Human Too - Izuku M.
Ever heard the saying, never feed a stray cat?
Villain! Izuku x Reader
Rating: violence, mentions of blood and injury
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With a sigh, you dismissed the amber alert on your phone, dropping it onto your bed. Once again the infamous villain Deku had escaped the pro-heros, apparently he had blown up a diner in the area. It was like watching a game of cat and mouse, the pros seemed to never be able to capture Deku.
With a small groan you get up from your covers, walking around to ensure that all the windows are locked shut. It was a normal routine since you didn’t live in the best neighborhood. You check the front door lock before deadbolting it, and heading back to your bedroom to lock your balcony.
The apartment was quiet, it was a peaceful night in comparison to the ones filled with gunshots and police sirens. So the unexpected thump on your balcony makes you yelp, almost jumping out of your skin.
You could tell from the silhouette through the curtains that a body had landed on your balcony. “Fuck” the person curses, groaning as they strained themselves to sit up. Immediately you rush to help them, not recognizing them at first.
“Hey are you okay?” You opened the screen door, kneeling beside the male. He's dressed quite nicely, in a nice black tux that went well with his dark green curls.
“Oh my god-” you suddenly recognize his features. This was Deku, Japan’s most dangerous hero, lying here on your balcony. You look back at the inside of your room, your phone is on top of your bed, should you call the police?
You look back at the villain, his arm is injured and his clothes were all battered up. You can’t just leave him like this. “Come inside, I’ll dress your wounds” he flinches as you put your hand on his shoulder. Your stomach bubbles with regret.
“What are you-” he pulls back, his stare like icy daggers. You take a step back, watching him struggle to stand up, using your railing as support.
He looked pitiful, struggling like that. “Just shut up and let me help you” You say, biting the inside of your mouth for speaking without thinking, it was a bad habit of yours. He stares at you with an unreadable face, worsening the fear beginning to creep up your spine. Slowly you were able to drag the villain inside and sit him on the carpeted floor, which he was getting blood on.
“You do know who I am right?” He asks while watching you. His eyes dart to every single move you make.
Your room was dark, only light coming from the moon shining in through your balcony. You reply, “yes I do.” Once you have him sat in the middle of your room, you enter your bathroom to go find some supplies.
“Then why are you helping me?”
“Villian or not, you're still human,” You yell out from your bathroom, looking for your first aid kit.
The male stays quiet, holding his arm while he waits for you. You finally find that damned medkit and rush back into the room. ‘“I’m immune to poison by the way” He still doesn’t trust you, watching you take out antibiotics.
You pause for a moment, antibiotics in hand, and meet his gaze. His words echo in your mind, reminding you of the dangerous person you're dealing with. But something compels you to proceed, to offer aid despite the risks.
"I'm not trying to poison you," you say firmly, your voice laced with sincerity. “Just let me clean your wounds,” you raise a brow, holding a cloth in your hand as you wait for him to present his arm to you. His eyes bore into yours as you both just stare at each other.
The boy huffs before removing his hand from his wound and showing it to you. “This might sting a bit” You warn.
“Please” he says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
You press the warm towel to his wound and he hisses in pain and you snicker under your breath quietly. You focus on cleaning his wound, ignoring the gaze that stares into your forehead .Deku studies you, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. It's a gamble, trusting a villain, but your gut tells you there's more to his story.
As you clean his wound, a strange tension lingers in the air. The silence is broken only by the soft sound of water and the occasional sound of pain escaping from Deku's lips.
“What...happened?” You decide to speak first, moving the cloth slowly to check if the bleedings stopped.
“Why not just turn the news on and see for yourself?” His hot breath fans on your face as he speaks, though his voice is cold.
“The news always over-dramatises everything, I wanna know your story” You laugh a little, removing the blood-spoked towel completely, grabbing rubbing alcohol.
“I was just minding my business when the lovely number one hero stopped by,” He explains, clenching his jaw from the liquid being poured over his wound.
“He exploded that diner huh?” You finish for him, well aware of the hero’s anger issues and tendency to blow things up.
“I never did get to finish that milkshake” He mutters.
"You know," you search your first aid for a wrapping band-aid, mindlessly speaking. "The world sees you as this villain, this untouchable figure. But I can't help but wonder if there's more to you than meets the eye."
Deku's gaze flickers, his brows furrowing slightly. "What do you mean?"
You start to wrap his wound with a bandage, his gaze stirring up the fear you were fighting. The weight of his presence and his reputation as a dangerous villain hangs over you, reminding you of the risks you're taking. He smirks, as if reading your mind.
“I’m not gonna hurt you pretty girl,” you notice that his eyes have softened quite a bit, By now he’s realized that you're not a threat. “I can tell you're scared of me, don’t be, I like that sassy side in you.”
His free hand comes up and rubs your cheek, a flirtatious grin on his face. You feel your cheeks heat up a bit but you stop yourself, wanting to purge the thoughts from your head. You tighten the bandage wrap making him retract his hand, he groans. “Ouch.”
“I prefer you not try to seduce me” You get back to wrapping. He grins, a chuckle coming from his chapped lips.
“Atta girl,” He praises, making you grin as well.
You let out a small laugh at his playful remark, relieved that the tension in the room has eased a bit. Despite the dangerous circumstances, you find yourself strangely drawn to Deku's charisma and his ability to lighten the mood.
Once you finish wrapping his wound, you sit back and admire your handiwork. “Done, you should probably get some stitches though.” Deku flexes his arm experimentally, testing the tightness of the bandage.
"You're pretty good at this," he comments..
"Well, I've had my fair share of accidents and injuries," you reply with a hint of self-deprecating humor. "It comes with living in a neighborhood like this."
Deku laughs, starting to stand up. “I think I like you,” he grabs a cigarette from his front pocket, placing it in his mouth before lighting it. “Sorry about your carpet, I’ll pay to fix it”
“Is that just your excuse to see me again?” You crossed your arms, arching a brow at him.
