Bond Between Beastkeepers

Viney sat with her arms wrapped around her shins, her chin resting on her knees as she stared at nothing and thought about everything. Everything that had happened just a while ago. The Secret Room of Shortcuts was good for privacy when unraveling the mysteries of adolescence. At least, she really hoped so.

One of the doors — one made of green-painted wood with cross sections — opened and Barcus entered before knocking it closed with a bump of his hip. He noticed Viney, who hadn't reacted to the noise as she stared with unseeing eyes at the far wall. He tilted his head in an appropriately canine fashion as he looked closer and saw her aura, an innate skill of his own demon kind.

Viney's aura was the usual mix of a deep blue base that came from her calm, chill disposition with swirls of red that symbolized her courage and passion, with streaks of silver for intelligence. But threaded through her aura, particularly around her head, was something he hadn't seen in a very long time: the dull yellow-grey of confusion.

He thought about calling for her attention, but decided against it. Instead, he padded over and settled beside her, leaning his head against her thigh in a silent declaration of support. Viney stirred and glanced down with a warm smile.

"Hey, Barcus," she said.

You okay? Barcus whined.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "I had something … really weird happen earlier."

Do you wanna talk about it?

Viney hummed as she ordered her thoughts, stretching her legs and her back before starting. "Edric Blight asked me out earlier."

Barcus's eyebrows arched and he whimpered with empathy. Ouch, he groaned. I've heard the guy's kind of a ditz at times, but this one's not his fault. You don't really advertise that you're attracted to girls. He sighed. Did you at least let him down easy?

"Not exactly," Viney hedged, and Barcus stared at her in confusion. "Barcus," her cheeks began to pinken and the Dando demon saw evermore threads of confusion spread throughout her aura as well as blotches of … Was that pink? "Barc, dude … I wanted to say yes."

Barcus barked in shock. You what?!

"I don't know!" Viney wailed in a very un-Viney way. "He came up all goofy and dorky and he asked and I … I wanted to say yes. Which is crazy, right?" She stood up, Barcus's chin sliding off her leg, and began pacing, running her fingers through her bangs. "And do I explain myself? No! I stammer and run away!" She clapped her spread fingers to her chest in an indignant way. "Me!" She groaned and fell back against the wall, sliding down and resting her face in her folded arms on her knees.

Barcus latched onto the situation in the only constructive way he could think of: like a puzzle or riddle. Oracles tended to enjoy such things, and Barcus was no exception. So he turned over everything that he knew as Viney stewed in her teen angst … and he came to a conclusion or two.

Viney, would you like some advice? He yipped.

"Right now, Barcus," she drolled affectionately, "I'd love some advice."

"You did what?" Jerbo asked incredulously, hands on his head in shock.

"I asked Viney out on a date," Edric said. He lifted his glasses to sigh and squeeze the bridge of his nose.

"So what happened?" Jerbo asked, dropping his arms and his voice tinged with morbid curiosity.

"She blushed, stammered something I didn't get, and walked briskly away," Edric said, replacing his glasses as his cheeks pinked. "I just- What did I do wrong?"

"It's not something you did," Jerbo said consolingly, rubbing the back of his head. "Edric, man, you didn't know and so it's not really your fault, but …" He locked eyes with Edric. "… Viney's not into guys."

Edric looked at him blankly before his eyes slowly widened and his cheeks flushed with shame. "Oh. Titan." He took a deep breath and began pacing. "Oh man, that's not cool. No wonder she freaked out! She probably wanted to let me down easy but she had no idea how to respond and now she's probably hurt in the heart somewhere wondering how this insensitive idiot had the gall to ask her-!"

"Blight!" Jerbo shouted, knocking Edric from his rant.

"Sorry about that," Edric said, squirming in place. "Ah man, this sucks. Not just that she definitely won't return my feelings." He spread his downturned hands in a gesture of acceptance. "I can get past that." He turned his hands over and looked down at them. "But I did something really dumb and I probably hurt her."

