Aphna

@aphna.bsky.social

601 Followers 326 Following

Honestly just a bit of a mess. Sometimes a writer, mostly easily distracted. 🌍 Midlands, UK They/them #KDrama #MMRomance #3D No AI. https://benign-snails.co.uk

Photo of the cyborg ball jointed doll holding one of his shoe feet. It is large, with a solidly tall and chunky heel, and though it's hard to see from the side, it has a cast replica of his bare foot visible though the transparent resin.
Photo of a ball jointed doll designed to look like a cyborg. He has a dark resin body with a transparent, slightly iridescent jaw, chest piece and cod piece, and a glowing mask (that I will need to remove the batteries from again). He is standing with his chest to the right and his hips to the left and is looking askance at the camera, like he's going "you got a problem with me?"
Photo of a cyborg doll wearing a light blue wig. The wig is neatly styled and has a lace front.
Photo of a three foot tall brown box with Chinese hanzi and the word "Ringdoll" on, beside three small polystyrene packages with the same text. Both sit on a small sofa beside several blankets (most of which are smol dog's).
Photo of a tree that bears a strange resemblance to a standing stone beside an old fashioned overhead power cable. They're both on the edge of a sheep field, next to a little brook. The sky is very blue and clear.
Screenshot of the map from my watch app, showing my journey from the end of Back Lane (yes I cut off the journey from my house), to Shardlow canal row patch, and from there a meandering journey around Great Wilne (including one section in a big circle; yes I did know I did that), past Church Wilne (I think I saw the church in the distance) then along a strange but pretty bridlepath that led me to Breaston... where I then goth on a bus, but forgot to pause my watch, oops. There's a little knot of trail where we went over a huge green bridge to cross the railway, which smol dog enjoyed.
3D render of a white man with long brown hair wearing silvery ribbon straps bound around his neck and chest. He looks down and to the left thoughtfully with his lips parted, both hands relaxed in front of his waist.
The feed for the trend "A Knight's Tale". â€ȘSolar London‬ â€Ș@london.solar.v.cx‬ · 47m The sun will rise in #London #England tomorrow at 5:58, 127 seconds earlier than the day before. It will set at 20:00, 100 seconds later than the day before. â€ȘVelvet Smoke‬ â€Ș@smokey347.bsky.social‬ · 2m #PinkFloyd Pulse 1995 #LiveAlbum #Album #LiveConcert #LiveMusic #BlueSkyMusic #SkyMusic #Smokey347Music #Concert #Art #PsychedelicRock #ProgressiveRock #London #England #90s [Image of a beach with the tide coming in with some pyramids to the right, a large blue iris with a rocky planet aiming at the pupil, a flock of birds against a sea-and-sky-scape and clouds.]
Screenshot of Bluesky's 'Spring Blooms' trending feed, showing a dramatic monochromatic image of the Waldorf Astoria in New York, taken from a low angle and aimed upwards. There is not a spring bloom to be seen, which is not the fault of the photographer in the slightest as they didn't ask to be in this feed.
3D render of the Crow Prince, a young white man with floppy black hair, dark brown eyes, and a glossy black crow's wing for a left arm. He wears a billowing red sash covering his chest and hips and has a cracked, glowing halo over his head. He is smiling at the camera and makes a little heart gesture with his right hand.
3D render in an anime style, of Milos, a blond dark elf with hazel eyes, and Alex, a white human with black hair. They both wear black suits, white shirts, and black ties. Milos is standing nearest the camera, a look of shock on his face. His subtitle reads, "Are you that happy for people to get hurt?"
3D render in an anime style. It shows Milos, a greyish-purple skinned dark elf with untidy blond hair and hazel eyes. He has a scar in the shape of an x on his chest.
Screenshot of four books available when you search 'pax asteriae' on Itch.io. The first book didn't appear in the search when the 'lgbt' tag was included, but does now, even though it's also tagged as 'gay' and 'mmromance.'
Barbarian: 75% Bard: 60% Cleric: 45% Druid: 50% Fighter: 45% Monk: 50% Paladin: 70% Ranger: 65% Rogue: 85% Sorcerer: 60% Warlock: 55% Wizard: 50%
Photo of a small black and brown Miniature Pinscher sandwiched between two layers of a yellow blanket, with a greenish blue one with a grey fox on covering her on the right side of the picture. She is snuggled up and squinty.
