#The “at any moment I could be stabbed or struck with an arrow- but I want to win” version

[sentientsliotar]

Capture the flag capture the flag capture the flag-

I am being normal about this I swear-

[theoneeyedgoldenwolf]

Witness the deaths, change their fate

Whumptober 2024, number 22: Bleeding Through Bandages, Reopening Wounds, "Oh that's not good."

Inspiration from @la-sera's comic:

Summary: The flaming red blade of the Shadow’s strikes Time into nightmare of prophecies. Is he capable of changing what his twisted mind brings out?

CW: Nightmares, torture, murder, drowning, ripped apart, blown apart, Major Character Death (in nightmares), blood, bleeding, stabbed, beating, death by being squished by an anvil, Malice, broken bones, dislocated bones, exhaustion, mind control, slashed, near death situation

Notion: - As I wrote this, I didn’t have any idea of putting the line from one of the Moon Children from Majora’s Mask into here. Yet, the moment Time repeated Legend’s words, that quote just struck me.

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“TIME!”

The Chain’s leader gave out half a gasp, half a scream as the sword with red sheen around it was yanked out of his body. He sagged to the ground while gasping for air. The beast the Shadow had taken a form this time around was smirking right at him. “Try and survive that.” He snarled before vanishing into pool of blackness to avoid a swing of a sword as the eight Heroes dashed into the scene. The Shadow laughed as it escaped the scene and left the one eyed male falling unconscious and fighting for his life.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time was just coming out of the house at Lon-Lon Ranch. He was ready to head to handle some simple monster problem Princess Zelda had informed of at last evening. It wasn’t anything of big or what would need the Chain to follow him.

“Good morning, Link!” Malon’s bright call brought a wide smile to the one eyed male’s face. He raised his gaze up from strapping his gauntlets to see both Twilight and Malon handling laundry. There certainly was lot of that with nine Heroes living at the house for the time being.

Suddenly excruciating pain struck and everything fell into black for a while. When he snapped his gaze open, the sight that befell him was horrendous. Malon and Twilight has been stuck down by arrows. He barely realized to be laying on the ground too as tears formed in his eye. He didn’t understand what in Goddesses Highest Throne had just happened.

Suddenly he felt a painful tug at his shoulder and the realization of an arrow having struck into him through his armor hit him. Before he could realize more, the projectile was cruelly snapped and he screamed in pain. He was gasping for air while just barely being able to open his eye to see his enemy.

If he would’ve had the air, he would’ve gasped at the sight of Dark Link. His reflection still wore the clothes he had had back in the Water Temple. It took a moment from him to realize that the bastard was standing on his hands to keep him from moving. He barely realized the blood pooling underneath him. He wasn’t certain if Dark Link had shot him and his closest family or if there had been other beasts. Either way, he hoped the rest of the Chain was still safe somewhere.

The sound of a sword being drawn out of its sheath snapped his notion back into his enemy. He flinched a bit as the dark version of the Master Sword’s tip was brought to his throat. “Say hello to Navi for me.” Dark Link smirked and this time Time gasped in shock as the realization struck. “That’s right. That’s why you never found her.” Dark Link laughed and struck the blade down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain of eight Heroes wished they could’ve chased after the Shadow but if the bastard had struck Time down, they weren’t going to risk their lives by not facing their enemy together. Besides, right now they needed to do all they could to save their oldest brother. They gathered quickly around the one eyed male and started to get his armor off.

Few of the Links stood in guard while the more experienced members with healing and medical work of their group were doing all they could to fix the situation. Most of the wounds were quite shallow and no danger at all. Warriors swiftly bandaged them to be on safe side. Hyrule worked hard to try and get his healing magic into working.

For first time in his life, he screamed out a curse. It startled the others while the Traveler was nearly snarling. “I can’t fix it.” He almost whispered while feeling the tears at his eyes. “It’s like back with Twilight. Something’s blocking me out.” He explained before taking a deep breath. “If nothing else, I can—“ He started before all eight members of the Chain of legendary Heroes gasped in start as Time suddenly screamed and arched.

“NO! TWI! MALON! YOU SON OF A—! NO!” The Old Man screamed and started to get up. His eye was open but he wasn’t seeing the forest or the Chain around him.

“Keep him down!” Warriors commanded while already pushing his little brother back to the ground. “Sprite! Calm down! It’s gonna be okay!” He half shouted as the oldest Hero started to struggle against the hold.

“NO! LET GO OF ME! TWILIGHT! MALON!” The one eyed male screamed before slowly reducing his fighting and just limply laid on the ground and sobbed. “No… Please… No…” He whispered before slowly falling unconscious again.

“Do what you can, Traveler.” The Captain stated out while bandaging the cruel stab wound.

“I know this is going to be a waste of a good potion but maybe it can help a bit.” Legend offered while having fished out a red potion. The war Hero just nodded and carefully pulled Time bit upwards to get the potion into him.

“There’s a town close by.” Wild told while checking his Slate for a map. “I think we can look after Time better at an Inn.” He commented and the others nodded in agreement. Twilight called Epona over and they carefully got the Old Man to her back with the Rancher behind him to keep him secured. Hyrule changed into his fairy form and hid into mare’s owner’s pocket so he could continue to try and help with his healing magic once they’d get to the Inn.

“Get him there swiftly. We’ll follow as quickly as we can.” Warriors told while sending the trio off. After that he glanced at his brothers. The five with him nodded firmly and they dashed after the horse.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time growled and fought against the hold. He and the Captain had been taken off guard at the street and he woke up finding himself tied and held against someone. The horse’s movement felt too fast for the calm walking it was doing but the confusion wasn’t enough to snap him out of the hellish situation.

Warriors was in a cart in front of him inside a sturdy looking cage. His arms were tied behind his back and there were five Knights inside the cage with him. The group smirked as they attacked the Captain with and without weapons.

The one eyed male snarled and fought but the gag around his mouth prevented him from screaming. The ropes were made to withstand fire so he couldn’t burn himself free either. The arm around him was too strong for him to move much. All he could do was to watch as those traitorous soldiers murdered his brother before his eyes.

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Twilight hated how hard he had to hold on to Time. The unconscious mentor of his was trashing and whining while crying. The Rancher whispered reassuring words but he felt like his voice and actions were going right past the Chain’s leader’s understanding.

Hyrule came out of Twilight’s pocket the moment they had reached the Inn. He went inside to book the biggest room the place had while knowing he wasn’t much of help in carrying Time in. Yet, all he could do was to keep the doors open for him and lead him to the right room.

While the Rancher went to take Epona to the stable, the Traveler stayed with their leader. He checked the bandaged wounds and took most off of the areas where the cuts had already been healed by the potion.

Just when the Chain’s leader’s blood relative came back, Time screamed and arched again. “WARS!” He screamed out and sat up abruptly. He growled and snarled while fighting as Twilight and Hyrule tried to get him back down. “NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE! WARS!” The one eyed male screamed while seeing something the others couldn’t. Slowly the Old Man just slumped and cried.

“What the hell’s he’s going through?” The half-fairy queried quietly while feeling tad freaked out.

“I don’t know. But I think it’s different compared to what I saw.” The Rancher replied sorrowfully. He and the Traveler glanced at each other before doing their best to ease out their oldest brother’s trapped mind. Hyrule gently braided the one eyed male’s hair while Twilight ran his fingers through the untouched golden hair of his mentor’s.

Soon enough the others came into there. “How is he?” Warriors inquired straight off while noticing the anguish on his little brother’s face.

“He screamed for you, Warriors.” The half-fairy replied while moving off the way to let the Captain to the bed. The war Hero nodded while taking the place and doing his best to calm his little brother down. Sadly, it seemed like his words weren’t heard and his actions weren’t felt. Time just kept crying while having bit curled up.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time couldn’t move. Something or someone was holding him down but he couldn’t care of what that was. His gaze was in the group smirking wickedly. There were trapped fairies right before them and Hyrule was one of those colorful beings.

“NO! NONONO! LEAVE THEM ALONE!” The one eyed male screamed but he couldn’t get freed. He couldn’t do anything as the people tore the small beings to pieces. He was crying and screaming. He tried to struggle and get free. He tried all the magics he had but nothing worked. Nothing came out.

“PIXIE!” The Chain’s leader screamed in terror and horror as the small half-fairy’s wings were torn from his back. The screams of the fairies would haunt him for the rest of his life. And there was nothing he could do to stop these people from torturing and murdering those benevolent helpers.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The eight Heroes fought to keep Time down as he trashed and fought to get free. The one eyed male was crying and screaming but nothing his boys did to soothe him reached his terrorized mind. Their actions only made things worse.

Wolfie carefully laid down over his mentor in hopes of soothing and keeping him down. That seemed to stop the fighting but it didn’t help to clear the hell the Chain’s leader’s mind was trapped into. The canine whined miserably while searching for help from the others. His brothers didn’t meet his gaze as they watched their oldest brother suffer without being able to aid him even one bit.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“WIND!”

Time fought hard to get through the pirates. The Bokoblins had entirely outnumbered them and flanked the Sailor’s ship. They were going down with the beautiful wooden vessel. It was already sinking and the beasts were keeping them from overtaking their ships.

The pirate-Hero, though, had been overpowered but the monsters didn’t kill him. No, they tied him up and added heavy weights all around him before throwing him overboard. After that the creatures turned back into the battle at the Sailor’s ship.

The Chain’s leader didn’t think as he reached the edge of the vessel and dived. He gasped when something took hold of him and yanked him back into the ship’s floor. “NO!” He screamed out and fought to get up to his feet. Twilight dashed past him and dived into the water.

“Damn it, Sprite! If you jump into there, you’ll sink like a rock!” Warriors snapped while undoing the Hookshot from his little brother’s armor.

“At least I could’ve caught him!” Time snarled back and dashed to the railing the moment he was free. Yet, he didn’t jump into the water. He searched the surface while ignoring the battle and sinking ship. Eventually Twilight came back to the surface and just shook his head.

The one eyed male crashed to his knees and screamed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Some hours had gone past when the Chain suddenly jerked at the agony filled scream and they snapped their notion right into their leader. Time had curled up and broken down. “No.. Nononono…. Pirate….” He whined miserably and the eight Heroes glanced at each other.

“Guys…” Four called and nodded towards their oldest brother’s back.

“Oh that’s not good.” Wild half whispered before already working with his Slate to bring out more bandages.

“Damn it…” Warriors growled and gently forced his little brother to turn to his back. The one eyed male didn’t fight back against the action. “His trashing has probably reopened the wound.” The war Hero whispered while starting to change the bandages.

“We gotta keep better check on him.” Wind commented while hating when the wounds didn’t heal as they should. It never was a good thing when one of his brothers bled through the bandages.

“I’ll try to stop the bleeding and fix the wound a bit.” Hyrule offered while already starting his magic. He couldn’t fix it as well as he wished to but at least he could keep his brother from bleeding to death. “Give him a red potion. I need to work it into covering for the lost blood.” He requested and Sky quickly gave the needed drink. While the Captain carefully forced it down his little brother’s throat, the Traveler changed his magic and worked with the rearranging the potion’s work into renewing lost blood. It wasn’t easy and he needed to take a nap afterwards but at least it secured Time’s life for the moment.

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Time found himself from the field of Wild’s Hyrule. He looked around but he didn’t see any of his boys around. He couldn’t even feel them. Suddenly an explosion caught his notion.

The one eyed male didn’t think twice as he already dashed to the scene beyond the close by hill. He gasped in full horror when the scene came to his sight. Before he even could fully comprehend anything, he was already dashing into the battle.

Wild had been struck by a blast from a Guardian Stalker. There were two of them. They took turns in blowing the Champion up until they were close enough. At then they struck with their sharp claws and began to tear the Hero of Wild into pieces.

Time screamed while drawing out his Biggoron Sword. He swung it while knowing his attack would cause devastating damage into the mechanical enemies. And yet, his strike went right past the things. Those things didn’t even acknowledge him in any of way. Even Wild didn’t see him.

The Old Man stared petrified at the situation before him. He was a ghost. He couldn’t save his boy. The sword slipped from his hold as he sank to his knees. He was doomed to watch his family die right before his eyes.

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The Chain did their best to soothe their crying oldest brother. “Wild… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I failed you.” Time whispered while having curled up again and hidden his face into his hand. The Champion carefully moved to be in front of his leader. He gently pulled the one eyed male’s arms around him and scooted as close to him as he could.

“I’m here, Time. I’m okay. You haven’t failed me in any of way.” The master archer whispered while holding the older male as tightly as he dared without causing harm to him. And yet, his attempts and reassuring words went to deaf ears.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time heard the ruckus coming from the forge. It didn’t sound normal so he dashed over to check the situation. He gasped in shock when he saw the Moblin. He drew out his knife as all the other weapons were at the Inn. His armor was the reason the Smithy was in here.

Before the one eyed male had a chance to attack, the beast raised its current weapon high above its head. The terror struck hard when he saw the bloodied anvil. Right after that it was already struck down before being accompanied by a sound of splash instead of metal striking floor. And he knew on that second what he’d see on the creature’s other side.

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Time screamed and abruptly sat up. “Hold him down!” The command went past him but he started to fight when the Chain forced him back down. He didn’t see them. He saw the forge and the Moblin. He needed to kill the beast but clearly that thing hadn’t been there alone.

“Fucking hell! Let me go!” He snarled and fought. “I’m going to fucking murder that thing! It killed Four! That son of a bitch!” He shouted and struggled against the hold with all he got. Yet, even he wasn’t capable to get free from all the strength increasing items and accessories.

“Tie him down!” Warriors commanded unwillingly.

“What?” Most of the Chain queried in unison with full shock in their voice. That slight distraction almost gave their oldest brother a chance to get free. Yet, before he got far with his attempt, the Links were already forcing him back down.

“Tie him down. He’s a danger to himself at the moment.” The Captain told sorrowfully. “That trashing won’t do anything good to the wound.”

The war Hero’s brothers hesitated for a moment before nodding. Unwillingly they tied the one eyed male into the bed as securely as they could.

“He’s not going to like this.” Hyrule commented after pulling off a bit. He checked the wound and grimaced as it had reopened again.

The Captain sighed heavily and nodded. “I know. But he’ll understand when we explain.” He replied sorrowfully before starting to change the bandages and letting the Traveler fix the bleeding again.

“While he’s immobilized we need to keep better watch.” Legend reminded and the others nodded.

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Time heard the metal creek and felt the air swish around him. It took a moment from him to realize he was standing in a huge room. The sound of a battle slowly started to register in his mind. When he turned his notion towards the source of the noise, he stared wide-eyed at the scene.

Sky was dealing with a huge metallic being. It had way too many hands and a smiling face. The blades in its hands were sharp and swishing in all possible ways. The Chosen Hero was swift and agile against the being. And, for a moment, the one eyed male hoped for a better outcome. But that wasn’t given to him.

Instead, he saw the Skyloftian Knight falter once. And that was more than enough for the stationary being to finish him off. One quick move of all arms. Two different directions for the blades to slash in horizontal strike… And Sky was in five different pieces on the ground.

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When the Chain’s leader started to trash and fight against the bindings, Twilight turned into Wolfie and very carefully went to lay over him. The rest of the Links did their best to try and soothe their oldest brother. And yet, the music, reassuring words, running fingers through hair and braiding the hair didn’t aid even one bit.

This time the one eyed male was screaming after Sky. It was clear the Old Man was raged about whatever had happened in his mind’s visions. “I guess I’ll be the next one.” Legend whispered while already trying to do all he could to ease the upcoming nightmare into something else. Yet, as he believed, there wasn’t anything he could do to prevent Time from falling into that hellish situation.

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Time didn’t want to kill. He couldn’t kill. It just wasn’t what he was capable of. And yet, when he saw those fully armored Knights of Hyrule attacking Legend, he was more than ready to commit murder. He didn’t care at the moment that those men were influenced by mind control magic. All that he DID care was the fact they were ready and willing to kill one of his boys.

The one eyed male stormed forward and the whole army of the Veteran’s era came between him and the Specialist. He tore through them with his Biggoron Sword while ignoring the slashes and stabs those avoiding his strikes were giving him. He needed to get past them as fast as possible.

And yet, the Chain’s leader was too slow. By the time he reached the main bad guys of the situation, it was already too late. Legend laid dead on the ground with the ten Knights having bloodied swords.

The Old Man saw red. He screamed and attacked every single Knight in his vicinity. None of them survived through his hatred and agony as he turned those against the ones responsible for his boy’s death.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain of Heroes hated to see their oldest brother first fight against the ropes that held him down before succumbing into anguish. Part of them rather took the rage and fight than see their leader break down. Legend tried his best to get Time to understand that he was safe and sound. Yet, like all the times before, their desperate attempts were useless.

“We can’t do anything else than wait and hope for the best.” Twilight whispered sorrowfully while sitting on the bed.

“You didn’t trash and scream and break down.” Hyrule reminded bit roughly even though he didn’t mean the words to come out as such.

“Maybe not but the blade’s the same. The Shadow struck with same cruel magic.” The Rancher reminded. “He just… Has far more regrets of which that asshole can use as its playground.”

“What do you think he’s seen so far?” Four inquired bit curiously.

“I wish he didn’t see any of what he’s seen so far.” Warriors almost snapped while trying to hold back his roughness.

“I… Didn’t meant it like that…” The Smithy apologized.

“I know.” The Captain sighed and gave a weak smile. “I’m sorry too.” He half whispered while returning his gaze into Time.

“We’re all worried. It’s why we’re so edgy right now.” Sky soothed the situation as well as he could. “Time will pull through. We just have to believe in that and not give up on the hope.” The others nodded but it still was rough situation to bear.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time found himself from a pitch black cave. It didn’t feel like it would’ve been big but the lightlessness made it way too eerie for him. The sound of heavy breathing got him to turn around swiftly. He gasped in shock and terror while taking unconscious step backwards.

The Chain stood right before him. Their eyes weren’t of the different shades of blue he had learned to know. Instead they were almost golden and shining. The black goo was dripping off of them. There were other golden eyes around their bodies. The smile the eight had was wicked and crooked.

“Join us…” They nearly chanted while slowly reaching towards the one eyed male. He took another freaked out step backwards while staring wide-eyed at the scene. “N-no… B-boys… W-what the hell…” He stammered while trying to understand the situation. Yet, suddenly the realization struck. Malice. It was the only plausible answer.

“NO!” Time screamed in rage. He called forth the Light Magic and struck it on full force against the ground like he would with the first three magics he had learned. The golden dome spread fast and strong. He flinched roughly and began to tremble when he heard his boys scream.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain sighed heavily and sorrowfully when Time began to whimper. Even though they knew actions wouldn’t get through, they got up from the card game they had going and moved towards their leader. Yet, before they got close to the bed, the one eyed male screamed in rage. That sound was followed by rough and uncontrolled strike of Light Magic.

The eight Heroes gasped in near fright while shutting their eyes as tightly as they could. They turned their backs to the scene while trying to defend themselves from the unexpected attack. When the light faded and they slowly blinked their eyes open, it took a moment for them to realize their oldest brother groaning.

The Old Man slowly opened his eye before gasping as he couldn’t move. His freaked out gaze fell into the ropes. “T-the hell…?” He half queried while first tugging at the restraints before already yanking. “No… Oh, Deities, no…” He mumbled with rising panic.

“Sprite?” Warriors called and the one eyed male snapped his notion into him. “Calm down, little brother. We’ll set you free.” He assured while approaching the bed carefully with the others in tow.

“Wars? W-what…? Why am I…?” The Chain’s leader queried while trying to understand the situation.

“You with us, Old Man?” Legend half asked while starting to open the straps at the middle of the bed. The others quickly joined in to set their oldest brother free.

“W-what that’s supposed to mean?” The one eyed male inquired while swiftly sitting up the moment he was free enough to do so.

“Whoa! Easy! You’re still healing, Sprite!” Warriors half shouted and gently forced his little brother back down. Time had groaned in pain and allowed the action just to ease the feeling down.

“What happened?” The oldest Link queried while frowning in confusion. “I… I remember….” He started before trailing off and growling. “Fuck. That blade.” He nearly snarled while digging his fingers into his hair.

“Sprite.” The Captain called bit warningly while slightly fearing for his brother to start harming himself.

Time huffed and gave bit of a rough look to his older brother. He pulled his hands out of his hair and closed his eye. “I was struck by that flaming sword of Shadow’s. How long I’ve been out of count?” He stated out before opening his eye to look around in search of an answer.

“For about a day.” Sky answered sorrowfully.

“You’ve been having rough nightmares. Remember anything of those?” Four continued and bit tilted his head to side.

The one eyed male sighed and slowly shook his head while bit frowning. “Not much. Just bits and pieces.” He answered and shivered violently. “I’d rather not remember that little what I do remember.” He mumbled before bit pushing himself upwards.

“Sprite.” The war Hero called and raised an eyebrow as Time rolled his eye.

“I’d like to sit up…..” The Chain’s leader started before slumping beneath the look his older brother was giving him. “…wards. Upwards. I’m not happy of laying and not seeing you guys that of well.” He quickly continued with bit of a sheepish look.

Warriors stared at the oldest Link for a moment before sighing. “Fine. Gather the pillows.” He half commanded and the others swiftly went to fetch the extras from the other beds in the room. The one eyed male gave a grateful look to the war Hero before bit yelping as the Captain gently ran his hand past his brother’s face. “Seriously, Sprite. You should be resting and not trying to get up.”

“I know. And I will.” The Old Man replied and smiled fondly as the others gently and carefully placed the pillows around him to tuck him into better position. “Thank you.” He half whispered before turning his gaze back into Warriors. “Honestly speaking, I just want a group hug after all those nightmares.” Yet, before he even got to the end of his sentence, the seven already glomped him while being careful of his wounds.

The war Hero chuckled and joined in while feeling grateful of Time still being alive and with them. The oldest Link sighed in relief and relaxed while feeling entirely content in the hold. Yet, even though he had claimed he didn’t really remember those nightmares, it wasn’t entirely truthful.

Those horrid situations were slowly sliding right into his memory and he fought not to shiver at the hell he had witnessed. Even though those had been given roughly and in the wrong way, he knew exactly what those nightmares had been: Prophetic dreams. And he was adamant of making them different. The only thing was that he wasn’t certain if he should actually let the others know of them or not. Telling them out made them real. And yet, telling them out would help him to change them. Still, he hesitated as he felt like this time around it was better to keep the others out of the loop.

Time wasn’t certain if that hesitation was his own or the remnant of Shadow’s cruel magic. Either way, it was clear the others would do everything in their power to change things if they knew. And that might’ve turned things from bad to worse. After all, he was already making plans and choosing his actions. Sadly, some of those situation would need bit of luring the bad guys out. That was why he eventually held the information to himself while hoping for the best.

Couple of weeks later the Chain’s leader had healed well enough from the near death bringing stab given by the Shadow. He felt full dread when they found the portal and moved through it with him in the lead. Something within him told he needed to reach other end before his boys or he’d regret it.

The moment the one eyed male felt to have reached the other side, he already knew. Without thinking he already performed the moves and screamed as he struck with the Light Magic. The black goo he had been standing in moved away from the glow of the light that had already appeared into his hands. The moment he struck his palms into the uneven floor of the cave, the magic spread fast and rough.

The Old Man flinched a bit when he heard his boys gasp in shock but he didn’t give up on his work. The Light Magic spread as far as the cave went. On the same time he gained a map of the area through his magic. “Come on! We need to move!” He commanded while quite well forced the eight into action. “Run!” He nearly shouted while making sure everyone was going to right road.

“Time, what’s going on?” Wind called while bit stumbling. His oldest brother yanked him up into his arms while pushing the others forward.

“No time for explanation! Just keep running!” Time commanded while making sure everyone was along. “Out! Out of the cave! NOW!” He shouted while feeling the Malice returning from the unexpected attack against it.

The second the oldest Link was out, he already set Wind down and behind him as he turned around to face the cave they had just come out of. Without thinking, he screamed and struck with beam of Light Magic at the mouth of the cave. The Malice screeched and recoiled backwards into the deeper darkness of the area.

Time staggered few steps backwards before gasping and falling to his knees while gasping for air. “What the hell was that?” Legend queried in shock.

“Malice.” Wild half whispered before turning his gaze into Time. “How did you…?” He started before already understanding. “Those nightmares… You do remember them.”

“Prophecies.” The Chain’s leader replied. “They were prophecies that need to be changed.” He stated out while forcing himself back to his feet. “Let’s get out of here.” He half commanded and began to usher the eight Links towards the field instead of the forest. “We need lighter area. A place the Malice can’t come.” He explained while wishing it would’ve been bright daylight instead of evening and the moment of setting sun.

“I know where we can go. It’s safe and sacred.” The Champion told and took the lead swiftly.

“Sprite? What did you see?” Warriors inquired while coming next to his brother to make sure he was capable of making the trip to the closest Stable.

“The less you know, the better.” Time answered and gave bit of pleading look to the war Hero. “It’s the only way I can change them.” He explained sorrowfully. “I know it’s not how we did it during the war. And I know it’s not how my first and second quests went but…” He trailed off uncertainly while turning his gaze away.

“You fear us changing things will throw it into different kind of hell?” The Captain asked and the older male nodded sorrowfully.

“I’ll tell if I feel like it’s the only way to change things.” Time promised while already having a feeling there would come such turns.  Warriors nodded while bit frowning as he thought it through.

“I think we should talk with the others too. They deserve some answers.” The war Hero stated out. The one eyed male sighed but he nodded in understanding. “I’ll handle the talking, don’t worry.” He said with a slight reassuring smile.

After about an hour of walking, the Chain of nine Heroes reached the Stable. Wild swiftly bargained a stay for them before already handling evening meal. The Captain looked around at his brothers by the cooking fire before giving out a signal whistle to catch everyone’s notion.

“As we heard, Time’s had prophetic dreams due that red flared sword.” Warriors started as calmly as he could. “Of course, we all wish to change what he saw.” He raised his hand to silence the upcoming requests to tell the nightmares out. “Time’s dealt with prophetic dreams before so he knows how to handle them. And right now he believes the right action is to keep them to himself. I know you guys aren’t happy of that. Neither am I, to be honest. But, I’d rather we don’t force Time into revealing those dreams.” He continued as firmly as he could. “Time will tell us what we need to know of them.”

The Chain’s leader took a deep breath and raised his gaze up from the fire. “I know none of you is happy of this. And I don’t blame you for that.” He started bit sorrowfully. “The problem is that I don’t know how swiftly these situations will come forth. I don’t want you to wait for things that won’t happen. If you know, you’ll worry too much. I…” He trailed off for a moment with a slight frown while dropping his gaze down for a moment. “The thing is that I’m in tune with time magic. It gives me bit of heads-up when the prophecies are up for coming forth. I’ll be able to react swiftly enough. Like at that cave of Malice.”

“Even if we would’ve known, we wouldn’t have reacted fast enough.” Twilight half whispered and the one eyed male nodded.

“I know most of you have Light Magic in usage but… In that darkness… Would you have known when you’re through the portal?” The Old Man half queried and saw the uncertainty within his boys. “That’s the kind of heads-up I’ll get. I know when the situation is on and I need to react to it.” He explained and the others nodded in understanding. “When I tell you guys to do something, no matter how confusing or odd—“

“We’ll follow your command to the letter.” Legend promised firmly and the seven brothers of his nodded firmly. “If any of chances… Can you give any heads-up on what’s to wait for?”

Time calmed down a bit and nodded with a slight smile. “I’m not sure. It’s bit hard to know in what order things happen but…” He started with slight frown. He thought through the prophecies while trying to find anything he could give out. “I think… Each of them happened in your own eras. Except for one which is in mine. So, on that line…” He half thought aloud  before making his choice. He took quite determined look onto his face as he pointed at the Veteran. “Magic Cape.” His notion went to Four. “I’ll be with you at the forge.” Next he pointed at Wild. “Stay behind me.” From there he picked Wind. “Stay with your brothers and make sure you won’t be fighting alone.” Lastly he turned to Warriors. “You and me… No night walk.”

“And the rest of us?” Hyrule asked bit worriedly.

The Chain’s leader sighed bit heavily. “I didn’t see enough to know the full situation. Things jut were already on before I could catch the reasons or how we ended into them.” He confessed sorrowfully and the remaining three Links nodded in understanding.

Couple of days later the next portal opened up. Wild frowned as he recognized his own era. “I don’t think we’ve before been brought straight back to one’s own era through the portal.” He told while checking the Slate.

“Wild.” Time called with slight dread within his voice.

“Got it.” The Champion straight off stated out and moved behind his leader. The others swiftly surrounded him to give more protection to their brother.

“No.” The Old Man commanded. “Spread.” He stated out while looking around the grassy field. “Two of those mechanical walking things. I can only get one down. The rest of you need to deal with the other one.”

“Guardian Stalkers?” Wild gulped before shaking his head and throwing the memory of his death out of his head. “Which way?” He queried instead while already taking his Slate back up. Time took a check on the map before nodding slowly.

“They come from here and here.” The Chain’s leader told while tapping on the screen.

“Okay. You guys can hide into here.” The Champion told while pointing to a place. “Cut its feet and ram a sword into its eye. That should handle it off.” He advised and the others nodded in acceptance before glancing at Time.

“Go. I and Wild will catch their notion.” The one eyed male replied while starting to lead the way. The others dashed off to get to right place. They all were bit worried of the situation but they trusted each other to handle their parts of the simple plan.

Soon enough the two Guardian Stalkers caught the notion of the Hylian Champion. Time pushed Wild behind him while raising his hand and pointing it at the one that was coming from right in front of them. He glanced at the other before bit grinning as the seven Links attacked it. “Just bit closer… Get into my reach…” He half whispered before taking a deep breath and closing his eye. “Let’s see how you deal with electricity when it’s turned against you.” He mused bit wickedly.

