#Katerina here…beloved

[grantmentis]

PWHL Ottawa: all smiles because tomorrows game day!

[everye]

day 23-24: PRICE OF SALVATION

[fancifulplaguerat]

Proper (but non exhaustive!) Nina Kaina post. 

I continue to obsess over how Nina is framed within Patho Classic's text and how players may be meant to view her. To me, she occupies a half-divine or mythic role to other characters and within the text itself that portrays her as an epitome of utopian ideals. I think Nina's character is, to an extent, the ideal of utopia that the Kains and other utopians are fighting under. In particular given Victor deadass says that “Nina is not just my beloved wife. She is a spirit in whose name one could charge into battle with despair itself.” But another line that haunts me about Nina being revered as an ideal is when Yulia tells Daniil “They loved her for being a true queen. They love her for having died young.” She likewise says that “people adore her even more now than when she was alive.” Whether purposeful or not, Yulia brings to mind the objectified ideal of a beautiful woman who dies young and thus retains perpetual beauty alongside the potential of youth and all the possibilities which attend that.

The player’s understanding of Nina is often informed by those who desired or adored her, with character descriptions generally reiterating that Nina was foremost imposing and attractive—that she had a “terrible and powerful presence” and “imperial deportment;” that she was “a radiantly beautiful woman,” “The most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.” These descriptions further paint her as charming virago type, “So wild and fierce and intimidating! Just one brief look at her walking down the street—with or without her escort—could make you weak in the knees. You could almost picture her upon a throne. She could cut you with a knife looking you in the eye—and no one would say a thing.” Even Aglaya’s vitriolic description of Nina forefronts her as beautiful, blue-blooded, and fierce: “Nina was  the embodiment of absolute evil. The charming, intoxicating, beautiful evil, the evil that can drive you mad. The graceful and elegant evil that is fast to capture anyone in its web—even those who stand up to evil till the very last.” Thus that, I feel, is the primary portrait of her offered in passing—that Nina was beautiful, regal, and untouchable. 

Yet Katerina offers more insight into Nina’s actual self when she confides Victor/Nina’s history to Clara. She says, “Nina Lilich [was a] bright, refined, devilish aristocrat who fell for Victor for some reason, and he brought her here, in this faraway corner of the Steppe. It turned out then that Nina was harbouring plans concerning this place… And the Kains’ elders, Georgiy and Simon, had certainly impressed her… To put it briefly, Nina became the ruler of this land. […] Nina was striving to get to a place where no human being is allowed, and dragging her followers along, believing that her goal justified their suffering.” Is this conversation, Katerina further notes, “To Nina, human lives were tools.” Little Vlad similarly says, “Nina the Wild never held human lives in high regard.” An implication of cruelty, yet one employed to achieve noble aims. Yulia too points to this, saying that “Whatever power Nina had to dominate the souls of her subjects, she hardly ever resorted to it. Not that she needed to. She was worshipped all the same and her most inhumane endeavours were eagerly forgiven […] The reason would be, perhaps, that whatever Nina did, she did to appease the people. However cruel, her every undertaking would illuminate the town with festivity and high spirits.” 

Katerina, Yulia, and Vlad’s dialogues suggest that Nina was cruel by necessity, but adored nonetheless because her aims were ultimately for a greater good—similar, in my mind, to how the game engages with utopia itself. I feel even the emphasis on her attractiveness plays into this (though. hardy fucking side eye) to frame her in-text as synonymous with utopia. 

Yet! I feel Nina is not confined to being the dead beautiful woman, in particular through her involvement with the Polyhedron. Katerina does, after all, state that Nina had her own pre-existing plots. Peter corroborates this, that “Nobody would have allowed me to even model them… if not for Nina the Wild! Nina gave me a whole living town—a town aching and craving to go heavenwards, to the stars—a town desperately hungering for a crown—the crown I’ve given to it!” Given this; yes, the Polyhedron is for Simon, but to me Nina seems no less instrumental to it, namely the Polyhedron’s powers (though I might be misinterpreting this. lmao.) I completely overlooked thus far that it’s seemingly Nina’s soul which affords the Polyhedron its power to allow children to see their dreams. That is, both Victor and Georgiy tell Clara that should she enter the Polyhedron, she is unlikely to see anything because of Nina specifically, not merely because she is no longer a child (debatable, gentlemen). Georgiy says, “I’m afraid Nina will show you nothing, since you’re no longer a child.” Likewise Victor: “I am afraid you’re not going to see anything there. I doubt that Nina will be favorably disposed towards you.” This to suggest the that Nina actively gives the Polyhedron its power, which I feel is further corroborated by Andrey. He describes the Polyhedron as a “mirror that preserves the reflection of the person that has looked into it the last. You know, when Nina died, Maria said she may never be able to cope with grief […] That is when Focus was created.” And another thing!!! Yes, the Polyhedron was created for Simon, but Andrey implies Focus was only created due to Nina; he explains that Peter created Focus likely “because he loved Nina so much […] he ended up creating a space she could inhabit. Can you imagine? You come into a room and can definitely feel that she's there-as if you've simply turned away from her for a second... And you can talk to her.” 

It just compels me to think of the Polyhedron’s machinations not as fucked-up magic (for want of a better word) but Nina actively allowing these children to see their dreams. In this way, Nina is the literal utopia/miracle, but not merely a passive representation of it; rather the active author of it. I think Nina’s role here ties into broader themes about childhood/imagination/motherhood in Patho from which I will abstain because God knows this post is too long already and I am NOT done. Anyway. I think Nina’s involvement with the Polyhedron affords her more characterisation beyond these immortalising/alluring descriptions which more so confine her to occupy the role of utopia incarnate in-text, just as she does in the Townspeoples’ minds. 

Also that as Daniil, the player can converse with her; though I think there is something to be said that it is still through another’s mouth. I trust that we speak to Nina herself, that it is literally her soul—especially given that Maria tells Daniil that she had been sheltering Nina’s memory before Victor; it feels quite literal. BUT. Let’s indulge ! It compels me to consider the ramifications if the player rather speaks to Nina’s ‘memory’—how Victor remembers her, rather than necessarily Nina as she was. That if we speak to Nina’s memory, our interaction her is merely with Nina as an ideal. I wonder whether Victor saw her more as utopia or a woman he fell in love with or both. I mean. I am leaning towards both, given what he tells Clara or how he refers to Nina with the epithet “divine.”

On this note I want to conclude with Victor/Nina’s relationship. In particular that several characters say that Nina was held back by Victor, that Maria’s lack of a husband is what will allow her to surpass her mother. This is echoed most notably, in my opinion, by Khan and Maria herself. Khan also adds that because Nina was “held back by Father […] her power brought more good than evil.” That latter clause interests me in connection to when Peter claims that “Victor was the only person that Nina used to obey not out of fear, but having recognize his superiority […] she rendered complete obedience to Victor, even though he never asked for it.” This implies that Victor could or would stay Nina’s hand from more unsavory means to achieve her goals. That seems consistent with Victor’s character, given that from tossing him on the vivisection table he does seem most compassionate of the Kains. But he never asked her to listen to him, per se, so that implies he would have let her do whatever necessary. 

I do genuinely think that Nina loved Victor rather than potentially seeing him as an instrument for her own aims, given that she only learned of Georgiy/Simon post-marriage (though I do think the opposite reading is possible). Also that simple line when Victor tells Clara that “[Nina] loves me, and is pained by the thought of me having to part with my life…” So perhaps Nina answered to him from her own affections? But then, Peter does make that distinction of ‘superiority,’ which. Perhaps that is clearer in the Russian but it admittedly confuses me. Superiority as in ye olde husband-wife dynamics? That feels doubtful to me; it’s inconsistent with Nina’s character, and the game seems to point away from this—when Daniil states that many wives obey their husbands, Peter argues, “Wives like Nina? No way in hell.” So. Where does that leave us. Was Victor just 'darling if you want. could you perhaps be slightly less evil today but only if you feel like it <3' and Nina decided 'alright perhaps I could be a little less evil. for you <3' but AGAIN Victor did not actually intend Nina to listen to him, which suggests that he would not have stopped her like the domesticated househusband he is. Or the Kains in general, who will purportedly sacrifice anything necessary to achieve their aims. To me all this hinges on what that ‘superiority’ is and honestly I have no satisfactory answer. Does this whole 'Victor held Nina back' insinuate that it was Nina's decision, that Nina chose to hold herself back? 

By way of conclusion I would say I don’t think Nina is truly “evil,” nor are players meant to consider her so. Capella says as much, and I think her characterization ultimately parallels Classic’s preoccupations with utopia. Someone motivated entirely by love and good intentions who is willing to achieve miracles by any means necessary; the latter informing her supposed cruelty or indifference to human life. 

[shmowder]

Here's a small request for anytime. I revisited your cute nicknames post because it always makes me happy. What pet names do you think Yulia, Aglaya, and Katerina would use?

🐿️ anon

Yulia Lyuricheva

Be it her rationality or overthinking to blame, Yulia rarely if ever uses petnames. Skeptic of their nature and sincerity, that they do more harm than good in the long run in any relationship.

What is even a petname if not demeaning by nature? Are you her pet, or are you human? Names tell stories, and you'd forsake yours for an adjective so vague and broad that it could apply to a billion different people?

She understands the purpose they serve, a ritualistic act, a reminder of faithfulness, a not-so-subtle reassuriance that your partner is not upset with you.

But Yulia is nothing if not a hypocrite, and life loves nothing more than making her go against her own ideals time after time.

"Honey." Is a one she starts to pick up after you gave her a side-eye one too many times when crossing path with a lovey-dovey couple showering each other with the most suffocatingly sweet petnames possible.

It sounds out of place within her automatonlike speech, sprinkled at the end of a sentence much like a cigarette smoke in a closed room with nowhere else to go.

-

Aglaya Lilich

The classic petnames are timeless in her opinion.

"Sweetheart" is a one she uses in canon, viewing you as the sugary equivalent to her bitter soul. the tenderness to her steel walls.

"Beloved." Is a term she'd never shy away from using around others to make the intimate nature of your relationship very clear. She is upfront with her emotions, direct with her affection.

"My little sun." Is a one you'll scarcely hear despite it being her favourite. It's the term she refers to you with in both her journals and mind.

While not religious, she still heavily dislikes the term angel or any of its petname equivalents; she knows who she works for, they're rotten to the core. All angels are harbingers of doom and blight, another facade much like the kids playing god.

-

Katerina Saburova

You get a glimpse of the loving woman she used to be through her choice of endearment terms... before this town twisted her into the broken husk of doll she has become.

"My dear," whispered quietly as she held you through the night, clinging to your arm in fear that the wind might steal you away if she spoke too loud.

"My love," light on her tongue, heavy in the air, she repeats it."My sweet love."

The sweet way "darling" slides off her tongue, full of yearning a if she's missing you before you're even gone.

"My heart" burning with the intensity of a thousand suns yet as quiet as a mouse, spoken like she's entrusting you with a grave secret.

It's not the petname she uses which matter, but the way Katerina grants each word the same reverence reserved for a prayer.

[natty-taffy]

the handmaiden - [natasha x reader]

Interactive fanfiction

series masterlist

Summary: Sometimes, change is more for better than for worse Previously, on your path: Chapter I.II.I

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ CHAPTER I.II.I.I

[The next morning]

“You’re late”

She mumbles tiredly, watching you prepare the hot chocolate.

You grin as you watch Natty smiling at you, remembering how, not much more than a day ago, she had uttered the very same words, but in oh-so-many different ways. You would say it feels like you have lived through years in twenty-four hours, but you kind of did, so you hum- as tired as you felt yesterday, but now livelier, giddy, in ways you didn’t even know that could exist.

Natasha has this effect on you, you’ve figured out.

“Twenty-two minutes” She tries to remain stern, but her smile drips into every syllable.

“I happened to have overslept, Natty” You answer her, grabbing a second mug from the cabinet, and preparing two hot chocolates at the same time “You know, the past really doesn’t like to stay hidden- but when it finally comes up, it trauma-dumps into you real hard”

“Did you have any more nightmares, darling?” Nat’s entire demeanor changes as you speak, her playfulness now instantly replaced by worry- and, not for the first time, you wonder if she was always good at masking her emotions or if you were actually too blind in fear of her to notice the signs that might have always been right here. 

But, again, you could’ve never imagined any of it, so you cut yourself some slack.

“Not really, more like nonstop memories” You finish both of the hot cocoas with a small swirl of Tony’s beloved whipped cream- trusting Nat wouldn’t rat on you now-, and hand her a mug. “I think they will come back to me as time goes on- I saw you a lot, you know? I remembered Madame Katerina, too, from the kitchen! And, oh, Nat, the castle!”

She accepts the mug with yet another one of those gazes, the one in which she still doesn’t believe to be living this reality- you don’t tell her you can see her quietly pinching her arm from second to second. Your heart swoons for this woman, and, with each passing second, you realize it to be one of your old habits emerging.

“This is a dream coming true, dove, I’m beyond happy for you” Anatasia’s voice is as light and loopy as she feels “And how did you like the castle? What else did you see?”

You smile at her giddy antics and, before realizing it, caress her cheek- carefully, holding her angelic face softly with the palm of your hand, she is the prettiest source of light you have ever come across. She stops sipping her beverage and tenses over your hold- carefully searching for your gaze.

