Cult Of The Lamb: Redemption - Chapter #3 Preview

Cult of the Lamb: Redemption Chapter #2

(((TW: TW: Uh... I don't think there's anything worth putting a warning on?? Let me know in the comments if there is, and I'll update this.)))

Guilt - Narinder

Perhaps it was naive of him to think he could tolerate the pain.

Turning over onto his back is a motion that now that he's done, he thought he knew what to expect. But instead, the pain is just as piercing as before.

Still, he's able to push through it.

The idea of using his arms to push himself up, however?

He's tried twice now, and each time, his arms have cramped up, shaking violently as he falls back into place. His wrists are the worst, and he doesn't need to open his eyes to know there's scaring marring the fur around them.

He's sure it looks as awful as it feels.

No. Perhaps it feels worse. He can get over what it looks like, but this pain... He's not sure when it's going to stop. If it ever will.

What he is sure of is that he isn't letting it beat him. He tolerated the pain of his chains and being trapped in place for long enough. He will no longer let the phantoms of his torment hold him down.

Even if it means suffering with every movement he makes.

And damn, does he suffer.

He tries to use his legs, to push himself up and take some weight off his arms, but much to his dismay, his legs are in no better condition. Still, he persists.

His whole body is shaking by the time he shoves himself back up against the wall, in some semblance of a sitting position. He is damn near breathless and wants nothing more than to go back to sleep again and deal with his hunger later.

But he's worked too hard to give up now. Opening his eyes, it is dark in the room, the only light coming from the window to his right. It's just enough sunlight to make his eyes water, so he turns his head to the left.

The mixed meal is on the nightstand just next to the bed, and easily within arm's reach. He takes a long moment to relax before attempting to grab the food.

He's dizzy from his efforts.

He should try to organize his thoughts, but the task seems even more impossible than moving.

He was chained for centuries. Found a Lamb to kill the Bishops- his siblings, and free him. The Lamb kills the Bishops. The Lamb proceeds not tofree him but defeats him instead and steals his crown. They spare his life rather than kill him. Then force him to join their cult as a mere follower.

There is... A lot to unpack there.

Thinking about it all still brings forth an overwhelming surge of emotions that he's still not ready to face.

But what other option does he have? When he was chained, all he could do was boil and fester with rage. Plotting his vengeance, waiting.

Waiting.

Always. Fucking. Waiting.

For something to change. For a loyal vessel to appear. He got his vessel, but the loyal part...

He takes a sharp breath, straightening himself out more, and tragically finding that by resting, he's allowed the pain time to worsen.

Still, he pushes through, because as painful as it is, thinking about the Lamb is even worse than their piercing cramping along his spine. Twice as confusing too.

He takes the risk to grab the bowl and just narrowly misses knocking the bowl onto the ground with his shaking. He does spill some of it when he moves it into his lap, but it's the last of his concerns.

With the food right in front of him, he's suddenly contemplating how to eat. Just chew and swallow right? But how much does he have to chew? Does it need to be completely mush? That would be gross, but will he choke otherwise?

What will it taste like? He has only a vague memory of what fish tastes like, but he can't recall what other kinds of meat or beetroots taste like... He settles for starting with the fish steak, the most familiar of the foods, and ignores the uncomfortable dryness of his mouth in hopes the food will help.

It does not. The explosion of taste is nothing like he remembers. He can feel every speck of seasoning burning his tongue and a wave of nausea overtakes him. Chokes it out, spitting it back into the bowl, but the dryness of his mouth causes chunks to get stuck on his tongue and inside his cheeks.

He gags and coughs trying to get it all out of his mouth.

And like a lightning strike, because as he now knows the universe hates him, there is banging on the dresser.

"Narinder! I'm here to start working on your shelter upgrades! I also brought- Narinder!? Are you okay!?" The sentence is cut off when the Lamb realizes something is wrong.

"F-ack! I'm-" He tries to respond but is still choking on the taste of the food.

"Okay! I'm respecting your privacy by knocking but asserting my authority as your cult leader by coming in anyway!" And like that the dresser was shoved aside, teetering for a moment before falling over onto the ground with a loud crash.

The Lamb was by his side in an instant.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy, uh, wait here, I'll grab some water!" They bound away, leaving him with tears stinging the corners of his eyes, and hacking like he has a hairball in his throat.

It doesn't take them long though, and they're back beside him with a wooden cup of water trying to hand it to him. He makes a feeble attempt to grab it but his arms cramp up when he tries to close his fists around it, and they jerk back toward him.

He can feel splashes of water as they fall onto his lap and the Lamb catches the cup before it falls and spills completely.

"Careful, Narinder... Are you- never mind, dumb question, you're not okay. Here, let me see." They hesitate only a moment before reangling the cup and bringing it up to his mouth for him.

He's not in the condition or mood to argue, and just leans forward and accepts the water. It's only slightly cool, borderline room temperature, but it tastes holy. He uses the first swig to swirl around his mouth and get rid of as much dryness as he can before swallowing and then chugs the rest.

"Slow down, you'll choke! Again!" The lamb pulls away, and Narinder follows, ignoring the spike of pain it causes.

He needs more. He knew he was thirsty, but this... He feels like he could drink dry a whole lake.

"Please..." He begs, and a part of him wants to hiss and recoil away from the word, but another part just wants more water.

A part of him wants to scream, and claw at the Lamb, and wrestle his crown off their head, but another part just wants to cry and beg for help. For water, and food, and for them, hell anyone, to take the pain away.

The Lamb is silent before he caves, and brings the water back to him, and he returns to chugging it. He can feel trickles of water dripping out of his mouth and down his chin, but he doesn't care.

"I'll have to get more..." They murmur, and he thinks it's probably more to themselves than to him.

When the cup runs dry, he's left gasping for air, falling back against the wall, and flinching when it sends waves of aching through him.

"Feel better? Do you need more? Narinder, is this why you've stayed locked up in here? Why didn't you say anything!?" The Lamb waits a long moment before speaking, but when they do the questions come in waves.