Radial WIPSnips: Storm “He just straight out accused me, again.” Alex had a talent for pitching his voice low but somehow maintaining a clarity that made people two tables over wince without really knowing why. “He doesn’t even know really what he’s accusing me of any more, but he’s going to keep on trying.” Milos took a large mouthful of hot chocolate and hoped the sugar would soothe his nerves at some point, because it was spectacularly failing so far. “And you said...?” He’d learned fairly early that in moods like this, all Alex needed was a little prompting. Half- starting a sentence at least saved time on trying to formulate a full response and getting smacked around the back of the head for the trouble. Alex glared down at his coffee. “I told him if he came within a foot of my car ever again I’d break both his legs and leave him in the hills to rot.” Milos winced and drank again to try to cover it. The glare descended into a scowl. “He said he had nothing to do with it, and yet when I said then we could just call the police instead and let them sort it out he freaked out, shouted some more and stormed out the office. The amount of weird looks I got afterwards.” Milos accidentally snorted into his drink.
Radial WIPSnips: Commit “We start at eight.” Jaska’s gaze flicked the length of Milos’s body; he suddenly wished he’d picked one, two, no, maybe four sizes up instead. “You didn’t tell me that.” The human shrugged. “You didn’t ask.” He was pretty sure he had, but the smirk had slid from the other man’s face and the last thing he needed to start his first day with was for it to be replaced with the loathing that seemed so at home on Jaska’s handsome features. “What time is it?” Wordlessly, Jaska pointed to the clock beside Milos’s bed. Five to eight. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Today was already shaping up to be a very long day. “Come on then,” he said, shoving first one foot and then the other into the appropriate set of white slip-ons from the set lined along the bottom of the wardrobe. “I wouldn’t want to make you late.” Jaska grunted noncommittally, but turned and led Milos from his room.
Radial WIPSnips: Notice This, though... it’d make staying over with Milos significantly more interesting. If the stupid elf ever got out the car and had a look at it, that was. To prompt him, Alex turned off the engine and climbed out. When Milos remained staring through the windscreen, a faint frown furrowing his brow, Alex sighed and opened the passenger door too. “Come on.” The twitch was smaller this time, but still noticeable. “What if it’s worse than my apartment?” The weirdest ideas went through his head sometimes. “Look at the street. Do you really think that’s likely?” “I don't know,” Milos said softly. “That’s why I asked.” Then, to head off the question already forming on Alex's tongue, he added, “the street I'm on now looks nice enough too, and...” “You have a funny definition of ‘nice enough.’” There was no way the damn elf was going to get out the car without help, was there? Before Milos could object — always the best way to do things — Alex ducked his head into the car and slammed his thumb down on the seat belt release; without waiting for the inevitable complaint, he grabbed Milos’s upper arm and dragged him from the car. The elf’s mouth was already moving to form a curse when he looked up at the house and stopped before the first sound could escape. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, but no sound came out for a full five minutes and when it did it was little more than a squeak. “Which
 which room is it?” Alex had retrieved the keys while Milos finished tidying his desk — and Alex’s, which Alex thought only fair — and did a little double-checking at the same time. “Room? You fucking idiot, the whole house is yours.”
Radial WIPSnips: Bone He turned slowly, ignoring the screaming protest of his ribs, to see the beldame standing in the middle of the room with her hands at her sides and a murderous expression aimed directly at him. His heart plummeted into the pit of his stomach. “Hi. Uh. I have something for— Fuck!” He wasn’t quite fast enough to avoid the remote control that clipped his cheekbone. From outside he thought he could detect the faint sound of laughter; he ignored it, keeping his eyes on the girl and praying she didn’t try to repeat her earlier tricks. The room might not be big enough for determined flinging, but he suspected it was just perfect for a quick game of Milos Pinball. The way her stare settled on him, then flicked around the room again, didn’t help matters. He tried again. “Look, I found this, and...” The remote grazed over his upper thigh and skittered into the corner; he could guess at where she was aiming and it didn’t make him feel any better. Neither did her expression, which spoke volumes on how she felt about missing.
