Updated with autopsy results.
Morphew Case Map - Google My Maps - Barry's iPhone Data - Google My Maps - Barry's Truck Events - Google My Maps
August 5, 1994 – Suzanne Moorman marries Barry Morphew The Alexandria Times-Tribune Alexandria, Indiana 05 Jan 1994, Wed • Page 4
December 1999 – Barry and Suzanne Purchase 26040 Cal Carson Rd, Arcadia, IN This is the house where he dug a hole in the yard and buried everything he didn't want to move to Colorado. (AA ft 55 page 53)
November 2013 – Suzanne Inherits $208,000 upon the Passing of her Mother. MB provided documents that Suzanne inherited approximately $208,000 in 2013 at the passing of her mother.
August 2016 – Suzanne inherits $217,000 upon the death of a grandmother. Suzanne’s grievance list included multiple references to Barry controlling the finances.
April 12, 2018 – The Morphew’s Purchase 19057 Puma Path Barry and Suzanne Morphew purchase 19057 Puma Path for $1,575,000.
June 1, 2018 – The Morphews move to Colorado. (PH – Harris) SA Harris: Yeah, they moved in 2018. I believe they left around June 1st, 2018. to move to Colorado. So roughly a year and a half of the time is what Sheila originally said in that.
September 2018 – Suzanne sends “Howdy stranger” message to JL First contact since high school.
Fall 2018 – Libler’s daughter sees messages from Suzanne on his phone. Libler breaks it off.
Thanksgiving 2018 – Barry obsessive/possessive. While Suzanne was at the Oliver’s house, she had stepped away from her cell phone to use the restroom, and Barry tried calling her several times within a few minutes, then tried calling Sheila, then tried calling Darin.
Holidays 2018 – Suzanne finds Libler’s LinkedIn Page. Relationship Rekindled
January 2019 – The Mexico trip where Barry took Suzanne’s phone Mexico trip mentioned in the grievances list where Barry took Suzanne's phone.
February 11 – 14, 2019 – Suzanne in New Orleans with Libler Barry admitted to questioning Suzanne about the New Orleans trip, further evidence he suspected the affair.
April 2019 – Suzanne meets up with Libler in Indiana She does not see SO on this trip.
July 2019 – Suzanne and Libler meet up in Michigan Barry called SO while Suzanne was in MI visiting her fatheJL, wanting to know why Suzanne wasn't returning his calls.
September 2019 – Barry stalks Suzanne and Shelia Oliver, creeping through woods. Barry stalked Suzanne and Sheila at the Puma Path house in September 2019. This is upon his early return from a trip to Arizona.
October 2019 – Libler and Suzanne in Dallas Suzanne and Libler spend two nights at the Galleria.
September – November 2019 – Barry aggressively pursues KW around Salida. From the first time KW met Barry, she said it felt like "he was putting his tentacles out."
Holidays 2019 – Suzanne and Libler stop talking on the phone because she is afraid Barry will find out. They shift to more covert ways to communicate. Barry's second device makes its first appearance.
January/February 2020 – Suzanne in Florida, gets spy pen, sees Libler Suzanne in Florida, SO gives her the spy pen during this trip. Suzanne records a conversation with Libler on this trip.
Late February 2020 – Suzanne in Florida, sees father and Libler. Suzanne skips out on time with her father to see Libler. Barry goes to Florida.
March 2020 – Spy pen records argument between Suzanne and Barry. “It’s money. It’s about money.” “… I have lived for years being told how I should feel, how I should act, how I should look, what I should drink, what I shouldn’t drink, what I should put in my body, what I shouldn’t put in my body … ”
March 20, 2020 – Jekyll and Hyde text exchange between Suzanne and SO, MM2 suggests restraining order. "It’s Jekyl and Hyde again … Pretty much told him I can’t be healthy and stay in this."
March 22, 2020 – Spy pen records Barry listening to Forensic Files episodes, call with Suzanne on drive to Pueblo Coincidentally one of the episodes involved a woman "disappearing" after a bike ride.
April 21, 2020 – Messages between Suzanne and Libler “I want to be with you,” “I can only be me with you,” I love you,” “I need you.” “You know I was born to love you.”
May 4, 2020 16:05 – Barry makes 3 second outgoing call to Suzanne This was the first logged call in Barry’s phone to or from Suzanne since February 7, 2020.
May 5, 2020 – Suzanne drives MM2 to Gunnison Suzanne drives Macy to Gunnison, CO to meet MM1 for a road/camping trip through Utah and Idaho with MM1's best friend.
May 6, 08:44 – Suzanne sends MM2 a text “Good morning! I miss you already!”
May 6, 10:13 – Suzanne: “I’m done. I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years.” From 14:43 to 17:00 Barry replied, “When I’m dead,” “Going to see my savior,” and “This life on earth is a mear (sic) grain of sand compared to eternity.”
May 6, 2020 – 14:43 – From Barry to Suzanne: “I’m sorry if things went the way they did. I have a problem dealing with the way you accused me of hiding checks. If you think I’m as terrible of a person to hide our accounts and have ones you don’t know about you don’t know me. All I do is for you and the girls. All. When I'm dead, which won't be long, you guys will be taken care of. Please stop being angry. If I can control my hurt heart I think I can overcome your distant unlovingness toward me. Honey, I swear it's the hardest thing I've had to do. I love you I always will.”
May 6, 2020 – 15:51 – Barry to Suzanne: “I promise you were wrong about all the crazy thoughts about me. I have always been faithful. Always. Why would I ever want another when I'm married to the most beautiful, sweet, kind, loving, woman as you? Only a fool would stray from an angel like you.”
May 07, 2020 – Suzanne messages Libler about how magical past days had been. Barry wants a new truck. 16:43 - “Been studying all afternoon. I’m gonna bike now. I’ve got veggie soup on for supper.”
May 7, 2020 – SB puts new tires on Suzanne’s bike Bike mechanic was interviewed by law enforcement.
May 7, 17:13:52 – Barry Works Out at GD’s House Truck log files place Barry at GD's home at 5:13 pm.
May 7, 2020 23:00 – “I finally got the job” text from MM1 goes unanswered. Q (Lindsey): Anything on May 6th that didn’t seem normal? Was there a text from Mallory to Mr. Morphew? A (Grusing): I believe that’s the night of May 7th. Mallory, Macy, and their friend Holly are out on a trip towards Utah and Mallory is sending pictures to both Suzanne and Barry but I was ... Read more
May 08, 07:03 – The Grievance List: Suzanne’s phone backs up a list of 50 reasons why she wanted to leave marriage on “Notes” Not safe alone with you. Can’t be trusted - Oppressive - Slam on brakes when angry - Threaten to jump out of car - Gun ...
May 08, 08:43 – “I will continue to do your invoicing when you need to.” "When FBI Agents showed Barry these texts during interviews in 2021, he said he did not think Suzanne was serious."
May 08, 09:28 – Suzanne texts sister about Barry’s abuse. “It’s hard dealing with the harsh abrasiveness and having to show respect. He’s also been abusive, emotionally and physically. There’s so much … I went thru a period of acceptance and I feel more angry now. Anger at what I’ve allowed.”
May 08, 10:55 Barry: “I Love You, Suzanne.” “But, in the afternoon, it (the text fight) was like it never happened. She texted me back and it was just like, ‘Hey, what time are you coming home? Hey, this or that. Just pick this up or pick that up.'”
May 08, 13:18 – Barry texts Salida Stove and Spa about getting the hot tub fixed. "Asking when he could come out to the home."
May 08, 15:43 – Barry’s iPhone receives an SMS message associated with the unknown device This second device was first used on November 30,2019 and was associated with Barry’s iPhone 91 times since then, compared to 1,701 associations with the primary User ID since November 2019.
May 8, 19:06 – Moonlight Pizza and Phone Calls Barry convinces Suzanne to meet him at the Tailwinds site before going to pick up Moonlight Pizza together.
May 08, 21:04 – 20 Facebook friend requests, 3 men named “Jeff.” Barry’s lurking at the River. Barry was asked about his phone pinging down by the river during the Facebook posts on Friday night and asked if he was outside. Barry said, “I could have been. I don’t remember. I chase critters around the house all the time.”
May 09, 00:02 – Incoming call on Suzanne’s phone (PH CAST) Incoming call on Suzanne’s phone (PH CAST)
May 09, 02:07 – Outgoing call on Suzanne’s phone (PH CAST) 02:07 am outgoing call on SM’s phone (PH CAST)
May 09, 06:00 – Barry’s phone received call (PH CAST) 06:00 am BM’s phone received call (PH CAST)
May 09, 06:46 – Barry’s phone registered “Power On” Comes out of Airplane mode.
May 09, 07:19 – Barry’s cell received signal (PH) Barry’s cell received signal (PH)
May 09, 07:22 – 07:39 – Barry at “Tailwinds” worksite Barry’s phone registered locations at his “Tailwinds” work site near Poncha Springs.
May 09, 07:35 – Suzanne texting SO Discussing Sheila's daughters wedding on Sunday.
May 09, 08:00 – MG was with Barry working on the rock beach site until 10am(?). Gentile: “He said that he had to go make the wife happy – do some hiking or biking.”
May 9 – Morning – Suzanne messaging Jeff “He’s still wanting Arizona.”
May 09, 09:50 – Barry to Suzanne: Want to go on hike? *Text Exchange\* Barry to Suzanne: Want to go on hike?
May 9, 2020 – 11:14 – Suzanne received a second password reset message from Facebook Previous reset was while Barry was down by the river on the evening of the 8th.
May 09, 11:15 est. – Barry tells Morgan Gentile he could “bury a body” and it “would never be found.” Gentile: “He seemed stressed. He definitely seemed weird on Saturday.”
May 09, 11:55 – Dead Turkey Hunt or Barry Takes Down His Trail Cameras Barry said he was looking for a turkey that Mallory had shot previously with a bow, but they had never found.
May 09, 13:35 – Barry leaves home again. Checked on job at Kim Gyms
May 9, 13:40(?) – Suzanne texts Libler Guess who is alone again?
May 09, 13:46 – Barry and the backhoe After texting, Barry drove by TK's house to see the backhoe, but did not get back in touch to buy it. In 2018, Barry used a backhoe to dig a large hole in his front yard, fill it with items to include furniture, and cover it over, planting alfalfa on top.
May 09, 13:51 – 14:13 – Barry at DSI, replacing Bobcat blade He was wearing a blue t-shirt and khaki shorts.
May 09, 14:03 – Suzanne sends sunbathing pic to Libler, last proof of life. “Well, look at her. She’s obviously drunk. Look at her eyes. Do you know what drunk eyes look like?
May 09, 14:11 – Suzanne sends last LinkedIn message to Libler: “I’m on wa.” Libler sent response messages at 2:39PM, 2:46PM and 2:47PM that Suzanne did not answer.
May 09, 14:26 – Barry texts Suzanne, “Done headed back.” He texted Suzanne that he was done and was headed home.
May 09, 14:31 – Barry texted Suzanne, “Did you leave.” At 2:31 PM, Barry texted Suzanne, “Did you leave.”
May 09, 14:39 – Libler messages Suzanne, she does not respond. First unread. Messages from LinkedIn show they were talking about how Suzanne is in love with Jeff before she went missing.
May 09, 14:43 – Barry’s phone and F-350, per telematics, arrive at the Morphew residence. "The photo is shown in the courtroom, Suzanne smiling. Truck GPS coordinates show Barry’s truck goes into park at 2:43:59. Phone coordinates show he walks around the house. You can hear a pin drop in the courtroom as tension is high." - Carol McKinley, PH Tweet
May 09, 14:44 – Shooting Chipmunks? Barry had a .22 in the moments when Suzanne ceased the communicate with everyone she loved in the world. Shooting Chipmunks? Barry had a .22 in the moments when Suzanne ceased the communicate with everyone she loved in the world. (See: https://www.reddit.com/SuzanneMorphew/comments/17lfboz/barry_and_the_chipmunks_aa_excerpts/ )
May 09, 14:46 – Libler messages: “Hey … your weather looks great” Second unread. No response from Suzanne.
May 09, 14:47 – Jeff sends another messages to Suzanne with no response. Third unread. Jeff sends last message if the day to Suzanne with no response.
May 09, 16:00 – 17:30 – Defense says Barry was at Salida Stove and Spa Salida Stove and Spa's posted hours have the store closing at 2pm on Saturday. Telematics show Barry's truck in his garage during the time he was supposedly at Salida Stove and Spa.
May 09, 16:44 – Barry parks his truck in the garage. Barry claims to have been loading his truck and cleaning off his workbench. (See: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&mid=1FSqlFRrywR8FkytAYkNM-bdSxvKVK5MP&ll=39.173623131314%2C-105.63244&z=8)
May 09, 17:33 – Barry’s truck system manually rebooted Barry attempted to disable the trucks GPS and SYNC features.
May 09, 18:40, 18:46 – SO sends two Snapchats to Suzanne that were never opened SO sends two Snapchats to Suzanne that were never opened
May 09, 21:25 – Barry’s truck goes into reverse, backs 96.8 feet down driveway Barry backs 96 feet out of the garage.
May 09, 22:17 – Barry’s Phone Exits out of Airplane Mode Barry's phone comes out of airplane mode at the Morphew residence.
May 10, 02:53 – Outgoing call on Suzanne’s phone Possible glitch.
May 10, 03:25 – 03:48 – Barry’s truck door opened and closed "SA Hoyland noted over eighty events involving the F350 during this timeframe."
May 10, 03:58 – Barry’s phone moves from home to near where Suzanne’s bike found 3:58 am BM cell moves from home to near 225/50 where bike found Carol McKinley PH Tweets (read from bottom tweet up): 431 am 5/10 Barry’s phone goes back into airplane mode at the his home. 5:37 am – morphew turns into buena vista & heads towards broomfield. 538 he texts his mom “happy ... Read more
May 10, 04:10 – 04:23 – Last Activity from Suzanne’s iPhone Sergeant Mullenax asked dispatch to ping the number given for Suzanne’s cell phone. Dispatch informed Mullenax that the cell phone appeared to be off and last known activity was at 4:23AM on the present date, with a general location about 11.5 miles west of a cell tower in Poncha Springs, CO.
May 10, 04:32 – Barry’s Phone Goes Back into Airplane Mode Barry's Phone Goes Back into Airplane Mode
May 10, 04:32 – 05:14 – Chasing Elk, or Staging Evidence? Barry's trip to Garfield adds an approximate five miles each way to his morning trip, and places Barry and his vehicle in the direction the helmet was discarded - west from the bicycle.
May 10, 05:00 – Morgan Gentile Hears Barry’s Truck on Hwy 50 Gentile stated she did not see the truck but that his truck has a very distinctive exhaust.
May 10, 05:14 – 06:56 – Barry on the road to Broomfield. Barry phone exits airplane mode while heading towards Buena Vista, CO.
May 10, 08:10 – Trash Dump #1 – RTD Bus Stop Hwy 36 Agent Grusing: "Yes. He would have time -- with the passenger door opening and closing -- like it would say passenger door opened at 8:10:36 am and then passenger door closed at 8:12:13 am. So it took about a minute and a half and that trash can is only 10 to 15 steps away from where the truck was parked."
May 10, 08:14 – 08:20 Holiday Inn Express, Broomfield. Trash Dump #2 Grusing: "He said he parked there because he hoped someone would come out and he could go in the hotel before checking in and get a free breakfast." (Note: It was mid-COVID lockdown, building capacities were down to single digits.)
May 10, 08:41 – 08:46 – “I made it to Broomfield call me when you get a chance” Barry texts Suzanne.
May 10, 08:46 – Barry carries items into the Holiday Inn Express “If there’s clothes in my truck, there was probably old clothes I threw away.”
May 10, 10:06 – Barry exits hotel room. He's carrying a charcoal long-sleeved shirt, two white bags, and a pair of boots.
May 10, 10:20 – 10:41 – McDonald’s – Trash Dump #3 SA Grusing said Barry had a small item in his hand and used one arm to push it down, then both to push it further down as Barry was shown the photos.
May 10, 10:47 – 11:18 – Men’s Wearhouse Trash Dump #4 Barry was told he was there for about 40 minutes and asked if he remembered what he was doing there. Barry said, “I think I was still cleaning my truck, umm, yeah, yeah I mean, like I said, I just uh, I would, I was probably getting crap out of my truck like I said, which I’ve done my whole entire life.”
May 10, 11:18 – Barry calls MG "Barry called he was out of breathe (sic) panting but fatigue, kind a like hungover but he doesn’t drink, honestly when I hung up I thought to myself he sounded like he had the worst night of his life.” - MG
May 10, 11:23 – 11:36 – Barry back at the HIE Barry carries in disorganized papers in a binder. Carries out an organized binder.
May 10, 11:57 – 12:25 – Barry at the worksite Barry spent 28 minutes removing a few blocks from the wall.
May 10, 12:28 – 12:41 – HIE Trash Dump #5 A camera recorded Barry throwing away: a small item, one white trash bag, larger in size than the previous bags in one hand, a black container, along with a piece of clothing, possibly a camouflage coat.
May 10, 12:42 – 18:03 – Barry remains in his HIE room. ”At 3:30PM, Barry sent an outgoing message to Suzanne 'Call me'"
May 10, 2020 (Time Unknown) – Libler wishes Suzanne a Happy Mother’s Day Commented that it would be a hard day because she missed her own mother.
May 10, 2020 – 15:30 – Barry texts Suzanne from his hotel room. At 3:30PM, Barry sent an outgoing message to Suzanne “Call me”
May 10, 15:50 – 17:45 – Suzanne is discovered “missing” “I’m just so sad and REDCATED and I texted mom for Mother’s Day and she still hasn’t answered and I’m scared her and dad probably got in a big fight and I don’t even know it just made me want to be gone even more because I don’t want to be around them it hurts me and I know if REDACTED is working I might have to be home a lot more and it’ll probably be the worst summer of my life.”- MM2 text.
May 10, 17:55 – 19:10 – Barry leaving Broomfield 6:10 pm - Barry entered the lobby carrying two shovels and placed them beside the front desk. He made subsequent trips, placing more tools in the same spot.
May 10, 19:31 – Chaffee County finds the bike “Something is up with the front tire,” Deputy Brown
May 10, 20:42 – Barry arrives at CR 255 & US 50 "Barry is heard asking if deputies saw any “cats” on the road and a deputy says not recently."
May 10, 21:37 – CCSO Commander Avila brings Barry into the house for scent items. Barry does not call out or look for his wife in the home.
May 10, After 21:47 – Barefoot prints in the Bobcat Bucket Deputy Brown was walking in the driveway when Deputy Defurio told him that there were barefoot marks inside of the bucket on the Bobcat. Deputy Brown went with him to examine and found that the cutting blade on the bucket of the Bobcat appeared to be newly replaced, along with the nuts and bolts.
May 10, 22:00 – MG and JP smell chlorine and have the wrong tools in Broomfield. “It looked like Barry had removed top caps that was it. We also did not have the tools we need like a packer or gravel.”
May 11, 2020 – First Interviews, Puma Path Searched "On May 11, 2020, at about 7:00AM, Barry called Morgan and said that Suzanne was missing and he thought a mountain lion may have attacked her. Morgan explained that Barry was initially crying but then abruptly shifted to the specifics about the Broomfield job."
May 11, 2020 – 14:47 – Libler sends last message to Suzanne. Wishing her well for her scheduled final cancer treatment that day.
May 12, 2020 – 20:00 – Barry found digging in the trash at Poncha Market “He went to write down a description of maybe what she was wearing,” Butala said. “I just thought it was weird because he didn’t explain what the color of her eyes were or her hair or anything about her, like how tall she was or anything.”
May 13, 2020 – Deputy Carricato took photos of scratches on Barry’s left arm and hands. These injuries appeared to be healing, several days old scratches.
May 13, 2020 – Fundraiser created $33,552 raised
May 17, 2020 – 11:13 – Barry’s “plea” video is released on Facebook. “Oh Suzanne, if anyone is out there and can hear this, that has you, please, we’ll do whatever it takes to bring you back. We love you, we miss you, your girls need you. No questions asked, however much they want – I will do whatever it takes to get you back. Honey, I love you, I want you back so bad.”
May 19, 2020 – Interviews, Pneu-Darts, Range Rovers "CCSO Deputy Scott Himschoot was present during the search at 19057 Puma Path, in the laundry room, and was asked to collect a “pneu-dart box, empty,” one plastic hypodermic cover, one Pneu-dart book from safe in garage, one dart from box under bench in garage, among other items. The plastic cover was located by evidence search teams in the dryer, inside of the sheets belonging to REDACTED bed." (At some point we had confirmation of a to-do list Suzanne left including MM1s bedding in hopes that the older girls would spend the night. Cannot remember the source.)
May 20, 2020 – Spy Pen found. "The pen was located in a cloth bin amongst women’s bras. The cloth bin and pen were inside the walk-in closet in the master bedroom, located on the ground level of the residence. Detective Hysjulien located, with the pen, the controller and headphones for playback and a USB cable."
June 1, 2020 – Barry files for guardianship. Within a month of Suzanne’s disappearance, Barry began to liquidate assets.
June 1, 2020 – TD interviews Barry on camera. "So, uh -- we uh --. We had two daughters that were coming home from a trip. And I got a job in Denver that I wanted to get started on on Sunday. Set it up for my work because my rookies are coming in Sunday night. (Unintelligible) Monday but I, being the owner, I wanted to get everything lined up so that (Unintelligible).
June 6, 2020 – Barry closes on IN home. Pockets $750,000
June 25, 2020 – Barry purchases the Longhorn Ranch property for $165,000 Property Address 8366 LONGHORN DR
July 13, 2020 – Barry sells Suzanne’s Range Rover. Leaves Suzanne's sunglasses in the car.
Aug 20, 2020 – Lauren Scharf Interviews Barry “People don’t know the truth, so they’re gonna think what they’re gonna think.”
October 05, 2020 – Barry lists Puma Path home for sale. Originally listed for $1,759,000.
November 2020 – Barry Commits Voter Fraud Barry filled out Suzanne's ballot and mailed it in.
February 17, 2021 – Barry Sells Longhorn Ranch property for $150,000 A $15,000 loss. Same property sold on 04/21/2021 for $175,000, indicating Barry needed the money fast.
March 3, 2021 – 19057 Puma Path sells for $1,625,000. Barry and Suzanne Morphew purchased the home on April 12, 2018 for $1,575,000.
May 4, 2021 – Warrant Issued for the Arrest of Barry Lee Morphew CRS/CHARGE: 18-3-102 (1), (a) Murder in the First Degree, a class 1 Felony, 18-8-610. Tampering with Physical Evidence, a class 6 felony, 18-8-306, Attempt to Influence a Public Servant, a class 4 Felony.
May 5, 2021 – 09:15 – Barry Lee Morphew Arrested for the murder of Suzanne Renee Moorman Morphew "Morphew was arrested around 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, May 5 near his home in Poncha Springs. FOX31 News has obtained video of the arrest, which shows his truck stopped on the side of the road near several police vehicles. He can be seen standing just off the road with an officer." AA: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21065843-21cr78-morphew-redacted-affidavit
August 9-12, 2021 – Preliminary Hearing. Day One: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15wZ86C3zQ6kh9VGOUCJcr0ipCoFeaXkdowmwyaruiIQ/edit?usp=drive_link
Day Two: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QKa1jcH2dAqe9Wezew-KbLCDuicrm1HgfwC4oGwM8Dg/edit?usp=drive_link
Day Three got corrupted so it's gone.
People's exhibit images: https://imgur.com/a/hgvlBUt Defense exhibit images: https://imgur.com/a/VC3ZfUZ
April 19, 2022 - Case against Barry Morphew Dismissed Without Prejudice. Prosecution asked for the case to be dismissed.
May 2, 2023 – Barry files $15,000,000 lawsuit against Chaffee County, et.al. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/barry-morphew-lawsuit/73-3cea50c2-cdae-4338-8de9-9e113d33db6c
May 8, 2023 – Fraud Lawsuit filed against Barry in Indiana. Property dispute. https://denvergazette.com/news/courts/barry-morphew-sued-fraud-allegations-land-dispute/article_1c7cd90e-f4f5-11ed-9778-47c9c303d16d.html
September 22, 2023 – Suzanne's Remains Found Near Moffat in Saguache County While SCSO was searching for another (unrelated) missing woman. https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/suzanne-morphew-remains-found-colorado-missing-mother-barry-chaffee-county-disappearance/
Sept. 27, 2023 – Autopsy Completed. Awaiting Toxicology. https://cbi.colorado.gov/news-article/suzanne-morphew-autopsy-results-cbi-update-0https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/autopsy-complete-remains-missing-colorado-mom-suzanne-morphew/
April 29, 2024 – Toxicology finds BAM in Suzanne's bone marrow. “Homicide by undetermined means in the setting of butorphanol, azaperone, and medetomidine intoxication.” https://www.scribd.com/document/727780041/Suzanne-Morphew-autopsy-results https://www.cpr.org/2024/04/29/suzanne-morphew-died-by-homicide-with-tranquilizer-chemicals-present-in-body-according-to-autopsy-report/
Complete Case Overview (Official News Reports and Documents)
What Suzanne Left Behind (PH Exhibits)
Suzanne's Texts with SO Sept 2019
Barry's Unstableness: Suzanne's Text Conversion with SO September 1 (PH Exhibits)
Where was Barry on the 9th - Preliminary Hearing Exhibits
Barry and the Chipmunks (AA Excerpts)
Barry's dirty truck and poorly maintained rifle. PH Exhibits
Suzanne's Last Days - Timeline - May 4th - May 9th, 2020
Barry Buries a Body - May 10th, 2020 - Timeline
Barry Busy in Broomfield Part One (Preliminary Hearing Exhibits)
Barry Busy in Broomfield Part Two (PH Exhibits)

Gheinar City: Imperial Occupied Northern Front
General Redlina's lone transport arrived at Gheinar in the early hours of a particularly cold morning. The large abhuman marched down the ramp flanked only by two Valyrrans & two Minthelians. Her aide Lieutenant Luciel who was coughing regularly and barely able to stay standing straight after the wounds she had sustained and still not gotten treated properly. And a lone stormtrooper who hid her face behind her visor and rebreather but her armour was scarred and scratched telling a tale of a violent and chaotic battle. The two Minthelians Captain Poppy and Flo had tagged along with the general on route to the northern front.
Redlina however was as she always looked, her bulky uniform and coat billowing behind her, red abhuman eyes hidden under the peak of her iconic officers cap. She was ignoring the pain from her own injury but unless those watching paid close attention it was hard to tell she was still recovering from a stab wound by the traitors knife.
Redlina was here to speak with McMahon, the 532nd was the backbone of her main force after the Sigmauer task force had been pulled out from under her and she was here to answer whatever questions the colonel might have in person, as promised. She had not spoken to him since contingency V7 had been enacted. She marched through the cities citadel following firections to the main HQ saluting every guardsman she passed.
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East of Crowton & Burron: Imperial Siege Lines
At the Rok, Colonel Zerac was awoken to another explosion and the sounds of ork warcries. The orks were launching another attack, the 9th this week alone. Most never even got close to the lines but this one sounded bad. He rolled off the ammo crate he had been using as a bed collected his kit and rushed out of the deep dugout and into the trenches passing scrambling formations of Valyrran troops that rushed to their positions. Amidst the shouts of "Bayonets" and barking orders, the colonel walked on nodding to the young nervous looking troops under his command or giving them brief words of encouragement and pats on the back. Meanwhile explosions rained down all over the trench network from innaccurate ork fire and the crack of imperial artillery firing in reply, waging a war of counter battery across the snow filled warzone.
As he arrived at the command dugout the sounds of battle began in earnest orks had reached 1k meters from the first line and lasguns, heavy bolters grenade launchers and more had started opening up. The Colonel found his other half, Colonel Mirai already barking instructions into a voxset and moving icons around on the command table. Ebkirche had been summoned and warnings had been issued to the Kriegers to the south about the scale of this attack.
The Valyrrans would not falter and stood ready to weather the green tide once again.
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Outskirts of Waycross: Northern Front
Bluekilla Snazzda had recieved the bosses orders not long ago. "Find da nearest humie settlement and krump em" His roving band of orks numbering some 5 thousand had seen the explosions and fighting happening over by Waycross and had not wanted to be left out, thing is he realised very quickly he was outgunned and outnumbered and in an odd show of competency had elected to launch a dawn attack on the humies from the northwest and western directions as they started moving north. It remained to be seen if his boyz had been seen sneaking closer using their peculiar white camouflage to mask their approach, he had a lot of looted tanks and warbuggies ready to begin a frantic armoured charge when the fighting got tough but he himself was outfitted with his meganob armour and customshoota ready to have a good fight.
5k orks with mechanised troops, artillery and tanks are launching a surprise raid, their bloodlust is high so dont expect any retreat.
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North of Fort Ko'Var: Formerly Saints Gate
Task force Liberation was on the move, thousands of infantry and vehicles began moving out from Liberation heights only a few miles from the fort. They had plans to begin setting up siege lines, digging in their artillery while they still had the element of surprise the idea was to keep the tanks hidden in the forest for now, ready to begin the attack at any time. Troops sat in fox holes and prayed to the Emperor awaiting the word to bring the fight to the T'au.
Colonel Lilzton Stood on the back of a command salamander scout vehicle with a detailed map of the fort and all current force positions outlined, Morale was high he just hoped it stayed that way once the casualties started coming in.
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Westbridge: Northern Front Imperial Mountain Command
Lion had been woken once again to the sound of another incident he was beginning to get very tired of it and Valtin was really pushing for a crackdown on the civilian populace after last nights attack on the warehouses.
When Valtin came to see him for the 6th time that morning Lion nodded. A demonstration needs to be made. Valtin had left with a terrifying smile on his face, what he might do remained a mystery.
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Major Minton and the very large Valyrran force with her set out today towards Waycross with the intention of joining the frontline and setting out for the fort itself. The Valyrrans had gone from the smallest contingent to probably the largest now and the rows of heavy armoured vehicles poured out of the town for hours all heading south towards the newly found crossing, squads of centaur light carriers, hydras and hellhounds set out for the bridge itself eager to get to Waycross as quickly as possible under Captain Donly's command while the infantry, Crassus and Macharius heavies went south.
As reports of fighting at the river had reached command, waves of Vulture gunships had been scrambled to scour the snowy plains and find the escaped T'au force, Minton had orders to divert a hunting party which would cooperate with the Rathian scouts in the area to find and eradicate this potential thorn in their side.
Squads of elite Valyrran specialists now began a search pattern if they found anything or a team didnt call in Vultures would descend on the area in minutes. Command was not taking any risks as all logistical supplies needed for the siege had to pass through these areas and there was zero tolerance for any losses.
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Fortress Sha'Yo: T'au Northern Frontline.
At Sha'Yo Fortress Captain Finn stood on the battlements looking out south, he had been told the stealth convoy had returned across the icebreaker plains and was due to arrive today. He had still been waiting on reports of how the rest of the fighting had unfolded across the frontlines after his own only semi successful strike, he atleast hoped the enemy no longer underestimated them going forward. His forces morale had stayed steady despite the losses and he had doubled the number of drone patrols incase of any Imperial counter attack, he would not be caught unprepared.
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Both Imperial and T'au commands in the area looked at meteorological reports and both sides came to the same conclusion. A potent winter storm was about to hit the northern front which would drop temperatures considerably. All forces were advised to prepare themselves for a period of intense snow, with -30 to -50 degree weather with even worse conditions in the mountains and low visibility expected until the storms pass. These conditions will hamper air support especially.

Lost her whilst trying to show her to my boyfriend and can’t find her anywhere been looking for a good few mins and she isn’t anywhere worried because Iost her on my bed and she’s black so she’s worried camouflaged into my carpet I don’t want to crush her.

