. McGristle was a man poisoned by greed more than any actual concern over the slaughtered family. Kellindil was trying not to rise to the bait, after seeing such an elder persevere like that. If not for the dog, McGristle would never have found the trail, in their personal opinion.

Finding the gruesome carnage of two goblins and two barghest whelps dead at a sheltering cavern pushed at Korvallen's private opinion on the whole incident. None of the damage done to the shape-changing creatures was the work of a demon. He beckoned Kel and Gabriel over while McGristle and Darda were testing Dove's patience. At least Fret had stopped baiting the beastly human.

"Drow's injured," Kor said, pointing to a solid, deeper imprint of a boot and the scuff-drag of the matching leg. "Badly, given the depth of his weight on the one leg."

"Should make catching up easier," Gabriel pointed out.

"Might. Might make it more likely that the drow will double back to his kin," Kor pointed out. "Need to keep alert for that possibility, if we start heading to where more openings into the rock are."

Kel frowned, then nodded. "What do we do to keep McGristle from being a detriment? The dog can keep the trail, but neither he nor it are quiet."

Kor shrugged. "Come the right moment, the party stays with him on the dog's hunt, and one of us — whichever of us is closer, but one of us elves if it is at night — breaks off to try and get ahead and scout."

Gabriel nodded to that. "More likely be one of you that spots the sign; I'm a good ranger, and so is Dove, but we live closer to city life, miss the more subtle marks."

Korvallen actually gave him a nod of respect for seeing his shortcomings. "Whichever ones are left behind keep that damned man focused on his hunt, not the missing member. We've got to catch the drow before he reconnects with his people!"

"Yes," Kel agreed to that, knowing they did not — even if Dove broke out her actual powers — have the ability to deal with a drow war-band.

While Kellindil was yelling at McGristle and the rest of the party was in their own chaotic state, Korvallen took to the trees. He had gotten very accustomed to working from horseback, but this region meant Dove had made the right call to stable their mounts at Maldobar's inn. Now, wearing the softer, gripping elven boots and using all of his skill in silent passage, Korvallen ran the trees, trailing the cat at just enough of a distance to be certain it could not sense him.

As certain as he could be, that was. The way the tracks kept disappearing and reappearing at intervals was disconcerting, and perhaps he should have prodded Dove to use her magic to scry out why. As it was, it had slipped his mind, even when he'd been surprised the tracks had not appeared near the giant's corpse at all.

Korvallen had found that trap, simple as it was, a damned effective trick, even if it meant giving a drow credit for anything. Giants were not, after all, easy foes.

He could all but hear his heart-brother in his mind, pointing out that every confirmed kill of the drow had been an evil being. He was ruthlessly putting that down to cleaning up trailing vines of a drow conspiracy, and yet… Sharr's voice was only getting stronger as Kor followed the blood trail, faint as it was, of the gigantic cat.

By the time the cat's traces had faded out, Kor knew he was hours away from camp. Maybe he'd be able to put an end to this swiftly, as he picked up the trail from where the cat's blood ended and the heavy-step-drag-step of the drow took over. He didn't think much of it when he had to follow that back up into the trees.

His elven eyes, his experience, told him when the man had changed directions, though a deliberate shaking of leaves to the ground would make the party think the drow had gone the other way. Kor was not liking how much he was admiring the enemy adapting to what had to be an alien environment. He also didn't like that Sharr's voice was only getting louder about doubting the evil of it all.

Surely, if this was a goodly drow, Dove would have had some clue from the youngest Chosen of Mystra? No. This was one of the murderous filth that had been banished below, and Korvallen was intent on ending the threat.

Sometimes, experience and certainty of knowing what was being tracked led to mistakes. Kor had easily avoided the trap that told him the drow had become aware of his presence, somehow.

Kor missed the fact that to avoid it, he stepped on a branch that had been weakened, the cutting concealed by having lifted the bark part way to do it. He crashed down to the ground, and scrambled to get his footing, only to see the drow standing directly opposite him, sword in one sheath, hands empty, and… just watching?

It was unnerving, and Kor nearly rushed him as soon as he was balanced, but that long experience held him back, thinking it was a trick.

Keen eyes took in the appearance then, showing Kor the dried blood on the ill-fitting clothing, the rough bandages at wrist and leg, the fatigue that showed in the sunkenness of the eyes in their sockets. The face was pinched-thin with hunger, the frame gaunt, with bones clearly visible on the unbandaged wrist and the spot where the collarbone was visible through a tear in the tunic.

The drow was speaking, that soft sibilant language that poured through Kor's nightmares about the dark ones. It could be spell-words… but the face was almost desperate, and when the words failed to elicit more than a scowl from Kor, the drow looked as if he were seconds from flight.

"Drizzit?" Kor tried, his rage having somehow evaporated in the face of this shambling wreck of a person who had killed several evil beings and done nothing to harm his hunters.

"Drizzt," the drow answered, and damned if the eyes didn't actually light with something like hope. The shift in posture, in his face rammed home something Kor didn't want to acknowledge in the moment.

This drow was young, if the marks Kor knew in his own kind held true for the dark ones. The thinness was making it hard, but there was something to the eyes, to the ears not being full, something in the jawline that were all screaming child to the Protector he'd dedicated himself to being.

What in the hell did he do now?

The sword he didn't even remember bringing to hand went back in its sheath, and he slowly took in a deep breath, just watching for the drow to react.

