#Wounds by a knife

[theoneeyedgoldenwolf]

Catch a knife

Whumptober 2024, number 26: Nightmares

Summary: Twilight’s past haunts him during the nights. When he wakes up from them, he unintentionally endangers Time’s life. Is there a way to make his unconscious actions to stop?

CW: Lack of trust, nightmares, threat by a knife, slashed by a knife, stabbed by a knife, mauling, eerie feeling, drugged, hallucinations

Notion: - Originally named as “The Mark of the Wolf” - This starts roughly with very cruel nightmare! D= - Part of my Ranch Family AU story. - Time has lost his eye and he has scar over his right eye but he does NOT have Fierce’s markings. Those will come much later. - Luck Bird = Siberian Jay

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Twilight groaned and sat up slowly while frowning at the sticky feeling and odd warmth. He shook his head before blinking his eyes open. His confusion increased at the stench of blood. He jerked a bit when he saw the pool of blood he had been laying on. Then his notion fell into a hand just in his line of sight. Gulping, he turned his notion into the limb and slowly gained a person into his sight. A person he was learning to know. Only one word left his mouth as the realization of the situation dawned to him: “Time.” He had mauled the older male like a feral beast. On that second he started to scream.

Twilight woke up screaming and bolted up on his bed. He screamed again in terror as his room’s door was slammed open roughly and fast. He didn’t think twice as he snatched the knife from his night table and threw it.

The startled scream and the sound of thwack finally snapped the youngster into reality. He jerked a bit and blinked few times as he caught the notion of his knife on the wall and Time having half crashed onto the floor. Time whom was his current caretaker. Time whom he lived with at the Lon-Lon Ranch. Time whom had picked him out of all the other kids in the orphanage and brought him to here. Time whom had bought him all he could need, a phone, the knife he had just thrown, clothes and other stuff. Time whom hadn’t posed even one bit of threat to him for the past two months he had lived with the guy.

“Uh… Really good throw.” Time told while bit shakily standing up. Twilight watched him yank the knife off of the wall. After that he gently threw the knife back onto the night table. “Bit of practice and your aim will be even better.” He commented before crouching down to be on lower level.

Twilight just stared. He bit jerked at the overly loud sound of the knife hitting the wood and bit skid on the surface of the night table. He blinked few times while slowly realizing the whole situation. “S-sorry… I…” He started uncertainly and noticed Time shaking his head.

“Nah. No worries at all. You had a nightmare and woke up screaming. And I just dash into here without a warning.” Time spoke calmly and gently even though he certainly was still shaken. “Gotta see if I can fix the lock. The locksmith did give good information and explanations but…” He shrugged and chuckled a bit. “I don’t think I’m much of a fixer.” He told while taking a check on the lock. “But, maybe I can get it done. If not, then just put the chair against it and I’ll try to get the locksmith over tomorrow.”

Twilight just numbly nodded while still trying to push the hellish dream out of his mind. “Want to talk?” Time queried softly and Twilight blinked several times in start before shaking his head. “Okay, not gonna force.” Time backed off before giving a lopsided smile. “How about hot chocolates?” He offered instead.

“What? In middle of the night?” Twilight finally found his voice and he frowned a bit.

Time shrugged. “Why not? I’ve had lot of midnight hot chocos with Malon when I was younger.” He explained and Twilight could hear the slight waver at the mention of his caretaker’s wife’s name and the slight pain the memory brought. He didn’t yet know much but so far he had gathered that the woman had died to a cancer only about two years ago.

Twilight thought for a moment before nodding and slowly getting up from the bed. “Great! I’ll teach so you can make the hot chocolates for both of us.” Time told while keeping the distance and moving in front of the younger male. Twilight still bit frowned at the action but he understood it well. Time was letting him to choose when it was okay to be close.

They went into the kitchen and Time chose the furthest seat he could find at there. With the given instructions he made two cups of hot chocolates before taking a seat by the table and handing the other one to Time. The older male nodded his thanks. Yet very soon he got up and went to pick up some drawing paper and pens. He set them in middle of the table while pulling one sheet and two pens, orange and normal.

“To get your mind off of that nightmare, I’d suggest to draw something.” Time told while looking at Twilight calmly. “Draw what makes you feel safe. Draw what brings you luck. Or, well, just draw whatever you wish.” He suggested and bit grinned. “And when you’re ready, and of course if you’re willing, we’ll show our creations once we’re done.”

Twilight just frowned while letting the hot chocolate calm him down already. Yet, he pulled one of the white sheets of paper and one pen. He thought for a while even though he already knew what he’d draw. Only a moment later he began to draw what he kept calling as The Mark of the Wolf.

“You know… I could go and buy you another knife tomorrow. You can come along if you want.” Time suddenly suggested while coloring his creation. “On that way, when you throw one you still have a blade to defend yourself.” He explained calmly.

“Is… Is it okay if I stay here?” Twilight queried bit uncertainly.

“Sure. At then I just need to know what kind of knife you want so I can buy the right one.” Time answered without hesitation.