"For ten... Seconds... Can you just... Shut. It." He openly glares at them as he gasps out the words- undermining their harshness.

They slam their mouth shut and chew at their bottom lip as they look at him. They clearly want to say more, but ultimately decide against it for the moment. Opting to instead busy themselves with grabbing the food still on his lap and setting it aside, and then going to pick the dresser up.

It doesn't take him long to catch his breath, and when he does, he's left watching the lamb as they start moving around the room, placing the dresser back into its rightful spot with ease. He only has a vague memory of having pushed the dresser in front of the door to begin with but he knows it wasn't- probably still isn't light.

How strong are they? How much of it is the crown's power? His power.

Not anymore.

"Yes. I want more water. And partially, yes, this is why I've stayed in here. That's all you're getting until I get more to drink." He sighs, turning his gaze away from the lamb, closing it just before it collides with a ray of sunlight rudely glaring through the window.

But the painful sunlight is better than the Lamb's wide-eyed gaze pinpointed on him as they contemplate what they said.

"I suppose I've already gotten my 'please' for the day?" They ask, and he snorts.

Almost laughs. Almost.

"Try for the month- year even." He sighs, and as much as he hates doing it, he relaxes.

The water had helped, and he does feel better. A lot better.

"Right, well... I'll be back... We need to talk, Narinder. About everything. Maybe not today, but eventually, and hiding in here isn't going to make that fact go away... So just... Think about it." 

And they're gone before he can give some hissed insult or aggressive remark.

He's tired, but his body has been sleeping for too long, and he's restless. Mentally, and physically. So he waits.

Again. Always waiting.

He's thankful he's not left with that thought for long as the Lamb returns just as it starts to form. The cup is full once more.

"Do you still-" Need my help?

"Yes." Narinder interrupts them before they can finish the sentence, as if not hearing the end of it will somehow nullify the effect it has on his pride to say yes.

The Lamb doesn't push the subject, and just mimics their earlier motion, aiding him in drinking the second cup. He takes it slower this time, letting himself enjoy how it soothes his throat and eases his nausea.

When they pull away again, he's more confident in his ability to meet their eye, and he's haunted by the venomous amount of sympathy he finds in them. Pity.

"So, do you want to explain why your arms are no longer working? Or do you want me to speed run some guesses and you can tell me when I hit the mark?" They offer a gentle smile and he hates it.

He hates how sincere it looks, and he wants to claw it off his face.

He settles for closing his eyes again.

"I've been chained for so long... I could tolerate the pain when I was a god, but now... This mortal body is weak, and suffering the phantom aches of my imprisonment." He confesses.

And everything hurts so bad.

His mind screams.

He flinches when he feels the bed shift, and his eyes shoot open to see the Lamb sitting down on the corner of the bed. They sit a... Safe distance away.

"I... Didn't realize... I knew you'd need to rest after the whole fight, but I guess centuries in chains, unmoving probably hasn't left you feeling great either..." They recap as if that's supposed to make it better.

"Obviously not. While I'm complaining, can you close the window better? Even as a god, my eyes were light-sensitive, hence the veil." He peeks an eye open to observe them as they stand and do what he asks.

"Oh, sure. I had a hunch that was the case, but I also kind of thought it was just for aesthetics... You looked pretty cool in it." They chuckle as they fix the window, and he opens his eyes as the harsh light is subdued.

"Of course I did." He scoffs but makes no further comment on it.

He never thought much about the veil. It was a necessity, to protect his eyes. Kallamar thought it was creepy. Leshy and Heket used to tease him, calling him edgy and that he should just 'deal with the pain'. Shamura was the only one to understand that god or not, the pain was intolerable.

They had even made him a rather nice spider web veil once- that he wore for special events as it was a bit too elegant for everyday occasions. He doesn't know where it is nowadays, most likely lost to time.

"Well, I can see if I can get something like it from Berith. For now, though, I think working on fixing your movement issue takes priority. I've never seen anything like it, so I'll have to ask around. Maybe Noon will know..." He's not sure who the hell Noon is, but that's less important.

"I don't need your-"

"I don't care. I was trying to respect your boundaries, Narinder; I thought 'he needs time to work through his thoughts right now.' and if I pushed you, I'd just make it worse, but this isn't about pushing. You're in pain, and you can't move. That's too big of a problem to just leave you alone to work it out by yourself!" They interrupt and hold out an empty palm, a silent question.

Every inch of him screams not to trust this. His fur raised, and pupils dilated- they probably have been since the moment the Lamb entered the room.

Yet, every other part of him is screaming in pain.

The real answer to the Lambs question is dependent on which instinct screams louder. Distrust or pain?

The pain, the pain, the pain, the pain.

He stretches out his arm. It's shaking less than before at least.

The Lamb is slow and cautious as they reach out and with a feather-light touch, cradling his arm in their hold.

Looking at it now himself, he realizes he was right about the scarring. The embedded chain-like scaring in his bare skin, fur marred and no longer growing there- like some kind of mange. There is still dried blood surrounding the scabbed wounds- deep from what he can feel and tell.

He doesn't doubt that if he moved his wrist around too much they would re-open and start bleeding profusely once again. The same with his ankles, and around his torso.

One glance down confirms it. It's not as bad around his torso, and the wounds are not as deep or as ugly. His fur being an oily, ungroomed wreck doesn't help make it look better though.

He's a mess. A disgusting, wounded mess. It's humiliating.

He can feel his ears pressed to the back of his head in shame as the lamb carefully runs their hand over the wound. He flinches when they run over a particularly deep scab, and they jump back, pulling the offending hand away.

"Sorry! I didn't... This should have been taken care of the moment you arrived, I'm sorry I didn't see to it." They close their eyes for a moment, and when they open them again, there is a fire in them that Narinder nearly flinches again at the sight of.

"Yeah, well... I didn't exactly tell anyone so what could you have done?" He gives a dry laugh, to settle his nerves, and starts to pull his arm back to himself.

