#I know vixen is the word for girl fox

[stealthetrees]

In honor of 10/10, here is part of a new Fox fic I’m working on.

CC-1010 was a liar.

Fox, on the other hand, is a dirty rotten liar and a smug bitch.

Before having a name, 1010 might brag to his brothers about getting away with things. Fox learned that the true victory was in the fact that no one even knew they’d been fooled.

“Put that back!”

Vixen gave Fox the cutest puppy eyes he’d ever seen. They would have worked if Fox hadn’t caught him practicing in the mirror several weeks ago.

“He’ll know we were here!” Fox hissed.

Senator Grizzly Bear and his wife Smokey were in the middle of the nastiest divorce Fox had ever seen. Threats of physical violence had become increasingly frequent until a restraining order was placed on both of them. Every time they’ve had to meet with the judge since the proceedings were held in the hallway, allowing each to sit at opposite ends from their spouse.

The Coruscant Guard had absolutely no jurisdiction or personal stake, but followed the case with glee. Good entertainment was hard to come by after all.

Smokey Bear had recently threatened to hire thugs to break into Senator Bear's penthouse and steal half of everything of worth.

In a wild turn of events, the woman had died of alcohol poisoning earlier that night. The only witnesses were Hound and CMO Copper, who immediately rushed to hide the body and inform Fox of the recently discovered financial opportunity.

And now Fox, Sparrow, and Vixen were sneaking around Senator Grizzly Bear's penthouse, taking anything and everything worth a decent amount of credits.

Vixen, however, was determined to crack every safe in the place. Smokey Bear did not know any of the codes to the safes though. Fox was brave enough to admit to himself that it hurt watching his kid put hundreds of credits back into the open wall safe that had previously been hidden behind a very expensive painting.

Y’all will never guess what the fic is actually about cause this is just the intro. I gotta establish how regularly Fox does crime.

[notlongtolove]

the fox and her hound

“a fox?” he repeated, and you nodded. “a vixen.” spencer doesn’t understand why you call yourself a fox, not really. so you show him. not all at once, but in pieces, small glimpses of your world that you let him catch—if he can keep up.

pairing: spencer reid x fem!reader (second person, no y/n)

genre: fluff with a pinch of angst

content: a love story told through the allegory of a fox and a hound, mentions of metaphorical wounds

word count: 2k

note: no linked poem bc idk just thought of this and wanted to write it. mayhaps im taking this nature trope a tad too far lol but anyways i will probably come back to edit this.

a line: They don’t see it, do they? The way the fox rolls in the field when she thinks no one’s looking, laughing under her breath as she goes.

On your first date with Spencer, you’d asked him what animal he’d be. He had paused, tilting his head just slightly. He’s never understood why people ask questions like these. What animal? What color? What season? Animals are animals, colors are colors. It would be impossible to pick one to embody his entire being. Such separate realms of nature, totally different worlds, he thinks.

But you’re sitting across from him, head tilted, eyes glinting under dim light. Pretty. So pretty. He doesn’t want to disappoint you, doesn’t want you to think he’s boring or stiff or unfun. He wants to answer correctly, even though he knows there’s no “correct” answer to this.

“Maybe a golden retriever,” he said, trying to keep casual, “or a beagle. Something friendly.”

Something safe, he thinks. Something pretty girls statistically like.

You had smiled then, slow and soft, lifting the glass of whiskey to your lips, you said with all the certainty in the world:

“I’m a fox.”

“A fox?” he repeated, and you nodded.

“A vixen.” 

You didn’t explain it, just swirled your glass like you were swirling the word on your tongue. You loved the taste of it, loved the way it warmed your chest on the way down. Foxes are well-adapted to stay warm. Their thick winter coats, their long, bushy tails. They don’t need anyone to hold them when the frost bites or when the wind howls through the trees.

Spencer doesn’t understand why you call yourself a fox, not really. The dog stays close to the house. He doesn’t stray far, never been anywhere else. He doesn’t know. So you show him. Not all at once, but in pieces, small glimpses of your world that you let him catch—if he can keep up. The forest is dense, you see, the paths are winding and uneven. The shrubbery is thick, sharp branches clawing at the skin. There are logs in the way and the dog stumbles over them sometimes. You wonder if he’s getting tired, if your hidden path is too hard for him to navigate. If the spiders that weave their webs in his face and the fire ants that bite at his ankles are too painful to endure.

So, sometimes, you stop. You sit together on the forest floor, catching your breath. You wag your tails lazily and just talk.

“You know I’d never do anything to hurt you, right?” he asks one evening.

The fox doesn’t answer right away. Her ears twitch, and her eyes flicker toward the trees.

“I don’t like the word never,” she says finally, “It feels like an impossible standard.”

The dog thinks about this, his brow furrowing. “Okay,” he says after a moment. “I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

“I know,” she replies, her voice soft.

But the fox knows her way through the forest. She knows every twist and turn, every trap hidden beneath the leaves. You tell the dog he’d never catch up, sometimes hiding, sometimes running faster—just to see if he’ll try. Spencer doesn’t tell you how he sees that every time you disappear into the trees, you always turn back. Always looking over your shoulder, always checking to see if he’s still behind you. 

Eventually, you reach your den. Your fur coat is scratched and bruised from the branches and the logs, the forest leaving its marks on you like it always does. But you’re here. He’s here.

Silently, you wonder how many more times you’ll have to make this journey. You don’t think you can endure another. But you don’t say it.

Instead, you take him inside.

Your den is small, cobbled together from dirt and leaves, from twigs and scraps you’ve gathered over the years. You show him your dirt mantle, how you’d packed it tight with earth and how you’d lined with relics of your life. You show him the first flower you ever found, or what’s left of it—a brittle stem, its petals long gone. You tell him the story of the hound who crushed it. 

There’s a feather on the wall, light and fragile, from the first bird you ever caught. You smile as you tell him the story of the chase, how fun it had been to run and run with your foxes until the world blurred around you. Until you were the only one left. In the corner, something glints: A metal buckle, tarnished but unmistakable. From the shoe of the first hunter who’d ever caught you.

You trace your fur with your fingers, telling Spencer your adventures and stories of the traps and the teeth, of the hunters who came with rifles and ropes. The dog sits, listening, understanding. You show him how the edges of your den are marked, too. The walls are carved with notches—five, ten, fifteen. Each one a hunter or hound you’d escaped from. You’re proud, you say, even as you run your hand over the rough lines. They’re proof you survived, that you’ve outwitted them time and time again. Not unwounded, not unbroken, but alive. 

You tell him you’re very proud of yourself.

The dog tilts his head, watching you carefully. He sees the way your voice falters when you recount the stories of cages and leashes, how your tail twitches when you mention the hunters. Spencer thinks the fox is lying.

So, the dog tries to teach the fox his ways.

He clears out your mantle first. He takes down the brittle flower stem, the feather, the tarnished buckle. Then, he takes your paw and shows you how to sniff out the bright pretty toadstools, the ones that make the forest less dark. He shows you the rain puddles, not just for drinking, but for jumping in, for splashing until your laughter scares off the birds.

Together, you fill your den with new relics. Ticket stubs from the village fair, postcards you write but never send, laughter tucked away in secret corners. Kisses, soft and warm, planted like seeds that grow slowly into something that feels like home.

Spencer rubs off the old notches on your walls with the pads of his paws, the dust of their memory falling to the floor. In their place, you make new marks. Not notches, but drawings. A fox curled in the safety of her den. A dog lying beside her, his muzzle resting on his paws.

Night after night, you curl up beneath your mantle, snouts touching, tails tucked beneath you. 

And then winter comes. Now, your walls feel too big for just a lone fox.

You see, the dog always listens to his master. He sits, he fetches, he stays. But always under command, always under the whistle’s call. And when his master calls, he has to go. Tail wagging or tucked low, he goes. 

“You’re hardly ever here anymore,” your voice cuts sharper than you meant it to. 

“Can we please not do this now,” he says almost pleadingly, his jaw tight.

For the first time, in the quiet of your den, the fox feels the cold.

The dog goes. The fox doesn’t follow. She can’t. She doesn’t belong where the dog goes—to places of shiny badges and polished shoes, of clean, carpeted floors and voices that echo off tall, glass walls. So she waits in her den, her fur bristling against the chill, her paws worn from pacing the same patch of dirt.

You try to remind yourself of who you are. A fox, sly, swift, clever. A fox, who doesn’t need to wait for anyone. 

But still, when the forest quiets, you glance toward the trees. You press your ear to the ground, hoping to catch the faintest echo of his steps, the rustle of leaves under his paws. The fox runs her fingers over the edges of the drawings, tracing the uneven lines, patching the spaces in her den where the light and the wind get in with twigs and leaves. She roams the fields, trying to race the clouds again. But she doesn’t think she runs quite as fast without Spencer beside her. She chases her tail like he taught her, spinning in quick circles, but it’s not as fun when she’s alone. She doesn’t try to catch the birds anymore. It doesn’t feel the same.

When Spencer comes back, his coat bruised and worn from his time away, the fox licks his wounds. The scrapes and the scratches, soft and slow, patching his paws with the leaves she’s saved. ​​He carries something in his teeth—a token, a peace offering, a sign that he thought of you while he was away. 

A flower. 

He’d found it near the river, petals still dewy, fragile and bright. He hopes you like it. You do.

You take it from him with careful paws, eyes tracing its delicate form before placing it on your mantle, next to the postcards and ticket stubs, next to the daffodils, peonies, dahlias, irises and all the other flowers he’s found for you over time. You think back to the brittle and dead stem you once kept and wonder if there’s any way to hold onto something that beautiful forever.

Because sometimes even beautiful flowers die.

And when it comes to fight or flight, the fox always runs. They say it’s in her blood, in her very nature to flee. So she bolts. She runs away from the den, away from the mantle and the flowers he’d collected. The fox doesn’t know if she can find flowers quite as beautiful as the ones Spencer has given her.

You don’t need the flowers, you tell yourself. You’ll find a new den, find new birds to catch, rebuild your mantle from scratch, carve new notches in your walls once more. You always do.

But the hound finds you. Bred for hunting. Tracking. Scenting. For knowing where to look and how to catch. Bred for the hunt, he always finds you. Your crouched back, tail down, ready to pounce or bolt if you have to. Every instinct telling you to run, to vanish into the underbrush before he can catch you. 

“Open the door,” a voice calls, low and insistent.

The fox is curled in the corner of this den. It doesn’t hold the warmth of the last.

“I know you’re home.”

She shuts her eyes and digs deeper into the wall.

“Open the door,” he says, voice softening, pleading. "Please."

The fox exhales, and with a shudder that shakes through her, she reaches out and opens the door. She misses her flowers.

It’s not the chase you expect. No barking, no growling. You bare your teeth. But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t even flinch. 

“What do you want?” she asks, claws sharp.

“I want to talk.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Then I’ll stay here until you do.”

And so the fox and the dog sit. They wait and wait then talk and talk. By the time the first rays of the sun creep above the treetops, the fox is laughing again. It’s a sound that is warm and bright, something that makes Spencer’s heart feel a little fuller, a little lighter. He thinks he understands now. 

They don’t see it, do they? The way the fox rolls in the field when she thinks no one’s looking, laughing under her breath as she goes. The way she finds the sunniest patch to lay in and closes her eyes, tail swishing in contentment. They only see the scars and the snarls. They don’t ever see the joy.

“Why don’t you trust me?” he asks, his voice gentle but steady, the kind of tone that makes it clear he already knows the answer.

“I do,” you say quickly, instinctively.

He doesn’t push. He waits.

“I know you don’t,” he says finally, not accusing, just truthful.

You look away, fidgeting with your tail between your legs. “I’m trying,” you whisper.

“I know,” he says again, softer this time, his tail brushing lightly against your side.

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ hi if you're here! thank you for reading! feel free to like or reblog or comment or reply!

ᯓ★ song recs if you feel like it: you’re here that’s the thing by beabadoobee tsunami by niki

[kkglinka]

I love watching reactors try to puzzle out the lyrics to ruby songs but nothing beats watching newbies try to sort out the Red trailer intro, Red Like Roses. It always seems to be the same thing!

They'll figure out that "Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest" suggests a dead mother or mentor, and possibly blood. Notice that Ruby appears to be Little Red Riding Hood and wonder if her mother was killed by one of those wolf grimm. (We're all still waiting to find out, so hey).

They'll figure out that "White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test". Sometimes they know or look up Weiss' name and go, oh, lol, it's snow white, of course. Struggling with potential royalty or other high status pressures, trapped by an evil parent? Yup! Pretty much.

Then they'll get to the two most obvious, direct lyrics, and the hilarity ensues, courtesy of both gender norms and heternormativity. Like, I could understand those lines flying under the radar in 2013, but these days? C'mon now...

"Black the Beast descends from shadows..." You see the word beast? It's right there. Blake the Beast. It's straight up telling us. Blake (the black beast) Belladonna (beautiful lady aka belle). Belle is the beast in rwby'verse, but it's a two'fer, and the wrong gender and reviewers just...don't see it. Even stated plainly, and conclude she's just Belle.

But it gets worse (as in, funnier)!

"Yellow Beauty burns gold." Look, beauty; it's right there. Beauty, as in Belle, the other half of beauty and the beast? The lines are practically paired together??? Nah. We're also going to ignore the opening yellow trailer quote not to judge by appearances. Looks like goldilocks, busts up the place, busts up a guy called junior, must be goldilocks, case closed.

Yeah...you know how yang goes on that psychological journey from too violent to too passive, too passionate to depressed, too much cheerful façade, to too raw, until she finds equilibrium? We've all discussed the "just right" aspect of that — the show itself made that joke! It wasn't goldilocks and her stuff that was just right; it was baby bear and his stuff. His home life that got wrecked by a silver haired old woman (I'm pointing at Salem).

Who? Right, so, the antagonist (villain) of goldilocks and the three bears was originally an old silver haired woman or vixen (fox or provocative woman), who breaks into a stranger's home, vandalizes the place and steals everything from a young child. She got retconned into a cute little blonde girl, which severely muddied the moral of that story (when you rob people you ultimately hurt children the worst), but became the most well known version.

I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that eurasian brown bears can be described as golden, but I'm still waiting to see what solar or flame deity/character is being referenced by her name and the line about burning. Chinese yellow dragon of luck and nobility, sure, which rolls right back into the beauty and beast duality she shares with blake. As when one plays beauty, the other plays the beast, and the beast is a nobleman. But solar/fire? Dragon in general, or a specific fiery beast from folklore?

