Hmm How About Speechless And Rex??

Curses, Cocoons and Clones part 4

Fives stared blankly at the wall

Half an hour ago he had awoken to a horrible sensation in his body and a massive headache. He remembered the events of the previous time of his nap (he refused to say he fainted) his nausea increased when he stared at his new body and promptly emptied his stomach.

Rex wasn’t doing much better, after crawling out of his cocoon and being fussed over by whole group wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t helpful that they both were naked and could see the major changes. The poor Captain had unfortunately came out with another change with two sets of arms rather then two.

Oddly after a close examination by Kix noted that Rex’s and Fives’s parts that changed where noticeably different. To their Wing pattern’s and to the leg joints hells, their antenna where different.

Thankfully Skywalker ripped some of his tunic to make a makeshift poncho for the both of them and and Kenobi surprised the rest of them by stitching some pants for the both of them. When asked how he knew to sew, he said and Fives quotes “Between having Qui Gon as a Master and having to watch Anakin, one needed to learn a such a skill.” Whatever that meant. Anakin sulked slightly after that.

Now, Fives and the Captain was sitting on the makeshift table half-heartily nibbling on some rations that Kix and sternly ordered them to eat.

Fives could tell that Rex was barely keeping together and honestly he felt the same, so he called over Echo and Ahsoka to distract them both while Skywalker, Kenobi and Kix quietly debated on if this was a permanent.

Fives pulled his poncho over himself and curled his wings closer to his back, praying if this was some shitty nightmare or prank.

“Fives? You look like you need some rest, why not you lay down for a bit?” Ahsoka eventually offered after she sensed the mood dropping.

Fives only nodded, Ahsoka took a spare cloth and folded it a couple of time to resemble some sort of bed mat. Fives ignored the worried stare of his batchmate and shut his eyes to pretend that he was going to sleep.

Rex was panicked when he woke up to say the least.

After struggling to open some sort of thick slimy film over himself he discovered himself with wings, antenna and inhuman legs. What was even more humiliating was he was small, small enough to fit in Cody’s hand who had nearly picked him up in a distressed attempt to see if he was ok.

Rex bit his hand though when he came to close, though he might had hung out with the Wolfpack too much. After some much needed calming down (Rex thanked the stars that Obi Wan Kenobi was there) they settled on focusing on maintaining on Fives and Rex’s dignity and made them both ponchos and pants. It helped a little, thankfully due to Skywalker’s lest then impressing handwork on the ponchos it covered most of their wings. Thankfully Obi Wan’s work ended up fitting more nicely.

Rex twitched when Fives quieted down and went to bed, Rex knew Fives was only quiet when he was really distressed or dissociating after a bad battle. Rex would of course comfort his Vode, however Rex wasn’t feeling the best himself and quietly excused himself to bed. As he laid down he wondered what this meant for him and Fives.

As everyone was asleep, with only the soft snore being the only noise, nobody noticed the growing rash on Kix’s and Cody’s legs and back

 Curses, Cocoons and Clones: prologue.

Yes this a ANOTHER version of the Moth Au. BUT it’s so cool so I can help myself >:D

The 501st and the 212th for once seem to have luck on their side.

Sure, General Kenobi would argue it was the will of the Force, but honestly Rex didn’t give two shits about what the force did as long there was results.

The recent battles have been better with the campaigns lasting short and they getting their victory swiftly.

Cody although, was uneasy. He had pulled Rex and a few other men to prepare for the worse. Rex was thankful that Cody’s cautious nature have saved many life’s of the Vode but he wished that he would enjoy the quiet. Nevertheless he did not argue with Cody.

Their newest mission was a few of the 501st and 212th was to aid the cleanup of a battlefield that happened on a planet near the Outer rim. The senator of that planet was a stuck-up pain in the ass. However his planet was near an important hyper-space route that the Republic could not afford to lose. So here was Rex and his men riffing through the hot and muggy forest thigh deep in muck.

Commander Ahsoka Tano and General Kenobi were in the lead with the men in tow. The Commander was voicing the complaints of Rex and the others to The General who seem seem to on the fence to be amused and exasperated.

Rex wondered to himself on how that man deals with Skywalker and Tano as a duo. Force knowns how how many times he’s been thrown with their force abilities. He respects him for dealing with one and one-in-training adrenaline addict.