"That's no excuse. I'm a leader, and my job's most important part is ensuring my followers are safe and well. I should have known you wouldn't be perfectly fine physically after the fight, I should have... I should have checked on you sooner, even if you clawed my throat out when I tried." They leaned forward to catch his arm gently, examining it once more.

They are silent again, and Narinder watches them carefully as they follow the scarring with their eyes. Up his forearms, upper arms, shoulder, chest, and neck.

All a mess. Like a mangled stray, he both looks and feels like he's gotten into a fistfight with a thorn bush.

And lost.

Eventually, their eyes meet, and the spell of... Whatever is happening, is broken.

He yanks his arm back with a painful hiss, leaning away from the Lamb's suddenly overwhelming amount of attention.

They hold their hands up as they stand, unbothered by the sudden aggression.

"Right. Well, I need to go get a lot of supplies, and then, unless you want me to get someone else to do it, we need to get you cleaned up. You're only going to get worse if we don't." They pause as they're walking away, and turn to him, waiting for his response.

"Like I want any of those mindless mortal morons anywhere near me..." He growls, sinking further into himself.

He's enraged by the Lamb's care and wants to rip them apart.

He's still hungry, but he'd rather die than put more food in his mouth after his first experience.

He's restless, and he wants to be able to move again.

And yet he's so fucking tired at the same time. He's tired of being angry, hungry, and restless. He's tired of fighting against chains they aren't even there anymore. He's tired of waiting.

Always waiting.

But the Lamb doesn't make him wait long.

They're bounding through the curtains- he notices that it's turned gloomy outside- with an armload of bandages, rags, and wooden jars of something.

"I have to run outside again, Theo's holding the water, but I figured you wouldn't want anyone coming in." They toss all of the supplies at the end of the bed, near his feet, and he peers at them, trying to figure out what the jars are.

He hardly notices they left again they're back so quickly, with a large wooden basin of water, that they sit on the ground next to the bed as they sit down next to them.

They sit closer this time, and he bites back a hiss as their leg brushes against his.

They pause when they see the clear cringe adorning his features.

"... I know this isn't the best-case scenario for you, but you have to know that I'm just trying to make things easier for you, so please, just let me help..." They sigh and lean away to give him space to adjust.

Easier for him?

How is their help meant to make anything easier? Even if they could snap their fingers and erase all the pain in his body, there is nothing they can do to rid him of... Of this.

This embarrassment and humiliation of needing the very person who put him in this position to help him out of it.

To put bandages on his wounds, a roof over his head, and act like everything is perfectly fine now.

Like he can just move on, and forgive and forget? Become another happy, brainless little follower in their cult, doing whatever they ask and worshipping the ground they walk on?

No. He can never do that. Not when he knows what the Lamb truly is.

Just a pathetic mortal made god via deceit and betrayal. The last of their kind, and a heretic no better than the ones they go about massacring on their crusades.

And this guilt, and pity that he sees in their eyes as they watch him think?

A confirmation. They're doing this to make themselves feel better. Not to help. But to ease their guilt, to try and absolve themselves of their crimes.

He hates them.

He does not doubt it, and no amount of their help will ever change that fact. None of their help will ever make this burning anger in his chest cool, or the venom lacing his tongue evaporate.

None of it will take away the heavy grief that presses on his lungs, making it hard to breathe. Grief that everything he did, everything that he had the Lamb do, was for nothing.

He's still trapped. This time with the very being meant to have freed him.

"I will let you help me. I will let you treat my wounds, bring me food, and upgrade my home all you want, but make no mistake, Lamb. I hate you. I will always hate you. No matter how desperately you try to prove yourself to me, I have nothing left in my heart but resentment, and anger when I see you. You, from this moment on, will be nothing but the bane of my fucking immortal existence." He hisses, with so much poison in his voice, he's sure even Heket would be impressed if she could hear him now.

He watches as the Lamb's eyes widen, and his face contorts with a mix of emotion. Confusion. Anger. Hurt.

He watches as they open and close their mouth, clearly too shocked to string a proper sentence together.

He watches as water begins to well in their eyes, tears prickling the corners.

He watches as they swiftly stand and move away towards the door and out of the shelter.

And in the end, his fists clench. The pain shooting through his arms is ignored as another, overwhelming emotion, that simply must be this mortal body's fault clouds his mind and weighs heavy on his shoulders, sinking him further into himself.

Guilt.

~~~

Brownie points to anyone who caught the Fairly Odd Parents joke.

Anyway, I feel like I should preface things for the next chapter by saying Narilamb is currently VERY one-sided. The Lamb has feelings for Narinder that you'll see in the future, but Narinder truly never picked up on them, and his anger and hate are very much the only things he feels toward the Lamb. FOR NOW. Eventually, he'll have some more existential crisis about it. But not now Kitten Whiskers, Daddy will discuss it later. (Ya'll better get that. If you don't, I can't help you.)

The new chapter for Cult of the Lamb: Redemption is out now guys on Ao3!

There's a part near the beginning where I tried to casually pepper in that Narinder is trans in this story. I didn't want to have a super cliche, 'omg he's trans!' moment because ew. We exist irl guys, we're not exotic animals to be gawked at when you see us in public.

I also mildly gave a slight insight into the state of medical practices in the cult regarding things like top surgery and such. Which I imagine wouldn't be super safe given the lack of tools, and knowledge, and that half the followers (at least on my game) have the messed up desire to eat literal shit and keep getting sick from it, and that kind of takes the focus away from trying to make more important medical discoveries and advancements.

Homies, Miki is holding this place together with nothing but her vague knowledge of medicine from reading like, four books about it and several years of seeing what works and what kills people, lol.

Anyway! Enjoy the new chapter guys, see you at 8:30 when I post again!

Twisted Wonderland - He Hears You Singing (About Him)

Twisted Wonderland Writings Masterpost

Heartslabyul Edition, Savanaclaw Edition

Prompt: While relaxing, and doing chores around the Ramshackle dorm for your weekend restoration of the barely standing building, your thoughts drift to love songs from your old world. You think of songs that remind you of your closest fellow NRC student and significant other, and end up singing one while you work.

Reader: GN reader - They/Them pronouns and they are referred to as 'MC/Prefect' in this one. And let's all just agree that MC is a great singer- cuz some of these songs have mad vocals that I would never dream of trying to sing myself with my incredibly average voice, and I imagine a lot of you are the same.

Included Characters: Octavinelle Edition!

Warnings: None.

Request Rules & Information Here

~~~

Azul Ashengrotto - "Adore You" by Harry Styles

- Why did he stop by Ramshackle? He can't remember. It was something about taste testing the new spring menu, maybe? He's not sure it matters anymore, given how enamored he is with the sound of your voice right now.

