Summary: Some time after the battle, Lark and Muriel begin to built their new home...
Notes: Yes, chickens can swim, at least a little.
“You think we could put in sky light?”
Muriel snorted. “Not unless you want the roof to cave in on us.”
Lark laughed as he continued to sand the bit of wood Muriel had given to him. He wasn’t exactly handy, but he tried to be as helpful as he could, mostly taking trips into town to pick up much needed supplies while Muriel did most of the technical stuff. “Okay so sky light is out,” Lark said, grinning from ear to ear as he often did when he was being playful, “but how do you feel about a swimming pool? Maybe one just big enough for the chickens to swim in…wait do chickens’ swim?”
“Hand me the hammer,” Muriel said. Lark did as asked, handing the other man the hammer. As he did his hand brushed Muriel’s and the larger man paused, looking at the tool in his hand, then at Lark. “You sure about this?”
Lark blinked in surprise. “About what? The swimming pool? I was joking- “
“No about moving out here, away from the city, into the middle of the woods…with me.”
“Of course,” Lark said, worry starting to replace confusion, “Are you having second thoughts?”
“No!” Muriel said quickly, “I mean…” His shoulders fell a little. “I just worry that you won’t like living here. Even with all the renovations it’s not like this place is going to be as big as the magic shop- “
“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there,” Lark said holding up a hand, “because while you say as big as the magic shop you do realize that in said magic shop, I shared a room meant for one with my brother and sister. We divided up said room with sheets, and had barely any room to move less decorate. Compared to that this- “Lark motioned towards the home they were currently working on. “-Is a palace. It’s an upgrade I assure you, with a cool forest to explore to boot. It’s a dream come true. Plus, it comes with the best feature- “Lark reached out a hand and placed it on Muriel’s arm. “-It has you.”
Inanna lifted her head from where she slept and let out a little whine.
“And you too Inanna,” Lark laughed, before turning back to Muriel. “Did that help ease any doubts in your mind?”
Looking down at Lark’s face, Muriel felt a fond smile creep across his face, and he nodded.
“Good, now is there anything else you would like me to do because I think if I sand this piece any more it’s going to become a toothpick.”
Muriel indeed did look down and could see that the younger man had indeed managed to sand the chunk into a much smaller piece of…something? He smiled as he took the piece from Lark. “I’ll put it somewhere.”
…
A few months later…
From where he lay on the bed, Muriel could look up and in the dying light of the fire he could see the little lump of wood sanded wood he had managed to wedge in one of the corners. It was one of the few additions to the house that Lark had made. He could feel the younger man pillowed against his arm, drooling and snoring away as usual. Muriel sighed as he closed his eyes. Inanna for her part added to the nose with her soft snorts as she slept at the foot of the bed warming their toes. Muriel smiled as he closed his eyes. It truly was home now.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
For @whumpuary 2026 Prompt #7: "Something isn't Right" (also think it could kind of work for 'drowning' as well, as I thought of drowning in grief but I figured it was better for this one specifically).
Title: The Dream
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Arcana (the story game from Nix Hydra)
Characters/Pairings: Asra/Robin (He/Him Apprentice), Mentions of Sparrow and Lark (Robin's younger twin siblings and also Apprentices)
Word Count: 515
Summary: Pre-Game plague era, while hiding in Nopal, Asra has a dream that fills him with dread.
Author Notes: So, I know I skip prompt #5, I just have been having brain goblins and sleeping trouble, so I was unable to get anything out. Will be doing so soon as I want to complete this thing even if it kills me (which it won't I just really want to complete a challenge). Also, when I saw the prompts, this was the one I really was excited for because the Robin coming to Asra dream scene has been in my head forever.
...
Asra was dreaming. He knew he was, but he wasn’t. He was standing on a beach looking out at the dark water. The sky was dark gray, as if a storm was rolling in, and it was hot. He could smell something burning.
Then he felt someone wrap their arms around him from behind. Tension seized him. He knew these arms and missed them dearly. Leaving them was something he had regretted. “Robin…” Asra breathed.