My car's transmission is on the fritz, so it's in the shop and I'm working from home for at least today. Thank goodness I can even work from home, or things would be a lot more complicated. Anyways, that's just a bit of a vent. I've also decided that I might do little lore-esque prechapter bits for some extra flavor. Hope you guys enjoy them! I find them to be fun little thought experiments on how people might perceive the world I've created from within vs from my own perspective. Enjoy some crafting and some romance!
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We know that the spots that are caused by looking at a source of light are, in fact, damage of some sort to the eye. This is confirmed by the spots rapidly disappearing should someone be healed whilst experiencing them. But why? Is there a divinity within light, beyond what our mortal eyes can withstand? Is there some sort of invisible emanation that comes alongside the light that damages us in some way? The discovery of light damaging the eye has opened more questions for me than it has closed.
-Musings on the Relations of Light and Fire, by Jarwic Leftun
\***
Xander carefully opened the door, finding Gabrelle already asleep, and sat down on a chair. Maybe he could get that adaptive camouflage to work right on bright colors. Surely he had some colorful things in his inventory.
He did in fact have a few colorful things in his inventory, and he whiled the rest of the night away making small adjustments to the runic array that was embroidered into the cloth. He was satisfied before dawn, the cloth now performing as well with light colors as it had with darker colors. Now he just needed to make a cloak out of it. He briefly considered coating his armor with the array, but discarded it. There might be times where he’d want to be seen. Besides, a hooded cloak would better break up the outline of his figure, the ripples of fabric, especially if he were to crouch or lay prone, obscuring his outline even more. In little time at all, he had a long, deep hooded cloak of the color shifting, runed cloth in his hands. He stashed it in his inventory for now, as he had no particular need to sneak up on something right now. The rest of the time before dawn he spent silently sitting in the chair he’d chosen, trying to keep his thoughts to a minimum, just daydreaming. Night dreaming? He couldn’t sleep anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to let his mind wander.
As the dawn came and the sun began to shine through the window of the room, Gabrelle slowly awoke, once more finding Xander sitting in a chair rather than in bed.
“Mmf,” She grunted as she stretched. “Morning, Xander. You got back late.”
“Morning, yourself,” Xander said, turning his head to look at Gabrelle. “Yeah... Yeah, I guess I did.”
“What were you doing, anyway?” She asked, curious. “You didn’t mention that you’d be out late, just that you were going to go to see Valteria at her shop.”
“I uh... went on a date.”
“I knew it! ‘Comparing notes’ was a date!” Gabrelle exclaimed triumphantly.
“It was not!” Xander complained. “But we went to a tavern in the evening and it sort of... turned into a date on the way there.”
“Awhh, that’s so cute,” Gabrelle said. “Did it go well? Is she nice? Did you kiss?”
“I think it went well. We talked a lot about different projects and ideas we had. I also got to meet another [Godsmarked] - he owns the tavern we went to. I think she’s nice. Maybe a little shy. I think she’s gotten used to being treated differently by people. I don’t think she really believed that I wanted to go on a date with her, at first. ...And yes. We kissed.”
“Ooooh, look at you! You’re growing up so fast!” Gabrelle teased.
“Oh hush. I’m older than you!” Xander huffed, then returned to seriousness. “But ah, if I’m going to be dating someone... we need to have a conversation, Gabrelle.”
“We need to stop sleeping together?” Gabrelle quickly deduced before Xander could say it himself.
“Yeah... It doesn’t feel right, even though it’s just platonic between us. I don’t think I would appreciate being in Valteria’s situation and knowing that the person I was seeing was sleeping with someone else at night.”
“Well, I figured this would happen eventually,” Gabrelle said. “Either you or I were bound to find someone eventually. Don’t worry, I’m not upset. Don’t get me wrong, the snuggles were nice, but like I told you a while ago, I don’t have nearly as much trouble sleeping when I’m with the team.”
“Thanks for not being upset, Gabrelle.”
“You know this means you have to start paying for your own room, though, right?”
“Ah, shit, you’re right. I forgot.”
Xander left the room to allow Gabrelle some privacy to get dressed and meandered back down the stairs to see if any other members of the team were already up. Looking around, he spied Graffus eating breakfast at at table and moved to sit with the dwarf.
“Mornin’” Graffus greeted Xander through a mouthful of bread.
“Morning,” Xander greeted back.
“Glad to see you made it back, we were wondering if you’d be out all night,” Graffus told him, after swallowing his bread.
“I was out a bit late, I suppose. I let the time get away from me.” Xander said, not really wanted to be teased again about going out on a date. “So what are you planning to do today?”
“Bah, Frazay has roped me into helping her do research for the drakeling. So reading is what’s in store for me.” Graffus tore himself off another piece of bread from his plate and slathered it with jam. “You going to be going back to that [Tinker] you’ve been spending time with lately?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I’m supposed to learn more about converting mana types today, and also help her fix the suit of armor that I wrecked.”
“Welp,” Graffus said, now on his last piece of bread, “I hope ya learn something new. Never had much to do with [Tinker]s – not saying I dislike them, just that I haven’t had much experience with them – so it don’t make much sense to me. Using a hammer is about the only overlap in our professions.”
“I think your hammer is significantly larger than the one most [Tinker]s would use,” Xander chuckled. Thinking about what he should be doing before he headed to Valteria’s, he asked Graffus, “Hey, I might need to buy some monster parts or elemental cores, something like that, for practice. You know where I would go to find stuff like that?”
Graffus shrugged. “Dunno. My guess would be an alchemy and reagents shop. That’s generally what we’ve sold monster parts to that didn’t go to a smith or leatherworker.”
“Thanks, Graffus.”
The two of them chatted for a while longer, catching up on what each other had been doing. Graffus excused himself to finish getting ready for the day, saying he needed to tend to his beard, leaving Xander downstairs. Deciding to be productive and proactive, Xander stood as well and headed out of the inn to find an alchemy shop.
It wasn’t long before he found one, a familiar scene of an eclectic collection of powders, liquids, crystals, and strange organic things floating in jars inside the building. The proprietor was a dwarf, seated at a workbench. They were grinding something into a powder as Xander entered. He received a distracted greeting before the dwarf returned to his work.
Xander wandered about the shop for a few minutes, looking at the various materials throughout the shop. He identified what he thought might be an elemental core, a jagged piece of crystal looking material that seemed to have an inner flame. As for the monster parts in jars, Xander had no idea what was what. He finally felt he’d waited long enough and moved closer to the worktable that the dwarf was still sitting at, working away at the mortar and pestle.
“Excuse me,” Xander said, grabbing the shopkeep’s attention.
“Mm?” The dwarf said questioningly. “Can I help you find something?”
“I was wondering if you had any elemental cores. Something small, I just need one to practice with.”
“Aye, I’ve a few of them around the shop. You want something to practice with? So a relatively weak core, then – not all the small ones are weak. Do you need any particular type?” The dwarf stood up and stretched, moving to one of the shelves.
“Uhm no, just whatever is cost effective, I suppose.”
The alchemist rifled through the various bits and bobs on one of the shelves nearby before producing a small chip of what looked to be a semi-translucent stone. It was tinged slightly yellow with streaks of white. “This here is a chip off a lightning attuned core. Pretty weak, but it does still produce mana.”
Xander could see the dwarf’s arm hair standing up as if from static electicity as he held up the stone. “How much?” He asked.
“Twenty gold.”
Xander shrugged. Twenty gold wasn’t an issue for him anymore, and he didn’t feel like haggling. He always hated haggling. “Sure.” He fished out the coin and handed it over to the dwarf.
The dwarf handed over the stone to Xander and the pop of a static electric shock could be heard as a tiny arc passed between the two of them. The dwarf grunted and shook his hand. “Thanks for the business,” he told Xander. “Anything else you find yourself in need of?”
“Not at the moment, but thanks for asking.” Xander waved goodbye to the dwarf and pocketed the tiny elemental core. He continued down the street in the direction of Valteria’s shop, thinking about how he was going to undo the welding job he’d done on Valteria’s armor. He’d need her to guide his repair efforts.
Xander returned to the inn momentarily to grab one of his golems. He settled on Atlas for now, as it was the most basic of the humanoid forms he’d created. No extra arms or weird feet on him, no sir.
Arriving at the building that contained Valteria’s home and shop, Xander knocked before opening the door. “Morning,” he called out.
“Xander! Hello!” Valteria called out. She was at the same work bench she’d been at yesterday. Jarrett didn’t seem to be in the shop at the moment, as Xander wasn’t able to spot the man.
Commanding Atlas to follow him in and closing the door behind him, Xander started walking towards Valteria. “How’s it going?” He asked.
“Good, it’s going good,” Valteria responded as Xander brought a stool over to her workbench. “How about yourself?”
“Not bad. The upside of not sleeping is that I never struggle in the mornings now. I used to hate waking up.” Xander laughed. “I even ran an errand before I came here! Picked up this.” Xander fished around in his pocket until he found the small chip of elemental core and held it up for Valteria to see.
“Core?” She asked distractedly, staring at Atlas. She tore her eyes away and looked closely at the small crystalline stone. “Lightning attuned?”
“That’s what the [Alchemist] at the shop said,” Xander affirmed. “Said it was a very weak one, but that it did still produce mana.”
“Mmm, a good practice piece, then.”
“I thought it would be, too. Not that I know what to do with it, yet.”
“Well, how about this: I teach you to set the stone and make some conduit, and then you can help me fix my armor. All the glue has turned to dust by now, thank the gods.”
“Sounds fair enough. So, how do mana conduits work?”
“Well, the concept is simple enough. It’s a tube which conducts mana,” Valteria began to explain.
“Mmhm.” Xander nodded along.
“What you need is a setting – usually of silver, as it has good mana conductivity – which will be the first step of conduction, taking the mana from the stone. Simply wrapping the core in silver wire can work well enough, drawing in the mana that the core puts out through its surface, but for a more effecient setting, small holes are usually drilled into the core to set the wire into as well, giving more surface area to draw from.”
“So we care about the mana conductivity of the material, then? That makes sense, I just hadn’t thought about it. I actually did a little experiment with my rune work to test which fillings were the most conductive.”
“Oh really?” Valteria said, interested. “What were your results?”
“Well, gold and silver were high up there in conductivity, and probably make the most sense for someone who has to physically manipulate material without use of a skill – both for a core setting and for inlaying a rune – but I did find that sapphires and rubies were even more efficient at transferring mana than gold and silver.”
“Mmm... interesting. I’ve heard of gemstones being used in very high-grade settings, as well as various other exotic materials. I read an account of one [Mechanist] who used tubes of mercury to conduct mana, though the relative effectiveness compared to silver wasn’t mentioned.” Valteria cleared her throat. “Uhm, now, where was I? Right, basic settings. Once you have your core – or monster organ, if you’re going that route – you connect it to the conduit. Usually, this is also silver wiring. I like to braid several smaller wires together, personally. I find it to be sturdier and hold up to flexing better. From there, it needs to be tied into a device. Which is a topic for tomorrow.” Looking around the shop, Valteria seemed to identify something on one of the shelves nearby. “I have a core that you could watch me set, and then you could try setting your own, if you’d like.”
“That sounds good to me,” Xander said. “I always love to see a master as work,” he added, opting for a little flattery.
“Follow me, then.” Valteria said, standing up from her stool and waving for Xander to follow.
Xander followed Valteria as she walked over to the shelf she’d been looking at earlier and took a palm sized, bright green stone from it. “Nature attuned core,” She explained, holding it for Xander to see. “I’m told it was taken from some kind of moving tree.” Valteria then moved to another worktable, on which were several of what looked to be drill bits to Xander. There was also an apparatus that look like it was designed to hold the bits, which was confirmed for him when Valteria slotted one of the small drill heads into the device. “This thing,” Valteria said, waving the drill a little bit, “is a life saver. I used to have to drill holes with a hand cranked one. Worth every single coin I paid for it to get an enchanted one.” She turned a dial on one side of the handheld device, which Xander was coming to think of as a magic dremel tool, and it began to come to life, the drill bit beginning to spin with a quiet whirring sound.
“Neat.” Xander commented. He watched patiently as Valteria drilled a series of shallow holes in the stone, the distinct screeching of metal on stone echoing through the shop floor. “So where’s Jarrett today?” He asked.
“Oh, he has the day off today. He asked for it about a week ago, not sure what for, though,” Valteria said distractedly. Soon she was finished with the holes she was drilling into the core, and moved to another workbench. “Now we create a setting for the core. This is a fairly simple way of doing it, mind you, but it is effective.”
Xander watched as she took sections of pre-braided silver wire and fitted the ends into the holes she had drilled. Once each hole was filled with a section of wire, Valteria began to pull wire from a spool, wrapping the stone until it was completely covered with silver wire and binding the braided sections to the stone in the process. “There,” she said, setting the stone down on the workbench. “A perfectly serviceable setting."
“So, if I understand correctly, you coat the core in a mana conductive material – the more surface area, the better, hence the holes – to create a setting?”
“Mmhmm,” Valteria said, nodding.
“Seems fairly straighforward. And then you connect the silver wiring that’s wrapped around it to more wiring, and attach that to your device? Why the distance? Why not just connect the setting directly to the device?”
“You absolutely can, if space isn’t an issue. Technically, the connection between the mana battery and the device, even if it’s just a single point with no distance, is still referred to as a conduit, though, so it’s considered a three part creation.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Do you want to try making your own, now? I don’t mind lending you a little wire.”
“Sure, but I should be good on material, I can produce it with my skills. Doesn’t last without a source of mana, but I guess the core itself might provide enough. Think this little chip is a bit small to put holes in, though.”
Xander looked at the small piece of crystal in his hand. If he just need as much contact as possible with a mana conductive material, his best bet would be to embed it into a sapphire or ruby. He decided on ruby, for no particular reason. Still holding the chip of core in his hand, he concentrated on his [Creation] ability. Valteria watched, amazed, as a ruby began to take form and grow around the piece of core until it was completely coated in a thin layer of gemstone.
“So, you can just... make things?” Valteria asked, sounding jealous.
“Well, it costs mana, and anything I make that isn’t provided a source of mana that leaves my person disintegrates in a day, but, yes. I can just make things with my skills. But,” he added, cutting off Valteria’s complaint of unfairness, “I have never received a skill that actually lets me improve a material. Sure, I have runes, which generally makes up the difference, but I don’t have any skills that improve the things I make. So, if you made a mana battery, and I made a mana battery the same way with identical materials, yours is going to be better, I assume, because you have skills that passively improve the things that you make, am I right?”
“Okayyy,” Valteria huffed. “I guess that does make it a little less unfair. But ugh! It would be so nice not having to source materials.” She looked at the ruby with a piece of core set inside it that Xander had made. “Well, I guess that about does it for making a setting... I thought it might have taken you longer to make one. I guess we can move on to fixing my armor even sooner! It’ll be nice to have it up and moving again.”
“Sure, sure, we can do that. Where is it, anyway?” Xander asked, looking around the shop again like he somehow would have missed the eight foot tall suit of armor.
“It’s in a shed behind the house,” Valteria explained. “I have it on a hoist so I can work on it.”
“Ah, that would explain why I haven’t seen it around.”
Exiting the shop, stopping for Valteria to put a small ‘closed’ sign on the door, the two of them made their way around the building, where Xander saw the small shed that presumably held Valteria’s armor. It looked like it could just barely hold the armor and one person – two, if they were comfortable with each other – inside it.
“So this is where the magic happens?” Xander asked.
“If by ‘magic’ you mean maintenance and upgrades, then yes,” Valteria agreed. She opened the door of the shed, which comprised most of the front of the tiny little building, revealing her suit of armor, which was currently hanging from several chains attached to pulleys on the ceiling. Plates of armor were laying strewn about the suite, leaving the joints and inner workings more exposed.
Xander whistled, looking at the inner workings of the suit. He could see gears, cogs, and joints, and throughout the entirety of the armor were running filaments of silver wire, which he assumed were mana conduits running to and from elemental cores and the various mana powered aspects of the suit. “This thing really is impressive. Almost as impressive as the woman who made it,” he said.
Valteria giggled, “Stop it! You’re supposed to be fixing this mess, not flirting with me!”
“Awh, can’t I do both?” Xander asked, trying to sound as saccharine as possible.
“Mmm, I suppose that if you are sufficiently skilled at multitasking, I might allow it,” Valteria said in a mockingly thoughtful tone.
“Well, I just so happen to be an expert, so flirt away I shall,” Xander replied. “Now, how about the beauty in front of me shows me exactly where the other beauty in front of me needs some repairs?”
Valteria sighed at Xander’s antics, but he could see the slight flush in her face. “Well, you welded the wrist joints, elbows, and knees. They aren’t welded all the way round, it’s more like you smoothed over a portion of it like it was wet clay. So if you could just... put it back? Shape it back to how it was, that’s should be all that’s needed.”
“Pretty straightforward,” Xander said, standing behind Valteria as she pointed out each joint. He could see the misshapen parts where he’d slapped a weld onto the metal. He leaned over her and put his hands on the elbow joint that they were closest to and began to shape the metal back to its original form.
“You’re... very close,” Valteria murmured to him as he formed the metal.
“Would you like me not to be?” He asked, carefully.
Valteria was silent for a moment before answering, “No...” quietly.
Xander carefully shifted to be a little closer, but still not quite touching, as he moved on to the wrist joint of the same arm. The process itself was simple, but he was enjoying taking his time. As he finished the wrist, he turned to look at Valteria. He found himself looking right into her eyes, as she was staring back at him. Unable to resist the temptation he leaned in a little closer, gauging Valteria’s reaction. When she, too, leaned towards him, he closed the small gap between them, drawing her into another kiss. Valteria pressed herself against him, the shed hiding them from any prying eyes on the street, and let out a small noise as Xander squeezed her tight. She was breathing a little bit harder than before the kiss as they separated again.
Valteria let out a breath. “You’re… a really good kisser.”
“Yeah?” Xander said, pleased with himself. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“And you’re a tease, looming over me like that in this tiny little shed,” Valteria continued. “Now you’ve got me all flustered, how am I supposed to work now?” She mock complained.
Xander was glad to see that Valteria was comfortable enough with him to joke like that. “Forgive me,” he said formally, making a deep bow, “How ever can I make it up to the lady?”
“Oh stop it, I will tolerate no bowing and scraping, even in jest,” Valteria said, slapping him lightly on the shoulder, as he was still holding the bow. “You can make it up to me by fixing the rest of these joints! And by taking me out to dinner?” She added, hopefully.
“I think that can be arranged,” Xander said. “Is there anywhere you have in mind? I will admit, I haven’t become very familiar with the local restaurant scene, what with my… dietary restrictions.”
“It doesn’t… make you feel bad to go out to a restaurant, does it?” Valteria asked softly, watching his face for a reaction.
“Nah, don’t worry,” Xander said, waving off the question with one hand. “It doesn’t bother me too much. Sure, I miss the taste of a good cut of steak, but I was never that into food. Eating was more of a thing I did because I had to, so I’m not completely devastated by the loss. And I can still get some vicarious enjoyment out of watching someone else enjoy their food. Really the worst part is awkwardly having to refuse ordering anything,” he said with a laugh.
“Alright, if you say so,” Valteria said, letting out a slight breath of relief. “I was just worried that it might be upsetting to you, is all. I know I would miss eating.” She paused for a moment, something clearly on her mind. “What do you miss? If you don’t mind my asking. I just… well, I’m curious what it’s like for you.”
“Mmm, in a lot of ways, life is still the same, and in other ways, I’m technically doing better than I was before. I’m incredibly resistant to damage now, even without my armor. I do miss sleeping, though. I try to give my mind a rest and just sort of daydream and let my thoughts wander or do some meditation during the nights, but it’s just not the same. Also means I’m the one that pulls guard duty through the night,” he grumbled. “Let’s see, what else, what else. Ah, right. I can’t smell anything. Or taste. I haven’t worked out how to recreate those senses, yet. Though no sense of smell can be handy sometimes, I suppose. I don’t know if you’ve done much merc work – you mentioned being surprised that I’m not just moonlighting – but uh… the smells that you encounter on a battlefield are… unpleasant. To say the least. It was weird not having a sense of touch either, but I’ve resolved that. It’s a little bit different than my previous, natural sense of touch, but I’ve become accustomed to it to the point that I don’t much think about the difference anymore. I think I’ve even got the density of receptors down in certain areas compared to others, so I'm more sensitive in some areas than others now, just like I used to be. I’m still immune to being tickled though, so don’t even think about it – that’s a fight you’ll lose.” Growing a bit more somber, Xander continued on. “I think… the biggest thing I miss is just the feeling that I fit in more. Now I always worry about being different, there’s that nagging fear that anyone I get to know well is going to reject me once they find out what I am. Like I’m secretly lying to everyone around me with this façade I have going on.”
Valteria nodded sadly. “I get that. I’ve been… rejected before, too. At least it happens or not right from the beginning for me. I get to know if they look down on me for being different immediately instead of fearing they might later down the road.”
“Yeah,” Xander said. “People can really suck sometimes. But at least I can just, like, not tell people what I am if I so chose. You, my teammates, and the guild, since it’s on my status sheet, are really the only people who know. I keep it pretty private. You can’t do that, so I think you probably have to deal with a lot worse than I do. Not that I’d want you to hide what or who you are,” he added. “I happen to be quite enamored with who you are,” he said, teasing a smile from Valteria’s sad face.
“Sorry to bring up such a dour topic,” Valteria apologized. “I didn’t think much on it before I asked.”
“No worries,” Xander told her. “Honestly, I think it’s good to be able to talk about it with someone. It’s healthy to be able to get you feelings out there. And it helps that I feel like you understand where I’m coming from with it, though from a slightly different perspective.”
“You’re surprisingly thoughtful sometimes,” Valteria said, only half teasing.
“Only sometimes?” Xander asked with a faux expression of hurt on his face. “By the way, you didn’t react much to my comment about moonlighting as a merc. Do you ever go on contracts?”
Valteria shrugged. “I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as a professional mercenary. Moonlighter is an apt descriptor, for me, I think. I have gone on a couple, here and there, mostly on kill contracts that would net me a core or organ that would be useful for my work.”
“Mm, that makes sense. I suppose it could be handy having access to the ability to take contracts that would give you access to specialty materials,” Xander said.
“It’s also good for business,” Valteria explained. “Mercs tend to like to buy from someone who has at least been out on a contract or two before.”
“Ah, that makes sense. What kind of things do you sell to mercenaries, anyways? I saw Jarrett with a crossbow yesterday, but I imagine you make other things, too.”
“Oh all kinds of little things. Portable, flameless heaters for cooking. Water purification sieves. Mm, let’s see… I’ve made a few custom order devices, too. One customer wanted to be able to shoot a jet of flame from their gauntlet, that was a fun one.”
“Ooh, that does sound fun… reminds me of my flamethrower.”
“Your flamethrower?”
“Yeah, it’s basically a big tank with a hose attached to it. At the end of the hose is a pump that causes the flammable liquid – I use dragon’s tar – to shoot out. Add a flame that the tar passes over and bam! You’ve got a giant stream of flame that will coat anything it hits with sticky, flammable tar,” Xander said, excitedly describing the device.
“That’s… impressive. And kind of horrifying,” Valteria responded.
“Mm… I guess you’re right. I mostly use it on giant spiders. Blugh,” Xander shuddered. “But yeah, I suppose it’s not the nicest of ways to go. Very effective for area denial, though. Ah, actually I have an idea for crossbow bolt head that would ignite when it shatters! We should make that sometime and see if it sells.”
“Hmm, I think that would draw some buyers. A flaming bolt head you didn’t have to light first could be desirable to certain buyers.”
“Put that on the list and we’ll get around to it sometime.”
“We have a list?” Valteria said confusedly.
“We should!” Xander said with a laugh. “Now let’s get the rest of these joints done.”
The repair of the other arm and the leg joints that Xander had locked into position during the tournament was a short affair. Looking over the bare metal frame of the armor still hanging from the ceiling, Xander clapped his hands together, mimicking dusting them off. “Good as new!” He exclaimed. Looking over to Valteria he asked concernedly, “It is good as new, right?”
Valteria had been staring at the armor as well, lost in thought about how she was going to improve it next. “Hmm? Oh, yes. It’s right as rain again, ready for use. Thank you, by the way. For fixing it,” She said awkwardly.
“Well I’m the one who broke it, so it’s only fair that I fix it. So what do you want to work on next?” Xander asked. “I could do some rune work for you. Orrr… we could kiss some more?”
Valteria flushed at the question, but didn’t immediately say no.
A few minutes later, she found herself on her tip toes and lightly pressed against the interior wall of the shed, her lips pressed against Xanders.
Once the two of them were done acting like teenagers parked in a secluded parking lot, they made their way back into the shop. Stepping inside and closing the door behind them, Valteria let out a breath. “I think… you are going to have to do a lot of rune work to make up for how much you just kissed me, Xander.”
“What, you didn’t like it?” He said with a raised eyebrow.
“I didn’t say that,” Valteria said with a smirk.