"Talk this?" the dark one asked in Goblin.

"Some," Kor admitted. "My prisoner, keep, make answer questions."

The drow cocked his head to the side, and damned if the boy didn't half-smile.

"I say no prisoner. Answer questions yes. Have honor?"

The drow dared question — wait. Kor breathed again, using meditative rhythm, and considered that.

"Pretend prisoner," he finally said. "Protect you, you answer questions. Camp here, wait for others. Eat, rest. Fix wounds."

What had he become that he was not only letting a drow live, but actively enabling the drow to grow stronger?

A good man Sharr's voice seemed to echo in his head, and Kor wanted to swear at him, as the drow more or less sagged down to the base of the tree he'd had at his back.

"Yes," the drow — Drizzt — said, and Kor realized he was committed now.

Sojourn to Korvallen: Choices

Convincing the drow — Drizzt — to drink the healing potion had been hardest on Kor and the boy alike. Kor hated the idea of helping the enemy, no matter what his instincts were saying. Drizzt, on the other hand, was hard to convince that he needed to be well fast, not wait for nature to finish the healing.

Kor won the argument, but didn't feel great for doing so. He hid it by scowling until the boy ate the various foods laid out for him, while Kor moved to sit against a different tree.

What had the boy been thinking to set those traps and then not take advantage of them? Had the boy actually expected to best him when he was so injured? Just the delay in pulling his sword would have been deadly.

Had Drizzt given up on finding his own kind? Was he suicidal? There were too many questions.

"How know I follow?" Kor asked, just to get one thing cleared up. He knew how damn silent he could be in the trees.

"Sounds changed. Moving in their change. Mean something moving this way."

Well, that made sense, but it was not a skill Kor would think a filthy drow of the Underdark would have picked up on. They didn't have birds and other common noises that would shift like birdsong did.

"What if I chose attack?" Kor pressed.

"Dark. Run." The boy half-smiled. "Hope you not see next trap, give time run far."

Well. The boy had had a plan. And admitted to it. What in the nine hells did Kor make of that?

"Sleep. Will keep safe."

The boy's face changed, and he shook his head. "You move all night. No rest. Follow Guen. Follow me."

Was the boy telling him he should rest? Like he ever would, or could!

"Not injured. You were. Need more rest. I need to be awake, when others come."

"Rest now, wake when that," and he pointed to a clearly defined shadow, "moves a hand."

How could Kor make the boy see that he could not trust — and the boy took off his belt, tossing it with the one empty sheath, the one with a blade twin to the snapped one at the farm toward him.

"Only knife. No sneak better than faerie hear? You have better weapon now."

Corellon's balls, but the boy was taking a huge risk, and Kor just settled back against the tree, pointedly not getting the weapon under a foot or anything else to make it difficult for the boy to retrieve, too impressed by that reckless way of showing and offering trust in this moment.

They both managed small naps before the party caught up. While Kor watched over the sleeping drow, he'd weighed a lot of things, such as the boy's ability to use birdsong, native materials as traps, and figuring out how to tell time by the shadow movement. The boy was very smart, and actually had been honorable in his approach to things with Kor.

Which meant when the dog suddenly raced in growling and ready to clamp its jaw around the drow, Kor tripped the creature in passing, trusting his shin guards against the teeth. He also jerked his hand and head upwards in Drizzt's direction, and the boy actually understood, going up above the dog's jumping range.

"Get your beast on a leash, McGristle," Kor snapped as the bounty hunter was the first to come into sight. "The drow is in my custody now."

"Not going to have you steal my bounty!"

"A bounty the mayor will be warned not to pay, for the drow did none of the crimes he was accused of," Dove said, actually letting steel come into her voice. Korvallen wondered how bad things had gone that she was over using her diplomatic ways. She looked up to where the drow was sitting on a wide limb, then back to Kor. "Did he?"

"I don't believe so, but Goblin's no language for questioning," Kor said. "That boy was injured severely dealing out vengeance, hadn't had a meal in who knows when, and met me in peace."

Kel's head jerked up at hearing his elder name the enemy a 'boy', and looked for the same signs Kor had spotted. Kor knew Drizzt must have smiled at the archer, because Kel did the same jerk of awareness.

"I'm owed for my other dog, and my scarring!" McGristle shouted loudly.

"Enough!" Dove snapped at the loud human. "We are a civilized people, and the drow — "

"Drizzt," Kor said in his mildest tone, rocking the ranger back on her mental heels, as everyone in the family knew how deep his hatred of drow ran.

"Drizzt, then, deserves a chance to speak on his own behalf. Which means a spell, as we're not doing this in Goblin," Dove finished, reaching into her pouch to find the material she needed for it. "Leash your dog, and know that if you attack him, you will face me," she added to McGristle.

Kor noted the appraising look, knew McGristle was sizing up the odds… and he flicked a throwing knife into his hand just in case while the man's attention was elsewhere. He waited until the dog was leashed, the entire party was present, and then he looked up into the tree and signed in a downward motion with his empty hand.

"Dove — woman? — has magic. Make words easy," he told the boy that had come to his side, and heard the small murmurs about the drow still being armed, as well as his obedience.

It might have been amusing in any other setting.

Dove cast the spell, which required touching Drizzt. Kor caught the barest flinch in the boy's posture to have the woman near him, let alone touch him, before the steel solidified in Drizzt's spine.