“I’m sorry.” There was a distinct, tearful hitch in Robin’s voice. There was also something else that Asra could not figure out, but that something filled him with a foreboding dread. “I am so sorry, Asra. I am sorry for what I said, for how things ended. I shouldn’t have let it go like that. And now…”
“Robin…” Asra tried to speak, but the words didn’t seem to come. He wanted to say he was sorry too. That he should have stayed or worked something out. Robin, Sparrow, and Lark — they were part of his family, and he let his fear come between that. He wanted to say that, but the words wouldn’t come. He wanted to turn, to look at Robin’s face, but the taller man held tight.
Behind him, Robin let out a sob. “They’re gone, Asra. Sparrow and Lark…I couldn’t protect them. I couldn’t save them, Asra!”
Asra’s eyes grew wide as the dread he had been feeling became genuine horror. No…It couldn’t be…His heart stopped as he felt Robin’s arms fall away.
“I’m sorry, Asra. I love you.”
Asra turned, trying to get the words out. I love you too! Don’t leave! Don’t go! But everything tasted like ash in his mouth.
…
Asra shot up in bed, one hand reaching out as he screamed. Faust was slithering up out of his shirt, her tongue tickling his cheek as she tried to understand why her magician was distressed. Asra stared out at the space in front of him. The night air in Nopal was cold and made colder by the sweat on Asra’s skin.
“We need to go back,” Asra said when he had his mind again. He threw back the covers and grabbed everything he needed. A part of him knew it was too late, but another part wanted to deny the truth. Maybe it was just a dream, maybe he still had a chance to…
…
Just as warm as his dream was the beach that housed the Lazaret. The bright blue sky was the only difference. The sky mocked Asra’s pain. Following the pull of familiar magic, he rushed forward to burning sand. His fingers blistered and bled as he dug in. The place in his mind that was in denial was screaming now.
Lark’s merry laugh…
Sparrow’s talks over tea…
Robin…his handsome Robin…
The little family from the magic shop…
All that came up in Asra’s bloodied hands were fragments of bone that stabbed his already wounded skin. The inner screams became outwards screams as Asra curled in on himself, blood and ash seeping into his clothes and skin. They were gone.
Summary: Lark can't sleep and there is a chicken monster in the woods. Coincidence?
Vesuvia Weekly Prompt: "Insomniac Shenanigans"
“Lark, I have a question for you,” Nadia said one day, as they sat in the palace parlor drinking tea.
Lark looked up in surprise. “Sure, Nadia, what is it?”
“What do you know of the Giant Fire Breathing Chicken of the forest?”
Lark winced as he heard Muriel choke on his tea just a little. He carefully patted the larger man’s back as he coughed. “Breathe Muriel,” he coaxed, “nice and easy.” He winced again as Muriel shot him a look. “Hey, don’t look at me like that! I was only doing it in protection of our home! It wasn’t like anyone got hurt or anything!”
Nadia smiled over her tea. “So, you do know something about this creature?”
Lark sighed. “I mean yeah but question is how do you know about it?”
“A couple of hunters were brought in by the guards,” Nadia explained setting her cup down carefully, “they were hunting in part of thee forest which of course is protected by law. They were subsequently arrested for poaching but told a strange tale of a creature that attacked them in the woods. They said it was a five-foot-tall chicken with fangs and fire breath.” She raised a confident eyebrow as she continued. “I figured that kind of creature would be hard to miss by the two people taking care of said woods, so I thought it would be good to invite you to the palace and let you tell me of this creature before I have to release a public health warning.”
“Well,” Lark said, beginning to nervously move squirm under the eyes of both Muriel and the empress, “you see it’s a very VERY funny story. It started with me having a flash of inspiration in the middle of the night. I’ve been working on a new song and sometimes inspiration comes at the craziest of times. Sadly, when it comes in the middle of the night it makes it hard to sleep. I know that sleep is important to Muriel so when these nights happen Inanna and I tend to slip away for just a bit so I can work through whatever is in my head. Usually, it doesn’t take long and I’m able to slip back into bed and everything works out. But the other night, as Inanna and I were taking a little walk, we noticed some lights walking around in the woods and Inanna got really upset. So, we investigated and found that it was those same poachers the guards managed to snag. Now usually I would have just gone and gotten Muriel or the guards- “
“Which is the correct answer,” Nadia said.
“Yes, but it was the middle of the night. Muriel is not a fan of being woken up suddenly- “
Muriel let out a grunt of agreement.