- Is frozen in the doorway like a deer caught in headlights, he hadn't even realized it was you singing (he thought it was from your phone or something on a radio) until he turned the corner and saw you.

- When you see him, he turns all kind of shades of scarlet, embarrassed at being caught staring, but he quickly composes himself.

- Immediate compliments followed quickly by an offer to sing at the Mostro Lounge sometime- you'd be paid generously of course-

- On the outside he's acting cool, but the song in question really did fluster him quite a bit, and thoughts of you singing it again just for him keep intruding in his mind, and if you look closely you can see his ears remain a pretty shade of pink the whole conversation after.

- Does truly think you would look stunning dressed up in lavish clothes, preforming on the stage of the Mostro Lounge, are you sure you don't want to? He'll throw in a free meal plus pay!

"My, my, MC, that was a lovely performance. You should put those wonderful vocals to use, I'm sure everyone would be in awe of you at the Lounge. Some may even show up just to see you- I certainly would."

~~~

Jade Leech - "Dive" by Olivia Dean

- He's honestly quiet pleasantly surprised when he enters Ramshackle (without knocking of course) and hears your wonderful singing voice.

- A soft (dare I say genuine?) smile makes it's way to his face as he approaches the living area where you're cleaning, and stands patiently in the doorway for you to finish the song- one he's never heard before but it flows rather smoothly, much like the jazz played at the lounge.

- He finds the lyrics rather intriguing too, now what would inspire you to sing such a romantic song? A crush perhaps? The idea of you having enough of a crush on someone to sing such a song about them makes him... Well, he'll just focus on what he has right in front of him for now, and save those pesky feelings for later self-analysis.

- When you catch him he is completely shameless in his staring, as a matter of fact, his smile grows, before he gives a curious tilt of his head and motions with his hand for you to continue.

- What? Your voice was beautiful, of course he wants to hear it more. What's he doing here? Oh, well, he's come to ask if you'd like to be the first to taste test the Mostro Lounges new spring menu.

- Sure he didn't knock, but it's honestly your fault for not locking the front door- oh, the locks are broken? That can't possibly be safe. Perhaps you should stay at Octavinelle until they are fixed, that way he can hear your voice much more often.

- As a matter of fact, instead of 100 thaumarks a night for a room, he's sure he can arrange for you to sing at the Lounge every night for payment instead.

"Oh, please don't mind me, continue. Your voice is quite delightful, you should consider singing at the Lounge- though, I'm not sure I want anyone else to hear you but me..."

~~~

Floyd Leech - "Risk" by Gracie Abrams

- oHohOHo, you're never gonna live this down PT. 3

- The moment he barges into Ramshackle in a poor mood, looking for his favorite Shrimpy to cheer him up, he freezes at the sound of you're voice.

- But not for long.

- One second, you're alone, singing as you do some chores, and the next second you're being spun around in Floyd Leech's arms as he laughs cheerfully.

- He loves your voice. Keep singing! He wants to dance with you while you do! Forget those boring chores! He's here now, so you can both have fun! You're so adorable he could squeeze you till you pop!

- You should come by the lounge sometimes and sing to him to make his shifts less boring. He's sure Azul wouldn't mind- and if he does, then you two can just leave and have your own party elsewhere!

- He will, without a doubt, demand that you sing to and for him at the most random of times, hell, he might even barge into the middle of your class in a foul mood and demand a serenade from his Shrimpy.

- If you truly won't sing to him, his mood may worsen and you won't see him for awhile while he sorts himself out, whereas if you do sing for him, he will immediately start to feel better.

- The best moment he could ask for to fix his mood, is laying beside you his head in your lap, while you sing. It helps him decompress, and feel so much better from whatever was overwhelming him or souring his mood.

"Shrimpy~! Nice set of pipes! Well, don't stop singing, let's dance together! I knew you'd be doin' something fun, you always cheer me right up!"

~~~

Can you guys tell that Octavinelle is one of my favorite dorms? Particularly the twins? Especially Floyd, his unpredictability with his mood swings are very relatable as someone with severe untreated ADHD and bipolar tendencies. I just think he's neat guys. And fun to write. Anyway! Merry Christmas everyone, and I'll see you next post! ~ Roo

Soooo, normally when I'm writing fanfiction guys, I try to keep the chapters between 3000 and 4000 words, but I'm thinking of making the chapters a little longer (between 5000 and 6000 words, maybe more) for Cult of the Lamb: Redemption because I have a lot of story to cover. Though I don't mind making a 100-chapter fanfic, I think I'd rather keep the number of chapters reasonable.

What do you guys think? Poll below:

A Christmas Miracle

Let it be known, that I adored twisted wonderland a long while ago when I was just a dumb highschooler, and now as a college student I've gotten back into it, and I have never been (nor will i ever be) as lucky as I am right now.

On another note, have y'all been seeing the Maxley TikTok stuff?

I haven't even thought about the Goofy movies since I was young, but I recently rewatched them, and holy shit, bro. That tension is unreal, and I told myself I wasn't going to write a fic about it, but I'm thinking of writing a short one anyway because I have an idea for it that no one else seems to have done but... Idk.

What do you guys think? And while I'm asking, what are y'alls favorite headcanons about the ship? So that if I do write it I have some ideas and preferences in mind.

The 12 Days of Twisted Wonderland - Prologue

Twisted Wonderland Writings Masterpost

Prompt: While talking with your fellow freshies about their plans for winter break, you get a bit homesick and tell them about some of the Christmas traditions of your world. So, they decided to look for a way to make NRC feel a little more like home to you before they all leave for winter break!

Reader: GN reader - They/Them pronouns and reader is called 'MC/Prefect.' MC is also directly implied to NOT be religious but still celebrates Christmas because... Lots of people who aren't religious do (me). Christmas is just awesome guys. And if you are religious then just ignore that part.

Included Characters: The Freshmen (Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Ortho, & Sebek), + Grim!

Warnings: Mild Swearing.

