hetalia_kink | Hetalia kink meme part 27

Hetalia kink meme part 27

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From the moment you awake your capabilities for magic you will quickly be faced with a choice. If no one tells you about it you'll eventually start to wonder on your own. What will you do with all this power? There will always be some magic that suit you better then others, and most mages that Arthur had met always ended up choosing to practice what they already felt good at. Only a handful seriously attempted to become jack of all traits and get a little knowledge of everything. But those who succeeded tended to be very respected. Of course after they had been ridiculed for trying for many years.

But regardless, as you kept dwelling in the matter of magic, be it during your short school years or in private you would eventually start to wonder what your goal with all of this was?

Did you do it for power? Or for the future study of magic itself?

Those two seemed to be equally noble goals for other mages that Arthur had met. Not that strange as they tended to go hand in hand often.

I wonder how Lukas is doing...

Arthur felt that his thoughts were drifting. He decided to quickly excuse himself from Vladimir and left the buss on the next stop. He could walk himself home despite the rain.
He did his best to shut out the pulse of magic around him. London was filled with lay lines of magic, a city with such a history, he wasn't surprised.

As he managed to get home he quickly hang up his coat and threw a few pieces of wood into the fireplace before he lit it.

He realized only afterwards that he'd used his magic to increase the size of the fire and heat up the pot of tea water.

Sometimes you did things like that on reflex without thinking about it.

But once he had his cup of tea ready and crawled up into the chair with his slippers and warm blanket he noticed that his mind was still racing.

Still thinking about Lukas, and just a tiny bit worried about Vladimir. Couldn't be helped. Anyone who was compatible with Death magic just made him feel a little concerned. Even if he knew that in practice the only people who could be sincerely worried of a mage mastering the arcana of Death were already dead.

Despite that Vladimir wasn't crazy.

Then again of all the mages Arthur knew Lukas wasn't the one he thought would...
He swallowed the rest of the tea and accidentally burnt his tongue.

I should study more.

Arthur never really liked people, after he had awakened as a mage he felt that he'd gotten along with people even less. Realizing that he was compatible with the arcana of Forces, the very elements in the world, gave him a sense of superiority that, combined with his dislike for social interaction in general, made him even more lonely.

And Lukas had been a loner, just like himself.

-
First chapter up! I can't decide if I should go with Norway/England or Spain/England. This might turn into some sort of trouble eventually. Not to mention that I wouldn't mind throwing in the other characters OP liked to ship with England somehow.
I'll try to not have this to long since I have a bad track record at committing to long projects. If OP has any questions or want me to clarify something go ahead and ask.

So, just got around to reading it and I love it. The writing feels very nice and gives off a nice vibe, puts you into the right mood. I hope to see more of this.

OP here! This is so awesome! Thank you so much for filling. I didn't expect a long fic, so I'm super excited to see what you do with this. I can never pick between Spain and Norway myself XD I'm excited to see who you settle on~

A!A, this is really quite a pleasure to read already. I know the pairing I would like personally, but I shall not sway you, as OP wants to leave it up to you, and I respect that 100%. Whichever pairing you choose, I'll be reading all the way. Though, some period of indecision on Arthur's part would be entertaining. I absolutely love your style, and how you put so much of Arthur's character in the very narration itself. You've sucked me into the world already.

Paradox

The world as we know it is bound by physical laws of the universe. This is, at least for mages, a half truth. It is built by the laws of the physical universe since the many humans that inhabited it willed it to be so.

It wasn't strange, everyone wants the world to make sense around them. No matter how much children, or adults for that matter, dream of a world filled with the supernatural they wouldn't actually want to live in it.
For it wouldn't make any sense for them, and they'd be utterly powerless.

Arthur woke up when he realized that he'd nodded of.
His head felt dizzy.
Regardless of what he told himself falling asleep in the afternoon was never good for him. It had already gotten dark again outside. He stretched and then rubbed his eyes.

Time for the next job.

And this job would take the rest of the night. He slowly walked towards the kitchen to make a second cup of tea. He roamed around his fridge for some suitable marmalades as the water was boiling normally.

I should get better eating habits...

He could keep telling himself that.

When he'd heaved down two toasts and a cup of tea he felt more awake again. He hurried to take a shower. For a moment he considered to heat the water with his magic but then decided it was unnecessary, he needed to wake up, not fall asleep.
But he did save a good amount of electricity this way.

-

Discrete magic was good, kept you in touch with yourself and had a very low chance of causing paradox.

