Chapter Text
Great news, Lila wasn’t eaten alive, although it was a close thing with Dawn, the yellow-eyed one. She didn’t look that much older than Molly, but she was taller. Her long blond hair was in a hime cut and almost covered her golden eyes. She’s wearing a beige cropped jacket overtop a simple white t-shirt, a yellow pleated skirt, and some leather accessories. She didn’t stay long, though, something about needing Molly’s help with a thing, but judging by the way she said it, it seemed a bit more personal than that.
“Later, nerds,” was all Dawn said as she herded Molly away, taking her by the hand and strutting back out the front door.
Fenix, the dude in the repurposed, orange lab coat, ripped-up jeans, and beat-up shoes, his messy, brunette hair sticking up in multiple directions and sunset orange eyes framed by ridiculously long lashes, was a lot more welcoming, eagerly dragging Lila inside the admittedly charming warehouse. He’s a darling, if a bit loud, but honestly, he was a welcome change of pace from Molly’s brand of sweetness and energy. The interior of the building was covered top to bottom with eclectic clutter and mismatched decor; it was like someone had blindfolded themselves and picked five separate aesthetics on Pinterest before throwing everything at the walls. Handmade pottery, knitted blankets, knick-knacks on every shelf, scrap posters mixed with vintage paintings, patched-up furniture, glass bottle chandeliers, thirteen different rugs, and that was just the living room.
He swept her into the greenhouse-style kitchen and shoved a bowl of “Clover’s signature campfire stew” into her hands, which happened to be leftovers from dinner. It was also the best thing she’s ever had, even if it’s the first thing she’s ever had. It was warm and filling, with chunks of potato and carrot, and the flavorful meat fell apart in her mouth. If she had room, she’d eat five more bowls easily. Was Lila purring? She didn’t care if she was.
[Health: 100%]
[Stamina: 100%]
[Inventory: 2/10]
[1. Glass bottle - empty]
[2. Bowl - empty]
[Claim: Nightshade - 0/6)
“It’s good, right?” Fenix grinned, “I’ve been bugging Clover for the recipe, but he’s not budging, don’t worry, I’ll wear him down eventually!”
“More like spark a new prank war for the seventh time this month,” Kieran, the quiet, blue-eyed guy, rolled his eyes as he sipped on an orange soda, “we still need to fix the wall at Prim’s place.” Fenix pouted at his friend, wrapping his arms around his waist and dropping his head on the shorter teen’s shoulder.
“Bluebiiird, you know I didn’t mean to set it on fire, it wasn’t my fault!”
“Tell that to Prim.”
“I did, and I still got babysitting duty with the Watch for the next three weeks! ”
“That is not my problem, Finney.”
Lila silently dropped her bowl into the sink and stole a lemon-lime soda from the fridge, her gaze bouncing back and forth between their faces like a tennis match. They were pretty cozy like that at the counter, Fenix dramatically draped over Kieran as the blue boy sat on a tall stool with a deadpan look in his eyes. The shorter’s nose and mouth hidden by his black scarf, coupled with his faded striped sweater, long, greyish blue cardigan, grey jeans, and black arm warmers, make him look ready for a cold night out. He also has a resting bitch face, if Lila were to describe it. Fenix didn’t seem to care, though. Actually, if she didn’t know any better, she’d think they were dating, but she didn’t, and she’s pretty sure that they were, not that they made that very clear.
Maybe they didn’t know it? Do people do that? Date without knowing they were dating? Something from Delilah’s memories whispered about reading stories like that, a hobby of hers apparently.
Eh, not her circus, not her monkeys. She’ll just ask later.
“Hey, you, where did you come from anyway?” Kieran suddenly asks, ignoring Fenix’s whining about ignoring him, “I know Molly has a thing about picking up strays, but that usually ends with the strays meeting the business end of Shanty.”
“It’s Lila, and she does that?” Lila stared at him, fidgeting with Nightshade. After not getting an answer, she shrugged, “I dunno dude, the void? I just started existing almost an hour ago, I didn’t even know what the realms were, and I still don’t, or a Shade or Maladies.”
Kieran suddenly sits up and leans onto the counter with both of his elbows, eyes wide and glowing brighter. “Stars ABOVE!! You don’t? Shut up and sit down, I have always wanted to do this!”