“Oh trust me doll, we will be seeing each other again.”
Before you could reply, he bends down, cold lips pressed up against your cheek before his breath fanned on your ear. “But there is no guarantee we’ll both be...fully clothed~”
And just like that, he disappeared.
As Deku's words hang in the air, surprise and anticipation courses through you. The brief contact of his lips on your cheek lingers, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake. His departure is sudden and mysterious, leaving you standing there, stunned and slightly breathless.
A mix of emotions swirl within you—confusion, intrigue, and a hint of excitement. You find yourself replaying the encounter in your mind, contemplating the enigmatic villain and the unexpected connection that has formed between you.
Days pass, and thoughts of Deku continue to occupy your mind. You find yourself drawn to the balcony where he had landed, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of him again. But there is no sign of him, and you wonder if it was all just a surreal dream.
One evening, you were bringing in groceries late.
“Damn these bags are heavy.”
You walked up the steps to your apartment, many bags of heavy groceries in your hand. Placing them down on the ground outside your door, you searched your purse for the keys.
Finally getting your hands on them, you pull them out to unlock the door, but it’s already cracked open. You tilt your head, “did I leave the door open?”
You furrow your eyebrows as you push the door to open further, the light glistening from the moon shined inside the doorway of your apartment. You patted the wall in search of the light switch and the lights flickered on with a click, but...something was wrong. Your entire apartment was stripped clean, nothing inside at all. The furniture, gone. Carpets, stripped, even the drywall were removed.
Concern took over your features as you took off your wet raincoat and ventured further inside the apartment, the front door still ajar. Everything was gone, your closet stripped clean
Someone had broken in…
You run a hand through your hair, biting your lip slightly. What should you do? Call the police?
“Well, lookie here boys. I found our little princess.” The unknown voice sends chills down your spine, as a very big man enters the room. More footsteps could be heard as even more walked in as well.
“Let’s cut straight to the chase sweetie, where is it?”
You cross your arms, attempting to shield your fear. “Where is what?”
The biggest one steps up, you assume he’s probably the boss. “Deku was here, meaning he had to have given you something, where is it?”
Your eye twitches as you look around the room, “you stripped my whole apartment…over something that isn’t even here!?” Anger begins to boil within you, “ this is outrageous! I can not believe this!”
The members begin to chatter with each other.
‘Nothing is here….?’
‘Something has to be, Deku doesn’t just make friendly visits.’
You march up to the boss and start pointing your finger in his face. “You are going to be paying for everything-” The man doesn’t look very happy making you quiet down. “It’s okay, I’ll just file an insurance claim.”
The boss grabs your arm, slamming you up against a wall. “You sure like to talk,” he grins eagerly, “but I have better uses for that pretty little mouth.” The man moves closer to your neck and you start to shiver in disgust wanting to retreat away from him as soon as possible.
“There’s enough to go around boys” The man looks over to his gang, grinning at your petite body.
“Uhhh… I’m on my period, and I have herpes, like really bad herpes.” You lie through your teeth, but they don’t seem to be listening and you start to panic looking around for anything to defend yourself.
Your keys!
As swiftly as you could, you gripped your keys and used it to stab the boss in the eye. “Bitch!” He cusses, dropping you immediately and clutching his eye. “I’m gonna fucking kill you.”
You back yourself into a corner, holding out your keys as a last pitiful attempt in defense. They started to close in on you, looking very pissed off. You gulp, how royally screwed you were.
In that moment, as fear and desperation surged through your veins, a sudden noise echoed through the apartment. It was a loud crash, the gang members turned their attention toward the noise, momentarily distracted from their pursuit of you.
Through the doorway emerged a figure, clad in a familiar green and black suit. It was Deku, and he didn’t look too happy. You stare at him wide-eyed, and when he catches your eyes, he smiles.
“Trouble just seems to always find you, hm doll?”
The room descended into chaos as Deku fought off the assailants, his movements a blur of strength and skill. The tide turned in your favor as the odds shifted in the presence of your villain friend.
As the last of the gang members fell to the ground, subdued and defeated, Deku turned his attention toward you. He doesn’t seem the least bit fazed and just fixes his tie.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
You take a moment to catch your breath, still trying to process the whirlwind of events that just unfolded. Despite the chaos around you, a sense of relief washes over you as you realize you're safe, thanks to Deku's intervention.
“You’re just a magnet for villains aren’t you-” his playful remark is interrupted as you stand up and hug him, squeezing him as hard as you could.
“I was so scared.” You whisper, a tear rolling down your cheek.
He’s frozen still for a second, before his hands are embracing you back. “So you can stand up to the number one villain, but you're scared of these bozos? I’m insulted.”
You laugh through your tears. “Shut up.”
As the adrenaline subsides, you notice the aftermath of the fight. Broken furniture, scattered debris, and the defeated gang members lying on the floor. You pull away from Deku and look around your empty room. “They took everything, I…I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
His eyes flicker up to your face, watching your expression contort as you make up different ideas in your head. Maybe you could stay at a hotel, or your moms…
“You’re bleeding.”
“Huh?” You glance over at Deku, he’s pointing at your thigh, and he was right, you were bleeding. “Oh shit,” because of the adrenaline you didn’t notice when you accidentally stabbed yourself with your key.
“Let me take care of you,” Deku says, effortlessly picking you up into his arms. “Let’s call it, returning a favor.”
©LuvloveUni
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Broken Bloodlines Chapter 7
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Hello everyone! Have a part 7!!!
already? thats now over half the planned chapters!
this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.
(also Fable P.O.V! poor boy)
CW; mentions of digestion (none hapen) general angst, mentions of injuries, mentions of blood, mentions of death.