While working as a bartender wasn't exactly something proud mages should be doing as far as Arthur considered. He couldn't decide if it was better or worse then getting caught doing party tricks for children.
But he was hired for the wizard part. Or rather they were looking for a bartender that stood out, and “wizard” in this case meant more that you were supposed to be playing card tricks and hiding coins for the costumers.

He had a few tricks up his sleeves within the two Arcanas he practiced, but it felt a little anticlimactic to see the costumers amazement when he made a glass float just above the bench when he knew that he might as well conjure a thunderstorm inside of the bar.

Not that the thunderstorm inside the bar would last.

After all sudden thunderstorms inside doesn't make that much sense to normal humans. Actually if the thunderstorm would continue to exist inside Arthur would be more concerned about just what sort of visitors the bar had, as they must be high or mentally ill to so rapidly accept something like an inside thunderstorm appearing without any warning.

The first two hours ticket on like nothing.
Arthur tried to not drift of to other thoughts about magic and instead spent his time wondering if he should get another tattoo sometime soon. Of course last time he got one he had deeply regretted it but in due time he came to love it. Maybe he should head of to the library tomorrow, he didn't have anything booked during the day so he should do something to keep him from sleeping the day away. Maybe a good book or some embroidery.

He suddenly saw a familiar face in the crowd and that made him tense up.

I thought....I thought he was still up at the countryside. What is HE doing back here in the city?

Arthur felt that he started to sweat, and his mind was racing. Lukas didn't just show up out of nowhere and for no reason.
But this was dangerous, he had to do something. He thought that they'd come to terms when Lukas decided to leave the city and move out on the countryside. It would....suit him allot better. Then he could do whatever he wanted and he wouldn't harm anyone.

Lukas didn't make a fuss about it. As usual, he looked completely like himself with those blue and white square patterned shirt that Arthur in the beginning thought looked silly. As well as that hairpin that just made the man look girly.

The first time they met Lukas had really worn a long dark blue dress and first Arthur thought he was a girl. Then he thought he was a cross dresser. Turned out it was just something related to the shamanic practices Lukas had specialized in.

“What can we offer you?”

Arthur pressed out between his teeth, trying to be on his best behavior.

“Just water.”

Arthur sighed. It didn't seem like Lukas was trying to make conversation. He just glanced to the empty bar stool on his right as if he was looking at something, or someone. Arthur turned around and poured Lukas a glass of water. But once he'd got back to his costumer and acquaintance he was already gone.

He left a note though.

Well neither of them had mastered something like telepathy. But it was a good sign that Lukas didn't try to communicate with him through the help of magic.

Maybe he really is feeling better...

Arthur cast the thoughts aside. How Lukas felt or didn't wasn't important here. Had he told others that he was back in town? Did Vladimir or the council members know?

And if they didn't should Arthur tell them?

There had been a question on what to do with Lukas over a year ago now. But he'd volunteered to move out of the city. Said he had some people he could live with out on the countryside. Of course he'd be supervised.
At least that's what they said. Arthur guessed that those higher ups just wanted to get Lukas out of their hair.

You don't force things out in reality that's not supposed to be there. The backlash of the paradox is horrible.

It hurts you. It hurts those around you. It makes you insane. You sink into Quiet. You start hurting yourself and other. You misuse your powers. You become a risk, and liability.

Arthur had heard it hundreds of times from the council members in Londons court. Most of the time when you use magic there's always the small risk of paradox, just using magic is tearing and manipulating the world around you.

There was something about Lukas having a younger brother that he needed to help. Lukas had always been in tune with the arcana of Life and the arcana of Spirit and probably saw it as a natural thing to help his sick brother.
That single incident shouldn't have been enough for a banishment.

Arthur couldn't relate as much. He had never been close to his brothers in the first place and once he'd awakened his powers he only saw more reason to distance himself from an already distant family.

He decided to leave early, he couldn't focus on his job when the note Lukas left burnt like fire in his pocket. He didn't dare to open it here, since he noticed it was infused with some sort of magic that would activate upon opening it. Normally no mage would do something so risky.
Normally.

-

“Hello!”

Arthur was pulled from his thoughts of paradox and arcana by a happy voice. He looked up from where he was standing and waiting for the buss when he saw Antonio coming towards him with quick steps.

“...Hello.”

Arthur tried to clear his mind of all the supernatural subjects that had occupied him until now. Didn't want to make a slip like that in front of a normal human.

“Where are the kids?”