Just as the mechanical being was up for charging its attack, the thing jerked roughly. Right after that it started to buzz as electricity was seen all around its body. It twitched and jerked like a ragdoll. After a while it just crumbled to the ground until it suddenly blew up.

The one eyed male sighed in relief before bit gasping as he fell to his knees. “Shit… Haven’t worked with electricity that of much.” He told with a slight chuckle. Only a moment later another explosion was heard as the second Guardian Stalker was taken down. Wild helped Time up and they headed off towards the area to check on their brothers.

The duo sighed in relief when they came to the scene and found all seven safe and sound. When the Links saw their leader and cook, they already dashed over in worry. “Just bit exhausted.” The oldest Hero straight off told while waving his hand dismissively. Yet, before he could go further with his words or decline, Legend had already handed out a green potion. He huffed a bit and rolled his eye but he accepted the helping drink.

The next portal opened up nearly instantly after the Chain’s leader had regained his strength and stamina. The eight with him felt uncertain of going through it but their oldest brother just took the lead. “The quicker these are done, the better for everyone.” He offered as a reassurance even though he was certain it didn’t fully hit as such. The others sighed a bit but they nodded and followed him forward into the next situation that needed to be changed.

When the nine Heroes got through the portal, Sky gasped in shock as he looked around. “I’ve been to here.” He told while recognizing his era and the Temple. “There’s an enemy right ahead of us at the next room. Koloktos. A mechanical swordsman.” He explained while checking his whip to be ready to tear its limbs off so he’d get to attack the main part.

“No.” Time half commanded while placing his hand onto the younger Hero’s shoulder. “We all enter the room but you’re not fighting like you used to.” He partly reminded while going through all he knew of his brothers. “Wild.” He called while turning towards the Champion. “Once the beast is together, you freeze it. The rest of us will tear its core to pieces.”He planned out and the master archer nodded in acceptance.

“Sounds fast and easy.” The Chosen Hero commented while calming down. He returned the whip to his pocket and nodded firmly. After that they walked to the door and entered the round room. The moment everyone was inside the door locked behind them, the golden colored metals moved and the huge creature came to life.

The creatures stood straight off to its feet which didn’t only take Sky but the oldest Hero too out of guard. “That’s not…” The oldest Link started before calming down and grinning. “Wild, if you please.” He simply called and nodded towards the creature.

“On it!” The Champion half shouted while already working with the Slate. The creature was whole time coming towards the nine swordsmen while swishing its weapons in wide and powerful slashes. “NOW!” The master archer shouted the moment the Stasis hit and froze their enemy to its place.

The eight dashed forward while drawing out their sword. They quickly took places from where they all could strike at their target without being on someone else’s way. Even with the Stasis in work, Time, Twilight and Legend forced the bars open to increase the chances for striking. “Guys, back!” Wild shouted as he noticed the timer running out.

“Just a moment!” Four shouted as he placed a bomb inside the cage where their enemy’s core was at.

Time smirked widely at the action. “Oh that’s a perfect idea!” He half shouted while taking out his own bomb and placing it next to the Smithy’s. Several more quickly joined the two before the eight Heroes ran away from the Koloktos frozen in time. They swiftly turned around after having reached their Chain’s cook to see if they needed to keep fighting against their enemy.

The Stasis flashed off and the metallic multi-handed creature began to retch and jerk roughly as the strikes the Heroes had given it finally found their target. When it was up for recovering enough to continue the battle, one of the bombs blew up while creating a enormous blast as it caused the other bombs to go off too. Time quickly and unconsciously called out Nayru’s Love to defend himself and his boys from the pieces that flew into all possible directions as the Koloktos exploded.

After calming down, the Chain, one to few at a time, began to laugh. “Oh Goddesses! That was awesome!” Wind cheered in delight. The others agreed while nodding and grinning widely.

“Well, that certainly was perfect way to take down a monster.” The one eyed male grinned. He quite well wished they could redo this at some point to other beasts too. The others nodded before already feeling tad uncertain as a portal suddenly opened up into middle of the room. “Guess we just gotta head forward.” He half sighed before grinning. “Who knows, maybe we’ll come up with more ways to deal with the problems.” He offered as a reassurance before leading his boys into the next era.

As the nine Heroes walked through the dark hallway of sinister magic, Time already knew. He grit his teeth while knowing he couldn’t hide his older brother or the fact of who he was. He tried not to show his uncertainty as he came into middle of the Castle Market from the portal and found lot of people staring in shock, fear and awe.

The Chain followed him soon and the Captain recognized the area and era swiftly. The Old Man gave him a sharp look and the war Hero stayed silent. “Let’s find an Inn and make plans.” He commanded while making sure everyone stayed close by.

Once at the safety of the Inn’s biggest room, the one eyed male already paced around. “No-one goes around after the evening.” He started commandingly while finally raising his gaze up into his brothers. “We’ll be around the town only during bright daylight. And no-one goes alone.” He stated out while not being able to push away the dread and fear of the situation. “And while we’re at here, we’ll keep night watches. I don’t trust this place even one bit.”

“Restocking and information gathering tomorrow. Three teams.” Legend stated out while raising an eyebrow as he searched for a confirmation from his oldest brother. Time nodded in agreement and bit calmed down as the groups were swiftly formed. The Veteran would stay with him and the war Hero. Twilight, Wild and Four created the second group. Third had Wind, Hyrule and Sky. It seemed wise enough combinations.

After that the Old Man did his best to describe the men he had seen in his vision. He made the Chain swear they wouldn’t approach the group or its members for any of reason. It was lot asked from group of Heroes but they agreed to it in hopes of keeping Warriors safe and Time with one worry less on his shoulders.

It took couple of days before the Chain’s leader felt himself calm down. Something told him that the danger had passed and the group wasn’t around anymore. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel bit grateful when the portal opened up to the market at the next day. At least they had managed to restock and get some rest in actual beds even with the night shifts.

The portal brought the nine Links right into middle of a ship’s deck. The Sailor squealed in full delight when he recognized the pirate ship. Before anyone could stop him, he already dashed off to find Tetra and her crew. Time sighed and shook his head while the rest of the Chain scattered around. Yet, Warriors stayed by his little brother. “Tell me.” He simply whispered while having already figured out who’s turn it was.

“Keep your eyes open and search for enemy ships. When those are sighted, gather everyone close to me.” The oldest Link stated out firmly and the Captain nodded in understanding. The war Hero took once a check around before he went to find his brothers. The one eyed male noticed how his older brother gave the heads-up to the others and how the Chain, one to few at a time, ended up bit startled but very swiftly getting to be more alert of their surroundings. He smiled a bit and slightly relaxed as he knew there were more eyes searching for enemies and being ready to react at then.

It took a day of sailing before the alarm was given. The Chain’s leader dashed up to the deck while already fearing to be too late. Yet, he sighed in relief as he saw how far the other ships were. “Everyone! Gather around!” He commanded even though he wasn’t the captain of the given vessel. Yet, for his relief Tetra and her crew came close along with his boys. “Keep eye on them and tell me when they’re in the reach of those cannons.” He requested as he was unaware of how far one could shoot those heavy balls.

“Mikau, you awake?” Time called while feeling uncertain of the situation.

“Entirely. Ready whenever you need me.” The Zora guitarist replied while being up and about for sharing his Water Magic.

“You know when to lend me the helping hand.” The oldest Link nodded inwardly while feeling tad grateful of the back-up he had within him. The aquatic male nodded back and kept close check on the situation. Yet, Mikau gave out the same warning that came from Wind only seconds later: The enemy was in the reach.

The Old Man nodded firmly before already performing the moves for Nayru’s Love. He needed it to be wide and strong enough to cover for the whole ship. He gasped a bit when he felt Fierce lend his own strength in magic to keep the shield up and working.

Time relaxed a bit as he had the aid from two of his ghostly companions. He kept close check on the other ships while bit flinching as the cannonballs struck into the shield every now and then. “They’re close enough.” Dextri called and the other three nodded in confirmation.

The one eyed male grinned a bit and began to perform the next magic. Yet, he didn’t hit the full work of Farore’s Wind as he extracted the wind part from it. His grin widened as he felt the Deku Butler’s Son and Darmani III lend their strength, accuracy and magic into his work. He screamed when he struck his hands against the wooden floor of the pirate ship’s deck.

The crowd around him gasped a bit at the rough gale that whirled off from the Chain’s leader. He slowly stood up while having the storm wind circling around them. After that he began to dance around while commanding the magic to do as he wished of it. The tornados crashed into the ships and tore them apart while throwing the Bokoblins high into the air and straight into the raging water below.

Time was panting when he had destroyed eight enemy ships out of fourteen. The storm died off and the ocean calmed down. The ships commanded by monsters turned their vessels back into crashing and flanking their target. “Not on my watch.” He growled while beginning to perform third magic’s moves. Moves that Mikau showed to him while sharing his Water Magic with his close friend.

Again the Hero of Termina struck his hands against the deck of the ship to initiate the magic fully. He listened to the Zora’s commands of sorts while doing as told and he screamed again as he stood back up and struck his hands high above him. The people with him gasped in full shock as the water suddenly rose around them before already rushing off towards the enemies. The tidal wave crashed roughly into their ships and shattered them while sending two crashing against each other before the waves reached them.

When the last ship fell, the Old Man gasped and fell roughly to his knees. “W-was… W-was that all…?” He queried quietly while raising his gaze up into something only Wind saw: Mikau. The Zora glanced once around before closing his eyes and connecting with the water around him. After that he opened his eyes and nodded firmly.

“You got them all, Link.” The ghost of the guitarist replied with a slight smile. Yet, he nearly instantly gasped when his friend closed his eye and let the exhaustion overtake him. The Zora moved swiftly and caught him before already laying him gently down to the deck. After that he turned his notion into the Sailor. “Link will be all right. He just needs bit of rest.” He assured with a small smile before getting up to his feet. He took a step backwards and vanished back to the Realm of the Spirits.

The ship’s full crew already surrounded the one eyed male before the Zora even was fully gone. “Guys, he’ll be okay. He just needs rest.” Wind told as firmly as he could. “That water magic belonged to the Zora ghost, Mikau.” He explained and shrugged a bit. “He was there aiding him.”

With things having calmed down, Warriors carefully picked his little brother up and carried him below the deck to sleep more comfortably at a bed. He and Twilight stayed by him to guard his rest while the others started to work around the ship. They were up for finding the closest patch of land to dock at. It felt like they all needed bit of safety of the dry land for a moment after having seen the one eyed male control the wind and ocean like that.

Time woke up into a scent of Wild cooking. He groaned a bit and slowly opened his eye. “Hey there, little brother.” Warriors half whispered while sitting on the floor right next to the bed.

“How long was I out?” The one eyed male queried while sitting up. He ran a hand through his hair before stretching.

“About a day.” The Captain answered as he stood up and sat onto the bed. He leaned backwards to get behind the Chain’s leader before starting to work massaging his brother’s shoulders and back. “Not surprised, though. You hit one hell of a show.”

The Old Man gave a nearly delighted whine at the action and closed his eye while relaxing. “Is everyone all right?” He queried while pretty much melting beneath his older brother’s work.

“Safe and sound.” The war Hero replied calmly. “We’ve docked to an island for a while.” He explained and Time just nodded at the information. “How are you feeling?”

The oldest Link sighed and gave a slight shrug. “Better the longer you work with my stiff muscles.” He replied with a grin. Warriors chuckled and kissed the side of the one eyed male’s head. “And hungry.” The Chain’s leader continued before unwillingly pulling away from the touch. “Can you finish later, please?” He half begged while giving the younger male nearly a pleading look.

“Certainly.” The Captain answered before already following his little brother out of the room and up to the deck. At there, once by the road to the shore, he already grinned. “Check who decided to wake up!” He called to the Chain, Tetra and her crew at the beach of the island.

Time huffed a bit but he couldn’t help but smile and bit chuckle as his boys screamed out his name and already dashed over to him. The war Hero just moved off the way and smiled as the others engulfed their oldest brother into a group hug. Their leader relaxed and smiled while trying to return the hold.

After a while everyone was at the beach enjoying the Champion’s creation. The whole current crew of the ship decided to stay at the island for a while and restock with what the place could offer. It wasn’t much but Wild was happy to gain new food items into his Slate to figure out how to use them.

Just when they were up for continuing sailing, the next portal opened up at the beach. The Chain bid their goodbyes to Tetra and her crew before approaching the vortex. Yet, before they could enter it, Time actually stopped them. He frowned and listened while closing his eye. He felt everyone stare at him but he concentrated into the feeling of where the dark pathway would lead them to.

After a while the Chain’s leader took a deep breath and turned his notion into Legend while letting the air out. “Legend. The Cape.” He simply stated out and the Veteran nodded in understanding. He dug the red fabric out before his leader actually stopped him. “Wait! I… A-actually, I have a better idea.” He partly stammered while pulling out the Stone Mask. “Same effect but no need keeping the magic up.” He told while offering the item to him.

The Specialist nodded while taking the mask and putting it on. The others gasped a bit when he just vanished from sight. “I’ll give it back once we’ve either cleared the problem at my era or left from there.” He promised and the Old Man simply nodded before leading his boys through the portal.

The moment the Links came through the vortex, they found themselves surrounded by heavily armored Knights with their weapons pointed right at them. “Where is the Hero of Legend?” One of the high ranked soldiers asked with commanding voice.

“Not with us.” Time answered as calmly as he could while taking in the situation. Suddenly one of the Knights moved forward from his blind side. He turned toward it before bit gasping as the armored fighter grabbed the front of his armor and yanked him forward. Right after that the rough fist already collided with the side of his face. The Knight let go and his target crashed to his knees with a growl by the strength of the strike.

“TIME!” The Chain screamed out and dashed forward in full worry. The one eyed male shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.

“Wrong answer.” The leader of the Knights stated out while glaring at the Hero of Time. “I’m sure the Queen will get the answers out of you.” He continued before giving a sharp nod towards the road to the castle. The other Knights began to force the Chain of Links forward.

Legend hated it as he took the given chance to escape from middle of his brothers. He knew Time did this kind of things without thinking. Just giving his boys the needed chance to escape or do something needed while he took the brunt of the situation. And in this case it was one simple line and a cruel punch to face. At least it got one of the armored Knights to move out of the line and create the needed gap between their capturers for him to use.

The Chain followed calmly the Knights while being surrounded by them. The Veteran kept bit of distance but he followed the group. He really wanted to just attack and get those people away from his brothers. Yet, that wouldn’t give him the chance to fix this and set the Knights free from the mind control that clearly was going on.

Soon enough they reached the castle and Legend moved closer to the last Knight so he could easily slip inside before the doors would be closed. He wanted to follow his brothers and hear what awaited them but he didn’t. He grit his teeth and tore his gaze away from the Chain of Heroes before starting to sneak around the castle. He was entirely certain he’d find a way to break the mind control magic one way or the other from somewhere within the castle.

While the Weapon Specialist left to handle the needed task, the eight Links were brought into the throne room. The Knights moved off the way to let their leader see their captives. Time knelt down straight off and his brothers followed his action instantaneously. Queen Zelda stood up from her throne while narrowing her gaze at the eight before her.

“Your Highness, forgive me for speaking bluntly but this is a great mistake.” The one eyed male started as calmly as he could. “The Hero of Legend is not with us.”

“I was informed differently, Hero of Time.” Zelda stated out with almost cruel gaze. “We have been waiting for the portal to open for quite a while now.” She told while approaching the group of Heroes. “I waited for honesty from your kind.” She nearly snarled while crouching downwards just to grab Time’s throat.

The Chain’s leader gasped and shot his eye open while being forced up from his position. Yet, nearly instantly after getting up to his feet, he gasped and screamed voicelessly. The Queen let go of him and smirked as he crashed to the ground before already curling up a bit and whining in pain. “Take him. Let’s see if the others are more cooperating while watching him fight for his life.” She commanded and very swiftly several more Knights already moved and came to grab and drag the one eyed male along.

The seven younger males had screamed out their oldest brother’s name but the other Knights had moved swiftly and brought swords and spears to their throats to keep them to their places. They couldn’t do anything else than watch the Old Man get dragged away until they were forced to move too. Zelda led them into different road until eventually reaching a balcony like area.

From there it was a perfect view into lower being round battle arena. In the middle of the sandy area was a sturdy looking pole. People were already gathering around the place to watch the soon to start show. The area had rough magic around them that prevented the Heroes from drawing out any weapon they had with them. It didn’t entirely deny magic from being used but they suspected Zelda to uphold an unseen shield. Yet, more so, they feared for her to have blocked their brother’s magic by the earlier action she had done.

When the amphitheater of sorts had filled with spectators, Time was dragged into middle of the area. He was quite well unceremoniously just dumped onto the sandy floor before one of the Knights shackled his ankle into one of the chains connected into the pole. After that they left the area.

The Chain’s leader was almost gasping for air while trying to ease out the turmoil of his magic. He had his armor and weapons but he could feel the blades, shield and all of his items to be blocked from his usage. Same as his magic that was in full disarray within him. When the door opposite from him opened, he forced himself up to his feet to face whatever was to come forth. He grimaced when the monsters flooded into the round battle arena.

“You may save his life by telling me where the Hero of Legend is.” Queen Zelda told while watching the unfair battle begin. The Hero of Time had no weapons in his usage so all he could do was to try and avoid the attacks. The chain wasn’t giving him much of room to do such while ending his backflips and attempts of backing away from the attacks quite abruptly while giving the beasts a chance to strike at him.

“He’s not with us.”

“He’s dead.”

“He chose to stay at different era.”

“He was captured but the portal opened up beneath us. We weren’t given a chance to save him.”

“He found love and decided to end his own quest at then and there.”

“He ran away and we weren’t able to find him.”

“He ended up changed into a rabbit and we couldn’t turn him back. He didn’t want to follow us in the form he was in.”

The Queen snorted and shook her head. “Very well. Don’t give me the answer, then. Just enjoy of the show. He won’t survive at there.” She stated out almost casually while feeling like the seven were ready to sacrifice the one eyed Link just to keep her from knowing where the era’s Hero was at.

Most of the monsters stayed at back while letting the three bigger beasts handle their opponent’s armor off. The Dark Nut, Iron Knuckle and Moblin were more than eager to land their cruel attacks into the golden armor of the Hero of Time. They especially enjoyed of the turns where the chain snapped to its full length and abruptly crashed the one eyed fighter into the ground. They dragged him close from the chain before landing few rough strikes into the protective material until giving him a chance to try and avoid them again.

When the armor finally was too shattered to be too much of use and Time just forced it off to have more chances to move, the rest of the monsters dashed in. He wasn’t the best one with a fight without weapons but he did his best. From time to time he snatched a weapon from his enemies but he was way too outnumbered and overpowered. Besides, the beasts very much loved to yank on the chain and knock him off his feet to make it all worse for him. With such rough movement they eventually dislocated his knee and broke his hip. That only made things even worse for him.

Just when the Chain’s leader was certain he wouldn’t survive from the battle arena, the area suddenly flashed brightly. He gasped in shock and shut his eye while, for his relief, the beasts hissed and staggered a step backwards. It gave a moment of peace and the realization of something having changed. Yet, he didn’t need to try and fight in the condition he was in.

As Time opened his eye, he saw four surprisingly solid looking ghosts around him. They gave out raged screams before attacking the monsters with Fierce taking on the Dark Nut, Iron Knuckle and Moblin. Dextri fought against Miniblins while engulfing some bigger monsters into bubbles every now and then. Mikau faced the Bokoblins while Darmani III beat the Lizalfos. The four stayed close to him to make sure none of the creations of Darkness would get past them and to attack him again.

Suddenly the Knights that had imprisoned the Old Man and his boys dashed into the area and attacked the monsters from behind. The beasts were left between two lines of fighters which meant they’d be taken down soon. “Dextri. Fierce. I need my boys informed that they should go and help Legend. I’ll be fine.” He stated out and the duo nodded.

The Deity and the Deku Butler’s Son checked the road to the high being balcony where the Chain of seven Heroes were with the era’s Queen. The Links were more than willing to go aid their leader but they were held back. Fierce nodded and he and Dextri changed places. The small Deku took bit of distance before already running towards the God of Protection.

Fierce struck his sword into the ground and when Dextri jumped onto the blade, he swung it as hard as he could upwards in vertical move. The Deku took the speed and jumped high into the air. He let the swing’s power throw him towards the balcony until at the peak of his ascent, he finally brought the swirling flowers to move further forward. He grinned a bit at the startled looks on the people at his destination. Eventually he let go of the flowers and easily dropped into the railing of the place.

“Link wishes you seven to head to Legend. Find him and help him to deal with the main enemy. Link is safe now.” Dextri told out as firmly as he could. “There’s enough of fighters to clear the monsters. You seven would only prolong the needed actions.” He continued while seeing the hesitation within his friend’s teammates.

“Give him this, at least. Please?” Four requested while taking out a bottle with a fairy within it.

“I have one fairy too.” Wild assured while swiftly checking his Slate to be certain.

“Thank you.” The small Deku nodded while accepting the bottle. “Now, go!” He half commanded before pocketing the item and turning back towards the way he had come from. Without waiting for longer, he jumped and brought out the flowers to get closer to the battle. I took couple of works with the swirling flowers before he landed and attacked the monsters.

“Your boys will do as said. They also sent this to you.” The Deku Butler’s Son told while taking the bottled fairy out. By then one of the Knights had gotten through and unlocked the shackle at Time’s ankle as well as set his bones to right places. The one eyed male nodded while feeling tad uncertain of the situation. “Wild has a fairy along too. They’ll be fine.” Dextri assured before setting the small healer free.

While the Chain’s leader was in safer situation, the seven finally tore their gaze out of the arena and dashed off to find Legend. It took bit of searching but they eventually found the right floor and correct room. The moment they saw the dragonic Lizalfos, they attacked on full force. Hyrule, though, pulled off to check on his predecessor as he had pulled the mask off when the Links dashed in. He luckily was well as he had been capable of staying out of sight and attack with all he got. With Sky having the full powered sacred blade of Evil’s Bane, the beast went down swiftly and easily.

The moment the enemy was dealt with, the Chain dashed out of the room. Only two floors lower they saw Time coming towards them. The one eyed male was still looking bit beaten up but he was as well as he could be after the hell he had gone through at the arena. The eight Heroes dashed to him and engulfed him into a group hug. Before he had a chance to say against it, the Traveler already worked with his magic to fix the rest of the damage.

Sadly, the nine Heroes didn’t have more time than to rest one night before the next portal opened up. The Smithy had along what was left of his oldest brother’s armor while hoping they’d find a town and a forge he could use. Yet, on that second he already had a feeling he was the next one to be saved. And once they got through the dark pathway, he already turned his gaze into the Old Man whom just simply gave a firm nod of confirmation.

The Chain of Links didn’t find a town but they found an abandoned house with a forge. They took the place for their usage for the time being as the shortest Hero set the blacksmith’s place into usage. Wild gave the needed ores while Hyrule, Legend, Wind and Warriors aided in getting everything done.

Fixing and recreating the armor took several days. Most of the Chain had gone to do some foraging and fishing at the close by river while the Smithy was up for doing finishing touches into the armor. It still was delicate work and taking quite well the youngster’s full notion. That was the reason he didn’t hear the Moblin arriving. He just simply noticed Time pushing himself off of the wall and locking his gaze into something. “Just keep working, Mousekin. I got this.” He told calmly while picking the Biggoron Sword from next to him before already heading to face the brown Moblin of his own era.

Unlike what the one eyed male had seen, it wasn’t just one Moblin. It was one from each of the eras the Heroes came from. Six beasts did their best in trying to get past the oldest Link but the sword he wielded was deadly and fast in his hands. His own era’s Moblin went down by two strikes while Wild’s was defeated by one that cut it into two.

While the rest took one to two strikes to kill Sky’s era’s Moblin needed three. It wasn’t because of the shield but due to the black blood running in its veins. It avoided more and tried to round its target but the Old Man stood in front of it and blocked its road whole time… Until the beast got close enough and he struck.

Once the last one of the different Moblins had vanished, Time sighed in relief and calmed down. He moved back into the forge’s area and sat down to unused anvil before starting to clean the blade. “How’s the armor coming?” He inquired as calmly as he could while having felt Four’s gaze in his back nearly whole time the battle had been going.

The Smithy almost gasped and jerked before already blinking several times. “Um…. A-almost finished…” He stammered while tad blushing and turning his notion back into his work. “You know… I’ve seen you do lot of badass things but this… This really takes the win.” He confessed while turning his gaze into his oldest brother.

The Chain’s leader chuckled a bit while blushing slightly and shrugging. He kept his notion in his sword in hopes of keeping the younger male from seeing the reaction. He rarely got this kind of praise so it meant even more when it came from his boys. “It’s nothing really. Just strength and unbreakable sword.” He explained as casually as he could.

“And skill.” Four pointed out firmly. “Anyone can have strength and a weapon but you gotta have the knowledge of how to fight efficiently and use the weapon to its full potential. You struck at three Moblins by one strike while killing one of them by it. Before the rest came forth, you had already taken down the earlier two. Just swift, certain and badass.”

Time chuckled bit nervously and scratched the back of his head. “Thanks… I guess…?” He half replied before getting tad surprised as the shortest Hero came next to him.

“May I?” The Smithy inquired and pointed at the Biggoron Sword with hopeful look on his face.

“You sure? It’s my blade. It’s my responsibility.” The one eyed male replied while feeling bit contradicted about the situation. Yet, Four simply nodded as an answer. “O-okay…” He bit stammered and let the Hero with the ability of turning into a Minish to look after his weapon and clean it precisely. He just watched while admiring the dedication and love one of his boys was putting into his actions.

It took a while before the Smithy was content with his work. After that he offered the sword back to his oldest brother. “Good as new.” He told with a smile while watching his leader admire the fully clean and sharp blade.

“Thank you. I owe you hugely for fixing my armor and looking after my sword.” Time replied while crouching down and pulling Four into a hug.

The shortest Hero happily returned the hold. “It’s the least I can do. You protected me here and you’ve kept everyone safe and sound all the way through this quest. I want to return the favor in every possible way I’m capable of.”

“You certainly are.” The oldest Link whispered before pulling off. The others started to return to the area and the moment they saw the blood and signs of a battle, they already were asking questions. Time just winked at Four and went to explain the situation to his boys.

At the next day the Chain’s leader put the fixed and recreated armor on. They were up for heading forward from the house with a forge in the back. In fact, they didn’t go far before they already found a portal. The one eyed male checked that everyone was ready before he led them through the dark pathway into a new era.

When the portal closed behind him, Time only found Hyrule being there. He held back the annoyed sigh of having been separated from the rest of the group and just closed his eye to concentrate. Just when he caught the feeling of the others and relaxed a bit of finding them all being together, the air was split by a scream. Both he and the Traveler jerked roughly at the sound before he already stopped the half-fairy from dashing towards his kin in need of aid.

“NO.” The one eyed male growled out but he wasn’t angry at his boy, just worried and freaked out. “Do NOT change forms, Traveler.” He commanded while gritting his teeth at the situation.

“But…!” Hyrule started before bit flinching as his oldest brother glanced at him. He nodded even though he felt entirely uncertain of the situation.

“Go that way.” The Old Man gave a sharp nod to their left. “Don’t change for any of reason. Just get to the others and lead them here.” He commanded before already pushing the youngster to correct way. “I’ll do what I can for the fairies.” He told before already dashing towards the way where the pain filled screams were coming from.

Hyrule hesitated for a moment longer before he growled and dashed to the road he had been commanded to. It shattered his heart as he heard the screams while being unable to save his sisters and brothers. Yet, clearly, that situation had caused his death and Time was up for saving him. So, he ran and prayed he could get to his brothers in time to bring them over to save the Chain’s leader too.

The moment the one eyed male reached the place where the fairies were being held captive and tortured, he already screamed as he drew out the Biggoron Sword and swung it. The men at the area in middle of the forest were startled of his sudden appearance. That short moment was enough for him to kill one of the guys by one strike before turning towards the rest of the group.

The men scrambled to their feet and just barely avoided the deadly weapon. They quickly surrounded the newcomer before one already blew red dust into their attacker’s face. The swordsman gasped and staggered a step away. He was ready to strike again when suddenly he gasped in pain and fell to his knees.

“Well, well, didn’t wait for fairies to be in Hylian form too.” The one in lead, smirked while putting the pouch of Dark Magic Powder away. He smirked while his newest victim tried to get the dust off of his face. “You already inhaled it.” He stated out before kicking Time to the side of his head and crashed him into the ground.

“Take his armor off. Let’s see how much of a fairy he is.” The guy commanded while enjoying of seeing the man writhe in pain. The Chain’s leader’s attempts of fighting back were fully in vain and weak. The men around him easily held him to the ground as they undid his armor.

The leader of the small group drew out a knife and struck it into the Old Man’s shoulder. Even though Time had very high pain tolerance, he screamed in agony. It wasn’t because of the strike or breaking his bones by that one hit. It was because of the dust having put his fairy magic within him into chaos. The blade wasn’t normal. It was invading by the way of searching for anything fairy related. And right now it was latching itself into his magic.

The turmoil of his magic that had replaced his innate one wasn’t in such a way it would’ve made the oldest Hero sick. It was rather trying to tear a road out of him and get freed. The blade felt like it was going to steal them and he screamed as the weapon was being twisted and turned in the wound.

“No blood connection but the magic’s not his.” The guy mused wickedly while chuckling at the agony he was causing. “How about we take what doesn’t even belong to you.” He rather stated out than queried while rather twirling the knife instead of twisting and moving.