“The same as what I already have.” Twilight gave out straight away. He liked the blade as there was a running wolf etched into there.

“Alright. Consider it done.” Time simply replied while bit tilting his head as he checked his creation. A moment later he nodded. “You ready?” He queried while taking a hold of the paper so that he could turn it around.

Twilight nodded and took a deep breath. Time began to count from three downwards and when he hit zero, they turned the creations around. “A bird?” Twilight queried while looking at the round bird of silver and orange.

“Malon called it as Luck Bird.” Time answered as calmly as he could. “It’s pretty much been such for me whenever I’ve seen it.” He explained with a shrug before nodding to Twilight’s creation. “Is that what you’ve called as the Mark of the Wolf?” He inquired and Twilight nodded.

“I saw it on the forehead of the golden wolf that saved me.” Twilight answered with a small smile before bit sighing. “I know it was just light and shadows playing with my messed up mind but…”

“It’s real.” Time stated out firmly and startled Twilight’s notion right back into him. “Whatever anyone says, what you saw was real for you. No-one can claim against it. They weren’t there. They didn’t see it. You were. You know what you saw. Don’t ever let anyone claim against that.”

Twilight stared while being fully taken off guard. No-one had ever said his sight had been correct. It was first time someone actually believed him and confirmed his claim.

“I’ve seen lot of unique markings on different animals.” Time told calmer. “Some even name their pets after those things.” He continued and shrugged. “I don’t doubt even one second that there wouldn’t be a wolf with the marking you’ve drawn.”

Twilight calmed down and turned his gaze down into his creation before turning it towards Time. On the paper was long line which top had unique swirly looking tree of sorts with a dot inside it. On its sides were two more swirly lines and deer antlers.

“That is very unique marking.” Time commented while not touching the paper but taking in the whole creation. “I could buy some paints too while at the town and you can paint it onto your wall. How about it?” He suggested calmly.

“You sure?” Twilight queried bit startled of the offer.

Time shrugged while still smiling. “It’s your room. I want it to be a place you feel safe at.” He simply answered before getting up. “How about I try and fix your door’s lock and we go to sleep for a while longer?” He half queried while taking his mug to the sink and filling it with water. Twilight nodded and followed his caretaker. He gave his mug over while feeling bit like he should wash the mugs. “Don’t worry about the mugs. I’ll handle them at the morning.” Time told while very carefully rounding the younger male and going to fetch some needed things to fix the door.

Twilight watched and followed whole time. He didn’t trust Time but he couldn’t deny the fact of how much effort the one eyed male was putting into making him feel safe and accepted at there. Still, after how his past had gone, it wasn’t easy for him to trust older males.

The next few weeks went past safely and calmly. Time did, as he promised, get him another knife with a running wolf in the blade and several different paints. Twilight had had rights to pick the ones that he liked the most to paint his own room as he wished. Time bought even more of the chosen colors just to be sure it would be enough. He did also check on the youngster while offering his help but mainly, out of Twilight’s request, he just supervised. Twilight painted the Mark of the Wolf into both sides of the door as well into the ceiling of his room so it would be the last thing in the evening and first thing in the morning he saw.

Twilight had started to calm down a bit too while enjoying of the farm work. It was summer but, by using Time and Malon’s old school books, got some home schooling. Time did his best to help whenever Twilight requested for it. And usually they found the answers together.

Twilight often handled the meals since Time didn’t want him to fear of the food being tampered with. Besides that, the older male was fine with smaller eating which often got him to even forget to eat at some days. When Twilight noticed this trend, he was straight off on handling the breakfast, dinner and evening meal for both of them. Even though Time kept telling him that he didn’t owe anything for the stay, care or anything else, Twilight still felt like wanting to do something to show his gratitude for the freedom, place of safety and someone truly caring about him. This all was the reason the next nightmare took him off guard.

The darkness was all around him. The forest didn’t seem friendly even one bit. The air was smelling foul and made his head hurt. Twilight whimpered and screamed for his parents. Everything looked the same. Suddenly something moved in the thick fog that had appeared almost out of nowhere. He ran. He glanced once behind him while hearing all sorts of sounds. Just as he turned his notion back to where he was running, he gasped, stumbled backwards and crashed to his butt as he had slammed roughly against something solid. Then, without warning, that something solid creaked open and…

Twilight woke up screaming while bolting upright in his bed. While still lingering between the nightmare and waking world, he snatched the knife and threw. He hadn’t even heard or seen his room’s locked door having been roughly struck open. What finally snapped him into the reality was a scream.

Twilight stared at Time and the knife on the floor. The older male was holding his arm with a pained grimace. Yet, when he noticed Twilight staring at him, he forced that look off and grinned a bit. “Your aim’s getting better.” He commented before kneeling down and carefully picking the knife up. “This needs bit more of cleaning but…” He started and wiped the blade into his clothes before standing back up and gently throwing the knife back to the night table. “That’s the best I can do at the moment.” He continued and shrugged a bit.

