A/N: EDIT: Added some content, not that anyone seems to have noticed.
Well, it seems folks aren't happy with the length of this chapter, judging by the flames.
I only have so much time to write these days, I'm sorry I'm letting everyone down T_T
As ever, reviews are my fuel, my fire, my life.
Without them, I lose all inspiration, all hope, all ability to write. That's no joke.
So by all means, speak up! Make yourselves heard! Every bit of feedback, no matter how small or large, matters! Really, it helps a lot. Its a joy to take with you all and bandy ideas back and forth; it really is.Sorry if this seems shorter than usual, working on a tight schedule here.
Now, lets answer your burning questions, comments, and concerns:
Q: So we're in second arc for this story now, right?
A: More or less. We can't have every chapter full of sparks and explosions. As entertaining as that would be, it would get old rather quick. Some chapters are simply...subtler than others...
Gotta keep things interesting, ya know.
Q: More timeskips when?!
A: Admittedly minor ones for now; we already jumped ahead nearly a year last chapter; to force that here wouldn't sit right. Of course, that's not to say we're going to take things at a crawl, either...
But yes, Willow is pregnant with Winter. Not Weiss or Whitley. Not yet. Thought I should clarify that.
Q: Does Naruto know about Salem, yet? Ozpin said he would tell them about the maidens and the Relics, but I don't see
A: Good catch! At this point, Salem is wary enough to stay the hell away from Naruto. Ozpin hasn't revealed her existence either, which unfortunately keeps our boy somewhat in the dark.
As we all know, it took a LOT for Ozpin to trust people with the truth of Salem. Only makes sense that he wouldn't reveal it yet.
Cinder's found her place, Hazel may be under lock and key, and Watts is certainly on the right side of the law for now, but we all know how versatile Salem is. Take away her toys and she'll find new ones. Stronger ones. Deadlier ones...
Q: Are Naruto and Willow married?
A: Officially? No. "Engagement" or not, they're still young. Why would I gloss over the wedding?
After all, a certain someone still wants to be a bridesmaid.
Q: Cinder's going to be a powerhouse in this story, isn't she?
A: As we all know now, Semblances can evolve. And hers is going in a rather interesting direction...
Q: Aha! I understand the pairing at last! You sly dog, you!
A: ...say what, now?
Alright then, I've kept you long enough.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes.
Not a wit or a one. Ought to be reeeaaally bloody obvious by now.
"Heed my words. Practice them. Let them hear you roar."
~?
Winds of Change
"I think this is the end for us, Kurama."
"Well, its been a pleasure. Nice knowin' ya, kid."
Naruto Uzumaki had finally met his match. It seemed impossible, but here at last he found himself in great and terrible peril. This would be the greatest battle he had ever fought, and for the life of him, he wasn't sure he would survive it. His head ached and his arms were cramped, his back stooped with great and terrible pain. Any moment now he would fall, and never rise again.
Truly, paperwork was the bane of of every man. He was no exception.
No matter how many forms he fought his way through there always seemed to be more; he couldn't read them fast enough, couldn't sign or stamp them all away before a clerk brought more. Even now he felt a migraine coming on as he considered the monumental task before him. It had begun in the back of his head, and now it burned in his temples like a physical thing, pounding in his skull with every beat of his heart. He'd been at it since morning and now it was nearing afternoon, with still no end in sight.
...why did I let you rope me into this, again?" bloodshot blue eyes looked up from the mountain of papers on his desk. "I'd like you to remind me."
"Come now," Nicholas gave him a hearty slap on the back. "You always knew you'd have to learn this sooner or later. Better now than before you deal with the board."
"Later sounds good!" Naruto flung up his arms, scattering the documents with a great wind. "How do you even keep track of all these finances?!"
Really! All this math was making his head spin!
"The three D's, my boy." Much to his chagrin, the elder Schnee chortled a little, plonked down in a chair, and raised his glass in salute. "Dedication, determination, and drink. Lots of the latter.
A pale brow arched. "Should that lat one really count?"
"Oh, hush. Let an old man enjoy his retirement!"
"You're not retired yet!"
"But I will be, someday." As he looked on Nicholas conjured a glyph and used it to sweep the fallen papers back onto his desk. "Best you understand this while you still can." merry blue eyes twinkled at him. "You won't have the time with a child running about, clones or no."