But I digress. Yang's surface level allusion to goldilocks is largely limited to her being a total ass and trashing a nightclub, after antagonizing the owner; and her fighting mama ursa in the emerald forest, before the perfect babe kills papa ursa for her. After that, it's all baby bear stuff, before her underlying allusion as alice liddell comes in like a freight train toward the end of v2.

Anyway, it always make me chuckle because those two lyrics are so bald and direct but, nope! Overhead like a decomposing boeing 747, even this decade. It's great.

[bitterkarella]

Identifying furries by their fursonas

Fox- this is the default fursona for the default furry, namely a twink with a blown out fucked to death asshole

Vixen- Girl fox referred to as a vixen is an egg, girl fox just referred to as a fox is an out trans woman

Kistune - the same as above but weeb flavor

he-wolf - a greasy guy who weighs 12 pounds soaking wet and wears a fedora. republican.

she-wolf - the butchest bull dyke you ever saw

coyote - manic depressive. always on something. the drug connection at any furry party

Cat- always a woman

black cat - could be any gender but always goth

kitten/kitty - a trans sex worker, has an only fans they really want you to know about.

bobcat - older dude. wants people to think he's ex-military

Jaguar - an older black guy. will probably have the word "black" in his fursona's name

lion - just a huge asshole

tiger - another asshole. old. wants you to believe he's ex military or ex-police, probably a member of the dorsai irregulars. major grill dad vibes

jackal - a huge asshole and a slut. white gay racist, probably transphobic

cougar - either a trans woman or a terf. there's no in between

Horse - white woman who identifies as 2 Spirit or a guy who wants to be stomped on

Pony - gay nazi

unicorn - either the absolute gayest dude you can be or a 9 year old girl. sometimes a late in life transition

Tanuki - latino

badger - either a huge lesbian or an old avuncular straight guy. possible sex pest

Raccoon - nature's greatest mistake. too normie to be furry, too furry to be normie. dilf.

bat - either a goth or a real annoying shit (some overlap). invader zim fanboy. doesn't drink alcohol but claims to act crazy on "sugar highs." definitely has dabbled in webcomics

cow - a woman. maternal. mom friend or mommy dom. milf. possibly trans femme

steer - a big strong fat rough trade gay guy

sheep - mom vibes

pretty much any farm animal - mom vibes

domestic pig - wild card. might be a wet and messy fetish thing tho or a trash eating thing. loves to be stinky. loves to talk about being stinky.

wild pig - trans masc

skunk - either a fat beardy guy who has a tumblr blog about animation squash & stretch or a stoner gal. very straight. the straightest. a kinsey 0. has strong feelings about what the fandom used to be like before there were all these kids in it.

rat - is a huge asshole as a front, probably likes talking cigars

lemur - autistic

sloth - 420 blaze it. will never finish any commissions

chakat - an older cishet man who thinks the fandom is too political & refers to "anime" as "japanimation"

sergel - nazi

citra - the biggest dipshit you've ever met

procyon - furry equivalent of the thomas jefferson miku binder pic. you should not be talking to this person, this is a literal child

weasel - a girl with cluster b personality disorders

ferret - a person who has at least one pet ferret, but probably many

mole - this person thinks they're in a beatrix potter story

guinea pig/chinchilla/jerboa/gerbil/any kind of fat rodent you can keep as a pet - the sweetest person you will ever meet

armadillo/pangolin/anteater/aardvark - smug, contrarian. "i just wanna be different"

mouse - vore fetishist, prey. sub.

hyena - vore fetishist, pred. probably trans masc

otter - a dommy twink, possible enby

bear - gay

panda - absolutely a white person pretending to be asian. probably running a gofund me scam with a suspicious story about how they're a professional nintendo gamer who injured their hand or something

bullfrog - a huge fat hairy straight guy

any other frog - inflation or rubber fetishist

axolotl/newt/salamander - genderfluid enby

rabbit - trad wife trans woman

squirrel - autistic and gay

deer - gay

gazelle - zootopia megafan

monkey - punk DIY artist type, definitely loves weed

ape - absolutely baffling. nothing this person does or says makes any sense. you will be left wondering whether you're speaking to a child, a person with severe mental issues, or someone who doesn't have english as a first language

elephant - mom friend

hippo - a fat fetishist or a transformation fetishist

rhino - an older cishet dude who wants to project a curmudgeonly yet approachable aura

kangaroo - definitely not an australian person. extremely focused kinkster, usually feet or inflation. more STDs than should be possible to carry

koala - an asian woman

virginia opossum - anarchist/communist punk trans man who makes zines and/or comics

australian possum - just here to have fun. wants everyone else to be having fun too. wacky funster. (sugar gliders and flying squirrels fall under this category)

any other marsupial - poser

monotremes - extreme poser, don't even bother

doberman- gay dude who tops from the bottom or a cop (there is some overlap)

german shepherd - a nazi or a cop (there is substantial overlap). definitely a furry raider. he will wear his cop uniform to con and after con will post videos pretending that someone was rude to him

afghan - arch femme

basset hound - racist

puppy - sub, probably an egg. extremely draining. cries a lot

all other dogs - just dudes being bros (gender neutral)

dragon - the furries of furries. like to talk about eating "sammiches" and "chocklit." probably an adult baby lifestyler. they will send DMs that just say "hi." they like to RP and when they contact you about a potential commission they are actually just trying to trick you into RP

griffin - the same as above but also a brony

snake - sissy hypno fetishist

turtle - an old man, probably southern. an ironic grandpa.

other scalies - furry in denial. either a child or an old person from CYD. the world's last something awful goons

any fursona with latino vibes - white

any fursona with asian vibes - latino

any fursona with native american vibes - eastern european

avian - girl who's not like other girls. hippie. vegan.

raven/crow - agender voidgoth

chicken - mom vibes

dinosaur - the absolute biggest nerd. probably has an actual degree in paleontology. definitely dresses like miss frizzle.

any invertebrate - not a real furry, their girlfriend just made them get a furaffinity account before they could get ass. either that or they've never even heard of furry, they just came up with the idea of anthropomorphics from first principles. a biology teacher or weirdo (there is some overlap)

amoeba - this is a troll

[first-edition]

Fox and the Hound

Chapter 10

Sum-Joffrey wants to send a message to your family after your brother embarrasses him, so he marries you off to his most unwanted man in his court, the hound. But will this marriage truly be a statement for an eyesore, or will it grow into something more. 

Cw for chapter- mention of rape,mention of wine, alcohol consumption, description of blood and gore, description of prostitution, Cersei being a mean old drunk, talk of pregnancy, 18+ words and themes overall. Slight angst.

Read previous chapter here

You can hear the yelling and the screams of worry outside your chamber door or people hurrying through the halls. You doors open as you and your maids gasp. 

“My apologies my lady but its time to go to the keep.” He says bowing. 

“Of course.” You say gathering your skirt and hurrying out seeing the other ladies of the court hurrying down the hall. 

“y/n.” you hear your name turing seeing sansa. 

“Sansa!” you sigh of relief as she hugs you before you both continue down the hall with the others. 

“Are you alright?” she asks. 

“Yes just a little scared.” you say she nods. 

“Me too,” she replies her grip on your arm tightens. 

“Where is sandor?” she asks. 

“Fighting, hes still kings guard you know.” you say. 

“Thats right..” she says

“Princess, my lady. His grace the king requests you see him off to the battle.” a guard speaks bowing to you and sansa who gives you a weary look before she nods back to the guard who escorts you both to the throne room.

—------

Hound walks into the court yard with joss and another as the other kings guard men drown themselves in whores and ale. Its silent as he walks through and sits pouring himself a drink. 

“You're not staying underground with you lady wife?” bronn asks loudly as the foreign whore sits nude on his lap. A whore who shouldn't be so brave walks over to sandor placing her hand on his armored shoulder. 

“If your lonely ser i could take care of y- Ah!” sandor swats her hand away so fiercely she stumbles back and falls. 

“Touch me again girl and ill send you out nude first to the baratheon's army and they can have thier way with you.” he grumbles. 

Bronn and some other men chuckle. 

“Loyal to your woman are you? First rounds on me” he asks raising his cup to him. 

Sandor rolls his eyes and presses the cup to his lips chugging the rest of whats in his cup. 

“I dont think he likes me. Hes a prince lord now you see, he married the vixen princess but a while ago.” bronn says to the whore on his lap. Sandor sighs sitting back more than annoyed with bronns voice. 

“Shut the fuck up before I cut you in half you little fairy.” sandor huffs. 

“Its warm in here ser, weve got beautiful women and good ale and all you want is to put me in the cold dark ground. How kind of you.” bronn speaks once more. 

More than before, Sandor is annoyed with bronn. Sandor gets up from his seat and walks over to bronn who now moves the whore off his lap. 

“You think you a hard man, fucking, drinking telling stories and singing. You think thats the thing you love the most, but its not. Killing is what you love most. Your just like me. Only smaller.” Sandor says towering over bronn who also stands. 

“Killing cant be the only thing you love. What about your lady wife” bronn speaks again tilting his head back to face hound who is about to draw his sword but the bells begin to ring and everyone hurries out of the court yard. 

“One last drink eh?” bronn chuckle. 

Sandor grumble rolling his eyes and turing away knowing he shouldve drank something stronger to deal with jofferys whining voice. 

—----

You and sansa along with a few of youre maids behind you, stand in the throne you play with the sleeve of your dress.

“SANSA!! SANSA!” you hear joffrey yelling at him sandor and three other guards follow. The overwhelming fear you felt earlier floods your system hoping you not vomit again. 

“Your grace?” she says hurrying to the king as you stay in place your hand pressed to your stomach. 

“My lady? Are you alright?” you maiden says quietly. You nod shakily. 

You watch as jeoffry makes sansa kiss his sword as he continues to boast about how they are going to win as they outnumber them even though kingslandings guard is half the size of stannis.

All the while sandor dosnt take his eyes off you as you watch sansa and jeoffry. He scans you, what your wearing, what you look like, your body language the way you fiddle with the sleeves of your dress. He memorizes every feature of your face. In case hes to die in battle tonight he wants you to be the last thing he remembers.

Another wave of nausea hits you as you stumble to the side your maiden rushes to you keeping you from falling. The wave is not enough to make you cough up your meal but its debilitating enough. 

“My lady!” another hurries to you taking your arm. You give a small whimper in discomfort. 

With out thinking sandor hurries to you as well. You dont notice hes infront of you until he speaks. Your eyes moving to the floor now to his face as he places a hand on your cheek. 

“y/n? Are you alright?” he asks. You open your mouth to speak but only a whine of discomfort comes out. 

More than anything he wants to stay with you but he knows he cant hes not allowed. 

“S-sandor.. I have to tell you something.” you speak pained. 

“DOG lets go!” you hear jeoffry order. 

“Fuck..” sandor mumbles before letting go of you and walking off with the king. 

“Come my lady, we must go down to the queen.” your maid says as you nod looking back to find sandor and the rest gone from the throne room.

Heading down the basement to under the keep you and sansa walk in but your interrupted from finding a place to sit when cersi calls you over to her she sits enjoying a glass of whine. 

You walk over to her and sloppily curtsy. 

“Hmm…you look pale? Has your red flower bloomed?” she ask 

“N-no your grace.” you reply. 

“Mm are you frightened child?” she asks. 

“yes .” you speak plainly. 

“Here. drink it'll ease your fear.” she says handing you a glass of wine. 

“I'm not thirsty your grace.” you speak. Declining the alcoholic beverage. 

“I didn't offer you water, dove.” she snaps at you. 

“F-forgive me your grace but I cannot accept…” you say. Her hardened expression at you softens when she sees your hand rest on your lower stomach. 

“You Are with child?” she ask you nod. 

“Hmm. you shall bare a fine little lord. Does the hound know of your adversary.” she says pulling the glass away pouring the wine into her cup and then handing the extra cup to the maid behind her. 

“....n-no your grace i haven't told him.” you say she gives a slight squint and frown before speaking. 

“You've not told your lord husband especially on a day like this..when did you find out?” she asks rather harshly. 

“T-today your grace just a few hours ago the maester confirmed it.” you speak the wave of nausea finally subsiding. 

“Do you love the hound?” she ask. There it was again the nausea is back. Not caused by the babe in your womb but by the queens insistent ask.

“Yes your grace i do.” you reply. 

“Then why haven't you told him.'' She demands more than asks. 

“He's still a part of kings guard your grace. He’s busy.” you say giving an excuse other than you're terrified of his reaction. 

“Fitting dont you think? He could die out there while you provide life in here…the souls of the dead fuel for the god to give your babe life..a small token of a litter you and my son's dog will have.” she says. 

Everytime someone insults sandor as a dog, or a bitch, of some form of less than animal your blood boils. You want nothing more than to slap cersi across her face and yell but the hand you slapped her with would be cut off and your vocal cords your yelled at her with would be severed as your head rolls on the execution ground. Instead all you can speak is a mere. 

“Yes your grace, it should do me the pleasure of gifting the lord clegane with sons.” you say she gives a smile knowing no matter how hard you try you can t be disobedient. She pats the seat on the pillows next to her gesturing for you to sit down next to her and you do. 

“When i was your age i was pregnant with jeoffry. I did not love his grace the king but i love the children he has given me me flesh and blood my life line. It’s a good thing you love the hound you’ll his children even more.” she speaks before chugging her glass and then holding it out for more wine. 

The entire night cersi drinks and rambles on about children and how shit being queen is. It's only stopped when ser merryn runs into the room. Covered in blood and drink. Women gasp at the sight of his and a few faint at the thought of what outside the gates look like. 

“Your grace they have begun breaching the castle walls.” he says 

“Where is jeoffry?” she says

“On the battle lines with the others.”

“Bring him to his chambers at once. I don't want to hear anything more, do you understand.” she huffs. 

“Yes your grace" he says and runs out. 

“Do you remember when i told you ser ilyn was here to protect us? I lied…when stannis breaches those walls he will take the city but he will not take us..not alive ser ilyn will be doing us a great favor my dove..you and your child will not have to perish under the sting of another mans cock but under a formidable blade.” she says drinking the rest of her cup. 

You glance down before getting up and walking to the doors where guards stop you. 

“Let her go.” cersi speaks you gather your dress enough that once the doors open you hurry out of the room alone leaving sansa and your ladies in waiting behind as you run through the halls and up the stairs you see other guard laying dead in the stairwell and even some servants bleeding to death. 

Hurrying to your chambers you rush through the door seeing three men inside raiding it. You gasp out seeing them bloody as they snicker with their treasures. 

“Oh look what we’ve got here.” The taller one says. 

“Another treasure for us to take, and hmm looks to be a fresh maiden.” The fat one says as he chuckles looking up and down at you smirking. 