(if you think that anything else has to be tagged let me know!)
have fun reading!
and as always reblogs are appreciated!
(Also ASK’s are open so feel free to bother me!)
AO3 Link for those that prefer the layout there;
https://archiveofourown.org/works/44627188
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Fable wasn't exactly sure what was going on,
one second he'd been parrying soldiers and the next he was backed up against the river when there was a pain in his foot and the ground had crumbled under him,
leaving him to fall directly into the raging water.
He distantly heard his younger Brother shout something but with the water dragging him under it was impossible to make out.
He'd been under for a few seconds before he collided with something in the water.
Not thinking and just reacting on instinct he grabbed onto it.
Even if his father had trained acting on his instinct out of him in the past.
But he wasn't here now was he? So one little slip up could not be that bad, especially if he could get back and continue to fight.
As it turned out the object he held onto was a large stone that breached the water in the middle of the river.
Though the surface of the stone was very slick and near impossible to hold onto.
He heard the voice of his brother scream something at him again and turned to where the call was coming from.
His brother was running next to the river in his direction,
where there were more soldiers he hadn't seen?
Soldiers he failed to take out?
If his Father could see him now he'd be extremely disappointed.
He'd be disappointed no matter if he did good on the battlefield or not, he'd spent leisure time with Donovan and his friends instead of doing the things he was supposed to.
Though maybe he could argue that it wasn't entirely his fault,
the humans had been the ones to be so strangely nice to him even if a mistake of nature like him didn't deserve it.
No matter, Fable had to get to more stable ground first so he attempted to climb the slick rock again
He managed to get up a little bit before he heard a loud splash,
turning to the source of it he saw that Donovan had jumped into the river after him.
Why would his brother do that?
Fable wasn't currently able to fight,
nor could he do anything else useful without his bow,
and Donovan was surely needed elsewhere.
After all, someone being able to transform into a big green furred creature surely was better off helping at the frontline and not a colorless freak of nature like him.
Though it was not his decision what other people did,
His father had raised him to never question those in power.
He lost his grip at a sudden impact on the boulder and was almost swept away before something snagged his sleeve and pulled him out of the water.
He was half set on the tiny space on top of the stone but was teetering precariously on the edge of falling back in.
His bad foot slipped a little and his hand shot out to grab the nearest thing, Donovan's face, or rather the fur on it.
Luckily he did not seem to mind it,
considering all the injuries he'd gotten today this was probably not even an inconvenience if maybe a bit annoying.
He could see Donovan's eyes flitting this way and that,
clearly looking for something.
Well given the obvious he was likely looking for a way out of the river, preferably the one that would mean the least injuries.
He was suddenly hoisted a bit further up and looking at Donovan he was instead met with the sight of teeth.
The mouth gently closed shut with his lower half still sticking out and everything above his naval being trapped in an oversized maw that smelled faintly of cinnamon.
Oh Donovan also,
He was the only person he'd seen eat so much cinnamon.
He was drawn a little further into the mouth and he realized that Donovan couldn't swim with him hanging on by a thread.
Not to mention that due to the strong current he’d only be a somewhat loose weight that would get tugged into all directions by the water.
So being drawn into the mouth like this did make some sense, especially since Donovan needed to keep his limbs free to swim against the torrent.
At more movement he was drawn fully into the mouth which closed completely around him to avoid any water getting in.
Good, now none of his limbs could get in the way.
Though he really did not understand why Donovan was going through so much trouble just for him.
Then again Donovan had been raised by humans and humans had rather different customs than Elves.
For example the time Donovan had hugged him after his brother found out that he was the product of incest.
He didn't understand that, he of course knew that hugs were a comfort thing, even if he'd almost never got any,
especially from those blood related to him,
But why would anyone want to comfort a freak like him?
He was just a tool for means to an end,
he was expendable, there were a thousand more soldiers most of which were better than him and not freaks of nature.
It was really weird that Donovan had been nothing but nice to him, Donovan's friends too, they had also been nice to him weirdly enough.
Maybe he could stay here?
His brother seemed to actually not resent him like the rest of his family had, so just maybe he'd get to live as more than just a vessel meant for fighting?
The maw he was in suddenly tipped back even more and he started sliding towards the pitch dark throat.
Was Donovan having trouble? Was the water doing something?
Now that he thought about it it didn't seem like Donovan was swimming,
and was rather still on the boulder he had previously clung to.
So what was he doing? If he didn't level his head soon He'd fall into the dark red and slightly pulsing abyss of Donovan's Throat.
Donovan didn't stop, didn't even try to stop Fable as he slid right past the threshold of the organic tube,
bumping his head into the uvula in the process.
A swallow sounded out around him and he was sucked deeper into the esophagus where he could start to hear a loud heartbeat that went a mile a minute.
Fable didn't understand, to be fair he didn't understand a lot when it came to other people and besides he wasn't even supposed to speak with them more than necessary.
But he could not fathom why his own brother would eat him after Donovan had been so nice to him,
and even jumped into the river after him.
Or maybe he finally saw that Fable's life was worthless like his father had always said.
Still, it was confusing and didn't get any better when another swallow sounded out that tugged him ever deeper.
He Still didn't struggle or try to stop what was happening to him,
not even as Donovan swallowed once again and he slid into a soft and organic chamber that pulsed in time with Donovan's breathing.
The Stomach.
Well, this was it, he was not getting out.
What a fool he had been to think he ever deserved anything,
to hope he could ever have anything for himself,
look at where it had gotten him.
He should have stayed in Sirmoor after his mother died and just taken orders from the Guardians.
Too late for that now, and judging by the motions around him Donovan was finally swimming back to shore.
Well, if his brother deemed him more useful as nutrients he wouldn't fight it.
He had always known he'd die long before his natural lifespan would run out so he was okay with it,
and Donovan had been so nice so he really couldn't complain.
He’d accepted that he would not see another day.