Radial WIPSnips: Transfer “Do you think you should come back to the office now?” He snorted, yanking the arms of the machine together and hoping the way they covered his face blocked out his wince as the abrupt movement sparked pain in his shoulder. “No.” Her face came back into view as he let the machine prise his arms apart again. She looked like she was trying to be patient, but it was becoming a struggle. “Marrok wants to speak to you.” “Marrok can go fuck himself.” He yanked his arms back together and this time the pain in his shoulder wasn’t quite as bad — or he was so angry he no longer noticed it. “He’s made it clear ever since he met me he doesn’t want to have me here. I don’t want to be here. He can transfer me to Research, just like he wants, and I get the fuck away from him. Win, win.” “He’s invested too much in you now to let that happen.” “Like hell he has.” He relaxed his arms, then yanked them back together. For an exercise that was supposed to build up his chest, he suspected he’d only end up with multiple sprains instead; he didn’t care. The pain gave him something else to focus on. “He’s been bullied into this for some reason and there’s nothing he wants more than to replace me with someone he’d rather have.” “That isn’t true, Tay.”
Radial WIPSnips: Tattoo Before he could process what had happened his body just moved. The next thing he knew he was standing in front of Milos, one hand hard against the elf’s chest as the elf strained against it. One of Milos’s hands still reached out past Alex’s chest; the other, fingers formed into claws, had their tips inches from Alex’s face. His eyes were huge. His chest heaved against Alex’s palm. Under normal circumstances he had perfect confidence in his Skill. Years of experimentation and training, and a couple of years of working with a nervous, pointy elf, meant he was always prepared to let things phase harmlessly through him. But now, when his body was effectively puppeteered by an idiot teenager? Milos could’ve had his eye out and shredded his face to ribbons. From the elf’s look of absolute terror and the hard tattoo of his thudding heartbeat against Alex’s hand, he knew it too. “I...” Milos’s voice was low and shaking. “I wanted to — I only wanted...” To Alex’s right, the grey blades ran back into fingers again.
Radial WIPSnips: Activity He jerked awake in a flail of arms, lurching upright before he knew he was moving. He’d fallen, he’d fallen and this room was far too dark and quiet, the only sound was his harsh breathing and oh God it hadn’t been a dream and— He turned slowly, dread crushing his chest because he knew, he already knew that the space beside him was empty, that he’d fucked up... The dark shoulder visible above the sheets rose and fell with Milos’s breathing. Alex allowed his eyes to track the length of his body, taking in the relaxed position, the mass of thick blond hair tangled from the night’s earlier activities, the sheer peacefulness of the man, and let out the shaking breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.
Squirrel on a bear! A grey squirrel dog toy sitting on top of a green bear dog toy.
3D render of white human Alex (black hair, brown eyes) and dark elf Milos (blond hair, hazel eyes). Both wear black suits, white shirts, and black ties. Milos stands a bit behind Alex, smiling nervously, while Alex brandishes a blank card that will one day have his ID on it.
Radial WIPSnips: Troll He jabbed his knife into a potato, which promptly fell apart. “Are you going to teach me how to file?” Again he felt Jaska staring at him. “Fuck no. You’re barely literate as it is.” “Hey—!” “If you were in any way capable, you wouldn’t need remedial lessons. I’ve seen your schedule—” “—how?!—” “—because there’s a copy in your file. I know just how incompetent you are.” Jaska sliced and ate a piece of pork like he was perfectly innocent, like he wasn’t busy insulting Milos in every way he could think of. “Your only real talent is that you’re an elf so the polymetal didn’t slice your body into chunks. Beyond that, you’re a liability and the sooner you’re either sent back to Research or dealt with in the field, the better.” Part of his brain reminded him it was nothing Jaska hadn’t said before. Nothing that Robin hadn’t said before. The rest of it was screaming that Milos should tip his dinner over Jaska’s head. At the very least he should try to take him by surprise, jump on him, and shove a large roast potato into his mouth.
WIPSnips: Drain Radial “Nope. He’s been like it since school. He’s a bit like Marmite, if Marmite was almost entirely unsellable.” “I like Marmite...” Her laugh echoed around the corridors. “I bet you won’t in a week or two. Look, here’s your room.” And it was, in significantly fewer twists and turns. He shook his head, and his rescuer laughed again. “Thanks. It’s all still... a bit...” She gave his arm a squeeze, then released it. “It’ll get easier. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes with that map.” He nodded gratefully and slid into his room. The bed was softer than at Robin’s and once he sat on it, all the nervous tension from the day seemed to drain away; he flopped bonelessly back onto the duvet and covered his eyes with his arm. A map meant he wouldn’t have to rely on Jaska. It’d make them both happy, so why had Jaska not provided him one? Was it that much fun trying to bully his new, unwanted, co-worker? He’d just answered that question himself, hadn’t he?