It took quite a while from Twilight to realize that he had actually slashed Time’s arm with that throw. “Time… I…” He stammered while staring wide-eyed at the scene. Time was slowly calming down and he just shook his head.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Time assured with a fond smile. “I’ll just get this bandaged. It’ll heal in no time.” He promised and glanced at the lock. “I’ll fix that again.” He nodded towards the door before giving a lopsided smile. “Hot chocos and calming down, yeah?” He offered and Twilight just nodded. “Great! You can go and start things. I’ll be down in a moment.”

Twilight couldn’t really do anything else than nod before Time left the room. He carefully picked the knife up and felt fully guilty of the blood that he could still see on it. Once again he wondered what Time had gone through in his past to be acting like this. He wasn’t barking him down. He wasn’t throwing him out. He was just accepting of being attacked by a stranger in his own home. He hadn’t even reported of him to anyone.

Twilight left his room bit sorrowfully and knocked on the bathroom’s door. “Time?” He called and got a muffled reply of “Yeah?”. He hesitated for a moment. “Can I help?” He eventually asked while wanting to make things right.

“Thanks but I got this. Just get the hot chocolates done. Okay?”

Twilight sighed and bit slumped. “Okay.” He replied while feeling like he should go inside anyways. He knew Time didn’t lock the door even though there was such a chance. Then again, that had been installed at the same day as his door’s lock had been. It clearly told there never had been locked doors besides the front door in the whole house. Trust and acceptance clearly had been extremely important for the residents of the place. And he felt like he was violating that guideline in the hardest possible way.

Only a moment after Twilight had the hot chocolates done Time came down. He had changed pajamas for two different reasons, the blood and the rip in the sleeve. He was clearly calmer but Twilight was quite certain it was just fake to calm him down. There still was some of that freak-out in his eyes. Yet, it was clear he was rather looking after him than of himself.

Time nodded as Twilight gave him the mug. “So… I’m not going to ask. It’s up to you if you wish to talk.” He told calmly while tracing the rim of the mug. “But… I’m going to ask this… What do you want to do?” He continued while raising his gaze up into the younger male. “Draw? Watch TV? Howl at the moon?” He suggested before shrugging. “Sure, it’s not full moon yet but… Does it really matter what night it is?”

Twilight stared bit startled at his caretaker. “I… Um…” He started before shaking his head. “How about card game?” He queried and bit relaxed when Time smiled widely.

“Sure! I’ll fetch the deck.” Time exclaimed and left the room. Twilight smiled a bit but the look dropped off of his features the moment the one eyed male was out of seeing it. He just frowned and stared at the older male’s mug. This was exactly what he couldn’t do, leave his drink or food unsupervised. The guy trusted him and he felt like he didn’t deserve that.

Soon enough Time came back and gave the card deck to Twilight. “Just check them through. I didn’t rig it but I want you to be certain of it.” He told calmly and tried to keep his notion elsewhere while Twilight went through the cards. Once he was certain he already shared few cards. “So, what we playing?” Time queried while picking the cards up.

“Biggest card wins?” Twilight offered while turning one card around from the deck for starter.

“Works for me. You can start if you want.” Time replied while bit changing the places of his cards. Twilight simply nodded before placing first card in.

They played several games through while enjoying of the hot chocolate. After that Time fixed the lock on Twilight’s door. Twilight simply nodded his thanks while returning to the bed. He had washed his knife after having done the hot chocolates and while waiting for them cool down a bit.

The days and weeks flew past again and Twilight started to calm down. He hoped there wouldn’t be that rough nightmares anymore. He had had smaller and less hellish on several nights. Yet, just as he thought he had everything perfectly fine, the next nightmare jumped him.

Twilight was growling. He stood protectively in front of two younger kids. The room was dimly lit but he could feel something moving around there. The kids were trembling and whimpering behind him. Whatever it was that lurked in the shadows was a threat. Suddenly a rough sound of screech snapped his notion to his side. Before he could realize what had caused the noise, an unseen door was slammed open and something dashed into the room.

Twilight screamed while seeing the hideous thing rather than his own room. He threw the knife without thinking while desperately wanting to protect himself and the kids of his past. The scream wasn’t a beast’s but Hylian’s. And it wasn’t brought out by start or slight pain. It was filled with agony.

Twilight gasped as the situation came into him like a flash of a sudden lightning. Time had crashed to his knees while holding his shoulder. Twilight stared horrified as he saw his own knife in the back of Time’s shoulder. “W-what… W-what I’ve d-done…” He half whispered with shaky voice and feeling tears at his eyes. On that second he scrambled out of the bed and dashed to Time before already dropping to his knees. “Time… I…” He desperately tried to find right words but he didn’t know what to say.

“You hit good. Straight and true.” Time whispered after shaking his head. “It’s fine. I’ve had worse.” He assured while clearly wanting to pull Twilight into a hug for better comfort. Yet, he held back as he knew the trust between them hadn’t yet been established strongly enough.