“Ahem, the Outer Realms are a bunch of different worlds stitched together like a big multiverse-sized game. That being said, every person is a player in that sense; some live on one Realm their whole lives, others bounce around, and a few never stay in one for too long. With so many different types of people and entities running around, it’s hard to comprehend it all, but they all share a few things in common, for starters, maladies,” Kieran explains eagerly.
“Maladies are viruses, or game enemies, they appear, they consume, and they multiply, it’s the natural order of things, and natural for us to kill them ,” he gulps some soda down, wiping his mouth with his black arm warmer before continuing, “the average person can kill a Crawler alone and even kids can stab a Slink, we’re practically raised with a weapon in our hands and thirst for black blood, but waves tend to be harder to deal with without us or the Night Watch thinning em out.”
“So why ain’t you, er- we, part of the Night Watch?” Lila sips on her can.
“Shades are unstable,” Kieran grins, “We’ve got a predisposition for murder, it’s almost an instinct to get rid of the nearest moving thing we come across. We got the natural talent for it to boot.” At her raised brow, he snorts, “Relax, we are capable of reigning it in and working together, given good reason. We just don’t have Souls, only Cores, which work basically the same way, but the difference is we’re so void of natural energy we sync with cosmic conceptual energy—”
“Simple words, Blue.”
“—right, magic, Hollow magic, we thrive on weird vibes. That vibe holds us together, and people find us… wrong, uncomfortable.”
“There’s other magic out there, like say… Crafted magic, which is using the existing magic in the Realms to craft things like potions, items, and scripts – or codes, whatever you wanna call it. Using magic stuff combined with ritual to get a result. Arcane magic is pure magic; its rules are pretty nebulous, but often harnessed by beings like gods, spirits, and Celestials. It’s a lot of belief, deals, and emotions, like a living entity itself. Hollow magic is devoid of all that, it’s the push and pull of what’s considered obscure magic, it can be suffocating for mortal people who aren’t us.”
“Right, okay, I’m gonna pretend I understood all of that, so if magic is a thing, who are the people? Are they all humans?” Lila sets her elbows on the counter behind her, taking a sip of her soda in one hand and twirling Nightshade around with the other. “Also, what are Shades?”
Kieran shakes his head, “No, well, kind of. Humans are from Before the Forge, essentially the creation of the Outer Realms as we know them. Mortals are called Vessels; they look human-ish, but have vague lifespans, the ability to respawn after death, and can vary wildly in appearance. There are subgroups like Kindred, Dwellers, and us, Shades.”
“To simplify it, Kindred shift into spirits, Dwellers can project their spirit as a companion, and Shades, well, we’re entities inhabiting Vessels we don’t have a spirit or soul. Even though we are mortal and do all the things mortals do, our Cores embody one concept to stay anchored to reality, which makes us avatars of those concepts. Or more accurately, Shades of those Concepts. As an example, I’m a Shade of Death, and Fenix is a Shade of Life. No two Shades, even with the same Core Concept, are the same. Our magic aligns with those concepts, but also our personality. A projection of what makes us, us. So, what do you think?”
“Wow, you’re a nerd,” Lila muttered, before shaking her head, “I dunno, I just got here.”
That made Kieran pause, “One, I did go to school for this, and Magical Study was my favorite subject— before I dropped out, shut up, Fenix, it was your idea— and two, oh shit, you’re a baby , I completely forgot about that.”
“Again, nerd, and yeah, I told you that earlier, but I have the maturity and body of a thirteen-year-old, so technically I’m a kid , not a baby .” She rolled her eyes, “I’m far from helpless, thank you very much.”
“You’re not helpless,” Fenix agreed, pulling away from Kieran to walk over to her and place a reassuring hand on Lila’s shoulder, a comforting warmth flowing from his palm into her body, and the dull ache from her healed injuries went away completely. “But you’re definitely staying with us. Most Shades are born into a nonexistence, a Vessel promised life but left Hollow from the jump, so we do grow up along with other mortals. At least… that’s one way it happens. Your situation is not uncommon , but it does mean you’ll need the support. It’s no wonder Molly took you in so quickly; she’s always been more sensitive to these kinds of things.”
“That’s true, she was able to spot us from a mile away, remember?”
“She tackled us in the middle of the market, threw us over her shoulders, and begged Prim to let us join, I know, good times.”
“Yeah, and he told her to just do it and quit bothering him about it.”