Radial WIPSnips: Remain Alex watched as the bike overshot the car and braked hard enough to slide sideways across the lane, the rider’s right leg outstretched to balance the vehicle with its passenger clinging grimly on. “It’s time you met them.” Milos stared around wildly, digging his fingers into his thighs in a futile attempt to remain calm in the face of this fresh example of madness. “Are you seriously trying to get us killed?!” Any second now, any moment, there’d be the grinding of metal over metal, a crushing pain, short but awful, and oblivion. They were stopped in the middle of the fast lane of the motorway, the lane home to lunatics like Alex who never grasped the concept of speed limits. It was only a matter of seconds before one of his fellow idiots drove straight into them. Of all the ways he’d envisioned dying over the years, this wasn’t the one he’d seen coming.
3D render of Alex, a muscular white man with dark brown eyes and short black hair, standing with his weight to his left and frowning with an annoyed expression at something in that direction. He wears a well-fitting black suit, white shirt, and black tie.
3D render of Alex, a muscular white man with short black hair and brown eyes. He wears a black suit, white shirt and black tie, and stands with his right hand pressed to his head. His face is angled down but he looks up, an expression halfway between a smile and a grimace on his face, and he looks on the whole like he's two inches from murdering someone.
3D render of Alex, a muscular white man with short black hair and dark brown eyes, He is standing shirtless, his arms at his side, and somehow still makes it look a threat.
3D render of Milos, a purple-grey skinned dark elf with untidy above-shoulder-length blond hair and hazel eyes. He wears a black suit with the jacket undone and a white shirt with the collar open, and is standing in a relaxed pose, looking off to his right and smiling prettily.
Ghosted WIPSnips: Brain “They come into places like this thinking it’s routine, and then it turns out to be anything but. The next thing they know, everything’s gone sideways and zombies start dropping out the ceiling.” Gabe watched him through the camera screen, twisting to ensure the one on his chest was aimed solidly up the stairs. He was going to be so sore tomorrow, it’d be a wonder if he could untwist his spine within a week. “So you’re saying that I’m going to be famous for being the first person to catch a real zombie attack on a livestream?” The other man smiled faintly. “Then you’ll be famous for being the first person to have your brains eaten by a real zombie live on air.” “Hey, they can’t eat my brains if there are no brains for them to eat.”
3D render of a rainy street, the camera pointing down the pavement. There are several cars parked along the side of the street, and streetlights cast a fairly pointless glow (inspired by local street lighting *sigh*). There are shops down the right side, most of which are dark except for a brightly lit restaurant at the end, and opposite are some terraced houses, some of which have lights on. An old car passes by.
Grainy 3D render of a street with shops on the right and a road with a parked car on the left. In front are some houses, one of which is filled with light that spills out onto the street and is so bright even the roof is illuminated.
Video of Jude, wearing a grey hoodie and artfully torn jeans, standing in front of an abandoned mansion. Glitches sometimes affect the video.
Ghosted WIPSnips: Climb Still, all he had to do now was swing his leg over and drop down the other side— An unholy creak filled his world. A juddering series of clinks. Gabe let out an embarrassingly loud squeak as, beneath his near-numb crotch, the gate shuddered, then swung majestically away from its twin. He supposed the view might’ve been impressive. He wouldn’t know: his eyes were screwed shut. The feeling of the wind through his hair was bad enough. Only when he’d come to most of a halt did he risk peeking. The gate had ground to a stop by the wall, its bottom rungs tangled in a menacing bramble reaching spiny fingers for his torch. If he’d already started to climb down the other side, he’d have ended up dragging himself free from its thorough grip.
Photo of a small black and brown Miniature Pinscher wearing a blue and white sweater and laying against an orange sofa cover. There is a yellow blanket wrapped around her. Her mouth is open, showing her tongue. She wasn't hot, just sleepy and dorky.
Sketchy drawing of Jude, a nervous looking man with wavy short hair that hangs over his eyes, wearing a hoodie.
3D render of Gabriel West, a white man with reddish brown hair and brown eyes. He wears a checked shirt in shades of blue and white and is looking pensively off to his right with his right hand raised. Fun fact: I did this render to demonstrate to someone that the shirt can be worn without the trousers it came with, but it's turned out to be one of my favourite pictures of Gabe. He's also not wearing pants in this picture.
GIF of a young man with black hair, wearing a grey hoodie with the hood up and ripped blue jeans, standing in the grounds of an old, abandoned house.
