threw myself into the sun (bring me back)

They haven't left his side since he came back, at all times they're there. Waiting by his bed while a group of nurses and assorted ghouls make sure his stitches are healing properly, make sure there are no sort of irregularities with his reanimation.

There isn't, and when he finally gets the clear and the nurses and assorted ghouls clear out, he breathes a deep sigh of relief that pulls a brief wince to his face at the way his lungs suddenly fill with air.

When he looks over at his two ghouls, he feels a twinge of sadness, something sorrowful tugging at his bonds with them—that had come back too, thankfully, no need to rebond and risk hurting the two of them more; it had just woken up only a few moments after his own eyes had opened, snapping into place and rushing over him like fire and ice fighting for their place.

He goes to sit up properly, the latest round of testing had left him half reclined in a position that wasn't too kind on his lower back, and both Rain and Sunshine rush over to him suddenly, their hands were gentle and part of him was grateful for their help, but something about it felt wrong, as they helped him sit up properly, Rain's hands leaving him to tuck his pillows behind his back.

It's a bit strange then, as they both seem to flinch back and come to parade rest at each side of his bed, like they're being too familiar, like they're scared of him.

He doesn't like it—neither of them have removed their helmets since the room had cleared out, despite the three of them being together in the privacy of the papal suite where no one else would disturb them.

"My ghouls," he says, warm and gentle, a careful offering of all his cards packed within two words, "No one else should bother us now," he continues, reaching down to pat the bed with his bare hand, "Come and sit by me, it seems there are things we need to discuss."

It's not an order, but with the way both Sunshine and Rain act, it's as if he ordered them to sit by him or their death would be called for instead—he hates it, the way their bodies seem to move unnaturally as they try and settle on each side of the bed, as close to the edge as possible.

He aches, wants the two of them closer, he knows his death had affected everyone, he knew that's why he was brought back; his death had been premature and uncalled for and he already had the others looking into it, trying to find as many leads as possible, for their death would be much more drawn out, less of a mercy than he had been allowed. (A knife to his throat, a horrible horrible mimicry of before. He'd bled out, dying slowly in the basement, while he clawed at the ground and tried to weakly pull on his ghouls' bonds.)

"Thank you for saving me," Copia says, for the first time, looking between Rain and Sunshine, "For bringing me back." He reaches out, carefully, towards Rain and takes his hand, feeling the water ghoul jump at his touch, "I heard that with your quick thinking you were able to find a spell that could restore my soul to my corporeal form," he squeezes Rain's hand and through that he can feel him shake.

He keeps his hand in Rain's as he looks over at Sunshine, staring through the lenses of her helmet, copper eyes brightly burning even through the darkened glass, "And you, my lovely," he says, holding his hand out, nearly wincing when Sunshine grips his hand so tightly the blood flow is cut off, "You did so well, helping Rain, keeping me safe," he squeezes her hand back, even through the tightness of her grip, "I am forever grateful to have you two by my side."

Neither of them react much beyond just looking at him, and he knows, and understands, he must be patient with them, careful. He'd heard before of what had happened to previous ghouls, the madness when their summoner had passed on, he thinks back to Omega and Ifrit and even Mist had experienced a touch of the madness after his predecessors' deaths.

He couldn't imagine how his miraculous reanimation would affect any of it.

"Please, take your helmets off, just for me. I know..." He trails off, wonders if even asking this of them is something he can do, but they're the only two he hasn't been able to see, to make sure they're alright, "I won't order it of you, but, if you want to now. Just around me, I want to see your faces, I want to make sure you're alright."

There's silence, and it's thick and heavy, but he waits, ever patient, and slowly, Rain pulls his hand away from Copia's, bows his head and slowly removes his helmet.

His hair is messy, shaggy and hanging somewhat limply around his ears, and he has dark circles under his eyes—he looks tired, and Copia's heart aches for him, longs to bring him into his arms and hold him.

The bed shifts and Sunshine's next to pull away, her movements clumsy as she removes her own helmet, the sharpness of her gaze, the distrust, makes Copia wish he could turn back time and be better prepared. Be more aware.

His death was no one's fault but the person who had called for it, but he'd never considered in the past what that would mean for his ghouls. How they would handle it. And for that, he was guilty. He would do better. He would be more aware of his surroundings. Be more careful with those he befriends.