He asked.

“Oh Lovino and Feliciano is staying with their mother right now. I just dropped them off.”

Divorce. Too private, should try to change the subject.

“I see....Ah bloody weather don't you have an umbrella?”

He glanced at the happy Antonio who was positively soaked.

“Oh I had to leave it behind.”

He shrugged.

“It's not so bad I don't have to walk so far-

Arthur interrupted him mid sentence by unfolding his umbrella and handing it over.

“Here.”

Antonio looked at him dumbfounded.

“I can't take your umbrella.”

Antonio said.

“Doesn't matter. My buss is coming anyway.”

Sadly though, the buss was, for some reason delayed.

That's just my goddamn luck.

He snatched the umbrella back from Antonio.

“Fine I keep my umbrella but walk you home.”

“That's very kind of you-

“It's just because you're living in the same direction. I need to make a good impression on my costumers.”

He more or less mumbled. Antonio only seemed to find it amusing though as he laughed.

“I can guarantee you that you're the best wizard for hire I've ever met.”

“Just how many wizard for hire have you met...”

Luckily for Arthur Antonio was pretty good at keeping the conversation going by himself. Seemed like he had married a beautiful girl once but the relationship didn't last. There didn't seem to be any conflict at the moment though so Antonio didn't shy from the subject.
Bella, as he called her, seemed to have found herself a new guy so he preferred to let her keep the twins for longer, since they were a two people household.
Arthur admitted that he found it a little strange that he could speak so fondly of someone who was his divorced wife. He spoke of her not as someone he disliked, but saw as a dear friend.

“You two are still friends?”

For some reason his curious side got the better of him and he asked.

“Friends? Ah well the problem with our relationship is that friends was the only thing that we were.”

In retrospect Arthur wasn't sure why he did it but he turned on his mage sight.
Not the one related to Forces, the control of energies but the one to Prime, the use and abuse of the magical material itself. Seeing all primal form of magic in his surrounding allowed him to see leylines, where magic has been planted and most importantly. Mages making use of magic.

It was only for a second but he saw the outlines of a man standing just a few meters away. Clearly making use of some sort of magic or he wouldn't have spotted him in the first place. But the next second what he saw was gone.

Space magic?

The art of space magic was making use and exploit the physical space around you. For example making a keyhole momentarily expand to allow you to see through it or even walk straight into a looked room. It also contained the art of teleportation or moving through portals as well as seeing places far of where your normal eyes could not. So if a mage were to just suddenly disappear in front of you Arthur would guess on Space magic even if, of course the options were as varied as there were kinds of Arcana.

He still ended up leaving his umbrella with Antonio but hurried back home to his apartment. The moment he properly locked the door behind him he opened the note Lukas had left with him.

I shouldn't have got distracted like that.

The first thing that happened was that all of Arthurs apartment was covered in a strange glow.

Great he really was crazy.

The image of his apartment kept distorting until he couldn't make out any details other then the now bronze colored haze that surrounded him. He could still see his hands perfectly fine.

He saw Lukas step out from the strange haze, carrying what looked like a small imp on his left shoulder.
Arthur felt annoyed.

“Why are you doing this? Dragging me all the way into the spirit realm just to talk. I thought you'd changed.”

Lukas only tilted his head, the imp left his shoulder and seated itself on the ground in between them.

“Five minutes then we're kicking him out.”

It said with a spitting tone before it disappeared into the haze.

“I needed to make sure nothing had happened to you.”

Lukas said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“This is something happening to me!”

“It's completely safe.”

Lukas calmly insisted. Arthur didn't feel that calm though. He felt angry. But the next thing that Lukas said got him on other thoughts.

“There's a Marauder loose here in London”

A Marauder. Mages that had fallen so deep into the madness of Quiet that it had become permanent and they started to view reality differently. It was to the extent that reality started to wrap itself around the mage in question. It was dangerous not only due to the risks that came with misused magic towards mages.
Mortals risked being in allot of danger if they met a creature who would bend reality to its own will. Not to mention that the Marauder itself probably wouldn't understand just what danger it posed to others.

“And you can't tell the council because they don't listen to someone who's already considered to be a threat. Do you know that they fear you falling.”

Lukas stood silent for a moment before he spoke again.

“Don't you think it's strange Arthur. They're spending all this time and resourced on me, a potential threat, rather then dealing with this Marauder who is already a proved itself to be a danger.”

Arthur shrugged.

“They probably don't know about him. I'll have the case reported as soon as I can. Will it make you get out of town?”