“Sir we are picking up a structure up ahead.” Kix who had hauled himself on a tree into order to get some signal. “There looks like a storm is coming up, so we should probably hold up in there for now.” The general said tiredly. Indeed the fog was uncomfortably thick and it seeped into the cracks of Rex’s armor soaking his blacks. Ahsoka and some of the men perked up that idea.

The hike up to the building was longer then anticipated. Jessie, tripped over a lose root and fell on top of Kix causing them both to be soaked to the bone in mud. Fives and Ahsoka managed to get their shoes stuck and had to fish them out. The rain started earlier then what the radar had signaled. By the time they got there, everything and everyone was covered in a thin layer of mud and wet saved for Kix who landed facefirst when Jessie pushed him.

The building was old made of cracked stone with vines growing of them. Rex noted that the wood that lined the structure was made of living trees growing into the infrastructure. “Interesting.”General Kenobi mused touching the wall. “What is sir?” Rex asked,

“This place…. Feels like an old temple”

“I feel it too.“ Ahsoka chimed in “it’s feels like that temple on the mission with the-“

“I thought we agreed not to discuss that mission-“

“Where Master Obi Wan got stuck dealing with an oversized bird that chased him into a tree and Anakin tried to help only for him to have to climb up that tree.” She finished attempting to hide a grin. Kenobi sighed and half heartedly rolled his eyes.

“If I remember correctly, you also were on that tree by the end of that mission.”

Rex zoned out as they chattered. There was a weird feeling in his gut that something was going to happen. Maybe it was the writings on the walls, or maybe it was the creaking of the trees that almost sounded like whispers either way he was sure the 501st’s winning streak had just ran out.

Ruined, Or Not

“Jesse, so help me….” Rex was the image of stoicism, but his facial muscles were pulled so tight they ached.

General Skywalker snorted, clearly against his original intentions, and scrambled to cover the slip with a halfhearted representation of the typical placid Jedi face. Unfortunately, Rex knew his commanding officer far too well. The man was anything but sedate.

If Rex hadn’t known better - hadn’t seen him dismember entire squadrons of droids without even having to think about it - he’d have assumed the general was a shiny long ago.

And Jesse just grinned wider, the damage done.

From across the room, with the medics, Kix was already giving him a death glare. Hardcase, to Jesse’s left, shook with repressed laughter, his face morphing to a rainbow of colors that Rex was determined to not find even close to funny right now.

“Three….two….one….” the photographer called.

Fives lost it first. And the legion was doomed from there.

*******

“I’m sorry, but that is priceless!” Padmé dissolved into laughter, holding the holopic aloft. “May I keep it?”

And Rex had to smile.

The photo was a disaster. GAR command was not pleased. But if they were looking for an “accurate representation of your legion”, they really weren’t going to get more accurate than this.

They were all laughing, in hysterics from row to row. Hands froze where they found brothers’ backs, arms rested around best friends’ backs, and there wasn’t a single face that wasn’t painted in layers of exuberance. Their smile lines dug into their faces, their hair swept carelessly out of the way, their tattoos and the paintings on their armor beaming under the lights.

Even Skywalker had been roaring with laughter, Ahsoka doubled over next to him gasping for breath. And Rex stood in the middle of it all, his fingers strewn across his face in complete and utter hopelessness.

“You’d want to?”

“Of course!” Padmé’s smile softened. “So often we dehumanize and take for granted who you are. I wish everyone could see this kind of joy.”

Rex sighed. “It’s a terrible picture.”

“Well. I must disagree, captain.” She looked down at it again, bathing her features in blue as her smile crept forward again. “Aren’t you glad they can laugh like this?”

The crinkles by Kix’s eyes. The elation on Fives’s face. Echo, laughing so hard tears leaked down his cheeks. Jesse grinning so wide his lips hurt. Hardcase, cackling uncontrollably and gasping for a breath. The shinies, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, giggling together like they finally believed they belonged.

Yeah, by the GAR’s standards, the picture was ruined.

But all Rex had ever wanted was for them to forget their burdens, for a second.

“Yeah,” he said, and something scratched in the back of his throat. Padmé turned her gaze back to him, one side of her mouth turning almost furtively upwards. It was warm. Caring. There was something steady in it, something sure.

