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If how a person spends their time defines who they are. Then what did this last year say about me? Lavendulan wondered this, among other things, as she looked down at the two rings, each made from the purple crystals found in the Dark Kingdom.

This was not an easy undertaking, it was a project that had limited existing research when she began and took both the mind of a crafter and a scientist of sorts to try and solve the mystery that was ‘how to extend glamour’.

First and foremost she was a rock carver, not a jewelry smith. Didn’t know a thing about working with metal and had tried using some of the metal bands she picked up while she, for lack of a better term, treasure dove at the rivers where people often went rafting or in the reservoir.

Secondly, she was an oceanographer not a geologist and definitely knew next to nothing about engineering or technical design. Which meant that every new skill she had to learn was self taught. Perhaps it was a bit of pride that kept her from reaching out and asking for help. Lopezite would have no doubt offered assistance if only she could have mustered the courage to simply ask, or explain to him that it felt like she’d hit a dead end.

Originally she had tried removing existing gems and replacing them with fragments of crystal; sterling silver, gold, titanium were among the few. Either the stone was too small or the metals used were just inadequate. End of the day there wasn’t much to show in the way of progress so she tried to take a different approach.

Eventually she just tossed the idea of using metal at all and decided pure crystal was the way to go. However, many clusters had been destroyed in the process of figuring out how to craft a ring out of something that would splinter or fracture if not approached with the utmost care. Somehow she’d finally done it though, not once but twice.

Proud of the eventual step forward in the right direction, Lavendulan was supposed to present one of the rings to Wolframite and ask if he would help her test out how long they’d be able to maintain their glamour.

But then something unforeseeable happened.

He and Tina had been out patrolling together when she received a notice on her tablet. Wolframite had been shot by a police officer and was rushed to the infirmary where they tried their hardest to stabilize him. But he was a half-youma as she was, their anatomy wasn’t entirely the same as normal humans. Mutated and changed from their original design; where she had horns, scales and blue-tinted skin, Wolframite had animalistic hands, ears and had blood that ran black.

Everything came to such an immediate halt that any sense of obligation outside of making sure he recovered was all but forgotten. Fortunately their home in the ruins had been completed so when it came to rest, there was little worry about someone knocking on the door or walking down the hallway.

It was a harrowing experience for everyone involved; weeks spent in worry that seeped into her dreams when exhaustion finally dragged her into unconscious oblivion.

Months passed and soon he was starting to function more normally; still a bit cautious with certain motions but otherwise able to move about and pick up some light-duty tasks helping other officers with paperwork. The hope was that these rings might afford them more time to just simply do something together such as going to a movie, or fix up one of the vehicles in Samir’s junk yard and teach Wolframite to drive, hell succeeding in this project would also help him be able to type more effectively; normal hands were more dexterous than large paws with oversized claws.

That’s what brought her to this point.

Laven propped both elbows on the tabletop and just buried her face in both hands. The disgruntled frustrated sound she made sounded an awful lot like a defeated noise, “I need to just walk around, stretch my legs maybe” a comment made to nobody in particular but might help make her feel less antsy.

Lifting both rings, one was stowed away in a locked safe while the other was held in her hand almost like a worry stone. Placed over the first knuckle on her index finger Laven absently spun it around as she wandered the castle hallways until she came to a stop just feet away from the entrance to the Rift.

When she had initially felt a Sovereigns' signature moving through the hallway, Laven had assumed that they were perhaps on their way to talk to the Queen, or had important business with one of the other Generals that had office spaces within the castle.

However, when the overwhelming aura continued its approach, she turned away from the Rift entrance and bowed thinking that if they were coming this way then they must have business on the other side, with the youma or something within their territory.

She was wrong.

Surprised that she was the focus of his curiosity it took a moment to find her voice. "General King Axinite," felt like her heart had turned to lead and sunk to the pit of her stomach in absolute dread. Had she taken too long with the ring that Laurelite had sent him to collect what progress she'd made and tell her that she'd no longer be needed? Was her work to be terminated before she could see it to its completion? These, among other questions, gave rise to worry and anxiety that Laven was not used to feeling.