“Did you see yourself doing that to me, too?” Her voice is not tense, it still holds its dreamy hold, but carries a small drop of urgency behind it.

You let your hand still against her, as she hasn’t pulled away from you, and answer honestly “Not really, I just… felt like it, I guess”

Natasha trembles lightly- you feel it more than you can see it, she holds your gaze with the simple spark of her watery smile “You used to hold me all the time, just like this” Her hand cups yours, applying more pressure on her cheek- she closes her eyes, allowing herself to finally relax against you. 

The tears that adorn her face are cold and made of crystal, you have no wonder that, dare you taste it, it would taste like sugar- it’s not the kind of tear that comes from a bad place. You can’t help but notice how mesmerizing Natasha looks and wonder if, maybe, the Super Serum has something to do with how ethereal she always manages to look.

It’s her voice, as always, that brings you back to reality “You better not get tired of seeing me cry”

You could have burst out laughing at the mere idea of getting tired of anything related to her, how could she not see it? You have waited your whole life to see her.

A third voice makes both of you jump at the sudden burst of your moment “Morning” 

Tony Stark trots into the kitchen wearing his head as high as his ego, and eyeing, with mild curiosity, Natasha’s head resting on your hand. You try not to overthink how her posture has gone rigid against you under his gaze- neither of you were expecting to display the change of your dynamic in such little time, you don’t even know exactly what to do with it, yet.

"What am I seeing here, now?"

And poor Tony was just a passerby suddenly caught in a hurricane.

Since Natasha, uncharacteristically, has remained silent, you decide to step in before he starts getting nosy- as he does- and things start to actually get personal in ways you’re both not ready to share.

You pretend to brush dust out of Natty’s face and quickly focus back to the hot cocoas you were doing before getting distracted by the woman “I’m sorry, Tony, I know I shouldn’t have used your whipped cream”

You wear your best puppy face as you hope he redirects his attention elsewhere- as predicted, he does, and his face all but falls as he registers what you have just told him.

“What are you- my whipped cream?” He eyes you in disbelief, shaking the sleep out of his morning body “[Y/N], the one thing I told you not to use-” Tony cuts himself mid-sentence, grabbing possessively the can “We will discuss your attitudes later”

Natasha, now more relaxed as he falls back into his usual antics, allows herself to slightly approach her body to yours again, but dares not to touch it. She fishes her book- until then, long forgotten on her lap, and resumes her reading from yesterday- as she usually did, every morning, until finished your beverages.

You take the sight of her in with a twinkle in your eyes, trying your best not to openly make heart eyes at the woman you publicly antagonized- until yesterday. You risk a look to Tony, who remains way too quiet for being the one who caught you red-handed- almost literally- and, much to the surprise of both you and Nat, who is very much so focused on his own breakfast, and on the can of whipped cream he is holding for dear life.

Deciding to use his unusual behavior for your benefit, you, once again, albeit timidly, reach for Natasha’s cheeks- it’s a soft caress, nothing much longer than five seconds, you won’t risk that much- all you want to do is just touch her and see her blindingly beautiful smile as she feels your caring nuzzles. 

You have come to the realization that it’s not easy to be around the woman without the feeling of her intoxicating you at every given moment.

“Good morning, good morning!” Wanda is the next to arrive at the kitchen, beaming a sleepy smile- first at you, then one that grows bigger at the sight of the closeness between you and Natasha. 

“Good morning, Wands” You excitedly greet her, having almost forgotten to gush to her about everything that has happened, since you haven’t had much time to digest the events yourself.

“Morning, Wanda!” Natasha answers, and the three of you- Wanda, Stark and yourself- make a double take as her voice, usually grounded and under a few armors, today sounds lighter and brighter than any firefly.

With a subtle eyebrow arch, your best friend fights a small smile on her lips and starts to make her own breakfast, but not without making sure to let you know she has noticed the very clear shift in the spirits of the pair of you today.

Oh, you have a lot to tell me, [Y/N/N]

You don’t jump in surprise by the gentle intrusion of Wanda’s voice in your mind anymore, but it never fails to take you slightly off of your feet. You smile impossibly bright against your mug, if there is someone who will hear of you and Nat, it will definitely be her.

You have absolutely no idea, Wands

“Good morning, team” Steve’s energetic voice arrives not much later than Wanda did. 

You can’t help but feel a little closer to him, now, as you’ve learned you’re also - somewhat- of a Super Soldier. It’s something quite irrational, maybe even out of a childish wish, but it feels like you finally know things- real, concrete things- about yourself, you can finally create a true bond with the team.

But, despite your excitement, it’s not you who says a very happy “Morning, Steve!” 

Natasha- beautiful, smiling, glowing, Natasha- looks up from her book once more and welcomes him with a warm smile, two very rare occasions to happen, especially when around you. He doesn’t let it show how much he’s surprised, but a small wink to the redhead is thrown before he follows suit, after Tony and Wanda, to make his breakfast.

Since Natasha can’t help anymore but finally give in to her incessant needs- to touch you and hold you on her own- and, also, because five people in the kitchen create just too much of a cacophony, she closes her book and raises her voice slightly louder, so she can- in an almost nonchalantly way- be heard by all.

“Wanna head to the balcony?” Her neutral tone would have been perfect had it not been badly betrayed by her hopeful, glistening, green eyes- always been seen by you as very cat-like, Natasha, now looks like a very happy puppy.

You nod as you put both of your empty mugs in the sink- dodging Wanda and Steve while doing so “Sure, wanna help me finish some reports later?”

“You’re lucky you’re you” Her grumble is not as annoyed as it used to be, and she almost rushes to stand up. Per the means of her newfound- adorable- actions, you’re sure the team is bound to at least deduce something in no less than a week.

“Oh, if I do know” You smile at her, trying to pry away the blushing of your cheeks before you look like you’ve gotten sunburned- as much as you now understand Natasha a little better, you are very much so not used to being the object of her affections- in fact, you're not very much used to being the object of her anything.

As the two of you head to the balcony, almost tripping on each other’s loving gazes, Wanda turns around to the boys, smiling widely as the Cheshire cat.

“Finally” Steve smiles, finishing his scrambled eggs- he can’t help it, he has always been a tad too romantic-leaning- even a little bit too hopeful, as he has been told, but what can one do when it comes to happy endings- or beginnings- of their loved ones?

Tony hums, scooping an ice cream ball next to his waffle “Took them long enough”

The two men start to open their wallets, given that Wanda has won the bet made by Clint- you and Natasha have taken your heads out of your asses three days before the limit day she had chosen. If she might have had something to do with that, by luring you into talking to her and thus start chasing Natasha- that doesn’t need to be disclosed with them. At the end of the day, you and Nat are finally truly and completely happy- and that’s all she could have wanted for two of the people she loves the most in the entire world.

She shakes her hand dismissively at the money, holding her own tea mug “Keep it, let’s just enjoy our first peaceful breakfast in months”

Tony huffs, backing her up “Amen to that”

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

END OF PATH

that's a wrap on this path, lovelies! i hope you've enjoyed this little ride and how it was finished, i love how they thought no one would notice lol thank you so, so much for sticking with me until here! i hope to see you exploring some other paths <3

[sabraeal]

To My Esteemed Enemy

[Read on AO3]

My third holiday gift this year, and this time it’s for a different fandom, and a new-to-me pairing! Kazasen originally tied with Alan/Katerina (Hamefura) for second place, and then tied for first with Jiro/Nanami (Kamisama Kiss) in the run off. It was a close race for concept with this one, but eventually the epistolary fic won out...and then I had to resign myself to this being a VERY long fic with shorter chapters 🤣

To the Esteemed Elders of Kazama, with All the Blessings That Humble Yase Can Convey--

It is with both heart both heavy and steeled that brush is committed to paper, so that those of the clan Kazama who act with great wisdom may be warned of the misconduct of the demon who calls himself their head and speaks with the authority of their ancestors. In the pursuit of taking an uninterested and unwilling female demon in Yase’s domain, Kazama Chikage has violated demonkind’s greatest taboo: he has meddled in man’s affairs.

While in service to Satsuma, Kazama Chikage committed acts both violent and base, engaging with human men in combat for reasons personal and pertaining to his unwanted attention toward the female demon. Were this only a single instance, Yase would be willing to turn its gaze aside, but his attempts have grown so numerous and vicious that they risk drawing attention to the places our shadows fill in this world.

Kazama is a noble and storied clan, one of the original blood, and Yase is prepared to be lenient in this matter. So long as the demon known as Chikage is kept within the confines of the village and commits no more infractions upon the code, Yase will not bring the council’s attention onto his actions. However, should these terms be violated, know that his offenses are terrible and numerous, enough that disbandment might not only be considered, but surely recommended.

As a show of good faith, Yase asks that Kazama report on the behavior and location of the demon known as Chikage, and--

“Is this why I’m here?” The page shrinks as he speaks, the collar of his too-big tunic nearly swallowing him whole. “To listen to the whimpers of lesser clans?”

“Yase is not simply putting their hands on their swords, Chikage-sama.” Masanori spits out the honorific like the shell from a seed, an unpleasant dressing necessary to reach the meat of the matter. “If you do not cease your meddling, they will see us disbanded, scattered to the four winds just as they did to-- to--”

Hatsushimo. Five hundred years and these cowards still can’t speak the name.

Humor peels his lips from his teeth, but there’s smile behind them. “They can try. Kazama will not be so easy a carcass to pick clean.”

The elders shift on their fattened cushions, old bones speaking just as much as their glances. “Although the strength of Kazama is undeniable, truth makes for more pleasant music than threats.”

When Kazusane speaks, it is measured, more like poetry than conversation. His most beloved tutor in boyhood, and his most dreaded one in adolescence. Now, he’s only a bore. “The alliance will favor the words of Yase, for they are known for their honesty and their shrewdness.”

“And you are only known for your crudeness and impulsivity,” Masanori adds, his wrinkled face knitted as if one of his esteemed colleagues passed foul wind in the hall. All Chikage smells is old man and death.

“And Kazama is known for tolerating no insult. For paying back what is owed.” He snorts, leaning a cheek on his fist. “I don’t remember any of you complaining when the elders of other clans would bow before you. When even warriors would tremble as long as you trailed in my wake.”

“And now they will laugh.” Sadahira’s age weighs heavily on him, making his words slow, ponderous. He’d been old when Chikage’s father had been a boy, and now every wind threatens to scatter him to dust. “How else could they act when they hear that Kazama’s proud prince has been brought low, traipsing after some...female demon?”

His teeth creak as he grins, wishing he could wear them all to points. “Isn’t that what you have all been asking me to do? Find some acceptable wife and beget my heir upon her?”

“There are any number of suitable candidates you have already turned away, rude enough that we are lucky their fathers and brothers do not knock down our doors.” Masanori wears his jealousy the same way a his anger: poorly. Red splotches bloom unevenly up his neck, leaving the man as piebald as the mongrels that roamed the outskirts of the village. “And now you find some whore with water for blood, and we are supposed to--”

“The girl is the last of the Yukimura.” Rage might make some men sloppy, but for Chikage it is the furnace that hones him to a thin edge, that burns away the impurities that make other men brittle. “You may sit pretty, dressed up in your silks and picked clean of fleas, but her blood runs so pure it makes the rest of you look like the filthy curs you are. If you think I’ll let a mate of the original bloodlines slip through my fingers just because Yasehime--”

“That is not what we wish to speak of.” Amagiri’s edge might be blunted with his politeness, but they cut through his words with ease. He bows over his knees, a ridiculous pose for a man as big as him. “Forgive us, elders, but we did not come to talk to you about Yukimura Chizuru.”

As a boy, he dreaded Kazusane’s disapproval. Even the faintest frown would send him back to study, hoping to earn his praise, but now-- now he wishes he could care less, his stomach still twisting as the man’s bushy brows draw tight over his nose.

“Amagiri-dono, you do this child a service by speaking for him. However, he has been called here to answer for the blade his actions have hung above us. The one he risks dropping even now.” Kazusane’s eyes are not the pure crimson of a true Kazama, but they burn as they press upon him, his anger hardly banked. “For what other reason would Chikage-sama dare leave this village, save to seek out this girl?”

“The fakes.” Even now the word hisses from his lips, leaving a foul taste behind. And yet, there is no reaction from the elders.

Sadahira turns his trembling head toward where Amagiri sits, the picture of obedience. “What does he mean?”

“The rasetsu,” he explains with a calm Chikage could never summon for such abominations. “While allied with the bafuku, Yukimura Kodo engaged in experimentation with demon blood, creating from their ranks creatures that defy the natural order. Not men, and not demon, craving the life that their bodies lack.”

“They are an insult to demonkind,” Chikage snaps. “They cannot be suffered to live.”

A murmur of distaste washes through the room, but still, Sadahira shakes his head. “It is unfortunate that mortal men have devised of such unnatural creatures, but it is hardly our business what they choose to do with these...rasetsu.”

A short-sighted answer, typical of a man who would not live to see its consequence. “It was a demon who made these, even his blood was watered down to barely more than piss.”

“And it would be the duty of his clan to see to it that the danger was handled,” Sadahira informs him, unbothered. “There is no reason for Kazama to overextend itself to see to Yukimura’s problems.”

Chikage stares, uncomprehending. “There is no more Yukimura.”

Masanori smiles wide, like a wolf about to feast. “I thought you said this girl of yours was the last?”

At that, even Amagiri stirs. “But she’s just one girl!”

