Varian was thinking of what he should do as an experiment next. He was stressed due to having barely any ideas and being too afraid to commit to those ideas. God, he hated his fear of failure sometimes. Most of the time he could tune it out, but he just couldn't today. Varian sighed and looked over to Ruddiger, who worriedly chittered.
"Come here bud." He said, and the raccoon made his way over to Varian's arms. Once Ruddiger was in his arms, Varian took off his gloves, petting his back.Varian found comfort feeling the fur on his hands, rather than not being able to feel it due to his gloves. He rarely took off his gloves now that he thought about it. He smiled, hearing Ruddiger purr.
Ruddiger nuzzled against him and Varian smiled at him. Ruddiger always knew how to calm Varian's nerves, and he would always appreciate him for that. Something sparked in Varian's mind.
"Hey, Ruddiger, buddy. Why don't you make us some hot cocoa?" He asked, and Ruddiger chittered excitedly, running off to go make the hot cocoa. Varian smiled. Ruddiger loved making hot cocoa, and hot cocoa was the best drink in Varian's opinion. Water was important, but like, you couldn't get better than a nice warm mug of hot cocoa. Or in his case, a nice warm beaker of hot cocoa. Has he thought of hot cocoa to much? He has definitely thought of hot cocoa to much. Eh, you can never think of hot cocoa too much.
Varian watched him make the hot cocoa and caught something out of the corner of his eye. He saw the black rocks and the remaining amber on the ground in front of them. He usually tried not to look at them. Y'know, bad memories. However, he started to get curious about why the black rocks made amber when reacting to that mixture. Varian didn't want to test it out though, as he was still afraid of messing it up and it being a disaster. That didn't stop him from being curious, however
Varian got a bit closer to the rocks, hearing the noise of his boots against the amber. He stared up at the black rocks, feeling an urge of some sort. Ruddiger came over, pawing at his legs, but his mind didn't register it. He just reached out for the rocks. As Varian touched the rocks he saw a blue glow coming from above. He looked up and saw his hair floating and glowing blue. He freaked out and stumbled away, falling onto the floor. His hair stopped glowing blue, and he let out a sigh of relief.
Ruddiger nuzzled his face and Varian smiled. "I'm alright bud. Just got a little spooked." Ruddiger wasn't buying it, but Varian already knew he wouldn't. "Why don't you get that hot cocoa? That'll be nice right now" Ruddiger rushed off to get it and brought it to Varian. He chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Thanks bud" He said as he gave the raccoon a finger gun of appreciation, taking a sip. Ruddiger chittered happily and nommed on a marshmallow he didn't put in the hot cocoa. Varian chuckled once more. He was glad he had Ruddiger. So glad he had Ruddiger. He helped him a whole lot when no one else could.
Varian continued to sip his hot cocoa. He was so glad everything worked out. Well, almost everything. What happened didn't excuse his actions at that time, however. They just gave him a reason. If he could take it all back, he would. However, he was a 14 year old who thought that he'd loose his dad forever if he didn't take action, so he acted irrationally. As a 16 year old now, he knew he'd never make such rash decisions again, mainly from that experience.
Ruddiger nuzzled against him, bringing Varian out of his thoughts. Varian put down his hot cocoa and picked Ruddiger up, giving the raccoon a hug and running his fingers through his fur. Ruddiger purred, and Varian calmed down a bit. He saw the rocks again out of the corner of his eye, and wondered why his hair reacted the way it did. He had touched the rocks before. Then again, he had his gloves on then... Did that mean that only happened when he touched the rocks without his gloves on? Would that always happen when he touched them without his gloves on?
As Varian's mind started to wonder, questions filling his head, he noticed Ruddiger chittering towards him. This brought him out of his thoughts. "What's up bud?" Then, he heard a voice call out something he was all too familiar with. Why didn't he think of this earlier!
"Varian! Come out for dinner!" His father Quirin's voice called out. Varian got up off the ground, putting Ruddiger down. He walked over to his desk and grabbed his gloves, putting them back on his hands. His dad would probably question why he didn't have them on otherwise
"Coming dad!" Varian called out, taking one more sip of the hot cocoa before exiting his lab. He couldn't help but see Ruddiger sneaking another marshmallow as he left and he smiled once more, thinking of the raccoon he befriended. God, this creature made him smile a lot, didn't he? Varian then headed off to the kitchen, where his dad wanted him.
Varian noticed his father at the table, looking like he had something on his mind, along with the two plates of food on the table. He walked over to the table and sat down, wondering what his father could possibly have on his mind. As soon as Varian saw his dad look up from the table to look at him, he knew that they were about to have a talk. About what though? He hadn't done anything recently to be disappointed in, in fact quite the opposite! He hadn't been doing much at all!