As If It Were Kismet: Prologue
Matt tore through the brush, blind in the dark. He didn’t care where he was going. He only knew he needed to be elsewhere. Far from here.
Behind him a creature howled that shocked his mind. It’s form was cruel and dangerous, though female. Nothing like the young woman she had once been. Nothing but a girl, a small and slight female.
It’s guttural growls and howls only grew closer as Matt tried to pick between seeing where he was going and getting away. The few times he looked he caught sight of the creature behind him. Hopping through the air with a speed that told him he was being toyed with. As if he were a mouse being played with by a cat.
But the reflex in him to run kept him going. His adrenaline going as hard as it could. The tightness and burning in his core tensing and locking up as his legs felt like there were being burned from within while taking on more of a heaviness.
His lungs were starting to betray him as he tried to gulp big breaths of air but only rapid and shallow breaths were all that he could manage. His brain was starting to burn….and then he was falling.
Falling down the side of a hill he saw the creature dart in a spring towards him, imperceivably fast almost. Catching him in mid air it seemed.
Managing to wrap its body around him and cushion his impact against the ground as they rolled. His mind barely took in what was happening during the roll. Only starting to understand what was happening once they were still.
The creature's triple D-cup breasts were unmistakably pressed hard against his back as he laid facing up at the night sky.
For a few seconds the world stilled and the needle light pain hitting the center of his brain took over for the cooking heat his brain had felt. His whole body felt heavy and reluctant to move.
Even if he could have really moved, a dull ache came over his limbs making them feel stilled and trapped as if by immeasurable amounts of sand that had engulfed him.
Slowly the arms holding him started to move. Moving so the creature's hands could start exploring him. Causing Matt to unstoppably let out a pathetic moan that made him go cold inside as hands lifted up his shirt and started to touch his exposed stomach and then his chest.
He would have whimpered so pathetically had he not still been in the depths of terror.
As its hands felt and groped his pecs he tried to situp as if to get away. For his efforts, his reward was a hand around his throat and a collection snarls and growls against his ear. A beastly, guttural voice spat words at him while somehow holding a feminine tone.
“Don’t move….I don’t know if I can calm down…”
Her words were not helped by her moans in his ear and the subsequent kissing of his ear. The flesh of his ear going between her lips as she moaned and seemed to pant. Releasing it and licking the side of his face with a moist warmth. He could feel its spittle, viscous and coating his flesh where the tongue touched. He could smell something in his saliva. Something that subtly entranced him.
Matt went stock still with fear and the confusion of mixed arousal. He barely perceived her right hand traveling lower on his body. A surprised moan and shudder echoed in the night from Matt’s lips as she took ahold of him. Her hand above his pants but still….stimulating him.
A light squeezing and almost probing of her digits kept him aroused and confused within her grasp. Resigning himself to the strange fate, Matt looked up at the stars as his mind tried not to shatter under the strange maelstrom of events and sensation that had started mere minutes ago.
His mind was only more confused as a slight figure, feminine in build, how it seemed to thunk the ground audibly as she landed on her feet out nowhere. Her knees barely bending under the pressure of the landing. Yet dirt was kicked up anyways and some of it onto Matt. Feeling it pepper his shirt and pants as it fell.
The figure, lit only faintly by moonlight, roared some dark tone Matt could only perceive as a demon as her eyes went bright with a crimson light. A light in the darkness that should not have been. “Let him go you bitch.” Was its words following the roar. Spittle escaping its mouth with faint droplets hit Matt's face.
The creature holding him by his throat and crotch seemed to tighten the grasp of both hands as it roared back. “HE IS MINE!”
The figure paused with a moment's hesitation. He was also her quarry. She had felt his fear without him knowing. His confused arousal. His fear. His terror.
And now he laid at the center of a struggle between two monsters. Unsure of who he wanted to win.
As If It Was Kismet Ch. 1
Matthew Berkshire hadn’t seen his mom in two years. Not that he had seen her much over the last six years.
A messy divorce between messy people and mom’s chaotic want for a life in Alaska had been one of the most…upsetting times in life. Setting him up for so much of what had defined his life thus far but then that had really started two years before he ever turned.
His ear buds were basic and simple. A part of cheap five pack, common for his life as he was known to lose little things. Small things. They had a mix of metal and hard rock playing in them. Some classics, some alternative. Whatever made him feel something, anything. Even if it was hate. Anger. Rage. It was better than feeling numb. Not belonging.
The escalator down to his lone bag to go with his lone carry on showed his mom waiting for him. His had a type, that’s for damn sure. Not that it helped him in the genetics department as he was stuck at 5’9” to go along with his mother’s five foot even as his dad stood six foot. Forever leaving him to feel small, to pale, under his dad’s shadow. Did he ever stand a chance?
The guy next to her with the unkempt former seventies porn stache was “Dave.” He’d met him twice when his mother came and visited him in Florida. To his credit the guy didn’t look annoyed. Kind of concerned kind of which made Matthew want to break his frozen look but he was well practiced. Having removed any note of sadness from his face through much…tribulation.
His mother’s look on her face betrayed a hint of worry as the bruises on his face lightly showed up close. Saying his name was his like a distant echo that belonged to someone else.
Dave cut in and pulled out his right headphone. “What the hell bud, they knock you hard enough to hurt hearing? Your mom’s asking how you are doing.”
Matthew pulled out the other bud and grunted an empty “sorry.”
“You still have bruises after two week? What did they do to you?” His mom’s voice was full of worry. Something he hadn’t heard in….too long. Too long to make him feel anything. To ever make him believe there was any sincerity to her words. To not think her voice and mannerisms were an act. An act by someone who…wasn’t really there.
“It’s only fair. I took a nose. Fractured a couple orbital bones. Left one with having to get his jaw wired shut. And one will never walk right again for what I did to his knee cap.” Matthew said it all with a bored and disinterested tone. Perhaps well rehearsed.
“My man, handing out ass kickings, not bothering to take names.” Dave was quick to be the typical man’s man about it. Matthew wasn’t quite done yet. Lifting up his shirt to expose the right side near his kidney. Revealing a nasty scar from a six inch blade. “Luckily they gave me this first so they could rule it all in self-defense. The fuck didn’t get it in more than inch before I ruined his knee cap and then I took the nose of one of the fucks holding me.” Now he chose to smile keeping the well practiced dead look in his eyes.
No retorts. No questions. Just horrified looks on their faces. As he liked. As he preferred. They could hate him. They could be disgusted by him. But by God they would fear him.
“Well the doc did a good job sewing you up.” Dave commented uncomfortably. “Dissolving sutures. Ain’t they grand.” He smiled again and let it abruptly fall off his face and started walking to the carousel for the baggage claim.
Waiting and making small talk with Dave as his mother stood in silence. He was not the little boy she abandoned. The little boy she left with an angry man. While never hitting him. Left him in constant fear till he turned twelve and just didn’t care anymore. Something snapped. Broke. And he didn’t care if he died. Didn’t care if he stole. Didn’t even care if he killed. He just knew not to get caught. Something left over from his grandfather’s wisdom which came to make more and more sense with each passing year of life since that thing inside him broke.
Finally his bag came around and Dave went to try first to grab it but Dave practically leapt ahead of him. “Is that your grandfather’s rucksack bag?” his mother asked in a perplexed voice.
“Figured it’s been around since Viet Nam. So it’d serve me better than any of the worthless stuff they called luggage.” Dave commented after Matthew’s words. “Well hell yeah I still got mine from Desert Storm. You know the first one.” Dave laughed and Matthew eyed him oddly. Be it in the south or whether it was Alaska, country boys are country boys he guessed.
The car ride to the two people’s house, as Matthew thought of them. Was uneventful and full of vistas he imagined metropolitan types wetting themselves over. At most they meant isolation to him. Furtherness from the world as there were no mountains in Florida. And what mountains he had last seen in another state had been when he was eight. Another life, to Matthew it felt like. A life alien to him.
As If It Was Kismet Ch 2
Dave and his mom’s place was some two story type tucked into a tree line far up an elevated point. It was by no means the highest point in the mountain but it certainly felt up there.
Rocks were where the driveway should have been Matthew thought. Grabbing his backpack and rucksack from Dave’s jeep was no hard thing for him. Matthew was in formidable shape for someone his age, maybe even five years older. He had gotten a mix of fairly big shoulders and arms along with the chest to go for it when compared to most kids his age. A side effect of working out at least twice a day. First thing in the morning, some time in the evening, and the school’s gym when had had a good semester in school before he had to leave Florida.
Dave tried to come up and help him but Matthew walked past him towards the house. His mom was not sure what to make of his demeanor. Matthew was not the sweet kind boy he had once been. But she had been gone from his life essentially for a long time.
Ushering him into the house she cracked some joke he did not hear. He was too busy looking about and seeing a mix of old outdated decorating mixed with the strange and odd flair of his mother. Color contrasting against drab and dated. Like brightly painting over an old home that was falling apart he thought.
“Your room is this way Mattie.” His mom brightly intoned.
Without expressing any interest he followed his mother. Still faced and nonplussed. Just going along with the current. Pushed and pulled with its roll like a piece of driftwood.
The room was simple. A single small bed. A set of rubber weights with a curl bar and barbells. “Your dad said you were into weight lifting so we got you a bunch of stuff. Dave says it looks like his department’s gym almost. The woman’s smile felt very alien to him.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ve got most of my stuff from home.” Matthew starting unpacking his rucksack and pulled out cables of repetitive and mixed colors. A single plastic barbell handle. The ruck sack could be filled with water bottles for added weight during pushups he figured. Remembering a Michael Keaton movie he watched with his dad post-Batman movies where he played a convicted killer using plastic bags filled with water for weights.
Matthew caught movement outside his lone fairly large window that could let him step out onto the roof of the house given its layout.
He saw a number of people running together through what he guessed was the backyard of the property, not that it had any fences to mark boundaries
They wore clothes that looked similar yet different from each other at the same time.”Oh those are the Johnston’s. Really nice bunch of people. Been on the mountain for a long time Dave tells me.”
Matthew looked at the group of people running and noticed the lack of resemblance. “They are related?” Matthew quizzically asked. Seeing a black and possibly a hispanic person amongst the bland looking white people.
“Oh well they are all adopted but for one or two of them…besides the parents of course. The family has a long tradition of taking in orphans they say. Real nice of them to do that don’t you think.”
Matthew looked at his mother and the hosier accent made no sense to him as he arched his left eye brow. Her and his dad were both from Florida. Born and raised. Sure her parents were from New York city but…
Matthew shook his lightly without turning to look at his mother as his vision was grabbed by one of the runners in particular. A girl of moderate height. Soft brunette. A plain beauty he figured with a slim build….and lack of remarkable breasts and rear to make any note of but….girls in general were his type at his age.
She was pretty enough. He couldn’t deny that but he found himself transfixed by her visage.
But the way she turned and looked at him, especially at that distance felt very disconcerting to him. Even if she was smiling like…she was a taste of a bright shiny day. Somehow.
Matthew’s mom noticed the exchange and smiled to herself with closed lips. “Oh that’s Vicky. She’s your age I think. Very sweet girl, who does the charity functions. You know bake sales, blood drives, car washes and the like. I think you should get to know her. Might be good for you.”
A truck horn sounded a couple of beeps in rather succession. “Oh that must be Mack, he said he might come by later this evening but he seems early.”
Matthew’s mother turned and left his room. Leaving Matthew to exchange a few looks with the alluring Vicky as she turned her head away from him to talk to the others in her group and look back at him.
Still Matthew’s left eyebrow was arched. In a way that reminded him of Spock from Star Trek that he and his grandpa used to watch on some streaming service or another.
As he heard ambient chatter elsewhere outside the house he figured to check it out as the alluring sight of Vicky would be around he figured. It was dull to stare at artwork. He was a boy who preferred jet skis and the like. Something he could ride and enjoy immensely. Even if at times it got him stabbed.
As If It Was Kismet Ch 3
Matthew sauntered out of the house and down the rockway that stood in for a driveway.
A few new people had come over from what he could first surmise of the situation. As he got closer it was obvious they were indigenous people. A couple of grown men…and a girl?
She was mousey. Maybe five foot. Hiding behind glasses and a big camo jacket that was far too big for her. It looked made for a grown man and the backwards trucker hat on her head kept her long black a beautiful mess of sorts.
She was cute in a way. A little androgynous but she had a cute energy to her. She reminded him of the more tomboyish Puerto Rican girls he had gotten into back in Florida. Given the deer corpses in the back of the truck….probably more dangerous to play with given the men in her family.
Small chatter passed between the adults when the girl noticed but turned away, trying to hide the tiny hint of a smile.
“Oh Mattie, this is Mack. He works with Dave at the sheriff’s department and John, he’s with fish and wildlife.” Matthew nodded at his mom’s words with some blankness as he looked at the deer the in the back of the pickup truck.
“Gale tells us you hunted with your dad some in Florida and Georgia.” Mack offered with a light hearted laugh camouflaged by his big simple and cheery but husky way he spoke.
Looking in the back of the truck he spoke. “We used lever action thirty-thirties and Mosin Nagants in seven-six-two-fifty-four-rimmed.” Mack and John whistled in an exaggerated fashion. Leaving Matthew to wonder if they were mocking him.
Mack spoke. “Well we just used thirty-odd-six in a custom gussied Garand.” That caught Matthew’s attention. “You have a Garand…” Matthew finally demonstrated interest in anything. “My dad has an SVT-40 and a Hakim 8mm but he always wanted a Garand but was too cheap to buy one.”
Gale, his mother, chimed in loudly. “Oh his Dad loved his guns but was such an odd duck about how he bought or why he bought them. Never made sense to me how he wasn’t a collector but he didn’t get the latest and greatest.” Gale laughed uncomfortably. At least it seemed that way to Matthew.
Matthew pointed to the girl with an underhanded pointing hand. “And who is this? A cute little mute mouse or does she have a name?” Dave and the other men laughed.
Mack again spoke. “Well you people call her Rebecca, she’s my adopted daughter.” Matthew was taken aback by what he heard. “You people?”
Rebecca kindly spoke with a soft but almost melodic voice as she struggled to maintain eye contact. “White people or rather not members of our tribe. It’s just easier to appease the colonizer kind of thing. Borrowed from when the Jesuit missionaries chased us up here.”
Mack stepped in. “It’s just easier to have white people names than have them try to say our tribal names. And we don’t want them shortening or Anglicising our names kind of thing.” Rebecca stepped back into the conversation cutting off her adopted father. “It’s an insult to our history basically.”
Matthew cocked his head sideways raising his eyebrows shortly before letting them drop. “Well as soon as I’m eighteen I’m out of here and back to Florida so I’m a sort of involuntary colonizer of sorts. So I won’t be taking any of your land from you. The Seminoles on the other hand are still shit out of luck.”
Rebecca’s smile caused Matthew to reflexively smile. Mack made the moment more awkward. “See Becca, I told you someone off the reservation would like you some. You just have to be creative.” Mack laughed in a chiding manner…Matthew presumed. He sensed that he was the butt of some kind of cultural joke. Like marrying a white guy was some sort of insult or mark of shame. That kind of thing.
Rebecca turning away from him was not something he had been expecting. Her then getting in the truck in a huff left the group in a silence for a moment.
Dave spoke to break the awkward silence. “Well just bring the truck to work on Monday and leave it for me to grab up.” Mack acknowledged Dave and they started to get off as Rebecca looked at Matthew for another instance. Matthew couldn’t look away for some reason as the two seemed to lock eyes for an instance.
Till Vicky and family seemed to come jogging down the road. While Matthew’s eyes diverted from Rebecca’s. Hers did not till she realized he was looking elsewhere. And her vision found Vicky and what had been a hint of smile on her face turned glum and disappointed.
Matthew did not look away from the vision of Vicky but instead of a starry eyed fool looking longingly. It was a baffled look. Well baffled for him, with his eyes drawn narrow and night with a focus.
There was something about her…he couldn’t quite put a name too. The way she appeared to him. One second brunette. The next second blonde or blonde like. As if the color appeared in her air and disappeared in fractions of seconds. Much the same way her body almost seemed to…shift…very subtly…smoothly. A nicer bum. Larger breasts. And then back to a simple and plain form. Feminine no doubt. Attractive. But not so…remarkable.
As If It Was Kismet Ch 4
The next two days passed without incident. Nothing of any real substance or challenge to note.
Matthew got settled somewhat and started working out almost immediately. Exploring around the woods but Dave told him not to go far. Especially without a hunting rifle. Dave had left a simple semi-auto Winchester out for him. His bear gun as Dave referred to it with its four round magazine. But Matt figured till he got some practice with the rifle to leave it alone. He made a hiking stick like his grandpa taught him and treated it over a low fire. He would take some electrical tape for the end his hand would grip around. Plenty enough to ward off anything smaller than a bear he figured.
The ride to school was a pain in the neck but simple enough. Dave would let him use a clunker pickup truck he had laying around. It wasn’t pretty but it would get him to and from. Even if it was from the eighties and still backfired on occasion. But for now Dave and his mom took him on their way to the sheriff’s department.
It wasn’t much of a school. It wanted to be modern but its fifties original construction was very obvious. It serviced the pipeline families and familys’ of fisherman who worked the seasons in between their time at the pipeline.
Matt was to report to the principal for some reason Dave and his mom wouldn’t share. Which annoyed him but he figured it was to read him the law of land. Small towns with their big views of the outside world and like.
Dressed in jeans, a grey sweatshirt under a light jacket with steel toed boots set him more apart then he expected. His buzzed head didn’t help matters. Already he was feeling like a stranger in a strange land but he was quite strange after all. And he liked it that way. Normal people were so pathetically disappointing to him.
A secretary or assistant or some such led him to the principal’s office. Where it reeked of real wood that was old and fabric and upholstery that needed to be updated for the last twenty years, Matt figured.
“This is Matthew Berkshire, Principal Andrews.” The man was turned with his back to the door and he was quick to wave her off as he turned her around.
He was an older man. Fat and large. Tall with a body built like he had once been fit and a demeanour of annoyed and irate already as he fixed Matt with a scowl and look of disgust. Another worthless government whore. Matt thought to himself. His father and his grandfather had bestowed unto him a natural disrespect for government workers and the figures that wore unjustified authority as a shield but pretended the weight of the state was not at their back ready to crush all who resisted. Little figures of valor pretending to be mighty and alone but acting with the tyranny of the state and all the backing.
“Mr. Berkshire, please sit down.” His tone wasn’t unusually hostile, just gruff. As if he had better things to do.
Matt complied and took a seat in the chair while maintaining a friendly facade. Not everyone was an enemy. And not everyone needed to be an enemy. Even if anybody could be any enemy. There was no reason to make enemies you didn’t have to. Another of his grandfather’s bastardised wisdoms.
“Well I looked over you file and you have quite the history Mr. Berkshire.” Matt resisted qiuping back a joke. Instead he waited for Principal Andrews to continue as he remained nonplussed and looking as if he felt no need to respond. A simple head tilt with dead eyes looking back at the principle as if he was not even there would suffice.
Matt’s reaction or lack of a reaction rather made Principal Andrews only narrow his eyes with examination. He was not used to a kid not responding to him. Especially with his gruff and hard act going on.
“Well by all accounts you moved here after some problems at your last school. A fight broke out and you did some real harm to your fellow students it appears.” Of course, he would take the side of the perpetrators. School administrators always did. Especially when they weren’t white. Just a fact of the times. Cowardice and pathetic mediocrity was the way they leaned, like good government workers sucking the dick of Big Daddy government. Worthless whores.
Matt chose to reply. “Oh you mean the criminals that stabbed me. Got arrested at the hospital and then pled to felonies. Yeah Florida, with the American counties are good like that.” Principal Andrews went real still. No shame. No fear. No penitence. He didn’t like that.
“Well be it as it may Mr. Berkshire we don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour here…” Matt cut him off responding with a deadpan tone. “You mean self-defense meant to save one’s own life while the cowardly and pathetic school workers look on with zero interest but to keep their money rolling in and will allow known gang members with records of violent acts and crimes that should have them expelled many times over, where in certain Democrat counties such cowardice and idiocy empowered a couple school shooters?”
Principal Andrews looked at the Matt with a note of disgust. “Look here Mr. Berkshire, your beliefs matter not one bit here. This isn’t Florida. We don’t like our way of life being disrupted by outside agitators who have problems with authority.”
Matt did his best not to roll his eyes and let the older fat man drone own as he dead-stared him. Lifeless and without emotion.
The man came to a finish and Matt spoke up without having listened to him or paid him any attention. “Great now that’s taken care of. Can I please get to class and finish my sentence of two years at your wonderful school?”
Principal Andrews huffed and snorted before calling in Vicky. Vicky stood in the corner after entering with a quiet and seamless presence. Matt felt disturbed and tried not betray his feelings as the young Vicky was perceived and not perceived to be moving.
Principal Andrews made the introductions and Matt nodded back. She was to be his chaperone for the day. They had the same classes and she was to show him the ropes so to speak. The ins and outs of the school. The locations of their classes.
He recognized her. It was hard not to. The way her appearance seemed to shift fluidly almost. The petite and skinny brunette ever so lightly had a big bust and blonde hair with curves added when she seemed to shift before his eyes. Like watching a film but each frame had a different person.
Matt didn’t say anything about it. Even if he did he would only be acknowledging his crazed state, if he had one. If.
Unlike an obedient puppy dog he got up in a slow and awkward fashion and followed behind her as his oddly disproportionate frame allowed. Causing her a note of concern for some reason. As if she was seeing something she shouldn’t have been….Or he was just weird. And Matt could admit to himself he was just weird. Part of his charm, he would jest about it at times. Not that he had many people to jest to now.
As If It Were Kismet Ch. 5
Following Vicky into the hall off to their first class was simple. She exchanged small talk and he slightly smiled as if to obviously suggest he was just being polite.
Inside his head, Matt was trying to figure out if he was having a psychotic break. The way Vicky looked kept changing and he looked at the other people around him and they stayed the same.
He was searching his mind as they were walking. And thus he wasn’t paying attention to where he was looking and so fell to his face forward over his feet seemingly out of nowhere.
A series of laughs erupted as it sunk in that he was obviously tripped. Like in prison this was a challenge to his superiority. If he let this pass he would be mocked and sneered at by this same group of boys. He wouldn’t walk to them like he was going to do nothing like a little bitch.
In a rage he turned and punched the stomach of the first face he saw. Some typical blonde haired wannabe jock. He knew from experience not to aim for the ribs. Instead he needed to aim for where he thought the belly button was.
Yells and screams blindly echoed around him as his after the punch he followed up his elbow of the opposite arm slamming into the face of the jock. Harder than a fist, the elbow struck the jock’s jaw and seemingly dropped him against a locker. Just in time to catch an errant and soft punch to the nose that sure enough hurt but did little to slow him down as his dad had taught him to fight through the pain. Blood and scars happened. They were a natural consequence of life to a man.
Taking the punch and falling further into his red state Matt headbutted the punch thrower before another guy arm bared his throat from behind. Which he managed to get his grip on the arm over a letterman jacked and jerk the unprepared boy to the side with him still latched on.
A few feet away from the lockers Matt knew his only chance was to jump and push off the lockers and knock the boy to the ground and so he did. He heard a thunk of the boy’s skull bouncing off the ground and he turned to pull out of the grapple.
The beatings he had taken from his father, the grapples, being choked unconscious. Had prepared him for fighting little bitches who didn’t know what a fight was. It wasn’t gay porn with rabbit punch fists flying.
Blood was running down his face and the pain started to hit him as the threats had been eliminated. Only then did he remember to breathe. Taking breathes as Vicky came up to him with tissues and took a hold of his nose.
“Owww owww owww what the fuck my nose could be broken.” He said to Vicky as she pulled his head up and back.
“It’s ok Carl. It’s done.” Matt tried to look to see who Vicky was talking to. It was a boy taller than his 5’9” by more than a small margin. The boy eyed him bored and annoyed before speaking. “What happened here?” An unoriginal line but one Matt couldn’t be a smart aleck about. “Well you see there was an outbreak of tripping and we all tripped over my dick. It happens.” Matt was about to laugh when Vicky seemed to pull up while still gripping his nose causing Matt no small amount of pain which he audibly evidenced.
Vicky spoke in a tone he wasn’t expecting. As if she was accustomed to issuing orders. “Keep Iris away from the hall till we sanitize the site. We have blood from at least three people contaminating the site. And have Jake bring me a spare jacket and shirt for this moron.”
Carl seemed to acknowledge her orders and seemed to blink away. Maybe the punch hit harder than he expected. He had no time to wonder as Vick took her hand away from his and pushed him against the lockers. With ease he had not been expecting from her form and stature.
Before he could respond Vicky licked his blood covered chin and then his lips and spoke to him. “Focus on me you little blood bag.” Her tone had an annoyed yet feminine sneer.
“Look into my eyes. Look at me. You belong to me. You are just another food source in a collection of food sources.” Her eyes were a beautiful hazel Matt thought. Almost green. Pretty like jewels in some old treasure collections. The eyes he could get lost in before kissing her. Finally Vicky was just a slight and petite brunette and he thought she was beautiful.
She would make a hell of a girlfriend. Some cute thing he could see laying on the beach in Florida on their sides laughing and smiling before trading light kisses while hands wandered innocently. Before his mind could drift further he felt her lips on his. It took him a second to mentally grasp the kiss but his arms were around her back as her hands were at his sides. His eyes reflexively closed as he saw hers close.
It was ineffable to Matt. Beyond words, what was happening. The kiss, the moments beforehand. The way his brain tickled with electricity and gentle warmth. He had never had a kiss like this and he had traded more than a few kisses with at least a few girls.
The kiss was like a warm bath with his consciousness slipping beneath the surface. Their lips only parted to try new angles and approaches as Matt struggled to take in breath. It was a moment he could have stayed trapped in for….he didn’t know. But a curt throat clearing by another girl pulled them out of the moment.
The girl was taller than Vicky. Blonde. With slight curves. Vicky addressed her bewildered and gobsmacked, and perhaps a bit embarrassed. “Tina?”

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Wiki
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Chapter 49
Master General Kirain Yith
Adventurer Level: N/A
Half-Breed Drow - Balushenian
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"The enemy has done nothing more than lob the occasional fireball at us, sir," General Smarn informed me. "They have encamped in the wooded area to the southwest, though, which hinders our visibility."
"So we don't know what they're planning, or even the full disposition of their forces," I grumbled.
"Yes, sir. I do have some good news, though."
"Out with it."
"You were right about their caravan, and we were able to successfully ambush it," he said with a hint of a smug smile. "Our forces returned today and reported that we managed to capture eighteen slaves, and even secured the equipment the orcs were escorting."
"Excellent. Put the equipment to use and put the slaves with the others. Dismissed," I absentmindedly waved him toward the door.
He bowed and left as I returned my attention to the map. While I was glad that I had successfully predicted the enemy caravan's movements, their lack of action against us here has me concerned. I expected at least one heavy assault before they laid siege. Yet it has been a week since our scouts confirmed their presence and they haven't tried anything serious yet.
Are they waiting for reinforcements? That would be foolish. A bird sent by my own reinforcements informed me that they had made contact with a small enemy host and weren't able to completely eliminate it, which means that the enemy knows about my archers. Even with all of the forces of the entire Unified Chiefdoms they would have difficulty taking this position, and once the archers arrive I can go on the offensive.
Even foreign aid won't arrive before my archers do, so what are they planning? Have they decided against an assault altogether? Our defenses were designed to look ramshackle, but a discerning eye would be able to tell how solid they really are. They would know that they require better equipment to launch a successful assault, but if my ambushers returned today the ambush had to have happened at least two weeks ago. It's unlikely that they're still waiting on their caravan. So what ARE they waiting for?
I stared at the map, trying to glean a clue as to what the enemy is up to. No matter how hard I stared, though, nothing came to mind. I scoffed and turned to my bed. I had just fed, so I wasn't feeling particularly tired, but it's important to remain on a schedule when one can. I removed my boots and armor, then slid under my covers.
As I lay there, I couldn't help but feel like the orcs were up to something and I was missing a key piece of information. I tossed and turned, my mind fighting over whether to think or to sleep. After what seemed like hours, I finally grew tired and fell into slumber.
'Well... you tried,' A hauntingly familiar voice forced its way into my mind. 'It was a valiant attempt to subvert the will of the divine, if nothing else.'
My eyes snapped open and caught a glimpse of the dawn's early light shining through my curtain before my ears had a chance to register what had awakened me. Once they caught up, I heard screams, crashes, and the clanging of metal striking metal. The sounds of a battle taking place nearby.
I leapt from the bed and quickly donned my armor, nearly forgetting my boots in the process. Once I was dressed, I grabbed my sword and flung open the door and promptly froze in shock. There were orcs within my barricades, but I had already realized that was the case.
There was a hole in my barricade which had allowed the orcs access to my camp. The creation of this hole had to have been extremely violent, judging by the distance in which the logs had been thrown. The reason for my shock, though, was because my mind was trying to figure out how this happened while my eyes were simultaneously providing the explanation.
Orcs and drow were fighting tooth and claw while mages rode by them on hnarses, flinging the occasional spell to horrid effect. My soldiers had been taken by surprise, and hadn't yet recovered or formed up. In the middle of all of this was a great and terrible beast. Its red and yellow hide was covered in arrows and its massive, fang filled mouth was ripping my soldiers apart like they were made of paper. A Nahalim, and it was fighting alongside the orcs. How? Where did they get it? Did they tame it? HOW?
Once the Nahalim finished decimating a group of my soldiers it rose up to its full height, standing at least twice as high as the tallest orcs. Then the beast roared, a deafening and blood-curdling sound even from my distance. Its bellow made me wince, and this finally struck me from my stupor. I began to run toward the battle, determined to rally my men and push these bastards back. We would figure out what to do about the Nahalim once we'd killed a few orcs.
"FORM UP!" I shouted, trying to be heard over the clamor of battle.
I raised my sword and shouted again. A few of my soldiers heard me, and began to form their lines. A mounted mage rode past them, narrowly avoiding a swipe from a sword. An arrow narrowly missed his head, but that didn't stop him from locking eyes with me. I knew for certain what his target was.
I began to ready my blade to try to cut him down, but his staff was already pointed at me. The spell that slipped his lips formed at the tip of the staff and rushed toward me at blinding speed. Just before it hit me, I realized that this was wind spear. I sighed at the triviality of the magic being used, and then the spell hit me.
I flew backward and felt a crunch as I was forced through the wall behind me, then another as I continued through the next wall. I slammed into the ground alongside a load of rubble and tried to get up, but flopped back to the ground. My eyes weren't able to focus and I could no longer breathe properly. I felt my chest and checked my hand, barely registering that the blood covering it was my own. Then the abyss took me.
'We do not have a lot of time,' the familiar voice once again rasped in my mind. 'You remember our agreement?'
I tried to speak, but no air left my mouth. I vaguely recalled our previous conversation and nodded.
'Good. You are smart enough to know that there is nothing further you can do, and the orcs will take your camp. Once they do, it will not take them long to figure out that you are the commander, and that you are also a half-breed vampire. This will result in a rather unfortunate demise for you.'
'Then what do you want me to do?' I asked.
'Flee to the west.'
'Not home?'
'No. After you flee, the orcs will find your sister and she will tell them all about you. Once the orcs learn of your heritage, they will gleefully inform King Lofin. Your home and family will be destroyed before the end of this week, despite your contingencies. If you are with them, you will also perish.'
A slew of emotions played through my mind. At first, I doubted this being's words, but quickly realized those doubts were likely wishful thinking. Even if the orcs didn't manage to capture Esmira alive, there are the slaves that have been converted. With some clever magic, the will that Alurgas imbued into them would dissolve, leaving them to their own devices. It would be foolish to believe that they would keep my secrets.
The contingencies that I put in place to prevent Lofin from targeting my family in my absence would also fail once my vampirism became public knowledge. No one would be stupid enough to be caught helping a vampire. Moorn and my trusted servants will die. My grief nearly overwhelmed me. Everything that I had built, everything that I have loved, gone. And there's nothing I can do.
'You will flee, then,' the voice rasped. 'You must go west. You will be pursued, but if you keep fleeing to the west they will eventually give up. You mustn't stop until you're certain they aren't following you.'
'Where am I going? What awaits me?'
'I would like to tell you, but...'
I awoke, gasping for air. I instinctively grabbed my chest, feeling a hole in my armor and the cloth beneath it. The bare skin that I felt assured me that the wound had healed. I stood and looked for my sword, but it was nowhere to be found. Swearing under my breath, I looked to the sky to get my bearings. The sun was still rising, so my destination was in the opposite direction.
I paused for a moment, gazing at the hole in the wall I had left. Esmira was in there, and I couldn't help but think about killing her. While it would better my mood to feel what meager life she has left leave her body, it would cost me precious time. I decided against it and began to run. If I'm lucky, King Lofin will find a way to kill her for me.
Before I could get far, a hnarse stopped in front of me. Atop the hnarse was an orc spell-caster with a very familiar face. He looked at me with surprise, not expecting me to be standing. His shock caused a moment of hesitation that when combined with his proximity to me spelled his doom.
Before he could raise his staff I leapt, landing behind him on the hnarse. I grabbed his skull and pulled his head to the side hard enough to hear a crack, and tore into his throat with my fangs. He began to seize as a sweet, coppery taste filled my mouth. I gulped it down greedily, but I couldn't have my fill. I had to get moving.
I threw him from the saddle and grabbed the reins, urging the hnarse to the west. It began to gallop as I heard shouting from behind me. A wind spear flew past my head, taking a small portion of my ear with it. I pressed the hnarse faster and lowered myself to avoid more close calls.
The gate had been left open, indicating that a portion of my forces had abandoned their posts and fled. Typical of King Lofin's finest. An explosion hit the gate as I cleared it, sending splinters in all directions. A large one took residence in my left arm, but I quickly removed it. The wound began to heal as I continued into the trees as fast as the hnarse could take me.
I continued to dodge both foliage and spells for most of the day, and eventually my hnarse tired. It was well-trained, though, and it kept going until it finally collapsed. I leapt from its back and continued running, nearly as fast as the hnarse had. A few minutes later, my pursuer's hnarses also tired and I finally lost them.
I kept running until the sun was in front of me, and finally slowed my pace. My heart was pulsing in my ears, and my breath was heavy. I wiped sweat from my brow as I continued to walk toward wherever my goal happened to be.
As the sun began to set, I found a small cave. After determining that it was empty, I decided to take a rest. I grabbed some nearby branches from a bush to mask its entrance, then crawled inside. After adjusting the camouflage a little, I made myself as comfortable as possible. Then, I was finally left alone with my thoughts.
I've lost everything. My family, my friends, my home, my career, and even my dreams. All I have left is my body and the clothes on my back. Which have a conspicuous hole in the chest. I felt my anger build up within me, but it was the cold sort of anger. What do people normally do to cope with loss and grief? Cry?
Crying would waste water, though, and I am in a survival situation. No, the best way to cope with my grief is to analyze what went wrong and learn from it. Unfortunately, I have no idea how I can learn from whatever mistake it is that I made.
A beast of the wastes had laid low my plans for conquest. Did they capture it in the wastes and bring it here? No, that would have taken them far too long. Could they have already had it tamed and ready to fight? If that's the case, why wasn't it used against my forces to begin with? Could it be that they stumbled upon the Nahalim, managed to capture it without killing it, and one of them knew how to tame it?
While it sounded ridiculous, that hypothesis resonated within me. The separate and unlikely coincidences happening all at once, culminating in my defeat. It absolutely reeks of divine interference. The question is, which divine? The one claiming to help me, or one of the other ones? Which of the little bodiless worms had decided to meddle with reality and force my failure?
'It was a group effort, actually. And I had no hand in it.'
I was so exhausted that I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep. I glanced around the abyss, trying to locate the god that had spared my life.
'Why me?' I demanded. 'Why would I be targeted like this?'
'They do not see it as you do. To them, you are nothing. They didn't see a half-breed vampire trying to conquer the Night Kingdom and become king. Instead, they saw the vampires about to make a return to power. Obviously, they decided to prevent that from happening.'
'But why?'
'Their motives are as unknown to me as they are to you. They likely acted upon a whim,' it said with a cruel laugh. 'Yet, this is precisely what I wanted to demonstrate to you. As a mortal acting on your own volition, you are powerless against the meddling of the beings known as gods. If they care enough about your plans to dislike them, your plans will fail. Regardless of the thought or effort you put into them. All it took this time was a whisper to a beast and an orc.'
'Like you are whispering to me now?'
'No, I am speaking to you. A whisper is much more subtle. Your hearing suddenly becoming clear enough to make out what someone is saying in a busy marketplace. A sudden craving for a specific dish at a specific restaurant that a certain someone happens to be at. Even something as simple as fatigue can be used to guide you to where we want you to be, as you'll recall.'
And recall I did. I remembered the first time I had heard this being's voice. I'd become so tired so quickly that I thought I'd been poisoned. That was a whisper, then.
'As you can infer from our current conversation, we're capable of more direct interference. If you had managed to somehow disrupt their scheme with the Nahalim, one of the other gods may have spoken to the enemy commander and told him about the escape tunnel your orc slaves were digging. If the enemy commander failed, then a lightning storm may have formed and stricken your barricades, causing them to explode.'
'So why didn't you stop them? I thought you are trying to help me?'
I knew the answer to this question and felt foolish for asking it, but my anger and indignation forced it out of me.
'I am helping you in such a way that allows us both to achieve our goals, as was agreed. It should be obvious that I have no interest in your petty ambitions outside of what they can do to achieve my goals. And that's the point. If you listen to me and do as I bid you, I will help you achieve your goal. You will gain power and purpose, and no being will be able to look down on you again. If you do not, I will leave you at the mercy of the other gods to do with as they please. It is very unlikely that they will aid you.'
I allowed myself to calm once more, and thought about my situation. This being is promising to help me gain power, but not help me do anything except gain power. So what's stopping other gods from eliminating me once our bargain is completed?
'They will try, but not because they want you dead. They have another goal in mind, and you will be an obstacle to that goal. However, we can only interfere when we are allowed to. There is a greater being at work here that will make certain the coming contest will be fair. And if you survive, you will be allowed to do as you please, free from the meddling of beings like me.'
'Then what would you have me do?'
​
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• Author's Note: Hello! Yes I am not dead, yet! And so we march on with the series! I still have more college work to do until I'm done, but we're getting near that. Also I'd like to officially say that Issue #61 can be considered as an official end OF a BOOK 1 for Beast World. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!! I SAID end of book 1 NOT the series! We shall continue on, soon enough. So, relax, enjoy the read and if you like what you see, you can support me on my ko-fi page! This is also where I post art drawn by me of various characters from Beast World or other series or one shots I write!