“Yeah,” Rex rasped again. Like he could still feel the unhinged chortles he’d tried so hard to hide.

Now, he wished he hadn’t.

*******

Awwwwwh, Rex.

My headcanon is that Padmé and Rex have a lil moment during switch day. She comes across the angry message from GAR command, convinces Rex to show her the offense, and is enraptured. They're all her babies.

I was a little unsure about writing a "Family Picture" for @clonetober, but once I got going I think it went okay! In this case, it's a bit of a curse to be a writer instead of an artist. I wish I could have this image for myself - but a mental picture will have to do.

They're okay, Rex.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CC-1010 | Fox, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex Characters: CC-2224 | Cody, CC-1010 | Fox, CT-7567 | Rex, Blitz (Star Wars), Colt (Star Wars) Additional Tags: 212th Appreciation Week, Prompt | Magic/Mythology/Fantasy, Sirens, Sirens AU, CCs as Sirens, beginning of the war, Kaminoans Being Assholes (Star Wars), but they’re not actually given a chance to be assholes this time, 212th CT-7567 | Rex Series: Part 3 of Shon'laar, Part 9 of 212th Appreciation Week Summary:

The war has begun, and with the war comes new responsibilities. Not everyone is happy with their assignments, but the vode make do. And some force changes.

@212thappreciation for the Fantasy/Mythology prompt

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Clone Commander Blackout & CT-7567 | Rex, ARC-77 | Fordo & CT-7567 | Rex, Coric & CT-7567 | Rex Characters: Clone Commander Blackout (Star Wars), CT-7567 | Rex, ARC-77 | Fordo, Clone Trooper Coric (Star Wars), ARC Trooper Stec (Star Wars), Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano Additional Tags: Planet Teth (Star Wars), Post-Battle Of Teth, Post-Battle of Christophsis, Teth is its own warning, Battle of Hypori, there’s a lot going on ok, Alternate Universe, Jai'galaar Verda AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, No Beta we die like. like. everyone from torrent-, Author Is Sleep Deprived, The Author is Screaming Series: Part 3 of Jai'galaar Verda Summary:

Blackout received his Jaig eyes recently - only to learn that, apparently, he now is part of ancient magic. Fordo and his squad have been called in to save Jedi, but there is more than just one thing off about… well, everything, unfortunately. It just can’t ever be easy, can it? Rex has a lot to do, between the shriek-hawk in his head and the new padawan in his legion. Soon, both will be the least of his problems.

[You have to read at least Blue before this one - it’s a direct continuation.]

I had a sudden urge to write out the moment Nova learns that Rex gets Ahsoka as a Padawan and I guess it spawned this, whoops ^^

Words: about 1k

Warnings: none

No pairings or anything, just brothers being brothers and Kio being cute. Continues a bit under the cut.

———

It’s almost the night cycle on the Serenity when Nova gets an incoming comm from Rex. He’s been diligently cleaning his helmet with a brush, trying to get dirt out of all the small edges while Kio has been softly snoring away on his lap as his wristcomm starts blinking at him.

Which is, for lack of a better word, unusual.

He and Rex usually message before a call, to prevent unplanned interruptions of the others work. They almost never comm each other spontaneously. Nova tries to remember what campaign his brother is currently on, and whether he should be worried that Rex is in some sort of trouble -quickly pushing the thought or worse away. Frowning, he lifts his wristcomm, ready to accept the call when he sees its actually a request for in-helmet.

Careful not to disturb the sleeping Padawan on his lap he shimmies his helmet on, turning off the external speakers. When he accepts the call he is greeted by not only audio, but Rex’s helmet cam as well. Rex seems to briskly walking through the hangar of his General's flagship, brothers milling about around him.

“Rex? You alright?“ Nova asks, worry rising in his throat. He can hear Rex’s rough breathing over the connection and recognizes the first signs of a possible panic attack.

"Do you still have that manual that you and your boys set up?" Rex asks instead, his voice sounding tight.

"Manual? What's going on-"

"They gave him a Padawan, Nova.” Rex brings out, and he sounds like he doesn’t quite believe his own words, “They gave Skywalker a kriffin' Padawan."