“Then she should hope that these men she has thrown in with can measure up to half a demon.” Masanori’s mouth curves, the way it always did when he thought a lesson would land the way it ought. “Do not concern yourself with man’s problems. Stay in the village, write this Yase-hime her letters, and pray that she forgets your transgressions.”

“But these fakes will--”

“Our ancestors did not stop men from forging swords just because they could cut themselves on them.” Sadahira speaks with steel in his words, and no little fear. “Let them learn the way children learn best, and worry more about what you can do to keep your people safe.”

“Tch.” Yasehime’s even characters stretch across the paper, as pedantic as the girl herself. Kazama crumples it in his palm, tossing it to the floor along with his kimono. “Cowards. To think they would tell me to grovel at the feet of Yase. As if I were some piss-blood demon, not one of the most storied lines in all of--”

“You would do well to take counsel from the elders.” Amagiri stoops to scoop up the fabric, straightening it out with a sigh. “It is their duty to think of what would be best interest for the clan, not just--”

“They are thinking like flies on a dead pig’s backside.” His juban slips from his shoulders, crumpling in a silken pile behind him. “Their tiny minds cannot comprehend more than this moment’s feast, not whether the whole hog is rotting away beneath us.”

The man’s breath is as stiff as his spine when he bends, grunting from the strain of not bowing and scraping for those old relics. “That may be so. But they are not wrong. We no longer answer to just them, but Sen-hime--”

A hiss catches between his teeth. “I grow weary of Yase-hime and her threats. Is she the one who led Kazama in the years since my father died? No. And we have prospered. Meanwhile Yase still lives on their knees, beholden to an emperor who is barely old enough to shave himself.”

Amagiri may make his faces, but when Chikage holds out his hand, he does not wait long for the clothes to fill them. These Western fabrics are not so fine as his own, scratching his hands as he pulls them over his head, but it is what is necessary now to walk among Kyoto’s streets, to hear what these people will say.

“Yase is not a clan of warriors,” Amagiri grunts, finally. “Their power does not come from numbers, or blades, but from secrets. And if you are not careful, Sen-hime will use those secrets to take your own out from beneath you.”

He scoffs, skinning these strange Western hakama up his legs. “I do not fear weak words, and certainly not from a female.”

The big man silences him with a shake of his head. “You do not know what it is to lose your people and leave the home of your ancestors, living on the kindness-- and sufferance-- of others.” That dark gaze pins him as thoroughly as his grip. “Amagiri lost only its land, and even now we carry that pain with us. I cannot imagine it would be any less than agony to be separated as a people too, forced to scatter with the wind.”

Chikage tears away with a grimace. That gaze is too much sorrow to bear, even borrowed.

“Tch,” he clucks, hastily buttoning up these strange clothes. “That is too much power for one woman. To think you said she might make a suitable companion.”

Amagiri holds out his coat. “That opinion has not changed.”

Chikage whips his head over his shoulder. “Even after all this? She’s threatened to disband Kazama over a trifle.”

He doesn’t deserve the weary look he receives. “That she wields so much power only proves that she is your equal. Her bloodline is unchanged--”

“And so is her personality.” He smooths his hands over the coat, if only to keep from gathering them to fists. “Women who know their own mind are tiresome. We would not suit.”

Amagiri is silent for a long while, long enough that it seems this topic of conversation might be over. An illusion Chikage is allowed to believe until his hands busy themselves with tying his blade to his hip. “More unfitting matches have been made in my time.”

Chikage’s mouth thins. “We have other work to be doing. Something much more pleasurable than being harangued by that harpy. Let’s go.”

The big man stiffens. “The elders said--”

“The elders advised me to beg Yase’s forgiveness.” He grins, sliding open the shogi. “And I will do it gladly once we have culled these fakes from Kodo’s ranks.”

[dykenastasyafilippovna]

Choose violence ask 1, 8, and 12

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Oops I said this in the last ask but Anatole. And I’ll also say Katerina ivanovna crime and punishment I’ve never seen her be Gotten in the way I get her.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Hmmmm another one. Okay I say things contrary to this just for Sillies but I don’t think hélène fucked dolokhov. I think she pulled a Gilda 1946 and just made people Think she was fucking dolokhov to mess with Pierre. And it worked.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

So fucking many. How come no one talks about my beloved Anna m? She has schemes she is manipulative she is going to shoot herself in the head right here if Boris doesn’t get a Fucking job. Also hmmmm. Katerina khokhlakova tbk she’s so quirky and strange and ok she’s not the best mom but she’s ANNOYING and I love that for her!!!!

[lilapng]

For our today's post we decide to make together this artpiece! Katerina wrote the and lila make the illustration!😍 • We are both super happy for this artistic collaboration and we hope you like as much as we love it!🤗 • On a warm sunny day, Rosie began her way. She loved flowers picking upon the morning sun, daffodils were her chosen ones and probably the most fun. Oh, how she swayed around her basket to and fro, joyfully and eager to show, that the garden of love had splendor and each blossom was lovingly tender. As each seedling she planted there, in the garden she poured so much care, awaiting growth and beauty would be a flower’s duty; It is shown in this little story, how a Rosie was not willy nilly, rather somewhat of a divine being and never ever silly. - Katerina P. • When I saw Katerina's poem I immediately thought of big calming meadows and a warm sunset..so I put my beloved colour pallet and here we are - lilapng https://www.instagram.com/p/CoNQt_zo0lG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[rere-the-writer]

hey!! If it’s not too much to ask, could I request a kol x reader where the reader is a witch and a doppelgänger? Like somehow the reader and Elena are both doppelgängers, but after Klaus broke the curse the reader was able to live a fairly normal life in New Orleans, that is until Esther comes back. Maybe because of Klaus’ presence in Nola the reader has allied with Marcel for protection, resulting in her befriending Davina and encountering the newly resurrected kol? Kol attacks her when he sees her because he thinks she’s Elena, but when she overpowers him with her magic he realizes she’s not Elena. They eventually become friends and start to develop feelings for each other maybe? I hope that isn’t too specific. I really just would like something a little angsty and fluffy with witch! Kol. I really admire your work. It’s very uplifting and comforting, especially, your kol content. He’s my comfort character but I’ve exhausted the supply of fluffy kol fics 😅 Thanks! Make sure to take care of yourself, love ❤️

I'm glad you like my Kol. Time for some fluff for my baby boy.

Warnings- Fluff, Kol be simpin', A bit of angsty

You had been living in New Orleans for a year now to be away from Katherine and Elena as you were a different doppelganger and still carried the Petrova family name. You were a powerful witch and didn't care that Elena was like your long distance cousin because of the bloodline you shared.

Once you had heard Klaus was spotted in Mystic Falls, much to Elena's disappointment you got the hell out of dodge not wanting to be used by the Original as you knew your family's history with the Mikaelsons. Marcel had took you under his wing much like Davina as you help teach the younger witch to control her magic.

You were angry that your life had been fucked over because of Katherine but after Klaus broke his curse you were able to life a normal life in New Orleans that was until a pregnant wolf and Esther coming back.

"The Originals are in town be careful." Marcel told you knowing if Klaus knew of another doppelganger you would be in danger. But Elijah knew about you as he came to you about Davina and you managed to tell him she wasn't a threat.

"So your family has history with the Mikaelsons?"

"You could say that De."

You could feel Esther's magic as it was heavy in the air even more after Davina told you she brought back Kol. It happened in a blur you were held against a wall by your thoat.

"You killed me litt...." Kol was cut off holding his head as you looked down at Kol with a glare as your hand was in a fist.

"I am not Elena, vampire." You growled as Kol felt like his head was on fire as the pain was unbearable. Kol could see that you may have the same face as Elena, your hair was cut short and curled as you got tired of people mistaken you for Elena or Katherine.

"I see....that....now....you're a powerful....witch." Kol panted as you let him go and Kol couldn't help but stare at you. You were attractive and Kol cursed to hisself now seeing what his brother's saw in the Petrova women.

"And you are annoying Kol Mikaelson."

"Forgive me but I don't know your name."

"And you won't." You say walking away leaving Kol laying there as he got up before deciding to ask Elijah.

"You ran into Y/N Petrova?" Elijah questioned his younger brother putting down his book catching Klaus's attention. Kol had got to Elijah to see if he knew anything and was glad.

"Yes so she is a doppelganger?"

"Yes, it surprised Niklaus when Katherine threw her under the bus. Y/N is the last pure blood Petrova witch." Elijah says as Klaus smirking sitting down remembering when he found you on the third day of him being New Orleans. Unlike Katherine and Elena, you didn't fear Klaus as proven when you made his heart stop when he tried taking you from Marcel.

"She is a little feisty witch. Rebekah likes her better than Katherine and Elena which is saying something."

"Oh?" Kol said standing smirking as Elijah and Klaus knew that smirk this crazy boy was going to try to date you.

"Be care Kol. If Marcellus doesn't kill you then she will."

When you got a call from Klaus saying he needed a powerful witch to weaken the hybrids under mother's control you thought he would talk to Davina.

'I need a Petrova witch love.' Was what Klaus told you and you walked into the compound annoyed when Kol smirked following you up stairs.

"Any plans this weekend?"

"Non of your business." You said annoyed hoping that Kol would have lost interest in you by now but the wildest Mikaelson just fell harder with every name calling and magic sent his way.

"Maybe I could take you out."

"No." You told him glaring but it didn't stop Kol from trying to ask you out or buying you flowers and gifts.

"De! I AM IN LOVE WITH AN IDIOT!" You shouted one morning scaring Davina when you came into your shared apartment. You founded yourself falling for Kol which to you was an idiot and didn't know why. You spent the day ranting to Davina that you couldn't love Kol because he was a Mikaelson and you were a Petrova.

"Hello darling."

"What do you want idiot?" You asked working on a spell to help Elijah when Kol had came over and stepped up behind you. You looked up at Kol and your breathing hitched seeing how close he was and your eyes flickered to his lips.

"I was....hoping that...you would finally. " Kol muttered leaning in as your cheeks flushed moving in also and his lips were on yours. The kiss was explosive as sparks flew and you moan against his mouth kissing back.

"Does this mean you like me and we can see one another?" Kol asked sounding unsure his cheeks tinted red as you smiled softly for the first time since he met you.

"Yeah, you goof." You whispered as Kol brighen kissing you again and let out a whine when you pulled away.

"I need to finish this spell." You tell him letting the vampire cling to you watching you work.

It didn't take Marcel and the other Mikaelsons to notice that Kol and you were seeing one another a lot more. You had managed to mellow Kol out as he now turned all of his focus on you. But one thing you and he agreed on was not tell anyone that he proposed eight months into your relationship as you both didn't know how Klaus would react.

"Cute place."

"What do you want Katherine? I thought you didn't want to be anywhere near Nik?" You questioned walking in to your apartment seeing Katherine sitting in a chair drinking your good wine.

"You cut your hair."

"What do you want?" You asked glaring as your magic was stirring up as Katherine huffed before spotting the engagement ring on your hand.

"You're engaged?"

"Yes now Katherine what do you want?!"

"Fine....I need help and you are the only powerful witch I know. Elena had turned off her humanity and I know you have a spell to get her to turn it on."

"Since when did you care about Elena?" You questioned pulling out your grimoire as Katherine watched you huffing sipping her wine.

"The brothers are boring and all angsty over it. It is annoying but I hear you and Kol are a thing."

"That is non of your business." You tell her getting to work then dropped a small bottle in her hand.

"Have Elena drink that it'll compel her to turn it back on." You tell Katherine as she smirked thanking you before leaving and while she was at it sent a text to Klaus that you were engaged to Kol.

Klaus was angry when he learned of you and Kol ever more angry when learning that Kol was going move out of the city with you after your marriage. In Klaus's eyes you were taking what was his while both Rebekah and Elijah was happy for Kol.

"Go warn her. I'll hold Niklaus back." Elijah told Kol hearing Klaus growled throwing things. Kol was quick to head to your place which smiled brightly seeing him walking in.

"So what kind of cake....Kol are you okay?" You asked seeing how terrified your future husband looked. Kol cupped your face tearing up as if to commit your face to memory.

"Nik knows and is coming for you....you need to run and hopefully he'll calm down and we can marry."

"Kol.....I....don't want....to live...like Katherine had.....please don't." You whimpered as he kissed you gently and helped you pack. That night after using magic to hide your tracks, Kol went to blows with Klaus while Katherine suffered at the hand of Elijah when he learned the vampire was the one to ruin Kol's slice of happiness.

"Come on Elijah, the little witch could use so....." Katherine was cut off when Elijah slammed her against a wall hand warped around her thoat.

"If Y/N dies in the hands of Niklaus, I will not be merciful Katerina."

Four years you were on the run visiting Kol's favorite places which made you feel closer to the Original while learning new magic's getting stronger. You sat in your London flat watching the snow falling gently while unconsciously playing with your engagement ring while thinking about Kol.

"Darling can you let me in?" You heard Kol ask making you rush to the door tearing it open letting him. You jumped up into his arms kissing him deeply pulling a deep moan from Kol.

"You're here! Oh my god I missed you. Never again idiot." You said inbetween kisses as Kol smiled looking up at you with adoration.

"I missed you too darling. You did a better job at hiding than Katherine."

"Wait.! But Klaus?"

"It took three years but Elijah and Rebekah calmed him then I spent a year looking for you." Kol said kissing you again as he took you to your bed relearning one another's body.

