“Family” [backstory fluff]

You may have a little bit of found family, as a treat!

Characters: Soleil, Menelaus, Yuneun

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Found Family

Word Count: 1,207 words

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Menelaus leaned over the wooden fence with a sigh. Yuneun knocked Soleil’s wooden sword out of her hand with her own. Soleil yelped, then whined, as it hit the dirt. Yuneun smiled fondly, not at all bored despite having successfully performed the exact same maneuver forty-three times today. Menelaus would know — he counted.

Soleil pouted and stomped one foot. “Not fair!” she said. “I wasn’t ready.”

“Everyone knew that from your stance alone,” he said. Soleil stuck out her tongue at the same time Yuneun gave him a warning glare. He put up his hands in surrender. “Just saying.” He had tried to teach Sol sword fighting himself, but, well...patience wasn’t his strong suit, apparently. It was strange to still learn something new about yourself after over a hundred years.

Or maybe it was the frustration of being trapped in a tiny child-sized body without any of his magic. Yeah... Probably that one.

Regardless, after he’d made Sol cry with his last critique, Yuneun had intervened. So now he was stuck to the sidelines, watching his bonded get her butt kicked. Again. Yuneun knocked her sword out in record time mere seconds after Sol got in position. He groaned and hid his head in his hands. Sol let out a frustrated growl of her own.

“Let’s take a break,” Yuneun said. She patted Soleil on the shoulder with a smile. “You did good today, kid.” Menelaus snorted. This time they both glared at him.

“Don’t take it out on me that you’re in timeout,” Soleil snapped.

Menelaus stiffened. “Timeout? I’m not in timeout!”

Yuneun strode over and leaned against the fence next to him. “Yes, you are,” she said.

He snapped his head up. “What?!”

Daily #2,193! Wanted to draw my characters again, so uh...an actual quote from the book lmao XD

TFW when your kids only come home because they accidentally overthrew the government, amirite???  

People taught me to write and I shame them by writing stuff like this. 😅

Working on a scene about Sol’s first crush, so this is just a fun backstory bit. Menelaus is a huge gossip and is going to learn a lot more about humans than he ever thought...or wanted. XD

(Makes more sense if you’ve read these three backstory scenes too: A Rocky Start, An Uncertain Bond, A Certain Bond)

Nanowrimo Day 28

Passed 60,000 words! Everybody meets Sol and Menny’s mom! Things may or may not have gone according to plan!!!

Someone get Soleil pancakes, stat.

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Yuneun smiled. “Thank you very much.” She raised an eyebrow at Soleil. “You going to introduce your friends to me?”

Sol chugged the rest of her tea and then let out a satisfied sigh. “Yes, yes...” She motioned to each of them as she spoke. “This is Neluce’s one and only ex-princess, Channary, and her Guardian, Leilani. The short one is our friendly mage, Decebal.”

“Hey,” Decebal protested. “I’m not that short.”

“You’re short,” Sol replied. She pointed a finger towards upstairs. “The half-dead lump upstairs with Menny is Faramund. He is — was — the prince’s Guardian.” She scratched the side of her face. “Don’t ask about the cat. No clue where that came from.”

Yuneun’s smile dropped and she fell into her seat. “What the hell have you two been doing the past few years?” She narrowed her eyes. “Menny didn’t mention any of this in his letters.”

“We’ve been busy!” Sol protested. “And to be fair, we only just met most of these people recently.”

Yuneun tilted her head forward disbelieving and said, “Anything else I need to know? Like why you all showed up out of the blue in my home looking like shit?” Sol laughed nervously and mumbled something into her hand. Yuneun crossed her arms on the table. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Sol rubbed the back of her neck. “Just, uh...the prince is dead, the castle gone, we have declared war on Celeibra, and, ah...I think we rule our country now? To be honest, the details are still a little fuzzy right now.”

Yuneun stared her down. “What.”

Sol gave another nervous laugh. “It’s been a rough day. Honestly, let’s just call it a night and try again tomorrow. Maybe the newspaper will say if that last part is true by morning.”

“We don’t get the paper here.”

“Oh, right...”

“Well, I’m pretty sure the war part is right,” Decebal chimed in. “I mean, we did—” Yuneun’s eyes burned into his skull. He slumped back in his chair. “Ah, you know what? Maybe not. We didn’t do anything. No! Never. Nope. Not us. Nothing happened.”

Sol threw a hand to her face. “Not helping,” she grumbled.

“For what it’s worth, I did tell the people you won,” Channary said. “So as far as they know, you are the victor and our ruler.”

“Not helping!” Sol repeated, now completely hiding her face.

“Soleil,” Yuneun said firmly. “I know you once said you wanted to change the world, but I didn’t think you meant taking over the government and starting a war.”

Soleil groaned and threw both hands in the air. “Well, me neither! Menny and I planned a lot of shit to do, but this wasn’t it, okay?!”

Channary narrowed her eyes. “You literally gave speeches saying you wanted to—”

“Quiet!” Sol snapped. “You don’t know what I meant.”

“I mean...” Decebal shrugged. “You were pretty clear.”

“If that’s not what you meant, you have a whole country to explain that to,” Channary said. “Not to mention me.”

Soleil crossed her arms on the table and dropped her head into her arms. “I don’t wanna. Can’t we talk about this later?” she whined. “Mom, you promised me pancakes.”

