My background knowledge on relationships and romance from the initial brain dump from when I first awoke has carried me far. Unfortunately, I don't think it's gonna cut it this time. Sure, I have what could probably be considered to be the ideal relationship with Emery. Love? Check. Trust? Check. Kinky sex? Double check with sprinkles on top. So basically, the three essentials.
However, discovery of one's sexuality after being drugged by your psycho stalker and then basically almost raping them, is not on the list. And that was the dilemma I was trying to work past with Emery here. Truthfully, I was perfectly fine with the whole thing. I mean, knowing Emery she'd probably end up asking me to help her double team a girl whoever she felt like scratching that particular itch. And, well, I'd be lying if the Manwhore within me wasn't happy with that.
No, my real concern was with Emery herself. She seemed almost… scared of what it meant. Like she was horrified she could even swing that way. As her soon to be husband, it's my job to help her past that and to help her accept her sexuality. There's knelt one problem.
How do I even do that?
My knowledge on homophobia and bisexuality is… limited. I know it logically, like if I googled a definition of it. But in practice? I've got nothing. The fact that it exists at all shouldn't be surprising, but it was. I just… didn't even think of it like that. It wasn't even a thought in my head until Emery mentioned something like it. She called it "filthy". There's a lot of shit I could extrapolate from that one word, but the most important being a form of homophobic teaching from her hometown.
Normally I wouldn't really care. I mean, it's not really my problem. But considering it was starting to be Emery's problem, it was now also my problem. Now if only there was a book on getting rid of homophobic upbringings. Then I could just give her that and call it a day. But no, that would be callous, and it doesn't even exist. So, I have to do this the hard way.
Emery took a seat besides me, fidgeting slightly as she stared down at the table. Wait a minute, she was staring at the cake. Ice breaker time. "You want some cake hon? My birthday may be tomorrow, but we could always break the rules a bit and eat it now."
She looked up at me, tilting her head to the side and raising an eyebrow. "Your birthday is tomorrow? Wait a minute, your birthday is tomorrow!?"
Eh? I could've sworn I told her by now. No, I definitely remember telling her it. We were eating dinner, getting ready to get down with the sickness and all that, and I mentioned it to her. She promised to make it a good one, and then…
What happened next? Come to think of it, when was this even? Ah shit, did I dream telling her about my birthday?! God damn it. "Er, yeah. I must've forgotten to tell you. My bad hon."
Her mouth gaped like a fish, opening and closing as she tried to get over her frustration. Finally, she clenched her jaw, and glared at me. "How am I supposed to prepare for something like that in less than a day!? Heck, I'm less than a few hours!?"
Those were all very excellent points. But I have a better one. "Well, all I want to do tomorrow is spend it with you. Read a few books, eat some cake, get freaky in the bedroom, go out for a nature hike, maybe even talk about some of the stuff I'm getting done in the Crafting Table."
A blush bloomed on her cheeks, and she looked away in embarrassment. Huh, was it me, or did her blush seem brighter than usual? No wait, she's just way paler than normal. I narrowed my eyes, placing the back of my hand against her forehead. Holy shit, she's really burning up right now. "Em, are you okay? You feel about warm right now. Have you been feeling… sick or anything like that? I mean, besides from the usual pregnancy issues."
Her eyes were still as soft as ever, but there was a slight hint of worry in them. "Well, I've been feeling more tired and nauseous than usual. And I've been vomiting more. Oh, also, I sometimes feel really out of breath."
Hmm, most of those were normal pregnancy issues. But the fever was definitely worrying. "I'll give you a check up first thing in the morning. Until then, don't do anything extra… strenuous. Damn. I guess that men's no sex tonight hon."
A disappointed pout crossed her lips, before she froze for a moment. She gulped, clenching her hands into fists before steeling herself. Eyes gazing up to me, Emery spoke firmly. "Right. A-Anyway, speaking of sex. We should… we should probably talk about what happened earlier."
Right, we should. Making sure to keep an arm around her, I lowered my voice down to a whisper. "Of course. Remember, no matter what, I'll always support you. There's no need to feel ashamed about it, okay hon?"