He reaches his hands out once again, one to each of them, "I have one more ask of you, tonight," he starts carefully, waiting for them to place their hands in his, and then he tugs them carefully, closer, projecting through the bond an image of before his death, late at night, the three of them curled up together in this very bed. Rain and Sunshine purring as Copia held the two of them close.

Sunshine makes a noise, somewhat of a snarl, a choked off sob and when Copia looks over at her, she's got tears in her eyes, holding steady but threatening to fall.

"Oh Sunshine," he whispers her name, sweetly, "Come to me, my Sunshine, you've kept me safe, let me hold you now," he murmurs, giving her hand one last gentle tug before she folds, nearly throwing herself onto the bed beside him, her arm around him as she clings to him tightly.

Rain is watching them, guarded and careful, pain in his eyes, pain shining through the bond, and Copia pulls him in slowly, "I'm right here, Rain," he says softly, guiding Rain down beside him, letting the water ghoul press his face into his throat as he curls an arm around his shoulders, cradling him close.

"Oh, my loves, I never wished for my coming back to hurt the two of you this much." He whispers after a few moments, "If me coming back hurt you this much, I only wish my death could have given you more closure."

"Copia," Sunshine says suddenly, stepping into his office and out of the shadows, "Cooping yourself up in here on a nice spring day isn't good for you."

The panicked look that had been building behind his eyes sort of fades and Sunshine can feel a hesitant tapping into their bond. She trills softly and pushes back against it like a big, happy cat.

"Sunshine," Copia greets her, and though he doesn't say it out loud, she can hear the thanks in his voice, the relief that someone had come to save him, even if he knew most of it wasn't even real. "I believe Aether invited me for lunch," he continues, slower now, careful, like his time on the other side had taken his knowledge of spoken language. "But you'll have to uh...I seem to have gotten caught up in." He stops short and waves his hand towards the paperwork spread across his desk.

"No worries, Aether sent me to get you. You know how he is, if he would have come, he'd be in here helping you do paperwork instead of bringing you to eat lunch with us."

Something in Copia's face twitches but she's not as attuned with human emotion to really decipher it.

Aether had taken Copia's death the hardest and had worked the hardest and channeled the most of his magic into the ritual, wanting to make sure that when the time came, Copia would come back to him. To them.

And he feels guilty, Sunshine knows, like he'd done something wrong maybe, like he'd pushed too much and that's why Copia came back with a large chunk of his memories missing.

So in ways now, he'll over compensate on things, he'll work himself just as hard as Copia does until Cumulus snaps him out of the rut and reminds him that it's still Copia, just because he doesn't remember us, doesn't mean we've forgotten him.

It helps, and the cycle happens all over again, but these days it's getting less and less, with Copia not quite gaining some memories back, but building new ones.

Falling in love with everyone again.

Even now, the strange emotion on Copia's face had melted away into something more familiar to Sunshine, and she watches as he stands up, hand resting heavily on his desk as he slowly navigates himself around it, steps slow and careful.

"You are entirely too sweet to me," Copia says, coming to stand in front of her, his hands resting heavily on her shoulders as her own come to a natural rest on his waist, "My lovely ghoul," he says, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he leans his head in to rest against her helmet.

She hates the extra barrier now, but only in very few places does she remove her helmet, and his office is not one of those, always hyper focused on making sure no one else would come after Copia now. Too public. If someone were to try and attack him here...

She purrs then, clearing the heavy thoughts from her mind when she feels a gentle tug at their connection, Copia's concern flowing in through it.

"Let's get you to the others. Swiss and Rain say we're having the best lunch yet even though neither of them will say what it is," she says, easily moving her hold to wrap one arm around his waist.

Copia makes a small noise of agreement, letting her take some of his weight, walking had come sort of easy to him after all was said and done, but the best that everyone can guess is that him being dead for two weeks had caused him to lose muscle memory for the most basic things, and though things were mostly good now, relearning to walk also had it's bad days as well.

"I think I heard Rain say something about fish," Copia says, though he's looking down at the floor, watching each step he takes, "Well. Heard." He tries to clarify, frowns a little just a few seconds later. "I don't think he wanted me to hear but. Rain is very loud."

Sunshine hums at that, tightening her grip around Copia's waist, "The first ghoul you summon and bond with is always going to be the one you hear loudest," she says gently. She's told him this before, but in the process of his body relearning how to be alive, things like memory and language aren't as high priority as basic body functions like movement and breathing.

