Work Text:
== Betelgeuse has joined! ==
Betelgeuse: hey guys
Kitsune01: hey! :)
SaffronSnow: A wild Bee has appeared!
Betelgeuse: guess what
Kitsune01: chicken butt
Betelgeuse: I WROTE A THING
Betelgeuse: (Link- OA3- The Constellations: Wandering the Woods)
Betelgeuse: Enjoy! :P
Kitsune01: AAAAAA
SaffronSnow: Ooh, let’s see what we’ve got here!
Kitsune01: BEE FIC!!!
Betelgeuse: *whistles nonchalantly*
0sagebrush: @Betelgeuse: looks like you wrote another winner friend
Betelgeuse: Dang sagey you read fast :o
0sagebrush: @Betelgeuse: just one of my many talents heh
Kitsune01: that was wonderful. and also i hate you. >>
Betelgeuse: heehee sorry not sorry~
Kitsune01: sometimes when I read your stuff i wonder whether alcor’s really the only demon in here :P
SaffronSnow: Am I really the slowest reader in here? Even after all the practice I’ve had reading boring academic papers?
Kitsune01: pfft
Betelgeuse: You caught me I’m secretly a demon good job
0sagebrush: @SaffronSnow looks like it. sucks 2 suck huh
Betelgeuse: I feed on your feels
Kitsune01: called it
SaffronSnow: And yes, it was good.
Kitsune01: all is explained
SaffronSnow: You take that back, Sage, you little bitch! (I love you.)
Kitsune01: I don’t know what exactly
Kitsune01: but ALL
0sagebrush: @SaffronSnow: hey now. i think you meant to say “sage you utter prick”. at least this time. ;)
Betelgeuse: tbh I think me being a demon would just raise MORE questions at this point?
SaffronSnow: So sorry, Sage! I take that back. You are indeed a prick rather than a bitch for now.
Kitsune01: *flips the sign on sage’s neck from bitch to prick*
0sagebrush: @SaffronSnow thank you i appreciate accuracy in insults @Kitsune01: there you go that’s the real gender binary
Betelgeuse: Time to stalk the fic for oa3 comments once again!
0sagebrush: although sometimes the sign would be sideways and say… i dunno… bastard?
Kitsune01: and collect readers feels to gain your demon powers
Betelgeuse: Right, that too
Kitsune01: bitch/bastard/prick there we go xD
Betelgeuse: This would be a weird conversation for new people to walk in on :P
SaffronSnow: Take it from me: They are ALL weird conversations for new people to walk in on.
Kitsune01: fair nuff
OA3: The Constellations
Series summary: In a sleepy town just west of nowhere, hidden away on the far end of a dirt road, there is a House. Inside this House live Mizar and the Woodsman and their daughter, Gliese. And they are not alone: Alcor is a regular visitor, and sometimes he brings children- the lost, the abandoned, those who have nowhere left to go, no better options than relying on a demon. (Luckily for them, Alcor is no ordinary demon...)
These children grow up there, in this House filled with demons and magic, with many of them knowing no other life at all.
These children are the Constellations.
Read on to find out more.
Chapter Four: Wandering the Woods
Chapter summary: Lucy makes a friend in the woods.
...
Comments:
into-the-woodsman (6 days ago)
This was a good read.
Betelgeuse (6 days ago)
Thank you!
Lysdexia (6 days ago)
Oh no, not another attack of the feels! Why must you do this to me???
Betelgeuse (6 days ago)
Because I’m evil like that. >:D
Lysdexia (6 days ago)
Yeah, kind of figured that much out already... :P
whambam (5 days ago)
I’m really more of a Woodcor shipper, but characters like Lucy and Kara are what make me stick with this fic. That bit with the red ribbon was priceless. I’m following this until the end.
Betelgeuse (5 days ago)
Glad you like them! Kara’s fun to write, heh.
half-echo-2 (4 days ago)
Okay, so... this might be kind of strange, especially given that this chapter was full of feels, but... is it bad that I kind of want to live in the House? I know it’s dangerous and chaotic and all that, but it still sounds kind of fun (moreso than where I’m living now for sure, lol). Can’t wait to read about more of the Constellations’ antics!
