Odin would take to the skies. Elle would close her eyes. And for a few fleeting moments, she could watch the world through the eyes of a crow.

It took practice. The first few attempts left her dizzy, stumbling into bookshelves and tree trunks as her own vision fought with his. But eventually it became second nature.

He could soar silently over the Realm—or even Strangerville—and with enough concentration and a simple sight-sharing spell, Elle found that she could briefly borrow one of his eyes, seeing the world exactly as he saw it.

Unlike Jinx, he didn't seem interested in filling every silence. He was content simply being there. Watching, listening, keeping her company. Over the weeks that followed, Elle discovered Odin possessed an extraordinary gift for observation.

The crow held her gaze for a long moment before giving a single, dignified nod. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. Elle laughed softly. "I'll take that as your approval," the corners of her mouth lingered in a smile as Odin climbed back onto her shoulder.

The crow stepped from her shoulder onto her forearm and studied her with bright, intelligent eyes. "Ooh! I know what to call you—I studied a little bit of Norse Mythology—argh, what was it again.." The bird waited patiently. "Odin!"

Then a calm voice brushed gently across her thoughts. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. Elle blinked. "Another familiar?" 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. A smile spread slowly across her face. "I'd love to."

"Not scared of people, I see," she said quietly, trying not to move a muscle. The crow tucked its wings neatly against its body. For several moments, neither of them moved. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, it felt.. familiar. Warm.

It tilted its head in response. "Not much of a talker?" Elle smiled. Finally, another quiet caw, before pushing off the rock. Instead of flying away, it circled her twice and then gently landed on her shoulder. Elle froze, unsure of what to do.

She looked toward the noise. A crow had landed on the rocks just ahead of her. Its feathers shimmered with hints of blue whenever the light caught them, dark as midnight everywhere else. It simply watched her. She cocked her head to the side. "Well, hello."

A few days later, after collecting every book she could find that had any information on these magical lockboxes, another surprise found her. She had a routine. She would wander away from main pathways and enjoy the quiet hum of the Realm before heading home. This time, a soft caw echoed ahead.

The professor continued speaking, explaining the complexity of the ritual and the danger of attempting it improperly. Elle barely heard another word. One thought echoed louder than everything else. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 there was a way. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 Austin didn't have to live with the Wraith forever.

His fingers traced one of the carved runes. "And in exceedingly rare circumstances.. they may be used to imprison curses, malevolent spirits, and certain magical entities through an ancient binding ritual." Elle stopped writing, her heart skipped, & she almost choked on her own spit as she gulped.

"This," he said, resting one hand on its lid, "is a magical lockbox, for lack of better definition." Every student leaned forward. "They are among the oldest magical artifacts still in use. Properly enchanted, they are capable of containing objects too dangerous to destroy."

The days blurred together. She found books on enchantments, protective wards, binding circles, even counter-curses—but none of it was what she needed. Until one afternoon. Professor Montresor set an aged metal chest on his desk. It was no larger than a jewelry box, and wrapped in golden runes.

Jinx followed Elle wherever she went, watching her closely. Trying to make sense of the scrambled thoughts in her brain. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. Elle snorted, "I'm taking that as a compliment." 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵.

She couldn't shake the feeling that it was her fault. So she studied. She read every book she could convince the librarians to let her borrow.

She had only one goal. Find a way to help Austin. The Night Wraith was still terrorizing him and it was getting worse. She could see it every time he flinched at shadows or rubbed tired eyes after another restless night. He rarely talked about it anymore but he didn't have to. Elle knew.

The beginning of Winter came and went so quickly, weeks went by unnoticed. Elle was spending more time than ever in the Magic Realm, most afternoons after school found her stepping through the portal, disappearing into libraries, classrooms—any forgotten corner of the Realm she could find.

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒷𝓎 𝐿𝑜𝓎𝒶𝓁𝓉𝓎 👁️

You better believe I had some fun testing out these adorable poses for Emma 😏🤪 Also, it's totally her fault that this song has been stuck in my head for the last month 💀

˚★⋆ 𝚎𝚖𝚖𝚊 🔮@alluringsims.bsky.social · 6d ago

day 4 of 🍃 SUMMER IN NATURE COLLAB 🍃 is here and it's my turn!! totally exposing myself here as a country music lover but if you know, you know.. 😛 i had so much fun making these! 🎣 free for everyone! www.patreon.com/alluringsims...

A CC collection called Richboy? Yeah, that was made for Cade 😏

I'm literally always checking my OCs horoscopes before I even check my own 💀 It's about time I posted another one of these! The zodiacs of gen two: a thread 🧵

If you haven’t had enough of Beau yet, here he is being very HIM in Maia’s story 🤣💀

maiawe ✨@maiawe.bsky.social · last mo.

Their playful texts are interrupted by a voice. Beau, of course. That guy from Oasis Spring High School, whose cocky attitude toward him hadn't let up since they met. If he hadn't been a serious opponent, he wouldn't have bothered with him. But the fact is, Simon enjoys having an equal for a change.

God, what an emotional rollercoaster for these guys. Finding out they might be destined to spend forever with each other, coming to terms with that and realising it's not true after all?? Their feelings must be all over the place 🥲 Dying to know what you think, as always!! Thank you for reading 💕💕💕

Her words landed heavily between them. A dare. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴. “I don’t wanna,” he whispered, kissing her a second time, without any of the same doubt that filled the first. “I’m stayin’.”

“D’you feel any different?” Beau questioned as Jewel sat back on her heels. She was the one with the heightened senses, after all. Perhaps she’d felt something he hadn’t. “It was a really good kiss.” “But we’re not…” “No,” she breathed. “You ain’t stuck with me. You can leave whenever you want.”

Nothing. Jewel deepened the kiss first, seeking the moment she was waiting for, wondering if their nerves and inexperience had built a wall between them that their bond couldn’t break through. Beau matched her, pulling her in as he searched for his own confirmation. It didn’t change anything.

They closed the distance in unison, both hesitating for just a second as their breath mingled, offering one another a final, silent way out. Neither of them took it. The moment their lips met was tentative; uncertain, and full of questions they hadn’t known they needed the answer to. Then…

Beau tipped his head back and laughed; a sound that Jewel had come to realise was one of her favourite things. “I’ll come up with a better name, promise. I’ve got time.” “Might have a lotta time,” she murmured, her gaze shifting to his lips. “Last chance to change your mind.” “I wanna know.”