Hahaha so I remember writing that the final chapter of the PaB AU would be out in a few days...Unfortunately, this is not the final chapter. I wrote part of it and then I really hated it so I'm trying to muster up the will to rewrite it. SO I decided that I would just do something fun in the meantime. Many of these, I started and then didn't know how to end so forgive me if the endings are abrupt. They are just some canon scenes (all in order of oldest to most recent in the timeline - some are quite old). Also whoops there's lots of Aspen.

Fair warning: I didn't edit or proofread any of these so there might be careless errors or incongruities.

Nocking his arrow, Aspen stretched back his arm to aim at a faraway tree, closing his left eye to gauge the distance and angle. With a satisfying twang, the string buzzed with energy as the arrow was released, cutting through the air to embed itself into the bark. With a triumphant grin, he took a step forward to admire his aim. He had never practiced much with a bow, but he figured it would be expected of him to know how to work other weapons and not just swords.

"Who has been training you?" asked a faerie, jumping down from the branch he had been perched on. Aspen had grown more used to being snuck up on, with faeries lurking seemingly everywhere.

"I trained myself, mostly, but I got some tips from one of the supervisors," Aspen answered, looking over at the faerie to study him. "I've been practicing by myself, mostly."

The other faerie shrugged. "Well, your aim is good, but your form is slightly weak. I don't blame you, though. You are a bit skinny."

Aspen glared halfheartedly at him. He hadn't been expecting merely praise, but he still found any criticism hard to swallow. "Well, then you ought to help them," he responded, falling into a state of demureness. "If I'm to improve."

"No, it's okay. I'll just watch." The other faerie waved off his suggestion passively, sitting down in the grass to make himself comfortable. "Do it again but straighten your back. That should steady your aim and you won't take so long to shoot."

Reluctantly, but obediently, Aspen reached back to draw an arrow from his quiver. The wood and string had started to bite into his fingers, but that had never stopped him before so he silenced a complaint and pulled the arrow back to shoot. His gaze wandered over, a hint of satisfaction washing over his expression when the faerie gave him an approving nod, and he turned back to let the arrow go.

"That was better. Felt more natural, didn't it?"

"I suppose. I'm not one for bows and arrows." Stooping down, Aspen set the bow on the grass, keeping his eyes on the faerie. "I like swords. I guess one of the supervisors likes me enough that they're going to let me go get mine custom."

Crossing his legs, the faerie tilted his head before resting his elbows on his knees and setting his chin in his hands. He looked partly unimpressed, which confused Aspen, and mildly interested as if everything made him slightly curious.

"Oh? You do double?"

"Yes. I'm fairly decent. I'm a fast learner."

"That's good," the faerie responded with the type of approval that still left Aspen feeling unfulfilled. "We should duel sometime. I use knives."

Aspen stared down at the faerie, finding him pleasant to look at but not much else. "I know someone that's good with daggers and throwing knives and the like."

"A friend?"

"…I don't have friends. I have enemies and acquaintances and lovers-"

"Lovers?" The faerie burst out with a bout of laughter. "You're what? Fifteen?"

"I'm nearly seventeen and it's not funny," Aspen retorted, a little self-conscious. "Unless you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." The faerie laughed again, raising an eyebrow. "You're new here, aren't you? You have that look. Like you're trying really hard."

"Is it so bad to want to be on good behaviour?" Lifting a hand, he mussed his hair so it was rumpled, wondering what Nyx would have said in response to his messy hair. "Besides, I practice more than most of the newer recruits my age. I'm trying to be good, not just trying."

Leaning back on his hands, the faerie stretched out his legs. "Well, then you can get better by fighting me. There are some spare swords you can fight with back at base and I'll get my knives."

"…I'll meet you here, then. Tomorrow, let's say?" Aspen asked, a competitive spark in his expression. "I think you'll find that I'm not as easy to beat as you think."

"Then prove me wrong." The faerie smiled a little, with no insinuation of any sinister thought or funny business, and it nearly made Aspen smile back. "Don't cry if you lose."

Shaking his head and starting towards the tree to retrieve the arrows, Aspen cast him a confident glance. "Oh, I won't."