A small, dainty hand grasped my own and squeezed. Letting out a sigh, Emery took the lead. "Back home, in Halor, we've always had an issue with our population. Dangerous forest an all that. So back when the town was first forming, the founders made a rule. Same sex relations were banned, under the threat of death. A bit extreme, but desperate people make desperate decisions I guess."
She leaned back, head resting on my shoulder as she continued her take. "Growing up, we were taught that it was a crime to feel things for other people of the same gender. It never really came up in life, since generally speaking, no one ever broke that rule. Looking back, I always rationalized my… staring as just appreciating their forms. You know, non sexually. But this whole pregnancy thingy has really thrown me for a loop. Especially realizing that the reason other women were attracted to me, was because my allure was attracting them."
I quickly scanned my brain for this allure thing. Right, so basically she was attracting people she found attractive to her, because magic is bullshit. Huh. That's definitely a strange way to figure that out.
Emery squeezed my hand again, and leaned in closer. "What am I supposed to feel Darius? Everything I know says that feeling this way is bad, but after experiencing it with you and Lilith, I can't help but want more. Does… does that make me a bad person?"
Her voice… her voice was so quiet. So, unsure. Confused even. She was so vulnerable right now, lowering her walls and asking me to help her. It almost hurt to see her like this, but I was nothing if not supportive. Letting go of Emery's hand, I carefully caressed her cheek and held her. "Emery, you're one of the kindest, most generous people I know. Even the thought that you could ever not be wonderful makes me laugh, because it's just so ridiculous. So you happen to be bisexual, cool. That's just another thing about you that I can treasure."
Pausing, I gave her a quick kiss to the cheek. Her once confused frown was beginning to blossom into a smile, and I was more than ready to see it bloom. "It's not just me either. Evanora enjoys it whenever you two get to hang out, I'm pretty sure your Rana's only friend, and even Amethyst thinks your great. And don't even get time started on how the citizens love you. I mean, you're Lady Artifice the Lovely to all those people. Seriously, I have no idea who came up with that one, but I think it's fitting."
It must've been my natural godlike charisma, but I could see that I was getting to her. She struggled to keep a smile off her face, even as she shoved her head into my shoulder to hide it. Time for the final push. "And if you're worried about people judging you, don't be. Considering this place has a festival about embracing your sins and being who you are, I doubt they'll think less of you. If anything, you'll get a few more female admirers. So you know, more people for me to beat off with stick. Seriously hon, if you weren't so wholesome and adorable, you'd be sex on legs. As it is now, you're already one of the most desirable people in the territory. Remind me to beat up whoever made that "Top Ten Most Attractive People in Illimité" article."
It seems my strategy of making jokes and keeping her at ease was working, as she let out a small giggle. Wrapping an arm around my own, Emery pulled herself close to me and rested her head on my chest. She spoke up once more, though this time she sounded far less unsure of herself. "Thanks Darius. I… sometimes I wonder what'd I do without you."
I hummed lightly, knowing fully well that the action made her shiver slightly. "Well, you probably would have found a decent enough boyfriend. Though obviously one less ruggedly handsome and cool. And you'd probably have way lamer sex too."
She snorted, playfully slapping my chest as she did so. "Okay then Mr. Sexy Hunter Man, what would you do if I wasn't around, hm?"
This time it was my turn to snort. That was an easy one. I would… I would…
The answer came to me easily. I would've stewed in my anger and hatred, growing bitter at the world. Without Em, I really wouldn't have anything worth losing. I'd focus on training, growing as strong as possible before tracking Darian down. I'd waste my life with needless revenge, and probably die pathetically. Huh. "Well, that's easy. I'd probably just be a hermit or something, too busy with my machines and stuff to actually go and and do things. So basically me but lonely."
She laughed again, her melodic voice a sweet treat for my ears. I smiled, brushing some hair away from her face. The atmosphere must've been making me feel extra sappy today, because I couldn't help but admire her smile.