But if he accepted it then why was he trembling so much?
He knew it wasn't from the adrenaline nor the pain from the bolt stuck in his foot, which the water had pulled out sometime ago.
Suddenly something pressed in at him and he heard muffled speech coming from almost all around him.
He couldn't make everything out but he did understand the last part.
“- got you now”
That was true, he mused in irony,
Donovan really had him,
and as it was he was never going to leave.
Why did that thought make him sad?
He wasn't supposed to have feelings,
his father had made sure to reiterate that a thousand times,
it was to make up for all his other flaws.
Still he didn't do anything and just continued to lay limply where he was.
Trying to get out wouldn't do him any good anyway,
He was well and truly trapped in here.
And aside from that he actually didn't want to hurt his Brother.
Suddenly he heard the sound of lots of moving water even though it was muffled by the pliant flesh surrounding him.
Was that a waterfall?
Why on earth would Donovan swim right into one?
There was a dropping sensation for a bit and then it was like he was weightless, like gravity stopped existing for a moment.
He actually was suspended in midair for barely a second,
with none of his limbs touching any of the walls.
That was the second weirdest thing to happen to him today.
Gravity returned soon enough, and with full force too as he was knocked back into the slick flesh as Donovan impacted on the water.
Even from where Fable was he could feel that the water down here was way calmer than the river had been and that Donovan was swimming again.
His Brother would probably get back onto the battlefield soon and forget about him.
He was wondering why he wasn't hurting but then again his pain tolerance was way higher than that of a normal person.
There was a thudding sound from outside,
Likely Donovan having reached dry land again.
Instead of running back to battle like Fable had thought Donovan stopped moving after a minute or so and from the sounds of it tried to calm his breathing.
What was he waiting for?
Oh, right, Humans wouldn't take well to the fact Donovan had eaten his own brother so he was probably waiting for Fable to stop breathing first.
He really had expected that something would have happened to him by now but he knew there were people that got indigestion from stress.
Still, he wasn't about to make it hard for his brother so he would continue to keep calm as best as he could.
He was now glad for all those lessons on how to be emotionless his father had given him but he couldn't help but be curious.
Not like that would matter for much longer anyway.
The fleshy chamber he was trapped in was surprisingly soft and the walls smoother than some of the swords he'd handled.
He ran his arm along one of the walls right next to him only to find a strange dip in the floor.
There was another smaller dip right next to it and he realized that those were scars, likely left by something sharp judging by the clean edges.
Oh, so he was not the first person here.
The realization of that sent icy spikes of Fear through him.
Maybe Donovan was cursed?
Did he have to eat people to maintain this form?
Or did it just make him lose control sometimes?
Still he didn't like thinking about what,
or even who else had met their end in here.
So he didn't, even as a weird sense of panic rose in his chest and a sob threatened to come out.
He held it in, he still remembered his fathers punishments if he had so much as shed just a single tear,
but did that really matter anymore?
His father was dead, and he'd join him soon enough.
“Don't worry, i'll get us out of here and back up,
and after this is over i'll get you to a medic”
The sob that had threatened to spill out died in his throat.
Donoavan had said that he'd get both of them out of wherever they were, and that he'd be taken to a medic afterwards.
Donovan was half Fae, he couldn't lie, so-
Fable suddenly wasn't so sure he'd face his demise here,��
thinking logically about it it was actually rather unlikely.
For starters he should be in pain from acids but was not and had been in here for long enough that otherwise should have happened.
But he was still okay! And Donvan had always been nice to him!
Donovan wouldn't hurt him! Donovan wouldn't hurt anyone!
Even on the battlefield he had avoided hurting any of the soldiers and instead gone for the catapults,
destroying them so they couldn't be used anymore.
All in all Donovan was the kindest person he'd ever met, and he knew the guy couldn't live with himself if he ended up hurting someone.
He simply gave in to his panic without showing any outward signs of it.
Man his father would be disappointed,
but his father was dead so what was he gonna do about that?
Really, now that the weird fog from his brain was gone he realized that that Man had only made his life miserable.
But he couldn't anymore! He was Dead.
Fable had just taken a really long time to internalize that he was free to be himself after all this time now that no one was here to police him.
Despite the scare he had not even a minute ago he'd never felt so free before!
The man that controlled every single one of his moves was gone and Fable could finally do what he wanted!
Within reason of course.
Though that left the fact that he had no idea what he wanted.
He'd figure that out later.
Gravity shifted once again and he surmised that if Donvan fell down a waterfall he had to climb back up of course.
He just hoped Donovan wouldn't fall down again, landing on land was going to be a lot more damaging than landing in water.
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The good thing about the Ardua form were the rather sturdy and thick claws, they allowed me to hook them into tiny crevices on the cliffside so I could pull myself up.
Still, I had not even made it halfway to the top of the cliff and I did not only have to drag myself but also Fable all the way up there.
This sucked, but I did have to get back to battle! Rikaad was there!
And Arthur was also there!
Well Arthur was somewhere on the battlefield at least,
and being mistaken for a Ghost by Winton's Guards.
Being covered in pale sand didn't help that.
Still, I needed to get back and help!
And Fable needed a medic for the hole in his foot,
preferably as soon as possible.
“Hang on Fable, this might take a bit longer, Climbing is stupid”
For once he gave a clear and comprehensible answer.
“I'll be fine, I'm currently cushioned on all sides so i doubt i could get injured further than this”
He was still lying like a Ragdoll in my pouch but at least it wasn't distracting me from focusing on the stupid stone wall I needed to get up.
Man, by the time I reached the top the battle would be over!
Alright that was probably exaggerating but climbing wasn't something I liked doing, at least not on this scale.
Still going back down was not an option, not to mention that I wasn't sure if the Ardua form could climb backwards at all.
I was not going to test that here.