With the dim glow of the lamps in the Towns hardly illuminating the alleyways, everything seemed like it was shrouded in secrecy. The supervisor tightened his grip on Aspen's chin to tilt his head up as if he were about to scold a small child, his eyes narrowing. His black eye was unnerving and Aspen's line of sight immediately diverted to look at his cheek instead.

"You know I'm paying for this all out of pocket, right?" the supervisor hissed, lifting his other hand to press his thumb against Aspen's lips before brushing it lightly against the curve of his cheekbone. "So you better stay true to your word."

"Of course I'll be true to my word." A little nervous to be trapped against the wall of the alley, Aspen shifted so his wings were not pinned up against the jagged edges of the bricks. "I'm pure. You know I won't lie. I can't lie."

"That's a good answer," he purred, his mouth curling up in a sharp smirk. The hand under Aspen's chin lowered and traveled to settle at his waist instead. "I wouldn't want to have to mar that pretty face if you didn't…repay me for the length I'm going for you and your swords. They're not cheap."

Aspen looked up to finally meet his eyes, catching on the word 'pretty'. The supervisor hadn't told him that before and he couldn't help but feel slightly better, a little less resistant as he felt the hand against his side. He let the word sink into his thoughts until it was all that occupied his head, attempting to block out any other intrusive fears and ideas that started to sink into his mind.

"I won't go back on my word," Aspen promised quickly, reaching up to curve his arms around the supervisor's neck to pull him closer and kiss him briefly as if to convince him further. The taste was foreign, as it was with all people, but the sharp sweet taste of some sort of faerie fruit overwhelmed his senses. He pulled back slowly, expertly, inhaling a quick breath of fresh air.

The supervisor's expression was first slightly surprised and then pleased, his eyes growing dark as he dipped down to kiss him again in an expectation of what he anticipated as payment. His teeth scraped against Aspen's lips, forcing his knee between his legs. Aspen fought back a complaint – he was good at that – and trailed his fingers through the supervisor's hair to give himself something else to focus on. It was not always nice and easy to be compliant, but it was necessary. Nyx had taught him that, and he refused to be anything but good.

"By hell, if you were a girl, you'd be perfect," the supervisor murmured, his nails digging into his side.

Aspen fought the urge to recoil at his statement, pulling back calmly to look away. He suddenly wished he had a free hand to wipe his mouth with.

"We shouldn't stay here much longer…" Aspen breathed. "The swords…"

"You're right." The supervisor moved back slightly to give him more space, a smug look still marring his handsome features. "The quicker we get them, the quicker we get back. The quicker we can get back to this."

Staring at one of his workers as she wrapped his arm, Luca narrowed his eyes to study her. He hardly saw any of his workers with their masks off, instructing them to keep them on at all times while they were accepting appointments. However, when they locked their doors and only a few were left to finish work from the night, they often set their masks aside to reveal their faces.

"I am unused to channeling greater demons," Luca remarked in amusement, staring at the front of the church from his place on the pew. He wondered silently if she could understand him. "Or perhaps I am simply tired. I need energy for them."

The woman was silent, her brown hair still tied in a tight bun. Nimbly, she secured the bandages around his arm to cover where he had gotten scratched, He hardly ever lost control during a time where he channeled demons, but sometimes they'd hook their talons into his skull and he had a habit of digging his nails into his arm at times to stop himself from losing his control. He never had, though, and in the event that he did, he was sure his workers would know what to do.

Vampires hardly appealed to him as workers, as he preferred faeries and warlocks, but the woman had been a talented fighter and never had issues with her hunger. He had been hesitant to hire her because of her deficiency in English and her vampire blood, but she had proved herself often enough.

"Hay un símbolo nuevo en su cara," the woman said, pointing at her own cheek. Luca raised a hand to feel the edge of his jaw under his ear. He could not feel the black mark, but he was unsurprised that his recent channeling had left a demon crest on him. They often occurred after particularly strenuous sessions when he was caught between the mundane dimension and the Void.

"¿Es grande?" he asked in response, relieved when she made perhaps a two inch space with her fingers to show him. "Ay, claro... Debes ir a tu casa. Tus hijos están esperando para ti. No me preocupes."