Betelgeuse (4 days ago)
It’s not THAT strange. The House does seem pretty cool, for sure- though no peace and quiet there! And, well, you saw what almost happened to
Lucy here... Anyway, glad you like the fic, and I hope you like my future additions too! ^^
half-echo-2 (3 days ago)
Pfft. Peace is an illusion and quiet is overrated if you ask me, lol. I’d take the chaos of the House over putting up with my dad any day, hands
down. And your descriptions are so vivid- I can already imagining myself sinking into that old couch and staring at that old TV, or burying
myself in a blanket fort with Mizar helping to set it up...
Betelgeuse (3 days ago)
Pessimistic are we? :P
It may sound nice, but take it from me- you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. Corny but true. Not to get too personal, but I’ve learned
that the hard way. If you did get magically transported to the House, you’d miss your old life soon enough.
half-echo-2 (3 days ago)
Can we move this convo to PMs? There’s some stuff I’d rather not talk about in such an open space- and besides, I think we’re kind of
clogging up your comments thread here, lol. Don’t want to annoy your readers by any means.
Betelgeuse (3 days ago)
Oh, sure thing! We’ll chat more there then. :3
dork-the-mighty (2 days ago)
why you always torturing these cinnamon buns ;3;
Betelgeuse (2 days ago)
Cinnamon buns? More like sinnamon buns... in Kara’s case, anyway... And as for why? Well. Because I CAN! >:D
dork-the-mighty (2 days ago)
fair enough lol
Private Message: Betelgeuse and half-echo-2
Betelgeuse (3 days ago)
So what’s the sitch?
half-echo-2 (3 days ago)
I dunno, it’s just... well, things really are kind of crap here, lol. Though maybe I’m just being too sensitive. But imagining the House from your fic just allows me to escape, even just in my imagination... I really do wish I could just. Be somewhere that cool. Or just about anywhere else, really...
Betelgeuse (3 days ago)
Sorry to hear things aren’t going well for you. I’m glad my fic is helping you, though!
half-echo-2 (2 days ago)
It really is... even if I probably shouldn’t be spending my time reading fanfiction, lol. Too much on my plate as it is. If you ever stop getting comments from me, it’s just because the real world has taken over my life, lol. Not because I stopped following your stories. I won’t do that, they’re too good. <3
Betelgeuse (2 days ago)
*hugs*
Not sure what to say, honestly... I hope things go alright for ya? I mean, if you get super-desperate, you could summon Alcor... :P
half-echo-2 (1 day ago)
At this point I’m almost tempted, lol. My dad would kill me if he found out, but. That’s probably about what it’d take to get out of this mess, lol. Just summon a demon. Fix everything. Great plan, right? Just cost, I dunno, my life or soul or whatever. No biggee.
Betelgeuse (1 day ago)
I mean, if you actually want to, I can throw you an image of a good summoning circle. I, er, may know more about Alcor than the average Twin Souls fan... xD
half-echo-2 (1 day ago)
Sure. Fine. Go for it. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually follow through. As good a plan as any, lol.
Betelgeuse (1 day ago)
Attachment: alcorcircle.jpg
Enjoy :P
half-echo-2 (1 day ago)
Huh. That’s a new one.
Betelgeuse (1 day ago)
Yeah but it works. Just don’t spread it around, k?
half-echo-2 (1 day ago)
...sure, whatever.
I suppose now you can add “Alcor ate me” and “Dad killed me for summoning a demon” to “attack of the real life” for reasons I may randomly disappear on you, lol.
Betelgeuse (1 day ago)
Please don’t randomly disappear, I like your comments :P
half-echo-2 (1 day ago)
I’ll try not to, lol.
She knew better, really.
Even she (forgetful, over-sensitive, no common sense, could never survive on her own) knew better than to summon a demon.
But as the girl known to the Internet as half-echo-2 looked between the summoning circle she’d sketched out on the floor with old sidewalk chalk and the image of a circle design she’d been sent by- god, by the writer of a fanfic she liked (could be anybody- a cultist, a serial killer, even Alcor himself for all she knows, how could she be so stupid)- she knew that there was no turning back now.