"You sure about that one?" his brow turned stormy. "I can be very creative with them."
"No, no, no." a hand came down on his before he could cross his fingers. "You can't do that yet! You need to know this company inside and out before you trust something like this to a mere copy."
Kurama groaned. "In that case, wake me when the torture sessions is over."
'Oi! Don't you leave me with this!'
Mercifully, the door creaked open, cutting them short.
Willow's head poked around the corner. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"
"No!" Naruto jolted upright, eager to escape.
"Yes!" Nicholas sighed, only to backpedal at her expression. "Erm, I mean, my dear! You look positively radiant!"
"Daddy, no." Willow's pale visage turned a rose red shade of pink as she slipped inside. "Its only been a week. Nothing's changed. Not really.
Naruto wondered about that.
Outwardly, Willow didn't show any real signs of being pregnant. Not yet, but when he looked at her with his sixth sense there was undoubtedly something...there. A tiny golden spark nestled in her belly. Tiny for now, but still present all the same. It grew a little more every day. And in nine months time...
'Heh.' he couldn't help but preen a little. 'We did that. Feels good.'
Yet on the same level he worried. They'd gotten lucky with Cinder and Sienna, in that they'd skipped the diapers and bawling phase entirely. No such luck this time. He had no idea how to raise an infant. Surely it couldn't be that hard. He'd stared down gods and monsters, corralled two wild children on a daily basis. Looking after a newborn wouldn't be that hard...right?
"Are you sure you're alright, being up and about?"
His words earned him a sour look. "I'm not made of glass, dear.
Uh-oh. Reverse course!
"Not saying you are," he amended with a rueful smile, hands rising in a placating motion. "Just being careful."
"Careful you don't see yourself out of my bed." She huffed, but the words lacked rancor as she planted herself in his lap. "I'm going to be active for as long as I can before I get too heavy." She looked past him, eyeing the paperwork. "I could help you with this, if you like." she chimed in. "If you're going to run the SDC, and run it well, you need to know this." her hand came down over his. "You've already made good strides. Here, show me what you're having difficulty with.
"Well, the wages for one." he muttered, offering her a sheaf of paper. "Shouldn't we be paying people...I dunno...more...?"
"Have they?" her eyes sharpened. "We'll need to have a word with the board about that."
"Still no date for the wedding?" Nicholas coughed. "Asking for a friend."
Willow all but leaped out of his lap. "Daddy, no!"
"Dadddy, yes! I want to walk you down the aisle while I still have some life left in these old bones!"
Kurama chortled softly as father and daughter began to bicker. "You know, she's going to be something special."
'That was a short nap-wait, she?' Naruto perked up, turning his attention inward. 'How do you know its a girl? Could be a boy...
"We bijuu have our ways." His partner planted both paws beneath his chin, unable to conceal a toothy grin. "The child of a jinchuuriki and a Maiden. She'll be a fighter for sure. You picked out a name for her, yet?"
A rare hint of color hit whiskered cheeks. "We did. If its a girl-
"And it will be!"
...then we're going with Winter." he finished. "Just seems right, I guess. Weiss sounds about right for another girl, maybe Whitley for a boy."
His marked hand trembled and the voices came to him again.
"Winter. Warrior. First of many."
"Stop that." he growled and shook it until the tremors ceased. "Get out of my head."
His fingers curled into a fist as he glowered at them. It served as a reminder; his mark hadn't played up as much in recent months, but it was still present. Still...Winter. Even thinking her name aloud made her sound more real, somehow. Really, it made him shiver, and not necessarily in a good way. Would she be safe? Would she be alright? Healthy? Happy? He could only hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And speaking of preparation...
'Come to think of it, didn't Thomas have his kid by now...?'
"Oh, you mean that shopkeeper you and Cinder bumbled into awhile back. Probably. Why?"
Naruto spared a small smile for the surly shopkeeper. They hadn't spoken for some time now. Maybe a visit was in order. Thomas Hill had done the two of them a good deed that day, and he was determined to pay it back a hundredfold. Little Robyn Hill would want for nothing. He'd see to it himself. And besides, Winter would surely need a friend...
His scroll rang, startling him.
Naruto jumped and snatched it off his belt.