“No I'm hunting him down myself.”

Of course.

“Why? You got bored all of sudden?”

“I don't trust that anyone else will go after him.”

Arthur scratched the back of his neck. If Lukas wanted to hunt down a Marauder by himself then why should he stop him? Maybe it would serve as a way for him to prove himself to the court in London that he was stable again.

“Could you at least give me the details about this Marauder.”

-

I thank all of the readers for showing interest in this! Your comments make me very happy and motivated to work even harder with this! I hope there's not to much info dump happening at once.

I was the third commenter above. Just wanted to let you know I still love it just as much after reading this second part. I am amazing at how quickly things are going. Although, I wasn't sure what to expect. I like Lukas's part. It is a lot of information, but you presented it in an interesting, compelling, exciting way. Certainly enough to keep me reading. :)

The next day it was still raining. Arthur peeked out from beneath his covers and out the window. There was no sign of the rain letting up.

At least I have a spare umbrella...

He got up and drank an aspirin to kill the headache he woke up with. Then after eating his toast and drinking his tea he took his umbrella and headed out on the crowded street.

He was going to the library.

Lukas is back in town. And he's hunting down a Marauder, on his own.

Arthur was going through the facts in his head. He wanted to inform the higher ups about it. But Lukas words were nagging in the back of his head. That they should have done something about this already, and that even if Arthur said something they wouldn't trust him.

What does Lukas know. He hasn't been here for an entire year! Besides he's crazy, or at least as close as you can get to it.

-

The library was located below a building not far from the British Museum. Even if it had tempted many to relocate to under the actual museum building it would be far easier for normal people to spot what was going on.

“Don't you think sleepers should just awaken already?”

Arthur looked up from the dusty tome he was studying. Vladimir was sitting across the table, seeming to study a map of the London metro. What for Arthur wasn't certain.

“That's be quite troublesome.”

Imagine all the bloody administration.

The higher ups seemed to have trouble managing the twenty-something mages that were already living in London.

“Besides not all people can awaken.”

“How do you know that?”

Vladimir asked, his smile mischievous. Arthur only gave him a displeased grunt in response. In a sense Vladimir was right, it's not like they were going around putting all people on trial, or even people they might suspect could awaken as mages.

“It's just a next step, people have to stop being so afraid of change and progress.”

“Well when it happens it happens right. Who are you to affect the natural progress of change?”

Arthur couldn't help but to feel a little smug. Vladimir got visibly annoyed and then pushed for changing the subject.

“What are you reading about anyway? I saw you drag that dusty book in her but you haven't turned a page since you opened it.”

“I'm just trying to make sense of things. Things like Marauders, demon worsh-

He was about to keep going when he noticed that Vladimir had turned strangely pale.

“Why the sudden interest?”

Vladimir asked him.

Should I tell him the details? No not yet, I'm still in the middle of researching this, I don't want to spread panic and clearly, he looks a bit uptight from this.

“I just realized I didn't know much.”

“What is there to know. They're people with completely warped minds. Like ticking time bombs. To me that's another good reason why sleepers should be encouraged to awaken already. They can't defend themselves against things like that.”

Arthur couldn't help but to think of Lukas situation, how his....acquaintance had been so easily accused of misusing magic, but from what Arthur saw himself Lukas seemed....at least not to bad. He could be talked to and reasoned with.

“Maraduers are still fellow mages-”

He jumped when he heard Vladimir slam his head down on the wooden table. The candle in the middle was standing perfectly still though.

“They're stuck in a permanent Quiet! They're mad and there's nothing that can be done about it except ending their misery before they hurt anyone else, be it mages or sleepers.”

Arthur decided to end the discussion there, and excused himself saying that he had proper studied to attend to, and that Vladimir was right, there wasn't that much more to say about Marauders.

-

Still no better weather. It was just passed lunch time and Arthur had grabbed a wrap of fries that he was chewing on for the lack of better inspiration on what to eat.

”Ivan Braginski. That's his name....I've been trying to locate him for almost a week now. But he keeps evading me.”

“You think that he knows you're hunting him?”

“Maybe. What makes me even more concerned though is that I think he's kidnapping children.”

“That seems...Well if he's really a Marauder there could be almost any reason, his “reality” isn't the same as ours. What makes you think he's kidnapping them?”

“I found out about his existence when he tried to kidnap Eirik. And while I haven't managed to catch him myself I saw two small children dressed in rags disappear into what looked like a rift of some sort. I didn't have the time to conjure a familiar to chase after. But I'm relatively certain that he's using the arcana of Space amongst others.