The model and the real thing looked quite similar, if she did say so herself, especially for one with little art experience. (She remembered back when she’d tried drawing, the old refrain of “Why are you doodling so much? Put that energy into something that matters” smothering half-formed dreams of becoming the next Picasso or Monet.)
Neither one closely resembled the traditional Alcorian summoning circle, though- it was simpler, for one, and some of the normal symbols had been swapped out for others that she didn’t recognize from the lore, symbols whose meaning eluded her. (What if it’s a trap? They’re just out to get you, you can’t go around blindly trusting people like that, what are you THINKING?) But it would have to do.
The circle was surrounded by lit candles, long and white, rescued from a pile of emergency supplies in the basement that grew with every shopping trip and hadn’t been used as far as she could recall (”Don’t knock it, kid, that stuff will save your life one day- maybe you’ll appreciate it THEN.”), the candlelight filling the walls with shadows that danced in time with the girl’s breaths.
All that was left was the sacrifice.
The girl walked over to the far wall, reached into a cage, and grabbed a scrawny white mouse that squirmed weakly in her hand (”None of that frozen crap, if that thing can’t kill its own food it deserves to go hungry.”). As she walked back to the edges of the circle, she glanced over to the side at a small terrarium and smiled as her eyes fell on a small black snake curled into a tight ball, the snake entirely unaware that one of her meals was being co-opted.
She carefully stepped over the line of candles into the center of the summoning circle, then picked up the butcher knife that she had left there and jabbed it into the mouse’s torso. It was a quick, clean death, probably more so than the feeding that would have otherwise been its fate, as Cleo tended to play with her food before eating it. The girl set the mouse down on a paper towel as its struggles ceased, mopping up the stray drops of blood and wiping her hand on another- okay, so paper towels weren’t exactly standard issue summoning supplies, but in case she screwed it up (of course she would, she couldn’t handle something like this, she always managed to mess up some detail or another) then at least the floor wouldn’t be stained.
She retreated to the other side of the circle’s edge and started chanting, making sure to enunciate every syllable perfectly (always tripping over her words, never could speak worth a damn), but the demon appeared before she was even halfway through.
Alcor looked... surprisingly human. (”Everybody looks nice until you get to know the rat bastards they really are- you can take that one to the bank.”) He wasn’t human, of course- the eyes and claws and wings and floating and, well, showing up inside a summoning circle could attest to that- but he almost looked the part.
And his voice, when he spoke, sounded almost human too.
“What’s- wait, who are you and how did you get this circle?”
He probably knew her name already- demon omniscience and all that, she’d read the accounts- but she wasn’t going to hand it over that easily (except that might just piss him off- but she couldn’t just tell him, that’d be giving in, giving him power- he’s a demon, he’s got power enough- why did she think this was a good idea again? She can’t even answer his first question, and she thought she could get through an entire DEAL?), and the pseudonym was an easy enough choice. “Call me Echo. And I found the circle online-” (from a cultistkillerdemon who was going to ruin her life- or at this point, was already in the middle of doing so-) “-and I know it’s not your usual one, but...” The resolve that she’d driven into her speech abruptly ran out (weak, she was weak to the core, no matter how she tried to hide it she was just a damn coward in the end), and her next few words came out slow and shaky. “...I was told it would work well, and if that’s not true I-I’m sorry...” (There she went, apologizing to a demon like the damn fool she was, if he killed her then she’d have earned it at this rate...)
“No, no, it works fine- I’m here, aren’t I?” Was that a joke? It sort of sounded like a joke. Did demons even make jokes? She didn’t laugh. (Except maybe she was meant to, maybe that was the only way to gain his favor now- she always did have a lousy sense of humor, too thin-skinned, needed to learn to appreciate a good joke every now and then, hell it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if a demon really did have a better sense of humor than her...) “But you said you found this circle’s design online? What website was it? Did the creator give a name?”
“Um... it was on OA3, I was talking to a user named Betelgeuse?” (Why did that sound like a question? It wasn’t a question. Now she sounded like she didn’t really remember- or, worse, that it was being made up on the spot... she needed to stop being so uncertain, so wishy-washy, learn to act rather than spend all day dawdling around thinking about what could be or what might have been... “You’ll be screwed if you’re still this much of a wimp when you grow up, girl. People will walk all over ya, and you’ve gotta learn to give it right back to ‘em.”)
