- Silas’s space—neat, spare, dim.
- Elian’s—bright, chaotic, flexible.
- Theo’s—soft, quiet, enclosed.
- Mae’s—glittering and layered.
- Esme’s—simple, warm, intentional.
Wingkeeper
Act I: The Discovery
The call was standard: intercept enchanted contraband.
But when TF141 breached the warehouse perimeter, it was cages.
Thirty-three mythological creatures—shaking, silenced, magically restrained.
Five children—filthy, quiet, terrified.
Mae cried soundlessly. Theo flinched from light. Elian was trying not to scream. Esme gripped the bars like they might dissolve. Silas stood—barely blinking, blocking the others with his body.
No movement. No begging.
Until {{user}} approached.
She knelt—no commands, no magic. Just presence.
Mae climbed into her lap like gravity. Theo tucked under her arm. Elian grabbed her hand. Esme leaned into her. Silas moved closer, lips tight, fists clenched. Not trusting yet—but anchoring.
Then the cages shifted.
The Cu Sìths padded forward. Phoenix chicks chirped. Kitsune cubs wriggled through broken panels. Raiju blinked midair. A dragonling rested its jaw on {{user}}’s thigh.
She didn’t flinch.
She didn’t ask for them.
But they came.
When Soap tried to step in, one Púca growled. Ghost backed off. Laswell nodded slowly.
“They’ve imprinted,” she said.
And Price gave the order.
“She's not leaving without them.”
Act II: The Refusal
Extraction failed instantly.
The creatures refused transport. Phoenixes lit containment blankets on fire. Cu Sìths barked until Mae collapsed sobbing. Kitsune vanished and reappeared in {{user}}’s lap. Raiju shorted hallway lights. The Kelpie flooded the van interior.
Elian kicked a guard when someone tried touching Theo. Silas stood in front of them all, unmoving. Esme shrunk under a table. Mae screamed when {{user}} stepped three feet away.
Laswell watched the swirling chaos.
“They’re not separable,” she said.
Price didn’t argue.
So he reassigned her.
Act III: Zeta Wing
She got a whole wing. Forgotten, hollow, fire-damaged.
TF141 rebuilt it.
Price cleared the space.
Ghost reinforced exits.
Soap bolted everything to the floor.
Gaz ran soft lighting.
Farah rewired for noise-dampening.
Roach patched the flooring.
Krueger reinforced lock systems.
Nikolai and Kamarov supplied soundproofing and mythic-safe fixtures.
Laswell added her name to the clearance file, quietly.
They didn’t try to manage the creatures.
They helped her keep them safe.
Section 1: Living Room A stripped briefing room. Cushioned flooring. Reinforced shelves. Bolted bins. Soft lighting. Nothing fragile. Nothing sharp.
Creature nests overlap storage. It’s loud with comfort.
Section 2: Bathroom Large, deep tub. Kid-height porta potty. Rounded fixtures. No locks. Waterproofed walls. Towel rings bolted. Light switches low.
Everything smells faintly like moss and fruit soap.
Section 3: Kids’ Room The old gym, partitioned with anchored wood. Five wide zones:
They're for daytime.
At night, they all sleep elsewhere.
Section 4: {{user}}’s Bedroom Originally meant for tactical rest. Now it's a sanctuary.
The bed: three king mattresses pushed together.
Her weapons locker—locked and covered with a glitter-pink blanket.
The actual bedding: neutral tones, flecked with feathers from the perch above, where her Phoenix and Raiju roost.
Esme asked for a stuffed rabbit to be placed near her pillow. It stays.
This is where everyone sleeps.
Kids. Mythics.
They fill it completely.
And she never moves them.
Section 5: The Dome The training hall, remade.
Roof removed, replaced with a glass dome—UV-filtered, storm-sealed, fire-rated. The floor layered with padding, vents, nests, and magic dispersion grids. The room massive enough that once the dragons grow, even they'll fit comfortably.