~~~

The chill in the air is nice. Not freezing cold just yet, the first snow of the season has yet to arrive, but with Halloween officially over, the rapidly growing chill in the air is a sign that winter is just around the corner.

Normally, there is a budding excitement inside your chest, almost instinctual, every time the weather starts to get colder. Looking forward to the holiday season. Friends, family, traditions, gift-giving, festive food, lights, colors...

Christmas.

In your world, it's a holiday based on a religion. A religion that doesn't exist in Twisted Wonderland (or at least not at NRC), hence, no one really knows any of the traditions surrounding it.

There is a ton of decorating for the winter season, though, that makes the whole place look like a Christmas Hallmark movie.

Maybe decorating things with lights, ornaments, colorful tassels and tinsel, pine branches, and holly is just a... Universal winter impulse- No matter what world you're in.

If you didn't know any better you'd think Christians just made up their religion to justify their decorating impulse every winter.

That said, growing up, you learned very early on, that just because the Christians made the holiday, didn't mean you had to be religious to celebrate it.

And you celebrated it every year back in your world.

But now... You'll be alone during winter break. Well, you'll have Grim to keep you company, and whatever chores Crowley forces your way to keep you occupied...

So instead of holiday spirit or Christmas gifts, you get seasonal depression this year... Great.

While everyone around you is buzzing happily, excited to get to go home soon. Gee, if only you could do that. (A dry sarcastic comment that you scoffed at Crowley yesterday and he simply coughed awkwardly and shuffled off to do absolutely nothing useful. Like usual.)

You try not to let it show on your face though, you don't want to be that guy dragging everyone's mood down after all.

Which works, for the most part. Until-

"Jeez, MC, what's up with ya today? You've been all sad-faced like a kicked pup' since we sat down." Epel is the first to notice.

You, and your freshmen friends (though Sebek might argue about the 'friends' part) all sat together to eat lunch outside, wearing a few extra layers to protect from the occasional cold breeze, but other than that it's quite nice out.

Clear sky, autumn leaves scattered on the ground, just chilly enough that if you breathe out real hard you can see your breath a bit.

Everything was just on the cusp of being a bit too cold, but not quite there yet.

Winter is right around the corner. Winter break is right around the corner.

"Oh, uh, just a little tired that's all." You quickly cover with a light laugh, looking at the others whose eyes are now on you and trying to remember what the conversation was.

"Huh? But you went to bed early last night!" Grim talks between bites of his sandwich, bread crumbs stuck in the fur on his chin that you grab a napkin from your bag and reach to wipe it off.

"Don't talk while you eat, you'll choke." You scold him, and he bats your hand away with a grumble of protest.

He hates it when you baby him like a parent with their toddler.

But if he hates it so much, maybe he should stop acting like a toddler so much, and you'd stop acting like his parent.

"Well, if it's not sleep, what is it MC? Is it winter break? Is Crowley gonna stick ya with chores like last time?" Epel cringes and Ace scoffs.

"What does that lousy headmage even do around here besides show up and push his work on everyone else?" Ace asks, leaning back resting his chin in his palm, elbow propped on the wooden picnic table.

"Well, he intrudes on our classes a lot." Jack's ears flick in irritation- one of the few students who doesn't appreciate Dire Crowley's interruptions that lead to him taking over the class to teach the easiest of nonsense that they all already know.

While there actual professors seeth in the corner. Professor Crewel actually saw him coming in once, and before the headmage could say a word, launched an empty glass beaker at him to keep him out.

You have never respected Crewel more.

Even if he made you clean up the mess.

"Say, you went to a school like NRC in your world, right, MC? What did you do on winter break back there?" Deuce asks, and that catches everyone's interest.

"Oh, right, with no magic your world is very different from ours, MC, what kind of classes do you even have in school there?" Ortho asks from next to you, and you smile.

"Well, more just general education, science, math, history, that kind of thing, and then in a college like this you take specialized classes for whatever career you planning on going into- and without magic, there are a lot more careers that humans have to do than here in the Twisted Wonderland." You explain.

"Hmph, your world sounds terribly inefficient if it has to rely on humans taking years to educate themselves to do jobs that would take magic and fae only moments." Sebek scoffs, arms crossed.

He's wearing his normal uniform, not a single extra layer, and when you offered him a spare scarf he yelled something about humans being so much 'weaker to temperature than fae', but even now, you can a slight shiver run through him every time a particularly cold wind blows through.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, well, we have a lot of nice things even without magic to help us get them. During winter break everyone got to go home to their families just like they do here, and a lot of them would celebrate the holidays..." You mumble solemnly.

"Holidays? What kind of holidays do ya have over there?" Epel asks, and something about the way he says that- 'over there' makes you snort a laugh.

Like you're just from a different country and not a whole different world.

"Lots. With so many countries, religions, and cultures- there are a lot of holidays year-round depending on who you are, your family, and where you live, yada yada... This time of year though, my family, and most of the world, starts getting ready to celebrate Christmas." You tell them, picking at your food that you haven't eaten much of yet.

"Christmas? What's that?" Ortho asks, and Deuce actually brightens.

"You told me about it! At Rook's birthday a few days ago! Something about exchanging gifts?" He asks to which Ace perks up.