“Don't come near me.” You say reaching for a spare blade Sandor had placed in the dresser drawer. 

“Or what you’ll fight with those pretty little hands of yours?... My, my i wonder what other pretty parts you have.” The red haired one says. 

You turn in a hurry to run to the dresser but the taller man grabs you. You scream at the top of your lungs as they throw you down on the ground. Holding you down to hike up your dress skirt. 

“Let’s see how pretty your parts really are!” He says undoing his pants before ripping your dress as you scream and fight desperately trying to get out of the other two's grip as they hold you down. 

The man's face suddenly drops and he falls to the floor with an axe in the back of his skull. You panic as tears fall down your cheek but it settles when you see Sandor in the doorway drawing his sword. The other men getting up and running at him with swords or thier own you crawl back twords the end of the bed. As you watch as Sandor grasp one man by the neck, easily towering over him and stabs his stomach, slashing him almost in two before dropping the body then snapping the other mans neck as his body thumps down onto the stone floor the blood seeping into the bear skin rug. 

Sheathing his sword he walks up to you and kneels in front of you.

“Shh-sh now little fox it's alright I’ve got you.” He says lifting you up despite being bloody you wrap your arms around his hand strokes your hair kissing your head. 

“We’re going.” He says pulling away from you before walking side to side packing things. 

“Wh-where?” 

“Someplace that isn’t burning perhaps north, south.” He says 

“What about Sansa…the king?!” YOU exclaim’

“Fuck the king! He can die just fine on his own.” He says He continues to rummage around the room packing things but stops only when he realizes you're not moving. He looks at you in confusion but you shake your head. 

“S-sandor i..i cant travel i cant leave.” You say He scoffs dropping the bag with a thud. 

“This place is nothing but a burning pile of rubble with a second hand drift of cunts, you really want to stay here and burn.” He says.

“S-stay here with us Sandor.” You say he scoffs, shaking his head at you. 

“Ive been burnt before little fox and its not all fun and games.” He says but continues to watch for any movement you make. But his expression changes from pleading to confusion replaying what you had said just a moment ago.

“Us?” he ask shaking his head. “I'm not staying here with the royal court.” he says 

“No no us.” you say taking his hand placing it against your stomach looking up at him. Your heart beating out of your chest at having to finally tell him. 

“Me and him.” you say again. 

“Come with me.” He says. 

“I-…” you begin.

He grabs your arms and gruffly speaks to you. 

“Please.”

Next chapter here

Taglist- @stephyshadows @germansarechill @urfavbiscuit @daphneyblue @takemeaemond @holb32

If you want to be added to the tag list comment down below.

[captialrogers]

Guillotine (part 1)

Simon “Ghost” Riley x NonBinaryAfab!Reader

MDNI

An independent contractor for the OSCE, code name Vixen is deep undercover in an European human trafficking ring. When things hit the fan and their cover blown, Task Force 141 is sent to extract them and any surviving victims. With the traffickers on their tails the group is forced to split up and lay low. The groups aren’t even however, and Vixen isn’t given a choice. They are stuck in a safe house with the one member who could keep them alive, Lieutenant Simon “Ghost” Riley.

CW: canon typical violence, mentions of blood and gore, human trafficking, sex trafficking, abuse, mentions of violence against women and children.

Reader discretion is advised.

————

It was bad. It was unbelievably bad. They had been compromised and now the trafficked girls were paying for it. Vixen watched as body after body fell to the ground, the acrid smell of gunpowder and blood lingering in the air. They struggled to free themselves from the too tight zip ties that bound their hands to the leg of a bolted table. This was not how it was supposed to happen. They were 3 years deep into the ring and everything they had accomplished was now worthless. If it hadn’t been for a dealer recognising them from a previous bust, they wouldn’t be in this situation.

“Ah, you know I like it when you struggle, Ma chère.” Vixen dared to look up at the voice. Before them stood the second in command of the operation, his slicked back hair making him look every part of the villain.

“Fuck you” They spat, pulling at the zip ties once more. The skin of their wrists rubbed raw and bruised.

The man sucked his teeth before walking closer to them. Once he was an arm length away, he stopped, crouched, and grabbed their face. “Is the little fox sad they got caught in the hen house? Well, that’s too bad because I’m very glad. We may have lost a few hens, but we caught the cunning fox.” Squeezing their face harder, the man pulled them closer. “There are always more in the den so this way,” the French man gestured around them to the corpses that littered the floor, “we can lure them out.”

They glared at the man and spat in his face. They knew they shouldn’t have done it. They knew that it went against training. But how could they not retaliate when dozens of innocents lay dead before them. It was their fault that it had happened. They had been compromised and the girls paid the ultimate price.

“You little!” He jerked back slightly and dropped their face before taking hold of their hair and yanking their head backwards. "Don't start what you can't finish ma chère," He pulled their head back harder, "because you will not like how I finish it." The French man released their hair and stood abruptly. "Bring the child."

At these words Vixen stiffened. One of the women had a child during her years of forced prostitution. One of the women that now lay cold on the floor of the room. Her blood was on their hands. Their heart beat hard in their chest, the sound of it in their ears muffling the wails of the boy in front of them. “You’re a fucking monster.” They struggled against the ties again, angry bruises blooming around their wrist. “Im going to kill you when I get outta here.”

“When ma chère? No no its if you get out of here.” Taking hold of the child, the French man held his glock to the boy’s head. “Now, tell me how many more are part of your operation?”

The wails of the boy echoed in their ears. “Go fuck yourself, Fabian.” the cocking of a gun sounded, and they flinched.

“I will not ask again, little fox.”

Vixen couldn’t speak. They couldn’t go against training. But could they let another innocent die? They opened their mouth to tell the man they were the only one, but shots rang out. They ducked their head and cowered as much as they could under the table. The only sign that it wasn’t Fabian’s men firing was the small body tucked against theirs.

Something hit the floor hard and with one eye open they were blinded. The explosion was deafening, and the smoke burned their lungs. “Cover your mouth and nose!” They yelled to the small boy, trying to cover his body with theirs.

As suddenly as it started the shots stopped. Once again, they chanced a look around the room and saw several pairs of boots rushing towards them. The ringing in their ears began to lessen as they saw what had hit the floor. Fabian's lifeless body was sprawled on the ground, blood pooling around his head and chest.

"What!" Vixen yelled at the crouching man in front of them, feeling the young boy cling to them harder. They watched as the man's lips moved barely understanding what he was saying. "We need help. We need to get the boy to safety!" Vixen's eyes darted around the man's face and chest. When they noticed the Union Jack plastered to his vest, Vixen sighed. "Please!"

The man said something, but they shook their head, “Forget about me. The boy…” they looked down at where the boy had been moments ago only to realise that he was gone. Vixen searched frantically around the bloodied space only noticing the boy in the arms of another soldier when they saw a mess of dark hair over the man’s shoulder.

“…turn to…hands out…” The man before them pulled a large combat knife from a holder on his shoulder and angled the blade tip between their wrists and the zip ties. With a flick of his hand, their confines were removed and Vixen all but fell forward, their legs and arms numb from their cramped position. “…get you… here.”

They could barely hear what the soldier was saying, only making out bits and pieces, and nodded as the man helped them up, catching them when they stumbled over bodies on tingling legs. once they reached the exit the thundering of gunfire echoed through the compound again. Bullets ricocheted off the walls leaving pock marks where they landed. Vixen’s head was covered and pushed down by the man supporting them and the only thing they could do was clutch onto his Kevlar vest tighter. Smoke surrounded the pair as they made their way through and out of the building, the once blinding light of the French countryside was replaced with the pitch darkness of night. Had it really been that long? Had Fabian really interrogated them for hours? Tortured them for hours?

They licked their lower lip, tasting the distinct metallic that went with blood. When had they gotten a split lip? And who had sent the soldiers to retrieve them? Vixen looked over at the man beside them finally paying attention to his appearance. His head was covered with a boonie hat and his vest held the insignia SAS in the centre.

“Where are we going?” They yelled, ringing ears making it difficult to hear how loud they were speaking.

“…soon enough… meeting point…” the SAS member motioned to a group of tactical vehicles waiting in the distance, their lights and engines off. Again, the thundering of enemy fire sounded from behind them, following the retreating group.

They quickly looked behind them and watched as the traffickers giving chase fell. Vixen turned back around just as quickly noticing a tall figure step out from behind one of the vehicles. Their breath caught in their throat. The figure morphed into the shape of a man, and they couldn’t help but stare. Looking through them was no man, but rather the image of death.

As vixen was pulled closer to the figure by their rescuer, death raised his gun and fired. He opened the back of the vehicle, weapon still raised.

“Get… no…time.” The man beside them said all but tossing them into the open doors before slamming them closed. “Ghost…” Was all they heard as the space around them grew dark and the truck rumbled to life. Feeling around the back of the truck, Vixen’s hand hit something solid and through further investigation they discovered a built-in bench. Suddenly the truck rocked and they were tossed from one side to the other. Whoever was driving clearly didn’t care that they were in the back. But neither would they if the continuous ping of bullets hitting the truck was any indication of the situation.

Again, the truck jostled them from side to side and they really hoped that the driver remember that they were there.

— — —

When the vehicle finally stopped, Vixen had lost track of time. The darkness of the back of the truck did little to help their sense of time. For all they knew it was days later. The door opened and light blinded them. They quickly raised their hand and turned their head. “Where are we?” They asked to the air and received nothing in response. “Can you at least stop shining that damned light in my face.” Vixen lowered their hand when the flashlight finally lowered and eventually turned off. Chancing a look at the other person, they noticed that it was death. Or rather a man with a death mask. The white of the skull was stark against the pitch black of night and his clothes. If they hadn’t known that the man was there, they would have thought that the skull was a floating omen of what was to come.

Having the time to fully feel their injuries Vixen hissed as they inched their way closer to the open door and slid out of the truck. Standing was something that they wished that they didn’t have to do. Their ribs ached and their legs felt as if they belonged to someone else. How had the adrenaline crash been so subtle? There was no way that they hadn’t passed out in the back of the tactical truck. Had they? Vixen couldn’t remember.

They took a step and nearly collapsed, grasping for the man beside them. He stood solid as a rock. So much so that it took Vixen by surprise when he turned his head to the left looking over their head at a dark structure in the distance. They hadn’t noticed this. They hadn’t noticed that the man pulled their hand from his arm until he was walking towards the structure.

Taking a steadying breath Vixen followed the masked stranger and held their sides trying to keep their ribs from aching as they walked. It was safe to say that they wouldn’t be getting anything from the man. Not verbally at least. Instead, he communicated in his body language. The small pauses to let them catch up or the slight look over his shoulder to make sure they were still standing.

The least the masked man could do was tell them where they were going. The structure ahead of them turned out to be a quaint house in the middle of nowhere. Safe house. They thought as they finally made it to the steps of the building. Slowly they made their way up onto the landing and behind the man. A series of beeps alerted them to the fact that the house was locked with a keypad rather than a traditional lock and key. Once the door was open, the masked man stepped aside and placed a hand onto the gun strapped to his chest. Another detail that they hadn’t noticed.

“In you get.” He spoke for the first time since leaving the trafficker’s compound. His voice was low and gruff, reverberating through the quiet night. Without a second thought, Vixen entered the house and all but collapsed to the floor. The bravado that had gotten them through the worst of the night fell and they were greeted with the dark of unconsciousness.

— —

It shouldn’t have surprised him that the UC in his care was as tough as they were, but it did. Ghost’s arm shot out to grasp the back of their shirt as soon as they started to wobble. With a grunt the Lieutenant dropped the hand on his gun and pulled them towards him and slung them over his shoulder before he pushed the door to the safe house closed.

The briefing before the mission had been interesting and something unusual for T141’s expertise. Exfill wasn’t something that was new to them but the target was. It wasn’t every day that the task force was sent to retrieve a civilian from a mission gone south. He had to give it to them, they put up a hell of a fight — the state of their body gave the impression that it wasn’t a fair one. Ghost shifted the unconscious body further up his shoulder as he trudged through the safe house. It was a one level with a cold storage turned bunker. Or so the blueprint said. The layout of the building was open concept, for the most part as it had a hallway that led to two separate rooms. One he assumed to be the bathroom and the other…

Ghost shoved the door open with his free hand. His gaze fell upon a singular bed. It was a small thing, definitely military issued, and had the bare minimum for bedding. He grunted as he entered the darkened room and made his way to the bed. Sliding the body down from his shoulder, Ghost placed the unconscious UC on to the bed. Adjusting the pillow under their head, he once again gripped the gun slung to his chest and looked to the ceiling of the safe house in a silent curse.

This was the last place he wanted to be. He didn’t want to play babysitter to anyone let alone a civilian UC regardless of their combat and intellectual prowess. The lieutenant turned away from the sleeping form and exited the room, closing the door slightly so that it wouldn’t be a hassle for either party to haul ass and go if need be. Before taking a moment of respite, Ghost walked to the front door and checked the automated lock. Satisfied with it, the man walked back into the open concept living room where he sat on the worn couch and removed the rifle from his chest, placing it across his lap for easy access.

Ghost hoped that Price knew what he was doing when he tasked him with watching the UC. This wasn’t the best use of his skill set. But, he supposed, that he was the best choice for this part of the mission given that specialized skill set. It was a contradiction to say the least and it was one that he didn’t want. They were cut off from the rest of the task force until he received notice. How or when that notice would come was a mystery the man didn’t much care for. But until that day came, the lieutenant would hold his position and ensure the target was looked after, even if that meant babysitting.

[kingofthe-egirls]

FOX TALES: LUFFY/OC

fox tales

(cw: boyfriend luffy, oc, kitsune oc, food mention, self-indulgent kitty lore, dirty talk, sex mention, hand holding/kissing, no sex)

***

“Where did you learn about sex?”

You ask your captain, sitting crosslegged on the beach in front of you. You were sharing a scratchy woven blanket, spread out over the sand. The Sunny had docked at a small summer island, and Nami decided you had all earned a well-deserved beach day.

Luffy reaches into the picnic basket beside you. “I dunno,” he says, rummaging through the chips and sandwiches Sanji had packed for you two. “Ace told me a lot of things.”

“Really?” You ask, arching an eyebrow. You knew about your boyfriend’s brother, how he had wielded fire like a sword and shield. You knew your captain’s heart had been broken in half, the day he left. You reach out to touch Luffy’s knee. “Like what?”

“Hm,” Luffy chews with his eyes screwed up in thought, “Like how you’re supposed to treat girls, when they’re in your bed. He said they’re really sensitive, like cats, so you hafta pet them all slow and stuff.” He reaches into the basket for another hefty sandwich. He eats it in one bite.

