Me, internally: The tea in book 4 did taste weird to Nerron. He could have gotten suspicious or stopped drinking it, but he trusted Will and Will had given it to him to drink and so he did and we have yet to see him work through that. He still has to go through the aftermath of the one person he truly opened up to, the friend who so openly appreciated having him around, leaving him behind like that.

Will: The judge sentenced me to life with no chance of parole.

Nerron: You begged me to marry you.

Will has been putting his artistic passion on hold to support Clara's medical studies, so having an instrument with him again and getting to use it slots yet another lost piece of himself back into place. He starts playing songs. Sixteen tells him how beautiful he looks when he is lost in the music. After a while, Nerron stops feigning indifference and openly turns his attention to Will's play. Asks questions about the songs. Will has long since learned how curious Nerron is, itching to learn about other culture and their tales.

Will asks him what Goyl sing about. Goyl are a people of many stories and few songs, Nerron tells him. But yes, there are songs. Though he won't show Will at this fire under the open sky. There will be better places for this. One night, they rest in a cave and Nerron leads Will down deeper and deeper until they reach a cavern where the stone of the earth surrounds them on all sides. When Will hears his first Goyl song, he understands. Nerron does not have a pleasant singing voice by human standards, but that doesn't matter. The tones merge with the whispers of the earth around them and when Will tries it himself, he loses the feeling for where he ends and where the earth begins.

Cornered | Confrontation

Warning for homophobic slur

(I did it, Mirrorworlders and Fox Siblings! This is the "Will and Nerron meet the asshole treasure hunter from Glass of Lead and Gold between books 3 and 4" fic I have been wanting to write for you forever! Also the story of their first hug. I hope you enjoy!)

"If it isn't the Bastard. I didn't think I'd meet one of your kind this far east. Are you hiding from Jacob Reckless here? I bet not having him around should be doing wonders for your career." Will saw Nerron's lip pull upwards into a brief snarl at the sound of the voice, baring his fangs for a second, but when he turned around from where he was sitting at the bar next to Will, his expression was one of mocking annoyance.

"And what about your career, Jakes? Still trying and failing to steal from little girls or have you started putting some actual work in?" The man standing in front of them did not posses an ounce of the skill Goyl had with schooling one's expression, his skin turning an angry red.

"Perhaps you need to get your rumours from better sources."

"Honestly, I really think I don't. Would you like to talk about your shortcomings some more? Such a broad subject and I would happily provide a new perspective." Will hid his smile by taking a sip of his drink because he felt like openly laughing would not deescalate the situation. Nevertheless, he enjoyed witnessing the exchange.

"I just want you to know that I was here first. So I suggest you pick something else to find", Jakes hissed. Nerron raised his eyebrows.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, we were originally just passing through." His face pulled into a grin that gave a good view of his teeth. "Though now you want us to leave, I am starting to get interested in this town."

"Careful, Goyl. You are far east. People here rarely get to see your kind."

"And therefore have less strong hard feelings about my kind than westerners."

"Just some advice between colleagues. I'll let you and your... companion enjoy your evening." Turning to leave, he addressed Will. "I commend you for your bravery, kid. I would want these teeth anywhere near my private parts. A word of warning, though? Make sure you remain useful and stay clear of bodies of water. His kind are prone to drowning those who outlive their usefulness."

The flying knife was a silver glint in the air that landed in the wall next to Jakes' face. The treasure hunter had a moment of startled surprise before Nerron leaned into his space, his hand closed around the knife next to the human.

"Does it look like I would need a body of water to end your life?", he hissed and leaned closer until their faces nearly seemed to touch. Many humans tended to get uncomfortable around Goyl and Will saw Jakes try to recoil with trying to get away from a creature his instincts told him was a predator.

"No, it doesn't", he bit out. "Is that what you want to hear? And you can back off, I am very much not interested. How about you behave like a civilised person and go back to your boy there, fag-" Will's stomach clenched, he hadn't had any idea this insult existed behind the mirror as well. But after all, even with all the magical objects and beings in this world, humans were humans. It occurred to Will that the subject of Nerron's attractions (in light of Sixteen's presence, Will hadn't felt the need to talk about himself in this regard) had never come up. Though to be fair, Nerron was rarely forthcoming when asked such personal questions.

Distracted by his thoughts, Will noticed only now why Jake had stopped talking abruptly and followed his line of sight to find the cause for it. He didn't have to look further than the small, human-like creature Nerron pulled out of his coat pocket.