"A holiday about giving gifts? Now that I can get behind!" Ace smiles, leaning forward expectantly.

"Well- yeah- you give gifts, but it's about more than that. It's about family, friends, and traditions... Every year, at the start of December, we'd go out and get a pine tree and we'd decorate it with colorful lights and ornaments, and the star on top! Never forget the star on top-" You start ranting about your Christmas traditions at home, a rush of familiar excitement bubbling up in your voice.

"And we'd spend all of the winter break having fun, ice skating, making snowmen & snow angels, sleigh rides, though nothing really beats decorating the house and tree, it's what sets the mood for the whole holiday, and the music! Oh, Cater, Lilia, and Kalim would loooove the Christmas music, it's so pop-y and cheesy, talking about the same stuff- a lot of romantic songs since Christmas is considered to be a really romantic season-" You list some things and they all look at you confused but you keep going.

"Wait, do you decorate the house or the tree?" Deuce asks.

"You cut down a living tree and bring it inside? That's incredibly unhealthy for the environment, not to mention unsanitary!" Sebek shouts, and you roll your eyes.

"In my world there a pine tree farms that grow small pine trees just for Christmas time- to keep anyone from cutting down wild ones. And there are tree skirts that catch the falling pine needles to keep things clean." You explain with a chuckle.

"Farms dedicated to pine trees? That sounds so strange. Sure, apples and other fruits, but just regular old pines?" Epel ponders, and Ace and Deuce nod along.

"What other traditions are there?" Grim ducks under your arm, settling down in your lap in a way that reminds you far too much of children sitting on Santa's lap asking for presents.

"Well, every Christmas, some people from my neighborhood would gather around and sing carols- which are Christmas songs sung by a group of people like a choir- in exchange for hot chocolate, I always loved having hot chocolate. Oh, and the ugly Christmas sweaters, I loved ranking them in my head on who had the worst, one year I saw a girl with a tacky bright blue one with hand-stitched reindeer and glitter glue- god it was awful but so funny." You pause, half tempted to grab some paper from your bag and draw it to show them.

"You know, we have hot chocolate here, right?" Jack raises a brown with a slightly amused smirk and you roll your eyes.

"And ugly sweaters, though not necessarily 'Christmas' themed." Ortho adds and that makes you laugh.

"Housewarden Vil would hate a tradition based around wearing something intentionally ugly. Can ya imagin' the look on his face?" Epel chuckles to himself, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Would you all stop interrupting! I wanna hear more, what about food? Is there any good food for Christmas?" Grim asks, looking up at you with sparkles in his eyes, that he only ever really gets when thinking about food.

"Ha! Leave it to you to be focused all on your stomach, Grim!" Ace teases, and you laugh, but continue anyway.

"Well, the baking was my favorite- at least to eat. Sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, thumbprint cookies, no-bakes, gingerbread, pudding pies. Traditionally, lots of people would make houses out of gingerbread cookies. And on Christmas day, the 25th of December, families would have a big feast, with ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and candied yams. That was after you opened all the presents though-"

"Wait, so this is all leading up to a Christmas day? That's when you get the presents?" Ace asks, and you smile and nod.

"Yep, so when you're a little kid, there's this fun fairytale about a guy named 'Santa Claus' who every year, on Christmas Eve, rides out on his sleigh, pulled by reindeer, and delivers gifts underneath people's Christmas trees for well-behaved children. When you get older, and obviously find out he's not real, it's still tradition to put the gifts you get under the tree and wait to open them until Christmas day." You pause for a moment thinking before reiterating.

"Though that depends on some things. Friends for example like to be there when you open the gift they give so they can see if you like it, so sometimes they give you your gifts to open early, which is fine too! The point is, Christmas is the season of giving. Showing people how much you care for them by getting them thoughtful gifts and spending time with each other." You smile looking up at the sky.

It's getting a bit cloudy. As is your mood.

"It's also considered to be a really romantic holiday. Where couples would chose to propose to each other as a Christmas gift, or little lovebirds would confess their feelings. My friends liked the whole mistletoe tradition- getting caught under a sprig of mistletoe with someone and having to kiss whoever's under it with you- it could end up really cute, or funny, or even downright awkward." You chuckle.

The memory of two of your old friends getting caught under one, and while one made funny smoochy faces, the other was pushing them away making a barfing sound surfacing in your mind.

You wonder how they're doing...

"That sounds like a terrible tradition! Being forced to kiss someone just cuz you got stuck under a dumb plant?" Grim cringes and you snort.

"It's not manditory, nor does it have to be on the lips or anything. I got caught under it once with a friend and we re-enacted a scene from a book were the knight dropped to his knees and kissed the princess's hand." You sighed fondly at the memory.

"So it's just a cute, non-serious tradition? I bet it'd make an awesome prank for people who take it seriously though." Ace smirks, a look in his eye that means he's definitley gonna drag you into one of his backfired messes later.

"Whatever you're planning, you better leave me out of it, Ace. I don't need to get in trouble with Riddle cuz you went and used my worlds traditions to prank people." You give him a waring look and he just smiles, and gives a playful wink.

"Hey! I'm not planning anything!" He scoffs in mock offence, but you sharpen your glare.

"You better not be."

"Say, what kind of gifts do you give on Christmas? Do they gotta be Christmas-y themed like everything else?" Epel asks, and pivots the conversation back to the holiday.

You spend the rest of lunch describing more Christmas traditions to them, ones your own family had, ones others had, and even some ways other countries celebrated.

Stockings above the fireplace filled with chocolates and small toys and trinkets, Santa Claus and his elves in the north pole-

That lead to Ace making a short joke to Epel while they were walking back to class, which got his ankles swiped from under him, landing on his ass in the hallway you all burst into laughter- outside of Sebek who made a loud shout about 'making a scene in the middle of the hall being unbefitting.'

His shout drew the attention of a passing Lilia and Cater who joined you all on your walk and Ace and Grim started ranting to them about everything you'd just told them about Christmas.

You watch silently as the two upperclassmen listen, just as intrigued as your fellow freshmen had been...