Nova feels only slightly guilty about the slow grin spreading on his face as he tries to remember wat Rex had previously said about the matter. He distinctly remembers his brother’s relief when he found out that he would be assigned a Jedi Knight without a young tag along to worry about.

"I thought you said your General didn't want one?" Nova replies, carefully trying to keep his amusement from his voice since Rex is clearly not finding this as funny as he does.

"I did. He did.” Rex says through clenched teeth. His bucket is still moving and slowly a group of some troopers standing next to a tall figure and a clearly shorter figure further ahead come into view.

“I don't think he had a choice in the matter.” Rex continues, “They dropped her off in the middle of a warzone too. What the kriff am I supposed to do with her? She's running into fights half naked." His voice rises in pitch with his last words and Nova barely manages to surpress a snort as he glances down at Kio’s bare arms dangling of the bench they’re seated on. At least his kid wears some leather chest armor.

"So you want advice from me?” he questions instead. Sure, he and Kio get along well, but the situation with General Cos is less than ideal and he doesn’t feel like he is in any position to tell others what to do with a child.

"You've had your kid tagging along from the start, you got experience.” Rex grounds out, “What do I kriffin' do? Skywalker alone is already making me go prematurely grey. Now there's two of them."

The gaggle of people is now completely coming into view of Rex’s helmet cam and Nova can make out his brother’s General easily with his tall stature and floppy hair. He seems to be arguing with a much shorter figure, his arms gesturing wildly. There are some troopers surrounding them, apparently awkwardly waiting for orders to be dismissed. When one of them steps aside to avoid an arm swung at his face Nova gets a good view of the new Padawan.

This time he can’t keep in his laughter. There, arguing with a Jedi General twice her height, is a tiny Togruta girl firmly standing her ground. Judging by the height of her montrals she’s a little older than Kio and like Rex said she’s wearing only some scraps of fabric. She seems to match the General in energy, waving her arms around to get some point or another across.

"That's them?" Nova chokes out, trying to keep himself from shaking too much to not wake up Kio.

"Yeah they've been at it since we got back. Are you laughing at me?" Rex asks him incredulously and Nova has to give himself a second to breathe before he can answer.

"No.” Nova gasps in mock insult, before snorting again, “Yes. Better prepare yourself, she certainly looks like she has spirit."

Rex just grumbles something unintelligible in his ear before muttering, "She's going to be the death of me, I can feel it. "

"So dramatic." Nova mocks dryly and starts laughing again, not able to keep his shoulders from shaking this time. He feels Kio stir and push himself up, a grumpy look on his face from being woken up.

"Who're you talking to?" The kid grumbles and Nova squeezes his shoulder to let him know he needs a second.

"Sorry, vod. I gotta go." He tells Rex, “I’m sure you’ll figure it all out soon enough.”

On the corner of the helmet cam he can see that Rex’s new Padawan has shifted her attention from her Master to Rex and is giving him a questioning look, though Rex himself doesn’t seem to have noticed it yet.

"Just send me that manual, alright?" Rex repeats, a note of urgency in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah.” Nova assures him, “Oh, and Rex. Togruta have better hearing than we do."

The cam shifts a bit to the side until suddenly the Padawan is in full view and the audible gasp tells him that Rex now realizes that she may have heard more than he wanted to.

"Ahh, kriff me."

Rex aaaand uh. A dog

This is such a galaxy brained prompt, thank you for this! The dog in this is based off of an Australian shepherd, by the way :)

——————

To say Rex was tired would be an understatement. He’d been traveling nonstop the past few weeks in an effort to avoid catching anyone’s attention. If he stayed in one place for too long, someone was bound to notice that he looked a little familiar, and they’d call the authorities. He had to keep moving. Such was the life of someone in the run from the Empire.

The war hadn’t been over for too long. Rex watched his men die in a crash, helpless to do anything to help them. They had been prisoners of their own minds, though, and in a backwards sort of way, Rex was glad they were dead. Anything was better than being turned into mindless droids.

Not long after that crash, Rex split up with Ahsoka, knowing that they’d be safer apart. She’d given him contact information to people she thought could help, and Rex busied himself trying to take down the Empire before it could sink its poisonous claws into every part of the galaxy.