"You kept it."

"Yeah....ask me again." You tell him taking the ring off as Kol slipped out of your bed getting on one knee.

"Please marry me? You gorgeous, beautiful woman that I would be honored to be her husband."

"Yes....a thousands times yes." You said tears falling as Kol smiled putting the ring back on your hand. Kol rushed up kissing you again as you both fell back into the bed.

"I love you, my beloved."

"I love you too, Kol." You whispered back as you both finally got to be happy.

[rockislandadultreads]

New in Cookbooks: Deliciously Diverse Cooking

Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (And Love My Microwave) by David Chang, Priya Krishna

The chef of Momofuku cooks at home . . . and that means breaking the rules that chefs, magazines, and everyone else tell you about, so you can get a great dinner done fast.

Being a chef can make you the worst kind of home cook. Either you’re too fussy when dinner just needs to be on the table or, as Momofuku chef Dave Chang will tell you about his early years in the industry, you just . . . never cook at home.

But now, with a family to feed, Dave faces the same challenges as any home cook: how to make something as delicious as possible, in the least amount of time possible, with as little mess as possible. It’s no time for meticulous searing or searching for the perfect medium rare.

This is his guide to the culinary dark arts of substituting, adapting, shortcutting, and sandbagging, like par-cooking chicken in the microwave before showing you seven ways to blast it with flavor in a four-minute stir-fry or a ten-minute stew, because he is as tired as you are of doing things the hard way.

Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes and Rituals from the Soul of Colombia by Mariana Velásquez

A recipe developer and food stylist—whose work has taken her across the globe to work with clients like Michelle Obama and into the test kitchens of today’s most esteemed culinary publications—pays homage to her native country with this vibrant, visually stunning cooking, the first dedicated solely to Colombian food, featuring 100 recipes that meld the contemporary and the traditional. To Mariana Velásquez, a native of Bogotá, the diverse mix of heritages, cultures, and regions that comprise Colombian food can be summed up in one simple concept: More is more. No matter what rung of society, Colombians feed their guests well, and leave them feeling nourished in body and soul. In Colombiana, the award-winning recipe developer and food stylist draws on the rich culinary traditions of her native land and puts her own modern twist on dishes beloved by generations of Colombians. Here are recipes for classics such as arepas and empanadas, as well as “Colombian-ish” recipes like Lomito de Cerdo al Tamarindo y Menta (Tamarind Pork Tenderloin with Mint), Gazpacho de Papaya y Camarón Tostado (Spicy Papaya and Charred Shrimp Gazpacho), and Cuchuco de Trigo con Pollito y Limón (Lemony Bulgur Farmer’s Chicken Soup). In addition to offering a unique perspective on Colombian food, Mariana shares the vibrant style of Colombian tablescapes and entertaining. For her, the best meals are never simply about the food on the table—they are an alchemy of atmosphere, drinks, and simple snacks and sweets that complete the experience and make it memorable. Rich with culture and stories as well as one-of-a-kind recipes and stunning photography, Colombiana is a gastronomic excursion that reminds us of the power of food to keep tradition alive.

The Simcha Restaurant Cookbook: Over 100 Israeli and Middle Eastern Inspired Recipes by Avi Shemtov

In Hebrew, simcha means “joy and celebration” and Chef Avi Shemtov’s food has been filling diners with these delicious emotions for several years at Simcha, located in Sharon, Massachusetts. Now, with the Simcha Restaurant Cookbook, you can recreate the delectable dishes that honor the traditions of Shemtov’s Turkish-Israeli roots, with contemporary flavor-forward twists: Yemenite fried chicken with labne and smoked potato purée, whole-roasted cauliflower with soom tahini, and ras el hanout pork belly with pickled apple sauce, shakshuka, and octopus salad with green zhug, the traditional Yemenite hot sauce. Brimming with original vibrant photography, Simcha Restaurant Cookbook is an enticing culinary global journey.

Macedonia: The Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Balkans by Katerina Nitsou, Oliver FitzGerald (Photographs)

Discover the flavors and traditions of North Macedonia Macedonian cuisine is a rich mosaic of influences from the Mediterranean and Middle East, and the neighboring countries in the Balkan Peninsula. It is known for its opulent family meals, and the regional dishes play important symbolic roles in local traditions and family celebrations. Macedonia: The Cookbook is a love letter to Macedonian culture, and a cuisine deeply rooted in its land and traditions. Through over 100 mouthwatering recipes for mezze dishes, salads, soups, fish, poultry, meat, vegetables, and delicious sweets and preserves, chef and food writer Katerina Nitsou shares the authentic flavors and wisdom brought along with her family, recreated and adapted in her North American kitchen. With beautiful photography of the food, people, and landscapes of North Macedonia, this cookbook captures the country’s essence and belongs on the kitchen shelf of every food lover.

[zodiyack]

Opposites Attract (1,000+ Follower Special!!)

Pairing: Damon Salvatore x Female!Pierce/Petrova!Reader

Warnings: Possibly swearing?, fluff, indications of smut??, death/mentions of death, slight angst/violence, I think that’s all

Words: 1,667

Summary: The younger sister of Katherine was the true owner of Damon’s heart, Katherine only being his worry in 1864 due to the sister’s bond, the bond that fueled Katherine to force Y/n to join her when she escaped Mystic Falls and left Damon to think they were both in the tomb.

Note: I have no idea what to say honestly... I’ve been gone due to troubles with my computer yet you guys stuck around and that’s what matters to me. Though I may have a bit of a hard time with words, I hope you guys know that you all mean so much to me 💕💕

And if you’d like me to make a part two, which I’m already planning on doing- I just really liked the ending, or make this a series, feel free to let me know!

Taglist: @matth1w​, @redspaceace​, @fandom-puff​, @darling-i-read-it​

Masterlist | The Vampire Diaries Masterlist

Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV. Part V. Part VI.

1864

Her back hit the wall, lips molded with his as their tongues clashed in a hungry passion. Her fingers played with his hair and pulled his face and body closer to hers. With his hands trapping her against the wall, she felt content.

“Turn me.”

“I can’t, Da-”

“Don’t. I understand, Katherine and all that...but promise me that one day, you’ll escape her grasp and run away with me.” She forced herself to look into Damon’s eyes, her undead heart breaking at the sorrow that drowned in his blue orbs. “Please?”

“I can’t make any promises...” she paused involuntarily, her heightened hearing catching a sudden ruckus from Stefan’s room and stealing her attention. Damon frowned, adjusting his grip on her waist to pull her back to reality. “I...I just can’t right now. However,” the smile returned to his lips, “one day, I will find you. And if you still want to...you may take me up on that promise, Salvatore.”

He was ready to answer when his door burst open and he and Y/n pulled away in a panic. His father stared down Y/n with a great furry in his body. She didn’t say a word, simply kissing Damon softly and nodding to Mr. Salvatore.

“Father- please-”

“No. She’s a monster, Damon! Her sister is a monster! They are monsters! Don’t you see that? She’ll kill you if you give her the chance. The same goes for Stefan and the other Pierce girl. If they’re even girls.” He mumbled the last bit of his sentence, too caught up in the belief that they were pure evil to consider any other possibility.

“She’s not a mons-”

“Yes. She is. Now, enough! I’m already ashamed of your siding with the demons, there is no need to make it worse, boy!” Mr. Salvatore grunted and put a muzzle-like-mask over Y/n’s head and called out to the rest of the hunters, watching as she was dragged away with a grimace upon his face.

Whilst Damon was traumatized, angry at his father and the world for their cruel decisions for his life, he attempted at keeping a neutral, unphased expression. “What will happen to her?”

“The same thing that will happen to the other monsters; she’ll burn.”

Present Day

Damon continued pacing throughout the house, ignoring Stefan’s pleas for him to stop. He thought about what Emily had told him, and what he needed to do. He had everything he needed, what was stopping him from going to the tomb? A gut feeling? Life? Was he just a big chicken?

He took a breather, telling himself to think about the reason he was in this mess. It was for a girl. The love of his life, to be specific. Y/n Pierce. The lovely lady who had come to stay with the Salvatore brothers after her and her sister’s parents had burnt with their home.

They felt pity for the girls, taking them in and, from then on, starting their odd journey through the supernatural world. Y/n was the first to reveal her secret; pulling away from a kiss with Damon due to her loss of control over her vampire features.

Though normally he’d be afraid, Damon had gripped her chin and forced her to look at him, awe and interest shining on his face. It was that night that he confessed his love for her, promising to take her away one day.

He chuckled at the memory, wiping his thumb across his lips. Damon remembered the taste of her lips like it was yesterday. The delicate softness paired with the lustful desire of their kisses was perfection. The kisses they had shared held something no one else could give him.

Despite occasionally hooking up with a girl or two, he was still on the search for his long lost lover. Deep down, he knew the sex was just for a distraction; even if he didn’t want to think of it as such, he knew that he was constantly comparing them to Y/n. Sometimes verbally, sometimes mentally, either way- the comments were always about the woman his heart belonged really to.

“Damon. Why are you really here?”

To find Y/n and stay true to my promise. “Just to be with you, little brother! Is it wrong that I want some bonding time with my little bro?”

“For you? Yes.” Stefan made it a point to avoid and ignore Damon as much as possible, especially with a girlfriend to protect from his ‘evil’ also-vampire brother. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. Why are you really here?”

Damon sighed. “You already know that Stefan.”

Now that Damon was closer than ever to opening the tomb, he was more than ready to reveal his true intentions. Stefan believed Damon was after Katherine, pleading him to leave as soon as they got out of the tomb. But in reality, Damon could care less about that vampire. He just wanted Y/n, but with the sisters being closer than anything he’d ever seen, he had no choice but to rescue Katherine as well.

If he was lucky, Katherine would allow Y/n to stray from her and stay with Damon, but he had a feeling that would never happen. Not with how possessive Katherine was. How she insisted that blood, as well as herself, went first.

1864

“We need to go back to them!” Y/n tried to run to her lover’s body. Her heart was racing. She’d come back to find that her beloved had been shot dead, his brother the same. Before Y/n could reach the man, Katherine gripped her waist and held her back, stronger than her younger sister due to being older in human and vampire years.

Y/n was the one Petrova to have escaped Klaus in his act of revenge. To be fair, it wasn’t his fault that he missed her. She was out picking berries, going about her life normally, before returning to a bloodied home with the bodies of the people she loved strewn about messily.

She remembered falling to her knees and cursing at whatever entity seemed to be there. Whether it was God or some other being, she demanded, through sobs, to know what she had done to deserve it.

Then, as if her prayer-like-yells of agony had been answered, Katerina showed up at the doorway. Her reaction was similar to Y/n’s; first, processing what she was seeing, then, feeling the fear freeze her in place, and finally, screaming and trying to shake her family awake, hoping as much as she could that it was all a dream.

Y/n walked from her hiding spot slowly, still shaking from her discovery but much more calmed with the presence of her older sister. “Who would do such a thing?”

She swore she could never forget the rage, paired with terror, in her sister’s eyes. “Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson did this.”

That very day, she turned her sister. She explained that they would live long enough to either kill Klaus and get revenge, or plea for his forgiveness and live their lives once more.

Snapping out of her memory fueled trance, Y/n broke free of her sister’s arms and dropped to the ground beside Damon. She pulled his head onto her lap and brushed his dark curls from his face. She chuckled to herself when she noticed her tears dropping onto his face.

“Goodbye, my love.” Y/n pressed a kiss to his forehead, then one on the tip of his nose. Finally, one on his lips, staying a little longer than the others as she savored the intimacy in their final goodbye. “If I only I had told you yes...”

She left her sister to say her goodbye to Stefan, wiping her tears away as she felt what was left of her heart crumble into bits.

Once, she had a family. And then she had her sister. Then she had her sister and an owner to her heart, the feeling of humanity returning to her undead body, feeling alive for the first time since her transition.

Now? She was back to having only her sister.

Damon felt the same way.

When he had woken, taking time to recover from the shock of being alive. Emily had told him how Katherine compelled Stefan to drink her blood, and he already knew that he drank Y/n’s blood willingly.

“There’s no point in living.” Damon pleaded with his brother after he tried to get him to feed, “They’re dead.”

Present Day

He ran into the tomb, desperate to find the sister of the vampire doppelganger. Damon sighed, ‘speaking of doppelgangers’, Elena had followed him, ignoring Sheila and Bonnie’s warnings.

“What’s that sound?”

“They can smell you.” He made his way through the tomb, eyes traveling from one decayed vampire to the other, cursing to himself each time they weren’t Y/n. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t give up. At some point, he’d gotten separated from Elena, but he didn’t care- never faltering in his search.

After spending more time looking for the vampire with negative results, Stefan had rushed in. He seemed anxious, desperate, ready to plead. And that he was. “Damon. We have to go.”

“She’s not here...” He felt like he was having a panic attack, which was more than likely. Damon threw the blood bag he had brought for her against the wall, “She’s- she’s not here, Stefan!”

“Who? Katherine? Look, I’m sorry that she’s not here, but we need to go!”

“No! Not Katherine! Y/n! She’s- she’s gone...she’s gone Stef.” Stefan furrowed his brows, feeling sympathy for his brother for a split second, then realizing how much time they were wasting.