Twisted Wonderland isn't the worst world to have gotten stuck in. The friends you've made here. They make the idea of going home a really hard one to think about.

But all this talk about the holidays, and the upcoming loneliness as eveyone gets ready to leave campus- leaving you all alone... It's bringing your gloomy mood back in full force.

"You really do miss it, don't ya?" Epel interupts your thoughts and you look to see him staring at you as you walk side by side.

"... I do. The holidays here in Twisted Wonderland, and how there celebrated at NRC have been some of the most fun I've ever had in my life... But Christmas was really special to me. And it was a time for family and friends, so spending it alone is... hard." You sigh, suddenly feeling very tired, despite going to bed early like Grim oh-so-helpfully pointed out earlier.

"You know, maybe you could come stay with one of us for winter break? My meemaw wouldn't mind having a guest." Epel offers, and you smile at the kindness.

"Nah, I don't wanna intrude, plus Crowley's chores aren't that bad- I get them done pretty quickly, and then I have plenty of free time to fix up Ramshackle more."

"You know, I'm pretty sure that should be Crowley's job- you already do plenty of his chores to make up for your food and living expenses. You shouldn't have to fix Ramshackle up to." Jack, who's walking on the other side of you, points out.

"Yeah, but argueing with him ain't exactly easy... I'm think of talking to Professor Crewel about some things though, since he seems more... Reasonable then Crowley does." Speaking of Professor Crewel, you reach his class room, and the upperclassmen split up, heading towards their own class.

Ace and Deuce head inside and you pause to look at Epel and Jack one last time.

"Thank you guys for the concern though, I appreciate it, really." And you turn away.