“-And by the time I got to any of the guards, who knows what would have happened. I knew I had to act fast, so I pulled a little bitty prank.”
Nadia’s eyebrows raised higher. “What sort of prank?”
Again, Lark squirmed a little. “It’s a little hard to explain, maybe I could show you?” He motioned towards the balcony. Soon they were all standing on the balcony and Lark brought up his hands as he closed his eyes and spoke a soft unintelligible word. Suddenly, out of thin air, appeared a five-foot chicken with fangs and glowing red eyes. The chicken looked at them angrily before tilting its head upwards in a chicken-like scream followed by a massive shot of dragon like flames. “It’s an illusion,” Lark explained, with a grin, “I am good at chickens but to scare those poachers I decided to add a little bit of creativity. I mean it’s worked every time I’ve used it.”
“And how many times have you used this illusion?” Nadia asked.
“Well twice, once on the poachers and once on Julian, though I’m not allowed to use it on him anymore since Sparrow promised me bodily harm if I pulled a prank on him again. Something about he’s already dealing with enough anxiety he doesn’t need to deal with a fear of chickens.”
“I see,” Nadia said, watching the giant chicken as it continued to stomp around the garden, not doing any damage but still looking kind of menacing. “While I do appreciate that you came up with a ‘safe’ solution to the problem Lark, I think it would be better if we don’t start creating rumors about scary monsters in the forest. We don’t want to cause people to become scared or worse go looking for said monster.”
“I agree,” Muriel said, giving Lark a playful nudge.
“Alright,” Lark sighed, waving his hand and making the chicken disappear in a poof. “But you both got to admit that this is one of my better prank ideas.”
“Oh, I agree,” Nadia said with a knowing smile, “that is why I think you should save your ideas for this years Harvest Festival. I’m sure with your talent it would be quite easy to come up with some nice scares for the festival patrons. Plus, I don’t think people will be expecting chicken monsters so it will be all the more surprising.”
Lark’s eyes grew wide. “Ooo! I could come up with some great ideas for some great monsters by then! What do you think about an entire chicken themed haunted maze?”
“I think we may have created another monster,” Muriel answered.
So hey, this is me being unable to sleep until I put this down into words, so if you have no interest then this probably isn't for you, but since it's his birthday I have been thinking about Lucio a lot especially as it pertains to my AU that I am currently writing. Now Lucio doesn't feature in a lot of my work currently, not because I don't like him (because I really do I find him fascinating and an interesting character) but more because the three routes I'm weaving together are Asra's, Julian's, and Muriel's, all of which feature Lucio as the "villain" and essentially defeated in the end.
That being said I was thinking of ideas of how-to bring Lucio back and 'redeem' in such a way to make him a more friendly figure. My ideas range from a Lucio from another world who has seen the light and is already working on changing, (though if you have any ideas let me know) but all this thought about it has made me think on how the Songbirds would actually interact with Lucio once he is a friend.
Robin, I think would be the most patient with him, given Robin's dad kind of attitude. I have thought that if Robin hadn't ended up with Asra, Lucio would probably have been my second choice because I could see Robin's gentleness as a good foil to Lucio's attitude. I think Lucio, like Asra, would be good at bringing out Robin's courage as well. I had a story line a while back that had Lucio even teaching Robin sword fighting (though that story line isn't really being used anymore, though could make for a cute side story).
Sparrow is a tricky one as she doesn't take any guff from people, and Lucio would probably try to push back, which would probably make him see why Sparrow is called 'the guard dog'. She would probably stare him down enough to make him listen, though once she could see his better side, I bet she would ease up a little (just a bit). She probably would over time develop a friendship with him, talking about adventure stories over tea which Sparrow would convince him is good.
Lark is probably the hardest of all however, even though he has the lightest temperament. I think because most of early interaction with Lucio came from Muriel's Route, that (without giving too many spoilers for those who have not actually played it) is a rough one for Lucio being a villain. It takes Lark a long time to realize that this is not the same Lucio and that he can chance for the better. I have the joke in my head that Lark says, "Old Lucio is a guy with the same name as you (New Lucio), who looks similar, but your face is better" (New Lucio: *Smirking* "Damn Straight."). I think they would become good friends, and I imagine they would start writing music together, with Lark playing guitar and Lucio singing (he might actually have a nice voice if he wouldn't try to do anything crazy).