"Again, it's not your fault," Jerbo cut in. "Viney doesn't go around announcing who she likes. She's actually a really private person," he said with a shrug. "Heck, it was a huge sign of trust that she told me and Barcus."

"I still need to apologize," Edric said with determination. He looked up to meet Jerbo's gaze. "You mind offering any advice?"

"Be honest," Jerbo said without hesitating. "If there's one thing I've learned from dating Amelia, it's that." He scoffed with a faint smile and took a notebook and pen out of his uniform pocket, scribbling something down and tearing the page out to offer Edric. "There's her address. I'll message her on Penstagram to let her know that you're heading over to apologize."

Edric took the paper and looked down at it as if it were made of gold. "Thanks, man," he said with a smile. "I definitely owe you one."

"I'll hold you to that," Jerbo teased, flicking his wrist in a shooing motion. "Now get going."

Most people who knew Viney well knew that she didn't check her scroll when she was brushing down Puddles. Jerbo and Barcus had known that for so long that they simply never considered it anymore.

Viney brushed her beloved griffin, the familiar motion helping her order her thoughts. She thought about everything Barcus had told her and had even vented a little to Puddles herself, who purred affectionately and rubbed her head against Viney's side in support.

"You're a good girl," Viney cooed, hugging Puddles's head. A knock at the small barn's door broke her out of her thoughts. "I'll be in in a minute, Mom!" she called.

"Never been called 'Mom' before," came a familiar and unexpected voice. Viney looked up in surprise to find Edric Blight standing in the doorway, idly kicking at some straw as he stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "Jerbo gave me your address. Said he was going to message you?"

Viney summoned her scroll and did indeed find a message warning her that Edric was coming. "I missed it," she admitted sheepishly.

"Why don't I come back tomorrow?" he offered with a wince, already backing away as his cheeks flushed. "I'll leave you to-"

"You can stay, if you want," Viney piped up. "Just no scrolls, okay?"

"Sure," Edric said, visibly perking up. "No problem."

"So, uh," Viney floundered, returning to finish brushing Puddles as a way to calm herself, "what's up?"

"A lot of stuff, if you'll hear me out," Edric said, looking a bit down. Viney hesitantly nodded. "First, I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Viney asked, surprised.

"Jerbo told me you're not into guys," he said, now moved from looking down to outright ashamed. "And I swear that if I'd known I would have never put you in that kind of situation." He ran his hands back through his hair and took a breath. "And since I'll probably never get another chance, I need to get it all off my chest."

"Off your-?"

"I really like you, Viney," Edric said decisively. "Yes, I know you don't and won't like me back, but I need to tell you this. You're crazy smart, juggling two of the most intense tracks at Hexside." He was pacing now, all of his words rushed like a river freed from a dam. "You're tough as nails, but super gentle with animals, and that contrast is really damn attractive to me. You're really funny, which I appreciate like you wouldn't believe. Plus you're really hot, especially in that rough, I-don't-care-how-hot-I-am way, and I just-!" He groaned and gripped the sides of his head before deflating.

"I'm also sorry to just unload all that," he said, his voice defeated and refusing to look directly at her. "I just felt like you deserved to know, y'know?" He grimaced and crossed his arms, seeming to curl in on himself. "I understand if you never want to talk to me again. I'll just, uh, see you in class, I guess."

He turned to leave … and once again Viney stopped him, this time with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I wanted to say yes," she admitted, cheeks burning.

Edric stiffened and turned to look at her with wide eyes behind his glasses. "You-?" He blinked and his gaze went distant, as if thinking really hard. "But I thought- Jerbo said-"

"He said what he knew," Viney interrupted. "Edric, I've thought my whole life that I only liked girls." She sighed and felt herself falter, part of her railing at being so vulnerable. Then she yelped as Puddles pushed her forward with her head, the griffin chirruping in obvious support.

"I had a talk with Barcus earlier," she continued, fiddling with her hands. "And he had some pretty solid ideas for what all of this might mean."

"What ideas?" Edric asked, eyes intent.

