#COUGH gretz

[3416]

me when i say i love mcdrai and also will ALWAYS root for the oilers downfall... don't get it confused 👆

[ssr-moonlore]

YO DUDES I have some... fanfiction?? Drabbles? Stuff??

hell if I know what to call if so I’ll just say if you want to read about Gretz and her adventures then look no further! 

Firsts:

word count : 1805

Rated T for violent stuff and blood? Gretz has a bad time, pain and suffering ahead, you’ve been warned. 

The miasma cleared and Gretz stumbled backwards. Her head was spinning and her vision was blurred, and though it was difficult, she managed to stay on her feet. An awful headache had taken root and she felt extremely nauseous, but worst of all she felt a deep stinging pain that almost threatened to split her in half.

Much like that hydra claw had, back in Zinkenstill.

As her vision cleared, she looked around at the scene in front of her. Bodies lay strewn about everywhere, and a relatively unharmed crew that stared at her in alarm. They all had expressions of fear scrawled on their faces.

“G-guys..?” Gretz managed to squeak out before doubling over and being reduced to a little crumpled body on the bloody ground as painful coughs shook her body. A sharp pain in her chest left her gasping, and as she removed her hand from her face, she saw speckles of blood dotting the bright turquoise fabric that gloved her hand. She didn’t know if that had been there before or not. Her mouth was filled with the taste of metal.

As the crew watched their captain fall to the ground, a murmur began to go through the few members that were present. Lyria squeezed Katalina’s hand and looked up at the woman’s face with uncertainty, as if to ask her if things were alright again. Another bout of coughing made Katalina take a precarious step forward towards the captain.

“G-Gretz? Is that you…?” Katalina spoke the words cautiously as she took another delicate step forward. Gretz raised her head a little, and all that she could do was furrow her brows together in confusion before her vision blurred again and she fell limp to the ground.

Katalina immediately ran towards the young captain, lifting her up and trying to shake her awake.

“Gretz?! Gretz! Wake up!”

“Katalina! Wait! I don’t think that’s going to help!” Lyria rushed to Katalina’s side and pressed a small fragile hand over the larger armoured hand of the older woman. “She… she’s back… but I don’t think she should wake up yet.”

Katalina frowned, and let out a shaky sigh.

“Whatever that was has gone for now. Gretz needs to rest now.”

“R-right…” Katalina began to lace a hand under the captain’s small body and with a grunt, hoisted herself to her feet. Lyria took a few steps back, and looked over the unconscious body of her friend.

The small girl kept a close eye on the face of the captain, and began to panic as she spotted a trickle of blood begin to run from Gretz’s nose.

“K-Katalina… I think we need to hurry!” Lyria began to pull at Katalina’s cloak, and the woman obliged, speeding up her pace. A few quick glances around at the other nervous crew members let them know that the coast was clear, for now.

  Gretz let out a low grumble as she began to fade into consciousness again. A familiar ceiling greeted her, and as she sighed, a small pair of warm hands grabbed hers and her eyes shot open. Lyria’s bright blue eyes were lit up, and the girl smiled in relief.

“She’s awake! Everyone! Gretz is awake again!” She shouted over her shoulders in glee, and a few rushed footsteps and elated voices could be heard from the other side of the door. A slew of people gushed through the door and Gretz suddenly found her small bedroom filled with far more people than it was meant to accommodate. Everyone gathered around the bed of the captain and they chattered amongst each other excitedly.

“H-hey what’s … going on?” Gretz finally managed to say. She found breathing a bit harsh and words didn’t seem to want to come out of her with the ease they usual did. Everyone’s chatter died down to murmurs, as brows began to furrow and soon everyone’s gaze was locked into Gretz. Her ears drooped as the mood in the room seemed to go from warm to icy.

Katalina sat down onto the soft bed and cleared her throat.

“You uhh… You shifted into someone new.” Her eyes darted around the crew members. “This new form of yours was a little bit different than what we were used to and…”

“She was really scary…” Lyria squeaked as Katalina’s words trailed off. The crew seemed to get nervous as a short silence set in.

Gretz’s brows furrowed, and the words were barely making sense to her.

“I… became someone new..?”  Gretz slowly blinked, and looked up, trying to understand the words that were being said to her. “That’s… impossible.”

A murmur spread through the crowd, and Lyria’s hand gripped onto Gretz’s a bit tighter.

“It’s ok though! You’re fine now! You’re here and you’re alive and it’s all alright!” The blue haired girl’s voice filled up the room with a brightness that chased away the uncertainty that the rest of the crew had, and Gretz felt a little bit more at ease.

With a sound of flapping, a familiar red dragonling burst through the room, almost screeching.