“Hmm... Betelgeuse, you say?” Alcor floated closer to her until he was nearly at the circle’s edge, his dark eyes looking right at hers. She tried her best not to blink.
“Yeah, I told her about some stuff going on in my life and she suggested summoning, well, you, and sent me the image, and I tried it, and- well, I guess it worked, huh.” The girl finished her statement with a nervous laugh, and this time it was the demon who wasn’t laughing.
“Okay.” Alcor sat down, leaving his body floating several feet above the floor, and clasped his hands in his lap. “Tell me what you told her, then. Why did you summon me? What do you want?”
“I want out of this house. I want to be away from my father, and be raised by someone who cares, and...” She’d planned the words out in her mind over and over, but now they eluded her. (Being an airhead again. Mind like a sieve. Can’t remember something if her life depended on it.) “...and Cleo needs to come with and be cared for too.” Those weren’t the words she had been planning, but it was all she could think of.
“Cleo? Your sister, or...?”
(”Who’s a good girl? Yeah, it’s you. Oh, Cleo, you’re so good, so friendly- not like that human sister of yours, huh? Maybe you should teach her a thing or two.”)
“...not exactly.” She pointed at the terrarium, specifically at its black, scaly inhabitant, a nervous smile making its way across her face. “She’s my pet snake.”
“Ah.” Alcor paused to look around the room, and the girl got a pit in her stomach as she realized what he was seeing, how he must be judging her. (Nice big room, walk-in closet filled to the brim with clothes, loads of books, toys galore- not a thing in the world lacking, and she still wanted out? How spoiled could you get?)
“I know it all looks nice, but... I still want to leave, more than anything.” A single teardrop snaked its way down her cheek. (Could you be any more pathetic? Crying because somebody sees you for the spoiled brat you are? Get it together already.)
“Okay. I can certainly arrange that. Did you have something in mind for my end of the bargain?”
She shook her head weakly. She honestly hadn’t really expected to get this far, and her planning had given her a hundred ideas of what to offer up, but none that seemed like they’d actually cover the cost of what she was asking for. Well, unless she gave up her soul, but... it wouldn’t come to that. There had to be another way. (Maybe if you’d bothered to actually prepare something...)
“Hmmm... what about all the books on your bookshelves?”
She glanced at the items in question, two tall blue bookshelves crammed to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes, to the point where fitting in so much as a new magazine appeared nigh-impossible- “appeared” being the key word, however, as the girl had long ago learned the fine art of book-stacking. A little bit of everything was stuffed in there- heirloom books (”Your great-aunt Millie gave you that when you still sucked your thumb- and I’m not talking about last week! Ha!”), a few old textbooks (”HOW much for this crap? Well, if you ever needed proof I love ya, here it is.”), children’s books with worn binders and ripped covers (”Man, you learned to read early... you were such a smart kid, what happened? Oh, I’m just messing with you, don’t take everything so seriously.”), and a good number of novels that she retreated to when she needed a break from the real world (”Hey, kiddo, if you’re just gonna be reading, how ‘bout you come help your old man with some chores, huh? No reason I should be busting my butt over here while you sit back like a primadonna.”). It was filled with memories, good and bad and all mixed up, and for some reason all she could think was how angry her father would be if she misplaced one book he’d bought her, let alone all of them. (Because clearly that’s what he’d get angry about here. Not the demon-summoning, oh no. It was the BOOKS. Stupid, stupid, stupid.)
“...and that’d cover it?”
Alcor stood up, and now the ground was only a thumb’s length away from his feet, and they were still almost eye to eye. “It should work. Do we have a deal?”
The girl looked into the demon’s unblinking eyes, glanced down to his fanged smile and outstretched hand, hesitated as her mind came up with countless reasons that this was a horrible idea and things weren’t so bad here really and she should just cut her losses...
And she took hold of his hand, clutching it as if holding on for dear life.
“Wake up, Bee.”
Bee opened her eyes and found a pair of black and gold eyes staring back at her, their slight glow visible in the darkened room.