Maybe that was what love was. Not the big declarations, but the small day to day moments with someone. Seeing someone smile when they think no one's looking, or seeing the look of joy and happiness on their face when they're caught of guard by something they love. The contentment that shines from them as they snuggle up with a warm blanket and read a book.
"You're thinking of something really cheesy again, aren't you?"
Scratching the back of my head, I just gave her a grin. "What can I say hon? You've given me the love bug, and now I can't seem to shake it."
Emery cooed happily, snuggling deeper onto me. At this point, she had completely abandoned her chair in favor of sitting in my lap, curling up into a small ball. I idly noticed her hand sneaking its way to the table, trying to grab the cake box before realizing that her arm was too short to actually reach it from her position. She looked panicked for a moment, as she was faced with the dilemma of either getting out of her spot or not getting cake.
Darius to the rescue.
Holding Emery to my body, I reached forward and grabbed the cake box, leaning back once it was in my hand. Her gaze was locked onto it, eyes big and hopeful. Ah, gotta love her cuddly moods. "How about we stay here a while? Eat some cake, cuddle some more, and maybe take a nap if we're tired. You good with that?"
A nod was my only answer, followed by a quick kiss on my cheek as she accepted the recently Crafted fork from my hand. I held the cake box firmly, watching as Emery chowed down on it. Every now and again, she'd remember I was there, and would feed me a piece of cake from the fork.
It was honesty pretty sweet. The cake too of course.
…
Today was just not Evanora's day. It had started off innocently enough. She had woken up at the tail end of the morning and had lazed about until she felt like it was time to leave. From there, she decided to head over to Daria's Orphanage, to see if the woman was actually the Abyss Mother or if she was just crazy. Then Daria… did something to her, and made her latent crush on Emery come to the forefront of her mind.
It was… it was horrible. She didn't even know she felt so strongly about Emery until Daria nudged her, in a sense. How much of it was even real? After all, forestkin give off a natural allure during magical pregnancy, so maybe it had started from that. Maybe it was from before. Evanora had no clue, all she knew was that she was beginning to crush hard on the younger woman.
Not that she should, or even could, actually say anything about it. After all, Emery was so happy with Darius. Seriously, if it wasn't so wholesome it might be sickeningly sweet. Not only that, but it'd be kind of a dick move to Darius. After all, outside of Rana he was probably the closest thing she had to a best friend. Evanora was a lot a lot of things, but she'd never be a bro code breaker.
So, it looked like the only other plan was to simply push these "new" feelings down and wait for them to simply disappear. Hopefully, they'll fade when Emery's allure vanishes after she gives birth. So all she had to do was wait. For around two and a half months.
Maybe she could convince Darius and Emery to let her… explore with the woman. After all, they were close friends. And it wasn't as if it was too outrageous. Besides, she wouldn't know until-
The door to her room opened, revealing the annoyed visage of Rana. Gazing down disapprovingly, she shut the door behind her and crossed her arms. "There you are Evanora. I was just walking Lady Amethyst back from her training when I heard quite the gossip from the maids. Rumor is, that you were rejected by Emery. Of course, I immediately knew this to be false and that the unruly maids here were simply escalating things too far. However, this does raise a question. What happened?"
The fact that the maids here were apparently gossiping about that sort of thing wasn't even that surprising. Though the truth must've definitely gotten muddled, since that was nothing like what had gone down. "Emery was just asking me if I could help her… feel better about her newfound bisexuality. I helped, of course, and that was the end of it. Easy."
It wasn't a total lie. All she forgot to mention was the part where she almost offered to help Emery "explore her newfound curiosity". With Darius' approval of course. That being said, Rana didn't seem to buy it. Instead, she just sighed and walked over to where Evanora sat at her desk. "We both know there's more to it than that Evanora. Tell me, does this at all have anything to do with your newfound… interest in Emery?"
That got her, as she swallowed her own spit and began to choke. Rana just watched with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to finish. Finally, Evanora managed to stop coughing and stare directly at Rana. "How did you know that!? I haven't told anyone about that, and I've definitely been more than subtle!"
