#fabin

i finished them all! please look at them

going left to right top to bottom we have emilia, keelan, maura, arthur, jack, fabin, and birdie as well as a family photo of everyone together!

raedoran cycle taglist: <3 @k--havok @oh-no-another-idea @space-writes @lyssa-ink @savvyminnow

from the lovely @space-writes <3 pulling this from the witch of the west endgame :)))))

the raedoran cycle

Keelan’s eye slides down to Fabin’s hands, still down at his sides. His fingers are longer, thinner—claws, curved and wickedly sharp. The realization hits Keelan like a bucket of cold water—he hadn’t used a weapon. He’d ripped their throats out with his bare hands.

this time from @akindofmagictoo <3 my words are dance, evening, voice, and light. still searching the whole cycle :)

dance (the knight of lacuna lake)

Keelan steps forward on trembling legs and bows. “Yes, my princess?” “Allow me your first dance,” she says, sinking into a curtsy in front of him. He feels his heart stuttering, heavy and sudden in his chest, and wonders if he might literally die from how beautiful she looks. “It would be my honor,” he manages to say, and she reaches out to take his hand. He sets the other on her waist and she bites her lip. He lowers his voice. “I don’t think I know how to dance.” She muffles a laugh. “Just follow my lead.”

evening (salt and brine)

Time passes like honey dripping from a tree, stretched and golden and sweet—the summer afternoon blending into the evening, the sky slowly staining with the sunset. The only flaw of her cove is that the cliffs block the view of the sun setting over Bjerkja’s peaks. Someday she’ll have to show Kamon the way the sky and snow refract the light into a thousand colors.

voice (the thieves of morbhard)

A shadow passes over them, wind stirring dust up from the grass. Arthur looks up and his knees nearly give out. He hears Jack let out a scream. A dragon is flying overhead, feathered green wings cutting through the air as it flies closer to the ground. It lands in the field between Arthur and Jack and the cottage, shaking out its wings. Jack makes a small whimper when it turns its head and looks directly at the two of them. “You know,” Arthur says in a small voice. “Maybe we should head back to the village.”

light (the witch of the west)

The dark spots are growing bigger, but she has finished healing the wound. She steps back and collapses into the moss, her limbs refusing to hold her any longer. Silver sparks drip off her fingertips as she stares up at the canopy of leaves above her. The sun is shining through, dappled light across her face. “Birdie,” Fabin’s human voice says, exhausted and panicked. “Birdie, please, look at me.” She drags her gaze away from the green light and focuses on the blur of Fabin kneeling over her. “You shouldn't shift.” “Shut up,” he says, though his voice doesn’t carry any venom. His pupils are still blown wide from the pain-relief spell. “Can you stand?” Her arms twitch weakly at her sides. “I’m sorry.” “Shut up,” he repeats, though softer and sadder.

again from @oh-no-another-idea <3 my words are advance, ankle, admit, admire, and approve!

the raedoran cycle

advance

“Let’s see if it’s hiding in here.” He cups his hands in front of his face and whispers something into them. He brings his hands down with a flourish, and a blue-tinged mirage of a bunny flickers to life in his palms, leaping off and onto the floor. Princess Brigit laughs with delight and chases the spectral rabbit into the depths of the library, disappearing again behind the bookshelves. “Are you going to teach her how to do that, then?” Princess Maura asks, and Levi chuckles. “No, princess, that spell is far too advanced for her. What is it you are thinking of studying this morning?” Princess Maura taps her chin with her finger. “History.”

ankle

Keelan leans back in his chair, testing the restraints around his wrists. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, glancing down to see ropes around his ankles as well, holding him fast to the chair. He’s still in his uniform from their arrival. He tries to backtrack, figure out how he ended up here, but the Guildin man speaks again, drawing his attention. “You were seen using magic in the port. You have been accused of being a witch. Confess.” Keelan snorts and the Guildin man snarls. “I am not a witch,” he says calmly, relaxing a bit in the chair. Maura will come for him soon enough, and then they’ll see some real magic. “I have nothing to confess.”

admit

Birdie’s governess is waiting in the stairwell, chewing on her thumbnail and looking like she hasn’t slept in a few days. Maura pats her arm. “Sir Keelan and I will be watching over the young princess this afternoon,” she says. “Perhaps you can take the time for yourself.” “Oh, thank you, princess,” the governess says, curtsying with visible relief. “I…I adore the young princess, you know I do, but she’s…” She gulps. “She turned the queen’s lipstain into berries and ate them this morning. It’s the third time this month!” Maura laughs a little, patting the governess’s arm again. “My sister can be a handful,” she admits easily. “Take some time in the city today.”

admire (birdie and fabin interlude because i couldn't find it in lacuna)

Fabin snorts and kicks the front door open. He scoops a handful of mud out of their sad garden patch. “You witches. Always thinking magic has to be the answer.” “What are you—” He plops the mud on top of her head, the cold making her gasp. He laughs a little at the look on her face, smearing the mud along the strands of her hair. “This will do the trick. Not long-term, of course, but definitely long enough to go to the market.” Birdie presses her lips together to hide a smile as his brow furrows, his fingers gentle on the side of her head while he tries to get a spot behind her ear. After a minute, he stands back and admires his handiwork. He nods. “Just Birdie. Not some big scary witch.”

(dis)approve

He tilts his head, watching the way she bites her lip. “If you ask me to, I will keep any secret you have.” The tips of her ears flush. “Levi’s been teaching me magic.” Keelan chews on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “And your father would disapprove?” Maura nods. She reaches out hesitantly, with her palm facing the ceiling. A golden light flickers to life in her hand, like a miniature sun. Keelan see the light reflected perfectly in her eyes. After a moment, she closes her hand and the light disappears. “He doesn’t understand the good it can do. He thinks it’s all demonic corruption; it took Mother a long time to convince him to allow Levi on the royal staff, much less to live here. He wants Birdie to be able to rid herself of…well, everything, and he thinks the only way for her to do that is for her to be able to control it. He doesn’t even know I’m capable of magic; I don’t know what he’d think or do if he did.”