The night before Michael's departure was one of various mixed emotions, that melded into a concoction of both cheer and anxiousness. The human and his tribe of tuskir would share food as they aided their newest member in his preparations.
Woh and Oinna worked carefully together to prepare several vials of poison, diluted with water, as well as a few herbal medicines.
Zurra and Azhul would work the forge, daughter and mother stoking the fires of their smithy's hearth to finish up a steel knuckle duster that the older woman had been preparing to forge from before. After replacing the metal rods on his leather bracers with steel and studding the leather for extra reinforcement, the two put forward their creations for Michael to dawn, to which he was greatful.
Urla and Runhar would share more of what they know about the Rock Backs or what to expect of their leader, but the discussions from before already covered most of that information.
After all that could be done had been finished, a fresh leather backpack of supplies was provided to the human with a few extra tools, besides his own belongings, and then all that remained to do was for them to steel themselves.
Maybe not everyone realized the implications of this separating venture, but one knot that could build in their throats would be at the realization that their newest tribe member was about to leave and depending on how things would fare... he might come back unharmed and with stories plentiful in detail of what happened, he might not return to them at all or, at worst... he'd be befallen by a fate they'd not know of.
A final meal together was being held, most of the people of the tribe awake, decided to remain as such and hold out this white night with Michael, waiting with a discomfort that was palpable in the air. As the time of reckoning was slowly coming upon them, the relaxed attitudes of all involved began to stifle and die down.
Vodra and Nushii were situated closest by him, the latter curled up in a half asleep ball next to Michael, rather than sitting. Runhar, Ghura and Azhul, sat further to his sides, their sitting positions, curving around the fire they all encircled, with Oinna, Zurra and Urla being on the other side of the slowly dying flame. And of course, Woh, unlikely to leave herself out from this gathered vigil, was sat atop Michael's hair, camouflaged partially by his thickened curly locks. Nobody knew what to say, there was nothing easy to bring up, but doubt and uneasiness in one's heart might lead them to speak their mind, out of a compassionate worry.
Zurra was the one bearing a heavy seed of doubt and fear in her breast. As she held tightly onto a metal mug full of steaming broth, she took a brief sip of it as her gaze lifted to look at the grouping around the fire. "We certain this be the correct choice? We coulda 'bandon de Hay-yen group, the whol' allyin' with 'em plan... it is too risky to... well, to do this!" The elderly sow spoke, her voice not showing her usual furious anger derived from passion, but instead upset, born of frustration, fear and uncertainty.
"It might be, but I want to do it. I've been thinking why am I doing this to basically save a group of people with whom we were basically at war a month ago. Their upbringing by their leading shaman and elders is not an excuse for their actions, but wouldn't it be nice to get them a chance? A chance that they are also willing to take, even if they feel skeptical about our intentions and us about their?" Michael looked at Nushii who slept and then exchanged a glance with Vodra who gave a slow nod and blink back.
"Bah! These two's exceptions an' ya kno' that." Zurra said as she then sat her mug down on a crate forcefully, spilling a bit of the contents.
"There ain' no point in arguin'. The deal was struck an' backin' out now will jus' give us headaches with the Rock Backs." Gharna said with a snort which vocalized better than any words that she wasn't thrilled either about this.
"Aye, ma'. Ya kno' already when he makes up 'is mind ta do somethin' he sticks to it worse than blood stains on cloth. Heh... same type-a stubborness that got 'im stuck fer hours keepin' yer forge stoked." Azhul added with a chuckle as she looked at her mother than at Michael, who smiled and laughed with a tired tone.
"Even if we don' like it, we have already all agreed to help make this happen. Otherwise I don' think we'd have put the efforts we did towards preparin' Michael fer da trip." Runhar interjected as well as he sipped his own broth from a bowl.
As the consensus from before had been reaffirmed verbally, the group had fallen quiet once more, in a silence that showed the stewing emotions that bubbled below it. Michael felt it too, he knew what these situations were like from having to deal with them with his own family.
"Well, while I'm gone, hopefully not long, I thought it would be good to get some things done, even if not everything gets finished, I'm thinking that we should keep to a... hm... how to word this? A time line?" The human said uncertain on how to properly put his thoughts in words. Certainly would seem unlike him to struggle with this, but only when his guard was down. In this moment there was no immediate threat, so he was as true to the real him as he could be.
"Oh? Afraid things will stagnate while you are gone due to some of us being uncertain of the situation? Although I certainly appreciate yer concern, none shall remain still while I am here. What have you been thinking of?" Urla asked from her seated position, her inquisitive questioning being as cold as her usual tone.
"Well. I believe there's two things that are need to get done. Integrating the remaining Hay-yen and starting up with trading goods. We still have hos-... injured refugees that are being treated, due to their... shakey condition, right? We need to see that they can adapt to their situation like Nushii and Vodra did. Maintain aid and contact with the Hay-yen settlement, I think this would be best done by working together on things you and they need, maybe repairs and expanding a bit." Michael would say certain of his thoughts on the matter.
"I wasn't going to wait for you to ask, but we'll try to help with that as well. I believe it will be... emboldening to see us work along Tuskir for the others." Vodra said while looking at Nushii. Soon after she'd meet Michael's gaze, with a glint of important purpose in them. "And hence we know not what happened with the old shaman, we could also focus on geting a better grasp on that, as well, since we've been discussing about it."
Michael nodded in agreement, his expression showing that he was pleased with Vodra's additions to his points.
Urla would nod as she listened before clearing her throat. "I see the point. We'll be doing our best here, so make sure you return to us in one piece. That is an order from me to you, as your den mother, Michael." The old sow spoke with utmost seriousness in her tone.
"Understood, Elder Urla." He replied with a cheeky tone, a faint smirk creeping up on his lips.
Soon after the human's reply, the slow steps of Yenna approaching could be herd in the crisp silence of the night. The young Tuskir moved with stuttered and tired steps as he came about closer, holding Michael's phone in one hand and a carving of wood in the other.
"Got your fill of references?" Michael asked with a soft smile as Yenna handed him his phone, tucking it into his leather backpack.
"Aye, but tis ain't based on 'em... keepin' those in me workshop. Drew a few sketches in coal based on 'em, too." The young tuskir said with a tired huff. He then held up the tiny wooden statue that depicted an elderly scars covered tuskir, with a billowing cloak and two handaxes.
Michael looked at it as his heart knotted with a renewed sorrowful melancholy. He held up his hand as his expression asked wordlessly if he could hold it to which Yenna handed it. The human looked at it closely. The carved tuskir struck a pose of on guard and ready to attack, the expression although hard to read for Michael, the eyes were shown with a guardian's battle focus carved into them.
"It looks just like the old man... you have an amazing hand Yenna." Michael said while looking the statue of Spek from all angles possible. Unknown if by accident or if by unconcious choice, Michael ran his digits under the statue's base, feeling it to have been carved up.
Turning it upside down he glanced at carved letters in the Tuskir's written tongue, which to him looked akin to unreadable scratches. Before he could even ask about their meaning Yenna spoke, almost solemnly.
"Tough Hide Spek, The Forever Guardian." The young tuskir said as he sniffled while seating himself near Michael.
"Looks like a good piece, brother." Gharna said from the side with a soft proudness to her voice.
"Indeed. Where are you thinking of putting it?" Michael confirmed his own feelings of admiration towards the small sculpture.
"Thought ya could hold onto it, a reminder o' us fer while yer gone. I was useless in that fight, hidin' with the younger piglets an' guardin' 'em... actin' as if it got to it I could protect them... while you all were layin' yer lives down, fightin'. This is the only thing I'm good at... you were close to 'im so I thought it would be only natural that he look over ya for us." Yenna said with a pain of his own in his words as he verbally flagellated himself over his helplessness.
"Yenna. Don't be harsh on yourself, everyone's got their talents. Yours will be most important." Michael then stood up in a very official manner and he put a hand on the young tuskir's shoulder. "You'll actually make yourself invaluable. You'll be pretty much carving all the handles for the steel peelers we will be selling. And to make the sales go better I recommend making them with engraved designs in the wood or even carving random names into them, since some people love buying stuff like that."
At that point Yenna looked back at Michael, the previous glint of emotionally charged energy dissapearing from his gaze while the unhearable echo of a mute glass crack seemed to make the young tuskir wince. "I'll be what?!"
"Yes." Michael said with a small proud smile as he nodded and patted Yenna on the back.
Gharna couldn't help herself, so she let out snorts, chuckles and short squeals as she giggled. "W-well hah! Ahem... pft... blood brother, you always did say you liked to carve things daintier than plain handaxes..." she added in a teasing tone.
"By the Hunt Father, that sucks for ya Yen-yen." Azhul said trying and succeeding a bit better at masking her chuckles. Still, the large tuskir woman's giggles would be interrupted by a slap on her furred nape from her own mother who seemed to hear her. "AGH! What was that fer?!"
"Who do ya fink is gon' be makin' the blades?" The older buff sow asked while looking at her daughter with mild dissapointment.
Azhul took half a minute longer than she should have to spit out an answer. "Us?" She said while Zurra stared at her with mild dissapointment, giving a single solemn confirming nod. "Oh-... ohhh.... Uughhhhhh... us..." she said with a premptively exhausted tone, as she came to this realization, with a deflating snort and groan while facepalming.
Azhul's reaction managed to rip chuckles and hearty laughs from most of those around, Michael laughing hard enough to nearly keel over from it. As the human took a moment to calm down, the corner of his eye would be greeted by the first wisps of light presenting themselves on the horizon. The moment he saw them, his jovial laugh seemed to drop, his eyes looking at the slowly crawling rays of light as if they were telling him something.
"Well... it seems like my time has expired. I'll... uhm... check my shack once over and make sure I didn't forget anything." The human said as he took a glance into his leathet backpack and then slung it over his shoulders.
"Ah-... alright. We'll start cleaning up here and when we're all done, we'll see you at the gate." Runhar said as he finished his broth, his tone betraying his own insecurities despite supporting this final plan.
Michael nodded back to the captain before taking a few moments to grasp a half asleep Woh and untangle her from the curls at the top of his head. Although he tried not to wake her, the amphoran woke up blinking lazily one eye at a time before her gaze focused on Michael's face.
"Aaagh~... is the borin' talking done, yet?" She asked while stretching relaxed inbetween Michael's digits, then groaning and going limp much like a sibling would when carried by the older one.
"Yeah. And I'm also preparing to leave. Sun's about to come up so I need to get to the Rock Backs." The human replied with a chuckle at the display before leaning down to set Woh on the seat he previously occupied.
The little amphibian humanoid held onto his digits as if to protest the release. "You promise yer comin' back, ye? I've got years o' hugs and cuddle naps I gotta make up for and I'm needin' ya for that." She said while slowly letting go and curling up on the seat, her gullet inflating as she croaked with exhaustion.
"Mhm. Don't worry. I'll come back and that's a promise I intend to keep." Michael said giving Woh a few scritches onto her back, at which the amphoran let a few low and quick croaks akin to a cat's pur.
"Good... an-... don't take too long... otherwise I'm latchin' myself to your face and never letting go, kero..." Woh said while struggling to stay awake, her conciousness fading as she'd doze off.
Michael smile as he laughed silently responding with a nod before making his way to the shack he called a home for the past while. Inside the ex-storage hut, he'd give the place one final cursory glance, making sure to pack a few clothes he nearly forgot thrown about. Once that was done with, as he was about to turn and exit, the door would creak behind him.
Vodra, together with a half awake Nushii, waltzed in slowly. Michael, unsurprised, would turn and smile as he rubbed one of his eyes. "Eh? Going to sleep already? And here I thought you'd see me off at the gate."
"Nushii's about to keel over asleep again, so I thought it'd be good if she was at least in our beds. I for one am not a fan of things such as seeing someone off in a group." Vodra said while leaning against a creaky wooden wall.
Nushii would stumble a bit before flopping herself onto Michael, who, despite being startled, manages to hold himself and the half asleep Hay-yen up. "Why ya need to go? Who are we going to listen to music with as we sleep, eh? Screw the others... my cousin is a doo doo head anyways..." she mumbled and groaned while nuzzling her head into Michael's hair while closing her half open tired eyes.
"Ay... don't say that. Sigh... I know what it is like to have toxic family members... there's no excuse for the things they did, but that doesn't mean some of them can change, ya know? She was really fired up back at camp. She at least seems to want to have you around. Give it a go and see how you feel about it, then decide if YOU want her in your life, ok?" Michael would say while scratching one of Nushii's ears with a hand and petting her shoulder with the other. "Also... please get off... I feel like my bacl or my knees will give out... p-please." He groaned.
Nushii would let out an affirmative yawned yap like noise, although hard to tell what exactly she was agreeing to. She'd push herself off of Michael and then flop onto one of the beds, sniffing about and crawling her way into a curled up position, smack in the middle of Michael's bed.
The human giggled at the sight as he began making his way to the door, where Vodra stood leaned against the wall. "I uhm... wanted to thank you... for everything." He'd say looking at Vodra as he whispered his words.
"Thank me? I should be the one doing that." Vodra replied in the same low tone.
"Well... I wanted to thank you for all the help you've given around, for trusting me, for co-operating in the beginning... for not slitting my throat in my sleep once you two were out of holding, heh." Michael said with a clearly jesting tone towards the end.
Vodra listened silently as her ears would lower, her head turning to look at him. "I see. I feel like I am the one that owes you... thinking about it... it sounds foolish, but getting taken hostage was the best thing that happened to me. Before that I found myself not really caring about much... I just wanted to do what I had to do and sleep... because at least when I was asleep I didn't feel miserable. Now... I'm actually relatively eager to see what I'm doing when I'm awake."
The Hay-yen woman took a moment to glance at Nushii, who had settled in and appeared to be asleep, as she then gazed back at the human and with a rather stiff and awkward motion she's lean forward her massive and hunched frame, pressing her forehead against the side of his face and her snout into his neck. "When we talked about The Devourer... before that... I never even considered if it was not true or fake or at least... not my truth... not what I wanted to believe in. I just accepted it and resigned myself to the fate I was preached to end up with... if not for you... I'd still see each day as a bleak and empty moment of a pointless existence." Vodra said as small whines escaped at times between her words, a wetness taking to her eyes, that Michael felt against the side of his face.
The human would acknowledge Vodra's subtle burst of emotions by wrapping an around her neck, rubbing the top of her head between the ears. "I struggled with something like that to... the feeling of living for no reason only to know you'll die and that the end might be horrible. The faith of my specific tribe of people back home preached of their beliefs in a bleak and depressing manner, too. I hated it and 'cause of it... I still fear death now, but I've been getting better, you will too. No true Gods would want their mortal children to be miserable, instead they'd want them to learn to live satisfied and enlightened lives and... if there's no Gods that await us when it is all done... at least we know we lived in a good honest way, that we deemed fit and that made us happy."
Vodra didn't reply as she shook lightly against Michael, instead listening content. She'd pull her head back to look at the human, half his face covered in a mix of stray fur hairs mixed with a wetness produced by her tears. As if by instinct she'd give his mug a few licks to clean up the mess before pulling back. "Well... y-yeah. That's what I'm thankful for." She'd say as her usual collected self would start showing again. "Now, get going. Don't want those Rock Backs to go back on their deal 'cause you're arriving late. I need to catch a bit of rest anyways..." The Hay-yen would say as she went past Michael and then curled up on her own bed.
"Sleep well." The human replied as one last faint smile rested upon his lips as he exited the hut, the door creaking as he left.
His lonesome steps made the mix of grass and dirt bemeath his boots to crackle and slosh as he walked. Still, Michael didn't hear them as his mind thought of the situation that was awaiting him. Nobody he could trust would be by his side, he'd have to fake his true self for the purpose of apperances and maintaing their ruse.
'Heh... and here I thought I'd never be the type of person to pretend to be someone he isn't, for the sake of gaining something. Sigh... there's a first for everything, I guess. I said the same thing when I was younger about smoking, yet I fell into that myself. Eeeeh... I could go for a smoke... if I had any left.' Michael thought as he then bumped into something akin to a soft pillar.
Taking half a second to recover from his broken focus, Michael looked at the obstacle he bumped, quickly realizing it was actually Azhul. Confused, his mind quickly came to a possible conclusion to her sudden appearance near his old hut. "Oh- Sorry for taking a moment longer to linger! Was saying goodnight to Vodra and Nushii. Took a second longer than I thought."
"Heh. Aye, yer spot on an' no worries. I just wondered if yer reconsidering this whol' thing. Wouldn't blame ya if you just wanted us to fight it out wif the Rock Backs. It'd make things easier honestly." The large young sow said with a clearly jovial tone, albeit with a tinge of exhaustion to it.
"Heh. I couldn't ask that of you all. We barely made it through that ordeal and not without paying hefty prices... all of us." Michael said in a easy tone that tried and failed to hide a bitterness he still held in himself.
"... Michael. Spek wouldn't blame ya fer his death, truly... Ya kno' that, right?" Azhul said in a softened tone as her ears flopped slightly, a small huff leaving her flat snout.
"I know. I discussed this before. I just... it's not wether he blames me or not... it is wether I can stop blaming myself for it." Michael said with a strained face, his expression seeming to tense, his nostrils flared as he pressed his lips together tight, his eyes shining from the moon light with the glaze of tears that coated them, still and unshed. "So, I'll do my best to care for you all... like Spek would have."
Azhul looked Michael in the eye and after he took a moment to release the tension in his body, the large Tuskir woman, went on to wrap her arms around him and embrace him. He'd pull the human's head into her chest as a three fingered hand grasped his back, the other resting onto the crest of his head.
"Eh?! Azhul?! Didn't you say this is somethi-" Michael yelped muffled from the embrance, his previous sombre mood entirely changing, simply from how sudden the hug yhay enveloped him was.
"Aye. Somethin' ya don' just do with anyone, for tuskir that is. Ya hoomans do it for multiple reasons, ain't that about right? Consoling someone, sounds about right as one o' 'em." The built sow said while slightly tensing her arms around him, as if afraid he'll slip from her grasp. She rested her head on top of his, taking a second to sniff his hair lightly.
"Ah-... yeah... that'd be a reason. Heh... thank you... this... does help." Michael said as he wrapped his own arms around the tuskir woman, although unable to fully wrap them around her.
Azhul huffed repeatedly quick and short as her flat nose nuzzled into Michael's curls, before she looked up, staring at the starry sky while still holding him. "Oi. Ya make sure you come back in one piece, ya hear? And don' go dying, getting nabbed, fallin' fer some ditzy nobody's schemes or anythin' that'll keep ya from coming back to... to... to us, ye?"
"Heh. Don't worry. I'll make sure as soon as I'm done there, I'm coming back ASAP... ah... you'd not know what 'ASAP' means..." Michael said from the hug with an awkward laugh.
"Eh. Presume it's some word that's supposed to mean that you'll come quick or as soon as possible. So don' worry. I getcha." Azhul said as she seemed to take a few moments longer before letting go of Michael, the hand that wrapped to the human's back, now lagged behind a moment longer before letting go with a twitch in the tuskir woman's digits.
Michael realizing it wasn't the time to explain acronyms, nodded as she smiled with a relaxed exhale. "Yeah. Just about that. Well. Let's go then. Don' wanna make the others have second thoughts as well." He'd say while starting to walk in the direction of the gate. Still, Michael stopped immediately as he noticed Azhul was still turned back and unmoving. "Ah... you're not coming?"
The large sow seemed frozen for a few moments, her previous hand still semi outstretched forward, as if reaching for something in the air. After her digits twitched once more and a louder sligtly snotty sounding huff escaped her flat nose, Azhul stretched and let out a yawn. "Ah-... w-well... huff ...I already said my piece. Gonna go ahead an' get some sleep." She replied as she then began heading in the opposing direction at a slow pace.
"Oh, right. Rest well and take care! I'll miss ya and your mother! Hope we can forge more stuff together when I'm back!" Michael replied with his spirits properly uplifted.
Azhul staggered her steps at his words, as if from exhaustion. "... C-Can't wait. Come back already." She said as she waved with the back of her hand, still going her way to rest.
Michael nodded despite knowing she couldn't see him as he then headed to the gate. There more words, encouragements and goodbyes were exchanged by all members of the tribe to their departing pink member. After a last awkward moment of half muttered sentences, Runhar had the gates opened, Michael stepping out towards the darkened forest.
Before he got too far and the rest of his tribe closed up their little safe haven, the human turned to them and in the dim light of the few torches around, he said: "I'll miss you all! See you soon!"
From there his departure felt as quick as the wind, as his form faded into the black nothingness of the forest at night. All of a sudden, the time this stranger turned friend spent in this little settlement, in the middle of nowhere, felt a little shorter than before, but not any less important to all involved.
Next Issue!

You know that unsettling feeling you sometimes get when you're home alone? That sudden shiver that races up your spine, making your skin crawl even when you know you're the only one there? It's the kind of feeling that makes you hesitate to cross that dark hallway in your house, your mind playing tricks on you, warning of unseen dangers lurking in the shadows of the place you call home.
​
I never knew my parents. My grandmother was the only constant presence in my life, a tough woman hardened by years of hard work and the harsh climate of Krasnoyarsk. She, like many women of her time, toiled in one of the area's numerous metallurgical factories. Though she wasn't always around, she cared for me as best she could, even if her love often came with a stern demeanor. With two mouths to feed, she often had to leave me in the care of our neighbors for long stretches of time, often returning only to sleep at home.
Our neighborhood was composed mostly of factory workers and their families, who lived in small huts that offered little relief from the cold. Our own house was no exception. Tucked away on the edge of the community, it was a modest shack of barely 50 square meters. Inside, the walls were painted a weathered yellow, while the floor was covered with wooden planks. Curiously, the exterior was camouflaged by logs, attempting to conceal the concrete beneath. The house wasn't that much by itself, but the patches of trees that surrounded the house left a clear area where the house sat, making it feel like it didn't belong to the city.
My grandmother had a peculiar taste in decorating. The outside of our house was adorned with a variety of ornaments and bird sculptures, painted in bright colors. When she decided on a particular decoration, she refused to change it, no matter what. Inside, the walls were adorned with framed photos of unfamiliar faces, intercalated with portraits of unfamiliar people. My grandmother had a habit of collecting these photos and scattering them around the house in a seemingly random fashion. She also had a habit of rearranging furniture every few weeks, which left me perplexed and curious as to her motivations.
Whenever I asked her about her frequent rearrangements, her expression would turn somber, silencing any further questions. It was an unspoken rule in our household: certain questions were best left unanswered.
Sometimes my grandmother had no choice but to leave me home alone, mainly because Anna, the neighbor who usually took care of me, couldn't, either for medical or personal reasons. On those days, she would come home from work earlier than usual and seem more exhausted than ever. However, there was a subtle sense of relief in her eyes when I was there, as if she feared something was going to happen to me during those brief hours of solitude. But the worst days were those when my grandmother was not able to get home before sunset; those days were the ones I dreaded the most.
During the day, the small forest surrounding our house was my playground, sometimes even losing track of time until the sun began to set. But when it got dark, the trees would transform into menacing shadows that would cast themselves over the house.
Sometimes, when I closed the curtains, an unsettling feeling would come over me: I felt I was being watched by invisible eyes. On rare occasions, I would summon the courage to peek outside and see two piercing white orbs fixed to the house. Hastily, I would close the window and crawl into bed, burying myself under the covers and shivering with fear. Struggeling to stay awake, terrified at the thought of the murmurs returning, pearcing through the walls while the presence lurked on the other side of my window, in the distance.
Most nights, exhaustion would get the better of me, and I would fall asleep. Whenever I woke up, usually in the morning, the sound of wood scraping against the floor would signal that my grandmother was moving the furniture around.
Shuted in my room until she was done, listening to the eerie symphony of the wood slowly and leisurely creeping against each other while I waited for her approval to leave the room.
During those days when I was confined to my room until my grandmother finished rearranging the furniture, she always seemed to be in a hurry, almost frantic, to get us out of the house. She would quickly hand me over to our neighbor, Anna, and leave me in her care until the next day, appearing extremely tired.
Normal days were spent playing with two of the neighbor kids, Pavel and Varina.
Pavel was one of the few kids I played with when I was little. He never let the stories that were told about our house and my grandmother be a problem for us to become friends. We met playing one day like any other day on the back of the river that crosses the back of our neighborhood. We started a competition to see who was able to roll a stone over the water the most times. We spent hours running up and down, looking at all the possible stones to find the perfect ones that would lead us to victory against each other. I lost the competition that day, but I got the best friendship I could have wished for.
We met Varinka two years later. Her parents moved to our neighborhood from another nearby city because they got an offer in one of the factories. The one that started talking to her was Pavel, being the sociable child that he was. Both of them became close friends almost immediately. Soon after, I followed Pavel's steps and befriended her.
On the days that I spent with Anna, the three of us used to go on our own little adventures that were restricted to meal and snack times, and you must believe that we squeezed out as much time as possible. Our usual routine used to be to build hideouts, climb trees, and play hide and seek in the small forest that wrapped my house.
Pavel, Varinka, and I had multiple spots with small hideouts that barely resisted a day or two because of the poor choice of materials that we built them with, but still, there were two that held the most: the tree house and the cave.
The Tree House was the closest one to my house; it consisted of a dead tree that was hollow inside. It was quite small, and the only things that we kept inside the tree house were some rocks that we used as chairs and a big piece of wood that we used as a table. The area that surrounded the tree house was quite dense with poor sunlight because of the multiple trees that grew there. Because of the many days we spent there playing, a path was created because of our footsteps, making a small path to the west part of my house. While the tree house was a five-minute walk through the forest, the cave was further inside the forest. As the name foreshadowed, the cave was a hole besides a small hill. The cave wasn't much bigger than the tree, but the fact that it was a cave made our minds think that it was for some reason cooler than the tree house. There was the place that we used to hang out the most whenever we got the chance to go to the forest. The cave was decorated inside as much as a child could. We took some chairs that Pavel found in the dumpster while Varinka brought some flowers from her garden, and meanwhile, I brought a small bird feeder that my grandmother recently changed for a newer one.
Those were the happiest memories that I could remember—those times when we could play freely without anything that could worry us—but sadly, those days weren't meant to last forever.
One day that Anna left me to go to the forest. As usual, Pavel, Varinka, and I met at the river as always, walking while following the water flow towards the forest. We chatted about some nonsens that Pavel used to bring out, laughing, and we walked in the forest, following the small path that we used to go in and out of the forest from the side of the river.
As we moved deeper into the forest, an uneasy feeling came over us, overshadowing our carefree chatter. The familiar sights and sounds of the forest seemed different that day, as if the trees themselves were whispering warnings we couldn't decipher.
Pavel, Varinka, and I followed the beaten path, our footsteps echoing in the silent forest. But as we approached the clearing where our hideout awaited us, an eerie silence descended, suffocating the once vibrant atmosphere. The air grew heavy with anticipation. An unspoken tension hung over us like a shroud.
Arriving at the Tree House, we found it shrouded in darkness and its hollow trunk in eerie silence. The rocks that had served as our seats lay scattered on the forest floor, as if they had been abandoned. Even the dense treetops seemed to retain their usual warmth, casting long shadows that stretched out like accusing fingers.
With a nervous glance between us, we continued on, our steps faltering as we approached the cave. But as we drew closer, we realized that the entrance was blocked by fallen debris, as if it had been sealed shut by some unseen force.
A chill ran down my spine as I exchanged glances with Pavel and Varinka. What had once been our sanctuary now looked as if an earthquake would have knocked down the entrance.
As the first tendrils of fear coiled in our hearts, a distant sound echoed—a sound that sent a shiver down my spine.
It was a faint whimper, barely louder than the sound of leaves against the wind, but loud enough to startle us all.
Varinka, frightened, stood motionless, with a desperate look that stopped at nothing in particular, trying to see where such a chilling sound could come from. When I saw Pavel, he was standing before Varinka, holding a stone that he must have picked up from the pile he was standing on whileI was looking at the entrance to the cave, and then... Something started to flow through the rocks
It was a strange liquid that had a carmesi tone that seemed to glow in the shadows—a liquid that appeared to have no visible limits and seemed to come out of nowhere.
I didn't notice how much time I spent looking at the red liquid flowing through the rocks when I noticed something; whatever thing was wimpering, it wasn't outside with us. It was inside the cave.
I didn't know what to do. Varinka was already running back to her house while Pavel was frozen in the same position as he was, looking at the entrance of the cave, but his face didn't seem scared or shocked anymore; instead, his face seemed like he was hypnotized. He took a step towards the cave.
When I realized what I was going to do, I rushed at him, gripping him by the shoulder and shaking him, trying to shake him out of his trance. After a few seconds, Pavel looked around in confusion as the faint whimpers continued to sound behind the rubble, increasingly agonizing but whimpering with the same intensity.
When Pavel finally looked at me, the first thing he said was, “Where is Varinka?”, “She's gone already,” I replied frantically, trying to get him to start moving. Hearing me,he dropped the stone, which splashed some of the strange crimson liquid on our shoes, and ran towards the forest path, While I followed closely behind him, the whimper of the thing could still be heard behind us.
After not much time, we arrived at the river where Varinka was sobbing, catching her breath, i turned to see how Pavel was doing, i saw him with an absorbed look, watching closely the trees, almost as if something was talking to him.
That night was one of the worst that I have experienced. When my grandmother came home that night, she noticed that something was wrong at the moment that she saw me.
"What happened?" she asked with an expression that I had never seen before in her face; it seemed to be a mix of seriousness and worry.
I told her about how we had found our hideouts destroyed, the whimper, and the strange substance. Without wating any longer, she almost jumped and started to search frantically in some drawers, taking out some kind of cross that I had never seen before. It seemed similar to the catoloc corss, but in the lower part it was split in half, making it seem like two wooden legs. On all of the surface, different carvings were made; some of them seemed Russian, some of them were Nordic, some of them were Latin, and a bunch of them I can't even recognize today.
She left the cross in the middle of the house and then rushed towards the kitchen, grabbing all the meat that we had on the house and throwing it out. I looked at her with a mix of perplexity and worry, as I didn't understand what she was doing.
She took me to the bathroom and started to bathe me, scrubbing my whole body almost as if she were trying to clean out a stain from a new piece of cloth. When she was done, I noticed that my skin was red because of the rubbing.
When she was done with me, she took the same ritual with the rest of the house, opening every window, the door, and the cabinets and scrubbing them. I didn't understand what was going on; the house was almost completely dark; only the light from the lamps that we had and the full moon could be seen in the sky; the air was cold; and I was still wet from the bath.
She finished with the house and started to do the same to herself, scrubbing her skin until it became red. The sound of her breathing and the scrubbing was the only thing that could be heard; the forest was in absolute silence.
She finished, and looked at me.
"Now, let's pray," she said with a calm voice, almost too calm, as if her previous panic was never there.
We kneeled beside the strange cross and began to pray; the windows and door were still open at this point. Something could be heard outside.
As the first words started to come out of our mouths, the whimper appeared softly, as if trying to not make us notice his presence. Word after word, it grew persistent.
The moon, covered by a thin layer of clouds, enveloped our home with eerie shadows. Our prayers grew in intensity, trying to match the whimper as if we were trying to cover it with our own voice. Then, suddenly, nothing. I didn't feel cold or warmth; I didn't feel my hand brushing against my grandmother's hand; the numbness in my knees from kneeling; the cold of the night against my skin; just the whimpering, weak, almost pleasant and sweet, like a mother's call or like the sun against your skin on a spring evening. I wanted to answer him, to go to him, to let myself go.
A pull.
When I came to my senses, I was on the porch. As I looked around frantically, I saw my grandmother pulling me, with a terror I could never have imagined to have seen on her face. Then I looked to where her gaze was fixed. Slowly, as I gazed through those bird ornamentations that I had become so used to seeing, I looked towards the trees. Orbs—dozens, no, hundreds of them looking at us.
I rushed inside in an instant catching my grandmother by surprise, stuttering she kept praying, leaving the door still open, once again, we knelt, over the next few hours it tried to pull me back to him countless times, I was about to give in again on a couple of occasions but the horror on my grandmother's face anchored me to the ground in front of the cross, at one point in time the night began to fade, leaving behind its shadows and with it those observant orbs, waiting for a mistake to jump towards us, changing it’s place with a tenuous golden light, which with its arrival marked the end of the nightmare of that night, with the whimpering becoming weaker and weaker my eyes closed with exhaustion, letting me drift off into a peaceful sleep.
Knocks woke me up a few hours later; it seemed frantic. I was in bed in my pajamas, disoriented by the events of the previous night. I stood up suddenly, my heart pounding against my chest at the sudden knocking on the front door. I got up to see who was banging on the front door.
“Yakov!” Someone screamed on the other side of the door with an anguished voice. “Yakov, please open the door.”
I ran towards the door, opening it as I recognized the voice on the other side; it was the voice of Anna.
“What-what happened, Anna?” In a scared tone, I was able to ask her.
It was an unusual situation; Anna didn’t like to get to close to my house, so seeing her here on the porch was something that I didn’t expect at all.
“Pavel…” She was able to tell, under a sigh, “Pavel is lost.”
My world started to shatter as Anna was able to say those words. She continued talking, asking me questions frantically, but my mind wasn’t there.
“Do you know where he is? Did he by any chance go to your house the last night?” Ana said.
"Whimpers,” I thought out loud. Anna tried to speak, “Wha-.”
Before she could even finish what she was saying, I started to run, barefoot. I ran faster than I even imagined that I could; the adrenalin pumping in my veins kept the pain away from my feet. I ran. I really ran. As fast as I could, I really tried.
When I arrived at the cave, it was too late; the carmesi substance was only touching the stones, almost as if avoiding the ground. Once I looked up, I saw an entrance; for some reason, a hole could be seen in the middle of the debris.
“Pavel!” I cried out, my voice trembling with fear and desperation, but there was no response. I tried to move the fallen debris that was blocking the entrance with trembling hands, but it was too heavy and firmly wedged in place.
Tears began to fall as I realized the horrifying truth: Pavel was trapped inside the cave, cut off from the outside world by a rubble wall. Panic gripped my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs as I struggled to make sense of the situation.
My mind raced with a thousand thoughts and fears, each one more terrifying than the last. What if Pavel was hurt? What if he was alone and scared? What if... he wasn’t alone?
With trembling limbs, I tried to force my way into the cave, clawing at the rocks with desperate urgency. But no matter how hard I tried, the debris refused to budge, despite my desperate efforts.
Time seemed to stretch into eternity as I stood there, helpless and alone, with the sound of my own heartbeat echoing in my ears. The forest around me was silent, as if it were waiting for the unthinkable.
And then, from deep within the cave, I heard it: a faint whimper, barely audible above my own heartbeat. It was Pavel's voice, weak and muffled, but unmistakably him.
“Pavel, oh god, i-i’m here!” I called out to him, my voice breaking with terror, but there was no answer.
I realized with a sinking feeling in my stomach that Pavel was out of reach, trapped in a prison of stone and darkness with whatever called him to enter the cave. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I collapsed on the ground, overcome by grief and despair. The weight of the situation pressed down on me like a physical force, crushing me under its unbearable weight. In that moment, I felt completely alone, like a small, insignificant speck in the vastness of the universe. And as I gazed up at the sky, my vision blurred with tears. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone would ever find Pavel or if anyone would ever know what had happened to him.
But deep down, I knew the truth: Pavel was lost, swallowed up by the darkness of the cave, trapped with the thing that whimpered, and there was nothing I could do to save him. And as I sat there, alone in the forest, I saw the last stones being pulled by the strange carmesi liquid, loking them in their final place, and with them silencing Pavel to the outside world.