“Time, I’m sorry!” Twilight half shouted while trying to blink the tears out of his eyes. He moved closer and tried to get a better check of the wound. He flinched when Time growled in pain. “Sorry! Sorrysorry!” He straight off half shouted while pulling off bit startled. “You need to go to hospital.” He stated out while feeling himself tremble even more.

Time shook his head. “No. It’s fine. I just need you to pull the knife out. I’ll bandage it.”

“What?!  NO!” Twilight nearly snapped in shock. “It needs stitches!” He barked out before bit flinching in shock at Time’s reaction. The one eyed male grimaced and jerked at the claim of stitches. “Time?” He called bit worriedly.

Time took a deep breath and gave as reassuring smile as he could but it didn’t fully hit right. “J-just mild case of needle fear.” He answered before carefully touching around his shoulder to find the knife.

“Time… What…?” Twilight started before gasping in start as Time yanked the knife out with a growl. “Time… That… T-that was stupid!” He snapped while staring horrified at the bleeding.

“I’ve had worse. I got this.” Time replied while giving the knife back to Twilight after having cleaned it against his clothes. After that he stood up. “Hot chocolates sounds good, right?” He half queried while trying to give a smile of assurance.

“Time…” Twilight whispered while watching the older male leave the room. “Shit…” He growled and stood up swiftly to go after his caretaker. “Time, I mean it. You need to go to the hospital. That wound needs stitches.” He stated out as firmly as he dared.

Time stumbled and paled even more than earlier at the mention of stitches. Twilight grit his teeth while realizing that he wasn’t going to get the one eyed male to do as supposed to. “What would you be doing if it was me in your place?!” He eventually snapped and nearly winced as Time stopped dead on his tracks.

Time gritted his teeth for a while before sighing heavily. “You can’t drive and neither can I in this condition. Taking Epona into the town isn’t a good idea. And we’re not walking around the town in middle of the night.” He stated out firmly while turning around to look at the youngster.

“Fine.” Twilight huffed and shook his head. “Where’s the first aid kit? I need to stitch that wound.” He half commanded and winced again at the rough flinch Time did at the mention of stitches and the knowledge of needles to get it done.

Eventually Time sighed and nodded. “Living room. In the book shelf’s closet. The closest to the door.” He explained and waited until Twilight was out of sight before taking his shirt off.

Twilight took the stairs carefully but otherwise he dashed through the hallways. He found the first aid kit quite quickly before already returning into the second floor’s bathroom. “Just keep your gaze off of here.” Twilight half commanded while getting things ready. “Is there any pain killers for the area?” He queried while checking the first aid kit through.

“No… Just do it.” Time replied and took few deep and shaky breaths. He closed his eye and tried to concentrate into his breathing. Twilight jerked when he did the first strike and Time flinched roughly with a pained gasp. The one eyed male trembled and flinched at each stitch done. Yet, he didn’t whimper. Instead, he just grit his teeth and fought against the unconscious actions.

Twilight wanted to say something, anything, comforting but he couldn’t find the words. Luckily, though, the wound wasn’t that of wide and the knife hadn’t struck too deep. The moment he was done, Twilight put the needle and the first aid kit to be fully out of Time’s sight. Next he gently cleaned the blood off but Time still flinched as he clearly wasn’t happy of others touching the scars that littered his body. Eventually Twilight bandaged the area before getting up and cleaning things off. He still did his best to keep the needles out of sight.

“Thank you.” Time whispered after having caught himself back in order. He bit moved his shoulder before getting up from the floor. “Just leave the things there. I’ll clean them later.”

“You’re welcome and don’t worry. I got this already.” Twilight replied and flashed a smile to Time. “Just go and get changed into cleaner clothes.” He suggested calmly. “I’ll be done in a moment and then we can have hot chocolates. Yeah?” He offered with a grin.

Time blinked bit startled before smiling lopsidedly and nodding. “Sounds good. You want to do them?” He replied and Twilight just nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you in a moment.”

Twilight just nodded into that before, once Time was out, he sighed bit heavily. He slumped and looked around at the blood he had drawn out. He shook his head and took a deep breath while putting on fully determined look.

Twilight handled the cleaning of the used items, his own knife and the bloodied areas. He checked once around before going downstairs and putting the first aid kit back to where it belonged to. After that he went to the kitchen and nodded once to Time before starting to get the hot chocolates done.

“Time, before you tell that you won’t ask a thing…” Twilight started after having brought the drinks to the table. He sighed heavily and forced himself to face his current caretaker eye to eye. “I can’t tell much because I’m unaware of all that has happened to me.” He half warned before taking a deep breath and starting to talk.

“I… Some memories are hazy. Some I’m not sure if they’re real or made up. And some are by now messed up with the life after I and the others were rescued.” Twilight began bit uncertainly.

“Twilight, you don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to.” Time told gently while wishing to reach out to his boy but not daring to.

“I know but… I want to. I feel like I owe you at least this much. I…” Twilight replied almost desperately.

Time sighed and shook his head. “You owe me nothing, Cub.” The stated out firmly. “You’re here because I care. I want this to be home and safe place to you. I’m not asking anything in return. I just want to see you safe and sound. I just want you to reach for your dreams and gain them.”

