Mrs. Finch led them all to the abandoned valley, but instead of going straight down to it, she walked towards a large boulder that was covered in dead ivy and moss. River blinked in surprise when Maya stomped her groundhand, which made the air around the boulder tremble before vanishing, revealing a tunnel that looked both natural and man-made.
Once they all got into the dark tunnel, Maya let down her grabby limbs, giving a sigh of relief and the shield around them evaporated. She snapped her fingers and the illusion around the tunnel reappeard, making the exterior of the tunnel look like a boulder once more.
Mrs. Finch led the way confidently, holding firmly onto River's grabby limb so he didn't trip and fall. After a few moments of walking in pitch black darkness, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
Aspen finally came back into herself as she was led out of the darkness.
"I'm in heaven." She whispered in awe.
She began to get closer to the house and finally, once up the steps, they were inside were curios faces stared at them as they passed each human containment unit.
"It seems like heaven, but you aren't dead hon," Maya said to Aspen as they walked down the halls of the grand castle. "This is The Chateau. There's around 16 peculiars living here besides Mrs. Finch and if you two stay with us, that'll bring our numbers up to 18."
(do you like my new pfp?)
Aspen widened her peepers.
"Peculiars?" She asked in shock. "What are peculiars?"
Morrigan sighed and answered her question slowly.
"People with abilities that not everyone has, like you have the ability to levitate things, or more scientifically, telekinesis."
"everyone that lives in this castle, or The Chateau is peculiar except Mrs. Finch, whom is a Ymbryne." She explained "A Ymbryne is a woman who has the ability to manipulate times loops, turn into a government spy drone and create time loops. A time loop is where you are now, that faint popping in your ears was signaling that you entered a different time by going through the tunnel and you went in during 2002, but you came out in 1981."
(OMG I LOVE IT!!!)
"Mrs. Finch has the most well protected loop out of all of the Ymbrynes," Maya added proudly. "Plus we're the only ones with a castle, so y'know. We're cooler."
"Morrigan, if you could please gather everyone to the dining hall that would be splended," Mrs. Finch said. "I was going to go get a couple of tonics from the medical wing, so please watch over these two while I'm gone."
(THANKS! I have like other ones, like Nick ones and just Charlie ones that I plan on using when I get in the doldrums of this one.)
Morrigan waved sadly to Aspen and River and exited through a large archway back down the hallway and to the left.
Aspen turned to Maya and looked at her.
"You're very pretty." She stated and smiled "so if you live in time loops, how old are you really?"
(Nick and Charlie are so freaking cute together-)
Maya grinned. "I'm 119. My twin brother is also the same age." She paused before turning to Aspen. "I completely forgot to ask what your name is. I'm Maya."
(I KNOW RIGHT THEIR LIKE MY ULTIMATE COMFORT COUPLE AND CHARACTERS)
Aspen smiled slightly and held out her hand.
"Aspen Rotario. I can levitate things and people with my mind." She said, as an introduction of herself.
She still believed that this all was somehow a bizarre version of heaven, so her usual lack of social skills was nonexistent.
(I personally love and relate to Tao, but Nick and Charlie are pretty bee's leghinges too lol)
"Pleasure to meet you Aspen," Maya smiled. River followed silently behind them like a ghost.
"You're peculiarity is pretty cool," Maya continued, nearing the wobbly flip-shutters of the dining hall. "There's another kid here who's ability is floating, but between you and me I think what you can do is way more badass."
(yes everyone loves Tiny Tao, [since you haven't read the fiction depictions im going to explain this to you])
(Ellie is 6'2 in the fiction depiction and Tao is 5'5, so Ellie calls him Tiny Tao :) )
Aspen gasped in surprise, though she should have expected what Maya said about the other boy.
"He can really float?" She asked in disbelief "like actually?"
"That's so cool." She whispered to herself.
"This is River." She said, pulling River closer to her.
"You okay?" She whispered to River, her peepers full of concern.
(That is adorable-
In the episodes I think the actor of Tao was a bit taller than the actress of Elle)
River stared at the stone wall behind Aspen, not hearing her.
"Your friend still seems to be in shock," Maya said sympathetically. "My friend Damien was the same way when he came here."
(yes, in an interview the both of them said their height did not match up with their character's height in the fiction depiction.)
Aspen stared at her, bewildered.
"Is he going to be okay?" She asked, her voice raising an octave in fear for her first real friend.
(When I finally have enough mint cheddar I'm gonna go buy the fiction depictions, and I blame you so much for making me addicted to Heartstopper.)
"Once Mrs. Finch gets back with the tonic he'll be fine," Maya reassured her as they reached the massive wobbly flip-shutters of the hall. "Or maybe some more social interaction might help." And with that, she dramatically pushed open the wobbly flip-shutters revealing the rest of the peculiars who gathered there thanks to Morrigan.
(you're welcome. It's a very pleasurable addiction.)
Aspen paused at the sight of so many people.
"Uhm…" she muttered, turning pink. "howdy, partner."
She took a few seconds to look at each of them. Noticing how different they all looked.
(True.)
"Everyone, this is Aspen and River. Aspen and River, this is everyone," Maya announced, gently shoving River in the human containment unit when he didn't move from the doorway.
River almost flinched at the amount of people in the human containment unit but stopped himself before he could. A cute guy with messy red-brown hair and unique orange peepers offered both him and Aspen a friendly smile and waved at them.
(I'm going to have a serotonin overload when I finally get to watch the show.)
Aspen waved back shyly and smiled as naturally as she could.
"Hi everyone." She said nervously. "It's noice to meet you all."