A brief glance at the caller ID concerned him more than it should.
Blue eyes narrowed as he thumbed the device on and accepted the call.
"Kali?" his frown deepened when he heard the voice on the other end. "Is something wrong? Wait, slow down...
(.0.0.0.)
Life...
...was...
...REMARKABLE!
If there were three words, three sequences of syllables with which Alma Watts could summarize the entirety of her newfound existence, it would be those. Not sensational, but remarkable.
Or perhaps eureka? Hmm.
Father was rather fond of that word...
Yes, all things considered, she found her new quarters to be most satisfactory.
Because she had a room now! It was certainly an upgrade from the pod in which she'd spent most of her life. She was allowed to live in this great big place -The Schnee Manor!- with Uncle Naruto and Aunt Willow while Father prepared to reveal her to the world. He could take as long as he liked for all she cared. Every single day was better than the last. She got to taste all sorts of good food, wear pretty red dresses, and sleep in this great big fluffy bed.
Her cousins were nice, too!
Big sis was full of important life lessons and Sienna was always willing to help her train.
Thanks to them, she could see and experience so very many things!
Grinning to herself, the pale girl flipped onto her bed, wriggled around onto her back and grinned up at the ceiling. Her ceiling. Auntie had called this a "guest room" but really, it was big enough for at least two! Life was good. No, this was good. She couldn't give this up. She didn't want to give it up. Not here, not now, perhaps not ever. A strange feeling tugged at her chest as she gazed overlong at the ceiling. She'd heard a noise from the garden just now. Perhaps someone was down there?
Alma hopped upright.
Loneliness was not remarkable.
Perhaps she ought to see what her cousin was doing...?
(.0.0.0.)
Cinder dreamed of a world forged from fire and blades.
No, perhaps that wasn't quite right. She saw a world of ash and glass to be sure, but within that glass she saw...swords. Endless tools of destruction made of black glass and metal alike. She saw them when she closed her eyes. Saw it even now as she mediated in the garden, so close to understanding the true depths of her power.
Countless swords forged from heat and fire and embers, just like her Semblance.
A bead of sweat ran down her brow as she fought to marshal her focus and maintain her meditation, but it was...elusive. Thoughts slipped through her fingers like water, turning to vacuous steam when she tried to grasp them. Her brow furrowed as she grit her teeth. Sparks snarled through the air, bits of ashes rising from the ground around her.
Sister.
She was going to be a big sister.
The thought brought anticipation to be sure, but also fear.
Cinder told herself it shouldn't matter. It didn't matter. She was first. But anxiety clung to her like a petulant child, refusing to leave go of her. What would they be like? Fear began to meld with curiosity, slowly forming a nebulous emotion she couldn't comprehend, much less understand.
With a supreme effort of will, she turned back to her mediation.
Once she would've thought her her Gift a mere tool for death and destruction, but she knew better now. One's semblance was their soul. It evolved with its owner. What once might have been a crude weapon capable only of death had been refined by practice and meditation. Her understanding of her very self had evolved long ago; it was only natural that her Semblance with it. Hers was fire and life, equal parts creation and destruction, an all too familiar cycle. With it she could forge what she saw with her aura, make and mold that which she wished from her flames.
She turned her mind's eye upon the "swords" again, looking down upon them as one might from a great height.
One such weapon called to her among the hill of swords. It shone brighter than the rest. Red hot in her mind's eye.
There was someone standing there at the top beside, a woman in black. Her left arm was pure shadow.
So close. As if she could reach out and touch her-
"Cousin?"
Her concentration fractured and the metal world she'd conjured for herself fell to pieces.
Cinder stifled a shout and quelled her temper.
Amber eyes fluttered open with a put upon sigh. "What is it, Alma?"
She found wild golden eyes staring back at her, framed by dark hair and ashen skin. "Whatcha doing?"
...possibly contemplating murder.' she snarked inwardly. 'Nothing serious. Don't mind me.'
"Practicing." Cinder said instead as uncrossed both legs beneath her and rose from her crouch. "I was," she hesitated, considered telling a lie, then thought better of it. "Training my Semblance."
"Why?" Guileless eyes blinked up at her.
Wasn't it obvious? "Because I need to become stronger. You cannot protect anyone without strength."