"You really think your pet can just try to steal from me like that? Such a reckless little thing. Crawling into the wrong pocket could get it killed... so... very. Easily." Never breaking eye contact with Jake, he curled his fingers tighter and tighter around the little creature, making sure one of his claws was resting against the thin throat. Something cold seemed to grab Will's insides while observing the scene. Of course he had seen his friend fight and kill, but that had always been in defence of their lives. He had never done so for such sadistic reasons and Will found he didn't want to see it happen.

Jakes' jaw worked furiously, obviously trying to think of a way to stop Nerron, but not able to come up with one. Which Nerron noticed, a cold gleam in his eyes. Just when Will was about to step in, Nerron loosened his grip and pushed the thumbling into Jakes' coat pocket.

"If you'll excuse us, we need to get back on the road now." Nothing about Nerron's smile was remotely friendly. "I wish you the very worst of luck for this job." Without looking back, he pulled his knife out of the wall, picked up his sword and coat from his chair and left through the inn door. Distantly, Will thought about how his self from three years ago might have stayed to make some peace with Jakes. Now, he followed Nerron with no more than a brief nod at the man.

Once outside, Will sped up to a jogging pace until he caught up with Nerron on the way to their camp outside of town. Will had no idea what to say. Clearly, Nerron had been set off by something Jake had said, but... finding out what was a delicate matter. Saying the wrong thing might drive Nerron away and if the suggestion they could be intimate had offended him, addressing it in any way could be very bad indeed. Though Will very much hoped it wouldn't.

Nerron didn't acknowledge Will's presence until they had left town and were halfway to their camp, where he stopped walking.

"Aren't you worried about going to our camp with me? I might drown you in the nearest pond", he snarled without looking at Will. So this was why Nerron was so agitated. 'You won't, after all, your king needs me', Will might have joked, but this was not what should be said here. Instead, Will decided to share something he had never addressed before.

"I'm not worried. This isn't the first time someone told me things like that about you." Now he had Nerron's attention.

"What?"

"Two weeks after we started travelling together, one of your informants asked me if I still had all my fingers. Another if both my eyes are real. I also got the advice not to talk too much around you if I wanted to keep my tongue. I never cared about any of it and I'm certainly not going to start now."

"You saw me throw a knife at someone over a simple insult and then I nearly crushed-"

"I don't think the insult was simple. Don't forget that I spent time around Hentzau. I remember what people say about the Onyx. Not much of it, but... enough." I know what would have been done to you if the Onyx had decided you weren't of use to them. "And I know enough about you to know you're not like that. What happened in the inn didn't bring you pleasure. Just look at you. You hate the mere suggestion you could be like them."

"My reputation must have come from somewhere." But there was something else than defensive anger and pain in Nerron's voice now. That tentative hope let Will rake a step closer.

"I'm sure you did what you had to in order to get it. But having built that reputation saves one from having to act upon it too often, doesn't it? You're my best friend and you don't ever need to worry about me being afraid of you. Even when you're cornered and scared. In fact, do... would you like a hug?"

"We- we have found a gap in my vocabulary there. What are you offering?" The fact that Nerron had never been in a situation to learn the human word "hug" made Will want to give one all the more.

"Oh, it's the same as... maybe "embrace" is a word you heard before? It's something that helps me sometimes so I thought I'd offer." In this world of magic and fairy tales, a creature Will hadn't even known existed for most his life stood and looked at him like he was the most impossible thing in the universe.

"I haven't received a... hug in a long time, I think", Nerron admitted quietly. "But if you're offering..."

"I am and I also promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone. Come here." In theory, nothing about a stone creature with fangs and claws who was wearing scaly leather clothing and several weapons was huggable. In praxis, all these things were still there, but after a few seconds of stiffness, Nerron also practically melted into the arms Will put around him. And after another couple of moments, a pair of arms circled Will's back in an imitation of what he was doing. Even though this wasn't meant for his own comfort, Will allowed himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath where his face was pressed against stone skin. He had no idea how much time had passed before Nerron's hands lightly patted Will's back and he started to extract himself. Will hurried to react quickly so he wouldn't hold Nerron for longer than he was comfortable with.

"There's more where this came from", Will said with a smile, to spare Nerron the awkwardness of having to speak first. Nerron cleared his throat, the only sign he showed that his emotions had been affected by anything that had just taken place.