“I thought it was because he trusted her judgment?”
“Can’t it be both? Prim is a pretty honest guy, but he’s also way too polite about these things.”
“Prim dropped you off a balcony because you ate his favorite cookie.”
“I said he’s polite about these things, not everything.”
“Who’s Prim?” Lila interrupted, “He sounds fun.” The boys glance at each other.
“System, bring out the Club list if you please.”
[Yessir!( ´ ▽ ` )b]
[Evernite Society members:]
[Prim the Shade of Order]
[Rose the Shade of Creation]
[Fenix the Shade of Life]
[Dawn the Shade of Time]
[Clover the Shade of Chaos]
[Molly the Shade of Destruction]
[Kieran the Shade of Death]
[Lila the Shade of Space]
“Wow, y’all are somethin',” Lila whistled, “wait, I’m a Shade of Space?”
Before either of them could say anything more, a tall, freckled teen with bright green eyes waltzed into the kitchen, bobbing his head to whatever was blasting through his headphones. He didn’t even stop as he slid between Lila and Fenix to grab a snack from the cabinets. A sleeve of crackers, apparently.
“Hey, Clover,” the tallest boy hummed in acknowledgment, “do you remember when Molly said she sensed another stray nearby?” He nods, and Fenix points at Lila.
Clover blinks for a moment before taking off his headphones and slowly crunching on a cracker. After swallowing, he holds out his hand, “I’m Clover. Did you like my stew?” Lila takes his hand in a firm handshake, ignoring the crumbs, “I’m Lila, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever had, ya gonna make more?”
“Every other day if there’s nothing else,” he nods.
“Fuck yeah,” Lila grinned.
Clover smiles back, “I like it, the thing can stay,” he says simply, before releasing her hand and patting her head as if she were a cat, and then he left in just a couple of strides. Man, he’s tall.
“How is he a Shade of Chaos?”
“Don’t let the chill vibes fool you, he’s an absolute freak in a prank war,” Kieran assured her, “he’s switched our base locations for a week and stuck all of the furniture onto the ceiling for two.”
“Not to mention switching out all of our shoes for jello replicas, I don’t even know where he got the molds for all of them.”
“Didn’t Rose make them for him?”
“Oh, right… damn, Shade of Creation, and she used her powers for pure evil.”
“You ate your jello shoes.”
“Pure evil is also delicious.”
“So does every Shade have powers?” Lila blurted out before the conversation descended any further, it was already hard to focus when she was laughing so hard. Not that her laughter was audible, it was like a breathless wheezing noise, and it hurt her lungs.
Kieran hums in thought, tossing his empty soda can into the trash can, “Well, we have a few basic things in common, like our Claims,” He Summons a blue-ish, silver sword from the orange feather on his ear, spinning it a couple times before stabbing the ground and leaning on the pommel, “this is Wake, by the way.”
“Claims are extensions of our Core, anchored the same way we are, and conduits for how we affect reality. Like a paintbrush for an artist. We don’t need it to have an effect, but it allows for better precision. It’s a tool and a companion, but it doesn't even need to be in weapon form or in our hands for us to use it effectively, as long as the bond is there, we can wield it.”
Lila nods, holding up Nightshade, “Cool, and uh… how do you turn it into a different thing?”
Fenix snorts, touching the blue feather on his ear, Summoning a golden orange bow with a glowing white string, “You connect it to an existing object, just touch your Claim, like Sleep here, to your chosen object, and the option will appear.”
“Huh….” After some thinking, the shortest teen looked down at the black-and-white eye pendant around her neck and shrugged, touching her revolver to the round, white center.
[Would you like to Change your Claim to this item?]
[Yes] [No]
[Yes]
[. . .]
[Change Complete!]
“Hey,” Clover suddenly calls, standing on the second-floor balcony facing the kitchen, the lights flickering a bit, making all of their eyes glow brighter for a moment, “Prim is here, he wants to talk to the short thing, oh, and Rose finished your new med pack, Fenix.”
“Thanks, C!” Fenix yells back, “we’ll be right there!”
Kieran tucks his nose and mouth under his scarf again, relaxed as he leans against Fenix as the two head for the stairs, “You heard the man, let’s go, Shady.”
“Really?” Lila deadpans, following them, “Do not let that stick, I will fight you.”
“Bring it, Shady.”
“ Guys .”