Twilight nodded while dropping his gaze down into the mug. He wanted to explain but he didn’t find the answers. “Give me a second.” Time called and went to fetch a piece of paper and a pen. After that, once back to his place, he drew something swiftly enough on the sheet. “I hope I got it right.” He said softly while giving his creation to the younger male.

Twilight frowned and turned the paper around. He gasped in start as he saw the Mark of the Wolf on it. “It… It’s perfect…” He half whispered while tad smiling at the creation.

“If you really wish to talk, Twilight, keep your gaze in the marking. Know you’re safe and protected. As long as I have the rights and ability, I will protect you in any way possible.” Time told firmly and Twilight nodded almost absentmindedly.

“I remember a forest.” Twilight began again. “I’m not sure but I think I was there with my parents. I got lost. The fog appeared and there was something within it. I ran and crashed with a wall…” He told and frowned a bit. “I… Somehow this feels more of a nightmare I had instead of what happened. I don’t know…”

“Just take it easy. Breathe.” Time soothed with soft voice. “You’re safe. Whatever is in your past can’t harm you ever again. I promise.”

Twilight nodded and took a deep breath. “A clear memory is of a room. Several different. Most dimly lit. I… I think we were drugged. Might be through the food and drinks. Maybe in the air… I’m not sure.” He explained and shook his head. “We saw things. We attacked each other because of… Because of the… Um…”

“Hallucinations.” Time offered and Twilight nodded.

“Yeah, that. Hallucinations. Seeing things that weren’t there.” Twilight confirmed. “I don’t know how long we were there. Trapped and drugged. Felt like eternity.” He whispered and shivered a bit before shaking his head. “A wolf… Not sure if it was a hallucination too or real. It had this marking on its forehead.” He confirmed and tapped the paper. “It saved us. The next thing was that we were taken out of that place. The days are bit hazy as the drugs wore off. After that, though…” He shrugged. “Orphanage.”

Time nodded while wishing to go to hug the boy or at least place his hand over the youngster’s. Yet, he stayed to his place. “You’re safe here.” That was all he could say and promise.

Twilight smiled a bit and nodded. “I know.” He half whispered before stretching. “Where’s the paints? I’d like to add something into my room.”

“At the storage between the house and the Cucco house.” Time answered before getting up. “I’ll fix your door’s lock.

“A-actually…” Twilight started while making his choice. “No need for that. I could… Leave it unlocked.” He told while still being bit contradicted of the situation.

“You sure? I want you to feel safe at here. The lock’s meant to give that.” Time queried bit surprised.

Twilight smiled slightly and nodded. “I’m sure.” He replied while feeling surprisingly calmer than a while ago. Time nodded and glanced out of the window.

“I guess it’s about time to start the work so—“ The one eyed male started but Twilight cut him short.

“NO.” The youngster almost snapped. “Not with your arm not working correctly. You need to let it heal.” He told firmly and grinned. “You’ve taught me the ranch work. I’ll manage on my while you heal.” He promised while getting up. “I’ll change real quick, do the painting I need and handle bit of breakfast for both of us and be off to work. That okay with you?”

Time was bit taken off guard but he soon smiled and nodded. “Alright. May I stay close by in case you need bit of aid?”

“Sure.” Twilight replied happily. “Having bit of conversation always makes things go faster.” He commented and Time nodded in agreement.

It took about couple of weeks for the knife wound to heal enough for Time to aid with the work. Twilight still chose the harder work just to make sure his caretaker didn’t overdo himself. Still, with things going better, the youngster hoped he was over with the nightmares. He had shared bit of his past and talked with the one eyed male whenever he recalled something. Sometimes he just wanted to older male’s opinion on things and they worked the problems through together. He wasn’t happy when the next nightmare struck.

Twilight was feeling nauseous. The food had tasted funny but he had been too hungry to care. Now he regretted it. The room slowly dimmed around him and he wasn’t certain if the situation was caused by his own sight or if it really was happening. When the shadows began to move, he knew it was his own fault. And yet, he couldn’t help but curl up into the corner and whimper in terror. The sounds around him, real or not, were making everything even worse. There was no way out. The walls were creeping closer. When things started to be too much to bear, all he could do was to scream.

Twilight woke up in fright. The scream left from within him before he even understood it. He sat up while snatching the knife to defend himself but that was when he saw it. The Mark of the Wolf. He froze for a moment while having unconsciously stopped his action of the throw and turned the knife away from being a danger to the one whom had crashed into his room. He was safe. He wasn’t at that place. He had someone whom cared and believed him.

“Cub?” Time called carefully while having been actually surprised of not having had to try and avoid a flying knife. The moment that word left from his mouth, his boy already scrambled out of the bed, dropped the knife into the night table and dashed to him. He barely had enough of time to crouch down and spread his arms to catch Twilight.