"Thank you. That is. Good to know for the future."

"Of course. Do you need rest tonight or should we pack up and get going?"

"I believe it's best if we put some distance between us and this town. Bartholomew Jakes is going to be livid as soon as he notices I nicked this while pushing his thumbling back into his pocket." He reached into his coat and pulled out something that looked like some kind of key, glowing faintly with engraved runes. An incredulous laugh erupted from Will, met with a smug grin from Nerron.

"Are we going to find the treasure before him, then?"

Blood Loss

Ambiguous/open ending

Behind this mirror, the Crossbow never dissolved. It was a solid weight in Nerron's hand as he approached Nias'ny.

"I knew I could count on you. Well done. Hand it over and we can end the usurper Kami'en once and for all."

"We?"

"Of course. You have proven your use and are worthy of being one of the Onyx."

"Not too much of an Onyx, I hope", Nerron replied and aimed the Crossbow at the Onyx lord. "Still the current Shadow King, I presume?"

"You don't want to do this. You are my son and my subject and pulling this trigger will end you as well."

"Perhaps." But the fingers just curled around the weapon even tighter.

"But we could be unstoppable with that weapon. No army will withstand the power of the Onyx and even the living fairytale guarding him would be no more than flesh and blood-"

Nias'ny fell as silently as the Fairy had. And with him, the Onyx guards at the door and many more throughout the kingdom.

......

Kami'en and his guard saw the soldiers fighting them drop dead. Nesser grinned, Hentzau sheathed his sword with satisfaction, but the Jade Goyl looked at the king's castle in front of them.

Almost as though he could sense the final body collapsing inside, Crossbow slipping from weakening fingers.

His legs started carrying him forwards in a frantic run. Deaf for the calls of his comrades, his lings burning, he hurried into the castle. Dead bodies with pitch black skin were scattered everywhere where death had found them along with their ruler. But in one room, movement. A woman wearing the simple clothes of a servant, but her black skin was speckled with amethyst and garnet and she was bleeding, but alive. Will grabbed a cloth from a nearby table and pressed it against her wound.

"You'll be fine", he comforted her, but couldn't stay any longer. "Can you tell me the way to the throne room?" The first place he would start looking for the assassination of a king. Taking in his face with wide eyes, she pointed her finger and stammered a direction.

"Thank you. You can go with Kami'en's soldiers, there are healers at his camp." Down more silent corridors. Barely taking the time to utter a few words to survivors he came across. Through doorways until

A wide room opened before him. On the other side, an opening led to a cliff overlooking the lake below. Slumped in the throne was a tall, dead Onyx with a bolt in his chest. And on the floor not far from him...

The blood that had spread on the ground was soaking the knees of Will's trousers as he knelt down next to Nerron. And hesitated uncertainly, overwhelmed by the sight for a moment. Nerron appeared to have done his best to stop the bleeding from a wound in his abdomen, but his hand hadn't kept enough in and now he was shaking, his chest rising and falling weakly and eyes staring upwards dazedly.

"Hey", Will whispered hoarsely, reaching out and cupping Nerron's cheek with a hand. With the other hand, he fumbled for the needle in his pocket and closed Nerron's blood slick fingers around it. The wound did not look too deep and hopefully the quicker healing of the Goyl would do the rest to close the wound in time. When that was done, Will shrugged off his uniform jacket and draped it over Nerron, hoping to warm him a little.

"You lost a lot of blood. This is the best I can do to warm you up a little until the needle has worked enough." Nerron's gaze flickered over Will's face and then to the body on the throne.

"Of course I'm still Onyx enough not to be spared by the spell. Typical." His voice was little more than a whisper, but the fact that Nerron was still present enough to voice such an observation lit a fierce relief inside Will.

"But not so much Onyx that it killed you outright. No Onyx would have risked their life like that."

"I... must have killed hundreds of people today." These words told Will that Nerron would be having nightmares about that.

"Only those who would have died for the Onyx cause. I have found other survivors, they are being treated as we speak. You might have won us the war against the Onyx today. And Hentzau owes me money because he said you wouldn't pull the trigger." A few beats of silence passed.

"You bet that I would risk my life?"

"I would have preferred if there hadn't been any need for that. But I never doubted you for a second."

"I feel like you should split the winnings with me."

"I promise we'll get drinks after you feel better."

Jacob, turning to the rest of the group : Put your hands up if you think Will and Nerron are boyfriends.

Everyone : *raises their hand*