"Oh." The younger girl -android, cyborg? What was she, really?- tilted her head just so, dark hair falling over a honeyed iris. "Is it working, then?"
Cinder paused and considered her left hand. It was, she decided. Her strength was improving, if not necessarily her focus. From there she looked down, taking a moment to survey her handiwork. Fragments of steel and ash littered the garden, the beginnings of something grand. This was all she could conjure...for now. Too much and her aura would break, leaving her defenseless. She needed more strength. More aura. Another source of powe, perhaps. But she had the foundations down.
"Yes," she hummed. "I'm getting there...
Alma tugged at her sleeve and, reluctantly, Cinder looked back to her.
Alma Watts was not of her blood, she never would be, but she found the child entertaining. She'd insisted on calling Father her Uncle, which she supposed, did make the two of them cousins in a roundabout way. A month or so into her stay in the manor and she had bee nothing short of pleasant, ever asking all sorts of questions. Cinder couldn't find it in herself to hate the little thing, even if there was a tiny resemblance there. She was, all things considered, quite real. Almost frightfully so. Her company gave her a feel for having a younger sibling. A test run, if you will. Such experience would prove invaluable in the months to come.
"Walk with me." she instructed.
"M'kay!" The hybrid fell into step with her. "Where are we going?"
"To find Sienna." A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as they threaded their way around a hedge. "If you're going to pester me about my semblance, then you can bother her, too."
"I wish I had a Semblance." the slim shoulders of her "cousin" slumped a little. "Everyone holds them in such high regard."
"Of course they do." Cinder kept walking. "They're a part of our souls. Each and every Semblance is unique."
Alma considered her feet for a moment, hands linked behind her back. "Do you think I have a soul?"
Cinder whirled and the child's pale head with two fingers. It wasn't much. Just a tap.
Arthur's creation flinched. Aura sparked. Alma's hands flew to her forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"Does that answer your question?" she rolled her eyes when Alma's lips trembled and knelt before her. "Yes, you silly girl." she massaged her forehead. You have a soul." her fingers stroked the faint welt, smoothing it out once more. "Your Aura is proof enough of that...as is your chakra."
A bare foot scuffed the ground. "...I still don't know how to use it."
"You will." on a whim she tucked the smaller girl into her chest and held her close. "He'll teach you."
"Promise?" her voice muffled itself against her before she looked up.
Truly, the hope in her eyes was almost painful to behold. Alma was being that should not exist, a byproduct of science and sorcery alike. Were it not for Watts and his wiles she wouldn't be here. She told herself she wasn't jealous. So what if this whelp knew of chakra? What of it? What did it matter that she might one day have great power? Nope. She wasn't jealous. Not at all. Not even a tad...
...alright, maybe a little.
"And I'm not little." the strange child stamped a foot. "I'm a big girl. You'll see!"
Cinder patted her head. "Maybe someday you will be. Come along now."
Alma took her hand and let her lead her on. Yes, Cinder decided, the world was certainly changing.
For better or worse, who could say?
But she would not starve.
None of them would.
(.0.0.0.)
"Thanks for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice."
"Its fine, Kali." Naruto smiled a little as he pulled up a chair at the table for her and Willow alike. "Though I still don't see what all the fuss is about. Why did you want to see us? You mentioned an attack...
"I'm afraid its a bit more complicated than that." Ghira sat gingerly, favoring his right side as he did. "But we'll come to that later. "One couldn't help but notice the cast encasing the man's left arm. Regardless, his smile was nothing if not warm. "Its a pleasure to finally meet you face to face. Kali has spoken most highly of you."
"Only good things, I hope?" he clapped him on his uninjured shoulder before taking a seat of his own.
Kali flushed and coughed into a fist. "Right, good things...
"Hey!"
"Ahem! Doesn't this bring back memories?" rather than face his ire she deflected and cast a glance at their surroundings. "It wasn't so long that we met in a room just like this." Golden eyes considered the room. "Brings back memories, wouldn't you agree?"
"I wouldn't know." Ghira granted her a bland look. "I wasn't here at the time, remember?"
Willow stifled a smile behind her palm. "That was a year ago, Kali. Its been longer than you think."
"Has it?" Faunus ears twitched atop her head as she touched a hand to one cheek. "My, how times flies!"
Another grunt from Ghira.
