#v. main

Garak has clearly been feeling properly awful for weeks. Julian has been watching him carefully, waiting for any chance to help or to comfort, and taking those opportunities where they come. But it's gone on long enough that when he has the chance to stealthily scan his sleeping partner, he takes it. It's unprofessional, it's an invasion of privacy, it's perfectlh normal for the two of them, but it's... devastating.

Pregnant. Julian tries to tell himself that it could be some sort of medical anomaly. An unfertilized egg growing out of control, a tumor that the body is mistaking for something else... His scan isn't specific enough to really know for sure. But Julian hadn't even known that Garak could become pregnant, and given his own deliberate lack of fertility... It's not necessarily a betrayal, but it feels like one, and Julian curses himself for being so nosey for nearly an hour before gently shaking Garak awake, his open tricorder still where his partner can see. There's no point in hiding his crimes now, but he does school his expression into one of sincere concern and apology rather than open hurt.

Harrowing bleats that once filled the open meadow, adorned with wildflowers of blue, purple, and white, morphed into a soft wheeze. A large doe lay on her side, dark eyes staring up at Sylvi forlornly. The arrow that had once been embedded in the deer's neck now rested among a patch of white asters, droplets of red staining their petals. Sylvi gently held the animal's head in her lap as she ran her hand down the doe's neck. Hovering over the wound, she pursed her lips as a sharp, piercing sensation shot through her neck, holes appearing where an invisible arrow had struck her.

Heat radiated from the injury, skin and muscle rapidly knitting together, so only a droplet of blood managed to trickle out. Sylvi lifted her hand; the injury on the animal had completely disappeared. The deer's breathing evened out, her eye rolling around as though she was attempting to process where its pain had disappeared to. Lifting its head, the dazed animal looked the smiling woman in the face, then slowly got to its feet and bounded toward the forest with revitalizing speed. Sylvi, smiling, rose to her feet and dusted off the back of her pants, unaware that her good deed had been witnessed.

"Oh!" Turning her head, Sylvi's warm brown eyes widened for a split second, then returned to their heavy-lidded droop. Without a moment's hesitation, she carefully looked him over for any injuries, starting at the tip of his yellow tail, working up his tall frame, elongated neck, and to the place where his respirator blocked his snout. His outfit was pristine, only the dust of the dirt road blemishing his boots. No visible injuries that required attention. However, there was something about him that felt off.

"Hmm, you don't seem to be in any kind of pain or distress. Is it a friend?" She inquired, tilting onto her right foot to peer around him. Helping someone quickly wouldn't be too bad out here, and it wasn't like she could lie to the strange man about her abilities now that the hole in her neck had closed up; only a smear of blood was evidence of her injury.

"akivili, akivili!" aha's voice already ripe with amusement. "oh, my dearest akivili! it has been so long since you've played catch up!" then a thoughtful pause. the taller, humanoid figure hides their face behind a mask yet their expression almost seems to burn through, shifting the artistic flair at will. the tip of their finger hits where their chin would be, contemplating. "perhaps you don't really like that game... ah, but you'd at least like to tell aha what fun you had on your last excursion, yes?"

The distinctive thrum of Aeonic energy makes Them cognizant to Aha's appearance seconds before Akivili can even lay golden, starry eyes upon Their figure. Whispers of Elation brush against the Trailblaze. A laugh escapes, unbidden. Yet another long overdue reunion with the cosmic being They're most familiar. Reignited fondness fills Them with gentle warmth.

Gripping the brim of Their cap, head slightly bows in greeting. ❝Only because it's one I've never been particularly skilled at.❞ Akivili grins, albeit sheepishly. Fully understanding just how fleeting Their presence tends to be in the lives of most others. Eternally drawn starward as They are; laying down the silver rails and charting courses to planets unknown. ❝Hopefully The Laughter can find it within Themself to forgive my perpetually extensive absences? Regaling you with tales of adventure, escapades, and camaraderie is the least I can do. There's certainly no shortage of them to tell.❞ A brief pause as They idly tap Their cheek, reflecting on all recently transpired events. ❝Hm, but where to begin...❞

They shift, meaning to uncross Their legs and lean forward in Their current sitting position, but abruptly fall still instead. Within a fraction of a second, pain flickers across Akivili's shadowy features and is concealed just as swiftly. Quietly, They exhale, before continuing without any acknowledgement of what had prompted such a reaction.