Not that she minds, though. She'll gladly repeat things hundreds of times if it means that she's able to have him close like this again.

Not in some glass coffin in a cold mausoleum.

"That does sound right," Copia murmurs in agreement, though his focus is more on getting them down the hallway and towards the courtyard and not quite on the conversation at hand.

Luckily, the walk from Copia's office to the courtyard isn't that far, though it takes more time now than before, not that she minds, and soon she's pulling away from Copia to hold the door open for him, her hand resting on his lower back for support as he passes her and steps out into the open air.

He stops just shy of the steps leading down into the yard, right in the center of a sun patch and closes his eyes, tilting his head back to just bask in it for a moment.

Sunshine closes the door behind her and stands back, waiting, letting him take his time. The lines of his face look relaxed like this, when he's outside in the sun, when it's easier to see that he's alive again. That he can enjoy the mundane things like standing in the sun and listening to the chirping birds in the distance.

The toll of his death and then his reanimation had taken a lot out of everyone involved, but by far, it'd taken the most out of Copia, who had to live now, day by day, with missing memories and skills and though he's gaining the skills back and building new memories, none of it had been easy.

"Sunshine?"

She pulls herself from her thoughts again to Copia, who's standing by the steps, head tilted to the side with a confused look on his face, "Yes Copia?"

He blinks at her for a moment, no doubt trying to find the right words, "Are you alright? You're..." he trails off, waving in her direction, and then quickly cuts his eyes over to the space beside him. There's frustration on his face that she can read, but not aimed at her, aimed at himself no doubt, for not being able to actually ask what he wants.

She smiles and strides forward, looping arm around him when she gets close, "I was just admiring the view," she says a little coy, purring when he wraps an arm around her shoulders.

A huff comes from Copia then and he shakes his head, "That was terrible," he says, but there's a flush on his cheeks and Sunshine feels warm happiness through the bond, adoration, love.

If she didn't have her mask on, she'd lean in and kiss him, on the cheek for now, right over the red of his blush; but she can't, so she just pushes back an answering echo of love and happiness, all of her fondness for him bubbling up beneath her skin like lava.

"We should get to the others," Copia says, quiet and content, "I...think I may be hungry..." he says the words carefully, as if they're foreign on his tongue.

Sunshine perks up a bit, "Yeah?" she asks, "Does your stomach feel weird?" She's not sure what exactly goes into humans being hungry, but she's heard other siblings complain about weird feelings in their stomachs so she starts there.

"I'm...not sure. I think?" Copia's got this almost distressed look on his face, his other hand coming up to rest on his stomach, "Feels. Empty?"

"Alright, alright," Sunshine says excitedly, and she squeezes Copia's waist in a show of comfort, "Let's go then, let's get you some food."

-

2. Rain

He still remembers the sharp, stinging pain, the way he'd fallen to his knees in the middle of a random ministry hallway, gripping uselessly at his chest as if that would ease the pain up any.

It didn't.

There was emptiness shortly after, loud and cold, a buzzing in his ears getting louder and louder until it was the only thing he could hear.

A sob, clawing its way out of his throat.

He's dead. A voice whispered, Gone. Alone.

It had taken him a few days to come out of the comatose state that the others had found him in. He was cold, all over, shivering and shaking as if sick with something.

He couldn't talk, couldn't make himself form words, his one tie to humanity gone, and with it, his ability to parse emotions in a less demonic way.

He wanted to kill. To murder. To hurt the person who'd taken Copia away from him.

And he would have too, he would have gladly given up his place on this earth, banished back to the pits if it meant the person who had caused this faced punishment for their crimes.

After all, without Copia around, what were they to do now? Who else would they give their lives to? Aether, Dew and Mountain had already experienced this once, now again.

Rain never wanted to follow another human. Would never do that again.

And, in the dark of night, the eight of them curled together on the bed in Copia's chambers, taking solace in the last place they'd all been together, happy, did he have an idea.

"What if we bring him back?" his voice was rough with disuse, he didn't talk much in the days after, his words thick and heavy and unfamiliar on his tongue.

"Bring him back?" Cumulus.

"What do you mean?" Dew.

Rain moves, dislodges Mountain and Swiss from him and sits up, "We could bring him back. We need to bring him back. He didn't deserve this. He needs to live."

Silence stretches thickly around them then, "Rain...bringing someone back is..."