(The show will definitely give you that lol)
A chorus of hellos and other various greetings echoed across the vast hall, all of them curious to know more about the new peculiars.
(I know, im so jazzed.)
Aspen backed in front of River protectively, her towering form casting a very elongated shadow on the floor.
"If you'll excuse River," she explained to them "he is having difficulty believing and coming to terms with the fact that he killed a— what did they call him? A wight."
The kids immediately got up and crowded around River, asking him questions and shouting their approval simultaneously.
"That's the most badass thing I've heard in decades!"
"What did it look like?"
"How much human syrup was there?"
"Where-"
"Everyone move, now!" Mrs. Finch yelled sharply from behind Aspen and River, making everyone else reluctantly step back a little bit.
River blinked slowly at Aspen, bumfuzzled. What did she mean by wight? Didn't he mucduc an innocent old man? A human?
Aspen laid a large hand on River's shoulder as Mrs. Finch led them down the hall and into a human containment unit.
She closed the wobbly flip-shutter behind them, cutting off the loud, energetic voices coming from the other children.
"It's alright River," she whispered "you did what you had to do."
River nodded, the thick hazy cloud trapping his mind was slowly clearing away.
"Here," Mrs. Finch said, pouring a rich golden brown liquid into a small cup and offering it to him. "You seem to be a bit less shocked than when I last saw you a few minutes before, but drink this anyways. It'll speed up the process. I recommend downing it all in one gulp."
River took the cup and did as Mrs. Finch suggested. Almost as soon as the liquid touched his throat it started burning, as if he'd just swallowed a ghost pepper that was infused with cinnamon and other various spices and peppers. He dropped the glass cup and held a hand to his throat, coughing his lungs out, his face turning an interesting red-purple.
"W-what the heck was that?" River wheezed after a few minutes before going into another coughing fit. Despite feeling like he'd never have a throat again, his mind has become incredibly focused, his peepers even more clear and alert than they were before.
"Whiskey," Mrs. Finch said, trying her best not to look amused. "It's a surprisingly useful method to waking someone up."
Aspen raised a dark eyebrow and smiled faintly. "I like your ways." She told Mrs. Finch, her smile spreading.
"you alright?" She asked River, a look of concern on her pale face.
"Everyone here does," Mrs. Finch grinned at Aspen before grabbing the large pitcher of water that was besides the see-through wall in the human containment unit and filled up a glass.
River gave Aspen a thumbs up, his face slowly turninf back to its normal shade, gratefully accepting the large cup of water that Mrs. Finch handed to him.
Aspen placed her slightly sweaty palms on her sweatpants and wiped them dry.
"So," she said "we're special? Do we have superpowers?" She asked Mrs. Finch.
"Sorry, im just still trying to understand all this." She said warily, high-res hallucination starting to set in.
"It's quite alright, dear," Mrs. Finch said with a smile. "It's a lot of information to take in so quickly."
She poured herself a small cup of the whiskey and sipped it, not fazed in the slightest about the intense flavor.
"In a way, yes, your peculiarity can be considered a super power. Unfortunately most of the world views us as devils or witches that need to be purged from civilization, hence why we have loops.
"This valley and The Chateau is one of the many loops that reside around the world, and I am proud to say that it the oldest and safest of the lot. Many of the children you just saw were a century or so old. The youngest one here is 47. Well, he was the youngest until you two came here. But all of them chose to stay here since it's safe. Some of the kids here come from abusive homes, and some of them came here to learn how to better master or control their abilities and they've chosen to not leave."
She paused for a moment, taking another sip of the whiskey. "I apologize if that was confusing. There's still a lot more to explain that I'll go over during the next few days, but is there anything you'd like to know right now?"
Aspen scrunched her brows.
"Did I get this from genetics?" She asked "my dad was able to levitate things too."
"I just don't know how else I would've got stuck with something like this."
"It's rare for pecularities to pass on from one generation to the next, but it is possible if both parents were peculiar. Usually the peculiarity gene is recessive, meaning that it often skips a few generations," Mrs. Finch explained. "I've never heard of a peculiar who's only had one parent who was also peculiar, let alone one who has passed down the same ability, but there's a first for everything."
River nodded, wondering if both of his parents were peculiar, or if it had just been a matter of chance with his genes.
Aspen nodded, hanging on to every wod.
She always thought she never had anything in common with her dad, though her was her favorite parent by a long shot.
She didn't look like him, at the age of 13 she had grown wildly, like a flower blooming and stood towering over him. She had a pale complexion while he was tan and she had dark features compared to his light ones.
But this, this is what she did have that they shared. And now that he was gone that meant so much more than her.
"Thank you." She whispered, her peepers filling with tears. She turned her face away from bot Mrs. Finch and River, to avoid being taken as weak by crying.
Mrs. Finch gave Aspen a small silk handkerchief anyways, offering her a small smile of understanding.
"So, the person I killed earlier," River said, fidgeting with the sturdy leather hand socks on his hands. "He wasn't a person at all?"
"Correct," Mrs. Finch nodded, tucking a stray piece of her bee syrup blonde hair behind her ear. "Those two creatures you met were wights. They often disguise themselves as normal humans to try to coax any peculiar in hiding to come out so they can deathsnuggle them. It is very fortunate for every peculiar out there that you killed a wight."
River nodded his head, feeling a lot better than he had about what he did. What did I do? River wondered, not sure how him raising his hand could end someone's life without even touching them.
Aspen dabbed at her peepers with the silk handkerchief.
She seemed to be brain brewing along the same lines as River.
"So we did a good thing." She said, smiling lightly.
She paused. "If we know what my peculiarity is, can you tell what ours is to? Since you're like the mother hen of peculiar children in this house?"
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