Zephrun’s Imperium

Unfortunately, he had to drink from the fountain everyday if he was going to stay alive.

Once Butt had finished his punishment, he was an old, weak man.

It was the crime of the century.

He'd done this task because it had been his punishment for...

He had been working on this task for the last one thousand years.

And a moment of Silence.

Ember almost smiled. She looked up at Heather brightly with the most sincere and pleasant of expressions and sat upright, taking her elbows off the floor. "You are welcome," she said. "I am glad you are still alive. If... if that is my purpose, then perhaps I am not as much a failure as I was beginning to think. I belong to Star, of course, but she commanded me to protect you, and protect you I will. It is a good duty. I may not be a good guardian to my master, but I think I can be for you." She glanced down, suddenly feeling far more somber. "After all, if it were not for me, you would have died. And... if you had died, I... I would be very sad." Ember brought her gaze back up to Heather, studying her intently. "I must thank you. It is an honor to be your friend, Heather." The Destroyer swung her legs around gracefully and came into a bow, her forehead resting on her knee.

Ember gave a weird look. "I do not like my Master needs me," she said. "My life is nothing like I thought it would be. I do not seem to be Star's guardian... but yours."

Star leaned forward and put her hand on Pheo’s cheek. Her fingers were trembling less now, since Pheo’s reaction had been a lot better than she’d feared. Which was part of the reason why she wanted to check within his mind. She worried that he hid too much from her, spared her his full reaction to make her feel better. She closed her eyes, feeling Pheonix’s self and soul. Such a connection could be quite the intimate thing, but she made sure to be extremely gentle. Not digging for hidden secrets and memories, but softly combing through feelings. There were two questions she sought the answers to; why did he seem to care about Heather and was that emotion genuine or simply feigned in order to win Star over? Perhaps worrying about genuinity was a silly thing, but something in her was deeply anxious about the whole thing. Last time she’d given her heart away, she’d been deeply scarred. No, Marsh hadn’t betrayed her, but she certainly wasn’t going to let someone in blindly only to find that the decision to do so had been horribly wrong. Thank the Author for her truth-revealing telepathy. She felt his love for her. It was chilling. Disturbing almost, yet incredibly touching. So raw and beautiful, so warm and marvelous. She remembered feeling that emotion in herself and the memory sent a wave of nostalgia through her body. She shuddered slightly, a bit bashful at having stumbled upon such a tender part of his soul. Even though the love was directed at her, she felt as if it was not meant for her to see. Or rather, she felt unworthy of viewing such a display of romantic devotion intended for her alone. And so, in return, she poured out some of her own feeling to him. She could not return his affection yet, but she could share with him her pain. Outwardly, it might seem like an odd thing to share, but she hoped it would help him understand why she wasn’t quite ready to return his feelings. That understanding would hopefully ease the pain he felt at her words. He was a sweet boy and she didn’t want to hurt him, but she wasn’t about to give her whole heart to someone she didn’t love yet just because she was worried about damaging him. After all, she did intend to at least give this boy a chance. She was willing to put in the time to test the waters that TVG seemed so intent on seeing her sail. Even if right now the prospect of being with Pheonix romantically seemed… far fetched, at the very least. She breathed deeply, eyes fluttering under their eyelids as her mind began to separate from her body just slightly. Direct mind to mind contact was a pleasant experience (as long as it wasn’t being used to hurt) and it calmed her. It seemed to be calming Pheonix as well, which was a good thing. The poor thing seemed so on edge every time she saw him. He deserved a little respite and it made her happy to know that she was the one to give him that. Finally, though, she found what she was looking for. His feelings for Heather were there in his mind and Star was able to grasp them. Thank goodness, she thought privately, relieved. Those feelings were as real as could be. And, even more touching, he loved her for the same reason Star did. She reminded him of himself. Star, too, saw herself in Heather. Different parts than Pheo did, but still. Heather needed more people to love her. If Star was going to have a partner, then that partner had better learn to love her adopted daughter and dear Pheo already had. Star removed herself from Pheonix’s mind, deeply satisfied. She blinked a few times, then pulled her hand away from his cheek and straightened her posture. Her trembling had now stopped completely and she smiled warmly, now feeling much more comfortable about her relationship with Pheonix. Maybe TVG was a little bit crazy for pairing her with Pheo, but she trusted her Author and she was willing to at least try things out. “I feel much better now. How about you?”

Zeoy folded her arms. “That drink has been banned from this facility.”

Ember blinked in confusion, then shook her head, deciding it wasn't worth it to try and understand. Heather didn't make sense sometimes. She spread her legs out as wide as they could go, experimenting with her position. They easily stretched perfectly perpendicular to her torso. Ember casually leaned forward, putting her elbows on the floor, then resting her chin on her palms. "What do you think Star is doing?" she asked, looking up at her friend. @xinoehp512

"Perhaps to you." Ember considered for a moment. "I have no taste buds and my nose is practically useless. You have been eating your entire life, yet to me, such an experience is completely foreign." She sat down on the floor, looking at herself. "Though I may look humanoid, you and I are extremely different in so many fundamental ways. I am not even organic, I am a pile of molten metal given sentience. It is quite incredible that you and I, despite such differences, have formed an emotional bond."

"Hmm," said Ember. She couldn't smell very well - after all, she was made to be efficient and smell had nothing to do with her original purpose - and she had no idea what was supposed to smell good, but she supposed someone could find the scent pleasant. Overall though, she was just glad she never had to eat. Picking what food to eat, knowing how much you needed... it was too much. "Food is very complicated," Ember said.

Suddenly, a butterfly landed on the bird poop on his shoe, creating what was, to Butt, the scariest thing imaginable.

Coincidentally, Butt's worst fear was bird poop.

I sustain you in your goal. Go forth.

Me: *posts a bunch of memes in this format* Sharders: *respond positively* Me: Okay, fine, I'll give you more. This is just spoilered for length, nothing spoilery. Stormlight Spoilers:

Ember looked over Heather's shoulder suddenly fascinated by what she was doing. "What is that?" she asked.

Ember clasped her hands together. "Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "That would be enjoyable!"

You don't have to, that's the best part! Anything goes here, it's chaos and it's fun.