Started thinking about the moments where an apprentice's lost memory sparks. About the moment when they start thinking of home. And how their LI's might react.
So have some more OC bullet-point headcanons!
Meleia & Asra
“I missed this,” said Meleia as she and Asra stood on the beaches of Vesuvia, watching the sun set.
Asra thought nothing of it at first.
After all, they had visited the beach and the docks multiple times by then.
The shoreline had always been one of Meleia’s favorite spots.
But the more they chatted idly about the wonderful view, the more Meleia began to bring up sights that decidedly weren’t from Vesuvia.
Caverns that she and Asra had never explored.
A cliffside that Meleia apparently remembered clearly, but Asra had never seen.
And constellations that simply weren’t visible from their viewpoint.
Asra tries to deny it in the beginning.
Maybe it was a dream. Or something that Asra had seen, once, but since forgotten. Or even something from the Magical Realms.
But the evidence keeps piling up.
And the only true conclusion just collapses on top of Asra.
Meleia’s talking about the place she was born.
A place she had never told him about before.
It takes a while for Asra to admit that out loud. He’s almost worried about the consequences.
But she doesn’t seem to have a headache.
And though neither of them truly know where any of these landmarks might be, it’s still a huge clue.
It feels like a miracle. A second chance.
Maybe their next bout of traveling will happen sooner than Asra originally planned...
Damian & Julian
“Gods, I’ve missed this,” Damian laughed after a wonderful night of playing music together.
A normal statement. Until Damian mentions a specific song.
It was a song that Julian had never heard before.
That didn’t stop him from joining in on his vielle, of course. Julian was always pretty good at going with the flow when it came to music.
But once the performance was over, someone offhandedly complimented them for including a Nopalin folk song.
And Julian’s mind starts whirling.
The memories that he had given up during his own deal with the Hanged Man had returned to him, but that didn’t mean his memory itself was perfect.
He knew a lot about Damian’s time as his doctor apprentice.
But not every single detail.
Had Damian ever mentioned anything about Nopal?
And can he risk asking about it, with Damian’s condition?
The thought drives him to the brink of madness until Damian finally asks him why he’s being so quiet.
And then the dam breaks.
Thankfully, despite Julian’s panic after dumping all that on Damian, Damian does not immediately collapse into a headache-induced catatonic state.
But he does start asking around the market to see if there’s anything else around the city that originates from Nopal.
Anything to try to spark more memories.
Or, failing that, grant Damian another hint of nostalgia.
Nadia & Chimalus
“I’ve missed this,” said Chimalus, just after building an enormous snowman outside the Winter Palace.
Nadia looked at them, startled.
As far as either of them knew, Chimalus had lived in Vesuvia for their entire life. And Vesuvia wasn’t known for the heaviest snows. Not without magic involved.
But Chimalus spoke as though they had built enormous snow creations for many years in a row.
The nostalgia in their tone was impossible to miss.
The moment they get back to the palace proper, Nadia is on a mission.
She’s brought out all of the maps that she can find that showcase any remotely snowy areas.
She doesn’t want to trigger Chimalus’ memory-wipe-induced headaches, but she does drop subtle hints every now and then, trying to find a more specific location.
Eventually, her barrage of hints is too much for Chimalus to remain oblivious.
So Chimalus joins the mission.
The two of them do a lot of research, hoping for anything that might spark another memory.
It takes time. And some other unrelated incidents. But at last, they find a certain city near a certain mountain.
Nadia has the trip to Galbrada planned within a week.
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Hello I once again bring you pure fluff. About 700 words of Asra and Meleia fluff, to be exact (with a couple of cameos from Faust and Forge the fennec fox).
Tagging both the Evenings at Home and Lanterns and Windows prompts from @vesuviaweekly because I think it works for both of them lol.
___________________________________
Every night, when they officially closed up, Asra and Meleia needed to remember to put out the lantern at the front of the shop. Some days it was a simple task. Just a part of the routine. Other days, that task was a bit harder to remember.
There was the night when Meleia was in the back room for a long, long time, doing countless readings for a long stream of customers. The casual shoppers had long since left. And though Asra couldn’t see through the curtain that separated the back room from the shop proper, he still found himself staring in her general direction. He leaned over the counter, his chin in his hands, smiling like the lovestruck fool he was. He knew he wasn’t supposed to listen in on her readings. And truly, he wasn’t paying attention to the actual words. He simply loved the sound of her voice. The rise and fall of her casual tone made a beautiful melody.
