Constellations

***Constellations*** is a *Fae Tales Verse AU*, and part 5 of *Spoils*. This is a sequel to *Falling Falling Stars* set around ten years afterward and focusing on Gwyn ap Nudd and Efnisien ap Wledig. It is currently ongoing on Patreon and Archive of Our Own.

## Summary

"It’s been around ten years since the events of *Falling Falling Stars*, and Efnisien and Gwyn are living their respective lives, and haven’t really been in touch since. Over time, Gwyn becomes more curious about his cousin, especially after learning something he hopes isn’t true, and after seeing him by chance in a park, kicks off a series of events that helps create new opportunities for reconciliation, and discovering what it really means to be family.

(You need to have read *Falling Falling Stars* for this one to make sense!)"

## Character Bios

### Arden Mercury

#### Life

Arden is Efnisien ap Wledig's partner. He sometimes goes to a park with Efnisien and Efnisien's dog.

### Ash Glashtyn

#### Personality

Ash "used to be a very chronic kleptomaniac", but got better. He still slips up sometimes.

#### Life

Ash is Augus Each Uisge's brother and Gwyn ap Nudd's friend. Ash and Gwyn worked together previously.

### Augus Each Uisge

#### Personality

Augus has a particular kind of anger at himself and situations when he doesn't know how to deal with them.

#### Life

Augus is Ash's brother and Gwyn's partner. He assaulted Efnisien at Forest, a BDSM club, which was partially why Efnisien later ended up in a hospital. When Augus learned about it, he turned pale and became furiously angry.

Gwyn does not initially talk to him about seeing Efnisien, because Augus does not have mental space for it.

### Efnisien ap Wledig

#### Appearance

Efnisien has the face of a model, vivid blue eyes, and thick eyelashes. His hair is longer than Gwyn's/could be tied into a ponytail, and his former curls "dropped out into a softer wave." He wears glasses with golden rims. The first day Gwyn spots him at the park, Efnisien is wearing, "pale yellow jeans and a pale blue button-up shirt."

#### Personality

Efnisien has an eating disorder, and has gone nonverbal in the past. Currently, he seems happier, and can be in public with Arden, his dog, and other people and animals.

#### Life

Efnisien is Gwyn's cousin, and used to buy him food when Gwyn lived at the An Fnwy Estate. Efnisien also abused Gwyn. Efnisien was assaulted by Crielle ferch Fnwy, his aunt, and his injuries were seen to by Lija. Efnisien later resided at Hillview for a time. He was initially assessed by Dr Gary Konowalous, and then handed off to Michael Henton for treatment. He was non-responsive for a time, even when Gwyn came to visit, though he sometimes reached for the books Gwyn brought him. Henton abused Efnisien for a long time before finally getting caught and fired, and Efnisien's care was taken over by Dr Gary.

Efnisien was assaulted in Forest and attempted suicide afterward, both of which are why he ended up in the hospital. He was visited by Lija, which made things worse.

In the story present, Efnisien is Arden's partner and Gwyn's cousin. He has a pet black poodle. He sometimes goes to a park with Arden and Efnisien's dog. Efnisien rarely messages Gwyn, and Gwyn rarely messages him.

### Dr Gary Konowalous

#### Life

Dr Gary runs Hillview. He initially assessed Efnisien, and then handed him off to Henton. Dr Gary later took charge of Efnisien's treatment after Henton's abuses were discovered.

Some months after Gwyn learns about Henton's potential abuse of Efnisien, Gwyn calls Dr Gary to ask about it. Dr Gary is close-mouthed due to confidentiality reasons, and says he won't tolerate more calls like this from Gwyn. He encourages Gwyn to talk to Efnisien instead.

### Graham

#### Personality

Graham is upset with himself for stealing, but is honest about his problems, and tries to deal with them. He is understanding that he might be fired for doing it. He gets in stress loops about it.

#### Life

Graham used to steal things, got spotted by people who needed that skillset, and got trained into the big leagues, which included beating people with baseball bats and armed robbery. He was sent to Hillview when he was caught for the latter. He was around when Henton assaulted Efnisien/was caught for it. He is also a member of Shoplifters Anonymous, where he has a sponsor. Hillview got him to a place where he could do outpatient treatment, and he went back to retail. He is friends with Vic.