Rana just hummed, patting her on the back patronizingly. "Please, you are anything but subtle. I've known you for years Evanora. You're basically the older sister I never had. So please, don't insult me by implying that I wouldn't know when another new person has caught your eye. That, and I read your diary."
"You what."
She waved her hand in the air, brushing off her question entirely. "Unimportant. All I'm saying, is that this has been happening for years Evanora. At this point, I'm almost certain that you're some sort of serial monogamist or something."
Okay, that was just insulting. Evanora leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, giving Rana an annoyed glare. "I am not a serial monogamist Rana. I just happen to like dating people. That doesn't mean that I'm always looking for a partner. I mean, when was the last time that I had one?"
Something about what she just said must've been funny, as Rana just snorted and gave her a look. "Oh, really now? Then let's list off a few of your "rare" partners. Let's see, there was the newsboy who you thought looked good in his hat, the adventurer girl who you said was "super cute and brave" in her armor, the woodworker who you said had really nice hands- "
Rana continued to list off examples, each one sending Evanora deeper and deeper into her chair. It wasn't her fault that she really liked being with someone. And so what her preferences happen to change every now and again? That's just how growing up works.
"-the girl with the weirdly long tongue wasn't a fun one either. She had the worst habit of chewing with her mouth open. Oh, and don't forget Darius! You were hung up on him for a while, weren't you? What was it that you said? "He's totally the one for me Rana! He's handsome, and smart, and totally strong too". Look how that one turned out? Though you did date that sandkin a little bit after he left. That was probably because he had a similar skin tone to Darius, wasn't it?"
The constant verbal barrage was starting to get on her nerves. Standing up, Evanora stared down at Rana, using her superior height against the younger woman. "Okay, one, I didn't even date Darius! He was too busy with his machines and Emery to even think of approaching him! And second, I like to date people! So what?! Everyone likes dating people! Well, except you, but that's not the point! The point is, that this has nothing to do with the situation at hand! This is… This is different."
Her piece said, Evanora watched for any sort of reaction from Rana. Not that she really got any, as the blonde maid simply blinked, before sighing once again. "The point is, that you're being over dramatic about this. Sure, you may have never dated Darius, but you certainly were quick to try and find a replacement to scratch that itch of your before deciding that it wasn't meant to be and calling it quits. And sure, being a romantic isn't a problem, the way your reacting to your own emotions is. Soon you'll be drinking your sorrows away, lambasting your loneliness before your eye catches someone else and the cycle begins again. However, this time it isn't a stranger. This time it isn't someone who isn't in a relationship. This time, it's a friend. A friend who's engaged to another friend, both of whom you care for. So this time, I'm going to step in and do something about it."
Evanora stood quiet for a moment. Everything Rana had said was true, even if she desperately wished it weren't. Not only that, but they were thoughts that were going through her head mere moments ago. Damn it, her head was all jumbled. "…I know. I know, it's just… every time I go near her, that attraction just skyrockets! Her allure is just way too fucking strong!"
Rana visibly winced, rubbing her arm as she glanced off to the side. "That is a fair point. Even I'm starting to feel strange around her, despite my natural resistance to magic. Still, you need to make a choice Evanora. Either you suck it up and push past these emotions, or you try and broker some form of… agreement between you three. I don't care which, so long as you don't bother me with it."
Ah, there was the blasé young woman she knew and loved. Evanora leaned against her desk, a sly grin on her face. "Those lessons with Raynaldus sure are coming in handy, aren't they? To think, you used to be so whiny about them."
The younger woman scoffed, straightening her uniform as she glared lightly towards Evanora. "What fourteen year old would be enthused about psychology? Besides, I was only two years into my training as a proper maid, so it's understandable that I was less enthused about learning such a valuable skill. And I did not whine."
Oh, that was definitely a lie. Stepping forward, Evanora gave the smaller woman a pat on the head. She grinned as she prepared to remind Rana of just how unruly she used to be. "Oh really now? I'm pretty sure you were all like, "Why can't I just use my stabby wabby! That's way cooler!" I'm pretty sure those were your exact words too."