"Tell us the events that happened with the people that were killed," Dove said, aware that Darda and Gabriel were in position to tangle McGristle up if needed, and Fret actually had his hand resting on the hammer's haft, near enough to the dog to be a threat if needed.

"I wanted to learn about people, and studied the children, listening. I did not mean to make them scared, or to get in a fight with anyone," Drizzt began, remembering to speak up because sound carried differently above. "I defended myself, but I did not want to kill anyone or any thing."

"Lies," McGristle muttered, but he didn't move.

"Came, morning after attack, knew something was wrong, because they always came out to work in the light, let the animals out in the pasture," Drizzt continued, ignoring him. "I did not investigate until night.

"What I stopped the … beings like people but like that?" Drizzt said, looking in the direction of the dog.

"Gnolls," Kor supplied.

"What I had stopped the gnolls from doing had happened." Drizzt looked down, twisting up inside all over again as he remembered the children. "I knew it would not bring them back, but… I had to hunt the murderer. Only there were two. It was a hard fight, and the quickling had stolen my sword before the murder. Weaker fighter with one sword," he said with something like exasperation at himself. "I stopped it before the fight with the giant planar beings."

"The plowshare," Kellindil said quietly, getting a nod.

"Guen, my friend, she fought the one that was the killer, and I fought the other. But then it had shape-shifted, and she was in trouble. I had to send her back to her plane, and that made the one fall." Drizzt shrugged. "Dead is dead. The giant chased me, and I would have left it alone, but it had plans to keep killing people, so I dealt with it too."

"The planar beings were barghest whelps, and probably close to full power," Dove said. "You fought well. But why try to approach humans at all?"

"Because I must learn," Drizzt said. "The surface is the only place I can live now. It is hard. None of the foods I knew are here. I get tired of fish. Some of what I see the animals eat do not taste right, or make my stomach hurt," he told her. "And… I do not want to be alone. Being alone is madness in the making.

"I know. I went mad in the Underdark, when I was alone."

"Alone?" Korvallen prompted. "How long?"

Drizzt met his eyes alone. "My siblings who hunted me said I left ten years before then. It has been… at least half a year since that, maybe more."

Korvallen could feel the blood draining from his face in shock, and knew it had probably hit Dove as hard. Kor might not have wanted to be friendly with the drow community Sharr knew through Elué, but Sharr had shared a few tales he'd heard when he stayed with them. Maybe time ran differently below, but… no child should have been on their own in a nightmare hellhole that long.

"Drow's a lying, murdering monster," McGristle accused, "and you're all falling under his spell!"

Drizzt turned and looked at the man throwing harsh words at him. "You are a clumsy fighter. I could have killed you and did not, because I did not want to fight. I regret killing your animal. Why must you be so… drow-like?!" he shot right back, all of his loathing for the species he had been born to coming through in those words.

McGristle lunged, slipping the leash in the same moment. Kor's knife flew in the next moment, embedding in the man's thigh, even as Darda and Gabriel moved to restrain him. The dog, going after his prey, but hearing his master's gasp of pain, hesitated just long enough for Fret to stun it with the hammer and set about properly tying the creature up.

"Secure him," Dove said coldly. "Korvallen, if I promise to have your horse returned to you in time, will you take a summoned mount now and get Drizzt somewhere else? Presuming, of course, you believe him fully?"

"I do. And I will." Korvallen placed a hand lightly on the boy's shoulder, sensing he was conflicted over the strife on display. Drizzt squared himself up, and nodded to the unasked question. "He's willing to go with me, after all."

"Then we'll do that."

Sojourn to Korvallen: History

The journey back to Silverymoon only gave Korvallen more questions. His new… ward, he decided, as the boy was in need of a guardian, was skillful with his blades, as evidenced by his past fights, and completely ignorant of all things surface. Some of what he had eaten horrified Korvallen, while reminding him of drow poison resistance being even more potent than an elf's. Drizzt's desire to learn what was food as well as him soaking up words for everything they saw had Korvallen even more convinced the boy was very smart.

The night Kor made a small fire to roast a hare had the old elf about ready to challenge Lolth herself, to know this boy had been alone on the surface and subsisting solely on uncooked foods, because he thought fire was a thing of clerics or wizards mostly.

By the time they reached Silverymoon, Korvallen had made up his mind that he wasn't just passing the boy off to someone else. Like it or not, he'd stuck his neck out for Drizzt, and now Drizzt was his to finish raising up. There was space enough in his quarters, if he cleared his spare gear out of the second room, for Drizzt to live with him, and surely he could find someone willing to help him teach the boy language.

The whole while he was arranging things in his mind, he was cursing the day a human bewitched his heart-brother, setting the door open on a far wider set of views than Korvallen had ever wanted to possess.

No one challenged him, even out of his city armor as he was, even with a very curious drow at his side. The moment they had crossed the city words had locked it all in; Drizzt had noticed the kiss of magic, but was unhindered, confirming his nature in Kor's jaded eyes. All the way to the palace, he watched the boy taking in the signs of the city, noting the smells of food, and trying hard not to react to the stares thrown at him.

Kor gave him a quick lesson in the bath, found some clothes that would do, a set of slippers, and then threw himself into clearing out the second room of his apartment. The physical work was what he needed, and he didn't hear the knock on the door at all.

Elué, of course, knew he was in and let herself into the apartment, coming to lean in the doorway of the second room.