"He thinks it's probably a sign that I actually go both ways," Viney said, feeling an unexpected burst of relief at saying it outloud. "It's just that I haven't met a guy that makes me feel, you know," she bit her lip, "that way before, and so I just assumed it was one-way."

"What's the other possibility?" Edric asked cautiously.

"He thinks that you're, maybe, like …" she winced with a strained smile, "the exception to the rule."

Edric blinked and thought about that for a second before fixing her with a serious expression. "Do I really look that girly?"

There was a beat of silence before Viney laughed. She laughed hard. Puddles startled from her bed of hay and tilted her head with concern as Viney doubled over with laughter, tears trickling down her face.

Edric started cracking up too until he started laughing just as hard. Which, of course, set Viney off again and they laughed together. Edric tore off his glasses to hold his face in his free hand, laughter shaking his lean frame. After a while, they both calmed down, though both still broke into giggles from time to time.

"So, Edric," Viney said, cheeks pink as she brushed some hair from her face. "Is, uh, is the invitation still open?"

"Yes," Edric said. "Definitely. Do you, uh, have any time you'd be free?"

Viney's stomach rumbled and her blush turned from infatuation to mortification. She crossed her arms over her belly and looked away, but Edric just laughed again, a light, carefree sound free of any trace of mockery. Given the Blight twins' reputation, it was kind of a surprise that he wouldn't make fun of her, crush or no. But then, her reputation tended to paint her as something of a devil-may-care brawler who preferred beasts to people. In other words, it was only half-true at most.

"Have you had dinner yet?" Edric asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Tonight?" Viney asked, and Edric nodded. "B-But I look awful!" she protested, gesturing at her dusty uniform and messy hair.

"Says who?" Edric asked, the timbre of his voice … different as his eyelids lowered and he took a few steps closer, just into the edge of her personal space. "I think you look sexy."

Viney's blush intensified and she bit her lip at the huskiness in his voice. "Do you like not-dogs?" she asked tentatively.

"I happen to love not-dogs," Edric replied.

The next day — the first day of the weekend — found Viney facing the front door of the Park house. She took a deep breath and recalled Willow's words during their first official practice as the Emerald Entrails: If you guys ever need anything, my door is always open.

"Hope this counts as 'anything'," Viney said and knocked.

The door was answered by a fair-skinned man with short, spiky dark hair and kindly, crinkled eyes behind small, square spectacles who greatly favored Willow, or rather whom Willow greatly favored. "May I help you, Miss?" he asked with a kind smile.

"Hi, Mr. Park," Viney said. "I'm Viney Primrose. I'm one of Willow's flyer derby teammates."

"Oh! So you're Viney," Mr. Park chuckled. "Willow's shown us pictures on Penstagram. I can't believe I didn't recognize you."

Viney looked down at her dark tank top covered by an open flannel shirt and cutoff knee-shorts with hiking boots. "The uniform, maybe? Or the facepaint?" she asked bemusedly.

"Maybe," Mr. Park agreed with a smile. "And please, call me Eun. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, please," Viney replied, and Eun ushered her in.

"Willow should be finishing up her morning workout," he explained. "I'll let her know you're here. Please make yourself comfortable."

Viney looked around and settled on the couch, tapping her foot with nerves. Soon enough, Willow came down in a soft-looking yellow shirt and short shorts, toweling off her hair that had grown longer in the time since the Day of Unity. Viney couldn't help but blush a little at how adorable she looked, and thought that Hunter was a damn lucky guy.

"Hey, Viney," Willow said, adjusting her glasses. "Is everything okay?"

"I was hoping for some advice," Viney said, cutting to the point in her usual blunt manner.

"Advice on what?" Willow asked, clearly surprised.

"Dating."

Willow gasped with a hand over her mouth and gave a cute little mini-squeal before grabbing Viney by the wrist and hauling her to her feet to drag her up a flight of stairs and into what could only be Willow's bedroom with all of the plants it contained. Viney had to work to keep from yelping in surprise as Willow forcibly sat her on the yellow bedspread and leapt onto the bed herself, her knees folded underneath her, and clasped her hands with glee.

