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"I yield!" The injured boy underneath him shrieked, shielding his face with his arms as he desperately tried to protect himself. He wasn't able to run away as he was trapped in between Wooyoung and the array of metal pillars that were outlining his body, only missing the boy by just a few centimeters and blocking his means of escape. Had they been planted any closer to him, the injured boy would be impaled. With another frightened shriek, the boy yelled out, "I yield! I yield, I yield, please! Please, that's enough, just leave me to be!"

Wooyoung frowned at the pitiful sight before, crouching down on the ground with a small glint of interest in his eyes. One would think by the way he was pleading for his life to be spared that Wooyoung had almost killed him yet that wasn't the case. He was beaten up without a doubt, a bloody and purple bruise on the side of his face and countless little cuts that bled silver from his arms and shoulders but that was about it. It only went to show that the boy he stood over was physically weaker than most.

After a few moments of silence, he shrugged which earned him a desperate and hopefully look from the boy he stood over. "I accept your yield," Wooyoung responded, stepping away from the boy. With a heavy sigh of relief, the boy collapsed onto the ground, sprawled out like a starfish as he tried to regain his composure. It only took a minute or so for skin healers to immediately run towards him, scooping the injured boy off the ground and carrying him away to safety.

The injured boy wasn't always like that, weak and broken when faced with another foe. He was Daehwi, son of the silver house, House Lee, and was very highly spoken of. His ability to charm his way through life with sweet talk and relatable words was known notoriously through the capital of Norta with many silver people. Not only that but his family was very involved in the workings of the royal family, their men controlling the kingdom's navy. Daehwi's father was the admiral of it all and which gained Daehwi many connections that others wished they could grab a hold of.

To many, it seemed as though he had no weakness. Charming, approachable, and full of high ranking connections, the boy was practically set for life. Those who had tried to make any sort of weaknesses for the House Lee son could only make about one: that he was weak. Well, weak in terms of skill.

Daehwi would have the world in the palm of his hands if he was skilled in his silver abilities. House Lee silvers were nymphs, manipulators of anything liquid, and were usually very well versed in these abilities. But it seemed to be one of the only things that the boy lacked in. It made sense to him, if he was able to talk his way through their entire life why did he need to be skilled in the art of water manipulation? Unfortunately for him though, it did seem to matter how, especially up against silvers like Wooyoung.

Wooyoung was a well-known silver prodigy within the high houses and challenging him was like begging for humiliation.

"Lord Wooyoung," a shrill voice asked, catching the boy's attention and turning him away from Daehwi's defeated retreat. It was a woman, older than him by just a few years, that had come running to his side, staring at him intently as if she was trying to discreetly check for any wounds he may have taken. "Please, allow me to heal you before you return to the top of the arena."

Wooyoung wasn't as injured as House Lee's son, only his upper body being drenched with water that trickled down from his hair to the ground. The only wound he had truly suffered from his fight with Daehwi was the hot and angry gray markings around his neck from when the boy had tried to choke him out. Not a very serious injury, whether you can truly call it an injury or not, so the boy shrugged it off.

He glanced from the skin healer in front of him to the top of the gladiator-like arena, taking notice of the two people who were leaning over to watch with eager smiles and kind eyes. With a swift motion of his hands pushing his hair back and away from his eyes, he smiled his most notorious smile back at the healer. "No, I think I'm fine. Thanks though!"'

The woman's eyes widened with shock as the big began to skip away from her, a grin growing on his face as she called out to him. "But Lord... Lord Wooyoung, your neck—!"

"It's fine!" He finished off as he stood next to the instructor, who had been watching the fight between Daehwi and Wooyoung closely. "It's just a mark, it'll go away with a few hours of rest. Don't waste your abilities on me." The healer took one step towards him, a confused expression on her face as he waved his hands goodbye to her. Without another moment wasted, the instructor snapped his fingers together and the ground under Wooyoung's feet began to rumble before raising him up and out of the arena.

The healer didn't like Wooyoung very much for this, always brushing off their innate duty to heal their high ranking silvers when the battle is done and over with. But he seriously didn't need any help, it was just a red mark, not even a bruise! Daehwi could only wish that he had enough strength to knock him out without his silver abilities.

