Hi guys! Today I have two stories for you that weren't long enough to post on their own, so I decided to combine them, both with the theme of nostalgia.

Hope you enjoy!

Bracken didn't understand why it hit him when it did. It came out of no-where and was probably misplaced and highly inappropriate considering the situation they were in.

He and Kendra were sprinting down the dark hallway of a filthy and blackened dungeon. The hall was lined with cells, some hanging open, most closed. Bracken didn't want to stop and see if the cells were empty, even though the thought of something coming out of the dark cells unnerved him greatly. But now, the most dangerous threat was the one from behind. A group of three demons, snarling and stumbling crashed down the dark hallway after them.

The demons had been a… unexpected part of their day. Kendra, while visiting the Fairy Realm had expressed interest in seeing an old castle left behind by the demons in their move to the old fairy realm. Before Kendra had arrived, a group of warriors had already done most of the work in destroying actual threats, so when the demons dropped out of the ceiling and attacked them, he had been frozen with surprise and shock. Kendra had taken the lead, grabbing his hand and taking the only exit available to avoid being eaten, which had led them into the dungeons under the castle.

As they ran, the dungeons got narrow and old and Bracken was struck with a brand new thought. With Kendra running along beside him, in a dungeon, it was… almost nostalgic in a strange way. It was dark and mostly terrifying, but those were the kinds of things that got to feel almost normal when you had the kind of life that he and Kendra did.

"Bracken!" Kendra hissed out from beside him as they rounded a corner, pointing out the dead end they were coming up on. It was a split second decision that made Bracken grab Kendra and yank her into the nearest open, and from what Bracken could tell, empty cell. They grabbed the heavy iron door, and as quietly as possible, pulled the door shut. Bracken took cover right under the small window in the door where they were the least likely to be seen and Kendra slid down the door beside him.

They kept quiet as they heard the demons approach, and Kendra squeezed his hand tightly as the snarling grew so loud, it felt like the demons were right on top of them. But eventually, because the demons couldn't see them, they loped off to go search elsewhere.

Bracken released the breath he had been holding as the pressure on his hand eased up slightly.

"We need to get out of here." Kendra whispered, tugging him to his feet. As Kendra glanced out the doorway to see where they could escape, Bracken stayed beside her, pulling his horn out of his belt.

"Remember the first time we met?" Kendra gave him a strange look and Bracken felt the need to explain himself. "The dungeon cell and all?"

Kendra rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. "Is this really the time for that?"

Bracken smiled as he followed Kendra out of the cell and together, they crept back towards the entrance of the dungeons.

"Always the time for remembering Kens." Kendra rolled her eyes again, and was about to respond when a roar, echoing from the hallway behind them interrupted her.

Kendra turned to Bracken as the demons came into view from around the corner. "Is it still the time Bracken?"

And despite everything, as he and Kendra turned to run from the demons who were now angrier than ever, Bracken grinned. "What can I say? I`m feeling nostalgic today."

Kendra didn't really consider herself to be a nostalgic person. If this life had taught her nothing, it was that dwelling on the past only made the present and future all that more difficult. With everything that she had experienced, from betrayal, to the death of loved ones, to the life she had always known being turned on its head and even facing the end of the world, nostalgia had never done much to help her get through life`s challenges.

"Hey Kendra, remember when Lena used to make us these?" Kendra turned back to see Seth bent over a bunch of stacked canvases. Kendra went back to look at what he was talking about and picked up one of the canvases. In an attached plastic bag, small bottles of paint swung free. The canvas was printed with light gray lines that marked numbered areas to be filled in, but this was no child`s color-by-number painting. It was incredibly intricate and detailed and it was in fact quite a lot like the canvases that Lena used to make them.

"Huh. Yeah. The wonders of Target." Kendra joked, sliding the canvas back onto the shelf.

"Remember when she made that dragon painting? It took me forever to get it done." Kendra smiled as she watched Seth flick through the canvases.

"Yeah. It was the most focused I`ve ever seen you be." Seth laughed alongside her, and Kendra knelt beside him to look at them as well.

"I did so many of those when we were grounded in the attic." Kendra nodded, remembering how at first, Kendra hadn't wanted to do the paintings, because she thought they were too immature, but had soon asked Lena to make her one after watching Seth get through three of them.

"I only did one. It was the painting of the pond. Still have it." Seth nodded absently and Kendra tried to smile through the pain in her heart and stood up.

"You ready to get going?" Kendra waited for Seth to stand as well. But he didn't, remaining crouching next to the paintings, holding one in his hand. Kendra glanced at the canvas, able to make out the design of a dragon perched on a tower.

"Do you wanna get one?" She offered and Seth finally looked up, his face lit up in excitement.

"Can we?" Kendra chuckled a little.

"Sure. Is that the one you want?" Seth nodded excitedly, jumping to his feet. They continued down the aisle and were walking to check out when Seth perked up.

"Oh wait, we have to get you one!"

"Oh, uh, it`s alright Seth. I don`t need one." But Seth ignored her, racing back to the aisle where they had seen the canvases calling behind him as he went.

"Just trust me!" Shaking her head with a small smile on her face, Kendra waited for Seth to return, holding two canvases instead of one.

And it wasn't until the next weekend when Seth and Kendra both had time to paint, that Seth showed her the design that he had picked for her. And she would never admit it, but the choice had made her tear up a little. The design was of a small boardwalk extending out into water, the sky littered with floating lanterns. A woman stood on the end of the dock alone, facing the water. She had been right to trust Seth. He had made the perfect choice.

The next day, after Kendra applied the final coat of paint and assembled the frame around the canvas, she had gotten Warren to help her hang up her and Seth`s paintings. Warren had done it with a slightly bemused grin, but hadn't asked any questions. But, before he left her room, Kendra called him back one more time, unable to resist the urge to take an opportunity when it presented itself. From a downstairs closet where they stored unused or unneeded items, Kendra retrieved two paintings that she hadn't seen in a long time.

Warren`s smile had softened when he saw the handwriting on the back of the paintings with little notes and instructions, hanging the paintings with a smile that indicated he knew exactly who the notes were from.

Kendra stood in front of the new paintings, remembering Lena and her affinity for the beautiful and smiled.

Maybe she was a little nostalgic after all.

And maybe nostalgia wasn't too bad either.

Hope you liked it!

I want to get all of you more involved in this story, so if you have any prompts and/or ideas that you`d like to leave me, I`d love to write them!

Thank you to Jesus saved even me (thank you so much for the sweet words, it means so much!), Wolf Lover27(thank you for the continued support), Fairy Girl22(I definitely will, thank you!) and everyone else for the support.

Have a good night/day/morning/afternoon/evening!