F4A Spring Spirit Brightens Your Day

This is the third of a little series about four seasonal spirits interacting with a special human who can see them and converse with them. As the children of Mother Earth herself, they decided to find a lonely human child to befriend. They chose the listener many years ago when they were only a small child. No one else can see the spirits but the listener.
Listener has come outside to find Spring, who has a lot of inspiring things (and puns) to say and happy things to show them.
free to monetize! to credit, just link to my YT channel! (found in my profile) Thanks! :D free to genderbend! Location/ambience: spring forest ambience, farm sounds, birds, baby farm animals, breeze Listener: stressed young worker, has known the spirit since childhood Voice: childlike, feminine, light, airy, innocent Theme: starting new, potential, spring things!
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Begins with spring bird ambience, gentle breeze, and distant traffic hum
(brightly) Ah, finally! There’s my best bud! It’s so good to see you again! Yeah, yeah, I made it! Again!
You’re a little bit late… don’t tell me, are you getting too busy again? Cause if you are, I’ll have to find a way to fix that again, won't I? You really can't moss around with that! (chuckle)
But anyway! Come on, let’s go! I have so much to show you! I wanna walk to the farm - some of the sheep had their babies and there’s little chicks running around! Oh, AND there’s a calf! It’s so small and cute!
We have to walk the forest way because there’s something in the woods I want to show you as well. C’mon!
Look at all the dandelions… Good to see some still popping up all around!
This one is so big… oh and look at this one! The stem is SO LONG! I think it would be perfect for… hold on… hold still… there! There you go - one perfect flower on one perfect person!
Hehehe! You look really cute with a dandelion tucked into your ear, you should go out like that more often hehe. Oh, let me get another one! Then we can match!
There we go, how do I look?
(flustered) Awww,, hahaha, thank you.
Dandelions are one of my favourite spring flowers. I better not ever catch you calling them weeds! They are one of the first flowers for the bees when they come out of hibernating. Bumble bees and honey bees search for them as soon as they wake up. That’s why I get so upset when people mow them all down and spray their so-called “weed-killers.” Who are they to call these perfect little drops of sunshine weeds**?** (whispering) UnbeLEAFable.
I’m glad YOU’RE not a weed!
(laughs)
Oh! Over there! look at those daffodils and hyacinths! UWAAA I just love the colors mixed together… yellow, pink, and purple and green…
Eh?! ME?! They remind you of me? (flustered again) B… but that - well, you’re really sweet yourself, you know that?
Yes you are! Don’t “no you” me! Hehe
What are your favourite spring flowers?
Oh! Yeah those are top on my list too! Well you know I like them all though… (sigh)
This year the crocuses are standing out to me. They remind me of little stars in the grass when they first come up! Stars of all different colors! Coming up out of the ground like “Hey guys, Winter’s gunna leave soon! Spring is coming!”
Remember that house on the road to your school when you were little? How every spring, the ENTIRE YARD was just COVERED in purple and yellow crocuses? Mhhm! It was so magical!!
I love the cherry trees when they blossom all rosy and pink! Oh, and who can forget the forsythia bushes! Have you SEEN them this year? I’m so proud of them! I haven’t seen them this full and bright for several years! Winter really went easy on you guys this year, didn’t she… Unless…
(pause)
Hhm? Oh! Nothing! Ah, hear that?
How many birds can you hear right now? There’s so many! Can you identify a few of them? How about…. That one?
Right! Robins! American robins, to be specific. The European robins aren’t actually robins at all - they’re a type of flycatcher and American robins are actually in the thrush family. Have you ever seen a wood thrush? They’re robin sized, but instead of having an orange belly, they have little black speckles. Really cute little birds, but a lot harder to notice than the robins because they like to stay deep in the forests and away from lots of people.
How about…. THAT song? What bird is that?
Right on! Goldfinches! Yes, and bluebirds and cardinals too, well done! I’m glad you can still recognise the sound of the cardinals! They have a bunch of different calls, don’t they? Remember when I taught you how to whistle just like them? Can you still do it?
Ahahaha that’s ok! We’ve got plenty of time to practice again before Summer comes!
Hhmph! She better not rush me out of here like she did last year! I want my turn here with you and I don’t want it to end early.
Hey - can you smell that? We’re getting closer to the place I wanted to show you. We gotta cut through the woods though, come on!
Here we are… What do you think? This little pond clearing has been a quiet little nature secret for a long time, but since you live close to it now, I wanted to show it to you. You deserve to know it’s here.
There are so many flowers we could smell them all the way from the footpath.
Wanna know how they all got here? Well… some people planted them. A long, LONG time ago. This place used to be a farm. It wasn’t always a thick woodland like this, the trees have grown since then. That’s why there’s flowers everywhere. When it was still just a little farm, there were only a few of these daffodils… but daffodils reproduce wildly if you don’t stop them. It’s been hundreds of years since anyone has cared for this tiny piece of land… so this carpet of flowers has been able to grow and grow and grow. Truly one of mother’s masterpieces, wouldn’t you say? Someone decided to brighten their garden… and Mother Nature took over the art that person started way back then. If only they could see how beautiful it is today!
You can actually see where the foundation of the house was right over here, not far from the pond. It’s nothing more than a square of crumbled rock, but if you look at it, it’s obvious it used to be a building. I just had to show this place to you! It could be like our secret meeting place, as long as you don’t tell anyone else!
Wanna meet here everyday? Well, till it’s time for me to move on, anyway? You could use the time to relax! I see those tired bags under your eyes, silly! You’ve been doing too much grown up work again!
Oh… hard time sleeping?
Oh my gourd, that’s not enough sleep!
Looks like I will have to take action. Hhmm…. Let’s see… I know you always sleep better with your window open, but with Winter around it’s too cold for that.. But now it’s MY turn to bring you my blessings! Alright. I’ll be sure to make it warm for the next couple nights so you can catch those Z’s!
Oh… speaking of blessings… I have something else to show you back here! Gotta be nice a quiet though. Right this way… nice and slow…
There she is. A little fawn, all speckly in the sunlight. Don’t worry, her momma is right over there. You didn’t notice? HAha, that’s actually a really good thing. Momma dear, your camouflage skills are doing great! Come on over here, don’t worry. I am the spirit of Spring, and this is my friend! We won’t hurt you or your baby.
Your baby is so beautiful and cute! Could we come a little closer and say hello to her?
That’s so kind of you!
Hi little deer! Your momma picked a lovely place for you to rest and stay safe. You’re… you’re so cute!
Go on, go ahead and say hi, let her sniff you. Look at her cute little spots… just like little beams of sun resting on the forest floor.
Thank you, momma deer, for letting us say hi to you and your gorgeous baby! You guys go have a good day - there’s a patch of fresh grass down in the valley just past those pines over there. No humans will bother you there. Bye bye, “Iris” you a lovely day. Haha. I wonder if the deer think it's funny…
And that is my favourite part. I get to meet all the new baby animals! I wish I could take you with me wherever I go… and show you ALL the baby animals! Bunnies, fox kits, fishes, mice, owls, hawks… every new life is just so precious. Out in the wilder places there are cougar kittens, bear cubs, wolf pups, monkeys, koalas, badgers… tigers… little kangaroo joeys… and of course the whales!
You would absolutely LOVE the cougar kittens! They are so fluffy and sassy! And… if you ever get the chance to see a baby whale… they are just the dearest things!
I could talk about baby animals all day, but rather than just talk about them, let’s go and see some! The farm isn’t far from here. Come on, let's go!
Uwaaaa look at these azalea bushes!! I’m so excited they’ve started to bloom! Remember when you were little you used to pretend little fairies lived in the flowers? Haha! We used to spin around together in your yard and pretend they were flying all around us.
Oh did you hear that? We’re getting closer!
See? There’s the little lambs! Look at them go, romping around each other. They look so fluffy and soft! Have you ever touched a lamb before? They are so soft and curly! Oh! Those two see us! Here they come! Oopsie daisy, don’t slip in the mud, little guys!
Hello little lambs! You’re so friendly! Looks like you’ll get to pet them! They seem to really like you, that one is sticking his head through the fence!
Haha. you’re so cute.
Yeah, you. Ah! I mean! The lambs are cute! But you are too… (flustered)
Ahaha… anyway, let’s go up here! You can see the little chicks! Look at them all… They have quite the variety this year! The dark ones…. The ones that are almost black, kinda gray? They’re gunna grow up to be black and white like their momma! I think you guys call them Plymoth Rock chickens? Yeah, and the yellow ones are gunna be brown. The darker golden ones look like… I think the mom is called a Rhode Island Red. I really do have a special love for chickens.
Ohp! Look at all the chicks, rushing to their mommas… hiding under their wings… What in carnation? I wonder what - Oh.
A hawk… a red-shouldered hawk! The hens saw it before we did and called their chicks to them to protect them. Such good mothers they are…
Sounds like that hawk isn’t hunting right now though. It seems to be establishing its territory. I wonder where its nest is? It probably has its own babies to feed and protect.
Aha! Did you see that? Over there, under that stump. There! A chipmunk! Oh wait there’s two! I bet they’re a mom and a dad, or will be soon! They are most certainly making a nest. That one is carrying leaves inside! Good luck little chipmunks! They’re so cute.
(sigh) I could watch them all day.
What’s that? Ah, yeah it’s going to rain. We should probably start heading back before you get all wet - unless you want to get drenched? Haha! Might be fun to dance in the rain! However… it’s not summer yet, there’s still a chill left over from Winter… I wouldn’t want you catching a cold. Don’t worry, we can take our time!
So… what’s been keeping you up at night?
(pause, listening)
Mhhm, I see.
That would keep me up at night too! But… luckily for you, your favourite Season is back again, and she has some encourage-MINT for you! Hehe. First things first, you gotta take more deep breaths. Not inside - outside. When you notice you’re starting to get tense… and that situation you think about all night comes up, stop right there in your tracks and take a quick step outside. Or a long step. Whatever you need. Breathe in the air, and think about it. How it feels, how it smells. Is it wet air? Or dry air? What do you smell? See if you can pick out three different smells. Then look all around you, and find something red. Oh! Let’s try it right now. I’ll demonstrate.
(clears throat and takes a very deep breath)
The air is cool and damp… it smells like… fresh earth, hyacinths, and oak tree buds.
And now for the colors! Something red… there’s not many bright colors out here yet… Ah! There’s a cardinal right over there! See him? Over there in that bush. So handsome…
Ok, now we have to find something orange. Hhmm… Oh? Where… OH! Aha! Yep! Those tulips! Good eye! Alright, next color is yellow. Yep, we’re going through the rainbow.
There’s a lot of yellow out here right now. Which one thing are you going to pick?
Buttercups! Oh - well, actually those aren’t buttercups, and I’m a little bit surprised. This here is Eranthis. It’s also known as Winter Aconite, and usually it’s done blooming by now. I’m happy you picked this. I don’t know if you’ll remember… but the first time I met you… way back when you were such a little kid… it was on the side of a road, in a young forest at the end of Winter’s time.
You and your parents were on a trip, and got lost. They pulled over to look at a map, and you were let out to stretch your legs. You wandered right into the woods… and found the beds of blooming eranthis. I knew you were special… the sparkling in your eyes as you gazed all around you… I knew we’d be friends.
(quiet pause)
You know what color is next, right? Mhhm. Green.
Haha what’s taking you so long? There’s so many green things! You’re so picky!
You… you have such a good eye. Look at all that moss… you know moss makes the best beds… AND it’s nice to walk on! You’d know if you took off those clunky shoes. Cmon, off they go! There’s so much moss here, you won’t hurt your feet! Walking barefoot is good for your sole!
Hehehe… both soles. Your soul, and your sole**. You’re** foot sole. (giggle)
You should definitely go barefoot more.
Ahhh see? Nice and soft! Better than a rug.
Next color - blue! This one could be tricky. The rain clouds are covering up the sky, so you can’t pick that.
Wha- what? You do? What is it? What do you see? Speak now or forever hold your peas!
A blue bird! I didn’t even see him up there! (chuckles) well done, bud.
Yep, purple is next. I see some periwinkles over here under this tree. Periwinkle is a shade of purple! I think it counts.
So now that we went through all the colors… lets touch some stuff. That’s step #3. You have to find 3 different surfaces and touch them, thinking about how they feel under your fingers. I’m gunna feel this fence… careful though, don’t want to get splinters. Think about the texture in detail. Next I’m gunna feel the daffodil leaves here. Smooth and soft. You pick the third thing! Wha - m… my hand?! But… well, I guess that’s ok… here…
Well, how does it feel?
I - well… I guess my skin is… I’m the spirit of spring! I can’t have my skin all crusty and musty! Alright, well… um… thank you. I suppose you also have really nice hands. Eh?! No! I aint dandy-lion about it!
Anyway… So uh… s-since we smelled, looked around, and touched, it’s time to find three different sounds. I’ll go first again. I hear… the traffic in the distance, the wind blowing through the branches… and… now your turn.
My voice?! Why you… well… I mean you DO hear it… Alright alright I think we’ve finished the sensory grounding thing! And look at that, we’re almost back at your place -
Hhm?
I missed one?
Oh… taste… well, that’s not one you could do out here. I mean you COULD, but you’d have to find something to taste, and I know for a fact there isn’t anything out here you’d find pleasant to taste. So I skipped that one. But if you can, that’s the 5th thing to do when you’re stressed.
As for my other advice for you… look at me. It’s spring time! The world is coming alive all around you… follow its lead and branch out. Take that leaf of faith you’ve been shying away from. It’s time for new opportunities - go ahead and grow where you’re planted - you’ve got so “mush”room to climb higher and higher.
And don’t forget… I’m rooting for ya!
[END]

I'm back with another post! I apologize about the length of time it's been. Nothing particular has happened - just been tired and a little uninspired. But I do still have enough to post, so here you go! As always, thanks for all your engagement and for reading!
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“Well hello to you, too, Charles,” Valteria replied. “The ‘giant cat’ is named Freyja, firstly, and she is the bonded companion of Xander, here. He said I should tell you that she’s an emotional support animal.”
Charles barked out a laugh at the absurdity of the statement. He made his way from behind the counter, leaving the bar to one of the other workers in the tavern, to continue speaking with Valteria and Xander without needing to shout over the din of the tavern. “An emotional support animal? I take it you’re a [Godsmarked], eh?” He said, turning to face Xander.
“Uhm, yes. I am. Nice to meet you. Valteria told me that you’re also a [Godsmarked]?”
“Sure am,” Charles replied. “Pulled right out of Denver, not that you could tell from an accent or anything. You might not have noticed, but that language skill you got? Kinda strips you of any accent, makes you talk just like a native. Where are you from?”
“Atlanta,” Xander replied.
“Ah, another American! Course, [Godsmarked] come from all over. Some of them aren’t even from Earth! I met a Vorn [Godsmarked] once. Few dwarven ‘marked, too. So it’s always nice to meet someone who can appreciate what a beer, hotdog, and screaming at your TV for a sports match really mean.”
“Well, I was always more of a fan of wine, personally. But I’ll admit to getting frustrated at the people on my TV.”
“What’s a TV?” Valteria chimed in, not wanting to be left out.
Xander and Charles both looked at Valteria and started trying to explain what a TV was at the same time.
“It’s like my phone, but bigger and just for moving pictures,” Xander started off.
“It’s a big rectangular box that shows paintings that move and tell a story,” Charles said at the same time.
Valteria looked a little frazzled by the simultaneous explanations but seemed to get the gist of it. “Why would you be screaming at it?”
Xander looked to Charles, who said, “Should I explain or do you want to?”
Xander shrugged. “All you.”
“Well you could watch different sports on the TV, and they were broadcast live – that is, in real time. There was a usually alcohol involved. You ever seen someone spectating a duel who shouts what they think their favorite should be doing?”
“Mmhm,” Valteria said with a nod.
“Well we’d do the same thing, except since we weren’t actually there, we’d just shout it at the TV.”
“So they could hear you through it?”
“Nah,” Xander chimed in. “But that didn’t stop people.”
“Odd.” Valteria commented, a bit confused by the idea of shouting at a bunch of players who couldn’t hear you.
“People just tended to get really excited about it,” Xander tried to offer as an explanation.
Changing the subject, Charles said “So, I have two burning questions for you two. One, what brings you to my establishment tonight? It’s been quite a while since you’ve been by, Valteria, and I can’t say that you’ve ever brought someone with you before. And two... can I pet the cat?”
“Uhm...” Valteria started and trailed off, looking embarrassed.
Xander answered his question with more ease, saying, “Sure, she loves to be scratched on the chin and behind the ears, but really she likes being pet anywhere.”
Charles stepped closer to the huge, smoke colored cat and held out a hand for her to sniff. Freyja immediately rubbed her cheek against Charles’s hand, anticipating getting pet by the man. Encouraged, Charles began to pet Freyja in earnest, thoroughly scratching her chin before moving to her ears, earning himself a pleased grunt from Freyja. But that didn’t stop him from noticing Valteria’s lack of an answer.
“’Uhm?” He asked Valteria, turning to look at her, but not stopping his petting of Freyja.
“Xander said I needed to have a drink at the end of the day and I was inclined to agree with him,” Valteria finally answered.
“Ahhh, a date then,” he teased his violet friend. Noticing Valteria’s lack of an immediate denial, and a slight smile that he took as Xander’s acceptance of the statement, his eyes widened a little and he said, “Oh, oh I see. A real date.” Valteria’s blush came back as strongly as ever as Charles continued on. “Well I’d hate to keep you two from each other! Come, sit, I spy a free table just over there. I’ll bring you two some ale in a bit.”
“Oh, uh, I can’t drink,” Xander interjected. “It’s a... medical condition? But bring two anyway. I think Valteria could use it.”
Charles shrugged before saying, “Fair enough I suppose. I won’t pry too much, at least not on our first meeting. I do hope to see you again though. [Godsmarked] are always welcome here. Now go get that table before someone else does!”
Xander led the still embarrassed Valteria along with Freyja to the small, empty table near one of the corners and they both sat down, Freyja taking up part of the floor between the two of them. For a little while, the two of them just stared at each other, not sure where to start.
Finally, Xander thought of something to say. “You know, I still haven’t helped fix your armor. Do you want to work on that tomorrow?”
“Oh yeah,” Valteria said, remembering herself that her armor was currently defunct. “That would be nice. Feels a bit weird to know that I don’t have access to it, now that I think about it.”
Xander nodded. “I can understand that. I’d feel vulnerable without access to my armor, too.”
“Exactly,” Valteria agreed. “I’m also realizing that we only went over a little bit of your runework and I didn’t teach you anything about cores, or converting them to different mana types.”
“That’s okay,” Xander said. “I guess you could give me a lecture now, if you want. I like listening to you.”
“Oh hush,” Valteria chuckled. “But I suppose it’s only fair to give you at least some detail. Let’s see. The most important parts of a mana battery that involves a shift in mana type are the core of the battery itself, and the filter that you pass the mana through to change its type. These are almost always parts of a monster or elemental. So, if you had, say, a core from an earthen elemental and a some hide from a creature that was attuned to lightning in some way, you could pass the mana from the earth core through the hide of the lightning attuned creature to create lightning mana. I’m a little less versed on why it works like that. Something to do about how monsters are able to absorb ambient mana around them and convert it into mana of their attuned type. If they have one. Not all monsters are attuned to a type of mana, of course. So you have your battery, mana conduit –which I’ll show you how to make later- running to your filter, and then from your filter you have more conduit which runs to the apparatus that you want to power. Which is a beast in its own right, as you have to have at least a basic understanding of how a type of mana works to get it to power something. We can go over that kind of thing once you get the hang of just converting mana.”
Xander nodded along as Valteria spoke. He hadn’t been lying earlier when he said that he enjoyed listening to her talk. When she was on a topic that interested her, he could see the gears turning behind her eyes as they put pieces together that showed she really knew what she was talking about. Plus she seemed to enjoy talking about her work, and Xander liked to see that. Her happiness was infectious, giving him a vicarious sense of enjoyment. “I see... I guess I need to go shopping for some monster parts. And start looking out for what to pull out of monsters when I’m out on contracts, too.”
“Mmhm, that would certainly be the cheaper way to go about it, though I suppose there’s a lot more luck and danger involved in it. If you have some kind of way to measure mana density, then you should be able to use it to locate the core or organ of a monster that it uses to power its abilities.”
Xander frowned slightly in thought. “Hmm... I can’t say that I do, but I think I could design something with some research.”
Valteria’s ears practically wiggled when she heard the word research. “Speaking of research, what kind of things have you researched and done with your rune work?” She leaned forwards toward Xander in interest.
“Well, a few major things, I suppose.” Xander said thoughtfully. “Let’s see... well there’s the golems for one, as well as uhm, my body,” he said. “And my armor, my wings and my backpack, too. Those are all rune work. My weapons are also runed – the one I usually use wasn’t really fit for the tournament. I figured a mace designed to increase force and dissolve metal or anything else it touches was a little bit... deadly for a sporting tournament. Oh, and there’s my gun, too. And the bombs.” Xander purposely left out the soul rippers. He didn’t want to talk about them right now.
Valteria was clearly interested. “Gods above that is a lot of rune work. Bombs? And a gun? What exactly is a gun? I’ve heard Charles reference them in passing before.”
“Well the bombs are pretty straightforward. They’re filled with an explosive mixture, and then I use a ranged gathering array and a flame rune to trigger the explosive. I’ve also designed ones that detonate on impact, too. As for the gun, it’s a tool that’s designed to accelerate a piece of metal to high speed very rapidly, which you use to shoot something with. Back on Earth, an explosive powder was used to propel the bullet – that's the name for the projectile – out of the gun. I have a few that I can show you. I think you’d like them. They’re completely mechanical, no magic involved. The one I mostly use now is based on the same design, but uses a runic array to propel the bullet instead, which makes it much quieter. There’s also no kickback and I made it larger so that I can take down bigger things, too.”
“I think I would like to see those guns you mentioned. Is it better than a crossbow?”
“A lot,” Xander said. “At least the ones I have. They have a much faster rate of fire than a crossbow. The old ones, where you had to load each individual bullet might not hold up to a skill user using a bow or crossbow, though. Well, when you start throwing skills around, I’ve seen arrows that will blast a hole in something that should have completely ignored an arrow. But my current project is, perhaps, a little bit less exciting.” Xander pulled the small piece of cloth he’d been working on the day before, which shimmered as he held it up.
“It’s pretty, but, what is it?” Valteria asked, staring at the square of fabric that was inexplicably shifting colors in front of her.
“Well, when I’m done with it, it will be an adaptive camouflage, something that changes to match its environment. Right now it’s just a test piece instead of a whole cloak. I’ve got the darker tones down,” he demonstrated by laying the cloth down flat on the table. It immediately took on the color and pattern of the wood under it. “As you can see. But on more vibrant colors, it doesn’t quite work right, yet. In fact, it makes them even brighter. So it still needs a little tweaking. I think I need to tweak how much light the arrays are putting out.”
“That does sound like it would handy… especially in your line of work. Though I’m not sure what exactly light has to do with it.”
“Ah, it’s a bit of a complicated explanation, but the short of it is that it’s a bit like a light created illusion overlayed on the fabric to match what’s near it.”
Charles appeared briefly, having managed to sneak up on the two of them, distracted as they were by their conversation.
“Gods, Valteria, I didn’t think you could bag a bigger nerd than yourself, but I think you might have come close,” he joked, apparently having caught at least some of Xander’s explanation of his project. He placed two mugs down in front of Valteria. “I’ll put them on your tab.”
“Hey!” Valteria exclaimed. “I thought it was interesting!”
“Of course you did, because you’re a nerd!” Charles teased her as he moved to give other customers their drinks.
“Hmph,” Valteria huffed. “I am not a nerd!”
“If you say so,” Xander chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with being a nerd, though, you know. In fact, I like seeing you get excited about things you think are interesting.”
“Really?” Valteria said as she took a sip of her ale. The cup looked excessively large in her small hands.
“Mmhm! It’s cute,” he said with a smile. Valteria sputtered on her drink a little bit at being called cute, but managed not to choke.
“You know,” she said slowly, putting her drink back down, “if you keep calling me beautiful, and attractive and cute, I might start to believe you.”
“Good, you should, because you are,” Xander replied seriously.
The rest of the evening continued on in much the same manner, the Valteria and Xander taking the time to get to know one another better, and discussing various ideas they had for projects. Xander regaled Valteria with an account of his team’s fight with the sea drake. Then if was Valteria’s turn to relay her experience of traveling from one continent to another and the various and occasionally terrifying sea creatures and storms she had encountered on the voyage.
As it drew later and the tavern became emptier, the two of them continued to talk. Valteria was several ales in – more than she usually drank, if Xander was any kind of judge of tipsyness. He wished he could still get drunk. Valteria stretched her small frame and yawned.
“Maybe it’s just the ale, but I’m a bit tired.” Looking around at the significantly less lively tavern floor, she commented, “Or maybe it’s just actually getting late.”
Xander smiled at her and said, “It could be both.”
“Yeah, maybe both.”
Freyja had long ago decided that her time would be best spent taking a nap, her body parked halfway under the small table that Xander and Valteria were seated at.
“Would you like me to walk you back to your house?” Xander asked.
“Oh I wouldn’t want to trouble you with all that,” Valteria lazily waved away the suggestion. “I’m sure you’re eager to get back to your own bed.”
Xander shrugged. “I don’t mind a bit, in fact I’d like to, if you’re amenable to it. Frankly it feels rude to send you off in the dark like that. And, well, I also just don’t need to sleep anymore,” he added. “I’ve started to find it rather soothing to take a stroll through the city at night. And Freyja could use the exercise.”
Freyja half woke at hearing her name and groaned slightly.
Valteria seemed pleased with the offer. If Xander was capable of reading minds, he would know that she had been hoping he’d want to walk her home even after she’d told him it was okay if he didn’t, but he wasn’t, so he didn’t know. “Well, if you insist, then I shan’t stop you,” she said happily.
“Ah, also, let me cover your tab for the night,” Xander told her. “I don’t know if it’s the same here, but where I’m from it’s a bit traditional for the man to cover at least the first few dates.”
“Ohh, how old fashioned of you,” Valteria teased. “But I’d feel guilty since you didn’t have anything at all. Can we at least split it, instead?”
“I think I can live with that,” Xander assented.
The two of them made their way to the bar, Valteria a bit unsteady on her feet, where Charles was still working, cleaning a few mugs. “Time for us to pay up,” Xander said, grabbing the other [Godsmarked]’s attention. “How much do we owe?”
Once Charles tallied up the amount of drinks they’d had and did the mental match to calculate the total cost, he let them know. Valteria paid her half from a small coin pouch that had been tucked somewhere in her clothes while Xander’s coin came from his inventory. Charles took the coin, not bothering to count it again, and stashed it somewhere behind the bar. “Make sure you get her home nice and safe, now, you hear?” He told Xander.
“Charles! I can take care of myself just fine!” Valteria half exlaimed, half whined.
“I’m sure you can,” Xander agreed. “But I’d feel terrible if something happened, and I’m sure Charles would too. He’s just looking out for you is all.”
“Maybe I just want to make sure you and loverboy there get to spend a little more time together, eh?” Charles joked.
“Ugh, you’re always teasing me, Charles!”
“Well, you always give me a reaction.” Charles said with a smirk.
Valteria huffed, but it all seemed to be good natured quarreling to Xander. The same kind of ribbing that he and his teammates would give each other.
“I’m not complaining about spending more time with you,” Xander chimed in.
“Xander you are not helping!”
Xander walked arm in arm with Valteria on their trip back to her home and shop, Freyja sleepily following along. The big cat was frequently letting out long yawns, which Valteria would giggle at. They walked at a leisurely pace, taking in the city at night as they headed back, Valteria holding herself closer to Xander to help her balance. Xander decided not to tease her about it. He told himself it was because he didn’t want to be mean, but really it was because he was enjoying the closeness.
Finally, they reached Valteria’s doorway. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment.
Evidently, Valteria still retained some liquid courage from her ale because she finally spoke and said, “Would it be rude of me to kiss you?”
Xander, very slowly, said, “I think... It would be rude not to.” Wrapping Valteria in his arms and feeling her return his hug, Xander leaned in. It was a good kiss, if tiny a bit awkward due to their height difference. But between Valteria standing on her toes and Xander craning his neck downward, it was achieved. Xander found himself idly wondering if his lips felt odd. Valteria’s certainly didn’t.
Eventually, the two of them pulled away, both a little frazzled and flustered.
Just slightly breathless, Valteria said, “That was... it was good.”
“It was. It really was,” Xander agreed. “I’ll... see you again tomorrow?”
“I’d like that,” Valteria agreed.
Xander watched Valteria unlock the door to her shop floor and enter, locking it back behind herself. He stood a little bit longer, just staring at the door, lost in thought. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he started walking with Freyja back to the inn. He was glad Freyja was with him, as it removed the temptation to fly back to the inn. He gave the large cat a pet on the head. Walking would help him sort his thoughts out.
What were his thoughts? Even he wasn’t sure at the moment, still feeling a little flustered. He shook his head again and tried to gather his mind. He’d just had a date. He’d broken down and started flirting with a woman he found attractive and turned a friendly outing into a date. He let out a sigh. Should he be upset with himself? He was, a little bit. He’d told himself that he was a married man still when he had arrived on Tillania, and yet here he was acting like he was single. He was split into two modes of thought. Objectively, he knew that there was essentially zero chance of him ever returning to Earth. And that even if he had the option, his new body would probably cease to function in what he assumed was a mana-less environment and he’d immediately die. Emotionally, though, it felt disrespectful to the memory of his marriage to even entertain the idea of another romance, let alone do... what he’d just done. Even if he did think that Helen wouldn’t hold it against him if she knew that, somewhere out there, he was still alive.
So much had happened in the last three years to Xander, even if two of them had been spent unconscious, that he wondered if he’d even be able to relate to Helen anymore. How would he go back to a life of going to work at an office job, going to drill once a month. The most dangerous aspect of his life being the prospect of being in a car crash. Now, a car crash wouldn’t even phase him or even damage his body beyond, perhaps, cosmetic damage. He was a different man, wasn’t he? Similar, in many ways, maybe even most ways, to the man who had come to Tillania that day, but not the same anymore. He’d never fought anything or anyone before that day. Now, he had lost count of how many creatures, monsters, and even people that had fallen to him and his teammates. He’d created things that he could only dream of back on Earth. Golems, wings, magical weapons. He was going to have to come to terms with the fact that he had changed. And while he wasn’t sure he was ever going to fully move on or get over being pulled away from his marriage and from Earth, he was going to have to accept that he wasn’t going to be going back to them. He deserved companionship, didn’t he?
Feeling a bit more resolute and less frustrated with himself, Xander finished the walk to the inn, which he was sure had a name, but he’d never bothered to remember it, simply referring to it as ‘the inn’ in his head, in relative mental peace. He quietly put Freyja back into her stall in the stables and made his way into the inn, which held only a few patrons at this hour, none of whom paid him any attention.
Xander climbed the stairs and walked to Gabrelle’s door. He paused for a moment, realizing something. Gabrelle’s door. Fuck. He was going to have to stop sharing a room, more importantly a bed, with Gabrelle, wasn’t he? He didn’t think that he should be dating someone and sleeping with someone else, even if that sleeping was actually just sleeping and nothing more. He knew he’d feel weird to know that Valteria was sleeping with another man, and he’d only been on one date with the woman! He hoped Gabrelle didn’t take it too hard. Though, ever since they’d rendezvoused with the rest of the team, he had noticed that she slept much more soundly. He wasn’t really a needed crutch for her to be able to sleep well anymore. It was still going to be an awkward conversation. Also, Gabrelle was going to tease him about going on a date.
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1. Infiltrate to Target Building 1.1 Watch Corners and Closets 1.1.1 Fire Upon Enemy If Enemy Is There, Conserve Ammo 1.1.2 Throw Flashbang into Target 1.1.3 Throw Frag Grenade into Target 1.1.4 Breach Door 1.1.5 Sweep Far Right Then Left After Breaching Door 1.1.6 In Case Of Multiple Targets Engage In As Needed At Arms Bearing Against Self 1.1.7 Fire Burst 4, 1-2-3, 4 Pulling Down Twice After Each 4 And Naturally Controlling Recoil at Interior 1.1.8 Fire Up to 3 Kill Burst At Target With 30 Round or 6 Kill Burst with 60 Round 1.1.9 Aim Directly At Target, or if target is moving, Ahead of Target 1.2.0 Fire at target head if possible 1.2.1 Fire Twice at Target Head 1.2.2 If There Are Multiple Targets go for multiple headshots 1.2.3 Engage with sidearm if primary weapon is out of ammo 1.2.4 Fire 2 2 123 1234 Twice for Pistol shots, Then Coup De Grace 1.2.5 Use Automatic Pistol in up to seven round bursts, 7,7,3-1 1.2.6 Supressor Decreases power but increases stealth 1.2.7 When sneaking detect enemy presence and avoid enemy 1.2.8 Ambush Enemy when sneaking 1.2.9 Use a Ghillie Suit when Sneaking 1.3.0 When sneaking crawl behind your officer or lead your private 1.3.1 When sneaking stand still when enemy is nearby 1.3.2 Use cover when sneaking 1.3.3 Use tactical movement when sneaking to get behind opponent 1.3.4 Ambush always closest target to reticle but bear at firearms bearing active 1.3.5 Use reticle gauge, 1 chevron 1000 meters a second 100 meters half a chevron 100 meters typical 1.3.6 Sight target, target at quarter scope is at 100 meters, target at chevron distance is 420 meters, target do not engage is 1000 meters not visible 1.3.7 Use agog or another 4x sight or an 8x sight if sniping 1.3.8 Dead recon ahead of target when engaging moving long range target 1.3.9 Wear ballistic plates when in combat 1.4.0 Maintain your weapon and build your weapon before the start of every combat mission 1.4.1 Do not betray your position 1.4.2 Enter another house after the first raid or make your way to objective 1.4.3 When raiding a house apply aggression not defense to the personell attacked 1.4.4 When using a sniper rifle fire quickly down the hip or down the sights quickly at a close range target 1.4.5 Use a semiautomatic sniper rifle or a bolt action sniper rifle 1.4.6 Blend your ghillie with the terrain, using local vegetation detail the ghillie 1.4.7 To form a ghillie use an old BDU, and some combat netting to tie 1mm 10 inch length tied in the middle or 20 inch length untied burlap rather jute threads all over the entire BDU, to the detail for the terrain according to your rit dye mixture. 1.4.8 Form a M11 from scratch at the armory 1.4.9 Deploy on an C130 globetrotter to the target objective 1.5.0 Make friends with people in the field then go to the field to kill the enemy 1.5.1 Camp out at objective and kill the enemy when they cross a checkpoint which is covered by UAV 1.5.2 Get out of dodge if too much enemy is expected and mainly do recon 1.5.3 Call in air strikes on many enemy position 1.5.4 Get medevac if there is medical casualties with a APV or Humvee or an airlift. 1.5.5 Move on objective and raid the enemy house if there is enemy in the enemy house 1.5.6 Engage recreational objective 1.5.7 Take prisoners and take no names 1.5.8 Use AC130 support with toughbook tablet to personally call in AC130 strikes 1.5.9 Use toughbook tablet to retrieve tactical objective 1.6.0 Train at the range of rupert or mccrystal 1.6.1 Shoot 100m standoff at the range, after marching to the range, shoot your M4 at the targets for a valid score, reload at ping! 1.6.2 If ping is heard in combat this is to motivate you to finish the objective 1.6.3 Use a bdu to enhance your camouflages, expected only tracking when moving quickly 1.6.4 Call in UAV support from a location 1.6.5 When moving in a dangerous location actually keep your head down 1.6.6 Assualt enemy with main weapon then from backstrap kill enemy with shotgun 1.6.7 Check if your plates are busted 1.6.8 Don't test friendly plates 1.6.9 Use the rubber chicken to get a lobotomy from radiation (soap beating) 1.7.0 Avoid attack dogs 1.7.1 Avoid radiation 1.7.2 If engaging a lonely target aim for the head if they are waiting around smoking or something 1.7.3 Use pair kill to kill two enemy one after the other, spotter sniper kill and kill . 1.7.4 Engage many targets with effective support fire to engage the hostiles before they are in your position 1.7.5 If dropping into a dangerous area try and land on top of a building 1.7.6 Kill all enemy before they are able to return fire 1.7.7 Move always to next objective immediately on request 1.7.8 Form your own plan if things are going wrong 1.7.9 Look for enemy computers and intelligence to capture 1.8.0 Do not retrieve stolen weapons 1.8.1 Get to Extraction. 1.8.2 Evacuate friendly and enemy personell to safety 1.8.3 Drive humvee or APV to objective 1.8.4 Try not to make too much damage at objective 1.8.5 Check Enemy or Friendly personell into APV 1.8.6 Take personell to home base 1.8.7 Take personell to liberty yacht 1.8.8 Make sure personell is active OK after operation 1.8.9 Get some food at the mess 1.9.0 Get some water at the fountain 1.9.1 Sleep in the Cots 1.9.2 Use the Starlink PC 1.9.3 Use the Toilet 1.9.4 Wipe your butt 1.9.5 Make your bed 1.9.6 Take off your shoes 1.9.7 Wear NBC 1.9.8 Use the Speedbag 1.9.9 March to Physical Training 2.0.0 Do Physical Training or medevac 3 hours minimum 2.0.1 Make sure the mains power is working 2.0.2 Cook for a crowd 2.0.3 Send sonar request 2.0.4 Pilot the UAV 2.0.5 Push the UAV to the Lift 2.0.6 Turn around the UAV on the Lift 2.0.7 Have your master seargant hit the lift button 2.0.8 Get off the lift 2.0.9 Turn the UAV around at the top deck crew 2.1.1 Mount the UAV to the launch trolley without turning on the UAV's primary prop at the UAV control 2.1.2 Turn on the UAV's prop and launch the UAV at the launch control at the bridge 2.1.3 Fly the UAV around a bit and attempt to land it back at the kinetic deassist 2.1.4 Take the UAV back to the lift 2.1.5 Bottom deck hits the lift and the UAV is off the lift 2.1.6 Get some recreation at the commissary or mail room nation specific 2.1.7 Use the baths for short time 2.1.8 Sleep in the bunks 2.1.9 Use the Seals Firing Range 2.2.0 Stay out of maintenance area at all times and stay out of main area at off hours 2.2.1 Get some food at the nimitz mess 2.2.2 Deploy on a hovercraft