After a good twenty minutes of climbing and checking in on Fable in between i finally reached the top.
I pulled myself up and was very tempted to just flop on my front and take a break.
But that was not possible because one,
there was still a Battle going on and two, Fable was in my pouch and I didn't think he'd appreciate getting squished.
So I stood back up and tried to see if there was anything I could do.
Didn't seem like it actually, when I sarcastically thought the battle would be over till i reached the top i hadn't expected that to actually happen.
Huh, they must have gotten Winton then,
and besides over half his army hadn't even wanted to fight.
So where were they? They had to be around somewhere.
Maybe I should ask the next best soldier?
Though before I did that, I had to tell Fable to be quiet.
If anyone heard him speaking from inside of me it would cause a panic.
“Fable? I'm back up top and I'm going to look for Rikaad.
Can you be quiet in the meantime?
I really don't want to be gutted after all of this”
“I will be silent, don't worry nobody will know”
Well that was a relief, I couldn't fathom all the misconclusions people would come to if they noticed him in there,
I'd already gotten lucky nobody saw me eat him in the River!
“Alright, thank you, i'm just gonna ask some soldier where Rikaad is”
I set myself in motion again trying to find the nearest person.
Aside from singed ground and loose arrows stuck in the ground there wasn't much in this part of the field.
But up ahead were a few soldiers,
dragging what appeared to be a dead horse away, poor thing.
They were clad in the colors of Kamerasca so they were on the same side as me and thus safe to approach.
“Hey!”
Two of the three soldiers startled and almost dropped the Horse before they turned to me.
“Y-yeah?”
“Have you seen where Rikaad went? Or Arthur?
I need to talk to them”
They wordlessly pointed toward the treeline and then hurried to drag the Horse carcass away.
I set off in a jog towards the trees,
which was still faster than a man running at full speed.
There were indeed tents pitched up right next to a little stream that ended in the river a bit further down and I could make out a familiar Black haired form entering one of them.
So Rikaad was alright! Thank god!
Getting closer Arthur walked around another Tent and was the first to see me.
He started waving at me but since I was four legged right now I couldn't wave back.
So I just kept going in his direction and he actually set off on a jog towards me.
Good thing too, i might need his help with Fable,
my brother was injured after all and was not supposed to be standing.
We met a good distance away from the tents so we were certainly out of ear reach.
“Arthur! Man, I'm glad you're okay!”
“Same, where the fuck did you disappear to?
And why are you soaking wet?”
Arthur was right in that regard, my green fur was dripping with water.
“Jumped in the river”
He looked at me with an expression of shock.
“Jumped, not fell? The hell have you been doing?”
Saved my brother that's what.
“Fable fell in and i went after him, he would have drowned otherwise”
“So you went to help your Brother, nice, where is he anyway?”
There it was,
the question I wasn't that keen on answering but it must have shown on my face anyway as Arthur just pinched the bridge of his Nose.
“Are you kidding me? Really? You are such an idiot!
Alright whatever let’s go look for a place where you can let him out”
He turned where he stood and waved me to follow him.
He took this surprisingly well,
though he'd been through this himself so he knew it was alright.
If anything he just seemed annoyed by it and slightly exasperated.
Eh, as long as he was helping he could think me an idiot all he wanted.
We went a little bit around the tents where I was sure I could hear Rikaad and Norrin talking to what I assumed to be Winton,
At least I heard his unpleasant nasally voice.
No wonder Arthur didn't go in any of the tents.
We ended up a little bit upstream in the woods right next to the trickle of water that ended up in the big river later.
Alright, time to get my brother out of my pouch,
but a warning would probably be a good idea.
“Alright Fable, I'm gonna get you out in a sec so just stay calm and you'll be out in no time!”
He poked one of the walls once and then went silent again so I prepared myself to spit him up.
I tried to go as slow and careful as I dared since he was injured but I also wasn't keen on having him suffocate in my throat.
He was out in less than a minute still and I gently slid him out of my mouth and onto the floor.
He flicked a little bit of slime that had gotten onto him away before looking up again.
“This is… less than dignified”
Yeah, no kidding, not to mention the slime couldn't be the most comfortable thing in the world.
Arthur leaned over the still sitting Elf and offered a handkerchief to wipe his pale face off.
“Yeah, might not want to go to the medic all slimy though,
and i'll tell you after the first time it aint as scary anymore,
idiot is just a big goofball”
I would have taken offense to that if it wasn't for the comment that I wasn't scary to Arthur anymore.
“Well, i do have to admit the entire thing was quite the fright,
but aside from the hole in my foot I only have minor injuries”
Quite the fright? What did he mean by that?
The entire getting eaten thing or just the River and then falling down the waterfall?
I'd ask later, for now he ought to get to a medic,
after the thin film of slime was gone of course.
Fable ended up just using the small stream next to us to wash off and then both me and Arthur brought him to the medical tent.
Arthur mainly helped so Fable would fall off from my back.
I thought that was nice of him,
he still had to stop though because of his motion sickness.
With Fable being taken care of by Doctors and both me and Arthur shooed away from the medical tent we went back to where Rikaad and Norrin had set up camp.
On the walk back Arthur insisted he did NOT want a ride,
He looked rather uneasy.
I could guess why.
“You okay? How did you guys manage to catch Winton anyway?”
He didn't stop, just went a tiny bit faster.
“Rikaad and Norrin cornered him at the far end of his side of the river as he was fleeing back to Maringand.
I wasn't involved so he hasn't seen me and i'm not sure if i can go face to face with that tantrum throwing man child”
“You don't have to, besides he thinks you're dead so it doesn't really matter, but it would be funny if you just walked up to him.
I mean he thinks you are dead,
but you're not so imagine how he’d freak out!”
That actually drew a laugh from the blonde.
“I'd guess so,
well he's tied up as well so he can't even run like the coward he is!