"I heard interesting things about your absence and your arrival," she began.

"All true. Your sister's supposed to get my other horse back to me," Kor said, not stopping in shifting things, even when that meant she had to move out of his way.

"You are sponsoring your guest to remain in city?" she asked, just to confirm.

"Yes."

She inclined her head to him, then moved into the room to lend him a hand. "Do you wish to talk?"

"Not yet," he admitted. "Just need to get everything out, so he has his own space."

"Alright, old friend." She put herself to work for him, and that was soothing in its own way, how easily she accepted his choices and didn't needle him about them. Sharr would have… and helped just as much.

He had a feeling he was going to miss his heart-brother something fiercely in the upcoming years.

Drizzt had admired the swords he'd been gifted with, lovingly cleaning them and the sheaths of the dust that had settled on them in the armory. They were saber-style, not true scimitars, but he could adapt quickly enough.

Now, having gone through his ranges of motion with them, the elf that had taken charge of him was waiting to spar. He accepted the necessity of the padding on the steel; he was a drow, had been a hunted enemy, and it was best for appearances, at least, to use precautions.

From the first testing pass, though, Drizzt's heart leapt into his throat. This man fought like Zaknafein! He might only be using sword and dagger, but his skill was at that level. The elf was slower, maybe, but had a solidity to his defense and testing attacks that triggered all of Drizzt's memories. From that point, Drizzt just flung himself into seeing how far they could go together in a dance of skill, losing himself half in memory, half in sorrow at facing such skill again.

It was only as he found himself disarmed and the tip of the padded blade at his throat that the fullness of his grief threatened to explode from his control.

He met Korvallen's eyes, watched as some form of understanding came to the elf… and the world wavered. The next thing Drizzt knew, he was sitting with an elf arm around his shoulders, his face soaked by tears, a soft croon coming from Korvallen. All of his memories of learning from Zaknafein had boiled up, the recognition of his father's abilities in this elf unlocking the tight bindings on grief he'd never been able to express.

"Sorry?" he offered, one of the words that he'd learned and latched onto for defusing situations where he hadn't understood correctly.

"Home. Talk if needed," Kor said in a gruff tone, and Drizzt had to close his eyes, not wanting to lose control again, because that was something he could have seen his father doing, if they'd ever had a chance to live free together.

"Need more words," Drizzt said, hating how small his voice sounded.

It made the arm on his shoulders tighten a little, and somehow, Drizzt knew Kor would help him find those words, and that he would listen about the man Drizzt missed with all his soul.

Drizzt wasn't surprised that the talking about it — once he was out of an ordered hot soak — involved food and Niska Bentleaf. The other wood elf was another elf that had been involved in drow hostility, and while she'd been skeptical at first, had given Kor her support. She often facilitated the meetings where full communication was needed, and was handling many of the lessons in language.

Drizzt liked her, as he liked Kor, while not quite understanding fully why his chest ached at her gentleness with him. After the day's spar, he understood better why Korvallen made his heart hurt; he'd been responding to the man as he would have responded to Zak without fully seeing it.

Until now.

Niska, though — he stopped in the middle of crossing to the low table with the food on it as he felt a surge of memories from when Vierna would actually be gentle with him. He pushed himself to move before either elf said anything, and shoved that impression to the back of his mind for pondering later.

They ate with the customary word-teaching for the foods, and the two elves discussing pieces of their days while Drizzt listened and tried to pick out the words he knew already. He was picking up Common swiftly; it was meant to be learned easily apparently, but he was still making his teachers astounded at his memory. Probably, after telling them what he had to, they'd understand a little better.

"Ready to talk about the past?" Kor asked, once all the dishes were back in the basket to go to the kitchen.

"Yes," Drizzt said, puzzling out the word he didn't know from context. "Hard words, make mad," he warned.

"That's most things about the people you came from," Niska said, before she cast the spell so he could speak clearly and they could understand him.

"I reacted to our spar, Korvallen, because you remind me of my father, his skill and stamina with swords, all weapons really," Drizzt began. "But to understand why that matters, I will tell you about who I am, and things I have done."

Kor had frowned, to be compared to a drow, but then he pushed himself to take a neutral expression.

"I was third-born son, sixth child, to the matron of what became the Ninth House the night I was born," Drizzt began. "I was not meant to live; I was supposed to be given to Lloth as a third son, and it was timed to coincide with conquering the former Ninth House." He paused, letting them digest that. "I did not know for years. But I learned the former Secondboy, Dinin, slew the eldest of us, Nalfein, that night.

"Malice deemed it enough of a sacrifice, and I was allowed to live, to be word-weaned and raised by Vierna, the second of Malice's daughters. I learned in time that she was my full-sister, sharing a father, but drow do not think on fathers, not the noble-born."

"How appalling," Niska said before gesturing for him to continue.

"I won't horrify you with the life of a child growing up in the chapel, or a Page Prince serving the family, but when I was sixteen, I was raised up to be a full member of House Do'Urden. I was meant to be a wizard, to replace Nalfein." He did manage a grin, as that memory came back. "The Weapon Master, Zaknafein, who I had only just met, actually argued with Malice. He took ten coins, piled five on each of my hands, and had me flip them, to catch them all before they hit the floor.

"Malice conceded that my skill was in my speed and coordination, and gave me to him for the next four years to teach, anything and everything about every weapon we had in the house!"