“I’m sorry... Okay Damon? Maybe she didn’t die-”

“Don’t get my hopes up, alright?”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Really, I am. But- we need to go, like, right now.” He grabbed his brother and sped him out, gaining a boost with his vampire speed. The entire time he thought his brother was after the bad sister, but he was after the good one.

Opposites really do attract.

[shmowder]

Hi!! Love your blog, look forward to seeing your posts!! Every time they show up even if I’m not personally interested in the character/topic it’s about And since you seem to have a very good grasp on lore and the characters! I have a question about how something I’ve been thinking about would work/could it work? So how would the towns dynamic change if there was a fourth mistress? That only seems to really pop up during the events of the game? Since the playing field of the town is always getting shaken up so what better way to shake things up then have a fourth mistress who only reveals themself at the final moment? Maybe this persons family hid them/ their abilities away from the rest of the town for their protection? And now that the town is in disarray there’s no way to hid any longer? Or Meta reasons they only get added in because the kids got a new doll they wanted to add into a preexisting story?. I’m curious on how you personally think something like that would work/if it could work as a concept!? Since you seem to have a really good understanding on those kinda things! so I trust your judgment sorry if this is annoying I promise I’m not trying to be!!

also here’s a flower since your writing and memes are rlly cool 🪻

There are Mistresses with a capital M, and then there are mistress candidates.

In the town–not the Kin/steppe–there are only two Mistresses, light and dark, Nin and Victoria. Katerina is a false Mistress, she never counted to begin with.

However, there are currently three mistress candidates ingame and zero actual Mistresses. We never see one come into her full power, it simply ends too soon.

Maria, Capella, and Katerina. All three of them are only candidates. A Mistress's power extends much more beyond mere clairvoyance, sure they have "magical" abilities, but they haven't earned the title yet. Much like Artemy needed to earn the Menkhu title and not just be good at surgery.

The Light and Dark Mistresses are both new additions to the town. Their dichotomy belongs to the Capital, they're not native to the place.

Now for Kin "Mistresses" the definition is a little...vague.

They only have one, it's the Earth Mistress.

Let's make one thing clear, the Mistresses's powers are not part of them, it does not belong to them, they simply borrow it. Weaving magic through the air.

Much like one would wield a sword, it takes a tremendous amount of training and strife. And when you die, the sword doesn't wither alongside your body, instead it remains next to your corpse, waiting for another to come along.

Anyone can pick it up and wield it. That's how the powers are "passed" between generations. These swords do not actually belong to certain families despite what they may claim. The roles are more fluid than anyone thinks.

Katerina became a mistress candidate for dark after the passing of Nina as a way to keep balance, but by the time she started getting kinda of decent at wielding her sword, Victoria passed away and Katerina threw her weapon and powers out the window, rushing to the light and to take Victoria's place.

A light Mistress's role is more favourable, your visions leave you joyous, and you're well beloved amongst the people.

But by doing that, Katerina reset all of her progress, and she was back to learning how to wield this new magic from square one. Losing both tracks in the process since Maria and Capella's abilities far surpass hers by that point despite the early start advantage she was granted.

So...her eyes turned to another role, the Earth.

But she's not from the Kin. She can never hear the twyre whispers or trace the lines.

That's where the Rat Prophet comes in.

Remember how Mistress powers are only borrowed? Their visions are hazy, and prophecies are vague?

Well, the Rat Prophet IS the sword himself in this scenario. Those are his powers, always was, always will be. Part of the earth yes but an independent part, like one of your limbs suddenly gaining sentience and doing their own thing.

In the P1 Haruspex route, you can get a prophetic vision from him. Not about you, but about The Changeling, who starts doubting her powers and begs you to go ask the Prophet because he simply refuses to talk to her.

You ask him–or pretend to fool him and he immediately realises what you're doing–then answers directly. No beating around the bush, no weird euphemism, not a single room for doubt

The Changeling will lose her powers if she realises she has them, simple as that. Everything she says becomes reality. Every lie will twist into truth, and the second she becomes aware of it, all of her powers will vanish.

To the Haruspex it sounds like gibberish, but to you? The player who knows better? Oh, he hits the nail on the head. Because that's the thing, he never was talking to Artemy! He was talking to you. In every interaction, he is always addressing you the player.

That's the true "magic" everyone is so obsessed over, breaking the fourth wall, realising this is a game. That's why Clara powers surpass her age and time, because she is already past one layer of meta narrative, she knows this is a game which grants her better access to magic...She just thinks it's a kids' game, a sandcastle built by two kids and nothing more.

She hasn't been past the second meta narrative layer. She isn't even aware of its existence.

That's why the Mistresses can only weave it. They're just blindly grasping at the games code. No wonder they come out of it very confused.

It's a whole alternative reality to them. They don't have computers, and they don't know what Java Script is! You ask Maria to write you a simple Python IF function, and she'd tell you why the hell would she use a snake like a pen to write with?

The only way they can explain this ability, make sense of these binary codes, is clairvoyance.

Why their prophecies are so distorted and nonsensical, why they can only speak in riddles.

Why the Rat Prophet who casually breaks the 4th wall all the time has the luxury of being direct, crystal clear snippets of the future at the tips of his fingers...rat fingers?

The Rat Prophet is the one who comes to Katerina and lends her crumbs of his powers, just enough to get her to believe him when he starts calling himself the voice of the earth.

For what end? I don't know. His intentions for tricking her are never revealed. But he succeeds, and she fully buys into it, making her a false Mistress. She's not much of an earth mistress when the weapon she's supposed to wield has auto aim on, huh? Katerina is basically playing Pathologic Mistress Simulator with trainer cheats activated.

But, he doesn't give her the right prophecies, deliberately aiming on the wrong targets.

So there are only two actual self-made Mistresses so far.

-

In the P1 termites ending, Capella mentions how the Mistresses will be reinvented.

In the town, there are three power houses, right? Olgimskay, Kains and Saburovs. Each pulling from different directions.

Well, there is a fourth hidden cog, there always has been based on Capella's theory–the Kin. Not the employees under her father's command, but the real actual Kin indigenous to the town before settlements came here from the outside.

So the death of one Mistress doesn't start a domino effect of catastrophes like last time.

Capella wants to keep the balance of things, restart the cycle and maintain the status quo. The system wasn't broken and doesn't need changing, she claims, people just implanted wrong.

This time around, she will make it even more balanced. Leave fails safes everywhere by spreading out the power even more so there is less room for error and greed.

That's what Isidor saw in her and the termites, the potential to rebuild the town and ensure its survival. Her goals also coincidentally align with the Artemy's whole approach of maintaining traditions and not forsaking the past for a shiny future...at least if you play him as faithful to his role as a Menkhu.

She describes it as a "blend of many colors"

The new Mistresses are:

Grace The Beige Mistress (whatever the fuck that means)

Taya Malachite Mistress (who picked these names??)

Murky Lilac Mistress (Capella get a colourblindness test ffs)

And her. Capella. Still the Light Mistress.

She also claims to be able to see their "aura" and she picked their new roles and powers to suit the colours of their soul–on a side note, the same "aura" is also mentioned when Maria is being put down for never being able to amount to what Nina was because her soul is scarlet, transparent, not black, never an abyssal darkness like her mother.

You might ask, now who will become the next Dark Mistresses? Probably Maria still.

So what...Five total Mistresses in the termites ending?

Yeah! If not more, Clara is on her way to becoming the Earth Mistress right? Katerina needs to die first tho so the Rat Prophet stops using her as a puppet to larp as a Mistress with.

Capella basically said fuck it, everyone gets magic now. Kains and Olgimskays are united so the political tension is gone from the town. Everyone is special so no one is special so this town and its people can finally get a single fucking moment of peace at last.

The roles are shuffled, everyone has a new, more suitable title.

And Capella still needs a colourblindness test still bc Murky's scarf is NAVY BLUE, it's not LILAC.

WHERE ARE MY LORE DUMPS THAT CHARACTERS THREW AT ME OUT OF NOWHERE HUH ICE PICK LODGE? WHY IS P2 SO AFRAID OF GIVING A CHARACTER MORE THAN TWO PARAGRAPHS OF LINES IN EACH CONVERSATION? WHY DOES ARTEMY REPLY IN SHORT SENTENCES AND SINGLE WORDS? DID YOU LOBOTOMISE THE WHOLE CAST?

That's it, that's the whole P1 Mistresses in a nutshell summary :) I am NOT getting into P2 Mistress lore idgaf. It's not finished cooking yet.

They changed so much–things are somehow even more vague? It's like P2 is allergic to giving straight direct answers. Everything is suggested and hinted at rather than clearly stated.

Anyway.

For your questions.

So how would the towns dynamic change if there was a fourth mistress?

Which town? No really, which version of the town are we talking about her? Pre-plague town? Okay, do you mean the first wave or the second wave? Or post-plague town? Then which ending are we going with?

Honestly, it would change as much as it changed when Clara got introduced. That's basically your best point of reference to what adding a fourth mistress candidate would cause. Take Clara, double it and give it to the 4th.

But keep in mind that the 4th will be a mistress candidate not a Mistress. Especially if she was birthed normally as a human and had to grow up–then her progress would match Maria and Capella who still haven't came into the Mistress title.

Clara is a special case, an outlier, and the spider George of Mistresses, so we are not counting her.

"To receive her full powers and become a Mistress, a future Mistress has to go through a painful process, accompanied by seizures and fainting, and then finally wake up. After that, she will not be the same person. A future Mistress must recognize the next Mistress, passing on continuity. It is not clear whether the role of Mistress is a tradition, or a necessary stage of mystical transformation. "

As long as the 4th is still herself, she has her personality and traits still, and then she hasn't become a Mistress yet. Remember how Capella started changing at the game end in P2? It's the best example there is of what would happen to her, what awaits Maria in the future as well.

Also she needs to be acknowledged by the other Mistress candidates, even if they hate each other they will still acknowledge her if they glimpse actual powers in her.

what better way to shake things up then have a fourth mistress who only reveals themself at the final moment?

Everyone can wield the sword, but not everyone can see the sword on the ground in the first place, which is why most people don't pick it up; they don't realise it's even there. Everyone CAN become a Mistress, but most women won't.

-

That's a very mild shaking, more like stirring a cup of coffee. It's too late for her to do anything meaningful or affect any outcome. The Mistresses do not decide the game endings, the healers do. (Except anomaly mcguffin Clara again bc fuck me ig)

Block and Lilich do not believe in the Mistresses or respect them much, and it's them you need to convince to spare the town. Clara could brainwash people unless the 4th can do that too then...yeah, no.

Even then, she needed the same 13 days of preparations beforehand and a tremendous amount of human sacrifice. Most reactions to a new Mistress revealed from thin air at the last day would be like

Maybe this persons family hid them/ their abilities away from the rest of the town for their protection?

"oh cool. So like where were you while people were dying?"

-

Mistresses are mothers. That's basically it. They "mother" the town and its people, they have the heavy presence of a parent you have no choice but to abide to. You want to please them, you feel the need to obey them much like a kid clings to the skirt of their mother.

That's counterproductive. It's Mistresses who protect people, not the other way around. Their abilities are celebrated—even Nina the Evil was adored and respected despite her wrongdoings. No one dared lay a singer finger on her, not just out of fear but out of genuine reverence.

And she has, in fact, killed people.

And if she was hidden, it means she never got properly acknowledged by the other mistress candidates. So she never officially became a candidate herself and hasn't earned the title yet, only managing to hold very little power and influence.

Best case scenario, Capella integrates her into the termites/her vision of the new town. She wanted Clara to join her cause yk, but Clare refused.

... but maybe the ones who hid her did it out of fear they might lose her? Once she ascends to power, she will lose herself, feelings, and everything she once held dear. A complete factory reset of her brain. Sure, she still has her memories, but they feel like a stranger's more than hers.

That's one reason to prevent someone from pursuing their Mistress potential.

-

Or Meta reasons they only get added in because the kids got a new doll they wanted to add into a preexisting story?

That's clever! She needs to be a hated toy like the rest for them to throw her in there. It will need to be both, tho. The kids AND the hiding thing lore working in unison.

-

I’m curious on how you personally think something like that would work/if it could work as a concept!?

It's very feasible and could definitely work! But without time, preparation, and coming out of hiding years in advance if she is human, then she won't make much of a difference to the main story except be an interesting sideplot.

Think of it this way, All the herb brides hold the potential to be Earth Mistresses. That's how little it requires to be a mistress candidate. You are somehow connected to any string of magic in any form? Congratulations! You can enroll in the Mistress Academy starting today!

But it doesn't mean you will pass, or be accepted by the current best Mistress candidates.

You also need to want to do it, as in actively train and seek it out. If you ignore it, the power growth stunts.

-

Since you seem to have a really good understanding on those kinda things! so I trust your judgment sorry if this is annoying I promise I’m not trying to be!!

I...don't think I have that good of an understanding. I don't think I even qualify to answer this. I haven't played the Changeling route yet, nor finished the Bachelor. I just reread the wiki a lot and scoure whatever info I can find on the sub reddit.

Specifically "info" cited screenshots and texts, I don't trust opinions and theories because Pathologic is very abstract and vague, P2 even more so than P1. Two people could easily misinterpret the same concept, then the most popular version gets spread around and everyone thinks its canon.

Like Isidor adopting Rubin when it never happened, yes they planned it but he died before it could happen.

Or Daniil being short? He is pretty tall and strong, he survived a fist fight with Artemy.