Though i don't want to see him, but you could go scare him instead”
That was true, Winton had brought an Ardua child to Battle with no regards that the little guy was just a cub,
so let's see how he'd react to a bigger Ardua.
I nodded at him with a grin and Arthur's face morphed into a mischievous smile.
He stood back a bit and hid behind a tree so winton wouldn't see him and I walked up to the tent where the voices were coming from.
“Rikaad? Norrin? You guys there?”
A head popped up from the tent, Norrins head to be exact.
He walked out and made sure to close the flap of cloth behind him so Winton couldn't see out.
“Donovan! Good thing you are alright!
I got worried when we lost sight of you!!”
I still wasn't completely used to people worrying about me but it was nice to hear.
“Heya Norrin, so you got Winton eh? How's it going?”
Norrin looked behind him at the tent and then made a grimace.
“I'll tell you something,
I'd rather work with a cranky toddler than this guy,
he keeps whining about everything but won't tell us anything either.
If this goes on i'm gonna stab him”
From what little I knew about the guy that sounded accurate,
maybe he'd talk if he felt threatened?
“Yeah checks out, maybe we could scare him into talking?”
“Scare him into talking? And how?”
Was he serious?
“Uh, Norrin im right here,
i'll just snarl and bare my teeth and he’ll wish he could run”
Norrin blinked for a moment.
“Oh, right, I kinda forgot that to most people a big green thing would be scary, well why not? Worth a try at least.
Stand over there somewhere and i'll see if i can bring the guy outside”
He went back into the tent while I did as instructed and went to where there was more space to move around.
“Are you sure that's a good idea?”
I looked up and saw that Arthur had climbed the tree nearest to me, likely keeping out of sight from Winton.
“It'll be fine, i'll scare him a bit, as he deserves,
and then we throw him in a cell or whatever”
At a rustling sound from the tent Arthur retreated out of sight, and just in time too as Rikaad and Norrin dragged Winton out of the tent and towards me.
He was wiggling like a worm and trying to get free from their grip but since all his limbs were bound in rope that wouldn't do much good.
I put my face in an angry snarl that showed teeth just as he looked at me and then froze.
Yeah didn't think Ardua could get this big huh?
Bitch.
“Hey now we don't have to do anything rash do we?
I didn't know you also had one of those grass creatures”
Grass creatures? He didn't even bother to learn the actual name?
Though it was nice to see him without his Guards and high and mighty behavior, he was still a nasty person to be around though.
“I'm an Ardua, Not a ‘Grass creature’ “
I growled at him and he froze at the sight of my teeth.
I hadn't forgotten that he locked me in a tower and then tried to double cross me when he led us out of the tower only to tell his soldiers to kill us.
And I definitely hadn't forgotten what he made me do to Arthur.
It was rare that I really hated someone but Winton was the one I probably hated most.
Winton himself looked at Rikaad and Norrin who kept their grim faces up.
“Now now gentlemen, we can discuss this can't we?
I could offer you gold! Lots of gold!”
He tried in a sickeningly and fake sweet voice.
I stomped on the ground with one paw and brought my head closer to him while glaring daggers at him.
“Do I look like I have any use for Gold?
No what i want is information,
the same information the guys holding you wanted,
so you better start talking”
He looked at both of the men with a scared expression,
Then he tried once more to wiggle free.
Rikaad grabbed the back of his neck in what looked to be a very painful grip.
“Try that again and i'll tell the big guy to bite your legs off”
He hissed at the man with venom in his tone.
Bite of his legs? That was a bit far,
I was all for scaring the guy but I still wasn't gonna hurt people.
Surely Rikaad knew that?
Oh wait this was a bluff wasn't it?
The only thing I had to do was not deny whatever he said.
So instead I just bared my teeth again and then made a snapping motion.
He went pale, almost more pale than Fable was even,
and looked at me with horror.
“I'll talk, I'll talk, just let me keep my legs!”
He nearly wailed, tantrum throwing tyrant.
Norrin shook him roughly for a bit.
“Then stop wailing like a child already!
Why did you declare war on us?”
“I wanted the land! Kamerasca has better soil for wine than we do!”
Selfish prick, I growled at him and he started shaking.
Rikaad yanked him up again as his knees bent a little.
“Next question, i know you had all my siblings and even mother assassinated,
what i want to know is who you sent so i can keep an eye out for them”
Winton blinked for a second,
he probably hadn't expected that question.
“The assassin? That was an Elven woman,
the mother of that Brat with the bracelet,
she said she'd do everything as long as we kept her Spawn alive after he husband managed to escape but she's dead now,
one of my Guards had to skewer her after she tried to go for me”
Oh, the poor boy, also a lot of other things started making sense.
Like why the old king hated Fae so much,
he must have seen the pointy ears of that Elven woman and assumed that the Fae hated him.
And thus he banned all Fae from the kingdom.
Though I could have gone without the image of some poor woman impaled on a spear.
That also meant that the other Ardua was like me,
an Orphan Bastard, poor boy.
“You are a sick man Winton”
Rikaad said coldly and then followed up with another question.
Alright, where did you get the Bracelet?
And why did you send that poor child to war? “
If the answer wasn't good I'd throw the guy in the river myself.
“Why wouldn't I want a big Beast on my side?
You were supposed to run in terror after seeing it but then you had your own even bigger one! That's not faiiir”
He dragged the last word out in an extremely annoying whine.
Tantrum throwing tyrant indeed.
Norrin shook him harshly.
“Oh shut up! You're the one that made everyone miserable,
you even killed all of your own family just to get the throne!”
Winton tried to squirm out of the death grip the two men had on him.
“Not all of them! The younger one of my nieces is still alive!
I just locked her in a tower till she's old enough to-”
“YOU WHAT?”
Arthur had jumped down from the tree and was marching towards Winton with an absolutely murderous look on his face.