"Calm down, this doesn't have to do with anything you've done." Quirin said, breaking the silence. Varian let out a sigh of relief, and took a bite of the food his father made. "I have to talk to you about.. much different stuff than I've talked to you about before." As Varian heard his dad say these words, he got increasingly curious and a bit scared if he was honest. Very different stuff? How different? His dad took a bite out of his own food before saying anything else.
"So, this is something I tried to tell you in the letter I wrote you before being fully encased in the amber. The letter still mentioned how proud I was of you, but that wasn't all it said." Varian listened to every word with intent, intent to understand whatever his dad was trying to get to him. "When I got freed from the amber, however, the note melted, and I chickened out. This led to me only mentioning the part of me being proud of you. I'm ready to tell you now, however, and will be able to get my point across better than I ever could with that letter anyways."
"So, years before you were born, I lived in the Dark Kingdom" Varian's ears perked up at this. His father? Lived in the dark kingdom? "Myself and others were in a group called the Brotherhood, a group, well clan, where we all took an oath of allegiance to the moonstone. This clan was created when the king, King Edmund, decided to keep the moonstone a secret. This was due to him trying to keep it out of the hands of people who wanted to do no good with its power. So, he entrusted his most trusted knights, which included me, to keep it a secret from others." Woah. His father was a knight in the Dark Kingdom?
"Years later, the king tried to destroy the moonstone. I warned him that he would not be able to due to the opal's power. Adira, another member of the Brotherhood, was also there with me and King Edmund. He did not heed my warning, and reached out to touch the moonstone. Once he did, it sent out a blast knocking both me and Adira down. After this, there was an evacuation of the kingdom, and so, with everyone else, I had to evacuate. I have reason to believe that some of the Moonstone's power was transferred to me when the blast happened, and due to that, I gave it to you. If I am correct in this, than it would explain the blue streak you've had since you were a baby." Varian thought of that. Yeah, that was really strange, wasn't it? Most people assume it was due to an experiment, and Varian doesn't correct them, due to him truly not knowing himself why he has it.
"You always wore gloves, trying to mimic your mom. You looked up to her so much, and she's probably where you got your interest in alchemy from. I got used to seeing gloves on those little hands. I figured you would be better off wearing them, as I didn't know how much power you truly received from the moonstone. So I never discouraged you, figuring it was better off this way, for your sake. Plus, it would probably crush your spirits if I told you to stop." Quirin gave a little chuckle and Varian couldn't help but join in. "I tried to tell you this in the letter, however it was very condensed and poorly worded and you probably needed more explanation from me anyways. I just wrote it last minute. I figured I should tell you now, since I was going to have to at one point and I had hid it from you long enough." Quirin ended, and Varian looked off to the side
Should he tell his dad about what happened earlier? With what his father just told him now? Quirin took another bite of his food, letting his son process all of this. As Varian looked back at his father, he was faced with the decision of whether or not he should tell him. He figured he probably should, as they were having this conversation. He just had to muster the will to do so.
"Umm.. I have something to say dad.." He caught his father's attention, and now he knew there was no going back. "So.. Earlier I had Ruddiger in my arms and I took my gloves off to feel his fur as I pet him. This led to me not having gloves on for a bit, and... I ended up touching the rocks left in my lab.. Let's just say that what you're saying might make sense..." Quirin seemed more and more curious as Varian talked. "When I touched the rocks with my bare hand, I noticed that my hair... My hair starred glowing blue" Quirin gave him an inquiring look, as if to say 'Really?', and Varian nodded.
"I got freaked out, and immediately got away from the rocks. Ruddiger calmed me down afterwards. That would make sense if I had some moonstone power, wouldn't it?" His father nodded, and he seemed to process this. Varian ate another bite of his food, waiting to see if his dad would say anything else.
"Well, now that that's happened, who knows what's to come next?" Quirin finally spoke. Varian nodded. His father was right. Who knows? "In the meantime, it may be good to keep your gloves on, and maybe talk to this princess about this." Varian wasn't expecting that last part. I mean, he really should've, in hindsight, but he didn't.
"Wouldn't the princess have more.. important matters to deal with? I mean, I'm not saying no, I just.. she probably has other stuff to do being the princess and all" Varian said nervously, in that way he always did. Quirin recognized the tone immediately, and could see right through the lies Varian had just told.
"It was just a suggestion. I mean with her being the sundrop and everything, it might be good for her to know." Quirin clarified. Varian sighed. He knew his dad was right. That didn't make him any less nervous about it. He continued to eat his food and his dad did the same. Once he was done with his food he grabbed an apple to give to Ruddiger. His dad knew exactly why he got the apple.
Varian headed back to his lab and was greeted by Ruddiger. "Hey bud. I gotcha this" He said, giving the apple to the raccoon. Ruddiger happily ate it. Varian sat down in his chair, looking at the notes he had written earlier. He had discarded them on the desk. It mainly contained notes about how frustrated he was with himself and had some little ideas mixed in. He just swept them into the trash. He didn't need reminder of how bad he was at his passion today.