Space that reminds me of.... As Arthur looked up from his own feet he saw a familiar face just running across the street carrying his umbrella in one hand while pressing his cellphone against his right ear with the other. He was chatting on with a somewhat concerned expression on his face.

What are the odds? But I should probably avoid him...

He found himself linger just a second to long before Antonio noticed him and gladly waved at him to come over. When he didn't Antonio seemed to quickly take the matter into his own hand, excuse the person he was talking to on the phone and hurry over to Arthur.

“Three days in a row? You know this must be fate.”

Antonio said and smiled, like a small contained sun in the otherwise generally gray and rainy London. He then glanced down to the small paper bag of fries that Arthur was holding. Then he looked back up at him.

“Unless you mind I think fate is telling me to buy you some lunch. It's a thank you for the umbrella and pleasant walk last night.”

As Arthur looked over Antonios shoulder he did see that they actually were standing only a few meters from a lunch restaurant.

Fate he said...

Arthur was about to decline when the sound of his stomach betrayed him much to his own embarrassment. Just how long was it since he had a proper meal.

-

“So the kids should be staying at their mothers place?”

Arthur asked as he was twirling pasta around his fork. Antonio nodded, mouth full and then swallowed.

“That's how it should be, seems Bella came down with a cold though so I'll get them back tonight again. Might as well, if they fall ill it'd be troublesome to take care of them if she's still sick.”

What about that guy she was seeing?

Arthur asked the question to himself but didn't say anything. Antonio was probably only looking for reasons to spend more time with his children. But taking care of two kids, and if one of them were already catching the cold from their mother? Kids got sick all the time at that age. Not that Arthur would know from experience, but it was something he'd heard.

“She said she would be alright but her voice on the phone betrayed her. If I'll give them a few days of she'll have time to recover to take care of them. Better to shift around the burden so not all of them has to be sick at the same time. Besides we don't live far apart.”

Antonio then continued to eat. Arthur felt that he had drifted of somewhat during Antonios monologue. It was a long time since he had a proper meal, and if he was going to help Lukas hunting down this Marauder.

“If you would let me, I could help you babysit.”

Antonio almost dropped his fork into the pasta plate.

“You could do that?”

“Just for a few hours!”

Antonios genuine expression of gratitude made him feel embarrassed. It would have probably made anyone feel embarrassed. Arthur cleared his throat and tried to explain himself properly.

“I'm freelancing at the same time as I'm studying and...a few hours should be fine before I have to get...back to my projects.”

-

I. Am. An. Idiot!

He threw his shoes out from his hallway so they landed somewhere in the small livingroom, probably wetting the carpet pretty bad. He was studying? Well that wasn't a lie but how was he going to make the lie believable? It's not like he could tell Antonio that he was studying magic for the general benefit of the community of mages. That by the way exist and while they're certainly not ruling London they have allot more influence then you might expect them to.

But it shouldn't be so bad. He just had to make a proper plan, plan is arguments.

I should contact Lukas somehow. Telling him he has to start his “hunt” on his own. They're small kids I shouldn't be stuck there more then a few hours...it's still pay.

He almost felt bad for demanding Antonio to pay him anything. He lounged himself over his armchair and looked up at the single lamp hanging from the roof. He had needed to change the bulb for some time now....Nothing that a simple magic trick would Forces could solve though. He just needed to snap his fingers and the electricity would start running. At least for a while.

But for once he was fed though. He decided to make a cup of earl gray tea and turn on the lamp. If he was going to look after a pair of kids and then go out and “hunt” for a rouge mage he should take the time to sleep now rather then later.

-

(Here's the next update! I hope you don't mind antagonist Russia, I know it's been done before but I look forward to try making him an interesting and multi-layered character as well. He's a Marauder for a reason.)

Anon is back to commend A!A on great world-building. I love that about this fill. That, and Arthur's general attitude.

As Arthur woke up he realized that his back was hurting. As he tried to move he and fumble for anything like a blanket he cursed internally for falling asleep in his chair.
Again.

-

“Welcome!”

Antonio looked glad to see him. Truth be told Arthur himself didn't feel all that happy. He was lost in thoughts. He'd tried to stop thinking about Lukas and the problems surrounding him.

“Please come inside. I'll take the time to make us dinner.”

Arthur only had time to take of his coat until he could hear that Antonio was working with trying to calm one of the children down.