Missing the thoughtful glance your two friends share.

~~~

"So! I think we all know why we're here today!" Epel smacks his hand on the desk in the empty classroom dramatically.

"Uh- not really, but go on." Ace raises a brow, feet proped on the desk he's sitting at, attempting to balance a pencil on his nose.

"We're here because of MC! Duh!" He shouts.

"Huh? What about 'em? They're fine." Ace shrugs, and Jack rolls his eyes from next to him, swiping the pencil away.

"They are far from 'fine' Ace! Didn't you see how homesick they got when talking about Christmas!? Or how sad they've look the last few days since!?" Epel crosses his arms, tapping his foot- before stopping quickly- the mannerism something far to similar to what Vil would do when scolding him.

"That's true! I've scanned them every time we meet up, and their vital always show lower than average levels of serotonin and dopamine! I've been meaning to ask them privately if they're okay, but I have yet to get the chance." Ortho informs, pulling up a screen from his arm to show the history of the last several times he's scanned the Prefect.

"Oh, well, they have been kinda down lately, haven't they?" Deuce brings a hand to his chin in thought, and Grim- who's standing on a desk in front of Deuce- scoffs.

"Down? They've been downright depressed is what they've been! So lost in thought and stuff, they burned dinner last night staring off into space all mopy and stuff!" The little dire beast pouts.

"They miss their home- or at least their friends and family. This is the time of year, that during Christmas, they would spend with them. And they can't do that now. They'll just be all alone on campus once we all leave. That's a pretty depressing thought." Jack rubs the back of his head, ears slightly drooping at the idea of not being able to see his own family during such a special holiday.

"Hey! They won't be alone! They'll have me!" Grim shouts indignatly.

"By the seven, that's even worse..." Ace shivers at the idea of being stuck alone with Grim for a whole two weeks.

"Hey! What the heck is that suppose to mean!?" Grim growls, and Ace rolls his eyes.

"That's enough! This ain't about you two! MC is our friend! They've done so much for us, and all of NRC! They don't deserve to feel so alone, stuck doing Crowley's dirty work when they should be enjoying time with their family! At there home!" Epel scolds, and Ace and Grim look away bashfully.

"Yeah, you're right, but... What are we supposed to do? It's not like we can send them home or anything. And there's not much good in trying to talk Crowley into being helpful- we already try that regularly." Ace runs a hand through his hair a troubled look on his face.

He's thought about this plenty of time. Talked about it with his dormmates too, and his fellow freshmen, but when it comes to helping the prefect, the don't really accept help easily, nor is there much they can do either.

Freshmen are kinda at the bottom of the food chain here at NRC, even the stronger ones like them, so there influence and ability to help is very limited.

"Obviously we can't, but me and Jack had an idea! So we called you all here- plus Sebek, but he's busy with Malleus stuff or whatever- so we'll fill him in later." Epel explains and meets Jack's eye- a determined nod from him and he announces the plan.

"We're gonna bring Christmas to NRC!"

...

"Huh!?"

The ripple of shock around the room is broken first by Ace.

"Whadda mean 'Bring Christmas to NRC!?' How the hell are we supposed to do that?" He shouts.

"Simple really! I made a checklist of all the things MC was talking about when describing Christmas, and we're gonna do them! Here, take a look!" He places the list in front of them.

1. Get a Christmas tree! (Pine prefered)

2. Decorate Tree & Ramshackle - Colorful lights, ornaments, and tinsil! (Reds, greens, whites, silver, gold, & blue colors! Reindeer, snowmen, snowflakes, mistletoe & holly and more are important designs!) DON'T FORGET THE STAR ON TOP THE TREE (Star - real? Maybe? Further information needed).

3. Bake them lots of cookies! (peanut butter blossoms, no-bakes, pudding pies, thumbprints, gingerbread, sugar cookies shaped like reindeer, candy canes, snowmen, etc.)

4. Throw a Christmas feast before leaving for winter break! (Ham, turkey, candied yams, mash potatoes and gravy, other sides)

5. Get them gifts! One from each of us! - REQUIRED!!

6. Wrap them in colorful wrapping paper!

7. Hide them until the 25th!

8. Sneak them under the tree before MC wakes up! (The Ramshackle Ghosts can help, and maybe Grim)

9. Happy MC when we all come back from break!!

10. Get the Housewardens in on it? - BIG MAYBE

11. DEAL WITH CROWLEY!!!

"Well, this is pretty thought out, I'll admit, but I'm not sure how... Acheivable it is." Ortho sighs.

"Especially the last goal." Ace adds.

"Oh, don't go giving up now! When MC's doing nice things for us, or getting us out of trouble- they never give up! I know that I'm going to do everything I can to cheer MC up and make sure they have a good Christmas, even if they can't have their family with them! Are you gonna help or not?" Epel nods resolute.

"Well, when you put it like that, there's no way I can bail out now, I'd be a total jerk to." Ace smirks, sitting back down.

"Agreed. MC always helps us out when we need it, and even when we don't they're always there for us. It's only fair that we return the favor for once!" Deuce smacks a fist into his palm, with a thoughtful look on his face that turns determined.

"The Prefect of Ramshackle has helped Nii-san a lot, and is always wonderful company! Seeing them so sad lately has been worrying. If this plan will make them feel better, then I will gladly help!" Ortho gets that look in his eyes like his just been issued a challenge in a game.

"Good. Now, this is all gonna be hard to accomplish, but it's gonna be even more difficult to do under there nose! So we need help. I'm thinking since the housewardens all owe MC a lot- they might help us do this for them." Epel mentions, picking up the list.

"Well, I know Trey can help us with baking, and Riddle might help find a way to deal with Crowley." Ace says, and Deuce nods in agreement.

"I can text them to meet us in the library later to talk about it." Deuce pulls out his phone.

"Hm, I don't thing Leona or Ruggie would be very interested in helping or going out of their way for anyone, even the Prefect, but I can mention it to them anyway." Jack hums

"I think if I yeild and promise to add a few more steps to my skincare routine, then Vil might help, Rook will help no problem... We might be able to ask Azul for help with food for the feast." Epel ponders.

"Azul? Hell, nah! And be in debt to him for the rest of our school lives for a measly ham and turkey? I'd rather try cooking it myself then that." Ace groans, and both Deuce and Grim shiver in terror.

The memory of the first time they were in Azul's debt still an open wound in their minds.

"Turn you and Grim loose in a kitchen? No offense, but I think I'll take my chance with the Leech twins." Jack huffs, shaking his head.

"I find Jade Leech and Floyd Leech of Octavinelle to be very fun and kind to me! I'm sure they will help the Prefect!" Ortho says optimistically, and everyone lets out an 'eeehhh'.

"What? You don't believe they would?" He looks around at them, and Ace snaps his fingers.

"I believe that you would be the best person to ask and find out! They're both pretty fond of you, so there's a higher chance they'll agree if you ask." He announces and Ortho nods.

"Alright! I will head to Mostro Lounge first thing after school tomorrow!"

"And we'll see about cookies and talking to Riddle." Deuce adds.

"I'll see about finding some decorations, Mr. S might have some stuff we can use. Maybe I can get Leona to help pay for some of it. He is kinda soft on MC, even if he won't admit it." Jack smiles.

"And I'll talk to Sebek, he'll be in charge of getting a good pine tree- and then me and Grim will talk to the ghosts in Ramshackle to make sure they'll help us hide our gifts for them and leave them under the tree on Christmas Eve!"

And like that, the plan is formed.

Now, it's time to put it into action.

Christmas at NRC!

MERRY CHRISTMAS MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cult of the Lamb: Redemption - Chapter #2 Preview

(Thoughts and opinions are welcome - be nice!)

Guilt - Narinder

Perhaps it was naive of him to think he could tolerate the pain.

Turning over onto his back is a motion that now that he's done, he thought he knew what to expect. But instead, the pain is just as piercing as before.

Still, he's able to push through it.

The idea of using his arms to push himself up, however?

He's tried twice now, and each time, his arms have cramped up, shaking violently as he falls back into place. His wrists are the worst, and he doesn't need to open his eyes to know there's scaring marring the fur around them.

He's sure it looks as awful as it feels.

No. Perhaps it feels worse. He can get over what it looks like, but this pain... He's not sure when it's going to stop. If it ever will.

What he is sure of is that he isn't letting it beat him. He tolerated the pain of his chains and being trapped in place for long enough. He will no longer let the phantoms of his torment hold him down.

Even if it means suffering with every movement he makes.

And damn, does he suffer.

He tries to use his legs, to push himself up and take some weight off his arms, but much to his dismay, his legs are in no better condition. Still, he persists.

His whole body is shaking by the time he shoves himself back up against the wall, in some semblance of a sitting position. He is damn near breathless and wants nothing more than to go back to sleep again and deal with his hunger later.

But he's worked too hard to give up now. Opening his eyes, it is dark in the room, the only light coming from the window to his right. It's just enough sunlight to make his eyes water, so he turns his head to the left.

The mixed meal is on the nightstand just next to the bed, and easily within arm's reach. He takes a long moment to relax before attempting to grab the food.

He's dizzy from his efforts.

He should try to organize his thoughts, but the task seems even more impossible than moving.

He was chained for centuries. Found a Lamb to kill the Bishops- his siblings, and free him. The Lamb kills the Bishops. The Lamb proceeds not tofree him but defeats him instead and steals his crown. They spare his life rather than kill him. Then force him to join their cult as a mere follower.

There is... A lot to unpack there.

Thinking about it all still brings forth an overwhelming surge of emotions that he's still not ready to face.

But what other option does he have? When he was chained, all he could do was boil and fester with rage. Plotting his vengeance, waiting.

Waiting.

Always. Fucking. Waiting.

~~~

Enjoy this preview of chapter #2, it will be out tomorrow on Ao3 at noon, and on Tumblr around 8:30. (I even set an alarm so I won't forget this time!)

Chapter #2 of my fanfiction, Cult of the Lamb: Redemption is out now on Ao3! Half an hour early too! It's Rooney_2108, and the full chapter will be out here on Tumblr tonight around 8:30ish pm. Narinder is still in pain and says some mean things. Lamb is also, no longer having a good time. Hope you all enjoy reading!