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The Weeping of Podlings Sustains My Rage! - Warbound N44/Naxen
Chief Warrant Officer-Two Reklak hustled onto the dropship. It was an older model, but aboard the Gray Lady, everything was obsolete or an older model. He had on his firm-plate armored flight suit, his helmet, and his pistol at his side. He moved up the ramp, glanced and frowned with confusion at the four closest to the ramp. On both sides, in the first two seats, were Terrans only wearing a basic uniform and a breathing mask. He shook his head as he kept going, past the two columns of dismount troops, two squads of Telkan Marines and two squads of Terran Army, both species clad in heavy power armor. On either side of the dismount doors in the middle of the troop bay were more Terrans wearing only the standard adaptive camouflage and breathing masks. The ramp started moving up as he went through the crew space, where the communications/sensors, electronic warfare, damage control, and weapons crew were already strapped in.
His co-pilot, one First Lieutenant Samantha Samuel TiklakIk Raiderson was already strapped in. The large Terran was already going through the pre-flight checks. He got into his seat, strapped himself in, and started doing his section of the pre-flight checks.
Weapons Control reported Green. ECM/ECCM reported green. Damage Control reported green. Communications reported green. External mass tanks green.
It was startling to see he had six green mantid engineers on board.
Green mantids were somewhat rare in the service, unlike when the Gray Lady was commissioned.
Only three of the dismount crew had them. There was 8814 and 2289, Telkan Marine Armor Engineers, the other was 774, a Terran Army Combat Engineer.
That there was only three numbers for that green mantid was surprising.
He continued with the checks.
Once those were done, he checked the status of the dismount crew.
Captain Nakwel, Telkan Marines, was reporting his team was green across the board. First Lieutenant Jacobell was reporting the Terran Army troopers were ready.
Then came the permission to take off.
Easy peasy.
Once they were away from the Gray Lady they took a looping course to nearly two light hours away from the Gray Lady.
It was only a nine hour flight, even under power.
Chief Reklak noted that the Telkan Marines were just as active as ever. Chatting across the linkages, getting up to stretch or otherwise work off nervous energy and get the kinks out of their muscles. Napping then taking hits off of the nutripaste.
The Terrans didn't move.
Reklak had to admit it was almost creepy. The suits of heavy power armor, adorned with spikes and made of grey alloy, just sat motionless. Not even inter-suit communication.
The only sign they gave of life was a verbal checkin by their CO. He listened in once.
"Corporal Narwhaler," the CO said.
"Online, sir," the Terran Army "heavy weapons specialist" stated.
"I have four apples. A Mar-gite has stolen one. What do I have?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Three apples and Mar-gite chunky salsa," the Corporal answered.
"Jacobell, out," was all the officer said.
Reklak frowned. That didn't make sense.
He checked the flight profile, doublechecking the autopilot was still keeping them 'in the pipe' as the ship moved through the rings the computer put on the semi-transparent HUD it projected on the inside of the dropship's forward smartglass.
Finally, at hour seven, he looked over at his co-pilot.
"Done this before?" he asked.
The Terran turned her head to face him. For a moment, the visor was completely opaque and Reklak felt a little intimidated. Then it went clear, to reveal a Terran female with short cut blonde hair, freckles on her cheeks, pearlescent blue cyber-eyes, and tan skin.
"A few," she said. "You?"
"Move through space to board a disabled ship of an unknown species?" he asked.
The Terran nodded slowly.
"No," he said.
The Terran's faceshield went black again and they turned to stare out the forward windows.
It was weird. He had read that Terrans were known to be chatty, passing back and forth memes, bragging, laughing, and other interactions.
Instead, he'd met robots with more personality than the Terrans.
He listened in on the Terran channel for a moment.
"Sergeant Tgonga, check," the 1LT again.
"Gary, sir," was the rumbling reply.
"Out," there was a click. "Sergeant Natchez, check."
"Gary, sir."
"Out."
Reklak sighed and switched channels. Four of the Telkan Marines were tossing memes back and forth at each other. He watched for a minute. They were mostly Kawral memes, which weren't his favorite. He went back to staring at the rings slowly moving by.
"Your metrics are up," his co-pilot suddenly said. "Do your mantras, Chief."
Reklak glanced at the sidebar on his visor's HUD. His heartbeat and blood pressure were slightly up. He sighed, closed his eyes, and recited his mantras.
Time slowly went by.
He tagged his overhead HUD tag with 'sleeping' and closed his eyes. He recited his mantra and was asleep halfway through the second recitation.
"Wake up, Chief," the Terran's voice was calm, undisturbed. "We're in sensor range of the target."
Reklak shook his head, tabbing up a piece of stimgum and chewing on it.
Before being assigned to the Gray Lady he would have thought the derelict was large. Nearly three kilometers long, three hundred meters thick. It looked like a chunk of sedimentary rock that had broken along the bedding planes. It was multiple levels, the scanners counted twenty, of a silvery metal. There were massive holes in the sides, part of the rear section was missing, and a chunk was missing from the top.
Reklak moved the ship in a slow corkscrew that let the scanners play over the entire surface, looped around, and slowly caught back up to the drifting ship.
"Got an atmospheric reading," Staff Sergeant Pruwak said. "Bottom of Crater Epsilon."
Reklak shifted the dropship around the derelict, Crater Epsilon coming into view.
The crater had a whitish-yellow mist at the bottom.
"Sensors say it's a nitrogren-ammonia-methane mix," SSG Pruwak said. "Low oxygen content. Looks like some fire damage, probably from methane/oxygen interaction with flame exposure."
Reklak triggered a scan with the landing sensors.
"Derelict has artificial gravity, that's why the atmosphere hasn't left the crater, unknown why it hasn't turned to frozen crystals," Pruwak added.
There was easily enough room to land the dropship. He triggered the wings to fold in and the hull to reconfigure for landing.
His co-pilot kept her hands off the stick, kept them folded in her lap, looking for all the world like Reklak had tucked a mannequin into the co-pilot seat to skirt regs.
The dropship bumped and settled. He activated the grav-system, keeping the grav-anchors at roughly a tenth of a meter long.
"Dismount crew, status?" Reklak asked.
"Team One, Ready," the Terran reported almost before he'd finished speaking.
"Team Two, Ready," the Telkan Captain said.
"Lowering rear ramp," Reklak said. He hit the stud and could feel the vibration of the ramp lowering. Then the slight shaking of the power armored troops leaving the dropship.
"Deployed," the Telkan Captain said.
The Terran officer just flashed his icon twice.
"Keep commo open. We'll be ready for a hot dustoff," Reklak said.
"Roger," the Captain said.
The Terran officer just flashed his icon twice.
Reklak started to lean back when the Terran co-pilot spoke.
"Raise the ramp," she said.
"What if they need to come back in a hurry?" Reklak asked. "SOP to keep the ramp lowered."
"Good way to get a Mar-gite or twenty in here with us before we know it," 1LT Raiderson said. She paused for a moment. "Or worse."
Reklak reached out and hit the switch to close the rear ramp.
He pretended not to notice 1LT Raiderson reach down and hit the power-cell for her heavy magac pistol.
99999
Jaskel looked around. The shot that had created the crater had only penetrated roughly a hundred meters into the vessel's hull, leaving huge cliff walls around the two hundred meter hole. The whole thing was filled with thick yellowish-white fog.
"Check out the Terrans," Corporal Presjak, second squad, said over the channel.
"What about them?" Gunny Zolpad asked, turning to look.
There were two Terrans visible, standing next to the side door, two at the back of the dropship where the ramp was raising.
They were only wearing adaptive camouflage, boots, fingerless gloves, and breathing masks.
Two of the big Terrans, easily eight feet tall and over a meter across the shoulders, moved up to Captain Nakwel. One saluted, fingertips touching just above his eyes.
Jaskel noted that the breathing mask didn't cover the Terran's eyes. He wondered how the Terran's eyes weren't frosted over.
"Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Louis O'Sharma," the Terran said. "Terran Polyphasic Infantry. We're assigned to your men, one per squad."
"Uh, where are you weapons?" Captain Nakwel asked.
The Terran male held up a big fist. "Implanted, sir. You'll want to put us near the front of the squads to engage any Mar-gite or heavy enemy."
Captain Nakwel nodded. His implant was only tossing back that the SFC had implanted weaponry, no other capabilities.
"All right. You go with Second Squad," Captain Nakwel said.
"McMartinez, that squad," the big Terran said.
The Terran he was looking at nodded and moved over next to PFC Hetrik.
The one that had been speaking moved over to Gunny Zolpad and Jaskel.
"Sergeant First Class McSharma, Terran Army," the Terran said. They reached up and pulled the breathing mask away, taking a slow deep breath. "High nitrogen, high ammonia, high methane, presence of oxygen. Presence of hydrogen and water vapor."
"You can breathe that?" Private Xulrek asked. "Then why are you wearing the breathing mask."
"So I don't use any of my mass in vacuum," the Terran said. They reached up and tapped their nose. "Hydrogen and water vapor would be the byproducts of something that breathes the major components of this atmosphere," they looked back down at the power armor clad Telkan. "We may encounter non-Mar-gite creatures that may put up an intelligence resistance."
Jaskel blinked rapidly.
--he isnt wrong-- 8814 said. --new round templates are loaded up weapons ready and loaded with new ammo---
"I don't get it, it's lye," Jaskel said, moving to get behind the big Terran, who was larger than Jaskel even in his power armor.
--NaOH eats silicon like podling eat cookie-- 8814 said.
"McSharma, take point. Jaskel, up next. Xulrek, five meter separation when able," Gunny Zolpad said.
"Waypoints incoming. Keep your mapping software updates at five second intervals," Captain Nakwel ordered.
Jaskel saw a wireframe of the crater appear, with a dozen openings leading out at 'ground' level. He could tell by the orientation of the passages that the gravity would twist ninety degrees.
The floor of the crater was basically the wall.
The Terran moved smoothly, easily, and Jaskel noted that it was almost power-armor movement.
They moved up to the first opening, the Terran easily making the ninety-degree transition. He helped Jaskel, Jaskel helped Xulrek, Xulrek helped the next man in line.
They moved deeper, the corridor full of mist.
The Terran paused, leaning forward and pressing his tongue against the metal. The Terran stepped back and spit.
Jaskel saw the data get passed back.
**No liquid or memetic polyalloy detected. No pico or nanoscale devices present. Primary construction element is maraging steel: high vanadium and titanium content, high nickel content, high chromium external layer with rapid dropoff of chromium content further into metal structure. Percentages incoming** appeared on his visor with "SFC MCSHARMA" at the end.
"You can tell all that just from tasting it?" Jaskel asked, keeping his voice low.
"Yes," the Terran said.
The corridor ended in twisted wreckage. Jaskel's armor highlighted live power conduits, what looked like data conduits, and what looked like piping, all twisted together with the metal.
"Back or forward?" Jaskel asked.
There was silence for a moment.
"NavInt wants it cleared if you can," Captain Nakwel said. "Let the Terran do the work, Jaskel."
"Roger."
The Terran moved forward, grabbing the struts and wreckage. Jaskel noted that his bare fingers impressed deeply into the material. The Terran began pulling it to the side. Four times the Terran stuck a finger into liquid and tasted. Three times it sniffed vapors leaking from pipes. Once it wrapped a hand around a glowing conduit and closed his eyes.
Compressed datastreams went by on the channel.
"Oh, great," the Terran said.
Jaskel moved up. "What?"
"Got remains here," the Terran said. He kneeled down. "I hate this."
"What?" Jaskel asked.
The Terran looked over the crushed body. It was hard for Jaskel to even tell what it was. It looked like multiple tentacles with one side covered with suckers and bone hooks. There was a round section, crushed and mangled, shards of bone and cartilage poked out of the shredded flesh. He could see at least a half dozen eyes, most ruptured.
"Get imagery, Jaskel," the Terran rumbled.
Jaskel carefully had his suit log the image.
"Done," Jaskel said.
"Ew, I hate this part. It's gross," the Terran complained.
It dipped a finger in one of the pools of fluid, orangish-yellow, and then put its finger in its mouth. It repeated it with several different fluids, then picked up a scrap of flesh and put it in its mouth. After a few seconds it spit it out, pulled a canteen out, swished his mouth out, and spit on the floor.
"Gross. Silicate XNA creature, messy XNA structure," the Terran said, standing up. "NavInt and genetic warfare are going to have a field day."
"Why?" Jaskel asked. "I mean, I get the NavInt part, but why do you have to taste it?"
"Best chemical analyzer with the heaviest protection I can field," the Terran said, shrugging and sticking out his tongue. "More receptors per micrometer than you could ask for."
"Ew," Jaskel said.
"Yeah, ew," the Terran said.
Jaskel's ultrasonic mapping showed him that the corridor ended in a flat surface. As they got closer what was obviously an irised door appeared out of the fog.
The Terran moved forward and touched it.
"Vibration. Has power," he said.
"How can I hear you?" Jaskel finally asked.
"Tracheal and mastoid implants," the Terran said. He put his hand on the door. "Where are you, where are you," he said softly.
"I don't see any controls," Jaskel said. His hand went to his side. "Fusion cutter?"
"No, these guys are one-trick pony, they'll have the same overly clever idea all of the others had and... found it," the Terran said. He had one hand on the wall and as Jaskel watched he spread his thumb out to a 90 degree angle from his fingers. "You got a greenie, right?"
"Yeah," Jaskel said suspiciously.
"How's his telemechanics rating?" the Terran asked.
--class IIB-- 8814 said.
"Class IIB," Jaskel said.
"Not strong enough. Damn," the Terran said. He moved his hand and used his thumbnail to scratch a square in the metal. "Fusion torch at two millimeter extension, cut that out."
Jaskel moved up, grabbing his fusion torch and adjusting it.
"What's going on, Gunny? You've stopped again," Captain Nakwel said.
"Have an intact door, Terran says atmosphere on the other side," Gunny Zolpad said.
"Keep me posted," the Captain said. "Out."
Jaskel cut it and as soon as the cut was finished he saw that amid the wiring and piping there was a simple press button.
"Psykers," the Terran snorted. "Can't put the button where the normies can find it. Relay to your Gunny that the door can be opened."
"Now what?" Jaskel asked after letting Gunny Zolpad know.
He could see on his HUD that the squad was moving to either side of the corridor.
"You open the door, I'll stand in front of it. Whoever is on the other side shoots at me, you back me up," the Terran said. He flashed a grin. "Easy peasy matron squeezie."
"Are your sure? I'm in power armor, you're in... uh... duty uniform," Jaskel said.
"I'm sure," the Terran said. He knelt down on one knee, opposite fist against the deck, head raised, other hand in a fist and by his waist, other leg bent slightly and the toe of his boot pressed against the deck.
"Gunny?" Jaskel asked.
"Captain said go ahead, his funeral," Gunny answered.
Jaskel pressed the button.
The door irised open.
The other side was revealed. Three creatures looking like they were made of black metal and random chunks of chrome, all writhing tentacles around a thick tubular body, glowing green eyes, and a huge cavernous mouth full of spiraling rows of sharp teeth. Past that were two beings of crystalline beauty, sparkling and shining in the dim white light, organs suspended in the large central trunk, the brownish red blood visible as it pumped through veins. Behind that was another creature.
It had a rounded head/body, with easily a dozen writhing mechanical tentacles. Eight larger red eyes, six smaller green ones, across the forward part of the head. From the body was ten thick appendages, with three thick blades at the end of each tentacle. It was obviously armored, heavy plating, with multiple joints on the appendages, with green lights above and below the joint and on each side.
The three of black metal lunged forward, giving a loud atonal shriek. The ones in the back, all crystal, gave a shriek that rippled the air and made Jaskel's phasic shielding jump to 65% instantly. The one all the way in the back whipped its tentacles furiously in the air.
Jaskel was looking right at the Terran when it happened.
The Terran was already coming up to his feet with a roar of aggression that made the floor shiver. It suddenly got larger somehow, the uniform vanishing as the Terran roared into the face of the creatures it was lunging toward.
Molten warsteel poured from the Terran's mouth.
It's eyes burned red.
It slammed into the creatures on the other side of the door even as Jaskel yelled "CONTACT!" over the comlink.
It was shredding tentacles, grabbing a handful of them and twisting, ripping them apart, the fingerless gloves giving the Terran excellent purchase for its grip.
It roared as energy bolts impacted the skin, doing nothing more than creating pretty showers of sparks.
All Jaskel could do was just stare at the Terran, now easily four meters tall, all muscle, the uniform shirt gone, leaving behind only the equipment belt, trousers, and boots. Spikes erupted from the Terran's skin, heavy bone-spurs, curved and wickedly sharp looking. Its skin was dark gray, almost dusty looking.
--eeeeeeeeeeeeeee--
"HOLY SHIT!" someone yelled over the comlink.
One. Each.
[First Contact] [Dark Ages] [First] [Prev] [Next] [wiki]

Hi all this post touches on nature, education, the link with therianthropy as well as my experiences and opinions everything will be marked under a specific subheading so if you want to read about/skip to a specific part they are there for a reason.
Nature and Mental Health
The first topic is the link between seeing/being in/interacting with nature and how it affects mental health through various studies psychologists have found links to positive mental health outcomes from being in or near nature. In some studies, it has been proposed that being in or near nature regularly can lessen mental health side effects even if temporary and can also reduce the need for medication for some mental disorders. It can help you become more grounded and aware of your surroundings which can help dissociation, depression, overthinking and anxiety and help make you feel more stable in day-to-day life relaxing your mind from other things that may be ailing you as a paper on the American psychology association website quotes

In a review of the research, Gregory Bratman, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, and colleagues shared evidence that contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress (Science Advances, Vol. 5, No. 7, 2019).

As well as improving your mental health it can improve your physical health which hits two birds with one stone as physical and mental health can be closely linked which is not all that surprising as your brain is a physical part of your body. Just like how poor mental health can affect your physicality examples like not being able to get out of bed, restlessness, nausea etc. good physical health can benefit your mental health and vice versa. According to Mind a mental health-led organization in the UK physical activity can

• Help manage stress
• Improve sleep
• Improve your mood
• Improve confidence
• Help you socialize and meet new people
• Help manage symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Improve memory and brain functioning
• Assist Heart, muscle and bone health
• Reduce the risk of developing some long-term health conditions, such as heart disease

Even after that, more benefits are not listed and will be different for each individual if they decide to try and connect more with nature and be around it more. As someone with a physical disability I can also recognize it can be a struggle for people to mobilly get there or even try and build up the motivation to go outside in the first place the nice thing about nature in my opinion is that you can reap positive benefits from just going out there and sitting in it and listening and being aware of your surroundings. If you struggle with either of these issues, you can start by just going outside and sitting down, even if it's just out your front door, into your garden, or even just sitting outside the grocery store. Over time it can get easier if the benefits of being around nature are allowed to take effect and can become a positive experience that you look forward to.
Why is knowing more about our natural world positive?
Knowing more and being in the natural world is positive for many reasons previously aforementioned it can have positive mental health effects. Being more educated can give you a greater understanding for how things work in our world as well as keeping you more mindful of what is around you in our world everyday nature exists even if it's hard to see from the feral pigeons in cities to the most remote places with no human civilization it is there in our day to day lives. It can give you a greater appreciation for your or international environments it leads you to being more aware of your surroundings potentially grounding your thoughts and having a more positive outlook on our world and appreciating all the little things we have that are everywhere.
One of the big all around positive affects around is that you can help the planet and your local ecosystem there are so many small things you can do that can benefit yourself and the world around you which I will list in the last part of this post. Some studies have shown biodiversity can also correlate to longer lasting and better positive effects from being around/in nature. Conservation is so important to keep us and so many amazing organisms here on this planet there are many organisations that you can learn more about conservation and the effects like

• WWF - for international
• RSPB - mainly for UK but also international
• Rainforest Alliance - International

There are also lots of amazing nature documentaries that show you around the world and the many ecosystems that inhabit it how we effect the ecosystem and what you can do. Helping the enviroment doesn't have to include money either it can just be being educated and possibly educating others like not interacting with wildlife or not feeding them (except in specific situations) Another benefit is I have seen therians go into multiple animal related fields and if this is something that interests you these kinds of things would help you tremendously with finding a job within those kinds of fields.
How does this affect therianthropy?
A large portion of therians I interact with have some form of mental health issues not to mention species dysphoria which can worsen mental health as well this affects people's abilities to function in day-to-day life and just like how depression and closed negative environments in animals it can take our natural functions out of us. In captive, stressful or no-enrichment situations animals tend not to act like they would in their natural environment and start expressing potentially self-harmful behaviors that can make it even worse. A good amount of therians I have met feel that way in general human society they feel "trapped" and because of that they have poor quality of life and feel they can't express their true selves. Even though I personally don't experience this myself I have seen the effects this has had on people and it can foster a specific mentality that can spiral into poorer mental health feeling like you can never get out and that you're held captive in human society. Being in nature can help alleviate some of these feelings and can last for after you are in nature and can make you feel more content and less dysphoric.
For some people being in nature brings them closer to their natural environment that they would be in as an animal and helps alleviate dysphoria as humans and as animals, we all originally come from nature no matter where we are in our lives. Not only this but I have found in a lot of instances mental health and therianthropy is thoroughly interlinked and various therians have reported to me that they feel more like themselves or happy in their identity when their mental health gets better and feel more dysphoric when they feel worse and not like themselves. Poor mental health can also affect people's ability to do things they normally do including activities that can bring them closer to their identity as an animal and can make people feel uninterested in things that they normally are or make them not act like themselves. Not to mention being in a more positive headspace just feels you feel better all around but also can improve interactions with other people, especially other nonhumans being able to create a common interest within nature. I personally feel like people focus alot more on the identity, labels and being "valid" than being an animal itself and even then theres a lot of people only caring about surface level stuff.
One thing that I don't think everyone thinks about is with a lot of these things it induces your natural animal behaviour as well for me when I'm bird watching it can feel like stalking to try and not spook them and get a picture , learning to recognise animal calls, tracks, bones etc. helps me identify animals like I would as a wolf. It also for me just kind of empties my head, I'm in the moment I am not thinking about other things that are not happening that second I am just in nature doing things and to me that is a much more animalistic mindset and is a lot more peaceful to be in. Learning more about nature helps you learn more about yourself, how you came to be, what effect you as a human and animal have on the things around you and lots of other things you can learn more about the natural enviroment you would be in as an animal I think alot of people just look in to the animal itself and not the enviroment around it. I am so interested to learn about myself but also the enviroment that wouldve been around me all the organisms that play into my life and how we interact and effect eachother it gives me this greater feeling of being where i belong. For people who are animals that are hunted by anything you can use this for a similar thing with the knowledge about different animals and how to interact with them a good example of this is in a book called Tales Of Wild Bird life by H.M Mortimer chapter Children Of The Mist

Suddenly there sounded 2 soft, frog-ike croak from somewhere up the slope, and instantly the mother flattened, the chicks under her, her neck rigidly outstretched against the ground. A moment ago she had been just a brown mottled bird on the stony earth, but now she ceased to be. She became one of the thousand thousand stones about her, and not even a chameleon could have camouflaged itself so wonderfully. There might have been eyes on earth which could pick her out, but not human eyes, and certainly clumsy human feet would have trodden her under.
when again that warning croak sounded up the slope, followed as before by the strong burr of wings. The mother ptarmigan must have known in some mysterious way what was coming, for this time she acted very differently. She rose as her mate had risen and went burring off, leaving the chicks to take their chances, and as she left them, each minute atom of grousehood crouched and flattened just as she had flattened yesterday. Such desertion seemed callous on the mother's part, but the reason for it became clear when a minute or so later a lean, grey-stockinged mountain fox came trotting down the slope, sifting every gust with his keen nostrils. He paused within ten paces of the ptarmigan chicks, and from the keen alertness of his amber eyes one would have thought that nothing would escape him, yet he saw them not, though had their mother been crouching there he would both have seen and smelt her. So her presence would merely have betrayed her helpless brood. ​ Activities/Things you can do

• An app I have been using alot called "iNaturalist" has been my go to and has been extremley educational and fun, it is an app for posting any indication of prescense of life regarding any organism this can come in the form of eggs, bones, tracks or the organism itself. These observations can also be used for scientific research to learn more about out natural work and help assist studies in knowing what things are where and if they should/shouldn't be or if there should be more or less of it. It also means that if you don't want to you don't have to clutter your phone with photos as you can use it as a gallery for wildlife pictures as well as posting observations you can identify organisms on desktop from others observations. You can set filters like only seeing mammals, or birds or fish or within a certain reigon or area or you can set it to observations of only a certain species/genus you can learn so much from ID'ing organisms when you ID organisms on desktop it gives you suggestions on what the photo could be and also tells shows you how abundent/if it resides in that area usually to help you make a descision. They also have their own information pannels on the website about almost every organism or organism group including a tab for where they live and their abundance showing you a visiual map of their observations, more photos that you can filter by sex and age so you can know if they look different because of sex/age and showing species theyre commonly misidentified as. Other people can also help you identify your observations and works off of a majority rules vote on what the ID is.

​

• You can make your own or buy native seed mixes to help increase biodiversity in your neighbourhood this is especially good for those who do not have accsess to a garden but you can make this in any country by researching native flowers and spreading them.
  
• Volunteer at a local rescue, wildlife organisation, wildlife charity or other related fields they will teach you so much about the enviroment and how you can help perserve it you can also donate to their charities or participate/organise fundraising events
  
• There are many activites you can download or find online with things to do on nature walks like scrapbooking or flower preservation/drying , walking and looking about and identifying organisms you see can be fun in it's own right too!
  

​

• Learn how to increase biodiversity in your garden/living space it can help bring more animals to your living space so you can see them/see them more often after introducing a pond to my garden European common frogs came! (Attatched is my own photos I took!)
  
• Donate to wildlife charities some send you magazines in the post and update you of where your donations go and what they go towards
  
• Growing plants in or outside your home can help you bring the effects of nature closer to you
  
• Watch documenteries like Our Planet or Planet Earth that talk about conservation, animal lives and our world in general and how we interact with it and how it interacts with us
  
• Research on the things you buy and support and how they come into being, a lot of poeple have ethical standpoints on buying specific things but are hugely detatched from where our day to day products come from and how they effect the world. Learning about something like how meat is brought to our tables, how to or how plants are grown and other practices for eating can give you a greater understanding and appreciation for what is around you
  
• Just have fun, go outside and explore just walk and see what you see go to places you haven't gone before and see what you can find more often than not you'll be suprised
  

I hope that this was educational and potentially brings a bit more joy to anyones life here thank you for reading.