"You don't understand!" Rain lashes out, his words an angry growl, pained, "He died alone and in pain. He died without us." He blinks back angry tears, "This wasn't supposed to happen."

A sharp inhale, but no one says anything.

"If you're not going to help me, I'll do it myself." Rain says, and then he's pushing his way out of the bed, out of the pile even as the bond he has with the others sings out in sorrow, "I refuse to live a life up here if it means I'm without him," he says hotly, "I refuse to not at least try to bring him back." He inhales, and steadies the monsoon of emotion within him, "I can't live with myself knowing that I just let this happen and didn't do anything."

He'd left the room then, needing to get away, to distance himself, he knew he was being irrational and that fighting with his pack wouldn't solve anything but he couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

Dew finds him a little bit later, he'd retreated to the library, used his access as the standing Papa's ghoul to go into the archives, where all the good books were kept, the ones used for rituals during black mass.

"The others sent me to check on you," Dew says, coming to stand beside Rain, scanning the shelves in front of him.

Rain doesn't say anything to him or acknowledge him.

Dew exhales loudly and fits himself in between the shelf and Rain, grabbing his shoulders when Rain makes a move to step away from him, "Listen to me," he says, firm. "We are all mourning him right now, we're all nervous about what could happen to us now that he's gone." He squeezes Rain's shoulders tightly, "But throwing yourself into a half cocked plan to bring back the dead isn't the answer to this."

Rain narrows his eyes at Dew, "I'm not going to change my mind about wanting to bring him back, Dew."

Dew just rolls his eyes, "And I'm not here to change your mind, numbskull." he says, "I'm here to say that you need to be smart about this. That you need to mourn first, because bringing someone back from the dead is hard. He could be different. He could be too far gone. You need to prepare yourself for all the possibilities."

Rain stares at him for several long moments, blinking rapidly before he crumples forward into Dew, pushing him back into the shelf behind him. "I feel so lost." he whispers, pressing his face into Dew's neck, wetting the skin there with his tears. "Empty."

"I know, I know," Dew whispers, wrapping both arms around him tightly, "We all do, but it's worse for you. It always is, when you've bonded so strongly with him." He tips his head to the side to rest against Rain's, "But Rain, I promise, none of us are giving up on him, okay?"

A nod, slow and careful and Rain's fingers dig into Dew's back, "He was so alone when he died," he whispers. "He didn't want to go. It wasn't right."

Dew just holds him close, lets him cry until the tears are dried and his eyes ache.

Two weeks later, Rain kneels beside Copia's lifeless body in the circle drawn on the floor, he's dressed in his Papal robes, freshly pulled from the mausoleum, face paint pristine and perfect.

The others surround them and Rain feels their pack bond sing as they pour magic into the ritual, his hand gripping Copia's own gloved one oh so tightly.

And at first, when the wind dies down, when the crackling of Aether's magic finally fizzles out, there's nothing but stillness. Quiet and stillness.

And then, a sharp inhale.

Copia's hand squeezes Rain's.

-

3. Cumulus

Quiet had always been her friend, even before, when she'd find herself in Copia's office while he worked, she'd sit quietly while he muttered and bitched to himself about numbers, about measurements and whatever the Clergy had done that day to piss him off.

It was, in a way, relaxing for her. She didn't need to contribute to the conversation, the low cadence of Copia's voice as he talked mostly to himself, and to the room about any and everything set her sometimes frazzled nerves to ease.

These days, in the after, they call it, when she lets herself into Copia's office to sit with him while he works, he's quiet and focused.

Sometimes she catches him mouthing things, but no words ever come out.

He'll speak when spoken to, of course, but he doesn't mutter things under his breath, he doesn't complain about the Clergy.

(Not that there's a reason to complain about them. They'd made sure that the Clergy understood what would happen if they messed with one of their own again. Even Sister was more cordial towards Copia. Somewhat doting now. If they weren't around to fill the silence, Sister was. It seemed, Copia's death had shaken her up as well.)

"Cumulus, dear?" Copia's voice breaks her out of her thoughts, drawing her forward to the present and not into the dark places of the past. "Can you come here for a moment?"

Cumulus makes a soft noise and stands from the couch, crossing the short distance between there and the desk, she can feel the cautious push of him over their bond, questioning.