“Am I like a cat?” You ask, tilting your head.

“You’re a vixen,” he corrects, playfully boxing around your ears. You duck, giggling.

“Yeah, yeah,” you wave him away, “What else?”

“Hm…,” he’s quiet for a minute as he thinks. “That you have to be gentle, but they wanna get fucked hard, sometimes. So you gotta ask,” he wipes the crumbs off his chin with the back of his hand. “Do I do a good job?”

That was an understatement.

“Aye, captain.”

He smirks, and turns back to the waves. You sit in silence for a while, watching the water play along the shore. You take a deep breath, settling into the calm of the sea.

“Am I good?” You ask eventually.

Luffy nods vigorously. “Oh, yes,” he grins, grabbing your hand. He places a small kiss onto your knuckles. A brush of lips, a dusting of affection that shoots sparks through your chest.

“I love you, d’you know that?”

The words come unbidden from your mouth, and tears start to prick at your eyes once you’ve said them. You’ve never said that out loud to anyone, before.

Not since—not since you left home.

But that was a long time ago.

Luffy appraises you with grey-storm eyes. “I know. I love you too, Kit.”

Something tangled in your chest begins to loosen, and your breaths come quick and heavy. Oh, oh god—

“Thank you,” you whisper-hiccup, curling into his side. Your arms go around your chest, pressing hard against your ribcage. Your sobs come in ragged breaths. “So much, for loving me. I don’t…I don’t think I can every repay you,” your voice cracks and you stop. Luffy lets you heave against his chest.

“Don’t have to,” he says simply, warm arms rubber-wrapped several times around your waist. He tucks your head under his chin, and rocks you gently side to side. You both breathe in time with the waves.

“Snack?” He asks you, waving a salty potato chip in front of your face. You giggle, and take it with your teeth.

“Good girl,” he grins, and reaches out to grab another from the bag. He feeds you like that, til there’s less than half the bag left. Once you sit up, no longer leaning against him like he’s the trunk of your favorite tree, he grabs the bag for himself to tip what’s left directly into his mouth. He crunches on his chips with a monkey grin, pleased with himself.

“I got kicked out,” you confess out of nowhere. Guess today’s the day for revelations, you think. “From my home. My mom and dad—they had a plan for me. To get married? To this fox-prince. But he—,” you gulp, “He wasn’t in love with me. He wanted—he wanted to use me, I think…,”

Your tears are bubbling up freely now, and you stare at your blurry hands as they fidget in your lap. Luffy is serious, regarding you with a steady calm you’ve only seen in battle. You hiccup, and continue.

“I was really in love with mortal men,” you say, fiercely quiet. Rage bubbles up in you at the memory. “And my mother hated that. She wanted me to stay in the spirit realm, and stay as the wife of this spirit-prince,” you wrench your face in disgust.

“I wouldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it. It felt like there was someone holding me down by the shoulders, keeping me trapped.”

Luffy nods, expectantly. You swallow, and push a lock of hair back from your face. He comes over to tie it up for you, coming over to kneel behind you in the sand. The sun had started to gleam crimson, dipping down into the sea like a strawberry slice. You could hear your friends from far off, sounding like they were about to start a bonfire.

Luffy cards his fingers through your hair, the charcoal strands now kept more wavy than tangled. He takes the red ribbon he’s started keeping at his wrist for you, tugging at the beaded knot gently until it comes loose. Strong, steady hands start to brush the hair from your face. He scoops the front of it back, then ties it in a sloppy bun behind your head. The rest of your hair tumbles down beneath it around your waist. He pets over the dark gray waves, humming.

“So pretty, vixen,” he murmurs into your hair, “What happened next?”

You take a deep breath, leaning back against his chest. Your tails are a fluffy blanket around the two of you.

The pirate king’s kitsune, Luffy had once called you, announcing it to the world in a declaration of pride. You had blushed, then, hiding behind your hands.

But then Chopper had tugged on your pant leg, and you peeked at him between your fingers.

“It’s really cool,” he had said in an awed whisper.

Now, you feel a tiny spark of treasure start to wink in your chest. The pirate king’s…you think, rosy warmth blooming across your cheeks.

His.

“I ran away.”

You kick your toes in the sand, staring at your feet with Luffy squatting behind you. “I ran away and I never looked back.” All those years of crying youth…

“I got caught, by a trapper. But then I found the portal-portal fruit. It was blue.”

“Mine was purple.”

“It tasted awful—,”

“Mine too!!”

You laugh, caught off guard, and turn to face your boyfriend. He’s sitting cross-legged in the sand.

“But anyway, I had to get away from this trapper, so I ate the fruit and portalled outta there. And that’s how I got to the house with chicken legs.”

Luffy hums. That’s where he had found you.

“How long were you there?” Before I came, he doesn’t say.

“Three years.”

“Ah,” he nods, “I took a break like that. Two years training on an island with Rayleigh.”

“The haki guy?”

“Yeah.”

You hum, scooting closer to your sunset-gold captain. His black hair waves a bit in the sea breeze. You tuck a lock of it behind his ear.

“Human ears,” you say, softly. He turns his head to catch your palm against his lips.

“Fox ears,” he flicks at your fluffy, pointed ears. You twitch one out from beneath his touch. He grins.

[coffeeandjoon]

🌓 Nocturnal Prince 🌓 | Chapter I - DPR Ian/Christian Yu x Reader | Werewolf Fic

Pairing: Christian Yu/DPR Ian x reader (nicknamed Vixen)

Chapter word count: 2k

Status: ongoing

Summary: Sometimes the most powerful of curses can be shattered by the strength of love. Or they turn someone into the cruelest version of themselves. The Prince of Avalon, Christian Yu, stopped believing a long time ago that one day someone would truly love him and break his curse.

He’s a werewolf, roaming the forest close to Ravenswood by night, terrorizing and destroying everything that comes along his path with his pack of fearless werewolf soldiers. Everyone knows to stay out of the woods at night.

Meanwhile, in Ravenswood, Vixen struggles to be accepted as the "new girl" at college. As a fox shifter, that's not so easy, which is why she takes on the daring challenge of entering the forest at night and lasting until dawn.

A night of fear and terror begins and soon Vixen is running for her life from a pack of wolves that hunt her without mercy. Much to Christina's chagrin, the fox shifter survives until dawn and escapes his forest. But not without catching a glimpse of him, which changes everything for both. He can't believe she's made it out alive and begins to feel a stirring within him that he hasn't felt in a long time – hope.

He starts to follow Vixen, watching her from the shadows, and slowly begins to realize that she might be the key to breaking his curse. As he watches her navigate the challenges of being the new girl in town, Christian starts to see that Vixen is not like the other shapeshifters and magical creatures of Ravenswood and breaks one of his most important rules: never seek contact with anyone outside his pack.

Chapter 1

1993 – Christian’s POV

Ravenswood – what an insult this city was. I roamed the outskirts of town, watching the residents with hatred and disgust. They had demanded too much for centuries, understood too little.  

A shadow standing in front of the town hall caught my attention. A glance at the silhouette made me snort with hatred. The mayor. An impostor, hypocrite, and heretic. How naive the citizens of Ravenswood were, not suspecting that the real danger was not my wolf pack, but their dearly beloved mayor himself. Without him, Avalon would never have fallen. Without him––

"Your Highness, we should take this opportunity to attack immediately," Youngwoo interrupted my thoughts.

I shook my head. "No."

"But my king, I––"

"I said no," I hissed, baring my teeth.

Youngwoo submissively bowed his head and slowly retreated into the thicket of the woods. The rest of his pack departed as well, leaving me lingering alone a little longer.

"One day, Uncle ..." I thought to myself before my loud howl rose into the dark night sky.  

2023 – Vixen’s POV

New decade, new college - this time my fox-shifter existence had led me to Ravenswood. The town radiated something ominous, but I was probably just imagining it. This, or it was just the fact that I was surrounded by too many humans. After all, I had never met anyone like me yet. Either there was only me or other shifters could hide their identity better; I certainly didn't belong to them.

With my amber eyes and silver-black hair, I looked more like a freak than a normal college student everywhere I went. No one looked like me. And if that wasn't complicated enough, my lack of aging, now for three decades, was another problem.

Sometimes I wondered if I wasn't more of a vampire, or was I even trapped in the Matrix? Then, however, the annoying little blackouts happened again and again, in which I transformed into a silver fox usually in the most inappropriate situations. The one or other one-night-stand almost had a heart attack because of that.

Long-term relationships with people were not possible, they all always asked too many questions at some point. So I roamed around like a damn stray, looking for - yes, what for anyway?

The campus of Ravenswood's college was lined with tall pines and dense copper beeches, the old brick building at the end of the gravel path looking almost medieval. Some students ran frantically to the building, a few others lounged peacefully on the wide meadow areas beneath the trees. A typical campus, one might think. But my fox shifter sense told me otherwise. Something was troubling me, piquing my caution and curiosity at the same time.

"Quick, before we miss Mayor Yu’s speech," I heard a student excitedly call out to his companion as he ran past.

A mayoral speech at the beginning of college - strange. I only knew something like that for graduation, but well, different state, different customs. Let's see what this mayor had to say, I had to enroll and choose my courses anyway.

Just before the huge front door, I paused. I was nervous. What if I almost get exposed again? Or worse, what if I got exposed? People haven't shown me much sympathy so far, that's for sure. I took a few deep breaths, focused on the one thought that had always helped me so far: you can always run away again.

I clung to the shoulder straps of my backpack and stepped inside.

The college building smelled moldy and of something I couldn't quite place. Metallic, almost like ... blood? I shuddered and pushed the thought away. Don't be ridiculous, Vixen. I followed the stream of excited students down the corridor to the largest lecture hall, which was already well filled.

I took a seat at the back of the room, right next to a good-looking, broad-shouldered guy. He had pink hair and smiled mischievously at me as I sat down. I gave him a small smile back and quickly looked away.

"Why so shy, beautiful?" he said, chuckling.

I rolled my eyes. What a greaseball. Why were most good-looking guys always so obnoxious?

As if he could read my mind, he muttered an apology, followed by something else.

I looked up. "What?"

He smiled warmly at me. "I said my name is Mingi. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable because of me."

"That's fine. My name is Vixen," I mumbled back, nervously stroking through my strands of hair.

Even after years of experience with guys and jerks, one or another still managed to get under my skin. Annoying. But okay, just ignore it. But apparently this Mingi had other ideas.

"So, do you know what major classes you want to take here yet?" he asked me with open interest. Okay, maybe I should give him another chance, he seemed to just wanting to be nice.

"Psychology and eschatology. What about you?"

He whistled and gave me an appreciative nod. "Interesting combination. Few people are interested in eschatology. I chose that course, too."

That's when my foxish curiosity was piqued. A person who was apparently really interested in eschatology? That was new to me. "What fascinates you about it?" I asked him.

Mingi eyed me closely and pursed his lips before answering. "Death, resurrection and the life that comes after, it's a family thing."

I looked at him in confusion. "In what way? Are you gravediggers, religious, or …?"

He laughed out loud and scratched the back of his neck. "Something like that."

I waited for him to say more, but he looked into the crowd and fixated on a group of other students. They were coming right toward us. I was about to slip away when the group took a seat in the row in front of us and Mingi wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Guys, this is Vixen. She's going to study the same as me," he exclaimed and I earned some strange looks.

The girl in front of me with the black bob haircut tapped her cheek and lowered her voice. "Ah, so you're one of those––"

"Tyra," Mingi interrupted her.

Tyra exchanged a look with him and leaned back. "Didn't say anything."

Okay, that was the last straw. My curiosity was literally bursting and I wanted to know more about whatever she was talking about. "Is it that unusual to be interested in eschatology?"

The other three people of the group, two guys and another girl, looked up. The guy with the blue hair was the first to speak up.

"Let's put it this way. No one who doesn't have to study this," he then squinted at Mingi, who downright growled, "chooses this subject. So, what family are you from?"

Oh, Jesus, this just got more complicated. And more interesting. Damn. So I decided to fib.

"Amos." The ninth chapter of the Book of Twelve Prophets. I hoped to hit the mark with this answer.

The acknowledging nod he gave and the slight sighs confirmed my theory. Bingo. There was nothing better than uncovering mysteries and conspiracies in small towns to pass the time. And to keep my fox-shifting ability in check. Oddly enough, when I was dealing with such things, I had better control over my transformations.

The blue-haired guy spoke again. "I'm Puma. You already know Tyra and Mingi, that one next to me is Yong," he pointed to the little guy next to him, "and the silent beauty next to Tyra is Sora."

I memorized all of their names and was also kind of happy to have made connections so quickly. And about my new task of uncovering another mystery. I was about to say something in response when a deafening chime rang out and made me flinch.

The lecture hall fell into silence, a pale man with only one eye appeared behind the small podium. His gaze swept over the crowd scrutinizingly, no one daring to make a sound. Interesting. After another long pause, he took over.

"Dear students, I welcome you to Ravenswood College. As probably everyone here knows, my name is Arthur Yu, the mayor of this city," whereupon the crowd applauded enthusiastically, "As every year, I would like to share a word of wisdom. God gives every bird its food, but does not throw it into the nest." What kind of strange wisdom was that? "Study hard, learn harder, and above all, stay out of the woods. Thank you."

I barely noticed the thunderous applause, the last words echoing over and over in my head - stay out of the woods. I had barely noticed that Mingi and the others had gotten up to leave until he shook my shoulders.

"Vixen, are you coming?" he asked, and I nodded.

I quickly grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder to follow them wherever. What was it about the woods? I hadn't noticed anything unusual when I arrived here a few days ago. No suspicious smells, noises, nothing.

We were walking down the corridor, out onto campus, when the question blurted out to me. "What about the woods?"

The group stopped abruptly, all turning to look at me. Mingi gave me a slight smile.

"Nothing," he replied.

Puma, however, snorted snidely and took a step forward. "Come on, loverboy. Let her find out. Tonight."

I looked at him, puzzled. "Tonight? What am I supposed to find out, exactly?"

Mingi didn't seem to approve of the idea, but Puma and the others pushed him aside and circled me. My fox instincts jumped and at the same time my curiosity continued to grow. What a load of crap.

"Well, you'll have to figure that out for yourself. Come to the woods tonight. Ten minutes, that's all you need to walk in. Wait a minute and you'll find out," Puma said in a conspiratorial tone.

I narrowed my eyes and took a step back.

"You guys are bullshitting me right now. The mayor––"

Tyra spoke next. "Sweetie, he just said that to avoid nasty headlines about pollution and shit. We've had a few conflicts with the state the years before about students littering the woods too much. There's nothing to be afraid of in there. It's even very beautiful at night." She looked at the others and gestured to everyone. "We regularly sneak into the woods to hang out for a bit. You should come along."