Time screamed while hating how paralyzed that dust had left him. The agony of his own magic trying to tear him apart from inside was bad enough. Feeling the guy binding something that was so connected into him into that blade was nearly excruciating. The terror of losing his magic was only the cherry on the top of the whole hell.

Slowly, as the weapon captured the magics the Chain’s leader had learned, his screams turned into miserable whimper. He was trembling and crying while knowing his begging would only make the trio around him laugh. He closed his eye and just accepted his defeat. He knew it would take long while before he’d get used to the lack of magic to use and his body temperature turned to be probably lower than anyone else’s. After all, ever since he had been to Termina, he had unconsciously held little bit of Din’s Fire up and going to keep himself warm.

Suddenly the one eyed male half gasped, half screamed as the blade jerked in the wound but it wasn’t pulled out. The sound of scuffle got him to gasp and snap his eye open. It took a moment from him to realize that his boys had arrived just in time to there.

Wolfie was mauling the one whom had used the knife. Sky and Warriors had attacked the man on Time’s right side. Hyrule, Four and Wind were dealing with the third man. Wild was setting the fairies free from the bottles and chains. Legend had crouched down next to him while hesitating to touch the knife.

“D-don’t…” Time whimpered out and snapped the Veteran’s notion into him. “M-my m-magic…” He stammered while having no idea of how to fix the situation. He unintentionally flinched when the Specialist brushed some of the dust off of his face.

Legend growled as he felt the foul magic within those tiny specks of powder. “I gotta clean that stuff off of you, Old Man. Not anything of fun but I have a feeling I know what to do.” He explained while taking out a rag and his waterskin.

The Chain’s leader closed his eye and tried to hold back the whimpering as his boy gently wiped the Dark Magic Powder off of him. He even cleaned the hair and clothes before giving a check on the armor. Yet, surprisingly, the stuff hadn’t gotten into there. Once done, he burned the cloth just to make sure the stuff wouldn’t be left lingering into anywhere.

The Chain slowly gathered around their oldest brother and the Veteran pretty much commanded them not to touch the knife. After that he took out his own Magic Powder out while wishing he was right. “Just breathe, Time.” He half commanded before blowing a handful of the dust at him.

The oldest Link coughed few times before sighing and relaxing as he closed his eye. “Help the others, please.” He pretty much begged while feeing his magic unwind from the knife and return where it belonged to. The hellish chaos that had been ranging within him had calmed down.

“Don’t take the knife off until Time says it’s okay to be removed.” Legend commanded before getting up and going over to where the tortured fairies were at. Wild looked almost fearfully at his brother while feeling so useless. The small beings on the flat rock were whimpering and trembling in pain. Some had destroyed wings while others’ wings were torn off of their backs. There were bleeding wounds and broken bones. And yet, the worst was, the effects of the Dark Magic Powder that had destroyed their magic and vanquished the glow from them.

The Weapon Specialist felt like his brothers hadn’t made the torturers suffer enough for what they had done. He crouched down in front of the fairies and brought out the Magic Powder pouch and drew out a handful of it. After that he blew the dust at the small beings while hoping for the best.

Both the Champion and the Veteran sighed in relief when the fairies, even though in bad shape still, regained their glow and magic. It wouldn’t heal them but at least it gave them what had been stolen from them. “We need to find a way to heal them.” The cook of the Chain whispered and Legend only nodded.

“There’s a well hidden Great Fairy Fountain close by.” Hyrule suddenly told while coming over to the duo. He glanced worriedly behind him at the Chain’s leader. Even though the knife was off and the wound healed, he was still weak after what had happened with his magic. “The Great Fairy is able to heal her little sisters and brothers.” He explained while trying not to sound so sorrowful.

The Chain came over and each of them took several of the fairies gently into their hands and shoulders to carry them. None of them felt like trapping any of the small healers into bottles. Such had already been used against them as it certainly had been the easiest way to strike that foul dust into them.

The Great Fairy appeared nearly instantly after the nine Heroes had arrived to her fountain. The small fairies were gently placed onto the railing of the water area. From there the small beings slipped into the water to swim and dive. The Great Fairy smiled sorrowfully at her small siblings before turning her notion into the Hero of Time.

“I’ll be all right. I just need bit of time. Bit of rest will do wonders.” The Chain’s leader half whispered before bit wincing at the pain of using the Fairy Language. He ignored the worried and concerned looks his boys were giving him while trying to regain his strength back.

“Maybe so but I’m here now and I want to help like you were up for protecting my kin, brother not bound by blood.” The Great Fairy replied and crouched down. After that she very gently reached out and placed her hand against the oldest Link’s chest. She closed her eyes and, even though the stab wound and shattered bones had already been fixed, she made sure it was safe and sound while easing out the last remnants of the chaos within the one eyed male’s magic.

Time sighed in relief and relaxed while feeling the calmness return into the midst of his magic. It also brought back his strength and stamina. With a grateful smile, he pulled off from leaning against Warriors and stood steadily on his own feet. He bowed his head while half whispering his thanks.

“You are very welcome.” The Great Fairy replied with a fond smile and a nod while standing back up. “You may stay here and rest. The forest will provide all you need.” She told while wishing more than anything to show her own gratitude and do something in return for the nine that had saved her kin.

The Chain of nine Heroes stayed for few days. With each meal Wild did, he made food for the fairies too. He brought the dishes in fairy size to the fountain and placed the plates and bowls at the railing. Even though the fairies were doing much better, they all were delighted of the offered food. The small beings were sorrowful when the next portal opened up and sent the Links forward in their quest. After all, that snatched their unique meal maker away.

The swirly pathway brought the Chain right into Time’s own era and they straight off made their way towards the Lon-Lon Ranch. Bigger part of the one eyed male was happy of being back home but the other part feared for his family. This was where he had seen Twilight and Malon die. He had already saved everyone else, there was NO chance he’d fail this.

Like many times before, the one eyed male kept the ones in danger out of the loop while asking the rest to keep full check of the area in search of archers. Yet, he did one simple mistake as he was securing his wife’s and blood relative’s lives. He entirely forgot to have seen his own death too.

When the request for help came, it wasn’t from the Princess but from some random person somewhere from Hyrule. It didn’t seem too hard and the Old Man was certain of it being swiftly done. Yet, bigger part was that he knew this was the initiation for the situation he desperately needed to change. Before he left the house with the armor on and the weapons along, he reminded his brothers about the somewhere lurking archers. Most of the Chain scattered to search for the danger while he put himself as the target and beginning of the situation.

“Good morning, Link!” Malon greeted before gasping and turning her notion into the sound of scuffle. Yet, nearly instantly afterwards she already snapped her notion into her husband. There had been a screech of metal on metal. She screamed as she saw her Link crash to the ground back first.

Dark Link growled when he realized that the situation had changed. The archers had been taken down before they’d get a chance to shoot the two of the closest family members of his worst enemy. He moved swiftly and performed the move his Light Counterpart knew: The Back Slash. He smirked as the currently unbreakable darker version of the Master Sword cut through the back of Time’s armor and deep into his flesh.

The dark reflection of the one eyed male snatched a hold of his opponent’s shoulder and yanked him roughly into the ground. He quickly came over him while smirking as that sole eye snapped open and the terror struck as the bloodied blade was seen. “You fucked up.” He snarled while striking the blade downwards.

Yet, before Dark Link could actually kill the Link whose dark side he was, a gigantic wolf attacked. He didn’t have any other choice than to pull off and backflip away from his target. The beast snarled and attacked again. The shadowy figure of the canine’s mentor growled as he avoided again until hightailing out of there. He created a portal as swiftly as he could and dashing through it before already shutting it. The predator skidded into a stop at where the dark corridor had just been. Yet, nearly instantly after, he already turned around and dashed back to the spot where the others were already gathering to.

Time was growling in pain as the Chain worked to get his weapons, armor and tunics off to reach the wound. “Oh that’s not good. Not at all. Shit… It’s bleeding way too much…” He wasn’t certain whom said that as he was fighting to stay conscious.

“Even if we’d stitch it, it would still bleed through the bandages. We gotta fix the wound somehow!”

“We’re not having potions! No-one realized to leave the ranch to go restock!”

“Yeah, well, Time denied that!”

“What?! Why?!”

“To save you and Malon.”

*a loud gasp of shock*

The Chain’s leader was certain the arguments and work on his back continued but he couldn’t hear or feel it anymore. The darkness had fallen all around him while just feeling grateful that he had managed with his work. His boys and wife were safe. It was what he had worked so hard to achieve for the past portals and eras. He partly felt like this just was the price he needed to pay to keep his family safe and sound.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time frowned as he found himself from the top of the Death Mountain. It was early morning and the Cucco had just made its call. He had a feeling he had been in this situation before.

“You will see him again.”

The spoken words snapped the one eyed male’s notion into the scene not far from him. He gasped a bit as he saw the younger version of himself and the ghost of Fierce Deity. “Those words were yours back then.” He half whispered without really knowing how to feel.

The God of Protection was tad startled and he turned around to face his friend’s older version. “They are.” He replied while standing up from the crouched position. He glanced after the young Hero before returning his notion into the boy’s future self. “You should not be here.”

“I’m rarely where I should be.” Time answered bit sorrowfully and nodded after his child version. “You should go. You can’t be far from your mask.” He reminded while sitting down to watch the rising sun.

“I cannot leave you here.” Fierce answered and offered his hand to the one eyed male. “Come. You will not find the answers you seek from here.” He told firmly before snatching a hold of his friend’s arm and just yanking him up.

The Chain’s leader gasped a bit at the action as he had had full decision of staying put. He scowled at the Deity but let the divine being drag him along. “Where are we going?” He inquired as they followed the child whom had to climb down while the two of them just walked without fear of falling or slipping.

“To where you need to be at.” The Deity simply answered with a grin. He chuckled as his friend rolled his eye at the given answer.

When they reached the base of the volcano, Time gasped as there was a sudden change in the area and time. He gasped when Fierce gave him rough push and forced him forward. He shot a glare at the Deity’s way before a call of his name caught his notion and he turned his gaze into where the God of Protection had brought him.

“Time?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain was freaking out. Everything they tried was for nothing. Even the fairy Malon and Hyrule had found couldn’t change the situation.

“I can’t fix it!”

“The fairy’s powerless too!”

“We’re losing him!”

“NO! We CAN’T lose him!”

“Link, fight!”

“Stay with us, Time! Please!”

“Sprite! Don’t do this time!”

Wind heard the quiet gasp and turned his gaze to his right. “Time?” He called while frowning as he saw the Chain’s leader standing there all see-through. He shakily stood up and moved away from his brothers. “Time, please. Don’t leave us.” He begged with wavering voice and tears in his eyes.

The eight others glanced at him before gasping in shock. “Sprite?” Warriors called tentatively while unwillingly getting up and moving closer to the ghost.

The one eyed male slumped and grimaced at the situation. “Damn you, Fierce. I’ll get you back for this…” He grumbled quietly while having not wanted to see this scene.

The Old Man could hear the Deity laugh and grin. “I would love to see you try.” The words echoed in his head and he scowled at the given reply. Yet, very soon he turned his notion into the nine persons that made his family. Most of them were begging him to not leave them.

“Guys!” Legend eventually snapped and shot a slight glare at the people around him. He sighed heavily while slumping and letting his ears droop. He raised his tear-filled gaze into his leader. “Do what you see right, Time. That’s what you’ve always done. Whatever your choice is, we’ll accept it.”

Malon and the seven Heroes were shocked of the Veteran’s words. Yet, they very soon slumped and nodded. “I love you, Sprite. But, if this is as far as you say your life goes, then… J-just….” Warriors started before already biting down to his lower lip while breaking down. “I’ll be missing you, little brother. I’d rather have you with me longer but… Your choice, Sprite. I’ll honor whatever you choose.” He told with shattered voice.

The others nodded while feeling like this was goodbyes. Twilight desperately wanted to say that this wasn’t the way he’d lose his mentor but he stayed silent. They had gone through so many eras and timelines that maybe this really was where the end came. At least for this version.

“The right thing…” Time half whispered while looking around his shattered family. The nine before him nodded while crying and having bowed their heads in sorrow. Suddenly the words from the one of the Moon Children snapped right into his mind.

“The right thing… What is it? I wonder… If you do the right thing… Does it really make… everybody… happy?”

The one eyed male nearly jerked as the words sank in. He looked around the nine that he loved from full heart and more. He smiled as he knew perfectly well what he needed to do.

The Chain’s leader moved in front of Hyrule. “My little friend and my dear boy, be ready for I will need the help from both of you very soon.” He told in Fairy Language as he noticed the small pink fairy in his boy’s hair. The duo gasped a bit and snapped their gaze open and into him. “Sshh, eyes closed.” He half requested with a small fond smile and the duo nodded while doing as requested.

Time moved forward and bit grimaced as he saw his own body. He really didn’t like the amount of blood in the ground around himself. Yet, he took a deep breath, moved closer and closed his eye. After that he let himself fall right back into his body.

The Chain and Malon gasped in shock when they heard the sharp inhale that was followed by pain filled growl. The ghost of their loved one was gone and Time was trembling on the rough ground. “TIME!” The screams cut through the air before they all already surrounded him.

The healing fairy swiftly started her work while the Traveler initiated his own magic. He turned some of the healer’s work into blood to compensate the lost amount of it. Other than that he strengthened the work with his own healing magic to do more of fixing in the damage Dark Link had caused. “Don’t overdo yourself, Pixie…” The one eyed male’s quiet request startled the half-fairy but before he could reply, Legend already gave him one of the green potions.

“Nothing to worry, Time. I know what I’m doing.” Hyrule answered firmly while taking the drink and continuing the work. He knew he couldn’t fix it fully but at least he could save his leader’s life. Once he pulled off, Warriors took his place and started to stitch the wound close. After him came Malon and Twilight to bandage the damaged area.

Time was in lot of pain and exhausted but he knew he was going to be all right. He reached out to Legend and grabbed his hand. “Thank you.” He half whispered with a small smile before drifting off into a calm sleep.

The nine members of the Chain’s leader’s family didn’t dare to move him. Instead, they brought out the bedroll and carefully got him onto it. After that they covered him with Warriors’ scarf, Sky’s Sailcloth and a blanket. Only after that, few at a time, they pretty much went to clean up until coming back to keep eye on their beloved member of their family.

When Time finally woke up, they didn’t dare to let him move much in fear of him opening the wound. He accepted the restriction and took the red potion after a meal created by Wild. The Chain and Malon had done bit of restocking now that the worst danger was over.

It took several days before the one eyed male was moving around. The fairy, Hyrule and the potion had done lot but there still was healing to be done. Nonetheless, things were looking very good and the residents of the Lon-Lon Ranch had significantly calmed down and relaxed the more he healed and regained the usage of his body.

“So, Sprite, tell me…” Warriors started at one evening while trying to keep his seriousness off of his tone. “How come you left yourself from the list of people to be saved?”

The war Hero’s little brother sighed and shrugged a bit. “I forgot.” He admitted and raised an eyebrow at the baffled look his family was giving. “What? I kept going from one hellish prophetic dream into another.” He explained as calmly as he could.

“And you just decided to jump over the fact that Dark Link killed you?” The Captain queried while not really believing the older male’s claim.

Time sighed almost exaggerated and ran his hand through his hair. “It was hellish enough to watch the deaths happen.” He replied bit defensively before slightly frowning. “Yet… I wasn’t aware how I ended up struck down. I just…” He shook his head and glanced at Malon and Twilight. “On one moment everyone’s alive and in the next I’m laying on the ground with Malon and Twilight dead. I wasn’t given the knowledge of what happened between.”

“So… You really didn’t know….” Warriors half whispered sorrowfully.

“I only knew that Dark Link killed me but I didn’t know how I ended up into the situation I was in.” Time admitted and shrugged a bit. “There were few other prophetic dreams too that left lot untold. Some bits and pieces I got when we entered the right area. Some I just had to trust to be plausible of changing once it would be on. On the others I was able to do some preparations for the change.” He explained as well as he could.

“I’m just glad you’re still with us, little brother.” The strategist of the Chain told and moved next to the Chain’s leader before pulling him into an embrace. The others took that as an invitation and soon he found himself from middle of a group hug.

“So am I.” Time whispered quietly while relaxing and enjoying of the moment. His back still hurt but it was healing well. He hated to admit it but it was a good reminder. And as long as he could make the choice, he would always stay right by his family. After all, that was exactly the right thing to do.

[ahanarhorse]

What am I if not your guard? Chapter 4

Wild makes a good(bad?) decision and saves someone else at the cost of himself.

First chapter -- Previous -- Next

AO3 Link

Warnings: battle, knives, stabbing, almost drowning

Chapter 4: Death like an ocean, savior like the sky.

Sky quite liked knives.

Not these knives.

Specifically the one flying towards his face.

Sky was a whittler, he knew now to use knives. He was safe as long as he used them correctly and wasn’t reckless. Of course he could be dangerous, he was a hero after all.

But still, normally he was fine with knives. 

Except when they were trying to kill him. 

They had been transported to Warrior’s Hyrule and were walking until they found the castle. Warriors kept saying he knew where they were going. That was questioned when they almost fell off a cliff, again. 

No one wanted a repeat of last week.

The time when Wild was found, busted skull and bleeding body, sacrificing himself for Four.

He had gotten quite a lecture after that stunt, and was now being mothered by Twilight. He couldn't go anywhere without the rancher watching him like a farmer watching a cucco. 

Wild was grumbling about it, but not pulling any of his normal stunts. He didn’t like being watched, that was for sure, but he wasn’t climbing trees or diving off cliffs like he normally would. It seemed like for once he was giving Twi an easy time. 

And it would have been easy, if not for the fight. 

Warriors had led them in another circle when he finally gave up. They rested by a pond for a while before deciding to hike up a cliff to try to see where they were. 

Wild had offered to climb alone since he was the fastest, but no one let him, so there they were, all hiking up the mountain side. 

At least the view was nice. There was a beautiful waterfall right next to rolling hills, fields of flowers and forests of pine trees. It was peaceful. 

The group was hiking up, some taking in the clear air, some panting from exertion and lack of breaks. Wild had run up a little ways, looking at the view. Twilight had yelled at him to stay close, but didn’t try to catch up.

The champion was about to yell something back when an arrow flew out of the sky and struck him in the leg. 

Wild fell with a cry, and the rest of the group started sprinting to get closer to him. 

When the group got to where he was, Wild had already pulled himself up and was returning fire to a band of men. Each hero ignored their shortness of breath and started attacking the group. 

It seemed to be a band of outlaws hiding up in the mountains. They were armed with bows, swords and throwing knives. 

Sky did not like knives. 

Someone threw one at him and it thunked into a tree by his head. This was not good. 

Sky didn’t have enough energy for this. He had used most of it trying to keep pace with the others when climbing the mountain. He barely had enough energy to dodge the attacks, much less get into a swordfight. 

Someone else better have a plan. 

And it seemed they did. 

Several of the heroes had already taken down a few of the outlaws. Warriors was interrogating the captured while others went after those who were still loose. 

The one throwing knives at Sky was hit over the head, and Hyrule gave Sky a big smile before dragging his victim away. 

Sky heaved in another breath, now that he wasn’t in immediate danger he could actually breathe. The battle had been quick and short, the heroes trying to take hostages rather than kill. 

The bandits were rounded up and Warriors was talking to Time, planning to take them back to the castle. If they could find the castle. 

Sky leaned against a tree, taking deep breaths and admiring the view from where he was at. 

In just a moment, he spun around. Someone cried, and the knife throwing guy had broken free. He launched a knife directly at Sky, directly at his face. 

Sky was frozen, paralyzed, unable to move as he saw his fate coming closer and closer. At the last moment he was pushed out of the way, someone tackling him.

An impact, long blond hair, a blue tunic, and blood. 

That was all he saw before he was stumbling out of the way, stumbling closer towards the side of the cliff. 

The same blond hair and blue tunic that was laying on the ground watched him, watched him swing his arms and tumble off the cliff. 

The same blond hair and blue tunic ran and dove after him. 

And that was what he saw, blond hair, a blue tunic and a frightened face, right before he fell into a river. 

The water plunged around him. All the air escaped his lungs, both from the impact and from the frigid temperature. He tried to gasp in air, but it was only water that he got instead. He started to flail, trying to get to the surface, trying to get back to his brothers. He panicked, choked on water, and ended up breathing more in. It hurt, a pain erupted in his lungs as water swirled around his slowly darkening vision.

All he saw before it was black was blond hair and blue eyes.

---

The chain could only watch. Could only watch as one of the men broke free and threw a knife at Sky. Could only watch as Wild pushed Sky out of the way and took the hit. Could only watch as Sky fell off the mountain. 

Could only watch as Wild dove after him. 

And now they watched, looking down at the river below, looking at two forms quickly disappearing into the water. 

Legend had almost dove in after them, it was only Time’s hand that stopped him.

Instead they were all making their way as fast as they could down the mountainside. 

Warriors, Time and Four had stayed to watch the prisoners. The rest were flying down the hill, trying to get to the river so far down below. 

If only they had taken shield surfing lessons from Wild when he had offered them. Some of them could do it, but not as well as the champion, and with two injured and a mountainside to get down, trying something new and dangerous wasn’t their first plan.

They got down to the river quick enough. Quick enough to see two bodies floating down soon after they got there. 

Most of the heroes quickly ran into the strong current and pulled both of them out. Wild had grabbed a hold of Sky and had been trying to keep both of them afloat. He had somehow changed into his zora gear, but it was almost not enough.

Twilight grabbed both of them and dragged them to shore.

Sky was unconscious and had probably swallowed a lot of water. Legend helped him while Hyrule looked on.

Wild didn’t look good either. He was almost out of it, tracking Twilight’s movements and then staring off into the sky. 

Blood was seeping through his clothes, one spot on his shoulder where he had taken the knife for Sky and another spot on his leg where he had been shot at the beginning of the battle. 

Twilight was about to say something when Wild faded out again, going limp against his arm. This kid has gotta stop giving him heart attacks.

Thank you everyone for reading!! Comments are appreciated!

[daisy-mooon]

Spark

Whumptober 2023 Day 4: Cattle prod

-

Apollo sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, lunging for the griffins. Calypso sat upon the female, her arms locked reassuringly around her neck, and Meg was perched anxiously on the male, all but screeching at him to hurry up, when something struck his back and he fell cleanly onto the ground.

It took him a moment to realise what it was between the stabbing, sparks of pain that set his entire body alight in familiar agony. Something he’d only briefly glanced at, something that should have been kept in the shadowed corner of the enclosure, something that should have never been used on any of the furiously anxious animals locked behind the glass let alone be in sight of them - a cattle prod.

His head was achingly warm against the sandy ground, and his eyes watered as dust swept into his face. Distantly, Apollo was aware that Meg had broken out screaming. Calypso was yelling. He could see and hear nothing of Litreyses, but he could feel something cold and metallic prick carefully at his shoulder blades, pressing his limp form firmly into the floor, before electricity wept through his spine. 

The world around him turned into a haze - it wasn’t that Apollo couldn’t see it, it was that he was physically incapable of processing the world around him. With his face in the floor, there wasn’t a lot that he could see anyway.

There was one, particularly loud cry from Calypso before he heard something huge move, before he heard the footsteps of Germani, before he heard the flapping of wings, before Meg’s wails grew more and more distant before drifting into nothingness. In some far-removed part of his mind, he allowed himself to feel relieved that she had escaped. She’d been through enough already. But still, he'd just gotten her back, he'd just gotten to see her again-

His thoughts were cut off as the prod reignited - he’d been so dazed that he didn’t even realise that it had stopped in the first place. A fresh scream tore from his lips and he mustered up only a single twitch in defence. Out of all the weapons Lityerses could have used, he had chosen to weaponise electricity. He was a master swordsman with a sword, for the love of the gods, and chose the one thing-

It buzzed again. The sparks were thick and suffocating, like being skewered by a million arrows at once. It was burning, consuming-

A pause. A relief. His skull was numb against the floor, and he let it stay there.

“I thought we were going to kill him.” The Germani were arguing with Lityerses now, no doubt some wanting revenge for their wounds, others wanting to bring him back to Commodus and get their mission over with. Apollo tried to flex his hand to see if there was any way he could try and fight back against the next weapon. His fingers barely moved.

“Well, I was.” A boot made contact with his head, nudging it in a way that wasn’t really rough, but definitely wasn’t gentle. Even that managed to hurt. “But the other two escaped with the griffins, and Commodus was very insistent on having Apollo to start with. I’d rather bring him something than nothing at all.”

Commodus wanted him? That… could mean a whole plethora of things-

“No, I don’t know what he wants with Apollo beyond making sure that he stops messing with the Triumvirate. Something about bathtubs? I didn’t ask.”

…So it meant something that would probably result in his death. That was… that was great.

“Maybe Apollo knows.” One of the Germani suggested, before helpfully kicking him in the ribs. He coughed in a way that was dry and cracked and full of pain. Had he broken his ribs? It would certainly explain the horrific burst of pain that flooded through him-

The cattle prod stabbed back into him without warning. He screamed again, something that completely drowned out the sound around him. At any other time, he would have been grateful to receive a fraction of his voice back, but now? Surrounded by Imperial guards that were intent on capturing and torturing him? It did nothing but remind him of how utterly helpless he was. 

Tears beaded out into the corners of his eyes and he clenched them shut, determined not to give the Germani, determined not to give Lityerses, any more satisfaction in his suffering then he could help. That idea was lost to him as it lifted for an aching moment of relief, before pressing gently into the flesh of his neck.

None of the guards laughed at him for the sob that rattled through him. Or at least he didn't think they did. It was hard to hear when his entire being was racked with agony, had been even when he was a god. He felt himself begin to teeter on the edge of unconsciousness.

It stopped briefly as someone began to yank his arms behind his back and clamped something cold and hard around his wrists, then began again as his hands were dropped back onto them. Apollo couldn't cry out this time, throat too choked and strained to make out anything coherent, and he let out a thick, strangled gurgle. It stopped again as similar cold things- no, they were manacles of some sort- were locked around his ankles. He tried to push his leg, tried to kick whoever was restraining him, and his body went alight with pain in retaliation. No matter how many times sparks were forced into his veins for doing something wrong, he'd never get used too it.

"That's enough." Lityerses called from the side. It stopped. Had he not been the one electrocuting him? "We need to get him out of here before the zoo opens."

"One more?"

"Well, Apollo isn't stopping you."

He felt cool metal press against the top of his skull, and lost all connection to reality as the pain hit him.

His body hurt.

Someone was dragging him across the ground. 

Something metal poked him and he twitched in fear, terrified of the cattle prods return-

The light around him burnt into an intense, glowing fury. It wasn't the warn rays of his sun, or the cool shine of his sisters moon, but harsh and blunt and interrogative.

He swore he could hear laughter.

Apollo woke up, cold, sore and aching. 

Every part of him screamed as he opened his eyes, protesting the torture they had been through- what, hours before? Days? He wasn't sure. He didn't know if he had a clock, wherever he was, and he didn't know if he had the strength to look at it even if there was one.

Right... where was he?

His eyes had opened but he hadn't bothered to look, too distant from his own body to concentrate. As he forced himself to focus, his nerves protesting even louder as he became fully aware of his body, he saw the plainest of surroundings. Fluorescent lights. Uniform white walls. A polished marble floor. The room was adorned in a golden trim. He attempted to draw comfort in the colour, a similar colour to his bow, but it left him feeling hollow and empty. 

The room was plain, yet elegant. There were no shadows at all, no dark spaces to hide and retreat into, and the intensity of the brightness convinced his eyes to ache with the rest of him. It was with this exposure that Apollo then became acutely aware that he was lying down in a hollowed out section of the floor, the perfect space for a human to lie down in. The perfect size for a large, luxurious bathtub

Oh.

Oh.

Apollo writhed, attempting to pull himself out of it immediately, but the manacles that had been pressed against him earlier kept him immobile against the freezing stone. He started to notice things around him. The fact that the top of the bathtub-like mound was taller than his head could reach. One golden, tap-like pipe at each end. The concerning lack of a drain. And, perhaps most importantly, the opening of a door. 

From his point in the floor, he couldn't see who entered. But judging by the slow, dramatic pace, he had a rather good guess as to who.

Commodus walked all the way from the door behind his head, to the end of the bathtub where his feet were shackled. He looked- he wanted to say that he looked hideous, but he couldn't. He looked stunning, like every part of the New Hercules he claimed to be. And Apollo hated it.

"Hello, Apollo." His eyes glittered in the light. They were pretty, in the way a wolf's eyes were pretty before it leapt forward to rip your throat out. What he wouldn't do to be surrounded by his sacred animal right now. "It's been quite a while now, hasn't it?"

"...Commmodus." He hated how silky his voice was whilsy his own broke in anticipating terror. He hated how incomparably gorgeous he looked. He hated how he wanted to kiss him. These were not thoughts he should be having right as he was most likely about to kill him.

His head tilted to the side and drank the sight of him in, lingering at the parts he supposed were desirable. Apollo then became intensely aware that he was still very much in the body of a teenager, and any all of his attraction was replaced by the desire to throw up. Was Commodus seeing Apollo, the four thousand year old god, or was he seeing Lester, the sixteen year old boy? He hoped to every god in every pantheon that it was not the latter.

He was snapped outside his discomfort by laughter. Commodus' laughter. "Now, now Apollo. Don't you have anything else to say? After all, it has been a couple millenia since we've last spoken. No thanks to you murdering me."

Even after that enormous stretch of time, Apollo still had every detail of that day seared into his mind. Like a painful brand you could ignore, but never forget. He shivered through the fear and looked at him straight in the eyes. "And what do you want me to say, Commodus?"

"There are a variety of things I want you to say." Commodus leaned down, slowly, and swung his legs over the side of the bathtub. His sandals skimmed the tops of his shoes. "There are a variety of things I want you to do. There are far fewer, and much more important things that I simply want from you."