"Yes... I-I mean- no..."Sighed out of frustration with her confusion answer. "It's uh... It's complicated." Fumbled over her words like someone stage fright being told to give a speech in front of the class. "I'm sorry," her voicewas quiet. "I was feeling restless," defeated, lost and frustrated among other emotions when she'd left the office space she'd been using as her craft-lab area. "I wasn't ready to go home yet and kind of found myself here." Ok, so maybe it wasn't all that complicated, but Laven tried to explain her reasoning for being where he'd found her and felt more ashamed than anything by how unsure of herself she sounded.

If it were possible for her face to pale any further then she'd look more like a ghost, but at least she didn't have pointed ears and a tail. They'd be pinned back, flat against her head and the tail would be tucked between her knees like a scolded pup for being called out for considering walking over to the other side of the entryway without at least her General present to keep her company.

Blinking several times, Lavendulan appeared to be in equal parts surprised and confused. Brows furrowed she puzzled over what might have been said to him and by whom.

"Yes," she nodded her head once, thumb still rotating the ring around her finger like a worry stone. "Yes, please."

Never had she spoken to another Sovereign before. Generals were intimidating enough that the Kings and Queens seemed so far removed and unapproachable in her mind that it almost felt taboo. The fact that he knew her by name was somewhat concerning but with an appearance like hers, there weren't any other that matched her descriptions, to her knowledge at least, so she guessed it made some sense.

Still, Lavendulan tried to find some comfort in the mention that good things had been said and relaxed a bit. Stepped away from the Rift entrance towards him yet maintained a respectable distance away. "May I ask-" voice shaky and uncertain she paused to clear her throat and tried to banish the worry and find some confidence before trying again.

"May I ask what's been said, please?"

"I-" Lavendulan paused in her following, brows pulled together in deep thought. "I knew he had plans to talk to you but I-" Again she seemed to either lose her train of thought or simply stopped speaking because her thoughts were too disorganized to put into words. "I've kind of always been under the impression that conversations with Sovereigns were meant to be confidential. I didn't think twice about asking what he wanted to discuss with you." Assumed they were private matters or mission-related.

"Lopezite- he's a very kind General. I am grateful, and lucky, to have him as mine. What I mean-" Her eyes closed and head bowed, "I apologize, this conversation caught me a bit off guard."

"I don't think I'd be here without Lopezite." Lavendulan had never thought to look into her file to see what information there was as it pertained to her half-youmafication or the state in which Lopezite had found her. "I just wanted to make him proud." One reason for the ring in her hand was because she wanted more glamour time with Wolframite, or rather Winter. To be able to fill in the voids in his missing memories. But the other reason was that she wanted to be able to show Lopezite she had found her niche and could contribute to the Negaverse in a way that used her time in the Dark Kingdom beneficially instead of sleeping away the hours at home while waiting for someone to taxi her to Destiny City to fill her quota.

"Sometimes I feel like he can see me better than I can see myself," always encouraging and optimistic. Held her hand in times of need but also let her fumble and fall so she could learn to stand on her own two feet. Lopezite's methods were vastly different than Wolframites, never did he push her into doing something that made her uncomfortable or afraid. However, he praised her when making those decisions that tested her own limits.

Laven truly appreciated him for that.

"If I may be honest..." She raised her icy blue gaze to meet Axanite's warm amber-colored eyes. "I don't know if I'm qualified for a promotion. What I do know, is that I don't want to continue to be a burden on the other officers." Whether it was for personal errands or to be whisked away to fulfill her energy contributions, Laven always felt bad asking anyone... truly anyone, for help.

"I-" Laven opened her mouth to speak but only small disbelieving noises were all that she could manage with thoughts bouncing all over the place like a rubber ball in a trampoline room. So... she did the next best thing and bowed deeply, sending a cascade of vivid blue hair to curtain her face from view.

Really? really...? Right about now was when she started wishing she were half ostrich just so it wouldn't seem too awkward or unexpected if suddenly she shoved her face in the dirt to hide from the shame she felt at completely losing all composure.