Twilight wrapped his arms tightly around Time and broke down. He felt the one eyed male carefully embrace him. He didn’t fully hear the words but he took in the comforting and soft voice of his caretaker. He gave out a slight yelp when Time sat them both down to the floor. While crying, he told the nightmare out and felt the hold bit tighten around him. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep in the ranch owner’s hold.

Time didn’t move from his place nor did he let go or stop talking. He could’ve picked the boy up and taken him to the bed but he wasn’t going to do such. In his opinion it was safer to let the boy sleep where he was and guard his rest as he had been given such rights.

When the Cucco finally gave the call of the morning, Twilight yawned and carefully stretched. “Morning, Cub. How are you?” Time’s voice started him and he snapped his eyes open. The one eyed male was smiling fondly at him while holding him securely but still in such way that he could easily get away if he wanted to.

“Morning.” Twilight replied and closed his eyes before snuggling closer to his caretaker. He smiled when he felt Time sigh in relief and tighten the hold. This was exactly where he was feeling at safe and protected. “Thank you.”

“Hmm? For what?” Time queried with slight frown.

Twilight sighed contently while fully relaxing. “Everything. For absolutely everything,” He replied with a smile before taking his caretaker fully off guard by kissing the side of his head. Yet, after the first shock, he felt Time quite well melt by that action. ”Thank you, alpha wolf.” He whispered with a slight grin.

“You’re welcome, Cub.” Time replied while smiling fondly. He knew for certainty that his boy was on way to healing. Things were going to be all right from here on out. Obviously, though, since they had missed the chance of hot chocolate in the middle of the night, it was their drink with the simple breakfast.

[oifaaa]

I was looking for a post I reblogged a month ago and noticed that Jason and Damian won the "Whose the better sibling duo" poll against Dick and Tim which well done boys everyone deserved it more than you two but that didn't stop you

[vaguely-concerned]

'varric's vibe when you pick the 'I'm worried' option after he asks you how you feel about having solas in your head is so fucking funny. the very careful 'so, uh, just... out of casual interest why -- why aren't you putting wards on yourself and your mind to keep him out, and incidentally exactly how might you do it if you did. no reason why I'm asking just. curious. I have no stance on this' probing of it all (that should be the giveaway in itself, really, in hindsight I think real varric would be a lot more freaked out on rook's behalf about this even if he might still have reached the conclusion that the connection to solas was worth the risk, he's got kirkwall blood magic trauma to fill a telephone catalogue). that and the '>:) then I see you've made a choice (so this is basically a little bit on you now, you got fairly outsmarted etc., I don't have to feel as guilty thank you for having youthful hubris that will be your undoing so I can feel less bad about my role in it). honestly if anything I'm doubling down on my previous 'mind!varric is directly controlled by solas the majority of the time and rook's mind is mostly a collaborateur' post. this conversation is transparently solas gathering intel and giving you the 101 on leadership while you're building a small focused rebel force.

in solas' defense... this whole situation is very very funny in an extremely dark kind of way he is nothing if not on brand. the stuff he says about himself in this conversation is like. he's both reading himself for filth AND he can't read all of a sudden he can't uh......... he has plenty of self-insight (a single flower with blackened petals) and it helps him exactly not at all in breaking his patterns lmao

also it makes the relationship between solas and rook so. so much. what an insane intimacy in grieving for someone so much you both conspire to raise him from the dead together, just for a little while, because neither of you can bear to let go. what a violation in being the only knowing party in that. solas can hear rook following through on relaying his apology to 'varric' no matter what else they think of him. and he still does what he does to them in the end. he's feeding them affection (some of it even real eventually, I think, he clearly respects rook as a pure agent of chaos on some level and has some incredulous amused fondness for them no matter how you end up in your relationship with him) and confidence with one hand, and readying a knife in the other the whole time. solas my love my friend my genuine darling I think I will have to strangle you unfortunately

[mellosdrawings]

Content warnings, please mind the tags

A habit inherited from parents

When self-preservation comes at a price.

[PREV] - [NEXT] - [MASTERLIST]

Alright alright, I have THOUGHTS ok?! So lemme develop a bit about this AU, because it's going to be a semi long series. First some warnings:

It will be "hurt no comfort" for quite some time before I begin being nicer to them

MOST ARTS FROM THIS SERIES ARE GOING TO BE BLOODY/DARK, PLEASE MIND THE TAGS

Now actual infos:

It is Scarabia/Scalding Sands-only AU (for now, might be subject to change)

Only about 20% of the population has no wings, most everybody else is born with wings

The bigger/more colorful wings come from "good lineage" and tend to indicate nobility

The Asim family possesses very colorful parrot wings, though they are not the biggest

The Viper family possesses [redacted] wings, but they cannot keep them so as to not shadow the Asim

Wings grow back no matter how many times one cuts them

Kalim is not aware the Viper family do have wings and just assumes they are born without

I might add more notes with the next arts.

[wildwren]

Whenever you're stabbed, you leave it in.

NIA TOWLE and MAXIM BALDRY as ESTRID and ISILDUR

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

Jason Ichimatsu turns a new leaf kinda

[padawansuggest]

Cody: *pinching the bridge of his nose* General, I /know/ you know how to use a blaster-

Obi-Wan: *guiltily* yes.