…sweat began to bead at the back of his neck. Apollo forced himself not to focus on Commodus' body, but even if he hadn't had the willpower, he wouldn't have been able to feel desire for him anyway. Had he been in any other circumstance, he may have struggled, but there was something deeply uncomfortable at having him say anything… implicative whilst he was restrained at his mercy. 

"And what kind of things do you want from me?" He asked, wrists twitching against the restraints. They did not give. 

Commodus let himself bask in silence for a moment, observing the small, animal-like signals of his fear, before moving until he was sat on the side of the bathtub, at such a position that he could easily reach down and touch his face and chest. Then, slowly, he turned around and gripped something that had been lying on the floor out of his sight.

Apollo twitched against his will as he fingered the cattle prod and began to slowly, slowly press against the dip in his collarbone, right the bottom of his throat. His eyes betrayed him, displaying a look of hoarse, vengeful delight.

"I want to hear you scream." Commodus said simply, before flicking the cattle prod on.

He clamped his mouth shut almost on instinct as electricity coarsed through him, and it took every bone in his body not to immediately start pleading for mercy. This was not his father. This was not a safe person to start begging too. Another crackle raced through him and he shook, biting down hard enough that his jaw began to ache. He was fucked.

It stabbed into that hollow once again, making his muscles seize and lock up in a cruel mirror of paralysis, and Apollo clutched his eyes closed equally as hard as his mouth as he felt the first beginnings of tears form in his eyes. He wasn't even sure why he was being defiant, why he was trying to hide himself from Commodus when he very clearly had intentions of murdering him the moment this was over. Maybe seeing Meg, maybe knowing Meg was safe had inspired him to act something like her. Maybe it was the humiliation that would come with giving in. He didn't know. Though really, with the pain ripping through him, he couldn't.

A question was said above him and he remembered shaking his head weakly, already feeling the skin under his eyes dampen in preparation for tears. Commodus moved away from that spot, having decided that he wanted to know what he looked like when he was writhing from pain in another location, and poked at the side of his neck.

Apollo didn't quite scream, but he did whimper as he attempted to jerk away from it. A peal of soft, dark laughter rang out from next to him he stabbed again at the same spot and held it there. It was beyond painful. The electricity seeped into every part of him just like his father's lightning - skin, muscle, nerves and bone, nothing could be hidden from it. He could feel his ears start to ring, but he was somehow able to make out that he was talking to him about something.

Another noise curled out of his mouth before he had the time to stop it, accompanied by a smooth, sliding tear. Commodus paused. He didn't know whether to feel grateful for the pause or disgusted at his touch as he slowly wiped the tear away, balancing its remnants on the pad of his finger. 

He tsked. "Now this is the kind of reaction I want, Apollo. Don't try and hide them now, there's nothing wrong with feeling the pain of electrocution."

Apollo's mouth opened stiffly and he inhaled a shaky breath. It was interrupted by the cattle prod being forced between his teeth and his eyes flew open in a panic. He'd made a mistake. He'd made a huge, massive mistake-

He wasn't sure if he stayed fully conscious through that round, but he was very confident in the fact that he screamed. Artemis liked to tease that his screams would scare every wild creature for miles, and the memory motivated him to scream louder, somehow, as if it was possible to scare Commodus away like he was nothing more and an animal. He couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't comprehend the pain. He began to inhabit the air around him, began to inhabit the bright fluorescents and the chilling marble, completely detached from his body yet somehow wailing. He started outright sobbing, wanting to plead too his father to stop, whilst drowning in the knowledge that he could make nothing but cries with Commodus having shoved the cattle prod between his teeth-

It stopped and he sunk back into reality, slowly, one piece at a time. The cattle prod was gone, leaving a sensitive jaw and aching teeth. The buzzing of electricity seemed to have dispersed, apart from lingering throbs that wrecked him in every place at once. The emperor beside him was standing up, speaking to someone, not even looking at him.

Through the corners of his eyes, blurred by tears and exhaustion, he saw Commodus scowl. He heard rather than saw the cattleprod clatter onto the floor, and he turned back to him.

"I wouldn't worry, Apollo." His eyes glimmered cruelly. "I'll be back to have a proper reunion later."

Somehow, he got the idea that a 'proper reunion' included choking him in the bathtub shaped space he was trapped in. But Commodus didn't stop to explain himself, and he didn't have the energy nor the desire to ask, and he left him tied down and battered without a second thought. 

"Apollo?"

He startled, weakly straining at the cuffs to see who was there. They were, rather annoyingly, imperial gold, and pulling did nothing but cut bruises into his skin.

"Apollo." He knew that voice, but he couldn't place it. Why couldn't he place it?

Footsteps pattered towards him, and suddenly a small, grubby face was staring down at him with huge, watering eyes. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. She looked like she'd seen someone that she'd killed.

"Meg." Apollo croaked, his voice still quiet and heavy from the electrocution, mouth not fully recovered. He realised with a shock that it left marks. Marks that Meg could see. "Meg, what are you-"

In a second, her scimitars hard twirled into her hands and were slicing through the restraints like they were butter. In a second, tiny, chubby hands were yanking at the unhurt areas of his arms, pulling him upwards and out of the floor. In a second, all of the pain in the world didn't matter. Meg was there.

He then panicked, because Meg was there. Had Commodus captured her? His voice strained with panic. "What are you doing here?"

She sniffed and buried her face into his shoulder without second thought, arms wrapping around him both tight enough that she felt like she would never let go, and gentle enough that it felt like she was treating him like the most fragile sculpture in the world. The space around him seemed to dissolve as she cried, sobs racking her entire body. No shout, no scream, no death, not even the end of the world could have been enough to distract him from this moment.

"I left you." Meg whispered, curling into him. "I left you."

"Meg, what-" someone came running into the room and he tensed, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as possible, terrified of someone taking her away. "Oh my gods, Apollo-?"

He was distantly aware of Leo's face coming into view, joined quickly by two silver adorned girls, all three wearing faces of shock and horror. He must have looked like shit, and vainly, he allowed himself to feel just the smallest bit relieved that they were worried about him. But that wasn't important. What was important was that Meg was here, Meg was right here and he wasn't letting her go-

"We need to move. The rest of the Hunters are fighting Commodus' forces." One of the girls said quickly. He blinked. They were Hunters of Artemis. Apollo started crying just as hard as Meg. "Valdez, you grab one arm. Tana, you grab the other-"

She began cutting away at the restraints at his ankles, as Leo and the Hunter (Tana, he assumed) slowly tried to coax him and Meg apart. He, for the most part, ignored them and sobbed with her, burying his face into the top of her head and whispering reassurances into her ear.

"I'm not leaving you again." She protest as Leo slowly prised her off of him, displaying distraught, bloodshot eyes that matched in colour with the frames of her glasses. "I'm not-"

"You won't have too." He whispered back, hand firmly entwined in hers. "I promise."

His reunion with Commodus could wait. Apollo had one job, and one job alone - comforting Meg.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

@jiaoji

🫂💘👁 (hug, a arrow heart and an eye)

It has always been like this - every time Lan Wangji sees Wei Wuxian, it feels like his heart has been struck for the millionth time. He can almost feel it, the sharp, unforgiving arrow of love piercing through his heart in one fell swoop, stabbing through the walls he's built around himself and through the softest, most vulnerable parts of him.

And all that when Wei Ying does nothing but look at him with those beautiful, storm-grey eyes, those eyes that the sun reflects into like diamonds and that the moon shines through like silver. Those eyes that shine with curiosity, mischievousness and wit, with love, with courage - with life.

Lan Zhan could spend the rest of his life staring into Wei Ying's eyes, reading his thoughts and emotions, working to evoke the best ones, the happiest ones - through gifts, through words, through actions of any and all kinds.

He watches Wei Ying, sometimes. Watches him closely, like one would look at a very intricate painting or a fascinating play. He watches Wei Ying playing with the bunnies, or teaching the juniors, drafting inventions, reading, painting.

Now is one of those moments. Wei Ying is working on something, talisman paper burning with various characters on it as he takes notes. He wears concentration on his face, eyes narrowed as another talisman turns to ashes, and quickly jots something down in his notebook. Every now and then he bites at his lower lip, or chews on the end of the brush, deep in thought, doodling on the side of his pages as he seems to be considering various ideas.

He looks adorable, and Lan Zhan can't help coming up behind him and enveloping him in a hug. He jumps a bit at the sudden sensation, but melts into it with a curious smile.

"Lan Zhan? Everything okay?"

"Mn." and he burrows his head in-between Wei Ying's neck and shoulder. "Love you."

"I love you too, Lan Zhan." and he cranes his neck a bit to leave a little kiss to Lan Zhan's lips. "Now let me work, okay?"

"Okay."

Soon, Wei Ying feels Lan Zhan relaxing against his back, his breath coming in slow and even. He's fallen asleep.

The knowledge has Wei Ying's chest bloom with warmth and love, and he abandons his work to lean against Lan Zhan himself and join him in the dream world.

[faroreskiss]

Heya bestie, hope you feel better soon, life can be a bitch sometimes *pats your head*

Since you want angsty requests, mind if I requested a scenario of Link/Zelda (either of them) x reader where reader gets... idk fucking killed or gravely injured? Not sure if this makes you uncomfortable or if it's too much for you, if it is just ignore it.

(Tbh I'm not feeling too hot mentally, either lol, nothing like angst for these moments)

Hi Nova, thank you <3 *becomes smol under your hand*

Hopefully it will also work out for you!!! *hugs*

I'm just whipping it up and leaving it here raw, to get back to it at a later point (hopefully).

Can you guess the pairing and where this came from before the name pops up? Don't look at the tags yet! 😏

Acceptance of the waves

CW: Raw non proof read text, angst, possibly no comfort, not nsfw but mature content, mention of death

~

She would have to accept it at some point, she had to truly understand what happened. She couldn't go on with life otherwise.

Alas, there was no time for deliberations.

With pain in her heart as she watched the castle blow up, spikes of grief stabbing her insides for reasons unknown to her within the swirling chaos of her emotions, she fought.

She didn't want to feel now, she forced herself to focus, as she held the sword that seals the darkness. Oh the irony, could the sword also be the bane to the darkness in her heart now?

Ganon was no more. But at what cost?

As she mourned silently and bitterly, she imagined carrying your unblemished and limp, now soulles vessel, at least to a grave. But there wasn't even a body left to say goodbye now, was there? Did that mean she could see you again? Maybe you were okay?

No.

Moments following the battle's end, the hero was barely able to stand, knees weak. She begged to Princess Zelda, she begged her to get you back, to do something. The princess just looked away, unable to meet her gaze. 

She pleaded to the Goddesses, she pleaded to Hylia, silently in her heart. She would pray to any deity to see you.

Then, over in the distance, she saw a hue of light. The light spirits were gathering, spreading their warm light towards her. She saw a little dark speck within the hue of light. A gestalt of a body...?

Once she realized it was you, she started running towards the light, despite her injuries. Despite how it hurt just to take a step. A glimmer of hope and the rush of adrenaline, air burning in her lungs. There was a tint of uncertainity, but the hope was too strong. She kept running, she was almost there, her smile covering her face, her eyes watery. Tears stinging the scars in her face. But she didn't care as she exploded with joy.

She had to see you, she had to taste your lips and finally tell you how much she felt for you, all her feelings. She had to say goodbye to you properl—

Goodbye?

Wait, why would she want to do that? Just moments ago you were fighting together. Covering each other.

Then...

Then she remembered.

She remembered how you got struck by one of the swords that were thrown off at you, as you protected her with your body.

-----

"You know, I'll have your back, always" you had told her only a day ago, before you stormed the castle. You had that playful glint in your eyes. She had just scoffed at you, before she smirked back. There would be some 'talk' to have after you guys were back. She had had promised herself to finally open up to you.

-----

She remembered the enraged state she was in as she defeated the beast in the throne room. How she was transported away by Zelda's magic, to the outside of the castle. How she defeated Ganon with the arrows of light, then seeing the castle blow up.

Nobody could survive that.

-----

She woke up in sweat and tears once again.

Grief comes in waves, they said. The frequency of how it hits you is the only thing that changes. You just try to live your life for another day, and then another.

She would have to accept that you were truly gone, at some point.

Even if it meant being haunted and tortured with the memory of almost getting you back, even if just to say goodbye. Even if just to say she loved you.

Linke was even denied that.

But she would have to accept, otherwise life could not go on.

Closure was a luxury that was sometimes denied, after all, she remarked to herself as she kept silently sobbing to her pillow, a case made out of a tunic of yours.

[fe-fictions]

will always loving ask for more claude fics <3

(Here's Claude being protected by Byleth...i.e. the "I'm hurt but I'm with you" prompt)

You were called down to the battlefield, needing to dispatch a group of rogues that had made their way towards the monastery. They were closer than the advisors were comfortable with, and so you assured them it would be cleared in no time.

That was what you thought, at first. The soldiers were dispatched and you expected them to come back soon informing you of their swift victory. Instead a panicked messenger was rushed back to the monastery, claiming it was an ambush, and that they needed immediate reinforcements.

It was serious enough that Claude suggested you both go and join the fight.

Before long the two of you were there, weapons drawn and engaging the suspiciously powerful foes.

Claude knocked one man down after another, his arrows flying true and taking down anyone who looked at him the wrong way.

You supported him with your blade and your magic, helping him clear the field and defend your fighters.

Your soldiers were faring better, but it was still a brutal battle.

You were getting nicked and cut at more than you liked; and Claude was the same way. 

If you glanced away at the wrong moment, Claude took an arrow to the shoulder, or a sword would narrowly miss his neck, slashing through his armor and gashing his chest, instead.

He was getting beaten down the longer the fight went on.

You tried to stay close to him as long as you could, but you were feeling the pressure, too. 

It was almost overwhelming for you both. 

Then there was a single, lucky shot.

An arrow struck Claude’s leg. He cried out in pain, his thigh stabbed straight through. It was still lodged, refusing to budge even as he crumpled to the ground.

It was a critical strike.

“Claude-!” You called to your husband, heart leaping in your chest. No more turns in your Divine Pulse, no way to fix this. Not unless you could get him away from the battle and someplace safe.

“Catherine!!” You shouted for your captain, who was doing her best against the battalion before her. She glanced back at you, finding your arms around your husband and helping him up to his feet (more or less). 

“Milady??” 

“Claude needs help- maintain your position! Don’t let them any closer to the church! Your orders were met with a battle cry, Catherine making good on your words and driving them back.

“This is d-dangerous, love-” Claude glanced around the battlefield, seeing far too many enemy soldiers that could quickly cut you down if they saw you. “I’m only going to weigh you down-”

“I’m taking you somewhere safe. Can you walk?”

“With help.” You positioned yourself on the side with his pierced leg, making sure to take all his weight on. You walked him towards the edge of the field, sneaking out of sight. 

“There’s a cave a few meters out. Hold on.”

It was a painstaking process, making sure that Claude was out of harms’ way. But you found the cave and ushered him inside, taking great care to lower him to the ground.

You slowly unraveled your arms around him, though you made sure to keep your hand in his, fingers on his wrist to feel for a pulse. It was weaker than you liked.

“Claude?”

“Mh…” His grunt was soft, but his smile remained. “I’m hurt, but I’m with you.”

“Okay.” You nodded, “Okay. I need… we have to take the arrow out.”

Claude grimaced at the thought. 

“Can’t come back the way it came- you’ll have to push it through.” He forced out. Your fingers tightened around his. 

“That’s…”

“It’s gonna hurt either way, sweetheart.”  A dry laugh. “Sooner the better.”

The King of Almyra was in a terrible state, but he could read your expressions even when it wasn’t the most ideal situation. Even with bleary vision, it was clear the way your jaw tightened just slightly that you were worried. Almost frightened. 

He stroked your cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

You stared at him, for a long moment. Debating. Trying to decide which option to pick before time ran out. You held his hand to your cheek, then shifted it to your shoulder. 

“… Hold on to me.”

“Like you have to ask.” He grinned. His mirth was erased the instant you started pushing. You moved the arrow forward, pulling it from the back of his thigh and pressing it through the front as quickly as you could. But trying to keep his leg from being more mangled than it was already was making it an impossible task.

And Claude bore the brunt of it.

He hissed under his breath, grabbing onto your shoulder with force enough to make you wince. But he bit his tongue, refusing to cry out despite how it felt as though his leg were on fire. 

He was almost positive it was, but his eyes were squeezed shut so tightly he wasn’t going to try and look.

“Almost there,” You mumbled, more as a comfort to yourself than your husband. You fought to keep it moving straight, desperately trying not to jostle it or twist the weapon. 

The seconds were agonizing, they passed slow and brutal, but finally, finally a moment of mercy. 

You got the arrow through. 

Claude gasped for breath, slumping against the rocks. His hand was limp on your shoulder, leaning his head back. 

“That’s the worst of it. Are you okay, Claude?”

His breathing slowed. No response. 

“Claude?”

You reached up, squeezing his hand again.

“Khalid?”

“Still… w-with you…” He panted out. 

“I’m almost done. I need to stop the bleeding.” You informed him softly, slipping off your coat with the intent of cutting some away with your knife. A proper bandage would be preferred, but you needed to work with what you had.

“Remind me to… buy you a new coat.” He joked while you tore away strips of cloth. You shrugged, tying them around the wound.

“It’s just a coat.”

“I feel bad.”

“I’d rather have my husband.” You responded evenly. The dressing of the wound went much faster than you wanted, but it was done.

You pulled the knot tightly enough that it wouldn’t budge. Claude wasn’t going anywhere, either. Not until the battle was done. One that you needed to get back to. 

“Will you be all right, here?”

“You’re not staying?”

“They need me out there. And you need a healer.”

“I’ll be fine- you can’t fight alone.”

“I have to lead them.” You reminded him gently, “They’re already without their king. They needn’t lose their queen on the battlefield, too.”

“I’m not going to be there to help you.” He protested, “I can go. I f I just keep the pressure off, I can- agh!”

His attempt to move his leg was met with a sharp protest from his leg. You smiled sadly at your husband. 

“I’m afraid not.”

Claude looked at you with a helplessness you were unfamiliar with. “If you get hurt, I’m never gonna forgive myself.” 

“I’ll be careful.” You promised as his hand came to your cheek once more, “I’ll come back with a cleric as quickly as I can. Stay out of sight, all right?” 

“You got it.” Claude’s confidence was weakened greatly by the situation, but it was the least he could do to give you a lopsided grin.

“I love you, Khalid.”

“I love you, too.” He breathed, a wisp of a kiss brushing across his lips. 

“Stay out of trouble.” You murmured. 

“Yes ma’am.” 

You were gone in an instant, launching back out into the fray to end things as quickly as you could. Claude wouldn’t die, at least, but you didn’t like the thought of him alone, defenseless and critically wounded.

Thankfully the battle wouldn’t last much longer. The upper hand was won and the Golden Deer were rightly victorious, quashing the fools who dared challenge the Archbishop.

You would hurry back to Claude with Flayn and Marianne in tow, helping him out of the cave with the intent of fixing up his wound that refused to stop bleeding.

You made it a point to hover around him from the start of the journey back to the end, sitting beside him on the bed and never once leaving him alone.

Claude could hardly complain- after all, you owed him for dragging him to a creepy cave and ripping an arrow out of him. You would counter his point by saying you saved his life, but Claude insisted the torment he suffered meant you would have to comfort him for a long time.

As if you could say no to those ridiculous puppy eyes.

[links-in-time]

Links in Time

Part 15

This has to be the longest fight scene I've written so far. I hope everything makes sense!

The clash of steel and the twang of bow strings rang out through the courtyard. Two dozen Yiga surrounded Wars and Maari. The chasm in the centre now between the two of them. Maari was fending off as many Yiga as she could, her blade a shining blur in the approaching moonlight. Link was struggling to keep up with the speed of the Yiga, and their ability to disappear and reappear somewhere else at will. Their teasing laughs were starting to grate and every time he managed to wound or kill one of them he found himself chuckling too.

They were still no closer to reaching the end of the valley and the path to safety. If only they had told someone where they were going. If only Maari hadn't been so desperate to find any sign of her mother. Regret filled her mind which played on her thoughts. Dragging her mind this way and that causing her to lose focus. She mistimed a spin which cost her a cut from a scythe. The blade struck her arm, but it was only a surface would. Though it stung Maari could tell she wouldn't be needing Wars' stitches this time.

She kicked the Yiga who had cut her hard in the chest and sent them sprawling on their back, likely very winded. She was just about to turn her head and check on Wars when...

"Ouch!" Maari keened, as an irritating pain struck her neck.

She shook it off and returned her attention to the two Yiga facing her with their windcleavers. Unaware of the soldier who had backed up into the shadows, armed with a blow dart.

On the other side of the pit Wars was hidden behind his shield as a barrage of arrows rained down upon him. The Yiga were careful to keep up the onslaught to prevent giving him a moment to attack.

"This isn't working" Wars exclaimed, though Maari was too far away and too distracted to hear him. He was starting to think the same as Maari, that this had been a foolish plan all along.

He chanced a glance in her direction, keeping his head well hidden. Link watched her slice the throat of one of her attackers with the tip of her blade. Like a felled tree they hit the ground, tripping the other attacker who Maari stabbed through the sternum.

Maari didn't pause to look down at her dead enemies. She looked over at Link, but frowned when she found her eyesight had gone slightly blurry. Maari blinked hard a few times but her failing vision persisted. Her hand went to her neck. Poison. The question was, was it lethal or not? She preyed to the Goddess that it was the later, but doubt began to crawl into her mind as more Yiga began to surround her. They walked over their comrades as they pressed her closer to the canyon wall.

"Alright, which one of you traitorous bastards is next?!" She almost screamed at them, adrenaline pumping furiously around her body. She quiverred with the rush but fought to stay in control.

A soldier to her right answered her question. He ran at her with a sickle raised. He swung at her head and missed as she ducked, but Maari missed also. She tried to stab at his back but she lost her footing and stumbled forwards. She almost fell into another soldier, but they moved aside and let her tumble. Maari shook her head, her cloudy vision was growing worse and now it wasn't just the adrenaline making her shakey. This was bad. If she couldn't stay conscious long enough for them to escape they were going to be in big trouble. No not they, her. She was going to be in big trouble. Link on the other hand. She had to get him to run.

"Link!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, raising her sword just quick enough to block a strong blow from another wind cleaver. "Link!"

Link was on his feet again, running around the perimeter. His eyes kept flicking between Maari and the Yiga. But he quickly realised Maari was in some kind of trouble.

"Link! You have to get out of here!" She hollered at him.

"I'm not leaving!" He cried in reply, smashing a soldier over the head with his shield.

Maari barely heard his response. She was striving to retain consciousness, but her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier. Fatigue weighed her down like a physical load had been thrown on her. Maari endeavoured to hold her sword out in front of her, but she barely had the strength left to weild it.

"Link! I can't fight anymore. You... You have to get out. Please, go..." Just talking required far too much brain power and Maari found herself closing her eyes between each sentence.

Link watched as Maari swayed where she stood, her sword arm faltering. Something was very wrong. He couldn't see any injuries from where he was, but he could tell Maari was in a bad way.

"Maari I'm coming!" Wars bellowed, clashing blades left right and centre.

Maari could barely see Link anymore. She could barely see anything anymore. At last she lowered her blade and leant forward against the handle. Her eyelids fluttered down and down. Somewhere nearby she saw a flash of green, but it was too late.

"Link, run...please..."

Slipping into unconsciousness, Maari fell to her knees and slumped against the floor. Her sword slipped from her grasp and the world went dark.

Not far away, Link struggled to barge his way towards Maari. He howled and screamed as he watched two Yiga soldiers approach her and roughly tie her hands behind her back.

"Get away from her!" He cried. "You bastards leave her alone!"

"Don't worry. You'll see her again very soon."

A rather beafy looking Yiga said close to his ear. Link spun around ready to defend, but instead he took a punch to the gut which knocked the wind clean out of his lungs. He tried to suck in air but failed.

Dropping his shield and clutching his stomach, Link tried to keep some distance between him and his assailants. But the large soldier had moved behind him again and grabbed him in a headlock. While he was pinned someone grabbed Link's sword, and someone else gave him a hard right hook to the jaw.

He wasn't unconscious, but part of him wished he was. In the corner of his vision Link saw Maari being hoisted over someone's shoulders and taken away into the Yiga base. His heart sank. Maari was unconscious. No one knew where they were. And now both she and Link were at the mercy of a very dangerous enemy.

***

"Murph..." Maari groaned, as she opened her eyes.

She blinked a few times to adjust to the dim light, which seemed to be coming from torches somewhere nearby. The floor was hard and her muscles felt stiff. When she tried to move her arms to sit up she was met with a sharp pain from her shoulders.

"Argh!" She cried in frustration.

"Carful," Link's voice warned nearby. "Your hands are tied. Take it easy. I don't know what they drugged you with but it seemed pretty potent."

Maari took the voice's advice and shuffled herself a little more carefully. After a moment she managed to sit herself up, hands tied firmly behind her back. Link sat opposite her, hands also tied, crossed legged and staring at her with intense concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Stupid question, but Maari supposed given the circumstances anything would have sounded stupid.

"I guess," she replied unenthusiasticly. Maari blinked a few more times and tried to stretch out her neck. "I suppose things could be worse. I thought that dart might have killed me."

"I'm glad it didn't," Link replied. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Don't think so. Got a cut on my arm and a couple of bruises but nothing feels bad. You?"

"I'm alright, a few scrapes but nothing a potion won't fix."

With the small talk out of the way they fell into an awkward silence. They avoided eye contact, staring at interesting places on the floor or the walls. Maari took the opportunity to assess their surroundings. They appeared to be locked in a cell cut into the rock of the canyon. A barred door spanned one wall and she could see others like it on the other side of a corridor. Torchlight flickered over them but half the cell was in semi darkness.

"Why do you think they kept us alive?" Link asked, his voice low.

"I don't know," Maari uttered, keeping her eyes on a spot on the floor in front of her. As she spoke she twisted her legs so she was sitting crossed legged like Link.

"Yes you do, I can tell you know," Link probed.

The truth was Maari didn't want to tell Link what she suspected. Based on what they knew about how the Yiga had been operating lately, kidnapping random people. She had a strong idea about what fate had in store for them. Maari had made the connection between the Yiga and the strange runes created by the dark portals. One key piece of the puzzle was still missing however.

Maari sighed. "I told you to run, Link. Why didn't you run?"

"Because I'm a stubborn hot head, you know that."

"No you're not," she replied.

"Whatever, look I didn't run because I couldn't leave you behind. I would never leave someone I care about. So I wasn't going to start today." Link said firmly, punctuating his sentences with nods and shakes of his head. Maari knew that if his hands were free he would be gesticulating wildly.

"I just didn't want them to get you too," she sighed.

"I get that, but that's not how I operate Maari. And I'm here now. So you might as well tell me what I've got to look forward to," Link urged, trying to lighten the situation.

Maari closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, then she looked up and fixated her gaze on Link.

"I think I know what the Yiga are doing and I think it's connected to your portals somehow. The runes they use to appear out of thin air, they're the same ones crested by the dark portals. The missing researchers and the eye drawn in Zelda's chambers. They're all connected. I don't know how yet but the Yiga have something to do with the dark portals and if I know anything about how their magic works, they're probably using blood magic."

Link's eyes were wide. His own mind was following Maari's thoughts to their conclusion and coming up with the same answer. She was right.

"So if the Yiga kept us alive..." Link began, afraid to finish his own sentence.

"They're going to sacrifice us to work their dark magic." Maari finished his thought.

Link sighed and let his head fall back against the wall as he contemplated his potential end.

"Wonderful."

"I can't believe I'm going to die like this. I can't believe I'm going to die by their traitorous hands," Maari whimpered.

For all her strength and fortitude of character, Link was reminded that they were roughly the same age, and still both so young.

"You're not going to die," he said in a low voice.

"Look I don't want to give up either, but you have to admit our situation isn't exactly hopeful. No one saw us leave but by now they'll know we're missing. Even if the others figure out what's happened to us there's no way for them to get here in time. I don't want to face the truth any more than you do. But... "

"But you won't be alone," Link put in. Maari looked up at his face. He smiled at her. A kind and crooked smile, one he rarely used. "No matter what happens, I'm not gonna leave your side."

"Thank you Link," Maari nodded and tried to smile back, but she was too overcome with thoughts of failure. She turned away and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry. I always thought I would be able to face my end without fear."

Link shook his head. "We all feel fear. Especially when we think the end is near. That's just human. But it doesn't define you. What defines you is how you move past it, how you face it."

"How should I face this? It's my fault we're here. I've lead you to your death. When you've done so much for me. I can't bare the weight of your death on my conscience. Especially since I..." Maari trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish what she was about to say.

Link wished he could reach out and embrace her, hold her close and never let her go. Or better yet, find some way to escape. But he just couldn't see one. They had no weapons, no hope of rescue. All they had left were words.

"You know, growing up during the calamity I never knew if my parents were going to come home alive or not. I was so afraid of losing the people I loved. Then when the upheaval happened and the world seemed like it was going to end, I just wanted to grab everyone I loved and hold them close until the danger was over. But I kept everything else at a distance. My duty to my clan and my family came first, nothing else mattered. Couldn't matter."

"You, afraid? I don't buy it!" Link teased, alleviating her mood slightly.

"I know you're trying to make me feel better by acting showy, but you don't have to. Whatever you want to say, say it as yourself Link. Not the as the Captain, or the Hero." Maari insisted.

The smile on Link's face lessened, but not from his heart.

"Alright. You know, I've always been afraid of losing people I love too. I grew up without really knowing my parents. During the war I was afraid to get close to anyone in case I lost them. I didn't want to feel the loss. I decided it was better to be alone than to lose what I could have had."