After getting a new garden, the flower beds have been bare until now when I plan to move the young plants/ seedlings into them. But I am seeing ants. Are they harmful to tomato, cucumber, marigold, nasturtium, different chilies and peppers? And how to keep slugs in check? Have seen them in here last couple of years eating tomatoes hanging low on the soil. But haven't spotted yet in the new garden but i think it's just a matter of time or they are camouflaging already.
Edit: though have spotted ants around mint and fenugreek planted in the garden bed , but haven't spotted any damage by the ants yet.

This is officially part 2 of the Exchange Program Shenanigans final arc.
Yeah I think this community is long past its prime tbh. We've fallen off. May God help us.
CW: vietnamese sniper nest, jelim gets really high, jelim is misgendered at least once, properly foreshadowed plot twist, Prestige Exterminator Vrapic
Memory Transcription Subject: Jelim, Extermination Commander
Date (standardized human time): September 21, 2136
I was really not built to take breaks. I rarely ever did, but I couldn't really tell if that was the cause or the symptom of my not-quite-a-problem.
Well, sometimes it was a problem. I knew Jack would've liked it if I took more time off for my personal life. But, on the other branch, I had a lot of plaques on my office wall back at the district. Couldn't get that if I kept slacking off.
Well, technically, I wasn't slacking off. Technically, I was healing from the ass-beating I had gotten from Heval a little while. Yeah, I'd say I'm good as new by now. Pride's still bruised, though. But, still, people were dying. I should've been out there.
The news broadcast in my hospital bed turned off. That was a shame. It was the one thing I liked looking at in this sterile and soulless room.
Okay, let's take inventory here. We've got... let's see... we've got a wall... another wall... ooh, that one has a window, but yep, still mostly wall. All white, too. You know, it wouldn't kill these people to add in a splash of red or green in here.
"Okay, Jelim, focus up." I turned to look at the door.
Isola stood in it.
Oh. That's unexpected.
"Why the hell are you alive?" I snapped. Okay, maybe not the best way to start a conversation. "And where the hell have you been?"
Now, that's an important question. Good on you, Jelim. You should ask those more often.
She walked into the room, closing the door behind her. "First of all, that's not important. And second of all, I did some snooping. That's why I say you have to focus up." Oh, I was focusing.
"Well, first of all, that is important." It was. But it could be discussed later. "But, as to the second part, I'm all ears." There was nothing she could say that I hadn't already heard.
"Sevros is going to get away." Oh. There was. That was a new one. "I know it. His shuttle is being prepared for launch right now."
God damn. How does she know this stuff?
"He's stored the shuttle at an abandoned hangar in the mountains, his convoy is on its way there right now," said Isola. "If we go fast, we can catch them."
"How, exactly, do you know this?" I asked.
"You think you're the only one who can talk to Salvek?" Oh. That made a lot of sense, actually. "I'm a lot smarter than I usually get credit for." And a lot more arrogant, apparently.
"Your results should speak for themselves, Isola." I waved a wing at the far wall, where my bodyguards had put up my fifth 'Valor Under Fire' award until I could hang it in my office. "Like that."
"Fair point," she conceded. "Now, let's go. We don't have any time to waste."
I sighed, smoothed out a few feathers, and hopped out of my hospital bed. If I'm going to be wrapping this whole thing up, I'd better look nice in the process. "I'll go ahead and secure the shuttle bay, you drum up whatever force you can spare to finish this off." I was already making a plan, a pretty good one too if I do say so myself, and I was out the door in seconds.
"I'll send the location to your pad!" Isola exclaimed before we parted ways. She could probably find Karelim and a few others, if everybody wasn't already fighting in Federation Tower.
I knew those idiots should've held some officers in reserve! I could've told them as much, too, but they didn't brahking listen. I swear to god, this Guild is going to drive me off the deep end one day.
I found the stairwell, waved off all the hospital workers I found, and jumped over the railing to land gracefully on the bottom floor. I love my wings. I was in the basement. Never mind.
Well, better get to work. There's got to be a ramp here somewhere.
I left the stairwell to find myself in a hospital parking garage that was mostly empty of cars, with an extermination van pulling in via a ramp. Oh. Great! Reinforcements!
I ran over to the vehicle, waving a wing in the air, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw who was driving it. Oh. Great. Vrapic. "Didn't I send people to arrest you?" I asked, patting my hip for a sidearm that I hoped I wouldn't have to use.
"You did. I want to know why."
"Officer Kern advised me-" He cut me off. Yep. I already know where this is going.
"And you believed him?" Vrapic scoffed. "Him, a predator, a creature built on violence and lies?"
I shrugged. "He's been pretty straightforward so far."
"You are a danger to the people of Dayside City, Jelim." Oh, you say that again. Say that again, and see what happens. "You've allowed yourself to become tainted by a predator, and I can't allow that."
I put my claw on the butt of my pistol. "And what, exactly, are you going to do to stop me?" I could deny the accusation, but we both knew that wouldn't work on his type. God, I hope I won't have to kill him.
He also carried a pistol. I did not want to use mine. I stepped closer to the van. "You stay back!" He drew his gun. I took another step. He fired once at my feet. "Put on the cuffs, or your brain paints the floor." He tossed a pair of handcuffs at my feet.
Only one? Dumbass.
"Well, you've got me," I sighed. I unclipped my holster and tossed it away before bending over to put on my handcuffs. "What now?" I gave a pitiful two-clawed wave.
"Get in the van." God damn, you really are stupid, aren't you?
I took a few sheepish steps forward, feigning cooperation until I got within claw's reach of his gun. Then, in a flash, I grabbed his wrist with both claws and pushed it up and away from my head. He didn't fire.
So he doesn't have it in him to shoot. Good. That's good. It means he's not too far gone.
I was getting old, as exterminators went. Vrapic was supposed to be my replacement. I had been training him for years to turn out more or less like me. Funny how that turned out, huh? At the moment, however, I was kicking him in the chest. Sometimes, things didn't go as planned.
I kicked once in the chest and once in the liver for a nasty two-piece combo, sending him doubled over and gasping in time for a nasty shot to the head.
Not from my gun, of course, but God damn it must've felt like it. My kicks were brahking lethal. I wasn't even exaggerating that much.
Vrapic dropped like a two-hundred-pound sack of bricks. Stay down, dog. Next time, don't bite the hand that feeds you. I really needed to write some of these one-liners down. Or maybe start saying them out loud. Either one was good.
Anyway, I had work to do. I did a brief check on the response team, which was going well, and I went outside. It was a beautiful day out. Not very windy. The sun was high in the sky, too, which it usually was in a place like this.
Usually? Hell, try always. I brahking hate this planet sometimes.
The gravity felt heavy on my oh-so-fragile bird bones. It always did. That was why no Krakotl I knew could manage to fly on this planet.
Quite frankly, most of the Krakotl I knew were lazy.
I took off, with some effort, and it didn't take long before I was high enough to rely on wind and updrafts to ease my flight. After that, it was smooth sailing all the way to the shuttle pad. I passed the skyscrapers in seconds, was in the forest just as quickly, and it was nothing but clear skies and beautiful views before I reached the coordinates Isola sent me.
How did she find those, anyway? I might have to ask.
It took me a while, but I was nothing if I wasn't tough. After enough time, I could begin to make out the gray peaks of a mountain range in the distance. I wasn't even sure Venlil Prime had those.
I didn't see anything special at first, even with my sharp vision. Hell, I could barely see the road after so many years without maintenance. It was practically overgrown by now. I closed on the coordinates, finally making out the gray of a shuttle hangar against the gray of the nearby mountain range, before some idiot shot at me from below.
Three-round bursts. Automatic weapon. The shooter's probably camouflaged above the tree line.
I tucked my wings and rolled, losing altitude fast, pretending as if I had been shot. I even yanked a few feathers free and scattered them to give the illusion of a bullet impact.
Yeah, that probably won't do anything, but I've always had a flair for the dramatic.
I landed fast and hard on the forest floor, drawing my pistol and searching. In the distance, not too far away, there was a hangar door and a dirt road leading up to it. I saw it through even all the thick underbrush of the place, because it was a really big type of shuttle, and I heard a few voices as well. Mercenaries, most likely.
They were approaching my position. Must've seen where I fell, and now they were confirming the kill. I could see three armed Venlil heading toward me, cautious but still entirely oblivious.
Okay, let's think here. They don't know I'm alive. They don't know where I'm hiding. I'll take them out one by one.
I crouched by a tree, waiting for the mercenaries to get close enough to act. I holstered my weapon, opting instead for the element of surprise. No weapons. They make too much noise. Just claws.
There's one... two... where's three? I looked around. I heard a twig snap a short distance behind me. There's three.
Footsteps. Closing. So close, now. I lied in wait like some kind of ambush hunter, crouching down like a coiled spring, until I saw a black-furred shape appear in my view.
Three feet away. Five and a half feet tall. Lightly armed. Totally oblivious. He swept the forest with his rifle, moving slowly and tactically, but it wasn't doing him any good at the moment. He had no idea what was coming.
I sprang from my cover the second he looked away, knocking him to the ground with a sweep of my leg and cutting out his throat at the same time. It wasn't pretty, killing never was, but I did it easily enough. One down. Two to go.
The second one wasn't much harder. The bushes were thick, thick enough that I couldn't move in them without creating noise, but he and his friend were making just as much so I just stayed low and did my job. Swept his legs, cut his jugular, light work all around.
The third guy was smart, though. Really smart, because he started booking it back to home base the second his friends stopped responding. Clearly, he wasn't getting paid very much.
Unfortunately, there was nobody else left outside. I shot him. I never did get how some people got used to that.
Now, it was time to go inside. There was a side door next to the main one, unguarded of course, and I entered it. The hangar was large, but that was to be expected. Dusty, but that was also to be expected. A quick sweep of the grounds confirmed my earlier suspicions that, yep, nobody was left inside. Idiots.
I had a text from Isola. First, Heval hadn't been spotted at Federation Tower. That was bad news. Second, Sevros' men were ten minutes out. That was worse. I had to work fast.
I had seen a perfect vantage point on my way here. I had an assault rifle with a poorly-attached sniper scope, courtesy of the guy who tried shooting me earlier, slung across my back. I went outside, spread my wings, and took to the skies.
This was going to be over quickly.
I saw movement on the road not long after. I was in a perfect sniper's nest, concealed by foliage and with a good vantage point to the road, and I waited until they reached a part without much cover before I began firing.
There were three vehicles, and my sniper's nest gave me a good vantage point on all three. Two were exterminator trucks, and their complements of hired muscle were all exposed in the flatbeds. The other was an exterminator van, much less exposed and in the center of the convoy. Sevros' vehicle.
I shot that one first, popping a tire and sending it skidding to a halt. The rear truck crashed into it, damaging them both, and I triple-tapped most of the goons in its flatbed before they could do anything. The forward vehicle stopped, a stupid call given the situation, and I shot out its tires before putting down the machine-gunner who had stayed in the flatbed. Everybody else had bailed out.
There were only a few goons left now. No more than ten, by my guess. They were all taking cover by the trucks, looking for me to no avail, and I lined up a shot on one of them on the other side of the convoy.
It worked. They seemed to think I was shooting from the opposite direction of where I actually was, despite the fact that the body fell the wrong way, but Venlil muscle men were hardly the smartest of the bunch. They practically fell over themselves to get to my side of the convoy, inadvertently leaving them completely without cover.
To borrow a human idiom, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
The entire security force was cleared out in three minutes, barring a few stragglers. None of them had ever faced a sniper before, and they seemed content to huddle in places where I had already tried and failed to shoot them. I could wait until Isola's people got here, they weren't far out, but I really didn't want to.
If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Especially in this economy.
I flew from my sniper's nest like I had places to be, which I did, and I landed hard and fast next to the middle van. I cleared the outside of it first, taking out whatever goons I'd been too preoccupied to shoot earlier, before my attention was grabbed by a door opening at the back of the van.
More goons. Great.
The first one to come out got two in the head. So did the second one, as I advanced to clear the inside. I moved quickly, a bit sloppy too, and a brown paw shoved my rifle to the side. "You son of a bitch!"
Excuse me? I'm a woman, I'll have you know.
I ducked and rolled as a fist flew at my head, only to catch another one to the beak in a nasty uppercut when I did. I dropped my rifle, not by choice, which was kind of stupid looking back. Hindsight is always 20/20. I countered with a leg kick followed by another to the liver, which he shrugged off like last time.
Well, it's clear fighting normally doesn't work. Guess I'll just have to fight dirty.
I jabbed at his face, blocked another punch, and scooped up some dirt with my leg to throw in his eyes. It worked, he was blinded for half a second, and I kicked him in the face. Straight in the eye socket, too. That's gotta hurt. I'd feel bad if he wasn't such an asshole.
He stumbled backwards a few steps and reached in the van for a weapon. Wait a minute. I have a gun, too! I was practically surrounded by them.
I grabbed the rifle on the ground with my leg, shooting out Heval's legs in the process. He fell and rolled, pistol in paw, but I kicked it away and tossed the rifle up to my wings. I caught it and leveled it at his head. "You give?"
Heval looked to his right. Sevros sat pressed against the far end of the van, looking positively terrified. Hell, I couldn't blame him. "Does he give up?" I asked. Sevros was too afraid to answer.
"Fine, then." I kicked Heval in the face, then a paw swept my other leg and I fell. Another paw grabbed my rifle, he jumped on top of me and pinned my wing under his leg, and then he started choking my lights out. It all took, like, three seconds, too. God damn, that guy is good. Next time, I'm just shooting him.
If there was a next time. Judging by where I was at the moment, there probably wouldn't be.
I tried clawing at his liver, but his other paw grabbed my wing and held it tight to the ground. I was effectively paralyzed, and I couldn't do anything about it either. I probably didn't have much air left, too, now that I thought about it. My lungs were starting to hurt.
"This time, I'll finish the goddamn job," he snarled. Whatever snappy retort I would've made died pretty quickly in my airless throat. Choking to death was really not a good way to die.
Well, none of them are really good ways to die. This one just sucks more than most.
I clawed at what I assumed was Heval's hamstring, then his wrist, but that didn't do much more than make him mad. Plus, I was really running out of air, and he was bleeding on my legs from where I shot him.
Yeah, that's going to be a problem. Venlil blood is impossible to get out of your feathers these days.
To add insult to injury, or injury to insult, he pinned my wing with his leg and started punching me in the goddamn face. That was never a good thing to be on the receiving end of.
"Just-" punch "You-" punch "Die-" punch "You-" punch "Little-" I didn't hear what came next. That was probably because I was running out of oxygen.
Well, I figure nobody lives forever. As lives go, I think I've had a good one so far. I have no regrets.
Well, maybe a few, but nobody's perfect.
A gunshot. One. The grip on my throat slackened. I sprang into action, locking us together and rolling on top of him, but it really wasn't necessary.
Heval was dead. "Well, I see you were busy today," Isola's voice came from behind me.
"Whatever they're paying me, it's not brahking enough." I really wasn't sure on that end. My salary, if you included all the bonuses I got from putting in work and subtracted all the deductions I got for not being a head-up-my-ass brain-dead robot like I was supposed to, was never that consistent.
"Now, as to this bitch," I gestured toward Sevros, who was shooting a glare at me. "Come on, Isola." I stood up, unarmed for now. It really didn't matter, though, because it was over. I had won.
You know what? Screw it. I'm throwing the most kickass party once I get back. I deserve it.
"Isola?" Sevros asked. Yeah, that's what I said. I'm so glad you're not going deaf. There was the faintest glimmer of hope on his features for a moment. Does he know someone else named Isola? What? Then she stepped into his view, gun held sideways at his head, and his expression switched to sheer and utter confusion. "What? Why?"
Not terror, that came later. Confusion. Betrayal, almost. Hope at hearing her name, then confusion at seeing her point a gun at his face. Why would he be confused? "Put these cuffs on," said Isola, tossing him a pair. He just stammered gibberish. Why would he be confused?
"I gave you what you wanted."
Six words, and everything fell down.
Six words filled in six hundred blanks.
Oh, hell.
Isola's the spy.
I wheeled, quick, but Isola was quicker. She jabbed an injector to my neck and I went down like a brick. Paralyzed. Can't move a muscle. Pretty uncomfortable spot to be paralyzed in, too. "Don't worry," she said, "The drug won't last long, but you've got bigger problems than that."
"Why?" I choked out. That took way more effort than it should have.
"He offered to free my brother from the facility. Made good on the deal, too."
Oh. Well, at least the motivation makes sense.
Really, I was in shock from this whole thing. I couldn't even bring myself to get angry, I was so surprised. Even with everything spelled out in front of me, with the evidence of her crimes as clear as a Nishtal sunrise, a part of me still didn't believe it was real.
I silenced that part. It was very clearly wrong.
Isola sold me out. She sold us all out. How many people died for one brahking Yotul?
When I got my claws on her and Onsel, it wouldn't be pretty. I could swear by that much.
"Unfortunately, he blabbed before I could get to him," Isola explained. I knew that! Sevros started yelling something about 'upholding the deal', and Isola turned and shot him three times.
Or, at least, I thought she did. My view wasn't all too great from being face down on the ground. Isola must've guessed that, too, because she at least had the kindness to flip me around. "I really didn't want to do this, you know. I'm sorry that it had to be this way."
She aimed her gun at my head. I still couldn't move one bit. "You're an exterminator. Think of this as justice." She's trying to justify it. To who? Me, or her?
I didn't beg. I didn't cry. I didn't scream, nor did I close my eyes and wait. It would be better to see the end coming. "I'm sorry, Jelim," she said, gun unwavering in her paw as she spoke. She didn't look very sorry.
"No witnesses."
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This is the list that I wrote for the 113 inmates executed by the state of Virginia, from the 1976 Gregg national reinstatement of the death penalty to the state abolishing it in 2021. For the sake of clarification, the dates given here are an approximate timeframe of the offender's earliest known criminal activities to their executions. Many of the crimes surveyed here are also extremely horrific, and the gory details are discussed in my descriptions. Please read at your own risk.
Unfortunately, as with Missouri, the list exceeds the maximum 40,000 character count Reddit allows for submissions, and thus I had to split it into two separate posts. Here is the link to part 2 of this list.
The 113 executed offenders:
1. Frank Coppola (~1960s-1982, electric chair): Coppola, his wife, and two other accomplices hatched a plan to rob Payton Wetchell, a 55 year old car dealer, at his home. One of the accomplices posed as a delivery girl, and lured Payton's wife, 51 year old Muriel, out by ringing the doorbell. The group then forced themselves inside at gunpoint and tried extorting from her valuables though beatings. Mariel’s head was slammed against the door numerous times, and she ended up dying from suffocating on her vomit and a brain hemorrhage. When Peyton arrived at the scene, he was beaten as well. Although he survived, the treatment for the fractures required Peyton to have a steel plate grafted on his forehead, and he took his own life about a decade after the incident. The Coppolas and their accomplices made off with $3,000 and 3 rings. Coppola was a career burglar, and lost his job as a policeman for failing to report inmate abuse. His execution caused some controversy, as a witnesses described Coppola's legs catching fire during the electrocution.
2. Linwood Briley (~1971-1984, electric chair): In 1971, at the age of 16, Briley killed his neighbor, 57 year old Orline Christian, in a sniper attack from his bedroom window while she was laying clothesline. He escaped prosecution by convincing authorities that it was an accident. 8 years later, Briley went on a rape and robbery spree with two of his brothers (including James) and another accomplice. They murdered anywhere between ~12-21 males and females in their attacks. Their means of killings were very diverse and circumstantial, and completely indiscriminate on who they killed. The eldest known victim was 76 year old Mary Gowen, whom they raped and shot to death, while their youngest was 5 year old Harvey Barton, who was shot dead after the gang gang-raped and murdered his pregnant mother, 23 year old Judy. Some like, 17 year old Christopher Philips had his head crushed with a concrete block, a few others like 62 year old Mary Wilfong were beaten to death with baseball bats, and 59 year old Charles Garner was fatally stabbed with scissors and a fork. Almost all the victims were murdered in their homes, but some were attacked at their jobs. While on death row, Briley and James escaped with 4 other inmates, but were recaptured after a 3 week long manhunt.
3. James Briley (~1970s-1985, electric chair): He was one of Linwood Briley's brothers, and he assisted in him in the robbery, rapes, and murders of at least 12 to 21 people. As previously mentioned, Briley and Linwood broke out of prison on death row with several other inmates, and were all recaptured within weeks after their escape.
4. Morris Mason (~1960s-1985, electric chair): Mason broke into the homes of two elderly women, 86 year old Ursula Stevenson and 71 year old Margaret Hand. In both attacks, the victims were raped, beaten with an ax handle, bound and nailed to chairs, and burned alive when he set their houses on fire. He also attacked a pair of sisters, who were 12 and 13 years old, in their home. The 13 year old grabbed a gun from their father’s closet for protection, but Mason wrestled the gun away, and shot her instead. She survived with crippling injuries. Mason then kidnapped the 12 year old, took her to a nearby forest, and sodomized her. He covered the girl with leaves, lit them on fire, but she survived with only minor burns to her hair and shirt. Mason was also responsible for several burglaries during his crime spree, and was convicted several previous times for arson attacks. Authorities believe that Mason was committing acts of arson since his childhood. His execution sparked some controversy, due to him allegedly having a cognitive disability.
5. Michael Smith (~1970s-1986, electric chair): Smith kidnapped 35 year old Audrey Weiler while she was walking from a beach. He dragged her into a forest and raped her. During the sexual assault, Smith stabbed Weiler and drowned her in a nearby river. At the time of the attack, Smith was a sex offender with a rape conviction, and had reoffended against Weiler only months after his release from prison.
6. Richard Whitley (1980-1987, electric chair): Whitley went to the home of his occasional employer, 63 year old Phoebe Parsons, to vent about his broken marriage. As they were conversing, he stabbed Parsons to death. During the attack, he sodomized Parsons with an umbrella, and engaged in sex acts with her body. He then sacked the home of any valuables, stole her car, and fled to Florida.
7. Earl Clanton Jr. (~1971-1988, electric chair): At the age of 17, Clanton killed an unidentified woman in circumstances largely undisclosed beyond it being a robbery. Although Clanton was given a 26-28 year sentence, he was paroled 8 years later. A year after his release, he strangled a neighbor, 38 year old Wilhemina Smith, during a robbery of her home. He also had a malicious wounding conviction when he badly injured a teenage boy with brass knuckles, and his mother had made complaints of him stealing money from her. However, Clanton claimed that she faked her complaints in retaliation for him refusing a sexual relationship with her. Clanton also took part in the mass prison escape orchestrated by the Briley brothers, but was recaptured with them.
8. Alton Waye (1977-1989, electric chair): Waye invaded the home of 61 year old Lavergne Marshall, and stabbed her 42 times. He then raped Marshall and poured bleach on her body.
9. Richard Boggs (1984-1990, electric chair): After Boggs killed an unidentified man in a hit and run accident, he rushed to the home of his neighbor, 87 year old Treeby Shaw. When she offered him tea, Boggs hit her in the head with a steel object, and stabbed her to death with a butcher knife. He stole some silver from the home, which was discovered by investigating police officers in his car. On an unrelated side note, Boggs' older brother was shot dead by police during a car chase some years after his execution.
10. Wilbert Evans (~1964-1990, electric chair): While incarcerated for a robbery in North Carolina, Evans was transferred to Virginia to testify at a murder trial. While being transported in a prison van, he decided to take the opportunity to escape, and seized a gun from one of his escorts, 47 year old William Truesdale. Truesdale was shot dead during the struggle and Evans used the gun to destroy his handcuffs. Although he managed to jump out of the van, Evans was cornered by police officers only a few blocks away, and was recaptured followed a bungled suicide attempt. Evans had an extensive criminal history, and was convicted of robbing a gas station at the age of 18. During his time on death row, he protected staff members held hostage from being raped and abused by the Briley brothers during their attempted escape. His execution caused some controversy, as blood was observed coming out of his blood, nose, and eyes during the fatal shocks.
11. Buddy Justus (1978-1990, electric chair): Justus abducted and raped 3 women, 32 year old Rosemary Jackson, 21 year old Stephanie Hawkins, and 21 year old Ida Moses, and shot them to death. He was charged with a 4th murder, as Moses was pregnant and her unborn child also died in the attack. In two of his known murders, Justus was assisted by an 18 year old man that he befriend after he picked him up hitchhiking. He also received several life and death sentences in the states of Georgia and Florida.
12. Albert Clozza (1983-1991, electric chair): Clozza snatched 13 year old Patricia Bolton while she was walking home from a bookmobile. He dragged the girl into a forest and sodomized her with a twig. She was also severely beaten in the attack, and the corner's report mentioned that Bolton was "asphyxiated by her own blood."
13. Derrick Peterson (1982-1991, electric chair): During a holdup of a grocery store, Peterson shot and killed the manger, 45 year old Howard Kauffman. He then ran off with thousands of dollars worth in checks and cash.
14. Roger Coleman (~1977-1992, electric chair): Coleman tricked his sister-in-law, 19 year old Wanda McCoy, into letting him inside her house. He then raped and stabbed her, and she was nearly decapitated in the attack. A long standing sex offender, Coleman was convicted of raping a woman in her home a few years prior to McCoy's murder, and had exposed himself to two other women just before the killing. Unfortunately for him, one of the women happened to be an artist, and she drew a sketch that enabled the police to identify him for the murder. Despite his past offenses, Coleman had a strong following for his innocence among the anti death penalty crowd. A notion that was debunked following a 2006 DNA test that concluded his guilt.
15. Edward Fitzgerald Sr. (1980-1992, electric chair): Out of fear of her being a police informant, Fitzgerald abducted his drug dealer, 22 year old Patricia Cubbage. He raped and stabbed her 184 times, and reportedly carved a "tick-tack-toe design" into Cubbage's back.
16. Willie Jones (1983-1992, electric chair): Jones tricked the parents of an acquaintance, 78 year old Myra and 80 year old Graham, into letting him inside their house by pretending to be an undercover cop searching for missing children. He shot and killed Graham, tied up and gagged Myra, locked her in a closet, and stole their entire life savings (which amounted to $30,000). To destroy any evidence of his crime, Jones set the house on fire. Myra, who was still tied up and trapped in her closet, was burned alive. Jones was also one of the inmates that escaped from death row with the Briley brothers, but was recaptured weeks after the breakout
17. Timothy Bunch (1982-1992, electric chair): Bunch, a then active service Marine, was dating Su Cha Thomas, a 40 year old South Korean immigrant. Believing that Thomas was too much like his “slut” ex wife, Bunch decided that he wanted to rob and kill her. He tricked Thomas into letting him inside her home with the promise of a date. She was shot in the head and Bunch hung the body to a closet doorknob with a scarf. Bunch then ransacked the home, and stole a watch, diamond ring, and a pearl necklace. According to investigators, he confided in them that he had an orgasm while robbing and murdering Thomas. After the killing, Bunch was deployed to Japan, but extradited back to Virginia to face trial for Thomas’ murder.
18. Charles Stamper (1978-1993, electric chair): While robbing a restaurant that he worked at, Stamper shot and killed three of his co workers, 43 year old Agnes Hicks, 35 year old Franklin Cooley, and 20 year old Steven. He stole a total of $4,000 in the robbery. On death row, Stamper was attacked by fellow death row inmate Lem Tuggle for allegedly being a snitch. The assault left him permanently paralyzed, which made his execution somewhat controversial.
19. Syvasky Poyner (~1970s-1993, electric chair): Poyner shot and killed 5 females, 72 year old Louise Paulett, 45 year old Joyce Baldwin, 44 year old Carolyn Hedrick, 43 year old Chestine Brooks, and 17 year old Vicki Ripple during a two week long robbery spree. He directed his attacks towards beauty parlors, supermarkets, ice cream shops, and motels. A life long career criminal, Poyner had several auto theft, forgery, and burglary convictions, and his earliest date back to when he was 14 years old.
20. Andrew Chabrol (1991-1993, electric chair): Chabrol, a Navy serviceman, made unwanted advances on a fellow married sailor, 27 year old Melissa Harrington, and refused to back down despite repeated rejections. Harrington filed sexual harassment charges, and Chabrol was dismissed from service following an investigation. Angered by the loss of his career and her rebuffing his advances, Chabrol kidnapped Harrington from her home with the help of a friend, and tied her to his bed. He then raped and strangled her to death. The case attracted outcry years later when it was discovered that Chabrol and Harrington’s remains were buried in close proximity to each other in the Arlington cemetery.
21. Joe Wise (1983-1993, electric chair): Wise abducted 45 year old William Ricketson during a robbery. He beat and shot his captive in the eye and chest, dumped him in a water hole used for an abandoned power plant's lavatory, and drove off with his truck. Although Ricketson survived the shooting, he drowned in the hole.
22. David Pruett (~1975-1993, electric chair): In 1975, Pruett fatally stabbed his co worker, 22 year old Debra McInnis, while robbing a restaurant they worked at together. As the investigators weren't able to solve the McInnis murder, Pruett remained a free man. 11 years later, he tied up his friend's wife, 35 year old Wilma Harvey, in the couple's home while her husband was out of town. He raped Harvey, stabbed her 29 times and slit her throat, ransacked the house for any valuables, and stole an undisclosed amount of money. Pruett was also tried and sentenced for an unrelated rape incident alongside Harvey and McInnis' murders.
23. Johnny Watkins Jr. (1983-1994, electric chair): Watkins gunned down two store clerks, 41 year old Carl Buchanan and 22 year old Betty Barker, during a week long robbery spree. In the robberies that killed Buchanan and Barker, Watkins stole a combined total of $125. His brother Ronald was also executed for an unrelated robbery murder [for more details, please see section 49 on Ronald Watkins].
24. Timothy Spencer (~1980s-1994, electric chair): Spencer broke into the residences of at least 5 women and girls, 44 year old Susan Tucker, 35 year old Debbie Davis, 32 year old Susan Hellams, 32 year old Carolyn Hamm, and Diane Cho, a 15 year old South Korean immigrant, and raped them. All the verified victims were strangled to death with ligatures and ratchets. Another man was falsey convicted of Hamm's murder, but was cleared of guilt in a 1989 DNA test. The falsely accused man was one of the first inmates to be exonerated using DNA testing, while paradoxically Spencer was the first serial killer to be convicted with DNA evidence. Spencer also had a history of burglaries before his killing sprees.
25. Dana Edmonds (1983-1995, lethal injection): During a robbery of a grocery store, Edmonds tied up a grocer, 62 year old John Elliott. He bashed Elliot's head with a brick, stabbed his neck, and took $40 from the register.
26. Willie Turner (~1970s-1995, lethal injection): In 1978, Turner shot and killed W. J. Smith, a 54 year old jeweler, during a jewelry store robbery. A few years prior to Smith's murder, Turner had killed an unidentified inmate in largely undisclosed circumstances while serving time for a malicious wounding conviction, but was let out on parole. While on death row, Turner took part in the Briley brothers led breakout, and made several escape attempts on his own. In one incident, Turner pretended to have smuggled a gun in his cell, and used the hoax to make threats against the prison staff.
27. Dennis Stockton (~1950s-1995, lethal injection): 18 year old Kenneth Arnder allegedly crossed a dealer during a drug deal. The dealer retaliated by paying Stockton $2,000 to kill him. Stockton lured Arnder in his car with the promise of driving him to safety, and shot the youth in the eyes. He cut the hands off his body to prevent identification and dumped it in a remote North Carolinan forest. Stockton had a long criminal history since he was a teenager, which included several convictions of arson, safecracking, drug dealing, and weapons possession charges. Police also found dismembered body parts kept in a jar in his home, but Stockton claimed that it was simply a gift given to him by a biker gang, and he only kept the remains to show off at parties.
28. Mickey Davidson (1990-1995, lethal injection): Davidson’s wife, 36 year old wife Doris, made a decision to leave him for her ex husband. In a jealous rage, he beat her and her two daughters, 14 year old Mamie and 13 year old Tammy Clutterback, to death with a crowbar.
29. Herman Barnes (1984-1995, lethal injection): Barnes held up a grocery store at gunpoint, and shot and killed the owner, 72 year old Clyde Jenkins. Mohammad Afifi, a 42 year old Palestinian immigrant that worked as the store’s clerk, was also gunned down when he came to his boss’s aid.
30. Walter Correll Jr. (1985-1996, lethal injection): Correll and two accomplices ambushed, carjacked, and kidnapped 24 year old Charles Bousman Jr. after they motioned him to stop on a remote highway. After they stole his rings and watch, they beat and stabbed Bousman to death, dumped his body in a nearby forest, and drove off with his car. His execution was a source of contention, as Correll's supporters and attorneys assert that he was an intellectually disabled man set up by his accomplices for lesser sentences.
31. Richard Townes Jr. (~1970s-1996, lethal injection): Townes shot a clerk, 32 year old Virginia Goebel, in the head while robbing a grocery store, and stole $183 from the register. He had a long history of violent robberies, and had shot and wounded a taxi driver after holding him hostage for 6 hours several years before Goebel's murder.
32. Joseph Savino III (~1980s-1996, lethal injection): After he was released on parole from an armed robbery conviction, Savino beat his boyfriend, 64 year old Thomas McWaters, to death with a hammer in their home. According to Savino, McWaters was pressuring him for sex, and threatened to have his parole revoked if it was withheld.
33. Ronald Bennett (1985-1996, lethal injection): Bennett broke into the home of Anne Vaden, a 28 year real estate agent. After he tied Vaden up, Bennett beat, strangled, and stabbed her to death. One of Vaden's rings was stolen in the robbery, and he gave it to his wife. The murder was left cold for a year, but was solved when Bennett's wife drunkenly confessed her husband's deeds to a friend while showing off the ring.
34. Gregory Beaver (~1980s-1996, lethal injection): After Beaver escaped from a Maryland rehab center, he went on a rampage that involved stealing a car and storming a restaurant his stepfather owned to rob and assault him. While speeding away from the scene with a hitchhiker he picked up, Beaver was pulled over by Leo Whitt, a 49 year old state trooper. In the scuffle that broke out, Beaver shot and killed Whitt. The hitchhiker then tricked Beaver into stopping at a nearby restaurant, and he used the payphone to call the police on him. Beaver previously had 10 unspecified felony convictions, which was why he was placed by his family in the Maryland rehab center.
35. Larry Stout (1987-1996, lethal injection): Stout assaulted a dry cleaning store with a knife, slashed the throat of the owner, 40 year old Jacqueline Kooshian, and stole $1,200.
36. Lem Tuggle Jr. (~1971-1996, lethal injection): In 1971, Tuggle raped and fatally strangled 16 year old Shirley Brickey, and was given a 20 year sentence for it. He was released from prison after serving 10 years. Two years after his release, Tuggle lured 52 year old Jessie Havens from a dance hall, and then raped and shot her to death. On death row, he participated in the mass escape orchestrated by the Briley brothers, and paralyzed the above mentioned Charles Stamper for allegedly being an informant.
37. Ronald Hoke (1985-1996, lethal injection): Hoke forced his way inside the home of 56 year old Virginia Stell, a woman he met at a bar. He raped and stabbed her to death with a knife taken from the kitchen, and stole some medication from Stell's purse.
38. Michael George (1979-1997, lethal injection): In 1979, George lured 9 year old Larry Perry from his grandparents' home, and shot the boy dead after raping him. As the body was never found and the prosecution couldn't disprove his claims of it being an accidental killing, George was able to secure an involuntary manslaughter plea deal from the courts, and was released within two years for good behavior. After his release, he molested several teenage boys, and expressed fantasies about them being sexually tortured by "evil creatures" in the forest in his written works of fiction. In 1990, George made his fantasies a reality when he ambushed and abducted 15 year old Alexander Sztanko while the boy was ridding a motorbike. He shackled Sztanko to a tree, sodomized him with a stun gun, sliced pieces of his skin with a machete, shot him in the head, and stole his motorbike. Other teenage boys in the area also reported being assaulted in the same manner as Sztanko by a “Rambo like” camouflaged assailant. Although it is strongly believed that George was responsible for the attacks, he wasn't convicted of them.
39. Coleman Gray (1985-1997, lethal injection): Gray kidnapped 49 year old Richard McClelland while robbing a store he managed. He forced McClelland to collect over $12,000 in cash, drove his captive to a remote dirt road, and shot him six times in the head.
40. Roy Smith (1988-1997, lethal injection): Smith got into a violent argument with his wife in their home, and the neighbors called the police on him. He fired on the responding officers, and killed John Conner, a 38 year old sergeant. The remaining officers managed to subdue him after a brief standoff and physical struggle.
41. Joseph O'Dell III (~1958-1997, lethal injection): O'Dell was condemned for the abduction, rape, and strangulation murder of 44 year old Helen Schartner. She was last seen leaving from a night club, and her body was found near a beach. His execution was controversial, as O'Dell had a massive support base who believed in his innocence. The circuit court's decision to burn the DNA evidence relating to the Schartner case in 2000 sparked further outcry from them. Despite this, O'Dell was a long time felon with over 17 convictions dating back to the 1950s, and a woman claimed to have escaped a kidnapping attempt from him.
42. Carlton Pope (~1982-1997, lethal injection): Pope shot and killed 24 year old Cynthia Gray and wounded her sister while robbing them at a pool. He had a malicious wounding conviction when he shot a friend in the toe, and was paroled months before Gray's murder for that sentence.
43. Mario Murphy (1992-1997, lethal injection): 37 year old James Radcliff's wife hired Murphy to kill him in order to collect a life insurance policy. She, her boyfriend, Murphy, and 3 other conspirators pounced on Radcliff while he was sleeping in his bed, and they stabbed and beat him to death with a metal pipe. Due to all the other conspirators accepting plea deals, Murphy was the only one sentenced to death for the murder, which he perceived was because of Mexican nationality. His death sentence and execution also caused a minor diplomatic dispute with Mexico.
44. Dawud Mu'Min (1973-1997, lethal injection): At the age of 19 in 1973, Mu'Min shot and killed Charles Shupe, a 43 year old taxi driver, while robbing his taxi. He was given a 48 year sentence for the murder. 15 years later, Mu'Min was assigned to a inmate labor program. While working on a road, he pretended to be on a lunch break, and took the opportunity to sneak away from his escorts and supervisors. Mu'Min broke into a shopping center, raped Gladys Nopwasky, a 42 year old retailer, and stabbed her 16 times with a screwdriver. After he stole $4 from her purse, Mu'Min returned back to the work program.
45. Michael Satcher (1990-1997, lethal injection): Satcher ambushed 23 year old Anne Borghesani while she was biking near a highway. He raped, beat, and stabbed her 16 times with an axl. Another young woman was also assaulted by Satcher in a similar fashion, but she survived the attack. Both of their purses were stolen and disposed of in the same bush.
46. Thomas Beavers Jr. (1990-1997, lethal injection): Beavers broke into the home of 61 year old Marguerite Lowery, and raped and suffocated her to death with a pillow. He sacked the house, stole her jewelry, and drove off with Lowery's car. The killing went unsolved until a year later when Beavers was arrested for sexually assaulting a neighbor in circumstances nearly identical to Lowery's murder. A police search while investigating the neighbor incident found Lowery's stolen jewelry in his house.
47. Tony Mackall (1986-1998, lethal injection): While holding up a gas station at gunpoint, Mackall shot the cashier, 31 year old Mary Dahn, and took $515 from the register.
48. Douglas Buchanan Jr. (1987-1998, lethal injection): Enraged that his father, 43 year old Douglas, married a much younger woman, 31 year old Geraldine, shortly after his mother's passing, Buchanan shot him to death in their home. He also gunned down and stabbed Geraldine and her two sons, 13 year old Joel and 10 year old Donnie.
49. Ronald Watkins (1988-1998, lethal injection): While robbing a store that he formerly work at, Watkins stabbed the store owner, 29 year old William McCauley, 7 time in his back and slit his throat. McCauley's body was discovered by his father, who stopped by to check on his son after he failed to return home on time. As a sidenote, Watkins was the younger brother of the above mentioned Johnny Watkins Jr..
50. Ángel Breard (1992-1998, lethal injection): Breard stabbed his neighbor, 29 year old Ruth Dickie, to death during a botched rape in her home. He also made another unsuccessful attempt at sexually assaulting a second neighbor half a year later, which enabled investigators to tie him to Dickie's murder. His death sentence and execution sparked outrage in his native Paraguay.
51. Dennis Eaton (1989-1998, lethal injection): Eaton and his girlfriend, 24 year old Judy McDonald, carjacked 68 year old Ripley Marston Sr. and 26 year old Walter Custer Jr., and shot them both dead. While speeding away from the murder scene, the couple were pulled over by a state trooper, 48 year old Jerry Hines, and gunned him down as well. In the following police chase, Eaton ended up crashing his car into a telephone pole, and injured McDonald in the process. As they were corned, Eaton finished off McDonald by shooting her in the head, and made an attempt to commit suicide before he was subdued.
52. Danny King (~1980s(?)-1998, lethal injection): King and his then wife duped Carolyn Rogers, a 55 year old real estate agent, into letting them inside a vacant house by posing as clients. They jumped Rogers as she was giving them a tour of the house. She was choked with King's bare hands and stabbed to death in the assault. The couple then stole rings and checks from her purse. Both King and his ex wife blamed each other for the murder, but King was the one that was convicted of it by the courts. King also had a long history of robbery and car thefts, and was released from prison 10 days before the murder.
53. Lance Chandler Jr. (~1987-1998, lethal injection): Chandler shot and killed a clerk, 33 year old William Dix, during a convenience store robbery. He had a criminal record dating back to the age of 14, and had previous arrests for armed robbery, assaulting officers, and public intoxication.
54. Johnile DuBois (~1990s-1998, lethal injection): During a convenience store robbery, DuBois and 3 teenage accomplices tried forcing the clerk, 39 year old Philip Council, to open the register for them. When they thought he was acting too slow, the DuBois and the other robbers beat Council and shot him to death. DuBois had a history of thefts, illicit firearms possessions, assault, and probation violations.
55. Kenneth Stewart Jr. (1991-1998, lethal injection): Stewart separated from his wife, 35 year old Cynthia, after their marriage disintegrated. He was forbidden by the courts from being in contact with their son, 5 month old Jonathan, without Cynthia's consent. To overcome the custody barriers, Stewart tried to reconcile with Cynthia. When she refused, he shot her and Jonathan dead in her home.
56. Dwayne Wright (1989-1998, lethal injection): Wright went on a weeklong crime spree in Maryland and Virginia. In his Maryland attacks, he shot and killed 31 year old Odell Thomas and 24 year old Reginald Turman, and stole Turman's car and a total of $400. He then drove to Virginia, and held Saba Tekle, a 34 year old Ethiopian refugee, at gunpoint in her apartment. Wright forced Tekle to undress, shot her dead when she resisted his attempts at sexual assault, and swapped Truman’s car for hers.
57. Ronald Fitzgerald (1993-1998, lethal injection): Fitzgerald shot and killed 39 year old Coy White in his home in order to get his hands on the man’s 13 year old daughter. He abducted and raped the girl after forcing her to steal money from her father’s pockets, and left her locked in the trunk of his car. After abandoning White’s daughter, Fitzgerald flagged down a taxi driver, Hugh Morrison (age unknown), and shot him dead. Fitzgerald used Morrison’s stolen taxi to kidnap an 18 year old woman and her two children, and drove them to a motel. He raped the 18 year old in the motel room while her two children were watching tv. The family were spared and released, and Fitzgerald forced a couple to drive him to a courthouse with the intentions of committing suicide there. However, the attempt failed with his gun jamming, and he was captured by the police.
58. Kenneth Wilson (1993-1998, lethal injection): Wilson forcibly entered the home of his cousin's girlfriend, 31 year old Jacqueline Stephen, with a knife. He bound Stephen to a bed, and tied her 12 year old daughter and her daughter's 14 year old friend to the bed's posts. Wilson then made an attempt to rape Stephen, and cut her and the girls' throats. Stephen died at the scene, while both of the girls survived their injuries.