And he was so proud of her, for coming so far, for taking on her work with so much confidence. After everything she had gone through, after everything he still felt a bit guilty about from time to time, the fact that she was speaking at all was like a wonderful gift.
Even Faust couldn’t catch his attention when he got like that.
But he did come back to earth once Meleia had escorted the patron back to the door, with some easy chatter and laughter. And he joined her in the doorway. He asked for any juicy gossip. Meleia, of course, playfully nudged him, reminding him that she couldn’t reveal patron secrets.
Still, they were both laughing as they put out the lantern together.
_______
There was the night, a few days after that last event, when a storm blew through Vesuvia. It rained nonstop. Only a few highly dedicated customers braved the weather to visit the shop. And all of them walked out with something a little extra. Something that Asra promised would help them stay somewhat drier.
Meleia teased him relentlessly for that. She knew fully well that Asra’s water-repelling charms made the unfortunate user’s hair very puffy. Asra, of course, had no problem with puffy hair. So Meleia made him use one of his own charms when he went outside to put out the lantern.
Asra dragged her along with him. Faust and Forge followed. And neither of the familiars were protected from the deluge.
Faust had thoroughly enjoyed the rain. Forge had wound up thoroughly soaked. And Asra and Meleia’s hair got about as puffy as they possibly could, even in the short time it took to put out the light.
Though perhaps the long time it took to scoop up Faust afterword had something to do with it.
_______
And then there was the night that was simply cozy. Almost too cozy.
The shop was quiet. The lights inside were dim. The stars were out, peeking through the windows in a beautiful display. The world seemed so wonderfully warm.
Asra felt especially warm and cozy as he stood behind the counter with Meleia snuggled in his arms. It was just a simple hug. He had snuck up on her and playfully wrapped his arms around her from behind. To his pleasant surprise, Meleia had leaned into it. And now they stayed there, Asra with his chin gently resting on Meleia’s head, Meleia with her arms resting over his. Even the familiars had given them a little moment of peace. Forge was upstairs, probably hiding something in his “den” under the bed. And Faust was languidly soaking in the moonlight that flowed through the window.
It was perfect. So perfect that no one wanted to move. Least of all Meleia and Asra.
Meleia mused, after a while, that they really should put the light out. And that maybe they should try to come up with some sort of spell to do that for them, so that no one would have to go outside.
Asra gently refused that particular idea. Those little moments with Meleia, when they went outside together, were far too precious to him to ever dream of giving them up.
For @vesuviaweekly 's "Allergies" prompt. Just some silly little headcanons for how Asra would help my apprentice Meleia with her allergies (and totally not based on my real-life experiences what are you talking about lol)
Meleia's allergies weren't always that bad. They were hardly prevalent.
At least, they wouldn't have been, in pretty much any city besides Vesuvia.
It took a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly what gave Meleia sniffles and a scratchy throat and that awful headache that always settled right behind the bridge of her nose on particularly rainy days.
Or on days where the mist was heavier than usual, and lingered longer.
As it turned out, she was allergic to a very specific type of mold.
The type that thrived in wet or misty conditions.
On the one hand, that certainly explained the problem.
But that knowledge did little to actually alleviate the symptoms.
Thankfully, Asra was on it.
Sometimes he brought some cures back from his travels, both in the form of actual medicines and local "home remedies."
Sometimes he wandered the market and came back with an assortment of things the vendors swore would work wonders.
Sometimes he concocted his own.
All these "cures" had... varying degrees of success.
At least Asra had some experience with helping headaches.
And he knew the perfect kind of tea to soothe Meleia's throat.
But there were some days when absolutely nothing seemed to help, and poor Meleia was just miserable.
And on those days, Asra had one last cure-all up his sleeve.
Snuggles.
All the snuggles.
These snuggles were often accompanied by snake squeezes from Faust
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Asra and Meleia share a lot of inside jokes. They practically have their own language at this point.
But one of their favorite running gags, which all their friends have started to pick up on as well, is Doctor Forge.
Meleia’s familiar, Forge the fennec fox, adores both his human and Asra.
But he has an oddly endearing friendship with Julian as well.
Julian absolutely spoils the little guy, and Forge loves to trot around after him whenever Julian visits the shop.