Or MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE EVER, PEOPLE WHO ASSUME THE GAINT PAINTING HANGED AT THE ENTRANCE OF VICTOR'S OFFICE IN P2 IS HIS WIFE NINA.

NO! it's Maria's. Yes, she has short hair. It's her board game portrait. That's his daughter, you pricks! stop writing lewd stuff about it and the scene where he has a breakdown in front of it—it was supposed to be a bittersweet thing for him to sit on the ground in front of his daughter's painting, now you just made it about his wife and sexual stuff.

It's a reference to the many paintings of her he had in his P1 office.

My point is. I can get things wrong too, there are huge gaps of information in my brain, I am also very biased towards certian theories.

Treat this whole essay as a suggestion, a reference sheet rather than a guideline. A lot of things are left vague and up to personal interpretation, which I like a lot!

I know a lot of people have issues with Pathologic open-ended plots and optional multie choices that can be contradictions, making it harder to have a set-in-stone canon about the characters.

But I like it :) It is a meta game, after all, right? It makes sense for the player to get the power to alter this version of reality slightly. And the worlds have already changed in each playthrough! it is on purpose, a canon in game because it breaks the 4th wall. So, mulite universes and versions of events can co-exist at the same time.

Capella was right about there being a fourth hidden cog, Daniil, Artemy, and Clara are the obvious clear three.

But she was wrong about it being the Kin, because it actually is you.

The Player.

The Bachelor, The Haruspex, The Changeling, and The Player.

You've always been the hidden fourth power, the extra healer who persistently tries to cure the plague in three different universes.

That's why I love the opening cinematic in the theatre so much! The three of them are on the stage, under the spotlights and in plain view.

While you, the only other person in the room besides them, are hidden up in the corridor. Veiled by the darkness, silent and voiceless, making your way to the same exit they are.

You always belonged to the same group as them. You just were and will always be hidden out of sight and mind. Only spoken with through 4th wall breaks, even then, the characters aren't allowed to acknowledge it or remember it afterwards. You're immediately ereased from the memory of anyone you converse with after the last word is said.

-

I didn't get a chance to thank you for your sweet words, so thank you! <3 I'm glad you enjoyed my writing. I had fun delving into this, used it as an excuse to avoid my responsibilities - today has been... horrible.

I assure you, you're not annoying or anything. I'm very happy with these types of questions! I like writing x reader as much as I enjoy talking about the game, discussing and analysing the plot! I love dissecting things under a microscope, and if I do get something wrong, I try to go back and fix it.

Also a reminder, this whole post only applies to the canon of P1. It won't add up in P2 lore, neither do i plan analysing much of a game that's still not finished. Without the Bachelor and Changeling routes, we can't say much about the plot.

Thank you for the flower, that was like really endearing and cute—here's a flower back 🌺 I really like hibiscus.

[redthreadoffate]

tomorrow {c.x.}

summary: you’ve been dying to join the next voyage of the dawn treader, will your mother permit it?

pairing: caspian x x you

rating: g

warnings: mistakes here and there.

type: self | requested by | gift for: @angel-cap​

requests: open | closed

beta reader (thank you, ilya!): @trumpkinhotboy 

notes: so this is long overdue.... there isn’t much caspian/you moments but i thought it was pretty cute in the end. very wholesome as ilya says. i guess this fic is more of you going on an adventure? either way, hope you enjoy!

A few years after the Pevensie siblings left Narnia, King Caspian X decided to take another voyage riding the Dawn Treader. When they announced the decision, you were bent on joining the crew. You have heard of the last adventure, the Seven Lords and the hideous sea serpent. That didn’t scare you, in fact, you were more curious and excited to experience them first hand.

Now, you were the daughter of one of the wisest women in the land, but when it came to you, she was still a mother.

“I will not allow it,” she said firmly. You were helping her with some papers that people from around Narnia had given her, and you finally had the courage to ask her about what you have been dying to know the answer to. “You’d be away for who knows how long. And didn’t you hear from their past voyage? Men were thrown overboard!”

“But, Ma. I’ll be careful,” you persuaded. On this voyage, people who wanted to join them were welcome. All they had to do was fill out an application and there will be a few selected whom they would allow on the ship.

“Those words do nothing to comfort me.” She leafed through some of the papers and then began writing on one of them. “Have you found the one from King Caspian?”

You shook your head and continued searching. “I think it would be a great opportunity for me to see the world,” you continued. “Wouldn’t you think so, Mother?”

She paused and looked at you for a few moments before shaking her head. “No. As wonderful as that sounds, I will not allow you to go.”

You sighed. “Ma—”

“That’s that.”

You frowned and returned back to helping her work.

That night, you tossed and turned, unable to sleep as you thought of the voyage you were going to miss. Finally, you sat up and pulled your knees to your chest, resting your chin on it as you wrapped your arms around your legs. “I really wanna go,” you murmured.

You then decided to head to the kitchen to make yourself a hot drink. You didn’t expect your mother, who slept in the room beside yours, to be reading some more papers on the table.

“I thought you went to sleep,” she said, looking up. “I wasn’t making too much noise, was I?”

“Uh...no, not at all. I didn’t even hear you get out of your room.” You walked past her and began making your drink. “Why up so late...well, early in the morning?”

She didn’t reply. As soon as you finished brewing your drink, you sat opposite of her, cautious as to not ruin her work. “Ma?”

“I’ve been thinking...about that voyage of King Caspian.”

Your eyes shot up.

“Do you really want to go, Y/n?” She was pleading for you to stay, to say no, but you needed to be honest. You gave a small smile and nodded. She sighed. “Better work on that application then.”

You grinned, stood up from your seat, and ran to her. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

That was three months ago. You missed your mother but you couldn’t help but admit that you were living a dream. “This is nice,” you whispered to the sea. It was already dark but you had no plans on sleeping any time soon

You were one of the three women on the ship and you had made friends with both of them. You were all fortunate to be one of the lucky “winners” to join the Dawn Treader with King Caspian. Oh, life was good to you.

“I don’t want this to end,” said Marie. “I miss home but this is such a thrilling adventure!”

Katerina nodded. “It’s going to end one day. But we should live each day with thanks and blessings. The people here have been very friendly towards us. I’d miss them, too.”

“And someone,” Marie added, her voice showed obvious signs of playfulness. “Is going to miss seeing our beloved King Caspian.”

You blushed. You had always admired the King but not in that way. She knew Marie and Katerina were joking and it didn’t bother you at all. You snickered. “I will miss him, I admit. But not because I’m interested in him in that way.”

“Oh, shush.” Katerina laughed. “You don’t know yourself, do you, Y/n? We see the way you look at him.”

You shook your head. “Nope, not at all in that way. I can assure you.”

Marie giggled. “If you say so.”

The longer you talked, the more tired Marie and Katerina were getting. At first, you pretended not to notice, wanting to make sure that they wouldn’t be offended or think that you didn’t want to be with them. But at some point, their eyes had begun closing and Katerina nearly stumbled on the ground had you not caught her.

“I think it’s time you two get some rest,” you said with a chuckle. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, no need to.” Katerina shook her head as she covered her mouth with a hand as she yawned. “We’re good, we’re good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely,” Marie added. “You going to stay out here a bit more, Y/n?”

You looked at the sea and felt the cool breeze on your face. “Yeah, I’m going to let this last for a bit more.”

They nodded and bid their goodnights.

As you watched the sky, you began thinking that perhaps your mother would have wanted to see this, too. Your mind began to wonder about how she was doing now. Is she doing okay without you? Of course, your mother knew everything that had to be done, but maybe she got used to having you at her side. You shook your head. Your mother was a strong woman, she knew exactly what she needed to and when to do them. You smiled. You were raised by a lovely woman.

“Y/n? Am I right?”

You flattened the creases on your clothes and stood up straight. “Your Majesty! I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you were there.”

Caspian smiled. “It’s alright, I was just passing by. Why aren’t you in bed? It’s quite late, isn’t it?”

“Uh...yes, your Majesty. I was just admiring the view. I know that at some point, this voyage would be over and I’m just taking in everything that I can.”

He nodded. “I understand.” Then he asked, “Is there anything I can assist you with?”

Your eyes widened. “What? No, your Majesty. I’m not...I...I’m the one who should be asking you that. I’m alright, your Majesty. I’m good. Is there anything I can help you with, sir? All my hands on are deck.”

He chuckled. “You seem a little nervous, Y/n.”

You bit your bottom lip. “I suppose I am.”

A small laugh escaped from his lips. “Come, I would like to teach you something.” You followed him as he walked and it surprised you when he stopped by the ship’s wheel. “Do you know how to steer a ship?”

You shook your head. “No, your Majesty. I don’t...I’ve never been on a ship before. This is my first time.”

He nodded. “Damian, I’d like to take it from here.”

Damian nodded and stepped aside. “I’ll be right here, Your Highness.”

Caspian smiled and led you closer. “Here.”

And he began to teach you the tips and tricks on how to use the wheel. There were a few times wherein he allowed you to steer it by yourself but you’d always be too nervous, thus having a hard time turning the wheel. He would laugh and turn it with you. You were, at some point, able to do it yourself a little and you both thought that it was a good achievement for the night.

Damian took the wheel back and you strolled to the front of the ship with him.

“Your Majesty,” you started, dragging the last syllable. “Why would you teach me how to steer the wheel?” It was a question that had been bothering you since you started. “I mean, why me? I don’t understand.’

He shrugged. “I just thought we both needed company at the moment.”

Your heart fell a little, but you tried to hide the disappointment, wherever it came from, with a light and breezy, “I see.”

You stayed quiet for a while. When you tried to suppress a yawn, he turned to you and said. “Get some sleep, Y/n. Tomorrow is another day.”

“It sure is, sir,” you agreed.

“How about the same time tomorrow? You’ll need to master the wheel if you want to go on more voyages with me.”

You grinned. “Yes, Your Majesty.” You bowed your head and then left for your quarters. Oh did you have a story to tell Marie and Katerina the next day.

And, okay. Maybe you did like King Caspian in that way.

You’ll just have to wait and see when tomorrow comes.

[sunless-garden]

Beneath The Pine

Beneath The Pine, Chapter 6:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/39020214/chapters/98427708

Pairing:  Elena/Klaus

Rating:  Explicit

Teaser:

The hybrids move to surround Stefan, eyes glowing and fangs out, many of them growling – and Elena thinks there’s a good chance Stefan is going to be torn to pieces right in front of her.

“Well, love – should we kill him?” Klaus asks Elena, his tone almost conversational as he addresses her.

Elena’s mind races. It would be a mistake to try to say anything in Stefan’s defense. Not just for Elena – but for Stefan too.

If she doesn’t engage, perhaps Stefan will at least get a clean death.

“That’s up to you,” Elena responds, ignoring the angry hybrids around her to focus exclusively on her angry hybrid.

“Elena,” Stefan’s voice is pleading – and wounded, as if he expects Elena to sacrifice herself for him. To be stupid, for him.

The Elena of even a few months ago would have been – but she isn’t that Elena, anymore.  This Elena, the Elena she is now, just ignores Stefan.

And so does Klaus, for the most part: he keeps his eyes fixed on Elena’s face, even as they discuss Stefan’s fate.

“Perhaps we should get Stefan a coffin of his own, next to his dear, beloved Katerina?” Klaus suggests, with a wicked smirk.

Elena thinks carefully before she responds.

Elena isn’t in love with Stefan anymore; she hasn’t been for a long time. And she hasn’t entirely forgiven him for Matt’s death, for falling prey to Katherine’s machinations. She certainly doesn’t trust him to keep quiet about his speculations regarding her and Elijah – or not to say something else stupid and get himself killed, if Klaus decides not to kill Stefan right here and right now.

Despite everything, Elena somehow still cares about what happens to Stefan – at least a little.

“Elena,” Stefan says her name again, his tone a mix of pleading and demanding, pulling Klaus’s attention away from Elena and back to himself.

The idiot.