"Sounds like we both closed ourselves off from everyone else." Maari mused. "But, when I met you... Well, when I met you I thought you were a bit pompous."

"Hey!"

"But then I met the real you in Hyrule Castle. The warrior and the healer. A kind soul. I wanted to know you. I wanted... I wanted to open myself up to you. I don't think I'm making any sense." Maari shook her head and tried to turn away.

"No, no, please. You're making perfect sense." Link implored her. "Please don't stop."

"Link, I know we're probably going to die in a few hours and I know it might not mean much but I've grown to like you. I don't know much about love, but sometimes when I'm with you everything seems possible. Even the impossible. And I thought you should know that before we die." Maari tried to look Link in the eyes but struggled to meet his gaze.

He was still smiling warmly at her, his eyes glistening with the threat of tears. He bit his lip and his breathing hitched as he let out a long sigh.

"Maari your words mean a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. I don't have enough time left to say all the tings I want to say. But you helped me take down my walls too."

After a moment of silence as the two contemplated each other's confessions, Maari turned back to Link.

"Come here," Maari almost whispered. Surprised but obediently, Link shuffled towards her so they knelt face to face. Maari blinked away a tear and sat up straighter. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, memorising the colours and patterns. Blue stared into red as they slowly drew closer. Their vision began to blur as their noses touched. Maari closed her eyes and then there was nothing else in the world except for them and their kiss.

< Part 14 : Part 16 >

[darckcarnival]

Get To Know The Mun!

> BASICS! ♡

NAME: Spoop, Splat, D, Darck (peeps usually call my my main muses names except Spoop, I am the spoopiest.)

PRONOUNS: Any! I merely exist.

ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius/Capricorn

TAKEN OR SINGLE: Single but married to food.

> THREE FACTS! ♡

Have been writing since the 90's when I was a wee child. Did silly little roleplaying on mIRC, on some forums, and deviant art back in the day there after. Then became a fanfic writer for a while, followed by poems which I was quite good at back in the day. Then began making lyrics- figured nah, not for me. And flipped full circle back into roleplaying once more with some drabbles and maybe a one shot fic here and there. Have been writing ever since! So I have a LOT of history under my belt. And many of my muses have the same type of dedication and time behind them. Gotta put as much love into your character and writing, as if they were your own family. Make them feel alive.

Most art I do is either writing, 3D model modification items, or just with a mouse and keyboard art. I have been practicing more with a gifted tablet and pen, which has allowed me to do more detailed and serious mod work, such as mods for RE4 classic! But I am much better at texture, 3D, or coloring and shading. But heres the fun fact: i learned all my 3D and texture work skills through Second Life before anything else. And it's actually, funny enough, helped me bring muses to life as well as follow up on how to mod other games and go hog wild.

Been struck by lightning twice, fell down two different cliffs, hit by a semi truck, shot with a carbon arrow in the chest, stabbed, shot by bullet, and so on- and yet here I stand. Most of these events were completely accidental as well, and I walked away from. Honestly? I'm just a walking glitch in the matrix of the world, considering I also glitch every single god damn game I touch. THIS IS NOT A JOKE, NO MATTER HOW NEW IT IS, I BREAK IT.

> EXPERIENCE! ♡

PLATFORMS USED: AIM, Yahoo Messenger, DA chat, so many FORUM's back in the day. Skype, Discord, Tumblr.

PLOTTING / WINGING IT / MEMES: Geez, I can roll with just about anything. Plotting? Hell yeah count me in! Plots may not always follow the idea one hundred percent, but it absolutely makes for longer events and threads easily. Winging it? I do that all the damn time and can create so many unexpected events, as well as sudden character development. Twists and turns that just wing a rough idea into something wild. As for Memes and asks? Oh those can still form some really good interactions, character developments or knowledge acquiring moments. Sometimes these are one offs or long drabbles- but they can form into something longer and more serious. However, while I am down for all of the above-- I also have bad ADHD and writing can be hard, so it could take a while.

> MUSE PREFERENCE! ♡

GENDER: I can write just about any gender character, manage things in between or none. However I am more comfortable with female centric style muses. And yet, you put large men in my hands, and watch them go hog fucking wild. And don't even get be started on Robots or Monsters.

MULTI OR SINGLE: I have done both, but usually prefer single muse blogs. And yet I absolutely love my megaman multimuse to death! All my robot children and heathens there, so much work in my own verse there. So many thoughts. But multimuse blogs can still be difficult to keep organized with so much going on in the braincell, and with life being as it is, need to take breaks from it.

LEAST FAVOURITE FACECLAIM(S): Not sure what this means for least favorite here, does it mean people, or genre? I really don't mind one way or another. Especially when it comes to OC's, it's hard to find anyone who fits just right for people. And honestly I do not mind one way or another for people. If it fits someones muse, that's fine by me.

> FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡

FLUFF: THE GOOD SHIT HELL YEAH. I'm down for fluff so long as it isn't like... Hollow and forced. Fluff can be used as a great comfort option,. be it platonic, familial, friendly, or even romantic. Fluff can be used in so very many ways, and it's always an option withy me. But this can also turn into angst easily with my cursed hands, you have been warned. As well as comedic timing, since Darck needs to make a laugh to make herself comfortable. Darck has... problems.

ANGST: My bread and butter this one, much to the dismay of many of my friends who write with me. The muse on this blog is made of angst and pain and terrible events that have formed her into who she is. Angst can become violence, woe, heavy conversation, as well as venting- it's such a key part of development. There is a saying I quite enjoy: Muses are like geodes. Shiny, pretty, and in order to see what they are really made of, you must break them. I do admit however that I have a limit of how far I can go to a degree, with real life being a thing, but honestly? It takes a whole fucking lot to get there. And also maybe write angst too much and tragedy. Give this muse some better days.

SMUT: As much as I have enjoyed smut in the past, I haven't written such in a very long time, and am very careful of whom I write such with. Turns out I really good at smut according to others. And hey fun fact: People used to straight up pay me to write them smut of their characters and others of their choice. Haven't had that going in years but, it was a thing. However these days, writing smut with my muses needs to be more than just the event. It can be an opening for vulnerability, letting someone get close enough and trust them enough, that no one else really gets. Quiet and heavy conversations, the emotions involved. But if I ever do write it again, both my self and my partner need to be comfortable with writing such a thing. However if I ever did smut in a private drabble or fanfic, then all bets are off, because that's different. But far more rare.

Tagged by: @valour-bound

Tagging: You see this? IM TAGGING YOU. Do it.

[naominotaisho]

Shōsetsu InuYasha:

Translation By: Patches

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Chapter 11: Soul Transfer 1 When Sakasagami no Yura had struck her with that inferno, Kagome was so terrified that she couldn’t move.  All she could do was crouch on the ground, wrap the cloak that Inuyasha had lent her around herself, and curl in on herself while she tried to withstand the heat of the flames. (Am I finally going to die now?  I’ll never see Mama, Jii-chan, or Souta again…)  But after a few dozen seconds had passed, Kagome began to think it strange.  The flames were burning brightly around her, but Kagome had no sensation of her body being burned.

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Inuyasha’s clothing was like some sort of ultra-high performance fireproof outfit. She wondered how much time had passed.  When the flames subsided and she tentatively peeked her head out from other the cloak, Kagome realized that Inuyasha’s cloak really had protected her.  The ground around her had changed color due to being burned at a high temperature, and there was no trace of any of the grass and trees that had been growing there, yet Kagome herself was unharmed.  Not even a single burn.  Thanks to Inuyasha’s fire rat cloak…! (Inuyasha… That’s right, what happened to Inuyasha?!)  When Kagome looked out into the valley, she was appalled at what she saw.  Yura’s nest had fallen to pieces, with skull-laden bundles of hair streaming out in all directions.  In the midst of this, she could see even at this distance that Inuyasha had been injured.  Yura had him cornered and was taunting him. (I want to go and help him!) she thought, but all her ideas felt futile.  (But… if there is something I can do, I want to help Inuyasha!) Something that Kagome could do.  That would be shooting arrows, and seeing things that other people couldn’t see.  In this situation, there had to be some way to make use of that, right…?

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At that moment, there was a glimmer of light at the edge of her vision.  “…?!"  When she looked again, one of the skulls atop Yura’s nest was glowing. (The main line of the hair that Yura controls… The light looks the same…)  She tried staring at it harder.  The light became steadily clearer.  Ah… it wasn’t the skull that was glowing.  She was able to see that there was something glowing inside of it. (Here I go.)  Kagome resolved herself.  The place where the glowing thing was was awfully high up.  On top of that, the only way up would be to climb the skull-laden bundles of hair.  She was scared just imagining it.  Her legs were frozen.   Even so, she’d still thought to herself, ‘here I go’.  Right now, this was all she could do.  She couldn’t stand forcing Inuyasha to have to face hardship all by himself.

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2 (Why?!  She should have been burned to death by my “Onibigushi”, so why is that woman unharmed?!)  Yura was confused.  Regardless of how much spiritual power she had, she wasn’t an oni or a powerful youkai.  She was just an ordinary human, so why?!  Even so, right now that woman was currently making her way up the hair on Yura’s nest.  Why? Could she have seen it?  No, that wasn’t possible.  Even so, she had to stop her.  Right now. “Die!"  Using her red comb, Yura broke off a piece from a nearby bundle of hair.  The bundles of hair the woman was clinging to undulated, and she let out a terrified shriek. (All right, I’ll make you fall with the next one).  When Yura attempted to dissipate the bundle of hair again, "What’re you doing looking away from me?!”

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Inuyasha suddenly came and slashed her across the back.  Not wanting to miss the opportunitiy, he’d drawn out Benigasumi, which had been lodged in his hand.  How dare a mere hanyou use her precious Benigasumi! With a darkly swelling anger, she shouted, “You be quiet!"  Yura manipulated her hair and flung Inuyasha against the rocks.  Naturally she retrieved Benigasumi right away.  "Hmph.” Thanks to having delivered a powerful blow, Inuyasha gained a fearless smile.  “Cutting or stabbing you does no good, but now you’re strangely in a hurry.  Is there something bad where that woman’s going?” Bingo.  But she wouldn’t let him see her distress.  She’d deal with the hanyou later, but she had to kill the woman first.  That’s what Yura had decided.

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3 The bundles of hair from Yura’s nest were frighteningly difficult to climb.  The surface was oddly slippery, and trembled and swayed each time Kagome applied her weight.  Not to mention there were skulls strewn about.  There was a pungent stench that was a mixture of blood, dirt, and rotting flesh… Thorough all that, Kagome continued to climb while encouraging herself.  (All right, just a little further to the glowing skull…) When she thought that, suddenly one of the strands of hair began swaying completely differently from before.  Violently, as if trying to throw Kagome off.  “Eek!"  She desperately clung to the bundle of hair, and somehow managed not to fall.  Her chest was pounding, and it felt like all the blood had drained from her body. (Has Yura discovered me?!)  When she turned around, she saw both Yura and Inuyasha looking her way, talking about something.

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“Inuyasha!!” Kagome called to him in a loud voice, pointing up towards the glowing skull.  “That skull… there’s something in that skull!!” “Tch!"  Yura clicked her tongue and leapt into the air. "Wait, Yura!  You’re not getting away!"  Inuyasha ripped apart the bundles of hair binding him with his strength alone, and lept high in the air after her. (I’ve gotta hurry and get to that skull.)  Kagome desperately tried to clamber up the hair, but she wasn’t able to.  Yura had leapt to the nest above Kagome, and shouted, "Kushi no Ori!(1)” and lifted her left hand high above her head.  Following the movement of Yura’s hand, all of the bundles of hair began to move.  They seemed to be haphazardly going this way and that, but they lifted up all at once, stretching high into the air.  Almost like they were coming together to form some kind of warped Christmas tree. (1) “Comb Cage”, but like with “Kushi no Kago”, is written as “Hair Cage”.

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It was decorated with skulls in place of a star, bells, and tinsel, so it was a rather creepy tree. The writhing, growing bundles of hair wrapped around Inuyasha’s body as he charged at Yura, dragging him inside.  Kagome was also dragged inside the writhing bundle of hair against her will.  “….!” The inside of Yura’s nest-turned-tree was hollow.  The long, overlapping hairs wiggled with a light rustle.  The scent of blood, dirt, and decay was even stronger here.  It felt like being in the belly of a beast. The hair that Kagome was just barely clining to gave a large jolt, and Kagome’s hand began to slip, threatening to drop her.  “Ugh!"  She frantically stretched out her hand, trying to grab onto the hair.  Her right hand touched something solid, so she grabbed onto that. Thank goodness, she thought… but when she looked up, Kagome saw that she’d stuck her fingers in the eye socket of a skull.  "Eeeew!  I touched it!”  

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She instinctively shuddered. “If you don’t like it, then let it go."  Yura came rushing from above her at a violent speed.  "You’ll be in the same state soon enough!"  Yura threw her sword at Kagome with a whizz. ”…!“  It was impossible to dodge.  It landed a direct hit on Kagome’s right upper arm.  Kagome cried out as an indescribable pain and shock ran through her.  (My arm….!)  Her arm had been cut off!  Ahh, my arm!  My arm! "Yes!"  Yura’s voice faded into the distance as Kagome fell.  Down, down, down, into the cavern within the tree made over multitudes of overlapping hairs. But her fall suddenly halted.  It was Yura.  The hairs she was manipulating wrapped around Kagome’s arms and lifted her up. ”…?!“  Before she realized it, Yura’s questioning face was in front of her.

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“Just what are you?  Why aren’t you injured?” “Huh?"  When she was told this, she looked with a gasp and saw that her right arm was not cut.  It was still stuck to her shoulder just as it always had been ever since she was born. (I’m not cut…?)  It still hurt, though.  But it wasn’t pain from a cut, it was pain from being struck by the sword.  She’d probably be nursing a big blue bruise there in a while.   (Is it thanks to this cloak that I wasn’t cut?)  Kagome examined the crimson cloak wrapped snugly around her.  Inuyasha had said that it was stronger than basic armor.  Just like back in the flames, she was sure that it was this cloak that had protected her this time as well. "It’s strange.  Your body is that of a mere human as far as I can see…"  Yura, not knowing about the power of the cloak, observed Kagome with a tilted head.  But, it seemed that she felt it was useless to just think about it.  "If the sword won’t work, let’s see if this will!” Shuun!  Yura moved the fingers of her left hand, and a strand of hair wrapped around Kagome’s neck.  It was very thin, but also a ridiculously strong hair.  It was the same hair that had taken those soldier’s heads, arms, and legs in a single instant.

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The hair that had killed those sparrows in flight.  That was the hair that was currently around Kagome’s neck.  Yura tightened the hair.  A sharp pain ran through her neck as blood began to spurt out. (She’s gonna kill me!  No!  I don’t want to die!  No… no… Help me!!) “Hijin Kessou!!” Inuyasha’s voice came suddenly.  Crescent-shaped blades made of blood came flying in with a roar, cutting off Yura’s left arm at the elbow.  At the same time, the hair broke away from Kagome’s neck. “Impossible!"  Yura’s eyes went wide, unable to believe what happened.   When Kagome looked up, she could see Inuyasha’s figure from between the overlapping bundles of hair.  "Inuyasha…"  When Kagome called out to him, her voice was small and hoarse.   She… made it out alive.  When she thought that, her body’s strength was sapped, and felt like her energy had gone somewhere far away. "Don’t pass out!  I’m not gonna look after you!”

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Inuyasha leapt down and firmly grabbed Kagome’s hand.  Contrary to his blunt words, his hand wrapped around Kagome’s firmly and warmly. (Inuyasha’s hand… is so warm…)  It wasn’t just her hand, but like he’d wrapped her fearfully trembling heart in warmth.  Kagome put all her strength into her own hand, gripping Inuyasha’s hand back firmly. Rumble rumble.  Something that sounded like a seismic roar reverberated, and Yura’s nest began to sway. “Wh, what is it?!” “Yura’s nest is collapsing!"  The overlapping bundles of hair trembled, and the skulls chattered their teeth as the nest suddenly began to collapse.  Caught in the middle of it, Kagome and Inuyasha fell as well.  All while firmly holding each other’s hands… "Heh, looks like with both her arms gone, she can’t hold up the hair anymore,” Inuyasha said while falling.  

Page 235

“She was stubborn, but this is it for her.” But it wasn’t over yet.  Benigasumi came flying through the air with a whizz, stabbing into the pit of Inuyasha’s stomach.  Firmly gripping the handle was Yura’s severed right hand.  Another spurt of blood erupted from Inuyasha’s already blood-stained white kimono. 4 The two of them hit the ground along with the skulls.  “Dammit!"  Inuyasha made his annoyance clear as he got up.  Right next to him, the woman who had fallen with him appeared to be looking around searching for something while her face was marred with the pain from the fall.   There was nothing but skulls surrounding them.  The skulls with which Yura had formed her nest.  The pitiful people whom Yura had killed… "Where are you, Yura!” Inuyasha yelled angrily.

Page 236

“You’re a fool, Inuyasha,” Yura’s voice came in return. “….!"  When he looked, he saw Yura standing atop a mountain of densely-packed skulls. "You thought I couldn’t do anything with my arms cut off?"  Benigasumi withdrew itself from Inuyasha’s stomach and floated next to a smugly smiling Yura, awaiting its next order. Inuyasha couldn’t believe it.  (Both arms are cut off, there’s a hole in her chest…  With so much damage she can still control the hair?  And she’s still alive?!) As if to answer his question, Yura said, "I’m immortal!"  Triumphantly, Yura thrust Benigasumi at Inuyasha again.  The cold blade shone in the moonlight, and the oni sword steadily approached him. However, suddenly, the sword stopped in the air.  ”…?!“

Page 237

Yura looked like she’d received a severe shock, her eyes wide and her body rigid. (What happened…?!)  Looking around, he noticed that the woman wearing the fire rat cloak was holding one of the skulls.  With a serious expression, she was trying to stab an arrow into it.  (Did she find that skull she mentioned before?!) “The hairs coming out of this skull are attached to Yura’s hands!"  Whether she was talking to Inuyasha or herself, she continued to intently stab the arrowhead into the skull.  With a crack, a small crack appeared in the skull’s crown. "Ugh!"  Yura let out a muffled groan.  Yura’s previous triumphant expression now gave way to intense anger.  "I’ll kill that woman!"  She recalled Benigasumi from where it hung in the air pointed at Inuyasha.  Now she flew straight at the woman. "Look out!"  The woman was too absorbed with stabbing the arrow to notice.

Page 238

Benigasumi’s sharp, cold blade was headed straight for her head. Right then, the arrow completely pierced the skull.  The skull split in two with a loud shatter.  Inside the skull was a comb.  The tiny comb was a transparent white, likely made of bone. “A comb!!"  Inuyasha’s eyes widened.  The arrow had split that comb in half. Paaaaan…!  At that moment, a dim light burst out.  A gasp came from Yura’s throat.  The oni woman who had boasted of being immortal was floating in the air stiff and wide-eyed. And then… Benigasumi fell to the ground with a clatter.  Like a candle going out, Yura’s figure vanished.  All that was left was her black leather kimono and red ribbon flapping in the wind.

Page 239

5 Kagome sat in dazed disbelief for quite a while.  The terrifying oni woman was no more.  She was gone for good. “That damned Yura… she transferred her soul into that comb,” Inuyasha said.  “That’s why no matter how much I cut or stabbed her, it didn’t do anything.” “Inuyasha!"  Kagome returned to her senses and came running to Inuyasha.  "Inuyasha, you’re… horribly injured."  Inuyasha’s white kimono was completely red.  She wondered just how many cut’s he’d received.  She hadn’t realized it was this bad until now.  "It’s all because you lent me your robe…"  Inuyasha had to have known that back when he lent her his fire rat cloak back at the well shrine.  Giving away his cloak meant that he would get injured.

Page 240

He knew that, and yet Inuyasha had turned over his cloak to Kagome.  He’d been concerned for her safety. ��Thank you for this…"  Kagome gently took off the fire rat cloak and returned it to Inuyasha. "Yeah."  Inuyasha was as blunt as ever. "Hey… we need to get you patched up.” “This is nothing.  More importantly, where’s the Shikon no Tama?!” “Oh…"  Kagome spotted it next to Yura’s kimono.  She knew its light by now.  "Got it."  She retrieved the charm bag from between the kimono and sash.  From within it, she held the tiny shard in the palm of her hand. (Collecting the rest of them… I wonder just how many there are…)  Just a little earlier, it had felt hopeless.  A bit overwhelming.  (But I think we’ll be okay) Kagome thought.

Page 241

Page 242

(If I’m with Inuyasha, I’ll be okay.)  She had no basis for that, but that’s what Kagome thought.  She remembered when they were bounding across forests and fields chasing after Shibugarasu while she rode on Inuyasha’s back.  That she was oddly unafraid. (Back then, I thought it was because I was desperate.  But that probably wasn’t the case…)  She wasn’t afraid because she was with Inuyasha.  That had to be it… Lost in her thoughts, she turned around with a gasp when she heard Inuyasha say, “Let’s go, Kagome.” “Eh…?"  She looked at him blankly while Inuyasha scowled awkwardly. "What?” “You called me Kagome…  It’s the first time you’ve said my name…” “So what?"  Inuyasha scowled further. "Don’t you think that means we’re getting along better?”

Page 243

When Kagome leaned in to examine his face, Inuyasha turned his head to look away in a huff. “Keh.  Don’t get too excited.  Who’d get along with a stupid woman like you?"  Even though his words were harsh, this time she was able to smile when she heard them. "What?  We’re safe because of me!"  Kagome gave him a slap on the back, and Inuyasha’s face contorted with a gasp as he fell over onto the ground.  "Wait, what’s this about?!  If it hurts, you need to tell me!” “Shaddup."  Kagome looked on in amazement at Inuyasha’s unrelenting stubbornness. Can’t be helped.  He really was violent, selfish, mean, quick to anger, and refused to listen to others.  "But we’ll be okay,” she whispered to herself, smiling.  And things would be okay.  As long as she was with Inuyasha. END

[barry-j-blupjeans]

What about 70 from the dialogue prompts w Taako + one of his friends (you pick!!),,,I always love a rare Taako Sincerity Moment <3

70. "I like that about you."

((prompts here - still accepting!!))

--

Taako and Lup were fighting, which was never good. Granted, Merle had never seen them have a legitimate fight in the past five years he's known 'em, but the vibes they're giving out... not good. Merle had to pry the story out of Barry, who had been the only one with them when it all went down. He explained it in a quiet voice as Merle gave him a final once-over from the injuries he had gained on the mission. The healing potions seemed to have worked well.

"I think Taako, uh, Taako just wanted to leave me behind?" Barry said. "I was pretty concussed at the time, I'm not gonna lie. But, uh. But I was very low on hitpoints, Taako wanted to just head back 'cus we weren't exactly winning the fight we were in, and- and Lup didn't wanna do that."

"Hm," Merle said. "How do you feel about all that?"

"How do I feel?" Barry repeated and at Merle's confirmation, he went on. "I'm, uh. I mean, I'm a little hurt, but I get it, y'know? The cycle's almost over, I woulda been back next month. Probably."

"Probably," Merle agreed. "You glad Lup got you out?"

"Yeah," Barry said. "I mean, uhm. Only Magnus and you have really died before. I don't know if I... If I ever wanna do that. I wanna know in like... a morbid way, kinda? Like I wanna know what it feels like. But not like that."

"I getcha," Merle said. "Any consultation, poison is not the way to go! That sucked!"

Merle had been struck by a poisoned arrow with about three months left to the third cycle. It hadn't been great. Barry cracked a small smile.

"I'll take your word for it," he said. "I'm gonna go, uh. Get back to the lab. At least we got the Light, right?"

"True that!" Merle said.

--

The mood over dinner was killer. Merle kind of felt like the tension between Lup and Taako could power its own magic flying boat-ship. Taako stabbed into his food like a madman. Lup was just... not eating.

"So, uh," Merle said. "Good grub, good grub. Anyone seen anything interesting lately? Any cool bugs? A neat plant?"

Silence.

"Well, I saw this awesome berry bush a bit away from the ship!" Merle said. "I showed it to Lucretia so she could draw it. Wasn't it cool, Luce?"

"Uh," Lucretia said, looking very much like she didn't want to say anything about the berry bush. "It was very... green. The berries were very, uh. Berry-like."

"No offense," Merle joked, patting Barry's arm. Barry looked incredibly uncomfortable but offered Merle a smile. "Anyone else? Capt'n?"

Another silence. Davenport, awkward and glancing nervously between everyone, opened his mouth to speak, but-

"I saw my brother almost leave behind our crewmate to die," Lup put in loudly.

"Oh fuck off," Taako said, pushing his plate away. "He woulda been back anyway!"

"But you didn't even try to help him-"

"Have you met me, Lup? Have you met yourself? When did you start trying to help folks?"

"When I started fucking caring about them!" Lup said, standing up. "And when I started not being emotionally constipated like some people here-"

"Lup," Davenport said, standing up. "Taako. I think it'd be best to take a second-"

"Oh, I'm the bad guy here?" Taako snapped. "I don't dive recklessly even further into a battle to try to save someone who'd be fine anyway!"

"It wasn't reckless, dumbass, what's reckless the behavior that started the fight in the first place-"

"Who fucking cares," Taako said, standing up. He rolled his eyes so hard that Merle thought they were just gonna pop out of his head. "I'm going to my bunk, I don't wanna- I'm not gonna sit here and deal with whatever shit you've got going on."

"Yeah, sure, run away!" Lup said, despite the fact that she was going towards the kitchen to escape the conversation as well. She slammed the door behind her. A few seconds of silence passed and another door slammed as well, further away.

The tension was different now, but somehow just as uncomfortable.

--

Merle decided, of his own free will and without consulting anyone, that he was gonna go talk to Taako. His bunk, which he shared with Lup, was at the end of the hallway. Merle figured that he could at least get in with the pretense of needing to get some things for Lup to sleep in the common area.

He knocked.

"We're closed!" Taako called back.

"I don't think we live in a store, kid," Merle said.

"Don't care!" Taako said. "We're closed!"

"I'm coming in," Merle said. When tried to open the door, it didn't budge. Time to break out his lie. "Lup needs her shit if she's gonna sleep on the couch. At least let me get her a blanket."

Taako didn't respond. After a moment, Merle heard the creak of bedsprings and the shuffle of cloth. Then, Taako was at the door, shoving a blanket and a pillow towards Merle. He almost had gotten the door closed before Merle could even blink, but Merle managed to wedge a pillow between the door and the doorframe just in time.

"You're not here for Lup's shit," Taako accused.

"I'm not," Merle agreed, very casually walking through the gap that was left. He had to squeeze a bit, but Taako just scoffed instead of trying to shut the door on him. "Can we talk?"

"We don't have anything to talk about," Taako said, sitting on the edge of his bed. Merle deposited the blanket and pillow near the door.

He didn't come in here very often- he didn't have any reason to. The room was a mess, but Merle had an inkling that it had some sort of organization to it. Lup's bed was made. Taako's looked like a tornado had gone through. Without asking permission, Merle sat next to him and Taako made a noise of disgust.

"I wanna ask you somethin'," Merle said.

"Did Lup send you?" Taako asked drily. "Or Davenport? Like- what is this?"

"Nah, I came by myself," Merle said. "Actually, I think Dav would suggest the opposite of talking to you right now."

"Leaving me alone, great, you should listen to him."

"Nah," Merle said again. "I have a question. Wanna hear it?"

Taako groaned but seemed to understand that he probably couldn't get Merle to leave. That was good because Merle had run out of lies on why he needed to be here.

"Shoot," Taako said, putting his face in his hands.

"Who's your favorite person, besides Lup?" Taako peaked up from his hands and gave Merle a hard stare. Merle shrugged, raising his hands defensively. "Just askin', man! Doesn't have to be anyone on the crew. They don't even have to be on this plane, or alive, or anything. But tell me someone, besides Lup, who you really like."

Taako was silent, putting his head back in his hands completely. Merle kicked his legs, his feet not quite reaching the ground, as he waited. It took long enough that Merle began to worry that Taako wouldn't answer at all, but finally, he answered with,

"My auntie."

"Ooh, yeah?" Merle said. "Why d'you like her so much?"

"I don't know!" Taako said defensively, throwing his hands up. "Why did you care so much!"

"Just curious!" Merle said. "What's she like? Did she ever give you any good gifts? I had an aunt, once, but she called me a loser."

"You are a loser," Taako muttered. "She was... smart."

"A good quality," Merle said. "Was that her one personality trait? Smart?"

"No," Taako bit out. "She could cook really well. She taught Lup and me, but I'm better at it."

"I believe ya," Merle said.

"Lup can bake better, I guess," Taako said, quietly, like that had been a secret. "Auntie taught us Goblin and how to sow, even though she liked knitting better. She always had knitting needles in her hair, I think to keep it up 'cus when she was knitting, her hair was always down. And she gave us our first spellbook and she didn't get mad when I set her bed on fire by accident."

"No joke?" Merle asked. "I woulda been at least a little mad."

"She was kind," Taako said. "And so fuckin' funny. She didn't care if we swore, like some of our cousins did. And she- she got it when we told her that life was tough. She didn't make fun of us or dismiss us or say that we were too young to know."

"Really smart, then," Merle said. "What happened to her?"

Taako's posture sort of sagged- more than it already was. He sighed.

"Got really sick," he admitted. "She set us up with some shit we would need and let us know when we had to go. No bullshit or coddling or anything, just told us what was happening and that we needed to go."

"Did you want to go?" Merle asked. "That seems like it was a pretty good setup you had going."

"'Course I didn't wanna go," Taako scoffed. "We didn't, at first. But, uh. Lup and Auntie convinced me to leave. She wasn't able to do much for us anymore. Sucks to see someone you care about getting hurt, anyway."