One day, when Meleia was doing inventory after a particularly busy day and was clearly not awake, Julian told her to rest. Said it was “doctor’s orders.”
And Forge immediately adopted the phrase.
Now whenever anyone needs a break, or when they’re hungry, or if anything else mildly inconvenient happens, Forge urges them to rest with a little call of: Doctor orders!
His way of speaking is a lot like Faust’s, so that’s really all he can actually say.
But it just so happens to be super adorable.
Now Asra and Meleia have started using “doctor orders” themselves. Asra has a habit of saying it at almost the same time as Forge, or making Forge say it with him, to “gang up” on Meleia.
She has to go to bed when her two favorite foxes both say it’s “doctor orders”
(Forge always gets some extra treats if it actually works and Meleia gets some sleep)
(sneaking this one in right before the deadline lol)
Couldn't decide between a reaction to/companion of this great headcanon by @iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia and some actual little bullet point scenarios, so...
Impulse Purchases
Meleia and Asra:
Meleia absolutely enables Asra's impulse purchases while traveling. She knows the budget a bit better than him, but hey, they have money for a reason!
(Don't worry, she separates a "food" and "fun" budget, they aren't going to starve)
Meleia's own impulse purchase: plushies. She has a cute little stuffie for every place she and Asra have visited.
(Some of them were bough by Asra as a gift. She loves these so much)
Damian and Julian
Damian fully knows that the "remidies" Julian buys never work. He knows his actual magical ingredients, and these are... not that.
But he cannot resist Julian's smile, so he absolutely lets Julian have this.
Damian refuses to admit that he buys things impulsively.
(Ignore the shelf full of puzzles and puzzle boxes that have yet to be completed/opened)
Chimalus, Nadia, and Portia
Chimalus simultaneously encourages Portia to get whatever cute hair accessory she wants and gets embarrassed whenever Nadia buys something for them.
They were just looking at it, it's fine, they don't need it...
But there is no escape. They will be pampered. (Not that they actually mind that much)
Chimalus loves anything made out of glass. Especially if it has a fun color or funky shape. There's a lot of sun catchers and fun bottles around both the palace and the shop now.
When the Impulsive Thoughts Win
Asra (featuring Meleia, Faust, and Meleia's familiar Forge)
Living with Asra, you spend a solid 78% of the time seeing what happens when the Impulsive Thoughts win.
Meleia’s favorite story was the day that Asra happened to find some hair chalk at a cosmetics stand in the market.
Of course, his first instinct wasn’t to play with his own hair. Or Meleia’s.
No, he had to know if hair chalk worked on scales.
Or on the fur of a certain fennec fox.
Faust appreciated it.
Forge did not.
While Faust slithered all around the shop, leaving little chalk trails and declaring herself a beautiful rainbow, Meleia and Asra had to pull out all the tricks to try to get a suddenly purple Forge out from under the bed.
Asra had to both pamper Forge in the bath and buy the little guy a lot of treats after that.
But he was eventually forgiven.
Juilan (featuring Damian)
Julian’s a doctor. He understands the concept of Damian’s alchemy, even if he doesn’t quite get the magic behind it quite yet.
Putting ingredients together to make beneficial things? Absolutely. That’s just like medicine, or cooking. No problem.
Said ingredients somehow transforming into an entirely different state of matter?
That makes... less sense.
But he couldn’t deny his scientific curiosity.
One evening, when Damian was out getting groceries, Julian discovered that one of Damian’s usually-glowing ingredients was no longer glowing.
So he did what anyone would do.
He shook the bottle.
He should not have shaken the bottle.
Damian came home to a very impressive mess of glittery slime all over the floor.
He made Julian clean it all up. Julian was thoroughly embarrassed.
But it all turned out to be worth it when Damian “dragged” Julian along with him the next time he went out to replace his alchemical regents.
Julian learned a lot that day. Not the least of which was not to touch things he didn’t know anything about.
Portia (featuring Chimalus)
You know that thing where you’re looking at a cat that’s all curled up and taking a nap and you absolutely have to boop its nose?
Yeah.
Portia always does that to Pepi of course. But.
There was one time when Portia and Chimalus actually had a moment to breathe
And they decided to spend it reading together in the palace library.
Chimalus was utterly focused on their book, and the look on their face was so darned cute...
Portia couldn’t resist The Nose Boop.
Chimalus was so startled they actually dropped their book.
Portia laughing did not help.