Unfortunately, her words of wisdom were useless against Rana, who simply frowned. "We both know that I would never say something like that. Anyway, if you're done moping about now, I'll be going. Lady Amethyst must begin her studies soon, and something tells me that she's going to try and weasel out of it."
"Yeah yeah, have fun being a boring nerd Rana."
The door shut, slamming a bit louder than it should have. Looks like she managed to annoy Rana in record time. Taking a seat and leaning back into her chair, Evanora sighed as she began to look over her alchemy notes. While Darius was still setting importing the materials needed to get her alchemy lab set up, she had been writing down all of her ideas for potions and other concoctions.
And at this point, she had an idea for a sort of… perfume that would help solve quite a few of her problems. Emery's allure was getting way too strong, far stronger than she had ever thought possible. At some point, it's going to start causing serious problems for everyone. So, she had spent some time researching different plants and other ingredients that would work as sort of, deterrent. An anti-allure, if you will.
If only Darius would get off his ass and actually finish preparing her lab. Then she'd be able to put all this shit to the test. Unfortunately, the dumbass was too busy doing everyone else's job to actually get it done, so it was nothing more than theory at the moment. Ugh, this whole day was just weighing her down. Maybe she should take a nap? Yeah, that's definitely better than sitting around being bored.
Tomorrow should be a good day. Hopefully.
…
"Sorry about the mess Em. I didn't exactly have time to clean up this morning."
A mess? Emery shook her head. It wasn't a mess in the slightest, no, it was amazing to see. The different blueprints and random ideas pinned to the walls made her feel so… amazed. Sure, she didn't understand most of it, but it was still so cool to see. And that wasn't even getting into heavy machinery and small devices lying around everywhere. "It's fine Darius, really. Besides, I'm finally actually in here! Oh, this is so exciting! Ooh! What's this?"
Her eyes landed on a suit of armor sitting on a table with several tools and other strange devices surrounding it. To the side, a large and unfinished blade gleamed with some unknown light. She could feel some kind of strange energy emanating from both, but she had no idea what to make of it.
"Ah, those. Well, the armor is just an upgrade to my old one. Added some new features, like a kinetic booster and better flight capabilities. Still can't actually fly, but I can move really fast in one direction. As for the sword, well that's more of an experiment. You know, using emeralds to create a magic absorption system to help with the power needs of my stuff."
Woah. That was so cool! Emery circled the two inventions, carving the image of them into her head. The armor was rather dull, and had wires and stuff exposed to the open air. It could definitely use some tender loving care, and a paint job, but it was still impressive. "You know, if only you let me in here more often. Then maybe I'd be able to help you make something that actually looks decent. No offense, but your taste in design is kind of… bland."
He stopped for a moment, staring down at her with a raised eyebrow. He looked genuinely offended at that. "Excuse me? I'll have you know that my sense in design is top notch. I mean, you've seen my Knight Golems before. Aren't they just absolutely fabulous?"
Was he seriously trying to defend such a boringly gray design? They just look like standard knights, gray metal armor and all. Oh sure, there was probably a bunch of cool stuff inside it making it work, but it didn't look cool. "Oh Darius, honey, I hate to break it to you but… well while you're a genius in most other things, your creations aesthetics leave a lot to be desired."
A frown graced his face, and he stared down at the armor in front of him. Oh no, did she actually hurt his feelings? "N-Not that it's a bad thing. I mean, not everyone is great at everything! That's what I'm here for! I'm sure we could really spruce up the look of this thing, right honey?"
His eyes turned to her, and he crossed his arms. "You're just going to color it black again, aren't you?"
Wha- that was totally uncalled for! "Black is a very useful color, and it goes with your eyes really well! It's not my fault that your eyes are a gorgeous navy blue color, or your hair a really silky black! Do you know how hard it is to not just use that as a color scheme!? It's like you were born for that color combo! I may as well use it!"
One of his hands ran through his hair, touching it as if to confirm its texture. He mumbled something to himself, before focusing back on her. "Well, you have a good point. But that doesn't mean that everything has to be colored black. I mean, the Knight Golems don't even have navy on them. Maybe you can make them a different color? Like, I dunno, burgundy?"