"¿Usted está seguro?" She blinked and stood up, her head tilted down. "Puedo quedarme-"

"No es necesario, Rubia, estoy bien. Puedes salir," Luca said to dismiss her, waving a hand to let her leave. She nodded before starting down the aisle, her sword still strapped to her back and her robes trailing on the floor.

Though he found he had little sympathy for his workers, he still maintained interest in their life. If he remembered correctly, she had moved in from Colombia a few months prior with her children, who had been four or five at the time of her Turning. Vampires, he considered, were lesser beings by default. They had been damned by the angels and rendered impure and even if they were good people and good workers and good fighters, Luca hypothesized that if he closed his hand and tightened his fingers against their impurity, he could strangle their heart.

Vampires, he appreciated, could be controlled.

"I didn't know you spoke Spanish," one of his workers remarked as they gathered their mask from where it rested on a pew, "Then again, I'm not surprised."

"I speak many languages. It's a perk of being a warlock," Luca responded, rising to his feet. "There are spells to help learning. I don't suppose the fae have many spells like that."

"No, they don't." The worker tucked his hair behind his ear, making his faerie heritage clear. His second lid glossed over his eyes. "…I have to hand in my notice."

Luca raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Are you unhappy? Have I not treated you well?"

"I'm not unhappy working here. I am moving, though. To Peru."

"I see. Your oath of secrecy still stands, though," Luca ordered, picking up his mask from where it hung on the alter. He surveyed it for a long moment, wondering when he had become so dependent on a piece of painted metal and fabric to hide his face. Mutely aware of the fact that the worker had been peering at the new mark under his hair, he tilted his head down to put his mask back on to keep his face covered.

"Of course." The worker nodded earnestly. "My loyalty will continue."

"I expect it to."

Luca's gaze lingered on the faerie for a second longer before he started away to the side room, wanting a bit of peace and solidarity. He was often flanked by his workers to the point of no independence and it was suffocating to try and organize them all at times, though he deemed them all necessary. He had saved them, he thought, and would be the leader he made himself out to be.

It was ironic, a warlock in a church, but he rather liked the contradiction even if it made his skin crawl. Perhaps God watched him at all times, condemning his blood. A thousand ideas ricocheted in his mind where a thousand voices of the people and demons he had channeled now spoke to him in memories. He was never truly alone, but he figured it was worth the power.

Resting a hand against the window, Luca's gaze hardened and he exhaled deeply. The rest of the voices quieted and he could finally hear his own thoughts, the ideas forming on the tip of his tongue.

"Are you proud of me, father?"

The question was left unanswered. He didn't expect anything else. So, he pulled off his mask and set it aside to instead prepare for a new day.

Leaning back against some faerie's shoulder, Aspen stared at the sky, the vastness a seemingly endless pit of black. It was nice to spend time in the fields occasionally, even if he felt exposed without the cover of the treetops and the tall grasses. The faerie by his side stirred, their hand reaching over to touch his even as he drew it away to tuck it under his cloak.

Aspen hadn't revisited the medics, intent on healing himself through careful practices and calm nights. His arm still smarted, but he found that his wing had healed up fine and that the other shallower nicks had patched over quickly. It hadn't slowed him down much and no one he encountered had commented on it, even if their eyes pried a little longer than he was used to.

"It's nice out," the other faerie commented with the kind of small-talk vibe that often lasted Aspen through the night. "Not as cold as it was yesterday."

"It's fine." Sitting up a little straighter, Aspen sighed. "It's nicer out at night than it is in the day."

"Do you want to sleep with me again?"

Aspen considered the question. "Not really."

"Why not?" The faerie asked lazily, his gaze moving towards Aspen's. "Don't you sleep with like everything that moves?"

"Now I'm really not in the mood," Aspen laughed bitterly, crossing his arms at his comment. "I'm sure there's plenty other of lowlifes that will accept your offer."

"I don't care. They're all boring." Reaching over, the faerie wrapped his fingers around Aspen's arm to try and draw him over. "Besides, there's nothing to do around here besides you."