Before either of Rikaad and Norrin could stop him he had Punched Winton hard enough in the face to pulverize his nose.
Rikaad and Norrin had let go of the man as this had happened and now Winton was lying on his back on the ground.
His nose was bleeding profusely and there was no way that would heal in the same way or even look normal.
Then he started screaming.
“AHHHH A GHOST! SPARE MY SOUL! I BEG OF YOU!”
What soul? With how the guy acted I doubted he even had one.
Arthur for his part was still furious and as he tried to charge again I held him back by biting the back of his shirt.
He didn't care and just tried to get closer to Winton to either punch or strangle him.
Though it was like holding back an angry Drake and the back of his shirt ripped seconds later.
He charged at Winton again and this time Rikaad had to stop him.
Arthur tried crawling over his shoulder in an absolutely wild frenzy.
At that moment I was glad we were on the same side as he was completely crazy with hatred right now.
“Arthur! ARTHUR STOP! That's not going to achieve anything!”
Arthur slowed down but still tried to get past Rikaad.
“No, let me at him! He'll get what he deserves!”
I somehow agreed with both of them.
Rikaad was right that beating Winton to a pulp wasn't going to achieve anything but Arthur was also right to want to obliterate this guy.
Still, Rikaad was the king here so I'd better help him,
Also I was worried if that continued that Arthur would injure himself.
So I grabbed the part of his shirt that didn't get torn and dragged him a good bit back.
“NO! Let me strangle him!”
I pulled and he fell over, before he could get up I used a paw to trap his legs so the only thing he could do was sit up.
“Fuck you! Let me go!”
Rikaad came over again while Norrin kept watch on Winton.
“Arthur stop it, i know how you feel,I really want that fucker to suffer,
but I don’t want a Kingdom run by my worst impulses”
That finally stopped Arthur's frenzy.
He let his head fall on top of my paw.
“You are right,
but when i heard what he did to my Cousin i just lost it”
His cousin huh?
He must be good friends with her if he reacted like this.
Rikaad turned back to Norrin.
“Alright we can do a proper interrogation later,
for now let's toss him in a cell”
Norrin Nodded and went over to the rest of the Royal Guard and together they dragged Winton away.
Rikaad then turned back and went to look at Arthur who looked miserable.
“Lets just pretend that never happened alright?”
Both me and Arthur nodded.
“Okay, Winton is in jail now so that's most of our Problems gone,
and now we actually know why the old king hated Fae, crazy isn't it?
But there are a couple more problems, for starters Maringand has no ruler anymore, and as Winton said he killed all the, uh, Competition.
At least he thought that”
Arthur looked up at him suspiciously.
“What are you getting at?”
Rikaad sighed.
“Technically you are the last heir now, i know most people think you are dead but you could still claim the title if you wanted”
That was true, Winton admitted to killing all but Arthur and his cousin so the only one that had actual claim over the title was Arthur since his cousin was a girl.
Arthur made a very displeased face.
“I'll be honest with you,
I don't want some stupid throne and I don't want to rule people that just stood by as Winton did such horrible stuff.
No, i'm not gonna claim the title,
right now i just want to make sure Amicia is okay after Winton put her in a tower for who knows how long”
He tried to stand up but my paw was still in the way,
so I quickly took it back.
Rikaad looked concerned at him.
“I do suggest you rest for a bit first, in the meantime i'll try to get Winton to tell me which tower she is in alright?”
Both me and Arthut looked at him.
“Shouldn't you also rest? I know your sleep schedule is garbage and all of us where physically active today”
I tried tentatively to get them all to rest, at least for a little bit.
Rikaad just shook his head.
“Later maybe, right now there is a lot to do”
Stubborn as always, though we all were injured,
maybe I could get them to at least see a medic?
“Sure, but right now we are all injured so maybe we should go see a doc first? If only to prevent an infection”
Rikaad froze where he stood and Arthur's eyes flitted over to the countless arrows stuck in either my skin or my fur.
“Yeah he's right in that,
also you look like hedgehog with all those arrows”
I couldn't help but smile.
“Eh the river pulled like half of them out”
“Half of them? How many did you have? Also Ouch!”
Ouch alright, now that the adrenaline was wearing off it did start to hurt, like I had rolled into a pile of big splinters.
Well I'd go see a medic in a minute and they'd take them out.
Though actually caring for the wounds might not be as easy seeing there was a ton of fur in the way.
Well Oakley had said i shouldn't shift sizes with wounds so maybe i could go regular Giant and they could look at the wounds like that?
I'd have a more human physique too so that would also be more familiar for them to work with.
Rikaad sighed and then agreed to see a medic to at least clean all the cuts and bruises before he did anything else.
“Fine, an infection would be really bad so i’ll see a doc first and then interrogate Winton again”
Man Rikaad should stop putting work before himself,
but i wasn't gonna say that out loud right now.
We found the medical tent soon enough, not that I fit in it,
and both Rikaad and Arthur went inside.
Not even a minute later both of them walked out again,
not shortly after i had made myself comfortable on the ground.
They were followed by what I assumed to be medics,
or at least nurses.
They looked rather uneasy, which was understandable,
but I couldn't shift with arrows stuck in my flesh.
And since I was here I really wanted to ask how Fable was doing.
I recognized one of the nurses from when Nea had to get help for her foot, well if she could deal with Nea then i couldn't be so bad.
At least I cooperated with what a medical expert told me.
Rikaad and Arthur were shooed back inside the tent again while the medics next to me went to get their stuff.
As much as I knew it would hurt,
I'd be glad to get those stupid arrows out.
I was told to keep still by one of the Nurses and then a good three people worked at the same time to get the arrowheads out.
If they missed just one it could cause a pretty big tear while I shifted.
But aside from that it went a lot easier than expected seeing as the arrows themselves were tiny compared to me.