"Wooyoung!" A familiar voice called to him, chirpy and excited compared to the murmurs and looks he was getting from the rest of the silver children present in the room. He doesn't blame them for giving him looks, almost every day they are reminded that Wooyoung is a prodigy and they'd never amount to his nearly perfectly honed skills. It never bothered him though, he knew he was good and that's all that mattered to him.

"San!" He exclaimed back, stepping off the pillar he had rose on once he had reached the top of the arena. The boy came rushed towards him, nearly tripping on his way over to him as San shook him by the shoulders with uncontrollable excitement. "Did you see me? Was I good? Tell me I was good."

"Amazing as always," San grinned, unable to contain his joy as he glanced back towards the arena. "But did you really need to beat him down like that? Even I would be embarrassed if you did that to me."

By now, Daehwi was fully healed, all the injuries he had suffered wiped off his body like he was an empty canvas. The power of their skin healers was always such a sight to behold, watching them close and completely rid silvers of their wounds not even leaving a scar behind. With his head low from such an embarrassing defeat, he shoved the healers off of him and Daehwi began to rise out of the arena as well.

He shrugged, turning his face away from the boy and back to San. "Well... yeah? Did you see what the daughters of House Kim and sons of House Hwang were saying to him? They were gassing him up so much that they made him believe he could beat me in a match. Someone had to teach him to stay in his lane at one point."

"Lord Lee is going to be very mad at you, you know that right?" A feminine voice asked him, making both hits turn to her. Despite her serious tone, she couldn't help but smile at Wooyoung and San's joy. Who couldn't simply grin at the two boy's excitement, it was practically contagious. "Anyone who even dares try to beat down his son will face his watery wrath, or he'll try and send you straight to The Utopia."

"I'm basically untouchable though," He told her, dramatically tucking his hair behind his ear. San snorted at his actions, trying to contain a giggle knowing that Daehwi had reached the top of the arena now. "If Lord Lee wants to have a problem with me, have his son actually train in his abilities first instead of gossiping with the ladies!"

Despite Wooyoung very clearly antagonizing the House Lee son, there was a little truth to his words. To others, it did truly seem like the prodigy was untouchable. It made sense for him to be so given his rather easy going yet vain attitude.

Wooyoung's family was from the House Jung, one of the most well known silver high houses throughout all of Norta. Powerful people they were, they held much of what Reds could only dream of. Political power, great wealth, and much influence close to that of Norta's royal family. Not only that but they were a dangerous group of people with their magnetron abilities, manipulating and controlling metal to their will. Their abilities were rather hard to control and take complete advantage of, but Wooyoung wasn't known as a prodigy for nothing.

While Wooyoung was a very cocky and condescending boy due to his rank in the silver houses, his friends were not. Luckily for him, they balanced out his chaotic nature quite well actually.

San was one of two children in the House Choi, known for their public images and proximity to Norta's royal family. Despite Wooyoung being known as the prodigy of all the silver children of the high houses, San was probably one of the only people who could compare to him. He was a silent, whenever San wanted to he could stop Wooyoung in his tracks and leave him vulnerable. To put it into simpler terms, he could nullify his abilities, turn off his power to manipulate metal. They made a great duo regardless of San's innate ability to stop his supernatural powers and even greater friends.

The girl who accompanied them was Ryunjin, who was, like San, one of two children of a silver high house. She belonged to House Han, a house that has been shrouded in secrecy and darkness for generations. Though they were known for many of their members coming into the military ranks of Norta's army as valued spies and allies on both the battlefield and political light thanks to their interesting ability to bend light. One would think Wooyoung would stray away from someone who could be holding every secret known to man and vice versa, but Wooyoung was very endearing.

"Are you trying to get in trouble?" The girl grimaced, running over to cover his mouth before he could spout any more nonsense. He simply laughed at her reaction, nearly tumbling to the ground as the three struggled to keep his mouth shut. What a chaotic bunch of silver children they were, very different from the poised and collected silvers that were watching them with narrowed eyes.

Though the instructor cleared his throat, the sound echoed through the arena catching everyone's attention. Quickly the group of three moved off of each other, standing up with their backs straight and their eyes on their instructor. "If you are done playing games," He began, rising up and above the younger silvers for a height advantage. "Would anyone like to tell me why Daehwi lost to Wooyoung?"