And when Portia finally confessed that she did it just because they looked adorable, then Chimalus turned into a blushing mess.
This, of course, did not make Chimalus any less adorable.
Nadia (featuring Chimalus and Portia)
Nadia is the Countess. And a princess besides. She does not give into her impulses.
Never. Not once.
The rumors about a baking lesson with her, Portia, and Chimalus devolving into everyone laughing and tossing flour at one another are absolutely untrue.
Do not believe any of the kitchen staff who saw it happen.
Just gonna put some little bullet-point drabbles here for the things that my MC's borrow from their LI's or vise-versa... intentionally or otherwise.
Julian and Damian: For the Love of Gloves
Damian is an alchemist.
Julian is a doctor.
Between them, they have a lot of gloves.
Particularly leather gloves.
Sometimes, when one is tired or distracted, they’ll grab the other’s gloves.
Despite the fact that most of Julian’s gloves are black and most of Damian’s gloves are brown. One would think they would figure that out, but no.
Damian has lost count of the number of times he has warned Julian not to bring gloves that were used for handling highly caustic materials into the clinic.
But he can’t really complain, since some sleepless nights have led to him wondering why “his” gloves got a little too big for him in the past few hours.
Oswald and Malak spend far too much time each week bringing the gloves back to their proper owners. They practically have a dedicated glove-return business by now.
When it comes to actual, on-purpose clothing swaps, though, it tends to go one of two ways.
One, Damian wears practical clothes and has virtually no fashion sense, so Julian likes to get him some nice clothes every once in a while.
Two, Julian has completely forgotten something important (like a coat that’s actually functional) and Damian lends one of his own. They’re kind of similar sizes, so it usually works. Mostly.
Asra and Meleia: Sharing is Caring
Meleia’s much more in the habit of finding Asra’s misplaced clothes for him or just making him new ones than borrowing his things.
Asra playfully “borrows” Meleia’s clothes sometimes, much to her fond exasperation.
“Really, Asra, if you want to wear a skirt, I can make you one that actually fits you...” “But yours are already so comfortable!”
The two of them have rather distinct fashion styles, though, so borrowing things doesn’t happen too often.
Asra will always offer his coat if Meleia needs it, and Meleia has plenty of jewelry and other accessories she loves to share with Asra
(Side note, in their canon, Meleia gave Asra the blue crystal pendant he always wears, as crystals are kind of a “thing” where Meleia was born)
But that’s really the extent of it.
The one thing that’s always fair game, though? Scarves.
They have more scarves than they can keep track of. And with the two of them, there are no “your scarves” or “my scarves.” Just “our scarves.”
Nadia, Chimalus, and Portia: Triple Trouble
Clothing and accessories are... interesting with these three.
Nadia grew up as the youngest member of a royal family.
She had everything provided for her, and all kinds of things made brand new for her... but she was the youngest, so her sisters had a tendency to gift her with their old clothes because it was cute and wholesome.
Nadia found the whole thing demeaning.
So she would never do the same thing to anyone else. Particularly not someone she loves.
She’s much more inclined to have entirely new outfits commissioned for Chimalus and Portia than to give them anything second-hand.
Portia grew up with lots of other kids, and absolutely wore lots of hand-me-downs.
She’s much more comfortable and casual about the whole thing.
Sure, she enjoys having things that are purely hers now.
But sharing clothes was pretty much a part of everyday life.
And though Chimalus is much taller than Portia, she has absolutely no problem tossing them a shawl or a scarf or whatever other accessory they might need.
Chimalus, meanwhile, is happy to share whatever they can with their two girlfriends whenever they ask, though it is a little embarrassing to give such plain and simple things to the Countess and her right-hand assistant.
So clothing, sometimes, is a bit of a weird subject.
There is one category that is never awkward:
Accessories.
Nadia: "Why yes, Chimalus, you can absolutely wear some of my jewelry. In fact, keep those earrings, they suit you much better."
Portia: "Of course, Chimalus, I've got tons of ribbons and hair pins and fun little bracelets for you. Look, I made this one myself!"
Both Portia and Nadia love showering Chimalus with bangles.
And Chimalus is rather flattered by the whole ordeal and touched by the generosity.
It’s gotten to the point where Chimalus practically needs a whole shelf just for gifts like that.
And sure, they might be “borrowed,” but Portia and Nadia aren’t asking for them back any time soon... what if Chimalus still needs them?