[ibrvhims]

𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎  𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄! blue  here  (  20  ,  she  /  they  ,  est  )  and  i’m  really  excited  to  join  this  group  !  i’ve  been  dying  to  play  greta  —  this  is  actually  my  first  time  so  yes  ,  katerina is  completely  new  but  i’m  really  excited  to  develop  her  here  !  anyways  ,  all  you  need  to  know  is  below  the  cut  ,  and  if  you  like  what  you  see  just  LIKE  this  post  or  hmu  through  tumblr  ims  and  we  can  plot  !  xo

history !

this   baby   was   born   and   raised   in   london   ,   england  to   one   of   the   most   affluent   members   of   the   community   .   her   mother   ,   irina   ,   was   a   highly   regarded   socialite   ,   as   well   as   devoted   church   attendee   .   immense   pressure   is   one   of   the   first   childhood   memories   katerina   can   recall   and   she   has   her   mother   to   thank   for   that   .   on   the   other   side   of   the   spectrum   was   her   father   ,   dea   ,   who’s   a   world   renowned   restauranteur   and   owner   of   a   million   dollar   business   chain   .   katerina   always   strived   for   his   love   and   approval   and   yet   no   matter   how   hard   she   tried   to   get   his   attention   ,   all   efforts   seemed   to   fail   ,   seeing   as   he   was   too   busy   building   a   brand   .

her   childhood   pretty   much   consisted   of   forced   church   going   ,   unwanted   molding   by   her   mother   and   lack   of   affection   in   her   home   life   ,   which   only   led   to   later   permanent   damage   .   at   the   age   of   15   ,   katerina  started  hanging   with   the   wrong   crowds   purposely   ,   hoping   that   her   dad   would   show   the   least   bit   of   worry   ,   but   alas   .   she   started   drinking   regularly   and   gradually   more   excessively   ,   while   picking   up   smoking   and   minor   drug   abuse   .   old   habits   die   hard   and   she’s   still   to   this   day   very   separated   from   the   sober   life   she   used   to   lead   .

in   her   mother’s   eyes   ,   katerina   had   always   been   a   failure  and   that   is   precisely   the   reason   why   ,   no   matter   their   familial   bond   ,   katerina  always   despised   irina   ,   but   she’d   never   thought   of   harming   her   in   any   way   until   the   day   of   her   18th   birthday   ,   where   katerina   witnessed   her   mom   cheating   on   her   beloved   dad   with   one   of   their   closest   family   friends   who   had   attended   the   celebration   .   in   a   fit   of   rage   ,   she   stole   a   huge   amount   of   money   from   the   restaurant   and   framed   her   mother   ,   transferring   the   deposit   to   her   personal   bank   account   and   showing   the   evidence   to   dea   ,   who   then   proceeded   to   sue   his   wife   and   file   for   divorce   .

katerina didn’t   expect   her   mother   to   get   any   jail   time   ,   mostly   due   to   the   fact   that   she   wasn’t   used   to   dealing   with   the   consequences   of   her   actions   ,   but   turns   out   irina   served   three   years   behind   bars   ,   before   eventually   being   released   .   katerina   initially   thought   that   once   her   mother   was   out   of   the   picture   ,   perhaps   she   and   her   father   would   spend   much   more   quality   time   together   and   yet   she’d   been   proven   wrong   once   more   .   the   only   chance   she   has   to   accompany   him   is   in   the   kitchen   when   he’s   trying   out   new   recipes   ,   but   she’d   take   that   all   she   can   get   .

tho   entering   the   restaurant   business   seemed   tempting   enough   ,   she    decided   to   do   something   for   herself   just   once   and   delved    into   her   first   love   track   which   led   to   impeccable   success   ,   as   she   broke  records     ,  and   even   guest   starred   on   tv   shows    .  since   a  slight  pr   disaster   concerning   irina   ,   katerina  ultimately   made   the   decision   to   step   back   ,   and  pursue  her  education  instead  . 

trivia !

my   girl   is   very   fashionable   and   has   designer   packed   closets   ,   she   loves   glitter   and   bling   ,   so   you   bet   she’s   gonna   look   extra   af   every   single   day   .   random   facts   about   her   would   be   that   she’s   loves   all   animals   except   for   any   type   of   bird   ever   cause   she’s   scared   shitless   ,   probably   has   the   messiest   life   you’ve   ever   heard   and   yet   still   manages   to   look   fabulous   in   sharpay   voice   ,   v   much   into   baking   ,   borderline   alcoholic   but   aren’t   we   all   .

katerina   is   fairly   rude   at   first   glance   ,   and   it   doesn’t   help   that   she’s   indifferent   towards   anyone   who   isn’t   part   of   her   circle   of   friends   .   she   doesn’t   hate   ,   hate   is   such   a   strong   word   ,   she   simply   doesn’t   have   the   attention   span   for   people   that   don’t   interest   her   or   she   doesn’t   know   fully   well   to   enjoy   a   conversation   with.  

honestly   has   the   gina   linetti   energy   “   how   was   i   supposed   to   know   there’d   be   consequences   for   my   actions   ”   as   she   literally   does   anything   she   wants   before   her   brain   can   even   weigh   the   pros   and   cons   to   it.    

everyone   can   depend   on   katerina   to   have   a   good   time   ,   for   weed   ,   or   if   someone   needed   a   friend   to   vent   to   ,   she   can   surprisingly   be   all   ears   ,   but   never   follow   her   words   of   advice   .   she   does   mean   well   ,   it’s   just   that   she   doesn’t   know   what   she’s   saying   half   the   time   and   is   quite   reckless   ,   like   ask   her   to   pick   between   two   choices   and   she’ll   advice   you   to   take   the   riskier   one   bc   “   it’s   fun   don’t   be   a   prude   ”

you   can   say   that   she’s   an   enigma   ,   almost   an   intangible   concept   ,   the   kind      of   girl   that   can’t   be   tamed   ,   caught   ,   or   described   .   the   kind   you’ll   see   everywhere   but   can   never   grasp   of   why   she’s   there   .

very   good   at   lulling   people   into   a   false   sense   of   security   —   she   often   gives   off   the   feeling   that   she’s   the   one   oversharing   but   when   you   really   think   on   it   she   never   really   gives   up   any   information   about   herself   (willingly   ,   that   is   )

wanted plots  !

connection wise ??  give   me   everything   i   want   drinking   /   partying   buddies   ,  slowburns   ,   crushes  ,   fans   ,   fwbs   ,   a   girl   squad   would   be   alovely   ,   best   friends   !!!   ,   rivals   ,   toxic   friendships   ,   flirtationships   ,   frenemies   ,   e   N   E   mi   Es   ,   enemies   w   some   sexual   tension   cause   we   love   to   see   it   .   I   WANT   DRAMA   !!!

[umaficwriter]

I’ve Got You On My Radar

First, you need to see this post here 

Now you’re ready! 

/// Kalijah Drabbles ///

The golden sundown light bathed the land just as Katherine bathed herself in the lake.

The Mikaelson’ estate lake, to be precise.

It was another of her famous rendezvous around Elijah’s property.

She had caught his eye couple weeks before, and was intrigued by what she saw. He mounted his horse with ease, although with surgical precision, showing her, from afar, just how talented he was, and also how connected with his horse he was. Better yet, it was a mare. She had learnt that from the gathering his family and hers had summoned together that same week. Katherine had also asked for the animal’s name.

“I named her Hope,” he had provided, accompanied to a smile appearing in the corner of his mouth.

His chestnut eyes told her he usually didn’t answer that to other ladies, maybe because girls Katherine’s age weren’t interested in horses? It could be. It wasn’t very ladylike, her mother would always say, only to be dismissed by her father saying his Katerina shared his love for animals and for extent, cared for them, confiding in them things you could only grasp when with horses.

Elijah had offered Katherine’s dad an understanding look.

Apparently, both men shared the same vision.

This was good.

Horse riding was indeed a demonstration act, even more so around her land. People came all the way to see Petrova’s horses and mares, also competitions were always held when in festivals. Of course, there were always cruel lords, treating their animals as if they felt nothing, and Katherine, with her family business going on long before she was even born, had learnt to identify those kind of men.

And a relief sight had left her lungs as soon as she observed Elijah riding his animal.

He did it with upmost respect, a boldness that only could be accomplished from years and years of training, a sureness in his every move, his mare comfortable in galloping with him… It was beautiful to watch. It was lovely being able to see such a bond between man and equine.

With her hair high on the top of her head, Katherine let herself relax into the water.

A swift breeze balanced the spring leaves from side to side high on the trees around her. The soft waves she was making by moving her slim arms around her leaped bringing her to the shore, just to throw her a little further. She wasn’t afraid of drowning, for she was an superb swimmer, - to her mother’s horror – as she looked around her, Katherine was only being careful not to get caught.

If she was to be honest, she wouldn’t mind. A smirk appeared in her features as she faced the horizon.

She wouldn’t mind the tiniest if someone showed up on her.

To see her naked in his lake.

Katherine could almost picture his astonished face. He forcing himself to not stare at her bare skin…

A devious glim shone on her irises.

She enjoyed herself for a little more time. And looking ahead she concluded it was indeed a breathtaking vision.

From afar, Elijah couldn’t agree more.

As per usual, he led Hope out of his private stables in intentions to ride the animal through the vast expanse of land his family possessed. It was routine. Elijah liked to appreciate the sundown from mounted in his beloved nag. It was also an excuse to ride near the Petrova’ state.

Not that he would ever admit that.

Still, he did it.

He had always known of Kathrine’s beauty.

Katerina for this was her birth name. She only insisted everyone called her otherwise.

The brunette had caught his eye years before. She’d been in every opportunity – against her mother’s wishes – entering equine competitions, passing by the town square, her horse dutifully – and out of love Elijah figured later – at her side. He had noticed all that. But then she was too young, he had also other priorities, being eldest to three siblings and the only responsible one no less, wasn’t an easy task.

His parents had died when in the sea. The bodies never found, and sometimes, Elijah cursed himself for thinking it was better that way.

Being transferred to him all responsibility for with the children, the company, the lands, even though Niklaus, Kol and Rebekah were young when it happened, Elijah knew his siblings wouldn’t be so alive and happy if their parents were still among the living.

Esther and Mikael were toxic, claiming love for their children when the truth of the matter was only status. Between four walls, they were distant, ruthless, violent…

So different from what appeared to be Katerina’s family.

Her younger sister, Elena, same age as Rebekah, was educated, well spoken, although shy. Elena and Katherine were like fire and water, still one could see the love it held their bond.

Their parents loving, always keeping in mind their daughters’ needs, be them monetary or more importantly, affectional.

And he had gathered all that from only one afternoon tea.

Elijah had also painted Katherine’s image into his brain, like a permanent picture, for when he was alone with his Hope, trotting his property, in a blink of an eye, he could see her.

So, imagine his surprise, when by the lakes, he blinks, and blinks again, only to see his muse neck deep into the dark water.

Her hair in a slopy updo over the crown of her head, the back of her neck shinning with droplets of water, he spotted her clothes by the shore, so he knew for a fact she was to be nude while relaxing into the water.

Good Lord.

It was the most gorgeous thing he had come to watch so far into his adult life. Also, the wrongest.

Hope, sensing his distress, neighed and the sound alerted the brunette by the lake, making her turn around abruptly and almost lose her balance.

How come she hasn’t heard him approaching?

Was she that distracted?

“Pardon me, Katerina, have I frightened you?” still mounted Elijah moved closer to the shore and watched her eyes going from bulge to smart in only few instants.

“Not at all, my lord,” a little smile tucked in the side of her mouth, her hands still going about around her to keep her from submerse.

“I found it flattering you find my lands so amusing to entertain yourself,” he offered her his usual side smile and leaned his body forward, caressing his mare in the neck, as the animal bound her head down to chew on some turf.

“I will only consider you to be flattered, if you’d be kind enough to join me,”

Elijah fought his urge to jump from his horse right into the water. And by noticing this, Katerina let out a chuckle on his expense.

Devine.

Indeed, it was.

Now her shoulders came to view too, the tall man eye-followed the droplets as they descended her body to where they’d found the lake again. It was hypnotizing.

And wrong. He had to remind himself of that.

She was only a girl.

One that was Niklaus’ age, so not a peasant anymore.

And if the boldness on her look told him anything, Katerina knew exactly where she was going and how and…

The Heavens knew how many nights he had dreamt something similar.

Her wet from a bath into his pristine bed as they rolled beneath the sheets, him taking sounds of her that echoed through the walls, Katerina using his body as her personal saddle…

His neck was starting to grow red from imagining. His slacks crowded.

A strange noise averted both of them from their moment and that was when they saw the damage.

Hope had chewed on Katherine’s clothes.

The devil was out to play this afternoon it seemed.

For a moment Katherine was terrified. What was she to do? Come back completely naked to her home? Wait for the night to fall do to so?

But then, she realized. Either way it played out, she had to get out of the lake. To the land.

To the land where Elijah now had his foot on, trying to make Hope relinquish what was left of her clothes.

A knowing smile arouse from her features.

And when Elijah turned around in the lake’s direction, to inform Katerina that unfortunately, Hope had ruined her garments, he almost chocked out on his breath.

With his eyes aimed down, he caught her feet sinking in the wet earth of the shore, next he caught her legs, the olive skin followed all the way up to her tights and… he averted his eyes immediately, half shrugging to get off of his jacket, offering it to her, his body turned sideways, in all ways averting his sight from her frame.    

Katherine gave him a raised eyebrow, even though he was looking away. Amused with the situation, she took the cloth, not without grazing their fingers. Catching up on his misery, she finally covered herself up in his piece of clothing, which was big on her, as to be expected. The brunette circled the jacket’s ties around her and when everything was into place, she took the pin securing her hair up to her head off. Cascades of cocoa ringlets fell down to her waist, showering her clothed shoulders in the process.

“You can turn around now,” came her voice informing him, a hint of mischief in her tone. Katherine knew all too well he desired her. Hell, most men did. Her luck was her father didn’t care for marrying her nor Elena right about now, which made suitors anxious and herself picky.

Although, Katherine had the feeling the thing her father really wanted was for her to marry into love, just as he had with her mother.

Which was probably never happening.

Katherine didn’t think she was bound to be with only one person ‘till the death did them part.

It was absurd, cliché, and intangible to her understandment, even though that was what was taught and expected of her.

Elijah slowly turned around to face the lady at his side. You could see in his face the embarrassment, Katherine caught humor to it and raised her eyebrow at him.

“Don’t be so nervous, Mr. Mikaelson,” she teased “I’m sure you’ve seen a lady in this predicament before,”

Not one that I wanted to intercourse so much, no.

Katherine kept her smile, yet shrugged and started to turn the other way when his voice sounded “where is it you’re going?” he inquired, his tone barely containing his disbelief, was she to walk in this condition back to her home?