"So you had to go," Merle said. "Not just smart, then. Wise. Knew what'd be best for ya."

"Yeah," Taako said. "It's whatever, Merle, it happened ages ago. Why do you care?"

"'Cus you care," Merle said, nudging him in the side a little too hard. Taako grunted and looked towards him finally.

"You're full of bullshit sometimes, y'know?"

"You'd rather see someone come back fresh than have to live with a lotta pain," Merle said, patting his leg. "I like that about you, Taako. It's a good thing, don't look so upset. I just wanna let you know that while some people would want you to leave them if they're suffering, some others might not. Better to ask, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, next time I'll ask Barry if he'd rather get stabbed to death before I leave," Taako said sarcastically.

"Just think about it," Merle said, hopping off the bed and heading towards the door. "Might not be the smartest thing to do, but it'd be pretty wise."

He picked up the blanket and pillow, eyes barely peeking out from the pile in his arms.

"Can ya open the door?" Merle asked and Taako sighed, crossing the room to open the door for him. However, he stopped with his hand on the door handle and said, without looking at Merle again,

"Leave Lup's stuff."

Merle shrugged and dropped them. Taako opened the door, letting him out. On his way back up to the common area, he passed Lup sitting against the wall closest to the Starblaster's entrance, tossing a few magical balls of light between her fingers.

"Hiya," Merle said, sliding down next to her. He thumped to the floor and Lup winced, one of the lights extinguishing.

"I'm not really in the mood, Merle," she said.

"That's fine, that's fine," Merle said, waving away her concern. "I just got a question for ya."

[oblivions-dawn]

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔛ℑ - 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔐𝔬𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰𝔱

ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: ғᴀɴᴛᴀsʏ/ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ/ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ/ʟɢʙᴛǫ+/sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴠɪɢᴅɪs [ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴅʀᴀɢᴏɴʙᴏʀɴ ᴏᴄ]/sᴇʀᴀɴᴀ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ᴇ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: ɴᴜᴅɪᴛʏ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ, ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ, ɢᴏʀᴇ, ᴘᴛsᴅ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 𝟹,𝟸𝟾𝟼

ʟɪɴᴋ: ᴘᴇᴛʀɪᴄʜᴏʀ, ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ xɪ

ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ:

Serana, whose eyes pierced the darkness better than most mortals, peered over Vigdis’ shoulder. They were crouched atop an old, ruined staircase. Hints of ancient stone pathway embedded in the overgrown grass weaved to a bridge that crossed over a strong stream, where a vampire stood guard. Past the bridge was the fort itself, crumbled away from the merciless passage of time and merely a glimpse of the grandeur it once was.

The arrow flew forward—the unexpected snap of the string made Serana jolt—and sailed across the empty space until it struck its intended target. Her dark eyebrows shot up as the vampire fell and Vigdis quickly descended the steps to press on. Serana followed close behind, and as they passed over the body to cross the bridge, Serana was shocked to see the arrow dug deep into the side of its neck.

Vigdis loosed another arrow, which pierced a thrall lookout on the fort’s walls. They collapsed silently, their absence unnoticed. Serana’s mouth was agape with astonishment—she had watched the hunter kill animals before, but this was different. The redhead’s temper and stature didn’t match this stealthy approach; yet every movement seemed second nature to her. The shadows themselves cloaked her like black wings, her prey never aware of their demise until it was far too late.

No, Serana realised. Her method was just like her: quiet, and ruthless.

They peeked into the fort—and were met with a massive bonfire. Serana counted no less than three men, all humans. Vigdis shot another arrow, but it didn’t hit any of the three men that Serana saw. Instead, it found its mark in another vampire, who had stood on the second floor of a crippled tower, and dropped to the ground with a thud. This drew the attention of the men, who armed themselves and were now on guard for intruders.

“Why did you do that?” Serana hissed. “Now they know we’re here!”

Vigdis’ icy eyes glared over her shoulder. She put away her bow and unsheathed her dagger as she crept towards the closest man, whilst Serana begrudgingly decided to stay in place. Once he was in reach, Vigdis smashed a freckled hand over his mouth and dragged him to the ground. He struggled hard against her—until she stabbed the blade deep into his jugular. Blood sputtered from his wound and onto her hand. He laid on the ground, lifeless, and Vigdis shifted to her next victim.

Unfortunately, he sensed something was wrong, and turned just as she went to grab him. She jabbed the dagger into his inner thigh and dragged it down, then gave it a twist before she ripped it out. He opened his mouth to scream, but she cut his neck so he gurgled and choked on the sound.

Vigdis whipped around as the third man attacked her with unbridled fury. Serana’s breath hitched as the two fell to the ground in their struggle to kill the other. Serana thrust out her open palm—and an ice shard punctured the side of his head. He went limp.

Serana rushed over just as Vigdis shoved him off of her, her freckled face twisted with disgust. Before the vampire could open her mouth, the hunter stood up. For a moment, Serana glanced over her body and face, thoroughly covered in blood.

“I had that,” Vigdis muttered with a glare.

“You’re welcome,” Serana replied coolly.

[wolfish-trickster]

I HATE YOUR FICS.YOU WRITE LOKI AS SOME SWEET UWU BABY WHO DID NOTHING WRONG. HE TRIED TO KILL THOR! HE TRIED TO KILL HIS DAD AND MOM! HE TRIED TO DESTROY EARTH! HE TOOK OVER ASGUARD! HE DOESNT HAVE HEART ONLY BLACK WHOLE IN HIS CHEST! HE'S EVIL AN DEAD ANYWAYS. HE WAS NEVER A GOOD PERSON! GO LIVE IN YOUR LIES BUT DON'T WRITE LOKI SOFT!!!!!!!!!!!

All caps huh? This will be fun...

I love arguing with people especially when I know I'm right.

First: I never said he did nothing wrong. All I ever said was I understand why he did what he did. He did a lot of wrong things, but so did the 'heroes' aka Avengers. Bruce is out of control everytime he hulks out, Tony was selling bombs and explosives, Steve fought in WW2 where he wasn't exactly a gentle fighter, Clint shoots arrows (and he never misses his targets), Thor tried to commit a genocide on Jotunheim all because he got called princess and Natasha literally set a hospital on fire. None of them are saint. All of them killed. But all of them were forgiven because they are the heroes™. Loki wasn't because he's the scapegoat of the MCU. Plus it's canon he was mindcontrolled when he invaded Earth but I'll get to it later.

Second: When exactly did he try to kill Thor? If you're gonna tell me that horrible snake story I'm gonna yeet you out of the window because that's the most ooc thing for Loki to do. In 2011 he tried to fight Thor on the bridge, but not to the point of killing him. His emotions were a mess, he was a mess, he was crying the whole time. To top it all off he was willing to kill his entire race (Jotuns) in order to be the 'worthy son' in Odin's eyes. The next time that comes to my mind is when they're on the Avengers tower and Loki stabs him with that teeny tiny push dagger that's practically a toothpick to Thor. He could've used any other knife but he chose the smallest he had instead.

(Plus notice how small part of the blade is bloody meaning Loki struck it deep enough to cause pain but no serious damage, but then again that could be just the lighting of the scene)

Third: He never tried to kill his dad. He lead Laufey to him when he was in Odinsleep but he killed his own biological dad so Odin could see him as worthy son. That's all he ever wanted from him. And for Frigga: yes, he did tell Kurse to take the stairs to the left (or right I can't remember which one atm) but did he know Frigga will be there? I don't think so. Frigga died protecting Jane, not because Loki send the monster after her. Besides, he was raging when he found out she died, that's not a propriate reaction for someone who tried to 'kill his mom'.

Fourth: He never said he wants to destroy Earth. He only ever said he wants to rule us. That's a difference. Plus it's canon the mind stone in his scepter was influencing him too and on top of that The Other was threatening to kill him (torturing him even) if he fails.

Fifth: He didn't take over Asgard. With Thor in exile and Odin in Odinsleep Loki was next in line, Frigga gave him the Gungnir (that big golden spear) and made him king in deleted scene. He never took the throne, he accepted it. He even said so himself:

Sixth: About the heart thing: he does have one. He can't just have empty chest cavity now, can he? How else would all the blood get pumped into different parts of his body?

Seventh: He's evil? Bitch where? When he saved Thor and Warriors 3/4 from Jotunheim in first Thor movie? When he saved Jane when he didn't have to and could escape in TDW? When he saved Thor in the same movie? When he returned to Asgard with that bigass ship for everyone to escape in in Ragnarok? (I don't like that movie that much but at least they got something of Loki's character correct)

He was a good person. He still is, he just has very tall walls around him and acts cold to protect himself. And you can bet your ass I'm going to write soft Loki as much as I can because that's how I like to write him. Everyone gets soft from moment to moment, even such a hurt and complex character like Loki. He deserves some softness in his life.

[radabadabing-bing]

Childe’s Search for Satisfaction

so like what if i made a genshin wg fanfic haha

like as a joke haha

a joke

like ‘haha funny joke!’

so here it is

Childe was frustrated. It wasn’t necessarily because he couldn’t find a fight- There were always plenty of monsters out on in the wilderness of Liyue -But not one of them was satisfying. The various hilichurls and slimes were jokes against his power. Every Ruin Guard he had run past, in anticipation that it would awaken and give him a chance to fight, had turned out to be broken and nonfunctioning. He had run across a single Lawachurl, the brutish beast proving somewhat difficult, but it still fell like all the rest.

And as he impaled his latest victim on his watery blades, he still felt immensely dissatisfied. The monster in particular was a Whopperflower, an oversized plant that happened to be immensely territorial. Unfortunately, it too was weak against Childe’s power.

And another unfortunate thing…Childe was tired. He had pushed himself too hard in every battle, excitement getting the better of him. The Harbinger grunted in frustration as his weapon dematerialized. “Damn. Absolutely nothing.” Wiping sweat from his brow, he did notice something curious leaking from one of the beastial plant’s stamens- A shimmering liquid, gold in sheen. He reached out to touch it, the substance sticky on his glove.

“Huh…Oh, right.” He had heard of this stuff. Childe had seen it before too. It was a thick nectar, rich with energy. The flower fed off of it, and it also served as a useful alchemical ingredient. Usually Childe wouldn’t concern himself with such a substance- He was no biologist or researcher, after all -But an idea wormed its way into his head.

He licked some of the nectar off his glove. Sweet in taste, maybe even too saccharine for him- But that wasn’t the important bit. What was important was that his sore muscles began to relax, feel reinvigorated. Not a whole lot, but it was noticeable. And if even that tiny amount felt so good to indulge in, well, Childe couldn’t resist. He grabbed a stamen, crushing it in his hand. More of the sticky honey bursting, coating his glove.

The Harbinger did realize this was a bit gross to do, but as he looked around…What no one knew wouldn’t hurt them. Without a hint of shame, he began thoroughly cleaning every last bit off the stamen and his hand. Before long, it was like the nectar had never been there. And Childe felt reinvigorated. “Heh, that’s better.” He said, stretching out, before immediately charging towards a small Hilichurl encampment in the distance.

However, as said, Childe was no biologist or alchemist. He was blissfully unaware of the fact that you were not supposed to consume the nectar in such a pure and undiluted form, nor in the amounts he had indulged in. It was safe at this point, sure, but the effects were already slightly showing on his waistline. A bit of pudge on his belly, his decently fitting pants tightening around his lower half. Not that he noticed, still riding the high of his apparent ingenious plan.

While the boost was able to push him onwards for a few more battles, blasting away the beasts he encountered with torrents of water, flurries of arrows. More and more fell to the strength of Childe, but it still was utterly unsatisfying. Worse yet, he was feeling tired once more- Though he didn’t need to wait long to spot another Whopperflower.

Sights set on the unwitting plant, it felt the Harbinger’s presence…a few moments before a volley of arrows pierced it, short work made of it. Childe quickly claimed his prize, plucking off a stamen from it’s desecrated corpse. Greedily eating out the nectar, feeling revitalized, oblivious to his wardrobe beginning to strain. 

This cycle would repeat- He’d exhaust himself on pointless encounters, desperately trying to sate his lust for combat. Thoroughly unamused, he’d seek out a Whopperflower, slay it for it’s nectar, and move on- Again and again.

Soon enough, it wasn’t exactly something unnoticeable. Childe was significantly plumper, his outfit clearly undersized at this point. His shirt had already been loose fitting, letting his belly spill over his belt unhampered. His legs looked like tubed sausage, stuffed into pants that could barely contain them. Unhelped by the belt he had tied around his left leg, which was about the only thing Childe immediately noticed wrong.

“When did this thing get so tight…” He complained, as he tried to adjust it. The belt promptly snapped off, the rest of his thigh jiggling as it was released. “Huh. Must’ve gotten worn out.” He was still rather oblivious to his gains, even as his love handles and ass spilled out the top of his pants.

He had noticed his travels had brought him to an especially arid place. The faint smell of smoke in the air, charred grass, scorched rock. That was when he recalled what lay deep within the cavern before him- What any Whopperflower would become over its lifespan, the overgrown Regisvine.

And if the Whopperflower already had a lot of nectar, how much would it’s larger variant have? Childe was already chomping at the bit to find out. Speeding off from his last victim, he could hardly notice how his new bulk slowed him. Or rather, he was keeping the same speed as he had before, just tiring himself out faster. It made a rather vicious cycle, draining his own energy faster, needing more nectar to keep him going…

The universe perhaps wanted to give Childe another sign after he had missed what the smaller belt popping off meant. It did so with a loud rip as he rushed down the corridor. The seat of his pants had split open. “Damn, did I snag it on something?” That was the amount of observation Childe could give. He thought it was embarrassing, sure, but he also didn’t think that it was size causing it. “Guess I’ll just say it happened in battle…”

With the signs and warnings falling on the battle hungry Harbinger’s deaf ears, he still confidently approached the Regisvine, dormant in it’s lair. Though it unfurled as it detected the portly warrior, ready to defend it’s territory. Flames flickered about it’s form as the Regisvine towered over Childe, a red hot core lighting at it’s base…

Though even the mighty Regisvine was conquered under Childe’s power. Chubby or not, he was still an absolute force to be reckoned with. Volley after volley of arrows struck at the monstrous plant, as it too returned with it’s own attacks of fierce fire. Though it met the same fate as every other foe of Childe on that day- Utter defeat.

As he stabbed a blade of water through it’s corolla of a head, it slumped down, it’s flames flickering away, smoldering as it’s sentience faded. “Heh. Better luck next time.” He told the fading flower, rather satisfied with the fight it gave him. “Phew. Some people would quit while they’re ahead…” Childe could quit right now. He did get his fight. But Childe was Childe. “…But maybe I could run all the way to Mondstadt and fight that icy one too!”

He pulled the blade from the corolla, and proceeded to slice open the dead Regisvine’s bud- A sigh of warm air wafting out with it, carrying the scent of the delectable and energizing nectar. A sly grin spread out on the Harbinger’s slightly pudgy face, as the rich golden honey oozed from the now wide open plant.

His smug smile only got wider as he realized that this plant had far more nectar than the others he had slain. Practically pumping out the nectar, perhaps as a last attempt to get the vine to live once more. Though this was pointless, as Childe had already begun his feast.

There was some civility to it at first- Some, as he was still scooping it up and eating it with his hands, but that was better than him just nixing the scooping and eating it out of the stem.

His pants were already put to their limits- Unsurprisingly, they were first to go. Tearing down the sides with a resonant ripping sound. In another unsurprisingly turn of events, Childe was completely and utterly unaware as he grew at a much faster pace than before. His gut fell over the edge of his belt, straining to an incredible degree, until pop! Off went the belt, off went the rest of his pants. Giving way to blubbery thighs and bountiful buttocks, indented by his boxers. Boxers that were already too small, trace elasticity keeping them together.

Childe’s ignorance was honestly impressive at this point. He was lost in the idea of battles to be, already plotting out a course for his inevitable warpath. A warpath that he wouldn’t be able to pursue at his current size, much less the size he’d ultimately reach.

His coat and undershirt were kept loose already, but even loose articles of clothing would eventually give way. Buckles breaking, straps snapping. Once refined pecs were losing definition as they became flabby and heavy, sitting upon a significant midsection. His boots pulled apart as his weight continued to mount. And mount it did, as he swelled fatter, and fatter…

Soon enough, the once arena was now a graveyard for the warrior’s outfit. And said warrior was just finishing up. “Phew!” Wiping his mouth, licking up a few last dribbles of nectar. “With that, I should be able to-” Childe didn’t get to finish his sentence. He slightly leaned back as he was speaking, enough to immediately throw off his balance. With a thud, he landed on his oversized rump.

He was genuinely surprised by this development. “Huh?! Where did all this…” He grabbed at himself, almost entirely naked. His scarf loosely wrapped around his neck, said neck sporting a trio of chins now. He also felt his boxers on, though he could not see them in any capacity. Just able to feel how tight they were. And the still growing holes in them. “When did this happen?!”

The hefty Harbinger tried moving, though achieved little. His feet weren’t even on the ground now. And his attempts to move did actually tire him out, as he took in beleaguered breaths. For all the energy the nectar held, there came a point where it was beyond helping him. “…It was pretty fun up until now, at least…” He lamented. Becoming a blob of fat obviously wasn’t on the itinerary, but he did find a decent opponent or two. So the day wasn’t a total wash. 

He just had to hope someone was planning on hunting a Regisvine soon, or that his fellow Fatui went out looking for him- Because he was definitely immobile, and wasn’t gonna be mobile without some serious help.

[carelesscreativity]

Crink Angst Ending ft. Bad Sans Poly

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

(SFW, Angst)

Each strike was precise. Cross' brow was furrowed in concentration as he deflected arrow after arrow. Despite his best efforts, they were still pushing him back towards the snowy trees. He wasn't sure how he'd ended up facing Dream, but he didn't really have the option to complain. Blue wasn't too much of a fight for him and it was better than the third party. Cross' back hit the trunk of the tree and Dream cornered him.

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Go in, spread a little chaos and then leave, but the Star Sanses must've had this AU on lock because they'd arrived much faster than the Bad Sanses had anticipated. They were still in Snowdin, having not even reached Waterfall yet. They could only fight them as they waited for the backup (Error and Nightmare) to arrive. A blaster activated, startling both Dream and Cross. The overpowered, somewhat purple beam of light that decimated the ground between them was clearly Dust's, but it had carried something over. Someone over.

Cross felt his body freeze up as he saw Ink, the artist stumbling to his feet with a small laugh as the incinerated parts of his body began to bubble back. He glanced to the side and met Cross' wide eyes. His eyes shifted shapes to a yellow star and a pink heart. He turned to Dream with a smile, summoning his paintbrush. "Mind if we switch?" Dream scoffed and went to go apprehend Dust. That left Cross alone with Ink.

Ink's smile faltered as Dream disappeared and he turned to Cross, his eyelights changing to a yellow star and a blue raindrop. There was silence between them for what felt like an uncomfortably long time. Neither of them moved before Ink made the first move. "C..." He managed quietly. Cross stopped him, saying that he shouldn't call him that anymore. His blade shook slightly as he pointed it at him before lowering it. He stood up straight and moved away from the tree, starting to stride past Ink. He jumped as his shirt was snagged and he froze. He wouldn't look back.

"Ink, please." He said, his firm voice only having the tiniest hint of a waver. "We... can't go back." When there was no answer and Ink had yet to let go of him, Cross finally turned to face him. "You made your choice and I made mine." Ink released the shirt as Cross turned around. Cross couldn't help but pause upon seeing Ink. He'd never seen the carefree guardian look like that. Both eyelights were blue and his shoulders were sunken as he stared at him. "Ink..." Cross' voice was little more strangled than he would've liked. "Please... don't look like that."

"Look like what?" Ink asked. His voice was a little strained as well, his eyelights finally moving away from Cross to look at the ground. Though the shapes did change every time he blinked, they continued to remain that dreary blue. "Is it bad? I'm not sure what I look like right now, but I can only assume it's not good." Cross watched in confusion and then dismay as Ink's sockets watered. He'd never seen Ink cry either. He blinked as another blast rocked the town and the snow from the tree he'd been under fell, some landing on Ink. He didn't seem to notice or if he did, he wasn't showing it.

It was a pitiful sight, Ink seemingly struggling not to cry as his body began to shiver from being covered in snow. The other had long let his oversized paintbrush drop to his side. Cross felt his soul squeeze. Ink seemed confused at himself and it struck Cross that maybe Ink had never felt this intensely before. He watched as those blue eyes made their way up to meet his again and the next blink brought that one heart-shaped eyelight again. It sent a pang through his chest.

He gulped and looked back, knowing that he could potentially be in quite a bit of trouble for being seen with the enemy like this. Ink finally spoke. "We were here before. I-It was a really long time ago, so I don't expect you to remember. I took you here and we spent our time in Waterfall, among the echo flowers. You pushed me into the river when I annoyed you..." He gave a weak laugh. "I-I'm not sure how I remember that... M-Maybe it's written on my scarf??" He began to pull the fabric up, his hands shaking.

Cross was paused. He did remember that. Ink had popped up out of the river with such a loud, boisterous laugh that it had startled him. His soul ached again. Ink was still searching his scarf, weakly pulling the fabric and searching. He was becoming more and more confused and distraught trying to find it. His eyelights were shooting through so many shapes per second. Cross finally stabbed his blade into the ground and moved back towards him, unable to keep seeing Ink like this. Ink seemed startled, dropping his scarf and taking a step back.

Warmth suddenly enveloped him and Ink had to take moment to process that he was being hugged. Hugs were always so strange to Ink. He paused before slowly wrapping his arms around Cross in response. Another blast shook the ground and for a moment, Cross felt Ink press into him as he startled. It was just like how he remembered. He finally pulled back a little, looking down at Ink. The other wouldn't look up, even when Cross said his name. Finally, the soldier reached down and lifted his chin.

He paused. Translucent tears streamed down Ink's cheeks, only flashes of rainbow seen in the clear liquid. Cross' eyes were wide and he cupped Ink's cheek, using his thumb to try and wipe them away. "I-It's wet?" Ink asked after a moment, furrowing his brow. Cross' soul sank and he told Ink quietly that he was crying. "A-Am I??" Ink seemed genuinely surprised and reached up, wiping at his own cheeks. "That means sadness, doesn't it? I'm sad?" Cross knew Ink had a lot of trouble distinguishing that. He asked what he thought he felt. Ink furrowed his brow.

"My chest is heavy inside. Everything feels too tight and I think I'm shaking a lot. I... I think it's painful?" He really didn't seem like he was sure. "It happens when I look at you. And think of you." Cross stared at him in quiet dismay. "I-I think I miss you. I miss you a lot." Ink's bluntness never failed to take Cross back, but this time, all he felt was another pang. He pulled Ink close again and the other seemed to accept, hugging him back. "I asked Dream what it was and he said I was experiencing grief. But that's when someone dies, isn't it?"

Cross had started instinctively rubbing Ink's back without realizing, saying quietly that that wasn't always the case. Ink fell quiet and Cross could practically feel him trying to make sense of that. "Would it make you feel better to know that I miss you too?" Cross' voice was quiet and he felt Ink's grip on him slightly tighten after a moment as he nodded. Cross kept glancing around for any hints of the Bad Guys or the Stars. He didn't want either of them in trouble for this. "We can't go back, Ink. We made our choices."

"I-I know that... I was just wondering why I felt like this... Why I'm grieving even though you aren't dead." Ink's voice was weak and confused. "It's odd. Usually, I'm excited to feel new things, but this... I don't like this..." Cross nodded. He understood that it was difficult for Ink to get. Being soulless while experiencing nostalgia and grief couldn't have been fun. He continued to rub his back. He moved them back into the tree line to keep them hidden, dissipating his knife from where it had been stuck in the ground in the clearing.

Ink clung to him the entire time. "Cross?" The soldier looked down at Ink in surprise, knowing it must be important if Ink was using his full name. "Can I have one more kiss?" Cross froze and stared down at him with wide eyes. Ink stared back up at him. "That's all I'm asking for. Nothing more. I just... want something. Like when you comforted me when I was injured. It made me feel good." Cross remembered. The small kisses he would give Ink as he healed him. The way Ink would fluster without realizing. The thought almost brought a smile back to his face. Almost.

"One more." He said quietly. Ink blinked and looked up at him with wide eyes. He hadn't been expecting Cross to agree. At the very least, he'd just expected him to say no. Ink pressed against him and Cross leaned down, gently pressing their teeth together. It was soft, tender and exactly how Ink remembered it. His body filled with warmth from the area where his soul would have been. He habitually wrapped his arms up around Cross' neck and he felt the other's hands rest on his hips in response. He didn't know why, but his sockets suddenly burned and he had to pull away as he screwed them shut.

Cross pulled Ink back into the hug and watched as a cascade of tears erupted down Ink's face and he inhaled shakily. "I-I don't... What's...?" He hiccuped and Cross understood. He lowered them both to the ground on their knees and Ink leaned against him, still trying to pull together enough of a sentence to ask what was happening to him.

"Ink." The artist looked up at Cross with wide, teary eyes as the soldier spoke and Cross sighed. "Just relax yourself and cry." Cry? Hadn't Ink already been crying? He furrowed his brow, but did as Cross said, relaxing himself. However, the second he did so, a sob tore itself from his throat. While he was startled, he couldn't stop himself and Ink quickly became overwhelmed, starting to cry. His sobs even sounded confused. He was trying to stop them, but Cross placed a hand on his back, telling him to just let it out.

Ink stopped trying to contain it and buried himself against Cross, hiccuping. Cross noticed a dark figure out of the corner of his eye and he glanced over. Nightmare watched them quietly. Cross' body tensed a little, but this was a FAR better alternative than any of the others finding him like this. Nightmare seemed docile and Cross could tell he was sensing their emotions. The king had never felt pain and sorrow from Ink before. He'd never felt anything this strong from Ink before. Still, the darker gestured to Ink with a raised brow.

Cross mouthed that he needed a few minutes. That Ink had been experiencing grief without even realizing what it was. He paused before managing to mouth that he felt this was them saying their final goodbyes. Nightmare nodded, keeping quiet. Cross was relieved. If anyone would understand, it was Nightmare. He would know that this wasn't Cross betraying them. He was devoted to them, but Nightmare knew he wouldn't be able to let Ink suffer like that by himself. Nightmare signed for Cross to come back once he was ready.

Cross relaxed and nodded. The entire time, Ink had been sobbing into his chest, his mind a whirlwind as he tried to process what he was feeling. Nightmare disappeared and Cross returned to rubbing Ink's back and comforting him again. He moved to lean back against a tree, pulling the other with him. He couldn't stay like this forever. They couldn't stay like this forever. But he wanted to be there for Ink now. Like he had been then.

One final bit of time together. Then maybe they could both let go.

[ao3komorii]

About Time (Timeskip Dimitri/Reader)

Decided to start transferring my works over, starting with my oldest oneshot from ao3 with Dimitri! It’s technically Dimileth since I like the Dimitri pairing from Byleth’s position, but it’s fully in 2nd person and I don’t use any names for Reader or anything. 

This oneshot was entirely born from having a thought of “what if Dimitri accidentally saw Byleth’s boobs and then freaked out.” Also, this one is set after Dimitri comes out of his emo phase, but before the final battle in the BL route. Just a note, there is sex at the end. Enjoy :)

----

You did not find yourself in over your head much anymore these days, but you also had a talent for finding new trouble.

You had been backed into a corner by multiple soldiers, and a horrible giant beast. The beast’s jaw opened slowly, revealing its gleaming teeth, dripping with a black substance as the soldiers by its side advanced, lances drawn and all pointed towards you. The Sword of the Creator at your side was growing weary, and you knew that it would not be enough to defeat the enemies in front of you.  

You knew that your former students were on the battlefield somewhere, but you couldn’t see them beyond the great beast that caged you in by the wall. Either way, this was too dangerous a situation for them anyways. You could only hope they would stay away. Use the chance to escape while this creature feasted on your flesh and gnawed on your bones. You didn’t want to die, but you would not allow yourself to be the cause of any of your students’ deaths. It would break you. If anyone had to die, it should be you.  

You held up your sword, ready to fight back, but the onslaught still overwhelmed you. You were able to quickly take out a few soldiers with the last remaining swipe of your mythic sword’s power before their lances got too close to you. You had no time to bask in your small victory as your sword refused to spring into action after your first swipe, only functioning as an average sword, and a dull one at that, as it lost all its power. And with its elongation use now locked away from you, you would only be able to defend yourself from close range.  

This immediately proved deadly for you, as you swerved to avoid the creature’s teeth, but found yourself on the receiving end of an enemy’s lance as it sunk in and out of your shoulder. You screamed with pain and shock as you sunk down to your knees, dropping your sword to press a hand over your wound. It hurt so badly, and you looked up as a shadow loomed over you to see the monster and remaining soldiers all radiating with the satisfaction that they were about to snuff your life out. You couldn’t even gather the strength to pick your sword back up, the pain in your shoulder was too great. Even moving your hand sent unbearable jolts of pain up and down your arm. You could do nothing but watch, eyes drawn to the lance of the soldier that had stabbed you, what must be your blood dripping off the tip and onto the ground.  

You felt all hope leave your mind as the abomination’s jaw opened wide, preparing to blast you with fire. Too weary to continue looking up, you turned your head down in defeat, hoping that your death would at least come fast. You heard a loud shout, but it was not enough to keep you from falling on your side, no strength left in your body to allow you to remain up. Your eyes slid closed, and death felt imminent.  

You felt like you were fading, and the sounds around you faded along with your hazy consciousness. There were sounds of screams and horrible growls, but you didn’t know what they meant, and couldn’t really rationalize anything but the extreme pain you felt. There was so much screaming and so much pain. It was hard to even think at all.  