The only time when it did really hurt was when they had to take out the jagged tip of a spear out of my shoulder.
The thing was designed with hooks on it so that taking it out would do even more damage so it took near forever to get out and hurt like fuck.
Yeah that part had to be addressed as soon as I was human sized again.
Speaking of being Human sized,
they only had to take out the arrows in my Mane and one in my abdomen now and then i could shift back down.
The ones in my Mane barely did any damage,
they only got tangled in the hairs which I was glad for.
One well placed shot and I would have bled a fuckton.
Maybe that's why the Ardua had a mane?
To protect the neck and throat area?
I could ask Oakley lat- oh right.
The last arrow was yanked out and just to make sure i checked myself over, i really wasn't keen on having an arrow doing any damage while shifting.
Since all was clear I made sure nobody was looking at what I did and then shifted down to human size so I could actually wash the grime and stinging sea water off of my wounds.
Without the fur in the way I could see the extent of my injuries properly.
While none were really deep there were a lot of punctures from the arrows and where the spear had been Removed there was a sluggish bleeding gash.
That one would probably scar, oh well it could have been a lot worse.
Some of the Medics came back and I was led into the tent that smelled of herbs and bitter medicine.
I was told to take my shirt off and given a bucket of water to wash the wounds with as best as I could.
After that they did the fine work like removing sand from the puncture holes and dressing them in bandages after using a bitter smelling cream as disinfectant.
As necessary as it was whatever they used stung the wounds a little and didn't really like it.
I distracted myself from that by asking about Fable.
“Hey, can I ask where Fable is?”
The medic just looked at me for a moment and I realized I should probably clarify who i ment.
“The Elven guy with the foot injury,
he was brought here not too long ago”
Now it clicked and the medic pointed towards a section with lots of curtains.
“Ought to be there somewhere, ask one of the Nurses”
The medic left to tend to the other patients and I decided that aside from being a bit tired I was well enough I'd visit Fable.
Also the comment that he had ‘quite the fright’ wouldn't get out of my head.
But I couldn't ask that in the middle of about a hundred other people so I'd just shove that question aside for now.
Walking down the pathway that cut through the curtains I asked the first nurse I saw where Fable was and got directed to a corner of the tent.
Pulling the curtain aside Fable was indeed there,
and trying to clean his Rapier as best as he could.
I had no idea how he'd gotten that thing back though.
“Fable! How are you? Not in too much pain?”
He looked at me with a surprised hmm sound.
“I am fine, they did ask a lot of questions if i could take painkillers or not though”
Well they were human docs so asking was probably a smart thing to do to avoid an allergic reaction.
“They are Human medics so i'm not surprised by them asking,
and better they ask beforehand if there's stuff you can't take”
He nodded slowly and turned back to his sword, now using what looked to be cotton to clean the ornament on the handle.
“Well aside from minor things Elven anatomy is actually very similar to humans, most of the difference is in the head like ears and fangs.
Aside from that the greatest difference is probably that almost all Elves are capable of wielding Magic while its rare for humans to do so”
So wait, if Elven anatomy was similar to a Humans then…
Oh, so the Elves did not have a pouch?
Why did I have one then? Was it because I'm a Bastard?
That also meant that Fable had no way of knowing he'd been safe the entire time.
Oh god i was such an awful idiot!
I did have to applaud his bravery then seeing as he had kept calm the entire time even if he probably thought he was going to die.
Maybe I should leave then?
After scaring someone like that and then basically ignoring them I doubted they would want to see what put them in that situation.
“Fable? I'm sorry for scaring you, i really thought my anatomical fuckery came from your side of the family”
He hummed and put the Rapier away to instead grab the dirty sheath of it and began cleaning that.
“Well Humans have little to no understanding of how Elves work,
so I'm not Surprised you thought that everything unusual would stem from your Elven parts.
You said your anatomy was unusual, unusual how if I may ask?”
I could for the life of me not tell if Fable was angry,
still scared or had already gotten over it.
“Uh, well for starters some of my organs are doubled, like I have four kidneys, and also two hearts even if only one of them is working.
Its honestly just a weird mess and i shouldn't even function at all”
While speaking I had begun unthreading the ending part of one of the bandages in nervousness but quickly stopped when I noticed what I was doing.
Fable just hummed again.
“That Is out of the ordinary by quite a bit,
no wonder you thought all of that came from your Elven side”
He offered no further comment and just continued to clean the sheath of his rapier.
He was behaving weirdly and I wondered what type of painkiller they gave him.
“How's your foot? Still attached I hope?”
Fable nodded and lifted his blanket a little to reveal a heavily bandaged appendage.
It hadn't bled through or anything so that was a relief.
“They had to take some splinters out first before they could disinfect it, and the bolt somehow avoided everything important so i will be fine in a few weeks”
A few weeks only? That was good news!
Heh, Nea would be jealous of that.
Oh fuck Nea, she was still keeping an eye on that other Ardua!
“That's nice to hear! Though I should probably let you rest now,
I'm pretty sure if I stay too long a nurse will kick me out.
Also i need to check in with Nea,
she's having an eye on that other Ardua right now”
Fable just nodded and continued scratching the mud off of his Rapier holster.
“Good luck, i've only briefly seen the other one but they were quite a lot smaller than you so i doubt you'll have much trouble”
“Yeah, i guess so,
i'll try to check in again later you just take a break for now”
He made an acknowledging sound and waved me goodbye.
I left feeling like I had made him angry or at the very least upset.
Considering everything that was not surprising but i wished i had actually talked to Fable about it beforehand instead of assuming stuff.
I'd try to be more open to him from now on.
Now I had to find Nea and the smaller Ardua.
Well Nea still wasn't all that fast on her legs so if i went where i last saw her i might be able to see where she went.
So back up the stupid slope it was then.
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NEXT / PREVIOUS / OVERSIGHT
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