His sheer joy for that memory helped offset, some, Kor's horror at how young Drizzt had been, and that he had done such a thing in the abyssal darkness of a drow city.

"Any light?" Niska asked.

"Only the slight warmth of his hands from when he fetched them out," Drizzt said cheerfully. "It would be much easier now, as I actually have my full reach."

Kor privately wondered if the boy was right on that as he'd seen elves get late growth spurts through their first century.

"What I did not know then, what I would not learn for years, was that he was my father. He and I built a strong friendship in those four years." The smile faded ominously. "I did not know drow did not have friends. And before I was to go to school, he attacked me, dangerously, almost killed me.

"In the end, he would not make the final blow, and I went to school full of his betrayal of what I thought we were." He took a deep breath, not looking at either elf in the face. "I learned. I learned that drow only use other people as they need. That being better was a reason to be hated, feared. And I thought that fight with him was part of him thinking I would be used to replace him.

"He was probably right, if that ever crossed his mind; Malice and he were not on the best of terms, but he was the best at what he did."

"Yet I reminded you of this man?" Kor had to demand.

Drizzt nodded. "You'll see. Let me get there."

"Alright."

"The less said about school, the better, as I have only the good memory of meeting Guen there, and even it is in a horrible incident," Drizzt said blithely. "I graduated after ten years, a full adult of my House at last."

"Thirty?!" exploded from two elven throats as they had been tracking the age marks.

"Fighters are not worth more effort than that," Drizzt pointed out. "Wizards are fifty, and priestesses closer to a century, if they all went in their first eligible year." He shrugged. "I remained on patrols with my brother leading them, and the wizard who held Guen's figure, and we did well.

"Too well." He looked at Niska. "I must ask, do you have a spell or item to let you hear truth? I must have no doubt on what comes next that I am not lying."

"I don't usually use it on those I fuss over," she said, but she adjusted one of her rings. "When you have said whatever this is, tell me to turn it off."

"Yes, Niska." Drizzt took a deep breath. "We were chosen for a raid. I killed no elf by my own hand, though I did not stop the others when I realized what was happening. I was horrified, rooted to the ground, until a child came to seek a woman already slain.

"Her death may be on my hands, after, for I stunned her and covered her in blood, to hide her survival… yet, I have no way of knowing if she lived past that night."

There was a very long silence, and then Niska shifted the ring of her own free will, got up and came to sit next to him, not liking how blank he'd made his face and tone just to tell them that. He leaned into her… and it was all he could do not to fall back into sobbing like he had with Kor earlier.

"No village would have had everyone down on the ground," Kor said soberly. "There are always those who cannot attend things below. Later, we will get details, to narrow down where you were, how the raid even got above, and we will learn the fate of the child."

Drizzt couldn't help the tears in his eyes as the man he was steadily looking up to more and more promised that, and he took several moments to get his composure.

"You know what it would have taken, to use the blood of a dead woman to cover a child convincingly, or can at least imagine," he finally said to Kor. "The others boasted heavily of what I had done. How vicious I had been. Word reached Zaknafein.

"And it set him into a rage, to learn just what a good drow fighter I had become," Drizzt said with heavy sarcasm on every word of what he'd once thought he wanted to be.

Niska wound up petting his hair, anticipating the next part now that she thought she had a grasp on this boy's trauma.

"After another patrol, one that would have implications for me years later, he and I nearly came to blows in the gymnasium." Drizzt took a deep breath. "He… hated all drow, even himself, especially because of the deaths of the children.

"And that fight… was to prevent me from becoming what he hated, when he had found comfort in my joy of learning his skill. We had truth, with me admitting to sparing the child, and him to being my father."

The dawning realization of seeing that love existed in this warped attempt at murder landed on both elves, but they held their peace, seeing a storm brewing in the young drow that had become theirs to protect.

"We were facing a House war. And… Malice or Briza must have been listening to us, spying with their spells." Drizzt's voice was almost too soft to hear. "I should have made him come away with me right then. I left the house, to think, to plan, to decide… and I was ambushed by the wizards of the House that meant to attack us.

"Because of Guen, I survived and they did not."

The sheer flatness of that was something Kor decided he would press at later, almost certain he knew the cause.

"I went back, straight to father's room. His swords were there.

"He was not."

Kor's intake of breath showed he grasped that implication, and Niska followed a moment later, squeezing Drizzt gently.

"They said, when I pressed to know what had happened, that he chose to go in my place. A faerie survived, so a drow had to die. And all was forgiven. I was Weapon Master, and it was all fine, now."

He could not stay at the low table, getting up to pace now. Kor let Niska move into his own space, as neither of them were coping as this spun out.

"I had taken his pouch from his room. He carried these little clay pellets. When you shattered them on stone, they flared with blinding light." Drizzt's hands were clenching, twisting in his agitation. "I threw one, after I damned them and the spider alike, if any true gods actually existed, and I fled into the wilds with just my skills, Guen's figure, and my blades."

He did pause, looking at both of them. "What else could I do? I rejected everything of who they wished me to be."

"The only thing you could have." Niska nodded firmly at Kor's words to reinforce them.

"I hoped it would be the end. But Briza and Dinin came, at what they said was ten years later. I beat them, but… I came to see the madness was winning. And went to the deep gnomes, in hopes that if they killed me, I'd at least die free of the spider's influence.