Ruddiger hopped onto his desk, nuzzling his face against Varian's. Varian smiled and pet him. If he was honest, Ruddiger was kind of like an emotional support animal to Varian, and he was glad to have him. How much was Varian gonna think of that? That he was glad he had Ruddiger? It was true, but he didn't have to think of it so much. Well, with Ruddiger, he really had to. Then Varian thought of something.
The princess! He still had to tell Rapunzel about this. He wasn't really looking forward to that.. Well, it was getting late... Varian could just... Tell her tomorrow! Plus, he'd have to travel from Old Corona to the castle. He's sure his dad would want him to go in the daylight rather than in the dark. Varian saw the rocks out of the corner of his eye again, and decided to go back to it. He wanted to see if the hair glowing thing happened again. Whether it did or didn't, he would record it. It was honestly a bit amusing, how Varian was treating himself as a science experiment. Even if it was magic and not science
Varian hated that. He actively said how he didn't do magic, however, he himself was magic. Ironic, wasn't it? He shook his head. Focus Varian. Varian headed over to the rocks, hearing the sound of his boots against the amber again. He took off one of his gloves and reached forward, the ungloved hand making contact with the very familiar rocks. His hair started glowing blue again, as he suspected, but this time, his freckles were also glowing blue. That didn't make any sense to Varian. Did they glow before, and Varian didn't notice? Or did they only now start glowing?
As he was contemplating this, he felt a strange sensation. It felt like someone was connected to this same rock. He questioned it at first, but remembered what happened with Rapunzel with the red rocks. She said she could sense Cassandra. Was that what was happening right now? He gasped quietly, as the other person seemed to notice his presence like he did with them.
"Varian?"A familiar voice called out. Varian recognized the voice immediately.
"Cass?" Varian said, immediately using the nickname like it was second nature. Varian didn't know what to think. He was communicating with Cassandra through the rocks? He could only imagine how shocked Cassandra was. As far as she's concerned, he shouldn't be able to do this.
"What are you... How are you... I thought Rapunzel-"
"-was the only other one who could do it? Yeah, me too. Turns out I was wrong though." Varian said. He was sure he sounded a lot calmer than he actually was. He still couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
"How are you able to do this?" Cassandra asked, a confused tone to her voice. Varian didn't know how to say this to Cass. Like, 'Oh, it turns out I got a little bit of moonstone magic in me by total accident. Funny story actually!'
"Well... Uh... I guess I could tell you." Varian replied hesitantly. Cass seemed to be listening closely to him. "So... I kinda have some moonstone magic because my dad was in the Dark Kingdom and close to it when the moonstone let out a blast, which was what led the Dark Kingdom being evacuated and leaving only the king. Anyways, I'm getting a bit off topic here. I heard of this event from my father, and he suggested that it would the reason I have the blue stripe in my hair. And I kinda confirmed his suspicions because earlier today I had touched this rock and my hair started glowing blue, like it's doing now, except this time my freckles are also glowing. That's basically it, I don't wanna talk you're ear off"
There was a bit of silence as Cass presumably processed all of this. "I just thought the blue stripe was from one of your experiments" Cass finally responded.
"That's what everyone thinks" Varian said with a little chuckle. It was obvious that the mood was not right for this, but he still did it nonetheless.
"So you're telling me that you have some moonstone magic, the same moonstone that I am in possession of right now" Varian nodded, but then realized that she couldn't see him
"Crazy huh?" Varian said nervously. It was nice to be able to contact Cass, but this whole situation was just all too much for Varian. Too much magic. Too much magic he didn't understand
"Can you have control of the rocks too?" Cass asked, obviously just as curious of this as he was. Varian shook his head, once again forgetting that she can't see him.
"Not as far as I know. I just found this out today Cass" Varian said flatly. He then sensed Cassandra pull away from the rock, Varian's connection to her breaking. He pulled his hand away from the rocks, and his hair and freckles stopped glowing. He was caught off guard, stumbling back a bit. It was really weird feeling that magic coursing through him only for it to stop in a second. Ruddiger chittered worriedly at him. "I'm okay bud, really" Varian said, trying to reassure the raccoon. It seemed to work a little, but Ruddiger obviously still had his doubts.
Varian felt oddly tired. Like using the magic to communicate with Cassandra took something out of him. It made sense, especially since he only had a fraction of the moonstone's power. He held Ruddiger close, still only wearing one glove. Varian felt Ruddiger's fur against his hand, and felt a sense of comfort. He felt himself start to doze off, and he snuggled Ruddiger before he truly was out.
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3133 words! That's a lot. At least for me, as a small Wattpad writer. This was fun to write, and I am willing to write a part two if requested. As you can tell, I love our boy Varian, and the idea of Moonstone Varian. Oh, btw, this is the 3rd oneshot, but I haven't finished the others yet (Which are both Sanders Sides). I may also do a oneshot of Eugene. Just gotta get into the hang of writing his character. That's all! Bye!