"Because Wooyoung is the prodigy," A Silk girl spoke, covering her mouth as she sneered at Daehwi behind her. "And you can't beat the prodigy."

The group of silvers let out a low laugh, trying to conceal their chuckles for the House Lee son's sake. Though Wooyoung wasn't laughing, glancing towards Daehwi with conflicted and worried eyes. The boy didn't make eye contact with Wooyoung, or anyone in the room even. His eyes were solely on their instructor, a blazing sense of annoyance radiating off of him.

"Lady Kim," the instructor snapped, quickly silencing the room's small giggles and laughter. While the man didn't have the powers of a silent like San, his strict tone was enough to keep the high house children in line. Once the room had gone quiet once more he spoke again. "Any other answers?"

When none of the other silvers opened their mouths to answer, Ryunjin did. "Because Daehwi has not trained enough," She responded, raising her hand high in the air to gain everyone's attention. "There's no doubt that Wooyoung was and is a prodigy, but Daehwi might have been able to put up a fight had he trained himself in water manipulation more often. There is so much that he can do if he honed his own physical and mental strength to expand his abilities."

The instructor smirked at her words before stepping off of the platform he had made for himself. "Very good, Lady Han. Very informative, very good feedback for Lord Lee's son."

"So cynical," San whispered with a cheeky smile, only amplifying when Wooyoung excluded the same grin.

She rolled her eyes at the boy's teasing, ignoring their small oohs and awes as their instructor began to speak again. "I believe with enough practice, you will all have a chance to stand up against your fellow silvers..."

Wooyoung started to zone out the instructor after a few moments. His mind wandered off from the lecture they were being given, nudging Ryunjin to get her attention. The girl swatted his hand away from her as she tried to keep her focus on the older silver in front of them but Wooyoung was persistent. "Where's Yeosang?" He whispered to her, though frowning at the girl when she began to blatantly ignore him. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me, I'm standing right next to you."

"His Royal Highness," She mocked, not daring to make eye contact with him. Though she did gesture up to one of the balconies from the palace that were hanging over their heads with a small smile on her lips. "Is currently busy being rushed around the palace to prepare for the Queenstrial since it's two months from now. He doesn't have time to train with us right now... but I believe he may be at the glass terrace."

"Oh my, what a stalker you are Ryunjin," Wooyoung sneered.

"You asked," Ryunjin responded. "Won't that make you the stalker since you want to know exactly where he is and why he isn't here?"

"Lady Han and Lord Jung," the instructor snapped. Ryunjin dissipated into the light on instinct, a reaction she had picked up on since she was a child whenever she was startled. While the girl at his side turned invisible with her silver ability, Wooyoung stood up straight again, his head hanging low and not daring to even look at the older silver. That was the second time they had been called out for their childish behavior today.

San shook his head in embarrassment, not even able to cover up for the two's behavior in front of the instructor. When Ryunjin didn't appear once the instructor began to approach them, San shot where she once stood a skeptical look and she slowly began to phase back in front of everyone's eyes. He was silencing her powers and forcing her to stand and face the consequences of her actions instead of hiding from them.

"Too many," the man said, frowning down on the silver children. "This has occurred too many times, where the two of you play around in the background and do not listen to my teachings. I understand that you are getting older and eager for new sights, but this is not how you go about releasing that energy. Must I send you two back to learn the proper etiquette once more, to relearn the proper protocol to follow in front of your peers?"

Wooyoung and Ryunjin exchanged glances with each other for a moment before responding to the instructor. "No, Lord Moon..." they replied in unison.

"Must I have a word with your father, Lord Jung?" He asked Wooyoung. "Must I have a word with your brother, Lady Han?"

"No, Lord Moon." They responded, much faster and tenser than the other. There were few people that both of them feared to get in trouble with, but mention any sort of family member to either of the two and they'll straighten themselves out without another question.

"Then I suggest you do not let this behavior continue any further." The instructor let his words sink into their minds for a moment, making sure they caught the gist and threat that was thrown their way. "You all are dismissed."

It was completely silent as the silver children watched the instructor disappear through the doors of the arena, but when he was gone it was like there was a collective sigh of relief that echoed through the walls. While still holding on tightly to the manners they had been taught as a child, the group of silvers broke off into their own personal groups, chatting amongst each other eagerly to discuss the events that had taken place.