"I apologize." Winced at the sound of her own voice. "I've been struggling with my project for Queen Laurelite for some time." Hesitantly she held out her hand, palm up, and offered the purple crystal ring she carried with her.

"When you said my name, I thought-" Slowly she stood back up and looked up at Axinite. "I thought you were here to tell me I've taken too long and that-" Her voice trailed off and her gaze lowered to an arbitrary spot on the floor between them. "I thought you were going to tell me the research project was going to be closed or ask me to stop working on it..."

Laven opened her mouth to protest but quickly thought better of the idea and instead nodded her head. He’d already offered her opinion on it once, it would be unwise to press for a third time least he retract the offer completely and it take another year to finally see a promotion.

“I had considered that as well,” turned then to glance at the great entrance into the Rift behind her. “I understand that as a Lieutenant it is both unwise and unsafe for me to travel there alone. But there are times I feel so restless that I’ve been tempted to take a chance, even tried convincing myself once that because I’m half-youma I might be ok.”

Heavy emphasis on the word might.

“Is it wrong… to envy the officers that have personal youma?” A companion that went beyond a normal pet, just another thing she could not have while living in the Dark Kingdom.

A hint of loneliness hung from her words. A ghost-like thought that alluded to the parts of her former life she’d both missed and missed out on. Perhaps with the promotion, and more power he offered, she would be able to find ways to fill those voids. Something she’d been trying for a year to accomplish by crafting this ring; discouraged as she was to have so many failed attempts, Lavendulan wasn’t quite ready to give up on it yet.

"If you believe I've earned it, the promotion that is. I'd like to please accept." There was still a measure of uncertainty but Laven believed what Axinite said and trusted Lopezite wouldn't have over stated things to help push her towards Captain.

A blink…


A breath…


A sharp gasp…



Never had she witnessed a promotion before to know what the full process entailed. All she remembered was that both Wolframite and Lopezite were tired and starving in the aftermath of it all and because of this, wariness bloomed into uncertainty when Axinite’s black-gloved hand curled around her starseed.

Lavendulan unconsciously tried to take a staggering step back. His hold, however, kept her rooted in place. “N-no, stop.” Without considering the consequences of her actions, both webbed hands held fast onto his forearm. Pointed claws curled into his coat sleeve as her mind whiplashed back to a singular moment that she had long since forgotten.

On the edge of a dock, large snowflakes fell in hushed whispers, and a feminine voice whispered the words ‘I wonder...’. Breath warm against her frost-bitten ear yet before she had a chance to turn, there was a sudden searing pain that stole the breath from her lungs. A sensation that felt as if someone had stabbed her in the heart with a poisoned knife.

Just as the cup fell from her weak grip, so too did the ring Axinite had returned to her. A sharp sound against the cold stone floor that resonated through the otherwise quiet hallway.

'Pity...' the last word heard before Marissa fell through the ice.

There was no knowing how long it took for the mutations to manifest when she was unknowingly conscripted into this war. Unconscious at the bottom of a lake where cold waters numbed the physical changes she awoke to. Lavendulan did not feel the horns as they formed atop her head or the scales as they grew from beneath her skin, not like today.

Panic turned into desperation, and Lavendulan’s grip on his arm was tightening despite her best efforts to do him no harm. Axinite was her sovereign, but something wasn’t right. She could feel it. Her youma nature writing inside; teeth-gnashing in her mind's eye with the feral need to fight what was doing her harm.

Twisting and clawing her from within and from the hair-line cuts, new scales pushed their way out; expanding the pattern along her back, down the curve of her spin, over her hips. They wrapped around her torso and under her chest to cover most of her lower rib cage. All these changes unseen by the black fabric that covered most of her new uniform but the teal blue on both sides showed minor evidence of some sort of injury from the red that bloomed from beneath it.

“Please…” she begged, and again she tried to pull away. Lavendulan’s head fell forward, eyes squeezed shut as tears fell freely onto his sleeve. Consequences be damned, he could have her starseed But this needed to stop because bad things tend to happen when she blacks out and she was more than terrified that she’d attack him as she had done to Wolframite the first time they spared.