When she's close enough, he reaches out and takes her hand, his skin is cooler now, post resurrection, and it had taken her many days to fight back the urge to flinch at his touch, once warm but now marred by the cold kiss of death.

He smiles up at her, its a slow, hesitant thing, like the muscles in his face haven't quite figured out how to move properly. "I know that...things are different now..." he murmurs, taking his time to get all the words out properly. "I'm not the same anymore." He rubs his thumb over the back of her hand, slow and gentle circles into her skin.

"Oh, Copia," Cumulus whispers, lifting her other hand and resting it on his cheek, "You're still my Copia, still ours," she says fiercely, "Nothing changes that. It's because we love you so much that we were able to bring you back to us."

There's a brittle sort of look on his face, his eyes glassy, "Sunshine doesn't take her helmet off when she comes to see me," he whispers, "Aether's guilt is so overwhelming I can feel it through the bond," he swallows heavily, "You come in here and I know you want me to...to..." he trails off, overwhelmed now. "I'm so sorry."

"We love you," Cumulus says, and gently dislodges her hand from Copia's so she can instead cup his face between her palms, drawing his darting gaze towards her instead, "You dying was not your fault. We don't blame you for that," she says firmly, "Sunshine and Aether, they will be okay, we've been working on it, working with them. We lost you and it hurt us all, but none of this has ever been, or will ever be your fault, darling." she leans down, rests her forehead against his.

A soft sniffle, and Cumulus feels a gentle dampness against her palms, tears sneaking their way between where their skin makes contact. "I just want to be like I used to be..."

Cumulus pulls back a bit and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead, "You are still our Copia," she repeats the words against his skin. "We love you, even now. It hasn't been easy, because we've all been through something traumatic. Even you." she adds when it looks like he's about to cut her off and protest. "But having you fall in love with us again? Making new memories with you?" she tilts her head, smiling down at him, "It's all worth it."

Copia nods, a small and careful movement of his head, and he doesn't protest when Cumulus hauls him up out of the chair, letting her pull him over to the couch with her and rearranging them until she's tucked up between him and the back of the couch, resting her head on his chest to listen to the sound of his heart.

"Thank you, Cu," he whispers a few minutes later, his hand resting on her side, just on the side of too cold, but still comforting.

-

4. Aether + Dew

Sometimes, Copia gets a strange look on his face when he's tucked up between Aether and Dew, just as they've always done. Like he's trying to remember something, like there's something he wants to say.

He never does though, just shifts until he's comfortable, pushing away the strange feeling of deja vu so he can instead, focus on the quiet vibrations of Dew's voice as he talks to Aether.

A retelling of what had happened earlier, when Copia and he had left the ministry to go to one of Copia's physical therapy appointments.

In a way, it was surprising how easy it was to forge the paperwork and come up with a reasoning behind him losing his motor functions that wasn't related to him dying.

"They're saying that he's been making good progress," Dew's saying as he combs his fingers through Copia's hair, "They're hopeful that within a few more months he'll be able to walk without any sort of aid. But of course, we'll keep it around anyway."

Aether hums from behind him, where he's got his head resting on Copia's side, eyes closed as one of Copia's fingertips carefully trace the bumps and ridges on one of his horns. "I'm glad," he murmurs, "You're making such good progress, C," he presses a kiss to Copia's side, feeling Copia's finger twitch at that.

"Cirrus and I have a running theory that right now his body is trying to repair both his motor function and his memory, so if we help it out a bit, then there's a higher chance that things will go smoother than if we were to just...leave it be." Dew says, looking down at Copia, who's hyper focused on the main ridge of Aether's horn. "Isn't that right, Copia?" he asks loud enough for Copia to hear, not really expecting a response.

Copia huffs quietly, "And here I thought you were just taking me to that damned man to enjoy his torture on me," he mumbles into Dew's shirt.

Both Aether and Dew freeze for a moment, looking at each other with wide eyes.

"What?" Copia asks, his finger stopping its movement as he lifts his head enough to look at Dew, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh no, no, no no," Dew says quickly, snapping out of it and going back to running his fingers through Copia's hair, "I just didn't realize you'd heard me, that's all."

A hum, low and lazy, "My hearing seems to be getting better," he says, "At least in one side," he adds after a moment, I don't know if that's related to...everything or if my body is just." he stops speaking, but the rest of the sentence is pretty simple to fill in.