Willow nudged her aside. "Trouble in paradise?"
The High Leader of the White Fang frowned. "Not as such...
"He's too focused on work these days." Kali whispered back none-too-subtly. "I'm just about ready to tie him to the bed; see if that does anything." she huffed a little when her prospective husband didn't waver. "Maybe then he'll get the hint."
Said "hint" sailed right over his head. "How would tying me to the bed help?"
Willow offered an unladylike snort. Kali made frustrated Kali noises.
Naruto bit his hand to stifle a laugh. 'I thought I was bad!'
"Or you could..." Willow leaned in and whispered something in Kali's ear.
Naruto tried to close his ears against it; tried to blot the words out. He really truly did...but he failed spectacularly. He heard every bit and immediately wished he hadn't. The tips of his ears began to burn a bright cherry pink. Kurama whistled in the back of his head.
Kali leaned away, flushing to the very roots of her hair. "Oh, my. And that worked?"
"It did." Willow winked and touched a hand to her stomach. "Like a charm."
"Hmm." Half-lidded eyes regarded him. "You're a lucky woman."
Aaaand he was never going to get that out of his head now. Damnit, Willow!
"Moving on!" he coughed harshly into a fist. "So? Why are we here?"
Kali flinched and scratched the back of her head. "We may have a problem...
"What kind of problem?" Naruto felt his frown return with reinforcements. "You, or the White Fang?"
She pointedly looked away. "...both?"
"You dolt." Willow sat up with a sigh. "What did you do?"
"What she always does." Ghira graced them with a good-natured smile. "Bites off more than she can chew. Its about Mistral...and...well...
"There's been some unrest, both there and in Menagerie." Kali confessed, smile slipping from her face like so much mist. "We have...a splinter cell, if you will." the words appeared to physical pain her, but when neither interrupted, she bulled on ahead. "Folk are saying we haven't gone far enough, that we were fools to make peace with the SDC rather than face them head on." her hands wrung themselves together anxiously. "They're calling for a full schism, rights to make Menagerie an independent kingdom, that sort of thing."
Curiosity piqued, Naruto leaned forward. "This cell got a name?"
"They're calling themselves the Mythic Dawn." Kali had the grace to look at least a little sheepish. "They're, well...how do I put this?"
Naruto and Willow exchanged a dour look.
"Fanatics." Ghira beat her to it. "
"So basically, a lot of hot air." Willow quipped.
"Until recently, yes." Kali's head bobbed in agreement. "Most of them are civilians, and they've been nothing but talk. However," and it was here that Naruto's spirits sank, because he knew that look, "But just last month...things began to change. They became more and more outspoken, volatile even. What was once white-collar crime and petty theft has all but dissolved into madness. They've resorted to all sorts of outlandish acts, all in the name of their so-called champion, drugs, racketeering...kidnapping...
Naruto pursed his lips. "This Mythic Dawn...what kind of drugs are they dealing?
Ghira told them in no uncertain terms.
"A drug that boosts semblances? That's not ominous at all...
"Supposedly it kills the user in repeated dosages, but unfortunately, there's more." she reached around and touched a hand to Ghira's cast. "Just last week we came under attack. There was an assassin. We were lucky to escape with our lives."
Someone had gotten the drop on them? Kali's semblance should've made that difficult...
"You're both trained fighters." Naruto clicked his tongue in mild admonishment, just now noticing the fresh bandage on her hand. "How the hell did one person do that to you?"
"They were incredibly skilled." Ghira growled. "We were outmatched. They...had a message for you. I suspect that's why they let us live at all."
Naruto's blood turned to ice in his veins. "Excuse me? What message?"
"They said," Kali's face pinched as she recounted it. "Send the Pretender and his Mate to Menagerie in a month's time. He will face us in a tournament of our choosing. Fail and Menagerie will burn."
A hiss pierced the air.
"You and Willow helped divert something like this once before," Ghira put in before he could protest further. "It was on a smaller scale perhaps, but we're hoping you can do it again."
Willow rose to the occasion, bless her simple soul. "Fair enough. What would we have to do?"
"Meet with them on their terms. If they want to prove the superiority, beat them down."
"Of course." Willow agreed. "We'll do whatever we can to help."
Naruto shook his head in the same instant. "We can't."