“Si si Lovino. Here look the cat wants a hug.”

When Arthur entered the living room he saw that it was a mess. There were toys in different piles scattered around. The living room table looked like it needed to be wiped and there were some stains on the floor.
Antonio was busy trying to convince one of the twins, Arthur presumed Lovino, to stop crying. The other one, Feliciano, sneezed.
Arthur decided to make a quick work of it and took one of the paper towels that was lying on top of the living room table to dry Felicianos noose.

“There there...”

He muttered just for the sake of saying something and then eyed Antonio who seemed to finally notice what kind of situation he'd been caught in.

He smiled, and seemed a little embarrassed.

“Lovino, Feliciano. You remember Arthur right? Did you know that he's wizard?”

Lovino didn't seem very impressed and instead settled for silently sulking. Feliciano on the other hand seemed to look up at Arthur with a fascinated expression.

“I don't really have my tools with me...”

Arthur glanced around the apartment. There were plenty of things he might be able to improvise some magic with though, if he was just given the time to think. Then again for kids this age you might not even need magic to make them convinced he was a wizard. He took another of the paper towels on the table, and dug through his pocket to find a coin.

“You see this coin here?”

Feliciano seemed to be completely entranced by the simple coin trick and Lovino was at least quiet and did pay attention. Even if he was still sulking.
Anotino gave him one of those genuine smiles again that made Arthur feel strangely embarrassed before the father of two disappeared out to the kitchen to finish that dinner he promised just a few minutes ago.

Antonio didn't stay long in the kitchen though before he came out with a somewhat panicked expression.

“We're out of milk. You think you could keep this in order while I hurry to the store?”

Arthur looked up just as he revealed that he'd hidden the coin behind Lovinos left ear.

“How long?”

Arthur could recall that he saw a small grocery store just nearby the apartment building. Antonio wouldn't be gone for long, and dragging the two kids out, especially when Feliciano might be getting sick tonight, would be very unnecessary.

“Just ten minutes”

Antonio held up both of his hands to illustrate.

“Get going. I'm not leaving anywhere.”

He noticed that Feliciano was trying to grab the coin from his hand. Lovino, on the other hand, was casting glances at Antonio. The kid must be understanding that his father was leaving the apartment.

“You're an angel Arthur.”

Anotnio was then quick to add.

“But you're the most angel like Feli and Lovi.”

He lift up both of the kids and kissed them on each cheek before putting them back down in the couch. Lovino was, of course, trying to resist the kiss and the hug yet seemed to protest even after Antonio had let go of him. Seemed like he was at that age when he was impossible to please.

Just after Antonio had left Arthur tried to set up some doll house that Feliciano seemed to insist that he wanted to play with. Lovino was still sitting on the couch, sulking.
Feliciano seemed to play happily with allot of energy despite the fact that his nose had started running even more, and Arthur had already collected a pile of snot filled paper towels next to the doll house.
But things seemed to be going fine since Lovino wasn't craving his attention at the same time and he was sitting still.

So far so good...

But just as a thunderstorm is bound to come just because you say that it at least isn't raining Arthurs luck suddenly turned to the worse.

He felt dizzy.

At first he presumed he had just caught Felicianos cold and that it had to be a fever brewing. Sadly only Life magic works well against preventing diseases. But it wasn't a fever and the livingroom they were sitting in started to look blurry. Feliciano was playing on carefree as before. But Lovino had curled up sitting in the couch, hiding his face behind his knees.

“Lovino.”

When Arthur called out to the kid and tried to stand up he felt as if he was drunk. He had to support himself towards the edge of the table to not tumble over.

What's going on here?

Then he activated his mage sight for Prime. Prime that let him see the flowing of magic within the world itself, and then he noticed something strange.

What is...the kid doing?

Lovino was surrounding himself with magical energy, the amount flowing from him wasn't large but it was in all means uncontrolled.

The child was doing this unconsciously!

And the first thing that Arthur reasoned, was that he had to make him stop. Maybe the kid had already awakened but didn't understand what had happened in his reality. Or maybe he was just at the brink of awakening and for some reason, was trying to use magic to....To what?

“Lovino stop!”

After what to Arthur seemed like an eternity he managed to walk over to the side of the couch were Lovino was sitting and shook him to call to his attention.

The moment he did the livingroom returned to normal. It felt as if he had been let outside from a sauna and he could breath properly once more. Lovino was still not looking at him, but the kid was obviously sniveling.