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Hello friends,
Wanted to share some recent happenings, get them off my chest and attempt to receive confirmation from the "phenomena" as its not giving me any peace for ignoring it and not putting any of it out there. I'll try to keep it as short and direct as possible.
Take nothing said here for truth, some of it is blurry as I tried to purposely ignore it. I do not claim to be anything or anyone, for all I know the other side could be toying with me or throwing me into psychosis. Do your own research and question everything. I again apologize for my English and for wasting the time of those who decide to read it.
Some books and names will be mentioned and by no means do I promote anything or anyone, its a highly controversial subject as you know and the propaganda and deception surrounding it are all over the place.
I'll start by saying that the high strangeness, signs and synchronicities were off the charts with the beginning of March. They lead me to a dark place of questioning our existence, free will and purpose. It was becoming problematic, nihilistic, consuming my daily life and making me question my sanity. Two or so weeks into the month I had an insanely vivid dream of being in the apartment I was living at as a teenager with my parents. The dream was me going to the window of my room, opening the blinds and looking up at the night sky. What struck me at first was the clearness of it, there was no light pollution from the city and all the stars could be seen clearly. As I was watching, a cluster of stars began to frantically move/dance around and form different shapes, so I yelled "mom, come see this, quick". They suddenly stopped, aligned horizontally, think they were 7 in total and swooped down from the sky, towards my window, forming a horseshoe type of craft with 3 lights on the sides and one on the bottom. My immediate thought was "Lego pieces for something bigger, camouflaged as stars", then I turned around and there stood a mantis faced being, with long limbs, dressed as my mom, so I got scared, ran passed it, into the other room where my dad was sleeping, told him to get up but he was also a mantis being, so I ran towards the balcony, said "Jesus protect me" (?) and the dream ended. The following days I could have sworn that this was not just a dream but a real memory of an experience from my teenage years and it was practically the breaking point for all the weirdness with the UFO topic, so I said that I'm done researching any of it if I'm to keep my mind in tact, writing anything down and that I need better signs if I was to continue.
A week or so passed with no signs or anything. Comes 21st of March when I had a dream of me standing in the hallway of the same old apartment, seeing bright light coming from the living room with my right peripheral and hearing my moms voice saying "hey, look who's here, waiting to play chess with you!". I got confused, turned and began walking towards the living room, upon entering a bright white light blinded me like a flashbang and the dream ended, woke me up and I immediately heard a couple of footsteps on the squeaky part of the floor in front of my bed and then a big squeak as if something was standing or putting pressure in place. Both my ears got muffled and began ringing with a high pitch frequency, immediate thoughts were that the previous dream was a test in order for me to correctly differentiate fantasy (I'm not saying that any of it isn't fantasy or imagination) from reality, if that makes sense, that I'm now playing a game of something and remembered that I had the ringing happen only once before in my life as a teenager and remembered that it was so loud that I had to cover my ears with my hands or the ear drums would explode. Checked the time, 3:30am, went back to sleep.
After waking up in the morning I had an intense urge to buy Chris Bledsoe's book (I've been watching earlier some of the interviews he's given), got off the bed, said to myself why not and began searching on how to buy it. Decided to get a kindle copy as I couldn't wait for a hard cover one and then the struggles began. The book seemed to be unavailable for my country, Bulgaria, at least then, don't know if it is now. Tried all the stores, Barns n Noble, apple store, google store, all the amazon.whatevers, couldn't buy it. Tried a thousand different ways to acquire it, VPNs, virtual cards, paypal, other means, etc. Before I knew it hours had passed and I was getting really disappointed, maybe it was an error on my front, it's the first kindle book I was buying. So I leaned back on my chair and said "f*ck it, I obviously can't buy it", then I looked up and said "if you want me to read it, you'll have to let me buy it", then with the amazon website open in front of me I told myself "one last try wont hurt", so I stretched my left arm towards the keyboard, pressed F5 to refresh the page, the price was now $1 higher than the previous, thought that that's weird, stretched my right arm to grab the mouse and press order and voila, purchase successful. Read it the next couple of days, it helped me connect a lot of dots and that's all I'll say on that. Then through means that I can't recall, probably a podcast or something I decided to read American Cosmic, well, all I can say is that it left me speechless and it helped me connect a whole sweater of dots. Read it on the 27th. The part about the "miracle" UFO book encounter blew my mind and that's all on that. A thought I had after reading it was that I should get hardcover copies of not just these books, but ones I'll be reading in the future, in case of a digital disaster.
The following days I had an urge to write a review for the books but instead began to notice that I'm again being sucked in with full force into an unhealthy dose of the rabbit hole and refused to do it as all kinds of existential thoughts about free will began to emerge. From here on I purposely decided not to pay attention to anything again.
The next day I had to go out and buy groceries, absolutely determined not to pay attention to anything weird but instead found out that weirdness pays attention to me, I stepped out of the apartment building and a fella who was walking ~15 meters in front of me, stopped, turned around and said "God bless you, may he give you health and strength", he was confused, I was confused, so I said God bless you too in return. I then went to buy groceries, entered the supermarket, stopped in front of something I was wondering of buying, decided not to and to buy something that's deeper in the shop instead, went deeper in, decided not to get the thing and went back to get the first one. As I stopped back at the first item a group of kids entered and passed by me, one of them was talking about one of their friends "He saw a UFO hovering over [somewhere]" and another kid replied to the first "Wow, he must be an idiot". So I stood there for a while after that, in disbelief of what just happened, initial thoughts were that whatever's doing this is mocking me and that it did this to prove a point that I should trust my intuition and not stray from "the initially set path" as its unnecessary to do so and it will just take me longer to circle back around it, if that makes sense. Then I went to another shop, got in, a cashier froze upon seeing me ~20 or so meters away from me, was watching as if through me (here I ask those who can see auras, could she have seen an aura and what color or vibration would "shock" you), got out, walked towards my car, a cat emerged from somewhere, I bent down to pet it, as I pet it I had the name Bastet enter my mind and a vision of a location, it seemed familiar, went back home, thought that I should buy a cat, thought that it's weird and that I can't take care of a cat right now and decided to check out what Bastet meant instead as I remember hearing about that name as a kid. The research led me where it led me and that's all I'll say on that, I plan on visiting the sites in the near future in order to check out the energies there.
The following days, through means that I will not mention I decided to research a bit about Vangelia Dimitrova known as Baba Vanga. By no means will I even attempt to write about her or what happened to her. Those of you who are truly interested and desire to learn more about the phenomena should not dismiss her story entirely, try to walk passed the propaganda and thousands of fake prophecies on the internet and you may be able to connect some dots. I believe that she was a "max level experiencer", an oracle and if what I stumbled upon is true she was in constant contact with "others".
May not be the best but here is a small example:
"Sometimes I'm very nervous and people think I'm bad. I see the surroundings and the hoop that gradually narrows around the Earth. I experience the suffering of all people and I cannot and I dare not explain it, because a very stern voice keeps warning me not to bother explaining anything, because humans deserve the life they live. How do I help those who increasingly do not respect anyone, compete to acquire money and possessions. It is as If man's aspiration is to trample on everything bright and holy, to which he attains, at the cost of such dear sacrifices...
That day, May 30th, 1988, Vanga told me that there was a very beautiful woman walking around her, dressed in white and stood in front of the people, who were waiting to enter. She had watched her for quite some time with pleasure, because the woman's clothing shone like silver. No one else of course saw her.
When the "doorman" began letting people in to Vanga, the "silver" woman rose about two meters from the ground. She was extraordinarily beautiful. "I haven't seen so much beauty, gathered in one "human figure" even when I was sighted and saw like you", Vanga told me."
1st of April heard a couple of trumpet sounds with my left ear, possibly coming from outside, it could just be construction work, I live in a city.
I then again decided to "abandon" the phenomena and move on, hence why no dates will be given as I did not keep track.
A week or so later, going into April, through means that I can't remember, think It was a video, something random I was watching while eating or whatever, that at the end said that it doesn't hurt to thank your guardian angel once in a while. Ok, sooooo, long story short, as I haven't done it before I said to myself that it probably won't hurt, stopped what I was doing for a minute and wholeheartedly thanked whoever my guardian, angel or guardian angel is and asked for forgiveness for the stupid sh*t he or she has witnessed me saying or doing and that was that.
That night I had two... interesting dreams.
The first dream, didn't really feel like one, more like a vision, very brief, I think my consciousness was somewhere, at a better place. A humanoid silhouette of pure white light, engulfed by yellowish sort of aura came front and center and a voice was saying something that I couldn't hear or understand, behind it was sort of green fields and clear blue sky. Then it "teleported" my mind somewhere else, in front of a huge book that someone was writing on. I leaned in to read from the book, what I read from it shocked me to my core and it booted me out of the dream, woke me up and as it did I caught myself repeating "love, light, love light" from before even waking up, my ears began ringing again with the high pitch frequency with the exception that this time it was slightly hurting. Checked the time, 3:30 again. Fell asleep.
As I fell asleep the vision sort of continued and I found myself in a hallway of a library or something with an infinite number of rafts of books, archives or whatever, it was as if I was in a corner, hidden. Then a being walked passed me in the hallway, it was reading a book it was holding but I couldn't quite see any hands holding the book. It stopped, noticed me, turned its head slightly to the left, I felt scared and it booted me out of the dream again. Upon waking up I felt the most intense fear I've ever experienced, I was sweating and my whole body was shaking, never have I thought I'd feel such an emotion, being a tall tatted dude didn't help with this one and I couldn't fall asleep after that for a while. I can't say if the being was bad or not, I think it inflicted fear as to warn me not to venture too far into unknown lands. The being itself was short with a Jabba the Hutt sort of body, covered with a cloak from its neck to the end of its body. I didn't see any legs or hands. It had an enormous head, small practically non visible mouth and small human-like, menacing eyes. Reminded me of the Lam dude.
When I woke up in the morning I couldn't remember anything from what was said or shown. The initial thought I had from the first "vision" was that something was written, "so it is written", could it be the book of my life or what could it be, I don't know and that the being was actually an angel or a being of creation I've no idea how to call them. The thought from the second dream was that the being was some kind of keeper of knowledge and the archives were storing records of either infinite universes or infinite reincarnations of what we call souls. Another thing that was in my mind that I should go out and buy something to write on and with and something to draw on and with, so I said to myself that, again, I wont do that as I'm a techy and pen and paper ain't my thing. Also upon waking up I again heard a squeak on a different part of the floor in the room.
The following days were quiet. Had a dream of me or someone else holding their hands up at rubble formed from some type of a disaster, possibly an earthquake, attempting to lift off by levitating it and help the people buried under it. As I woke up in the morning I had a thought that correct frequency, vibration, energy and intention are key to connecting to the "force" or "web" around us, allowing us to achieve wonders including healing different diseases and illnesses.
So, yeah, after about a month of radio silence with the occasional sign or synchronicity here and there I decided to go out and buy something to write and draw on and with, noticed random people looking and smiling at me which was incredibly bizarre.
Thank you for reading if you've made it this far and have an awesome day. I leave you with a part of my soul and the land I live on, which holds many ancient mysteries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnxUYsf6GuU

"First off, get your shit together. Panic doesn’t help. It never helps. Deep breaths, figure this out, make the right moves. Fear is the mind-killer. Ha. Geek.”
Welcome everyone to the third check in for Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. We continue with the story of Holden and his crew, and Miller, the detective in search of answers amid planetary conflict. In this third discussion we will be discussing Chapter Sixteen through Chapter Twenty Four.
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Hope you all Enjoy the discussion! Feel free to respond to any or all of the discussion questions below. Looking forward to discussing these chapters with you all!
Schedule
Marginalia
Hope you all Enjoy the discussion! Feel free to respond to any or all of the discussion questions below. Looking forward to discussing these chapters with you all!
Read on!

• Rogue

Chapter Summaries:
Chapter Sixteen: Miller - Miller watches a broadcast by the Martian government that blames “the Belt”-not the OPA-for the 2,086 Martian lives lost with the destruction of the Donnager. The Martian Navy will establish a military cordon in the Belt and take action to bring the attackers to justice. So far, it has destroyed 18 “illegal warships.” Miller realizes that if the situation escalates further, it will mean the end of everything he has ever known.
Shaddid calls Miller into her office, where Dawes is seated. Shaddid officially removes Miller from the Mao case and orders him to return all data on the case by the end of the day. Shaddid says his letter to Julie’s parents was a breach of policy and it didn’t go out.
Dawes tells Miller it’s not a good idea for Star Helix to be the organization that finds Julie. Earth and Star Helix need to keep their hands clean, but the OPA has the resources to do it right, and Mao was one of theirs. Miller points out that the Scopuli was the bait to kill the Canterbury and the Canterbury was the bait that ended the Donnager. Miller wonders why the suspects should be the only ones handling the investigation. Shaddid asserts that she’s not negotiating this. She dismisses Miller, telling him to go catch some bad guys. Miller agrees and leaves.
Later, Miller is back at the Blue Fog. The bar manager, Hasini, tells him he’s drunk and offers to get him home since it’s late. Miller contemplates “late”-he’s almost 50, so it’s too late to start again. It seems too late for anything. It occurs to him that he’s never seen a sky. He realizes the reason he’s feeling so low is not the job but the fact they took Julie away. He apparently has been talking about her all night, although he doesn’t remember. The bartender asserts that Miller is in love with her.
Chapter Seventeen: Holden - Holden and his crew are enjoying the aroma of coffee and food in the Tachi’s galley. No one is chasing them or knows where they are. They are assumed dead alongside the Donnager crew. They have water, fuel, and food, and they are well-armed. Holden says he’s inclined to take Johnson’s offer of refuge. The others agree. After giving the ship a thorough inspection, Holden finds Naomi on the operations deck. She’s working on the transponder. She’s done everything, including branding the ship as a gas freighter and entering the new name Holden chose: Rocinante. When Naomi asks what the name means, which is an allusion to the protagonist of Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th century novel Don Quixote.
Eventually, the Rocinante arrives at Tycho Station. Tycho was an early pioneer of massive Engineering projects that built the Belt’s habitats, making it now the largest mobile construction platform in the solar system. Despite that, it’s dwarfed by its latest project: the Nauvoo, a ship commissioned by a group of Mormons, who intended to embark on a 100-year trip to Tau Ceti, a star in the Cetus constellation that is similar to the Sol system’s sun. They enter an airlock, and Fred Johnson welcomes them to Tycho Station.
Chapter Eighteen: Miller - On Ceres, the six ships that took down the Donnager are hailed as heroes. The win gives Belters hope. Miller, meanwhile, feels stripped of years of lying to himself about being respected at his job. He’s nothing more than a functional alcoholic who’s been anesthetizing himself. Havelock was the only one who might have any respect for him. At least now he can stop trying to keep up appearances.
Miller thinks again of Dawes’s comment that the OPA has Holden. He questions how a ship could survive the Donnager attack without being all over the news feeds. He does the math to calculate the probabilities, but following up on all of them would take a year. Even when he narrows the options by ship type, the list is still too big.
Just as he starts getting returns on his log query, the government of Ceres collapses. Shaddid says Earth is pulling out of Ceres, but the Star Helix contract is still in place. Miller wonders if the 6 million people on Ceres are expendable. The OPA will step in to fill the power vacuum left by Earth but Mars will either take over the station or turn it to dust. Shaddid and Dawes were right, he thinks: Ceres under Earth contract was the best hope for a negotiated peace. By morning, Star Helix is all that separates Ceres from Anarchy. Shaddid calls Miller back to her office, where Dawes is waiting. She needs a strong team, and she doesn’t trust Miller. She fires him.
Chapter Nineteen: Holden - Holden wants to know why Fred and the OPA are interested in his crew. When Fred gets dodgy with answering his questions, Holden says he can tell the crew what he wants with them now or they will go back to their ship and try piracy. Fred talks about how war between Mars and the belt would be suicide and it’s only a matter of time before the combatants do something desperate, risking millions of lives.
Alex observes that Fred only talked about war and peace as options. There’s a third: a criminal trial, someone to blame for the current situation. As the only witnesses to the destruction of both the Canterbury and the Donnager, Fred calls them the ace in the hole and wants to use them to negotiate peace treaties. Weeks pass aboard Tycho and the crew are enjoying the amenities on the station. While Naomi, Alex and Amos find ways to entertain themselves, Holden feels out of place. He returns to the Rocinante, feeling more at home and considers everyone he lost as well as wanting vengeance. He eventually falls asleep.
Chapter Twenty: Miller - Ceres Station has become unmoored. Star Helix ended its contract, and the OPA has claimed control of the station. Physically it’s the same, but it’s altered political status has changed everything. Miller watches children play and envies their inclination to believe in their own invulnerability. Miller wants to find Holden, believing he may have information to aid in the search for Julie. Miller checks a message from Havelock, who has signed on with another security company, the Earth-based Protogen. He also checks ship logs, looking for leads. He sees the Rocinante and wonders why a gas hauler would be going from one consumer to another. Miller calls and asks Havelock for a favor, as he has no access, no weapon and is running out of money.
More riots follow and a curfew is set. Mars knows the Belt won’t win and the Belt knows it's nothing to lose. Miller works to find Holden and learn what happened to the Scopuli. Miller talks to an imaginary Julie, a construct he’s created to function as a companion. She thinks he’s pathetic for having nothing better to do than search for her. He books passage to Tycho but Havelock informs him that his “package” was headed for Eros, another asteroid station in the Belt. Miller changes his ticket to Eros.
Chapter Twenty One: Holden - On Tycho, Holden, Alex, and Amos are watching the war news. Mars is positioning itself as peacekeeper. Holden is impatient. He doesn’t want to hang around enjoying Fred Johnson’s hospitality—he wants to go after whoever destroyed the Cant. Naomi says they deserve their comfortable beds, food, and a chance to relax. She reminds Holden that he agreed to Johnson’s terms.
Holden says Fred owns them because he controls the purse strings. He thinks they should leave, get work, and make some money. The others are amenable, but they all want more time to unwind. Holden agrees to wait a few more days. Naomi tells Holden she’s been a bad XO because she’s been too pushy about some things, but he’s done a great job keeping them alive. Feeling proud, Holden thanks her. Naomi says he’s not captain just because McDowell died.
Fred tells Holden he wants to borrow the Roci. He needs a quiet ship to pick up something and bring it to Tycho. Holden doesn’t trust him and doesn’t want any part of a secret mission. Fred provides more detail: He needs someone to fly to Eros, pick up an operative named Lionel Polanski, and bring him back to Tycho. According to Fred, “Polanski” exists only on paper; someone used the name to check into a flophouse on Eros. Fred believes it’s a call for help. They negotiate: Holden won’t loan his ship, but Fred can hire the Roci and its crew. To conceal their identities, Holden suggests disguising the Roci to look like the gas freighter it’s supposed to be. Fred agrees to camouflage the ship, and Holden informs the crew they’re going to Eros.
Chapter Twenty Two: Miller - Miller is on a transport to Eros. The bar is open, and the drinks are cheap, but he’s not interested in drinking. He’s focused on Julie. A missionary strikes up a conversation. After a little back-and-forth about what religion the missionary is selling (he turns out to be Mormon), Miller reveals that he used to be a cop on Ceres, where he was born and spent his whole life. The missionary asks if he’ll ever go back, and Miller says no. He wonders why he doesn’t feel any loss.
Eros is filled with cheap casinos, sex clubs, opioid bars, and show-fight arenas. Miller stops at a noodle place and runs into Sematimba, an old friend he worked with on a difficult security case. Miller asks about Julie, but Sematimba doesn’t know anything. Miller says the case started out as an abduction but might be something big connected to the war. A riot breaks out nearby, and Sematimba leaves to police it. Miller heads toward a casino, reasoning that everyone who comes to Eros passes through the casinos.
Chapter Twenty Third: Holden - The Roci has arrived at Eros. After making their way through the casinos, they reach the flophouse. Amos tells Holden someone’s following them, giving a description of a man in a hat. A woman in the flophouse lobby orders Holden and the others to go with her. She points a small plastic gun at Alex’s head. Amos points his much more impressive gun at her. Several people barge in, shooting compact semiautomatics. A guy with a small machine gun advances toward Holden. Their tail—Miller—arrives and shoots the guy with the machine gun. Holden tells his crew not to shoot the guy with the hat. After the attackers leave, Holden introduces himself. The guy says his name is Miller.
Chapter Twenty Four: Miller goes into analytic mode. The flophouse ambush was sloppy; otherwise, Holden and his crew would have been taken or killed. Miller explains his presence: He’s looking for a crew member on the Scopuli. Holden says they’re also looking for someone who was on the Scopuli—someone who was supposed to be at the flophouse. Miller wonders if it’s Julie. They all head for the room Lionel Polanski is supposed to be occupying. Holden knocks on the door, but there’s no answer. Amos kicks in the door, revealing a dark room with an unpleasant smell.
They inspect the room. Holden orders everyone not to touch anything. They follow a trail of dark fluid, not blood, to the bathroom, where the smell is worse. The lights inside are all destroyed. Black tendrils reach toward the broken fixtures. In the shower stall, Julie lies dead, naked except for the tendrils and tubes coming out of her orifices and the bony spurs she’s grown. Miller orders everyone out. Sematimba arrives, and Miller tells him the girl he was looking for is dead in the room. He admits that he’s in over his head. He knows the attack was a set-up. He gestures toward Holden and tells Sematimba who he is