A bitch. A bastard. A cocksucking motherfucking pain in the ass.

He could take his pick and it wouldn't come close to what she thought about him. As what he was capable of, she couldn't even begin to fathom the power that he had at his fingertips, let alone the rest of him. And despite knowing the danger she was currently flirting with, she stood her ground. Her spade tipped tail flicked in time with her flexing fists. She couldn't recall the last time someone had managed to get under her skin as easily as he could. They'd barely even known each other an hour.

"I'm not who you thought I was."

It wasn’t often that the Third Rail was wanting for a singer, since Magnolia practically never took a night off. On those very rare occasions, though, Anna had been known to step in to help her friend. There wasn’t an abundance of professional singers in the Commonwealth and she would be lying if she said that she didn’t sometimes miss performing.

It was Arthur's fault for getting too comfortable. Jack was in the kitchen trying to figure something out while Arthur waited in the living room. Jack was only a room away. He got too comfortable.

When the knock on the door came, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He was in no state to entertain company. He was wearing someone else's pajamas and covered in bruises after his last encounter. But when he he hesitated too long, he heard a voice through the door:

"You'll want to cooperate, of course. It's a matter of your health." Arthur looked through the window and made direct eye contact with a doctor. Another one was behind him, difficult to mistake when they were dressed almost identically in the same odd fashion sense common among Wellington Wells' medical community.

Arthur's heart sunk, but he put on the best smile he could and opened the door. He tried to keep his body mostly behind it. "Gentlemen! Lovely day for it! Now what's all this about a medical emergency?"

"Yes, well, you'll forgive the intrusion, but my colleague and I happened to be wandering along when caught your scent through the window. It's ajar."

Arthur looked at it again. Indeed it was. Why did every little thing have to go wrong? The doctor pushed past Arthur into the living room, then turned to face him, so Arthur had a doctor on both sides.

"And, when we'd sniffed you out, then we couldn't help but notice that peculiar pungency telltale of one off their Joy." The doctor smiled, his creepy little mustache curving up at the edges. "So of course we both agreed it was our medical duty to come remedy the situation."

"Oh, dear!" It wasn't difficult to look horrified. It was harder to to look like he had nothing to hide. "Silly me! Has it been that long since I've popped a Joy? I'll take one straight away. I'm so thankful to you for warning me, Doctor." Arthur kept turning between the doctors, unsure which one to face. "And, uh, Doctor. Jolly decent of you."

"Yes, we'll administer a dose presently." The doctor leaned close, peering at Arthur with one fish eye. The one behind Arthur--he was getting them mixed up now--took a noisy sniff of Arthur's neck. "Are you certain you don't need more extreme medical intervention, sir? You do seem to be rather beat up."

"Oh, not at all! That's why I'm at home in my pajamas, you see. Silly me, I tripped down the stairs and the doctor put me on strict bed rest until I've healed up."

If only smiling hard enough would make them believe him. His cheeks were starting to hurt. "I've been going crazy here at home instead of at work. I'm sure the Joy will help with that." Arthur tried to step out from between the duo. "I'll just step away and go take care of that right now. I shouldn't waste another minute."

The doctor behind Arthur grabbed his upper arm and wrenched him back in place. "You'll forgive us for wanting to take you back to the office just to be sure. It is a matter of your health, after all. You can't be too careful."

"Oh, pish-posh!" said Arthur desperately. "I'm as healthy as a horse. Just some light bruising."

"I think that's for a qualified medical professional to to decide, don't you think?" The doctor in front of Arthur produced a rather large syringe as the one behind him held Arthur's arms. "But first there is the matter of your Joy. I think you'll be much more agreeable once the proper dosage is applied.

The doctor came in close and tilted Arthur's head up to expose his neck. He ran a finger along the vein he chose and then stabbed the needle into Arthur's skin, fully compressing the plunger and emptying the pink liquid into Arthur's bloodstream.

血 糸 | “ IT’S INCREDIBLE WHEN YOU think about it, ” tsubaki mused. “ not too long ago, I thought there were none of you left. ”

after a moment of reflection, she chuckled. it was a sheepish laugh, embarrassed by her naive predictability. “ sorry—I guess that’s something you’ve heard a million times. ” // @reiiishii - noah gringoire