Anyways that's my musing on Lucio's birthday. Happy birthday Lucio from the Songbirds who have adopted you as their goat friend.
Summary: Asra delivers some friend mail to Muriel...
Notes: A day late but for @creativepromptsforwriting's February prompt of "Love Letters". It was a bit rushed mostly because I wanted to get it out, but I hope it makes someone smile.
Sometime before everything…
“Master Asra?”
Asra felt a small tug on his shirt. He looked down and found bright green eyes looking back up at him. There was still some innocence in Lark’s face that Asra was happy to see, hoping that it would last for a bit longer. He smiled. “Yes Lark?”
Lark motioned to a nearby wall. “Is that a monster?”
The wall in question was covered in various paper flyers for various businesses, but underneath it all Asra could clearly make out the large scroll poster of a familiar face. A distortion of Muriel’s face stared at him with unblinking fiery red eyes, axe raised in attack. Asra winced. Even though the artwork was weathered it was a terrifying face. Count Lucio sure did know how to paint a frightening visage. Above the angry face were the words “See the Scourge of the South”. It made Asra’s stomach twist just reading them.
“Master Asra?”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Asra turned his attention back to Lark. “Do you see a monster, Lark?”
Lark looked at the poster and then back at Asra. “Not really, I just asked because some of the older boys said that was a monster. I didn’t think he was, but I don’t know.”
“Hm,” Asra hummed as he looked back at the angry eyes, “And what do you see?”
Again, Lark looked at the image, tilting his head a little. “I see someone who is sad. He kind of reminds me of this one story in Sparrow’s fairy tale book. It is the only one that I really like about a prince who is turned into a beast. But he’s not really a beast, he’s just sad and needs someone to love him.”
‘From the mouth of children,’ Asra thought. He smiled as he squatted down to Lark’s height. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked, voice soft as to keep it between the both of them.
“Yes Master Asra,” Lark said nodding vigorously.
“Well, you see that person on the poster,” Asra explained, “I know him. He’s a friend of mine and he is nothing like a monster. That poster was made by someone who wanted him to be a monster so he could have him fight other people for his amusement.”
Lark’s eyes lit up. “Just like how the fairy turns the prince into the beast!” he gasped. But then he looked confused. “Wait, but why would anyone want to watch people fight each other. That’s stupid. Why don’t they just watch people play ball instead?”
Asra laughed as he stood again. “I wish more people were like you Lark, truly I do.”
…
Later that evening, just as Asra was about to slip out the door, he felt another tug at his shirt. He looked down and again found Lark staring up at him.
“Are you going on a trip Master Asra?”
Asra came down to Lark’s height, smiling gently. “No, I am not going far away. I’m just going to visit someone, and I’ll be back very soon.”
“Oh,” Lark said, “we’ll can you deliver something for me?” He reached into his pocket and produced an envelope. On the front was written in bight blue pencil, ‘to the South’. “You said he was your friend,” Lark explained as he placed the envelope into Asra’s hands, “I thought if you see him, you could give him this. I thought it might cheer him up.”
Asra ruffled the boy’s hair lovingly. “Again, I wish more people were as caring as you Lark.”
Lark beamed.
…
It was dark when Asra arrived at the hut, the sun having set far beneath the horizon. Muriel was still waiting for him as Asra knew he would be. The fire lit up the small room easily and there was the smell of stew in the pot.
Muriel sat on the bed, Inanna by his side with her head in his lap. He petted her head as he regarded Asra with a look of annoyance and something else. “Didn’t think you were still coming.”
“I said I would,” Asra said, shoulder’s falling, “you are still my friend Muriel.”
Muriel snorted as he looked away from Asra’s gaze. “Figured you were enjoying it more at that shop of yours with your new family.”
Asra sighed. “Muriel, they are good people and I’m helping them. You would like them if you met them.” He reached into his bag and pulled out the envelope. “In fact, I brought you something.” He held out the envelope to Muriel with a small smile. “It’s some fan mail for you.”
Muriel looked at the envelope cautiously as Inanna gave it a curious sniff.