Tugging his arm away, Aspen glared at him and pushed himself up to stand. His tone harshened in irritation, thinking the evening had been spoiled by such an annoying faerie. "Now you're acting like a bitch. For a half-breed, you pretend you're entitled."

"Whoa, now you're harping on me for my bloodline?" The other faerie scoffed, his hazel eye glinting in clear annoyance. "Everyone knows you don't have any standards for the people you screw."

"I don't care about bloodlines when I sleep with them. But you ought to know your place," Aspen snapped, smoothing his hair back from his face. "Besides, you're not even that good."

Muttering a retort as a response, the other faerie stood up as well to dust off his clothes and stalk off, clearly disappointed. With a shake of his head, Aspen observed him leave.

A short while ago, Aspen doubted he would have been able to refuse a faerie that had once called him such nice things before he believed he had privileges. To clear his mind, he walked a few steps away to pick a bit of peppermint to chew on, giving himself a distraction. Was he losing his touch if easy was all the faerie thought of him? For once in a long time, he did not yearn for the company of a stranger and instead craved familiarity and simple comforts. Such a feeling was foreign and he sought to push it away, disliking any impulse that he was not used to.

Alone, he lowered himself into the grass to contemplate. He had been so resistant to change before that he had never entertained the idea that the lewd company of strangers or near-strangers no longer satisfied him. It was a frightening prospect, change, and he attempted to push it to the back of his mind. If he ignored it, he convinced himself it would go away even if somehow, someway, he knew it would only hide away and grow.

"Ethos," May asked sweetly, crouching down in front of him so her dress grazed the grass. "Would you like to come with us?"

Lowering his piccolo, Ethos set it down gently in his lap. The thought of attending one of the Seelie parties elicited no excitement from him and he shook his head kindly, his eyes flickering up to meet hers.

"I ought to stay here. If I'm to be called to check up on our guest, I can't be busy," he answered to excuse himself and the girl behind him – he had forgotten her name - stopped playing with his hair. She rested her hands against his back and placed her chin on his shoulder, her eyes tilted to look sideways at him.

"Won't you be bored here by yourself? Are we not pretty enough to convince you to go?" the girl asked, her sharp, sprite-like teeth glittering as she spoke. "You must get lonely if you're here just playing and waiting for work."

"I am content to serve the Seelie and wait for the Queen's orders," he said with a slow smile. "You needn't worry about me being bored or lonely."

"There might be some pretty guards to look at," May piped up, closing her arms around her knees as she watched him. "Some of the gatherers brought in a rare supply of the sweetmint. I can imagine how good the drinks will be today. Won't you come with us? It'll be fun."

"We cannot have any of the guards, but we can still observe," the girl behind him started, her eyebrows raised. "You are not with anyone and you haven't shown interest in either of us, so you should come with to find someone. Or are you not interested in anyone?"

He did not want to give them a straight answer, having never liked to reward nosiness with what they were searching for. Instead, he moved to stand, the girl removing her chin from his shoulder. Brushing off a bit of grass from his cloak, he gazed down at them with kind indifference.

"I am more interested in being a formidable worker and not getting caught off guard with…festivities," Ethos replied, hooking his piccolo in a loop at his hip. "By all means, though, please go without me. I am sure there will be some that will be disappointed if they miss your company."

The two other girls laughed, amused at his words, and stood up as well, unbothered with his unwillingness to come. He was right, of course, and they always found other company to mingle with. Sometimes, he wondered if they actually liked his company or if he was easily replaced with another faerie that would entertain them with other music. Even having lived in the Seelie since birth, he found that even he had trouble picking out sincerity from superficiality.

"Well, then we will be off," May announced, hooking arms with the faerie girl by her. "And perhaps we'll bring back someone for you to court."

"Don't look too hard," Ethos advised courteously, though he inwardly sighed at his inability to state his thoughts. "I will see you later, then."

The girls giggled lightly and started away with a graceful bounce in their step. It seemed they hadn't a care in the world. Though it seemed like a simple and sweet life to have their life, Ethos did not envy it. He had a clear conscience and a responsibility he deemed important. Despite everything, he found that he was content.

Sorry these are pretty choppy! I didn't want them to sit on my computer for too long, though, ahaha or I would forget about them.