"Only, one I had caused to be maimed, but spared, spoke for me. And when my house sent a hunter after me, he traveled with me. We… adventured. It was good. Even with the horrors around us, with getting caught by mind flayers — Guen rescued us — it was a decent enough life. But we ran into the hunter outside the mind flayer's city."

Niska had so many questions, and she really wanted to meet Guen. Drizzt had been so busy since arriving that she didn't think he'd summoned this cat he kept speaking of.

"The hunter was my father."

"How?!" Kor asked, caught up in the tale, and hearing the pain aching in the boy's words.

"Not undead but not alive," Drizzt said. "Peak health, impossible stamina, all of his speed and skill… driven by my mother's — Malice's — will." He tipped his chin up. "She could not beat me. More of his own spirit slipped through, and then… he was there. He said he was at peace, told me to flee the Underdark… and took all choice from me by stepping into the acid pool below us.

"Twice, my father chose for me to live, at the cost of his existence, and I will survive, for him, and to spite that eight-legged meddling tantrum of a supposed goddess!"

Kor stood, going to this boy — he could not see him as anything but when the years had added up to less than fifty! — and put both hands on Drizzt's shoulders, holding him like that a moment.

"I am honored that a man capable of such is what comes to mind when you spar me," he said very gently. "And… I think you need time to rest from harsh truths. What would help you now?"

"Guen?" Drizzt said, his voice small and close to breaking.

"Go on out to the courtyard, or to your room, and bring your cat." He let go and Drizzt went into his room, to get his boots on, before fleeing to the courtyard to have time with his friend.

"I want to kill every single drow of the spider more than I did as a youth," Kor said once Drizzt had been gone a full minute.

"In complete agreement, my friend," Niska told him.

Sojourn to Korvallen: Resolution

Alustriel had given Kor — and Niska, once she was involved — the space needed to work with their drow guest. She had, when requested to cast a construct Kor could vent his rage on, raised an eyebrow, and just reminded him she was available, if he ever wished to talk.

That she then went to check on Niska, only to find the accomplished wizard using the training room to vent her own frustrations left her with some worry. Both of these coming on the heels of a major splash of astral magic almost sent her to go find the guest in question directly, but Niska did take note of her and stop casting.

"We need aid from your sons, whomever can be free. But not tonight, and I don't have the details yet," Niska said, mouth tight and eyes reddened from high emotion.

"You will, of course, have it, but I must admit to curiosity."

"The boy protected a child, on a raid, and we must learn if the child survived, and if she is recovering," Niska said very tightly. "We were given his history tonight, and while it was not the right time to press for description, we will get it soon, to narrow down where."

"Terrible, I take it?" Alustriel asked with gentle sympathy.

"Not even fifty, probably not even forty-five, and the horrors are going to give me nightmares. I have no idea how he's able to be as gentle as we've seen, or so given to trying to protect others."

"Then we will do all we can to nurture that, and let him have a safe place," Alustriel said, knowing that she would have to delay, again, determining why a good drow was unknown to their goodly goddess.

"I thought Korvallen had lost his mind, Alustriel. But now? I can see he was probably the perfect person to find that boy and work with him, despite his past. And mine, now that I'm involved." Niska sighed heavily. "We'll do our best to see he stays the good man he can become."

Drizzt looked up from the attempts to figure out 'drawing' as Korvallen and the elf from the hunting party came in. Niska was reading something magical, but she paused and gave a polite smile.

"Don't think we actually introduced anyone other than Dove," Kor began. "Drizzt, this is Kellindil. He, and his friends, brought my horse back. Kellindil, that is Niska Bentleaf; you likely saw her briefly when I joined your party that night at Sundabar."

"I've heard tales of your travels," Kellindil told the wizard, before looking at the drow, uncomfortable with this meeting, but pushing through it.

"Hello." Drizzt did not smile, but he was well-mannered in his tone.

Kor then sat beside his ward, looking at the sketches. "You drew a skunk," he said, recognizing that out of the attempts on the scraps that had been given for practice.

Niska chuckled. "Do tell that again?"

Drizzt did flash a smile. "Study animals. Try and see more. This one make see. Got too close. Guen ran from me, stink bad," he said, shaking his head. "Long time stink."

Kellindil sat in the other chair, finding himself amused at the boy's infectious grin and the tale.

"Your drawing skill is getting better," Kor said, "but Kel is willing to go with the Lady's son to talk to other elves. If Niska can give you the words, can you describe what you saw before the attack?"

He didn't need to specify as Drizzt sobered up, and he immediately looked at Niska.

"I am getting very versed in this one," she said, keeping a light tone, before helping Drizzt be able to speak fully.

"You told him?" Drizzt asked Kor once it had taken.

"Yes."

Drizzt nodded, and both elder elves were impressed at how solidly in control Drizzt was for this telling as he began describing all of his impressions of that night over a decade before.

"The child was a moon elf, based on the pictures in the book Niska let me look through," he said. "About mid-thigh on me then, so very young, if I understand ages right."

"Never should have been down on the ground," Kel groused at that, but it was just to have words to say, still overwhelmed at the attempt at protection from a drow for an elf child. "The trees, they sound like the ones north and east of here."

Kor nodded at that. "Can't think of many that have branches like that, with that leaf pattern. You find her, I'll be willing to come answer any questions."

"We'll see how she was cared for after. It might not be right away such a young elf can ask those questions."