Aether shifts his head a little bit, nudging his horn into Copia's hand, "I think it's because you've put a lot of work into everything since coming back," he says softly.

"I know everything is...different now, and things are uh. Hard." Copia starts, groaning quietly as he shifts his tired body around, dislodging Aether from his spot, "And there are bad days. Really bad ones but." He reaches out to cup Aether's face in his hands, "I'm glad I'm back. I'm glad I get a second chance." He drags his thumbs along the apples of Aether's cheeks, "Thank you for all that you've done for me, in this time and while I was...dead."

Aether flushes a little, his eyes fluttering closed at Copia's touch, "It was a group effort," he whispers. "We all wanted you back. We all needed you to come back. Rain pushed for it first and he was the one who got us all on board to do it."

"Cirrus told me that you used the most magic," Copia says, but doesn't say much else after, as if he was unsure where to take the rest of the sentence.

Finally opening his eyes, he looks at Copia, "It's in my nature. Life and death are kind of my thing, yeah?" he keeps it light, and before, he'd lean forward and kiss Copia before he could continue, distract him from paying more compliments than deserved; but since everything, Copia saying anything was something to be celebrated, even if it was a misguided compliment of some kind.

Copia stares at him for a minute, silent, his eyes since returning have had this strange look to them, going from duller in color to something brighter, as if they were coming back to life. In a way, Aether hopes that means something and that one day in the near future this whole thing wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.

"Still, thank you," Copia says, and then he leans in, slow and careful, telegraphing every single movement as he comes in closer and closer before finally pressing his lips against Aether's in a closed mouth kiss.

The sound of Dew inhaling sharply behind them is on the edges of Aether's radar, but right now all he can focus on is Copiaiskissinghimaftereverything.

He pulls back, just on the side of too quick, a flush on his cheeks, "I hope that wasn't...bad." he says, "Or too much. I didn't uh. I should have asked? Maybe?"

Clearing his throat, Aether turns his head a bit and nuzzles into Copia's palm, "It was fine, it was perfect," he whispers, a small smile on his lips.

"You just seemed so...sad," Copia says slowly, "And something in my head was screaming at me to kiss you." He licks his lips, nervous, "Are you still sad?"

Yes. Always. I'll always be sad, I'll always feel guilty about losing you even if I brought you back.

Aether shakes his head and presses a kiss to his palm, "The kiss helped," he says instead of the tumultuous thoughts swirling around his mind. "I love you," he says, gently moving Copia's hands away from his face so he can lean in and bump his forehead against Copia's gently.

"I love you too." Copia whispers back, and then his eyes go wide, "Oh, oh," he shifts around, dislodging Aether, "Dewdrop, Dew," he says, half laying on top of him now, chest to chest, "I love you as well," he punctuates that by a quick kiss to the corner of Dew's mouth, for once initiating the affection.

Dew makes a surprised little chirp, his hands coming up to steady Copia, "Hey, hey, C," he says, "I love you too, I do," he smiles at him, petting his sides gently, "No hurt feelings because you kissed Aether," he says with a little laugh. "We're just glad you feel safe enough to."

Copia makes a noise in his throat, "It just felt right," he says, "Being with you two...it feels right? I uh. I used to be affectionate, didn't I?"

Dew and Aether look at each other, and Aether chooses to answer for them, "At first, you were hesitant to really touch us, and it took months for you to initiate any ah...intimate contact. The affection came much later in the relationship, having to wait until you reach that point again? Such a small thing on the grand scale."

"And what's the big thing on this scale?"

Another shared look and Dew grins, "You," he answers. "Having you back."

-

5. Mountain & Cirrus & Swiss

These days, at least three of them sleep in the same room as Copia, curled up together in Copia's still too small bed; before his death, he'd been in the process of trying to get a new one, moving expenses around so he could budget a properly built bed, one to comfortably hold nine bodies.

Of course, in the rush of the assassination and the subsequent two weeks of planning to bring him back, it'd sort of fall to the side.

Even now, Copia finds himself squished between Cirrus and Swiss, warm, finally warm, with Mountain lying under the three of them, his legs hanging off the end of the bed.

He's drifting to sleep, with Swiss already snoring in his ear and the gentle rise and fall of Cirrus's chest under his head; Mountain must already be sleeping because there's a deep bass of a snore echoing through the room, calming, oh so calming.