“Are...ar...yu...a real...wi...wizard?”

Arthur wasn't sure just what he could answer to that.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Feliciano had turned all of his attention towards Arthur and Lovino. It looked like he was about to start crying himself. From his point of view, all he saw was that Arthur had suddenly yelled at his brother and Lovino had now started crying.

“I...”

How old could these kids be? Five at most. Would they even understand if he explained it to them? And if Lovino was possibly a mage but not Feliciano that was something he had to take into consideration as well.
Arthur had become completely distant from his siblings the moment he understood that he had awakened as a mage. For a brief second the scenario of the twin brothers living separate lives, never being honest and connecting with each other from such a young age flashed through his mind.

How would Antonio take something like that?

I...I have bumped into Antonio allot lately haven't I? Antonio said that it was almost like fate.

He didn't have any more time to consider just how he was going to explain these circumstances to Antonio before his mage sight spotted a cluster of magical energy taking shape just behind Feliciano.

No...

He only had to move a meter to grab Feliciano before the cluster of magical energy bended the space around the room causing a person to suddenly, for the normal mortal eye, out of nowhere materialize just in front of him.

The large man had a serene expression, and dressed as if he had been walking outdoors in the winter. He was holding out his arms, looking at the empty space now between them where Feliciano had been sitting on the floor just a second ago. He seemed somewhat confused for a second, and then he looked up at Arthur, still seeming puzzled by the sudden turn of events.

And then Arthur felt that reality was starting to distort all around him.

A cold wind hit him suddenly. He was in the middle of a snowstorm.

Bloody hell!

Had the Marauder, no he did have a name. Had Ivan Braginski used some sort of Space magic to actually move Arthur to another location? Or maybe he had used Mind magic to just trick his senses. Considering that the man was a walking paradox it didn't really matter. The snow storm would be lethal for Arthur regardless.

He looked around.

“Feliciano!.....Lovino!”

Now answer. It wasn't dark yet he couldn't see anything like a sky or a sun. There were just whirling winds will with ice and snow around him.

This must be...the reality that Ivan has trapped himself within?

The man had dressed strangely for the weather.

I have to get out of this place and get Ivan away from the kids. If they get dragged into this place the-

He saw something. It looked like the small frame of a person come running towards him. As he narrowed his eyes he finally saw that it looked like a young girl. Maybe a year or two older then the twins he was looking after. She was dressed in rags, her hair long and her features pale. He saw her stumble, and then for some reason she was gone.

I need to force back this wind or I'll freeze to death before I can find anyone.

He didn't need to mumble any phrases or take any considerations with his magic. He was within the mindscape of someone who was already living a life engulfed in magic.

It´s impossible to get the backlashes of paradox when reality has become so wrapped and undefined.

He gathered his thoughts and tried to grab the strong winds that hit him. His specialty within the Forces arcana was the controlling of elements after all so he forced the wind to bend to his will. With a mere gestures and words he'd conjured up a spell that would force the wind to retreat from him. The clouds of the sky started to break apart as wind pulled them further away from him. A slight glimpse of sun showed itself and the snow on the ground was blown away, revealing dead tiny flowers and brown grass.

Just as Arthur was convinced that he would manage to sort this mess out and make some sense of Ivans mind an immense force pushed him back.

The winds grew stronger and he saw small ice structures starting to take shape from the ground.

It seemed like Ivan had taken notice of the intruder. But the resistance from his mind was basic, almost as if he was treating his magic in the same way as Lovino, as an instinct and without consideration. Ivan Braginski was treating his magic like an uneducated child would. Arthur guessed that Ivan hadn't understood just what his mind had let in. Arthur would consider himself a competent mage, he just never got the credit or pay that he actually deserved.

But he hadn't figured out any way that he could escape from this place, and the constant assault from Ivans mind made it difficult for him to sit and think of a plan. But if he didn't do anything to force back this snowstorm he would die. For a second he wondered just what had happened to the girl he saw before. If it would be possible to locate and save her.

But he couldn't see what was going on outside of the sphere he had created around himself. The snowstorm was raging out even more so violently and he had to put all of his attention to just keep it at bay.

What if I run out of mana? Is that even possible in a place like this?

He had started to spend whatever mana he had absorbed over many days in order to maintain the spell. Small tricks can be done by themselves, put controlling the weather like this demanded a certain price. Just how much did Ivan have?

He must be collecting it unconsciously from. No I don't want to think about that.