“Professor!”  

A voice broke through your haze at about the same time you felt the pain lessen by a small fraction. You heard your name called, with more insistency, and you felt annoyed. You just wanted the pain to end so you could sleep. The pain was so great that in that moment you didn’t mind dying if it would end the pain.  

“If she falls unconscious, we won’t be able to save her!” You heard a soft-voiced woman assert.  

“Professor!” the calls of your name and title got louder, and more insistent, and your forehead felt wet as one voice rang out louder than the rest. “Please, Professor, I can’t lose you too...”  

The pain lessened a little more, becoming less all-encompassing, and you allowed your eyes to open. You found your vision blurry until a warmth took over the feeling of pain in your shoulder. A call of your name focused your attention directly above you.  

Dimitri was crying. It was the first thing that struck you as you gazed up at him, tears freely flowing from his uncovered eye. His eye lit up when you looked at him, and you felt the world beneath you shift.  

“Dimitri!” an airy voice angrily broke the quiet. “Don’t move!”  

You were confused, and moved your head, unintentionally shifting your shoulder and sending a wave of pain through it as you went limp against Dimitri’s lap, where you found yourself realizing that your head was resting in. You closed your eyes tightly in response to the return of extreme pain, much worse than you had ever felt before.  

“Professor, not you too! You must not move!” the woman insisted.  

Your mind felt clearer once the pain faded again to a dull ache and the warm feeling took over. You realized at once who that voice was, and you opened your eyes to look at Mercedes, who was by your injured shoulder sending healing magic into the wound. That explained the familiar feeling that you couldn’t place. She met your gaze, unable to form her usual smile as she turned back to focusing on your wound. That confused you, and you turned your head ever so slightly to look at your injury without agitating it again.  

You understood Mercedes’ current urgency. Your shoulder looked horrible. There was a large rip in the shoulder of your cloak, likely ripped further by Mercedes in an effort to get better access to the wound. There was so much blood, it matted the ripped fabric around your wound to your skin, making the area feel sticky.  

Most worrying was the blood nearest to the wound, if it was even your blood, was bleeding an oily black. Mercedes wiped a hand over the wound, clearing it to reveal a patch of gray skin surrounding the stab wound.  

“What is that?” Came Ashe’s panicked voice.  

“The enemy’s lance was poisoned, clearly,” Felix stated with a short glance behind him.  

You looked beyond where you were to realize that the area behind where you lay was covered in the bodies of the enemies that had just been closing in on you. The great beast was killed with no mercy, some of its limbs meters away from its actual body. You couldn’t stand to look at what was done to the Imperial soldiers; some with deep slashes, charred, or with arrows sticking out of their heads. It looked horrible, but not unusual for the battles you regularly faced.  

“But poison couldn’t work this fast!” Annette protested.  

“I’ve heard of weapons being enchanted with poison before,” Ashe explained.  

“Enchanted with poison...” Dimitri echoed, expression tense. “What does it look like to you, Mercedes?”  

Mercedes looked up from your wound to meet Dimitri’s eyes, but quickly looked back down. “Her wound isn’t responding to my magic. If we don’t do something, I fear she may die.”  

Mercedes looked sad and scared, but Dimitri’s growl brought your attention back to him in an instant.  

“There has to be something we can do to save her!” His desperate gaze morphed into one of hatred, one you thought you had seen the last of after Rodrigue’s death. “Tell me who I must kill and I will do it.”  

“Spoken like a boar,” Felix interjected. “You think she has the time for you to go on a murderous rampage?”  

“Felix...” Ingrid protested lowly and sadly.  

“Then what would you have me do, Felix?” Dimitri replied, anger clear in his voice. “She is dying, you can’t expect us to do nothing!”  

“I expect you not to-” Felix started.  

“Stop it!” Annette cried. “You guys need to listen to Mercie!”  

Mercedes nodded toward her best friend as Felix and Dimitri reluctantly went quiet. “There is one way to save her, but we will need everyone’s help.”  

“Me and Mercie came up with a plan!” Annette smiled softly at Mercedes, expression belying a reluctant confidence. “Healing magic can’t touch it, but regular magic should be able to negate its effects enough for healing to work on it again!”  

“And the only magic strong enough to fend off this dark poison is Annie’s fire,” Mercedes explained. “Annie will burn off the infection, and then I will heal the wound.”  

“You want to burn her?” Sylvain implored, shocked. “I know she’s tough, but...”  

“We don’t have the time to think of any other solution,” Ingrid said sadly, gesturing towards you. “Grey is spreading down her arm.”  

Everyone’s eyes shot over to your arm, and you lazily swept your gaze over as well to see that the grey skin tone had travelled down your arm, halfway towards your elbow. The grey patches looked rough, and unlike any affliction you had ever seen before. You wondered if the Imperial army had been exploring darker methods to kill than simple weaponry and monsters. It didn’t surprise you, but you should have seen it coming.  

“What do we do...?” Ashe asked quietly, as if he wasn’t ready to hear the answer.  

“You all must hold her down while Annette burns the infection away,” Mercedes answered. “It will be very painful, but if she moves, she could get hurt, so you must keep her still.”  

Dimitri looked torn as he brushed some stray hairs from your face. Even through the excruciating pain, the gesture embarrassed you. Dimitri looked to be mentally weighing options as a stray tear slipped from his chin to drop on your neck. The tear was a momentary relief, a distraction, but Mercedes couldn’t keep you from feeling all the pain in your shoulder, her healing magic seemingly less and less effective by the second as the pain began to grow stronger.  

“Professor,” Dimitri said, trying but failing to keep emotion out of his voice. “What do you want us to do?”  

You didn’t trust your ability to talk at the moment, and so you kept eye contact with him and nodded the best you could, which ended up being two slow rises and falls of your head. You could only hope that he understood what you were trying to say. He stared at you for a few seconds before he broke eye contact.  

“Dedue, Felix, take her legs,” he instructed, and the two men moved quickly towards your lower half. “Ingrid, Sylvain, take an arm each.”  

The four requested students each their place at one of your limbs, and Dimitri slowly let you out of his lap, your head now resting on the ground as he made his way over to Annette and Mercedes by your injured shoulder. “I will ensure she does not move her shoulders.”  

“Um...” Ashe spoke up hesitantly. “It’s not much, but I brought along a book I’ve been reading, and she might need something to bite down on, so she doesn’t bite off her tongue.”  

He offered the book to Dimitri, who accepted it gratefully, and with no choice, you bit down on it when Dimitri brought it to your mouth. You would have been embarrassed if you weren’t so anxious about the somehow worse pain to come. At Dimitri’s signal, your legs and arms were restrained, ensuring that you could not move them at all. When he checked that everyone had a secure hold on you, Dimitri put one hand on your uninjured shoulder, and one on your upper chest, just above your breasts. His head was just above yours, his long hair tickling your cheeks.  

“Just keep looking at me,” he whispered, voice then rising in volume. “Annette, now.”

Annette didn’t reply, but she didn’t have to. Seconds after Dimitri’s words, you felt the worst pain you have ever felt in your entire life, putting the extreme pain from before to shame. You wanted to scream, but you knew you shouldn’t, even in your haze of pain. You just bit down on the book as hard as you could to compensate. Someone held one of your hands and you squeezed their hand as hard as you could, which must have been painful, but they didn’t pull away or let go of your hand.  

A whisper of your name had you looking back up to Dimitri’s face. He looked fairly upset, but the intense levels of pain you were experiencing kept you from being able to reassure him. He smiled, a clearly forced smile, but didn’t look away from you at all, which gave you no insight into how it was going with your shoulder aside from the momentous pain, which was so hot that it now felt cold. The pain was so white hot that you had to close your eyes, teeth digging into the book’s cover.  

“You’ll be alright, professor,” Dimitri said quietly. “We can’t lose you.”  

You knew that your students would be destroyed if you died here. You knew that they would all fall apart. So you endured the pain quietly, you had no other choice. You couldn’t leave them alone after all you had all been through. You tried to stay still, but suddenly the brutal pain increased tenfold. You screamed around the book, trying to thrash your limbs, but your students remained steadfast, restricting your movement.  

“Annette!” Dimitri barked, taking his gaze from you but not his hands, which kept you pressed down.  

“I’m sorry, it’s... it’s fighting against my magic! Professor, I’m so sorry!” she replied tearfully.  

“We have to keep going, Annie,” Mercedes’ voice broke through the panic. “She has no chance if we don’t keep trying!”

With that, the incredible pain returned, and you once again regained the unpleasant taste of the book cover in your mouth as your teeth sank into the dents you had made previously. Everyone was so quiet while Annette and Mercedes worked that you could hear everyone’s breathing, and Dimitri sounded close to hyperventilating with how heavy his breaths sounded. You looked up at him, but he was looking over at your injury, not at you. He looked like he was about to cry again, and it being due to your strategic negligence was weighing on you at the moment.  

He wouldn’t look at you and looked openly panicked. You thought he would eventually feel your eyes on him, but he didn’t. He just continued to stare at the work being done on your shoulder, which you couldn’t see yourself because Mercedes and Annette blocked your sight of it entirely. You were getting used to the horrific pain at this point, so you managed to remain still. Maybe Sothis helped with your pain tolerance, since you knew that even with the pain levels you had experienced in your life, an average person could not possibly remain as still as you were able to during this kind of a procedure.  

“Mercie!” Annette cried.  

At once, the burning started to fade, as the familiar feeling of Mercedes’ magic took over, engulfing your shoulder in a light so bright that you turned your head away from it and closed your eyes. There were gasps and murmured words all around you and all at once you had a range of movement in your limbs again as everyone released their tight holds on you. Dimitri, however, kept his hands where they were, and you assumed he would wait until he knew that you would be okay.  

Annette and Mercedes finally backed up from your sider, allowing you a glance at your shoulder. There was nothing, not even a scratch, or the third-degree burns you were expecting from the fire magic. The grey patches of skin had receded entirely with Annette’s eradication of the strange poison magic. You were in awe of Mercedes’ magic, but you were far from the only one who was.  

“Remind me not to get too far away from you on the battlefield, Mercedes!” Sylvain joked.  

Sylvain’s words brought Dimitri out of his stupor and he finally released his hold on you as you reached a hand up to remove the now soggy and dented book from your mouth. You weren’t sure what to do with it since Ashe would clearly not want it back now.  

You sat up as everyone else began standing up, your muscles screaming in protest. From the pain that riddled your shoulder from all that had been done to it to the soreness in your limbs from being held down by people who put all of their strength into keeping you still, you were in pain, but not deathly pain. You waved off the chorus of worried voices asking if you were okay; you were just sore, not dying!  

Ignoring their protests, you slowly stood up, only for an arm to slide around your waist. Ready to scold Sylvain for choosing now of all times to flirt, you looked over to see a stubborn Dimitri gazing back at you, frowning with concern. It wasn’t like he had no caring before you were able to bring him out of his ten-year thirst for revenge, but he almost went overboard with how much he showed that everyone mattered to him now. And with that knowledge, you knew you weren’t about to win whatever argument he was about to start about your safety.  

“Be careful, Professor!” he chided, refusing to let go of your waist even as were found you were able to stand properly. Not without soreness, but properly enough. “You can ride back to the monastery with me.”  

You could walk just fine... probably. Your hesitation to accept must have shown on your face, because it started another bickering war.  

“She’s fine without you being a mother hen,” Felix stated dryly.  

“Felix!” Dimitri admonished, not removing his hold on you. “She was barely alive moments ago, and you want her to walk all the way back to the monastery?”  

“In case you haven’t noticed, her shoulder is fine. Do you think she wants you to baby her when she spent months trying to get you to behave like a person and not an animal?” Felix retorted.  

You would rather try to walk, to help preserve your pride, but you didn’t have the chance to speak up before the two started fighting. You weren’t sure how to break up this fight before it got worse, but luckily it was resolved for you.  

“And you two think arguing about this is going to make her feel better?” Ingrid said angrily, making her way over to you. “She will ride back with me.”  

Felix scoffed and turned away, while Dimitri went silent, allowing Ingrid to put your arm around her neck as she led you over to her waiting pegasus. You would have time to thank everyone for their help later. The whole experience and then the arguing had tired you out, and you just wanted to rest. So you got on the pegasus ahead of Ingrid and allowed her to take you back to the monastery, where you could get some sleep and recover.  

You were pushing yourself too hard and you knew it. You were still unhappy with how you had fared in the battle with Imperial troops a week before.  

And here you were, a few days later, training in the rain in the forest just outside the monastery. You had been swarmed by the students worrying about you, and your sword hand was itching to get back into practice. Nobody would agree to train with you due to your being in recovery, and Dimitri had insisted that you rest immediately, somehow even more protective of you than he had been when you were actually injured. You understood their worry, but it was getting tiring being told to rest, so you went to practice outside of the monastery to avoid everyone’s worry.  

Just your luck that it was raining, but there were battles still to be fought, so you couldn’t slack on your training. You were going stir crazy, and so you found a dead tree and began practice. The dead tree was considerably more dead looking several hours later, now bearing many stabs and slashes across it. You finally took a break and sat against the tree, surrounded by bark that littered the ground around you, dislodged from your training.  

You swiped a hand under your bangs with disgust. You hadn’t realized how sweaty you had gotten, but it felt nice to do some solo training the way you used to before you became a teacher. You were tired but felt assured that you were maintaining your sword skills even after sustaining such an injury. The rain was pouring even harder now, though you hadn’t noticed until you took a break. It must have been evening now, but with the harsh weather, it was hard for you to tell at all. The rain didn’t bother you, so you continued to lean against the tree, clothes totally soaked, but feeling at peace in that moment.  

You knew you couldn’t stay out there forever, and so you finally sheathed your sword and stood up. Casting one last glance at the dead and beaten tree, you set back off towards the monastery. Nobody else was outside due to the awful rain, and even the merchants had temporarily closed shop. The gatekeeper, determined to do his job regardless of weather, was just under the archway and greeted you with surprise, noting your soaking wet form. You gave him a smile and reassured him that you were alright, and then continued on your way back to your room to rest for the night.  

Your route back to your room took you through the entryway where you were greeted by various students and members of the church alike, who all noticed your current condition. You walked by them with a smile, brushing off their questions, until you passed by Dedue, who was just outside the dining hall. Or you tried to, as he casually stepped in your way, causing you to stop short to avoid bumping into him. You looked up at him, confused.  

“Professor,” he greeted. “Are you alright?”  

You nodded, not sure where this was going as you went to go into the dining hall, and he moved to block your way again. “His Highness has been looking for you.”  

“...why?” you asked. You had seen Dimitri earlier, so what had happened in the past few hours that he needed you for?  

“No one has been able to find you for the past eight hours,” Dedue answered. “His Highness is worried.”  

Past eight hours? It had only been a few hours... at least, that was what you had thought. You had been told before that you got really focused when you trained, but you didn’t think you had taken four hours, let alone double that time!  

You thanked Dedue for the information, and he only moved out of your way when you agreed that you would go meet Dimitri immediately outside your room, where Dedue told you the king had decided to wait for your return. Heaving a mental sigh, you crossed through the crowd of people getting a late dinner and made your way to your room. Just getting to the block of rooms, you noticed the broad figure with unruly blonde hair right where Dedue said he would be. Looking at his figure, you remembered your initial shock at his transformation, but it had been overpowered at the time with relief that he was still alive after five years of war. As if he could hear your footsteps over the sound of the rain, he turned his head to face you as you made your way over to him.  

“Professor... where were you?” he asked, and you couldn’t think of what to reply, so he pressed onward. “You think me reckless, but you go out to train in the pouring rain when you are not yet fully recovered?”  

You were surprised; how did he know?  You must have looked startled because his serious expression melted away with a genuine laugh as he reached a hand out to brush along your hair, or so you thought. He brought his hand away from your hair to show you and you stared at the twig that he held in his hand, the bark of the twig rotten and dead, much like the tree it had come from.  

“I can’t think of any other activities you would do in the rain with your sword at your side and end up with this twig in your hair,” he remarked. “You know, it usually is the professor that lectures their students about working too hard.”  

“You haven’t been my student in a long time,” you mused.  

“You may not be officially our professor, but we all rely on you for so much,” he replied thoughtfully. “You cannot expect us to not worry when our professor works herself to the point where she is liable to pass out from exhaustion in the woods without telling anyone where she has gone.”  

You immediately felt sheepish. He really had you there. You wouldn’t be able to face them if you had been abducted or killed when you had told nobody where you were going or what you were doing.  

“Please don’t look like that,” he implored you. “I am not mad. We just don’t want anything to happen to our favorite professor.”  

It seemed like they would all keep calling you professor, even though you were all equals now. You had some really stubborn former students, you mused with a smile. Dimitri then reluctantly allowed you off the hook so you could get some rest. You both said your goodnights as you went into your room and Dimitri left for his. As you stripped yourself of your heavy, wet cloak and armor and climbed into your bed, you resolved to be a little less reckless with your training. You also wondered how long you could keep such a promise in times such as this.  

It was hot. So hot. It was all that consumed your mind and body. Suddenly you realized that you had woken up. And you were only wearing a top and shorts, but you were burning up. With a groan, you assessed the situation. You felt sluggish, and so, so warm. Your throat felt sore and sitting up in your bed made you feel nauseous, so you quickly laid back down. You had to face facts; you were clearly sick.  

You knew it had to be the rain. You were outside in the rain for eight hours and overexerted yourself. The combination was a bad idea, but unfortunately you did not see it like that at the time, so here you were. Sick and feeling miserable, unable to get out of bed for fear of throwing up. You didn’t even know what time it was, but you knew that being awake was doing you no favors. You didn’t feel like being awake in this state anyways, so you had only one choice. Gardening and tea parties would have to wait until you didn’t feel like you had just drank poison.  

The feverish heat you felt kept you from sleeping however, which made you even more miserable. Feverish and now irritated that you couldn’t get to sleep, you decided to just remove your top and chest wrappings, your shorts taken off as well for good measure. You had never slept in just your underwear at the monastery before for fear of someone barging in your room without knocking, but at this point you didn’t care. Seteth’s lectures about propriety be damned. You just wanted to be less overwhelmingly warm, and so you laid back down in just your underwear, not bothering to put the blanket back on and curling up in the hopes that sleep would finally come.  

“I’ve had that one before! Remember when we had that visiting professor at the sorcery school? I think she made these for us!” Annette exclaimed excitedly.  

Mercedes nodded as she flipped the page of the new sweets book they had purchased at the market, and they both stared curiously at the next page.  

“Ooh, I always wanted to make some of those!” Annette said, pointing at the colorful pastries that were illustrated on the page.  

“Me too, Annie! We really should make some to share with everyone,” Mercedes replied.  

Their excited chatter was interrupted as Dimitri strode by their table in the dining room for what Annette estimated was likely the fifteenth time that day. He had hardly eaten what would be considered a basic nutritional amount of dinner before he resumed his cycles around the monastery.  

“Dimitri!” Annette called out to him as he was about to pass them to leave the dining hall, and he stopped in front of them. “ Mercie and I were thinking of making some sweets and having a little party with everyone!”  

Dimitri seemed distracted as he responded. “Oh, Annette... that would be...”  

“Are you alright, Dimitri?” Mercedes interjected. “You look like you have something on your mind.”  

“Oh...” Dimitri replied stiffly, coming out of his thoughts for a moment. “Has the professor been by here?”  

“No,” Mercedes shook her head. “I haven’t seen her all day.”  

“Is she okay? Do you want us to help look for her?” Annette pressed, sweets book all but forgotten in worry.  

“She should be fine...” Dimitri trailed off. “Sorry for bothering you both, your idea sounds wonderful.”  

And before either woman could protest, Dimitri exited the dining hall in a hurry, not even glancing behind him, cape fluttering with his movement. Mercedes and Annette could only watch in a haze of confusion and concern, their questions unanswered.  

If you were out training in secret again after overworking yourself in the rain the previous day... no, Dimitri dismissed the thought. He had already looked in the forest and located the tree that you had cut to ribbons the day before. You could have gone farther into the forest, but he thought that unlikely as well. You had seemed regretful when the two of you had spoken at your door the night before, and he thought it unlikely that you would immediately break a promise to him, especially after he had told you how much you and your health mattered to all of them.  

It occurred to him just then that he had neglected to check your room. It should have been the first place he checked, but it had slipped his mind. He would have to go check now. You may have decided to relax in your room for the day, and then he would have been worrying for nothing. Although he knew that you had a healthy appetite, but nobody had seen you in the dining hall at all, which was very strange.  

There was nobody at the dorms, or if they were, they must have been inside their rooms. Dimitri was able to arrive at your door with no hassle, but he couldn’t hear any sounds from inside. He knocked politely, but to no response at all.  

“Professor?” he called out as he knocked again, louder this time.  

There was still no reply, which vexed him. If you didn’t want to see anyone, you would have replied to inform him of that. Which left only one thought running wild in his mind; you must have gone out to train and been injured. Or been injured yesterday and were now in too bad or a state to even talk. Once the thought entered his mind, he was consumed with worry. Reaching out and finding the door locked, he did not spare any thought before he slammed his shoulder into the door, bursting open the lock. Without a moment to spare, he thrust open the door and rushed into your room.  

“Professor-” Dimitri exclaimed, but his eye widened in shock as he took in the scene in front of him.  

The room looked fairly normal , a similar state of cleanliness to what it had been the last time he had visited you here for tea. Your blanket was half draped on the end of the bed and half on the floor, but none of your sparse belongings were out of place.  

Dimitri found you immediately, and his cheeks immediately felt hot. You did not appear to be injured, and he was easily able to discern this because of your lack of clothes. You were curled up on your bed... in only your smallclothes. Dimitri’s mind went blank as his focus was drawn to your bare breasts. He didn’t know what to do, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He knew what breasts looked like, but he couldn’t remember seeing any bare but yours at this exact moment. He was transfixed, even though every instinct of his was telling him he had to look away, to protect your modesty.

And then you moaned and brought him out of his stupor. Now that he thought about it, you did not look very well. Still unsure if he was making the right decision, he closed the door behind him before making his way over to you. He removed a glove and placed his hand on your forehead, having his suspicions confirmed. You were burning up, clearly sick from training in the rain for so long the day before. He presumed that you had not left your room the entire day, which did not seem good, considering you must have spent the entire day unconscious and fevered.

He wanted to cover you up, for the sake of his waning composure, but you didn’t have the time for that and he didn’t want to overheat you further. He would have to try to disregard his embarrassment for the moment, because you needed his help, and he didn’t know how to explain to one of the women around the monastery that he had busted down your door and found you nearly naked. And you would never forgive him if he had others see you compromised like this. It was already bad enough that he had seen you like this.

He quietly left your room, glancing around to confirm that nobody was around to see him coming and going from your room so late. It was a cold night, but it did nothing to calm him down at all. Your body was beautiful, and he couldn’t get it out of his mind as he fetched a small bucket of water and a cloth before returning to your room. He mentally braced himself before opening the door to find you in pretty much the same position you had been in, laying on your back.

Prioritizing his worry for you over his shyness, he closed the door gently behind him and walked over to your bedside. He carefully wet the cloth, wringing some of the excess water out before moving your bangs to the side and placing the cloth on your forehead. You exhaled loudly but evenly in your sleep, which he took to be a positive sign.

He ended up not getting a lot of sleep that night. He stayed in your room for quite a while into the early hours of the morning, dunking the cloth in the cold water again whenever it began to be overcome by your body temperature. He never felt his lack of sleep at all, practice, he assumed, from all of his sleepless nights spent longing for revenge. He had never slept as well as he had since he had allowed himself to be free of the burdens of his dead loved ones. Not free from his obligations to them, but now he would channel his resolve into freeing Fódlan from Edelgard’s tyranny as opposed to the mindless bloodshed that he had surrounded himself with for the majority of the past five years.

You were such a comfort to him, one he thought he had lost a long time ago. You had supported him and been by his side, and he was too consumed to appreciate it until after he lost Rodrigue. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Not with you and all of his former classmates and friends surrounding him. They did not want him to be consumed and lost to revenge, and now he understood that the dead did not want that either. But he was not free from the choices he knew he would have to make soon, it was something that weighed on his mind. He did not want to kill his stepsister, but as he went to wet the cloth again, he was glad you would be with him when he made that decision. He needed your support, and he resolved to support you as well as he could, especially given your recent hobby of being reckless with your own health and safety.

Feeling your forehead, he was relieved to discover that your fever had finally broken. You may not have been fully healthy again, but if you were at least a normal temperature now, then he knew that he had done his job. You were still nearly naked though, and he would likely be an unwelcome sight when you woke up, and so he took the cloth and bucket and stood up. Better that you did not know he had been here; it would spare at least you of the embarrassment. But as he quickly fixed the lock back into place before opening the door and closing it behind him, he knew it would be a difficult feat to erase the sight of your uncovered body from his mind any time soon. You were so pretty, and it was all he could think about the entire way back to his room.

You woke up slowly, eyes still closed but aware that you were now awake. Your middle of the night wakeup felt almost like a dream compared to how you felt now. You felt somewhat bad still, your throat not fully better and limbs still feeling a bit heavy, but the incredible fever you had felt earlier had all but faded. You must have really been doing poorly, because a glance outside the window told you that it was morning.

You supposed that you might as well get up; there was no way to assuage worry except going to interact with everyone. You would feel better eventually. You knew that the students would worry about you. Getting up and checking with your calendar, you discovered that you had spent an entire day and night in bed.

You slowly put your clothing back on, happy to discover that it had dried all the way, pretty much a given as it had lain in a heap for over a full day on your floor. You probably looked awful after your high fever, so you headed out of your room and towards the bathhouse to freshen yourself up. Just as you went to enter, Ingrid was leaving, her hair obviously wet, and you exchanged smiles as you passed by each other.

The bathhouse was almost completely empty, save a few women, but none of your students. It made sense that there weren’t a lot of people up this early in the morning. There had just been a big battle, and there were still more to come. Everyone worked so hard, so you felt that they more than deserved to sleep in if they wanted to. But you were more than happy to finally be free from your bed, and so you stripped down and got into the water in just your towel.

You took your time to wash your hair and body, happy to not feel gross for the first time in a while. Only after scrubbing yourself to your utmost satisfaction did you relent and get redressed, leaving the bathhouse behind and feeling fully refreshed. Stifling a yawn, you decided to head over to the dining hall as your stomach yearned for food after so long without.

“Good morning, Professor,” Mercedes greeted you as you both entered the dining hall together. “Did you also hear that they would be including sugar scones in today’s breakfast menu?”

You hadn’t heard anything about menus at all, but any food sounded good to you at this point. You couldn’t remember if you had eaten sugar scones before, but they sounded like something you would like. You and Mercedes walked up to the front of the hall together, both accepting a plate of assorted muffins and colorful scones that were sparkling with sugar.

“Oh, I just love these!” Mercedes spoke cheerily as the two of you found a free section of table and sat down across from each other. “Have you had sugar scones before, Professor?”

You shook your head no and she giggled. “Well, I would recommend spreading some Albenian berry jam on them,” she informed you happily, gesturing to the small dish of red jelly that was situated in the middle of your plate. “These are one of Annie’s favorites, so I thought she would be here by now…”

As if on cue, Annette burst through the doorway to the dining hall, almost tripping as she skidded to a stop just in time to turn and rush towards the dining hall staff for her tray of breakfast sweets. She waved happily at you and Mercedes as she passed you to get to the front. The two of you watched, amused, as Annette was scolded by the head chef for running in the dining hall. She sheepishly apologized and received her tray of sweets, which brought a smile back onto her face as she turned and made her way over to you, taking a seat next to Mercedes.

“Sorry I’m late! I thought scone day was tomorrow!” Annette explained as she took in the sight of her breakfast tray.

“You’re so forgetful, Annie,” Mercedes teased with a smile.

“Well at least I got here in time!” Annette huffed, wasting no time in smearing jam all over one of her scones and taking a big bite out of it.

“That is true,” Mercedes agreed, before turning her head to look at you. “Do you like them, Professor?”

You had tried a bite while they were talking, spreading the jam like Mercedes had suggested, and found that you did like them. You must have missed it when these had been served in the dining hall before. You had eaten an entire scone by the time Mercedes had asked the question, and you were interrupted before you could answer her.

“Mind if I join you ladies?” Sylvain asked from behind you.

“Of course, Sylvain,” Mercedes replied, and he slid in right next to you with his own plate of food that he placed down in front of himself.

“I feel like I missed seeing your pretty face around here the past few days,” Sylvain said, popping an entire scone in his mouth as he looked over at you.

“You never change, do you?” Ingrid said wearingly as she sat down on your other side. “You think that she hasn’t had enough of your behavior already?”

“Ingrid…” Sylvain groaned. “She got a hole cut out of her not that long ago, I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

“And you thought your flirting would heal her wounds?” Felix raised an eyebrow as he sat down next to Mercedes. “You delusions never end.”

“Hey, why is everyone turning on me?” Sylvain complained, and you laughed. “Not you too, Professor! You wound me!”

Now Annette and Mercedes laughed, while Felix rolled his eyes and Ingrid smiled and shook her head. You all ate your breakfast while chatting, slowly adding Ashe and Dedue to your midst. Even when Dedue didn’t appear to be coming to sit with your group, Annette called his name and beckoned him over to join your table, while Ashe was convinced as soon as he saw your group all together. It was very lively, and almost made you forget that there was a war looming over you all. But just because you would soon have to kill or be killed yet again did not mean that you couldn’t enjoy the company of your lively house members.

“Hey, shouldn’t Dimitri be up by now?” Annette wondered out loud.

“That’s true,” Ingrid agreed. “He’s never been one to sleep in.”

“I can go and check his room,” Dedue volunteered. “If he is not there, then he may-”

“No need!” Annette replied. “I see him now! Dimitri, over here!”