"I thought I was going to die!" Ryunjin exclaimed, placing her hands over her heart as she stumbled to her knees. "The moment he mentioned my brother I knew I was done for. Can you imagine the scolding I would have gotten from him when he comes home? I don't have the energy to try and fight that!"

"Your brother is spying on the opposing kingdoms," San mentioned with a skeptical look. "If Lord Moon even wanted to contact him, it would have taken months to even reach him in the depths of the Lakelands."

"That doesn't matter," She hissed. "Being yelled at by an older sibling is the worst, especially when they're holding a position of power that your parents would just die for you to take part in."

Wooyoung smiled at Ryunjin as he spoke, "San has an older sister Ryunjin."

"Shut up," the girl retaliated, her eyes burning with pure annoyance. The corners of his mouth refused to fall though, taking enjoyment in her irritation. There was never a day that goes by that Wooyoung didn't bother the girl, always finding some sort of way to push her buttons.

It wasn't a common thing for shadows to even come out of their closely knit group and expand their connections beyond themselves, so he was taking advantage of the fact that he had her by his side. There was just something about her reactions that made it so... endearing.

For a quick moment, he took a look up at the balconies again, catching the sight of someone watching younger silvers from above. Wooyoung squinted his eyes to see a little better before he turned to the two in front of him, putting his hands behind his back. "I'll see you later? I know the ladies of House Jeong wanted to go over the dances again to make sure we were prepared for the parties after the Queenstrial so..."

"Where are you going?" San questioned, a smug expression on his facing telling Wooyoung all he needed to know. "You know the Queenstrial isn't until two months from now, I don't think the ladies of House Jeong are going to force us to remember ballroom dances right now."

"Are you going to see Yeosang?" Ryunjin asked, holding her hands behind her back with an eager expression on her face. "If you see him, tell him I said hi and that he should come to training every so often instead of leaving us alone like that. It's not fun getting into trouble without him."

"Do you not like getting into trouble with me?" Wooyoung asked. "I'm just kidding, I'll make sure your message is safely delivered to his highness." With a sloppy salute to the two silvers, the boy spun on his heel and darted through the doors with a pep in his step. He completely avoided any of the other silvers who had tried to make conversation with, trying to comment and talk about his match with Lord Lee's son. Though, those conversations weren't very important right now.

As implied, Yeosang is the current crown prince of Norta. Wooyoung had known the boy since he was a child, having an immediate affinity for him the moment they had met each other. Perhaps it was because House Jung was near House Kang nearly all of the time but after meeting the two had become nearly inseparable. After that, he has strung both Ryunjin and San into the two's circle, intertwined them so much into each other's line that it was nearly impossible to pull them away from each other.

They were a close group of friends, troublemakers, but still very close. Maybe it was because he felt like he could be himself with them, not the arrogant child prodigy that most high house silvers saw him as. It was nice, not having to put up a face in front of them all.

But recently, they hadn't been seeing Yeosang around so much. He was constantly being pulled around by his parents to complete certain tasks and focus on certain objectives that that group barely had time to hang out with each other. The only time Wooyoung really took the chance to simply sit and be in the presence of the boy was when Yeosang had snuck off and away from the rest of his family, escaping out to the glass terrace to simulate that feeling of being able to breathe.

Slowly but surely, the glass terrace began to become their hangout spot. Just the two of them, not even San or Ryunjin were allowed to approach the terrace when they were occupying it. Honestly, Wooyoung didn't understand how the sentinels, or anyone for that matter, never found Yeosang when they were there. He would disappear in the middle of the day and almost always go running towards the glass terrace and Wooyoung would always be there with him. Either they had terrible hearing and sight or they were blatantly ignoring where the two were to give them a sense of peace.

Wooyoung skidded to a stop in front of the glass terrace doors, nearly falling to his knees to catch his breath. It was a lot more work than it seemed like to dodge out of the way of nearly all the silvers and red servants that were in the palace. So much energy he was forced to exert since he couldn't easily phase out of existence like a shadow or easily slid past everyone like a silk. After a moment he straightened back up, knocking on the glass terrace doors to alert the boy of his presence before opening the door up.