Ghosted WIPSnips: Table He angled the torch towards the right corner of the room, and Jude could see absolutely nothing. It tracked along the wall, around the height a short-ish thirteen year old boy might be. “Maybe he isn’t supposed to be in here,” Gabe said, his voice so low Jude struggled to catch it. “Because there’s a big dent in the side of his head.” Just because he’d said he was psychic, didn’t mean he wasn’t making this all up. He could be a very eloquent conman, like the table-raising, ectoplasm-dripping psychics of Victorian times. All those TV shows had disclaimers they were for entertainment only; they probably made the lot of it all up. At least, that’s what the rational part of his brain was insisting, tapping its little tin cup in a nagging tattoo against the side of his mind. From the way Gabe’s back hitched under Jude’s touch, how his breathing quickened, he had to be so good he’d even convinced himself.
Photo of a dark early morning at the top of a snowy hill. There's is a small patch of grass ahead, the fence to a childrens' play area to the left, and some houses to the right. In the distance are some warehouses. The sky is a solid blue-grey.
Cover to The Night Fair by Pax Asteriae, showing a man (Iphre) with long brown hair loosely tied back staring up at the sky with a smile. He wears a little chain necklace around his neck, and although he wears a blue loose shirt and open purple and gold robe, his chest is bare. He stands against a night fair (shocker!) with tall brocaded tents and a fire in a brazier. Fun fact: I had a PC that was little better than a potato when I did this render, and once I stopped it crashing every time I tried to render it, it took about a week for this image at 1600px across to complete.
"The American president is as against child sexual abuse and violence against women and girls as I think that the British public and the British government is," said Mr Narayan. "So that's the first thing to say."
Severe Weather Alert - 6m A Severe snow warning for your area begins at 20:00 tomorrow and ends at... Severe Weather Alert - 6m A Moderate snow warning for your area begins at 17:00 tomorrow and ends at...
3D render of Gabe, a brunet man with light brown eyes. He wears a red ribbon over his (hairier than the previous version) chest with the bow at chest height and a pair of red shorts, and kneels on a wooden floor in front of a Christmas tree in a (questionable) attempt to look seductive.
3D render of Milos, a greyish-skinned dark elf with untidy blond hair and hazel eyes, and Alex, a muscular white human with short black hair. Alex embraces Milos from behind, left arm around him with his hand on Milos's stomach, his right arm over Milos's shoulder and his hand pressed to his chest. Milos covers Alex's right hand with his own and is leaning back against him, smiling, and although you can't see it his left hand is pressed to Alex's thigh. Both are wearing trousers, although who knows for how much longer.
Cover to the story Hard Work. It shows Caeso, a very pale man with short white hair kneeling on the floor with his legs apart, a pile of red cloth in front of his groin to preserve what little modesty he has left. It's draped over his thigh and trails behind him. His wrists are bound behind his back with red handcuffs, and his eyes are covered by a large cross-shaped blindfold. His mouth is open and he has a red flush in his cheeks and spreading down his chest...
3D render of Alex, a shirtless white man with dark brown eyes. His black hair is short, slightly curly and unruly, and curls across his forehead.
Photo of a small black and brown Miniature Pinscher wearing a blue and white sweater. She is laying on her side with her head against the back of the sofa, and is looking at the camera with her mouth open and pink tongue slightly out. She is partially wrapped in a yellow blanket.
3D render of Gabe, a white man with reddish brown hair that falls to one side of his forehead and brown eyes. He wears a pair of red shorts and a red bow draped over his chest, and is kneeling seductively on the floor with his left forefinger raised to his mouth and his right hand pressed to his thigh. He smiles at the camera. Behind him is a decorated Christmas tree with presents beneath it.
Ghosted WIPSnips: Type “So please bear with me, and hopefully this place was never a menagerie because the last thing anyone needs is a bear with them, living or dead.” A few thumbs-up appeared in the chat. When they’d first started it’d felt awkward talking to Richard knowing they had an audience, even a tiny one, and announcing everything they were doing. Now he was on his own, it was like he was reliving that first experience. “No menagerie,” Jude murmured from beside him. “At least, no historical record of one.” Gabe blinked and very almost reflexively turned to look at him. “You checked?” “I did some research the other day.” He sounded almost defensive. He grinned at the camera. “I have it on expert authority I’m indeed safe from bears. They’re not even really my type, so
” From his right came a muffled choke.