The tall blonde king had just walked into the dining hall, and looked your way at Annette’s call, noticing your entire group all sitting together and walking over to approach you all. Before anyone could stop him or insist that he didn’t have to, Dedue was up from his seat to grab Dimitri a plate of breakfast from the cooks at the front. Some other people stopped Dimitri to talk quickly or greet him, and so he arrived at your table just as Dedue had brought back a plate for him, which he accepted gratefully, knowing better than to try to dissuade his friend from performing errands without being asked by this point. He sat down next to Dedue, and Annette got up to bring over some tea to share with everyone. It was the most cheerful that you all had been during this time of war, and you could not recall a time when you had been happier.

You talked with Ingrid about how her pegasus was doing, and she happily invited you to come flying with her if you would like, to which Mercedes and Annette chimed in that they would love to fly with her as well. Meanwhile, Sylvain on your other side informed you that his horse was available for riding lessons as well, to which Ashe mentioned that he wanted to improve his riding skills, and Sylvain looked marginally defeated. You were having so much fun talking with everyone that you didn’t notice anything amiss with Dimitri at all.

“Are you ill, Your Highness?” Dedue said, with no intentions of being discreet with his volume management. “You have not touched your food.”

Everyone paused their conversations to stare at the king, who had been staring at his plate until Dedue had spoken up to him. He looked up at the sudden silence, surprised to see everyone’s eyes on him. He gave Dedue a small smile, assuring him that he was alright, which Dedue reluctantly accepted, but it was not good enough for Ingrid.

“You don’t look very well, Dimitri,” she insisted, leaning forward a bit to get a better look at him. “Have you been sleeping alright?”

He looked over, meeting your eyes for a very brief moment before immediately looking at Ingrid, ignoring your confused stare. “I am fine,” he said reassuringly, shaking his head with a laugh when Ingrid gave him a hard look. “Really, Ingrid. I am alright.”

“If you don’t sleep, you’re just making it easier for the enemy to cut you down,” Felix said sharply.

“I bought some tea at the market that is supposed to help with sleeping problems if you would like to try some,” Mercedes offered.

“I promise you all that I am alright,” Dimitri insisted with a smile.

Sensing that a change of mood was in order, you offered the last remaining thing on your plate, a Dagda fruit muffin, to Sylvain. You found that you did not like Dadga fruit tea, and so you figured that it would be better to give it to someone who would appreciate it more. And it didn’t hurt as a conversation swap either.

“You don’t want it, Professor?” he asked, blinking at you, surprised.

You shook your head, holding the plate a little closer to him, and he shrugged, grinning at you. “Who am I to refuse you? Thanks for the muffin.”

Sylvain ate the muffin in a few bites as Dimitri finally began to pick at his own tray. You tried again to catch his eye, but he was determined to stare down at his plate. Conversation began to pick up again as Annette started to tell a story from back when they were all students. The conversation took a nostalgic turn as everyone then began sharing stories from their school lives five years prior.

“Not to be rude, but I thought you hated us at first!” Annette told you, blushing slightly with embarrassment.

“I must confess that I felt the same at the start,” Ashe agreed, quickly adding, “but we couldn’t be where we are now without you.”

“I do remember calling you beautiful and you just stared at me... I thought you didn’t hear me for a second,” Sylvain recalled.

“How is that any different from now?” Felix sneered.

“That is true,” Mercedes agreed. “Just the other day I saw a village girl just turn around and leave without saying anything.”

“Mercedes!” Sylvain’s jaw went slack. “You saw that?”

“I see your success rate hasn’t changed,” Felix scoffed.

Sylvain really had no comeback for that, and you were far from the only one at the table to laugh at his plight. Giggling, you locked eyes with Annette, who you noticed had also finished her plate. Nodding at each other, you both got up from the table to take your empty plates back.

“I feel like I’ve got my muffin fix for a while!” she joked as you handed your empty plates to the dining hall staff.

“What are your plans for the day?” you asked her, and she smiled.

“Don’t tell Mercie, but she was talking about how she missed these sweet ginger cakes we had when we were younger, and I was going to make some to surprise her with!” she whispered excitedly.

You were glad that Annette was such an endless supply of joy and kindness. You knew how much everyone appreciated any distractions from the mounting scale of war you were faced with, and so you also would have to do your best to keep a happy demeanor about yourself. Annette’s eyes drifted from yours as you both got back to the table as she stared ahead.

“Hey, where did Dimitri go?” she asked.

You looked over to where Annette had her eyes set and noticed that your table was missing its blonde king. You both must have looked incredibly confused, because Dedue decided to put you out of your misery.

“His Highness… had something to attend to.” Even Dedue sounded puzzled.

“Yeah, he just said that he had forgotten to do something and left…” Ingrid added, her eyebrows drawn together.

“Maybe he just had a bad reaction to the muffins?” Sylvain suggested, but one look at Dimitri’s plate told you that he hadn’t eaten a single thing from his plate.

He was acting weird, but he didn’t seem to be sliding back into his darkness again. Even so, you would have to check on him later, just to make sure. You had abandoned him for five years, even if it wasn’t by choice, and you would never leave his side again until the day came when he no longer needed you. You wouldn’t lose him again, not when everyone, when Faerghus, needed him.

Dimitri walked briskly to the cathedral, taking up his usual spot in front of the rubble that had once been a proud altar. He knew that he was clearly acting off, and his friends would eventually come and make sure he was okay. And he knew that he was not doing well, but it was not the type of problem that he imagined that they thought that he was dealing with. He had never dealt with anything like this before, and he didn’t know what to do. And so, he stared at the rubble, but too lost in thoughts to take in the scenery.

He couldn’t sleep at all the night before, and he didn’t know how he would get any sleep tonight. Seeing your mostly nude body had awoken within him feelings that he had kept himself from feeling for so long. He had been so focused on revenge for the entirety of his developing years that he had never allowed himself to think of romance as more than a faraway concept. He had sheltered himself for so long, and now the reality of his situation was hitting him with the full force that it would have had he allowed himself when he was a teenager. Instead, he was an adult man who was only now realizing the depths that his feelings could reach. He loved you, and it scared him.

He knew that he couldn’t avoid you forever. You had a war to win, and he couldn’t avoid his closest ally, even if he happened to just discover his feelings for you. He wanted desperately to be near you, but even with your widening range of emotions, he had seen no indication that you had any romantic feelings towards him. And besides, you would never talk to him again if you found out that he had stayed in your room while you were not fully dressed, even if it was to help you recover from your fever. He would live with his shame and hide his feelings, and would channel his energy into the war. Although that still didn’t resolve how he was going to sleep tonight, since he knew that every time he closed his eyes that night he would see your perfect breasts or your kind smile.

He had spent the last few hours of the night after he had returned to his room staring out of his window into the night sky. He had wrestled with his longing to go back there and tell you how he felt, kiss you… but you were sick. You needed rest. And you certainly did not need to have to deal with this new revelation of his. He relied on you for so much that he would crumble without your support, and so he just had to accept that your support would never be that of a wife’s to him.

He felt like a preteen boy. He couldn’t even stand to meet eyes with you in the dining hall earlier. He was so focused on staring at his plate that he could barely hear what anyone else had said. He had met your eyes for only half a second and even that was too much for him in his current state. You had looked worried for him, worries that he didn’t feel that he could assuage. He would have to keep his distance from you until he could resolve this within himself.

He must have been lost in thought for a while because eventually, he realized that Dedue was by his side. He gave Dedue a nod and then turned back to face the rubble, but a call of his title had him looking back to his stoic friend.

“Is everything alright, Your Highness?” Dedue asked simply.

“I…” Dimitri was not sure what to say.

“When I pledged myself to you, I intended to ensure that no harm came to you,” Dedue explained. “If anyone has been upsetting you, or you are suffering a cursed ailment, you need only to tell me and I will scourge whoever dared to curse you.”

Dimitri could never have a normal conversation with him during this war, could he? There were so many threats to his life, he was willing to admit, but Dedue never ceased to worry, even when everything was stable for the moment. He knew that Dedue cared about him, but he always thought the worst of things when it concerned his king.

“I have no injuries or curses, my friend,” he told Dedue who looked entirely unconvinced.

“If it is something that you feel that you cannot tell the others…” Dedue’s offer was implied. He was concerned, that much Dimitri could tell easily.

“For now, it is something that I must handle on my own,” Dimitri said, not meeting his friend’s eyes.

It took some convincing, but Dedue finally relented in his insistence that he walk the king back to his room, despite the fact that they were on entirely different floors. He also rebuffed Dedue’s offer to stand guard outside his room the entire night to defend him from attackers. Dedue had finally, reluctantly relented and allowed Dimitri to finally return to his room alone. He was careful to check that he hadn’t been followed; Dedue had done it before, after all. But he saw no signs of anyone following him and arrived on the second floor of the dormitories, not meeting anyone on the way down the hall and to his room.

It was early in the night, he discovered as he returned to his room. It was earlier than he usually went to sleep, but being awake for closing in on thirty or so hours was wearing on him. With getting some rest potentially in sight, he sat on his bed and began the painstaking process of removing his armor. He let out a tired sigh as his leg armor came off, and he carefully placed it aside before repeating the process on his upper armor, removing his cape and furs as well when he had taken his armor off. He was left in just his long black undershirt and black pants, which was all he wore when he slept these days. Although he did recall that he had previously pushed himself to the point of collapse when in his full armor before, and waking up from that had never felt pleasant on his body. But given his state of mind at the time, he simply got up and continued to do the work he felt needed to be done; being sore never kept him from the slaughter. But as he was now, he appreciated that he could take his armor off at the end of the day and rest. He never knew how nice it would feel to let down his last layer of defense and truly be himself around his friends with nothing to hide. Well, he thought, nothing to hide but his attraction to you that refused to wane.

He would try to sleep; at least now he was in his room, where he was not likely to run into you. His onset affection for you was so strong that he didn’t think it would go away, and he did not know if that was a good thing or not. He took off his shoes, setting them down before laying down on his bed and closing his eyes in the hope that sleep would find him.

You had spent your day talking to the other occupants of the monastery, doing your best to confirm that everyone was doing alright. You knew that this war weighed on everyone’s souls, and if you could do anything to help, you would. And so, you did some light training with Felix, went to the marketplace with Ashe, and ended up helping Annette do some baking for Mercedes, which did not result in any kitchen disasters for once, which was a relief. You had seen Dimitri in the cathedral earlier, in that same place he had always gone before he had broken free of his darkness. You decided to give him some space, but when you passed by the cathedral again later in the evening, he was no longer in his usual spot in front of the rubble.

Whatever was wrong with him, you wanted to give him time. You really did. But if he was sinking back into his inner darkness, then you couldn’t stand by and let it happen again. You walked around the monastery grounds but were unable to find him. As a last ditch effort, you decided to head to the second floor of the dormitories to check and see if he was in his room. You passed various people as they headed to their own rooms to retire for the night, smiling as Flayn excitedly wished you a good night as you passed by her. Finally, you arrived at what you recalled to be Dimitri’s bedroom door.

You raised a hand and lightly knocked on the door. No answer. Maybe he had gone for a late night walk and you had just missed him on your walk around the monastery. You knocked one more time, slightly louder, but still got no response. You couldn’t hear any sounds from at all from the other side of the door. Having no choice, you reluctantly decided to leave and head back to your own room. You could talk with Dimitri the next time you saw him, you reassured yourself. And so, you began to retreat the way that you had come, off to get some sleep and hopefully wake up fully free from your sickness.

“Professor…”

It was so quiet that you almost didn’t detect it, but you supposed your sensitivity on the battlefield allowed you to pick up the muted whisper of your old title. You turned your head back, not sure what to expect, but found Dimitri in only pants and a long-sleeved shirt, both in black, staring at you from just outside his room. He met your gaze with a look of surprise on his face, almost as if he had not expected you to hear him or turn back to look. You made your way back over to him, and he opened his door wider and gestured for you to accompany him inside.

He walked all the way to his window before turning only his head back to face you. His expression was unreadable, but yours certainly wasn’t, and he immediately saw the worry on your face.

“Are you okay?” you asked quietly. You knew that you couldn’t make him talk if he didn’t want to but you needed him to know that you were here for him.

“You never let up, do you?” he asked, and you vaguely recalled him saying something like that to you in the past. Before you could reply, he continued. “I could not be who I am today without your help.”

Why was he saying that now, and then why did he look so troubled? You didn’t understand where he was going with this, and were about to tell him so.

“I could not stand to lose you,” he spoke slowly, finally turning around fully and stepping slightly closer to you. “But I fear that I may if I tell you what is on my mind.”

“That is not possible,” you countered, staring him down sternly.

Dimitri only grew a small sad smile at your words. He looked to be waging a mental war on himself, but you bridged the gap that was still between you and forced him to look at you in the eyes. You looked at him with all the seriousness you could manage in an attempt to convey to him that you would listen to anything that he had to say. He broke eye contact with you almost immediately, staring at the floor as he spoke quietly.

“You had a fever,” he explained. “Nobody had seen you the day after you were out in the rain. I went to check on you, and you were not answering your door and I…”

Your eyes went wide in surprise. That night, you were…

“I am so sorry, Professor!” he spoke, sounding upset as he hung his head in shame. “I saw you in a state that only your husband should see you in and I-”

His rambling cut off and you looked at him, trying desperately to have him meet your eyes, but he continued to look at the floor, so you took a second to reevaluate these new revelations. Dimitri had not fully explained, but from what you had pieced together, he had been worried about you and came into your room, which must have been after you had stripped down to only your underwear, based on Dimitri’s odd husband comment. You felt a rush of embarrassment that he had seen you like that, but you found that you were more bothered that he had seen you looking so weak rather than the fact that he had seen you nearly naked. But you also found that you didn’t really mind that it was him that had seen you that way.

“I… I did not leave you be. I could not. I stayed with you and kept a cold cloth on your forehead until your fever broke. I should have left, but I could not just leave you like that,” Dimitri spoke up again.

He was so earnest that it was cute. Apologizing for seeing you nearly nude was one thing, but you stifled a laugh as he was for some reason apologizing for staying with you and taking care of you while you were sick. He was fiercely intelligent, brave in the face of the hardships of war, but looking at him now, he looked like an awkward teenager trapped in the body of a grown man. You could no longer help yourself, and you let out a quiet giggle.

“Professor?” Dimitri uttered as he looked at you in shock and you laughed at his expression.

“You’re so cute,” you told him, and watched as your words sent a pink flush to his cheeks as he stared at you in disbelief.

You knew that you should do something to put him out of his misery, but you weren’t sure what. You reached a hand up to cup one of his cheeks, and he looked at you unsteadily, closing his eye as he leaned into your touch. You weren’t sure why you had decided to reach out for him physically, but staring at his handsome face, so close to your own, you felt the most comfortable and safe you had ever felt. You closed your eyes too to bask in the moment, but then he said your name, not your title, but your actual name. You opened your eyes again and the two of you stared at each other and he raised his own hand to cover yours that was still on his cheek. He had an urgency in his eyes that you could not place.

“I need to kiss you,” he said, not breaking eye contact, unwavering under your surprised look.

You really shouldn’t have been as surprised as you were, given how physically close the two of you were now, and how emotionally close you had been to each other for so long, but you hadn’t had the time to think that this was even a possibility. Overpowering all of your mind was the sense that this was all that you wanted in this moment. He was different than he had been when you had reunited with him, but he had broken free of his darkness, and had become the kind, strong leader that his people needed. That you all needed. He was your dearest friend, but right now you wanted him to kiss you more than anything, and so you nodded.

He didn’t waste any more than a few seconds before bending down and connecting your lips as your eyes slid closed as the same time. You adjusted your chin so you would be better locked together as your other hand weakly grasped at the material of his shirt, just above his chest. The kiss felt so effortless, as you both adjusted to the other’s rhythm and Dimitri’s other hand came up to rest on the back of your head, keeping you close together.

The kiss stayed simple, but it was making you feel lightheaded with the intensity that you were both putting into it. You pulled away, not confident in your ability to breathe at the moment and he followed, gently steering you back until the back of your knees hit his bed and you allowed him to push you back down onto it.

You found yourself laying on your back as Dimitri hovered over you, his legs on either side of you. He was upright with his knees pressed against your upper thighs, looking at you with want but unsure of how to proceed. While he sat there in a daze, you shrugged your coat off and gently removed your gauntlets, letting it all fall down in a heap by the bedside, and as you did, you noticed a pile of Dimitri’s own clothing and armor only a few feet away.

When you looked back up, you noticed that Dimitri had been following you with his gaze, but he still looked unsure. You had no idea what was going on in his head or what had happened to his confidence, but you decided that you would have to make it abundantly clear that you would like this to continue. And so, you lifted your torso up from the bed and wriggled out of your shirt, throwing everything that covered your upper body onto the floor and watching Dimitri’s eye widen and cheeks turned red as he once again took in the sight of your bare breasts. You were just happy that you were conscious this time so you could enjoy his very honest reaction.

He was still staring, this time he had switched back to look you in the eyes and you couldn’t help but tease him. “Dimitri, your shirt…”

He finally relaxed a bit and smiled so sweetly down at you. “I suppose I should make it even.”

You had never seen him shirtless before, but the scars on his body told you what he could never bring himself to about what had happened to him over the past ten years. He gave you no explanation, and did not give you the time to fully examine all of his scars as he lowered his head down and kissed you again, feeding in your boldness as he supported himself with one hand, bringing his other hand up to feel one breast. The shock of his sudden movements had you moaning in surprise, and the kiss transitioned further as you both allowed your tongues to meet as well.

You cradled his head in your hands, bringing one hand through his hair, so much longer than it had been five years earlier. Finding yourself wanting to be even closer to him, you brought one leg out from under him and wrapped it around his hip. The position allowed you to grind up against him, and he met your hips excitedly as you kissed and you felt a shiver go down your spine as you realized how much he wanted this, your hips so close together that you could not miss how hard he had become in such little time. The friction was exactly where you wanted it, but it began to not feel like anywhere close to enough.

He pulled back from you by a few centimeters, nose still touching yours, and his hand that was not supporting his weight drifted from your breast to brush a hand through your hair. “I love you,” he said sincerely, chuckling as you looked up at him in shock. “You did not think I loved you?”

He seemed amused by your lack of response, and in truth you did not know, you had been so happy to be like this with him that you hadn’t even considered the feelings that were obviously involved. But you could not deny how happy those words made you, and he leaned down to kiss you again as a smile lit up your face. He gave you a few short kisses before he disengaged himself from you, sitting at the side of the bed, and you hastened to join him. He looked over as you hesitantly placed your head on his shoulder, and he readily accepted the contact.

“I did not think that I would ever feel like this… that I deserved to feel this way with you. I escaped the darkness that I had been trapped in, but I know there are those who will never forgive me for the sins I have committed. But you stuck by my side when I treated you so poorly. I don’t deserve you… any of you,” he said, staring at the wall but wrapping an arm around your naked back.

“You are indispensable to me,” he said as he leaned over to kiss your hair. “I knew that I would not be here without you, but I did not realize my feelings until that night.”

You knew which night he meant, but you had taken even longer than him to discover your own feelings, but you knew now. You loved him, and there was no going back now, even if you wanted to. Which, sitting side by side in this moment, you knew that you only wanted to experience even more with this man who was so dear to you.

“I wanted to wait until after the war, until we had peace. But after that night, I could not look back at you without seeing your bare form. It is shameful, but I cannot hold back any longer, especially now that I know it is mutual,” he explained, adjusting the both of you so that you were facing each other. “I want to be with you.”

He was looking at you expectantly, but kindly. You realized that he needed you to also affirm that this was real, that you loved him as well. He believed in you, but you knew that you should put the poor boy out of his misery. You leaned in to kiss him and he reciprocated happily, pulling back after a few seconds, eyes fluttering open to look at Dimitri, who looked so content in that moment.

“I love you,” you told him, truly meaning it. “I want to be with you.”

Dimitri looked so happy, but with a glance downwards, you saw that he was no less hard. It looked rather painful, and couldn’t be comfortable for him. You were not as subtle as you thought you had been, and he caught your glance downwards on his form.

“I… it is okay, I would never pressure you. You do not have to worry about me,” he said quickly, face flushing pink.

He was about to get up and put some distance between you, but you would not let that happen. You stood up with him and spoke his name softly as you slipped your hands into the sides of your shorts, pulling them down along with your tights and slipping out of them and your boots. It was not a particularly graceful or sexy stripping of your last articles of clothing, but it got the job done. You crossed the room to where he was standing and he allowed you to begin the process of removing the clothes covering his lower half.

“If this is what you really want,” his growled words sent your cheeks aflame. “I will not hold back, my love.”

He helped you by kicking his pants and underwear off, and as soon as you were both fully naked, he picked you up, his hands grasping your thighs to support you. You hastily wrapped your legs and arms around him so you wouldn’t fall, and he grinned at you as he placed you down on the bed, following you down so he could kiss you again. Dimitri kissed you for only a moment longer as you desperately tried to keep up with his pace. You were so ready for what was to come, and you pulled back from the kiss and gazed up at him with longing.

Dimitri swallowed as he looked down at you, and you spread your legs as he reached down to his achingly hard cock. You were embarrassed to discover that you were easily wet enough from just kisses and simple groping that Dimitri was able to rub himself against you before he began to slide himself inside with ease. You let out a breathy moan as you tried not to squirm at the foreign feeling. Dimitri’s eyes closed as he dropped down to rest his head on your shoulder, his deep groan right by your ear as he pushed further inside you. Finally, your hips fully met as he was seated fully within you, and you knew that you had never felt anything like this before. You knew what sex was, your father had been too awkward to give you the talk himself and had a female village chief explain to it to you after you had saved their village, so you knew the basics. But no explanation could match up with how good it felt to be so intimate with the man you loved.

You felt his breath tickle your ear as he pulled himself back up, his eyes half lidded. “You feel so good… forgive me, but it is hard for me to focus on anything else.”

You felt the same way, but you didn’t have the patience for him to wait and adjust to this feeling, so you decided to force the issue by squeezing your inner muscles and watching as he shuddered, eye fluttering closed for a moment with a groan. He opened his eye to glare halfheartedly at you, obviously too pleased at the moment for you to believe that he was actually angry with you.

“You are so impatient,” he teased, but complied with your wishes as he pulled ever so slightly out of you before canting his hips back into yours.

He didn’t waste a second in continuing the movement, and his gentle rocking was driving you crazy. You were completely naked, and it had been a cold month, but you were so, so warm. There was a pleasant burn that was slowly ebbing away to just feel good in a way that you had never felt before. Evidently this was new to Dimitri as well, because he was in no better of a state than you were, panting against your skin as he leaned down to kiss at your neck. You were content to lay like that, your arms around his neck and feeling his hair tickle your face, but a well-timed thrust had you unexpectedly crying out with the sudden spike of pleasure.

Dimitri couldn’t suppress his own groan as he was able to reach deeper within you. And when you rolled your hips up to meet him, he almost stopped his momentum to bask in how good it felt. He once again palmed your breasts and stifled your moan as he kissed you again. He closed his eye as he kissed you because he feared that if he was to keep it open and take in the way you looked right now, this would end far sooner than he wanted. You were so beautiful like this, and his heart stuttered with every sound that left your mouth.

He wanted this to last, but he could no longer be satisfied with the current pace. He began to pull out more swiftly and push back in with a new speed and intensity. He felt pride surge up in him as you squirmed and broke the kiss to let out another cute cry. Your next cry was of his name, which set his pace on fire as you both rapidly tried to meet your ends as you both connected in a desperate clashing of tongues, both groping at any inch of the other’s skin that you could reach.

“I fear this will not last much longer, beloved,” Dimitri panted. “But we have so much more time ahead of us.”

You weren’t fully sure what he meant by that, but at this point you were so close to reaching your peak that you could do no more than moan and grasp weakly onto his neck and back, tangling one hand in his hair. You closed your eyes tightly as Dimitri held you as close to him as he could, his chest brushing against yours in tandem with his thrusting. It only took a bit more of his harsh, fast pace before you lost yourself in pleasure. Dimitri continued to move, prolonging your orgasm as you moaned and squeezed around him. He could only hold out for so long and he was finally pushed over the edge with a strained groan of your name. The two of you stayed joined for a moment before Dimitri gently moved off of you, giving you a shy smile. You went to get up with him, but he stopped you with a hand on your arm and you obeyed, laying back down, but looked at him quizzically.

“You may not want to get up. We have made quite a mess,” Dimitri said reluctantly.

He wasn’t making eye contact anymore, and you followed his gaze downwards on your body. Oh. Without the feeling to distract you, you realized just how gross you were feeling… down there. You closed your legs tightly in embarrassment, and in the hopes that you wouldn’t ruin Dimitri’s sheets. Feeling an onset of bashfulness, you also brought an arm up to cover as much of your chest as you could; despite what you had just done with him, the reality of the situation was catching up to you.

Dimitri laughed at your sudden shyness. “I will go fetch something to clean you up with,” he explained, beginning to dress himself to his first layer of clothing, foregoing his armor.

He bent down to kiss one of your flushed cheeks, and then he was gone out the door. Once the door had been closed and you were alone, you felt all of your remaining composure slip away. You and Dimitri had… you had no idea how he was so much more composed than you were, easily leaving the room to bring back something to clean you up. You felt too embarrassed to leave this room for a month, let alone right after you had been so intimate for the first time. You did not even know what to say to Dimitri when he got back, but you would dare to hope he had meant what he said, implying that he wanted to do this again. That he loved you. But for now, all you could do was wait for him to return.

Dimitri kept a relatively quick pace to fetch a cloth, although for a much different reason than the previous time. He still had a hard time believing that had just happened, that you and he were… he loved you, and he would not deny it even if being open about it was so new for him. Smiling to himself, he wistfully hoped that you would agree to spend the night in his room. He would not force you, but he could not deny that the idea of waking up and seeing your beautiful face first thing in the morning set his heart aflutter.

Dimitri had gotten to the middle of the hallway before he noticed someone waving at him just past his room, standing at the end of the hallway. Sylvain grinned at him as Dimitri walked past his own room to meet his friend just outside the redhead’s room.

“Late night walk, Your Highness?” Sylvain quipped, eyes briefly darting down to the towel in Dimitri’s grasp.

Dimitri was silent for a moment too long, wondering what to respond, and Sylvain laughed awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. “Just one thing though, you might want to noise-proof your room.”

“Sylvain!” Dimitri admonished, shocked.

“Hey!” Sylvain waved his hands in a defensive manner. “It wasn’t me! But, uh, Felix was just here complaining that you and the Professor were interrupting his sleep…”

Dimitri was not sure what to say to that, and immediately felt bad because he was sure that you would be embarrassed if you knew that you two had been heard. Dimitri turned a hard gaze to Sylvain; his childhood friend had not been known to be the most trustworthy with gossip, but Sylvain immediately knew what Dimitri was thinking, and what he was likely about to say.

“I wasn’t going to tell anyone, relax!” Sylvain stated quickly. “Just be careful, ladies don’t really like having an audience.”

Dimitri scoffed, but smiled at his friend. “I will keep that in mind, Sylvain.”

Relieved that Dimitri was not mad at him, he clasped one of his friend’s shoulders. “I won’t keep you from her, but I just wanted to say that I’m happy for you. You deserve to be happy, Dimitri. Just don’t let her get away!” he joked.

Both men having said their piece, turned to go to their respective rooms. Dimitri could only hope that you hadn’t heard any of their conversation. The last thing he wanted to do was scare you away or make you uncomfortable. But as he opened the door, he found you still on his bed, shutting the door behind him without looking back because he could not stand to look away from the smile you gave him upon seeing him return.

It hadn’t been long, but you felt happiness surge up in you at the sight of him. He briskly made his way over to you and handed you the towel he had brought, to your great relief. It would be too embarrassing to have him clean you, and so you accepted the towel gratefully, cleaning yourself as he turned his back to give you some privacy. You made quick work of cleaning yourself, feeling less of a mess immediately, other than your hair still being slightly matted to your forehead with sweat. You wanted to savor this moment, but you also wanted to know if he had really meant what he had said earlier.

Dimitri, not noticing the shift in your mood, leaned down onto the bed just as you sat up so he could give you a light kiss. He looked so happy when he pulled away from you, his smile unwavering. It was only then that he noticed how strained your small smile was. “My love…?”

“…you said we would have more time,” you said quietly, and his brows drew together in confusion, before nodding affirmatively.

“You have not figured it out yet?” Dimitri teased, reaching down to hold your hand. “I would hope that this was not the only time we would be together like this.”

You were still confused, and he noticed immediately. “I do not mean only in a carnal sense. This is a rather unusual setting, but I have no regrets. I want to marry you.”

Oh... You stared at him in shock. You weren’t sure what you were expecting him to say, only just nervous that he would tell you to leave, that this was a one-time thing. But he had gone in the farthest direction possible from what you had feared. You found that you really wanted this, you wanted to marry him, wanted to stay by his side forever. None of your thoughts made it to your face, your expression blank as you stared at him. Dimitri didn’t seem to understand what you were thinking, and got a little anxious himself.

“If you do not want to, of course…” he muttered. “I do not have a ring, yet I decided to ask this of you. I understand if you do not want this with me.”

He had seemingly already decided his fate, and you smiled softly at him. “I accept.”

“You… you do?” he sounded surprised, and you weren’t quite sure why. He was a wonderful man, and you loved him so much. He was a fool to think anything otherwise. Especially after what you had just done together, and all you both had been through.

He had finally seemed to get the message, and practically lunged towards you, connecting your lips together in a rough kiss. This war would end, you knew, and then the two of you could build a peaceful world together. You looked forward to that, but you knew that you would have Dimitri at your side for anything that came your way, and that gave you all the confidence you could ever need.