“Back to my land,” she confirmed his suspicions.

He let out an incredulous sound “By foot? And ungarmented?”

“Want to offer me a ride, My lord?”

It was time for Elijah to shrug “As a matter of fact, I do, yes,”

“Of what kind?”

Elijah tried to convey his astonishment as her question poured down. He barely did.

He caressed the mane to his mare and looked up to the twilight approaching them.

“We’ll go by horse to my private stables, I’ll arrange clothes with my sister, so a carriage may take you to your lands,” he had it all figured out.

For the most part at least.

She nodded, her curls bouncing with the movement and once more, the eldest Mikaelson was kept hostage to her mannerisms.

She was enchanting, stunning in every way. His eyes locked with hers and for the briefest of moments, he swore the time stopped.

His nag emitted a sound and that made Katherine deflect her eyes from his and face his beloved companion.

“I assume this is Hope,”

Elijah nodded “Be careful, she doesn’t like people that are not myself,” the man warned and watched as Katerina walked closer to the animal, approaching it with sure hands although a feather-like touch.

For an instant, Elijah was cautious. Hope usually didn’t like human beings aside from himself. Not even his siblings had much luck praising the equine.

Yet, there she was, being petted by Katerina with no worry in the world whatsoever.

“Hey, girl,” he heard the brunette sweet-talking to his mare as she caressed her head. Her chocolate eyes shining in excitement by making a new friend. “She’s precious,” Katherine offered averting her eyes from Hope for only a second to face him, a sincere smile on her face.

“Indeed,” a thin smile adorning his face as he caught Hope’s dark orbs.

Traitor.

“Shall we?” he proffered extending his palm for her to take.

Katherine lightly deposited her hand above his, letting go from Hope hesitantly. Elijah helped her up, carefully aware that he was about to face parts of her he absolutely should not be facing and with tortured expression from his side and a sigh of relief she was mounted.

He followed suit and as he gripped the reins, alerting Hope of their departure, he felt Katerina’s hands hugging his midsection. He immediately stiffed.

She felt his stringent demeanor and justified “Just so I won’t fall,”

“Of course,” he cleared his throat. Their trot slow, Hope seemed to savor the day-ending vibe around also his misery, apparently.  

“Are you always this quiet?” she questioned flipping her finger into his shirt.

Elijah felt his stomach drop in despair.

Katherine smiled wickedly as she felt him adjust himself in the saddle.

“I watched you ride the other day,” he initiated.

“So, Lord Mikaelson was spying on his neighbor?” she quipped with a smirk her hands still holding his shirt.

“As you so cleverly recalled, we are near in properties, nothing more natural than to catch a glimpse of each other once in a while, would you say?”

“Sometimes more than a glimpse,” her hands dangerously falling to his tights.

Elijah cleared his throat again, “why come all this way to bathe in the lake, without a horse no less, keeping in mind your own lands have also amazing natural pools?”

He felt Katherine shrugging behind his back and her hands pressing a little further up his tights as they passed unleveled ground.

He kept his hiss inside, although his blood was starting to leave his head, swimming south.

“I was hopping someone would catch me,” those hands of hers, coordinated by the devil traveled north.

“As well as in a game of sorts?” his question followed and he felt the tips of her hair in his back covered only by the thin cloth as she nodded “Someone you say?” Elijah could see his private stables from afar. Thank the Lord!

“You,” the tingle of her whisper in his ear made his air stuck inside and he briefly closed his eyes to savor her hands finding what she was teasingly searching until now.

“Although, once I capture you, the game comes to an end,” he reasoned gripping the reins just a little more forcefully, yet not making Hope gallop.

Katherine felt as his length shaped itself inside his slacks. Her hands massaging the thick flesh above the cloth, the heat pulsating in her palm.

She continued stroking him, listening to his ragged breaths ‘till they reached the stables entrance, it was only then he gently and almost regretfully removed her hand from his shaft, only to kiss her knuckles one at a time, before mounting off of and helping her down as well.

Once more their orbs locked, he looked at her deeply and exhaled, circling his arm around her thin waist.

“I can’t seem to let you leave,” he vociferated slow and almost inaudible. His forehead touching hers, her own orbs half opened as their breaths merged creating heat, a contrast to the brisk wind catching up around them. A smirk graced her face and he mirrored her expression.

“The game can be over for an instant,” she proffered only above a whisper, her lips almost touching his.

Elijah’s free hand cupped the side of her head, his thumb caressing her plump lips as he captured every aspect of her face inside his mind.

He wanted to cherish this moment for eternity, because he knew that once he advanced with what was in his thoughts there’ll be no turning backs.

Katherine leaned to his careful and adoring caress as she felt the hand circling her waistline left her, eyes recently closed, she was about to protest the lack of his touch when she felt his hand touch her inner tight.

Oh.

She felt as Elijah descended his head to kiss her neck, his hand moving to grasp her coffee ringlets as his other palm traveled north to find the juncture between her legs.

And oh how he didn’t need a compass.

Just as his fingers grazed her entrance she felt herself buckling up and letting out a sigh as she moved closer to his ministrations.

“Elijah,” her voice cut when he deposited a finger inside of her, his lips ravishing her collarbone now while moving his digit in and out.

Katherine encircled a leg in his waist, as he inserted another digit inside her core. She moaned in his ear and nibbled his lobe, air gushing ragged from her lungs as she rode his fingers.

Elijah listened to her approval and nipped on her neck as she used his fingers as saddle, the feeling of her inner walls pulsating in his hand was amazing, the wind cutting through the night air a contrast to their heated skin. He lapped his tongue out of his mouth to taste her sweat as he inserted a third digit. Katherine’s hands hugging his upper back, her fingernails scratching through his shirt as she went up and down on his fingers.

His grunts in seeing her getting herself off that way turned out groans as he started to trust his fingers faster while his hips did the same, a bit of frustration for his member was cloistered inside his pants.

With a loud moan, it could be considered a shriek, she came crushing his digits and melting into his palm. Her juices running down his hand, their foreheads glued together once again. He noticed as the moonlight came out, her cheeks were flushed, her hair a little more tousled, he knew he couldn’t be much different from that.

Elijah observed her as she slowly opened her eyes at him and the glim inside promised him that this night wasn’t over just yet, for she jumped ahead and engrossed their lips together, pulling out a moan from him.

Elijah took both her legs apart and wordlessly commanded her to wrap them around his middle, as she did, while he moved them inside the stables.

Hope had long found her cubicle, Elijah couldn’t be certain, even less so with Katerina ravishing his neck with open mouthed kisses and sharp bites taking hisses out of him.

“We should stop,” he tried and reasoned with the exquisite beauty between languid kisses.

Katherine moved her face away from his for only a second and looked down between them.

“Someone down there doesn’t agree,” she pointed out the obvious pressing of his penis against his pants.

He followed her look and soon averted his eyes to lock them into hers once again that night.

“Katerina,” he started and moved his nose to her ear nuzzling and giving her lobe a bite that earned him a lazy gridding. “I want more than anything to take you here and now, although the first time we do this, it should be-“

“Stop analyzing things, Elijah,” she cupped his head in her hands as she moved it away from her neck. “I really do want to be here, with you, right at this moment,”

He offered her a small smile and leaned forward to deposit a kiss in her mouth, one she responded fiercely, biting his lower lip, making him moan.

Right in that moment, Elijah chose to believe in her words and take them to heart, forgetting the world outside and the problems they would face if caught, the man backed her up to the nearest stall, ravishing her neck in the process, his teeth lightly leaving love bites in his descending to the valley between her breasts, her moans echoing in the stable, the night sounds long forgotten by them.

Katherine pulled the hairs in the base of his neck as his hot mouth found her right breast, her head fell back to the wall when he thrilled her nipple between his delicious lips, she could already feel the moisture inside her thighs, the pulsation in anticipation. Elijah was mesmerized by her curves, he wanted to kiss every inch of this minx inside his arms, at the same time, he couldn’t wait to consummate what he was working to, because the need for being inside of Katherine was already leading him to madness.

Elijah fumbled with his jacket she wore and stopped when the garment touched the stable’s ground.

She was flawless.

Toned legs, hips sinuous like a high tide river, breasts full and now red from his ministrations, long coffee curls descending down her back, part covering her shoulders. Her doe eyes glistened with desire, he figured his would be just as much lustful, his gaze was glued on hers as she approached him and grazed her fingers through the fabric of the shirt he was wearing.  

“Katerina,” came his whisper as he half closed his eyes feeling her opening up the buttons to his clothes.

Katherine leaned up and closed the distance between them, gracing his mouth with her tongue and lips, her teeth nibling on his lower lip as her fingers kept working on undressing him. Elijah’s clever hands moved to her hips, running up her back, ghostly feather touches pulling out goose bumps from her as Katherine gripped his forearms, her nails digging in his recently exposed skin, but only for so long, her hands didn’t delay unbuttoning his pants long.

Elijah grinded in her as she worked the garment out of him, his moan loud in the ambient when her digits came in contact with his rock-hard member.

Their breaths coalescing as they resumed kissing, this time harder while Katerina handled his long length, moistened by pre-cum.

Elijah pulled her hair, making her arch her body to him, her mouth praying his name, as he stopped her hands movement, for he would explode if she kept going.

Katherine opened her eyes, lustful bliss inside her chestnut pools, a bold smirk featuring as he properly got rid of his clothes and silently led her to another stable corner, where one could see a makeshift bed.

“Usually, I spend the nights here when Hope’s unwell,” he offered, his hand clasped in hers, as both naked bodies moved near the bed.

Katherine shot back a genuine smile at him. It warmed her heart knowing he valued his mare companion at such lengths.

She was to walk to the bed when his hand moved to her wrist and pulled her into his arms. Elijah moved her hair out of the way and stared at her face as if she was the most amazing thing he’d ever laid his eyes upon.

And she was.

Katherine leaned her face into his palm.

“I want you to be sure,” his voice low, a trembling edge to it. By now Elijah figured she wasn’t a virgin, such was her expertise into these matters, still he waited for her allowance.

It didn’t come with words, as she lightly pushed him to the bed, a knowing smile showing in both their faces.

Elijah’s back collided with the poorly arranged mattress as he marveled with worshiping eyes while she mounted his hips. Her head descending in his chest, her teeth biting, her tongue appeasing it. Elijah’s hands moved to her butt-cheeks squeezing there and making her moan in his lower stomach.

Katherine felt his lava-like skin, burning with desire just as her own, she couldn’t wait for the time to taste him. And taste him she did.

Her resourceful tongue licked his head taking the pre-cum there, and leading in to its base, swirling her tongue in the process taking a loud moan out of him, followed to a groan and her name sighed breathless.

Elijah was being led to another reality with her sweet lips devouring him in the most heavily of ways, yet he lightly pulled her hair again to guide her mouth to his own and position his penis near her core.

The eldest Mikaelson locked eyes with her as she sank into him.

Her head bent backwards with a sigh of satisfaction as Elijah made the first move inside of her.

“Elijah!” her exclamation followed when he took almost all of him off her to thrust it all in with force.

His hands moved back to her hips again as she slowly started ridding him.

Her own personal human saddle, she thought with a smirk as she watched Elijah’s eyes never leave her figure up and down on his hips.

Her breasts bouncing as well as her hair, were hypnotizing Elijah. His eyes never left Katerina, he tried and keep his eyes wide open in the poor lit cubicle, although for moments he saw himself so engrossed into the sensations Katherine was giving him, he just couldn’t not close his orbs and moan her name like an entreaty, his hips moving up in the same rhythm she was sinking, creating the perfect friction.

Elijah couldn’t help but admire how her body bounced as she rode, he smirked with the thought of being her nag, for her could forevermore mount him in all hours of the day and night, for that matter.

Katherine moans started to grow louder and shirker as she got closer to her climax. Elijah’s short nails digging onto her hips as he fucked her harder and faster, he too was close.

Their skin was sleek and glistened into the low light coming from candles above, Katherine felt her orgasm building up in the pit of her stomach, her toes tingling with the familiar sensation and her breathing ragging. With Elijah’s name on her tongue she came down, feeling a horse-race rush run through her as she continued to feel Elijah’s shaft explore her insides purposefully as he sought his release as well.

He closed his eyes as he felt her walls clench him hard, breathing out while still pounding in her for instants ‘till his vision blurred and his body started to energize welcoming the familiar sensation of deliverance.

Katherine collapsed above him, covering his chest with her body, his shoulder with her chocolate drapes as she tried and caught her breath after such activities.

Elijah caressed her back lightly, his digits barely touching her damp skin.

He looked down and watched as she moved her orbs to face him, her arms laced together squeezed between his upper chest and her chin.

The sated smile she gave him made he smile back at her. His hands moving to adjust her hair behind her ears affectionately.

She didn’t say anything, neither did he.

And in a couple of minutes both were contently asleep.

///

Elijah felt the sunrays in his skin and heard the birds shirking outside.

How come…

Then he recalled last night’s events and smiled with himself.

By himself.

Elijah leaned up in his elbows to look around the stable. Only Hope was there, in the far corner, still asleep.

Katerina was nowhere to be found.

Neither were his clothes.

Elijah got up startled and looked around the cubicle, the other stalls, but found none of his garments.

Adamant he felt a smile appear in his features. She had taken his clothes and abandoned him in the ungodly hours of the day, leaving him with no option but to chase her.

And chase her he would.