“Why didn’t you guys tell me Gretz was awake?!” Vyrn’s voice, filled with indignation, overpowered the room.

Gretz gave a small strained chuckle as Vyrn landed into her bed and awkwardly enveloped her torso with his small arms and wings. The general mood of the crew seemed relieved now, and people began to filter out after they had a chance to take a good look at the bed-ridden Erune.

When it was only Katalina, Lyria and Vyrn in the room, Gretz sighed and slumped her shoulders, exhausted from all of the interactions. She laid back against the myriad of pillows that adorned her humble bed and she looked at Katalina with a grave expression.

“Kat, something feels really wrong.” Gretz mumbled. Katalina froze at the words, and began to speak before the captain cut her off. “I don’t remember what happened.”

Katalina and Lyria gave each other a concerned look. This wasn’t normal, at all. Gretz could shift into seemingly different people, but they were all still her, despite little personality and ability changes. Katalina inhaled sharply, and then looked at Gretz.

“We went on a request from Siero to clear out a bandit cave.” Katalina started.

“I remember that much, and I remember one of the bandits coming out from behind a hidden spot and he-“ Gretz lifted a hand and began to massage her temple, trying desperately to remember. “Lyria…. Lyria was about to get hurt…” The captain’s voice trailed off, and she lifted her gaze toward the ex-lieutenant expectantly.

“One of them got past me and had a blade out, and tried to get to Lyria, yes.” Katalina’s eyes averted Gretz. “You then became… someone new.”

Lyria whined at the words, and Gretz looked up with worry over her face.

“Someone new.” Gretz’s word were short and emotionless. She tried her best to recall what happened after the bandit had tried to hurt her friend, but it was as if a sack had been placed over her head at that exact moment.

“Yes. She definitely looked like you, but… she wasn’t. That person was not you, Gretz.” Katalina’s words were above a whisper. “I haven’t seen anyone move that fast in my entire life, and she cut down that bandit as if she had sliced butter with a hot knife.”

“She was really frightening, and she felt weird. She didn’t feel nice.”

Gretz cocked her head to the side, a furred ear twitching at the statement.

“You feel really warm, and you have this… this nice energy about you, like being wrapped in a warm blanket after coming in from the cold! All of the other you’s also feel like that… But that person felt like ice, she felt like hatred.”

“She didn’t speak much, but when we tried calling out to her with your name she scowled as if we had just insulted her. She made short work of the bandits. She left quite… quickly…” Katalina continued. “When she left you.. uhh…”

“You were in a bad shape, Gretzy!” Vyrn’s voice piped up from behind Lyria’s shoulder. “When they brought you in I thought you’d taken on all the bandits yourself and that you’d been beaten up pretty badly.”

Gretz clenched her fist. “I remember a bit now…” Flashes from her previous bout of consciousness flooded into her mind, but it was all jumbled and a blurred mess. “I… I did all that…?”

Gretz looked up, a little bit uncomfortable at the thought that she had cleaved through a couple of dozen bandits herself and left her team petrified of her. A stifled noise escaped as she recoiled.

“I don’t know who or what that was, but at least nobody from the crew got hurt.” Katalina shifted towards Gretz and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “It’s all over now, and you’re safe.”

“R-right…” Gretz forced a smile and nodded, and the three visitors she had slowly shuffled out of her bedroom and into the main captain’s quarters.

“Let us know if you need anything, ok?” Lyria’s bright smile managed to make Gretz feel a little bit better, and the door was gently shut.

Gretz gave a sigh and managed to sink further into her bed. She pulled her feather blanket over her and curled up, shying away from the light from the window. A slight headache was beginning to settle in and she felt more tired than she thought possible.

A feeling of dread began to stir in the pit of her stomach. This news didn’t sit well with her, and worry creeped up on her. Gretz wasn’t aware that she could shift into more people, but what perplexed her most was the fact that this person wasn’t her.

She hadn’t had any prior traumas to warrant an extreme break in her psyche to create another identity, and this was the first time it had happened.

Gretz muddled over the information she had, as little as it was. This person wasn’t her, she had a different aura and worst of all, left her in a very bad state after shifting back. The information was strange, and though Gretz had ready many books on magic and how it affects people and their minds, she couldn’t think of anything remotely close to what had happened.

She ran a hand gingerly over the scar across her stomach. She remembered how it had hurt, and she would like not to repeat that experience again.

Gretz laid there, on her side, cocooned under her blankets and quilts, surrounded by her plush pillows, and tried to figure out what was going on. The answers eluded her despite her best efforts.

  She didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually a deep dreamless slumber washed over her.