Drizzt drew in a deep breath. "I just want to know. If I failed to protect her, if she survived but wasn't helped right, if —"

Niska covered his hand as she reached over. "Once we know, you will know. And we will see that, if she needs more help, she gets it. Healing will take time, and it takes healing to learn answers that hurt."

Drizzt slowly agreed, and then looked back at the paper, before forcing his hands to obey his mind, sketching out one of the trees. Kellindil watched him, still weighing all of what he'd been told on the way up to this apartment. He could not actually doubt the drow, and he hoped that his hunt went smoothly. He knew he would be working with one of the elder Tall Ones, and they had a reputation for always getting to the bottom of mysteries.

Drizzt was finally satisfied, and pushed the paper to Kor, who grunted, before handing it to Kellindil.

"Definitely Moonwood," Kel pronounced once he'd looked at it. "I'll go find Elinthalar, and see when he wishes to head out."

"Good hunting," Niska wished him, as Kor saw him out.

Things were quieter for a while, letting Drizzt learn how to speak, how to interact with people that weren't drow. Kor was vaguely amused that the boy seemed to relate to two kinds of people best: children and fighters. He knew every page's name inside of that first month, and every squire, most of the actual Knights even. Others that he saw in the Palace got polite nods, but not that open need for camaraderie.

What Kor did not expect, coming back from a day patrol, was to learn his ward had made friends with the palace cats.

He heard tiny demanding meows coming from Drizzt's open door, and went to look in, seeing a mother cat up on the bed, obviously taking a break from her litter. Drizzt was sprawled on the floor, using a scrap of a leather thong to entertain the kittens in a game of pounce. Drizzt looked so peaceful, smiling up at Kor before focusing back on the kittens that the elder elf just turned and went to get his bath.

At least it wasn't a pegasus foal.

Kolarven had been delighted to be detailed to make Drizzt go wander the city. Niska had been firm with him; he needed to start meeting people that were not Palace staff and retainers. Kolarven, who was child of Korvallen's sister, knew many people and could facilitate this part of his education.

Korvallen had had a private word with his nibling, to make certain Kol knew how young Drizzt was, which promptly led to his nibling having a small breakdown. Drizzt had absolutely stretched Kolarven and then beaten him in every spar they had shared, and Kolarven knew they were one of the best swordsmen in Silverymoon.

It did make Kolarven reevaluate the way to show off the city, so when they showed up to drag Drizzt into the city, they were dressed in clothes that could take a little dirt and sweat, only their personal short sword showing. Drizzt noted the sword, having still been dithering on if he was allowed his weapons (visible ones, as the knives he'd acquired were tucked in their usual spots) outside of the palace.

"We don't require peace bonds or handing them over," Kolarven said, catching that glimpse. "We want the city to get to know you, and those blades are a piece of you. In time, they're going to see you as a protector, even if you don't enroll in the Watch or the Knights."

"Thank you." Drizzt acquired his belt, hitched it on, then stepped out into the hall after making sure all the cats had already left the apartment for the day.

At least one or two tended to stay with him now, during the hours when he studied or slept.

The course Kolarven set meandered through most of the markets, showing off places of worship, places to eat, and notable attractions. They wound up at the Moonbridge to cross over to the other part of the city almost right on time to see the blue glow come up. One moment, people were walking in an arch over the river with nothing there, and then the bridge was limned in its nightly color.

"How?!" Drizzt asked, amazed.

"A very long time ago, powerful wizards needed a new bridge, and crafted it," Kolarven said, hiding their knowledge that the Lady was one of those mages involved. While Drizzt was family, such things were learned in time, not all at once. "It's one of our marvels. I'm going to show you two more before we make our way back to the Palace tonight."

"I'm looking forward to it." Drizzt had been pleasantly surprised by how many people had been introduced to him and they had been kind in their regards. He'd had no idea that the pages, squires, and others who lived outside the Palace had spoken of him, and prepared the city for the idea of having a unique drow to shelter.

A meandering walk that took them past the Vault of the Sages — and Kolarven was glad Niska had insisted it be included, seeing Drizzt's awe — eventually had them come to the Sacred Glade of Mielikki. Preparations for handing out the evenfeast extras was in process, but Drizzt actually strayed closer to one of the path entrances of his own accord. That meant Kolarven followed, and the Knight was the first to witness as a drow fell into a walking reverie, lost to all but the wildness of the Glade.

Kolarven kept their eyes on Drizzt, but their companion was moving steadily, hands brushing over trees and plants in passing, unconsciously avoiding the more open area where the staff of the Cloister were working. The pair wended their way further in, with Kolarven half-certain something divine was transpiring with their young friend. That suspicion was reinforced when the path took them all the way to the altar, only an acolyte there to watch over the offering basket.

Drizzt dropped in front of the altar, settled in a squat, hands on hilts of his blades, and head actually bowed. Kolarven moved to drop some coins in the basket, and to pat the stunned acolyte on the shoulder, before settling on the bench nearby to wait. Whatever this was… Kolarven was not going to rush it. They did wind up winking at a senior cleric who came to check on the divine stirrings. Leaf Tyrar shook her head at the Knight, took in the view of the drow in deep rapture, and went back to see to the people of the city.

She'd report it to the Ladyservant on the morrow, rather than disturb his evening rest.