This is how Rex found himself traveling alone. Truly and utterly alone.

He hated being alone; the clones were never meant to be without each other, and yet here he was. Sure, he ran into the Bad Batch at one point (traveling with a child, and wasn’t that a sight to behold), but he couldn’t stay with them for long. He helped them get rid of their chips and then went on his way, back to his lonesome travels.

He refused to let it bother him, though. He buried himself in his work against the Empire, hoping that that might distract him from his situation, and it worked sometimes. Still, his own thoughts would often betray him, and he still often turned to speak to people who were no longer with him. It was a tough habit to break.

Rex only stopped on Dantooine to get food and refuel his ship. He didn’t intend to stay for long. He’d be in and out within a couple of hours. Surely that wasn’t enough time for anyone to notice his presence.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that he was being followed on his way through the market. He cursed his luck and the fact that he’d jinxed himself by telling himself he wouldn’t be noticed before slipping into an alleyway, intent on taking out whoever had been tailing him.

He leaned against the wall and slowly took out his blaster, crouching behind a trash can. He heard footsteps approaching nearer to his position. His muscles tensed before he took a deep breath and jumped out of his hiding place, blaster pointed at the owner of the footsteps…

… and the owner was a dog. Rex huffed a sigh and put his blaster back in his holster. The dog had not been startled at all by Rex’s actions, its stub for a tail wiggling so much that its whole behind was shaking. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth as it looked up at Rex with mismatched eyes, one brown and the other so light a shade of blue that it was nearly white.

Rex hesitated, unsure of what to do next. He knelt down on his knees to get closer to the dog’s level, his movements slow so that the dog wouldn’t suddenly lash out at him. The dog sat down and held up one of its paws. Not knowing what else to do, Rex took it and shook it like he would shake hands with another human being. The dog then took that as an invitation to get close to Rex, as it curled up and pressed its body against him. Rex relaxed further and began scratching its back, causing the dog to lean further into him.

“Thanks, bud.” Rex muttered, smiling. He was then mortified to realize that he was nearly crying at this simple display of affection from a dog. The dog seemed to sense his emotions, as it turned and began licking his face before the tears could even fall, causing Rex to laugh.

“Okay, okay, thank you. I’ve got to go now, okay?” Rex said, standing up. He began to leave the alleyway, stopping short when he realized the dog was following him.

“You can’t come with me.” He said with a sigh. The dog merely wagged its stub and practically grinned up at him.

“I don’t have a way to take care of a dog, and I travel a lot in my tiny ship. You really wouldn’t like it.” Rex continued as he walked out of the alley. The dog walked beside him to his right.

Rex really couldn’t keep a dog. His lifestyle was not a good way for a dog to live. Besides, this one probably belonged to someone… but, it did look pretty skinny. Maybe it didn’t have anyone, just like Rex. Maybe it was just as alone as him.

Rex sighed, eyeing a veterinarian’s office down the road. He stopped and looked down at the dog at his side.

“Okay. Maybe you can come with me.”

The dog barked and wagged its stub. Rex smiled for the first time in months.

Oh you NEED to continue the kid fic bc I’m obsessed! Not asking for a full fledged story (I mean hey, unless you want to) but just a small continuation at least please🙏 What do you hc their ages to be in it? What’s Morrible’s reaction to the bit at the end there? I need to know

ask and u shall receive, fair anon. their ages are roughly 5 & 8/9 9 think?

(direct continuation of this post btw - read that first! idk why this got so long, my bad)

///

The woman seems taken aback by both the girls’ reactions, standing awkwardly above them. Elphie’s shaking hard, but she stands up with her arms spread and her knees locked as to prevent the woman from getting any closer. 

Galinda shouldn’t be such a crybaby, such a coward, but she can’t help feeling grateful for the older girl’s protection. The woman has stopped advancing, but she still looks angry.

She really should just stand up and accept it. Momsie hates when Galinda starts begging. She says it’s ‘unbecoming of a lady’ to wail like she does. It never makes it better. And running away? Why, that’s just asking for trouble.

With great effort, Galinda places a hand over her mouth to silence her cries, sniffling hard and swallowing down mucus and tears. She still feels sick to her stomach as she gathers her limbs. Just as she makes to stand, though- Elphie turns around, eyes wide as she shoves at Galinda. 