“Would you like me to read it to you?” Asra asked. Though Muriel didn’t answer Asra decided to read the letter anyways. As he read the words he watched Muriel’s face, taking in the little bits of emotion that flicked across Muriel’s face as he went through the words. When he was finished, he handed the letter to Muriel. “Lark’s a good kid,” he explained, “a bit quiet but he is finding his voice. Kind of reminds me of you a little bit, though he’s a little more mischievous.”
Muriel let out a little snort of laughter as he looked down at the letter in his hand. He turned the letter over and there was a drawing done in what appeared to be crayon. It was a picture of a big figure with red eyes but a big smile on his face and a smaller figure with green eyes and a very similar smile. They were holding hands with a ball between them. Muriel looked at the picture for a long time in silence before folding the letter carefully. He continued to say nothing as he crossed the room and placed the picture into a small box on one of the few shelves. He pulled his cloak tighter around him as he turned back to Asra who was watching him with a smile. “Stew is ready,” he said as he moved to grab the bowls.
Dear Mister of the South,
Hi! My name is Lark Fee! I am writing because I think you need a friend. I saw your poster and you looked like you could use a friend to make you happy. Asra told me that poster was made by people who want to make you look like a monster. I don’t think you are a monster. You are a person. A person that should not have to fight people because fighting is dumb, my big brother robin tells me so and he’s really smart.
I like illusion magic. I am really good at it and can make anything I want. But when I make things, I know they aren’t real, just like your poster. I also like making people happy. One day I want to make it my job to make people happy. My sister thinks that’s a silly idea, but I think it would be nice to make people smile. If you ever come back to Vesuvia, you can come to our magic shop, and I can teach you how to play ball. I’m really good at that too though I don’t have anyone to play with right now. I bet you would make a really good goalie because you are so tall.
I hope this letter makes you a little happy.
Your friend, Lark Fee
P.s. What is your favorite animal? Mine is squirrels. They are so silly. They make me smile a lot
P.s.s My sister tells me that you aren’t supposed to write something like that as a P.s. but I don’t care. She’s bossy sometimes.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
hey hey!!!! came from the the arcana comm page lol
for the mc ask, how about 10 (familiar) and if they don't have one maybe 11 🤍,, have fun!!!!!
Hi! Thank you so much for the ask! I really do appreciate it! I confess I am going to answer both as I am far too excited. I apologize is this gets long.
So 10 is an interesting question as I have thought about this. At first there was the thought that they are named after birds (Robin, Sparrow, and Lark) and they are known as the Songbirds, that they should have bird familiars but that felt like a bit of a cop out in a way. So in the end Sparrow was the only one to get an actual bird.
Sparrow gets a nightingale named Lady. Lady was a nightingale who would not sing. She was kept in a cage by a horrible trader and was saved by Malak who took a shine to the little bird. He was the one who brought Lady to Sparrow.
Lark’s familar has to be my favorite because I was like what is close to a bird but wasn’t a bird and I settled on… a flying squirrel. Ace is a flying squirrel who is very brave for one his size and he fits Lark jovial nature well.
Robin’s familiar was the hardest because I felt a bird didn’t for him either. I settled on a fox but lately I felt it was like a dream fox, like a hidden many tailed fox who could travel kind of like Faust. It connected to his mother and the connection back to his deal with the magician. I haven’t thought up a full name yet.
All their familiars come later after the original story of Arcana and I swear I could be here all day talking about it ( though I probably should write them lol).
Now for 11:
Robin: He and I share a birthday (kind of) so he is Capricorn though neither of us really feel Capricorn or rather the type of person I think of when I think of Capricorns. Robin can be very focused at times and very practical and hardworking, especially when it comes to the shop and relearning magic. He also is very sensitive though he doesn’t always let it show in bring the ‘dad’ sibling
Lark and Sparrow: As twins they are both Leo’s, summer babies. They are both firey in different ways and very loyal. They are also confident and action oriented.
Not me waking up in the middle of the night remembering how I wanted to try this year (*cried in lack of sleep*). Anyways please ask, will answer for all three of them (Robin, Sparrow and Lark), and this will probably help me flesh them out as I work on their longer story. Please ask me and get my brain flowing!
(Borrowed from the ever lovely @iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia and the Arcana tumblr.)