Cody: I have even seen you use them in practice with the men-

Obi-Wan: correct.

Cody: And yet. You threw it.

Obi-Wan: …yes.

Cody: …why did you throw it?

Obi-Wan: Well. You see-

Cody: oh god-

Obi-Wan: Palpatine was a Sith. He expected a lot of things from that fight. Maybe he expected to turn my sweet baby Anakin-

Cody: Ew-

Obi-Wan: -on us and use him, maybe he expected me to come at him with a saber, maybe he expected me to shoot him.

Cody: So you didn’t think he’d expect you to throw a blaster. You couldn’t have even chosen a granade?

Obi-Wan: Listen. He could have thrown one back at us. The force said throw the blaster and grab my sweet baby Padawan out of dodge and let Fox knife him. It worked!

Cody: Force give me patience so I don’t strangle my ven’riduur-

Obi-Wan: *perks up* So we’re still engaged?

Cody: You aren’t getting rid of me that fast, dikut.

[quacaserous]

And so, the scene begins

Your cries become the wind

A desperate plea best left unheard

Then my contrived goodbye

A poet's pantomime

A drunken jester's final words

implied sh, uncropped under the cut

[season-2-episode-13-mizumono]

"I can hear sirens, sirens. he hit me and it felt like a kiss. I can hear violins, violins. give me all of that ultraviolence." - ultraviolence

[arsenic-catnep]

Sorry I told you that I loved you while I was knuckles deep in your stab wound... Do you still think I'm cute?

[brbarou]

i'm here. i'll take care of you

[loverboyromanroy]

sublime

[gaymarasov]

Anyway here's the entire Ambessa/Cait/Mel fight cut together with music removed. Hot women in your area growling murderously/yelping in agony/getting kicked around FREE NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED. Click here! Rambling below the cut.

"If it was for us, you wouldn't have fought me" delivered so matter-of-fact, almost affectionately bemused. The way Cait keeps getting back up despite getting her ass beat within an inch of her life every time she does. Mel getting off light comparatively because she's Ambessa's daughter and STILL ending up staggering around barely conscious. The sound Ambessa's boots make as she approaches Cait towards the end. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Absolute cinema.

[monigote001]

Twenty-second day, surgery.

Someone noticed that Clef had a scar left by appendix surgery, well, he did the surgery himself in field days jj

[jasmines-library]

The ‘Do Not Call’ List.

WHUMPTOBER DAY 15. Prompt: barley conscious.

Fandom: DC/batfam

Summary: After finally escaping your life one night without saying goodbye to your family, you find yourself in jeopardy, which leads to a well anticipated call.

Warnings: Blood, stab wound, near death.

Word count: 2.1k

MASTERLIST ��� WHUMPTOBER WORKS

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

You were bleeding. Heavily.

The weapon was still lodged within your chest. 6 inches deep it sat, dislodging your ribs which you were sure were shattered, and tickling away at your lung. You hadn’t seen it coming, hidden behind the back of the man you had been tracking. It was too late by the time you had realised he had it; he got you good before sprinting away.

You had tried to get out of this life, leaving those you loved behind. You couldn’t deal with constantly living a lie. So you left. Packed your bags one night, upped and left. They had tried relentlessly to get ahold of you; Missed calls, unanswered texts and even trying to track you on the street cameras, but you knew how to cover your tracks. Being trained as a vigilante does that to a person. You changed your hair and your name, changed your clothes and your hobbies until even you began to not recognise yourself. It hurt to heave your family that way, but you thought it was the only solution. You had seen the texts flooding in. At first, they were concerned, then they turned to anger and morphed into pain and fear once again.

As you staggered backwards, gripping onto your chest, you knew that you shouldn’t have followed him. You knew that you shouldn’t have, that you should have just turned and ran the other way like any normal person should have, but you couldn’t. You missed them. You missed Tim’s meek smile and Damian’s sarcastic remarks, Jason’s wit and Dick’s comfort. You missed collapsing in the study after a long patrol to curl up and watch a movie. Doing this would have brought you one painstaking step closer to them again. So, it was one more criminal.

The blood pooled around you as you cried out, sinking to the floor; a dark river of scarlet oozing from between your fingers. Coughing harshly you tried to apply as much pressure to the wound as your weakening body would let you. The fit only jostled the wound more, eliciting a cry of pain which caused you to fist your shirt.

That was when you suddenly remembered the phone in your jean pocket. You knew that you should call for help, but when you agonisingly slipped it out of your pocket, the number your bloodstained fingers dialled wasn’t the typical number someone would call if they had a fatal stab wound.

~

Tim froze when he saw the name flash on the screen; a name that he knew at one glance. Your name. He hadn’t stopped searching for you since you left them high and dry, albeit there was no sign of you. You had vanished without a trace. His late nights turned even later as he scoured the internet and hacked into the cameras trying desperately to catch a glimpse of your face. He was often accompanied by Jason, who spent his time calling your number or leaving you strands of unopened texts. He hadn’t taken it so well. His nights were full of relentless torment in the form of unsaid thoughts of you. So, when he strolled in groggily to take his usual seat beside his brother but saw your name on the screen, his glass shattered on the floor.