His eyes close and he sighs, nearly asleep when he feels the cold, cold clutch of something grab at his throat, as if something is trying to pull him under, the whisper of voices, getting louder and louder and louder.

"Copia," he hears among that echo of voices, "Copia, breathe for us, it's a dream, it's just a dream," the voice continues, a warm hand settling on his cheek. "Open your eyes for us, open them."

His eyes flutter a few times in an attempt to open, he feels more than he hears a deep, deep bass of a hum and he grabs onto that, focuses on that sound, on that feeling of safeness.

"--do we need to get the others? I've never seen a nightmare like this."

It's Swiss's voice, and there's an undercurrent of panic to it that makes Copia ache.

The cold grasp around his throat tightens, tightens, tightens...

Copia's eyes fly open and he sits up suddenly, dislodging the ghouls, grasping his chest as he gasps for air.

"Copia, hey, C," Cirrus says softly, her hand reaching out to cup his cheek, "Are you back with us?"

His eyes are wide as he looks at her, his own hand coming up to grip her wrist tightly, "I, it felt so real, the cold grip, it felt like death was trying to get me."

Swiss crowds into his other side, purring lowly as he bumps his head against Copia's, "We won't let anyone come get you," he whispers. "Death or even Satan himself would have to get through all of us first."

Copia leans into Swiss, leans into Cirrus, feels the warm embrace of Mountain wrapping his arms around the three of them.

"I'm sorry for waking you," Copia finally whispers when he's able to find his voice, weak and waning, thick with sleep and something else.

Cirrus shushes him, brushing his hair from his face, rubbing her thumb gently against his temple, "None of that," she says, "None of that, C. It's fine," she whispers as Copia's eyes flutter closed. She leans forward and presses a kiss against each eyelid. "Do you want to lay back down or do you need to stay up for a little longer?"

It takes him a few moments to respond, and when he does, his voice cracks a little bit, "I think I need to get up, I need to take a walk."

There's shifting and moving until Copia's able to get up and out of bed, a nervous energy filling him as he comes to a stand beside the bed, shaking the sleep out of his limbs.

"Want some company?" Mountain asks, getting out of bed as well, offering his arm to Copia, something to lean on.

A sense of relief washes over Copia and he allows himself to be vulnerable, sliding his arm through Mountain's, "Just to the end of the hall and back, I think," he murmurs. "Just to shake off the rest of the dream."

Mountain looks over at Swiss and Cirrus who are curled up together on the bed watching them, and then back at Copia, nodding, "To the end of the hall. If you still can't sleep when we get back I can make some tea for you. Something to help you relax."

Copia hums and nods, allows Mountain to lead him out of the bedroom; their walk from one end of the hallway and back to the bedroom, though brief, has Copia's eyes drooping by the time Mountain is closing the bedroom door behind them.

Back in bed, Cirrus wakes up from a light nap, Swiss snoring away beside her, she shares a smile with Mountain and together they get Copia back into the bed with Mountain curling up behind Copia and Cirrus coaxing him to rest his head on her chest.

Cumulus smutty headcanons E

Cumulus/Swiss/Cirrus summoning headcanon Gen

untitled aetherrain smut E Aether/Rain ; non-human genitalia, rain is a shark ghoul

It’s…interesting, to see the different ways a water ghoul will manifest their appearance, because Aether has intimate knowledge of water ghoul anatomy and Rain’s is unlike anyone’s he’s ever seen.

untitled t4t rut fic E CopiaAether ; ruts/breeding/possessiveness

Aether doesn’t go into rut all too often; its just not something quintessence ghouls do usually—rut or heat, they’re not regular. Once or twice a year and sometimes, once or twice in a decade depending on the ghoul, on the circumstances.

untitled aetherrain M Aether/Rain ; biting a lot of biting and teeth, rain is a shark ghoul

Rain’s teeth are, arguably the most terrifying part of him—next to his eyes and the strange mimic voice he projects into Aether’s mind when he wants to be heard.

untitled swiss/aeon drabble in response to a post ; gen Swiss/Aeon ; first meetings and love at first sight

And well, that wasn’t really the problem, because, despite his nervousness, being the center of attention to thousands of people wasn’t the scary part of it all. It was meeting the pack.

untitled aetherrain first meeting drabble gen aetherrain ; first meeting, rain is a shark ghoul