If it was nothing else. I nodded and gave her a small smile. "Alright, I'll see you later then. I'm afraid I have to go now!" And with that, I skipped down the last few stairs and hurried across campus, back to my new apartment. Tonight I would just be a typical student for once. So much for no new friends.

The hours flew by and Tyra had sent me the location of our hangout in the woods. I was getting ready when night fell. Good, that should do it. I quickly grabbed my phone and headed out.

At the edge of town, I took a quick look around before disappearing into the thicket of the forest. Quickly the branches became so dense that I was glad to have put on a jacket. Thanks to my fox traits, I had no trouble seeing ahead of me at night. I glanced at my phone again to make sure I was about to arrive at the meeting point. Just under a quarter of a mile to go.

Another 200 meters, 100, 50, 10, 5 ... I ended up at a clearing. The moon bathed the surrounding trees in a ghostly white. I looked around, but found no one of Mingi's people anywhere. Had I taken a wrong turn? Was there another clearing? I quickly pulled out my phone and checked the location. No, I was in the right place. I just started typing a message to Tyra when I heard it. A howl.

A fucking loud howl. And it was closer than I was comfortable with. I let my eyes wander frantically over the surrounding trees and bushes, and that's when I saw it. Yellow eyes. Not just one pair, but four or five. And they were all focused on me at the far end of the clearing. Wolves.

The bloodcurdling growl made me back up slowly until I reached the edge of the clearing. Then I turned and ran. And all I could hear were the snarls of my pursuers.

[bobbybutterfly]

About Vixen?

So you want Lieutenant Vixen? I’ve got Lieutenant Vixen. And not only one. But TWO!

Oh yeah! We got the show female fox and the manwa male fox!

I tried to render this piece more. I think the clouds turned out better than the characters. The hard round MAX OPACITY brush really did wonders for my art. But it’s time to introduce softer gradients. I got to constantly innovate after all. I first drew the characters with the hard round MAX OPACITY brush. I found their uniforms a bit too monotone. So I added some red to them with a very textured brush. Not the best idea. You can still see some of it on the female fox’s butt. I would have removed it but… I merged the layers and I couldn’t reverse it. Whoops.

Life goes on. So I used the airbrush to smooth out the texture. It preserves the original brush strokes while making everything more united. I learned that from working on a piece inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci. I think the best turned out the male fox. For the female fox I used a little too much airbrush. Soft brushes are really hard to master.

I could ramble more about the art process. I think it’s something really important to document and share. But now I want to get to what I think of Lt. Vixen.

At first I was kind of annoyed at her popularity. Men being unable to see a female character and not sexualize her challenge. But then I watched the episodes she was in and I was like OH. As a pansexual I was HOOKED! Special shout out to her voice actress Lim Um-Young. The whole show is bizarrely horny for puritanical North Korean standards. Looking at you mice maids. If you want to learn more watch Paper Will’s video on North Korean entertainment. It’s great.

She is also definitely one of the best characters. A true girl boss. So sad they didn’t make any more episodes. So much lost potential.

Her male counterpart… I haven’t read the manwa because I know like three words in Korean. So all I can say is that I like his character design. Both of their character designs are great. I imagine he’s probably your general evil angry guy. The stories are generally focused more on plot than character. And that’s alright. All the more room for head cannons!

I don’t include the wolf army in my AU because they’re a little too modern for my taste. I like to keep things early 20th century vibe you know. Also by the time I got around to season 2 the first time I was already kind of burned out. But here are my ideas.

At first I thought Lt. Vixen could be trans. But I didn’t have much ideas on what to do from there. So I thought why can’t there be more than one fox? Specifically the manwa fox could be her twin brother!

The two of them grew up in a shitty orphanage. They were their only family and they HATED each other. I got to give them names. Vixen is the female fox and…I dunno Bob is the male fox. It’s just so you don’t get confused while reading. The hard life in the orphanage made Bob more empathetic and inward focused (he writes sad gay poetry trademark). Meanwhile Vixen lost all her empathy and her range of emotions is very shallow. I like the creepy idea that she just doesn’t have a soul poetically speaking. She bullied Bob their whole childhood. Bob feels weak and like he can’t do anything without his sister. Even though he views her as the embodiment of evil.

The only way they would become anything more than poor factory workers was by joining the military. Both of them earn their ranks by seducing their hireups. Even though Bob hates being in the military and would love to just go be sad and gay somewhere else, for the first time he feels like he can be something without his sister. When he starts to earn his ranks faster than Vixen she does not like it. And she murders him!

Oh my goodness! This post been going on for ages. I haven’t even gotten into my ideas for Lt. Vixen X Geumseagi and how Bob plays into it all! Send me another ask if you want to see that.

[doofox1]

The blue fox woman chuckled when she saw Midori's tails perk up. She absent-mindedly had forgotten to merge her nine tails back together into one, and so she did just that as the kitsune bard approached. The blue vixen stood at what seemed to be approximatively 6ft/180cm tall and her garnements clearly showed that she was *not* from around here. Maybe farther toward the east? Midori didn't really know for sure. "Oi there, name's Doofox Renard, I come from them Forest o' Spirits. That's why I'm here a tad later than I wished... Well, that don't matter now that we here! See Midori, I heard about yer struggle to survive, about the whole ambassy fiasco an' Dusklight and all'at... That's what them bards all sang about ove' there. I couldn't get a single day passin' by without having to send a darn musician back to the Astral Plane!" She chuckled. "...I uhhh was jokin' about that last part. Anyhow, mind showin' me around? I can tell ye anything ye wanna know while we visit, just don't feel like stayin' still for too long!" Doofox seemed like the cheerful type, her face seemed to almost constantly bear a smug, large smile. Through her right eye traced a scar, and it didn't take much investigation to notice other scars all over the bits of exposed skin she had. It didn't take long for Midori to feel a violent, tremendous power roaring inside of the tall kitsune, something akin to a gigantic storm brewing, this girl was not to be taken lightly. As they went on to visit the circus, Doofox interrogated Midori: "Say, now that yer safe and sound and got yer circus. What's the plan? I heard from yer letter that yer trynna beat them xulgaths, but what about Dusklight? Not feelin' revengeful? I could help ya out on both front even! Rahahaha~!" Each and every of her words were brash and loud and she lacked that distinct... nobility, Midori had imagined she'd have. Hopefully she was an exception.

@the-faramir

[yuriko-mukami]

His Possession Vampire End

Beta reader: @ruki-mukami-dl

“Hey! Little Sister, wake up! Dammit!”

A shoving movement forced Yuriko’s eyes open; the amber ones gazed down at her. She reached her arms and clung to Yuuto with all her might. “Is it true? Is it true?”

A clumsy hand patted the back of Yuriko’s head. “Yeah… sorry I didn’t tell you… It’s shitty.”

Gasping, Yuriko couldn’t hold in her cries. She sobbed and whimpered against Yuuto’s shoulder, trembling all over. Finally, he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her on his chest and stroking her hair.

“I… I… couldn’t… say goodbye…”

“Shit… fuck… I know it sucks…” Yuuto cleared his throat. “She talked ‘bout you. Said that you’re her tiny lily, a good little girl…”

The words only made Yuriko sob harder. She had no parents anymore for her father had disowned her and her mother was gone. How could Yuuto stay so calm? It was almost disturbing. Didn’t he care at all? Yuriko wanted nothing but to cry and burn the world around her at the same time.

“There… there… Shhh… It’s fine…” Yuuto’s voice stayed collected as his hand brushed Yuriko’s hair. “Everythin’s gonna be fine…”

“NOTHING IS FINE!” Yuriko grabbed Yuuto’s shoulders, clenching them so harshly that her fingers hurt. “Why did they do it? What was her crime? I don’t get it!”

“She left here to marry a human… that disgustin’ man you call Father.” Yuuto spitted the words out of his mouth. “Dontcha get me wrong. I don’t blame Mother. It’s better to be out there than here, for a vixen, that’s for sure. She shouldn’t have come back. That’s stupid! Like what the hell?! She was gone for years and then suddenly…? As if she cared… I know she didn’t.” Yuuto wiped hastily a corner of his eye. “But she cared ‘bout you. You were the only thingy she ever talked ‘bout. So, I know it’s shitty for you.”

Yuriko let out a growling cry, burying her face back to Yuuto’s shoulder. She didn’t mind that his shirt got all wet because of her outburst. Nothing mattered. Everything had been robbed from her.

“Listen… Little Sister…” 

“NO!” Yuriko hit her fist on Yuuto’s upper arm, but with a swift movement, Yuuto grabbed both of her wrists with one hand only and held her still.

“You gotta listen… Litt… Please, Sis?” With his free hand, Yuuto patted Yuriko’s head. “Come on, I get that you gotta mourn, but first we hafta save you from here. I’m not gonna let anythin’ bad happen to you.”

“I… I… can’t focus…”

“Yes, you can. You are a brave vixen, not a whiny pup. Show that side of yours to your big brother, will you?” Yuuto locked his gaze with Yuriko’s. “We’re gonna get out of here together. Listen now, that jerk locked us into this room. He still has my star pearl. So, we gotta break you out and then you need to steal that damn pearl. He’s sleepin’ now, so it should be easy enough.”

“Why can’t you… steal it…?”

“He ordered me to stay here with you. I can’t leave this room unless he allows it. But he said nothing ‘bout breakin’ a wall or a window or somethin’...”

Still sobbing, Yuriko nodded. Her head was aching along with her heart but if she could save Yuuto, she should do it. He deserved to be freed from where he had been trapped for so many years. “Okay… I’ll do it. We’ll leave here together.”

“That’s the spirit.” Yuuto released Yuriko’s hands and pushed her to sit next to him on a thin futon. “Now, listen closely. I’m gonna explain this to you.” 

Shivering, Yuriko leaped on the terrace from Yuuto’s grasp, all her four paws hitting the floor at the same time. She pressed her fox ears closer to her head and lowered her tail while she gazed at her feet. There were glass shards everywhere and she had to move slowly to avoid hurting herself. But she was out of the room after Yuuto had managed to break one tiny part of the window as quietly as possible. So, now, Yuriko only needed to find her way to their grandfather and steal Yuuto’s pearl back.

Easier said than done.

Yet, Yuriko glued her body on the wall and sneaked forward, searching for an ajar door or another opening where to meander back into the house. Her heart was jumping and her pulse bounding in her ears while scents of the village filled her senses. So many Kitsune, all around her.

Yuriko shook her head. She needed to focus. No thinking about the Kitsune and especially no thinking about what they had done to her mother. She whimpered. No! No such thoughts! 

Clanging around, Yuriko kept searching. No open doors on this side. She hurried around the house. And there! The window was only slightly open but that would be enough for her to get in… if she could jump high enough. Dashing to the wall, Yuriko tried to reach the opening, but her front paws only graced it.

Suddenly, there was a rustle coming behind. Yuriko rolled over, squinting her eyes, and at the same moment, she smelled it. Him! Her paws almost slipped as she rushed to the bushes behind the house.

Ruki! Ruki! Ruki! Yuriko bounced against Ruki’s leg and swayed her tail at a rapid speed.

“Good grief… Yuriko!” Ruki crouched down and hauled Yuriko into his arms. She couldn’t help herself but cover his face with tiny licks since her words weren’t getting through.

“Yuck! Could you two be any more disgusting?!” Shin’s voice made Yuriko stop immediately. “What’s going on? Can we leave now? I’d prefer Brother not to find out about this.”

Yuriko whined, shaking her head. Gosh, I need to turn back! I can’t explain anything like this!

Focusing, Yuriko started to morph her body again. Ruki released her back to the ground and after a few minutes, she was finally standing before the two males. The moment her transformation was ready, Ruki pulled her closer.

“We should go.”

“No… not without Yuuto.” Yuriko waved her hand toward the house, starting to explain about the star pearl.

“Is he a fucking idiot, hah? No Kitsune should burst out their star pearl if they aren’t gonna make the other person swallow it immediately.” Shin laughed. “Stupid fox!”

“Don’t talk about him like that! He didn’t know it was extracted!” Yuriko snapped, making Shin’s eye widen. “If you aren’t helping me, I’m going back there alone and getting the pearl for him. Only then I’ll leave this place.”

Ruki frowned, holding Yuriko by her waist. “I should simply carry you back home.” He sighed. “You really are a handful. Let us go then. To get that pearl.” Ruki turned his gaze to Shin. “You can leave, Tsukinami Shin. I will handle things from now on.”

“Like hell I let you roam freely here! This village belongs to us.” Shin’s claim made Yuriko’s mind whirl but again, she pushed everything else aside. She still had a task to do.

Taking Ruki’s hand, Yuriko tip-toed back and slid the back door open, stepping into the dark house. She continued her way — Ruki on her heels — to the bedroom as Yuuto had instructed her to. Another slide. And there was the man, but the pearl was nowhere to be seen. Yuriko glanced around in the hope of locating it.

Sneaking closer, Yuriko let go of Ruki’s hand. Ichiro was carrying a tiny bag on his neck. That must be it! If Yuriko had stolen something so precious, she would have kept it close to her all the time. She reached her hand, trying to catch the bag but just then Ichiro opened his eyes and darted up.

“You! How are you here?!” The man crawled up, eyes going wild as he noticed Yuriko wasn’t alone. He backed down toward the wall, lifting his hands.

“Give me Yuuto’s pearl!” Yuriko stepped closer. 

Ichiro snapped his fingers, lighting a dark green flame between them. “Don’t play with me, Vixen. I will burn you all!”

Yuriko shook her head. Yuuto had told her that Kitsune couldn’t burn each other just like that… and that Ichiro wouldn’t put her in real danger since he wanted her to be in good shape for the coming marriage.

But Ruki didn’t know that; Yuriko could hear him growling behind her before he pushed past her and covered her from Ichiro. “You are to give the pearl to us. If you do not obey, I will take it by force.”

“A typical bloodsucker. Are you the one who ruined this girl?” Ichiro was raising his voice as if hoping someone coming for his savior. He was playing time for himself, right? Gosh, Yuriko hated this man so much. Why did the men in her family have to be like this? Ichiro reminded Yuriko way too much of her father even though he was from her mother’s side.

Yuriko was just about to dart from behind Ruki to snatch the bag from Ichiro when Shin stepped into the room and walked toward the man. He reached his hand, palm open, and glared at Ichiro. “The pearl.”