“Stay down!” she hisses. Her eyes flicks to the woman. “I won’t let her hurt you.”

The woman seems calmer now, more collected. Her previous fierce glare has shifted into something more curious than anything else. She raises a single eyebrow at Elphie’s statement. 

“I’m not planning on hurting anyone,” she says. “I…apologize for my outburst. I was merely concerned that something had happened.”

Galinda doesn’t believe her. She’d been yelling about blondes. Galinda’s the only blonde in the room; she had to have done something wrong.

Sometimes, when they’re in public, or she feels there’s a lesson to be learned, Momsie won’t punish her right away. She’ll make Galinda wait, knowing the inevitable is coming, letting it build in her belly until she’s so tied into knots she can barely even breathe. 

Perhaps this woman is the same. Or perhaps she’s waiting to see if Elphie does anything that will add to the punishment. Momsie does that as well at times. Counts indiscretions and waits until the end of the day to tell Galinda all the things she did wrong.  

The thought makes more tears leak down Galinda’s face. Gulping again, she stands up and resigns herself to her fate. She doesn’t want Elphie to be punished. Elphie is her friend. 

Galinda loves her. 

“Elphie,” Galinda whispers. At some point, she’d accidentally slid her thumb between her lips while blocking her mouth, and she’s quick to yank it out when she realizes. 

Only babies suck their thumbs, Galinda! 

Galinda hopes no one saw that. She reaches out to tug on the back of Elphie’s shirt. “I-it’s otay. I was b-bad.”

Elphie whips her head around, glaring. “No, you weren’t. You just had an accident; you’re not bad.” She turns her hard stare back to the woman, visibly trembling as she does. “She’s not.” 

“Of course, Elphaba,” the woman says smoothly, though she shoots Galinda a dirty look. Elphie flinches hard at the use of her name. 

“Do-do I know you? Or…do you know my father?”

There’s a pause. The woman tilts her head. “I do know your father,” she finally says. Slower than before. More calculating. Her gaze shifts to Galinda. “My name is Madame Morrible. I know who both of you are.”

Galinda whimpers. If this lady--Morrible--knows her momsie and popsicle, than she’ll probably tell them about Galinda’s accident, and then Galinda will be in even more trouble. She should just take her punishment now, no matter how scared she is.  

Galinda steps around Elphie on shaky legs. She glances up at Morrible briefly, too frightened to meet her eyes, then bows her head and clasps her hands.

“I-I’m sowwy, Miss Mowwible,” she whispers. “I made a mess and was bad. I’ll take m-my punishment now.”

Elphie tries to grab for her, but Galinda steps aside. She wipes an arm over her teary face. “Please don’ hurt Elphie. She’s my fwiend, and s-she’s been weally nice.”

Morrible bends down to be on Galinda’s face level, the little girl shrinking back in fear. Elphie comes up beside her in support. She has several inches on Galinda, and despite how clearly afraid she is, she’s also very clearly protective. 

“She’s just little,” Elphie argues. “You can’t punish her for being scared. No hits.”

Galinda gasps at Elphie’s boldness. You aren’t supposed to talk back to adults. She shudders as Morrible looms even closer, terrified her friend has just made things even worse. 

“Elphie, no,” Galinda whispers, stumbling on her heels when she leans back too far. The older girl steadies her, still glaring. You’ll make her mad, Galinda doesn’t say. 

Morrible’s eyes narrow, then she straightens to her full height, book dangling from her fingertips, and smiles. It’s not a very happy-looking smile. Nor a comforting one. 

“I’m not going to hit you, little ones,” she says. “It appears there has been some...confusion.”

Elphie grabs Galinda’s hand. “Are you going to send us home?” she asks. Galinda can’t tell by her tone if Elphie is hoping for a yes or a no. 

“Not yet,” Morrible answers. Her gaze flicks over their diminutive forms. “You see- there is magic at play here. Dangerous, powerful magic.”

Galinda feels Elphie wince, shrinking into herself. “Magic?” she questions, voice small. Galinda has always wanted magic- ever since her Nona told her about it. 

“Yes, dear. Magic. That’s why you are here. You may not remember, but it’s important you stay here and that you are on your best behavior as we sort everything out. Can you do that? Can you be good?”