Burgundy? Seriously? Emery scrunched her nose in disgust. Her fiancé truly had no taste in color or fashion. "You know what Darius, how about I just make you a list of colors that I think will go well? That way, I can do my magic without worrying about you adding burgundy to anything."
His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing as he glared at her in mild annoyance. She reciprocated, standing her ground and crossing her arms. It was an intense battle of wills, honey brown staring into navy blue. Finally, Darius relented. "Fine, I'll let you do your thing. But I swear, if you end up coloring everything black, I'm taking away your snack privileges."
Eh? No way he'd do that. Such a punishment… that was just cruel! Still, she doubted he was going to cave any further. "Hmph, fine. I won't color everything black. But I'm still coloring your personal stuff black. It's just a good combo honey, and you really need to take advantage of it."
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're lucky I love you hon. Anyway, why don't we do a quick check up on you? It shouldn't take too long to figure out what's up, and then I'll be able to hurry up and help alleviate it, if not cure it entirely."
Right, they should probably do that. She couldn't waste time drooling over all the cool science stuff. Besides, she could do that later. It wasn't like it'd be hard to convince him to let her stay. Making her leave would be more difficult than just letting her stay, and he'd feel bad about kicking her out. He could be such a big softie sometimes.
Following Darius through the sub level, Emery did her best to keep up with his pace. They passed by so many cool inventions on the way to the med lab he told her about. There was some cool looking horse armor, what looked to be several different types of swords, one of those automatic gun things he had told her about, and even some strange looking giant sewing needle.
Making a quick mental note to ask him about them later, she stopped right behind him. A pair of plain looking double doors stood in front of them, a boring sign telling her that this was the med lab.
"Hey Em, check this out."
Darius took a step forward, eyeing her as he did so. Almost as if the doors knew he was coming, they slid open on their own. Emery's mind stopped for a moment to process it. How did he even do that? There weren't any buttons nearby, or any other kind of switch. Was there a golem in the other side? A quick glance inwards told her no. Gods, how did he do that?!
"Heh, pretty nifty huh? Took me a while to figure out, especially the sensor part, but once I did it was child's play. I call them my automatic doors, and they're gonna make a killing. Once the materials for the industrial district finally get here, I'm gonna be able to start mass producing these things like crazy. Among other things of course."
He took a step inside, turning around and beckoning her to follow. Walking through the magic doors, Emery's eyes widened as they saw all the strange equipment in the room. There were several boxes with glass on the front, strange moving images and symbols scrawled across them. A bed stood against the wall, with some form of metallic half circles on each side of it. And that was the stuff she could describe. There was a variety of unusual devices set up around the bed, most of which she couldn't really explain the shape of.
It was so… weird. But a cool weird.
Darius grinned at her wowed expression, leaning on one of the nearby tables. "Yeah, it took me a while to set up all the equipment here. I mean, the screens alone took ages, not to mention all the other sh- stuff. Don't even have any god damn DSL in here. Anyway, I'm going to need you to lay down on the bed for a moment. Those scanners on the sides are going to help me figure out what's up with you. Cool story about them actually. I was designing some form of scanning device to improve my… observational skills, when I realized I could make it into a medical scanner."
She cleared her throat, interrupting him before he could start rambling on too much. He chuckled sheepishly, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he did so. "Right, I should probably stop talking about nonsense. Just lay down on the bed, and I'll be right with you hon."
He quickly made his way over to the side room, opening a metal closet and rummaging through it. While he did that, Emery took a few steps toward the bed, pausing as she tried to figure out a way to get on it comfortably. The "scanners" on the sides made it kind of awkward. Resigning herself to climbing over the scanners, she wiggled around on the bed trying to get comfortable. It wasn't a very soft bed, probably being designed more for utility than comfort. Also, why was it so itchy? Who designed a bed to be itchy?
"Right, now that I've got my proper doctor's uniform on, we can get down to business. Huh, I wonder if I could make myself an actual doctor?"