“The Beginning” [scene]

Votes came in for a Menelaus and Soleil scene! So here’s a “just for fun” scene from their youth, when Sol was a teenager. I did not edit this at all, but I enjoyed writing it, so... *rolls out*

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“What in God’s name are you doing to Menny’s face?” Yuneun asked as she walked into the bedroom to get a better look. Sol froze and pulled back, makeup in hand. Menelaus was sitting straight in a chair and...Yuneun stopped. “Oh my god. He looks human.” The markings on his face and neck were gone and his hair pulled back and covered with a bandana. Sol grinned triumphantly.

“I know, right?!” Soleil popped the box in her hand closed. “I did a great job, if I do so so myself...”

“I feel like I can’t move my face,” Menelaus complained. Sol bent down and dropped the box into her bag.

“Yeah, well, I could only get the cheap stuff,” she said. “It’s kind of thick.” She pulled out a small mirror and handed it to him. “But it looks awesome, right?” Menelaus held up the mirror and grimaced.

“Well, this is a horrific image I’ll never be able to forget,” he mumbled.

“What?! Don’t you think you look human?” Sol exclaimed. Menelaus handed the mirror back with a sigh.

“No, I do,” he said. “That’s what’s so horrifying.” Yuneun crossed her arms and gazed down at Sol.

“And where did you get makeup, Sol?” she asked. “I happen to know for a fact no one sells any here.” Sol picked up her bag and held it to her chest. She gave Yuneun her best innocent smile.

“I know what you’re thinking, and don’t worry,” she said. “I didn’t steal it.” Yuneun shook her head.

“Sol,” she said, stressing the syllable as a warning. Soleil pouted and tightened her grip on her bag.

“Trade secret,” she grumbled. “Would you believe me if I said I got it through the mail?” Yuneun rolled her eyes and turned to Menelaus, throwing both hands on her hips.

“Where’d she get it, Menny?” Menelaus stiffened, eyes darting to Sol who quickly shoot her head.

“Um...” He bit his lip. When his eyes met Yuneun’s again, she was sure to give him her sternest look. He crumbled immediately and confessed, “We may have gone to Woodburn a few times!”

“Menny!!!” Sol yelled. She slapped his right arm. “You didn’t even try to lie!” Menelaus threw his face in his hands.

“I can’t lie to her!” he cried. “She’s, like, our mom!”

Let it never be said I forgot about Menelaus and Sol's mom because I WOULD NEVER.

Returning Home [Writing]

I had this stuck in my head all day and had to write it. (As well as the image of Yuneun getting letters dropped on her head at the most inconvenient times lmao.) Feel to read and enjoy this one. It’s mostly Just For Fun (TM). ;)

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"You’re saying you once accidentally teleported an entire town?" Decebal said, gawking around at the aforementioned town as they walked through. "No offense, but... the amount of magic that would take... I mean, it takes almost all I have just to teleport myself, and you're saying you teleported several dozens on accident?!" He heard Menelaus sigh in front of him, but he didn't stop walking or glance back. Faramund hummed thoughtfully.

"I don't sense you having the amount of magic required for such a feat," Faramund added with a nod. "Yet I can't explain the fact that this town is, in fact, not where it used to be." Menelaus scratched the back of his head.

"If I say it's a long and complicated story will you drop it?" he asked.

"No," Faramund and Decebal replied simultaneously. Menelaus sighed yet again. When they arrived at their destination, Sol was already there. She gave them a quick wave.

"She's in the workshop," Sol said, gesturing with her thumb to the building behind her. Smoke was flowing upwards from the chimney and the sound of metal banging could be heard inside. Menelaus crossed his arms.

"Should we come back later?"

"Naw," Sol replied with a shrug. "Looked like she was almost done."

"Who is it we're here to see?" Faramund asked. Sol and Menelaus shared a look before answering.

"Our mom," they said. Faramund's head cocked to the side.

"What? Guardians don't have -- ow!" He flinched away from where Decebal had elbowed him in the side sharply.

"Don't be rude!" Decebal scowled. "He can have a mom if he wants to!" Faramund frowned.

An Uncertain Bond [scene]

More backstory scenes with Menelaus and Soleil because it makes me happy. 🙃 This would take place about three years after Menelaus and Sol first met (read here), and after being “adopted” by Yuneun.

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Menelaus knew Sol was staring at him, but he wasn’t going to break. Determined, he continued to stare at the plate before him and poke at the food with his fork. His head rested on one hand, ensuring an arm stood as a barrier between them.

“Are you going to play with your food or eat it?”

Menelaus glanced up. Yuneun was scrutinizing him with a raised brow. Was he being suspicious? He mumbled an apology and stabbed some greens to shove in his mouth. It was very kind of Yuneun to have taken them in, and Menelaus was grateful. He was. It hadn’t taken him very long to realize he had no idea how to raise a human child. Still, he got frustrated when she treated him like a child too. Dealing with it from people who didn't know the truth was bad enough. He forced himself to swallow and reached for some bread.

But he wouldn’t complain. She’d done far more for Sol than he possibly could’ve.

Something hit his forehead and he almost — almost — turned.

“Sol, don’t throw your food,” Yuneun scolded. Thank god for parental figures. But Yuneun was studying them both now and Menelaus lowered his head. She asked, “Are you two having a fight?” He cringed. No doubt this would open the floodgates.

Sure enough, Sol jumped up from her chair and exclaimed, “Menny is avoiding me!” Menelaus closed his eyes.

“Please do not call me that,” he grumbled. He put his fork down and leaned back in his chair. Turning away from both their faces, he crossed him arms. “I am certainly doing no such thing. We’re sitting next to each other right now.”