Milos barely suppressed his sudden, startled laugh; he still caught the swift glare from under Jaska’s dark lashes. If this had been anywhere else, anyone else, and he’d have given in, might even have enjoyed himself. Instead he pushed more delicious lasagne into his mouth and, after a few thoughtful chews, said, “aren’t you supposed to give me some briefing?” Jaska groaned. Honest-to-God groaned like Milos had asked him to do something more arduous than tell him a bit about this new job he’d suddenly been landed with. “Can I at least finish my dinner first, or do you want to ruin every last part of my evening?” “I thought the sooner you got it over with, the sooner you could go.” And the sooner Milos could escape the insults. The other man grunted something that might have been grudging agreement, but it still took long enough that Milos started to wonder if the grunt had been a too-subtle way to tell him to fuck off before Jaska spoke. “There won’t be much to it for you. You do what you’re told, you try not to die, then you fail and I’m rid of you.” Milos stared at him as Jaska neatly sliced a carrot and slid it into his mouth. It had all been delivered with a perfectly straight face, not even a hint of the malicious smirk Jaska seemed to take pride in. That he was serious, Milos had no doubt. “Why would I die?” Jaska glanced up at him, then back down to his plate. “Why do you think I apparently need a new assistant?” “I don’t know. Promotion?”
Section of text, most of which isn't a complete sentence due to the size of the screenshot. At the bottom, it reads, "11,111 words."
Ghosted WIPSnips: Angle Under the comfort of his hood, Jude watched the stranger from the corner of his eye. He reminded him of that otter from Animal Crossing, always snapping pictures from different angles like some bad joke; he was currently trying to take a low-angle shot of the house, contorting himself into weird positions and then pouting — actually pouting — when it didn’t live up to his expectations. When he’d agreed to this, he hadn’t expected to be sharing the evening with some
 some *influencer.* He
 He wouldn’t have expected this evening at all a couple of weeks ago, if he was honest with himself. And while he did usually try to be, this particular thing might be, just possibly, something he had a major blind spot with. But agreeing to this had solved the problem, at least for a while, and the more he’d looked into it, the more interested he’d become.
“Everything you need to know is in there.” He throws the file down onto the desk in front of me and I just stare at it. That’s the thing I’ll never understand with this lot. They give me folders and say ‘read this’ and it’d be quicker and easier to just tell me instead. I don’t need the background information. I’m just here to do the fetching and carrying. It’s Alex who’s here to do the thinking—and he won’t let me forget it. I’m not stupid, I’ve just not seen the inside of a school since I was thirteen, but that doesn’t stop him from taking the mickey and insisting I can’t read. He’s smirking now, though I don’t know if it’s aimed at me or just because he was quick enough to get his feet off his desk before our boss walked in. I didn’t. I got them smacked off the desk instead. But what’re they going to do, kick me out? “What d’you need from me?” I’m not even going to touch that file. At least, not while he’s still here. I’d lose my own argument if I did. There’s a definite look of exasperation. He folds his arms and stares down at me so I fold mine and stare right back, and he caves first. “There’s a Beldame in or near Stoke. She needs to be retrieved.” From the corner of my eye I can see Alex is taking notes, but this is all going straight over my head. “A what? And,” this should be obvious, but apparently not, “can you be more specific? Stoke? That’s pretty fucking big.” And yes, I can hear the only-just-suppressed choke from my boss. Like I said, what’s he going to do? Sack me? “Be glad it wasn’t London,” Alex mutters, sitting up again and shoving his notes into his shirt pocket. He actually takes an interest in his files. He’s got a filing cabinet and everything. Our boss nods at him, so I guess I’m not going to get an answer to either question. Instead, we get, “obviously time is of the essence, so the faster you can retrieve her the better.” Then he leaves, a bit faster than is really dignified, probably just in case I start asking anything even more awkward.
Cover to the story 'Rescuing the Princess' (which is written in pink cursive across the middle) by Pax Asteriae (in white at the top). It features a tall tower, with a warm yellow glow at the top window beneath a tiled roof. A grappling hook hangs from the window ledge, and a knight in armour hangs from the rope attached to it. Above, a large red dragon circles.
3D render of Milos, a grey-skinned dark elf with untidy blond hair wearing a brown T-shirt and jeans, standing holding open his front door. On the doorstep is Alex, a white human man with black hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a dark blue long-sleeved T-shirt and dark blue jeans. He is holding one large cardboard box, and three more are stacked on the doorstep beside him. Behind him, snow is falling.