"Tell. Me. Everything," she said intently, eyes practically shining.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Viney hedged. Willow settled her cheeks in her hands, waiting for more. Viney chuckled and started with her supposed preference before going over Edric asking her out, her talk with Barcus, and then her heart-to-heart with Ed and the small, simple date that followed: a visit to a not-dog stand and a walk through the streets until he escorted her home.

"Not the most romantic thing for a first date," Willow noted wryly, her eyes glittering and her smile undiminished.

"I'm not exactly high-maintenance," Viney bantered back, hooking a thumb over her heart. "And proud of it."

"As you should be," Willow noted. "So, what do you want from me?"

"Mostly, I guess I just wanted your take on things." Viney pursed her lips. "You know the Blights better than I do. Better than most of the school. And I-" She sighed. "I trust you, Willow." She held up her spread fingers. "You're somewhere in the top five people I trust most."

Willow hummed and began counting on her fingers. "Jerbo, Barcus, Luz, me …" She waggled her thing. "Who's fifth? Gus, Hunter, or Skara?"

"Gus," Viney said nonchalantly. "With Hunter and Skara as close sixth and seventh." She laughed. "Frankly, if I could cram you all into the top three, I would say that."

"That's so sweet," Willow giggled. Then she adjusted her glasses and her demeanor became serious. "I'll admit, I don't know Edric or Emira super well. I mean, Amity and I have only been back to friendship or something close to it for a few months." She tapped her chin. "But from what I know and what I've been told by Luz and Amity, I think Edric won't try to hurt you." She raised her hand. "That's not saying he won't, just that he won't try."

"I got it," Viney assured. "He's not perfect." She shrugged. "I'm not perfect, either, so it works out there."

"I think that's a healthy way to start," Willow agreed and shrugged, peaceably closing her eyes. "After all, Hunter and I had some crazy stuff go on and we-" She trailed off, eyes blinking open behind her glasses before she looked levelly at Viney. "Wait, is me knowing the Blight twins the only reason you asked me?"

"Well, you and Hunter seem to have a pretty steady relationship going," Viney admitted. "I guess … It's kinda something to shoot for."

"Why are we the poster-teens for a healthy romance?" Willow wondered, half-sardonically.

"It's either you two or Lumity," Viney pointed out. "And you two seem to have more than one brain cell when you're around each other."

Willow blinked a few times and laughed gently. "Fair enough."

"Seriously, though," Viney said, "thanks for listening, Willow. And for the advice. You're-" She smiled and blushed a little. "You're a good friend."

"Thanks, Viney. You, too."

Viney moved to leave, but paused for a moment as something crossed her mind. A random thought that would be simple enough to bring up. "Hey, can I ask you something kinda weird?"

"Sure," Willow chirped.

"If Hunter had never come around …" Her blush intensified and she brushed her bangs to the side. "Do you think you and I could have-? You know."

Willow flushed in return and gave a small, shy smile. "I wouldn't have said no, Viney," she said fondly.

"Cool," Viney laughed. "I'm gonna go before Hunter somehow figures out I asked you that and tries to kill me."

"He won't try to kill you," Willow assured.

"Willow, Hunter's here!" Eun called from downstairs.

"Oh, Titan, I was joking about him knowing," Viney yelped.

The door swung open to reveal Hunter in his usual dark shirt and slacks with a yellow vest. "Hey, Willow. And … Viney?" He blinked. "Uh, am I interrupting something? Like girl-time, or whatever?"

"Viney just needed some support," Willow replied, smiling teasingly at Viney.

"Can I help?" he asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Willow and giving the girls his full attention.

"I think I'm good," Viney said. "But thanks, Hunter." Viney's smile turned soft. "You two are perfect for each other, you know that?"

Both of them blushed and smiled, threading their fingers.

"You wanna stay for lunch?" Willow asked. "My papa always makes too much anyway when Hunter comes around. Says he needs to get some meat on his 'skinny bones'."

"I'm not that skinny," Hunter complained fondly.

"Sounds fun," Viney decided.