“And who the hell —” Ichiro sniffed. And by that, all color vanished from his face while the green flames disappeared. He clutched the bag and tossed it to Shin immediately before lowering his head in front of him. “Shin-sama.”

Snorting, Shin turned and threw the bag to Yuriko. “Bring it to your brother and make him swallow it.”

“Yes. Yes! Thank you, Shin!” Yuriko squeezed the bag in her hands, feeling how the pearl pulsed in it. She hurried to the door with Ruki, not caring even to think about what connections Shin might have with Ichiro.

“And Yuriko…” Shin’s voice was a mere whisper, but it reached Yuriko’s ears and made her look back. “...you owe me one. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t!” Yuriko rushed out and to the room where Yuuto’s scent was coming from. She pushed aside everything Ichiro had put against the door and slid the room open. “Yuuto! Hurry! You need to swallow the pearl!”

Yuuto took the bag, opened it, and gulped the pearl down without a question. A smile rose on his lips as he straightened up but it died as fast as it had been born when he realized that Ruki had followed Yuriko into the room.

“We must go.” Ruki grabbed Yuriko’s arm and pulled her toward the door. Glancing back, he nodded at Yuuto. “Tsukino Yuuto, if you wish to leave this place, I advise you to come with us. Everything else can be settled later.”

“We still have to get Shin.” Yuriko was gazing around.

Ruki shook his head and led them to the back door. “He knows how to take care of himself. Come.”

The gate was still open when Ruki half pushed, half dragged Yuriko through it. When everyone was out, Shin turned and closed it. Probably with some kind of magic but Yuriko didn’t actually care. She simply stared, realizing that the last connection with her mother went with that hand movement. 

Yuriko didn’t even know where her mother was buried. Neither could she ever visit the grave since it was clear that their relatives would either marry her off instantly or punish her in the same manner as her mother. There was no way to connect anymore. Everything was indeed lost in that regard.

“Yuri-Yuri!” Tiny arms wrapped around Yuriko’s waist. She meandered around, blinking.

“Eli-chan?”

“I came here with Shin… and then I was left here to look after… that man…” Elizabeth let go of Yuriko and pointed to Keisuke who had been lifted into a sitting position, his back leaning against a broken stone pillar and hands tied, resting on his lap. He was awake again but there was a nasty bruise on his face. “And them… though, there is nothing to watch when it comes to them. Maybe I should have taken a bite.”

Elizabeth giggled but Yuriko couldn’t respond. She stared at the hooded men still lying on the ground. They were dead, right? Even though the thought should have shaken Yuriko, she only felt numb. 

“Yuri-Yuri?” The worry reflected in Elizabeth's usually glimmering eyes. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Ruki brushed a strand of Yuriko’s hair behind her ear and broke the girls’ eye contact by stepping in between them. “Yuriko?”

Yuriko couldn’t answer. She turned her head, looking at her father even though she could feel how everyone’s focus was on her now. Taking a few wobbly steps, she approached Keisuke while Ruki followed her.

“She is gone.” The words came out with a sharp edge to them. “She… she went to get Yuuto back… and they killed her.”

“Hisoka?” Keisuke turned even whiter than he already had been which made the bruise stand out even more.

Yuriko managed a nod.

“Hmph, she got what she deserved.” Keisuke averted his gaze and crawled up with difficulties, his hands swaying from side to side. “What starts with lies and betrayal can only lead to doom.”

Tickling ran through Yuriko’s body, reaching toward her fingertips. “Maybe she knew that you couldn’t handle the truth!” Flames flickered out, dancing first around her hands but soon spreading further.

Keisuke took a step back; so did Ruki. Yuriko cried — more growled while tears burned her cheeks. “Go away! I don’t want to see you anymore! Do you hear me? I don’t need a father who hates my very being! AND NEVER TALK ABOUT MOM TO ME AGAIN!”

Flames were rising more and more around Yuriko, but she didn’t care. She wanted to burn. Perhaps then she would feel better or feel nothing at all. Anything was better than this storming rage in her.

Suddenly, there were arms around Yuriko once more. Not Ruki’s but Yuuto’s. He pressed Yuriko on his chest, whispering soothing words, before turning to glare at Keisuke. “You heard her. She told me you wanted me back… but I don’t wanna have you in my life. We’re better off without such a parent.”

Growling, Yuuto kept holding Yuriko, while he showed his canine teeth to Keisuke who started whimpering. Suddenly, the man turned his tail and ran into the woods, hands still tied together.

“Good riddance…” Shin’s muttering reached Yuriko’s ears just before Yuuto cupped her cheeks and forced her to look into his eyes.

“Okay, Sis. Just let the flames die, will you? We’re goin’ home now… tho I dunno where that is but anyway.” Yuuto kept talking and talking. Yuriko had no idea what he was saying but somehow his tone calmed her enough for flames to disappear.

In the instant the last blue flicker vanished into the thin air, Ruki was next to Yuriko, hauling her back from Yuuto who didn’t stop the Vampire but gave him a death stare. Not minding him, Ruki closed Yuriko into the cocoon of his arms. 

“Your mother?” Ruki’s lips touched Yuriko’s ear with a whisper.

That was too much. Yuriko whined as her legs gave up. She didn’t meet the ground though, since Ruki captured her and lifted her in bridal style. She barely managed to envelop his neck with her arms, burying her face in the crook of it while sobs trembled through her.

“Tsukinami Shin.” Ruki turned around, speaking over Yuriko’s cries. “Can I trust you and Elizabeth to take care of the vampire hunters?”

“What makes you —”

“We’ll do it!” Elizabeth jumped into the conversation before Shin could finish his sentence. “Don’t worry, Ruki. Just take care of Yuri-Yuri, please. It pains me to see her this sad…”

“Thank you, Elizabeth.” Ruki fixed Yuriko’s position slightly while nodding at the zombie girl. “I promise to take good care of her.” He turned once again, swaying his head toward the woods. “Come with me, Tsukino Yuuto. Yuriko would want you to join us in our manor. We can talk there and decide how to continue from here.”

“Is that smoke I smell?” Yuuto’s voice penetrated Yuriko’s ears. She had been half-asleep but now she lifted her head and gazed through the forest with hazy eyes. Ruki was still carrying her but now, there was urgency in his steps.

“Yes. I smell it too.” Ruki’s voice cracked slightly. “Let us hurry. This does not seem good. Yuriko, are you awake? Good. Hold onto me. Do you understand?”

“Yes…” While the word was a mere whimper, it was enough for Ruki who spurted on the run together with Yuuto. 

Within minutes the Vampire and the two Kitsune reached the backyard of the Mukami manor only to witness thick black smoke wafting out of one downstairs window while Yuma and Azusa were sprinkling water in the room with the garden hose.

“Good grief… what happened here?” Ruki squeezed Yuriko against him, looking more tired than ever.

[roseofithaca]

Run, Little Witch (Part 3)

More trust issues for Silver (my oc) and Mary is confronted with her past.

This was the last thing she'd been expecting to walk into, even when the sound of Silver's cries had torn her from her guard duty. She'd assumed the girl had got hurt, accidentally, during some rough and tumble game they were all enjoying. Mary had rushed down the stairs, ready to give whoever was responsible for hurting her a clip round the ear.

A clip wouldn't be enough for what scene lay before her now.

"Be this some mummers' play?! What is happening?!" She demanded to know; "Silver? Sweetheart?"

The girl's body hung forward, arms strung up by Robin and Julian's firm hands, while Kitty was holding up the back of the girl's shirt. There were no scars, those were already faded. But she'd heard the crack of the stick. She'd heard Silver's pain ripple throughout the halls.

She didn't respond to Mary. Her shoulders shook with quiet sobs of defeat.

Memories crept out of the shadows from centuries past. She'd witnessed this before, at the stocks set up in a village long ago. Once upon a time, that had been her at the receiving end of a sharp stick.

"You lets her go! You lets her go, this instant!"

"Silence, woman. This is no concern of yours. Stay out of it." The Captain dismissed without a turn of his head.

Mary seethed, "You dares tell me this be none of my concern!"

She marched forward, ready to shove the two stupid boys aside and gather Silver into her arms to get her away from this nonsense. Thomas stepped in front of her.

"Out of my way, soppy rag!" She pushed at his chest, only for Pat and Fanny to bar her path too.

Was she going to have to fight them all?! Let it be then!

"There's no need for this to turn ugly, Mary. Let us do our work." The Scout leader said, soft as always, though with that threatening undertone.

"Ugly?! Patrick, where be your eyes?! Look at the poor girl, you know this be wrongs!"

"Come now, Mary." Fanny interceded, "You were the first of us hesitant to befriend the child because you said she was a minion of Satan."

"I was wrongs! I see a swan and claim it to be Lucifer's lakey, that don't make it truth! Silver's a good girl, a sweet girl, she woulds not hurt a fly-"

Seizing the distraction, Silver sunk her teeth into Julian's bare calf. The man gasped and released her. She wasted no time in grabbing Robin's hand too, biting down hard until he let go. Then she ran, straight through the piano, disappearing through the wall.

Despite her statement being wrong, Mary's heart swelled with pride at the girl's tenacity.

"Oooh, she fiesty fox." Robin commented, rubbing at the marks on his hand.

"She's a vixen all right. Little bitch." Julian swore.

"You says one more words about her and I will knock your blocks off!" Mary fumed, smoke rising all around her, "What in God's name has gotten into you all?" She turned to the kindest, most innocent person in the room. "Kitty? Tell me, love. Please."

But the young woman's bubbly smile had been replaced with a contemptuous glare.

"The girl is the devil. And sin must be purged." Said Kitty, cold as ice.

"Sin must be purged." They all repeated in unison.

Mary knew that sound, that mindless chant of agreement, of combined fear and hate. It had come for her at her home that morning. It had woken her infant son in his cot. Her ears pounded at the memory of the thumps upon her front door.

She looked at them all. This time, their predatory gazes were not on her, but on some other sacrificial lamb.

"No...Not again." She shook her head, hands twitching at her sides, "Not again."

"Come, everyone. The hunt goes on." Captain ordered, sending everyone out in different directions with a wave of his stick.

Mary grit her teeth. She knew that voice.

She grabbed at the soldier's sleeve; "I will nots let you harm a child!"

He paused, turning to look down at her hand, nose wrinkling above that mustache in disgust. They then looked at her through the rising smoke, brow furrowing.

"...Have we met before?"

Mary let go. That was all the confirmation that she needed.

The Captain gave a snort of derision, then turned away.

As she passed through another wall, her feet stumbled over an object discarded on the floor.

"Oof, ow! Watch where..." Humphrey's head rolled to a stop. He looked up at her; "Oh! It's her! Guys, she's up here!"

Silver scooped him up off the floor and clutched him face first to her stomach, muffling his shouts. She fled to the cupboard, having lost track of whose room she was in, and sat in the dark.

She pulled Humphrey back to meet his eyes, one hand held firmly over his mouth.

"Listen to me! You say one word to give me away and you are going straight down the bog, do you hear?!" Silver threatened as the head of the Tudor continued to shout against her palm; "I have just had the shit beaten out of me by people I thought were my friends so I am DONE playing games, do I make myself clear?!"

The noise stopped. He simply glared at her.

Fuck. She hated this so much.

"Humphrey, please..." She weakened, exhausted, "...If there is some part of you, no matter how small, that remembers who I am, who I really am, and knows you're being controlled to act this way...Please tell me. Or...show me..."

Nothing. She wouldn't be foolish enough to risk moving her hand away.

"Blink three times if part of you is still in there. Please." Her voice cracked.

More staring. Sheer hatred.

And then, with a wince at the corners of his brow, he blinked. One. Two.

Three.

Silver let out a sob. She held him tight as she allowed herself a moment to let the tears fall. That tiny piece of her friend who remained deep inside, fighting against whatever malevolent force had invaded the house, was the closest she could get to company right now. To know that she wasn't completely alone.

After a mere minute of release, she wiped her eyes, then held him up again. His expression remained the same but she could see the little glimmer of conflict. It was enough to give her hope.

"Right. One big blink for yes, twice for no." She told him, sniffing back her tears; "Robin said he thought he knew what this thing was...or who it was. Do you?"

A pause. Then one blink.

"....Do you know how I can get rid of him?"

One blink.

"Fuck." She wouldn't be able to get the answers she needed through this limited method of communication. She mentally kicked herself for not paying attention to Cap's lesson on Morse Code. "...I can't trust that you won't scream if I let you talk."

She'd trusted one person tonight, the one she thought she could trust beyond anyone else, and look where that had got her.

"You will scream if I let go, won't you?"

One blink.

Was that Humphrey warning her or the evil spirit just being honest?

She took a breath and popped her head through the closet door. Empty still. Easing herself out, she crept over to the window. Perhaps going back to the woods was her best bet. Robin had only lead her away to trick her.

"I'm really sorry about this, Humphrey." She dropped him to the floor and kicked as hard as she could.

The cries of "SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE!" echoed as his head was sent hurtling across the lawn.

Hopefully that would throw them off.

She continued to pass through walls, keeping a keen ear out for any sign of them.

When she reached Alison's room, her focus was drawn immediately to the gothic mirror frame propped against the wall on the floor. Glass smashed. Hot, nauseating energy rippled off of it like toxic gas. As weary as she was of getting closer, she spotted the name carved into the top of the frame.

Sir Pius.

Her stomach flipped. She knew that name. Before she'd come to this site to perform her Esbat, she'd read extensively on the fascinating history of this house and the land. She knew about the legend of the screaming Victorian woman (who turned out to be Edwardian and very much not early twenties). She knew about the MP who died in a sex scandal and the Tudor Knight convicted of treason.

And most of all, she knew about the witch trials, headed by the local respected lawman. Sir Pius Montgomery. Witchfinder.

"There you is!"

Silver jumped at the voice at the threshold.

Mary smiled at her, arms opening wide; "Come on, little'en. Let's gets you somewhere safe."

"No, no, no!"

Not again, she wouldn't let her heart be broken again.

The older woman's face fell with concern; "Silver, love, t'is only me. You know I won't hurts you."

"I thought I knew you all...I thought none of you could hurt me..." she backed towards the window.

Mary's sadness looked almost genuine.

"Darlin' girl, please trust me. I know what this thing is that's after yous, that what's got the others in his grasp. I won't let's him do to you what he did to....so many other girls." She pledged, reaching her hands out; "I know it's been a rough night but trust me, I'll keep you safe until Alison gets back and we can fix this, I swears to you. Just...take my hand."

Silver looked at it. The soot covered, calloused fingers, that still always managed to feel so soft and comforting. She wanted nothing more than to let them hold her.

Tears blurring her vision, she looked at Mary, then shook her head.

"I can't..."

"Silver..."