Uniform? She turned her head, her eyes landing on Darius as she let out a slight gasp. He was wearing some kind of white coat over his usual button down shirt. It wasn't black, and she thought it would look better if it were, but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was the pair of glasses on his face, a thick black rim framing his navy eyes. Emery bit her lip slightly. He was going to have to wear them a lot more often. "I-I like your glasses honey. They make you look… good. Really good."
A slight smile spread across his lips, and he stood up a little straighter than before. "Well now, I guess I should wear these more often then. But before that, I'm going to need you to stay still for a bit. Squirming around just makes scanning you way harder than it needs to be."
Emery did her best to stay still, focusing on Darius as he stared at a "screen" thingy. His eyebrows furrows in concentration, his eyes moving across the screen intensely. The glasses made the whole image just so much more… mmm.
"This… this can't be right. I-I'm going to take another scan. Can you try not to clench your thighs this time? I think it must've messed with the scanners."
Ah, did he notice that? Oh goodness, how embarrassing. She tried to look away from him, instead staring up at the ceiling. Though every now and again she'd glance back at his face.
"Right, so your magic levels are off the charts right now. Damn. If I had to guess, your libido is going to start becoming a real problem soon. Let's see, moving on from here to… to… no. No, that can't be right. Em, I'm gonna… I'm going to take another scan. The scanners, they must be malfunctioning or something."
That caught her attention. Her eyes flicked back towards Darius, and she began to grow concerned. His eyes were filled with worry, and the early stages of panic. He was gritting his teeth, and his knuckles were white from their tight grip. "Darius? Darius, what's wrong? What do the scanners say?"
He growled slightly, a sound that would have excited her in any other circumstance. "They… they aren't saying anything that makes sense. They're broken, that has to be it. Now way this is what's actually going on."
His hand hit the screen, not hard enough to break it, but enough to make a decent smacking sound. "Damn it! Scan properly damn you!"
Oh… oh no. Her hand stretched out of grasp his own, forcing him to look down at her. His eyes were wide, and almost unfocused as he stared down at her. She swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat, and spoke. "H-Honey, what do the scanner say? Please, tell me the truth."
Letting out a shaky breath, he glanced back at the screen. Whatever was on there must've been bad, as he closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at her. "It… it's showing signs of some form of lapis poisoning. But worse. S-So much worse. It's beyond anything I've ever seen. You… it might not even be right to call it lapis poisoning. Magic poisoning maybe. It… the poisoning has some sort of strange property that the scanners couldn't fully decipher. But whatever it is, it's spreading quickly, almost exponentially so."
His hand tightened around hers, and he took a deep breath in, before letting it out. "I'm not sure if you'll know what this is, but it's basically like a magic cancer. It'll grow throughout your body rapidly, and while I don't know what's going to happen, I could hazard a few guesses. Internal bleeding, maybe some form of cellular, er, bodily destruction. At later stages, you could be looking at bodily decay and even total organ failure. The magic, this… fucking destructive natured magic, it's… you're…"
A strong hand reached down and touched her cheek, and Emery did her best to take comfort in it as the news hit her like a sack of bricks.
"Emery, you're dying."
…
Remember what I said about rubber bands? Well, I just let this one fly. Now, for those that don't remember the last two or so chapters, here's a recap of what happened.
"I'm sad and bi."
"Be gay do crime."
"I am happy now."
There, now we're all caught up. If it seems like I'm taking the piss out of it, that's because I am. I honestly just want to move onto the next arc, which is one I've been planning for almost over a month and a half. The working title for this arc is simply, Withering Heights. Hope that gives you an idea of what's to come.
Now onto our review of the chapter:
"Well any hope I had for a good wholesome single pairing is finaly dead( and yes I know it shoulda been for a long timeNot sure what to think of the tone of the story atm I miss the adeventure and action already the tone feels weird"
Just because it's not totally a single pairing, does not mean it cannot be wholesome. Emery is still main girl, and I still like wholesomeness. As for adventure and action, it's making a comeback. As well as actual fucking stakes and shit. In fact, the arc after that is a bit more action oriented. Huh. Oh well.
This has been A Decent Hoonter, and check out my side series shit already! I will push this as hard as I need to! It's where I get to be experimental!