“Is this real?” He asked, ignoring the glass and crossing the room in two strides to reach the computer. Some part of him believed that this was some sick joke, but then the ringing stopped. And started up again moments later.

“Answer it.” Jason told him, fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

When Tim pressed the answer button, they were hit with the sound of ragged breathing.

“Y/N?” He furrowed his brow, unable to hide the worry laid thick in his voice. A million thoughts raced through your mind at once.

There was silence on the other end of the line, before your voice pierced through the emptiness. “Jason?”

“Y/N? Where are you? What’s going on?”

“I…”

You were cut off by a coughing fit which caused blood to spill from the corner of your mouth. Both of the boy’s eyes widened at your wine of pain.

“I… I’m sorry.”

“What?” Jason was frantic now, moving around the cave to gather his weapons. “What’s going on?”

Your breath shook as you struggled against the pain. “I didn’t see it in time…”

“See what?”

“I’m sorry I left.” You dismissed his question to continue your ramble. You had to get the words out. You had to tell them. “I had to get out…I had to-”

Tim repeated his brother’s question, but once again it didn’t register in your mind.

“I didn’t want to leave. But it was the only way and I miss you. I miss you all and I need you to know that I love you all so, so much-”

“Y/N!” Jason cut off your rambling and you went quiet on the other end of the line. “What didn’t you see?”

“The knife.”

Jason’s blood ran cold. Suddenly your state made sense. The ragged breathing and the cries of discomfort. “Tim. get a tracking signal.”

“On it.” His fingers were already trailing the keys, working away to find your location.”

“Where are you?” Jason was tugging on his mask.

There was no reply. Just pained wheezing. Then the line went dead.

~

During your time as a vigilante, you had often thought long and hard about how you would die. And you supposed this wasn’t far from it. You had always imagined you would go down in a fight. Shot down in action while saving the city, or whilst sacrificing yourself to save one of the boys. In a way, this wasn’t too dissimilar. You did go down trying for the greater good. Trying. But you hadn’t imagined that you would be alone. You supposed it was better for everyone this way. The one thing you definitely hadn’t accounted for was the cold. It dug down deep into your bones, stabbing away like a thousand tiny needles. It made an odd contrast to the burning of your chest. Though slowly, you started to feel nothing at all as you began to drift into a numb haze.

Gazing up at the sky, spots danced between your vision, blending in with the stars that twinkled above you. Smiling, you watched them dance around until one feeling began to blend into the other, until there was no feeling left but the darkness of the sky above you.

At first, you didn’t realise that there was a face besides you, until you were brought back to reality by the stabbing pain radiating through your gut. You screamed, writhing as the knife was eased from your chest. For some reason, he wasn’t wearing his mask, but from the way that his hair was jostled, you could tell that it had not long been torn from his face. You could see the outline of his face in the light.

“Jay.” You whispered.

You could see his lips moving, but you couldn’t understand what he was saying. He looked panicked, speaking to someone that you weren’t able to see. You squirmed, trying to see who was near you, only to be held down by Jason.

Pressure to the gaping wound made you cry out. Then Jason’s lips were moving faster, and everything seemed to hit you all at once. Jason was calling your name, tapping your face gently. You could hear the murmur of Tim who talked to himself as he worked.

Your head rolled on a loose neck as Jason tilted it towards him.

“Stay with me, y/n. Please.”

Everything hurt, and your mind throbbed with your fast heart rate. It was hard to focus on anything with your doubling vision making everything swim around you.

You whined as you were shifted on to your side so that the younger of the two could begin to secure the bandages around you. You tried to focus on Jay, who had rested your head in his lap and was combing your hair through his hands, but you couldn’t. It was just too hard.

Your body began to slow down. Your eyes dropped and head lolled in his lap.

“No. No no no.” Jason was pinching you now trying to get a reaction from you, but your eyes only fluttered as you struggled to keep a grip on consciousness. “You have to stay awake.” He pleaded.

“Hurts…” you forced out, face contorting in pain as Tim continued to work and apply pressure to the laceration.

“We know. We know we’re sorry.”

“I’m nearly done. You’re doing so well.”

It felt like you were trapped in a never ending, agony filled cycle by the time that Tim finally finished bandaging you up and rolled you back into your side.

By this point, your eyes were spotting and your mind was swimming. You couldn’t even comprehend the pain. Your eyes fluttered, barely open a crack as you felt your mind wander, soon the faces around you blurred into the rest of the world and for one moment it was just you, consumed by the pain. And it wasn’t long after that until there was nothing. Just darkness.

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

<- DAY 14 ⛤ DAY 16 ->

Taglist:

@senjoritanana

@deans-spinster-witch

@amaryllis23

[ivyithink]

His dark child, his love, evil of his evil. The one who broke his heart.