"Man, you dodged a fireball there," Amity chuckled as she flipped through paperwork.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Edric sighed, shelving a book. "I'm really just glad I didn't hurt her feelings, though." He smiled wistfully. "The date was a pleasant surprise."

Edric had visited the library to talk to Amity, following her along as she reshelved books and lending a hand at her direction. It had been Amity who had urged her brother to ask Viney out after that disaster with his last date the night Amity had kissed Luz. When he'd told her about his growing feelings for Viney, Amity had been more than happy to give him a nudge, knowing full well that Viney was a kind girl from her interactions with Luz and the rest of them all.

"Did you get a second date?" Amity asked, glancing at Edric from the corner of her eye.

"We're going to the zoo in Femora next weekend," Edric replied brightly, though keeping his voice down in the library. It had been Amity's main condition for visiting her at work, along with not stopping her from doing her job.

"Skara went there with Quincey a while back," Amity noted. "They apparently had a great time."

"Good for them," Edric replied absently as a bestiary caught his eye when he was reshelving something. He glanced at Amity to make sure she wasn't looking before sliding it out of place and examining the cover. It was a modern cover, printed to look old, with fake gold lettering reading Winged Demons of the Isles in old-timey, looping lettering over a stenciled image of a griffin.

Edric snorted and opened the book to the table of contents and then to the section of griffins. He read and picked up a few facts that he'd have to run by Viney to see if they were true.

"Find something you like?" Edric yelped and fumbled the book, turning to find Amity smirking at him with a hand on one hip. "And you called me a nerd growing up."

"You were and still are," Edric replied with ease.

"As were and are you," Amity batted back.

"Guilty," Edric chuckled. He showed her the book and Amity nodded in approval with a faint smile.

"I think that's a great idea, Bro," she said.

"Thanks, Sis."

The following weekend found Viney and Edric descending to the gates of the Femora Zoo on Ctesias and Copper. "Ready?" Edric asked.

"Ready," Viney smiled. Edric paid for the tickets — which they had already debated and he won on the argument that he had asked for the date, though Viney made sure she would pay for the next — and strolled inside to bask in this modern monument to Beastkeeping magic.

They talked on and off as they walked and examined each of the exhibits, from a slither beast to a tiny enclosure of echo mice. They even had a mated pair of rhinoceroses! They compared facts about each of the beasts they encountered or talked about things they learned, joking most of the time. They stopped for lunch at the on-site restaurant, Edric also paying with a teasing smirk that Viney rolled her eyes at, and sat in the shade to look out over the massive pen of a flock of wild griffins.

As Edric chomped on a fry he looked up to see Viney gazing wistfully at the griffins as they flew. The pen was enchanted to gently repel the winged beasts with a gust of wind if they got too close to the enclosure's borders, and many of the younger ones seemed to have made up a game of testing how close they could get before they were blown back into the main pen.

Edric glanced over Viney's clothes, similar to what she usually wore outside school. An open flannel shirt over a short-sleeved shirt paired with cut-off denim shorts and hiking boots. He smiled at how at ease she was with her appearance, not to mention the fact that she was damn beautiful without the trappings that girls their age seemed to think would make or break their appeal. He glanced down at his own casual clothes of dark-grey shirt and trousers under a burgundy tunic. In retrospect, his sense of casual clothes was clearly not that casual.

He glanced down at the satchel he'd been carrying that was now sitting by his chair, the weight he'd had in it like a phantom sensation on his shoulder.

"Edric?" Viney asked. He blinked and looked back at Viney to find her looking at him with a blend of bemusement and concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said with a smile. On impulse, he took her hand in his, then gulped and tried to take it back. "Sorry, I-" With catlike reflexes, Viney had snatched his wrist and drew his hand back into hers, weaving their fingers together in an unmistakably intimate hold.

"Sorry foooor …?" Viney asked, drawing the word out with a teasing glimmer in her eyes.

"I dunno anymore," he admitted. Then he nodded to himself and leaned down to reach into his satchel, making sure not to break his grip in Viney's. He drew out the book he'd found at the library and placed it on the table. "I, uh, saw this at the library and thought you might like it."