No when he got out of here he would have to tell Antonio everything about what had happened to one of his sons. There was no way of going around it. That was presuming that Ivan didn't manage to kidnap either of the twins. Oh and it also presumed that he would get out of here alive, which right now didn't seem that likely.

He would soon get painted into a corner if he couldn't think of any better plan then just attempting to push the lethal snow storm away from him.

Then he saw something at the corner of his eye. The grass was turning green, the flowers were starting to regain their color and raise from the ground, turning towards what little sun that still up in the sky. Then they started to grow, and they grew at a rapid speed. Plants, grass, trees themselves sprouted from the ground shielding Arthur from the cold wind.

Flowers, plants, the manipulation of things living.

Life magic. But who- Lukas?

Was Lukas here?

Just as he was started wondering he saw one of the trees opening up a large crack that Lukas jumped out of. He seemed calm enough for suddenly stepping into what must seem like another dimension. Arthur couldn't decide if he was glad to see him or scold him for being so calm in an obviously dangerous situation.

“He's weakening.”

Lukas stated after glancing around the shielded area that they had created around themselves.

“We have to get out of here.”

Arthur insisted. Lukas however, shook his head.

“No. We finally have him at the end of his rope. Getting to close means getting sucked the Maraduers reality, and this...this reality is very far from the actual reality. It's not just a distortion, it's an entirely different place.”

Arthur glanced at the crack in the tree that Lukas had just stepped out from as it closed.

“He probably doesn't understand what we are.”

Arthur muttered. He felt bad about continuing this. If they could get out they should. What was the point of tormenting a child. Arguably Ivan was a dangerous child, but the tormenting was still not sitting well with him.

“He's being pressed back. If we can find him in this weakened state we can deal with him.”

Deal with him? Arthur felt a clump starting to take shape in his stomach. Was Lukas meaning what he thought he meant?
But Lukas was right in one regard though, the winds from outside were starting to calm down. As if Ivan had realized that whatever he had pulled into his mind he couldn't make it budge.

Arthur realized that he had called of his spell and Lukas was now doing the same, the large trees were starting to pull themselves down and the wind from outside had now completely died down, leaving the landscape around them bare and strangely quiet.

A few meters away Arthur saw what looked like a young boy, dressed in warm winter clothing. The boy was curled up as he was trying to shield himself from the cold, or maybe from just about anything and everyone.

Both Arthur and Lukas stood there bewildered for a few seconds. Was it one of the children?

The boy slowly raised his head from the ground to look at them. He seemed confused at first but then happy. But now when they could see his face it was clear without a doubt that the young boy was somehow Ivan Braginski.
Then Lukas leaped.

From where Arthur stood he saw that Ivans expression changed from the naive smile he saw before to shock and horror. And just beside him he saw the shape of a small girl appearing. She stood just by Ivans side, expression cold and disinterested. But Lukas didn't have time to make it over to the childrens side before Arthur saw that Lukas own shadow on the ground started to move.

The darkness of the shadow was extended like a shapeless limb that grabbed onto Lukas legs and forced him down on the group with a violent yank. When tried to move over to Lukas as he saw him get pulled down into a black hole where his shadow used to be Arthur noticed himself that he was stuck. As he looked down he could see that his own shadow had oh so carefully gripped his feet and was slowly creeping up his lower legs.

Sadly Arthur didn't have time to conduct any possible theories about what was going on before he to was quickly pulled down his own shadow.

(I'm already working on the next chapter! As long as there's interest I'll gladly keep filling. There was a lack of inspiration on where I was going to take the plot for a while but now I have the ideas flowing again. As always if there are any questions feel free to ask! )

Arthur's choices seem a bit bizarre. There's a monster in town, so he chitchats with friends and babysits? I've never read the Dresden books, so I don't know if this nonchalance refusal to confront the plot is essential.

Why would he not tell the Mage police there's a dangerous criminal Mage in town? You'd think a scene where they dismiss the warning is mandatory for a go it alone mission.

Sorry if it turned out inconsistent.
This story is not based on the Dresden books but bits and pieces of different settings.
And thank you for taking your time to point out a plot hole for me rather then just dismissing the story when it didn't make sense. I was thinking of catching up with the politics and reasons to Ivans roaming about later so I didn't notice that I'd missed something now. Thanks for pointing it out, such things are important as you can easily lose sight of what you are writing now thinking "I'm covering that later" and thus missing steps in the story of course causing trouble for the readers.

I'll take a moment to cover the plot hole as much as I can before I continue.

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