She managed to stifle her instinctive yelp as awareness of her surroundings rapidly returned to her, responding instead with a whispered “What?”
“Come with me, now.”
A clawed hand grabbed her own, and he rushed her into the hallway, closing the door behind them.
Bee blinked blearily before tilting her head, and when she spoke, a bit of her drowsiness sneaked into her voice. “What time is it? What’s going on?”
“What. Were. You. THINKING?”
“Um.” She’d done a few mildly questionable things lately, but none came to mind as the sort of thing that would cause Alcor to pull her out of bed at dark-o’-clock. “What was I thinking when?”
“When you gave some random person on the Internet the family summoning circle, that’s WHEN!”
Somewhere off in the distance, a cuckoo clock chimed.
“Oh. That.” Bee smiled sheepishly at the demon.
“’Oh, that’? Do you have any idea what consequences there could be for my private circle being distributed without my knowledge- and to somebody you barely know, no less?”
Bee shrugged. “...I guess not.”
“Okay. Well, don’t do it again.”
The severity of his voice was strong enough that Bee responded only with a tight, silent nod.
Alcor’s tightened shoulders relaxed, and his frown softened into a more neutral expression. “But that’s not the only reason I woke you up. Come here. There’s somebody you should meet.”
He led her down the hallway and into the living room. The lamp sitting next to the armchair was lit and the television on but silent while the rest of the house slept, and in the armchair sat a tall, dark-eyed girl who looked up at the sound of footsteps.
“Are you Betelgeuse?” The voice had a soft, lilting accent that Bee couldn’t quite place- and the pronunciation of her username was utterly butchered, of course, but she’d come to expect that by now.
“...yeah, who’s asking?”
The girl stood up, and before Bee had time to react, there were arms wrapped around her torso and her face was buried in black curls.
It took a moment for her half-asleep mind to put together the pieces. “...are you... half-echo-2?”
“Yes! Yes, I am!” Bee couldn’t see the girl’s face through the sea of black hair, but the smile shone through in her voice clearly enough.
Before Bee could think of anything to say, half-echo-2 nuzzled her chin against Bee’s shoulder and whispered a few words into her ear.
“I thought you’d be older.”
== half-echo-2 has joined! ==
half-echo-2: Hello!
Kitsune01: hi there!
Betelgeuse: Welcome to the cool kids club :P
SaffronSnow: Ooh, fresh meat! Are you the one Bee mentioned earlier?
half-echo-2: um. probably? lol
Betelgeuse: I warned them you’re 2 cool 4 us ;)
Kitsune01: Bees friend? Hurrah! <3
half-echo-2: That’s sweet of you but I’m. really not. lol
Betelgeuse: Yes you ARE deal w/it nerd
SaffronSnow: She didn’t say anything TOO bad about you, don’t worry.
Kitsune01: one way to find out how cool you really are
Betelgeuse: Saffron be nice ;3;
Kitsune01: and that’s by staying and chatting :D
Betelgeuse: These guys can come off strong D:
SaffronSnow: Sorry. In all honesty, Bee basically said that you read her fic, you’re in the same weird place she is, and you’ll probably be sticking around.
half-echo-2: okay
half-echo-2: well that’s all true lol
Betelgeuse: And that you’re HELLA RAD i said that. I said those exact words. don’t forget that bit that’s important
Kitsune01: she did say that actually :P
Kitsune01: I can post the quote if i need to
half-echo-2: Bee you’re too nice! ;3;
Betelgeuse: Nuh-uh
half-echo-2: thank you Bee
half-echo-2: for everything
Kitsune01: was that a nuh-uh to the quote posting or
Betelgeuse: Don’t sweat it. I’m just glad you like my fic :P
half-echo-2: i really do lol. now i just. have another reason why. lol
Kitsune01: Bee fic is always so good :o
Betelgeuse: Welcome to DA HOUSE
Kitsune01: u need to pester her into writing moar
Betelgeuse: Really Kit? :P
SaffronSnow: Pssh, don’t rush her. Let her write at her own pace. I know the perils of rushed writing well enough.
half-echo-2: Kitsune01 I’ll try lol
Kitsune01: you better ;)