Yeosang stood on the edge of the balcony staring off past the city of Del Mundo and towards the further parts of Norta, to the places he couldn't even imagine in his mind. On his wrist, Yeosang anxiously played with the bracelet that hung off of it, both him and beads giving off the warm hum of a fire. He was dressed in red, black, and silver, unconsciously parading around in the official colors of House Kang. Though Wooyoung didn't know exactly if this was an unconscious fact or a subconscious decision on his family's behalf.

"Oh, your Royal Highness how I've been searching for you all over the palace!" He yelled, harshly shoving the door open to cause a ruckus. Yeosang immediately turned around in a panic, his eyes went wide with shock as he dropped his hands from the bracelet and looked as though he was going to make a run for it.

Though he relaxed upon noticing it was Wooyoung who had made such a grand entrance, crossing his arms as he leaned up against the railing of the glass terrace. "Your Majesty the king and queen have been searching for you since you broke away from the sentinels, how worried we've been for your well being!"

"You're not funny, stop it," Yeosang rolled his eyes, turning his head back towards the capital. Wooyoung came up right behind him, slinging his arm around the boy's neck and practically manhandling him away from the edge of the glass terrace.

"What'd you say about me not being funny?" He questioned the boy, ruffling up his perfectly styled and purposely making sure he forced his shaggy hair into his eyes. Yeosang had been growing his hair out for a few months now and it looked a little shaggy, he wondered how much he had to fight with his mother and father about finally trimming it down.

He fought with Yeosang to stay hooked onto the boy's neck before the prince finally shoved him off, he gave him a half smile. "So are you going to talk about how you got in trouble earlier or what?"

"You saw that?" Wooyoung inhaled, glancing over towards where the now empty arena stood. Sure enough, it did give someone a good view of what was going on below, but he didn't think Yeosang had been hanging around for that long. When he saw the smirk began to creep across the prince's mouth he let out a groan of annoyance. "Come on, Lord Moon always has a problem to pick with me! He only snaps at my behavior because he can't find any flaws in my current skill set."

"Okay Mr. Prodigy," Yeosang shrugged, clearly not taking him seriously.

"I'm being serious," Wooyoung complained, his face twisting with frustration at Yeosang's patronizing smile. "I may be a problem child most of the time, but you think he'd let me off of the hook because I'm just... better than anyone else."

"You have zero manners almost one hundred percent of the time, Wooyoung," Yeosang reminded him. "The only time you listen to people is if the important members of the high houses are in the room or you specifically want something from others. Honestly, you might really need to review etiquette lessons again."

The boy huffed in response to Yeosang's words, leaning up against the glass terrace railing and sliding to the ground. He couldn't find fault in his words there, the prince was completely right. If he had to be honest, when Wooyoung was younger wasn't paying attention to the lessons being presented to him. He found them boring and often repetitive to the point where he had begun to tune out everything that was being spoken to him. Clearly, he had gotten down the basics but anything past that had gone in one ear and out the other.

"Why aren't you saying anything about Ryunjin?" He questioned after a moment, narrowing his eyes at the prince. "She got in trouble with me too, you would have known that if you were watching us from up here."

"Because Ryunjin has manners and only truly gets in trouble when you're involved," Yeosang responded matter of factly, not even sparing him a glance.

The corner of Wooyoung's mouth twitched at the boy's reaction, unsatisfied with his answer. Though he clapped his hands together and stood up, mischievous drawn right on his forehead as he spoke. "Oh! Speaking of Ryunjin, she told me to tell you hello and that she misses you."

"She misses me?" Yeosang answered immediately, his voice cracking in the middle of his words. He cleared his throat to try and cover up his mistake before standing up straight and addressing the House Jung son. "I mean... she did?"

Something about teasing Yeosang's adoration for the House Han girl always seemed to make Wooyoong's day better. Especially since the prince couldn't exactly hide it very well if he tried. He could cough and clear his throat as much as he wanted to, but there was no suppressing the short burst of heat waves that would practically radiate off of him when she came around. "She did," Wooyoung confirmed," she said she missed it when you would cause trouble with us!"

"Quit playing with me," Yeosang warned, scowling at Wooyoung for even daring to get his hopes up.

"What do you mean quit playing with you? She did! That means you were just as much of a problem as I was!"

"I am not a problem child, Wooyoung. The only one who ever caused problems was you."