Graham is a new hire at the grocery store Gwyn works at and is reported for the petty theft of a small chocolate bar. "He came highly recommended, and he always perfectly balanced his tills." When Gwyn brings him in to talk, Graham admits to two more thefts. Gwyn is sympathetic, due to Gwyn's experiences with Ash, and asks Graham what the store can do to help, because the incidents can't keep happening, but they also don't want to fire him. This reassures Graham. Gwyn convinces him to give therapy a shot.

### Gwyn ap Nudd

#### Appearance

Gwyn is 33 years old at the story start. His hair is long enough to tie back into a short ponytail, and at the story start, he wears "sunglasses, jeans" and "fashionable joggers".

#### Personality

After learning more about his eating disorder, he finds an ability to manage it, though he still has, "bad days, bad weeks, even bad months, but his eating disorder hadn't relapsed once in the last three years, and he knew some of that was because of his studies."

#### Life

Gwyn was abused by his family when he lived at the An Fnwy Estate. Because of that - largely Crielle - he developed an eating disorder. Efnisien would sometimes buy him food, which Gwyn rarely ate. He later moved away and received a paid settlement from his family for their abuses of him.

Gwyn is the partner of Augus, cousin of Efnisien, and has a dog named Fleet. Gwyn rarely messages Efnisien, and Efnisien rarely messages him. Gwyn works at a grocery store, and is also wealthy enough to become a stakeholder in the company and insists "on donating a portion of funding towards mental and physical health and wellbeing." Gwyn transitions "from full-time management to part-time management" at the store so he can attend university, where he is working on "a double major in Business Management and Nutrition, with a view to eventually streaming into a Masters of Dietetics." He is currently seeing an eating disorder psychologist, which is how he understood that Efnisien has an eating disorder as well. He has a financial planner who helped him reinvest his money and made him even richer.

Some months after hearing from Graham about Henton assaulting a Hillview resident with a strange name who had nowhere else to go, Gwyn calls Gary to try to get information about Henton and Efnisien's connection. Gary notes that he won't block Gwyn's number, but he won't tolerate more calls like this from Gwyn. Afterward, Gwyn has a panic attack, and starts to consider the idea of Efnisien having trauma of his own.

He sometimes goes running in the park, which is how he first spots Efnisien and Arden having a picnic years after learning about Efnisien's potential trauma with Henton. He later goes to watch them there, and is shocked at Efnisien's appearance, that Efnisien is with a dog, that Efnisien and Arden are still together, and that they look so happy.

### Lija

#### Personality

Lija says that she felt bad for Efnisien, but knows she made everything worse by visiting him in the hospital. When Gwyn explained that it was easier to deal with when you considered the things Efnisien had done, Lija looked heartbroken.

#### Life

Lija is family to Augus and Ash, and a friend of Gwyn's. She is also a surgeon, and violated rules by visiting Efnisien in the hospital without Efnisien's consent. Gary tore her a new one for it, and she nearly lost her job over it.

### Matilda

#### Life

Matilda is/was seemingly a worker at Hillview. Graham saw Matilda while Graham was at Hillview. Graham says she understood his brain better than him, and that she was not afraid of armed robbery or someone putting people in the hospital.

### Michael Henton ("Mike")

#### Life

Henton is a former psychologist of Hillview. He repeatedly abused Efnisien during Efnisien's time at Hillview. He also seemingly saw Vic, and got a little weird with him near the end of Henton's tenure. He was finally caught due to the camera records, and fired.

### Vic

#### Life

Vic is/was a resident of Hillview, and a friend of Graham's. He was seemingly seen by Henton for a time. Near the end of Henton's tenure, Henton was a little weird with Vic.

## Locations

### Hillview

Hillview is a residential treatment facility owned and run by Dr Gary. Henton is a former psychologist there. Matilda is/was a worker there. Efnisien and Graham are former residents. Vic is/was a former resident.

### Park

Arden and Efnisien sometimes come here to have picnics with Efnisien's dog. Gwyn sometimes runs here. There are a lot of people around doing things when it's sunny.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 not\_poignant. “Constellations.” *Spoils. Archive of Our Own,* 3 December 2023. https://archiveofourown.org/works/52002724/chapters/131504620. Chapter 1: A Stalking Star.
2. ↑ not\_poignant. "Falling Falling Stars." *Spoils. Archive of Our Own,* 20 July 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/25401025/chapters/61602112. Chapter 2: Green.