She leapt through the window again, prepared to face this on her own. That's how she'd made it through most of her life, more or less.

Except this time, she didn't hit the ground.

A pair of red coated arms caught her. Silver gasped in surprise and found herself looking into the eyes of...nobody. No eyes. No head.

"Yeah, that's it! Good catch! You got her!" Humphrey cheered from several yards away.

Silver screamed.

[novankenn]

"Ozpin's Fault AU"

Jaune-napped!!! (2/2)(841 Words)

The trip to Jaune's Aunt Glynda's private accommodations took much longer than Nora would have expected. Due to the state the medical exam had put her in, Jaune was barely able to walk, let alone navigate her way through the halls of Beacon. Keeping a grip on Jaune's upper arm, Nora guided her Fearless but dazed Leader towards the assigned destination.

Nora soon was on high alert. She could see the wanton looks of other students, both male and female, aimed at Jaune. Nora herself had to admit, at least internally, that Vixen Jaune oozed innocent seductive attraction.

"Thirsty Wenches, all of them." Nora mumbled as she shot all four members of NDGO an undisguised look, promising Broken Legs if they approached any closer. "A little push and Pyr-Pyr will finally make her move, Jaune-Jaune. You'd like that, right?"

Jaune said nothing as she continued to shuffle along beside Nora.

"You two would be so adorably cute, and so easy to tease when you get together-together." Nora commented as they closed on the door of their destination.

With a couple of knocks on the designated door, it opened and Nora led the shuffling Jaune into the room.

"What happened?" Glynda asked as she took in the condition of her nephew now niece.

"First gynecologic exam." Nora answered.

"Oh yes. Understandable."

With the door closed, none of those secured inside saw the beret and sunglasses wearing fashion obsessed girl peering around the corner. She had slid her sunglasses down her nose, so she could get a better look. She had been following Nora and Jaune ever since she saw the pair setup out of the cafeteria.

"She's perfect." She mutter to herself, as she assessed the innocent yet seductive girl next door threat to her own aims. "Bun-Bun would so go for her..."

"I would so go for whom, Coco?" the team in question asked as she walked up on the distracted fashionista.

"Um... nothing. I'm not stalking anyone, I swear."

"Coco." Velvet's ears narrowed as she saw the ticks Velvet had learned long ago that indicated that Coco was lying and planning something. "What are you up to? You're not going to try and scare someone who I might find attractive, are you? You need to stop that, I've told you... many, many, many times I'm only interested in a single person, and if she would stop being so dense..."

"You don't understand, Bun-Bun. This new girl is totally the most cute but sexually desirable vixen I've ever laid eyes on. I have to protect you from her."

"New girl? What are you talking about?"

"The blond haired fox faunus, angel that is hanging around teams RWBY and JNPR."

"Oh, you mean Jaune."

"Jaune?"

"Yeah, one of the first years I tutor, mention that Jaune has suddenly become a girl and a faunus."

"How... that makes no sense, I'm confused."

"So is pretty much the whole school."

"So my cousin Jaune... oh..."

"Coco don't. I know that look. Don't you dare."

"I'm not planning anything, even if she would be the perfect model. I could do so much with her."

"Coco, don't."

"Aunt Glynda would understand." Coco commented as she returned to watching the hallway. "You have the sack, right Bun-Bun?"

"Sack? What sack?"

"The silk, full body, bitch catcher."

"No?"

"Okay, then I'll just have to improvise."

"Coco?"

The door to Glynda's apartment, opened and Nora emerged with a slightly less stunned Jaune in tow. Nora waved, before starting to guide Jaune down the hallway. Coco pulled back, and flattened herself against the wall, her arm shooting out and across Velvet's bust making her also flatten against the wall.

"Coco?"

"Shush!" Coco whispered,"They'll be going by any minute now."

Velvet watched her eyes growing wide in horror as she realized what Coco was going to do as Nora and Jaune passed by where they were laying in wait for an ambush. As soon as they had fully passed, Coco sprang into action.

"Coco, NO! Jaune look out!" Velvet shouted, but she was too late with her warning, even though Nora seemed to have heard it.

"What?" Nora half turned only to get Gianduja in its handbag form right in the face.

As Nora went down, due to the impact and pure shock of the blindside attack, Coco made her second move of her impromtu plan.

"Eep!" Jaune squealed as Coco swooped in and scooped Jaune up and slung her over her shoulder. Spinning on her heels, Coco bolted past Velvet.

"Camera! Boutique!" Coco shouted as she tore past the shocked Velvet.

"Coco?"

"Camera! Boutique!" Coco called again as she vanished down the hall.

Velvet shook her head and sighed, as her shoulders dropped in defeat, before she walked away, knowing instinctively what Coco was planning, and unable to bring herself to also resist, the temptation.

"Ow." Nora moaned as she tried to clear the stars that were dancing across her vision.

In the distance, an insane cackling rang out, causing those students who were in the halls to shiver.

[adleryoung]

"Look what you did do my lute!" I shouted indignantly.

"Go away and leave me alone, you bastard!" Zandar shouted back, shooing me with her hands as if I was a feral animal.

"Fine, if that's how you feel," I sulked, and pooked away to another tree where I could continue to watch unobserved.

"Beautiful elf," Sir Conrad sobbed as he stared up into the tree where I had been a moment ago. "Beautiful song. Gone…"

"Come away from there, Sir Conrad," Zandar sighed, letting her coat fall open. "Am I not also beautiful and soft and snuggly?"

"If you were a boy, I would worship you," Sir Conrad admitted.

"You still might," she said, and reached up to scratch the back of his head.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the fox's moans of pleasure. Zandar was using the simplest of Wiles to seduce the poor fool, yet she had the nerve to insinuate that I was an abuser and a manipulator!

"I can show you pleasures such as no mortal has ever known," she promised him. "If you tell me the White Elf's name."

So, this was her game, was it? I decided I'd continue playing along, if only for the sake of keeping her distracted. I pooked quietly to the ground and drew my bow.

"Gladly!" Sir Conrad exclaimed. "It's -"

And that's when I elfshot him.

Zandar let loose with a stream of most unladylike profanity, and then tried to attack me. Her feeble blows were easily deflected, but the sheer insolence of it was making me start to lose my temper. I grabbed her wrist as she swung at me.

"I've been patient with you because you are pretty, and the mother of my child," I snarled. "But you are beginning to exhaust the goodwill I have toward you. I can't kill you, but I CAN make you very, very uncomfortable."

I squeezed her wrist. She gasped and writhed with pain. Just as her knees began to buckle, I let go. Despicable as she was, I still didn't want to hurt Zandar.

"I'll allow you to go," I said. "But I do not like these mysterious entities sending their lackeys to fetch you," I added, pointing to Sir Conrad, who was humming tunelessly and dancing around in an elfshot daze.

"That's what you did," Zandar stated accusingly as she got up and walked over to the capering tod. "Come along, Sir Conrad," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"NO," I yelled. "I sang him! I shot him! That mortal is mine by right! You may go, but he stays." If we were playing the name game, I couldn't allow Conrad to spill the beans as soon as the elfshot effects wore off. Besides, I wanted to question him.

It didn't take long after Zandar left for Conrad's wits to return.

"I can't believe it!" he gushed. "Am I really in the presence of His Lordship? Or should I say, Adler Young? Ever since I was a kit at my grandmother's knee, I loved hearing stories about elfland! Is it true that I get a wish if I braid your hair?"

"No," I sighed. "That's not true. Where do you people come up with this stuff?"

"May I braid your hair anyway?"

"NO!"

"Well, do I get a wish for knowing your name? It is Adler Young, isn't it? I know so much about you. I've devoted much of my life, you see, to studying the local fairy-lore. And my word, I thought I knew how fair you were to behold, but the stories don't do you justice! Did I mention that I know nearly everything there is to know about you? I even know the tales about you disguising yourself as a vixen numerous times! Is that true? And it's fairly well substantiated that you once turned a brutish, crass mercenary into a dainty little girl! Oh, how that tale in particular sparked my young imagination! The bit about her golden curls was my favorite part! And your alchemical experiment of trying to steam gun powder, that was BRILLIANT! I simply can't believe no one else had ever thought of it! I even know about that weird mole you have on your -"

"Incessant babblers do not get a wish," I blurted, cutting his monologue short. "Where did you obtain all this information?"

"I was born and raised in Ballynure, not far from here," Conrad explained. "I have collected local lore, as well as numerous rare books on the subject. I am lucky enough to possess one of the few surviving copies of le Gobelet's 'Confederacy of Fairies and Elves' which contains the most detailed information … including your lineage and your name … Adler Young."

"Yes, yes, you know my name, congratulations," I muttered. This was more than a little disturbing, to learn that Percy Junior's tell-all book still existed in some form. There was much to do. I needed to finish up with this weirdo and send him on his way. "So what's your wish?"

"Ah yes," Conrad chuckled, giving me a strange, sultry look. "My wish …"

What was this? Was he trying to use Wiles on me?

"I already mentioned what were my favorite parts of your story…" Conrad purred as he stepped close and gazed longingly into my eyes. "Surely you can guess what my wish would be, you gorgeous creature you."

"Let it be so," I hastily declared, stepping back and quickly transmogrifying him into a femme.

[maccreadysbaby]

THE FOX AND THE HOUND™︎

fem!oc x kyle “gaz” garrick

in which a sardonic, cunning, freakishly independent irish girl with a dark past and questionable future finally finds someone that she doesn’t want to push away… and she’s absolutely horrified

parts: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

TW: light cursing

❝ A GHOST AND THE BOOGEYMAN ❞

Fort Bragg, NC, USA

12 Nov, 2022, 1300

— THE FIRST SENSE THAT VIXEN GOT BACK FROM HER EXTRAORDINARY NAP WAS HER HEARING. Specifically, hearing the voices of the people that seemed to be sitting around her like she was a zoo exhibit.

“You think she’ll be with us for training, or whining like a baby about that leg?” A voice came. This one had a British accent, much like the big man from earlier, but it was smoother and a bit nicer than his Manchester accent.

“She was repeatedly shoving a knife into her leg in the back of the car, so I’d say she has a pretty high pain tolerance,” Came the voice of the Scotsman.

A pair of footsteps drifted up from the left, an American accent making a quick appearance: “I think you’ve got a good one, sir. She sleeps like the dead. We didn’t even have to sedate her to patch up the wound, all we did was numb the area and she didn’t even twitch in her sleep.”

She heard some material rub against itself, probably someone shrugging. “Highest pain tolerance I’ve ever seen on a woman.” It was the scot again.

“I’m a bloody medic, I have to have a high pain tolerance or everyone else dies,” She deadpanned, peeling her amber eyes open to glance around the room. In front of her was the scot, who flinched when she spoke, a man in a little hat with a very strange mustache, and a man in scrubs — a doctor, she supposed. The room she was in was large and open, with a concrete floor and little stand-up curtains separating several hospital beds from one another.

“How long have you been listening?” The scot asked.

Vixen shrugged, scooting herself back so she’d sit up more. “I don’t know, probably since the whole repeatedly shanking myself in the leg part.”

He nodded to himself, eyes flicking down to the floor with slight embarrassment. She smirked to herself.

“Soap, you can go. I need to get Vixen’s briefing over with,” The man with the mustache ordered. That must’ve been Price, she assumed. But something else, however, stuck out.

“Your name is Soap?” She asked, light eyebrows knitting together. “Like… a bar of soap?”

“Yours is a fox,” He defended, crossing his arms. His blue eyes were shining with amusement, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly.

She snickered. “Vixen are cunning, and it’s another word for a sexy woman. What are bars of soap?… Slippery when wet…? Always on the floor of the shower…?”

Soap blinked, his ears turning bright pink, and Price seemed to notice, because he ordered for the second time: “Soap, you’re dismissed. Get the others into the commons for the introduction.”

He turned and left without another word, leaving Vixen to revel in her success of embarrassing him. Price drifted over to the left side of her bed.

“I think it’d be beneficial for everyone in the one-four-one if you didn’t treat my men like that,”

Vixen creased her brow. “Like what?”

“Making crude jokes just so see what elicits the funniest reaction,” He replied. Vixen snorted, crossing her arms.

“This is the military. We breathe crude jokes and funny reactions, Price. You are Price, right?”

“It’s captain to you,” He ordered, cold blue eyes staying stone hard on her face. She sucked in a deep breath, and sighed after a moment of silence. Obviously, Price wasn’t going to be very fond of her just like her previous commanding officer hadn’t been. She had to admit, though, she’d be pretty pissed, too, if a brand new general struck a deal with another and got a little irish arse thrown onto her team of hardcore professionals.

“Captain,” She corrected with a huff. He stayed silent for a moment, brushing his hand over his mustache like he was contemplating his next words.

“Can you walk?” He asked.

“Am I a toddler?” Vixen shot back before she could think any better of it. She decided not to back down, not to shrink back and show weakness in front of her new captain, so she just stared straight into his gray-blue eyes. He didn’t look amused in the slightest. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, obviously keeping himself from saying something.

“Then get up and come on. We have introductions to do,” He ordered, turning away from her and starting toward the exit door.

Vixen obeyed, flipping the itchy cotton blanket off of her. She was still in her clothes from earlier, but the entire right leg of her pants had been cut off. She looked stupid.

“You got any full pants, Cap?” She questioned, standing up on the concrete floor. Her boots were still on and she was sure this was the dumbest she’d ever looked in her life. Not to mention the burning pain that rippled up and down her leg when she stood, making her lean to the side a bit. Price turned and glared at her, so she added a quick: “-tain,” before he could ridicule her again for not calling him captain.

“Come on,” He ordered. Vixen sucked in a breath and followed his steps, praying they wouldn’t pass anybody important in the hallway. And that he wasn’t taking her to introductions wearing that.

“Stay here,” He stated, disappearing into a metal door on the left. She clasped her hands together in front of her, rocking from toe-to-heel in her half pants and tall boots get up. At least she still had on a whole shirt. A black turtleneck, in fact. At that current moment, it seemed to have more fabric than her ARW certified cargo pants.

Price re-emerged a moment later, pushing a pair of camo pants and belt into her hands. “Go in and change.”

She nodded, entering the metal door and closing it behind her. Inside was a small, sterile locker-room that smelled like men. The walls were lined with gray lockers, that matched the gray floor, gray walls, and gray ceiling. There was one tiny sink in the corner with a little mirror above it.

Sighing, she quickly shed her ruined pants and slid the new ones on. They were way too long at the ankle, and extremely loose on her waist, but the belt and a lot of cuffing made them presentable. She tucked in her turtleneck and re-laced her boots. She didn’t waste a second glancing into the teeny mirror see what was up with her hair.