Both girls nod tentatively. 

Galinda feels Elphie’s hand tighten. “Where is here?” she asks.

“Why, the Emerald City, of course.”

At that- Elphie finally looks up again, eyes bright. “The Emerald City?” she breathes. 

Morrible’s smile grows. “Yes. This is the palace of the wonderful Wizard of Oz himself.”

“The Wizard,” Elphie gasps. She seems delighted by the news. Meanwhile- Galinda is horrified. She peed on the Wizard’s floor! 

Galinda rocks back and forth, stomach knotting and tears resurging. She feels wrung out and overwhelmed, too small to comprehend everything that is happening. She’s away from home for the first-ever time, surrounded by strangers in a place she’s never been, and she still hasn’t been punished. 

The wait is agony. 

Elphie seems to pick up on her dip in mood, pulling Galinda a little closer and giving her hand another squeeze. “M-miss Morrible? If we’re not going home, where are we going to stay?”

Things move a little faster after that. More people enter the room, tall men in shiny armor whose eyes all widen in shock at the sight of the children. Galinda leans on Elphie’s arm, letting the taller girl hold her against her side and whisper to her soothingly as they follow the men down the hall. 

The palace is vast, and every now and then Galinda catches sight of large furred creatures with massive blue wings and terrifyingly large teeth. It seems to take ages to get to a bedroom, Morrible telling them under no uncertain terms that they are not allowed to leave without permission. 

Elphie stands in front of Galinda again as the lady gives her instructions, points out the attached bathroom, and tells them someone will be by with food in a little bit. She doesn’t offer any clothes, even though Galinda’s are soiled and gross. 

When the door finally slams shut, Galinda all but collapses against Elphie. She’s confused and her head hurts and her stomach hurts and her dress is ruined and her lungs are aching. She’s clutching Elphie hard enough to bruise, trying to draw strength from the older girl, even though Elphie is terrified too. Elphie is confused, too. 

But Elphie is a big sister, not that Galinda remembers it, and so Elphie is able to shove down her fear and confusion and gently turn to Galinda, wrapping her in a hug as she breaks down in heaving sobs. She’s tired, and she’s hungry, and she doesn’t feel good. 

She says all this to Elphie, whining in a way she knows she’s too old for, and Elphie just rubs her back and shushes her. Eventually, Galinda’s legs give way to the force of her cries, and Elphie carefully picks her up, grunting with effort until Galinda is high enough to wrap her legs around the green girl’s waist and hold on. 

“It’ll be okay, Galinda,” Elphie says. “I’ve got you.”

“I-I-I want to go home,” Galinda cries. Even if she’s terrified of what her parents may say about how she’s behaved, it’s at least a predictable, almost comfortable fear. This place is new and cold and entirely too confusing to want to stay. 

“I know,” Elphie sighs. “Me too.”

Galinda frowns, slipping her thumb back in her mouth now that there’s no adults around to see. Elphie won’t mind. Elphie won’t tattle on her. As the older girl carries Galinda to the bed and carefully places her down, climbing up beside her to hug her once more, Galinda clings to her desperately.

Galinda wants to go home…but she also wants Elphie. She can’t bear the thought of parting with the older girl. The very idea of being separated sends ten times as much fear through her little body, making her shiver and shake as her stomach twists so hard she’s scared she’ll make a mess.

“Don’ wan’ you to l-leave,” she stammers out. She buries her nose in the crook of Elphie’s neck, breathing in her faint scent. It’s familiar. Comforting. Elphie’s warm body against hers as their hearts start to settle just feels right. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Elphie promises. She runs her fingers through blonde locks. “I would never leave you, Galinda.”

Galinda nibbles on her thumb, still worried and anxious. But the words soothe her a little, slowing the incessant flow of tears. She wonders if Elphie would want to come live with her when they escape. Elphie would be nice to her. Elphie wouldn’t hurt her. She wouldn’t yell at Galinda for being too dumb or too quiet or too emotional.

Elphie would love Galinda. Just like Galinda loves Elphie. 

“ c'mere. let me give you a hug. “ with Kix and Rex maybe, please?