"Excuse me, your highness?" A timid voice questioned, catching the attention of both of the boys. They turned around quickly in a panic, Yeosang's hands in a stiff snapping motion to call upon his silver abilities if he needed to. Wooyoung simply stood back and eyed down the door to the glass terrace with suspicion, under sure of who could have interrupted them while the prince was on the run.

Though both let out a relieved sigh when they realized it was a red servant, their status in the palace was on full display thanks to the identification patch stamped on their red clothing. "Your highness, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I have been sent by our Majesties, the king and queen. Queen Kang has specifically asked me to retrieve you as soon as possible and to come to—" They tried to explain, approaching the two high house silvers with hasty steps.

Though they quickly went silent when they saw how both the boys reacted, stepping away from the red servant as if they had the plague. "Are you new here?" Yeosang questioned them, taking note of their actions and words very carefully.

They pause for a moment before nodding their head. "Yes, your highness. I was recruited three months back for House Kim, but was transferred to Del Mundo then the palace only—"

"I can tell," the silver prince's face twisted as he answered them. "You talk too much." The red servant hung their head low in embarrassment, not daring to speak another word without the silver boys asking them to. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two as Yeosang gave the red servant a small scowl, struggling to hide his emotions and nearly handing them out to the servant on a silver platter.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes as he nudged Yeosang, snapping him out of his moment of irritation. "You'll kill them if you keep staring at them like that, did you have to say that out loud?"

"But am I wrong?" He asked his silver friend, his original scowl dropping into a friendly pout.

"Oh, I'm sorry your Royal Highness, I didn't mean to step on your feet there." Wooyoung teased, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as he gestured towards the red servant that stood in front of them. "No one comes to the glass terrace while you're here without reason, you know that."

Yeosang looked between the red servant and Wooyoung, an annoyed expression donning his face as he made his decision. "Speak," He told the red servant, turning to face them completely, "Speak, but please make it short."

"General Kim," They spat out, trying to speak as quickly as they could with the requirement the silver prince gave them. "General Kim and Lord Lee have returned to the palace to speak with high house representatives and the royal family on urgent matters. Queen Kang has sent for your presence during this meeting, the king would also like your presence as well."

Yeosang's shoulders slumped at the servant's words, a grimace forming on his face. Wooyoung didn't notice until he saw how sapped of his energy he seemed but Yeosang seemed tired. He wasn't as active as he used to be, or at least it didn't seem like he was enjoying himself as much as he used to. The queen and king were pulling the silver prince all around the palace, shoving the worries of the Queenstrial and his position as next in line for king on him all at once. Wooyoung joked about it a lot, but was Yeosang ever actually getting a moment of rest?

"You don't have to go you know," Wooyoung reminded him. "San, Ryunjin, and I can hide you. She can make you disappear with her and San can cut off any of the sentinels' abilities with just the snap of his fingers. We can at least get you an hour or more of time to yourself."

Though the silver prince shrugged him off, plastering a fake smile on lips as he responded. "No, I should go. More experience within the meetings with the high houses will make me a better king after all. You should start attending them soon as well. You are Lord Jung's successor, after all, this will be a you problem one day as well."

"That day is not today," Wooyoung replied, brushing off his future responsibilities for future him to worry about. He had joined a meeting with the high houses once before when he was just a few years younger and he hated it. Listening to all of the high house representatives talk about politics and war, battle plans and kingdoms, money and reds, it wasn't anything that Wooyoung wanted to be apart of. He'd avoid ever even approaching the room again for as long as he could.

Yeosang rolled his eyes at his quick response, a small laugh naturally falling out of his mouth as Wooyoung spoke up again. "Go to your silly meeting with the big boys, I hope you get so bored out of your mind that a whisper has to keep you awake. Oh! Make sure you mention how I literally dominated Lord Lee's son in the arena today as well."

"Are you too scared to tell him yourself?" Yeosang narrowed his eyes at him. "Afraid Lord Lee might drown you?"

"Those are fighting words, your Royal Highness." the silver boy threatened, watching the smile on the prince's face grow even wider than it was before. "Now go, before your mother whispers into your head and makes you."

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I really enjoy writing
for this fic so hopefully
everyone else will feel
the same ;; w ;; I'm excited
to go on this journey
with you as I write
through this fic!