She had a nicely purpling bruise on the left side of her face, running from her forehead, down her temple and around her eye. Her lip was visibly busted even though the blood had been cleaned off. There were a couple butterfly stitches on her right temple, holding together a cut she didn’t even know was there. The platinum hair that stopped just above her shoulders was stained red near her face, and even though it was faded like someone tried to clean it, it was still noticeably pink. Not to mention that it was horribly frizzy. Being tortured for information didn’t do much for the curls, she guessed. She ran her fingers through it a couple of times before heading back into the hallway.

He scanned her skeptically when she reappeared. “You make those pants work?”

She nodded. “For now.”

“Come on,” He suddenly urged, continuing up the bare hall like a man on a mission. They passed several closed doors, offices, and some bathrooms before he turned into a room that had no door. A commons room.

Vixen quietly hoped the rest of her team wasn’t like Price. She had high hopes for Soap — seeing as he seemed somewhat alright with her constant sarcasm — but as for the rest, she didn’t know. She just hoped they weren’t like Price, who, apparently, couldn’t take a joke. Or maybe he was just pissed at her throwing off the team dynamic and he’d be fine with it later. She hoped that was it, because she definitely wasn’t turning it off anytime soon.

“I’m not a babysitter, okay, kid? You’d better live up to the reputation the ARW gave you,” Price ordered as they walked through the entrance of the commons room. She scowled. Sure, she was twenty-four, but kid was a little unnecessary. She did quietly wonder what the ARW had told them about her, though.

As she entered the room, the smell of freshly brewed coffee assaulted her nostrils like a whiff of an actual dream. The room was large — a small metal dining table lined with chairs, a few couches, a tv, and a small kitchen in the back corner with a coffee pot that was spluttering as it brewed a fresh batch of fuel.

Standing beside the coffee pot, all posted up against the counter, was Soap. His combat attire had been completely exiled, a t-shirt and jeans taking their place. His icy eyes landed on her as soon as she walked in. His military-mandatory dog tags that sat around his neck glinted as they swayed back and forth, grabbing her attention. Would she be getting dog tags? She never wore them with the ARW unless she was going overseas.

She moved to the next figure in the room, the big man, who was standing against the wall straight ahead, arms and ankles crossed over one another. He’d abandoned his skull mask and was now wearing a full balaclava, black paint obvious around his cold eyes. He was in the exact same outfit he was wearing when she’d first met him, complete with his tactical vest and belt. She couldn’t see much of his face, but she could tell he didn’t care much to meet her. Dude was even massive-er now that she was getting a good look at him. He had to have been, like, six-four. That was more than a foot taller than her.

The next guy in the room was sitting at the metal table, arms crossed and dark eyes resting on her and Price. He had dark skin, and a buzzcut peeking out from under the British-flag baseball cap that sat on his head. He was dressed like Soap — jeans and a t-shirt — eyes raking across her frame, trying to take in his new team member.

The fourth and final figure that had been waiting in the room, Vixen didn’t notice at first. Mostly because he was sitting in a chair in the corner like he was in time-out. She only spotted him a few seconds later because his pitch-black get up stood out against the gray walls. He was sitting and was almost as tall as her, he had to be a freaking mountain when he stood up. He still had his vest on, much like the other big man, and he had a sniper’s hood over his face, only revealing his icy eyes that seemed distant like the big man’s. She had a lot of jokes, but she swallowed them down because he looked like the boogeyman and she didn’t really feel like pissing him off on her first day. Maybe later.

“Vixen, this is your team. Soap, Ghost, and Gaz,” Price explained, gesturing to each man as he spoke. “And this is König, an operator from the military contractor KorTac that we’re going to be working closely with for a while. The rest of the men in his unit are around here somewhere, but he’s the only one I could get ahold of that agreed to help with… you.”

Vixen nodded slightly, glancing at König as he rose from the chair he was in. Every single snarky comment that had been brewing in her head dissolved into nothing the moment she realized he could probably touch the ceiling without getting on his toes. He was a good four or five inches taller than Ghost and, frankly, could snap her into pieces and use her as a footrest if he wanted to.

“Guys, this is Vixen, the transfer from the ARW,” Price continued, shifting his attention back to her. “You’re going to attend a few training sessions tomorrow with each member of the team so we can assess your skill levels. Ghost will take you on firearms. You might be labeled a sniper, but you aren’t one on our team unless he says you’re one. You’ll be going over some simple strategy and recon simulations with Gaz. Soap is going to test your ability to survive in situations where you have no weapons, stealth, and so on — should you ever be in one — and König is going to feel out your hand to hand skills.”

What Vixen really wanted to say was oh hell no he wasn’t. König was a living, breathing tank, and she was not about to let her five-foot-two, one-hundred-and-four pound self be pinned by him. Despite every argument that came to mind, though, she just ended up muttering: “Alright, Captain.”

“You’ll be joining Dr. Bowman and I to get an assessment on your status as a field medic. You don’t pass, you can kiss that title goodbye. My team isn’t going to have a medic unless they know field medicine cover to cover,” He continued. Vixen grumbled: “Yes, Captain.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “Good luck, kid. Welcome to the one-four-one.” He patted her shoulder and turned, leaving her in the kitchen with all three of her newfound teammates and König, the boogeyman.

She sucked in a breath, quickly realizing all four of them had they eyes trained on her. Never before, had Vixen, of all people, felt the slightest bit uncomfortable under the gaze of a group of men. But now, with these particular men, she felt like she was being dissected.

To break the silence, she snickered. “A ghost and the boogeyman. What’s next, the phantom of the opera?”

— ☘︎ —

[first-edition]

Fox and the Hound

Sum-Joffrey wants to send a message to your family after your brother embarrasses him, so he marries you off to his most unwanted man in his court, the hound. But will this marriage truly be a statement for an eyesore, or will it grow into something more. 

Cw for chapter- mention of arranged marragie, pregnancy, 18+ words and themes overall. Slight angst.

// A/N: just wanted to apologize for the broken links at the beginning of the book since i changed my username they haven’t been working but i assure you I’ll get to fixing them. I will also end up making a goggle docs with the entire book for downloading when this series ends//

Previous chapter here

Chapter 16

“My lady?” joss asks you as you look out the carriage window. He sits across from you in the carriage. 

“We're nearly there.” he says again. 

“Mm.” you answer eyes glued to the outside world. The ground changes from dirt road to cobblestone as the ride becomes smoother. The view of the grassy field becomes blocked with the white stone building of the entrance to the castle. Sooner than later the carriage comes to a stop. You look forward to joss. Before the carriage doors open a footman holds out his hand to you helping you out of the carriage before joss follows. 

“OH my daughter!” You mother exclaims running down the path way before wrapping you in her arms as soon as possible you hug her back. Your father hurries to you as well, hugging you and wrapping arms around you. 

“My darling girl.” He says your mother wipes tears from her eyes. As you pull away. 

“Oh look at you, the weather has gotten to you. Oh come in and take a bath my love!” she says. 

“W-wait mother. This is joss a squire in kingslanding, he kept me safe.” you say 

“Your majesty.” joss bows. 

“Thank you, my boy. See to it that he has his own room, a warm bath and a hot meal tonight you understand.” Your mother orders the servants. 

“Lucinda will take care of you.” your mother says holding out her hand to reveal your previous head lady in waiting before cersi interchanged them. 

“Lucy!” you exclaim as you two join in a hug. 

“I thought you were dead. After cersi interchanged you all.” you say your eyes are scanning her. 

“No, my lady, she did us that much service, me, I returned here after i was dismissed i will always serve house vixen.” She says you smile giving her another hug before she helps you inside the castle door with your mother, father, joss and servant following. 

—------

You sit in the hot bath water clean from the rugged journey over the seas. Lucinda arranges your clothes as you relax your eyes closed. 

“My lady is with the child then.” she speaks, blinking you out of your haze.

“Y-yes.” you reply. 

“Is it his? Your ser husband, ser clegane?” she asks. You nod. 

“Apologize if this is above me your highness but…did he treat you well the last I knew he left you alone in the bed chamber unconsummated.” she says you sigh. 

“He treats me very well, Lucy, saved me when kings landing was falling. We got separated but he promised he’d find me. I'm happy to have a piece of him with me even if it's not in the best circumstances.” you say putting your hand over your stomach.

“Have you visited a maester yet, your highness? The journey was long. I want it in your best interest to be well.” she says. 

“I won't have a maester poking about me but, if you could arrange a midwife to inspect me I would be most grateful.” you say smiling up at her. She nods happily.

“May I ask you something?” you ask. 

“Of course m’lady.” She says to arrange your things when you're done bathing. 

“Do you have anyone?” you ask. She nods and smiles looking down. 

“The baker's boy, the one who works here in the castle.” she blushes slightly which makes you smile. 

“Have you courted?” you ask wanting to know all the details as you haven't had a real female friend in however long. 

“Oh no. He um…he doesn't really know I exist” she bashfully smiles. You sigh, sinking back into the tub.

“Hmm well you have my full blessing at least i could be a part of one romance rather than my own.” you reply she smiles and nods. You sit up, rinsing off one last time before standing up and getting out. She helps you dry and dress before leaving you heading to her own chambers for the night leaving you alone in your room. 

You walk over to the mirror turning to your side not seeing a bump yet but it's only been a month or so. Your hand runs over your stomach that is hidden by the night dress you wear. You look up into the mirror at your own face. The only thing you want more than any child in the world is for your husband to be standing behind you, leaving kisses on your cheeks and neck. Your eyes well up with tears and a slight pang of fear costumes your heart as you realize just how much you miss him. 

—-----

The day breaks and with it brings light streaming into your room illuminated with color from the stained glass windows. You lay on your side as your eyes flutter open the side of the bed empty. You reach out running your palm along the silken sheets not realizing how far to the side you're having gotten used to sandor large body in the bed. 

You take a breath before sitting up. Confused at first as to why you aren't being bombarded with your ladies in waiting but then remembering you aren't in king's landing anymore, you are home. You look to the side seeing the braided decorative rope that leads to the bell in the ladies chambers. You reach over and take hold of it pulling on it slightly ringing the bell. 

You exit your bed running your fingers through your hair as you walk to your vanity and take a seat in front of the mirror. You take the extra alone time to begin brushing your hair. The doors soon open and your ladies walk in curtseying to you. As they choose out which dress you’re to wear for the day. 

You get dressed in silence, your mind clearly filled with anything else but your princess duties.

“Your highness?” one speaks 

“Hm?” you ask blankly. 

“Your mother, the queen, has asked you to join her in the throne room this afternoon after you eat.” She speaks. You nod curious for what it's about but also not necessarily caring for what your mother plans for you to do. You finish getting ready before heading to the dining hall to eat breakfast.

—------- 

A chair is moved out for you as you take a seat and scoot up to the table once more before breakfast foods are placed infront of you. You stare into the plate of food having lost your appetite all of a sudden.

“How was your knight my darling?” your father asks of you. You don't answer until he clears his throat and asks the question once more. 

“S-sorry um…yes. Very well.” you answer. 

“No worries my dear you must be tired from your journey.” he smiles and continues to shove his face with a pastry. The doors open and joss walks in now cleaned up, presumably fed, and in a new squire garment. He takes his place behind you against the side window panel. 

You give him a small smile he nods to you before you look back down at your food. The doors open once more and your mother walks through talking to a man, by the looks of his wears and the people he who follow his every move hes a prince. 

“Good morning my love.” you father stands to your mother kissing her cheek as you stand up as well a small wave of imbalance washing over you before you regain your stance. 

“My dear you're awake. This is prince Marco veiled of mantarys he’s visiting for the month.” your mother smiles at the man who seems way to handsome to be real ofcourse with your heart directed on someone else you have no interest in him. 

“Your highness pleased to make your acquaintance. W-when her majesty told me you had returned home safely i thought nothing but your safe recuperation.” He says giving you a slight bow. 

Your eyes dart to your mother as the smile grows larger on her face. 

“I've brought the young prince here so you two can better know one another before you take part in the marriage ceremony on the last month's day.” she squeaks in excitement as both the prince and her smile.

“M-my love…” your father falters at the announcement confused himself. Your face drops and an uncomfortable silence fills the room. 

“What?...” you voice breaks as you leave off the question. 

“Y-you and prince marco are betrothed of course i had set it far in advance as you've just returned and you two can bond…” she trails off repeating herself. 

“Im not marrying him.” you state out. 

“And why not?” your mother asks. 

“Beaucse I am already married!” you exclaim knowing that they got the letter along with your brothers head sent to them. 

“That evil bitch cersi marrying you off to a low class knight man is not match for a princess” you mother retorts. 

“Are you perhaps short of a marble or did you forget that when cersi sent dortains head along with the note of my marriage to that low class knights man. They sent you his head in a box with the pig shipment, that's how little they thought of him!” You exclaim standing at the table. 

“And they married you off to a half charred brute from the north! They married you off and took your womanhood, your manners, they took everything from us, from you!!” She yells. You swipe your dining wear off the table causing the metal and glass to clatter to the floor beneath you. 

“AND YOU SENT ME THERE!! YOU SENT HIM THERE! THIS IS NOT MY FAULT! IT IS YOURS!” You scream out. It’s quiet in the room as your father stands about to speak.

“You don't think I do not remember hoping that your head wouldn't be sent next then! You will marry prince marco!” your mother interrupts your father as she yells to you. 

“I WILL FUCKING NOT! SANDOR CLEGANE, THAT IS THE NAME OF MY LORD HUSBAND AND FATHER OF MY CHILD AND IF YOU SELL ME TO THIS NEXT PRINCE I WILL LEAVE AND NOT COME BACK!” you yell back to her. 

“DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME Y/N! WHERE ARE YOU TO GO THERE'S NOTHING BUT MILES AND YOU ARE HERE YOU ARE HOME!!” Your mother yells you become silent staring at her tears falling down your cheeks. 

“..home.” You scoff she nods reaching out for you but you step back. 

“I am not home, mother. I-I will not marry you my prince I am already promised to another excuse me..” you say to the man before turing to walk out of the room hearing your mother and father calling for you to come back harshly but you ignore them. 

Continuing your walk out. Your balance slightly off as the numbness of emotions slightly off.  Joss follows a few steps behind you worrying about your current state. You begin to slow down from your fast pace, your hand resting on your stomach as you feel the lump of emotion you’d been suppressing. Until you finally come to a stop. Taking in a shaky breath. 

Your tears fall down your cheeks as you cry still standing in the hall. 

“Your highness?” Joss asks 

You ignore him as you whimper letting out a sob. 

Next chapter here

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