Thanks for asking, anon! The ending references my fic Golden Heart because I can’t resist an opportunity to reference it :)

——————

Kix stood outside Rex’s quarters, staring at the door as though it had done something to offend him. He was hesitant to knock on the door, and he’d never been hesitant before, but…

But, after Umbara, Kix was hesitant to approach anyone, especially Rex.

Umbara took a toll on everyone. Kix could see it in the way everyone held themselves. Their energies were slightly subdued. Tup seemed lost with Dogma gone, and Fives had taken to the young trooper pretty quickly. Fives liked to help people in order to distract himself from his own problems and, well, there were worse coping mechanisms out there. Kix would have to talk to him at some point to make sure he was actually addressing his own issues.

Jesse had taken things hard, too. Losing Hardcase was rough on both Jesse and Kix because he was their batchmate. They were working through their grief together, and it would be a long process, but at least they weren’t alone.

Shaking himself out of his musings, Kix thought back to the matter at hand. He was standing outside of Rex’s door, fist hovering just a few inches away from knocking. He knew that Rex was also struggling with his own guilt for everything that happened in Umbara. Kix thought he could help.

Kix remembered with great clarity the moment that he snapped at Rex and accused him of acting like General Krell when Rex ordered him to leave the injured behind.

The guilt of that interaction was hanging like an albatross around Kix’s neck. Looking back on it, he realized that Rex had been put in an impossible situation where he had to mediate between his men, his brothers, and a leader whose entire goal was to get them killed. Rex was right, too— Kix had to survive and carry on because if he wasn’t alright, then there would‘ve been no one else to take care of other injured brothers.

Kix knew he had to apologize for his outburst, both for his own ease of mind and for Rex’s. Still, he hesitated, and was about to turn on his heel and come back another time when the door to Rex’s quarters slid open, and the captain himself stood in the doorway. He jumped a bit upon seeing Kix there, obviously not having been aware of his presence just beyond his walls.

“Sir,” Kix said, slowly lowering his fist from where it was poised to knock on the door, “may I have a word with you?”

Rex furrowed his brows together but nodded and gestured to have Kix enter his quarters.

The room was in disarray. Rex’s armor was skewed about the room in a disorderly fashion, which was uncharacteristic for his usual organized room. There were datapads strewn about the floor as well, all incomplete paperwork that had to be filled out in the aftermath of a battle.

Kix didn’t comment on any of this, and instead stood in the corner of the room, looking at his feet and fiddling with the sleeve of his body glove.

There was silence between the pair for a few moments. Rex sat himself on his unmade bed and regarded Kix with a blank expression, not that Kix noticed his gaze, as focused on the ground as he was.

Finally, Kix took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry.” He was startled, then, upon realizing that Rex had said the same thing in sync with him.

“Sir? What do you have to apologize for?” Kix asked.

“The… the campaign as a whole. I let you all down, and you had to bear the brunt of so many unfair situations. I never should ordered you to leave those men behind. That’s not what we’re trained to do, and I asked you to do it anyway. So, I’m sorry.” Rex explained, now looking at the ground instead of at Kix.

Kix scoffed, “Sir, Rex, I don’t blame you for that. I’m sorry for comparing you to General Krell in that moment. You are nothing like him, and I just said that because I was tired and frustrated. I know you were put in a ridiculously tough scenario and… it’s been weighing on you as much as it’s been weighing on me, maybe even more.”

Rex just sniffed and nodded slowly. He glanced at Kix and let a slight smile grace his face, “C’mere. Let me give you a hug.” He said, holding out his arm as an invitation.

Kix sighed dramatically and sat down on the bed next to Rex, leaning into and returning his older brother’s embrace.

“You’re never going to let me forget that I gave you a hug when I was still in medic training, are you?” Kix said with a sigh.

Rex laughed, “Oh, definitely not. But, hey, I think this hug is helping, so maybe the research you did back then wasn’t all for nothing.”

“Damn straight.” Kix said with a huff. Rex let out a laugh at that, and Kix allowed himself a chuckle, too.

Umbara left wounds on them all, but… they would heal with time (and maybe a few hugs, too).

@one-real-imonkey I loved this post, and as I said in my tags when I reblogged it, I made a drabble. I haven’t edited it, so sorry if it’s wonky, but I loved the idea. I hope you like it!

Dye

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