A grin, sharp and predatory as he lifts his head, shrugging the blanket up higher onto his shoulders, a jumble of static flits through Aether’s mind for a moment, the touch of something soft and careful, asking for an invitation–and he lets it in, however foolish that may be.

silly ASMRtist!Dew drabble gen MountainDew ; Dew does ASMR

There’s a curling in his stomach and a prickle in his scalp as he listens, and then there’s another snap, another firm and somewhat exasperated command to look to the right now—and shit is this what people experience when they watch ASMR?

t4t copiaether smut E CopiaAether ; overstimulation

Prompt: “Do that again- Shit, just like that, right there.”

untitled SwissAlps M Swiss/Mountain ; smut

Prompt: “Interlocking your fingers above your head while making out passionately”

untitled raindrop E Rain/Dew ; biting and blood, predator rain

Prompt: spread your legs baby

untitled swissrora E Swiss/Aurora ; cunnilingus, masturbation

“Oh baby,” Aurora coos softly, her palms cupping Swiss’s flushed face, she’s standing above him, dragging the pad of her thumb gently across the apple of his cheek, “Are you in heat?”

mini two part copia/aether/dew homecoming drabble gen Copia/Aether/Dew ; homecoming

“They’re due back any moment now,” Sister Imperator says as she watches Aether clear the oak desk in Copia’s office, collecting and organizing various piles of paperwork as he goes. “Shouldn’t you be waiting for them?”

untitled Aeon/Swiss fic E Swiss/Aeon ; dinner distractions, magic use

Prompt: I wish you’d write a fic where someone gets a little distracted by someone else at dinner, but they have to keep it lowkey of course

kinktober day 7 E Swiss/Dew ; objectification, disinterest, cockwarming

Dew peers up at him over the edge of his phone, the light from the screen casting shadows across his face, “Gonna let the others see how you couldn’t wait to get something in you, huh?” He asks plainly—he doesn’t move, doesn’t put his hands on Swiss, just keeps them to himself, one with his phone the other one across the back of the couch.

untitled copiadew drabble gen Copia/Dew ; post tour discussions

Copia, as always, is sitting in a chair in front of a vanity mirror, a nicer one than some of the previous, carefully wiping his papal paint from his skin, “Last one,” he confirms after a long moment of silence, looking back at Dew through the mirror. “How does it feel?”

kinktober day 5 E Aurora/Swiss/Aeon ; double penetration and lingerie

Swiss has very specific needs and all of them can be satiated by being stuck between Aurora and Aeon.

kinktober day 3 E Copia/Dew ; blood and knife play

disconnected drabble about copia and small dick mountain E

untitled small dick mountain stuff E Cumulus/Mountain/Dew ; mean dew and nice cumulus

untitled big dick dew E (part 1) MountainDew ; Dew has a big dick and Mountain has a small dick

just the tip E (part 2) MountainDew ; big dick dew and small dick mountain once again

untitled copiadew smut E CopiaDew ; Copia humps Dew's leg while Dew is disinterested

untitled dom swiss fic M Swiss/Copia/Aeon ; Doms Swiss and Aeon, sub Copia

necropolis related drabble gen Copia/Ghouls ; Copia comes back right but Rain and Sunshine don't know how to cope

untitled swiss/aeon smut E Swiss/Aeon ; Swiss gets fucked and is a good boy

There’s 1 million things to say about Jim honestly. I’ve been threatening him with this mixtape for months but I finally got to it <3

One of the nicest most supportive people we have around here, truly he is so important to our community, a friendly face that talks to everyone and doesn’t shy away from weird or education or anything really.

He has a wonderful list of kink resources for fanfic and real life purposes. Honestly is blog is wonderful for kink exploration, it’s such a safe space and will teach you how to do things correctly! For whatever wicked things you may need it for

And his recommendation list is second to none. I know for a fact he goes out of his way to find smaller creators to hype up while also keeping the regular ecosystem moving. A needed part of our community, we always need to strive to find need artists and creatives!

And for all my creatives, he even put together this wonderful blog specifically for ghost prompts! All you could ever need is over there, and it’s such a good inspiration, even if you can’t find anything, he takes requests!

And of course I have to mention our collaboration with the ghestie mixtapes project. I couldn’t do it without him. (Trust me, I tried once. Do you know how much work goes into those posts??!!? There’s a reason I’m just the designer LMFAO) but he goes so far out of his way to make those special for everyone and I couldn’t have a better person working on this project with me <3