The sound of more people over in the area for handouts did eventually rouse Drizzt from whatever it was that had ensnared him, and he stood with lithe grace, as if he hadn't been squatting for so long. Kolarven came over, searching the face, a little worried, even if they had seen holy communions before.

"Ready to go home?"

"Yes. Yes, please." Drizzt was at peace, full of wonder, and exhausted as well as refreshed, on differing levels, from whatever had passed in the Glade.

Niska was accustomed to Korvallen having the first part of the day with Drizzt, and handling the evenings with him, so it was a surprise to find her student sitting outside her door as she came out to go in search of a morning meal.

He came to his feet once she had noted him, and he looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"I know Kor, and you, have complicated histories with the people I was born to," he said. "But somehow I think I am better served asking your guidance on where to seek knowledge of their other gods, as well as more on Mielikki."

Her eyebrows rose into her hairline to hear him ask about a human deity by name, when they had not even begun to really touch on religion in their lessons.

"Come eat with me, and I will take you to the library after, to find books for you. Though… I fear the one you wish to learn of in the drow pantheon is going to be the hardest to find information on."

He fell in step with her, nodding at that. "I will take what I can. And it will be good practice reading. I will remember the words I have trouble with, to ask about after your duties."

She smiled warmly at that, keeping thoughts about why his memory was so prodigious behind her face and out of her tone. "I am certain you will."

Kellindil made his way through the palace halls, following the advice of the pages as to where to find the impossible drow. He'd helped locate the child, been as angry with the way her care had been handled as Elin had been. While Elin had negotiated to take the girl to a better place, far from her trauma, Kel had made his way back to Silverymoon to deliver the news personally. He was very glad of it too, as the sight he found was a balm on his soul from seeing that mute child trying to be useful at her tender age of sixteen.

What he found, when he reached the courtyard he'd been pointed to, was Drizzt and half a dozen young people playing a game of chase and catch. Several chairs, trestles, and other items from nearby rooms in the castle had somehow made their way into the courtyard, serving as obstacles and platforms to make the game even more athletic. Korvallen was sitting well out of range of the antics, mending a tunic and keeping a very light eye on things in case of injury. Kel headed that way, leaning back on the cool stone wall.

"Heard it was successful," Kor said. "Elué told me, but also said you'd be coming, so he doesn't know yet."

"Thank you for that courtesy," Kellindil told him. "This game his idea, yours, or someone else's?"

"Besnell's actually. Current crop of squire candidates that he deferred this year, but with a suggestion that they could maybe work on their stamina and speed with Drizzt." Kor snorted. "Drizzt came up with the idea of the obstacles, and has thrown himself into it fully."

Kel shook his head. "Humans try to learn far too young," he said finally, having scanned the youths and realized none were elf-kin."

"Such short lives; they have to push harder, I suppose," Kor said. "They'll be knocking off soon and returning everything inside. Join us for our evening meal?"

"Yes."

Drizzt had accepted the news from Kellindil soberly, then retired to his own room immediately after. Neither elf knew how he was handling it beyond relief at knowing the girl lived and would get help, but they chalked it up to how little experience Drizzt had with kinder mercies in life.

For his own part, Drizzt was making choices. His evening in the Sacred Glade had opened his heart to the idea that goddesses didn't have to be lying, cruel power-hungry influences in life. The whispers of the wild that had held him spellbound in the Glade had bloomed into a full calling toward becoming someone who traveled and protected the wilds and the weak.

He rather thought that Niska and Korvallen would not like the idea of this, at least not yet. He had picked up on their attitude that he was, by elven standards, a child. But he had lived and survived by his kills in one of the harshest environments on Toril, and thought he was nearly ready to learn to do so again.

He would stay the winter, spending time with the Cloister's folks who had come to welcome him on his forays over to the Glade, and then see about traveling during the warmer months, practicing what he learned.

He hoped this was enough of a compromise to ease both elves to letting him live a little more freely. In time, he would need to learn what the divine meddling on him was — the whispers that evening had spoken of it and of good drow and a sad goddess that wished to know of him — yet he wasn't going to rush. Korvallen and Niska were right. He had time, time to learn everything, and time to choose his path.

He closed his eyes, imagining a moon elf child growing as strong as he meant to be… and knew everything could be alright now. Belwar would be proud of him, he thought, and he knew his father would be as well. Kor would keep shaping him into a man Zak would want him to be, even as Drizzt proved just how un-drow he chose to be.

odd little souls

Amnesty / Bounce | Original Fiction: the key to bonding is at the base

still a lot of catching up to do

Various Links 6/23 - 6/29

Cave + Nightmare + Spark Challenges: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Flicker of a Dream

Ironheart (TV Series) Episodes 1 - 3

Rainbow Challenge: FAKE: Fanfic: Pride At Work

School Challenge: Torchwood: Fanfic: Treasured

ugh day

Nap (Amnesty): Tokyo Mew Mew Olé: Fanfic: Interrupted Cat Nap

Misc Books: Helene Hanff, Lauren Tarshis, Stuart Turton

Firefox AI Removal

The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference

Amnesty / Feed | Original Fiction: Melancholic, And Hungry

Finger Challenge: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Battle Wounds

Spy Challenge: Spooks (MI5): Fanfic: The picture in Vogue

Gosh, I wonder why these adult kids don't want their overbearing parents in their lives...!

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Fandom Fifty: #18

2025 Round: Schedule, Rules & FAQ

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Forgotten Realms: Sojourn AU

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