There was a pause. A silence.
It was a startling turn of pace from last time, an alarming juxtaposition neither had expected; so much so that the two of them looked askance at one another.
"Yes?" Willow frowned.
"No." Naruto countered. "Look, I'm all for helping people, you know that, but this reeks of a setup. Not from you two," he waved his metal arm at Kali and Ghira lest they take offense, "But other things." try as he might, he couldn't put his finger on it, but the strange sense of unease persisted. He didn't like it. Not one bit.
Willow stilled, perhaps sensing his unspoken thought. "Do you think its...?"
"I don't know." he confessed. "I just have a bad feeling about this."
And he did.
No matter how one looked at it, the timing was too convenient. Willow was mastering her powers to be sure, but in a few months time she wouldn't be able to do much in the way of fighting. Even now he was leery of the idea of taking her into battle. Ideally, he would've liked to solve this by himself. Lest their enemies draw her out and strike while she was at her weakest. But to leave her alone would make her just as vulnerable...and what was that last bit they'd mentioned?
"What's this about a tournament, now?"
Ghira looked away with a grumble. "Its a bit of a tradition, but they've rather warped it...
Willow glared pale daggers at him, telling him in no uncertain terms that she would not be left behind.
Kali was smiling. Naruto knew that smile, just as he knew he'd already made his decision. Maybe he'd gone soft. Perhaps this was a trap. But if he knew their plan was a trap, then he could plan around it. Maybe. It was twisted logic perhaps, but now that he know their plan he could plan around that plan. And if they plan around that? Then he'd plan around the plan that they were planning around his plan!
...that makes no sense."
"Let me have this, damnit. We're already going in blind."
"You said a month from now." he said outwardly instead. "That's about thirty days, right?"
Poor Kali squirmed in her seat under his blazing gaze. "...is that a yes?"
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to make a call."
He pulled out his Scroll and sent a quick message.
Ghira frowned down at him. "Call who?"
He smiled. "Reinforcements."
Willow perked up.
"You didn't!"
As though summoned by that very response, a crimson portal opened not half a pace behind Naruto's shoulders. Kali nearly fell out of her chair; she would have too, if Willow hadn't grabbed her elbow. Ghira wasn't so fortunate. He was much closer and the initial shock sent him reel backward. Just as well, too, because Raven's scowling face poked through, followed by a somewhat buzzed Qrow and stern Taiyan. Summer rounded off the quartet a moment later, grinning from ear to ear.
"Alright," she cooed as she brandished her weapon, "Who threatened my bestie?"
A/N: As ever, reviews are the fuel that keeps me writing.
That's no joke. I'm sorry the chapters are shorter, but silences hurts more than any flame...
Without them, I can't write a single world. Seriously! So speak up! Every word -and every review!- really does matter!
And the gang's all here.
Yes, this is gonna be a tournament arc. Haven't done one of those before. Shocking, I know!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews.
Hope you're ready~!
(Previews)
"You're not the first to threaten my family. No, there have been so many.
Every wonder what happened to them? Here. I'll summarize.
"Hello. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Basically, run.
Naruto winced. "Yeah, he's dead."
...leave us."
"No! I'm in charge here!"
Willow laid a hand on their shoulder. "Do you feel in charge?"
Her victim gulped, realizing too late the blunder they'd made. "I...I have an army!"
"And this gives you power over me?" Placid eyes blinked back...and flashed with fire. "But you know what they say. Speak of the devil...
Her hands closed around their face.
...and she shall appear."
"Well, we ARE older now...
Sienna frowned. "Cinder. No. Bad Cinder. Don't even think about it. Dad will tan your hide."
"Oh, come now." amber eyes flashed as a coy smile touched her face. "Even if you know how a story ends, that doesn't make it any less fun to watch...
"Let it go, James. He's always been like this. It is his nature, you can't change that. He cannot change that.
"Why are you defending me?
"I am not. Understanding you does not mean that I agree with you.
EDIT: Once more, it seems folks aren't happy with the length of this chapter, judging by the flames.
I only have so much time to write these days, I'm sorry I'm letting everyone down T_T
As ever, reviews are my fuel, my fire, my life.
Without them, I lose all inspiration, all hope, all ability to write.
That's no joke.
...
...
...really, it isn't.
R&R~!