Viney ran her fingers over the cover before opening it — also one-handed, with her other still securely woven with Edric's — and skimmed the first several pages. She huffed a sharp breath and smiled, continuing to skim until she got to the section of griffins. She looked up at Edric and lifted an eyebrow.

"Did you just get me this because it had a griffin on the front?"

"I figured it was a pretty good bet that you'd like it," Edric hedged, looking away as his cheeks warmed. He gasped at the feel of a soft pair of lips on the corner of his mouth and he looked back at Viney's face only a few inches from his own.

"You're sweet, Eddy," Viney giggled and kissed him on the other side of his mouth. Edric stammered out something like a reply that had Viney laughing even harder. As she sobered up, she finished her lunch and dragged Edric to his feet. "I heard there's a new selkiedamus baby that was just born. Wanna go see?"

"Yeah," Edric laughed. "Yeah, I really would." He picked up the book and slipped it back into his satchel, still never letting go of Viney's hand in his, and they strolled to the boiling sea section of the zoo, leaning against each other as if they'd been together for years.

"I'm really glad you asked me out, Eddy," Viney sighed.

"Even if it could have been a disaster?" he prompted, glancing over his glasses.

"Definitely," she giggled and drew closer to him.

"Also, is 'Eddy' gonna be a thing now?" he asked flatly, though with a small smile.

"What would you call me?" Viney asked.

"You mean besides 'Gorgeous,'?" he asked, eyes shining. It was Viney's turn to blush at the sheer earnestness in those words, and she nodded faintly. Edric thought about it. "How about 'V'?"

"Isn't that the name of Luz's new sister? The basilisk?"

"Oh, right." He thought again and smiled. "How about 'Sweetheart'?" he suggested. "Because it's one of the things I like about you. You're so kind with the beasts you keep."

Viney gave him a level look before snorting and smiling. "Kind of generic, but when you put it like that …" Her eyes lit up and she let go of his hand. "Race ya!" she shouted and ran toward the other side of the zoo.

"Whoa, what?" Edric asked before breaking into a sprint to chase Viney's joyful laughter.

They would end up being cornered by security and banned for the next three months, but it was worth it. After all, Viney and Edric didn't just share beastkeeping magic — they were troublemakers.

Troublemakers who held hands the entire flight home.

I tried to hold off, but this is the only complete update or one-shot I have prepared before the FINALE tonight. Really wish it was Huntlow, but whatcha gonna do? Here's hoping the finale is as grand as we all hope! I choose to trust in Dana and her crew - she won't let us down!

*Way back in "Marigolds," I established that Viney is a lesbian, which I based on some artwork by Dana in which she wears a shirt with something similar to the lesbian pride flag, possibly hinting at her orientation. Then "Reaching Out" aired and Vinedric got its hooks in my brain. This actually tied into my own light research on bisexuality, which brought up that individual bisexuals are not necessarily equally attracted to both sexes. I thought it was a fun writing experience to address that.

*Viney's casual wear is derived from some of Dana Terrace's promotional artwork that depicts Viney, Mattholomule, Boscha, and Skara lined up for detention.

*The faint tease of Willow/Viney is a reference to my own head. Before "Hunting Palismen," I had my eye on the ship for Willow. Then Hunter's backstory came to light and I jumped right onto what would be called Huntlow.

*Skara mentioned going to the zoo in Femora with Quincey way back in "Marigolds."

*It took me forever to find the name I had given Viney's palisman in "Ash & Ebony," way back in "Marigolds!" And it seems I never noted the origin of that name, so here it is: Ctesias was an Ancient Greek naturalist and the first person to write about manticores in Persian folklore. Or at least whose work survives.

I've still got four or five prepared prompts for this collection of stories, but if anyone has requests feel free to drop them. No promises, but inspiration can come from anywhere and you will certainly get a shout out for it! As always, hope it was a fun read, leave a review if you like, and may your own works be as fun to read as to write!